IPad 3: Another tab from Apple

July 14, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Apple launched iPad 3 along with the Apple TV and is quite similar to the iPad 2. There are few hardware improvements in the new iPad 3 but it is not having anything special. Apple’s iPad 3 is nothing revolutionary, but is simply another version of the iPad series. There are few things, which Apple has not addressed such as the camera problem, and it is still a problem in the iPad 3.

Design:

IPad 3 design is similar to its predecessor. To make it even worse it is thicker by 0.6mm and heavier by 50g than the iPad 2. The home button is at the same place as it was earlier. But it must be said that it is much faster than its predecessor and the screen is heavily improved in this version of the iPad. One of the advantages with this iPad 3 is its ability to help developers to create apps and will use all the features of it to give it an amazing look. The curvy edges make it very easy to hold and the aluminum chassis looks great on the eye. iPad 3 consists of four buttons which are home button, volume rocker, mute key and power button, which can also be used for looking purpose.

Retina Display:

This is the most important feature of the new iPad 3. It is one of the best features of this tablet as compared to the other tablets, which are present in the market. The 9.7 inch screen of 1536 x 2048 resolutions is superb. The screen display may be affected by the fact that it misses on the AMOLED HD but it’s not that bad. Vivid and vibrant color outputs will mesmerize you. Activities such as viewing snaps, watching videos, playing games, internet browsing has also improved drastically in the iPad 3.

Interface:

iOS 5.1 operating system is used in the iPad 3. If you are familiar with the iPhone, then using this tablet will not be a problem as they are using same operating system. The only recognizable difference is the larger icons. Moving through the home screens is very zippy and enjoyable and the performance is not affected by the number of apps you might have installed. The home screen can be filed with many apps. If you want several apps to be located in a folder, then you can do that very easily. One additional feature, which is inspired by the Android OS is the notification bar. Notifications such as new arrived emails, updates of your friends on various social network websites etc can be view from the notification bar.

Battery and Connectivity:

Battery power has improved by quite a margin than the earlier version i.e. iPad 2. Retina display and 4G connections don’t help the cause of the battery life. You need to charge the tablet in every 3 days. For connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 is used, which consumes less power than the iPad 2. Other connectivity options are NFC, Wi-Fi direct, gyroscope and GPS.

Conclusion:

There is nothing special in the latest version of the iPad, but if you are looking for a latest Apple tablet, then it is a very good option for you. Camera still needs improvement but overall this tablet is very good.

 

Posted in Apple.

Sony Tablet P: Highly portable tablet from Sony

July 14, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Many tablets which were launched by various manufacturers were mainly poorly designed or were a copy of Apple’s iPad tablets. Even the operating system was obsolete version of Google Android which was very annoying. With the advent various amazing tabs such as Samsung galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Xoom, Asus Eee Pad slider broke that myth. Sony also joined the list of innovation tabs with the launch of their latest tab Sony Tablet P. Unique thing about the Sony Tablet P is the dual Android screen which was never seen before in a tablet. Sony Tablet P can be folded from the middle and is very portable in nature unlike many other tabs.

Features:

Sony Tablet P is sleek and is slippery in nature. It might slip from your hand quite often, but it can be carried in your shirt or jeans pocket very easily. Sony Tablet P weighs around 380g, which is lighter than many other tablets available in the market. It has got a strong build and the flip body type is tight. The dual screen is protected by the strong upper body. But, it is recommended to take good care of it because the outer coating of the tablet is prone to scratches. Sharp items must not be brought near the tablet. Sony Tablet P uses Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system in this tablet, which might be considered a little obsolete, but the performance of the operating system is usually good. By default, the display consists of five home screens which can be filed with various apps and widgets of your liking.

To use internet from this tablet you need to have SIM card which is used for 3G and Wi-Fi. Internet browsing from this tablet is very smooth and very enjoyable. Flash video is also supported by Honeycomb browsers, which is a default nature of the OS. Provision for the USB and microSD card is also provided. By default, Sony Tablet P provides 4GB internal memory which fills very quickly. Charging through the USB is not possible a port is provided for charging in this tablet. Copying files and folder from this tablet to another PC is possible with the help of USB. Wi-Fi connectivity is poor in this tablet unlike many other Honeycomb powered tablets.

Performance and Camera:

Moving through the home screen is smooth like many other Sony tablets. The home screen is separated by the two screens and is touch sensitive. Managing two screens might be a problem for the first time, but you get used to it very quickly and start to enjoy it. The problem is faced while using the apps on the dual screen and major problem will be when using the Google Maps feature of the Android OS. Unfortunately, there are not enough apps, which will take the full benefit of the dual screen offered by this tablet. The size of the screen is around 5.5 inch and is of 1024 x 480p resolution. Viewing photos and videos can be a problem because only a single screen is used and another screen is used for controls. 1080p videos can be watched without any problem. 5Mp camera is used to take sharp and clear picture. 8x zooming capability of the camera also help in taking distant photos.

Conclusion:

Portability makes it as a winner among other tabs, but other issues such as Wi-Fi reception, watching videos, and shoulder button is bit of a problem. But, the complete package of the Sony Tablet P is amazing with great features and portability.

 

Posted in Uncategorized.

Windows 8 coming in the month of October

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Windows 8 will be available for the user at the end of October 2012, and the updated version will be available to manufacturer (RTM) in the month of August. This was announced at Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto by Tami Reller, who is Windows Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Many people was looking forward for the latest Microsoft’s Windows 8 and it was quite evident from the fact that as many as 16000 people from 160 countries attended this conference. At this same conference, Chief Executive of Microsoft Steve Ballmer discussed about the future course of the company, which included Windows 8, Office software and Windows operating system for mobile phone. He also stated that Windows is the heart and soul of the organization.

RTM is a vital part of software release as it signifies that the code for the operating system has been finalized. When the RTM is available for the manufacturer they will start to build a new system based on that operating system. This process is very important as it makes the operating system available on a machine as well as Windows 8 copies simultaneously. Upgrade will be also available at the same time. Microsoft also announced that those users who are using Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 can download the latest Windows 8 Pro version for just $39.99. Windows 8 is available in 109 languages and in 231 markets all around the world. Windows 8 is the most awaited operating system in this decade, as it integrates various services from Microsoft in an easy and simple manner. Steve Ballmer even stated that this year is very important for Microsoft history. Microsoft was one of the most successful business organizations, but it was overtaken recently by Apple and they are trying very hard to retain back the title.

Even this hasn’t dented the fact that Microsoft Windows is the most used operating system in the whole world. Mr. Ballmer also indicated that around 380 millions Windows based computer will be sold this year, which is a staggering figure. Microsoft recently set its foot in the tablet business with the surprise launch of Surface tablet, which is also based on the Windows 8 operating system. Windows based phone are already available in the market and it is getting very good review. But still they are going to face stiff competition from Apple’s iPhone, a swell from Google’s Android who also launched its own version of tablet.

Windows 7 users can upgrade their system to Windows by paying a nominal fee of just $15. They are also going to incorporate a feature called “Windows to go”, and this feature will help the enterprise customers to carry their entire desktop and the version of Windows 8 to a secure USB key. In the conference Microsoft also announced that they have acquired Perceptive Pixel Inc. which specializes in large scale display surface. This New York based company founder Jeff Han, was also present in the conference to showcase multi-touch display feature.

Posted in tech news.

New Apple iPad Mini on the way

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

According to the latest repots, Apple is going to launch iPad mini in the coming months. The speculative specifications are becoming more and more specific. Speculations are that iPad mini will be launched with the Apple most waited iPhone 5 in the coming September. The display screen of the tentative iPad mini will be of 7.85 inches, and will be as thin as the iPod touch. The thickness of the iPod touch is only 7.2 inches and iPad mini is very close to it. All these information are from Japanese website Macotakara. It also claimed that iPad mini dimensions will be same as Nexus 7 but the width is little bigger than it. The design and look the iPad mini will be unique and very different from others. With the launch of the iPad mini, Apple will give stiff competition to the Amazon’s Kindle, which is one of the first to launch the tablets.

iPad mini will be available in many models and few of them will also have 3G, but not all of them. According to many reports the production of the iPad mini will start in the 3rd quarter of this year and many Apple manufacture have already started to receive orders for it. Apple products are generally very costly but with the launch of the iPad mini, Apple will set it foot on the new territory. Amazon kindle are the undisputed king of the tablet, but with the launch of the iPad mini the design and price will surely compete with it. The price of the iPad mini will be in between the price range of $249 to $299. It is also suspected that iPad mini will incorporate IGZO display panels which are used for retina quality output. iPad mini will have 8GB of storage same as the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet.

Small tablets are the next biggest in the market as the survey by t3.com suggested. Samsung also launched its own version of tablet galaxy note which has 56.3 inches of screen. The most ironic part of the iPad mini will be its display screen as Steve Jobs stated that 7 inches tablet will not be successful and will on its arrival. Microsoft recently launched its own version of Window Tablet Surface and with iPad mini the competition will be even fiercer. Windows surface has got lots of interesting features and it will be very interesting to see what Apple will do to compete with this Microsoft tablet. Samsung and Microsoft are very keen to compete with the world’s biggest company and want to overtake them.

It is still to be seen that whether Apple will launch iPad mini as all these news are very speculative. Many experts are eagerly waiting for its launch, as the price and specification will be known. It also needs to be seen that how Apple are going to compete in the tablet business as many firms are launching its own version of tablets. It is unknown that iPad mini will function as mobile phone or not.

 

Posted in Apple.

Motorola Razr Maxx: The newest Android phone from Motorola

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Motorola Razr has many fans among various age groups, because it provides user with great design, hardware and stable operating system. The newest from the Motorola is the Motorola Razr Maxx, which supersedes its predecessor by the inclusion of the new battery which is of 3300 mAh. The battery of this phone will last for 2 days according to the experts. Battery Problem is faced by many Android users and with new Motorola Razr Maxx all these problems are expected to be solved. The look of the new Motorola Smartphone is very similar to the earlier Motorola Razr, but there are few additional features, which are incorporated in this phone apart from the new battery.

Design:

The design of the new Motorola Razr Maxx is quiet similar to the earlier Razr Smartphone. Even the inclusion of the large battery has subjected to a little change, which is in the curve of the phone and no bumps can be experienced in it. The rear of the earlier Motorola Razr was not liked by many people but the new Motorola Razr Maxx is expected to be liked by many as it doesn’t copy the design of iPhone or Samsung galaxy S series phones. There are few modifications in the new Razr Maxx, such as the logo of Motorola has changed to silver from black and the edges is changed to reflective silver. On the right hand panel volume rocker and power button is present, on the top panel micro-USB and mini-HDMI is provided. The left panel provided with micro-SIM and MicroSD slots. Unlike many other Smartphone, Motorola has provided with MicroSD card as well as inbuilt storage. The weigh of the new Razr Maxx is only 18g heavier than its predecessor.

Battery:

The most important part of the new Razr Maxx is its battery, which is powered with 3300 mAh battery.  Motorola Razr was powered with 1750mAh battery and was the biggest problem in it. Heavy usage of this phone will last for a whole day, which was not possible in the earlier version of the Motorola Razr. Normal usage will last for 2 days without any problem. Even tablets are not powered with 3300 mAh battery.

Screen:

The capacitive touch screen is very good, but the only problem is that the screen is not visible under outdoor conditions. The screen looks very bright in indoor condition and watching videos on it is very pleasurable.

Audio and Call quality:

With the help of a good pair of headphones, the sound is very clear and precise. By default, bass is missing but if you switch on the EQ, then the sound will be even better.

Motorola Razr Maxx has very good call quality. The earpiece and mouth piece both help in getting clear as well loud calls. Motorola Razr Maxx also has a noise cancelling feature so that you can get the best out of calls.

Conclusion:

Overall, Motorola Razr Maxx is a vey nice piece of machinery, but the only problem with it is the operating system which is obsolete. It uses Android Gingerbread, which is very disappointing as many phones under the same price range offer Android Ice Cream Sandwich. But, it is expected that the update will be available shortly.

Posted in Latest mobiles.

Malware alert for US users

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

In spite of several warnings, thousands of users may loose their internet connection in the coming Monday unless they scan their computer system for any presence of malwares which can be years old. This warning was all over the various social networking sites such as Facebook, Google and twitter. Internet service provider has also sent notices and Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking this matter very seriously, which also prompted them to create new webpage to address this problem. According to the statistics from the FBI, there are more than 280000 users are affected with malwares which was 370000 in the month of April. There are more than 65000 users in United States, who are still affected with malwares.

Canadian authorities are also taking this matter with great concern. Mark Buell of Canadian Internet Registration Authority also provided some staggering stats, which said that more than 25000 systems were infected, but it has gone down to 7000. He also stated that with the help of Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission, they have developed an online facility in which users can scan for any presence of malwares in their machines. Users who don’t delete their system infected with malwares might loose their internet connection and they would have to contact their internet service provider to remove infected items and get back the internet connection.

This problem was initiated by the group of international hackers, who with the help of an advertisement infected more than 580000 machines all over the world. When FBI noticed this problem, then they tried to shut down the hacker’s server that was using control machines and faced with the difficulty because doing so would affect the user as they will loose their internet connection. To lessen the affect, FBI with the help of web security proving organization installed two different servers, so that the users don’t loose their internet connection. FBI haven’t taken these kinds of step before and this will definitely not be the end of it, as they are conducting investigations and are trying to shut down these types of servers.  The temporary internet service, which they are providing will shutdown on July 9th at 12:01 AM.

According to many security experts, the problem is that many users don’t know that their machine is affected with malwares as they can’t understand the problems such as the slowing of the internet speed, antivirus program not working, and many other similar problems. This also makes their system vulnerable to other kind of future attacks. Not only the various social networking sites, internet service providers have taken an initiative in which they have setup a service, which is known as Comcast, which sends the affected users an email. Internet service providers are providing service in which users can know why the internet is not working and what is the solution for it. Even if the provider rectifies the server problem, the malware will still be present in the machine, which could have an after affect in the future.

 

Posted in Uncategorized.

Google’s iGoogle coming to an end

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Many of you are familiar with various services Google provides for free. One of them is the iGoogle, which is used to provide users with their own customizable webpage which can have news, weather forecast, financial and stock news and many other services. This service has lasted for more than 8 years and Google recently decided to close it. There are millions of users who use this service and will affect them which is why they have decided to not to close this service temporarily. It will completely shut down in November 2013. Since, Larry Page took over the position of CEO of Google Inc. it has closed down more than 30 services in the last 15 months. This decision was not taken in haste as they want to target other important services, which will be of huge benefit in the coming years. Their main concern is the social networking, improving their searching capabilities, advertising, videos and mobile devices. Google powered mobile devices are in huge demand currently, and with the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean creating flutters among various Android users.

When iGoogle was fist launched it was targeted to get more users and to provide them with lots of interesting features such as their own personalized webpage, in which they have succeeded. With the help of iGoogle, Google also got to know the requirements of diverse users in a simple manner. But nowadays, information such as weather forecast, stock updates, latest news etc are now easily accessible using their Smartphone, tablets or by installing any software which has got all these features. iGoogle for mobile will be shut down in this month end. For example, Google’s Chrome browser offers lots of apps, using which users can get all the relevant information and makes the iGoogle obsolete. This same sentiment was shared by the Google General Manager Matt Eichner in his blog, who wrote that iGoogle has eroded over the time. In the last report, Google announced that iGoogle received more than ten millions users in the first two years, which launched Google among the fastest growing business product. Google have not provided latest statistics, which can show how many people will be affected with this decision. Google are also closing down Google Video, which is not used by many people and they want to concentrate on the YouTube service, which it acquired in the year of 2006 for $1.76 billions. Google video has stopped uploading any videos and users will have August 20 to transfer all their videos on the YouTube. Many of the users are not at all happy with this decision and many of them are making it know on various social networking websites. One of user has even filed a petition on the change.org.  Some of the old school people still want to persist with a single personalized webpage, from where all their activities can be done. They have already started to look for alternative options like MSN, Yahoo, and NetVibes. The results of this decision can only be seen in the coming years.

Posted in tech news.

False Alarm for Android powered devices

July 10, 2012 by admin · Comments Off

Recently, it was reported that Android powered mobile phone was infected with malware. The infected malware will then take control of the few emails address which is used to send spam to the other users. Terry Zink of Microsoft security also started that this botnet has taken control of many Yahoo emails to send various spam to others. According to him, the epicenters of this malware infected phones are from Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Oman, Chile and many other places. He also stated that Android is most affected by malware compared to any other Smartphone which are available in the market, and also the risk of downloading and installing is very high as they are available in the Google Play. He even stated that this risk is very common in developing nation compared to the developed nation because developed nation has better security policies, and very little presence of malwares. Many of these malwares comes from illegitimate apps as they don’t want to pay for legitimate apps and they run the risk of getting infected by it. Security firms such as AV-Test also stated this same fact, and said that it is very common among the Android user than the Apple’s iPhone users because of strict security policies they apply to their phones. To protect its Smartphone from malware, Google uses Bouncer to scan it, but many now believe that additional software may be needed to protect Android Smartphone.

But, all the reports of security deficiency in Android phone were quashed recently when many security experts expressed that they may be wrong in assessing the situations. All the malware reports were presented by the Sophos Ltd. and Microsoft, rivals of the Google Inc’s Android. According to latest reports, Chester Wisniewski who is the senior security adviser at Sophos Ltd will verify again as many Google security experts have found some disputed facts against it. He also stated that the spam which was seen in Yahoo email was different kind of malware, but he can’t say for sure that this was from Android powered Smartphone. After this statement, Microsoft’s Terry Zink also stated in his blog that the tagline “Yahoo Mail for Android”, which was found at the bottom of the messages was provided to confuse them.

Google spokesperson also denied these facts stated by Microsoft and Sophos Ltd as they didn’t find any such evidence. According to him, their security experts found that many spammers are using infected system and fake mobile signature to evade the anti-spam mechanism, which is built for that purpose. Alex Stamos, who is chief technology officer at Artemis Internet, which specializes in Web-security also said that he has never seen spam coming from a mobile devices, as Smartphone is slower than computer system to send spam. To evade tracking, spammer changes their IP address quickly and on a regular basis, which is not generally possible in the Android devices, but is very easy to do on a computer system. He also stated that if Google is saying that this is not possible on Android phone then they must have a point.

Posted in Android.

Libra Weight Tracking App

May 26, 2011 by admin · Comments Off

Gadgets don’t have to be real accessories, they can also be apps on stores such as the iOS store and Android store. The problem with apps on the Android store is that you need to find out whether a particular app will run well on your system or whether it’s either too powerful for it or doesn’t support your version of Android. Keep that in mind with any of our future Android app reviews.

A recent app that I’ve downloaded is called Libra which keeps track of your weight. You put in the weight on the current date along with a target weight and it keeps track of your weight over time, how fast you’re losing it and the date that you’ll reach your goal if you carry on at the current pace. I’m not much of a fitness fan but it’s good to be able to see how things are changing over time and what I need to do to reach a goal.

It’s also great to have a weight app that doesn’t come with a load of extras that increase the size of the app when you don’t really need them. It’s a very simple design and works well. If you’re looking for a straightforward app and don’t need a lot of options of examples of exercises then Libra is definitely a good choice.

Posted in Android.

Android Also Tracks Movement!

April 26, 2011 by admin · Comments Off

Followoing on from my last post about Apple tracking movements, its also worth pointing out that Google do the same!

When you install some apps from the Android Market you get a warning about this, asking whether you want to allow Google to anonymously mine this data. What is not clear though is whether this prevents the installation of the application, which is a bit poor.

You are a lot more likely to opt out of this data if you know you can run the app anyway. By being ambiguous at install it encourages the user to accept sharing of this data. The install routines do not make it clear whether the opt in / out is a dependancy of the application or not.

The most controversial app on android in terms of tracking is the “Latitude” app, which allows you to share your location with friends.

This is, its has to be said a really cool app, and looks a lot of fun. You share your location with your friends and you can all see each others location overlain onto a Google map. So, you can see what everyone is up to, Great! Or not as the case may be.

Whilst fun, this is perhaps the most dangerous app I have ever seen and would never install it myself.

I am sure this app will be popular with parents wanting to serrupticiously install it on their childs new birthday present!

Privacy is an increasingly complex, and interesting field with regard mobile apps. Its hard to see which way things will go, one thing is certain though, we have not even scratched the surface in terms of what is possible with these apps from a data mining perspective.

Expect to see a lot more contraversy and debate over the next five years!

Posted in Android, Privacy.
12next →