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Google’s Project Tango gets a tablet, powered by NVIDIA

Google has just announced their Project Tango 3D imaging smartphone will get a big brother. Moving from experiment to development kit, the Project Tango tablet will be available to a select audience later this year. A sign-up page for the device is active, but it’s likely not one you’ll want to try and snap up.




This isn’t a low cost Nexus device; the Project Tango tablet will run you right around $1,000. A development kit, it’s not meant for those of us who just want a fun tablet. The scope of Project Tango also doesn’t lend itself to playing Candy Crush Saga all day long — this one’s for heady Developers who want to build next generation applications.


The Project Tango tablet will run NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 processor, and house 4GB RAM. There are a ton fo sensors on board, as you might imagine. Cameras also serve to record and understand our environment, with a 120-degree front facing cam complimenting three cameras on the rear: a 4MP finder, motion sensor, and dedicated depth sensor.


The device will have a 7-inch screen, and pack a massive (but probably necessary) 128GB Memory. Running KitKat, the tablet will also utilize OpenGL 4.4. Bluetooth LE, LTE connectivity, and WiFi round out the spec sheet. Though likely not one you’ll want to purchase, it does signal at bigger things to come from Google.


Source: NVIDIA, Google









World Cup stadiums now detailed in Google Maps

World Cup is a time when football fans from around the world end up sneaking in as many games as humanly possible while cursing things like work. Held this year in Brazil, the World Cup aims to set the stage in one of the more storied football countries on earth. If you wan to check out the new stadiums built for the event, Google Maps is ready to let you!




The Google team set out on foot with their massive Google Maps backpacks strapped to them, traipsing around each of the 12 stadiums. While what we see via Maps isn’t quite the field ready for kickoff, but it’s an unprecedented look at the stadiums we wouldn’t ordinarily get from TV Coverage.


In addition to the 12 stadiums, Google has added several new views around Sao Paulo. From the painted streets — a World Cup tradition in Brazil — to Iguaçu National Park and St. Michael of the Missions, Maps has all you need. You might not even remember you’re sitting on the couch or sneaking some football in at work!


If you’re lucky enough to be headed down for the World Cup, Google has made sure to have transit and turn-by-turn navigation available for all 12 host cities. Of course, each World Cup stadium has indoor Maps available, but Maps can also guide you through airports and other destinations — more than 100 total.


Source: Google Lat/Long Blog





CAT B15Q bring KitKat to the same old smartphone

Normally, manufacturers would push out Android updates to existing phones. Not in the case of CAT, or Caterpillar, who is launching almost the same smartphone just for the latest version of Android. The good news is that it does improve some things a bit.



Caterpillar is a name you'd more readily link to heavy duty machinery and construction equipment, so it is unsurprising that its smartphones are designed to be just as resilient. In that regard, the B15Q is as formidable as its older brethren. It boasts of IP67 and MIL SPEC 810G ratings, the holy grail of dust, water, and shock proof equipment. In more practical terms, it can survive a 1.8 meter drop onto a concrete surface, last 30 minutes under 1 meter of water, and emerge unscathed in extreme temperatures ranging from -25° C to 55° C.


As a smartphone, however, the B15Q might leave many wanting. It shares many things in common with the B15 that was launched early 2013. In particular, they have the same 4-inch screen, which sadly remains at a resolution of 840x400, the same 5 megapixel camera, and the same 4 GB of internal storage. What has changed is the Android version, up from 4.1 to 4.4 KitKat, as well as the CPU and RAM, which have been upgraded to a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek chip and 1 GB, respectively. In comparison, the B15 only had a 1.5 dual-core CPU, also from MediaTek, and 512 MB of RAM.


The CAT B15Q is unambiguously a low-tier entry-level smartphone dressed up with rugged features clearly meant for industrial uses. CAT has scheduled this smartphone to go on retail sometime this summer but has not yet revealed how much the device will cost.


B15 water front_may14 B15-front-new-screen B15 new back-3 B15_lhs B15_rhs


SOURCE: CAT





Pebble 2.2 firmware adds music volume controls, launcher reordering

Pebble has just announced a new firmware update for the popular smartwatch, bringing with it two much requested and long overdue features. In version 2.2 of the smartwatch software, users will be able organize launcher items the way they want as well as control music volume right from their Pebble.



If you've become used to organizing apps and whatnot on your smartphone or tablet, then Pebble's inability to let you do so has probably irked you to no end. Well, be irked no more, as Pebble can now let you customize items in the Launcher Menu. Given the limited number of controls on the smartwatch, it's not exactly gong to be convenient, but at least the feature is now there. All you need to do is to press the Select button and hold it until the desired item starts shaking, indicating that it is ready to be moved.


Another feature that seems so natural that it is surprising that it's arriving only now is volume controls. The feature was actually teased about a year ago but it is only now that Pebble is integrating it into the firmware. Now users will be able to pump up the volume of music playing on their paired devices or dial it down directly from Pebble's buttons.


The update also features a redesign music app, a prolonged alarm vibration time, and, of course, bug fixes. To update the Pebble firmware, users need to go to the Pebble app on their smartphone, though the update might not exactly be arriving to everyone at the same time.


SOURCE: Pebble





Google Play for Education now supports tablet sharing between 5 students

Google Play for Education has recently made some changes in terms of user accounts on tablets. Gone are the days of 1:1 (device: student) support as each tablet can now be shared amongst five students. More specifically here, Google Play for Education tablets can now handle five separate user accounts.



The setup process will remain the same and administrators will be able to "bump" them for setup. The difference will be in choosing how many user accounts you will want active. Again, you can have up to five per device. The student will then complete the setup process by signing in and creating a personal PIN code to access their individual account on the tablet.


Once the setup process has been completed it is just a matter of having the student select their account and enter their personal PIN. Teachers will be able to send apps, books and videos to any (or all) of the accounts on a specific device. The students will still also be able to collaborate on group projects using Docs and Drive as well as the other Google apps.


While more devices in more students have would likely be the ideal situation, having these (up to five) users accounts per device does provide some real benefit. After all, this means five students are now able to share a tablet with each still getting a personalized experience. For now, Google Play for Education remains available only for those in the US.


SOURCE: Official Enterprise Blog





NVIDIA SHIELD-shaped ‘P2570′ game controller appears in FCC filing

Details of the second-generation NVIDIA SHIELD were spotted in a benchmark report back in April. More recently though, it seems the handheld has also been discovered in an FCC filing. The filing is for a game controller sporting a model number of P2570 and the included sketches show what appears to be a SHIELD game system.



Similar to what we saw with the specs from the earlier benchmark report -- it would appear the second-generation SHIELD will be more subtle changes and improvements rather than a radical design change. You'll notice from the included sketch that the handheld looks largely the same. We can hope the handheld slims down just a bit in terms of weight, but overall the form factor makes for a comfortable experience.


Looking back to the benchmark report -- that included mention of the following specs; 2.5GHz Tegra K1 processor with 4GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce (Kepler) graphics. The report also listed the system as having 16GB of internal storage, a VGA quality front-facing camera, 1440 x 810 display resolution and Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat.


Time will tell how accurate these leaked specs and FCC sketches will be, but for now it looks like the NVIDIA SHIELD 2 will arrive as a nice follow up to the original (and currently available) SHIELD. Of course, with fairly quick updates (the original has gotten plenty) and new games such as Portal and Half-Life 2 having arrived -- the original is certainly not going to be obsolete anytime soon.


VIA: Engadget


SOURCE: FCC





T-Mobile Xperia Z Android 4.3 update now rolling out

Sony recently announced an Android 4.4 Kit Kat update for the international variant of the Xperia Z. And while T-Mobile has recently begun rolling out an update for their model of the Xperia Z -- those users will not be getting Kit Kat just yet. T-Mobile Xperia Z users are finally getting Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, as in the update that was detailed and pulled a few months earlier.



We suppose this is a better late than never type of situation, but the recent Sony announcement has to make it sting just a bit. On the positive side, going from Android 4.2.2 to 4.3 does have some benefits. T-Mobile has shared a rather generic changelog for this update, and note mostly the changes with the Sony branded apps.


Having said that, the changeling includes mention of the following;




  • New user interface improvements

  • Music Unlimited application has been moved to the Walkman application

  • Play Memories application has been moved to Album application



T-Mobile has said the update is already rolling out, and that fact has been confirmed by several user reports. The update measures in at 312MB in size and along with taking the handset to Android 4.3 -- it will bump your Xperia Z to software version 10.4.C.0.808. You'll be able to check that by navigating to Settings -> About phone.


Those carrying a T-Mobile branded Xperia Z should be on the lookout for an update notification. Once that has arrived you will need to be connected to WiFi in order to complete the download, and then from that point it is just a matter of following the prompts. Alternatively, there is an option to download and install the update using a computer, just in case you feel the need to update immediately.


SOURCE: T-Mobile





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