Consumer
KDDI to sell nine new smartphones
October 17, 2012 10:22 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsKDDI Corp. said it will launch nine new smartphone models capable of a high-speed data communication service in Japan, a move likely to further intensify competition among mobile phone carriers to pursue better infrastructure. Of the nine models that are capable of using the LTE high-speed network, eight will hit the market on Nov. 2.
Sharp unveils seven-inch tablet with power-saving IGZO panel
October 17, 2012 9:57 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsSharp Corp. unveiled a 7-inch tablet computer Wednesday equipped with its state-of-the-art IGZO power-saving liquid crystal display in a bid to recover its flagging earnings performance. The Aquos Pad SHT21 with high image quality consumes only one-tenth the power...
Google opens window into secretive data centers
October 17, 2012 8:57 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, The Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle is opening a virtual window into the secretive data centers where an intricate maze of computers process Internet search requests, show YouTube video clips and distribute email for millions of people.The unprecedented peek is being provided through a new website unveiled Wednesday.
Chinese Gov't Backs Clearwire TD-LTE Band
October 16, 2012 12:41 pm | by Maisie Ramsay | News | CommentsThe Chinese government is backing the use of the 2.6 GHz band for TD-LTE, the same band Clearwire plans to use for its TD-LTE network in the United States. The announcement is a victory for Clearwire, which has been working with China Mobile to build global support for TD-LTE in the band through the Global TD-LTE Initiative.
ZTE Lands China Mobile LTE Contract
October 16, 2012 10:37 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsZTE announced that it has won the contract for China Mobile’s TD-LTE rollout in five major Chinese cities. According to the contract, ZTE will construct China Mobile’s TD-LTE networks in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shenyang, with more than 13,000 carrier frequencies...
World matched record for hottest September _ again
October 16, 2012 9:20 am | by SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsThe globe last month matched a record for the hottest September, set in 2005. It was the third time since 2000 that the world set or tied a heat record for September. In addition to 2012 and 2005, previous hot September records were set in 2003. And these records go back to 1880. Something about September keeps bringing out the record heat in the world.
Frontier Silicon and iPhone 5 at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair
October 15, 2012 1:16 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFrontier Silicon, the leading supplier of Digital Radio and Network Audio technology, today announces the launch of Venice 6.5, its most cost-effective module for network audio devices. Following the launch by Apple last month, the module supports iPhone 5 docking using the new Lightning connector...
World stocks rise, Softbank pounces on Sprint
October 15, 2012 9:26 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDespite current economic turbulence, European stocks rose and some Asian markets staged a comeback Monday as investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. earnings reports and Softbank's $20 billion deal for Sprint. Investors are also gearing up for another week of quarterly earnings on Wall Street...
Reports: Apple to reveal smaller iPad on Oct. 23, taking on Kindle and Nook
October 15, 2012 8:18 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsApple Inc. is set to reveal a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad at an event on Oct. 23, according to several reports published Friday. The reports from Bloomberg News, Reuters and the AllThingsD blog are based on unnamed sources "familiar with the plans." Apple Inc. hasn't said anything about a smaller tablet, a concept company founder Steve Jobs derided two years ago.
Softbank to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20 bln
October 15, 2012 7:21 am | by YURI KAGEYAMA - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsSoftbank Corp. has reached a deal to buy 70 percent of U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. for $20.1 billion in the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company. The agreement, announced Monday at a joint news conference in Tokyo by Softbank President Masayoshi Son and Sprint Chief...
Softbank in talks to invest in Sprint
October 12, 2012 11:40 am | by PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer-- The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapanese cellphone company Softbank Corp. was in talks Thursday about taking a substantial ownership stake in struggling U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. Sprint, the third-largest cellphone company in the U.S., said the deal could be big enough to involve a "change of control" of the company...
Samsung unveils smaller, cheaper Galaxy S III
October 12, 2012 11:29 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsSamsung Electronics Co. has unveiled a smaller and cheaper version of the Galaxy S III smartphone with the same screen size as the iPhone 5. Samsung says the Galaxy S III mini features a screen measuring 4 inches diagonally, smaller than the Galaxy S III's 4.8 inch display but the same as Apple's iPhone 5...
US court sides with Samsung in dispute with Apple
October 12, 2012 10:01 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA federal appeals court has sided with Samsung Electronics Corp. in one aspect of its ongoing patent dispute with Apple Inc. The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday overturned a judge's order blocking Samsung from selling its Galaxy Nexus...
The 10-letter keyboard that will make your head hurt
October 11, 2012 4:50 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsThe ASETNIOP keyboard is one of those things that may be great for future generations but will have a tough time integrating itself into the current workforce. The keyboard works on the premise that the traditional setup for typing is structurally inefficient, and you really only need 10 buttons to type
Crowdsourcing goes to Hollywood as Amazon makes movies
October 11, 2012 10:25 am | by Alistair Barr, Reuters | News | CommentsAmazon.com Inc is producing its own movies and TV programming using the consumer tracking and data crunching skills it developed while becoming the world's largest Internet retailer. Essentially, Amazon is crowdsourcing the creation of original content -- movies such as "Zombies versus Gladiators" and the children's TV series "Magic Monkey Billionaire."
Google in industry's "defining fight" with Apple, Schmidt says
October 11, 2012 9:39 am | by Alexei Oreskovic, Reuters | News | CommentsGoogle Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt expects more than a billion mobile devices around the world to be running its Android software within a year, intensifying a battle with Apple Inc that he called a "defining fight" of the industry. Schmidt said there were already four times as many Android mobile gadgets - smartphones and tablets made by the likes of Samsung Electronics...
A tactile glove provides subtle guidance to objects in the vicinity
October 10, 2012 12:14 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsResearchers at HIIT and Max Planck Institute for Informatics show how computer vision-based hand tracking and vibration feedback on the user's hand can be used to steer the user's hand toward an object of interest. A study shows an almost three-fold advantage in finding objects from complex visual scenes...
Researchers develop advanced computer to manage hospital emergencies
October 10, 2012 11:50 am | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsResearchers have developed an advanced computer simulator to help in decision-making processes (DSS, or decision support system) which could aid emergency service units in their operations management. The model was designed based on real data, using modelling and simulation techniques adapted to each individual.
New interactive system detects touch and gestures on any surface
October 10, 2012 11:35 am | by Purdue University | News | CommentsA new touch-activated system projects onto walls and other surfaces and allows users to interact with their environment and each other. The system identifies the fingers of a person's hand while touching any plain surface. It also recognizes hand posture and gestures, revealing individual users by their unique traits...
Computer-generated art that doesn't look computer-generated
October 10, 2012 10:09 am | by M. Simon | Blogs | CommentsI went to a city wide art show this last weekend and ran into the most marvelous artists who does computer generated art that doesn't look like computer generated art - at least not the generic stuff you so often see. His name is Barry Reithmeier. He has a feel for the medium. He uses a tool called Bryce which is currently available for free.
Engineering Newswire 7: A fully 3D-printed race car
October 10, 2012 9:12 am | Videos | Commentszero2infinity hopes to offer a slow and steady ascent aboard bloon, an intimate six-person pod attached to a zero-pressure polyethylene helium balloon. Gov. Jerry Brown rides to Google headquarters in a self-driving Toyota Prius before signing legislation that will pave the way for driverless cars in California.
Engineering Newswire 6: Get lost with Apple's iPhone 5
October 10, 2012 9:05 am | Videos | CommentsThe new iPhone 5 features a thinner, lighter design, with a taller screen, a faster processor, and updated software, everything you'd hope to expect from a new phone -- except a suitable map app. Rethink Robotics has unleashed a revolution in manufacturing with the friendly faced, factory robot: Baxter.
Prevent accidents by making your backseat disappear
October 9, 2012 11:16 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsCrunch. That’s the last sound you want to hear when you’re backing up your car. It is scary. It is alarming. It is NOT a good sound.It’s the reason dashboard cams were invented. Unfortunately, the embedded cameras only show a small portion of what’s behind the car, and accidents still happen.
Nobel Laureate Yamanaka Warns of Rogue "Stemcell Therapies"
October 9, 2012 8:38 am | by Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters | News | CommentsNobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka warned patients on Tuesday about unproven "stem cell therapies" offered at clinics and hospitals in a growing number of countries, saying they were highly risky. The Internet is full of advertisements touting stem cell cures for just about any disease...
Taiwan Asking Apple to Blur Satellite Image
October 9, 2012 2:30 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTaiwan is asking Apple Inc. to blur a map image of its new $1.4 billion early warning radar station that can detect aircraft and missiles coming from as far as western China. Defense Ministry spokesman David Lo said Tuesday that Apple should follow its rival Google in using only low-resolution...
