Hasta La Gadget!

Robot toys aren’t what you’d normally expect from Microsoft’s developer-focused Build conference, but that’s just what the company served up today. In a chat about developer tools, Microsoft’s VP of Web Services Antoine Leblond demoed a version of Lego Education’s unreleased Mindstorms EV3 platform using — what else? — a brick-built robot and a Surface tablet. Citing the Win RT APIs that let users interact with device-specific protocols (i.e., USB, Bluetooth, etc.) Leblond was able to stream live video of his face, using a separate Windows tablet, to the tank-like franken-toy. All whimsy aside, this MS / Lego collaboration’s less about giving kids a neat, remote spying tool and more about making programming fun and approachable. You know, STEM stuff. And we’re all for it.

Filed under: Robots, Software, Microsoft

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For a robot gettinga round without tripping over everything in the way can be hard. The folks over at Segway Inc are looking to help robots get around more easily. The new platform they are developing, dubbed the  5D
Behavior Engine, is designed to help in path planning on the go. 

Microsoft wants developers to make Bing a central part of their apps, and it’s powering that with a new developer platform unveiled today at Build. The Bing kit will let programmers tap the search engine’s wealth of knowledge, providing direct information and translations when they’re relevant. It should also grant access to natural interfaces, such as gestures, as well as real-world map data. Microsoft showed the platform at work in both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8, so it’s clear that developers who want Bing’s resources won’t be locked into any one device type.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft

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Despite plenty of rumors that attested to the contrary, Google didn’t show off any new Nexus phones at its I/O developer conference. Instead it trotted out a version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that ran a largely untouched version of Android 4.2, and Google SVP Sundar Pichai followed up with an announcement about a similarly unfettered HTC One. The announcements left Android fans (myself included) slobbering in anticipation.

Well, the wait is over — the so-called Google Play Edition S4 and One are available in the Google Play Store for $649 and $599, respectively, and Google says they’ll start shipping by July 9. A bit expensive, sure, but you’re not locked into a long-term contract with a carrier (throw in a GSM SIM and you’re golden) so arguably the good outweighs the bad here.

By now, there’s been plenty of ink (digital and otherwise) spilled on the two devices — consider our lengthy GS4 and One reviews — but it’s worth noting that these devices aren’t running a strictly stock version of Android (hence the non-Nexus monikers). Sure, the overwrought skins and UI elements endemic to Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense are nowhere to be found, but certain tidbits from the original software had to be migrated over in order to keep some of their more compelling features intact. That means that, among other things, the Google Play Edition One retains its Beats Audio profile to keep its twin front-facing BoomSound speakers pumping out the audio, while the GS4 still plays nice with Samsung’s curious notification-revealing flip covers.

We’re still waiting to get our hands on some demo units to really put these things through their paces, but it’s heartening to see Google and its OEM partners take our pleas for (mostly) stock Android on premium hardware seriously. Of course, the fact that nearly all of the software differentiators between the two have been given the axe means that the quality of hardware may weigh more heavily in people’s purchasing decisions — maybe HTC’s One will finally find the success the company needs it to.

Kirobo the talking robot will be sent to space by the Japanese.

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