Apple, Gadgets, Android, Microsoft
LG has announced a new smartphone Optimus Sol with Ultra AMOLED display that offers better clarity even under direct sunlight. The Optimus Sol runs on a 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon CPU with 512 MB RAM and features 3.8 inch Ultra AMOLED touchscreen display, 5 Mega-Pixel rear camera, front facing VGA camera for voice calls, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and A-GPS,
Skype announced today that it has reached an agreement to snatch up Groupme, the mobile group messaging service that made a splash at Google I/O. Outfit head honcho Tony Bates told TechCrunch that Skype needs to invade the mobile space if it hopes to reach its goal of scoring one billion users, and cites Groupme’s “sticky group messaging experience” as the ideal mobile addition to the Skype family. While the Microsoft-Skype deal is coming to a close, this announcement has come as a surprise and it seems Redmond’s about to get more than it initially bargained for.
It is been four months since Sony Ericsson revealed the W8 Walkman handset, now Sony Ericsson has unleashed a new Walkman phone. The new Sony Ericsson Live (yes, it is the phone’s name) is an Android Walkman phone, powered by a 1GHz processor and features a 3.2 inch, capacitive touchscreen (with somewhat disappointing HVGA resolution), a five mega-pixel AF shooter with 8x digital zoom, and a front-facing VGA camera capable of capturing HD video in 720p. This Android Gingerbread device also packs a lackluster 320MB of RAM, provides up to 32GB of micro-SD storage, and offers either tri-band 3G support (HSPA+) at 850, 1900 and 2100MHz, or dual-band 3G at 900 and 2100MHz, depending on the model.
So far we have seen robots entering hazardous nuclear plants and dangerous buildings and repairing things that cannot be repaired by humans. Now engineers at Sandia Labs have created a new rescue bot that’s explicitly designed to enter and investigate collapsed mines. The Gemini-Scout robot is just two feet tall and less than four feet in length and packs a set of gas sensors, a thermal camera and a two-way radio, allowing it to detect dangerous underground materials and relay critical information to above-ground rescue workers. The bot can also navigate across rocky terrain, tight quarters, or flooded tunnels, and is sturdy enough to carry food and other supplies to trapped miners. Operators, meanwhile, can manipulate the Gemini-Scout using only an Xbox 360 controller, which was incorporated into the system on the strength of its intuitive design and UI. Sandia’s engineers demoed their bot last week in DC and are hoping to begin licensing it to rescue agencies by the end of next year.
Well, it’s official, the HP TouchPad is currently at the top of Amazon’s electronics sales list. The TouchPad is currently the hottest piece of consumer electronics around, and all it took was HP’s complete abandonment of its current line of webOS devices. The 16GB and 32GB models are currently occupying the top two spots, beating out the Kindle, the iPod touch, and everything else.
Japanese based monitor making company Iiyama has introduced two new LED desktop display panels sporting a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 8ms response time and a special ECO mode that reduces power consumption by up to 60 percent. The 24-inch XB2472HD-B and 27-inch X2775HDS-B both rely on an LED-back-lit VA display and have HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs as standard. The difference between the two screens is that, the 24-inch XB2472HD-B has slightly higher brightness (300cd/m2 against 250cd/m2 of 27-inch X2775HDS-B model) and lacks 4-port USB hub and integrated speakers available in the 27-inch model. The XB2472HD-B should start shipping by the end of the month for 24,800 ($323) with the X2775HDS-B to follow in September for around 34,800 ($453).
Usually it was Android and iPhone that gets all the DIY love, but this time we have an exception. Mike Linnen has turned his attention to the less DIY favorite Windows Phone 7, Azure and a Netduino Plus to get his home hacking on. he .NET-powered micro-controller is the heart of Linnen’s new sprinkler system which can be scheduled to turn on and off automatically or manually triggered remotely from his WP7 handset. The system also monitors weather forecasts and, if the chance of rain is above 39-percent, any sprinkler activity for the day is canceled to avoid over watering the grass and plants. It’s all pretty neat, and there’s some DOS command line action thrown in for good measure.
Apple has decided to do something about the earthquakes that strikes the tectonically-volatile nation, Japan. Japan has the most sophisticated alarm in the world, delivering life-saving warnings seconds or minutes before disaster strikes. The latest Apple’s iOS 5 will hook into the country’s early warning system to provide alerts to the iOS users. It is to be noted that iOS users already had access to this functionality via apps like Yurekuru, but iOS 5 will bring it directly into the operating system. The service can be activated in the Notification Center settings pane, accompanied by a warning that the constant connection will deplete your battery faster — a fair exchange if it saves your life.
The iOS hacking community has cracked the Apple’s latest iOS beta in two days from its release. The hackers has made available of the Sn0wbreeze 2.8 Beta 6 unlock tool, that will give you with developer credentials jailbreak access to iOS 5 beta 6. The hack works on most iOS devices with the sole exception of the iPad 2.
AMD has finally released information on its updated chips for its Fusion E and C series APUs. The updated “Zacate” and “Ontario” APUs will come with DDR-1333 and HDMI 1.4a support, snaring bragging rights to faster memory and 3D output for 3D-enabled televisions. The rumors about the refreshed Fusion APU’s were formally surfaced at the last Computex. These new chips increase the idle battery life time by up to 10.5 hours for E-series and 12 hours on the C-Series. Although AMD didn’t name any specific manufacturers, AMD says that machines rocking the new APUs are available starting today. Read the press release for more information.
Japan’s third biggest mobile operator, SoftBank has announced a Android powered smartphone, the Yahoo! phone. this is a strange move considering Google is Yahoo’s biggest rival. This development is all the more confounding because the latter has a close relationship with Google’s nemesis, Microsoft. Let’s not forget the fact that Bing also powers Yahoo’s search engine.
Samsung has officially launched another smartphone in the Galaxy line up. This time they have come up with Samsung Galaxy R which is mid level smartphone with similar hardware specification to Samsung Galaxy S II. This new Galaxy R will be a cheaper alternative to Galaxy S II and is a hit in Sweden, where it is launched last month as Galaxy Z. This device will soon be made available in Europe and Asia in the coming days with some sacrifice to make it fit in the budget market and will be marketed against LG Optimus 2x.
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