CrunchGear |  |
- JeanRichard Diverscope LPR Watch
- Video: iPhone-optimized Notepads
- iPad Overheating Suit Against Apple Gets Dismissed
- NEC Technology Actively Cancels Out Zoom Noise In Digital Camera Movies
- Intel Handsets To Hit This Year, Says CEO Otellini
- Nvidia’s Processor Roadmap Is A Gift To Geeks
- Gallery: HTC Flyer
- NEC’s Dual-Screen Android Device Gets A Medical App
- IBM Jeopardy Challenge Day Two Report: Spoiler Alert!
- Duke Nukem Forever Pre-Order Bonuses Include Spiffy Hat
- Linux Foundation announces the Android Builders Summit
- Is Microsoft Prepping For A Zune Retirement Party?
- Skype Can Get You Access To Over A Half-Million WiFi Hotspots Using Skype Credits
- The First Crysis 2 Easter Egg Hits YouTube
- Cake v. Pie: Refusing To Consider An Option Makes You More Likely To Pick It Later
- Video: Thoughts On The Leaked Thundercats Footage?
- I, For One, Welcome Our Dystopian Gorilla Glass Overlords
- Apple’s Big Subscription Bet: Brilliant, Brazen, Or Batsh*t Crazy?
- Fly or Die (TV Apps): IntoNow, Yap.TV, FIOS Mobile
- Seeking To Defuse Tensions, Samsung Opens Dialogue With XDA-Dev Forum
| JeanRichard Diverscope LPR Watch Posted: 16 Feb 2011 05:10 AM PST  While not a wildly complex new complication, there is a sort of smile inducing "that's cool" sentiment about the linear power reserve (LPR) indicator built into the 12 o'clock hour indicator of this new for 2011 JeanRichard Diverscope watch. I don't have a ton of information about the watch, but I did get a nice hands-on session with it thanks to JeanRichard. This is one of the coolest Diverscope models to come out.
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| Video: iPhone-optimized Notepads Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:01 AM PST
Japanese stationery company King Jim is offering printed notepads [JP] specifically aimed at iPhone owners. The idea here is to make it easier to digitize, store and organize handwritten text for smartphone users, a concept King Jim calls “Shot Note”. All that users need to do is to fire up the free Shot Note iPhone app, take pictures of their notes and let the app digitize and store the content in an iPhone screen-friendly format through OCR markers printed on the paper. The text can then be organized in a number of ways and also be sent to your Evernote account. In Japan, King Jim offers the notepads in four different sizes (for between $4 and $16). This video (shot by Diginfonews in Tokyo) provides more insight:
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| iPad Overheating Suit Against Apple Gets Dismissed Posted: 16 Feb 2011 02:45 AM PST
Of course, it’s obvious to you and me, reader, that this lawsuit is baseless. But in a court of law, sometimes things go a little pear-shaped and companies pay out millions for frivolous garbage like this. Not this time!
They actually did name the advertisement (it’s on Apple.com), so I’m not sure this was technically correct, but let us all agree that justice was served.
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| NEC Technology Actively Cancels Out Zoom Noise In Digital Camera Movies Posted: 16 Feb 2011 02:32 AM PST
It’s basically like other noise-canceling technology, except in this case the noise the lens makes is more or less known, so the reduction algorithm works from a pre-recorded waveform instead of using ambient noise as the “seed.” Hopefully this will combat the scourge of zoom noise proliferating our point-and-shoot videos. Glory to NEC!
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| Intel Handsets To Hit This Year, Says CEO Otellini Posted: 16 Feb 2011 02:22 AM PST
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| Nvidia’s Processor Roadmap Is A Gift To Geeks Posted: 16 Feb 2011 01:41 AM PST
The three other data points on their roadmap are Wayne (Batman), Logan (Wolverine), and Stark (Iron Man). The logic of the order escapes me, since although Stark is the most technological of the bunch, Batman relies quite a bit on gadgets and Wolverine is the result of high-tech experimentation in the Weapon Plus program. I’m sure quite a lot of debate could be had about the present order, but this isn’t really the venue for that. Interestingly, the characters are from both DC and Marvel, so I’m guessing Nvidia just decided to pick a few recognizable names but not actually license the characters, because… why would they? I wouldn’t be surprised if a lawsuit gets filed, though it’s also arguable that these characters’ basic personae have entered the public domain. Either way, good job, Nvidia. You’ve made a lot of nerds very happy, for several reasons.
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| Posted: 16 Feb 2011 01:15 AM PST
I like how this thing looks, but I’m not sold on the functionality. What do you guys think? I can grab more shots if you want to get close up with anything in particular.      
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| NEC’s Dual-Screen Android Device Gets A Medical App Posted: 16 Feb 2011 12:59 AM PST
I mean, it’s not revolutionary, and the interface is pretty rudimentary, but I like the idea of a doctor pulling this neat little device out, tapping on images of my whatever for a bit, and having all that information pop up.   
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| IBM Jeopardy Challenge Day Two Report: Spoiler Alert! Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:31 PM PST
OK, let’s try this again. What we have here is a quick summary of night two of the IBM Jeopardy Challenge, starring Watson and two other past Jeopardy champions. There will be spoilers, so West Coasties are encouraged to watch funny YouTube videos for the time being. Are you ready? Because here come the spoilers.
At the end of last night the totals stood at $5,000 Watson and Brad Rutter, while Ken Jennings had $2,000. Watson opened night two absolutely crushing his human competition, opening the scoring and not looking back for several straight minutes. Watson wagered some $6,000 and change in the first Daily Double—he got it! The first few minutes were simply outstanding for those of us cheering for Watson. And how weird it was to see humans in the audience cheering on the A.I. Our only hope is that Watson doesn’t rebel against his masters and cause a bit of havoc à la Shodan (not that I’m altogether opposed to a robot takeover, mind you). The night ended with Watson at $35,734 Brad Rutter at $10,400, and Ken Jennings at $4,800 after an exciting round of final Jeopardy in which Watson, bizarrely, thought Toronto was a U.S. city. Until tomorrow!
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| Duke Nukem Forever Pre-Order Bonuses Include Spiffy Hat Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:00 PM PST
You know that Duke Nukem Forever will be released on May 3 (barring some sort of actual alien invasion), but do you know what sort of pre-order bonuses are in store? You do now~! Like with most games these days—annoyingly, I might add—separate bonuses will be available at separate stores. At mighty GameStop you’ll get a bit of exclusive DLC: an in-game ego boost, big head mode, and a t-shirt pack. Meh. At mighty Walmart you’ll get a nifty Duke Nukem Forever trucker hat. I think I’m right in saying that trucker hats are a few years out of that ironic style situation, but I’d still rate the hat higher than the DLC. That’s the only such pre-order bits announced. That said, there’s also the Duke Nukem Balls of Steel Edition, which includes a good amount of stuff, to be fair, not least of which is a bust of Duke himself. I’d love to see magazine scans from the late 1990s previewing the game, and seeing how it compares to the final product. Anyone have old issues of GamePlayers or GamePro laying about?
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| Linux Foundation announces the Android Builders Summit Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:30 PM PST
The Android Builders Summit takes place at the same time as the Linux Foundation’s Embedded Linux Conference, so there’s sure to be some interesting overlap between the two camps. The Linux Foundation Announces Android Builder Summit New event brings together OEMs, device makers, systems builders and kernel community to collaborate on the Android platform SAN FRANCISCO, February 16, 2011 — The Linux Foundation, the non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the first ever AndroidÔ Builder Summit taking place in San Francisco April 13-14, 2011. The event was created at the request of The Linux Foundation's members to facilitate collaboration at the systems level. It is co-located with the 2011 Embedded Linux Conference and is open to all. The Android market is one of the fastest growing areas in all of technology today. The Linux-based operating system's (OS) global market share on smart phones is surpassing that of Apple iOS, and the release of Android 3.0 (also known as "Honeycomb") is poised to drive the same trend in the tablet market. The Android Builder Summit will help advance the technology that sits at the very core of each Android device while accelerating the adoption of Linux throughout the consumer devices market. The Android Builders Summit is a technical summit for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), their device manufacturers, integrators, custom builders, and the growing Android and Linux Kernel developer communities. The Summit will provide an intimate forum for collaboration at the systems level and discussion of core issues and opportunities when designing Android devices. Summit topics will include: custom builds, alternative middleware, network functionality extensions, Peer to Peer frameworks, USB device support, security, unification of power management, tools and hybrid Android devices among many other topics. To submit a proposal for the Summit, please visit: http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/android-builders-summit "Linux is providing the foundation on which next-generation devices are being built, and Android is one of the most shining examples of how successful this model can be," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "We're pleased to facilitate collaboration among the Android's ecosystem participants and drive innovation at the systems level of the platform." To register for the Android Builder Summit, or to get more information about speaking or sponsorship opportunities, please visit: http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/android-builders-summit Android training classes offered by The Linux Foundation will be taking place directly after the Android Builder Summit. For more information, please visit: http://training.linuxfoundation.org/courses/android-training-for-developers. For ongoing training opportunities for Android developers, please visit: http://training.linuxfoundation.org/courses/android-developer. The Linux Foundation fosters innovation by hosting events for the Linux technical and business communities. These events help solve pressing issues facing Linux and fuel collaboration and communication between all members of the Linux ecosystem: developers, users, industry, ISVs and distribution vendors. Other Linux Foundation events include a mix of industry and community conferences such as its annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, LinuxCon (North America, Europe, Japan and Brazil) and the Kernel Summit, among others.
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| Is Microsoft Prepping For A Zune Retirement Party? Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:01 PM PST
The world needed the Zune. Hell, Apple needed the Zune. Microsoft better not kill off the Zune. Too bad it’s already as good as cooked. Bye bye, Zune. We’ll miss you. As Mary-Jo Foley points out, Microsoft suits are seemingly avoiding using the platform’s name lately. It’s a bit strange seeing how the Zune brand is fairly important to Windows Phone 7. The mobile phone platform uses the Zune name for all things media. But it’s still odd that not only are Microsoft executives not talking about the brand, but also the absence of talk was noticed. Chances are if anything is changing, the brand will survive. It’s the physical media players that might get the pink slip. And that sucks. The Zune launched as the anti-iPod. It was brown instead of white. You rented music instead of buying it. It was Microsoft’s attempt to think different. It worked. The Zune was a winner even if the sales numbers don’t agree. The Zune products kept up with the iPods in storage and specs for some time. Even the Zune HD countered the iPod touch nicely until Apple ultimately trumped Microsoft with the App Store — and then FaceTime. The Zune products still stands as one of the best portable media players on the market. The Zune HD is a rock-solid device sold at a fair price. But it’s likely on its way out. Microsoft is moving forward hard with Windows Phone 7. Zune products never sold all that well anyway. Microsoft was always in contention for the number two spot in the PMP race. Apple of course held a massive chunk of the market, but SanDisk, Rio, Samsung, Philips, Archos, and eventually Sony were fighting for second place. The Zune is about the only memorable device to stand strong against the iPod horde. It’s still number 13 on Amazon’s Bestselling MP3 player’s list. Only cheap SanDisk players separate it from the iPods. It’s hard to imagine the Steve Jobs & Co. didn’t follow the Zune closely. The Zune Marketplace subscription comes to mind as Apple roles out a more modern version. But the hardware, the interface, the whole platform was on par with Apple’s when it debuted. Apple likely saw that its touch products needed something different and more storage wasn’t the key. It was the App Store, which is about the only reason currently to buy an iPod touch of a Zune HD. Apps later debuted on the Zune HD but some two years later, there’s still only a tiny fraction available. The Kin’s death shows that Microsoft isn’t letting sub-par platforms survive. It’s make it big or hit the road now, and well, the Zune MP3 player is probably on the way out. The Zune name will live on. It’s part of the Xbox 360 ecosystem. Windows Phone 7 uses the brand for locally-stored media. The name is important to Microsoft. The MP3 player isn’t. It’s still possible that the long-rumored Zune HD2 will surface (maybe at SXSW) and lead a valiant charge towards the iPod touch. But the timing feels off. Even Apple has slowed the progress of its large format media players and now with Nokia in Microsoft’s camp, smartphones will likely suck up all the dev juice. Microsoft already split up the Zune team back in 2009. The majority went into the Interactive Entertainment Business division that also oversees the Xbox. A smaller chunk went with the WinMo 6.5 people. Whatever the future holds for the Zune, hopefully these people were at least internally recognized for their product. The Zune, and later the Zune HD, are fantastic. Too bad the same can’t be said about Windows Phone 7 yet.
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| Skype Can Get You Access To Over A Half-Million WiFi Hotspots Using Skype Credits Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:32 PM PST
Sometimes using Skype can be a challenge — no cell data and secured WiFi doesn’t help. Skype hopes to change that. They just announced at MWC they are expanding their Skype Access by partnering with eight international WiFi operators:
This announcement brings Skype Access’ total hotspots to 500,000 around the world, including 500 airport and 30,000 hotels. Skype users will be able to pay per minute for the WiFi using Skype credits, instead of having to use another service that makes you pay for a day. [via engadget]
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| The First Crysis 2 Easter Egg Hits YouTube Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:52 PM PST You have to wonder if this easter egg is just part of the leaked Crysis 2 dev build or is part of the final production.
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| Cake v. Pie: Refusing To Consider An Option Makes You More Likely To Pick It Later Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:37 PM PST
The gist is this: when you reject one item based on features, those features become more important when you go to select the same type of device later. Say, for example, you ignore the iPhone because you want a keyboard and don’t want a large touchscreen. The next time you buy a cellphone, your preferences will tend to be reversed and the keyboard will hold less importance.
I personally think this explains some of the intensity of the fanboi – by rejected all other options, the mind has to hold onto the chosen option with all its might. Sadly, at least according to Laran and Wilcox, this is doomed to fail.
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| Video: Thoughts On The Leaked Thundercats Footage? Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:35 PM PST What we have here is supposedly "leaked" footage of the upcoming Thundercats re-boot. The idea—a Thundercats re-boot—probably isn’t the worst in the world, but man alive this thing is lame. Oh well. Maybe next they’ll re-boot The Adventures of Pete & Pete and further destroy our cherished memories?
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| I, For One, Welcome Our Dystopian Gorilla Glass Overlords Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:19 PM PST Gorilla Glass is only on tablets these days but someday soon Corning’s ultrahard, transparent coating will take over our lives. And when that day happens we will be able to tap and drag almost any surface, wipe our greasy hands on a bus station wall, and even move the latest talking head from a channel bar to the main screen with a swipe of our grimy finger (provided all of the software and hardware is there, because Corning doesn’t do warez.)
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| Apple’s Big Subscription Bet: Brilliant, Brazen, Or Batsh*t Crazy? Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:08 PM PST
We’ve already gone over the basics, but as a quick recap: any service offering an app with any sort of subscription component must now offer it within the app using the new in-app subscription options. Those companies are welcome to offer subscriptions outside of the app as well, but they must also have to option to do it in-app and it must be for the same price (or cheaper) than the out-of-app option. If a subscriber signs up in-app, Apple keeps 30 percent of those revenues. If they sign up outside of the app (still granting them accesses to the app), the company keeps 100 percent of the revenues.
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| Fly or Die (TV Apps): IntoNow, Yap.TV, FIOS Mobile Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:07 PM PST
Once you start watching TV with your iPhone or iPad, there is no going back. When the big screen becomes boring, you just switch to the smaller screen, where a whole world of Twitter, email, the Web, and apps stand ready to entertain your multitasking mind. In this week’s episode of Fly or Die, CrunchGear editor John Biggs and I look at three TV apps designed to enhance your TV watching experience, not distract you from it. We give each one a “fly” or “die” verdict and, as usual, a founder from one of the companies joins us as a surprise guest to subject themselves to our grilling. The three TV apps we evaluate in this show are IntoNow, Yap.TV, and FIOS Mobile. The first one, IntoNow, is like Shazam for TV shows. It lets you check into a show you are watching by simply listening to the audio signature of the show and comparing that agaianst its database. The app has a high gee-whiz factor, and it really nails identifying the shows with one click. But there is not much to do after that other than see what shows your friends on the app have watched and leave a comment about their bad taste in TV shows.
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| Seeking To Defuse Tensions, Samsung Opens Dialogue With XDA-Dev Forum Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:03 PM PST  Samsung Mobile has started a sort of outreach initiative for the members of the influential XDA Developers forum. The forum has been a hotbed of activity of late vis-Ã -vis Samsung, particularly since we're nearly one year passed the release of Android 2.2 (Froyo) and it's still not available on the Verizon Wireless variant of the Galaxy S, the Fascinate
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Last year we 
I’m not sure zoom noise was really the most pressing concern (I’m more worried about feature bloat and low-light capability, personally), but apparently NEC thought it was worth looking into. They’ve 
This year at MWC is really dominated by ARM-based devices, but that level of ascendancy can only be maintained for so long. Intel is a juggernaut in the PC world; could it successfully punch its way into mobile? CEO Paul Otellini sure thinks so, and just a short while ago confirmed that after years of rumors, we’d be seeing Intel-based handsets in 2011.
According to a study in the 
We all knew it was coming, but the details of the App Store subscription model, which Apple 
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