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Sony laser pico projector module beams out focus-free HD images
If your presentation audience is noticing pixels, then projector resolution may be the least of your problems. Nevertheless, Sony's just introduced a new pico module that'll allow manufacturers to build pocket-sized projectors with high-def, 16:9 images using laser beam scanning (1,920 x 720 with rectangular pixels). That'll bring sharp focus regardless of screen distance, along with high contrast, wider color gamut and reduced laser "speckle," according to Sony. There's also built-in screen distortion correction for off-kilter situations. If you're now scheming about some kind of shark-mounted entertainment system, though, it'll have to wait -- the tech is only available to projector makers.
Foursquare teases a giant mobile app remake, mayors quiver in anticipation
Foursquare has been steadily adding to its mobile app since its check-in service took off. A major remake hasn't been in the cards, however, until now. The company is teasing a major update this week that will reflect Foursquare's shift from simply broadcasting your coffee shop invasions to recommending where to go next. From what little the company is willing to let slip in advance, the emphasis will be on spotting popular destinations on the map as well as more alluring location pages. There's still several questions left open, including an exact release date as well as whether or not the update is coming to more than one platform on day one; we've only seen iOS shots so far. Still, it's looking as though fans of Oink and Yelp will find something to like in Foursquare very shortly.
AT&T ShopAlerts: first location-based ads from a US carrier kick off in four markets
A few third-party apps have been going after this market for a while now, but AT&T has just become the first American carrier to throw its weight behind location-based ads in teaming up with Placecast to launch the so-called AT&T ShopAlerts service in four markets. Residents of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco will be the first to experience the mind-bending future of advertising -- presumably because they're densely-populated enough to make a location-based trial worthwhile -- with seven inaugural partners: HP, Kmart, JetBlue, SC Johnson, Kibbles 'n Bits ('n Bits 'n Bits), Nature's Recipe, and the "got milk?" people. Fortunately, the system is opt-in, not out. Follow the break for AT&T's full press release.
Garmin navigation to be an Android exclusive for ASUS, headed to Apple and RIM app stores
Details of the Garmin-ASUS breakup are slowly being revealed. We now know that ASUS has obtained exclusive rights to license Garmin navigation and location based services on its Android smartphones with a Garmin navigation trademark slapped on the back -- other Android handset makers need not apply. ASUS will go back to selling its own-brand handsets in January, including models equipped with 3D for gaming and connectivity with ASUS ebook readers and tablets, according to DigiTimes. For its part, Garmin's official blog says that it will be expanding its mobile application handset development by offering navigation and other applications through "certain consumer application stores." According to DigiTimes, that means Apple's iTunes App Store and RIM's App World. So, in other words, Garmin and ASUS are still friends but are now free to date anyone they want, you know, except for anyone in eachother's families. How mature.
Motorola snaps up location specialist Aloqa
Location-based services are a pretty hot topic right now -- though not necessarily for all the reasons Google would like -- and Android specialist Motorola is diving a little deeper this week with its acquisition of German firm Aloqa. For those of you not familiar with Aloqa's app (which is available on a pretty wide variety of platforms), it basically keeps track of local events and deals that you might be interested in based on your location (and on Aloqa's partnerships, of course). For its part, Motorola says that it's looking to integrate the company's technology with Blur, both proving that Blur isn't going anywhere any time soon and also suggesting that Aloqa's apps on competing platforms might be short for this world; no word on a launch timeline, though. Follow the break for Motorola's full press release.
Rosum's Alloy chip promises 'precise' location using TV signals
Though plenty of firms (including some big ones) have been trying to commercialize consumer-facing indoor positioning technologies for years, none have succeeded on a wide scale -- which certainly seems to leave the door wide open for a system that actually works to be wildly successful, doesn't it? Rosum has been toying with the idea of using plain old TV signals to accurately locate people and objects within GPS-hating structures for years, and with today's launch of its so-called Alloy system with partner Siano, the company could be closer to wide-scale deployment. Basically, Alloy combines AGPS (for maximum precision outdoors and in marginal areas) with support for a variety of types of TV signals to enhance coverage and provide <150 meter accuracy even in the deepest, darkest, dankest corners of your home where traditional GPS would never dream of going. What's more, Rosum touts that TV positioning is several orders of magnitude more power-efficient than AGPS, music to the ears of anyone who's struggling to get a full day's battery out of their phone. They're sampling chipsets beginning this month, but don't expect it in handsets right away -- Rosum's primary target appears to be femtocell makers. The devices traditionally require GPS reception, requiring unsightly remote GPS antennas if you're not interested in balancing the cell on a window sill, so a technology like this should let you properly bury that network extender behind a bookshelf where it belongs. Follow the break for Rosum's press release.
New Google API lets mobile sites track you down
Pretty much everyone's saying that location-based services for phones are the Next Big Thing -- thing is, they've been saying that for three or four Things back now. Integrated GPS, AGPS, and comprehensive, highly accurate cell databases are finally making trackdowns a reality these days, but finding decent software to take advantage of the capability can still be a challenge thanks to some of the same issues that have been plaguing mobile platforms for years: platform dependence, slow uptake on downloads, bugginess, the list goes on. Wouldn't it be great if you could just hit up your favorite mobile-optimized site and get a location lock, no app required? That's what Google's hoping to do with its new Gears Geolocation API, which third parties can plug into their sites and automatically take advantage of both tower and GPS-based positioning. It only works on Internet Explorer on WinMo pieces at the moment, but naturally, they're looking to spread it far and wide over time.[Via Phone Scoop]
Nokia jumps on location-based mobile social networking bandwagon with Nokia Chat
Services like Loopt and Whrrl are trying to break the door down on a potentially huge new market by convincing phone users that it's totally cool for your friends to know exactly where you are at any given time. Potentially scary, yes, but the benefits are obvious -- and when all the security and privacy issues have been squared away, it could be a big deal. Nokia's diving into the fray now with Chat, an IM client currently in beta that integrates with your contact list and allows selected friends to see one anothers' locations in real time. That in itself isn't novel, but the app also allows you to mark off landmarks which will automatically trigger broadcast messages to your friends with zero involvement or interaction with the phone. Kinda nifty for letting folks know when you show up to work or school, for example -- as long as you're not chronically late, anyhow. Follow the break for a video intro of the system.
Whrrl first app to get iFund cash infusion
Kleiner Perkins Claufield & Byers' so-called iFund, the $100 million jackpot being doled out to help support development on the iPhone that was launched in cooperation with Apple back in March, officially has its first pair of recipients. The lucky two are Whrrl -- a social mapping service that allows its users to mark and rate restaurants, entertainment, and events -- and iControl, a home automation app for doing the usual range of light, sound, and appliance control tasks that one might want to do from a handheld device. It really is like winning the lottery, too -- Kleiner claims to have received proposals from over 1,700 companies hoping to get a piece of the iFund pie, but besides these two, the fund has only made an offer to one other project so far. Stingy![Via MacRumors]
Family Locator now accessible from all web-enabled Sprint phones
US carriers have been aggressively rolling out and promoting kid-tracking services over the past couple years, and Sprint's just expanded the release of its version -- Family Locator -- to a wider audience. Any location-aware model in Sprint's arsenal can be tracked, but perhaps more importantly, the actual tracking service can now be accessed from any web-capable model the carrier sells (which we're pretty sure is all of 'em at this point). Interestingly, we were able to access the login and free trial pages of the phone-based tracking app from an AT&T phone, so it's possible that pretty much anyone with mobile web access can get their track on now -- much to the chagrin of the young'uns, we'd imagine.
NavStar's Voice Navigator ditches the screen, simply talks back
There's just something magical about listening to a British dame tell us exactly how many meters remain before we make our next turn, but we're not so sure we'd be down with only that. Nevertheless, NavStar is hoping that you won't mind the loss of visual aids when navigating to your next destination, as its Voice Navigator ditches the screen entirely and doles out guidance via auditory cues. Granted, the concept sounds at least halfway decent, but judging by a video of the unit in action, we can't say we're thrilled. The firm is, however, aiming to integrate "freshly updated NAVTEQ map data" to its servers each quarter, which should enable US drivers to take the most efficient routes as new roads open up. Hit up your local RV dealer for a demonstration, but set the expectation bar low, okay?[Via GPSTracklog]
E911 actually works, finds transplant patient at jazz festival
From listening to your phone calls to reading your text messages, Big Brother will always find a way to keep up to date with our lives. For a 10 year old boy from Pennsylvania who was waiting for a heart transplant, it was an indispensable technology that saved his life. While waiting for a phone call notifying him a donor had been found, they boy was out with his family and unreachable. Luckily for him, his mother had a Sprint celly and the authorities where able to locate them while at a local jazz festival using the phones integrated GPS. Soon after being located, the boy was rushed to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh where the surgery was a success.
Verizon to bring LBS to PDAs
Are you tired of seeking out third-party nav applications for your Palm 700wx or Motorola Q? We hear you on that -- and it turns out Verizon does, too. Word has it that The Network is testing navigation service for PDA devices (a la VZW Navigator for dumbphones) and it should be available some time in the third quarter of this year. For everyone's sake, let's just hope it's made to support new and old devices alike.[Thanks, HTC Kid]
The Shroud: location-based services can be fun, too
Remember "Colors," that GPS-enabled vaporware game for the Gizmondo that was supposed to revolutionize the concept of location-based gaming, but never happened on account of Gizmondo's spectacular implosion? Well, the concept lives on -- and this time, it's in a form that a good percentage of the world's cellphone users should be able to enjoy. "The Shroud" looks looks to be a pretty ambitious and far-reaching project that attempts to bring the involvement and immersion of a traditional massively multiplayer RPG and shrink it down, allegedly offering gameplay that is "fun for hours as well as just for a few minutes." The typical RPG-ish activities play a major role in the game -- item collection and trading, quests, and the like -- but the big draws here will be the developers' ability to continually update maps and items (when the phone has a data connection, of course) and the game's LBS features, which will allow gamers to perform special tasks and challenges when in designated real-world zones -- if they have a GPS-enabled phone, of course. According to the publisher, users should never be more than four or five miles from a "hotspot" at any given time, meaning we won't need to book a flight just to get to that hot quest we're dying to complete. Look for The Shroud to hit a phone near you in the next few weeks, with availability through both carrier portals and direct download. Continue on for a few screenshots!
Nokia project puts red boxes on things
"Copy that, Echo 1, I've got a lock on Pizzeria Dacca. Permission to take the shot?" Borrowing cues from heads-up displays you might find in the cockpits of fighter jets, Nokia's Research Center has cobbled together the MARA (Mobile Augmented Reality Applications) project for identifying the user's surroundings. Using a Nokia 6680 specially equipped with a big, ugly box containing accelerometers in all three axes, a compass, and a GPS receiver, the phone has enough information to precisely identify objects seen through its camera by appending stuff (like the aforementioned red boxes) to the on-screen viewfinder -- useful for identifying buildings, streets, and even friends (or "bogeys" if you want to stick with the fighter jet lingo). Though MARA is strictly a research project, it's apparently been under development for a good while now, lending hope that the system might eventually see production some time down the road. We have to admit, the cool factor is extremely high on this one, and we'd love to see it happen.[Via GigaOM]
Cingular hooks up with TeleNav for LBS
Following its CDMA and iDEN competitors headlong into the hot location-based services game, Cingular is finally poised mark their first wide-scale LBS deployment by hooking up with TeleNav to offer turn-by-turn navigation to its customers. Though the service will be marketed mainly toward the carrier's business users, pretty much anyone with a lousy sense of direction stands to benefit, with both auto and pedestrian modes included in the box. It'll be offered starting at $5.99 a month for 10 uses or $9.99 for unlimited use on the HP hw6920, Treo 650, Cingular 8125, and the just-'round-the-corner 8525, though handsets without GPS receivers (that is, pretty much anything but the HP) will need to hook up to an external Bluetooth unit to make it all happen.
Stalking simplified: Loopt's Mobile Friend Finder for Boost
It seems there will likely come a day when everyone knows the latitude and longitude of everyone else in real time, we were just secretly hoping that we wouldn't see that day in our lifetime. Alas, Loopt's gone ahead and found a customer -- Boost Mobile -- for its friend-tracking system, which maps the location of buddies on a Google Local-like display. Happily, users must opt in before they can be tracked; once they do, the system will show current location, a settable status, and messages sent from other, uh, trackees. Of course, unless all your friends are on Boost, the system is of limited value, but we're pleased to know someone's out there keeping the Big Brother dream alive.[Via Phone Scoop]Update: Loopt would like us to let you know that their service is entirely opt-in, and that only approved users can track your whereabouts.
Colleges phasing out landlines in favor of mobiles
In an effort to get hip to the times (read: stop hemorrhaging cash on unprofitable landlines), some colleges are now submitting to the reality that virtually all students prefer mobile phones as their primary form of contact by decommissioning or reducing reliance on campus and dorm phone systems in favor of wireless. Several are going so far as to provide their students with custom plans and mobile apps connected to campus systems. As we initially reported last year, one of the more ambitious projects is coming together at New Jersey's Montclair State University where incoming freshmen now receive obligatory LBS-enabled cellphones loaded with school software and services co-developed with Rave Wireless. The LBS aspect has apparently been a hangup for some students, though, weirded out by the concept of being tracked by their deans and professors until they're assured that the GPS tracking functionality of the phone is strictly opt-in only, which can be activated by individuals in an emergency to assist police. Morrisville State in New York even buddied up with Nextel Partners (yeah, that Nextel Partners) to beef up campus coverage in exchange for bundling wireless plans with students' room and board bills. It's always refreshing to see stodgy institutions wising up to these sorts of trends -- albeit late -- but as the AP points out, many students are likely to be coming in with existing phones and family plans that end up cheaper than what the schools are able to offer. Of course, if Montclair offers real-time tracking of every pizza delivery driver in town, well, there's your killer app right there.
