glasses

Tougher Gorilla Glass 3 means more-scratch-proof screens

Corning's goal: to shatter its own status quo when it comes to the strength of its Gorilla Glass screens for consumer electronics.

At CES, the glass maker will debut Gorilla Glass 3, the company's latest effort in the daily battle against scratched, splintered, and shattered device screens.

By studying glass' atomic structure and bonding properties, Corning's team was able to "invent another kind of glass" that makes the substance less brittle, and less prone to scratches, says David Velasquez, Gorilla Glass' director of marketing and commercial operations.

Corning terms this additional fortitude "native damage … Read more

Google Glass development charges ahead

It's been six months since Google unveiled its Google Glass project, and it appears the tech giant is still hard at work ironing out the kinks to get the product ready for consumption.

In an interview with IEEE Spectrum published today, the head of the Google Glass project, Babak Parviz, said his team is continuing to try out new ideas and that both the software and hardware development is coming along.

"We constantly try out new ideas of how this platform can be used," Parviz told IEEE Spectrum. "We're also trying to make the platform … Read more

Flexy iPhone someday? Apple patents method to bend glass

Apple has patented a method that could help propel traditional glass screens into a flexible future.

The new patent, first discovered by Wired, was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. U.S. patent 8,336,334 details a method of using heat while bending glass over a mold in order to encourage a particular shape -- and so who's to say that Apple's iPhone and iPad might not one day sport the curved equivalent of a traditional, straight glass screen?

Apple's not alone in exploring the possibility of flexible screens for gadgets. Samsung, for … Read more

Google Glass

Count on Google to deliver the future before you're even quite ready to receive it, and to deliver it via a team of skydivers with Sergey Brin in tow. The company made clear its lofty ambitions for the Google Glass project -- the aptly named effort to put a smartphone's brains in a pair of interactive spectacles -- with an unprecedented press event at Google I/O in June.

Google says it wants Google Glass to help users interact with the virtual world without distracting them from the real world. The tech community responded with excitement, poring over … Read more

Xbox SmartGlass Android app now supports 7-inch tablets

Owners of the Google Nexus 7 and other 7-inch Android tablets can now remotely control their Xbox 360 consoles via a free app.

Updated yesterday, the Xbox SmartGlass for Android app acts as a second screen for your Xbox console. You can use the app on your phone or tablet to navigate your Xbox dashboard, control videos and music playing on your console, search Microsoft's Xbox catalog, and surf the Internet.

Until yesterday, the app worked only on certain Android devices. The release notes for the update don't list which 7-inch tablets the app now supports. But logging … Read more

Nexus 7 explodes in China, Asus runs to rescue

The Nexus 7 has been one of the smokin' hot tablets of 2012, and unfortunately for one user in China, that was literally the case.

The user posted the photo above to a forum on Baidu (China's home-grown answer to Google), claiming that the device began smoking while plugged in and charging on its original factory charger. In the process, the guts of the tablet seem to have been totally torched.… Read more

Xbox SmartGlass for iOS adds more console interactivity

Much like the former Xbox Live app, Xbox SmartGlass (free) gives you the Xbox 360 Dashboard experience, letting you do things like view your avatar and info, see your friends' bio and game lists, and track and compare achievements.

With this latest version of the app, you get a lot more ways to interact with your console. You now have the ability to type using your iPhone keypad rather than the old hunt-and-peck Xbox controller method; you can browse the Internet on your Xbox using your full iOS keyboard; you can play, rewind, and fast-forward videos; search the Xbox game … Read more

Microsoft kills Messenger to push Skype

Wednesday's CNET Update is app happy:

Today's tech news roundup bids farewell to Windows Live Messenger. Microsoft is pushing users to use Skype instead for instant messaging. The latest Skype update lets users transfer contacts from Messenger.

The new Xbox SmartGlass app is now available for Apple devices. The app turns an iOS device into a second screen for navigating through Xbox menus and media, and it's easier to type with an iOS keyboard. Some games have extra features for SmartGlass, like Halo 4, Dance Central 3 and Forza Horizon.

If you're wondering about an app for Microsoft Office, … Read more

Microsoft's Xbox-Surface tablet: What could it be?

Microsoft apparently has a gaming tablet complete with Xbox branding on the way in the near future, perhaps to coincide with the release of the next-generation Xbox. In a year full of tablets of all shapes, prices, and functions, what does this mean? What can we hope for? What are the pitfalls? Here's what immediately comes to mind.… Read more