New Technology Reviews!.: Bridge

In Depth: Google: NFC will bridge gap between online and offline shopping

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/people/Osama%20Bedier%20Google-200-200.jpg"> If you thought the NFC chips that Google has started putting into Nexus phones are just there to turn your Android phone into a Google credit card, think again; Google's plans for real-world shopping are much more ambitious than that, according to Google's Osama Bedier, vice president of platforms for mobile and new ventures. It's not just about avoiding the ads for things we already own that 75% of us see online, although Bedier would clearly like to make that more efficient. And when he says that 20% of people are more likely to buy something that a friend or family member has recommended it sounds like the FTC's privacy penalties for Buzz haven't discouraged Google from considering the opportunities in social networking. What Bedier wants to do is use the smartphone - which he calls "the iconic device of this decade" - to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping. "We're about to see some major changes. It has the promise to bring best of both worlds. Online you get unlimited inventory and the best prices; offline you get to touch and feel the product and you get to take it home with you immediately." Some UK stores are already combining the two, he points out, "Dominoes in the UK already gets a third of their delivery orders online. Tesco has the fifth most downloaded app on iTunes that allows you to scan grocery items in the store and put then on your online grocery cart for online checkout." The Google vision Bedier's vision of the future of commerce "begins to look like shopping did fifty years ago, when everyone shopped at the local store". But instead of the shopkeeper knowing you because you've shopped there for years, remembering your favourites and offering you credit if you've left your wallet at home, Bedier says technology can give shopping the personal and convenient touch. "I should be able to walk in the store and that store greets me. I decide to share my identity, I decide to share my location and when I walk in the store it greets me by name, it tells me the cheese I like is available. The fridge may have already looked at what I'm out of and created a shopping list - and it also included ingredients from recipes I liked on Epicurious. "And that shopping list turns into an in-store map where I navigate the most efficient way. If I get to an item that's out, I scan the barcode and it tells me where else I can buy it or have it delivered to my house. And when I go to check out I walk with that shopping cart directly out of the door. NFC stickers on all the items can actually tell whether the item is paid for or not and the sensor lets it go through." Already possible All the technology is there today, Bedier claims - the problem is making it interoperable. "First, payments need to go digital." Today shops make the choice of what payment methods to accept based on things like how much it costs them to process the payments; he wants to see the choice go to the customer. "All my cards - whether they're credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, private label cards - they need to move into the platform, they all need to be digital and they need to be available to me at any store I want to use them. I need to be able to use my choice of cards, not what the merchant wants to accept." And like web sites, stores should tell you what's in stock (think of a Google search that covers physical shops): "Consumers should be able to find an item in real time at any store online or off and to be able to pick it up and buy it right there. Inventory needs to live in the cloud. A merchant used to sell in a physical store and the web came along and they made a copy of that storefront. Now mobile is coming along and that model wont scale any more. Inventory needs to move and live in the cloud." None of that is going to work if you have to create an account to tell every shop you go into who you are. "Identity needs to be interoperable," says Bedier. "The whole idea of going to store by store by store and signing up for gift cards and credit cards, all this signing up - no. Identity needs to work seamlessly across merchants across devices, across use cases." It's a grand vision that needs shops and stores to reveal a lot more information - like inventory levels - than they usually make public; and we're not sure how well banks will take to making all your different cards work on the same payment system or how much we'd like shops that remember us a la Minority Report.

In Depth: Google: NFC will bridge gap between online and offline shopping

If you thought the NFC chips that Google has started putting into Nexus phones are just there to turn your Android phone into a Google credi...

Intel's Sandy Bridge chip to offer built-in DRM

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com///classifications/computing/upgrades-and-peripherals/processors/images/intel-ces-2007-218-85-200-200.jpg"> The soon-to-be-revealed Sandy Bridge chip from Intel will offer customers a little something extra: new-release movies that will be streamed to computers using the super-chip. Warner Bros is among the Hollywood studios planning to offer high-definition films via Sandy Bridge, with Intel working to strike deals with other content distributors. Films will be available at the same time as they are released on DVD and the chip comes with built-in DRM to prevent pirating of the streamed content. Jack of all trades? By wooing Hollywood with its protected premium content option, Intel hopes to differentiate itself further from competitors and make chip choice more important to the PC consumer and movie studios alike. Intel's Sandy Bridge CPU promises improved multimedia processing and, because the central processing and graphics processing are done on the same piece of silicon, it is said to be faster and more efficient than previous iterations. The long-rumoured CPU was recently shipped to manufacturers and <a href="">is set to be officially revealed at CES</A> this week.

Intel's Sandy Bridge chip to offer built-in DRM

The soon-to-be-revealed Sandy Bridge chip from Intel will offer customers a little something extra: new-release movies that will be streamed...

2011 to bring 200 PCs combining GeForce GPUs and Sandy Bridge, first laptops to be quad-core

<DIV class=separator style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tfvlp0EK8P5TninAvkGhG0ZOFnaANpBwMDwgKIR2LdOZ1EUmw1OTaYULxQmMGCDK1AK6R-jgT-u4npQElK5rdwb4iP5g6A_-JlJ0tK4oD0GBUOrCP_b7pHrt_yyyeomKJjqzJN0mwe0/s1600/10x1216b3hbdkj6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tfvlp0EK8P5TninAvkGhG0ZOFnaANpBwMDwgKIR2LdOZ1EUmw1OTaYULxQmMGCDK1AK6R-jgT-u4npQElK5rdwb4iP5g6A_-JlJ0tK4oD0GBUOrCP_b7pHrt_yyyeomKJjqzJN0mwe0/s1600/10x1216b3hbdkj6.jpg"></A></DIV>What's NVIDIA got up its sleeve for CES, you ask? A whole host of Sandy Bridge laptop and desktop machines, by the sound of its latest press release. The green giant of graphics has proudly announced a new record of 200 OEM design wins for Intel's incoming CPUs. The big draw of Sandy Bridge is that it's the first processor to include an integrated GPU embedded directly within its die, which is projected to improve power efficiency and overall performance -- though clearly it hasn't been impressive enough to get PC vendors to abandon discrete graphics chips. If anything, they seem to be going in the other direction and insisting on a discrete GPU as well. In other news, whether with or without NVIDIA's help, the first Sandy Bridge laptops will feature quad-core parts. Such is the word directly from Intel, with one insider adding that the dual-core debutants will get their chance a month after CES, around the middle of February. Skip past the break for NVIDIA's boastful PR or hit the source for more on Intel's plans.

2011 to bring 200 PCs combining GeForce GPUs and Sandy Bridge, first laptops to be quad-core

What's NVIDIA got up its sleeve for CES, you ask? A whole host of Sandy Bridge laptop and desktop machines, by the sound of its latest p...

Nvidia: SLI being snapped up for Sandy Bridge Mobos

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//images/nvidia-sli-logo-200-200.jpg"> Nvidia has announced that its Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology has been snapped up for license by several of the world's leading manufacturers for their Sandy Bridge motherboards. Intel, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and EVGA have all taken out licenses to use it on Intel P67 Express Chipset-based motherboards designed for the upcoming Intel Sandy Bridge processors. Anyone who buys an SLI-certified P67-based motherboard with a Sandy Bridge processor will be able to have a single or a dual combination of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, including the recently released GeForce GTX 580 GPU and GTX 570 for extra gaming power. Ultimate gaming PC? Joel Christensen, General Manager of Intel Client Board Division at Intel Corporation, said: "The combined processing prowess of Sandy Bridge and NVIDIA SLI technology will provide consumers with the building blocks for the ultimate gaming PC platform. "Both Nvidia and Intel continue to share a combined passion for furthering the PC as the definitive platform for gaming, and this combination will surely be attractive to anyone building or purchasing a brand new PC in 2011." Gamers who have a certified Nvidia SLI mothered will be able to add a second GeForce GPU to their PC, which can possibly double their graphics performance. The GeForce GPUs also include Nvidia's PhysX technology and support for NVIDIA 3D Vision technology that offers stereoscopic 3D on up to three displays.

Nvidia: SLI being snapped up for Sandy Bridge Mobos

Nvidia has announced that its Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology has been snapped up for license by several of the world's leading...

Intel Sandy Bridge CPU launching at CES 2011

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com///classifications/computing/upgrades-and-peripherals/processors/images/intel-ces-2007-200-200.jpg"> Intel has confirmed it is to launch its latest generation of chips, the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/processors/intel-sandy-bridge-what-you-need-to-know-710167">Sandy Bridge</A> processor, at CES 2011. According to Electronista, invites have been sent out which confirm that Sandy Bridge will be shown off at the consumer electronics show in January 2011. The chip, which is a showcase for Intel's new CPU architecture, is set to be (at the high end) a six-core model, which is made from 32nm silicon and has 15MB of cache memory. The chip is a major overhaul of Nehalem and while it uses Intel's existing integrated graphics technology, it is said to be pretty special when it comes to graphics performance. Sand storm It will also come with support for Intel's new 256-bit AVX extensions, a quad-channel memory controller and PCI Express 3.0. It has been confirmed that there will be an eight-core version available in due course. At the lower end of the spectrum, there will be Sandy Bridge dual- and quad-core variations available. Intel will be hoping that the few months it has got before AMD showcases its <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/processors/amd-bulldozer-the-fightback-begins-in-2011-663795">Bulldozer chips</A> will give it a bit of an edge.

Intel Sandy Bridge CPU launching at CES 2011

Intel has confirmed it is to launch its latest generation of chips, the Sandy Bridge processor, at CES 2011. According to Electronista, inv...