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Crazy Blackberry PlayBook sale now on, all versions $300

January 3, 2012 at 6:47 am

Research In Motion has just started another sales round of its 7-inch PlayBook tablet. All models, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, are now up for grabs for $299 until February 4. That’s $400, $300 and $200 savings on the 64GB, 32GB and 16GB PlayBooks respectively. Pricing them the same is a bit counterintuitive, and we can imagine that the 64GB model would prove the most popular.

RIM has been slashing the price on its 7-inch tablet, following the incredibly successful release of Amazon’s barebones Kindle Fire tablet retailing for just $199. RIM hasn’t been able to move a lot of stock, so our only guess is that the real fire sale for the PlayBook might be coming soon.

Apple NYC end-January event about iBooks, no iPad 3, iTV or Mac Pro updates yet

News

January 3, 2012 at 5:05 am

Apple is preparing a media event in New York City at the end of January. Similar to previous events held in NYC, this one will more likely be focused on content/platform updates rather than hardware. TechCrunch is reporting on its own sources that indeed the event will focus on eBooks, publishing and Apple’s iBooks platform. It’s also expected that the event will mostly be attended by the publishing industry.

There have been a number of rumors floating around that Apple will soon be announcing a Mac Pro line refresh as shipping dates had been slipping to 1-3 weeks, though checking the online Apple Store now most models appear to be in stock. Of course, everyone is also anxiously expecting an iPad 3 announcement, while Apple’s much rumored iTV voice-controlled television is another hotly awaited product. Nevertheless it’s expected that at this event there won’t be any major hardware announcements.
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Apple TV hacked to run iOS apps on your TV (video)

News

January 2, 2012 at 9:59 am

Apple’s diminutive media player box, the Apple TV, runs on iOS — the same operating system as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. However, until now it was impossible to install and run iOS apps on it. Our friendly iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith), who was one of the first to get Siri to run and respond on non-iPhone 4S devices, has come with a hack to do just that.

Using a jailbroken Apple TV and some handy code, Steve was able to get the palm-sized Apple TV to run full iOS apps like Facebook, Angry Birds, Safari and even Cydia on his TV at a 720p resolution. What’s even more incredible is that Steve has been able to run iOS apps side-by-side, so someone can run multiple apps at once, though Apple TV’s 256MB of RAM is a constraining factor. Steve is controlling the device with its remote and a Magic Trackpad. Video is after the break.
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LG announces world’s largest 55-inch OLED TV with 4-color technology, promises down to earth price

News

January 2, 2012 at 6:15 am

LG is getting together a strong showing for CES 2012. We’ve already seen their 84-inch Ultra Definition QFHD 3D TV and now the company has announced the world’s largest OLED TV. The new 55-inch, 4mm thick OLED TV will make an appearance at CES in Las Vegas next week.

LG Electronics, is claiming that the new OLED TV will produce the most natural colors we’ve seen from any TV, based on their 4-color pixel technology and image processing features. Instead of the typical RGB arrangement found in other televisions, LG’s 4-color pixel technology uses red, green blue and white subpixels. Sharp has been using their own 4 color technology in their Quattron TV sets, with the inclusion of a yellow subpixel as the additional color.
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Panasonic GH3 (GH2 successor) could be announced at CES in January 2012

News

January 1, 2012 at 6:48 am

We have to foreword our report by saying that it’s mere speculation based on information we’ve received. What we’ve been hearing from a couple of European retail sources, is that the current Panasonic GH2 has come to an end-of-life (EOL) and brick-and-mortar stock has dried up in anticipation of a successor.

The Panasonic GH2 Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) was announced in September 2010 at Photokina in Germany. It’s Panasonic’s higher-end MFT shooter with a 16.05-megapixel sensor, built-in EVF, advanced manual controls, articulated touchscreen and amazing video capabilities. In fact it has become an incredible creative tool for aspiring videographers. We’ve covered how the GH2 has been hacked into recording video at an insane 176Mbps and 12,800 ISO.

Though there were hopes for one, there was no successor to the GH2 in 2011; Panasonic debunked any rumors in September. However, the company also indicated, through the mouth of Ichiro Kitao, the head of Panasonic’s camera division, that the GH line had become their flagship and that they would certainly be looking for a 2012 refresh.
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Old photo of Steve Jobs getting tender with the IBM logo

News

December 31, 2011 at 5:24 pm

The Apple Macintosh team visited New York at the end of 1983 for a meeting with Newsweek and the late Steve Jobs had a funny and tender moment outside the IBM building. Steve Jobs was captured on film giving the digitus impudicus to the IBM logo as the team walked around Manhattan.

The photo surfaced from Andy Hertzfield, who was a member of the original Macintosh development team, on Google+.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II coming in 2012, will be Tegra 3 optimized on Android

News

December 30, 2011 at 11:21 am

The world’s most popular hedgehog will be joined by his sidekick for the second installment in the Sonic 4 series. Sega has just announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II will be making its 2D return in 2012. The new side-scrolling adventure will see Sonic joined by Tails in what we’ve been hearing will be a much richer production.

Episode I had received a lukewarm response so Sega is now pulling out all the stops. Episode II has a completely reworked physics and graphics engines. The game will be released on a number of console and mobile platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iOS App Store, Android Market and Windows Phone 7.

What’s more interesting is that for Android, Sega has been working closely with Nvidia, and a Tegra 3 enhanced version will be hitting the Android Market and featured on the Tegra Zone app. Let’s see how the new video game will be taking full advantage of the quad-core Tegra 3 chip. Announcement trailer video after the brake.
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SiriusXM Lynx Wi-Fi and satellite portable radio now on sale

News

December 30, 2011 at 3:05 am

If you are serious about radio, then you might want to take note. SiriusXM has announced the availability of its dedicated portable radio the SiriusXM Lynx. The Lynx can receive both satellite radio broadcasts, through an optional vehicle or home kit, as well as internet radio through its built-in Wi-Fi. The 3.5-inch 800×480 multitouch device is running a very custom version of Android, which brings SiriusXM 2.0 capabilities, such as live pause, rewind and replay of radio content and an electronic programming guide.

The SiriusXM Lynx can store up to 200 hours of satellite radio or 5 hours of SiriusXM internet radio programming. You can also connect the device to Bluetooth enabled speakers, headphones and vehicle stereo systems. It’s selling now over at shop.siriusxm.com for MSRP of $249.99, which is a lot to pay for a single purpose device nowadays.
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Facebook Messenger for Windows leaked (downloads)

News

December 29, 2011 at 3:37 pm

While slowly taking over the world, Facebook has also been busy in getting people to chat on all sorts of platforms. There are already official Facebook messaging apps for Android, iOS and BlackBerry and now a Windows 7 standalone application has leaked.

The Facebook Messenger app for Windows obviously has chat but also a ticker, standard notifications and friends requests. You can dock the Messenger window to the right of your screen for continuous 24/7 distraction from whatever else you are trying to do on your computer.
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Samsung Galaxy S III could launch at MWC in Barcelona this February

News

December 29, 2011 at 10:17 am

Samsung Mobile has had a good year, mostly because of the success of the Galaxy S II, the biggest selling Android smartphone to date. Samsung was also a launch partner for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, as the manufacturer for the Galaxy Nexus (read our complete review here), while even the company’s mammoth 5.3-inch Galaxy Note has managed to ship one million units in two months.

Running on a potent Samsung Exynos chip, the Galaxy S II, still is the fastest smartphone out there, at least according to benchmarks. It makes sense that the company would want to maintain a good tradition, and of course sales figures, with a successor. Word on the street is that we will soon be seeing the Samsung Galaxy S III (SGS3) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, which opens its doors on February 27, 2012. Note, the image above is just a fan concept render, and not the actual Galaxy S III.
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Ice Cream Sandwich based CyanogenMod 9 pieces begin making their appearance

News

December 29, 2011 at 7:44 am

We’ve included Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as one of our favorite pieces of tech for 2011. The main reason Android made it to our shortlist and into our hearts is that because it is an open source project, third-parties are able to use it and build on top of it. If there is something more you want from you mobile OS, or you want to get rid of some annoying feature, chances are there is either an aftermarket ROM, third-party launcher, or an app to do that.

One of the most popular aftermarket ROMs comes from the CyanogenMod team, with support for a huge number of devices.The team has promised to release the updated CyanogenMod 9 (CM9) based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, and pieces of ROM are already finding their way to devices, showing us what CM9 will look like and be able to do.
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1 million Samsung Galaxy Note devices shipped, US release in 2012

News

December 29, 2011 at 5:16 am

Samsung has had a lot of success shipping its Android devices en masse. The Samsung Galaxy S II has broken all kinds of sales records and we are pretty sure the Galaxy Nexus is flying off the shelves now too. An unlikely win for the company, however, is the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note which falls somewhere between the being a smartphone and tablet.

It seems that the mantra ‘bigger is better’ is working out for Samsung, which has shipped over one million Galaxy Notes since its release in late October. Sales have been going well and are on the rise in Europe and Asia. US consumers have been importing the Galaxy Note from other markets but the announcement mentions that the device will launch officially on the other side of the Atlantic in 2012. No mention yet if it bring support for LTE however.
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Unannounced Motorola Driod 4 makes a cameo appearance on Best Buy website

News

December 29, 2011 at 4:31 am

Verizon is mum about the Motorola Droid 4, nevertheless the still unannounced handset has made an informal appearance on Best Buy’s website. The Android smartphone will launch, hopefully sometime soon, on Verizon’s 4G LTE network and as far as we know it will run Gingerbread on launch, though Ice Cream Sandwich is a possibility.

It will be sporting a 4.0-inch qHD (960×540) display, a Droid RAZR styled front body with tapered edges and a QWERTY slide-out keyboard. This will be Motorola’s first LTE slider. A 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM will help the Droid 4 to chuck along.
Expect a rumored 1785mAh battery and 8MP camera to complete the package.
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LG announces 84-inch Ultra Definition QFHD 3D TV

News

December 29, 2011 at 2:58 am

Manufacturers just love to shout largest, and LG is certainly in a record breaking mood today. LG Electronics has just unveiled the world’s largest 3D Ultra Definition (UD) TV. By Ultra Definition the company suggests a Quad Full High Definition (QFHD) resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which doubles the number of pixels of 1080p on each axis. That’s equivalent to four 1080p TVs stuck together, though not up to a full 4K resolution (which would mean at least 4,000 pixels on the horizontal axis).

The 84-inch behemoth is promising an immersive 3D experience, which we are inclined to believe, and something that LG will be happy to demonstrate at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. The TV will have access to LG’s Smart TV ecosystem with over 1,200 apps and some video content. It’s also set to come with a new Magic Remote with voice recognition and magic gestures. Well, there’s only two weeks left to CES 2012 where we will know more.
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