Honda Robot Gardener Arrives in Europe

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Science fiction used to promise we'd have all sorts of robotic help by the 21st century. So far the "future" proved to be rather disappointing-- even if ASIMO maker Honda now offers the Miimo gardening robot.

MiimoThe Miimo looks like the familiar Roomba robot vacuum cleaners and acts very similar to one, too. But instead of sucking down dirt, the Miimo mows 2-3mm of grass from its owners' lawns.

Think of it as a robot lawn mower for your more lazy customers, then.

Handling robot controls are timers, 3 independent "bump" sensors and a boundary wire acting as a garden perimeter. Honda also says the sensors shut down the grass-cutting blades should the Miimo lift off the ground.

A "high performance" lithium-ion battery powers the robot, which returns to the docking station once it needs a recharge.

Honda offers two Miimo models for the European market-- the 300 and 500, offering a maximum mowing perimiter of either 300m or 500m. Both will be available by early 2013... until then, we'll just have to stick to mowing the lawn by hand.

Go Honda Enters European Robotic Lawn Mower Market with Miimo

SteelSeries Intros Mobile Peripherals

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SteelSeries launches the Freedom to Play family at Gamescom 2012-- a peripheral series ideal for mobile device users, complete with controllers and headsets.

Steel Series"The SteelSeries Freedom to Play product line-up is designed for players who want to play and experience more than just swiping and word games on their tablets and phones,” the company claims.

The product family includes the Free Mobile Gaming Controller, a wireless Android- and iOS-compatible Bluetooth controller. It has a button layout similar to the Playstation controller and a rechargeable battery hosting up to 10 hours of "non-stop playtime."

Mobile device users also get the Free Touchscreen controls-- conductive rubber suction cups users can stick on a touchscreen to mimic the "feel" of physical controller buttons.

Headsets come in two varieties-- the customisable Flux Headset (a cross-platform, on-ear headset) and the Flux In-Ear Pro Headset.

Go SteelSeries Introduces "Freedom to Play" Mobile Gaming Peripherals

Samsung Teases Galaxy Note Sequel

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"Anybody can do it," a narrator mumbles in a slightly baffling teaser trailer hinting at a successor to the Galaxy Note, which the company should reveal at IFA 2012.

Note 2Starring German film director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire), the teaser talks about "all the things you can do in the blink on the eye, on such a small and light thing" while showing glimpses of a (new?) stylus poking at a touchscreen.

No actual device is seen in the teaser, mind. But it does conclude with "your magical moments will come alive" before pointing out the August 29 2012 date.

Guess we will learn more of Samsung's plans at IFA 2012 next week, then.

Watch Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012 Teaser

What is Going On at OnLive?

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Remember OnLive, the cloud gaming service to end all other gaming vendors? Now it reaches its own end, hits the reset button and goes through a so-called Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC).

onliveABC is a courts-free alternative to bankruptcy. It allows a company to transfer all assets to another company-- in the OnLive case, a yet-unnamed newly-formed entity (a "new OnLive," if you will) with "substantial funding" from venture capital firm Lauder Partners.

The process also allows the company to dissolve costly server contracts-- the chief reason for OnLive's financial woes and eventual end.

The news follows reports of the company mass-firing virtually all employees and HTC announcing a $40 million in losses from a February 2011 investment in OnLive.

Read more...

Gartner: Samsung and Apple Dominate Smartphones

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Global mobile phone demand slows down in Q2 2012 according to Gartner, as WW sales decline by -2.3% Y-o-Y to reach 419 million units due to current economic woes and customers preferring to wait for high-profile device launches.

Declining feature phone demand also weakens the overall mobile market, even if smartphone sales grow by 42.7% Y-o-Y in the quarter.

Smartphones account for 36.7% of the total Q2 2012 mobile market.

"High-profile smartphone launches from key manufacturers such as the anticipated Apple iPhone 5, along with Chinese manufacturers pushing 3G and preparing for major device launches H2 2012, will drive the smartphone market upward. However, feature phones will continue to see pressure," Gartner says.

Gartner mobile market

Samsung leads the Q2 2012 mobile market, with shipments reaching 90.4m units with 21.6% market share, up from 16.3% in Q2 2011. Boosting shipments are "record" Galaxy smartphone sales and Galaxy S3 demand exceeding Samsung's expectations.

Gartner says the Galaxy S3 is the "best-selling Android product in the quarter" (selling 10m units WW in 2 months) and could have been higher if not for product shortages.

Former leader Nokia follows in the general mobile device vendor rankings, with shipments reaching 83.4m units and 19.9% market share-- a -14.8% Y-o-Y decline. According to Gartner Nokia beats the competition (to a certain extent) in feature phones, but continues to struggle when it comes to smartphones.

Apple comes 3rd, with 6.9% market share and shipments reaching 28.9m units. The analyst reports iPhone demand is down by -12.6% Q-o-Q (if up by 47.4% Y-o-Y)-- and depending on the new iPhone launch date, might even experience a weaker-than-usual Q3 2012.

When it comes to smartphones, Samsung and Apple dominate the market by together taking nearly 50% smartphone market share. All other vendors are left with the remaining scraps, as no single vendor manages to take over 10% smartphone share in Q2 2012.

Go Gartner Mobile Devices WW Q2 2012 Report

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