Broadcom Announces First 5G WiFi Combo Chips for Entry Level Market

Cost-effective, Highly Integrated Designs Deliver Unprecedented Range and Performance of 802.11ac Technology to Affordable PCs, Tablets and Smartphones

IRVINE, Calif. – May 23, 2013

The US military's dabbled with full-on robotic suits in the past, but it's now looking at a less convoluted, more energy-efficient approach. A project called Warrior Web from DARPA aims to enhance soldier carrying capacity and minimize injuries by distributing loads better, providing better joint support and "reapply(ing) energy to enhance motion." Such a suit would be equipped with sensors to detect forces, and be able to fit beneath existing uniforms while consuming only 100W of juice. The US Army has nearly completed five months of prototype testing using a multi-camera motion capture system (see the video after the break) to develop critical tech. The next step will be to design and fabricate a suit ready for real-world testing, which should happen in the fall -- assuming the program keeps its footing.

Shazam Launches Completely Redesigned App for iPad with New Features for Deeper Engagement and Exploration

New features include Auto-Tagging, exciting new discovery home screen, tag charts for any city, and improved experience

London – 23 May 2013 - Shazam®, the world's leading media engagement company, today launched a complete redesign of its app for iPad fans, including a new discovery home screen, an improved layout for Shazam tag results for both TV and music, and a new way to browse what your friends have been watching and listening to. The updated app also launches an exclusive new Auto-Tagging feature that helps you continually recognize and engage with any media playing around you, including music, television programs, and TV advertisements -- automatically. The new app design for iPad is sponsored by the Fiat Brand and Fox Broadcasting Company for the first three months after launch.
For iPad, the redesigned Shazam App gives users new streams of activity, enabling them to see in real time and explore the songs people are listening to right now and, in the US, the TV shows people are currently watching. Shazam is also bringing to its iPad experience for the first time two popular features – lightning-fast tagging that enables recognition in as little as one second and full-screen LyricPlay™ lyrics, which plays the lyrics on-screen in time with the music. The new app adds a fascinating new interactive mapping feature enabling music fans to explore what people are listening to in any city around the world.
"We have seen amazing growth and expansion in both the number of people who use Shazam on iPad as well as their level of engagement," said Rich Riley, Shazam CEO. "With more than 300 million Shazamers globally who use the app more than ten million times each day to discover more about the music and television they are interested in, we have created an exciting and engaging new iPad experience for existing and new users."
When Shazam fans download the new app or update to this new version, they can experience great new features that encourage and enable discovery and exploration, some of which are also available in the experience for iPhone and iPod touch:
· Auto-tagging, so that people never miss discovering new songs, experiencing more with TV shows and live TV events, and getting more info or special offers for TV ads they are interested in (available on iPad only);
· An exciting new design featuring an innovative home screen that invites exploration to see what TV shows* and music people are currently tagging, as well as find out what's most popular in the Shazam Tag Charts (available on iPad only);
· An interactive mapping feature, enabling fans to zoom in to any city in the world to discover, buy and share the most popular music people are listening to in that location – starting at the continent level, then drilling down into the country, state/region, city and even to the town level, in some cases;
· Integrated streaming with Rdio. Tag results enable fans to instantly listen to the song again if they have a subscription to Rdio or sign-up for an Rdio trial subscription;
· An improved Shazam Friends feature, providing people with one of the best ways to discover new music and media from their friends as well as giving them quick access to preview and comment on their friends' tags;
· Lightning-fast tagging, so that people can identify what they're watching or listening to in as little as one second;
· Sharing that's easier than ever, including a streamlined way to tell your friends about your finds via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email; and,

With 30 Million Registered Users Worldwide, MediaFire Launches Native Streaming Video and
Music Playback Support For iOS, Android, and Web, Enabling Users to Share, Store, and Play Their Media Through Their Browser and Mobile Devices.

For a limited time MediaFire offers fifty-percent discounts on yearly storage plans, starting at 24.99 a year for 100 gigs of online storage.

HOUSTON, TX - (5/22/2013) - MediaFire, a leading online storage and collaboration provider, today
announced that the company has reached a major growth milestone of 30 million registered users. In order to celebrate, MediaFire is rolling out their native media player update, enabling users to play streaming video and music through MediaFire's mobile and web based applications.
Available today, the update enables MediaFire users to store, share, and play their media, wherever they happen to be.

While taking a look around HTC China's online store after the Desire 600 (aka Desire 606w in China) announcement, we also stumbled upon this Desire 608t that was first outed by TENAA in late April. With the exception of the One SV-like design and the TD-SCDMA radio for China Mobile, this model is otherwise identical to its 606w sibling, especially with the Sense 5-enhanced Android 4.1, BoomSound front stereo speakers, dual SIM and even the CN¥2,499 ($410) unsubsidized price tag. Other specs include: 4.5-inch 960 x 540 Super LCD 2, 1.2GHz quad-core chip by Qualcomm, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage (with up to 64GB expansion via microSD), 8-megapixel imager (with f/2.0 aperture and 720p video capture), 1.6-megapixel front camera, 1,860mAh battery and NFC. Interestingly, the 608t is also listed with Zoe camera feature, yet the 606w isn't, so hopefully it's just a mistake for the latter instead of the former.

HTC Desire 608t press shots

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Square Arrives in Japan

The Mobile Point of Sale Solution Now Helps Japanese Businesses Grow

TOKYO, JAPAN - May 23, 2013 - Square, the original mobile payment technology designed in California and making commerce easy for everyone, today announced availability in Japan. Square builds simple, powerful tools designed to make it easy to manage business safely and securely. Square Register is a free app that serves as a free full point-of-sale system for businesses of all types and sizes from a mobile device.

HTC Desire 600 dual sim boosts the acclaimed Desire series

Quad-core processor, true dual SIM convenience and HTC BlinkFeed™ bring premium performance and versatility to the mid-range market

HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, has today unveiled the new HTC Desire 600 dual sim, the first mid-range handset to offer HTC's latest Sense 5 experience; HTC BlinkFeed and HTC BoomSound, most recently launched as part of the award-winning HTC One. Taking full advantage of Android Jelly Bean, the new model also offers super-fast quad-core performance, while the advanced Video Highlights feature enables maximum creativity at a more affordable price tag.

Twitter Cards are meant to enhance a user's -- er, advertiser's -- tweets with relevant links and photo previews. Three such cards currently exist, but today the social network introduced a new one: the Lead Generation Card (marketing speak, much?), which essentially lets users accept discounts and provide the required personal information directly from a business' tweet. The feature is located within a brand's expanded tweet: you simply click a button, and your email address and handle are passed along. Essentially, it's autofill for Twitter, which you'll either love or hate. For its part, the site says this feature simplifies the user experience, and it promises your personal info is sent directly and securely to the company you've specified. Currently, a few brands are beta-testing the card, and Twitter says a global launch is soon to follow.

With Computex just around the corner, MSI has taken the wraps off what can truly be described as a next-gen gaming laptop. According to CNET, the 17.3-inch GT70 Dragon Edition 2 will pack a yet-to-be-announced Haswell chip alongside an equally mysterious NVIDIA GTX780M GPU that is claimed to deliver a 3DMark Vantage score of 36,000 -- in other words, roughly equivalent to the benchmark stat you'd get from a desktop rig containing an Ivy Bridge Core-i5 and a full-size GTX670, if the boast happens to be true. A SteelSeries-branded keyboard is in attendance, alongside multiple SSDs in Raid 0 config and three video outputs, all contained within a 21.8mm-thick package that weighs 2.9kg (6.4 pounds). Lesser variations will bring the weight down to 2kg (4.4 pounds) by reducing screen size to 14 inches and switching to a less frenetic GTX760M. Expect pricing and availability details once the big Taiwanese expo gets underway.

Kindle Fire HD-with a stunning custom 7" or 8.9" HD display, ultra-fast Wi-Fi, and exceptional battery life-perfect for web browsing, apps, games and books

Instant access to the most popular apps and games, including Where's My Perry?, Pinterest, NBA JAM, and Asphalt 7-each one optimized for Kindle Fire HD

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 23, 2013-- (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Today Amazon announced that Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9" are now available to customers in over 170 countries and territories around the world for pre-order through Amazon.com, giving customers access to millions of apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines, including more than 300,000 books that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.