Hasta La Gadget!

This holiday season, only one of the two major next-gen consoles will feature an out-of-the-box game-streaming solution: Sony’s PlayStation 4. And that streaming feature taps into some powerful trends that should act as an ambassador for the hardware and Sony’s online network.

If you’re not familiar with the feature, it’s very simple. The PlayStation 4 controller has a streaming button that you tap at any point while playing a game. From this screen you can upload a clip of your last 15 minutes of play (the console buffers a chunk at all times just in case you do something cool you want to share). But you can also choose to live stream your gameplay, with or without a feed from the PlayStation camera or mic that carries your image or voice. You can also choose to allow comments to be displayed on the screen during your stream.

This is all powered by Twitch, the gaming video network born of Justin.tv. You can also use Ustream to send live video, but the majority of gamers I’ve seen are using Twitch. I’m not sure it matters which you use, as the audience is likely coming mostly from your shared links, not the networks themselves. Though this could change if either/or builds special browsing tools that surface new streams faster.

While Microsoft has plans to implement game streaming, also via Twitch, those plans hit a snag and the only option available at launch is to save a video and upload it for later watching. You can’t do the same kind of real-time streaming on Xbox One as you can on PS4, at least not yet. Microsoft says that this functionality should arrive early next year.

I’ve been testing out the live streaming on the PS4 and it’s a pretty awesome experience. The streaming is incredibly easy to get going. You can sign up for a Twitch account right in the flow and get going. You can share the stream to Facebook or Twitter so that people can hop in and watch, and a channel gets made on Twitch as well. People can comment on your gameplay as you run through Knack or Call of Duty or what have you.

There’s something invigorating about having people watch your play in the game live.

This partially taps into the ‘let’s play’ movement that’s been gaining steam on video sites like Twitch and YouTube in a big way. Millions of people watch pre-recorded videos of other people playing games. It’s a crazy phenomenon that seems counter-intuitive. Why wouldn’t you just play the games yourself?

The answer, I think, lies in the realm of spectator sports. Yes, we can all play basketball or football in one form or another, but there is a pleasure in watching people play that are really good at what they do. And there’s a sort of thrill that comes in seeing people fail as well.

In addition to the charge you get out of having an audience, there’s also the collaborative aspects. People watching my streams give comments, advice, encouragement and, yes, insults. I’m able to respond with the mic without having to type anything. It’s a super fun mechanic and really well executed on PS4.

Both ‘let’s play’ and the PS4′s live-streaming feature tap into something primal; games as performance art, to a degree.

I used to play games competitively in ladders, climbing rung after rung with every match, until I was close to the top of one of the biggest amateur leagues. Those matches often hosted spectators, who watched and chatted as they went on. This was long before the days of Major League Gaming or the Pro Gaming League or any of those huge formal events. It was cool then, but now the audiences are massive, with finals held in huge arenas. Live streaming allows anyone to get a small taste of that kind of performance.

Live game streaming is set to be the next big social layer for platforms big and small. Yes, it’s on the major consoles now, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see most portable devices, including those running iOS and Android, get some support for this kind of thing. Playing a game is fun, sure, but playing in front of an audience gives it another kind of punch, something I haven’t felt for a lot of years.

Sony and Microsoft have tried for years to get people to share achievements and trophies on social networks, or even to passively send status updates like ‘watching Netflix’ or what have you. But this is another level entirely.

Sony has a nice early start on the streaming layer for the holidays, and I think it’s going to be a big win for them. Microsoft’s Xbox One has a host of media-related features that outstrip Sony’s offering, and I’m enjoying both consoles. But when I play the Xbox One, I’m immediately missing the ability to just ‘pull’ people into my session to see what they have to say. Not having streaming ready to go on launch day has to irk them.

Now, Sony has roughly two months to capture the interests of gamers with its streams and the network effects of the social followers of those streamers. People are going to be seeing tons of these Twitch.tv links on Twitter and Facebook over their winter breaks of whatever sort, and they’re going to be intrigued. Clicking on them and seeing a human playing a fighter or shooter in real time is a compelling sales tool.

Beyond that, once both consoles have the capability, It will be interesting to see how fast and how far it spreads when it comes to other platforms. Twitch recently announced it had 45 million monthly viewers, and raised $20 million in a series C. That’s growth of roughly 10M viewers in 3 months and all of that was before the PS4 and eventually the Xbox One.

Game streaming is just getting on its feet, but the possibilities are strong.

Google has reportedly sent out more invitations for developers to purchase Google Glass, according to Engadget.

The invites were only sent to developers who have previously inquired about how to purchase a Google Glass on Google’s website, as you can see in the image below.

As far as we can tell, there’s no open website or public availability to purchase Glass at this time.

It’s also not clear how many Glassware developers will be given access to the device itself, but we’ve reached out to Google and will update as soon as we know.

The new round of invites makes sense given the timing.

Just this week, Google opened up the Glass Mirror API and a preview of the GDK (Glass Development Kit), giving all developers the ability to build for Glass.

After a turn as a provider of software for the Philips Hue ecosystem, startup Goldee is getting into the messy hardware game. The company’s first product is a smart light switch designed to be used with Hue, as well as with other connected bulb systems including LIFX and iLumi. It also works with regular bulbs, but in tandem with smart bulbs, it adds a number of smart features and so-called light scenes, which cherry pick colors from photographs to compose different lighting effects.

The Goldee Light Controller is up for pre-order via an independent crowdfunding campaign starting today, and it starts at $249 for the controller alone, with general retail price expected to be $349. Goldee is also offering up kits that include LIFX smart LEDs so you can have a complete set for a smartly lit home right out of the box.

Features that Goldee’s Light Controller offer include turning on lights automatically when outside light gets low, turning off lights when you leave and turning them back on again, and turning your light off when you get into bed, and turning it back on should you need to get up in the night again. It also follows in the footsteps of things like Nest in terms of delivering an extremely attractive piece of industrial design to grace your walls.

The Goldee device works using various sensors in tandem, and then sending that data to the startup for processing. All that info is used to predict when and how you need lighting.

“Goldee contains various sensors (proximity, ambient, sound volume, motion) that continuously gather information about the environment in your room,” says Goldee CEO Tomas Baran. “All of the information is processed in Goldee’s processor and in our cloud server, where the heavy computing power is used. Using special algorithms, Goldee then converts all that information into smart functions that respond to your lighting needs.”

You can also control Goldee via gestures thanks to the inclusion of gesture recognition tech from Microchip Technology, Inc. This solves one of the biggest problems of Hue and other connected systems: the fact that you have to use your smartphone, computer or tablet to turn lights on or off if you want the system to work correctly.

Each Goldee system serves an entire room, regardless of how many wall switches there are in that room. For maximum fun, you can get a Home Pack which contains four controllers (covering four rooms), as well as 12 LIFX bulbs for $2,099. That’s pretty pricy, but it’s remarkable compared to what it would’ve cost to install a whole home remote-controlled lighting system a few years ago. Baran says the one controller per room policy is in part to enhance the usefulness of the system.

“Having one Light Controller for several rooms would, to some extent, beat our purpose of creating a lighting system that brings more comfort to people’s lives,” he said. “Since it would not be very convenient having to run to the hallway when you want to set a light scene in your living room, for example.”

As for the partnership with LIFX, which is itself a crowdfunded hardware startup that has just begun shipping its product, Baran says that their interests simply aligned, as Goldee admired the device they’d built. “LIFX also liked what we have created, so there was a mutual interest for a collaboration,” he says.

Goldee hopes to ship its Smart Light Controller by summer 2014, and is seeking $100,000 over the next 25 days to make it happen. They’re also open to more traditional investment, though they’re looking more for strategic partners on that front than just financial support, Baran says. If the Goldee works and looks as good as it seems to, then this small startup could stake out an impressive early claim in the connected home space. Still, there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and next summer, so we’ll be watching to see how they rise to the challenge.

In early October, we brought you our thoughts on the seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX, of which John is a huge fan.

Today we bring you the seven-incher’s big brother, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9.

In terms of Amazon’s evolution as a hardware (and specifically tablet) company, the Fire HDX 8.9 is a markedly improved device from previous generations. It’s thinner, lighter at just 13 ounces, and more powerful with a 2.2 GHz quad-core processor and improved software.

But how does it match up to the competition this holiday season?

John seems to think that this next-gen Kindle Fire has finally achieved “productivity status,” moving from a reader on steroids to a full-fledged computing device. I’m not as convinced, but I also haven’t been able to spend quite as much time with these Fire HDX tablets as him.

Would either of us save $100 and choose the HDX 8.9 over an iPad Air? Probably not, based almost entirely on the iPad’s ecosystem and App Store.

However, both of us feel that the smaller size tablets are a better idea for the average consumer.

Unless you require a larger screen for reading, or use the tablet almost exclusively to watch movies and TV, a smaller device like the seven-inch HDX or the iPad mini with Retina are more portable and comfortable options.

Toronto-based startup Bionym has launched an SDK for its forthcoming identity-authenticating wristband, Nymi. It said today that more than 6,000 developers have registered their interest in building software that hooks into the heartwave-sensing bangle. Thus far, it’s managed to pre-sell more than 7,000 of the $79 wristbands, which are due to ship in Spring 2014.

The Nymi wristband authenticates the wearer’s identity by matching the overall shape of their heartwave (captured via an electrocardiogram sensor). It sustains authentication, so long as the wristband remains in position, reducing the need for repeated authentications during the day.

When Bionym launched pre-orders for Nymi back in September, it was just days before Apple confirmed its new flagship iPhone, the 5s, would have a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button. Apple adopting biometrics suggests the tech is finally set to heat up in the consumer electronics space, offering a more convenient alternative to passcodes/passwords – even if neither can promise bulletproof security.

Apple’s entry may seem like bad timing for Nymi but the startup is hoping to convince people to wear its wristband to authenticate their identity across a range of devices and environments, and change how they experience them. So being shut-out of Apple’s walled garden is no great loss, it says.

“Apple has shown in the past they will open up an API if there’s a compelling case because they’re just going too much against the tide but we’re not depending on them to go that route,” says Bionym CEO and co-founder Karl Martin.

“Device unlocking is really the very simple demonstration of the capability we provide and certainly we can do that on pretty much any platform but iOS. Our thinking is much, much broader than that… Our interest is much more about how can we change your interaction either with your personal technology, in the home environment, or at events, or in recreation environments, things like that.”

What kind of apps are its developers working on building for Nymi? “The obvious ones that people are working on is simply unlocking various things, from doors to their personal devices. But the ones that are most interesting to us are the people that are thinking outside the box in terms of different environments and different appliances – that, how could they behave differently if they knew who you are?” says Martin.

“So there are the kind of silly ones that your coffee machine knows your settings vs your partner’s and is going to produce your coffee the way you want it.”

“It’s not just software,” he adds. “There’s a lot of people interested in making Arduino or other kinds of hardware modules that can talk to the Nymi. So imagine an Arduino module that wants to be one of those people that overshares and tweets whenever you’re in the room saying you came home and you’re here… It’s those kind of things that interest us, because we don’t just view ourselves as just about security.”

Bionym is also working on partnerships to expand the applications for the wristband – describing example scenarios such as visiting a themepark and getting “integrated benefits that will alter your experience”, because you’re wearing Nymi. Or using it for personalised retail experiences (which sounds like it’s competing with iBeacon).

Another example could be going into a restaurant or a bar and the Nymi passing info on your dietary restrictions or favourite drink. Other potential use-cases could be for premium hotels or airlines for frequent flyers. “Your identity matters and the world should confirm or your experience should improve because of who you are and your preferences,” adds president Andrew D’Souza.

“Those are the types of the experiences that we’re hoping to go and create. It’s not going to be on a mass scale but we hope over the course of the next year we’re going to see some really interesting use-cases in specific places that will start to get people’s imagination’s going over what the future of the world can look like.”

Martin said the startup is hopeful Nymi will launch with “about 10 killer apps”.