GadgetCrave.com

Google Introduces Google Instant

Chris Weiss — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:28:56 +0000

You know what’s really annoying? Google’s new instant search, something you probably noticed today when you went to do your morning Google search.

Unveiled today, Google Instant is designed to offer fast, real-time results based upon the letters that you type in. The results instantly change and websites appear as you type rather than necessitating the old “Search” button.

I’m sure I could get used to it after a while, but I find it annoying for several reasons. I find the automatic jump to a newly formatted page and the constantly updating search results to be visually irritating. The instant search results are great (assuming they include what I want), but are buried at the bottom of the page anyway. Also, it really doesn’t take that much longer for me to just type in what I need, and unlike Google, I know exactly what that is every time. And I suppose one of the reasons that I’ve long liked using Google is its simple, minimalistic template, which is now all mussed up with noise.

I’ve only used the new feature a couple of times and haven’t tried fine-tuning it, but I have a feeling I’ll be shutting Google Instant off and not returning to it. How about you? Like it? Love it? Despise it?

If you need more information to make a decision, take a look at Google’s video below. [via TechCrunch]

New Report: Smartphones Will Share the Stage, No One Will Dominate the Market

Chris Weiss — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Over the past few years, everyone’s been waiting for either Apple or Android to emerge as the dominating force in the smartphone market. It may not be entirely fair, since the iPhone is one phone by one company on one network and Android is used in a whole kiosk worth of phones made by a variety of manufacturers and carried on the gamut of major networks, but that’s clearly how the battle has been framed.

According to an article today on MSNBC that cites a recent report by research firm IDC, neither one of these formidable players may come out as a market leader. In fact, no one will. The report speculates that the market will be divided among five key players over the next five years: Apple, Google, RIM , Microsoft and Nokia, or, more specifically, iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, Windows Phone/Mobile and Symbian.

Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker says in the piece: “There is ample room for multiple players to grow. No one smart phone OS will dominate mobile phones in the way that Microsoft has with Windows on the personal computer.”

The report estimates that Android will jump from around 16 percent to 24 percent of the global market share by 2014; Apple will fall from 15 to 11 percent; and Nokia from 40 to 33 percent.

So while no one phone will dominate, it appears that Android has a bright future. [via MSNBC]

Google TV On Track For This Fall

Chris Weiss — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:30:46 +0000

We first saw details of Google’s television service back in May, and at the time, we had a very unspecific ‘fall 2010′ launch time frame. Thanks to intrepid reporting, we now have a slightly more specific ‘fall 2010′ time frame. More specific only because it’s now September instead of May, so the fall launch looks a little more solid at this point. Unfortunately, not more specific in terms of an actual hard launch date.

Reuters reports that Google reiterated that the television service will launch this fall in the U.S. and next year across the world. The service will be built into television sets from manufacturers like Sony as well as in a standalone box.

Unlike other Web TVs on the market, which are limited to specific apps, Google is planning to integrate a full Chrome browser in your television, allowing for full-on Web surfing and searching for television and video content. Google also plans to open the platform to developers for Google TV-specific apps and websites.

Seeing as how Google’s confirmation doesn’t offer much new information, it seems like a response to Apple’s redesigned Apple TV, which launched last week. Other news from Reuters’ report indicates more Chrome tablet announcements on the way this year and a music service from Google. [via Reuters]

Apple’s Ping is Great For Spammers

Chris Weiss — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:22:55 +0000

There’s been some question as to how much users will take to Apple’s new music-centric social network Ping. After all, Web surfers already have a vast array of social networking and music sites to choose from which are better implemented than Ping, do they really need one that’s as narrow as the iTunes-focused Ping? Then again, it’s made by Apple, so some are going to love it no matter how useless it proves to be.

Whether iTunes users hit Ping in droves or avoid it like the kid with pink eye remains to be seen, but one thing has become clear after: it’s an all-out shindig for spammers.

Showing its inexperience in social networking, Apple apparently didn’t include a spam filter in its new network and comment spammers have been busy creating fake accounts and hocking their crap on the new site. After all, Apple’s 160 million iTunes’ user base is pretty attractive to spammers and scammers as well as to Apple.App

We expect this problem to get fixed pretty soon, eliminating one of the big, early knocks on Ping. [via CNET ]

Samsung Launches 7-Inch Galaxy Tab Tablet

Chris Weiss — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:05:33 +0000

Yesterday, Samsung launched the Android 2.2-powered Galaxy Tab, a new tablet that some are framing as the iPad’s first true competitor. So what’s so great about it?

In addition to featuring the latest and greatest in Android, the Tab gets a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with 1024 x 600 resolution. Samsung’s tablet also gets the front- and rear-facing cameras that the iPad desperately lacks–a 3-MP camera with flash out back and a 1.3-MP camera up front. Also, Adobe Flash 10.1 is there.

Underneath that TFT LCD display, the Galaxy is powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor. It will come in 16 GB and 32 GB varieties and microSD expansion up to 32 gigs. Connectivity comes courtesy of 3G, Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

Given its smaller profile, the Galaxy Tab weighs just 380 grams (compared to the iPad at 730).

The Tab will launch in the U.K. “in the coming months” and sometime after that in the U.S. No pricing information just yet. [via Engadget]

Look beyond the specs in the video below.

Apple’s One Big Surprise: Ping Social Network

Chris Weiss — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:31:13 +0000

While most of the announcements Apple made today were expected and rumored for at least a week or two, the one big surprise that it had was Ping, its very own social network. Determined to shrink even more into its own, isolated world rather than embrace the grander landscape around it, Apple has made Ping an iTunes-centric social network designed to allow users to share music and music related news with friends. In addition to sharing music, Ping lets you follow your favorite artists and music news. The social network will be built into iTunes 10, the latest version of iTunes, also unveiled today.

Apple is trying to leverage its industry leading music store, which has about 160 million users, in breaking into the ever-important social networking segment. But does the world really need yet another social network? Or another way to share music, for that matter? Plus, as is Apple’s trend, the network is internally driven and limited to iTunes, so you can share what you’re buying on iTunes but not outside music. Good for Apple, not especially intriguing for users. Some might even call it a bald-faced marketing ploy doomed for failure.

I suppose we’ll get our chance to decide after we’ve used it (or avoided it) for a bit. [via Washington Post]

Apple Offers Few Surprises: Apple TV With 99-Cent Rentals and iPod

Chris Weiss — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:07:49 +0000

Apple’s big press conference went down earlier today, and it ran like a line by line rumor confirmation. For the most part. As was expected, Apple launched a revamped version of Apple TV with some expanded content. Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the new Apple TV set-top box is 80 percent smaller than the original, carries a lighter price of $99 and offers expanded viewing thanks to $0.99 rental shows from Fox and ABC, movie rentals and streaming from Netflix and iTunes podcasts.

iPod Overhaul:

The new iPod Touch adds front and rear cameras, FaceTime, the Retina Display from the iPhone 4, and a thinner profile to the Touch’s bag of tricks. As expected, the iPod Nano has slimmed down significantly and now features a tiny, square touchscreen bound to infuriate those with fat fingers. The touchscreen does not support apps, and the Nano loses the camera introduced on the last refresh. The new iPad Nano is square and just a little larger than its smaller sibling the iPod Shuffle, which also gets redesigned into a square profile with the return of physical buttons that were eliminated on the third-generation Shuffle. The Shuffle bears a close resemblance to the second-generation model but is even smaller.[via Ars Technica and NY Times ]

Borders Drops E-Readers Under $100

Chris Weiss — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:13:08 +0000

Last spring, Borders made a small splash at the shallow end of the e-reader pool when it introduced some cheap, barebones options–the $150 Kobo and the $120 Libre. They were two of the first big moves in the drastic price lowering of the e-reader market, and at the time were priced more than $100 lower than leading e-readers like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Unfortunately for Borders, Amazon and B&N followed just weeks later with price drops of their own, and when you can get a smaller, redesigned Kindle or a Nook for $139 and $149 respectively, the Kobo and Libre aren’t looking so attractive.

Recognizing this, Borders will drop the price of each e-reader by $20 tomorrow, effectively lowering the market of name-brand-supported e-readers below the $100 mark. The Kobo will now cost $129.99 and the Libre $99.99.

You can read the source WSJ article for all the business implications of the move, or just be happy to know that e-readers are slowly but surely becoming much more affordable.

LG’s Spectacular 1/10″ OLED TV

Chris Weiss — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:12:26 +0000

OLED televisions are among those frustrating technologies–so close, so awesome, but so not going to be on the market when I get my next paycheck. This OLED television from LG has got my mouth watering more than ever for OLED technology.

On display at the IFA show in Berlin, the television is a 31-inch OLED screen that measures a hair-like 0.11 inch deep. It also features 2D to 3D switching. If you happen to be at IFA, be careful not to cut yourself on this razor.

Unfortunately, like all decent-sized OLED TVs, this LG is but a fancy prototype. On the plus side, it’s on display next to LG’s LEX8 3DTV, a ready-for-market LCD model that measures just .35-inch front to back. Sure it’s over three times the thickness of the OLED, but it’s still just a hair over a third of an inch, and it will be on the market in Germany and Korea next month. Alas, no word on the States. [ Engadget via Dvice]

Boxee Adds Movie Library

Chris Weiss — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:53:41 +0000

Boxee announced today that it will be adding a searchable movie library to its popular TV Show library. The service says that its new library will include thousands of films, most of which are ad-supported and free to users.

Boxee will offer movies from such content partners as EZTakes, Indie Movies Online, MUBI and Openfilm. The sites will give Boxee users access to content that includes independent films, shorts, classics, film-based social networking and movie news.

Boxee says the movie service is “still a little rough around the edges,” and it plans to continue tweaking it and adding partners and content. The latest Boxee Beta update has bug fixes as well and is available now for Mac, Windows and Linux systems. An Apple TV version will be available next week. You can find it here. [Boxee via Ubergizmo]

Please Say It’s True: Nike Working on Power Laces From Back to the Future II

Chris Weiss — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:13:22 +0000

For those of us growing up in the decade of awesomeness (or maybe that should be dudicalness) that was the 80’s, one of the greatest debates of our day had to be whether you’d rather own a hoverboard or monstrous Nike hightops with auto-laces from Back to the Future II. I’m pretty sure that the hoverboard won out, but you would have been an 80’s god had you managed to make/get either.

Nike actually came out with some big high top replicas a few years back, but they were missing the best part: the power laces. Judging by a new Nike patent application, it appears that the shoe maker is trying to right that wrong. The application shows an automatic lacing system, and says: “The automatic lacing system provides a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position of the upper. The article further includes an automatic ankle cinching system that is configured to automatically adjust an ankle portion of the upper.”

CrunchGear speculates that Nike might be trying to develop the real-deal shoes for the upcoming Blu-ray release of the BTTF trilogy. Judging by how much the shoes have been pined for since 1989, and how popular the non-powered pair was, limited edition, real McCoy, power-laced Nike ultra-highs should result in small, fevered riots at all retail locations involved. Crossing fingers now. [via CrunchGear]

Apple Holding Special Event On September 1; New TV Products Expected

Chris Weiss — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:13:21 +0000

Earlier this week, the rumor mill was working overtime about an upcoming announcement of $.99 TV show rentals that Apple will offer through the iTunes store. The reports indicated that Apple was going to announce the new deals–which will include Fox, CBS and ABC shows–at a September 7 event, ahead of the upcoming fall television season. The shows would be available on iPads, iPhones and iPod touch models.

Today, Apple cast both light and doubt onto those suspicions by sending out an invitation for a “special event,”, the difference being that it’s nearly a week earlier than speculated on September 1. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco at 10 a.m.

Speculation also indicates that Apple will unveil a reworked Apple TV and new iPod touch at the event. Stay tuned next week to see which of the rumors rings true. [via Barron's]

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