Phandroid
New Motorola Skip outed in FCC filing with Bluetooth proximity unlock
Last year’s Motorola Skip may not have been the “must have” smartphone accessory of the year, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t pretty damn cool in theory. An NFC clip that allowed users to tap to unlock their smartphones, it was convenient enough that someone could find a use for it (but not enough that everyone would want one).
Following up on last year’s design, Motorola is preparing to give it another go with a newly design model for 2014. Outed in an FCC filing, the newly designed Moto Skip actually comes equipped with Bluetooth, taking its convenience to another level. Not only can the new Skip be attached to keys and beep when misplaced (works the other way around too in case you misplace your phone), your Motorola smartphone can actually detect when it’s in close proximity to Skip, allowing you to bypass any sort of normal lockscreen security you may have on your phone.
Here’s the full feature list according to the FCC docs followed by some screenshots of the user manual:
- Find your keys: Attack Skip to your key ring and never lose your keys. Use the Moto app on your phone to make Skip beep if you lose it, or find it on a map with the last known location.
- Find your phone: Double-press Skip’s Power button to make your phone ring.
- Keep your phone unlocked: Keep your Motorola phone unlocked and ready to use as long as Skip is nearby. Forget about having to entire your password at home, in the office, or on the go.
Note: This feature works with Motorola phones only.
Keep in mind the proximity unlock functionality will work with Motorola smartphones only and because the new Skip is always-on, the device features a tiny battery that will need to be replaced regularly. Exactly how long a Skip can last on a single battery remains to be seen, but we imagine we’ll see more come September 4th during Motorola’s event in Chicago.
[FCC]
Official: Amazon (not Google) acquires Twitch for $970 milllion [UPDATE]
Early reports of Google and YouTube looking to buy video game streaming site Twitch may have cooled down in recent months. Today, sources from both The Wall Street Journal and The Information are now reporting that it could now be Amazon looking to court Twitch, coming in hot with a $1 billion check to sweeten the deal.
Despite negative feedback from users that Twitch as a Google property would be “ruined” — despite Google already having some experience with YouTube — it was a deal that made a lot more sense. Rampant copyright claims have been plaguing popular YouTubers looking to stream game content on the site. Twitch seemed like the next logical place Google would hope to move its content creators, a promised land if you will.
While an Amazon deal doesn’t make a lot of sense, we have seen the company’s new found interest in video gaming with their recent opening of the Amazon Game Studios. Exactly what, other than street cred, Amazon hopes to gain from the deal is anyone’s guess.
UDPATE: Annnnnd… looks like everything is official, only according to the actual press release, the deal is valued at $970 million. In a statement, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said:
“Like Twitch, we obsess over customers and like to think differently, and we look forward to learning from them and helping them move even faster to build new services for the gaming community.”
Twitch CEO Emmett Shear said:
“Amazon and Twitch optimize for our customers first and are both believers in the future of gaming. Being part of Amazon will let us do even more for our community. We will be able to create tools and services faster than we could have independently. This change will mean great things for our community, and will let us bring Twitch to even more people around the world.”
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