MediaTek's standard lets your devices share their hardware

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/01/mediatek-crossmount/

There are plenty of standards for sharing your media collection between devices, but what if you want to borrow a device's camera or display? MediaTek thinks it has an answer. Its new CrossMount standard lets devices share their hardware and software when they're on the same WiFi network, letting you use whichever components make sense in a given situation. You can use your phone's mic to dictate voice commands to your TV, for example, or use your phone's webcam for a video chat on your tablet.

CrossMount is an open standard based on the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) standard you probably have in some of your existing gear, so it might be easy to implement when it's available in the third quarter of the year. A few big East Asian TV and mobile device makers have already hopped on the bandwagon, including Changhong, Hisense, Lenovo and TCL. With that said, it's hard to know if anyone else will bite. There are still a lot of other companies that haven't signed on, and big names like Samsung or LG may prefer to use in-house tech for any device sharing.

Not that MediaTek is putting all its eggs in one basket -- it has a few chips in store as well. The darling is the MT8173, a 64-bit processor that's supposedly the "highest performing" CPU you can get in a tablet. It mates two high-end Cortex-A72 cores with two low-power Cortex-A53 cores to deliver about six times (!) the performance of last year's MT8125, or enough to handle 4K video with ease. And fans of mid-range phones might like the MT6753, an eight-core 64-bit Cortex-A53 processor. Neither is available just yet, though. The MT6753 won't reach devices you can buy until the second quarter of the year, while the range-topping MT8173 isn't poised to show up until the second half.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile

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Source: MediaTek

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HTC's Grip fitness tracker is a promising, puzzling first step

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/01/htcs-grip-fitness-tracker-is-a-promising-puzzling-first-step/

We're not entirely sure why HTC decided it needed to make a fitness tracker, but it did, and it has. The end result is the HTC Grip, a device that looks more than a little like one of Nike's FuelBands, but does so, so much more. HTC gave us a peek at an early, incomplete version of the product in Barcelona, but here's the rub: I couldn't connect it to my phone in hopes of testing some of its more smartwatch-y features like notifications and canned responses. Still, venture on for a first peek at what HTC and its pals at Under Armour have cobbled together.

Once you turn the Grip on, you can't help but fiddle with that curved P-OLED screen - it's monochrome and relatively low-res, but it's plenty legible (especially in the shower, I'd wager). Actually touching that screen to navigate is a bit more problematic, as it seems to prefer long, slow touches to quick, jerky ones. That doesn't sound like much of a problem... until I started taking the kid gloves off and trying to interact with it the way I would any other touch screen. The gulf in sensitivity is just jarring enough that you actually have to slow down and think about how you're using the Grip - considering that HTC wants this to become an integral part of your life, that might be a problem.

On the plus side, the waterproof material making up the Grip's body is surprisingly comfortable, though I've got to wonder just how nice it'll feel when it's pressed up against my skin mid-marathon. Speaking of working in motion, the Grip also seemed to accurately monitor my steps, which was honestly about all I could do with it. Too many of the Grip's best features just aren't ready for testing yet, but one thing seems clear: The Grip has potential. Whether or not the finished product lives up to it is another question entirely, and one we hope to answer soon.

Filed under: Mobile

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Mozilla is bringing Firefox OS to flip-phones and sliders

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/01/mozilla-is-bringing-firefox-os-to-flip-phones-and-sliders/

Mozilla has always positioned Firefox OS as an alternative platform for entry-level smartphones, but now it's targeting the feature phone market too. At Mobile World Congress, the company announced a new partnership with LG and carriers Verizon, Telefónica, KDDI and U+ to create a fresh range of flip-phones, sliders and touch screen "slate" handsets. Firefox OS will look a little different on these devices -- Mozilla says the group is developing a "more intuitive and easy-to-use" software experience for their planned launch in 2016. It promises to balance the simplicity of feature phones with basic smartphone functionality, such as email, web browsing and music playback.

Firefox OS devices are already available in a ton of emerging markets, but Mozilla clearly isn't content with its global presence just yet. The non-profit has signed a deal with Orange which will take its web-centric smartphones into 13 new markets across Africa and the Middle East: Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, Botswana, Madagascar, Mali, the Ivory Coast, Jordan, Niger, Kenya, Mauritius and Vanuatu. The move will bring the grand total for Firefox OS up to 40 regions and 17 different handsets within the next 12 months.

Remember how Mozilla was working on a $25 Firefox OS smartphone? We're yet to see a consumer device with that super-affordable price-tag, but Alcatel OneTouch has managed to get awfully close. The company is debuting a new phone today called the Klif, which Orange will sell exclusively for $40 with special data, voice and text bundles. If the design looks familiar, there's a reason for that: the Klif is actually a rebranded Pixi 3, which can be bought with either Android, Windows Phone or Firefox OS pre-installed.

Mozilla has never released sales figures for its Firefox OS platform, so it's difficult to gauge how well it's faring against the growing armada of low-end Android devices, as well as Microsoft's Asha line-up and other feature phone remnants. The company is clearly committed in the near-term though, as it also teasing new Firefox OS updates today that will add multi-core processor support, new privacy features and NFC-enabled payments. The decision to develop Firefox OS flip-phones and sliders is certainly unexpected, but there's a method to the madness; in a world of near-identical touch screen smartphones, a reimagining of older form factors could help Mozilla stand out from the competition.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Mozilla

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10 high-tech gadgets that will improve your tennis game

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/28/10-high-tech-gadgets-that-will-improve-your-tennis-game/

The sport of tennis is no stranger to incorporating new technologies -- from the electronic line judges of the early '70s to today's Hawk-Eye system with its multi-camera array. These days, players at all levels have a variety of high-tech tools to help them up their games. We've already taken a look at how modern technology can help if you're training for golf and soccer. Now it's time to check out some options you might want to consider the next time you hit the courts. Below you'll find devices to smarten up your racquet and your shoes, as well as fitness trackers and apps designed to up your game no matter what level you are. Tennis anyone?

Filed under: Misc, Wearables, Sony

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YouTube's new video trimming tool makes mobile edits a breeze

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/27/youtube-app-video-trimming/

Even in the ideal setting, it's nearly impossible to get the perfect piece of footage that won't require edits. Those changes can be tough to tackle on mobile, but thanks to a YouTube update, perfecting a short video just got easier. Inside the video library's mobile app, a new video trimming feature let's you slide to the exact frame you want the video to begin (and end) before getting rid of the excess. There's also an inline preview, so you can do one last check before uploading to the web. If you're into capturing footage with your phone, these new tools should help you nix the "are you rolling" chatter before your pal's next stunt.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: YouTube Creators (Google+)

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