Headphone lines are running into every ear and the world is constantly staring into its smartphones, seemingly hoping to be sucked into a virtual mobile world. It does not seem that anyone wants to go without their data at any second of their lives. After all, it could be crucial to know the so-called “Nasty Factor” of a pitch as it happens in the fifth inning of a game in April or to see a celebrity Twitter spat unfold in real time.

The good folks at Google and Oakley want to help you, the teeming data-driven masses, see just what is shaking at all times. Google’s “Project Glass,” which quickly became nicknamed Google Glasses, got some publicity recently when it emerged that the company was developing specs that would allow for data to be projected onto the lenses. Now Bloomberg is reporting that Oakley — also making some noise as an official sponsor of the London 2012 Summer Games — has been working on a similar product since 1997.Continue reading...

As the Windows team blog puts it, "Nothing takes the fun out of a foreign vacation faster than an afternoon spent deciphering street signs or pointing randomly at menus." That's why Microsoft has released a new version of Bing's free Translator app for Windows Phone, one that you just point at the foreign-language text on (say) a menu or sign, scan the text and get a translation overlaid on the image in your preferred language, all thanks to augmented reality.

The pitch: "Now you can point your phone camera at printed text—street sign, dinner menu, train schedule, newspaper headline—and the app will translate it. If (you) wanted to ask a stranger for directions to the Eiffel Tower, (you)could also just speak into the phone in English—and wait a moment for the French." It's like “automatic subtitles for everyday life,” as Bing puts it. So should Siri worry?Continue reading...

Remember all the buzz about Google Googles, using pictures to search the web? The company today unveiled an Augmented Reality spin of the concept out of its R&D lab: Project Glass, which embeds the web in a modern-day spin on x-ray specs. It's purely spec-ulative, but gives a fascinating view of how Google envisions the future. So get ready for voice-controlled instant notifications in your field of vision.

Google described the AR glasses as: "We believe technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don't. A team within our Google[x] group started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. Follow along with us at http://g.co/projectglass as we share some of our ideas and stories. We'd love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?"Continue reading...

So what else is buzzing at South by Southwest Interactive, apart from the Homeless Hotspots blow-up? A few tidbits:

• Rumors that CNN will buy Scottish social media pin-up Pete Cashmore's website Mashable for more than $200 million.

• Highlight has proved a highlight of the festival, is an iPhone app that informs you when you’re near someone else with even a remote social media connection, redefining the burgeoning people discovery market. "You learn about new people you're about to meet before you meet them," says founder Paul Davison. "It's about life's connections. We've given the world a new sixth sense."Continue reading...

Are you ready to go Doritos Locos? Taco Bell introduces the highly anticipated Doritos Locos Tacos in three test markets today, and fans are willing to drive as far as 965 miles to get their hands on one as seen above in launch spot, "Road Trip," which will run during the NBA on TNT and The Jersey Shore on MTV this evening.

Doritos fans, a.k.a. "Doritos-heads" are infamous for their passion and antics such as "Crash the Super Bowl" amateur commercials on Game Day. Doritos Locos Tacos have "Taco Bell on the inside and Doritos on the outside," and the product launch is part of the brand’s 50th anniversary this year.

The co-branded product launch with Doritos includes an augmented reality execution on the side of Taco Bell cups so users can see tweets on their smartphones in real-time, contribute their own tweet, and see the broadcasts on live digital billboards in New York’s Times Square and Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

When Sony’s new handheld gaming system, PlayStation Vita, launched in Japan in December, it came with some unfortunate bugs that caused it to crash on occasion and lag a bit during some games.

Sony says it has updated the software and is feeling good enough about things that it launched the product Wednesday in the United States and Europe. What's new and improved about PS Vita? To paraphrase Shakespeare, the game's the thing.Continue reading...

Yelp, the user-generated review website, quietly launched seven years ago with a cartoon-like logo designed by YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

Now known for its distinctive 'burst' logo and spanning the globe, it plans to raise as much as $100 million in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on March 2nd.Continue reading...

Zurich-based startup Kooaba is out to replace QR Codes with a mobile app called Shortcut, an updated of an app it formerly called Paperboy.

Why should marketers consider a shortcut to quick response codes? “We believe QR codes are belonging to an intermediate technology used for things it was never meant for," wrote Tom Desmet in a company blog post. "Despite the enormous media attention QR is getting, it still is not at a level where people are really using it.”Continue reading...