Google Nexus 7.2 LTE will come to the UK priced at £299

INTERNET GIANT Google has confirmed that its Nexus 7.2 LTE model will be released in the UK, despite speculation that the tablet would be available in the US only.

It may have taken almost 24 hours to get the information out of Google, but the firm has finally confirmed that the 4G version of its latest Nexus 7 tablet will see a release in the UK, telling us that it will start shipping in "the coming weeks" priced at £299.

We're guessing that this means that UK mobile operator EE will be offering the tablet, but the mobile network told The INQUIRER that it has nothing to announce yet. No other mobile operators have announced that they will be selling the second generation Nexus 7 tablet yet either.

The Google Nexus 7.2 was unveiled on Wednesday, as the firm's second generation budget Asus built tablet. While it's just as cheap as the original, it features upgraded specifications, including a 7in 1920x1200 HD screen, a quad-core 1.5GHz processor and Google's newly announced Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system. There are also 5MP and 1.2MP cameras, an improvement on the original which featured just a front-facing sensor.

While the LTE version, only available in a 32GB capacity model, is priced at £299, the non-4G models are cheaper. PC World has already started taking preorders, with the 16GB model priced at £199, and the 32GB model priced at £229. According to the retailer, the tablet will start shipping on 13 September.

Google said that the Nexus 7 2 will also be available to buy from Google Play, Amazon, Argos, Asda, Currys, Carphone Warehouse, Ebuyer, John Lewis, PC World, Shop Direct, Sainsbury's and Tesco. 

Google's $35 Chromecast: What's Not to Love?

Google pulled off a rare feat this week, shocking the tech world with a product so unexpected and at such a low price that many of us were left scrambling to make sense of it.

Here's my take on the search giant's new Chromecast dongle after taking it for a quick spin at Wednesday's media event in San Francisco—go out and buy one. Preferably in the near future, because for a limited time, Google is throwing in three months of free streaming Netflix content when you buy the $35 device.

That price. What's not to love about it? As Gizmodo's Brian Barrett pointed out, the actual price for what he calls "the future of television" is around $11 when you factor in the free Netflix service.

The Chromecast works with any Android or iOS device, which function as remote controls directing the little device to pull video from the cloud and play it on your TV. You can also control the Chromecast with your PC or Mac, making this a truly cross-platform play for Google—and a shot across the bow aimed at Apple TV and Apple's AirPlay, which doesn't work with Android or Windows.

Google's $35 Chromecast: What's Not to Love?

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Basically, if you've got an HDTV, a Wi-Fi connection, and a smartphone or laptop, there's simply not a whole lot of reasons for not buying Chromecast. Unless you're literally down to your last $35 or something.

Is it going to revolutionize how we watch TV? Who knows. Lots of people are already using similar, more expensive devices from the likes of Apple and Roku $99.99 at RadioShack to stream content to their television sets. Ditto with the current and future generation of major game consoles, which are becoming all-in-one entertainment portals rather than just video game vehicles. Chromecast isn't doing anything spectacularly new, but that low, low price could sway millions of fence-sitters into giving cloud-streamed TV content a try.

Having seen the Chromecast in action this week, I'm not totally sold on it becoming the dominant platform for my TV viewing. I'm not quite ready to forego the live cable content that's piped to my box for egregious monthly prices.

But I enjoy Roku and use the Xbox 360 for non-gaming purposes more than I thought I ever would. I even got a brief kick out Google's disastrously received Nexus Q, a goofy black ball that didn't do much beyond play YouTube videos, cost hundreds of dollars, and mainly functioned as a high-tech lava lamp. A $35 dongle that gives you access to Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Store content, and the entire Internet via the Chrome browser (the last feature is in beta, but it works quite well)? That seems like a no-brainer purchase.

Speaking of the Nexus Q, it's a pretty good showing by Google to have taken its lumps on that device, returned to the drawing board, and come up with essentially a 180-degree take on streaming TV. The Nexus Q was a ridiculously expensive piece of hardware that only worked with Android and delivered extremely limited content. The Chromecast is a ridiculously cheap device that works across multiple platforms and with Netflix on board, already presents a far more attractive content offering.

Google has also released the Google Cast software developer kit, and companies like Pandora are lining up to build compatible apps for the Chromecast, which could very well build up a robust developer ecosystem in no time at all. Spotting a Google Glass wearer at Wednesday's event, I asked a Google rep if we'd be seeing a Chromecast-Glass connection anytime soon. He wouldn't say, but did mention that the SDKs for both are out there, so you do the math.

Is there anything not to like about the Chromecast? As Barrett noted, it won't charge when plugged into the HDMI port of your HDTV. You have to do that separately, which is kind of a drag. Apps are currently limited, though that should change. And you can't actually play media stored locally on your phone, tablet, or laptop—those devices just tell the Chromecast what to pull from the cloud to play rather than pushing media over to the device. But you can actually power down your phone after directing the Chromecast to do its thing.

But these are minor quibbles when you consider the crazy low price. Did I mention the Chromecast costs $35?

We will have a full review of the device in the coming days, so stay tuned. Until then, check out our first-look slideshow above.

Having a Ball with Bluetooth Technology

We are seeing Bluetooth® technology in so many new and interesting products. A couple of cool appcessories—introduced since the beginning of the year—take Bluetooth technology and embed it within a ball. The ball then gathers data by tracking different performance parameters, sends it back to the app, where it can then be analyzed to increase performance. I would like something that helps me with doing my job…

Soon it won't just be the brains behind football that matter, it will be the brains inside the football that will help with training. Adidas is to introduce the miCoach Smart Ball in 2014, a football that can measure the speed, spin and trajectory of each kick and then feed the information back to an iOS device via Bluetooth after each strike. 
Pocket-lint was on hand at a pop-up one-day Adidas Lab event in central London where we were able to see the technology in action and have a play ourselves.

From the outside the Smart Ball is just like a normal one, which is a good thing: the very same long-lasting build means this ball can be pelted around like any decent standard football. We chatted to the designers to get the lowdown on what makes the miCoach Smart Ball different, and the answer is twofold: the interior contains a special spring-mounted sensor to the very centre that takes command of the measurements, while the exterior has green zone markings to assist with where to kick the ball to generate the desired results.
There's also an iOS app for iPhone or iPad - no other versions are available as yet, so it's Apple only for the time being - which then receives the data directly back from the synched ball via Bluetooth 4.0. We believe there will be a distance limitation to how far the signal will be received, but within the demo area - a giant wall complete with a Tron-esque futuristic projection - that wasn't something we saw falter.
 
For measurements to complete, the ball has to be kicked 10-metres minimum, so the set-up is well designed for on-goal targeting, penalty practice and power improvements. Within the app it's possible to choose different training programmes. There's Kick It for a casual session; Get Better is divided into learn and train categories; and Challenges offers power, pro and free kick challenges.
Here's where the Smart Ball's exterior marking's come into play. When learning how to curve that ball, the app can instruct where and how your foot should strike in order to get the desired result. If it's training you want to do then the measurements are relayed back to the app after each kick - here showing a 51mph strike, for example.

But the data can be dealt with in cooler ways too. The trajectory can be mapped out so you can see exactly where the ball has travelled, and this can be zoomed in via a two-finger pinch on the Apple device's screen and even rotated as a 3D model to get an in-depth look at what's going on.
Or you can just keep on kicking that ball against a wall until you have achieved your power goal - the choice is yours.

As the Smart Ball depends on a sensor, it also needs power. Included is a cradle that automatically puts the ball on charge, as shown by light-up green lights. Battery life isn't something that Adidas has disclosed in full, but the designers told us a full day's non-stop play ought to sail by without any issues. If power runs out you'll soon know: the ball won't relay info back to the iOS app.
No word on price or exact release date, all we know is that the miCoach Smart Ball is clever stuff and will be available some time in 2014.

How Do Humans Want to Interact with Robots?

robots

When it comes to robots there are a lot of questions left to be dealt with, and not all of them are about how many sensors you can fit on a robot hand or how to make a robot smarter than a human. Some of the big questions will do more with how we want to interact with then. Do we want to look at robots as our friends and equals? Do we want them as a servant class?

As it turns out there is a team of research scientists that are looking to figure out just that. With the help of a social robot, created by Frances Aldebaran Robotics, human were put through the paces. In one situation they were asked to help the robot, and in the other the robot helped them.

Not shockingly the people felt better about the interaction when they were getting the help, rather than giving it. The robots were actually shown to have a higher amount of social presence as well. So do we want robots slaves? Maybe so, or maybe we all just like being done a favor.

Human Powered Helicopter Wins Sikorsky Prize

Atlas project

Making  a human-powered helicopter is a challenge that has been attempted many times and so far, no one had managed to do it, until now. There are many aircrafts that are human-powered, but helicopters are tricky because they demand more power to stay in flight, and because of how their aerodynamics work, they are much harder to control fully by a human being. This is why Igor I. Sikorsky established a challenge in 1980 for someone to make such a vehicle. The rules said that someone would need to pilot a human-powered helicopter for 60 seconds at least 3 meters from the ground, in an horizontal position.

This is what a small Canadian team set off to accomplish when they launched a Kickstarter project back in June of 2012. They raised $34,424 and set off to create the vehicle.  On June 13, the team set off to accomplish their goal by flying the weird vehicle in a stadium near Toronto. They posted a video of the attempt showing the winning run, but it was a last ditch effort. On two previous attempts, they did not manage to reach 3 meters, but just minutes before they ran out of time on their stadium rent, they finally pulled it off with 3.3 meters and 64 seconds of flight time.

The FAI, the organization overseeing international aeronautiical competitions, validated the win and granted the small team with $250,000 in prize for acomplishing a technological feat no one had managed to do before. While it's not clear right away how useful a vehicle could be that ran on human power and could fly at 3 meter of altitude, this is how great inventions start, and this event was well received in the world of aeronautics

Chinese 100-Megapixel Camera Can Snap Ultra-High-Resolution Images

The Chinese-developed IOE3-Kanban camera features a 100-megapixel charge-coupled device (CCD) chip capable of producing 10,240 x 10,240 pixel images. The light and compact camera should greatly boost success in the fields of disaster monitoring, aerial mapping and intelligent transportation systems where ultra-high-resolution imaging is key.

Developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences over a period of two years, the IOE3-Kanban camera is remarkably compact: just 19.3 cm (7.72 inches) in width.




The filmless CCD chip is also exceptionally tolerant of temperature extremes, having an ideal operating range between minus 20 degrees centigrade to 55 degrees centigrade (-4 to 131 degrees F). Though it may look rather plain, the camera packs a host of advanced features that allow operators to take full advantage of its formidable imaging power.

Advanced optical systems, camera control systems and high-capacity data recording systems have all helped contribute to the success of a recent real-world trial conducted by the IOE as part of a national aerial remote-sensing system.

A statement released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences celebrated the IOE3-Kanban as “currently China's highest pixel camera” and extolled the device's “high sensitivity and high dynamic range (HDR) features.”

The successful development of the IOE3-Kanban 100-megapixel camera comes on the heels of the IOE's previous triumph, having developed an 81-megapixel camera during China's 10th Five Year Plan period between 2001 and 2005.

DMMC outlines ambitious commodity trading plans

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMMC) is determined to transform the emirate into a global trading hub and it is doing a pretty good job so far.

In the past four years, the organisation has attracted more than 4,000 new companies to the free zone and nine out of ten of these did not have a presence in the sheikhdom before.

Some 200 firms are laying roots in the city every month and the DMMC is hoping to build on these figures in the near future.

Around 7,000 businesses now operate out of the Dubai free zone, so the body is well on the way towards achieving its target of having 7,200 enterprises conducting their affairs from Dubai by the end of 2013.

The DMMC revealed earlier this week (July 2nd) that it plans to enhance the emirate's status as a corporate hub even further by building the world's largest commercial tower.

It will form part of the 107,000-sq-m Business Park and will act as a beacon to the world's biggest and most successful companies, as well as smaller start-up enterprises from across the UAE.

Executive chairman of DMMC Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: "The world's tallest commercial tower and the DMCC Business Park are the next natural steps to ensure we continue to welcome companies to the free zone as demand grows - particularly large regional corporations and multi-nationals - in the near future.

"The initiative is designed to further strengthen Dubai's position as the global hub for commodities trade and enterprise."

A study conducted by the Department of Economic Development in May showed that business confidence is sky-high in Dubai.

Around 91 per cent of the businesses that took part in the survey said they fully expected their profits to increase in the second quarter of 2013 and the outlook for the rest of the year is bright.

Encouragingly, nearly one in four corporations revealed they were in a position to recruit more workers in the coming months.

Courtesy: The First Group

Investors still favour Dubai over Abu Dhabi

Investors from all over the world still seem to favour Dubai over Abu Dhabi when looking for new assets to add to their Middle Eastern portfolios.

A number of recent studies have shown that Dubai is still the most popular real estate hub in the UAE, the latest of which was conducted by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

The research showed the average listed property sold in Dubai in the first half of 2013 was valued at AED 1,099 (£196) per square foot, the Global Times reports. This was a 34.6 per cent improvement when compared with June 2012.

While prices in Abu Dhabi were higher - AED 1,123 per square foot - the rate of growth was measured at 22.2 per cent year-on-year, which suggests Dubai's real estate market is expanding at a much faster pace.

According to the bank's report, Dubai continues to benefit from being the corporate capital of the UAE, with wealthy investors keen to snap up buildings that can then be rented out to high-powered businesspeople. The emirate is also attracting more and more leisure visitors on an annual basis - great news for hotel, apartment and villa owners.

The study showed that landlords were able to raise their rents again in June 2013, as the average asking price went up by 6.75 per cent year-on-year.

Farouk Soussa, the chief economist in the Middle East for Citigroup, recently told the National that Dubai's population is growing at a quicker rate than Abu Dhabi's and this will inevitably have an impact on the property sector.

"Going forward we expect further increases in rent in Dubai as we forecast house prices to rise by 35 per cent this year and rents to be not far off it," he was quoted as saying.

The First Group has an extensive range of upmarket properties in some of the most exclusive areas of Dubai, including the luxurious Dubai Marina, which is arguably the most sought after address in the UAE at the moment.

World's best shopping hotspot

Dubai is undoubtedly one of the world's best shopping hotspots, but what does the future hold for the city's retail sector?

With the ultra-popular Ramadan Night Market set to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre between August 1st and 10th, now is an opportune time to look at the emirate's thriving shopping culture.

The market is held annually and thousands of visitors are expected to turn up in 2013.

Chief executive officer of Sumansa Exhibitions - organisers of the retail extravaganza - Sunil Jaiswal, said: "The last ten days of Ramadan are when people wait to shop in preparation for Eid and Ramadan Night Market will fulfill all the requirements of your Eid gifting."

Of course, Dubai's plethora of shops are popular all year round. The city is home to the largest malls on the planet and the world's leading designers and retailers are falling over themselves to set up new outlets in the emirate.

Although Dubai's current offerings are hugely impressive, some experts think there is still plenty of room for more shopping centres.

Chief operating officer of Lamcy Plaza and Arabian Centre Tim Jones told Emirates 24/7 that existing malls are expanding and Dubai can comfortably accommodate new developments.

People who use the sheikhdom's shopping facilities are now expecting to find more than the usual retail outlets, he believes.

"Malls are providing 'lifestyle entertainment' to the customers, which means malls no longer just offer retail spaces and shops, but an experience as a whole," Mr Jones was quoted as saying.

He added that store owners tend to do very well during Ramadan and it is not unusual to see shops staying open until the early hours.

A number of events are held each year to generate even more interest in the city's malls, including the ongoing Dubai Summer Surprises and Dubai Shopping Festival.

The latter is held in the winter and has grown considerably since the inaugural event in 1996. It gives locals and holidaymakers a perfect opportunity to scour the emirate's malls, boutiques and markets in search of bargains.

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