Shufflegazine

iPhone 4 sales success, du in talks to bring it to UAE

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:22:48 +0000

Many of us thought that it would be hard for Apple to keep up the tremendous success they have had with their line of iPhones, going back to the first one in 2007. Today Apple pretty much silences anyone thinking that so far iPhone 4 hasn’t been a success saying that they’ve sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 in the first three days of going on sale (Thursday 24 through Saturday 26).

That beats the 1 million sales benchmark set when the iPhone 3GS was introduced last year. It also puts the figure of 3 million iPads sold in 80 days figure into perspective.

We still don’t have a date for when the iPhone 4 will officially go on sale in the Middle East but at least today du posted on Twitter that they’re in talks with Apple:

We are in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone 4 to the UAE, and awaiting delivery timelines! Further updates will be shared in due course.

Take a dip in the pool with Toshiba CAMILEO BW10 Sportcam

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:41:10 +0000

Toshiba says it can “easily withstand snow, rain and dust.” Hopefully it can also take the humidity and sand we struggle with pretty much every day in the Middle East.

Who comes up with names of products, James often asks on the radio show and I’d ask the same here?

Who thought “CAMILEO BW10 SportCam” was a good idea? Anyway, it comes in yellow, turquoise and silver and has a rubberized outside so you can hold it more securely even in water. It’s waterproof down to two meters so you should be able to take it with you to the beach, for scuba diving and many other activities.

It seems pretty small (22 mm x 55 mm x 107 mm) and light (114g). As is customary today, the BW10 offers full HD video (1080p 30fps). There’s also 10x digital zoom (no optical zoom apparently, which is a shame but to be expected), video stabilization, and it can also take still pictures.

Everything is stored on a SDXC card (up to 64GB) and you can also connect it to a TV using the HDMI port.

Toshiba’s press release says the BW10 will be available in the second quarter so I guess that means it’s already available or will be so in the next couple of days.

LG is getting in to the gaming notebook segment with Widebook R590

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:24:10 +0000

LG is getting in to the gaming notebook segment with their latest model. The Widebook R590 has a 1.73GHz Intel Core i7 processor with PM55 chipset, which together with a NVIDIA GeForce GT230M (1GM DDR3 VRAM) should produce enough power to run even demanding games.

On LG’s own UAE site it still says it has i5 processor but I guess that’s outdated information.

In further specifications it offers 15.6-inch display (16:9 aspect ratio with 1600 x 900 pixel resolution), 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, two SRS surround sound speakers, 1.3 megapixel webcam, BluRay drive,

It doesn’t exactly seem to reach the monstrous Toshiba Qosmio X500 but it should also cost quite a bit less. How it compares with the Toshiba, Alienware and other gaming-oriented notebooks we’ll have to wait and see until we have one to review.

Two new compact digital cameras from Samsung ST5000 and ST60

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:25:11 +0000

ST60

Samsung today introduced two new compact digital cameras to the Middle East. The ST5000 and the ST60

ST5000 has a 14.2 megapixel sensor, 7x optical zoom, 3.5-inch AMOLED touch display and records 720p HD video. It comes with a range of functionality like face recognition, face detection, panorama shots, smile and blink detection, etc. It also has Wi-Fi and comes with an account to Boingo, mobile hotspot provider. Boingo is mainly a US-based provider but they have hotspots around the world, including 7 in Dubai. Whether that is enough of a selling point int he Middle East is questionable.

ST60 is lower-end than ST5000 and has 12.2 megapixels, 4x optical zoom, 2.7-inch display, 720p HD video recording.

Infinitec finally announcing shipping date for delayed IUM

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:09:45 +0000

When Dubai-based Infinitec unveiled the Infinite USB Memory (IUM) to the world on March 1st, they said it would ship in July. Since they they’ve been pretty quiet until now.

Now, according to Infinitec the first IUM units will start shipping to customers on August 31 with pre-orders starting starting August 1 for $129.The company offers free world-wide shipping for anyone who pre-orders.

The delay is, Infinitec says, “due to industry lead time issues in sourcing components and microchips.” Apparently they’ve also redesigned the IUM somewhat even though it’s kept it’s basic style and color.

The IUM is a device the size and look of a USB memory stick, which pairs up with a Windows PC using Wi-Fi thereby making whatever device it’s attached to use the memory on the hard drive of the PC. This means you can keep photos, videos and other files on a PC and make them available on projectors with USB port, Playstations, Xboxes and any other device that supports USB memory sticks.

You may want to go read our series of articles about Infinitec and the IUM and our first look at a pre-production IUM unit.

LG goes slim and light with X300

Magnus Nystedt — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:08:45 +0000

LG is going slim and light with their latest notebook to hit the Middle East. Available in July in the UAE at a retail price of AED 4,199 the X300 weighs 970gr and is 17.5mm thin.

It seems that they’ve not skipped on performance though. The X300 has an 11.6-inch screen (1366 x 768 pixels), 2.0GHz Intel processor, 2GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 1.3MP webcam and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Judging by photos and video of the X300 it certainly looks very interesting. If the performance is good enough and if it can provide decent battery life in average use this may be a contender in the slim/light segment.

GamesLatest comes to an end

Magnus Nystedt — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:26:03 +0000

Middle East gaming web site GamesLatest.com has announced that they’re closing up shop.

As a follower of GamesLatest pretty much since they started last year, I’m sad to see them go. I especially liked how they put up all posts in Arabic and English, even though I don’t read the Arabic. As we’ve done that with the magazine from the start we can appreciate the extra effort it takes.

The GamesLatest team finishes by saying “Thanking you all, we enjoyed the journey, and we wish you enjoyed it as well. We pray for some miracle to happen and Gameslatest would come back and better than before.”

Good luck to you guys! Hope to see you again soon whether it’s as GamesLatest or something else.

Apple iPad coming to nine more countries in July

Magnus Nystedt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:18:03 +0000

Apple today announced that they’ve sold three million iPads in the first 80 days of it going on sale.

Impressive.

What’s perhaps more interesting is that Apple’s press release said that iPad will hit nine more countries next month.

Obviously we don’t know this for sure but I very much doubt this includes any countries in the Middle East.

Kaspersky claims Mac platform is less secure than Windows

Magnus Nystedt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:55:46 +0000

Vasily Razuvaykin, Kaspersky

Kaspersky today introduced their latest 2011 Windows-only Anti-Virus (KAV) and Internet Security (KIS) suites to the Middle East markets at an event in Dubai.

Kaspersky also makes Anti-Virus for Mac. Vasily Razuvaykin, Business Product Manager, Consumer Business Division at Kaspersky told me today that depending on the resources available there may be new offerings for Mac this year. With the 600 or so people working on these products, the vast majority of their effort has to go toward the Windows platform because that’s where the sales are.

They are planning, he added, to bring out both the KAV and KIS products for Mac but would not commit to a timeframe for when we could expect to the see the products.

He said that the Mac platform is not being targeted by malware makers because it’s just not interesting from a financial standpoint. If they are out to make money from stealing personal information or take over your computer to attack others it doesn’t make sense to focus on Mac, he said.

When I asked if there are any fundamental differences between Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in terms of which platform is more secure, he said simply no.

In fact, he added, Mac OS X has more vulnerabilities than Windows but since it’s not as interesting a platform to exploit for malware manufacturers, it’s not being attacked as much.

What the truth is here is obviously hard to know. I know from talking to several of the major security software manufacturers, including Kaspersky, Symantec and Trend Micro, that they all say that Mac OS X is not inherently more secure.

If you’re a cynic you may say that’s just so they can sell more software and perhaps you’re right. I tend to believe that whatever is the case Mac users cannot be complacent and believe their platform is invulnerable.

Kaspersky launches 2011 suite of security products [video]

Magnus Nystedt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:49:39 +0000

Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Labs Middle East

Kaspersky today launches new security suites amidst increased threats to personal computers and the information stored on them. According to Kaspersky, a computer security company based in Russia, about 30,000 new pieces of malware appear every day with about 3,500 of them being of “unique signatures” meaning new types of malware.

Regardless of the exact numbers I think it’s fair to say that malware is a significant problem and one that we as users cannot ignore. Today Kaspersky introduced new versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 (KAV) and Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 (KIS). Among the new features we find:

System Watcher technology, which monitors all system events in full. This means the software can work more proactively to detect suspiscious activities and any changes that happen can be rolled back easily.
Reputation rating services, which uses information coming from Kaspersky’s databases to scan for typical threat symptoms hoping to catch malware before it strikes.
You can see what KAV and KIS are up to with a new Windows gadget.
The product installation disc can be used to boot the PC and clean it from malware that’s infested deep enough that it can’t be removed from the normal Windows installation.
The Surf Safe mode means users are protected while online with a web browser.
Similarly, Safe Run for applications means you could run an application in a protected “sandbox”. There it can run without being able to affect the rest of your Windows installation. Basically what you have is another Windows desktop within which everything is safe from affect the other parts of Windows.
Improved partental controls.

If you’re still wondering why you should think about buying or upgrading to Kaspersky 2011, that’s perfectly understandable. They didn’t really do a great job in the press event today conveying what is new in the 2011 editions but we hope to be able to try out the applications and report back to you what we thought about them.

In the interview below you’ll hear us talking to Vasily Razuvaykin, Business Product Manager, Consumer Business Division at Kaspersky and Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Labs Middle East.

Radio 2010-06-22: Season finale

Magnus Nystedt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:49:08 +0000

Over 24 shows we’ve covered almost 100 different gadgets, divided as follows (if we split out iPod/iPhone accessories that’d be about 10 or so of what is now in Accessories). Note that I compiled the list in a hurry so I’m probably missing some items:

Computers: 11
Cameras: 9
Printers: 1
Monitors: 1
Camcorders: 2
Webcam: 2
Mobile phones: 15
Accessories: 38
Hard drives: 6
Networking: 4
Ebook readers: 2
Software: 1

Most unusual: GBoard

Dedicated keypad for Gmail addicts
Sells online only for $19.99
Small keypad, like the numerical one
Each key has specific function for Gmail, like Search, Compose, Trash, Reply, Forward, etc

Most unrealized potential: Buffalo Dualie

Combined 500GB hard drive and iPod/iPhone dock
Expected price $250

Most used: iPhone 3GS

Most James Bond like: LG GD910 Watch phone

A large wrist watch that is also a mobile phone
Touch screen
128×160 pixel display, 1.43-inch
Requires Bluetooth headset, no headphone jack
80MB memory
3G data connection
Video calling
MP3 player
Speaker phone
Voice recognition, text-to-speech
Around AED 4,999

Most impressive size (small): Sony Vaio X

2GHz Intel Atom processor
2GB RAM
128GB SSD
11.1 inch screen size (1366 x 768 pixels)
Integrated Intel graphics
About 1.3cm thin
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Windows 7
Webcam
Less than 1kg weight
Starts at AED 4,500

Most impressive size (large): Toshiba Qosmio X500

Extreme portable gaming machine!
Huge and heavy!
2.8GHz Intel Core i7
4GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
1GB VRAM
1TB HDD (500GB+500GB)
18.4 inch display, 1920×1080 (full HD)
Blu-Ray RW
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
AED 9,999

Mobile phone: HTC Legend

Updated HTC Sense interface, Friend Stream, Switch page like Expose in Mac OS X
Android 2.1
3.2 inch screen (320 x 480 pixels)
600Mhz processor
Aluminum “unibody” design
MicroSD slot for expansion (up to 32GB) – 384MB internal
5 megapixel camera, autofocus, flash
Wi-Fi
Automatically lowers the ringer volume as soon as the phone is picked up; Mutes the ringer when the phone is flipped face down
FM radio
3.5 mm audio jack
Will launch Q3 2010, price unknown

Best bargain: Nokia X6

Comes with Music unlimited music downloads for 12 months
3.2 inch screen (360 x 640 pixels)
16GB internal storage (but no expansion)
5 megapixel camera, autofocus, flash
Symbian OS
Ovi Store (apps), Ovi Maps (free map app)
FM radio
Wi-Fi
3.5 mm audio jack
video recording VGA 30fps
AED 2,200

Most colorful: Dell Inspiron Zino HD

8×8 inches, around 20×20cm
Ports: HDMI, 2 x eSATA, 4 x USB, Ethernet, RBG, Audio in/out, SD card slot
4GB RAM, 1TB HDD
Blu-Ray reader DVD/CD burner
AMD Athlon 1.8GHz
ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics
Windows 7 Home Premium
AED 2,499

Most clever idea: LG GD510 “Cookie Pop”

3 inch screen (low resolution 240 x 400)
3 megapixel camera (no autofocus, no flash)
EDGE (not 3G)
Bluetooth (no Wi-Fi)
Now comes with free exchangeable back, solar panel!
AED 699

Most “if I could keep it”: MacBook Pro 15-inch

2.66GHz Core i7
4GB RAM
500GB HDD
Gorgeous notebook
Has a build-quality and feel like no other notebook
1440 x 900 pixels (optional 1680 x 1059 display)
GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics processor (512MB VRAM) and integrated Intel graphics, switches automatically
Apple claims 8-9 hours of battery life, I’d say it’s a few hours short of that
AED 10,299

Update: You can now download the show [MP3] and the podcast feed has also been updated (subscribe to http://shuffle.to/podcast). You can also play it in the browser with the Flash player below.

Cool accessories

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:22:04 +0000

These two accessories may be overpriced, but they are also clearly very cool. We will try to bring you more examples of stylish and innovative accessories for computers and mobile devices in future posts.

Twelve South BookArc
www.twelvesouth.com

Twelve South is a manufacturer of different kinds of accessories. Different in that they are innovative, stylish and made out of high-quality materials. The BookArc is no exception.

Mac portables can keep running connected to an external display even if they’re closed. That’s what the BookArc is meant for. It’s basically an arc made out of aluminum that has a slot running through the middle in which an Apple portable can rest. In the slot you can fit an insert out of a rubber-material that protects the notebook, as well as makes the slot fit a particular model. With the inserts you can fit the first gen white and black MacBooks as well as the aluminum model. All sizes of MacBook Pros also fit, both the uni-body and non-unibody models. There is of course also room for the MacBook Air.

By standing the notebook vertically you accomplish two things: free up desk space and increase air circulation around the Mac. Increased air flow cools the Mac and potentially runs it with less fan noise and increased performance.

Twelve South has again done an outstanding job with conceptual idea, design and manufacturing. If you have a Mac portable, this is one cool accessory you should get.

Just Mobile Alupad
www.xtand.net

You may think that Just Mobile’s Alupad is a one-trick pony, and you’d be right. This is a stylish mousepad that can replace that ragged 10 dirham mousepad you probably have next to your computer. So at the core it’s «just» a mousepad, and it’s not even exclusive to Mac computers. Any mouse will do, although it’s clearly made especially with Apple’s Magic Mouse in mind. It glides very smoothly across the top surface of the Alupad, and if you use a mouse all day, every day, perhaps the reduced resistance means less stress on your hand and wrist.

Perhaps it’s a stretch to say that ergonomics is among the benefits of the Alupad, but there’s no doubt that it’ll fit right in next to your Apple computer and monitor. The bottom is the same brushed aluminum that Apple uses and the top is white, also a match for the material Apple uses.

If you want a stylish mousepad that really stands out and is a joy to use, look at the Just Mobile Alupad.

iOS 4 update now available

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:10:32 +0000

Go ahead and connect your iPhone or iPod touch to iTunes and it should tell you that iOS 4 is available.

iOS 4 in itself for my iPhone 3GS is about 380MB but it requires iTunes 9.2, which if you don’t have it already is about 100MB more to download.

iOS 4 brings a line of updates and new functions to iPhone and iPod touch including multitasking, folder for app icons, improved Microsoft Exchange support and more. If you have a first generation iPhone or iPod touch you’re out of luck unfortunately and with iPhone 3G the multitasking will not work.

The upgrade is downloading for me. Have you already got it? Did you face any problems? What do you think about iOS 4?

Busy week ahead: GeekFest and DemoCamp hits Dubai

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:09:16 +0000

It’s a busy tech week ahead in Dubai as GeekFest as well as DemoCamp takes place again.

Wednesday evening starting at 6pm there’s the second DemoCamp hosted by Dubai Internet City in Knowledge Village. Six “finalists” will present their business ideas to a panel of judges and mentors in the words of the press release. They’re not revealing who the finalists are however.

GeekFest 5.0 takes place on Thursday from around 7:30pm. In the usual unorganized manner, there are presentations, gaming, tech demo and more.

Geeks, nerds, tech lovers and everybody else – it’s a busy week.

All about Canon compact digital cameras and printers [audio]

Magnus Nystedt — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:22:43 +0000

In this podcast episode we talk to two guys at Canon in Dubai about some of the things they offer in digital cameras and printers.

First we talk to Jason Rego, Product Manager DSC & Selphy, about Canon’s lineup of digital compact cameras. He picked out a few particular models to talk about but we also cover general things like megapixels, lenses, sensors, RAW and much more. I’d say that even if you’re not into buying a Canon camera in particular you may be interested in what Jason has to say about buying a camera.

Then we talk to Sidney Pereira, Product Manager Inkjet B2C Marketing Department about Canon inkjet printers. In a similar way to Jason, he makes some suggestions for what consumers should think about when buying a printer as well as some of the models that Canon currently offers.

If you want to continue this discussion why not do that on our Facebook page.

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