Sep 12, 2012


Western Digital (WD) said on Monday that it's currently sampling 5mm-thin hybrid hard disk drives designed to fit within super-thin notebooks (AKA Ultrabooks, etc). These new drives promise SSD-like instant-on and application performance on top of the typical high capacity and low price point traits offered by traditional HDD.

The World's Thinnest Hard Drive

By: Unknown on: Wednesday, September 12, 2012

This is it. TechCrunch Disrupt is back in San Francisco, 

Watch TechCrunch Disrupt SF Live!

By: Unknown on: Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sep 11, 2012

Diane Von Furstenberg watches a practice run of her Spring 2013 show with Google co-founder Sergey Brin during Fashion Week in New York, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012.

Fashion went four-eyed on Sunday, as Google sent its high-tech glasses down the runway at the Diane Von Furstenberg show at New York Fashion Week... Models at the DVF show strutted down the runway in the tech company’s futuristic frames as they displayed the designer’s couture.

Google Glass Makes Surprise Appearance at New York Fashion Week!

By: Unknown on: Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Sep 10, 2012


Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took it upon himself to give Google Android OS the praise that it deserves. According to Bezos:
Android is accomplishing everything that Amazon needs it to and, at the same time, giving the company flexibility to customize things. We treat Android like Linux, and so it’s a base OS layer. We have a large dedicated team that customizes Android and that’s what you see on the Kindle Fire.
I think it’s great to see a CEO of such a huge player like Amazon praising Android for what it offers to everyone. It’s probably the least he can do considering the sales Android has helped give the Kindle Fire, and the upcoming success the Kindle Fire 2 and Kindle Fire HD will bring to the company.

When asked if Amazon has any plans on straying away from Android, Bezos gave a simply answer of ”No, we like Android.”

Source: AllThingsD

Amazon CEO praises Android

By: Unknown on: Monday, September 10, 2012

It may be turning heads, but the Amazon Kindle Fire HD falls short of the Google Nexus 7 killer that some people would like it to be... As our Amazon Kindle Fire HD vs Google Nexus 7 shows, there are certainly some significant areas in which the former moves past its 7-inch rival, However, there are other key areas which it absolutely does not exceed expectations and they remain potentially important to a big swathe of tablet buyers.

Speedy

The first problem for me is the dual-core processor in the Kindle Fire HD 7; the Google Nexus 7's Tegra 3 is a quad-core affair and it helps make the tablet an absolute dream to use, The Nexus 7 remains one of the most responsive devices on the market, flitting between apps and games effortlessly, multitasking with aplomb.

Although having a dual-core processor has been justified by some companies as more efficient in a mobile device (something which is a hot-ticket conversation in mobile phones at the moment), I think many people would trade a couple of hours life for a big boost in top end performance.


The Kindle Fire HD does, of course, give you a big chunk more storage for your buck, doubling up at both price points - and that's definitely a big bonus, with 8GB feeling paltry given the size of HD content... But for many, it's not the reason to buy Amazon that it will be billed as.

Weighty problem?

Weight-wise, the Nexus 7 is pretty much perfect for one handed use; any heavier and it would feel uncomfortable, So it remains to be seen what the (admittedly small) bump in heaviness does in terms of comfort – it's something that needs time to be, ahem, weighed up.


But then we move on to the operating systems and I can't help but feel it is there that the Nexus 7– for me at least – lands the crucial blow... I get why Amazon has taken Android 4.0 and made it more suitable to its target audience, namely people who buy stuff from them.

It's why the tablet costs as little as it does: Amazon swallows a portion of the cost in the knowledge that you later deposit pots of cash in its virtual registers by buying films, music, books, apps and physical goods from it.

So you would expect to be shoved in the direction of its shop regularly and firmly - but its competitor, although not shy about pushing you to its own Google Play store, is less in your face about it.

The Google tablet is running the beautifully designed vanilla Jelly Bean 4.1, has more apps, more freedom and, you would assume, is going to receive future updates to Android sooner than Amazon's tab.

Data

Of course, you don't get the Kindle books or breadth of material that you get with Amazon, but you can run the Kindle app and Google Books should you desire.

In truth, the thing that would massively improve both tablets is a mobile data version, bringing the joys of 3G or 4G on the go.

And if the rumours are right, the Nexus 7 3G is on the way; and that could tip the scales even further towards Google in the 7-inch market.

Kindle Fire is Defiantly NOT a Google Nexus 7 Killer

By: Unknown on: Monday, September 10, 2012

A new report suggests Apple may have a hard time invalidating HTC’s data transmission patents, potentially leading to an import ban on select iOS devices. The Taiwanese manufacturer recently accused Apple of infringing on two of its IPs related to wireless networking. Furthermore, the company reiterated that the patents in question “are critical” to the use of 4G LTE. HTC acquired the patents in April 2011 for $75 million from ADC Telecommunications Inc.

HTC vs Apple ! Yes You've Read It Right !!

By: Unknown on: Monday, September 10, 2012

Even before the new Galaxy Note II was officially unveiled, we’ve heard a number of rumors that such a device is in development. At that time, the Interwebs were talking about improved camera, saying that the new model will rock a 13-megapixel sensor. Now we’re hearing that those rumors were partly true as Samsung did want to include it in the Note II. The problem, however, is that the Japanese company could supply its Korean partner with enough units so Sammy opted for the “old” 8-megapixel sensor, instead.

It is fair to presume that at the time Samsung started making new Notes, Sony had problems with volume production. Today we know they’ll be supplying LG with 13-megapixel sensors which will be used in the soon-to-be-launched Optimus G. Guess the Note III and perhaps the Galaxy S IV will rock a better camera… Not that we actually need one…

Galaxy Note II doesn't have a 13MP camera because of Sony

By: Unknown on: Monday, September 10, 2012

Sep 9, 2012


It’s common that people in China use two networks at once, hence Samsung wants to have a special version of the Galaxy Note II that can support this capability. We’re hearing that the dual-SIM Note II will be released soon, allowing Chinese who can afford it to be available on two different phone numbers at all times. The story goes on suggesting that China Unicom will be the first carrier to offer the phablet that will work both on its CDMA-based and other GSM networks.

Aside from this important tweak, the Chinese Galaxy Note II will remain super-powerful under the hood, rocking 1.6 GHz Exynos 4412 quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 5.5-inch 720p HD screen, S-Pen and so on.

Now we’re wondering whether something similar will be released in other parts of the world. I’m sure Chinese are not the only one appreciating this feature and I can easily imagine travelers having an existing (home) SIM working alongside another one bought in the other country. Sounds awesome, don’t you think?

[Via: Unwired View]

Dual-SIM Galaxy Note II in development for China

By: Unknown on: Sunday, September 09, 2012


Amazon held an event last weekend to announce their very anticipated new line of Kindle Fires, as well as a new Kindle with backlit display. Being that the Nexus 7 recently came out, it was very clear that they’d need to step their game up in order to compete and that they definitely did.

They also announced an 8.9 inch version, but that’s for another post. This post is all about comparing the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 and seeing who comes out on top. When it comes to the display, they both clock in at 1280×800 pixels. The difference though is that the Kindle Fire HD’s display is an IPS panel that is laminated to reduce glare and provide better viewing at angles. In that respect, Amazon wins.

Quite obviously, the Kindle Fire HD is running Android, but with Amazon’s own skin on top of that. What’s great about the Nexus 7 is the fact that is comes with a stock version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Because the Kindle’s interface is locked down, we have to hand it to the Nexus 7 as far as software is concerned.

Although the Nexus 7 features a quad-core processor whereas the Kindle Fire HD does not, it doesn’t feature stereo speakers with Dolby Audio. Also, the Kindle Fire HD comes with dual-band, dual-antenna WiFi which means far better WiFi performance, and comes with 16GB storage at $199 instead of just 8GB with the Nexus 7. There haven’t been any side by side performance comparisons yet, so it’s hard to tell in that department.

Quite frankly, they both seem pretty nice as far as hardware is concerned. Amazon claims that the Kindle Fire HD can get up to 11 hours of battery life which is a little more than the Nexus 7. At the end of the day, it’s kind of a tough call. While the Nexus 7 has a quad-core Tegra 3 and is running stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Kindle Fire HD comes with double the storage at both the $199 and $249 price point.

If you’re looking to buy a 7 inch Android tablet here soon and want a stock Android experience, I suggest going with the Nexus 7. However, if you’re a big time Amazon customer and want more storage, the Kindle Fire HD doesn’t look too shabby. It’s also worth mentioning that it’ll be no time before the Kindle Fire HD is rooted and you can install Android 4.1 anyways.


Kindle Fire HD vs Nexus 7

By: Unknown on: Sunday, September 09, 2012

Sep 7, 2012


A while back a native µTorrent Remote for Android was introduced to us, which allowed users to manage their torrents from their phone. But the most popular question was:  “When will a fully featured µTorrent Client be available for Android?”

A Native µTorrent App for Android is Now Available!

By: Unknown on: Friday, September 07, 2012

Sep 6, 2012



In late July, Google rolled out their new Google Fiber product to Kansas City. According to Capstone analyst Rory Maher, Google is now ready to expand to new locations. In a report on Business Insider, Maher indicates he has been in contact with sources close to the Kansas City project and they are telling him “more cities will likely be bidding for Fiber soon.”

Google Fiber is Ready To Move Beyond Kansas City

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012



The Nokia Lumia 920 was unveiled yesterday with the backing of Microsoft whose CEO, Steve Ballmer, flew all the way from Seattle to lend his support to Stephen Elop. The Samsung Ativ S was presented at IFA last week in Berlin. Neither of the phones have an estimated time of delivery although it is certain that it will be in the fourth quarter of the year. There are some similarities due to the restrictions imposed by Microsoft but read on to find out how they fare against each other.

Nokia Lumia 920 vs Samsung Ativ S

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012

You know how hot your laptop can get when you use it for hours? Imagine how hot servers —the high-powered computers that run websites and apps— must get... Now imagine a whole building full of servers running at full tilt—and grab some ice water.

Keeping data centers cool is a major engineering problem, not to mention an ecological one. Intel is working on a new approach: submerging them in oil.

Are You Ready To Drown Your PC in Oil?

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012


Motorola and Verizon held an event in New York City yesterday and announced several new phones in the DROID RAZR line. From kevlar to NFC chips to beautiful displays to awesome battery life, they’ve got everything Android fans will love. Bringing some more good news with their announcements, Motorola went on to say that most of their 2011 phones will be upgraded to Jelly Bean and those that won’t be, customers will get a $100 credit to a future purchase.

Meet The New Motorola Droid Razr Family !

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012


Back in January, Thermaltake teased us all with images from its latest gaming mouse concept, the Level 10 M Mouse. Just in time for CES 2012, the concept was created in collaboration with BMW's DesignworksUSA team, toting features such as a height and angle adjustable body as well as perforated palm surface to alleviate sweaty hands.

A Gaming Mouse By BMW !!

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012

Facebook's stock price reached a new low of $17.55 yesterday before closing at $17.73 - a 53.34 percent drop since its $38 IPO in May. Before hitting this record low, Facebook shares began the day at $18.06. 

One of the many reasons Facebook continues to be the worst-performing IPO since records began is the initial round of lockup expirations. Employees and insiders, once restricted from selling their stock, have had the green light to sell up to 271 million shares since Aug. 16. 

Among the notable insiders to take advantage of this lockup expiration are Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and first outside investor Peter Thiel. 

Moskovitz, who left the company in 2008, sold 450,000 of his shares to the tune of $8.8 million. He still owns 133 million Facebook shares. 

Thiel meanwhile unloaded 20 million shares, earning almost $400 million from that trade and a total of $640 million since the Facebook IPO. Even with the stock price down more than half since its debut on the NASDAQ, Thiel made a healthy return on his $500,000 investment in the up-and-coming social media company. 

Facebook's stock could dip even lower, as there are three more of these lockup expirations to go and more than 1.5 billion shares that will move from restricted status to free-to-sell. 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stated that the company is "focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends." In June, the new Sponsored Stories brought in $1 million each day, half of which came from mobile users.

Zuckerberg will make his first on-stage interview since May's IPO at TechCrunch Disrupt next Tuesday. We'll likely hear more about Facebook's troubled IPO and its mobile strategy then.

Facebook is Going Through a Rough Patch

By: Unknown on: Thursday, September 06, 2012

Sep 4, 2012


A co-founder of top Swedish filesharing site The Pirate Bay, who is on an international wanted list, has been arrested in the Cambodian capital at Stockholm's request, police said Sunday.

Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was handed a one-year prison sentence by a Swedish court in 2009 for promoting copyright infringement but failed to show up to serve his term at the start of this year. He was detained in Phnom Penh on Thursday, Cambodia's national police spokesman said.

"His arrest was made at the request of the Swedish government for a crime related to information technology," Kirth Chantharith told AFP.

"We don't have an extradition treaty with Sweden but we'll look into our laws and see how we can handle this case," he said, adding that Cambodia was awaiting more information and documents from the Swedish authorities.

The Swedish embassy in Phnom Penh was not immediately available for comment.

Founded in 2003, The Pirate Bay, which claims to have more than 31 million users, makes it possible to skirt copyright fees and share music, film and computer game files using bit torrent technology, or peer-to-peer links offered on the site.

Warg's fellow co-founders of the popular site, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde, as well as key financier Carl Lundstroem all had their 12-month sentences reduced to between four and 10 months on appeal in late 2010.

They were also ordered to pay a total of 46 million kronor ($6.9 million) in damages for copyright infringement to the music and movie industry.

But Warg did not attend his appeal hearing and his sentence was upheld, followed by an international warrant for his arrest.

During their trial, the defendants maintained that file-sharing services can be used both legally and illegally, and insisted their activities were within the law.

News that Warg had been picked up by police at his riverside apartment on the capital's main tourist strip spread like wildfire among Phnom Penh's expat community over the weekend and was eagerly discussed on online forums.

On Khmer440.com, the main website for foreigners living in Cambodia, editor Peter Hogan described Warg as "a seldom-sighted and reclusive figure" whose presence in the country had long been an "open secret".

Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg arrested in Cambodia

By: Unknown on: Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Sep 1, 2012


The latest numbers are in: Android is on top, followed by iOS in a distant second.

This word comes from Gartner, a top research firm for these sorts of things. Overall, within the last quarter, Android outsold iOS devices nearly three to one while capturing 64% of the worldwide market share. Samsung was the top dog accounting for 90M handset sales.

There is no denying Android’s dominance anymore. There is no way even the most rabid Apple fanboy can deny that iOS is in second place now. Android is winning.

This report by Gartner looked at the second quarter smartphone sales. That pegs the date range from April to June, which admittedly was a high point for Android while iPhone sales were starting to cool down. The Samsung Galaxy S III launched in late May, likely accounting for a good chunk of Samsung’s haul. It was a great quarter for Android and Samsung.

Gartner’s Q1 report notes similar rankings with Samsung and Android on top, too. At that time, Samsung had just overtaken Nokia as the top worldwide seller of mobile devices. Android was hovering around in the mid fifty percent range in the market share pie, and Apple had its second best iPhone quarter ever with 33M units sold (Apple sold 37M in the previous quarter). But now we have a clearer image and Android is securely positioned at the top of the mobile mountain.

As the Gartner report shows, iPhone sales were a bit off during the second quarter. They are probably even worse right now. Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in the last financial report that iPhone sales are falling victim to the iPhone 5 rumor mill. Consumers are simply (and wisely) not buying iPhones as much right now when it’s clear a new one is right around the corner. In fact iOS’ market share only improved nominally year-over-year.

During Apple’s best iPhone quarter, Q1 of 2012, the company moved 33M iPhones — an impressive feat considering there are only three models. Now, during Android’s best quarter, there were 98M units sold. There is simply no comparison. There is no way to spin these numbers. The iPhone 5 will likely light up Apple’s holiday quarter, but Samsung, Motorola, LG, and HTC combined Android units numbers will account for more units. In fact, Samsung alone might move units than Apple.

This war is starting to heat up. It’s no longer just a playground fight between fanboys. Developers cannot ignore Android. The old mantra of releasing on iOS and then eventually hitting Android needs to be rethought. Google also needs to step up its game. Google Play is a mess and Android has a very big problem with piracy. Android the ecosystem still sucks, but Android the mobile platform is winning.

Android Is Dominating

By: Unknown on: Saturday, September 01, 2012

E.T. won't need to fall to the Earth to phone home: he'll be able to grab one of NASA's cube-like miniature satellites -- roughly the size of a coffee mug -- later this year. They'll reportedly be powered by Google's Nexus One smartphones and include external batteries, an external radio beacon, and a watchdog circuit that will monitor the system and reboot the Android smartphone if necessary.

On Friday NASA said its cube-shaped, pre-Borg-like satellites are part of the PhoneSat Project aimed to make extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components, including an unmodified, consumer-grade smartphone. A small team of engineers is working on the project at the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and are taking the same "release early, release often" smartphone route with the small spacecraft.

"Out of the box, smartphones already offer a wealth of capabilities needed for satellite systems, including fast processors, versatile operating systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers, and several radios," NASA said.

By using only commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum for the first flight, the team was able to build each of the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project for $3,500. Each NASA PhoneSat nanosatellite is one standard CubeSat unit in size (approx. 4-inches) and weighs less than four pounds.

"NASA PhoneSat engineers also are changing the way missions are designed by rapidly prototyping and incorporating existing commercial technologies and hardware," NASA said. "This approach allows engineers to see what capabilities commercial technologies can provide, rather than trying to custom-design technology solutions to meet set requirements. Engineers can rapidly upgrade the entire satellite's capabilities and add new features for each future generation of PhoneSats."

According to the report, the Nexus One smartphone acts as the spacecraft's on-board computer. Sensors are used for orientation while the camera will be used for Earth observations. This 1st-generation satellite -- PhoneSat 1.0 -- will have a simple mission: to stay alive in the frigid vacuum of space long enough to send back images of earth and space while sending data about its overall health in the process.

Once that mission is completed, NASA will move on to the next-generation PhoneSat (2.0) featuring the zippier Nexus S smartphone. This device will add a two-way S-band radio to the core PhoneSat design to allow engineers to command the satellite from Earth. Solar panels will also be added to enable longer missions as well as a GPS receiver. The team will also throw in magnetorquer coils – electro-magnets that interact with Earth's magnetic field – and reaction wheels to actively control the satellite's orientation in space.

Three NASA PhoneSats systems (two PhoneSat 1.0's and one PhoneSat 2.0) are scheduled to launch aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va., later this year, NASA said. The image provided above is a PhoneSat 1.0 satellite during a high-altitude balloon test.

Later in 2013, NASA's upcoming Edison Demonstration of Small Satellite Networks mission -- part of the Small Spacecraft Technology Program -- will demonstrate the possibility of conducting heliophysics measurements using small spacecraft.

For more information about the smartphone satellites and additional photos, head here.

NASA Launching Mini Satellites Powered by Nexus One Phones

By: Unknown on: Saturday, September 01, 2012


Although Samsung is still in the process of hiding in the shadows of the consumer technology industry in an attempt to lick their wounds that are a result of their rather large defeat against Apple in California, they have managed to present their case in a Japanese court and notch up what can only be classed as an extremely small victory over the Cupertino-based iPhone giants. Although the case is in no way as large as the recent happenings that have been going on in San Jose recently, a victory is still a victory and Samsung will walk away from this one with their heads held a little higher.

The case itself was centered around Patent No. 4,204,977, which refers to an Apple held technology for synchronizing music and video data in devices to servers. In the immediate aftermath of their crushing defeat to Apple last week, a Samsung press release stated that the company wouldn’t rest until their case and points had been heard around the world in the hope that they could draw some attention to what they class as "blatant abuse of patent law".

Although the previous case and this most recent contesting of Apple’s claims are entirely different events, it should give the Korean company some comfort in the fact that a number of their devices have been deemed to not copy some Apple features. The overseeing judge of the trial, Tamotsu Shoji, ruled that the Galaxy Tab amongst other devices were not in breach of the utility patent that basically covers transferring data between two different devices. As part of the outcome, Judge Shoji has ruled that Apple will have to front up and cover the legal feels of the trial, something I’m pretty sure they can cover with a portion of the $1.05 billion they are owed by Samsung.

Tim-Cook-Choi-Gi-Sung

The origins of this particular case in Japan can be traced back to last year when Apple attempted to claim over 100 million Yuan from Samsung for a number of devices, including the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab. Regardless of this little minor set-back for Apple, the company will still be presenting their legal team at the December 6th meeting in California in an attempt to get a permanent ban on the sale of eight Samsung devices that have been found to infringe on their held patents.

(via Reuters)

Tokyo Court Rules in Favor of Samsung in Apple legal battle

By: Unknown on: Saturday, September 01, 2012
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