motion

LG pops out improved Magic Motion remote

LG has unleashed its newest Magic Motion remote control weeks ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and it includes several improvements such as natural voice recognition and even backlighting.

The new television remote now uses four methods of control -- voice, gesture, point, and wheel -- and while the wheel was introduced this year, gestures and "natural" speech are new.

LG is taking on Samsung with its new natural speech feature; while Samsung users have to say "Hi, TV" to get the television to register, LG claims that phrases like "Show me '… Read more

Leap Motion giving 10,000 developers free Leaps

Leap Motion, which created an innovative gesture control technology that measures users' movements to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter, is expanding its developer program and releasing a new software development kit.

According to Michael Buckwald, CEO of the San Francisco startup, Leap Motion is giving 10,000 developers free Leap units over the next two weeks in a bid to dramatically increase the number of potential applications being designed to work with the new technology.

All told, 40,000 people have applied to be part of Leap Motion's developer program, in part because the number of … Read more

BlackBerry 10 to feature deep integration of Evernote

It appears that BlackBerry 10 -- Research In Motion's next operating system -- will support deep integration of the online notes service Evernote.

Now that RIM has released BlackBerry 10's SDK and APIs for software-makers to start coding in earnest, one of the apps in the new operating system generating buzz is a personal information manager (PIM) called "Remember." RIM hasn't publicly demonstrated the app, but RIM's developer documentation offers a hint at what's in store.

In addition to organizing functions such as e-mail, contacts, and calendars, the app also features something it … Read more

BlackBerry Messenger 7 lets you make phone calls via Wi-Fi

Research In Motion users can now text or talk with their BlackBerry Messenger contacts via version 7.

A new voice feature in the latest version allows you to make free phone calls to your BBM contacts over a local Wi-Fi connection. Beyond calling someone initially, you can start off the conversation by texting and then switch to a voice call if needed. You can also tell when your BBM contacts are available for a voice call.

RIM kicked off the new BBM voice calling through the app's beta last month and said the feature received a positive response from … Read more

BlackBerry 10 won't be PlayBook redux. Here's why

Research In Motion's BlackBerry 10 is no PlayBook, and that's a good thing.

There's concern that RIM's next-generation smartphone operating system may fall flat on its launch, an expectation driven largely by the example of the company's critically lambasted tablet. AllThingsD, citing an analyst from Wedge Partners, says the same issues that hamstrung PlayBook sales will hurt BlackBerry 10's prospects as well.

The comparison is an easy one to make, but I don't buy it.

Of course, RIM and BlackBerry 10 face more than their fair share of challenges, and it remains to … Read more

QWERTY BlackBerry 10 phone will launch before June

No need to hit the panic button on Research In Motion yet; its BlackBerry 10 phones aren't facing any major delays, CNET has learned.

A report from Forbes, citing research firm Detwiler Fenton, said the Blackberry 10 devices wouldn't hit until March, and that the QWERTY version wouldn't come until June.

The bit about a June launch is inaccurate, according to a person familiar with the company's launch plans.

RIM is expected to unveil its devices on January 30, with a launch coming roughly four to six weeks after, so the first BlackBerry 10 phone may … Read more

Cautious plug for BlackBerry 10 boosts RIM shares

RIM's stock climbed today in reaction to some rare positive news.

Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski increased her rating on RIM stock to "Buy" from "Neutral" today after saying that there's a "30 percent chance" the company's BlackBerry 10 smartphones will be successful, the Associated Press reported.

A one-in-three chance isn't all that much to cheer about, but Jankowski's opinion and "Buy" rating were enough to send the stock up more than 6 percent since the start of today's trading.

Goldman Sachs upped its 12-month price … Read more

Ceglia fights to keep lawyer trying to quit lawsuit against Facebook

Paul Ceglia has chased away his lawyers before and now another one is begging to get off the case. But, Ceglia doesn't want to let him go.

Ceglia, who is suing Facebook with the claim that he owns half of the social network, is up to his neck in legal woes. But, his lawyer Dean Boland, has said he can no longer represent Ceglia because of threats he's received, according to the Associated Press.

Boland has filed a motion to withdraw from the lawsuit but Ceglia has opposed the motion.

"I appreciate the fear for his own … Read more

BlackBerry 10 will get full carrier support, RIM exec says

Research In Motion says it's hearing all the right things about BlackBerry 10.

Carriers and Fortune 500 companies that have played with RIM's next-generation operating system are enthusiastic about its prospects, Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear told CNET today. More importantly, the carriers have promised their full support, he said.

"We will put our full effort into this launch," he said. "The carriers will do the same thing."

Tear was light on details when it came to launch, preferring to save a larger reveal for closer to BlackBerry 10's unveiling, scheduled for January 30. … Read more