Jake Smith

Monster suing Apple Beats founders Dre and Iovine over headphone line

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Monster, who helped create the original Beats headphones in 2007, is suing Apple's Beats Electronics in a San Mateo County Superior Court, USA Today first reported on Tuesday.

The suit, filed on Tuesday and discussed by Monster CEO Noel Lee at CES 2015, says that the Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre concealed the role of Monster and Lee in designing and engineering the headphone line, as well as educating them about engineering, manufacturing, distributing, and selling the headphones that Monster and Lee invented.

CES 2015: Kenwood announces multimedia receiver with Apple CarPlay

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Kenwood is the next car accessory-maker to jump on the Apple CarPlay bandwagon, announcing at CES 2015 on Tuesday its new DDX9902S receiver.

The DDX9902S will support both CarPlay for iPhone users and Android Auto for Android Phone users - a pretty common theme we've been seeing at CES 2015. It features a touchscreen, with the ability to add a rear-view camera and maneuver safely with on-screen parking guide lines, and compatibility with factory steering wheel audio controls.

Fitbit Charge HR, Surge now available for $149/$249

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Can't wait for the Apple Watch to track your health? Fitbit announced the availability of the Charge HR and Surge on Tuesday, after unveiling the products last October.

The Charge HR, available from Fitbit's website for $149, is a heart rate tracker on the wrist, with an OLED screen, an exercise mode, Caller ID, automatic sleep detection, and a water resistant design with 5 days of battery life. It's available in plum, black, blue, or tangerine.

Supply chain sources say Apple isn’t planning 4-inch iPhone like previously claimed

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Chinese news website Feng.com claims Apple has no plans to go back to a smaller, 4-inch iPhone in 2015 as some reports last month suggested.

There’s talk Verizon wants to buy or form a joint venture with AOL

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Telecom giant Verizon has had internal talks about acquiring or forming a joint venture with AOL, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The acquisition is said to be focused around AOL's advertising technology and its video content, in an effort to combat AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV.

CES 2015: Volkswagen finally announces CarPlay support for later this year

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Volkswagen has finally announced it will rollout Apple's CarPlay software in its vehicles sometime in 2015, a year late to the party when it was noticeably absent from the list of initial CarPlay supporters. The European automaker made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, saying CarPlay will be alongside its rivals.

Facebook acquires voice recognition firm Wit.ai

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

"Natural Language for the Internet of Things."

Social networking giant Facebook is expanding its product reach into voice recognition, with the acquisition of Palo Alto-based Wit.ai on Monday, reports Reuters.

CES 2015: Zagg announces iPhone 6 case with bigger speaker, hardware controls

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Turn it up! Accessory-maker Zagg announced at CES 2015 on Monday a new case for iPhone 6 that promises louder music playback and better controls.

The Zagg Speaker Case, available sometime in Q1 2015, boasts a larger speaker on the back and hardware music controls. It also has an 1800 mAh battery to help power you through your day, promising up to eight hours of additional talk time.

Parrot is next to launch an aftermarket CarPlay in-dash receiver

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Parrot has announced a rather slick car infotainment system at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Sunday, packing a 7-inch 720p "IPS Pro" touchscreen that supports Apple CarPlay.

New screen protector wants to stop your iPhone 6 Plus from bending for $45

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Japan-based Patchworks wants to stop your iPhone 6 Plus from bending with its new ITG Edge protector that adds another layer of protection to your handset from "#Bendgate".

Following several reports of iPhone 6 Plus' bending in pockets, the ITG Edge protector is launching in the US to add a 0.4mm-thick, 11g sheet of tempered glass with a bevel of liquid silicon to match the edges, on top of your handset.

Alleged sketch claims to be prototype of larger iPad Pro

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

A sketch captured by a factory worker at Foxconn claims to show a prototype of the long-rumored, larger iPad Pro. French blog Nowhereelse posted the image, showing four integrated speakers that would make sense for a larger iPad measuring between 12.2- and 12.9-inches.

LaCie unveils external hard drive wrapped in Gorilla Glass, Seagate debuts iOS-focused storage

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

LaCie unveiled its new LaCie Mirror external hard drive on Sunday, a designer-inspired creation wrapped in Gorilla Glass, ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show kicking off in Las Vegas this week.