Consumer Electronics Daily News

YottaMark Awarded Patent for Personalization of Food Scoring

YottaMark Inc. today announced it has been granted a patent on methods for personalizing food nutrition scores.  The Company's ShopWell app, downloaded more than a million times in 2013, helps shoppers make healthy choices about the food they buy simply by scanning a UPC barcode from a product label.  Unlike shelf-label nutrition scoring systems, which can only provide an average rating, the ShopWell solution calculates scores based on the user's individual dietary goals, such as heart health, as well as dietary preferences, such as an allergy or gluten avoidance.

"There has been a shift in understanding about diet in the last 30 years. People want to be more proactive about their health but nutrition panels can be complicated and are created for the statistically average person" said Charlie Piper, CEO of YottaMark. "One option is to seek nutrition advice from a registered dietician. Our goal is to make it easy for shoppers to access personalized nutrition scoring and healthier product suggestions at the grocery store or in the kitchen using their smartphone."

The latest patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,647,121, covers a method for calculating a score using multiple food nutritional values and user's preferences.  Additional awarded claims incorporate the inclusion of health coefficients to improve score fidelity, and the scanning of a product's UPC barcode. ShopWell's algorithm was developed by registered dieticians and nutritional researchers to tailor food scores to individual health issues. The invention covered by this patent is incorporated in the ShopWell app and website, and has already been used by shoppers to score products over 4 million times.

"This important patent recognizes the fundamental innovation in the ShopWell app.  The app interprets the ingredients and nutrients of hundreds of thousands of products and matches them against multiple personal dietary goals and preferences to come up with a simple, science-based score … all in a couple of seconds", said Elliott Grant, YottaMark's Founder & CTO.

With the '121 patent, YottaMark continues to demonstrate its commitment to innovation in the food industry, with 22 U.S. patents now granted for methods and systems improve data acquisition and analytics for improving the food system.

Mobile Media Summit to Unite Global Advertisers at Mobile World Congress

Mobile Media Summit, the largest mobile media and advertising conference inNorth America, has partnered with the GSMA to produce Mobile Media Summit @ Mobile World Congress, taking place Feb. 25-26, 2014 in Barcelona's iconic Fira Montjuic.

Mobile World Congress is the largest event in the mobile industry, while Mobile Media Summit's conferences engage the top brand marketers, advertising agencies, publishers, app developers and mobile/ad tech companies from around the world. The Mobile Media Summit @ Mobile World Congress will be the destination for these groups to come together to discuss the ever-expanding mobile media and advertising market.

The two-day Summit will commence with "30,000 Feet and Climbing: What CMOs Want in Mobile," with Ogilvy Chief Digital Officer Brandon Berger, Mindshare Worldwide Chief Digital Officer Norm Johnston, Universal McCann Germany CEO Sven Weisbrich, PHD Network Chief Operating and Digital Officer Craig Atkinson, and moderator Scott Swanson, President of Global Advertiser Services, Opera Mediaworks. Location targeting, hyperlocal advertising, cross-screen, RTB and much more will be covered throughout the event, which will close with "Brand Ballers," featuring Nestle Global Chief of Digital Pete Blackshaw, L'Oreal Paris VP-Global Integrated Communications Marie Gulin, Intel Global Media Director Rebecca Brown, and moderatorMike Parker, Chief Digital Officer, McCann Erickson.

"The Mobile Media Summit is the leading conference in mobile today, bringing together the most dynamic thought-leaders in mobile media and advertising from around the world. Unlike any other conference, Paran and the Mobile Media Summits tackle the critical topics from the advertiser perspective that will drive innovation and grow the market for everyone," said Jonathan Anastas, VP-Global Brand Marketing and Head of Digital & Social Media at Activision.

Mobile Media Summit founder and CEO Paran Johar shared, "I am thrilled to be working with Mobile World Congress and very excited to bring together the international advertising community to discuss how mobile is changing the world. As consumers shift from PC to mobile as their main access point for interaction with people, places, services and commerce, we can't deny that mobile is becoming the primary medium of engagement for innovative marketers."

Mobile Media Summit conference pass holders are also able to attend the mPowered Industries Programme keynotes at Montjuic and access the Mobile World Congress Exhibition at Fira Gran Via.

The event sponsors and partners include AdTruth, BlueKai, Google, Kargo, Medialets, Millward Brown Digital, OpenX, Opera Mediaworks, Sonata, Tagged, Tremor Video, Verve, WapStart, xAd, the 4A's, AdMonsters, the Ad Club of NY, Advertising Age, Chief Marketer, ClickZ, European Supermarket Magazine, Fierce Wireless, Folio, the IAB, the Location Based Marketing Association, The Makegood, MadAve Mobile, MobiThinking, VentureBeat, the Wharton Future of Advertising School and Women in Wireless.

Featured speakers at Mobile Media Summit @ Mobile World Congress include:

1. Zaid Al-Zaidy, CEO, McCann London
2. Jay Altschuler, Director of Global Media Innovation, Unilever
3. Jonathan Anastas, VP-Global Brand Marketing, Head of Digital & Social Media, Activision
4. Craig Atkinson, Chief Operating and Digital Officer, PHD Network
5. Anna Bager, VP and General Manager, IAB Mobile     
6. John Baker, President, dotJWT       
7. Mark-Anthony Baker, Global Communications Planning Director, Joule
8. Brandon Berger, Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy
9. Saul Betmead, Chief Strategy Officer, Y&R
10. Pete Blackshaw, Global Chief of Digital, Nestle          
11. Bonin Bough, VP-Global Media and Consumer Engagement, Mondelez
12. Kevin Brown, VP & Global Mobile Product Management, Citigroup         
13. Rebecca Brown, Global Director of Media, Intel Corp.
14. Armel Bursaux, Director-Data & Analytics, Starcom MediaVest
15. Chris Copeland, CEO, GroupM Next              
16. Chia Chen, SVP & Mobile Practice Lead, DigitasLBi  
17. Greg Crockart, Co-President, Joule               
18. Tom Daly, Group Director, Global Connections, The Coca-Cola Company          
19. Rohit Dhawan, Director of Product Management for EMEA Display, Google
20. Marie Gulin, VP-Global Integrated Communications, L'Oreal Paris
21. John Hadl, Venture Partner, US Venture Partners       
22. Seth Hart, Global Media Director, Starcom MediaVest Group   
23. Chad Hickey, VP of Global Sales, xAd
24. Dan Hodges, President, New York Chapter, Location Based Marketing Association
25. Norm Johnston, Chief Digital Officer, Mindshare Worldwide
26. Vik Kathuria, EVP, Mediacom           
27. Erin Kienast, SVP-Director of Mobility, MediaVest        
28. Evan Krauss, COO, SONATA USA  
29. Rob Kramer, GM of Mobile, OpenX 
30. James Lamberti, VP and General Manager, AdTruth 
31. Doug Livingston, Global Chief Digital Officer, mcgarrybowen    
32. Bethany Mach, SVP & Global Digital Director,  Starcom MediaVest
33. Jeff Malmad, Managing Director of Mobile, Mindshare               
34. Paul Marcum, Head of Global Digital Innovation, Bloomberg Media
35. John Montgomery, COO, GroupM Interaction               
36. David Morgan, Director, 22 Design 
37. John Najarian, EVP and GM-Digital Media and Business Development, E! Networks
38. Alex Newman, EMEA Head of Mobile, Omnicom Media Group
39. Shelly Palmer, host of "Shelly Palmer Digital Living," FOX TV
40. Mike Parker, Chief Digital Officer, McCann Erickson
41. Ben Phillips, Global Head of Mobile, MediaCom           
42. Ali Rana, Group SVP, Emerging Media Lab, Millward Brown Digital
43. Cristina Sagarduy, Deputy Managing Director, EMEA, Annalect
44. Adam Shlachter, Head of Media Activation, NA, DigitasLBi
45. Shiv Singh, Head of Global Brand and Marketing Transformation, Visa
46. James Smith, CRO, Verve
47. Jide Sobo, Head of Mobile, MEC UK
48. Mark Squires, Online Marketing Manager, TalkTalk Telecom   
49. Angela Steele, CEO, Ansible Mobile
50. Alex Stil, Head of Digital EMEA, Mindshare
51. Scott Swanson, President of Global Advertiser Services, Opera Mediaworks       
52. Todd Thiessen, SVP of Strategy, Razorfish
53. Derek Thompson, Global Head of Mobile, Starcom MediaVest Group   
54. Ritu Trivedi, Managing Director, Digital Marketplace, MediaVest USA
55. Sven Weisbrich, CEO, Universal McCann Germany   
56. Colleen Whitney, SVP Media, Digitas             
57. Donald Williams, Chief Digital Officer, Horizon Media
58. Andrea Wolinetz, Managing Director, Connected Platforms, PHD  

Self-Taught Developer David Richard Harnesses the Power of Geofencing to Create a New Type of Local Network with His New Mobile App JaVu

Mobile app developer David Richard has recently launched the private beta for his upcoming application JaVu. Built around the concept of geofencing, this top-notch app is capable of functioning as a location aware social network. JaVu users can create a geofence around them, and their followers receive image or text notifications when they enter the geofence. JaVu is capable of finding out connections with a high degree of accuracy while still being battery-safe by using a combination of Wi-Fi positioning, cell tower triangulation, and GPS.

Though these are early days to make any prediction, JaVu does look like a unique application with endless possibilities for the future. This may include finding restaurant reviews, promotion of entertainment events, product listing for a business, and much more. David's plan for the future of JaVu includes augmented reality, location based games, event implementation, deep real estate implementation, and an incredible feature for restaurants.

David is a 22-year-old entrepreneur and application developer who began tinkering with the idea of JaVu and other programming projects approximately 18 months ago. "I have been building the idea in my head for two years, even before I started programming. When Apple released their Reminders app, I wondered how they accomplished reminding people based on their location. That's when I discovered geofencing. I thought it would be incredible for your phone to automatically alert you of location-based social media," David says.

The young developer has moved from fixing iPhones in a flea market to learning the Gamesland Engine, Lua language and the Unity Game Engine. He is currently learning and writing JaVu in the iOS native Objective C language. All of this has occurred over the past year and a half.  He has released several applications on the Apple App store, but JaVu is his biggest project to date.

Currently, JaVu is in private beta, and the creator is looking for more testers. David is pushing for a mid-March launch.

Families Can Turn to Smartphones for Prescription Saving Solutions

With the drug price index continuing to rise and median incomes decreasing, families are looking to their smartphones for solutions to save money.

"Consumers are recognizing the rising costs of prescription drugs and LowestMed is the solution for everyone looking to save money," said Brad Bangerter, CEO of LowestMed. "Our app and discount card makes it easy for you to compare prescription prices at the pharmacies in your neighborhood."

LowestMed is the first free mobile app in the industry to provide consumers with the ability to view and compare prescription drug prices at leading supermarket and pharmacy chains in their neighborhood. It is available on iPhone, Android, and Windows phone devices. LowestMed offers free and confidential pharmacy savings in the palm of your hand for those on company plans and individual plans under the ACA, as well as those who choose not to buy health insurance.

The LowestMed app is as simple as typing your prescription into your smartphone. Customers do not need to enter any personal information and LowestMed does not track prescriptions.

Marvel And Aeria Mobile Launch X-Men: Battle of the Atom Mobile Game For iPhone

 Marvel Entertainment has teamed up with developer Aeria Mobile to launch X-Men: Battle of the Atom for iPhone. Featuring gorgeous original art by Marvel artists and stories adapted by prolific X-Men writer James Asmus, the new free-to-play card battle game (CBG) stars everyone's favorite Uncanny X-Men in a battle across time and space.

Relive 50 years of X-Men as they call on past and future allies to combat some of the most dangerous villains ever known. Building a roster from a staggering amount of characters including Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Beast, Kitty Pryde, and many more, players will tackle more than 45 missions and experience upcoming events based on landmark stories like Schism, Messiah Complex, Age of Apocalypse, and of course, Battle of the Atom!

Join 20-player X-Teams to participate in epic 20 vs. 20 battles in real time. Multi-month story arcs will also feature raid events in which these X-Teams can square off against the most iconic and powerful villains in X-Men history, including Magneto, the Hellfire Club, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix. The real-time ranking system also stirs up all-out competition as players vie for recognition as the top Super Hero teams. Regular content updates will consistently introduce new characters, stories, and art; giving players an ever-expanding universe in which to play.

"It's an honor for us to develop a game for such a storied and beloved franchise, one that is a personal favorite of mine," saidLan Hoang, founder and CEO of Aeria Games. "X-Men: Battle of the Atom captures the amazing artwork and drama of the greatest comic book storylines, bringing them to life with exciting, dynamic battles between dozens of players in real time."

"With the release of X-Men: Battle of the Atom, Aeria Games has done a tremendous job of celebrating 50 years of X-Men," said Andreea Enache-Thune, Senior Vice President, Games and Digital Distribution at Marvel Entertainment. "We're especially excited that the game will include hundreds of characters who have populated the X-Men universe over the years, spanning limitless timelines and alternate realities. Fans will be hard pressed to think of any characters not in the game – and if the characters are not there now, they likely will be eventually via one of the numerous classic story adaptations in store for players. It's a great time to be an X-Men fan."

X-Men: Battle of the Atom is available as a free download for iPhone. For more information, find the game on the App Store.

Music Streaming Application Snap Play Now Available on Windows Phone 8

Snap Play is now available for Windows Phone 8.  The move rounds out Snap Play's cross-platform appeal, ensuring that a wide-range of consumers can listen to the music saved on all their devices, from anywhere. Snap Play is also available on iOS, Android, and any internet-enabled device via the Snap Play Web portal.

Snap Play streams a user's synced music from the cloud to any device, at any time. The application organizes music by song, album, genre, playlists and favorites, and users can create new playlists right from their mobile device and stream them from anywhere. A distinguishing feature of Snap Play is that users can stream their iTunes library from any device. For example, a user can have a Mac computer at home and take a Windows phone on the go, and still be able to play and listen to their iTunes music.

"A great benefit of Snap Play is that consumers no longer have to worry about music files taking up a lot of storage space on their device," said Michael Subhan, VP of Marketing for SnapOne, Inc., producer of Snap Play. "By streaming music from the cloud instead of keeping songs on your mobile device, you can purchase a cheaper smartphone with less storage capacity."

Snap Play is downloaded as part of the Snap One^® suite of apps that includes Snap Secure®, Snap Sync™ and Snap Play™, and allows individuals and families to easily secure, sync, back up, stream and share their digital lives through a secure, centralized cloud. Snap One subscribers can add up to six users, 1 TB of cloud storage and unlimited devices to one account. To stream music, subscribers must first sync the music on their devices with Snap Sync, which is included in the suite.

"Including Snap Play as part of our flagship service, Snap One, offers individuals and families an even more comprehensive security and content management service," said Subhan. "Being able to stream music from any device means instant access to entertainment and the freedom to enjoy music whenever the opportunity arises."

Blackphone Promises Privacy, Control

Silent Circle and Geeksphone today announced a new Switzerland-based joint venture and its inaugural product, Blackphone, the world's first smartphone placing privacy and control directly in the hands of its users.

Blackphone, powered by a security-oriented Android™ build named PrivatOS, is a carrier- and vendor-independent smartphone giving individuals and organizations the ability to make and receive secure phone calls, exchange secure texts, transfer and store files, and video chat without compromising user privacy on the device.

It is the culmination of several careers' worth of effort from leading figures in the industry, including Phil Zimmermann, creator of PGP; Javier Aguera, co-founder of Geeksphone; Jon Callas, co-founder of PGP Inc. and CTO of Silent Circle; Rodrigo Silva-Ramos, co-founder of Geeksphone; and Mike Janke, CEO of Silent Circle and former US Navy SEAL. 

"I have spent my whole career working towards the launch of secure telephony products," said Zimmermann. "Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other high-end smartphone features they have come to expect."   

Blackphone may be seen at https://www.blackphone.ch and visitors may join a mailing list to be kept informed of updates as the launch date approaches.  Blackphone will be available for pre-order beginning February 24, 2014, at Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

For more information or to contact Blackphone visit: https://www.blackphone.ch

Lepow to Present Power Banks for Smartphones at CES

Lepow International will showcase its new 2-in-1 'Pixels' and 'Pie' magnetic power banks and phone cases at 2014 International CES. The two models feature 3000mAh power capacity, magnetized connection between the power bank and case, and are available for the Samsung Galaxy S3, Note 2, HTC, and Apple iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. The new combo packages will be shown in the Lepow CES booth, 50015, located in the iLounge Pavilion in LVH.

"Our new magnetized power-continuation solutions, 'Pixels' and 'Pie', are specially designed as true combinations of science, technology, and fashion," commented Jacky Fan, Lepow CEO. "The power bank and phone case are easily attached using the magnetic plate that is on both of the items. Additionally, both models come in stylish fashion colors, allowing the user to choose the combination of colors that match his or her style."

'Pixels' and 'Pie' were designed to improve how power banks function. Unlike other smartphone case chargers that are one piece, 'Pixels' and 'Pie' have a detachable power bank, which allows users to remove the bulk and keep their phone thin when it doesn't need a charge. Since the power bank can be separated from the case, it is easier and more convenient for everyday use. Additionally, if users change phone models, they can simply buy a new phone case and use their existing power bank.

'Pixels' has a unique fashion-inspired latticework design on both the case and power bank that offers comfort and sure grip. It is available in bright colors for young, fashion-forward consumers. 'Pie' has a smooth, streamlined design made of rubberized material that fits comfortably in the hand. It is available in softer colors for professional applications. The USB charger on both models is located at the bottom of the battery pack for convenience and no tangled wires.

By gently shaking either model's power bank, the four LED lights at the top will light according to how much power is left (each represents 25 percent power). Conversely, the lights also indicate the charging status.

Availability

The Lepow 'Pixels' and 'Pie' power banks and phone cases will be available online in January 2014 with an MSRP of $79.99. 'Pixels' is available in sky blue or banana yellow and 'Pie' is available in watermelon green, banana yellow or persimmon orange. All Lepow products are available online at http://lepowglobal.com/official-webstore

 

AVG Delivers Shopping Privacy for the Holiday Season With New Wi-Fi Do Not Track feature for Smartphone Users

- AVG Technologies N.V. today announced the release of a new Wi-Fi® Do Not Track (DNT) feature available in its flagship AVG PrivacyFix^TM for Android^TM application, aimed at giving consumers the choice to block tracking of their location enabled by Wi-Fi networks in retail stores and other public venues. By using AVG PrivacyFix to choose the adjustments they wish to make their smartphone settings, shoppers can now trust that their retail experience will be more private than ever before.

The new Wi-Fi DNT feature within AVG PrivacyFix for Android enables users to have the Wi-Fi on their smartphones automatically suspended when they are out and about, only reconnecting in the vicinity of pre-set trusted Wi-Fi locations, such as their home, office or regular coffee shop, for example. This prevents the device from transmitting a unique code (MAC address) which retailers and marketers have begun using to track the movement of shoppers based on physical location. Retailers are using this information to count visitors, optimize store layouts or measure the effectiveness of mobile advertising.

"Using Wi-Fi technology to capture our location data in stores provides retailers with analytics. The problem is that consumers have limited notice of these activities, often no opportunity to opt-out, and many may not realize they are even being observed in this way," said Gary Kovacs, Chief Executive Officer, AVG Technologies. "My view is that trust is at the heart of all successful transactions. Take that away, and you devalue technology's significant potential. AVG was the first security company to provide active Do Not Track in our desktop products and, with consumers increasingly using mobile devices to get online, we have maintained our leadership by extending this choice to the physical world."

"The commercialization of Wi-Fi tracking of shoppers appears to be on the rise with companies offering such services to retailers. Yet often these services lack any opt-out mechanism for consumers and fail to provide assurance of basic encryption protection of your device identifier. AVG PrivacyFix offers individuals the choice and control over their privacy that the industry has yet to provide," said Jim Brock, VP Privacy Products, AVG Technologies. "Until we see broadly accepted and protective industry standards in place to regulate smartphone tracking in the real-world, consumers need to fend for themselves. We're here to make that easier."

AVG PrivacyFix featuring the new Wi-Fi DNT feature has been developed as an additional element to the existing AVG PrivacyFix application, which allows people to manage their privacy settings across popular online sites, such as Facebook and Google+ and is available now to download for Android smartphones here. 

Sennheiser Announces PRESENCE Mobile Headset

 Sennheiser announced the launch of its PRESENCE™ premium-quality mobile headset, a solution for consumers and business professionals requiring outstanding sound quality and HD voice clarity – whether around the office, in the car or outdoors. Building on Sennheiser's 70-year legacy of sound leadership, the PRESENCE features the latest Bluetooth® 4.0 technology, as well as Sennheiser's new SpeakFocus™ and WindSafe™ technologies. The combination of these innovations delivers a high quality, professional communication experience for mobile users, regardless of their location.

As consumers are constantly on the go and business professionals increasingly work from locations away from the office, they are all still expected to maintain clear communications and therefore require technology they can rely on in any environment. PRESENCE mobile headset ensures sonic clarity and outstanding audio quality in a slim and aesthetically attractive design that is simple to operate.

Innovations for a Superior Mobile Communications Experience

PRESENCE is equipped with Sennheiser HD voice clarity, enabling a superior listening experience. Each PRESENCE headset is also equipped with three digital microphones and the new SpeakFocus technology, which detects the user's voice while filtering out background noise. This allows users to make phone calls in noisy environments and provide listeners with a professional, crystal clear sound experience.

Sennheiser's WindSafe technology reduces wind noise effectively, reducing one of the biggest annoyances for the listener at the other end of the line. To do this, the PRESENCE automatically chooses the best mix of the three microphones and processes the sound to determine the optimal way to balance and enhance the voice of the user. To safeguard users against hazardous noises that can be dangerous to hearing, the headset is also equipped with Sennheiser's uniquely patented ActiveGard® hearing protection system.

The PRESENCE solution consists of a headset and a USB dongle that allows for a 'plug and play' experience with computers – enabling seamless switching between a mobile phone and the Unified Communications client. The headset also features real-time battery monitoring, talk time of up to 10 hours and a range of up to 82 feet depending on the environment and the device it is being used with. With a sleek and iconic design, PRESENCE looks as good as it sounds and is lightweight at just 13 grams.

Tori Seliokas, Channel Manager, Telecommunications at Sennheiser, said: "With the evolution of the modern enterprise towards more flexible, agile working practices that allow people to work remotely and across multiple locations, there is a need for a high-quality headset solution that can meet these demands. PRESENCE incorporates Sennheiser's latest innovations – the SpeakFocus and WindSafe technologies – providing users with outstanding sound quality and performance they will appreciate wherever they are."

The Sennheiser PRESENCE is priced at $179.95 and is available now.

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