Posts tagged with "iPhone"

Kickstarter: Hive - An iPhone Amplifier + Screen Magnifier

Mark this Kickstarter project as another original concept. The Hive, by Jake Waitzman of Screendoor Studio, requires no electronics or power, and amplifies the iPhone 4’s onboard speaker in both landscape and portrait orientation. It does this by channeling the sound into a concave chamber that projects upward and outward toward the listener’s ears (much like Griffin’s AirCurve). What makes it a lot different than the AirCurve and other docks is the fresnel lens. It stands parallel to the iPhone’s screen at a set distance of 4 inches, providing crystal clear 2X magnification.

Promo videos can be seen after the break. Read more

Square Set To Add Encryption To Next Generation Of Card Readers

Yesterday Square revealed that it had received from financial services superpower, Visa, strategic investment of an unspecified size. However in a lower key announcement it also revealed that this summer they will be releasing a new card reader that uses encryption on the read head.

You may recall the little squabble a few months back where VeriFone and Square traded blows over whether the Square card reader was secure enough. VeriFone claimed it wasn’t and that Square should recall all their readers because thieves could easily skim credit card information using the device. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, hit back at VeriFone saying it was “not a fair or accurate claim and [that] it overlooks all of the protections already built into your credit card.”

Yet despite all that, Square will soon be addressing those “concerns” that VeriFone had, and release a card reader that employs encryption. The Square COO, Keith Rabois, notes that they are adopting Visa’s newly released (yesterday) mobile application best practices. He says that the “adoption of best practices will help increase trust in innovative payment solutions” although equally stresses that Square currently complies with all industry standards. TechCrunch rightly highlights that it is clearly no coincidence that Square’s endorsement of Visa’s best practices came on the same day as their funding announcement.

TechCrunch inquired as to whether users would have to replace their current readers but Rabois declined to comment specifically but he did continue to affirm Square’s previous rejection of VeriFone’s demand to recall the Square readers. Rabois also noted that encryption will not be the only new feature of the third iteration of readers coming this summer.

[Via TechCrunch]

Apple Reducing CDMA iPhone Orders Following Low Sales?

In an article focused on Pegatron’s first quarter financial results for 2011 (in which the company posted net losses of $19.38 million), Digitimes reports an interesting tidbit about CDMA iPhone orders and the fact that, perhaps following sales under expectations, Apple lowered the estimated shipments for 2011 from 10 million to 5 million units.

Market watchers were originally optimistic about Pegatron’s performance in 2011 as the company landed orders for CDMA iPhone 4 from Apple, but as the company reported losses for the first quarter of 2011, the market watchers are turning conservative about CDMA iPhone 4 shipments in the future as volumes may not be as strong as expected.

Meanwhile, Pegatron originally expected to ship 10 million CDMA iPhone 4s in 2011, but sources from upstream component makers pointed out that Apple’s orders already saw a significant reduction and the volume is estimated to drop to only five million units.

There might be a few reasons behind slow CDMA iPhone sales: first off, the device was introduced on Verizon (a CDMA network in the United States) in February, by the end of the iPhone 4 lifecycle, and was never released on other CDMA networks worldwide, although Apple repeatedly confirmed its interest to expand the iPhone’s brand to other international markets. More importantly, slow Verizon iPhone sales had already been reported a few days after launch, although the company later announced 2.2 million activations in 2 months, and a report claimed the Verizon iPhone was the most acquired smartphone in the United States in February. Then why lowering orders from 10 million to 5 million? It is possible Digitimes’ report is incorrect, and the CDMA shipments mentioned in the article referred to CDMA iPhones on other carriers, which might have been delayed to late 2011 – when the iPhone 5, supposedly a universal GSM-CDMA handset, is set to come out. Digitimes’ article doesn’t mention Verizon Wireless, so there’s the possibility Pegatron was asked to lower shipments for iPhone 4s destined to international carriers. You can read the full report on Pegatron’s first quarter here.

Fring with Group Video Calling for iPhone Now Available

As announced earlier this month, web communication service fring has released an update to their official iPhone client that brings group video calling both on WiFi and 3G. As detailed a few weeks ago, the new group video calling feature allows iPhone users to communicate in real-time with up to three other friends – doesn’t matter if they’re using an iPhone or Android device. As long as you keep adding friends to a group video call from your fring’s buddy list, the session will go through even if multiple iPhones and Android handsets are using the app. This is some serious cross-platform technology fring has implemented here, and the fact that it works on 3G as well provides an interesting alternative to Apple’s FaceTime – which is free and integrated into the iOS phone app, but only works on WiFi. Fring also promised higher video calling quality than competitors (read: Skype) thanks to their Dynamic Video Quality technology, which also runs in fullscreen mode.

If you want to test the new fring app for iPhone with group video calling, you can download the latest update from the App Store. Read more

Pioneer AppRadio To Bring Apps And Deep iOS Integration To The Car

A new Pioneer car audio system is set to feature its own app system that also ties in with iOS devices and put it all on a very stylish iPad-eque front panel. The official FCC filing and a leak to CrunchGear reveals the Pioneer AppRadio, with a 6.1” display and an iOS-style home button in the center, will be loaded with specialised apps from Pandora Radio and iHeartRadio to GPS mapping software and traditional AM/FM radio.

In what is surely a sign of the times, Pioneer will not be including any optical drive in the device, opting instead for USB, RCA and S-Video inputs. CrunchGear contends in its report that the audio system will likely talk to iPhones and iPods through the USB interface for music as well as contacts and even some apps. The device also doesn’t have any internet access on its own and will likely rely on smartphones such as an iPhone to provide mobile connectivity for some of the internet apps such as Pandora.

To avoid problems surrounding distracted driving, the Pioneer AppRadio will also come with a steering wheel-mounted remote control as an option. Based on the FCC filing and the rumor, the AppRadio is believed to be “about ready” but no specific release date or pricing is yet known.

[Via Electronista]