This Week in Tech News
Hoverboards, high-capacity portable hard drives, and handheld smartphone cameras? It's the latest news from the technology industry, from the week of June 21st, 2015.
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- 9 years ago by NathanHutchcraft
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1 - Lexus Teases Their New Hoverboard Prototype
In a world filled with hoverboard hoaxes, this video could have easily slipped through the cracks; that is, until you see who released it. Lexus says that they have the leading experts in superconductive technology working on the hoverboard project. Although automobile manufacturer doesn't ever plan to mass produce and sell the board, they say it is the next step in innovating design and engineering, and will hopefully lead to the next wave of motion technology. Did someone say, hovercars?
Source2 - New Polaroid Cube+ to Work with Smartphones
Polaroid has announced that its new Cube+ camera will have an app on both iOS and Android devices, that will allow the phone to be used as a viewfinder for the camera. At just 1.4 inches in all dimensions, the Cube+ is the same size as its predecessor, the original Cube. The main change is the inclusion of WiFi capabilities, which will allow the camera to connect to your mobile device to share photos and video. The Cube was introduced as Polaroid's version of the wildly popular GoPro camera series. Both ultra-compact cameras share one large design flaw, however. Being so small, means there is no room for a viewfinder, making it somewhat difficult to know what you are actually shooting. Polaroid's fix to this is to allow the Cube+ to connect to your mobile device, streaming the camera feed to your smart phone.
Source3 - Seagate Releases New 'Backup Plus' Lineup and offers 200GB Online Storage
The new Backup Plus series includes a portable and desktop versions that hold 4TB and 8TB, respectively. The portable is priced at $240 while the desktop version is $360. Both drives come with a file organization app, called Lyve. Along with the registration of the new drive, users will also be given a free two-year subscription to 200GB of online cloud storage through Microsoft OneDrive.
Source4 - Amazon Becomes First Streaming Service to Offer HDR Video, Beating Netflix
While 4K might be the highest resolution allowed by most new television nowadays, screen resolution is not the only factor in high definition viewing. HDR (High Dynamic Range) offers a higher picture quality by incorporating brighter and more realistic highlights, as well as an increased contrast range. These changes can improve the video quality of even ultra-high-quality 4K resolution viewing. Although Amazon currently offers just a few episodes of different shows in HDR, this will open the gate for them to offer a wider range of content in HDR.
Source5 - Updated Google Chromebox to Handle Large Meeting Rooms
The newest Google Chromebox, updated from last years debut release, will offer improved support for teleconferencing and online meetings. The package includes a remote-controlled tilt-pan-zoom camera, two speakerphones, and dual screen support. The software is also getting upgraded, allowing new features like the ability to share your workstation on-screen during a video conference. The package will cost $1,999 and comes with a free year of their $250-per-year support fee for all devices.
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NathanHutchcraft
Nathan Hutchcraft is the creator and co-host of the YouTube web series, NathanAndRose. He also writes for several online sources, as well as having a nearly insatiable love for jalapeno pizza.
