The HTC One M8 Is Getting A 13-megapixel Front-facing Camera, But Only In China

Summary: HTC’s 13-megapixel Eye camera is headed to a version of the aluminum-bodied One M8 in China.

Earlier this week, HTC announced the Desire Eye, a smartphone that comes with a 12-megapixel front-facing camera called the Eye. Apparently, that device isn’t the only HTC phone that’s getting an Eye camera this year, as a variant of the HTC One M8 with a burly front-facing camera has popped up on the company’s official Chinese website.

The HTC One M8 Eye is almost identical to the standard HTC One M8. Aside from the front camera, the main difference between the two phones is that the One M8 Eye drops the 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera on the back for a more conventional 13-megapixel camera, although the device does retain the Duo Camera setup that allows users to adjust focus after photos have been taken. The One M8 Eye also has dual-SIM support for the Asian market.

It’s priced at 4000RMB, which works out to roughly $650.

HTC has made China-specific variations of the One M8 in the past, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect the One M8 Eye to make it to the United States, although the plastic-bodied M8 did eventually become available on Sprint. Stateside selfie fans should consider the Desire Eye, which will likely be less expensive than the One M8 and will have very comparable performance. I even prefer the Desire Eye’s polycarbonate construction to the heavy, droppable rounded aluminum body on the One M8.

HTC Desire Eye and the Re camera

What this device does make clear is that we’ll likely see the Eye camera on other HTC devices in the near future. The HTC camera software also got a big upgrade recently, and was renamed Eye Experience, so the company’s imaging focus is not going anywhere. HTC’s devices now sport several different camera technologies, including UltraPixel cameras, Duo Cameras, and even a standalone Re action camera, so it will be very interesting to see what shooters HTC puts on its phones next year.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Lenovo Stuck A Projector Into A 13-inch Tablet

Summary: Lenovo will start selling an entertainment focused tablet with top-end specifications and a built-in pico projector.

Lenovo announced a batch of new tablets in its Yoga line on Thursday. One of them is unique: the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is an Android tablet with a big 13-inch screen and a built-in projector.

The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro will cost at least $500 and will compete with the iPad Air. It’s an interesting size for a tablet, with a 13-inch screen running at 2560 x 1440 resolution. Like previous Yoga tablets, one side of the tab has a protruding berm — a “battery cylinder” — which can be used as a kickstand. On the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, Lenovo has stuck an entire pico projector as well as a subwoofer in there. There have been a few phones with built-in pico projectors, but this is one of the first tablets, and it’s a mainstream product that will be widely available.

Pico projectors are an interesting technology that has been looking for a consumer application. Companies have stuck pocket projectors into hotspots, phones and evenbluetooth docks, but the tablet may be the best place to stick one. Tablets are already consumption-focused devices and are frequently shared by family members. Wouldn’t it be handy to be able to beam a YouTube video on to a wall so the whole family can watch?

The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro’s projector is rated for 40-50 lumens and will have a 854 x 480 resolution. It will start shipping towards the end of October.

The other tablet that Lenovo announced Thursday is more conventional, but it still sports the Yoga wedge kickstand on one side. It’s called the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2, and consumers will have the option between two different sizes as well as two different operating systems. Both the 8- and 10-inch Android versions will have a 1920 x 1200 screen powered by an Intel Atom processor. The 8-inch should cost around $250, and the 10-inch model will cost around $300 when they eventually go on sale.

But consumers will also have the option whether they’d rather have their Lenovo Yoga Tab 2 come with Windows 8.1. However, the Windows-oriented Yoga Tablets will cost more, with the 10-inch model priced at $400 and the 8-inch starting at $300. Lenovo making Windows tablets is a little bit of a surprise given that a spokesman said there was no demand for small Windows tablets earlier this year. Lenovo later backtracked in a statement, but the market viability of Windows on small tablets remains in question.

The most exciting thing about Lenovo’s new tablets is that they’re not generic rectangles — although Lenovo certainly makes those as well. The general form and function of the tablet hasn’t changed a good deal over the past few years, but Lenovo’s battery cylinder and projector-equipped Yoga tablets are funky and different. Early reactions have been cautiously optimistic. Is a 13-inch entertainment-focused tablet what the stalled tablet market was clamoring for? I don’t know, but I’m glad Lenovo is going to find out.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Sony’s Stylish Z3 Smartphone Gets A Verizon Version In The US, But Where’s The Compact?

Summary: Sony’s high-end waterproof Z3 smartphone is headed to the United States. It’ll be available on Verizon for $200 with a 2-year contract.

We knew Sony’s waterproof Z3 smartphones were coming to T-Mobile in the United States, but it turns out Verizon will also carry a Z3 device as well. The carrier announced on Thursday that it would sell the Sony Z3v, a modified version of the Z3 with a slightly bigger battery which will cost $200 on contract. There’s also a deal available when someone buys both a Sony tablet and the Z3v from Verizon.

Like the Z3 in other countries, it’s a 5.2-inch smartphone with a 1080p screen running a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will have a long battery life as well as Sony’s high quality onboard cameras. Like most of Sony’s recent phones, it’s also going to be waterproof. Sony’s heavily pushing its PS4 integration, which is a very compelling Sony-specific feature for gamers.

The body of the Z3v is slightly altered from the international Z3. It’s more rounded off, and is reminiscent of the Sony Z2. The battery gets a slight bump, but the biggest improvement is the addition of wireless charging on the Qi standard.

Fans of hand-sized phones will be disappointed to hear the Z3 Compact, which packs the same specs as the Z3 but with a smaller screen, was not part of the announcement. Aside from theSamsung Galaxy Alpha, there really aren’t many high-end phones under 5-inches coming out this fall, which would have made a U.S.-bound Z3 Compact stand out among the competition.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Google Hangouts Is Now A Standalone Chrome App for Windows And Chromebooks

Previously available as an extension or as part of Google Plus on the web, Google Hangouts is now a Chrome app for Windows and Chrome OS computers. It can be installed on Mac OS X computers that also have Chrome but isn’t yet fully supported. Google released the app on Thursday, saying it will keep all of your active chats on the desktop for easy access. More important though is the support for voice calls through the app, right on your computer. And Google Voice users will benefit from the Voice integration with Hangouts, meaning access to voicemail and the ability to send and receive SMS.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

A Day After Google Pushes Chromebooks For Work, Microsoft Fights Back With Surface Pro

Summary: Microsoft continues to back Surface Pro 3 for the workplace, offering a new bundle discount on the hardware and commitments that the current device accessories will work with the next Surface Pro model.

It could be coincidental timing, but less than 24 hours after Google strengthened its Chromebook for work commitment, Microsoft has done the same with its Surface Pro line of computers. On Wednesday, the company provided incentives for Surface Pro bundle purchases and said accessories for the hybrid laptop would work with the next generation of Surface Pro.

In a blog post to answer questions about how Surface Pro can help businesses,Microsoft reiterated its commitment to the enterprise, highlighting several recent and new announcements.First and foremost is how Microsoft is making it easier to set up and deploy Surface Pro in the enterprise, with quick software updates and firmware images made available to I.T. organizations. The company is also providing more detailed release notes with each available update and says it will continue to improve those; that’s where Google could learn a lesson, as it typically points people to arcane change logs for Chrome OS. And Microsoft has a support option that extends the hardware warranty by three years, including accidental damage and fast hardware exchanges.

To help extend enterprise investments, Microsoft also says the following Surface Pro 3 accessories will be compatible with the next model: Type Covers, power adapters, Ethernet adapters and the Surface Pro 3 Docking Station. Clearly, then, any new Surface Pro model will have the same shape, size and ports; changes would likely be internal hardware components.

Microsoft is also offering a new, full “laptop replacement” bundle package through its authorized resellers. Companies can purchase a Surface Pro 3, Type Cover and Docking Station and receive a $150 savings over the purchase of these devices individually.

It’s interesting that both Google and Microsoft continue pushing for the same dominance in the workplace, but from very different ends of the spectrum. You can buy a Chromebook for $200, for example, while the base model Surface Pro 3 costs $799 and the accessories will raise the cost even higher. Ultimately, it’s really not about hardware: Businesses will evaluate which software products and support programs can meet their needs.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Apple Reportedly Delays 12.9-inch iPad Until Next Year To Help Meet iPhone 6 Demand

Summary: Apple was planning to start production of an iPad with a 12.9-inch screen in December, but has pushed its plans back to help suppliers cope with large iPhone 6 Plus orders, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The iPhone wasn’t the only iOS device Apple planned to supersize this year. According to a report published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Apple wanted to start mass production of an iPad with a 12.9-inch display this December, but those plans have been pushed back to cope with demand for the iPhone 6 Plus.

This isn’t the first time the possibility of a larger iPad has come up. The iPad Pro, as some have dubbed it, has been discussed by suppliers since last year, and there are a lot of tidbits included in iOS 8 that imply an iPad with a larger screen is in the works.

There are references to a split-screen multitasking mode, which would be a great feature to include on a tablet with a bigger screen. Yesterday, developer Hamza Sood discovered images in the latest iOS 8.1 beta which include iPad icons at three times the normal display resolution. Apple uses larger icons to maintain image fidelity on its retina displays, and the iPhone 6 Plus uses icons with similar 3x pixel sizing. The larger assets are a strong indication that Apple is at least working on an iPad with a upsized screen.

There are a couple of reasons that Apple would think the time is right for a 13-inch tablet. It makes sense as iPad apps are becoming sophisticated enough to challenge the productivity of some desktop software. Although the iPad is still wildly profitable, sales growth has stalled over the past two years. A recent enterprise deal with IBM could find business customers who want a bigger, professionally oriented iPad.

The Wall Street Journal report backs up a Bloomberg article from last week, which said the bigger iPad will be delayed until 2015, but that Apple is planning to soon launch a gold-colored iPad to match the iPhone line.

Earlier this week, Apple sent out invites to a launch event on its campus on October 16. The tagline was “it’s been too long.” It’s hard to say exactly what Apple’splanning to announce next Thursday, but it’s looking very unlikely that an iPad Plus is in the cards. We’ll be at the event and will report directly from Cupertino.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Galaxy S5 with Android L; Tile Tracker; Project Ara Progress

Summary: Android L is looking pretty good on the Samsung Galaxy S5 based on a preview video. Tile’s Bluetooth tracking tags are gaining Android support and components of the modular Project Ara phones can be swapped out without turning the phone off.

While we wait for Google to release Android L, handset makers are already working on integrating the software with their own skins and apps. Samsung has already made good progress based on this video created by SamMobile, which got an early build of the software for the Galaxy S5.

Samsung has used Google’s Material Design influence in the software combining it with its own TouchWiz software and its own apps, such as the phone dialer and Messages. Samsung can’t release the software update until Google does — which could be later this month — but its a good sign that the company has made strong progress with Android L: That could mean that Galaxy S5 owners get the update sooner rather than later.

That phone, as well as others that run Android will soon be able use Tile trackers. The company raised $13 million and is expanding support for its Bluetooth tracking devices to Android. The small tag pairs with a phone which can sound alerts when the Tile tag moves out of Bluetooth range. It can even alert the phones of other Tile users to help you find a lost object. Tile says the first Android it will support is the Galaxy S5.

Google’s Project Ara phones will have Bluetooth modules too; unless you want to swap those out for something else, that is. The modular phone made news this week as the project team announced phone modules can be hot-swapped without shutting the phone off.

The exceptions are the display and CPU; other than that, any other components can be removed and replaced while using the phone; handy for using a better camera sensor in different situations. Project Ara will use a modified version of Android L to support the hot-swap feature when the phones are launched. Google is still aiming for an early 2015 preview release of the modular phones.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Brewster Will Clean Up The Mess That Is Your Built-In Contacts App

Summary: Looking to whip your contacts into shape? Brewster, a startup that offers contact cleaning services, now syncs with iCloud or Google, so users can use their phone’s built-in contacts app.

Even though contacts are a basic preinstalled function on modern smartphones, for many, there’s still a lot to be desired about the experience. For instance, you’ve probably got old numbers for people you no longer talk to, contacts with nothing besides an email address, and eight different numbers under “Chinese food.” Even some of the best how-to articles end up recommending a manual contacts edit. It’s enough to make a smartphone user pine for the days of the Rolodex.

Enter Brewster (see disclosure), a startup that seeks to whip your contacts into shape by intelligently merging your address book with various social networks. On Friday, the company announced an update with a new beta feature that syncs Brewster contacts with either Apple iCloud or Google. The feature, which the company calls streaming, uses the CardDev protocol. This means that users don’t need to go through the Brewster app, but instead can use the autofill functions built into default dialer or messaging apps. Your contacts app will mirror the Brewster app.

Sure, there are other companies that offer similar features, like adding Facebook photos to your phone contacts, but Brewster sweats the details. For instance, Brewster uses a machine learning algorithm to increase merged contact accuracy. According to founder Steve Greenwood, Brewster correctly guesses which contacts to merge over 98 percent of the time.

If your friend uses Brewster and changes his phone number, now Brewster will automatically update the phone number in your address book. It’s handy, but as of now I don’t have many peers using Brewster.  It’s a classic example of the network effect: As Brewster becomes more popular, then it will become more useful.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

There Are Now Half a Billion Streaming Devices in Households Around The World

Summary: Game consoles are still leading the charge, but Chromecast grew faster than any other player this year.

No wonder Netflix and others are streaming billions of hours every month: Consumers around the world now own half a billion streaming devices, according toa new report from Strategy Analytics. The most popular brand is still Sony, with a total instal base of 123.8 million devices, a number that’s largely driven by the company’s PS3 and PS4 game consoles.

The biggest growth, however, is coming from non-gaming devices: LG saw 101.9 percent growth year-over-year with its smart TVs and connected Blu-ray players, according to Strategy Analytics estimates, followed by Toshiba with 98.8 percent year-over-year growth.

And on a quarterly basis, Google saw bigger increases from Q1 to Q2 of this year than any other vendor, thanks to Chromecast, with Strategy Analytics estimating a total of 6 million Chromecast devices sold by Q2 2014. We’ll ask Chromecast VP Mario Queiroz whether that number looks right to him when we have him on stage at Structure Connect later this month.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Samsung’s metal-edged Galaxy Alpha is beautiful (and looks a lot like an iPhone)

Summary: Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, a new flagship phone that sacrifices a packed spec sheet for a more ergonomic experience. It is one of the few high-end Android phones this year with a screen under five inches.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha — Samsung’s first phone with a build that prominently features aluminum — goes on sale Friday at AT&T for $199 on a two-year contract. For years, Samsung fans clamored for a metallic Galaxy phone, but when the Galaxy Alpha arrived, many were left cold. On paper, the Galaxy Alpha lacks many of the specs that made the Galaxy S5 worth its high price.

For instance, the Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7-inch screen running at only has a 720p resolution. Usually the best Android phones pack the most features and have the biggest and most pixel-dense screens. But the compromises Samsung made reveal a different phone than Samsung’s Galaxy S or Note lines: The Galaxy Alpha is thin, efficient, and most of all, desirable.

I’ll have a more complete review next week, but for now I wanted to share some of my early thoughts.

Photo by Kif Leswing/Gigaom

Let’s get this out of the way: the Galaxy Alpha is the closest thing you’ll find to an iPhone 6 that runs Android. Sure, the Galaxy Alpha goes for squared-off, chamfered edges just as Apple moved on to a bubblier, rounder form, but aside from that these two phones are very similar. They are very close to the same size and width, though the Samsung phone features slimmer bezels on the front of the screen. Like the iPhone 6, it feels very light — which some people certainly prefer to the brick-like devices from companies like HTC — but it doesn’t feel delicate at all.

Photo by Kif Leswing/Gigaom

Photo by Kif Leswing/Gigaom

Most importantly, when holding this Android phone, you get a sense that it’s more than commodity hardware. It feels premium in a way that Samsung’s previous phones never have, and its designers got a lot of the little details right.

If there’s one aspect of the spec sheet that gives me pause, it’s the tiny 1860MAh battery. It’s physically small. When you remove the back cover on the Galaxy Alpha, you’ll be surprised at how little volume the battery takes up — but since it’s replaceable, you could conceivably switch batteries when you get low.

Photo by Kif Leswing/Gigaom

The screen is stellar. It uses Samsung’s vivid AMOLED display, and the 720p resolution is great for a device of this size — so I wouldn’t list its size or resolution as a con when comparing it to phones with 5-inch screens with 1080p resolutions or higher. The unit AT&T provided is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and it flies.

As for the size, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is perfect for me. Apple made a big deal with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 about how it mocked up hundreds of different phone sizes and picked the two best, and it looks as if Samsung’s engineers agree that 4.7 inches is the sweet spot. Even as big phones and phablets become more popular, I wouldn’t be surprised if we still see a large contingent of devices coming in at 4.7 inches.

Right now, there are only three high-end devices available at this size: the iPhone 6, the Sony Experia Z3 Compact (which is currently not available in the United States) and the Galaxy Alpha. As of now, it looks like this phone is the best Android device under five inches by default.

Photo by Kif Leswing/Gigaom

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

HP Labs is working on a glass 3D printer

Summary: HP’s program that would combine the 3D printing of glass with other materials is alive and well, as indicated by a recent job posting.

HP isn’t content to just 3D print in plastic. A job ad for a “robotics scientist for 3D printing” sounds normal enough until you dive into the text and read this:

“HP Labs’ research into printing of inorganic materials is working towards hybrid printing of glass (and other inorganic materials) onto items that are already mass produced,” the ad reads.

3D printing is generally reserved for working with plastic and metal. Glass is unusual. But HP has its reasons. According to a 2012 HP Labs paper:

With 90% of the earth’s crust composed of silicate minerals, there will be no shortage of silica resources. Glass is easy to recycle and is environmentally friendly. Glass is inexpensive but looks precious, is pleasant to the touch and is so familiar that customers will not be disappointed by its fragility— under certain conditions.

3D printed glass. Photo by HP Labs.

There is more than one way to make glass, and the 2012 paper indicates that HP is interested in adapting more than one to 3D printers. Printers could, for example, replace the need to create a mold. Glassworkers could use a 3D printer to build a glass shape–as complex as they wish–and then fire it in a kiln.

But the ad calls for 3D printing on objects that were previously mass-produced. It’s not clear what that means exactly, but electronics come to mind. 3D printing could provide a relatively cheap way to add glass to complex shapes.

HP is due to release its first-ever 3D printer in October. We don’t know much about it except that it will be aimed at businesses and a potential boost for the ailing company. It’s unlikely it’s a glass printer though. This is a project that still lives within HP Labs.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com

Why Tesla & SolarCity’s planned factories are quite different

Summary: A lot of ink has been spilled on the similarities of SolarCity and Tesla’s planned factories. But there’s some major differences, too.

Tesla and SolarCity might both be building what they’re calling “gigafactories” — huge, industry-disrupting manufacturing plants — but the strategies employed by each company actually have different degrees of risk involved and different goals. Tesla’s is far more audacious in size, but SolarCity is trying to scale up a new technology, and the world is littered with failed companies that tried to scale new manufacturing tech on a certain timeline and for a certain budget.

Earlier this week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo traveled upstate to the city of Buffalo to attend an official “ground-breaking” for SolarCity’s planned massive solar panel factory there. When, and if, completed the factory will be one of the largest solar panel manufacturing plants of its kind outside of Asia, with enough capacity to eventually make 1 GW worth of solar panels per year. For comparison’s sake, there’s just a little over 15 GW of solar panels currently installed in the U.S.

Tesla factor floor, image courtesy of Tesla.

Of course, with Elon Musk as SolarCity’s chairman, and Musk’s cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive as the company’s CTO and CEO, respectively, there are clear similarities between what SolarCity is doing in New York and what Musk’s other company, electric car maker Tesla Motors, plans to do with the massive battery factory it’s building just outside of Reno, Nevada. Tesla has already started construction on the world’s largest lithium ion battery factory, which is supposed to make enough batteries for 500,000 of its electric cars by 2020.

The comparisons between the strategies were echoed across the media, and by the sheer fact that the Governor’s office and others were calling SolarCity’s factory the “GigaFactory.” That was a term first mentioned by Musk on an earnings call in late 2013.

But beyond the obvious similarities, what the two companies are trying to accomplish with these factories is actually quite different. Here’s a look at the contrasts between the two factories, as opposed to the already widely discussed similarities:

SolarCity panels, image courtesy of SolarCity.

SolarCity is trying to cross through the Valley of Death

As I mentioned above, SolarCity is trying to scale up a solar cell manufacturing process that previously was being produced on a small 32 MW line in China. And SolarCity itself doesn’t have previous manufacturing experience, though its latest acquisition, Silevo, does.

SolarCity bought seven-year-old startup Silevo earlier this summer, and will be scaling up this startup’s technology in Buffalo. Most of the startups that try to move from small pilot manufacturing to large-scale commercial manufacturing end up meeting hurdles in costs, in delays and in efficiency and consistency of manufacturing. You can read all of these risks in SolarCity’s SEC filing.

Solyndra’s now defunct 300,000 square foot factory

Solyndra infamously tried to scale up young solar manufacturing technology and crashed and burned. Shyam Mehta has a good article on why Silevo’s tech (it’s evolutionary from the current standard being used now) and strategy is much less risky than Solyndra’s, but clearly there’s still a substantial risk involved.

Tesla, on the other hand, will be using mostly already-proven and scaled out lithium-ion battery technology. Panasonic will be bringing in its battery manufacturing equipment. The technology risk itself is low, even if the scale and size is unprecedented.

Tesla’s factory will be gargantuan while SolarCity’s will be just big

Another big differences between these two strategies is sheer size. Tesla’s battery factory will be a 10 million-square-foot factory, while will be a mile long and 70 feet high. SolarCity’s factory will be a 1 million square foot factory on 88 acres.

Tesla’s factory will be so big that it will change the face of the lithium ion battery industry and it will be by far the largest source of these batteries in the world. In terms of volume, it will actually be bigger than all of the output of the current lithium ion battery factories in the world combined.

A recently raised spot of land in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. Katie Fehrenbacher, Gigaom.

SolarCity’s 1 GW factory is big, but not bigger than some of the large solar manufacturers in China. Before Suntech Power fell, it had capacity for 2 GW of solar panels a year (twice SolarCity’s projected amount), and Yingli Solar has about that amount of production capacity, too. SolarCity’s factory won’t change the game for the entire industry, but it could be a disruptive competitive step for SolarCity itself, helping it reduce costs and scale with a potential tech advantage.

The factories meet different needs for the companies

Tesla has to build its battery factory in order to reach a certain scale and price reduction for its third-generation, more low cost, electric car. Tesla can’t make a $35,000 electric car (it might end up being more expensive than that) at large volumes unless worldwide lithium ion battery capacity grows and costs drop.

While Tesla does intend to sell some of the batteries produced for grid-scale energy storage, becoming a battery producer isn’t the main goal; selling more cars is. There is a certain amount of risk involved if the Model 3 car isn’t a hit for whatever reason. Tesla’s cars are constrained by supply right now, not demand, but if a ton of batteries for its cars are produced, it will need to generate considerable demand.

SolarCity is also looking to reduce the cost of solar panels, and grow its solar installations dramatically, and it needs to do these things to become profitable. But there’s isn’t a technology leap and new product — like Tesla’s Model 3 — that it needs to make. Consumers don’t care if SolarCity is using its own panels, or another companies panels on their rooftop. So in that respect, the demand will be more predictable than Tesla’s Model 3 electric car demand.

SolarCity and Tesla are taking these steps, to build these big factories, at the same time, which is actually a helpful strategy for both companies. Tesla can pair its excess batteries with SolarCity’s solar panels and use SolarCity’s distribution to get energy storage sold. SolarCity will likely be installing solar panels on the Tesla factory roof and already sells Tesla its panels for its superchargers. The union ultimately could help both companies make it through this higher risk time launching these new factories.

Source: http://www.gigaom.com