Yes, someone actually made a wearable “tablet.” And no, we’re not talking about the Neptune Pine, which is basically an oversized watch that doubles as a phone. This new device, dubbed Rufus Cuff, features a 3.2-inch screen and, since launching as an Indiegogo campaign in 2014, has promised to be more than a smartwatch. Rufus Labs, the company behind it, says its product “ends the era of the watch and ushers in the wrist communicator.” Aside from that ludicrous display size (compared to other wearables designed to be worn on your wrist), it also features a TI Cortex A9 processor, front-facing camera for pictures/video, GPS, WiFi and a 1,175mAh battery. [...]
You’ve heard the rumors: Microsoft axed the launch of a small “Surface Mini” Windows tablet just before the Pro 3 hit stores. Hints of the canceled launch showed up in news articles, Microsoft earnings reports and even the Surface Pro 3’s user manual, but now we finally have confirmation that the tablet actually exists — and it was pretty much ready to ship alongside the Surface Pro 3. So ready that, for a time, Surface VP Panos Panay used one on a daily basis.
“It was like a Moleskine,” the Microsoft executive told WIRED recently. “It was awesome.” Panay described waking up in the dead of night to jot down notes and write [...]
Remember when the best way to make your gadget look more futuristic and all-powerful was to make it clear? Reddit user Skarface08 does. That’s why he or she took a heat gun and suction cup to the back of a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to pull its glass back off and then used a razor to remove the colored inside. Boom: clear glass view into the internals of your phone. Of course, this will absolutely void the warranty of your expensive device, so think twice (or three times even) before taking this on yourself. I certainly don’t have the steady hands likely needed to make this viable — but if you do, more power to you.
[Image credit: Skarface08/Reddit]
You can use Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant on Android right now, but it’s not really integrated with Android. There’s only so much the developers can do when they don’t control the operating system. If Cyanogen has its way, though, you’ll soon see what Cortana can do when the gloves are off. The company has revealed that it’s working with Microsoft to integrate Cortana into Cyanogen’s custom version of Android, kicking Google’s own voice control to the curb. It’s not clear exactly how this will compare to the assistant on other platforms, but Cyanogen hints that it could offer better control over third-party apps than rivals [...]
