Qualcomm unveils new processors for home entertainment and in-car infotainment solutions
Hours after Nvidia announced its new Tegra K1 processor, rival US company Qualcomm took the wraps off two new chips, called Snapdragon 802 and Snapdragon 602A, designed for home entertainment and in-car infotainment solutions, respectively.
The Snapdragon 802 is an iteration of the year-old Snapdragon 800, which was presented at CES 2013. The processor is aimed at the next generation of smart digital media adapters, set-top boxes and TVs. Unsurprisingly, it comes with 4K support and a number of technologies designed for efficient power consumption and resource-intensive applications, such as games.
Philips unveils 27-inch hardcore gaming monitor with Nvidia G-Sync
When it comes to PC gaming, hardcore enthusiasts will do anything to get an edge. Extremely high-end graphics cards can cost thousands of dollars. The custom computers built by these gamers can rival the price of a nice used car. They will even buy dedicated sound cards and Ethernet cards to offload minimal CPU cycles just to squeeze out a tad more performance. In other words, money drives performance in PC gaming -- you must pay to play. However, once you build the ultimate gaming PC, with a top of the line mouse and keyboard and all the newest games, what is left to buy? A monitor of course.
A monitor's specs can vary from one to another and for many users, most screens will be "good enough". However, for the hardcore PC gamer, there is never "good enough", only the best. While 4K monitors are all the rage lately, they are not ideal for gaming, as performance takes a massive hit when driving such a resolution. Until 4K gaming becomes the norm, gamers must look elsewhere. Philips has an interim solution with its new 27-inch hardcore gaming monitor. What makes this monitor so special? Read on...
Nvidia announces its new mobile Tegra K1 'super chip'
As in previous years, most of the fun associated with CES actually happens before the famous trade show officially starts. Major tech companies rush to announce their new products ahead of the big opening day (January 7, for CES 2014) in an attempt to steal the show, like Lenovo just did with its Windows 8.1-based ThinkPad Tablet 8. For those who are not already there, CES could likely be over before it kicks off.
Nvidia is also part of the pre-CES announcements, as the US company has already announced a new mobile processor, called Tegra K1. The new chip is based on the Kepler architecture, that is used in the GeForce GTX 790Ti video card. "For the first time, next-generation PC gaming will now be available on mobile platforms", says Nvidia.
HP puts Android on the business desktop
All-in-one PCs are popular in the office and in customer-facing environments because they’re stylish and take up less space than conventional models.
HP has been an active player in this field for a while and has now updated its range of all-in-one (AiO) models with four new systems including -- for the first time -- one that runs Android.
SteelSeries Stratus is a console-style wireless controller for iOS 7
There are some near console-quality games available on the iPad, so it makes sense to have a console grade controller to play them with. Gaming peripherals and accessories maker SteelSeries today introduces the Stratus, a wireless gaming controller specifically designed for devices running iOS 7.
The controller, which claims 10+ hours of battery-life (and takes two hours to charge), connects to your iPhone or iPad using Bluetooth, freeing up Wi-Fi so you can play the games on the big screen via AppleTV using AirPlay Mirroring.
Lenovo unveils ThinkPad X1 Carbon, its ultra-light 14-inch Ultrabook
Lenovo is making lots of announcements today, chief among them being the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon 14-inch Ultrabook. Designed using carbon fiber (which is lighter than magnesium and aluminum but stronger than both), the X1 Carbon weighs just 2.8 lbs, making it the lightest 14-inch Ultrabook in the world.
The X1 Carbon features the Adaptive Keyboard, which dynamically adjusts based on the software or application being used, and also integrates voice and gesture control. The PC comes with an improved ColorBurst Display which, according to Lenovo, "provides sharper, brighter images at higher resolutions with better viewing angles for a superior visual experience".
Lenovo announces ThinkPad Tablet 8 -- a Windows 8.1 slate with great specs
Even though CES has yet to officially commence (it starts on January 7), tech companies have already started to announce products that will be showcased at the well-known trade show. One of the latest is Chinese maker Lenovo, which just unveiled its newest Windows 8.1 tablet, the ThinkPad Tablet 8.
Unlike some other 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets that we have seen so far, the ThinkPad Tablet 8 is the first to actually rival, specs-wise, the latest Android flagship slates and Apple's iPad Mini with Retina display. Heck, it is so intriguing that I might actually buy one (assuming that it will be available, locally).
Pinterest faces trademark battle in Europe over use of name
What comes to mind when you hear the name Pinterest? It's probably the famous content sharing site that enables users to pin their online finds to a virtual pinboard. But a British firm has proved in court that it registered the Pinterest trademark in Europe two months before the more famous Pinterest had even registered the name in the US. Premium Interest -- which feasibly shortens to Pinterest -- is a news aggregation service based in London founded by Alex Hearn.
The startup registered the Pinterest trademark in Europe in January 2012, but it wasn't until two months later that Pinterest filed for the trademark in the US. The ruling was made by the European Commission’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, Trade Marks and Designs Division "rejected in its entirety" Pinterest's claim to the name in Europe. The court made its decision back in November, but the ruling has only just been made public.
Yahoo inadvertently spreads malware via ads
It seems not a day goes by when there isn't some sort of news about a security breach or malware. And lately, those have become more high profile -- Target not too long ago had customer information leaked and Snapchat just surrendered data, with the latter not even bothering to apologize to its customers.
Now a report from security researchers at Fox IT claims that Yahoo has been spreading malware through the ads served on the site. "Clients visiting yahoo.com received advertisements served by ads.yahoo.com. Some of the advertisements are malicious", the company notes.
Google takes Timely alarm clock developer Bitspin under its wing
Google may have just announced the closure of Flock and Bump, but it's not all about closures -- there are also acquisitions taking place as well. The latest addition to the Google fold is Bitspin. The name of the company may not be immediately familiar, but this is the company behind the Android alarm clock app Timely. At this stage it is not clear whether the company has been bought outright by Google or if there is a partnership in the cards, but there is certainly something afoot.
An announcement on the Bitspin website says:
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week: December 29 -- January 4
The start to any new year is always slow, and 2014 is no different. As the tech world struggled to shake off its New Year hangover, it was a pretty quiet week. The pace should start to pick up again, though, as CES is just around the corner!
The New Year wasn't the only cause for celebration; it was also Linus Torvalds' 44th birthday. Tablet makers were popping the champagne corks as it was revealed that such devices were among the most popular Christmas presents. Microsoft was also celebrating Windows 8 gaining a 10 percent market share, but Windows 7 also continues to grow in popularity.
Music download sales decrease for the first time ever
Music is my favorite hobby. Actually, calling it a "hobby" is probably a gross understatement. Whenever possible, I listen to music; before bed, while I write, in the car -- everywhere. When I think back to how much money I spent on music over the last few decades, it is actually depressing. Surely, I could have started an IRA instead and been on my way to retirement; no, I wouldn't trade my memories of listening to and buying music in record stores for anything.
However, the state of buying music has had its ups and downs over the last decade and a half. File-sharing services like Napster and BitTorrent sites have made music piracy easy. Ultimately, the music industry paid the price with a decline in CD sales. Many people blame the industry for its own woes, due to obscenely high CD prices in the late 90's and early 00's. However, all has not been lost -- there has been a digital-download purchase renaissance happening since the launch of Apple's iTunes in 2003. Year after year, sales of downloadable online music has increased -- until now. In 2013, online music sales have decreased for the first time ever. Oh noes!
Google does it again -- kills Bump and Flock
It's becoming quite a trend with Google. Buy up an interesting company or service, sit on it for a little while… and then shut it down. The latest victims of Google's seemingly never-ending cull are Flock and Bump. Bump was only acquired back in September, but it is already on the kill list. At the time of the acquisition, there was debate about whether the service might be rebranded, but as of the end of January it will be no more.
Bump was, in its day, quite an innovative tool, seen by many as the precursor to NFC. It enabled files to be quickly transferred between devices by bumping them together. Flock was a similar tool, but concerned solely with photo sharing. However as of 31 January, both apps will disappear from view, as announced in a blog post by CEO and co-founder of Bump, David Lieb:
Best iOS apps this week
First in a series. Every week thousands of great new iOS apps arrive in the App Store. These range from big name games to tiny gems hoping to build up a following by word of mouth. A trip into the app store can be a world of discovery, but it’s an area we’ve somewhat neglected in the past here at BetaNews.
Well that’s set to change. Every Friday I’ll highlight the best new apps of the week -- both free and paid -- for iPhone and iPad. I’ll cover the biggest releases, naturally, but also endeavor to pull out some new or recently updated apps that you likely won’t be aware of.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Sixty-second in a series. The overall count of new apps that were published to the US Windows Store stayed well below the 2,000 mark for the second week in a row. Just 1,326 were published to it this week .
That's a slight decrease of 17 apps when compared to last week, and likely still caused by year-end festivities.
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