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Leap Motion gesture control technology hands-on
Leap Motion unveiled its new gesture control technology earlier this week, along with videos showing the system tracking ten fingers with ease and a single digit slicing and dicing a grocery store's worth of produce in Fruit Ninja. Still, doubts persisted as to the veracity of the claim that the Leap is 200 times more accurate than existing tech. So, we decided to head up to San Francisco to talk with the men behind Leap, David Holz and Michael Buckwald, and see it for ourselves. Join us after the break to learn a bit more about Leap, our impressions of the technology, and a video of the thing in action.%Gallery-156126%
Daily Update for May 21, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Leap Motion reveals super-accurate motion control tech, $70 device to change the UI game
In many respects, Microsoft has led the charge towards a future of gesture-based controls with its Kinect, and other tech giants like Samsung and Apple are getting in on the action, too. The move to motion controls isn't limited to the big boys, however. Leap Motion has created a new device, called the Leap, it claims is 200 times more accurate than existing technology and will take gesture controls to the next level. It's about the size of a pack of gum, and once connected to your computer via USB, it creates a eight-cubic-foot virtual workspace. Within that area, it tracks all ten of your fingers simultaneously to within 1/100 of a millimeter -- that level of accuracy allows for rudimentary gestures like pinch-to-zoom and more complex actions like manipulating 3D-rendered objects. Naturally, the company isn't telling much about the black magic making it happen, but Leap Motion claims that its software can be embedded in almost anything with an onboard computer, from phones to refrigerators. Users can customize it to suit their needs with custom gestures and sensitivity settings, in addition to chaining multiple Leap devices together to create a larger workspace. Plus, Leap Motion has created an SDK for devs to create Leap-compatible applications and an app discovery platform to distribute them to others. That means the Leap can work in a variety of use cases, from simply navigating your desktop to gaming and computer-aided design. The best part? Leap brings you this next-gen UX for a mere $69.99, and a select few can pre-order them now, with the full roll-out coming this winter. Full details follow in the PR below, and you can see the Leap in action in the videos after the break.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 23rd, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we learned that ZTE intends to release a phablet of its own, and Samsung unseated Nokia as the world's largest supplier of mobile phones. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 23rd, 2012.
Leap Wireless, T-Mobile strike deal to swap spectrum, pending FCC approval
Earlier today, Cricket's parent company Leap Wireless announced a deal that'd see its own Savary Island Wireless, T-Mobile and Cook Intlet/VS GSM VII GPS (itself a T-Mo venture) swap spectrum in a handful of markets. The agreement lets Leap Wireless inherit 10MHz of AWS waves in Phoenix, Houston, Galveston, and Brian-College Station, TX, while the Magenta carrier -- in partnership with Cook Intlet -- would receive spectrum in various markets within Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Leap's CEO Doug Hutcheson says the move's bound to help "provide us a longer term flexibility to offer a larger LTE channel." Of course, the pact still needs the OK from the FCC, thus the champagne bottles must remain on standby until then.
Microsoft hiring for 'LEAP' and 'Platform Next' game studios
Microsoft is staffing up for two new studios within Microsoft Studios: LEAP and Platform Next. The job listing for Platform Next sufficiently explains the purpose of that studio: "pioneering experiences on Kinect." We assume that means innovative uses of the tech, not The Oregon Trail.LEAP, however, is more nebulous: it's an "incubation team," identified as "the people that developed Kinect and profoundly changed the way people interact with technology." It sounds like some kind of think tank for games -- but one that is making a game right now, as it needs a level designer.
Cricket LTE goes live in Tucson, introduces the Huawei Boltz
Leap Wireless, the Cricket folks, told us we can expect to see LTE service go live in Tucson before the end of the year -- and by golly, they were bound and determined to do it. Sure 'nuff, the prepaid carrier is now ready to match wits against MetroPCS as it brings its first 4G market and device live with just ten days remaining in 2011. At least 90 percent of Tucson will be able to enjoy the faster speeds, with nearby Nogales, AZ receiving some expansion love sometime in 2012 and at least two-thirds of its countrywide network benefiting from the next-gen service within the next two to three years. Its first LTE device is the Huawei Boltz -- also known as the Huawei E397 in other parts of the world -- and can be bought for $150 with no contract. Eventually, Leap says, the lineup will be expanded to include smartphones and tablets. Now, let's talk pricing: two data plans of 5GB each are available, with $50 getting you download speeds of 3Mbps and $60 offering you 6Mbps. Granted, this is nothing compared to the ultra-fast speeds you see on Verizon and AT&T's LTE networks at the moment, but it's a start.
Huawei Mercury arrives on Cricket in full Glory, available now for $250
What comes after Honor and Glory? Mercury, apparently. That's the American moniker of choice for Huawei's latest smartphone, which has just been launched on Cricket's network. Powered by a 1.4GHz single-core CPU, this Android-juiced handset boasts a four-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) display, packs 2GB of internal memory and sports an eight megapixel shooter, along with a VGA front-facing camera. The provider didn't offer many specifics on the software side, though the Mercury will support Google's full suite of mobile apps, while offering tethering support for up to five other devices. It's available now for $250 at select retailers, on Cricket's $55-per-month plan. Find more specs and information in the full PR, after the break.
Cricket adds Galaxy Tab 10.1 to the fold, leaps into stores this Friday
Cricket's device portfolio received an infusion of Honeycomb-drenched vitality this week, with the addition of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. Priced at $500, this WiFi-enabled, 16GB slate will hit the carrier's stores this Friday, where it will also be available as part of a $595 bundle deal that includes Cricket's Crosswave mobile hotspot and one month of broadband service. The new addition, announced yesterday, represents Cricket's first foray into the tablet space, which is exciting news for entomologists everywhere.
Leap Wireless testing the LTE waters by end of 2011, diving in head-first next year
Cricket's sure making some leaps and bounds, isn't it? That's right, Leap Wireless -- the prepaid provider's parent -- announced that it's making preparations to jump into the world of LTE. The carrier will begin testing the service in Tucson by the end of this year, and aims to blanket two-thirds of its current network (nearly 25 million people) with 4G goodness within the next two to three years. You won't have to wait that long to get your hands on an LTE-capable smartphone, however, as the first ones will begin showing up in the carrier's lineup by the second half of 2012. We knew the company had aspirations for the echelon of 4G when it signed a roaming agreement with LightSquared, so this doesn't necessarily come as a surprise, but it's the first solid announcement we've heard regarding its very own network. It looks like MetroPCS won't be the lone ranger in the prepaid LTE market for much longer. The news comes in line with the company's third quarter earnings report, which you can find below.
Lichborne: Closing the unholy gap in patch 4.3
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. If you read Brian Wood's state of the DPS feature a week or so back, you probably noted something that the death knight community's been arguing since somewhere back around patch 4.0.6: The unholy tree is lagging behind, and it's only getting worse. While the raid attack power buff coming with patch 4.3 should help out a bit, unholy may still need a bit of extra help to get back to at least that median DPS area. Today, we'll look at the problems facing the unholy tree and what we might like to see in the way of buffs on the patch 4.3 PTR.
AT&T reportedly talking to rivals about asset sales in effort to save T-Mobile deal
It's far too early to be writing it off, of course, but AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile is facing some fairly significant hurdles that could throw a big wrench in the companies' plans -- not the least of which is a lawsuit from the US Department of Justice. Now, according to Blooomberg, AT&T is proactively talking to a number of smaller rivals about selling some of its assets (namely, "spectrum and subscribers") in an effort to save the deal. While talks are described as "preliminary," AT&T has reportedly already reached out to MetroPCS, Leap Wireless, Dish Network, CenturyLink and even Sprint, although Bloomberg notes that any such sell-off may still not be enough to please the DOJ. As you might expect, all of those companies are remaining mum on the matter.
Mobile Miscellany: week of August 22, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011: Phone Releases Fido launched the Samsung Galaxy Q, also known as the Gravity Smart in the US, on Thursday. [via MobileSyrup] The BlackBerry Curve 9360 can already be purchased on Telus for $50 with a three-year contract, and the Torch 9860 will be available on August 30th. [via IntoMobile and CrackBerry] SouthernLINC Wireless announced the immediate availability of the Motorola Titanium, offered for $150 with a two-year commitment. T-Mobile released the Samsung Gravity TXT, a basic messaging phone that's on sale for $10. [via UnwiredView] Cricket has begun offering a new messaging phone called the Samsung Comment, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo bluetooth, a microSD slot and 1.3MP camera. It can be had for $90 with no commitment required. [via PhoneScoop] Other news The government of South Korea, in reaction to Google's planned acquisition of Motorola, now intends to form a consortium of local companies that will work together in building a brand new mobile operating system. [via IntoMobile] Randall Milch, Chief Counsel for Verizon, is so frustrated with the patent wars going on that this week he filed an appeal to President Obama, asking for him to provide assistance in the matter. [via PhoneScoop] The Motorola PRO is expected to debut in the UK in mid-September, though pre-orders are already taking place at select authorized resellers. [via UnwiredView] Leaked posters indicate the BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be offered by Verizon and screenshots show the same phone going to US Cellular, though we're still unsure of the release date or pricing. [via CrackBerry(1) and (2)] Last week we reported on the rumored Sony Ericsson Nozumi, a smartphone that will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. At the time, it was assumed to be only selling in Japan; however, there's a good possibility the Nozumi will end up available globally instead. [via XperiaBlog] Pantech's LTE phone on Verizon may actually end up being called the Breakout (rather than the "Apache"), according to a leaked screenshot. When released, it'll feature a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM, dual cameras, and will be preloaded with Gingerbread. Not much to write home about at this stage in the game, considering these are incredibly similar to the specs of the LG Revolution. However, it would be the first 4G phone on Big Red that has a 4-inch display. [via AndroidCentral] T-Mobile may be planning to throw a data pay-per-use feature onto any smartphone that currently has its internet access blocked. If this happens, it will affect current customers as well as new ones. [via TmoNews] Dish has petitioned the FCC for permission to use 40MHz of allocated spectrum to begin building out an LTE-Advanced network. [via PhoneScoop]
Scientists find less damaging defibrillation method, heart tissue relieved
Good news, aging Earthlings: a team of researchers have found a way to shock a coding patient's heart, while leaving other organs and tissues undamaged from the defibrillator. The device send a single high voltage pulse of electrical energy to a patient's chest in order to fix an irregular or nonexistent heart beat; traditionally, what often results is damage to point of contact and surrounding skin cells, muscles and tissues, but a team of whiz kids have seemingly figured out a way to dodge the dreadfulness. Led by scientists Stefan Luther and Flavio Fenton, the team claims that by using a series of five pulses of less potent shocks (instead of a single concentrated charge), docs can see an 84 percent reduction in damaging power. This new technology -- coined low-energy antifibrillation pacing (LEAP) -- can also be used in implanted defibrillators, not just the well-known flappy paddles. Due to the relatively low emissions, both the patient and such implants have extended lives. And that, friends, is good for us all -- given the impending Robot Apocalypse, we'll be needing those extra years just to hold down the fort.
Huawei Ascend II on sale now, brings off-contract Gingerbread to Cricket for $180
We gotta say -- we dig where this is headed. Between Virgin Mobile's Intercept, Boost Mobile's Prevail and Cricket's Ascend II, it's getting harder and harder to justify a mid-range smartphone on a post-paid carrier. Huawei's latest prepaid smartphone has just landed on Cricket, quite a few months after we first touched it at CTIA. What's wild isn't the predictable design or middle-of-the-road 5 megapixel camera -- it's that $179.99 off-contract price tag coupled with a copy of Android 2.3. Gingerbread is proving tough to find even on the big boys, so having a prepaid option is all the more surprising. You'll also get a 3.5-inch HVGA touchpanel, WiFi, a microSD slot and a 600MHz processor. Granted, you'll likely experience plenty of lag when trying to multitask, but with an all-inclusive $55 / month plan (which includes unlimited talk, text, 411 information, international text, data and video picture messages), what's to kvetch about?
Huawei Glory blazing to Cricket in November, 1.4GHz SoC and Gingerbread under $300
The Samsung Indulge is currently the king at Cricket, but Huawei is vying to steal the prepaid carrier's throne with its Glory. PC Magazine caught a glimpse of a pre-production unit, which features a 1.4GHz MSM8655T Snapdragon SoC -- the same as the upcoming Pre 3, which supports (but may not feature) dual mode GSM / CDMA for world roaming -- a 4-inch 854 x 480 TFT display, and an 8 megapixel AF camera with LED flash. While the manufacturer suggested its smartphone would be dual-core, the single Scorpion CPU associated with this chipset suggests otherwise -- though customers can rightfully expect an Adreno 205 GPU. Rounding out the components, you'll find a beefy 1900mAh battery, EV-DO Rev. A., WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 2GB of storage (with an available expansion slot). Interestingly, Huawei hints that we'll see a "surprising" multimedia solution that compensates for the lack of HDMI -- anyone care to place bets on MHL or DLNA? The phone will ship in November with Gingerbread (followed by an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich), and is expected to retail for approximately $299. With such lofty components, it's easy to see where Cricket fans will be directing thanks for this holiday feast.
Samsung Indulge moseys to Cricket, $330 price ensures it won't leave your sight
Not to be outdone by MetroPCS, Cricket now offers a Samsung Indulge for its customers who demand a taste of Android's better half. While the $330 price is sure to test the commitment of some, the device stands out among its underpowered Huawei, Sanyo and LG peers -- it's also the only game in Crickettown if you want to combine El Goog's OS with a physical keyboard. Like its MetroPCS counterpart, customers will find a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a 3.5-inch HVGA LCD display and a 3 megapixel camera -- although unlike the former, Cricket doesn't yet offer LTE service. Taking into consideration this is a zero-commitment affair where $55 a month brings unlimited voice, text and data, it's not a bad proposition -- though, your heart is likely to race if the phone gets dropped. So, if you think you can hold onto this Froyo-filled Sammy, follow the break for the PR.
Cricket launches new wireless plan with unlimited music for $55 a month
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a cell phone comes with an unlimited music subscription. Now, flip it on its head and say the cellular carrier was the one offering the all-you-can download audio buffet -- built right into a totally unlimited data, text and voice monthly slate -- and you've basically got the new $55 Muve Music plan from Cricket Wireless. Cricket doesn't have the reach of the big four US carriers and may not even have coverage in your area, but that didn't keep it from tempting Universal, Warner, Sony and EMI from signing over millions of songs. It'll debut on the new Samsung Suede featurephone pictured at right, which comes with a "special" 4GB Sandisk encrypted flash memory card (et tu, slotRadio?) that will likely protect the music from prying pirate claws... at least for the weeks or months it takes the open-source community to rip it a new one. The Suede will reportedly hold about 3,000 songs, which (barring antics) will be irrevocably tied to the phone and only play there, and disappear entirely if users stop paying for the Muve plan. PC Magazine got a brief hands-on with an early version, and says there's a bit of irksome audio compression, but also some Zune-like social networking features, too. The service will debut at CES on January 6th, and spread to other devices and other markets over the course of 2011. PR after the break!
Kyocera Rio hits Cricket today for $130
Alright, we know what you're thinking, so let's just clear this up at the outset: it ain't Android. That being said, Kyocera's new Rio for regional carrier Cricket features a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD expansion up to 16GB, a 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo Bluetooth, and an optical trackpad -- a rather unusual touch for this market segment. Of course, Cricket likes to play the no-contract game, and sure enough, the $129.99 that the carrier is asking nets you the Rio without a commitment. It's available today; follow the break for the full press release.
Cricket TXTM8 3G tries, fails to include entire alphabet in name
It may not be quite as adorable as its 3G-less predecessor, but Cricket's TXTM8 3G is likely to find an audience just the same -- people love the portrait QWERTY form factor, after all. The phone features a 2.2-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, stereo Bluetooth, web browser, and -- as the name implies -- support for EV-DO Rev. 0 data. Interested? It's available starting today for $99.99 contract-free, though we'll admit: walking into a Cricket store and trying to buy this while resisting the warm glow of a $129.99 Android phone mere steps away could be very difficult indeed.