LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/lg-philips-tp-vision-smart-tv-alliance/

Following up on last year's promise to build a standardized SDK for creating Smart TV apps, LG and TP Vision (the new owner of Philips' TV business) have announced the creation of the Smart TV Alliance. Its goal is to create a "non-proprietary ecosystem" to encourage developers to make platform-independent apps based on standards like HTML5. One of the main problems currently for the Smart TV market is that there's many different platforms, some manufacturer specific while others like Google TV and Yahoo! Widgets play across differently branded devices. Curiously, Sharp was included in the previous announcement at IFA last fall and is not mentioned by name this time around, although the press release hints at "other Japanese manufacturers" in the process of joining that will be announced accordingly. The current plan is to release SDK 2.0 by the end of this year, until then interested devs are asked to register on the group's website for more info.

Continue reading LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps

LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/acer-aspire-timeline-ultra-m5-ultrabooks-kepler-graphics-us/

We spotted Acer's new Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 laptops at Computex earlier this month, and though we already knew some key specs (NVIDIA's Kepler-based graphics, for example), these Ultrabooks hadn't yet been announced for the US market. Today that changes, as Acer just revealed full specs and pricing details for those of us here in the states.

The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5, available with 14- and 15-inch screens, lives up to its Ultrabook classification with a 0.81-inch thick profile and up to eight hours of battery life. As we noted previously, the M5 maintains some of the Aspire M3's design cues, including the chiclet keyboard, 1366 x 768 display and thin silhouette. At the same time, it ups the premium quotient with aluminum alloy done up in a brushed-metal finish. All models include a DVD drive and 500GB of storage plus a 20GB SSD.

The base configuration will feature a second-gen (read: Sandy Bridge) Intel processor clocked at 1.5GHz, but higher-level options step up to an Ivy Bridge CPU clocked as high as 2.6GHz. The 14-inch version weighs 4.3 pounds and starts at $680 with Intel HD Graphics 4000 but is also available with an NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE GPU for $780. The $830 15.6-inch M5 features an edge-to-edge screen, along with that same NVIDIA chip, but it weighs a heftier 5.07 pounds. T! he Aspir e Timeline Ultra M5 Series will ship at the end of June -- in the meantime, check out the photos and press info below.

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 hands-on

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5

Continue reading Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus

Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Swype update brings 'four kinds of keyboard', sync-able voice-text dictionaries

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/swype-update-beta-four-keyboard/

If it's one thing Android does right, it's the sheer range of keyboard apps and skins available -- something its competitors haven't quite latched on to just yet. While SwiftKey has charmed us with its latest iteration, Swype's also been in the testing labs and it wants to show you what it's been up to. The new version packs the same next-word prediction from Nuance's XT9 heritage and a new voice-text dictionary sync feature will add new words to both speech and text databases. You can even get the app to crawl around your emails and texts for some extra (familiar) personalization. The latest version can now download over 55 languages, while Nuance has crystallized all of its know-how into a four-in-one keyboard. This includes the typical letter-to-letter swiping that the keyboard cut its teeth on, a more typical predictive text input run through XT9, integrated dictation through a Dragon button and the simple (but slower) fingertip input, where you can trace each individual letter. You can find the beta version of Swype's latest at the source link below. Take it for a test-drive and let us know if it's enough to nudge SwiftKey out of favor.

Continue reading New Swype update brings 'four kinds of keyboard', sync-able voice-text dictionaries

New Swype update brings 'four kinds of keyboard', sync-able voice-text dictionaries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT thaumaturges work to turn any windowed room into a camera obscura

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/mit-scientists-camera-obscuras-forensics/

Those interested in criminology, forensics or the basics of voyeurism probably have a decent grasp on what a camera obscura is. For everyone else in the audience, allow us to explain. Used since way before your birth, these chambers are designed with an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen; you just need a room with a hole in one side, which allows a fine amount of light to pass through. If you've ever watched [insert crime drama here], you've probably seen those magical investigators take a blurred shot of a room wall, zoom it in and somehow draw conclusions about the origins of life. Now, MIT's own Antonio Torralba and William Freeman have developed a method that can "transform the entire setting into a pinhole camera." In other words, any room with a window can be repurposed for forensics. On that note, you should probably consider moving your... operations center to a windowless bunker, STAT.

MIT thaumaturges work to turn any windowed room into a camera obscura originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Y!kes' app-enabled system transforms hotel accessibility: talking with hotel chains, launching this month on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/19/yikes-hotel-platform-unlock-door-smartphone-app-ios-android/

We all knew opening one's hotel room door with a smartphone was just the beginning, didn't we? As the years have turned (and LodgeNet has inexplicably remained), a smattering of companies have seen the opportunity to connect savvy hotel guests to the properties they frequent. Y!kes is the latest to tune in, and its solution undoubtedly has the potential to change the way smartphone users interact with lodging venues. Designed as a hardware + software platform, the proximity-aware access system offers hotels the ability to tightly and specifically grant or deny access to one's phone. As an example, a hotel and guest both utilizing the system could see an elevator automatically choose one's floor upon entry, a door automatically unlock when a patron walks within range, a parking deck automatically have its gate raised, and a VIP lounge door automatically open if the credentials are programmed in.

Going a step further, one could envision this system having the ability to alert a hotel when a guest lands at the nearest airport, thereby triggering a series of events that places fresh Perrier bottles on the desk, blue mood lighting in the bathroom, a thermostat adjustment to 74 degrees and whatever else that person has specified in their profile. Insane? Sure, but not at all outside of the realm of feasibility. Once a venue ha! s instal led the system, guests need only have the associated app -- available for Android, BlackBerry OS, Windows Phone and iOS -- running in the background on their device. If all goes as planned, he or she won't even have to drop by the check-in counter, and when the stay is over, they'll be able to bypass the check-out line as well.

If you're curious about app availability, we're told that the iOS build will hit the App Store "this week," while the other three platforms will see launches "within 30 days." We asked the company if it was ready to announce any partnerships with hotel chains, and received the following reply: "As for integration, Y!kes is currently engaged in deep discussions with the top hotel chains and will have information pertaining to specific contracts in the near future." Needless to say, the jetsetters in the crowd will be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

Continue reading Y!kes' app-enabled system transforms hotel accessibility: talking with hotel chains, launching this month on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7

Y!kes' app-enabled system transforms hotel accessibility: talking with hotel chains, launching this month on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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