NVIDIA's Shield successor is a tablet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/02/nvidia-shield-tablet/

The next version of NVIDIA's funky handheld Shield console will actually be called the Shield Tablet, according to a listing from a testing body called the Global Certification Forum (GCF). There's been much speculation about the device, especially after a diagram of what looks like the controller showed up at the FCC. That's usually a sign that a product is imminent, and we were told last year that a new model could come sooner than expected by NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang himself (see the video below). As a reminder, the original Shield is a portable, Tegra-powered console, with a built in controller and 5-inch screen that can run Android games and apps. But it's main raison d'etre is to wirelessly stream games from your NVIDIA-equipped PC, making it a rather nichey device. The GCF page confirms the "Shield Tablet" name that NVIDIA posted by mistake on its own site, and adds the fact that it'll have 4G capability.

So why a tablet? The original Shield is just a tablet with a controller (permanently) attached, so separating them makes sense. That way, NVIDIA could market it as a high-end tablet, a handheld gaming device and possibly a home console that'd plug into your TV. It's also feasible that more than one Shield device is coming, though that seems less likely. Either way, a mysterious benchmark for an NVIDIA Mocha tablet gives us a clue about the specs, which are identical to the new Xiaomi Mii pad. That device has a 7.9-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 screen, with 2GB of RAM and NVIDIA's new Tegra K1 quad-core CPU. If the Shield Tablet is similarly equipped, it'd be much more capable of running serious games than the original, as shown in the video below (which features NVIDIA's reference Tegra K1 tablet, by the way). 4G connectivity would also make it much more usable on the road. If all this pans out, it'd make sense -- allowing the Shield to be a standalone tablet might be the final carrot to entice gamers into throwing their cash at it.

Filed under: Tablets, NVIDIA

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LEAKED: This Might Be Google's Next Major Tablet Release (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-nexus-tablet-2014-specs-rumors-2014-7

Google hasn't updated its Nexus line of tablets since it introduced the latest Nexus 7 about one year ago.

It's about time for an upgrade, but don't expect another standard Nexus successor this year.

A new leak suggests that HTC is working on a new tablet codenamed Volantis.

This tablet is expected to be released under Google's branding, which means it's either a new Nexus tablet or one of the first devices to launch under the company's rumored Android Silver program.

Even if it is a new Nexus device, it probably won't look much like Google's current Nexus tablets based on reports we've seen. 

The photo shown in this story is said to be a leaked press image of the tablet obtained by Android news blog Android Police.

However, Twitter account @evleaks, which has a strong track record for leaking products before their unveiling, claims that this image is fake. We won't know for sure until Google officially unveils its next tablet. 

Evleaks also claims to have revealed the tablet's specifications, which suggest that Volantis could be a strong competitor to other Android tablets out there. It's expected to come with a sharp 8.9-inch 2560 x 1600 resolution display, which would pack 281 pixels per inch. Android Police, however, reports that the display resolution will be 2048 x 1440. 

The higher the pixel density, the sharper the image. So, this would make the Volantis' screen slightly less sharp than those of the iPad Mini (326 ppi) and 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S (360 ppi) if @evleaks' information is true.

The tablet is also expected to run on a 64-bit processor, which could enable performance that's f! aster, m ore efficient, and better at multitasking than 32-bit processors. This seems plausible since Google announced at its most recent developer's conference that devices running on Android L will support 64-bit processing by the end of the year. 

If you're a fan of the HTC One's design, chances are you'll take a liking to Volantis. Rumors from both @evleaks and Android Police suggest that the HTC tablet will feature the same zero-gap aluminum construction found in the HTC One. It'll have the company's signature BoomSound speakers too, which deliver audio that's superior to other phones on the market.

There are a few inconsistencies between @evleaks' newest report and previous rumors. While @evleaks reports that this is probably one of Google's first Android Silver devices, Android Police's report calls it the Nexus 9. Regardless of what it's called at launch, it seems likely that HTC's tablet will be sold under Google's brand.

SEE ALSO: Which Android Phone Should You Buy?

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Optical illusion painting changes its perspective as you move around it

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/optical-illusion-painting-changes-perspective-as-you-mo-1598919895/+caseychan

When I started to watch this video I thought I wasn't looking at a painting but a high definition flat display that tracked your eyes, modifying a 3D model to give you the illusion of real depth. And then the magics finally get revealed. It's so simple and so damn cool.

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Stuntmen in LED Suits Made This Impossible Parkour Run a Reality

Source: http://gizmodo.com/stuntmen-in-led-suits-made-this-impossible-parkour-run-1598488091

The advent of CGI has allowed us to realize things on-screen we never thought would be possible—from living, breathing dinosaurs , to giant transforming robots . But it's become so over-used that over-the-top practical effects now draw the biggest wows from audiences, like Lexus' use of countless LED-suit clad stuntmen to create one unbelievable parkour run across Kuala Lumpur.

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drag2share: Googleâs killer Android L feature: Up to 36% more battery life thanks to Project Volta

source: http://gigaom.com/2014/07/02/googles-killer-android-l-feature-up-to-36-more-battery-life-thanks-to-project-volta/

When the next version of Android arrives, don't be surprised if your phone can run longer on a single charge. Project Volta, part of Android L, is the reason. Google devoted an entire session at Google I/O to Project Volta, which optimizes power consumption on an Android device and also provides some developer tools to help make more battery-efficient apps.

While Android L is only available in a developer preview, we can already see the potential of Project Volta thanks to Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo. He used the same standard and repeatable battery test Ars typically uses to measure Android device battery life. The findings with Android L? Amadeo's Nexus 5 phone lasted two hours longer with Android L as compared to Android KitKat, a gain of 36 percent.

So what's the secret sauce in Project Volta that makes Android L more power-efficient? It's a number of different things that quickly add up to more battery life. In the Project Volta session at Google I/O, Google said it scrutinized how different components use power, and for how long, in various but typical circumstances.

Passing data through the cellular radio obviously causes a spike in power usage, for example, but the radio doesn't drop back to a sleep state for several seconds. Turning on the phone's display just to check for new notifications can quickly gobble up battery power as well. After examining these and other use-cases, Google determined that for every one second of "active" use on a typical phone, standby time is reduced by a full two minutes. If you have 50 apps that are active for a second, then — say for synching, polling or showing notifications — that's 100 minutes of standby time gone.

Enter Project Volta, which groups and schedules certain tasks in a more efficient manner. It also includes new APIs for developers to take a similar approach and reduce the overall number of power-intensive activities needed for their apps to work. There's a new network activity awareness API, for example, so that apps can determine if the cellular radio is active, in which case an app can "piggyback" on the connection instead of later waking up a sleeping radio.

That's just one of many Project Volta enhancements; you can hear about all of them in this recording of the Project Volta session from Google I/O 2014.

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