Secret Windows 8 Weapon: Kinect Built Into Your Laptop

 

The Windows release of Kinect is coming up in a couple days, but for most people that won’t be a major event: the Kinect they have is sitting on their TV or in a drawer, waiting to be taken out for an impromptu Dance Central 2 party. Of the 10 million Kinects out there, the only ones connected to computers are the ones being fiddled with by the various hackers and students making science projects out the things.

But according to the Daily, Microsoft is hoping to remedy this particular situation by building Kinect sensors right into your laptops. TechCrunch alum Matt Hickey got to handle a pair of prototypes, which were confirmed to be official, not just one of the many experiments that hide within Microsoft’s various lairs.

Unfortunately the laptops were not ready for their debut and no pictures seem to have been permitted. But they are described as netbook-like, with a number of smaller sensors instead of a webcam, and what could be an IR LED at the bottom of the screen.

The inclusion of depth-sensing cameras on a laptop is an interesting idea, and ifthey can drive the price of the sensor array down, it might become a standard feature. Microsoft has clearly also been focusing on miniaturizing the Kinect hardware, as the bulky original would seem somewhat out of place on a petite netbook. Whether this smaller sensor set has the same capabilities as the larger isn’t clear and wasn’t discussed.A smaller Kinect would also suggest that Microsoft’s nextconsole, rumored to have Kinect built in, is nearing readiness.

By DEVIN COLDEWEY – TechCrunch on January 28, 2012

Tim Cook: “There Will Come A Day When The Tablet Market Is Larger Than The PC Market”

 

One of the big questions hanging over Apple this quarter was whether or not iPad sales would continue its rapid growth. Last quarter Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire at $200 and there was concern that even Apple diehard fans might delay their purchase of a tablet until the iPad 3 comes out—rumored for later this year. But iPad sales came in well above expectations at 15.4 million units. It is now a $9.1 billion business. There have been a total of 55 million iPads sold since launch in 2010.

iPad sales continue to surprise even CEO Tim Cook. During the conference call today, Cook predicted: “I think there will come a day that the tablet market is larger than the PC market.”

His repeated an earlier statement that the iPad is cannibalizing Mac sales, but it is cannibalizing Windows PC sales much more.
Cook also addressed the competition without mentioning the Kindle Fire’s name: “I think people really want to do multiple things with their tablets; as a result, we don’t really see these limited function tablets, these e-readers, as being in the same category. I don’t think people who want an iPad will settle for a limited function.”

The iPad’s strength, he argues, is that it is a general-purpose device, not a limited to just a few media-consuming functions. There are “over 170,000″ iPad apps, orders of magnitude more than another tablet. “It’s not just a product,”s ays Cook, “it is a strategy for the next decade.”

Apple, Amazon Dominate In Mobile Commerce Customer Satisfaction

Customer experience analytics company ForeSee recently released data on which e-commerce companies had the most customer satisfaction in 2011. Amazon and Amazon proved to be among the winners, with Netflix falling last year in terms of sentiment. Foresee has done a similar study on satisfaction for retailer mobile commerce sites, and it looks like once again Apple and Amazon are head and shoulders above the competition in terms of customer satisfaction for mobile commerce, via both apps and the mobile web.

As we’ve noticed over the past year, mobile commerce has taken off and continues to grow exponentially as more and more consumers use their smartphones for research, shopping decisions and purchases. Because of this trend, ForeSee compiled data from consumers to produce statistically reliable mobile satisfaction scores for 16 of the largest e-retailers in the United States. Apple and Amazon, which scored 85 and 84, respectively, on the study’s 100-point scale, topped the list by a wide margin.

According to the research, shoppers are generally more satisfied with traditional websites than they are with their mobile counterparts. The average mobile satisfaction score for the 16 retailers measured in the report is 76, compared to 79 for the same companies’ websites.

However, a few companies had comparable performance on mobile and web: Apple Toys “R” Us, Best Buy, Staples, Netflix, Dell, and Blockbuster. Others reveal large gaps between the website and the mobilee xperience, including Avon (satisfaction 8 points lower on mobile) and Walmart (7 points lower).

Mobile shoppers most likely to make a purchase from another channel (the traditional website, a store, or a call center) are those who shopped on Amazon (87) and Apple (81), followed closely by Best Buy and Avon (both 79), Staples, Barnes and Noble, Victoria’s Secret, and Target (all 78).

Another observation that ForeSee noted in the study is that mobile shoppers who are highly satisfied with their mobile experience are 54% more likely to consider the company next time they want to make a similar purchase, and twice as likely to buy from the retailer’s mobile channel again.

A third of online shoppers (34%) used their mobile phones to research products while 15% made a purchase directly from their phone, up from 11% last year. And one in five online shoppers (19%) used a mobile phone to compare prices or products while shopping in a retail location. The study also showed that 19% of all online shoppers are now using mobile phones to compare prices while shopping inside a store.

While in physical stores, more than one-third of online shoppers (36%) used their phones to visit the store’s own website or app.

Basically, now more than ever, it is critical for retailers to build out their mobile sites. And online retailers, like Amazon, are definitely catching on to this, and developing innovations in the m-commerce space. Retailers, especially brick and mortar stores, that ride the mobile wave are going to miss out on a huge opportunity, and customer satisfaction (and sales) will undoubtedly suffer.

Online Ad Confirms A Sprint-Bound Galaxy Nexus (Update: With 1.5GHz Processor)

Well that was… timely. It was just a little while ago that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse dropped some details about his company’s forthcoming network, and now a Sprint Galaxy Nexus ad has just appeared on CNET’s website.

It’s slated as being the company’s first LTE phone, which according to Hesse’s LTE timeline indicates a launch during the first half of 2012. If this ad proves to be legitimate (and I’ve got all my fingers crossed), Sprint customers may truly be rewarded for their patience.

Hovering over the bottom right touchpoint reveals a very tantalizing tidbit: Sprint’s variant will apparently have a 1.5GHz processor instead of the 1.2GHz proc as seen in the international and Verizon models.

It wouldn’t be the first time the Galaxy Nexus was mistakenly outed before an official announcement — one of Verizon’s holiday ads got some play on Android fansites over Thanksgiving weekend, and it too outed the Galaxy Nexus. The ad itself seems tied to a “CES Live Feed,” so it’s very possible that we could see this very device when the TechCrunch Gadgets team heads for Vegas.

By CHRIS VELAZCO – TechCrunch on January 06, 2012

WordPress 3.3 Released To The Masses; Includes iPad Optimization, Tumblr Importer And More

After 14 million downloads of WordPress 3.2, WordPress 3.3 is being released to the wild today. Codenamed “Sonny” in honor of the jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt, WordPress 3.3 is available for download or update inside your WordPress dashboard.

WordPress, which had over 65 million downloads since version 3.0 was released, has a number of new features and bells and whistles, including UI improvements. The new version includes a revamped welcome screen and improved contextual help UI.

The media uploader has also been streamlined with a drag-and-drop image uploader. A new menu feature allows users to hover over menus for navigation. There is a new toolbar, and improved co-editing notifications and support. And WordPress 3.3 now comes with a Tumblr importer and is optimized for the iPad.

For developers, WordPress has also released a new editor API, new jQuery version, better ways to hook into the help screens, improvements on the Codex and more.

By Leena Rao – TechCrunch on December 13, 2011

MasterCard Backs And Partners With Mobile Banking Company mFoundry To Expand Reach Of NFC

After announcing a new partnership with Intel, MasterCard is revealing a new collaboration to help spread the use of its NFC technology through its PayPass program. The credit card giant is making a strategic investment in mFoundry, a company that powers mobile banking solutions for more than 500 banks and credit unions nationwide.

As part of the announcement, mFoundry will be offering MasterCard’s PayPass technology as a way for banks and credit unions to give their customers the option to pay for items with their mobile phones.

PayPass is MasterCard’s payment method that lets you make purchases without having to swipe the magnetic strip on your card or provide your signature at PayPass enabled terminals. The technology uses NFC to transmit information.

MFoundry’s SaaS allows banks and other providers to give their customers mobile banking options, including payments. For example, mFoundry powers Starbucks’ Card Mobile. The company has capitalized on the recent growth in mobile banking. comScore recently reported that 32.5 million Americans accessed mobile banking information on their mobile devices, a 21% increase from the fourth quarter of 2010. And, almost 14 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers now access banking information through their devices.

With the MasterCard partnership, mFoundry will allow banks to be able to offer MasterCard mobile banking options, including the use of PayPass and the NFC technology. MasterCard and mFoundry also will collaborate to provide mobile phone operators an application that supports Mobile PayPass, which will allow them to offer mobile contactless payments to their customers.

Obviously for MasterCard, the collaboration will help spread the use of its NFC technology to various banks, and thus consumers. And for mFoundry, the startup gets a strategic investment from one of the most well-known credit card companies in the world, and gets to gain some clout from the investment.

Amazon Reveals Cyber Monday Deals: Xbox 360 For $199, Nokia N8 For $299

It’s Black Friday in the United States, but Amazon this morning revealed a couple of deals that it will be running from Cyber Monday and/or the next few days (specifically, starting at midnight on Sunday, November 27, through the end of next week).The company is selling a $79 Kindle, a $99 Kindle Touch, a $149 Kindle Touch 3G and a $199 Kindle Fire – and reiterates that the latter device is “currently the best-selling item across all of Amazon”. Good thing they’re prepared for the rush.

Also see: Apple’s Black Friday Deals Go Live: Up To $61 Off On iPad 2, $101 Off On Macs

On Cyber Monday, Amazon says it will also introduce new deals on other popular products, and the company was kind enough to offer a ‘sneak peek’ at some of the deals you can expect. Those that I assume will interest you the most are listed below:

•  Sony Cybershot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP Digital Camera: $199 (save $150)
•  Pentax K-5 Digital SLR (Body Only): $999 (save $200)
•  Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Bundle (includes Fable III and Halo Reach): $199 (save $100)
•  Nokia N8 (Unlocked): $299.99 (save $249)
•  Monster Diddybeats Headphones: $59.99 (save $89)
•  Save up to 50% off select VTech electronic toys

Amazon says last year’s Cyber Monday was its absolute peak day last year, with more than 13.7 million items ordered worldwide (or 158 items per second).

By Robin Wauters – TechCrunch on November 26, 2011

http://www.istartus.com/walkie-talkie-app-voxer-is-going-viral.html

Most of the communications apps that have gotten big on smartphones have been built by well-established companies that have existing user bases they can promote to, with Facebook, Twitter and Skype being the top examples. The other successes have most often had venture money to help them cover advertising costs.

But a smaller startup has been climbing up the iTunes App Store and Android Market charges over the last few days. Called Voxer, it provides a walkie talkie push-to-talk voice service reminiscent of Nextel. Or, in modern parlance, it’s sort of like text messages but with voice instead of text. It’s basically a direct competitor to another startup, HeyTell, that we’ve covered, as well as TalkBox… and getting to be more of a competitor every day, judging by its recent trajectory.

The app has gone from #40 to #6 within the past week in the social networking category of the United States App Store, following its rise earlier this year in random other countries like Brazil and Saudi Arabia. It’s now a trend among many Twitter users, too. (Yeah, the social networking category isn’t especially big once you get past the leading web services, but this much growth for this type of app is unusual.)

To use Voxer, you simply download it from either store (iTunes here, Android here), create a new identity or log in with Facebook, sync it with your phone’s address book and/or Facebook, then start chatting with other individual friends, or groups that you join or create. The interface shows a text message style interface. You hold a talk button to record a quick message for the other party.  You can also send text messages within the flow of correspondence.

We talked to Voxer’s vice president of growth, Gustaf Alstromer, for more details. He’s a veteran mobile entrepreneur, from his days growing up in Sweden to his past startup Heysan to his current job. Distribution, as he explains with an acute understanding, has always been the biggest problem. “It’s a really good time now versus any other time in history” to be building a mobile app, he says, because “distribution has been solved by the App Store and Android Market, and now it’s about the tactics you use within that.”

Alstromer says the city of Cleveland started getting big first in the US, which has been followed by growth in a number of other cities around the country. While it’s not entirely clear what set the app off, the company has a variety of best practices going for tracking clickthroughs, conversions, and overall usage, using third parties like Mixpanel as well as its in-house systems.

Services like this rely on network effects, and its launch on Android earlier this month could have played a big part — iPhone users are no longer stuck just using the app with other iPhone users. Alstromer says that its Android downloads have exploded (although he’s not providing any specific numbers), adding that total usage on Android could pass iPhone within the next few months. The phonebooks are far more essential than Facebook overall, although the latter is crucial for some demographics.

The company also has an unusual backstory. It’s founded by veteran entrepreneur Tom Katis, a decorated soldier who previously cofounded a major security contractor, Triple Canopy (here’s a good New York Times profile on the company from 2005). The idea for Voxer originated during an ambush in Afghanistan, he tells me, when he was trying to coordinate reinforcements and the medical team in the middle of a firefight — he needed a way to talk to everyone all at once, and the government-issue walkie talkies weren’t doing the trick.

Components Spied For 15-Inch Air-Style MacBook Pro

Habitual component-stream eavesdropper Digitimes says that “a small volume of components” that fit the spec for a 15-inch ultra-thin notebook have shipped, and March of 2012 is their estimate for full-scale device shipping.We’ve talked about Macbook Air DNA being injected into the Pro line, and this is just more evidence of that. The latest update to the notebook line was minor and the design is getting a little long in the tooth.

The new notebooks would likely eliminate the optical drive and may have some kind of hybrid storage solution that combines a super-thin 2.5 HDD with an SSD or flash storage. This is an untenable feature proposition for the Air, which is subject to both space and price restrictions, but the Pro line would be more spacious and less cash-conscious.

Shipping in March would fall in line with existing Apple scheduling, putting the notebooks just about a year after the last significant MacBook Pro update. It’s impossible to say, however, how long Apple has been developing and testing the new notebooks, so to call the dates optimistic or otherwise would be fruitless.This first break of the supply line seal, however, might start a trickle of new information about the new gear.

By Devin Coldewey – TechCrunch on Nov 15, 2011

Kindle Fire Having WiFi Issues ?

Amazon’s Kindle Fire is arriving at many a home this week, and as expected with a launch of this magnitude, there are a few bugs yet to be squashed. Some users are reporting issues with wifi reception, and others say that the device shuts off its wireless when you turn the display off.

We’ve had some connection issues with our own unit, and many commenters on Amazon’s support forums are reporting spotty connectivity, disconnections, or an inability to connect in the first place. Some users report that the issue can be fixed by tweaking settings on the router: changing to static IPs instead of DHCP-assigned addresses worked for one, and a full restart of the router worked for another. A customer service rep has recommended the latter, while resetting the Fire as well, but this is a pretty standard remedy (turn it off and on again).

There’s currently no official word from Amazon on this matter, and it’s not clear how many devices are actually affected. It’s unfortunate that one of the Fire’s big features is that a PC is totally unnecessary, yet for many it seems the first thing they’ll have to do is side-load an update that fixes the wifi.

Another user reports that the wireless connection shuts off when you turn off the display. If you’re listening to internet radio or the like, this is obviously a big problem. I suppose it’s a comfort that there are plenty of users who have not had the chance to experience this problem, because their wifi doesn’t work in the first place.

I have no doubt Amazon will make this right, but it’s still a pain to have these troubles at launch.