Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft is looking to bury its Kinect, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Bing and other technologies into your next dashboard, with a job listing outlining the ambitions of the next-gen Connected Car Platform. The advert sketches a telematics system that can pulls together ”speech, gestures, face tracking, augmented reality, vehicle networking, navigation, [and] entertainment” that turns simple cars into “intelligent assistants.”

“For the next generation of the Connected Car Platform, we plan to leverage the full power of the Microsoft ecosystem including Kinect, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Windows Live, Bing, Azure, and Tellme. The combination of rich local sensing, user identification, cloud access, and data mining will transform tomorrow’s cars from passive objects into intelligent assistants for both the driver and their passengers. The new Connected Car will know its riders, and will interact with them naturally via speech, gestures, and face tracking. It will learn their habits, and offer personalized contextual information and driving assists to get them to their destination as quickly and safely as possible. Through a growing catalogue of applications, it will inform and entertain them, and keep them connected with the people and information they care about. The possibilities are endless”

Most interesting is perhaps the degree of inter-device connectivity Microsoft envisages. Current in-car entertainment systems generally limit their interaction with phones and other devices to streaming music, making hands-free calls and occasionally tethering so as to share a 3G/4G data connection. However, Microsoft’s intentions call for “distributed, concurrent, and adaptive software running on a network of devices spanning cars, mobile devices, PCs, and the cloud.”

That could lead to cars that know your favorite routes, your preferred playlists, automatically adapt to changes in schedule, and that can be upgraded with downloadable apps in the same way that a Windows Phone might. Cloud synchronization could ensure your latest music downloads are automatically ready to be listened to on your next journey, or instantly load presets and preferences into a rental car.

Meanwhile the increasingly contentious matter of dashboard distraction – with too many buttons, dials, touchscreens and displays taking driver attention away from the road – could also be addressed using new motion gestures and simple speech commands.

Earlier this year, Microsoft’s Project Detroit demonstrated how a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback could be brought up to speed with 21st-century tech like remote starting from a smartphone, integrated WiFi and cloud analytics, Kinect sensors for all passengers and more. The conversion was intended to encourage developers to consider cars the next great frontier for apps.

Microsoft’s current Connected Car system powers telematics kit in vehicles from Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and McLaren, among others, and is the backbone of tech such as Ford SYNC, Fiat Blue&Me and Kia UVO (as in the Kia Soul we reviewed recently). Exactly when we can expect this next-generation of all-singing, all-dancing technology to show up in road-going vehicles remains to be seen.

[via istartedsomething]

Microsoft Connected Car plans include Kinect, WP8 and the cloud is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

MSI’s sliding/folding touchscreen ultrabook, the Slider S20 unveiled at Computex earlier this month, will carry a hefty $799-$899 price tag when it launches according to the latest rumors. The Windows 8 hybrid, fronted by an 11.6-inch touchscreen, will drop in October or November, according to DigiTimes‘ sources.

MSI is yet to confirm final specifications for the convertible, though it’s known to use processors from Intel’s 3rd Gen Core range which pits it against Microsoft Surface Pro rather than the ARM-based Surface. That also means a full version of Windows 8 rather than Windows RT.

Connectivity, meanwhile, includes Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0, along with wired ethernet and HDMI. Interestingly it seems MSI doesn’t think the S20 needs a trackpoint buried in the keyboard, instead seemingly relying solely on the touchscreen, though that could change by the time the laptop/tablet hits shelves.

There’s more on the MSI Slider S20 ultrabook in our hands-on from Computex.

MSI Slider S20 tipped for October $800+ release is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The international version of the Galaxy S III features an Exynos quad-core processor, but only HSPA+ connectivity. The handsets sold in the United States, meanwhile, has Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor and LTE connectivity. The only way to get your hands on a Galaxy S III with both quad-core and LTE options is by heading to South Korea. The 3G version of the phone launches there today, while an LTE version will be made available sometime next month.

The Verge has been told by a spokesperson from Samsung that the South Korean variant of the Galaxy S III includes both a quad-core Exynos processor and LTE modem. The solutions are separate from each other, unlike Qualcomm’s integrated option, which means the localized version does come with some added heft, swelling 0.4mm to bring the total thickness to 9mm.

Battery capacity is still 2,100mAh, although RAM has also seen a bump to 2GB, the same as the American versions. Impressive specs to be sure, but it marks the first smartphone with both quad-core and LTE capabilities. The Exynos processor found in the international version of the Galaxy S III boasts impressive performance and benchmarks, but the Snapdragon S4 is hardly a slouch. Whichever model you buy, you’re getting a great Android smartphone.

Korean Galaxy S III pairs LTE and quadcore Exynos in twin-chip compromise is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Classic Nokia game Snake II has been revived for Windows Phone, bringing dot matrix retro gameplay to your shiny new Lumia. The handiwork of developer Willem Middelkoop – who also recreated the original Snake of 1997 for Windows Phone – Snake 2K doesn’t just look like Snake II (which replaced the original, you might have guessed, in 2000) but is a faithful replica of it, down to the timing of the gameplay and the design of the labyrinths.

There are five original layouts to choose from, as well as two extra ones that Middelkoop has added in. As per the original, you can pick between nine difficulty levels (with three extras thrown in for good measure) and there are bonus creatures to catch, the sounds from the proper game, and the ability to run through the walls.

Just as with the original game, the high score can’t be reset, so be careful about loaning your Windows Phone to a good player if you want to keep your top spot. We can’t help but love the classic Nokia 3310 interface, too, which replaces the touchscreen with a numeric keypad.

Snake 2K is available to download from the Windows Phone Marketplace now, priced at $0.99/£0.79. You don’t need to have a Lumia to play it, either, though we think Nokia is missing a trick by not bundling the game with all of its new Windows Phones.

[via Nokia Conversations]

Snake 2K brings Nokia classic to Windows Phone is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sony and Panasonic have just signed a deal to form a partnership which will see them jointly developing large, low-cost, high-resolution OLED panels for TVs. More »