Samsung is looking to move around 20 percent more mobile phones in 2013 than it did in 2012, according to a new report from The Korea Times. The Korean electronics firm wants to ship 510 million phones in the New Year, which exceeds the 420 million it projected for 2012. The 2013 increase adds anticipated holiday sales to its existing 288 million total devices sold through September. Around 76… → Read More
Apple’s patent filings today reveal one concept outside their usual product-focused applications, detailing a method for harnessing wind power in a manner different from that employed in traditional turbines. Electricity gathered from a wind turbine would be converted to heat energy and stored in a “low-heat capacity fluid” in Apple’s patent, allowing it to be tapped on an as-needed basis… → Read More
Christmas Day is increasingly the day that a flood of new phones and tablets come online; it regularly sets and breaks records for new device activations. This year was no exception, according to mobile analytics firm Flurry’s annual study, which found that 17.4 million devices were activated on December 25 this year, a 332 percent increase over activations covering December 1 – 20, and a 156… → Read More
When I was growing up, my dad taught me that potassium nitrate, sulphur, and charcoal made gunpowder. He told me that you could add iron to the mix to get a red flame and that acids wouldn’t eat through your test tube. Then he sent me into the basement to make whatever I wanted while he read the paper. → Read More
According to Chinese gadget news site Tech.163, Apple may be in the process of developing its own smart watch that connects to your Apple devices via Bluetooth. Based on the report, Intel will be working with Apple to create the smart watch, with a 1.5-inch PMOLED display made by RiTDisplay with ITO-coated glass.
Apple has long had a small hold on the watch market thanks to its iPod nano, which… → Read More
Apple is said to be considering a move that will bring Mac mini production to the U.S., through manufacturing partner Foxconn, according to supply chain sources speaking to Digitimes. Foxconn already has an estimated 15 “operating bases” in the U.S. according to Digitimes. The Mac mini is indeed a good candidate for a U.S.-made Mac. → Read More
Toshiba is intent on making a camera sensor for smartphones and tablets that borrows a trick from Lytro and allows users to select a focus area in their photos after having taken them. Not only that, but it’ll also allow users to put the whole photo in focus, as well as work with video shot on the device, potentially one-upping the pioneering Lytro camera in a form factor designed for use in… → Read More
Samsung is keeping its fans entertained during the lull between Christmas and New Years with a several announcements and teasers: a CES 2013 Smart TV teaser video, a sneak peek at its Smart Hub, a content platform for Samsung Smart TV, and a new version of ChatON that turns its cross-platform messaging app into a social media network. → Read More
One of the stranger things I came across while in Tokyo last month was a digital artist who built a human camera that requires touch from another person to snap photos. It is artist Eric Siu’s bit of rebellion against an increasingly technology-dependent world that distances people from real-life interactions. This effect is especially pronounced where Siu lives in Japan, as the Internet has… → Read More
The first ever musical recording in space (that we know of anyway) was performed just a few days ago on the International Space Station by Col. Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station. The song, which is already climbing up Reddit’s r/Music page, is an original Christmas Carol called Jewel in the Night.
Based on the commander’s Facebook and Twitter pages, he and his crew… → Read More
What’s the secret to making a $35 mini computer? The basic recipe is having some extremely skilful cooks who can craft batch after batch of Raspberry Pis as quickly and with as few duds as possible. Sony’s U.K. factory makes an average of 4,000 Model B Raspberry Pi’s every day — or one every 7.5 seconds — and it needs to to keep up with demand for Pi which continues to sell like hot cakes. → Read More
The DC44 from Dyson is truly an Animal. It’s as good as it gets in the land of vacuum cleaners, with a wireless base, multiple lightweight attachments, and a sleek design. Sure, it’s on the expensive end of the spectrum, but when storing and using your vacuum cleaner is this easy, you realize it’s well worth it.
Plus, it does a damn good job of keeping the house clean. → Read More
You waited this long, you might as well go big: Apple’s smaller 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is a very worthy sequel to the 15-inch variety released this past summer, and while it will still strain the average buyer’s budget, it definitely won’t inspire any buyer’s remorse. → Read More
We brought you a video back at the end of November that showed off Massoud Hassani’s mine-clearing device, the Mine Kafon, based on a wind-powered child’s toy. Now, the Afghan industrial designer has taken the suggestions of a number of our commenters and put the project on Kickstarter. Hassani is looking for £100,000 to make the Kafons and document the process. → Read More
Dear Santa,
I was a good boy this year. I ate all my vegetables, cleaned my room, and didn’t freak out over Instagram’s new TOS. My Christmas list is short this year. I want a lathe turning chuck, a new mother-in-law and for the purpose of this post, a Nintendo Wii U. Easy. I am trusting in you. Don’t let me down. → Read More
If you’ve watched and enjoyed the program known as “The Good Doctor Who” in which an alien of some sort who flies around with his little, knobby robotic buddy (I’m not entirely clear on the details), you’ll be pleased to note that one fan, our own former employee Greg Kumparak, has built a real Tardis police box which, using some digital trickery, is really bigger on the inside. → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
‘Tis the season when our thoughts often turn to the wee ones in our lives, and that has certainly been on the minds of some crowdfunding project owners and backers. → Read More
Game controllers for iPhone are no longer all that rare, even though once upon a time Apple didn’t even allow them to connect to its smartphone. Still, there’s plenty of room for innovation in this space, and Justice Frangipane’s new design is a perfect example of how things can still get better in this market. The project is an iPhone case that while only 3mm thick, holds a Bluetooth 4.0 video… → Read More
The Jawbone UP has been back for a little while now, after engineers took it back to the drawing board to correct mass failures in the original version. It came back better than ever, Jawbone said, and for the most part that seems to be true. Flaky syncing used to mar my original, but now flaky paint is the culprit. → Read More
The new line of TYLT device charging accessories will be officially released at CES in January. However, these makers of so many bright and colorful smartphone battery extending concepts still released some details about their upcoming vendibles a bit early…and they look pretty great. I will be interested to check these out in person in a couple of weeks at the massive tradeshow. → Read More
The European Commission has delivered a “statement of objections” to Samsung’s leadership, in which it claims that Samsung was abusing its standard-essential patents in preventing Apple from making use of the same. Providing written notice is the next step in the EC’s investigation of Samsung, which began due to the Korean company’s many injunction requests and lawsuits filed in EU member states… → Read More
Amazon might enjoy only very thin to nonexistent margins on its Kindle hardware, according to most industry watchers, but it looks to be cooking up a plan to extend device sales revenue thanks to extended warranties. That’s according to trademark filings uncovered by GigaOM in a new report today. The wording of the application suggests Amazon is following Apple’s lead, hoping to replicate the Mac… → Read More
A Cambridge, U.K.-based consulting firm has managed to use the open source Raspberry Pi computer to replicate the functions normally performed by a 30-foot GSM cellular basestation to create a fully functional mobile network. Using two open source software programs, and a bit of off-the-shelf hardware kit DIY enthusiasts can get their hands on fairly easily, PA Consulting rolled their own mobile… → Read More
Apple, Microsoft and Google may all be vying for the attention of a single startup, according to a new report yesterday from The Wall Street Journal. That startup is id8 Group R2 Studios Inc., a company with a rather obtuse name that flies primarily under the radar, tackling home automation software for mobile devices. So why are the biggest sharks in the tech industry circling R2 Studios right… → Read More
ThinkGeek’s iCade 8-Bitty wireless gaming controller is pretty adorable, though limited. It has a retro feel, eliciting nostalgia for Super Nintendo, and hooks up easily with both iOS and Android devices.
The games, however, are limited to various emulators like Atari’s Greatest Hits and Pac Man. These are great games and appeal to just about anyone, but the retro controller supports exactly… → Read More
Flipboard has just launched its social magazine app to support Android tablets, including the Nexus 10, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab line.
Flipboard is an app that aggregates your RSS info, social networks, etc. to create a beautiful, flippable magazine. In fact, the app won Best Touch Interface at the 2011 Crunchies. But making sure that interface creates the same experience… → Read More
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency is looking for a few good contractors to help it kick up its mobile information gathering capabilities, according to a new request for information. The request has the government organization soliciting information sources for technology aimed at exploiting digital media and hardware, with a special request for exploitation of mobile devices with methods not… → Read More
A new look back at mobile trends for 2012 from Millennial Media shows some significant gains for Samsung in particular, which has usurped the beleaguered HTC in terms of overall share of Android devices accessing apps using Millennial’s mobile ad platform. Samsung held 23 percent of impressions overall among Android devices in Q3 2011, but 46 percent in Q3 2012. → Read More
HTC may be making some of the best smartphones (including the HTC One X series and Windows Phone 8X devices) but that isn’t stopping it from facing some fiscal trouble, according to a new report. Asian supply chain watcher Digitimes (via BGR) says that HTC is cutting back on new models and Q1 shipments of existing devices as it tightens its purse strings. → Read More
Much has been said about a potential Apple TV set in the past few years, but it would appear that a source out of Foxconn has said that testing is already underway on Apple’s HDTV. The source, speaking under the condition of anonymity, explained that Apple is using LCD panels ranging between 46 inches and 55 inches.
However, don’t get too excited just yet. According to FocusTaiwan, which spoke… → Read More
The 6th Annual Crunchies Awards
San Francisco
New York City
