Sunday, July 31, 2011

Microsoft crowns 20 winners in Mango app contest, losers go home fruitless

Microsoft crowns 20 winners in Mango app contest, losers go home fruitlessWe thought Mango's nectar was already pretty damn sweet, but a group of young developers recently took up the challenge to make the next generation Windows Phone 7 experience even more delicious. Following up on last year's 'Rockstar' competition, Microsoft asked students to submit Mango app prototypes via Twitter, with the promise of developers phones for the top entries. Among the top 20 #WPAppItUp submissions are a program that helps the colorblind figure out what shade of puce they're peeping, and a sadistic alarm clock that requires users to solve puzzles before hitting the snooze button. Apparently, Microsoft still has 30 Windows Phones to give away, and is looking for young devs to offer up America's next top Mango app. Submission guidelines can be found at the source link below.

[Thanks, E-Dan]

Sony’s Qriocity Video Service Headed To Xperia Smartphones

Sony has announced that its video service will be available Qriocity in a range of smartphones from Sony Ericsson is August, the first and service users can buy and rent movies on their smartphone Xperia.
Sony Ericson Brand Smartphone Sony’s Qriocity Video Service Headed To Xperia Smartphones

Qriocity service will be available in a wide range of Sony Xperia devices at first, including the Arc de Xperia, Xperia Neo, Play, Xperia, Xperia Pro and other devices and will be released as a software upgrade to devices.The service that will provide an intuitive and user to buy or rent movies and TV shows from NBC Universal International Television Distribution, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and local studies. The latest versions will be available along with an extensive catalog.

It is unclear at the time that the devices will receive the first update Xperia, Sony has said it will depend on the country and the carrier.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Comwave ePhone for Blackberry Playbook

Comwave ePhone for Blackberry Playbook Comwave ePhone for Blackberry Playbook

Comwave ePhone

Comwave, a leading VoIP home phone and long distance provider, has completed a BlackBerry PlayBook App for their new ePhone product. Comwave ePhone is currently the only BlackBerry PlayBook App that allows you to make and receive phone calls using your PlayBook from anywhere you want! Sit on the couch, in the boardroom, or in your Hotel room and make and receive calls just like a regular phone. Additionally, Comwave ePhone allows consumers to make Video Calls to other ePhone users as well at no additional charge.

For a limited time only, consumers can download a 30-Day Risk Free trial and enjoy 100 minutes of free calling to almost 60 countries including; Canada, USA, UK, India and many more. Consumers will also receive their own phone number to receive calls directly to their BlackBerry PlayBook. Once the free trial has expired, consumers will have the option to purchase the App for just $20/year which includes:

 

- Unlimited Free Incoming calls

 

- 250 Free Minutes per month to call almost 60 countries

 

- No monthly fees…Just a one-time annual fee of $20

 

 

Download Comwave’s free PlayBook App today by searching “Comwave” on Blackberry App World from your BlackBerry PlayBook.

 

“This is a very exciting product for Blackberry Playbook fans offering incredible value at just $20 per year,” says Darryl Singer, Comwave’s Director of Digital Marketing. “We’ve converted the Playbook into a fully functional telephone with built-in video where you can call around the globe and receive a call from the office.”

 

Friday, July 29, 2011

Engadget Primed: are multi-core chips worth the investment?

Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com.

My, how times have changed over the last eight months. At CES 2011, we ecstatically witnessed the introduction of mobile devices with dual-core CPUs and drooled over the possibilities we'd soon have at our fingertips. Now, we look down at anything that doesn't have more than one core -- regardless of its performance. Not only are these new chips quickly becoming mainstream, Moore's Law is in full effect with our handheld devices since tri-core and quad-core systems are just over the horizon. We can't even fathom what's in the pipeline for the year 2015 and beyond (we don't think we're too far away from that 3D shark seen in Back to the Future 2).

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here, however. After all, we first need to wrap our puny human minds around the idea of what this newfound power can do, and why it's changing the entire landscape of smartphones and tablets. In this edition of Primed, we'll focus on why multicore technology makes such a difference in the way we use our handheld devices, whether we should even consider purchasing a handset with a single-core chip inside, and why one-core tech is so 2010. Check out the whole enchilada after the break.

Table of Contents

The birth of multicore
Benefits of multicore chips
Factors to look for
What lies ahead
Wrap-up

The birth of multicore

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We push today's smartphones to the limit every day, completely oblivious that we're doing that much stuff on them. As new software applications and updates come out to improve our devices, the strain on our hardware increases as it works to run the additional functionality. Faster data speeds, gaming, video conferencing, multitasking and many other performance-intensive activities add a heavy burden to our once-speedy 1GHz single-core CPU. It simply doesn't matter if it's continually maxed out, attempting to keep up with the smartphone's skyrocketing demands. Such a weight on our mobile devices lend to a slower and less efficient execution -- and subsequent frowns and expletives.

First, let's get the brass tacks out of the way. A core, in its basic terminology, is a distinct CPU. Any singular core is capable of executing all of the necessary computations and instructions to ensure a smartphone can function at all. Until the last year or so, one core is all we really needed in a mobile device; there simply wasn't enough demand on the processor to need that much more performance.

However, software became more complex, operating systems added more functionality, and mobile applications exploded in popularity. New phones can conduct video conferences, play graphics-intensive games, record video in 1080p, and multitask dozens of apps at once. These activities leave our phones with no hope of keeping up with our daily grind.

Chipmakers were able to crank out processors with faster clock speeds and slightly lower nanometer counts (more on that later), but they were quickly approaching a wall: these CPUs, if made any more powerful, would become too inefficient for use in a smartphone or tablet without making it large enough to carry cooling units. In a day and age where phonemakers are competing for the title of "world's thinnest phone," processors must be able to accommodate them while boosting performance simultaneously. A chip with any higher clock speed or cache -- remaining confined to the same small space -- would not only obliterate battery life, it would make the phone too hot to operate due to the overwhelming amount of thermal heat dissipating from it.

Luckily, desktop chipsets went through a similar conundrum five or six years ago. Single-core CPUs hit a point where boosting clock speeds became too inefficient.(More specific here) Instead of trying to bump up the capacity of one processor, the next logical step was to add more of them and split the difference. With this feat of engineering, the multicore era was born; given the rapid influx of smartphone capacity, it was only a matter of time before mobile devices followed the same path.

Benefits of multicore chips

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Multicore is swooping in to save the day. Let's say you're having a rough time at work; there's deadlines to keep and the mounds of paperwork continue to pile up, and fears of getting behind are growing. How much easier would the job become if you have someone else sharing half of the workload with you? What if both of you specialize in different areas? This is an illustration of what multicore chipsets aim to do: with extra processing cores, your device's tasks can be split up and managed much more efficiently.

A dual-core chip typically consists of two identical microprocessors living side-by-side on the same die. In a multicore system, each individual processor can tackle separate duties. If you're running a streaming audio app while simultaneously catching up on Engadget news in the web browser, one core can now be dedicated to each specific responsibility, allowing for a faster and smoother experience not only in your multimedia and browser, but in all of your phone's basic functions as well.

When using a phone with a single core CPU, have you ever noticed that basic processes and requests offer a fluid and smooth response -- until you try watching a video or opening a MP3 file? As additional jobs get tossed into the pipeline (queues that schedule / prioritize each necessary task and tell the processor in which order to do everything), it bogs the processor down because it can only perform one task at a time. By having extra cores at the OS's disposal, it allows core A to handle the multimedia while core B is freed to focus on the basic functions that keep the phone running smoothly.

Some requests handled by our CPU can be complex tasks consisting of multiple steps. These can take forever if only one processor's involved, because each task has to be completed one-by-one. On a dual-core device, however, both cores employ the age-old strategy of teamwork to handle the duty faster. This is what multithreading can do to help -- multiple streams of data now have more than one outlet to push through, increasing the processing time and efficiency.

Dual-core is more battery efficient

It should make sense by now why having multiple cores sharing the same workload would be a more efficient means of processing tasks on your phone. Not only does this make multitasking much less of a nightmare, it adds to your total battery life. A 1GHz dual-core chip (where both cores are 1GHz each) that splits up the assigned tasks would only need to run at half its maximum clocking speed; the reduced speed of each core will result in the same -- if not slightly better -- performance and lower power requirements. Lower frequencies result in less mandated voltage, and the consequential reduction of power is reduced by the square of the voltage decrease.

Most modern chipsets are designed to work with the platform's built-in task scheduler to ensure the CPU's running at the most optimal speed and voltage. When your device only has to worry about sustaining a few apps or basic processes, and only requires a small amount of processing power, there's no point in keeping both cores clocked out at 1GHz each. Doing so causes the phone to undergo a large amount of idle time, so the CPU ideally will minimize its output to match what the system requires in order to maximize battery life.

In fact, some phones give you the opportunity to determine a CPU's current clock speed, as well as its absolute minimum and maximum. If you own an Android device, one such application that can measure these stats is Quadrant Standard, a benchmark we mentioned in our last Primed. By selecting "system information," the app will give you a full rundown of what speed your CPU's working at currently and its upper / lower capacity.

Of course, chipmakers are doing everything possible on their end to assure higher power efficiency, but the software it runs on needs to be optimized -- both from the OS and individual apps. There's a massive amount of complexities involved when coding for multi-core devices; in most cases the OS is already optimized (Android, a Linux-based platform, has been this way practically since its inception), so any additional battery life savings are left to the devs. If developers don't know how to code for proper multithreading, their app could ultimately suck the battery dry in no time at all because it's still reliant on stuffing everything down one pipe. Since dual-core hasn't been around too long, it's likely we'll see mammoth increases in this category as devs learn to adjust to the new chips.

Sadly, we don't get the option of dictating how our CPUs run -- manufacturers make their chips smart enough to automatically adjust clock speeds, reallocate resources to handle pre-determined tasks, and do anything else necessary to optimize your phone's performance. This likely is for our benefit, since we'd likely just tinker with the settings and cause the phone to either underwork or overwork if we don't know what we're doing. Additionally, with dev coding already so advanced, user-adjustable CPUs would simply toss on an extra layer of complexity. So while we'd love to have the option of turning off specific cores and reallocating resources to however we see fit, chipmakers have at least found the most ideal way to manage our power consumption for now.

Dual-core is faster

Many chipmakers elect to run their CPUs as part of a SoC -- a system-on-chip -- which saves money and consolidates space inside the phone by including several elements of a phone's processing power onto one integrated circuit. For instance, NVIDIA's Tegra 2 throws several "purpose-built cores" in: an eight-core GeForce GPU, a core designed specially for audio, two cores for video encoding / decoding, and myriads of other cores that specialize in one form or another. By keeping these essential elements together on one SoC, it takes much less time and energy for everything to talk to each other.

Many popular websites feature ActiveX / JavaScript content, embedded video, and various other forms of multimedia. In a single-core system, that lonely CPU not only bears the load of processing the site's content, video decoding, Flash content, and anything else related to the browser, it also is required to handle everything going on in the background -- Facebook and Twitter streams, the phone app (which is constantly pinging the cell tower), messaging, calendars, and anything else. The heavy burden has the poor core overworked; it's running at the absolute maximum frequency, it's slowing the rest of the phone down, and it's gobbling up battery life for breakfast. Below is a demonstration of the speed difference between a dual-core and single-core.

Faster multitasking and UI response

Smooth multitasking on a single-core device can bring lackluster results. What good does it do to have 40 apps running in the background if it takes 30 seconds to pull one of them up and begin using it? Like we mentioned earlier, the more tasks you stuff into the pipeline, the longer it takes for the processor to crank through them all. Indeed, everything suffers as a result.

Touch responsiveness typically gets hit hard in this kind of situation. Since user interaction is inherently latent as it is, further delays in processing time are inevitable when multitasking. Single-core CPUs, when being fully utilized, cannot immediately switch over to get these specific tasks taken care of. Indeed, in a dual-core system, one core can specifically work on these basic user tasks while the other tackles more intensive jobs, allowing for faster and smoother multitasking and bringing back a more immediate response to your touch gestures.

Dual-core offers a better gaming experience

Have you ever wondered why you can't play console-quality games on your phone? Unfortunately, a chipset with this capability of handling advanced graphics of that degree hasn't been brought to market yet (fret not, they're on their way), but dual-core SoCs at least allow for a better gaming experience.

Multi-core technology is at the root of our most advanced gaming consoles. The Xbox 360, for instance, is outfitted with three 3.2GHz PowerPC cores and a 500MHz ATI GPU with 10MB of embedded DRAM. When we compare this setup to that found on our phones, it's no wonder we still have a long ways to go. But we're getting closer; today's mobile game engines are now fitted with multithreading to take advantage of the constantly evolving CPUs that're running them. These engines have reduced the size of individual tasks that the processor has to work through, and increased the number of threads to enable the CPU to push through more jobs simultaneously. Allowing the game's AI to run on a separate processor as the rendering lends to a much smoother gameplay with better graphics.

Taking a look at the Adreno roadmap below, it's not far-fetched to think that our phones and tablets will be up to par with current gaming consoles:

Many of the dual-core chipsets on market now offer a quality gaming environment that's comparable with the last generation of consoles. Qualcomm claims its Andreno 2xx series (found in this year's Snapdragon chips) brings game performance similar to the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Wii, Tegra 2 chips offer an ultra-low power GeForce GPU with eight cores to do the heavy lifting on the graphics, and Apple says the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 GPU found in its A5 SoC is nine times as powerful as the A4.

What else does an extra core offer?

Besides offering a better battery, faster loading, multithreading and improved gaming, we saw a lot of new functionality come to our phones over the last year, and multi-core tech is largely to thank. 1080p video playback and capture, glasses-free 3D technology, improved speech recognition and language processing, improved multimedia, higher-resolution displays, and many more features are much easier to accomplish using dual-core capabilities -- and as we start piling on more cores, it'll get even better.

Frankly, most of these features can be utilized on a single-core chip (3D and 1080p, for example, can be found on the one-core LG Optimus 2X), but they're done so at the expense of overall performance. When this additional functionality is used, the processor simply can't do everything at once -- it has to prioritize, and ends up getting overworked in the end. This is why we seldom see phones do this; a few more gimmicky features aren't worth putting your handset's reputation in jeopardy.

I don't do much on my phone, so dual-core's not for me.

There's a few reasons why it makes sense to stick with a single-core device... for now, at least. The biggest one is cost. If you're using your smartphone as a glorified calculator and planner, you're likely not going to see a measurable difference in performance. Why pay a premium price associated with the extra core?

Another reason, which we'll talk more at length about in the next section, is that the most powerful single-core chips on the market still have a higher clock speed than most dual-cores. But not for long -- we'll soon begin seeing multi-core chipsets clocking at 2GHz or higher.

Unless cost is a significant factor, there are very few ways to benefit from a single-core device.

Factors to consider in a mobile CPU

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By this point you should have a general idea of why we get so excited when we see anything that's dual-core. The giddiness won't be letting up anytime soon either; Moore's Law is in full effect for tablets and phones as next year will witness the introduction of tri-core and quad-core devices. As we shop for another handset, there are a couple factors that are important to look at in a CPU.

Clock Speed

The most visible measurement of a CPU's power and worth is its clock speed. Most midrange to high-end smartphones won't settle these days for anything less than 1GHz, though this number hasn't increased much further. Once single-core chips began reaching the 1.2-1.5GHz threshold, it was virtually impossible to continue boosting this particular number any higher without making the phone overheat too much; what's more, dual-core chips are typically at a lower clock speed than the highest-performing singles. What gives?

When you're given two cores at 1GHz each, your performance will become much more effective than just one core with 1.2GHz. It's awfully hard to compare clock speeds between the two because of this. Only when we're judging multi-core speeds on a level playing field will we actually have an accurate assessment of performance. And until the software catches up with the capability of the new multi-core chips (ie. developers code their apps to use multithreading optimally), these processors won't give us a precise indication of how well our CPU is actually performing anyway. For now, take dual-core clock speeds at face value -- a decent generalized method of measuring a CPU's ability to perform, but that's about it.

Nanometer count

Nanometers, in the case of a CPU, measures the size of a transistor. When it's smaller, more transistors can fit on the same board, which generally translates into a better performance. Tinier transistors will also consume less energy, allowing the chipset to run at a higher frequency without worries of your phone melting, and we'd likely see an overall improvement in battery efficiency. Lastly, a smaller size is typically less expensive to manufacture.

The newest generation of chips offer a much smaller transistor size, with most competitive SoCs having reached 45nm. Don't blink though -- the next-gen chipsets will be as low as 28nm, and many semiconductors are already working on 10nm solutions (though time to market is way beyond the horizon).

What we can expect to see soon

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Quad-core

A few companies (such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm) have introduced quad-core chipsets that should be available for sampling sometime later this year, and will likely appear in mobile devices at some point in 2012. If this year's been any indication, there's a good chance we'll see Tegra 3 -- aka Kal-El -- come to market first.

The transition to quad-core will give another massive boost in performance altogether. Additional cores will enable our phones to handle even more of a workload, which means we can start looking forward to console-quality gaming, an exponential increase in speed, even higher-res displays, 1440p video playback, improvements in speech recognition, and lower power consumption (to name a few). Will quad-core devices will make our current high-end handsets look turtle-slow?

NVIDIA released the above video demonstrating the graphics on Kal-El -- which isn't even running at its final market speed, by the way -- and shows its comparison to a Tegra 2.

ARM Cortex A15

If your phone or tablet has a CPU from NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Samsung, or Qualcomm in it, it's most likely been licensed to use ARM's chip architecture and / or instruction sets (Qualcomm designs its own chips but licenses the ARMv7 instruction set). Many of today's dual-core devices, such as Tegra 2 and Samsung's Exynos, run off of the ARM Cortex A9 architecture, and the company behind it all continues to refine its craft. Recently the processing giant announced its next-gen Cortex A15, which will be available by the end of 2012.

ARM's partners will first use A15 on dual-core processors and eventually start using quad-core. At its maximum capacity, the A15 will be able to clock up to 2.5GHz and extend out to 16 cores. Certainly, it'll be quite a while before we see phones that reach those types of numbers, but we like seeing what path is going to take us there.

Intel

Intel is one of the fiercest competitors in the desktop and laptop CPU space, but has barely even graced mobile devices with its presence. That's all about to change, however, as the company's released a tablet chip by the name of Oak Trail that will soon be available in Windows 7, Android, and Meego tablets. This will be succeeded by Cloverview -- another tablet CPU shrunk down to 32nm -- and an unnamed 22nm chipset to be announced in 2013. For smartphones, a 32nm chip code-named Medfield will begin appearing in devices early next year.

2GHz

In April, Samsung unveiled its intention to bring dual-core smartphones running at 2GHz by next year. These chips will likely be taking advantage of ARM's Cortex-A9, which has a design that's capable of reaching these speeds.

Wrap-up

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It's time to look at the bottom line. Is it worth investing in a phone or tablet with a dual-core, high-performance CPU? The answer isn't as cut and dried as we'd like it to be, but your daily grind should be a strong indicator of what your ROI will be. If all your smartphone is being used for is some basic emailing, web surfing and texting, it's probably not worth the difference in cost to go with a better processor at this point in time -- the difference won't be that significant. But if you're constantly using your handheld device for work, play, and everything in between, you'll want to take advantage of the higher performance with better yields in battery life.

As you can see, the landscape of mobile processing technology is constantly evolving. Agree with Moore's Law or not, dual-core will quickly become mainstream, and quad-core chips are likely to grace high-end devices sometime in 2012. How long will it be before cost really isn't a factor anymore? Hard to say -- for all we know, by this time next year we may be writing about single-core devices in our history e-textbooks.

Samsung's Q2 Smartphone Growth Shows that the Race Is Its to Lose

The 103 million smartphones shipped in Q2 represent a YoY growth of 62% and a QoQ growth of 2.2%. While the annual growth rates and 2H 11 outlooks appear healthy for the industry, Q2 did experience some ‘softness’ in the market, driven by macro-economic conditions, seasonality and a sharper than expected decline in Nokia’s smartphone business.

The perennial leader in smartphone shipments tumbled to 3rd place this quarter with 16.7 million devices shipped. Nokia’s smartphone market share has plummeted from 38% last year and 24% last quarter to only 16% in Q2. Driven by the added distribution muscle of Verizon Wireless and China’s growing appetite for premium smartphones, Apple posted record shipments in Q2 of 20.3 million to become the top smartphone OEM after only four years in the business. Right on the heels of Apple, Samsung had an amazing Q2 with approximately 19 million smartphone shipments and over five million Galaxy S II shipments in its first 85 days.

Did the Samsung Galaxy S II with NFC just hit the FCC?

Hooray, another Samsung phone made it through the FCC, and it looks like it could be another Galaxy S II variant. No, it's not the Tegra 2-clad version. Nor is it the one with WiMAX. Heck, it's not even the GT-i9100 that showed up in March. Nay, it's the Samsung i777, a new form of the phone sequel we've been pulling our hair out in anticipation for. What's so great about this candidate? It's rocking an NFC antenna on the battery cover and utilizes 850 / 1900 bands in the WCDMA / HSPA variety, making it a tasty target for users on AT&T, Bell, Rogers, or Telus. The phone's dimensions are identical with Europe's current model, which nearly seals the deal on its likely association with the Galaxy S II lineup. Annoyed that this beauty is cradled in some FCC tester's hands and not yours? Fret not, August is quickly approaching.

Quickoffice Updates Its Android Smartphone Application with Additional Word, Excel and PowerPoint Editing Capabilities

Quickoffice Updates Its Android Smartphone Application with Additional Word Excel and PowerPoint Editing Capabilities Quickoffice Updates Its Android Smartphone Application with Additional Word, Excel and PowerPoint Editing Capabilities

Quickoffice

Quickoffice, Inc., the global leader in mobile office productivity solutions, today announced a new update to its Android productivity application, Quickoffice Pro v4.1, on smartphones running Android operating system versions 1.6-2.3. The latest user enhancements and features will be rolled out across its Word, Excel and PowerPoint editors, Quickword, Quicksheet and Quickpoint respectively. Quickoffice Pro for Android continues to evolve rapidly to include advanced editing features that improve the mobile Office experience on a smartphone. Among the top improvements, consumers can now view footnotes and endnotes in Word documents and leverage easy-to-use formula builder enhancements in Excel.

Quickoffice Pro enables users to access, view, edit and share Microsoft Office files on the device or in the cloud through integrated access to Box.net, Google Docs, Dropbox, Huddle, SugarSync and MobileMe accounts. In addition to the application’s advanced editing features, the latest update brings enhanced image rendering and improved document loading for 2003 and 2007 files for an improved user display experience. Within Quickword, pictures are cached to save memory, enabling faster document load time and enhancing scrolling capabilities.

 

Quickpoint offers a new range of editing features, including: undo / redo for picture insertion and deletion; shape background editing; improved bullet rendering; and insert shapes and render vertical text in a presentation. For users who mostly work on Excel spreadsheets, Quickoffice Pro v4.1 features a control redesign, which lets users actively edit inline, selecting and scrolling through different cells, rather that double tapping on different cells to make edits. Combined with the new formula builder that automatically activates when users edit inline and contextual input capabilities, consumers are able to quickly and easily revise cells for a more streamlined Excel editing experience.

 

Quickoffice Pro is available in the business category for a promotional price of $14.99.

 

Google Maps 5.8 for Android adds photo uploads, My Places, and more

Google Maps 5.8 for Android adds photo uploads My Places and more Google Maps 5.8 for Android adds photo uploads, My Places, and more

Google Maps 5.8, Android, Android Google Map

Today, Google Maps 5.8 for Android improves Places and Latitude with:

                 Upload photos for a Place

                 My Places as a simple way to manage the Places you’ve starred and recently viewed

                 Descriptive terms for Places in search results

                 Add a new Place on-the-go when checking in

                 Photo upload for a Place

When deciding on a place to go, people often want to know what a place looks like in addition to seeing ratings and reviews. You can now contribute photos to help others get a sense of places. You can now attach your photos to Places, and yours may even become the profile picture for that page. If you want to view or delete any photos you’ve contributed to Places, you can manage uploaded photos in the “Photos for Google Maps” album on your Picasa account.

 

 

My Places and descriptive terms for mobile

 

In June Google announced descriptive terms and ‘My Places’ for the desktop. Both these features are now in Google Maps for mobile. Descriptive terms appear in search results for Places to inform you what businesses are ‘known for,’ such as their ‘eggs benedict’ or being ‘worth the wait.’

 

Also, My Places for mobile provides quick access to starred and recent Place pages you’ve looked at. You can access My Places by pressing your phone’s menu button while in Google Maps.

 

Add a new Place ‘on-the-go’ for check-ins

 

If you’re out and about and want to check in, Google want to make sure you can quickly add a new Place to check into if one isn’t available. This might happen for new businesses or those that haven’t set up a Place page yet. For example, let’s say you’re at Xoogle Xtreme Sports, a new sports shop in your neighborhood. You go to check in but don’t see Xoogle in the list of places to check into and when you do a search still nothing comes up.

 

 

To solve this, you’ll now see an “Add place” option at the bottom of suggested places. Select that option, and you’ll be prompted to confirm the name and location of the new place. Then a brand new place is added (and you’re checked in). This place will be available for you and others to check into from Latitude, but will not appear as a search result in Google Maps or Google Places.

 

Google has also added ‘Bigger text’ to our experimental Labs features and ‘Download map area’ has been renamed ‘Pre-cache map area.’

 

To start using Google Maps 5.8 for Android, download the update here. This update requires an Android OS 2.1+ device and can be used anywhere Google Maps is currently available. Learn more in our help center.

 

Swing Into Action, Olympus Unleashes The Highly Anticipated PEN E-PL3 Camera Featuring Tilting LCD And The New VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder

Swing Into Action Olympus Unleashes The Highly Anticipated PEN E PL3 Camera Featuring Tilting LCD And The New VF 3 Electronic Viewfinder Swing Into Action, Olympus Unleashes The Highly Anticipated PEN E PL3 Camera Featuring Tilting LCD And The New VF 3 Electronic Viewfinder

Olympus PEN E-PL3, VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder

Imaging enthusiasts will rejoice knowing that they can finally get their hands on the desirable Olympus PEN E-PL3 – a powerful camera designed for photographers craving a portable camera with pro quality and point-and-shoot simplicity. The PEN E-PL3 is an interchangeable lens camera offering a sleek, metal body packed with versatile controls and lenses with professional image quality.

Available in September, the Olympus PEN E-PL3 will be sold at the affordable price of $699.99 and will deliver amazing image quality and lightning fast speed for brilliant still images and high-definition (HD) video. It will ship bundled with either a wide-angle zoom M.Zuiko 14-42mm lens (28mm-84mm equivalent), optimized for fast autofocus (AF) and silent AF operation, or the M. Zuiko 17mm ultra-compact and portable wide-angle pancake lens (34mm equivalent).

 

The PEN E-PL3 is a member of the Olympus PEN family of compact system cameras that also includes the new E-P3 and E-PM1. Designed to help innovation seekers capture and share their unique visions, the Olympus PEN E-PL3 combines pro quality with the portability of a point-and-shoot and features found on bulkier DSLR-type cameras.

 

Olympus also expands the power of its PEN Micro Four Thirds system family today with the introduction of the compact VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder. Attractively priced at $179.99, the VF-3 easily attaches to Olympus PEN models with an accessory port, as well as the Olympus XZ-1 for eye-level convenience.

 

Packs a Powerful Punch in a Small Package

The E-PL3 offers something for everyone. Packed with the technology and image quality normally found in a DSLR, it’s the size of a small, portable point-and-shoot camera and can easily travel with you. Its 3-inch, tilting high-resolution LCD screen helps you see high above the crowd to capture amazing stills and HD video of live performances, sports events and more. Easily move to eye-level to capture superb detail of children at play or even lower to the ground to record baby’s first steps or a pet soundly sleeping. Never worry about missing a spontaneous moment because the E-PL3 shoots at 5 frames per second.

 

Offering the versatility of interchangeable lenses, excellent quality low-light shooting thanks to the camera’s AF Illuminator, a high ISO of up to 12,800, with a blazing fast autofocus system, a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor and TruePicGoogle VI Image Processor, the Olympus PEN E-PL3 becomes the ultimate travel companion. Discretely document all of the color and pageantry of the city, even in low-light, as you make your way to your next destination.

 

Staying in for a more relaxed evening at home? Tech-enthusiasts will want to keep the E-PL3 ready by their side to capture friends and family, while showcasing their creativity. Easy-to-use technologies like in-camera Art Filters and image effects empower users to apply their unique artistic vision to images and videos so they can easily share professional-quality creations. Accessing all of the camera’s options is quick and easy with a new intuitive interface.

 

See the World through Your Own Eye

The VF-3 is perfect for photographers who like the option of holding the camera up to their eye to compose. With 100-percent field-of-view, none of the recordable subject area is cropped, making composition with the VF-3 easy and accurate. The magnification and built-in diopter adjustment of the VF-3 allow for easy viewing. The VF-3 can be rotated up to 90-degrees to accommodate more obscure shooting angles for additional creative control. Furthermore, if you are the kind of person who likes to tweak the settings on your TV, you’ll love the ability to adjust the brightness and color temperature to your own particular tastes.

 

“The Olympus PEN E-PL3 is designed to capture spontaneous, authentic moments in amazing detail without the need to sacrifice portability or quality,” said Katie Roseman, senior product manager, Olympus Imaging America Inc. “We’ve packed the affordable E-PL3 with technologies and image quality normally found in bigger DSLR-type cameras. Now, with the new VF-3, consumers can get more of a DSLR-like experience from our cameras by looking through the viewfinder to compose the shot.”

 

Availability

The Olympus PEN E-PL3 kit will be available in black, white, red and silver, starting in September 2011. The kit includes the PEN E-PL3 body, lens, USB cable, video cable, BLS-1 Li-Ion battery pack, Li-Ion battery charger, shoulder strap, OLYMPUS [ib] software CD-ROM, manuals and registration card.

 

The updated Olympus Viewer 2 software is included with all new Olympus PEN cameras. The software helps users edit and organize photos and play back AVCHD video. Olympus Viewer 2 also enables users to experience new functions, including the application of new art filters, effects and variations.

 

U.S. Pricing / Product Configurations

                 Olympus PEN E-PL3 Body with MSC M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED m14-42mm II R f3.5/5.6 Zoom or 17mm Lens Estimated Street Price: $699.99

 

                 Olympus VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder Estimated Street Price: $179.99

 

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Three slashes the cost of entry to the world of smartphones

Three slashes the cost of entry to the world of smartphones Three slashes the cost of entry to the world of smartphones

Three Mobile UK smartphone cost

Three has made entering the world of smartphones easier and more affordable, announcing five of the UK’s top selling HTC and Samsung models starting from just 15 per month, with no upfront handset cost and a minimum 500MB per month internet allowance.

To help customers looking to try a smartphone or simply switch handset or network, Three has chosen some of the most popular Android devices with all-round great value. The launch comes in light of market data suggesting that expensive upfront phone costs are a key barrier to those looking to move into the world of smartphones; coupled with the fact that Android offers a number of different handset brands to choose from and a real variety in form and function. Only last week Google reported that it is activating 550,000 Android handsets each day, a 10 per cent increase in just the last three weeks.

 

Three, which is rated the No. 1 network for smartphones by Yougov, is the only major operator offering The HTC Desire S with no upfront cost and gives you 100 minutes (any time, any network), 5000 texts and 500MB for only 22 per month. Similarly, no other major operator can beat Three’s bundle of voice, text and data on the Samsung Galaxy Ace, with no upfront cost and 100 minutes (any time, any network), 5,000 texts and 500MB of data on its Text 100 plan for 15 per month.

 

William Ripley, director of voice at Three, says: “At Three we always try to help our customers choose the best smartphones and give them the best deals. Our emphasis is not just on voice and text, but also a generous internet allowance, which is ideal for new smartphone users. Smartphone adoption is increasing at a rapid rate and Android is proving popular due to the great value, variety of manufacturers and choice of form and function it offers. As such these excellent new deals aim to cut the cost of entry to the many benefits of mobile internet.”

 

Full details of Three’s new tariff deals can be found at www.Three.co.uk/Phones/Android.

 

Introducing Windows Phone IS12T

Introducing Windows Phone IS12T Introducing Windows Phone IS12T

Windows Phone IS12T, Windows Phone 7.5

KDDI Corporation and Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company will introduce “Windows Phone IS12T,” manufactured by Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications Limited. The Windows Phone IS12T, available after September 2011, will feature the smartphone operating system “Windows Phone 7.5,” provided by Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd..

Windows Phone IS12T is Japan’s first water- and dust-proof smartphone featuring Windows Phone 7.5. In addition to much smoother operability compared to conventional smartphones, the device offers the highest quality camera for a smartphone with 13.2 megapixels, and 32 GB of internal memory, while realizing a compact size. Users can not only read and edit Microsoft Office documents, but can also store and share data through Windows Live SkyDrive, a free-of-charge cloud service operated by Microsoft. It is an attractive smartphone employing the abundant applications and technology of Internet Explorer 9, the latest web browser for PCs to realize Internet capabilities.

 

Customers can subscribe to existing pricing plans for smartphones and flat-rate packet plans.

 

Windows Phone IS12T will be displayed at KDDI Designing Studio in Harajuku, Tokyo, and au NAGOYA in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, from July 28, 2011.

 

UK Advertising Authority takes issue with Atrix's 'world's most powerful smartphone' status

UK Advertising Authority takes issue with Atrix's 'world's most powerful smartphone' status

Just about every day we're treated to claims of a device being the "world's first" or "world's biggest" or, indeed, "world's fastest." Typically we file these stories into the "world's least exciting" folder in our inbox, but in the UK, Motorola's advertising wing has really been pushing the "world's most powerful smartphone" angle for the Atrix. Sharp-eyed UK viewers (one of whom was kind enough to write in to us) aren't buying it, however, complaining to the nation's Advertising Standards Authority, the ASA. Citing the Galaxy S II, which has a 1.2GHz processor compared to the Atrix's 1GHz, the ASA has indicated that the complaint will be upheld, as you can see for yourself after the break. Now, it's looking like Motorola will have to come up with a new way to market the thing over there. We'd suggest "smartphone most likely to run Firefox in an overpriced laptop dock," but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Sprint and LightSquared confirm agreement, 15 years worth of LTE network sharing and more

The rumors were true, but given the long, torrid affair between these two it shouldn't be a surprise. Sprint and LightSquared have confirmed their intentions to the world, stepping into a whopping 15 year agreement that will be worth $9 billion in cash for Sprint and will save LightSquared an estimated $13 billion. LightSquared will have the right to sell access to Sprint's burgeoning LTE network, while Sprint can also piggy-back on the other's existing capacity where needed. Additionally, LightSquared will be able to roam on Sprint's current 3G network, opening new doors for one while helping the other accelerate its apparent transition to LTE. This is of course good news for Sprint and naturally for LightSquared, which is trying desperately to put the whole GPS fiasco behind it. The loser? Clearwire, we'd say -- and WiMAX in general.

Show full PR text

Sprint Nextel and LightSquared Announce Spectrum Hosting and Network Services Agreement
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:

LightSquared enters into a Spectrum Hosting and Network Services Agreement with Sprint that is expected to result in substantial savings for LightSquared and accelerate completion of LightSquared's nationwide 4G-LTE network

Sprint has option to purchase 4G capacity from LightSquared
LightSquared enters into a nationwide 3G Roaming Agreement with Sprint

http://www.LightSquared.com (Graphic: LightSquared)
RESTON, Va. & OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), July 28, 2011 - LightSquared™, the nation's first wholesale-only integrated 4G-LTE wireless broadband and satellite network, and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) announced today they have entered into a 15-year agreement that includes spectrum hosting and network services, 4G wholesale, and 3G roaming.

This spectrum hosting arrangement leverages Sprint's investment in its innovative, multi-year Network Vision plan. Under the agreement, LightSquared will pay Sprint to deploy and operate a nationwide LTE network that hosts L-Band spectrum licensed to or available to LightSquared. As a wholesale-only carrier with separate core network operations, LightSquared can sell its 4G broadband capacity produced through this spectrum hosting relationship to Sprint, other wireless carriers, and retail partners.

Under the terms of the agreement, during an 11 year period, LightSquared will make payments to Sprint of approximately $9 billion in cash for spectrum hosting and network services as well as LTE and satellite purchase credits which are currently estimated to be valued at approximately $4.5 billion. The agreement also provides Sprint the opportunity to purchase up to 50 percent of LightSquared's expected L-Band 4G capacity. The wholesale purchase credits will provide Sprint the option to obtain cost-competitive access to 4G capacity by offsetting Sprint's purchases of 4G capacity from LightSquared, should Sprint elect to incorporate the L-Band LTE capability as part of its 4G offering.

This agreement is expected to lower network capital and operating expenses for LightSquared by more than $13 billion over the next eight years in comparison with the cost of a stand-alone network build. LightSquared expects the deployment of the nationwide 4G-LTE network to be completed more than one year ahead of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate to cover 260 million Americans by 2015.

LightSquared has also entered into a 3G nationwide roaming agreement with Sprint. With access to Sprint's 3G nationwide network, LightSquared's wholesale customers will be able to offer combined 4G/3G data services as soon as LightSquared launches its first 4G markets in 2012.

"This spectrum hosting agreement with LightSquared allows Sprint to more efficiently use its Network Vision platform," said Steve Elfman, president of Network Operations and Wholesale for Sprint. "In addition to improving our cash flow, it provides additional options and flexibility in how we meet our customers' future capacity needs."

"This agreement gives LightSquared a rapid and cost-effective radio access network build," said LightSquared Chairman and CEO Sanjiv Ahuja. "With our next generation satellite already operational and our independent core network build underway, LightSquared is now well positioned to meet the fast-growing market demand for wireless broadband services with its wholesale-only integrated 4G-LTE and satellite network."

The agreement is subject to LightSquared's obtaining resolution and FCC approval of certain interference issues involving terrestrial use of the L-Band spectrum.

"We believe LightSquared, in cooperation with the FCC and adjacent spectrum users, is taking proactive steps to address and resolve these issues in a timely manner," said Elfman.

Sony Ericsson Brings Xperia arc – the Ultimate Multimedia Smartphone – to the United States

Sony Ericsson Brings Xperia arc the Ultimate Multimedia Smartphone to the United States Sony Ericsson Brings Xperia arc the Ultimate Multimedia Smartphone to the United States

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc

Sony Ericsson today announced that the super-slim, stunningly designed Xperia arc will be available starting August at Sony Retail stores and store.sony.com for $599.99.  It will also be available on Amazon.com, Newegg.com, and Buy.com.  Please check with individual retailers for pricing and availability. The Xperia arc runs on the latest Android 2.3 platform and will feature the best of Sony technology, making this device one of the most powerful multimedia smartphones on the market.

“At Sony Ericsson, we strive to bring consumers the best in mobile entertainment in superior smartphone design,” said Peter Farmer, Head of Marketing for North America, Sony Ericsson. “The Xperia arc certainly delivers an entertaining smartphone experience and breathtaking design that has generated rave reviews in other markets and we’re thrilled to make it available to U.S. customers.”

 

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc combines the best of Android and Sony into one beautiful and easy-to-use device. Offering top of its class Sony technology with the Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, the Xperia arc delivers exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image, which enhances the overall entertainment experience. This smartphone also features Sony’s award-winning Exmor R for mobile sensor with its 8.1 megapixel camera, enabling high quality bright pictures and HD videos even in low light. All pictures and videos can easily be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector.

 

The Xperia arc’s eye-catching curvature design allows it to fit perfectly in the user’s hand. The smartphone is just 8.7 mm at its thinnest part and has an extra wide 4.2-inch multi-touch screen.

 

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc – Key Features

Slim, lightweight and strong, with perfect ergonomics

Extra wide 4.2-inch multi-touch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine to ensure ultimate multimedia and viewing experiences

Sony Exmor R for mobile: for best-in-class low-light photography and video capture

8.1 megapixel camera and HD video recording capability

Android Market – thousands of applications to keep you entertained

 

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc Color Availability

Sony Store – Midnight Blue

Newegg.com, Buy.com and Amazon.com – Midnight Blue and Misty Silver

 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Top 5 Facebook for BlackBerry v2.0 App Features

The Facebook team here at Research In Motion (RIM) announce today that the official Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 app has left beta and is launching in the BlackBerry App World storefront! (Note: The Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 app is available for users running BlackBerry Device Software v5.0 and up.)  Above is a video of Douglas and Blake from the RIM Facebook team discussing the top five Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 app features.

Mobile Gaming Revenues Will Exceed $16 Billion in 2016, as In-App Payments Grow

Mobile gaming is establishing itself as a serious form of mass entertainment, appealing to a diverse group of consumers across the world. The growth in this market is driven on one hand by the emergence of modern touchscreen smartphones as a suitable gaming platform, and on the other hand by innovation in casual games that attract users from both genders and from all age groups.

This is also reflected in the industry’s revenue base, which will grow from less than $5 billion in 2011 to more than $16 billion in 2016.

GreatSchools Mobile App Now Available

Education technology innovator GreatSchools announces the launch of a free mobile app in the iTunes App Store. The GreatSchools Finder allows parents, realtors, and educators to find information, ratings, and reviews on 125,000 K-12 public and private schools in the U.S. Drawing from the nation’s most trusted source of school performance information, the app gives users instantaneous access to a wealth of data whenever and wherever they need it. To watch a demo video of the product, go here: GreatSchools Finder demo video.

A Special Samsung Galaxy SII for AT&T

Some may have been kinda bittersweet when it was announced that AT&T would be having a Samsung Galaxy SII that has a full side-sliding QWERTY keypad and the 4-Android buttons on the main body. After all, they are expecting a phone that would have the same feel as the ones that had reached the 3-million-count, the standard Galaxy SII that came all the way from Korea and being enjoyed everywhere else in the world.

While the rest of the AT&T customers may feel sulky because of it, you will be surprised with the info that AT&T will have two Samsung Galaxy SII versions. Now that is a choice worth choosing. We have seen the one in with QWERTY and the other one is not the standard version, but a 100% keyless Galaxy SII. Yep, nothing else is on the front face than full-range touch screen goodness at every inch. Everyone hopes that both phones would be out in the market very soon.

Source: Android Central

Vizit Digital Photo Frame by Isabella Products

Vizit Digital Photo Frame by Isabella Products Vizit Digital Photo Frame by Isabella Products

Vizit Digital Photo Frame

In a situation where military families are split up, sometimes even thousands upon thousands of miles away, it can be tough to pass the time without having loved ones close to you. Sharing memories, and life itself, is the most precious gift we are given during our lifetimes. Vizit solves this challenge. Vizit, a 10.4” LCD Display, is a mobile Internet device that allows users to deliver photos and memories over its VizitMe.com content management platform via the cellular network.

· Vizit is the first device of its kind to deliver two-way photo sharing with no hassles

a) People can respond to photos sent directly to their frame through Vizit’s touch screen user face

· Thanks to the utilization of AT&T cellular network in the U.S. and Vodaphone providing services in Europe and Saudi region, as long as the Vizit digital photo frame is plugged into a power source it will receive pictures inside, outside, and wherever there is a cellular connection. Sharing anytime, anywhere, and anyplace with Vizit

· Vizit is a cellular media delivery solution that is truly seamless and secure

a) Only pictures sent from your frame’s established “friends” will be able to send pictures to your frame

b) Add other family members and friends to the account to receive photo updates from loved ones across the country!

· Real Time photo sharing allows photos to be seen under five minutes from initial delivery

· Vizit is compact, affordable, effective and most importantly you can be up and running in less than five minutes

a) Its design offers a simple and immediate user experience that can be enjoyed directly out of the box

· Vizit is the most cost effective method of sharing memories with loved ones

a) Multiple photo plans allow you to pick the one right for your family’s sharing needs

· You can control your Vizit displays on an individual or group (up to 16 displays per account) basis so that you can deliver your same photos to multiple frames across the country to each and every family member.

Photos can be uploaded in three different and extremely convenient manners.

1) Text photos directly from your cell phone to the digital photo frame for the ultimate convenience in photo sharing

2) Upload each photo seamlessly via Isabella Product’s www.vizitme.com website. Photos and accounts can be managed via this medium as well.

3) Email photos directly to the frame, for ease in sharing

 

Vizit connects the mobile network and the digital photo frame, eliminating the need for Wi-Fi. Only approved email addresses and mobile phone numbers are allowed to send photos which are automatically stored on our secure website — VizitMe.comwhere photos can be accessed, edited, deleted, and organized instantly updating the frame. Seamlessly with one touch the carousel menu appears, displaying graphic icons for each function. Vizit allows the viewer to reply to the sender and to forward photos to others directly from the frame.

 

The frame will automatically receive instant software updates over the air to be the latest and greatest version.

Each Vizit frame comes with a personal account on our ad-free, secure photo management platform, VizitMe.com. You can have up to 300 photos at a time on your frame and thousands more saved in your VizitMe.com storage.

 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

ROK TV On BlackBerry App World Tops 100,000 Downloads

ROK Global PLC, the mobile applications and web technologies company, has today announced ROK TV, its streamed Mobile TV service available to UK residents on BlackBerry App World, has now been downloaded by more than 100,000 people in the UK.

Commenting, Jonathan Kendrick, Chairman and CEO of ROK said “To have exceeded 100,000 downloads of ROK TV in the UK in such a short period of time is a great achievement and proves our case that Mobile TV containing quality TV channels, streamed live over mass-market 2.5G as well as 3G and Wi-Fi, is a compelling service for Content Owners and Mobile Operators to offer their customers on a subscription basis.”

Sprint to Launch Kyocera DuraCore and DuraMax (New Direct Connect CDMA Handsets)

Sprint today announced the initial phones it plans to deploy in the fourth quarter when the company launches its next-generation, push-to-talk service powered by Sprint’s broadband CDMA network. The new service – Sprint® Direct Connect – will deliver higher bandwidth capacity to keep up with customers’ data demands and is expected to extend the company’s push-to-talk coverage to almost triple the square miles of the company’s current push-to-talk offering.

The Sprint Direct Connect phones to be introduced this fall will be the Kyocera DuraCore and the Kyocera DuraMax. As previously announced, a third handset -- a Motorola smartphone -- will be described closer to the launch of Sprint Direct Connect. The devices will feature most of the capabilities available on current Sprint push-to-talk phones plus next-generation, push-to-talk applications and functionality. Specific availability dates and pricing for each device will be released later.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Apple releases iOS 4.3.5, inches towards iOS 5

Less than ten days after iOS 4.3.4 parachuted in to fix that nasty PDF exploit, Apple's gone and dropped another. So what'll Cupertino's latest fix today? Build 8L1 -- or 8E600 on 4.2.10 if you're rocking CDMA -- apparently nixes a vulnerability with "certificate validation," or you know, Apple's just really fond of keeping all you hackers on your toes. Either way, time to fire up iTunes, unless of course, you're already living in the future.

Update: Turns out you can still (tether) jailbreak with redSn0w. Peep the more coverage link below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Leak: future iOS update to introduce Siri-based voice control

Leak: future iOS update to introduce Siri-based voice control

When Apple snatched up Siri back in April, we had to wonder exactly what Cupertino was planning for the voice controlled virtual assistant. The answer, according to a new leak, is unsurprisingly obvious: iOS integration. A screenshot leaked to 9to5Mac flaunts an "Assistant" feature presumably built into a firmware update. To back up the screenshot, the aforesaid site dove into the iOS SDK and uncovered code describing Siri-like use of the iPhone's location, contact list, and song metadata. The code also outlined a "speaker" feature, opening a door for further Nuance integration in Apple products. Sound awesome? Sure it does, but keep it salty: 9to5's source says the assistant feature only just went into testing, and may not be ready in time for Apple's next big handset upgrade. Hit the source link to see the code and conjecture for yourself.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Flash Player 11 Beta Complete With 7.1 Surround Sound & 64-bit Support by Adobe

Adobe has announced the launch of its Flash Player 11 beta for desktops, which now includes support for High Definition Audio 7.1 channel surround sound directly to AIR on TV. Other features included in the new release include Stage3D API for interactive visuals to enhance collaboration in three-dimensional models. With the support of 64-bit operating systems and browsers on Linux, Mac OS and Windows.
Adobe Flash Logo Flash Player 11 Beta Complete With 7.1 Surround Sound & 64 bit Support by Adobe

Another new feature of the new version of Flash Player includes asynchronous bitmap decoding is a new feature of Flash Player, and have added to improve the responsiveness and smoother animations image decoding the initial charge and not in demand, with images that are cached as needed.

The new beta version of Flash Player also includes improvements and bug fixes related to security, stability, performance, and device compatibility.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9790 Bellagio offers unsanctioned tutorial (video)

Well BlackBerry fans, yet another variation of the Bold is now making the rounds on the internet: it's the 9790, otherwise known as the Bellagio. Although the device was first leaked in late May -- where we learned it would feature BlackBerry 7 OS, 8GB of internal memory, a touchscreen, and NFC -- RIM's latest QWERTY companion has remained below the radar ever since. Now, it's reappeared in some official tutorials, which reveal a familiar user interface. Also, two other videos offer views of the handset's exterior profile and a quick peek beneath the battery cover. Why are Lazaridis and Balsillie prepping this for sale when the Bold 9900 has yet to reach consumers? All we need is one, and the similar hardware and specs aren't building a compelling argument. Sure, RIM said it would be releasing seven upcoming smartphones in the coming months, but haven't its leaders learned that less is more? Follow the source for an extended peek at the redundancy.

Friday, July 22, 2011

MOSAID Demonstrates Production-Ready 256Gb HLNAND Flash Memory Device

MOSAID Demonstrates Production Ready 256Gb HLNAND Flash Memory Device MOSAID Demonstrates Production Ready 256Gb HLNAND Flash Memory Device

MOSAID 256Gb HLNAND Flash Memory Device

MOSAID Technologies Inc. today announced that it has engineered a production-ready 256Gb HLNAND (HyperLink NAND) Flash memory semiconductor chip. The high-speed, high-density 256Gb MLC (Multi Level Cell) HLNAND MCP (Multi-Chip Package) is optimized for mass storage applications, including enterprise data centers and high-performance computing applications.

“Our 256Gb HLNAND Flash device is one of the fastest, highest-density, best performing Flash memory devices on the market,” said Jin-Ki Kim, Vice President, Research and Development, MOSAID. “By sampling production-ready 256Gb HLNAND devices, we are demonstrating that HLNAND can be manufactured cost-effectively, flexibly and at high yields. We are seeing significant interest in HLNAND because it is a high-performance, point-to-point interface that is scalable to large memory configurations without bandwidth degradation.”

 

Flash Memory Powering the Cloud

 

Cloud computing services are among the fastest growing areas of enterprise IT investment. A report by Gartner expects large enterprises to have dynamic cloudsourcing teams in place by 2012. Cloud computing requires enterprise storage infrastructure that is flexible enough to accommodate elastic datacenter provisioning, while still providing the high performance expected by enterprise users. With the rise in cloud computing, there is growing demand for higher performance Flash memory devices, such as MOSAID’s HLNAND, and Solid State Drives (SSDs) that enable significant improvements in enterprise IT environments.

 

The HLNAND 256Gb Flash memory device is packaged as an MCP composed of a stack of nine dies – eight industry-standard NAND Flash chips, and one MOSAID proprietary ASIC interface chip. The design supports either monolithic 32Gb MLC Toggle Mode or 32Gb MLC legacy asynchronous NAND Flash chips, evenly distributed over four banks. The interface chip contains the external high-speed HyperLink interface and controls each flash bank automatically and independently. The design supports an Error Detection Code (EDC) feature to eliminate bit errors in ‘Command Packets’ to ensure reliability and error-free communication of commands and register data. The device provides user configurable virtual pages for read with the various page depth choices, 2048B, 4096B, 8192B and a full page including extra bits.

Manufacturing and Availability

 

MOSAID has selected TSMC to manufacture samples of its production-ready HLNAND interface chip. The highly flexible design of the HLNAND interface chip supports different process nodes and interfaces, and can support both Toggle Mode and legacy asynchronous NAND Flash memory chips.

HLNAND2 Sampling Soon

 

MOSAID plans to introduce sample silicon based on its HLNAND2 specification in late 2011. Utilizing a high-speed, point-to-point ring topology, HLNAND2 facilitates SSD development with data transfer rates into the multiple Gigabyte-per-second range. With a raw data rate of up to 800MB/s per channel, and 1600MB/s per channel with DuplexRW, HLNAND2 requires only one memory channel to reach a data transfer rate on the host interface exceeding 1 GB/s. In comparison, NAND Flash interfaces based on a parallel bus structure are limited to transfer rates of up to 200MB/s, with only a few devices supported on each channel.

 

MOSAID is showcasing its HLNAND technology at the 2011 Flash Memory Summit, August 9-11, in Santa Clara, California.

 

Three UK Launches Facebook For Every Phone

Three UK Launches Facebook For Every Phone Three UK Launches Facebook For Every Phone

Facebook For Every Phone

Three and Facebook today announced that Three is offering their customers a new Facebook mobile application for Java-based feature phones from 22nd July. Three is also sponsoring the launch by enabling their customers to download and use this application for six-months without incurring any data charges. 

The Facebook for Every Phone application provides a better and faster Facebook experience for feature phones than other similar applications and mobile sites. It brings Facebook’s most popular features and user experience to a wide range of Java handsets, and is optimised for speed and performance on Three’s network. This application includes several new and unique features that enable people to stay connected and easily share through Facebook including:

 

Faster browsing of News Feed stories and Photos

Easy photo uploads from your phone

Synchronize local address book contacts with Facebook friends

One-time download of application

 

 

Facebook for Every Phone is optimised to use minimal data while providing people with a fast and engaging user experience on feature phones. The application uses less data than other Java applications or mobile sites, enabling it to be much more affordable for people to use when the trial period ends.

 

With the UK’s biggest 3G network, Three gives its customers the ability to stay connected while on the go in more places than any other 3G network across the UK. The Three network has also been optimised for high speed mobile internet access, so customers can stay in touch with their Facebook friends, and share their experiences, quickly and conveniently.

 

Charlotte Spencer, Three’s Director of Products and Services, said: “Our customers love Facebook, which is why we are delighted to be able to offer them a new way to stay in touch and why we are extending the free offer to six-months rather than just 90-days.

 

“Three is all about giving people high-speed mobile internet access, and although more and more of our customers are now using smartphones, this deal ensures that those on older handsets can still have a great Facebook experience on their phone – and can begin to see what the benefits would be of having All-you-can-eat data.”

 

Three also continues to offer customers 0.facebook.com access for free, alongside a range of phones which offer Facebook applications and experiences.

 

“At Facebook, we strive to not only provide a great experience on the website, but to also provide a great Facebook experience from any mobile device they choose,” said Javier Olivan, Head of International Growth, Facebook. “Through our collaboration with Three we’re thrilled we can offer yet another way for people to stay connected through Facebook and bring a high quality and high speed mobile application experience to feature phones in an affordable way.”

 

T-Mobile Announces the Upcoming Availability of the New HTC Wildfire S

T Mobile Announces the Upcoming Availability of the New HTC Wildfire S T Mobile Announces the Upcoming Availability of the New HTC Wildfire S

HTC Wildfire S

Today, T-Mobile announces the upcoming availability of the new HTC Wildfire S – a stylish and compact Android-powered handset built with simplicity in mind. The HTC Wildfire S, expected to become available on August 3 for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate with a two-year service agreement and qualifying Classic voice and data plan (plus taxes and fees), comes equipped with the user-friendly HTC Sense experience combined with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system.

Packaged in a stylish form-factor, including a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen display, the HTC Wildfire S is perfect for browsing the Web, accessing turn-by-turn navigation, sending and receiving emails, and keeping up with family and friends via Facebook and Twitter. The new low-cost smartphone also offers essential smartphone features such as a 5-megapixel camera and video recorder and a virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype for easy text input.

 

The HTC Wildfire S will be available in a white color finish at T-Mobile retails stores nationwide and online at http://ww.t-mobile.com. The HTC Wildfire S will also be available in a black color finish exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club and http://ww.t-mobile.com.

 

WIND Mobile Launches Pay Your Way Service

WIND Mobile Launches Pay Your Way Service WIND Mobile Launches Pay Your Way Service

WIND Mobile

WIND Mobile has made wireless accessible to more Canadians by offering unbeatable value, eliminating mysterious charges like the system access fee and offering the freedom of no-term contracts. By launching Pay Your Way, WIND is bringing wireless to even more people by allowing them to pay for only what they use, offering them total control over their wireless spend. 

Pay Your Way has one of the lowest calling rates in the market at only $0.25 per minute flat-rate across Canada to anywhere in Canada or the US. It offers the traditional prepaid benefit of no-term contract commitments, but adds some unique features to the prepaid experience like free incoming text, free Facebook, free call control features including Caller ID and Missed Call Alerts, and free CBC News and Weather updates on WINDworld mobile portal.

 

WIND’s Pay Your Way customers can extend their service life and reactivate or rollover unused credit up to 365 days with a single top-up. Subscribers also benefit from the flexibility to change to a monthly plan as their needs change and pick from a large menu of unlimited monthly add-ons starting from $5 per month.

 

“Pay Your Way provides Canadians with affordable service that responds to their individual needs.” said Scott Campbell, Chief Marketing Officer of WIND Mobile.

 

Nexus S Comes to AT&T

Since launching Nexus S with Samsung, T-Mobile and Sprint customers have enjoyed the pure Google experience, running the latest Android releases and Google mobile apps. Today we’re excited to announce a Nexus S device optimized for AT&T, available in Best Buy stores this weekend.

Nexus S runs Android 2.3 and features a 4” Super AMOLED screen, a 1 GHz processor for showing 3D graphics, front and rear facing cameras and support for NFC. It also features the latest Google mobile apps, including Google Earth, Google Maps with Navigation, Google Talk with video chat, Google Voice and Voice Actions, as well as access to more than 250,000 apps in Android Market.

Nexus S for AT&T will be available in Best Buy stores starting July 24. For those of you who just can’t wait, it’s on pre-sale today in Best Buy stores.

You can find more information at google.com/nexus or follow @googlenexus on Twitter for the latest Nexus S updates. 

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Apple Users are Mad at the Google+ App

Even though it has just been launched on the Apple platform only a couple of weeks ago, the Google+ app has created a lot of friends, being 10 million in the last 3 weeks, and even more enemies due to some limitations found on having it used on the rest of other Apple devices aside from the iPhone. One of such concerns is its limited support to devices. The iPod Touch and the iPad cannot download it and have it working.

In addition, if you have been successful on the download, maybe since you have an iPhone 3, 3GS, or an iPhone 4, you will not be able to update your profile just because you will not be able to. It will never work. You will not be able to share some pics, a post, or even a link using the app. With problems like this to begin with, looks like Google has to go quite a long way before Apple users give that +1 to this Google app.

Source: Unwired View

Apple outpaces Nokia in global smartphone shipments

Today's "clearly disappointing" news from Nokia just got even more clear in its disappointment. As touched on during an earnings call this morning, the Finnish handset manufacturer's smartphone shipments took a 34 percent dip down from the same quarter last year, to 16.7 million units -- that's markedly fewer than the 20.3 million that Apple shipped during that same time period, as announced in its far more celebratory earnings report. Despite his stated disappointment, however, Nokia chief Stephen Elop insists that the company is on the right track, making "better than expected progress." Really, it's important in times like these for a company to focus on the more positive side of things.

Verizon flips the switch on 28 new LTE markets, Louisville Sluggers now available with 4G

Verizon flips the switch on 28 new LTE markets, Louisville Sluggers now available with 4G

3G wireless is now less a privilege than a right, and and with any luck our 4G networks will be similarly self-evident soon. Verizon is doing its part, flipping the switch on 28 new LTE markets today. This boosts the total number of covered areas to 102. Added highlights include: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Augusta, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Hilo, Hawaii. Meanwhile, folks in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Antonio, and Seattle can now roam a little further from city center without losing LTE. The full list is after the break, but if you're feeling lucky just go ahead and enable everything on your handset. We've got our fingers crossed for you.

New Markets:

Decatur and Huntsville, Ala.

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Lakeland and Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.

Augusta, Ga.

Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku and Lahaina, Hawaii

Carbondale, Ill.

Wichita, Kan.

Louisville, Ky.

Baton Rouge and Hammond, La.

Springfield, Mass.

Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Toledo, Ohio

Tulsa, Okla.

Portland, Ore.

Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa.

Charleston, S.C.

Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn.

Olympia and Tacoma, Wash

Expanded Markets:

Phoenix, Ariz.

Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif.

Las Vegas, Nev.

Northern New Jersey

Dallas-Ft. Worth and San Antonio, Texas

and Seattle, Wash.

Show full PR text

On Thursday, Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE Network Will Be Available In More Than 100 Markets

Wireless Leader Turns On 28 Additional 4G LTE Markets and Expands Its 4G LTE Network in Eight Cities On July 21

07/18/2011

BASKING RIDGE, NJ - Verizon Wireless is turning on the world's most advanced wireless network in 28 additional markets this week, bringing the blazingly fast speed of 4G LTE to a total of 102 cities across the country. Today, consumers and businesses can choose from nine 4G devices – including three smartphones, a tablet, two hotspots and three USB modems – to connect to the fastest 4G LTE network in the country.

The new areas where Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network will be available Thursday include Decatur and Huntsville, Ala.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Lakeland and Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.; Augusta, Ga.; Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku and Lahaina, Hawaii; Carbondale, Ill.; Wichita, Kan.; Louisville, Ky.; Baton Rouge and Hammond, La.; Springfield, Mass.; Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Toledo, Ohio; Tulsa, Okla.; Portland, Ore.; Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa.; Charleston, S.C.; Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn.; Olympia and Tacoma, Wash; and Charleston, W.Va. The company is also expanding its 4G LTE network in Phoenix, Ariz.; Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Northern New Jersey; Dallas-Ft. Worth and San Antonio, Texas; and Seattle, Wash.

"On Thursday, when we light up 28 additional 4G LTE markets, we will offer consumers and businesses in 102 metropolitan areas the most advanced 4G wireless network on the planet, while continuing to offer the nation's most reliable 3G network coast to coast," said David Small, chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless. "In fewer than eight months we have introduced our 4G LTE network to more than 100 markets and we are continuing to aggressively expand our 4G LTE network; by the end of 2013 we plan to bring 4G LTE mobile broadband to our entire 3G coverage area."

4G LTE Devices

Consumers can choose from several devices to access the blazingly fast speeds of the 4G LTE network, including the Revolution™ by LG, DROID Charge by Samsung and ThunderBolt™ by HTC smartphones, Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1, as well as the MiFi® 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot and Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. Laptop users can enjoy speeds up to 10 times faster than the company's 3G network with three USB modems from Novatel, Pantech and LG. In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

When customers travel outside of a 4G coverage area, the devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless' 3G network is the most reliable network in the country, allowing customers with laptops and smartphones to download and use cool apps – from mobile social networking platforms to GPS-enabled maps – rapidly browse the Web to keep up with news, sports and stock quotes and stream must-see video and customized radio stations. Customers in 3G coverage areas today who purchase 4G devices will be able to take advantage of 4G speeds when the faster network becomes available in their areas.

Reliability: In and Beyond Major Cities

As the first wireless company in the world to broadly deploy game-changing 4G LTE technology, Verizon Wireless is committed to building its 4G network with the same performance and reliability for which it has long been recognized. Verizon Wireless' consistent focus on reliability is based on rigid engineering standards and a disciplined deployment approach year after year. The company's 700 MHz spectrum gives Verizon Wireless specific advantages with 4G, including a contiguous, nationwide network license.

Verizon Wireless' vision also includes bringing its 4G LTE network beyond major cities. The company is working with rural communications companies to collaboratively build and operate a 4G network in those areas using the tower and backhaul assets of the rural company and Verizon Wireless' core 4G LTE equipment and premium 700 MHz spectrum. Already, 10 rural companies have announced their participation in the LTE in Rural America program and have leased spectrum covering, in total, more than 2.1 million people in rural communities and nearly 62,000 square miles. These companies include: Bluegrass Cellular, Cross Telephone, Pioneer Cellular, Cellcom, Thumb Cellular, Strata Networks, S&R Communications, Carolina West/Clear Stream, Custer Telephone Cooperative and Convergence Technologies.

4G LTE Markets as of July 21, 2011

While Verizon Wireless' 3G network covers more than 290 million Americans, the company's 4G LTE network will be available in 102 areas on Thursday, including:

Decatur, Ala.
Huntsville, Ala.
Mobile, Ala.
Montgomery, Ala.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Fresno, Calif.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Oakland, Calif.
Sacramento, Calif.
San Diego, Calif.
San Francisco, Calif.
San Jose, Calif.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Denver, Colo.
Greater Fairfield and New Haven, Conn.
Hartford, Conn.
Washington, D.C.
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Gainesville, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Lakeland, Fla.
Miami, Fla.
Orlando, Fla.
Pensacola, Fla.
Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
Tallahassee, Fla.
Tampa, Fla.
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Athens, Ga.
Atlanta, Ga.
Augusta, Ga.
Hilo, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii
Lahaina, Hawaii
Boise, Idaho
Carbondale, Ill.
Chicago, Ill.
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Indianapolis, Ind.
West Lafayette, Ind.
Wichita, Kan.
Louisville, Ky.
Baton Rouge, La.
Hammond, La.
New Orleans, La.
Baltimore, Md.
Boston, Mass.
Springfield, Mass.
Detroit, Mich.
Flint, Mich.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Lansing, Mich.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
St. Louis, Mo.
Las Vegas, Nev.
New York, N.Y.
Rochester, N.Y.
Charlotte, N.C.
Fayetteville-Lumberton, N.C.
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Wilmington, N.C.
Akron, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Tulsa, Okla.
Portland, Ore.
Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, Pa.
Erie, Pa.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
State College, Pa.
Charleston, S.C.
Columbia, S.C.
Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
Hilton Head, S.C.
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Clarksville, Tenn./Hopkinsville, Ky.
Cleveland, Tenn.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Nashville, Tenn.
Bryan-College Station, Texas
Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
Houston, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Temple-Killeen, Texas
Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
Olympia, Wash.
Seattle, Wash.
Spokane, Wash.
Tacoma, Wash.
Charleston, W.Va.
Madison, Wis.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Since 2007, when Verizon Wireless jump-started the global 4G LTE ecosystem with its selection of LTE for its 4G technology, the company has developed deep partnerships to spearhead a broad LTE ecosystem, with many being fostered at the LTE Innovation Center, which was officially opened in Waltham, Mass. on July 12, and the Application Innovation Center, slated to open in San Francisco later this year.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Hitachi announces high-res 4.5-inch IPS display for smartphones with improved glasses-free 3D

There's still no word as to when it might actually land in some phones, but it looks like glasses-free 3D could soon see some improvements courtesy of Hitachi's latest 4.5-inch IPS display. Not only does it boast a high 1280 x 720 resolution, but it uses a less common lenticular lens approach instead of the parallax barrier method used by the likes of the Nintendo 3DS and HTC EVO 3D. According to Hitachi, that allows for some much 3D brighter images than other displays (470 cd/m2, specifically), and images that are actually brighter in 3D mode than in 2D mode. Here's hoping Hitachi shows off a bit more than the image above before too long.

Lenovo Launches Three New Tablets

Lenovo Launches Three New Tablets Lenovo Launches Three New Tablets

Lenovo tablet

Lenovo today announced its first family of tablets – the IdeaPad Tablet K1 for consumers, the ThinkPad Tablet for business customers, and the IdeaPad Tablet P1 for home and office use. The new Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 and ThinkPad Tablets are the Company’s first mobile internet devices featuring the Android^ 3.1 platform, and the IdeaPad Tablet K1 is the industry’s first Android-powered tablet certified to deliver Netflix video streaming. The Android-powered Lenovo tablets also provide access to more than 250,000 apps in Android Market^ as well as apps tested for the Lenovo device in the Lenovo App Shop.

“Tablets are extremely personal technology devices. That’s why we’ve created a family of tablets that has something for everyone, including entertainment-friendly features and content for consumers, or business-friendly features to enhance productivity for professionals as well as security and manageability for IT managers,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Mobile Internet Digital Home business group, Lenovo. “So whether it’s the IdeaPad for entertainment or the ThinkPad for business, we have listened to our customers and are delivering Android-powered tablets designed to meet their particular needs.”

 

Netflix Anyone?

As the first Honeycomb tablets certified for Netflix, Lenovo tablets can help turn every night into “movie night.” With HDMI output and Digital Rights Management (DRM) built directly into the IdeaPad and ThinkPad tablets, Netflix members can instantly watch movies and TV shows streaming from Netflix directly to a big screen TV,

 

“We’re very excited to see that TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix will be available on Lenovo’s family of Android-powered tablets,” said Bill Holmes, Netflix vice president of Business Development. “This is not only an important development for our company as we seek to expand the benefits of our services to more people, but also means that consumers now have greater choice in selecting a tablet device that best fits their entertainment needs.”

 

NVIDIA Anyone?

Building on Lenovo’s heritage of innovation, quality and reliability in PCs, Lenovo’s new tablets deliver an accelerated mobile experience. The IdeaPad and ThinkPad tablets feature NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processors that offer extreme multitasking, noticeably faster web browsing with built-in Adobe Flash Player, console-quality gaming and low power consumption for improved battery life.

 

“The Tegra 2 dual core processor is the perfect fit for Lenovo’s tablets,” said Michael Rayfield, general manager, Mobile Business, NVIDIA. “Consumers can now enjoy the whole web with Flash, console quality gaming, high definition video, and streaming Netflix. These are a must have for today’s tablets.”

 

IdeaPad Tablet K1: Open the Box and Play

Weighing just 1.63 lbs, the highly mobile IdeaPad Tablet K1 offers integrated Bluetooth and 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity. The IdeaPad Tablet K1 offers several key features and tools as standard, for flexibility, power and security to enjoy digital content anywhere. Simply put, the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 helps users who want:

 

More out of the box: The Android-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 is preloaded with more than 40 apps from partners like Netflix, Amazon, Adobe, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Zinio, Dataviz, and others (over $50 in value), including favorites like Need for SpeedShift, Angry Birds, Kindle reading app and Documents to Go.

 

More entertainment: Users canbrowse all websites and watch online videos with ease thanks to Adobe Flash Player 10.3. Plus, with DRM, they can rent movies in every available format. At a later date shortly after launch, users will also be able to both rent or buy movies to play off-line with a new application Lenovo will pre-load.

 

More social networking: Users can access an entire network of friends and social sites all in one place, with Lenovo’s exclusive SocialTouch app, which effectively creates a one-stop social connection. And since one picture is still worth a thousand words, the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 comes with a two-megapixel front-facing and a five-megapixel rear-facing webcam.

 

More true HD: Users can watch movies and videos in breathtaking HD on a 1280 X 800 resolution screen. The mini HDMI connection allows up to 1080p HD viewing when connected to an HDTV or monitor, resulting in a powerful visual experience.

 

More cloud sharing: Users can sync, store and share files, music and photos with more integrated cloud storage, and less reliance on their local storage.

More Apps: Users can access hundreds of thousands of apps in Android Market and apps tested exclusively for premium function on the IdeaPad Tablet K1 in the Lenovo App Shop.

 

 

ThinkPad Tablet Brings Android to Business

The ThinkPad Tablet combines the superior media and entertainment experience of the IdeaPad Tablet K1 with the security, reliability and manageability features ThinkPad is known for, to create the first true business-class tablet. Designed as a companion computing device for professionals on the go, the ThinkPad Tablet includes an optional digitizer pen, a full-size USB port, full-size SD card slot, and mini-HDMI for connecting to external projectors and displays, as well as an optional ThinkPad quality Keyboard Folio Case with optical TrackPoint.

 

Data remains safe on the ThinkPad Tablet with layered data security, and the device is easily supported by IT managers thanks to a suite of business partner solutions that include anti-theft software and the ability to disable the tablet if the device is lost or stolen with Computrace. Additional security features include virtual desktop support support with Citrix Receiver, simple zero-touch deployment with LanDesk and secure email support available from Good Technology.

 

Offering a 10.1” WXGA (1280×800) display weighing a mere 1.65 lbs, the ThinkPad Tablet also comes with an IPS display for a 178-degree viewing angle and scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. This business-class device keeps professionals connected, productive and entertained while they’re away from the office and their home.

Get more on the go: When work happens on the go, ThinkPad Tablet allows users to view and edit Microsoft Office documents with the preloaded Documents to Go app by DataViz. Or they can jot down notes that automatically convert to handwritten text with the optional ThinkPad Tablet Pen. When even more versatility is required, users can plug in the Keyboard Folio for fast, comfortable and accurate typing and mouse control.

 

Get better connected: With WiFi connectivity, 2GB of free cloud storage, a standard size USB port and SD Card Reader, and Lenovo’s unique file copy utility, sharing media files and documents with other people and electronic devices is easy. Presentations may look even better when connecting to an external monitor via the built-in mini-HDMI port. Users can conveniently sync key files and folders with their tablet every time they plug into their Windows 7 PC. With apps like ooVoo, dual cameras allow users to show either themselves or what they are looking at in a video conference. Users can keep in touch with friends and business contacts using Lenovo’s exclusive SocialTouch app, which puts social networks, email, and calendar notices all in one easy-to-use interface.

Get down to business: ThinkPad Tablet can connect to a range of devices and networks without hands-on help from IT administrators. Users can utilize corporate network passwords to access their device and connect to corporate email with the specially certified app, Good for Enterprise. IT managers can easily create access unique corporate preloads from the Lenovo Image Technology Center as well as share and distribute company purchased or developed apps to numerous devices through a custom, corporate-controlled app store. Most importantly, users will have the ability to protect confidential data with robust security features including SD card encryption, lost device disablement and anti-theft software.

 

Get solid protection: ThinkPad Tablet customers will have access to Lenovo’s full portfolio of enterprise-level services, such as ThinkPlus Support, which provides business customers direct access to advanced technicians with tablet specific experience, and Tablet Protection, which gives business customers coverage for non-warranted damage from operational and structural damage due to drops, minor spills, electrical surges and other accidental damage incurred under normal operating conditions. In addition, Lenovo’s Imaging Services help save IT departments from having to do custom images for each machine, and ensures that even with flash images, the warranty is protected and the tablet is ready-to-go right out-of-the-box.

 

 

IdeaPad Tablet P1 with Windows 7 Does Double Duty in the Office and on the Couch

Lenovo’s 10.1” IdeaPad Tablet P1 with Microsoft Windows 7 features a 1.5GHz Intel processor so users can be more productive with Office documents, or get creative with photos while on the move.

 

The IdeaPad Tablet P1 boasts a multitouch touchscreen display and optional stylus pen for added flexibility, easy access to Web content thanks to full Adobe Flash Player support and HD playback, and Microsoft Security Essentials for an extra layer of security. At just 14.5mm thin and weighing less than 2lbs, the IdeaPad Tablet P1 with Windows 7 offers portability, power and versatility for the office, in the home and on-the-go.

 

Lenovo App Shop — Premium Ecosystem of Apps and Content Services

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of apps available in Android Market, IdeaPad Tablet K1 and ThinkPad Tablet users have access to apps in the Lenovo App Shop — a unique app marketplace, which features popular applications that have been tested specifically for Lenovo IdeaPad and ThinkPad Tablets. The Lenovo App Shop offers apps within a broad range of categories including music, movies, books, productivity, social networking, weather, printing and more.

 

The Lenovo App Shop will also support enterprise applications and a private corporate application store to help businesses more easily integrate tablets into their daily operations. In addition, Lenovo will offer country-specific applications, currency, and languages.

 

 

Pricing and Availability

The 32GB model IdeaPad Tablet K1 is priced at $499, and can be ordered in the U.S. starting July 20, 2011, through select business partners and retail stores nationwide, or online at www.lenovo.com/tablets.

The product will be generally available in the U.S. in August 2011 and generally available worldwide during the third quarter 2011.

 

The 16GB ThinkPad Tablet is priced at $479 without the digitizer pen, and at $509 including the digitizer pen, for Wi-Fi models. The 32GB ThinkPad Tablet (Wi-Fi model) with digitizer pen is $589. There is also an optional keyboard portfolio carrying case available for $99. At a later date, shortly after launch, ThinkPad Tablets with 3G will become available. ThinkPad Tablet can be ordered in the U.S. starting August 2, 2011, online at www.lenovo.com/tablets, or through business partners nationwide. The product will be generally available in the U.S. in August 2011 and generally available worldwide during the third quarter 2011.

 

The IdeaPad Tablet P1 will be available in the fourth quarter 2011.