Sunday
Sep062015

Sony’s Wena smartwatch takes aim at luxury brands

A side-project by a small team from Sony is looking to be an example luxury watch brands should emulate if they intend to enter the smartwatch space. The Wena Wrist, which was successfully crowdfunded through Sony’s First Flight platform for employee pitches, isn’t the “smartest” smartwatch out there but it has enough tech to get some users by and still retails that classic look of a chronograph. Designed by the Wena team and manufactured by Citizen, this watch still looks like a simple chronograph but has tech that lies within the watch’s band. Its strap has an NFC chip that supports Japanese FeliCa standard for mobile payments; a pedometer for basic activity tracking; and a clasp that’ll light up and vibrate when you get a notification on your smartphone.

The project is in its early stages and there isn’t the iOS app to show off the features yet. The Wena team hopes to launch the device in Japan sometime next year. And once they do that, they might consider an international release and Android compatibility.

Source: Engadget

Sunday
Sep062015

Skype beta shows off new Windows 10 Mobile features

If you’re running the preview build of Windows 10 Mobile, you can now catch a glimpse of how the new Skype is going to run. Microsoft plans to make Skype its go-to communication app on Windows 10 (think Google Hangouts for Android and iMessage for iOS). Skype will replace the default Windows 10 Mobile SMS app. It’ll make it easier for you to switch between SMS and Skype chat. A new Skype Video app will become your destination for video chats and standard Skype voice calls will be integrated into the built-in phone app.

There’s no word yet if Microsoft plans to release these beta apps to the public. And at the moment, the full Windows 10 app, those universal apps designed to run across all Windows 10 devices, isn’t available for download.

Source: Microsoft | Via: The Verge

Sunday
Sep062015

Apple transforms facade of Bill Graham Auditorium in SF ahead of September 9 special event

Image source: AppleInsider.com

Apple is reportedly deploying a large number of workers, electricians, carpenters and security personnel to transform the Bill Graham Auditorium in downtown San Francisco, Ca, ahead of next Wednesday's Special Event.

There are already various Apple flags on top of flagpoles plus posters and a huge Special Event banner decorating the front of the auditorium. A little bit of history, Apple used the same venue to launch its Apple II computer 38 years ago. The Bill Graham Auditorium can seat 7,000 people.

Click to read more ...

Saturday
Sep052015

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 8/30-9/5

Xbox One Elite edition launched for $499 with solid state 1 Terabyte drive, Elite controller

Review: iPod Touch (2015)

Apple renews push in the enterprise market with Cisco partnership

Samsung outs Gear S2 smartwatch

Android Wear devices now work with iPhones

Google shows off new logo and identity

Rogers new Share Everything+ plans offer option to bundle free Spotify, shomi or Next Issue subs

Instagram now lets you use private messaging to send photos

Intel's new Skylake processors bundle performance improvements with better battery life

Huawei Watch launches, diversifies Android Wear options

CareGuide acquires CanadianNanny.ca

Motorola unveils three new Moto 360 smartwatch lines coming to Canada this fall

Lenovo outs new Vibe and tablet-sized phones

Meet Lenovo’s new flexible Yoga tablets

TomTom's Spark wearable focuses on music, monitoring and motivation for fitness

Sphero's B-88 droid is the closest thing to a real Star Wars droid

Best Apple Watch Apps For College & University Students

New PayPal.me personal link helps people get paid back

Superfans awaken early for their #ForceFriday haul

BlackBerry acquires Good to expand presence in cross-platform enterprise and government mobile device management solutions

The Apple Beat: Is Apple TV ready for primetime?

Microsoft ending several Lumia mobile apps in preparation of Windows 10 on phones

Google Translate brings translations all through your apps

Panasonic reviving popular Technics turntable line with new direct drive motor

Uber fixes ETA privacy flaw that showed full trip details online