If ever you needed an example that 99-percent of what you read online is speculation, trying to gage iPad developer engagement is it. Within a space of hours, two reports have emerged suggesting that coders are both flocking to the iPad and losing interest in it. The Wall Street Journal reckons the Apple tablet “is boosting developer interest in Apple’s store because the device is set to expand the audience for apps and paves the way for developers to introduce new innovations” thanks to “key features that help play up apps, such as high-quality color touch-screens, accelerometers and relatively fast processors.” They point to Social Gaming Network, 90-percent of whose developers are busy with iPhone OS based apps.
Meanwhile, Computerworld quotes Appcelerator, who have been running platform surveys with developers and who claim that interest in the iPad has waned. They say that, where 90-percent of developers questioned just prior to the iPad’s announcement said they were planning to release software for the tablet, only 80-percent still expect to do so now. In fact, Appcelerator reckon Android is of far more interest to developers than the iPad.
Where 58-percent of developers questioned in January said they were “very interested” in creating software for the iPad, that number has dropped to 53-percent. Meanwhile 87-percent are “very interested” in iPhone development and 81-percent say the same about Android. Appcelerator’s head of marketing reckons that’s down to the omission of potentially key features like multitasking.
“Before the announcement, there was tons of hype about the iPad, and tons of speculation about its features. After, it was clear that a couple of key features wouldn’t make it in the first round, including a camera and multitasking. That’s nothing that can’t be fixed down the road, but it did temper enthusiasm” Scott Schwarzhoff, head of marketing, Appcelerator
Apparently there’s still a market for Wi-Fi detectors, so much so that a company called Soyntec actually builds them into the laptop bags and backpacks in their Wiffinder line. A small LCD on the outside of the bags usually shows just the current time, but a push of a button will tell you if there are any Wi-Fi networks nearby, and their signal strength. It doesn’t seem to indicate whether or not the Wi-Fi signals are encrypted, which is a pretty vital piece of info, so I’ll let you make the call on whether or not this feature makes the ~$47 bags worthwhile.
You may question the need for an iPod/iPhone dock in your kitchen, but when you think about all the clever cooking related things you can do with either device, like downloading recipes, or following along with a cooking podcast, the idea does have some merit. Besides an alarm clock and an FM radio, which probably won’t see much use if you have an iDevice, the iP39 also has 2 independent cooking timers, a set of USB ports that can be used to charge other devices like a cellphone, a magnetic remote that sticks to the side so it doesn’t get misplaced, and of course a kitchen-friendly design with easy to clean membrane buttons.
At $99.99 I’d probably place it in the luxury category, since it’s far from being a must-have item for your kitchen. But if you have the counter space to waste, I guess it’s got enough functionality to not be accused of being a unitasker.
“The Reference Design generates realtime depth, color and audio data of the living room scene. It works in all room lighting conditions (whether in complete darkness or in a fully lit room). It does not require the user to wear or hold anything, does not require calibration and does not require computational resources from the host’s processor” PrimeSense
Inside Project Natal – and the PrimeSensor reference design – is PrimeSense’s PS1080 SoC, with an integrated USB 2.0 controller, and takes infrared input from the standard CMOS sensor, together with audio, and processes it on-chip rather than relying on the console’s CPU. The image analysed is VGA 640 x 480 resolution at 60fps, and according to the technical specs will track people between 0.8m and 3.5m away.
Of course there’s no telling how much modification the Xbox team made, nor how long – if at all – Microsoft have any exclusive on the PrimeSense system. There’s also still no specific release dates, beyond the existing “holiday 2010″ window and the promise that Natal will make its world premiere on June 13th at E3 2010.
Press Release:
PrimeSense Supplies 3-D-Sensing Technology to “Project Natal” for Xbox 360
Groundbreaking optical-sensing and recognition technologies to aid gesture control platform.
REDMOND, Wash., and TEL AVIV, Israel — March 31, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. and PrimeSense™, the leader in 3-D-sensing and recognition technologies, announced today that PrimeSense will be providing its leading-edge 3-D-sensing technology for use in “Project Natal” for Xbox 360.
“We’ve seen tremendous excitement and anticipation for the arrival of ‘Project Natal’ this holiday,” said Ilan Spillinger, vice president of Xbox 360 hardware. “PrimeSense has delivered an important component to the technology, helping us deliver revolutionary controller-free entertainment experiences in the living room.”
“PrimeSense’s technology enables a paradigm shift in the way people interact with consumer electronic devices. The engagement with Xbox 360 establishes PrimeSense’s position as a leading supplier of 3-D-sensing technology,” said Inon Beracha, chief executive officer, PrimeSense. “We are especially honored to have a partner like Microsoft that shares our vision for bringing innovative and engaging natural experiences to consumers.”
“Xbox 360 Hardware Engineering teams developed the ‘Project Natal’ sensor based on the PrimeSensor™ reference design to support the special requirements of ‘Project Natal,’” said Aviad Maizels, president and founder, PrimeSense.
Microsoft recently announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that “Project Natal” will be available during holiday 2010.
About PrimeSense
PrimeSense is the leader in sensing and recognition technologies enabling consumer devices to “see” environments and allow users to control and interact naturally with those devices in a simple and intuitive way. PrimeSense offers affordable solutions for consumer markets including visual/home computing, interactive entertainment and consumer electronics. PrimeSense products include the PS1080 System on Chip and PrimeSensor reference design, plus cross-platform enabling software to make application development easy and intuitive.
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with offices in North America, Japan and Taiwan, PrimeSense is a privately held company. For more information, please visit: www.primesense.com.
About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is a premier video game and entertainment system. It is home to the best and broadest library of games, a streaming library of thousands of movies and TV shows in 1080p HD, and millions of songs connected to the television. The digital center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content with the largest online social network connected to the television in the 23 million members on Xbox LIVE to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. With the addition of currently code-named “Project Natal” for Xbox 360, Microsoft will forever transform social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. More information about “Project Natal” and Xbox 360 can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/projectnatal and http://www.xbox.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
If you took your average kitchen timer with a rotary dial and combined it with a power strip, the Energy Lock is what you would end up with. The device is a power outlet with three plugs that you can plug your TV, computer, or anything else into.
The plug rotates to allow you to set how long the device plugged in will get power. Once the timer runs down the device is automatically turned off. You can also give the thing a full twist and have constant power.
The idea is pretty cool, but the issue I see is that most power outlets in my home are behind stuff. I wouldn’t be able to get to the thing to turn the timer. I think this would be interesting tech for a surge protector though.
The group of DIY robot builders over at Cellbots decided that Android’s native voice recognition system was too good to be wasted on drunk-dialling your mother and searching for the latest sports scores, and so they added support for voice control to their ‘bot platform. Intended as a low-cost way to make a potentially autonomous robot, using an Android phone (in this case T-Mobile’s G1) as the brain, with the addition of voice recognition you can now tell the Cellbots robot exactly what you want it to do.
Using an Arduino to bridge the motors and other hardware to the smartphone, the team only actually needed to add a single line of code to their software in order to take advantage of voice recognition. It’s not the speediest way to control your ‘bot – Google’s recognition system is off-device, so the phone has to send your command to the servers and wait to get the instructions back after they’ve been processed – but it’s more than a lot of other DIY robots can manage.
Finally realizing that the majority of universal remotes sold at big box electronic stores aren’t the $300+ variety, Logitech has launched the Harmony 300, which ditches the LCD display, but gains a more reasonable price point of around $49.99. And like its more elaborate siblings, the Harmony 300 is easy to program. All you need to do is hook it up to your PC, visit the MyHarmony website (which for some reason redirects to www.iis.net at the moment) and replacing up to 4 other remotes is as easy as telling the site which devices you’re using. Their online database covers over 225,000 devices from over 5,000 brands, and since that list is growing every day, there’s a good chance your equipment is covered.
And even though it is lacking the LCD display that makes the more expensive models in the Harmony line highly customizable, the 300 still has a set of programmable buttons for quickly accessing your favorite channels or other custom functions. The Harmony 300 is expected to be available in early April in the U.S. and Europe.
I have never held my tongue on the state of the AT&T network when it comes to using my iPhone. My area has an atrocious number of dropped calls and 3G is very patchy and slow when it is available. Many AT&T users have the same issues as I with the network.
With new rumors and grumblings this week of a Verizon version of the iPhone surfacing, many AT&T users stuck with the carrier for the iPhone alone are seeing new light at the end of the tunnel. AT&T is apparently aware of the fact that the state of its network has left many disgruntled iPhone users.
According to the Wall Street Journal AT&T is beefing up its wireless network in preparation for a battle with Verizon over the iPhone. The network is improving in some areas, but many users still have the same old issues. Some analysts are saying that if AT&T doesn’t fix the network there will be a huge exodus to Verizon when and if the iPhone lands there. I know if the network doesn’t get better, I am gone as soon as I can get the iPhone on Verizon. Work fast AT&T.
Right on cue (sort of), Verizon Wireless’ branded V Cast Apps market has finally seen the light of day. We’ve actually heard about the store since last summer, but it wasn’t until the carrier’s LTE forum at CTIA that we had a confirmed date. As noted then, the first device to get the portal is the BlackBerry Storm2, with other RIM devices (and hopefully other mobile platforms) in the coming months. It’s not taking the place of BlackBerry App World, so now that we’ve got two coexisting markets on one device, it’s time to see just how strong that V Cast branding is…
Data that you might have stored on your flash drive or external hard drive faces more threats than simply being lost. The drives are often subject to drops and water damage as we travel throughout the day. Silicon Power has unveiled a new rugged external HDD that promises to protect your data from abuse.
The drive is called the Armor A70 and it is water resistant, impact resistant, dust proof, and vibration resistant. That means the drive can survive spills or being caught in the rain and will still operate if you drop it.
The A70 connects to a PC via USB and comes in 250GB to 640GB capacities. The drive is IEC529 IPX7 compliant for water resistance and meets military standards of ruggedness. The drive promises a max transfer speed of 480Mbps and is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.
If ever you needed an example that 99-percent of what you read online is speculation, trying to gage iPad developer engagement is it. Within a space of hours, two reports have emerged suggesting that coders are both flocking to the iPad and losing interest in it. The Wall Street Journal reckons the Apple tablet “is boosting developer interest in Apple’s store because the device is set to expand the audience for apps and paves the way for developers to introduce new innovations” thanks to “key features that help play up apps, such as high-quality color touch-screens, accelerometers and relatively fast processors.” They point to Social Gaming Network, 90-percent of whose developers are busy with iPhone OS based apps.
