Google is acquiring Nest, the smart-home appliance maker that is behind the Nest Thermostat and the Nest Protect smoke detector, for a reported $3.2 billion in cash.
iPod co-creator Tony Fadell is the co-founder of the company alongside another former Apple employee, Matt Rogers. Nest tweeted that it will operate independent of Google.
A huge coup for Google
Episode 6 of “Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast” which I co-host with Dave from UKMobileTech is now alive.
To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.
If you like what you hear please if you can leave a review on iTunes.
Mophie unveiled a new battery case that offers extra storage and battery power. The Space Pack case works with iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 versions, providing protection against drops, an extra 1,700mAh battery that doubles the battery capacity of the handset, as well as 16GB or 32GB of additional memory for the iPhone. In order to manage content stored on the Space Pack, users will be able to download from the App Store a free iOS companion application called Space. Additionally, the extra memory can also be managed via a regular Lightning connection to a computer.
A useful case, just a shame it adds so much extra bulk.
App Store Sales Top $10 Billion in 2013, Over $1 Billion in December
Apple announced today that App Store sales topped $10 billion in 2013, including a record breaking $1 billion in December alone, where App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps. Overall, Apple has paid out over $15 billion to App Store developers.“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”
What I would like to know is how much revenue percentage is earnt via in app purchases from greedy game developers that ruins game fluidity in particular.
I imagine it is very high!
Apple has released its environmental report for its new Mac Pro which details large savings on power and raw materials. The new device also earns a gold rating from the EPEAT.
The new Mac Pro uses 68% less power than the previous generation Mac Pro when at idle. It also uses less materials over all, which isn’t too surprising given that it’s a lot smaller. The new Mac Pro uses 74% less aluminum than the previous version and the packaging consumes 82% less volume and weighs 84% less than the older version. Apple says that this lets 3x more units fit in one airline shipping container.
So be environmentally friendly and buy the new Mac Pro. You might need a huge bank loan in the process as well!
And in case you want to see one in person, Apple has commented that demand for these powerhouses are so great that demo models won’t appear in physical Apple stores until around March 2014.
The DJI Phantom Vision has to be the coolest piece of technology I’ve seen in a while.
It’s a remote flying camera with great specifications –
– Lightweight, multi-functional integrated aircraft and camera
– Camera remote-control by DJI VISION App on android and iOS
– Range Extender increases Wi-Fi distance to 300m
– Anti-vibration camera platform with single axis stabilisation
– Low-voltage protection
– Virtual Radar aircraft locator on mobile device
– Range of camera tilt options
– Multiple, continuous and timed capture options
– HD Video Recording (1080/p30 or 1080/60i)
– RAW and JPEG picture formats
If you are in the UK you can buy this for £832, so if ever I needed a reason to keep the Samsung Note 3 and sell the iPhone 5S here is one.
I haven’t really done many accessory reviews, more app enabled gadgets like the Sphero ball.
But in a few weeks time, I will cover off a few accessories for the iPhone and Samsung phones that I think are worth a mention.
Starbucks, this week, updated their Pick of the Week promotion to take advantage of iOS 7′s ability to use the device’s camera to redeem iTunes gift cards.
Before that you had to manually type the code into the iTunes Store. Earlier this year, Starbucks began offering the promotion via an App Store app. The pick of the week promotion allows customers pickup cards from participating Starbucks locations and download an app or other piece of iTunes media for free.
Handy is you like Starbucks coffee and own an iPhone.
Apple’s unannounced ‘iWatch’ faces manufacturing issues, much like Qualcomm’s Toq.
Apple has yet to even announce such a product exists and there are no signs of an impending product launch of Apple’s iWatch.
However rumours wont die down and now it is reportedly facing poor yield rates of less than 50 percent in trial manufacturing.
If it’s a trial run then this is when issues are meant to be found so really it’s not that surprising.
Yesterday, I arranged for a 9am Apple Store Genius appointment to explore my 5S problems. 10 mins later I was leaving with a new iPhone 5S. It was that simple, no fuss just a quick explanation of the problems I was having with my battery, reboots and finger print scanner.
Even though I cannot complain with the whole manner, I do feel that if iOS 7 software is the root cause and I have simply been fogged off with a new phone then I will have the same problems. Time will tell, so I will keep you in the loop. Of course, a rogue app or two could have been the issue as well.
So here’s the killer Apple feature with their iOS devices, iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads. iCloud Backup. So I have a brand new iPhone. I hit restore. All my apps, games, settings and data are restored over the air in 2 hours flat. Within 2 hours I have connected to my mac and restored my 2,000 photos and 1,000 songs too on to my 5S. iCloud Keychain handles all my passwords now to the point I don’t know what my actual passwords are. I can enter into iCloud Keychain and copy out the password for any app(s) that needed a password. So music, media, photos, passwords, accounts, settings, saved data and 260 apps/games all back on my iPhone 5S , as easy as ABC. Try and do that out of the box on any other operating system.
As an update so far battery is slightly better but not amazing. Maybe, it’s the design. Slim phone for stylish finish equals small battery. For light to medium users the battery should last a day. For heavier users a charge point is essential.
In the meantime, I am expecting a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to arrive later today so I will see how it fares.
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