Will.i.am's Puls wristband has its own 3G, support from AT&T

<b>Will.i.am has just revealed the Puls at Dreamforce 2014, a smartwatch that doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to send texts, emails or make and take phone calls. </b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCHmOGSCzZRao2beVsGgRmxa8YvjLgu3fl-7z6UC59FUJsxagJZSuaSALABggccP_UEvfMcBo3xwOnNUUs67f5Vkc1xCYCDr0iuB29maqOx4Z-5Vd_Oll9xWxL2cRWwM7J89QgIcT2-ty/s1600/Will.i.am-Puls-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCHmOGSCzZRao2beVsGgRmxa8YvjLgu3fl-7z6UC59FUJsxagJZSuaSALABggccP_UEvfMcBo3xwOnNUUs67f5Vkc1xCYCDr0iuB29maqOx4Z-5Vd_Oll9xWxL2cRWwM7J89QgIcT2-ty/s1600/Will.i.am-Puls-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Will.i.am's Puls wristband has its own 3G, support from AT&T" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will.i.am's Puls wristband has its own 3G, support from AT&T</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <div> In fact, Will kept saying it's not a watch, because smartwatches don't typically come with SIM cards, which the Puls does have (it presumably shares your phone number), along with speakers and a touchscreen display that curves along with its body, making the device look more like a cuff than a traditional watch. The Puls (a product out his wearable tech company, i.am+) has 16GB of storage onboard, 1GB of RAM, GPS, a battery that goes around the bracelet, pedometer and accelerometer, all powered by an Android-based platform and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It connects to the internet not only via WiFi, but also via 3G, which means it has carrier partners: the Puls works with AT&T in the US and O2 in the UK.<br /> <br /> As we've mentioned in the past, the watch comes with a music streaming service baked into it. It also has a voice assistant (another Siri rival, if you will) that can remind you to call people or of an event, wake you up, among other tasks similar programs can do, as well as a fitness app that monitors your workouts. Other than the watch itself, Will.i.am and his team have also designed accessories to go it: a jacket with battery packs that can charge the Puls so long as it touches the sleeve (each jacket can provide two-and-a-half days of power), and a backpack with speakers that also weighs you and tells you how many steps you've taken in a day. The musician/entrepreneur didn't mention how much the Puls and its accessories will cost, but the wristband itself will be available this holiday season in select AT&T stores.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

Will.i.am's Puls wristband has its own 3G, support from AT&T

Will.i.am has just revealed the Puls at Dreamforce 2014, a smartwatch that doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to send texts, emails ...

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Verizon's Edge program changes make you wait longer to upgrade

<b>Eyeing an upgrade to the Droid Turbo? An iPhone 6? Maybe the One M8 for Windows? If you're on Verizon's Edge payment program, you're going to have to be more patient than usual -- or at least, open your wallet a little wider.</b><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvTCB0KWSTVNtw_yeDNKcQpoC__3E9z6t-_U7cY_swV-UAVCItsTW4JdL0gsdwCjGdJIwxsqb8B3jqkvBM__mVXsbkWjbyp5xtXG_VdaxmvaOH03AubEsN5m_N9r7uObDvyy-P4AN-LAv/s1600/htc-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvTCB0KWSTVNtw_yeDNKcQpoC__3E9z6t-_U7cY_swV-UAVCItsTW4JdL0gsdwCjGdJIwxsqb8B3jqkvBM__mVXsbkWjbyp5xtXG_VdaxmvaOH03AubEsN5m_N9r7uObDvyy-P4AN-LAv/s1600/htc-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Verizon's Edge program changes make you wait longer to upgrade" /></a></div> <div> <b><br /></b> <div> The carrier has confirmed a Droid-Life leak revealing that Big Red is modifying Edge in a way that makes it harder to upgrade quickly. As of October 16th, payments for new devices will normally be distributed over two years, rather than 20 months; if you can't wait that long to get new gear, you'll have to pay off 75 percent of the hardware price rather than 60 percent. In practice, that means that you'll either be waiting at least 18 months to trade up (instead of 12) or else paying more to accelerate the upgrade process.<br /> <br /> It's not strictly a doom-and-gloom scenario, thankfully. More payments should mean lower monthly rates, and Verizon is increasing the per-line discount for lower-cost plans (those with 8GB of data or less) from $10 to $15. You'll have to wait longer if you dutifully obey the payment schedule, then, but you aren't necessarily paying more in the long run. The big problem is simply that this now sounds more like a conventional contract rather than the fast track you were probably expecting -- it's just that the math has changed.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

Verizon's Edge program changes make you wait longer to upgrade

Eyeing an upgrade to the Droid Turbo? An iPhone 6? Maybe the One M8 for Windows? If you're on Verizon's Edge payment program, you...

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Surface Hub is a stylus configuration app that's more trouble than it's worth

<b>Rarely does Microsoft release an app that isn’t worth your time. For now, however, Surface Hub probably falls into that category.</b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ux7V083BgXa_QMx_weWCImo8zqhn9aEe27uc19oP8iWpjgxVcCdbPKM42LkxouN6cJLsiG-KsMmPmGe31a47PMwBB9B7wrwyA68vZjmH9n9yySN4YJAw5lHzYfcGJ01RyDkSjFc0ZLWU/s1600/Surface-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ux7V083BgXa_QMx_weWCImo8zqhn9aEe27uc19oP8iWpjgxVcCdbPKM42LkxouN6cJLsiG-KsMmPmGe31a47PMwBB9B7wrwyA68vZjmH9n9yySN4YJAw5lHzYfcGJ01RyDkSjFc0ZLWU/s1600/Surface-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Surface Hub is a stylus configuration app that's more trouble than it's worth" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surface Hub is a stylus configuration app that's more trouble than it's worth</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> Released over the weekend, Surface Hub is apparently built on a recent Surface Pro 3 update that paved the way for additional pen sensitivity. The app is extremely basic: Users can adjust the sensitivity curve of the pen and change the behavior of the launch button at the top of the pen. That’s it.<br /> <br /> Surface Hub is just an odd app, in general. The launch screen trumpets “GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SURFACE,” but then you have to find the two menu items that hang off the right edge of that screen, requiring you to slide right.<br /> <br /> <b> MICROSOFT</b><br /> <br /> Surface Huib offers the basics and not much more.<br /> <br /> There, you can adjust the sensitivity curve or the launch button. I’m no artist, but the differences in the curve change the thickness of the Surface Pro 3’s pen minimally, at best.<br /> <br /> A small improvement is the option to change the app that launches when you click the button on top of the pen—either the modern OneNote app, or the desktop version. There’s still no way to change what the buttons on the side of the stylus do, however.<br /> <br /> Both functions worked as expected. But unfortunately, after launching the app, my input devices began acting up. Although I was able to launch OneNote (or the desktop version of OneNote) as expected, I switched back to my Web browser. When I tried to type in a new Web address, however, the PC seemed to think I was trying to search for a particular file and opened up the search Charm instead. Concerned that I might have inadvertently tapped a keyboard shortcut or hotkey, I rebooted. <br /> <br /> <b> MARK HACHMAN</b><br /> <br /> So far, you can’t change the functionality of the two buttons modway down the Surface Pro 3 stylus. <br /> <br /> At that point, however, my mouse refused to work, as did the touchpad. Since I had set my Windows 8.1 desktop to open on my (non-touch-enabled) standalone monitor, I had to tap the Windows key + X to allow me to enter the desktop via the menu. At that point, the mouse began working again. User error may have played a role, but it was also annoying for an app to begin behaving unexpectedly, when it already did so very little.<br /> <br /> Many users have already begun complaining that the app itself refuses to recognize their stylii, so it appears there are other problems I didn’t experience. In any event, you might want to check back after Surface Hub gets updated.<br /> <br /> Why this matters: The bottom line is that it seems Surface Hub is more trouble than it’s worth at the moment. But if Microsoft updates it to allow you to configure its buttons and sensitivity—say, like a mouse—then it may prove to be a useful utility. So why didn’t Microsoft release it when all these capabilities were included?</div> <div> <br /></div>

Surface Hub is a stylus configuration app that's more trouble than it's worth

Rarely does Microsoft release an app that isn’t worth your time. For now, however, Surface Hub probably falls into that category. Surface...

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Samsung's futuristic Wi-Fi tech is five times faster than today's wireless networks

<b>Those face-meltingly fast new 802.11ac routers might not be king of the wireless networking world for long. On Sunday, Samsung announced it’s developing new 802.11ad Wi-Fi technology that can turbocharge network speeds fivefold, from today’s 866Mbps per-device maximum to a blistering 4.6Gbps. At that rate, Samsung says, a 1GB movie file can transfer from one device to another in under 3 seconds.</b><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ7eEhxqn_HXTJKap3JJ5XMjpRvzK1g7wNlbGuISXXR2GGlcGecHpDd0o5_goSpj3k1tX8ukk2kwZ_CtZDTXyZBhSg9gHJmnno19mg-Hc2oh7GZbvqIQow9HeXUw3vJS1E1LOx9yBmoci/s1600/Samsung-futuristic-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ7eEhxqn_HXTJKap3JJ5XMjpRvzK1g7wNlbGuISXXR2GGlcGecHpDd0o5_goSpj3k1tX8ukk2kwZ_CtZDTXyZBhSg9gHJmnno19mg-Hc2oh7GZbvqIQow9HeXUw3vJS1E1LOx9yBmoci/s1600/Samsung-futuristic-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Samsung's futuristic Wi-Fi tech is five times faster than today's wireless networks" /></a></div> <div> <b><br /></b>The secret sauce: Ditching the crowded 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless channels used by today’s routers and jumping to the 60GHz frequency band.<br /> <br /> Even though you might not have heard of them, neither the futuristic 802.11ad standardnor the idea of using the 60GHz frequency for ultra-fast Wi-Fi are new. But prior implementations have run into a brick wall, both literally and figuratively: 60GHz signals can’t easily penetrate walls. That’s obviously a big problem for real-world usage. Most of the 60GHz-capable "WiGig" accessories you can find today are designed to operate at very, very short ranges as a result.<br /> <br /> But Kim Chang Yong, head of Samsung’s DMC R&D Center, says the company has “successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialization of 60GHz millimeter-wave band Wi-Fi technology.”<br /> <br /> Samsung’s press release says it overcame those physical and metaphorical barriers with "high-performance modem technologies and by developing wide-coverage beam-forming antenna." The WirelessHD and WiGig standards groups have also been trying to improve 60GHz signal performance using beam-forming, a Wi-Fi technology that detects where client devices (like PCs and tablets) are physically located and then sends a focused signal directly at those devices, rather than mindlessly broadcasting a Wi-Fi signal in all directions as most routers do. (Beam-forming is already becoming a common feature in high-end 802.11ac routers.)</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFDk4_bOCzHlgyJme-GaHWmS8x4U_Os3CnZAKgXvfQw9JgV0S6_a5m6FcYwhfZNlZZYci90jZRAwtKtEB0ybWmeDe3rvAlr2towIiueE3u8rsUD5skVQaVdMIez_O1tQz1YR6dxWHwZ8e/s1600/Samsung-futuristic-01-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFDk4_bOCzHlgyJme-GaHWmS8x4U_Os3CnZAKgXvfQw9JgV0S6_a5m6FcYwhfZNlZZYci90jZRAwtKtEB0ybWmeDe3rvAlr2towIiueE3u8rsUD5skVQaVdMIez_O1tQz1YR6dxWHwZ8e/s1600/Samsung-futuristic-01-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Samsung's futuristic Wi-Fi tech is five times faster than today's wireless networks" /></a></div> <div> <br /> Don’t start saving your pennies for this particular bit of next-gen networking kit just quite yet, however. While Samsung’s press release states that “commercialization is expected as early as next year,” that’s only talking about industry-wide usage of the 60GHz frequency itself—not necessarily the release of Samsung products packing the company’s new technology. A Samsung spokesperson provided the following statement to John Ribeiro of the IDG News Service:<br /> <br /> "As 60GHz is an unlicensed band spectrum globally, along with 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum, industry-level of commercialization is expected as early as next year, but there's nothing we could confirm at this point on when Samsung products supporting 60GHz Wi-Fi will be available in the market."<br /> <br /> It seems 802.11ac routers will have to do for now. Fortunately, there are a slew of compelling options available.<br /> <br /> The story behind the story: The idea of making wireless networks as fast or faster than wired connections holds obvious appeal—the less time you spend waiting for files to transfer, the more stuff you can get done. But while Wi-Fi improvements like Samsung’s new technology should (eventually) turbocharge sharing files, streaming locally stored movies, or playing games across your home network, don’t forget that a fast router won’t magically make your actual Internet connection any faster. Activities like browsing the web or zoning out on the couch and watching Netflix are usually limited by your Internet speed, not your router.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

Samsung's futuristic Wi-Fi tech is five times faster than today's wireless networks

Those face-meltingly fast new 802.11ac routers might not be king of the wireless networking world for long. On Sunday, Samsung announced it’...

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review: the best big-screen phone you can buy right now

<b>What began in 2011 as a brand-new phone category has flourished into one of the most popular in the world. </b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UA2I7v6yORFEvAPYEWTUB3fZu5jvi-FtihL4jceJO4cfUpN83LRDoXrx97302RQIx_hxqVNjxgPQg1LrIDbQmHb3D8-PFucu6nG375V90cI8qVnJAARkeZvptFVf1oFZ5cTC1bu3T43S/s1600/Galaxy-Note-4-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UA2I7v6yORFEvAPYEWTUB3fZu5jvi-FtihL4jceJO4cfUpN83LRDoXrx97302RQIx_hxqVNjxgPQg1LrIDbQmHb3D8-PFucu6nG375V90cI8qVnJAARkeZvptFVf1oFZ5cTC1bu3T43S/s1600/Galaxy-Note-4-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Samsung Galaxy Note 4" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samsung Galaxy Note 4</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <div> Smartphones with big screens (phablets, to some) are now ubiquitous, but it all started with an odd device called the Samsung Galaxy Note. At 5.3 inches, it was a behemoth for its day -- and yet, it sold like hotcakes thanks to its unique S Pen stylus, which provided users with extra functionality, and a copious amount of screen space.<br /> <div> <b><br /></b>Four iterations later, the Note series has continued to grow, mature and dominate the genre. Not only does the latest version, the Galaxy Note 4, come with the snazziest spec sheet on the market, but it also ushers in a fantastic new direction in Samsung's design. It sure sounds like an improvement over last year's model, and it is. Now that Apple's ready to tackle the Note with a large-screen phone of its own, however, is Samsung's baby still the best in its class?</div> </div> </div>

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review: the best big-screen phone you can buy right now

What began in 2011 as a brand-new phone category has flourished into one of the most popular in the world.  Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Sma...

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