Samsung picked IDT’s Wireless PowerShare wireless-charging “architecture” for its new Galaxy Note7 smartphone, IDT CEO Gregory Waters said on a Monday earnings call. Preorders on the Galaxy Note7 begin Wednesday in advance of Aug. 19 availability, Samsung said Tuesday (see 1608020036). Wireless charging, “in terms of the way it's progressed, we're extremely pleased and extremely proud of it,” Waters said. IDT continues to land design wins in every “major socket that we want to participate in out there right now,” he said. He also expects “there will be an additional wave of new entrants into wireless charging that we're not putting a specific time frame on,” he said. Major “Tier 1" smartphone and smartwatch suppliers that have yet to field a wireless charging commercial product “have all pretty much completed a wireless charging design,” he said. “So when they make the business decision that it's the right time for them to actually enter the market with wireless charging, I think those design cycles could go very, very fast.” Whether that activity “actually begins to contribute this calendar year” to IDT’s revenue line is “too early to call, but it's coming,” he said.
Google landed a new U.S. patent that reveals details of the company’s plan to make online streaming look and feel more like over-the-air TV viewing by offering viewers the chance to channel-surf with familiar up-down hopping and instant picture previews. Current content streaming is too much of a computer experience rather than a traditional television viewing experience, says the patent, published July 19 by the Patent and Trademark Office, based on a May 2014 application. The viewer is faced with “vast amounts of content which require navigating through an endless hierarchy of menus and interacting with cumbersome search boxes,” it says. With TV viewing, “users often enjoy the somewhat addictive pleasure of scanning through content in search of something they want to watch,” it says. “In contrast, current on-demand interfaces often include elaborate text guides meant to facilitate quick surveying of available programming. But reading text requires the kind of cognitive effort that a user often attempts to avoid when watching television.” Google’s solution is to propose that as soon as the viewer accesses one content stream, the device automatically accesses a set of different content streams, chosen on a “more of the same” basis or tailored to the viewer’s preference profile, the patent says. So if the viewer chooses an action movie, the system automatically accesses several other action movies, choosing actors that the viewer has previously watched, it says. Some random content may be thrown in for serendipity purposes, it says. If the user previously has changed channels when things get scary on screen, the device steers clear of scary movies, it says. The extra streams -- Google suggests there should be at least five -- are buffered and labeled with names or numbers similar to those used by broadcast TV stations, it says. That way the viewer can get an instant preview of several online TV streams, just as if they were off-air broadcasts, it says. The buffering plays enough of the content to let the stream take over if the viewer chooses one to watch, it says. The system would work equally well with online radio stations or music delivery services, it says. Google didn’t comment on plans to commercialize the invention.
Google landed a new U.S. patent that reveals details of the company’s plan to make online streaming look and feel more like over-the-air TV viewing by offering viewers the chance to channel-surf with familiar up-down hopping and instant picture previews. Current content streaming is too much of a computer experience rather than a traditional television viewing experience, says the patent, published July 19 by the Patent and Trademark Office, based on a May 2014 application. The viewer is faced with “vast amounts of content which require navigating through an endless hierarchy of menus and interacting with cumbersome search boxes,” it says. With TV viewing, “users often enjoy the somewhat addictive pleasure of scanning through content in search of something they want to watch,” it says. “In contrast, current on-demand interfaces often include elaborate text guides meant to facilitate quick surveying of available programming. But reading text requires the kind of cognitive effort that a user often attempts to avoid when watching television.” Google’s solution is to propose that as soon as the viewer accesses one content stream, the device automatically accesses a set of different content streams, chosen on a “more of the same” basis or tailored to the viewer’s preference profile, the patent says. So if the viewer chooses an action movie, the system automatically accesses several other action movies, choosing actors that the viewer has previously watched, it says. Some random content may be thrown in for serendipity purposes, it says. If the user previously has changed channels when things get scary on screen, the device steers clear of scary movies, it says. The extra streams -- Google suggests there should be at least five -- are buffered and labeled with names or numbers similar to those used by broadcast TV stations, it says. That way the viewer can get an instant preview of several online TV streams, just as if they were off-air broadcasts, it says. The buffering plays enough of the content to let the stream take over if the viewer chooses one to watch, it says. The system would work equally well with online radio stations or music delivery services, it says. Google didn’t comment on plans to commercialize the invention.
Google landed a new U.S. patent that reveals details of the company’s plan to make online streaming look and feel more like over-the-air TV viewing by offering viewers the chance to channel-surf with familiar up-down hopping and instant picture previews. Current content streaming is too much of a computer experience rather than a traditional television viewing experience, says the patent, published July 19 by the Patent and Trademark Office, based on a May 2014 application. The viewer is faced with “vast amounts of content which require navigating through an endless hierarchy of menus and interacting with cumbersome search boxes,” it says. With TV viewing, “users often enjoy the somewhat addictive pleasure of scanning through content in search of something they want to watch,” it says. “In contrast, current on-demand interfaces often include elaborate text guides meant to facilitate quick surveying of available programming. But reading text requires the kind of cognitive effort that a user often attempts to avoid when watching television.” Google’s solution is to propose that as soon as the viewer accesses one content stream, the device automatically accesses a set of different content streams, chosen on a “more of the same” basis or tailored to the viewer’s preference profile, the patent says. So if the viewer chooses an action movie, the system automatically accesses several other action movies, choosing actors that the viewer has previously watched, it says. Some random content may be thrown in for serendipity purposes, it says. If the user previously has changed channels when things get scary on screen, the device steers clear of scary movies, it says. The extra streams -- Google suggests there should be at least five -- are buffered and labeled with names or numbers similar to those used by broadcast TV stations, it says. That way the viewer can get an instant preview of several online TV streams, just as if they were off-air broadcasts, it says. The buffering plays enough of the content to let the stream take over if the viewer chooses one to watch, it says. The system would work equally well with online radio stations or music delivery services, it says. Google didn’t comment on plans to commercialize the invention.
Five U.S. steel associations on July 27 released a report (here) that documents a high rate of China's subsidies flowing to steel manufacturers in recent years, creating runaway global overcapacity, according to a statement by the organizations (here). The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports, the Specialty Steel Industry of North America and the American Institute of Steel Construction released the report, which reviewed the 25 largest steel companies in China and displays the amounts and types of government subsidies received in recent years. The Chinese government remains a majority shareholder in top-output steel companies, fueling the industry through subsidies such as cash grants, equity infusions, mandated mergers and acquisitions, preferential loans and directed credit, land use subsidies, utility subsidies, raw material price controls, tax policies and benefits, currency policies and weak enforcement of environmental regulations, the groups said in the report. China’s 822 million tons of steel produced in 2014 composed about half of world production, and production facilities under construction are expected to accelerate operations in the near future, with global capacity expected to grow in the short term, they said.
HOLLYWOOD -- Those who wagered that Chinese CE and content giant LeEco would acquire Vizio outright rather than make a huge strategic investment in the Irvine, California, TV vendor (see 1607150041) were proved correct when executives with both companies announced Tuesday that LeEco would pay $2 billion to own Vizio as part of its master plan to bring its “ecosystem” of smart TVs, content and cloud services to North America.
Air Force One and other U.S. senior leader aircraft will have in-flight Internet and connectivity services through ViaSat, the satellite company said in a news release Monday announcing a $33 million U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency award. ViaSat said the contract covers various VIP and special mission aircraft and runs through May, with two six-month option periods beyond that.
Making effective use of spectrum is key to effectively fighting forest fires, said NTIA Associate Administrator Paige Atkins Monday in a blog post. So far in 2016, there have been more than 31,000 wildfires over nearly 3 million acres of land, Atkins wrote. “These fires aren’t bound by borders, so cooperation between local, state and federal agencies is key,” she said. “NTIA, which manages federal spectrum use, sees cooperation as a cornerstone of its approach to getting the most out of the nation’s limited spectrum resources. Demand for spectrum is ever increasing -- federal agencies are developing more complex wireless systems to better perform critical missions, and industry is using spectrum to fuel a wireless revolution, connecting smartphones, tablets and other devices and objects at faster and faster speeds.”
Fiber proponents urged the FCC to devise a Connect America Fund subsidy auction to encourage deployment of cutting-edge high-speed networks and services, as initial comments on a Further NPRM were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 10-90. Satellite and some wireless interests suggested the rules should encourage broad deployment and industry participation, and traditional telcos seemed fairly sympathetic to that. Regulators in three northeastern states where Verizon declined initial CAF Phase II support asked the commission to ensure or help their states receive their fair share of support through the auction.
Fiber proponents urged the FCC to devise a Connect America Fund subsidy auction to encourage deployment of cutting-edge high-speed networks and services, as initial comments on a Further NPRM were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 10-90. Satellite and some wireless interests suggested the rules should encourage broad deployment and industry participation, and traditional telcos seemed fairly sympathetic to that. Regulators in three northeastern states where Verizon declined initial CAF Phase II support asked the commission to ensure or help their states receive their fair share of support through the auction.