Play-Doh has come to the iPad. With the newly launched toy set for kids, Play-Doh Touch Shape to Life Studio, Hasbro has made a solid attempt at bringing the joy of Play-Doh to digital through an iOS app that brings kids’ creations to life. But the combination of physical play and digital is not a skill set that’s easily mastered even by top kids’ brands — just ask… Read More
Inside Google Shop, where Google is reinventing how it sells devices
This fall saw Google introduce its Pixels, the Chromecast Ultra and the Daydream View VR headset, and to help sell those devices and show customers what they can do, the company is launching a store-within-a-store debuting in North America at select Best Buy locations in Canada. When it launched the Pixel at an event that also gave the first look at Google Wifi, Google Home and Daydream… Read More
Grace Hopper and Margaret Hamilton awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom for computing advances
President Obama awarded the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to a batch of 21 deserving recipients, among them computing pioneers Grace Hopper and Margaret Hamilton. Read More
Apple addresses ‘Touch Disease’ with reduced cost repair for iPhone 6 Plus
Many an iPhone 6 Plus has been struck down by the scourge known as “Touch Disease,” but Apple has not acknowledged the problem was systematic or widespread — until now. In what we have to imagine is as close to a mea culpa as Apple is likely to offer, iPhone 6 Plus devices exhibiting flickering displays and touchscreen issues are eligible for a reduced-price repair. Read More
Intel and Disney paint the sky
Disney World’s nightly fireworks might soon have competition. Drones. Hundreds of drones lit up with LEDs and they’re all controlled by one person.
Intel turned to Disney to showcase its next generation drones. And these drones can do things fireworks cannot. Flying as a fleet, these Intel drones can paint the sky with three-dimensional images that twist and turn and come to life. Read More
Bonx brings tunes and talk to the slick and slippery slopes
Electronics and water go together like, well, electronics and water. But how are you going to talk to your friends when you’re knee deep in snow or plunging down a mountainside on a bike? Bonx to the rescue. The Indiegogo-funded Bonx Grip brings group-chat to the masses. Shipping this month, the $139 device is coming to an extreme-sports fan near you imminently. Read More
The OnePlus 3 is dead, long live the OnePlus 3T
OnePlus hasn’t done a great job keeping a lid on the 3T. For the past week or so, both it and Qualcomm have been seeding social media with glimpses of the upcoming smartphone, finally taking the official wraps off the device today, a mere five months after launching its latest flagship, the OnePlus 3. Those worried about the company cannibalizing its still fresh handset rest assured… Read More
This is why Snapchat didn’t give Spectacles to techies
If you want to make something cool, don’t give it to geeks first. Google Glass learned that the hard way. Despite Snapchat’s best efforts, Robert Scoble still got a hold of a pair of the Spectacles camera glasses. He’s the enthusiastic tech blogger above who shot a nude selfie wearing Google Glass in the shower that came to embody the gadget’s cursed brand. He even… Read More
Marshall’s new Bluetooth headphones promise 30 hours of life on a charge
“Mid” is probably not the most intuitive name for a premium addition to an existing product category. But there you have it. Marshall’s latest on-ear Bluetooth headphones join the company’s (surprisingly good) Major II offering, priced at an additional $50. The $200 cans retain Marshall’s familiar aesthetic – you either love it or don’t –… Read More
DroneBase raises from Union Square to pay any pilot for aerial footage
That drone in your closet could earn you some money thanks to DroneBase, a startup that delivers aerial data and footage to business clients. DroneBase’s new Pilot Program lets drone owners find gigs nearby where they can fly 10-minute missions, upload the assets, and get paid if a DroneBase clients wants to buy the info. By connecting idle pilots with needy businesses, DroneBase can… Read More