Exciting Technology

Google  officially announced  its long-rumored revamp of its photo-sharing service, Google Photos, at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco today. The killer feature? Users can now backup up full-resolution photos and videos – up to 16MP for photos and 1080p for videos – to Google’s cloud for free. The service will roll out to Android, iOS and web users starting today, the company says. The free storage option makes more sense for those with point-and-shoot cameras, and lets you keep a copy of your photos that’s good for your typical printing and photo-sharing needs. However, those with DSLR cameras or who want to store their photos and videos in their original sizes can choose  a different plan  which taps into your Google Account’s 15 GB of free storage. This is what was available  before , and you can add to your storage quota as needed for a fee. We had been hearing  for some time that Google would break out Photos fro...

Bitfinder ,  launched out of the R/GA accelerator in February , has opened up pre-order availability for the Awair air-monitoring system. The Awair sits in the home, office or other indoor space to monitor the quality of the air in that environment, with sensors to detect temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), fine dust particles (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The information is then securely transferred to an app that gives you a readout of the air quality. But it goes beyond tracking the environment to take into account the user’s main health interests and suggest recommended products, like humidifiers or smart thermostats. The Awair also connects with various smart devices and has a chip that can be put into dumber electronics, humidifiers and purifiers, that don’t have any way to connect to the platform. Right now, the platform automatically integrates with products such as the Philips Hue lightbulbs and the Misfit Shine, with plans to integrate wi...

Samsung’s  Iron Man-branded Galaxy S6 Edge  arrives tomorrow, with a custom paint job, 64GB of on-board storage and a limited edition wireless charger accessory with an appropriate arc reactor graphic included on top. It ships with a clear cover, too, so you can protect your precious “armor” when ticketing around in the real world. The box it comes in is also red and gold, and there’s a big ol’ Iron Man helmet stencil graphic on the back of the device, too, as well as a software theme to match. I probably would’ve left off the face personally, letting the colors speak for themselves, but this was a partnership with Marvel with the intent of promoting the new Avengers film oversees, so they probably could’ve been a lot less tasteful with the branding overall. The sad news for those of you who were hoping to advertise their Stark fandom on their phones is that availability is listed as only Korea as of tomorrow, with sales beginning in China and Hong Kong...

It’s about time. Chevy is going to start offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto across its vehicle line. The rollout will start in a few weeks and eventually hit 14 Chevy models. Apple and Google announced these systems in early 2014 and have since signed on most automakers. Chevy joins just Hyundai in providing a launch timetable, though. Owners of 2016 Hyundai Sonata can visit dealers now to get the software installed. Starting first with the 2016 Chevy Cruze on June 24, buyers will be able to opt for the MyLink infotainment system with a seven-inch LCD screen. Later in the year, Chevy will release a MyLink system with 8-inch screen that initially will only offer Apple CarPlay. The seven-inch option will be available for the Chevy Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Camaro, Camaro Convertible, Silverado and Silverado HD. The 8-inch adds to the mix the Corvette, Corvette Convertible, Volt, Colorado, Tahoe and Suburban. Chevrolet states these 14 models will account for 51 percent of the br...

Apple's  voice activated features have received some new features as part of  iOS 8 .  Siri  is a virtual voice activated personal assistant that can answer your questions, call your friends, check the weather, and much more.  Now it can  be activated hands free by saying, "Hey, Siri." Previously, users would have to press and hold the home button to activate Siri. The new feature will allow people with physical disabilities to easily activate Siri. The hands-free activation feature does have one major caveat: the device must be plugged in and charging. Users who need or want to access this feature on- the- go can purchase a battery case to utilize this feature. It is possible that future  iOS  devices will not require a power source to use the "Hey, Siri" feature. In addition, when dictating a question to Siri or dictating text into an app the recognized words appear almost instantly after being spoken. To use dictation bring up the...

For people who use  sign language  to communicate, interacting with people who do not know sign language can be an enormous challenge and create barriers for people who are hearing impaired. Until now, the best alternative might have been writing out notes on a piece of paper. However, an upcoming product from a company called MotionSavvy hopes to offer a better solution. The solution does not look like the advanced piece of assistive technology that it is, but rather looks like a thin tablet with a Leap Motion device attached to the front. The Leap Motion senses the motion of the users hand to recognize signs using multiple cameras. Once the table recognizes the signs it can display the signed phrase as text on screen or even as spoken words with  text-to-speech . This allows the other person that does not know sign language to understand what is being signed. Then the other person can speak into the tablet and speech recognition technology will allow the words t...

When the Apple Watch launches next month it will mark the launch of Apple's first new product category since the iPad. The  iPad  was a game changer in terms of accessibility , bringing numerous features designed for people with disabilities at launch. How will the Apple Watch compare and what are some of the challenges and possibilities for the Apple Watch related to accessibility? A lot of questions remain unanswered, but the wait will soon be over. Apple Watch is rumored to include built-in software accessibility features when launched, however these reports have not been confirmed by  Apple . It would make sense and align with Apple's patterns if they included features such as  VoiceOver  and Zoom in the Apple Watch. While the inclusion of these features seem likely, how these features are implemented will be key for people with disabilities. The Apple Watch could prove beneficial to people with various disabilities. Apple has already demo...

5G  (5th generation) mobile networks denote the next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond the current 4G Advanced standards.Samsung Electronics has announced that they have successfully developed the world’s first  Adaptive Array Transceiver technology  for Cellular communication that operates on the millimeter-wave Ka bands.It is also called the 5G mmWave mobile technology.It provide speed of up to several hundred times faster than the current 4G Standard and will be capable of providing an omnipresent Gbps experience to subscribers. Chang-Yeong Kim – Head of the firm’s Digital Media & Communication Centre said that : millimeter wave band is the most effective solution to recent surges in wireless internet usage. The adaptive array transceiver technology has brought us one step closer to the commercialisation of 5G mobile communications in the millimetre-wave bands. Samsung explains that the implementation of a high-speed 5G cellular...