Nokia debuts MD-12 Bluetooth speaker alongside new Lumias

Nokia has also unveiled a new accessory to match its new Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones.  The MD-12 is a Bluetooth speaker that is available in the same color palette as the new devices. Nokia claims this speaker has better bass than those similar in size (it’s about the size of a hockey puck, in case you were wondering). And it will supposedly run for 15 hours on a single charge. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the MD-12 will cost US$55 but did not mention when it will go on sale.

Source: Engadget

Apple looks to boost Siri's speech recognition with Novauris acquisition

With the competition scrambling to get in on the intelligent personal assistant game, Apple is looking to add some speech recognition props to Siri's already expansive skillset. Apple purchased eminent automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology company Novauris Technologies which was a subsidiary of Dragon Systems, a well known voice and dictation technology pioneer behind DragonDictate and Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

According to Techcrunch, the acquisition, "apparently took place last year, but had not been announced. At Apple as of last fall, the team is now working on improving Siri, the speech-based virtual assistant technology that comes pre-installed on Apple’s mobile devices."

Novauris's technology spans both device and server-side as well as cloud solutions for automatic speech recognition and it will be interesting to see how this technology matures and makes it to Apple's products.

Source: TechCrunch

NHL fans to benefit from 700MHz spectrum auction

Rogers is the only company to secure two 12MHz blocks of contiguous, paired 700MHz lower band spectrum in virtually every major market across Canada, securing twice as much contiguous spectrum as the competition. This is an advantage because the two contiguous blocks can be combined to deliver consistently fast downloads and uninterrupted video streaming in more places than ever before. Which is apparently great news for hockey fans watching their favourite players and teams on mobile devices.

"We went into this auction with a clear plan to win the best spectrum for our customers. There is clear demand for the ultimate video experience and it will be a big part of how we bring the NHL to hockey fans," said Guy Laurence, President and Chief Executive Officer.

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Amazon’s FireTV yet another set top box with compromises

By Simon Cohen

Amazon takes the proprietary route with its Fire TV set top box and gives consumers one more choice that won’t serve all of their needs.

I’ve always admired Amazon for their customer-centric view of the world. Their online shopping experience is second to none. Their customer service is superb. Their dedication to creating devices and services to meet the needs of their customers has always impressed me – especially given that the hardware space is so competitive (and littered with failures).

So I was really keen to find out what Amazon’s latest toy, the $99 Fire TV set-top box had to offer. Even though it isn't available to Canadians currently, the U.S. version is likely a very strong indicator of what we’ll get when it arrives.

Sadly, what we’ll get is a series of compromises.

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