The Gadget Show

Apple Readies iPhone, iPad for Mobile Payments

2011-01-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Will the next-generation iPhone let you make payments on the go?

(Credit: Apple)

Consumers may soon be able to pay for items on the go directly through their iPhones or iPads. Apple is reportedly working to outfit the next generation of its smartphone and tablet with near-field communications (NFC) technology, which would let consumers use the devices to make mobile payments as an alternative to cash and credit cards, according to a story today by the Bloomberg news service. Richard Doherty, director of the technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group, told Bloomberg that both the iPhone 5 from AT&;T and the iPad 2 would likely include NFC chips, citing engineers working on the project.

NFC technology lets devices exchange information over a short distance--no more than four inches. As such, a mobile device equipped with NFC could send payment information from a bank account to a register or terminal, allowing people to use them to pay for items and services at stores, restaurants, and other types of retail outlets.
Apple has apparently been eyeing NFC for for some time. Last summer, the company hired an expert in NFC to join its mobile commerce team at the same time it reportedly was already testing the inclusion of the technology in its next iPhone.

Beyond the benefits to consumers, companies like Apple stand to gain from NFC, notes Bloomberg. Like any business that accepts credit cards, Apple currently pays processing fees on every iTunes purchase made through a credit card. By letting people pay for iTunes content on their iPhones via NFC, Apple could cut out the Visa or MasterCard middleman and trim its own expenses. For tech users, the new technology could also help them more easily transfer and share files and settings between their NFC-equipped smartphones and other devices, such as PCs.

Other players have also gotten into the act. Last November, AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile announced the creation of a new mobile payments network that would use NFC. Google soon followed up that up with the launch of its Nexus S Android phone packing an embedded NFC chip and with support for the technology in Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread.

On its end, Apple is currently looking into launching a mobile payment service as early as the middle of this year, Doherty told Bloomberg.

Is iPhone Getting GSM/CDMA Chip?

2011-01-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

The iPhone's ability to make telecom issues become mainstream topics is extraordinarily. The most recent topic is whether the iPhone 5 will incorporate a GSM/CDMA chip that would enable users to choose their carrier of choice. A source recently suggested that Apple had chosen Qualcomm over Infineon for that reason. Most recently, AppleInsider reports that an Italian hacker has found proof of Qualcomm baseband chip support in the iTunes software.

There was a debate regarding multi-mode chips a year or two ago, of the kind that would support all kinds of networks and frequencies. Ever since that debate, Apple fans that was waiting for a Verizon iPhone put their faith in such a chip. It recently turned out that while the Web was debating multi-mode chips, Apple and Verizon Wireless were busy building the Verizon iPhone with a common chip.

The Verizon iPhone will be released on February 10. Could the iPhone 5 with a multi-mode chip as described above be released a few months later? Most likely not. How about a dual-mode GSM/CDMA chip with frequency support for all American carriers then? Well, T-Mobile recently said that while they wanted to offer the iPhone, they weren't going to get it anytime soon.

Of course, that either means the iPhone 5 will not support T-Mobile's AWS 1700 MHz frequency for HSPA+ connectivity, or it means that it will, but T-Mobile didn't want to spill the beans too early. Sprint recently had no comment when asked whether they would soon offer the iPhone.

However, while some Apple fans think that the company they love above anything else will somehow shake up the U.S. telecom industry in a way Google didn't, the reality is that the iPhone has had the opposite effect. It's the ultimate tool for carriers to maintain order in the masses.

So, if you are an Apple fan, you should desire a 4G-equipped iPhone 5 above anything else, because regardless of what kind of chips it has, it's not going to give you more freedom.

3G Service on Mount Everest

2010-10-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Of all the places to get away from the connected world, you would think that Mount Everest would be a pretty good bet. That's about to change, however, with the announcement that wireless provider Ncell has successfully launched 3G services in the Mount Everest area.

This, of course, is not just so adventure seekers can live-tweet their ascent to the top of Everest. The 3G roll out will also provide residents in the area with much-needed access to advanced telecom services. By the end of 2011, Ncell will provide mobile coverage to more than 90 percent of the people in Nepal, according to TeliaSonera, which owns Ncell.

The company's 3G base station is located at an altitude of about 17,000 feet and is the highest in the world, TeliaSonera said. It will enable locals, climbers, and trekkers to surf the Web, send video clips and e-mails, and make calls at rates cheaper than satellite phones.

TeliaSonera has been in Nepal since 2008, at which point mobile penetration in the country was at 15 percent. The company said Friday that that has now risen to 30 percent. Subsidiary Ncell has about 3.7 million subscribers in Nepal, a number that it hopes will rise with the advent of 3G service. TeliaSonera plans to invest $100 million in the region to ensure mobile coverage for 90 percent of the population by the end of next year, and 3G service in major cities and other densely populated areas.

TeliaSonera posted an interview with climber Veikka Gustafsson, who has lived in Nepal for several years. He said that when he first came to Himalaya in 1993, the satellite phone equipment weighed more than 220 pounds, but advances in mobile technology have "naturally made mountain climbing as a pursuit a bit easier and safer."
"The challenging terrain in mountain areas rarely lends itself to build pole lines and fixed connections," he said. "It's hard for people in the Western world to even imagine what it means for people living in distant villages in valleys separated by high mountains when they now make their first phone call to relatives or are able to contact a doctor over the phone."

Verizon iPhone Coming Soon

2010-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Apple’s iPhone is coming to Verizon’s cell network in early 2011, according to Fortune. The publication claims to have confirmation that the mythical CDMA iPhone really is in the works and that Verizon customers won’t have to wait long to get their hands on one.

Verizon customers have been waiting for the iPhone ever since it was first launched, but haven’t been able to get in on the game because the combination iPod and smartphone uses GSM cell technology which isn’t compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network.

Analysts have been predicting Apple would introduce a CDMA-based version of the iPhone for some time, and that it would be available on Verizon’s network. China and India also sport large CDMA-based cell networks, making those countries possible targets, too.

Fortune isn’t saying how it confirmed a Verizon-compatible iPhone is on the way, so there isn’t any way to verify its sources are accurate. The notion that Fortune is saying it confirmed the launch, however, makes the rumors that a CDMA iPhone is on the way much more compelling.

Apple Becomes Number Four Cell Phone Makers

2010-10-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Apple's stellar fiscal fourth quarter results continue to break records for the company. It sold 14.1 million iPhones, and its $20 billion in revenue topped one of Microsoft's best quarters ever. Now, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, the iPhone has catapulted Apple past both RIM and Sony Ericsson to make the company the fourth largest mobile phone vendor in the world.

Apple's sales of 14.1 million iPhones was enough to capture 4.3 percent of the global mobile phone market for the last quarter. That's double the roughly 2 percent market share the company managed this same time last year.

Despite the boost in ranking, however, Apple still has a tough road ahead to move into one of the top three positions. Nokia is still the global leader with 33.7 percent market share, while Samsung grabbed 21.8 percent and LG held on to 8.7 percent. All three of those vendors still sell millions of feature phones in addition to smartphones, though sales of those devices has been slowly waning as smartphones increase in popularity.

But Apple doesn't plan on backsliding, either. "We've now passed RIM—and I don't see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future," CEO Steve Jobs boasted during Apple's most recent quarterly earnings call.

"Facebook Apps Send User Data to Advertisers" WSJ Says

2010-10-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Facebook Inc.’s top 10 applications have been transmitting data that can be utilized to identify users to advertising and Internet-tracking firms, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing its own investigation.

The applications, known as apps, have been providing users’ “Facebook ID” numbers, which can be used to obtain such information as people’s names, to the third-party companies, the newspaper said today. The apps include Zynga Game Network Inc.’s FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille, it said.

Passing on the information, which affects tens of millions of app users, including people who set their profiles to the site’s strictest privacy settings, breaks Facebook’s rules and renews questions about its ability to keep personal information secure, the Journal said.

Facebook is planning to introduce new systems that will “dramatically” limit the sharing of user IDs, the company said in an e-mailed statement, without elaborating. There is no evidence that personal information was misused or collected, said the Palo Alto, California-based Facebook, which has more than 500 million users.

Facebook may have shut down some applications that the Journal found were transmitting user IDs, the Journal said.

Apple sales top $20 billion - a new record!!!

2010-10-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Apple's wildly popular gadget lineup propelled the company to a new all-time sales record of $20 billion, Apple said Monday as it announced its fourth-quarter results.

Calling himself "blown away" by the results, Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised more magic to come: "We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year."

The company sold 14.1 million iPhones in the quarter, which represents a 91% increase from this time last year and easily topped even the most bullish estimates from Wall Street analysts.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call that the company would have sold even more had it been able to keep up with demand. Online, iPhone 4s have been on backorder since the device debuted in July. When pressed by an analyst about Apple's supply chain snags, Cook responded that the manufacturing issues have been mostly solved.

Apple sold 3.9 million Macintosh computers, which was up 27% over the previous quarter and also topped most estimates. The company also sold 250,000 Apple TV devices.

But Apple disappointed investors by selling just 4.2 million iPads in the quarter, up from 3.3 million tablets in the previous quarter. Apple said more than $2.7 billion of its sales, or 13% of its quarterly revenue, came from iPad sales -- a revenue stream that didn't exist just six months ago. But the sales came up short of the roughly 5 million that most analysts had anticipated.

Investors focused on the iPad sales and sent shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) down 5% after hours.

Overall, Apple easily surpassed Wall Street forecasts and turned a profit $4.3 billion, or $4.64 per share -- up 70% from a year earlier.

In a rare move, Jobs joined the conference call, spending most of his time talking about the competition.

Jobs noted that Apple outsold Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry devices in the quarter, saying, "We don't see them passing us in the near future." He argued that RIM needs to improve its software to keep up and will be challenged to compete on that front with Apple.

He also said Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) mobile business model is too fragmented to really compete, with scores of Android devices of different shapes and sizes making it difficult for software developers to write apps for the platform.

"We make products that just work," Jobs said. "[Google's] approach is different than that. We're going to pursue ours, and we think that's the winning approach in the end."

Apple's so-called "walled garden" strategy has so far won it the best applications in the smartphone space, but it has also angered many developers who have been unable to get their apps into Apple's App Store. With increasing competition from Android, Apple recently eased its restrictions on apps for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.

The CEO saved most of his scathing comments for tablet competitors, which he said weren't even "competitors" but more like "qualified entrants."

He said Android isn't tablet-ready, and noted that most of the competition is releasing tablets with seven-inch screens, compared to the 10-inch screen on the iPad. Since the screen size is measured on the diagonal, Jobs noted that seven inches is actually just 45% as large as 10 inches.

Jobs was also pressed by investors about Apple's giant cash stash, which is closing in on $40 billion. One analyst inquired whether Apple would ever do share buybacks or pay a dividend, but Jobs said the company is happy to hang onto its cash in case it makes a mistake or a strategic opportunity comes along.

The company has a press event scheduled for Wednesday to preview the next version of its Mac operating system.

Google Fights Facebook, Microsoft in Social Search!!!

2010-10-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft and Facebook have temporarily one-upped Google in social search with their new integration but, Google isn't going quietly.

Facebook Oct. 13 agreed to open its data feeds to let Microsoft's Bing search engine index and serve profile information and Liked Results in relevant situations.

The integration goes well beyond what Google has done with its own Social Search functionality, which lacks a large, cohesive network of user data.

The Facebook-Bing deal, then, is a big stepping stone to boosting social advertising, IDC analyst Hadley Reynolds told eWEEK.

"[Bing] can leverage the social info it lacked to keep people on their sites longer, with more exposure to ad inventory and the business it generates."

Google recognizes this as much as any other company. On Google's third-quarter earnings call Oct. 14, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked about how Google will capture signals in social search without accessing to data feeds similar to the deal Bing has struck with Facebook.

Schmidt paused a few seconds and noted that Google is careful about how its signals are assembled, but said there "are ways in which we could do that."

"We also have in development other ways in which people can give us that sort of information that can make it even more personal," Schmidt said.

Schmidt was clearly referring to Google's supposed Google Me project to socialize its search and Web service properties in many layers.

If that sounds like a veiled challenge to Bing and Facebook, it is. Schmidt has made no secret about Google's disdain for one-to-one arrangements where one company cedes data to another but not to the Web at large. He's also intimated he would like access to Facebook's data.

"There is always a concern that large, private collections of the data are not accessible to Web search engines," Schmidt said.

"We've take the position in a religious and business perspective that the world is better off if you take the info you're assemlbing and make it searchable, it provides a larger audience and drives more traffic to your site."

Unfortunately for Google, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is hardly in a rush to release Facebook data to any more search engines at this point.

That puts Google on the outside looking in, Altimer Group analyst Charlene Li told eWEEK.

"This is not a knock-out punch to Google, but it is significant that they are not the leaders in social search - Bing + Facebook are," Li said.

"Although [Bing] don't have the mass and scale to have an impact on Google, the fact that they have already gained ground over the past year is indicative that Google has vulnerabilities."

Another scary prospect for Google about the Facebook-Bing thing: Both Bing officials and Zuckerberg himself noted this new social search functionality is just a first step toward making search more useful, personalized and relevant using searcher's social graphs.

"As more people collect, post, share and add more "likes" and social content, the value of social search will improve," Forrester Research analyst Augie Ray told eWEEK.

Apple to reveal its stats!!!

2010-10-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc should affirm next week that its six-month-old iPad tablet computer is selling well despite a shaky consumer market, while the iPhone continues to fend off a strong challenge from rival Google Inc. Analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings to showcase Apple's powerful one-two punch of the iPhone and the iPad, although some still question whether, with a plethora of rival products set to hit store shelves, Wall Street can justify Apple's stratospheric valuation.

The shares of the second largest corporation in the S&P 500 jumped more than 4 percent on Friday as anticipation mounted ahead of Monday's report. As has been the case for many quarters, iPhone growth will be the main driver, even as anticipation builds over an iPhone early next year tailor-made for the network of top mobile carrier Verizon Wireless Inc -- a move that would instantly boost Apple's consumer reach in the United States.

Apple's shares stand at a record high after breaking through the $300 mark for the first time this week. The company has so far proved resilient in the face of weak U.S. consumer spending. At the same time, gross margins should get a boost from falling component costs. Although there is little doubt September quarter numbers will be strong, investors have come to demand an out-sized performance, so the bar is raised every three months.

Analysts say a big upside surprise may be tougher to achieve this time around given constraints in iPad and iPhone supply. But the iPad is playing a bigger role in Apple's business and could be a wild card this quarter, and Wall Street is eager to gauge consumer enthusiasm for the tablet. While demand has been strong, manufacturing bottlenecks have limited production.

Apple trades at nearly 21 times forward earnings, a healthy premium over smartphone and PC rivals.

A SECOND LEG Investors are looking at the iPad as the second pillar of growth along with the iPhone, which has keyed Apple's surge over the past few years, but is facing stiff competition from smartphones based on Google's Android software.

82 % of Kids Have Their Presence Online!!!

2010-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

A recent survey carried out by internet security firm AVG reports that 82 percent of the kids in western world have their presence online. Children can't change their DNA, and now it seems they're inheriting another permanent feature from their families, "an online presence". Thanks to the ubiquity of photo-sharing websites like Facebook, 82 percent of children in 10 Western countries have a digital footprint before the age of 2, according to a study by internet security firm AVG.

The U.S. led, with 92 percent of American children under 2 appearing in online pictures, the report said.

New Zealand was a close second with 91 percent, followed by Canada and Australia with 84 percent. The study also covered the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Japan was the only country where less than half of 2-year-olds had an online presence. AVG's report indicates that it's not necessarily a child's mother who is doing the uploading. Only 33 percent of the 2,200 moms studied said they've uploaded pictures of their newborn or toddler to the internet. Other family members and friends often take the liberty of sharing baby pictures on the Web, making deleting them trickier for concerned parents.

Everyone likes to look at snapshots of cute babies, or at least the babies' parents think so. But disclosing a lot of personal info, such as birth dates, middle names and mothers' maiden names -- which can be carelessly inserted into photo captions -- can aid identity thieves.

"Obviously there's a privacy issue," said AVG spokeswoman Siobhan MacDermott, "if they're applying for credit [later on] and having that information readily available for people who want to compromise their identities." AVG, a company most known for its anti-virus software, helps governments track down people using data procured from the Web and provides helpful tips for those looking to protect themselves online. For this study, mothers from 10 countries were polled last week.

"It's a matter of being aware of what you're doing," MacDermott said. "When you're posting it to a public forum like Facebook, use privacy settings." For many people, the next hurdle is figuring out how those settings work.

Logitech Unveiled Set-Top Box For Google TV

2010-10-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Computer peripherals company Logitech International SA on Wednesday unveiled a set-top box for the soon-to-be-launched Google TV and set a price of USD 299.99 for the product. The Logitech set-top box, which had been anticipated, was touted by the company as a way for users to seamlessly access television programs and Web content on their Google TV. The company also unveiled other peripheral devices, including a keyboard controller and a video calling device.

Google Inc has signed content partnership deals with a range of media and Internet companies, including Time Warner Inc for HBO programming, NBC/Universal for CNBC programming and Amazon.com Inc for video-on-demand movie and TV show titles. Devices powered by Google TV will be launched by the end of this month.

Apple's iPad is Selling Faster than iPhone and DVD Player!!!

2010-10-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

Sales of Apple iPads are outpacing sales of both iPhones and DVD players, according to an analyst note, and tablet computers are likely to become the country's fourth-largest consumer electronics category, after televisions, smartphones and notebooks. That raises the question of whether competing manufacturers' upcoming tablet offerings will be able to make a dent in Apple's lead.

"The iPad did not seem destined to be a runaway product success straight out of the box," Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan wrote, according to CNBC. "By any account, the iPad is a runaway success of unprecedented proportion." The iPad's current sales rate is 4.5 million units per quarter, McGranahan added, predicting that sales of the device will be about $9 billion in 2011.

The question now is whether Apple will be able to maintain that sales momentum with new tablet competitors on the market. The Android-running Samsung Galaxy Tab is scheduled to debut in fall 2010 on four carriers, and both Hewlett-Packard and Research In Motion are developing tablets that run proprietary operating systems. In addition, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has promised that Windows-powered tablets will arrive by Christmas.

Those manufacturers may be concerned about the iPad's possible cannibalization of the traditional PC market. That idea gained widespread attention in September, after Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn was paraphrased in The Wall Street Journal as saying the iPad had cannibalized more than 50 percent of the company's laptop sales; Dunn later disclaimed that view, but nonetheless the "cannibal" meme spread across the Web.

While some analysts—notably NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker—have suggested that reports of iPad cannibalization are greatly exaggerated, others assert that the devices are forcing the traditional notebook market in a new direction.

"We expect tablets to continue to pressure PCs as more vendors launch products (e.g., Dell Streak and Samsung Tab) and Apple expands its iPad distribution," Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a research note, as quoted by Fortune Magazine Sept. 17. "Tablet cannibalization," she reportedly wrote, is a significant factor in U.S. notebook sales' 4 percent year-over-year decline in 2010. That sales data came from the NPD Group, although Baker suggested a decline in low-end notebook shipments was natural after "atmospheric" sales in 2009.

Whether or not cannibalization is actually occurring, other tablet manufacturers have a potentially long road ahead with regard to matching the iPad's total sales. In order to preserve something of a first-mover advantage, Apple is rumored to be developing a second-generation iPad, perhaps with a dual-camera configuration for video conferencing. As far back as August, sources such as Digitimes Research have also predicted a 7-inch iPad due to hit the market either later in 2010 or the first quarter of 2011.

"Call of Duty: Black ops" in 3D

2010-10-06T02:29:00.000-07:00

Call of Duty: Black Ops, is making the players feel even more than they are at the center of the front line. Activision announced on Tuesday that its fighting theme game will be available in 3D when it was released on 9th of November. "The development of 3D stereoscopic started an R&D, but when we saw what technology has brought to the Call of Duty experience, which is well suited for, and how addictive it is, we knew we had to develop the Black Ops" Mark Lamia said. "Aiming down the sights of your weapons, flying in helicopters, rappelling down mountains, and moving through highly detailed environments are just some of the awesome experience you will have in 3D with "Black Ops".

Users must have a 3D-ready HDTV or a 3D computer complete with the necessary active shutter glasses in order to experience the highly anticipated game in this format. Although many users likely won't have 3D devices, Activision's decision represents a big step for the gaming industry; "Call of Duty" is one of the first big-name games to use this kind of technology.

The idea for the game itself represents a new angle. Players engage in guerilla warfare and covert ops in the middle of the wilderness in single and multiplayer formats. Of course, the game will include its hallmark Nazi zombies, as confirmed by Activision in August.

"Black Ops" will be available in 3D- and non-3D versions on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs. It will also be available on the Nintendo Wii in the non-3D version.

Skype for Android

2010-10-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

Skype has launched its Internet calling application on Android phones, the company said Tuesday. Owners of mobile phones based on Android will be able to use Skype to make phone calls using either a WiFi or cellular data connection. Skype is already available for iPhone. On Android phones, users can place free Skype-to-Skype calls and also can pay for fixed or mobile phones.

Microsoft to Launch Windows 7 Smartphone!!!

2010-10-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

Just days before tech giant Microsoft is set to launch its first Windows 7-enabled smartphone, the company has been rocked by a scathing report from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs which says the company's fortunes are unlikely to improve until it builds a foothold in the booming tablet and smartphone markets.
The report, by analyst Sarah Friar, pushed Microsoft shares down 2% in overnight trade to $US23.83, and have now fallen 23% since April. By contrast, Microsoft's great rival Apple has seen its stock rise 6% in the same period. Friar sighted a number of concerns about Microsoft's future, and warned these were "not just a this-year issue".

Top of the list are concerns that the PC refresh cycle – that is, the cycle during which consumers trade up to new computers – has become more elongated, with evidence also suggesting that many consumers are now turning to tablets rather than notebooks and laptops.

And unfortunately for Microsoft, it simply doesn't have a competitor in the tablet space. "We believe that top-line momentum and hence investor sentiment on Microsoft's core Windows and Office franchises is unlikely to improve until the company gains a firmer foothold in the growing migration to mobile devices – both smartphones and tablets," Friar wrote. "We don't see this happening this year, as Apple's iPad and iPhone plus Google's Android operating system are well established."

While Friar acknowledged the company was set to launch a Windows 7 smartphone (an event in conjunction with carrier AT&T will be held on October 11), Friar argues the entrenched positions of Apple, Google and Blackberry mean that for "Microsoft to gain credibility in mobile, we believe the company will need to see immediate success". On rumours that Microsoft is preparing to launch a Windows 7-powered tablet computer, Friar was dismissive. "We do not believe a Windows 7 tablet built on an Intel processor is currently able to compete."

Friar also suggested the company should boost its dividend to try to get a bit of spark in the share price, and also floated the idea of spinning off the company's Xbox gaming business. The key, Friar argues, is that the tech giant must do something. "We believe the intrinsic value of shares cannot be unlocked if the status quo remains."

Toshiba's 3D Television Requires No glassess!!!

2010-10-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

Toshiba is readying two 3D televisions that can produce images with the illusion of depth but don't require the user to wear glasses, it said Monday. It will launch the televisions in Japan in December. By dispensing with glasses, the TVs answer a key complaint of would-be buyers but they won't come cheap. Toshiba will offer a 12-inch model and a 20-inch model. They'll cost around ¥120,000 (US$1,430) and ¥240,000 respectively. Toshiba didn't announce launch or pricing plans for markets outside of Japan. The company is waiting on larger screens before it launches the TVs outside of Japan, said Masaaki Oosumi, president of Toshiba's digital media network unit, at a news conference. Markets such as the U.S. demand televisions with screen sizes starting at about 40 inches, making these first models a little small.

The 20-inch model packs the Cell Broadband Engine, a version of the same processor found in Sony's PlayStation 3 console, that supports several advanced image processing features. Toshiba said these include the ability to convert conventional 2D images to quasi-3D images on-the-fly. 3D TVs can simulate depth because they deliver a slightly different image to each eye. In current 3D TVs, images for each eye are displayed rapidly one after the other. Filters in the glasses flash on and off in sync with the TV picture so the right eye sees one image and the left eye sees the next. Toshiba's new TVs have a thin sheet of small lenses in front of the display. Behind this lens screen is a custom-developed LCD (liquid crystal display) panel. Each screen has 8.29 million pixels -- four times the number of pixels in a conventional "full HD" television -- organized into groups of nine pixels of each color. The nine lenses split light from each bank of pixels and send it to nine points in front of the TV. If the viewer sits in one of these sweet spots they get the 3D illusion. The nine spots should enable several family members to watch a 3D image at the same time. The set-up means that despite the large number of pixels in the screen, the resulting picture seen in each of the nine spots is equivalent to a 720p high-definition image, said Toshiba.

Similar technology is used in Nintendo's recently announced 3DS handheld gaming device. The 3DS has a screen from Sharp and sends the image to just one spot -- something that isn't a problem with a hand-held.

Toshiba unveiled the new TVs on the eve of the Ceatec electronics show. At the event the company is also demonstrating the same glasses-less technology on a 56-inch prototype TV.

The need to wear special glasses has been a common complaint about early 3D televisions. The glasses are required for each viewer, they generally weigh more than a typical pair of eye glasses, and because they contain an electronic circuit, they also need to be regularly recharged.

Google acquires BlindType

2010-10-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Google has acquired a start-up called BlindType that aims to dramatically improve typing on Android and iOS mobile devices.
"We're excited to join Google, and look forward to the great opportunities for mobile innovation that lie ahead," BlindType announced on its blog Friday. The company hasn't released the software, though one review in July was favorable.
Mobile-device typing has changed significantly with the iPhone's functional touch-screen keyboard, Android's reasonably advanced word-prediction system, and Swype's technology for sliding fingers over letters. But as any touch typist or hunt-and-peck tapper knows, mobile typing is still often a frustrating, typo-prone experience.

BlindType believes it's got a better method for matching the letters people actually typed with the ones they meant to type. "BlindType is a revolutionary system that...allows for super sloppy typing largely without looking at the screen...[It] constantly adjusts to the user's 'perceived' keyboard and typing style."
The company's YouTube demos can be impressive, though unlike Android's predictive system, it appears BlindType can only match the word once it's fully typed--changing "vskjieyh" into "ballpark" and "vqsyrudik" into "beautiful," for example, but only after all the letters were typed.
According to BlindType's FAQ, the technology works with any language. The technology could make for a good combination with Google's extensive and international data for automatic spelling corrections culled from its search engine.

Unlocking had never been that easy!!!

2010-10-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

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Step Seven : Once the source has been added press the large Return to Cydia button.

Step Eight : Press the Done button at the top right of the screen.

Step Nine : Press to select http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com/ from the list of user entered sources.

Step Ten : Press to select ultrasn0w from the list of packages.

Step Eleven : Press the Install button at the top right of the screen.

Step Twelve : Press the Confirm button at the top right of the screen.

Step Thirteen : After installation completes successfully press the reboot.

Step Fourteen : Now press the Home button then power off and power on the iPhone. You do this by holding down the power button for 3 seconds then moving the power slider that appears to the right. Press the power button again to turn on the phone.

"Microsoft gives up on Live Spaces"

2010-09-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Microsoft executives have decided not to allow any space for free bloggers. The software giants appears to lose hope from the services that they have provided for such a long time now. They think that they are not making much revenue from the space they provide their users for blogging.

Over 7 million users of Microsoft and over 30 million visitors will be directed to wordpress.com from march, next year. Which means the authority to puts ads and monetize them will be going to wordpress.com. This seems to be the decline of the software giant on the other hand Apple is going big day by day. The dominance of Microsoft is seemed to be suffering big time, as this news break through the internet.

iPod touch to iPhone converter, is it available???

2010-09-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes hailed as the poor man’s iPhone, the iPod Touch has been a popular device for Apple geeks craving the iOS experience sans the hefty monthly fees. However, a new accessory promises to give the Touch the whole she-bang without the contract.

The Peel, a protective case packed with a SIM card, dock connector and battery, is designed to expand the iPod Touch into a device capable of placing phone calls and sending text messages. Chinese company Yoison Technology developed the gadget, and U.S. company GoSolar announced this month is has signed an agreement to bring the Peel to the states.

“As soon as they arrive, we’ll begin distributing demonstration models to retail buyers across the country,” said GoSolarUSA CEO Tyson Rohde, in a statement. “The amount of interest in this product that we’ve received from distributors has been staggering.”

GoSolar did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its website suggests that the iPod Touch must be hacked (i.e. jailbroken) in order for it to operate as a phone. And any iOS user is familiar with the fact that Apple regularly wipes out jailbreak hacks with every new iOS update. So in short, as cool as this solution sounds, it sounds less practical than simply using the iPod Touch as a VOIP web phone with third-party apps available through the App Store.

GoSolar did not list a price for the Peel. However, Yoison was selling the gadget for $388 RMB in China, or around $57.

"Smartphones will outsell PCs in two years" said Google CEO

2010-09-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that smartphones will outsell PCs in two years and the search giant has been adjusting its business accordingly.

Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Schmidt said that Android is picking up steam, as there are now more than 60 devices from more than 20 manufacturers. This momentum doesn’t appear to be dissipating, as multiple reports suggest that Google Android will become the second largest mobile operating in the world in a few years.

Schmidt said Google’s mobile business doubled in the last year and the traffic it is seeing from is growing at an astonishing rate. The Android search traffic tripled in the first half of 2010 and YouTube Mobile is seeing 160 million mobile views per day.

“What’s interesting about mobile is that the mobile opportunity is so large its breathtaking,” Schmidt said.

He also called cloud computing the “magic behind what phones can do” and he spoke of things like Google Voice Action or Bing Translator as things that would have been considered science fiction not too long ago.

Schmidt was also very excited about the roll out of Long-Term Evolution 4G networks. MetroPCS, Verizon and others around the globe are deploying LTE 4G networks and these will likely deliver 8 to 10 Mbps to your handset. That type of bandwidth at your fingertips will lead to multiple innovative services, Schmidt said.

Of course, Google wants Android to be a massive success but the company also benefits from most of the growth in the smartphone market because it comes preloaded on multiple devices, even the rival Apple iPhone. Microsoft is trying to counter this by showing up on smartphones like the Samsung Fascinate and the Bing search engine and Bing Maps (which is not as good as Google Maps, in my opinion) will be key parts of Windows Phone 7.

iPhone Tops in customer satisfaction!!!

2010-09-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

Traditional wireless cell-phone owners are keeping their devices longer than ever before, and Apple's iPhone is the number-one smartphone in customer satisfaction. Those are some of the conclusions of new studies released Thursday by J.D. Power and Associates measuring customer satisfaction for both traditional mobile phones and smartphones.

Customers are keeping their mobile devices an average of 20.5 months, the longest period since the study began in 1999. The length depends on the brand, with the longest average period at 27.8 months, and the shortest at 17.5 months.

Service Costs Up

Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power, said one possible reason customers are postponing upgrading a device is simply due to the economic downturn. He added that the additional expense could include a new, more expensive service plan, and customers are thinking more carefully about whether the additional expense is worth the benefit.

The average monthly wireless service plan is now $78, including taxes and fees, compared to $69 three years ago. The increases are due to data services and additional usages, such as texting. But while service costs are increasing, device costs are dropping. The survey found the average price of a traditional wireless phone is now $76, down from an average of $81 at the beginning of last year. Nearly half of all respondents said they received a free mobile phone from their carrier as a result of subscribing to the service.

When measuring satisfaction, the survey found that the key factors for smartphones are ease of operation for 26 percent of customers, operating system for 24 percent, physical design for 23 percent, features for 19 percent, and battery function for eight percent.

On a 1,000-point scale for satisfaction, Apple's devices rank 800 and took first place for the fourth straight survey. Second place was taken by Motorola at 791, with HTC third at 781. BlackBerry, Samsung, Palm and Nokia were next, in that order.

LG Tops Among Traditionals

Among traditional handsets, LG is highest for the fourth straight survey with a score of 731. Sanyo ranks second at 712, and Samsung third at 709. Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Kyocera took fourth through seventh places.

Smartphones have become platforms for applications, and the Power study indicates that more than two-thirds of users have downloaded games by third-party developers. Fifty-four percent have downloaded travel software, and 36 percent have done so for business applications.

But a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, released earlier this month, found that only about 24 percent of adults actually use apps. "Having apps and using apps are not synonymous," the Pew report noted.

The Power studies, based on more than 11,000 traditional mobile-phone users and more than 6,800 smartphone users, found that the three best-received mobile operating systems were Apple's iOS, Google's open-source Android, and Palm's webOS.

"iPad" Alternatives Should Apple Worry???

2010-09-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

Apple must be worried over the slew of iPad alternatives that are set to hit the market soon, so much so that they have expanded distribution. What this means is that more third-party retailers in the U.S. will now be able to sell the tablet device, they must sense the wolves are at the door.

AppleInsider said that this is a change of policy for Apple, as they have always protected the iPad, as not to give it a bad image. Now that more retailers can take orders online and not just over the phone will not only be a boost for the third-party retailers but for Apple as well.

The increased distribution applies to all six models of the iPad; this comes shortly after the news that Best Buy is to also to expand how many stores will sell the Apple tablet device. Target is set to sell the iPad in just a few short weeks.

Apple has had the tablet market to itself in 2010, but things are set to change with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, BlackPad from RIM, HP Slate and more; all set to have their share of the market.

What Change "Social Network" Will Bring To Facebook???

2010-09-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

I've known Mark Zuckerberg for a long time. We first spoke in the fall of 2005, just after his summer sublet had run out in Palo Alto, when he'd taken a semester off from Harvard and was crashing at a friend's Menlo Park apartment. Since then I've written dozens of stories about the company he founded and I've spent many hours at Facebook's headquarters—which is why my first thought upon leaving Sony's screening room after watching The Social Network earlier this week was so disturbing: "Wow, so that's how it really happened."

Of course, Aaron Sorkin's fast-talking film fails to capture the facts behind Facebook's origin, but it will go down in history as the company's creation myth, nonetheless. In the weeks to come, Zuckerberg's friends will likely defend him and company historians will aspire to set the record straight.

But don't worry too much for Zuckerberg and crew. This movie is the best thing to happen to Facebook since your mother signed up. There is no price for the free advertising the company stands to gain from film trailers flying through cyberspace, posters plastered in the subways, and a bit of Hollywood romance injected into the story of a web site's creation.

The film opens with a conversational volley evocative of the best moments of West Wing, another Sorkin creation. Zuckerberg's exasperated girlfriend, Boston University undergrad Erica Albright, is trying to keep up with his endless stream of non sequiturs. Perfectly cast by Jesse Eisenberg, the computer geek trips through several conversations simultaneously, his eyeballs shifting back and forth, until Albright grimaces. "Dating you is like dating a stairmaster," she says.

Of course, he doesn't get it. It's no surprise to anyone but Zuckerberg that Albright dumps him. He takes out his anger on the web—first in the form of a LiveJournal blog entry (Remember LiveJournal? That's so 2003.) and then as a web site that lets people vote on which female students are hottest. Within a few months, Zuckerberg has turned this energy into creating a student directory for the web, billed across the bottom as a Mark Zuckerberg production.

This is a story about the cruel ways in which entitled adolescents can turn the tools of a brutal adult world against each other. The story unfolds as a series of flashbacks that happen during two simultaneous depositions. Zuckerberg's former business partner and best friend, Eduardo Saverin, is suing him as are his Harvard classmates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Each feels he is entitled to a substantive share of the company. At the end of the film, a second-year associate played by Rashida Jones encourages Zuckerberg to settle, comparing the payouts to traffic tickets—the minor nuisances that become a cost of doing business.

One pivotal scene provides comic relief when reaching for help from authority backfires. Before the Winklevoss twins launch their lawsuit, they pay a visit to Harvard University president Lawrence Summers, student handbook in hand. They expect him to take up their cause. Summers laughs them away, telling them to think up a new business idea. That's what students do, he explains. The actual product over which these men obsess—the social networking web site called Facebook—is entirely beside the point. Zuckerberg could have invented a teapot or a skateboard for all we learned about it. The real-life Zuckerberg was maniacally focused on building a web site that could potentially connect everyone on the planet. As early as 2005, he told me, "It's a social utility and what makes it work will be ubiquity." By contrast, in the film he seems more obsessed with achieving the largesse that bad boy Sean Parker, an original Napster founder, portrays when he arrives to meet Zuckerberg at a New York restaurant.

Much of what makes this film brilliant is the cast. Rooney Mara's Erica Albright is someone you'd actually want to be friends with. Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Eduardo Saverin, the young hedge fund prodigy who becomes Zuckerberg's best friend, business partner, and then enemy, is endearingly sympathetic. The privileged Winklevoss twins are both played by a young actor who is no stranger to privilege himself -- Armie Hammer, the great grandson of the flamboyant oil tycoon Armand Hammer. Meanwhile, in a twist of irony, singer Justin Timberlake plays Parker, the partying entrepreneur who brought the music industry to its knees.

The real-life Zuckerberg says he has no plans to see the film, but ultimately it's not that damning to his character. If Sorkin's portrayal doesn't quite capture him, it also doesn't depict him as completely unsympathetic. And even if his reputation suffers among scores of moviegoers whom he's never met, it remains solid among those to whom it matters—his friends and family, and the people with whom he does business. Most of them don't show up on screen. Meanwhile, as Oscar Buzz heightens, new audiences are going online to check out this website called Facebook.

If this movie is meant to be a modern-day morality tale, it fails. At its end, Zuckerberg has gained a web site, but seemingly lost everything else: Parker's erratic leadership, the Winklevoss twins' respect, and Saverin's friendship. But that outcome doesn't seem so bad. Parker's partying would have ruined the company. The twins continue to rely on the courts to address their differences with Zuckerberg. And Saverin proved to be the kind of friend—or ex-friend—who'd call up a writer to publish a denigrating expose.

Meanwhile Zuckerberg got Facebook, and it's because of his conviction about its potential that five years later, we have it, too.

Windows Vista versus Windows 7

2010-09-24T05:12:00.001-07:00

After a big hit at the market of Windows xp the whole world was thinking a great, faster and with more options next Windows OS will come. But Windows provided the operating system that ruined the dreams of people.

People around the world think that Windows has a complete control now on (after success of XP OS) but critics become shocked after the release of Windows Vista. Windows vista was a complete failure at first. But since different computer manufacturers support Windows Vista as their OS the trend slightly changes.

The main problem with Windows Vista was that it is quite slow, even with a normal 1GB RAM in place. The speed of a computer is a big concern now a day for the people throughout the world, whether they are computer professional, Students, teachers, Doctors or related to any field of life.

Professional's related to different works don't depend on a particular software or OS. They love to use those kinds of programs which are easy to use as well as with simple user interface. GUI stands for Graphical User Interface, which means a lot to the layman.

The thing is that people don't go to check that how the window is programmed, we people just often follow the idea First impression is the last impression. In reality for OS it should not be the key to follow. One should discover the OS first by going to watch the video tutorial supported by the OS. This tutorial will tells you about the new or improve features of the OS.

On the other hand Windows new operating system was introduced in the year 2009. Though it was also not a big hit, but still we can say that this version of windows operating system has recovered a few problems that have encountered Windows vista. With the increase popularity of Mac OS it is considered to be a good success but still Apple is looking to take over the monopoly that has been created by Microsoft.

To conclude we can say that Windows Vista is a big failure in comparison to Windows 7, But still Windows 7 is not quite up to the mark, as more and more mac book users are increasing everyday.

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