Podcast: Are you ready for some (Internet of Things) Football? A data driven party?

Sensor-packed football helmets, camera-covered NBA stadiums and sensor-studded soccer balls are all generating a ton of data but it’s still unclear how all of it can and will be used. As we connect everything, the amounts of data are going to be astounding, and so is the opportunity to build and change businesses (and sports).

To understand some of this, I spoke with David Jonker, the VP of product marketing for big data at SAP. We started with tracing the path of data from connected football helmets that can tell coaches when a hit was too hard and then went on to discuss how the National Basketball Association is sharing data gathered by cameras in certain stadiums to explore how business models around data might evolve. We also discussed how a German soccer team is sending data from a sensor-studded ball and sensors on the team members to understand play.

In sports, such connected clothing and equipment might change the game entirely, leading coaches to develop personalized defenses (and offenses) for each player. What if you knew that a certain player has never scored a basket if another player is on his left side? That might change your defensive strategy. So check out the show as we focus on wearables, sports and big data.

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Show notes:

Host: Stacey Higginbotham

Guest: David Jonker, VP of product marketing for big data at SAP

• Sensor-packed football helmets can help coaches make a hard call


• How wearables data is similar to financial services data


• How the NBA is building its own data economy


• Football or soccer, either way there’s a lot of data to be had

PREVIOUS IoT PODCASTS:

Here’s what’s wrong with the Internet of Things


Hard boiled – Quirky and GE will connect your eggs and crack open the IoT space

How the internet of things will make your wallet fat


Should nuclear power plants talk to Amazon?


Home on the Range, connected kitchen gadgets heat up

IFTTT’s new iPhone app and a Purple Rain recipe


What the bathroom door can tell caregivers about your health


Freak out! ZigBee and Z-Wave are doomed!


I love lamp! No, really, the Goodnight Lamp looks awesome


Say goodbye to the connected device price gap. Adding connectivity will soon cost $5

Securing the internet of things is like securing our borders. Impossible.


How to design a connected device that isn’t a jerk, plus IoT’s recipe for success


The history of the internet of things includes a Swedish hockey team and LEGOs

via GigaOM http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/jPkWHEWrj9U/

CSR shows off thinnest wireless keyboard (though that’s not where the tech’s potential lies)

British Bluetooth pioneer Cambridge Silicon Radio – or CSR as it is known these days – has unveiled an extremely thin flexible device that could touch-enable any surface.

The device, which is less than 0.5mm thick, is mostly intended as a demonstration of CSR’s tiny CSR1010 Bluetooth Smart chip, which will be able to connect peripherals with the latest iOS 7 and Windows 8 mobile gadgets, and other devices using the new wireless standard. Here it is, in the form of the “world’s thinnest” wireless keyboard:

And you thought Microsoft’s Touch Cover was thin.

The touch silicon here comes from Atmel, and the Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT) provided, well, what you would expect a company with that name to provide. According to CSR, latency is under 12ms, which is good but not quite gaming-keyboard fast.

Of course, the whole point with a demonstration such as this one is to hint at future use cases – these are deep tech firms, not gadget makers. There’s the keyboard idea, and CSR suggested that the thin device could even be placed behind the pages of a paper notebook in order to pick up sketches and handwriting (with a special pen). But potential applications go far beyond that.

The greatest hope for printed electronics lies in wearable technology, and that use case probably won’t involve keyboards. If we’re talking touch-enabled surfaces overlaid on fabric, for example, chances are we will need entirely new user interfaces that make more sense in that context.

These future user experiences will be a recurring theme at our RoadMap conference, which is taking place in San Francisco on November 5th and 6th.

via GigaOM http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/QAzHt9p54pE/

Twitter is reportedly in talks with investment banks about a $15B IPO next year

In what is likely to be the most closely watched technology IPO since Facebook, Twitter is expected to launch a public stock offering next year — according to a report in the Sunday Times, it has already had discussions with a number of investment banks about leading the share issue, which the newspaper says could value Twitter as high as $15 billion.

via GigaOM http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/Fe4nTja1j5A/

Apple offering popular albums Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons, others for as low as $6.99

With a new school year set to begin for millions of students nationwide, iMore alerts us to the fact that Apple has been sending out emails to iTunes customers highlighting great deals on a selection of popular albums.

iTunes users can pick up the following full length albums for just US$6.99:

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

Pink - The Truth About Love

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

OneRepublic - Native

Blake Shelton - Based On a True Story...

The Lumineers - The Lumineers

Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest

Imagine Dragons - Night Visions

Various Artists - Pitch Perfect (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Now that's an incredible deal for some of today's most popular albums. The $6.99 promotion is scheduled to run through September 5, so visit iTunes now if any of the above albums catch your eye.

In addition to the aforementioned $6.99 promotion, Apple has also put up a page on iTunes touting a number of current and classic albums for just $7.99.

Some of the artists with albums available for just under 8 bucks include Taylor Swift, Eminem, Kid Cudi, Beastie Boys, Frank Ocean, Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, Fall Out Boy, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Kanye West.

There's no word as to when the $7.99 promotion is slated to end, so it's probably best to check out the available deals as soon as you can.
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via TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/03/as-part-of-its-back-to-school-promotion-apple-offering-popula/

Verizon buys itself from Vodafone for $130 billion

America's largest mobile phone carrier Verizon Communications announced yesterday that is was buying out British firm's Vodafone 45% stake in the company for US$130 billion. The deal will give Verizon 100% ownership in the company. Until the buyout yesterday, Vodafone had owned its 45% stake for over a decade.

While complete ownership of the company will give Verizon more leeway to do what it wants, Vodafone's ownership didn't have a lot to say about the direction of the carrier since it had owned less than half the company. Verizon says it will focus on rolling out 4G to more areas of the country. As for Vodafone, now that they are cash rich, the company plans to spend at least £6 billion speeding up 4G roll out in the UK and also improve fiber optic broadband speeds to homes.
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via TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/03/verizon-buys-itself-from-vodafone-for-130-billion/

Microsoft buys Nokia's Devices and Services unit to control its own phone hardware

Microsoft has announced that it is buying Finnish smartphone maker Nokia's Devices and Services unit for US$7.2 billion. The deal will see Microsoft take complete control of Nokia's Devices and Services unit as well as a licensing agreement to access Nokia's mapping services and patents, and the rights to the Lumia and Asha brands. Microsoft announced the news in a press release, saying:

Building on the partnership with Nokia announced in February 2011 and the increasing success of Nokia's Lumia smartphones, Microsoft aims to accelerate the growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through faster innovation, increased synergies, and unified branding and marketing. For Nokia, this transaction is expected to be significantly accretive to earnings, strengthen its financial position, and provide a solid basis for future investment in its continuing businesses.

"It's a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft's share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer. "In addition to their innovation and strength in phones at all price points, Nokia brings proven capability and talent in critical areas such as hardware design and engineering, supply chain and manufacturing management, and hardware sales, marketing and distribution."

Nokia was Microsoft's primary hardware partner in its smartphone initiatives. Now with the purchase of the company's Devices and Services unit, Microsoft have complete control over the hardware and software of its handsets, much as Apple does.
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via TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/03/microsoft-buys-nokias-devices-and-services-unit-to-control-its/

DICE+ digital gaming dice for iOS now shipping

Polish developer Game Technologies has announced that its Bluetooth die DICE+ is now shipping. The six-sided Bluetooth die has an LED on each side and a built-in accelerometer, thermometer, and magnetometer, which allows it not only to be used as a digital die, but also as a motion controller. Using DICE+, gamers can play a number of social games on their iPad or Android tablet.

The makers of Dice+ are positioning the device as a communal gaming experience, much like the family board games we all grew up with. However, instead of being a piece of cardboard, those boardgames now live on our tablet's touch screen.

For now, DICE+ only supports seven games -- mostly strategy and turn-based multiplayer games -- but the company plans to roll out an SDK soon so other game makers can easily integrate support for the device. DICE+ is shipping today for US$39.99. You can purchase it from the company's web store.
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via TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/03/dice-digital-gaming-dice-for-ios-now-shipping/