Surprise, Intel faces roadblocks in securing content for its Apple TV contender

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 2, 2013

Yesterday, news broke that chip giant Intel, frustrated with “everyone doing a half-assed Google TV”, is prepping its own set-top box and  cable service for an introduction at the CES show, which runs January 8-11 (iDB will be there!). The report noted Intel “has a plan to overcome licensing hurdles” by rolling out the TV service gradually, on a city-by-city basis.

Today, The Wall Street Journal throws its proverbial credibility behind the rumor, but also explains that Intel, just like Apple, has found that Hollywood is proving to be a much tougher nut to crack… Read More

 

Samsung’s upcoming TV has ‘an unprecedented new shape’. Is it translucent? Frameless? Retina?

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 1, 2013

Say what you will about Samsung of South Korea, but the company is leading the Smart TV revolution at a time when the once mighty Japanese consumer electronics giants like Sony, Panasonic and Sharp are struggling to stay afloat. Last week the firm teased an upcoming TV launch with a charming video suggesting that “all the TVs are rushing to see Samsung’s new TV” at CES.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the clip closes rather dramatically with a shot of a large TV set hidden behind a white sheet. Following up, Samsung has now shared an intriguing image via its official blog that raises more questions than it answers… Read More

 

Intel might launch own Apple TV competitor and cable service at CES

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 1, 2013

The world’s leading chip maker Intel, which supplies processors for Apple’s Mac notebooks and desktops, is reportedly prepping to launch its rumored virtual cable TV service and set-top box because the company was frustrated with “everyone doing a half-assed Google TV so it’s going to do it themselves and do it right”, according to sources that spoke with TechCrunch.

Intel allegedly “has a plan to overcome licensing hurdles” that Apple reportedly has been facing for some time in its attempts to woo big-budget Hollywoood studios. The semiconductor giant will apparently roll out the service on a city-by-city basis rather than nationwide, opting to cut content deals on a per-market basis.

Apple, of course, has long been rumored to be testing prototypes of a full-fledged 46 to 55-inch television sets as the living room remains “an area of intense interest” for the Cupertino giant… Read More

 

iDownloadBlog heads to CES 2013

By Jim Gresham on Dec 31, 2012

Boasting more than 40 years of experience, the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is the largest event of its type across the world and this year is no exception. As we head to January 8, the whole tech world is preparing for the largest trade show in global history, with a show floor of 1.86 million square feet. Thousands of companies, techies, press, and gadgets will be huddled together at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada.

I will be heading to Vegas to cover all of the action focused around iOS devices, which includes everything from third party hardware to software. Representing iDownloadBlog as an an official member of the press, I will have access to preshow events and additional after hours meetings with some of the big names surrounding iOS compatible products. To keep everyone in the loop, this article is an opportunity to give our readers a preshow look at what to expect from an attendee’s perspective… Read More

 

Netatmo’s Urban Weather Station is for the weather guru

By Jim Gresham on Nov 20, 2012

I love the weather. No real reason in particular, but fascination started as a young child when I would rush home from school to track Hurricanes on the Weather Channel, despite living nowhere near the coast. When I first read about the first iOS specific Netatmo Urban Weather Station a month back, I was fascinated with the ability to monitor the temperature, both in and outside my house. A weather nerd at heart, I think this is an awesome piece of hardware. To the weather novice, it is still a great addition for your connected home. Below, we take a look at the personal weather station that just received CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Award honoree in three categories… Read More

 

Samsung to re-brand itself at CES 2013

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 6, 2012

It is no secret that the Samsung logo along with its brand appearance isn’t the best fit to convey the South Korean conglomerate’s many business. Samsung makes refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, smartphones, tablets, networked TV sets, computers and many more items. It’s also a big player in construction, weapons tech, life insurance, advertising and theme park industries, to name a few.

The word on the street is that the company will launch a new brand image at CES 2013 and has enlisted the talent of Scott Bedbury, a freelance brand consultant who has also worked with Starbucks and is now reportedly tasked with creating a “more vibrant International brand image alongside the likes of arch rival Apple”Read More

 

Samsung Executive Says Apple’s Rumored TV Set is “Old News”

By Cody Lee on Jan 12, 2012

Just by looking around the showroom floor at this year’s CES, you can see that Apple’s rumored TV set has already made an impact on the industry. The electronics show is littered with voice-activated “smart” televisions, and the like.

But you wouldn’t know it by listening to Samsung’s Australian audio visual director Phillip Newton talk. The executive made some interesting comments recently in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald regarding Apple’s TV set. Read More

 

$30,000 iPhone Speaker Dock Spotted at CES

By Cody Lee on Jan 11, 2012

Last month we told you about one of the world’s largest and most expensive iPhone speaker docks: the iNuke Boom. Made by Behringer, the speaker weighs over 700 pounds and can pump out a staggering 10,000 watts of power.

Want to try it out? You can, if you happen to be in Las Vegas right now. Behringer has a working iNuke on hand at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, which has completely taken over Sin City this week… Read More

 

Acer’s New PictStream and Cloud Services Look Awfully Familiar

By Cody Lee on Jan 9, 2012

Last night, during its CES keynote, Taiwan-based manufacturer Acer announced that it was getting into the cloud business. Dubbed AcerCloud, the service will allow users to keep content synced between their phones, tablets and computers.

Now, we’re not trying to jump to any conclusions here. But there’s something about the service that looks awfully familiar. We can’t quite put our finger on it, but it seems like we’ve seen this service and, come to think of it, these slides before… Read More

 

Blue Debuts New Microphones for iOS Devices

By Cody Lee on Jan 8, 2012

With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) taking over Las Vegas this week, we’re expecting to see an onslaught of new iOS-aimed hardware and accessories. A lot of manufacturers use the convention to show off their latest creations.

And it looks like one of those manufacturers will be Blue Microphones, the popular USB Microphone-maker. The company is looking to step outside its scope of professional desktop equipment and venture into iOS gear…. Read More

 

Rumor: Apple Working on 42-Inch TV In Jony Ive’s Design Studio

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 4, 2012

Not many companies can claim to be the biggest thing to hit a trade show without actually being in attendance, but Apple has that honor this year. With so much talk about the iPhone and iPad maker being ready to enter the television market, the competition is already sitting up and taking notice.

Not only that, but word has it that Apple is currently working on a 42-inch television in design guru Jony Ive’s top-secret studio. The flatscreen supposedly has onboard Wi-Fi and also comes in a 50-inch flavor. Rumors of such a device are keeping competitors on the edge of their seats. Read More

 

They Say Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery So Samsung Must Loooove the iPhone

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 6, 2011

I mean, really? Did Samsung just blatantly copy the iPhone 4 like that? Okay, to be fair the camera angle of this shot doesn’t tell the whole picture, but still, that’s some sincere flattery that Samsung’s dishing out right there.

Say hello to the Samsung TV Control Remote. Yes, that’s a remote control… for your television. I know, it looks almost exactly like a phone, but Samsung swears that the only thing this puppy will be talking to is your TV…

Read More

 

Hive Dock Amps Up Your iPhone Both Audibly and Visually

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 5, 2011

Now this is one iPhone accessory that I could definitely grow to love. Introducing the Hive dock from Screendoor studio - a unique dock capable of cradling the iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode.

Just what makes this dock so unique from every other dock on the market? We’d love to tell you, but only video could do this one justice. Take a look inside for the full lowdown…

Read More

 

Resistance Was Futile: Garmin Finally Launches GPS iPhone App

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 4, 2011

I don’t think there was any question as to if Garmin would release an iPhone app, it was more of just a question of when. After dragging their feet for what seemed like an eternity, Garmin has finally released its first iPhone navigation app, entitled StreetPilot.

Is it too late for the company who is widely considered to be the best manufacturer of stand alone GPS systems, or can they sway customers away from Navigon and TomTom?

Read More

 

Skype Launches Teaser Site for Mobile Video Chat

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 29, 2010

As if this wasn’t already enough, Skype has further removed the veil concerning its pending announcement at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

In what can only be described as an Apple-esque marketing approach, Skype video chat looks destined to make the jump outside of the desktop and into the mobile platform. The only question remaining is, which platforms will it jump to?

Read More

 

Skype Video Chat is Finally iPhone Bound

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 24, 2010

Either the guys at Skype got the memo, or this was in the works all along, and they’re just a bit slow going about their business. Better late than never, right?

Just as Apple is gaining steam with its relatively new FaceTime video chat, here comes the blue elephant in the room. While I didn’t hesitate to give Skype a needed shellacking in a previous article, one thing’s for sure, if they get on the ball with mobile video chat, it could be a hard ball to stop.

Even with FaceTime continuing to gain footprint in various other areas with the upcoming iPad, and the recent desktop Beta release; all it would take is for Skype to release a decent competitor to make things interesting… Read More

 
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