Yahoo launching Internet on Televisions
Yahoo was at CES showing off their new venture which will enable you to view the internet on your television (why does this sound familar?).
Yahoo say the service they plan to offer will be free and very easy to use with the addition of widgets. The widgets will be provided but Yahoo search will not be included for now. To fund this service Yahoo will put adverts on the widgets and sites but for obvious reasons the service will remain ad free for the first few months so users can get acquainted with the service.
There will be other activities you will be able to perform from Yahoo Web for example streaming videos from Youtube through your television and sharing photos via Flickr. Some big electronic companies like Samsung, LG and Sony have already signed up to the service, rolling out with new television sets. The Intel CE 3100 chip will be used in the sets from Toshiba whilst Samsung will use it in their set-top boxes . The United States and 10 countries in Europe will be first on the roll out list once the service is available.... Read on »
Could the iTable outshine Microsoft's Surface?
Over at the PQ Labs stand at CES the company has been demonstrating a product that's very similar to the Microsoft Surface. PQ labs have named it the "iTable".
The iTable has some very nifty features starting with the development side, it has a SDK which like the Surface you can adapt to make your own. The touch screen itself can have only a limited amount of fingers on it at once but the hardware can have as many as you like as its customisable. PQ labs currently manufacture several touch screen technologies.
You see the name and you think iMac or iPod but it actually runs Windows XP and there's no OSX in sight If you have some application you want to run on your iTable you can because it can run it straight away as long as you map the correct API's. It's clear with the name being iTable and the compatibility of applications means PQ labs are modelling this as a mega sized iPhone or iPod touch.
Now you're all wondering how much this will cost? There's several prices for different models but if you want the economic version then its going to set you back nearly $10,000. You will need to purchase the equipment, which includes Multi-Touch G2 and a 32" LCD Overlay, and then the iTable itself which is $7000. The official 30" version is $12,000 so you are saving money if you go for the 32" overlay. When you look at the pictures and the videos in the demo below you can see the potential is there for this device. It's always good to have competition because it brings the out the best in the companies competing in that market and pushes prices down for the consumer.
Video Courtesy of Crunchgear ... Read on »