Menu

Technology

Samsung Galaxy Gear ad: So bad, it's good?

Shannon Rae Green hosts ZoomIN, covering the awkward ad for Samsung's Galaxy Gear Smartwatch. Shannon Rae Green Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch in Berlin, Germany.(Photo: Michael Sohn AP)Are you geared up? No, Samsung. And not sure we want to be if it looks anything like this advertisement.The tech company's new commercial for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch[1] brings up questions like, as a woman, how should you deal with a man with stalker tendencies?Where will those photos taken of your backside without permission while snowboarding end up on the Internet? Was your wine spiked?But the creepy actions of the main character are fine in the name of technology, according to Samsung. The ad features three people at a ski resort, a man with a smartphone, another guy with the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and an attractive blond woman. Both men are vying for her attention. The guy with the smartphone — clearly behind the times — fumbles with his phone, while the guy that has a Samsung is portrayed as debonair and tech-savvy and scores the woman's number by asking her whether she wants to see something cool. My thought: Refuse, lady. But she doesn't. REVIEW: Samsung smartwatch ticks in the right direction[2]The suave guy asks her to say her digits into his smartwatch. Then her phone rings."Hey pretty lady. It's me Jack," he says. She picks up her phone, giggles and says, "Hi, I'm Amy." The watch, which costs $299.99 and is compatible with Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, has allowed for a smooth introduction.The ad does explain several smartwatch features, including the ability to use voice commands to place calls, compose messages, schedule events and check weather and a 1.9-MP auto-focus camera in the strap of the watch that lets the user take pictures and video. As the guy woos the woman…
Read more...

2014: Apple's crunch year to prove innovation chops

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple product announcement at the Apple campus on Sept. 10, 2013, in Cupertino, Calif.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)SAN FRANCISCO — Apple CEO Tim Cook spent 2013 fighting creeping concerns that the company has lost its innovation edge and hinting about new products that will take the Silicon Valley giant into exciting new categories. 2014 is the year he has to deliver, according to investors and analysts.While it was going to be impossible to replace the creative genius of Steve Jobs, Cook is increasingly seen as a smart operations leader, rather than a creative innovator.Without compelling new products in big new markets next year, worries will grow that Apple's days as a hot growth company are over, limiting future gains for the shares."People are questioning Cook's status as a leader of an innovative company. Maybe he's just a great operator," said Josh Stewart, portfolio manager at the Wasatch World Innovators Fund, who sold his Apple shares earlier this year.When Jobs died Oct. 5, 2011, there were initial questions about Cook's ability to replace the co-founder, but Stewart disagreed because Apple had a long growth runway in tablets, the iPhone was a hot product and they had a pipeline of other products in development."That was more than two years ago and there's been nothing else so far," Stewart added. "I got frustrated and moved on."Such worry even prompted one analyst to suggest Apple should buy electric car company Tesla Motors, partly because founder and CEO Elon Musk is considered more capable of driving future innovation.Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman from Tesla.Stewart's fund invests in companies that are gaining big market share from legacy companies through innovative new products. And Apple is now losing share in the tablet and smart…
Read more...

Ideas for making your bathroom just a touch smarter

You don't have to wait for a major home renovation to make your bathroom routine a little more intelligent. Kohler's colorful Moxie line of wireless speakers, for instance, pop easily in and out of a shower head.(Photo: Kohler)Story HighlightsMoxie shower speakers add a splash of colorHomewerks has a speaker in a bathroom fanToto and Kohler are pushing further on toilet techSAN FRANCISCO — You don't have to wait for a major home renovation to make your bathroom routine a little more intelligent. From splash-resistant speakers to smart lights and high tech toilets, you can experiment with adding modern touches without breaking the bank.MUSICEven those of us who can't carry a tune in a bucket can let decent audio wash over us with the latest water-resistant speakers.— Kohler's Moxie wireless shower speaker is popping up on a lot of holiday gift idea lists. The speaker syncs with any Bluetooth-enabled device to stream music directly into the shower. The line recently expanded to include four bright colors. The speaker pod can be removed and used elsewhere. That means family members can share one speaker, or swap them in and out to take them on the go. The retail price lists at about $129 for a white speaker and stand.— The Sonos Play:1 wireless speaker ($199) can be used on its own or integrated into a larger Sonos wireless home audio setup. About the size of a coffee can, the water-resistant speaker's fully sealed design means it can fit easily into a bathroom (or kitchen, for that matter).— Homewerks has another idea for filling your bathroom with sound: Stuff it in the ceiling fan. The company's Bluetooth speaker bath fan connects to smartphones, tablets and Bluetooth-enabled laptops from up to 30 feet away. After the initial setup, the fan connects a device automatically when…
Read more...

Video game stocks get bounce with console transition

A screen shot from the video game 'Call of Duty: Ghosts,' developed by Infinity Ward for Activision.(Photo: Activision/Infinity Ward)Top video game publishers seem to be weathering the potentially troublesome transition to new home console game systems.Pre-market trading was trending up Wednesday on each of the top three publicly-traded U.S. game publishers: Activision Blizzard (up about 2%), Electronic Arts (3%) and Take-Two Interactive (0.7%).All three have seen their stock prices rally since last Thursday's release of November's top video game sales from The NPD Group[1]. From market close on Thursday, Activision has risen from $16.66 to $17.06 Tuesday; EA from $20.97 to $22.75 and Take-Two from $16.42 to $17.48.The top-selling games in November were Activision's Call of Duty: Ghosts, EA's Battlefield 4 and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. All three of those games are available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as well as Sony's new PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, both of which hit the market last month. Take-Two's GTAV was No. 5 for the month.Console makers have seen shipments of their new systems sell out as fast as stores get them -- each has sold more than 2 million systems. But Microsoft and Sony stock have not gotten the recent lift that third-party publishers have.Gamer confusion on which platform to buy – or fewer dollars to spend on games because they were investing in new game systems – was expected to have some effect on sales of annual game releases compared to 2012 sales. But overall retail sales of $2.74 billion in November were up 7% from the same time last year.Cowen & Co.[2] analyst Doug Creutz stated in a note released after NPD's monthly report that "EA is likely in fine shape with (its soccer game) FIFA and Battlefield looking in-line or a bit better…
Read more...

Tips on charging devices with your laptop

Rob Pegoraro, Special for USA TODAY 10:31 a.m. EST December 15, 2013 A MacBook Pro laptop.(Photo: Apple)Story HighlightsAny laptop that is awake should charge a device that's plugged into itThings can get trickier if the laptop is asleepIf you've plugged a phone into a laptop, be sure to verify that it is actually chargingQ. Is there an easy way to figure out if a USB port can charge a phone when the laptop is asleep or even powered off?A. If only charging one mobile device from another had the same boring predictability of plugging a charger into a wall outlet. Instead, you have a few basic rules of USB charging that often get bent or broken — thanks to the different flavors of USB connectors shipped since the Universal Serial Bus[1]'s debut in the late '90s.First, any laptop that's awake should charge any device plugged into it, even if the computer isn't plugged into the wall. This almost always works — but a grossly obsolete Dell running Windows XP (don't ask) failed to charge an iPad mini and only started the flow of electricity to an Android phone after taking a minute or so to recognize that device as a form of external storage.If the laptop is asleep but plugged in, it should also still be able to charge a mobile gadget — that was the case with a 2012 MacBook Air and a 2011-vintage ThinkPad. But certain power-management [2]settings in Windows can obstruct that as well in strange ways, and it's not hard to find reports from Mac users of equally mysterious charging failures[3].What if the laptop is asleep and running on battery? Some Windows laptops will let you get away with that, courtesy of USB ports that continue to channel power under those conditions — and even if…
Read more...

In love with your TV? Bring it outside

Lee Nelkirk, Reviewed.com / USA TODAY 10:43 a.m. EST December 15, 2013 Those wanting to bring their media outdoors are in luck with the Sunbrite SB4660HD, a new weatherproof TV(Photo: Reviewed.com)Story HighlightsThe Sunbrite SB4660HD is weather-resistent and airtight, allowing it to function outdoorsWith the focus on a tough build, less attention was paid to the picture qualityThose wanting to watch fast sports on it will see some blurring along the edges of on-screen objectsFor years, parents have lamented video game consoles and TVs keeping their children from going outdoors to play. Niche television maker Sunbrite has a solution, though it may not be what your mother had in mind: Just bring the TV outdoors.The Sunbrite SB4660HD (MSRP $2,795–$2,995 depending on color) is an unusual TV, to put it mildly: weather-resistant and airtight, it's built to survive the harsh conditions of an outdoor life.Watching your TV outside may seem like an odd concept to a lot of folks, though it opens up plenty of possibilities. Whether watching your favorite football team poolside or engaging in fierce competition with the weather channel ("I'm standing outside and it's not even close to partly cloudy!"), you can develop some new habits. Us? We tested the TV by playing video games in the rain.A super-bright screen combats everything besides direct sunlight. Waterproof seals will resist all water, short of the TV being completely submerged. All of the ports are tucked behind a sealed cover, and once everything's all hooked up, the pliable cover can be screwed back into place. The cover molds tightly around the cables, keeping whatever's inside quite safe from the elements. The thick, durable frame also houses some of the loudest TV speakers we've ever heard—loud enough to drown out passing cars.THE SCIENCE: See how this TV scored in lab tests[1]BEST OF…
Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed