Google Ventures has a reputation for backing tech winners early on -- it gave a boost to this little startup called Nest, for example. It wants to exert influence every step of the way, however, and it's launching Google Capital to make this happen. The new fund is investing in firms that aren't quite so young, but are doing "amazing things" aligned with Google's interests, according to general partner Mike Pearson. While Google Capital won't make its formal debut until the summer, it has already invested in three unnamed companies; we wouldn't be surprised if we learn a lot more about the fund a few months' time. Filed under: Internet, Google Comments Source: PCWorld
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Lenovo's just announced its Q4 and full year 2012/13 financial results, and all the indices point to good news for the Chinese company. It earned $127 million on $7.8 billion in revenue for the quarter and $34 billion for the full year, both records for the company, while netting $635 million in profit for the full year -- another all-time high. The only sore spot for Q4 was Lenovo's laptop business, which dropped two percent over last year to $4.2 billion, but that's a far milder plummet than many PC makers saw -- thanks to a 74 percent revenue growth in China. Otherwise, desktop PCs held flat for the company at $2.4 billion during an otherwise down period, and it held firm as China's number two smartphone manufacturer, seeing shipments grow at 206 percent year-over-year, double the average rate. It remains to be seen if Lenovo can continue to buck the downward PC trend that's continued unabated with the release of Windows 8 -- but if not, maybe we'd finally see some of its smartphones over here. Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Lenovo Comments Source: Business Wire
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HTC's Desire line of mid-range Android smartphones have typically used the alphabet to denote different models, but the company is now switching to numerals. At least according to a Taiwanese certification page, we can expect a Desire 200. Some leaked benchmark results also indicate that a Desire 600 will head to market. We don't know much about the Desire 200 apart from its name. It's listed as the HTC 102e on the certification page, and there's plenty of speculation that this handset is the G2 we heard about earlier this year. It's a different story for the Desire 600: the benchmark results indicate this device sports a 960 x 540 (qHD) display with an unspecified 1.2GHz chip. The benchmark sheet also reveals this is a dual-SIM model destined for Europe. That's it for now, but more details are sure to follow shortly. Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC Comments Via: PocketnowSource: GFXBench, VR-Zone
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With back-to-school season upon us and Intel's Haswell launch just around the corner, now's a great time for PC makers to start unveiling their summer lineups. Two weeks ago we heard from Sony and today it's HP's turn: the company just refreshed everything from its mainstream notebooks to its high-performance machines. Heck, even the pint-sized dm1 got a makeover. With the exception of that machine (now called the Pavilion TouchSmart Notebook), everything here will be offered with Haswell. There's a little something for everybody, and it's all waiting for you in a neat summary after the break. Join us as we break it down. Filed under: Laptops, HP Comments
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Chevy just announced pricing for its 2014 Spark EV. The all-electric compact will retail for $27,495 before incentives, such as a $7,500 federal tax credit and up to $2,500 in state and local credits. All told, you could drive the car home for less than 18 grand, and California residents will net HOV (carpool lane) access to boot. The two-door vehicle ships with a 21kWh battery pack, giving you an estimated range of 82 miles on a full charge. You can also add on DC Fast Charging capability, letting you recharge up to 80 percent in about 20 minutes at select stations. Alternatively, you can charge up using a 240-volt system in about seven hours. The car also includes Chevy's MyLink infotainment platform, the RemoteLink smartphone app and three years of OnStar service. It'll be available at select dealers in California and Oregon by mid-June. Filed under: Transportation Comments
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AMD isn't focusing all its attention on its entry-level mobile APUs today: it's also providing details for the faster Richland-based models. The new A6, A8, and A10 mobile variants fall under the Elite Performance badge, and theoretically beat Intel to the punch with up to 71 percent faster 3D graphics than the current Core i5 family. They also muster about 7.5 hours of battery life with web use, or about an hour longer than we saw in the previous generation. The roster includes both regular power (35W) and low-voltage (17W to 25W) APUs, in dual- and quad-core editions. We're more interested in how well the chips play with other devices and software, however. Besides the face and motion gesture recognition that we've seen before, AMD touts a new take on Wireless Display with low enough latency for game sessions, support for 1080p60 video and native Miracast sharing. The Richland upgrade also introduces a new Dock Port standard that can feed both USB 3.0 and up to three external DisplayPort screens through one cable. If you like what AMD is pitching, you won't have to wait to try it -- Elite Performance APUs have already been shipping with MSI's GX60 and GX70, and other vendors shouldn't be far behind. Gallery: AMD Richland presentation Filed under: Laptops, AMD Comments Source: AMD
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If you think HP's new battery-powered all-in-one is a gimmick, fear not: the company's still churning out all manner of traditional desktop towers. In fact, the outfit just refreshed its lineup with five new models, ranging from a space-saving mini to a high-end gaming rig. There's a lot to digest in the way of specs and pricing, so to keep things simple we laid out a neat list just after the break. Read on for the full break-down.Gallery: HP Envy Phoenix 800, Envy 700, Pavilion 500, Slimline 400 and the HP 100 Filed under: Desktops, HP Comments
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It's official: battery-powered all-in-ones you can schlep around the house are now a thing. First Sony released the Tap 20, then Lenovo followed with the Horizon and now HP makes three, with its newly announced Envy Rove 20. As the name suggests, it's a 20-inch PC you can move from room to room -- if 11.86 pounds can really be considered portable. As with other systems in its class, that IPS, 1080p display can lie nearly flat allowing you to use it as more of a tablet / twenty-first century board game machine. The difference is that there's a button to release the hinge in the back, so you don't have to pull it out by hand. Keep in mind, though, that this sophisticated design makes the Rove 20 almost half a pound heavier than the Tap 20. Sorry, you can't have it all. On the inside, it packs a Haswell chip, with up to 1TB of storage and an 8GB SSD for caching. The built-in battery is rated for close to four hours of battery life, according to an HP rep, which would be a significant improvement over the Tap 20. Incidentally, it has both WiDi and 802.11ac, neither of which have been included on an HP all-in-one before. There's Beats Audio too (this is an HP system after all), along with a subwoofer. On the software side, meanwhile, HP's pre-installing a few board games like EA Monopoly, and there's a physical key you can use to flip the screen orientation when it's another player's turn. It'll ship sometime in July, though HP hasn't announced the price yet. Finishing up, HP also announced two lower-end all-in-ones, the Pavilion TouchSmart 20 and 23, each of which makes use of five-point optical touch instead of a 10-point capacitive screen. Both will be available next month with a mix of 2013 AMD processors and Intel Haswell chips. The TouchSmart 20 arrives June 23rd, specifically, with a starting price of $620, while the 23 ships June 5th for $749 and up. Filed under: Desktops, HP Comments
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AMD has been willing to tease its 2013 ultra-mobile APU (accelerated processing unit) strategy through PCs like the Acer Aspire V5, but today it's spilling the beans in earnest. The headliner for many is the company's just-shipping Elite Mobility line, or Temash: the A4 and A6 designs are built for tablets, like Hondo was, but their Jaguar-based system-on-chip designs should be faster in both CPU and graphics power without a hit to battery life. AMD estimates that the Radeon HD 8280G video core in an Elite Mobility A6 is about five times faster a Clover Trail-based Atom and twice as fast as Hondo, but lasts about 45 percent longer on battery than an Intel Core i3. And that's while untethered -- that Turbo Dock feature is still in place to boost speeds by over 30 percent when a dock is around for extra cooling. The E1, E2, A4 and A6 mainstream APUs based on Kabini, meanwhile, are all about tackling the Pentium and Core i3 chips that go into entry-level laptops. AMD reckons that the dual-core (E-series) and quad-core (A-series) parts are up to 88 percent faster overall than their ancestors, and can even punch above their weight class: the E1's Radeon HD 8000-level graphics are up to 66 percent faster than those of a much thirstier, Trinity-era A4 chip. Battery life is a specialty as well, with up to 10 hours when idle and 9 hours of web use. That's typically 2 to 3 hours more than Kabini's Brazos ancestor could manage. AMD wasn't specific on when these mainstream APUs would first ship when we were briefed, but we had the opportunity to benchmark an A4-based reference laptop. Read on past the break for the scores and some early impressions. Gallery: AMD Kabini reference laptop Gallery: AMD Kabini and Temash presentations Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, AMD Comments Source: AMD
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Come next month, NTT DoCoMo users won't be the only ones to benefit from a water-resistant version of the Optimus G. Similar to the L-01E for Japan, LG has introduced the Optimus GJ for Taiwan, which carries IPX7 certification that allows for worry-free immersion in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. The Optimus GJ also carries IPX5 certification for protection against dust particles. Dubbed the E975W, the smartphone is by and large a thicker version of the Optimus G (E975). This means you'll find a 4.7-inch, 1,280 x 720 True HD IPS display, a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, a 13MP primary / 1.3MP front-facing camera setup, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and Android 4.1.2. Unlike the original Optimus G, the Optimus GJ wields a larger 2,280mAh battery and a red backing, but also lacks NFC functionality. You can expect it to hit the market next month in Taiwan, where it'll sell for NT$17,990 ($600). Hit up the source link to find additional views of the of the Optimus G -- it seems that LG has thrown a bit of a pool party to celebrate its announcement. Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG Comments Via: Pocket-lintSource: ePrice (translated)
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Unless you've been living under a proverbial rock, you've at least a passing familiarity with Twitter's #Music service, and today the platform given us another reason to check it out, thanks to the addition of genre charts. When #Music launched a month ago, it provided the means to discover and hear tunes from popular, emerging and suggested artists along with those you and your friends follow. Now those discovery pages have been expanded to include ten musical genre charts (country, hip-hop, rock, etc.), plus five additional charts titled Superstars, Popular, Emerging, Unearthed and Hunted. The Superstar and Popular charts display the most popular songs and new music that's trending, while Emerging and Unearthed are two avenues for finding lesser-known songs and artists. Finally, the Hunted chart displays music that's currently popular in the blogosphere. So, people of Twitter, go forth, use these new charts and find your musical bliss, but only on the web, 'cause the iOS app is without them... for now. Filed under: Internet Comments Via: TechCrunchSource: Twitter #Music
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Music streamers on Rdio for iOS are used to getting novel features quite often -- but hey, as they say, the more the merrier, right? Keeping up with that tradition, Rdio announced earlier today it's introducing a few new tidbits to the application with version 2.2. Most notably, the app will now allow users to quickly find friends and artists via a new feature dubbed -- appropriately, no less -- Find People. Building up on the search improvements, Rdio's also added an option to easily discover a record label's top musicians and albums, which is, in part, made possible by a number of UI enhancements (like a revamped navigation menu) that were also included in this release. All that sound good? Then you shall wait no more; the goods can be found at our source, or you could always download straight from your iOS device. Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Software Comments Source: App Store
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Just as CEO JK Shin predicted, Samsung has announced its new Galaxy S 4 topped 10 million units sold in record time. That beats the 50 days it took the Galaxy S III to sell that many, a mark it took 5 months for the Galaxy S II to pass and 7 months for the original Galaxy S. Samsung has been able to crank up production and speed up worldwide rollouts for its increasingly popular flagship models, contributing to the rapidly increasing pace of sales. To help keep the sales channels flowing, Samsung also announced a few new colors on the way. Joining the existing White Mist and Black Forest models this summer are Blue Arctic and Red Aurora, followed later by Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn editions. Of course, the model many will covet is the one with stock Android announced at Google I/O, but that may depend on whether you want your customizations inside or outside. Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung Comments Source: SamsungTomorrow Korea
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Although ASUS recently delivered the $150 7-inch MeMo Pad and PadFone Infinity combo device, it's been a while since a premium Android tablet graced the lineup. A recent FCC filing from the company, however, reveals an unannounced K005 model equipped with the venerable Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) SoC clocked at 1.7GHz. The listing is light on further details, but G4Games notes that it reveals AT&T compatible GSM, CDMA and LTE connectivity, a 6,560mAh battery cell -- not to mention model number suggests a 10-inch frame. Check out the FCC filing for yourself below and rest assured that we'll fill you in when we hear more. Filed under: Tablets, ASUS Comments Via: G4GamesSource: FCC
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Northrop Grumman's MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft is one step closer to serving the Navy in reconnaissance and surveillance missions, having just completed its first flight. The drone spent 80 minutes in the air, reaching an altitude of 20,000 feet. That's child's play compared to the aircraft's full potential: according to the Navy, it can soar at up to 60,000 feet and stay airborne for as long as 30 hours, due in no small part to its 130-foot wingspan. By 2015, the Triton will undergo operational testing and evaluation, and the Navy hopes to add additional aircraft to its existing fleet (currently just two strong). Check out the long-range spy plane in action just past the break. Filed under: Transportation Comments Source: Defense Tech
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It's certainly been a long time coming, but the latest version (2.2.1) of Twitter for Mac finally brings support for Notification Center in OS X Mountain Lion. Aside from the side-pane pings for your @replies and DMs, a number of fixes have been implemented that should stabilize your experience some more. Most notably, Growl users on Lion and Mountain Lion can enjoy receiving notifications again. The update is available directly from the Mac App Store right now, so hit the source link if you're interested. Filed under: Internet, Software Comments Via: 9to5MacSource: Mac App Store
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We still haven't actually touched the redesigned DualShock 4 destined to ship with Sony's PlayStation 4, but we're getting another look at it in this FCC filing. Appearing in wireframe form to show off where its FCC label will be placed, what's available reveals very little. As we were told, it's still a Bluetooth 2.1+EDR device and carries a CUH-ZCT1U model number, and its PS Eye-compatible light bar can be seen in the diagram. Of course, what we're really waiting to see is the system that will accompany this remote control and do battle with the Xbox One for console supremacy, but barring a leak or unexpected revelation that will have to wait until E3. Hit the source link to check out the docs yourself, or get a better angle on it in our galleries below.Gallery: PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 and PS4 Eye (GDC 2013)Gallery: DualShock 4 and PS4 Eye Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony Comments Source: FCC
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Larry Page just picked up another bird for his flying craft collection, and this plane doesn't even carry passengers. In fact, it's not used for transportation at all -- the aircraft is tethered to the ground. Google X, the tech giant's experimental arm, recently acquired the device's designer, Makani Power. That company is currently in the process of creating a flying wind turbine system. In essence, the Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) flies at an altitude of 800 to 1,950 feet in order to take advantage of stronger winds. On-board generators create up to 600 kilowatts of electricity collected through dedicated turbines, which is then sent on to a tethered ground station. It's an interesting idea indeed, and judging by Google's non-disclosed financial interest, Mountain View sees some serious potential as well. The acquisition, first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, was but one component of the publication's in-depth look into Google X. You can read that article in full at the source link below. Filed under: Science, Google Comments Via: The VergeSource: Makani Power, Bloomberg Businessweek
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We've come across a number of GPS-based tracking devices over the years but most are rather bulky and difficult to setup. eTrak's attempting to remedy this here at CTIA 2013 with GPS+, a fob-like product that combines WiFi, cellular and GPS tracking in a small, light and easy-to-use package. The device, which is about the size and weight of a box of licorice-flavored Tic Tacs, features a panic button, multicolor status LED and charging contacts,. It's meant to be attached to a keyring, and comes with a matching charging base which includes a standard micro-USB connector. Battery life is about 5 days per charge -- not too shabby for a product that packs WiFi, cellular and GPS radios. Speaking of which, eTrak's partnering with Verizon Wireless for CDMA-based network positioning. The company provides a web-based interface which supports geo-fencing with SMS and email notifications, along with iOS and Android-compatible apps. GPS+ will retail for $129 and be available soon (production's been under way since May 1st). Two plans will be available: $10 per month with a one-year subscription and $15 per month commitment-free. Don't miss our gallery below and follow the source link for more info. Gallery: eTrak GPS+ tracking device hands-on Filed under: Misc, Wireless, Mobile Comments Source: eTrak
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GM and OnStar were on hand at CTIA to demonstrate a few ideas of what its new service could look like once bolstered with AT&T's LTE network. The system, which we originally heard about in February at Mobile World Congress, is still in its infancy, but with all the ideas being bounced around during our whirlwind tour it's apparent that's changing fast. Without question, big change is what is driving this whole endeavor, specifically adding infotainment to its stalwart safety, security and diagnostics offerings. GM and OnStar envision a curated app ecosystem with downloadable apps, remote car management -- including streaming video to remote devices from your car's onboard cameras -- access to U-Verse and even a built in hotspot to share with your passengers. Developers will have access to APIs that can interact with the car to grab info about speed, performance, fuel economy and other interesting metrics but are locked out of anything potentially dangerous. After our brief demo we came away mostly impressed with what we saw, though, we're still unsure if an in-car app ecosystem is a viable thing. Driver distraction issues aside, there are wealth of devices able to provide all the same services and more often than not they'll already be in your pockets and in your car. Launch of the 2015 model year cars is still quite a way off but we'll definitely be tracking the system's progress as it prepares to hit showrooms later this year. Follow on for a video of the system in action.Gallery: GM and AT&T demo LTE-enabled OnStar connected vehicle (hands-on) Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, AT&T Comments
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One of the more controversial bits of news to come out of yesterday's Xbox One reveal was the discovery that the newly christened console would not be able to play Xbox 360 games. Backwards compatibility has been a sore subject for some gamers but Microsoft's Don Mattrick says the company is looking forward, not back. "If you're backwards compatible," he told The Wall Street Journal, "you're really backwards." While the news was met with some chagrin, it's not terribly surprising. The Xbox One's architecture -- equipped with a new x86 CPU -- prevents it from being able to run games designed for the 360's eight year old Xenon processor. Additionally, Mattrick claims that players making use of backwards compatibility were a negligible percentage of their consumer base. While Mattrick's words are sure to stick in more than one craw, they reflect the reality of the market. With Nintendo struggling to juggle Wii games on the Wii U and Sony's Playstation 4 abandoning current gen PSN games, it looks like backwards compatibility is a thing of the past. Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft Comments Via: The VergeSource: The Wall Street Journal
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Instead of waiting until the end of the year for Google's annual Zeitgeist, you can now find out what's trending in any given month with a new Top Charts feature from Google Trends. Updated monthly and going back to 2004, Top Charts is built on the Knowledge Graph, so it's smart enough to house related keywords under one term for more accurate rankings. For example, searches for "giants baseball" and "sf giants" would go toward pushing "San Francisco Giants" up the ranks in a sports-related chart. Right now there are more than 40 top ten lists with more than 140 time periods available for your perusal. In addition to the charts, the Trends team has also rolled out a new visualization tool for "hot searches" that displays trending topics in a large colorful layout -- as seen below, you can customize it to display up to 25 searches at a time that endlessly shift and refresh, thus consuming our attention for the entire day. Filed under: Internet, Google Comments Source: Official Google Blog
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At today's Thinking Digital conference, the BBC exhibited the first gadget designed through its Perceptive Media Project: the Perceptive Radio, created by Ian Forrester of the corporation's Future Media division. When the BBC announced the project last summer, the response included some head scratching, mostly due to a lack of clarity about what perceptive media entails. The BBC's R&D department defines perceptive media as distinct from personalized or pervasive media in that it intelligently adapts to specific audiences and surroundings. The Perceptive Radio accomplishes this through the use of light, sound and proximity sensors that adjust what the radio plays according to environmental factors like time, location and the listener's distance from the device. At the moment, the list of tricks ready to demo on the Perceptive Radio is short, but the BBC plans to open-source the design soon, allowing tinkerers to fiddle with it to their hearts' content. Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Science Comments Via: The Next Web
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While single-chip SSDs are clearly known quantities, they usually run at a much more leisurely pace than their larger counterparts. Innodisk doesn't think size and speed have to be contradictory -- it just unveiled an embedded version of its nanoSSD that performs almost as well as its much bigger counterparts. The µSSD-based SATA chip has a tiny footprint (0.63 x 0.79 inches) and draws just 1W of peak power, but can still read at up to 480MB/s and write at 175MB/s. As such, it's one of the few SSDs that can theoretically stuff desktop-class storage into a smartphone or tablet. Whether or not it will is another matter. Innodisk hasn't named customers for the nanoSSD so far, which leaves us guessing just where or when we'll see the drive in a finished product. Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Storage Comments Source: Innodisk
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It's surely not the first contraption to bring an iDevice to a weapon, but the Inteliscope does appear to be one of the first to take itself seriously. It's designed to secure an iPhone 4 / 4S / 5 or iPod touch to any firearm with a Picatinny (Mil-STD-1913) or Weaver tactical rail, enabling shooters to peek around corners with no head exposure. Naturally, the mount itself wouldn't be all that attractive without an accompanying app. The software portion of the equation offers up custom crosshairs, a 5x digital zoom, video recording capabilities, ballistics / firearm data, a built-in compass and a shot timer. There's also a flashlight and strobe feature, information about local prevailing winds and a constant check on your location. Folks interested in pre-ordering can do so at the source link for $69.99, with initial shipments expected to head out in June. Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals Comments Source: Inteliscope
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