Chinese manufacturer Lenovo is entering the tablet fray with three new devices set for release in the coming months.
The 10.1-inch devices will be priced comparably to the popular iPad and will target specific users (the IdeaPad Tablet K1 for general consumers, ThinkPad Tablet for business users, and IdeaPad Tablet P1 for home and office use).
The IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad (available in August) will run Android 3.1, while the IdeaPad P1 will run Windows 7.
All three devices will initially be Wi-Fi only, with 3G versions expected at a later date.
The Digital Trends post includes images and technical specs on all three models.
In the latest installment of the ongoing Hulu saga, Bloomberg reports Apple is “considering making a bid” for the online video service.
Apple would join Google, Yahoo, AT&T and others who have expressed interest (Microsoft has reportedly dropped out of the bidding).
With $76 billion in cash and securities, an expected $2 billion bid would not be too difficult for Apple. If so, analysts suggest this would give Apple a leading subscription service that would rival, if not surpass, the Netflix service.
“Part of the ecosystem of Apple’s future is to include more video,” said Scott Sutherland, Wedbush Securities analyst (who recommends buying the stock). “It’s something they are focused on.”
Microsoft has reportedly dropped out of the bidding for Hulu and would not continue into a second round, according to “a person with knowledge of the matter.” (Although the individual did not rule out the possibility of Microsoft re-entering in a later round.)
Google, Yahoo, AT&T and as many as eight other companies remain interested in the online video service.
According to Business Insider, Yahoo is willing to spend up to $2 billion if it can get content rights for the next four or five years.
It has been reported that Hulu plans to offer five years of access to content from its media company owners (Disney, News Corp. and Comcast’s NBC Universal), including two years of exclusivity.
Sony Computer Entertainment may launch a 3D headset for virtual reality-type games in the future.
The head-mounted display was first introduced during the company’s CES press event in January, but now Sony is reportedly working on developing it for more than just viewing passive entertainment.
The device features twin 720p OLED displays (one for each eye) and 5.1 surround sound.
Mick Hocking, group studio manager for Sony Europe, said the 3D headset can provide an immersive experience for games (and it is worth mentioning that a number of Sony Computer Entertainment studios fall under his command).
“The head-mounted display has twin-OLED screens; very high quality. At the moment it’s just a head-mounted display; the head isn’t being tracked — but that’s something we’re doing R&D on,” Hocking explained. “We’re working with a couple of games at Sony that are experimenting with virtual-reality-type experiences.”
We may see “Li-Fi” wireless in the future, as visible light communications and light-based data transmission technology continue to advance.
Professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh recently demonstrated a prototype of the technology at the TEDGlobal conference in Scotland.
Haas used an LED bulb to transmit a video that was projected onto a screen behind him (at 10 megabits per second). He plans to reach 100 megabits per second by the end of the year.
This approach may become a viable alternative for wireless communication as mobile devices continue to tax the radio spectrum.
It is interesting to note that the idea of using light to send information is not new. Alexander Graham Bell sent a wireless phone message in 1880 using his Photophone.
Apple Inc. officially unveiled its newest operating system — OS X 10.7 “Lion” — on Wednesday. The OS introduces many features that mimic functions seen on its popular iPad.
The company also reported record earnings in the third quarter, despite any major new product announcements. Revenue was up 82 percent, and profits more than doubled, as consumers continued to purchase iPhones and iPads in record numbers (Apple computers also continued to sell, although iPod sales declined 20 percent).
Global sales of iPads nearly tripled to 9.25 million during the third quarter. Apple credits some of the success to adoption of the device by businesses such as Alaska Airlines and Nordstrom.
The New York Times reports that Apple’s current market value is 10 times Dell’s and nearly five times Hewlett-Packard’s.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicts that the consumer electronics industry will grow 5.6 percent this year and will surpass $190 billion. This prediction is higher than the estimate that CEA offered in January.
Significantly, tablet computers are projected to grow 157 percent in 2011, with more than 26.5 million units being shipped ($14 billion in shipment revenue).
“Newer, innovative product categories, like tablets, not only meet consumer demand but also help bolster our industry and strengthen the overall American economy,” says CEA chief exec Gary Shapiro.
“One year ago, tablets were a new and unproven market, and now they, along with other mobile connected devices including smartphones and eReaders, are leading the entire industry to positive growth,” adds Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis. “The revenue boost from these innovative products is undeniable as a number of other CE segments are reaching maturity and sales are naturally declining.”
The trade association also expects the market to reach a record $197 billion in 2012, led by sales of smartphones, tablets and 3D TVs.
Logitech’s LifeSize division — headquartered in Austin, Texas — is looking to the cloud in an effort to extend its videoconferencing reach.
The company is introducing the $1,499 LifeSize Passport Connect, a new videoconferencing system that integrates with the company’s cloud-based LifeSize Connections service.
The high-defintion endpoint system is built around a Logitech webcam and is priced below other LifeSize end systems.
Logitech also announced it has acquired Italian mobile video company, Mirial, which offers videoconferencing clients for PCs, Macs, and an array of mobile devices such as Android tablets, iPads and iPhones.
The company plans to integrate Mirial’s clients into LifeSize Connections.
Scribd — a Web site that lets users share reports, personal stories and recipes — revealed plans this week to launch a digital newsstand that provides a vast library of news to readers for a monthly fee, similar to the Netflix subscription service model.
The newsstand, named Float, is the latest in a collection of strategies that have attempted to make money from online news. Other news hubs include Flipboard, Zite, Pulse, News.me and Ongo.
Publications that are made available via Float will receive a share of the revenue after the subscription program launches this fall (although subscription fees and the amount to be shared with publishers have yet to be announced).
Float will introduce a free version this week featuring articles from 150 publications such as The Associated Press, People, Fortune, Salon and Time magazine (publishers participating in the free version will share in the advertising revenue).
Float will initially be available to consumers online and through an iPhone app, while Android and iPad versions are expected at a later date.
Sony’s Mick Hocking talks about what they’ve learned about 3D in the last year at Sony Computer Entertainment. Hocking has been responsible for spearheading the 3D games enterprise.
The main lesson involves the need to educate developers in how to produce quality 3D. “We’ve actually now got a guide with 10 points for producing technically correct 3D, it’s our 3D 10 Commandments if you like, and we also have lots of resources now to help developers creatively with 3D as well.”
Last year 3D had a “wow factor.” This year there are many 3D capable devices becoming available.
Sony has 50 million 3D-enabled PlayStation 3 units and over 50 3D games in the market. In addition, there are 3D Blu-ray, 3D MP4s and 3D Camcorders and 3D HDTVs. Sony may look to build 3D on a handheld. Virtual reality may come back with Sony’s head-mounted, twin-OLED 3D display.
Despite what critics are describing as waning interest from consumers, Hocking emphasized that 3D remains a long term strategy for Sony.
Indie pop singer Daria Musk held a six hour live concert over the weekend from a Connecticut recording studio on Google+ Hangouts with her fans and followers from all over the world.
Unfortunately, the one major constraint was that only ten people at a time could join Musk’s Hangout (others were told to try joining again later).
According to GigaOM, audience members (including a Google engineering director) “figured out an impromptu way of daisy-chaining Hangouts, making it possible for others to join in on the fun by joining connected video chats. This type of Hangouts relay was a quick hack, something to deal with the fact that Google has restricted the number of live participants in Hangouts to ten — but it also hints at an interesting opportunity for Google to utilize Hangouts as a way to turn live online broadcasting into a two-way medium, that is capable of real audience interaction.”
Musk’s comments after the concert: “I have to tell you that I never really felt I belonged in the places I’ve been in… I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world, meeting people from all over, being a global girl, a global artist… Finding my tribe… I found you last night. Thank you for finding me.”
Google launched its new Google+ social network June 28th, and an Android app was made immediately available.
Three weeks later, Apple finally approved the official Google+ app for iOS (until Tuesday, iPhone users had to access a mobile Web version in Safari).
Similar to the Web version, Google+ for iPhone includes Circles (stream of updates from a user’s contacts) and Huddle (for group messaging within a user’s circles).
Google+ for iOS works on the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 (running iOS 3.1 or later). A dedicated iPad version has yet to be announced.
Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg discussed the current status of 3D entertainment at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, Colorado on Tuesday.
Katzenberg placed blame on the entertainment industry and lack of content quality for slow consumer adoption of 3D.
He explained that Hollywood executives have been short-sighted in their attempts to capitalize too aggressively on the technology without emphasizing quality. Katzenberg described the execs as driven by “that singular and unique characteristic that only exists in Hollywood, greed.”
“With time we’ll get back to success here but it’ll only come by embracing [3D] as a storytelling tool and using it to enhance the film experience,” he added.
Katzenberg’s full transcript is available from the Fortune post.
Samsung’s recent patent application illustrates how it is possible to add shallow depth-of-field to a point-and-shoot or smartphone camera.
The approach makes use of a dual-lens setup (similar to what we’ve seen with 3D cameras lately), where one lens captures full resolution of the target image while the other calculates and records relative distances.
The camera then merges the data with the primary image in order to create a depth map. A graduated blur is applied, based on this depth map, adding simulated depth-of-field.
The concept is not found in any product; however, Engadget is optimistic: “No word on whether this neat trick will make its way to consumers’ hands — but with 3D still the reigning buzz, we’d upgrade that possibility to a very likely.”
The Photography Bay post includes a link to the patent application.
The Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee (VPAAC) released its report to the FCC last week on the closed captioning of IP-video programming (a PDF of the report is available from the Broadcast Law Blog).
VPAAC (co-chaired by Vince Roberts, chairman of the board for ETC@USC) submitted the report as required by the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act passed in October.
ETCentric member Brad Collar points out this will require closed captions be included in Internet distributed programming (the Accessibility Act requested rules requiring that once a program has aired on television with closed captions, any subsequent online distribution must also include closed captions).
The VPAAC report proposes a compliance schedule based on the date of the FCC’s revised rules: programming that has been prerecorded and unedited for Internet distribution (within six months), live and near-live programming (within 12 months), and programming that has been prerecorded and substantially edited for Internet distribution (within 18 months).
The report also includes recommendations for performance objectives, technical requirements and capabilities related to online closed captioning.