Source: USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — The tech community may have wanted to hear more about the ultimate availability of Google Glass, but Google’s augmented reality spectacles took a backseat to Maps, Music, Google + and search during a three-hour plus keynote session Wednesday at the Google I/O developer conference. Google first became a household word in Internet search, of course — and search is still very much at the forefront for the tech giant.

Google’s “search engine of the future” will “answer your questions, have a conversation with you, and even give you useful things without you ever having to ask,” Google executive Amit Singhal said as he outlined the company’s Star Trek-ie vision.

The keynote event concluded with Google CEO Larry Page taking questions from an audience largely filled with analysts, news media and developers. There wasn’t much new on the hardware front — including Glass — though Google did say there’d be a specialized version of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 smartphone on AT&T and T-Mobile coming next month that will supply for people who want it a more customized Google user experience.

And for sure, a chunk of Wednesday’s session concentrated on developer tools, leading to proceedings that at times got pretty dense.

But Google touched on plenty of topics of interest to consumers. Here are the highlights:

• Maps. The new version of Google Maps will be customized for you. In other words, the map that you’re looking at will differ from the map of the guy next to you. The goal is to produce maps that make sense in context, depending on what you search for and where you want to go. The map itself becomes the user interface.

Every time you click, the map is redrawn, so if you’re looking for a particular museum, say, you’ll only see the roads and landmarks that will help direct you there. Google compares the new Maps experience to a friend drawing you a map to their house.

Labeled search results (with short descriptions) appear right on the map. If you supply the location of your home and office, write reviews or choose favorite locations, Google will build maps with recommendations of places you might want to visit. You’ll also be able to decide directly on the map whether it makes more sense to head to a particular destination by car or public transportation.

Meanwhile, a carousel view lets you choose different ways to check out a location, via Google Street View, say, or business or personal photos that folks have taken. Google Earth 3D views are also built into the map with amazing images from outer space (in real time). At certain restaurants or tourist spots, you’ll be able to access panoramic indoor views. You can request an invitation to preview the new maps at maps.google.com/preview.

• Google +. Google says there will be 41 new features in its Google + social network. A stream feature automatically adds Twitter hashtags. A fresh multicolumn interface includes animations and looks good from afar (I have not yet tried the new Google +). Google has also improved the Google Hangout video chat experience.

But the neatest Google + demonstration I saw on stage — and that I’m most eager to try — involves photography. “Auto Awesome” promises to take a sequence of photos and apply tools to animate them automatically. And I’m jazzed (in theory anyway) about an Auto Highlight feature that aims to ferret out the best photographs from a batch. Indeed, I take lots of good pictures, and my own share of duds. Auto Highlight ignores the latter by in Google’s words, “de-emphasizing duplicates, blurry images and poor exposures, and focusing instead on pictures with the people you care about, landmarks and other positive attributes.”

• Music. In what appears to be a blend of — and a rival to — Pandora, iTunes and Spotify: Google enters the subscription music business with a $9.99 a month Google Play Music All Access service (after a 30-day free trial). The price drops to $7.99 monthly if you sign up before the end of June. The idea is you get on-demand access to millions of tracks, in addition to the songs that you already own. And if you’re playing a tune, you can instantly play a custom radio station that is based on that track. You can see which songs are slated to play next in that station, and change the order or eliminate music you’d rather not hear. Google starts you out with recommendations of songs it thinks you’ll want to hear based on what you’ve been listening to lately, the songs you already own, the stations you’ve created and other factors.

I’m looking forward to taking All Access for a spin but there are questions. As Forrester analyst James McQuivey puts it: “To compete with existing music services, Google’s All Access experience has to at least be as good as Spotify and Pandora, but unfortunately for Google, there’s not much more you can do to impress music listeners short of making the music free.”

• Search. Singhal announced some potentially important enhancements to Google Now, most notably reminders that appear when you need them. You’ll be able to say to Google, “Remind me to pick up milk when I get to Safeway,” and such a reminder is supposed to appear when you arrive at the supermarket. Apple has built a Reminders feature in its mobile and desktop operating systems as well, where it can remind you of something when you get to, or leave, an address.

Google also announced improvements to the so-called Knowledge Graph, Google’s less than 1-year-old map of people, places and things that takes search well beyond its roots. When you pose a query such as “what is the population of India?” you’ll not only get the answer, but you’ll also get the answers to natural follow-up questions, such as the population of China and the United States.

Arguably the most interesting development in search is in how you can increasingly approach your queries in a conversational manner, something already possible on smartphones and tablets. Google demonstrated conversational search through the Chrome browser on a computer.

Soon, you’ll be able to just say, hands-free, “OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?” and get a spoken answer. Then, you’ll be able to continue the conversation and just follow up with “how far is it from here?” if you care about the drive or “how about Monterey?”

Not every search lends itself to the kind of succinct answer required in a conversation. “Why did the Beatles split up?” requires a deeper analysis.

“We will experiment with it,” Singhal told me. “How it feels in the wild and modify as we learn more. The usual Google way. Launch and iterate.”

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — It’s not a real product yet, and to the casual observer it remains shrouded in mystery. But that hasn’t stopped Google Glass from becoming a spectacle, and the hottest object of high-tech lust since the original iPhone.

Google’s not-nearly-as-dorky-as-you-might-think eyewear has emerged as the poster child for wearable computing, even though most people haven’t actually spotted a pair. I might even go so far as to call Glass stylish, at least in a geek-fashion kind of sense.

It is possible to spy Glass out in the wild since Google has started shipping an early version known as Explorer, mostly to a few thousand developers who requested them at last year’s Google I/O conference and forked over $1,500 for the privilege.

This year’s I/O conference kicks off Wednesday. It remains to be seen what Google reveals about Glass’ specific availability to everyday folks, and most critically — at what price. Google’s goal is to deliver Glass by the end of the year, though I wouldn’t be shocked if 2014 turns out to be more like it.

I recently had the opportunity to take the Explorer version out for a quick spin. My chief observation is that while Glass still has elements of the unfinished project that it is, you can’t help but be impressed by what it can already do, and can’t help but be seduced by its boundless possibilities. In other words, it’s really cool.

That’s no guarantee of ultimate success, of course, but there is a guarantee of widespread interest. And Google Glass has the potential to transform health care, education, entertainment and other fields.

For now Glass can take a picture (5-megapixel) , record a video (720p high-definition), get directions, send a message, handle searches, make a call or help you perform a Google Hangout (something I didn’t get to try). You control much of the action with your voice.

It connects to the cloud wirelessly through Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, most likely through the phone in your pocket. A MyGlass companion app for Android devices (Ice Cream Sandwich or later) adds SMS texts and GPS. Actually, GPS is built into Glass but it’s not currently enabled, so for now it’s using the GPS in your phone.

Google takes a long-term vision on many things, and the final shipping version of Glass, whenever it does appear, will almost certainly differ from the pair that I wore. Expect it to evolve from there. Glass is in the hands of developers for a reason, and Google is soliciting feedback. A start-up called Augmedix, for example, is developing an app based on Glass for doctors. You can imagine augmented-reality shopping apps that give you reviews and information about products or deals as you peruse a store’s aisles. Travel apps could provide, say, sightseeing information based on your whereabouts. You might eventually pay for your parking meter or your cup of coffee through Glass. Or request a taxi. In an emergency, Glass might even summon 911 help.

Of course, some of the early feedback is negative, with folks fretting about privacy and the very notion that a person is going to use Glass to surreptitiously snap your picture or capture video, perhaps in a compromising situation. But Glass is not designed to be a surveillance device, and in its current iteration you can tell when the person you’re face to face with has turned it on.

You put Glass on like ordinary eyeglasses and for now don’t actually peer through glass, plastic or any other eyeglass lenses. Google is working on a solution for Glass to address the needs of people with prescription lenses. In a company blog post, Google pointed out that “the Glass design is modular, so you will be able to add frames and lenses that match your prescription.”

Here’s a closer peek at Google’s version of the looking Glass — and how it works:

On the right side of the eyeglass frame is a small display, the equivalent of a 25-inch high-definition screen from 8 feet away. A touchpad, also on the right side, is used to control what you see on the display, and to turn on Google Glass.

The frame I wore was not a perfect fit, and I had to adjust the screen a tad to view it properly. The nose pads are also adjustable. But the display doesn’t get in the way when you are walking or otherwise engaged in what’s happening in front of you in the real world.

Glass isn’t like wearing a laptop on your face but it does have 12-gigabytes of usable storage, synced with Google Cloud, and 16 GB altogether.

Google Glass is not meant to be on all the time, and it will turn off automatically after 10 seconds of inactivity.

You’re supposed to get a full day of use after charging it via the supplied Micro USB cable, though heavy video use or Google Hangouts can curtail battery time. This is something I’d want to watch once I can test a final product for real.

There are two ways to turn on Glass. You can tap the touchpad once. Alternatively, you can tilt your head up, depending on how you set things up — at either a 30-degree angle (as was the case in my experience) or a 10-degree angle.

You are brought to an “OK, Glass” screen, aka the home screen. You can speak aloud to request certain kinds of information or to tell Glass to take a picture or capture video (up to 10-second snippets). Pictures and videos can be shared on Google +.

You can ask something like, “Google, what’s the weather tomorrow?” and see the results presented in “knowledge cards” that are similar to the cards that appear when you use the Google Now feature on Android and iOS devices. In my limited test I was able to ask Glass for directions to my office, ask how tall the Eiffel Tower is, and ask Google to solve a division problem. It got each request right.

The carousel of information that you see is called the “timeline.” If you swipe toward the front on the touchpad, you will see the pictures, videos, searches and so on, that you’ve already done. If you swipe toward the back, you will see Google Now cards for flight, traffic and other information.

I can only imagine that moving forward, we’ll see timely notifications that are pushed to Google Glass, along the lines of what Google is doing with the Google Now feature. You’ll presumably get relevant information before you request it.

Indeed, it’s still early going. But I’ve seen enough already to know that I want a pair of my own.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow: @edbaig on Twitter.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — It’s your standard all-in-one consumer-oriented desktop computer: the guts of the system are concealed behind a 27-inch touch-screen. Microsoft’s tile-based Windows 8 operating system inhabits that screen.

Except it is anything but standard. Lay it flat, and something funny happens. Windows 8 disappears, and a new touch overlay called Aura takes over.

You have entered Lenovo’s world of tabletop computing, a social environment for playing games, sharing photos and listening to music. I’m testing the company’s new IdeaCentre Horizon, a dual-purpose system that was one of the coolest things I saw at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

I was pumped to try it then, and now that it’s finally becoming available to consumers, I was equally eager to try it at home. While I’m not ready to predict that table computing will catch on in a major way, Lenovo’s machine promises to keep you engaged and (literally) in touch with friends and family.

As a table PC, it is fun: Two or more people can simultaneously interact, competing in virtual air hockey, Monopoly or trying their luck spinning a roulette wheel. The Lenovo supports what the industry refers to as “10-point multitouch,” so a bunch of you can get your paws on it at once.

But it is also an all-in-one that functions like any other Windows 8 desktop PC.

Whatever you think of Microsoft’s latest operating system — enough people have complained loudly that the company is already preparing an update, code-named Windows Blue — there have been some innovative, if not always compelling, hardware designs meant to take advantage of Windows 8′s flexibility. We’ve seen laptop designs that fold or twist or have components that can be detached altogether to transform into a keyboard-less touch-screen tablet.

A different transformation takes place on the IdeaCentre Horizon. It’s not a laptop and won’t ever be a tablet. You’re not removing parts or twisting or folding anything, you’re merely changing the way that you position the computer. In desktop mode, it can be propped up at various angles via a stand on the back. Lay it horizontally, and Windows 8 retreats in the background while Aura commands center stage. (You do still have the option to run Windows 8 while the machine is flat or run Aura when the computer is propped up.)

That’s when you and your friends are encouraged to gather round this touch-friendly interface, essentially, a rotating circular widget with icons for games, education, music, video, photos, apps and a Lenovo App Store. As part of Aura, you can be watching a video in one corner of the display at the same time that your pal is admiring pictures in another area. There’s ample room on the screen for a bunch of things to be happening at once.

When you tap an icon to select photos, say, all the pictures spill out into a filmstrip. You can tap or drag a picture onto the surface using familiar pinch and zoom gestures to manipulate the images. You can rotate pictures or have them almost fill the screen. When you’re done, you can cast them off to the edge of the screen using a five-finger push gesture. You can repeat the gesture to make them disappear altogether.

Aura is at its best in game-play mode, though it wasn’t always obvious how to shut down certain programs or silence annoying music.

Another frustration: I pressed an auto rotate button on the bezel so that some full-screen applications were upside down from my perspective. But pressing the auto rotate button a second time didn’t reorient the display. I could only make things right side up again by opening the Windows 8 desktop, then pressing the auto rotate button.

Still, I had a good time playing air hockey against my daughter, with each of us using a physical striker to shoot a virtual puck. The striker is one of the real physical pieces that you can use in some games, activities that Lenovo refers to as “phygital.” For example, I used rechargeable “e-dice,” when playing Monopoly. The e-dice communicates with a dongle connected to a USB. You can also use a joystick accessory with certain games.

Among other apps preloaded on my system is DrawRace 2 from Ubisoft, and Texas Hold ‘Em. You can also fetch Android apps from the BlueStacks app player. My daughter was partial to a Lenovo Fishing Joy game.

Lenovo’s machine conjures up memories of the original Microsoft Surface, not the tablet computer that Microsoft now sells, but rather a 30-inch, interactive tabletop computer pushed by Bill Gates that recognized and responded to objects and human touch. Now rebranded Microsoft PixelSense, you can still spot such machines in stores, hotels and other commercial establishments, but they never quite made it to your den or living room.

Where exactly in your house Lenovo’s IdeaCentre might reside remains anyone’s guess. In standard computer mode, it might belong in the home office. But that may not be the ideal location when you want to play and go social.

At nearly 18 pounds, the machine is light enough to lug to another room. It even has a lithium-polymer battery that’s useful if connecting to a power outlet is an obstacle. But you’re looking at only two hours of juice, at best.

My test $1,849 configuration (which ships in a couple of weeks but can be ordered online now at lenovo.com) has an Intel Core i7 processor, GeForce video graphics, webcam, 8 gigabytes of memory and a 1-terabyte hard drive with a (1920 x 1080) high-definition screen. On board are two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI connector, a memory card slot, and pretty good-sounding stereo speakers backed by Dolby Home Theater sound. Similarly configured versions will drop to $1,599 when it hits retail, with a Core i5 model fetching $1,499.

Lenovo will also sell an adjustable multimode table on wheels as an accessory this summer to accommodate the Horizon system. It’s expected to cost about $149.

Bill Gates had a grand vision for table computing when he was still a full-time Microsoft executive. Lenovo has latched onto the idea with IdeaCentre and made an all-in-one PC all the more appealing.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

The bottom line

Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon table PC

www.lenovo.com

$1,849 (for test configuration)

Pro. Can be transformed from all-in-one PC to more social table computer that’s good for games, pictures and more.

Con. Not always intuitive to use.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — There were good reasons to like the 7-inch Nook HD tablet that Barnes & Noble began selling last fall, starting with a sterling display that bested the screens on its chief small screen rivals, notably the Kindle Fire HD. The tablet exploited Barnes & Noble’s strength as a major bookseller, and also provided buyers with access to numerous periodicals and kids’ content. And the Nooks featured family-friendly tools, including the ability to set up unique profiles for different members of your clan.

Alas, the Nook-meisters had some serious catching up to do when it came to apps, most notably on the entertainment side. A major part of the catching up comes Friday. Barnes & Noble is adding a variety of Google services to the Nook HD ($199 on up) and the 9-inch Nook HD+ ($269 on up), pushed as part of a software update.

Nook owners can now tap into 700,000 Google Play Android apps and games, and access millions of songs—Google Play lets you store 20,000 of your songs in the cloud for free. You’ll also be able to access thousands of movies and TV shows from Google in addition to the studio content that Barnes & Noble previously made available. And there now will be dedicated apps for the Google Chrome browser, YouTube and Google Maps.

One Google feature that will not be made available to Nook owners, at least for now, is the Google Now search tool that predicts the kind of information you might want to receive before you request that information.

Google’s Android has always been the underlying operating system on the Nook tablets, but Android is concealed under Barnes & Noble’s own front end. That doesn’t change.

Jamie Iannone, president of the NOOK Media subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, says all of Google Play will be accessible to Nook tablet owners, except those apps that would require certain hardware to function, notably a camera since the Nook HD doesn’t have one.

If you own an Android smartphone and already have purchased certain Android apps, those apps will be available to you on your Nook.

Iannone wouldn’t disclose how many Nooks have been sold. But dismissing reports of the Nook’s potential demise, he says that “we’re continuing to innovate and invest in our products.”

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Scanners don’t typically rank high atop most people’s list of cool tech toys. But the new HoverCam Mini 5 that I’ve been reviewing is cool, at least for people whose offices tend to move with them.

Right from the get-go, it’s apparent that the $299 Mini is different. It doesn’t resemble your typical scanner, portable or otherwise. Mini 5 comes from a San Diego company called Pathway Innovations & Technologies, which refers to it as the Swiss army knife of document cameras. It’s an apt description.

Unlike your average scanner, the Mini is small enough, and at about a third of a pound, light enough to fit into your pocket. (Yes, I know there are apps that can turn your smartphone into a scanner.)

Nor does your ordinary scanner fold down into a .75-inch-by-1.25-inch-by-7-inch candy bar-shaped contraption like this one does — bringing to mind some sturdy tool you might come across in the aisles of Home Depot.

The Mini is versatile, too. It doubles as a webcam. Connected to a computer equipped with a projector, it can help teachers and businesspeople give presentations. In many instances, the Mini is a refreshing alternative for a slow and anything-but-portable flatbed type scanner, while hogging considerably less desk space. Unlike the flatbed, there’s no methodical beam that sweeps across a document as it scans. The Mini captures a snapshot in an instant.

As with a Swiss army knife, you begin to get a handle on what this thing is capable of when you start to unfold it into various contortions.

The design is clever. There’s an easy-to-grip stationary post with a fold-out kickstand at bottom. Attached to the post is a pivoting telescopic arm that you can raise or lower at multiple angles. At the end of this arm is an LED light that you can turn on or off, and an autofocus 5-megapixel camera, which swivels all the way around, letting you position it properly when you want to capture a picture of a document or object. There’s an autofocus lock, and when fully extended, the Mini stands at 11-inches.

On the bottom of the post on the opposite side of the kickstand is a USB 2.0 connector that’s kept out of the way until you rotate it up or down to fit most laptops. You must connect the HoverCam to a computer since that’s how it draws power.

Pathway has given some thought to those situations where plugging in the USB connector directly from the scanner to a computer is clumsy, if not impossible — think desktop PC or a machine that’s stuck under your desk. The Mini’s carrying case, supplied free, serves as an optional base under those circumstances. You run a 4-foot cable from the computer to one of two USB ports on the outside of the case, connecting the scanner to the other USB port.

Pathway also supplies a green rubber mat and portable bumper to help you position whatever it is you want to scan or photograph. You’re guided by markings on the mat.

You can also view a live preview of the scanned object or page inside the HoverCam software, which you install the first time you connect the Mini to your computer via USB.

From the software, you can shoot videos or capture images up to a scanning resolution of 2592 by 1944. You also choose other parameters: an appropriate image file format (JPEG, TIFF, etc.), effects (black and white, emboss) how the file is compressed, and so on. You can apply optical character recognition (OCR) to convert scanned images into text.

Inside the software, you can also zoom (using a 16X digital zoom or 10X mechanical zoom) or straighten the document. At the click of a button, you can turn on a secondary camera, typically, the webcam that’s on your computer, to exploit a picture-in-picture feature that’s potentially useful when you’re on a video call. You can use the Mini with Skype, GoToMeeting or other Web-conferencing software. You can annotate live video with text and drawing tools that show up at the click of a button, or capture your own digital signature, too.

Scanned documents are archived in the software from where you can send them off to Evernote, Dropbox, Facebook, Picasa or YouTube; you can also drag the file outside HoverCam’s software to use in any program on your computer.

Not everything went smoothly in my tests. I had to summon tech support when I was unable to properly control video I was trying to record from within the HoverCam software. The remedy was to replace the software with another (oddly, earlier) version.

As it is, the HoverCam software works in tandem with the other programs on your computer — Windows Media player on a Windows machine, QuickTime on a Mac.

I couldn’t test every feature either, including an experimental “Connect” feature that would let you, say, share blueprints or other annotated documents during a one-on-one video conference with another HoverCam owner.

Pathway is also preparing business card and receipt software that’s still several weeks away from availability.

In the meantime, the company says that the Mini 5 itself is on back order. It seems a scanner can be cool, after all.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

The bottom line

HoverCam Mini 5

$299, www.thehovercam.com

Pro. Clever scanner, document camera is ultra-portable and flexible. Handy carrying case with USB doubles as base.

Con. Expensive. Ran into few snags capturing video with software.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — You get the impression that Samsung is auditioning for a Las Vegas magic act. When it comes to the brand new Galaxy S4, the South Korean electronics giant seemingly has an endless bag of parlor tricks. The smartphone is the highly anticipated successor to the Galaxy S III and I like it a lot, even if some of the new features come off as “look what we can do” as opposed to “look how we can make your experience better.”

Want to answer a call or skip a song with the wave of your hand? Go right ahead. Want to pause a video by looking away from the screen? You can do that, too. Did someone walk in front of your family just as you were capturing the perfect pose? Poof — the interloper can be made to disappear from the picture. You can also use your phone as a remote control for your television — whether the TV is from Samsung or not — and receive recommendations of what to watch.

Samsung’s latest phone is loaded with so many stunts that the company wisely starts folks out with a “learn about key features” wizard. Newbies can also go with a newly enhanced “Easy Mode” home screen, with a simpler layout and bigger icons than the standard screens. An improved notifications panel can also make it a little easier to tame the device.

Some of the features on the S4 launched on prior Galaxys, and perhaps you even took advantage of them. For example, there’s S Beam, in which you can exchange data with a friend by bumping your Galaxy phone against his or hers.

But the S4 is teeming with fresh capabilities. Some are fun and innovative, such as a dual-shot photography feature that lets you simultaneously snap a picture using the 13-megapixel front camera and 2-megapixel rear camera. You can see your own face beaming in an image that also shows your kid whacking the ball in Little League. But several other “touch-less” features weren’t always functional or easy to figure out. (Samsung has embedded eight sensors on the device.)

That’s not to diminish what taken as a whole is a handset worth coveting. There’s good reason Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones have climbed to the top of the Android charts and emerged as the leading competitor to Apple’s iPhone. Some features may be gimmicky, but this is still a phone you’re going to want.

The S4 hardware is state of the art, even if the plastic-y back, which feels just like the S III, doesn’t quite have the premium feel of another recent new Android rival, the HTC One. The speakers aren’t as good as HTC’s, either.

Samsung certainly has no reason to apologize for the S4′s beautiful 5-inch full HD Super Amoled (1920 x 1080) display, which is fortified by an advanced version of protective Gorilla Glass. At less than a third of an inch thick, the phone is more svelte than the S III and, at 4.6 ounces, a hair lighter.

Even at that, Samsung has been able to pack in a more powerful battery, which, as a bragging point against the iPhone, can be replaced by the user. When the back cover is removed, you can also slide in an optional microSD card to bolster the 16 GB or 32 GB of on-board storage by up to 64 GB.

The S4 has a powerful quad-core processor. It runs Android version 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Devices start arriving Thursday and will eventually be available in the U.S. from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, as well as from U.S. Cellular, Cricket and C Spire. Major retailers will also carry it.

AT&T is selling the 16 GB version for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Sprint is trying to lure new customers with an incentive that drops the cost to $149.99. That’s what T-Mobile will charge upfront on top of monthly payments under its new pricing structure. (I tested the T-Mobile version of the phone but couldn’t tap into 4G LTE since that network is not available yet on T-Mobile in and around New York City.) Verizon starts pre-orders on Thursday for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with availability May 30.

Some of the coolest new features come with the camera. I especially liked the dual-camera mode for combining images from the front and rear cameras into one, though it was sometimes a challenge to frame the image just right. Your mug appears in a small resizable rectangle that you can drag about the screen.

“Drama shot” was also pretty nifty. You can take a picture of your kid running the bases or doing a somersault — the idea is you’re tracking movement. The camera can take up to 100 images in a burst. Once processed, you can choose which of the frames ought to be combined in the final picture, which shows the subject’s progression.

The “eraser” effect can remove people or objects that don’t belong in your final picture. When turned on, the camera takes five pictures in succession with any moving objects highlighted in pink. Tap the pink to erase the distractions. Movement wasn’t always detected, perhaps because this shooter didn’t always steady the camera.

I had a good time playing with other effects, such as those that shoot videos in superslow motion or at faster speeds. A fun animation effect can combine a person who is moving with a person who remains stationary.

Unfortunately, the “air gesture” features that let you engage the phone in a variety of ways without touching it were a mixed bag. When the screen was dark and the phone lay flat on a surface, I was able to wave my hands above it to make it wake up and reveal notifications or to see the name of a song that was playing. I could answer a call that way, too. And I could also wave over pictures in the photo gallery to advance from one photo to another. In each case, though, I found it just as simple to do it the old-fashioned way. Samsung says there may be situations — in the car, for example — where some of the touch-less gestures come in handy.

By hovering over the screen with my finger, I could make certain other things happen, features borrowed from Samsung’s Galaxy Note “phablet.” On the Note you had to use a special S Pen, whereas your finger does the work here. For instance, if you’re on the Web you can magnify text on the page by hovering over the screen. I found it a bit more useful to hover over the phone’s calendar to be able to bring up more details about an event. By hovering inside the Samsung Hub store, I was able to glance at pricing on books, music or videos that were available to buy or rent.

I also had an erratic experience with the “smart pause” feature that is supposed to pause a video when you are no longer facing the screen. It worked at times but not consistently.

Same goes for the “smart scroll” feature that is meant to scroll the screen according to the way you tilt your head. It’s another of those parlor tricks that I can’t see regularly relying on.

I wasn’t able to test every last feature on the phone, including Group Play, which lets you play games or share files with other people nearby who also have the device. Then again, I can’t imagine using every last feature anyway. For all the fancy tricks, the real magic comes from sticking to the basics on what is a very appealing phone.

The bottom line

Samsung Galaxy S4

www.samsung.com

Pricing varies by carrier

Pro: Thin phone has beautiful screen, quad-core processor, removable battery, excellent camera, memory expansion capabilities and some fun features.

Con. Many of the features are gimmicky or not particularly functional.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com. Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — The brand new Q10 smartphone is your Back to the Future BlackBerry. It’s got the kind of physical Qwerty keyboard that BlackBerry loyalists were so enamored with on prior generation handsets. It’s also a touch-screen device preloaded with BlackBerry 10, the new, more modern mobile operating system. The phone arrives first in the United Kingdom this month, with the U.S. launch slated by the end of May,. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless all plan to sell it; my test unit is from AT&T. BlackBerry says it is priced to cost around $249 in the U.S. with a contract.

Putting aside for a moment this hybrid’s standing against myriad rivals in the congested smartphone space — and the throwback physical keyboard is indeed the phone’s major selling point, at least to a certain segment of mostly business-oriented customers — the Q10 invites the inevitable comparisons to the BlackBerry Z10 that was unveiled back in January.

The all-touch-screen Z10 was the first BlackBerry to run BlackBerry 10, an operating system built around touch gestures, known as “peek” and “flow.” I got comfortable with these gestures fairly quickly, but there is a learning curve. Instead of the physical “home” button found on most smartphones, the Z10 user had to swipe up from the bottom of the bezel to revive a sleeping phone. You then swipe left and right to see the icons for all your apps and to check out which of them are running.

From any screen you can peek at the BlackBerry Hub, the convenient single repository for e-mails, missed calls, texts, BlackBerry Messenger messages, social-networking posts, scheduled meetings and more.

The Canadian company reported recently that it sold about 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices in its latest quarter, but the long-term customer verdict remains to be seen.

My verdict on the Q10: Physical keyboard devotees will embrace it, but the phone still seems destined to remain a niche product. BlackBerry launched BlackBerry 10 with the Z10 and not the Q10 for a reason. Despite significant pre-launch interest in the device, most people carrying smartphones have moved on from physical keyboards. It’s been about six years since Apple ushered in the virtual keyboard era with the launch of the first iPhone. While not everyone has taken to them, such keyboards have become the norm.

Make no mistake, the physical keyboard on the Q10 is solid. It lights up in the dark.

Stainless-steel frets separate the rows of keys. The keys are about 30% larger than on the Bold 9900, BlackBerry’s last big Qwerty flagship, which is still being sold. The frets are slightly raised to help keep the display from getting scratched when you place it face down.

You can use the physical keyboard to dial the phone but don’t have to — you can summon a virtual phone dialer on the screen.

The phone itself has a stainless-steel frame with a glass weave finish that feels like plastic but is, according to the company, about 2½ times stronger. The back is removable, letting you swap out the battery. I didn’t run a formal test, but the battery made it through my workday. I was initially disappointed with the battery life in the Z10 but the one inside the Q10 is larger.

After an adjustment period (since I am mostly a virtual keyboard user myself) I pretty confidently typed away with two thumbs, and sometimes one. You can exploit a feature that predicts the words you are likely to type next based on what you have already typed. On the Z10 you see these words in tiny type over the next letter it anticipates you might strike and you flick on the word to select it; On the Q10, three predictive words appear below the screen and above the top row of keys. If one is correct, you tap it.

I imagine the BlackBerry fan who has been patiently waiting for this very device will be satisfied. And who knows, BlackBerry might even woo the odd iPhone or Android user who never quite cozied up to virtual keyboards.

Physics being what they are, however, the keyboard exacts tradeoffs. Most notably, the display on the phone is a mere 3.1-inches, and while that’s bigger than the Bold, it is considerably smaller than the 4.2-inch screen on the Z10 and a dwarf compared with many other smartphones.

I felt cramped reading pages on the Web — and had to spread my fingers to enlarge the text to see anything. Moreover, you can’t rotate the phone to change the orientation of the 720 by 720 screen, not ideal for videos. Rotating the display is now common on smartphones.

While the two phones both run BlackBerry 10 software, on the Q10 you are necessarily swiping up from the area just above the physical keyboard.

BlackBerry now claims more than 100,000 apps in its BlackBerry World store, up from 70,000 when the Z10 launched. Among the apps, you still get Documents To Go for free, which lets you view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as view Adobe PDF files. You can also create Word docs or Excel spreadsheets from scratch. Skype is now available as an app.

BlackBerry 10 software has gotten a modest upgrade, too, with version 10.1 bringing minor fixes and adding some polish.

At about 4.9-ounces the Q10 is a little shorter than the Z10 and a shave heavier. Apart from screen size and resolution, the specs on the two BlackBerry 10 devices are near identical. Both have dual-core 1.5 GHz processors, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of flash memory. Both have a microSD card slot that is concealed beneath the back cover (and capable of increasing your memory by 32 GB.) Both have 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras.

The two phones can also take advantage of the password-protected BlackBerry Balance feature, which lets your employer segregate your corporate information from your personal stuff.

The company formerly known as Research In Motion once owned the physical keyboard smartphone market and still does. How big a market that remains is in question, but the Q10 is a winner for BlackBerry aficionados keen on thumb typing.

E-mail: edbaig@usatoday. com. Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

The bottom line

BlackBerry Q10

www.blackberry.com

No U.S. pricing yet but expected to cost around $249 with contract.

Pro. A BlackBerry for fans of physical keyboards. BlackBerry Hub. BlackBerry Balance can enterprise stuff separate from personal. Removable battery.

Con. Screen is small relative to many rival smartphones. Once the norm, physical keyboards aren’t for everybody. Fewer apps than competitors.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

NEW YORK — You accumulate frequent-flier miles whenever you find yourself cruising at 30,000 feet and rack up loyalty rewards for shopping favorite stores or buying stuff with credit cards.

Now you can earn points for patrolling the virtual aisles of cyberspace.

Taking its cue from the airline, retail and credit card industries, Austin technology incubator Jutera Labs on Wednesday officially launches Perk.com, billed as the first loyalty Web browser. You get “Perk Points” for what you’d be doing via any browser: surfing, searching, shopping.

Loyalty points are redeemable for actual products and services, including gift cards, digital cameras and tablets. Points can also be converted to airline miles or donated to certain charities.

Perk is launching with more than 2,000 merchants, a roster that includes Apple’s iTunes, Starbucks Store, 1-800 Flowers, BestBuy.com, Dell.com, MLB.TV, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Urban Outfitters, Sports Authority and drugstore.com. For now anyway, the list excludes major e-commerce stalwarts Amazon.com, Ebay, and Zappos, though Amazon gift cards are among the items that you can get by redeeming points.

As with any browser, you can still visit these and any other sites; you just don’t earn points by going there.

Perk is built on top of Google’s Chromium “open source” platform, the same technology behind Google’s own Chrome browser. The browser is fast. You can use the same browser “extensions” you might employ inside Chrome.

For now Perk can only be downloaded on Windows and Macintosh computers. The absence of a mobile version out of the gate would seem to be a major void for a browser that is so shopping focused. The company hopes to have an iOS version out by June 1, with Android to follow.

The reward points you get by patronizing shopping destinations vary by retailer. At PetSmart, for example, you can earn up to four Perk Points for every dollar you spend. At Walgreens, you earn three points for every dollar. Some lesser-known retailers are (not surprisingly) even more generous dishing out the points: At 101inks.com, which sells ink cartridges and toner, you get 14 points for each dollar spent. You can get up to 35 points at Suzanne Somers’ Sexy Forever weight-loss site.

Perk offers other ways to grab points: If you apply for a Discover Card and are approved, your sum is 3,250 points. You can get 1,750 points for making a monthly gift to the ASPCA.

Why would a merchant participate? The pitch is that Perk can potentially drive traffic to a shopping site. And the merchant can also offer coupons to customers as incentives that might lead to a purchase.

You get 50 points for signing up with Perk using your e-mail address. You get an extra 50 points for signing up with your Facebook credentials.

When you land on a partner site, an otherwise gray indicator in the Perks toolbar that shows a running tally of your points currency turns yellow. If you click on the indicator it turns green, and you see more details on how you earned those points, plus notifications of coupons that might be available for the site.

I received a single point every few times I typed in a search query. But the company caps the searches that are good toward points on a daily basis to prevent abuse and to thwart anyone entering nonsensical or repetitive queries just to add to their total.

The points that you do accumulate through searches can be immediately redeemed for rewards.

But when you buy something through a Perk’s merchant, you must wait, typically up to 90 days, before you can redeem earned points. That way you can’t purchase something merely to pick up the points, and then return the item a few days later. Perk retains the right to revoke points.

Indeed, the 35 points I earned for downloading the Zero Dark Thirty movie inside iTunes is shown in my Perk account as “pending.” I can’t use them until mid-July.

A given retailer must let Perk know that you spent X amount of dollars at their site. But Perk doesn’t know what you actually bought. And the seller has to notify Perk when a transaction has been completed.

The folks behind Perk say they won’t sell any personal data or information about your spending habits. Still, if you’re the least bit concerned, you can click on a button inside the Perks toolbar to surf privately. Though your browsing and search history won’t be tracked, be aware that in that mode you won’t earn any points, even at a participating merchant.

If you’re more open about how you spend your time online, you can click on a toolbar button to share the page you’re on via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or e-mail.

Merchants typically impose terms and conditions. Apple lets you know that buying Macbooks, iPads, and iPhones won’t get you any Perk Points, but purchases made inside the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore and Mac App Store are eligible for rewards.

Don’t expect to earn points for money spent on taxes, shipping or gift-wrapping.

And don’t expect to collect a stash of products right away, no matter how prolific you are as a shopper. You’ll have to part with more than a few bucks to pile up enough points for a “big ticket” item. A 16GB iPad fetches 55,000 points and a Kindle Fire requires 22,000 points. You even need 550 points for something a lot more modest, $5 gift cards to either Starbucks or Target.

Perk isn’t a completely novel idea. To encourage people to use its Bing search engine, Microsoft, for example, has launched a similar Bing Rewards program.

Perk’s message to consumers is simple: If you’re going to search, surf and spend money online anyway, you might as well get rewarded for your troubles. Consider it a point well taken.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Perk

Free, perk.com

Pro. Awards loyalty points redeemable for products, gift cards and more for searching, surfing and shopping at certain sites.

Con. No mobile version yet. You’ll have to wait to redeem most of your points. Major rewards require major spending.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — As is evident at its I/O conference in San Francisco this week, Google attracts attention for Android hardware (and software), Maps software, and for a certain pair of augmented reality spectacles known as Glass. But where Google originally became a household word was in search and search is still very much at the core of what the company does.

Google’s senior vice president for search Amit Singhal outlined some of the next steps in the “search engine of the future,” one that he says “can answer your questions, have a conversation with you, and even give you useful things without you ever having to ask.”

Google has already started delivering on that promise through Google Now, a search feature that only recently came to Apple’s iOS devices, after starting out as you’d expect on Android.

At I/O, Singhal announced some potentially important enhancements to Google Now, notably reminders that appear when you need them. You’ll be able to say to Google, “remind me to pick up milk when I get to Safeway” and such a reminder is supposed to appear when you get to that supermarket. Apple has built a Reminders feature in iOS and OS X as well where it can remind you of something when you arrive or leave an address.

“A note to buy milk, paper towels and food for the dog, is a lot more helpful when you’re actually at the grocery store,” Singhal writes in the Google blog. “Or if you’re about to miss the last train home, Google Now can remind you that you better leave. And if you’re interested in an upcoming book or there’s a new album you’re excited to listen to, Google Now will shoot you a reminder when it comes out, and even provide a recommendation.”

Google also announced improvements to the so-called Knowledge Graph, Google’s less than one-year-old map of people, places and things. When posing a query such as “what is the population of India?” you’ll not only get the answer, but you’ll also get the answers to natural follow-up questions, such as the population of China and the United States.

Arguably the most interesting development in search is in how you can increasingly approach your queries in a conversational manner, especially when you use smartphones and tablets. At I/O Singhal demonstrated conversational search through the Chrome browser on a computer.

Soon, you’ll be able to just say, hands-free, “OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?” and get a spoken answer. Then, you’ll be able to continue the conversation and just follow up with “how far is it from here?” if you care about the drive or “how about Monterey?”

As Singhal conceded in an interview, not every search lends itself to the kind of succinct answer required of a conversation. “Why did the Beatles split up?’ requires a deeper analysis.

“We will experiment with it. How it feels in the wild and modify as we learn more,” he says. The usual Google way: “Launch and iterate.”

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.