25 billion App Store downloads comes closer, Apple offers $10,000 prize

Apple's App Store is fast approaching its 25 billionth download, no mean feat for something which only started out in 2008. To celebrate, the company is offering a $10,000 gift card for its various online stores.

Since launching on iOS devices in 2008, the App Store has become a huge success, enabling users to spend countless hours browsing its virtual shelves for games, books, news apps, health and fitness ideas, navigational aids, lifestyle suggestions….the list goes on. Countless software companies have sprung up along the way, creating a whole new industry and enabling anyone with an original idea to grab a piece of the app pie.

Less than four years down the road, Apple’s App Store is about to see its 25 billionth download. To celebrate the milestone, the Cupertino-based company is offering a $10,000 gift card redeemable in the iTunes Store, App Store and iBook Store.

On a countdown page, Apple says, “Download the 25 billionth app and you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card.” All well and good, but look a little closer and you discover that actually anyone can enter, downloader or not.

That’s right, to have a chance of picking up the gift card, you don’t actually have to buy or download an app, but you will have to hand over some personal information to Apple, including your name, address, birth date, phone number and email address. A maximum of 25 entries per person per day is allowed.

“The prize will be awarded for the entry (either through an app download or through the non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 24,999,999,999th app,” the rules explain.

“The potential winner will be determined by the order of the entries received.“ In other words, if you do enter using the online form, you’ll need to do it around the time the app counter hits 25 billion, which is expected to happen in the next couple of days. Oh, and the counter is “for illustrative purposes only” so you needn’t sit staring at it for the next three days waiting for it to reach the magic number.

A UK woman bagged a $10,000 App Store gift card in January last year after downloading the 10 billionth app, which was, for the curious among you, the free Paper Glider game.

In the period between January 2010 and January 2011, Apple said seven billion apps had been downloaded. Since then, another 15 billion apps have found their way onto iOS devices. At this rate, we can expect the 50 billionth download well before year end.

Blizzard announces 600 layoffs, game development staff spared

Blizzard, developer of WoW, Starcraft and Diablo has announced that it has cut 600 global jobs, though its game development staff remains largely untouched

Video game developer Blizzard Entertainment, Inc announced a sizable cut in its global workforce on Wednesday. 600 employees were stripped of their positions; nearly a tenth of Activision’s 2011 reported 7,300 employees.

Blizzard is the development studio best known for its World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diabloseries. In a statement, the company said that 90 percent of the lay offs would come from departments not related to game development. Blizzard stressed that World of Warcraft’s development team would not be touched.

“Over the last several years, we’ve grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we’ve also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company,”said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. The CEO also said that laid off employees would be entitled to a severance package and benefits

Though there weren’t any specifics on which jobs were affected, The Verge reports that its sources say customer service took the biggest hit thanks to increased automation. The Blizzard statement points out that the company “remains committed to mainlining its high standards of quality for customer service delivery.” In a December 2007 piece on an Activision deal with Vivendi games,The Telegraph quotes Blizzard as having more than 2,000 people doing customer relations globally. Interestingly, while 600 employees have been let go, the development studio is actively recruiting qualified developers.

Morhaime took the Battle.net forums to elaborate on the layoffs saying: “In order to keep making epic game content while serving players effectively, we have to be smart about how we manage our resources. This means we sometimes have to make difficult decisions about how to best maintain the health of the company. We’re in the process of making some of those hard decisions now.”

Morhaime stressed that, while overstaffed departments needed to be scaled down in order to further the company’s growth, development teams were largely unscathed and Blizzard remained committed to shipping multiple games in 2012. The company will soon be beta testing for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard DOTA and Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and has other “unannounced projects” up its sleeves. Morhaime also commented on the long-awaited Diablo III, saying that there would release date news revealed in the coming weeks for the game.

With phrases such as “changing needs” and “health of the company,” the decline of World of Warcraft could possibly be the reason for the cuts. The seven years old MMORPG’s subscriber-base dropped 12 million players in 2010 to 10.3 million subscribers in November 2011. Free-to-play games such as League of Legends, as well as EA’s popular Star Wars: The Old Republic have been to blame by analysts for Blizzard’s ailing franchise. While Blizzard is cutting back, the company is stressing that it isn’t dying and has much planned for the future. As far as the “unannounced projects” Morhaime mentions, Develop’s sources have said that Blizzard will expanding in to the free-to-play realm.

Scream 4 gameplay for iphone 4

The Weinstein Company owns a lot of lucrative properties. Like many other companies who've come before them, they realized that these franchises could be developed into other forms of entertainment. Previously, though, the investment to get into doing so was considerable, often resulting in awful, expensive games that suckers ended up buying and taking home to their consoles and then raging about as they realized they'd been had.

Weinstein hopes to avoid this trend by focusing on the wireless market. The goal? Make small, downloadable games that can back up their properties, and can be made by established developers who know how to develop quality titles. Next week, coinciding with the April 14th release of the Scream 4 film, iPhone and iPad owners will be able to get in some kills themselves with Scream 4 for iOS.

It's a great idea, and a potentially lucrative promotional tool for the film, but I'm not sure their first attempt is all that fun. The crux of Scream 4 iOS is this: you play as the infamous killer, guiding them from above through a small environment where you try and kill all the people in the map without being stopped. To kill people, you simply drag or tap on them, watching as the killer runs up to them. Once he's in proximity, a knife appears on screen and you have to drag it in the indicated direction across the screen. 

It works, and it's easy to pick up and play, but the levels I played were kind of repetitive (despite being only a few minutes long). Additional points are awarded based on how you kill the victims -- killing the "jock" and the "cheerleader" one after the other is a bonus, for instance -- but the kills were all the same. You never hang someone up for someone else to find, catch someone in a garage door, or do any of the other more gruesome and recognizable kills from the films. You simply walk up, slash, then they fall down dead and you hide from a cop. It feels like a rush job to coincide with the film's release, rather than a thoughtful game that takes advantage of the themes and imagery that made the films so famous. It might not be as expensive as the licensed games we've all been suckered into buying before, but Scream 4 isn't that much of a departure from what you'd expect so far. 

Scream has always been about spoofing other horror movies, or taking advantage of the themes they've developed, but the only place where Scream 4 iOS really does this is in the achievements. Almost every achievement is named after a video game, with such zingers as "Dead Spaces." I appreciate the effort, but it's another weird choice. I mean, how many iOS owners are going to get the video game puns? Are the iOS users all gamers, or are they more interested in picking this up because they love the films? I just can't figure out exactly who the intended audience of the game is supposed to be at this point. 

Scream 4 iOS releases next week with four levels and more "on the way." If it starts at the 99 cent price that they think it will it might be worth checking out, but for now I'm just not sold. If nothing else, though, I'm excited to see how The Weinstein Company uses the mobile marketplace to its advantage. Who says the games have to be limited to the movies that are coming out in the future? This is the company that owns properties like Rambo, The Fighter, and Inglorious Basterds, after all. .


Video Gameplay:

GunnerCase for iPhone 4/4S uses collapsing air cells to protect your device

This new GunnerCase from baseonelabs uses air cell pockets to give superior protection in a slim form. It also repels the lint from your pockets.

We weren’t quite sure what to think when we heard that there was a new iPhone case that was inspired by guns. The two don’t seem all that related to us unless it’s a hunting-themed printed case that you’re looking for. We’ve seen those before, but they aren’t really our cup of tea. Luckily, once we did a little investigating we realized that the case simply integrated a smart piece of technology that is already present in shotguns. Just like the recoil pad on most shotguns, theGunnerCase ($40) from baseonelabs uses internal air cell pockets, which collapse on impact to provide as much protection as a much bulkier protective case. 

We like the simple design of the case and at 13.9 mm thick it’s definitely one of the slimmer serious protective cases out there. The case features precision-cut buttons for volume and power, while the camera and silencer switch are left untouched. The GunnerCase is made from a special TPU material, which supposedly feels like a rigid case but will absorb impacts and protect like a softer case. Even better, the material is also designed to repel all of that lint that is in your pockets and manages to get stuck to other cases. Now that’s something we can get behind. On top of that, the case comes with a screen protector kit, a micro cleaning cloth, and a lifetime warranty against anything, no questions asked. The case is currently available for pre-order and will ship in late march. 

The Shirt Shuttle keeps dress shirts neat while traveling

With the Shirt Shuttle you'll never open up your suitcase to a pile of wrinkled mess again. The rest of your suitcase may look that way, but whatever you put in the clever Shirt Shuttle will stay pressed and neat for wherever your next business meeting is located.

One of the worst things about traveling for some people, probably more for business-types than post-college backpackers, is that it’s nearly impossible to keep clothes from wrinkling up into a messy ball in your suitcase. What do you wear when you arrive? Or if your hotel doesn’t have an iron for you to use? As you might expect, someone has come up with a solution to this problem that we think is pretty great. If you’re a business traveler, having a clean button-down ready at all times means that you’ll always look professional, put together, and unphased by any situation. The Shirt Shuttle (about $50) solves that problem by creating a small little capsule for your clean and pressed shirt to travel in. 

Think of it as a semi-rigid laptop case, except it’s for your shirt. The case zips open and inside there is just enough room for a perfectly folded button-down that you’ve folded around the including folding board. That folding board has curved edges to make sure that no area of your shirt will end up with creases. Small pads keep the shirt in place while you travel and there is even a special collar pad to keep your shirt’s collar from being crushed in transit. The integrated folding board has a built-in hanger and the semi-rigid case has a recessed carrying handle and will protect your garment from the elements, like rain, and prevent it from getting crushed in a suitcase. 

Originally we thought that this would really only be handy for the business traveler, but the Shirt Shuttle site reminded us that it might be helpful if you bike into work on a regular basis or have meetings after you’ve already hit the gym. Keep one of these in your bike or gym bag, or in a drawer at your office, and you’ll always look sharp even if you’re not traveling. 

What is this crazy, waterless washing machine concept?

The Orbit is a concept washing machine that uses no water and cleans clothes with dry ice in a matter of minutes. Is it too good to be true?

How many times have you thrown your clothes in the washing machine, only to find that one red shirt accidentally got in the mix of your pristine, white underwear and turned everything pink? How many of you don’t even own washing machines and have to trek outside to spend several hours at the laundromat every week only to have the dryers steal your socks? Do you despise the chore of washing clothes in the first place? If you nodded your head in agreement to any of the aforementioned situations, you must be as thrilled as we are about this concept portable washing machine that uses dry ice to clean clothes in only a few minutes.

Meet the Orbit, created by industrial designer Elie Ahovi to help revolutionize the tedious task and make washing machines greener for the environment. The Orbit cuts down on water usage by allowing dry ice to evaporate into gas and perform a pressurized blast to lift the dirt off your clothes. The chemical reaction between carbon dioxide in dry ice and grease in your clothes breaks down the particles of dirt, spinning them into oblivion. After the dry ice has scrubbed your laundry clean in a matter of minutes, the gas is sucked back up and returns to a solid state for future washes. The grime removed from your clothes is filtered through a tube which you will have to manually clean and maintain.

The Orbit is also powered by a battery-filled ring containing a metal laundry basket at the center of the the spherical machine. The batteries inside the ring create a magnetic field which also levitates the basket as the machine’s electrical resistivity drops. Now, instead of watching laundry spin inside traditional washing machines, the Orbit would also make our clothes float.

While the idea is amazing, is it too wild to become reality? With dry ice blasting an established method of cleaning, albeit for industrial machines, applying the process to clothes may very well be possible if the carbon dioxide gas does not ruin the variety of sensitive fabrics. The Orbit also addresses the water crisis issue, but does not seem to clarify how much energy it will take to keep this battery-powered machine running especially if it’s going to get cold enough to turn gas back into dry ice numerous amounts of time. And even though the levitation thing is cool, will the magnetic field be strong enough to keep the metal basket floating inside the ring? What if kids or pets knock the machine over — will that throw the Orbit completely out of whack?

We know this is just a concept, meaning it will either be out in the next decades after further development, or never at all. But seeing a practical future sketched before our eyes gives a little hope that one day, life will get to that level of convenience and innovation.

Logitech announces the Cube presentation mouse

While Logitech offers plenty of mice and trackballs for everyone from the typical computer user to the hardcore gamer, the company is launching a new type of mouse with the business user in mind.

With an eye-catching rectangular, boxy design, Logitech has released details prior to CES regarding a new type of mouse that’s designed for anyone giving a presentation. Completely cordless, the device functions as a typical mouse when resting on a hard surface like a desk or conference room table using a 1000dpi laser sensor on the bottom of the Cube. When the mouse is lifted off the surface, the Cube automatically detects the change and launches into ”Presenter mode.”  Each click of the mouse will advance slides being presented in a program like Microsoft’s PowerPoint. The top of the Logitech Cube also serves as a surface to scroll up and down a Web page by using Logitech’s Flow Scroll software. The user simply slides a finger up and down the mouse to accomplish the function.

Owners of the Logtiech Cube don’t have to worry about finding batteries for the device as it comes with a lithium-polymer battery. The battery is charged via a USB connection and the device will let the user when the battery power is low with an illuminated display. The Logitech Cube connects to a computer via a wireless USB receiver operating at 2.4-GHz and offers a sliding power switch to turn off the mouse after completing a presentation. The Cube comes with the Logitech Unifying receiver, a USB charging cable and a pouch to store the device when traveling. The mouse is currently priced at $69.99 and will be available later this month.

While this is the first new device that Logitech has announced for CES 2012, the company will also be showing off other recently released products including the Logitech Wireless Boombox for iPad, Logitech HD Webcam C615 and the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750. The battery-powered boombox allows iPad owners to stream music from the tablet to the boombox without requiring a cable connection. 

Fitbit announces the Aria Wi-Fi scale

While the Jawbone Up continues to remain unavailable to consumers due to production issues, the company behind the Fitbit Ultra is showing off a new gadget to help keep track of your weight loss goals.

Announced at CES this week and shown to the press at Digital Experience, Fitbit plans on releasing a Wi-Fi enabled scale called the Aria. The Fitbit Aria is capable of automatically recognizing eight different users in a household, but there’s also an interface for manually choosing a user. The scale measures weight and body fat percentage as well as calculating the user’s body mass index (BMI). It keeps track of users by recalling the last weigh-in, so daily use is recommended for accurate tracking. In order to track body fat percentage, the user is required to stand on the scale without wearing shoes as the scale measures body impedance by sending mild electric pulses through the feet. There are no controls on the front of the scale, just a sleek digital readout that displays the user’s information.

Similar to Wi-Fi scales built by Withings, the Fitbit Aria automatically searches for Wi-Fi networks in the area and the user chooses the correct network through computer software. The scale uses 4 AA batteries which Fitbit representatives believe will last up to six months. Data collected by the Fitbit Aria is sent into the mobile application that’s shared by the Fitbit Ultra and all user information is kept private by default. Users can also choose to share their weight and body fat percentage with others for further encouragement. According to research mentioned by Fitbit representatives, people who weigh themselves once a day are more likely to stick to weight loss goals. 

This data can also tie into an online profile on Fitbit.com and users can earn badges from the gaming elements of  the Fitbit user profile. While the device is safe for pregnant women and children over 20 pounds, anyone with a pacemaker should not use the scale. The Fitbit Aria scale will be available during April 2012 for $129.99 and can be purchased in either black or white.

Nike reaches amputee athletes with commercial soles for prosthetic limbs

Nike has teamed up with World Record Holder and amputee triathlete Sarah Reinertsen and orthopedics firm Össur to create a modern running sole for athletes with prosthetic limbs.

Nike Innovation has developed a new prosthetic sole, designed to help amputee athletes truly hit the ground running. The project, known as the Nike Sole, is a partnership between Össur, an advanced orthopedics design company, and amputee triathlete Sarah Reinertsen. The product is a running sole that interlocks and accommodates the unique Össur blade, allowing runners to experience a true running foot without the hassle of cutting their own soles.

The Nike Sole has all the elements of a normal running shoe, stripped down to the key component amputees need most. Utilizing recycled materials, carbon fiber and a “flex-run” blade, the lightweight sole features a three-part layered system that includes an outsole, midsole and a thermal plastic urethane called Aeroply. These layers provide traction, comfort and support, adding the feeling of a real shoe onto the prosthetic leg to improve track performances. The sole attachment also contains nine nylon tabs and a rubber leash that hooks and grips on to the running blade, giving users the ability to run firmly on the ground but also easily slide the sole on and off their blades. Reinertsen has tested its first prototype made from a Nike Free 5.0 Trail outsole, and more advanced models are expected to come out based on her professional feedback.

This minimalistic design aims to be both stylish and more functional for amputee athletes. Previously, runners resorted to buying a regular pair of sneakers and mangled them entirely by slicing the bottom soles off then manually attaching it to the blade with glue, velcro or duct tape. Nike hopes that by focusing on the user than the product, the design will serve the small but new market whose needs were never addressed to date.

“The Sarah Sole project is a special one for Nike,” said Tobie Hatfield, Nike Innovation Director. “The Nike Sole is a shining example of our passion and commitment to serve athletes and provide them the solutions they need to achieve their goals – we’re always listening to the voice of every athlete.”

Reinertsen, who has worked with Nike and Össur on the project since 2006, was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, battling a bone-growth disorder which resulted in her becoming an above-the-knee amputee by the age of seven. Since the amputation, Reinertsen has set world records in her division, ran multiple marathons and was the youngest member of the 1992 U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in Barcelona.

The Nike Sole is currently available through prosthetists’ offices globally, presumably at those where the Össur prosthetic blades are also offered.

Sigma slashes new SD1 DSLR price by $6,700

The SD1 is getting a new name and price after Sigma Corporation announced a rebranding of its SD and DP series camera, with the SD1 retail price cut down by at least $6,700.

Sigma Corporation announced today a rebranding of its flagship DSLR camera, renaming the SD1 as the Sigma SD1 Merrill. The minimum suggested retail price will also drop more than 66 percent, knocking the premium sticker price of $9,700 down to $3,300 with a street price of $2,299.

This is huge news for casual and professional photographers alike since the SD1 was still found on major online retailers for $6,899 as of this morning. The Sigma SD1 started out as a 15-megapixel DSLR, but with three layers of its tiny Foveon X3 Direct Image sensor, the camera is capable of a whopping 46-megapixel resolution. The sensor is also unique in its ability to capture pixels in full color. Each snap records primary colors red, blue and green light values within each pixel location at the same time. The result is an overall richer, more vivid and color-accurate photos, which enhances the three-dimensional impression specific to Foveon sensors.

The new official name of Sigma SD1 Merrill is a nod to the late co-creator of the Foveon X3 sensor, Richard “Dick” Merrill, who passed away in 2008. Sigma continued to say the price slash is thanks to new manufacturing methods which greatly reduced production costs.

“We could not solve issues related to some of the manufacturing methods before the start of mass production, and the production cost ended up substantially exceeding our originally expected price. As a result, we had no choice but to set the price of the Sigma SD1 high,” said Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma Corporation. “Since then, overcoming this situation has become the first priority for us and Foveon, and we have together made improvements to reduce production cost substantially … Although some of the manufacturing methods have been enhanced, the performance and characteristics of the sensor itself have not changed. “

With the new price drop, you’d be hard pressed to find other medium-format cameras as powerful for that amount of money. The anticipated Nikon D800, a full-frame DSLR, has an MSRP of $2,999 and still only manages to come up to 36.3 megapixels. What if you’re one of the SD1 owners who forked nearly $7k before the price cut? Sigma said it will provide a “support program” for current users who will be awarded credits to use toward future Sigma product purchases until the end of the year.

The announcements also do not end there. In a separate press release today, Sigma promised upgrades to the DP1 and DP2 compact rangefinders, adding the almighty 45-megapixel Foveon chip to the guts and renaming the models to add Merrill in their names. The main difference between the DP models is the lens focal length, with the DP1 Merrill featuring a wide-angle lens and the DP2 offering a more standard lens that is equivalent to 45mm lens on a 35mm camera. The inclusion of the Foveon chip will undoubtedly make the cameras more powerful than ever, though prices and availability information on these DP models are currently unspecified.

Asus sails past 1080p with Transformer Pad Infinity tablet

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity tablet will offer incredible 1920 x 1200 resolution in a portable form factor, bringing new meaning to the term “sharp.”

Rumors of high-resolution tablets have been swirling for months now, and a high-res iPad is almost certainly on the way, but Asus seized the honor of being first to make it official on Monday with the Transformer Pad Infinity. The upcoming Android 4.0 tablet will offer an impressive resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 – higher than many laptops and even most HDTVs.

By making the vertical resolution 1,200 pixels rather than the usual 1080, Asus will actually shift the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 16:10, a less “skinny” form factor that squeezes a bit more into the sides of the screens when held in portrait mode. It also emits a squint-worthy 600 nits at peak brightness. In typically hyperbolic marketing fashion, the panel will wear the title “HD Super IPS+.” Interestingly, the company’s pre-conference briefings omitted the physical size of the screen. While that might suggest it’s something other than the same 10.1 inches as the company’s other Transformer offerings, pictures suggest it remains the same.

Whatever the size, it takes plenty of hardware to drive that many pixels, and the Transformer will come packing. It runs Nvidia’s 1.6GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor… but only in its Wi-Fi configuration. The 3G and 4G versions will both step down (a bit) to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 platform. Both versions include 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of Asus’ free lifetime WebStorage. The company also has high expectations for the 8-megapixel camera with 5-element lens.

True to the Transformer name, the Infinity will have any accompanying dock that adds both a keyboard and extra battery life. With the internal 25-Watt-hour battery plus the 22-Watt-hour battery in the dock, Asus claims the Infinity will deliver 16 hours of battery life, or 10 without.

Although it will clearly take a back seat to the Infinity, Asus also announced the Transformer Pad 300, which gets the same hot Tegra 3 chip and camera, but without the high-res display – just a 1,280 x 800 IPS model. What it lacks in pixels, it will make up for in, well, color: Asus plans to break away from the standard slate and black to offer the 300 in red, white and blue.

Asus hasn’t yet announced pricing or availability for any of its MWC 2012 announcements, including the long-awaited PadFone.

Meet the smartphone with higher resolution than your DSLR: Nokia’s 41-megapixel PureView 808

Nokia’s new PureView 808 leapfrogs competitors with a mind-blowing 41-megapixel camera, but the “how” behind this exponential gain remains blurry.

Now that 8-megapixel smartphones cameras are starting to become pedestrian, Nokia – a company that has always celebrated the quality of its smartphone cams – has had to step up its game. And what a step it has taken. On Monday, the company shocked Mobile World Congress audiences by announcing that the upcoming Nokia PureView 808 will boast a 41-megapixel camera.

If that sounds a little over the top, it probably should, but Nokia insists that number includes no artificially generated pixels or interpolation. How did engineers pull it off? The technology remains hazy, but the two Nokia engineers who developed the sensor were inspired by the technology used in satellite imaging, and have been concocting it in complete secrecy for five years.

Since 41-megapixel images won’t make sense for most people, the PureView will perform “pixel oversampling” to combine seven pixels into one, distilling full-res images down to 5-megapixel images with no noise.

Hazy technology or not, demo photos proved impressive. A massive, wall-sized mural within the Nokia booth was shot on the new camera, and looked every bit as sharp as what you might typically expect from a DSLR. Another example showed a man standing in front of a newsstand holding a paper, which you could zoom in on enough to clearly read individual headlines. Part of the reason Nokia developed the technology was as an alternative to optical zoom, which just hasn’t proven practical on smartphones. Of course, even with all the resolution in the world, we wouldn’t expect low-light performance to shine from a sensor that can fit in a smartphone, and none of the demo shots highlighted that capability.

Oddly enough, rather than choosing to introducing the new camera tech on a Windows Phone device, the PureView 808 will actually run Symbian. Aside from the crazy rear camera, specs include a single-core 1.3GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM and HSPA 14.4Mbps capability. Shockingly for a phone that can capture 41 megapixels, it only comes with 16GB of built-in storage (though you can add more via microSD) and the 4-inch screen only offers 640 x 360 resolution.

Nokia will introduce the PureView 808 in May priced at 450 euros, or $599 in the US. While the Symbian operating system may keep all but the most determined photographers away, Nokia assures us that the same technology is headed to other platforms soon.