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CES 2015

The mother of all trade shows, the Consumer Electronics Show takes over Vegas for the first week of January. A few major phones are usually announced, and we'll have hands-on reports for each one, plus hands-on details of other interesting apps, services, and accessories in the world of phones.

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Liveblog schedule

 

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HTC to Pursue Array of Connected Devices

Jan 7, 2015, 6:18 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

HTC plans to broaden the scope of its business during the course of 2015 to include more connected devices across its portfolio. HTC pointed to the recent release of the RE camera and its partnership with Under Armour as examples spearheading its new efforts. The Connected Products Business Unit will operate separately from — but in parallel with — HTC's existing smartphone business. The idea isn't to build accessories to help HTC sell more phones, or jump into existing markets with me-too hardware; instead, HTC wants to meaningfully create new products that solve consumer pain points. The Connected Products business has four main pillars: Connected Life, Connected Self, Connected Entertainment, and Connected Home. The Life category will include imaging products such as the RE. The Self category will include health and fitness products. The Entertainment product will include a variety of items. The Connected Home category will include items such as appliances and home security. HTC said it won't pursue items such as connected thermostats or media hubs. HTC is committed to bringing to market at least one product from each of these four categories by the end of the year. HTC is confident it can relaunch itself as a consumer electronics company and not just exist as a smartphone company. "Want people to think 'HTC makes great stuff, not just great smartphones,'" said the company. HTC said it will have more details to share regarding its Connected Products business later this year.


HTC to Support Under Armour's UA Record App

Jan 6, 2015, 12:20 PM   by Eric M. Zeman   updated Jan 6, 2015, 12:30 PM

Under Armour today announced UA Record, a health and fitness app for Android and iOS devices that allows users to monitor and share their fitness data and goals. Smartphone owners can track motion and GPS activity, view analysis from individual workouts (steps, sleep, weight), as well as see a snapshot of overall progress towards specific goals. UA Record lets people invite up to 20 friends to health and fitness challenges, and even allows people to share videos, photos, workout stories, and nutrition guides. As part of the announcement, Under Armour mentioned that third-party hardware makers can support UA Record through the Under Armour Connected Fitness API/SDK platform. HTC is among the first smartphone vendors to voice support for the platform and it said it has a series of UA Record-compatible products in the pipeline, which will debut later this year. Samsung has worked with Under Armour in the past (notably with the Galaxy S5 Sport), but it has yet to say it will adopt UA's Connected Fitness platform. The Android and iOS apps are free to download from the Play Store and App Store, respectively, beginning today.


Volkswagen Signs Up for Android Auto and CarPlay

Jan 5, 2015, 7:42 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Volkswagen today took the diplomatic route with respect to enabling smartphone connectivity in its cars. Beginning with select models later this year, Volkswagen's second generation modular infotainment platform will support Google's Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay platforms, in addition to the platform-agnostic MirrorLink spec. The company said Android Auto will support devices from the likes of Samsung, HTC, LG, and Sony, while CarPlay will support Apple's iPhone. The services will allow smartphone owners to access their device content, apps, and services through the infotainment console of their Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Golf will be the first model to support these connectivity platforms.


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