News Archive for 08/05/14
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Following a last-minute leak, Aliph tonight unveiled the Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset. The company promises it has learned lessons from the original while keeping its namesake voice detection system, which measures voice activity from the jaw to provide extremely accurate noise cancellation. The earpiece is more discreet than the earlier version at half the size but is said to be even more effective at blocking outside sound. The ear hook itself is also more comfortable and detaches entirely for users whose ears are already a good fit.
An employee from an unnamed retailer has leaked several photos of a demonstration model Jawbone 2, which is allegedly receiving its official launch tomorrow. According to Engadget, the informer expects that stock for the high-tech headset will arrive tomorrow at an expected retail price of $129. The matte grey headset earns its renown from the first incarnation, which measures vibrations in the jaw, contrasting them against exterior noise for cancellation purposes.
Microsoft is preparing to unveil a vertically-oriented, wall-mountable version of its Surface multitouch computing system, which the company calls TouchWall. PC World writes that Microsoft's Research and Office Labs department developed a prototype for the technology, citing that it is ideal for board rooms or other locations where interactive presentations are given. TouchWall uses integrated hardware, which includes laser and infrared lights which pick up touches to the display, through the embedded Plex software.
Intel Germany chief Hannes Schwaderer today claimed at a Munich company event that Apple is developing a touchscreen device based on his firm's new Atom processor for ultra-mobile devices. As interpreted by AppleInsider, the executive provides few details but indicates that it will be slightly larger than the iPhone due to a larger display.
European Commission officials today cleared GPS maker TomTom's plans to buy Tele Atlas. The government body says the buyout "would not significantly impede" competition in GPS navigators and attached no restrictions to the deal, which lets TomTom use an in-house source for its own maps. Although the possiblity exists for TomTom to artificially limit competition by blocking sales of Tele Atlas maps to outside companies, the existence of its rival Navteq makes that "unlikely," the Commission says.
HTC CEO Peter Chou is confident his company's newest product, the Touch Diamond, will sell more than two million units in 2008. Last year, HTC sold about two million units of its original Touch handset. Still, the numbers represent only about half of all iPhones Apple sold last year, with the company hoping to sell 10 million in 2008.
The recently launched Dash Express navigation system can now be used to do more than just upload maps or run live Yahoo Search updates thanks to its Internet connection, the company announced on Wednesday. Dash opened its service platform to third-party developers, allowing them to create applications for the portable navigation device. To show off what's possible, the company also announce five new such applications, called DashApps.
AT&T has sent a message to its retail staff curbing sales of iPhones to one per person, according to an alleged e-mail leak obtained by AppleInsider. The brief note, elaborating on an earlier note obtained by BGR, cuts the official limit from three to one. No exceptions are made in most for business users or for buyers of refurbished models, which recently opened up to both 8GB and 16GB models on AT&T's website.
Pioneer is likely to release mid-size LCD TVs, the company said late yesterday when discussing its latest financial results. Breaking with its tradition of selling plasma TVs almost exclusively, the Japanese electronics maker says it will start offering LCDs larger than 40 inches starting from August. This will most likely include a 46-inch set, the company adds. Sharp is producing the actual display panels while Pioneer handles much of the design.
A forthcoming system update for the Xbox 360 should make some fundamental improvements, according to an alleged internal source at Microsoft. Due later this spring, the update is expected to carry some 80 changes or additions, among which one is listed as "Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading." Unlike Sony's PlayStation 3, the 360 does not currently allow installation of game data to a hard drive; this is because Microsoft offers a basic 360 without any default storage, and it has insisted that all titles should support all 360s.
Dell has no plans to eliminate its XPS line of computers, a company representative says. On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Dell intends to phase out four of its XPS gaming systems, on the basis that they are eating into sales of its newly-bought Alienware division. Dell is said to be in tough financial circumstances, having lost its former dominance in PC sales to chief rival HP. In April the company revealed plans to fire at least 8,800 people, and close its desktop manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.
Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck.
OCZ Technology Group on Wednesday unveiled its new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) gaming notebook program. The OCZ DIY program allows users to build their own mobile gaming PC while aided with guides and direct support to make it easier for novices or experienced PC builders to create their own notebook. The foundation is 15.4-inch WXGA notebook, OCZ's first, with an Intel PM965 chipset and NVIDIA's GeForce 8600M GT video card.
Telefonica Europe chief Matthew Key today said that his company would make a joint announcement with Apple regarding the iPhone within weeks, hinting at a near term launch for an anticipated 3G upgrade to the cellphone. Key, whose telecoms group operates O2 in Ireland, the UK, and other countries, hasn't directly confirmed the device when asked about its existence but alludes to both its release and a possible expansion of service beyond just the O2 brand.
Samsung on Wednesday announced that it will unveil a 15-inch LCD panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, the industry's first. The new LCD panel, dubbed 'blue phase' by Samsung, will debut at the SID 2008 exhibition, which kicks off in Los Angeles, CA on May 18. With the blue phase technology, the Korean manufacturer was able to double the best frame rate of its current TVs, which operate at 120Hz.
Verizon today took further steps to promote its image as an open carrier by announcing it would join the LiMo Foundation, an industry group dedicated to developing and promoting Linux on cellphones. The US cell provider takes the last seat on the Foundation's board of directors alongside handset makers such as Motorola and Samsung as well as NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone, and claims to be a "champion" of openness in the process.
LG and Samsung this morning jointly said they would team up to promote a new standard for digital mobile TV in the US. Already submitted to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) that governs HDTV, the unnamed format would use the existing wireless spectrum already in place for digital over-the-air broadcasts to conventional tuners. The choice would not only make adding portable TV simple for existing providers but would do so without impacting the bandwidth available for full-size digital broadcasts, the companies say.
AT&T's cellular Internet access will be more than five times faster in 2009 than it is this year, the company's mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said today at Morgan Stanley's annual Communications Conference. The executive says that the company's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network will be improved from the theoretical peak downloads of 3.6 megabits per second common across most of the network today to about 20 megabits per second in 2009.
Sprint is currently facing a heavy decision on what to do with the Nextel network, whether it should continue to invest in it, turn it into a standalone company, or simply cease operating the Nextel brand altogether. MocoNews writes that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently gave a bit of insight to shareholders, saying that he does not see the iDEN network (which currently is only in use by Sprint) disappearing in the near future, and insists it is the best primary choice for network service. Hesse expects that Motorola would continue to support the technology, even with the company's current wireless problems.
Philips is preparing to launch two high-end touchscreen phones - the X800 and Xenium X-Connect - which feature large color screens and several luxury features. The X800 offers users a tri-band GSM/GPRS platform, which uses a 2.9 inch touch screen to display information, with a screen resolution of 240 by 400 pixels. It also features handwriting recognition, a 2MP autofocus camera, a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth, and an office document reader. Battery life for the unit sits at 850 hours standby, and 8 hours of talk time.
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