Technology News

Hyundai Sonata and Veloster owners have had some level of remote access for a year now, but the latest version of the Blue Link app does even more. Along with remote start, door lock / unlock and control of the horn and lights, you can now run vehicle diagnostics, send POIs across from your phone for later in-dash navigation, and even locate and manage multiple Blue Link-equipped cars. Sound complicated? Not if you run a cab firm, or if you check out the twelve new instructional videos on Hyundai's YouTube channel below.Continue reading Updated Hyundai app brings remote control to your Blue Link fleetUpdated Hyundai app brings remote control to your Blue Link fleet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

SEOUL (Reuters) - Shares in Samsung Electronics Co slumped more than 6 percent on Wednesday, wiping $10 billion off the electronics giant's market value, on a report that Apple placed huge chip orders with troubled Japanese chip rival Elpida.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Global sales of mobile phones fell 2 percent in January-March after ten straight quarters of growth, as Chinese buyers held back in anticipation of new models and economic uncertainties weighed on developed markets, research firm Gartner said.

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that Carson C. Chow, an MIT-trained mathematician and physicist, has taken a new look at America's obesity epidemic and found that a food glut is behind America's weight problem, with the national obesity rate jumping from 20 percent to over 30 percent since 1970. 'Beginning in the 1970s, there was a change in national agricultural policy. Instead of the government paying farmers not to engage in full production, as was the practice, they were encouraged to grow as much food as they could,' says Chow. 'With such a huge food supply, food marketing got better and restaurants got cheaper. The low cost of food fueled the growth of the fast-food industry. If food were expensive, you couldn't have fast food.' Chow and mathematical physiologist Kevin Hall created a mathematical model of a human with hundreds of equations, boiled it down to one simple equation, and then plugged in all the variables — height, weight, food intake, exercise. The slimmed-down equation proved to be a useful platform for answering a host of questions. For example, huge variations in your daily food intake will not cause variations in weight, as long as your average food intake over a year is about the same. Unfortunately, another finding is that weight change, up or down, takes a very, very long time. Chow has posted an interactive version of the model on the web where people can plug in their information and learn how much they'll need to reduce their[..]

Researchers smash a record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.

Samsung and Android -- in the face of a 2 percent slowdown in global phone sales -- remain an unstoppable force, as Nokia and Apple are both put in their respective places.

Ricardo Bilton / VentureBeat:Sweet music: Smule brings popular Songify app to Android  —  Mobile app development nowadays seems to be be following a fairly regular pattern: Create an infectious iOS app, wait until it gets insanely popular, then launch an almost identical version for Android.

Sure you love your dog, but having him watch you sit on the sofa doesn't constitute playtime. Standing up and even running around outside together will surely get the job done, but why get up for exercise when you're perfectly comfortable on the couch? That's the idea behind Go-Go Dog Pals, coined "the funnest most fun way to exercise your dog." Unless you have a few acres to play with beyond the front door, you'll still need to to bring Rover out to the yard before unleashing the wireless gopher look-alike, but there finally appears to be a solution for controlling your dog just as you do your TV -- with a remote. The Go-Go has plenty of pep under the hood, thanks to its dual-motor, four-wheel drive and top speed of 35 kilometers (22 miles) per hour, and it could be yours for the not-so-modest sum of $300. There is a $25 discount on order, if you can pull the trigger by July 1st -- just enter "CHASE" at checkout. Paws-on video is just past the break.Continue reading Go-Go Dog Pals lets you exercise Rover without tapping your precious calorie reserveGo-Go Dog Pals lets you exercise Rover without tapping your precious calorie reserve originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 04:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Go-Go Dog Pals  | Email this | Comments

Be still your beating heart, Samsung has announced that several customers who have already fallen for its incoming flagship's charms will get their pre-orders honored a day early. Unfortunately, it will be limited to those that ordered through its own brand store in Westfield Stratford City in London, but those lucky few will get their very own Galaxy S III at 6pm on May 29th -- half a day before the rest of the UK. We're planning to get our hands on a review model before then, so expect to see our fully-fleshed musings before the end of May.Continue reading Galaxy S III will launch a day early -- for some UK pre-ordersGalaxy S III will launch a day early -- for some UK pre-orders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 04:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Robin Wauters / The Next Web:Europe's Square rival iZettle to ship 3,000 card readers to UK testers, warms up for summer launch  —  iZettle is one of the European companies doing what Jack Dorsey's Square is doing in the United States: trying to convince small businesses and individuals to take card payments with its mobile applications and a custom-built reader.

We know almost too well how smartphones perform in US market share; what we don't usually see is how happy customers are once the shrink wrap's off. Going by a newly-expanded American Customer Satisfaction Index, it's the iPhone that most scratches the itch at a score of 83. Despite having just been added, Apple was noticeably ahead of a three-way tie between HTC, LG and Nokia at 75. You might not want to look if you're a freshly-minted RIM executive: the BlackBerry made its freshman debut on the charts at the bottom, or 69. Big carriers have their own reasons to wince, too, knowing that smaller carriers like US Cellular and TracFone scored higher on the happiness meter than incumbents hiking service fees. While there's definitely some wiggle room for your own experience to have been better or worse, if you were an iPhone owner on a regional carrier in the past few months, you were statistically the most likely to be on Cloud Nine.Continue reading iPhone waltzes into top spot of US phone satisfaction index, small carriers trump the giantsiPhone waltzes into top spot of US phone satisfaction index, small carriers trump the giants originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  ACSI  | Email this | Comments

Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:Interview: Imgur's Path to a Billion Image Views Per Day  —  Starting an image-hosting site in 2009 seemed like a silly idea.  It was a commoditized business, with lots of competitors.  A basic utility service was unlikely to inspire loyalty or give rise to a community that would make people stick around.

It's been nearly a month since we saw the Roku 2 and LT get hit with some performance-boosting updates, and now the pair's about to be on the receiving end of some additional enhancements. Version 4.7 -- which is also coming to that new Roku HD -- brings with it a slew of improvements, including refined stability for the aforementioned player and a sharpened device discovery method on the company's Android / iOS applications. Inside v4.7, Roku's also added support for channels using Microsoft Smooth Streaming as well as other improvements to help with launch of "several new partner channels" later this year. The refresh is set to arrive automatically over the next 48 hours, though you could always grab it manually by hitting the Software Update menu on your tiny box.New Roku HD, 2 and LT updated to version 4.7, slew of 'under the hood' improvements in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 03:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Roku  | Email this | Comments

Nvidia unveils a new GPU which it says should help the the US overtake Japan to claim the world's fastest supercomputer.

Flipboard, the popular social news magazine, starts integrating audio into its app for Apple's hand-held devices.

A Nokia spokeswoman criticises Apple after it appears to "override" its Siri software over the question: "What is the best smartphone?"

Japanese mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, is making a play at the Italian firm Buongiorno, a mobile content provider that boasts two billion customers across 57 countries. The €224 million offer must still be approved by Italian regulators, and would reflect a purchase price of €2 per share for the entirety of Buongiorno's outstanding stock. For its part, NTT DoCoMo hopes the buyout will help bolster its reach outside the home country of Japan, although the purchase is a bit of a gamble just the same. As it stands, Buongiorno's annual operating profit hovers in the neighborhood of €7 million, which means DoCoMo may be in for a bit of a wait before this deal bears fruit. You'll find the nitty gritty details in the PR after the break. [Raining money photo via Shutterstock]Continue reading NTT DoCoMo hopes to expand content game with Buongiorno buyoutNTT DoCoMo hopes to expand content game with Buongiorno buyout originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 03:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink paidContent  |   | Email this | Comments

If you're needing to keep Mike & Mike an arm's length away at all times, ESPN has refreshed its Radio app to help with just that. Now optimized to the iPad in addition to the iPhone and iPod touch, the software allows you to sort your listening habits by sports, teams and athletes that you follow. The free version offers access to podcasts, the 20-minute SportCenter cycle, and offline listening for on-demand content. Currently, the premium version of the app is free as well -- touting custom stations / playlists, live audio pause / rewind, myESPN personalization, alerts / push notifications and a few more gems to keep you well informed on the latest Red Sox debacle. After a "limited time," though, you'll have to shell out $4.99 for the premium app and its 35 ESPN radio stations. What about Android and WP7 devices, you ask? The folks in Bristol claim that apps for those platforms will arrive later this summer.Continue reading ESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPadESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  ESPN, iTunes  | Email this | Comments

Among the slew of new Android 4.0 devices unveiled by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo today were a trio from Panasonic, including the Eluga Power phone we'd seen before and a few new entries in the Eluga V phone and Eluga Live tablet. We've already gotten our mitts all over the Eluga Power's 5-inch screen and 1.5Ghz dual-core S4 CPU at MWC, so this time we'll take a close look into the other two Ice Cream Sandwiched models. The P-06D Eluga V is a 4.6-inch variant (sliding between the Power and original P-04D Eluga) while still packing a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU. The P-08D Eluga Live tablet measures at 10.1-inches, packs DLNA streaming features and slots stereo speakers into a smooth curved edge design. The Eluga V is scheduled to arrive July 6th, while the other two should hit Japanese shelves in January, hit the source link and brink your kanji skills (or translation software) for more information.Panasonic gifts NTT DoCoMo with Eluga V, Eluga Power smartphones and Eluga Live tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Panasonic Japan  | Email this | Comments

It's seldom the case that we get to look at world smartphone market share on a national level, but Kantar WorldPanel has given a rare peek that might give Windows Phone fans some good news to crow about. Even though things haven't always gone well for the Microsoft camp, Nokia phones like the Lumia 800 sparked a minor Renaissance in some countries in the three months leading up to mid-April: Windows Phone was up to between three and four percent in France, Italy, the UK and the US. The Metro interface must also be sehr gut for Germans, which nearly doubled Windows Phone's local share to six percent in that short space of time. Kantar is eager to point out that it's still mostly a tale of Android and iOS successes, though. Google took extra ground in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US, while Apple was on a tear both on its native soil and in the UK. HTC's upbeat predictions may have played a significant part in Android's continued rise -- the One X cracked the British top 10 list despite having only been in shops for a few days. About the only underdog story not going well in early spring was RIM's, where the BlackBerry's share of the US was cut to a third of its year-ago glory at three percent.Kantar: Windows Phone clawing back share thanks to Nokia, but Android still rules the roost originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Reuters  |   | Email[..]

Fluffeh writes "In Australia, we have the right to record TV and play it back at a later date; we also have the right to transcode from one format to another, so anyone with a media server can legally back up their entire DVD collection and watch it without all those annoying warnings and unskippable content — as long as we don't break encryption (please stop laughing!). Optus, Australia's second largest Telco, has been raising ire though with the new TV Now service they are offering and Big Media is having a hissy fit. The service does the recording on behalf of the customer. Seems like a no-brainer right? Let the customer do what they are allowed to legally do at home, but charge them for it. Everybody wins! Not according to Sports Broadcasters, who made this statement when Optus said they would appeal their recent loss in an Australian Court to the highest court in the land: 'They are a disgusting organization who is acting reprehensibly again and now putting more uncertainty into sports and broadcast rights going forward I'm really disappointed and disgusted in the comments of their CEO overnight.' Is this yet another case of Big Media clutching at an outdated business model, or should consumers be content with just doing their own work?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Shayndi Raice / Wall Street Journal:Facebook's New R&D Machine  —  Fewer Half-Baked Products Without User Input; 'We've Gotten More Humble'  —  Mark Zuckerberg is taking a more measured approach for major features added to Facebook.  Above, a stencil of Zuckerberg at headquarters.  —  For years, Facebook Inc. chief Mark Zuckerberg led …

Back in March, Mozilla outlined plans to further integrate web apps into Firefox to complement its upcoming Marketplace. And while the web store will launch with Windows and OS X compatibility, the browser has -- at least for the time being -- snubbed Linux. Given that Firefox is the default browser for most Linux distros, the community behind that OS is none too pleased. Though Mozilla execs have expressed their desire to add Linux support eventually, community contributors are already working on a patch to add compatibility for GNOME desktop. How's that for taking matters into your own hands?Upcoming Mozilla Marketplace lacks Linux support; open-source fix in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink SlashDot, InternetNews  |   | Email this | Comments

Access Now has launched a petition to pass the Password Protection Act (PPA), a bill looking to protect employees from employers asking for access to their social networking accounts.

'More and more and more businesses will be going public and profiting on the creative leadership of innovative developers.'

Steven M. Davidoff / DealBook:China Flexes Its Regulatory Muscle, Catching Google in Its Grip  —  In today's globalized world, you can't avoid China, or so goes the cliché.  Google is discovering that it's actually true.  —  Following a dispute over censorship, Google largely abandoned mainland China two years ago …

(Reuters) - Some passengers on Virgin Atlantic flights can now call home from the air.

DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Tuesday it will stop advertising on Facebook, even as the social networking website prepares to go public, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Mobile, the world's biggest telecom carrier by subscribers, said on Wednesday it is negotiating with Apple Inc to carry the popular iPhone in China.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On the face of it, Universal Music Group's bid to buy a big chunk of EMI stands to make the world's leading music company an even more formidable force, combining Universal's star lineup of Lady Gaga and Rihanna with the British company's deep library of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Katy Perry.

The lawsuits in the mobile space are plentiful and it looks like this one from Apple against HTC has some real teeth to it as HTC's newest devices are being held up in Customs for an indefinite...

F-Secure has found that between Q1 2011 and Q1 2012, the number of Android malware families has increased from 10 to 37, and the number of malicious Android APKs has increased from 139 to 3,069.

Robin Wauters / The Next Web:LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke joins the Earlybird VC flock as US partner  —  Germany's Earlybird Venture Capital is on a roll.  They've just moved operations to Berlin (PDF), raised $100 million for their new fund - target size $200 million - and a number of portfolio companies are doing very well (case in point: madvertise).

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will increase the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent to raise about $15 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, as strong investor demand for a share of the No.1 social network trumped ongoing debate about the company's long-term potential to make money.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - U.S. sales of two new smartphones from Taiwan's HTC Corp will be delayed due to a patent dispute with Apple Inc, a fresh blow to the company as it tries to turn around declining sales in what was once its largest market that knocked its shares down 5 percent.

(Reuters) - Sina Corp sounded a bearish note for the coming quarters, warning that further losses may lie ahead because of increased investment into its microblogging platform Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Tuesday it will stop advertising on Facebook, even as the social networking website prepares to go public, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers.

If you aren't already accustomed to Japan's regular deluge of device announcements, brace yourself: NTT DoCoMo just stepped forward with 17 new phones, as well as a mobile WiFi hotspot and a tablet. Throw a stone at the pile of hardware, and you're likely to strike something running Ice Cream Sandwich -- with the exception of the WiFi hotspot and a single handset designed for kids, every device on the list is running Android 4.0. Among the hodgepodge of handsets, DoCoMo is offering ten dual-core devices with screens ranging from 3.7 to 5-inches, a 10.1-inch 1.2Ghz dual-core slate, camera sensors of all sizes (from 8 megapixels to 13, that is) and a curious "Raku-Raku smartphone" that promises the "sensation of pressing actual keys" to smartphone newbies. The lineup's superstars, however, can all be found in DoCoMo's "NEXT" series of smartphones, bolstering the carrier's Xi LTE service with heavy hitters like the Galaxy S III, the Optimus Vu, Sony's Xperia GX and the Tegra 3 touting Arrows X. Hit the source link below to check out the smartphone smorgasbord for yourself, or read on for DoCoMo's official press release.Continue reading NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to JapanNTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  NTT DoCoMo  | Email this | Comments

Om Malik / GigaOM:For Facebook-boosted video apps, reality checks in  —  When Facebook made it easy to share what videos you were watching, companies like Socialcam, Metacafe, DailyMotion and Viddy rocketed up the app-charts and saw a sharp increase in the usage and downloads of these apps.

Details continue to emerge as we approach the IKEA Uppleva's June launch. GigaOM has discovered that the set will be available in sizes ranging from 24 to 46 inches and will be priced "around $960" -- with a scale relative to the display size, we presume. The TV will feature a built-in Blu-ray player and a wireless subwoofer, and is being assembled by TLC, a manufacturer in China. Uppleva is expected to roll out to France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden beginning next month, then to other European countries later in the year, followed by the US in 2013. There will also be a handful of applications that will vary based on region, including Dailymotion, Vimeo and YouTube, along with games, music playback and video-on-demand apps, and the Opera for TV web browser. There's a familiar sneak-peek vid awaiting you just past the break.Continue reading IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 00:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink TechCrunch  |  GigaOM  | Email this | Comments

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:Twilio Calling: Cloud Telephony Startup Adds An Android SDK, Now Works On 75% Of All Smartphones  —  Cloud-based telephony API startup Twilio has made significant inroads into VoIP and other carrier services like SMS by launching products that work on the web and in iOS apps, supporting 30,000 developers in the process.

An anonymous reader writes "A 71-year-old man who became paralyzed from the waist down and lost all use of both hands in a 2008 car accident has regained motor function in his fingers after doctors rewired his nerves to bypass the damaged ones in a pioneering surgical procedure, according to a case study published on Tuesday." Read more of this story at Slashdot.