Let's Talk Tech
Pretty straight forward folks. If you’re lucky enough to be rocking Glass, then you’ll want to update the MyGlass app. The update allows you to control Glass using your phone.
Apparently, controlling Glass through taps and head tilts isn’t always ideal, and now utilizing Glass’ screencast capabilities, you can spread out the Glass UI on an Android handset instead.
Plus there are “Bug Fixes”. So. You’ll probably want those too.
Well Qualcomm. The one piece of advice I might give is to not announce your new smartwatch at the EXACT same time as a Samsung press event. That said, with Toq they are launching an interesting alternative to the other smartwatches we’ve seen so far.
First off the display uses Qualcomm’s Mirasol tech which reflects light around it to enhance view-ability. Not using a traditional backlight should also reduce power consumption, a nice side effect for a gadget which should last all day and all night with you.
Unlike the Galaxy Gear, Toq will be compatible with every Android handset using 4.0.3 or higher through their Toq app in the Play store. The idea here is for sleek simplicity and at a glance functionality instead of Samsung’s approach which is almost a proper phone replacement. Toq will have simple controls for interacting with notifications and controlling apps like music playback. Plus you’ll have the ability to see caller ID to accept or reject in coming calls. No other buttons or controls. Qualcomm is keeping this set up simple.
As an optional accessory, Toq can pair with a set of truly wireless bluetooth headsets. No cable or band connecting right ear and left ear any more, these are truly wireless. They link up and are controlled through Toq for all your audio needs.
A wireless charging base comes with Toq which can also juice up the bluetooth headsets. Again, simple and clean presentation, Toq looks like any other watch in a nice stand or case even when charging. No “geeky” cables or flaps hiding USB ports. Hopefully his should mean decent water resistance.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, this is one of Qualcomm’s first forays into the consumer space as its own brand. The techiest of folks might know which phones use Qualcomm internals, but few consumers probably have Qualcomm on their radar. This is a big step for a company which formerly operated in a somewhat “behind the scenes” fashion, and will likely be the beginning, the first product in a chain of future releases as they try to form relationships with consumers directly.
More info on the official Toq site, and intro video below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzTrqifCOhs&w=640&h=480]
Asus brought an incredible line up of new gear out to Berlin for IFA, and we finally got a look at the hardware they’ve been teasing all week.
MeMO Pad was on display, their line of affordable tablets, in both eight and ten inch form factors. Both Android tablets use 1280×800 resolution screens, 1.6GHz quad-core processors, and come with 1GB of RAM. Interestingly enough the MeMO Pad 8 has a higher resolution rear camera at 5MP than the MeMO Pad 10 which only has a 2MP shooter. However, you should be mocked if you’re using tablet cameras out in public.
FonePad 7 is getting a refresh for 2013. Still sporting a 7″ 1280×800 screen, this BigPhone/LilTablet hybrid aims to take a shot at devices like the Galaxy Mega. On board is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom with Hyper-Threading and 1GB of RAM. You can choose between 8GB/16GB/32GB for storage, and it will have MicroSD card support good for another 64GB. Asus touted their front facing stereo speakers, similar to those found on the HTC One, so hopefully this will rock as a speaker phone too. Asus hasn’t been known for great tablet audio in the past, so this will be a welcome improvement.
Moving up the food chain, Asus finally took the wraps off of the Transformer Book T300. Similar in design to their line of Android Transformers, the T300 is a full Windows 8 computer powered by an Intel Haswell Core processor with a 13.3″ screen rocking a full HD (1080p) screen. Optional SSD choices can push storage up to 256GB, and you can pick between an i3, i5, or i7 for your CPU. USB3 and Micro-HDMI are included, and all those proper computing guts are stuffed into a slate 11.5mm thin. Of course, the thing we love about Asus Transformers is the incredible keyboard dock functionality. Popping T300 onto the dock gives you a real Ultrabook experience, plus the dock houses an additional battery. Asus claims the combo should be good for 8 hours of run time. Plus the dock has magnets. Magnets are cool.
Sony has its work cut out for itself in scratching out a niche in the Android ecosystem. They’ve been releasing quality hardware, and their fan base, while small, is passionate. With the announcement of the Z1, they’re hoping to give the Galaxies and Ones a run for their (customer’s) money.
The Xperia Z1 sports a five inch 1080p “Triluminous” LCD utilizing the same color tech found in Sony’s TV lineup. Under the hood you’ll find a Qualcomm 800 quad-core CPU paired up with 2GB of RAM which should handily outperform the GS4 and HTC One. 16GB of onboard storage is lean these days, but you do have access to an SD card slot to expand. A non-removeable 3000mAh battery should perform decently, but we haven’t seen many real world battery tests of the Qualcomm 800, so the increased battery capacity might get eaten by the more powerful internals.
The camera is a huge 20.7MP job with a 27mm wide angle lens (good for group shots and landscapes) and a fast f2.0 sperture for low light sensitivity. The image sensor is the same size as those found in most point and shoot cameras. Hopefully that combo works out, as there’s no mention of image stabilization on board, and 20 blurry megapixels are no fun. If you pull the shot off however, Sony is including software to aid in sharing to your family and friends and favorite social networks.
Also of note, while not a rugged device, it will feature enhanced water resistance like that found on the original Xperia Z. So you folks who drop your phone in fluids (I don’t want to know what you drop your phone in, please don’t tell me) will have a little extra piece of mind that your handset might actually survive a two year contract.
the Z1 will ship with Android 4.2.2 alongside Sony’s custom skin and widgets, and availability is set for “later this month” No word yet on pricing and availability, but it will come in black, white, and purple, so that’s cool.
So many different tactics to improving mobile photography. Galaxy Cameras and Nokia Lumias wow us with their photo and video quality, but often come at the expense of additional bulk. Sometimes you just want to keep your phone as slim as possible, but want the option of a good camera when you need it. That’s literally Sony’s new approach for their pair of camera attachments the QX10 and QX100.
The QX10 is a 1/2.3″ point and shoot style 18.9MP CMOS image sensor with a 10X optical zoom. Lens aperture is a little on the slow side at f3.3, but Steady Shot image stabilization is included to help with low light sensitivity and motion blur. The QX10 is available for pre-order for $249.99.
The QX100 is a step up, and includes a 1″ 20MP CMOS sensor. That’s roughly one third the size of an APS-C SLR sensor, which is HUGE for a phone accessory. You lose out on some zoom range, only a 3.6X zoom, but you make up for it with a light absorbing f1.8 max aperture and Steady Shot. This thing should be a low light monster. Pre-order price is $499.99.
Both attachments feature NFC+WiFi pairing, a really novel solution for combining this type of hardware to compatible phones. Currently Sony’s site only shows the Xperia Z as a compatible handset, yet the footnotes claim they’re “Compatible with virtually all iOS and Android smartphones. Smartphone case or protective cover may prevent attachment”.
This is an interesting approach to product engagement. The more open it is, the more likely consumers will play with Sony gear, and hopefully we’ll see more mindshare for Sony phones moving forward.
Full spec sheets for QX100 and QX10.
UPDATE
That was fast folks! The QX10 and QX100 are both already available for pre-order on Amazon. Get shooting folks!
Here we thought we were all SO CLEVER thinking the next version of Google’s mobile operating system would be called “Key Lime Pie”.
Well fresh from the Twitters, Senior VP in charge of Android and Chrome OS Sundar Pichai just posted this tweet:
We now have over 1 Billion Android activations and hope this guy in front of the building keeps that momentum going pic.twitter.com/V0VovgmObl
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) September 3, 2013
For those not hip to Google Android names, every major revision of the OS is given a tasty dessert name. Starting with version 1.5 we’ve seen Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and we’re currently on Jellybean. This marks the first version of Android to use a proper product instead of a generic dessert name.
On a personal note, Kit-Kats (especially authentic British imports) are one of my fave candies.
UPDATED!
It looks like Kit-Kat is getting in on the fun too. The pair just launched The Android KitKat page, and are hosting the story of Android’s development, and the journey which took them to 1 billion activations. To celebrate they’re giving away a Nexus 7 and Google Play credit.
Is it wrong that I kinda wish I could win a Kit-Kat?
Google has posted the video of KitKat Droid’s statue being unveiled at the Google campus. Watch out around 37 seconds into the video to catch a glimpse of what might be the next Nexus phone!
MORE UPDATES: the video below just went private! Looks like someone at Google finally noticed the leaked Nexus?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMJ5APvE6uU&w=640&h=480]
Coming out of South Korea, courtesy of MovePlayer.net, are reports of a leaked image of what could be a Galaxy Note 12. Now I’m not entirely sold on the idea of large tablets. Even at a fairly reasonable ten inches, larger tablets often become home convenience items. Gadgets used in comfort and safety, but rarely leaving the house.
What worries me even more is Samsung’s insistence on including hardware control buttons. On phones I think they’re great (if you include a menu key HTC), but even on a smaller tab like the Galaxy Note 8, they often felt like they were in the way, especially using the tab in landscape. This render shows those buttons below the screen in landscape. I’m not sold on that. I’d prefer Samsung use on-screen controls like the Nexus tablets so those controls move with the orientation of the screen.
Lastly, twelve inches doesn’t sound remarkably big, but that screen size can be somewhat cumbersome to hold. Discussing this rumor on Youtube, I demonstrated the difference between an iPad and my Lenovo Twist, a laptop which screen-swivels into a 12.5″ slate.
Rumors point to a 2560×1600 resolution display, which should look gorgeous on a screen this size. We’re all used to wimpy Ultrabook and Macbook Air low res displays around 13″. Plus since it’s called a “Note” we should see support for S-Pen. Besides that we don’t really know much else about it.
If this is released it could be a really interesting, dare I say audacious, device, but I’ll be really curious to see how it performs out in the wild… Of my living room… because I’d probably never want to leave the house with it…
(via GSM Arena, Pic courtesy MovePlayer.net)
If you’re checking out HTC Phones on AT&T, you’ll notice something a little curious. Firing up the One Mini you’ll see it’s running Android 4.2.2, which is a newer version of the operating system than the flagship full-sized One which is currently rocking 4.1.2. One of the biggest changes in the update can be seen on the right. The notification tray quick toggles for things like WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.
The update for 4.2.2 is already live in the UK, much to the chagrin of some One customers in the USA. Support for Android handsets has always been a dicey conversation. The relationship between Google, manufactures, and carriers can often delay support to end users. This support gets even more contentious when some phones are updated but others are not.
Apparently the Verizon version of the One will ship with 4.2.2 pre-installed. President of Global Sales Jason Mackenzie took a couple minutes to respond to some of the comments on Twitter.
@jmwein we definitely care and want you to have great experience. 2.2 is minor update so decided to go straight to 4.3.
— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) August 17, 2013
Minor though it may be, it does include some nifty usability improvements like that aforementioned notification tray update. When pushed on the timing of this update Mr. Mackenzie replied:
@BrunoZP @jmwein our plan/target (since certification is necessary) is that all US skus will be updated before September end.
— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) August 18, 2013
And hopefully that’s what we’ll see. The changes between 4.1 and 4.2 and 4.3 weren’t substantial enough for Google to even change the name of the update. They’re all called “Jelly Bean”. Yet this still gives customers the impression that some are being left out in the cold. That they aren’t getting bug fixes and patches. Not a great feeling to have when you supposedly have a premier handset.
As I’m currently using the AT&T HTC One, I’ll be following up on coverage as soon as some kind of update reaches us.