Tag / Event

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Apple unveils Watch and iPhones, big and bigger, at San Francisco keynote

“Can’t innovate any more, my ass,” joked Apple’s Phil Schiller last year as he unveiled the latest generation Mac Pro. After accusations of the company stagnating and failing to put out a revolutionary product since 2010’s iPad sparked the post-PC revolution, Apple’s share price tumbled despite record sales figures.

Though targeted at the likes of video professionals rather than you or I, the ‘trash can’ Mac Pro was a sign of bright things to come. With a unique construction designed to save power, space and noise, the desktop workhorse (and Schiller’s comment) appeared to perfectly represent Tim Cook’s all-new Apple. They were going to innovate. They wouldn’t be afraid to have some fun. They were going to strike back.

Along came September 9th and Cook graced the stage at San Francisco’s Flint Center, bringing with him a pair of new iPhones and the long-awaited Apple Watch. All are clear responses to the likes of Samsung and Motorola, though is the catch-up effort enough to restore Apple to the head of the pack? Continue reading →

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Apple does thing that everyone expected Apple to do, just like always

You know how Apple has an event every September in which they announce iPhones and other assorted technology devices and everyone freaks out about 2 weeks before when an invite lands in the inboxes of all the big tech blogs and has an Apple logo and a few words that don’t reveal anything useful and gets deconstructed to hell by Apple bloggers everywhere clamouring for a piece of the news that Re/code broke the day before?

Yeah, that happened. See you Tuesday 9th.

Source Kurt Colbeck (Twitter)

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Watch Google’s “Breakfast With Sundar” event live with new Nexus 7, Android 4.3 and more!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZzS6BxHEns]

It may well end up just being a couple of hours of Sundar Pichai eating breakfast, but the Chrome and Android head has promised some exciting announcements from both camps today, and the rumour mill points towards a new Nexus 7, a Chrome-powered dongle for your telly and possibly some new Chromebooks and Android 4.3 news. Whatever happens, you can catch it all in the stream embedded above from 5pm BST/12pm Eastern/9am Pacific.

 

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Digixav Podcast 011 – June 20th 2013

It’s been a bit of a crazy week, best epitomised by John McAfee going mental. There’s also been a trailer for The Lego Movie, an Xbox 180 and even a new portrait QWERTY phone from NEC. Less excitingly, Samsung, Instagram and HTC all hosted events, while Nokia promised one in early July. As ever, Chris and Xavier digest it all so you don’t have to, and Henry calls in for the final seconds despite our plethora of technical issues.

If you have any feedback, questions or comments, tweet us or send us an email to podcast@digixav.com. We’d love to hear what you think!

Right click and save this link to download, and you can now subscribe (and rate and review the show) using iTunes! Don’t fancy iTunes or use a different podcatcher? Here’s our RSS link!

You should also check out our intro music on SoundCloud! It’s Melodic Trap by Harry Ling.

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

BlackBerry 10 launch liveblog: full-touch Z10 and QWERTY Q10 shipping this week in UK and Europe

Screenshot 2013-01-30 at 12.27.04

It’s been a long time coming, but today is the day that RIM steps into the future as they prepare to unveil their new – and heavily delayed – BlackBerry 10 platform and devices. Rumour has it that we will see two devices today – one with RIM’s iconic QWERTY keyboard and one with just touch input – and further leaks suggest that we could even see devices on store shelves within the next 24 hours. Whether or not this turns out to be the case, RIM’s New York launch event starts at 10am ET/3pm GMT, and we will be blogging it live on this very page. Join us then to find out what RIM’s been working on.

All times are in GMT
This event has now finished

14:58 Let’s go!

15:00 Things seem a bit late starting, but the live stream is available here.

15:01 The apps seem to be popping up already. Here’s evidence.

15:04 According to TechnoBuffalo, the Z10 is already in Phones4U. We’ll be hunting it down tomorrow.

15:06 Things are kicking off! They flashed up the already-announced software stuff and now a broadcasting guy is showing global launches.

15:08 Now they’re showing business people (including EE’s Olaf Swantee) talking about what they love about BB10.

15:09 What seems evident is that carriers and businessmen love BB10, but will consumers?

15:10 I love rhetoric questions.

15:10 Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations (and this guy) says there are no devs in Antarctica. I need to prove him wrong.

15:13 “Honk if you want BlackBerry 10!” says this guy.

15:13 Now there’s a guy who made a song called No Sleep ‘Til BlackBerry 10. I kid you not.

15:14 Now random guy is talking to CrackBerry Kevin, the guy who said he wouldn’t cut his hair until the launch.

15:15 THEY ARE CUTTING KEVIN’S PONYTAIL.

15:16 Here’s Thorsten Heins, sounding German.

15:18 “Innovation is at the heart of RIM. Now finally, here we are!” Thorsten gets applause.

15:19 They keep saying BlackBerry 10 is here, but they’re not actually doing anything.

15:20 Are you hyper-connected socially? BB10 is for you!

15:21 It is ‘built to keep you moving’.

15:23 We can confirm Thorsten did just say ‘internet of things’.

15:23 Thorsten’s thanking the QNX guys, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.

15:26 RIM is killing the RIM name. RIM is now BlackBerry, making the BlackBerry. Finally they are making sense.

https://twitter.com/reckless/status/296640579809452032 https://twitter.com/jwherrman/status/296640722264797184

15:28 BlackBerry’s new stock symbols are BBRY and BB.

15:29 NEW PHONES. Z10 and Q10.

15:29 The Z10 has a 356ppi 1280 x 768 4.2″ screen with a textured surface for comfort.

15:31 The Q10 has a physical keyboard. That’s literally it.

15:32 It does, however, have a glass weave cover. Nobody knows what that is, but it sounds weavy.

15:34 Some guy called Vivek is showing off the Flow multitasking and Peek notifications while watching a video of a German car.

15:37 Vivek and Thorsten are making vacation jokes in the Hub (the one with the notifications).

15:38 BB10 can link contacts together automagically, just like every other platform in the world.

15:38 Thorsten is literally clapping louder than the entire audience.

15:40 The new prediction-heavy keyboard looks cool, and is modelled on the BB QWERTY.

15:41 The default email signature seems to be “Sent from my new BlackBerry Z10”. UGH. I WILL NOT READ YOUR EMAILS WITH THAT KIND OF ADVERNATURE.

15:43 Balance lets you have work and personal profiles. Thorsten’s talking about the boring business security stuff.

15:56 We’re back! WordPress decided to do some server maintenance. Here’s what we missed.

https://twitter.com/Xavdog/status/296646858732875776

15:56 And camera stuff, new third party apps (70k total) and Story Maker. STORIES.

15:58 The review embargo has been lifted. Here’s Joshua Topolsky’s.

16:02 Over 1k top apps are on BB10. Massive punch aimed at Microsoft.

16:03 There’s Rdio, SoundHound, EA, social stuff and other stuff, but no sign of Spotify. Dealbreaker for many.

https://twitter.com/jesusdiaz/status/296649675413520385

16:06 You can also get movies, TV and music from BlackBerry World.

16:07 Insert generically intensely soundtracked content advertising video here.

16:08 All four US carriers are getting these. Insert Thorsten clap.

16:09 The Z10 is available tomorrow in the UK in basically every store. I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow.

16:10 Chemistry, that is. Might find the phone after.

16:10 Another big announcement from Thorsten is impending!

16:11 “We’ve created a new positiion at BlackBerry. A Global Creative Director!

16:12 It’s Alicia Keys.

https://twitter.com/LaughingStoic/status/296652154997989376

16:15 Thorsten Heins is officially freakishly tall. Either that or all his employees are diminutive.

16:16 Alicia wants to “bridge the gap between the work phone and the play phone”.

16:17 Her job is to persuade Neil Gaiman to use BB10. There’s a video on it.

https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/296653015505592321

16:20 It seems Alicia is starting in the office on Monday. Nice few days off.

16:20 Thorsten’s wrapping things up, so I will too. Thanks for joining us!

16:21 The press get a Q&A session, but I get to go and eat some crisps now. I’ll be getting some hands-on time tomorrow.

16:21 See you next time!

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Windows Phone 8 launch liveblog

At an event back in June, Microsoft offered a ‘sneak peek’ at some new features of Windows Phone 8, with the new start screen being the star of the show. While we weren’t told about devices, the past couple of months have given us announcement events from Samsung, Nokia and Microsoft’s new best friend HTC, but all parties have remained pretty silent when it comes to the full extent of Windows Phone 8’s new features. That’s all set to change today, as Microsoft is hosting an event in San Francisco to show off their new mobile operating system to the world – and we might even hear about Windows Phone 7.8 for existing customers too. We will be liveblogging the whole thing right here, so stick with us to find out what’s up Microsoft’s sleeve.

All times are in GMT
Please refresh your browser for the latest updates

16:37 Google’s just dumped a whole load of Nexus news. Bear with us as we filter through it.

16:45 If you want to watch along with us, Microsoft has a stream for you.

16:48 A little over 10 minutes to go now.

16:56 It’s almost time!

16:57 The pre-stream music is actually horrible.

17:01 The announcer kindly asks everyone to turn their devices to off or silent. Not very blogger-friendly.

17:02 Here’s a table of phones.

17:04 And we’re off! Joe Belfiore is talking about why he loves his Windows Phone.

17:05 Big cheers from the Windows Phone fans in the room.

17:05 He’s talking about the successes of Windows 8, Surface and the San Francisco Giants.

17:06 Before he talks about the product, he’s going to talk about what’s happened in the last few months.

17:07 191 countries can now access the WP Store.

17:08 120,000 apps already available for 7.x devices.

17:09 Belfiore’s taking jabs at the iPhone 5’s ‘revolutionary’ fifth row of icons.

17:10 After recapping the core inspirations of WP, a video has come on soundtracked by Jonsi’s wonderful Go Do, showing off the individuality and stuff.

17:13 Let’s talk about live tiles.

17:14 Apps ‘light up the phone’. Live apps can integrate into the wallet and other hubs in WP8.

17:15 There is a new lock screen powered by ‘live apps’.

17:15 Photos, notifications and other stuff can appear.

17:16 Microsoft have partnered with Facebook to make an app that supports the lockscreen, showing various photos from your past.

17:17 Text on the lockscreen can also be customised.

17:18 New apps include Twitter, Draw Something, ESPN, Angry Birds Space and Groupon.

17:18 A new version of Skype is the highlight, based on the fantastic Windows 8 app.

17:18 It is integrated naturally into the phone experience and will run in the background.

17:19 Soon Windows Phone will have 92% of the top mobile apps, including Temple Run and Urbanspoon.

17:20 Lots of Unity games will be arriving with the new native code support.

17:21 Pandora is coming with a year of complimentary ad-free music.

17:22 SDK stuff coming tomorrow at /build.

17:23 The Data Sense feature keeps you under your data limits.

17:24 IE10 compresses sites to use less data.

17:25 Data Sense can track down WiFi hotspots on a map.

17:26 As you approach your limits, it changes how the phone behaves with data.

17:27 45% more web browsing on the same data plan with Data Sense.

17:28 The first carrier to support Data Sense will be Verizon with the Lumia 822 and HTC 8X.

17:29 Belfiore’s moving onto ‘child mode’.

17:29 We have a video of children pleading to play on a phone.

17:30 “Kid’s Corner essentially creates a separate place on your phone that’s for kids…All things that you pick is for them.”

17:30 Here are Joe’s children to demonsterate.

17:31 Alexander, 9, is going to play Battleships.

17:32 One of his children just called him ‘mommy’. Awkward.

17:33 This demo isn’t going too well.

17:34 If you don’t have kids, you can just disable the feature.

17:35 Now there’s an advert for it featuring Jessica Alba.

17:36 And here is Jessica Alba. Rapturous applause for her.

17:37 Twitter has just erupted with techies talking about Jessica Alba. This is unusual.

17:38 Apparently her daughter once tweeted to 4 million people. Kid’s Corner stops that.

17:39 She’s now talking about what she loves about Windows Phone. It’s the same-old personal stuff.

17:41 Now Jessica’s talking about her new company – The Honest Company.

17:43 The people hub now has a feature called Rooms.

17:44 They seem similar to groups.

https://twitter.com/jrvolpe/status/262973182489817089

17:46 You can share Rooms with iPhone users, including calendars and such.

17:47 On a related note, the Lumia 920 will be in UK stores on November 2nd, with the 820 coming 5 days later.

17:48 Now Joe is talking about SkyDrive stuff.

17:52 Xbox Music will also be available on Windows Phone 8.

17:52 Playlists and song choices sync across the cloud.

17:53 All of your content is with you wherever you are.

17:54 Joe’s walking off now, but Ballmer is in a new advert.

17:55 BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLMER!

17:55 He’s talking about the successes of the weekend again.

17:56 “We’re bringing phones into the family with Windows Phone 8.”

17:56 “We set out to reinvent the smartphone…that could be personal for each of us.”

17:58 Steve is talking about personalisation and the connection to Windows 8.

18:00 He said developers. Get ready

18:00 Now he’s talking about the killer hardware, starting with the Nokia Lumia 920.

18:01 Next is the Samsung Ativ S.

18:02 And now the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, Microsoft’s flagship.

18:03 All three and more will go on sale in Europe this weekend, while in the US phones will follow soon after.

18:04 Verizon will carry the 8X ($199), Lumia 822 ($49) and Ativ Odyssey (exclusive in December).

18:05 T-Mobile will have the Lumia 810 ($99) and 8X ($149).

18:06 AT&T will have the 8X, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 exclusively. Pricing is to be confirmed.

18:07 Microsoft stores will sell all US phones in November.

18:07 “You won’t be able to turn on the TV or open a magazine without seeing a Windows ad.”

18:08 “Windows Phone is the best phone for Windows.”

18:10 Jessica, Joe and Steve are out to wrap things up. Also the stream has died.

18:10 And that’s all folks. We’ll be off to get some hands-on time this weekend, and (hopefully) bring you some news on how Microsoft plans to treat its existing customers.

18:11 See you next time! Thanks for joining us.

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Microsoft Windows 8 launch liveblog

As Microsoft prepares to unleash Windows 8 upon the world tomorrow, a number of launch events are scheduled around the world, but the largest of them all takes place in New York this afternoon. We’re expecting to hear news of Surface and Windows, while numerous new high-profile applications for the Windows Store are likely to be unveiled. For all the news as it happens, join us right here for all the news as it happens.

All times are in BST
This event is now finished

15:30 Let’s do this.

15:40 While we wait for things to kick off, why not watch our Windows 8 overview?

16:08 Just a few minutes to go now…

16:09 Plenty of time to get some beef Hula Hoops.

16:16 We should be live now. If you want to watch along with us then the kind folks at Microsoft have provided a stream.

16:19 Starting with a video: The World Is Ready.

16:21 Steven Sinofsky is up, talking about building on the success of Windows 7.

16:22 They’ve sold over 670,000,000 licenses.

16:23 2PB of data added to SkyDrive every month.

16:24 Now talking about the advances in technology since Windows 95 came out.

16:25 Windows 8 is reimagined for the next billion users.

16:26 Windows 8 will be available at 12:01am tomorrow in every time zone.

16:27 8 was built on the foundations of 7.

16:28 Cold boots on new PCs in 10 seconds.

16:29 1,240,000 hours of testing in 190 countries.

16:30 Designed for touch and to be alive with the activity that matters most.

16:31 1,000 devices have already been certified for Windows 8.

16:32 There will be new Ultrabooks today, with some sporting touch screens.

16:33 Moving on to the Windows Store, officially opening today.

16:34 Hundreds of new apps every day, with the rate increasing each day.

16:35 231 markets for the store. Largest app selection at opening of any app store.

16:36 Now we have Windows Retweet RT, featuring Office 2013.

16:37 Windows RT currently supports over 420,000,000 peripherals, including mice, keyboards and printers.

16:38 Now there’s an advert featuring Best Coast and guitars.

16:39 Mike Angiulo and Julie Larson-Green on stage to demonstrate.

16:41 They’re just taking a look at the core. I think we did that better, but they’re not doing too badly.

16:44 The desktop is now even better. Run it side by side with Store apps.

16:45 Now talking about SkyDrive and Windows Phone.

16:47 They’re showing off the HTC 8X, a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 (with stylus!) and an Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook.

16:49 Touch notebooks start at just $499/£400.

16:51 “So many apps.”

16:52 Showing off Hulu with snapped email. Into the Wikipedia app (via Store) with the video still playing. Search is universal.

16:53 Julie’s using Urbanspoon now. Sharing is easy, and now exploring NY with Bing Travel.

16:55 Jetpack Joyride is available on Windows 8. Goodbye productivity.

16:56 Now they have the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, Dell XPS tablet and Samsung Ativ Tab.

16:57 Swapping now to the Asus Vivo Tab RT and Microsoft’s own Surface which gets a rapturous applause.

16:59 Ballmer alert.

17:00 He’s looking intense and talking about the benefits of a Microsoft account.

17:01 Biggest Windows ever with ARM and tablets included.

17:05 New Office “works great with a stylus”.

17:06 Great support from media outlets for apps. IE10 sites can be pinned.

17:07 MSN is the first site to be designed for Windows 8 and IE10.

17:08 SkyDrive is great for documents, while Outlook and the new Skype app are great for communication.

17:09 Rich entertainment experience with the Xbox brand, including free streaming music.

17:10 “Windows uniquely gives [businesses] the tools they need.”

17:11 Similarities to Windows Phone are positive – with live tiles, Microsoft Accounts and SkyDrive. More on that on Monday.

17:11 He said developers. Be warned.

17:12 Ballmer on 670,000,000 Windows 7 PCs: “That’s a very large number, even in the world of very large numbers.”

17:13 “Windows 8 PCs really are the best PCs ever.”

17:14 “Windows 8 brings together the best of worlds: PC and tablet; work and play.”

17:15 And that’s a wrap.

17:15 A whole load of uniformed people went on stage, music started playing and the lights dimmed. I can’t be the only one that was scared of a dance there.

17:15 And that’s all folks! We’ll be back on Monday for the Windows Phone and Android events!

17:16 Thanks for joining us!