| SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices' Jun 5th 2012, 20:43  So, how do you best improve upon the USM standard and boldly take it to new frontiers? Well, as with most tech, simply shrinking it down never seems to hurt. The new USM Slim standard has just been announced by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) as part of the SATA 3.2 Revision. It takes the ability to plug in powered, external storage with on-board SATA and slims down the port from 14.5mm to 9mm. By trimming the jack by of a third of its bulk the SATA-IO have prepped the standard for the next generation of products, including ultra-thin ultrabooks, svelte tablets and "other portable devices." What might those other devices be? Well, we can't help but hope for a smartphone that boots to Ubuntu when docked (or Ubuntu TV) and can connect to a sizable external hard drive... ah, pipe dreams. Check out the PR after the break. Continue reading SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices' SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Nyko's PlayPad and PlayPad Pro Android tablet controllers (hands-on) Jun 5th 2012, 20:23  There's a great video game land rush happening on the mobile front, as developers and hardware manufacturers work map out precisely how users will play with their smartphones and tablets. We've seen plenty of peripheral makers give it a shot, hoping to transform decidedly clunky touchscreen gameplay into something more akin to devoted consoles. Some, like Ion, have taken a fairly whimsical approach to the process, giving the world the iCade, a tablet controller shaped like a small arcade cabinet. Nyko's going a much more straight forward route with PlayPad and PlayPad Pro, Bluetooth controllers that intend on bringing console gaming over to the mobile side. The PlayPad is the smaller of the two devices. It ships in a spring loaded eyeglasses-style case. Also inside is a small stand that you can unfold to prop up your Android tablet in portrait or landscape. The controller itself is quite small and fairly light. It has two circle pads on the front, a d-pad, four face buttons, shoulder buttons and a giant home button in the center. Continue reading Nyko's PlayPad and PlayPad Pro Android tablet controllers (hands-on) Nyko's PlayPad and PlayPad Pro Android tablet controllers (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voice Jun 5th 2012, 19:33  Do you wish your phone would wake up when you commanded it to, like Galaxy S III? Well, it's not gonna happen (at least not without some hacking). But, your next phone might just sport the feature, all without having to be saddled with the rest of TouchWiz. Nuance is bringing its powerful voice recognition tech to OEMs and offering them the ability to not only unlock phones with voice controls, but lock them down using biometrics. In that way, it's actually got a leg up on S Voice. Dragon ID isn't a gimmick -- it's a security feature. In fact, if properly integrated, it can recognize multiple voices and open up to custom homescreens for each user. Sadly we have no idea when or where this tech will first show up, but we wouldn't be shocked to see it on both Android and Windows 8 tablets, as well as smartphones and PCs in the near future. For a few more scraps of info, check out the PR after the break. Continue reading Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voice Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
