Hasta La Gadget!

Another Internet of Things-related development today: Neul has cemented some high-profile industry support for Weightless, its would-be global, open, royalty-free standard for M2M comms which utilizes TV white space frequencies to allow machines to talk to each other — with the formation today of a special interest group (SIG) that aims to accelerate the adoption of Weightless. It has also put out a call for more industry players to join the SIG.

ARM, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, CSR and Neul have signed the Weightless ‘SIG Promoter Agreement,’ which details how they will back its mission to establish a new standard and encourage global adoption. The standard the SIG will define is said to be on track for completion in early 2013. As well as a common set of standards for powering M2M comms, other key components required to power the Internet of Things are a chipset costing under $2, a range of up to 10km and a battery life of 10 years, according to the SIG.

Professor William Webb, CEO of Weightless, noted in a statement: “This is a very important milestone for Weightless. The SIG now has a board comprising leading players spanning processors, networks, chipsets and innovative wireless technologies. Weightless has gained a solid legal framework enabling royalty-free licensing of terminal-related technology. Our plan is to rapidly grow membership from our current base of 50 high-technology companies and I would strongly encourage interested parties to join this world-changing initiative.”

Predictions for the number of connected devices that will be chattering away to each other in the not-too-distant future typically number in the tens of billions. Earlier this year the International Telecommunications Union forecast 25 billion connected devices would be online by 2020. Other forecasts put the number at 50 billion.

Unlike smartphones and other human-operated connected devices where penetration levels are tied (however loosely) to population levels, there are no practical limits on the number of objects that can be connected to the network — hence Weightless’ emphasis on providing a dedicated comms channel for M2M to avoid burdening cellular or other wireless networks used for human communications.

Researchers at the Tokyo University of Technology have developed a unique system in which they can align smartphones and tablets together in any configuration and turn them all into one single display. By simply pinching together screens from two devices, the two screens will start sharing each other and will act as one display, with the ability to add more devices to the mix.

What’s impressive about the Pinch system is that devices can be aligned in any configuration and can use any size screen with one another, such as using smartphones and tablets at the same time. The devices link together over WiFi, and by simply pinching together two screens from two separate devices, they’ll create one big display.

The video below does a great job at demonstrating how the system works, and while the specifics of what exactly makes the Pinch system work like it does hasn’t been disclosed. From the looks of it, each device can detect where it’s at amongst the collaborated display, and can also detect where other devices are as well. It’s almost like magic, but the pinching itself and where you pinch on the screens is what mostly makes it all happen.

Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Technology Takashi Ohta says that the Pinch interface can be used in a variety of instances, including getting together with friends and possibly using the system to make music and share photos, as well as possibly a little bit of gaming depending on how fast the system is. The research team is offering Pinch to interested developers and says that several are already interested in the idea.

[via DigInfo]

“Pinch” connects multiple devices to create one display is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon made its first push into in-house game development this summer with the launch of Amazon Game Studios and its first title, the Facebook-bound Living Classics, and its now made its second big move. The company announced today that its first mobile game, Air Patriots, is now available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices (and free on each, albeit with in-app purchases). Not surprisingly, Amazon has paid particular attention to the Kindle Fire version, taking advantage of GameCircle to track achievements and high scores, as well as Whispersync to let you save your progress on one device and pick up where you left off on another. As for the game itself, Amazon says it’s a “new kind of tower defense game,” with players drawing a path for the planes to fend off the oncoming tanks. Head on past the break for a quick video.

Update: As some commenters have pointed out, while the game supports a variety of Android devices, it looks like the Nexus 7 isn’t among them.

Continue reading Amazon Game Studios releases its first mobile game, Air Patriots, for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile

Amazon Game Studios releases its first mobile game, Air Patriots, for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While I have to admit that I’m on the fence on whether to get the iPad Mini, I’ve been told by a couple of friends that they’d appreciate a smaller iPad because it would be easier to carry around with them everywhere. That being said, if you’re planning on getting one, you’ll need a case to protect it from bumps and scratches in your bag, and Belkin just released a couple of good ones.

Their new line of iPad Mini sleeves and covers feature an array of fabrics, patterns, and features that will go along nicely with Apple’s new mini tablet. They will definitely protect your precious new gadget (and ensure that you’re ready to resell it when the iPad Mini with Retina display is surely launched next year.)

Prices for the casese range from $29.99 to $39.99(USD) and there are currently a total of five different styles and a variety of colors to choose from.

[via FarEastGizmos]

In an effort to increase its cloud-storage prowess in the mobile sector, AT&T has launched its Locker cloud-based sharing app on iOS. Having already been released for Android devices, AT&T is spreading the love of its cloud storage solution to the iOS crowd, and looks to take on the likes of Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Drive, and Google Drive.

AT&T Locker users get 5GB of storage for free, which is right on par with Amazon’s and Dropbox’s storage offerings. If you want to go beyond the free 5GB limit, you can upgrade your account to 30GB, which will cost you only $3.99 a month, or you can go for 100GB, which will cost $9.99 a month.

Very few cloud storage services offer plans below $5 per month, so it seems AT&T is looking to cater towards those who want more than the free 5GB limit, but less than what $10 per month will get you. As it stands, the cheapest plan from Dropbox starts at $10 per month, so AT&T’s $3.99 plan might be enticing to some budget users.

In the Locker app, users can enable the “Easy Upload” feature to automatically back up their files, which competes against Dropbox and Google+ who both have a similar feature. AT&T Locker for iOS is a free download and is available now in the iTunes App Store. The app supports the iPhone 3GS and higher.

AT&T Locker cloud-based sharing app now available for iOS is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.