Estimates place Nexus 10 sales lower than Microsoft Surface

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 7:32 PM CDT

Estimated sales numbers for the Nexus 10 aren't very positive. In fact, the estimates place sales of the Nexus 10 below that of the Microsoft Surface, which is widely regarded as a flop product. So, just how bad is it? Estimates suggest that Google has only sold somewhere between 680,000 and one million Nexus 10's.

Neither Samsung or Google provided data regarding tablet sales, but some interesting extrapolations by Ben Evans resulted in those numbers. Since the Nexus 10 features a relatively uncommon screen resolution, Evans was able to use Google's development data for screen sizes. Only 0.1 percent of devices hitting the Play Store featured the resolution present on the Nexus 10.

An estimate of 680 million Android users at the end of March was used, though this could be slightly off base. Even still, sales numbers of the Nexus 10 aren't good, especially when compared to Apple's. Apple managed to sell 36.9 million iPads in the second half of 2012 and 10 million iPad minis in Q4 alone.

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OpenSignal finally releases app for iPhone

Trace Hagan | Software & Apps | Apr 18, 2013 5:33 PM CDT

OpenSignal, the central repository for crowdsourced cellular reception maps, has finally released an app for iPhones. Up until now, OpenSignal has been relying on only Android users to collect data about signal strength, cellular towers, and speed data.

OpenSignal has used this collected Android data to extrapolate how signal would perform on iPhones. Now they will be able to rely on data collected via iPhones. To download the new app or learn more about it, head over to OpenSignal's webpage for the new iPhone app.

The app features some useful functions. If you're having reception issues, the app can point you in a direction that should help boost your signal. It can also locate free Wi-Fi if you need to borrow a faster connection. The app will also collect anonymous signal data to help build the map available at OpenSignal's website.

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Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor closes its doors, could be a sign of things to come

Charles Gantt | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 8:11 AM CDT

Not all that glitters is gold, and this morning Bitcoin investors who traded on the Bitfloor Bitcoin exchange are waking up to that hard to learn lesson. Bitfloor has announced that it has been forced to cease all operations due to reasons "outside of our control."

Bitfloor, while not as popular as Mt. Gox, was still a key player in the Bitcoin game. In the wake of last week's Bitcoin crash, the exchange has had its bank account closed and as a direct result, must end all trading. We are guessing that when the massive sell off was over, the bank deemed Bitfloor too much of a risk and opted to part ways in an act of self-preservation.

Roman, the founder of Bitfloor, had the following to say:

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Toshiba unveil the Kirabook Ultrabook, features 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Apr 18, 2013 4:33 AM CDT

We've already got the Retina MacBook Pro from Apple, featuring a 2560x1600 display, and Google's Chromebook Pixel with its 2560x1700 display - but both of those machines are built for Windows. Toshiba have just unveiled a new Ultrabook, that comes with Windows 8 - the Kirabook.

Toshiba's Kirabook comes with a 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display, giving us slightly less pixels than Apple and Google's offerings. Kirabook starts from $1599, which gives you an Intel third-generation Core i5 processor, 256GB of SSD, 8GB of RAM and a backlit keyboard. The $1999 model provides touchscreen capabilities, and a bump in processor to the Core i7. Toshiba's Kirabook is 0.7 inches thick, and weighs 2.6 pounds.

We should see pre-orders open up on May 3, with shipping beginning on May 12.

Continue reading: Toshiba unveil the Kirabook Ultrabook, features 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display (full post)

ASUS unveil their Raidr PCI Express-based SSD capable of 830MB/sec

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Apr 18, 2013 4:11 AM CDT

ASUS are ready to launch their first storage product in the form of the Asus Raidr storage card under their Republic of Gamer brand of products. What makes the ASUS Raidr device stand out from the crowd is its reliance on the PCIe 2.0 x2 port it'll use in your system, oh and those blistering read/write speeds.

We're looking at dual LSI SandForce SD-2281 controllers using Toshiba's 19nm 16k page size MLC sync-NAND flash. Sequential read and writes are impressive, with the 240GB drive capable of 830MB/sec read, and 810MB/sec write. The 120GB is slightly slower, with 765MB/sec and 775MB/sec for read and write, respectively. ASUS' Raidr PCIe card is capable of 100,000 IOPS, it of course supports TRIM and has a total power consumption of around 16W.

The drive runs a kind of internal RAID0, and the circuit board is covered by a protective metal shell with the usual red and black ROG theme. We should hear more about the ASUS Raidr the closer we get to Computex, which is only a little over six weeks away.

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Wireless Charging Alliance sees new recruits in Samsung, HTC and LG - all three will release compatible devices in 2014

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 12:30 AM CDT

Power Matters Alliance have announced that they've found some new recruits in Samsung, HTC and LG to help their wireless charging group chug along. The PMA have a long list of members currently, with AT&T, Google, Blackberry, NEC, Texas Instruments and ZTE.

The wireless charging advocacy group are pushing for a unified charging standard, where they've developed more than 1500 charging stations in Starbucks coffee shops, airports and other locations around the world. The PMA have asked their partners to integrate PMA-certified wireless charging solutions into their products by near year, with AT&T have also pledged to bake the technology into their smartphones within the same timeframe.

Until then, the wireless charging group are working with their partners to "deploy PMA-certified handsets and accessories as quickly as possible".

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Smartwatches could see 1 million sales before the end of the year

Anthony Garreffa | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Apr 17, 2013 11:36 PM CDT

Wearable computing is really taking off this year, first we have the launch of Google Glass later in the year, but we're also going to see smartwatches gain some serious traction in the coming months. Market research firm ABI Research are predicting that smartwatches will see an explosion of sales this year, where they expect sales of 1.2 million smartwatches in 2013. Senior analyst Joshua Flood said:

The strong potential emergence of smartwatches can be attributed to several reasons. Contributing factors include the high penetration of smartphones in many world markets, the wide availability and low-cost of MEMS sensors, energy-efficient connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth 4.0, and a flourishing app ecosystem.

Will you be buying a smartwatch this year? Personally, I'm not a watch wearing type of guy, but Google Glass? Shut up and take my money.

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Google Glass Explorer Edition owners prevented from loaning or selling device

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 17, 2013 6:32 PM CDT

As part of the terms of sale for the Google Glass Explorer Edition, users are prevented from reselling, loaning, transferring, or giving them away. Users who break this rule could see their Glass deactivated and neither person would be entitled to a refund, support, or warranty. Ouch.

You may not resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person. If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google's authorization, Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and neither you nor the unauthorized person using the device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty.

This is somewhat understandable. This is essentially a pre-release product that Google is allowing people to have and use. However, it's not clear if Google can legally deactivate a user's hardware because he sold it. While it's true that the purchaser agreed to the terms, it seems a bit overbearing and something where the government might step in to protect consumers.

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Google to acquire iProvo, a fiber-based ISP in Provo, UT

Google seems to be expanding their push to roll out Google Fiber. Just days after announcing that Austin, Texas would be Google's second Fiber city, ArsTechnica is reporting that Google is working to acquire iProvo, a fiber-based ISP owned by the city of Provo, Utah.

In order to bring Fiber to Provo, we've signed an agreement to purchase iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city. As a part of the acquisition, we would commit to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network would have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber. Our agreement with Provo isn't approved yet-it's pending a vote by the City Council scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23. We intend to begin the network upgrades as soon as the closing conditions are satisfied and the deal is closed.

Provo has a lot to gain from this. Not only would the city no longer have to finance the build-out of the network, Google is offering the same free 5Mbps/1Mbps connection as they have in Kansas and Austin. Google is also offering up free Gigabit connections to 25 different local public institutions, including schools, hospitals, and libraries.

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Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle 2.0 up for sale, 10% of sales go to charity

Trace Hagan | Software & Apps | Apr 17, 2013 5:31 PM CDT

The Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle 2.0 is much like the Humble Bundle. People can choose what ever price they would like for the pack of apps, 10 percent of which goes to charity. Every buyer, no matter the price, gets three apps, while you have to beat the average price to get all ten.

For the cheap--err, thrifty--among us, you'll get:

If you beat the average--note, it's better to do it now as the average will continually rise as more people beat it to get all ten apps--you'll get these additional apps:

Continue reading: Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle 2.0 up for sale, 10% of sales go to charity (full post)