Geeky Valley

Angry Birds Rio Updated With Exciting New Levels

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:51:00 +0000

Rovio has updated its Angry Birds Rio, bumping it to version 2.0, and introduced a number of new features and improvements to the game.

The new update is live in the App Store and is based on the sequel of the Rio movie that was released a few years back, known as the High Dive episode and exciting new levels to the game.

The latest update comes with 20 challenging new levels to test your skills, along with 6 bonus levels on Brazilian shores. In addition, the update also brings new moves and improved graphics for the Rio 2 chapter. Here’s a complete change log for the game:

Make a BIG splash in the High Dive episode – based on the new blockbuster movie sequel Rio 2!

NEW LEVELS! 20 levels and 6 bonus levels set in a Brazilian port harbor!

RIO NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD! Totally refreshed with shiny new graphics for the Rio 2 chapter!

AMAZON RIVER DOLPHINS! These beautiful animals are accidentally trapped and they need your help!

NEW MOVE! Dive below to break open those cages from underwater!

If you’re an Angry Birds Rio user, head over to the App Store or the Google Play Store and grab the game.

Source: App Store, Google Play Store

Official Google Chromecast Forums Now Open

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:46:00 +0000

Google has today opened the doors on its official Google Chromecast forums allowing the Chromecast community to post their views, tips and suggestions and allowing anyone else who might be interested in purchasing a Google Chromecast device more information.

Together with the ability to access plenty of information about the features of the new Google Chromecast device, as well as a detailed FAQ section.

As soon as you visit the new Google Chromecast public forums the front page has a quick link to twelve of the most frequently asked Chromecast questions according to Google. Providing answers for new adopters and providing more details on how they can benefit from purchasing a Google Chromecast device.

As with any forum there are quick search facilities as well as a variety of different ways to filter and list the threads that are available within the forum database to meet your needs.

Together with links to general content about setting up your Google Chromecast dongle as well as additional information on the current smartphone and tablet applications available to be used with Chromecast. Jump over to the Google Chromecast forums now to get started.

Source: Android Police

Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 Launching Next Month For $450

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:43:00 +0000

After Samsung unveiled their new Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 during the CES 2014Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of this year. Samsung has today officially announced the launch of their highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 will take place next month in March 2014 and the newly updated camera will be priced at $450.

Samsung have equipped their new Galaxy Camera 2 with a 16.3 megapixel sensor with BSI, a 21x optical zoom, with a 23mm wide angle lens, all run by Google’s Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 is powered by a quad core 1.6GHz processor supported by 2GB of RAM and its equipped with a 4.8 inch HD Super Clear Touch LCD display on the rear. As well as 8GB of built in storage and a microSD card slot which supports up to 64GB cards for further expansion when required.

Samsung have also included NFC, WiFi, GPS with GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and optical image stabilisation, with power from a 2,000 mAh battery. Simon Stanford, Vice President of IM division, Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland, said during this years CES event :

“Consumers love the Galaxy Camera and this next-generation version is designed to improve on the successful predecessor, with upgraded and new features that will enhance the photography experience. The result is a more powerful and portable device, which continues to embrace the public’s passion for the social features of smartphones, yet also provides superior image control and quality. We are dedicated to making it easier for more people to achieve great results and with the Galaxy Camera 2′s host of creative features, anyone can capture standout images.”

Other features of the Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 include a built-in pop up Xenon flash, plus a range of Google and Samsung applications tom choose from, which include S Voice, Samsung Link, Samsung ChatOn and more. For more information on the new Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 jump over to the Samsung website for details.

Source: Liliputing

Samsung Galaxy S5 will also come in gold, confirms leak

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:39:00 +0000

Much has been said and speculated about the Galaxy S5′s hardware, but one thing that hasn’t been discussed in the color options the upcoming flagship will be available in. Well, for those that like some bling on their smartphones, it looks like Samsung will be offering a gold color version of the Galaxy S5. A leaked Vodafone document has confirmed that a gold S5 will be launched at some point – considering it is already listed in a carrier’s database, it’s likely we’ll see the gold option made available right at launch, instead of months later as was the case with the gold Galaxy S4.

If the gold Galaxy S5 is launched at the same time as its non-gold counterparts, parallels will naturally be drawn to Apple’s iPhone 5s, which was also launched with a gold paint job right from the beginning. Add to that the fact that the S5 is also suspected to be powered by a 64-bit processor and sport a fingerprint sensor, and it seems like Samsung will be leaving no stone unturned in making sure that its next flagship offers all that its biggest competitor offers to its consumers, while trumping it through features like a feature-packed 16-megapixel camera and a QHD (2K) display.

Android and Samsung build on their market shares in Q3 2012

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:07:00 +0000

Android's market share increased significantly during the third quarter of 2012, with the Google OS powering 72.4% of all smartphones sold in the three months' period. Apple's iOS came a very distant second with a market share of 13.9%.

This is an impressive accomplishment for Google's mobile OS, considering Android's market share was 52.5% in Q3 of 2011.

Samsung saw its position as the leading mobile manufacturer increase to 22.9% after selling almost 100 million phones in the three month period ending in September. This was mostly at the expense of Nokia, which saw its market share slide almost 5 percent points year-over-year.

The holiday season should see Apple take back some of both of those pies, as many iOS-faithfuls held off on replacing their smartphones until the iPhone 5 came around. Apple's new smartphone top dog is expanding its availability to many new markets in Q4, which should help Apple arrest the fall in iOS market share.

HTC Windows Phone 8X review: Signed and sealed

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:06:00 +0000

Introduction

So, it's all but settled that Windows Phone 8 is the biggest thing to happen to smartphones this year. But are the handful of flagships carrying it the best thing that could happen to users?

Properly powered and engineered to perfection, the Nokia, Samsung and HTC WP8 smartphones are all making a bid to break iOS and Android's grip on the market. They are all fine species of smartphone. With the same screen resolution and chipsets powering them, with the Redmond-mandated hardware specs, they all have Microsoft written all over.

But then, it's only the Taiwanese that actually have it in writing. There's only one Windows Phone 8X - and it's the HTC Windows Phone flagship. Not a bad way to start now, is it? It must be quite a lift for the HTC Windows Phone 8X to feel special among clearly superior rivals. While Nokia and Samsung gave their WP top dogs those massive screens, HTC went for a relatively modest 4.3" LCD.

HTC Windows Phone 8X official photos

On one hand, it sounds like a smart move. The HTC Windows Phone 8X will be the only option for those looking for a more compact premium device that carries Microsoft's latest mobile platform. On the other, this could see the 8X relegated to a lower tier and made to fight it out with the likes of the Lumia 820. Now, that would call for some aggressive pricing and lower profit margins perhaps, which isn't exactly ideal for a company that hasn't had the best of streaks lately.

We'll see if the gamble pays off but there's no rush. Let's see what the HTC Windows Phone 8X is made of, and what could've been better.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Quad-band 3G with 42 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA support
4.3" 16M-color S-LCD2 capacitive touchscreen of 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
Scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 2 display
8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording
2.1MP front-facing camera
Windows Phone 8 OS
1.5GHz dual-core Krait CPU, Adreno 225 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset, 1GB of RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support
Digital compass
16GB of inbuilt storage
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
Built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
microUSB port
Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP and EDR, file transfers
Impressively deep and coherent SNS integration throughout the interface
Xbox Live integration and Xbox management
Data Sense
Class-leading JavaScript performance
NFC support
HTC exclusive apps
Beats audio enhancements

Main disadvantages

Too much bezel offsets smaller screen
No microSD card slot, just one storage option
Non user-replaceable battery
App catalog falls short of Android and iOS
Competition has quad-core Krait CPUs already
No FM radio
No system-wide file manager
No voice-guided navigation
No music player equalizers
No lockscreen shortcuts

It's not a short list of disadvantages by any means, but most of those are platform-specific and, judging by the reception Windows Phone 8 has been getting, they're not deal-breakers. At least not all of them. Now, the non-expandable storage and the single 16GB option is something to definitely consider, but if you can live with that, the HTC Windows Phone 8X is a must-see.

The HTC Windows Phone 8X at ours

The Beats audio label has finally been made to count as the HTC Windows Phone 8X offers a specially designed amplifier, while the wide selection of available colors makes it easy to find a unit that best suits your personality. Whether you go for the businesslike black or one of those peppier paintjobs, the HD screen and beautiful unibody design are always part of the deal.

Windows Phone 8 review: Str8 up

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:05:00 +0000

Introduction

Windows Phone 8 is officially in the race. It probably isn't time to count the horses just yet but Team Windows seems ready to bounce - major OEMs have backed Microsoft up with flagships and mid-range options. Redmond is doing its part with what looks like one of the biggest OS overhauls this year.

It's not new looks that will impress users - the UI design has always been among the platform's strong points - but there are so many things under the hood that make the new OS such a decisive step forward. Windows Phone 8 supports multiple core chipsets and different screen resolutions. There's even deeper social integration, improved SkyDrive and Xbox Live support, DirectX graphics, Windows 8 and Xbox 360 cloud and services, USB mass storage.

The new platform core helps streamline app development and ties everything up in a consistent, cross-device ecosystem. What this means is the proverbial catching up with the Android and iOS app stores is finally within Microsoft's reach.

Key features:

Multi-core processor and multiple screen resolution support
Clean, uncluttered UI with distinctive design language
DirectX graphics support
Excellent MS Office mobile implementation
Top-notch social integration
Cloud services (SkyDrive, Windows Live, Xbox Live)
Wireless sync of multimedia content
Internal memory expandable via microSD card slot
USB Mass Storage mode
Multi-tasking
DivX/XviD video support
Nokia-powered Bing Maps
Children's corner
Data Sense
Class-leading JavaScript performance
NFC support
Bluetooth file transfers

Main disadvantages:

No system-wide file manager
No voice-guided navigation
No music player equalizers
No lockscreen shortcuts
Maximum supported resolution still lower than Android

Microsoft is spreading the campaign wide this time and failure is not an option. Windows 8 and Windows RT OS have already demonstrated huge potential. The Surface lineup looks promising and blurs the traditional boundaries between tablet and laptop. The recently launched Xbox Music service is something to look forward to as well. It is now Windows Phone 8's turn to show off its newly found skill and power.

User interface: keeping it simple

So, everyone is telling you Windows Phone 8 is way better than WP7, so different in fact, that it's impossible to run on old generation devices.

For starters, here's a very detailed walkthrough of the platform, courtesy of Joe Belfiore himself.

Yet, taking a look at the homescreen we see the familiar live tile Start Screen and the scrollable app list. Even most of the apps are the same as before. The first impression of Windows Phone 8 on those coming from 7.5 could be a little underwhelming. The user interface logic and looks are virtually the same. So, what's the big deal?

Sure, there are lots of new additions such as USB mass storage mode (so long, Zune transfers), the rich video codec support and the deeper Xbox Live integration. Even more important, there's support for new screen resolution modes, wider hardware support and DirectX graphics.

So, yes there's plenty of more power that users will definitely feel and appreciate. But the real benefit is long term. Windows Phone 8 shares code with the company's desktop OS and unified cross-platform development will hopefully soon start making a difference in terms of both the quantity and quality of apps .

Plenty of extra power under the hood, will open up many new possibilities for devs. DirectX graphics will support powerful new games and even give some classics a new lease on life on a phone.

But if you want to focus on the here and now, a video demo of Windows Phone 8 is a good place to start.

A push on the unlock button reveals the lock screen, which displays the current time and date and shows calendar events, emails and missed calls. A press on any of the volume keys will bring the volume switch and music controls on top of the screen.

What we would have liked to see here are some (preferably customizable shortcuts). As Windows Phone mandates handsets have a dedicated camera key you can always launch the camera, but what about phone, messaging or web browsing apps - you always need to unlock your homescreen for that to work.

Luckily Microsoft added at least one new feature for the lockscreen – the Live Apps service allows your Windows Phone 8 to be updated directly by the apps you choose (as long as they support it) – i.e. Facebook photos and updates can pop there or Skype notifications, you name it. We are yet to see how this works though since our Windows Phone 8 testing unit didn’t come with this feature.

Swiping the lockscreen up reveals the live-tile Modern user interface. It's a vertical grid of Live tiles, which can be reordered the way you like. Almost anything can be placed in the grid by tapping and holding down over an app and selecting the Pin to start option.

The lock screen • the home screen and main menu

Windows Phone 8 introduces resizable live tiles, an option that will also be available with the latest WP 7.8 update. When you tap and hold on a tile, the resize option is available along with unpin. You can choose between quarter, normal and double size.

Depending on which size you select you get different info displayed in the Tile. If you go for the smallest, you get nothing but a static icon, while the two larger sizes offer more info.

Resizing a tile

The homescreen looks exactly the same, except that the new tile sizes let you fit a lot more There is no wallpaper, you can just opt for a dark or light background. Whatever you choose it will be the base color for every system app on the phone.

The lock screen and the hidden settings

Each of the Live tiles displays relevant info such as the current date, pending calendar events, missed calls, unread emails and more (third party apps do it too). For instance, the Marketplace tile displays the number of updates available, while the Pictures tile is essentially a slideshow of your photos. It's nice to have all that info always available at-a-glance. You can look at them as homescreen widgets of sorts, but that's a bit oversimplifying.

WP8 offers multi-tasking as promised. It's not always true multitasking; most of the cases things are being done the iOS way. Apps not in the foreground are suspended, but the OS has ways to take over and carry out the task for them. But just like on iOS, if an app requires to run in the background (navigation clients, players, communicators, etc.) it can.

The multi-tasking interface

The multi-tasking interface is the same as in WP7 - to switch between apps you press and hold the Back key. You'll get thumbnail snapshots of the apps, ordered chronologically left to right.

You can scroll the list horizontally to select an app and a tap will bring you back to your running or suspended app. Usually, the last 8 apps are here. You can't "kill" any of those apps from here - to exit one you must bring it to front and use the Back key to close it.

Opening the settings menu displays two sets of options: like on the start screen, you can swipe between System and Applications. System covers all the settings you can think of like sounds, color theme, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Accounts, etc. The Application settings let you configure each app you have on the device.

Settings

Windows Phone 8 can also be operated with voice only through the TellMe - you can dictate, have the phone read out the reply, you can initiate searches and so on. It's what Android's got with Google Voice and Apple with Siri , but sadly the Windows virtual assistant though is still far behind either of those.

Microsoft TellMe

One of the new features brought by WP8 is the Children's corner. You can select the apps and types of content you want roped in and password-protected, so you can safely share your smartphone with your kids without worrying about them messing up with your settings or accessing inappropriate content. When activated, the Children's corner is accessible by a swipe to the left on the lockscreen. Without the password it's impossible to return to your standard lock or home screen.

The Children's corner

Apple iPad mini review: One for the road

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:55:00 +0000

Introduction

Wait, did hell just freeze over? Maybe a couple of degrees cooler? Rumors of a mini version of the iPad had been laughed at, dodged and denied - not necessarily in that order and often all at once. But here it is - the iPad mini is finally a reality. It caused due measures of excitement and perhaps a bit of disappointment. Yet, in typical Apple fashion, it's an excellent piece of hardware. In short, it's a polarizing device that may as well be the next best-selling tablet.

Apple iPad mini official images

You have to hand it to Apple's R&D team - they know how to design hardware. The iPad mini is super thin and light, with a cool aluminum shell. Sure, they swore they'd never make a 7" tablet and the truth is they still haven't - the 7.9" screen of the mini offers 36% more real estate than the screens of the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

Less bezel on the left and right of the screen combined with the ~310g of weight make it reasonably comfortable to hold with one hand. Apple did make some compromises, which drew a lot of ire. Here's the summarized list of what's good and what's bad about the Apple iPad mini:

Key features

Compact body: 200 x 134.7 x 7.2 mm
7.9" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 768 x 1024 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
Optional 2G/3G GSM, CDMA, LTE connectivity (data only, separate models)
Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the 3G model only)
Apple A5 SoC, dual-core Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz chipset
512MB of RAM
PowerVR SGX543MP2 dual-core GPU
iOS 6 with Siri, iCloud support and activation
16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
Weight of 308 grams (312 grams for the Wi-Fi + Cellular option)
Bluetooth 4.0
16.3Wh battery
Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
Compatible with every iPad and iPhone app without any modifications
The base version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone 4, only $30 more than iPod touch
5MP auto-focus camera
1080p video recording at 30fps
1.2MP secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls, 720p recording
Four and five-finger gestures
1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $49), 1080p video streaming
Supports magnetic cases
Lightning connector
Stereo loudspeakers

Main disadvantages

More expensive than 7" Android tablets, only $70 cheaper than iPad 2
No Retina display, 162ppi only
Same chipset as iPad 2, now two generations old
iTunes still required for most of the content uploads
Reflective screen struggles outdoors
No standard USB port, Lightning accessories still rare and expensive
No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
No memory card slot
Lack of basic iOS apps - stocks, calculator, voice memos

The disadvantage list may seem longer than usual but most of the items there are general complaints that apply to virtually all Apple products, like the absence of a memory card slot. The way we see it, there are three main problems with the iPad mini - the (relatively) low-res screen, the old chipset and the price.

Apple products have so far effortlessly hit it big with users despite their perceived limitations compared to the competition. The new crop of iPads - the iPad 4 and iPad mini - already sold in the millions.

iPad mini in our office

The software - iOS 6 - should be very familiar to Apple users, but the hardware is new. It's not like the big iPads, which mostly varied in thickness, this one has been designed to comfortably hold in one hand and slip into a coat pocket.

Some analysts have gone as far as to say that the iPad mini will become the iPad - it's highly portable, capable enough and drawing on the vast resources of the Apple eco-system. And if you adjust for the "Apple tax", the mini isn't that expensive.

Final words

OK, then. Before we have our say on the iPad mini, we'll let the numbers talk. Three million tablets sold over the opening weekend easily beats the record set in March by the then new iPad. It's a combined figure of course for the two new slates - big and small - but it's quite likely for the iPad mini to claim responsibility for the better part of the traffic.

It's the novelty factor for one - a truly portable Apple tablet at long last against an iPad 4 that hardly brings anything new over the now discontinued iPad 3. No doubt, the mini is the new iPad, and it's not beyond belief that it may end up as the iPad of the future. Looking at the third and fourth generation of Cupertino slates, it's easier to imagine an iPad 5 with a Retina display in the mini form factor than another incremental upgrade.

On a second thought - would it have made sense to simply launch the iPad mini with a high-res screen and an A6 chipset instead of releasing another full-size slate just months after the previous model? From the perspective of iPad 3 owners, it most certainly would.

It's hard to guess what's on Apple's mind. At least a little pressure from cheap Google-powered tablets must have been felt. Or they may be simply encouraging users to have both sizes - one as a stay-at-home, the other for outings. That's more like Apple actually. They'd rather go on and on about portability and carefully avoid the subject of affordability.

Because, let's face it, the iPad mini is way more expensive than the likes of the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fires. Whatever the stunts that allow Google and Amazon to charge less than $ 200.00 on their tablets, they at least have the decency of putting an HD screen.

At $199 for a 16 GB version the Nexus 7 is a steal but even a 32 GB variant will set you back much less than a baseline 16 GB iPad mini. On the other hand, a bigger 8.9" screen on the Kindle Fire HD is also cheaper than the cheapest iPad mini.

Asus Google Nexus 7 • Amazon Kindle Fire HD • Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9

In an ideal world, the iPad mini would've been out at least a year ago and competing against something like the Samsung Galaxy 7.7. But when it gets to tablets you wouldn't call it an ideal world unless you're... Apple. Yes, Cupertino has been calling the shots forever and we're at a point where for a tablet to sell it either has to be dirt cheap or sport a bitten apple at the back.

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7

So, there we are. The iPad mini is nothing more than an iPad 2 with a smaller screen and premium finish. The A5 chipset is two-generations old and the mini has fewer pixels on a bigger screen than the closest Android-powered rivals.

Yet, the iPad mini is the biggest thing to come from Apple this season - after an underwhelming iOS 6, after an iPhone 5 and an iPad 4 that are not exactly making the previous versions obsolete.

It's a beautiful device too, we'd go ahead and call it the best looking Apple tablet to date. But portability is by far its biggest asset. Enough probably to make millions of users buy the mini and keep their bigger iPad.

Not only because it can go wherever they go, it's for things like gaming too. Videos suck on the small, low-res, 4:3 screen; web and picture browsing, as well as reading, are a lot better on Retina. But playing games is where the iPad mini is at its best. The screen size is right in terms of how far your thumbs can reach and accelerometer control is a lot more sensible than on a full-size iPad. And we mean for more than a couple of minutes.

But does this make the iPad mini a niche device for gaming and commuters? The competition would certainly like to think so. But even they must realize it's too good to be true. We can take people who are committed to Apple in one way or another - an iPhone or an iPad, most likely both - out of the equation.

It's just become harder for the neutral user about to decide on their first ever tablet. And that alone is a win for Apple already. We're not saying it's fair. But the choice is really between sensible and fancy, cheaper and apple at the back.

Samsung Galaxy Premier review: A droid of stature

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:45:00 +0000

Spreading the Galaxy S III magic to as many market segments as possible is what Samsung is actively trying to achieve these days. After the power users were treated to the Note II and those looking for a premium experience in a compact shell got the mini, it's now time for the mid-range market to get some attention.

Samsung Galaxy Premier official photo

The Samsung Galaxy Premier specs sheet is familiar with the 4.65-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and the dual-core TI OMAP chipset immediately bringing the Galaxy Nexus to mind. However, calling the Premier a Nexus refresh is wildly inaccurate - the Nature UX adds so much character that you'll hardly be able to tell there's so much in common between the two smartphones.

Let's take a look at what the Galaxy Premier is all about.

Key features

Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
4.65" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of HD (720 x 1280 pixels) resolution; Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz launcher
1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, PowerVR SGX544 GPU, TI OMAP 4470 chipset, 1GB of RAM
8 MP wide-angle lens autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
1080p HD video recording at 30fps
Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n
GPS with A-GPS connectivity; GLONASS support, Digital compass
16/32 internal storage, microSD slot
Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support, MHL, charging
Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
FM radio with RDS
1.9MP secondary video-call camera
NFC support
Document editor
File manager comes preinstalled
Extremely rich video and audio codec support
Relatively large 2100 mAh battery

Main disadvantages

No dedicated camera key
Dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU usually belongs to a lower market segment
All plastic body
PenTile matrix screen of relatively low brightness

Sure, the Samsung Galaxy Premier doesn't have the most exciting specs sheet around, but it takes a formula that was already proven to work and improves on it in a number of key areas. Building on the most popular Nexus smartphone so far, the Premier addresses just about every complaints users had about it.

The mediocre camera is replaced by a more capable 8MP shooter, the chipset got a speed update and a more powerful GPU, while the uninspiring styling got spiced up with a dash of Galaxy S III. There is also an ampler battery to take care of the relatively short endurance and a microSD card slot for cheap memory expansion.

And yes, the stock Android looks are gone, but they are replaced by the Nature UX, which is not only way more functional, but also the best looking TouchWiz version so far.

Let's see if all those tweaks actually look as promised - the hardware inspection starts right after the break.

Display

The display on the Galaxy Premier is a 4.65" Super AMOLED unit with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, resulting in a density of approximately 316 pixels per inch. The specs might be identical to what we had a year ago, but this still remains the most pixel dense AMOLED screen out there.

The Samsung Galaxy Premier display

As usual for AMOLED display, colors are vibrant and contrast is impressively high. Unlike the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Premier offers three display modes, which lets you tune down the colors if you don't like the default oversaturated look.

The brightness of the screen isn't particularly impressive, but the Galaxy Premier is still brighter than the Galaxy Nexus, so it's definitely a step in the right direction. And given that Super AMOLED displays are pretty resistant to reflections, the sunlight legibility of the Galaxy Nexus is pretty good.

Here go the Samsung Galaxy Premier results from our display tests.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy Premier	0	138	∞	0	328	∞
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III	0	174	∞	0	330	∞
HTC One X+	0.23	232	1016	0.28	421	1521
LG Optimus G	0.14	197	1445	0.33	471	1438
LG Optimus 4X HD	0.34	369	1077	0.68	750	1102
Apple iPhone 5	0.13	200	1490	0.48	640	1320

Audiovox Car Connection Helps You Find Your Car and More

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Audiovox has announced a new device called the Car Connection that helps drivers monitor, manage, and maintain vehicle health. The device plugs into the OBDII port available on most vehicles since the mid-90s. When connected to the vehicle the Car Connection can monitor the driver habits to help coach drivers to be more green.

When the cooler features of the device is that it will show you your vehicle location and where it’s heading. Vehicle location can be tracked online from a smart phone or notebook computer. This allows you to keep an eye on where teenage drivers are and what they’re doing, and can help police recover your vehicle if it’s stolen.

Another interesting feature is that the Car Connection can work with the app operating on Android or BlackBerry smartphones to limit access to the phone when the vehicle is in motion. You can prevent users from making calls from behind the wheel or sending texts. The device operates on the Sprint mobile broadband network and requires a service plan at $9.95 per month or $89.95 per year. Both plans require a $19.95 activation fee and the device itself sells for $169.99.

Logitech Alert Security Camera Receives OS X Support And Alert Commander App

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:18:00 +0000

Mac OS X users might be pleased to learn that Logitech has today rolled out Mac support to their range of Logitech Alert Security System and Cameras. Enabling you to now view the cameras on Mac OS X.

The new Logitech Alert Security Mac software “Alert Commander” is now available to download from the Apple AppStore for free and allows you to configure your video security system, watch live video, store video on your computer and review recorded video, directly from your Mac. Watch the video after the jump to see it in action.

Alert Commander provides a wealth of features and supports up to six Logitech Alert security cameras:

* Install your Logitech Alert camera system on any Mac (with OS version 10.6.8 or higher)
* Control and configure your video security system
* Manage up to 6 cameras
* View live and recorded video in HD resolution
* Set up motion zones for individual cameras
* Create and manage e-mail and mobile phone motion alerts
* Perform Digital Pan, Tilt and zoom
* Back up video stored on your cameras to your Mac
* Manage your account and security settings
* Receive desktop notification of important events
* Set schedules for when you want to receive motion notifications to your email or mobile device

“With a wide-angle lens that delivers twice the viewing area than that of a standard camera and HD resolution video, home security has never looked this good. Plus, there is a new pop-out window feature that allows you to minimize the main app while continuing to watch one or more cameras while you multi-task. Work on a presentation or browse the web, and still keep an eye on what’s important.”

Microsoft Surface Tablet Gets Software Updates

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:50:00 +0000

Microsoft recently launched their first tablet, the Microsoft Surface, which comes with Windows RT, and now Microsoft has released a software update for the device which comes with a number of bug fixes and performance improvements.

According to the guys over at the Verge, there are a total of seven minor updates available for the Microsoft Surface Windows RT tablet, and some of the improvements include faster launching applications.

As well as releasing various software updates, Microsoft has also patched a number of security issues with their Windows RT OS, you can find out more details over at Microsoft.

Google Releases Android 4.2 Jelly Bean SDK

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:50:00 +0000

Google’s latest Android devices, which come with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean were released yesterday, the list includes the new Google Nexus 4 smartphone, the Google Nexus 10 tablet and the updated Google Nexus 7 tablet.

Now Google has announced the release of the Android 4.2 SDK, which is now available to download for developers, with API level17, you can see some of the highlights below.

Performance
We’ve worked with our partners to run Renderscript computation directly in the GPU on the Nexus 10, a first for any mobile computation platform.

New ways to engage users
Users can now place interactive lock screen widgets directly on their device lock screens, for instant access to favorite apps and content. With just a small update, you can adapt any app widget to run on the lock screen. Daydream is an interactive screensaver mode that users can encounter when their devices are charging or docked in a desk dock. You can create interactive daydreams that users display in this mode, and they can include any type of content.

New interaction and entertainment experiences
Android 4.2 introduces platform support for external displays that goes beyond mirroring. Your apps can now target unique content to any number of displays attached to an Android device.

Enhancements for international users
To help you create better apps for users in languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian, Android 4.2 includes native RTL support, including layout mirroring. With native RTL support, you can deliver the same great app experience to all of your users with minimal extra work. Android 4.2 also includes a variety of font and character optimizations for Korean, Japanese, Indic, Thai, Arabic and Hebrew writing systems.

You can find out full details about the Android 4.2 SDK over at the Android Developers Blog.

Elliptic Labs Windows 8 Touchless Gesture Control Unveiled (video)

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:38:00 +0000

Elliptic Labs has developed a new touchless gesture control system for Microsoft’s latest Windows 8 operating system, which has been designed to enable users to take advantage of natural gesturing to navigate Windows 8.

The new system unveiled by Elliptic Labs uses ultrasonic touchless technology, and uses up to 95% less power than existing camera image-based gestural systems which are currently on the market, says Elliptic Labs. Watch the video after the jump to see the new touchless gesture control system in action.

Elliptic Labs has also developed an “Elliptic Ultrasound Starter Kit for Laptops”, to provide developers with an out-of-the-box solution for them to start integrating the new touchless gesture-based system within their hardware.

“Microsoft’s new metro interface changes how consumers interact with the operating system and the design is a perfect fit for touchless gestures. Elliptic’s Windows 8 Gesture Suite gives the users a touchless version of the gestures they already know from a touchscreen and allows the user to interact in an even more natural and intuitive way without having to touch the screen.”

For more information jump over to the Elliptic Labs website for full details on the new touchless gesture-based control system.

Google Confirms Adobe Flash Is “Fully Sandboxed” In Its Chrome Browser

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:34:00 +0000

Adobe Flash Player has received extra attention from Google within its Chrome browser, and has now been “fully sandboxed” within Google’s browser across Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS platforms.

The purpose of sandboxing help restrict malware from being able to install itself on to your computer, adding additional layers of security against malicious website that might have other plans for your computer whilst viewing a video on their site. Watch the video after the jump to learn more about the Chrome Flash Sandboxing update.

Google has been working with Adobe since 2012 to help make their Chrome browser even more secure for possible threats and the addition of the newly added sandboxing for Adobe Flash Player offers great protection for users against malicious websites.

“With this release, Flash Player is now fully sandboxed in Chrome on all of our desktop platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS. Ultimately, this means a safer experience for you as you browse the web. We take the security of Chrome extremely seriously, so we’re excited to be delivering these enhanced protections, and we’ve enjoyed collaborating with Adobe on this effort.”

For more information jump over to the official Google announcement.

PlayStation Vita PS Plus Service Launching November 19th (video)

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:30:00 +0000

If you have been waiting patiently for Sony’s PS Plus service to arrive on your new Sony PlayStation Vita portable gaming console. You will be pleased to learn that Sony has rolled out a new update to its PlayStation Vita console taking its system software to version 2.00.

The new PS Plus service will be available to Sony Playstation Vita owners from next week on November 19th 2012, with access to four games per month, together with other perks such as free play, exclusive discounts and online storage.

Using Sony’s new PS service gamers will be able to enjoy cross platform benefits, allowing them to set their game saves and trophies to automatically synchronise, with up to 2 GB of storage available to store game saves.(1GB on PS3 and 1GB on PS Vita). Sony explains:

‘The Instant Game Collection across both platforms means players will have a constant library of 14 games and at least five new games a month, which means over 65 games a year for PS3 and PS Vita. Gamers will also receive automatic updates with the service to ensure they are on top of the latest PS3 and PS Vita game and software updates.”

Sony Vita PS Plus subscription plan starts from 90 days for £11.99 / €14.99 and 365 days for £39.99 / €49.99. For more information jump over to the official Sony PlayStation blog.

Nexus S and Motorola Xoom to remain on Android 4.1.2

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:29:00 +0000

While announcing the availability of Android 4.2 on AOSP, lead Android developer at Google Jean-Baptiste Quéru confirmed that the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom will not be updated to Android 4.2 and will remain on Android 4.1.2.

We honestly can't say we didn't see this coming. Both devices, the Nexus S in particular, had started struggling while running the newer versions of Android, with their antiquated hardware unable to properly run the new software that is clearly designed for more powerful devices.

Still, both had a good run. The Nexus S was launched with Android 2.3 and since then has seen two major updates. Same goes for the Xoom, which was released with Honeycomb and received ICS and Jelly Bean afterwards.

It's worth noting that both devices are currently running a newer version of Android than many Android devices launched in the last six months, even though both have been around for close to two years now. While it does tell us that Google has been quite committed to updating its own devices, it also tells us how messed up the Android update situation is on non-Nexus devices.

Of course, just because the official support has stopped doesn't mean the unofficial support will cease as well. Custom ROM makers such as CyanogenMod will continue support for both devices for a while and you should see an Android 4.2 ROM for both pretty soon.

Windows 8 Release Preview Arriving First Week Of June

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:36:00 +0000

Microsoft has announced today that you can expect a new version of its Windows 8 development to roll out in the first week of June. Microsoft announced the arrival of their new Windows 8 Release Preview, the next major preview of their new operating systems, via their Build Windows 8 Twitter account.

Windows 8 is expected to be officially launched in October, three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows 7. Microsoft has already revealed that there are three packages in the line-up, Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT, you can find out more information about the new packages .

Windows 8 features the new Metro style interface and has been “reimagined from the chipset to the user experience” say Microsoft. You can view the current Windows 8 Consumer Preview over on the Microsoft website now.

“It’s Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability. It’s an all-new touch interface. It’s a new Windows for new devices. And it’s your chance to be one of the first to try it out.”

Samsung Releases New Galaxy S III Teaser (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:35:00 +0000

Samsung is expected to unveil its new Galaxy S III smartphone early next month on the 3rd of May, and the company has now released a new teaser video, unfortunately it doesn’t actually feature the handset.

You can see the new Galaxy S III teaser from Samsung below, which Samsung says “With technology that fits in this easily, you can now stand out from everyone else” , in the video which also features some sheep.

So we presume Samsung are having another dig at Apple in their video, like they have done in previous offerings, we should have some more details on the actual handset on the 3rd of May, and we are looking forward to seeing what the new Galaxy S III is like.

Facebook Now Has More Than 900 Million Users

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:33:00 +0000

The last time we had some information from Facebook, the company reported they had over 800 million users, and it looks like that has jumped more than 100 million, as Facebook has revealed that they now have a total of 901 million active monthly users.

The company also revealed some more financial information, the details were provided in Facebook’s updated Form S-1, and their first quarter revenue is up to $1.06 billion this compares to $731 million for the same period in the previous year.

Their net income is down slightly to $205 million, as opposed to $233 million for the same period in the previous year, and we also got some more details on their recent $1 billion deal with Instagram.

Facebook will pay $300 million in cash for Instagram, the remaining $700 million will be paid in Facebook shares, also if the deal doesn’t go through for any reason, Facebook will pay Instagram a total of $200 million.

Intel launches Next Generation Ivy Bridge Processors

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:33:00 +0000

As expected Intel has now officially launched its new next generation Ivy Bridge processors this week. Which are equipped with a 22 nanometer transistor design, in contrast to Intel’s older Sandy Bridge processor, which has 32 nanometer transistors.

The new higher density Ivy Bridge processors have been designed to be faster and be able to handle a multitude of multimedia functions than previous processors.

As well as being faster both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 support is now fully integrated into the Ivy Bridge processors, providing faster transfers from smartphones, external hard drives and cameras

The new Ivy Bridge processors also have an integrated graphics processing unit, that has been added to help make editing videos faster and game play sharper. Intel corporate vice president Kirk Skaugen explained at a press conference in San Francisco:

“[Ivy Bridge is] 20 percent better performance on multithreaded applications, two times better 3D graphics, and twice as fast media processing, compared to the previous generation,”

Manufacturers are now planning to equip over 270 new desktop, all-in-one and laptops equipped with the new Intel Ivy Bridge processors, and due to the Ivy Bridge processors being a similar price to the previous Sandy Bridge processor consumers shouldn’t see much of an increase in price for the new Ivy Bridge equipped systems.

Skype 1.0 For Windows Phone Released

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:31:00 +0000

Microsoft has released a new version of Skype for Windows Phone and this is the first non beta version that has been released for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, Skype 1.0.

Skype 1.0 for Windows Phone will work on Windows Phone devices running Windows Phone 7.5 or higher, although according to the guys over at The Verge it will only run on devices with more than 512MB of RAM and not on the latest Tango devices with 256MB of RAM.

Imagine talking to friends, family, and colleagues anywhere in the world, and seeing them as if they’re in the same room. That’s Skype.

Call, video call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free with Skype for your Windows Phone.

You can find out more details about Skype 1.0 for Windows Phone over at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Microsoft Sells 650 AOL Patents To Facebook For $550 Million

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:30:00 +0000

It has been revealed this week that Microsoft has sold a majority of its AOL patent portfolio to Facebook for $550 Million. The deal included 650 patents in total, but in its initial AOL Auction Microsoft secured around 925 U.S. patents and patent applications plus a license to AOL’s remaining patent portfolio.

The remaining patents in AOL’s portfolio, contains around 300 additional patents that were not for sale. As a result of today’s agreement, Facebook will obtain ownership of approximately 650 AOL patents and patent applications, plus a license to the AOL patents and applications that Microsoft will purchase and own. Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel, Microsoft explains:

“Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction,”-“As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio.”

Samsung Galaxy S III Confirmed By Samsung Unpacked 2012 App

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:29:00 +0000

Samsung has be teasing us with details of their new Galaxy smartphone, which the company has been calling the ‘next Galaxy’, and now we have some confirmation that the device will be called the Galaxy S III.

Samsung has released a new app on Google Play, called the Samsung mobile Unpacked 2012 app, and as you can see from the screenshot below, the description of the app has a reference to the ‘galaxy s3′.

We are expecting the device to be officially announced by Samsung on the 3rd of May, so we don’t have much longer to wait to see what Samsung’s new flagship Android handset is like.

Skype For Windows Phone Working On Lower End Devices Like Nokia Lumia 610

noreply@blogger.com (COVID19 Analysis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:28:00 +0000

Microsoft recently released Skype 1.0 for Windows Phone, and along with the release came the news that the app would only support devices with 512MB of RAM or more, this ruled out some of the newer budget handsets which come with 256 MB of RAM like the Nokia Lumia 610.

According to Nokia, the latest version of Skype will work with the Nokia Lumia 610 even though the device only comes with 256MB of RAM, and the app is available for the Lumia 610 in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

The guys from The Verge spoke to Nokia, and Nokia said that they has been testing the Skype for Windows Phone app on the Lumia 610 internally, and the app is working well.

We wonder if Microsoft will update the app in the future to support other devices which have 256MB of RAM, as soon as we get some more information we will let you guys know.