The current generation MacBook Air were quite successful when they were launched last year, thanks to their new design and lower price, as well as a smaller 11-inch model. But it seems Apple is now ready to take them to the next level.

According to Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Quo who talked with AppleInsider, Apple has placed an order for the production of 380,000 Sandy Bridge-based MacBook Airs this month. Out of these, roughly 55% will be the more popular 11-inch models while the rest will be the 13-inch models.

Also, about 80,000 of the current generation MacBook Air models will be made this month, which will be the last of the lot, bringing the total to 460,000 for this month. Although the source does not specify so, one can imagine that Apple Thunderbolt technology will also be part of the new generation model.

 

 

When Samsung brought out the new Galaxy S II at MWC this year, everyone went nuts. The phone has some great features like the 1.2Ghz processor and that incredibleAMOLED Plus display, and it seems the lucky folks in Canada will be the first in North American to enjoy them. Yesterday Samsung updated their websites to show an almost unnoticeable coming soon sticker on their SGS II Canada ad and speculations are already underway. Some sites are already expecting this new phone to be brought to Rogers, Bell and TELUS in Canada as early as July.

 

Along with this, Samsung also announced that the Infuse 4G will be heading up north to the good people of Canada. The Infuse 4G is an Android 2.3 powered, 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus device thats only 8.99 mm thin, and runs on the Rogers HSPA+ network. This new phone was released in the United States for ATT as a good until we get it replacement to the Galaxy S II. If this phone was released as a competitor to the SGS II, then it certainly might just make your decision a little bit harder than it usually would.

 

Both phones have been through our reviewing process and came out looking pretty good. TheGalaxy S II had similar disadvantages as the Infuse 4G, with reviewers saying they both suffer from not-so-great call quality, and other build issues. Now, both phones produce excellent images from their 8MP HD capable camera, and when looking at the end product, the Super AMOLED Plus display really leaves you looking down on lesser displays.

 

To go through some of the features of the specs of Galaxy S II we reviewed last month… The phone has a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, Super AMOLED Plus 800 x 480 display. Underneath the amazing screen is an evenly impressive 1.2 GHz dual core processor, that allows for 1080p HD video recording from the phone 8MP camera. The phone comes in 16GB and 32GB variants, and of course it does support microSDHC for up to 32GB more memory, but its not hotswappable. The Infuse 4G on the other hand has a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, with a single core 1.2GHz processor, Android 2.3, comes with only a 16GB variant, and runs on HSPA+ with support for Wi-Fi (b/g/n).

 

 

It seems there is one more thing that was not demoed in the iOS 5 keynote at WWDC 2011, nor was included in the developer beta and that one more thing is Nuance integration in iOS 5.

 

What this means is that iOS 5 may have speech-to-text input built-in, just like Android 2.1 and above devices. Now iOS does have some voice input capability, introduced by iOS 4 but it can only be used for certain functions, such as making calls or playing a track and even that is powered by Nuance. However, it seems with iOS 5 Apple is allowing further access to Nuance within its mobile operating system, which means you would have the opportunity to talk to your iOS device a lot more than before.

 

 

Today Microsoft posted on their developer blog about a new tool to make porting apps from Android devices to Windows Phone much easier. Much like what Microsoft did recently for iOS, the API tool is said to be like a translating dictionary for people that are native Android coders, and will help them to understand the Windows Phone 7 environment. Hopefully this means developers will be able to bring their useful applications to the platform and help Microsoft expand their Marketplace selection.

With the Android Market growing at a fast rate and currently housing over 150,000 apps, its smart of Microsoft to appeal to those developers. Recent polls show that developer interest for Android is above all other mobile OSes at 67%, while Windows Phone is second to last at 36% developer interest. This release means Microsoft can ride the Android wave by having a way for developers to easily move their software to WP7, and that should appeal to the thousands of coders out there.

 

 

Samsung upcoming Galaxy S II for the ATT network made a surprise appearance yesterday. To be dubbed the Samsung Attain, it was spotted in Samsung Singapore Facebook photos which were showing off the new dock for the device.

As you can see from the picture, the ATT logo is prominently placed on the front. The keys below the display look different compared to the standard Galaxy S II. Instead of a mechanical Home button you now get a capacitive one and there is a dedicated search button as well.

 

While initially the device did seem like the Infuse 4G to us but then when we saw the side profile we noticed that the camera on this phone was jutting out of the case far more than the one on the Infuse 4G. In fact the camera on the Infuse 4G is completely flush with the body, unlike the one on the Galaxy S II. So the one you see above is undoubtedly the ATT Attain.

 

Steps for How to Update your Galaxy S to Official Gingerbread 2.3.3 using Samsung Kies

• Now, after rebooting the phone you will have to again connect the phone with the help of USB cable and then open the KIES from your computer.

• Now, as soon as you connect the phone you will have to open the KIES from your computer and as soon as you open the KIES in your computer, you will be immediately prompted that a new update is available which is nothing but the update of Gingerbread DDJV6 2.3.3 for your Samsung Galaxy S from the current Froyo 2.2 version. So, you will have to update with the same by clicking on the "update" as shown in the below video.

• Now, after this depending upon the internet connection and data speed, the updation process will be initiated and then the update process will be commenced in which the official Froyo version will be downloaded.

• Do note that again the phone will take quite a while to download the update as it has to download the firmware from the Servers of Samsung, so depending upon the Server speed, fetching speed and also depending upon the Internet connection’s data speed the update will be downloaded virtually in your computer.

• Now, as soon as the firmware is downloaded, this update will be processed in the phone and in the phone you will see that automatically the download mode screen will be started as shown in the Video Below.

• So, thats it as soon as the updation process is completed, the device will be rebooting and here you will have to be patient as the device will take some time to Power ON as it will be fixing the critical issues, so there is no need to panic what so ever. Just let your phone take its own time in switching ON and as soon as you see the home screen in your phone, you will have to pull the USB cable.

• Now, after pulling the USB cable, you will have to turn off the phone so that you can enter into the recovery mode and can clear the cache and wipe the data. For this after you turn off your device, you will have to long press the volume up key, press Menu as holding both the buttons press the power button to start. Now, you can see that after device gets switched ON and you will find options like clear cache data. You can clear that by selecting options Wipe data/factory reset and also you need to selectWipe Cache partition after which you need to reboot your device by selecting reboot system now after which your Galaxy S will be rebooting and again you will have to set up your Google accounts etc. Doing this will not only optimize the battery but will also remove all the data flux from your phone.

 

Many are worried about the long-term viability of BlackBerry given its shrinking market share. Of course, Research in Motion is still making money and selling lots of phones. But the competition from iPhone and Android is intense, and it has to do something to be seen as a next gen smartphone supplier if it wants to regain its luster.

 

In fact, the venerable BlackBerry is currently in a tweener stage. The existing generation of devices and the OS that powers them is getting old. RIM is significantly revamping the BlackBerry OS through a new kernel and a new user interface, and integrating a number of other technologies it has been on a tear to acquire over the past 1-2 years.

 

The complete transformation will take 1 to 2 years, but the initial fruits of RIMs labors are being demonstrated with the current PlayBook OS, a version of which will soon make its way down into the smartphone category. But it is not clear if users will stay loyal until the new phone OS is out late this year or early next year. The question many are asking, is this too little too late? What if BlackBerry OS Next doesn’t take off? What if the PlayBook is not popular? As it turns out, we believe RIM has a backup plan. And it could prove to be a real winner.

 

QNX gives RIM a strategic advantage as a high performance and highly adaptable real-time operating system. What if BlackBerry devices could have multiple OS boot capability? Image a BlackBerry device running Android better than Samsung, Motorola, And imagine it does it with complete security and manageability. Thats what RIM could actually do on its devices and has already hinted at doing with its Android app player. QNX gives RIM that capability and more.

 

 

When Google announced the Music Beta service at the I/O conference, it was only limited to those in the United States. However, it seems now it has started rolling out in other countries as well.

 

Reports are coming in from Europe from people who have successfully managed to install the Music Beta application on their Android devices. The application, along with Google Books, is being pushed to the device automatically. However, not all have been able to use the service successfully, while others, although able to use it with the content on their phone are unable to use the desktop companion application.

 

 

The SMS, or text message, is seeing its last days and I sure am glad. Google is reportedly working on its own version of iMessage or BBM for Android. This means users will be able to send text and multimedia messages to each other, globally, without incurring messaging costs from the carriers. If true, I am thrilled that carriers will have to find new ways to gouge its customers for nickels and dimes.

VentureBeat reports:

For consumers, these new apps will offer faster and cheaper integrated ways to message friends. But the outlook is less rosy for carriers, who will likely see their lucrative text messaging revenue take a major dip. The messaging apps will move texting-like activity into cellular data networks and out of carrier’s aging SMS networks.

To date, the rate at which carriers charge for SMS plans, and even per-message rates, are astronomically high. A few years ago, the government inquired as to why SMS rates were so expensive, and the carriers really could not come up with a viable excuse. But with apps like iMessage, BBM, Kik, WhatsApp and now possibly an Android version of the aforementioned apps, carriers will not have to.

The Wall Street Journal says that for Android, Google "has also recently worked on a messaging application, a person familiar with the matter said."

 

 

 

After the Light and Light Pro, ZTE has another affordable Android tablet for the masses. This one is similar to the two before it but has improved hardware. It now runs on a Snapdragon MSM8225 chip with 1GHz CPU and Adreno 205 GPU, same as most Android phones these days, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, 3.2 megapixel camera and microSD card support.

It still uses the same 7-inch, 800 x 480 resolution display and Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread instead of the tablet-optimized Honeycomb. The ZTE Light Plus will start selling across Europe in September for a price tag of €250 ($365). Nevermind the Snow Leopard wallpaper or even the Sense UI icons and weather widget on the screen in the image above. It seems that some designer was feeling bit lazy and decided to flick images off from elsewhere instead of from the device itself.

Video Below!

 

 

The first iOS 5 beta launched soon after the official announcement at the Apple WWDC. As usual, its available for developers only and unless you are one or you managed to add your iGadget UDID into a developer account, then you cannot have it.

Fortunately, we got iOS 5 installed on two iPhone 4. Our preview is almost ready and should become available later today. And while we are crossing the "t" and dotting the lower case "j" we thought we might give you a little something in advance to keep you busy.

 

Demo Below!

 

Microsoft designed Windows Phone 7 with specific hardware requirements and limitations to make updating and keeping application support throughout the phone constant, but there was a flaw in their philosophy. The NoDo update that was released in March, effectively after the February pre-NoDo update, seems to be causing trouble for Windows Phone 7 users that bought a device from Samsung and Microsoft has a few words of encouragement.

 

In a recent post on their Windows Phone blog, Microsoft Eric Hautala, GM, Customer Experience Engineering wrote a message to the people that have not receiving the update prompt, and told them "we are not resting until its done." These words of advice come at a time when users are becoming increasingly frustrated with their phones. Its been over four months now that they might have tried to get the update, but could not, and Microsoft sadly does not seem to have a solution just yet.

 

Video Below!

 

 

As Microsoft goes ahead all guns blazing with their new Windows Phone platform, they are starting to tear down the old Windows Mobile services. The web-based Marketplace will be put out of commission on July 15, leaving only the on-device app store functional. The My Phone back-up and sync service will be cut off on August 7, though contacts, calendar items, texts and photos will be migrated to SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service. You are on your own for music, video, documents, and favourites, but you can always request that Microsoft ship you a CD with everything on it up until October 5 2012.

Windows Phone and the upcoming Mango update is offering a ton of services, including its own web-based app Marketplace, SkyDrive cloud storage, but it does not look like My Phone is returning for the sequel since its probably folded into SkyDrive. In any case, analysts are feeling optimistic about the future of Windows Phone; Microsoft is already well-entrenched in the home thanks to Windows on desktop and Xbox for the TV, plus they are roping in a bunch of smartphone manufacturers to support WP7. Microsoft is also well-poised for tablets this year through Windows 8.

 

 

The jailbreak was done using the LimeRa1n exploit, which is used from iOS4 up until 4.3.3. Still its only a tethered jailbreak, meaning that each time you reboot your iDevice you will need it hooked up to a computer to work the jailbreaking magic anew.

Naturally, people are hoping that an untethered jailbreak will be available for iOS 5 even before it launches in the fall. But it seems that Apple has removed the possibility of jailbreaking iOS 5 (the untethered way) by patching the current ndrv_setspec weak spot in it.

 

 

Apple is reported to be recalling a few shipments of the Verizon iPad 2, some of which have already been ordered by customers online. A few months ago, Apple said it was investigating issues wherein iPad 2 units were dropping their 3G signal on Verizon network. Perhaps some of the batches sent out were flawed or affected, hence the recall.

 

Electronista reports:

FedEx packages are reportedly being marked “return to sender” at Apple request, although in some cases the positions of Apple support staff may be inconsistent with FedEx, either acknowledging a recall, claiming no information on the matter or stating that the problem is with FedEx. Supporting the idea of a recall is a witness at the Lakeside Shopping Center Apple Store in Louisiana, who claims that two people recently left the store with a cart full of boxes, which had “Verizon 64GB” and “Verizon 32GB” marked on the outside.

 

Its doubtful that the boxes being hauled off were actual purchases, so this very well may be a recall. Its hard to say what will happen to current Verizon iPad 2 owners whose units might be suffering 3G network issues. For those who ordered the Apple tablet, the wait might have to be stretched a bit longer than it already was. The estimated wait time is still listed as one to two weeks, but apparently some customers have been waiting much longer. And with this alleged recall, it seems that is going to be another test of patience for those wanting the iOS device. It has been reported that the affected units are being replaced, however, and that some customers may receive refunds for the inconvenience.

 

 

Wondering what kind of new device will launch with iOS 5? A Dubai service provider, Etisalat, recently hinted that they are in talks with Apple about selling an unannounced iPhone 5 thats capable of using their new 4G LTE network. Their Chief Corporate Communication Officer, Ali Al Ahmad said that the iPhone 5 would be arriving this year, while their LTE network would be available by the third quarter. Peak speeds are expected to be in the 150 Mbps neighbourhood.

Other information has indicated that the iPhone 5 will have an 8 megapixel camera, have a curved display, and potentially include NFC. While the hardware is more or less up in the air, we do know the software will include improved notifications handling, out-of-the-box PC-less functionality, host deep twitter integration, and and a new iOS-only chat app called iMessage.

Despite the fact that Apple has not said a peep about their next product, LTE is a logical next step. Samsung has actually been harassing Apple to see the iPhone 5 on the off-chance that it strikes a resemblance to an existing Samsung handset, but thats a whole other legal can of warms. Here is hoping we do see the iPhone 5 before the end of the year, ideally in time for the back-to-school timeframe. Good luck to Etisalat and the inevitable backlash from Apple for letting the cat out of the bag.

 

 

Apple sure seems to be finding a lot of inspiration in the jailbreak community. Only days after one jailbreak developer noted similarities between Apple new notifications in iOS 5 and his work in the app MobileNotifier, it looks like Apple has directly lifted the name, logo and functionality of the popular jailbreak app Wi-Fi Sync in its new OS as well, The Register reports.

Developed by UK-based Greg Hughes, Wi-Fi Sync was rejected from the official App Store last year. The app lets users wirelessly sync their iOS devices with iTunes, something that normally requires plugging into a computer. Hughes went on to offer the app for $9.99 on the Cydia Store for jailbroken iOS devices, where it sold more than 50,000 copies in the last 13 months.

I have been using Hughes app for some time, and it works exactly as advertised. Apple version of Wi-Fi Synchas the added ability of automatically performing a wireless sync whenever an iOS device is connected to a power source, but otherwise it doesn’t appear to differ that much from its jailbroken counterpart.

"Obviously I was fairly shocked" Hughes told The Register. "I would been selling my app with that name and icon for at least a year. Apple knew that, as I would submitted it to them, so it was surprising to see that."

 

The 7-inch BlackBerry Playbook may be old news by now in the United States, but for the rest of the world its still an unexplored device for most tech enthusiasts. If you do not live in the States and do not have the patience to wait for the 10-inch version of the Playbook, then you should take a look if your country is amongst the new 16 to get the Playbook.

 

The list of countries include:

• UK
• Netherlands
• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Hong Kong
• Australia
• Venezuela
• Spain
• Germany
• UAE
• Singapore
• Mexico
• France
• Italy
• India
• Indonesia
• Colombia

The Samsung Galaxy S I9000 may have gotten Android 2.3.3 Gingebread just a couple of weeks ago, but by the looks of it Samsung is not going to stop there, as a the latest version of Android 2.3.4 becomes available for the company former flagship phone.

Samfirmware have managed to dig out a build with the name "XXJVP" which makes your Galaxy S update to the latest Gingerbread version available at the moment. This makes the Samsung Galaxy S become even at software level to the Nexus One and Nexus S.

Its a ROM for the European versions of the Galaxy S GT-I9000, so looks like Europe will be the first to Get the Update, but No estimated Date as it just got the 2.3.3 Update.

 

 

 

Update Info

 

Build date: June the 3rd

PDA:   XXJVP 
Modem:   XXJVP
CSC:   Multi

 

 

 

 

 

It seems that manufacturing iPads is not as good a business as selling them. Apple sells as many iPads as it can get from the factories and with a good profit. But the Chinese contract electronics assembler Hon Hai also known by the name of its manufacturing division Foxconn has seen its profits go down with the growing demand for Apple products.

 

Hon Hai manufactures many of Apple products, including iPads, and iPhones. According to Hon Hai founder and chairman Terry Gou, iPads are extremely difficult and expensive to manufacture,Bloomberg reports. And Hon Hai has a lot of experience. It is the world largest contract manufacturer. Its clients include Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Nintendo.

 

Hon Hai founder and chairman Terry Gou believes that the company has learned how to manufacture the products more efficiently. Improvements should help the company get better profits the second half of this year. "We have helped Apple make a lot of money" Gou reportedly said in a shareholder meeting in Taipei. "If our customers make money, then we can also make money. I most fear customers that do not make money."

 

There are other factors affecting Hon Hai profits. The company has been facing the costs of rising wages and moving its factories to inland China from Taiwan. There was also an explosion in May at the Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China. Two people were killed in the explosion and 16 injured, all of them Foxconn employees.

 

MeeGo has recently updated its open-source platform, releasing version 1.2 for device makers and developers. No, you cannot update your Nokia N900, but you can install the so called "Developer Edition", the process that will require some technical knowledge.

According to the official announcement, the MeeGo 1.2 Core OS provides a complete set of enabling technologies for mobile computing. The MeeGo Core stack includes Reference Kernels that support a variety of Intel Atom and ARMv7 platforms, QML Application Framework and extended Qt-Mobility APIs (including additional location, system, connectivity, and sensor/haptic capabilities), and enhanced telephony and connectivity capabilities.

 

MeeGo 1.2.0.0 DE/Scrrenshots

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, this release also comes with Netbook UX 1.2 complete set of core applications for netbooks, In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) UX 1.2 with a sample IVI Homescreen and speech recognition enabled Application Launcher built with QML and a collection of commonly used applications, Tablet Developer Preview and MeeGo SDK 1.2 for MeeGo Core OS and supported UXs.

 

 

Winamp is easily becoming one of the best stock music player replacements for Android and it proves just that with its latest update. There are now more than four million Android users withWinamp installed and if Nullsoft keeps delivering the goods like this, it stands to gain a lot more.

 

Here is a list of the new features:

* Additional Free Music listen to the newest releases with Full CD Listening Party
* SHOUTcast now available on most Android 2.1 devices
* Streaming playback now powered by a new native Winamp media engine
* Updated SHOUTcast Featured Station List
* New Languages: Simplified Chinese & Traditional Chinese

 

The latest version of Winamp may not be the biggest update, but we certainly cannot complain with more free music and the many other features that we love about the application. One of our favorite features that the guys over at Nullsoft have implemented that many other have yet to is Google Voice Actions, which allows you to listen to the song or artist you are looking for with your voice. This is not a new feature for Winamp, as its been available for a while now, but its helpful indeed.

 

 

 

If you are a hardware manufacturer pumping out Android smartphones, then chances are you have decided to tweak Google default user interface so your user experience does not look anything like what the competition offers. Samsung got TouchWiz, HTC has Sense, Sony Ericsson has Timescape, and Motorola has MOTOBLUR. Mobile enthusiasts hate all of them, but its MOTOBLUR that receives the most amount of criticism. 

Motorola has a knack for making brilliant devices, but then it all goes to hell once their software engineers load up whatever it is they coded up in an effort to appear "unique". At the recent Sprint/Motorla event where thePhoton 4G and Triumph were announced, the word MOTOBLUR was never mentioned. Curious as to the reason why, I asked around and were by Motorola officials that they are "moving away from the name", in part due to public feedback. In other words, people despise MOTOBLUR so much that the brand itself will die, yet the software will live on.

This is not the first time the public has taken a shit on Motorola. Back in April they asked their customers, via Facebook, which applications they would like to see Android developers create. The top 7 requests were pleas to offer an unlocked bootloader, something that would enable people to easily load custom ROMs on their device, freeing them of the tyranny of MOTOBLUR. Request number 8 was an option to remove MOTOBLUR all together.

 

 

There is no doubt that Angry Birds is possibly the greatest mobile video game yet. It is simple, yet addictive I have personally wasted hours of my time in pursuit of the coveted three stars for each level. What is happening lately with Rovio creation though is even more impressive it appears that the game has already become a part of today pop culture. The latest commercial from T-Mobile is a living proof of this fact it brings the popular characters from the video game to life in the middle of Barcelona.

As you can see, the live setup is quite impressive. There is a booth with a smartphone in the middle, which you use to play the game. The birds and the slingshot are shown on a larger screen on the left so that the public can see them being shot out. And now the coolest part after the birds are released, they "jump" out of the screen and cause the pigs to literally explode in real life.

 

Video Below!

 

 

As a company, DELL is not particularly well known for the design of its products. Aside the Adamo series of laptops, most of the tech giant creations are utilitarian by design. The leak of a 7-inch tablet prototype however, is about to make me completely change my mind about the design philosophy of the Texas based company with its sliding-out, split QWERTY keyboard, it is simply gorgeous.

There is no information on the OS which the tablet will be running, or any hardware specs aside a rear camera with unknown resolution. I personally wonder what will the space in the middle of the sliding keyboard be used about is going to be a touch pad of some sort, or is it simply going to bear the DELL logo.

 

 

RIM desktop software for BlackBerry has long been a good way to organize side-loaded content like music, video, and pictures, as well as back up important contacts and messages, but recently the software has been updated to organize all sorts of files on the BlackBerry microSD card. We saw the first signs of this update a few months ago, though did not know any specifics about the features. The new Files feature is a pretty basic file system browser that lets you organize files in different views or with different sorting options, as well as add new folders, and drag/drop files to and from your desktop. There are a few other things included in BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.1. Music synchronization over the local Wi-Fi network now does not require the Desktop Software to open in order to work, making for nice, seamless continuity between devices. On the security side, encrypted files can be synced, as well as Enterprise Server security certificates.

The Files feature is nice and all, but its nothing that is not available simply by putting your BlackBerry in Mass Storage mode and browsing through it in the native OS, but it is kind of nice to have everything folded into the Desktop Software for the sake of simplicity. The new Wi-Fi music sync feature is solid, its just too bad that the PlayBook does not support it yet.

 

 

Motorola is off to a bit of a slow start with its 4G smartphones. It delayed the release of the Droid Bionic on Verizon months ago, and today the company finally announced its first WiMax smartphone for Sprint, the Photon 4G, at a New York press event. The company also announced the Triumph, its first Virgin Mobile smartphone.

While it stands to be one of the most powerful phone on Sprint when it arrives this summer, the Photon 4G comes more than a year after HTC released its super popular Evo 4G in fact, HTC is gearing up to launch that phone successor, the Evo 3D, later this month. Samsung also beat out Motorola with the launch of its Epic 4G on Sprint last August.

 

 

But perhaps Motorola’s 4G phones will be worth the wait. The Photon shares most of the Droid Bionic specifications– including a 4.3-inch screen, dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 camera, and 8 megapixel rear camera. Motorola also saw fit to include 1 gigabyte of RAM in the Photon, twice as much as what the Bionic holds. It will come with Android 2.3 installed, and as with most 4.3-inch monster phones, the Photon will be equipped with a kickstand.

Motorola is touting increased enterprise security with the Photon, thanks to its purchase of the mobile security startup 3LM earlier this year, as well as business-focused tools in its Blur software. The phone is also capable of working on GSM networks internationally, which coupled with the above enterprise features makes it a good Android phone for road warriors.

As for the Triumph on Virgin Mobile, its certainly less sexy than the Photon or Motorola other flagship smartphones, but it seems to be a solid phone for a prepaid carrier. The Triumph sports a 4.1-inch screen 2 gigabytes of storage and will be powered by Android 2.2 "Froyo" when it lands this summer.

 

 

HP first webOS tablet, the TouchPad, was announced just before Mobile World Congress, and though not much has been said about it since then, the Wi-Fi version will be ready to go on sale July 1 in the U.S, with preorders starting June 19. Prices are more or less what you’d expect for a tablet these days: $499.99 for the 16 GB model, $599.99 for the 32 GB model, available through the usual retail outlets, like Staples, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Amazon, and others. The UK, Ireland, France and Germany will have availability shortly after, and Canada will not be far behind, launching on July 15. Italy, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore are scheduled for a launch later this year.

The HP TouchPad has a spec line that lines up pretty nicely with the competition: a 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 touchscreen, dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor, 1 GB of RAM, front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 6300 mAh battery. It runs webOS, which was originally cooked up by Palm prior to their acquisition, which is best known for supporting web-based programming languages for developers, its use of gestures in the UI, and integration with social networks in the address book. One particularly cool feature being launched with the TouchPad is Touch to Share, which lets you transfer web pages you are visiting to and from a webOS phone simply by tapping it on the front of the TouchPad. Like previous webOS products, the TouchPad will also be able to charge wirelessly through an inductive rear cover and a Touchstone dock. For a closer look, be sure to check out our hands-on, and note the similarities with the BlackBerry PlayBook.

 

 

A couple of days after Apple announced its iCloud storage service, Microsoft wants to remind us that its SkyDrive cloud service has already been around for a while and will have more iCloud-like features in the near future. In a blog post, Microsoft Group Program Manager Mike Torres described SkyDrive new features in detail. SkyDrive will give Windows Phone users the ability to upload photos, videos and documents to the cloud and then access them with any device. The new features will be released with the Mango version of Windows Phone 7 operating system this fall.

 

SkyDrive has already offered storage space for pictures and Office documents in the cloud. With Mango, users can share the photos over email, text message or Messenger/Facebook. The storage and sharing features will also expand to videos. The software will upload the videos in the background while the user is doing other things.

 

In addition, Windows Phone 7 and SkyDrive will be better integrated. The folders in the cloud will also appear as folders on the phone. There will be a quick search feature to the cloud, and you can see what documents other users have shared with you. Another important feature is the ability to access email, calendar and contacts via Microsoft Hotmail service.

 

It seems SkyDrive features will be quite close to iCloud. Apple service starts with mail, contacts, and calendar. Steve Jobs also talked about three other new apps coming to iCloud: Documents, Photo Stream, and iTunes in the Cloud. The music seems to be the big differentiator between SkyDrive and iCloud. With SkyDrive, you cannot upload your music files to the cloud and then use them across all your devices. Microsoft has a streaming music service Zune Pass, but you are stuck with the music selection the service has.

 

Demo Below!

 

 

 

The Apple iOS 5.0 software will be bringing 200 new features when it lands later this fall but there was some concern before it was unveiled that it would not work with the iPhone 3GS. That fear appears to be misplaced though, as early versions of the beta software show that it works pretty well on the 3GS, even if a few features are missing.

As you can see in the video below, iOS 5.0 seems to work pretty well on an iPhone 3Gs. You will notice that the brand-new notification bar is active and looks elegant and responsive, the deep Twitter integration is there and the overall speed and performance seems pretty good.

Of course, its not all roses though, as it appears there are a few missing features so far. The improved camera app on the iphone 3Gs will give you the grid lines but it does not appear like you can edit photos on it yet. Likewise, the Safari browser appears to be missing the tabs options, which is kind of a shame.

Video Below!

 

 

HP is yet to give any official launch date for their upcoming TouchPad tablet but it seems Amazon could not hold it in any longer and had to tell someone. So what we have here might just be a goof-up or an attempt to keep user interest up in the device.

 

Discovered by an Engadget reader, if you are curious as to when the TouchPad will be launched, all you have to do is type "hp touchpad" in the search field on Amazon and then you get this little ad that bares it all. It seems July 17 is the date when you will officially be able to get your hands on the first WebOS tablet, which is still well over a month from now.

 

 

I hope HP has good reasons for this late launch. Honeycomb tablets are not doing particularly well and HP has a chance to get in take the number two slot in the tablet race if they can just hurry up a bit. Meanwhile, those iPad 2 are practically walking out of stores on their own by now.

 

 

 

I must admit, I was not impressed by the Nintendo Wii U when it was announced a couple of days back at the E3 2011. And the way Nintendo shares are going down, neither is anyone else. And now Firemint, the company that created the popular iOS game Real Racing 2 HD will be bringing wireless FullHD gaming over AirPlay to your TV screen, a feature that will kick devices like the Wii U squarely in the nuts.

 

Now currently, Real Racing 2 HD is able to stream 1080p output from an iPad 2 to a TV screen through the HDMI connection but with iOS 5 developers will be able to stream the same output wirelessly to an Apple TV using the new AirPlay Mirroring function in iOS 5. And its not traditional mirroring we are talking about here, where the iPad output is displayed on the screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. You will see the game on your TV screen in native resolution without any borders while your iPad 2 display will show racing telemetry in real time. You still control the game the same way, by tilting it from side to side but now without the cable sticking out from the side.

 

 

 

 

 

It does not take a genius to note that thus far the Windows 8 tech demos we have seen have had a big emphasis on touch interface and share a heck of a lot with Windows Phone Metro UI. What is more Windows 8 will almost certainly be hitting a host of tablets as well as the next generation of desktops and laptops.

Those such as ARM have already demoed a few devices with some iteration of Windows 8 but what about Microsoft stamping their own branding on a tablet. Its a trick they tried before with Zune, the Kin and a few own-brand TV, all of which yielded disappointing results, due in-part to the fact that the Microsoft name just does not have the 'cool' factor they wish it did. In fact so far the only definably successful product bearing the Microsoft name has been the Xbox 360 and even then its down-played to just the "Xbox 360", sounds to me like in their heart of hearts they know its not cool either.

Are Microsoft playing with fire and condemning a new range of tablet devices to an early grave before they have even been finalized? We are unsure, but sources at DigiTimes say that somewhere fairly high up in the supply chain, there is a tablet in the works bearing Microsoft name. The device is likely to be a Texas Instruments based ARM-powered machine, built by a Tawain based ODM. Say for the fact you will probably get a capacitive high-res touch screen and some WiFi, there is basically nothing else to really say here, so we will have to wait and see how the public receive a Microsoft tab, expected sometime in 2012.

 

 

 

Sony Ericsson Facebook competition has come to a close the Mix Walkman and the txt pro are now fully official. Also, the video reviews of the four finalists that got to review the phone are available for you to watch and do not forget to vote for your favorite, they will win a big prize. Both new Sony Ericsson phones are feature phones but they pack some compelling functionality.

 

The Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman has the looks of the Xperia Mini but there is Walkman blood in its veins. The Zappin button is a particularly interesting feature press it and the phone will preview the chorus of the next song. Thats right, just the chorus, which is the most recognizable part of the song.

 

The Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman is a very compact phone (95.8 x 52.8 x 14.3mm, 88g) with a 3" WQVGA screen, 3.2MP camera and exchangeable bands to personalize the phone. You get Wi-Fi connectivity and microSD card slot too (for cards up to 32GB).

 

Video Review Below!

 

 

 

We saw HTC debut two new Facebook-centric devices back at MWC 2011, the QWERTY based Cha Cha and the unibodied HTC Salsa. The Salsa now looks like it will making its way to stores with, first availability coming to India.

An Indian retailer already listed the HTC Salsa as available, where its listed for 20,499 INR. The Salsa is the second one of the two Facebook-centric HTC announced back in February and so far it has not been available for sale. HTC Facebook-centric phones have a hardware Facebook button on the front thats context sensitive. We spoke about how it changes the way your interact with the device here, when we first heard about it just after MWC this year.

 

The Salsa comes with a 3.4-inch capacitive touch display (320x480 pixels) thats protected by Gorilla Glass. You also get microSD storage capabilities up to 32GB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth (3.0), HSDPA and HSUPA support, a 5MP camera on the back and a front-facing VGA video call camera on the front all topped off with Android Gingerbread. The processor is currently sited as being clocked at 600MHz, but its likely to jump to 800MHz by release to follow in the footsteps of the Cha Cha.

 

HTC has obviously taken a leaf of the Apple book of PR and denied today that their Sensation flagship has the so-called "death grip" issues. There was no press-conference this time, but a company spokesman did go on record and denied there was anything wrong with their powerhouse of a smartphone.

 

Here is the exact quote as sent to Slashgear:

"Every phone experiences a slight variation in signal strength when the antenna is covered in its entirety by a palm and/or fingers. However, under normal circumstances this does not affect the performance of the phone."

 

Now the first part is absolutely true you can drop a few bars on just about any handset out there if you hold it in a specific way. Yet our dedicated test revealed that the Sensation can lose all of its Wi-Fi signal quite easily in what we would not call abnormal usage its just how you would hold it if you are web browsing in landscape mode, for example.

 

Mobile network signal also suffered if you put your hand in the wrong spot, thought it did not seem to be as damaging there. Now, we are not saying this is a deal-breaker the Sensation is still a pretty hot device with all that oomph under the hood, but its still a quirk you should keep in mind if you are about to get it.

 

HTC just responded to a question about our video posted by one of their customers on Facebook, claiming that "The HTC Sensation issue seems exaggerated in this video, which is why it is misleading.". We find this statement largely inaccurate, since as we mentioned this is the exact way you would hold the handset if you were web browsing in landscape mode, for instance.

 

 

Samsung Honeycomb-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 premieres at the Best Buy store in New York today. The Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be yours for $499(16GB) or $599(32GB) but only today in the Best Buy Union Street store in New York. The regular availability will launch nationwide on 17 June.

 

In other news Vodafone UK is discontinuing its exclusive Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v. In case you need a refresh, the 10.1v was initially announced as 10.1 but later Samsung announced a new slimmer 10.1 tablet and renamed the previous as 10.1v. The 10.1v became Vodafone exclusive and it seems those units will be soon out of stock.

 

 

Nokia has just announced an update for their Drop app for Symbian smartphones. Initially used for pushing images and URLs to your smartphone, Nokia Drop now also gains support for sending map views and locations and RSS feeds from your computer to your smartphone. The RSS feeds could be sent to both the Nokia reader app on your Symbian smartphone and its native browser, while the map views and locations will be pushed to the OVI maps app.

 

The update also brings a key usability improvement you can now choose how you want to handle received items, automatically or manually. Automatically means that received items are handled without the Nokia Drop UI popping-up when you receive items. In manual mode, you need to click items in the client if you want something to happen.

 

 

The Google Chrome web browser got a new stable release version 12 which brings along a safer browsing experience and faster graphic performance. The Chrome browser got safer with the enhancements added to its Safe Browsing technology. It will warn you if you are about to enter a site with malicious content or a phishing site and will also warn you while trying to download malware.

Google has worked closely with Adobe to bring users more control on what sites store on users computers via Flash content. Previously Flash cookies could only be deleted from an online setting on Adobe website and can now be deleted through Chrome itself. The stable Chrome 12 also has support for hardware-accelerated 3D CSS, which means that websites and web apps with 3D content in them will be snappier on your Chrome browser.

 

 

Slated for a July release in the UK, the Motorola Wilder promises to be a smart-dumb phone aimed at an active lifestyle. The newly announced Wilder is designed to bring all the basic functionality from your average smartphone in a tiny package with a rugged exterior. Not all the specs are available yet but we know its going to be a compact device with a capacity of just 88 cubic centimeters and a low weight of just 92 grams.

A rubberized outer casing helps give the Wilder its splash and dust resistive attributes but you can still interact with it on the 2.8" TFT resistive touchscreen (with a resolution of 240x360 pixels). Sitting just below the main display, is a secondary OLED 0.7" screen for notifications, a nice touch and something seldom seen since the days of the flip phone.

 

Being a feature phone, connectivity is limited, but the Wilder does come with Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm headphone jack and has a physical microUSB (v2.0) port on the left side of the device covered by a rubberized tab. It also comes with a 2MP camera on the back that can shoot video at 15fps and an FM radio.

 

The E3 expo has just started and Sony Ericsson has something to show the gamers the Xperia PLAY Experience Pack. It contains the DK300 Multimedia Dock, USB and audio cables and code for 3 three Gameloft titles.

 

The Experience Pack is compatible only with Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY. It contains the previously announced DK300 multimedia dock, a portable short-length USB cable, a 3.5mm male-to-male audio cable so you can connect the dock with an audio system and a game code.

The game code will allow you to download three Gameloft games of your choice from this list:

• Assassin Creed – Altair Chronicles
• Uno
• Real Football 2011
• Modern Combat 2 : Black Pegasus
• Lets Golf! 2
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
• Brothers In Arms 2: Global Front
• N.O.V.A. 2 Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Eternal Legacy

 

Apple did not announce a new iPhone yesterday, so we have to look to Gresso to get our "new iPhone" fix. The Gresso iPhone 4 Time Machine features six Swiss mechanical watches on its back and yet is amazingly thin. Gresso are well known for their tenacity to slap mechanical watches onto mobile phones it matches their sense of classiness, we guess. Their new offering is not a new phone but a modified iPhone 4 called Time Machine .

 

The usual glass back of this new iPhone 4 is replaced by a mineral glass with diamond coating and houses six independent mechanical Swiss watches, each taking hundreds of man-hours to construct and days on end of accuracy testing. The watches keep the time at the six leading business centers from across the world New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

  

Amazingly, Gresso claim that the iPhone 4 Time Machine is only 1mm thicker than a vanilla iPhone 4. Now, either this is some ad-speak that tries to conceal the actual thickness of the device, or Gresso has freed up some room inside the iPhone 4.

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows I like to gamble from time to time. nothing major, just a few trips a year to a casino for some blackjack or poker. I also like to hold small poker games at my house. Naturally, when looking for games on Android to pass the time, I look for casino games easy to play, you can stop and start them whenever, and just maybe they would help improve my blackjack and hold ‘em skills.

There are a ton of poker and blackjack apps out there, so most of the apps here will fall under one of those two categories, but I also included some table games and slot apps.

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Click on the Green Application Name to Download

 

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Live Hold ‘Em Poker Pro

Price: Free

This is my favorite poker app of the lot. You can select from a number of several tables, with blinds anywhere from 1 and 2 to 20K and 40K. You can also play in two tournament style games: "Sit and Go" which appears to be a regular style Texas Hold ‘Em tournament; and "Shootou" which is a three round tournament, with a different buy-in for each round.

You can also add people to your friends lists, and join in on games they are playing. The app does require a login, and you can either create a new username and password, or you can link it to your Facebook account.

WSOP Hold ‘Em Legend

Price: $4.99

Visually, there is a lot going on with this app. Animations, an circular menu and a ton of graphics that need to be downloaded the first time you boot up the app. You can play a couple of different types of Hold ‘Em games, but they all seem to be against computers. As a matter of fact, I didn’t see a way to play other people without using OpenFeint.

Even using OpenFeint, it looks like you need to have other friends online to play the game, you cannot play random people. While the app does look nice.

Zynga Poker

Price: Free

Zynga is a company that  makes a bunch of games on a bunch of different platforms, and have brought you hits like Farmville and Mafia Wars, so its no surprise that you need a Facebook account to play Zynga Poker. I’m generally against stuff like this because I don’t want everything I do being associated with my Facebook account.

But if we look past that, this is actually a pretty nice app. You play against real people and your Facebook friends can gift chips to you . However, one feature I was looking for was a list of my Facebook friends that also had this game, which I could not find. I would really like to see that functionality added to this app so I could start tables exclusively for my friends. Of all the poker apps, I would say this one has the most potential.

Texas Poker

Price: Free

I became acquainted with this app for iOS and enjoyed it. You can register or play as a Guest, and you can add or search friends to see where they are playing, as well as select from a large number of tables to play on. You can also press "Play Now" to join a random table. As far as I can tell, all of the tables have real people, not bots.

 

Real BlackJack

Price: Free

Real BlackJack is my favorite BlackJack app for Android. Its simple, serving as a teacher for those who are just beginning. Its just you against the dealer, you can to surrender, split, double down, hit, and stand. There’s also an advice button that tells you what it thinks you should do, a basic strategy sheet, and some card counting methods. Its a full featured app for a relatively simple game.

Ultimate BlackJack 3D

Price: Free

Compared to Real BlackJack, I am not a big fan of this app. It forces landscape mode, and has pretty distracting voices and music on by default. You can go to the Settings to turn them off, but for the voices you have to uncheck each option individually. While the app does offer a lot of customization options in settings, I feel like it’s overkill for a Blackjack app.

As far as gameplay goes, things seem a little cramped and the interface is not as intuitive as Real BlackJack. To hit, you tap the deck, to stay you tap just about anywhere else. If you want to split or double down, you need to press the Menu key. Some more thought about the interface would have allowed these functions to be placed somewhere on the screen instead of in a secondary menu.

The graphics, while pretty neat in their technical ability, are really annoying as far as UX goes. If the phone is not stationary, the angle of everything moves. This makes for a very unenjoyable playing experience.

Live BlackJack

Price: Free

The interface for Live BlackJack is similar to Real BlackJack, and is pretty easy to use. Like Live Hold ‘Em, you have to log in to play. However, you cannot use the same login for both apps, which seemed a little strange to me. You can also opt to use Facebook to log in.

The app also has an option to play with friends, but that just displays a "Coming Soon" message. Right now, it looks like you can only play the dealer.

Astraware Casino (Tutorial & Game)

Price: $1.94

Astraware Casino is an 11-in-1 casino games app and includes Texas Hold Em, Blackjack, slots, craps, and more. The games are actually pretty cool: they are easy to use, there is a how-to for each game, and the variety can keep you busy for a while. Plus, if you are looking to learn any games, this app is worth the $2 as it shows you how to play.

The graphics can be a little strange sometimes you will see some pixelation and the screen goes blank when you are in the lobby. This does not seem to happen during gameplay.

 

Roulette Royale

Price: Free

This roundup would not be complete without a Roulette app, but I do not think this is the best one the Android Market has to offer. The graphics are nice and the gameplay is fine, but the app has a bunch of built in sounds and speech that you cannot turn off because there are no settings.

That being said, this may be the best free one out there. The other (free) Roulette apps I tried were either buggy or had some features I did not really appreciate, like requiring Facebook to use the app.

 

 

The E3 expo is not all about home and pocket consoles. The mobile gaming is evolving rapidly these days so we are going to see even more mobile games presented on the expo in the future.

At this year expo Microsoft revealed eight new games for Windows Phone 7 that support the Xbox Live service Beards and Beaks, Hasta La Muerte, Lets Golf 2, Pac-Man CE DX, Splinter Cell Conviction, Tentacles, Top Gun and Z0mb1es.

 

Video Below!

 

 

Yesterday was the kickoff of Apple World Wide Developer Conference for 2011. As you can imagine, we were all anticipating the changes this year keynote will bring for weeks before it actually took place. We even had a small poll going on whether or not there will be a new iPhone announcement even though rumors suggested there will not be any.

 

Probably spoiled by Apple way of bringing new and innovative ideas to the table each year, I was hoping for something revolutionary, something that would rock my iOS-loving, iPhone-hugging world. Sadly all I saw were minor changes, most of which were already available one way or another.

There was no new iPhone. Yes, that was a total bummer for any true Apple fan. I am happy with my iPhone and I am certainly not planning on changing it, but I wanted to see what Apple would cook up next. And it was not there. Maybe because of the tragedy that struck Japan, maybe because Apple has decided that for now an overhaul of the OS is enough and a new device is not necessary. For now I guess we will have to wait until fall, when this new iPhone is rumored to appear.

 

 

Another rumor the updated app switching panel is nowhere to bee seen too. Rumors and leaks suggested we would see a card styled multitasking system, which integrated Spotlight (the iOS search tool) at the top. There was nothing of the sort. I am fond of the iOS multitasking system, which is feature from iOS 4.0 since but cannot help but wonder, could not Apple find some use for this blank wasted space when you are in app switching mode? It could easily be used to show some quick toggles for Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and the likes or even notifications. Maybe it all has something to do with battery life, on which Apple prides a lot. But we all know its bogus. They are either holding back on features or they are simply on standby mode to see what the competition will come up with by fall.

 

 

SMS delivery reports are still missing ever since day one of the iPhone OS. Well we got message delivery receipts, but only for iMessage (a service open only to iOS users). You will get delivery reports but only if you’re texting a friend with an iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone. Now I don’t know about you, but not all my friends are using iPhones, you know. And the worst thing is, delivery reports have long been enabled by an unofficial third-party app. If some developer can do it, so Apple can too. They just don’t want to add it.

 

Next up, iOS 5 still will npt integrate any widgets. I can totally see how Apple is pointing a big accusing finger towards battery life. Widgets are an Android thing, you might say, but hey, that did not stop them with the roll-down Notification center. Why would it about widgets? Widgets are a nice part of the desktop experience on MacOS so I can totally see them migrated to iOS too. They could have a separate page in the menu or they could even appear on the lockscreen. It would be so nice.

 

On top of all that so far, I have to add the missing Bluetooth file transfers to the list. I know they will probably never happen on iOS and thats something I can live with, but still its a shortcoming of iOS as long as a 7-year old Nokia phone has them. I know there is an app for that, but it needs another smartphone with the same app on the receiving end. That goes against the universality of Bluetooth technology for file transfers.

 

 

Finally, we come to Google Maps. This is the single app I, personally, wanted to see get updated to its most current and up-to-date version. Its so far ahead right now on Android, that the iOS version seems like a road kill next to it. We didn’t get the vector graphics, we did not get the two-finger rotation or the two-finger tilt with 3D buildings. Not to mention true GPS navigation with voice guidance and everything. I mean come on, it seems like every big smartphone OS has free GPS navigation and iPhones are among the most expensive ones. We should get this feature sooner or later. Android devices have been basking in Google Maps updates every three months or so. If Maps is going to be one of the pivotal features of the iPhone, then please, bring it up to speed.

 

Maybe its the transition, thats bothering Apple. Until not so long ago iOS was still in its development stages and still had to go through some changes to call itself a full-featured OS. But now iOS is no longer behind and has all the basics covered. The need for third-party hack apps has shrunk to a mere whim and not the necessity it was before. Perhaps now Apple is holding back on big announcements and is looking to make everything more solid and stable. Maybe its time for only small improvements and house cleaning instead of big, revolutionary remodelling.

 

 

Apple finally threw its hat into the cloud computing ring in a serious way today with a new service called iCloud, which allows users to synchronize their applications and media across all their devices. Its an ambitious vision, and one thats about as different as possible from Google.

 

The search giant, of course, offers a range of online services, but its most cloud-centric product is Chrome OS, an operating system that basically consists of a Web browser and … well, thats it. Anything a user wants to accomplish, they have to do through websites and web applications. With iCloud, on the other hand, users continue to download and install software Apple infrastructure just ensures that they can access everything regardless of which device they are using.

 

Here is how John Gruber characterized the difference on his blog Daring Fireball:

In both cases, your data is in the cloud, and you can access it from anywhere with a network connection. But Google vision is about software you run in a web browser. Apple is about native apps you run on devices. Apple is as committed to native apps on the desktop, tablet, and handheld as it has ever been.

Google frame is the browser window. Apple frame is the screen.

 

Well, I think Apple presents a friendlier vision of the cloud than Google. You do not have to think of the cloud as a Web browser or, as Apple chief executive Steve Jobs put it during the keynote today, as a "hard drive in the sky". If you watch Google video promoting Chrome OS, its certainly funny and clever, but its also working overtime to try to explain a concept thats alien to most consumers. iCloud, on the other hand, should just work you continue to use your favorite applications in the same way, and when you switch to a new device, all your applications, settings, and files will be there for you.

 

Jobs also said iCloud advances his vision of a file-storage system thats designed around applications, rather than a complicated hierarchy of folders and files. Apple iPad and iPhone already offer examples of this if you are looking for a file, you do not go hunting around the hard drive. Instead, if you want to access your photos, you open the Photos app. If you want to read your documents, you open the Pages app. Right now, the apps that tap into the iCloud system were created by Apple, but Jobs said outside developers will be able connect their apps too, through a series of application programming interfaces (APIs).

 

For some developers, Apples keynote today was more of a kick in the crotch than a bear hug. And yet, like someone trapped in a dysfunctional relationship, they will keep coming back for more. Thats because even though it may run roughshod over a few developers from time to time, Apple still has a lot of what they need.

 

Traditionally a lovefest for OS X and iOS programmers, Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is when the company unveils new software features, lays out details of various application programming interfaces, and invites programmers to peek under the hood at the operating systems.

 

Many of the new features shown at the WWDC keynote Monday looked very much like ideas first seen in iOS apps from independent developers. For instance, mobile Safari new "Reader" feature reformats web pages cleanly and without formatting, much like Arc Labs Readability app. Its "Read Later" feature works a lot like Marco Arment Instapaper.

 

Other developers may have felt the same way. The new iOS 5 will let people take photos using the phone volume-up button as a shutter button, a feature that first appeared in TapTapTap CameraPlus app.To-do apps like Remember the Milk will be threatened by the new Reminders feature. GroupMe messaging might be made obsolete by iMessage.

 

Similar tactics won Microsoft opprobrium in the 1990s, when the company incorporated features into Windows that had previously only been available through Windows software created by Microsoft developers. It contributed greatly to the impression that Microsoft was a ruthless company that would even stab its closest allies in the back, if thats what it took to make its OS more competitive.

 

Yet few developers, even those most directly affected by the OS upgrades, are likely to defect. Apple enumerated the reasons why they will not at the beginning of its presentation on iOS:

 

• 200 million iOS devices sold

• 25 million iPads sold in 14 months

• 15 billion songs sold in iTunes

• 130 million books sold in iBooks

• 425,000 apps, including 90,000 iPad-specific apps, in the App Store

• 14 billion app downloads from the App Store.

• 225 million accounts in iTunes (all customers for which Apple has credit cards on file so they can purchase apps or content with a single click)

 

 

 

Many new things were announced at this years WWDC in San Francisco ranging from the upcoming iOS 5, through the refreshing Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" and all the way to the brand new iCloud service. While not everything that was presented today is as revolutionary and "magical" as we hoped for, there are still interesting new features that the new iDevices are getting. We already covered the new iOS 5 features so now we are going to focus on the top 5 most interesting and cool features the iPads will get from the latest iOS iteration, which will come in the Fall.

 

Notification Center

Lets face it, Apple devices have been lacking proper notification functionality for a long time now, but today with the announcement of the Notification Center things are starting to look bright. Yes, there are certain ideas borrowed from some places like the swipe-down drawer with notifications but there are others like the unobtrusive in-app notification band which, to be fair, are done quite right in my opinion. Another cool tidbit is the addition of beautifully displayed weather information right in the notification drawer. This means that with just a quick glance at the notification screen you can get some general idea of the weather conditions. Simple and effective. Though borrowed too.

Split Keyboard

Typing on an iPad may be an adequate experience when when laid on a table with both of your hands touching the virtual keyboard. But, when you are holding it with these two hands you only have your thumbs to type with and the traditional, almost full-size QWERTY keyboard does not cut the mustard. Apple have realized that and as a result are introducing the so called "Split Keyboard".

The Split Keyboard is basically a regular keyboard layout split into two equal parts positioned on both ends of the horizontal ends of the screen. This allows for a much easier typing, which hopefully, could prove to be faster than the traditional approach to keyboards on tablets. While clever its not groundbreaking, Even Microsoft have thought of it in the early concept of Windows 8.

 

Tabbed browsing

Tabbed browsing is godsend, pretty much rewriting the way we browse the web on our computers. This functionality has been around for couple of years now and many mobile web browsers have had a go at implementing it in their products. Some are pretty nifty like Firefox 4, where a simple swipe brings the different tabs on the screen. Others like the default Android browser require more tedious actions like pressing (touching) the menu key, going to Windows and then selecting the tab you want to switch to.

 

 

In the next release of iOS, Safari brings the tab functionality to the iPad just like a desktop web browser does. Literally. Tabs are displayed below the address bar on the top of the screen and you can switch through the different ones with a simple tap. Tabs can even be reordered, which is a nice touch.

 

Reader

The iPad and the iPad 2 can be used for many different things but one of the most fundamental of them is browsing the web. And nothing can be more annoying than a messy, hard to navigate website giving you a hard time concentrating on the article you want to actually read and not be distracted by the many images, text and banners there are around the said article.

 

What the new Reader does is eliminate all the unnecessary side images, text and ads and giving you the main article of the page with black font on a white background. Now reading websites feels more like reading a book. The Reader feature is integrated into the new Safari and when the browser detects that there is a lengthy article on the current page it will display a button named "Reader". Whether to press it or not to press is up to you, though. Bear in mind, it would also combine multi-page articles into one longer read.

The Reading list feature would allow you to save any interesting articles you come upon for later, offline viewing. iOS 5 would even sync those across your iOS devices for you so you can continue reading on your iPhone, for instance.

 

AirPlay Mirroring

And last, but certainly not least in our rundown of new and cool features for the iPads in iOS 5 comes AirPlay Mirroring. Why its so cool? Because having the option to share and show off your screen to friends or relatives is genuinely cool. Yeah, I know all modern Android tablets come with mini HDMI connectivity and yes, it kind of sucks that you will need an Apple TV to get it to work, but hey its wireless and you could use the Apple TV for other stuff too.

There were my five cool and new features which the upcoming iOS 5 will bring to the iPad and iPad 2. It would be great to hear from you which are your five most favorite things to ship with the new iOS 5.

 

 

Sony has launched a brand new accessory for the PlayStation 3 in the form of the PlayStation 3D Display. It has a 24-inch LCD screen and supports 1080p full HD for 3D gaming.

 

But that’s not all. The best trick of the 3D Display is that it can display two different 3D images on screen at once in full HD, so if you are playing co-op with a friend, both of you will see two different images on the screen. You can also have split screen mode where the 3D Display will show both screens simultaneously side-by-side in 3D.

 

 

The 3D Display has built-in speakers and subwoofer for high quality sound and can connect to your PS3, PC or cable TV box.

 

 

The 3D Display comes with its own pair of active shutter 3D glasses, although you can also buy them separately for $69.99 and they work with several other 3D TVs and displays. You will also get an HDMI cable and a copy of Resistance 3 with every 3D Display.

 

 

Samsung has Released its (Gingerbread 2.3.3) Update for the Galaxy S I-9000 Officially last Month, but not all countries are getting it at the same time. So I made this Article to Show you the Countries that Already Got the Update, Countries that is getting the Update Now and the Countries that still pending for the Update. I will Update the Article Daily or When an Update come out.

 

 

As we said Before the upgrade from Froyo 2.2/2.2.1 to Gingerbread 2.3.3 offers even greater user experience, with features including: 

 

  

• Faster Performance - Multimedia content now has a lower CPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3D Graphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience. 

• Upgraded Usability - The user interface has been improved, enabling faster access and control and a more intuitive user experience. Users will also benefit from improved copy-and-paste functionality. 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated 10,June 2011

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Well in typical Cupertino fashion the new promo video is out for the premiere features in the latest iOS version 5. The seats at the WWDC keynote hall are still warm and we are hurrying to bring you the latest news.

The video follows suite in typical Apple style with the white background and nice tune to go behind the voices of featured Greg Joswiak and Scott Forstall. They are the ones talking us through the various key features of the new iOS release. We have the front-row seat to the demos of the new Notification center feature, Newsstand, the dedicated Reminders app, serious Twitter integration in the OS, various Safari features and more.

 

Video Promo Below!

 

Many Android developers do not give enough attention to user interface and fail miserably in terms of quality of design and usability features. This article will be more than just a round up and highlight the key features that will help every news based App to become a success. I have omitted some Apps previously reviewed on this site like News Republic and Read it later Pro.

1. Feedly (Free)

Feedly is obviously the number one on this list as it clearly stands out from the crowd by its "out of the box" layout with minimal text based article listings and cute little icons. Powered by Google Reader, Twitter, Instapaper and Read It Later, it is clearly the best news feed reader out there.

Feedly comes in both light and dark versions. The opening page has nice big title and lots of white space that is pleasing to the eye. When you tap the header bar you get a nice scrolling options drop down menu with a pre-populated list of useful RSS feed sources. If you sign in to Google Reader then this list will be replaced by your Google Reader settings. I am really digging the minimal style of article lists with thumbnails. The icons in the top bar are self explanatory and users have no difficulty in using them. Articles are displayed with minimal text based layout by default but users can always switch to web view.

The image gallery is excellent and has two styles depending on the source feed with titles overlaid. I have checked various multimedia RSS feeds and found the experience exhilarating. Vimeo or Youtube feeds work the best.

2. Pulse News (Free)

Our close runner up to the top position is Pulse News App. True to its description, Pulse takes your favorite websites including Facebook and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. It is also my favorite App for daily use. The developers clearly made a remarkable feat by redefining the “listview” for articles; instead of a vertical scrolling list we find a very convenient horizontal scrolling news feed with thumbnails. The smooth transitions and animated swipes make it an enjoyable experience.

When you first open the Pulse News App, you will find an elegant handwritten instructions panel to add source feeds. The latest update comes with five main pages (1) or containers to hold the news feeds. Just like Feedly there is a pre-populated list of sources. For example when you click on Technology (2) from the Top page it will instantly add “Top Stories in Technology” to that page (3). You can swipe left or right on each row (4) to see current and previous articles. Clicking on the thumbnail will move the entire row down, exposing the article view.

3. CNN (Free) 

CNN for Android Phone is definitely a smarter, sleeker way to experience a world of news and insights. I was really impressed by the dark theme and multimedia content (2). If you are someone who wants breaking news with video content then this App is a must to download. The dashboard icon (1) is a useful shortcut to headlines (3),  iReport (4)  and other options.

 

4. CNET (Free)

CNET News app delivers award-winning coverage of the consumer technology world and a must download for every tech savvy person out there. The best features are image galleries and video content. The bad part is many users complain that there are too many ads. But nevertheless it is a well designed app and deserves to be on this list.

5. MSNBC (Free)

MSNBC is a very popular news source, backed by Microsoft, with rich multimedia content. The MSNBC app for Android meets our expectations and provide diverse and engaging articles and related videos. I really love the flower petal (or is it two peacocks?) navigation to various sections of the news.

The Zumobi Network has many similar apps in the Android Market and worth checking it out. My only complain is the huge logo in the bottom and the amount of ads. This app made this list purely because of the aesthetics and nice icons. For controlling instant updates you need to download another app called Airmail which i think is an unnecessary step.

6. USA Today (Free)

I have been using USA Today since the Android 1.5 days as it was the only one that would work in those ancient versions. It is very useful for latest US News, Sports, Weather, Pictures and Snapshots.

7. Yahoo News (Free)

I have Yahoo as my homepage on the desktop. So I wanted to check out the Yahoo News App for Android… and was a little disappointed actually. I liked the clean minimal layout but do not we expect more from Yahoo? Yahoo search is integrated and the content is fantastic. You can probably use the browser to visit the mobile website of Yahoo instead of downloading this app, but the app will save you a lot on loading time and data usage.

The good folks at SamFirmware have gotten their hands on the Gingerbread firmware for theSamsung S5570 Galaxy Mini and S5660 Galaxy Gio. The firmware runs on Android 2.3.3 update and is dated May 7 and June 2 respectively.

Now Samsung has already announced that they will be releasing a Gingerbread update for these phones. But if you are feeling particularly impatient, you can head over to the source link and install them on your phone. Do note that these firmware are in beta and not the same as the one that Samsung will officially release. So we would suggest that you show some restrain and wait for it.

 

Need to add additional storage to your iOS-based device such as the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad? Want to have that external memory easily accessible on your computer, too? Check outPhotoFast i-FlashDrive, a soon-to-be-launched accessory that rocks a USB plug on one end and Apple 30-pin dock connector on the other. Yep that means you will be able to easily manage your files both on your iPhone and your computer.

The neat accessory, which will be available in 4 flavors, will ship with a free iOS app that allows for file management, contact backup and MP3 playback. We are hearing the 32GB version will cost $180, which is kinda steep but then again iPhone users are known to spend more on accessories.

 

 

We generally have an idea of what the next version of iOS would look like by this point but the delay and the prominent placement at WWDC 2011 indicates that this could be a major revamp. It could be such a major revamp that iOS 5.0 may not work on the iPhone 3GS. We are hoping for a revamped notification system and rumors also indicate we’ll see some serious voice technology baked in.

The WWDC 2011 keynote will also show off the iCloud service which has only been described by Apple as an upcoming cloud service. The reports indicate that Apple has secured deals with multiple music labels and publishers to enable an online iTunes service which enable iOS users to get access to their tracks anywhere there’s an Internet connection. The specifics about whether you will have to upload tracks or will be able to share other type of content will remain to be seen.

While its not necessarily mobile, we should also be seeing more details of the Mac OS Lion, which is the next generation of the desktop software. Considering that many features of iOS have eventually found its way into Mac OS, this should also be of interest. There is also a chance the WWDC 2011 keynote will also see Steve Jobs showing off the next iPhone but I will not be holding my breath for that. I will be live blogging my behind off giving you the latest and we will hopefully get some hands-on time as soon as possible. We will be taking your comments too, so you should follow along.

 

 

Sprint HTC EVO 3D will hit the shelves on 24 June. It will be accompanied by the HTC EVO View 4G tablet. The 3D-loving droid phone will go for $199 on contract, while the tablet will set you back $399.

You can pre-order either device from a Sprint store but you will need to buy a $50 gift card. Or, if you are a Sprint Premier user, you can buy it online starting 21 June. The common folk however will have to wait until 24 June to buy one of these 4G capable droid gadgets.

The HTC EVO 3D costs $199 with a 2-year contract. And if you want to share those fast 4G speeds (WiMAX), you will have to shell out $29.90 more. RadioShack should also be taking pre-orders for the EVO 3D until 21 June. They have an interactive device demo too. The HTC EVO View 4G is $399.99 on a 2-year contract ($34.99/month for 3GB of 3G data, 4G data is unlimited). You get a free HTC Scribe stylus, which usually goes for $80. Hotspot functionality is again $29.99/month.

 

 

Its no secret Android OS has some malware problems, but Google is trying its best to keep us away from them. Despite Google removed lots of malware infected apps from the Market, there is a new threat coming. DroidKungFu malware affects devices with 2.2 Froyo or less Android version and allows the hackers to take full control of your smartphone. So the guys can steal all of your data, do some serious damage or make your droid gadget serve as a bot in a botnet attacks.

 

The vulnerability exploited by the DroidKungFu is closed in Gingerbread, so you are almost safe there. Almost – because it is possible for the malware to steal some data.

 

The droids running on Froyo or earlier Android version seems to be affected by two or more DroidKungFu apps, but none of them is from the Android Market. The current versions of anti-virus apps do not detect this malware, but you can bet they are on the problem already and will release an update soon.

 

 

 

Apple today finally unveiled the details of the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, atits Worldwide Developers Conference keynote this morning. Confirming many previously rumored features, Apple showed off a revamped notification interface, Twitter integration, an improved messaging app, as well as a slew of other features. 

 

First up, Apple announced Notification Center, a complete overhaul of the beleaguered iOS notification system. The new feature will allow you to swipe down from the iOS status bar to see a compilation of notifications. Notifications will also be available on the iOS lock screen which marks this as the first time Apple has offered anything beyond wallpapers for the lock screen. Thankfully, Apple has also made notifications less intrusive by having them appear at the top of the screen.

 

A new iOS notification interface has been predicted for some time, but its still surprising that Apple has implemented one so similar to Android, not to mention its similarity to jailbreak apps like MobileNotifier. The new OS will also include Newsstand, a new feature in the App Store that will serve as a one-stop-shop for newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Publications will be displayed in an interface resembling the iBooks bookshelf, and they will also support background downloads. The latter feature is particularly useful since it means that you will have fresh content waiting for you on your iPhone or iPad without any work on your part.

Apple said that iOS 5 will include over 200 new features for consumers and it will add over 1,500 APIs for developers, which will ultimately allow them to create more feature-rich and powerful apps.

 

 

Adidas has teamed up with games developer THQ to create a miCoach app for motion-gaming platforms PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 for a true virtual workout with some of best professional sports stars in the world.

 

The app will display the star you have chosen alongside you, working out and pointing the way for your own workout. This will be done virtually with your movement tracked thanks to the Kinect and PS Move controllers, and displayed on the screen.

 

The miCoach app is already available for iOS and Android and gives you lots of options on how to plan your workout. You can set a free workout or select a sport you wish to train for, like basketball, football, tennis and more. Then you can select if you would want to up your endurance, speed, looks and more. The miCoach app provides a virtual coach, which speaks in your ear and gives you pointers as to what you should do.

 

Among the accessories for the app, Adidas has provided a heart monitor, which comes in a strap-on fashion or a watch fashion and can monitor your pace and that of your heart and give you tips. All of this is stored for free on your miCoach account on miCoach website, where you can track your progress.

 

Video Below!

 

 

E3 starts tomorrow. Microsoft press conference starts now. If you are from the really impatient ones, we have two X360 trailers to enjoy before the official announcements. The first one has just become available and is all about the Kinect Star Wars game, that should put the Force in your hands for real.

 

Demo Below!

 

If you cannot get enough 3D in your visual diet, Sprint has the phone for you. Sprint on Monday announced a June 24 launch date for the HTC EVO 3D, the first U.S. smartphone with a "glasses-free" 3D screen and the ability to shoot 3D pictures and video. Sprint will also offer the new HTC View 4G tablet on the same day.

The EVO 3D includes a 1.2 GHz processor, a 4.3-inch glasses-free qHD 3D screen, and dual 5-megapixel cameras on the rear for capturing 3D pictures and videos. Its specs make it by far the most powerful phone on Sprint, compared to the original EVO 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, and Google Nexus S 4G.

The HTC View 4G tablet is also quite powerful, and it offers up a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor and a 7-inch screen. The specs are similar to the previously released HTC Flyer tablet. Both the HTC EVO 3D and the EVO View 4G tablet will run Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and have access to Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network, which is currently active in 71 U.S. cities.

Pricing on the two new products will fall in line with similar phones and tablets. The HTC EVO 3D will retail for $199.99 with a two-year contract, and the HTC View 4G will run $399.99 with a two-year contract.

 

A couple of days ago Josh Phillips, Program Manager for Windows Phone Engineering posted about a bunch of enhancements coming to both Music and Videos in the upcoming Mango update on the Windows Phone Blog. The changes come on two levels, some proper additions and some background tweaks.

 

Firstly there’s the addition of Smart DJ, using "seeds" i.e. an artist, album or song, it congregates music from your library and makes various mixes to suit genre or mood. If you have a Zune Pass music subscription, it can pick from the bounty of tracks on the Zune catalog as well.

 

There is now also podcast functionality, we know podcasts were available on WP7 but you needed to browse and sync with your PC using the Zune software to get them onto your phone. Now the Marketplace app has a dedicated podcast section where you can pull episodes or series onto your device, its up to you.

 

Alongside this new functionality there is now improved track history, improved mini playback controls, better artist images, greater playback functionality, more playlist options, more video options and better data management. This is all well and good but hang on a minute, Smart DJ I am sure  not the only one who immediately thought of Apple Genius technology, and downloading podcasts to your phone, well… I am not by any stretch of the imagination an Apple fanboy but seriously, these are functions that should have been present in the beta build of the original WP7, the iPhone and iTunes have had this sort of functionality since the launch of the App Store and even then it was an underwhelming announcement.

 

Windows Phone has been trying to differentiate itself as the new OS but by that notion that they are only now adding functionality that the competition has had for years. This is not to say that the additions are bad, Windows Phone has a fast growing fan/user base and its Mango update will make it a far more legitimate contender in the ongoing race for OS dominance.

 

A new LG teaser pic shows a mysterious Optimus device the same as the recently leaked photo of the next Google Nexus. The best part is this info reportedly comes from an LG employee from the Indonesian branch and should be reliable. Remember the leaked Nexus 3 picture? As the rumor has it, it is supposed to be either LG or HTC built. Today Optimus leak suggests it will be LG.

There is nothing beside those leaked pictures, but we think its a good start. HTC is manufacturer behind the Nexus One, Samsung made the Nexus S and it seems now is LG turn to bring us the Nexus 3.

The picture is posted on a forum by a user that works for LG Indonesia, so this sounds quite reliable. So, LG, its your turn. Lets hope you will not let Google down on this job.

It appears that the UK exclusivity of the HTC Sensation that Vodafone had is coming to an end. The smartphone has just been listed in the Carphone Warehouse system in a bundle with O2 and Orange contracts. The screenshot gives us no exact availability date but it clearly shows that the Sensation is already on its way to other major carriers.

Other online retailers are already taking pre-orders for the HTC Sensation. Here are the deals that you might get if their listings are to be believed. Orange will give you the for free if you sign a 2-year contract worth at least £28.44 per month. The cheapest available plan there is a 2-year deal for £25/month, but if you go for that one, you will need to fork another £100 for the handset so it makes little sense.

T-Mobile requires a £32/month 18-month contract to fully subsidize your acquisition of the Sensation. You can also opt for the £25.5 a month year-and-a-half deal and pay £40 upfront for the handset.

The minimum contract needed to get you a free HTC Sensation from O2 stretches over 24 months and costs £31/month. £21.50 is the cheapest you can go with regards to monthly fees with O2, but in that case you will need to pay an extra £80 for the Sensation.

 

Apple is gearing up to kick off its Worldwide Developers Conference Monday morning, so its no surprise that the Apple rumor mill has been in full effect this weekend. We already know that Apple will discuss iOS 5, Max OS X Lion, and iCloud at WWDC, but the specifics have so far eluded the tech community.

So far, we have what may be an early glimpse at the new notifications system in iOS 5, as well as word that Apple Time Capsule may get a major upgrade to work with iCloud.

The purported iOS 5 notification screenshot comes from MG Siegler, who is definitely hedging his bets on the image accuracy. It features a Twitter notification showing up on the top of the iPhone screen, instead of in a garish message in the middle of the screen. Siegler notes that this particular design would already fit in well with the current iOS workflow that puts tethering and mid-call notifications at the top of the screen. His sources say the image has the "right idea."

Last week, we reported that Apple has hired a jailbreak app developer who developed a replacement notification system for iOS, and last year Apple poached WebOS developer Rich Dellinger, who spearheaded that platform’s gorgeous notification system. At this point, its a given that Apple has been working on revamping its iOS notifications for some time, so you can be sure that something new will be shown off tomorrow.

Apple may also announce extensive integration between its Time Machine backups and iCloud, CultofMac Leander Kahney reports. An Apple source tells him that the company has developed a way to access files from its Time Capsule router and backup device through iCloud potentially allowing users to access their files anywhere on iOS and Mac OS X devices.

 

 

We are about ten hours away from the start of the WWDC ’11 where Apple will demonstrate the new iOS 5. Now the last few weeks have been quite busy with all sorts of rumors of whats going to be changed or added to this next version. So we have compiled a little list of things that we have heard so far and are sure would make it to the final version.

 

iCloud Integration

This one a no brainer. From what we have heard about this service so far, we know it was designed specifically for Apple mobile products, which means you can expect tight integration of iCloud with iOS 5.

For now we know that it will allow you to upload your music to the cloud so you can stream it over the internet any time you want. But it could very well move beyond that, as you can figure out from the name itself. The name does not just hint at music service the way, say, iTunes does. We can expect a lot more from iCloud, like the ability to upload/backup other kinds of data such as movies, contacts, bookmarks, game saves, application settings, etc. to the cloud and then transfer it to another device or restore it to the same device later. Perhaps, finally we would not have to connect the iOS devices to a PC or Mac anymore so that we may start using them. It could all be done over-the-air.

 

Improved Notifications System

There is a reason we would like to call it an improved notification system instead of a "new" notification system because anything would be better than what iOS currently ships with. And by the looks of it it seems Apple has a pretty decent job of it.

What you see above is something that was uncovered by Techcrunch just a few hours ago. Here you can see what we hope is the new iOS 5 screen. Notable changes include a new top bar, which has doubled up in size, as it usually does when it wants to get your attention, and displaying notifications, new tweets in this case. We assume when you tap the top bar it will take you to the app responsible for the notifications and if the notifications are from multiple apps it will show some kind of list.

Widgets

Ah, widgets. Android has them. WebOS has them. Symbian has them. Windows Phone 7 sort of has them. iOS was the only major OS that did not have them so far. But if the rumor mills are to be believed, Apple might just be looking at implementing them in iOS 5.

We have absolutely no idea how they will work though. In fact after looking at the above screenshot we are even doubting if at all it will be there in the OS. The current iOS homescreen is designed in a way that places application icons at the forefront, instead of in a separate list, unlike the aforementioned platforms. Implementing widgets would probably involve reworking of this entire system. And if the above screenshot is true, Apple has not done that in iOS 5.

Of course, it could be done differently. The app icons themselves may show information. Currently only the Calendar icon changes according to current date; every other icon is static. Perhaps Apple will implement a feature that will let developers animate their icons to show information. Like the weather app showing the actual temperature, for a change. The iPod icon can show the album art of the currently playing track. Photos app could show the last taken shot. Clock app could show the time you set for the alarm. Maps could show your current location. And with the high resolution Retina display on the new iPhone and iPod touch, developers also have plenty of pixels to play around with.

 

New Multitasking System

The current multitasking method on iOS was welcomed by its users because any kind of multitasking is better than no multitasking. However, when seen on its own, it is not particularly great and nowhere near as good as it is on Symbian^3, WebOS or even Android. We are not talking about the way it works, i.e., by pausing apps instead of actually running them in the background, but more about the way it looks. Having a row of icons below and then scrolling through them four at a time was not very convenient.

You may remember the video that was leaked that showed a white iPhone 4 with a very different kind of multitasking. It looked and worked similar to the way windows do in Safari on the iPad, with the last nine apps showing their windows in a grid. You could also see the Spotlight window now part of this screen instead of a different homescreen altogether. We do hope this is the new multitasking system as in our opinion it beats the current system hands down. We just wonder what happened to the audio playback controls along with the UI rotation lock that are present in current iOS as they are not shown in in that video.

 

Twitter Integration

Another thing that the rumor milled produced was new of Twitter integration in iOS. And we are not just talking about a Twitter app built-in but system-level integration, which would allow you to, say, go to Pictures app and share a picture there on Twitter without the need for any application. As you can see from the notifications screen above, the phone also notifies you about new tweets but we are guessing any app with access to the notification API would be able to do that.

 

 

Now some may be wondering why they chose the relatively new Twitter over the clearly more popular Facebook but its not really that difficult to guess. Twitter has always been looked at as the cooler alternative to Facebook anyone who is been long enough on Twitter will tell you that. Apple would certainly think so too and we all know how much Apple likes to maintain their image as the cool brand. Also, everyone else is merging Facebook in their phones, from Android OEMs to Microsoft in Windows Phone 7. Apple would definitely like to be different from the crowd while not wanting to miss out on the social networking action. Hence, Twitter.

 

Automatic Download for Apps

A feature discovered in iTunes by a Mac Rumors reader, iTunes application update was hinting at an option that currently does not exist in the current iOS, but will allow apps on the device to automatically update themselves over-the-air as and when a new version is available. Currently, the App Store lets you know if there are updates available but you would have to download them manually.

 

 

The BlackBerry Torch 2 has leaked again, this time in a big way a pre-release unit was put through a whole preview. The preview confirms the positive impressions of people who have played with the Torch 2 even despite its unfinished status. The BlackBerry Torch 2 is very similar on the outside to the original model with some superficial tweaks. The build is very solid and the Torch 2 has a keyboard just as good as the one on the original, same solid slider too.

 

 

Aside from the external looks, RIM went and bumped up all the specs they could think of by 50%-100%. The Torch 2 runs BlackBerry OS 7 with silky smooth graphics and touch responsiveness, new HTML5 capable browser and magnetometer support.

 

 

The CPU runs at 1.2GHz (up from 624MHz) and the RAM amount went up to 768MB. This increased processing power allowed RIM to put a 3.2-inch VGA screen with excellent viewing angles on the BlackBerry Torch 2. The video camera records 720p video, though the still camera is still a 5MP unit. The rolling shutter effect is a problem it seems, at least for the pre-release unit tested. Other changes under the hood include 8GB internal memory and NFC support.

 

 

There are some people who just cannot have enough of social networking services. And to address to this ever growing clientele, we are seeing a rise in phones with social networking apps built-in. Considering the potential of this market, it seems Vodafone wants to be a part of it too and are now planning to launch their own Facebook phone.

 

The device pictured on the left bears strong resemblance to the HTC ChaCha, which too is a portrait QWERTY handset with a Facebook button. Except in case of Vodafone handset, its not running on Android or any kind of smartphone operating system as far as we know. Its a simple feature phone probably aimed at the lower end of the market.

 

There is no other information available about this handset, including its name, manufacturer, features, price or availability but we will keep an eye out for them. One thing for sure though, if priced well, this device does have the potential to become incredibly successful among the Facebook addicts, particularly youngsters who would greatly appreciate a device like this at a low price.

 

 

Mac and Apple fans are known to take jabs at each other at every opportunity they find. Is mostly good, clean fun although sometimes it can get ugly, as can be seen from the comments section on technology websites, including ours.

 

Today we came across an event that falls under the "Good, clean, fun" category, where the Windows logo was found plastered on an upcoming Apple Store. The black structure you see in the picture above is actually the upcoming Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany. New Apple stores are usually covered in those black structures before they are unveiled to the public. Some Windows fans, however, decided to use this opportunity to plaster a huge Windows logo on the side. The logo has been painted over in black ever since but it managed to serve its purpose.

 

Video Below!

The Nokia X7 has now appeared alongside its QWERTY launch partner the E6, available for pre-order in the UK. Slated for release at the end of June, both devices are running the latest version of Nokia Symbian OS Symbian Anna. This will come as great news to any UK based die hard Nokia fans who still hold a special place in their hearts for the Finnish Symbian kings.

W've already seen the E6 and X7 available for pre-order in Germanybut the UK have been given a genuine estimate of when they can actually get their hands on these devices, late June, which more accurately probably translates to June 30 going by Nokia typical rigamarole .

The X7's design gives it a more aggressive look that could have evolved from the N8. It runs a 680MHz ARM 11 processor with a Broadcom BCM2727 GPU in tow. Media features include an 8MP camera with a dual-LED flash that can shoot 720p video at 25fps, an FM radio and access to the Ovi Nokia Store naturally. Connectivity promises Bluetooth 3.0, HSDPA at 10.2 Mbps and HSUPA at 2 Mbps, WiFi b/g/n and a physical connection via microUSB (2.0). Memory onboard translates to 256 MB RAM with 1 GB ROM and an 8GB microSD card comes included but this is upgradeable to 32GB if you need it. Of course all of this plugs into Symbian Anna which you view on a 4" AMOLED 360x640 display.

Its a pretty standard affair hardware wise so the X7 is clearly for those who want to get their hands on Symbian Anna more than anything else. The pre-order page on Nokia own UK store prices the X7 at £399 sim-free with monthly contracts from £25.00 a month or if you prefer £359 on pay-as-you-go.

 

 

HTC showcased the EVO 3D back in March, which was their first phone capable of recording images and videos in 3D. That phone, however, was intended for Sprint CDMA network. But HTC may just have a GSM version of the EVO 3D up its sleeve.

Pocketnow.com came across these images on HTC website. The one on the extreme left is the one that they initially announced, the one in the middle that was put up on HTC website but later pulled and the last one that appeared on HTC developer website and the one that we are going to talk about.

Notable differences between this and the others include a lack of circles around the keys below the display, which were exclusive to the HTC phones on Sprint network. Along the side, the volume control button, camera shutter button and the 2D/3D mode switch have been redesigned. On the back the camera lenses don’t have the red surround and the window for the LED flash has a different design.

Its also running an older version of Sense but if you look carefully at the icons you can see that its because the screen does not belong to the phone but its just pasted there from some other HTC phone. The EVO 3D has a qHD display which makes the icons look smaller with more gaps between them as is evident from the other two phones but this one looks more like the one on phones running WVGA screens.

 

Looks like there might be trouble in paradise for HTC fans. Nordic Hardware tests have proven that the new HTC Sensation also suffers from the same dreaded death grip as the iPhone 4 but this time it also affects the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity of the phone.

The problematic area is the back cover. As we discovered a few days back, the Sensation does not have a true unibody design as HTC claims it does but instead uses a large removable battery cover which is mostly made out of metal and has plastic areas that work as antennas. Unfortunately, when these pieces are covered by your hand, there is a substantial drop in the performance of the radio units within the device, particularly of the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios.

 

As you can see in the first video below, keeping the device flat on your palm makes the Bluetooth audio stream stutter. In case of Wi-Fi, it makes the weaker hotspots disappear from the list of available hotspots as their signal strength is no longer strong enough to penetrate through your hands.

 

Video Below!

 

 

Sprint recently announced that they will be updating their first 4G handset, the HTC EVO 4G, to the latest version of Android this Friday and just as they promised the update is now available to download to anyone who willing to manually check.

According to the official changelog, the 2.3 update brings with it some bug fixes to the Gmail and messaging application along with the usual Gingerbread goodness.

 

However, we are also hearing reports of compatibility issues with the Netflix application after updating. Netflix has acknowledged this issues and is currently investigating it. So if Netflix playback is important to you, you might want to hold on to the update till the official fix comes out.

 

 

Nokia has at least one thing in common with a classic automobile that needs lots of work done: Breaking it down and selling off its parts is more valuable than leaving it intact.

The Finish-based company would be worth 52 percent more if it is split up into pieces and sold off, according to Bloomberg. Nokia has a market value of $25.6 billion, which is a far cry from its peak of $300 billion.

The company could be broken up into three different divisions mobile phones, infrastructure equipment and mapping software and sold to the highest bidder. If you combine the predicted sales from those three portions with all of Nokia patents the total is $39 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates. So, who exactly would be interested in buying scrap pieces of Nokia? Microsoft clearly has the most interest in Nokia mobile division, but the company already has agreements in place that might mean it would not make sense for Microsoft to buy it. Samsung, HTC and Motorola might also be potential buyers if a Nokia breakup ever does come to pass.

 

 

First it was the ordinary version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the white back cover. Then at Google I/O 2011 conference, Samsung gave away almost 5000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 Special Edition to the attendees, which had a specially illustrated back cover with Android robots.

In both cases too white for your taste? Lacking the business feel and class you seek? Samsung will be offering a Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a stylish metallic back cover suitable for, well, anyone not liking the white one. The tablet is expected to hit the shelves of major retailers 17 June, so if you still do not know which tablet to get, there’s a bit more time to make up your mind.

 

 

We caught wind of a pretty beefy looking tablet coming up over the horizon from Toshiba at CES 2011 and it reared its head again a couple of weeks back. Twitter even gave us a name courtesy of some chatty actors starring in what was expected to be its TV ad debut, the ‘Thrive’ and now said mysterious tab is officially here, almost.

 

The Thrive is now the confirmed name for Toshiba big tablet and pre-sales kick off as soon as next week! Its one of the thicker tabs, relatively speaking at 0.62-inch but thats not without its benefits. The biggest difference is the inclusion of both a full-sized USB port and a full-sized HDMI along the bottom plus this thing just looks sturdy as a result. Spec sheets still quote the Thrive as running on Android Honeycomb 3.0 but Toshiba are now saying that it will ship with 3.1 instead so its a win there too.

 

 

Hardware is solid and for the price, sits nicely in amongst some similarly specced candidates. For $429 you get a 10.1-inch tab running Honeycomb 3.1, a Tegra 2 powered interior with 8GB of internal storage and an IPS display. For $479 you get twice the internal storage and for $579 you get a full 32GB too. For the fashion conscious amongst you prospective buyers, you can also buy a selection of colored back panels at $19.99 each and underneath you also have access to a removable battery, which is handy.

 

Toshiba UK twitter account said:

 

So a somewhat cryptic, but positive response, its as usual a matter of watch this space but that certainly did not sound like a no, guesses would be that if the Thrive were to come to the UK, it would probably come to the rest of Europe as well.

 

After following the smartphone announcements lately. Barely two weeks after Pantech unveiled the world first Android smartphone with a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, KT Tech released Take Janus with similar specs, and only for the Korean market again.

 

As you can see from the picture, the specs of the device are nothing short of fascinating. The CPU is Qualcomm own MSM 8260 dual-core CPU which is clocked at 1.5 GHz. It is paired with Adreno 220 GPU and a cool gig of RAM to ensure some mouth watering performance. There are two cameras on board – an 8MP, full HD capable snapper with auto focus and flash on the back, along with a front-facing 1.3MP one for video calls. With 16GB of built in memory and a microSD card slot, there is little chance that you will run out of space. The strangely named phone runs on Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread on a qHD screen. Every bit of connectivity is covered with HSUPA/GSM, WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth on board.

 

 

Gameloft has seriously decided to take the mobile gaming experience to another level, folks. With the announcement of the trailer of its latest mobile game called 9mm, the gaming powerhouse is bound to bring a Grand Theft Auto styled shooter right into your pockets.

The game offers an involving story line and rarely seen, high quality graphics. The main character is a police detective named John Loose Kannon the leader of an elite police squad, who does not exactly play by the rules in his pursuit of justice.

 

Demo Below!

 

 

We know the NGP was never an Android device to begin with. However, there were rumors that a little cross-pollination was occurring. That is to say, with the NGP downloadable content infrastructure, there were those wondering whether it could take advantage of the same apps in use by the Xperia PLAY.

 

The short answer, sadly is no it cannot. Michael Denny, VP of Sony Worldwide Studios explained, So the idea behind that (the PlayStation Suite) was to expand the PlayStation gaming experience wider than just PlayStation gaming devices. We think they can complement each other they are different experiences but they will have the seal of PlayStation quality throughout. We are happy to support both and those Android games available on PlayStation Suite will be available to play on NGP as well.

 

 

Samsung did not taste the kind of success they may have expected with their bada OS smartphones. Even though both the Wave and Wave II were excellent devices, the lack of applications for the platform hurt their sales greatly. But Samsung is not keen on giving up and it seems they may have another high-end bada device in the pipeline.

 

According to a tweet by SamFirmware, the GT-S9500 would be the next Samsung Wave, or the Wave III as the site admin calls it. It will most probably be running bada 2.01 OS that we saw a few days back. There is no other information provided about it right now regarding the specs, price or the availability but we will be sure to keep our eyes peeled for any further information.

 

One thing for sure though. Considering that high-end bada phones have always been running on some sweet hardware, we would not be surprised to see a dual-core processor humming under the hood. And perhaps Samsung will give bada fans some Super AMOLED Plus love too. And now that we are making some wild assumptions, we would not throw 1080p video recording out of the picture too. Okay, now I really want this phone to be real.

 

 

This is a seriously sad piece of news for all the BlackBerry fans out there. The global retail launch of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 will not happen until September a serious departure from the summer launch which was mentioned during the handset official announcement at BlackBerry world.

 

It appears that RIM has trouble getting its latest creations out on the market in a timely fashion. The BlackBerry Bold Touch joins the PlayBook in this group of devices.

 

 

Much as been speculated about Apple upcoming iCloud service that they are planning to announce on June 6 at WWDC 11, but Los Angeles Times has some information as to what its actually about. According to their sources, iCloud users will be able to upload their music to Apple servers and then stream it over the internet from other devices. This service will initially be free for iTunes customers but will then be charged at a fee of about $25 per year. Apple has signed contracts with four music labels that would allows them to let customers upload their music. So far Warner Music Group, EMI Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are on board.

 

According to the agreement, Apple is expected to share 70% of the revenue with these record labels, 12% with the music labels who hold the songwriting laws and to keep the remaining 18% for themselves. Although the service initially will only include music, it would later be expanded to allow uploads of movies, TV shows and other digital content.

 

This service is similar to the Amazon Cloud Player, that offers 5GB free storage space and any additional space is charged and the recently launched Music Beta by Google, which offers users to upload 20,000 tracks and is free for a limited time.

 

 

As most of the gamers already know, the next Tomb Raider will not be a sequel, but a reboot of the series. Its once again developed by the Crystal Dynamics (Legacy of Kain series, TR: Legend/Anniversary/Underworld/Guardian of Light) and published by Square Enix. We get to see a new young and inexperienced Lara, looking for her first adventure. Instead, a trouble finds her and she must fight for survival.

 

Trailer Below!

Tomb Raider will be released in Q3 2012 for all three major platforms PC, X360 and PS3.

 

WhatsApp Messenger is a cross platform messaging application available for Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Nokia phones. The app works using the internet connection (3G, WiFi or mobile data plan) of your phone. Android, Blackberry and iPhone users can send and receive pictures, audio notes, and video messages too.

WhatsApp's main screen

Installation & Download

*Installing the app is a really simple procedure.

1. Download the app either from the Android Market or directly from the WhatsApp website.
2. Accept the terms of license agreement terms.
3. Select your country and enter your own number.
4. Enter a display name of your choice. This is used only when contacting iPhone users.

Thats all. Now the app will look for contacts in your address book and will add them to your WhatsApp contacts list if any of those numbers have WhatsApp installed on their phones.

WhatsApp is now ready to be used.

Adding a New Contact

1. Add the contact to your phone address book.
2. Open WhatsApp.
3. Click on the pen icon on the top right of the screen.
4. Press menu button and then click on refresh.
5. WhatsApp will look for contacts in your address book using WhatsApp and will add them to your WhatsApp contacts list.

Features

1. Unlimited use. There is no restrictions on sending and receiving data or messages. Also there are no charges even when the other person is in some another country. You can chat with your friends all over the world.
2. Group chat feature is also available. Open WhatsApp, then press Menu and tap Group Chat. You can choose a group subject and group participants; one group can contain up to five people.
3. WhatsApp does away with the need for PINs and usernames; you only need the phone number of the person you need to add to your WhatsApp contact list.
4. Always on. There is no need to log in. You will immediately receive a notification for any message sent to you even if the app is not open. (If you are using a task killer, unselect WhatsApp app from the list of apps you choose to kill.)  In case you turn off your phone, your message will be stored by WhatsApp and you will receive the message whenever you turn on the phone.
5. You can e-mail chosen chat history.
6. You can choose a wallpaper to set as the background in the app. WhatsApp has a background wallpapers collection available for download too.
7. You can set custom notification tones.
8. Status updates are supported.
9. Facebook pictures of contacts are imported.

User Interface

When you open the app, the screen will display the summary of the most recent chats sorted by time. Chats from a contact are grouped together.

The Facebook picture of the contact is displayed on the left and the time stamp on the right. All conversations are displayed in bubbles, like the stock display of the iPhone.

whatsapp chat interface

You will notice that there are two ticks before every message sent; the first tick indicates the message has been successfully sent, while the second one indicates the message has been successfully received.

To enhance the chatting experience, WhatsApp comes with a lot of smileys. Also, when you are chatting with any contact, you can see the status of the person on the top left below the contact name, which also shows when the contact is typing something. You can update your current status to Available, Busy, At School, or whatever you like.

Pricing

The app is available as free for use for a period of one full year, and then $1.99 per year after that. All the features of the app are available even during the free use, and there are no advertisements of any sort.

Support and Storage

The app works on all Android versions. It will open quickly and run smoothly on most of the phones. I did not come across any force close errors. However, older and low end Android phones may find this app to take up a lot of their memory: the app takes up about 7 MB of your internal storage space, and cannot be moved to the SD card. While running in the background the app uses up around 16 MB of your memory.

 

Pictures of a yet to be announced Sharp slider phone have surfaced and it is said to be running on Android. This phone that looks remarkably like a Sidekick, but is probably the successor of last year Sharp FXfor ATT. The new guy should come with a 3.2-inch HVGA display, GSM/WCDMA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS and of course, a full QWERTY keyboard. The phone is supposed to launch on the ATT network in the US.

 

 

Someone did it again. The LulzSec hacker group has compromised more than 1 million Sony Pictures accounts and had the opportunity to steal EVERYTHING. But the guys did not. Due to the lack of resources, the hackers copied only a few thousand accounts and released them on various torrent trackers as a proof.

The guys over at LulzSec claim they broke into Sony Pictures database very easy and gained access to more than 1 million user accounts with all the associated information, 75000 music codes and 3.5 million music coupons.

Luckily for Sony, LulzSec did not want to steal and sell the account information. They copied a part of the accounts and published them on some torrent sites. The actual torrent contains 39000 email/password combinations and 12500 with email, password, address and birth date. According to LulzSec guys, Sony has stored everything in plaintext, no encryption whatsoever. A simple SQL injection was enough to get all the data.

Sony promised it will change and strengthen its security after the PSN attack and yet it gets hacked again and again. I understand that Sony has lots of problems since the earthquakes in Japan, it is working on various projects, preparing for some expos, and lots of other stuff. But surely it could have been able to find time to put some encryption on every Sony associated accounts.

 

  

 

Here is something interesting. A new Bada OS is coming, but until today we have not heard a thing about it. But now you can see the first batch of Bada 2.0.1 screenshots coming from a beta OS release running on a Samsung Wave II. We have already seen Bada 2.0 in action, demoed at the MWC 2011 in February but back then it looked just like Bada 1.0. Obviously Samsung has decided to change the UI concept a bit along the way and Bada users will be getting the 2.0.1 instead.

 

 

Besides some new looks, the homescreen UI concept has changed as well there are only two homescreen panes now. The first one is the widget section while the second holds your regular shortcuts. The widgets section is scrollable so you still get all the varied content. The icons have also changed so you can now fit four of them in a row. Samsung just made them smaller and they are more condensed too.

 

 

The HTC ChaCha is now available for purchase through the Phones 4U dealer in the UK. The Facebook-centric messenger can be yours for free on a two year 20 quid a month Vodafone contract or a whopping 300 pounds if you'd prefer to go pay-as-you-go.

Update: It seems that Carphone Warehouse is also listing the HTC ChaCha as available in the UK. Prices are similar to those of Phones 4U, save for the sim-free price of 230 pounds.

The controversial ChaCha is a 2.6-inch HVGA (320x480) full-QWERTY messenger phone with a dedicated Facebook button and Gingerbread 2.4 on board. The HTC Sense on it is also socially integrated to make your day-to-day life more involved with your online peers.

 

 

Just before Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts Monday, the company has leaped a large hurdle by reaching an agreement with Universal Music Group over its iCloud music service, according to CNET.

iCloud will reportedly let users listen to music from their iTunes libraries from a Web browser or Internet-connected Apple device. Universal was the last of the big four music labels along with Warner, EMI, and Sony that Apple needed to convince before the service could be launched.

 

Apple will be launching the iCloud service at WWDC, as well as showing off iOS 5, and releasing more details about Lion, the next version of the Mac OS X operating system. If reports about iCloud are correct, however, it will be the showstopper of WWDC and provide a significant new alternative for accessing and listening to music.

 

Another major detail that came to light concerning the iCloud service on Thursday was pricing. A report by theLos Angeles Times says Apple intends to charge users of the service $25 per year, with a free trial available to those who buy tracks on iTunes. According to "sources familiar with the negotiations" the revenue split between Apple and the music labels will be extremely favorable to the labels. The Times wrote:

"The agreements, finalized this week, call for Apple to share 70% of any revenue from iCloud’s music service with record labels, as well as 12% with music publishers holding the songwriting rights. Apple is expected to keep the remaining 18%, said people knowledgeable with the terms."

 

 

Ever wondered why your Andriod smartphone is not working as well as it should be? Well, Motorola CEO, Dr. Sanjay Jha, thinks its because of the open Android Market.

 

He says that because the Android Market is open, anyone can upload almost any type of applications. Users then download these applications that may have the potential of bringing down the performance or battery life of their devices. He also said that 70% of the phones that are returned are because of issues caused by applications.

 

Jha claims that the solution lies in MOTOBLUR, Motorola proprietary software layer that runs on top of their Android phones. Motorola is using BLUR to collect data on the applications that people use on their phones and the way they affect the performance of their devices. Thanks to this information, they will soon be able to issue warnings if an applications, say, is going to have a dramatic effect on the phone battery life.

 

Now all that is fine but we must say we are not particularly big fans of MOTOBLUR. And for all we know BLUR itself could be one of the reason for many of the performance issues. Perhaps Motorola should fine tune their own application before passing the blame around.

 

 

 

Mobile CPU manufacturers are rushing to show off their upcoming mobile chipsets. The latest is the Texas Instruments boasting the OMAP 4470 System-on-a-chip with dual-core CPU running at up to 1.8GHz. The powerful PowerVR SGX544 GPU supports DirectX-enabled games with the upcoming Windows 8 supporting ARM processors that’s quite an important feature.

 

The TI OMAP 4470 packs four CPU cores two Cortex-A9 cores clocked at 1.8GHz as primary muscle and running apps and two Cortex-M3 cores running at 266MHz to handle multimedia tasks along with other helpful functions. There is an SGX544 GPU core in the chipset too it runs at 384MHz, up 25% from the 304MHz of the SGX540, but offers 2.5x the performance.

 

Thats not all though, there is a composition engine with a dedicated 2D graphics core for when the full power of the SGX544 is not needed. The display subsystem of the OMAP 4470 supports screens up to 2048×1536 now if only some manufacturer would offer a screen with that resolution.

 

 

The HTC EVO 3D has a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 4.3-inch glasses-free 3D screen with qHD resolution, MHL TV-Out and so on all except a proper launch date. Now a flyer from RadioShack is pointing to 24 June as the date when HTC 3D-loving gadget will be available.

Radio shack have been taking pre-orders for the HTC EVO 3D $200 on a 2-year contract with Sprint or $500 SIM-free. Actually, this latest brochure seems like an updated version of the first one we saw. RadioShack will be taking pre-orders for the EVO 3D by 21 June. The new brochure does not give a price for the phone, so we assume pricing has not changed.

 

Xperia PLAY owners are probably still busy playing the load of high-quality games that launched along with the handset and here comes Sony Ericsson throwing another bunch at them. The company has just announced 23 new titles that will be made available to the PlayStation-certified phone.

Minecraft is obviously the most popular of the bunch, but the rest of the titles seem pretty intriguing too. The hugely popular indie game will be an Xperia PLAY exclusive on Android, alongside nine other titles.

The other 13 games that the Xperia PLAY owners should look forward to will not have the exclusive status, but are all high-quality time-killers. Not to mention that many of them would probably be much more enjoyable on the PLAY with all those buttons and joysticks.

New Android Games Exclusive on Xperia PLAY:

• Minecraft™ by Mojang
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 by Electronic Arts
• Tom Clancy Rainbow 6 Shadow Vanguard by Gameloft
• Desert Winds by Southend Interactive
• Ruined by Bigpoint
• Icebreaker™ by NaturalMotion
• Sleepy Jack by SilverTree Media
• Cracking Sands by Polarbit
• Armageddon Squadron 2 by Polarbit
• An unnamed fighting game from Khaeon Gamestudio

New Games coming soon on Xperia PLAY:

• Pocket Legends by Spacetime Studios
• Star Legends: The Black Star Chronicles by Spacetime Studios
• Eternal Legacy by Gameloft
• Guns 'n' Glory 2 by HandyGames
• Dungeon Hunter 2 by Gameloft
• Pocket RPG by Crescent Moon Games
• D.A.R.K. developed by Gamelab
• Samurai II: Vengeance by MADFINGER Games
• Vendetta Online by Guild Software
• Order & Chaos - Gameloft
• Happy Vikings by Handy Games
• A Ball Game by Trendy Entertainment
• Lumines by Connect2Media

 

The HTC-made T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide has show up in a couple of out-of-focus shots. Some specs were confirmed, but others were refuted most notably the 3D screen rumor is apparently false. The T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide initially leaked through an XML as the HTC Doubleshot and there was even a camera sample from Picasa. Later we found out that "Doubleshot" was the codename for T-Mobile USA myTouch 4G Slide.

 

The new photos confirm that this droid is running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.0. The screen is reportedly nothing special and not 3D as initial rumors suggested. Neither is the 8MP camera on the back of the myTouch 4G Slide.

 

Anyway, the device supposedly runs much faster than the myTouch 4G (1GHz Scorpion) and was as smooth as the Sensation, which seems to confirm the 1.2GHz dual-core CPU on the myTouch 4G.

 

The phone has a metal back cover and the slide-out QWERTY keyboard was comparable to that of the T-Mobile G2. The screen has WVGA resolution, though there is still no info on its size.

 

 

Google have just announced their new Google Wallet and Google Offers services, this then dropped them straight into a lawsuit with PayPal, but thats not going to stop them from rolling out their new service. Google Wallet hopes to make use of the NFC infrastructure as a mobile based payment system. There are a small, but growing number of handsets with NFC capabilities, such as the Google Nexus S, theSamsung Galaxy S II, Blackberry Torch 2 and the Nokia C7, all of which effectively allow you to transfer data and in the case of Google Wallet, pay for items simply by swiping your handset against a special reader.

 

Of course NFC technology is very new and adoption will naturally be slow to start off with, as it will take a few years for NFC handsets to become widespread enough. Google have however established an alternative way to make use of their new payment method, without the need for a fancy NFC enabled chip in your handset.

 

The solution, a sticker. A special barcode-like sticker that users can stick to the back of their phone. The sticker would then be registered to a single credit card and should apparently be able to communicate with the Google Wallet app on the users phone, one assumes via the cloud. Osama Bedier, VP of Payments at Google, said the experience with the Google Wallet sticker would differ from that of an NFC handset and users should come to expect limited functionality by comparison. Google are keen to expand Google Wallet to other sectors as well, so its not entirely unlikely that we see the Google Wallet payment stickers cropping up elsewhere, we shall see.

 

 

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is scheduled to receive Android 3.1 update in the first half of June. Sure enough, the update leaked out and it seems to be the final version. Some improvements were made along with some bug fixes for the dock. You could wait until the update is out officially but you could update now if you are willing to risk it.

 

Performance and responsiveness of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer was improved and there is a marked increase in 3D performance. Strangely, JavaScript performance is worse in v3.1. Scrolling is better and HTML5 videos can now play inline

 

AnandTech have updated their Transformer and have ran quite a few tests on it. They report that dock-related bugs have been fixed, support for USB devices is much improved and there’s a new power-saving mode when the tablet is docked too. The Eee Pad Transformer gets a few more goodies from the Android 3.1 update for one, the task switcher is a scrollable list and fits more items and widgets on the homescreen are resizable.

 

 

Computex 2011 saw the unveiling of Nvidia latest 3D glasses for their 3D Vision range. The complete package gives you the ability to play games and watch BluRay movies in full 1080p HD 3D.

 

3D Vision is probably the most well known consumer based 3D system available and the setup is fairly straight forward too. To start you need a compatible 120Hz monitor, along with a compatible Nvidia graphics card and most importantly a set of Nvidia active shutter glasses. The original wireless pair sync via IR to a base station near your monitor but what Nvidia have just done is help cut the cost of this whole ecosystem with a simple alteration to these glasses.

 

The new 3D Vision specs use a 10-foot USB (2.0) cable which supplies them with both data and power, doing away with batteries and the need for the IR base station. Nvidia hope they will draw in more adopters of 3D Vision this way, both in the home and in places like iCafés. The wired glasses will retail for the lower price of $99, compared to the wireless setup which costs around $149, so not too bad considering the cost of other active shutter specs. Nvidia say the new glasses will be on sale in late June.

 

 

 

Nokia is showcasing the NFC capabilities of its C7 Symbian device using an NFC version of the widely popular Angry Birds game, dubbed Magic. This all goes down at the MeeGo conference in San Francisco. The purpose of the game is to find someone with a C7 smartphone and using the NFC chip inside to unlock levels, after you are done with the previous ones.

 

You get 5 levels of Angry Birds after which you will need to unlock the next five by pairing two C7 units together. Its a clever idea, I have to admit. The NFC-enabled Angry Birds Magic will be preinstalled on new C7 devices carrying the new Symbian Anna OS.

A thought comes to mind though. Exactly how many strangers around you will actually have a C7 smartphone on them and would not it be kind of weird to go asking them to poke your own C7 in order to unlock some levels of a game they may have never heard of? Care to share on opinion? The comments section is open for debate.

 

Demo Below!

 

 

 

 

In a move that would improve anyone mood due to its hilarity, Samsung has filed a motion in court asking Apple to hand over the next iPhone and iPad. The reason for that is because they want to know if they are similar to Samsung own products and they would want to take measures from Apple from suing them again for copying their designs.

 

The decision to perform this act of comedy is probably the result of Apple recently asking the court for Samsung to hand them pre-production samples of the Droid Charge, Infuse 4G, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 so that they should also be part of the lawsuit that Apple filed against Samsung in which they claimed that the Galaxy S copied many design elements of their iPhone and to prevent those devices from entering the market. In this case the court sided with Apple and they got their hands on those pre-production samples. Do note that when we say they we mean Cupertino outside lawyers and not Apple. Apple is yet to take any action regarding that matter.

 

 

Now the only and major difference in what Apple did and what Samsung is asking to do is that Samsung products were already publicly announced and some were even on sale. However, Samsung is asking Apple to handover the final, commercial version of the next iPhone and iPad that are still in development and not publicly unveiled. The reason because this is stupid is because they are basically saying they do not want to get sued from Apple again for copying their designs, which is why they want to see their designs first and make the necessary changes. But if you remember, Apple sued Samsung for copying the design of their existing product. Why would they sue them for copying their design, when Samsung products are already out and Apple is yet to release them? In fact if they turn out to be similar, it is Samsung who should be suing Apple for copying their design and not the other way around as Samsung fears Apple would do.