TechCrunch
New Apple Patent Could Finally Take Gadgets Like An iWatch Beyond The Bezel
Apple has just been granted a new patent (via AppleInsider) for unique bezel technology that could not only add touch controls to a bezel on a small device screen (like one for an iWatch), but that would also make it possible for that bezel to fade in and out of view, providing maximum screen real estate when required, and then coming back into view when it would work better to have a bordered screen.
Why is that useful? Take a look at the iPad mini, and it begins to make sense. With the mini, Apple wanted to maximize screen real estate but minimize hardware footprint, so it reduced the size of the bezel considerably. The new narrower bezel on the sides is great for portability, but also makes it harder to hold without touching the screen itself, which necessitated building new tech to discount accidental touches around the edge of the screen.
The new patent granted today specifies a bezel area that could be hidden or revealed as needed, based on context and touch, changing the appearance of the bezel component when certain touch situations are detected. This could illuminate a part of the defined bezel area, change its color, or even turn it from completely transparent to opaque, creating a bezel where there apparently wasn’t one before.
This has a number of potential implications for use in gadgets: It could make the bezel fall away completely for applications that are best suited to full-screen use, like video playback. Enabling full-screen video wouldn’t even require that much extra in terms of development resources, so it’s a prime use case.
Other potential applications including making the most of a very small screen, like one you might find on a smart watch. Apple has been ramping up trademark applications for the “iWatch” moniker in a number of countries including Japan, Mexico and Taiwan, so it looks more and more likely we’ll see that device come to market soon. And the iWatch would be the definition of a small-screened device, since I can’t imagine Apple wanting to go much larger with the screen than it did for the previous generation, square iPod nano.
A disappearing bezel allows for the combination of maximum versatility with very little available screen real estate, to build interfaces that work differently for different apps, and yet suit each perfectly. It would be rare to see an Apple patent go into effect so quickly, but this one does seem quite situationally appropriate.
Opera's Chromium-Based Desktop Browser Exits Beta, But Still Lacks Major Features
After a month of testing, Opera’s radically new browser exits beta stage and is now available to download on Opera.com. Now based on the Chromium project, Opera 15 shares a lot of similarities with Google Chrome. The company hopes to compete on features to attract new users — but it’s not there yet.
Under the hood, you will find Blink — Google’s rendering engine based on WebKit — as well as V8, the JavaScript engine in Chrome. That’s why the browser feels snappier. Gone are the days of rendering issues on websites that weren’t optimized for Opera’s engine.
Even the release cycle is now very similar to Chrome’s release cycle. Users subscribe to a release channel (Opera, Opera Next or Opera Developer) and can now expect a release every few weeks.
While this strategic move was needed to keep up with the competition, the company has to give its users incentives to actually use the new version. Opera is back, but why would I use it over Chrome?
Opera often brags about its innovative features that the company introduced years before Microsoft, Google, Mozilla and Apple. For example, the speed dial first appeared in 2007 before popping up in other browsers. There is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to Opera’s features.
Yet, this new release feels half baked — the new design works well, the company finally got rid of obsolete features, but many essential features are missing.
There are a couple of new features, a Discover tab very reminiscent of Google News with a Pinterest UI, a Stash tab that works like Safari’s “Reading List”. Opera Turbo is still there, but it’s now called the off-road mode.
The browser sports a long-anticipated new design that works a lot better. Tabs are slimmer, the address and search bars are now unified, the fixed status bar is gone. Overall, using Opera for basic browsing is great.
The development team left many cumbersome features behind as well. The email client is now a separate app. Widgets, notes, Opera Unite’s local webserver feature are all gone. In the age of webmails and smartphones, carrying over an email client and a widget engine made sense in 2005 and maybe 2006, but not in 2013. And power user features, such as Opera Unite and mouse gestures, made Opera too complicated to the average user.
Opera took the opportunity to rethink every feature in Opera’s history, making the browser a lot easier for new users. Switching from Chrome to Opera should be painless.
But regular users expect a minimum set of features for their browser. For example, Opera 15 doesn’t have a “Bookmarks” menu. Instead, users should rely on the new speed dial, which now supports folders. The browser settings don’t sync with other Opera browsers (or at least not yet). You can’t customize your search engines, you can’t use a bookmark bar, etc.
Opera 15 is a first step in the right direction. But it will need more work to become a serious contender against Chrome, Firefox and Safari. For now, it looks a lot like Chrome without any killer feature to make everyone switch.
Outerwall (Formerly Coinstar) Buys ecoATM For $350M In Cash To Expand Into Device Recycling Kiosks
A few big changes underway in the automated retail space: Coinstar, the operator of coin-counting kiosks that has now rebranded as Outerwall, is acquiring ecoATM for $350 million in cash. EcoATM operates its own kiosk network focused on taking used mobile phones, tablets and MP3 players for cash and has positioned itself, coincidentally, as the “Coinstar for used devices.” Outerwall was already an investor in ecoATM, which had raised $31.4 million in VC financing, plus another $40 million in debt. Because of the 23% stake that it already owns, that will be deducted from that $350 million pricetag.
EcoATM is also holder of the 2012 Crunchie for best clean tech startup.
The move is a sign of consolidation in the self-service retail space, and also a mark of how Outerwall has much bigger ambitions beyond simply turning your multitudes of pennies into more useful dollars — hence, also, the rebranding. It’s also a sign of how low-margin services like these are looking for ways to ramp up into higher value items, while at the same time providing a much-needed service in our highly disposable economy.
“With ecoATM, Outerwall will advance its evolution into multiple automated retail businesses and increase our exposure to the growing demand for refurbished products and mobile devices across the globe,” said J. Scott Di Valerio, chief executive officer of Outerwall, in a statement. “As evidenced by our growing investment in ecoATM over the last four years, we are confident that ecoATM’s innovative, environmentally minded business model will continue to resonate with today’s technology savvy consumers.”
More to come. Refresh for updates.
Third Pivot Lucky? Housebites Launches Its Recipe Kit Service With An Explosion Of Flavor
It isn’t too often that covering a startup’s launch involves being couriered Saturday night’s dinner, even if I still had to find somebody to cook it for me. But that was the case with regards to Housebites, which launches its new subscription food offering today.
After shuttering its platform that enabled independent chefs to sell home-cooked meals as an alternative to a traditional take-out, the UK startup is rebooting for a third time today with its own twist on the recipe kit idea, which at first glance pits it against Rocket Internet’s HelloFresh and local player Gousto. However, although subtle, Housebites’ positioning and longer-term strategy may be slightly different with an emphasis on learning new chef skills as you move up the culinary ranks, not just the convenience of having all of the required fresh ingredients and accompanying instructions delivered directly to your door.
My only real complaint was the smug look of achievement plastered across my friend’s face once dinner was served
Relaunched with the strap line “Release your inner chef”, the new Housebites offering, which builds on last year’s soft launch, sees subscribers sent a recipe box each week containing step-by-step recipe cards and the needed portions of raw ingredients to cook three meals, each of which will serve a minimum of two people and should take about 30 minutes to prepare. Initially targeting London only but with wider UK coverage planned for later this year, pricing starts at £29 per week (£14.50 for the first order), which includes delivery, and like its competitors, the weekly subscription can be canceled at any time.
Housebites is also offering a one-off ‘LoveBox’ so that anybody can cook a restaurant-quality three course meal for their date “with confidence”. Breakfast is also an optional part of the LoveBox product for those who are feeling lucky (or just like to comfort eat in the morning).
The LoveBox aside, so far, so HelloFresh and others. Exactly how then is Housebites striving to be different? Along with stressing the quality of its recipes and ingredients, which all of its competitors do, the startup is focusing on what it’s calling “discovery and mastery”. The idea being that subscribers discover new dishes but also get to learn technical skills, like knife techniques and filleting, which will give them more confidence in the kitchen. In addition to the recipe kits themselves, Housebites is providing further learning materials on its website, such as short stop-motion video tutorials.
“We want to focus on the discovery and empowerment end that resonates with the Masterchef generation,” Housebites founder and CEO Simon Prockter tells TechCrunch. “That means making people feel they’ve accomplished something and help people to improve in the kitchen whilst giving them the credit.” Part of that plan is to increase the complexity of dishes for subscribers who stick around.
Conceding that customer churn is one of the main challenges facing a subscription service like Housebites, the company is also planning on introducing “periodic packages rather than subscribe until you remember to cancel”, and says that adding value for the customer over the longer term will be key. “We have a lot of ideas going forward and they don’t have to begin and end with weekly boxes,” says Prockter.
Whether or not Housebites can innovate its way into a crowded marketplace — its main competitors are better funded, too — only time will tell. Once again, scale could be an issue and it will be interesting to see how quickly the service ramps up beyond its London launch.
Finally, it would be criminal not to talk about the experience of my first (disclaimer: complimentary) Housebites recipe kit. Namely, how did it taste? The blurb for the dish — an innocent sounding warm salmon salad — promised a taste explosion, and let’s just say that devouring it was like stepping on a gastronomic land mine. The result was something quite unexpected.
Fresh mint and coriander. Cucumber. Crunchy green beans. Red onion. Lime. Grapefruit (yes, grapefruit!). Rice Noodles. All generously drizzled in sesame oil and in support of the star of the show: Fresh salmon topped with toasted coconut and sweet chile sauce.
The recipe card was straightforward to follow, outlining in advance what would be required, including the number of pots and pans, while my roped in friend-turned-chef’s only complaint was that the font-size for the step-by-step instructions could do with being increased for at-a-glance-ability. Meanwhile, my only real complaint was the smug look of achievement plastered across my friend’s face once dinner was served. Admittedly, though, the final results did look impressive and closely resembled the photo printed on the front of the recipe card. It tasted pretty good too, both of which is probably testament to a decent start by the new new Housebites.
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