Switched On: Big kicks, not all for starters

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

The end of last week's Switched On left doubt for the future of dedicated devices that tread on the turf of smartphones. After all, funding is key to every major new product initiative and, despite the vast fortunes of many Silicon Valley engineers that have been accumulated via IPOs and acquisitions, few wish to take on the risk of fronting a new consumer device themselves.(In 2007, the handheld FlipStart PC was hatched from FlipStart Labs, funded by Vulcan Ventures, the investment arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.)

Most venture capitalists abhor the device business; it is a rare device that makes it to the spotlight of startup debutante balls such as DEMO, TechCrunch Disrupt, or Launch. Even most of the 94 companies at CES' Eureka Park were not developing end-user devices Where, then, can a device entrepreneur go for funding and pick up some publicity in the process?

Continue reading Switched On: Big kicks, not all for starters

Switched On: Big kicks, not all for starters originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obama at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (Little green footballs)

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Feds demand convicted con man serve 30 years (Providence Journal)

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Panasonic teams up with NHK on 145-inch 8K Super Hi-Vision plasma TV

We thought the 8K 85-inch Super Hi-Vision LCD we saw during CES was impressive, but Japanese broadcaster NHK is already looking to surpass that by going even bigger. To that end it worked with Panasonic (above: that's Panasonic's Keishi Kubota on the left, Yoshio Ito of NHK on the right) to create this 145-inch prototype plasma, unveiled today as an example of the kind of displays we can expect to see once broadcasts jump to the higher resolution some day. The world's first self-illuminating Super Hi-Vision TV, it features every pixel of its expected 8K resolution -- 7,680 x 4,320. After working for months on smaller (only 85- or 103-inch) 4K plasmas, the two companies had to come up with an entirely new drive method for the display that works by scanning the pixels vertically to achieve a uniform picture quality. The NHK plans to show off the new display at its open house in May, although we're a bit more interested to see if we can watch the Olympics on it this summer. Check the gallery below for a few more pictures from DigInfo.TV's Ryo Osuga, or hit the more coverage link for a breakdown of the difficulties encountered in building a high resolution display that's this massive.

Gallery: Panasonic 145-inch Super Hi-Vision plasma

[Image Credit: Ryo Osuga, DigInfo.TV]

Panasonic teams up with NHK on 145-inch 8K Super Hi-Vision plasma TV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adult film producer convicted in obscenity trial (Providence Journal)

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Rubio campaign fined for improper contributions (The Arizona Republic)

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Sir Jonathan Ive wins British Visionary Innovator award for 2012

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Reuters: Apple in talks to stream films owned by Epix, no deal expected before September

It's reasonably well known at this point that Apple is looking to line up partnerships for some sort of a streaming video service. We've heard again and again that it's coming, so get ready to hum along with that 'ol tune one more time. Reuters is reporting that Apple has been in negotiations with Epix since earlier this year, hoping to secure access to films from Lions Gate, MGM and Paramount Pictures. There's no indication of when such a service might come to light, but Reuters indicates the company's current deal with Netflix, which expires on September 1st, could be a conflict (though that hasn't stopped Google TV in the past). So, no proper Apple-branded TV until the fall? Stay tuned...

Reuters: Apple in talks to stream films owned by Epix, no deal expected before September originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cloud Storage Platform Box Debuts New Enhanced API; Partners With General Assembly And TechStars

Cloud storage platform Box has been aggressively targeting and engaging developers in building out an ecosystem around the company's collaboration and file storage platform. Last fall, Box launched a platform for developers building off of the Box platform, called the Box Innovation Network (/bin). And earlier this year, we learned about Box OneCloud, a mobile cloud and API for the enterprise that allows businesses to access, edit, and share content from their mobile devices. Today, Box is debuting a new, more powerful API for its platform, and is announcing new partnerships with New York City startup incubators General Assembly and TechStars. Box's offering for the enterprise has evolved from a simple file storage platform to a collaborative application where businesses can actually communicate about document updates, sync files remotely, and even add features from Salesforce, Google Apps, NetSuite, Yammer and others. The company says 80 percent of the Fortune 500 are using Box; and now has over 10 million users with more than 200 million files accessed via Box each month.

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