smart

Logitech purchased the Ultimate Ears headphone line way back in 2008. Since then, slowly but surely, the UE logo has been creeping in as the upscale Logitech audio brand -- witness the UE AirPlay speaker from earlier this year.

As of today, the Logitech UE branding officially goes large with the introduction of seven new audio products. Among the new models are two mobile Bluetooth speakers, three new headphones with memory foam cushions, a noise-isolating in-earphone with four-armature speakers in each earpiece, and the next evolution of the Squeezebox Radio powered by Logitech UE's new mobile companion app.… Read more

Monday's tech news roundup translates the Apple v. Samsung legalese:

Let's face it: Opening up a cookbook, turning the pages, and reading a recipe is hard work. Thankfully, scientists in Japan recognize this and have developed a kitchen that puts recipes right on your food.

Unfortunately, you still have to read, and actually try to cook, by following instructions projected onto your food. But if you go astray a robot called Phyno is there to help out.

Developed by Yu Suzuki and colleagues at Kyoto Sangyo University, the "cooking support system" is being presented next week at the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Computer Human Interaction (APCHI 2012) in Matsue, Japan.

With a combination of image processing and speech interaction, it's aimed at novice cooks who find recipe jargon confusing.… Read more

The U.S. government is launching a project in Michigan where 3,000 "smart cars" will be able to "talk" to their drivers.

No, it's not some Knight Rider-esque KITT scenario, it's actually specialized technology that's equipping cars with Wi-Fi to see if such communication can make the roads safer.

"Vehicle-to-vehicle communication has the potential to be the ultimate game-changer in roadway safety," administrator David Strickland from the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement, "but we need to understand how to apply the … Read more

Owners of certain Panasonic smart appliances will soon be able to manage them remotely via their Android phones.

The consumer electronics company has cooked up its own Panasonic Smart App. Android users can remotely turn on and control any compatible appliance, potentially cutting energy costs. Users can even monitor their energy savings through the app.

Included among the smart home appliances are Panasonic air conditioners, refrigerators, and health care devices. New appliances slated to hit the market in Japan on September 25 are Panasonic's X Series room air conditioners, a top-mount refrigerator, and drum-type washer-dryers. The new air conditions … Read more

iPhone users now have yet another choice for a mobile browser.

Maxthon has finally made its debut for Apple's iPhone. As of today, the new version of the mobile browser is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S, and with the iPod Touch 3G and 4G.

A dedicated iPad app has been around for a while. Maxthon also provides desktop clients for Windows and the Mac, as well as mobile versions for Android phones and tablets.

Like its big brother iPad edition, the iPhone flavor offers several features not found in Mobile Safari.

Maxthon starts off with a … Read more

Google has enabled a Google Play feature that promises to save Android app users time and bandwidth.

The Web giant is now offering the ability for app users to download delta updates from its Google Play, the folks over at the Android Police blog have discovered.

Previously, an updated app meant downloading it again in full, which could put a strain on a device's battery if the app was large and the connection slow. The new smart downloads allows users to avoid downloading the app in toto, send only the incremental difference between the old and new versions, thereby … Read more

If you take CEO Thorsten Heins' word for it, the next Research in Motion operating system -- BlackBerry 10 -- isn't intended just for mobile devices, and is already drawing interest from other industries.

In an interview with CNET, Heins said businesses in the health care and smart-grid fields have already expressed interest in using the operating system. The company likes to tout that QNX, the software BlackBerry 10 is based on, powers a number of different systems, including cars.

Eventually, BlackBerry 10 will power devices and equipment in multiple industries, Heins said. For instance, he said, the auto … Read more

Apple has some ideas up its sleeve to make its Smart Cover, well, smarter.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published an application Apple filed last year related to a Smart Cover boasting a "thin flexible display" that "greatly enhances the overall functionality of the tablet device."

According to the patent application, the cover would come with a connector that would attach to the tablet to draw power. Once connected, the Smart Cover could be used to "present visual information" and work with the same touch technology found in a slate's … Read more