Mobile Devices - Page 184

With little more than rumour to go off ever since we first heard about it many moons ago, Dell has finally confirmed the Latitude ST tablet's existence as well as a very close launch date - that being November 1st!

Dell says the Latitude ST is a business oriented product, running Windows 7 and being based on Intel's Oak Trail platform. The device also includes support for VMware and Citrix's virtualization solutions.

The unit weighs in at 816 grams and features a 10.1-inch (1366x768) touchscreen. It's powered by a 1.5GHz Atom Z670 processor with 2GB of RAM and up to 128GB SSD for storage. It has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, optional 3G support, SD card slot and USB and HDMI ports.

Winamp for Android is amazing. I love it, I use it all the time and it is wonderful. Today brings Winamp for Android updates that include a bunch of new features such as a Winamp for Mac Sync beta app that brings the same wireless freedom to Mac users that Windows users have enjoyed for a while now, access to Spinner's MP3 of the day from your Android phone, and a new premium version of the app with extended features.

The biggest feature is Winamp for Android now lets users sync their music and videos wirelessly with the Mac, the same as Windows users have been able to do. The Winamp for Mac Sync Beta app is brand new and a available as a free download. The new updated Winamp for Android also includes more streaming music for Winamp's "Listening Party" feature, where you can stream songs and listen together with friends, and more free music from Spinner.

Lastly, we have the Winamp "Pro Bundle" which will set you back $5 but includes extended features such as support for FLAC, crossfading and gapless playback, and a customizable home screen for the player and a 10-band equalizer. The free version does however include more features than before, but the extended features are just extra flavoring on an already tasty product from Winamp.

Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, teased the codename "Sea Ray" phone in the middle of the year, which looked just like a Nokia N9. Today, Sea Ray has been unveiled as the Nokia Lumia 800 and we get to see how Windows and Nokia gel together, according to Elop, it's the "first real Windows Phone".

Nokia's Lumia 800 sports a single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 1.4GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage, a curved 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED screen framed by a black, cyan or magenta case with individually drilled speaker holes, a dedicated camera button for the f/2.2 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, 512MB of internal memory, 12.1mm-thick frame and a 1450mAh battery that is said to be good for approximately 9.5 hours of 3G talk time. Software wise, we have Windows Phone Mango, and the Lumia 800 comes packed with a free 25GB SkyDrive account, as well as Nokia Drive, a free turn-by-turn voice navigation program, a first for any Windows Phone.

Filling out the Lumia 800 we have Nokia Music with Mix Radio, which is a global service with no subscriptions or log-ins required for "hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music", and an ESPN Sports Hub, three programs not found on any other Windows Phone 7-powered device.

I remember importing the first iPhone into Australia because we were left out of Apple's circle of power, and I remember the camera being good, for the time. I upgraded to the iPhone 3G on launch day and I remember the camera only being a little better. But, now we have side-by-side shots of the same picture, from all of the iPhone's.

Gizmodo have a news piece where Lisa Bettany has taken the same picture with every iPhone (the original, 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S) to see the differences, and PetaPixel stiched them together to show you just how much the camera has improved from each generation.

As we can see from the above picture, the original to the 3G was not that much of an improvement, but the 3GS is when the iPhone became a serious photo-snapping camera. The iPhone 4 is another step up in quality, but the iPhone 4S... very, very nice indeed. Lots of detail, near-perfect quality when compared to even the 3GS and blows the 3G and the vanilla iPhone out of the water. Back when the original iPhone came out, most people had point-and-shoot cameras, but these days? There's just no real need if you take pictures in a non-serious, I-don't-need-a-DSLR way.

HTC has partnered up with Dropbox to offer a new deal with all of the latest Android-based handsets that will give a bonus of 3GB storage in addition to the 2GB of free storage offered by Dropbox if they connect to the platform with the new phone - launching in October.

The deal which is set to extend to all Sense 3.5 devices in the futurer, all allow users to save files and photos on their phone and have them automatically synced to their computer at home, or other devices running the Dropbox software. Dropbox currently offers users 2GB of storage, free, with the change to upgrade that by 8GB by getting friends to sign up to Dropbox. HTC's additional deal with 3GB makes reaching the 10GB storage for free, not that hard at all.

HTC wasn't clear whether this deal will come to their Windows Phone 7-based smartphones, this may be because Microsoft has Skydrive, which is built directly into the OS. Skydrive also offers 25GB free storage, which blows away the Dropbox offer.

The Commonwealth Bank has unveiled its near-field communication (NFC) payments product called Kaching. Kaching enables pay-anyone facilities through Facebook, e-mail and MasterCard PayPass. This is a great move by the CBA, as NFC allows data transmission over a range of approx. 10cm. An NFC-enabled chip in a smartphone can interact with a proximity card reader to make mobile payments.

Kaching is set to allow customers (via the app) pay each other via e-mail, Facebook or mobile, and via an iCarte case for iPhone or pay via MasterCard's contact-less PayPass terminals. Users don't even need to be Commonwealth Bank customers to receive payments, with non-bank customers directed to an external collection site.

The App is set to be compatible with Apple's iOS 4.3 and above, with cases designed for the iPhone 4 and 4S. CBA's chief information officer, Michael Harte has said that the Kaching app and the iCarte case have been designed in close consultation with Apple. Dubbed iCarte 420, the case contains an "embedded smart-chip" that can be configured for debit, credit and pre-paid use and also has the ability to read NFC-enabled advertisements and transit systems.

Google's upcoming Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' will include "full support for stylus input events" in the OS - including features such as pressure sensitivity and the ability to distinguish motion events from different sources; as in a pen or your finger. The support hangs on hardware-level support from tablet and smartphone makers, but hey, the native support in the OS is a big, big start.

This is something Apple have yet to include, and could push ICS in a different direction for smartphones and tablets for people on-the-go. Windows 8 will most likely include the same kind of support, but ICS is here, now.

Google state in the exact words below:

iSuppli have torn the iPhone 4S apart to reveal the stock iPhone 4S 16GB modem carries a build of materials (BOM) of just $188 before factoring in manufacturing costs. Considering manufacturing costs for Apple are quite low because of where they're manufactured, Apple are making a tidy amount of money here.

The 32GB model is virtually identical with a BOM cost of $207 where the 64GB model's BOM is $245. NAND flash is the most expensive part of the iPhone 4S, so this is where the differerence comes into play.

16GB NAND will set you back $19.20 where 64GB is a hike up to $76.80. The electrical system is the most expensive subsystem sitting at $33, followed by wireless capabilities at $23.54 and the display at just $23. The A5 processor powering the iPhone 4S is just $15, while the camera subsystem is $17.60.

Kogan have just released a new low-cost tablet in the UK which is set to target the audience who are unable or unwilling to spend more on a mobile device. The pricing in the UK for the 8-inch tablet is at around the £120 price point where the 10-inch version is just £30 more at £150.

Kogan has a business model which requires no middleman, designing, assembling and delivering low-cost tablets directly to customers. This keeps the prices extremely low. Both tablets sport capacitive touchscreens and a 1GHz processor.

The Kogan Agora 8″ Tablet PC Features:

Well, that was fast, Google. Along with the announcement of the next-gen Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google have announced their all-new version of their Android OS codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. Android 4.0 continues the development, ideas and design of the tablet-based Honeycomb, but will go onto smartphones, too.

Android 4.0 is an open source release which means any hardware manufacturer that wants to tinker with it can download the source and sell it with Android 4.0 on top. This is something Honeycomb never offered.

We've talked a bit about Android 4.0 'ICS', but if you haven't seen the news yet, ICS sports unlocking the phone through facial recognition, syncing Chrome bookmarks is now default, built-in NFC powers the new Android Beam app which lets you share content, maps, contacts, app and more by tapping the back of your phone to another NFC-enabled Android device.

Apple have really stumbled with the iPhone 4S launch, yesterday I reported about the various screen issues, and today we have an issue with Siri. Siri, by default, can be activated even if the iPhone 4S is passcode locked. This is great if you are the one wanting to use it, but what if you leave the phone unattended, or, lose the phone altogether?

Anyone who gained access to your Siri-sporting iPhone 4S could take a look at your upcoming calendar appointments and know your every move over the upcoming days, weeks, months and it also gives access to send e-mails or text messages. Thankfully, there are limitations. While the iPhone 4S is passcode locked, you can't launch any apps, you can't send e-mail or text messages to anyone not on your contact list.

But still, the ability to gain access to e-mail, text messaging and your calendar is definitely not good enough. Of course, it can be disabled. In the Passcode Lock settings, you just have to switch Siri to "off". You will still be able to use Siri, just not when the phone is locked. Now as an iPhone 4S user, you have the choice between convenience and security. In my opinion, this should be the default setting: OFF.

Reports coming out of the United Daily News believe that Samsung and AU Optronics have sent 7.85-inch screen samples to Apple for consideration in future products, the rumored iPad mini. Rumors of a smaller iPad have made their way around the Internet a few times now, and are once again doing so. Steve Jobs was against the idea of a 7-inch tablet, being quoted in an earnings call last year that Apple won't make a 7-inch tablet because the screen is too small to express the software.

Jobs believed that developers wouldn't be happy writing app code to accommodate varying screen sizes in the same product line (what about consumers?). Now that new CEO Tim Cook is directing the Apple ship, this could change. An iPad mini would be even more portable than the current offerings as well as costing just a portion of the price, allowing Apple to gain more market share at an even lower price point.

It would also be great competition for Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire, as well as the varying GALAXY Tab devices from super-competitor and main threat, Samsung. Apple is expected to unveil the iPad 3 sometime in early 2012 based on the 9.7-inch display. Rumors have again fueled on the iPad 3, with most (including myself) expected it to sport a resolution of 2044x1536.

Motorola have unveiled the RAZR successor, sporting Android, 4G LTE, a 1.2GHz dual-core chip and is constructed from Kevar, is a nice piece of kit. The new RAZR is only 7.1mm thick, making it the thinnest of its kind.

It also sports 1GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, 12.5 hours of talk time, a 1800 mAh battery, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with strengthened Gorilla Glass, a steel core and Kevlar fiber, which makes it both strong and lightweight.

On top of all of this, the entire phone, inside and out (including the electronics) have been coated in a water-resistant material, which makes the phone virtually invincible against spills and the elements. RAZR will also also dock with Moto's webtop, and the MOTOACTV, a smartwatch that can sync with the Droid RAZR for on-the-fly updates and functionality.

Samsung has had the advantage when it comes with Google's Ice Cream Sandwich/Android 4.0 OS, but it doesn't mean that other smartphone manufacturers have been left out of the race. HTC have released an official statement to confirm that its looking at Google's latest OS, and combing through its new features and functionality.

HTC say that they're figuring out how to make it happen without forcing sacrifices to the usability and performance of each HTC product. Whatever HTC cook up, it'll be good to see how they integrate their amazing Sense UI with the new Ice Cream Sandwich UI. HTC are careful not to commit to the new Android, and it has not given any particular timeframe or roadmap. The full statement is shown below:

Early adopters, and theres a lot of them (over 4 million reported) may be experiencing issues with their latest Apple-branded magical toy, the iPhone 4S. There is an open discussion on Apple's discussion forum where iPhone 4S owners are reporting issues they are having with their iPhone 4S' display.

The majority of complains are that the iPhone 4S has a yellow tint, especially noticeable when compared and placed next to an iPhone 4. There are other complaints too, with people saying they're experiencing color washouts and contrast in the same discussion thread.

This is the same issue that was experienced on the iPhone 4 when it was first released. The problem with the iPhone 4 display is that the smartphone shipped so quickly after it was built that screens continued to show signs of a yellow adhesive used during manufacturing. Eventually, the yellow residue from the adhesive disappeared leaving a normal looking display.

The Samsung and Google co-event to launch both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Google's Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich mobile OS has just happened and with it, brings a slew of news for Samsung/Google fans.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus sports a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4460, a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display pushing 1280x720, Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich, 1GB of RAM, 16/32GB on-board storage, NFC, a 5.1-megapixel rear-facing camera w/LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Very nice indeed. The biggest point of that is not actually hardware, but software. Google's Ice Cream Sandwich is set to be the stand-out star here.

The Galaxy Nexus also includes something different, a panorama mode for the camera, as well as Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity sensor and even a bloody barometer - you know, just in case you wanted to know the current atmospheric pressure.

Scheduled for an imminent launch today, the first official photo of Motorola's Droid RAZR has popped up on the web ahead of the official unveiling in a matter of hours from now. The phone, codenamed Spyder runs Android 2.3 and that fancy looking, sleek casing you see in the picture is in fact made of a mixture of metal and carbon fiber.

The phone sports a qHD (960 x 540) Super AMOLED touchscreen which has been further strengthened using Gorilla Glass, while inside lurks a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and 4G LTE support. It has an 8MP rear-facing camera which is also capable of recording in 1080p as well as a front facing HD camera.

It's been confirmed that the Droid RAZR will be offered by Verizon in the states. We'll cover more details on that post launch folks.

Google have announced more Google Wallet merchants have gone live, but not only that, they've announced that various partners are rolling out an even better Google Wallet Experience. The partners involved in this even better rollout include American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy's, OfficeMax and Toys"R"Us. For the first time ever in the U.S., at these select stores, you can only only pay with Google Wallet, but you can redeem coupons and/or earn reward points, all with a single tap of your phone. This is what Google calls the Google Wallet SingleTap experience.

At any of these stores, you can walk in rocking your Google Wallet-capable Android handset, walk up to the counter and tap your phone to pay and save. That's it. No need to find the coupon, credit card, cash, count the cash, or anything - tap, done. Within Google Wallet lies "The Offers" tab, which has been updated to include a new "Featured Offers" section with discounts that are exclusive to Google Wallet.

Today, these exclusive discounts to Google Wallet include 15-percent off at American Eagle Outfitters, 10-percent off at The Container Store, 15-percent off at Macy's and an all-fruit smoothie for just $2 at Jamba Juice. There are many more Google Wallet exclusive discounts to arrive in the future, and you can save your favourites in Google Wallet so they'll be automatically applied to your bill when you tap to check out.

We've seen the performance analysis, benchmarks, thoughts, features and much more talk when it comes to Apple's latest and greatest; the iPhone 4S. But what about dropping them from shoulder height to see which one would break first? It may sound stupid, but there are so many people who drop their phones, whether it be accidentally, when drunk, or they're just clumsy. My wife dropped her Galaxy S II from hip height a fortnight ago, and it just scraped the side and did not break; to me, that is great workmanship from Samsung.

SquareTrade, who sell insurance for all manner of electronics, have obtained the iPhone 4S and a Galaxy S II and have done a drop test. The test consisted of dropping the phones at shoulder-height,and a face-down fall. The Galaxy S II survived both drops, where the iPhone took considerable damage even at a waist-heigh drop and its screen was completely wrecked when dropped face down on concrete.

The tests are aimed at making users take out insurance on their handsets, but it would also pay to have a protective cover if you're an iPhone 4S user. The amount of friends I with the iPhone 4 who have cracked screens is nuts, where I've recommended my personal handset (HTC Desire) to many more friends and none of them have cracked screens. Apple, improve this in your phones, now.

Apple's iPad has enjoyed nearly no competition, until Google unveiled Honeycomb. But even that, is not enough to stop the tablet juggernaut. Google and its manufacturer partners have as of yet to announce official sales figures for Android-powered tablets, which leave everyone else to just guessing. Android developer Al Sutton has reminded everyone, with a little bit of math, we could get quite the estimate on just how many Honeycomb-powered tablets are in the wild.

What is that number? Roughly 3.4 million. This number is based on Google's latest platform versions states, a fortnightly updated breakdown of what proportion of devices use each Android version - and the official activation numbers which were announced as part of Google's financial results yesterday. Google CEO Larry Page claimed 190 million Android devices had been activated in total. THis leads us to the platform stats, with 1.8-percent of Android devices that have accessed the Android Market within the 14 day period up to October 3, 2011 were running Android 3.0, 3.1 or 3.2 (in contrast 38.2-percent are running 2.3.3 Gingerbread or higher).

If we dab a little magic on these numbers, we come to the 3.4 million tablet figure. But there is a note here, since Google's platform numbers are based on access to the Android Market, only those tablets that are officially Google certified (which have to meet Google's criteria to include the official download score) are being counted. Of course, there are many more tablets in the wild sporting alternative versions of Android and using third-party app stores, such as Amazon's AppStore for Android, with these tablets not being counted in the total number.