During the heyday of optical storage we saw a 400GB Blu-Ray flavor (shown above) and even 1TB discs in the lab, but lately such development has waned. Sony and Panasonic have teamed up to move things along, however, saying there's a need for reliable long-term storage that only optical disks can provide. The pair will develop a "next-generation standard for professional-use optical discs," saying that a 300GB flavor could be ready in two years or so. Though geared towards industries like cloud storage and digital cinema at first, the tech could eventually trickle down to consumers, too. Given...
iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner seemingly confirmed in iOS 7
It was always rumored that the next iPhone, probably called the iPhone 5S, will have some sort of biometric security features. It seems that we have our first confirmation that the feature actually exists in the next iPhone thanks to some references in the latest iOS 7 beta 4 that was released a couple of hours ago. Spotted by 9to5Mac, the UI suggests that the next iPhones home button will also house a fingerprint scanner. A user will be able to use either hand and swipe the thumb over the home button for the scanner to scan the fingerprint.Apple acquired AuthenTec, a company specializing in biometric...
Corning introduces Gorilla Glass NBT for touch-enabled laptops, coming this fall
While we love our gadgets for their glass-capacitive touchscreens, they can be sensitive to scratches and fingerprints. Corning, best known for protecting our phone and tablet displays, is introducing Gorilla Glass NBT for touch-enabled laptops. This new ultra-strong covering promises enhanced scratch resistance, reduced flaw visibility and better retained strength once a blemish occurs -- basically, the same benefits as GG3. Dell is the first manufacturer to jump on-board with NBT and plans to use it on some notebooks this fall. Does this mean you wont have to be nearly as careful when schlepping...
MediaTek launches worlds first true octa-core processor
MediaTek today announced the worlds first true octa-core processor in which all eight cores can work simultaneously. The MT8135 is based on ARMs big.LITTLE architecture and has four Cortex A7 cores and four Cortex A15 cores. Just like Samsungs Exynos 5 Octa SoC, the A7 cores are utilized for most low-intensity tasks while the A15 cores kick in for the heavy lifting. However, unlike Samsungs implementation where only one set of four cores (A7 or A15) can be active at any given point of time, MediaTek has implemented what it calls heterogeneous processing where applications will have access to run...
Toshiba adds Haswell to refreshed Satellite U and M laptops
While Toshiba already outed its Haswell plans, the company has chosen today to unveil a few more PCs. The outfit's refreshing its Satellite U and M range in the UK, with the U50t being equipped with a 10-point touchscreen and Windows 8 onboard. The Satellite M50D and M50Dt, meanwhile, boast AMD's latest APU processors and Radeon graphics. The whole line (which is slated for dispatch in Q3) ships with Intel's fourth-generation processors and HD 4400 graphics, while those needing a bit more oomph on the pixel pushing side can opt for NVIDIA's GeForce GT 740M. As you'd expect, Intel's WiDi and Miracast...
Citizen plans crowdfunded takeover of Canadian carrier, raises a couple hundred
You'd think a carrier takeover funded by the proletariat would have to be hostile, right? Heck, no. Canadian Valya Michael loves Mobilicity, all the way from its headquarters down to its little cell towers, and he fears a serious loss of commercial competition if the embattled company should fail. So he's started a $400,000,000 campaign (in the northern currency, that is) to buy it out, clear its debts and invest in better coverage and customer service. We have no idea what Indiegogo, Mobilicity or the telecoms regulator will do if the funding target is achieved, but they all have plenty of time...
iTunes 11.1 beta seeded to developers with radio feature
When iOS 7 finally becomes official later this year, it'll be accompanied by a brand new iTunes, complete with a much anticipated streaming radio feature. iTunes Radio, the oft-rumored, and finally announced Pandora competitor will launch as part of an updated music management app and will have deep hooks in the major mobile OS revamp currently under way at Cupertino. If you're one of the many that maintain a developer account with Apple, you can download the beta at the source link. If, in your travels, you dig up any more dirt on the updated music app let us know in the comments.Filed under:...
Google Translate website now supports handwriting
Google Translate, which has successfully swept away its predecessors and competitors to become the standard in online translation, has a new feature: handwriting translation. Its a feature thats actually been available on their Android app for almost two years, but finally its coming to the website version as well.Distinct from the translator in Google Goggles, which can be foiled by everything from distance to fancy fonts, this lets you turn written characters into digital with remarkable speed.The idea is only really necessary for languages with non-Latin characters that cant be accessed through...
Samsung reportedly looking to engineer new ARM-compatible Exynos processor
It's a material world, and Samsung's just living in it. And, evidently, it's tired of doing things in the same manner it has been. According to a report from ETNews, the aforesaid company is looking to produce an Exynos processor using a "redesigned ARM core platform" that'll be whipped up in Samsung's Austin, Texas-based R&D facility. If the plans materialize, it'll mark the first time that Samsung has engineered an Exynos chip "based on its own architecture platform by redesigning the ARM cores." For those unaware, Qualcomm and Apple are amongst the precious few that have concocted their...
iOS 7 beta 4 hits with boatloads of bug fixes, as it inches towards release
Three weeks after the last beta release, and just a few days after Apple's developer center finished receiving a massive security overhaul, iOS 7 beta 4 is now available to download. The update to Cupertino's upcoming iOS release -- the biggest since the debut of the original SDK -- is heading out over the airwaves now, with a list of fixes and improvements far too long for us to reprint here. Of course, if you're a registered developer, you can hit up the source link to check out the entire tome of changes for yourself. If you haven't gotten an alert on your handset just yet, be patient. And,...
Amazon promises 7,000 new jobs ahead of Obama visit
Amazon has just announced that it will add 5,000 jobs at 17 fulfillment centers across the US, along with 2,000 customer service positions. The news comes just ahead of a visit tomorrow by President Obama to the retail giant's Chattanooga, Tennessee fulfillment center, where he's set to outline new job-creation policies. Amazon says such jobs typically pay 30 percent more than in retail stores, and all are full-time and include retirement, health care and stock benefits. The company has tripled its workforce over the past three years, and currently employs over 20,000 employees in its US warehouses,...
IRL: TYLT's Energi charging backpack and the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week, Darren Murph, the man of many bags, is at it once again, trying out a charging backpack we got to handle for just a few minutes back at CES. In addition, we'll give you a peek at Logitech's suspiciously Surface-like FabricSkin keyboard case. Find it all after the break.Filed under: MiscCommentsClick Here To Compare ProductSearch ResultIt looks like Feedly's promises of a seamless transition worked....
Spot Gen3 outdoor beacon adds more robust tracking options, improved battery life
It looks nearly the same as it did in 2007, but Spot's outdoor beacon has evolved quite nicely on the inside. Now in its third incarnation, the Spot Gen3 is designed to help wandering argonauts keep their loved ones informed of their location for an even longer period of time. Engineered to be worn by those intentionally heading off of the conventional grid, the Spot Gen3 adds unlimited tracking (enabling wearers to pre-set the device to send tracks every 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes), motion activated tracking and longer battery life. According to the company, this guy will last nearly twice as long...
Autographer wearable camera launches tomorrow priced at £400, we go hands-off
It's been a long time coming, close to a year, but OMG Life's clippable, er, lanyard-able life-logging camera will be available to buy tomorrow. The Autographer launches in the UK (where the company's based) and most major European countries on July 30th, priced at a rather prohibitive £400 (we're still confirming a US dollar price, but a later launch has been promised) and pitching itself as "the world's first intelligent wearable camera." We'd position it as an addition to your smartphone and/or standalone camera, like Lytro or the incoming Memoto, for those that have the cash.There's a curious...
PlayStation 4 friends list will accomodate up to 2,000 of your best buds
So it seems that PlayStation 4 owners will have more friends than their Xbox One counterparts -- well, you know, in theory, at least. Sony announced this morning, by way of rather chipper Q&A video, that the PS4 will have a Party Chat to call its own, along with friends lists that support up to 2,000 users -- that's double the number that Microsoft announced toward the end of May (though, all said, both numbers are a big improvement over the last gens' 100-person cap). Good news for social PlayStation gamers, though you might want to start saving up now -- that's a whole lot of extra birthdays...
LG PD233 Pocket Photo printer launched in India for Rs 14,990
LG has launched a pocket-sized photo printer called LG PD233 Pocket Photo. The printer is compatible with Android and iOS devices and is available at retail stores across India for Rs 14,990. The LG PD233 is ultra-portable and can easily fit into ones pocket and connects to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or NFC. You can print any photo on from your mobile device onto 5.1×7.6cm papers. The printer is also believed to be value for money as it uses a printing technology called Zink, which essentially uses an inkless paper system to eliminate the need for expensive ink cartridges.The...
Strategy Analytics: Android beats iOS in Q2 tablet shipments, Windows gains ground
All in all, global tablet shipments were up for Q2, according to new numbers released by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. Factoring in white-box units, the market saw 51.7 million tablets shipped in that time period -- that's up 43-percent compared to the same time last year. A lot of that good news can be chalked up to Android's success. The OS saw a healthy bump from 18.5- to 34.6 million units shipped, a number that has Google's mobile operating system holding 67-percent of the market. The news is a little less cheery on Apple's side of the OS wars, with shipments dipping from 17- to 14.6 million...
Origin PC's EON 13-S offers another spin on Clevo's latest gaming laptop, promises Haswell and Kepler for $1,474
Like the look of Digital Storm's VELOCE gaming notebook, but have strong loyalties with another system builder? Don't worry -- Origin PC has just announced another gaming rig with the exact same chassis: the EON13-S. The similarity is no coincidence, both models are based on the 13.3-inch Clevo W230ST, carefully branded and customized by each company.Origin's twist on the laptop includes a 4th Generation Intel Core processor, NVIDIA GTX 765M graphics and up to three storage devices. The company didn't announce specifics, but Clevo's own product page outs Intel's 2.8GHz i7-4900MQ, 2.70GHz i7-4800MQ...
Apples rumored cheap iPhone could be called the iPhone 5C: Report
The rumored entry-level iPhone has leaked quite frequently in the past few weeks and yet besides the plastic back panel, we know very less about this device. Heck, we dont even know what it would be called. But that is about to change, as French website NoWhereElse has posted a photo showing a bunch of retail boxes marked iPhone 5C complete with the Apple logo. The photo was posted on Chinese website Weibo, which has been a source of nearly all the leaked photos of the back panel. The retail boxes in the above photo do look real, and it would be difficult not to believe that the cheaper iPhone...
Phil Fish cancels Fez II, tells haters 'you win'
The game that helped to take indie development mainstream, while also proving how tortured and twisted the process can be, will not be getting a sequel. As you may have heard over the weekend, Fez's creator, Phil Fish, wrote a typically short and emotional fragment of explanatory text on Polytron's official website, saying that he's "getting out of games" and that he's killed the Fez II project that was announced last month and had been destined for the PC:"FEZ II is cancelled. i am done. i take the money and i run. this is as much as i can stomach. this is isn't the result of any one thing, but...
BMW unveils i3 electric car in the carbon fiber flesh (video)
BMW's i3 concept has been kicking around for quite awhile, and so far we've seen the carbon fiber chassis, a you-wish prototype, many of the specs and even the price. All that remained was to see an actual car, and BMW has finally pulled the covers off of it today. The $41,350 (US pricing) vehicle will run for 80-100 miles on a charge while going from 0 to 60 MPH in seven seconds, thanks to the 22kWh battery, 170-horsepower electric motor and relatively slight 2,600 pound heft. If you opt to pay $45,200, you'll be able to nearly double the range, thanks to an optional 34-horsepower two-cylinder...
Chromecast gets rooted, turns out to be more Android than Chrome OS
Googles surprising little HDMI stick has been causing quite a bit of noise since its surprise announcement last week, and now that users are finally getting hands on time theres some interesting things going on in the software.Theres no other way to describe it, Googles Chromecast is downright impressive. A $35 HDMI stick compatible with Android, iOS, and any traditional PC with the Chrome browser onboard would be a neat trick on its own, but this little stick is capable of streaming Netflix in 1080p using a system that is significantly more efficient than Apples Airplay.The massive wave of early...
US patent office throws out Apple's pinch-to-zoom claim against Samsung
For those of you eagerly following the seemingly never-ending legal battle between Apple and Samsung (cue crickets), a recent decision by the US Patent and Trademark Office has thrown a wrench into Apple's master plan. According to documents filed by Samsung in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on Sunday, Apple's Patent No. 7,844,915, which covers the two-finger pinch-to-zoom gesture, was found wanting by the USPTO due to it being anticipated by other patents and declared otherwise non-patentable, much like its "overscroll bounce" claim. Apple has up to two...
Plastic iPhone 5C confirmed by Pegatron investigation
Pegatron is one of Apples manufacturing partners that handles both iPad and iPhone production. An investigation has just been completed that reveals the working standards inside Pegatrons factories are below par.The company is apparently breaking both Chinese and international laws, which is a problem Apple and Pegatron need to deal with quickly. However, that same investigation has also inadvertently revealed that a plastic iPhone 5 is indeed a real product in production.In order to review the working practices inside Pegatron, investigators had to be sent into their facilities. Those investigators...
Insert Coin: TouchKeys overlay brings whole new meaning to 'tickling the ivories'
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.Keyboards haven't changed much in the last, oh, few hundred years or so. You play a note by hitting and releasing it, use a pedal to sustain and change volume through the high-tech means of "bashing harder." TouchKeys wants to give you much more control with its touch sensitive, DIY stick-on overlays that can even sense multi-touch. While similar to what we've seen recently with the Roli Seaboard...
