Section: Communications, Smartphones, Web, Google  On March 27 Simplify Media announced that they would no longer be offering new accounts for it’s service. Soon after the company removed downloads of both it’s desktop and iPhone apps used for streaming media from the desktop to the phone. The company blog simply stated that the service would relaunch soon, but that it couldn’t talk about the future plans.
Today, during the second day Google I/O keynote, we found out that Simplify Media was, in fact, acquired by Google. The service will be used as part of Android to offer music streaming. Coming presumably with Android 2.2 will be the ability to stream all the music from your computer straight to your Android device, making it unnecessary for users to load their entire library to their devices like the iPhone. The service will be able to stream all non-DRM songs to your device. However, the bit-rate was not mentioned. Presumably it will vary with the connection speed on your device. Not only does this take a shot at Apple in how music is handled on the iPhone, but also to music streaming services like MOG and Spotify. Unlike Pandora and Slacker, MOG and Spotify allow you to select specific songs to stream to your device, and each offer high bit-rates for their paid services. However, if users can just stream their entire media library for free, what would make them want to use those services? Although, using Google’s streaming would also be a problem for those who use a laptop as a main computer and take it with them while still wanting to listen their music library on the phone without taking up space on the SD card. Maybe Apple could have a better way fo streaming music to a smartphone next month. Read [ReadWriteWeb] Read [Simplify Media] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, Robots/AI Anybots’ has created a QB mobile telepresence robot which will can be your avatar for office environments. That means you can sit back at home while having a conference meeting with co-workers. The robot will show a live view of your face to your audience while you’ll be able to see whatever it sees. The robot comes equipped with: 5.0 megapixel video camera (also photos), 320 x 240 LCD screen, an eight hour battery life and Wi-Fi capability. Not the most impressive credentials as consumers will be looking at a price tag of $15,000 for one of these guys. Considering the price, I feel as though it would be more sensible to stick a netbook on wheels and have it constantly running Skype. "The QB is an extension of you," Bob Christopher, chief operating officer of Anybots stated. "It removes the barriers between people and work so people can teleport themselves to the office space."
According to Christopher, these things aren’t supposed to replace video conferencing but rather serve as a way to keep an eye on employees remotely. In addition, anyone can long into these robots through a web browser and control their movement with the simple push of the direction keys. For the price they’re asking, this won’t be anything more than a novelty. Via [Wired] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, Web, Online Music/Video, Google  The rumored Google TV has now been confirmed at Google I/O. The AppleTV competitor is based on the Android operating system, and well, can be best explained by the product video:
 The first question that was on everyone’s mind was: What about Hulu? During the keynote, Hulu’s bright logo popped up on the screen, giving hope to all potential GoogleTV buyers. But is it realistic to think that Hulu will allow this? Essentially all that Google is doing, is embedding the video content into their own player, which Hulu could very easily block like they have in Android phones, Boxee, and other players. The only hope for Hulu on the new GoogleTV is if Google can work out a deal with Hulu for licensing to the content. It really is a cool product that I plan on checking out myself. But, if Hulu can’t make it to the lineup of services, I have a feeling demand for the product will drop considerably. Read [Mashable ] and [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Google  This morning Google opened the second day of it’s Google I/O Developers Conference with some new details on what exactly Android 2.2 Froyo will bring. Much of the update are features that have already been leaked or rumored, but now we know for sure that they will be in the next Android release.
The biggest update we’ll see to Android 2.2 is an big increase of speed. Froyo brings in a just-in-time compiler which will increase the speed of the OS and apps as a whole, which should help prevent the slow down issues. The just-in-time compiler is said to increase speeds by two to five times. There will also be a big speed increase in the web thanks to the V8 javascript engine that is used in Google Chrome being ported into the Android Broswer, which is said to make the Browser two to three times faster than the 2.1 Browser. In the demo, the new V8-equipped literally swam laps around the iPad in a SunSpider javascript test. There are also a variety of updates for Android apps. Android users with 2.2 will finally be able to update all apps with a single tap, or choose to automatically update certain apps. Apps will also be available to download to devices through a new web interface. Unlike iPhone devices, apps will be automatically downloaded to the Android device once buying or choosing them through the Marketplace online. This will also be true for the online music store Google quietly announced will be coming to the Marketplace. Aps will also be able to send link or “Android Intents” through the web straight to devices. For example, when searching on Google Maps, users can send the directions they found on their computer to the phone which will automatically open the Maps app with the directions already open. The biggest new feature to some, given all these improvements, is the option for tethering. Android 2.2 will include the option to tether your phone via USB or WiFi natively. The question remains how carriers will react to the feature, but Google is building it into the OS.  Read [Google] Read [Android Developers] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 FROM GAMERTELL - A new $39.99 PlayOn Premium subscription lets you stream video content from Hulu, Comedy Central and other online channels to your PS3, Wii or Xbox 360. There is also a free PlayOn Lite plan that provides access to Pandora and media on your computer.
MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile 
With all the new announcements of Android 2.2 and future releases that Google showed off today, T-Mobile has announced a release date for a phone that likely won’t be able to take advantage of all of it. The next in T-Mobile’s myTouch line, the myTouch 3G Slide will be coming to the masses on June 2, just a few days before the EVO 4G. Releasing the phone so close to the EVO 4G isn’t the only mistake made by T-Mobile on the myTouch 3G Slide. The phone wil cost users $180 compared to the $199 of the EVO 4G. That’s after a $50 mail-in rebate, making users pay $230 up front for the phone. The EVO 4G does have a rebate as well, but buying it at Best Buy will make it automatic. That means that those wanting a myTouch 3G Slide will pay $30 than those who will buy the Android phone with the best available specs. The one upside in comparing the myTouch 3G Slide to the EVO 4G is that the contracts will be cheaper for those who want more than 450 or 500 minutes (Sprint and T-Mobile lowest available plans, respectively). The price difference is only $10, though, so if you’re in a 4G area and want to use the EVO 4G as a WiFi hotspot, it’ll be only $20 more with the second plan. The myTouch 3G Slide is meant for those who want physical keyboards and aren’t exactly comfortable with diving right into smartphones, but the pricing still doesn’t make any sense. For the same $180 you can get the Nexus One (while it’s still available online), and for an extra $20 an EVO 4G or even an entry iPhone 3GS (and presumably the next iPhone when it’s announced). T-Mobile needs to think a bit more about how it prices phones compared to other phones on the market. Read [T-Mobile] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Google  If there’s one complaint that most smartphones users would have about their smartphone of choice, it’s that the battery doesn’t always last as long as they’d want it to. The problem isn’t unique to any on smartphone OS or device, though each have their own reasons why. Google co-founder Larry Page has his own explanation why the battery on Android devices tend to deplete quickly.
According to Page, the problem lies in resource heavy apps. Here’s the direct quote from Page: I have noticed there are a few people who have phones where there is software running in the background that just sort of exhausts the battery quickly. If you are not getting a day, there is something wrong.
Eric Schmidt goes on to say that receiving and transmitting data in the background can be a problem as well. Twitter apps would likely be the main cause of background data usage. Between Page and Schmidt, running Twitter apps in the background lead to batteries that last less than a day, which means you’re doing something wrong. The odd part part about this is that for many people running Android, the display is listed as taking the a good percentage of the battery most of the time. Page and Schmidt could be correct in that background apps can take up a lot of battery, and in a way that could prove Steve Jobs correct in the multitasking argument. Maybe Android has the wrong approach to multitasking, letting the apps simply continue running in the background as opposed to the limited background processing even in iPhone OS 4. Or maybe the real answer is the easy processing killing of WebOS card swiping. Read [TechRadar] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: 
Well this is interesting. Just a couple of days ago, I wrote a post concerning the radio and where it is headed. At Google I/O, some pretty interesting figures were released. We have all known that the internet was growing at an alarming rate, and that because of this growth, many old media companies are taking a dip in sales. Google’s Vic Gundotra really put this effect into perspective when the slide in the picture above came onto the screen. In short, old media is done. Internet has grown 117% since 2004, a completely believable figure. However, the inverse relationship between internet growth and old media decline is made apparent in the negative growth of every other medium, with radio leading the decline. I am a tech blogger who is in full support of information moving to the web, but these figures are stunning. Radio has essentially lost a fifth of its listeners since 2004, likely due to the explosion of portable media players and satellite radio. We are in a world where information and its sources have been completely flipped on its head. Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile T-Mobile has officially announced the addition of two new BlackBerry smartphones. Well, two new colors anyway. It looks like the new additions are going to be the Curve 8520 in Fuschia Red and the Bold 9700 in Flash White. As for the pricing and availability; The BlackBerry Curve 8520 in red is currently available and selling for $49.99 on a two year contract. Additionally, this model can also be purchased contract free for $279.99. And the Fuschia Red model will join the existing black Curve 8520. Next up is the Blackberry Bold 9700 in Flash White. The white Bold 9700 is not yet available, however it will be shortly—as of May 26th. In terms of price, expect to pay $129.99 on a two year contract. And similar to the Curve in red, the white Bold 9700 will join the existing (and currently available) black 9700. Read [T-Mobile] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Desktops, Laptops, Security, Peripherals, Storage Having a reliable method to backup and share files is essential, especially when one has a lot of valuable media. LaCie has begun to ship its latest addition to a lineup of external hard drives, the Network Space MAX unit available in a 2TB or 4TB model. Both units can connect with a PC via Gigabit Ethernet or the more conventional method of USB 2.0 connectivity. It comes with the ability to backup to multiple machines and is Time Machine compatible for Mac users. Both models support RAID 1 and RAID 0. Basically, RAID 0 is meant for users who need to ensure the files will always be there in case of disk failure - RAID 1 ensures automatic disk monitoring. The Network Space MAX is designed to work quickly out of the box and comes with assistant software to help set up your configuration. Lastly, it supports UPnPTM/DLNA, meaning it can stream media to another computer or run media on a PS3 and Xbox 360. The 2TB model is available for $279.99 and the 4TB model is available for $479.99. Via [LaCie] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile  Sprint is beating the big networks to the 4G party. Currently available in 32 cities and aiming for a total of 46 by years end, Sprint is mighty proud of the 4G plans they’ve laid. The Android OS equipped HTC Evo will be the first phone to run on this network; but there are some problems.
The need for speed. The main selling point of the Evo is the 4G network. If you live in one of the 32 cities or have faith that Sprint will be bringing 4G to your neighborhood, you’ll get to experience the fastest in mobile internet. Walt Mossberg reviewed the device and had this to say about it’s speeds: “the HTC EVO 4G, when used on Sprint's 4G network, offers the highest consistent downstream data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network.” That’s about where the good news stops. While the speeds were fast, they were not 3 times the speed of 3G, instead they were more like 2 times, which is still great - just not what Sprint is hoping for. Engadget claims the antenna in the Evo might not be strong enough to do a decent job indoors. There is also concern that WiMax (Sprint’s 4g) has lost appeal to LTE development, leaving WiMax device makers to make do with parts not optimized for mobile devices. Plug it in, again Between the speed of Sprint’s network and the ability to turn into a mobile hotspot for up to 8 devices ($30 per month fee), they suck the battery dry quickly. Here’s the rub: when using 4G, the EVO's battery runs down alarmingly fast. In my tests, it didn't last through a full day with 4G turned on. The carrier, in fact, is thinking of advising users to turn off the 4G network access when they don't think they need it, to save battery life. This undercuts the whole idea of faster cellular speeds.
Turn off 4G huh? It seems a shame that this issue jumps in front of the other cool things this device offers: front facing camera for video chatting, HDMI port, big big4.3” touchscreen, integrated kickstand for watching movies, and all the Android goodness. All that and short battery life is the headline. Still, when it launches for $200 on June 4 with a monthly fee of $80 for unlimited data and texting, 450 talk minutes and free calls to any mobile number, it will be the best hardware offered by Sprint. Users will need to weigh 4G and the sweet hardware vs a battery that might not make it through the day. That’s a tough call. Read: [All Things D] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web Apps, Websites, Google The great anticipation is over, today Google announced Google Wave is available to everyone. No more carefully picking favorites with friends when systematically distributing your invites. When the private beta was announced in 2009, Google Wave brought to a limited public as mass collaborative tool for individuals to share ideas and content seamlessly over the web. Users had the ability to easily embed Google Docs and clips from the web all in one, for the lack of a better word, feed. Each Wave had the feel of a live breathing forum wall. Those lucky enough to receive a beta invite were allowed 10 invitations for other users to join fray. People gradually flooded the system creating Waves and joining waves but what was it; e-mail, was it IM? The hype quickly fizzled as users became confused by the system and where or how it consolidated their internet efficiency. A clear message can be drawn why Google launched this project; it was not for stay power but for community research. The chances of Google Wave becoming something later are very high and the general public likely won’t see an outcome until years down the road. As stated by Project Manager Stephanie Hannon; “Wave has been used in a great many interesting ways. It’s clear from the invaluable feedback we’ve received that Wave is a great place to get work done, in particular for teams working together on projects that involve lots of discussion and close coordination.”
Google Wave is a live focus group that is actively tracking users likes and gripes - these guys didn’t become worth over $30 billion over night. Google Wave itself may never graduate from the Labs but I can almost guarantee pieces will be plucked and placed into other Google plans. Read [Google Wave Blog] Full Story » | Written by Aaron Thacker for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Audio, Home Audio, Video, Portable Video, Computers, Networking, Gaming, Games, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Online Music/Video, Features 
I was wrong. Back in 2008, I wasn’t particularly kind to Chumby’s first offering. Back then, the reviews all tip-toed around that idea that no one really needed it and the whole idea wasn’t ready for prime-time. Since then, the Chumby widget center has grown substantially and the company has released a follow up device, dubbed the Chumby One. This past Mother’s Day, I seized the opportunity to finally get the WiFi-connected Chumby One into my house. Here is what I thought of the device. What’s it for? Tough question because it can do a lot of things pretty well. It’s up to the individual. For me, the device replaces my stupid alarm clock; you know the one that not matter what station I tune to at night, it morphs into a static-laden Spanish station by dawn. Adios dumb alarm clock. As an alarm clock, it is amazing. The alarms are set as individual functions. Users have complete control over what an alarm does, how long/loud/bright,what to wake to, how long the snooze is, and what happens after. I have an alarm that is silent - only changing the brightness to dim in the evening. The ability for my wife to hit the snooze button for a pre-programmed 20 minutes saves her adjusting the old dumb alarm clock in the middle of the night - which always woke me up. This simple feature alone is worth the entry price. Waking to Pandora instead of that static Spanish station puts me in a better mood (and removed the random Mexican food cravings). It does more than get me out of bed So that covers the reason I bought it. I’ve also found the widgets are pretty cool. Users can download widgets from Chumby that the unit will cycle through (at user-controlled intervals). Widgets like Facebook, Twitter, The Weather Channel, various other clocks, news and tons more. Seeing these freshly updated items, thanks to it’s WiFi connectivity, is helping my day. I know the weather before grabbing my iPhone or cruising by the TV. Even more, it’s a great Pandora player. Users can have the internet radio station play their style of music all day long, througha decent sounding speaker, if desired while the Chumby rotates widgets automatically. I can easily see this in the kitchen, office, den, even bathroom. One widget I really love is Picassa that turns Chumby into a digital picture frame. Seeing images from our last family vacation is always welcome. Chumby can also be turned into an online video player, internet router, gaming console and thousands of other things via the widget platform. Back away from the Chumby One of the surprises I’ve had with Chumby is from my kids. They are always in there playing with Chumby. One of the default widgets is a doodling pad and the kids have been mastering the touchscreen making funny faces for us to see. The kids easily navigate the entire device, figured out how to set alarms and get into a widget they wanted all on their own. That usability speaks to just how easy it is to love this device. Judging the book by the cover When I gave the gift to my wife, she was as hesitant as I was back in 2008. She shook her head and gave me the “what the heck do we need another gadget for?” look. I am pleased to report that her attitude has done a 180 and she now is tapping on Chumby’s face almost as much as the kids. It’s become a welcome member of the family. Chumby, the WiFi connected widget machine, $119, available now. Product page: [Chumby] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites, Google Google I/O 2010 officially opened today in San Fransisco, California. Google I/O is Google’s largest developer conference of the year so we can expect some big announcements to come. According to the press release, “This year’s I/O event is a recognition and celebration of the web’s evolution into the software development platform of choice.” So it’s all about computing, programming, running software, and storing everything in the cloud it seems like. To kick it off is the Chrome Web Store. Yes, Google just announced an App Store for web applications. We’ve seen it for our phones, but Google thinks we need it for the internet too. I say that cynically because I feel App Stores pressure developers to charge for applications that normally, people would not pay for. But who knows, maybe this Web Store will bring a whole new genre off applications like we’ve never seen before. I mean honestly, the only thing that comes to mind when thinking of web applications are things like Chrome-extensions. So I don’t know. Google describes it as such: “Our new Chrome Web Store is an open marketplace for web apps that helps people find the best web applications across the Internet and allows developers to reach new users.”
Google also announced that Google Wave was now open to anyone and everyone without an invitation. The only thing that kills this for me is the fact that Google gave out invitations to everyone who requested on a few months back. And with Google Buzz, I’m not sure about the sustainability of Wave. Next news is the Google App Engine for Business. Now, it probably doesn’t apply to some of you, but for enterprises, this could be a big deal. At a glance, it is just an extended version of the the Google App Engine with special features tailored towards businesses. This allows businesses to develop applications without having to worry about maintaining servers. Later this year, hosted SQL databases, SSL on your company's domain for secure communications, and access to “advanced Google services” will be available. The remaining news from Google I/O today is collaboration with VMware and “WebM Project.” WebM Project: Google joined a broad array of companies and web community members to announce WebM, an open web media format project. We have open-sourced VP8, a high-quality, web-optimized video codec, and are contributing to the project under a royalty-free license.
Wave open sign-ups: Google Wave is open to all users at wave.google.com, as a Google Labs product—no invitation needed. Google Apps administrators will also have the option to add Wave as a Labs feature for their domains, helping groups of people communicate and work together more productively.
Here’s the full press release from Google. SAN FRANCISCO (May 19, 2010) – Today Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) opens I/O 2010, its largest developer conference of the year. The event, which sold out 10 weeks in advance, is being held May 19 and 20 at Moscone West in San Francisco. More than 5,000 attendees from 66 countries will take part in close to 100 technical sessions, breakouts, and fireside chats. I/O 2010 will feature more than 200 speakers, as well as a number of informal opportunities to meet with engineers from Google and partner companies, including demonstrations from more than 180 different companies and a special after-hours event.
This year’s I/O event is a recognition and celebration of the web’s evolution into the software development platform of choice. It’s also an opportunity for Google to share its work in moving the web forward and keeping it open. The web has become more powerful in more places—from enterprise deployments to mobile handsets.
“Think of how far the web has come since last year’s Google I/O, where we demonstrated the potential of HTML5,” said Vic Gundotra, Google vice president of developer platforms. “Since calling attention to HTML5 last year, we’ve been thrilled to see the industry rally around making the web faster, more capable, and available in more places. From enterprises to consumers, from the smallest form factors to the largest, the web’s reach and increasing capability make it the platform for the future.”
Google’s announcements today enable developers to take full advantage of the web platform:
An open, global platform means better performance and broader access for all applications * Chrome Web Store: Google is announcing the Chrome Web Store, an open marketplace for web apps that helps people find the best web applications across the internet and allows developers to reach new users. * WebM Project: Google joined a broad array of companies and web community members to announce WebM, an open web media format project. We have open-sourced VP8, a high-quality, web-optimized video codec, and are contributing to the project under a royalty-free license.
* Wave open sign-ups: Google Wave is open to all users at wave.google.com, as a Google Labs product—no invitation needed. Google Apps administrators will also have the option to add Wave as a Labs feature for their domains, helping groups of people communicate and work together more productively.
The web is ready for enterprise-class app development
* App Engine for Business: Google App Engine for Business lets companies build and maintain their own applications on the same scalable infrastructure that powers Google applications, with added management and support features tailored specifically for the enterprise. New capabilities for businesses include the ability to manage all the apps in an organization from one place, simple pricing based on users and applications, premium developer support, a 99.9% uptime service level agreement, and coming later this year, access to premium features like cloud-based SQL and SSL. VMware Collaboration: Google and VMware introduce cloud portability, which makes it easy for Java developers to use familiar tools to rapidly develop and deploy rich web apps in the environments of their choice. In just one click, users of the new versions of SpringSource Tool Suite and Google Web Toolkit can deploy their application onto Google App Engine for Business, or a VMware environment, or other infrastructure such as Amazon EC2. Also this year, more than 180 different companies will participate in the “Developer Sandbox,” a place for the developer community to showcase applications they’ve built and share their experiences in working with the latest web and mobile technologies. As always, Google I/O will include a mix of practical, hands-on advice for building web apps, as well as opportunities to learn about and discuss emerging trends. Sessions will cover tools developed both inside and outside of Google, and topic areas will include: Android, App Engine, Chrome, Enterprise, Geo, Google APIs, Google Web Toolkit, Social Web, and Wave.
More information about Google I/O 2010 is available at http://code.google.com/events/io/.
About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.google.com.
Read [Google] Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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