David | Author at Gadget Gestures

Tips And Tricks: 3 Easy Ways How To Print Pictures From Phone

January 2, 2019 By David Leave a Comment

The smartphone. It’s one device we all can’t do without in today’s world. Not only because it keeps us connected to our loved ones, business or work, and the whole world at large, but because it is more of the multi-tool of life. It’s one device that we can use to accomplish so many things that matter to us in life.

And one thing it does well is to give you the ability to capture those wonderful moments in life.

Whether it’s a selfie, a group photo, or a beautiful sunset, your smartphone is always ready to capture those moments for you to enjoy for life. And those moments don’t have to remain in the digital world, you can print them out and frame them, give them as a gift, or put them in an album or time capsule.

I’m going to show you how to get those pictures from phone to paper – the easy way.

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How to Print Pictures from Your Phone – 3 Simple Ways

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How to Print Pictures from Your Phone – 3 Simple Ways

Nothing beats a physical photo printed on nice glossy photo paper. Despite the fact that your phone can store thousands of photos in its memory, the most memorable photos are those we can touch. And that’s why you need to know how to print pictures from your phone so that you can be able to create historical pieces of art for yourself and family.

Fortunately, today’s technology enables you to print your photos wirelessly by utilizing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology and without any hassle at all.

Print from Home

Printing your photos from home has never been easier than it is today. All you need hardware-wise is a dedicated photo printer that is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled and photo paper. As for software, you will need apps like Google Cloud Print that allow you to print your photos directly from your phone via a secure internet connection. No cables, no fuss.

To print your photos from the phone using Bluetooth is very simple. All you have to do is pair your phone and printer, select the photos you want to print, send it (share it) over Bluetooth and print.

If you are an iPhone user, you can use Apple’s innovative AirPrint technology. AirPrint gives you full-quality printed photos without you having to download or install drivers. All iPhones that are 3G-capable and above come AirPrint ready. All you need is to get an AirPrint compatible printer. Don’t worry though as most big manufacturers make them and they are very affordable – you can get one for less than $100.

To print Using AirPrint, all you have to do is select the photos you want to print from your camera roll, tap the printer icon, select the AirPrint printer and the number of copies you want to print, and that’s it.

If you don’t print photos regularly in bulk, printing from home may not be your best option as the hardware and computer paper will be very under-utilized.

Print from Pick Service

If you just want to print the occasional photo, photo-printing services will be ideal for you. There are many local businesses that can print photos for you at their stores, and all you need to do is go and pick them up when it’s convenient for you. Businesses like Walgreens, Target, CVS, and Walmart are some that come to mind when it comes to remote photo printing from your phone.

To be able to do this, you can download your favorite photo shop’s app so that you can locate the nearest store, send your photos, and pay via their secure payment gateway. All you have to do is pass by the store on your way from work and pick your beautiful photos. The advantage of going this route is that the photos will be professionally printed using high-quality printers and paper. It may seem a bit expensive at 99 cents a photo but at least you won’t have to worry about buying and maintaining a printer.

Print from Deliver Services

I promised to show you how you can print pictures from your phone the easy way. And it doesn’t get easier than sending your picture wirelessly to a print shop, paying the printing fees, and having your pictures delivered to your doorstep free of charge. Companies like Printic offer this amazing service but require that you order at least 3 prints per order.

Just like print and pick services, print and deliver services have an app (or website) that allows you to send your photos wirelessly via Wi-Fi to the shop, pay using your phone, and have them printed and delivered to your home.

Share your Memories

Whatever method you choose to print pictures from your phone, be sure to remember to share those memories with your loved ones. Photos may be simple but they always make good gifts. Now you know how to print pictures from your phone, go ahead and do it – and remember to share those memories.

HP Pavilion 15.6 15t Business Touchscreen Laptop Review

December 7, 2018 By David Leave a Comment

Are you in the market for a brand-new laptop with considerable power under the hood? And if possible, will you prefer something that can handle intensive working sessions?

Well, you’ve come to the right place because we are about to review a fairly high-performance laptop that won’t break the bank. We are talking about the HP Pavilion 15.6 15t Business Touchscreen Laptop.

HP Pavilion is one of the most prominent lines of laptop that enjoyed a great deal of popularity among the consumers. So, is this a worthy addition to the HP Pavilion line?

For this HP 15.6 Touchscreen Laptop review, we will try to go in-depth as possible and discuss some of the most noteworthy aspects of this system.

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HP 15.6 Touchscreen Laptop Review

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HP 15.6 Touchscreen Laptop Review

HP 2019 Premium Pavilion 15.6 Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Pentium...

First, let’s take a look at the general specifications of the HP Pavilion 15t Business 15.6" Full HD IPS Touchscreen Laptop.

Specifications

Brand

Screen Size

15.6-inch

Screen Resolution

1366×768 pixels (HD), 1920×1080 pixels (Full HD)

Touchscreen

Optional

Other Display Specs

IPS display tech (wide viewing angles), TN display tech (narrower viewing angles than IPS)

Processor (CPU)

Intel Core i5-7200U 7th Gen “Kaby Lake” Dual-Core 2.5-3.1GHz 3MB Cache (~4,700 PassMark benchmark points), Intel Core i7-7500U 7th Gen “Kaby Lake” dual-core 2.7-3.5GHz 4MB cache (~5,250 PassMark benchmark points)

Graphics (GPU)

Intel HD 620 Integrated Graphics, Nvidia GeForce GT 940MX 2GB Dedicated Video Card, Nvidia GeForce GT 940MX 4GB Dedicated Video Card

System Memory (RAM)

6GB, 8GB, 12GB, 16GB

DVD Optical Drive

None

Input

Non-backlit keyboard with numeric pad, Backlit keyboard with numeric pad, Multi-touch trackpad with integrated buttons

Speakers and Audio

Stereo speakers

Cameras

Front

Wi-Fi

802.11AC

Ethernet LAN

Yes

3G - 4G Mobile Broadband

Bluetooth

Yes

USB

1 x USB-C, 2 x USB 3.1

Video Ports

1 x HDMI

Media Card Reader

Yes (SD card reader)

Battery

4-cell 41WHr Li-Ion, Up to 9 hours with HD display; Up to 7 hours and 15 minutes with FHD

Weight

4.2 pounds

Height

0.9″

Width

14.9″

Depth

9.9″

Windows Version

Windows 10 Home

Warranty

1-Year

PRICE

$589.99 to $849.99

Display and Audio

The 15t comes with a 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768 display, although there’s a FullHD version that supports up to 1920×1080 resolution. The 720p display isn’t the brightest or the sharpest but we have to say that it gets the job, especially if you’re planning to use it for everyday entertainment.

The system did a fine job of handling various high-quality trailers that we’ve thrown at it. In some instances, the bright scenes do look blown out but many key details were preserved. Overall, the display performed well when it comes to HD media.

When it comes to brightness, the performance of the display does dip a bit. That’s one way of saying that it’s not the brightest entry-level screen in the market. In our brightness test, the 15t registered 162 nits which is way below for the average 192-nit for most sub-$400 laptops.

You can’t talk about this system without mentioning the optional touchscreen. It’s a non-convertible laptop which doesn’t really need a touchscreen but what was provided here is pretty good. Pinching to zoom in and out of web pages works surprisingly well. Performing Windows touch functions like swiping in to switch apps feel good and snappy.

If you have games that support touchscreen like Cut the Rope, you should give it a try.

As for the audio, the HP Pavilion 15t comes with a basic stereo speaker. It will not give you some thunderous sounds but it has enough oomph and punch when playing music. We have thrown in some hip-hop tracks and it surprisingly sounds competent. Not much to expect here but it could really use some tweaks like an improved bass.

Keyboard, Touchpad, and Webcam

One of the first things that grab my attention with the 15t is the touchpad which looks great. However, we think that the touchpad design itself is not very practical. The touchpad is situated in a way that it’s in a slight depression with the similar glossy makeup as the rest of the keyboard. This makes it hard to navigate the touchpad.

Unlike the touchscreen, there were some challenges when I used the touchpad. Pinching to zoom feels kind of wonky and some common Windows gestures just refused to work. Also, the two-click buttons on the pad felt cheap and stiff. I’m really disappointed with the touchpad. Even though I’m not much of a touchpad user, HP could have at least made it a bit more functional.

Fortunately, my disappointment with the 15t’s touchpad was quelled by its keyboard which is excellent. The notebook’s keyboard feels great while typing and is appropriately snappy. It includes a full number pad and volume/brightness controls on the side which are definitely nice touches.

I did some speed typing tests and I was able to register a pretty good score with about 96% accuracy. During the duration of the test, I never felt any discomfort whatsoever. I am certainly pleased with the keyboard and this is a good thing if you’re going to use it for type-heavy tasks.

The webcam is also there but it’s not really going to blow anyone away. The 15t’s webcam is perfectly serviceable and was able to take some pictures with it. As expected, the photos were quite blurry with an orange glow in them. I’ve also tested the webcam with Skype and the feedback from the people I’ve video called were generally good.

Performance

The system really shined when I was using web browsers. I’ve had three different windows for Firefox and about 10 tabs in each window, and there was no noticeable slowdown. I was working with numerous web pages and some Google Documents, and the 15t held up pretty well.

However, when I started streaming video from websites like Twitch and YouTube, there are some occasions of lag. There was one time that the browser froze but that can be attributed to the web browser itself. After all, I was streaming videos in 1080p which might have caused the lag.

When opening apps, the 15t was able to launch them quite quickly. I was opening apps like Steam, MS Word, OpenOffice, etc., and the performance was pretty stellar.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the performance of the 15t and I can say that it’s a good machine for multi-tasking.

Battery Life and Heat

Don’t expect that the battery will run all day but for the price, the 15t has provided a good battery life with a single charge. During our battery test, the notebook was able to last for 7 hours and 5 minutes while web surfing and HD video streaming via Wi-Fi. I’m happy to report that it was able to outlast the Dell Inspiron that I am also currently using.

The battery life is pretty close to the 9 hours with HD display and 7 hours and 15 minutes with FHD that HP has promised.

As for the heat, the 15t stays cool enough for comfort. Even after several minutes of streaming HD videos and playing some indie games, the heat registered 85 to 88 degrees which is really good. I’m planning to get a laptop cooling pad to keep things even cooler.

Software

Or rather the bloatware.

Personally, I don’t really want my new laptop preloaded with these so-called free software and apps.

Unfortunately, HP insists on populating their new computers with dozens of software and throwaway games. Sure, they’re free but I don’t find myself very grateful since 98% of the time, I have no use for these apps. And even I find a useful pre-installed app, I could always install a better alternative (I’m looking at you McAfee).

First up, as per usual, my laptop came with a fleet of first-party HP programs like the HP Wireless Button Driver, HP Connected Drive, and many others. I don’t really mind most of these first-party apps but they can get rather annoying.

The worst, however, is the phenomenal amount of third-party apps that came with my machine. The laptop came loaded with Dropbox, Netflix, CyberLink Media Suite, Amazon, Spotify, Snapfish, Twitter, and many others. Also, let’s not forget the games like Bubble Witch Saga 3, Hearts Deluxe, Minecraft, Microsoft Solitaire Collection, and tons more.

Most of these apps and games are harmless but they do add to the ugly clutter on a brand-new machine.

Pricing

The HP Pavilion 15t is available for the price range of $589.99 to $849.99, depending on the specs.

The machine that I’ve got had almost like high-end specs and it cost me about $700, and this is the touchscreen version. The hardware packs a punch and the other features are not so bad as well. I really loved what they did with the touchscreen and the keyboard.

The touchpad leaves a lot to be desired and the bloatware can be quite jarring. Other than that, there’s not much to complain about the HP Pavilion 15t, especially considering the price. If you’re going for the quad-core Pavilions, then the price will even be lower.

What Other Customers Think

There are numerous versions of the HP Pavilion 15t over at Amazon. However, when it comes to reviews, I have to say that the laptop is generally well-received regardless of the model.

Most of the customers were impressed with the performance of the 15t, especially when it comes to multitasking. Many buyers thought that the notebook is very versatile. In relation to that, many appreciate the value offered by the laptop. For a very decent list of specs, the reviewers thought that the machine is quite budget-friendly.

The keyboard is another aspect that the reviewers enjoyed. They said that it gives a good feedback while typing and is quite responsive and snappy. The touchscreen also gets some praise because it surprisingly works well.

As for the negatives, many customers thought the display is quite so-so, especially with the lower resolution models. A few buyers thought that the display fell short in the brightness department. Overall, many customers were underwhelmed with the display.

Some reviewers also mentioned that the machine came with a lot of bloatware which they had to uninstall during the first day. There are also a few reviewers who mentioned that there are some issues with charging which can be attributed to a hardware problem.

The Verdict

This is a bit of a tough call but I have to say that the HP Pavilion 15.6 15t Business Touchscreen Laptop is the best of its class in this price range. It’s simply a great all-around machine that will serve you well even with intensive usage.

The 15t is really a gorgeous machine and with the guts to match. Under the hood, the performance of the laptop has met expectations. Even with some serious multi-tasking, the 15t has managed to keep up which is impressive for a laptop. The display has its ups and down but it’s still a good machine for streaming or watching high definition videos.

There’s also a few standouts here like the keyboard and touchscreen. I don’t have that much good experience with touchscreen laptops but the 15t has made me change my mind. Surprisingly, the touchscreen worked great even with more advanced gestures. It didn’t take too long for me to integrate touch gestures while working.

The keyboard is another sweet spot as well. The tactile feedback feels good and the snappiness has added to the overall typing experience. Even after hours of typing, my fingers didn’t feel tired at all.

So the verdict for this HP 15.6 Touchscreen Laptop review is a 4 star out of 5. This is one of the best-valued touchscreen laptops that you can get in the market.

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Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Will Have High Price Tags

October 16, 2016 By David Leave a Comment

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will be quite expensive.

The upcoming Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is expected to be quite expensive although it will have high-tech specifications. According to Park Jiutang, an analyst working in China, Mi Note 2 will have a high price tag.

The company has become widely popular over the last few years, thanks to its high-quality phablets, which are quite affordable. Such examples would be the Mi 5, Mi5 s Plus, and Redmi Note 3 just to name a few. Rumour has it that the starting price for the new Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will be around $600 (4,000 Yuan).

In other words, this device will be the most expensive Xiaomi device on the market, and after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, the company might have a real shot at increasing its loyal customers’ community.

Ironically, the new Xiaomi will be quite similar to Galaxy Note 7 regarding the size and display design, because the company doesn’t plan to retain the traditional display as it will most likely go for a curved shape.

The Mi Note 2 will probably come with a generous QHD 2560 x 1440-pixel display of 5.5 inches or 5.7 inches, Super AMOLED and dual-edge. Under the hood, it will feature a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset backed by Adreno 530 GPU.

Regarding internal storage, there are three viable options such as 256GB, 128GB, and standard 64GB, whereas every model is rumored to have 6GB of RAM which is more than enough to compete with every top brand on the market including Apple and Samsung.

It is worth mentioning that the most impressive feature will most likely be the dual camera set up with 16-megapixel dual rear sensors enhanced with ClearSight Qualcomm technology, while the front-facing cam will have 5 megapixels so that any user will benefit from great selfies.

Also, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will run on a 4,000mAh battery, and it will have a 3.0 Qualcomm Quick Charger. Therefore, customers may rest assured as this phablet will have a long battery life and a quick charging time.

Regarding the connectivity options, this model will have a dual SIM card support, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, NFC, Bluetooth, USB Type-C support, and 4G LTE with VoLTE support. Last but not least, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, will run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow backed by MIUI 8.

Image Source:Wikipedia

Homefront: The Revolution First Review

May 17, 2016 By David Leave a Comment

Homefront The Revolution Screenshot

Dambuster Studios has just released the new Homefront: The Revolution as a 2011 Homefront sequel. Although we don’t really understand why the game is a sequel to that unpopular 2011 game, this one seems to be a reboot.

The storyline of the game is quite “plausible”: North Korea invades the US.

The Revolution is set in the three zones divided Philly: the Green, Yellow, and the Red. In the Green Zone live the rich, in the Yellow lives the slum where you can move around freely, and in the Red zone, you are shot on sight. Each zone gives the player a new and different gameplay from all-out action to stealth.

There are obvious comparisons to make with Far Cry: open world environment, side quests, and collectibles, or the character interactions with the locals and the riots. But, although similar in game structure, The Revolution doesn’t feel much like an Ubisoft game.

The frame rate or general performance of Homefront: The Revolution is lousy on PlayStation 4; it gives you a weird, uncomfortable sensation. And the art design is also remotely uninspired – everything is gray. If it rains and you’re playing The Revolution for the first time, you might enjoy it more. It does have ultra tech cool airships and impressive object details, but the overall impression is that it’s too bland.

The mission objectives are not particularly interesting, yet the level design is better. It has tunnels, hiding sport and weapons cached by the resistance that gives you the impression of being backed up by a team. It also lets you scavenge items and use them to make craft equipment or sell them to the resistance, or ride a bike, making Homefront: The Revolution a cross between The Last Of Us, Fallout 4 and Half-Life 2.

The thing is, the action is not very precise, nor is your shooting feedback. The enemy seems purposefully better armed than you, probably to add to the oppressed narrative, but it ruins the whole experience.

The Revolution is at its best in multiplayer version. You and your friends can go on co-op missions that have different upgrade paths and progression. This difference makes the multiplayer version much better than the main game.

Bottom line, the game receives a generous 6/10 rate. With some improvements, Homefront: The Revolution can go slightly up, but you can’t save it from its dull feel.

Image source: YouTube

Battlefield 4 Features a Nifty Easter Egg

December 25, 2015 By David Leave a Comment

You can unlock the extra content after finding several hidden buttons and cracking a few Morse codes.

When playing PC games ever imagined yourself cracking open a tough Morse code? How about breaking a Morse code in Belorussian? No, I guess it doesn’t ring any bells because it’s one a kind actually. Battlefield 4 features a nifty Easter egg, one that’s very difficult to find.

But let us wax poetics for a bit in order to shed some light on a what an Easter egg really is. A gaming Easter egg is, if the context permits it, the Holy Grail of gaming. It’s the unfathomable one, the elusive, then one single thing which can redeem you as a gamer. Keep it secret, keep it safe, for once you stumble upon it, you will hear the voice of the developers whispering to you from the dark.

Getting back to our Easter eggs, they are cool little secrets scattered throughout the game for players to find. One might recall Croteam’s figure hidden in a temple or Phantom Pain’s nuclear disarmament event.

Whatever the case maybe, if indeed there is an Easter egg in a game, and you’re keen on finding it, then you’ll have some tough times ahead. Battlefield’s Easter egg makes no exception from this golden rule.

As stated, in order to discover one of the game’s coolest feature, you’ll first have play nice with other players. Once you’re set, there will be several secret switches which you will need to find and activate.

After triggering the buttons, you’ll be transported to another map, where you and your fellow team-mates will have to crack a couple of Morse codes. But don’t get any idea of Googling your way out of this one, because the dev team made sure that no video could help you quickly unlock this goodie.

There are indeed YouTube videos out there which are capable of showing you the exact location of the hidden switches, but help stops there because each code sequence is randomized.

At the end of your journey, and by the end I mean the discovery of the Easter egg, you’ll get several cool gadgets, including one new weapon. The name of the Easter egg is Jackfrags and you’ll have to prove that you’re worthy before you can get the goods.

Battlefield 4 features a nifty Easter egg and also a hidden audio message from the head of DICE’s dev team. So, if you’re bored of blowing someone’s helmet off and you want a real challenge, then go ahead and search every hidden niche on of the map.

If you already started the scavenger hunt and you’re stuck, then check out this video.

Photo credits:www.flickr.com

Google Translate Smartphone App Updated Support for 27 Languages

August 1, 2015 By David Leave a Comment

Google Translate Smartphone App Updated Support for 27 Languages

Google Translate had implemented its first real-time translation tool in January. Now it has language support for 27 languages.

The translation tool is used via the smartphone’s camera and it immediately transcribes a sign from a language to your own, when you point the camera at the text message.

The improved translation tool supported languages ranging from Catalan, Ukrainian, Slovak, Indonesian etc. The application was initially offering translation support between English and Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.

The application works reciprocally, whereas Non-English speakers can translate signs, letters and words into their native languages.

There is an exception regarding Hindi and Thai though, as Google can exclusively convert English to the two languages – and not the other way around – due to the complexity of their characters.

So, you can now translate to and from English and Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian. You can also do one-way translations from English to Hindi and Thai.

Evidently, the app is ideal for travelers, as it functions in the absence of a data or Internet connection for mobile phones. Thus, the app spares you the time of always traveling with a dictionary or a travel guide-booklet, whereas menus, bills, directions can be translated immediately to your native language.

As a matter of fact, the instant translation ability comes from the Word Lens app, which Google acquired last year, by purchasing the company behind it, Quest Visual.

According to Barak Turovsky, product lead for Google Translate – just 20 percent of the planet speaks English, and this minority needs some entrepreneurial assistance. Google’s advance is remarkable.

Turovsky acknowledged the need of people to translate pieces of text easier and thus he was able to help them.

“Today, we’re updating the Google Translate app again, expanding instant visual translation to 20 more languages, and making real-time voice translations a lot faster and smoother so even more people can experience the world in their language.”, he said.

The app, available for iPhone and Android, does not require an Internet connection, users being prompted instead to download the language packages to their copy of the application.

“In many emerging markets, slow mobile networks can make it challenging to access many online tools,” said Turovsky.

He continued by saying –

“In addition to instant visual translation, we’ve also improved our voice conversation mode so it’s even faster and more natural on slow networks.”

Photo Credits khcn.cinet.vn

Youtube rivaling with Facebook with New Mobile App Design

July 28, 2015 By David Leave a Comment

Youtube rivaling with Facebook with New Mobile App Design

Youtube enthusiasts and addicts, so to say, the people spending much (or some) of their daily time to browse music videos, random videoclips, tutorials and so on and so forth, are prone to a big, more visually-pleasing surprise.

All in all, we’re talking about a design spin-off which many will enjoy.

For starters, some of the content on Youtube is in the vertical format, two black blocks or bars appearing to delimitate the actual video. The bars actually constrict the content to the middle of the screen.

The black boxes appear when a person records themselves with their mobile phone by holding it vertically rather than horizontally.

Thus, Youtube has come up with a new design for its mobile apps, which will allow users to watch those certain videos without seeing the black bars, basically, the design bringing the actual video, in full picture, to the center of the mobile device’s screen.

Currently, the enhancement is available for Android but will be available for Apple too.

However, Youtube met its most prominent arch-nemesis yet, Facebook.

So, in addition to the support for vertical videos, Youtube has also provided through its newest application the possibility of more user-friendly controls to upload videos directly from one’s smartphone.

All Facebook users are familiar with the implemented option for videos to play by simply scrolling down one’s newsfeed, as one of the major recent changes the famous website was undergoing. The war between the two giants of video media, Youtube and Facebook, has definitely intensified, because each one tries to bring upon different changes that would definitely benefit the users.

Concerning advertisements and advertising techniques, it has been evaluated that it is better yet to work with Youtube, rather than with Facebook. The dollar value is more eminent in the case of Youtube.

All in all, it would not be an easy task for Facebook to dethrone Youtube’s solid user base and rich content.

Twitter is yet another rival to Youtube in the taking of online video supremacy, though, Twitter being willing to capture that enthusiasm as well, according to Singh. Thus, Twitter launched a new app for Android, which is due to be featured on iOS as well, ensuring a brand new spin-off for video content, in users’ mobile experiences.

As both Facebook and Youtube rival in making statements and producing video and mobile streaming related applications, in the marketing area this has become a trend. For instance, one can search for relevant content by assigning categories to their videos.

Photo Credits tibetoday.com /

Future Google Glass 2 Powered by Intel Chips. Is This True?

December 1, 2014 By David Leave a Comment

Both giants Intel and Google made the tech headlines in the past weeks, each with its own shortcomings and achievements. The leading chipmaker Intel recently revealed the MICA smartbracelet and the Synapse smartdress, entering the tech – fashion smart devices world with a bang. In the opposite corner, Google is struggling with its Glass, as peoples’ interest in the device diminished substantially. So what do two companies when they want to succeed? They put the basis of an alliance. Recent news tell us that the future Google Glass 2 powered by Intel chips is not just a rumor, but will become a fact.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Intel partnered up with Google in order to provide the Google Glass 2 with a still unnamed chipset and associated hardware. The Intel chips will replace the current Texas Instruments processors which fuel the existing generation of Google Glasses. Analysts don’t know yet what kind of Intel mobile chip will revive the Google Glass 2, but they all suspect it will be the Quark. This is an ultra-small x86 class processor based on Edison technology and it is currently embedded in Intel’s Synapse dress.

How will this alliance change anything? The future Google Glass 2 powered by Intel chips may be used in the workplace with substantial benefits for the healthcare and manufacturing industries. The most interesting aspect of this partnership is that Intel is ready not only to provide Google with new hardware, but also with marketing and sales strategies. Since the augmented reality technology is something of a big deal in certain working fields, Intel seems to be ready to promote the enhanced Google Glass 2 to hospitals and manufacturers.

Will Google give up the Glass as a niche consumers’ product and focus its strategy on turning the spectacles into working tools? Sources familiar with the matter stated the Google would not change its initial perspective of the Glass, no matter if Intel pushes the device to become an important part of the healthcare, manufacturing and construction industries. The Glass will remain a smart device dedicated to a narrow niche of people, despite the controversy surrounding the gadget.

It seems that the holly union between Google and Intel is taking a step forward. The two tech giants are already working together, as Intel powers Google’s self – driving car and the Nexus Player media-streaming device. Now the two companies focus on Google’s dearest project, the Glass. However, there is no official information regarding the technology Intel will deliver to Google, nor a time frame for the release of the upgraded Google Glass 2 powered by Intel chips.

Google China App Store To Be Launched Soon?

November 20, 2014 By David Leave a Comment

After it left the country in 2010, Google intends to return to China with a brand new Google China App Store. The news come from The Information, which apparently spoke to people very close to the matter. The sources kept their anonymity, of course, but journalists all over the tech world consider that Google’s intentions have a strong foundation in reality.

Google and China are not the best of friends since four years ago and the tension between the search engine giant and the Chinese authorities deepened in the past years. Google left China claiming the company was a constant target for hackers and that it was facing heavy potential loss of intellectual property and continuous censorship. Currently, many Google services are blocked in China, including Google Play.

However, against all odds, Google plans to return to a country it left, by launching a Google China App Store. Tech analysts see the reason behind this move with objectivity. According to recent reports,

“In recent months, the company has indicated its intention to reverse a longstanding Google policy and distribute its app store with phone makers and other potential partners in China. Google intends to launch a version of its Google Play app store in China, hoping to exercise greater influence over a market that accounts for roughly half the people who use its Android mobile operating system.”

Regarding local partnerships, the reports suggest that Google is now looking for a reliable phone maker collaborator to coordinate the launch with. Sources claim that Google is in talks with Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. We don’t know if the Mountain View company also managed to reach some conclusions together with one of these potential partners, but we do know from the cited sources that Google approached them both.

Google isn’t sure that its plan is even going to work, as “it will be unclear until the last minute” if the Chinese government will actually allow the Google China App Store to be launched.

Google plays all its cards at the same time, as its interest in the Chinese market probably never faded away. On Wednesday, Google announced that Google’s store would start supporting app developers from mainland China and their efforts to sell paid apps via Google’s platform. Google also stated it would make sure the revenues generated by the apps would be directly transferred to the Chinese developers’ bank accounts.

Winning Chinese developers by its side, together with handset makers, seems to be a small part of a larger Google plan to return to China on a red carpet. Since there are some sources out there able to shed light upon Google’s plans and the possible Google China App Store, stay tuned for more reports on the subject!

Apple Pager Patent Infringement Costs $24m in Damages

November 19, 2014 By David Leave a Comment

Not so long ago, we were telling you about Oracle and its legal battles on the grounds of copyright infringements. While Oracle recently settled for a rather large sum with SAP AG, Apple just lost a lot of money to MTel in an Apple pager patent infringement lawsuit. If you don’t understand why we are talking about pagers, of all extinct gadgets in the world, let us resume the whole story for you.

Once upon a time, in the mid nineties, SkyTel was a pioneer in the field of pager technology, especially when it came to two-way pager networking. The visionary company filed a lot of pager patents between 1992 and 1997, covering the two – way pager communication technology.

SkyTel’s technology and pager patents are owned by Mobile Telecommunications Technologies (MTel). The Apple pager patent infringement lawsuit was generated by MTel claiming that Apple used the pager technology without permission and thus created Apple – signed services, such as iMessenger.

Moreover, MTel made its case on the claim that Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, together with the Apple Airport Wi-Fi routers, infringed the SkyTel patents. In matters of money claims, MTel demanded Apple to pay $1 for every infringing device sold in the last six years. According to Apple lawyers, the total damages amount raised to the mind-blowing sum of $237.2m.

On Monday, however, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decided that Apple should pay MTel a fine of $23.6m, as Apple was found guilty as charged. According to people familiar with the matter,

“This particular sum was settled upon after the jury came to the conclusion that Apple had actually infringed five out of six patents which were earlier granted to SkyTel network some time in the 1990s, and these patents are actually part of MTel’s portfolio at the moment.”

Win some, lose some, this is the conclusion we can draw from this Apple pager patent infringement lawsuit. The tech giant won a similar lawsuit in 2011, against GPNE. This company claimed that Apple used their pager patents without permission and asked Apple to pay $94m in damages. Described by Apple lawyers as a “patent troll with no active business other than patent litigation”, GPNE didn’t get a dime from Apple.

However, in the MTel case, Apple couldn’t play the same old tune it always plays when it comes to the originality of its ideas:

“Apple invents products that revolutionize industries, and relies upon the US patent system to protect our innovation.”

This time, the jury found clear evidence that Apple indeed used five out of six MTel pager patents without giving anybody any credit for them. Both companies declared they were satisfied with the Apple pager patent infringement lawsuit outcome, even if MTel receives only a tenth of what it claimed.