Awake Digital Alarm Clock by Simon Michel

How many people use digital alarm clock of their smartphones? According to the designer Simon Michel, a lot of people. His design study “Awake” is the response to bright dazzling smartphone displays, and the search for the snooze button.

When we think of clock radio, most people think of a plastic box with buttons and an LC display. In times of Full HD Smartphone displays that are filled with colorful apps, the incentive to buy a classic digital alarm clock is becoming increasingly smaller. The designer Michel Simon asked himself what makes a clock radio interesting for a young group of people. During his research Michel found out that smartphone design for many young people is an absolute all-rounder. Of course, it can wake you up like a classic digital alarm clock. However, using a smartphone as an alarm clock has its own disadvantages, for example the big bright display can hurt your eyes by reading the time at night. It is also not easy to operate the snooze button, because sometimes the design forces you to open another menu. If digital alarm clocks should remain interesting in the future, then there should be a solution for these problems.
“Awake” digital alarm clock offers solutions for those issues. It’s an alarm clock with USB interface that allows you to connect it with different types of smartphones. It comes with special app that you can install on your smartphone to enable you to handle different wake up mode based on the app settings. In this way, you can choose different alarm times and wakeup songs for each day. The interesting part is the snooze button, the alarm clock itself is the snooze button.


Source  tuvie

GM promises two new smartphone apps to help keep your EV charged

GM has already released an OnStar app that extends smartphone control to a range of vehicles, but it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it has bigger mobile plans than that. It's now announced two new apps designed for EV owners -- one that will let you help find EV chargers on your route, and another that will let you pay for the charge with your phone. The first of those is an update to OnStar's existing RemoteLink app (presumably for both iOS and Android), which will be getting a new Spark EV Waypoint tab that'll let you enter a destination and then have a route configured that ensures you won't be stuck miles from the nearest charging station. GM says it will be available in time for the launch of the 2014 Spark EV. The second app, dubbed Park-Tap-Charge at the moment, is apparently still in the prototype stage, but GM promises that it will let you use your NFC-equipped smartphone to pay directly at the charging station, and also check information like the hourly rate of charging or the estimated time for a full charge before you pay. No word yet on when it will be available, though.


Source  engadget

Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II heading to Verizon in the 'coming weeks' for $130

The Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II has been officially unveiled as the latest QWERTY device coming to Verizon. We still don't know the exact date of arrival, but Big Red mentioned that it'll be heading to stores and online sometime in the coming weeks. We do, however, know the cost: $130 with two-year agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate. What about specs? We know that the QWERTY smartphone will offer Android 4.0 (ICS), LTE connectivity, 4-inch Super AMOLED display, NFC and 1.2GHz dual-core CPU. From the sounds of it, we're looking at a pretty mid-range device here -- which ultimately is more evidence that manufacturers and carriers seem to think there's no market for power users who prefer using a physical keyboard. Head below for a brief press release discussing the new handset.


Source  engadget

Asus 13.3-inch U38N Windows 8 VivoBook clears FCC packing AMD A8 Trinity internals

After launching a line of Intel packing VivoBook's, Asus is letting AMD in on the action with a Trinity APU A8-4555M-powered model that's just scored an FCC ticket to ride. The 1.55 kg (3.41 lb), 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 multitouch model looks to be targeted to the multimedia crowd with a 128GB SSD, 500GB HDD, 4GB max RAM, 720p camera, Bluetooth 4.0 and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower sound tech. It's already popped up in Europe for around €900 ($1,150) and appears to be headed to India now, but there's no indication if or when US AMD lovers may be able to grab one.


Source  engadget

ASUS, Google offer monetary compensation for Nexus 7 tablets bought before price drop

Bought yourself a shiny new Nexus 7 just before the priced dropped on October 29th and feel a bit slighted? ASUS and Google want to turn your frown upside down, each offering their own compensation. Folks in Europe who purchased any variant of the tablet from ASUS prior to October 30th are eligible to a redeem a 25-pound or 30-euro coupon for its online shop. Apparently, the deal has been in place since October 30th, and you'll have until the 30th of this month to submit your proof of purchase (from sanctioned dealers, naturally) and apply. Sure, it may not be as nice as a Google Play credit for apps or cash in-pocket, but at least ASUS is showing it can share at least some love for early adopters. Europeans should move their cursors over to the ASUS source link below for all the details.

Tracking back to Google, Droid-Life notes that Google's price protection policy might have you covered for some cash-back, as well. If you purchased the 16GB model from Google Play between the 14th and the 29th of October, you have until about the 13th of this month to get a refund for the price difference (15 days from the initial price drop). As always, check out the Google link below for more details.


Source  engadget

Autographer Wearable Camera Captures Moments Spontaneously

 Autographer wearable camera is said to be the world’s first intelligent camera that is able to take thousands of photographs per day through its custom designed wide-angle lens. It utilizes Microsoft SenseCam technology, on-board sensors and GPS to identify when is the right time to capture a moment. Autographer has been designed to change the way we think about photography, it captures moments without intervention based on changes in light, color, motion, direction, temperature, your speed and location. The result can be pretty amazing since it captures your spontaneous moments, everything is natural, no pose, unpredictable.

Autographer wearable camera makes you see the unseen, it’s not just a new camera but a new photographic approach. You can see your whole day activity in a few minutes with the stop-frame video feature, pretty cool huh?

Source  tuvie

Humble Bundle introduces Sword & Sworcery to Android, packed with five other games

Are you tired of your antagonistic friend Kevin berating you for not having played Capybara and Jim Guthrie collaboration Sword & Sworcery? "You've never played Sword & Sworcery? Dude, you should probably play Sword & Sworcery," he says, in his mocking tone. Well enough of that -- today is your first chance to snag Sword & Sworcery on your Android device for a potentially very low price. That price, of course, is up to you, as Sword & Sworcery is just one of six excellent games included in the fourth Humble Android Bundle, which launches today. Paying any amount nets you not just Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP, but also Waking Mars, Eufloria, Crayon Physics Deluxe, and Splice. Paying over the (variable) average amount will also get you a copy of (gorgeous) adventurer Machinarium. Beyond just Android, you'll also get copies on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (pay $1 or more and you'll even get Steam keys for each game) -- it's a pretty great deal. Even better? That money goes to charity! Just think how good that'll feel to rub in that jerk Kevin's face.

Source  engadget

Google Play Movies, Music reach Australia, Canada and parts of Europe on November 13th

Google's long-awaited offering of Google Play Movies and Music on Google TV may have answered a longstanding demand for streaming access from some viewers, but it still left many of those outside of the US turning to alternatives. The company is closing that open loop with plans to take the media strategy global. Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK will all get similar streaming video options on their Google TV hubs as of November 13th; while content will undoubtedly vary, the gesture once more puts the international stores on roughly the same level as their American counterpart. The only debate left likely centers on what movie to rent for celebrating the occasion.

Source  engadget

Touch Time by Donald Brewer Features Touch Screen Technology and Built-In Apps

 Just like its name suggests, Touch Time digital watch is a stylish watch with touch screen technology. The “always on” display doesn’t require you to charge it, it uses replaceable coin cell battery. It has every function you would want in a digital watch, except this one doesn’t give complication to your life like having to synchronize or recharge it. Simply swipe the screen with your finger to change its appearance or you can also access different information such as date, alarm, calendar, calculator and more.
Touch Time is equipped with built-in apps that make it looks like your Smartphone rather than a digital watch. You can customize the look of your watch by browsing from 7 built-in time displays using your finger, no button. We think this is the first watch that allows you to choose the language, just like your phone, it supports: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, and German. Hopefully more to come, such as Mandarin?

It is suitable for both man and woman, it’s a universal watch. We really love its button-less case design, it’s not too big nor too small, thus making it suitable for everyone. Its low profile stainless steel case and soft silicon strap provides great appearance as well as comfort to be worn every day.

Built-In apps:

    Alarm with the ability to set up to 6 different alarms
    Stopwatch with ability to display detailed lap data (up to 99 laps)
    Reminder to keep track of future daily events and tasks
    World time allows display of up to 6 different time zones
    Calendar displays past, current, and future monthly views
    Calculator with oversized numerical and mathematical symbol buttons
    Lunar displays moon phase, days to full moon, and horoscope

Source  tuvie

Google’s Nexus phone and tablet take on Apple

Google chose this week to make its most audacious launches yet - but the publicity it would otherwise have garnered was one of the less serious casualties of Superstorm Sandy. A glittering New York event, timed in part to steal Microsoft’s thunder as it launched Windows Phone 8, instead became a series of blog posts. But those blog posts revealed a challenger to Apple’s iTunes music store, the service that has in many ways been the foundation for the success of all its gadgets, as well as a new phone and a new tablet that’s the same size as the iPad.

The phone and tablet add a new level to Google's competition with Apple because they seek to further drive the dominance of the Android software platform - improvements to screens, speed and general services see the addition of a better keyboard, notifications centre and the ability to allow multiple users to log in and out of one tablet. You can read our reviews of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 here.

It’s that music store, called Google Play Music, that is perhaps the flagship feature, however: it offers users instant access, free from any web connected device, to up to 20,000 songs they already own thanks to a ‘Music matching’ service that rivals such as Apple charge £21 per year for. And it also offers a music store for people to buy tracks and albums from in Europe for the first time. Launching on 13 November, it is likely to offer a new challenge to how people listen to music. Augmented with a subscription model, such as Spotify, users could theoretically have access to every track they’ve ever wanted to listen to.

Sami Valkonen, Google’s head of international music licensing, says the service offers an entirely web-based option that means consumers need never lose access to their music, wherever they are. He calls it “the future of music”, and adds that even music labels, previously wary of new models, are now open minded. Consumers of the existing service in America, too, are buying more music through the service and listening for longer. Combined with a service to promote new, unsigned bands, it may yet provide the breakthrough Google’s already made with its Android phones and tablets.

Source   telegraph

Google's Android software in 3 out of 4 smartphones

Three out of every four smartphones sold in the third quarter featured Google Inc's Android mobile operating system, as the gap between Google and Apple Inc-based phones widened further, according to a new research report.

Shipments of Android-based smartphones made by Samsung, HTC and other vendors nearly doubled in the third quarter, reaching 136 million units, according to industry research firm IDC. The strong sales boosted Android's share of the worldwide smartphone market to 75 percent, from 57.5 percent in the year-ago period.

Apple's share of the market increased to 14.9 percent during the third quarter, from 13.8 percent a year earlier. Apple's iPhone uses the company's iOS mobile software.

While Android pulled further ahead of Apple's iOS, its gains have come mainly at the expense of rival operating systems Blackberry and Symbian, with shipments of phones running those systems declining significantly.

IDC analyst Kevin Restivo cited Android's close "tie-ins" to Google's broad array of online services, which include online search and maps, as an important asset that has helped Android grow.

"Google has a thriving, multi-faceted product portfolio. Many of its competitors, with weaker tie-ins to the mobile OS, do not," Restivo said in the IDC report, which was released on Thursday.

Google offers its Android operating system free to phone manufacturers, and primarily makes money from online advertising when consumers access its services on the devices.

Research in Motion's Blackberry operating system had 7.7 percent share in the third quarter, compared with 9.5 percent a year earlier.

Symbian, which had 14.6 percent share a year ago, had a 4.1 percent share in the third quarter. Smartphone maker Nokia still offers the Symbian software in some of its phones, but the company has largely shifted to Microsoft Corp's software.

Mobile versions of Microsoft's software accounted for 3.6 percent of the smartphone market in the third quarter. But IDC said that the recent launch of the new Microsoft Phone 8 operating system could improve its position in the fast-growing market.

Source  reuters

Philips Fidelio DS1100 Docking Speaker Features Sleek and Compact Design

 Philips Fidelio DS1100 Docking Speaker features sleek high-end circular 360-degree speaker design. It is compact enough to fit on your nightstand or table top, yet it is able to deliver great sound quality in the room. Play music from you iPhone/iPod, with its innovative circular design it can project the music in all directions, enjoy rich and balanced sound in your bedroom. We really love the clock display with 3 soft orange light brightness settings, it can act as a dimming night light. This clock is automatically synchronized to your gadget’s clock setting and even when your iPhone/iPod is not docked, the clock works just fine.

In order to take advantage of other additional features of Philips Fidelio DS1100 Docking Speaker, such as sound settings and alarms, you need to download Fidelio app which available for free in iTunes. You can also share the music you’re listening with friends via facebook or twitter using the app. When your gadget is docked, the sound/volume settings also control the volume of your iPhone/iPod, therefore when you hit it up on the speaker, it turns it up on your multimedia player as well. Don’t worry if the battery is running low as this speaker dock also charges your gadget. There’s additional charging port at the back for a second device if needed.

Many people who have experienced circular designed speakers agree that this particular design seems to produce better sound compared to some straight forward speakers. Philips Fidelio DS1100 Docking Speaker boasts contoured edges and minimalist aesthetic which both pleasure to the eyes and ears.

Source  tuvie

Apple rolls out iPad mini in Sydney to shorter lines

Apple fans lined up in Sydney, Australia, to get their hands on the iPad mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets from Google and Amazon.com, attracted smaller crowds than at the company's previous global rollouts.

About 50 people waited for the Apple store to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company launched new iPhones.

Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.

At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.

"It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad," Li said.

The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.

Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.

At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.

Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.

Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi.

Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

"The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers," Munster said in a note to clients. "We believe that over time that will change."

Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.

James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.

"I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too," Vohradsky said.

The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple visionary Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.

A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.

Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.

Source  reuters

Windows 8 upgrade diary: multiple monitors make my mouse mad

Tune into the chatter around Windows 8 and it won't be long before you start hearing about keyboard shortcuts. Instead of forcing us to replicate long swipe gestures using a mouse (which would be cruel to all concerned), Microsoft is putting forward these little key combos as the primary means of navigation on traditional desktop PCs that don't have touchscreens. Right now, I'm in the middle of trying to adapt to this -- and like our Windows 8 review concludes, the curve is steep. In my case, matters are complicated by the fact that I use a triple-monitor setup for work, which perhaps makes me more sensitive to UI issues. But regardless of how many displays are hooked up to it, there genuinely are some interface niggles in this OS. Despite having mastered the basic shortcuts, I'm still having to reach for my mouse way too often, and the arm ache is starting to dampen the good vibes left over from my last diary post. So, join me after the break and at the very least you'll get to observe someone flailing around in search of answers.

The image up top shows how I'm currently arranging stuff in Windows 8, and it's already quite effective. I use my left-sideand central monitors as the primary work space (simply known as the 'Desktop' in Windows 8), for which mouse navigation is both proper and essential. Then I put Metro (i.e. the new UI which officially has no distinct name) on the right-side display, where it deals with all incoming information -- email, calendars, Twitter and other glance-worthy stuff that shouldn't require any mouse activity.

Notwithstanding the criticisms I'm about to hurl in the next paragraph, Metro is much neater, calmer and indeed more keyboard-friendly than Windows 7 ever was. The right-hand side of my old desktop used to be a chaotic jumble of desktop "gadgets" and Chrome windows that were forever obscuring each other or getting accidentally minimized. In contrast, I'm now cycling between full-screen Metro apps (by hitting Windows Key + Tab) and live tiles on the Start screen (toggled by the Windows Key), which share one unified design. To make best use of the Metro panel, I often put the email app into split-screen mode on the far right, as you can see below (done using Windows Key + Period). These shortcuts are already natural enough that I never need to do anything remotely swipe-like with the mouse.

The problem is that this separation between mouse navigation (for the two Desktop panels) and keyboard navigation (for the Metro panel) keeps breaking down -- either because a particular Metro app refuses to respond to the keyboard, or because Metro is just unable to do everything I want to do on that panel. Whenever there's a hiccup in my Metro flow, I have to rack up around a foot (30cm) of total mouse movement to get my cursor over to the Metro panel and put things back on track. Here are the main issues I've encountered so far, some of which are fixed and some of which are still potentially an RSI hazard:

    No multiple Google calendars in the Metro Calendar app, which meant I initially had to run my calendar in a mouse-demanding Chrome window. Fortunately, this was easily fixed using the workaround linked in More Coverage below.
    No music on my D: drive appeared in the Metro Music app, which meant I had to play tracks using a desktop app. Luckily this was fixed using the now well-known junction workaround. However...
    ...Unless I'm missing something, I can't run Spotify or play my ALAC lossless music collection in Metro, which means I'm still running mouse-hungry desktop music applications for this stuff.
    Most seriously, many Metro apps seem to allow you to click deeper into their various levels of content using the keyboard, but then require you to use the mouse just to get back up to a higher level. Pressing 'Escape' only works in some apps and not others, which is plain frustrating. Unless someone out there knows of a universal keyboard shortcut representing "Back," which all third-party developers have implemented and which doesn't involve hitting Tab a hundred times, then these launch-day apps definitely need to be tweaked before Metro starts living up to the dream. (Update: Some readers are saying Backspace should work, and indeed it does -- but only in a few apps, such as People. You can't back out of an email, calendar appointment, Evernote note, or a Bing Finance post with that key, for example. Others have suggested Alt + Left Arrow, and that's proving a lot more useful for all the aforementioned -- though it doesn't seem to back you out of an album in Xbox Music or a Wikipedia entry.)

That's it for now! In the next update, I'll switch the focus away from work to more fun stuff -- HTPC and gaming. I'll also start trying out a bunch of peripherals to see if I can solve some of my mouse-arm problems that way.

(My current rig, for the record: a Sandy Bridge i5 running on a Gigabyte Z68 motherboard; NZXT Switch 810 case; Gelid Tranquillo Rev. 2 cooler; Seasonic 600-watt PSU; Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7970; 8GB Crucial XMS3 RAM; ASUS Xonar Phoebus sound card; three 1080p ViewSonic VX2336S LED monitors; 240GB SanDisk Extreme primary drive; 1TB 5,400 rpm media drive.)


Source  engadget

Google Wallet update purportedly leaks plans for a real-world card, transfers and transit passes

Google Wallet hasn't had much uptake in the real world. When most of its use has revolved around one carrier, few payment points and even fewer phones, most of us have had to sit on the sidelines. If an Android Police source really did come across a leaked future build of Google Wallet as he claims, though, we may know how Google surmounts that problem: going old school with a real-world card. Screenshots in the app supposedly show a mail-in option for plastic that could completely replace credit and debit cards without turning to NFC. Any charges after a typical swipe of the magnetic strip would simply go to whatever payment source is set as Wallet's default, letting minimalists slim down their actual wallets while sharing in the same discounts as their phone-wielding counterparts. Digital-only purists would still get something out of the deal, as the update could also bring person-to-person money transfers and support for mass transit cards. How soon the as yet unconfirmed app would appear is still a mystery, but it dovetails with Google teasing a Wallet revamp that's rumored to take mobile use beyond its Android-only roots; we just didn't anticipate that the company might bypass our phones altogether.

source  Android Police

iOS 6.0.1 released, fixes iPhone 5 OTA software update issue and other bugs (update)

Been waiting for Apple to refresh its mobile operating system? Well, the wait is over, as Cupertino has just released iOS 6.0.1 with the promise of improvements and bug fixes. We just grabbed the update ourselves, and among the highlights are: a fix for the iPhone 5's inability to receive OTA software updates, problems with the phone and the 5th-gen iPod Touch connecting to WPA2 encrypted WiFi networks, and other cellular connectivity issues as well. There's also fixes for a passcode lock bug, a graphical keyboard glitch and a bug that prevented the 5's camera flash from firing. Sound good? Go grab the download and let us know how it's treating you in the comments below.

Update: Thanks to our friends at TUAW, we should point out that iPhone 5 owners will need to download an updater app before they can grab 6.0.1.

source  Apple

MSI launches the 27-inch Wind Top AE2712 all-in-one brandishing Windows 8, military specs

The Windows 8 all-in-one arena is already pretty crowded, but if MSI's new model had to fight it out with the rest battle-bot style, then it might just come out on top. That's because the Wind Top AE2712 comes with MSI's usual military class components, alongside a brutish 27-inch 1080p display with ten-finger touch, Core i3 or i5 processors and optional NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics (on the 'G' model). Also included is the company's Smart Media cloud that lets you share data with DNLA-enabled TVs and mobile devices. The PC's already popped up on Amazon UK with a £830 sticker and November 9th ship date, so if you need an AIO tough enough to withstand, say, an all-out rugrat assault, check out the source link.

source MSI