Google acquires natural language engine Wavii for over $30M
Google has purchased natural language processing engine Wavii for more than $30 million, according to TechCrunch.
Google Fiber TV remote app for iPad released
Google launched its Google Fiber TV for iPad app today allowing Google Fiber customers to transform their iPads into QWERTY keyboard, TV guide yielding TV remotes.
For the past month, our Fiber TV customers have been able to control their TVs with any recent Android device. Using the Fiber TV app from the Google Play Store, they can search for programming, browse listings, and select shows or recordings with just the touch or swipe of a finger. Now, iPad users can enjoy this simple, intuitive experience, too.
This should come as great news to tablet owners in Kansas City, Austin, and Provo.
Google Fiber TV for iPad is available for free in the App Store.
(Source: Google)
AT&T retail rolls out ‘Genius Bar-like’ online appointment scheduling for in-store assistance
Similar to the Apple Store’s Genius Bar, AT&T now allows customers to schedule in-store appointments online for hands-on help in its retail locations.
Here’s how it works:
Visit www.att.com/storeappointment and choose the store nearest to you, or click “Make appointment” when you’re looking up store location information. One of our store or call center representatives can also help you schedule an appointment.
Choose from the available dates and times listed.
Enter your name, contact information and reason for your visit.
Once scheduled, simply head into the local AT&T store at the scheduled time.
The usual system is based around a walk-in queue, which means you could be waiting for any amount of time depending on the crowd, so this should be very useful to AT&T customers.
Aereo announces plans to launch in Boston on May 15
via aereo.com
Aereo, which streams over-the-air television to Internet-connected devices, announced today that it will launch next in Boston on May 15. The company implements some clever techniques to enable remote television streaming, which has upset the industry and kept the company in and out of court. We’re pleased to see Aereo moving forward.
More Than 4.5 Million Boston-Area Consumers Will Have Access to Aereo’s Groundbreaking Antenna Technology to Watch Live Television Online
Starting May 15, Pre-Registered Consumers Will Begin to Receive Invitations to Join Aereo; General Membership Access Begins on May 30
CEO Chet Kanojia Will Give a ‘Sneak Peak’ Tonight at Boston New Tech Meet Up Hosted at StartUp Lab Allston
Check out the full list of cities where Aereo plans to launch this year.
Turn your iPad (*gasp*) into a waterproof Microsoft Surface with new Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio
Logitech makes some pretty amazing iPad keyboards and now they can pretty much say the cover the spectrum of what’s out there. Today the company announced new $149 Logitech FabricSkin Keyboards that look and act like the keyboard case that comes with the Microsoft Surface. Even better? These guys are waterproof so you can just wipe away the coffee that you just spit out.
“We’ve combined design cues from the world of high fashion with the unbeatable typing experience you expect from Logitech to bring a new level of self-expression to iPad protection,” said Mike Culver, vice president of brand development for tablet accessories at Logitech. “TheLogitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio and Logitech Folio give you more than just a protective case for your iPad, they add a distinctive accent to your iPad that reflects your personal style.”
Logitech worked with world-class designers to identify chic fabrics and a bold color palette and combined them with a clean design. As a result, both the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio and Logitech Folio are offered in a range of colors from Electric Blue and Sunflower Yellow to Mars Red Orange, and in an array of on-trend fabrics from matte leather to finely woven cotton.
“By developing color and material options that evoke our senses and speak to our individuality, Logitech has made owning an iPad unique again,” said Beatrice Santiccioli, world-renowned color expert and designer. “I brought my knowledge in color and design to Logitech to help inspire the selection of materials and develop a color palette that builds a strong emotional connection to people’s lifestyles.”
Don’t want the keyboard but still want the case? Have an iPad mini? The Logitech Folio is keyboardless, fits both iPads, and costs $70.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KD5uWfq42YY
They are available for pre-order at Logitech and will start shipping next month.
Full-sized image gallery, another video and press release follows:
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Google Babel to have iOS client at launch
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Google’s new Babel messaging platform is not only taking on a Hipchat-like Group messaging featureset, it also appears it will hit the iOS App Store at launch (which is looking like sooner rather than later for all of the code leaks). More at 9to5Google
Google adds expandable sitelinks, quick view to mobile search
Google has rolled out two new features to mobile search that allow users to find results faster.
Users will notice expandable sitelinks that present popular links from certain websites directly from the search page rather than having to look for those important links from the website’s page.
- Expandale sitelinks
Quick links will also begin appearing next to certain results, which offers users a faster way to preview a site before leaving the search page, much like how Google Images handles photo previews.
- Quick view
Google says quick links will initially be limited to pages from Wikipedia, although the company expects to expand the feature to include more sites in the future.
(Source: Google)
Verizon bids for spectrum from Clearwire while Dish attempts merger with Sprint
Verizon Wireless, which recently teamed up with telecommunications giant Comcast Corporation, is reportedly offering Clearwire Corp $1.5 billion in an effort to lease spectrum from the wireless communications company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Dish Network has motioned toward a $25.5 billion bid to merge with Sprint, which is notable as Dish and Sprint both competed toward buying out Clearwire in January.
It seems all three major telecommunications companies are moving toward owning expanded space in mobile broadband as well as home services like cable and voice, much like AT&T’s unified package.
Apple board member Bill Campbell points to future with intimate devices like Google Glass and iWatches [Video]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWG51nGmGA]
Businessweek covers a talk given by Apple (and former Google) board member Bill Campbell who “held court” on Friday at the Mountain View headquarters of Intuit, where he serves as chairman. Notably, he discussed former Apple execs Tony Fadell who now runs Nest and Ron Johnson who just got fired from JCPenney. Of Nest, he pre-announced new products, saying
“You would think that people would yawn at something as boring as a thermostat,” Campbell said. “So, I’ve been surprised at how it has done and is doing. It will be the first of many products that come out of that company, which has a brilliant CEO and engineering team.”
Of Ron Johnson‘s exit at JCP, he said, “You have to keep your current business going while you experiment with a new one. He didn’t do that. He just put a bullet hole in his current business.”
GOOD ADVICE.
But perhaps most interesting for those yearning for an iWatch, Campbell told the business software company
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Verizon unveils 1 year “Device Payment Plan” for yearly updaters, moves full subsidies to 24 months
Verizon announced a few notable changes this week, possibly in response to T-Mobile’s new ‘Uncarrier’ pricing structure.
The first change enforces 24-month contracts and restricts subsidized upgrades during that period. Customers will no longer enjoy ‘early upgrades’ after 20-months, as was previously the policy.
While the change may disappoint customers who enjoyed upgrading their devices more frequently, Verizon told The Verge that a new “Device Payment Plan” will be accompany the policy changes.
The new payment plan allows customers to upgrade their smartphone annually by paying the upgrade fee at the register and dividing the rest of the full-retail price over 12 months. This payment plan will include a $2/month finance charge through the duration of the year.
For people like us who update annually, this option is a more pragmatic approach, especially when vendors like Gazelle (as well as others) typically pay more than the subsidized cost of a new smartphone for last year’s smartphone.
Pebble Watch SDK goes live, new watch faces and apps to come
Pebble, the E-Ink smart-watch for iPhones and Android devices which raised over 10 million dollars on Kickstarter is about to get a lot of new features. Today, Pebble announced that the watch SDK is being released today. The SDK will allow developers to create custom watch faces, alerts and new apps.
At the moment, there’s less than 10 available watch faces and only one app, but expect those numbers to grow dramatically now that developers can get their hands on a public SDK.
You can grab the SDK from Pebble’s website right here.
BlackBerry 10 launch: Over 50% returns, 71% don’t want ever, 83% unaware it even launched
Six years after Apple took the smartphone industry by surprise with its release of the iPhone, former market leader BlackBerry Limited, or RIM as it called itself until just recently, launched what some consider to be a true iPhone competitor.
The problem is that almost no one has seemed to notice, and half of those who have were unhappy.
Kickstarter: ZenBoxx promises to help eliminate desk clutter with the MacBook ZenDock
If your desk looks anything like mine, seen above, then you probably know the joys of constantly connecting and disconnecting a handful of cables every time you need to move your MacBook away from your desk or put it back. In my case, I have to fiddle with these cables every few hours when I take my MacBook downstairs to work in the living room or bring it back upstairs to plug it into my monitor. I hate it.
The ZenDock, which hit Kickstarter today, promises to help eliminate most of this problem for me, and from the looks of it, the folks at ZenBoxx might just be on to something. The ZenDock comes in two varieties: Pro and Retina. As you might imagine, the names correspond to the MacBook model that the dock is designed to work with.
Intel announces 2014 Thunderbolt update with 4K support; opens door for Retina iMacs?
Retina iMac mockup via <a href="http://macspoilers.com/665/a-slimmed-down-retina-imac-rumored-to-launch-with-the-ipad-min/"><em>MacSpoilers</em></a>
Today, Intel announced a new version of its Thunderbolt technology that will ship with devices in 2014. The new Thunderbolt technology supports up to 20Gbps throughput, which is up from the 10 Gbps supported by the current version of Thunderbolt.
Notably, the new technology supports 4K resolutions, which could open the door for even higher-resolution Mac displays. Perhaps, this is the technology that Apple needs to work with in order to begin a Retina display rollout for its all-in-one desktop computer, the iMac, or even Mac Pro compatible Thunderbolt displays.
Virgin offers T-Mobile pre-paid customers $100 to switch with new ad campaign
Despite some carriers already showing interest in T-Mobile’s new no-contract strategy, it was only a matter of time until the competition started going after the carrier’s new Uncarrier unlimited plans with new promotions and marketing. Today, Virgin launched its “Retrain Your Brain” campaign offering T-Mobile customers $100 to switch their number to one of its no-contract, $35 unlimited plans:
It’s pretty simple: just choose your Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk smartphone. Transfer your existing T-Mobile number before May 31, activate your new phone and become a Virgin Mobile customer by May 31 and receive $100 credit.
You can check out Virgin’s comparison of its plan vs T-Mobile’s below and get more information on the promotion here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZ0rXSXeBA
Internal DEA document complains it’s impossible to intercept iMessages
The Drug Enforcement Administration has warned in a recent internal document that iMessage’s secure end-to-end encryption is preventing law enforcement from eavesdropping on suspects in criminal investigations. CNET got its hands on the document that warned “it’s ‘impossible to intercept iMessages between two Apple devices’—even with a court order approved by a federal judge”:
The DEA’s “Intelligence Note” says that iMessage came to the attention of the agency’s San Jose, Calif., office as agents were drafting a request for a court order to perform real-time electronic surveillance under Title III of the Federal Wiretap Act. They discovered that records of text messages already obtained from Verizon Wireless were incomplete because the target of the investigation used iMessage: “It became apparent that not all text messages were being captured.”
Christopher Soghoian, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, said yesterday that “Apple’s service is not designed to be government-proof.” “It’s much much more difficult to intercept than a telephone call or a text message” that federal agents are used to, Soghoian says. “The government would need to perform an active man-in-the-middle attack… The real issue is why the phone companies in 2013 are still delivering an unencrypted audio and text service to users. It’s disgraceful.”
Verizon and AT&T rumored to consider acquiring Vodafone assets, valuing the entity at quarter trilllion dollars
AT&T and Verizon could soon jointly bid to acquire Vodafone.
Vodafone is second only to China Mobile for the world’s largest mobile telecommunications companies due to 439 million subscribers and high revenues in December 2011.
CNET reported the deal would value Vodafone at $245 billion, if signed. For reference purposes: Verizon’s market cap is now at $142.09 billion, and AT&T sits at 205.88 billion.
The deal would also allow Verizon to acquire Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in U.S. operations. AT&T would then acquire the remaining business outside of the U.S.
The Financial Times, which cited “usually reliable people,” noted both U.S. carriers feel comfortable sharing the risk associated with such a huge deal and further believe it will pass any regulatory obstacles.
Aereo’s live broadcast TV doesn’t infringe broadcaster’s copyrights, says US Court of Appeals
Aereo—the service that streams over-the-air local television to any Mac, iOS device, or PC running Safari for a monthly subscription—just landed a huge victory against television networks, as the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rebuffed an appeal today and ruled Aereo does not infringe broadcaster’s copyrights.
Aereo transmits television over the Internet, but local broadcasters claimed it does not have the legal license to operate. The Court of Appeals, however, agreed that Aereo’s system—14 of its antennas to be specific—operate independently and a license is irrelevant because subscribers stream their own copies of programs.
An excerpt from the ruling (PDF):
Each user-associated copy of a program created by Aereo’s system is generated from a unique antenna assigned only to the user who requested that the copy be made. The feed from that antenna is not used to generate multiple copies of each program for different Aereo users but rather only one copy: the copy that can be watched by the user to whom that antenna is assigned. Thus even if we were to disregard Aereo’s copies, it would still be true that the potential audience of each of Aereo’s transmissions was the single user to whom each antenna was assigned. It is beyond dispute that the transmission of a broadcast TV program received by an individual’s rooftop antenna to the TV in his living room is private, because only that individual can receive the transmission from that antenna, ensuring that the potential audience of that transmission is only one person. Plaintiffs have presented no reason why the result should be any different when that rooftop antenna is rented from Aereo and its signals transmitted over the internet: it remains the case that only one person can receive that antenna’s transmissions.
Aereo launched in New York City last March and has since landed in dozens of cities, but it has consistently battled opposition from television networks, like Fox, CBS, and NBC, as they attempted to halt its expansion during the last year. Due to today’s ruling, though, as first noted by The Verge, television networks would now need to win an appeal through either the Second Circuit or Supreme Court in order to block Aereo.
Facebook to hold Android event next week, likely to announce an iPhone competitor
Mockup by Spencer Caldwell based on leaked descriptions
Facebook is having an event on April 4th where it will talk about the future of Android.
We’ve learned a little more.
Facebook and HTC are again tied up building a phone together in which Facebook plays a major role. This isn’t like the ChaCha or Salsa phones which were mostly flops. This is a “Face-forked” version of Android with many Facebook modifications. More details including information on the ad campaigns over at 9to5Google.
Invite below
Apple in Shanghai court over Siri speech recognition patent infringement claims
AFP reported Apple is in court in Shanghai, China again today, but this time it’s over a lawsuit alleging the company copied components of Siri’s speech recognition software. According to the report, Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology Co. claimed in pretrial proceedings that Apple infringed its patent related to voice recognition technology via Siri. While the suit notes that development of Siri began in 2007, there is no mention of Nuance. Apple currently partners Nuance with to implement the speech recognition component in Siri, and it is also a market leader that presumably has its own arsenal of speech recognition related patents.
Zhizhen says it patented its “Xiao i Robot” software in 2004, while Apple’s Siri, which made its debut with the release of the iPhone 4S in 2011, was first developed in 2007.
“The company will ask Apple to stop manufacturing and selling products using its patent rights, once Apple’s infringement is confirmed,” Si Weijiang, a lawyer representing Zhizhen, told AFP.
“We don’t exclude the possibility of demanding compensation in the future,” he added.
The company is behind Siri-like software called ‘Xiao i Robot’ that it claimed was first developed before Siri in 2004. The technology is apparently available on some smart TVs and enterprise applications, but it doesn’t appear to be available as a consumer-facing app for smartphones or tablets. The video below appeared online when the company originally filed suit against Apple last year, and it shows the Xiao i Robot software running on a Lenovo smartphone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku0H10_G1X4
T-Mobile iPhone launch wrap up: LTE speed and HD audio tests, the new $579 AWS A1428 iPhone 5 and the plan gamechanger
We were on hand in New York City today to watch the unveiling of the iPhone on T-Mobile and its new LTE/plans that purport to save T-Mobile customers a lot of money over its U.S. competitors.
T-Mobile tipped us to its grand plan to become the ‘Uncarrier’ at CES in January 2013. The idea is to radically simplify the phone plan purchasing experience by cutting away most complexities of the carrier agreements. The effort was very forward thinking and Apple-like in that sense, and the results are certainly a big change for the industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zv5wdX1zp0
You basically start with a $50 a month unlimited data plan and go from there. T-Mobile will throttle you after 500MB, unless you give them $10 or $20 more a month, which gives you 2GB or unlimited before un-throttling. Family plans are $30 for the first extra device and $10 for each one thereafter. I imagine most normals will pay $50 a month. That’s a lot less than the typical iPhone user pays.
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But, let’s not kid ourselves on what’s motivating T-Mobile here. It has been losing customers like crazy and that’s largely due to its failure to carry the iPhone. The iPhone represents well over half of all smartphones on every other big U.S. carrier, and it will likely dominate T-Mobile over the next few years. T-Mobile said that even though it won’t officially support the iPhone until April 12, it currently has over 2.1 million iPhones on the network. That’s about to skyrocket…
CEO John Legere comes from over a decade at Global Crossing, an IP Data backbone firm, so cutting through all the B.S. and delivering fat delicious packets of data is his specialty.
Apple closes gap on Samsung for connected device sales in Q4 as market hits 1B devices
Research firm IDC is out today with its latest report on the smart-connected device market, and it includes worldwide shipments of desktop PCs, notebook PCs, smartphones, and tablets. IDC predicted the market in total grew 29.1-percent year over year in 2012, crossing 1 billion units shipped and hitting a total value of $576.9 billion. According to the report, Apple significantly closed the gap on Samsung during the last quarter of the year. It jumped from 15.1-percent in Q3 to 20.3-percent of unit shipments in Q4 2012. That brings the company up right behind market leader Samsung, which dropped slightly from 21.8-percent to 21.2-percent in the fourth quarter:
Looking specifically at the results for the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12), combined shipments of desktop PCs, notebook PCs, tablets, and smartphones was nearly 378 million and revenues were more than $168 billion. In terms of market share, Apple significantly closed the gap with market leader Samsung in the quarter, as the combination of Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPad Mini brought Apple up to 20.3% unit shipment share versus 21.2% for Samsung.
Not surprisingly, Apple dominated Samsung when it came to revenue share. It took in 30.7-percent of the market compared to just 20.4-percent for Samsung by revenue:
On a revenue basis for the fourth quarter, Apple continued to dominate with 30.7% share versus 20.4% share for Samsung.
Apple’s increase is likely thanks to strong iPad and iPad mini sales, as growth in the market was “largely driven by 78.4-percent year-over-year growth in tablet shipments.” IDC expected tablet shipments to outgrow desktop PCs by the end of this year, while the tablet market could surpass the portable PC market in 2014 and provide Apple with even more opportunity to outgrow Samsung for total connected smart device shipments this year and next:
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Arrival of the Chromebook Pixel forces slight tagline change for Apple’s Retina MacBook Pro
Retina MacBook Pros with old tagline
When the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro arrived, it was the second-highest resolution notebook ‘ever’ even though its 2,560-by-1,600 screen was a relatively diminutive 13.3 inches diagonally. The highest resolution laptop was of course on its big brother, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Apple made note of it with the tagline on its website: “The highest-resolution notebook ever. And the second highest.”
Unfortunately for the speeds and feeds crowd, Google came along last month and introduced the 12.75-inch screen Chromebook Pixel (review) with a 2,560-by-1,700 display. Say what you will about having a high-end notebook that is exclusively a browser, Google made a higher resolution display than Apple’s 13-incher… and added touch to it.
As of this week, Apple now has a new tagline on its MacBook Pro page that states, “High performance has never been so well defined”(image below). This change reflects the outdated nature of the previous tagline. There is also another copy change below because of the Pixel.
Speaking of which, Retina MacBook Pro owners, is it just me or did that latest SMC Update +10.8.3 clear up many of the issues around the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro?
Canon introduces world’s smallest and lightest Rebel SL1 — available in April starting at $799.99
From 9to5Toys.com:
Canon, the Japanese company behind all-things imaging and optical, unveiled a bevy of new cameras on Thursday.
Canon notably manufactures compact digital cameras, as well as film SLR and digital SLR cameras, and now it has bulked its impressive lineup with the new EOS Rebel SL1 Digital SLR Camera, EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR, and PowerShot SX280 HS Digital Camera.
The Rebel SL1 is the most noteworthy addition. Touted as the “World’s Smallest and Lightest DSLR Camera,” and in fact SL stands for “super lightweight,” the camera weighs just 14 ounces. Despite its smaller size, the SL1 carries a standard kit EF-S 18-55mm IS STM optic EOS lens, 3-inch Clear View LCD monitor with two-finger touch gesture support, 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, and DIGIC 5 image processor that allows up to four FPS.
The camera also offers an ISO range of 100-12800 for photos and ISO-6400 for video, as well as handles 1080p video at 34 or 30 FPS, and it features a built-in mono mic and stereo input jack.
The EOS Rebel SL1 Digital SLR Camera will become available in April at $649.99 for the body or $799.99 bundled with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens, but it is available for pre-order at B&H now.
For more information on the EOS Rebel SL1 Digital SLR Camera Canon, as well as the EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR for easy video capture and PowerShot SX280 HS with built-in Wi-Fi, see 9to5Toys.
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- PowerShot SX280 HS Digital Camera
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- EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR Camera