Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 15, 2013

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that – rumor mongering – Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)… Read More

 

Seagate dominates the mobile storage competition with 1TB Wireless Plus

By Jim Gresham on Mar 14, 2013

After meeting with Seagate at CES, I was excited to get my paws on their new Wireless Plus, which is big brother to the recently retired and previously reviewed GoFlex Satellite. We all need our digital content on the go and, often, our iOS devices do not have enough room. I know my 16GB are carefully utilized on both iPad mini and iPhone. Toting around a Wi-Fi enabled 1TB Seagate drive prevents the need for choosing which media to bring along. Just drag and drop your media file to the Wireless Plus and walk out the door… Read More

 

Review: iZON Wi-Fi video monitor and its companion iOS app

By Jim Gresham on Nov 21, 2012

Like the Lidless Eye of Sauron, iZON stares unblinkingly into your home, taking note of all within. Scary, right? Well, not exactly, as there are many uses for a Wi-Fi enabled video monitor in the home, office, or abroad. The iZON, pronounced “eyes-on,” provides a single video feed across a wireless network that streams through the iZON server system, giving the user access to the feed anywhere in the world with your iOS device. If there is a need for you to be two places at once, the iZON can be your eyes and ears whether watching your newborn, crazy pet, or the front door… Read More

 

Steve Ballmer maintains the iPhone is overpriced, promises more Microsoft gadgets

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2012

The hardware arena is becoming an increasingly crowded space and that’s a good thing for consumers who want more choices. Not that long ago, tech giants used to sit on the sidelines and leave the gadget making biz to Apple and the iPhone maker happily exploited the opportunity, churning out music players, cell phones, wireless appliances, set-top boxes, tablets and computers.

But things have changed quite a bit. Nowadays, everyone and their brother wants to build hardware, software and services in a vertically integrated fashion that made Apple a popular choice among the consumers. Amazon now sells tablets and e-readers and is allegedly building a phone. Google has become a handset vendor thanks to its pricey purchase of Motorola Mobility. And with a recent trifecta of Nexus devices, the search monster has become a hardware force to be reckoned with. But what’s Microsoft up to? Read More