I’ve been on sets where you’re bored, waiting for a new setup or a camera and lighting change, and maybe you get a bit goofy. Maybe you wanna listen to some tunes. Maybe you want to share those tunes, but you only brought your iPad. Well if you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger, a little limitation like not having a speaker dock isn’t going to hold you back. You’re going to get creative and crush that problem.
Best Buy offers $50 gift card for people who buy iPhone 5C on two year contract
Well. We don’t see sales on Apple gear very often.
Best Buy is offering up a special on the iPhone 5C. When purchasing the phone BB will supply a $50 gift card which can be used at time of purchase. If purchased on a two year contract, this will effectively cut the price of the phone in half.
It’s difficult to tell if this tells us anything about lagging 5C sales, or if BB and Apple are working together on moving units. As with previous iPhone releases, it’s not surprising that demand is strongest for the newest handsets, and even though the 5C is “new”, most Apple savvy folks will know it’s pretty much just a repackaged iPhone 5. Apple can be somewhat secretive about individual device sales though, so it’s difficult to know if the 5C is selling any worse than the 4S did when the iPhone 5 was released.
If you were looking for a sale on a mid-range iPhone though, this is one of the best deals around.
The Wrap Up: Four Months with the LG Optimus G Pro on AT&T (Long Term Review)
Let’s talk experience.
This is the first LG I’ve spent any real time with, and it comes at a time where I’m running a little cold on super large phones. Does the Optimus G Pro have the guts to shake me out of my phablet funk?
Watch on my friends…
1st Impressions – LG Optimus G Pro
Camera Test
Speaker Test
Benchmarks
Battery Idle Test
Video: Discussing Technology’s Role in Child Sex Trafficking: Carol Smolenski, Executive Director ECPAT
I’m a futurist. I believe most of the solutions to problems facing humanity will involve our ability to apply tech. It’s always a shock discovering that those same tools that I enjoy can be used to support some vile behaviors.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Carol Smolenski, the Executive Director of ECPAT, an organization which provides educational materials, outreach, and supports law enforcement in reducing child sex trafficking. They were recently honored by The Hilton Foundation winning the 2013 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
It was a sobering discussion to realize that child abuse imagery is on the rise around the world, and we spent some time discussing what technology’s role might be in solving this problem.
For more info please visit:
http://www.ECPAT.net
http://www.ECPATUSA.org
Stay Classy Internet: Instagram announces in-app advertising, Users respond…
Communities like Tumblr and Instagram are made up of passionate individuals, so it’s pretty much going to be a short-term losing proposition whenever you announce changes to the service. No matter how small a change there will be SOME crying and gnashing of teeth. However, if the change you’re announcing is building advertising into your free-to-use service, well, there will be MUCH crying and gnashing of teeth.
Announced today via a photo post, the official Instagram account announced the policy change:
Over the past three years we’ve watched with amazement as Instagram has grown to a global community of more than 150 million people capturing and sharing the world’s moments. Instagram is a place where people come to connect and be inspired, and our focus with every product we build is keeping it this way. We have big ideas for the future, and part of making them happen is building Instagram into a sustainable business. In the next couple months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram feed if you’re in the United States. Seeing photos and videos from brands you don’t follow will be new, so we’ll start slow. We’ll focus on delivering a small number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community. Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands. After all, our team doesn’t just build Instagram, we use it each and every day. We want these ads to be enjoyable and creative in much the same way you see engaging, high-quality ads when you flip through your favorite magazine. We’ll also make sure you have control. If you see an ad you don’t like, you’ll be able to hide it and provide feedback about what didn’t feel right. We’re relying on your input to help us continually improve the Instagram experience. As always, you own your own photos and videos. The introduction of advertising won’t change this. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more details. We’re excited to continue building Instagram alongside this inspiring community.
Seems pretty honest and straight forward. At least they aren’t springing this on us Facebook style. Being one of the largest photo sharing sites on the web comes with certain responsibilities, costs, and expectations. Not the least of which is that mystery of how to monetize a formerly free service. Building ads into your network is the probably the most direct route. Personally I think they might be missing an opportunity to partner with their members in offering some kind of stock photography service or revenue share, but I digress.
Surprisingly, the post has well over 100,000 likes, which would initially indicate a “We Cool” response from the IG population, but the comments on the post read slightly differently. Crying? Check. Gnashing of teeth? You bet. Many laying the blame at the feet of Facebook, who bought up IG last year.
Growing pains are rough, so hopefully Instagram can weather theirs and deliver on their promises of expanding their service. Hit the photo below to read all the carnage…
Vertu announces Constellation smartphone with 4.3″ Sapphire screen
Vertu makes some ridiculous “luxury” smartphones. In years past, you would pay crazy amounts of money to own gadgets made out of exotic materials, but often with lagging tech. Their newest handset ‘Constellation’ marks the first time their penchant for high end materials has also moved the tech industry forward a bit however.
While never the point of a Vertu, the specs feel “nice” but a bit dated. Constellation is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon and comes with 32GB of storage. The 4.3″ screen has a 720p resolution, but the actual excitement comes from what that screen is made out of. A 5.1″ slab of Sapphire protects the front face of the phone. Not some BS “Saffire” branding, nope the actual gem, and sapphire is almost as hard as diamond. This screen should be virtually scratch proof (unless you rub a diamond against it), and should prove a bit more durable for bumps and drops.
Color me impressed. I usually mock Vertu handsets, but this is one “fancy” material I hope will eventually filter down into the phones we plebs use…
Constellation should be available in stores later this month at a price of €4,900 (about $6600).
Full PR after the break.
Continue reading “Vertu announces Constellation smartphone with 4.3″ Sapphire screen”
Kickstarter find – SPLIT: The World’s Only Earbuds with no Strings Attached
The ironic thing about most “wireless” earbuds is that while they don’t connect to your phone via a wire, they probably connect to EACH OTHER via some kind of wiring. Kinda betrays the concept when cables get caught behind the neck or on things like scarves…
Well, Greenwing Audio is looking to cut the cord, actually ALL the cords with SPLIT. SPLIT is a standalone music player which uses a low power radio signal and internal clocks to time left ear and right ear buds for playback. Greenwing is estimating radically less power consumption and radiation absorbed by the body that traditional Bluetooth wireless headphones.
Form factor is  about as minimal as you can get, pretty much just the size of a traditional earbud driver. This leaves about zero room for controls, but the SPLIT uses accelerometers to detect bite motions from your jaw to skip tracks and control volume. I’m not sure how SPLIT will determine between “control” bites and  say “eating” bites, but it’s a novel solution for keeping the earbuds as small as possible.
Greenwing has 27 days left to fund its project. Pricing looks like it’ll fall around $150 for a 256MB version of SPLIT. Check out the project video below. These things are teenie…
PSA: Windows 8.1 available for pre-order, but should you buy Windows 8 now instead?
For those of you looking to install some live tiles on your desktop or laptop, Windows 8.1 is available for pre-order now. The standard version of Windows 8.1 will retail for $119, and Windows 8.1 Pro will cost $199.
As I mentioned in a previous editorial, Microsoft is finally offering full retail versions for sale with support, but they are getting rid of upgrade options. If you’re currently running a Windows 7 system, and are looking to upgrade, you’re FAR better off buying a Windows 8 upgrade now, and when Windows 8.1 is released you’ll be eligible for a free upgrade.
How much better off will you be? The Windows 8 Pro upgrade can be had for $83. Yup. Windows 8 Pro is cheaper than the Standard version of Windows 8.1.
Fair warning as right now Windows 8 is even cheaper than older licenses for Windows 7. Windows 8.1 retail versions ship October 18, but why not be ahead of the curve?