New ‘Umoove Experience’ iOS Game Demos Face and Eye Tracking Technology

Umoove, an Israeli startup developing mobile-based face and eye-tracking technology, today released a new game that demonstrates its current work on tracking using the iPhone’s front-facing camera.

Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game is a simple app that allows users to fly through a village using gentle head movements that are detected by the camera. The goal is to collect potion bottles scattered throughout the landscape by turning and moving up and down with head movements. The game also incorporates touch gestures at the same time for an all-encompassing gaming experience, with the touches used to control flight speed.

Enjoy the 3D flying experience and test your skills by collecting the purple magic potions, which will give you more energy to continue exploring the village.

The Umoove Experience is only the beginning! Think about the potential of this technology on other app and gaming experiences such as first person shooters, driving games, and other flying or running gaming experiences.

Umoove has been developing its head and eye-tracking technology since 2010, and the current game serves as a simple demo highlighting the ways the system could be used in other apps and games in the future. As in the game demo that combines head movements with touch, Umoove’s goal is to supplement traditional touchscreen controls rather than replace them.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Umoove CEO Yitzi Kempinski notes that the addition of head-tracking to standard touch controls is meant to mimic real-world experiences.

“We’re talking about adding another layer on top of touching, similar to what the mouse did with the keyboard — they didn’t throw out the keyboard, it actually added suddenly the ability to have another layer of interaction, so it’s the same sort of thing here,” says CEO Yitzi Kempinski.

“It’s supposed to be something that mimics real-world experience. I’ll give you an example… if you think of a first-person shooter, those games you play and you have to shoot, and then you have the joystick to move around and you have to drag the screen to move around the room. Basically what we do is simple: based on where you face that’s where you’re aiming.”

Umoove is currently offering indie developers a free SDK to incorporate face-tracking into their own apps and games. According to Kempinski, Umoove is also talking with OEMs about adding the technology into future devices.

Motion tracking using the iPhone’s camera has been explored in the past, with two French researchers detailing a system for head tracking using an iOS device’s camera back in 2011. Apple has expressed interest in similar technology in the past, with a 2009 patent detailing face-controlled 3D displays, and it has implemented accessibility options in iOS 7 allowing iPhone users to control their devices using head movements.

Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple Begins Hiring for Arizona Sapphire Plant with Focus on iPhone and iPod

Apple yesterday posted a trio of job listings (via 9to5Mac) for positions located in Mesa, Arizona where the company is building a sapphire manufacturing plant. The facility is to be owned by Apple and run by sapphire producer GT Advanced Technologies, although the new job listings confirm that Apple will have some of its own staff on hand as well.

Furnaces for sapphire production
Sapphire is currently used to protect the cameras on several recent iPhone models, as well as the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s, with the material’s high durability and resistance to scratching making it a key component for those applications. Apple’s commitment to the new sapphire production facility has led to speculation that Apple is preparing to significantly expand its use of sapphire glass, perhaps for the company’s rumored iWatch or to protect iOS device displays.

Among the three Apple job listings for Mesa, one is for a facilities manager to oversee operation of the facility, while the other two positions relate to design and quality engineering with iPhone and iPod products specifically mentioned in the listings.

The iPod/iPhone Manufacturing Design Engineer is accountable for driving the development of key mechanical manufacturing processes across Apple’s worldwide supply base. In this highly visible hands-on role as the expert technical member of the Manufacturing Design Team you will have direct frequent communication and collaboration with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, Manufacturing Design partners and worldwide suppliers.

Apple’s mention of the positions relating to iPhone and iPod manufacturing of course does not indicate whether or not the company may have broader plans for sapphire such as an in iWatch.

China Mobile Stocks 1.4 Million iPhone 5s Units Ahead of Friday’s Launch

Apple’s iPhone 5s assembler Foxconn has shipped roughly 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile in advance of Friday’s launch for the carrier, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. After several years of negotiations, Apple finally announced last month that the iPhone would be coming to the world’s largest carrier on January 17.

While the initial shipment volume doesn’t represent the total sales at China Mobile for January, the figure helps to gauge early demand for iPhones from China Mobile, the world’s biggest carrier by subscribers with more than 760 million customers. China Mobile began taking preorders for iPhones since Dec. 25.

“Shipping one million or more iPhones to a single carrier per month is substantial. But we have limited visibility beyond this month as Apple hasn’t informed Foxconn of the volume for the next shipment to China Mobile,” said the person.

China Mobile will also launch the iPhone 5c on Friday, but early shipment numbers for that device have not been revealed. Pegatron serves as Apple’s primary assembly partner for the iPhone 5c.

Estimates of Apple’s potential iPhone sales on China Mobile have varied widely from 10-30 million units this year, with some suggesting that sales may be lower than expected due to demand having been partially satisfied through the country’s other two carriers, China Unicom and China Telecom, and waning enthusiasm for the iPhone amid increased smartphone choices in the country.

On the other hand, China Mobile already has tens of millions of iPhones operating unofficially on its network but unable to take advantage of the fastest speeds due to technological incompatibilities between older devices and the carrier’s network. As a result, there is already a substantial base of iPhone users on China Mobile who may be looking to upgrade in the near future.

Apple’s Back to School Promo Kicks Off in Australia and New Zealand [Mac Blog]

Apple has launched its annual back to school promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering education customers free gift cards for the company’s digital content stores with the purchase of a new Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Gift cards can be used in the App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore, and are available in the following amounts:

– Purchase a new Mac except Mac mini or Mac Pro: AU$ 100 or NZ$ 125 gift card
– Purchase a new iPad or iPhone: AU$ 50 or NZ$ 65 gift card

The gift card offer comes on top of Apple’s education pricing, which discounts Macs by up to several hundred dollars. Eligible customers include faculty and staff of K-12 and higher education students, as well as students and parents of students at higher education institutions. The program runs through March 20, and all purchases must be made direct from Apple through the company’s online store for education or by phone. Australian customers may also make their purchases at Apple retail stores in the country.

Apple offers its Back to School promotion offerings in a number of countries around the world, staggering their timing to match the respective school calendars. The largest version of the program is typically offered in the July-September timeframe for North America and Europe.

iPhone 6 Fingerprint Sensor Production Set to Gear Up in Q2 with Increased Efficiency

Apple’s iPhone fingerprint sensor supplier TSMC is preparing to begin production on sensors for the iPhone 6 in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Digitimes. The report claims that TSMC will be shifting to a larger 12-inch fab from the current 8-inch fab, a move that should increase production efficiency. TSMC will also handle the packaging process for the sensors itself rather than contracting out to other firms, centralizing control over the component.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reportedly will begin producing fingerprint sensors for Apple’s next-generation iPhone at its 12-inch fab using a 65nm process in the second quarter of 2014, according to industry sources. […]

TSMC has been fabricating the fingerprint sensors for iPhone 5s at its 8-inch fabs, while outsourcing the backend services to Xintec, China Wafer Level CSP and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE).

The Touch ID fingerprint sensor was reported to be the primary factor contributing to very tight supplies of the iPhone 5s at its launch last September, with low yield rates at packaging firm Xintec and iOS 7-sensor integration slowing production. With several of those issues now ironed out and TSMC able to get an earlier start on sensor production for the next-generation iPhone, that bottleneck on launch supplies appears likely to be solved.

Aaron Sorkin Completes Screenplay for Isaacson-Based Steve Jobs Biopic [Mac Blog]

Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of the movie based on Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography, has completed his screenplay and submitted it to Sony, according to Variety. Sorkin — who is well known for his work on The West Wing and The Social Network, was tapped to write the script back in the spring of 2012.

Later that year, Sorkin revealed that he was planning to have the movie take place across three 30-minute scenes, with each scene taking place behind the scenes of a major product launch. He mentioned the launches of the original Mac, the NeXT cube, and the iPod, but it is not known if Sorkin has kept to that plan.

Sorkin has said that biographies have a natural “cradle-to-grave structure” that is very difficult to overcome, but that he was hoping to write something more unique with the Steve Jobs film. The Sorkin/Isaacson/Sony project is entirely separate from the Ashton Kutcher-led film that was released in 2013.

Court Denies Apple’s Request to Remove Compliance Monitor in E-Book Antitrust Case [iOS Blog]

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote today denied Apple’s attempts to thwart its antitrust monitorship, reports Reuters. Apple had asked the court for both a stay on the original order requiring an external compliance monitor (due to a pending appeal) and the removal of Michael Bromwich, the attorney appointed to serve as the company’s monitor. Both requests were denied.

Apple Inc lost a bid on Monday to block an antitrust monitor appointed after a judge’s finding that the company conspired to fix e-book prices. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan denied Apple’s request to stay an order requiring an external compliance monitor pending the company’s appeal.

Apple also sought to have the judge disqualify the lawyer chosen to serve as monitor, Michael Bromwich.

Apple and appointed antitrust compliance monitor Bromwich have ongoing disagreements since November, when Apple filed a formal complaint over Bromwich’s fees in the case, which amounted to $138,432 over a two week period. The company also complained that Bromwich was overstepping his bounds by demanding lawyer-less meetings with key Apple executives and board members.

Bromwich, for his part, claimed that he experienced “a surprising and disappointing lack of cooperation from Apple and its executives”, filing a complaint against the company in late December. Apple responded by requesting his removal last week, stating that Bromwich had a personal bias against the company.

Earlier today, the Department of Justice condemned Apple’s actions, stating Apple had “chosen a campaign of character assassination over a culture of compliance” and suggested that Bromwich was open to negotiating with Apple on the original fee dispute.

Judge Cote plans to issue a decision explaining her reasoning on the denial in the near future, at which point Apple will have 48 hours to request an emergency stay from the federal appeals court in New York.

Apple was originally found guilty of conspiring with publishers to raise the retail price of e-books in July. As part of its punishment, the company was forced to hire an external compliance monitor to ensure that it complies with antitrust requirements in the future.

Over-the-Air iOS 7.1 Download Files Deletable in Beta 3

The third beta of iOS 7.1 includes a feature that allows users to delete the over-the-air installation files that are automatically installed whenever an iPhone is connected to AC power, according to German site Macerkopf.de [Google Translation]. Deletable installation files will allow users who do not wish to upgrade their devices to new versions of iOS to free up valuable space on their devices.

Previously, updates downloaded over-the-air could not be removed, an issue that received attention in September after iOS 6 users were forced to install iOS 7 or lose 3.1 GB of storage space to the installation file.

Users with iOS 7.1 beta 3 who have not installed the update will see it listed in the Settings menu, under General –> Usage, where it can be removed like any other app or file. The file can be deleted if it was downloaded over-the-air in the background or manually.

While over-the-air files can be deleted in iOS 7.1 beta 3, there is a possibility that this is a beta-only feature that will not make it into the final release of the software. Apple often adds and removes features during the course of beta testing, such as the dark keyboard that was available in iOS 7.1 beta 1 and removed in beta 2.

First released to developers last week, iOS 7.1 beta 3 also includes a number of visual changes that give iOS 7 a revamped look and feel, including a redesigned Phone dialer, an improved keyboard, and darker colors for the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps. It is unclear when Apple plans to release iOS 7.1 to the general public, but a December report suggested the update could launch in March after a lengthy beta testing period.

Google Acquiring Tony Fadell-Founded Nest for $3.2 Billion

Google is acquiring Nest, the smart-home appliance maker that is behind the Nest Thermostat and the Nest Protect smoke detector, for a reported $3.2 billion in cash.

iPod co-creator Tony Fadell is the co-founder of the company alongside another former Apple employee, Matt Rogers. Nest tweeted that it will operate independent of Google.

Big news! @Google acquiring Nest to help fulfill our goal of reinventing unloved home products. Nest will stay Nest. http://t.co/0L8hNBhmYc

— Nest (@nest) January 13, 2014

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said: “Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family. They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!”

According to Re/code, Nest has raised more than $80 million in venture funding and was scheduled to close another $150 million round soon.

ClamCase Debuts New Keyboard Case for iPad mini [iOS Blog]

ClamCase, the company behind a range of keyboard cases designed for the iPad, today announced its the availability of its newest product, the ClamCase Pro iPad mini Keyboard Case.

Designed for the iPad mini and the iPad mini with Retina Display, the Bluetooth keyboard case aims to turn the iPad into a portable computer that resembles a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro, with an aluminum shell that attaches to a keyboard.

ClamCase Pro for the iPad mini weighs less than 1.5 pounds when equipped with an iPad and it includes a 360 degree hinge that allows the iPad to be used as both a laptop and tablet.

The case itself can also be used as a stand and the aluminum shell provides full protection for the iPad. The case includes a full QWERTY keyboard in a compact design, which automatically goes to sleep when shifted into tablet mode. It uses a rechargeable battery that can last up to a month without needing to recharge.

The ClamCase Pro iPad mini Keyboard case can be purchased from the ClamCase website for $129. ClamCase also plans to release an updated ClamCase Pro for the iPad Air later this month.