Category: News

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Kairos Launches Pre-Order Page for Hybrid Mechanical Smartwatch

watch_large_noReflection_msw_allThis is a pretty sexy looking concept piece.

Kairos is showing off a concept watch with a mechanical chronograph and a semi-transparent touch screen. The teaser shows off the newly announced Android Wear smartwatch OS, which is exactly what us watch fans were hoping to see. Now that Google is directly involved in wearables, other companies don’t have to risk as much to enter the smartwatch market, nor do they have to build a watch UI from scratch.

watch_large_noReflection_msw_chrome_02At first glance, you’d only see a precision analog watch face, but as the “smart” features are activated, and as alerts are received, the screen lights up to show off data.

Kairos is confident that they’ll be able to deliver on this mock up, as they’ve launched a pre-order page with four models to shop. They’re trying to entice new customers with early bird pricing up to 50% off what retail will be once the watches are officially released. Starting at $499 and climbing to $1199, you’ll have several options for build material and watch band.

Better get a jump on though as prices will double in about 40 days. You can see their teaser vid below, or hit up https://kairoswatches.com/ for more info.

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Apple Working on iMessage Fix for iPhone Expats

iphone android windows phoneThe problem: If you started with an iPhone and linked your phone number to iMessage, if you decide to move to a Windows Phone or an Android, messages from your friends sent through iMessage will be delayed or rejected.

Whether it’s a bug or an actual punitive measure taken by Apple, it’s frustrated a number of former iPhone users, upsetting one woman enough to file a class action lawsuit.

That apparently garnered enough press to motivate Apple to act. They’ve now set up a support page, detailing the best way to deactivate iMessage, and they’ve now publicly stated that they’re working on a proper fix for the issue for people who decide to switch from iDevices to competitor’s products.

Have you been affected by this iMessage glitch? Drop us a comment below!

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Microsoft Shows Off New Surface Pro 3 Laptop/Tablet Hybrid PC

51Surface Pro 3 NYC EventAt a press event in New York City today, CEO Satya Nadella discussed the company’s hardware strategy, emphasizing that Microsoft was not competing with their manufacturing partners, but using their hardware experiments to push the boundaries of their software and hardware integration.

34Surface Pro 3 NYC EventHead of the Surface Team, Panos Panay took the stage with a couple quips regarding Microsoft’s press coverage in the past. Discussing the market, where 96% of tablet owners still own a laptop, Panay took the wraps off the Surface Pro 3. Featuring an even thinner design, 9.1mm almost 2 milimeters thinner than the Surface Pro 2, it’s the slimmest Core i7 product available. Microsoft estimates a 10% performance boost over the Pro 2.

2Surface Pro 3 NYC EventThe screen size has increased to a 12 inch diagonal with a new 3:2 aspect ratio and a proper 2K resolution of 2160×1440. All of this improvement without increasing weight, and Surface Pro 3 will come in at 800 grams. Yet we’ll likely see about a 10-20% improvement in battery life.  Continue reading “Microsoft Shows Off New Surface Pro 3 Laptop/Tablet Hybrid PC”

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Verizon Touts XLTE Network Doubling 4G Phone Speeds

xlte-inlineVerizon is activating AWS spectrum on their network, and in areas where the switch has been flipped, you’ll soon see new branding. XLTE markets will benefit from faster transfer speeds and more bandwidth.

Thankfully, you might not need to buy a new phone to take benefit. The newer Droids, the iPhone 5s/5c, Samsung GS4/GS5/Note3, and more are already XLTE compatible.

This AWS broadcasts in the 700MHz spectrum, so expect to see better building penetration as well. Are you living in an XLTE area? Have your speeds improved? We’ve got VZW’s teaser below.

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Microsoft Publishes Help Pages for Cortana on Windows Phone 8.1

cortana-home-callout_InvariantCulture_DefaultAnother sign that we might be getting close to the public release of Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft has published a Help site for those curious about Cortana’s capabilities.

Divided into different sections, it’s a detailed overview of Cortana’s various features and what voice commands you can give her.

If you haven’t already updated your Windows Phone using the developer preview, you’ll be in for a treat soon. We have a full overview of WP8.1 below!

Meet Cortana – Microsoft Help Page

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AT&T Pre-Loads FitBit app During HTC One M8 Update

HTC One M8 dual ultrapixel camerasLove them or hate them, Carriers are looking for “value added” partnerships and updates like these provide opportunities to expose consumers to new applications and services.

Like the recent update for the Galaxy S5 (which did actually help improve my battery life, but included additional apps which can’t be uninstalled) the M8’s update includes some fixes and enhancements to Bluetooth and an Extra Power Savings mode to give more run time.

Interestingly, the update also includes the FitBit application. HTC doesn’t make an app like Samsung’s S-Health which can track fitness and sleep. M8 owners will need to invest in some kind of FitBit to make use of the app, and it looks like a strategic partnership between AT&T and FitBit to offer up a solution for HTC customers.

If you own a Galaxy, you can pick up one of the many Gear smartwatches, but HTC hasn’t entered that market yet, so while shopping accessories, it’s up to AT&T to provide a solution both in-store and on-device.

Of course, if you’re not into fitness apps, or use a competing service, many will chalk this up to “more bloat”.

Full update press release below.

Continue reading “AT&T Pre-Loads FitBit app During HTC One M8 Update”

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AT&T Introduces HD Voice in Select Markets

ATT logoWhen you start or answer a call, you might notice that your phone drops from LTE to “4G”, 3G, or 2G (EDGE/1XRTT). Carriers are looking to improve call quality, and that means needing more “room” for a higher quality signal. The hottest area for growth right now is LTE, so it only makes sense to eventually push all communication over that single pipe.

Starting May 23rd, in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin AT&T will be rolling out their “HD Voice” service on the Galaxy S4 Mini. Similar to how Skype works, a digital signal will carrier voice communications over data instead of traditional voice channels.

The long term goal being a reduction in the various radios and frequencies built into each phone to support text and audio communication, and the ability for carriers to consolidate the number of towers supporting 2G, 3G, and LTE communications equipment. When all of the spectrum a carrier supports can be dedicated to one wireless standard, it should help improve connectivity for consumers.

The full PR is below. Continue reading “AT&T Introduces HD Voice in Select Markets”

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Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law

phone with lock image on screenIt’s the first of a likely growing trend in consumer protection laws surrounding our technology.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed off on the state’s “Kill Switch” law today, and the measure will go into full effect July of 2015. The law is aimed at devaluing the black and gray market for stolen smartphones. If a phone is reported stolen, there will be a process acted by the carrier which effectively renders the phone useless. The idea being, if a thief can’t easily profit from stealing a phone, they’ll be less likely to try and steal one.

While there’s always the potential for abuse with any system which can brick a phone, we’ve already seen companies like Apple institute similar features into the iPhone, preventing devices from being activated if they’re classified as stolen or missing. Continue reading “Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law”

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