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The latest upgrade to the iPhone and iPad version of Amazon's Kindle reading app brings a bunch of new features aimed at blind and visually impaired users. At the top of the list is the ability to read aloud 1.8 million Kindle Store titles, with help from Apple's VoiceOver technology. The update also brings better library and book navigation and search, as well as features like notes, highlights, bookmarks, font size, background color and brightness. Standard Kindle features like X-Ray, End Actions and sharing via Facebook and Twitter are also made more accessible through the update. Amazon's promised a similar update for non-iOS versions of the app at some point in the future -- in the meantime, a full list of new features can be found in a press release after the break.
Over six months ago, a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon called Isis launched a trial of its nascent mobile payment service in Austin and Salt Lake City. Not only was its debut already delayed, we also haven't heard more than a peep from the company since. CEO Michael Abbott, who is the keynote speaker at ETA 2013 in New Orleans, has opened the discourse but still isn't giving many specific details on the future. When we asked him about his company's expansion plans, Abbott simply told us that "when [we're] ready, we'll start putting it out in different places and see where to go from there." In essence, he views progress in the mobile payments field as a constant evolution, which often involves taking smaller steps to accomplish a greater purpose. You can find the full quote below the break.
As glad as we are that MediaTek ushered in affordable, quad-core SoC designs with the MT6589, even that silicon can only go so far in making smartphones accessible. The company's new MT6572 might be frugal enough to lower some of those few remaining barriers. The all-in-one part mates a cheaper dual-core, 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 processor with HSPA+ 3G, China-focused TD-SCDMA, Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi, dropping the construction costs beyond what even the chip's quad-core sibling can manage. While the MT6572 can only handle up to a qHD display, a 5-megapixel camera and 720p video, that's more than enough to improve baseline features in a category where many recent entry-level phones still tout single-core CPUs and WVGA screens. Its rapid arrival in the marketplace may be crucial, too. MediaTek expects the first phones based on the MT6572 to roll out in June -- just in time to keep the world's transition to smartphones moving at full steam.
HTC's financial results released today don't contain much good news -- take a quick look at the unaudited figures we reported last month. But despite its worst ever quarterly profit earlier this year, it's banking on a substantial turnaround over the next few months. During an earnings call today referencing its audited results, HTC said that its outlook for Q2 2013 includes a revenue jump to around $2.4 billion -- a huge increase from $1.45 billion registered in Q1. HTC CEO Peter Chou said that the company was fine "in terms of cash flow," and that it would continue to support both Android and Windows Phone hardware in the near future. How about those recent supply woes? "We are working as hard as possible to meet the demand everywhere." The company, however, wasn't giving away any handset sales figures, something that the competition does enjoyflourishing.
When asked whether he was concerned with its recent hardware being copied, Chou was frank: " In this industry, everything can be copied. I think there's no point [in] thinking you can prevent this... but whether they would get this original quality -- I think the most important [thing] is that you are first."
Toshiba's got an Ultrabook hybrid on the way for general consumption, and now it's targeting the business-savvy Windows 8 user with its WT310 tablet (a product code borrowed from an old Windows 7 model). Running Windows 8 Pro, the 11.6-inch 1080p slate packs an unnamed Intel Core processor, SSD drive, and comes bundled with a DigitizerPen for quick note scrawling. Around the edges, you're looking at an HDMI-out port, an SD card slot and USB 3.0 port, with standard WiFi (Intel WiDi supported), Bluetooth 4.0 and optional HSPA+ / LTE radios for connectivity. A dock that offers additional ports will also be available.
As the tablet "means business," it comes with a bunch of pre-installed utilities for those that need a slate for more than browsing and media, including the Trusted Platform Module, as well as Intel's Active Management Technology and Anti-Theft software. It measures 229 x 189 x 12.4mm (roughly 9 x 7.5 x 0.5 inch) and weighs in at 825g (29 ounces), with the only choice of color being "steel grey metallic." We should find out some of the finer details, like specific CPU, RAM size and SSD capacity, closer to the UK release window of Q2 2013, which we assume will coincide with a US launch. We're also in the dark about price, but given it's aimed at business users, it probably won't be cheap.
This week's show shows what happens when the unstoppable force of technology meets the immovable object of our team's cynicism and stinginess. The gang continues its discussion on Google Glass, doesn't think much of Illumiroom and gets weirdly philosophical when it comes to the latest words to come from Thorsten Heins' mouth. Plus, the team get wistful for a Nokia phone launched in 2007 and try (and fail) to use voice communication to send smartphone messages to each other.
Remember those "eye gestures" spotted in Google Glass code? Developer Mike DiGiovanni, who just released the "Bulletproof" lockscreen for Glass, has already used them to develop an app to snap photos on the Explorer Edition of the AR eyewear called "Winky." When activated and calibrated, a simple wink of the eye allows you to capture a still of whatever you're looking at, rather than using a voice command or tapping the side of the glasses as normally required, which DiGiovanni says "takes you out of the moment." He released the app purely as Android source code to protect users' personal info, so if you're interested, you'll need to compile and run it as an APK -- assuming you're lucky enough to have a pair of the specs, of course.
We've wondered what HTC would do after a Dutch court banned it from using HDR Microphones in its oft-delayedOne handset, and now we know. It looks like the company has quietly nixed references to the Nokia-developed component on its website, raising the possibility that the handsets currently being manufactured won't have the STMicroelectronics unit on board. None of this should affect phones that are already on the market, but we've reached out to HTC to find out what this means for future One owners and will let you know more when we do.
[Thanks, Ted]
Update: HTC has issued a statement (in full, after the break) saying that the company is entitled to use its remaining supplies of STM's HDR Microphones until they run out. At that point, it'll use a different ("improved") microphone design in future production runs.
It's not all WhatsApp and LINE. If you're in Korea, then your messaging app of choice is most likely to be Kakao Talk, and Evernote hopes that allying with the app will expand its remit and boost its presence in Asia. The team-up looks set to bring Evernote's services within the chat window of your Kakao Talk conversations, allowing users to share images, links and entire messages to their private note locker.
According to Evernote CEO Phil Libin, the company's products have typically been "quite introverted; keeping your own memories and information for your own use." He added that Evernote is always looking for ways to improve sharing and collaboration with the app: "There is a lot we can learn about sharing and communication by working with Kakao." The messaging app's CEO Lee Sir-goo added that the partnership would "elevate the status of Kakao Talk as a global mobile platform," with the Evernote-optimized iteration arriving in the next two to three months. Now, to figure out exactly howmany messaging apps is toomany messaging apps.
Starting to get bored with Google Glassalready? Well, it seems like Mountain View's trying to patent some of that functionality for a smartwatch, in a substantially different way than it did before. According to an application submitted to the USPTO, such a device would include standard smartwatch functions like a wireless transceiver, display and processor, but could also be equipped with two touchpads located on each side of the bezel. Those could enable "pinch, stretch and scroll on a platform with limited space available for user input," and would also communicate "with the clock line or data line." That means they'd control all the smartwatch functions, of course, but Google may be leaving the door open for it to control other devices as well, judging by the cagey wording -- perhaps sidestepping the need to reach for or yell at your eyewear.
