by webredactie
16. July 2010 16:39
Hewlett Packard is rumoured to have shelved plans to launch tablet PCs and smartphones based on Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 7 and Google’s Android platforms in order to concentrate on webOS-based devices. The Wall Street Journal’s 'All Things Digital' blog is among those to suggest that HP may be reconsidering its multi-OS strategy in light of its US$1.2 billion acquisition of Palm in April, which saw it inherit Palm's highly-regarded webOS smartphone platform. HP had originally planned to launch an Android-based tablet computer in the fourth quarter of the year, but sources say this has now been delayed. HP was also one of the eight vendors announced by Microsoft to be developing a Windows 7 smartphone, but its name was absent from a list of vendors presented by Microsoft at a partner conference this week.
In separate news, Business Insider reports that as many as 16 firms may have competed with HP to buy Palm, including five serious potential suitors. According to sources, Apple, Google, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion and Lenovo all submitted bids.
by webredactie
1. July 2010 16:35
Calling the thirst for the Apple iPad a "feeding frenzy," Savant is discontinuing several of its dedicated touchpanel lines.
The company will phase out its 5-, 7-, 9- and 12-inch touchpanel lines, replacing them all with the iPad. Savant will continue to make its 18- and 24-inch panels, which are primarily for commercial applications. CEO Bob Madonna cited the 3 million iPads Apple sold in 80 days, comparing that to the estimated 1 million touchpanels the entire custom industry has sold in more than 40 years.
Piggybacking on iPad
Savant has spent four years developing a dealer base around its Rosie Apple-based whole-house control system. Savant thinks the demand for iPads has put Savant in a strong position in terms of technology and mindshare.
Madonna said that because Savant does all its programming in Apple, its applications run faster. He also pointed out that the iPad screen is "totally customizable. It's not true what the competitors are saying. All the buttons, colors, etc. can be changed without writing code," he adds. So far, Savant has had 800-900 downloads of its $9.99 Savant iPad demo app.
What will the other home control vendors, like Crestron and Control4 do with their touchpanels?
by webredactie
22. June 2010 17:19
Google may be about to heighten tensions with Apple following reports that the Internet giant is working on launch this year of a music download service tied to its search engine. According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, the Google music service would then later develop into an online ‘cloud-based’ subscription service that runs on Android devices. No specific details were mentioned in the report.
The WSJ article notes that Google has already pushed into music and begun linking to partner websites such as iLike and Pandora through its search engine, allowing users to stream songs with one click from its search page. Google’s entry into music stores would pit itself against Apple’s iTunes store. According to the WSJ report, Google’s push into music retailing is “likely to be welcomed by music labels that are increasingly concerned about Apple’s dominant position among US music retailers.” Interestingly, Apple recently acquired and then closed online music service Lala.com, leading to speculation it too might also soon launch a new cloud-based version of iTunes.
by webredactie
16. February 2010 22:12
According to an posting at electronichouse.com
The Apple-based home automation manufacturer is ready to embrace the iPad to go beyond what iPhone apps can offer.
Since Apple unveiled its iPad, custom electronics professionals have had questions, especially to what could be a potentially major application of the new device.
Will the 9.7-inch screen tablet impact home automation?
Will it benefit Savant, an Apple Proprietary Solutions Provider, which already leverages Apple’s popularity with its Rosie control app?
Savant’s responses: yes and yes.
“When we look back on this two years from now, we’re going to say this was a watershed event, not just for Savant but for the industry in general,” says Savant president Jim Carroll. He says consumers will see the iPad as having “the same or similar touch hardware” to other control offerings.
Read the complete article.
by webredactie
21. August 2009 09:08
The app revolution that started with the iPhone could spread far and wide to all of consumer electronics. That’s one of the lessons that Sony Electronics executives say they have learned from Apple’s success with the AppStore.
You could, for instance, access online stores to download just about any app you want for your consumer electronics devices, from TVs to clock radios. At a press dinner in San Francisco Tuesday night, Sony executives said it’s conceivable that a variety of devices could access downloadable apps from a single online store.
That’s a pretty big acknowledgement. Sony is a proud company that once dominated consumer electronics. But it now faces threats from everywhere, even computer makers such as Apple that are increasingly muscling in on consumer electronics turf. The idea that Sony could learn from Apple is a pretty foreign concept.
“A clock radio could be more than a clock radio through app downloads,” said Stan Glasgow, president of Sony Electronics in the U.S. “A company like Sony has to do a product like that and you will see us doing some of those products in the near future. We don’t have an app store at this point, but it is very possible.”
This consumer electronics app revolution is already starting through widgets, or small programs that can be embedded in web-enabled devices to add new applications. The Yahoo Widget Engine (above) is being adopted by Sony and a number of other TV makers. With it, web widgets can be embedded in TVs. With a remote control, you can click on the widgets and surf web sites from YouTube to Hulu.com. Glasgow said Sony’s newest TVs will have something like 29 different web services available as widgets, accessible via simple clicks.
That could eventually evolve into the notion of thousands of apps, where you could use the web to shop at an online store and then click to download apps that are stored on your consumer electronics device. That means the device will need some kind of storage and computing power. On top of that, consumer electronics companies like Sony will have to convince makers of third-party apps that it’s worth making apps for the devices.
Source Venturebeat.com
by phermans
21. July 2009 15:17
Mac users can now also synchronize data between Gigaset phones and their computer with the new Gigaset QuickSync 1.0. software. The software synchronizes all address data via the Bluetooth interface. In addition, pictures and ringtones in a large number of common formats can be transferred to the phones. Photos can be used as a slideshow, screensaver or as a picture CLIP in conjunction with the address book. Ringtones can be edited from music sequences, for example in MP3 format (only with the Gigaset SL780 and 785), and transferred. The software can be downloaded free from www.gigaset.com/quicksync.
Gigaset Communications is responding to huge demand from the Apple community with its Mac-compatible version of QuickSync. As of Mac OS 10.4.9, address data and pictures can be synchronized via the Bluetooth interface with Gigaset S680/685, SL780/785, SL560/565 and SL370/375 phones and corresponding variants for ISDN and IP. Users who like to organize their business and private contacts separately can select the address data of individual groups and synchronize it on separate handsets. The Gigaset SL780 and 785 also allow ringtones to be customized and downloaded.
Customizing Gigaset phones with pictures and sounds Users can load their own pictures (BMP, JPEG, GIF) and ringtones (MP3, AAC and common Mac formats) quickly from their Mac onto the phone. If personal photos are assigned to the contacts stored in the address book, they are shown on the phone’s display when the person calls (picture CLIP). Gigaset QuickSync 1.0 can even be used to create a small slideshow in an instant and load it on the phone. As a result, the handset’s display is transformed into an electronic picture frame. Alternatively, the stored pictures can also be used as a screensaver. If pictures are transferred via Bluetooth (Serial Profile), the new software scales all the image files to 240 x 320 pixels (screensaver) or 240 x 130 pixels (picture CLIP) to save storage space. Depending on the size of the phone’s memory, there is space of up to 100 pictures on the device.
Editing customized ringtones
Thanks to Gigaset QuickSync 1.0., Mac users can create ringtones to suit their personal taste, since sequences from any music titles can be used. The software processes all common file formats that are not copy-protected. That means users can select up to 60 seconds of music from the beginning and also from the middle of the desired piece and use it as a ringtone. This excerpt is then converted into the G.722 format and transferred to the handset via Bluetooth (Serial Profile) in full DECT wideband quality.
by phermans
12. September 2008 16:07
New input device may change the way we type ...
"The screen of Apple's iPhone has focused much attention on touch as a user interface. iPhone users can rotate and resize images with finger gestures for instance. Many personal computers will likely have similar screens in the near future. But touch interfaces are nothing new -- witness ATM machines.
How about getting completely out of touch? A startup called LM3Labs says it's working with major computer makers in Japan, Taiwan and the US to incorporate touchless navigation into their laptops. Called AirStrike, the system uses tiny charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras integrated into each side of the keyboard to detect user movements. You can drag windows around or close them, for instance, by pointing and gesturing in midair above the keyboard.
Read the full article
You should be able to buy an AirStrike-equipped laptop next year, with high-end stand-alone keyboards to follow.
by phermans
3. September 2008 14:32
Nokia has announced that UK will be the first market where it will launch its much talked about "Comes With Music" service. The agreement with UMG (Universal Music Group), SONY BMG and Warner Music will ensure that users will have access to over 2.1 million music tracks. Carphone Warehouse will be the exclusive UK prepay channel to sell Nokia 5310 XpressMusic "Comes With Music" handset.
In general, adoption of most mobile music services has so far been slow and disappointing. Nokia hopes to change this trend and therefore unlike most other music services, "Comes With Music" will allow users to keep and listen to all the downloaded music even after the one year subscription period ends. However, many media reports have raised concerns on the business model and whether Nokia will be able to make any profit from the service.
"Also, 'Comes With Music' forms part of Nokia’s strategy to compete with rivals such as Apple and to drive the uptake of its Ovi services, including the purchase of music from its Music Store. Nokia believes that after the one year subscription period ends, many of the 'Comes With Music' users will continue to spend on music and purchase new tracks and releases from the Nokia music store, or will subscribe to unlimited access to its Music Store", adds Pandey.
Mobile music industry needs to come up with radical new services that can tap into mobile-specific functions and find a business model attractive to users. The successful business models will be the ones that users vote for, not the ones that operators, handset manufacturers and other dominant players in the mobile industry impose on the market.
With CAT-iq one has high quality audio, which could be offered to the home as well. Hardware vendors in joint cooperation with telco's could explore this market themselves, or hook up with Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson etc.
This would give a real additional reason for the consumer to purchase CAT-iq products.
by rolands
10. July 2008 18:14
Mobile operators 3, TIM and America Movil have given their support to the Symbian Foundation, a move Forbes believes is a blow to competing mobile phone software providers such as Microsoft, Google and Apple. The three operators, as well as other newcomer vendors Aplix, Elektrobit, EMCC Software, Marvell, Sasken and TietoEnator, join the likes of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, AT&T and Vodafone in the Foundation's attempt to unite several different existing operating systems - Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP - to create one open mobile software platform.
The Symbian Foundation is expected to start operating in the first half of 2009, with the platform available as open-source by June 2010. Symbian's software is used in two-thirds of smartphones and 6 percent of all mobile phones. Symbian's closest rival is Microsoft's Windows Mobile.
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Tags: cat-iq, symbian, foundation, tim, america, movill, nokia, sony ericsson, motorola, ntt, docomo, at&t, vodafone, microsoft, apple, google, windows
cat-iq market | operating system | Software developers stuff
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