WebProNews

Tag: Gadgets

  • Which New Gadgets Will Capture Consumers’ Interests This Year?

    The Consumer Electronics show (CES) made it clear that when it comes to gadgets, thinner is better.

    Ultra books and ultra thin television sets are going to be the wave of the future. Ultra books are ultra light, ultra thin laptops with instant on technology. Several manufacturers have unveiled 55 inch flat screens that are only a few millimeters thick.

    LG’s Ultra Thin TV is as thin as a Cigarette.

    This month Toshiba released the world’s thinnest tablet; the device was also announced at CES. “The ultra sleek and sexy Excite 10 LE tablet is just 0.3 inches thick and weighs only 1.18 lbs. The device is 0.04 inches thinner than the 0.34 inch thick iPad.”

    Another company, EpiCrystals is developing a superior laser light source for projectors that will be integrated into mobile phones, enabling the accurate and efficient projection of photographs and movies on many surfaces.

    In an interview with the Associated Press, Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association explained that more people are putting these electronic toys in their budget:

    “Well it was certainly tough for everyone a few years ago, but what we have seen recently in 2011 is that the electronics industry went up dramatically … much quicker than the economy did. And this is because people are investing in our products. They are becoming cheaper in some ways, and they are becoming beautiful and new. Smart-phones — everyone has to have them — they want the apps — they want tablets — and they want a new TV set because it’s bigger, better, thinner, less heavy, and cheaper.”

    Despite increased enthusiasm over these devices, “technology stocks slipped into the red Wednesday, pressured by shares of Applied Materials Inc. as the company disclosed a weaker-than-anticipated forecast.”

    Some tech gurus have grown bored by the lack of innovation in technology and wonder if there will ever truly be a next best thing or if the focus will remain on enhancing old products?

    But there are some exceptions, CNBC’s Chris Morris thinks “Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral for the Xbox 360 are opening up new avenues to search for content and control devices, and could be installed in more electronics.”

    What electronics do you think will be the most sought after in 2012?

    Check out some of the highlights from January’s CES here.

  • Ubi-Camera: Photography That You Do With Your Fingertips

    You’ve likely seen artists compose a frame by creating a rectangle with their thumbs and index fingers. While that’s traditionally been an easy method for previewing what the potential photo will look like, developers at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences in Ōgaki, Japan, have created a tiny finger-tip camera that, by making that same box shape with your fingers, actually takes a photo.

    The device, Ubi-Camera, fits onto the end of your index finger and pictures are taken by pressing your thumb upon the side of the camera. Though the camera is still under development, it has a fixed focal length lens and no viewfinder to speak of – that’s kind of the purpose of the thumb-index finger gesture, really, although with the camera attached to the finger that makes the bottom frame of the rectangle, your Ubi-Camera pictures might be a litte low of center. But what do you want, it’s a micro-micro-camera.

    You can check out the research team playing around with Ubi-Camera in the demonstration video below.

    Although the work still isn’t done on Ubi-Camera, the device recalls the 2010 TEDTalk by Pattie Maes about wearable technology. In her talk, Maes demonstrated a wearable projector that created some crazy Minority Report-style information manipulations as well as a camera feature that used the same rectangular hand gesture as Ubi-Camera to take photos.

    It’d be neato if developers could eventually scale down the mobility and size of these gadgets to a ring that could slide onto your finger, but… then again, we’re such an auto-record, full-time self-surveillance society these days that maybe such extremely portable and discreet photography isn’t such a good idea.

    (Via DigInfo.)

  • New iPad: The Swiss Army Knife Of Fun Gadgets

    Say what you want, it really is nice to just carry a one-in-all device.

    When Tim Cook & Co. unveiled the new New iPad earlier this month, he announced that Apple was taking steps to nudge society into the “post-PC world.” While that statement smacks of hyperbole, coming across as more quixotic than anything, the clamor over the release of the New iPad does highlight the developed world’s ever-growing dependency on gadgets.

    Now that iPhoto has landed on iOS, another creative task has collapsed into the design of the iPad. Photos, music, games, books, internets, communication – there’s little left that the New iPad won’t do now (it’ll even heat your efficiency, apparently). To emphasize just how multi-tasking the New iPad is, Daily Infographic put together a graphic showing the evolution of handheld devices that have led to the eventual conglomeration of all gadgetry into the omni-gadget, New iPad.

  • iPad 3 Launch Preceded By These Cool Concept Videos

    The iPad 3 launch event is this coming Wednesday, but before the device (if it’s even called the iPad 3) is unveiled, you should check out these concept videos from Aatma Studios showing what it could be. We looked at one video they put out earlier in the week, but they have also put out the following separate feature-specific videos.

    It’s pretty much the same stuff you already saw if you watched the prior video, but if you want to share a specific part of it, you can now do so.

    It would be a pretty slick device. Peruse our iPad 3 page for the latest news, rumors and content related to it.

    The first video shows off “Edge-to-Edge Retina display”:

    The second looks at internal magnets and NFC:

    The third (and coolest) shows 3D multiplayer hologram functionality:

    I may be proven wrong in a few days, but something tells me the real product will be a little less cool.

  • Tech Envy & The Object Of Your Coworkers’ Desire

    If you feel like your coworkers have been a little icy towards you since you returned from the holiday break with that new tablet in tow, you’re not imagining things. A new study reveals that happily displaying or even using your new gadgetry at work may cause your colleagues to become slavering, green-eyed monsters.

    Captivate Network, who specialize in providing customized, actionable information to business professionals, found in their latest Office Pulse study that 30% of employees reported being “very envious” of the devices their colleagues have and they do not. Furthermore, the survey found that 73% of employees considered their smartphones (43%), tablets (15%), e-readers (8%), and HDTVs (7%) as their favorite device.

    Another fun fact: the more money you make, the more attached you become to your tablet. Here’s a table breaking down of favorite electronic devices across a few basic demographics:

    Adding to the extrapolation of this data is the fact that 80% of adults surveyed desired an iPad above all other tablets which, I dunno if you’ve noticed, also happen to be one of the most expensive tablets currently on the market. Consider this a triumph of Apple’s expensive admission into their cult of personality.

    While the affluent are fonder of their tablets than the non-affluent, they are also more desirous of tablets than the non-affluent. Granted, only 12% of those surveyed admitted to coveting tablets, as opposed to 32% desiring a smartphone, but the longing for tablets among the haves was much higher than among the have nots. Again, here’s the breakdown of objects people desire among demographics:

    It’s no wonder tablets, and specifically iPads, are preferred among the rich: they’re the ones that can more easily afford them. Yes, I’m inferring this assertion from correlations so I reserve the right to be wrong on this, but still, it raises the question of whether tablets are desired among professionals less for their utility and more for being a status symbol. But don’t demonize the rich over this particular phenomenon because, as the report from Captivate Network explains, “Affluent tablet owners (those making more than $100K per year) are happy to let co-workers play with their device with 42 percent reporting sharing their tablet with five or more of their co-workers as compared to just 15 percent of tablet owners making less $100K annually.”

    Reading this report, it’s hard not to walk away thinking that every white-collar office isn’t some muted recreation of Battle Royale. Nobody’s holding hostages and threatening to cut throats, so rest assured, taking your iPad to work won’t invite violence upon your person.

    One last take-away from this data: where people like to use their gadgets. I’ll let this one speak for itself:

    Yeah.

    Anyways, for more adventures in office drama data, check out the infographic that Captivate Network put together using their data:

  • PowerTrekk: A Battery Charger That Runs On Water

    PowerTrekk: A Battery Charger That Runs On Water

    It’s my favorite time of day right now: that time when we learn about sock-knocking-off technology that sounds like it was born on the bright side of the future. To quote one of my favorite animators, “When the aliens come they will be so great in so many different ways that everything we ever thought was cool will make us ashamed.”

    Ready to bring the shame? I hope not, because lucky for you (this time) the bringers of awesome future technology are from Team Earth (Sweden, in fact) and the awesome they’ve brought us is a slick piece of eco-friendly technology called PowerTrekk, tomorrow’s battery charger.

    And here comes the best part: PowerTrekk is a darkness-defeating fuel cell charger that runs on – ready – WATER! It runs on approximately one tablespoon of WATER! You can charge your mobile electronics with the stuff that drips out of clouds and public fountains. This brilliant piece of future “cleanly and efficiently converts hydrogen into electricity” via PowerTrekk’s Proton Exchange Membrane. That sounds intense, but all you have to do is place one fuel pack, called PowerPukk, into the the PowerTrekk and “add water to provide instant and limitless power on the go.” Watch it in action:

    UH-mazing.

    myFC, the company that has created this device, promotes PowerTrekk as the ideal accessory for “business professionals in developing countries who seek freedom from wall charging either because they work in remote areas (where the grid is absent) or in cities where, from time to time, the electrical grid is unreliable.” Whether you’re charging your phone, camera, or even an iPod (because when you are completely removed from electricity the first thing to worry about is what jams you need to set the mood), simply plug the device into PowerTrekk’s USB port and – presto – you’re off like a battery-charging bandit. Take a look at all of it’s gadgety wonder:

    So let’s recap: No power outlet? No problem. No car battery? No problem. No spare batteries? NO. PROBLEM.

    The next time you’re venturing out into the wild, whether that’s an unfamiliar city or the actual wild that you see on Discovery Channel, take a look at your communication devices and ask yourself: Which one of these cute geometry-morphs do you hope to be:

  • AfterShokz Headphones Rock Your Bones

    AfterShokz Headphones Rock Your Bones

    I frequently talk about events or products that seem to herald this long-awaited concept appropriately called The Future. In The Future, exceptional yet everyday people may colonize space or we may all be trained to fortify our minds against the threat of being incepted. In short, I like The Future because it’s a place I’d like to visit someday.

    As we slouch onward toward The Future, sometimes The Future meets us halfway and gives us a sample of amazing things to come. The latest teaser from the land of tomorrow promises us that, believe it or not, we will be able to listen to sound without our eardrums.

    Did you blink at that? Yes. Your eyes have not pranked you.

    Consumer electronics company AfterShokz have developed the next generation of headphones that use what they call “bone conduction headphone technology.” In lay terms, you don’t actually insert these headphones into your ears but rather place them in front of your ears so that the the headphones rest on your cheekbones. AfterShokz explains the science on their site:

    Most of what we hear is due to sound waves traveling through the air to the eardrum, which then converts the sound waves to vibrations and transmits them to the inner ear. Sound waves can also get to the inner ear through direct vibration of the bones in the head which carry the vibrations directly to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrums. This is how a person hears his or her own voice, and also how whales hear. This pathway of sound is known as bone conduction.

    You’ve likely heard the remarkable story of Beethoven composing music despite being nearly completely deaf. As it turns out, he wasn’t completely deaf – he could hear the music by biting a rod attached to his piano, which transmitted the music through his jawbone. The technology, AfterShokz says, works the same way.

    This technology, which is patent pending, originated when AfterShokz created headphones using “bone conduction technology” for use by military special ops and SWAT teams (the military always get to play with the funnest toys first, don’t they?). By leaving the ears unobstructed by traditional headphones, AfterShokz headphones permitted the service members to listen to their surroundings while also staying in touch with the members of their unit via headphones.

    So yeah. I can’t really wrap my mind around the concept but there it is: the Future hath cometh, and with it the ability to give us a virtual second set of ears. Those extra ears will come in three comfortable models: Sport Headphone, Mobile with In-Line Mic, and Game Headphone. I’m kind of gobsmacked just thinking about the medical and architectural applications of this technology; it feels like too elegant of a device to merely use for the purpose of music or podcasts. But at any rate, we inch ever closer to The Future thanks to the technological genius of companies like AfterShokz.

  • Sony PlayStation Vita Hits Japan

    Sony PlayStation Vita Hits Japan

    In August, it was reported that the Playstation Vita would hit Japan by the end of December, and that did indeed happen, as it was released this weekend.

    The Vita is Sony’s handheld PlayStation gaming device. “The new PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi, powered by AT&T’s Mobile Broadband Network, will change the way you game with real-time scores and game ranking news feeds, competitive multiplayer game sessions, and cross-game text messaging with Party.,” Sony says.

    Here’s a video showing off the device:

    The PlayStation Vita hits the U.S. on February 22. I guess Sony is hoping people are tired of the gadgets they got around the holidays by then. It’s an interesting move considering that last year, 40% of Sony’s Christmas revenue came from the U.S and Europe.

    It’s available to pre-order online through Sony, Best Buy, Amazon and Gamestop for $299.

  • Amazon Kindle Fire Update Promised

    Amazon Kindle Fire Update Promised

    Disappointed with Amazon’s Kindle Fire? You’re not alone. The complaints are rampant. Though at the price of $199, you might say there is a little breathing room for flaws, when you consider that the iPad 2 starts at $499 (though that price will likely be coming down before too long as Apple is allegedly preparing its successor’s unveiling).

    Sure, Amazon risks loss of customer loyalty with a flawed product, but how often are the first incarnations of gadgets flawless anyway? There are always updates and room for improvement where future iterations can inspire appeal.

    According to the New York Times, an Amazon spokesperson has promised an over-the-air update for the Kindle Fire within two weeks time. This update will be aimed at improving performance and multitouch navigation, and according to the Times, will allow customers to edit the list of items that show what they’ve been doing recently. On top of that, the report says there will probably be an improved version of the device itself soon, suggesting a spring arrival.

    On the customer loyalty front, complaints about the Kindle Fire happen to coincide with some other issues the company faces with unhappy people – mainly businesses. This includes the whole Internet Tax thing and app that lets consumers scan barcodes from brick and mortar stores and buy them through Amazon at cheaper prices.

    Sales of the Kindle Fire have started off strong to be sure. They sold 2 million in 2 weeks. Again, that price tag certainly helps, as does the holiday buying rush. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Kindle Fire line competes over the longer term, with not only the iPad but other tablets that will continue to emerge and improve upon what’s already out there. The general consensus so far, however, seems to be that the iPad is still the one to beat. At least for those who can afford it.

  • Gadgets, Relationships & Fruit Drinks

    Today’s infographic round-up looks at the gadgets people love, relationship status updates and soda’s evil twin.

    View more daily infographic round-ups here.

    Gadgets:

    Today's GoFigure infographic looks at America's favorite handheld digital gadgets.
    Source:LiveScience

    The relationship status update:

    relationship status update

    Soda’s Evil Twin:

    Soda's Evil Twin
    Created by: Health Science

  • Kindle Fire Release Comes Early, As Do Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G Releases

    Amazon announced that it’s shipping its Kindle Fire tablet device a day early, and people are getting them today.

    “We’re thrilled to be able to ship Kindle Fire to our customers earlier than we expected. Kindle Fire quickly became the bestselling item across all of Amazon.com, and based on customer response we’re building millions more than we’d planned,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Customers are excited about Kindle Fire because it is a premium product at the non-premium price of only $199.”

    It’s already getting some pretty good reviews. We should have our own up soon.

    The device is expected to be a hot seller throughout the holiday season, and beyond, thanks to that pricetag, which is significantly smaller than the iPad’s. Recent reports indicate that the company upped its orders to 5 million units by the end of the year.

    Of course the device also faces new competition from Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, which gets released this week as well, though about 50 dollars more. More on that here.

    More on the Kindle Fire here.

    Amazon also announced that it’s shipping the Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G beginning tomorrow (November 15). This is also several days earlier than previously announced (November 21). The Kindle Touch is $99. The Kindle Touch 3G is $150.

  • iPhone 4S Grief, Kindle Fire vs. iPad & Traffic Jams

    With all of the iPhone talk over the past couple days, it only seems fitting to include it here as well. Today’s infographic round-up looks at the “grief” Apple fans have had to endure, as well as public opinion regarding the iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. But that’s just a couple items. Continue on for more.

    View more daily infographic compilations here.

    Sam Spratt analyzes the 5 stages of iPhone 4S grief:

    iPhone 4S grief  

    The Understatement looks at public posts on Google+ from Google management:

    <a href=Google+” src=”http://cdn.ientry.com/sites/webpronews/article_pics/google-info-1005.jpg” title=”Google+ ” class=”aligncenter” width=”568″ height=”529″ />

    SoadaHead looks at the Kindle Fire vs. the iPad, in terms of public opinion:

    Fire vs iPad

    Focus looks at the most disruptive companies in tech:

    Disruptive tech companies 

    LiveScience uses Pew Research data to look at the popularity of texting:

    Texting  

    CarBuzz looks at the real cost of traffic jams:

    Traffic jams  

  • iPhone 5 Prototype, Google Beer & Rambo

    Today’s video round-up has some a touch of the inspirational, a touch of the artsy, and plenty of the just plain cool. I’ll let you decide which is which. Of course there is also some humor and in depth discussion tossed into the mix as well.

    View other daily video round-ups here.

    BENM.at created an iPhone 5 prototype based on various hints and rumors that have come out:

    Possibly the coolest street art ever:

    Hommage à Rambo par Robert Hibourassa from Robert Hibourassa on Vimeo.

    Google teamed up with Dogfish Head on beer brewing (more here):

    A 29 year old gets to hear herself for the first time. She was born deaf, and recently received a hearing implant. It’s being shared a lot around the tech industry:

    WebProNews interviewed digital historian and archivist Jason Scott about the cloud:

    A couple of closer looks at Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet from SlashGear:

    A new Pink Floyd TV ad has been released in the UK. It’s kind of cool:

    Next Media Animation provides its weekly wrap:

    The Rick Mercer Report has some fun with Blackberry:

    8,000 photos cover 80 days (via Google’s Amir Fish on Google+):

  • Amazon Looking to Buy Palm, Get Into the OS Game?

    The days of Amazon being known as a bookseller or a retail giant might be coming to a close. Oh, of course they’ll still be both of those, but we might start thinking about the company more along the lines of tech giants like Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.

    The company unveiled its Kindle Fire tablet and some new Kindles this week, along with a new innovative web browser called Silk.

    Now, VentureBeat is reporting that HP is looking to unload Palm ASAP and that Amazon is the “closest to finalizing the deal.” This comes from what the publication cites as “a well-placed source”.

    Such an acquisition could give Amazon an operating system in webOS. The Kindle Fire is built on Android and utilizes Amazon’s own Android market, but if Amazon gets webOS, there’s no telling where this could go.

    Speaking of the Kindle Fire, some questions have been brought into the spotlight regarding the device’s supply and demand. It only costs $199. Reuters quotes analyst Brian Blair as saying, “When [Amazon CEO, Jeff] Bezos quipped that people should get their pre-orders in quick, that wasn’t just a sales pitch. That was him warning this will sell out.”

    Digitimes systems is reporting that Amazon will outsource the production of 10.1 inch tablets to Foxconn electronics, which works on the iPad, as well as Amazon’s Kindle e-readers. Such tablets, it says, are expected to ship before the end of the year. The announced Kindle Fire is a 7 inch tablet.

  • Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet, Kindle Touch, Cheap Kindle Unveiled

    Amazon has revealed its much-anticipated tablet device. It’s called the Kindle Fire and it’s only $199.

    It has a 7″ multi-touch LCD display, and has no camera or mic. It’s Wi-fi only. It weighs 14.6 oz. It has a dual-core processor. The product doesn’t seem to be blowing many people away in terms of features. Clearly, it’s got less to offer than the iPad, but that $199 price tag and the Amazon and Kindle brands could go a long way. It’s drawing a lot of comparisons to the BlackBerry Playbook. Hat tip to Engadget for liveblogging the unveiling.

    It’s built on Android, but Amazon’s own version of it (remember, the operating system is open source).

    It comes with apps from Amazon’s Android store as long as Kindle, Amazon MP3 and Amazon Prime video content. In fact, the tablet will launch with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, which could help the boost the company’s efforts in Netflix competition.

    Kindle Fire

    The Kindle Fire comes with a new web browser from Amazon called Silk. Here’s the official description:

    The Kindle Fire web browser Amazon Silk introduces a radical new paradigm – a “split browser” architecture that accelerates the power of the mobile device hardware by using the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services Cloud. The Silk browser software resides both on Kindle Fire and on the massive server fleet that comprises the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). With each page request, Silk dynamically determines a division of labor between the mobile hardware and Amazon EC2 (i.e. which browser sub-components run where) that takes into consideration factors like network conditions, page complexity, and cached content. The result is a faster web browsing experience, and it’s available exclusively on Kindle Fire.

    Amazon also announced the Kindle Touch, a smaller, lighter Kindle with a touch screen and no keyboard. There’s a feature called “X Ray,” which points users to different content about what they’re reading. For example, “Versailles Treaty” in the book Remains of the Day, could bring up a Wikipedia entry. It’s supposed to have good batter life, and ti costs $99. There’s also a 3G version for $149. It will start shipping on November 21, in time for the holidays, but pre-orders will be available today.

    Amazon also announced a new $79 version of the Kindle. It’s not touch, but it also doesn’t have a keyboard. Just buttons. This one is available today.

    Let’s not forget that Amazon is using its Kindle devices to help along its daily deals product AmazonLocal as well. The success of these devices has pretty big implications for the company.

  • iPad With iOS 5 vs. Windows 8 Slate, Weird Al, Jobs, Cool Apps, & The Media

    Another day, another set of videos. Maybe you’ve seen some of them, maybe you haven’t. There’s a little something for everyone – at least everyone with any interest in technology, marketing, the media, or Weird Al.

    I’m willing to bet you’ll be able to find something in the videos below that interests you. Here are some of the better videos we came across today.

    Microsoft has a lot of people talking about Windows 8 this week, and this look at the iPad with iOS 5 vs a Windows 8 Slate is getting a lot of attention:

    WebProNews spoke with former congressman Rich Bocuher about the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, which he thinks is necessary for the economy and for Obama’s broadband plan, among other things:

    Robert Scoble has a look at an interesting iPad app for musicians called Tonara, which eliminates the need to switch to sheet music as they follow along.

    USA Today shares an interview with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about jobs:

    This videos actually been around for a few months, but it was brought to my attention today, and it probably deserves more exposure. It’s Weird Al and email.

    Google introduced voice actions for Android in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain:

    Google Digital Marketing Evangelist Avinash Kaushik shared this video on Google+ about changes to the Google Analytics Visits computation algorithm:

    In this one, a car’s GPS system mocks the French. The video gained some exposure on reedit:

    Nieman Journalism Lab shared a vice of a discussion about the state of television and media:

    News and Entertainment in the Digital Age: A Vast Wasteland Revisited from Nieman Journalism Lab on Vimeo.

    This ad form Coca-Cola was named Ad of the Day by AdWeek, so it must be worth sharing right?

    ESPN and JESS3 have teamed up to explain the Nielsen TV ratings system:

    JESS3 X ESPN – TV Ratings 101 from JESS3 on Vimeo

    Other sets of good videos from this week:

    09/15
    09/14

  • Motorola Mobility: Google to Get Into Baby Monitor Business?

    Everybody in the tech industry is talking about Google’s pending acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which Google has positioned as a defensive maneuver to protect Android from patent wars with the likes of companies like Microsoft and Apple.

    While that may very well be the main reason for Google’s most expensive acquisition to date (provided it gets regulatory approval), there are certainly other factors at play and other bonuses that Google gets with the acquisition.

    Henry Blodget at Business Insider thinks the whole thing could be a disaster. “Well, for starters, the deal creates major channel conflict: Google is now competing with its partners,” he writes. “And hardware manufacturing is an entirely different kind of business than Google’s core business. And hardware manufacturing is a crappy, low-margin commodity business. And Motorola is massive–Google has just increased the size of its company by 60%. And the deal appears to be purely a defensive move, not an offensive one. And so on.”

    HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson have all lent their public support of the deal. They all pretty much say the same thing: “We welcome it.” I’m guessing the reaction isn’t quite as simple out of the public eye.

    Meanwhile, Larry Dignan at ZDNet gives six compelling reasons why it “makes sense” These (in a nutshell) are: “Integration may be all that matters” in wireless, the patents “treasure trove,” TV (Motorola’s set-top box business), Google can likely keep hardware partners “in the fold” at least for now, the deal forces Microsoft’s hand, and Android “boxes in Nokia and RIM”.

    The point about the set-top boxes is quite interesting. It’s no secret that Google TV hasn’t quite worked out the way the company hoped, at least as of yet. Could owning Motorola Mobility provide a needed boost to give Google TV more legs to stand on?

    There’s also things like:

    The Motonav GPS, Modems and routers, and even Baby Monitors. Here’s a look at Motorola’s product page:

    Motorola Products

    Then there’s the various software, like Motoblur, Media Link, Motospeak, etc.

    Motorola Software

    Last year, Motorola Mobility acquired Aloqa, a mobile service that notifies users of places, events, music, movies and other activities based on location and personalization. One has to wonder if Google will do something with this:

    Motorola Mobility also acquired Zecter last winter. This was a media sync/streaming company. This could come in handy as the company competes with Apple’s iCloud.

    At the time of this writing, Google stock is down 2.58%.

  • iPhone 5 Rumors: Release Date Now October?

    iPhone 5 Rumors: Release Date Now October?

    Rumors have been going around for months that the next version of the iPhone would see the light of day in September. Here it is now August, and it appears to be getting closer.

    Or is it?

    Just as we get a month closer to the expected September release date, the rumor mill goes and pushes the devices’s launch back a month. So perhaps we’re just standing still.

    John Paczkowski at All Things D is reporting, citing “sources with knowledge of the situation” that October is when we can expect the iPhone 5 launch (if it is in fact actually called the iPhone 5). Of course no date has been given, so that could put it anywhere from just missing that September release to Halloween.

    Some rumors in the past have even suggested that the device could come as early as August, but until now, the general consensus has kept it in September.

    The device is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4, run on a wireless baseband chip from Qualcomm, and come with an 8-megapixel camera. Other rumors that have been tossed around throughout the year have been that the device may not come with NFC technology (which would be huge, considering Google’s big Payments plan…meanwhile, others suggest that it will come with NFC), that it could come to T-mobile, and that it will have a built-in bumper (which would presumably prevent another antennagate.

    Of course, a rumor is a rumor, and there have been tons of them surrounding this particular device for months and months. In October, we’ll finally get to see just which ones were on the money.

    Or will we?

    Apple reported a 142% increase in iPhone sales year-over-year when it reported its fiscal year third quarter earnings, which contributed to $28.57 billion in revenue. That was a record for iPhone sales by the way.

    iOS 5 is expected to launch this fall, but no specific date has been given for this yet either.

  • E-Reader Ownership Surges, Tablets Not So Much

    Americans are embracing the pageless book.

    At least that’s the impression taken from a Pew Internet study of United States adults. Pew looked at over 2,200 Americans aged 18 and over and found that e-reader use is on a sharp upswing. In Novemeber of 2010, they conducted the same survey and found that only 6% of the people reported owning an e-Reader such as a Nook or a Kindle. In May of this year, that number had doubled to 12%.

    They also asked about tablet ownership and found that while growing, it is not nearly as red hot as the e-reader. In November of 2010, only 5% of people said they owned a tablet. In January of 2011 that number had risen to 7%. And by May of this year, that number is only 8%.

    Takeaway – People are more willing to buy a Kindle than an iPad.

    Of course, the line between an e-readers and tablets is kind of blurred with the release of some next gen e-readers. In April, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color got a massive update giving it its own email client, full flash capabilities and even its own app store. In the past, e-readers have simply been tablets with less functionality. But that description may not prove accurate as the capabilities of e-readers continue to grow.

    Possibly driving the e-reader craze could be the price wars. The major players continue to offer more affordable solutions for customers. In April, Amazon unveiled its “Kindle With Special Offers,” which is an ad-supported version of the original Kindle that costs only $114 – $25 cheaper than its brother. Barnes & Noble then released the New Nook in May. The New Nook is fully touch-enabled, very small and very light, and costs only $139.

    Just days later, Amazon announced the “Kindle 3G With Special Offers” which uses the same ad-supported structure of the Kindle With Special Offers but offered users 3G connectivity. That device costs $164. And then you have lesser known players with good products like Kobo, with its eReader Touch available for only $129.

    Even a doubling of ownership over the last 6 months fails to catapult e-readers into the discussion of America’s favorite devices, however. E-readers and tablets still lag behind other devices like cellphones, DVR and MP3 players, which have 83%, 52% and 44% ownership respectively.

    Also, only 3% of American adults own both an e-reader and a tablet, according to the study.

    Have you jumped aboard the e-reader ship? Let us know in the comments.

  • Google Chromebooks Now on Sale for Consumers

    Google Chromebooks Now on Sale for Consumers

    Google’s first Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks from consumers finally became available today after months of testing through a pilot program with the Cr-48 model Google introduced when it first unveiled the operating system.

    Available models come from Samsung and Acer, and can be ordered from Amazon and BestBuy.com. In other launch countries, consumers can visit google.com/chromebook to find local retailers. Best Buy is offering the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 in white and Titan Silver. Amazon has the Samsung Series 5 and the Acer Cromia.

    The way devices come with Wi-Fi +3G, as well as an interesting “It just works.” slogan, also heavily used by Apple to describe its products.

    “Chromebooks were built and optimized for the web to give you a faster, simpler and more secure experience without the headaches of traditional computers,” says Director of Product Management Felix Lin on the Chrome blog.

    @google
    A Googler    Built for the web: #Chromebooks now on sale @Amazon & @BestBuy in the US. More countries: http://goo.gl/pWMMj via @googlechrome 1 hour ago via Tap11 · powered by @socialditto

    Rajen Sheth, Group Product Manager, Chrome for Business, says:

    Users like the easy, instant access to all of their computing needs without the complexity of traditional PCs. And if you’re a business or school, they’re extremely cost-effective.

    With today’s announcement that the new Google Chromebooks are available from our partners, we’re officially open for business. For businesses and schools, we’re offering a subscription that includes the Chromebook, a web-based management console and 24/7 support from Google starting at $28 per month/user for businesses and $20 per month/student for schools.

    He also shares the following video from a pilot customer- Jason’s Deli, discussing Chromebooks:

    After Chrome OS was revealed, we asked readers if they thought it would succeed. Suffice it to say, many have been skeptical. Personally, I’ve had few complaints. You have to take it for what it is. It’s not ready to replace all other PCs, but the Chromebooks are pretty handy and are good on battery life for basic web browsing needs. It will probably compete more with the tablet market than the PC market, at least at this point.

    For our previous coverage on the Chrome books and Chrome OS, read the articles here.

  • iPad 2 Gets High Marks from Consumer Reports

    Apple’s iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and 3G was rated the best tablet on the market by Consumer Reports. This is particularly interesting, given Consumer Reports’ recent history of not recommending Apple’s iOS products.

    Last summer, Consumer Reports gave the iPhone 4 a thumbs down, citing the widely-publicized antenna issues. A similar evaluation was given earlier this year for Verizon’s version. Consumer reports had not problem recommending a variety of Android devices.

    Until recently, the iPad didn’t really have much in the way of competition, in terms of tablets, but the iPad 2 has more , and has managed to come out on top. The antenna issues don’t apply to the iPad, so it makes sense.

    “So far Apple is leading the tablet market in both quality and price, which is unusual for a company whose products are usually premium priced,” said Paul Reynolds, Electronics Editor at Consumer Reports. “However, it’s likely we’ll see more competitive pricing in tablets as other models begin to hit the market.”

    The battery life of the iPad 2 seems to be one of the main factors in Consumer Reports’ evaluation. They tested ten tablets by playing the same video clip over and over again until they died. The iPad 2 lasted 12.2 hours. The lowest-ranked tablet (the Archos 70 Internet Tablet) only lasted 3.8 hours.

    Reynolds is certainly right in that pricing will only get much more competitive. In fact, this is one of the main reasons Android has managed to gain so much smartphone market share. The platform is available on a wide range of devices of varying prices – many of them far cheaper than Apple’s iPhones.

    We can expect a similar trend in the tablet market. We’re in the very early stages. Of couse there are also non-Android competitors that will become bigger parts of the equation, like offerings from RIM, HP, and Microsoft.