Apple v. Samsung: Meet Apple's next 7 witnesses

After its first real break, court is back in session later today in the case between Apple and Samsung.

The trial is currently in its testimony phase, as both sides break out a string of witnesses. So far that's included testimony from Apple's Christopher Stringer, one of the designers of the iPhone, the iPad, and numerous other Apple products. And just before the break it was Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who is slated to the stand once again this morning.

There are six others testifying after Schiller, though you might not know all of them. Here's a quick primer of who they are, and why Apple's using them.

[Source: cnet - Read the full story]

Maily: The App That Introduces Email to Your 4-Year-Old

Raphael Halberthal and Tom Galle know your kids are more tech savvy than you, so they think your kids should be able to use tech for something most adults find common practice — communication. That’s why Halberthal and Galle designed an email client tailor-made for toddlers, not grown-ups.

The kid-friendly, iPad app, Maily, includes several of the same features of normal “adult” email hubs like Outlook or Sparrow. Kids can send and receive messages, have access to a contact list and see notifications of new emails. Since it’s targeted toward a younger demographic (mainly ages 4 to 9), Maily has a very visual feel — bright colors, options to add stamps and stickers to messages, or use markers to draw pictures in the email. It also lets kids handwrite words instead of typing using a pencil icon. It even incorporates a camera tool so kids can take pictures and add them directly into the message.

Maily co-creator Halberthal tells Mashable he and Galle were inspired to develop an children’s email system when realizing kids used tablet devices to play games and watch video, but seldom were able to reach out and connect with others using those same devices. Since email services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail require those who register to at least be 12 years of age, Halberthal adds, there was a need for kids to safely participate in a daily activity.

“It’s the same way when we were young we would give the drawings we made to Grandma to keep on the fridge,” Halberthal says. “But now, kids will just email them to Grandma.”

Though many would argue giving email access to a kid opens up a plethora of safety concerns, Maily offers a secure network. Parents receive their own Maily account with a dashboard to monitor activity. Kids can only send and receive messages from parent-approved contacts, parents can choose to be copied on all sent and received messages, and parents can decide to read messages before they are sent out or delivered to their kids.

[Source: Mashable - Read the full story]

Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 mirrorless cameras with Wi-Fi rumored for September launch

Sony's Q1 financial results made for predictably depressing reading yesterday, but one of the few positives was the imaging division's strong performance boosted by sales of interchangeable lens cameras. The popular mirrorless NEX range is at the forefront of Sony's drive to become a major photography player, so it's no surprise to hear word of new models coming up soon — the often reliable Sony Alpha Rumors says that the NEX-5R and NEX-6 are both set to be announced in September ahead of Photokina.

The NEX-5R is reportedly a follow-up to the excellent NEX-5N that uses a similar 180-degree tilting screen to the recent NEX-F3, while the NEX-6 is said to be a cut-price alternative to the high-end NEX-7 with a lower resolution electronic viewfinder. Both cameras will apparently feature Wi-Fi support, too, something we're slowly starting to see make the jump from compacts to more advanced models. Finally, for existing NEX owners not looking for new bodies, it looks like we'll see three new E-mount lenses appear at around the same time — 11-18mm and 16-50mm pancake zooms and a "fast prime" of unspecified nature.

[Source: The Verge]

Stompy gets off the ground with a Kickstarter: buy a ride on a 2-ton hexabot

In June we were promised a Kickstarter for Project Hexapod's 10-foot tall, two-ton Stompy. We're happy to report that Gui Cavalcanti and his cohorts (James Whong and Dan Cody) at the Artisan's Asylum weren't kidding. This morning the page went live and you can officially pledge your support for rideable six-legged robots. Now that the chassis is 80 percent through the design phase, the half-scale prototype leg (Gimpy) has proven its mettle, and the full-size prototype leg has been designed and the necessary parts ordered, it's time to start lining up funding for the final project. You know how it works: you pledge a certain amount of money and in return you receive a particular level of reward. Don't have much to offer? For just $5 the team will scale the White Mountains and shout your name from the top, while $10 will get you get you something a bit more tangible -- a bumper sticker that reads "my other car has six legs."

[Source: Engadget - Read the full story here]

Multi-user support shows itself in Jelly Bean, but it's definitely not finished yet

Something a lot of us really want to see in Android, is support for multiple accounts on a device. With the ever increasing uptake of tablet use, it would be pretty awesome to be able to have one tablet with a different account for each member of your family. Lord knows, you wouldn't want your kids Justin Bieber apps littering your home screens so being able to give them their own sign in would be positive for all. You do it on your computer, so why wouldn't you want to do it on your tablet. 

Over recent days and weeks since the launch of Jelly Bean, various parties around the interwebs have been diving into the code and really getting into the details. Your average user -- and sometimes average Android Central writer -- wouldn't even know where to begin or what we might hope to see. Thankfully for us the community is filled with those who are never happier than when knee deep in code, and what has been recently revealed is reference to future multi-user account support. It's clearly not even close to being ready for the prime time -- if it was, we'd have it already -- but it is there. And, with a little bit of tinkering, you can see it for yourselves on your Jelly Bean device. 

The key word is tinkering, and the key components are root access and a terminal emulator on the device. Heading into the terminal, you have to enter the command for superuser access, "su", and once you're in you can go ahead and create yourselves a new account. The next command you'll need to enter is:

[Source: Android Central - Click to read the full story]

Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels

iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.

The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video comparing the two parts, showing that not only is the new part taller than the corresponding iPhone 4S part but it is also 0.1 mm thinner and offers more light transmittance and more scratch resistance than its counterpart.

ETrade Supply has also taken a close look at the home button region of the front panel, showing that the hole for the home button is 0.3 mm smaller in diameter than the hole on the iPhone 4S, while the margin between the bottom of the panel and the bottom of the display area is 2.6 mm shorter, allowing Apple to significantly increase the size of the iPhone's display while only slightly increasing the overall device height.

This is not the first time the alleged next-generation iPhone front panel has been caught on video, but this new video and photo comparison does offer the most detailed comparison between the part and the corresponding iPhone 4S part we have seen yet.

[Source: MacRumors]

Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: built-in Skype, 720p, $200

If Cisco's ill-fated Umi video conferencing system had been more like this, would it have survived? Logitech is about to find out, one way or the other, once its TV Cam HD -- recently spotted at the FCC -- arrives in the US this month. The $199.99 device hooks up to your TV and contains all the processing power needed to run Skype and transmit wide-angle, 720p footage of your couch over WiFi or Ethernet. Unlike the previous TV Cam, there's no need for a Viera Connect HDTV -- anything with HDMI-in will do. The company is banking on the notion that families will forgo the use of their existing mobile devices and laptops in favour of an always-on dedicated system with incoming call alerts, four noise-cancelling mics and a Carl Zeiss lens that "gets the whole family in the video call, so everyone from grandparents to grandchildren can move around naturally." If you're tempted, the publicity video after the break gives a decent overview of the product in action.

[Source: Engadget]

YouTube refines homepage feed, adds highlights option

If your channel subscriptions were starting to get a little unwieldy, you might want to tinker with several new feed options rolling out to the site now. Accompanying bigger thumbnails with more detail, users can now hide individual updates, limit them to new uploads or just unsubscribe directly from their feed. Anything that you've already watched on YouTube is grayed out to avoid unnecessary replays, while a new highlight view should ensure over-zealous videomakers don't squeeze out less prolific contributors -- and make some room for the next wave of (heavily-marketed) YouTube channels.

[Source: Engadget]

Researchers use ambient WiFi radio waves to see through walls

Seeing through walls hasn't been a super hero-exclusive activity for a while now. According to Popular Science, however, University College London researchers Karl Woodbridge and Kevin Chetty have created the first device that can detect movement through walls using existing WiFi signals. While similar tech has required a bevy of wireless nodes, the duo has pulled off the feat with a contraption roughly the size of a suit case.

Much like radar, the device relies on the Doppler effect -- radio waves changing frequencies as they reflect off of moving objects -- to identify motion. Using a radio receiver with two antennas and a signal-processing unit, the system monitors the baseline WiFi frequency in an area for changes that would indicate movement. In tests, the gadget was able to determine a person's location, speed and direction through a foot-thick brick wall. The technology's potential applications range from domestic uses to scanning buildings during combat. Best of all, since the university's hardware doesn't emit any radio waves, it can't be detected. How's that for stealthy?

[Source: Engadget]

Geek Competition Results - the finalists

The results of the Geek Competition were announced earlier today. It now gives us great pleasure to share the three finalists with you here. Click through to see their channels & of course subscribe if you like what you see (I am sure you will). A big thank you to all the companies involved in supplying prizes too.

First Runner-up is houlker199 who wins a Belkin Tri-Fold Folio & PowerPack 4000 (thanks to Belkin).

 Second Runner-up is TechMeOut who wins a Belkin Tri-Fold Folio & PowerPack 4000 (thanks to Belkin).

The Grand Final Winner is TechnologyGadgets who wins the following;
Blackberry Curve 9380 (thanks to Blackberry UK).
Editors Keys SL150 Mic & FCPX Keyboard (thanks to Editors Keys).
White Sennheiser HD228 Headphones (thanks to Purely Gadgets).
Belkin Conserve Surge Protector (thanks to Belkin).

Geek Competition Results

Over the past three months we have been running a very cool competition. Giving viewers the chance to make a video on a particular theme each month, with a winner selected in each round to earn their place in the final. 

I would like to personally thank everyone who entered. It has been a great pleasure watching all your videos, all of which were entertaining in their own individual way. In a way, it is a shame that there can only be three grand final entries. If you were not selected, do not worry, there will be plenty more opportunities in the future… keep making videos… and keep enjoying what you do.

Well, the time has come now. The video below reveals the best from round three, followed by the three videos in the Grand Final and of course the overall winner. I won't spoil anything in this text, other than to say congratulations to the prize winners. There will be a further post later, showing all three finalist videos for you to enjoy.

HP, Acer, Lenovo eye Windows 8 tablets

Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo, among others, are expected to bring out Windows 8 tablets using Intel's latest system-on-a-chip.

HP and Acer are working on designs, a source familiar with the vendors' plans told CNET. In addition, details leaked today about a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, which will also use Intel's Clover Trail system-on-a-chip (SoC).

These Intel-based Windows 8 designs are distinctly different from Windows RT tablets that will use ARMchips. Windows RT devices use a version of Windows 8 that does not offer backward-compatibility with the millions of existing Windows software programs. Intel-based systems offer that compatibility.

And this is likely just a small sampling of Intel-based Windows 8 tablets slated to hit on October 26, when Windows 8 launches. "We are... tracking more than 20 Windows 8 tablet designs based on our low-power and low-cost Clover Trail Atom SoC in addition to a number of core-based tablets," Intel's CEO Paul Otellini said on July 17.

Laptop-tablet hybrids, or so-called convertibles such as Asus' Taichi, are also expected. Taichi uses a faster but less power-efficient Intel Ivy Bridge chip, the same chip that powers ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air.

Throw the already announced Microsoft Surface Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro products into the mix, and it's obvious the market will get crowded quickly.

The ThinkPad Tablet 2 will sport a 10.1-inch IPS 1,366x768 display, weigh in at about 650 grams (1.4 pounds), have a thickness of 9.8mm (0.39 inches), and include an HSPA+broadband option, according to Techin5.

HP, Acer, and Lenovo declined to comment.

[Source: cnet]