CrunchGear |  |
- Daily Crunch: Sound Tank
- EA CEO Riccitiello: We’re Taking Dead Aim At Zynga
- In First Company-Wide Email, Meg Whitman Says HP Must Focus On Their Mission
- It’s Official At HP: Apotheker Is Out, Meg Whitman Named President And CEO
- German Artist Creates 4000-Watt Sound Tank
- RED Founder Teases Laser-Based 4K Projector
- Kickstarter: Stick Your iPhone To Your Bike With The Action Case
- Review: The Logitech Wireless Trackpad Is My New Best Friend
- Baby Monitoring 2.0: Evoz Starts Shipping
- Rumor: Whitman Is In As HP Head (Update: Confirmed)
- Review: NeatDesk Scanner For Mac
- Build-A-Bear Releases Kinect-Capable Teddies
- Gadget Sites: Ease Up On The Watermarks Already
- NTT Docomo’s Cases Make Smartphones Measure Radiation, Body Fat, Alcohol
- Daily Crunch: Watch The Phone
| Posted: 23 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT  Here are some of yesterday’s posts on TechCrunch Gadgets:
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| EA CEO Riccitiello: We’re Taking Dead Aim At Zynga Posted: 22 Sep 2011 06:05 PM PDT  The last ten years have been kind to game publishers. The mainstreamification of console gaming has led to enormous sales numbers, budgets rivaling Hollywood’s, and an arms race between the majors to create the next big game. But while EA and its ilk were buying up development houses, expanding like crazy, and having franchise-measuring contests with each other, an unperceived menace was growing in the dark bosom of Facebook. As millions flocked to the new platform, EA continued churning out sequel after sequel until they almost sequeled themselves into a death spiral. Now the gaming giant says it has learned its lesson, and is ready to take on the new kid in town: Zynga. EA’s CEO has gone on the record saying they hope to hit $3 billion in digital revenue in the next two or three years. Big talk, but is it in EA’s DNA? One former EA executive jumped ship to join Nexon, which is pulling in nearly a billion a year and is expected to announce an IPO soon. If Mahoney had been able to steer EA in that direction, I’m sure he would have, but chances are the suits were too pleased with the growing income from the console business and didn’t want to go chasing butterflies like casual gaming. EA CEO John Riccitiello is speaking at a US Chamber of Commerce event today, and prefaced his talk by mentioning some big wins by the company in the social space. Their Sims Social game has over 53 million users, and their total user base is approaching 100 million. Sure, that’s less than half of Zynga’s, but considering how poor EA was doing in this market just a year ago, it’s definitely worth celebrating. Tripling your user base over a quarter? You better believe there was champagne involved. Their goal, naturally, is to surpass Zynga in users, and Riccitiello has set a $3 billion goal for online revenue. They have a head start on Zynga there, as the move to further monetize their major franchises through subscriptions and DLC is only just starting to really take hold. They are already making over a billion a year in online sales, but the ways in which EA and Zynga earn that money are totally different. Whether EA will imitate Zynga or take its own path isn’t easy to foresee, but it seems to me that the hard part is yet to come. Repackaging The Sims for a social setting was a cakewalk. Successfully repackaging Battlefield and their sports franchises is another task altogether. At least they’ve got Popcap now. At all events, it’s better than Activision’s approach of sticking their heads in the sand.
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| In First Company-Wide Email, Meg Whitman Says HP Must Focus On Their Mission Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:44 PM PDT  Meg Whitman just took over as HP’s CEO and President hours ago and she, along with the new executive chairman of the board, Ray Lane, didn’t waste anytime reaching out to their more than 300,000 employees. In the email embedded further down in the post, they reaffirm the statement released earlier today that Meg Whitman has “enormous respect for HP” and indicates that HP matters not only to Silicon Valley, but to California and the United States. The company has a “deep-rooted legacy” and is something they want to maintain and build upon. They state the obvious in that HP needs to refocused on their mission (although she doesn’t define said mission) and the company is filled with the “industry’s brightest and most talented people.” No mention of bringing back the $99 TouchPad, though. Meg and Ray have a large task. Leo didn’t exactly handle HP with care. In his attempt to morph HP into a different sort of company, HP’s stock price plummeted and its market cap crashed. Meg Whitman makes HP’s seventh CEO in the last 12 years. Wish her luck. She’s going to need it. Meg Whitman, is the former CEO and Board Chairman of eBay. She resigned in March of 2008. In September of 2009, she announced her official candidacy for governor of California. Leading eBay from 1998 to 2008, Meg helped the company grow from 30 employees and a little over $4 million in revenue to more than 15,000 employees, nearly $8 billion in revenue, and a network of 12 million users in California alone. Under Meg's leadership, eBay...
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| It’s Official At HP: Apotheker Is Out, Meg Whitman Named President And CEO Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:45 PM PDT  Leo Apotheker was made the president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard on September 30, 2010. Today, just shy of a year later, he has stepped down from his post and HP’s board of directors appointed Meg Whitman as his replacement. Big surprise, right? Under the leadership of Apotheker, HP’s stock lost nearly half of its value, basically squandered Mark Hurds’ $1.2 billion investment in Palm and announced that the company was considering cancelling or spinning off its consumer PC business. In short, HP lost its way within the last 357 days. This move is hardly unexpected as it was rumored extensively over the last week. Meg Whitman was previously the head of ebay and joined HP’s board of directors in January 2011. She also sits on the boards of Procter & Gamble, Zipcar and Teach for America. In a statement released by HP today, Whitman stated, ” “I am honored and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters – it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world.” Sounds good to us, Meg. Do Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard a solid though and don’t abandon their original mission. Keep the PC business and promote a start-up feel throughout the massive HP machine. Don’t forget the company you now lead was founded in a Palo Alto garage. Meg Whitman, is the former CEO and Board Chairman of eBay. She resigned in March of 2008. In September of 2009, she announced her official candidacy for governor of California. Leading eBay from 1998 to 2008, Meg helped the company grow from 30 employees and a little over $4 million in revenue to more than 15,000 employees, nearly $8 billion in revenue, and a network of 12 million users in California alone. Under Meg's leadership, eBay... Leo Apotheker is the CEO of HP. He previously served as the co-CEO of SAP from April 2008 until February of 2010. Before his appointment as SAP’s co-CEO, Apotheker was Deputy CEO from 2007 to 2008, member of the SAP AG Executive Board and President of Global Customer Solutions Operations from 2002 to 2007, and President of SAP EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) from 1999 to 2002. He was CEO and founder of SAP France and...
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| German Artist Creates 4000-Watt Sound Tank Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:03 PM PDT  Have you ever had a song stuck in your head to the point where you just need everyone else in a six-block radius to hear it? Apparently that’s a common affliction in my neighborhood. Last time it was Paul Simon at 4 in the morning. But at least they were only playing it on a boombox, not a 4000-watt sound tank. Berlin-based artist Nik Nowak has created an actual track-based vehicle, as in a tank, with over a dozen speakers on it. Built on the frame of a Japanese industrial dumping vehicle, Panzer is the final answer in the boombox wars. Unfortunately the steel tracks make it slightly impractical for getting around. Nice for rubble, but not so street-legal. He’ll probably have to have it lifted to venues where its presence is desired. It doesn’t go very fast, so this is probably for the best. More pictures and a few videos of the Panzer in and out of action can be found at Nowak’s website. [via Designspotter and Gizmag]
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| RED Founder Teases Laser-Based 4K Projector Posted: 22 Sep 2011 11:34 AM PDT  In typical RED fashion, the company’s founder Jim Jannard has posted vaguely on the Reduser.net forums regarding an upcoming product. No renders this time, though, just some laudatory quotes from industry people who have seen the device. And what is it? A 4K laser projector, and apparently a very good one. Actual details as scarce, but we know it is not based on TI’s DLP technology and that it produces an image that can be used for passive 3D — i.e. with polarized light. It’s for “theater and home,” though at RED prices it would probably be more accurate to say theater and exquisitely-appointed mansion. Stephen Pizzo of Element Technica and 3eality Technica describes it:
And Mark Pederson of OffHollywood concurs:
If it sounds too good to be true, keep two things in mind: one, RED has a history of leapfrogging the rest of the industry, and two, this thing is going to be expensive as hell. Sony’s 4K projector, the announcement of which prompted Jannard to hint at the existence of their own, hasn’t been priced yet, but it’s expected to be between $20,000 and $30,000. RED tends to undercut the professional pricing but still put itself well out of reach of enthusiasts. I’m going to guess the RED projector will be $12,000-15,000, but I could be off by miles. We’ll probably know for sure on November 3rd, the date RED has scheduled for announcing their updated Scarlet compact HD camera. Jannard said the projector will be coming “sooner rather than later,” which makes sense because there just isn’t as much QA and debugging as there is for a camera.
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| Kickstarter: Stick Your iPhone To Your Bike With The Action Case Posted: 22 Sep 2011 10:01 AM PDT  If you had your heart set on taking some rad video of your skateboarding moves but spent your hard-earned dough on an iPhone 4 instead of a GoPro camera, you’re in luck. A graphic designer from California has designed a beefy enclosure for the iPhone 4 that is compatible with all of GoPro’s action-friendly mounts. The iPhone 4 has a solid camera built into it, but the glass plates on both sides meant there was a limit as to how extreme your life could be while carrying one. The Action Case takes care of that: it’s made of a durable polypropylene plastic and is held together by a set of stainless steel pins. Friendly warning: the Action Case isn’t waterproof, so while you can definitely mount your iPhone on your surfboard, you’re almost certainly going to regret it. Also, the touchscreen is left uncovered (for obvious reasons), so don’t go thinking your phone is suddenly Superman. The Action Case isn’t going to win any style awards, but that’s really not the point. You stick your phone on a GoPro mount, attach it to… well, anything really, and let the cool footage start rolling in. Backers who pledge over $49 get first dibs on an Action Case, while each successive level after that nets you different GoPro mounts with which you can go crazy. At time of writing, only two backers have thrown their money at the Action Case, but the project has another 38 days to hit the $25,000 mark. It could be worth checking out, if only to please the broke, iPhone-toting snowboarder in your life.
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| Review: The Logitech Wireless Trackpad Is My New Best Friend Posted: 22 Sep 2011 09:19 AM PDT  “This thing actually works.” That was my thought a few minutes after unboxing the Logitech Wireless Trackpad last week. I had pushed my Logitech G700 out of the way and placed the new trackpad defiantly on top of my gaming mousepad. The future is here, I thought. So here we are a week later, and I’m thoroughly satisfied with the accuracy of my earlier statement. The Wireless Trackpad is not perfect. I have an issue that, while totally first world, could be a potential dealbreaker for those with arthritis or a wussy constitution. There isn’t a better Windows trackpad Large, well-placed buttons that are easy to click Multitouch gesture support Claimed (but untested) 4 month battery life A slight learning curve Only works with Windows The Logitech Wireless Trackpad is to Windows as the Apple Magic Trackpad is to OS X. It attempts to bring multitouch trackpad goodness to a desktop environment. And it does. In fact, this Logitech device offers the best trackpad experience I’ve ever had with Windows. Trackpads on Windows notebooks are almost universally garbage. I have found a few that are acceptable, mainly on Acer/Gateway machines, but most are horrible (I would rather get a vasectomy than use an HP trackpad). The difference in experience between a Mac and Windows trackpad is akin to the ride in a Rolls Royce vs a Geo Metro. These well-proven notions set my expectations for this particular trackpad rather low. I fully expected it to work — Logitech makes good stuff — but I also expected Windows to hamper the functionality. However, upon opening the Wireless Trackpad, I was pleasantly shocked to find that the device not only works, but it works well. I love it despite a few quirks. Much like the majority of Logitech products, the Wireless Trackpad is a plug-and-play sort of device. Plug in the USB receiver and it starts working within about a minute (at least on Windows 7). I did have to download a software pack from Logitech’s website to adjust tracking speed and the multitouch options, though. The device is physically about the size of the Apple Magic Trackpad. They both rest at the same slight angle, but that’s where the similarities end. For better or worse, the entire glass surface of Apple Magic Trackpad is used for tracking. There’s about a centimeter border around the tracking area on the Logitech version and there are two large, easily-clickable buttons placed at the bottom. I prefer the buttons over the clickable surface of the Magic Trackpad, but the plastic surface isn’t as smooth as glass. Much to my initial surprise, the trackpad works great even on my dual 24-inch monitor setup. I fully expected to hate using a trackpad with such a wide work area. It’s not bad at first, then your hand starts to cramp from keeping three fingers slightly elevated over the super-sized surface. It physically hurt, but for you, my lovely readers, I manned up and pushed through the pain and thus emerged with a new friend. This trackpad has almost fully replaced my beloved mouse. My G700, which, for reference, is the best mouse on the market, now sits mostly unused, but still in a ready state. You see, I still default to it when I need to get something done quickly. I’ve used a mouse almost daily for 17 years so the movements are second-nature and the tracking is more precise than this trackpad can provide. But for casual browsing, the Wireless Trackpad is actually a bit more comfortable. The multitouch gestures are wonderful in a browser, and as lazy as this sounds, I don’t have to move my arm as much to traverse my 40-inches of screen real estate. There are some caveats here. Multitouch is not built into Windows as it is in OS X so don’t expect fancy gestures in Photoshop, although two-finger scroll does seem to fully replicate a scroll wheel. Also, hopefully this is obvious, but gaming is impossible on a trackpad; keep your mouse around for Deus Ex. The Logitech Wireless Trackpad is the Windows Magic Trackpad. Logitech built a fantastic product and it’s priced right at $50. Give it a chance, push through the pain, and you’ll likely love it. But just in case, it’s probably best to buy it from a retailer without a silly restocking fee. Recommended. Product Page Logitech designs and manufactures computer and electronics peripherals such as mice, keyboards, speakers, and remote controls.
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| Baby Monitoring 2.0: Evoz Starts Shipping Posted: 22 Sep 2011 09:13 AM PDT  Evoz, the modern baby monitoring system that works over iOS, will finally start shipping on October 4th. Unlike traditional, walkie-talkie-like baby monitors, you don’t need a separate receiver to use the system – you can just use your own iOS devices, like your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, to function as both the monitor and receiver. Or, if you have only one iOS device, you can buy the Evoz hardware monitor, and use your own device as the receiver. The coolest thing about Evoz is not how it keeps you from having to buy extra hardware – it’s that it has all the conveniences of a modern mobile application. The app alerts you to cries, monitors your child’s sleeping behavior to derive patterns and even connects you to a network of experts to help you with your concerns. Also, because the system is built for iOS devices using Wi-Fi and cellular connections instead of limited range wireless devices like old-fashioned baby monitors, the monitoring works anywhere you have Internet access. In addition, the system tracks your child’s sleeping and crying patterns, matches that information to the data anonymously collected from others of the same age, and shows you where your child fits in. If you your child is colicky, for example, Evoz’ data would easily show it. (Oh, Evoz, where were you 20 months ago, when I wondered why my kid cried so darned much?) While the geeky, cry analysis functionality probably has more appeal to nervous, first-time parents who want to monitor…well…everything, Evoz’ network of baby experts has broader appeal. Evoz partnered with sleep consultants and will be adding additional “baby experts” and behavior specialists to its network, allowing parents to reach out with questions. Initially, this functionality is available via email only, but will later be available over phone as well. The system includes an online interface, mobile app and the optional Evoz baby monitor for those who need it. The monitor is $120, which is far more expensive than many off-the-shelf baby monitoring systems. However, with the extra functionality it offers, many parents may find it worth the upgrade. Parents get access to 30 minutes per day of free listening or $3.99 per month for unlimited listening (over 2 iOS devices). A package deal that includes unlimited listening, the monitor, alerts and dashboard access is $160 for 6 months. The next version of the app will include video monitoring, the company says. Pre-orders are being accepted here. Disclosure: Roi Cathy, who has written for TechCrunch over the past 5 years, is an investor in Evoz via Initial Capital, where he's a Managing Partner. Evo captures crying & sleep data to create a personalized, remote online parenting experience. Evo tells parents how their child is sleeping/crying/eating compared to other babies their age. Based on the specific insights parents are connected with relevant information & direct contact to the right child raising professionals. Smartphone data interface: http://bit.ly/dP5TxA , http://bit.ly/g1NxyI Evo enables the data service with the FIRST baby sleep device. With this device parents know what is happening with their baby wherever they are by...
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| Rumor: Whitman Is In As HP Head (Update: Confirmed) Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:59 AM PDT  Multiple sources are reporting/positing that Meg Whitman, former eBay head, will be sitting in the CEO seat at HP after today’s market close. Current CEO, Leo Apotheker, will get a $35 million pay out and wend his merry way to his next blood-letting. HP’s stock is not yet reacting to the news although it closed at a 24 last night after futzing around in the 22s for most of yesterday morning. UPDATE – A tipster writes: “Just had a meeting with our HP Regional Rep and it was disclosed that during morning conference calls HP will be announcing his resignation shortly.” Whitman resigned from eBay in 2007 and has extensive consumer experience with stints and Procter & Gamble and Disney. HP needs a firm consumer hand to guide it into relevance. While business software is a great money maker – there’s a seemingly sucker born in upper IT management every minute – HP has long been known as one of the last purveyors of mass-market, commodity machines for the masses. Sadly, many of those hardware gambles don’t pay off (Palm, Voodoo) but HP makes PCs that people use. There’s no reason to spin the hardware brand off and hopefully Whitman knows it. As Erick wrote HP made a huge mistake in the Hurd firing and subsequent Apotheker pick-up. In the end HP is still a massive player in the hardware market and they should ignore it at their peril. UPDATE #2: HP has issued a press release, and it’s official: Meg Whitman is the new President and CEO of HP.
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| Review: NeatDesk Scanner For Mac Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:10 AM PDT  This thing has been sitting on my desk for most of the summer, like a sad-eyed puppy. It wanted me to review it, but like a petulant, spoiled child, I ignored it. “You’re just a scanner,” I said. “Who cares?” “You’ll care eventually,” said the NeatDesk For Mac. “And when you do, I may not be there for you.” Features:
Quick Software is a bit confusing Then one day I slipped a paper into her maw and then another. Then a receipt, then a business card. I pressed the scan button and in a few seconds I had an OCRed copy of the document on my screen. I could add pages to Evernote or search with a few keystrokes. I could add – and throw away – all of the business cards I collected. I could build expense reports in a few minutes. “Why didn’t you tell me you could do this for me?” I said. “You never asked,” said the scanner. Sure, she sometimes jams, sometimes takes two cards at once instead of one. Sometimes my tiny taxi receipts get crumpled up. But it’s never jammed to the point of paper destruction and the NeatDesk has become my de facto spot for holding all of the papers I hold dear. Writing contracts? NeatDesk. Business cards? NeatDesk. Tax junk? NeatDesk. “I told you you would love me,” said the scanner. “But it’s not love,” I said. “There are plenty more like you. Before I had you, I had a ScanSnap scanner. A scanner is a scanner is a scanner.” “I’m really good for receipts and business cards,” said the scanner. “I have a good desktop application, NeatWorks.” “You are, but your OCR on documents was a bit rough,” I said. I scanned in a document printed in Courier and got back an acceptable facsimile of the same when I pasted the scanned text back into a text editor. However, my handwriting (“PORK LOIN” written in black ink) came back as “pC/<K U\,J" – not quite what I was looking for. That said, having all of my scanned documents in one place is quite handy. The product is available for Macs and PCs and it is designed to look more like a sexy space pod than a scanner. Curved lines and edges make for a pleasing desktop accompaniment and a simple latch opens the scanner when it’s in need of service. A dedicated power switch makes it easy to turn off and two buttons – Scan and PDF – do exactly what they say. Scan scans a document into NeatWorks and PDF scans it to a folder. “Look at how I scan receipts,” said the scanner. “You certainly are good at that. I’m not doubting you’re great for smaller documents.” “So we’re a couple then,” said the scanner. “For a little while, until something better comes along. I’m trying to keep my options open, you know. I just want to have fun,” I said. “You’ll be back.” “I’m sure I will,” I said. “Incidentally, it takes 75 pounds of opposing pressure to crush a human femur, less if it’s the bones of your hand,” said the scanner. “You don’t have the motor for that,” I said. “I have friends,” said the scanner.
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| Build-A-Bear Releases Kinect-Capable Teddies Posted: 22 Sep 2011 06:33 AM PDT  Microsoft and Build-A-Bear (a store where children can taxidermy the flayed corpses of teddy bears killed in the wild) are working together to create Kinectimals Now With Bears, a Kinect-connected game for the 360. As the title suggests, this is Kinectimals… with bears. The bears have special tags that will cause them to appear within the game, allowing you to virtually control them and play with them. Considering the high price of Build-A-Bear toys, it seems like a bit of a stretch to think parents will hit the store just for these Kinect-capable teddies but, to paraphrase the Bible, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for the mall is open weekends and it does have a ball pit and treehouse play center” and, in corollary, “What baby wants, baby gets.”
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| Gadget Sites: Ease Up On The Watermarks Already Posted: 22 Sep 2011 05:54 AM PDT  Here’s a little inside baseball for you all but I wanted to get a pet peeve off my chest: all these darned watermarks on gadget imagery. It got pretty egregious this morning over at BGR where they posted some pictures of some purported iPhone 4S parts that (surprise) look very much like iPhone 4 parts. I was struck, however, by the plethora of watermarks boldly slapped onto the face of the image, one from some site in India (no URL so I don’t know what it is, thereby reducing the value of the mark) and a big honking watermark for BGR. So BGR got the images from some dude in India and they made them theirs by marking their territory, much like a cat sprays that musk stuff in your closet to ensure you can never wear your clothes again. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled coverage. Thank you for giving an old man the floor for a moment. I’ll go back to yelling at my lawn.
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| NTT Docomo’s Cases Make Smartphones Measure Radiation, Body Fat, Alcohol Posted: 22 Sep 2011 05:45 AM PDT  Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo unveiled a few pretty interesting smartphone add-ons today. Perhaps most notable are a set of special cases the company developed to not provide extra protection but to add unique functions to the handsets they are used with. These jackets essentially turn smartphones into dosimeters, and there are three of them: one to measure radiation, another that keeps track of the user’s body fat and muscle bulk, and a third model that measures the alcohol content in the user’s body (plus bad breath). NTT Docomo says that sensors built into the cases do the actual job, while the smartphone itself serves as the interface and displays the results. Needless to say, all data can be saved for future reference. This jacket, for example, helps measure radiation: The company plans to showcase the cases during the CEATEC Japan 2011 exhibition next month. Here’s a video from Penn Olson shot at Docomo’s CEATEC preview press conference today: Via Penn Olson
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| Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT  Here are some of yesterday’s posts on TechCrunch Gadgets:
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