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Video and multimedia professionals converged on Las Vegas over the weekend for the start of this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, where software and hardware makers will roll out a bevy of new products this week. And hey, some of them are already landing in our weekend recap, so read on and get up to speed on what’s new…
LaCie Debuts Thunderbolt 2 Storage Options with 4K Support
The annual NAB trade show kicked off over the weekend, where storage provider LaCie introduced three new pieces of hardware capable of editing 4K resolution video over a Thunderbolt 2 connection. At the lower end is a redesigned 2big, available in 6TB, 8TB, or 12TB capacities capable of up to 420MB-per-second transfers that can also be used via USB 3.0. Moving up the food chain, LaCie’s 5big ratchets up performance to 1050MB per second by spreading data across five drives in 10TB, 20TB or 30TB capacities. Last but not least, the LaCie 8big Rack (shown above) is being introduced as the company’s first Thunderbolt 2 rack-mountable storage solution, which will be sold in four-disk (12TB) or eight-disk (24TB or 48TB) models. All three options will ship during the second quarter of this year, with pricing yet to be announced.
PhotoSync Updated for iOS 7, Free Android App Now Available
Touchbyte announced the release Friday (PDF link) of a major new update to PhotoSync for iOS, which works with a free Mac or Windows companion app to wirelessly transfer photos and videos between mobile devices, computers, cloud storage providers, and even network-attached storage (NAS). Version 2.1 introduces an all-new user interface that’s right at home with iOS 7 along with 64-bit support for compatible hardware and new language localizations. The company also debuted PhotoSync for Android, a free app with optional in-app purchase to remove ads which works seamlessly with the iOS version, offering mobile shutterbugs a way to easily transfer images and videos between platforms. PhotoSync 2.1 for iOS is a universal $2.99 app available from the App Store.
Chase Bank Teases Refreshed iPhone App Coming This Month
Chase Bank is readying an all-new version of its Chase Mobile app for iPhone, and is offering a few tantalizing screenshots on its website. The new version appears to be completely rewritten for iOS 7 and promises a “simpler, more streamlined login” along with “personalized, location-based backgrounds with friendly greeting messages” to go along with the fresh design. Chase claims the app will launch sometime in April, so customers should keep an eye out in the App Store for the latest update soon.
Android TV Outed in Leaked Screenshots
The Verge reported Saturday that Google appears to be planning its own return to the living room with Android TV, essentially the next generation of the ill-fated Google TV that delivers home entertainment services to consumers. The timing of the leak is rather ironic, considering Amazon just started shipping Fire TV last week, which itself is built upon Google’s own Android software. Judging from the screenshots and details available, Android TV aims to be “cinematic, fun, fluid, and fast,” which is basically everything Google TV wasn’t — although it’s unclear how Google plans to position the service against its own Chromecast device, which allows smartphone and tablet users to throw content onto any HDMI-equipped television for only 35 bucks.
Disksomnia 4.0 Now Available from Mac App Store
Despite offering copious storage capacities, hard drives have one big disadvantage: They fall asleep, and waking them up again can really disrupt your workflow. Digital Heaven Ltd. has tackled this problem in the past with Disksomnia, an inexpensive system preference which keeps hard drive awake by writing a small file to them every so often, and last week the company debuted an all-new version. Unlike earlier attempts, Disksomnia 4.0 is available as a $9.99 purchase from the Mac App Store, and instead runs as a menu bar item, which the software maker claims will offer “extremely low overhead” compared to the previous version.
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