Apple's iWatch won't take the same path as other failed smartwatches
By Chris Smith
Thursday February 13, 2014, 1:29 PM
While existing reports on the rumored iWatch are already offering different views on whether advanced sensors capable of monitoring glucose or hydration levels will be included in the smartwatch, what's clear is that Apple appears to be very interested in adding more and more non-invasive sensors to monitor various health-related parameters in its future devices. The company has hired even more people with "deep biomedical and sensor technology expertise" in the past few months, Network World reports, than reported so far. In other words, the company is taking a completely different path than rivals, which have thus far launched smartphone companion products will little to offer beyond event notifications.
Marcelo Malini Lamego started work at Apple in January, after being the CTO of Cercador for eight years, a company that focuses on developing "noninvasive monitoring technologies." At Cercador, Lamego helped develop a noninvasive technology for measuring oxygen saturation, hemoglobin levels and pulse. He's also the inventor of more than 70 patents related to "optimization and signal processing, devices, sensors and patient monitoring technologies."
Before Cercador, Lamego worked at Masimo, where he helped develop the Rainbow Technology platform, a "noninvasive monitoring platform enabling the assessment of multiple blood constituents and physiologic parameters that previously required invasive or complicated procedures." Last summer Apple also hired Michael O'Reilly, a former Masimo employee, who attended Apple's meeting with the FDA last December.
In November 2013, the company hired Nima Ferdosi, an algorithms architect who worked at Vital Connect before on "algorithms and firmware for embedded bio and motion sensors." In December 2013, the company hired Ravi Narasimhan from the same Vital Connect. Ferdosi, Narasimhan (whom we've seen in past reports about iWatch hires) an Alexander Chan authored a couple of books on a noninvasive chest patch sensor that would be capable of "monitoring a user's respiratory rate, heart rate, heart rate variability, steps and even falls." Chan is believed to also work for Apple, after leaving Vital Connect last month to take a job with a tech company in the Bay Area.
Speaking about unconfirmed Apple hires, former C8 Medisensors Stephen Waydo is also believed to work for the company. Waydo left his former company after five years, as he got a job with a "Bay Area technology company." His expertise includes developing noninvasive medical products to measure blood glucose.
Another former C8 employee, Ueyn Block, was hired by Apple last March, and was mentioned in previous iWatch reports.
Even if Apple's iWatch will not be as hot as some of the recent rumors portray it to be in terms of medical-related sensors, the fact that Apple is employing so many professionals with deep knowledge of the biomedical sensor environment suggests that the Apple smartwatches and wearable devices of the future may offer even more advanced health-related features.
Apple gained overall share as smartphones outsold feature phones for first time in 2013
By Shane Cole
Consumers' increasing desire for smartphones has been a boon for Apple as the company's share of the overall mobile phone market increased by nearly 10 percent in 2013, according to new data published Thursday.
Apple accounted for 8.3 percent of the 1.8 billion handsets sold worldwide last year, up from 7.5 percent of the market in 2012, as buyers snapped up a greater number of smartphones than feature phones for the first time ever in a full year. The numbers were revealed in market research firm Gartner's final analysis of 2013.
Rival Samsung - which also makes feature phones - gained 2.6 percent in the same period to finish with 24.6 percent of the market. Fellow South Korean manufacturer LG, Chinese firms Huawei, TCL, Lenovo, and Yulong, and Japanese giant Sony all posted gains between 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent though none account for more than 4 percent of the market individually.
Most of the gains appear to have come at the expense of new Microsoft subsidiary Nokia, which dropped 5.2 percent year-over-year and ended 2013 with a 13.9 percent share. Chinese equipment maker ZTE was the only other company in the top 10 to shed market share, dropping 0.6 percent to 3.3 percent.
Smartphones accounted for 53.5% of the worldwide mobile phone market in 2013.
While taking more of the overall mobile phone market, Cupertino, Calf.-based Apple did cede a portion of the smartphone market as the shift in buying habits increased the customer base in developing economies. Apple dropped from 19.1 percent in 2012 to 15.6 percent last year as Samsung, Huawei, LG and Lenovo all added between 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent.
"With Apple adding NTT DOCOMO in Japan for the first time in September 2013 and signing a deal with China Mobile during the quarter, we are already seeing an increased growth in the Japanese market and we should see the impact of the last deal in the first quarter of 2014," said Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta.
Latin America led the Middle East and Africa, Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe in smartphone sales growth for the fourth quarter of 2013, increasing by 96.1 percent. India booked the highest growth by a single nation with an explosive 166.8 percent increase, while China saw sales grow by 86.3 percent in the year.
All three of the top-performing markets have been hailed as important opportunities for Apple.
The company signed a landmark distribution agreement with China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier, at the end of last year. In addition, Apple is said to have prepared a major push into India by offering discounts and payment plans, and the company is believed to have restarted production of the low-cost iPhone 4 for India and Brazil, Latin America's largest market.
It's not quantity that counts, it's the QUALITY!
It's pretty obvious which brands are not mentioned in there, yet the unnamed brand won all the top awards for 2013 :)
I still don't recommend Apple, even though they are getting bigger screens and on a very personal opinion, I wouldn't even recommend Samsung. I've had the S2, S3, S4 and lower spec models and I just can't stand the user interface or the colours.
Good news from HTC, with dedication to sister Taalibah and brother Ahmed UK.
HTC commits to two years of major Android updates for future flagships
HTC is taking part in an Ask Me Anything session over on Reddit, and right at the outset, the company announced that it will support all of its future North American flagship devices with major Android updates for two years after their release.
HTC went on to shed some light on the its decision to leave the One X and One X+ at Android 4.2, explaining that it's unable to update the global models of those phones without help from Nvidia. And while the U.S version of the One X uses a Qualcomm chip, HTC didn't feel that it'd be fair to its customers if it updated the One X and not the One X+. Because of the brouhaha that this caused, HTC says that it's now "actively exploring" how it can provide an update to Android 4.4.
We've heard other companies commit to keeping their Android phones up-to-date in the past, but not all of the firms that've made such promises have followed through. Still, it's great to see HTC commit to providing major updates for its flagship phones, especially after the flak that the firm has caught recently due to its decisions to not update the One X or One X+ beyond Android 4.2 and to stop rolling updates to the One S. HTC has been pretty on the ball when it comes to Android updates lately, so here's to hoping that it can keep it up.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has managed to get their operating system on to giant coffee table like devices. After shifting the Surface name over to their tablet line of devices, the Windows coffee tables are now dubbed PixelSense devices. 3M and Ideum decided the world of computer powered coffee tables could use some variety and they are now preparing a couple Android powered devices for consumers.
Two versions of the Platform Multitouch Coffee Table will be produced, a 32-inch and a 46-inch version. Both sport 1080p displays with up to 60 touch points, a 3.7GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, 16GB of RAM and 500GB of storage. Even though they have some serious hardware packed in to the tables, 3M and Ideum indicate they will be using Android 4.1 for an operating system. Prices start at $6,950 for the made in the USA devices.
The tables are currently available with Windows 8 installed with the Android powered version coming out later this year. Check out the video below showing them in operation and start thinking about how they will hold up to repeated tapping from a Flappy Bird clone.
HTC teasing us via Twitter, seems like they want to fix our broken phones
Ever broken a phone? You drop it, the screen shatters, and you're left with something resembling a device you loved five seconds ago. Getting them fixed can be expensive, too. HTC is teasing something new when it comes to smashed screens.
Via Twitter, HTC shows two broken Ones in a heart-shaped light. The caption reads "If only broken hearts were this easy to fix. Details 2/18." Broken, fixed, and details four days from now. What is going on here, HTC?
There could be a new program from HTC, wherein they cover the cost of a repair. Phones break pretty often, and if they offered a free screen replacement per device, that could entice some over to the HTC side. The clumsy among us, at least.
It could also be a new screen material, or method for repairing the device ourselves. Though not easy or cheap, replacing a broken screen is possible. If HTC has come up with a way to swap out a screen without all the fussy work currently involved, that could also be attractive to consumers.
Want to be better at math? Electric shocks could help
In ongoing research with children and adults, an Oxford University researcher finds that stimulating the brain with low-dose electrical currents could help improve learning.
In a room at Oxford University in England, children between the ages of 8 and 10 are working on math problems on computers while being administered electric shocks by senior research fellow Roi Cohen Kadosh.
OK, they're not really getting shocked, but they are getting a steady stream of low-current electricity delivered to their brains.
The procedure they're undergoing is known as Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), and it's one of the most recent brain stimulation techniques to come about in a long history of electrical currents used to manipulate the brain. Unlike earlier electroshock treatment programs, which tended to placate people with mental disturbances, the goal of this work is to help people with learning disorders overcome their difficulties, and to help others learn better generally.
The kids spend 30 minutes twice a week being studied by Cohen Kadosh as part of his ongoing research into how electrical currents could help learning.
The Focus' four saline-soaked sponges that sit on the forehead. The saline is to prevent your skin from burning.
Cohen Kadosh just published a report in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience that details his work with two adult individuals suffering from Developmental Dyscalculia (DD), a condition in which people have difficulty learning math and processing numbers. DD affects nearly 7 percent of the population, according to the report.
Cohen Kadosh found that when he attached an anode to the area of the brain known as the left posterior parietal cortex and a cathode to the right side of the same region and applied the mild current, learning skills improved. Interestingly, when he reversed the electrical conductors, the treatment didn't work.
The experiment involved assigning each number from 1-10 a specific symbol. Then Cohen Kadosh asked the two participants to evaluate pairs of symbols and say which was bigger numerically. Only the study participant who got left-to-right brain stimulation was able to go from distinguishing pairs that were sequential to distinguishing pairs that were non-sequential.
Google are working on their next generation internet offering, dubbed Google Fiber. The upcoming service is meant to be more than 10 times faster than regular broadband, an aim which Google is trying to achieve and prove in speed tests.
Google Fiber is currently only available in Kansas City but the company is looking to expand it further across the US and then eventually over to Europe. The next generation of internet will reportedly provide data transfers of 10 gigabits per second, the service they are currently running only offers 1 gigabit per second, according to USA Today.
The Chief Financial Officer of Google Patrick Pichette has said that faster speeds will increase the use of software, and the company will be looking to make this available within 3 years. Google will roll out Fiber next to Austin in Texas and when asked on whether more cities would be getting the service.
If you want to compare your current internet speed to the one which Google Fiber could give you then enter into a race here. Google are promoting how Fiber can give users a different kind of TV and internet experience. Pichette has stated that Google has had a long term obsession with speed and are driven to make Fiber the fastest internet in the business.
Google Fiber is still a small operation but not not be surprised to see it explode and surge worldwide, in the next few years broadband speeds are only going to get quicker and it is not surprising to see Google jumping into the internet provision market. If indeed Fiber can potentially be 10 times faster than other internet speeds, expect to pay a pretty premium for Google's service.
The HTC M8 caught on camera campaign keeps rolling on, and today, HTCFamily.ru posts more images of the new flagship. The image above really shows its glossy back, which makes it look even more gorgeous in my eyes. According to HTCFamily, the back is a polished metal with black plastic inserts. Whatever it is, I think it looks like eye-candy. They also uploaded a video showing us a render of the HTC M8. It isn't real, but it might as well be since they have held it in their hands.
UK supermarket offering �179.99 deal on the LG G Pad 8.3
Voucher code takes another �20 off already great price
This one's a quick heads up for any Brits that might have their eye on the LG G Pad 8.3 on a great deal currently in play. Asda might not be the first place you head to pick up your Android devices, but in this case you really should since the G Pad is just �179.99.�
Asda�already offers a great list price of �199.99 on the tablet, but right now if you use a certain voucher code - available in the item listing on the website - then you can snag the extra �20�discount. And that makes it a pretty fantastic option. No telling how long the special offer will be around, so if you want one, find the code. You can even have it delivered to a store to collect when you do your weekly grocery shop.�
MashaAllah it would be excellent news if they could update the HTC one x to 4.4.
The HTC m8 looks quite small in the one above image, the specs on this thread state 5inch screen or is it going to be 4.7inch....even then it seems much smaller in the image then expected.
Never Feel Lonely Again With This Creepy iPhone Case From Japan
Japan has just the accessory you need to always feel that special someone in the palm of your hand by actually putting just that on the back of an iPhone case, the exact model of a human hand! Ewww...
And it comes in both models for men and women as well! Those who prefer a more feminine hand can request the hand of female model "Nami," where as someone looking for a bit more of a masculine grip would do well with the male counterpart, Yamato.
Beyond just a cell phone case, the distributors in Japan advertise it as a great way to hold pens, lipsticks, and even scare the life out of children with a human appendage emerging from your back pocket.
No supply and demand here. Shame :)
Help The Company
HTC One has failed. With August sales down another 16% MoM, 45% YoY and profit warning looming, now what?
September 4, 2013 � By Stasys Bielinis
HTC One has failed.
Taiwanese smartphone OEM's August sales data leaves very little doubt about that. Last month HTC's revenues declined another 16%, to $NT 13.2 billion ($444M),�from already dismal July, and are down 56% from May's peak, the first month One started shipping.
Which means that while HTC may have gotten its carrier partners excited about their new flagship, that excitement was very short lived, because the end customer sales just weren't there. With�revenues falling so fast, there must be a lot of those Ones shipped in May, still sitting on retail shelves, unsold.
Which is a darn shame, because�once again, there was nothing wrong with �HTC's flagship device. In fact, it probably was the best smartphone of the first half of 2013, with only one real competitor�- Samsung Galaxy S4. But, just like last year, HTC's poor brand recognition and lackluster marketing campaign transformed a clear winner into an also ran.
And things are not getting better anytime soon.
In fact we are probably looking at another HTC profit warning in a few weeks. They have sold $NT 29 billion worth of smartphones in August and July. To get to the lower end of the $NT50-60 billion guidance for Q3, HTC's September revenues have to come in at at least $NT 21 billion. A 60% jump in monthly sales from August. Even in May, when One monthly sales peaked, HTC was able to grow monthly revenues only by 48%. What chance do they have to meet and exceed that number? With what?
HTC One mini? It has been shipping for most of August, and didn't help at all. The new marketing campaign? They are focusing on long term branding with it, and a chance that it will significantly boost current product�sales, just isn't there. �One on Verizon? The days when a single U.S. carrier could do that for HTC are long gone. Newly announced Desire 601 and 300? Those don't start shipping until October.
And don't forget the iPhone, which�hits the markets in two or three weeks.�And LG G2, which starts its worldwide rollout now, backed by a huge marketing campaign too. That's just the things to spoil HTC's lunch in September. In Q4 we'll get Sony Xperia Z1, Galaxy Note 3�and a bunch of low and mid-end Samsungs to wreck havoc on HTC sales in the West, while the the upstarts like Xiaomi, Oppo,� Meizu and established players like Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE put pressure on them in China.
Knowing�what the competitors are bringing to market later this year,�and what HTC has in its portfolio, things are looking very bleak for Taiwanese smartphone OEM. 2013 will be another lost year for HTC, and there's nothing they can do about it now. Time to get back to the drawing board and prepare for the next year.
This time with a great flagship product again. But also with a new portfolio of cheaper devices at several price levels, launched in February or March, backed by a well thought out and financed marketing campaign, and the sales team that knows how to sell.
HTC still has something like $1.5B in cash, which should last them through the period of losses they are entering right now. But this is, most likely, HTC's last chance. If Peter Chou is not able to turn his company around during the next product cycle, there will be no more HTC in 2015.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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