‘Stretched’ iPhone? New images suggest taller, slimmer handset, same width

imagining the iphone 5 apple announcement september 12

With Apple set to unveil its latest iPhone on Wednesday, new images suggest the Cupertino company is about to introduce a taller, slimmer device, with a widescreen display – imagine a kind of 'stretched' iPhone.

We’re just hours away from Apple’s much-anticipated media event in San Francisco where it’s expected to reveal the latest iteration of its iPhone – but of course, until Tim Cook actually holds up the new device on stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Wednesday, the rumor mill will keep on turning.

Prior to the unveiling of a new iteration of a popular device, speculation understandably swirls around how its physical look might alter – will it be bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, thicker, thinner, heavier, lighter? Or, perhaps, pretty much the same?

With the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple has decided to call it), the latest reports suggest the handset is about to undergo its most radical redesign since coming on the market five years ago.

More information is circulating pointing to a phone that will be both taller and slimmer. MacRumors reader Michael Rou posted a photo (below) on his site showing pre-production cases for Apple’s expected iPhone 5 and iPad Mini devices, made by case manufacturers based on leaked specifications from Foxconn factories in China, where the handset is being assembled. With the current iPhone placed inside the new case, it’s clear that the next version will be taller, though retaining its 2.31-inch width, giving the appearance of a ‘stretched’ iPhone with a widescreen display.

Different images from Know Your Mobile also show a set of cases that are markedly longer than what’s available for the existing iPhone. The photos (one shown below) were obtained from mobile accessories company Mobile Fun. “They’re genuine leather pouches – one of the images even shows the size difference compared to the iPhone 4,” Mobile Fun told KYM. “We’re highly confident that these cases show that the size of the iPhone 5 will be taller than the iPhone 4.”

With the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen starting to look a little on the small side when compared to its competitors’ offerings, there’s little doubt the next version will sport a larger display – the main question has been whether Apple would opt to push the viewable screen to the edges of the current design, or introduce a taller model. Based on all these images, it appears to be the latter.

As for its thickness, iResQ (via tech2) used received parts to build the casing of the next phone, with one of its pictures (below) showing Apple’s next handset to be marginally slimmer than its predecessor, likely due to the incorporation of a new in-cell display, which is thinner than a conventional LCD touchscreen.

Slimmer iPhone 5

Soon the Apple rumor mill will once again rest. All will be revealed shortly. Deep breaths now, Apple fans, deep breaths….


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple ID leak traced back to app developer BlueToad, not FBI

Apple ID leak traced back to app developer BlueToad, not FBI

Looks like the FBI may be off the hook

The two-week old mystery of where AntiSec obtained the 1million Apple device IDs it leaked to the Internet has been solved and it appears as if the FBI is off the hook. The real source of the unique device IDs, or UDIDs, is a Florida-based app company called BlueToad.

The hacker group claimed to have lifted the unique iOS device identifiers from an FBI laptop. However, the FBI quickly denied even possessing UDIDs, never mind being the target of a hack via a known Java vulnerability.

Still, this sparked conspiracy fears that made it seem as if the FBI was collecting and storing millions of Apple UDIDs for tracking purposes. AntiSec published more than 1 million of these device identifiers and said that it had 12 million more of them from the same FBI source.

When the FBI strongly rebuffed reports of its involvement, AntiSec said: "The fact that the FBI has no 'evidence' of a data breach on one of their notebooks, does not allow the conclusion that it never happened."

BlueToad, now speaking out, backs up the FBI's account, however.

Leak Source: BlueToad

BlueToad CEO Paul DeHart came forward, telling NBC News that his app publishing company's database was the source of the leaked UDIDs. Forensic analysis by the company shows that a breach occurred "in the past two weeks."

"That's 100 percent confidence level, it's our data," DeHart said after running tests that proved a near-perfect match. "As soon as we found out we were involved and victimized, we approached the appropriate law enforcement officials, and we began to take steps to come forward, clear the record and take responsibility for this."

On its website, BlueToad describes itself as a technology provider in the digital publishing industry and has more than 5,000 publisher with more than 10,000 titles. Specific clients were not revealed by DeHart, according to NBC News, but the apologetic CEO did say his business partners do include household names.

We may never know the names of BlueToad's clients. DeHart said that this company won't be informing its app downloaders of the UDID data breach. It's up to the individual clients to inform their readers.

How important are UDIDs?

The only mystery that remains is how important UDIDs are to privacy. DeHart downplayed the potential risk of exposing this information, yet it's enough of a privacy concern that the newest versions of BlueToad's software do not collect this personal information and has been rejecting apps that collect UDIDs since March.

Oddly enough, rallying against UDIDs appears to be AntiSec's objective in all of this. It said in an earlier statement: "We never liked the concept of UDIDs since the beginning indeed. Really bad decision from Apple. Fishy thingie."


Source : techradar[dot]com

Reports: iPhone 5 to raise US GDP, take Apple's stock to stratosphere

Reports: iPhone 5 to raise US GDP, take Apple's stock to stratosphere

Could this boost the U.S. economy?

The world is T-Minus two days away from the probable unveiling of Apple’s iPhone 5 and though we’ve seen the leaks and know it'll be a hot commodity, the new iOS device’s impact may reach beyond Apple’s coffers.

According to a new report, the iPhone 5 may significantly boost the U.S.’s gross domestic product (GDP), helping it grow between a quarter and half percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The news comes from a report by Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist for J.P. Morgan, to J.P. Morgan clients.

In the note, titled “Can one little phone impact GDP?” Feroli outlines just how Apple could grow the nation’s GDP by 0.33 percent.

If Apple sells eight million units at $600 a pop in three months, he explained, the government’s measure of the GDP will grow by $400 per phone ($200 would go towards import costs).

That comes out to $3.2 billion during the last part of the year, or an annual rate of $12.8 billion.

Though these estimates are “fairly large,” Feroli said they are more than plausible. The iPhone 4S was wildly successful when it launched last October and there’s reason to believe the iPhone 5 launch will be even bigger.

iPhone 5 launch will be ginormous

Another analyst has weighed in on just how big the iPhone 5’s launch will be.

Brian White of Topeka Capital said he expects Apple’s stock price to soar to $1,111, up from its record setting $680, after “the biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history.”

The phone should sell between 1.3 and 1.5 billion pre-orders in 24 hours, White said, trouncing the iPhone 4S’s figure of 1 million.

Between 5 million and 5.5 million iPhone 5’s will get sold in the first three days it’s available in stores, White also predicted, a theory that could validate AT&T and Verizon’s decision to blackout employee vacation days following the rumored Sept. 21 sale date.

Lastly, White said Apple will sell between 10 and 12 million iPhone 5’s this month alone.

White’s predictions extend beyond the iPhone 5’s sales figures, too.

According to him, the world will see a phone that’s 15 percent thinner than the current iteration, has a “modern unibody casing” and a faster processor.

Throw in a larger screen (4 inches versus 3.5 for the iPhone 4S), faster 4G LTE capability and a “better experience to showcase iOS 6” and consumers will be scrambling to pick up the new iPhone, White said.

Predictions aside, we’ll have to wait until Wednesday to see.


Source : techradar[dot]com

How to stream live football games online for free

Watch NFL live online

Don't have the cash for that premium NFL package from your cable provider? Here's how to watch live football games streaming online for free.

Whether you are unable, or maybe just unwilling, to shell out the cash for the NFL package to watch any pro football game from around the country, there are alternatives for those prepared to sacrifice the convenience of their cable TV service for the loving embrace of the Internet.

Watching games via your computer is a trade off.  On the negative side, you are subject the the flickers of streaming video.  Despite your Internet provider’s bold claims about having the fastest and best internet speeds, occasionally your picture will freeze, frames will skip, and/or the video might distort.  These are all minor problems that tend to correct themselves, but when it happens with 12-seconds left and your team is driving for a game winning touchdown, it matters.  On the other hand, you get to watch any NFL game without paying for cable TV, and as long as you have an Internet connection you can watch the games anywhere.

Below are a list of websites that will allow you to watch live, streaming feeds that deliver sweet, sweet football goodness directly to your computer. Obviously, as with any streaming feed, the quality will vary, and you will need to invest in a few cables and such to connect your computer to a TV (assuming you want to watch the stream on your TV and not just your monitor). But here are a list of a few of our favorite channels that are easy to use.

ESPN3.com (College football only)

Ok, this one is a bit of a cheat, because ESPN does not actually air NFL online games at all (although you can watch plenty of pre-game coverage, highlights, and analysis). Instead, the ESPN live streams are a great place to find college football on the weekends, both live and as replays — which are generally posted within an hour following the end of the game. While you may not get the NFL action you want on ESPN 3, the website offers one of the best selections of streaming sports anywhere. The quality is as good as you can find, and the selection of sports is robust.

There is a catch though: You need to log in through your Internet service provider, and it must be a provider approved by ESPN, although the list of approved providers is long. Odds are, you have an Internet connection, since you are — you know — online reading this article, but you might need to contact your provider, then create a log in account to activate the stream. Once you do, though, you can use that login regardless of where you are or what provider you are using at the time.

First Row Sports

This international site has a fairly comprehensive selection of the other kind of football, aka soccer, as well as categories to watch American football, baseball, basketball, and more.  If you are lucky and can time it right, there is even a category to watch darts live for some reason or other.  Snooker and handball both make the list as well, shockingly, but the site also offers all NFL games from various feeds, including mirror links when the stream is live.  

The site is completely free, which is great for the most part, but does have the slight downside: Beware the popup ads, for they are legion.  You may also need a few plugins for the video playback, which has the potential to introduce spyware, trojans, and all manner of unwanted things onto your computer. Make sure you have a decent program to protect your computer.  

Justin.tv

Justin.tv is a website that is user driven, and it plays host to several live streams at any given time. Along with live NFL streams, you can find a ton of shows discussing football (or any sport, for that matter), which is great if you want to gear up for the day, or maybe just want to see some headlights later. Most feeds will also air multiple games in a row as well as the pre and post game coverage so you won’t have to go looking too much for more content, but that is up to the user hosting the stream. The site is also an interesting website if you are looking for an assortment of eclectic programming, including live video game feeds, Mexican awards shows, repeats of The Office, and a lot more. 

Justin.tv might be one of the best video streaming hosts out there, but it can still suffer from poor quality and the occasional freezing. The website can also be slow to update, so a game that is over might still be listed, which isn’t a big deal, but it can be frustrating if you are looking for a secondary stream and are having trouble navigating through the now-defunct links.

NFLstreams.com

The website name pretty much says it all. This site is specifically for NFL games, and in some ways it acts as a search engine for NFL streams. Under each match-up, it will offer a list of sites to go to watch the game, but it does not host the feeds itself. Some of the sites it recommends require additional software, but NFLStreams warns you in advance, and generally the software you need is safe, and typically will help you if you want to watch other live streaming videos.

Oddly, there are a few small gaps in the coverage on NFLstreams.com, and not every game is listed. Most are though, and if you are having trouble finding a working stream this is a great place to check for options. But again, it does not host the games, it simply redirects you.

TVUNetworks.com

TVU networks has one of the largest selections of video streaming channels on the Internet. Once you download the software, you can sort through the genres and watch live TV, sporting events, movies, and pretty much anything that is airing somewhere on TV. If you are looking for a place to watch regular TV, or even TV from another country, TVU networks might be the place for you. Spend a little time on the site exploring channels, and you might quickly discover that you have spent your day watching a soap opera from Bengali or a 1950s sci-fi movie. The choices are nearly overwhelming.

The only real drawback to TVU is its size. Generally you can find what you want with relative ease, but sometimes it might take you time to hunt down the programs you are looking for. Then there is the software you need to download, which seems safe and unobtrusive, but when you are adding third-party software there is always the potential for incompatibility. It is a minor concern, but worth noting.

Ustream.tv

Like Justin.tv, Ustream.tv is a site that broadcasts what other users put on it, which can either lead you to the streaming promised land, or scratching your head wondering what is wrong with humanity.  It varies.  When you are desperately looking for that one particular game that may not be receiving much attention outside of certain areas, especially later in the season when the majority of national coverage will shift to the playoff contenders rather than the win-challenged, but possibly still much beloved teams outside of the major markets, Ustream may not be the best place to check.  

There is plenty of other content on the site worth checking out though, both sports and non-sports related. It is user generated, so of course it is constantly changing.  


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Lost Planet spinoff EX Troopers won’t be released outside Japan

Ever the crowd pleaser, Capcom decides to leave its exciting Nintendo 3DS/PlayStation Vita shooter EX Troopers in Japan.

Of all Capcom’s contemporary franchises, Lost Planet is probably the weirdest. As I discussed at length in my preview of Lost Planet 3 in July, it’s a franchise in name only, with only the loosest narrative tying its series together. For example, did you know that the slick anime-styled EX Troopers is actually a new Lost Planet game? I bet you thought it was just an awesome-looking multiplayer shooter that will be a welcome addition to your PlayStation Vita or Nintendo 3DS library. It happens to both, but for any of you Lost Planet, Vita, or 3DS fans in the US, it sucks to be you: Capcom’s leaving EX Troopers in Japan.

Capcom USA senior vice-president Christian Svensson delivered the bad news to fans in the official Capcom forums this past weekend. Svensson was already telling fans that Capcom has stopped supporting the Mega Man series in the US because of the myriad sub brands (Mega Man X, Zero, Star Force, etc.) When one user asked why sub-brands blocked a series from release, they pointed to EX Troopers as good example to the contrary.

The saddening response: “EX Troopers isn’t part of the LP series officially (thus the difference in name) nor are there plans to bring it Westward at this time.”

Capcom, you officially no longer make sense at all. Go make another lousy social game, why dontcha.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Judge says HTC patents probably valid, could stifle iPhone 5 in US

Judge says HTC patents probably valid, could stifle iPhone 5 in US

HTC's LTE patent suit could prove to be bad news for the iPhone 5

HTC's chairperson Cher Wang wasn't kidding around when she said her company had "no intentions" of settling with Apple after Samsung was handed a defeat in their patent lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

The Taiwanese manufacturer is continuing to pursue legal action, as HTC believes Apple is violating two of their patents regarding LTE technology.

Despite having been down a similar road with HTC before, this time around Apple may have a more difficult time earning a victory.

Apple will have to prove the HTC patents are invalid, which an ITC judge believes will be hard to prove.

Regarding the idea that a patent shouldn't have been issued, Judge Thomas Pender said, "Clear and convincing means something to me. I have to be pretty darn certain a U.S. patent is invalid."

A victory for HTC could mean trouble for the iPhone 5

If HTC's patents for LTE technology prove to be valid, Apple could find themselves in a bit of trouble in regards to its use in any of their devices.

With both the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini set to possibly use the 4G wireless technology, it's entirely possible the importing of said devices could be banned in the U.S.

The court filings reveal HTC purchased the patents from ADC Telecommunications Inc for $75 million "to protect itself and its customers from these aggressive tactics and to preserve its ability to compete in the United States."

Despite the path to ownership, Judge Pender believes HTC still has a healthy claim to the patents.

Speaking to Apple's lawyer Michael McKeon, of Fish & Richardson in Washington, Judge Pender said, "I don't care if they bought these patents to sue you or not. They are a property right."

The patent battles continue

This isn't the first time HTC and Apple have tussled over patents, and it certainly isn't the first time Apple has been involved in a patent infringement lawsuit.

However, this outcome of this decision could have a major impact on Apple's success throughout the rest of this year and into 2013.

Additionally, major carriers like Verizon and AT&T, who are anticipating a large push for the rumored upcoming Apple products, could be affected adversely as well.

If previous events are any indication, it's unlikely the issue will be resolved any time soon.

We'll be following the case closely, and will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Judge says HTC patents probably valid, could stiffle iPhone 5 in US

Judge says HTC patents probably valid, could stiffle iPhone 5 in US

HTC's LTE patent suit could prove to be bad news for the iPhone 5

HTC's chairperson Cher Wang wasn't kidding around when she said her company had "no intentions" of settling with Apple after Samsung was handed a defeat in their patent lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

The Taiwanese manufacturer is continuing to pursue legal action, as HTC believes Apple is violating two of their patents regarding LTE technology.

Despite having been down a similar road with HTC before, this time around Apple may have a bit more difficult time earning a victory.

Apple will have to prove the HTC patents are invalid, which an ITC judge believes will be hard to prove.

Regarding the idea that a patent shouldn't have been issued, Judge Thomas Pender said, "Clear and convincing means something to me. I have to be pretty darn certain a US patent is invalid."

A victory for HTC could mean trouble for the iPhone 5

If HTC's patents for LTE technology prove to be valid, Apple could find themselves in a bit of trouble in regards to its use in any of their devices.

With both the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini set to possibly utilize the 4G wireless technology, it's entirely possible the importing of said devices could be banned in the US.

The court filings reveal HTC purchased the patents from ADC Telecommunications Inc for $75 million "to protect itself and its customers from these aggressive tactics and to preserve its ability to compete in the United States."

Despite the path to ownership, Judge Pender believes HTC still has a healthy claim to the patents.

Speaking to Apple's lawyer Michael McKeon, of Fish & Richardson in Washington, Judge Pender said, "I don't care if they bought these patents to sue you or not. They are a property right."

The patent battles continue

This isn't the first time HTC and Apple have tussled over patents, and it certainly isn't the first time Apple has been involved in a patent infringement lawsuit.

However, this outcome of this decision could have a major impact on Apple's success throughout the rest of this year, and into 2013.

Additionally, major carriers like Verizon and AT&T, who are anticipating a large push for the rumored upcoming Apple products, could be affected adversely as well.

If previous events are any indication, it's unlikely the issue will be resolved any time soon.

We'll be following the case closely, and will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Valve’s Steam Big Picture mode ports PC games to TVs everywhere

steam big picture mode

Valve has finally launched its Steam Big Picture mode, offering PC gamers a reason to play their favorite titles on their TVs.

Valve’s Steam PC game platform is undergoing an evolution that just might change the way we think of PC gaming. Teased during last year’s GDC, Steam’s newly launched Big Picture mode allows gamers to port the platform to any television, unlocking gameplay on a screen that’s most likely larger than your PC or Mac monitor.

The launch of Big Picture mode comes less than a week after Valve revealed that it has plans to launch its own gaming hardware. Whether this hardware will be the long-rumored Steam Box console remains a big unknown — but the evidence has been stacking up. 

Job postings have indicated that Valve has been on a hiring spree to scoop up the best hardware designers and engineers on the market, coupled with the fact that the gaming company filed for a patent on swappable video game controller components just last year. Then there are the leaked photos of a speculated Steam Box prototype that Greg Coomer, a longtime Valve product designer, had published to his personal Twitter account after him and a team of between 5 to 10 people finishing building the console.

You can see where Big Picture mode fits in. Kotaku, which got a first look and a hands on experience with the new made-for-TV interface and asked about Steam Box’s existence, wasn’t told much else except that Big Picture was a learning experience for the company,

“What we really want is to ship [Big Picture mode] and then learn,” Coomer told Kotaku. “So we want to find out what people value about that. How they make use of it. When they make use of it. Whether it’s even a good idea for the broadest set of customers or not. And then decide what to do next.

Big Picture mode ports the Steam gaming experience to a larger screen without sacrificing the user experience. By pressing a button, Steam instantly changes into a TV-optimized platform on your desktop or laptop, and gamers can connect their computers to their TVs via HDMI cable. A USB controller can also be connected, if so desired.

As with tablets, smartphones, and desktops, designers must design a platform, whether an app or website, for specific screen sizes, and that could mean changing the interface altogether. With Big Picture mode, it’s essentially the same concept — and, from the looks of it, the Big Picture user experience is reminiscent of what you’d find on consoles sporting an interface with larger fonts and buttons. It makes it more convenient to play Steam games on your television and even with a controller in lieu of a keyboard.

Big Picture mode is one reason for PC gamers to sit on their couch with a controller in hand. Playing a first-person shooter like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on a 42-inch (or wider) TV screen will be an immersive experience that can’t compare to your conventional desktop monitor. But a question remains: are Steam gamers ready for console gaming? Maybe Valve is in fact testing out the waters with Big Picture mode to see just how many users will make the jump before Valve decides to enter console gaming. Or maybe not…


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

AT&T announces LG Escape as a budget-sensitive smartphone

AT&T and LG come together to offer consumers a smartphone that won't break the bank. The LG Escape will be available for $50 on September 16, 2012.

LG continues its resurgence in the smartphone field. Its latest offering, the LG Escape, will make its way into AT&T’s fall lineup. Starting September 16, the 4G LTE handset will be available online and through AT&T retail dealers for $50 with a two-year contract.

For a $50 price tag, the LG Escape looks like it will aim to keep even the budget-conscious equipped with a functional smartphone.  The handset will operate off Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with 4GB of onboard memory — expandable with a microSD card — and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The phone also comes equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The display is a 4.3-inch qHD true-color IPS screen.

AT&T will also roll out a new feature on the Escape: the Skyfire Horizon. This is a browser toolbar extension and promises to allow users easier access to their social media pages while browsing the Web. It adds quick links to Facebook, Twitter, and other utilities on the screen, making it possible to update your friends on how awesome the Skyfire Horizon toolbar is from the Skyfire Horizon toolbar while sharing a link about the features of the Skyfire Horizon toolbar. The toolbar will be available on future Android handsets as well.

From the looks of everything that is promised in this $50 package, the LG Escape could offer a legitimate option to consumers looking for mid-range features for a entry level price. The handset will be available next week, so keep your eyes out for more information on the handset.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Pre-order bonus Hitman: Sniper Challenge might become a standalone game

hitman absolution

Hitman: Absolution isn't out yet and it's already a success. At least, that is, pre-order bonus Hitman: Sniper Challenge is a major success.

I/O Interactive, Eidos, and their corporate masters Square-Enix have had a tough time of it this year with Hitman: Absolution. Early demos have been well received, living up to the game’s reputation for offering an impressive degree of improvisation in its elaborate pulp fiction assassinations, but the game’s also been a lightning rod for controversy. Hitman’s been taken to task for both depicting graphic violence and being wantonly misogynistic.

The game’s creators can take solace in one fact though: People are going to play their game. In fact, they already are in a way. What’s more, Square-Enix may have a second Hitman ready to sell already.

The secret success of Absolution is Hitman: Sniper Challenge. The mini-game was given away in May to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners that had already pre-ordered Absolution. It was then released on PC in August. The game has proven so popular that I/O is considering releasing a standalone version of it.

 “People are playing it a lot,” director Tore Blystad told MCV in a new interview, “I think the number 1 player in the world has clocked in hundreds of hours so far which is completely crazy, right? We’re very happy because that’s the essence of Hitman; it is made to be replayed. The scores have been ridiculous. The best one is 6.5m—how on Earth did they do that?”

Blystad and his team have been so surprised by Sniper Challenge’s success and the way people play the game, that they’ve changed Absolution as a result. “We are always learning. We wanted Sniper Challenge to have a big spread of scores. And that is now in Absolution. You can always see how your friends are doing.”

As for becoming a standalone game, Blystad says I/O is working on the idea. “It turned out really well. If we can find a way to make it work, then I guess we will.”

Sniper Challenge’s success is particularly enlightening for I/O considering what the studio’s metrics say about how people play the main Hitman games. Blystad said in June that only 20 percent of players are expected to finish Hitman: Absolution. What does it say about your game when only a fifth of players want to play it beginning to end, but they want to pour hundreds of hours into a freebie minigame? Maybe it’s time to reconsider the series future as a narrative.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Intel confirms leaked details on ultra low-watt Haswell chips

Intel confirms leaked details on ultra low-watt Haswell chips

Intel could have its sights set on the mobile/tablet marketplace

Sources are reporting that information about Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge successor, the energy-efficient (codename) Haswell microarchitecture, has leaked ahead of Tuesday's Intel Developer's Forum (IDF).

Haswell chips will reportedly clock in at only 10 watts, cutting the power usage of the most efficient Ivy Bridge processors nearly in half.

TechRadar reached out to Intel for more information, and a representative from the Santa Clara, Calif. company confirmed that "the new line will be about 10 watts."

Intel sets the record straight

Intel has promised more information on the Haswell chips at this week's IDF conference.

"Last year when we set out to reinvigorate the industry around Ultrabooks, we said we'd cut the mainstream mobile processor design power in half to enable this new category of laptops," Intel's rep told TechRadar.

"We've been really pleased with these initial systems, which are getting great reviews."

But Haswell will be the first chip "built from the ground up with the Ultrabook in mind," Intel said, "and tomorrow, we're saying that it's going better than expected."

The Intel spokesperson said the new chips will be "targeted to operate at about 10 watts initially, while continuing to preserve many of the other benefits of Intel Core processor including leading performance, low idle power, single-chip packaging, and new graphics & security capabilities."

Haswell's energy-efficient, but Intel's power-hungry

It's long been reported that Intel's Haswell architecture will focus on cutting power usage.

In August 2011, TechRadar reported that Intel would be investing heavily in Ultrabooks, saying that the eventual Haswell processor could consume half the power of current chips.

Now sources are speculating that the energy-efficient Haswell processors, made all the more impressive by integrated GPUs that could put many discrete graphics processors to shame, could indicate Intel's growing desire to enter the mobile and tablet arenas.

New markets in which to compete could prove a major boon for Intel, whose lowered Q3 2012 estimates and gradually falling stocks have recently had analysts worried.

Now all eyes and ears turn to IDF on Tuesday to learn what Intel's going to be up to for the next few years.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Instagram is officially coming to Windows Phone

nokia instagram iphone app in windows phone

Instagram has confirmed that it will make its Windows Phone debut in the Windows Marketplace later this year.

The number of apps available in Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace dwarfs the number of apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. But soon, those of you who took a risk with a Windows phone won’t have to fret that the world’s favorite photo app isn’t available: Instagram is coming to Windows Phones.

The Verge was initially tipped off about the app’s existence when a reader thought he noticed Instagram featured in the Nokia promo video featuring its PureMotion technology. This wouldn’t be the first time Nokia inadvertently unveiled a big new app in a promo video; Nokia’s promo video demonstrating a Lumia charging on a wireless charging dock “accidentally” unveiled Skype’s Windows Phone app in action.

We re-watched the video and could make out what might be the Instagram app during the PureMotion demo, but we couldn’t be sure. The tile in question is displayed toward the end of the promo clip and displays the words “Walk Up,” and is accompanied by a comment and “Like” button that’s uncanny to the silhouette of the talk balloon and heart button that you would find on Instagram. But a secondary explanation could be that the app is actually Vimeo.

Whatever the case may be, The Verge has confirmed that Instagram will be making its way onto Windows Phones.

ZDNet theorized that Facebook’s purchase of Instagram would result in the app coming to Windows Phones, and it looks like they were right. Facebook has a tight-knit relationship with Microsoft, which purchased a stake in Facebook back in 2007. Further, the Federal Trade Commission finally approved the Instagram and Facebook deal after conducting an investigation due to antitrust concerns. Had the deal been blocked by the FTC, Instagram would have walked away with $200 million from Facebook for its troubles.

A consumer’s decision on purchasing a smartphone these days has a lot to do with what the complimenting app store has to offer. Microsoft’s Marketplace has cracked the 100,000 app mark, while Apple has broken 700,000 apps. The Google Play store is hot on Apple’s tail with more than 500,000 apps. That said, the number of apps isn’t everything; a large number of apps go unused simply by getting lost in the mix. In other words, it’s a matter of quality over quantity — how many of the main app titles an app store can get from existing popular apps like Skype, Instagram, and Angry Birds. Of course getting apps like Skype, Instagram, and even Angry Birds onto the Marketplace came courtesy of existing Microsoft relationships. 

Windows Phone users — are you excited for Instagram? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nokia asks ethics officer to investigate faked Lumia video

Nokia asks ethics officer to investigate faked Lumia video

Video controversy has seriously marred the launch of the Lumia 920

Nokia has enlisted the services of an ethics officer to conduct a review into the controversial 'faked' promotional video for the new Lumia 920 handset.

The video, shown at the launch last week, was supposed to show off the capabilities of the built-in 8.7-megapixel PureView stills camera and video camera, fitted with advanced image stabilising capabilities.

However, The Verge examined the video in detail and found the reflection of a cameraman within the video.

As well as the video, Nokia admitted that the still shots were also not taken with the Lumia 920.

The revelation has caused huge embarrassment and further damage to the ailing smartphone giant's reputation as it battles against the odds to re-establish itself among the mobile elite.

No disclaimer

Business Week brings word from Nokia that the ethics and compliance officer will seek to "understand what happened," and the company will deal with the issue "quickly, fairly and privately."

The company did not go as far as to claim that the device was used to produce the video, but did not say otherwise, leaving viewers to assume that all of that gorgeous footage arose from the Lumia 920.

Nokia spokeswoman Susan Sheehan said: "What we understand to date is that it was nobody's intention to mislead, but there was poor judgment in the decision not to use a disclaimer."

With falling device sales, massive job cuts and a share price in free fall, this controversy was really the last thing Nokia needed

The launch of the Lumia 920, the company's first Windows Phone 8 handset, was supposed to be the Finns' ticket back to the big time. Now it has completely lost control of the story.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Electronic Arts tried to buy Valve for $1 billion

If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. Electronic Arts tried to acquire Valve according to a new feature in The New York Times.

Electronic Arts’ relationship with Valve has been contentious to say the least. When it’s come to individual projects, the two have never seen quite eye to eye. When Electronic Arts published The Orange Box in 2007, collecting Half-Life 2, it’s downloadable episodes, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, Valve blamed EA for the subpar quality of its port to the PlayStation 3. More recently their scuffles have been on a grander scale, with the companies coming to verbal blows over how Valve shares Steam sales revenue and over EA’s Steam competitor Origin.

It wouldn’t be a fight at all if Electronic Arts had its way though. It would simply own Valve.

A Saturday story on Valve in The New York Times said that EA has entered talks to purchase Valve in the past. Two sources that wished to remain unnamed indicated that while talks never reached the point of EA making a formal bid for the Half-Life company, it was prepared to pay as much as $1 billion.

Co-owner and company founder Gabe Newell however said that the likelihood of his fiercely independent company selling to an Electronic Arts, or one of the other major multi-national publishers like Activision or Ubisoft, is about as likely Nintendo selling off the Mario brand. Newell said that Valve would sooner “disintegrate” than sell out to a major publisher.

“It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, “Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate.”

Valve’s certainly attractive to the behemoths of the gaming industry. In addition to the company’s lucrative brands like Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, and the upcoming Dota 2, Valve is the industry leader in digital distribution on PC, a market poised to overtake physical game retail in the next generation. Steam already commands a membership of 54 million active users, and growing.

Valve is currently valued around $2.5 billion, a figure that’s only going to grow if the company’s new ventures are successful. Forget EA, Valve’s competitors now are the hardware makers of the world. Sony, Microsoft, and even Apple are the companies Valve is interested in taking on next. The company began hiring industrial engineers this month as it looks to begin building PC gaming hardware. As detailed in the Times article, it’s also working on wearable computing gear like gaming goggles. Valve is even getting into more basic computing utilities, selling non-gaming apps through Steam.

By the end of this decade, it might be Valve buying EA.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Steam Big Picture mode previewed, Valve goes after consoles

Today, Valve will launch the beta of Big Picture mode, a version of Steam designed for your television. That's right. The de facto central hub of PC gaming is now designed to run while you're lounging in your living room—and with a controller, no less. I've tried out Big Picture. It's sleek, intuitive, and groundbreaking in several ways.

No, this new "Steam TV" isn't going to make our video game consoles go away. It's not going to turn your Xbox into a doorstop or obviate your PS3. But Big Picture could be a crucial first step toward making PC gaming more accessible, more convenient, and more suited for living rooms than ever before.

Here are the basics: this afternoon, when Big Picture goes live, you'll be able to push a button and turn Steam into an entirely new interface. It sort of looks like the dashboard on an Xbox 360, minus the advertisements and other clutter that can make that system so irritating to navigate. And it allows you to do almost everything you can do on vanilla Steam: you can buy games, browse the web, and even chat with your friends using the platform's standard in-game overlay.

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.

The fonts, icons, and menus are all large enough to be comfortably viewed on a big-screen television, and the prompts are designed for a game controller. You can use Big Picture on your normal monitor with a mouse and keyboard, but that would defeat the purpose: this is an interface designed for your living room. Because the living room, Valve says, is where most people prefer playing video games.

And maybe, just maybe, if fans seem to want it, and if it makes financial sense, the people who make Half-Life will use Big Picture to create their own version of a video game console.

Steam Box 720

Valve isn't happy with today's gaming consoles. They made that quite clear to me as we sat in one of the back rooms of their Seattle office in late August, looking at Big Picture mode in action.

See, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are walled gardens. You can't open them up or modify their insides. Developers can't release new updates or patches to their games without going through a restrictive, bureaucractic certification process. Nothing about these systems is open at all, and Valve doesn't like that.

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.A Kotaku mock-up of what Steam's Big Picture could look like running on your television.

Still, consoles have some advantages over computers. They're cheaper. More accessible. And you can play them on your sofa, feet propped up, a comfy controller in your hands. It's not so easy to do that with a computer.

At least not yet.

"We're confident in some things that customers want," Valve's Greg Coomer, head of the small team that designed and developed Big Picture mode, told me in his office. "They want a full-screen experience. They want to be in the living room. They want to use a game controller. They wanna have a social gaming experience. And we have this platform that lets us ship a significant portion of that experience."

Valve: "If it's getting involved in shipping some kind of hardware, then we will get involved in doing that if we need to."

While Big Picture won't "connect all the dots," Coomer said, it will make it easier for gamers to play Valve's games—and the vast array of games that Valve supports on Steam—in the comfort of their living rooms.

I ask the obvious question: is this the first step toward Valve making a console of their own? Maybe the Steam Box that has been rumored (and repeatedly shot down) for months now?

"What we really want is to ship [Big Picture mode] and then learn," Coomer said. "So we want to find out what people value about that. How they make use of it. When they make use of it. Whether it's even a good idea for the broadest set of customers or not. And then decide what to do next.

"So it could be that the thing that really makes sense is to build the box that you're describing. But we really don't have a road map. And we think we're going to learn a tremendous amount through this first release."

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.Seen at Valve HQ: Printed prototypes of Steam's Big Picture mode, including a Kotaku shout-out (complete with fake article text).

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.

No plans. But Steam's Big Picture mode is step #1 of an open-ended gameplan that could eventually lead to the company building—or stamping their name on—some sort of gaming console in the future.

What Valve really wants to know is what their users do with this new feature. Will people lug bulky computer towers back and forth between their desks and their living rooms? Will they use their televisions as second monitors? Will they buy dedicated gaming computers to sit next to the TV and run nothing but Steam? (You can toggle a setting that boots up Steam Big Picture as soon as you turn on your PC, effectively turning it into a Steam console.)

Or will fans ignore Big Picture entirely?

"Each individual gamer is going to have to decide in the short term whether the value that Big Picture brings is something they want to configure for themselves," Coomer said. "And for some users it's going to be quite easy. For some users it might not be worth it yet. But that's one of the things we're going to find out when we ship. And then over time, I think we're going to figure out which of those scenarios, or what ways do customers really want us to get involved in solving the rest of the problems that, say, our software can't solve for them.

"And if it's getting involved in shipping some kind of hardware, then we will get involved in doing that if we need to."

Lots of hypothetical possibilities there. Valve could team up with some third-party manufacturer and start selling a Steam-branded bundle, for example, that ships with a controller and an affordable mid-tier computer that runs Big Picture right out of the box. Or maybe Valve could work with an open-source hardware platform like the recently-funded Ouya. (In case you're wondering: No, Coomer says they haven't had any conversations with the folks who make Ouya.)

What matters more is that Big Picture works as promised. And from what I've tried out so far, I don't think fans will be disappointed.

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.

A Virtual Keyboard That Doesn't Suck

In some ways, Big Picture is just like an Xbox 360's dashboard. In others, it's not. And the system's biggest feature is one that I imagine will be copied quite a bit over the next few years: a total redesign of the virtual keyboard.

On most consoles, you're stuck with a QWERTY keyboard that you have to painstakingly
manipulate by dragging a cursor around the screen and selecting one letter or number at a time.

Steam Big Picture's keyboard looks more like a lotus flower (and you can see it in action right below this paragraph). In order to select keys, you move your left thumbstick in one of eight standard directions, then pick one of the buttons on the right side of your controller. When I looked at the mode, we were using a standard Xbox 360 controller, and each of the four colored buttons represented a different letter. So to press M, N, O, or P, for example, you just tilt the joystick diagonally right-down and hit the corresponding button.

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.

Already this gives you instant access to every character in a way that a virtual QWERTY keyboard can't. And the cool thing about this lotus is that it's not awful. In fact, it's actually kind of great. It's intuitive and quick. Seconds after picking up the controller and playing around with the interface, I was writing sentences at a solid, if not perfect pace. It can't quite match a physical keyboard, but it's better than any other virtual typing I've ever tried. A Valve team member proudly noted that when people have tested it out, "they're almost instantly faster than [when using] QWERTY."

TWO SCREENS? Nintendo has their Wii U, Microsoft has Smart Glass, and Sony has Vita-PS3 cross-compatibility. I asked Valve's Greg Coomer if they, like all of those other big companies, feel like the future of gaming could lie in dual-screen play.

"We are really interested in it but it hasn't been any of the focus in our work," he said. "Having a secondary experience, driving the primary experience, augmenting it with stuff that's social but ancillary—all those things are great, it's just not at the front of our priority list right now."

(When I ask the Valve staff sitting with me how the hell nobody has implemented something like this first, they have no answer. "We're surprised nobody has," one said.)

Navigating the interface is also rather easy. You can use a controller's trigger buttons to zoom around your game library, shop for new games (and take advantage of Steam's frequent discounts and sales), and interact with your Steam friends.

Fittingly, Big Picture's store will also highlight some of the games that are most suitable for your controller. You can even browse the internet, a function included, but not often used in today's gaming consoles. Coomer notes that the staff tried particularly hard to make a web browser that could actually be navigable with a controller, and they seem to have succeeded, although it's still not quite as pleasant as using a mouse.

Like on normal Steam, you can even multi-task within Big Picture, switching back and forth between a game and your browser without minimizing to the desktop at all.

Future plans for Big Picture mode include auto-correct, context awareness—"When you're in a web browser, it should know that you might want to put 'dot com' at the end of your address," Coomer said—and, in the distant future, some way to support cooperative split-screen mode, so multiple people can sit down in the same living room and simultaneously use their individual Steam accounts.

As for hardware? Some sort of game-changing, earth-shattering, open-source Steam Box that combines the power and flexibility of a computer with the affordability and accessibility of a console?

Valve Is Bringing Steam To Your TV Today. Watch Out, Consoles.

Let's not hold our breath. Valve still hasn't stopped running on Valve Time. But if Big Picture is the first step, it's a significant one. And after seeing Steam's TV mode in action, I'm tempted to go out and get a new desktop PC solely for my living room, just to play cheap, high-quality Steam games, to hook up and use alongside my Wii, Xbox, and PlayStation.

Five years from now, though? Maybe Steam will be the only console we need.

Republished with permission. Jason Schreier is a contributing editor at Kotaku.


Source : techspot[dot]com

Die in The War Z, lose all the items you paid real money for

the war z mmo

The War Z is taking an extreme approach to free-to-play economics: Even if you pay for weapons, you can still lose them.

Hammerpoint Interactive MMO The War Z—it’s about zombies if the title didn’t key you in—is getting ambitious with the way it penalizes players for failure. Just like Brian Hall’s phenomenally popular DayZ, death in The War Z will make you lose all of the goods you’ve gathered in your backpack in the zombie-infested world. The War Z goes a step further than most games that use strict penalties to enhance immersion. If you die, you’ll also lose goods you paid real money for in the game.

Like most contemporary MMOs, The War Z lets you purchase weapons and items with cold hard cash rather than finding them in the game world. Since, the game is free to play up front, this is how Hammerpoint makes its money. Depending on the difficulty mode you play though, purchases don’t entitle you to bend the rules.

“Yes, you’ll lose what you have in your backpack when you die—both in Normal and Hardcore modes,” Hammerpoint’s Alex Josef told Cinemablend, “And yes, if you bought something using real money, you’ll lose that item as well. This is a price you have to pay.”

“We’ve discussed that a lot and at the end decided that this will provide a pretty good incentive for players to either be extra cautious while playing, or just not spend too much money in the game and, instead, try to procure all items by finding them in the game world.”

It’s an incredibly risky, and laudable, economic strategy for a free-to-play game. Money could easily be turned into a way to cheat the game. Just pay for goods and your items are disposable, unbalancing how non-paying players interact with paying players in the game.

The War Z and other free-to-play games need to be careful though. If free-to-play games don’t work to strike this kind of balance, the market could suffer the same way arcades did. People will simply abandon the model if prices grow to high. Arcades didn’t die for a single reason. PC and console technology caught up with the majority of arcade cabinets by 2000, but graphical and audio parity was only one reason that people stopped pumping quarters into video games only built to last for a few minutes. The bigger problem was cost. Even today, it’s unusual to find an arcade cabinet that only costs a quarter to play. By the time arcades were wheezing and Namco, Sega and Capcom were letting operators charge as much as a buck for a Tekken round, people had had it.

Free-to-play games have an even tougher job though. They need to be balanced, but they also need to maintain the low price threshold of a quarter. Easier said than done.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Guild Wars 2 players targeted in phishing attacks

Guild Wars 2 is suffering from phishing attacks by hackers believed to be in China who so far have compromised scores of user accounts since the game launched a couple of weeks ago.

ArenaNet, the game's developer, insists its servers and web portals remain secure, though it appears hackers are trying to log into accounts with harvested email address and password combinations from previously hacked games and websites. It's also believed that some of these credentials were stolen in an earlier breach of a Guild Wars fan site, according to Ars Technica.

"If you don't want your account hacked, don't use the same email address and password for Guild Wars 2 that you've used for another game or web site," ArenaNet warned over the weekend.

Hundreds of users have received authentication emails asking for approval to log in from distant locations, and the company said that's "a sign that a hacker knows your account name and password, and is only being prevented by the email authentication feature from accessing your account." Those receiving such emails are advised to immediately change their password to something unique.

This event offers yet another reminder that you should choose a different password for each site. Experts recommend uniquely generated passwords that are at least eight characters long (13 or above is more secure) with a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, special characters and numbers. Tools like LastPass and PasswordSafe can help manage an unwieldy array of passwords by keeping a list of them behind one master password.


Source : techspot[dot]com

Zeebox integrates Engage tech to bolster second screen app

Zeebox integrates Engage tech to bolster second screen app

Broadcasters will soon be able to send interactive content directly to zeebox

Broadcasters will now be able to use the zeebox to publish polls, promote Twitter battles and add calls-to-action directly within the popular second screen app.

A new partnership with the Chyron digital video service will see the integration of the Engage tech that allows content providers to publish directly within the application for users to interact with.

Adding Engage will allow users to act upon pop-up, on-screen graphics while watching live television, so, for example X-Factor voting could, one day, be done directly through the app.

Anthony Rose, the former iPlayer innovator and CTO of zeebox says this makes it easier for broadcasters to further embrace the social viewing trends through second screen applications.

Synchronised content

"Broadcasters are clamouring to embrace social TV and second-screen engagement, but the combination of fragmented market, myriad of consumer apps, and lack of integration with their existing workflow has - until now - made this a complex and expensive process," he said.

"By giving broadcasters the ability to publish directly into the zeebox platform using their existing tools and production workflow, we're making it as easy for a broadcaster to create a play-along, social TV or interactive experience delivered within zeebox as it is to pop up an on-screen graphic - and that's a huge game changer."

Jim Martinolich, vice president of integration technology at Chyron added: "The second screen applications running on tablets and other devices serve as an exciting new platform for publishing synchronised content that enhances the viewer's experience.

"zeebox is the leading second screen app and its integration with our ENGAGE platform aids broadcasters in creating and managing second screen content without introducing significant new production costs."


Source : techradar[dot]com

GameStop looks to the past with vintage game sales online

As its modern day retail business withers, GameStop looks to the past. CEO Paul Raines talks about his company's new vintage games business.

When life starts to get strange, when you seem to be at your wits end, that’s when you start to look to your roots. You may not be able to go home again, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. GameStop’s joints are creaking. Video game retail sales in the US have plummeted from $22 billion in 2008 to $17 billion last year. August 2012 sales alone were down 20 percent year-on-year. GameStop’s tried to build itself up as a digital distribution giant like Valve’s Steam, but digital sales have failed to equal lost physical goods revenue. The future is hazy for GameStop. Time to look backward.

GameStop is going back to its past. Chief executive officer Paul Raines has hinted in recent interviews that GameStop is interested in getting into vintage game sales. Just think of the incentives! Someone comes in to the store to pre-order Resident Evil 6, and they end up dropping an extra $50 on a beat up copy of Resident Evil 2 for PlayStation 1. “We think there’s a vintage sales opportunity, so we’re accumulating some inventory,” Raines told Polygon in August, “It’s a big idea, and there’s a few problems with it. The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there’s a customer for it. If you go to eBay and look at all the gaming stuff that’s on there, it’s unbelievable. We’ve got to be in that business. We will be.”

Seeing people drop $1000 on a shrink-wrapped copy of Chrono Trigger has got to make the company salivate. If it can capitalize on an existing, lucrative niche market to bolster back up its struggling stores, it’s time to start buying up the old stuff!

Vintage sales won’t be helping out GameStop’s brick and mortar operation though. Raines elaborated on GameStop’s vintage plans in a new interview with Joystiq on Friday. “We’ve thought about this vintage thing as an online initiative, and that’s where we’re doing most of our work.”

“[If] you’re a collector of Call of Duty, and there’s an old Call of Duty original, Call of Duty 2, floating around, it has a lot of value for you. Right now you don’t have an easy way to find it, because it might not be available on our website, but it might be in 300 out of our 4,600 stores in the US and you don’t have a way of finding it. So if we can put that collector’s type product on a really cool site that allows you to see what we have available and so forth, then think it’s interesting.”

It’s not just the games that represent GameStop’s past. One of the first retail chains absorbed by GameStop in its great expansion more than a decade ago was FuncoLand, a retail outlet that specialized in selling all games, not just the latest and greatest.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple ditching Samsung memory chip in iPhone 5?

Apple ditching Samsung memory chip in iPhone 5?

iPhone 5 to come with no Samsung inside?

Reports come from supply chain insiders suggest that Apple has reduced its orders for Samsung memory chips and that it will reduce the chips' usage in the iPhone 5.

Although Samsung is on the Apple supplier list for initial runs of the new iPhone, Reuters' source says that the company is trying to wean itself off the DRAM and NAND chips for later production runs.

"Samsung is still in the list of initial memory chip suppliers [for new iPhones]. But Apple orders have been trending down and Samsung is making up for the reduced order from others, notably Samsung's handset business," the Reuters source said.

Update: Bloomberg sources "familiar with the matter" have also claimed that the first batch of new iPhone handsets will not sport Samsung's memory chip, with the Cupertino-based firm opting for another one of its supplies as it was unable agree a price with its Korean rival.

Saucy

Another source, this time speaking anonymously to the Korea Economic Daily reckons that Apple has completely dropped Samsung from the memory chip suppliers even for the first batch of iPhone 5s.

But it's not down to the neverending patent battle between the two nemeses, with the source insisting that Apple was trying to widen its supplier pool anyway, no biggie.

Update: Another Bloomberg source revealed that the first batch of iPhone 5s will also snub Samsung's display – LG has already started producing screens for the next iPhone - but Apple will pop the South Korean firm's processor chip inside the device.

Samsung is said to be making up for the lost Apple business by upping supply to its own mobile handsets, including the Samsung Galaxy S3 which is selling great-guns.

We're sure both companies will be fine. The iPhone 5 is set to be unveiled at an event on September 12, with or without the Samsung hardware.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Toys ‘R’ Us jumps in the tablet game: 7-inch Tabeo with Android 4.0

Toys R Us 7-inch Tabeo Android 4.0 tablet

Toys "R" Us has debuted its own tablet for kids: the 7-inch Tabeo, which runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Toys “R” Us announced this weekend that it will begin selling its own branded tablet for kids. The 7-inch Tabeo tablet will cost $150, and goes on sale on October 1. Pre-orders for the device are available through ToysRUs.com now.

The Tabeo will run on a stripped-down version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and come pre-loaded with 50 apps, including games, books, and educational apps. Other Tabeo technical specs include a 1.0 GHz processor (of unknown make), HDMI output, 4GB of internal storage, a front-facing camera, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The devices also comes with a “drop-safe” cover to keep it protected from children’s inevitable disregard for fragility.

While Toys “R” Us says that the Tabeo will give its young users the “full Internet experience” (including Flash support!), the Tabeo will be limited to Toys “R” Us’s Tabeo Store, which the company says currently has around 7,000 apps. Parental controls will also come pre-loaded to keep that “full Internet experience” kid-friendly.

The Tabeo is far from the only tablet available from Toys “R” Us. Other child-centric options include the LexiBook Junior Tablet, MEEP! Kids Tablet, and the Kurio Kids Tablet. Toys “R” Us also sells more grown-up devices, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1), and the Kindle Fire.

So, why is Toys “R” Us getting into the tablet game? According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s because the toy seller is struggling to make ends meet. As with other big box retailers, Toys “R” Us has seen a drop in in-store sales over the past year, due in part to its inability to compete with online retailers who offer lowers prices. Unlike general electronics retailers, like Best Buy and Radio Shack, Toys “R” Us continues to benefit from the fact that its customers (parents) still like to buy its products in person.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple makes final perpetrations for iPhone 5 with cryptic banner

Apple makes final perpetrations for iPhone 5 with cryptic banner

What does it all mean? (credit: Ekkapong T)

Apple is putting the final touches on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco as it gears up for the new iPhone launch on Wednesday.

There's no mistaking that Apple is in the house, with the huge, fruit inspired logo adorning the front of the building surrounded by a vibrant Technicolor banner – which may include a hidden message.

The folks over at MacRumors have taken a closer look at that banner and reckon it's made up of stretched app icons, including Games Center, iTunes, iPod, Safari and possibly Stocks logos.

And stretch…

Now it could well be the Apple design team getting creative to produce an attractive backdrop, but of course people are looking for a deeper meaning – with the elongated icons perhaps suggesting the iPhone 5 will indeed sport that 4-inch display the whole world is talking about.

Thankfully there's not long left to wait, with Tim Cook due to take centre stage on Wednesday to unveil what we all expect to be the sixth generation of iPhone.

TechRadar will filling you in on all the iPhone related shenanigans as they happen, so keep it locked here for all the information on Apple's next smartphone offering.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Firefox OS shown off on ZTE handset

Firefox OS shown off on ZTE handset

Mozilla unveils its mobile operating system

Mozilla has finally taken the wraps off of Firefox OS, debuting the operating system in a YouTube video.

Last week saw a leak of Firefox OS Marketplace which gave a us a glimpse into just what to expect from the mobile operating system, but this new video, which has popped up on the Firefox channel, offers up much more in the way of detail.

The demo of the OS is on a unnamed ZTE phone and we get to see what dialling a person looks like, how games will feature on the system and also how the browser and camera will work.

Firefox OS

The video has already garnered a number of comments on YouTube, with a few people picking up on the operating system's apparent lag. Given that this is a very early dev build Firefox OS, we don't think there should be a worry about a little bit of stutter.

Mozilla has built Firefox OS on HTML5, which it hopes will bring a lighter OS to the market with faster browsing capabilities and this early look certainly shows this off.

Firefox OS won't be available until 2013, with Brazil the first place to get a phone powered by the operating system.

Both ZTE and Alcatel have confirmed that they will be creating handsets with Firefox OS inside.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Will new iPods join the iPhone at Apple’s September 12 event?

ipod-nano-2011-update

Apple may reveal a range of new iPods at its event on September 12, and given the amount if iPhone leaks, they could be the only surprise.

Apple’s talk about “doubling down” on secrecy appears to have been bluster, as a steady stream of leaks over the past few months have built an almost complete picture of what many believe to be the next iPhone.

There’s so much information out there, that its big reveal on September 12 could be less exciting than Apple events of old. Provided that is, the leaks really do relate to the new iPhone, and aren’t part of an elaborate smokescreen to obfuscate the true new device.

If that’s the case, then Tim Cook and his team will have done an impressive job of fooling us all, but if it’s not, then will the event hold any surprises at all?

Leaving aside the prospect of an iPad Mini, what about the iPod range? 9to5mac.com suggests a new Nano and Shuffle could join the new iPhone at the Yerba Buena Center this week, along with the possibility of a third — potentially new — iPod model too.

The report says the new Nano and Shuffle will come in various colors, and that one — presumably the Nano — will come with a choice of memory capacities, while the other will only have one option. Nothing is known about the mystery third device.

Apple’s last Nano refresh was in October 2011, but the current seventh-generation Nano is almost identical to the sixth-generation device, with the differences between them almost solely software-based and applicable to the older 2010 model too. Apple doesn’t even list the seventh-gen Nano as a device on its own site, preferring to stick with the sixth-generation Nano introduced in 2010.

The Nano is perfectly placed for an update then, and as Apple combined the iPhone and iPod launch for its October event last year, it’s not a stretch to see them doing the same this year.

The good thing is, we’ve not seen or heard very much about any new iPods — bar a version of the Nano sporting a camera at the beginning of the year –  so even if the iPhone looks familiar when it makes its debut, at least they’ll be a surprise.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update on its way as 'near perfect' firmware leaked

Samsung Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update on its way as 'near perfect' firmware leaked

Jelly Bean delivery is getting closer

A new version of the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S3 has appeared online, raising hopes that the final version may be pushed to customers sooner rather than later.

Picked up by the Sam Mobile site, version I9300XXDLI5 of the Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean firmware is said to be the most stable of the leaked versions to date, and is apparently "very much near perfect".

If this is the case, then Samsung may be able to roll out the upgrade to all Galaxy S3 customers in the coming weeks, which will be a pleasingly short turnaround, especially when you consider how long it took manufacturers to sort out Ice Cream Sandwich.

Smoother, faster and fixes

Android 4.1 offers up a smoother, faster browsing experience thanks to 'Project Butter', and this is noticeable in I9300XXDLI5, with a slicker user interface appearing alongside a number of fixes including the maps compass and direction arrow.

The developer community are witnessing almost daily leaks of the Android Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S3, as it's thought Samsung is letting versions slip out to aid its testing of the new platform.

There's still no official word from Samsung on a possible Galaxy S3 Android Jelly Bean release date, but with the latest firmware looking promising, fingers crossed we've not got too long to wait.


Source : techradar[dot]com

HP debuts four new all-in-one PCs, including the super-slim SpectreOne

HP SpectreOne

Hewlett Packard has announced for Windows 8 all-in-on PCs, including the super-slim SpectreOne and the budget Pavilion 20.

Hewlett-Packard has introduced four new Windows 8 desktop computers, consisting of a single budget model, two touchscreen PCs and the super-slim, top-of-the-range SpectreOne.

While the modular, sleek SpectreOne desktop machine may have shades of an Apple iMac about it, the screen’s design — with that solid dark bezel — is more reminiscent of a laptop than a desktop computer.

In fact, this melding of the two lines continues elsewhere too, as HP won’t be including a mouse inside the SpectreOne’s box — as it has decided to provide a wireless touchpad instead.

The addition of the touchpad neatly sidesteps any need for the SpectreOne to have a touchscreen, and is, if anything, a sensible solution to the problem of jabbing at a vertical display to enjoy Windows 8‘s touch-friendly abilities.

SpectreOne specs

The screen measures 23.6-inches and has a thickness of just 11.5mm — that’s 2mm thicker than an Apple iPad 3 — and a 1080p, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. It’s mounted on a tilting stand, which incorporates everything from four USB ports, an HDMI-out, a memory card reader and an Ethernet port too.

The mouse isn’t the only thing to disappear from the SpectreOne either, as there’s no optical drive either.

HP has included NFC though, and it can be used to log in to Windows 8 quickly using a compatible phone — which doesn’t have to run Windows Phone 8 — as well as stream music and video.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors will be the brains behind the SpectreOne, although exactly which chips have yet to be confirmed. Other features include Beats Audio and a Nvidia GeForce graphics card.

The SpectreOne will go on sale in the USA in November, and it’ll start at $1299.

HP Pavilion 20Envy and Pavilion Windows 8 All-in-Ones.

In addition to the SpectreOne, HP has also announced the touchscreen Envy 20 and 23, which unsurprisingly boast 20-inch and 23-inch screens respectively, each with a 1080p resolution.

They’re more conventional than the SpectreOne, as they both use a regular mouse and PC-style keyboard, and on the side of the monitor, you’ll find an optical drive too. Like the SpectreOne, Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips will be running the show.

Finally, for those on a budget, we have the Pavilion 20 All-in-One, which as we’re sure you’ve guessed, has a 20-inch screen. It’s not so budget that HP forgot to include a touchscreen though, and there’s the choice of an Intel of AMD processor too.

The Pavilion 20 starts at a wallet-friendly $499, and will be up for pre-order on October 26, while the Envy 20 and Envy 23 will start at either $849 or $1099, with pre-orders starting on the same date.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nokia Lumia 920 could arrive as 4G exclusive in UK

Nokia Lumia 920 could arrive as 4G exclusive in UK

Lumia 920 could be 4G exclusive for EE

Network partnership Everything Everywhere is reportedly in talks with Nokia over the LTE enabled Lumia 920, with the view of ranging the handset exclusively in the UK.

According to Financial Times sources, the Orange and T-Mobile mother ship is currently negotiating a deal with the Finnish manufacturer, ahead of the launch of its 4G network later this year – the first to become available in Britain.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has confirmed that the Lumia 920 will be able to work on the 4G frequency Everything Everywhere plans to launch – although he didn't comment on any possible deal between the two.

Questions answered tomorrow?

Interestingly enough Everything Everywhere has organised a press conference tomorrow morning, Tuesday 11, in London, where TechRadar will be in attendance to see it announce "exciting information on our new brand and the latest innovation in network technology."

We pressed Everything Everywhere on information surrounding this event and the today's latest rumours, but the network promptly got back to us with a spokesperson telling us: "we're not commenting on rumours."

TechRadar managed to check out the Nokia Lumia 920 in New York last week, and you can find out what we thought of the flagship Windows Phone 8 handset in our hands on Nokia Lumia 920 review.

Technorati claim code: G2P3RQRFE3SY


Source : techradar[dot]com

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