GT Advanced Bankruptcy Unlikely to Affect Apple Watch, But Sapphire for Future iPhones in Doubt
A new report from KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple’s sapphire partner GT Advanced Technologies’ recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will not affect its upcoming Apple Watch. However, he cautions that it does raise concerns about the possibility of future iPhones using sapphire displays.
Bankruptcy has no impact on Apple Watch. As the Apple Watch sapphire cover lens uses an ingot of less than 6-inches, and as drop-test requirements aren’t so stringent as those of iPhone, general ingot manufacturing processes such as KY suffice for Apple Watch. This is why there are abundant sapphire ingot suppliers to choose from for Apple Watch. According to our survey, aside from GTAT, other Apple Watch sapphire ingot suppliers are Hansol (KR) and Harbin Aurora Optoelectronics (CN). We therefore don’t think GTAT’s bankruptcy will affect sapphire ingot supply to Apple Watch.
… but it raises uncertainties on iPhone touch panel use of sapphire cover lens.
Kuo suggests that GT Advanced’s ASF sapphire ingot isn’t the only one it’s considering to use for iPhone displays, though it is the company’s preference due to the superior drop-test performance of GT Advanced’s sapphire. And while Kuo believes that Apple still wants to use sapphire displays for iPhones, the bankruptcy of GT Advanced will likely result in bottlenecks in ASF sapphire production. Other sapphire ingot suppliers are unlikely to benefit, as they do not measure up to Apple’s higher drop-test standards.
Apple had been widely expected to include sapphire display covers on some iPhone 6 models, but that development did not arrive. As Kuo notes, Apple still plans to use sapphire displays for Apple Watch, as it uses an ingot less than 6-inches and Apple’s standards for drop-tests on the Watch are not as stringent as those for iPhone.
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Google Play lets you pre-order movies before they leave theaters
A number of internet video stores (including iTunes) have let you pre-order movies for a while, but not Google Play — you’ve had to mark the release on your calendar to get a hot flick ASAP. Don’t worry about being so dutiful in the future, though. Google has switched on movie pre-orders for Google Play users in the US; you now just have to find the title you want to see and click a button to reserve it. Other countries will get the feature “soon,” Google says. It’s a pretty straightforward addition, but it could be very helpful if you’re determined to score a copy of Gone Girl while you’re still in the theater parking lot.
Excited about a film that’s still in theaters? Pre-order @GoneGirlMovie, @Guardians, and more! http://t.co/24go5ka6ye pic.twitter.com/3zppNUXwb0
– Google Play (@GooglePlay) October 7, 2014
Filed under: Internet, HD, Google
Via: Google Play (Twitter), (Google+)
Source: Google Play
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Point-and-click classic ‘Myst’ is getting a TV show and a new tie-in game
Need a shot of early-’90s nostalgia? The classic PC adventure game Myst is getting a TV adaptation. The game’s creators at Cyan Worlds have signed a deal with Legendary TV and Digital Media (a branch of the film production company) and the show will apparently bring a tie-in game to go along with it, according to Deadline. The companion game sounds very much like it’d be appearing on tablets, considering Legendary cites a statistic that 70 percent of slate owners use their device while watching TV “at least several times” per week, something Cyan sees as a way to expand its interactive narrative. Variety points out that Legendary has yet to decide whether the show will be a traditional broadcast program or if it’ll be a digital project (its movie based on the Dead Rising series is a Crackle exclusive).
This won’t be the production house’s first dalliance with gaming either: it’s been working on movies based on Mass Effect and Warcraft for awhile. It’s worth noting that neither of those have actually seen the light of day yet despite being in the works for what seems like forever — when the Myst project could actually surface is any Stranger’s guess.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD
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Google Voice just got real
Google Voice was such a cool idea when it first came on the scene. You could make calls, and send text messages from your computer back when most people were still working off desktop machines. Immediately, questions arose about whether Google was going to make a go at the mobile market. How was Google Voice going to disrupt the big carriers (before the word ‘disrupt’ was cliche)? If Google got into mobile, would that mean phones would be free? Free voice calls? Free texting? Free data?!?
Well, it didn’t really happen that way. The powers that be wouldn’t allow Google to have control over all that, and internet advertising, and search (add email, maps, mobile OS, and RSS to that list – R.I.P. Google Reader).
But unlike Google Wave, Google Reader, and Orkut, Google Voice stuck around. It’s been chugging along for years, slowly building up steam and a loyal following.
Flash-forward to about a month ago when Google updated their Hangouts app and Google Voice was the main attraction.
Google Hangouts was integrated with Google Voice. You could finally make and receive calls with your Google Voice number from the Hangouts app using megabytes from your data plan instead of minutes from your voice plan. You could also use your Google Voice account to send and receive SMS messages from inside Hangouts.
So cool!
But, noticeably missing was MMS. Poor, lonely MMS was left out. We knew it wasn’t a Hangouts issue, so it must have been a Google Voice issue, or perhaps a carrier issue.
Well now the wait is over. In a recent post on Google+, Alex Wiesen, Tech Lead Manager for Google Voice, shared the following news,
We’ve been working with nearly 100 different North American carriers to enable this feature — including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Bell Canada, Rogers, Telus, and many more — and starting today all these integrations are live. So enjoy those incoming pics, say goodbye to fomo (fear of missing out), and stay tuned for more Google Voice messaging improvements!
That’s right, MMS is alive and well on Google Voice inside in the Hangouts app for nearly 100 different carriers, but not Verizon. What’s up with that, Big V?
It will be interesting to see what else Google has in store for Hangout and Google Voice. Will they continue to improve separately, or will they be so integrated that they become one in the same? Time will tell.
Source [Google+]
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Lumsing Dual USB Car Charger review
In the vast world of car chargers out there, it may get a little overwhelming when trying to pick one out for yourself. “Why is this one more expensive than that one?” “What features am I losing if I go with the cheaper option?” We’ve all come across these questions before, and that may be where Lumsing comes in.
For quite some time now, Lumsing has offered quality products at an inexpensive price point. This car charger is no exception. Let’s take a look and see whether you should invest in the Lumsing car charger or not.
Build
The Dual USB Car Charger comes in either black or white, and both offer a smooth feeling plastic body. The top of the device has some Lumsing branding on it, while not causing too much of an eye sore. It actually blends in quite well. The reverse side is completely blank, so it’s easy to hide the branding if you so choose.
At the bottom near the USB ports reads the port labeling. This is what is a little odd about the charger. The USB ports and labels are backwards. The port that is above the corresponding label is the correct port. For instance, in the picture below, the right-most port is actually the 2,400mA port… not the 1,000mA one. Weird, right? It doesn’t alter the performance of the charger in any way, but it’s still a bit confusing.
Above the port labels is a small blue light that shines when there is power running through the charger. We find this helpful when making sure the charger is off when we’re not using it. It’s just an easy way to tell.
Performance
Car chargers are one of those “either it works or it doesn’t” products. This one works. It charges quickly, and that’s really all you can ask for in a car charger. And don’t worry… you can use both ports simultaneously.
Should I buy?
It depends. This is a wonderfully built car charger that looks sleek. However, one of our gripes is that it doesn’t include a USB cord. So if you don’t have a spare one lying around, you may want to opt for one that has a cord included. The car charger doesn’t include a USB cord, but it makes up for that by its low price tag.
You can pick up the Lumsing Dual USB Car Charger from Amazon for only $7.99. We’d say that’s a pretty good deal considering the quality of this product.
Pick up a Lumsing Dual USB Car Charger from Amazon for $7.99.
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FBI director sees progress in the US’ ability to fight cyberattacks
FBI director James Comey has held office for more than a year, but he hasn’t really had an opportunity to explain his views on camera. What does he think about the US’ ability to cope with cyberattacks, for example? If you’ve been curious to understand his approach, you’ll be glad to know that CBS News has posted the first part of an interview with Comey touching on these subjects. He reveals that he’s happy with the progress the government has made on dealing with online intruders, even if it’s clear that there’s still a long way to go. As he explains, the US’ digital defense is a lot like a high school soccer team. It’s competent on the field, but no where near the World Cup skill it needs to stop many threats.
As for other insights? Many of them are familiar, such as the seeming omnipresence of Chinese hackers and the all-too-commonplace dangers that face everyday internet users. CBS teases that the next part of the interview will look at Comey’s views on other issues, including iOS 8’s tougher encryption, so it may be worth tuning in later. He has already spoiled some of the surprise, however — in a recent press conference, he said that he’s not a fan of strong encryption (including Apple’s) that prevents investigators from collecting data.
[Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images]
http://www.cbsnews.com/common/video/cbsnews_video.swf
Filed under: Internet
Via: Mashable
Source: CBS News
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Volvo’s big rig continuously scans surroundings to prevent accidents
If Volvo has its way, truck accidents could be on the way out. The automaker is working on system for the haulers to help drivers avoid wrecks, aiming to combat low visibility as one of the primary causes of wrecks. In order to keep an eye on things, the company is developing tech that continuously monitors surroundings with a 360-degree scan. A smattering of sensors, radar and cameras are placed around the truck to boost safety — especially in urban areas full of pedestrians and cyclists. Once the data is collected, the system interprets the details to communicate warnings, and it can even take control of steering and braking if the driving doesn’t respond in time. That all sounds quite good, but Volvo says the system won’t be market-ready for another 5-10 years.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Autoevolution
Source: Volvo Trucks (YouTube), (PR)
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Tube TVs, VCRs and magnets give ‘Alien: Isolation’ its signature look
From Halo to Dead Space and countless titles in between, the influence of the Alien franchise can be felt just about just about everywhere in video games. But hardly any of the releases starring the titular onyx xenomorphs actually capture aspects of what made Ridley Scott’s beloved 1979 sci-fi flick so special — a feeling that somewhere in space this could all actually happen. To do that, the team behind Alien: Isolation (out today for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One) had an altogether different plan of attack: a retro lo-fi aesthetic that limited them to not having any technology in the game couldn’t have existed on-set in 1979. Achieving that took some creativity on the part of developer Creative Assembly, though. “Lo-fi didn’t necessarily mean crappy,” creative lead Alistair Hope tells us. “It’s just that it’s more of a stamp in time and an approach. We’re doing sci-fi set in the future, but there’s no sense that the crew on the Nostromo should be looking for a massive sci-fi gun… It’s a disillusioned view of the future.”
That approach means everything from futzing with 20th Century Fox’s archives of sound effects from the original film, getting Sigourney Weaver back in the sound booth to rerecord Ellen Ripley’s audio log that closes the movie and beating up analog video equipment to get the look and feel of the game’s UI just right.
A 1970s-model Sony standard definition CRT television
Even with the wealth of sounds that 20th Century Fox provided access to — including original foley recordings with sound designers shouting out take numbers — the team still needed to create new material. “It’s a movie that’s 117 minutes long and we needed to generate hours and hours of new content,” Hope says. That lead to another creative challenge: how do you match the source material’s motifs and feel without betraying the feel of the 35-year-old film? One way is using an ARP Pro/DGX analog synth from the 1970s to help create new sound effects. Another is to record the imperceptible audio generated by electromagnetic waves from old TV screens and other electronics and to layer them into the game’s soundscapes.
A bit more low fidelity tech: VHS tapes
Creative Assembly took parts of the game like the inventory selection menu and the scan-line-laden loading screens, transferred them to VHS tapes and played them back on SD tube TVs with “goldfish bowl” screens. Then, they recorded them and imported the footage back into their development workflow. “While we were filming them, we were crushing the cables and putting magnets around the TV to make it glitch and cause interference,” Hope says. Those mangled assets are what gives the game its visual texture and what Hope refers to as a physical quality to the imagery. In the end, the effect resembles something along the lines of the schlocky found-footage horror flick V/H/S. “It wasn’t quite what we were getting with the digital approach. When it’s digital, it can quite often feel very cold and there was kind of a warmth to the frame in the original movie.”
That warmth wasn’t without a few casualties, though. “We managed to kill quite a bit of equipment doing that,” Hope says, laughing. “I think we broke two VCRs and at least two TVs – [it was] for a good cause.”
[Image credits: Carbon Arc / Flickr; DG Jones / Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
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Engadget Daily: Facebook tackles anonymity, Vaio post-Sony, and more!
Zuckerberg and Co. are in hot water regarding the social giant’s real-name policy, but it looks like all the outcry may have paid off. Well, sort of. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours, including Facebook’s purported anonymity app, Vaio’s new hybrid tablet, a magical product called Carrot, and more!
Filed under: Misc
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What is Lenovo up to on October 9th? A slew of new Yoga’s for sure
Lenovo has an event planned on October 9th in London. We know for sure that they will be announcing a new line of Yoga tablets. We know this because their press invites and live streaming event says so as you can see to the right.
It isn’t a secret that I really love what Lenovo has been doing with their Yoga tablets lately. The 8 and 10 were great for their size, price and battery life. The Yoga 10 HD+ pushed thing up in the screen resolution department and was able to keep the weight low and the battery life long. Now it is time for Lenovo to reinvent their Yoga tablets with a 2nd generation that is even better than before.
A series of leaks, FCC filing details and images have been appearing on the web over the last few days and I have been watching them pretty intently. While there will no doubt be a set of Windows variants, the new Android offerings are what I am after. The first bit of details on what Lenovo would bring surfaced on Mobile Geeks. They nabbed a screen with some device names and minimal descriptions. Liliputing also got a screen grab of the same thing on Lenovos site. Of course the details shown have nice been pulled back down.
You can see three different tablet sizes being listed. A 8-inch, a 10-inch and a whopping 13-inch variant. The mini description mentions 4 way to use the new line of Yoga’s – Stand, Tilt, Hold and Hang. The first three are aspect of the current Yoga tablets that I find quite useful, particularly the stand mode. ‘Hang’ on the other hand, that one is new. How they plan to do that is kind of obvious when you mix in the image below that was posted by comparatif-tablette.
Having used, and still use, the previous Yoga line, I can tell you that the oblong cutout on the stand is new. I am going to assume that the stand rotates all the way around now will let you hang it from that slot on a hook, or thumb tack. The speaker grill looks a bit different too.
The same site also covers the specs that are supposedly also coming with the new line. All three are said to launch with Android 4.4 KitKat. The screens seem to all be upgraded in resolution too. With the 8-inch hitting 1920 x 1200. I am reading specs that include quad-core Intel Atom Bay Trail chipsets, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of on board storage. Along with an 8MP camera on the rear and a 1.6MP camera on the front. I am certain Lenovo has done their due diligence with the batteries meaning we can expect the usual 18 hour all day strong use.
While refreshed Yoga 8’s and 10’s are particularly interesting, it is the listing for a 13-inch one that has me all giddy. Again, relying on the info from comparatif, they state the 13.3-inch tablet will carry a resolution of 2560 x 1440. It is supposedly also packing in a 9,600 mAh battery. I would image that is to give that massive screen enough juice to compete with the 8 and 10 in terms of battery life. The internal storage is also said to be bumped to 32GBs. I am pretty curious about the odd rounded square on the back of it too. That looks like a speaker grill. I can’t be certain though.
All of them will likely have SD card slots, you are sure to find Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11n as well.
So far so good. It certainly sounds like Lenovo is continuing to move forward with the Yoga line and improve its hardware. A 13.3-inch variant with that resolution is going to make for a stunning viewing experience. Of course all of this is rumor, speculation and leaked renders over the last few days from various sources.
One more little precarious thought though before I leave you to your day. A recent YouTube video went up with Ashton Kutcher in it. He is the product engineer on the Yoga line and will be live at the event as well. He sat down with some entrepreneurs and talked about the Yoga a little. There is a little comedy mixed in, of course. Ashton asked the group a question though: “What if you could project what was on the screen to a wall?” Seriously, I think that would be pretty cool really. Check out the video for yourself.
And just because, you should check out the group of seniors Ashton talks to also.
Source: Mobile Geeks | Comparatif-tablette Via Liliputing 1 | 2
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AIVAnet 