The Weekly: 03 September 2013
Highlights
Skype in 3D, Microsoft buys Nokia, Build Your Own Smart Phone, Facebook auto play videos, AppCubator is noob-friendly app builder, HP to come with Leap Motion
Skype in 3D, Microsoft buys Nokia, Build Your Own Smart Phone, Facebook auto play videos, AppCubator is noob-friendly app builder, HP to come with Leap Motion
Skype announced they are developing 3D video calls. This is them hoping that they will get companies to start building mobile devices with 3D cameras, again.
Haven't you heard, fellas? 3D is already being replaced with 4K and 8K definition. So unless your 3D will no longer require special glasses, the world will say 'No, thank you'.
For USD 7.2 Billion, Nokia's end finally arrived. The once greatest mobile phone maker went through an entire decade of free fall after being taken over by Sony Ericsson in the early year 2000s and never saw daylight ever since.
Thomas Zilliacus, a former Nokia employee, formed Newkia the very same day Nokia announced it's absorption into Microsoft, stating that he will draw as many Nokia staff as possible to build an Android-powered range of devices.
It's ironic that the company that caused the demise of Nokia actually bought it out. And finally some people are doing something right with the best mobile device hardware in the world.
Petitioning For A Phone Worth Keeping
PhoneBloks is trying to crowdspeak for a smart phone that builds like a PC tower: with all their parts completely replaceable and upgrade-able. This is Dave Hakken's plan to reduce electronic device waste that has been plaguing the world of late no thanks to companies that make their electronic devices irreplaceable.
Although I don't believe this will ever happen because it will only reduce the rate of technology advancement, I will leave it up to you guys to watch the video below and decide if his plan is worth the support.
Facebook is about to run a beta test on US iOS and Android which enables auto playing of videos silently without being triggered. It will attempt to draw the attention of visitors. Once clicked the video frame will expand and audio will become available.
Some may regard this as an advancement for Facebook's video capabilities as it will reduce the barrier users have with videos posted on their friends' streams. Others say this is only paving their way to video advertisements. Either way I'm worried for users with pre-paid or limited data allocations.
There is a new drag-and-drop development service provider for start ups who want to build web apps for their businesses but do not want to learn how to code or spend too much on third-party developers. It's a simple drag-and-drop format that looks and feels like what you would expect from a Wix or Square Space website builder.
It's available now from Free accounts to USD 35 a month with added features and support.
Later this year HP will introduce the ENVY17 Leap Motion SE which will come equipped with, you've guessed it, Leap Motion. US price will be USD 1,049.99 according to Tech Crunch, so we're guessing this will be a Macbook Pro competitor. With touch-screen and Leap Motion, why would someone opt for a Macbook Pro instead? Oh yeah, the fact that nobody really likes Windows 8.
Although this may seem pretty awesome, buying a separate Leap Motion device will give similar features to any existing machines, albeit it being a peripheral instead of built-in.
