A right Smart Glass...

As an avid Xbox user, I have been playing about with Smart Glass for a few months. Smart Glass is an app that Microsoft released to allow your smartphone or tablet to act as a companion device to your gaming console. It can act as a remote control complete with swiping the screen control for moving around the Xbox interface, as an adjunct to your gaming experience, as another screen for playing back your Xbox media or a browser controller that is more familiar than using the gaming controller.

It is undoubtedly a very cool move by Microsoft, especially since they took the bold decision to create an app for a number of platforms. Old-thinking Microsoft would have only made it available on Windows Phone, giving it zero traction, but it can thankfully run on pretty much anything, ensuring a broad appeal amongst the Xbox user base.

The current usage options are a great start but I believe the system is only now scratching the surface. Only a few games have integrated in to it in any way but at simplistic levels (e.g. stats whilst playing Halo 4) and once the Smart Glass becomes more integral to the gaming experience it should be an even bigger boost to the platform. I could imagine a scenario where the gamer is fighting his/her way through a level in a first-person shooter and reaches a locked door that requires the lock to be picked. This might take the form of a puzzle that runs on the Smart Glass that needs to be completed before proceeding, bringing a focus to this narrow element of the gameplay that takes the gamer out of the big screen action and down to a macro level. Another example might be to have Halo’s Cortana (if she’s still alive of course!) solely depicted and talking from out of the Smart Glass device in the next game, mirroring many of the interactions Master Chief has with her throughout the various Halo games. It could also easily mimic many of the uses seen in the tablet controller that comes with the rival Wii U but without the heft.

The possibilities for Smart Glass are limitless really, especially as second screen devices such as tablets and phones get more powerful and it will be a platform that is worth watching closely, especially as we near the unveiling of the next Xbox. I also have little doubt that a similar approach will be used in the rumoured Android-based gaming platform Google are working on....

Firefox OS....beyond the browser and in your pocket

Not content with ruling the mobile operating system space under the guise of Android and the upcoming (and awesome) Ubuntu for Mobile, Linux has another trick up its sleeve with the impending release of Firefox OS, an operating system based on the popular browser.

The approach is not entirely brand new as the failed Palm (then HP) WebOS attempted to deliver web-based mobile services but couldn't get traction in an emerging market but Firefox already has a strong market presence and loyal user base familiar with its HTML5 code base. Cleverly their target market is not mature ones like North America or Europe but rather emerging ones where the web is still taking root and the smartphone is not the norm. By making the OS run well on less than cutting edge spec hardware and giving the software away, they are positioning their ecosystem to take a strong run at global popularity.

The first devices hit the shelves next week via the Spain-based Geeksphone and the hardware looks robust as well as colourful. There are certainly no quad-core processors on show here but do you really need it if the software runs smoothly? In addition the Firefox browser extension gives an attractive look at the UI before the launch and interface for app creators to test their design.

It will be interesting to see how Firefox OS is received by consumers but the Linux community is already embracing it and that can only help....competition in this space is good for us end users and I do hope it proves successful.

Google Music lands on UK shores...

At long last Google's Music service (or Play Music to give it its proper title) has landed in the UK. The service offers an iTunes competitor in terms of music purchasing but of much more interest to me at least is the upload/streaming facility.

The service offers the user the chance to upload up to 20,000 songs for storage in the cloud which can then be streamed anywhere through a variety of linked devices including a browser, Android mobile phone, tablet, pc etc. It's a terrific feature and one that has been long-awaited here in the UK.

The service works smoothly with a small piece of software downloading to your pc to scan your collection and either match a song with Google's own existing library or upload ones that do not. I have over 70 gig of music but am still well below the 20,000 song limit so the potential free storage is massive.

This then enabled me try it out today by hooking up my Nexus S to an external speaker and stream a number of songs over wi-fi from the cloud...brilliant! All my music wherever I am...as long as I have a data connection.

I have little doubt this service will become the principle route for my future music consumption...good job Google!

Xtreamer Smartphone

The boffins at Xtreamer are at it again...

Having revolutionised the home cinema streamer market with their highly powerful and innovative devices, they are taking aim at the smartphone arena now with their own 5 inch Jellybean-powered Android device. 

The device is rumoured to be low cost yet highly powerful and with all the tweaking access you could desire, just like their home cinema devices. Hopefully it won't take as long to come to market as their amazing Prodigy device but even if it did, the wait will likely be worth it! These guys do gadgets right!

Incredible Nex-Gen Android Phones

I had to blog about two of the most incredible new mobile phones that are available to buy now. The first is the aforementioned HTC One X - an amazing device with a feature set that is pretty much untouchable. It has a 4.7 inch screen, 1.5Ghz processor, 8 meg camera, 1080p video recording, photo shooting whilst video recording, Beats Audio, 32gb of storage, Dropbox included and 1gb of RAM. It is also backed up by a pretty slick advertising campaign...this commercial takes my breath away every time I watch it!

The One X is not the only phone to enter the fray however as the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S3 has also hit shelves. The S3 will look to continue the popularity of the S2 and has a similar aspect to the One X. It has a slgihtly larger 4.8 inch screen but also rocks HD resolutions and video recording, a quad core processor, 8 meg camera, 64 gigs of memory and S-Voice, Samsung's own voice control software amongst   numerous other features...many pretty similar to the One X.

With both phones running their own skin on top of Android 4.0 and having strong market presences already, it will be interesting to see which one comes out on top. The Galaxy range is pretty popular but HTC always make awesome phones so it will be a fun fight and a good time to be an Android user! Hopefully both will sell well...

Google Glass goes visible...

Google have unveiled the details of their long-rumoured wearable networked glasses technology named Google Glass.

Combining the power of a number of their technologies such as GPS, Google Goggles, Google+, Maps, Search etc. the wearable gear is not as clunky and obvious as many had feared. The thinner design helps address one key barrier to uptake (how they look) but it remains to be seen whether people would use such a thing.

I could see obvious benefits for drivers who would have, in essence, their own personal HUD, overlaying directions, traffic alerts etc. and helping eliminate use of mobile phones. The Bluetooth earpiece has become an accepted piece of wearable technology so why can't this?

The following video from Google's Skunk Works 'X Division' where this and many other cutting-edge developments are underway illustrates how it might look...intriguing if nothing else...

HTC One X - First look

I have long been a fan of HTC hardware and the new One X Android phone looks amazing!

41 megapixel camera in your shirt pocket...

With relatively little fanfare, Nokia (remember them?!) have announced the upcoming launch of the 808 PureView mobile phone, the specs of which are relatively uninspiring compared to some of the top-of-the-line devices on the market already - Symbian-based OS (no Windows?), single 1.3Ghz processor, 4 inch screen, 16gig of memory but....

And it is a big but, maybe even a huge but....but it also comes with a 41 megapixel camera! That is not a typing error! Have a look at some of the sample images below or download the full size 10 meg images from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Nokia 808 PureView sample images

This is very impressive stuff and the line between mobile and dslr camera is further blurred. No doubt the grainy mobile phone image is on life-support after the launch of this product...hopefully other manufacturers will now turn their attention to developing similar powerful imaging hardware in to their phones...Android ones ideally!

Google Goggles Goes Real...

Rumours are emerging that Google are set to unveil their own glasses (or sunglasses) that will incorporate a number of cool technologies to provide, in essence, a portable computing solution that you wear.

The glasses will reputedly run on Android and feature a small display screen, front facing camera, gps, motion sensors and voice control to provide information on the move such as directions, real-time Google Streetview data, Goggles results, voice search, identification through Latitude if friends are nearby and other details. All controlled with head movement and the spoken word!

They are apparently along similar lines to the Oakley Thump specs that feature an integrated mp3 player and earphones. Previous rumours had centred on ski goggles with this technology.

I would anticipate that the design may need to be fairly chunky to accommodate all the circuitry and hardware which will no doubt restrict the number of potential users but for outdoor types like the aforementioned skiers or hillclimbers it would no doubt be a welcome addition to the kit list.

Anyone who has used Google Goggles will now how much potential benefit something like this could offer and it will be interesting to see if these rumours come true in the coming months...

Nike Fuel...very cool!

Nike have unveiled their innovative Nike Fuel fitness system building upon the success of their Nike+ run measuring technology.

The new kit comes in the form of a wristband that records your exertion levels and calculates a notional points score against your level of daily activity. You can set targets that will be highlighted on the device's innovative LED light readout which then feeds back on your performance in red, yellow or green as to how well you are doing towards your target. The more active you are, the more points you score but, and this is the key difference, because the devices measures your oxygen uptake as well as having an on-board accelerometer. Other devices, including the Nike+ shoe sensor (which I use daily) only tracks the number of footsteps, whereas the Fuel band will watch your body chemistry, enabling exertion in other areas to be included in the measurement process. It's a very innovative idea....do more work, get more points....

The band links via Bluetooth to your iPhone (an Android app will follow in Spring!) to allow you to check your performance and has an in-built usb link for syncing and charging via your pc. Although not cheap at $150.00 each, the band has a great deal of promise and will no doubt encourage people to look for more energetic options in daily activities (e.g. take the stairs instead of the lift to score a few more points) as well as appealing to the fitness fan looking for better metrics on their body and performance. With it due for release in the UK from the 1st of May, this will hopefully coincide with the Android app launch and my own purchase!

I have used Nike+ for years and am an ardent fan but this might just persuade me to ditch the shoe sensor!

The Open Source Car

I have long held a notion that the concept of an open-source car would be one that would be very appealing to a wide and varied audience. It's blue sky thinking of the highest order for a variety of reasons (mostly legal!) but a concept I would love to see taken forward by some brave manufacturer. However, with the recent economic gloom having hit the automobile industry particularly hard, I doubt it will be any time soon.

My dream is simple in theory - I would love to have a car where the car's systems could be monitored, adjusted and modified easily. My dream would be to have the ECU, engine management system, performance levels, fuel economy, power ratio, acceleration curve etc. become 'tweakable' via some form of mobile or desktop app or wi-fi link to your pc. The capacity to do this clearly exists already where many recently released cars have a variety of settings that can be adjusted by the driver to counter various situations.

For example, the much heralded Bugatti Veyron can be adjusted for 'top speed mode' by using the ignition key to unlock a lower ride height, less spoiler assistance etc. The Honda CR-Z has three driving modes selectable via a button on the dashboard including Normal, Econ and Sport allowing you to tailor your power usage and economy to the road conditions or your mood allowing you to extend the vehicle's range or oomph at the press of a steering wheel mounted button. The beautiful Nissan GT-R has a computerised dashboard designed by Polyphony Digital of Gran Turismo video game fame that looks like something out of the Space Shuttle and can download telemetry data to a usb key for later analysis.

I realise that this dream could remain that way, especially with the legal implications of allowing the lay person the capacity to tinker with their car. Insurers would have heart attacks over the implications of this capacity being built in to a car but it would be cool to see people able to enhance and modify their cars the same way they tweak and mod their desktops and mobile phones. You could imagine people sharing their own 'car profiles' for other users to download and try out on their own car to see if they like the way it makes their car 'feel'.

A tantalising glimpse of this integrated future and people's interest in adding these features to their cars is already a reality with many people using ODBII Bluetooth sensors to analyse their car's engine codes for relatively little money. The popular Bluefin remapping device allows drivers to add power to their car's engine and can add better fuel economy. Even the modern smartphone is in on the act with excellent apps such as the Torque apps from Ian Hawkins and heads-up display apps such as Speedometer. The ability to better integrate our modern phones with our cars would go some way to addressing my dream.

However, the light at the end of this tunnel is Ford Sync. Ford are clearly market leaders on the tweakable car computer system with their excellent Sync software affording a variety of innovative controls to the humble driver. The system links with your mobile to offer standard hands-free calling etc. but can also read sms messages, send replies, control the vehicle's performance, link with your favourite apps - it's a very clever system and hopefully it will spur other manufacturers to do likewise. The ultimate hope would be that many will use Android/Linux as its base OS enabling us happy hackers to finally enjoy some in-car tweaking.

CES delights unveiled...beginning with JVC

With CES, the world's biggest consumer electronics show now underway, perhaps the most intriguing early announcement has been the new range of Everio camcorders from JVC.

These devices offer the usual HD goodness now standard in handhelds but also now feature Wi-Fi enabling the device to send out video clips directly and easier transfer of files. An app is also coming for the iPhone and Android devices that will enable sending out files via the phone and the ability to use it as a remote control for the camcorder. The phone app also enables GPS geotagging of videos and photos and live monitoring on the mobile.

This is a very cool development and surely heralds the future of connected photographic devices able to upload and share photos independently of a pc or mac.

Sony LiveDock - small but powerful...

I haven’t really paid too much attention to Sony Ericsson's mobile phone products for a while. Whilst I am a huge fan of their home audio and imaging gear, I have never really been inspired by their phones. The Xperia Play was a clever idea, taking the original Playstation and putting it in a phone is remarkable achievement but it has hardly dominated the gaming or mobile space. Whilst manufacturers such as Motorola (Droid) and Samsung (Nexus S/Galaxy) have product lines that are seen as synonymous with cutting-edge Android devices, Sony appeared to be adrift of the front runners.

However, the recent announcement of their new LiveDock media station is an intriguing one. This very small device is, in essence, a charging station and dock for your mobile allowing you to link it with your home stereo and a power supply. However, and here’s the twist, it can also allow connection of a keyboard and mouse and even a gaming controller. 

This clever add-on would allow for your increasingly-powerful mobile to act like a miniature pc, especially if your Sony phone had an HDMI out connection, like their Xperia Arc, that allowed it to connect to your HD television. It could be partnered with a pair of mini speakers, foldaway keyboard, travel mouse and hdmi cable to give you the perfect portable system for business and holidays. Even if you don’t have access to a larger screen, the ability to use a full keyboard and mouse on your phone would speed productivity and usability.

Well done Sony for packing so much in to something so small - a welcome return to form...

The Galaxy Nexus lifts off...

Well the rumours have been proven correct for the most part (except the name which is confirmed as the Galaxy Nexus rather than Nexus Prime)...

The newest pure Android phone has been unveiled and looks incredible. The device features Android v4.0 (codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich) and has other nifty features not described in my previous post such as facial recognition software that unlocks your phone, tap-to-share data transferring via Android Beam, a panoramic camera, Google's new social network-focused People app and a barometer (!). It's also tightly integrated with the cloud.

Thankfully many of us running previous editions of Android will also see these benefits as 4.0 is rolled out in the coming months but there is little doubt that the Galaxy Nexus combines the state-of-the-art in terms of Android software development and cutting-edge mobile hardware, leaving its rivals in the shade...it is expected to land in November 2011

Nexus Next...

It appears that official word on the latest Nexus android phone will be unveiled shortly in an announcement delayed from the 11th of October due to the passing of Steve Jobs. The Nexus Prime, as it is apparently to be known, will now be unveiled by Samsung and Google on the 19th of October. It is significant as it is likely to be the first device released that runs the 4.0 edition of Android known as ‘Ice-Cream Sandwich’.  

The device is expected to be a beast with a 1.2Ghz processor-powered core, a gig of RAM and 32gigs of internal storage. It will also be capable of playing 720p HD video via its super AMOLED screen and recording 1080p HD video via it’s 5meg rear camera.

The device follows on from the two previous and highly popular Nexus devices - the Nexus One made by HTC and the Nexus S also made by Samsung. Nexus devices are seen as the purest Android phones, devoid of any manufacturer cruft or gloss, leaving only the cleanest Google experience from which all other Android devices are designed to flow.

It will be interesting to see if the Prime continues this legacy....

Amazon Catching Fire...

Amazon, the world’s biggest online retailer and a stealthily quiet yet powerful technology company has announced a new raft of its increasingly popular Kindle devices. The original Kindles are e-book readers that link via 3G or wi-fi to the company’s vast online digital bookstore offering a variety of digital media including books, magazines, blogs etc. Recent innovations have included colour versions and ad-supported models that have lowered the entry price, boosting popularity further.

However, their biggest and most recent innovation is their announcement of the Kindle Fire, a tablet device running a derivative of the Android operating system. The Fire, long rumoured to be in development, takes the Kindle concept even further and sets it sights on a number of the industry’s big players. Priced at only $199 it is designed as a marginal loss leader to enable Amazon to make its money from selling digital content beyond just books. Movies, music, games etc. will all be touted through the device. It also offers a web browser (more later) that enables it to act like a pc, no doubt harnessing online social draws such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ as well as productivity options such as Gmail and Google Docs. It will also link to Amazon’s own Android marketplace, foregoing Google’s own storefront.

The device clearly intends to undercut the iPad, especially by leading significantly on price, and looks to lure more people in to the increasingly popular Amazon ecosystem. Its 7 inch touchscreen is sized to make it more portable than existing Android and other tablets, which tend to be 10.1 inches in size, and its simplified pc concept will appeal to the non-technical. 

However, the Fire’s secret weapon may well prove to be it’s Silk browser, another secret development only revealed at the tablet product’s launch. Unbeknown to many, Amazon is actually a significant player in providing the cloud-based backbone to the web. Companies such as Netflix use Amazon Web Services to power their online delivery and Amazon is looking to use it’s own capabilities to offer a whole new browsing experience on the Fire. Silk sees the bulk of the browsing processing done in Amazon’s data centres before it is delivered to the device, speeding up the process and reducing the need for powerful hardware on the tablet. It looks set to challenge other notable browsers such as Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Apple’s Safari and mobile favourites such as Opera and will hopefully spur further innovation in these other browser makers.

Many are wondering what Google’s take on this device will be. After all, it is based on a derivative of their operating system but it seems to directly challenge a number of Google’s core services and products including Chrome, Music Beta, Books etc. The two companies have clearly not colluded on the device and it is obviously a powerful competitor to other Android tablets that are priced much higher. However, Google have always said that more web users is good for them so it shouldn’t be too destructive for them. Besides, the Fire will help get Android further established.

Personally I think this is a superb move by Amazon, building on a strong brand and utilising their already popular online services to offer a holistic and dominant route to market for content providers. By keeping the cost of entry down, they will help put capable computing devices in the hands of more people and make the web more pervasive, a goal a number of pure technology firms such as Apple and Google have held for a long time. It is curious that it is a company that is famous for its physical product retail services that is leading the way on this approach to the web. Amazon have the ecosystem, money and brand equity to make Fire a success and no doubt this first model will be a toe in the water ahead of a launch of subsequent devices that will perhaps have other options such a 3G connectivity, bigger screens, laptop form factors etc. adding variety and appeal as they come along.

The Fire may be a loss leader in terms of the actual device cost but it will undoubtedly reap high profits through digital content delivery's higher margins, opening the door to better online services and cheaper prices through strong competition. The next 6 months will be interesting times as Google, Apple and Microsoft scramble to counteract this powerplay. 

All we need now Amazon is a UK release date!

Burning Man?

The recent revelation of a leaked internal memo from Stephen Elop, the CEO of Nokia, to his organisation’s staff hints at a looming step change in focus for the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer. Having seen its market share eaten away at both ends of the scale by competitors such as Apple and Google’s Android, he has hinted that the company now finds itself standing on a ‘burning platform’ and needs to make a critical decision to ensure its survival.

This decision seems to be focused on partnering with another major phone manufacturer as the current ‘ecosystem’ approach of building constantly evolving handset operating systems, applications-led interactivity, retail marketplaces etc. has left Nokia out in the cold. Its MeeGo software has failed to deliver and its Ovi store has trailed far behind the Apple and Android retail approaches. The likely partner appears to be Microsoft and its fairly new Windows Phone 7 operating system. Any joint approach would likely be a good move for both companies and Elop used to work for Microsoft so it seems logical.

He blames a loss in brand preference in key markets and the strategic foresight of Apple and Google who built much-desired high-end phones that established their credentials and high levels of public desire. Google then began the assault on the mid-range market that Nokia has dominated for so long and has now set it sights on the low-end as well with even cheaper Android powered-devices.

The memo is very frank and is an incredible insight in to a massive technology company’s corporate thinking and one can only hope they right their ship before it does indeed burn and sink…

The full memo can be found on Engadget here

Google TV

Word has recently emerged of a collaboration between Google and several of the big consumer electronics firms in Sony, Logitech and Intel.

It seems they are co-developing the next weapon in Google’s war on established media business models in Google TV – which is in essence an open source set-top box operating system that will unify a number of existing services (web, media centre-esque, Android etc.) in to a lounge-friendly box.

By making the system open source, they are bound to attract developers who would see this as a way of combining web-based services with the traditional delivery of tv-based content. YouTube would be a certainty to feature on the device, further boosting revenues from this now profitable arm of the Google empire.

However, Google’s interest lies not only in the sale of the no-doubt Google branded boxes but also in the advertising that would surely follow. Giving away the O.S. is only the foot in the door. Indeed, Google have already said that they are keen to see the Google TV’s O.S. in as may blu-ray, cable box, games console, tv or other devices as possible and the company sees this as a way of further establishing itself in the tv advertising market which it has fairly recently moved in to.

The existing media and cable companies, especially in the USA, must be quaking in their shoes as this appears to be another powerful attempt to draw people away from their walled-in, high cost, low value channels to Google’s completely open, internet-delivered services. Another wmd launched from the Googleplex arsenal…

(Photo courtesy of www.HiDefDigest.com)