Qualcomm has just announced that it has acquired 1,400 mobile patents and patent applications from the computer company, including intellectual property from Palm, iPAQ, and Bitfone.
Qualcomm stated the intellectual property includes “fundamental mobile operating system techniques.” Qualcomm writes that the aquisition “will enable the company to offer even more value to current and future hardware”.
I have had the Gear a bit longer and thought I would just provide some additional feedback.
Initially, as much as l loved using the Gear with my Note 3, I just couldn’t stand wearing a watch on my wrist and consequently I was going to sell it. But the functionality of it in the end won and therefore have kept it. And here’s why.
Battery – normally a days use will drop the battery anywhere by 30-55% but never any further. I don’t charge it overnight simply because it only takes 30-40mins to recharge. So I recharge just before I go to bed, unplug and switch off ready for my 5am start.
Convenient. I can have the Note 3 in a different room or even upstairs. If somebody calls me I can accept the call on my Gear. The same for a text message. I just use S Voice to dictate a reply and send it. Obviously the Note 3 doesn’t need to be upstairs. It could just be nearby.
Notifications. I have selected which notifications I want to receive on my Gear. It means it becomes very discreet checking them and deciding which ones are worth responding or even reading.
Pocket for Gear app – in the car I select my clipped news items from my Gear and they are read aloud via my Note 3. Really love the text to speech aspect of this Gear app.
Apps – there are a number of apps on the Gear which just make life a little easier. Like the timer when cooking.
Camera – even the camera works rather well. It’s fine for sharing on social media.
So all in all it’s proving a heady accessory for the Note 3.
And the other day I was trying to send wireless a photo from my Note 3 to my TV but it wasn’t working. I tried many different things even switching off Bluetooth which disconnected my Gear. I realised the fault was with my TV. I hadn’t changed the wireless settings for my new router. Anyway, I forgot to switch Bluetooth back on, and for the next hour I thought my Gear was not functioning properly until I realised my error. But in that hour it felt unnatural not to be monitoring my notifications via the Gear.
Talk about a turnaround. And here’s the next part. Normally I get withdrawal symptoms and need to move to the latest piece of tech. And for some reason the Note 3/Gear combo leaves me very content.
How many times have you been left worried about your phone battery running out? Well Brando Shopping sell a portable power pack that works on many Apple models except the 5S. Unfortunately Apple’s rigid lightning connector is a pain unless approved under their MFI program.
With all the recent discussions on twitter about the small iPhone batteries this pocketable block is ideal.
Features
Portable Design
Ideal for travel
Easy to carry
Lightweight
Power Indicator 4 LEDs
Specification
High Capacity: 2600mAh
Input: DC5V/800mA
Output: DC5V/800mA
Charging time: 4-5hr
Weight: 70g
Size: 73mm x 40mm x 22mm
Compatible Models
iPad Mini
iPad mini with Retina display
iPad Air
iPhone 5
iPod Nano 7G
iPod Touch 5G
The New iPad with Retina display
* Supports iOS7 on compatible models
* Does NOT Support iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c
Package Contents
One piece Portable Power Bank
One piece Charging Cable
It’s a very simple piece that you charge up, and when needed just connect to the lightning connector . I found with the iPad Air I could still use the Smart Cover and type with it connected. If you try and use it with the 5S it starts charging but then stops and a message appears saying not an approved accessory.
Available from Brando Shopping
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon last year was granted a patent for what it describes as “anticipatory shipping” that will look at consumers’ past buying habits and ship products that it thinks they will buy to nearby warehouses in anticipation of their orders.
So if you are in the habit or repeat buying a mobile phone, don’t be surprised to see the same one get delivered again through your letterbox, with a note “welcome back”.
Or if you are reading a series of books, Amazon will ship the next one in the series to your nearest depot, ready for your order. Spooky stuff but we underestimate how much retail giants know about out shopping habits and how accurately they can predict what we will buy and when.
Google Inc. (GOOG ▼-0.49% 1,150.53) Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said missing the rise of social media was the biggest mistake he made at the world’s largest search-engine operator.
“In our defense, we were busy working on many other things but we should have been in that area and I take responsibility for that,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television yesterday.
Schmidt led Google as chief executive officer from 2001 until 2011 when he became executive chairman, during which time the Mountain View, California-based company went public and became a go-to site for search and advertising. Yet Google initially paid little attention to Facebook Inc. (FB ▼-1.56% 56.30), which started in 2004 and has since become the world’s biggest social network with more than 1 billion members who use the service to connect and share interactions with friends.
Source Bloomberg
The Leather Back case from Brando Shopping cost $10 which is a fraction of the official Apple Leather case.
Unlike the Apple Leather case it’s a one piece plastic with leather effect. IMO it looks great in the red finish and will look not discolour like the Apple case does.
It is available in the following colours –
Black
White
Red
Pink
Lime
Cyan
Coffee
Model:
iPhone 5
iPhone 5s
Package Content:
One piece Plastic Back Case
Both my wife and I liked this case and it only adds 10mm to the depth of the iPhone.
Available from Brando Shopping.
LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD ▼-4.61% 219.93), operator of the biggest professional networking site, said hackers using automated software created thousands of fake member accounts and copied data from actual member profile pages.
The practice, known as data “scraping,” violates LinkedIn’s user agreements and federal and state computer fraud laws, the company said in a complaint filed yesterday against the unknown hackers in federal court in San Francisco. It has also strained and disrupted the company’s network computers and threatens to degrade the value of LinkedIn Recruiter, a fee-based service used by Fortune 100 companies that’s one of the company’s fastest-growing offerings, according to the complaint.
Source – Bloomberg
Press release from LogMeIn-
After ten years, LogMeIn’s free remote access product, LogMeIn Free, is going away. We will be unifying our portfolio of free and premium remote access products into a single offering. This product will be a paid-only offering, and it will offer what we believe to be the best premium desktop, cloud and mobile access experience available on the market today. We will be notifying those impacted by the change in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, we wanted to take a minute to explain the change and help users of LogMeIn’s access products better understand what this means for them.
Notification period
Impacted users will be notified via email and in-product messages. While messaging started today, users will be given 7 days to make a purchase decision about LogMeIn Pro. To be clear, the 7-day grace period starts when you next login to the LogMeIn service.
Such a shame as this is such a good product.
Shown with 2 cameras on the back. Will HTC create some magic photos with this setup?
What do you think?
When I ordered these accessories my iPhone 5S was the best thing since sliced bread, but now I have the Samsung Note 3 and some fantastic iPhone accessories. Oh the irony.
Anyway, I ordered this bumper case from Brando Shopping and as cases go I really like this one. It’s a aluminium bumper with a difference as it offers a 20% stand viewing angle. And all without removing the case from the iPhone. You have to be careful when sliding the iPhone into position but it didn’t harm my phone at all. However, I would not want to be constantly moving the iPhone in and out. But it sure does look lovely.
Key Features
Aluminum bumper offers protection and solid grip
High precision machined aluminum construction
No screws or tools needed
Access all functions without removing bumper
iPhone slides in for easy installation
20 degree angle, self-standing feature
Can connect lightning connector with stand deployed
Quality anodized aluminum in 5 different colors
Eco-friendly Cable Manager
5 Colours Available
Available Colours
Silver
Black
Green
Red
Blue
Compatibility
iPhone 5s
iPhone 5
Available from Brando Shopping
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