DisplayPort comes to USB Type-C cable, will land on future phones

VESA and the USB 3.0 Promoter Group have published the DisplayPort Alternate Mode, known as Alt mode, on USB Type-C standard. Using DisplayPort Alt Mode, the USB Type-C cable will be able to deliver full DisplayPort audio and video performance with monitor resolutions of 4K or higher.

While being able to deliver that 4K video signal, the new cable will also be able to support SuperSpeed USB 3.1 data transmission and deliver up to 100 watts of charging power all in one cable. The cable will also be able to drive existing DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA displays.

DisplayPort Alt Mode will repurpose some or all of the four lanes in the cable currently used for SuperSpeed USB to deliver DisplayPort performance and additional performance in the USB Type-C cable will be utilized for the DisplayPort Aux channel and Hot Plug Detection function. That feature will allow computers, tablets, smartphones, and displays to use Type-C USB connectors at both ends of a cable while transmitting video signals and power.

Alt Mode on the USB-C cable will also be able to connect to a DisplayPort using a reversible USB Type-C DisplayPort converter cable. Adapters will also be available for use with HDMI, DVI, or VGA displays. Exactly when this standard might make its way to consumer devices is unknown.

SOURCE: Vesa

Pixel Battery Saver turns off pixels to save power

There are times when we all want more life from the battery in our smartphone or tablet. An app called Pixel Battery Saver claims to be able to turn off pixels on your screen to reduce power consumption and make your battery last longer by overlaying a black mesh on the screen. The developer of the app says that some AMOLED screens on smartphones don’t work with the app, so your mileage may vary.

The app applies a black mesh look over the screen of the smartphone and the user can control the density of that mesh overlay. The quality of images on screen is reduced with the app active, but if all you need to do is check the time it might not matter. The app is offered in premium and free versions.

In the free version, the install button is disabled preventing the installation of other apps while Pixel Battery Saver is running. The developer says that is due to Android security and that in the premium version there is an option to get around that issue. The app was updated this month and the update brings a fix for a bug in the Navigation Bar Overlay.

Pixel Battery Saver is 2MB in size and is on version 1.3.2. The app requires Android 4.1 or higher and has been installed 1000-5000 times according to Google Play.

SOURCE: Google Play

MediaTek Labs debuts with LinkIt platform in tow

MediaTek has announced that it has launched a new global initiative to allow developers of varying skill levels to create Internet of Things devices and wearables. The new global initiative is called MediaTek Labs and the program will provide developers with SDKs, HDKs, and technical documents along with support.

One of the key components in the new initiative is the LinkIt Development Platform based on the MediaTek Aster MT2502 chipset. That chipset has an ARM7 EJ-S 260MHz CPU core, 4MB of RAM, and 4MB of flash memory. It supports dual Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 stack and has integrated GSM and GPRS modems.

The main feature of that chipset is that it is the smallest commercial SoC out there now measuring in at 5.4mm x 6.2mm. The chipset also supports various audio and video formats along with various camera resolutions.

The operating system used for the platform is called LinkIt OS and is able to control a wide range of sensors and peripheral hardware. The first HDK for the platform will be called the LinkIt One. Arduino Shields can be connected to LinkIt ONE to create device prototypes. There are no time estimates on when we might see commercial products using LinkIt on the market.

SOURCE: MediaTek

SOURCE: MediaTek Labs

Xperia Z3 and Z3 compact score two-day battery life in testing

One of the things that people clamor for with each new generation of smartphones is longer runtime. That can be accomplished with larger batteries and more power miserly hardware. With the new Android devices from Sony on the market, the Xperia Z3 and the Z3 Compact, record setting battery life is here for Android devices.

The Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone has a 2600 mAh internal battery and in battery testing it lasted 10 hours and 2 minutes when Phone Arena put the smartphone through its paces. That ten-hour runtime put it at the top of the stack for non-phablet smartphones.

Its larger brother the Xperia Z3 also racked up a record setting score in battery life for large screen phablet phones. The full-size Z3 put down a battery life of 9 hours and 29 minutes putting it ahead of the competition like the Ascend Mate 7 and the Xperia Z2. That score is nearly three hours longer than the iPhone 6 Plus.

The battery test Phone Arena uses a script that replicates non-stop usage of a smartphone along the lines of what a person would do in real life with no idle time. In a real world situation, the Z3 and Z3 compact would be able to last about two days with some idle time mixed in.

SOURCE: PhoneArena

SOURCE: Phone Arena

Story Timeline

• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact specs tipped via new leak


• Sony Xperia Z3 rumored to be coming to Verizon


• Sony Xperia Z3 compact and Z3 hit pre-order

Rackspace wins rotation patent case against Rotatable Technologies

Rackspace has declared that we are all now free to rotate our smartphones. They announced that they have won their Inter Partes Review (IPR) challenge against "patent troll" Rotatable Technologies over the rotating technology that they were trying to have patented with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Rotatable had previously sued Rackspace over the screen rotation technology, which the former claims they own the patent to.

According to a post on Rackspace's website. the USPTO has declared that Rotatable Technology's US Pat. No. 6,326,978 is unpatentable. Last year, Rotatable filed a case against Rackspace saying that they were the ones who owned the technology that allows apps and smartphones to rotate when you turn them whichever way you want (unless you use the lock screen rotation option of course). They asked for $75,000 just to drop the suit, but Rackspace refused to do so, as per their company policy not to pay out in cases like this. Rotatable then offered to just drop the case without any settlement, but Rackspace decided to challenge the patent in the USPTO. The result is now their patent has been declared invalid and so they cannot sue further any other companies they were suing or planning to sue.

Rackspace also said that they have looked at other case studies and found out that companies like Rotatable lose 88% of the time when the defendants refuse to settle their cases and instead fight them all the way. They consider these cases as "extortion attempts" since the lawsuits they file are frivolous and have no purpose except to get money from companies like Apple, Netflix, Electronic Arts, Target and others.

Rackspace says they use the standard screen rotation functionality from platforms like Apple and Android to be able to use this for the mobile cloud apps that they develop. They are encouraging other tech companies to exert pressure on the "patent trolls" and the country's laws so that these cases will not reach the court stage even and waste valuable time and money just to be able to resolve the lawsuits.

SOURCE: Rackspace

tinyCam Monitor PRO app updated, now supports Android Wear

Video footages of your tinyCam Monitor for IP Cam will soon be viewable on any Android Wear-powered device. A software update was recently released that includes support for streaming for the IP camera to show feeds on Android Wear smartwatches.

This development only proves that you can do anything on Android Wear now. The era of wearable OS may be in its early stage but we can see the many possibilities. Just think about how fast smartphones evolved. As for smartwatches, it would even be easier because apps are already available. All the Android Wear needs is for the apps to be tweaked a little.

Tiny Solutions LLC, developer of the said app, released the app update (version 5.6) after adding streaming support. The feature is also accessible with a simple voice command. Say ‘OK Google. Start tinyCam Monitor’ and a list of apps will appear. Click on the app and choose from all the IP Cams that will be shown on the small screen of your watch. Swipe to the right, tap to zoom, or select camera on your screen to enjoy the different functions of the app on the Android Wear device.

The app update adds the following enhancements:

• Cast to Android Wear


• Tasker/Locale automation plugin for tasks and states


• RTSP over UDP (unicast and multicast) protocols


• SW MPEG-4/H.264 decoder now twice as fast


• Less battery drain


• Temporarily disarm alarms


• Multiple cameras not showed if one camera is enabled

Download updated tinyCam app from the Google Play Store.

Story Timeline

• Dropcam Android app: Feed your CCTV paranoia on the move [Video]


• Android Wear announces upcoming features for wearables


• Android Wear messaging uses voice to reply to texts

Ray Ozzie’s Talko gives back our voices, coming to Android soon

Although it has been a while since the Lotus Notes creator stepped away from his post in Microsoft, Ray Ozzie hasn't completely retired from software scene just yet. Co-founding a startup, Ozzie and company have now released their app Talko which isn't as much a revolution as it is a going back to the roots of communication.

The premise behind Talko is that we have practically obsoleted phone calls. But while our substitutes, email (which is also getting deprecated) and instant messaging, lets us interact more often, we actually end up communicating and conveying less. How much emotion and meaning can you convey behind just a few sentences, much less a sometimes ambiguous emoji? Talko aims to bring back that heart of communication by getting users to, well, talk.

Talko can perhaps be best described as a voice-centric instant messaging service and app. While many messaging services do allow you to send short audio clips, they're still mostly text based and revolve around such. With Talko, it is really your mouth that does the talking, literally. Instead of leaving text messages, you leave voice messages, not in voicemail but in conversations. Like instant messaging, though, you can leave your Talko message for others to reply on their own time. Of course, Talko does more than that. For one, you can also take a photo even while you're talking so that others in the conversation can see what you are seeing right at that very moment. And Talko is also useful for teams and businesses as you can organize and tag calls and messages as you wish for later replay.

Unsurprisingly, Talko is first available on iOS with an Android and web app version promised in the coming months. But while Talko does have the backing of an industry luminary such as Ray Ozzie, its success will not depend on him. The idea of such a predominantly (since you can still tap out text if needed) voice-based system might feel alien or even uncomfortable for some, which, somewhat ironically, serves to proves the point.

SOURCE: Talko (1), (2)