White Samsung Galaxy Nexus coming in February to the UK

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  • January 5, 2012 at 9:19 am

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White Samsung Galaxy Nexus back and side

Depending on which side of the yin and yang debacle you fall into, you might have a color preference between black and white. So if you feel that you are better expressed by a white smartphone, and if that smartphone would be by any chance a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich then you’re in luck.

The as far as now all black and grey Samsung Galaxy Nexus will soon be released in white according to a number of UK retailers. Both Clove and MobileFun UK have the smartphone on release for the 6th of February for around £500 ($780)

Despite any deep emotions you might have towards the lighter end of the tone curve, you might want to check out our lengthy review of the Galaxy Nexus before taking the plunge.

Broadcom ousts first gigabit speed 802.11ac Wi-Fi chipset, say farewell to choppy HD streams

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  • January 5, 2012 at 8:31 am

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Broadcom 5G Wi-Fi chips

We already knew that the latest 802.11ac Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) communications standard was on the way, also known as 5G Wi-Fi, but what good is a standard if there are no devices to support it. Well, Broadcom has just made the move of freeing us further from the shackles of ethernet, by releasing their first family of IEEE 802.11ac chips.

802.11ac uses the 5GHz band to provide multi-station WLAN throughput of at least 1 gigabit per second. The new standard’s capabilities are obviously suited for high-speed video streaming, like HD content. It will also help speed up substantially all file transfers over WLAN. 5G Wi-Fi also promises fewer dead spots and better battery life for portable devices, since transfers will now happen so much faster.
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Volvo unveils its XC60 plug-in hybrid concept car (video)

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  • January 5, 2012 at 7:50 am

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Volvo XC60 plug-in hybrid car

We like a touch of green here at Stuff-Review, and Volvo has just announced a new plug-in hybrid concept car, which it claims to be superior to all existing hybrids. The Volvo XC-60 concept car is both a plug-in electric vehicle, an economical hybrid and a high-performance car in one. The driver can switch between different driving modes using buttons on the instrument panel.

The driver can choose between three modes. The Pure mode, which mainly uses the car’s electric motor for zero emissions and a range of 35 miles. The Hybrid mode, which is the car’s standard setting, and combines both the gasoline engine and electric motor to provide maximum efficiency. Under European standards you get CO2 emissions of 53 g/km (2.3 l/100 km) and a fuel economy of over 100 mpg (50 mpg under the US standard, which includes emissions for electrical energy). Under the hybrid mode the car has a range of 600 miles (960 km). The final is Power mode, which combines the 280 horse power four cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine and the 70 hp electric motor to achieve 350 hp and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds.
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Fujifilm X-Pro 1 (LX10) interchangeable lens camera system specs leaked with three fast prime lenses, March release date

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  • January 5, 2012 at 4:55 am

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Fujifilm X-Pro 1 MILC

Someone has been quite trigger happy today. The same source that has given us the Nikon D4 leak, has also leaked a wire on Fujifilm’s X-series mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) system. Though several names for Fujifilm’s new interchangeable lens camera have been rumored, such as LX10 or X1, it seems that it may eventually be called the X-Pro 1.

Thanks to this latest leak we finally have some more detailed specs on the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 MILC. If the leak is to be believed, the X-Pro 1 will receive a new custom-developed 16-megapixel APS-C EXR sensor (up from the 12.3-megapixel sensor in the Fujifilm X100) with a new filter array. The camera will include a second-generation hybrid viewfinder, building on the success of the X100.

Fujifilm will release the X-Pro 1 system with three fast prime lenses. Though a zoom lens was also initially rumored, there isn’t any indication of one for now. The three prime lenses will be 18mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.0, 35mm (53mm equivalent) f/1.4 and 60mm (90mm equivalent) f/2.4 macro.

For more images of the X-Pro1 check out the previous leak this week. More information is bound to come soon as Fujifilm takes the stage at PMA @CES 2012.
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Nikon D4 details leaked, full-frame 16.2-megapixel DSLR coming in February for $6,000

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  • January 5, 2012 at 4:04 am

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Nikon D4 full-frame DSLR leak

No need to speculate any further on Nikon’s new flagship full-frame DSLR, the D4. The successor to the D3 and the D3s, has just been leaked in a wire that was set to be released on January 10. The hotly anticipated D4 will be made available starting this February for a $6,000 suggest retail price. The latest full-frame camera by Nikon brings a host of new features and spec improvements over the previous models.

You get a new 16.2-megapixel full-format CMOS sensor capable of up to 10fps at full resolution and a native ISO range from 100 to 12,800 with improved low-light performance; though can be expanded to 50 and 204,800. You also get an improved 51-point autofocus system with 9 cross-type points, 91,000-pixel RGB metering sensor and the ability to shoot full HD 1080p30 and 1080p24 video with contrast detect AF and H.264 compression support.

The Nikon D4, will come with an 100 perfect field of view pentaprism viewfinder and illuminated function buttons. The camera will be one of the first to support the new XQD Compact Flash memory cards and also offers a secondary card slot for conventional CF cards. There are also other niceties like face detection and aperture control while shooting video.
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Active survives decathlon of torture (video)

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  • January 4, 2012 at 4:12 pm

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Active hit with hammer

We are suckers for rugged gadgets. Our lives are hectic enough and our minds are filled with all kinds of worries, like keeping you informed on all the latest gadgets, to have to worry about pampering our smartphones. We loved the Motorola Defy+ in our recent review, because of the convenience in having such a rugged phone.

Sony Ericsson’s rugged Android smartphone is called the Xperia Active. It’s a small 3-inch device with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Someone who either loves or hates his Sony Ericsson Xperia Active immensely, has gone to great lengths to torture-test the device. First, dunking it into a street puddle, then stubbing it with a swiss army knife, a cutter, a screwdriver and a chisel and finally hitting it with a hammer and a wrench. If that wasn’t enough to make you close your eyes and look away in pain, the last test involves driving over the Xperia Active and a potato with a Jeep Wrangler; guess which one survives! All three videos are after the break.
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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 0.6 percent of Android devices

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  • January 4, 2012 at 1:21 pm

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus bottom screen close-up

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was released with much fanfare this past November together with the Galaxy Nexus — you can read our full review here. Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is a huge step forward for Google’s mobile platform, and offers a large number of visual and backend enhancements.

We are pretty sure that every knowledgeable Android user can’t wait to get his hands on this latest version, however ICS currently only comes officially pre-loaded on the Galaxy Nexus, while existing Android device owners would have to wait if and when their devices get upgraded. The ASUS Transformer Prime tablet, will be the first device to receive an Android 4.0 update on January 12.

Well, now we have the first official numbers for the adoption of Android ICS, which now accounts for 0.6% of all Android devices that have accessed the Android Market during a set period. The pie chart below is based on the number of devices that accessed the Android Market within a 14-day period ending January 3rd.
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Samsung Galaxy M Style is a mid-range Android smartphone with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display

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  • January 4, 2012 at 12:20 pm

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Samsung Galaxy M Style 4-inch Super AMOLED Android smartphone

We guess that ‘M’ stands for mid-range in Samsung’s latest Android smartphone the Samsung Galaxy M Style. The smartphone has just been released in South Korea and has some interesting specs. First off you have the 4-inch Super AMOLED display and 9.9mm slim design (0.39 inches). You also get a DMB TV tuner, 4GB of storage and a 1,650 mAh battery. However, that’s where the fun stops, as the phone has only a 3-megapixel main camera and VGA front camera, 1GHz single-core processor and is running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The entire device measures 122.5 x 63 x 9.9 mm and will be available in platinum silver, blue black and lavender pink for the equivalent of around $500 without a contract. It’s priced below Samsung’s high-end devices like the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Nexus.

There are no news whether the device will launch beyond Samsung’s home market.
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Apple iPhone 4S coming to China and 26 other markets from 13th of January

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  • January 4, 2012 at 11:47 am

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Apple iPhone 4S white - left side

Apple will soon be further tapping the incredible expanse that is the Chinese market with its iPhone 4S smartphone. China Unicom, the country’s third-largest mobile carrier, has been the sole iPhone provider in China thus far, though it’s uncertain whether the iPhone 4S will now also be taken up by other carriers in the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that response for Apple’s products in China has been off the charts. China contributed to roughly 13.3 percent of Apple’s total third-quarter revenue of $28.57 billion.

In addition to China, the iPhone 4S will be made available in 26 other countries beginning Friday, January 13: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.
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Fujifilm X-series mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, LX10 (X-Pro1), images leaked before CES

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  • January 3, 2012 at 6:14 pm

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Fujifilm X-series interchangeable lens mirrorless camera system LX10 / X-Pro1 mount

We’re expecting Fujifilm to announce their new X-series mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) soon with the first hands-on glimpse coming at CES 2012 next week. The camera, which is rumored to be named LX10 or X1 or X-Pro1, has been leaked in pictures before but this latest leak shows it in its full assembled glory together with the new Fujifilm proprietary mount.

This latest leak seems to be the real thing, just compare the different features of the camera from this older picture leaked from the assembly line in November:
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ASUS Transformer Prime to receive update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on 12 January

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  • January 3, 2012 at 2:00 pm

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ASUS Transformer Prime running Android Ice Cream Sandwich

ASUS has taken to its official Facebook page to announce that its Nvidia Tegra 3 tablet will soon be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). The update will start rolling out on the 12th of January to the 10.1-inch quad-core ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, making it the first Android tablet to officially receive Android ICS. We are sure this will put a smile on all the lucky Transformer Prime owners out there.

Nevertheless, there has been a backlash from the developer community, as Transformer Prime owners discovered that the tablet’s bootloader is locked. ASUS explains that having a locked bootloader is a Google DRM (Digital Rights Management) requirement in order to allow users to rent videos. ASUS intends to provide an unlock utility. Use of the tool will void your warranty and make Google Video unavailable.
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Olympus weather-sealed mirrorless camera with integrated viewfinder pegged for February release

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  • January 3, 2012 at 9:56 am

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Mockup of Olympus mirrorless camera with integrated viewfinder

Olympus is rumored to skip any new major product announcements at CES this January and instead announce its new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) camera in early February. 43rumors is claiming that a trusted source has indicated that Olympus will announce a new MILC in the week of 6-11th of February. The new camera will be weather-sealed and have an integrated viewfinder, both of which will be a first for Olympus digital mirrorless cameras.

The new camera could also sport a new sensor, which would make the complete package even more appealing. Things have been heating up to a melting point in the MILC space, with Panasonic finally releasing a worthy GF1 successor, the GX1, Sony has come out with the 24-megapixel NEX-7 with OLED viewfinder and Fujifilm has promised us an X-series interchangeable lens camera for CES following in the bloodline of the very successful X100. We’ve also speculated that we might see the Panasonic GH3 at CES next week as well.
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Portable fuel cells coming to CES 2012 and Apple files for fuel cell-powered MacBook patent

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  • January 3, 2012 at 8:35 am

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Powertrekk hybrid portable fuel cell

We’ve been hearing about fuel cells powering our gadgets for some time now, but the technology hasn’t really caught on yet. Fuel cells convert chemical energy from a fuel to electricity though a chemical reaction. Hydrogen is the most common fuel used in fuel cells, though alcohols or natural gas are not unusual.

In portable devices, micro fuel cells would work together with integrated rechargeable batteries and promise continuous charge for your gadgets away from a mains socket, as long as you have fuel on hand. Apple has recently filed for two patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, titled ‘Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device‘ and ‘Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device‘. These could potentially open the way for fuel cell powered MacBooks.
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HP Envy Spectre ultrabook teased in video

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  • January 3, 2012 at 7:23 am

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HP Envy Spectre Ultrabook

HP has just given us a glimpse of its upcoming Envy Spectre ultrabook. The 30-second video doesn’t give us much info on the upcoming notebook other than we should expect it to have an ultrathin profile, pitting it against Apple’s MacBook Air line.

Based on the timing this teaser has been made public, we would expect to see the Spectre in full detail at CES 2012 this month. The MacBook Air line has been extremely successful, and we loved it for its size and convenience. Other manufacturers have been scrambling to get their competing Windows thin-and-light laptops out under Intel’s ‘Ultrabook’ moniker.

It’s unlikely that the Spectre will run on Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge architecture if HP intends to start selling it in early 2011, it will most likely sport Intel’s Sandy Bridge line. Video is after the break.
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