Search Results for: Motorola

Google seeks to expand ‘wearable’ options with Android Wear program

March 20, 2014 by Paul Kapustka

The Moto 360 Android

Google made a lot of noise a few years back with its push for Google Glass project, a pair of glasses that are connected to the Internet and now it is adding a second front in the wearable war with a push that it calls Android Wear.

The company has launched the Android Wear project in an effort to greatly expand the market for wearable hardware and related technology, with but not limited to helping a new generation watches running the company’s Android operating system.

The core of the effort will be a Software Developers Kit (SDK) that the company will be delivering to interested developers later this year.

While connected watches seem to be the first area that this effort will have an impact Google sees the effort expanding into other areas including bringing additional technology to more established platforms such as tablets.

However watches seem to be at the forefront of this space and potential developers that include everybody from Nike to Apple have indicated some level of interest in developing a watch. In addition there are already several connected watches on the market such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear and Pebble’s Steel Watch. Google has a number that have now announced their intention. With such a huge position in the smartphone operating system already Google has a huge advantage and it looks to be building on it quite quickly.

Several partners have already announced intentions to build watches and in some cases have shown examples of their development efforts. Motorola, unsurprisingly, has one in development called the Moto 360 Android that it said will be available this summer while LG Electronics said it would introduce its first Android watch, the G Watch, sometime this quarter.

The watches will be equipped with a variety of sensors and the ability to connect to an Android phone. So it can sub for the fitness trackers that are popular with the athletically inclined. It will allow notifications and text messages to be forwarded from a user’s phone and enable voice replies.

I imagine it would be a great tool to use to cheat on exams, but that might just be me. However being in a meeting and getting, say, March Madness game updates, could be a boon for those times when it is frowned upon to look at your smartphone. However the flip side of this is that many, at least those of us old enough, might just see this as a glorified pager with a bit more functionality.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Google, Live sports via mobile, Samsung, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: Android Wear, Apple, Google, LG, Motorola, Pebble, Samsung, Smartphone, Smartwatch

Short Week Grab Bag: Cheap HP tablet, new hockey TV deal in Canada

November 27, 2013 by Paul Kapustka

Hewlett-Packard has revealed that it will be entering the Black Friday fray with a very enticing offer: a 7-inch HP Mesquite tablet for the low, low price of only $89. The tablet will be available at your local Walmart.

The tablet is one of several that will be on sale that weekend that are powered by Intel’s Medfield family of microprocessors as the chip maker is using the start of the shopping season to start hyping its development partners in the tablet space.

Google Glass user booted from club
Earlier this year a Seattle bar said that it would ban anybody wearing Google’s see all glasses. Well a user of the hands free device has been kicked out of a bar, but not the one that made the original promise.

A user was asked to either remove the glasses or be asked to leave the Lost Lake Café and Lounge and apparently made a scene both at the bar but also online (where else) as he complained about his rights. Not sure where in the U.S. Constitution those rights are covered but I am sure its in there somewhere.

EdgeCast Networks helps Indianapolis Colts reach fans
The team has developed the ability to stream video and live content to fans using pretty much any mobile device using EdgeCast technology as the team seeks to increase traffic to its own web sites and away from third party apps.

Get your Apple rumors here
Now that Apple has filled its backlog of iPhone 5S orders it’s time for the company to start fending off rumors of what will be in its next generation iPhone, probably known as the iPhone 6. Well the International Business Times has done a nice roundup for you.

The release date will be late next year; it will have a larger screen, possibly as large as six inches. The display may be curved or flexible and it will be lighter than existing models. Is weight really an issue with iPhones?

Nokia looking at 8-inch tablet?
Well not really looking at but actually planning on building on for sale, with a possible release date sometime in the first quarter of next year, a follow-up product to its 10-inch Lumina 2520, according to Digitimes.

The piece also said that it expects that LG Electronics and Sony Mobile to stay in the tablet market but that sources are reporting that HTC, Motorola Mobility and BlackBerry may choose to leave and only focus on smartphones.

New hockey broadcast deal in Canada
The NHL has just signed its most comprehensive, and largest financially, broadcast deal for games to be shown in Canada. The deal gives Rogers Communications the broadcast and digital rights to all NHL games.

The 12-year deal cost the cable company $5.2 billion and is viewed as a step by Rogers to drive demand for its subscription based cable networks.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, BlackBerry, Google, Hewlett-Packard, HTC, Intel, iOS 7, Live Sports Video Consumption, Motorola, NFL, NHL, Nokia, Sony Tagged With: Apple, Google Glass, HTC, Indianapolis Colts, iPhone, LG Electronics, Motorola, NFL, NHL, Sony

Friday Grab Bag: Top Sports Twitters, No one wants NASCAR

October 11, 2013 by Paul Kapustka

Sports humor site Deadspin breaks down the top sports Twitter accounts with a short synopsis of each, most of them dead on and pretty funny, using actual tweets from each account to highlight, sort of, what the person stands for.

The piece does not spare many, with pretty much an impressive list of people and put downs. It should be noted that Deadspin only included 73 sites in its Top 100 list.

Instagram a threat to hockey reporters?
Sports reporters who cover the Philadelphia Flyers are all up in arms over the team’s decision to use Instagram as the avenue by which it announced who would be its starting goalie. The best part is how the reporters, some of the most old school in the nation, responded.

That would be via their smartphones and through their Twitter accounts of course. Nothing can show your disgust over someone using the latest technology than by also using it to complain about that use.

Aereo coming to Android
The TV over Internet developer Aereo said that it will soon be delivering to the Android operating system. It already has a version of the iPhone but said that the Android took much longer because of the huge number of customized versions of the OS.

Aereo is currently locked into a lawsuit with TV broadcasters over its rights to rebroadcast their products and they are trying to fast track the suit to the US Supreme Court to prevent the rapid expansion of the company,

iPhone 6 to reported to have 4.8-inch screen
Cnet is reporting that a Jefferies analyst is predicting that the next generation iPhone, expected in sometime in 2014, will have a 4.8-inch screen. The current screens on the just released iPhone 5s is 4 inches.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek made his prediction after meeting with Apple suppliers in Asia. Currently Apple is behind the curve in screen size, with an estimated 50% of other smartphones that shipped last quarter having screens larger than 4 inches.

ESPN & Turner fleeing NASCAR
It has been reported elsewhere that NASCAR’s viewing numbers have been declining for the last several years but has it really come to this? The Sports Business Daily is reporting that both Turner Sports and ESPN are looking to exit their respective broadcast deals with the sport early.

The idea was to turn responsibility for the telecasts over to Fox Sports a year early, since Fox will be the new broadcaster for NASCAR in the future. NASCAR turned down the idea according to The SBD.

Motorola to one-up Samsung in large format smartphones
According to Cnet there is the possibility that the next generation smartphone from Motorola will feature a 6.3-inch display, placing its own stake in the ground in the rapidly growing phablet market segment.

The space, pioneered by Samsung and its Galaxy Note lineup, has seen a number of additional players enter the market such as Sony while others such as Microsoft have hinted at the possibility. Apple appears to be the lone holdout on the large screen segment among the major players.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, ESPN, Fox Sports, Instagram, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Motorola, NASCAR, Turner Sports Tagged With: Apple, Deadspin, ESPN, Fox Sports, NASCAR, Turner Sports, Twitter

Friday Grab Bag- MLB.TV at a Discount!

August 23, 2013 by Paul Kapustka

The Fall Classic is coming into sight and if your team is looking to make the playoffs (mine is not) then you might want to consider this offer from MLB. It is offering its TV package, MLB.TV, for $19.99. Subscribers can watch games not just on a TV but also laptops, iPhones and iPads as well as the Xbox 360.

Motorola to Xoom no more
If you have a Motorola Xoom tablet it might be a collectors’ item. No the company is not phasing it out, but it has settled a trademark dispute with Xoom Corp. that spells the end Motorola using that name for its tablet.

Xoom Corp., an online payment company, convinced Motorola that it infringed on Xoom’s trademarks when it released the Xoom tablet, so expect Motorola’s next generation tablet to carry a different name.

Facebook’s CEO Seeks Expanded Mobile Internet Access
Mark Zuckerberg has a tech alliance called Internet.org that will seek to expand the availability to billions around the globe that currently have no method of getting online. He called the effort “the greatest challenge of our generation.”

Members include Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm and Opera. Rival Google, which is working on its own solution to this issue, is not a member nor is Intel which has also been active in this area.

Apple to refresh both iPad and iPhone at same time?
Rumors have been going around that Apple would refresh one then wait a few weeks and refresh the other but now they are reporting that both will be done at an event that Apple is expected to host on Sept. 10.

Bloomberg has reported that Apple will release on that date, which interestingly is after several rivals such as Samsung and Sony plan to also release new offerings. Samsung is expected to do Apple one better and debut its smartwatch as well.

Intel preps next generation tablet processor
Intel often has interesting names for its processors and the next two coming down the pipe, Cherry Trail and Willow Trail are expected to be much faster processors than the current Silvermont family which is just now coming on line.

Cherry Trail is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2014 while Willow Trail will follow the next quarter, according to a report from Tech Radar.

Details of Archos tablet revealed in FCC filing
Slash Gear is reporting details of an upcoming tablet from Archos that is expected to be called the Archos 101 XS 2, which the company is expected to unveil next month at the IFA show. The tablet will feature 1GB RAM, a 10.1-inch display, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for additional capacity.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Facebook, FTC, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Major League Baseball, Motorola Tagged With: Apple, Archos, Facebook, Intel, Motorola

Friday Grab Bag: Apple to Expand iPhone with Mid- and Low-Cost Models?

May 31, 2013 by Paul Kapustka

If you are wondering about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s opinions on a variety of topics from the future of mobile computing, an Apple-owned social network to the future of the Apple iOS tune into the video of his interview at All Things D.

He does not delve into any topic too deeply, but then that often seems to be his trademark, but does hint about the phones and discuss Google Glass a bit. Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, due to start June 10, should be when most of the details for upcoming products emerge.

Apple to open additional APIs to developers
One interesting note from the All Things Digital talk was Cook commenting that Apple plans to open more APIs to third-party developers. On the face of it that does not sound too interesting but then you look at what is currently locked up.

It could give users the ability to select their home screen and lock screen as well as change their keyboard. In other words function more like an Android phone.

Google to embrace HTC One
The HTC One smartphone, ridiculed as the failed first attempt by Facebook to establish its own version of its app as the startup page on phones looks to be getting a new life from rival Google. It will be one of two new offerings from Google expected in the upcoming weeks. The difference here will be that it runs an unmodified version of Android.

Also expected from Google is the long awaited Motorola X phone, which will be called the Moto X, and should be available for the fall holiday gift giving season i.e. October.

HTC to deliver 7-inch Windows Tablet, yet killing 12-inch?
Speaking of HTC Bloomberg, via Engadget, is reporting that HTC will be killing off its planned 12-inch Windows RT tablet due to its belief that there will be little demand for that version of the Windows operating system and/or tablets that size.
Smaller form factor tablets have been selling at an increasingly fast rate and Bloomberg is reporting that HTC will be delivering a 7-inch Windows RT tablet, probably in September or October of this year.

E3 Just two weeks away
E3, one of the premier game and entertainment trade show is set to run from June 11-13 in Los Angeles. Once this might not have meant much to both sports fans and mobile users but increasingly apps are being developed and debuted that are designed for smartphones and tablets. Expect a wave of iOS and Android apps from the show and hopefully some that are top notch sports ones.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Facebook, Google, HTC, iOS 6, iPhone, Microsoft, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: Apple, Facebook, Google, HTC, iPhone, Microsoft, Motorola, Windows 8, Windows RT

Who’s Winning the Wi-Fi Market? A Quick Look at the Leaders

December 7, 2012 by Paul Kapustka

Thanks to the folks at IDC, a handy leaders chart: But watch out for those “others?”

Chart: Top Five Worldwide Enterprise WLAN Vendors, Revenue Market Share, 3Q 2012 Description: Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker, November 2012 Note: IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker provides insight into customer trends by delivering total market size and vendor share data for the enterprise class and consumer class WLAN markets across eight regions and 52 countries. The data is further segmented by product category, product, standard, and location. Shipment and revenue data are provided. For more information, or to subscribe to the research, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 1-650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com. Further detail about this tracker can be found at:http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=262Tags: IDC,Tracker, WLAN, Cisco, Aruba, HP, Ruckus, WW, 3Q 2012, Market Share, Motorola Solutions, Revenue, Vendor, Share, Q3, SizeAuthor: IDCcharts powered by iCharts

Filed Under: Wi-Fi Tagged With: Cisco, IDC, Ruckus, Wi-Fi