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

Cyberith Virtualizer VR Treadmill Lets You Step Into Virtual Shoes

When the Omni VR treadmill was announced, many anointed it as the perfect companion to the much-awaited Oculus Rift. But a group of students at the Vienna University of Technology may have a better VR treadmill at their hands (and feet). They call it the Cyberith Virtualizer.

The Cyberith Virtualizer is an omnidirectional locomotion device with integrated sensors for motion detection.

Much like the Omni VR, the Virtualizer is an omnidirectional motion sensor. It allows the user to walk or run in any direction, as well as jump, crouch and strafe. However, unlike the Omni VR, the Virtualizer also lets the user play while sitting. Another big difference is that its walking surface is flat, makes no sound and only requires that the user wear socks. The Omni VR on the other hand requires users to wear a custom pair of low friction shoes and it makes a considerable amount of noise when used. The video below shows Cyberith founder Tuncay Cakmak play a modified version of Grand Theft Auto IV using the Virtualizer, a Wiimote and of course an Oculus Rift headset.

Each day gaming technologies are improving, not just gaming techs but also other technologies, and it's fast. This Virtualizer is an example of the improvement of our technologies. We don't know that maybe someday we are able to enter and play inside video games.

Source: http://technabob.com/

5 PC Games That Stood Out During The E3 2014

Last June 10-12, 2014, the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 (E3 2014) was held. Many game publishers showed off some of their best PC games, and many stood out. Well it's obviously a showdown for games. Anyway, here are 5 of the PC Games that stood out during the E3 2014.

The Sims 4

The Sims 4 is the latest installment in the popular simulation franchise. Players once again take control of virtual lives, guiding their Sims through lives however they wish.

The Sims 4 refines some systems in the franchise, while expanding others. As with all previous iterations, there is no way to "win" or "lose" beyond what goals you set for yourself. Do you want your Sim to succeed in their chosen career? Raise a family? Plant a garden? Loaf about and do nothing at all? It's all up to you!

Batman: Arkham Knight

The game's main storyline is set one year after that of 2011's Batman: Arkham City and follows Batman, at the peak of his ability, as he confronts the supervillain Scarecrow, who has returned to Gotham City to unite Batman's enemies in a plot to finally kill the Dark Knight.

Far Cry 4

The single-player story follows Ajay Ghale, an English-speaking Nepalese native who returns to Kyrat, a wild and untamed region of his home country to scatter his mother's ashes. Once there, he becomes caught up in a civil war as the people struggle under the despotic regime of self-appointed king Pagan Min (Troy Baker). Far Cry 4 marks the first time in the Far Cry series that the main characters are natives to the country in which the game takes place.

Battlefield Hardline

Battlefield Hardline is a spin off game in the Battlefield series. Hardline will be the first game in the series to focus on a topic other than military warfare, it will instead revolve around fighting crime in a cops vs criminals setting.

Assassin's Creed V: Unity

Set within Paris during the French Revolution, the single-player story follows Arno Dorian in his efforts to expose the true powers behind the Revolution.

Combat for the game was rebuilt, with fencing being used as an inspiration for the new system. In addition to returning weapons from previous games, Assassin's Creed Unity introduces the Phantom Blade. The Phantom Blade uses the mechanics of a crossbow to fire a silent projectile a great distance, while still serving the same role as the Hidden Blade in previous Assassin's Creed games. Navigation for the game was also overhauled. Ubisoft created new "Parkour Up" and "Parkour Down" mechanics to make it easier for the player to scale buildings in either direction. Additionally, Arno learns new parkour moves throughout the game, but the player can also purchase new skills as well. With the updated, larger crowds, new interactions with them are also available. The crowd regularly presents many activities, appearing organically, that the player can choose to engage with at their leisure. Examples include interfering in a fistfight, or chasing down a pickpocket

Assassin's Creed Unity also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the series. Players can enter taverns, which act as social hubs in the game, where you can see if any friends are playing the game at the current time. If they are currently in a mission, they will appear as a "ghost" version of their player, allowing you to approach it to request to join their mission. If accepted, you are transitioned to their game and both of you reset to the most recent checkpoint, and continue on from there. Up to four players can join together in this fashion. The player will take on the role of Arno within their own game, with other players appearing as randomly-generated Assassins. Many missions and activities will be available for cooperative play (which the player can also complete on their own), but there are some story missions that are set aside to be single player only.

So, that's 5 of some of the best games of E3 2014. Well, some of these games are not yet released but eventually they will be soon. Hopefully, they are expected to be released this coming late 2014 or maybe next year. You might want to start saving money for these guys.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Technologies That Will Change The Future Of Gaming

These technologies will add a new chapter to the history of gaming. Technologies that will change the way we will view and play our games to a whole new level.

Since the introduction of Nintendo's Wii's motion-based controls in 2006, many companies was inspired by their financial success which are the likes of Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's PlayStation Move, although neither was able to match the Wii's acceptance rate within the gaming and mainstream community.

As a result, everyone's seemingly squirming under the pressure to introduce the next great leap in interactivity, but a handful of engineers and developers have already made serious headway towards reinventing the way we'll play games in the years to come. Here are five of the most promising and revolutionary technologies that may one day find their way into our PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

Leap Motion Controller

www.leapmotion.com

The Leap Motion Controller may share a few similarities with Microsoft's Kinect, but its form factor and approach to gesture controls are quite different. It's small, reasonably priced at $69.99 and designed to track minute finger or stylus movements at a threshold of .01 millimeters. Though the Kinect is capable of tracking your entire body, its strict lighting and relative-orientation requirements are a major turnoff for most customers, and in turn, developers. Leap Motion's tech eliminates these barriers, and while it may only capture hand/finger movements in its current form, that in itself is an invaluable capability rife with potential. Most Leap Motion demos take place at a desk in front of a PC monitor, but there's no reason the designers couldn't simply extend the cable or implement wireless functionality to adapt it to consoles and coffee tables.

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Eye Tribe

www.theeyetribe.com

Eye Tribe's goal is to integrate hands-free controls into devices such as cell phones, tablets, and feasibly, gaming devices like the 3DS or Vita. While tracking retina movements isn't groundbreaking in itself, it has generally been too expensive for consumers and too large for manufacturers to embed in their products. Eye Tribe was more than happy to upend these notions at CES 2013, demoing its external and embedded retina-tracking solutions running on Windows 8 tablets. In the video above, CNET's Bridget Carey takes on Fruit Ninja, deftly slicing citrus and berry alike. Retina tracking may not be suitable for every type of game, but once the tech establishes itself as a must-have bullet point for hardware manufacturers, it's only a matter of time before we start to see new game types and mechanics designed around its unusual functionality.

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InteraXon Muse

www.interAxon.com

We may never gain telekinetic powers in real life, but if InteraXon manages to deliver on its promises, we may be able to interact with software using our thoughts in the near future. The Muse, InteraXon's brain-wave-sensing headband, is leading the way for consumer-grade thought-controlled interfaces, which may one day find their way into the realm of gaming peripherals. Nintendo dabbled in biosensors with the Japanese-only Tetris 64, a Nintendo 64 game, but its pulse-sensing accessory failed to leave a mark and was left to wallow in obscurity. InteraXon's focus on brain-wave sensors expands the possibilities beyond passive heart-rate monitoring, allowing you to directly control software by focusing your thoughts. Beyond the example shown in the Zenbound demo, thought control will let people, especially those with physical disabilities, interact with software in ways many of us have never imagined.

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Oculus Rift

www.oculusvr.com

Head-mounted displays have come and gone over the years, promising a future where virtual reality will actually be relevant outside of events like CES and the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The latest, Palmer Lucky's Oculus Rift, stands a better chance than most thanks to his experience researching and developing HMDs for the US military. At 110 degrees, the Rift totes the widest diagonal field of view for an HMD to date. Its accelerometers, gyroscopes, and pair of low-latency, stereoscopic 3D displays convincingly re-create your movements almost as fast as you can make them. With developer kits potentially shipping in late spring, the Rift may finally bring VR to the masses as soon as 2014.

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Microsoft IllumiRoom

research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/illumiroom/

Microsoft quietly revealed a trailer for a new project during CES that maps the geography of your living room and projects games onto the surface of your walls and furniture surrounding your TV, mixing real and virtual environments in an entirely new way. Whether the IllumiRoom is simulating snow or extending your view of the battlefield, it will open new avenues of expression for developers and artists. The teaser video was created without the use of special effects, illustrating the already impressive capabilities of the WIP technology that may find itself bundled with your new Xbox in the near future.

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Most of the products mentioned are still under development, but if all of these succeeds, these will truly change the history of gaming. The time might not be now, maybe in the near future it will be released by the time the next console generation enters. If this happens we might never see the sun again. Don't you think?

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/