Monthly Archives: April 2013

Natural hand function of the prosthetic limb

It’s amazing to know that prosthetic innovation seems to be moving faster than I thought. Now, it is possible to use the iPhone with a prosthetic hand. I heard about the “biosim” app through which someone having prosthetic limbs can control the phone with the help of ios app.

After watching the video, I found that there’s a conductive covering over one of the hands that lets the person use the iPhone touch screen with the prosthetics. What an amazing use of tech!

I guess the prosthetic hand would be able to interact with iPhone’s display and with the stylus too. The fake hand is expected to be all-purpose hand. The users can choose one of the 24 grip patterns and also customize the grips.

I believe nothing can beat the human hand. I’d love to know more about the technology behind it. Off I go to Google it!

Should Google Worry from Flurry?

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Both Google and Flurry have been offering free mobile app analytics to understand how consumers interact with their mobile applications. And now since the treasure trove of data that’s been collected by Flurry’s analytic software (that monitors consumer behavior on 1 billion smartphones and tablets each month and that’s been capturing over 1.3 trillion actions performed by such consumers in those apps each month) is ready to be utilized by advertisers; the company is launching an exchange called “Flurry Marketplace”.

The company has created this exchange to facilitate advertisers and content publishers to team up to target ads at intended audiences in an automated, programmatic fashion. The bidding takes place in real-time with pre-bundled data from more than 300,000 apps.

Not only this, advertisers can get more granular detail such as gender, device, geography, application category, application, and Flurry Personas (or profiles of users who behave in certain ways) along with access to more than 300 million monthly unique users and billions of ad requests to bid on per month. But that’s not all, the technology is compliant with an industry standard known as OpenRTB.

I’m wondering if this is turning Google Analytics vs Flurry? And if it really is then what will be Google’s next move? Because Flurry is a significant differentiator, at least that’s what company says. [Read Here…]

Apple’s Siri can be your new Chauffeur

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I’ve read Apple is gearing for iCar. It seems that Siri technology is behind it. Some auto makers like Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ferrari, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota are finding ways to get iOS apps to work on their dashboards with others like Chevrolet and Cadillac already offering Siri integration in their Spark EV and the 2014 Cadillac CTS respectively.

Now if you’ve been thinking that Apple is just mocking other major players like Microsoft who powered Ford’s SYNC technology then you may probably be wrong, because Apple’s late CEO and the great man, “Steve Jobs dream was to design an iCar before he died”, according to longtime Apple board member Mickey Drexler.

But Apple’s Siri Eyes Free is just the beginning because the company isn’t content with Siri integration as the ONLY automotive strategy.

So iPhone users will now have one more reason to look up on company’s future innovations. [Read More…]

iPhone or should I scan?

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By now iPhone but now, I can scan whenever and wherever I want. I got to know about Biometric Scanning App called AOptix Stratus that is currently available for iPhone 4 and 4S for $199.

I’ve also read that the app comes with the wrap-around device that turns our iPhone into a portable iris, face, fingerprint and voice scanner making biometrics recognition easier and mobile.

It gives me a same feeling as having exclusive rights over something, since the combo is the only mobile biometric device with iris and fingerprint recognition that is made for iPhone.

The innovation is already interesting (or I must say it has already won the interest) of security agencies and defense department. Read More…

AppGratis – Finder itself Missing on iTunes

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I am a bit saddened by the fact that Apple pulled discovery service and daily deal app AppGratis from the App store.

Current users of the app can although continue to use the app as earlier, but others won’t be able to find the app on iTunes; for whom AppsGoneFree can be a suitable option, which not only encompasses the AppGratis finding feature and but tells about free app of the week on Apple App Store by highlighting paid apps that have gone free for a limited time period or so.

AppShopper, a service similar to AppGratis that notified users of deals and discounts, also used to be a great tool though, I’m disappointed I didn’t grab it before it got pulled off the store, I use their website a fair bit for app discovery.

And talking about AppGratis, CEO Simon Dawlat says, “AppGratis is more than just a deal trawling middleman – it’s a discovery tool that’s all about helping independent developers gain exposure and profit via its revenue-sharing deals.”

I am lucky to have downloaded AppGratis before it was pulled off. My service is unaffected and I am happy with that.

Is Apple aiming to outdo Google’s Street View?

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I was thinking why did Apple go through its Maps Application which was released in iOS 6. It seems that Apple is following Google’s footsteps as a new patent was filed by Apple showing something that looks a lot like Google Street View.

I am surprised to know that Apple is eyeing its own “Street View” type navigation system and one that offers a key benefit over Google’s version. Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s “3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Imagery Navigation” patent filing describes a navigation technology that looks and works like Street View. The system would display a panoramic image of a certain location on your mobile device, allowing you to virtually move around the area.

Wondering if Apple maps surpass Google maps very soon? I’m sorry….I’m just in a fantasy world thinking if Apple maps will ever surpass Google maps. Unless they snatched a bunch of employees from Google, I doubt they have a lot of skill in this particular arena. Google has thousands of people that do nothing but work on improving Maps. It’s not the kind of thing you can outsource to China. Unless Apple is willing to do that kind of work, their offering will never be even half as good as Google’s. I believe nobody can beat Google maps.

I just can’t wait to see those cute little iCars driving around taking iPictures and capturing iWifi signals.

5 Best Tablets and iPad Alternatives

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Not until explored I got to know about some superb alternatives that render equally fabulous and friendly User Experience (UX), with some even surpassing Apple’s flagship product – iPad (as reported by Study). I was impressed by a few features of following 5 tablets and iPad Alternatives:

1. Dell Latitude 10: A study commissioned by Dell and carried out by Principled Technologies showed that the 10.1-inch Latitude 10 was 17 times faster, 94% less expensive for deploying compared to iPad and 99% faster for software updates. The tests concluded that the tablet was 85% cheaper per device to maintain over a three-year period.

But this was not the only study that came up with such an astonishing conclusion. What another report from analyst Patrick Moorhead claimed was that Dell’s tablet is more secure than the iPad.

Even the price tag of this gadget is impressive just like its capability. A 64GB model costs about $579 while a soon and set to be launched 32GB version will tentatively be available at $499 later this year.

2. Amplify Tablet: The 10-inch Android Tablet manufactured by Asus offers a quad-core Tegra 3 system-on-chip and is powered by Android’s 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. What fascinates me about this product is its long lasting battery that is almost 8.5 hours (which I’ve only read about but not tried myself). But that’s not the only admirable thing about it.

What delights me more than that is its Eye-Tracking Technology regardless of product being majorly inclined and intended to serve educational purposes.

The entry level Amplify tablet price starts from $299 and goes up to $349 for Amplify Plus, which comes with a 4G data plan.

3. Kuno Tablet: I see a wonderful gift in it for my child cuz this tablet is Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant for keeping kids safe on the web. Besides the 9.7-inch tablet powered by Android’s 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, features dual-facing cameras, USB and HDMI connections and a 1024 x 768 resolution display with quoted battery life of 7 hours for video and 10 hours for browsing the Internet.

4. LearnPad Quarto: This tablet also offers a 9.7-inch screen with 1024 x 768 IPS display for excellent viewing angles and boasts of a dual-core 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, dual-facing cameras and connections for micro USB, SD and HDMI.

Again the full battery recharge lasts for about 8 hours & this tablet is available for a moderate price of $302 though the premium version, LearnPad Folio goes up to $454.

5. Amazon Kindle Fire: This tablet’s Gorilla Glass wins my heart however the exclusive advantages for the IT managers and others, provided they sign up to use Amazon’s Whispercast is that using the cloud-based service, IT administrators can roll out apps, documents and books to various Kindle Fire devices.

Passwords can be enforced to protect content, while admins can also stop users from doing a factory reset, visiting Facebook or Twitter or buying content from Amazon. Kindle users can also be organized into groups.

Just give a shot and try out these wonderful tabs. And share your experiences via comments.

The Unpronounced King of Android goes for a store-within-a-store

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While talking about technology and retail outlets, no one can come close to Apple I think. When we walk into an Apple store, the professionals working their teach us how to use Apple’s products. But now, there’s one more major player that is being Apple.

Yes you heard it right. The Unpronounced king and maker of Android phones – Samsung teams up with “Best Buy” to provide Samsung Experience Shop just like Apple’s store-within-a-store concept launched at Best Buy in 2007. I wonder how much business would these 1400 Best Buy stores make. Seems like Samsung is trying to push its sales by showing off the people what it has for the customers.

Samsung is going to start off with the Galaxy line of Smart phones and tablets along with the connected products and devices. Samsung just figured that an extra training and support staff can go a long way.

Don’t know how Samsung’s strategy is gonna work, but I guess a visit to the nearest Best Buy Store would worth an experience.