Monday, June 24, 2013

Equinix made a $125m offer for the site to NYSE Euronext last autumn

 
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A full sale may also allow ICE to offload other assets, such as NYSE’s European technology assets. They include a 25 per cent stake in UK trading technology company Fixnetix and Euronext’s London data centre. Besides Euronext’s stock trading assets, the site also hosts trading venues owned by Goldman Sachs and Société Générale. However the site, which cost $500m to build and is equal to the size of seven football pitches, is only half-full.
Equinix, a US data centre provider, made a $125m offer for the site to NYSE Euronext last autumn, and although it was rebuffed, Equinix’s interest remains serious, two people with the situation have said.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Immersion's New Multi-Year Licensing Deal With Samsung: Increased Royalty Rates Plus Basic Haptic

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha: 

>>On Thursday, Immersion Corporation (IMMR) announced it had entered into a new multi-year agreement with Samsung (SSNLF.PK) which also includes a patent license covering Samsung's prior and future use of Basic Haptics.
On the news, the stock jumped about 30%. This is the second time in a relatively short period of time that Immersion's shares reacted positively to news related to Basic Haptic agreements:

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Immersion Partner News Highlights

updated:

http://www.immersion.com/about/news-room/partner-news/index.html

Not All Data Center Stocks Are Created Equal

Read the whole post at Seeking Alpha: 

>>Last week Barron's analyst Tiernan Ray took a very critical look at the valuations some data center stocks have achieved on Wall Street:
Adjusted for Reality, Neither Rackspace nor Equinix Shine
As I said, the market last week punished Rackspace (RAX) for failing to live up to the loftiest expectations [the stock fell 20% post-earnings], largely because the nature of a REIT is to keep demonstrating Ebitda growth that will some day support massive borrowing, and fat dividends.
It's the same thing that has pushed down Digital Realty (DLR) and Dupont Fabros (DFT) shares of late.
The article ended with an Equinix (EQIX) related prediction:
In the meantime, given that this is all fantasy profit, Equinix shares will continue to trade based on whether they can deliver upside each quarter, however slight. If not, the pricey stock may face a bit of a Rackspace reaction.
We disagree with several conclusions in the article, but as we also believe that data center multiples deserve to be investigated and better explained to investors, we'll use Barron's analysis as a starting point to add our two cents.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Sony ps4


From Engadget live blogging
TIM STEVENS 12:17 AM
Sony Playstation dual shock 4:
It's much more rounded, looks like a rubberized grip with "enhanced rumble capabilities"

Apple’s New Patent Could Provide Haptic Vibration Feedback to iPads

from www.padgadget.com:

>>Basically, this technology would allow users to feel a slight vibration on the tips of their fingers when they touched a letter on the virtual keyboard. We all know that touch-typing on the iPad’s keyboard is nearly impossible, simply because there is no tactile sensation for users to connect with. Haptic vibrations could, at least, add a virtual version of the little raised bump on the “F” and “J” keys so you can feel the return position better.  This could potentially make the useless touch screen keyboard somewhat useful.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Fujitsu, Orange partner on senior-friendly Stylistic S01 smartphone

from /www.engadget.com:

>>As such, it will include many of the same features available on Fujitsu's Raku-Raku series of senior-friendly phones available on NTT DoCoMo. For instance, the phone will have tactile virtual buttons that mimic the experience of pushing actual hardware keys, oversized icons and audio technology that optimizes the frequency range according to the user's age.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Samsung Galaxy S Series Sales Pass 100M

Samsung Electronics’ flagship Galaxy S series surpassed the accumulated sales record of 100 million units from the supply side in only 2 years and 7 months after its launch in May 2010. Galaxy S III is selling at much faster rate of 30 million in 5 months and 40 million in 7 months, after becoming a million seller in only 50 days after its release last May. Currently, its average daily sales are 190,000 units. The driving force behind Samsung Electronics’ rise to the top on the global smartphone market is Galaxy S II which is gaining ground as a steady seller hitting the sales of over 40 million in only 20 months.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/samsungtomorrow/8379134928/in/photostream

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Company unveils haptic EMP feedback keyboard at CES

from http://phys.org:

At CES, Strategic Polymers showed off what it calls "The Awake" a Bluetooth enabled keyboard that employs EMPs to provide feedback to the person typing.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-company-unveils-haptic-emp-feedback.html#jCp
San Francisco based Strategic Polymers has unveiled new haptic technology the company has developed at this year's Computer and Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. At a press conference, CEO Christophe Ramstein told those in attendance that his company has developed superthin electro mechanical polymers (EMPs) for use in smartphones and tablet computers.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-company-unveils-haptic-emp-feedback.html#jCp
San Francisco based Strategic Polymers has unveiled new haptic technology the company has developed at this year's Computer and Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. At a press conference, CEO Christophe Ramstein told those in attendance that his company has developed superthin electro mechanical polymers (EMPs) for use in smartphones and tablet computers.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-company-unveils-haptic-emp-feedback.html#jCp

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Haptic Actuator suits touchscreen displays and surfaces.

from http://news.thomasnet.com:

>>Johnson Electric today announced an addition to its growing range of haptic actuator product for touch screen displays and surfaces.  Haptic feedback gives a user confirmation, through tactile sensations, that a selection has been made in any type of control system.  Launched under the Ledex-HA brand, the HA300 haptic actuator provides the highest G force rating with rapid response times for screens and displays > 375 mm in size.  The HA300 has a rated life of greater than 60 million cycles and acceleration to 20G.  The Ledex actuator has a low output frequency, which is ideally suited to human discernment and has controllable stimuli which allows for multiple haptic effects for different circumstances.

"Haptic feedback is emerging as an important factor for automotive and entertainment applications," said Jim Dick, Johnson Electric's senior vice president of Strategic Marketing.  "As haptic technology develops, it can also be deployed in medical devices, business machines and industrial controls," he added.

New polymers magically transform into haptic buttons and speakers

from http://dvice.com:

>> A company called Strategic Polymers has just announced (and demonstrated to us) a handful of prototype devices that use electromechanical polymers to generate pushable buttons, haptic feedback zones, and even speakers on cellphones and computer peripherals on demand. It's amazing.

Monday, January 7, 2013

'phablets', chips to drive Samsung fourth quarter profit

from Yahoo: 

>>Shipments of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III, which overtook the iPhone 4S in the third quarter to become the world's best-selling smartphone, are likely to have slipped to around 15 million in the last quarter from 18 million in July-September. But estimated sales of around 8 million Galaxy Note II phone-cum-tablets, or 'phablets', should more than make up for that - pushing overall smartphone shipments to around 63 million, analysts estimate.

Continental

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/com/en/continental/pressportal/themes/press_releases/3_automotive_group/interior/press_releases/pr_20120109_haptic_en,version=1.html

To make the operation of touch elements even safer and more effective for motorists – whose primary task is, after all, to keep their eyes on the road – Continental is focusing on tactile (i.e. haptic) feedback from touch-sensitive surfaces. For example, slight counter-pressure from the display on the driver’s finger indicates that an operating step has been performed successfully, making it unnecessary for the driver to look at the screen again.  

http://www.cst.com/Content/Events/downloads/euc2012/Talk_3-3-3_CST_EUC_2012.pdf

 Development of a planar actuator for active haptic feedback in an automotive environment

Target: haptic feedback when you expect to have haptic feedback, and stiff when you expect it to be stiff!

Different haptic feedbacks generated by electronic module

visteon e-bee

http://e-bee.visteon.com/_library/_download/e-Bee%20Decorative%20Control%20Panels%20Tech%20Sheet%20Nov%206%202012.pdf

Low to no wobble rotary devices built off platform design allows precision tuning of haptic feel

 http://www.wfsb.com/story/20506571/visteon-to-demonstrate-automotive-innovations-at-2013-international-ces

This "touch with intent" capability is enhanced with visual and audible feedback and will be expanded on future implementations with tactile feedback.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Samsung to widen smartphone gap with Apple this year -Strategy Analytics

from Yahoo/Reuters: 

>>Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is expected to widen its lead over Apple Inc in global smartphone sales this year with 35 percent growth, helped by a broad product lineup, market researcher Strategy Analytics told Reuters on Friday.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Immersion Corporation: Profiting From The Touch Screen Revolution

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha: 

>Immersion Corporation (IMMR) was founded in 1993. The company is the leading innovator in haptic technology with over 1,200 issued or pending patents in the US and other countries.

Haptics is a tactile feedback technology that aims at bringing back the sense of "touch" when not available to end users. Practical examples include reproducing the feeling of pushing a button on touch screens, as well as allowing the rumble effect in a console game controller. Haptics may also be used in medical simulators to help doctors "feel" the forces that would be encountered for example when navigating the leads through a beating heart.