Tactus makes keyboards that appear out of seemingly flat glass touchscreen surfaces, thanks a fluid-based layer that reacts to electrical signals to create rises and bumps that serve as keys and buttons. It’s a magical technology, and one that you can see demoed on video in the clip below from CES this year. Soon, you’ll be able to get that tech on a range of devices thanks to a new… Read More
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Tactus Taps Wistron To Bring Its Magical Physical Touchscreen Buttons To The Masses
Amazon’s smartphone leaks are starting to pile up quickly, and today our own report about some of its 3D features and Android-based FIreOS operating system was followed quickly by an extensive report about the phone’s supposed specs, complete with pics of the gadget housed in a case designed to keep its final look a secret. The pics and specs come from BGR, which reports that Amazon is… Read More
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Amazon’s Smartphone Gets Its First Spy Shots Along With Rumored Specs
Quixter has built a biometric pay-by-palm technology system that’s up and running at Lund University in Sweden. The idea is the brainchild of Fredrik Leifland, an engineering student at the university, who wanted to come up with a quicker system for making card payments. (And clearly didn’t think much of NFC.) Read More
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Biometric Startup Quixter Demos Pay-By-Palm Tech
According to a research analyst, the next iPad will sport the TouchID fingerprint scanner and a next-gen A8 mobile processor. The analyst also predicts that the upcoming iPad will sport a rear-facing 8MP camera. Read More
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TouchID, A8 Processor Slated For 2014 iPads
Last week, a small crowdfunded project called the Healbe GoBe made news, as backers and journalists questioned the company’s claims that it could measure caloric intake using a wearable device. While the claims do sound wild at best, the company is sticking to its story — and Indiegogo is sticking by the project. Read More
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The Risk And Rush Of Supporting A Crowdfunding Project
A new take on the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 6 from an independent designer provides a look at what we might expect from a thinner, larger-screened next-generation device. This latest one is just the most recent in a spate of design takes by Martin Hajek on potential future Apple products, and this one is commissioned by French blog NWE based on recently leaked sketches, which may or may not be… Read More
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iPhone 6 “Air” Concept Imagines A Return To The Glass Back Design
I have a theory. When it comes to new technology, there are a bunch of early adopters who start using it and everyone else sees the very worst in the technology, ultimately belittling, dismissing and making fun of those who use it. But in spite of this initial negative reaction the technology finds its way into the mainstream, after a time, and the early fears and misinformation fades away. Read More
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Why We Hate Google Glass — And All New Tech
Apple has just shipped iOS 7.1, which brings a number of small enhancements and some considerable performance improvements to older devices, but now the way is clear for iOS 8, and already the rumor mill has started cranking. 9to5Mac, which generally has reliable information for first-hand reported rumors, revealed today a couple of details about Apple’s next big mobile OS, which should… Read More
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iOS 8 Said To Take Maps To The Next Level With Added Data And Transit Directions
Forget about the rest of Samsung’s MWC offerings. The Gear Fit is about the most exciting product announced in Barcelona today. It’s the first Samsung wearable that has a legitimate chance of catching on. The Fit is focused to the fitness crowd – natch – but it packs enough features to be a hit with the general consumer. Like other wearables in this category, the Fit tracks movement, heart rate and sleep patterns. But unlike other current products, the Fit is water-resistant and packs phone notifications, a timer, stopwatch and a sleek curved OLED screen. Best of all it lacks all the nonsense found on its larger brothers. The Fit doesn’t sport a camera, speaker or a massive screen. It’s svelte and sexy just like a smartwatch should be. Samsung has yet to reveal the price on the Fit and that could be the deciding factor here. If the Fit was priced under $200, say, $179 or $149, Samsung could have a big hit on its hands. With a smart feature set and the right price, the Fit could be the missing link from fitness device to smartwatch the market has so far been missing. Gear_Fit_Black_01 Gear_Fit_Black_02 Gear_Fit_Black_04 Gear_Fit_Black_03 Gear_Fit_Black_05 Gear_Fit_Grey_01 Gear_Fit_Grey_02 Gear_Fit_Grey_04 Gear_Fit_Grey_03 Gear_Fit_Grey_05 Gear_Fit_Orange_01 Gear_Fit_Orange_04 Gear_Fit_Orange_03 Gear_Fit_Orange_05 Gear_Fit_Orange_02 Gear_Fit_Group 4 3 2 7 1 6 5 View Slideshow Previous Next Exit
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Depending On Price, The Samsung Gear Fit Could Dominate The Wearables Market
Apple is preparing for a big push in sapphire crystal display manufacturing, according to some new information unearthed by 9to5Mac and told to TechCrunch via a source familiar with the company’s plans. 9to5Mac, with the help of analyst Matt Margolis, has obtained documents that report Apple placing an order with partner GT Advanced technologies for large quantities of furnaces and chambers used in making sapphire displays. Our source informs us that a large order placed at Meyer Burger for wire-based diamond cutting systems (useful in handling ultra hard material like sapphire) was actually for Apple for delivery in 2014, though they aren’t named as a customer. Regarding the furnaces, Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac reports that GT Advanced has already taken delivery of 518 units, which could allow it to build as many as 116 displays of roughly five inches in size per year, with another 420 machines still on order, for a total potential capacity of around 200 million display panels at a size around one inch larger ( rumors suggest new models will be bigger ) than the current diagonal proportions of the iPhone 5s screen. Apple sold around 150 million iPhones in 2013 to put that in perspective, so doing the math, it could indeed be the case that Apple is putting the pieces together for a production run that spans the entire next generation of iPhone hardware. Gurman’s report adds that GT Advanced has ordered a large quantity of Sirius Sapphire Display Inspection Tool components, which helps manufacturers using sapphire in displays specifically for smartphones and other mobile devices by increasing yield numbers and making sure only high quality sapphire makes it into the production stream. Back when the GT Advanced deal, which saw Apple contribute $578 million to build a manufacturing plant for sapphire crystal in Arizona , our own Matthew Panzarino explained that it made sense for Apple to invest early in the tech should it plan to use it in large volumes later own. At first, it seemed likely that in the short-term, Apple’s focus would be more on small screen production with sapphire (for existing components like the camera lens cover and Touch ID sensor), but Gurman seems to believe iPhone displays are at least as likely. That’s backed up by a tidbit also reported by Matthew around the time of the revelation of the GT Advanced deal: Apple filed a patent recently for manufacturing sapphire laminates , which can help greatly reduce the cost of production for use of the material in touchscreen devices. Now, Apple seems ready to build the infrastructure necessary to turn its R&D into a key component advantage for future iPhone hardware. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on these new reports around sapphire component manufacturing, but we have yet to hear back. We’ll update if new information comes to light.
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Apple Said To Have Acquired Sapphire Display Manufacturing Components, Diamond Cutting Tools