Apple Watch Could Launch in Austria, Denmark and India This Month
Apple is expected to provide additional details about watchOS 2 at its September 9th media event in San Francisco. Alongside that announcement, a trio of rumors hint towards Apple expanding Apple Watch sales to Austria, Denmark, India and possibly other countries later this month.
Austrian website MacMania claims that the Apple Watch will be available in Austria starting September 15, citing information it received over Facebook Messenger from a reputable source working for an undisclosed large electronics chain in the country. Apple does not have an official retail presence in Denmark.
MacMania reports the Apple Watch will launch in Austria on September 15
Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, also recently issued a press release stating that its MobilePay service will support the Apple Watch when the device launches in Denmark next month (via Rec.dk), but the bank has since backtracked and now cites “rumors” about a September launch.
Danske Bank has a large presence throughout the Nordic region of Europe, with locations in Denmark, Finland and Norway, three countries where the Apple Watch is slated to launch before the end of the year per Apple’s website. The bank also operates in Sweden, where the Apple Watch launched in July.
Indian website iGyaan claims that the Apple Watch will launch in India in September, starting at Rs. 24,999 for the entry-level Apple Watch Sport. “However we have some good news for those waiting to get their hands on the device,” the report said in late August. “It arrives in the country next month.”
The full list of countries where the Apple Watch will be “available in 2015” includes Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, India, Malaysia, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Apple also has an Apple Watch preview website live in Latin America, but no launch date is provided.
Apple has launched the Apple Watch in 22 countries to date in four waves:
It should be noted that all four dates listed above were Fridays, so there is a possibility that Denmark’s rumored Apple Watch launch date of Tuesday, September 15 is inaccurate. But with “iPhone 6s” and “iPhone 6s Plus” pre-orders expected on Friday, September 11, ahead of a Friday, September 18 launch, and watchOS 2 expected midweek, Apple could go for an unusual date.
Instagram Improves ‘Instagram Direct’ Private Messaging Capabilities
Instagram today announced a major update to the Instagram Direct feature that it first introduced in 2013, allowing users to send threaded messages and content from their feeds through the private messaging function.
Prior to today, Instagram Direct could only be used to send a single photo privately to a friend or a group of friends, where it could be commented on away from the public eye. There was no way to share content from a user’s feed to a direct message, and there were no conversation management tools, both feature oversights that Instagram has now corrected.
Following an app update, it will be possible to share a photo in your Instagram feed privately with a group of friends, a function that Instagram believes will replace the practice of @mentioning people to draw their attention to a particular photo.
A new arrow located next to the “Like” and “Comment” icons on each photo will allow an image to be sent to a friend or a group of friends through Instagram Direct.
Instagram Direct is also gaining threaded messages, making it easier to manage conversations. It will no longer be necessary to start a new conversation each time you want to share a photo or a video.
Threaded messages make it easier to go back and forth with the people you talk to the most. Instead of creating a new conversation every time you send a photo or video, your threads are based on the people in them — and your moments flow along naturally. We’ve also added the ability to name your groups, a quick camera feature to respond with a selfie on the fly, and larger-than-life emoji for when there are just no words.
Instagram has introduced several significant changes to its service over the last few months. In addition to adding search capabilities to the web in July, the company also changed a signature feature last week, allowing users to upload portrait and landscape photos in addition to square photos.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/137644108?color=ffffff&title=0&%2338;byline=0&%2338;portrait=0
Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. The new update will be available as of today. [Direct Link]
Adonit Announces New Pen-Like Jot Dash Stylus
Adonit, known for its range of styluses, today announced the Jot Dash, it’s latest stylus that aims to closely replicate a standard pen. The Jot Dash is a thin-tipped active stylus that has a plastic 1.9mm tip that offers more precision than a standard rubber-tipped stylus.
Priced at $49.99, the Jot Dash bridges the gap between Adonit’s inexpensive Jot Pro and Jot Mini and the pricier Bluetooth-connected Jot Touch and Jot Script. Like the Jot Touch and the Jot Script, it has a small battery-powered tip, but it lacks the Bluetooth connectivity that enables features like palm rejection and pressure sensitivity.
Like any active tip stylus, the Jot Dash works with all capacitive touch screen devices, including all of Apple’s iPhones and iPads. Notably, it works with the iPad Air 2, which includes a different screen technology than other older iPads.
Adonit’s goal with the Jot Dash was to imitate a standard ink pen, so the Dash is just 8.5mm in diameter (about the thickness of a BIC pen) with a lightweight, rechargeable battery and a clip. According to Adonit, the Jot Dash is its most intuitive stylus to date, because it “looks like a pen, feels like a pen, and acts like a pen.”
A quick click on the back of the Jot Dash turns it on, and once activated, it’s usable within any drawing or note taking app. The battery lasts for 14 hours, so depending on usage it will only need charging every couple of weeks, and charging is done with a magnetic USB dongle.
The Jot Dash is available in black or silver from Adonit’s website and it is priced at $49.99.
Amazon Prime Video Introduces Offline Viewing for iPhone and iPad
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service today announced the ability for its users to download television shows and movies to an iPhone, iPad, or Android device (via Re/code). The service had previously supported such a feature, but it was exclusively available for Amazon’s own Fire tablets, with today marking the first expansion onto Apple’s smartphones.
The feature will let Prime users download video content for later viewing when not in direct proximity of a trustworthy Wi-Fi connection, but won’t be available for every single show and film currently offered on Amazon Prime Video. The company still claims to have “thousands” of videos ready to support the new service.
The feature isn’t available for every video Amazon streams, since Amazon needs to work out deals with individual content owners (that is – pay them more money). Amazon says it has “thousands” of titles available for download.
And it looks like those titles include a pretty diverse lineup: There are Amazon’s own home-grown shows, like “Transparent”, of course. But also offerings from CBS (“The Good Wife”), Fox (“Sons of Anarchy”), MGM (“The Hunger Games”) and Paramount (“Star Trek Into Darkness”).
Re/code reports that “in most cases,” users will have 15 to 30 days to view the content once it has been downloaded. Today’s announcement aims to bolster Amazon Prime Video — which is bundled into Amazon’s $99/year Prime service — with a feature most other streaming services have yet to support.
Users can download the updated app — now called “Amazon Video” — from the App Store for free [Direct Link].
The ‘Nuyu’ wants to be your digital workout buddy
Health o Meter announced on Tuesday the launch of its new Nuyu line of health tracking devices and an associated mobile app. The system relies equally on the Nuyu Activity Monitor, which tracks steps, calories, distance and sleep; and connects with its counterpart Nuyu app via Bluetooth. The $48 Monitor can be worn on the wrist (with one of 8 available strap colors) or belt — even tied to shoelaces. It displays your constantly-updated stats on a large OLED screen which is depth rated to 30 meters and runs for up to four months on a single battery. The app itself is free and available for both Android and iOS, though the data is only compatible with Apple’s Health Kit.
Additionally, HoM is releasing a wireless scale for $50 that monitors your weight (though not you body fat content as the more expensive FitBit Aria) and reports back to the app via a BlueTooth connection. There’s also a $500 sleep system that modulates your body temperature in time with your circadian rhythm. It employs a mat that first warms you to help you fall asleep, then cools once you are zonked and then heats up again when it’s time to wake up. The company’s proprietary algorithms reportedly learn your sleep cycle and will adjust the heating/cooling cycles to accomodate. Finally, HoM is also developing 12-week Coaching Plans that will include “daily tips, exercise demonstrations, nutrition plans, grocery lists and more” for $20, according to the company’s release. The sleep system and coaching plans will be available from Amazon starting in October.
Filed under:
Peripherals, Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Apple, Google
Tags: Amazon, Android, Apple, Bluetooth, google, health, healthometer, iOS, nuyu, wellness
Ex-Apple Executive Ian Rogers Joins LVMH as Chief Digital Officer
After it was announced that he would be leaving the company last week, former Apple Music senior director Ian Rogers has found his next position as the Chief Digital Officer for the French luxury company LVMH (via Re/code).
After moving to Paris for the job, Rogers will use his history in the digital space to help bolster the brands of the company, which include high-end items from Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Bvlgari. LVMH is also the parent company of luxury watch brand TAG Heuer.
So here are the details: Rogers will leave California and move to Paris, where he will be chief digital officer at LVMH, the holding company behind iconic luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Bvlgari.
Prior to the LVMH job, Rogers has spent his entire life working in digital music: He started out helping the Beastie Boys get online, ran Yahoo Music for a while, and was CEO of Beats Music before Apple acquired the company in 2014. At Apple, he helped the company retool Beats Music into Apple Music, and focused in particular on Beats1 online music.
Today’s news confirms last week’s rumor that the former Apple executive would be joining an undisclosed “Europe-based company in an unrelated industry.” Rogers was originally from Beats, and was brought into the Cupertino company last year following the $3 billion acquisition deal. At Apple, he oversaw the launch of Beats 1 and hired lead DJ Zane Lowe to anchor the radio station.
Apple Pay Limit Rises to £30 in UK
The UK Cards Association announced on Tuesday that the upper limit for Apple Pay and other contactless payments is now £30 per transaction in the United Kingdom (via AppleInsider).
Apple Pay transactions were previously limited to £20 since the service launched in the U.K. around six weeks ago. British retailers will be updating their payment terminals starting today and over the coming weeks to accept the new limit.
Apple Pay in the United Kingdom is supported by major credit cards Visa, MasterCard and American Express, with participating banks including First Direct, HSBC, MBNA, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank. Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank and TSB will eventually support the service.
Apple Pay is compatible with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch when paired with an iPhone 5 or later.
Apple reportedly bid for Clarkson and ‘Top Gear’ co-stars
It was quite a surprise when Amazon announced it had snapped up the Top Gear trio for a new show on Prime Instant Video. Many thought Netflix or Sky would win out, but now it’s emerged that another unlikely player was bidding for Clarkson and friends: Apple. According to Variety, the company made “an unprecedented bid” for the stars after they left the BBC. Ultimately, however, it must have been turned down. If Apple is indeed preparing its own original programming, it would make sense that the three British presenters were at the top of its wish list. Now the ball is in Amazon’s court; the company is desperate for a House of Cards-level hit, but aside from Transparent, it’s failed to make much headway. On Clarkson’s reputation alone, Bezos may finally get it with a Top Gear spiritual successor.
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, Apple, Amazon
Source:
Variety
Tags: amazon, apple, clarkson, jeremyclarkson, primeinstantvideo, topgear
Old Atari games had graphics glitches because of CPU bottlenecks
Now that we know how the graphics worked on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64, The iBookGuy wants to tell us all about how the Apple II and Atari 2600 got their groove on. In the latest video he says that the Apple II actually used two different techniques for producing visuals depending on whether you had a monochrome or color monitor unit. And the reason white text on a black background appears almost rainbow-like in nature on color machines has to do with pixel placement. For example, blue and green being next to each other on screen requires perfect alignment lest you want white mages to have spots of the former bleeding into them.
For CPU-driven graphics (rather than those from a dedicated graphics processor) like what was found on classic Atari systems, the left-most portion of the screen had black lines because there wasn’t enough time for the processor to run the game code and draw the screen simultaneously. You can even see it in the GIF up above!
Like this YouTuber’s previous video, the information here is super easy to follow. The iBookGuy says he’ll keep the series going with videos about how classic game music and sound effects worked. Clips focused on VGA graphics could be coming if there’s enough call for it — you can, ahem, color us interested. Sorry.
Filed under:
Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Apple
Source:
TheiBooksGuy (YouTube)
Tags: apple, appleii, atari2600, gaming, gif, graphics, hd, hdpostcross, retro
Apple Reportedly Exploring Producing Original TV Shows
Apple has been having early discussions with Hollywood executives about producing original video programming in a bid to potentially compete against companies like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, according to a new report from Variety.
Sources indicate the Cupertino, Calif. colossus has held preliminary conversations in recent weeks with executives in Hollywood to suss out their interest in spearheading efforts to produce entertainment content. The unit putting out the feelers reports into Eddy Cue, who is Apple’s point man on all content-related matters, from its negotiations with programmers for Apple TV to its recent faceoff with Taylor Swift.
It’s currently unclear how large Apple’s ambitions and commitment to producing original video content are, as sources have told Variety contradictory things about the Cupertino company’s plans. One source says Apple wants to create development and production departments that could create long-term content like Netflix does with original TV shows and movies. Another source says Apple is “flirting” with the idea, and launched an “unprecedented bid” to sign Top Gear stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond when they left the BBC. However, Amazon ended up winning that bidding war.
In recent years, Apple has hired independent film content experts to shore up iTunes Movies’ independent offerings with exclusive windows on films and a broader selection of content, including offering movies available for rent before or during their theatrical runs.
More recently, Apple has expanded into original content with its worldwide Beats 1 Radio station and music videos for artists like Drake, Eminem and M.I.A., which are reportedly produced in-house. With Apple’s rumored live TV-over-the-internet service coming in 2016, it’s likely the Cupertino company could be looking for original and exclusive content to lure customers to its service rather than its competitors.
AIVAnet 