There's big news coming out of Intel today, but it's probably not news that most will want to hear: Intel has decided to quit hosting the Intel Developer Forum, otherwise known as IDF. The conference took place at multiple locations around the world each year and focused on Intel's products. Intel's announcement today unfortunately ends a 20 year run for the show, which started way back in 1997.
Chinese company Haier, which entered the Chromebook market last year with its ultra-cheap Chrome OS laptop, is back with another model, and this one has 360-degree hinges. The convertible Chromebook's display can be folded fully backward, putting the laptop in tablet mode. Though pricing details haven't been revealed at this time, we do know it'll be arriving in the U.S. in the next couple of months.
Intel's RealSense 3D camera technology always seemed like a natural bedfellow with Google's Project Tango, and sure enough they've met up at IDF 2015. The Android phablet isn't expected to ship for developers until the end of the year, but Intel brought along a handful of prototypes - along with some apps to make use of them - to its annual event, which is where I caught up with the smartphones to see what's new.
Intel has cooked up a prototype identification bracelet that could mean never having to type in a password or reach for your door keys again. The wearable, a simple band that resembles a Fitbit health monitor, was shown off today during Intel's IDF 2015 opening keynote, working with a Windows 10 computer for proximity-based login.
Fashion brand Fossil have teamed up with Intel to bring a new Android Wear-based smartwatch to the market this year. Revealed at IDF 2015, this watch is the first in a line of smart wearable devices from Fossil and Intel, while in 2016 more products will be coming from Fossil including a smart watch made under the Michael Kors brand. In addition to this first device - which at first glance looks very similar to certain Android Wear devices made by Motorola and Huawei - more devices are already on the table. Literally.
Vending machines that recognize you might not seem your first priority when you're desperate for a snack, but the US is about to be invaded by thousands of them. Automated retail behemoth N&W is planning to release a flock of 5,000 smart vending machines across America in 2016. They, Intel confirmed at its IDF 2015 opening keynote this morning, will be powered by a number of the tech company's products.
This morning Razer revealed an Intel-powered RealSense camera for PC gamers. While this technology has been used for 3D applications before - scanning in the real world, for example, Razer is bringing the technology home squarely in the gaming arena. Think facial tracking while you're using your multi-monitor setup to race cars. This camera will be launching as its own stand-along peripheral for desktop PC gaming first - but we wouldn't be surprised to see it launch on a Razer laptop in the near future.
Google and Intel have paired up to develop a Project Tango smartphone that uses RealSense cameras, shown off for the first time at IDF 2015. The Android smartphone follows in the footsteps of Google's first Project Tango tablet, which went on sale for developers some months back, but shrinks the technology down to a pocket-sized form factor.
Intel CEO Brain Krzanich was on stage at IDF in Shenzhen this week showing off a new camera module that Intel has been working on. The camera uses Intel RealSense technology and this tech has been fitted into larger devices like desktop and laptop PCs, tablets, and drone aircraft in the past. The reason it turned up in larger devices was the size of the camera module.
The idea of domestic robots isn't new, but Intel and Trossen Robotics are aiming to make it actually happen with the 3D-printed Jimmy powered by the chip firm's new Edison development board. Trossen has been offering the original Jimmy for some time now, a $16,000 'bot powered by an Intel Core i5 chip, but its new little brother - the HR-OS1 - promises to come in at a tenth of the price and, so the theory goes, open up the space to those who aren't adept at robotics programming.
Intel’s IDF wasn’t where we expected to find an incredible Android tablet, but Dell quietly knocked it out the park with the Venue 8 7000, a brand new slate using RealSense depth-sensing camera technology. An 8.4-inch alternative to the iPad mini with Retina display and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, the Dell tablet has a surprise on both sides: a fantastic 2560 x 1600 OLED touchscreen on the front, and a trio of cameras on the back.
At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco this week, Corning has announced that it has been granted an Intel certification for Thunderbolt Optical Cables by Corning, the first all-optical fiber Thunderbolt cables. According to the company, the optical fiber cables support both Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 protocols and will be available "in the coming weeks."