ITC Staff recommends clearing Samsung, Qualcomm in Nvidia case
Remember that lawsuit between Nvidia and Samsung that began late last year as a result of the graphic card manufacturer believing that the Korean company had infringed upon seven of its patents? And how Samsung hit back by first accusing Nvidia of false advertising and then by issuing its own lawsuit claiming the Nvidia had infringed upon Samsung’s patents? The International Trade Commission (ITC) stepped in soon after and have now formed a recommendation.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence, ITC staff members are recommending that Samsung and its co-defendant, Qualcomm, be cleared of patent infringement allegations brought by Nvidia. While this endorsement gives Samsung and Qualcomm a definite advantage over Nvidia, the case will rumble on until at least October before a ruling is made.
If Nvidia were to manage to prove its case, it could receive up to $2 billion in royalties from the defendants. It could also result in a U.S. ban on some of Samsung’s products that are proven to infringe on Nvidia’s patents. While the ruling is only due in October, I’m sure this isn’t the last we have heard on the matter.
Source: Bloomberg
Come comment on this article: ITC Staff recommends clearing Samsung, Qualcomm in Nvidia case
Ford’s latest eBike breaks down to fit in your trunk
Ford is serious about marrying eBikes and cars and just revealed a new bike concept called the MoDe:Flex, complete with a new smartwatch app. Like other prototypes from its new Palo Alto Research and Innovation Center, it’s an electric-assisted bicycle that uses a special app to help you do “multimodal” commutes via car, train and bike. This model is aimed more at car owners, however, as you can quickly break it down into two equal pieces for easy trunk storage. The idea is to drive part way to your destination, park, then put the Mode:Flex bike together and finish the trip by leg power, with a battery assist for steep hills.
You can plan the whole thing using the Mode:Link smartphone app, which takes into account congestion, weather, parking costs and your fitness level. There’s also a new smartwatch app, which we presume works in conjunction with the phone app. Ford hasn’t revealed any specs for the new bike, though its similar MoDe:Pro concept has a 200-watt motor and 9-amp-hour batteries, with a top pedal-aided speed of 25 km/h (16MPH). It also has vibrating handlebars to notify you of overtaking cars, a pedal assist mode that auto-adjusts based on your heart rate and other techie touches.
We’ve reached out to Ford for a bit more info, but for now it appears that the bike and app are still in the prototype stage. However, there’s an intense level of interest in eBikes, judging by the response to products like Teague’s Denny eBike and the MoDe:Pro. Multimodal commuting also makes a lot of sense to ease congestion and pollution, so hopefully Ford will get this model out of the lab and into consumers’ hands — at a reasonable price, of course.
The MoDe:Flex eBike: easily configured, stows inside any #Ford & gives you a boost up steep hills. #FordTrends https://t.co/032TisxRmQ
– Ford Motor Company (@Ford) June 24, 2015
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Ford (Twitter) (1), (2)
EE’s free Power Bar chargers are back in stock
Mobile operators aren’t often recognised for their benevolence, but EE caught everyone’s attention when it started handing out free portable mobile chargers to customers. In fact, it received over a million requests in just four days, forcing it to “power pause” signups and tell people to try again in a couple of months. If you were one of the unlucky ones, the good news is that EE’s self-imposed embargo is now up, meaning you can again claim a free 2,600mAh Power Bar via a 35p text message. As long as you’re an EE, Orange or T-Mobile customer, all you have to do is send “POWER” to 365 and wait for your unique code. Once you have that, it’s a simple case of popping in to your local EE store to pick it up. Those very same stores will also swap a dead Power Bar out for a fully charged one whenever you want.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: EE
A4WP and PMA merging in July – wireless charging is about to get much better
Wireless charging is something we have had available for years, which makes it rather upsetting to see it’s still something that hasn’t become ubiquitous. Companies and manufacturers can’t seem to agree on which technology to adopt. Even worse, some smartphone makers continue producing phones without any of the available standards integrated. It’s a mess!
A plethora of manufacturers, carriers and tech companies have gotten together to form alliances. These wireless charging fan clubs further push the adoption of this new feature. The problem here is that they are mostly still focusing on different technologies; the only difference is that now more people are involved.
The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has its own Qi standard. Meanwhile, the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) is all for a similar inductive charging solution, but it doesn’t work with Qi. Finally, there’s the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), which is all about Rezence, its own resonance-based wireless charging solution.
What gives? Well, at least two of these main wireless charging advocates will be joining forces, which should make everyone’s efforts much more parallel. The PMA and A4WP have been talking about getting together for quite some time, and they approved the merger last June 1st. The joint companies should start collaborating starting July 1st, which is very soon.
What will this merger accomplish for wireless charging?
PMA and A4WP have been working on different standards for some time. The point of their merger is not really to kill one or the other. Instead, they want to create more awareness about their joint efforts so that manufacturers may support multiple solutions, simultaneously. This will translate into more gadget makers integrating more standards into their products, therefore making wireless charging much more ubiquitous.
Why even support multiple wireless charging technologies, you ask? Well, these all have their advantages and disadvantages. This makes them valuable on different levels, depending on the situation and use case scenario. Let’s go over some of them, just to help you understand.
Inductive charging
Inductive charging is the same technology found in Qi chargers (currently the most popular), but this specific solution is owned by the WPC. PMA has also been pushing its own inductive charging technology. In fact, PMA was adopted by many companies so it may work alongside Qi. Even Starbucks decided to go with PMA, so it’s not really a dead concept, even if Qi is the clear winner right now.
The benefit of inductive charging is that it powers up devices much faster than resonance-based charging, but that has its downsides. These inductive chargers can only charge one product at a time, and they have to be much closer in order to work properly. Less than 1 cm, to be exact.
Resonance charging
Resonance charging is the standard A4WP has been trying to push. Their specific branding is called Rezence, and it uses resonance to charge at longer distances of about 2 inches. It is definitely slower, but it also allows charging pads to power multiple devices at once. These chargers can even communicate with your devices and balance energy, making it a much more efficient solution. Fully-charged devices won’t be using up valuable energy, for example.
WattUp technology
Because this merger does include PMA, we felt it was necessary to include Energous, which is a company PMA has been working with recently. Energous’ WattUp technology can charge up to 12 devices as far as 15 feet from the transmitter!
This opens a whole new window of opportunities we didn’t even know existed. You could just leave your phone in your pocket and keep it all juiced up, without even thinking about it. WattUp only delivers 1W of charging power at 15 feet, though. You can get nearer and raise that number up to 4W. Impressive, right?
Long live wireless charging!
If all goes well, Qi won’t be the only one calling the shots in this industry. Our hopes are that the industry does adopt multiple of these standards, but we can only dream for now. It still looks like they are all trying to work things out.
But tell us, guys – which of these solutions is your favorite? I am really liking WattUp, to be honest. It can charge both fast and at a distance, all while keeping you comfortable and not having to worry about placing your device somewhere. Hit the comments and let us know what you think!
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Google’s Sidewalk Labs takes control of plan to provide free WiFi to New York
A while back Justin wrote an article about the LinkNYC network that plans on replacing up to 10,000 unused payphone kiosks with WiFi outlets. Each WiFi pillar is called a Link, besides free WiFi it would also serve up free charging. The Link WiFi pillars would be funded entirely through advertising, and thus not cost the good citizens of New York a penny in taxes. It sounds good, right?
So good, in fact, that the Google-backed startup, Sidewalk Labs has led a consortium of investors to acquire Titan and Control Group. The two companies had merged to form a new company called Intersection to supervise the roll-out of LinkNYC, before spreading to other cities.
A little background on Sidewalk Labs; it’s a Google start-up that aims to target issues that affect modern cities such as pollution, communications, energy, traffic and the cost of living. The CEO of Sidewalk Labs (and now also Chairman of Intersection), Dan Doctoroff says that it was formed to look at the confluence of the physical and digital world to solve urban problems. As for LinkNYC, while he did say that the technology could suit other cities, he declined to be specific.
Doctoroff said: “By bringing these two industry leaders together, Intersection will help make cities connected places where you can walk down any street and access free ultra high-speed Wi-Fi, find transit and wayfinding information, access information about city services — the possibilities are endless.”
The LinkNYC network is due to begin construction early 2016 throughout New York’s five boroughs. If you live in the Big Apple, are you looking forward to seeing unused payphones replaced by the LinkNYC WiFi pillars? Let us know in the comments.
Full Press Release
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23, 2015 – New company aims to bring new model for connectivity, municipal services and civic engagement to cities around the world. Control Group and Titan, key members of the team behind LinkNYC, announced today that they will merge and be acquired by a consortium of investors led by Sidewalk Labs.
The new company, named Intersection, combines both companies’ expertise in technology and innovation at the convergence of the digital and physical worlds. LinkNYC, their groundbreaking project in New York City with partners Qualcomm and Comark, will create up to 10,000 communications hubs that provide city residents and visitors with free public gigabit Wi-Fi, access to communications, information and municipal services across the city. Intersection will aim to extend the thinking and approach behind LinkNYC into an array of solutions to help make cities around the world more livable and connected.
Sidewalk CEO Dan Doctoroff will serve as the Chairman of Intersection. Doctoroff said: “By bringing these two industry leaders together, Intersection will help make cities connected places where you can walk down any street and access free ultra high-speed Wi-Fi, find transit and wayfinding information, access information about city services — the possibilities are endless. Titan brings deep understanding partnering with governments and transit authorities, while Control Group has unparalleled expertise in creating digital products and experiences for the physical world. With LinkNYC, Control Group and Titan have shown that by integrating new technologies into existing infrastructure cities can reinvent these assets – providing not just more modern, free services to citizens but even more revenue to cities. As Sidewalk Labs works to scale technology solutions for cities around the world, this is just the first of many urban challenges we will be tackling.”
Control Group is known for its leading-edge public interfaces in mass transit, airports, cultural institutions and retail. Colin O’Donnell, a founding partner of Control Group, said: “The combination of technology and media has always driven innovation on the web. With Intersection, we’re excited to bring the same principles to cities and public spaces to drive civic innovation and create more connected, responsive and vibrant places to live.”
Titan has a significant out-of-home advertising business that generates revenue for cities and municipal authorities, and has operated the New York City public phone booths now being converted under LinkNYC. Don Allman, CEO of Titan, said: “Intersection will allow us to play a pivotal role in helping cities and municipal authorities deliver improved city services and a better customer experience.”
The companies will combine New York City offices to encourage a collaborative environment. Senior management teams from both Titan and Control Group will remain at Intersection. Control Group and Titan will continue to provide their world-class roster of clients with excellent service – across digital strategy, technology, design and out-of-home advertising. Intersection will also provide current and future clients with new urban experience and information products and services that build on the strengths of both companies to create value for citizens, brands and governments and to improve life in cities around the world.
Financial terms of the deal are not disclosed.
About Intersection
Intersection is an urban experience company that combines expertise in technology, user experience and interactive engagement at the convergence of digital and physical worlds to improve life in cities around the world. Intersection is the result of a merger between Control Group and Titan, key members of the team behind LinkNYC, the groundbreaking project to turn payphones into urban information hubs. It is owned by a consortium of investors including Sidewalk Labs. Visit http://www.intersection.com and follow us on Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
About Sidewalk Labs
Sidewalk Labs is an urban innovation company launched by Dan Doctoroff and Google devoted to improving city life for residents, businesses and city governments, in particular by developing and incubating civic technologies.
Come comment on this article: Google’s Sidewalk Labs takes control of plan to provide free WiFi to New York
iPhone users can attach Drive files on Google Calendar
iPhone users can start associating files from Drive directly to Google Calendar events, thanks to the app playing catch up to its Android version. Those files can be documents, PDFs, work presentations and spreadsheets or photos you took at a party — whatever they are, Calendar will ask whether you want other people to be able to view or edit them. Just like the Android update that rolled out a few months ago, this one also comes with a seven-day week view so users can easily peek at their schedules. Plus, it intros interactive notifications that add an option to email guests and to open a saved location in Maps from the lock screen. That’s about it for now, but as always, iPhone owners who want to know what’s next can keep an eye out for the latest Android update… and then wait a few months to get the new features.
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Google
Source: Official Gmail Blog
Rockchip RKi6000 processor for IoT reduces WiFi power consumption by 80%
Wearables and the Internet of Things (IoT) aim to bring us small, capable products that can enhance our experience far beyond what smartphones, tablets and the like can do. One of the main problems still haunting the industry is battery life. Rockchip plans to tackle this issue with their latest RKi6000 processor.
What makes this System on Chip solution special is that it offers much lower power consumption, bringing the “world’s lowest power WiFi technology”. In fact, this new chip is said to provide 85% less WiFi power consumption, compared to standard WiFi built with RF architecture. It spends about 20 mAh during use, allowing it to use a AAA battery for up to 35 years (for WiFi only).
According to Rockchip, their new WiFi technology now compares to Bluetooth 4.0 LE in terms of energy consumption, which is simply outstanding. This solves a huge issue, because WiFi connectivity has always been superior to Bluetooth, but we have been using Bluetooth because it used to offer improved energy efficiency. WiFi is stronger, has a longer reach and is a standard form of communication in most products.
Because the Rockchip RKi6000 uses so little energy, it will empower manufacturers by allowing them to use smaller batteries, which will help in the effort to make smaller wearables and IoT products. This is why the chip maker is focusing on targeting these chips to cameras, smart plugs, access controls and home appliances.
Rockchip is not exactly one of the most popular chip makers around, but they do stand their ground in some markets. This technology may help them take their business to the next level. It all reads very well on paper, but we hope this technology can work as advertised when put into action, too.
The RKi6000 SoC launches in Q3 2015, so we may start seeing products sporting it relatively soon. For now, let’s just keep wasting our energy like there is no tomorrow!
Apple Adds 7 New Flyover Locations to Maps [iOS Blog]
Apple has added 7 new Flyover locations to Apple Maps, including cities in Portugal, Spain, England, Germany and Puerto Rico. The additions bring the total number of Flyover cities in Apple Maps to 148, allowing users to see photorealistic 3D tours of those cities as well as the ability to zoom in on landmarks and buildings.
The following cities were added to Flyover:
– Almería, Spain
– Braga, Portugal
– Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
– Karlsruhe, Germany
– Kiel, Germany
– Kingston upon Hull, England
– San Juan, Puerto Rico
The full list of Flyover cities can be seen on Apple’s iOS 8 feature availability page, even though Flyover is also available on Mac OS X’s version of Apple Maps.
Apple has been steadily adding new cities to Flyover since the feature debuted three years ago. Flyover has gained over 40 new cities since December, with 20 new cities joining in March.
The $300 ‘PITA’ steals encryption keys with radio waves
Your computer is leaking information. It’s not from the usual suspects: WiFi, Bluetooth or ethernet, but from radio waves originating from your processor. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Technion research institute have built a $300 device that captures those electromagnetic waves and uses them to decrypt RSA and ElGamal data from up to 19 inches away. The PITA (Portable Instrument for Trace Acquisition) device is the size of (you guessed it) a pita and was built using off-the-shelf parts and runs on four AA batteries. The stolen data can be saved to the onboard microSD card or sent via WiFi to the attacker’s computer. The team demonstrated the hack by extracting the keys from GnuPG. Fortunately, GnuPG was updated when the research paper was published to thwart the delicious-sounding PITA.
This isn’t the first time electromagnetic probing has been used to decipher encrypted data or that researchers have used unconventional methods to get into computers.
While the researchers jokingly placed the device in a pita, the reality is that someone could place one of these devices under the desk of a targeted subject to steal their encryption passkey. Fortunately, the researches alerted GnuPG developers about the attack and worked with them to adjust the software’s algorithm. So you’re safe for now. But keep a look out for errant pita sandwiches at the local Starbucks.
Source: Tel Aviv University
Google showcases 17 awesome, new Android Wear watch faces for you to use
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Android Wear is awesome compared to Apple’s Watch OS, if only for the fact that it has an almost limitless number of watch faces for you to download and choose from on the Play Store (and countless more available through apps like WatchMaker and Facer). To celebrate this fact, Google has highlighted 17 Android Wear watch faces that it thinks need airtime, and features an assortment of brands and familiar icons like Hello Kitty, Angry Birds and even Terminator Genisys. If you want to check out these 17 faces, hit the link below in Google’s tweet:
Adorable, elegant or fierce. Wear what you want with 17 new #AndroidWear watch faces https://t.co/VOLcXaanDK pic.twitter.com/pQzCsgPlu0
— Android (@Android) June 22, 2015
Unless you’re the type of person who likes to change watch faces everyday (like me), these 17 watch faces should give you more than enough to use for the foreseeable future, and based on the quality of the faces, you might want to check each of them out. We hope this is more of a regular thing for Google to highlight the selling points of their wearable OS which has somewhat fallen by the wayside with the release of the media sponge that is the Apple Watch.
What do you think about these 17 Android Wear watch faces that Google has highlighted? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter (Google) via TalkAndroid
The post Google showcases 17 awesome, new Android Wear watch faces for you to use appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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