Hasta La Gadget!

Google’s Chromecast is Mountain View’s next foray into the television market. In brief, it’s a $35 HDMI dongle that mirrors content being played nearby on a tablet, smartphone or computer. Hrm, that sounds familiar. The 2-inch device runs “a simplified version of Chrome OS” and requires separate USB power; connect it to your local WiFi network and similarly connected devices work with Chromecast. It can be ordered right now on Google Play and will apparently ship in one to two days. Of note, the device seems US-only for now, as our UK colleagues are showing a “not available in your country” prompt. Early buyers get three months of free Netflix with the purchase. Additionally, it’s also heading to retail (read: Best Buy) on July 28th. Google ended its presentation with a quick word that Chromecast functionality will eventually come embedded in various other devices, and that it’s working on getting other countries access “as quickly as possible.” No specs were given during the presentation, but its Google Play page lists the device as HDMI-CEC compatible, and it uses 2.4GHz 801.11 b/g/n WiFi. Given the separate USB power required, the $35 nets you a Chromecast device, an HDMI extended, a USB power cable and a separate power adapter.

Apps that work with the device include a “Cast” button that allows users to push video to their televisions and control various aspects remotely (volume, play, pause, etc.). “Once Chromecast is plugged in, you just go to YouTube on your smartphone,” Google reps said. “You’ll see the cast button in your UI and you press it — Chromecast will pull the info you requested from the cloud and play it on your TV.” Meanwhile, an on-stage demonstration showed YouTube video being pushed “via the cloud,” thus enabling other apps to be used while a video is being viewed on a television screen. Netflix was up next, and it has similar remote control functionality. Google Play movies and television (expectedly) also work with Chromecast, and Google delightedly demonstrated it with Vin Diesel vehicle Fast Five. Finally, Google demoed full Google Chrome projected on a TV and controlled remotely with a “standard $500 Windows 8 laptop.” The feature is “still in early days,” but a promise has already been made: that users will be able to easily project content to televisions via their web browser.

Update: We’ve added Chromecast’s first commercial (which demonstrates much of the device’s functionality) just after the break, and a source link with Google’s formal announcement.

Update 2: Aside from the Google Play store and Best Buy, you can also buy the Chromecast from Amazon. Thankfully, that three-month gratis Netflix would still be applicable if you buy it from the online giant.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Internet, Software, HD, Google

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Source: Google, Amazon

(Credit: Uniqul)

Near-field communication (NFC) is often hailed as the payment system of the future, but what if you didn’t even need a mobile device in your pocket? Sure, you could get a subcutaneous RFID chip implanted, but Finnish company Uniqul claims to be working on a payment system based solely on facial recognition.

The idea is that you scan your items or pump your gas, and an installed point-of-sale camera snaps your mug while you do so to access your cloud-based wallet. That means that all you have to do is hit a button confirming the purchase and be on your merry way, a process which, Uniqul claims, will cut the average transaction time down from 30 seconds to 5.

The system consists of a high-definition camera, a hub, and a tablet. It connects to existing POS software, sending your payment information in the same way a card terminal does. The company has also designed a Uniqul-specific POS with a second tablet.

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Tile, a connected objects startup that’s trying to fix the problem of finding lost property with a Bluetooth tags plus app combo, has raised a massive $2.6 million via its Selfstarter crowdfunding campaign. The funding considerably beefs up to the $200,000 Tile gained from being incubated out of Silicon Valley mobile accelerator Tandem Capital. It’s also a massive 130x bump on the $20,000 it was looking to raise on Selfstarter to fund initial production of its connected gizmo.

Tile’s twist is to combine Bluetooth tags which users attach to their valuable objects with the power of a community of app users. Its vision is ultimately for each individual Tile user to benefit from a distributed network effect as other users’ smartphones can be used to trace their lost items. Each Tile app is capable of picking up the location of any Tile, regardless of its owner, if the phone passes close enough to the lost Tile — which means that once a Tile is marked as lost, the whole network is alerted to be on the hunt for it. Should another Tile user then pass within range of the lost item their smartphone will (privately) record its location and send a background notification to the owner of that Tile.

Initially, of course, that network effect will be limited. But the success of Tile’s Selfstarter campaign is a positive sign for building out a large-enough community to start creating a truly useful connected network. Tile’s Selfstarter campaign, which we covered last month, ran for 34 days and gained close to 50,000 backers — all apparently seeking a reliable way to retrieve lost valuables. Tile’s units are due to begin shipping in Winter 2013/2014. In the meantime Tile is still taking orders for the matchbook-sized, $25-a-piece tags via its website.

Commenting on the conclusion of the funding campaign in a statement, Tile co-founder and COO Mike Farley said: ”The enormous, positive response we’ve received from everyone during the Selfstarter campaign has been very exciting and encouraging. The Tile community has grown significantly over the past month, and we’re very much looking forward to significantly increasing its reach in the years to come.”

Tile’s Selfstarter also marks a new funding record for Selfstarter, exceeding the record set by the prior most successful campaign on the platform, Lockitron, which raised $2.2 million from more than 14,500 backers.

Today at Google’s event, VP of Android Hugo Barra introduced the new Nexus 7, as well as Android’s newest version — Android 4.3. All of these devices will receive the over-the-air update today.

Android 4.3 features new restricted profiles for kids, OpenGL|ES 3.0 for game developers, a redesigned camera interface, Bluetooth Low Energy support and general performance improvements. Android 4.3 will still be called ‘Jelly Bean’. Darrell wrote a post detailing every new feature in Android 4.3.

Recently, Google started selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One with a pure Android OS. As Google can update those devices pretty easily, the company mentioned that the Galaxy S4 and HTC One will receive the 4.3 update “very soon” as well.

Google didn’t announce any release date of Android 4.3 for third-party device makers. OEMs may have to test their UI layers first (like Sense or TouchWiz) before rolling it out to their users.

Today Google unveiled a brand new Play Games app, that serves as a companion hub and portal for the Google Play Games Services, announced at I/O. The app serves as a front end for viewing leader boards and connecting with friends (from your Google+ circles, of course), simplifying the act of challenging them in head-to-head competitions. Play Games, in addition to serving as a place to track all of your achievements and other such gaming goodness, serves as a single repository for launching all your games. Think of it like Steam, but for your Android tablet or phone, and with a slightly less graphically-impressive library of titles. Asphalt 8 Airborne, Riptide GP2 and Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame are will be among the first to take advantage of the new Play Games App, with the latter hitting virtual shelves tomorrow.

Update: It’s now available on Google Play; hit the source link for your download.

Filed under: Google

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Source: Google Play