Let's Talk Tech
It’s in my hands!
One of the gadgets I’ve been most excited about this year is finally here! Qualcomm is delivering a really interesting smart watch solution, with a fantastic display. Also exciting, as this is the first product from Qualcomm where they’re trying to speak directly to consumers.
I’ve barely gotten it out of the shipping box, but let’s take a look at this sexy little piece, some of the set up, and a run down on the feature set!
Well this guy is a monster.
Lenovo has really embraced the idea of alternative design as it relates to Windows 8. Instead of just a basic consumer all-in-one, they’ve built out a hybrid 20″ touchscreen slate with up to 3 hours battery run time, an adjustable hinge, wireless keyboard and mouse, and table top gaming accessories.
There’s a LOT of machine to cover, so let’s get to it!
I normally don’t pre-announce my videos and reviews, but I’m too excited not to share this one!
The Qualcomm Toq is on my wrist, and I’m super stoked to break it in and share my experiences using it. Part of why I’m excited is in watching a company like Qualcomm make such a direct move to interact with customers directly. Chances are your phone or tablet is using SOMETHING built by Qualcomm, but they don’t have a lot of consumer mind share.
Toq aims to change that.
My first impressions video will be posted tomorrow! Spoiler Alert: this thing is one sexy piece of smartwatch.
Finally some synergy!
When you have good video and music services on your popular game console, and you have a struggling phone platform, how does it take you this long to pair them together? Well wait no more Windows Phone users. If you’re tied into Xbox Music and Xbox Video, you can now utilize those services on your Xbox Windows Phone.
Xbox Music is a subscription service designed to compete against Spotify, Google Play All Access, and Pandora. It’s been available for Android and iOS, and now those of you using Windows Phones can get a piece of the action too.
Xbox Video is the movie purchase/rental service found on Microsoft’s game consoles. Now when you buy or rent films and TV shows you can watch them on your phone, tablet, PC or Xbox. It’s the next step towards total Live Tile domination, offering Windows solutions and services for every single screen a consumer might want.
Again, it’s been a little frustrating seeing how divisive the Microsoft ecosystem had become, with services not moving fluidly between different screen sizes. It’s one area Apple and Google were cleaning up, but now Microsoft looks like it’s finally getting it’s ducks in a row. Microsoft can a dangerous competitor when you give them a chance to catch up.
The branding is crucial here too. Notice these aren’t “Windows” services (what with Windows 8 still struggling to find positive consumer mind share), but “Xbox” services. Not a bad play considering the popularity of the Xbox.
Go get ’em folks!
Broadband improvements are somewhat stagnant here in the states. Many areas are under-served with few choices and high prices. While some areas are looking at Google and other companies to roll out Fiber to the home, many communities are hoping to see improvements over basic DSL. If it’s not economically feasible to roll out fiber or new wired service, the next best option is to provide service over the air.
Sprint and Dish are teaming up to test a 4G LTE to home service which could be a compelling solution for those needing more speed, but are ignored by traditional ISPs. Served over Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum, you would expect speeds comparable to Sprint’s current LTE offerings. Like Dish’s TV service, this should be a bit more stable than the LTE served to our phones, as your home is not a moving target. You shouldn’t even have to worry about poor building penetration of the higher frequency connection as an external receiver on your house will feed the connection indoors.
These trials will roll out in Corpus Christi, Texas next year. If you already have access to fast broadband options, this probably wont be your jam, but for those of you waiting out better options and services, this might be a good solution in the future.
Full PR after the jump.
Continue reading “Sprint and Dish partner for Fixed Wireless Broadband Service Trials”
How great would this be.
The International Electrotechnical Commission was the same body behind adopting a universal cell phone charger standard after deciding on Micro USB for all mobile devices (koffCawfAppleCOFF), and now they have their sights set on our laptop chargers. It’s the bane of the mobile warrior’s existence. Knowing that it’s pretty unlikely that anyone around you will have the same kind of laptop charger as you. It sparks my liberal guilt as those kinds of accessories can’t travel with you when you buy new hardware, so it’s very likely they’ll end up in a landfill.
The IEC estimates that adopting a universal charger would eliminate approximately half a million tons of e-waste per year. Yikes.
We have three laptops in house right now, and none use the same charger, so the cost and convenience of a standard would be terrific.
(Via ITProPortal)
Viber is quickly becoming one of the primary third-party competitors to services like Google Voice and Skype. Allowing users to call, text, and send voice and video messages to each other over the internet. They rolled out a service during the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, allowing people to call land lines, which became a standard part of the Viber package.
Now they’re expanding their service again, with a proper Metro app for Windows 8. This is pretty significant, as it continues their build out on being a global service. Currently supporting Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, traditional Windows Desktop, and OSX. Now Windows 8 Hybrids and tablets can utilize the service without leaving the modern UI. Doubly helpful for folks using Windows RT, which can’t install third party software.
If Viber is the way you keep your family connected, it’s always nice having an additional option for how you might use that service.
It’s been a long time coming.
For you professional types out there, Apple might FINALLY have a reason for you to open up your wallet for some new gear. The Mac Pro has been languishing of late, but it’s getting a top to bottom refresh, and a new smaller design. The guts have been radically improved. It’s assembled right here in the US of A, and it’s available to order starting tomorrow!
The base model featuring a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs, 12GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD starts at $2999. All hardware considered, not too Apple Tax-y. If you’re rocking an OSX work environment, this might be just the trick to get your workstations up to date.
No word yet on when you might expect delivery, but you can secure a place on line starting tomorrow. Full PR after the jump.
Continue reading “Apple Mac Pro available to order December 19th”