Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hisense Sero 7 Pro Hands On: A Promising Nexus 7 Clone

Source: http://gizmodo.com/hisense-sero-7-pro-hands-on-a-fantastic-nexus-7-clone-509516366

Contrary to some rumors, Google didn't announce a refreshed Nexus 7 at I/O a little while back, but up-and-comers Hisense just announced a pretty good alternative to the aging tab. Its new Sero 7 Pro—the companies first foray into the tablet space—is basically a Nexus 7, but at only $150.

The Sero 7 Pro has all the Nexus 7-y features you want. A 1200 x 800 resolution screen, a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and stock Android 4.2.2. All for $150. The compromise is that storage is capped at a meager 8GB, but to ease the blow, the Sero 7 Pro comes with an MicroSD expansion slot. And, it even has the Nexus 7 beat by including a 5MP rear-facing camera, and HDMI output. HP's Slate 7 has been pushing in on the Nexus 7 a bit too, but it's a shade more expensive at $170, and doesn't pack in some of the perks that the Sero 7 Pro has.

We got a little hands on time and the Sero 7 Pro doesn't feel like a cheap tablet. It's got a solid build, remeniscient of the Nexus 7 it's trying so hard to app. The back is hard, textured plastic that feels less than premium, but not all out bad. The performance is smooth, thanks to Nvidia's Tegra 3, and running stock on pretty much the exact specs of a Nexus 7 delivers a pretty comparable experience. The OS does come with slight modifications via a customized launcher, with a few pack-in apps (like Walmart) but those are all easily removed. It's better than you'd expect for a $150 tablet.

We're due for a Nexus 7 refresh here sometime soon, and chances are it'll be a pretty nice overhaul of the existing model, but things like a MicroSD slot are very very unlikely to ever show up in a Nexus device. HiSense may not be the biggest name, but it's first tablet offering seems pretty damn good for the low end of the spectrum. It's rolling out to a Walmart (ugh) near you tomorrow.

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Google uses computer vision and machine learning to index your photos

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/23/google-plus-image-search/

Google uses computer vision and machine learning to index your photos

Tags are so 2008. Google doesn't want you to waste time tagging your photos, except for the people in them. The web giant wants to be able to recognize more abstract concepts like "sunset" or "beach" automatically and attach that metadata without further input. In yet another post-I/O update, Google+ photos now uses computer vision and machine learning to identify objects and settings in your uploaded snapshots. You can simply search for "my photos of trees" or "Tim's photos of bikes" and get surprisingly accurate results, with nary a manually added tag in sight. You can perform the searches in Google+, obviously, but you can also execute your query from the standard Google search page. It's pretty neat, but sadly Mountain View seems to have forgotten what cats look like.

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Source: Inside Search

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Acer C7 Chromebook getting 16GB SSD option, keeping $199 price tag

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/23/acer-c7-chromebook-getting-16gb-ssd-option/

Acer C7 Chromebook getting 16GB SSD option, keeping $199 price tag

Acer's C7 Chromebook is the cheapest way to get in on Google's cloud-OS party. But, it still ships a 320GB 5,400RPM drive. Truth be told, such a large amount of local storage is counter to the whole idea of Chrome OS -- not to mention that the slow spin introduces a certain amount of unwelcome lag. Thankfully the bargain-basement $199 laptop is about to get an SSD makeover, according to a listing at Best Buy. The official specs at the Google Play store still list the standard hard drive, but the big box shop has a model featuring 16GB of solid state storage. The updated C7 keeps the same affordable price point, though we have no idea when it might start shipping. Best Buy lists the Chromebook simply as "coming soon," with no estimated delivery date. From what we can see there are no other changes to the machine, so if you weren't a fan of the cheap construction before, don't expect that to change.

[Thanks, Cody]

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Source: Best Buy

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MOBILE INSIGHTS: Will Carriers Cash In On Consumer Data?

Source: https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/welcome

Mobile Insights is a daily newsletter from BI Intelligence that collects and delivers the top mobile industry news. It is delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence subscribers.


AT&T chicago flagship storeBig Phone Companies Begin to Sell Consumer Data (Wall Street Journal)
Carriers are opening up their enormous troves of data, and that is expected to draw pushback from privacy advocates. The carriers counter that they are selling aggregated data about groups of users, not individual subscribers. Given their comprehensive data sets, especially with regards to location, it is sure to draw interest from marketers, advertisers, and other businesses interested in consumer behavior. Carriers, worried about becoming "dumb tubes," or providers of raw bandwidth, likely view data as a potentially huge new revenue source, especially as other revenue drivers like SMS dry up. Read >        

Sephora Chief Marketing Officer: Women And Tech Do Mix (Business Insider)
Julie Bornstein, Sephora's chief marketing officer, seeks to debunk the myth that women aren't technology adopters, and aren't Internet-savvy. To reach women via tech, she says, it's important to make experiences mobile and social. Read > 

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Millennials Prefer Webrooming to Showrooming (Urban Land Institute)
U.S. consumers aged 18 to 35 are much more likely to "do research online, but buy in a store" than "do research in stores, and then buy online," suggesting that showrooming isn't yet as widespread as some retailers fear. Read >

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Juniper Sees 120 Million 'Connected Cars' Globally By 2017 (Juniper Research)
The research firm also believes revenue from in-car apps will rise ten-fold by that year. The rise of cars with apps creates a new arena for the globe's hardware and software giants to battle in — with legacy car manufacturers meanwhile also seeking to keep tight control of what's on the dashboard of their vehicles. Read >  

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Tablets And Smartphones Leap To One-Fifth Of E-Commerce Traffi! c&nb sp;(Monetate)
First it was comScorewhich reported that U.S. mobile commerce grew 31% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same quarter in 2012. That's in contrast to desktop e-commerce that grew 13% year-over-year and traditional offline retail which only grew a paltry 1%. Total retail spend via mobile devices for the quarter was $5.9 billion. Now, Monetate is reporting that tablets and smartphones accounted for 21% of all e-commerce traffic in the U.S., compared to only 2% two years ago. Tablets actually had a slight edge over smartphones in generating e-commerce traffic (11% versus 10%), despite there being far fewer tablets in circulation than smartphones. Read > 

2013 Mobile Trends for Marketers (Forrester)
In a new report, Forrester thinks that smart apps connected to ! CRM syst ems will be a big trend for mobile marketers this year. It also cites indoor location, cross-channel attribution, responsive design, analytical solutions, and mobile "big data" as interesting technological innovations, but not yet "game-changers." Read >  

HTC Is in Disarray (The Verge)
After the disastrous launch of the Facebook-branded First, the faltering handset manufacturer has seen a talent drain as employees head for the exits. Although the HTC One handset was well-received, critics point to the absence of long-term strategy and Samsung's dominance of Android as contributing factors to its ills. Read >

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This Is HP's Take on the Retina MacBook Pro

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-is-hps-take-on-the-retina-macbook-pro-509466199

HP has just announced a big overhaul of its Envy and Pavilion ranges, and most of the updates are fairly uninspiring—apart from the company's take on Apple's Retina MacBook Pro.

The Verge has taken a peek at the new laptops, and the Envy 14 TouchSmart Ultrabook sure looks like it could be a winner. The new range features "recessed hinges, revamped touchpads, and slim wedge designs" that combine to make a slew of laptops which, well, look a little bit like Macs.

In its basic form, the Envy 14 TouchSmart Ultrabook seems pretty uninspiring—$700 gets you a basic laptop with a low-res 14-inch, 1366 x 768 screen. But while firm prices and specs for higher-end models are as yet unannounced, HP has let slip that the laptop will be available with a 3200 x 1800 resolution screen some time over the summer.

The computer will likely lack the polish of Apple's offering, but you can also expect it to be a damn sight cheaper. Of course, it remains to be seen if performance will stand up—but we'll have to wait and find out. [Verge]

Images by Verge

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