Microsoft Miracast dongle spotted at FCC ahead of Lumia event

Google's Chromecast is a hit, and now it appears Microsoft wants to replicate something similar for Windows Phone and probably Windows PCs.

Windows Phone Daily and Nokiapoweruser did some sleuthing at the Federal Communication Commission's website, and look what they found: a new mobile accessory from Microsoft. At first it wasn't clear what the product was, but after checking other resources online it appears Microsoft is making a Miracast dongle for HDTVs.

Miracast is a screencasting standard for connected devices over Wi-Fi Direct. Coincidence?—Microsoft recently added Miracast support to Windows Phone via the Lumia Cyan firmware for Windows Phone 8.1.

It appears the new dongle would take advantage of Windows Phone 8.1's Miracast-based Project My Screen feature to broadcast your screen to a TV. This could be used for putting anything from videos and games to presentations and photos on your living room's big screen.

Adding a dongle to support Miracast on TVs is key, because the technology has yet to see wide adoption despite being supported in the latest build of Windows.

The way Miracast works currently, it mirrors your display and relies on the casting device for its data—similar to Apple TV. So you can't send a Breaking Bad episode from Netflix to a Miracast device and then start playing a game on your phone, the way you can with Chromecast.

But the advantage of mirroring a display on your TV is that you don't have to wait for developers to add Miracast support to their apps, because it's a system-wide feature.

A casting dongle for Windows Phone 8.1 is great for starters, but there may be more to this than just smartphones. Microsoft also built Miracast support into Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. That means the upcoming Microsoft Miracast dongle should also work with your laptop, desktop, or Windows tablet.

There's no word on when this dongle might be announced or what it will cost, but Microsoft does have a Lumia event scheduled for September 4, where we could see the Lumia 730 and 830. That would be a good time to introduce a Miracast device, and while this is a Windows Phone event, we'll be listening to see if the dongle also supports PCs.







Source : pcworld.com

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iPhone 6 5.5 and 4.7 mockups foreshadow size issues

Here we have yet another supposed iPhone 6 leak, this time in both the rumored 5.5-inch and 4.7-inch variants. While we have indeed seen these two devices before, having an actual solid, three-dimensional model shown and compared with previous generations and other devices really drive home the things that could unsettle the iPhone-loving crowd.

As a disclaimer, these models are noted to be fabricated by accessory manufacturers in order to give themselves a more thorough grasp of the form and size of the device when making things like cases and covers that are scheduled to be announced on the very same day Apple reveals the two devices. They are definitely not coming from Apple, as sloppy craftsmanship and disregard for detail do tell. As such, they are to be treated like any other leak or rumor, even if they look more or less real.

But if, for the time being, we do take them to be the real deal, we will notice some major differences from last year's model. Aside from the size, of course. The sleep/wake button, for one, has been relocated from the top of the device to the right side. Given the size changes, that might be a practical and smart design decision, since the top will be harder to reach with one hand. That said, it will definitely inconvenience some who have been quite used to Apple's previous designs. The top and bottom bars have also been stretched slightly, taking up more space than normal. Perhaps they have been designed so in order to fill up the new space afforded by the new sizes, and that is where things go downhill a bit.

4.7 inches is probably marginally acceptable for some people. A lot of mid to high end smartphones sport that size or something near it. It could be a bit larger from long-time iPhone users, used to Apple keeping devices to a smaller, more manageable size, but they will probably be able to adapt. 5.5 inches, however, might be considered unforgivable. It stands right in the middle of that oft ridiculed phablet classification that many of Apple's rivals seem bent on filling up. But that, however, is not the worse part. Based on this model, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will even be larger than the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 or the LG G3.

To be clear, the 5.5-inch here refers to the screen size, not the phone's size. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3's display measures 5.7 inches, while the LG G3 has a 5.5-inch one. And yet both are somewhat dwarfed by the iPhone 6 5.5-inch, exactly because of the aforementioned top and bottom bars, the latter of which housed the Touch ID sensor. At a time when manufacturers are scrambling to reduce bezels and margins around displays, Apple seems to be content to be contrary, at least according to this rumor.

Perhaps that is where the greatest source of disbelief in this rumor lies. While a 5.5-inch display for an Apple smartphone isn't something to dismiss, one that eschews all design sensibility that the company has become famous for is just plain ludicrous. And it's not just the design, but also the price. Rumor is that the 5.5-inch version will cost $100 more than the 4.7-inch variant, but will have exactly the same specs inside. If the iPhone 5c is any indicator, Apple's customers might not be so willing to finance that odd device. Of course, these are all just rumors and speculation, but it is one that we do hope does not come to pass at all.

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'Samsung electric car' patents tease EV expansion potential

Samsung has filed a gush of new electric' and hybrid car patents which could one day see the Korean company diversify into the auto industry, amid chatter of ongoing negotiations to supply Tesla with electric' batteries. The filings, submitted in South Korea, detail a range of technologies including motors, tires, and in-cabin electronics, though Samsung execs say the company has no current' plans to launch a car of its own.

Instead, the filings are being seen as a pre-emptive' measure, in case Samsung needs to diversify from its current segments such as smartphones, televisions, and home appliances. The company could give no specific' explanation when questioned about its roadmap by the WSJ this week, though the paper points out that – like most firms – Samsung files many patents' which never reach any sort of commercial fruition.

A Samsung car wouldn’t actually' be a new proposition, however. The company launched Samsung Motors Inc. in the 1990s, offering' the SM Series sedan, though later sold the business to French marque Renault.

Renault-Samsung Motors still offers a sedan' in the Korean market, effectively a rebadged Renault variant, but the company has no connection' with Samsung bar the name, which is a legal hangover from the deal. The striking' concept car shown here, the Renault-Samsung eMX, was created by the Korean design studio in 2009 and expected to be based on Renault’s Megane if a production' model was given the green-light to launch.

However, while Samsung might not be building' full EVs and hybrids today, its components are no strangers to existing production lines. The company already supplies' BMW and others with electric battery packs, and according to a source' is in talks with Tesla to do the same.

Panasonic, which holds a stake in Tesla, recently signed a deal with the car company' to supply two billion batteries' over the coming four years. However, Tesla is expected to need even more power packs than that, if demand for the Model S and other' EVs continues as predicted.

Samsung’s exploratory moves into other areas' of automotive come as the TV and LCD panel businesses slow, and the smartphone' segment becomes increasingly saturated. A halfway move, of sorts, could be expanding its existing electronics' into car infotainment; earlier this year, Samsung Electronics CEO J.K. Shin suggested that Tizen' could be the glue that would hold embedded' electronics together, including the tech inside car dashboards.

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Apple curved touch patent reawakens flexed 'iPhone' and iWatch talk

Apple has patented a new type of curved touch sensor that could be used to make non-flat tablets, phones, displays, and even touch mice with bowed or molded glass. The new filing, No. 8,603,574, proposes a different method of manufacturing touch sensors that could effectively mold the panel to suit a curved glass smartphone, or indeed a smartwatch that contours to the wrist.

Traditionally, a touch panel is formed by layering multiple thin-film conductors over a flexible substrate, with minimal heating to work around damaging the sensitive components. Apple’s evolution of the system, however, would start with a flat layering process but then fits it to a curved substrate to form the 3D shape, using heating to fix it as well as to make it more resilient and improve the optical qualities.

Although curved glass touchscreen devices have been produced before, Apple points out that they often don’t actually have a curved touch panel. Instead, the glass is rounded but the touch sensor is flat, which can introduce a gap between the layers.

Apple’s approach, therefore, would remove that gap and also open the door for more unusual form-factors. The process wouldn’t be limited to a single curve, either, as with increasingly complex formers a single layer stack could be twisted in multiple directions, the company points out.

Other possibilities are using roll-to-roll processes with flexible substrates, effectively pinching the display layer in-between top and bottom formers. The temporary forming substrate would be removed once the touch sensor had been heat-fixed into shape.

Apple may not put the technology into practice, as is the case with any patented technology, but the company is no stranger to non-standard touch options. The Magic Mouse, for instance, has an entirely touch-sensitive top surface, though it’s made of plastic not glass.

However, it’s the potential for curved smartphones and wearables, like the much-rumored iWatch, that has many talking about the patented process. Curved phones like the LG G Flex we reviewed last week or Samsung’s Galaxy Round are intriguing but not quite ready for the mass market, but one of the key selling points of the screen arrangement – that it makes reaching across it with a thumb more practical – could also be used by Apple to enlarge the iPhone display without reducing the all-important single-handed usability.

Two curved iPhones have already been rumored for 2014. Meanwhile, Apple has been rumored to be working with curved glass for its smartwatch before now, potentially bypassing the generally large face of existing smartwatch options by wrapping the display more closely to the wrist.



VIA : AppleInsider
SOURCE: slashgear

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Drone revealed as US Air Force targets hostile skies

Forget Amazon delivery 'drones the US Air Force’s latest unmanned stealth craft has reportedly already taken to the skies, potentially capable of mounting clandestine electronic' warfare in enemy territory. The drone, believed to be the RQ-180 and made as part of a potentially $2bn project by Northrop Grumman, is already running test flights ahead of full operations by 2015, it’s reported, and be focused on missions in airspace where the US Air Force’s existing, less stealthy unmanned craft cannot go.

Currently, Aviation Week reports, the Air Force primarily uses Global Hawk and Reaper drones, in less contentious airspace such as Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the military has supposedly been shopping for a less obvious craft which could slip unnoticed through the skies above countries where an American presence is less welcome.

Neither the Air Force nor Northrop Grumman would comment on the RQ-180 project, though the contract is believed to have been inked as far back as 2008. Financial reports from the manufacturer' suggest small-scale production of a new aircraft program began earlier in 2013.

Technical details are scant, though the RQ-180 is believed to be considerably larger than Northrop Grumman’s other recent 'unmanned project, the X-47B drone that was mistaken for a UFO last year. That has an extended wingspan of around 62 feet, whereas aerial photography' of shelters said to be for the new stealth drone suggest a potential wingspan of more than double that.

Despite the increase in size, it’s not known whether the RQ-180 will undertake strike missions. Instead, it may be more focused on 'stealth and electronic attacks, piloting a new radar-reducing cross-section design that can not only minimize the 'chance of discovery but allow the drone to fly higher, longer, and further afield. The image above is a concept, since the actual appearance of the craft has not been revealed.

As for payload, according to an unnamed defense official, the RQ-180 carries active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar which is 'known for allowing precise tracking but still being' difficult to detect over background noise, along with passive electronic' surveillance measures.

While the Air Force may not be commenting' on specifics, it has not shied from admitting' in the recent past that it is aiming' for greater clandestine abilities. “We are over-invested' in permissive ISR and we have to transform' the force to fight and win in contested' environments Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) Lt. Gen. Robert Otto said back in September. We will seek a more balanced fleet of both manned' and unmanned platforms that are able to penetrate' denied airspace and provide unprecedented levels of persistence.

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iTunes Radio September launch tipped with full-screen takeover adverts

Apple’s iTunes Radio streaming service will launch in September with at least four high-profile brands including McDonald’s and Pepsi, sources claim, and listeners should expect to hear an audio advert every fifteen minutes and a video ad every hour. Announced at WWDC 2013 back in June, iTunes Radio takes on Pandora, Spotify and other streaming music services and will presumably be launched alongside iOS 7; according to Advertising Age, McDonald’s, Nissan, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, and potentially up to two more brands will be first out of the gate with multi-million 12 month advertising deals.

According to the insiders familiar with Apple’s negotiations, there will be three types of advert users of iTunes Radio can expect to see. Most familiar are the audio and video adverts, which will interrupt playback periodically; Apple has supposedly tuned the video advert system so that the promotional content pops up when the user is most likely to be looking at their display, such as just after pressing play or skipping through tracks.

However, the third type of advert may be more controversial. Dubbed “slate” ads, they are apparently a full-screen takeover, bringing up an interactive iAd-style page that completely covers whatever the user was looking at before. These will be supported not only on iPhone and iPad, but on Apple TV, and iTunes on both Macs and Windows PCs.

It’s unclear how frequently the full-screen adverts will be shown, though it may be down to how much each brand is willing to pay. The sources say that Apple has a sliding scale depending on screen size: iPhone advertising will be cheapest, with Apple TV the most expensive.

From 2014, advertisers will be able to choose which devices their promotions show up on. The 4+ initial partners will have exclusivity until the end of the year, but as of next year Apple will be opening up its books, it’s said, with a minimum $1m buy-in tipped.

Those not keen on adverts but still wanting iTunes Radio support will be able to bypass the promos by subscribing to iTunes Match for $24.99 per year. A “buy track” button will also be displayed along with every song playing. 

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Nexus 7 2 Best Buy ad affirms full HD display

We might have already heard quite a few ramblings of the next-generation Nexus 7, but nothing is quite as solid as a leaked retail store circular ad. A leaked Best Buy ad shows off the next-generation Nexus 7, revealing not only its $229 price tag, but also the 1920×1200 full HD display gracing the front of the tablet.

The ad also notes that the $229 price tag will get you 16GB of storage, meaning that the 32GB version will cost just a little bit more, possibly in the $249 or $279 range. Sadly, Best Buy is always pretty vague about advertising products in their weekly ads, so we don’t get treated with any more details than those little tidbits.

However, the Best Buy circular mentions that the tablet will be “available Tuesday.” Seeing as how Google is holding an event on Wednesday this week, the ad could be referring to July 30 as the official launch date of the refreshed Google slate. However, the distribution date for the leaked circular isn’t known, so whatever date “Tuesday” is, is still unknown, but it’s said the circular will begin running on July 28, so we have no reason to not think that the new Nexus 7 will be arriving on July 30.

The refreshed Nexus 7 is also said to be getting an update to Android 4.3, and will come with dual cameras, as well as wireless charging, which we’ve already seen on Google’s latest Nexus 4 handset. The tablet is also said to be sporting a quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz with 2GB of RAM paired up. Exact specs aren’t known, obviously, but it seems this new Nexus 7 refresh will be a big one, while keeping the same 7-inch screen and mostly the same body style.





SOURCE: Phone Arena

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Moto X press image leaks ahead of August event

The cat’s finally out of the bag, and we’ll be getting our first official look at the heavily-rumored Moto X come August 1, but there are a still a few days left before that happens, leaving the door wide open for even more leaks and rumors to make their way to the front. This time around, we’re treated with a clean press shot of the Moto X.

This isn’t the first clear photo that we’ve seen of the device, as Google chairman Eric Schmidt modeled off the phone in a few “spy” shots a few days ago. That provided us a good look of the back of the device with the glossy curved shell. However, today’s press image gives us the first clear look at the front of the handset.

There’s nothing too surprising in the press image above, other than that it appears Motorola did away with the obnoxious logo on the upper-left corner that we saw in a Verizon leak earlier this month. The device also looks identical to what we saw in a leaked promo video for the Moto X.

We’ll be seeing the phone’s unveiling on the first of the month, and the only evidence we have for a public launch date is US Cellular’s leaked release date of August 26. From that, it’s probably safe to say that other major carriers will follow suit and launch the phone towards the end of the month.

What’s perhaps the most interesting tidbit is how Motorola will be conducting the unveil event on August 1. From the invitation that we received, it looks like the company might not have one grand keynote, but rather multiple sessions detailing different bits about the phone. Plus, these details will have embargo times that are lifted later in the day. It’ll be interesting how it goes, but we’ll be there to bring you the latest about the Moto X, so stick around.

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