Walyou |  |
- Apple Awarded Patent for iPhone VR Display
- Google Launches YouTube Kids App for the Younger Crowd
- Samsung show off the first picture of the Galaxy S6
- Amazon Drone Deliveries Killed by New FAA Rules
| Apple Awarded Patent for iPhone VR Display Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:58 AM PST  As the technology industry continues to embrace virtual reality (VR) headsets, Apple is getting involved too, having just been award a VR headset patent.
Whether it’s a gimmick or even just a passing fad, few can deny that virtual reality (VR) is gathering some serious steam. With the $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR (and Oculus Rift) by Facebook and the reveal of the Project Morpheus headset by Sony, soon more and more people will be running around with immersive screens strapped to their faces. So far the, the uses appear to either be for gaming or commercial purposes. For example, VR in gaming can make you feel like the protagonist yourself as opposed to just playing a game in first person by looking at a screen. As for commerce, we could soon be using VR headsets to do our shopping by exploring a virtual version of our favourite retailers. While the tech isn’t there just yet and some developers are waiting to see the sales numbers until they make software for it, one company that is fully embracing it is Apple. This month, the company was granted a VR headset patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after initially filing the patent in 2008. The patent explains:
So what’s the likelihood of this Apple VR headset coming to fruition? Well, the fact that the headset would use the iPhone as its screen is very interesting as it’s similar to a strategy that Samsung took when they matched the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with their Samsung Gear VR headset, so this would put Apple on par with their rivals. Furthermore, it’s also an ingenious way of getting people to buy two Apple devices and it could encourage people to jump ship from Android to iOS. In addition to this, other illustrations from the patent show that Apple is considering making some sort of handheld controller too, which would make the Apple VR headset ideal for gaming. It also shows that they’ve really thought this one out, which is a very good sign that well see the Apple VR headset in the wild eventually. Source: AppleInsider Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Milk VR by Samsung wants to make virtual reality a daily habit, Jack White & Google Cardboard to team up for VR performances         |
| Google Launches YouTube Kids App for the Younger Crowd Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:48 AM PST  As not all YouTube content is appropriate for kids and site-wide censorship is out of the question, Google launched a children-friendly version of its video sharing website called YouTube Kids. A kids-only version of the website won’t be launched anytime soon, as Google thought that a mobile app would be more adequate. After all, there are Android tablets for toddlers out there, so we shouldn’t be surprised that the new kids on the block are familiar with mobile devices from a very early age. I don’t see Apple launching a tablet for children, so iPad owners will probably cringe while handing their precious device with the YouTube Kids app running to their offsprings. The main focus here is on parental control and on ways to prevent youngsters from accessing the dark side of YouTube (if such a thing even exists). While the search giant didn’t launch the app with a specific age range in mind, it’s safe to assume that 3 and 4-year olds will be thrilled with the content available in the app. I mentioned content and not only videos because the ads have been tailored to suit the taste and needs of the little ones, as well. The built-in timer included in the app enables parents to quantify the amount of time their kids spend watching videos on YouTube. With a range from 30 to 120 minutes, the timer measures the time the app is being open, so kids that will complain that they’ve only watched a video for five minutes should be taught to jump right into it when you give them your tablet. Future updates should stop the timer when the app is in the background, as that is definitely not the case with the current version.
Parents also have sound options at their disposal, in case their kids get a little bit too obsessed with a particular tune. Besides that, it’s great to see that the user interface has been redesigned to include bigger (and fewer) buttons, so that children can learn more easily how to use the app. Overall, Google has done a great job with YouTube for Kids, as the app packs content and functionality that are perfect for toddlers. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about how Google pulled the plug on YouTube, or Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch in a moment when Google was interested in attaching it to YouTube.    |
| Samsung show off the first picture of the Galaxy S6 Posted: 23 Feb 2015 07:00 AM PST  Forget about renders and mock-ups, with a few days to go for the MWC 2015, Samsung is now teasing their new Galaxy S6. The official reveal for Samsung’s Galaxy S6 is jsut around the corner: it will take place during their “Unpacked” event at the Mobile World Conference 2015 on march 1st, and it will be introduced along an Edge version, just like with the Galaxy Note 4. And although information had leaked here and there, with a few really good mock ups in place, there hadn’t been any official pictures yet. That is up until Samsung’s instagram showed the picture we see illustrating this story: our first official look at the Galaxy S6. This smartphone looks surprisingly thin, but also the lines are quite surprising and we don’t know what to make of them exactly. Hadn’t this picture had the #TheNextGalaxy hashtag, we would have thought this was an iPad. One element that we can’t quite distinguish is a protuberance in the posterior part of the Galaxy S6 for the camera lens, which had prevented it from being entirely flat. We’ll see how Samsung resolved this. So far, we know the Galaxy S6 will be equipped with a 5.1 inch QHD screen (1.440x.2.560 pixels), a Exynos 7420 octacore processor at 2,1 GHz, 3GB DDR4 RAM, and storage that would come in two versions: 32 or 64 gigabites. Also, the main camera would be 20MP, and the front one of 5, all running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. Via Samsung Mobile Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Samsung get ready to unveil their newest Galaxy and Samsung introduces the Galaxy A7 at CES 2015.    |
| Amazon Drone Deliveries Killed by New FAA Rules Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:00 AM PST  As Amazon prepares to launch its ‘Amazon Prime Air’ drone delivery service, a new ruling by the FAA may have killed the service before it got off the ground.
For quite some time now, online retailer Amazon has been gearing up to launch a service called ‘Amazon Prime Air’ which would deliver goods to customers via drones. Hoping to become a success based on the popularity of their one-day delivery program, Amazon Prime, the drone delivery service had been gathering hype ever since it was announced some time ago. The biggest selling point for Amazon Prime Air was of course, the speed of its deliveries. In theory, if you only lived a few minutes or so from an Amazon depot, they would be able to load your lightweight order onto a drone and have a pilot fly it directly to your house. It might cost you a pretty penny but if you’ve got lots of money and little patience, that’s the type of thing you’d be willing to fork out for. But there were always concerns of safety as ‘drone delivery service’ conjured up images of drone rotors lodged in bodies and packages clunking people on the head. It seems that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken these concerns into account as their new ruling on drone may have just killed Amazon Prime Air for good. In their new policy for small unmanned aircrafts (including drones), the FAA explains that all drone pilots must be properly certified (with certification costing under $300) before they take to the skies. Drones can only be flown under 500 feet and flights must be done in daylight hours. While having to fly under 500 feet might have caused some trouble for Amazon’s drones (which would probably like to fly a little higher to avoid flying into any buildings or monuments) that’s not what put the nail in the coffin. The FAA also explains drones can be used for law enforcement, agriculture, search and rescue, bridge inspection and real estate photography but not for things like package delivery. All of those activities make sense from a safety perspective as they can all be done in areas where people are unlikely to be walking around in large crowds and therefore the risk of a pedestrian getting a face full of rotor is significantly lower, but as package delivery isn’t on the list of accepted activities, Amazon Prime Air could be dead for now. There is the smallest glimmer of hope in the fact that the FAA had previously banned all commercial flights of drones. This list of activities are a reflection of the fact that the FAA has changed its mind on commercial drone delivery and so they could possibly change their mind on package delivery in the future too. This is especially the case if they decide to work with Amazon to ensure that Amazon Prime Air can take place without a hitch. That’s what Amazon will be hoping for anyway, so we’ll let you know more information on that once we have it. Source: re/code Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Amazon announce their own Email service, Amazon Considering Taxis For Same Day Deliveries    |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Walyou To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
