Hasta La Gadget!

OUYA, the Kickstarter-funded Android gaming console, has already shipped developer consoles, but had yet to specify an exact date when backers could expect their production devices. Today, the company announced that it will be shipping the first OUYA consoles out to backers beginning March 28, ahead of a June retail launch.

The gaming hardware startup shipped its first developer consoles starting December 28, in keeping with its anticipated deadlines from the project outset. A March 28 date for final hardware is also in keeping with OUYA’s original timeline, which called for a March 2013 launch window for OUYA consoles and controllers.

OUYA says to expect it to take “a few weeks” for shipments to be sent out to all backers, who will receive tracking numbers and estimated delivery dates once the consoles begin leaving for their destinations.

Alongside the shipping announcement, OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman also announced some new information around games coming to the platform. Porta’s Kim Swift and Airtight Games are working on an OUYA exclusive, and Minority Media will provide an adventure puzzle game this upcoming fall that makes full use of the OUYA’s touchpad and button controls, something Uhrman says is a first for the platform. Tripwire Interact’s The Ball is also coming to OUYA in March, and the firm is developing an OUYA exclusive for later release as well.

Finally, the OUYA update from the company includes the news that Kellee Santiago, co-founder of Journey studio thatgamecompany is joining the startup to head up developer relations. Clearly, OUYA wants to do everything it can to address criticism around its gaming library.

Good Eggs launched on Thursday a new web platform that lets users select items from various local vendors and farmers for a single, customized box of food, ready for delivery or pickup.

I’ll admit that this side of something I order from Amazon or a paycheck, I’m not big on getting mail in my mailbox anymore. It seems like I get reams of sales flyers and scams trying to get me to buy extended warranties for my car that I end up throwing in the trash. If you are the sort of person who doesn’t want to bother with printed mail, but needs access to the things that come in your mailbox, check out this new service called Outbox.

The service sends someone to pick up your mail three times a week. If you have something important you need to keep such as a package they will leave it on your doorstep (or in the mailbox presumably). The rest of the mail they take to their office, digitally scan, and then shred the originals.

Those scanned pieces of mail are then available to access online from the Internet via just about anything from your computer to your iPhone or tablet. This is an interesting idea because then all of the mail is digitally archived so you don’t have to have files to save your bills are other important documentation.

If your mailbox requires a key, all you have to do is take a photograph of that key in e-mail it to Outbox and they will have a copy made. I’m not sure how legal that last bit is considering that most PO Box keys I’ve seen say do not duplicate. The service costs $4.99(USD) per month, and is currently available only in Austin and San Francisco.

[via TechCrunch]

It looks like China Mobile is making good on its promise to carry out TD-LTE trials this year: the carrier is launching test programs in both Guangzhou and Shenzen, according to a report from the Chinese news site Guangming Online. As it happens, this isn’t technically the first time China Mobile has invited users to test its LTE network, but it is the first time people can access it via smartphones (as opposed to routers and MiFi devices).

Curiously, the trial will initially work only on the TD-LTE-capable Galaxy S III, which is strange because China Mobile just unveiled a handful of LTE handsets at MWC, and didn’t even mention the GSIII at its press conference. Once you’ve got that phone in hand, you’ll need to preload it with 4,699 yuan worth of credits and sign a two-year agreement, with 388 yuan to be deducted each month. Already signed up for 2G or 3G service with China Mobile? You can add 1,500 yuan to receive a 4G device, USIM card and 15 gigs of LTE data (free for the first three months).

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Guangming Online

MYO, the gesture control armband from Y Combinator-backed Waterloo startup Thalmic Labs, has managed to rack up over 10,000 pre-orders over the course of its first two days of pre-order availability. At $149 a pop, that means the young company has already managed to secure around $1.5 million in gross revenue, so long as they actually ship hardware.

The MYO, as Ryan pointed out on Monday, is a wearable control device for smartphones, PCs and other electronics that uses lower-power Bluetooth 4.0 to connect, which also has a boatload of sensors on board to help it detect electrical activity in arm and hand muscles to detect movements at the earliest possible stage. It’s the latest in a series of devices trying to make sci-fi type interfaces a reality, and could be among the most accurate yet.

Thalmic Labs co-founder and CEO Stephen Lake explained in an interview that while the team expected some kind of response to its launch, there was no way they could have anticipated quite this level of interest.

“I think we knew that there was going to be a lot of people interested in the technology, since it’s such a cool technology, and there are so many good potential applications for it,” he said. “We’re not completely surprised, but the amount of attention it’s got is more than anyone could’ve expected.”

Lake had some ideas about why people are so interested in traditional modes of interaction for computers. He said he believes people are looking around for something different, and that MYO is a case of the “right technology at the right time.”

“There’s a lot happening right now with the form factor and how we’re connected to technology,” he said. “A lot of the technology that’s coming out, and Google Glass is a perfect example in the realm of wearable technology, is really going to change not just how we input information into the computer, but just how we interact with technology, and make our devices an extension of ourselves instead of an outside thing you’re interacting with.”

The interest from consumers eager to try out the MYO has likewise attracted a lot of interest from distributors and retail partners, Lake said. His inbox has been flooded with “thousands” of emails from companies wanting to be a distribution partner for MYO all over the world. He wasn’t at liberty to share any details on early stage discussions at this point, but it seems reasonable to expect the MYO will get a splashy launch when it’s ready to come to market.

Developer interest has also grown by leaps and bounds thanks to the initial response from buyers and media, Lake said. Building out that community is key, just as it is for other innovative input and interaction hardware like the Leap Motion Controller, and Lake says Thalmic will have a dedicated developer website with support forums and more information up and running as soon as possible to help deal with the influx of attention.