Archive for category General
AT&T to launch Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G on September 18th
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on September 9, 2011
The game-centered Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has been available in the US for a while now, but only in CDMA flavor. Well, starting September 18th this will change as AT&T will be launching the Xperia Play 4G.
It's basically identical to its European cousin (4G stands for HSPA+ in this case), but it does come with a bonus – the Experience Pack, which Sony Ericsson demoed at E3, complete with the DK300 Multimedia Dock and a selection of 7 games.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G will be availabl……
There's no such thing as big data
Having a lot of data is not the same as using it well. Today's big companies are losing to small upstarts simply because those firms ask better questions. To compete, large enterprises need to learn how to harvest the data they have on customers, markets, competitors, and products. Read more.
……
Building data startups: Fast, big, and focused
The emergence of data startups highlights the democratizing consequences of a maturing big data stack. Companies ……
Top Stories: August 1-5, 2011
This week on O'Reilly: The fragility of our modern systems was made clear to Tim O'Reilly during a recent trip, Jonathan Reichental defined the G+ Effect, and we learned what can happen when the barriers to scientific exploration come down. Read more.
……
Data and the human-machine connection
Managing data and extracting meaning require new approaches, new education, and even a new language. Opera Solutions CEO Arnab Gupta discusses ea……
Pulse Sensor – wearable heart-rate sensor for Arduino
Posted by admin in General, Portable device. on August 10, 2011
The Pulse Sensor is a plug-and-play ready component that hooks up to the Arduino platform which opens a ton of possibilities to incorporate biometric data into wearable electronic designs thanks to it’s very small form factor.
The creator of the Pulse Sensor, Joel Murphy and Yury Gitman, set up a Kickstarter account to get the necessary funding and move that great idea from prototype stage into mass produced, open source reality.
The Pulse Sensor works similar to a optical heart-rate pulse senso……
Stock Market Lingerie
Posted by admin in General, Portable device. on August 10, 2011
Stock Markets are in the spotlight today more than usual so I thought to look for something fitting to all the Stock Market talk but of course with a wearable technology touch.
To my surprise and thanks to a fabulous wearable tech project from emerging artist Erin Lewis, currently studying Integrated Media and Wearable Technology at OCAD University, the ‘Stock Market Lingerie‘ is the perfect match.
Erin’s motivation for this project comes from the relationship between sex and the stock ……
Warning Signs – smart shirt points out pollution
Posted by admin in General, Portable device. on August 10, 2011
Carbon monoxide is part of cigarette and cigar smoke as well as car exhausts highly concentrated on road sides is the silent killer of our time. These gases are invisible and work over time to kill.
Sue Ngo and Nien Lam, two former students at NYU Tisch School of the Arts came up with a brilliant, visually powerful design to remind one self and the polluters how harmful their behavior is.
Their interactive fashion project called ‘Warning Signs‘ uses color changing, Thermochromic fabric with m……
Leaked promo video supposedly shows new Nokia WP7 phones
The Nokia Sea Ray may be expecting company – a leaked promo video shows off what is supposedly a Nokia phone powered by Windows Phone 7 and it looks different than the Sea Ray. Of course, it could be fake (though pretty well-made) or it could be some internal promo video.
Remember the first images of Nokia WP7 phone that turned out to be nothing but mockups? The video shows two models, one of which looks almost exactly like the mockups that leaked originally. The other model however is different from t……
LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy S II Celox leaks
We've uncovered an image and some specs on an upcoming Galaxy S II smartphone carrying an LTE radio. The information, originally from Korea, claims that the smartphone codename is Celox.
And the LTE radio (100Mbps/50Mbps downlink and uplink) won't be the only things that set the Celox apart from its mortal Galaxy S II sibling. According to the rumor, the new smartphone should be based on the Qualcomm APQ8060 chipset, which features a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The Celox should also have a larg……
German court blocks shipments of Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe
The patent struggle between Apple and Samsung is really heating up – after the initial victory for Apple that prevented Samsung from launching the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, now a second Apple victory will prevent Samsung from selling the Tab 10.1 in Europe (except the Netherlands).
This is a preliminary injunction, which will last until the German court reaches a decision. Galaxy Tab 10.1 units that have already been shipped to stores will sell normally but there won't be resupplies until this ……
LG Prada K2 high-end droid shows up in blurry video
The Prada brand is coming back to the LG phone lineup, according to a leaked roadmap, and now there's an extra-blurry video of one such device – the LG Prada K2 – to back it up.
From what we've heard of the Prada K2, specs state that it's a dual-core Gingerbread droid with a 4.3-inch version of the excellent NOVA display. This one will be even brighter than the one on the Optimus Black, putting out a blinding 1,000 nits of brightness (the old one was 700 nits).
LG Prada K2 leaked image……
Winners of the writable API competition
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on May 17, 2011
We ran a developer contest to see what folks could do with O'Reilly's new “writable” API. Today we're announcing the winners…….
500 quid sim-free, HTC Sensation goes on pre-order in the UK
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Multimedia, Portable device., Services on May 12, 2011
The HTC Sensation is the most anticipated droid coming from the Taiwanese company this summer. It's HTC's first dual-core handset and it set to launch in the end of June. UK online retailers are already accepting pre-orders for the Sensation and it will set you back 500 pounds. That's sim-free and unlocked, so it sounds reasonable and it's certainly on par with the Samsung Galaxy SII.
The HTC Sensation has a 1.2 GHz MSM8260 Snapdragon processor, a 4.3″ qHD (540×960) S-LCD display an……
Process kills developer passion
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services, Software on May 12, 2011
The software industry is now full of “best practices,” and many of them make sense when considered in isolation. But when you lump them all on the backs o……
Android Open Announcing
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Portable device., Services on May 12, 2011
This October, O'Reilly is launching Android Open, the first “big tent” Android-only conference. Our goal is to give all the Android players a place to become a co……
Showcase at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 eTextile and wearable computing
Posted by thumpad.com in Fashion Gadgets, General, Portable device. on May 12, 2011
On Saturday May 21st at 3:00PM fashion designers, engineers and the immensely growing nubbier of wearable technology experts will come together for the ‘eTextile, smart clothing and wearable computing Showcase‘ at the Maker Fair.
The ‘eTextile, smart clothing and wearable computing Showcase’ is a production of Lynne Bruning, one of the most knowledgeable eTextile experts herself.
A long list of designers have already signed up to showcase their eTextile creations but Lynne is stil……
not impressed HTC Rider, Holiday and Puccini images leak,
Posted by thumpad.com in General, launching, Services on May 9, 2011
The Korea Telecom heading HTC Rider plus the appearing for the first time AT&T-bound HTC Holiday plus the 10-inch tablet and Puccini leak via official mockups. The two phones look quite similar, but this is hardly a surprise for HTC fans.
We already met the HTC Rider. It's the Korean version of the HTC EVO 3D – same design, 3D display, powerful dual-core hardware and camera options (3D pictures and 1080p videos). It's rumored under the HTC X515E model number and is heading to Korea Telecom. But……
available for pre-order at Amazon UK HTC Salsa and ChaCha
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on May 9, 2011
The HTC Salsa and Chacha duo caused quite a splash at MWC this year as they are the first Facebook centered phones offered by the company. Now, those of you in the UK with strong affection for social networking, can pre-order the two devices from Amazon.
As you can see from the pictures, the Salsa will set you back £319.99, while its sibling Chacha will cost £249.99. The release date for both devices (as per Amazon UK) is June 26.
While the duo of Facebook phones by HTC don't appear to ……
Plugging water leaks with data
Posted by thumpad.com in General, New Media, Services on May 3, 2011
Water companies need data analysis tools to find and repair costly leaks. Enter Israeli startup TaKaDu, which offers water infrastructure monitoring as a se……
Legally speaking, think before you tweet
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on May 3, 2011
Most of us are familiar with the libel lawsuits aimed at magazine and newspaper publishers, but how do libel laws apply to Twitter, Facebook, and blogs? David……
Open question: Would you rent a laptop?
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on May 3, 2011
Can't afford to buy a laptop? You might be Google's next target audience. New rumors suggest the Internet giant may be plotting to rent lapto……
looking for a Ph.D. student in Textile Design The Swedish School of Textiles is
Posted by thumpad.com in Fashion Gadgets, General, Portable device. on May 3, 2011
The Swedish School of Textiles at the University of BoraÌŠs is offering a Ph.D. student in Textile Design, a fantastic opportunity to be part of their team working on cutting edge – literally – textile technology including the development of techniques, methods, and aesthetic perspectives in the design of a new generation of textile products, including textile sound design, dynamic textile patterns, textile interaction design and textile space design.
Over the past years The Swedish School of……
Amy Winters A/W 11 collection Redefining the colors of fashion –
Posted by thumpad.com in Fashion Gadgets, General, Portable device. on May 3, 2011
Media artist and fashion designer Amy Konstanze Mercedes Rainbow Winters is presenting her second collection of color changing fashion for the Autumn/Winter 11 season.
Amy’s first Spring/Summer 11 collection has been inspired by the vibrant colors of nature like the rain-forest, light rain, cloud bursts and tropical thunderstorms. The water-reactive ink disappears revealing the color underneath the dress whilst the sun-reactive ink turns purple.
The A/W 11 collection pays homage to Yves Saint Laure……
still comes with 64GB SSD, Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199
Posted by thumpad.com in General, launching, Multimedia, Portable device. on March 29, 2011
An Italian demonstrator gave us hope, but now we're empty inside — the exceptionally thin 11.6-inch version of Samsung's 9 Series laptop will indeed come with a puny 64GB solid state drive. Well, perhaps empty is a bit of an exaggeration, as the machine's gorgeous duralumin curves fill our hearts with joy, as does the comparatively inexpensive $1,199 price tag that Sammy just confirmed on its website. And hey, we know of an Engadget editor making do with just 60GB of storage in his……
For full content click here
laptop review Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A)
Posted by thumpad.com in General, launching, Multimedia, Portable device. on March 29, 2011
Back at CES, Samsung pulled out quite a few surprises, and no, we're not referring to its Zoll-infused press conference — although, that performance still gives us the willies. Of all the Korean company's announcements at the show, which we'll remind you included an impressive new LTE phone and range of SmartTVs, it was its Series 9 laptop that left us the most stunned. And well, a glance at that picture above should explain why we found ourselves counting down the days until its M……
For full content click here
spotted in the wild again, The almost forgotten Nokia X7
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Services on March 15, 2011
The quad-speaker Nokia X7 leaked numerous times before, so today's pictures are not actually news. But what's important here is the Symbian^3 gadget is still alive and we hope Nokia goes public with it before it's too late.
First we saw the X7 in a short video, followed by some better live and official photos. The pictures today are quite blurry, but at least we know the Nokia X7 is still in the cards.
Nokia X7
We hope Nokia announces the X7 soon because otherwise its (rumored) ……
expanding with 8.9-inch model by summer, Samsung Galaxy Tab series
Posted by thumpad.com in General, launching, Mobile phones, Multimedia, Portable device. on February 28, 2011
Not much detail here kids, but the Korean Yonhap News Agency is reporting that Samsung has an 8.9-inch Android tablet due in the first half of the year. This, according to a Samsung company spokesman speaking to the reputable news site over the phone. Yonhap also notes local media reports claiming that the tablet could be for sale as early as next month. We first heard about Samsung's plans for 7-, 8-, and 10-inch tablets way back in June — long before the 7-inch Galaxy Tab was announced. N……
For full content click here
Data is a currency
Posted by thumpad.com in General, New Media, Services on February 25, 2011
If I talk about data marketplaces, you probably think of large resellers like Bloomberg or Thomson Reuters. Or startups like InfoChimps. What you probably don't think of is that you yourself trade in data. Read more.
……
Paid links don’t pay off:
Posted by thumpad.com in General, New Media, Services on February 25, 2011
In the first installment of our weekly Search Notes: Paid links don't yield good results for J.C. Penney and Forbes, Bing makes slight gains in mar……
More Androids banking: ePayments Week
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on February 25, 2011
As the number of Android users swells past iPhone users, so too does the number of Google-based mobile bankers. Meanwhile, most Britons prefer the ATM over t……
Big data thwarts fraud
Posted by thumpad.com in General, New Media, Services, Software on February 9, 2011
Web-native payment platforms have a tremendous challenge combating fraud, but the solutions they have devised to deal with it have created enormous new opportunities. This is an excerpt from the “ePayments: Emerging Platforms, Embracing Mobile and Confronting Identity” report. Read more.
……
cheap to meter? Will data be too
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services on February 9, 2011
The data acquisition process should be increasingly automatic, and so increasingly cheap. I'm hoping for a world where information producers are p……
“Copy, paste, map”
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services, Software on February 9, 2011
IssueMap.org, a new project from the FCC and FortiusOne, aims to convert open data into knowledge and insight. Read more.
……
Will you use mobile payment? Open question
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Multimedia, Services on February 9, 2011
The flurry of activity around mobile payment is exciting to watch, but consumer adoption will ultimately determine its trajectory. Is a mobil……
now up for pre-order stateside, Archos 70c color e-reader
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Multimedia on February 6, 2011
What do you get when you cross the Atlantic ocean with the Archos 70b color e-reader? An alphabetical shift one place, it seems. The Android 2.1-powered book substitute with a 7-inch 800 x 480 TFT display has popped up for pre-order on JR.com. No picture (although we assume it's pretty much the same as the 70b), a $149.99 price tag, and no definitive release date. Resistive touch screen, 600MHz CPU, 4GB Storage, WiFi, SD slot, and a 10-hour untethered lifeline. Much cheaper than a Nook Colo……
For full content click here
saved by a real life hero, PSP-playing boy falls onto train tracks
Posted by thumpad.com in General on February 4, 2011
Not the best news for Sony execs to be waking up to this morning, as the company's PSP has played a starring role in an unfortunate, though thankfully innocuous, incident. A 10-year old Milanese boy was recently so absorbed by his portable's make.believe world that he forgot the real one around him had boundaries with bright lines painted around them. A moment later the young gamer found himself next to the train tracks a few feet below the platform designed for human occupation, though……
For full content click here
Facebook’s focus on mobile
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Services, Social Networking on February 2, 2011
In the latest edition of ePayments Week: Facebook wants to be with you always — which sounds cozy, so long as you trust them to do the right thing with that information. Read more.
……
personal device control ZIP into the future
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Portable device. on February 2, 2011
Jennifer Darmour, the lady behind Electricfoxy.com not only maintains an interest wearable technology blog she is creating one of the most beautiful, sensible and interesting designs, melting technology into fashion design in a way that makes the technology part of the aesthetics and not an add-on.
Ping the social networking garment was the first of her amazing creations followed by her latest design the ZIP, a garment with integrated phone and music player control by using zipper as user control eleme……
for cold days, Hot jacket
Posted by thumpad.com in Fashion Gadgets, General, Portable device. on February 2, 2011
Who didn’t wish to have a bit extra heat while bracing the arctic cold outdoors. Not so long ago many folks in Europe and in US got a taste of the cold force of mother nature.
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., manufacturer and marketer of heavy-duty, portable electric power tools is not the typical brand we expect to embrace wearable technology but thinking about it more closely, tools-technology and work-wear go nicely hand in hand.
The M12â„¢ Cordless Heated Jacket is the answer to all the cold da……
for launch this month, T-Mobile promises Samsung Galaxy S 4G
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Portable device. on February 2, 2011
Look, let us just sum up the Galaxy S 4G for you: it's a Vibrant with Froyo, a front-facing camera, and Inception. After reading through the new details T-Mobile's outed on its latest HSPA+-equipped Android smartphone today, that's really the best way to describe it… and let's face it, Avatar (which, you might recall, came bundled with the Vibrant) was getting kind of old and played out anyway. Naturally, like T-Mobile's other video call-capable devices, the front-facing c……
For full content click here
Farmville likely to go down in history, Social gaming numbers on the rise
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Latest, Multimedia, Software on February 2, 2011
We've seen console gaming numbers as a whole dip somewhat over the past few months, but gaming numbers on the social networking side have been anything but down. A new report on the matter from the NPD Group asserts that a full 20 percent (that's 1 in 5, if you're counting) of Americans ages 6 and older have played a social networking game of some sort, and we're guessing that number would be far higher if people weren't embarrassed to admit the truth. Unfortunately, the rep……
For full content click here
the Samsung Galaxy S2 unveiling at MWC 2011, New teasers confirm
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Portable device., Services on February 1, 2011
Samsung just released a new batch of new Galaxy S2 teaser videos to get the excitement going again. With just 12 days left to the MWC in Barcelona, who knows what Sammy will throw at us next.
Unfortunately, the videos don’t reveal much of the device itself. They only suggest that the Galaxy S2 looks ridiculously thin, which is probably due to its sAMOLED plus screen.
Here are the teasers themselves:
Just to refresh your memory, a Korean newspaper leaked some specs of the Samsung Gala……
fight agent Smith? Sony Ericsson Halon to be called XPERIA Neo
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Latest, Mobile phones, Services on February 1, 2011
Nothing stays a secret on the Internet for very long – the latest reveal is the alleged retail name for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Halon (which also goes by Vivaz 2). The name is XPERIA Neo, which sparks instant association of the iconic character from the Matrix.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo uses the same camera as the XPERIA Arc, an 8MP Exmor R sensor that can record 720p videos. The camera placement is reminiscent of the Vivaz, explaining the “Vivaz 2″ name.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo
The ……
LG Optimus 3D official with dual-lens camera
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Portable device., Services on February 1, 2011
Forget the pinch of salt, the 3D-enabled LG Optimus 3D is official. It's at the teaser announcement stage right now, the full reveal won't happen until February 14 at the MWC when LG will takes us “into the new dimension”.
Last Tuesday we started piecing things together and were convinced that LG is readying a 3D-capable smartphone – 3D-enabled (as in stereoscopic not 3D as 3D graphics) Tegra 2 from NVIDIA and a 4.3″ 3D mobile display were pretty telling and so were some other things.
Then y……
the X8 is bugfixed, Pinch zooming now available for XPERIA X10
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Services on February 1, 2011
Sony Ericsson just announced it's rolling the next wave of updates for the XPERIA X10 (minis included) and the XPERIA X8. The XPERIA X10 update is now rolling gradually, but the X8 update will be a week or so. You can get your X10 update either through the Sony Ericsson PC Companion or over-the-air directly on the phone.
The most important thing about the update is that the X10 users will now enjoy the Pinch-to-zoom feature in Google Maps and the Internet browser. Unfortunately, there's now……
Cowon D3 Plenue priced at $370, or $100 per inch of AMOLED
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Mobile phones, Portable device. on February 1, 2011
Want yourself a “Prestige” portable media player to make even legit smartphones blush in envy? Then the D3 Plenue from Cowon might just be for you, what with its 1080p video playback, 32GB of storage, Android 2.1 OS, and 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 AMOLED display. It's just that today we're finding the Prestige label also extends to its price, which Amazon has set at a mighty $370. That's not terrible when contrasted against unsubsidized pricing for comparable smartphones, but then this isn……
For full content click here
Samsonite’s Solar messenger bag
Posted by thumpad.com in Fashion Gadgets, General, Portable device. on January 15, 2010
I might have a bit of an advantage when it comes to the use of solar power bags as I am living in a part of this world where sunshine is the standard and rain the exception. More often than not I can happily recharge some of my little gadgets either on the go or later when home, giving me a sense of achievement by saving a small, tiny bit of fossil fuel generated electric power.
Solar power transforming bags have seen over the past 2 years a growing number of established companies offering solar power op……
Alleged Bullies Sued Over Racist and Obscene Fake Facebook Profile
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Multimedia, New Media, Social Networking on September 30, 2009
We’re pretty sure that many victims of bullies would gladly go back to the good ol’ days, when mocking and persecution didn’t have the speed and reach the Internet affords. But bullies are quickly finding out that the Web doesn’t provide as much protective anonymity as they may have thought.O……
Palin’s e-Book Delayed by Publishers, DWT More Dangerous Than DUI?
Posted by thumpad.com in General, Multimedia on September 30, 2009
Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines….
In hopes of increasing hardcover sales of Sarah Palin's upcoming book, 'Going Rogue: An American Life,' (available November 17th), News Corp announced Tuesday that the e-reader version won't be available until December 26th…….
Recent Comments