Hasta La Gadget!

Following up on its gloriously detailed Evolution of Video Game Controllers print, Pop Chart Lab is back with a new visual treat for photographers, particularly those who’ve been shooting since the days of film. More »

Apple has just released its Q2 2013 earnings report, announcing sales of 37.4 million iPhones in the quarter ending March. Apple also reported 19.5 million iPad units sold, which shows incredibly strong growth for Apple’s tablet business.

This is a slight decrease from last quarter, which included a holiday sales spike and being the first full quarter in which the iPhone 5 was available.

In terms of iPhones, this quarter’s 37.4 million represents 7 percent YOY growth; however it’s down 22 percent from last quarter. Where iPads are concerned, we’re seeing an 18 percent decline from last quarter, yet the segment remains strong. It’s grown 65 percent from last year’s 11.8 million from the same quarter.

Moreover, this is the iPad’s second-best quarter ever, losing out only to last quarter. It’s also the best non-holiday quarter the iPad has ever seen.

The iPhone numbers here aren’t all that surprising. Tim Cook has said before (and Steve Jobs before him) that expectations for the next-gen iPhone always tend to slow sales of the current model ahead of launch. Since we expect to see the next iPhone in June, it would make sense for sales to slow a bit.

Last quarter, Apple sold a whopping 47.8 million iPhones and 22.9 million iPads, both of which broke previous records. In other words, this latest report shows continued growth for the iDevice segment.

Apple doesn’t break out specific device numbers, so it’s hard to tell which models perform best. However, it seems that the introduction of the iPad mini has most certainly boosted sales for Apple’s tablet division, as many have been holding out for a smaller tablet from Apple since the iPad first launched.

Google has been said to have acquired Wavii, a natural language processing startup. Wavii is a service that is said to operate the same way as Summly, the news app that was recently swiped up by Yahoo. Both services search for news stories from all around the web, and then create short summaries of the main points of these stories. While Summly gathers separate news articles, Wavii collects entire stories, and provides links to several different sources reporting on the story.

The acquisition was tipped to TechCrunch, who say that its source is legitimate. Google was not the only company fighting to acquire Wavii. Apple was said to have tossed its hat into the ring as well, but eventually, Google was the one who triumphed in the end. Apple wanted to integrate Wavii’s services into Siri, while Google wanted Wavii to join its Knowledge Graph division, where its services would be used to enhance its search engine results.

Google is said to have acquired Wavii for at least $30 million, which is around the same price Yahoo spent on Summly. Wavii was already catching the eyes of several companies, even before it launched. Business Insider stated that the service was already receiving offers from several major companies, including Google and Microsoft. Unfortunately at the time, Wavii decided to turn their offers down.

Wavii was founded by Adrian Aoun, a former employee at Microsoft. The service uses its own natural language summarization technology, making it different compared to Summly and making it highly sought after. Wavii’s entire 25-man team will be joining Google’s division, where they will be working with Google’s team to enhance the company’s search engine. We can anticipate some more in-depth Google search results in the near future.

[via TechCrunch]

Google tipped to attain Wavii natural language startup is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve got a 3D printer and a little bit of imagination, you can make pretty much anything. While these machines are still too expensive to be completely ubiquitous, early adopters are making some really amazing things. We got a look at a few of these objects at the 3D Printing Expo in New York this week. Here are the most unbelievable items we saw. More »

In an effort to wean more people onto the Windows platform, Microsoft has partnered up with popular audiobook service Audible to offer Windows users a free audiobook. The offer only applies to users running either Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8, and it seems you’ll only have your pick from three pre-selected audiobooks being offered.

The three choices that you have to pick from are “The Power Trip,” Navy Seal autobiography “American Sniper,” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” which is narrated by actor Jake Gyllenhaal and will also be hitting theaters here shortly. All three of these books seem to be really popular, especially “The Great Gatsby,” so be sure to take advantage of the offer while you have it.

Howevever, there is some fine print to be aware of. Only new Audible registrants will be able to get a free audiobook, and you’ll have to register for a new account through the Windows 8 or Windows Phone app on your computer or smartphone. It’s also only available in the US and you have until May 13 to snatch up your free copy.

While this may be an enticing offer for some users, especially the book lovers out there, we’re not so sure that this promotion alone will be enough to get people to try out Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8. It’s certainly a good deal for those who already are on one of these platforms, but we can’t see others really going for it. Either way, if you’re yearning for a free audiobook, now’s your chance.

Audible offering Windows users free audiobook is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.