Nike denies that FuelBand's race is run, but new devices appear unlikely
Nike has moved to calm reports it plans to ditch its completely FuelBand wearables division following layoffs this week.
A report on Friday claimed the sportswear giant had fired the majority of staff in charge of developing the fitness wristbands, in order to focus solely on software.
While Nike confessed to a "small number" of layoffs, the firm says it remains committed to selling existing products and developing the accompanying apps.
"The Nike+ FuelBand SE remains an important part of our business We will continue to improve the Nike+ FuelBand App, launch new METALUXE colours, and we will sell and support the Nike+ FuelBand SE for the foreseeable future."
Warning sign?
Despite Nike seemingly quelling the reports, the statement mentions nothing about the development of new hardware, only a desire to continue selling the current generation devices.Judging from the statement, it appears the prospect of a third-gen FuelBand device may be distant one.
Nike's potential departure from the emerging wearables market, while it is still relatively young, could act as a rude awakening for those firms betting the family farm on the sector exploding.
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Beats Music subs now available through iTunes as service tries to keep track
Fledgling streaming service Beats Music has issued an update to its iPhone app, allowing prospective users to subscribe through the iTunes ecosystem.
With Beats struggling somewhat to establish itself among the streaming elite, the firm has made the decision to sacrifice 30 per cent of the subscription fee on those coming through iTunes.
As a rule, Apple requires that cut for all in-app purchases and Beats seems to have admitted defeat in the uphill struggle to grow significantly without the ease offered through iTunes.
The company's CEO Ian Rogers told Recode that working within iTunes is simply "what you have to do if you want subscribers."
He added: "If you don't care if people subscribe or not, and you've got a free product, maybe then you wouldn't do it."
Can Beats compete?
The move will raise doubts over the initial uptake of the Beats service and its ability to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio and Pandora.Rogers said plenty of people are "trying it" and is claiming conversion rate wins from a promotion through the AT&T network in the United States, but it appears there is plenty of hard work ahead.
He added: "We've had far more people try the product than projected. Clearly the marketing works. The conversion rate on the AT&T plan is off the charts. It's safe to say the biggest problem is coveting iOS users, and we've just fixed that."
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In Depth: Aiming for the moon: technology's most audacious projects
Technology's greatest moonshots
At the recent Ted conference, Google CEO Larry Page was on hand to discuss 'moonshots' which, according to the company's definition, are those outlandish ideas hanging out "in the grey area between audacious projects and pure science fiction."The dreamers in Google's secretive X Labs, where the ideas prepare for take-off, are bringing new thinking to some of the most pressing issues in technology and science, tearing up the playbook and starting from scratch.
The company seeks ten times improvement rather than incremental 10 per cent gains with its X projects, which are also inspiring others, such as Facebook and Amazon, to dream bigger.
Google Glass is proof that a moonshot can experience a successful surface landing, but the revolutionary AR headset is only the beginning.
Google and other innovative thinkers with the necessary bank balances hope to elicit seismic shifts in the way we connect the world, navigate it more easily and even live in it for longer. Here are some of tech's greatest moonshots.
Google Project Loon
Perhaps the most outlandish of all Google's 'moonshots' is the plan to bring balloon-powered internet to the 5-6 billion people on Earth who currently have no or limited access to the wonders of the supposedly world wide web.
The company plans to have a continual flow of self-aware balloons moving around the planet, on the edge of space (65,000ft). Those balloons will flock together to remain equidistant and use a range of sensors to ensure they stay at the right altitude and don't float away on the breeze.
The idea is to enable constant connectivity to be beamed to Wi-Fi antennas on the ground, allowing remote villages to gain access to healthcare advice, education and weather forecasts. Might it work? It's just loony enough to do so.
Amazon Prime Air
Jeff Bezos is no stranger to moonshots, he has his own privately-funded space exploration company, Blue Origin. But keeping things sort of terrestrial, Jeff also has plans to revolutionise home delivery forever. Late last year he announced Amazon Prime Air to the world, a drone-powered service that would allow small packages to be delivered to homes and businesses in major cities within 30 minutes.
Jeff has to wait until the FAA sets regulations for the commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles, but then his army of automated octocopters will be dropping off smartphones and George R.R. Martin books.
No wonder some folks in the US are already calling this skeet shooting with mystery prizes.
Hyperloop
Tesla Motors boss Elon Musk is another tech entrepreneur with his mind set on conquering the solar system. However, more than anything, this real-world Tony Stark just wants to ditch the hassle of airports for cross country trips.
The proposed above-ground Hyperloop transportation system would shoot around the USA in low-air-pressure tubes and be powered by induction motors. He reckons he'll be able to transport folks from San Fran to San Diego in half an hour, traveling at speeds of 800mph.
He's not the first to dream up vacuum-assisted travel, Popular Mechanics featured concepts on the front cover in 1950 and again in 1957, but Musk is perhaps the only one with enough swagger to make it a reality.
Calico from Google
Sorting us all out with driverless cars and connecting the world via balloons is one thing, but next up for a healthy infusion of "moonshot thinking" are two problems that have bothered the human race for slightly longer: Aging and death.
Enter Calico. The Google Ventures backed start-up, helmed by the Apple Chairman and biotechnology pioneer Art Levinson, is focused on life extension, by tackling mental and physical ailments that bother us in later life. Curing cancer will not be enough, says Larry Page.
Naturally, Google's vast experience lies in data crunching so what can it apply to medical research that'll help us unlock the mysteries of mortality forever?
Driverless cars
Google isn't the only driving force (get it?) behind automated automobiles, but it is the one with the best shot of making it happen. A driverless revolution pushes us closer to the utopian idea of no accidents, no drink driving, fewer traffic jams, less pollution and zero human error.
Google's fully automated vehicles have already racked up half a million miles around San Francisco with no incident, while the UK government has backed a scheme that'll see FAVs on the road by 2017.
Google is more likely to be the ones pushing software than the vehicles themselves, by the likes of Audio, BMW and Volvo and Mercedes are already making great strides.
Facebook's internet drones
Mark Zuckerberg seems to have taken on the mantle of an internet philanthropist these days. While Bill Gates battles malaria, Zuck is using his own vast resources to try and get those same folks online.
Sort of a cross between Amazon Prime Air and Google's Project Loon, Facebook's Connectivity Lab moonshot aims to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and geo-synchronous satellites armed to the teeth with internet connectivity. The Internet.org project calls for solar-powered drones, which can stay airborne for weeks at a time, positioned at 65,000 feet.
They'll beam connectivity directly to devices via infrared laser beams. Facebook has hired experts from NASA's Jet Propulsion labs to help them achieve the goals, but hasn't set a timeline. There was rumour it was going to buy up drone company Titan Aerospace but that, instead, went to Google.
Google smart contact lenses
While Google is on the cusp of a metaphorical lunar landing with its Google Glass moonshot, the company has no plans to stop there. Next on the agenda is a smart contact lens that could provide a life-changing solution for diabetics.
The company has developed a prototype lens with a tiny microprocessor that can sense glucose levels in tears. The company thinks it can be an early warning system for sufferers experiencing low blood sugar. Google is also experimenting with integrating an LED light to notify the wearer, while connected apps could eventually make the data available via smartphones.
Project Excalibur
Tech moonshots aren't a new thing, however. By 1992, the Cold War was starting to become the 'you should probably wear a sweater minor disagreement,' prompting the United States to abandon the grandest missile defence system ever.Project Excaliber was conceived in the 70s and was all set to be the first nuclear-powered, space-based device that'd halt a Soviet onslaught by firing multiple X-ray lasers at missiles in order to vaporise them or knock them off course as they approached their target.
The project was deemed out of the reach of current technology, and had been ditched by the time Bill Clinton came to office.
Project Ara: your next smartphone is one you'll build yourself
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How low can you go? Scaled back Moto G style handset reportedly outed
Motorola's affordable Moto G handset has undoubtedly been the smartphone success story of the last year and now it looks like the soon-to-be-Lenovo-owned firm is aiming for a repeat performance.
Brazilian site Tecnoblog, claims it has nabbed a screenshot from a local carrier, revealing a lower-spec handset that may be the rumoured Moto E.
According to the photo, the unnamed handset will come with a 4.3-inch display of unspecified resolution, with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and a 5-megapixel camera.
The mentioned specs continued to drop well below the Moto G, with 3G-only connectivity, 4GB of internal storage and a 1900mAh battery.
Super-slim
However, interestingly, the phone is listed as having an ultra-slim 6.2mm profile and of course the latest Android 4.4 software.According to the Brazilian carrier, the new handset will come in marginally cheaper than the Moto G which, with those specs, would hardly be a surprise.
Has Moto found its niche as the king of the affordable market? Are these rumoured specs just too low end to represent a good option for moderately tech savvy users? Let us know your thoughts.
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Facebook plans to share Nearby Friends location data with advertisers
Facebook has confirmed the data mined through the new Nearby Friends feature may one day be used for advertising and marketing purporses
The new tool, which is rolling out to iOS and Android apps in the coming weeks, allows users to share their location with select friends enabling pals to detect when they're in the locale and arrange meet ups offline.
At the time of the announcement on Thursday, Facebook made no mention of sharing the data with advertisers, which would have no doubt coloured the reaction to the feature.
Belatedly, a Facebook spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch: "At this time it's not being used for advertising or marketing, but in the future it will be."
Tracking your travels
Facebook is pitching the tool as a valuable new feature for users. It sends occasional notifications informing them how often friends, who've also agreed to be seen, are in the locale.It will also follow users on their travels, allowing friends to pitch in with suggestions or recommendations wherever they roam around the world.
Knowing the end goal may be (or always was?) geared towards targeted advertisements may see some users change their views on the feature.
Will you be switching on Nearby Friends when it hits your smartphone? Let us know your thoughts below.
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In Depth: Apple v Samsung: 10 secrets the court battle has revealed
Apple v Samsung
Apple and Samsung are scrapping in the courts again, and you know what that means: top-secret stuff gets thrown about with gay abandon, providing us with an insight into the tech giants' most jealously guarded plans, predictions and peeves.So what can we discover from the latest battle in Apple's Android war?
1. Apple v Google was a "holy war"
You can't fault Steve Jobs' consistency: when he said he wanted to wage war against Google, he stuck to the message and made plans to act. The "thermonuclear war" on Android he told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, about had a different name in a 2011 internal email, though. In an email to top staff Jobs spoke of a "Holy War with Google", which was the "primary reason for this Top 100 meeting".2. Samsung has been planning to dump Android for ages
Samsung has done well out of Android, but it sees the lack of control and rivals' adoption as weaknesses - so while Apple is number one on its enemies list, HTC, Google and Samsung itself are in the top four too. Samsung's documents say it has been struggling to stay on top of Android updates and would rather use its own, proprietary, OS.
3. Apple cares more about the competition than it lets on
We're supposed to think that Apple doesn't care about market share, but of course it does; it just doesn't like to admit it. An internal slideshow about Apple's 2014 phone strategy, which was presented during the cross-examination of Apple marketing VP Phil Schiller, said that "consumers want what we don't have" and emphasised the growth in cheaper and larger phones.When questioned, Schiller says he didn't agree with it and it didn't represent Apple's policy - although in what's surely a coincidence Apple is widely expected to launch a bigger iPhone, the iPhone 6, in 2014.
4. Apple was jealous of Samsung's marketing
So much for Apple not caring what the media says: when the Wall Street Journal said Apple had lost its cool to Samsung, Phil Schiller emailed Apple's ad agency to say: "We have a lot of work to do to turn this around".The agency's response "shocked" Schiller, who replied with an angry email and went on to praise Samsung's Superbowl spot. "I can't help but think 'these guys are feeling it'", he wrote. "That's sad, because we have much better products."
5. Samsung's top priority is beating Apple
According to a 2011 Samsung strategy plan - a plan with the heading BEAT APPLE on page two, Samsung's "#1 priority" is "beating Apple." "(everything must be context of beating Apple)," the document adds, somewhat unnecessarily.6. Android didn't want touchscreens until the iPhone came along
The excitingly named Android Project Software Functional Requirements Document version 0.91 - July 6 2006 confirms what most of us had already guessed: the iPhone launch caused major facepalms at Google, which was planning to concentrate exclusively on phones with horrible little buttons."Touchscreens will not be supported," the document says. One Steve Jobs "boom!" later and Android, like the rest of the smartphone sector, suddenly got all touchy.
7. The Galaxy Tab was a massive flop
Many of us were cynical about Samsung's 2011 claim that it had sold 2 million Galaxy Tabs by the end of 2010, suspecting that by "sold" it meant sold to retailers, not to customers. When pressed Samsung wouldn't give a straight answer, but evidence obtained by AppleInsider shows that the real figure was much, much lower: just 1m total sales up to June 2011. The Galaxy Tab didn't even outsell the Nook.
8. Apple considered a magic wand to control Apple TV
In the same email that talked about a holy war with Google, Steve Jobs bullet pointed the plans for the next Apple TV: "Where do we go from here?" he wrote. "Apps, browser, magic wand?" We're assuming the latter item is a potential product rather than just sarcasm.9. Samsung follows iPhone rumours
If Apple wants to cause trouble for Samsung, it should leak news that the iPhone 7 will contain a unicorn, run on dilithium crystals and include a metal detector: in Samsung's strategy plan for 2012 it described the "extremely real and urgent" threat of the then-unannounced iPhone 5. The specs, Samsung predicted, would include "LTE, social networking, cloud integration, CE [Consumer Electronics] integration, improved Siri". Someone's been reading the rumour round-ups.10. Copying was a two-way street
Multiple documents show that Samsung analysed Apple's software forensically to improve its own offerings. An incredibly detailed 2010 analysis shows exactly where Apple got it right and Samsung got it wrong (short version: pretty much everywhere), while an earlier User Experience (UX) analysis uses the iPhone as an example of what Samsung should have been doing but wasn't. On the other side, Steve Jobs' Holy War email noted that Apple "needed to catch up to Android where we are behind", citing "notifications, tethering, speech…" as areas for improvement.
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Review: Chromecast
Introduction
Streaming media around your home isn't a new idea, but the rise of internet-based on-demand services like Netflix and iPlayer means that it's becoming more and more popular as a way to watch TV.Chromecast, then, is an inexpensive media streaming adapter that turns any HDMI-equipped television into an app-driven smart TV when paired with a phone, tablet or computer.
The total package is Google's answer to the likes of Apple TV, Roku 3 - devices designed to take your digital content and get it up on your big screen without fuss or fiddle.
It's a very simple setup that Google's offering: the Chromecast is a small HDMI dongle that plugs directly into your TV, and connects to your Wi-Fi network.
You choose what to watch on another device, and then Chromecast streams that content from the internet directly and displays it on your TV. Curiously, it has no real interface of its own, it just sits and waits for your other devices to tell it what to stream.
On its launch in the middle of last year in the US, the Chromecast wowed with its cheap price, and it's similarly bargainous in the UK: just £30 - less than a third of the Apple TV's RRP. That's awesome.
But it comes with an important caveat: while the Chromecast unit itself works well right now, the services that it needs to support it are very much a work in progress, even months after its US launch.
In the US, the Chromecast app list is now up to 23 including Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora and HBO Go - most of the big hitters.
However, in the UK, we're looking at a much more limited range. BBC iPlayer already has support for Chromecast in both its iOS and Android apps, as does Netflix.
Google's YouTube app also supports it, on both iOS and Android. But as far as the other big UK streaming services go… you're currently out of luck.
There's no Now TV from Sky, no 40D, no ITV Player, no BT Sport, no Demand 5, no Blinkbox. Even Amazon's Instant Video Service isn't supporting it yet.
Music is really restricted for UK users, with even the lone Pandora app support no good for us, due to licensing restrictions. The key addition here would be Spotify, but there's a wide range of services that could become available.
We're sure that this will change (Google can be very persuasive…), but there are major limitations on built-in support at the moment.
Google's Chrome browser on Mac or PC lets you mirror a browser tab to your TV, meaning that you can theoretically send any of these services to your TV that way, but there are issues with this.
If you stream video via the compatible apps, the content is streamed directly from the internet to Chromecast without travelling via your phone or tablet.
But if you mirror a browser tab, you're effecively streaming video to your computer from the internet via your router, then streaming it back to your router and then streaming it out once more to your TV, resulting in heavy network traffic.
If your network is flaky, this will result in choppy performance. We tested on a variety of networks and found results were variable but a clear network should be able to handle it. Browser streaming options are Extreme (720 high bitrate), High (720p) and Standard (480p).
Using Chromecast, though, it's clear that it's designed for use with portable devices in mind. You won't find a Chromecast remote in the box or a main menu tying all of the apps together like on an Apple TV or Roku 3.
Chromecast rivals
All streams originate from a special "Cast" button that's built into each compatible mobile app - your device is the remote.Currently, Windows Phone 8 users, who don't have many options among app-filled streaming technology, are totally out in the cold for Chromecast support, so you are limited to Android and iOs devices, too.
Despite these limitations from the big names, Chromecast has extra potential to it thanks to developers getting creative with the Google Cast SDK.
AllCast enables Android users to display video and photos through the Chromecast, for example, which is useful, since Google somehow neglected to add this feature to Android.
Photo Caster is a free app that enables iOS users to put their photos on-screen similarly.
Media Browser is an app for iOS and Android that streams media content stored on any computer in the house, giving the Chromecast home theater PC (HTPC) granting capabilities. You can even stream Podcasts from a few apps.
The way Apple integrated its AirPlay streaming solution deep into iOS means that it inevitably has better support when combining an iOS device with an Apple TV, but as long as developers continue to use the Cast SDK, we will inevitably see almost as widespread support for cross-platform solutions - iOS, Android and Chromecast all working together seamlessly.
Roku has its Roku SDK, but it's easier for many developers to make their apps compatible with the Android-based Chromecast. It requires a little bit of retooling rather than learning an entirely new ecosystem, as is the case with the Roku.
Between its universal nature, rock-bottom price and ease of setup, Chromecast is massively tempting as a little TV add-on.
Design and interface
Chromecast is so small it could easily be mistaken for an oversized USB thumb drive with a little more heft to it.That contrasts with Apple TV or Roku, which sit as separate boxes, and often have extra outputs, such as for audio. Nice if you want them, but not necessary for most people. Chromecast just is one big HDMI plug, with the exception of its power cable.
It's a simple black unit, likely to blend into the colour of most TVs (though if it ends up sticking out of the side noticeable, it'll be somewhat more intrusive).
If your TV is wall-mounted, Chromecast could be really awkward to implement depending on your TV's HDMI port positions. It might also not fit into the space for HDMI ports in some setups, so Google has included a short HDMI extender cable.
It gets around immediate problems, but be aware that at 72 x 35 x 12 mm, Chromecast might be an awkward fit.
Powering Chromecast can be a little more complicated depending on the age of your television, because it can't run on the power from the HDMI port alone.
On the rear of the unit is a micro-USB port, and Google has included a five-foot micro-USB-to-USB cable in the Chromecast box along with a power adapter that plugs into the mains.
Ideally, you wouldn't use the latter of these - if your TV has a USB port on it, as many Smart TVs do, you can use that as the power source.
Otherwise, you'll have to plug in, and it's possible you'll find that five feet isn't enough. Again, it's not a big problem, but it's worth being aware of.
Once it's plugged in and ready, Chromecast's software setup is not complicated at all - in fact, it's barely existent.
It's a matter of visiting Google's Chromecast "getting started" website on a laptop, tablet or smartphone, downloading and installing some software, and connecting the device to your home WiFi network.
Google has provided apps for each platform that take care of this for you, with the Android version especially good – it does almost everything for you.
On iOS, for example, you need to switch to a Wi-Fi network created by the Chromecast so that you can then tell it how to join your main Wi-Fi network – it's easy enough, but requires a bit of annoying back-and-forth to the settings.
On Android, it's all handled for you invisibly – you don't need to manually change Wi-Fi at all. It's impressive.
Once you've set up, Chromecast is basically ready to go. It's always on, so when you want to use it, just switch the HDMI input you've got it on and fire media at it. When there's nothing playing, you generally just get a screensaver, showing pretty photography.
Content and performance
Chromecast finally gives Android owners an official media-relay option that broadcasts content from their smartphones and tablets to a TV in similar way to Apple's AirPlay technology. That it works across Android, iOS, PC and Mac is even better.There's a "Cast" button that's usually built into the top right of all of the compatible mobile apps - it looks like a rectangle with broadcasting bars (like a Wi-Fi symbol) in the corner.
It's easy to recognise, despite Android being full of similar rectangles these days (and Apple's AirPlay symbol being somewhat similar).
Tap the "Cast" button and you'll be offered a list of Chromecast devices on your network, so just choose which one and you'll see the screen spring into life, loading the video or audio content you selected.
The app then becomes a remote, basically, enabling you to control the screen. The likes of Netflix even give you a custom screen on the device, ditching playing the video there as well in favour of big buttons for controlling playback easily.
Video quality is great from most online sources - Netflix in HD looks as good as you'd hope. We did encounter some freezing issues towards the end of a film, but pausing and restarting got us back in action.
Netflix is also capable of streaming from the website on PC or Mac natively (not using the tab mirroring feature) to Chromecast, but when we tried this, the audio was often a tiny bit out of sync.
Not enough to make it unwatchable, but it was a bit distracting. Most of the time, when you send video over to the Chromecast, it picks up quickly. Generally, once you've started playing a video, you can exit the app and start doing other things - and this applies both to mobile and desktop.
This means Chromecast can act as a second screen in a couple of cases, particularly when used with desktops, letting you browse the internet or do something else on the computer while a tab with your Gmail, Twitter feed or a video is running in a "casted" background on the big screen.
However, it's not suitable as a second screen option for work; it's just a mirror of something you've already got open, so if you want to interact with it, it needs to be done on your main computers screen. There's also noticeable two-second lag between the computer and the TV.
That's a similar amount of consistent lag experienced when using Apple AirPlay mirroring on a Mac computer, but it is at least consistent - it doesn't suddenly hang or get choppy, for the most part.
But here's where AirPlay mirroring from a Mac shows up Chromecast's limitations: the browser extension is just that - browser-based.
Showing off a photo you retouched in Photoshop, a document you want a group to proofread in Word, or any program outside of the Chrome browser tab you're casting requires diving deeper into an options menu for a hidden command that's deemed "experimental" by Google.
It's buggy and slower than Apple TV's full computer mirroring. Chromecast is not meant for mirroring system-wide applications -at least not yet.
App limitations
The Chromecast tab extension is also limited to Chrome at the moment and may never work outside of the Google-owned browser. That means FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera users are out of luck if they had hoped to "Cast" using their favorite browser.While Google has opened up the Chromecast API for building applications, it's still forcing everyone to use Chrome for tab casting from a computer.
Chromecast also doesn't require an entire Apple TV device to sit in your entertainment console or force you to wire up with a lengthy power, HDMI and optional Ethernet cable.
Its plug-and-play nature means that it can be transported much more easily and fit into a backpack to carry to a school presentation or business meeting (we used Apple's iCloud version of Keynote to show a presentation from a Chrome tab), hotel room, or friend's TV. That flexibility may be worth its inexpensive price alone.
There is one potential of inflexibility, though. The total lack of built-in apps or direct method of control (such as a dedicated remote) means that if your device runs out of battery or is in another room, you can't play anything.
We had a few little niggles with apps as well, such as Netflix not running automatically from one show to another, and a photo-casting app that forgot the Chromecast after each use and had to hard quit and restarted.
Most of these are probably up to developers to fix, though, and as things mature, we expect they'll improve.
Verdict
Google's take on an AirPlay like universal streaming service is hugely impressive, not just for its price, but because it works well, on many platforms.And yet, it's only just begun - there's lots more Google will likely add to Chromecast in the near future.
The obvious downside to things having only just begun is that the number of services available is limited. If you have a Smart TV with iPlayer and Netflix already available, it might not look all that exciting.
And you'd be right, at least for now. But for those with older TVs and a phone or tablet, it's already one of the cheapest ways to get yourself some key on-demand services.
We hope that developers will also be able to work in some other interesting Chromecast options for the future, provided the technology allows it - something equivalent to the big-screen gaming that AirPlay enables for Apple users would be great to have cross-platform, for example.
We liked
Chromecast is brilliantly easy to set up, gave us little hassle after the first few minutes, and then worked really well.You quickly become accustomed to the idea of just reaching for your phone and beaming something over to it - just like the future should be.
The streaming quality is generally very good, and it's quite reliable, especially for a product that's still fairly early in its life. It's also impressive that it works so well on all platforms.
At £30, we definitely like the price. It's well into impulse-buy territory, and we do think it's worth picking one up just for its potential, even if you already have a way to stream the services it currently works with.
We disliked
The lack of apps is the simple, major problem. Chromecast is fairly well-supported in the US, but here in the UK, it needs fleshing out.Netflix and iPlayer are big, but they're only one part of it. While we understand why Google made the Chromecast work only with content streamed from apps, the occasional inflexibility that brings can be disappointing.
And while it is broadly reliable, it does feel like a bit more polish would improve things further – faster loading of videos in some apps, broader support in basic Android apps, stronger streaming from desktops, for example.
Verdict
Chromecast is an inexpensive, easy-to-use way of accessing streaming on your TV. Netflix and iPlayer are a reasonable start, but it needs a broader range.If it cost more, we'd say to hold off and wait to see if a wider array of apps appears, and that's probably true if you already have something that can stream common services, such as a PS3 or even an Apple TV.
But for £30, Chromecast is fun enough, robust enough and has enough potential that we've no problems recommending it to anyone without a smart TV.
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Nike reportedly retiring FuelBand, training eyes on fitness software
Nike's fitness trackers have seemingly run out of gas.
Word from a CNET source is that Nike is knocking out its wearable hardware business, having laid off the majority of the staff responsible for the FuelBand.
The group was part of the company's larger 200-person Digital Sport division, which works on software interface design, among other things.
Not only is the FuelBand disappearing from the podium, Nike is reportedly throwing in the towel on any planned future wearables. The company is said to have had another FuelBand waiting in the wings for release as early as this fall, but the project was nixed.
A Nike spokesman confirmed a "small number of layoffs" will take place as "our Digital Sport priorities evolve," but wouldn't comment on "individual employment matters."
Software contender
While Nike may be retiring the FuelBand, it's not done with wearables by a long shot.Instead of building hardware, the sports behemoth will reportedly turn its trainers on developing and growing its fitness and sports software offerings.
Nike+ and NikeFuel, the company's app and fitness-tracking measurement system, should help it find a niche in a growing wearable market. Nike can focus on selling swoosh-embroided sportswear and building better software as Samsung, LG, Sony, Pebble, Fitbit and others duke it out over devices you can strap to your wrist.
Google already announced its Android Wear OS for wearables, which will be adopted by hardware makers including, very likely, itself.
It's widely expected the Apple iWatch will team up in some way with Nike as well. Apple CEO Tim Cook is a Nike board member, and a number of Apple honchos, Cook included, are known to rock a FuelBand.
Nike's latest maneuver, if true, appears to be less about throwing in the towel and more rethinking how it plans to compete. Seems smart to us.
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Facebook Paper for iOS adds birthdays, photo comments and more
Those using Facebook Paper on their iPhones are getting a drastically different Facebook experience from everyone else. Today, that experience just got better.
Facebook Paper update 1.1 recently hit the App Store, bringing about what Facebook called in a Paper blog post are its most requested features.
The update adds birthday and events notifications to Paper, and users with the latest version can scroll past their notifications to see this info.
In addition, Facebook Paper users can now leave their own photos as comments on friends' posts.
More Paper improvements
Facebook Paper's support for Facebook groups has improved as well, with unread counts so users can see which of their groups have new posts.The update also includes improvements to accessibility support, new indications for unread stories, and reliability and speed improvements overall.
Finally, Facebook commissioned designer Sharon Hwang to design new covers for articles from Bloomberg News, Mashable, FT, kottke, Fox News, Popular Science, The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair and Hacker News.
Work ahead
Ten weeks after Facebook Paper's launch, the social network says users read an average of 80 stories every day across five or six different sections, the most popular being Facebook, Headlines, Tech, Ideas, LOL and Pop Life.Facebook says more niche sections like Pride are popular as well.
"Ten weeks have passed since we launched Paper and we want to thank you for being part of our community," the Facebook Paper team wrote. "Our vision is to make Paper the best way to experience stories from friends and the world on Facebook.
"We know we have work ahead of us - and that's why we appreciate your feedback and support."
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Review: Updated: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon review
Introduction and design
Business laptops are boring. There, I said it, and I doubt many would disagree. And judging by the looks of the new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the company's designers would likely nod in agreement. Lenovo has developed a knack for sexing up the business Ultrabook, for better or worse – just look at the ThinkPad Yoga.I'm glad to report that this X1 Carbon makeover resulted in more for the better, but it's not without a few flaws. (More on those later.) Plenty has changed in laptop design since 2012, the year of the most recent X1 before this refresh, and Lenovo has clearly kept up.
In addition to shaving off a tenth of a pound and nearly the same figure in inches, the company introduced a nifty new adaptive row of keys in lieu of your standard function keys. Lenovo also slapped two USB 3.0 ports on this year's X1, stretched the clickpad by over three tenths of an inch and introduced a new mini RJ-45 Ethernet port.
But since 2012, Lenovo's competitors haven't sat idle either. Ultrabook-class workhorses like the HP ZBook 14 offering discrete graphics have hit the scene, and Apple's MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display sports a premium look and spec sheet to boot. The new X1 is no slouch in either regard, I found after putting it through the ringer for some time.
Design
Upon opening the box, the iconic ThinkPad and Lenovo logos appear embossed onto the device's soft touch, carbon fiber lid. That material coats the entire frame from keyboard deck to base, though the laptop's underside is comprised of an equally smooth magnesium aluminum alloy.The carbon fiber makes for fantastic palm rests, but is highly susceptible to fingerprints and smudges. Opening the lid reveals two wobbly hinges, although they only shake within a strict range of motion – it's impossible to push the lid open further with one hand. To instill further faith in the X1's stability, Lenovo made it so it passed eight MilSpecs tests.
Lenovo's brand new clickpad sits slightly left of center, and above the frameless, nearly flex-free keyboard is the all-new row of adaptive keys. Above that is a 2560 x 1440 IPS touch panel beset by a seamless bezel.
Both the lid and base meet to quite a thin edge when closed, making the device feel even slimmer. All in all, the X1 Carbon might topple the ThinkPad Yoga as the best-designed ThinkPad yet.
Electro-illuminating the way
Perhaps the most noticeable and important change to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is what Lenovo calls the Adaptive Function Row. Designed to add more utility than what the standard row of function keys can provide in such a limited space, this row of keys uses two key technologies: liquid crystal and electroluminescence.
The first is a patented technology that easily reflects light, meaning that whatever is underneath becomes more legible. In this case, that's a series of laser-etched icons on a screen-printed backlight layer. Finally, an emissive electroluminescent layer allows the backlight to shine through the icons for different colors and visibility in direct light.
These all work in tandem underneath Corning Gorilla Glass to serve up a range of unique utilities that physical function keys could never cover. Switch to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari, and the row automatically changes to display functions like refresh, page navigation and opening new windows. Switch to Skype, and a host of video chat-centric functions appear instantly.
Shiny new features are nice and all, but business users care more for what's on the inside. Let's see what Lenovo managed to pack inside this super slim chassis, and for how much.
Specifications
With just one look at the ThinkPad X1 Carbon inside and out, it's clear what Lenovo is out to accomplish. This Ultrabook is designed on all fronts to be an everyman's business laptop. From its thin, light and sleek frame to its potent fourth generation Intel chip, this ThinkPad is aimed to please the power-hungry and style-savvy all at once.Measuring 13.03 x 8.94 x 0.73 inches (W x D x H) and weighing just 3.15 pounds even with its QHD touchscreen, it was tough to notice the X1 Carbon in my backpack. The MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display is a bit more dense at 3.46 pounds, but a hair thinner at a mere 0.71 inches. Meanwhile, the HP ZBook 14 tests the limits of Intel's Ultrabook classification at 3.57 pounds and 0.83 inches.
But these days, "thin and light" is only as good as the components you can cram inside. And given what rivals like Apple and HP have accomplished over the past year, Lenovo has its work cut out for it. So, how do this ThinkPad's guts stack up?
Spec sheet
This is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon configuration sent to TechRadar:- CPU: 1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4400
- RAM: 4GB DDR3
- Screen: 14-inch, 2560 x 1440 IPS, IPS display with 10 point multi-touch control
- Storage: 180GB SSD
- Ports: 2 USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, HDMI, Ethernet (via included dongle), headphone/mic combo jack, Lenovo OneLink connector
- Connectivity: Intel Centrino Advanced-N7260, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
- Camera: 720p HD webcam
- Weight: 3.15 pounds
- Size: 13.03 x 8.94 x 0.73 inches (W x D x H)
Decking the ThinkPad X1 Carbon to the nines, on the other hand, hikes the asking price up to a whopping $2,309 (about £1,392, AU$2,504). Of course, that nets you a speedy Intel Core i7-4600U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a hefty 512GB SSD. I'd say that the configuration sent to TechRadar hits the sweet spot for what Lenovo is trying to get at here.
But here's the clincher: The Retina MacBook Pro can largely outclass the X1 configuration at hand for $60 less. For $1,599 (around £963, AU$1,734), this Mac offers a slightly sharper 2560 x 1600 display, double the RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Not to mention that its optional dual-core Intel Core i5 chip is clocked at a much higher 2.6GHz and comes packing Intel HD Graphics 5000 as well. All that on top of an SD card reader makes Apple's notorious upfront fees look nominal.
On the other hand, HP's workstation Ultrabook isn't as finely configurable, offering a similar setup for a steeper $1,799 (about £1,084, AU$1,951). For that price, this laptop meets or surpasses the X1 in many ways, namely with the exact same processor, 8GB of RAM and an AMD FirePro M4100 GPU with 1GB of GDDR5 video RAM. And while I'm torn on whether the ZBook's 750GB, 7,200 rpm mechanical hard drive is a one-up on Lenovo's laptop, there's no doubt that its 1600 x 900 panel can't hold a candle to either rival laptop.
All said, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is in a unique position when it comes to value. The vendor has clearly strived to marry substance, style and savings. While it surprisingly falls short of Apple's MacBook, it looks generally unmatched in the wider enterprise notebook scene. Do this laptop's showings of power and design seal the deal?
Performance
Most of the systems I've tested at TechRadar have come packing the immensely popular Core i5-4200U chip with integrated graphics and no less than 4GB of RAM. So, I was surprised to see little difference between that CPU and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's slightly beefier Core i5-4300U processor, at least in benchmarks:- 3DMark: Ice Storm: 36,988; Cloud Gate: 4,201; Fire Strike 568
- Cinebench Graphics: 23.12 FPS; CPU: 239 points
- PCMark 8 Battery Life: 2 hours, 55 minutes
With the power setting kept to "Balanced", the screen at maximum brightness (it's rather dim, but more on that later), the volume set to 30% and keyboard backlighting off, the X1 held out for 4 hours and 54 minutes before shutting off. That was while running over 10 tabs in Google Chrome, HipChat, a PDF reader, Spotify streaming high bitrate audio and the occasional HD video on YouTube. Lenovo promises up to 9 hours of endurance.
Of course, halving the screen brightness would earn you some extra lasting power, but at the cost of legibility. And if you're churning complex functions through Excel, you shouldn't set the power any lower. That said, even at max brightness, the X1 managed to outlast the HP ZBook 14's 4 hours and 18 minutes.
Remixing the classic ThinkPad inputs
Lenovo rarely disappoints when it comes to typing and tracking, but this ThinkPad throws a few curveballs. The iconic ThinkPad keyboard remains untouched in terms of travel and spacing, offering the quality typing and tracking you've come to expect. (And yes, the TrackPoint is still here.)
However, the vendor changed quite a bit about the key layout. Namely, the Home and End keys now sit where otherwise a Caps Lock key would, snugly occupying the same space. The same goes for the Backspace and Delete keys, which are crammed into a single space normally home to a single Backspace key.
To activate Caps Lock, you must now double-tap the left Shift key. Adjustments like this were necessary to make room for the adaptive keys. This replaces the Function keys on the uppermost row with a new interface, but also cuts the Function key on the lowest row – hence many of these changes. Frankly, it might take you a few full days of use to adapt, like it did for me.
Adapting to the new Function Row
In testing the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, I found a dual meaning in the name for its new Adaptive Function Row. For one, this row of touch-sensitive keys adapts its functions to the tasks at hand. But at the same time, it takes quite a bit of learning and use to adapt to this ever-changing row of keys.
Switching between certain apps activates different functions on the row of keys. For instance, activating a web browser causes the row to instantly change from its current state to a series of web-focused functions, like refresh, page navigation and more. Switching to, say, Skype unveils a whole new host of focused functions, like mic gain, webcam controls, conference calling and more.
Opening any Microsoft Office application will activate the standard Function row along with keyboard backlight control and a few other specific functions. Essentially, this row of keys can be relevant to the three major laptop use cases: web browsing, video chat and document editing and creation.
Because the keys have no physical feedback, I often found myself accidentally pressing the Function key (which manually cycles between the function rows) when trying to press "Esc". At least the keys are easily visible under all sorts of light. Regardless, the utility here is clear: merging the media-first keys of competitors like the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display with the Function keys that business users need.
A sharp, but dim, screen
With a super sharp resolution at 2560 x 1440 pixels, images and videos pop on this touch panel. But what good are all those pixels if their blown out by glare? Unfortunately, the X1's screen is terribly dim, producing far too much glare in daylight even on overcast days.Plus, I've still yet to find much use for touchscreens on laptops in a business environment. Sure, you can lay the X1 flat and flip the screen's content 180 degrees with a special adaptive key. But couldn't you just turn the device around to show off that content?
Besides, the utility of a QHD screen will be lost on the general business user that doesn't use programs like Photoshop. Touch controls are snappy on this screen, but how often will you make use of that feature in your everyday work?
Lenovo might have been better off focusing on a brighter, cheaper FHD panel without touch control. Your only other option is a 1600 x 900 panel with neither touch input nor IPS technology.
Bundled software
In a surprising move, Lenovo included quite a bit of proprietary software in each X1. Some are more innocuous, like Lenovo Web Start (a self-contained browser with Lenovo's custom web page), Lenovo Settings and Lenovo Support. Others are more notable, like those below:- Adaptive Keyboard Settings: This app controls all of the particulars regarding the X1 Adaptive Function Row, camera gestures, voice recognition.
- Lenovo Companion: This Modern UI app acts as a hub for most of Lenovo's custom apps and a guide for users that are new to Windows 8.1.
- Lenovo QuickCast: The X1 can share files with other mobile devices on the same Wi-Fi network with this tool. Yet, it requires said device to have the app, which is not yet available on iOS.
- Nitro Pro 8: Lenovo includes this PDF reader app on all of its professional-grade systems. It's essentially a free, pro-level alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Verdict
On the whole, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon does a fantastic job of straddling the line between function and form. An improvement on the previous X1 Carbon in every way, it's the details that might turn veterans away and lure in new fans.For example, the super sharp touchscreen might please the more vain viewers, but only if they were able to see what's displayed. And the adaptive row of keys might make refugees from the Apple camp feel more at home, but put off curmudgeonly ThinkPad veterans.
Lenovo has been testing the limits of the ThinkPad old guard for some time, introducing new features and removing more antiquated ones at a slow, steady clip. The new X1 Carbon is a much more drastic move toward the new era of computing.
We liked
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon has one of the most attractive design IDs I've ever seen on a business laptop. Save for omitting an SD card reader, Lenovo has made very few compromises in crafting a sleek, light laptop. From its soft touch carbon fiber frame to its fingerprint sensor squeezed onto the right of the keyboard deck and its power-packed internals, you won't be wanting for much more out of this machine.The adaptive row of keys takes some getting used to. But this high-tech keyboard expertly merges the popular media and function-first keys found on MacBooks with the necessary function keys of the business world. Was it entirely necessary? Probably not, given how much it dictated rejiggering the rest of the key layout. Is it interesting in a way that most other business laptops aren't? Absolutely.
What else about the new X1 that is easy to admire: the selection of ports for its slim profile, including HDMI, DisplayPort and Ethernet (via an included dongle). Also, despite the layout change, the typing and tracking experience is nearly bar none on this laptop, much like most Lenovo systems.
We disliked
Getting right to it, I wasn't particularly blown away by the screen. It produces some gorgeous visuals through video, images and web pages thanks to its 2560 x 1440 resolution and IPS technology. However, it's also rather dim, picking up tons of glare regardless of what kind of content is on display.Besides, the business benefits of such a sharp screen don't extend far beyond better image fidelity in Photoshop and other media editing software. Plus, I've yet to find any seriously compelling use cases for touch in the office. Lenovo would have been better served putting out an FHD panel that was a bit brighter and forgetting about touch control altogether.
And likely thanks in part to this QHD touchscreen, the X1 didn't come close to Lenovo's claim of up to 9 hours of battery life in my testing. But also consider that I was forced to max out the screen brightness in my anecdotal testing for the sake of seeing my work, and it lasted about as long as most Haswell machines I've tested.
Final verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a business laptop that straddles the line between form and function more than ever after this update. For those with a penchant for aesthetics, here's a brand new design with some fantastic new features. And to keep the no-nonsense business user happy, this is a plenty powerful piece of hardware.If it weren't for that glaring display and missing SD card reader, I would heartily recommend the X1 Carbon without question. What this laptop offers through its super slim design profile alone is impressive. And the adaptive keys, while divisive, add a ton of function in a limited amount of space and an attractive presentation.
More intense business users would be better served by the HP ZBook 14's dedicated GPU and easy IT access. But look out, MacBook Pro, you're no longer the only thin and light business option on the block.
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Microsoft to open $1.1 billion data center in Iowa
Microsoft will build a $1.1 billion data center West Des Moines, Iowa that will occupy 1.2 million square feet on 154 acres, according to a report in The Des Moines Register.
$2 billion of data centers
The project, which had been codenamed Project Alluvion, is approximately 8 miles from Microsoft's current data center in West Des Moines. The new project would bring Microsoft's total investment in West Des Moines to approximately $2 billion.Bringings jobs to Iowa
As part of its deal with the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board, Microsoft's data center must create 84 jobs, 66 of which must have a wage of at least $24.32 an hour.Iowa has become a hotspot for data centers. Facebook and Google both recently opened data centers in the state.
San Antonio
Microsoft has also confirmed plans to build a $250 million data center next to its existing data center in San Antonio, TX. When the San Antonio project is complete, the space will comprise more than 700,000 square feet.
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Salesforce integrates with LiveHive
LiveHive is now available to be integrated with Salesforce, both companies said in a statement. LiveHive, which provides engagement analytics and sales insights, can be accessed via the Salesforce AppExchange.
The integration is designed to enable Salesforce users “to share, track and monitor business activities as well as cultivate collaboration within sales organizations,” according to the statement.
Cost
The integration enables Salesforce CRM users to access LiveHive for $35 per month for single users, $125 per month for up to five users, or $495 per month for up to 25 users. The solution features event tracking, social selling features, and sales collaboration tools.Recent upgrades and integrations
Last month, LiveHive made the following additions to its CRM solution: a predictive benchmarking tool for lead ranking, a sales coverage tool, and a PowerPoint analytics tool that tracks how prospects engage with individual slides within presentation decks.Salesforce recently integrated its CRM solution with Workday’s Human Capital Management, Financial Management and Big Data Analytics solutions. It also enabled integration with Evernote’s productivity-based applications.
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Ubuntu Trusty Tahr leaps forth, tackles high-res screens and tablets
The Ubuntu 14.04 Long Term Support (LTS) edition has finally arrived, bringing new support for high-resolution displays and touchscreens.
Codenamed "Trusty Tahr," the release named after a reliable wild goat finally makes it so Ubuntu scales properly on high-resolution displays, an important feature in our advancing 2K and 4K world.
What's more, the 14.04 update is also the first stable version of Ubuntu made for tablets. It adds some much needed improvements to its touchscreen support for everything from multi-touch trackpads on laptops to commercial tablets.
In for the long haul
As a LTS release, Canonical has designed the upgrade for enterprises, adding more stability on top of a few notable features. This release of Ubuntu will also be continuously updated for the next five years.As Windows XP was phased out last week, Canonical is taking the opportunity to push 14.04 to businesses as an affordable replacement for Windows XP.
"The 14.04 LTS release offers a solid, intuitive experience which is easy to manage," Jane Silber, Canonical CEO, said in a release. "It is a viable and affordable alternative for those organizations considering a switch from Microsoft, and specifically those replacing XP or Windows 7 as they come to the end of life."
As such, Canonical promises Ubuntu 14.04 LTS provides a seamless migration path from Windows to its platform. The operating system includes compatibility with Windows file formats, browser-based cloud solutions such as Maxthon, and the Microsoft Office-compatible LibreOffice suite.
- If you're still on Windows XP, it's time to get out now
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LG is joining the ever-escalating chip race
LG has confirmed that it's joining the processor race with TSMC, which will manufacture chips for the South Korean phone maker.
LG's chip, which was previously rumored as the monster octo-core "Odin," will launch "soon," according to the Korea Herald, which broke the news after speaking with a representative of LG.
The site also spoke with another source that said LG's Odin processors will launch in the second quarter of 2014, though that much at least is unconfirmed.
The chips will be designed by LG for LG phones and manufactured by TSMC, also known by its lengthier name Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which last year struck a deal with Apple as well.
Great Odin's Raven
LG is one of the top phone manufacturers in the world, and in Korea it's second only to Samsung.It's only natural that the company would begin producing its own chips, especially as Apple and Samsung rely more and more on their own processors.
Apple was reportedly ramping up production of its new A8 chip earlier this year to meet demand for the upcoming iPhone 6, while Samsung recently refreshed its Exynos line with new quad- and six-core chips.
News of LG's own chips has naturally sparked speculation that the new processors will be shipped in LG's upcoming new flagship, the LG G3, but that can't be confirmed at this time.
In addition to that, however, this news has also caused some to wonder whether LG will resurrect its semiconductor business as well.
- Here's what TechRadar thinks of the Galaxy S5
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Next Google Nexus phone may come with a budget price
Google is known for offering hardware direct to customers at lower-than-most prices, but the company may take it one step further in offering a budget Nexus phone.
That's the word coming from a Chinese publication that reports on "everything MediaTek," but more on that thread in a minute.
The main hook here is that Google's next Nexus handset could cost as low as $100 (about £59, AU$107). The phone would likely fall in the lower mid-range spectrum, and likely wouldn't replace the Nexus 5.
A $100 price tag would be significantly cheaper than previous Nexuses; the Nexus 4 sold for $300 (£239, about AU$321) at launch, and the Nexus 5 followed with a slightly higher $349/$399 (£299/£339, about AU$374/AU$427) fee.
Ticking with Tek
The only other detail to go on with this rumored budget Nexus phone is it could run a MediaTek processor.HTC partnered with MediaTek to offer the entry-level Desire 310, and the chip maker is China's leader in smartphone silicon. The country is gobbling up budget phones by the barrel, and Google could be taking a cue from Apple in targeting the region with low-cost hardware.
We'll keep an eye out for more on this supposed cheaper Nexus, so stay tuned for more.
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Leaked images claim to reveal iOS 8 running on iPhone 5S
With Apple's annual developer conference quickly approaching, we have little doubt that somewhere in Cupertino there are devices already running iOS 8 - and a new report could very well offer our first glimpse at one of them.
PhoneArena today turned up a handful of images allegedly from Apple's forthcoming iOS 8, which will presumably be unleashed in just over six weeks during the iPhone maker's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco.
One low-resolution image (shown below) appears to show iOS 8 running on a current iPhone 5S passed along by a generous reader using the screen name "Omar Sharif," which we're pretty sure is not the star of stage and screen who shares the same moniker.
The tipster followed up with a trio of screenshots - two from iPhone and one from iPad - which reveal a bevy of icons for new apps that have been widely rumored to be included with the mobile OS release this year.
Eight is great
Although the four images don't immediately stand out as obvious fakes, the inclusion of a so called "Watch Utility" app is likely to raise eyebrows, although others for Healthbook, Preview, TextEdit and Tips fall in line with recent rumors.Also clearly on display is an icon for iTunes Radio, which Apple is reportedly toying with the possibility of turning into a standalone app, rather than part of the existing built-in Music app.
Assuming iOS 8 breaks cover at this year's WWDC which kicks off June 2, it's not surprising to see leaked screenshots making the rounds a month and a half early, even at the same time Apple is said to be readying an iOS 7.1.1 bug fix update.
Meanwhile, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users still lingering on iOS 6 have apparently found themselves in the midst of an extended FaceTime outage since yesterday, and the only resolution for now appears to be upgrading to iOS 7.1.
- Oh, and don't forget to follow the latest on iPhone 6 as well!
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This may be our first look at the iPad Air 2
The first iPad Air pushed the boundaries of thinness in tablet form, and it looks like Apple is gearing up to go even slimmer with the next version.
One More Thing (Google translate) scored some images purporting to show the front panel of the iPad Air 2, and from the looks of it the display is integrated into the panel.
That's not the case with the current new iPad, which features a separate display and panel.
Why would Apple meld the glass display with its casing? For one, it would mean an even thinner Apple slate, but it could also allow for space for a larger, longer-lasting battery.
Even more lighter than air
There's no way to verify whether these photos actually show parts of the next new iPad, or whether they're for the current model or complete fakes. We think you know where your salt shaker is, right?It's no far stretch to expect Apple to release the iPad Air 2 (or iPad 6, if you prefer) later this year, since it's become pretty predictable on when it launches certain hardware (iPhones in September, iPads in October).
All's been quiet on the new, new iPad front so far, but expect it to come running iOS 8, a next-gen A8 processor and, naturally, a Retina display.
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Cloud database, wireless network security markets to grow dramatically by 2019: MarketsandMarkets
The wireless network security and cloud database and database-as-a-service (DBaaS) markets are projected to grow dramatically by 2019, according to two reports from MarketsandMarkets, a global market research and consultancy.
Wireless security
The wireless network security market is projected to grow from $8.47 billion in 2014 to $15.55 billion by 2019, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.94% during the forecast period, according to the "Wireless Network Security Market by Solutions, Services Worldwide Market Forecasts and Analysis (2014-2019)" report.The report contends that an increase of wireless networks, adoption of mobile devices at workplaces and BYOD policies will drive the major growth in this area, as organizations seek to protect data transferred over wireless networks from hackers.
Wireless network security includes firewall, intrusion prevention and detection, encryption, identity and access management, unified threat management, security operations, consulting services, and managed security services.
Cloud databases
The cloud database and DBaaS market is projected to grow from $1.07 billion in 2014 to $14.05 billion by 2019, at a (CAGR) of 67.30%, according to the “Cloud Database and DBaaS Market by Databases and Service Models & Organization Size - Global Advancements, Market Forecasts and Analysis (2014-2019)" report.Innovative data storage and memory allocation techniques are driving the major growth areas in the cloud database market, the report states. Demand for cloud databases will dramatically increase due in large part to simpler maintenance compared with traditional storages techniques.
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Bad Friday: Sky Go and Now TV outage on iOS persists into second day
Sky has issued a second apology to customers struggling to access the Sky Go and Now TV streaming platforms on iOS devices, as the outage continues into a second day.
The services went down for unexplained reasons on Thursday, with the issue also affective the BBC iPlayer, although the Beeb was able to restore service that evening.
However, for Sky customers hoping to tuck into the Good Friday sports action (which includes important games in the Football League and the rugby Super League and F1 practice sessions) on their iPhone or iPad the outage persists.
In a post on its Sky Help webpage, the firm said it was continuing to work with Apple to resolve the mysterious issue.
No additional devices
The company wrote: "We are really sorry. We know that customers continue to experience problems with Sky Go and NOW TV on iOS devices."We are working very hard with Apple to fix it. We'll keep you updated here. Other devices are unaffected. Thank you for your patience and understanding."
Understandably, not all Sky customers are feeling too patient or understanding at this point. One Twitter user suggested the firm allow customers to register another device in order to continue viewing.
"Unfortunately we are unable to provide you with an additional device registration," the company replied.
Seems like the least it could do really, huh? You can stay in touch with Sky's service updates here.
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Google looks to LTE connectivity for latest Project Loon tests
Google is activity exploring the feasibility of using 4G LTE radio spectrum for its balloon-based Project Loon moonshot, according to a report.
PCWorld has revealed the next phase of testing for the project, which aims to bring internet connectivity to remote areas by using a flock of balloons to beam Wi-Fi to the ground, is currently taking place in Nevada.
The report says Google has gained permission from the local government and the FCC to use two bands of licensed radio spectrum, plus a broad class spectrum, which all points to the use of LTE.
Up until now Google has been using the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi spectrum for previous tests in New Zealand, but it would appear the firm is keen on exploring the option of using 4G LTE for the project.
Doubling down
One reason for the LTE tests could conceivably be the unreliability of the 2.4GHz spectrum, which is susceptible to widespread interference.However, if 4G LTE and WiFi were both used for a commercial Loon roll out, it may cause complications for Google as it would require approval from different sets of regulators, as PC World points out.
Google is yet to comment beyond the FCC filing, but local government officials are said to have confirmed the application is Loon related, with several balloon-based filings also made.
If you've yet to hear of Project Loon, it is one of the more outlandish 'moonshots' to emerge from the company's secretive X Labs.
Loon seeks to deploy a vast flock of thousands of balloons circumnavigating the globe, each carrying receivers that can beam Wi-Fi to antennas on the ground, solving the problem of zero connectivity for the majority of folks on the planet.
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In depth: Meet the team who want every smartphone waterproofed in five years
Statistics show the second leading cause of smartphone failure is liquid damage (the first being damaged screens). 33% of broken smartphones are accidentally damaged by water, with rain, drinks, toilets and showers all being common causes of this often-irreparable damage.
After early efforts at splash-proofing phones, such as the otherwise mundane Motorola Defy, Sony came up with the water-resistant Xperia Z in 2013. The Xperia Z offered full submersion thanks to internal seals and gaskets. Alternatives previously only came in the form of bulky protective cases, which mostly hinder the design and functionality of the phone.
Implementations of gaskets and seals to cover precious charging and audio ports have since become more compact, as we saw with the advancement between the original Xperia Z and the Z1.
But it's still an inelegant solution, and ultimately the technology can still fail if subjected to the higher pressures of deeper submersion. The Xperia Z and Z1 cannot claim to be fully waterproof as there's still potential for the seals to degrade over time, and there is a limit to how long the phones can operate whilst submerged.
This year, water-resistance and even waterproofing has become a specification to expect on many of top-end phones. Samsung's brand new Galaxy S5 comes with an IP67 rating, which means it is totally protected against dust and against the effect of immersion up to 1m.
This is thanks to a combination of protective covers over the USB 3.0 port and a nano-coating from an unspecified provider, whilst the unreleased LG G3 is due to feature water and dust proofing.
Sony has taken things a step further with its new Xperia Z2 flagship, which sports an IP58 rating. This allows it to go to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes.
It's likely all the leading manufacturers will be have life-proofed smartphones by the end of the year, ones that don't sport the traditional rugged, tough look. There's a raft of companies that we looked at late last year all hoping to make the most of this trend in waterproofing, such as Liquipel, HzO, and P2i.
However it's still too early to tell which, if any, of these companies will become the dominant force in smartphone waterproofing, or whether smartphone manufacturers will develop their own technology.
P2i opens its doors
TechRadar visited P2i's UK headquarters on its 10th anniversary to find out just how difficult it is to make a smartphone immune to water. Could it be that in less than a year we'll have a phone devoid of ugly covers yet still able to function in a glass of water?The nanotechnology's inventor Dr. Stephen Coulson was very bullish about the technology, saying that it can "coat anything other than liquids, and things that aren't living."
Actually, after a hesitation he admitted: "Well, that's not strictly true, we could treat living things, but after the process they'd cease to be living, because our process involves a vacuum."
Feline-water-protection might be out of the question, but there's plenty of space for nano-coatings to become a standard application during the manufacturing process of any device. That's what companies like P2i are aiming for. It's already becoming a key battleground, proven by the fact P2i holds of over 175 patents to protect its waterproofing process.
There are already phones on the market featuring earlier revisions of P2i's splash-proof nano-coatings such as Motorola's Moto G, Moto X and Xoom 2. The next implementation of this technology, known as 'Dunkable', will allow devices to be fully submerged in water or almost any other liquid without suffering any of the corrosive effects that you'd expect.
So how does it work?
While there are a number of methods to make a phone waterproof, P2i reckons it's got the most inoffensive that won't upset any smartphone designers.The first step in the process of making a smartphone waterproof (without changing its design) involves placing the device into a vacuum, which will suck all the air from inside and around the handset. Once finished, a special plasma process that is both difficult to explain, and highly secretive, is used to apply a proprietary coating to every part of the device.
This coating is 1000 times thinner than a human hair, and works by lowering the surface energy of everything inside and outside the phone. So rather than the water sticking to the device, it forms a droplet and rolls off.
After being shown how the phones are waterproofed, P2i's engineers gave a number of demonstrations to prove just how effective the new Dunkable technology is. Thanks to the plasma process there is apparently no limit to the amount of times a smartphone can be submerged once the liquid-repellent nano-coating is applied.
The only problem is that it's unlikely current generation touchscreens will work underwater, though it's possible that developments in capacitive technology will make this a reality in the future.
P2i had lots of ways of proving the functionality of its technology, but none were simpler than showing how water interacts with a nano-coated paper tissue. Without the coating, the tissue is designed to be absorbent and will soak up water. Once treated, the tissue becomes water repellent or 'hydrophobic' and liquids will simply roll straight off.
This process is almost identical to that described by California-based HzO, but how the process is done without infringing on P2i's patents remains to be seen.
Coulson noted that P2i is "working with the top 10 manufacturers of mobile phones" to progress towards all phones having a waterproof coating as part of their specification within the next five years.
This may seem like a relatively long time in the continually progressive smartphone lifecycle, but fitting the necessary equipment into the huge production lines of global smartphone manufactures is far from an overnight process.
So far P2i has publicly shown processing chambers of up to 2000L, capable of coating 600 phones simultaneously. Though when you consider that Samsung ships approximately 75 million smartphones every quarter, you soon start to understand the necessary scale of operation required.
P2i has sold much larger machines to some of its customers, though it couldn't reveal exactly who. These larger machines are capable of processing up to 100,000 phones a day at a cost of less than £1 (around $1.50 ,$AU1.80) per unit.
At the moment, the scale of the technology used puts it outside the reach of home users or retail opportunities. However, within the next five years it's hoped that nano-coating machines will be small enough to be much more widely used.
P2i's CEO Carl D. Francis is more wary about allowing home users free-roam with this technology saying: "we could put retail kiosks in shopping centres, but we thought that it may cause problems with the manufacturers warranties.
"So we decided we didn't want to start there, and that starting with the manufacturers would mean we'd get an approval from them and we'd work with them to improve reliability."
More than waterproof
Francis doesn't see a place for water defences outside the invisible world of nano-coatings, saying "The trend is going towards thinner, lighter devices, meaning the ability to build in gaskets and membranes as some manufacturers have experimented with, is a far tougher proposition than to apply a coating at a nano level."
With earlier forms of P2i's technology having been around for a couple of years, you'd wonder why all manufacturers haven't already embraced the technology.
Francis leaves the ball firmly in their court, saying "production lifecycles are very long, and are lead by engineers keen to engineer a solution for the problem of waterproofing without turning to a relatively unknown process such as ours."
There are, of course, other factors that have slowed adoption, such as the cost of adding an extra stage to the production line that manufacturers may be resistant to. Though as Francis points out, "It's not like we're adding another [tool] to an existing manufacturing process, but rather we're asking them to add something to their bill and material costs which obviously they're trying to keep as tight as possible."
Future tech
P2i has 190 machines in factories across 16 countries. With revenues growing from £6m in 2012 to £8m last year and a forecast of £12m in 2014 and £18m in 2015, Francis rightly feels confident about the company's future in smartphone protection.He says "we're focused today on liquid and oil-repellency. There is a need, and we have a solution, though there are other coatings we've looked at such as scratch and fingerprint-resistant coatings."
In the future it's very plausible that nano-coatings could do more than waterproof. Indeed nano-coatings that can provide scratch resistance and impact protection are not beyond the realms of technology.
In 2010, P2i acquired Surface Innovations, another UK-based company specialising in a variety of nano technologies including anti-microbial coatings. Francis hopes this could be combined with P2i's waterproof tech: "We need to improve them to make them more robust and more scalable, but there is a huge demand for anti-microbial coatings that won't change the look or feel of a product."
It's pretty obvious that nano-coatings provide a much more elegant solution than any other kind of waterproof protection, as well as adding minimal cost. For now it's just a waiting game until the manufacturers catch up and are willing to implement this extra stage of assembly.
Whether it's P2i's technology or something very similar, there's little doubt that life-proofing smartphones and wearable technology is high on the agenda.
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HTC smartphone with optical zoom camera coming within 18 months
HTC's top imaging expert has claimed the company is well on the way towards launching a smartphone boasting a camera with optical zoom tech.
Speaking to the Vodafone blog, Symon Whitehorn says HTC is "not far away at all" from harnessing a key feature that could allow smartphones to encroach on DSLR territory.
He said: "Optical zooming in a smartphone is not too far off at all for HTC. I can't give too much away, but within 12-18 months we'll see huge advances in phone optics. That's why we don't necessarily believe in doing a high-resolution, photo enlarging solution.
"Everyone wants optical zooming, and that's on the horizon. We're trying to match the performance of dedicated cameras where one piece of glass inside it costs £3000 alone. We're never going to match that in the short term but we are getting towards those effects."
To soon for 4K?
Whitehorn said HTC is working towards improving smartphone camera tech to the point that it's harder to justify taking out a big camera and even buying one beyond "specialist and nostalgia reasons."Elsewhere, the imaging guru also claimed HTC could release a 4K ready smartphone right now, but said the firm is "waiting until 4K can really fit into people's lives, and to make sure that that decision makes sense."
The firm has certainly been playing a huge focus on the camera tech within its latest phones.
The HTC One (M8) features Duo Camera Ultrapixel lenses that allow users to alter the depth of field after the fact. We're excited to see what's next.
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Round-up: Week in Tech: Glass, Chrome, phones and drones
What have you missed in this week in tech? Let us tell you: Windows Phone got a massive update, DIY phones took a step closer to reality, LG's G3 leaked all over the shop and Microsoft Office appeared in the form of apps for Google Chrome.
There was even an opportunity for people with too much money to get Google Glass without having to enter a competition or mug someone in San Francisco. Here's the tech news you need to know this week.
Fun with 8.1
Windows Phone 8.1 is here, and it's pretty great. The new Cortana voice search is "superb", the Action Center is "an overdue improvement" and overall it "brings Microsoft's mobile platform to themodern age".
Does the iPhone have 6 appeal?
The next iPhone could be the most important phone since Apple's original: with the iPhone 5S and 5C relatively minor updates, there's a lot of expectation hanging over the iPhone 6. Inevitably there is also a growing number of leaks, rumours and speculation. A bigger screen is likely - or possibly two; analysts predict a 4.7-inch one and a 5.5-inch one - and it'll be running iOS 8.Build your own phone
Fancy a DIY smartphone? Google's Project Ara promises just that. It's impressive stuff, says Chris Mills: while a launch before 2015 is unlikely, it's a serious project that could mean your next smartphone never becomes obsolete.Beamly and brogramming
Zeebox, the TV-focused social service, has been rebranded as Beamly - and it's been made considerably more female-friendly too after the firm realised that 65% of its users were women. Many tech firms have a blind spot when it comes to women, says Sarah Ditum:"If Beamly found its audience despite being pitched insistently towards a group that was never going to want it, how many more great ideas in technology are being snuffed out because the geek boy groupthink is stopping them from finding the people who actually have a use for them?"
PAX, man
April means PAX East: the convention also known as Penny Arcade Expo is becoming a key date in the gaming calendar. This year, we found out how hardcore gamers really rate the PS4, Xbox One and PC, got our hands on the MSU GS69 Ghost Pro gaming laptop, discovered the launch date for the Steam Controller and even predicted gaming's future.Quite High Density
HD smartphones are so last week: Taiwanese firm AU Optronics has developed a 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED panel with a whopping 2560x1440 resolution. Never mind QHD, though: we want GHD, which will give you really good hair.LG G3 goes QHD
How do you follow a successful smartphone such as the LG G2? Easy: make a G3. The LG G3 hasn't been formally announced yet, but we know lots about it already: the phone, expected to launch as early as May, will have a QHD 2560x1440 display, an octo-core processor and an LG-flavoured version of Android KitKat.Glass for the fast
Google Glass received a big update this week: it's switched to Android KitKat, which promises improved battery life and more reliable performance. Glass went on open sale for 24 hours this week and while the current batch has sold out, Google promises more sales soon.Office gets Chromed
Microsoft wasn't kidding when it said it wanted its software and services to work on everything: fresh from the launch of Office on iPad, here comes Office Online for Google Chrome. Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote are now available as Chrome Apps alongside Google's own web apps. Is Microsoft trying to deliver coals to Newcastle here?Drones, clones and no fly zones
Google has bought drone firm Titan Aerospace and it's time to hail our new robot overlords, says Chris Smith - although admittedly he didn't use those exact words. Drones will deliver packages, spray crops, bring internet access to millions and help track down Sarah Connor.
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Titanfall helps Xbox One sales, but PlayStation 4 still in the lead
Titanfall has certainly lived up to the hype and has even encouraged sales of the Xbox One - but the numbers still don't beat out Sony's PS4.
Microsoft announced that the grunt-stomping, action packed robot game Titanfall was March's best-selling game.
It did so well that the Xbox One has even sold 5 million consoles since launch, with spikes during Titanfall's release. Microsoft even sold more next-gen consoles "outpacing Xbox 360 by more than 60% at the same point in time."
Though 5m is hefty number, the recently updated PlayStation 4 still has the upper hand with 7 million consoles sold as of April.
These numbers will likely only rise with the impending arrival of Ubisoft's Watch Dogs game and Project Spark in addition to E3 where more new games will definitely be announced.
- Not everyone likes consoles though - in fact, PAX East 2014 attendees seemed to prefer another system altogether.
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Glasshole for a day: Google lets some try out Glass at home for free
Becoming a Google Glass Explorer is still prohibitively expensive and getting an invite remains a matter of luck in most cases, but you may be able to try out a non-working device for free.
Google has launched a program to some lucky, but not lucky enough waitlisted candidates who signed up for Project Glass through its website.
The home try-out kit comes with four pairs of the new Titanium Collection frames, according to Reddit user clide. That means they're designed to fit prescription lenses.
Better yet, you have them for 10 days free of charge. Google just requires a $50 hold on a credit card until the Glass quartet is returned via prepaid labels.
Still invite-only and non-functional
The ability to try out Google Glass with four frame styles and colors before putting down $1,500 (about £893, AU$1,608) is beneficial, but it does come with a few caveats.This pilot program is invite-only and limited to the US, the only country where Google Glass is sold.
"We're doing outreach to a small group to see how this approach works," a Google spokesperson told TechRadar. "We'll let you know if this experiment continues."
Also, the four Google Glass models are reportedly returned units that have a destroyed micro USB port, meaning they can't be powered on. It's meant to test how it feels, not how it functions.
All, in all, it's good news. Google is recycling its old Google Glass units and it's just another sign that we're one step closer to a consumer version of the sci-fi-looking spectacles.
- We tested Glass with a Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Read our phone review now.
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