Recon Jets In Your Eyes

Even though Google Glass is still in development, a new company might beat Google to market with their own robust version of a wearable computer.

Vancouver-based Recon Instruments made their first heads-up display for skiers in 2010, and their new model, the Recon Jet is designed to be even more tough and high-performance. The Jet appears in the form of sleek sunglasses and though it won’t be a great general-purpose device like Google’s Glass,

Recon hopes customers will use their glasses for more specific, high-level activities like cycling, or mountain climbing. When presenting the device, Recon CMO Tom Fowler expressed his vision to see the Jet being used by people like firefighters and doctors, adding, “I showed this to a U.S. Army doctor who had done a couple of tours in Afghanistan, and he said that if he’d had one in Afghanistan, people would have made it who, sadly, did not.”

An open SDK will be made available for the Glass competitor, which will be on shelves in December. The ticket price will be set at$600, but early adopters can pre-order their Jet for a discounted price of $500.

Nokia – Job Creators…of Sorts

A new app from Nokia could end up landing you your next job.

Currently only available on Windows 8, JobLens scans well-known databases like LinkedIn and Indeed and filters them for jobs in your area based on category.

Though you currently can’t upload an existing resume, the app lets users create a copy on their site, and will store a copy in the cloud for future use. JobLens makes applying for posted jobs as easy as a single click, and even keeps users up to date on the expectations and salary ranges for jobs in certain areas. The app’s real strength comes from its social networking feature, which enables users to get in touch with hiring managers who they happen to share connections with based upon their friends lists.

Users are encouraged to use their LinkedIn accounts, but Facebook and Twitter are also used as networking sources for the best results. Nokia’s JobLens app is available today on the Windows Phone Marketplace.

A Clear Winner

The bidding war for Clearwire is heating up with a new offer from Sprint causing Dish to stand-down.

Dish previously offered four dollars and forty cents per share, but yesterday’s offer from Sprint came in significantly higher, at an even five dollars per share. This comes as a bit of a surprise for Dish, considering they were in the process to buy Sprint earlier this month, only to be outbid by Japan’s SoftBank. With Softbank buying Sprint, and Sprint purchasing Clearwire, it seems Dish is left in the dust.

After being muscled out of two deals, it’s unclear if Dish will continue with their wireless ambitions at this point, but a rumored deal with T-Mobile might give some hope to the satellite provider in the future.

Androids Attracting Attackers

A new study on smartphone malware is likely to make Android users very nervous about their phone’s security. The study, conducted by Sunnyvale-based Juniper Networks, revealed alarming growth in the number of malicious apps, with last year’s count increasing at a rate of 614%.

Of the malicious apps tracked, three out of five came from either Russia or China, and almost three quarters of them work by tricking users into texting premium-rate numbers. Juniper also estimated that seventy seven percent of threats could be eliminated by running the latest version of Android, but currently only four percent of devices are fully updated.

Though nobody is happy to see malware spread, this should come as good news for Apple’s marketing department, who frequently highlights the security of iOS in contrast with Android.

Bridge Over Cloud, Any Day

Even with modern cloud solutions available, the process of sharing files from one device to another has been stressful to say the least, but thanks to Leef Technology, that process is now getting easier.

Taking a more direct approach, Bridge is a special flash drive that allows users to share files between any devices that use micro-USB or regular USB connectors.

Using a simple interface, the device lets you select the file you want to copy, and can quickly load an image to memory. From there, you can plug the Bridge into any other device, and copy the file with minimal effort. The Bridge comes in 16GB and 32GB versions, each costing $18 and $28, respectively.

The special flash drives are available today on Amazon, or through Leef’s website and those willing to wait can grab a 64GB version, which will be available in July.

And that’s all we had for today’s news. For more news each and every morning, be sure to join us on NewsDesk with Kristin Feledy.

photo credit: Kevin H. via photopin cc
photo credit: Bytemarks via photopin cc
photo credit: paul bica via photopin cc
writing credit: Andrew E. Lowe