Microsoft to launch its wearable fitness band in coming weeks

Microsoft to launch its wearable fitness band in coming weeks

Tom Warren

The Verge 

Microsoft is planning to launch its own wearable fitness band in the coming weeks.
Forbes reports that the announcement is due "within the next few weeks," and The Verge can confirm this is accurate.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the launch of Microsoft’s wearable fitness band is imminent, and the device will be stocked at retailers in time for the holiday season.
Microsoft’s wearable launch will mark 10 years since the company announced its SPOT smartwatch in 2004 that used FM radio signals to send instant messages from Windows Messenger, news headlines, stock information, and weather forecasts to your wrist.

Smartwatch features, but primarily focused on fitness
Although Microsoft’s fitness band will have some smartwatch features, it will be primarily focused on fitness activities.
We’re told the fitness band will track steps, heart rate, calories burned, and other key health attributes thanks to a number of sensors embedded in the device.

Microsoft has also been testing the ability to monitor heat rate through the day and night, and is expected to ship a final device that has around two days of battery life.

The key part of Microsoft’s fitness band will be its support for Windows Phone, iOS, and Android.
Microsoft is developing separate apps for each mobile operating system to help support the features of its fitness band sensors, and smartphone notifications to the band will also be supported.

It's unlikely that Microsoft will brand its fitness band under the Lumia or Surface monikers, mainly because the device will work across all three mobile operating systems. Images surfaced earlier this year of a fitness band in Microsoft patent filings, and previous rumours suggested the company was working on a 1.5-inch display with removable wrist bands.

With Microsoft on the verge of announcing its fitness band, we’ll find out exactly what the company has to offer in the wearables space very soon.
* Microsoft publishes MSN and the Bing Daily News and Finance apps

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Apple Has No Plans To Build A Touchscreen Mac, Says Software Chief (AAPL)

Apple Has No Plans To Build A Touchscreen Mac, Says Software Chief (AAPL)

Dave Smith

Business Insider

 

If you're hoping Apple will come out with a laptop or desktop computer with a touchscreen, keep dreaming.
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior VP of software, told CNET on Thursday that the company has no plans to bring a touchscreen interface to the OS X ecosystem.

"We don't think it's the right interface, honestly," he said. "Mac is sort of a sit down experience."
He said it would be "awkward and uncomfortable" for users to continually reach out to their computer screen while sitting at a desk; the iPad and iPhone are much different in this way, since you're supposed to be using those devices while sitting in any position, or on the go.

"We've really focused on building the best track pads we can, something where it feels [like] your posture's relaxed, it's a comfortable machine to use," he told CNET. "And, of course, over the years we've experimented with all the technology, but we found it just wasn't good. ... We're not all that interested in building one."

Federighi has been pretty consistent on this front. In a January interview with Macworld, Federighi (along with fellow Apple execs Phil Schiller and Bud Tribble) insisted iOS and OS X will remain separate platforms, denying the possibility of bringing a touchscreen experience to the Mac, or potentially bringing a full version of OS X to mobile devices.

"[It's] absolutely a non-goal," Federighi said. "You don't want to say the Mac became less good at being a Mac because someone tried to turn it into iOS."

Well, there you have it. Apple's going to keep the hardware and software across its mobile and desktop lines separate but integrated. Still, hopefully Apple will take a few tools and features from OS X — like a true filing system, for example — and port them to the rumored jumbo iPad, which would make it a true beast in the enterprise.

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Why Apple Pay May Be the Company’s Most Challenging Move Yet

Why Apple Pay May Be the Company’s Most Challenging Move Yet

Victor Luckerson

Time 

Our smartphones have already become our de facto camera, music player, navigational device and personal assistant. Now Silicon Valley wants to make them our wallet, too.
Several tech firms have spent the last few years trying to convince consumers their phone is a more convenient payment method than cash or plastic. Most shoppers have balked. But on Monday, Apple is entering the fray, and experts say that could be a turning point for the long-hyped mobile payments industry.

Apple's service, dubbed Apple Pay, allows customers to buy goods in physical stores with a simple tap of their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch smartwatch, when that device hits shelves in early 2015. Apple Pay users load their credit card information onto the phone, then press their device’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the checkout line to authenticate the purchase. The process is faster than using a debit card — and more secure. Apple generates a unique ID number for each transaction, meaning users' credit card data numbers are not shared with merchants.

Apple Pay is launching just as the smartphone is becoming a central point of commerce for the average shopper. Consumers spent $110 billion via their mobile devices last year, according to research firm Euromonitor, and they used their phones plenty more to research products before buying them in stores. Meanwhile, person-to-person payment apps like Venmo have made people comfortable loading their phones with dollars to make simple transactions.
“All of that is really conditioning consumers to trust their phones when it comes to payments,” says Michelle Evans, a senior consumer finance analyst at Euromonitor.

But consumers are still reluctant to give up their credit cards. Mobile payments generated $4.9 billion in sales in 2014, a paltry figure compared to the year's $4.8 trillion in card transactions, according to Euromonitor. Google’s own mobile payments service, Google Wallet, offers much of Apple Pay’s functionality but hasn’t seen widespread adoption. Startup Square abandoned its much-hyped mobile wallet platform earlier this year, instead pivoting to an order-ahead service like Seamless. PayPal, which is spinning off from eBay in 2015, has also struggled find a mobile formula that works in stores.
“It’s definitely starting to catch on, but I don’t think anybody has quite nailed the overarching reason to pull out your phone to pay,” says Anuj Nayar, PayPal’s senior director of global initiatives.
The transition to mobile payments is a challenging one because it requires buy-in from so many different players. Consumers have to be convinced it’s worth their time to learn a new buying behavior. Retailers have to pay for new equipment so their point-of-sale systems can accept payment from phones and smartwatches. Banks and credit card issuers also have to buy in. “It’s a lot of people to get in lockstep,” says Evans.

Apple does have a few key advantages over its competitors. The company has a knack for convincing people to change their digital lifestyles, whether by downloading MP3s, surfing the web on a phone or using a large tablet to watch videos. And thanks to the iTunes Store, Apple has more than 500 million credit cards already on file. Those customers will be able to seamlessly start using the same accounts they use to buy apps and music to buy goods in the real world when they first boot up Apple Pay. “We’ve never had this large of a base in a starting country" for a mobile payment system, says Matt Dill, Visa’s senior vice president for Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Commerce and Network Payments.

However, analysts say convincing shoppers to give up credit cards, which are already fairly painless to use, will take more than just offering convenience. The most successful mobile payments platform to date is the Starbucks app, which rewards customers who pay via their phones with free drinks and other perks. Today, Starbucks processes about 15% of all its transactions on the app, or about 6 million per week.
“The customers really feel It’s not just about payments,” says Ben Straley, Starbucks’ vice president for digital products. “It’s also about being rewarded for their loyalty.”

But even if Apple can convince consumers to take their money mobile, some merchants aren't playing ball. Wal-Mart, America’s largest retailer, won’t support Apple Pay at launch. Instead, it and other big-box stores like Best Buy are developing a competing mobile payments platform called CurrentC, set to launch sometime next year. Such merchants would have to be the driving force behind any effective loyalty rewards program that convinced shoppers to abandon their credit cards.
With so many competitors offering mobile payment options, analysts expect the segment will finally take off soon. Euromonitor projects in-store purchases via phone will rise to $74 billion by 2019 — though that's still a far cry from the trillions in card purchases we see today.

Mobile devices are already becoming a common tool for buying things in the virtual world. It could very well happen in the real world, too. “It’s just shopping, whether you’re buying it in a store or buying it online,” says PayPal’s Nayar. “The lines between what that looks like have started to disappear.”

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Goodbye wallet, hello iPhone? Apple big Pay-day

Goodbye wallet, hello iPhone? Apple big Pay-day

CNBC.com staff

Are consumers ready to cast off their credit cards in favor of a smartphone application?
That would be Apple's (AAPL) best-case scenario as it officially launches Apple Pay, the new mobile payment service that allows users to buy goods with their smartphones. The tech titan is betting consumers will no longer want to carry their wallets, credit cards or cash.

Here is how Apple Pay works: users walk up to a checkout line while hold their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus up to a special reader. By simply pressing the fingerprint sensor, the transaction is completed.
For online shopping within apps, apple pay is also available on the recently announced iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.

The new service is enabled by a free software update to iOS 8.
"Taking out your credit card and swiping it is pretty easy," Eddy Cue, apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, tells CNBC. "We wanted to make something that was even easier than that."

With this new service, Apple is trying to capitalize on the swelling mobile payments market, which is set to quadruple to $90 billion by 2017, according to Forrester Research. The company has not yet disclosed how it intends to monetize this service.

The iPhone maker already boasts an extensive network of retailers and merchants jumping on the mobile payment bandwagon at 220,000 locations across the country, including Whole Foods (WFM), McDonald's (MCD) and Macy's (M).



Apple Pay also supports credit and debit cards from American Express (AXP), Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V). A wide range of banks have also signed on including Bank of America (BAC), Citibank and Wells Fargo (WFC).

What are some potential challenges for Apple's new service?
Attracting more merchants could be a hurdle. To make Apple Pay work, stores have to install what's called an NFC reader at the checkout line. Currently, such devices are being used by fewer than 10 percent of merchants, according to research firm Gartner.

Industry analysts believe Apple Pay could prove an immediate hit with tech-savvy consumers, but some are cautious about the technology's broader appeal.

"It is very easy to conduct transactions with credit cards, debit cards and cash," says Bryan Yeager, an analyst at eMarketer. "You don't need a battery to be able to do that. Apple Pay will have to contend with ingrained consumer behavior when it comes to paying with credit cards."

Apple's Cue, however, disagrees with that analysis. He argues that Apple Pay will prove popular because it is much faster than traditional payment methods, and it is also more secure.

For the service to work, consumers use credit cards they already have on file with iTunes, or enter a new credit card number. A unique, 16-digit security code is then created each time a consumer authorizes a new purchase. That one-time code, if intercepted by criminals, cannot be used on another device –or by another person.
With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, the transactions boast an extra layer of protection as well: the iPhone is unlocked with a user's fingerprint.

With hacking and identity theft being common nowadays, consumers might feel apprehensive about using their iPhones as digital wallets for another reason: the reams of data being generated about their habits. But Cue vows Apple will not track or collect information about what consumers purchase.
"Privacy is a key component of this," he told CNBC.

Apple's executives are clearly excited about this new service, as are the analysts who see it as a new source of revenue for the company.

The only question that remains is whether consumers will be as enthusiastic.

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Taylor Swift Teases Worldwide Release Of New Single On iTunes

Taylor Swift Teases Worldwide Release Of

New Single On iTunes

Taylor Swift has teased the release of what is believed to be a new single on iTunes.

In a post on Twitter, the 'Shake It Off' singer hinted that "something is happening on iTunes" tomorrow (October 20), before confirming that it will be "available worldwide".

The post, which also features two images of New York, is likely referring to the release of 'Welcome to New York' as a single.

'Welcome to New York' is from Swift's upcoming pop album 1989.

Inspired by music from the 1980s, the album, which took the singer two years to complete, will be released on October 27.

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Katy Perry Prepares For Halloween at Knott’s Scary Farm!

Katy Perry Prepares For Halloween at Knott’s Scary Farm!

Katy Perry is getting into the Halloween spirit, are YOU? The “Dark Horse” singer took a quick break from her Prismatic World Tour to stop by Knott’s Scary Farm for a little Halloween fun!

Katy took full advantage of her time at Knott’s Scary Farm by venturing through a haunted maze, riding Xcelerator (a super fast and winding roller coaster!) alongside her friends and even made her way into Ghost Town to pose with some spooky monsters! She totally blends in with those monsters, don’t you think? lol!

Knott’s Scary Farm will run through November 1st, so if you don’t mind a little fright, be sure to check it out! If Katy can do it, so can you!

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FCC starts the process for making '5G' gigabit mobile data a reality

FCC starts the process for making '5G' gigabit mobile data a reality

Timothy J. Seppala

Engadget

We're barely seeing 4G take hold here in the States and the FCC has begun the process to push into 5G for mobile data. The government's communications council voted unanimously to start looking into accessing the higher-than-24GHz frequency spectrum that was previously thought to be, as Reuters notes, unusable by mobile networks. So what are the benefits? Gigabit internet connections on the go, for starters -- something our current sub-3GHz spectrum can't quite handle -- similar to the ones Samsung just tested. Yeah, now you're excited. The feds believe that using these "millimeter waves" would allow for higher bandwidth for more people and devices at speeds that outclass most homes' broadband.
However, these waves only work over short distances for now and require line of sight for their point-to-point microwave connections. And that, my friends, is what the FCC is hoping to fix in the interim. What the vote means is that the groundwork is being laid, and research to make sure the tech is actually feasible now has the green light. For now it's anyone's guess (some estimates say by 2020) when we'll actually start surfing the mobile web at Google Fiber speeds while we're out and about -- millimeter waves may be fast, but the wheels of bureaucracy are not.

[Image credit: Rennett Stowe / Flickr]
Source: FCC (1), (2)

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Google freezes Nexus Player orders while it waits for US approval

Google freezes Nexus Player orders while it waits for US approval

Jon Fingas

Engadget

If you were dead set on ordering the Nexus Player this weekend, you're about to be disappointed. Google has quietly halted pre-orders of its Android TV media hub because it has "not been approved" by the FCC -- the company would be in trouble with US regulators if it took your hard-earned dollars for something it can't ship. There aren't any hints as to when the Nexus Player will get the all-clear, but you can be sure that we'll keep our eyes peeled. Hopefully, the approval arrives before November 3rd so that you can get that Android TV set-top box on time.
Source: Google Play

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RedShift electric motocross race bikes will be ready to roll in 2015

RedShift electric motocross race bikes will be ready to roll in 2015

Richard Lawler

Engadget

BRD Motorcycles originally opened pre-orders for the RedShift electric motorcycles back in 2011, and it's almost time for them to hit the streets. A lot has changed since then, including the name of the company -- now Alta Motors -- and a recent $4.5 million investment round of investment. The company simply explains that it likes the new name better, but the changes we're interested in have to do with those sweet plug-in bikes. We spoke to CEO / co-founder Marc Fenigstein as Alta showed off the 2015 production model RedShift MX and RedShift SM at the 2014 AIMExpo in Orlando, and he explained both bikes have undergone countless changes since they first debuted. The "race bike with lights" MX has a $14,995 price tag, while the road-going supermoto model is $15,495 and features a slightly higher 85mph top speed -- check after the break for more details.%Slideshow-233741%

The proprietary lithium ion battery packs have been redesigned from scratch, shaving 15 lbs from the 85 lb original and getting shorter by 4 inches. Alta isn't ready to share how it's achieved this feat, but Fenigstein says its cells are, along with the ones Tesla Motors uses, the only ones he knows of in the industry that have thermal propagation resistance, aka fire resistance.The 5.2 kWh battery packs (good for about 50 miles on road or 2 hours riding offroad) are swappable, just in case you want to keep going without plugging in to a 110v jack.

Another major change is in the bike's frame, where the front section has been redesigned to use a new casting design that's 40 percent stronger and has more control over frame flexibility -- without getting any heavier. It's also switched to a liquid cooled 40hp, 11 lb, 13,750 RPM motor and ditched the radiator featured on prototype models. The bikes are on target to start shipping to dealers next year (no direct to consumer sales, BMW Motorcycles of SF will be among the first dealers), starting in California during Q2 before spreading to the rest of the US later in the year, and Europe in 2016. These electric bikes haven't been homologated for major racing series like AMA or FIM yet, but the CEO says it's in talks, and so far has seen a favorable reception at smaller regional racing events.

The final difference from 2011? Fenigstein tells us that after an initially cool response back then, riders have seen electric motorcycles from Zero, Brammo, and even OEMS like Harley-Davidson or KTM. Now there's "nothing but applause" as they see these bikes are adding to the experience, not taking anything away. Anyone ready to slap down $15k and go from gas to this electric off-road riding next year?
Source: Alta Motors

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Selena Gomez Reveals Relationship Advice From Taylor Swift

Selena Gomez Reveals Relationship Advice From Taylor Swift 

Selena Gomez appeared on the Oct. 17 episode of ‘The Talk’ to promote her film ‘Rudderless,’ and revealed some relationship advice that BFF Taylor Swift dished out.

When Sharon Osbourne asked Selena whether Taylor ever has any advice for her, “She was actually at my house the other day and we were sitting by the fire,” Selena said, really painting a picture for Taylena shippers everywhere, “and I was talking about relationships in business and in my life and she just kinda looked at me — and she supports me, never judges me for anything — and she’s like, ‘Selena, if you’re the smartest person in the room, I think you’re gonna be in the wrong room.’

“Because she thinks I should constantly surround myself — and I agree with her — with people that are going to make me better, that are going to challenge me, and it just stuck with me.”

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Amazon UK reveals Nexus 9 prices to start from £319

Amazon UK reveals Nexus 9 prices to start from £319

Matt Brian

Engadget

Google may have finally made its latest Nexus devices official, but it's kept UK pricing for theNexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player under wraps. Fortunately for us, Amazon is keen to highlight that it'll range the 8.9-inch HTC tablet, and has now started taking pre-orders for both black and white variants of the device before they've even appeared on Google's Play Store. The online retail giant has revealed that the 16GB Wi-Fi model will cost £319, with its 32GB counterpart coming in at £399. After the 4G-equipped 32GB Nexus 9? Expect to pay £459 for the privilege. If you decide to take the plunge today, Amazon says it will get it to you by November 3rd. Unfortunately, Amazon nor Google have confirmed UK pricing for either the Nexus 6 or the Nexus Player, but we'll bring you the very latest as soon as we get it.
Update: It didn't take long for Google to get in on the act: the search giant has now opened Nexus 9 pre-orders on the Play Store. The prices are the same and Google says shipments will leave its warehouses "in 2 - 3 weeks."

Source: Nexus 9 (16GB White), (16GB Black), (32GB White), (32GB Black), (32GB 4G Black)

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Tumblr's new desktop app is all Tumblr, all the time

Tumblr's new desktop app is all Tumblr, all the time

Billy Steele

Engadget

Sometimes you just want to craft your Tumblr posts and browse the latest updates without being distracted by the rest of the internet. For those occasions, the blogging outfit released a desktop app for Mac that does two things and two things only. First, as we've already mentioned, it only shows you Tumblr content and nothing else. It'll also let you post from anywhere on your Mac -- so long as that place has the trusty OS X Share button available. If you haven't yet updated to Yosemite, you'll need to do so as the new app only works with Apple's latest version. Of course, you could just visit the website via your browser of choice, unless you're posting eleventy billion times a day.

Source: Mac App Store

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