Daily News Courier

Adventures in Infinite File Storage

Bitcasa’s limitless storage service is a cool idea, but it needs work.

Imagine never having to worry about running out of space on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone for pictures, videos, or documents; or even having to remember where you saved a file. It’s a wonderful idea and we’re getting closer, but we aren’t there just yet.

The Rise (or Fall?) of the Tactus Keyboard

How good an idea is a “now you feel it, now you don’t” keyboard?

I’ve blogged about Tactus before (see “A Smart Phone with the Mumps”). Basically, the idea behind Tactus’s technology is this: what if your smartphone or tablet could essentially “grow” a physical keyboard, only when you need it? You’re watching a Netflix movie on your tablet, with its flat touchscreen. But then the movie is over, and it’s time to search for a new one. Tactus, using it’s “microfluidics” technology, would be smart enough to sprout physical buttons from your screen, just for the duration of input.

Brazil rules Apple doesn’t have exclusive rights to iPhone trademark

It's a slightly bizarre feeling, but in Brazil, this Android smartphone is the iPhone. And, thanks to a ruling by Brazilian regulators, it can continue to be called the iPhone, as Apple has been ruled not to have exclusive rights to the trademark in the country. The key item involved in the dispute — local company Gradiente registered the iPhone trademark there in 2000, some 7 years before the first Apple iPhone. Apple's argument centered on the fact that while the trademark may have been filed, Gradiente failed to release a handset under the moniker until 2012.

Speaking to the BBC, the Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) said they expect an appeal to the decision from Apple. They also went on to declare that the decision only applies to handsets, and that Apple still has exclusive rights to the iPhone term on clothing, in publications and in software. Apple can still sell the iPhone in Brazil, but as it stands Gradiente has the option to sue for exclusivity. 

The iPhone Neo One is available for 599 reals ($304/£196.) 

Source: BBC

HTC’s countdown until Feb. 19th event deceptively confirms the HTC One

HTC is betting big on its upcoming event on February 19th to truly capture the hearts and wallets of the general public when it introduces its latest flagship device.  On the 19th, HTC will be hosting an event in New York City and London simultaneously.  Currently, there is a countdown clock posted on the HTC website which is obviously counting down until the event takes place.

The interesting part with the countdown is how every time it reaches 51, 41, 31, 21, 11, or 1 second, the 1 becomes highlighted in green and the background shows off something from the phone.  It is an interesting sequence that is well put together by HTC website developers.  While we know the device is internally known as the HTC M7, it has been rumored to launch as the HTC One.  Having HTC put emphasis on anytime a 1 appears in the countdown sort of confirms the HTC One moniker.

In any event, we will have to wait until February 19th for official confirmation on the smartphone(s) HTC plans to introduce.  Here’s to hoping it manages to exceed our expectations.

[HTC]

Related Stories

• HTC M7/One press image leaks online ahead of rumored announcement
• Motorola job listing seemingly confirms existence of X-Phone
• LG teases big plans for MWC 2013, could be Optimus G Pro

Motorola Solutions launches Android-based AME 2000 with secure wireless communications

Motorola Solutions — that's the other Motorola that wasn't bought by Google — has announced the launch of AME 2000, a secure platform including an Android handset, aimed at federal agencies. Using Moto's Assured Mobile Environment tech, AME 2000 combines an off-the-shelf smartphone with additional hardware and software to enable secure voice and messaging services, as well as secure VPN connectivity over mobile data or Wifi.

The AME 2000 includes Security Enhanced Android — the NSA-approved custom version of the OS designed with high-security use in mind. In addition, it features Motorola's CRYPTR hardware security module for microSD security.

Moto hasn't released an exact spec sheet for the phone itself, but based on the images published, it looks like we're dealing with a RAZR-class device running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher. Regardless, if you want to get down into the details of the security features provided, you'll find that over at the source link.

It's by no means the first time we've seen Android used in high-security devices. Just over a year ago it emerged that U.S. government and military officials were to be outfitted with secure Android-based phones, and in 2010 General Dynamics was said to be looking at Android for use in "next-gen wearable" computers.

Source: Press Release

Every Step You Take, Tracked Automatically

A new app called Moves logs walking, biking, and running—no extra effort required. It’s how self-tracking is meant to be.

My new favorite app tracks the amount of exercise I get with remarkable accuracy, and I don’t have to do anything but turn it on. It’s called Moves, and it logs time spent walking, cycling, and running—as long as I’ve got my smartphone with me, which I always do. It’s dead simple, requiring no manual data entry or extra strap-on gadgets to take in my movement data and display it for me in a way that’s easy to understand and analyze.

The Browser Wars Go Mobile

Startups are bringing creative features to the small screen in hopes of luring iPhone, Android users away from the default browser.

When surfing the Web on a smartphone, most of us stick with the browser that came with our handset. That experience can be clunky, though, and a slew of mobile browsers are trying to break into a market dominated by Apple and Google.

This Robotic Fur Patch is Cooler Than Your Cat

Think of how much you love your smartphone. Now think of how much you love your pet. What if the two were the same?

Ubuntu Readies an Attempt to Shake Up the Smartphone Business

A mobile version of the world’s most widely used Linux operating system shows promise, but it will face stiff competition.

BlackBerry’s new smartphone software is so last week. A new free mobile operating system is being readied for release—by a company hoping to earn support from mobile carriers and handset makers interested in weakening the dominance of Apple and Google.

Canalys: Android accounts for 70% of smartphone market and 34% of all phones shipped in Q4 2012

image credit Epsilon Creations

Canalys is in the business of counting things. Things like how many of each make of smartphone gets shipped, and what operating system runs on them. We're glad they do it so we don't have to, and they do a great job keeping everyone abreast of how the market breaks out for each category they measure by. They have released the tally for Q4 2012, and as expected, Android continues to dominate the market. In Q4 of last year, 70-percent of all smartphones shipped were running some flavor of Android on them. If you've been following along, you're not surprised.

What is surprising is some of the other facts one can get from their latest report. Like the fact that of all phones shipped during the quarter Android was running on 34-percent of them. That means that one of every three phones sold are smartphones running Android, and that's important. Android was designed to get the Internet into the hands of the people. To get the to ditch their "dumb" phones (I hate that label) and step up into an entry level smartphone. Seeing Android at 34-percent of the total means that people are doing just that — ditching the old messaging phone for something more fitting the 21st century. These are the phones we forget about, or ask "why?" when we see them getting released. We shouldn't. They are important phones for the future of Android.

Another little-talked about fact from today's report? Huawei is now in the number three spot (behind Samsung and Apple, in that order) of smart phones shipped. Look out for them — they will be coming in hard and have some awesome things to show us.

For the rest of the numbers and where everyone places in the race for market share, hit the source link and check out the report.

Source: canalys