The Sesame Street toy figures and play surface have Augmented Reality (AR) registration markers that are recognized by the software running on the HTC Android-based tablet used in the demo.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Soft reset an iOS device to bump up the battery level percentage
Take a look at the two screen segment captures from my iPad 2 space two minutes apart. Notice that the battery level was reported at 95% at 7:24am. However, two minutes late, the iPad 2 reported 98% battery level despite the fact that I had not plugged it in to any power source to recharge the battery. So, what happened?
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Why Microsoft insists tablets run Windows instead of Windows Phone (Windows CE)
I’ve been wondering why Microsoft’s decision makers choose to use Microsoft Windows for tablets instead of the Windows CE platform that underlies Windows Phone. Windows CE was designed for devices like tablets that benefit from lower hardware requirements, lower power use, increased security, and instant on-off (suspend-resume). A Windows CE based tablet would be lighter and less expensive. More importantly, every piece of software written for a touch display. You could argue that the Metro-only ARM based tablets would have software designed just for tablet displays too. But, is a computer that can’t run “legacy” Windows software of much use? The point of using Windows is to access all the software available right now.
However, if you look at PC shipment numbers, Microsoft’s tablet strategy and statements like There’s nothing more important at Microsoft than Windows by CEO Steve Ballmer make sense (Network World).
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Preview of “Avengers Origins: Hulk” for iPad app – coming in Feb. 2012
Disney Publishing Worldwide announced a pair of iOS apps scheduled for release next month (Feb. 2012) that tell the origin stories of Marvel Comics’ Hulk and Avengers. The apps follow the 2011 release of The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story app.
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T-Mobile Bobsled app for iOS: Free calls to any phone in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico
T-Mobile’s free Bobsled for iOS app was updated a few weeks ago. But, I didn’t notice that it gained the ability to make free voice calls to any landline phone in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico. Fortunately for me Paul Miller at The Verge did and let us know about it.
T-Mobile Bobsled adds free calling for iOS and Android, expands group messaging
I just tested the feature by calling my home phone from an iPad 2. It worked fine.
You can, of course, still make VoIP calls to your Facebook friends without needing any phone number at all.
Nokia Lumia 900 (Windows Phone): First Lumia with a front-facing camera. Still missing a few features
The first two Windows Phone devices Nokia announced late last year, the Lumia 710 and 800, looked like decent but unexciting phones. The phones were also missing a couple of feature checkboxes including a front-facing camera, NFC and LTE. The first 2012 Lumia model is the 900. How does it fare spec checkbox-wise?
+ 1 megapixel front facing camera
+ LTE (AT&T)
+ 4.3-inch display
+ Gyroscope
+ Two microphones (one presumably for noise cancellation)
It is still missing a couple of features, however.
– No microSIM slot
– No NFC (something Nokia is pushing on its legacy platforms)
It remains to be seen if the 900’s camera matches the spectacular quality of past Nokia (non-Windows Phone based) smartphones or is the so-so quality seen produced by the 710 and 800.
You can find the full Lumia 900 specifications at: