Hasta La Gadget!

Netflix isn’t sinking, but it’s certainly not the soaring brand it once was and has endured its fair share of struggles over the last several years. But, if you think Reed Hastings is shaking in his boots over encroaching competition you’d be wrong. The CEO says that Amazon will pose a legitimate threat to its streaming video dominance, but that day is still a long way off. He claims that the Kindle purveyor is losing between $500 million and $1 billion a year as it builds its empire and secures licensing rights. Of course, Hasting’s comments during an interview with Dow Jones are largely speculative; based on the value of deals in which the two have competed directly. Then again, there seemed to be some implicit admission of the costs and struggles associated with competing in the subscription video sphere during its Q3 earnings report. The company lowered its forecast for the next quarter, saying it could lose as much as $490 million.

Filed under: Amazon

Netflix CEO claims Amazon losing up to $1 billion a year in streaming video war originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Publishers know that content is king and that at the end of the day, it’s all about the number of page-views a particular piece has. We recently came across a new tool for publishers that has a nice, almost Ubergizmo-like design, and a good platform to back it up as well. Scribol, as it is called, promises to increase a publisher’s audience with targeted readers, and they do all of these for free. Jan Van Voorst, the Head of Business Development at Scribol, says that they are currently sending over 40 million users to partners each month.

So, how does it work? Basically, when a user clicks on a module, they are then taken to a hub that has more great recommendations. Scribol claims that one click on its module will equate to roughly three visits on other websites. “The same thing is happening on the other side – so we’re able to send multiple visits into your site for every click you send out,” the company explains. If you’re interested, you can check out Scribol here.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Music scan and match feature rumored to be already working in Europe, Facebook now testing share button on its mobile site,

Guanine, adenine, thymine, cytosine… Android? The Droid DNA — the latest addition to Verizon’s Droid series — may not contain any actual nucleotides (that we know of), but that doesn’t make this HTC-made superphone any less of a powerhouse. On the contrary, we’ve been eyeballing this handset with eager anticipation ever since it first launched in Japan as the J Butterfly; much like its counterpart from the Land of the Rising Sun, the DNA boasts a jaw-dropping 5-inch, 1080p display. But while that may be the headliner-worthy feature, you certainly can’t go wrong with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM taking charge behind the scenes, along with an ImageSense camera and other top-notch specs.

In certain respects, the Droid DNA is a sneak preview of what’s to come in 2013: a wave of high-performance “superphones” that take advantage of this improved resolution, and offer a long list of other top-notch features. Indeed, that’s a future we could all definitely live with, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves; we’ve got a phone to review, after all. Is the display as tantalizing as it sounds? Will its size be a selling point or a major distraction? Should you waltz into a Verizon store on Black Friday and demand they take your hard-earned $200? Follow us after the break as we focus on the here and now.

Continue reading HTC Droid DNA review

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Verizon

HTC Droid DNA review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Short Version

The Little Printer is an internet-connected mini printer that wants to insert a little bit of paper (back) into your digital life. You can send it messages to print on its receipt-sized thermal paper rolls and subscribe to ‘publications’ such as Facebook buddies’ birthdays, daily news digests, puzzles and science facts. It would make a fun if indulgent gift for young kids — but be prepared to play tech support during set up, not to mention fund fresh rolls of paper to ensure a pipeline of fun stuff keeps rolling out.

Long Version

Features:

• Inkless printing on mini thermal paper rolls
• Controlled remotely via your smartphone
• Free ‘publications’ — from news digests to puzzles
• Share printer access with friends so they can send messages
• Cute and customisable design — variety of ‘faces’ to choose from

Info:

• MSRP: $259 (plus $20 shipping); or £199 (plus £6.50-£15 shipping)
• Available: Late November (accepting pre-orders for first production run now)
• Retailers: BERG

The Little Printer is…

… a curiosity, but that’s exactly what it’s trying to be. Its creator, London-based design consultancy BERG, is on a mission to re-imagine the printer for a digital age that’s fallen out of love with paper. Banish all thoughts of beige and faceless utilitarian office machines churning out dull-as-dishwater company reports; the Little Printer is a cute-as-a-button gizmo that draws the eye to its friendly face and radiates a sense of fun. And fun is its ink-free point. The Little Printer does not offer reams of utilitarian value since you can’t fit a whole lot on a roll of paper that’s ~5.5cm wide. What you can cram in is fun kids’ stuff like puzzles, pictures, facts and even a mini origami series.

The cloud printer connects to your router, via a bridge, and is controlled via a smartphone (plus a single button on top that you push to trigger each print-out). Once you’ve registered and logged in to BERG’s cloud platform you can send it messages for printing. You can also share the printer so other people can send you paper missives. On top of that, there are a range of what BERG calls publications you can subscribe to (for free) and schedule for regular deliveries — such as news digests, puzzles, science facts, Facebook birthdays, calendar info, word of the day or even print out your friends’ recent Foursquare checkins. (For more on the content currently on offer see the ‘Publications’ section of this page.) BERG is hoping to keep increasing the choice of publications — so buying the Little Printer is a bit of a leap of faith, since you’re spending on something that might blossom into a rich and vibrant ecosystem. Or pull up short after a brief run — a la the Nabaztag Wi-Fi rabbit.

Buy the Little Printer for…

… your (young) kids. Or for the family. It would be tough to justify buying it for just one person because, firstly it’s pretty expensive but also it’s the sort of thing that comes into its own with multiple people using it. So while the kids can print puzzles and fun facts, the adults can use it to print shopping lists or send messages to the kids when they’re away from home on work trips.

Artists and design fans may also appreciate what the Little Printer is trying to do.

Because…

… you don’t have enough paper in your digital life. And/or your kids don’t actually know what paper is.

Caveat: while it’s nice to see a company going against the grain, it’s not entirely clear whether the Little Printer will be able to sustain an ecosystem of beautiful and useful micro publications forever — or at least for long enough to justify the printer’s initial price-tag. Nor does it currently always succeed in delivering print-outs that are both pleasing to the eye and genuinely worth the paper they are printed on — but, all that said, it’s early days for the Little Printer so there’s plenty of potential for the content side to blossom. In the meantime you can be sure you’re giving a unique gift that makes a very cute addition to your home.

Companies have already started to roll out 1080p smartphone displays, and HTC‘s recent DROID DNA announcement marks the first time a smartphone with a 1080p display will hit American soil. However, Samsung won’t be far behind if recent reports are accurate. It’s rumored that Samsung will show off a 1080p smartphone display of their own at CES 2013.

Korean newspaper Aisae reports that Samsung has developed a 4.99-inch 1080p display that is said to be used in the company’s rumored Galaxy S IV handset. The display is expected to enter the production stage sometime in Q1 2013, and will be on showcase at CES 2013. The display is said to have a pixel density of 441ppi, which just beats HTC’s DRIOD DNA by one pixel.

If the production details are true, we could see the Galaxy S IV arrive sometime in Q2 2013 possibly. We heard about the device back in September, and it’s aimed to be the Galaxy S III‘s successor. We were tipped with a March 2013 release date, which is right on track with the 1080p screen production estimates.

The new 1080p AMOLED display from Samsung is claimed to be very thin with low power consumption, and will feature high contrast and a high refresh rate. Whether or not the screen will display that kind of performance is still up in the air. We’ll certainly have to save any judgement for when we eventually see it at CES come January.

[via Sammy Hub]

Samsung rumored to show 5″ 1080p display at CES is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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