Coca-Cola's QR code packaging in Spain launched

Coca-Cola recently signed an agreement with ScanLife, a company that powers the BIDI mobile barcode service in Spain, in order to further consolidate the position of Coca-Cola as the leading beverage in that part of the world. QR code packaging in Coca-Cola cans are able to be scanned by any QR Code reader application, regardless of whether you are using a smartphone or tablet that runs on the iOS, Android or Windows Phone platforms. Once you have scanned the QR code, it will send content like UEFA's EURO 2012 videos as well as Coca-Cola SmileWorld Coca-Cola's online community to you.

Ubergizmo, Coca-Cola's QR code packaging in Spain launched

SparkFun launches ProtoSnap MiniBot for the budding roboticist

SparkFun struck a chord with many when it released the ProtoSnap series last year. The perforated perfboard housed not only a tiny Arduino compatible chip, but a small host of sensors and components that made assembling simple projects a snap (pun not only intended, but relished). Tomorrow, the company will begin selling the next member of its ProtSnap family - the MiniBot. Just like its predecessors, the ProtoSnap MiniBot is based around an Arduino compatible microcontroller (specifically ATmega328) and features a number of components that can easily be detached when you're ready to move from prototype to a more permanent arrangement.

Engadget

See also:
things, SparkFun launches ProtoSnap MiniBot for the budding roboticist

New Acura ILX ads promote its mullet-like nature

It's business in the front, party in the back for this 2013 Acura ILX ad that premieres June 4. The dual personality commercials try to show you that this new compact luxury sports sedan fits into all of the aspects of a person's life or, at least two: Work and play. The pair of commercials – of course, there are two – walk you through two young executives' lives, showing how they aggressively make decisions, flirt with beautiful women and perfectly balance work with play.





Autoblog

See also:
wareground, New Acura ILX ads promote its mullet-like nature

Post Office looks at contactless payment system

With the advent of modern technology, how many of us rely on snail mail these days. Do you even know the postman's schedule in your neighborhood. Well, for those of us who tend to spend time at a Post Office branch, you will be pleased to know that you are able to make full use of contactless credit, debit cards and payment-enabled phones. The Post Office will begin to implement contactless payment terminals throughout its entire range of 11,500 branches from June 6th onwards, which will more or less make it the largest user of contactless acceptance technology in Europe.

Ubergizmo

See also:
techcrunch, Post Office looks at contactless payment system

Vodafone UK intros cheap Smart II Android phone, only £58.30 on PAYG

Vodafone has unveiled a new affordable Android smartphone that's being sold under its own brand. Called Vodafone Smart II, the device comes as the successor to the Smart 858 (launched last year with Android 2.2 Froyo on board). Probably manufactured by Huawei, the Vodafone Smart II runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and features: a 3.2 inch HVGA display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth, FM radio, 3.2MP rear camera with LED flash and VGA video recording, 150MB of internal memory, and a 2GB MicroSD card in the box.

Unwired View, Vodafone UK intros cheap Smart II Android phone, only £58.30 on PAYG

Samsung Series 5 Chromebook 550

Amazon has started taking pre-orders for the new Samsung Series 5 Chromebook 550. Available in 3G and WiFi, and WiFi-only models, the Chromebook features a 12.1-inch (1280 x 800) display, a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron 867 dual core processor, a 4GB of RAM, a 16GB solid state disk, an Intel HD 3000 graphics, 1080p HD video playback support via DisplayPort output, two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet jacks and a flash card reader. Other specs include a 1-megapixel front-facing camera and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The WiFi-only Series 5 Chromebook 550 is priced at $449.99, while the 3G model retails for $549.99.

TechFresh, Samsung Series 5 Chromebook 550

China greenlights Apple's third-gen iPad for 3G use, China Unicom smiles knowingly

Apple's current iPad is already cleared for China in WiFi trim, but those of us who've wanted to roam through Kunming on care-free 3G haven't had any officially approved choices. That's ending soon, as the Chinese government just gave the cellular version (A1430) the all-clear. Like in most parts of the world, Apple's slate won't use LTE given the lack of any established network in the area; HSPA's as good as it will get. The clearance is slightly odd given that the State Administration for Industry and Commerce is leaning in Proview's direction when it comes to iPad trademark ownership.

2DayBlog.com, China greenlights Apple's third-gen iPad for 3G use, China Unicom smiles knowingly

Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity

When Intel first unveiled its grand plans for Ultrabooks at last year's Computex, many of the fireworks were consciously reserved for Ivy Bridge-based variants in 2012 - well, they're here. This year's show in Taipei will show off the third generation of the skinny, MacBook Air-inspired platform, and Intel is toughening up the design requirements in the process.

Engadget, Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity

Google Translate now allowing users to edit translations

Unless you are polyglot – one who is talented enough to speak many different languages – then you're not a stranger to Google's statistical machine translation service, Google Translate. But sometimes, I must admit that it can cause quite a headache, just like this press release from Samsung. But nevertheless, Google Translate is a useful tool, and we can take consolation in the fact that Google is working hard to improve the free service. Today, Google is introducing a new "experimental" feature that allows website owners, and visitors, to customize and improve the translated text from the Google Translate website plug-in.

Ubergizmo, Google Translate now allowing users to edit translations

TiVo shows a Q1 net loss of $20.8 million, will launch TV Everywhere web portal soon

TiVo has released its financial results for Q1 2013, and right off the bat they show a wider than expected net loss of $20.8 million. This is despite a rise in revenue and subscribers (driven mostly by Virgin Media, which added 242,000), and the company expects another loss in the second quarter due to rising litigation costs in its ongoing cases against Motorola and Time Warner Cable. We've already heard about TiVo's new Stream placeshifting box, IP multiroom extender and six-tuner XG1 gateway, but the new product news is a plan to launch TV Everywhere streaming.

Engadget, TiVo shows a Q1 net loss of $20.8 million, will launch TV Everywhere web portal soon

SwiftKey 3 Beta brings improved suggestions and more [Download]

A new SwiftKey Beta, SwiftKey 3, has been released. It brings with it a nice number of changes and improvements, including improved suggestions, a better experience for Google Chrome Beta, improved gestures, and a whole lot more changes and fixes to sink your teeth into. Check out the full list below and download the beta here. Remember that some things may not be stable, being a beta and all. Report any problems you've run into to SwiftKey or submit feedback by joining their VIP Community.

Android Phone, SwiftKey 3 Beta brings improved suggestions and more [Download]

Adafruit modder builds Captain Jack's Vortex Manipulator / Leela's wrist-lo-jacko-mator for real

This impressive wrist / forearm cuff is the brainchild of Adafruit forum member and modder Stephanie, who has built a sensor platform into the fashion accessory. The device can monitor the exposure value, track your movements over GPS, measure your galvanic skin response, tell you the temperature, humidity and even doubles as a watch and flash-light. It was built around Sparkfun's Pro Micro development board and a boatload of sensors purchased from Adafruit.






Engadget, Adafruit modder builds Captain Jack's Vortex Manipulator / Leela's wrist-lo-jacko-mator for real

Play-A-Grill transforms bling into an MP3 player

Moving on with the times, the word ‘grill' no longer means a piece of equipment that you use to cook meat in a certain way, and neither does it signify a verb. In fact, ‘grills' these days can be referred to what rappers wear on their teeth – which is basically a gold or platinum piece of jewellery. I suppose it has something to do with the kind of wealth flaunting culture, but that aside, Aisen Chacin has come up with a singing grill – calling it Play-A-Grill.

Ubergizmo, Play-A-Grill transforms bling into an MP3 player

Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 makes a splash Stateside, offers a lightweight slice of Android 4.0 for $349

Lenovo has offered few hints (if unsubtle ones) that the IdeaTab S2109 was on the way, but it's now in the US in earnest. As we saw early on, some of the Android 4.0 tablet's specs read like those of an iPad 2, down to the 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 IPS panel, 1.3-pound weight and ever so slightly thicker 8.9mm unibody shell. Lenovo is catering more to the movie-watching set, though: a four-speaker system and 1080p video over micro-HDMI make us see it as a couch-surfer's Netflix machine. We're a bit less enthused with the aging dual-core, 1GHz TI OMAP 4430 inside, but we won't complain about the $349 asking price.

Engadget, Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 makes a splash Stateside, offers a lightweight slice of Android 4.0 for $349

Leica Monochrom test turns up the ISO, doesn't bring the noise

In the case of "why would you pay $8k for a black and white camera," exhibit 'A' would surely be the lack of a color filter array corrupting the image. Without one, the Leica Monochrom - with a similar CCD to its M9 stablemate - should have less noise. Tests comparing the two cameras on Red Dot Forum confirm it, with the Monochrom cleaner in glorious black & white at all ISO's up to the M9's maximum of 2500. Past that, a touch of NR gave the Monochrom a pleasing film-grain look to our eyes at ISO 5000, but at ISO 10,000 images started to sparkle and approach the "barely usable" range.

Engadget, Leica Monochrom test turns up the ISO, doesn't bring the noise

BEST DEALS: LG Prada 3.0 down to £239, SIM-free

The rather oddball but also pretty powerful and useful LG Prada 3.0 was a rather high £429 when we reviewed the thing back in snowy and desolate February, but has now been BUSTED DOWN to a much more reasonable £239 for an unlocked model via Expansys. A slight reminder for you, if you blanked this one on account it being made by LG – the Android Prada phone's powered by a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP4430 processor, with an 8MP camera, 1GB of RAM and with a sharp 4.3″ display. We liked it….
…and it'll get Android 4.0 on it at some point.

Eurodroid, BEST DEALS: LG Prada 3.0 down to £239, SIM-free

Sony PlayStation Vita to receive €50 price cut starting 1st June

If you're living in Europe and you're wondering how best to spend your summer vacation, how does playing the PlayStation Vita sound. You might have been bogged down at work or school so spending your entire summer playing video games sounds like a great idea, we hope. If it does and you have been eyeing Sony's latest handheld gaming console, you will be pleased to learn that as far as European markets are concerned, Sony has announced that they will be slashing  off the PlayStation Vita's price tag.

Ubergizmo, Sony PlayStation Vita to receive €50 price cut starting 1st June

Creative Launches BlasterAxx Bluetooth Speakers with Touch Control

Sound connoisseurs Creative has just launched its new range of speakers that have been labeled the Creative BlasterAxx range which sounds just spiffy. Reportedly, it can be powered by a USB 2.0 connection and controlled by an application called Creative Central which works on either iOS or Android devices. However, it can also be controlled via a computer if you don't have one of those.

Ubergizmo, Creative Launches BlasterAxx Bluetooth Speakers with Touch Control

First Light Reading Lamp

Reading lamps are designed to aid people in reading using focused light, especially in dimly lit rooms. But when there is no power, the lamp may become useless. That is why it seems like a good idea that someone has designed a reading lamp that do not require outside power in order to work, like this new First Light Reading Lamp. The First Light Reading Lamp is a unique reading lamp that provides light via its own power using a series of cogs, gears, wheels and weights, pretty much like what makes traditional self-powered clockwork function.

Gadget.com, First Light Reading Lamp

Project Glass revealed to have physical trackpad along left arm (video)

Sergey Brin has appeared on The Gavin Newsom Show on Current TV to drop a few more enticing hints about Project Glass. While showing the presenter a picture he'd taken with the AR glasses, he revealed that they're controlled with a trackpad running down the left arm. He also talked about the device's genesis in Goggle's X Lab, which he described as an "advanced skunkworks" where "far-out projects" are developed - it's also the department that occupies most of his time.

Engadget, Project Glass revealed to have physical trackpad along left arm (video)

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 beta due soon?

PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley has tweeted that users can soon expect to get hold of (beta) version 2.1 of its operating system at the "end of May." Given that it's the 30th now, the company has less than two days to ensure Mr. Clewley doesn't break his promise - after all, tweets are as good as legally binding contracts.

Engadget, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 beta due soon?

Samsung Music Hub launches for European Galaxy S III owners

. Samsung on Tuesday announced the arrival of its new Music Hub service. The all-in-one mobile music service launched in various European markets with the Galaxy S III smartphone. Music Hub is based technology from mSpot, whom Samsung recently acquired, and allows users to store, purchase, and stream millions of songs in one place. Music Hub also has the ability to scan and match a users music in a method similar to iTunes Match. Not only will the service rival Apple's iTunes, but it will also compete directly against Google Music.

Boy Genius Report, Samsung Music Hub launches for European Galaxy S III owners

Official: HTC EVO 4G LTE And One X Have Cleared Customs And Are Ready For Take Off

Even though the HTC EVO 4G LTE's have been shipping to a few pre-orders since last Friday, there has been nary a word from the Taiwanese manufacturer about the status of the HTC One X on AT&T and that of future devices. All that changed today when HTC released the following official statement:. "HTC has completed the review process with US Customs and HTC devices have been released, as they are in compliance with the ITC’s ruling. Future shipments should continue to enter the US and we are confident that we will soon be able to meet the demand for our products."

So, there it is, folks.

Android Phone, Official: HTC EVO 4G LTE And One X Have Cleared Customs And Are Ready For Take Off

Nikon pushes out D4, D800 firmware update, fixes lock-up issues and other bugs

It wasn't long ago that we heard about the "lock-up" woes D4 and D800 owners were experiencing on their shiny new shooters, but luckily for them, Nikon just outed a fix to take care of those issues. Aside from solving the aforementioned annoyance, the firmware update (B:1.01) also mends a problem allowing RAW files to be network-transferred while in JPEG-only mode, as well as a bug causing bits like aperture and exposure compensation to change unexpectedly when using certain custom settings.

Engadget, Nikon pushes out D4, D800 firmware update, fixes lock-up issues and other bugs

ICS updates finally hit I9100 and I9100G Galaxy S II in India

Most of the Galaxy S II users out there have been enjoying their due ICS serving for a while now, but those unlucky ones living in India were still waiting. Well today this finally changed as both versions of the smartphone available in the the country started receiving the ICS updates. According to numerous user reports we received, both the Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II (based on the home-brewed Exynos SoC) and the Samsung 9100G Galaxy S II (running atop a TI OMAP 4430 SoC) are now getting notifications to apply the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

GSM Arena, ICS updates finally hit I9100 and I9100G Galaxy S II in India

LG unveils new premium Full HD IPS TV Serie

LG unveiled today a new line-up of premium personal TVs which combine a TV and a monitor in a single unit. On LG's DM2752 and M2752 monitors, users can enjoy a range of multimedia entertainment ranging from terrestrial HD broadcasting to any content served up by a PC at Full HD resolution. Both personal TVs feature IPS panels, boasting lifelike color and extremely wide viewing angles. The personal TVs boast Picture-in-Picture (PIP) capabilities, enabling viewers to open multiple screens simultaneously and watch TV while working on their PC. The personal TVs also feature Infinite Surround Sound for a full-depth surround sound experience.





Akihabara News, LG unveils new premium Full HD IPS TV Serie

Sony Xperia Arc and Xperia Neo get updated to Ice Cream Sandwich

Sony's making good on their promise of most 2011 phones being upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich. The Sony Xperia Arc and Sony Xperia Neo are the latest, and likely last phones to get the treatment. Updates bring them to Android 4.0.4 and brings some of the UI improvements found in all other updates so far. More than that, the Sony Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo V, and Xperia Ray are all coming from Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4. These'll undoubtedly bring some much needed bug fixes both on Google's side and Sony's.

Android Phone, Sony Xperia Arc and Xperia Neo get updated to Ice Cream Sandwich

Windows 8 upgrade deal “confirmed” to be $15

With Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system expected to arrive later this year, what will Windows 7 users do if they wish to upgrade. Purchase a brand new operating system. Perhaps not. As we had reported a couple of weeks ago, similar to their previous operating systems, Microsoft is expected to offer more recent Windows 7 users the chance to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for a small fee – $15 to be exact.

Ubergizmo, Windows 8 upgrade deal “confirmed” to be $15

Rovio looking to fix Angry Birds for the Nokia Lumia 610

It just was yesterday that we had reported that apps like Angry Birds would not be able to run on the Nokia Lumia 610, ultimately joining the ranks of other apps such as Skype and PES 2012. If that managed to put you off from purchasing a Windows Phone device, fret not as according to Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, it seems that the Finnish company is currently working on a version of Angry Birds that will play nicely with the Lumia 610's 256MB of RAM along with other lower-end Windows Phone handsets that also feature the minimum requirement of 256MB of RAM.

Ubergizmo, Rovio looking to fix Angry Birds for the Nokia Lumia 610

Some Samsung Galaxy S III stock delayed in the UK

It appears that some Samsung Galaxy S III units won't make it in time to the UK. Clove has informed preorders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III will be delayed until June 1st, rather than the announced May 30th release date. The blue variant is expected to be delayed even further, with supplies set to be available on June 5th, although that date is tentative.
Crosstown retailer Vodafone has stated that the 16GB version of the white S III will be available on tomorrowÂ's launch date, while the 32GB version will face an unspecified shipping delay.

GSM Arena, Some Samsung Galaxy S III stock delayed in the UK

Android app lets you know if Diablo 3 servers are working

Within the first 24 hours of Diablo III's release, Error 37 was birthed as a new Internet meme. Busy servers and outages as a result of the millions of Diablo III players clamouring to play the game upon release date made playing the game a maddening experience. Now, a couple of weeks later, the Diablo III servers, for the most part, have stabilized.

2DayBlog.com, Android app lets you know if Diablo 3 servers are working

HTC One S Coming To Rogers Canada

Rogers Canada has just listed the all new HTC One S on their product page. The handset is said to retail for $149.99 CAD with a new three-year contract agreement, however, there's no word yet on the exact release date. To refresh your memory, the HTC One S offers a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 Super AMOLED touchscreen display, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, a 1GB RAM, a 16GB of storage, a VGA front-facing camera, an 8MP rear-facing camera and runs on Android 4.0 OS.

TechFresh, HTC One S Coming To Rogers Canada

HTC One S headed to Rogers, will cost $149.99 with 3-year contract

After having released the HTC One X in April, Rogers is now ready to launch the HTC One S at some point in the near future. At least that's what a listing from Future Shop seems to indicate. It would certainly be great for those of you who have Rogers as your carrier to get access to HTC's upper-midrange Android-powered offering alongside its flagship sibling.
While we don't yet know when Rogers will in fact have the One S in its stores, we can tell you how much it's going to cost: $149.99 with a new three-year contract. Prices for other contract terms as well as sans contract aren't available just yet.

Unwired View, HTC One S headed to Rogers, will cost $149.99 with 3-year contract

T-Mobile's upcoming Huawei-made myTouch poses in the wild. Again

T-Mobile is going to launch a couple of new myTouch-branded devices sometime this year. They're going to be made by Huawei, and one will be basically identical to the other, save for a physical side-sliding QWERTY keyboard. We've already seen press renders of both, and the keyboard-free device was caught in the wild a couple of months ago.

Unwired View, T-Mobile's upcoming Huawei-made myTouch poses in the wild. Again

GameStop gives in to its sweet tooth, stocks Android tablets at over 1,600 stores

GameStop selling Android tablets in-store isn't anything new, but we've been curious to see how well the initiative would take off following a soft launch at 200 locations last November. Things seem to be going swimmingly, as the company now has "more than 1,600 locations" stocking the slates. If you'll recall, the devices all come with pre-installed titles of the retailer's choosing, with models from the likes of Samsung, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba. There's still yet to be any word about whether you'll eventually be able to trade-in your own, but it would seem like a logical next step - aside from becoming an AT&T virtual carrier.

Engadget, GameStop gives in to its sweet tooth, stocks Android tablets at over 1,600 stores

Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams

YouTube's been beefing up the tools for its users lately, adding an audio editor, stabilization and color correction tools, and even ways for live-streaming productions to empty our wallets. Now, an outfit from the land of Oz has created an application that uses YouTube's live-streaming capabilities to allow those watching to grab pictures of live-stream and share them. Called Frontrow, it'll make its debut streaming the Vivid LIVE music festival currently going on at the Sydney Opera House.

2DayBlog.com, Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams

Facebook rumored to be thinking of buying Opera software

It's been a busy couple of months for Facebook. First the social network acquired Instagram for a cool billion dollars. Then, last week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the company public (right before walking down the aisle with his girlfriend of nine years). Most recently, the company launched its own camera application for iOS devices.
Now, word on the street is that Facebook is considering buying the company behind the Opera web browser. Pocket-Lint cites a trusted source in reporting that Facebook is looking to purchase Opera Software.

2DayBlog.com, Facebook rumored to be thinking of buying Opera software

Even more LG LS860 Cayenne details emerge

We managed to catch hold of the LG LS860 sometime last week, where it was spotted in the wild, unfettered and all. Also known by its code name “Cayenne”, this side sliding smartphone has had its beans spilled even more as Brief Mobile obtained additional images as well as the whole list of hardware specifications to drool over.

Ubergizmo, Even more LG LS860 Cayenne details emerge

It's a TV, no – it's a monitor, no, it's a 22″ ViewSonic tablet!

Just where do you draw the line between a smartphone and a tablet. I guess that line was blurred a long time ago by Samsung with the release of their Samsung Galaxy Note, coning the term “phablet” in the process, which obviously is an amalgamation of “phone” and “tablet”. Well, here we are with something which is very different – a 22″ display that might fool some into thinking that this is a small sized LCD TV, while others might think that this is a decent sized monitor, but in reality, this is actually a tablet.

Ubergizmo, It's a TV, no â€" it's a monitor, no, it's a 22″ ViewSonic tablet!

[REVIEW] Lexar Professional 32GB SDHC UHS-I 400x card

Lexar has been well regarded as one of the top memory suppliers for professional photographers worldwide. Lexar products are high grade and durable, designed for the daily wear & tear. The company has made strong relations with major camera manufacturers to ensure all Lexar memory cards are compatible with their digital cameras (from the simplest to the most complex models). In this review we'll be testing their 32GB SDHC edition of the UHS-I 400x lineup.










Akihabara News, [REVIEW] Lexar Professional 32GB SDHC UHS-I 400x card