Friday, February 24, 2012

Immersion initiated with a Neutral at Brigantine

from www.theflyonthewall.com:

HD Integrator

The HD Integrator build-time OEM software tool harnesses the capabilities of Immersion’s TouchSense 5000 and high fidelity actuators to deliver new haptic interactions based on the dynamic content and UIs of next-gen handsets. The resulting experience uses thoughtfully designed and fast response HD haptic effects to: 1.) Communicate new and relevant information via haptics and 2.) Transform mobile UIs and content such as mobile games and video into multi-modal experiences that fully engage the senses.

HD Integrator is only available to OEMs using high fidelity actuators along with Immersion TouchSense 5000 software. The solution hinges upon the ability for the embedded haptic solution to deliver fast response times and effects across a broader frequency range, which is only available through high fidelity actuators.

http://www.immersion.com/products/integrator/hd.html

Hands On With Immersion's HD Integrator

from www.pcmag.com:

>>We listened to a clip of Jennifer Lopez's On the Floor with HD reverb effects enabled. While the song itself remains a matter of taste, there's no denying the additional punch haptic feedback has while listening, causing your phone to pulse along with the beat of the song. While you may not want to listen to music like this all the time, it's a good example of how these effects can be applied to sounds in videos or games.

Another demo introduced "layered haptics," which allows developers to deliver simultaneous distinguishable effects. A video of a rollercoaster ride, for instance, allows you to feel the movement of the coaster, the rush of the air, and even the passengers screaming from behind you. It's only a fifteen-second clip, but it's incredibly immersive. Check out a shot from the video in the slideshow above.

Hands-on with Immersion HD Integrator hi-fi haptics

from Engadget:

>>Other demonstrations of the technology were more frivolous, but nonetheless impressive in their effect -- one app simulated a rubber or metal ball rolling around in a box, and we could actually feel the difference between the two types of balls based upon the feedback alone. After our short time using the sample apps, it seems like the potential for such tactile indicators to be used in new and creative ways is almost limitless. However, Immersion's only showing off what its platform can do, it'll be up to the OEMs to find new uses for the technology to maximize its potential.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Samsung says sales of Galaxy S II phones top 20 mln

from Yahoo:

>>Samsung Electronics, which emerged as the world's top smartphone maker last year, said on Thursday that sales of its flagship Galaxy S II topped 20 million handsets since its launch in April last year.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jamba Juice Expands Product Offering With Talbott Teas

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Last week Jamba Juice (JMBA) announced the acquisition of Talbott Teas, a Chicago-based premium tea company, recently profiled on ABC-TV's Shark Tank.

Few details of the transaction are available at the moment, but the obvious ratio behind the acquisition seems to be the desire to complete Jamba Juice's product offering through the introduction of a premium tea category that is aligned with Jamba's focus to quality, 100% natural ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. Given the fact that Jamba's major product (smoothies) has a strong summer consumption, the addition of an article with opposite seasonality may also be considered a positive.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Pantech Element review

Enzo's pinball inside the new Pantec tablet:

>> It's not that we don't expect to see crapware like Enzo's Pinball, Bug Village and AT&T's bevy of apps (Code Scanner, Navigator, etc.) shoveled onto Android devices at this stage in the game, but we'd like to see the practice executed with a measure of restraint.

from Engadget.

Analyzing Equinix's Solid Q4 Report

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Equinix (EQIX) reported Q4 2011 results last Wednesday, after the market close. At the same time, the company announced its intention to expand its Washington, D.C. data center campus through the build out of a new facility, targeted to open in early 2013, and the start of phase two of its DC10 data center for Business Suites, expected to be completed in Q4 2012.

The first phase of the new DC11 data center is expected to cost around $88 million in expansion capital, and will add 1,200 cabinets with capacity for 1,800 cabinets in future phases. Phase two of DC10 is expected to cost $21 million in expansion CapEx. As a reminder, phase one of DC10, which adds about 15,500 square feet of co-location space, is scheduled to open next month.

A quick look at some of the quarter's highlights:

IBX Vault, a Platform Equinix facility

The 64,000 square foot facility will be built on the current Carpathia Vault campus in Dulles, VA and will support industry-specific compliant solutions for federal agencies, healthcare companies and commercial industries. The IBX Vault will be the most secure compliant data center in the industry, providing the maximum security available to both federal and commercial customers.

http://carpathia.com/IBXvault/

Monday, February 20, 2012

Fujitsu to launch mobile devices in EU market

from Yahoo:

>>LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's largest IT services vendor Fujitsu plans to launch a wide range of smartphone and tablet devices for the first time in Europe, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Fujitsu is already a large handset and tablet maker in Japan with about a fifth of the market, but is looking to challenge the dominance of European market leaders such as Apple and Samsung, the FT said.

The newspaper did not say when Fujitsu would launch the products in Europe's fast-growing and high-margin mobile device market, but said the company is targeting a "double-digit" market share in the next three to five years.