IBM bans Apple's Siri from its internal networks for security

Because the Siri and Dictation features for iOS must be sent to Apple to be converted to text, IBM has barred the use of them from its corporate networks, citing security concerns.

Jeanette Horan, IBM's chief information officer, said the decision was made because the company is concerned that the spoken data could be stored somewhere on Apple's servers. She told MIT's Technology Review (via Gizmodo) that IBM surveyed several hundreds of employees and found that many were "blissfully unaware" of what applications on their mobile devices could be security risks.

On the banning of Siri, Horan admitted that IBM is "extraordinarily conservative" when it comes to security, adding: "It's the nature of our business."

Also barred from IBM's internal servers is Apple's iCloud, which can be used to remotely back up documents and data. Instead, IBM has its employees use a company-hosted service called MyMobileHub.

Of course, IBM's conservative policies with respect to applications and serves are not limited to Apple. Third-party file transfer services like Dropbox have also been banned as the company trends toward employee-owned devices.

Source:http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/23/ibm_bans_apples_siri_from_its_internal_networks_for_security.html

Sony Walkman NWZ-B172 Review

One could ask the question – where have all the DAPs (Digital Audio Players) gone? And the answer could be that they simply have gone extinct. Companies like Sony and Apple, with a few others in tow are still bent on reviving the technology or attempting to at least keep it going for as long as possible. With the mobile phone taking precedence as the premier communication/media device, devices like the Walkman NWZ-B172 from Sony might not have a place in the tech world. However, for the avid music lover who’s into the gymming/jogging scene and not looking for something small and inconspicious that doesn’t provide any distractions, a device like the B172 could be perfect. Read on to find out if Sony’s latest DAP makes the cut.



Form Factor

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the USB plug-and-play style DAP make the rounds of the ‘tech-street’ and, it’s quite refreshing. Weighing in at a scant 28g the B172 still is a little bit on the bulky side, but not altogether difficult to manage at all. To make it easier, Sony has issued a clip that can be attached to the rear of the device which will make it easier to clip onto your apparel. An LED that is matched to the body of the player can be switched on and blinks in time to the music.

It features a 3.5mm earphone socket at one end and comes bundled with earphones that are more than capable of handling high volumes without distortion or jarring of any kind. The B172 has a 1-inch LCD display (3 line) that’s easy to view and an extra large jog dial type control for switching or scanning through tracks and menus. A large Play/Pause button resides at the center of the dial. A home/return button and Hold switch are located at the bottom of the device, while a quick access Recorder button, volume rocker and a button to access Sony’s trademark ZAPPIN feature that doubles up as a Bass Boost key are located at the top. It’s a well-designed device that provides easy access to most features you’d require to use quickly.

Features and Performance

The UI is quite standard and easy to navigate through. There are quite a few, very handy settings provided to help enhance your overall audio experience.



To start off with, in the settings menu under Music Settings, you’ll have access to Play Modes that enable you to repeat either a single track or the entire list you’re listening to. There’s also an EQ mode that features quite a few presets as well as a customizable 5 band option for those who like to take matters into their own hands. Sony’s ZAPPIN feature, for those unaware, is a preview feature that, when activated, goes through your playlist, while playing a short (or long, can be adjusted via the Music Settings) clip of the track (from the middle). Think of it as a trailer of your music list, in a matter of speaking. To select a specific track just hit the ZAP button, while the preview is on and the track will start from the beginning. It’s handy for those who don’t wish to get distracted when busy. He/she can quickly scan through their lists and choose what they want to listen to. It’s quite handy. What’s a real pleasure is that the DAP takes no more than a couple of seconds at best to start up after being powered off. It goes straight to the last playing track, so you don’t miss a beat.

Audio quality is, simply put, brilliant. It’s quite a step up from some of the previous editions of the Walkman DAP range. Aside from the fact that you could really damage your ear drums, if you even try pushing the decibel level higher than a couple of points over the 50 percent mark, tone quality is superb. The higher frequencies, should you find them a little too bright for your taste, can be subdued either via the EQ presets or by pressing and holding the ZAP button to boost the bass. This greatly increases the lower level frequencies and adds a whole new dimension of depth to the existing bass level. Those who enjoy a solid thump in the bass will find this option to be quite rewarding. Mid-range frequencies are well balanced, so vocals don’t come off too shrill. On the whole, audio quality is way above average with plenty of useful options to help make it better, if required.

It supports MP3 and WMA formats and files can be dragged and dropped onto the drive and stored in folders. You could also create a playlist in Windows Media Player and use that as a transfer tool as well.



The NWZ-B172 also comes with a built-in microphone for voice recordings. It doesn’t have the best range, but it’s clear enough to record voices within a radius of 4-5 feet.

FM radio is also part of the DAP’s feature set. It has Auto Scan and manual options for tracking channels. In Auto mode, the device tends to pick up and store quite a few random frequencies making preset selection a bit of a problem. As a suggestion, make sure you’re outdoors in an area where you usually get good reception and then use the Auto Tune mode for the best results. Nevertheless, reception was not an issue even in most indoor locations and while traveling. The B172 even allows you to record from the radio, if you wish. If the signals are clear, recordings will be the same.



Battery Life

Sony claims that the Walkman NWZ-B172’s battery is capable of 18 hours audio playback. They weren’t off by too much. On an average, the B172 clocked in a total of 16 hours and 50 minutes (give or take a few minutes) of non-stop audio playback. Sony has also incorporated a Quick Charge feature that will give you up to 90 minutes (claimed) of playback after a 3 minute charge. In reality, it can go up to 70 minutes at best.

The Bottom Line

The Sony Walkman NWZ-B172 comes with a price tag of Rs.2,990 for 2GB of storage. That seems just a tad too expensive. However all things considered and taking into account superb audio quality, 17 hours of battery life, a decent set of features and a Walkman branding that hasn’t lost its shine in decades now, it does seem to make it a worthy buy. Its biggest competitor would be Apple’s iPod shuffle that doesn’t come with an equivalent amount of features or a display and is also priced a little higher. So if you’re looking at a lightweight, feature-rich mp3 player with great audio, you’ve found it.



The Walkman NWZ-B172 is available in four colours - Black, Red, Pink and Gold.

Source:http://tech2.in.com/reviews/pmps/sony-walkman-nwzb172-review/307872

New Star Soccer app review

It might not look much but New Star Soccer is a game that has had me addicted for the last couple of weeks. The basic arcade game is free and very simple. The object is to score as many goals as you can while more obstacles - defensive walls, high winds and so on - are put in your way. You drag an arrow to aim your shot then tap on a football to determine the height and degree of spin.

A 69p in-app purchase (on iPhone and iPad) will upgrade you to career mode and this is where the fun really starts. You take over the life of a footballer. You still have to score goals, as in the arcade mode, but now you have to use your wages to upgrade skills, buy boots and build your relationship with your teammates and manager. As you get better, clubs will bid for you and you can increase your wages by moving up.

Complicating matters is the need put aside some of your wages for lifestyle items - mobile phones, cars, even houses. Better houses will help you maintain your fitness, while lifestyle items will help you get a girlfriend, which will boost your happiness and help you to play better. You can even visit the casino if you want but be prepared for your reputation to take a knock if you are seen gambling too much.

The game becomes about managing your resources in a bid to build your skills while keeping everyone happy. It's a classic 'just one more turn' game that keeps you playing for hours.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-app-reviews/9271875/New-Star-Soccer-app-review.html

Kodak ESP 3.2 review

Kodak's ESP printer range refresh continues with the Kodak ESP 3.2. It's a reasonably compact, nicely styled multifunction printer, aimed directly at hobbyists and home users.

At first glance, the Kodak ESP 3.2's nearest ancestor would seem to be the hugely popular Kodak ESP C310, now edging towards extinction (but still available, the last time we looked). That was, like the majority of Kodak's printing range, a solid entry - this one at the higher end of the budget printer market. See also Group test: What's the best inkjet printer?

The Kodak ESP 3.2 comes in a case that's very similar to the C310 - with an extra curve or two and a bit more of that trademark Kodak orange trim. Aside from that, the most noticeable difference is the graduation from manual buttons to touchscreen goodness.

In operation, the Kodak ESP 3.2 all-in-one is virtually identical to the slightly cheaper Kodak ESP 1.2, apart from the aforementioned touchscreen control panel.

As is becoming more common with home inkjet printers, you don't actually need to plug in the Kodak ESP 3.2 to a PC to set it up. You can install both ink cartridges (one colour, one black), load paper and print a test sheet without so much as connecting a USB cable. It supports a range of devices and connectivity options. You can print from BlackBerry, Android or iPhones, as well as tablets, slot in a memory card or, if you're hopelessly old fashioned, connect your computer when you've installed the appropriate driver. WiFi connectivity is configured through the touchscreen control panel.

In the Kodak ESP 3.2's case "all-in-one" means print, scan and copy. The printer's easy to load with a rear feed that takes up to 100 plain sheets of A4 or 20 sheets of 4x6 photo paper. The adjusters simply nudge into place.

Kodak's schtick over the past few years has been an insistence that they deliver the lowest total cost per page and low prices for replacement ink. You may pay a little more up front, but the Kodak ESP 3.2 produces prints on photo quality paper you'll be happy to bung straight into a frame. And over the lifetime of the printer it will cost you less than ostensibly ‘cheaper' rivals.

The scanner's easily accessible under the Kodak ESP 3.2's lid and produced some fine results in our tests. We were impressed by the Kodak Home Centre software's multiple picture scan technology in this case. It enables you to scan several photos at once and save them as separate file. Copying is still a touch button affair, but in the 3.2's case the button's on a touchscreen.

The 2.4 inch touchscreen is worth a moment of exploration as it replaces a cluster of physical buttons found on its predecessor the C310 (though a few remain, built into the control panel). The screen's quite a bit larger than the ESP 1.2's - which is main difference between the two devices.

Source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/printing/3357634/kodak-esp-32-review/#ixzz1v2MwjecQ

Starhawk’ for PS3

Starhawk” is another in a long line of first person shooters trying to make its mark on the video game world. Best described as a Western in space, “SH” is mostly your run-of-the-mill shooter. It does, however, manage to surprise with some new and innovative additions that make it a solid player in an already overcrowded market.

In the game, set in the distant future, players are taken into the far reaches of the galaxy, where humans have started to mine a dangerous new resource called rift energy. As valuable a commodity as the rift energy is, it can also cause freakish mutations in the human body. Out on this new frontier you will find two groups of people: Rifters, humans who’ve colonized deep space in order to seek riches obtained by the energy, and the Outcast, a new species of humans who have been mutated by the very same energy.

When rift claims are threatened by the Outcast, hired guns are called in to take care of the problem. Players take control of Emmett Graves, a mercenary on the job. Emmett, who has been exposed to the rift energy himself, is half human and half mutation, but manages to keep his humanity intact. When Emmett’s home settlement is threatened by emboldened Outcast warriors, he’s called in to make the smackdown, only to find that there are forces at work that he never thought possible.

The story isn’t half bad compared to other shooters, but at times the characters within the story need to be fleshed out a little more. Sometimes I found myself engrossed in the environment, but wanting to skip past the dialogue. There are a few twists and turns in the plot, and enough to keep one’s attention for about six hours or so.

The most impressive aspect of the game is the incorporation of the so-called Build & Battle system. Players have the option to build walls, bunkers, turrets, and vehicles, all in real time, to aid them in battle. If a mission calls for you to guard an energy station, just build a few walls and turrets around it and let the fun begin.

Emmett has the ability to collect the rift energy left behind after he’s killed his enemies, something similar in vein to the “Devil May Cry” series. The energy is used in conjunction with the Build & Battle elements of the game. The more rift energy players collect, the more battlements they can build and vehicles they can summon.

There are many vehicles at your disposal, the coolest of which has to be the Hawk. Think “MechWarrior” meets “Star Fox,” where you can maneuver on the ground or fly through space with the touch of a button. Use the Build & Battle feature to summon a Hawk platform, and then go to town on surrounding enemies. Emmett can create deadly ground quakes with the Hawk’s giant feet, causing Outcast warriors to fall in an instant. Or, if you quickly hit the O button you can transform the Hawk into a powerful jet.

Speaking of the Hawk, there are countless missions in which the player must fly around in space defending this or that in lengthy dogfights. At first it’s fun, but soon it gets repetitive. After a bit, you really want it to end.

The same can be said for the whole game. Most of the missions seem to be Emmett guarding either a rift well or some piece of tech as it’s bombarded by waves of Outcast warriors. No matter how many different weapons you have or variations of destruction you can cause, after a while it’s all a touch monotonous.

The multiplayer features in the game will please some and annoy others. Players get a couple of different deathmatch options, but very little else past that. Players can play co-op in single player and multiplayer, and that adds more excitement at times, but I wish there were more. Nowadays, I feel gamers are spoiled by the likes of “Modern Warfare” and its billion online modes.

Fans of real-time strategy games will actually love playing multiplayer co-op. Think how awesome it would be to have a shooter, and have the ability to build walls, bunkers and turrets to defend your position. In a regular first-person shooter, one must rely on what’s already there, but here, you get to customize your base. It’s this functionality that I feel makes up for the lack of other multiplayer elements.

“Starhawk” is not the most original game on the block, but with its Build & Battle mode, players get enough innovation to be pleased. The missions get a little repetitive after a while, and some seem to last forever, but they’re still enjoyable nonetheless. In terms of the characters, all I’ll say is Emmett Graves may not be Mal Reynolds (true nerds will get that), but he can still kick butt and take names.

Source:http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/05/review-starhawk-for-ps3/

Smartphones set to become the fastest spreading technology in human history

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but it’s always nice to see it plotted on a graph: Smartphones might just be the fastest-spreading technology in human history. The only technologies that come close is the adoption of television between 1950 and 1953, and the recent emergence (and rapid growth) of the tablet market.

While these graphs, compiled by Michael Degusta for Technology Review, are entirely US-centric, they are representative of other Western world countries. The graphs clearly show that “last mile” technologies, such as landline telephone and electricity, take up to 100 years to reach market saturation — while wireless technologies, such as radio, television, and mobile (feature/dumb) phones can go from 0% to 75% market penetration in just 20 years.

Unfortunately Degusta doesn’t have complete data for 2011 or 2012 yet, but between 2007 and 2010 (spurred on by the release of the first iPhone) smartphones registered a gargantuan surge from 5% to 40% penetration. Smartphone growth is accelerating, too — in the US, more than two thirds of mobile phones sold are now of the smart variety. It is likely that smartphones will reach 75% penetration in the US in the next few years, making it the fastest-spreading technology in human history.

Source:http://www.extremetech.com/computing/129058-smartphones-set-to-become-the-fastest-spreading-technology-in-human-history

Why Publishers Don't Like Apps - Technology Review

By the time Apple released the iPad in April of 2010, just four months after Steve Jobs first announced his "magical and revolutionary" new machines in San Francisco, traditional publishers had been overtaken by a collective delusion. They believed that mobile computers with large, colorful screens, such as the iPad, iPhone, and similar devices using Google's Android software, would allow them to unwind their unhappy histories with the Internet.

For publishers whose businesses evolved during the long day of print newspapers and magazines, the expansion of the Internet was tremendously disorienting. The Internet taught readers they might read stories whenever they liked without charge, and it offered companies more efficient ways to advertise. Both parties spent less.Tablets and smart phones seemed to promise a return to simpler days. Digital replicas of print newspapers and magazines (which could be read inside Web browsers or proprietary software like Adobe PDF readers) had never been popular with readers; but publishers reasoned that replicas were unpleasant to read on desktop computers and laptops.

The forms of tablets and smart phones were a little like a magazine or newspaper. Couldn't publishers delight readers by delivering something similar to existing digital replicas, suitably enhanced with interactive features, which would run in applications on tablets and smart phones? They argued that the new digital replicas would be better because applications run "natively" on the operating system of mobile devices, such as Apple's iOS, and can therefore have the functions of true software. (By contrast, a website is merely a series of HTML pages and scripts of computer code that run inside a browser, itself the real application. The Web's architects had meant sites to be more limited than apps.)

For traditional publishers, the scheme was alluring. They lost their heads. One symptom of the industry's euphoria was a brief-lived literary genre, the announcement of the iPad edition. A touching example of the form is this 2010 letter by the editors of the New Yorker, published by Condé Nast, dashed off in a style that was uncharacteristically breathless: "This latest technology ... provides the most material at the most advanced stage of digital speed and capacity. It has everything that is in the print edition and more: extra cartoons, extra photographs, videos, audio of writers and poets reading their work. This week's inaugural tablet issue features an animated version of David Hockney's cover, which he drew on an iPad."
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Publishers believed that because they were once again delivering a unique, discrete product, analogous to a newspaper or magazine, they could charge readers for single-copy sales and even subscriptions, reëducating audiences that publications were goods for which they must pay. They allowed themselves to be convinced that producing editorial content for the apps and developing the apps themselves would be simple. Software vendors like Adobe promised that publishers could easily transfer editorial created on print copy management systems like Adobe InDesign and InCopy directly to the apps. As for software development ... well, how hard was that? Most publishers had Web development departments: let the nerds build the apps.

Publishers hoped that the old print advertising economy could be revived. The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the industry organization that audits circulation and audience information for magazines and newspapers around the world, promised it would consider the replicas inside apps in calculating "rate base," the measure of publications' total circulation, including subscription and newsstand sales. Rate base had been the metric for setting advertising rates in publishing before the emergence of keyword and banner advertising, which measures click-throughs and ad impressions. Advertising is the real business of media, but traditional publishers couldn't compete with Google and new-media companies for selling digital ads. Apps would interrupt that decline, returning media to its proper, historical structure: publishers could sell digital versions of the same ads that appeared in their print publications (perhaps with a markup if they had interactive elements), valued with the old measurement of rate base.

Expressed like this, the delusion is clear enough, but I succumbed myself—at least a little. I never believed that apps would unwind my industry's disruption; but I felt some readers would want a beautifully designed digital replica of Technology Review on their mobile devices, and I bet that our developers could create a better mobile experience within applications. So we created iOS and Android apps that were free for use; anyone could read our daily news and watch our videos, and people could pay to see digital replicas of the magazine. We launched the platforms in January of 2011. Complimenting myself on my conservative accounting, I budgeted less than $125,000 in revenue in the first year. That meant fewer than 5,000 subscriptions and a handful of single-issue sales. Easy, I thought.

Like almost all publishers, I was badly disappointed. What went wrong? Everything.

Apple demanded a 30 percent vigorish on all single-copy sales through its iTunes store. Profit margins in single-copy sales are thinner than 30 percent; publishers were thus paying Apple to move issues. Many responded by not selling single copies of their magazines. Then, for a year after the launch of the iPad, Apple could not figure out how to sell subscriptions through iTunes in a way that satisfied ABC, which requires publishers to record "fulfillment" information about subscribers. When Apple finally solved the problem of iPad subscriptions in iTunes, it again claimed its 30 percent share. From June of last year, Apple did permit publishers to fulfill subscriptions through their own Web pages (a handful of publishers, including Technology Review, enjoyed the privilege earlier); but the mechanism couldn't match iTunes for ease of use, and most readers couldn't be bothered to understand it. And while Google was more reasonable in its terms, Android never emerged as an alternative to the iPad: today, most tablet computers are Apple machines.

There were other difficulties. It wasn't simple, it turned out, to adapt print publications to apps. A large part of the problem was the ratio of the tablets: they possessed both a "portrait" (vertical) and "landscape" (horizontal) view, depending on how the user held the device. Then, too, the screens of smart phones were much smaller than those of tablets. Absurdly, many publishers ended up producing six different versions of their editorial product: a print publication, a conventional digital replica for Web browsers and proprietary software, a digital replica for landscape viewing on tablets, something that was not quite a digital replica for portrait viewing on tablets, a kind of hack for smart phones, and ordinary HTML pages for their websites. Software development of apps was much harder than publishers had anticipated, because they had hired Web developers who knew technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Publishers were astonished to learn that iPad apps were real, if small, applications, mostly written in a language called Objective C, which no one in their WebDev departments knew. Publishers reacted by outsourcing app development, which was expensive, time-consuming, and unbudgeted.

But the real problem with apps was more profound. When people read news and features on electronic media, they expect stories to possess the linky-ness of the Web, but stories in apps didn't really link. The apps were, in the jargon of information technology, "walled gardens," and although sometimes beautiful, they were small, stifling gardens. For readers, none of that beauty overcame the weirdness and frustration of reading digital media closed off from other digital media.

Without subscribers or many single-copy buyers, and with no audiences to sell to advertisers, there were no revenues to offset the incremental costs of app development. With a couple of exceptions, publishers therefore soured on apps. The most commonly cited exception is Condé Nast, which saw its digital sales increase by 268 percent last year after Apple introduced an iPad app called Newsstand that promoted the New York publisher's iPad editions. Still, even 268 percent growth may not be saying much in total numbers. Digital is a small business for Condé Nast. For instance, Wired, the most digital of Condé Nast's titles, has 33,237 digital replica subscriptions, representing just 4.1 percent of total circulation, and 7,004 digital single-copy sales, which is 0.8 percent of paid circulation, according to ABC.

Today, most owners of mobile devices read news and features on publishers' websites, which have often been coded to detect and adapt themselves to smaller screens; or, if they do use apps, the apps are glorified RSS readers such as Amazon Kindle, Google Reader, Flipboard, and the apps of newspapers like the Guardian, which grab editorial from the publishers' sites. A recent Nielsen study reported that while 33 percent of tablet and smart-phone users had downloaded news apps in the previous 30 days, just 19 percent of users had paid for any of them. The paid, expensively developed publishers' app, with its extravagantly produced digital replica, is dead.

Here, the recent history of the Financial Times is instructive. Last June, the company pulled its iPad and iPhone app from iTunes and launched a new version of its website written in HTML5, which can optimize the site for the device a reader is using and provide many features and functions that are applike. For a few months, the FT continued to support the app, but on May 1 the paper chose to kill it altogether.

And Technology Review? We sold 353 subscriptions through the iPad. We never discovered how to avoid the necessity of designing both landscape and portrait versions of the magazine for the app. We wasted $124,000 on outsourced software development. We fought amongst ourselves, and people left the company. There was untold expense of spirit. I hated every moment of our experiment with apps, because it tried to impose something closed, old, and printlike on something open, new, and digital.

Last fall, we moved all the editorial in our apps, including the magazine, into a simple RSS feed in a river of news. We dumped the digital replica. Now we're redesigning Technologyreview.com, which we made entirely free for use, and we'll follow the Financial Times in using HTML5, so that a reader will see Web pages optimized for any device, whether a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, or a smart phone. Then we'll kill our apps, too.

Source:http://www.technologyreview.com/business/40319/?p1=BI

Review: Mazda CX-5

The brand that used to make super cool sports cars with a small but punchy rotary engine is planning its resurgence with a compact crossover.

Mazda's CX-5 is a soft-roader and the Japanese carmaker's first model to combine its Skyactiv Technology with its Kodo design philosophy.

As far as Kodo is concerned, the CX-5 has neat styling but is hardly striking. Skyactiv, on the other hand, sounds more promising.

Click here to find out more!
It is a blanket term for Mazda's innovative technologies, such as a Skyactiv-G high-efficiency, direct-injection petrol engine with a very high compression ratio; a Skyactiv- Drive quick-shifting but smooth automatic transmission; lightweight but rigid high-tensile steel body with a straight and continuous framework for greater strength; and a Skyactiv-chassis for suspension and steering that is agile and comfortable.

Driving the CX-5's front wheels is a 2.0-litre engine with 155 hp and 200 Nm (four-wheel-drive versions are not available locally).

Its compression ratio of 13.0:1 is unusually high and makes it more efficient (Mazda says this translates into a 15 per cent increase in fuel efficiency). But on the road, it feels slightly anaemic. Low-end torque is at a premium and the CX-5 only displays its oomph above 3,000 rpm. So to keep the engine buzzing, the gear lever has to be manually shifted instead of being left in auto.

Thankfully, the transmission obediently changes down as and when required, unlike some gearboxes which do so only below certain revs. And downshifts are effected by the more intuitive forward nudge of the gear stick, so it's still fun.

The CX-5 also displays competent handling and is well-controlled in corners - there is little body roll despite its height.
Mazda CX-5
Price:from $174,988 (with COE)
Engine: 1,998cc V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic transmission
Max Power: 155 hp @ 6,000 rpm
Max Torque: 200 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
0-100kmh: 9.5 secs
Top speed: 187 kmh
CO2 emissions: 161 g/km
Distributor: Trans Eurokars

But the bland interior with its sea of grey is less exciting. Everything is neatly and logically laid out with simple controls and instruments and there is a high-end soft-touch upper dashboard. However, it is framed by large sections of hard plastic.

The integrated centre display with GPS navigation by Tom Tom is a nice touch, though.

At 4,540 mm in overall length, the CX-5 does not have a huge footprint. But its 2,700 mm wheelbase and excellent packaging result in a spacious cabin with a huge boot. Head and leg room in front and behind are impressive, and because it is an SUV, there is easy ingress and egress.

There are two variants of the CX-5 - a basic car and a luxury version for $10,900 more. For that extra cash, there is an electric sunroof, auto bi-xenon headlights, rain sensor, blind spot warning, factory-fitted leather seats and an eight-way electric driver's seat, among others. But with its fuel efficiency and roomy interior, either version should qualify as the perfect family runabout.

Source:http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20120507-344372.html

Tips to improve your business with technology tools

1. Business owners and entrepreneurs should look into offering their services in a mobile way through mobile applications.

2. Businesses should track the effectiveness of social media by looking at how often their postings are being clicked on through Twitter.

3. Sometimes it’s hard to get a top executive on board to adopting social media changes but it’s something business owners should consider.

4. Create or hire for a position that handles customer feedback through Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook.

5. When implementing new technologies, carefully choose the managers assigned to lead projects.

6. Consider adding a “live chat” tool to a website to answer customer questions interactively.

7. Social media is not always the best advertising method but coupled with other forms of advertising can be especially effective.

8. YouTube and Twitter expands advertising opportunities for companies that might not be able to afford expensive campaigns.

9. If you are in food, fashion, or tourism in Hawaii, consider looking into pinterest.com, a social photo sharing website.

And of course:

10. For social media tools, do not choose a “stupid password” — avoid words that are in the dictionary, include numbers and symbols, and change it periodically.

Source:http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/2012/05/tips-to-improve-your-business-with.html

HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy S3 in core technology

Many of you will already have heard that the Samsung Galaxy S3 (or S III) was finally made official yesterday and just some of our posts so far have been about official specs, hands-on looks, sign-up pages, bundles and much more. You may also have heard of the HTC One X, another impressive phone, and today we want to take a look at the HTC One X vs. the Galaxy S3 as far as core technology is concerned.

We should begin by saying that the international variant of the HTC One X has a quad-core processor but the US variant will have a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and will offer LTE connectivity. In a similar pattern the official specs for the European version of the Galaxy S3 have been confirmed and it will also have a quad-core processor and although the processor for the US variant is still unclear it’s certainly possible that this too could have the Snapdragon S4 dual-core instead of the quad-core for other regions.

This comparison then is based on the HTC One X and Galaxy S3 quad-core versions. The HTC One X has the NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.5GHz quad-core processor and has come in for a lot of praise for its speedy performance. It could be said to have 5 cores in fact as NVIDIA calls it “Super 4-PLUS-1” Quad Core. A Cnet article explains how this fifth core is more power efficient and comes into play to boost the battery life when there are no requirements for performance and also manages the low-power tasks.

The NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor also features DirectTouch technology to enhance touch responsiveness and lessen power consumption. The Tegra 3 is based on the ARM Cortex A9 design and uses a 40 nanometer fabrication process in manufacturing. We told yesterday how the battery life for the HTC One X using this processor has been praised although Cnet says, “Top-shelf components and a massive 4.7-inch screen take a toll on this pricey superphone’s battery life.”

Moving on to the quad-core processor for the Galaxy S3 then and this is the Exynos 4 Quad at 1.4GHz. Samsung say that the quad-core processor was chosen for several reasons, one of them being that it offers full-speed video at 30fps for 1080p video capture and playback. The high-quality camera and HDMI 4.1 interface is also possible because of an embedded image signal processor interface.

This processor uses 32 nanometer technology, more recent than the 40 nanometer process for the NVIDIA Tegra 3 used on the HTC One X. Samsung claims this means its processor has twice the processing capability of the Exynos dual-core processor and also uses 20% less power. The Exynox 4 Quad processor is also based on the ARM Cortex A9 design used for the NVIDIA quad-core. Obviously as the Galaxy S3 has only just been announced there has been no chance yet to test out how well this quad-core processor works in Samsung’s flagship device.

When the first reviews start to come in we’ll have more of an idea of which of these quad-core processors comes out best in tests but the HTC One X has already been a huge hit and it’s more than likely that the Galaxy S3 will achieve phenomenal sales too. What are your thoughts on the latest smartphones using quad-core technology? Do you think the Exynos quad-core used by Samsung will match the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core, or maybe even better it?

Source:http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2012/05/04/htc-one-x-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-in-core-technology/

Samsung Galaxy S3 Event: What To Expect

Samsung on Thursday will take the wraps of its newest flagship smartphone, widely expected to be called the Galaxy S III, at an event in London starting at 2 p.m. ET. Very few details are known about the device despite intense interest in Samsung's next handset from gadget blogs and rumor sites.

Samsung has already confirmed that its next flagship phone will be sporting the company's new quad core 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor. But other details about the Galaxy S III are up for debate including the device's overall design, storage capacity, and screen size. In fact, there's even a debate about how many phones will show up on Thursday.

[Click to enlarge] Samsung's Galaxy Locked Down

Samsung is taking no chances about having any firm details about its smartphone event slip out and has beefed up security around the Galaxy S III's launch, according to The Verge. The company may also be stashing the internal components of the new phone in a variety of different shells so that no one can be really sure what the actual phone will look like. Apple has been known to do something similar with the iPhone and keeping the final design of the Galaxy S III under wraps would explain the wide ranging speculation about the phone's look and feel.

Nevertheless, there have been enough leaks to make a good guess at the Galaxy S III's features. The new smartphone will likely have a 4.7- or 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, 12 megapixel camera, and run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Other possible specs include 16GB onboard storage with a microSD expandable up to 32GB, and 1GB of RAM. GSMArena is also reporting that the Galaxy S III will have models in two different colors: blue and white, the same color theme as Samsung's event invitation.

[RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S III Spied in Video (Perhaps)]

[Click to enlarge] It's not clear if the Galaxy S III's display will be Super AMOLED, or Super AMOLED Plus like its predecessor the Galaxy S II. Super AMOLED Plus displays have 50 percent more subpixels than Super AMOLED allowing for better colors and improved visibility in bright light.

The Galaxy S III may also be sharing the stage with another phone on Thursday. So far, two model numbers keep creeping up when discussing the Galaxy S III: GT-I9300 and GT-I9800. Most critics expect the GT-19300 to be the Galaxy S III, while the GT-I9800 remains a mystery device.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/254843/samsung_galaxy_s3_event_what_to_expect.html

Spotify iPad app – review

Spotify finally has an iPad app. The streaming music service has launched a native app for Apple's tablet, following in the footsteps of rivals Rdio, Mog and Deezer.

Journalists and subscribers alike have been asking Spotify about its iPad plans for some time, with the topic even overshadowing the company's recent Coca-Cola branding partnership announcement.

The iPad app is free to download, but like the company's existing mobile apps, requires a premium subscription to use. The app supports Apple's AirPlay technology to stream audio wirelessly to compatible hi-fis, and its graphics – including album artwork – are optimised for the new iPad's Retina display.

Spotify's chief product officer Gustav Söderström showed off the app in a webcast for journalists this morning, before answering questions.

"We spent a bunch of time building this app," he said. "We think the iPad is a unique device, and we want to build a unique experience for it."

Söderström talked about how Spotify expects people to use the app, with sofas looming large in the company's thoughts.

"One use case is you sit on your couch and discover new music," he said. "We think a big part of this use case is you're at home, maybe with a stereo with AirPlay, and this is to a large extent a remote control."

He batted back questions about whether an Android tablet version will follow, and when Spotify's HTML5-based apps platform might make the leap from its desktop client to the iPad app.

"We are always working on lots and lots of stuff, and we'll let you know as soon as there is something to show," said Söderström.

Spotify provided The Guardian with a TestFlight build of the app on Monday, and I've been using it since then. The obvious design inspiration is Twitter's iPad app, with a navigation bar on the left, and a main window pane, with additional panes swiping in from the right.

The app can be used in portrait or landscape mode, and focuses on search, playlists, people, inbox and a central What's New page.

The latter highlights recommended albums, trending playlists and tracks from friends, new album releases, and trending music near your current location – an unsettling combination of David Guetta, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane and Glee playlists in Bishop's Stortford at the time of writing.

Search works well, bringing up thumbnails of artists and albums, and lists of tracks in response to a query. Playlists brings up a list of your existing playlists, including the ability to edit them and create new ones. Meanwhile, People presents thumbnails of Facebook friends, revealing their top tracks, artists and published playlists.

The app is certainly slick, and it makes good use of the iPad's larger screen. I'm not sure I buy into Söderström's vision of sofa-surfing music discovery just yet, though – Spotify's revamped Radio feature is missing, as are the apps that have made its desktop application far more than just a search box.

This is a starting point, though. One thing I'd like to see is Spotify forging partnerships with music magazines and other discovery apps through its iOS API.

For example, The Word Magazine launched an iPad version earlier in the week – buttons alongside its reviews and articles to play albums in the apps of Spotify and its rivals would be a good move.

Finally, a streaming music iPad app makes more sense to me as a remote control for a hi-fi than as a standalone experience. But that does require an AirPlay-compatible hi-fi or speakers. A bit of a niche, for now.

I suspect a lot more people have hi-fis with iPhone/iPod docks, so for them, Spotify's iPhone app may continue to be the best way to listen in their living room, unless they have a Sonos hi-fi, in which case Sonos' own iPad app already supports Spotify streaming.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/may/02/spotify-ipad-app-review?newsfeed=true

iPad 3 – The New iPad 3 Review

The new iPad is now here, it went on sale with the usual apple consumer frenzy precisely on the 16 of March. It is an improved version of the iPad 2 with additional polish and better technology and also included in this latest model is a Powerful new A5X Chip for stunning graphics. This new iPad is definitely an incredible device for media consumption with more responsive and speedy web browsing. The videos in this version load quickly, streaming smoothly. Apple has also added fantastic games such as the popular ‘angry birds’ with very sharp graphics.

This generation of apple delivers wonderful array of apps on a gorgeously superb screen with Incredible and amazing changes. Changes like a new dictation feature and better rear camera making it more exciting. This new iPad still looks like the old model, having the same length and width and home button and screen size. It is also a bit thicker and slightly heavier than the iPad 2 but this often goes un-noticed. You can only differentiate the iPad 3 from the iPad 2 when it is turned on.

Features and specifications of The New iPad

High Resolution Retina display

With the new iPad 3 you get to see everything like never before, it comes with a better screen which has four times more pixels than the iPad 2 with razor-sharp text and richer colors. This retina display completely transforms the entire experience of this new iPad, making everything to look perfectly detailed and beautiful. Designed with advanced optics this iPad allows you to record videos and take photos of excellent quality. Also, a 5mp camera is included and it has auto focus and face detection ability to create a sharper overall image, capturing images whether in sunlight or candlelight.

Smart cover

The iPad 3 comes with a smart cover that can sleep and wake your iPad by just opening and closing it. This means that when you close it your iPad goes to sleep and when you open it, it wakes up and even turns into a handy little stand. This is more than just a protection from dust and scratches.

The iPad 3 comes in nine models and is twice as powerful as the iPad 2 with higher resolutions (iPad 3 – 2048 x 1536 vs iPad 2 – 1920 x 1080). It offers 4G LTE connections on AT&T and Verizon wireless and also HSPA

Customer reviews

The introduction of this new iPad was widely accepted as usual with apple products but lately some users have complained that the tablet is hotter than the iPad 2 and this makes it uncomfortable to use. And this could make it difficult to be used in hotter countries. Here’s a comment by a user “I’m loving the screen and speed but there’s something weird about it, it gets too warm to hold. Others had complains over the thickness. Nevertheless the pros are much more in favor of this new piece of hardware than the cons.

Conclusion

This device is fast and reliable and can be used at all times. And I will recommend and advice whoever is thinking of getting one to go ahead and get it, because it’s worth it. It’s a superb new generation gadget and has a fast processor and a simple interface.

Do you want the New Ipad 3 and can’t afford the hottest addition to the apple family? Are you interested in getting a Free iPad 3 Click Here to watch this video and find out how you can get your own Free New iPad 3 today.

Source:http://cmvlive.com/technology/gadgets/ipad-3-the-new-ipad-3-review