Verizon eyes 2015 launch for internet TV service, chats à la carte options
If you’ve been champing at the bit to hear more about Verizon’s upcoming television offerings, CEO Lowell McAdam has spilled a few more details. During remarks at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York, the chief executive said that the launch of the wireless company’s online TV service would arrive “probably late in the first half of 2015.” What’s more, McAdam also explained that the days of bundled channels could soon be over, saying “nobody wants to have 300 channels of their wireless device.” This could lead to a transition towards a more à la carte line-up including “customized channels” that target specific groups of viewers — much like DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV. If you’ll recall, Big Red snatched up Intel’s unsuccessful OnCue internet TV service back in January, and existing relationships with both broadcasters and customers could help it do what the previous owner couldn’t. There should be other options too, as Sony’s prepping a similar offering of its own — announcing a deal with Viacom (Comedy Central, etc.) to bring 22 channels aboard just yesterday. Of course, content providers might have hesitations about the concept of a dozen user-selected channels, rather than subscriptions that force customers to buy a truckload of content they don’t even watch. In regards to that, McAdam noted “over the last six months to a year, that dialogue changed dramatically.”
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Verizon
Via: The Verge
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood
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iPhone 6 Pre-Orders to Kick off Tonight at 12:01 AM Pacific
Following Tuesday’s announcement of both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple announced plans to begin taking pre-orders for the devices on Friday, September 12.
Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T will all begin accepting pre-orders at 12:01 AM PT according to their websites, and carriers typically open up pre-orders alongside Apple. Apple’s support representatives are, however, still claiming that the company does not yet have a specific time for the pre-order.
Unlike last year where only the iPhone 5c was available for pre-order, Apple will be offering both the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus for pre-order. There have been few reports on available supply, but typically it’s best to make an order right away if possible because in the past, pre-orders have sold out within mere minutes. As we mentioned yesterday, it’s a good idea to check on upgrade eligibility beforehand.
Apple will be accepting pre-orders through both its website and the Apple Store app. Along with carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, retailers like Best Buy, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Target will also be accepting iPhone 6 pre-orders, but times may vary.
Apple’s iPhone 6 is available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities in the United States for $199, $299, and $399, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract-free pricing begins at $649. Apple’s higher-priced iPhone 6 Plus is available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities for $299, $399, and $499, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract-free pricing on that device begins at $749.
Pre-orders are expected to be available in the first wave of release countries: US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK, with the phones available in retail stores beginning on September 19. Apple’s second wave of iPhone 6 orders will begin on September 26 for several countries across Europe, Taiwan, New Zealand, and more.
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HTC smartwatch due in early 2015, report indicates
Those reports that HTC was already set to give up on the smartwatch game? Fuggedaboutit. According to CNET, HTC plans to release their first Android Wear-powered smartwatch in early 2015. What’s more, it’s said that HTC will not go with a stock version of the platform, instead opting for some extra features. But the company will… Read more »
The post HTC smartwatch due in early 2015, report indicates appeared first on SmarterWatching.
Read the rest at SmarterWatching.com!
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Intel Seeking to Woo Apple Away From Qualcomm for Cellular Baseband Chips
Intel is hoping Apple will turn to the California company for the cellular baseband hardware in future mobile products, says Intel Korea President Lee Hee-sung in a statement reported by the Korea Herald. The baseband manages the radio functions of an iPhone or cellular-capable iPad, allowing the device to communicate with the carrier’s mobile network.
“Chances are high that global smartphone makers such as Apple and LG Electronics will use Intel’s baseband chips in their products down the road,” said Lee Hee-sung, the president of Intel Korea, at a press meeting on Thursday.
Such collaborations are highly likely given that the world’s largest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, has recently announced its midrange premium handset the Galaxy Alpha, which contains Intel’s XMM7260 baseband modem.”
Apple had originally used Infineon baseband hardware in early models of the iPhone, but after Infineon was purchased by Intel in 2010 Apple shifted to using communication chips from market leader Qualcomm. Intel has, however, been hard at work at improving its baseband chips, as evidenced by the design win in the new Galaxy Alpha.
Apple and Intel are of course already partners for the complete line of Mac processors, but Apple will undoubtedly focus on technology and pricing considerations in weighing any potential switch for its mobile products.
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First iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Shipments Reportedly Land on U.S. Soil
Apple’s first iPhone 6 and 6 Plus shipments are already landing on U.S. soil, reports CCAonline (via iPhone in Canada). According to the report, the first cargo pallets have been transported to Chicago in two “special cargo” batches from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport via China Southern Airlines.
Shipping manifests show the cargo weighed a total of 93 tons and was broken into two parcels, one weighing 14.5 tons on September 6 and a second one weighing 78.5 tons on September 10. MacRumors had previously heard similar word that shipments would be beginning late last week as Apple begins staging units at central locations before distributing them around the country for launch.
As a very rough estimate based on the device weight supplied by Apple, these parcels could hold approximately 720,000 iPhone 6 units or 540,000 iPhone 6 Plus handsets. Apple is reportedly paying up to 200 million yuan for the freight in what may be a single-day shipment record for China Southern freight.
This shipment is one of many Apple has planned in the coming weeks with the company supposedly booking much of the available cargo shipping space coming out of China. Apple supposedly has a stranglehold on outgoing shipments, forcing some smaller manufacturers to delay the transport of their products out of the Asian country.
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Finally, a hydroponic farm that runs on goldfish poop
Everything that we have ever eaten has probably, at some point, been in contact with some poop. Plants grow in soil that’s mixed with horse poop, and at some point a careless burger joint employee has touched your meal after a tricky bathroom break. The sooner that we admit the role poop plays in our survival, the sooner that we can turn it to our advantage. For instance, wouldn’t it be great if we could harness the power of poop to grow herbs, purify water and look after a goldfish at the same time? You bet your ass (the part of your body where poop lives) it would, which is why Dutch startup EcoBird is launching its aquaponic farm on Kickstarter.
Hydroponics is a method of growing crops in small quantities of water that not only helps preserve our most precious resource, but also alleviates the strain on farmland. EcoFarm takes this idea one step further by creating an almost self-contained system that helps a fish and herb garden work in tandem with each other. The effluent poop-filled water from the fishtank below is pumped up to the tabletop herb garden in the lid. The plants then purify the water by drawing out the poop nutrients, with clean water then trickling back down into the fish tank for the cycle to begin again.
Given how climate change is going to make large-scale farming more difficult in the future, and a trend towards bringing production back to the home, the whole idea seems like a great idea. That is, so long as you can get over the idea that you’re eating goldfish poop as a salad garnish. If you can, then early backers can get an Ecofarm for €65 (if you’re in the Netherlands) or €85 ($110) (elsewhere in the world), with the first shipments due to arrive before Christmas. Poop.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Kickstarter
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Leaked Windows 9 screenshots hint at a redesigned desktop
Slowly but surely, we’re starting to get a clearer idea of what the next version of Windows will look like. Microsoft already teased a classic-style Start Menu, while ZDNet‘s usually-reliable Mary Jo Foley has reported that the Charms Bar might be removed. Today, we’re sifting through what might be the biggest single leak yet — a collection of 20 screenshots from the German sites ComputerBase and WinFuture. In these images, reportedly from the “Windows Technical Preview” expected to arrive this fall, we can see not just the Start Menu, but a refined Taskbar, with a new search icon located next to the Start button.
Alongside the search button there’s another new icon — what appears to be a shortcut for the rumored virtual-desktop feature. Indeed, a few of the screenshots here show a pane along the bottom of the screen that you can use to toggle between different desktops. Finally, one of the screens includes the new notification center, which apparently lives in the System Tray in the lower-right corner. Based on the images we have here, though, it remains unclear how exactly these notifications will work.
On that note, it’s worth a reminder that these images almost certainly don’t represent a final version of the software — again, not even the preview version has been released yet. In the meantime, we’ve asked Microsoft to confirm whether these screenshots are authentic, and will update this post if we learn more.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
Source: Computer Base, WinFuture
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IBM’s ‘Ninja Particles’ could stop the rise of superbugs
IBM Research’s Jim Hedrick has a great job. His work on polymers — those repeating chains of macromolecules that make up most things in our world, like the computer or phone you’re reading this on — has led to the creation of substances with Marvel Comics-worthy descriptors. There’s the self-healing, Wolverine-like substance that arose from a recycled water bottle and something called “ninja particles” that’ll advance the reality of nanomedicine. Both discoveries will inevitably make their way into consumer products in the near future, but it’s his team’s progress on nanomedicine that Hedrick discussed during my visit to IBM Research’s sprawling Almaden lab in San Jose, California.
The inspiration for IBM’s foray into nanomedicine is twofold: our growing resistance to antibiotics and the incidence of medical-implant rejection by the human body. With this in mind, Hedrick and his team, leveraging IBM’s background in semiconductor research, developed synthetic polymers that mimic the immune system. Using a simple charge, these resultant polymers are capable of hunting down and clinging to specific microbes throughout the body. And, once attached, cause those microbes to rupture as if they’d been hit by an explosive shuriken (or ninja star) — hence, the name.
The inspiration for IBM’s foray into nanomedicine is two-fold: our growing resistance to antibiotics and the incidence of medical-implant rejection.
Of course, anyone who’s seen Innerspace knows there’s a certain danger to injecting foreign objects into your body. But Hedrick says we have nothing to worry about. The ninja particles won’t pass into other parts of the body. They’re also proven to have a low toxicity and, best of all, won’t engender a new wave of resistant pathogens (read: superbugs). So when will see the practical fruits of IBM’s research? Well, Hedrick tells us the company’s already in talks with various partners to apply this nanotech to our modern world in anything from medicine to the deodorant we use daily to the detergents we use to wash our clothes and kitchenware. And that future’s not too far off, either — Hedrick believes we could begin to see these ninja particle-infused products hit retail within a decade’s time.
Watch Hedrick explain how IBM’s research into ninja particles can help revolutionize the health care industry.
Stay tuned for part three of our inside look at IBM’s Almaden research facility.
[Image credit: Laguna Design/Getty]
Filed under: Science
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Cricket Wireless dials up HTC Desire 510
Cricket Wireless on Wednesday announced the upcoming availability of the HTC Desire 510. Set to arrive on September 19, the phone will be offered in Cricket stores and online. What’s more, the handset will also be sold at nearly 3,000 GameStop locations across the United States.
Powered by Android 4.4 with HTC Sense 6, the Desire 510 features a 4.7-inch display and a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor. Additionally, the smartphone offers a rear 5-megapixel camera, front-facing VGA shooter, 1GB RAM, and a 2100mAh battery. It’s not clear how much internal storage is offered in this model; however, HTC touts the device with 4GB and 8GB options.
The HTC Desire will be sold at $149.99 with no service contract needed. As a reminder, Cricket is offering a limited time promotion that includes additional monthly data at no extra costs.
The post Cricket Wireless dials up HTC Desire 510 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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Verizon and AT&T want your old iPhones now that new ones are here
Sprint and T-Mobile have already promised to match and even top each others’ (and other carriers’) trade-in prices before the new iPhone debuted. But would you like to hear what Verizon and AT&T have to offer first before deciding which carrier to sell your soul to? Yes? Then let’s start with Verizon, which will give you gift cards worth $300 for an iPhone 5S and worth $200 for an iPhone 5, 5c, 4 and 4s from any carrier if you get an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus with a two-year contract. AT&T, on the other hand, will up its minimum trade-in value for the iPhone 5S to $300, and for the iPhone 5, 5c, 4 and 4s to $200 starting this Friday. Also, you can get $100 off any iPhone if you’re a new subscriber and $200 off any iPad when you sign up for an iPhone with a Next plan. You can see how much Apple’s new devices will cost you under the carrier’s Next pricing schemes after the break.
Of course, you can still trade in other devices through the company’s respective buyback websites, but you may want to take advantage of these deals soon, because some of ‘em won’t be around forever. You can send in your old iPhones to Verizon in exchange for the fixed gift card values just until November 15, while T-Mobile’s promo (as we’ve mentioned before) will have limited availability.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile
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AIVAnet 