Latest News - Page 2865

HTC had some bad times last year, but the Taiwanese smartphone maker is looking to right wrongs in 2014. HTC will make more mid-range smartphones this year, selling them for a cheaper price than its current models.

HTC's Chief Financial Officer, Chang Chia-Lin, said that the company will sell products in the $150-$300 price range in both existing and developing market. HTC hopes this will turn the company around from its problems from last year, where in saw its global market share drop to just 2%, its stock price dive 80%, and its profits slide 83% in Q2 of 2013, from the previous year. HTC co-founder and chairperson Cher Wang, when speaking with Reuters, said that HTC's "problem" last year was "concentrating on [its] flagship".

Out of HTC's entire range in China, just two of them retail for under $150 - where 21 of its handsets retail for over $500. Wang said that with HTC focusing on higher-end models, it saw the company miss "a huge chunk of the mid-tier markets" in 2013.

You might have heard of the brand Dyson - which makes some of the best-engineered vacuum cleaners and hand dryers - with British entrepreneur, Sir James Dyson, outlining his latest vision for what he sees as the future of households: advanced household androids.

Dyson envisions a future where this autonomous robots will clean your house, guard your property, and as the technology improves, many more household tasks. Dyson has announced a new $8.2 million robotics center at Imperial College London, where the inventor says the technological revolution is coming, and he sees a future where every home in Britain is filled with "robots that understand the world around them".

Dyson's team of engineers are now working on the first multi-purpose household android with scientists in Japan, where researchers at Waseda University have just unveiled their Twendy-One robot, which is capable of obeying voice commands, cooking, and providing nursing care. Dyson employs close to 2,000 engineers and scientists, with his plans involving the new center to overcome the problem with robotic "vision", so that the androids could see, and react to everything around them.

Social media plays an important role for viewers, businesses, and sponsors of major international events, with the 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia, providing a great opportunity for Twitter and Facebook. Twitter gives smaller countries and lesser known Olympic athletes a way to share their love and passion for their sports with new fans - and give sponsors additional return-on-investment.

"The social media experience it's all about time and efficiency," said Justin Maas, fishbat Client Relations VP, in a press statement. "By making it easier for users to retrieve the information they want, Twitter has added value to its site. Twitter is essential for gathering news. Adding special pages for Olympics athletes and events was a smart move by the social network."

Journalists and Olympics viewers share stories, results, and interviews with one another - and with mobile content increasing, it's become even easier to share information to Twitter and other social media websites. However, athletes and coaches in Sochi aren't allowed to post audio or video from sporting events or anything happening in the Olympic Village. They can record audio or video for personal reasons, however, it cannot be done with professional recording equipment.

LG Electronics grabbed headlines when it announced its 55-inch curved OLED HDTV in 2013, which originally sported a $14,999 retail price tag. Early into 2014, LG decided to issue yet another price cut so the TV can be found for $6,999 at major North American electronics e-tailers.

Prior to the 2013 Christmas holiday shopping season, LG cut the TV's retail price from $14,999 down to $8,999 to draw interested buyers with deep pockets. It's no surprise to see the price drop even lower in early 2014, but seeing it slide down to $6,999 in such a short amount of time may be all that is needed to entice some consumers to pull the trigger.

LG's price cut will also make it more competitive with Samsung's rival OLED HDTV that started with a price tag of $8,999.

In less than two months, Microsoft will officially pull the plug on Windows XP after more than 12 years of general availability of the popular OS. XP served as a dependable OS that already surpassed Microsoft's expectations, though the software company is anxious to migrate users to the still struggling Windows 8/8.1 operating system.

Microsoft will officially end support for XP on April 8, and is now urging home users, small and midsize-businesses, and corporations to finally migrate. Consumers that might be more interested in Windows 7 will be discouraged that Microsoft pulled the OS from its retail stores, and stopped selling to OEMs long ago - though many e-tailers still have Windows 7 OS copies - and Windows 7-powered PCs and laptops available.

Despite 8/8.1 frustrating some users, the OS is significantly more secure than XP - and has modern support from hardware and software makers - but XP still controls around 29 percent of the desktop OS market.

Major pizza chains are able to use customized online ordering systems to woo Internet users, while mom and pop shops are having trouble trying to keep up. Papa John's, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, and other large chains are able to support online ordering using automated systems tested across multiple locations - but smaller local pizza shops traditionally need to use walk-in and telephone orders to handle customer interactions.

Younger customers are more inclined to order delivery through mobile or online services ,with smart TV and game consoles giving customers the chance to easily place orders.

"Most of the small and regional chains who still continue to sell the majority of the pizza in the U.S. simply aren't able to play on these technology platforms with the level of sophistication that we have," said Patrick Doyle, Domino's CEO, during an investor's financial call.

Cloud computing is predicted to reach $121.1 billion by 2015, according to a report from MarketsandMarkets, though other analysts guess the market will have a difficult time in 2014. Embracing the cloud gives users the chance to utilize a scalable and cost-effective way to access and share information from any Web-connected device.

For companies trying to sell cloud services to the consumer or B2B markets, it's quickly coming down to service quality. Any company trying to drive innovation in the cloud market must pay attention to good product support, customer support, and clear lines of communication with users.

Companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon tend to get a lot of headlines for their respective cloud efforts, though software providers like Red Hat and CA are expected to have a difficult time growing this year.

Manufacturers have finally figured out how to attract consumers to connected high-definition TVs (HDTVs), using third-party Web-based apps to draw in users. Smart TVs will capture the "majority of television shipments" this year, and more U.S. consumers will have smart TVs than connected TVs by 2015, according to Business Insider.

Original Web TVs initially seemed appealing, but were wrongly predicted TV viewers would want to use the TV to browse the Internet in a traditional manner. Some companies embrace open platforms, such as LG, Roku and Google Chromecast supporting open source, while Apple, Samsung and other companies rely on closed infrastructures.

Apple TV and Roku set-top boxes lead the market for streaming devices, though Google Chromecast also sold a large number of units. Apple TV racked up 8 million units shipped during all of 2013, while Roku shipped 4.5 million units.

The 16GB variant of the Moto G sold out in less than 60 minutes on Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company. The 8GB version is still in stock, for now, but with the Moto G selling like cupcakes on Flipkart, I wouldn't expect it to stay there for long.

Motorola launched the Moto G in India last week, in partnership with Flipkart. Motorola announced that the Moto G would go on sale on February 6, at 12am, but the e-commerce company began selling the 8GB version before the clock reached midnight. When it opened sales of the 16GB version, it sold out within an hour. It sold out before some people could even reach the checkout.

It sold out quick because of the low amount of Moto G smartphones imported, with a reported 14,800 units of the 8GB version, and just 5,000 units of the 16GB version were imported into the country. Stock should be back by now, but it goes to show that a great smartphone at an even better price can break into emerging markets quick.

We reported earlier on that Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, said that Apple should think about making an Android-based smartphone, but it looks like we - along with most tech press - got it wrong.

In an e-mail to Gina Smith of aNewDomain, Wozniak said: "They got it quite wrong for their own reasons ... I'm used to things like this, (where the media turns) 'could' into 'should.' But the idea caught a lot of attention. It was just (my) independent idea ... I'm sure others have said it before but I get more attention".

Wozniak continued: "I was asked some general question as to BlackBerry. I said, as I have before, that I felt BlackBerry's best (plan) two years ago would have been to make an Android phone. I went into how the world seems to be Apple lovers and Apple non-lovers. I did say Apple 'could' make an Android phone. But I (said) total business decisions would be in the hands of knowledgeable Apple execs - not me".

Virtual reality and augmented reality hardware and software products are changing the way users interact in the living room and at the PC. The Oculus Rift, Avegant Glyph, and smart glasses might get a lot of the attention from gamers, but VR and AR create potential for so many business and enterprise apps.

Smart glasses are being used as training tools for industry decision makers trying to embrace new technologies and cut prices, as the military, medical, and biotech companies show interest in VR.

As VR hardware continues to evolve, the bundled software also provides great opportunities for consumers and business users. Sixense's MakeVR 3D modeling software, which needs a 3D multi-touch interface, pushes the boundaries of the type of software that can be developed in the future. The MakeVR Kickstarter reached $56,000 of its $250,000 goal just three days after launch.

In the continued battle against cyber warfare, the FBI recently opened the door to security experts willing to share information about malware. Specifically, the Investigative Analysis Unit (IAU) wants to create "global awareness of the malware threat" in anticipation of what lies ahead in the future. The request for quote (RFQ) is a unique effort to purchase malware so the FBI intelligence services are able to try and reverse-engineer the security threats.

The FBI is currently seeking security firms to submit malware samples for federal computer teams to learn more about how the malicious software is made and distributed. Executive files, digital media files, exploited code, and Office documents will be collected, though security experts are welcome to try and stump the FBI with select malware.

Sophisticated malware continues to plague desktop and mobile users, with malware targeting Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple OS X/iOS.

California lawmakers want to make mandatory smartphone kill-switch requirements for phones in case of theft, an epidemic on the rise through metropolitan cities throughout the United States. Senate Bill 962 would take effect for both smartphones and tablets, as both mobile electronics become more common place among casual consumers.

"This is an important day for wireless consumers everywhere," said George Gascon, San Francisco District Attorney, in a press statement. "This legislation will require the industry to stop debating the possibility of implementing existing technological theft solutions, and begin embracing the inevitability. The wireless industry must take action to end the victimization of its customers."

Gascon also added that SB 962 would help clamp down on the market for stolen devices in California.

Action camera maker GoPro has just filed the required paperwork to see the company push toward an initial public offering, or IPO. In GoPro's statement, it said that the IPO is expected to commence after the SEC completes the review process of their confidential submission.

Because of the confidentiality, there's no details on GoPro's financial state, as the company has less than $1 billion in annual sales, the IPO can be confidential. During an interview with Forbes last year, GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman said that the company sold 2.3 million cameras in 2012, pulling in more than $520 million.

GoPro's financial information will remain confidential until it gets closer to its shares being traded.

Addonics is back with yet another portable SSD product launch. Today the company announced the all new Sapphire SSD RAID Array Storage line including the Sapphire 5-slot CFast and the Sapphire CF drives. These devices are designed to utilize ultra-fast Compact Flash drives to create an SSD RAID array for extreme performance on the go.

Both models feature USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity to ensure the fastest performance possible, and allows you to configure five CFast or CF cards to appear as separate, independent drives. Alternatively users can use the device to set up a high-performance, fault tolerant RAID array in RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD Modes. Internal hardware connects up to five CF cards to a single high-speed 6G eSATA port for unmatched performance. Addonics says that the Sapphire 5-slot CFast and the Sapphire CF drives are available now at major electronics retailers.

Destiny was one of the most talked about next-gen games of 2013 and as the games launch draws closer, Activision's CEO, Bobby Kotick, is speaking out about how successful he feels the franchise will be. Bungie, the company actually developing Destiny is working hard behind the scenes fine tuning Destiny to be this years best MMORPG/FPS on the next-gen consoles, and if the company can mold it into anything like it did with Halo, then Destiny's destiny may very well be a billion dollar franchise.

"We expect Bungie's Destiny, an innovative shared-world, first-person action game to be Activision Publishing's next billion dollar franchise," said Kotick. "As we look to 2014 and beyond, we have the strongest and most diverse pipeline of games in our history." From the trailers, screen shots, and information I have seen on Destiny, I have to agree with Kotick. With Halo stalling out there is a huge gap to fill for the sci-fi shooter genera and I think Destiny can do it.

Over the last few weeks rumors have been gathering that state that Apple will be releasing an iOS 7 update anywhere between early February to late April, but today it appears that the update will come in March. iOS 7.1 is the first significant update to Apple's flagship mobile operating system since its release last year, and while no surprises are expected, some much needed improvements will be made.

The update will feature tweaks to the user interface, an improved calender app, and overall performance will increase. Users can expect their device to feel faster after the update thanks to many bug fixes and memory optimizations as well. We are expecting Apple to release iOS 7 at an Apple TV event in March, but nothing has been confirmed and there may not even be a show to launch at, but Apple does have a history of March events, so only time will tell.

Apple has laid down its final judgement on Bitcoins, and things are not looking good for iOS users who dabble in the crypto-currency. Today Apple removed the final Bitcoin wallet app from the App Store. The app was named Blockchain which was not the largest to get removed,but Apple axed it without warning.

This caused a major uproar with iOS users who was using Blockchain as their Bitcoin wallet. The uproar has been so great that one Reddit user, u/round-peg, posted an offer to give a new Nexus 5 to the first five people who smashed their iPhones in rage over the Blockchain app being removed from the app store. As you would expect, smashed iPhone images soon began showing up. Blockchain says that Apple banned Bitcoin wallet apps because they felt that the crypto-currency threatened their own payment system, causing Apple to do what it does best, restrict its users. "The only thing that has changed is that bitcoin has become competitive to Apple's own payment system," said Blockchain.

Sony will shutter its Reader e-bookstore, and will transition customers to the Kobo online library and store, with Reader and Xperia tablet and smartphone users needing to make the move.

The shuttered Sony store was made up of 4 million e-books, magazines, newspapers, mangas, and kids content available to customers.

"Kobo is the ideal solution for our customers and will deliver a robust and comprehensive user experience," said Ken Orii, Sony VP of Digital Reading, in a press statement. "Like Sony, they are committed to those most passionate about reading and share our vision to use open formats so people can easily read anytime and anywhere."

There will be 28 3D movie releases in 2014, which is a continued slide in overall releases with consumers showing less interest in the pricier movie experience. A recent industry analyst believes 3D movies will capture just 39 percent of box office revenue in 2014, which would be the lowest ratio sales comparison in more than five years.

A recent Harris Poll study found that 69 percent of American movie goers believe 3D is only so movie studios and theaters can charge more for movie tickets.

For the past few years, there was interest from movie theaters want more expensive 2D films, with 3D movie prices lowering slightly, to generate new interest. However, that technique wisely wasn't rolled out, though 3D movie box office sales figures still disappoint.