iPhone 5 has been launched in India today.This is the first time that iPhone has launched in India without any conjugation with a major telecommunication brand.The 16,32 & 64 GB models are priced at INR 45,500,INR 52,500 & 59,500 respectively.Now whether the phone is worth its price is a serious question that you need to ask yourself before buying this phone.
12 W Adapter Charges Your iPad And iPhone Much Faster
Apple |
On the product page for the new 12W USB charger, Apple confirmed it would indeed ship with Retina iPads. With the new fourth-gen replacing the third-gen iPad—that would essentially cover just the iPad 4. It is, however, selling the adapter by itself for $19 online and listing compatibility with iPad 2, iPhone 4S, and iPod touch fifth-gen and up.
Apple said, “We don’t have an exact percentage of how much faster it would charge but you should see an increase in speed.”
This is good news to iPad third generation owners who were disappointed with the slow charge times from the original 10W adapter.
Customers who want to turbocharge their device can buy the new 12W USB power adapter for $19 from Apple’s online store.
Zync’s Phablet Only For INR 9,490
Zync has launched a dual-SIM Android phablet – the Coud Z5 – which features a 5-inch capacitive multi-touch display with a 480×800 pixel resolution. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
The Zync Cloud Z5 is powered by a 1 GHz Single-Core processor and 512 MB RAM. The device comes with an internal memory of 4 GB and has a Support TF card up that allows for up to 32 GB expandable memory.
The dual SIM Phablet supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio as well. The device comes with an 8 MP camera with flash and auto focus and a 0.3 MP front Camera. The device weighs merely 190 gm.
The other features that the Phablet possesses are Ebook, Email, Messaging, VPN Services, Google search, Flash Player, Light Sensors, Documents to go, wallpapers, Calendar, Calculator, Clock, tethering & portable hotspot, etc. Zync claims that the phablet has a long battery life of 2500mAh.
But the main plus point of the Zync Cloud Z5 is its price;at Rs. 9,490 it is the cheapest phablet in the market.
Microsoft Surface For $19.99 At Amazon Mistakenly
Amazon had the price of the Microsoft Surface Touch at $19.99 on Friday! Actually.the online retailer had a listing for the Microsoft Surface Touch Cover. This is the 3mm thick cover for Microsoft's new slate that also doubles as a touch sensitive QWERTY keyboard. Normally listed on sale for $119.99, Amazon had posted a price of $19.99 for the Touch Cover. The product was out of stock, but Amazon was still accepting orders for those who don't mind waiting for the retailer's inventory to be replenished. With the $19.99 price believed to be a typo, it is unclear whether or not Amazon will honor the orders placed at the lower price.
The Microsoft Surface has a virtual QWERT keyboard, but the Touch Cover and the Type Cover are both available as accessories. Both connect to the tablet with the use of a magnetic dock. Even though most people are used to the style of the keyboard on the Type Cover, many are saying that the typing experience is superior on the cheaper Touch Cover.
Later on Friday, Amazon took down the price of the listing, replacing it with a message that it would notify those who leave their email address when the cover is back in stock.
The Microsoft Surface has a virtual QWERT keyboard, but the Touch Cover and the Type Cover are both available as accessories. Both connect to the tablet with the use of a magnetic dock. Even though most people are used to the style of the keyboard on the Type Cover, many are saying that the typing experience is superior on the cheaper Touch Cover.
Later on Friday, Amazon took down the price of the listing, replacing it with a message that it would notify those who leave their email address when the cover is back in stock.
Judge Crabb Unhappy With Apple
The Apple-Motorola Mobility FRAND patent trial will begin on Monday at 1pm, Judge Barbara Crabb didn't like Apple's stated willingness to enter into a licensing agreement with Motorola Mobility for the right to use the latter's standards-essential patents, only if it didn't have to pay more than $1 per Apple iPhone.
The judge noted her thoughts in an "Opinion and Order" entered with the court on Friday. Judge
Crabb does not want to order Motorola to make an offer to Apple if the Cupertino based firm is going to use that offer as a negotiating tool, and she now "believes it would be inappropriate to grant Apple's
clarified request for specific performance".
She added that if ordering Motorola to make an offer to Apple would end all of the patent litigation or extended negotiations, she would have granted Apple's request for specific performance, but "it is now clear that specific performance would not resolve those concerns". Apple didn't help its cause by using a 'blackmail' type approach to the $1 rate it tried to force on Motorola and the court. Apple should have guessed that judges don't like being forced into doing anything. We recommend that Apple's attorneys watch a few episodes of Judge Judy to learn that. A similar statement was made in the Microsoft-Motorola Mobility FRAND case which is going to trial on November 13th. In that case, Judge James Robart told both sides to stop using the court "as a pawn in a global, industry-wide business negotiation".
The judge noted her thoughts in an "Opinion and Order" entered with the court on Friday. Judge
Crabb does not want to order Motorola to make an offer to Apple if the Cupertino based firm is going to use that offer as a negotiating tool, and she now "believes it would be inappropriate to grant Apple's
clarified request for specific performance".
Judge Crabb is not happy with Apple |
30 Million Samsung Galaxy S III Units Sold
Yesterday only it was found out that 3 million Galaxy Note 2 units have been sold in 37 days.And now with the Galaxy S III Samsung has reached another milestone.Samsung has just announced that it has sold 30 million units of the smartphone worldwide. The number includes the I9300 as well as carrier specific versions offered in specific markets such as the United States, Japan, and Korea and is spot on with earlier expectations.
The above number has been achieved in an impressively quick fashion – the first Samsung Galaxy S III units hit the shelves roughly five months ago. With the upcoming holiday shopping season right around the corner, coupled with the healthy drop of the handset’s price in some major markets, it is all but guaranteed that the number will increase even further.
The above number has been achieved in an impressively quick fashion – the first Samsung Galaxy S III units hit the shelves roughly five months ago. With the upcoming holiday shopping season right around the corner, coupled with the healthy drop of the handset’s price in some major markets, it is all but guaranteed that the number will increase even further.
What Is Memory Leak And How To Fix It
Does your PC often hang?Often it happens that this occurs due to unavailable free memory.But this can also occur if you are running just one application,maybe a browser?How do you account for that?Well,the answer is memory leak.A memory leak is a particular type of unintentional memory consumption by a computer program when that program fails to release memory when no longer needed. This condition is normally the result of a bug in a program that prevents it from freeing up memory that it no longer needs.In this case,memory is allocated to a program, and that program subsequently loses the ability to access it due to program logic flaws.
Memory leak can sometimes be extremely fatal and hence it is necessary to detect memory leak and rectify it.
Sometimes it may happen that you are just going on running program after program when suddenly you notice that the PC starts to slow down.Once you close those apps the PC returns to its normal state.That slowing down is not due to memory leak but due to unavailability of free RAM.
Whenever you feel that the machine is slowing down and you have just one or two programs open then it is better to use the task manager.Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open it.There you can check the amount of memory being used by each process.
If your browser is using too much memory ,according to you then it may be a case of memory leak.But always check for viruses .They are notorious for slowing down your PC substantially and you can't even detect with the task manager.
Okay so now you know what a memory leak is and how to detect it.But how do you fix it?Here are the steps.
1.Download Process Explorer and set it as the default task manager.This application is very useful and can provide much more information than the built in one.
2. Download FreeRAM XP Pro
3.Whenever you feel your machine slowing down open the task manager(process explorer).
4.Whichever process is using too much memory just close that process.
5.Now open FreeRAM XP Pro.
6.Press Go .Now it will try to compress the RAM and hence increase the memory.
7.After its job is done you will feel the difference.
8.Restart your apps.If it was a browser then you can easily restore the opened tabs.
9.Enjoy!
Hope you liked this tutorial .Please comment to let me know how it worked.
Memory leak can sometimes be extremely fatal and hence it is necessary to detect memory leak and rectify it.
How to detect memory leak?
Sometimes it may happen that you are just going on running program after program when suddenly you notice that the PC starts to slow down.Once you close those apps the PC returns to its normal state.That slowing down is not due to memory leak but due to unavailability of free RAM.
Whenever you feel that the machine is slowing down and you have just one or two programs open then it is better to use the task manager.Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open it.There you can check the amount of memory being used by each process.
If your browser is using too much memory ,according to you then it may be a case of memory leak.But always check for viruses .They are notorious for slowing down your PC substantially and you can't even detect with the task manager.
How To Fix It?
Okay so now you know what a memory leak is and how to detect it.But how do you fix it?Here are the steps.
1.Download Process Explorer and set it as the default task manager.This application is very useful and can provide much more information than the built in one.
Process Explorer |
2. Download FreeRAM XP Pro
Free RAM XP Pro |
4.Whichever process is using too much memory just close that process.
5.Now open FreeRAM XP Pro.
6.Press Go .Now it will try to compress the RAM and hence increase the memory.
7.After its job is done you will feel the difference.
8.Restart your apps.If it was a browser then you can easily restore the opened tabs.
9.Enjoy!
Hope you liked this tutorial .Please comment to let me know how it worked.
Android Tightens Its Security System
Everyone knows that Android is fragmented.Everyone also knows that Android is a bit low on security.Also there is is no antimalware software in the Google Play Store.
Surely the danger of virus infecting your phone is also partly due to you.If a user downloads apps from third-party app stores, however, he faces two possible threats: rogue/spyware applications and premium SMS apps.
Android 4.2 however effectively deals with those two last threats as well, and here is how.
To properly understand the process, we need to go back at February 2012 when Google introduced the Bouncer system that continuously scans and analyzes every single app submitted on the Play Store, and goes to such great lengths as to actually run every app on a cloud simulator to check its actual behavior. The result is that Google Play has become a very safe & secure place.
A little disclaimer to be perfectly exact: it is not impossible to circumvent the Bouncer system as it runs a virtual environment and that could be detected, but it is extremely hard to crack it. And given the consequences for the developer account that does, it is hard to imagine Android security cracked.
Now, Bouncer is almost sealed to the public. Reverse-engineering it, though, has revealed that what it does is effectively detect the most common threats from spyware and premiums SMS apps. If an app tries to steal your contacts, Bouncer detects it. If an app tries to send a message to a premium number, Bouncer detects it. If an app, steals your photos? You guessed it right, Bouncer detects it.
The big news with Android 4.2 is that it now includes a service based on Bouncer that works with all apps, not just those on Google Play. For example, it can check apps you download on the Amazon Appstore. Or an anonymous Chinese app catalog.
Whenever you try to ‘sideload’ an app (install it from a different source than the official market, that is), the system will kick in and instantaneously run that same very detailed check on Google’s servers. Speed here is important, and in Android's case, you won't even notice the check.
"The server does all the hard work," Android VP of Engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer explained. "The device sends only a signature of the APK so that the server can identify it rapidly."
The new service is not mandatory though. The first time you try to sideload an app on your Android 4.2 device, a pop-up will appear asking you whether you want to verify apps. Best of all, when an app raises some red flags with its behavior, but can’t be definitely written off as malware, you get to choose whether to install it or not afer reviewing what it has access to. And even the permissions screen has been tweaked adding illustrative icons, so you can take a quick glance instead of reading it.
This is definitely another huge step for Android security . Instead of leaving its app protection system for the Play Store only, the company spreads it to sideloaded apps and thus makes third-party app catalogs more secure.
Surely the danger of virus infecting your phone is also partly due to you.If a user downloads apps from third-party app stores, however, he faces two possible threats: rogue/spyware applications and premium SMS apps.
Android 4.2 however effectively deals with those two last threats as well, and here is how.
Bouncer, Google Play's security system
To properly understand the process, we need to go back at February 2012 when Google introduced the Bouncer system that continuously scans and analyzes every single app submitted on the Play Store, and goes to such great lengths as to actually run every app on a cloud simulator to check its actual behavior. The result is that Google Play has become a very safe & secure place.
A little disclaimer to be perfectly exact: it is not impossible to circumvent the Bouncer system as it runs a virtual environment and that could be detected, but it is extremely hard to crack it. And given the consequences for the developer account that does, it is hard to imagine Android security cracked.
Now, Bouncer is almost sealed to the public. Reverse-engineering it, though, has revealed that what it does is effectively detect the most common threats from spyware and premiums SMS apps. If an app tries to steal your contacts, Bouncer detects it. If an app tries to send a message to a premium number, Bouncer detects it. If an app, steals your photos? You guessed it right, Bouncer detects it.
Android 4.2 brings Bouncer to sideloaded apps
The big news with Android 4.2 is that it now includes a service based on Bouncer that works with all apps, not just those on Google Play. For example, it can check apps you download on the Amazon Appstore. Or an anonymous Chinese app catalog.
Whenever you try to ‘sideload’ an app (install it from a different source than the official market, that is), the system will kick in and instantaneously run that same very detailed check on Google’s servers. Speed here is important, and in Android's case, you won't even notice the check.
"The server does all the hard work," Android VP of Engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer explained. "The device sends only a signature of the APK so that the server can identify it rapidly."
The new service is not mandatory though. The first time you try to sideload an app on your Android 4.2 device, a pop-up will appear asking you whether you want to verify apps. Best of all, when an app raises some red flags with its behavior, but can’t be definitely written off as malware, you get to choose whether to install it or not afer reviewing what it has access to. And even the permissions screen has been tweaked adding illustrative icons, so you can take a quick glance instead of reading it.
This is definitely another huge step for Android security . Instead of leaving its app protection system for the Play Store only, the company spreads it to sideloaded apps and thus makes third-party app catalogs more secure.
App permissions on Android 4.1 (left) and 4.2 (right) |
Iphone Lost Its Name In Mexico
I have already written an article about the fact that Iphone may be losing its name in Mexico.It was almost evident and sad news for Apple fans,that incident has happened.Yes,Apple has lost the case against Mexican telecom iFone .Not only that iFone is now countersuing Apple for infringement claiming damages to the amount of 40% of all iPhone sales in Mexico to date. Apple will also lose the right to sell phones under the iPhone brand in Mexico. This too happens just in time for the iPhone 5 scheduled launch in the country.
The sad news doesn't end here.With their claim against Samsung rejected by a UK court, Apple were ordered to issue a public statement, including on their own web page, that Samsung didn’t copy Cupertino’s designs. Apple complied but it turned out the court wasn't happy with their wording and ordered it revised. Here is the latest version of the statement:
On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited's Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple's Community registered design No.0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High Court is available on the following link. The judgement has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18th October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal's judgement is available on the following link. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe.
Finally, Samsung is now requesting Apple VP of Marketing Phil Schiller for questioning in court regarding Apple’s seek of ban for various Samsung products. Samsung claims Schiller’s newest written testimony includes statements that are "new or in conflict with his testimony at trial".
The sad news doesn't end here.With their claim against Samsung rejected by a UK court, Apple were ordered to issue a public statement, including on their own web page, that Samsung didn’t copy Cupertino’s designs. Apple complied but it turned out the court wasn't happy with their wording and ordered it revised. Here is the latest version of the statement:
On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited's Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple's Community registered design No.0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High Court is available on the following link. The judgement has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18th October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal's judgement is available on the following link. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe.
Finally, Samsung is now requesting Apple VP of Marketing Phil Schiller for questioning in court regarding Apple’s seek of ban for various Samsung products. Samsung claims Schiller’s newest written testimony includes statements that are "new or in conflict with his testimony at trial".
The Official Facebook Phone-HTC Opera UL
Despite rejecting all plans of building a Facebook phone,it seems that the most popular social network company is actually working on building its own phone.
That "Facebook" phone has appeared in the NenaMark2 results database and it is powered by a 1.4GHz (probably dual-core) Krait processor with Adreno 305 graphics and sports an HD display. It's currently running on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.
What do you people think?Let me know in the comments!
Notification Center To Land In Windows Phone Soon
Yeah,I know that at this moment ,WP 8 doesn't have a notification center but that doesn't mean that it will never have a notification center.
At the BUILD conference yesterday, Microsoft’s program manager Thomas Fennel said:
“Because we ran out of time. It’s very very important to me… we get tons of feedback from developers that they want something like that as well. I promise we’re thinking very very hard on that one.”
As we know that it was Android who first introduced the notification center,and iOS soon after that basically copied that whole that thing , bringing a few modifications.I just hope that the WP edition doesn't become a copycat.Well,let's hope for the best!
At the BUILD conference yesterday, Microsoft’s program manager Thomas Fennel said:
“Because we ran out of time. It’s very very important to me… we get tons of feedback from developers that they want something like that as well. I promise we’re thinking very very hard on that one.”
As we know that it was Android who first introduced the notification center,and iOS soon after that basically copied that whole that thing , bringing a few modifications.I just hope that the WP edition doesn't become a copycat.Well,let's hope for the best!
Galaxy Note II Super Hit:3 Million Units Sold In A Month
Galaxy Note II was already destined to be a hit in this market ;it was the best phablet at the time it was released and it is still now.So the numbers were already expected by me.Samsung has sold this phablet 3 million units in just 37 days,impressive isn't it?
"The rapid Galaxy Note 2 sales have a meaning of not just creating a new category of smartphone, but also of popularizing the category." – says Samsung.
The first Galaxy Note managed to sell just 2 million units four months after its premiere (way more than the initial expectations), so the Note II has reached its main aim i.e it has defeated its predecessor.
"The rapid Galaxy Note 2 sales have a meaning of not just creating a new category of smartphone, but also of popularizing the category." – says Samsung.
Impressive,Phablet! |
The first Galaxy Note managed to sell just 2 million units four months after its premiere (way more than the initial expectations), so the Note II has reached its main aim i.e it has defeated its predecessor.
HTC Desire SV Announced In India
HTC today announced a new Android based dual-SIM smartphone. The phone has been christened Desire SV and will launch in India this month and will sell for INR 22,590
The Desire SV has a 4.3-inch Super LCD2 with a resolution of 800 x 480, dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 768MB RAM, 4GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, BSI sensor, f/2.2 aperture and 28mm lens, WVGA video recording, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Wi-Fi, Beats Audio and a 1,620mAh battery. The Android version of this phone is most probably 4.1 and as usual,with HTC's Sense UI on top of it.
HTC Desire SV |
The Desire SV has a 4.3-inch Super LCD2 with a resolution of 800 x 480, dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 768MB RAM, 4GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, BSI sensor, f/2.2 aperture and 28mm lens, WVGA video recording, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Wi-Fi, Beats Audio and a 1,620mAh battery. The Android version of this phone is most probably 4.1 and as usual,with HTC's Sense UI on top of it.
Samsung Vs HTC Vs LG Vs Meizu Quad-Core Processor
Quad-Core Processors.The name itself makes it clear that we are going to be witness a stiff battle between our competitors.And who are these heavyweight champs you may ask?
Well,those that will playing today are :
iii)Quadrant(Higher is Better)
iv)Antutu (Higher is better)
Well,those that will playing today are :
- Samsung Galaxy S III
- HTC One X
- LG Optimus G
- Meizu MX 4-Core
With great power comes great responsibility and these phones not only represent themselves but also their manufacturers. It's a battle of the chipsets too. Inside the Samsung Galaxy S III and Meizu MX Quad Core beats the same Exynos 4212 Quad chipset, while the HTC One X is powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 and the beast LG Optimus G is powered by the S4 Pro Chipset.
So,without wasting further time lets start our battle!
1.Screen Size
Even though this article is centered around the premise of comparing chipsets, the screen is almost as important - what would be the use of all that computing power if the screen is going to limit what you can do.
The Samsung Galaxy S III ,HTC One X & LG Optimus G all have 4.7 -4.8 inch screens ,hence they are almost equal.However,Meizu MX 4-core has a 4 inch screen and I suppose that this will be an advantage for this phone.
Samsung Galaxy S III |
LG Optimus G |
HTC One X |
Meizu MX 4-Core |
2.Clock Speed
The HTC One X is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor while the S III and the MX 4-core have 1.4 GHz Exynos 4212 Quad chipset under their hoods.The Optimus G is powered by the 1.5 GHz Krait S4 Pro Chipset .
3.Benchmark Scores
i) Benchmark Pi(lower is better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 344
HTC One X :
LG Optimus G : 285
Meizu MX 4-Core : 362
ii)Linpack(Higher is Better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 177.1
HTC One X: 160.9
LG Optimus G : 608
Meizu MX 4-Core : 189.1
iii)Quadrant(Higher is Better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 5365
HTC One X : 5952
LG Optimus G : 7439
Meizu MX 4-Core: 5170
iv)Antutu (Higher is better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 10767
HTC One X : 11633
LG Optimus G :11226
Meizu MX 4-Core: 11820
v)BrowserMark(Higher is better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 158953
v)BrowserMark(Higher is better)
Samsung Galaxy S III : 158953
HTC One X : 140270
LG Optimus G : 118126
Meizu MX 4-Core: 158404
So as you can see from the benchmark results it is the LG Optimus G which stands out among the other smartphones.This is mainly because of the new S4 Pro chipset running inside the Optimus which is at present the best quad-core processor for phones on the planet.
What do you guys have to say?Please comment below.
So as you can see from the benchmark results it is the LG Optimus G which stands out among the other smartphones.This is mainly because of the new S4 Pro chipset running inside the Optimus which is at present the best quad-core processor for phones on the planet.
What do you guys have to say?Please comment below.
Iphone No Longer To Be Sold In Mexico
Everyone knows that the name Iphone wasn't first introduced by Apple. Years
before the it made its debut,there was an internet appliance called the iPhone, which was acquired by Cisco. Apple ended up getting in a lawsuit with Cisco over the rights to the name, but the disputewas ultimately settled.
More recently, Apple’sbeen fighting another battle over the iPhone name, now in Mexico, but the favour has gone against Apple, denying it the rights to sell its smartphone as the iPhone. The problem is that Mexico has a telecom company called iFone that’s been operating under that name since before Apple came up with the iPhone.
Inspite of knowing that IFone has come earlier Apple tried to sue iFone to force it to abandon the name. There have been years of legal volleying since, but the latest rulings make it clear that Apple is losing Reportedly, Apple was denied a motion that would have let it continue to keep selling the iPhone with that name. If it wants to sell its hardware in Mexico, it may have to come up with some new name. That could be something as simple as the “Apple Phone”, but whatever the company ends up doing, we can’t imagine it’s very happy about the way this has all happened.
before the it made its debut,there was an internet appliance called the iPhone, which was acquired by Cisco. Apple ended up getting in a lawsuit with Cisco over the rights to the name, but the disputewas ultimately settled.
More recently, Apple’sbeen fighting another battle over the iPhone name, now in Mexico, but the favour has gone against Apple, denying it the rights to sell its smartphone as the iPhone. The problem is that Mexico has a telecom company called iFone that’s been operating under that name since before Apple came up with the iPhone.
Inspite of knowing that IFone has come earlier Apple tried to sue iFone to force it to abandon the name. There have been years of legal volleying since, but the latest rulings make it clear that Apple is losing Reportedly, Apple was denied a motion that would have let it continue to keep selling the iPhone with that name. If it wants to sell its hardware in Mexico, it may have to come up with some new name. That could be something as simple as the “Apple Phone”, but whatever the company ends up doing, we can’t imagine it’s very happy about the way this has all happened.
Eta Devices Have Solution To Long Battery Lives On Smartphones
Imagine this.From now on you no longer have to worry about finding a electricity fix in order to get your smartphone charged every now & then.Won't that be great? Start-up company Eta Devices thinks that it might have a solution in the form of a new technology. The company, founded by a pair of MIT electrical engineering professors, Joel Dawson and David Perreault, has developed a new power amplifier design that results in twice the battery life for certain devices including smartphones.
RF power amplifiers change low-power radio signals into high-power signals, but cellphones lose precious power because of the inefficient process in which that is done. Eta has a new technology that makes this a more efficient process although it still has a ways to go before that technology is available in handsets. It will first be seen early next year in LTE base stations before it can be used in something smaller like a smartphone. Currently, it cost $36 billion to power cellular base stations, consuming nearly 1% of global power consumption. 640,000 diesel-powered generators are used to power base stations at a price of $15 billion paid for fuel every year, and this is where Eta's new product will be first applied.
The 5 power amps on the Apple iPhone 5 (the red dots) account for 60% of the phone's power consumption |
The eventual goal of the company is to replace the different power amplifiers on a smartphone with one power amplifier chip. On the Apple iPhone 5, for example, there are 5 such chips. Another power saving feature would be to reduce the number of transmissions your phone makes (your phone is always sending out transmissions even when you are merely downloading a video) to confirm the receipt of packets, or internet information.
Eta hopes to introduce it product in February at MWC in Barcelona, Spain.
iOS 6.0.1 Fixes Issues
Yesterday,a small update was released to iOS OTA(over the air).The update is supposed to fix an issue with horizontal lines over the keyboard of the iPhone 5, camera flash issues, Wi-Fi reliability and more.
Here is the full changelog from Apple:
1.Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air.
2.Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard.
3.Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off.
4.Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks.
5.Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances.
6.Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match.
7.Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen.
8.Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings.
Here is the full changelog from Apple:
1.Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air.
2.Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard.
3.Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off.
4.Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks.
5.Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances.
6.Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match.
7.Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen.
8.Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings.
Google Drive Updated
A few new features have been added to Google Drive through this update.For those who doesn't know what Google Drive is,it is Google's online cloud based storage in reply to Dropbox.
The new features include easy sharing (or embedding) of your Drive files to popular social networks such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc.
Here is how to share a file from Drive to Google+:
1.From within Google Drive, open the file or document you want to share.
2.Copy the file’s URL from your web browser’s address bar.
3.Paste the URL into the Share box at the top of your Google+ stream. If you’re signed into another Google service, like Gmail, you can also use the + Share button, which you’ll see in the upper right corner of your browser window.
4.Select a circle or type the name of individual people you’d like to share your post with.
5.Click the Share button.
And here is how to share a document straight from within it.
1.From within Google Drive, open the document and click Share in the top right corner of your browser window.
2.Make sure the file’s sharing settings are listed as “Public on the web” or “Anyone with the link.” If your file is private, your friends and family on Google+ won’t be able to access it.
3.Click on Google + next to the Share link via… option at the top of the sharing menu. You’ll see the Google+ share box with the embedded document.
4.Select a circle or type the name of individual people you’d like to share your post with.
5.Click the Share button.
Thus the sharing is now easier with Google Drive .
Nexus 3 Leaked
As we already know that the new Nexus devices are being christened after their screen sizes. A device called Nexus 3 has popped up in the EXIF data of a Google Switzerland employee and he claims the EXIF data has been modified.
To be more specific, the person, in his October 28 post containing the two pictures, stated that “we get to test some things before they’re launched, but for everything else, there’s exiv2.org”. We all know that EXIF data can be modified but let’s just stop and speculate for a second on why would a Google employee take his time to edit the information in such way before publishing it on his Google+ page?
Maybe he is trying to attract our attention.The images are those types of images which a typical user would simply upload from the device directly to Google+. In this case there was an extra step in modifying the EXIF data, as claimed.
Nokia Has Announced Cheap Nokia 109
Remember those small,old Nokia phones which had monstrous battery lives ?Well,Nokia has just announced the Nokia 109 entry-level phone. It packs a 1.8-inch TFT screen with 128x160 pixels resolution, dual-band GSM/EDGE connectivity, FM radio and microSD card.
Nokia 109 runs on S40 platform and comes with Nokia’s Xpress Browser, which compresses the web pages up to 90% and saves you data traffic.A few social apps are also pre-installed .
The phone's dimensions are 110x46x14.8 mm and it weighs just 77 grams. According to Nokia the battery will last 33 days in stand-by.Impressive!
Cyan and Black versions of Nokia 109 will hit the shelves in Europe, Asia Pacific and China very soon for $42 before taxes.
Smart Dock Released For Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Galaxy Note 2 now has an exclusive product known as the Smart Dock.What it does is that it allows to plug your phone into the dock and then use it as a makeshift desktop PC or media center.
It uses microUSB to interact with your Galaxy Note II. On the back is an HDMI port that will output 1080p video stream to a monitor or a TV. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack for outputting stereo sound. The microUSB port on the back lets you connect the dock to a charger or a computer.
Along the sides are three USB 2.0 ports that allow you to connect external storage devices such as flash drives as well as a keyboard and a mouse.It costs $99.99.
Bing Wallpaper In Google Homepage
Do you love the wallpaper on Bing's homepage ?Do you love Google Search?Do you want both?Then you are in the correct place.However,this is only for Chrome users,not for any other browser.If you are Chrome user,read on.
I know many people who shift to Bing just because they love that wallpaper on their homepage and I really can't disagree.That wallpaper is simply beautiful(usually from Nature).However,if you want to stay on Google then here is an extension for you .
Bing wallpaper for Google
This extension is all you need.You can even save this pics for later use!
I know many people who shift to Bing just because they love that wallpaper on their homepage and I really can't disagree.That wallpaper is simply beautiful(usually from Nature).However,if you want to stay on Google then here is an extension for you .
Bing wallpaper for Google
This extension is all you need.You can even save this pics for later use!
Apple Apology To Samsung Makes Judges Angry
Despite Apple's win against Samsung in the US, in the UK, Apple lost the case as the judge decided that Samsung did not copy the iPad in its tablets, and a couple of weeks ago the company from Cupertino was ordered to put out a notice on its website that would make it clear that Samsung did not copy.
What followed was quite funny though. The notice that ended up on the website contained more references to court decisions outside the case. Overall, the message was so diluted it felt like Apple played a joke on the UK judicial system.
Now, the U.K. Court of Appeal in London reacts and it is clearly unhappy with the “untrue” and “incorrect” notice Apple posted.
“I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Judge Robin Jacob said. “That is a plain breach of the order.”
The U.K. Court of Appeal ordered Apple to take down the statement within 24 hours and replace it with a new notice that would take into account the earlier incorrect comments.
Again, Apple requested 14 days to make those changes on its own website. That request was rejected. You can check out the original notice Apple posted on its web page below.
200 Million Iphones May Be Sold By Next Year
Though Apple didn't manage to reach its targets this year, and dramatic shift with its board of directors, the iPhone 5 is supposed to make record sale by next year.
The iPhone 5 has already had a massive sales debut, with more than 5 million sold during the first weekend. For what was left of the financial quarter, an additional 27 million iPhones were sold. Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, believes that Apple will move 194 million handsets for this year, achieving quarterly sales goals that will shatter last year’s sales. The holiday quarter of 2011 was Apple’s strongest period, selling 37 million iPhones. For FY2013, sales are expected to reach 48.5 million.
In comparison, Samsung will likely move over 300 million handsets, but take into account that Samsung manufacturers a wide array of products whereas, Apple essentially makes one, plus a lower volume of legacy iPhones. iPad sales will be helped by the new iPad mini, with overall sales possibly topping 100 million units in the coming year.
Ipad Mini Has Stereo Speakers
Every Apple user knowss that in order to listen to stereo sound from their Apple products, some kind of stereo headphones or an external speaker dock should be attached. The iPhone series continues to possess mono speakers, and not even larger iPads have two speakers for a full stereo experience. While in many ways the iPad mini is a shrunken-down iPad 2, one way that Apple has definitely improved on the design is by giving the iPad mini real stereo speakers, as recently confirmed by Apple.
While Apple has been short on detailed technical specifications in its public proclamations about the iPad mini, an email from Phil Schiller himself confirms that the tablet features a pair of stereo speakers. Sure, they’re still pretty close together, making it difficult to appreciate the stereo separation, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Can there be similar stereo speakers on future iPads? Sure,why not?If the Ipad mini becomes a hit,and the users welcome the stereo speakers then it is evident that they will be inserted in other Apple products as well.
Stereo speakers |
Ipad mini |
Microsoft Sued For Its Live Tiles
The patent breakage lawsuit originates from SurfCast, an OS development company based in Portland, which owns a patent granted in 2004 pertaining to a “System and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources.” Just from that title alone, it would sound like SurfCast could sue over just about anything from Google News to Hootsuite. Of course, the patent itself isn't quite as broad, but still not great. It details a GUI that ”organizes content from a variety of information sources into grid of tiles each of which can refresh its content independently of the others.”
It reminds me of the Live Tiles, though doesn't really look all that much like Live Tiles. But, don't get disheartened Micrsoft fans. Microsoft also holds a patent for Live Tiles, which covers “systems and methods for providing a user interface mobile devices enable data and services available through mobile device to be represented as a set of tiles maintained a display space.” Microsoft's patent was filed back in 2006, but it was rejected in 2009 specifically because of the prior art existing in SurfCast's patent. Microsoft reapplied and the patent was granted in 2011.
SurfCast names “Windows Phone, Microsoft Surface with the Windows RT Operating System, Microsoft Windows RT, Microsoft Windows 8, Microsoft Windows 8 Pro, and Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise Operating System” in its suit, but surprisingly leaves out Windows Phone 7/7.5, which has been using this same system for 2 years now, going back to before Microsoft held a patent for the system. The same couldalso be applied to any of the now 120,000 apps that have been submitted to the Windows and Windows Phone Stores, because Microsoft details ways for developers to create Live Tiles, which means each app would be infringing when it is submitted to the store.
In return Microsoft will go to court in order to prove that its method for displaying information in boxes is "unique" compared to the method of displaying information in boxes that was patented by SurfCast.
You can go over to http://www.surfcast.com/ and have a look at their website.
It reminds me of the Live Tiles, though doesn't really look all that much like Live Tiles. But, don't get disheartened Micrsoft fans. Microsoft also holds a patent for Live Tiles, which covers “systems and methods for providing a user interface mobile devices enable data and services available through mobile device to be represented as a set of tiles maintained a display space.” Microsoft's patent was filed back in 2006, but it was rejected in 2009 specifically because of the prior art existing in SurfCast's patent. Microsoft reapplied and the patent was granted in 2011.
SurfCast names “Windows Phone, Microsoft Surface with the Windows RT Operating System, Microsoft Windows RT, Microsoft Windows 8, Microsoft Windows 8 Pro, and Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise Operating System” in its suit, but surprisingly leaves out Windows Phone 7/7.5, which has been using this same system for 2 years now, going back to before Microsoft held a patent for the system. The same couldalso be applied to any of the now 120,000 apps that have been submitted to the Windows and Windows Phone Stores, because Microsoft details ways for developers to create Live Tiles, which means each app would be infringing when it is submitted to the store.
In return Microsoft will go to court in order to prove that its method for displaying information in boxes is "unique" compared to the method of displaying information in boxes that was patented by SurfCast.
You can go over to http://www.surfcast.com/ and have a look at their website.