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Bike+ is a security alarm and fitness computer for bicycles (hands-on)
Bike thieves are a resourceful lot. No matter what form of lock is used, given the time and the inclination, such n'ere-do-wells will snatch up your two-wheeled transportation. Wi-MM, a start-up based in Santa Clara, CA, aims to make it harder for them to steal your cycle with its new product Bike+, a combination alarm system and cycling computer. The device itself is what you see in the photo above that can be mounted with some specialty hardware (to make removal difficult) on the down tube of any bicycle. Inside, there's a Verizon-compatible 3G radio, GPS, Bluetooth, altimeter, accelerometer, a 1,300 mAh rechargeable battery and enough flash memory to hold all your data from a year's worth of rides. All told, Bike+ weighs about seven ounces (so it won't add too much heft), and is slated to be available before the end of the year for "under $200" according to company president Kevin Fahrner.
Distro Issue 94: Verizon Innovation Center and its pre-emptive strike against a one-track future
It's quite easy to give Verizon a hard time for some of its consumer practices, but the carrier has a lab where it's attempting to reverse the 'dumb pipe' moniker with next-gen connected tech. In this week's issue of our tablet magazine, Darren Murph visits the outfit's Innovation Center to catch a glimpse at what goes down inside. Eyes-On takes a gander at a retro-styled Fujifilm camera, Recommended Reading considers our cyborg future and Weekly Stat tallies online sharing. We won't hold you up any longer, so get to downloading via those links just down below. Distro Issue 94 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Verizon to offer APIs to give your data rate an on-demand boost, for a price
There's a ton of data-dependent apps these days, and with services like iCloud and Spotify gaining steam, your precious bytes of data can get bogged down with all the additional traffic. Help is on the way for Verizon customers, however, as the company plans to release an API that will allow users to speed up their connection at will from within apps. This network optimization API will be joined by a microtransaction API (developed in conjunction with Vodafone) to make sure Big Red gets paid for every bit of bandwidth nitro you ask for. Work on the APIs is ongoing at VZW's Innovation Center in San Francisco, but neither API will be ready for prime time until next year. That's a long time to wait, but the idea of improving our data connection at the press of a button has us positively giddy. What about you?
Verizon opens Application Innovation Center in San Francisco, we go eyes-on (video)
Verizon's made good on its promise to open an Application Innovation Center in San Francisco, and kindly invited us down to have a gander. It's much like its sister facility in Boston, except it eschews the LTE focus for one on mobile-app innovation. Developers both big and small will be able to take advantage of several labs, where they'll be privy to Verizon equipment and services "not available elsewhere," all while being a stone's throw from Big Red's in-house engineers and developers. On hand was Qualcomm, whose MDPs garnished the test lab, and Chomp, whose app-search tech powered an impressive nine pane multi-touch App Wall -- allowing one to find and explore apps, replete with informative videos and QR codes for each. Want to know more? Check the gallery, videos and PR after the break. Myriam Joire contributed to this report. %Gallery-130367%
Verizon's Innovation Center opens its doors to LTE product development
Not sure if you've noticed, but there's an LTE race going on and VZW's wasting no time sprinting to the lead. Despite rival AT&T's February launch of a similar R&D space in Texas, Verizon's cutting its first big red bow on the two years in the making Innovation Center. Located just outside Boston, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based labs began churning out LTE-friendly products in October of 2009, developing 30+ products to date. While most of these may never ride along the borderline blazing speeds of real-world LTE, the environment does give small startups a leg-up in a collaborative, deep-pocketed space (insert emphasis here). The research center also does double duty for the operator's bottom line, offering its Verizon Ventures group first dibs on investment opportunities -- like it did with Nomad Innovation's LiveEdge TV product. Construction on a second mobile applications-focused facility is already underway in San Francisco with its very own opening ceremony slated for late summer. We're glad to see Verizon spreading the bills to spur tech forward, but there's one major thing the carrier forgot -- an emergency room wing for all its crapware-bloated products. Official PR after the break. [Image credit via PCMag]
