When we first got an early look at Kinect Fusion at Microsoft’s research labs back in December 2011 it seemed like a technology that would take years to be made available as a product, but Microsoft is doing that very soon. The software maker announced today that the 3D object scanning capabilities of Kinect Fusion will be baked into the Kinect for Windows SDK in a future release. Alongside an update for hand recognition, Kinect is getting even more powerful for developers.
Microsoft has previously demonstrated the capabilities of Kinect Fusion, using the technology to make a 3D scan of Sir Isaac Newton’s death mask, cast from Newton’s face following his death. The new feature will allow developers and engineers to create highly…
- Coming|Tech Meets Blog
Not content with a simple Deutsche Telecom announcement, Mozilla’s using Mobile World Congress as a platform to launch its mobile operating system in a slew of markets. Rolling out in waves, the first round of devices featuring Firefox OS include the likes of Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela, with more markets soon, according to the company. The first round of handsets include devices by Alcatel, LG and ZTE. Mozilla also let slip news of a forthcoming handset from Huawei, who just capped up their own MWC press conference. As you’d expect, there’s a whole slew of carriers on board. You can find the list in the release after the break.
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There’s a new Apple TV on the way. Per these FCC documents, the new model is physically slightly smaller and as noted by TheNextWeb, rocks an A5X SoC. With the faster core, the new model should provide a better user experience with a smoother UI and improved app performance. Plus, with the recent Apple TV update that added a bunch of features, it seems the Apple is about to make another assault on the living room.
In traditional FCC fashion, the documents fail to reveal anything tantalizing about the upcoming model. There’s no mention of additional capabilities over the current model — nothing about Siri, motion control or anything hinting that this is something special. Without additional information, this model looks like an exercise in supply chain management rather than reinventing the Apple TV experience.
It only makes sense for Apple to move the Apple TV onto the A5X, the same chip used in the third-generation iPad. It had to happen sometime. As Apple moves other products off the 32 nm A5 chip, it cannot forget its little hobby in the Apple TV.
The revised 32 nm A5 chip is still used in the iPad 2, iPad mini, and the latest iPod touch. But with the exception of the evergreen iPod touch, the other two are set for changes sooner versus later. The iPad 2 will be cut from the team while Apple will likely release an upgraded iPad mini with an A5X to allow the hot little tablet to keep up with iOS revisions.
Apple has long treated the Apple TV as a so-called hobby. But even though the company doesn’t treat it as a pillar of its business, the Apple TV remains the company’s best path into consumers’ living rooms. During its Q1 2013 conference call last week, the company revealed that it sold 2 million Apple TVs during the holiday quarter, an increase of 60 percent over the previous year.
There’s no word on when this new model will hit stores. But chances are, since it passed through the U.S. government wireless gatekeepers, it will be in the near future — maybe as soon as this week.
Microsoft today announced that it will bring Windows Phone 7.8 to existing Windows Phone 7.5 users in early 2013. The new software will add the ability to resize Live Tiles, a standout feature of Windows Phone 8, while also implementing some new security enhancements for Exchange users. New theme colors will also be included in the update, which Microsoft says will roll out to “as many devices as possible” in early 2013. The official announcement follows an early leaked build of Windows Phone 7.8 for the HTC HD7 and news that the latest version would arrive on handsets in China in the “coming weeks.”
Though it doesn’t include all of the improvements packed into Windows Phone 8, version 7.8 will ensure that owners of previous Windows…
Microsoft’s vice president for the Greater China region has revealed that the company’s Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade will begin rolling out in the country in the “coming weeks,” backing up a previous promise to release the software before the end of the year. Speaking to Chinese newspaper BJD, the executive also confirmed that Windows Phone 8 handsets will go on sale in the country next month.
First announced back in June, Windows Phone 7.8 is seen as a compromise between versions 7.5 and 8, providing a revamped start screen with fully resizable tiles. It will be available as an upgrade for older handsets such as Nokia’s Lumia 900, as well as powering new low-end devices, and is expected to roll out to the rest of the world following its…
Google is bringing the Nexus 4 to another carrier in the UK, expanding availability to Three after debuting the device with O2 as its initial partner in that country. The Android 4.2-powered smartphone will be available starting December 13 on Three, either on a £35 per month contract with an upfront cost of just £29 on the One Plan (unlimited data and high on-network text and talk limits, but with a two-year contract), or pre-paid for £399.99.
The added carrier partner comes just one month after the Nexus 4′s official launch, which saw quick sell-outs in the UK and the rest of the world. Google’s latest smartphone seems to be experiencing either very high demand, very short supply, or a combination of both (although new reports claim shipping times have improved), so it’s interesting to see Google expand availability so quickly.
The Nexus 4 should offer fairly good speeds on Three’s DS-HSDPA network, but the hack revealed this morning that allows users to manually enable LTE on the device will do Three customers no good. Even when Three’s planned 1800MHz LTE network begins to roll out, it won’t be compatible with the Nexus 4′s AWS LTE band support. Of course, that feature’s still not technically even official, and the phone is still among the best options for Android devices out there. The interesting thing will be to see how many people opt to buy through carriers, versus getting cheaper outright prices direct through Google and bringing it to the network of their choice.
Kobo’s Arc tablet is hitting stores for the first time in Canada and the UK today, leaving eager punters in the US of A wondering if they’ve been forgotten. In America‘s hat, the 7-inch competitor to the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 is showing price tags of 200, 250 and 300 Canadian dollars for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, respectively. A WHSmith exclusive in the UK, £160 and £190 is what you’ll need for the lesser two options, and we can’t see a 64GB listing online just yet. French store Fnac will keep customers waiting til Monday, when they’ll be able to swap €200 for an Arc avec 16 gigs — its listings show no other sizes right now, barring a non-existent 8GB variant. Kobo hid a surprise for us in the announcement PR, too: it’s already working on a Jelly Bean 4.1 update for the ICS tablet. If you’re American and bummed you’re not reading this on your own shiny new Arc, it’s already passed inspection, so should be shipping before you know it.
Continue reading Kobo Arc available today in Canada and UK, coming to France on Monday
Filed under: Tablets
Kobo Arc available today in Canada and UK, coming to France on Monday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You read correctly, folks. Head over to IWATCHSTUFF for the whole store because, frankly, I don’t feel like talking about.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in and who will continue to send it in over the next couple days because you’re a bunch of spazzes.
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AMD has long stuck to x86 architecture for its server processors, but its gearing up to add 64-bit ARM-based Opteron CPUs to its arsenal in 2014. Sunnyvale also plans to reap the fruits of its SeaMicro acquisition by employing the company’s “fabric” tech to link its ARM-based processors in clusters for maximizing efficiency. Where might these new processors come in handy? AMD thinks they’ll fit nicely into clouds and “mega data centers” thanks to their power efficiency, but it’ll let its x86-based hardware do the heavier lifting such as video encoding and rendering. Other details on the CPUs are scarce, but we suspect that’ll change as 2014 approaches.
AMD promises 64-bit ARM-based Opteron server CPUs coming in 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The folks over at Business Insider spotted a change on the Google Wallet website today indicating that a new version of the payment system — separate from the recently released web version — is “coming soon.” Folks itching to get in on the fresh NFC payment action can ask for an invite right now, but alas, details about the forthcoming update are scarce. We do know that upon submitting a request for the new Wallet, users are asked if they use an Android, iOS, or “other” mobile device. So, might we be in for more widespread Wallet adoption with this next iteration? Only one way to find out, so head on down to the source, sign up, and see for yourself.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile, Google
Google Wallet update “coming soon,” to bring support for more handsets? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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