When did the robot-vacuum world become such a crowded space? It’s starting to sound like a monster movie. RoboKing versus Smarbo versus Roomba II: Electric Vuumaloo. But it makes sense, when you think about it. We already have “robots” that wash the dishes and make our coffee. Cleaning the floor is just a different set of problems for a machine to solve. And after the smash success of the Roomba, everyone wants to be the next big cleaner bot. Just last week Toshiba introduced the Smarbo, yes Smarbo, and now LG is entering the game with the RoboKing Triple Eye. Yes, the RoboKing Triple Eye.
The Roomba does its job by clever but circuitous circumvention of obstacles, but these new devices are a bit more like the Neato XV-11, which actually maps out the area and plans the best route. The Smarbo adds more sensors, and now the RoboKing brings your smartphone into the mix. → Read More
When photos started circulating yesterday of the new interface for Windows Explorer in Windows 8, I was sure they were a joke. Surely, this was an Onion mock-up. Or maybe they were from some Apple fan making fun of Microsoft’s design aesthetic in which more is quite often… more. I mean, there’s no way that this is something Microsoft could actually release — let alone in 2012, right?
Wrong.
As Windows chief Steven Sinofsky and Windows management team member Alex Simons detail in length on the Building Windows 8 blog, these screenshots are very real. And not only that, the entire Windows team has clearly done exhaustive research and put extensive time into this feature. That’s exactly why they’re crowing on their blog. The entire post screams: “look how much homework we did!” → Read More
While gaming company higher-ups aren’t always the best bellwether for the direction the industry is taking, they do tend to view the sector as an RTS commander views his troops and resources. What they tend to lack in taste and on-the-ground wisdom, they make up in sobriety and larger trends. So it’s no surprise that Frank Gibeau, head of EA Labels, has a relaxed view of the console race.
Check out these snippets from an interview apparently conducted just after passing around the peace pipe. → Read More
Since February, we’ve been waiting for our turn with the Galaxy S II. With the handset floating around Europe and Asia, it’s been hard to remain patient. But today is the day: the U.S. versions of the Samsung Galaxy S II are here and we’re ready to get up close and personal at Samsung’s media event in NYC.
Just how different are the U.S. versions from the international? Has resolution been forfeited for size on that Super AMOLED Plus display? Does it feel as good as it looks? What about that new and improved TouchWiz UI? Is it actually any better? No worries. We’re here to answer all those questions and more. → Read More
San Franciscans, start your thrusters. On September 15 at 6:30pm TechCrunch Mobile and Gadgets will host our first meet-up at Roe @ 651 Howard St. in sunny SF. Sponsored by Samsung, this meet-up will be the first chance for our readers to get ahold of some of Samsung’s latest products including the just-announced Galaxy S II. It is an event not to be missed.
We’ll have some finger food, a little dancing, maybe some networking and (sadly, as this is an approximately all ages show) a cash bar an open bar. We invite you to meet the entire TCG/M team and chill with some of Samsung’s newest gear. → Read More
One of the marquee features of Sony’s new Alpha and NEX cameras, which by the way look excellent, is the new electronic viewfinder. I’ve never been particularly attracted to these things, preferring the mirror-based optical viewfinder on DSLRs or simply the large, bright LCDs on the back of most cameras. But Fujifilm’s X100 (despite its flaws) changed my mind about the usefulness of the EVF, and I’m ready to accept a camera that’s all EVF, all the time. And it helps that Sony’s new screen is a miracle of miniaturization. → Read More
It’s coming! It’s finally coming!
After months of gallivanting around the world with launches everywhere from South Korea to Canada since May (plus a one day delay thanks to Hurricane Irene) Samsung’s Galaxy S II Android superphone is finally heading to the US.
As expected, Samsung used their press gathering in New York today to announce aesthetically unique Galaxy S II variants for three major US carriers: T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. Verizon, meanwhile, is holding out for something else. → Read More
Asteroid. The iPad is an awesome device, but it costs money. Even second-hand models often command more than a new Android tablet. They’re just that much in demand. But look, if a guy, moreover a guy with as the police report states has a visible gold tooth, says he’s selling iPads he purchased in bulk for $300, takes $180 instead, you better check that product out before you drive home. This is unfortunately the sad story of how Ashley McDowell was scammed into buying a wooden iPad. → Read More
As students start going back to college, they are downloading Kno’s new Textbooks app for the iPad in droves. It is currently the No. 1 iPad education app, No. 2 grossing iPad app overall, and a top-25 free app (more popular than even the Kindle iPad app). The app is being downloaded once every 8 seconds. The map above depicts downloads over the past 24 hours.
The app itself is free, but then Kno sells digital college textbooks as in-app purchases. Know currently offers more than 100,000 textbooks, which can be annotated, highlighted, and also be read on the Web or Facebook. After abandoning its own oversized textbook tablet, Kno released its digital textbook reader and store on the iPad last June. In recent weeks, Kno added a bunch of new features such as automated quizes, an activity stream of notes, integration with Khan Academy videos online, and 3D models of molecules generated on the fly. → Read More
We’re back for a new episode of TC Cribs, and this time we’re scoping out our first enterprise company: Box.net.
Don’t worry, despite what you may have heard about enterprise software, this office isn’t dull in the slightest. In fact, it’s loaded with lush greenery, oddly placed stuffed animals, and unicorns abound. Even better: one of the cofounders is a magician.
Stay tuned til the end for a trick that will leave you impressed and vaguely grossed out.
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Game reviews are always inadequate, in that while they can describe how it feels to control your guy, or how the level design is frustrating, you can only kind of get it. Video reviews help, but you can never be sure you and the reviewer are on the same page — more so than with books and movies, I’d say. OnLive and GameSpot are hoping to change that up a bit by adding instant game demos to reviews, so if you’re curious how a game plays, you can just… play it. → Read More
The long-awaited Chromebooks finally hit retails in June but they’re already seeing significant price reductions. Both Acer and Samsung entered the market with modestly priced options with the Samsung models commanding a slight premium. But not anymore. Amazon just dropped the price on the Samsung Chromebooks by 7% to 10% with the WiFi-only model now costing $399 and the 3G model running $449. That’s down from their MSRP of $429 and $499, respectively. With Chrome OS still in its infancy and niche products not lasting very long in today’s market, it makes you wonder if Google or its hardware partners are slowly giving up hope on the platform or simply prepping for new models.
Update: Statement from Samsung added after the jump. → Read More
Think back to the last time you put together a PowerPoint presentation. Try not to shudder.
If you’re like me, you probably had a few moments when you wondered if the slide you were working on made sense — or if it was even worth including at all. You may have turned to a coworker to get their opinion, but they didn’t have any context about the rest of the presentation and were eager to get to lunch, so their input probably wasn’t a big help.
If this sounds familiar, then a nifty new app called Reel may be just what you need. It’s the latest app to come from interaction design firm ZURB, and it lets you get near-instant feedback on every slide or photo in your presentation. → Read More
Whoops! With just 2 hours to go before Samsung finally announces the details surrounding the U.S. launch of the Galaxy S II , things are starting to get leaky.
At least three variants are expected to be debuted tonight: one each for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. Thanks to the last-minute leak of a Sprint training manual, though, the details for that last variant — now known to be the absurdly named Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — have debuted a bit early. We’ve got specs! We’ve got photos! What more could you want? → Read More
Zynga just debuted a trailer for its newest social game on Facebook—Adventure World. According to the game’s Facebook page, the game’s tag line is ‘team up, explore lost worlds, unearth adventures in Zynga’s newest game, Adventure World.”
From the video, it looks like the game is developed around a number of different puzzles, maps, and lands. And similar to Zynga’s other Facebook games, your friends are a part of the experience. Basically, think Indian Jones meets FarmVille. → Read More
Ten days ago, HP announced that it was going to be liquidating its abruptly-discontinued TouchPad, the WebOS-powered iPad competitor that launched early this summer. When it first launched the device was going for $500; a later price drop to $400 didn’t do much to help sales. But the liquidation sale sure did. The new pricetag: $99.
All TouchPads available from both HP and retailers alike were sold out within a day or two. And since then, technophiles eager to get in on the deal have been refreshing their inboxes, Twitter feeds, and HP’s websites to find out when the remainder of HP’s unsold inventory would become available.
HP just announced its answer: not for a few weeks. But there’s some good news: instead of simply emptying out its warehouses, HP is actually going to manufacture a run of TouchPads to meet demand. → Read More
More often than we’d like, phones are announced with absolutely horrifying names. Acer’s beTouch, the Casio G’zOne Commando, and the HTC ChaCha all fall hard into that category.
They leave you wondering what went down in the conference room where that name was born, and what could have possibly been going on in the minds of the people who approved them. But honestly, it’s much harder than you think to find a phone with a well-suited, nice-sounding, non-awkward name. Which is why Nokia is leaving it up to us. → Read More
Dropbox is finally moving to close that massive valuation venture round we’ve been talking about all summer. According to multiple sources, Index Ventures will lead the round, which values Dropbox at around $4 billion.
At some point I hope that the entire story comes out about this round. Nearly everyone in Silicon Valley has taken a look. There was early interest at valuations of $8 billion or more, although one source says that it may have been firms who threw out huge numbers just to get a look at the company’s financials. As of a couple of weeks ago I had “firm” information that the round would close at $5 billion or more. → Read More
Today, EnergyHub launched its new, comprehensive, in-home energy management system for U.S. consumers. The system includes the EnergyHub Home Base, for centralized management of the electricity usage in the home, as well as The EnergyHub Thermostat, Sockets and Strips.
The Home Base also connects to the Web via Wi-Fi, allowing users to remotely manage individual components via Web-based or mobile applications that run on iOS and Android devices. → Read More
Android and Apple together now account for nearly 70 percent of smartphone subscribers in the U.S., according to new estimates for July put out today by comScore. Android phones command nearly 42 percent market share, while Apple’s iPhone grew slightly to capture 27 percent. Android is growing faster, up 5.4 percent from April and up 1.7 percent from June, whereas Apple’s share is up 1 percent for the three-month period and 0.4 percent fro the previous month.
The two smartphone powers keep taking share from RIM’s Blackberry, Microsoft, and Symbian. Blackberry took the biggest hit, down 4 points since April, 2011 to 21.7 percent. Microsoft’s mobile OS share is down 1 percent to 5.7 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers. And Symbian is barely hanging onto 1.9 percent share in the U.S.
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