Google Glass makes me want a smart watch
Google Glass can’t deliver on the promises that most excite me, and the functionality it does achieve can just as well be delivered in a less embarrassing smart watch form factor. Read more »
Google Glass minus glass: Dekko makes the world your OS
Dekko is debuting its augmented reality operating system that uses the camera on your mobile device and powerful computer vision algorithms, backed by new seed funding. Read more »
The Google Now dilemma: Yes, it’s kind of creepy — but it’s also incredibly useful
There’s no question the kind of data collection Google has to do in the background to power its Google Now service can be a little intrusive — perhaps too intrusive for some. But it also makes the results extremely useful. Read more »
Metaio predicts augmented reality chips in devices by end of 2013
Despite the shuttering of its only announced customer, ST-Ericsson, the German AR firm Metaio says it expects its dedicated processors to be in mobile devices by the end of the year. Read more »
Metaio’s augmented reality chip will be super-useful… just not in phones
Metaio’s chip, which will be built into ST-Ericsson’s upcoming smartphone chipsets, offers a lot of help in making AR more battery-friendly. But its ideal application is in smart glasses, not smartphones. Read more »
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Best practices in optimizing content for social engagement
Optimizing content is crucial as customers migrate from being passive recipients to becoming active contributors. This opportunity presents a fresh set of challenges, not only for those in traditional broadcast industries but also for content managers and enterprise leaders. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
GigaOM Research highs and lows from CES 2013
Given how CES is now a barometer for such a wide array of technology segments, GigaOM Research decided to ask our readers which way the tech winds will blow over the next year based on what they saw in Las Vegas. (Subscription required) Read more »
Minecraft creations meet the real world through augmented reality iOS app
Minecraft Reality, co-developed by ‘computer vision’ firm 13th Lab and Mojang, lets fans of the hugely successful game upload their creations into the real world for others to see. And this isn’t some floaty gimmick – we’re talking positioning with sub-centimeter accuracy. Read more »
Media companies: Embrace Project Glass, it’s going to change everything
photo: Flickr/Thomas Hawk
Project Glass, Google’s augmented reality smart glasses, is the ultimate expression of the wearable tech trend. Paul Armstrong of @TheMediaIsDying says that whether you like it or not, the technology is coming–and the changes are going to be profound for the media business. Read more »
If the world were your platform, what apps would you build?
photo: Image courtesy of Google.
Google’s Project Glass won’t just change how you consume small snippets of information on the world around you – it will quite possibly also lead to a whole new generation of apps that use the real world as a platform and gamify your life. Read more »
Forget Bad Piggies, check Angry Birds in augmented reality
Can’t get enough Angry Birds? Maybe you should invite the birds and pigs over to play the game in your home or office enviroment. A nifty proof-of-concept shows what it would look like on an iPad, giving us a glimpse of an immersive gaming future. Read more »
Telefónica bets on augmented reality with Aurasma tie-in
The deal will see the Spanish telecoms giant bundle augmented reality tech with its advertising offerings and promote the Aurasma app to its 300 million customers. But will marketing use-cases finally make the technology fly? Read more »
Old Lumias get Nokia’s new City Lens augmented reality app
Owners of older Nokia Lumia smartphones may be missing out when Windows Phone 8 arrives, but Nokia is bringing some new innovation to the old models. City Lens, an augmented reality application, is now freely available for the Lumia 710, 800 and 900 smartphones. Read more »
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Analyzing the wearable computing market
With the growth of sensors and microelectronics, the potential uses of wearable-computing technologies now reach to health and fitness, gaming, fashion, disabilities and augmented reality. Most importantly, the widespread adoption of wearables will drive the form function and market for mobiles in vital ways. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Mind Candy on the hunt for more acquisitions
Moshi Monsters creator Mind Candy has announced the purchase of UK games studio Origami Blue to help lead its experimental labs project – but the company’s first acquisition is unlikely to be its last, with a new head of M&A joining. Read more »
13th Lab raises $700,000 to build its ‘UI for reality’
Swedish startup 13th Lab has just raised $700,000 from Nordic investors Creandum to help build its augmented reality browser and developer tools for iOS. But forget about tacky versions of AR: this team is trying to build a real interface between the digital and the physical. Read more »
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Augmented reality glasses teem with promise — and pitfalls
Augmented reality glasses are getting a lot of attention lately thanks largely to Google, which has demonstrated how AR could change our everyday lives. But the promising space must address a wide range of challenges before “Terminator”-type specs become mainstream ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Forget Google Glasses; check these dual-focus contact lenses
The U.S. government has ordered a prototype contact lens that will help the military see virtual information directly on a pair of glasses while still viewing their surroundings. The contacts could take the place of heads-up displays, smart glasses or other consumer augmented reality solutions. Read more »
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Rating Google glasses for UI innovation
Should the industry take “Project Glass” seriously? Does Google have a truly disruptive user interface technology in its labs? Project Glass aligns with critical UI factors, and it plays to Google’s strengths in user interface and its data, mapping and communications expertise, so don’t dismiss it ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google glasses make sense as the “next” mobile device
Smartphones have Google Goggles, an image-recognition search app, but consumers may one day have “Google glasses.” Google has introduced Project Glass, a concept for glasses that integrate directly with Google services. It may sound like a silly project, but there’s a reason the device makes sense. Read more »
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Key technologies for the smart city
Five key technology sectors are enabling the smart city: smart grids, smart transport, smart water and waste management, smart building systems, and the enabling ICT platforms for the smart city. Key players like IT companies, telcos and utilities must learn how to harness those technologies, and quickly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Marvel Comics Expands Digital Strategy With Tie-Ins And Bundling
photo: Marvel
Marvel (NYSE: DIS) Comics is beefing up its digital presence with a new digital-only line and print-digital bundles. Read more at paidContent »
Eye of the robot: Google working on Android-powered glasses?
Forget those old X-ray specs in the back of comic books (which never worked anyway). Google is reportedly working on a pair of Android-powered glasses that could record data and display information for around $400 to $500 and make you look ever dorkier. Read more »
This man wants to kill QR codes. Can he do it?
Advertisers and publishers have swarmed over QR codes as they try to add interactivity to analog media. Now the Swiss team behind retooled mobile app Shortcut hopes they can help make the black-and-white glyphs a thing of the past. Read more »
Toys meet tech: augmented reality to play out at Toy Fair
Does your kid want to play with unicorns? You might want to check out the goods at next week’s Toy Fair in New York, where toy makers will show off the latest-and-greatest augmented reality technology that animates once-static games, books, and toys. Read more »
Forget e-books; are you ready for virtual books?
As an avid e-book reader and lover of gadgets, I love the concept of this “virtual” book. Siglio Press is offering 250 copies of a print book that requires a webcam and computing device to actually be read. Read more »
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Forecast: the future of near field communication
By 2015, the worldwide sales of NFC-equipped handsets will reach 263.6 million units, with the cumulative total at more than half a billion compatible devices. This report covers the current landscape for NFC, examines the technology’s different forms of deployment and forecasts its future. It also examines the various deployments of NFC technology — mobile payments, point of purchase, augmented reality — and the challenges businesses, carriers and handset makers face moving forward. Companies mentioned in this report include Google, TapIt, Amazon and NTT DoCoMo. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Telefonica Seeks Social Media Mojo With Twitter And Layar Integration
Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), the multinational operator with mobile networks spanning across Europe and Latin America, is now fully focused on sq… Read more at paidContent »
How to preview that DVD on your phone
Qualcomm demonstrated an Augmented Reality application that lets people point their smartphone camera at a DVD box and instantly pull up trailers for the movie inside. It’s a simple, easy to use application that shows off the practical power of Augmented Reality. Read more »
Sweden’s 13th Lab brings augmented reality to Apple iPad
Swedish company 13th Lab, a Stockholm-based startup has been working on its own augmented-reality-like system for the iPad that uses a complex computer vision technique employed by NASA. 13th Lab is looking to turn the technology into a platform that developers can use for AR. Read more »
Shadow Cities casts location gaming spell over Europe
Shadow Cities sounds like a car crash of trendy ideas — an iPhone game that uses your location and network to draw a playing surface onto the real world. In fact the game, which has just added 13 territories in Europe, is great fun. Read more »
Why Apps Need Some Sense and Sensibility
The biggest frustration I have with my iPhone is when the phone switches between Wi-Fi and 3G networks and just hangs. In solving this problem, MIT researchers used motion sensors, showing how mobile devices need to become an extension of us. Read more »
GoldRun Leverages Augmented Reality for Mobile Marketing
GoldRun, a New York start-up that allows brands to use augmented reality to create innovative marketing campaigns that end in real-world rewards, just raised $1.1 million in an angel round. The company is showing the promise of augmented reality and the power of tangible rewards. Read more »
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Mobile 2011: Trends Not to Expect
Predicting what not to expect in mobile next year is a lot easier than predicting what will happen. You can be sure, for instance, that consumers won’t pay for on-the-go TV next year any more than they have in the past, and that carriers won’t embrace ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Augmented Reality Translations: Word Lens vs. Google Goggles
A new iPhone translation app, called Word Lens, is turning heads by showing how the power of augmented reality can be applied to real-time translation. But doesn’t Google do this with Goggles? I took them both for a quick spin to see how they stack up. Read more »
Augmented Reality Finds a Place to Fit: Shopping!
Augmented reality still seems more of a solution in search of a problem to some, but two promising applications show how virtual reality can bring real-world value. Trying on virtual clothes and shoes could be the killer application for augmented reality to hit its stride. Read more »
Layar Augments Reality With $14M in New Funding
Layar, creator of a mobile augmented reality (AR) platform, today announced $14 million in funding led by Intel Capital. The funds will be used for three purposes, all of which are meant to create “augmented reality experiences to people’s everyday lives,” says Maarten Lenz-FitzGerald of Layar. Read more »
Lookator: Android Hotspot Detector Using AR
Augmented reality is one of those technologies that has always appealed to me, but without a practical application I can use. That changed since installing Lookator for Android, a Wi-Fi hotspot detector that uses AR to show the location of the hotspots in the real world. Read more »
Patent Describes Co-Located Laser Tag Gaming for iPhone
A new patent filed by Apple called “Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices” describes new possibilities for iPhone gaming in the real world. Essentially, the tech described would use players’ iPhones to recreate what amounts to a game of laser tag. Read more »
If You Can’t Beat ‘em With GPS, Just Add Augmented Reality!
Navigon today introduced its MobileNavigator software, which brings GPS navigation to Google Android phones in the U.S. With such a similar feature set to Google’s free Navigation solution for Android, how can Navigon compete with a $40 app? By combining augmented reality with points of interest. Read more »
