Friday Recap: Kindle Fire Price Cut Rumor, Podcast App, Sonnet PCIe Chassis
Friday Recap: Kindle Fire Price Cut Rumor, Podcast App, Sonnet PCIe Chassis
Well, that’s it folks: WWDC 2012 wraps up today and developers will soon head home to put the finishing touches on their OS X Mountain Lion apps, while immersing themselves in the fun and excitement of iOS 6 ahead of its launch this fall. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the tech world is just twiddling their thumbs -- read on and find out everything making news for this freaky Friday, June 15, 2012.
Rumor: Kindle Fire Price Cut Coming with New Models
DigiTimes takes a break from questionable Apple rumors and turns their focus to Amazon’s Kindle Fire today. A new report claims that the e-tailer is planning to drop the seven-inch Android-based tablet to only $149 -- a $50 drop -- to make way for new “tablet PC products†expected in the third quarter of this year. “To expand its market share, the sources believe that Amazon has a high chance of adopting a similar product strategy to Apple, in addition to a new iPad product, Apple continues to sell its previous model at a cheaper price to expand market share into the lower-end segment,†claim sources in the upstream supply chain. Amazon’s new seven-inch tablet PC is likely to take up the $199 price point with a screen resolution of 1280 x 600, “targeting the higher-end segment†at a price everyone can afford.
Sonnet Ships Echo Express PCIe to Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis
The Thunderbolt accessories aren’t quite a wave a year and a half after its introduction, but the ripples are certainly getting larger. Sonnet Technologies Inc. announced this week that they are now shipping Echo Express and Echo Express Pro, the company’s expansion chassis products which allow Thunderbolt computers to utilize PCI Express (PCIe) cards. “Today's ultralight notebooks, minis, and all-in-one desktop computers now have tremendous processing power, but lack expansion slots for installing specialty PCIe cards to connect video and audio inputs, process data, and access high-speed storage and networks," said Greg LaPorte, vice president of sales and marketing at Sonnet. "With our Echo Express and Echo Express Pro chassis, our customers can take advantage of the groundbreaking performance of Thunderbolt technology to connect high-performance expansion cards to their computers without expansion slots." This kind of power does come at a price, however: $599 for the single-slot Echo Express, or $799 for the two-slot Echo Express Pro. But just think of all the fun you can have with them!
Report: Apple Planning Dedicated Podcast App with iOS 6
AllThingsD is reporting that Apple may be planning to introduce more new apps in addition to Passbook when iOS 6 launches this fall. After noticing that the Podcasts category has seemingly vanished from the initial developer beta released on Monday, sources familiar with Apple’s plans claim that Cupertino plans to give podcasts an app of their own to call home, perhaps in an effort to keep the focus of the iTunes app more on its own licensed product. It’s not the first time Apple has done such a thing: iTunes U was moved to its own app back in January, for example. They can do whatever they want, but here’s hoping it’s available as a separate app, giving us the choice of whether or not to install it. There are at least a couple of Apple apps included with iOS that we’d love to be able to exorcise from our devices...
Dropbox Dumping Public Folders on July 31, Existing Users Keep Them
The Dropbox user forums have been heating up today with word that the cloud sync service plans to ditch Public folders after July 31. That’s when new accounts can expect to be missing the former sharing folder, while existing users’ folder “will continue to function as before,†according to an email sent to developers who utilize the official Dropbox API. Forum moderator Michael N. confirms the change, noting “this is a decision that we're going with moving forward. All current users retain their Dropbox Public folder, and its function continues. Many people have commented on the duplication of function between Public and shared files, and most people (the users of this forum aside) use Public fairly rarely. Since the Public folder won't be in new accounts, relying on it for App functions is a bad idea.†How about it, Dropbox fans? Have you touched your Public folder since the new shared files functionality kicked in? (We haven’t.)
iStopMotion for iPad 1.4 Adds Theater Mode, iCloud Integration
Boinx Software has just premiered the latest version of its iStopMotion for iPad software, which now offers a new Theater feature where users can submit their creations and view those created by others. Version 1.4 also adds iCloud integration, uploading videos to Apple’s free service and sending a link via email instead of attempting to attach large files. The update also features two modes for exposure (perfect for time-lapse video where the light changes over time) and a new white balance customization setting to improve the look of video shot within the app. Last but not least, frames captured with the free iStopMotion Remote Camera version 1.4 are now automatically compressed, speeding up image transfer and reducing network bandwidth for users. iStopMotion for iPad 1.4 is now available from the App Store for $9.99 and the update is free for existing customers.
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