Hardware

Hardware startups get hardcore at Haxlr8r

May 14, 2013 5:02 am by Tim Bradshaw

This week seems to be maker week in Silicon Valley. In the run-up to Saturday’s Maker Faire in San Mateo are a string of events and conferences for hardware startups and the folk building them.

Kickstarting the week, Haxlr8r – a hardware-hacker accelerator programme that takes ten startups to Shenzhen for three months – held its demo day at the Autodesk Gallery in downtown San Francisco on Monday afternoon. Ten startups pitched their ideas, fresh from the factory floor in China, to a group of early stage investors. Read more

Tags: hardware startups, haxlr8r
Posted in Hardware, Tech | Permalink

Ouya looks beyond Kickstarter for more funds

May 10, 2013 12:56 am by Tim Bradshaw

Ouya, the open-source games console, has become the first Kickstarter tech project to graduate to a more traditional funding scheme – venture capital.

After getting $8m from 63,000 crowdfunders last August, Ouya on Thursday announced it has raised $15m from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Mayfield Fund and Nvidia, to accelerate its plan to attack the mass market. Read more

Tags: crowdfunding, kickstarter, Ouya, VC
Posted in Games, Hardware, Tech, Tech Finance | Permalink

First Bitcoin, now 3D-printed handguns – why tech has regulators on the run

May 7, 2013 4:34 pm by Robert Cookson

What does Bitcoin have in common with 3D printing, besides both being technologies loved by geeks? On the face of it, not much: one is a digital currency and the other allows you to reproduce almost any small, solid object in the world.

But as lawmakers are starting to realise, there is a key similarity: both Bitcoin and 3D printing have the potential to reduce the power of the state and put it into the hands of individuals. Read more

Tags: 3D printing, Bitcoin, guns
Posted in Hardware, Internet, Personal technology, Security, Social, Tech | Permalink

Intel powers down with Atomic Silvermont

May 6, 2013 8:26 pm by Chris Nuttall

Intel has unveiled the capabilities of a power-frugal Atom processor it says will make it more competitive in not just smartphones and tablets, but also in microservers and other market segments, including in-car entertainment.

Codenamed Silvermont, the new chip offers three times more peak performance than the previous Atom generation or five times lower power demands at the same performance, according to the company. It will debut on 22 nanometres – a circuit width that the rest of the industry has not matched thus far – and Intel will extend its efficiencies with a move to 14nm next year. Read more

Tags: Atom, intel
Posted in Hardware, Mobile | Permalink

Story of the Week: Backlash hits Google Glass

May 5, 2013 4:12 pm by Maryam Nabi

Interesting commentary from around the Web on the tech story that made headlines this week.

Only a lucky group of applicants was selected to participate in testing the Explorer version of Google Glass. As early reviews started to trickle out this week, so too did a growing backlash against the “glassholes”.

While the elite of the tech world may be smitten – like Robert Scoble, who wrote he’s never taking his Google Glass off – others weren’t as easily impressed by the breakthrough in wearable computing, comparing it to overhyped tech toys such as the Segway and pocket protectors. Read more

Tags: google, Google Glass, story of the week
Posted in Hardware, Internet, Tech | Permalink

Mobile, Arm servers, and other challenges facing new Intel’s new chief exec

May 2, 2013 2:54 pm by Robin Kwong

The six-month search is over. Intel’s board has picked Brian Krzanich, current chief operating officer, as the chip maker’s new chief executive, replacing Paul Otellini who left Intel after 8 years, Reuters has reported.

As Chris Nuttall wrote at the time of Mr Otellini’s exit, Mr Krzanich was an early favourite for the top job. He was promoted to chief operating officer in January last year, a role occupied by Craig Barrett, Mr Otellini’s predecessor, before he took the top job. As executive vice-president, Mr Krzanich already occupied the most senior role below the chief executive. Read more

Tags: Chips, intel, semiconductors
Posted in Hardware, Tech | Permalink

From beyondbrics May 2, 2013

HTC turnaround: all eggs in One basket

HTC, the bealguered Taiwanese phonemaker, expects sales to jump over 60 per cent between first and second quarter. That’s quite an uplift, and certainly better than last quarter, when sales significantly missed expectations, driving down its first quarter profits to record lows.

What’s behind the change? Well, it helps to have a flagship phone to sell.

Tags: Asia, htc, results, smartphones
Posted in Asia, Hardware, Mobile | Permalink

From beyondbrics April 26, 2013

Apple: parts suppliers profit from alternative customers

Apple may be souring the market with its unimpressive forecasts, but not all the suppliers who rely on the US tech group for orders are suffering.

Shares in Largan Precision, a Taiwanese lens maker, gained 7 per cent on Friday after it reported stronger than anticipated earnings for the last quarter and, against expectations, forecast more growth ahead. Its secret? Growth of other brands has been strong enough to offset Apple. That’s a change from the days when Apple was component companies’ key driver of growth.

Tags: apple, lens, smartphone, supply chain
Posted in Asia, Hardware | Permalink

Apple’s crucial quarter – live

April 23, 2013 9:02 pm by Tim Bradshaw

This is a Live Blog transcript. Read more

Tags: apple, earnings, liveblog
Posted in Hardware, Mobile | Permalink

From beyondbrics April 22, 2013

Indian tablet makers take strides

Indian makers of tablet computers are elbowing their way into the domestic market, which is expected to expand rapidly in the next few years, writes Avantika Chilkoti

Although Samsung and Apple feature strongly in the Indian tablet market, figures from the International Data Corporation, an information technology research company, show India’s two leading domestic manufacturers have grabbed a market share of more than 20 per cent.