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Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon system on a chip (SoC), the Snapdragon 800, has already appeared in Android phones, and it’s only a matter of time before Windows Phone devices get it too.

The blog TechTastic thinks that time is going to arrive sooner than later, as they’ve spotted what appears to be a Nokia Lumia device sporting the Snapdragon S4 MSM8974 chip.

The site examined a number of Nokia developer pages that list devices using the Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 chip.

They also claim that Nokia only lists hardware that it’s actually using, indicating that an 800-equipped Lumia could arrive soon.

A gradual reveal

Qualcomm has been promising the rollout of its next-gen Snapdragon 800 SoC for months.

In April it said the new chipset would enter mass production in May, so it’s sure to be appearing in more devices soon.

So far the only devices known to sport the Snapdragon MSM8974 are certain versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the accidentally-announced Galaxy Note 3.

The 800 supports 2.3GHz quad-core processing and Adreno 330 graphics, not to mention the possibility of 4K output.

The new SoC is also said to be appearing in new Windows RT 8.1 tablets, though we’ve yet to see any of those.

• Want to know what drives Qualcomm? Here’s why the company thinks mobile chip design is a triathlon.

TechRadar: Mobile computing news

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Nintendo will launch its first game with a free-to-play business model later this year. Speaking to IGN, veteran designer Shigeru Miyamoto said that the title could be shown off “relatively soon,” and would be based on the 3DS game Steel Diver.

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Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the announcement of an AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 for the next coming days. Then we go through the other official announcement of the Sony Xperia Z for T-Mobile in the US. The HTC One is next as analysts already see the phone as the third best selling smartphone in the United States. We later talk about a new company called Kazam, which was launched by some ex-employees from HTC. We end today’s show talking about Huawei and their confirmation that they plan to acquire Nokia. All this and more after the break. Stories: –

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Nvidia may be missing from the Xbox One and PS4, but the chip maker is about to start a whole new racket, one that could see its chips in everything from smartphones to supercomputers.

In a blog post, David Shannon, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Nvidia, announced today that the company will begin licensing its GPU core tech based on the Kepler architecture.

With DX11, OpenGL 4.3 and GPGPU capabilities, Shannon wrote that a whole new class of licensable GPU cores is about to land.

Kepler is the groundwork for its GeForce, Quadro and Tesla GPUs, plus Logan, the codename of Nvidia’s next-gen Tegra chip.

Big guns

We reached out to Nvidia for word on any potential partners and the time frame for the licensing to get off the ground, and received this response from a company spokesperson:

"We’re targeting designers of applications processors for a variety of markets. We’re just getting going but we’re in touch with several potentially significant customers, none of which we are disclosing today."

As for when these partnerships will poke about, look for them to likely emerge in 2015, "given design and testing requirements."

Line ‘em up

While licensees can look forward to a full swath of Nvidia support as they work to integrate Nvidia’s GPU tech into their own devices, Shannon said the company also plans to offer licensing rights to its visual computing portfolio.

But why license its proprietary tech in the first place? The answer lies in the "upended" IT world, one that’s seeing PCs overtaken by smartphones and tablets.

"[It's] not practical to build silicon or systems to address every part of the expanding market," wrote Shannon. "Adopting a new business approach will allow us to address the universe of devices."

This actually isn’t something new for Nvidia: Shannon noted the company licensed an earlier GPU core to Sony for use in the PS3. Intel, meanwhile, pays it more than $ 250 million (about £159 million, AU$ 264 million) a year in licensing fees for visual computing patents.

But is there anything in specific behind the decision beyond the fluctuating tech world? You betcha.

"Now, with the explosion of Android devices presents an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate this effort," Shannon wrote.

Though there’s a shout out to Android, it also stands to reason that Nvidia could license its chips to Apple for use in its iOS devices. Even Samsung could turn to Nvidia’s processors if it so desired.

Looks like the sting of Tegra missing LTE capabilities may finally start to fade.

• One chip maker is doing something for the very first time. Read more about AMD’s planned use of an ARM chip in 2014.

TechRadar: Mobile computing news

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Back in early 2012, before the world had heard of Google Glass, the tech world was ablaze with rumours that the search giant was beavering away on augmented reality goggles.

As the days went by, it was clear that not only was this true, but that Google’s dream of wearable technology was far, far closer to release than anyone would have guessed.

Roll forward just over a year and the first versions are in the hands of developers who went into a lottery to fork out $ 1,500 for their own pair of spectacles.

TechRadar has had time with the Google Glass Explorer so you can find plenty more information right there.

But what exactly is Google Glass? Why is it attracting all this attention and what are the implications – both good and bad – of having a Google-eye view of the world?

What is Google Glass?

Google Glass is an attempt to free data from desktop computers and portable devices like phones and tablets, and place it right in front of your eyes.

Essentially, Google Glass is a camera, display, touchpad, battery and microphone built into spectacle frames so that you can perch a display in your field of vision, film, take pictures, search and translate on the go.

The principle is one that has been around for years in science fiction, and more recently it’s become a slightly clunky reality. In fact, the "heads-up display" putting data in your field of vision became a reality as early as 1900 when the reflector sight was invented.

Google Glass uses display technology instead to put data in front (or at least, to the upper right) of your vision courtesy of a prism screen. This is designed to be easily seen without obstructing your view. According to Google the display is "the equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away". There’s no official word on native resolution, but 640 x 360 has been widely mooted.

Overlaying data into your vision has obvious benefits; many of which are already functional in Google Glass. Directions become more intuitive (although it sounds like there is no GPS on board so you will have to pair it with your phone), you can view real-time translations or transcriptions of what is being said, and you can scroll through and reply to messages – all on the fly.

The embedded camera obviously does not need a viewfinder because it is simply recording your first-person perspective, allowing you to take snaps or footage of what you are actually seeing.

Any function that requires you to look at a screen could be put in front of you.

Controlling this data is the next neat trick. With a microphone and touchpad on one arm of the frame, you can select what you want to do with a brief gesture or by talking to the device, and Google Glass will interpret your commands.

Google Glass can also provide sound, with bone-induction technology confirmed. This vibrates your skull to create sound, which is both more grisly sounding and much less cumbersome than traditional headphones.

What can Google Glass do?

As well as Google’s own list of features, the early apps for Google Glass provide a neat glimpse into the potential of the headset.

As well as photos and film – which require no explanation – you can use the Google hangout software to video conference with your friends and show them what you’re looking at.

You’ll also be able to use Google Maps to get directions, although with GPS absent from the spec list, you’ll need to tether Glass to your phone.

To do that, Google offers the MyGlass app. This pairs your headset with an Android phone. As well as sharing GPS data, this means messages can be received, viewed on the display, and answered using the microphone and Google’s voice-to-text functionality.

Google has given its Glass project a big boost by snapping up voice specialists DNNresearch.

That functionality will also bring the ability to translate the words being spoken to you into your own language on the display. Obviously you’ll need a WiFi connection or a hefty data plan if you’re in another country, but it’s certainly a neat trick if it works.

Third parties are also already developing some rather cool/scary apps for Google Glass – including one that allows you to identify your friends in a crowd, and another that allows you to dictate an email.

The New York Times app gives an idea how news will be displayed when it’s asked for: a headline, byline, appropriate image and number of hours since the article was published are displayed.

Other cool ideas include a air carrier’s suggestion that you could have flight flight details beamed to you while you are waiting at the airport. Basically, the sky’s the limit.

If you want to know if Google Glass is any good – TechRadar’s Alex Roth spent time with the device and said the following:

"Is Glass cool and entirely novel? Yes, it certainly is. Is it a device that will change the life of, or even just prove useful to, the average consumer? That’s doubtful."

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE

What are the Google Glass specifications?

As well as a mooted 640 x 360 display, the built-in camera is a 5MP snapper that can film at 720p.

Battery life is apparently a day, although that’s with the usual "typical use" caveat, which probably excludes a lot of videoing.

There’s 16GB of flash memory built into the device, although only 12GB will be available for user storage. The device will sync to your Google Drive in the cloud

Bluetooth and WiFi will be built in, but no GPS chip – so the Glass will probably work best alongside an Android phone, although you can pair with any Bluetooth enabled phone.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpWmGX55a40

The frame will come with replacement and adjustable nosepads, and is expected to be both lightweight and extremely robust. It will also have a touchpad along one arm.

The sound will be produced through bone conduction transfer – vibrating your skull to transmit to your ears.

There is a Micro USB cable and charger for the dev versions, and all of the above specs are expected to be replicated in the consumer versions when they arrive.

Lastly, Google Glass will come in five colours: Charcoal, Tangerine, Shale, Cotton and Sky. Using Glass’s translation ability to turn that list from marketing speak to plain English, that’s black, orange, grey, white and blue.

How much will Google Glass cost?

The Google Glass Explorer (the developer version being sent out now) costs $ 1,500 – around £985 or AU$ 1,449.

The consumer versions, which are expected to arrive by the end of 2013, are expected to be a little cheaper, although any actual prices remain speculative. They are unlikely to be super-cheap – but Google’s success with the Nexus 7 tablet may prompt the company to subsidise some of the cost.

When is the Google Glass release date?

A final release date has not been announced, but sources tell us that the original suggestion of 2014 was actually overly pessimistic and we could see Google Glass arrive in time for the end of 2013. So start readying your letter to Santa.

I already wear glasses. Will Google Glasses work for me?

Yes – Google is already working on designer versions which will include prescription lenses.

Who is providing the competition?

Of course, with something as high profile as Google Glass, every major company has been linked with building a competitor.

Apple and Microsoft are Google’s most obvious rivals – and both are rumoured to be working on their own equivalents. Sony has gone so far as to patent a Glass-alike offering. Vuzix, Oakley and Baidu are other numbered among the potential Glass rivals, and they won’t be the last. Indeed, one Taiwanese manufacturer Oculon are readying a cheaper, higher spec’ed (ahem) version.

Interestingly, Google might already be considering its own successor to Glass if this patent is to be believed. The patented design looks more like regular glasses, following the style of Google’s potential competitors.

Is Project Glass evil?

Obviously with any new technology there is the potential for misuse – and Google Glass is, of course, a little problematic when it comes to privacy.

Of course, Google would say that it is merely taking the functionality that we already have in our portable devices and making it more readily accessible.

A lot will come down to personal preference. For many, the prospect of being filmed by someone from their glasses will make them uneasy, having conversations logged and transcribed will be divisive, and the inclusion of facial recognition would clearly be problematic.

A strip club and a bar have already earned cheap publicity by pre-emptively banning Glass, and TechRadar columnist Gary Marshall has had his say, he’s also looked at just who fears Google Glass and why.

TechRadar: Mobile computing news

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The usage figures might not look good, but if you want to buy a Chromebook, Google wants to make it easy for you. On Monday, the tech giant announced in a blog post that Chromebooks will be made available globally in "three times more stores than before".

With more than 6,600 stores around the world slated to carry Chromebooks, David Shapiro, Google’s head of marketing, said: "Chromebooks make great computers for everyone in the family – and now you shouldn’t have to look very far to find one."

In the US, Walmart and Staples, along with others, will be joining Amazon.com and Best Buy as retailers selling Google’s laptop offering. Joining Dixons in the UK will be Tesco stores, while Netherlands will have them in at Mediamarket and Saturn stores, FNAC stores in France and Elgiganten stores in Sweden.

Australians will be able to find Chromebooks in JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman stores. The Google also said that it will bring its laptop to other countries later this year.

More blips!

If you aren’t searching Google for Chromebooks, try some other blips instead.

• Kogan passes 2 million sales
• Oxford English Dictionary learns what ‘tweet’ means
• Jay-Z goes after the Galaxy with Samsung hook-up

TechRadar: Mobile computing news

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