A little something to expect in the next generation of video games

from www.betanews.com:

>>Recently, researchers at Disney came forward and said they are working on a more precise vibration technology for more "touchy" movies and games, and iPhone accessory maker Mophie will soon be releasing a new vibration pack called Mophie Pulse that uses a new type of vibrator that is thinner, lighter, 70% more energy efficient than a phone's standard vibration motor, and is capable of producing a much wider variety of "feels" than the traditional on/off "buzz." Think of it as the difference between mono and stereo but for the sense of touch instead of hearing.

With the ability to create more diverse tactile sensations, developers can make the touch-based experience more informative and more useful.

Touchscreen inventor: Forget 3D, haptics is the future of mobile screens

from venturebeat.com:

>>But according to Synaptics technology strategist Andrew Hsu, father of the capacitive touchscreen, the future of touchscreens could more likely lie in haptics, technology which would allow us to feel individual touchscreen elements.

“Where I see the next frontier of UI (user interface) control is that we now want to try and recreate the tactility we lost from traditional hardware interfaces,” Hsu said in an interview with VentureBeat. Refined haptics could bring us full circle in mobile interfaces, allowing us to feel software keyboards and buttons as if they were physical elements from cellphones in pre-iPhone days.

Has Market Volatility Created Buying Opportunities in Data Center Sector?

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>In case you did not notice, the market tanked recently, and data center-related stocks were no exception to the rule. All stocks we follow now trade lower, compared to the end of July.

Has market volatility created a buying opportunity? Hard to say, without knowing if this correction is just a hiccup or the start of a real downtrend for the whole stock market, which any stock could hardly resist. The question we will try to answer is an easier one: Has any data center-related stock been hit more than its fundamentals probably deserved in this downturn?

Acer Iconia Tab A100 review

from www.engadget.com:

>>And there's no haptic feedback, so it doesn't feel quite like interacting with the usual array of keys on an Android device. People who know their way around Honeycomb might find this addition redundant, but we often found it handy while using the tab in landscape mode.

Inside Equinix's SY3 datacentre: photos

from www.zdnet.com.au

Equinix mulls Melbourne data centre

from www.computerworld.com.au

>>Data centre provider Equinix is mulling construction of a Melbourne facility in response to growing demand from customers at its Sydney 1 (SY1) and Sydney 2 (SY2) facilities.

..

“In the Asia Pacific [our priorities] are China, India, Melbourne and Osaka,” he said. “Osaka is no surprise. After the Japan earthquake the government is very keen to make Osaka the second financial and commercial capital of the county.

“We continue to hear lots of our customers in Sydney asking for Melbourne. When we track the capital movements there is a significant amount of money going into Melbourne. We also hear that the cost of doing business in Melbourne is relatively lower.”

...

Lee said the decision to assess a Melbourne data centre was based on its global strategy of selecting facilities based on their presence in “tier one” cities and based on customer requests for new services.

Lee defined tier one cities as those that have high GDP growth and levels of internet infrastructure and that act as financial hubs.

Based on this approach the company was also considering launching new facilities in Johannesburg, Dublin, Moscow, Madrid, Dubai, Stockholm, Istanbul, and Prague.

Smith Says Equinix Has `Strong' Pricing, Sees Growth

Stephen Smith, chief executive officer of Equinix Inc., talks about the company's performance, demand for services and pricing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/smith-says-equinix-has-strong-pricing-sees-growth/2011/08/10/gIQADmfP7I_video.html

MAKO Receives Key Patent, Acquires Exclusive Rights From Immersion's Patent Portfolio

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Medical robotics company MAKO Surgical (MAKO) was up about 30% yesterday after reporting Q2 revenues that exceeded analysts consensus ($18.6M vs. expectations of $16.1M), and in spite of negative EPS of -$0.24 (-$0.18 excluding stock compensation).

Samsung debuts Galaxy R smartphone

from GigaOM:

>>Samsung is expanding its smartphone line with the Galaxy R, a slightly smaller version of the company’s fastest-selling handset, the Galaxy S II. While smaller, the Galaxy R has many of the same features, including a dual-core CPU and high-definition video recording, although Samsung did use a few lower quality components. The new Galaxy R debuts in Sweden and will later launch in Northern and Eastern Europe, South East and West Asia, Middle East Asia, and China.

Data Center Related Stocks: Q2 Earnings Performance

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>When the timing (date) of a company's earnings report becomes even more important than the quality of data reported, it may seem a bit useless to discuss post earnings performances. But in spite of the recent market volatility, a quick look at how data center related companies behaved after earnings may be interesting for investors who want to analyze a few trends in the sector.

21Vianet: Good Margins Along With Risky Outsourcing Contracts

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Last week, 21Vianet Group, Inc. (VNET), the largest carrier-neutral Internet data center services provider in China, announced its unaudited financial results for Q2 2011.

Here are some of the highlights:

Immersion Delivers A Disappointing Quarter, But Hints At New Licensees

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Last week Immersion Corporation (IMMR) reported Q2 earnings, and the numbers were quite disappointing. A quick look at some of the highlights:

• Revenues were $6.7 million, as compared to $8.5 million for the second quarter of 2010. Excluding product revenues (of approximately $1 million) in the medical segment, primarily related to lines transferred to the company's medical licensee CAE, and true ups to gaming royalty reports (approximately $1 million) that also impacted Q2 2010, a more appropriate apples to apples comparison sees revenues basically flat from last year;