BEDDI alarm clock takes advantage of your favorite apps, smart home devices and more
You probably haven’t seen an alarm clock as smart and resourceful as the one currently being funded on Kickstarter. Get this – the BEDDI alarm clock is so smart it can call an Uber ride and make you coffee! I bet we have your attention now, so let’s dig right into the details.
The BEDDI alarm clock aims to satisfy your bed time needs, as well as easing the beginning and end of your daily routines. It accomplishes this by connecting to your smartphone and using a dedicated app, allowing the device to do much more than the conventional alarm clock. But it also does very well as a common gadget for our night stands. The BEDDI has a built-in night light, a white noise generator, a dimmable clock display and all the usual alarm clock components we are used to.
Things get much more interesting as you look further into the device, though. Users will be able to enjoy Bluetooth speaker functionality, USB charging ports, a smartphone dock and a wake up light that starts brightening your room minutes before the alarm goes off, making your slumber interruption much less drastic.
Moving past the basic stuff, we can find the BEDDI alarm clock is actually jam-packed with unique features that will really change the way you start your morning, and most of it can be controlled directly from the application. For starters, the clock has full support for Spotify, allowing customers to wake up to their favorite playlists. It also has a built-in FM radio, though, just in case yo are still into that kind of stuff.
If you usually ride Uber you can also press a button and have this alarm clock call an Uber right to your door. You will be alerted when the vehicle arrives. That is actually by far my favorite feature in this thing. And if you are worried about your commute, the BEDDI also taps into traffic and weather information, speaking it out to you periodically.
Just in case those weren’t enough smart features, this neat gadget can also interact with your smart home products. Currently supported are the Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue and Nest products. This is what I referred to when I mentioned the BEDDI could make your coffee. WeMo allows you to automate your coffee maker, which you could set off to start brewing when the alarm goes off.
Of course, you can also control lighting and other products through both WeMo and Hue, as well as temperature with the Nest thermostat. It’s also possible to automate SMS messages, phone calls, Skype calls and even a phone finder feature. It’s just a matter of programming the 3 extra buttons to your liking.
Interested? I know I am, so let’s get down to business – how do you get your hands on one of these? The two cheapest specials are now gone, so the least you will pay for a BEDDI is $75. This is not a bad deal considering the retail price is set to be $99.99 per unit, but patience must be one of your virtues. The first units won’t start shipping until June 2016.
Who’s signing up? Also, if you want more ideas for an awesome room (or dorm room), we have an awesome guide for you!
ARM planning the Mali-470 GPU for smartwatches and wearables
One of the next big markets for tech companies is the wearable space, which you probably already knew. If you’ve had a smartwatch in the past few years, you also probably know how battery life typically isn’t great and the actual graphics processing is, well, not so great, either. Kind of like our smartphones several years ago.
Fortunately for all of us, ARM is planning on tackling the problem with a new GPU designed specifically for smartwatches and wearables. The reported Mali-470 GPU will be a major step up from what’s currently in use and supports OpenGL ES 2.0 for better graphical effects. The most important thing to focus on, however, is battery life.
Battery life on smartwatches right now isn’t great, unless you want an extra device to charge every night, which not many of us do. The Mali-470 is designed to sip power instead of drain it like current hardware, which should drastically extend battery life on your futuristic wrist-computers. That’s good news for everyone.
ARM isn’t expecting any of these GPUs to hit market until 2016, and it’ll take awhile for manufacturers to design things to take advantage of the lower power consumption, but things are looking bright for the future of smartwatches.
source: ARM
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Google teaming up with the New York Times to give away Google Cardboard to subscribers
Google and the New York Times are teaming up to ship out Google Cardboard units to magazine subscribers during the weekend of November 7th, and they’re titling the virtual reality project NYT VR. I bet you can guess what that stands for.
The project will see Google and the NY Times producing virtual reality films. The first film, called The Displaced, is about three children living in the after effects of war. It’s a bold film, but with these two companies driving it, you can expect it will probably be worth watching.
And if you’re a digital subscriber to the magazine, don’t worry, you can still get in on the virtual reality action. Your digital subscription will come with a redemption code to get shipped a Google Cardboard headset so you can view the movie when it goes live. The app to view the content will go up on November 5th, but you’ll also be able to watch the non-virtual reality version on YouTube if you don’t care anything about the virtual reality movement.
Advertising Experience Includes Virtual Reality Films From MINI, GE
NEW YORK, October 20, 2015 – The New York Times announced the launch of NYT VR, a new virtual reality project in collaboration with Google. The project includes the distribution of more than one million Google Cardboard viewers to home delivery subscribers with their copy of The New York Times the weekend of Nov. 7-8. In addition, Times Insider subscribers and a selection of Times digital subscribers will receive promo codes via email to redeem for a free Google Cardboard viewer, which is simple to use and allows anyone to experience virtual reality with a smartphone.
The debut NYT VR film, titled “The Displaced,”captures the resilience of three extraordinary children uprooted by war, all through the lens of virtual reality. The New York Times Magazine, in collaboration with Chris Milk and his virtual reality company Vrse, created the film to enable readers to experience what it means to be a child caught in the global refugee crisis. There are now more than 30 million children around the world who have been driven from their homes by war and persecution — more than at any time since World War II. The film brings viewers into daily lives of three children from South Sudan, eastern Ukraine and Syria.
“Our readers look to The Times for innovative and powerful storytelling and this is The Times at its best. Our Magazine team has created the first critical, serious piece of journalism using virtual reality, to shed light on one of the most dire humanitarian crises of our lifetime,” said Dean Baquet, executive editor, The New York Times.
“The power of VR is that it gives the viewer a unique sense of empathic connection to people and events,” said Jake Silverstein, editor in chief, The New York Times Magazine. “In the context of international reporting and conflict reporting, where our readers rely on us to bring them news and stories from remote and inaccessible places, this has huge potential. Through this immersive video experience, we can put our readers at the center of the most important story of our time.”
The New York Times developed the NYT VR app in collaboration with the virtual reality studio IM360. Compatible with iOS 8+ and Android 4.3+, the app supports virtual reality playback for Google Cardboard as well as playback of 360-degree video for mobile touchscreen navigation. The app will be free and available for download in the Google Play and iOS App Stores beginning Nov. 5.
“Google Cardboard brings the magic of virtual reality to anyone with a smartphone in an easy to use way,” said Mike Jazayeri, director of project management for VR at Google. “We’re excited to support The New York Times’ use of immersive storytelling at an unprecedented scale to bring awareness to this important issue.”
The Google Cardboard viewer offers the most immersive experience but users without Cardboard viewers are also encouraged to download the NYT VR app for an enhanced video experience that opens a window into the virtual reality environment. A version of the film will also be available in 2-D on NYTimes.com. Users can also go to the NYT YouTube channel to find the videos or visit youtube.com/360 for more immersive VR content.
The first slate of NYT VR films include a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Magazine’s “Walking New York” cover image, a third film coming in December and more in 2016. Subscribers should keep the Google Cardboard viewers for future virtual reality videos.
Advertising
Sponsors GE and MINI both deliver virtual reality films as part of the experience.
GE’s film, which explores a story of how design in industry and technology takes cues from nature, was created by T Brand Studio, The New York Times’s in-house content marketing agency, in conjunction with Framestore’s virtual reality studio.
MINI’s two short films, “Backwater” and “Real Memories,” invite viewers to join in the exploration of how new technologies like virtual reality change the way stories are told and how content is viewed.
“The great irony here is that it takes the print newspaper—a 164-year old business—and its still remarkable distribution system to deliver one of the most advanced digital storytelling technologies to more than a million people,” said Meredith Kopit Levien, executive vice president and chief revenue officer, The New York Times Company. “We are inspired by how The New York Times Magazine team used virtual reality to tell this important story and thrilled that T Brand Studio is able to invest in these new technologies to provide these creative tools to marketers. We know our readers will be thoroughly entertained and engaged by the films produced by MINI and GE.”
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Google shares how the Marshmallow wallpapers were made and give away two new ones
Not too long ago, Google released all of the Marshmallow wallpapers, but how exactly did they make them? Google has decided to share that information with us and it’s a lot more fascinating than you may have thought.
The designer is Carl Kleiner, and he makes these backgrounds in an unusual way. I, and I am sure you too, would of thought the backgrounds were just made in a computer program. However, we would be wrong. Each background is made by hand crafting each piece and photographing it. Literally taking multiple paper-types and with careful lighting, layering, and considered color blocking, made into wallpapers.
Kleiner says:
“We wanted to work with surfaces that have a subtle and sophisticated texture. Organic to the touch and graphic in composition…Painted surfaces, color pigment powders, floating ink and the like”
Google decided to limit the color palette to only the core Google brand colors with pops of neutral grey. The geometric designs are quite complex. To add a sense of depth, colored water was used to create troughs, and grainy powders to suggest pixelation.
I have personally made tons of backgrounds, many for mobile devices, and it is a lot harder than it may seem. The difficult part about them is the other elements on-screen, such as, the icons and text. Kleiner and Google agree, saying:
“To create a robust and thoughtful visual language, imagery needs to be considered as thoughtfully as the graphic UX elements.”
I obviously find it very interesting to learn about how others work and exactly why large companies make certain decisions. However, Google is also happy to share the info. So happy that they are giving away two new exclusive wallpapers!
Source: Google Design
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Magic Leap is a computing platform where the real world is your screen
Magic Leap, an augmented reality startup that’s kept its project under wraps for over a year, has finally revealed a few more details about its mysterious technology. In an interview at WSJD Live, Magic Leap CEO and founder Rony Abovitz and Chief Content Officer Rio Caraeff has said that Magic Leap is essentially a computing platform where the real world is your screen. “Anything that you can do on your smartphone, on your computer; you’ll be able to do on Magic Leap,” said Caraeff. Though he won’t say what the device would like, Abovitz said that the goal is to make the device mobile, small, light and basically something you can wear around the room. “It’ll be self-contained; a complete computer,” said Abovitz. He also hinted that it’ll be something that you won’t be shy to wear in public and that it will maintain “normal relationships with people.”
Abovitz describes the Magic Leap tech as unlike anything you can get today. With virtual reality, you’re basically strapping two screens to your head. Magic Leap is something else entirely. “We treat human biology as our center point,” said Abovitz. “Everyone already has a head-mounted display. It’s your head!” He explained that Magic Leap is essentially trying to replicate that real-world view but intersect it with lightfield tricks that lets you interact with digital objects completely naturally. “Think of the world as a moving hologram that’s bouncing off everything,” he said, saying that Magic Leap’s goal is to replicate the visual language of the brain.
Then they showed off a new demo of video shot through the Magic Leap. The video, as seen below, shows the Magic Leap wearer interacting with a tiny robot gimbal that’s able to hide and duck behind a real table’s legs. The wearer was also able to bring up a solar system right there in the office environment. The possibilities for education, Abovitz said, are endless.
“We believe the future of computing should be natural,” Abovitz said, drawing contrast between what Magic Leap is doing versus virtual reality, which can cause nausea. With a team of neuroscientists and PhDs, Abovitz said that Magic Leap has been researching deeply into the relationship between the photonic light field and the way the brain functions. Interacting with digital objects, he said, should feel completely natural. “With Magic Leap, your brain doesn’t distinguish what’s real and what’s Magic Leap,” he said. “Because as far as your brain’s concerned, it is real.”
And it won’t be a closed system either; Magic Leap is inviting developers to get on board and build apps and uses for the technology. “We want to invent a core light field technology, build a compelling product and open that up for people to create compelling experiences,” said Caraeff. “Ultimately it’s about letting the world visualize their dreams and live a magical life full of whimsy and wonder.” Use cases for Magic Leap will initially be focused on gaming, entertainment, media and communication, but the market will expand over time. “We’re not trying to build [just a] games company,” said Abovitz.
So when will we finally know what this is, and when can we get one? Well, Magic Leap is moving into a former Motorola factory, which it says it’s using essentially for manufacturing. “We’re gearing up to ship millions of these things,” Abovitz said. “We’re not announcing when we’re shipping. But we’re not far.”
Misfit’s Shine 2 is a thinner, more colorful activity tracker
Misfit took a roundabout approach towards releasing a sequel for its svelte Shine activity tracker: It announced the cheaper, plastic Shine Flash last year, and it stepped into the connected home with the colorful Bolt smart bulb back at CES. Now, we finally have the Misfit Shine 2, and it should look pretty familiar to Misfit fans. Once again, it’s made out of smooth aluminum, but it’s a tad thinner and wider than the first Shine, which wasn’t exactly a clunker in the first place. In addition to tracking your steps and basic sleep patterns, the Shine 2 now has a 3-axis magnetometer for slightly more accurate activity tracking. Misfit also swapped out the white LEDs on the front of the device with 12 colorful lights, and it now supports capacitive touch, which means it should be more responsive to your taps and swipes. You can nab a Shine 2 in either rose gold or black for $100 later in November.
For the most part, the Shine 2 looks like an incremental update for Misfit. It retains the first Shine’s admirable six-month battery life (it’s powered by a standard watch battery), but it doesn’t add any significant new tracking options, like heart-rate sensing. As with all of Misfit’s wearables, it’s also compatible with the company’s Link app, which lets you assign an assortment of tasks to the Shine 2 (for example, you can tap it to take a selfie, or use it to adjust your music). The original Shine is still sticking around for $69, and it remains a decent option for anyone looking for an inexpensive activity tracker.
Misfit Announces ‘Shine 2’ With Multicolor LEDs, Vibration Motor for Alerts
Misfit today debuted its second-generation Shine activity tracker, which has been redesigned to incorporate new technology. The Shine 2 is thinner than the original Shine and it includes more accurate activity and sleep tracking capabilities along with improved LEDs, longer Bluetooth range, and better touch responsiveness.
There are now several multicolor LEDs built into the face of the Shine, which, along with a vibration motor, allow users to see their progress towards their daily goals and get reminders to get up and move. The Shine 2 also works with Misfit Link, so it can be used to do things like take selfies, receive call notifications, control music, control home products, and more.
The Shine 2, like the original Shine, is made of aluminum, and it measures in at just 3.3mm thick at the edge. Its built-in LEDs are able to display more than 6 million colors and their greater brightness makes it easier to tell the time and see progress towards a movement goal.
Misfit’s newest device continues to operate on a standard watch battery, so it lasts up to six months on a single charge, and it’s water resistant up to 50 meters, making it suitable for swim tracking.
The Shine 2 comes in Rose Gold and Carbon Black, with each of the Shine 2 trackers shipping with a sport band and a clasp. The Shine 2, priced at $99.99, is available for purchase from the Misfit website and it will be in retail stores beginning on November 1.
Google lures your workplace away from Office by covering app costs
Google really, really wants your company to jump from Microsoft Office to Docs. So much so, in fact, that it’s willing to pay a lot to make sure that happens. It just launched a promo that will cover your firm’s Docs costs so long as it’s stuck in an enterprise agreement with someone else — your workplace only starts paying when the old contract runs out. That’s no small offer when Docs costs at least $50 per person per year, which could add up to tens of thousands of dollars at an outfit with hundreds of employees.
The internet giant might not have much of a choice. Microsoft is pushing hard to get businesses using Office 365, including steep discounts on anything else they buy. If Google doesn’t give companies a strong incentive to jump ship before their agreements are done, they may never leave at all. This campaign won’t do much for those who think Docs is too lightweight, but it might do the trick for those who feel that Office is overkill.
[Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Via: The Register
Source: Official Google for Work Blog
Nexus 5X and 6P camera test inside the Google NYC office
A lot of people have been wondering just how well the cameras on the Nexus 5X and 6P are. Fortunately, Nat and Lo from Google have decided to take both phones and film an entire video with them. Also, they decided to give us a tour inside the Google NYC office.
The video is pretty basic, they just walk around showing things off. However, it is really cool to see inside a Google office. I can guarantee it looks totally different from the office you work in. For example, they have things like indoor slides and rock walls. I dare you to ask your boss to install a slide in the office and see what happens. Within 5 minutes, HR will be at your desk asking about your mental health, but at Google, it’s just another day.
As for the Nexus camera footage, it looks pretty good. I find it’s really hard to tell bad footage from good footage on most modern smartphones. They all look pretty good until you compare them side by side with other phones to really see the differences. However, what do you think about the test footage and inside a Google office?
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Misfit’s Shine 2 is slimmer, sleeker, and more powerful
Tonight, Misfit finally revealed the successor to the Shine that debuted way back in 2012. The Shine 2 is the company’s redesigned activity tracker joined by a slew of sensors and technologies. Built from aircraft-grade aluminum, the Shine 2 doesn’t look all that much different from the original Shine. Don’t let that fool you, though, as Misfit definitely improved the entire device. Misfit’s Shine 2 has a three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis magnetometer allowing for increased accuracy when tracking activity and monitoring sleep.
Misfit’s revamped activity tracker also has twelve lights that emit more than 16 million colors. Yes, this does indicate that you can easily tell time on the Shine 2. The lights are apparently bright enough to remain visible in direct sunlight. Forget about ignoring what the Shine 2 is showing during those workouts on a sunny day.
Adam Mack, Misfit’s Director of Mechanical Design, describes the company’s direction with the new Shine 2:
“We’ve packed a lot into Shine 2, adding more functionality into an even thinner form factor with the same battery life. We didn’t compromise on craftsmanship or the user experience.”
When it comes to getting you up and moving around, Misfit Move will cause the activity tracker to vibrate. The same approach is taken to push text, call, and alarm notifications to users’ wrists.
Color options include Carbon Black and Rose Gold, both of which come black bands. As you can infer from the image above, Misfit made an activity tracker that looks good no matter what type of attire you’re wearing. Need to go for a run and then head off to a business meeting? The Shine 2 never has to be taken off because it still features water resistance.
Battery life remains at six months despite the overall footprint being reduced.
The Shine 2 is already available through Misfit directly for $99. Retail stores around the world will join in selling Misfit’s newest activity tracker next month.
Misfit Introduces Shine 2 Fitness and Sleep Monitor
BURLINGAME, CA October 20, 2015–Today Misfit announced Shine 2, the next generation of the award-winning Shine Fitness and Sleep Monitor. Fully redesigned and enhanced, Shine 2 leverages the best of Shine’s elegant aesthetic and introduces powerful new functionality.
Shine 2 tracks activity and sleep more accurately with a 3-axis accelerometer and newly added 3-axis magnetometer. Users can now easily see progress and tell time in a halo of rainbow-colored lights, or get motivated with Misfit Move, a feature that encourages you to be active with a vibrational nudge. Text and call notifications and a silent vibe alarm are also new with Shine 2.
Shine 2 incorporates more advanced hardware and firmware–which means dramatically improved touch responsiveness with capacitive sensing technology, faster syncing, and extended Bluetooth range. Its 12 lights display over 16 million colors and are bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight.
Compatible with Misfit Link, the groundbreaking software experience, Shine 2 is more than just an activity tracker–it’s now a remote to connect with the world around you. Communicate with friends, turn your lights on, change your music, take a selfie, and more, all with a triple tap.
Shine 2 references Shine’s iconic original design but features an even thinner aircraft-grade aluminum body, while retaining its signature 6-month battery life, 50 meters water resistance, and modular design. Wear it anywhere, all the time, without having to charge it.
“We’ve packed a lot into Shine 2, adding more functionality into an even thinner form factor with the same battery life,” said Adam Mack, Misfit’s Director of Mechanical Design. “We didn’t compromise on craftsmanship or the user experience.”
Shine 2 comes in Rose Gold and Carbon Black, is now available for purchase on misfit.com for $99.99, and will be available in retail locations worldwide in November.
About Misfit
Misfit invents and manufactures wearable and smart home products. The company was founded by Sonny Vu with John Sculley, the former CEO of Apple and Pepsi, and Sridhar Iyengar, co-founder of AgaMatrix and Elemental Machines.
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