Vimeo apps now available for most mobile platforms
Move over YouTube. Vimeo is finally making its big mobile splash, and it's way, way overdue. The online video pioneer has ceded too much to Google and, by comparison, latecomer YouTube for too long. Today that changes, with new mobile apps for Android, iPad, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone. Vimeo released an iPhone app 10 months ago.
I downloaded the Android app to Galaxy Nexus and XOOM LTE early this afternoon and must say that I'm impressed. The app is well-organized for video discovery -- much better than YouTube. Not surprisingly, the options are viewing/uploading and options are better for the tablet than the smartphone. Overall, the user interface is clean, uncluttered and responsive.
Corning's Gorilla Glass gets even tougher and thinner
Corning has made a name for itself in short order in the tech sector, as manufacturers look to the textile maker to produce "indestructible" glass for its gadgets. The Corning, N.Y.-based company on Monday debuted the second generation of its Gorilla Glass product, allowing companies to get the same damage resistance in glass that is 20 percent thinner.
"In response to our customers' drive toward thinner form factors, we designed this new glass to enable meaningful reduction in thickness without sacrificing the outstanding glass performance for which Gorilla Glass has become highly recognized", Corning Specialty Materials head James Steiner says.
Microsoft's three-screen strategy is a failure
One thing will be certain when the dust settles on Consumer Electronics Show 2012: Just how meaningless and pitiful is Microsoft's three-screen strategy. Good riddance, too, as Microsoft pulls out of CES following this year's event. After more than a decade working this three-screen thing -- PC, phone and TV -- Microsoft has taken leadership in the most bizarre way: Showing competitors what they shouldn't do.
The indictment against Microsoft's three-screen strategy started over the weekend, from Lenovo and Vizio, and will brutally continue over the next four days, headlined by Samsung, among others.
Lenovo steps outside its comfort zone with new Android TV, smartphone
Lenovo's bread and butter is the PC. Like all electronics manufacturers the company is finding that diversity is a good growth strategy, however. It embraced Android and the tablet market last summer, and at Consumer Electronics Show it's showing a readiness to enter the competitive HDTV and smartphone sectors in 2012.
Lenovo is the first company to produce an HDTV running Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich". At 55 inches it's an impressive first outing, while also embracing the 3D capabilities that are the rage in televisions as of late. Of course the company is using a skinned version of ICS, but choosing Android allows for a good deal of flexibility.
Ahead of CES, health of the consumer electronics industry questioned
As the technology industry gears up for its yearly confab in Las Vegas this week, new data suggests the consumer electronics industry is primed for significant contraction. Research firm NPD says sales fell 5.9 percent in the five weeks ending on Christmas Eve. This data confirms news out of various retailers indicating weak sales in electronics last month.
Sears Holdings used poor sales of consumer electronics in both its Sears and Kmart stores as part of a reason behind closing underperforming locations. Target and Costco warned of disappointing numbers due to slower than expected sales, and Best Buy reported same-store sales down 1.2 percent year-over-year for the month of December.
Vizio aims to disrupt the crowded budget PC market, but can it?
Aiming to get out ahead of the the news crush that is the Consumer Electronics Show, Vizio on Saturday made the rounds of the major news outlets hawking its latest line of products: computers. While the company all but created the budget market when it comes to HDTVs -- building a considerable amount of positive brand equity as a result -- the PC business is much different.
Vizio will debut two desktops and three notebook computers at CES. While an official announcement has yet to appear, we do know that the desktops will come in 24- and 27-inch sizes, with the PC components tucked behind the display in an all-in-one design that looks quite similar to Apple's iMac desktops. A wireless keyboard and mouse are included with the package, along with a subwoofer and remote control.
Ultrabooks creep out in advance of CES 2012
We're just a few days away from another installment of the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, where thousands of companies from all over the world come to show off their wares for the new year.
One of the device types everyone is expecting to see a lot of this year is the Ultrabook, or the ultra thin and light notebook class that Intel classified just about nine months ago.
7 things I really don't want to see at CES
Next week, the biggest trade show of the year opens in Las Vegas. Tens of thousands of people will make the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. My inbox already bursts with press releases, and it can only get worse. I hate CES. Trade shows like this one are anachronisms. Microsoft is right to bow out after this year. There's too much noise and too many vendors trying to yell louder than the next one. Logistically, from a reporter's perspective, it's a nightmare to coordinate. There's too much to cover and not enough time.
So in that spirit, I've come to spit on CES and offer a list that juxtaposes colleague Tim Conneally's. Earlier this week, he posted: "10 things I genuinely want to see at CES 2012". Tim offers an excellent list of want-to-sees. I'm taking a different tact: Things I don't want to see -- or hear about -- during CES 2012.
Broadcom debuts next WiFi standard at CES 2012
Broadcom says it is using the platform of the Consumer Electronics Show next week to debut fifth generation wireless networking technology, dubbed 802.11ac. The wireless standard promises speeds of up to 1.3Gbps, which would make 802.11ac about three times as fast as 802.11n. It will also be about six times as power efficient, perfect for portable devices.
802.11ac promises greater range than its predecessors. While like previous technologies, top speeds are only attainable less than 10 meters from the transmitter. However, due to the speed bump alone 802.11n speeds are still theoretically attainable 60 meters away. This obviously makes wireless networking more viable in larger spaces.
10 Things I genuinely want to see at CES 2012
I usually come into the Consumer Electronics Show every year expecting a few things, being disappointed by the lack of a few things, and being surprised by a few things I didn't expect. Here's the list of what I'm hoping to see this year.
As these things happen or fail to happen at CES 2012, I'll chalk them up as victories or defeats, and you'll hopefully get an overall feeling for the amount of heartburn I'll have when I head back here to the East Coast at the end of the week.
Windows Phone steps up its game in 2012 with new devices at CES
Microsoft is betting on Windows Phone and is leaning on close partner Nokia to execute that strategy. Details have leaked of the latest Windows Phone-powered device from the Finnish phone maker, dubbed the Lumia 900. To be sold in the United States as the Nokia Ace, the device will be the Windows Phone flagship.
Smartphone news site Pocketnow says that the smartphone will sport a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, 512MB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera, and 1830 mAh battery. Compared to the Lumia 710 and 800 -- which were Nokia's first Windows Phone powered devices launched in October -- the screen is much larger although its camera is the same resolution as the 800.
Recent Headlines
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.