Hasta La Gadget!

Google has approached media networks in recent times about licensing their content for an Internet TV streaming service, according to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. This comes a day after different sources spoke of Apple’s television-dabbling ambitions, with the company reportedly approaching media companies about an advertisement-skipping service.

Reportedly, the service Google has in mind would work by streaming traditional television to subscribers via a broadband connection, something it certainly isn’t the first to pursue. Competitors would range from regional offerings to big-name companies, such as Sony, Intel and Apple. Though Google hasn’t commented on the rumor, it reportedly has gone so far as to demonstrate the service in action.

Sources said that there is at least one instance of Google demonstrating the Internet-streamed TV product to a company that it approached about licensing content. There’s no word on how the companies have responded, if any of them have entered into negotiations, and what kind of terms Google is looking for. This isn’t, however, the first time Google has tried this.

According to the sources, Google also approached companies with a similar proposal a couple years ago, with nothing much coming of them. Things have changed in the last couple years, however, and with some of the changes that have taken place, media companies may be more receptive to working with Google – and others like it – with their respective goals.

Many consumers have already ditched traditional cable in favor of online options, among them being things like Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and even networks’ own various websites. Set-top boxes make this process easier, aggregating content into a single interface where it can be easily streamed to a television. Google’s plans are different, however, with its Internet service streaming television in the form of channels much like traditional cable and satellite.

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

Google reportedly seeking licensing for Internet-streamed television service is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple is reportedly in negotiations with PrimeSense, the motion-tracking specialist responsible for the original Xbox Kinect, supposedly aiming to acquire the company in a deal tipped to be worth around $280m. Apple is said to have dispatched a team of senior engineers to Israel-based PrimeSense early this month, Calcalist reports, though talks are said to be in early stages. The Cupertino company could use the 3D movement tracking technology to allow more flexible methods of interacting with future iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

PrimeSense is best known for its involvement in Microsoft’s Xbox 360, specifically the Kinect sensor that was released roughly halfway through the console’s life cycle. Adding the ability to track individual limb movements of two players simultaneously, Kinect opened the door to new gaming styles as well as gamepad-free navigation of Xbox Live menus, among other things.

However, Microsoft opted to develop its own motion-tracking system for Kinect 2.0, as will be supplied as standard with the Xbox One when the next-gen console goes on sale later this year.

Now, PrimeSense is working on new motion-tracking architecture, and specifically a new sensor called Capri. Where the original system, found in the first Kinect, was reasonably large, Capri slims things down considerably: in fact, PrimeSense intends it to find its way into smartphones and tablets, as well as laptops and more.

That could well be where Apple’s interest comes in, with Capri being an obvious match for the iPhone and iPad. The Cupertino firm is known to have an interest in alternative interface options to the now-traditional keyboard, mouse, and touchscreen, while it has also stubbornly refused to fit touchscreens to MacBook displays, arguing that the ergonomics of reaching out and touching your notebook’s screen aren’t optimal.

The chatter of potential acquisition may well come to nothing, though $280m – as the deal is tipped to be worth – would be pocket change for Apple.

Update: PrimeSense has denied the acquisition chatter, with an unnamed source at the company telling TechCrunch that it’s “journalist delusion based on unverified and twisted hints.” The source also takes issue with the $280m price suggested, arguing tongue-in-cheek that “we’re worth 10 times that.”

VIA Engadget

Apple eyeing Kinect-creator PrimeSense in rumored $280m grab [Updated] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So far, we’ve only had furtive glances of the rumored BlackBerry A10 through basic specs and a short video. However, CrackBerry forum member nereuszeer may have given us much more insight by posting what appears to be a presentation slide with most of the A10’s details. If accurate, they suggest that the 5-inch, 720p OLED screen wouldn’t be the only standout feature — there’s also a much larger 2,800mAh battery and a slightly faster 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro. The phone wouldn’t otherwise represent a big break from the Z10, although the leak hints at both a preloaded instance of BlackBerry 10.2 and a thicker Verizon variant. When the slide reportedly dates back to May, there’s a chance the hardware could change before release. Still, don’t be surprised if this ultimately represents BlackBerry’s fall flagship.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, Blackberry

Comments

Source: CrackBerry (1), (2)

Tim Stevens, forever known as a bearded legend and a dignified gentleman in the realm of Engadget, once placed a small sum of money into a charity bet with Gene Munster. At question, as you’ll likely surmise, was whether or not Apple would reinvent television before the end of the year. The outfit’s CEO has since upgraded the Apple TV from a hobby to an “area of intense interest,” and it seems that discussions are indeed in the works. Jessica Lessin, formerly of Wall Street Journal fame, has been known to break an Apple story or two, and she’s recently published a report that puts Apple and cable companies at the table to discuss the premise of ad skipping.

Simply put, Apple wants to offer consumers the ability to watch live and on-demand programming “over an Apple set-top box or TV” at a premium, with ads being skipped over and ISPs receiving a slice of the money. That money, of course, would seemingly have to trickle down to the companies who are getting (potentially) shafted when it comes to air time, but details surrounding that notion seem to be unclear. Of course, one could say that folks are already addicted to skipping ads, and if Apple’s crafting an idea to make anything from a phenomenon that’s already happening… well, you could certainly imagine one or two executives having a listen.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Apple

Comments

Source: Jessica Lessin

We wouldn’t be too surprised if Apple launched a new iPhone later in the fall, but the start of production for the new device could let us in on when we might expect the iPhone 5S to officially arrive. It’s said that production of the next-generation iPhone will begin sometime this month, with a launch date sometime in September or October.

According to Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek, Apple will begin production of the iPhone 5S towards the end of this month with a release in the fall. This goes right alongside reports that recently stated that Foxconn was on a hiring spree due to ramped up production, meaning that a new iPhone was about to begin its journey through the factory floor.

Furthermore, Misek expects shipments in the fall quarter to reach between 25 million and 30 million iPhones, and then the holiday time period will see between 50 million and 55 million units shipped for the Cupertino-based company. These numbers aren’t too far-fetched, but Misek isn’t making any original ground-breaking predictions either.

Of course, we would take these predictions from Misek with a grain of salt. This is the same analyst who predicted that iPhone 5S production would begin in March with a June or July release window. He’s also the one that predicted very generous stock prices for the company back in May.

The iPhone 5S is tipped to come with a faster processor, a better camera, and maybe even a fingerprint scanner. The overall design of the phone may stay the same, with only internal design changes being made for the 5S model. This is what the company has done for the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 3GS, and we wouldn’t expect that to change soon.

VIA: Business Insider

iPhone 5S production this month for fall release, says analyst is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.