Samsung Develops Wallet Platform

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So Samsung is finally showing some cards around mobile payments and it looks like they’ve developed a full-up wallet system rather than simply utilize an existing method.  This certainly aligns with their desire to control more of the ecosystem and looks like a strong contender assuming they are able to deliver carrier partnerships as well to enable access across their installable base.

Samsung’s Wallet looks a lot like Apple’s Passbook and that’s a good thing.  While it’s capable of incorporating NFC, the initial proximity solution will be based on scannable codes … just like Passbook.  Again this is a good thing as merchants and brands will (hopefully) only need some slight modification (if any) to enable a second set of passes.

Currently, Wallet is only available as a preview for developers, who can download the SDK and API guides for it now, and the app itself will be available in the near future. Samsung says that it has lined up partnerships with Walgreens, Belly, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, and Lufthansa for the app’s launch, but it won’t be integrated any NFC payment features into Wallet, despite its new partnership with Visa’s PayWave service. When we asked why this was the case, Samsung said retailers prefer barcodes over NFC because they don’t have to install any new infrastructure to support it.  via The Verge.

Given the imminent launch announcement of the Galaxy S IV, the likely sales of millions of devices (much like the S III and Note lines) this could and should get some immediate attention.  Developers can start here.  Earlier this week, MLB (also a Samsung partner) announced support for Passbook at 13 ballparks … with the intentional similarities here from Samsung, perhaps we’ve got a real chance at a standard for how payments get presented.

‘Helmet of Justice’ #cycling

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There’s been a fair bit of media attention on cycling accidents and menacing drivers over the past year. I’ve often considered getting a GoPro for safety more than thrill capture as a typical ride would probably be quite boring to review. Design Studio, Chaotic Moon has a different idea and instead is piloting the idea of an integrated helmet. There are multiple cameras able to capture several hours of video so you’ve essentially got an integrated black box on your head. Pricing is likely to be around $300 …

via The Verge

Samsung’s HomeSync

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This is a rather interesting development from Samsung… It’s not GoogleTV, but it is an Android powered STB.

The device features WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet support, 2 USB 3.0 ports for peripherals, a micro USB port for connecting to a PC, and HDMI output for hooking up a TV or monitor. Under the hood, the HomeSync is running software based on Google Android Jelly Bean, which means you can use it to watch movies on the hard drive or stream videos from YouTube, among other things. It also includes access to the Google Play Store, which should let you download additional apps such as Netflix or Vudu to turn the HomeSync into a pretty powerful media center for your TV. via liliputing

@pebble a week later…

I thought I’d share some additional thoughts on the Pebble now that I’ve had some real quality time for how it works.  In general I remain really pleased. There are certainly things I would like to see update but given the limited roll this far I’m going some of this is in queue. 

Smart mode shifts – when music is playing,  the default screen should switch to player control vs time.  It’s the likely next section… Right now you have to dig through the menus manually to get to music to even begin the process. 

Better media control – my primary media player is spotify and there is simply no recognition when it’s active. There’s also no resume from the music app as you might expect given the lack of active recognition… Doubletwist works though doggcatcher my current podcast app of choice is also ignored.  Some of this is likely how android works now than the Pebble but it’s lame. 

Date & Calendar – time is nice but having quick access to see the date and access to my calendar would be quite useful.

Message history – get two emails but you can only read one.  If you get a bunch of notifications during a meeting there’s no way to scroll back through.  I find myself moving between meetings quite frequently and this is a perfect use opportunity. 

Quick replies – rejecting a call with a note or replying quickly to a text would be awesome.  Seems easy enough though perhaps the modal shift as  mentioned in my music request needs to be implemented first…

Native apps –  watch faces are just toys.  Where is the augmented display for sport data? The navigation queue from maps etc. The only one I’m aware of is for the Lockitron connected lock. I’ve supported that project as well and look forward to seeing it come to life. 

With that short list out of the way it’s clear that wearable ambient tech as a category is quite real. I love having easy scannable access to my digital world. I find a quick switch to the larger font even solves a quick view in the car. Outside in the cold is another great moment to quickly scan without having to unlock your phone. 

I’m sure smarter devices are coming like the rumored Apple and Samsung products and i will be watching with considerable interest. 

Intel is ready to crack internet TV

The Verge has a great piece on the potential for Intel to succeed in their latest digital home initiative…

The fact that Intel doesn’t by and large work in media could be a handicap, but if you stop to reconsider, it potentially gives Intel a huge advantage. Think about it: how was Google ever going to make a deal with Viacom when Viacom was suing Google? How were companies like Google or Yahoo built on selling advertising ever going to meaningfully share data and revenue with other companies built on advertising like TV networks? How were Sony or Samsung ever going to create a smart TV platform large enough to compete with cable when their businesses depended on selling giant multithousand-dollar screens that were only updated every few years? How would Apple, or Microsoft, or Amazon, or Netflix create new deals for live TV with networks when they already had huge businesses in selling digital video in completely different formats? Intel has no conflicts of interest with television; it has no strategy taxes. All it has are years of R&D into hardware for the connected home, a solid history of developing hardware standards and prototypes, and many, many chips built for graphics-intensive, generally stationary devices that badly need somewhere to go.

This has long been an area of interest for me and I hope they succeed here because the industry needs a good kick in the ass.

Tougher Times for the Whiskey Drinker

 

Whisky Collection

 

This morning I caught a piece on how Beam, Inc is being “forced” to literally dilute their premium brand Maker’s Mark in order to keep up with the spike in global demand.  They did proactively reach out to the brand ambassadors in order to let them know in advance, but also to mention their extensive testing has led to seemingly no change to the taste profile, though there’s less alcohol now too as a result.

Perhaps awareness of such news will impact on people’s decision to choose neat, even with the lovely up-charge that’s now become common in New York City.

Image via Danny Nicholson on Flickr

Pebble Activated … with even smarter notifications

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My Pebble watch arrived last night and I immediately set it up as I’ve been waiting a long time for it to ship!  Out of the box, it required a quick firmware update which gets sent via your linked phone … in my case the Galaxy Note II.  Pretty straight forward stuff for anyone geeky enough to want a smart watch.

I turned on all the available notices which give you control / notice access to incoming calls, sms messages, calendar reminders, email notifications (exchange, gmail), google talk, google voice, facebook and whatsapp.  Not a bad start, though as noticed earlier in the day by a co-worker, the exchange notification is rather limited simply stating you’ve received a new message rather than offering some context via a subject and preview like Gmail.

A quick search revealed a few options to enhance things.  First, there’s a Tasker profile called Pebble Notifier for capturing notifications and customizing their appearance.   My experience with Tasker has been mixed as I don’t really have the patience to learn the wonky ui even though it’s a rather powerful system. Looking around a bit more I found exactly what I wanted in an app called Augmented Smartwatch Pro.  I believe this app was initially developed for the Sony Smartwatch, but as noted on the developer’s site, it actually can handle quite a few watches with Pebble being the latest and getting some great attention. It’s well worth the few bucks to enhance the watch.

In Augmented Smartwatch Pro, there are a ton of settings to tweak which are generally quite straight forward.  If you have root, you can install sqlite3 on your Android and enhance the Exchange visibility which I’ve done and it’s made the app worth the effort immediately.  Beyond that though I’ve added all the other apps I want to get since you can simply cherry pick from your apps list what you want pushed to the Pebble.  Any app!

This morning has been rather interesting as I’ve had the system working and am loving how infrequently I’ve had to turn the screen on to check the phone.  I may even switch the phone to silent soon to keep it all flowing on the Pebble.  In addition to the screen lighting up on notice, it vibrates quickly too so it’s unlikely you will miss anything happening. All in all, a solid addition to the gadget family.

Evernote … Text, graphic and sketch notes

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I‘ve been using the Note II pretty extensively since I got it and have spent a lot of time in Evernote as that’s been my note taking / digital brain for years.  I typically capture meeting notes as well as article clippings I see online which gives me a fantastic archive I can search as needed.

One challenge I was initially having with Evernote was the stylus since it’s not directly supported as an “S-App.” I’ve been trying to use the stylus more to max out all the features the Note offers.  Samsung includes their S-Note app as part of the Premium Suite which is rich with features.  S- Note is the default action and is called up when you slide the stylus out and pops up when you double-tap throughout the system (though only on the home screens not apps if you use a launcher other than touchwiz). While you can add your S-Note memos to Evernote via Android Intents (send to) but there’s no way to sync by default.  I’m still using S-Note for a quick scribble, but have found a nice way to include all media forms in my notes directly in Evernote.  In order to do this you need to also install Evernote’s Skitch app and then when it’s time to sketch something or capture a quick scribble you just hit the + icon …

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My amazing notes!

While in the note itself, you will then see the Skitch sketch saved as an attachment, but once you save the note it syncs into the note body which really handy. If you click the camera you can capture the whiteboard in the room or snap a pic of whatever you want.

You can grab Evernote and Skitch on the Play Store.  Both are equally solid on the Mac Desktop and of course it all syncs together beautifully.

55 Years of the Brick #lego

 

Hey it’s Lego’s 55th year and they are celebrating with some very cool riddle based posters getting you to use your imagination to solve the “mystery.”  The series is really very cool and some are quite challenging as well.  Just like Legos … They’ve got a Tumblr apparently as well though the page seems to be MIA at the moment.

via PSFK, though Gizmodo has captured some higher res versions as well.