Apple Products See the Unpolished Side of Chrome

Mac owners have been having more than a few headaches with Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chrome browser.

Owners of new Macbook Airs have been complaining for several days that their devices have been freezing or crashing when they use the Chrome browser.

Google has confirmed to Gizmodo that the problem is a leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser related to the drawing of plugins on Mac OS X and that it's working to find and fix the root cause.

"This is not good news for Google's reputation with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) users," Al Hilwa, a program director at IDC, told MacNewsWorld.

Separately, Google on Thursday unveiled Chrome for the iPhone and iPad at its Google I/O developers' conference in San Francisco.

It's possible, though, that Chrome could run more slowly on iOS than the default Mobile Safari browser because the latter uses the Nitro JavaScript engine, which other browsers are barred from using.

"This will likely be the same kind of problem folks will complain about when running in the new Metro sandboxed environment from Microsoft," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told MacNewsWorld. "These are intentionally closed systems to better assure the customer experience and protect against hostile hacking."


The MacBook Air Stink

New Macbook Airs used by staffers at Gizmodo froze and crashed when the Chrome browser was used, according to the tech blog. Switching to Apple's Safari browser solved the problem, it reported.

A graphics resource leak in Chrome is causing a kernel panic on Macs with Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) HD 4000 graphics processing units (GPUs), Google said. That includes new Macbook Airs. Google has filed radar bug number 11762608 with Apple about the kernel panics because it shouldn't be possible for an application to trigger such behavior.

Google sent out an auto update for Chrome on Thursday that temporarily disables some of its GPU acceleration features on new MacBook Airs. It expects to send out further fixes to re-enable many or all of those features.

Many of the new notebooks Apple unveiled earlier this month are susceptible, as several use the Intel HD 4000 GPU.
Steve Strikes Again

Apple's products "are making significant gains as Web browsing devices," IDC's Hilwa said. The issues Chrome is suffering on MacBook Airs "could undermine Google's ability to reach this growing number of users."

Apple "is the power player in the consumer space, and right now consumers are driving end points," Enderle stated. "As they force Google off their platforms, Google is being diminished, showcasing the massive opportunity cost of Google's betrayal of Apple by creating Android in the first place."
iOS Cripples Chrome

Chrome and other third-party browsers can sometimes run more slowly on iOS than Apple's Safari browser does because they aren't allowed to use the faster Nitro JavaScript engine, which Safari uses.

"Chrome for iOS provides the same fast, secure and stable Web browsing experience you've come to enjoy when using Chrome on your desktop or Android device, while also adapting to platform specific technical specifications," Google spokesperson Jessica Kositz told MacNewsWorld. "Rendering and the JavaScript engine are provided by iOS through UIWebView, as are all third-party browsers on iOS, so Chrome for iOS does not use Chrome v8 JS engine."

Apple introduced Nitro into iOS 4.3 in March 2011 and also uses Nitro in Mac OS X.

Nitro evolved from JavaScriptCore, a framework that provides a JavaScript engine for WebKit implementations. The WebKit project rewrote JavaScriptCore as "SquirrelFish," a bytecode interpreter. SquirrelFish evolved into SquirrelFish Extreme, which was marketed as "Nitro" and announced in September of 2008. Nitro compiles JavaScript into native machine mode.

Apple is blocking access to Nitro for other vendors' browsers on iOS because this is "deemed too risky by Apple," Enderle suggested. "Whether this is to protect against a competitive threat more than a security exploit isn't clear.

Source:http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/75520.html

1M Android NFC Devices Shipping Each Week, And Prototypes Show iPhone 5 Is Next

Google I/O is in full swing, and stories have been pouring out at a fairly steady pace: Tony Stark Sergey finally demoed Google Glass, Google Drive passed 10 million users and is available on iOS, and we all got a look at Jelly Bean — to name a few.

Yet, overshadowed and buried in lengthy liveblogs is one piece of news that deserves some more attention — and it’s all about NFC. During yesterday’s keynote, Hugo Barra, the director of Android product management, revealed that Google is now shipping 1 million NFC-enabled Android devices every week. That’s pretty significant.

For some context, the company said that 400 million Android devices have now been activated, with activations currently flying in at a rate of 1 million per day. This means that phones with NFC built in represent nearly 15 percent of all new Android devices.

As a result, Android Beam, which was introduced with Ice Cream Sandwich, is getting some cool new features, including the ability to share video by way of NFC as well as the chance to pair phones to other devices just by tapping it. That’s pretty big, as it seems that, in spite of the arguments against NFC, the technology seems to be making it into a not-so-insignificant number of devices people buy every day.

On the flip side, as Jay (and many other experts) remind us that, media chatter notwithstanding, NFC technology likely isn’t on the brink of ubiquity — that in fact it’s still four or five years from reaching critical mass.

This has been the general consensus for awhile now, and probably still holds. Unfortunately, despite great effort to the contrary, I can’t see into the future. However, it’s probably safe to say that Google’s disclosure is a prime indication that things could be changing far more rapidly than many had expected.

After all, Nokia recently launched its first Windows-based NFC phone, along with Orange, and Foursquare added NFC support to its Android app, to name a few recent examples.

But the tipping point for NFC may be on an accelerated timeline if, on top of Google’s NFC Android shipments, the recent rumors swirling around Apple’s plans for the iPhone 5 prove to be true. 9To5Mac reported earlier this week that it had managed to get its hands on some iPhone 5 prototypes, which apparently reveal that the new phone will include an NFC chip and antenna.

Obviously, as 9To5 points out, the implications of this would be pretty huge, setting Apple up to launch its own mobile payment competitor to Google Wallet and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 feature and give iOS users an easy way to share files between devices.

If come October, when Apple is expected to reveal the new iPhone 5, it has NFC built-in, and Google continues shipping NFC-enabled Android phones at its current rate, that means that the major phones consumers will be buying will have this technology. As Jim Peters told 9To5, retailers might want to get ready.

Source:http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/28/nfc-cometh-1m-android-nfc-devices-shipping-each-week-and-prototypes-show-iphone-5-is-next/

Google's Glass available to developers - for $1,500

Google’s futuristic enhanced reality Glass project has moved a step closer to Specsavers with the launch of a prototype version available to developers – for a cool $1,500.

At the I/O conference, attendees were given a chance to pre-order the headsets of the wearable computing device, with a view to working on developing the project.

But the company said the product could be ready for consumer sales as early as 2014, with a small screen suspended from the left arm of the glasses displaying messages, video or web content.

Developers aren’t expected to receive the prototypes until early next year, but Google showed off the potential with a live parachute-jump Hangout between four skydivers at the event.

Despite built-in video display and microphone, the headsets are, according to a Reuters reporter that tried them on, as light as a pair of sunglasses, and video stream perspective changes as the wearer moves their head.

Google first took the wraps off the Glass project earlier this year, and has developed the prototype to include multiple connectivity options.

The team has been posting videos and pictures on its Google+ page highlighting how the glasses might work in practical terms, although the headset's price and looks may attract few other than true early adopters.

Source: Google's Glass available to developers - for $1,500 | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/375556/googles-glass-available-to-developers-for-1-500#ixzz1z6IpdRvY

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS

Google's next iteration of Android wasn't quite the full-point release jump that many of you were perhaps anticipating. Rather than using Google I/O 2012 as the launching pad for Android 5.0, we're being formally introduced to v4.1 -- a mere 0.1 ahead of where Ice Cream Sandwich placed us around six months ago. Aside from grabbing a name change, the minor numerical bump also provides Jelly Bean the opportunity to usher in a few new features for Nexus owners to enjoy.

If you missed yesterday's keynote, Google revealed that Android 4.1 would arrive on Nexus devices in "mid-July," but there's no clear word on when partner companies will begin pushing it to their products. Moreover, pundits are quick to point out the legions of Android products that still haven't made the leap to 4.0, leaving us to wonder if those Froyo and Gingerbread laggards will simply take the fast track to 4.1 now that it's (almost) available. Care to see if the latest and greatest will live up to your expectations once it lands in a few weeks? Head on past the break as we discuss some of the larger changes that Jelly Bean has to offer.


Filed Under Cellphones, Software
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS
By Darren Murph posted Jun 28th 2012 10:00AM
Review

Android 41 Jelly Bean review a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS

Google's next iteration of Android wasn't quite the full-point release jump that many of you were perhaps anticipating. Rather than using Google I/O 2012 as the launching pad for Android 5.0, we're being formally introduced to v4.1 -- a mere 0.1 ahead of where Ice Cream Sandwich placed us around six months ago. Aside from grabbing a name change, the minor numerical bump also provides Jelly Bean the opportunity to usher in a few new features for Nexus owners to enjoy.

If you missed yesterday's keynote, Google revealed that Android 4.1 would arrive on Nexus devices in "mid-July," but there's no clear word on when partner companies will begin pushing it to their products. Moreover, pundits are quick to point out the legions of Android products that still haven't made the leap to 4.0, leaving us to wonder if those Froyo and Gingerbread laggards will simply take the fast track to 4.1 now that it's (almost) available. Care to see if the latest and greatest will live up to your expectations once it lands in a few weeks? Head on past the break as we discuss some of the larger changes that Jelly Bean has to offer.
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) homescreen gallery

By and large, Jelly Bean is Ice Cream Sandwich. Just ... nicer. And smoother. And with a few additions that make it worth yearning for. Here at I/O, we were provided with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, preloaded with v4.1. Outside of the new Android build, it's the same phone we first saw in Hong Kong last October. As these things tend to go, the actual UI changes only tell a portion of the story. It's tough to talk about Jelly Bean's significance without first talking about Project Butter. Continuing Google's long obsession with cuisine, the whimsically named initiative is an appreciated one. Effectively, Google has retooled Android to be even more responsive, so that it ramps up whatever power lies within the moment a finger touches the screen. The goal here is to achieve 60 frames per second across the board on modern hardware; that could mean bad news for older devices that may or may not get the update, but phones like the Galaxy Nexus seem to gain horsepower simply due to coding improvements.

In our testing, an already zippy phone simply felt perfectly smooth. Buttery, even. Chrome loaded in an instant. Toggling voice search didn't result in a single pause. Swiping between photos was shockingly brisk. We could go on, but it's really simple: Android is finally at a place where it feels completely buttoned-up from a silkiness standpoint. In the past, you needed cutting-edge hardware to overcome some irregularities and inefficiencies in the code. With v4.1, you're actually getting more features, without feeling there's a speed hit on the other end. In fact, you're gaining features and perceived speed. And really, who wouldn't be into that?

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/android-4-1-jelly-bean-review-a-look-at-whats-changed-in-googl/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+%28Engadget%29

Google to launch own-brand tablet

Google is set to reveal a co-branded tablet at its developer conference, according to Bloomberg.

Citing two sources close to the matter, Bloomberg claimed the $199 7in tablet would be co-branded with Asus.

The move echoes Google's earlier smartphones, including the Nexus handsets built by Samsung, and will be powered by an Nvidia processor.

The move comes a week after Microsoft revealed a Windows-branded tablet, with the company today telling TechEd conference attendees that tablet sales will surpass PCs next year.

When you look at the tablet market, you have iPad - and others

According to the sources, the 7in tablet would show off new features in the upcoming Jellybean version of Android, 4.1, with Google trying to make up lost ground in the slate market, where Apple continues to dominate.

The move would pit Google against other manufacturers – such as Samsung and Google’s own Motorola – in a strand of the tablet market that has seen manufacturers struggle for differentiation.

“When you look at the tablet market, you have iPad - and others,” Bloomberg quoted Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at industry researcher IHS iSuppli, as saying. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to compete against the iPad. And I just see it as just one more experiment going down that road.”

Source: Report: Google to launch own-brand tablet | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/375517/report-google-to-launch-own-brand-tablet#ixzz1z024b43D

Microsoft: tablets will outsell desktop PCs in 2013 Read more: Microsoft: tablets will outsell desktop PCs in 2013 | Enterprise | News | PC Pro http:

Sales of tablets will surpass traditional desktop PCs next year, according to Microsoft.

Speaking at TechEd Europe in Amsterdam, Microsoft’s vice president for Windows Web Services, Antoine Leblond, reiterated Microsoft’s philosophy that touch will become the dominant interface over the next couple of years.

“Next year, tablets will outsell desktop PCs,” said Leblond. “Touch is coming to PCs and that’s going to change the way UIs are designed very dramatically, just like the mouse did.”

Touch is coming to PCs and that’s going to change the way UIs are designed very dramatically, just like the mouse did

Speaking a week after Microsoft revealed its own-brand Surface tablet, Leblond was naturally keen to emphasise the benefits of the touchscreen Metro interface, he also stressed that Microsoft wasn’t turning its back on laptop and desktop users. “It [Metro] works equally well on a desktop or a tablet,” he insisted, with colleagues demonstrating a variety of keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Metro Start menu.

However, the demonstration faltered when Leblond’s colleague attempted to demonstrate touchpad gestures such as double-fingered scrolling, with the demo laptop repeatedly refusing to recognise the gesture controls.

Business friendly

Leblond was also at pains to stress Windows 8’s business credentials, emphasising the ability to switch between the Metro style apps and traditional x86 software. “You don’t have to choose between a small, thin and light tablet and the apps you rely on,” he said. “You don’t have to choose between the device you want and the device you’re allowed to use at work.”

The section of Leblond’s keynote speech that drew the biggest response from the hundreds of developers in the audience was also a business-related feature: Windows To Go.

He demonstrated how employees could run a locked-down installation of Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC, simply by plugging in a USB drive, allowing companies to give employees access to corporate applications without the security risks of running it on their own hardware.
Source: Microsoft: tablets will outsell desktop PCs in 2013 | Enterprise | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/375526/microsoft-tablets-will-outsell-desktop-pcs-in-2013#ixzz1z01uAnQU

Dell XPS 14 and 15 laptops get long-awaited design refresh, Ivy Bridge processors

After refreshing its Inspiron laptops and even its Vostro portables, Dell has finally gotten around to sprucing up its XPS 14 and XPS 15 high-end notebooks. In addition to including the inevitable upgrade to Intel’s new Ivy Bridge CPUs, the laptops have received a bit of a facelift to compete with the new designs from competitors.

The new XPS systems now feature anodized machined aluminum backing, Corning Gorilla Glass for the edge-to-edge displays, and magnesium alloy for the palm rests. The XPS 14 has been reduced to just 0.81 inches thick (and 4.6 pounds), while its bigger sibling is one tenth of an inch thicker and weighs 5.79 pounds. If you get an XPS 14 with a solid-state drive instead of a hard drive, it is considered an Ultrabook.

The XPS 14 (pictured above) offers either Intel Core i5-3317U or i7-3517U Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and integrated Intel graphics or an Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card. Storage options include the aforementioned 512GB SSD, 500GB hard drive, or the hard drive with a 32GB SSD with Intel Rapid Start Technology. It comes with an LED-backlit, 1,600×900 screen with a brightness of 400 nits. Dell claims a whopping battery life of over 11 hours for the beefier Core i7 and Nvidia graphics configuration, though that figure may be lower in independent lab testing.

For the XPS 15, Dell selected more powerful Ivy Bridge options: either the Core i5-3210M or i7-3612QM. You also get the GeForce GT 630M graphics standard, or you can upgrade to the GeForce GT 640M card. It comes with 6GB of RAM in the base configuration, but you can add up to 16GB if you choose. Storage options include the 500GB hard drive and 32GB SSD combination, a 750GB hard drive and 32GB SSD combination, or a 1TB hard drive with 128GB SSD. The 15.6-inch LED display packs full HD (1,920×1,080) resolution. While the XPS 14 eschews an optical drive, its big brother can be equipped with either a traditional DVD burner or Blu-ray drive.

Both models include the usual connectivity choices — built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0 ports, and mini DisplayPort and HDMI connections — but only the XPS 14 appears to offer mobile broadband options. Other upgrades include Dell ProSupport and Accidental Damage Service or Windows Trusted Platform Module with BitLocker Data Encryption.

Both systems will be available starting today, with the XPS 14 starting at $1,099 and the XPS 15 priced from $1,299.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/dell-xps-14-and-15-laptops-get-long-awaited-design-refresh-ivy-bridge-processors/8375

Despite Short Supply, Samsung Predicts Over 10 Million Galaxy S III Sales In July

Despite the fact that the Galaxy S III supply is rather low at the moment, Samsung’s mobile boss JK Shin predicts that Galaxy S III sales will exceed 10 million in July.

Neither the Samsung Galaxy S II nor the Galaxy Note were able to achieve such fast market penetration, but neither the Galaxy S II nor the Galaxy Note were the most pre-ordered Android phone in history.

But that doesn’t change the fact that most users are unable to purchase or pre-order the 32GB version of the device, according to Reuters. In fact, Sprint has had to push back the launch of the device because of low supply from Samsung.

“Due to overwhelming demand for the Galaxy S III worldwide, Samsung has informed us they will not be able to deliver enough inventory of Galaxy S III for Sprint to begin selling the device on June 21. We are working closely with Samsung on a delivery schedule to support our launch,” reads Sprint’s site.

It’ll be interesting to see the convergence between short supply from Samsung and a brand new device from Apple. The iPhone is Samsung’s greatest threat in the mobile realm, and the company smartly gave itself a three-month (or so) head start before the next iPhone is unveiled. But with short supply surely slowing the momentum of sales, Samsung may not get everything it could out of the Galaxy S III.

In either case, the GSIII will still sell just fine and surely break some new records for Samsung. Plus, Samsung went out of its way to avoid any patent litigation with Apple this time around.

Source:http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/25/despite-short-supply-samsung-predicts-over-10-million-galaxy-s-iii-sales-in-july/

This May Be Google’s New Nexus 7 Tablet

According to an allegedly leaked training document, this is Google's new tablet, a 7-inch Tegra 3 device running Android Jelly Bean. The document says that Nexus 7—as it is named—would hit the streets in July for $200.

As rumoured, Google is allegedly going to announce a 7-inch, Nexus-branded tablet called the Nexus 7. According to this supposed leak, it's built by Asus, with a 1.3Ghz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, GeForce 12-core GPU and 1GB of RAM with two different storage variants: 8GB and 16GB.

The Nexus tablet will also feature NFC and run Google Wallet (probably only in the US) and Android Beam.

The screen is an IPS display with a 178-degree viewing angle, running a resolution of 1280 by 800. The device will also sport a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. The battery will also give you 9 hours worth of operation.

The 8GB model will set you back $199 USD and the 16GB will cost $249 USD. No word in the document on local prices.

The purportedly leaked document also says that the device will be the first to run Jelly Bean, the new version of Android. Details are scarce on Jelly Bean, but the slides tell us that Google will handle operating system updates from now on, which could address the fragmentation problem. We aren't sure if this statement means that Google will handle all handset updates from Jelly Bean onwards, or if it just means it will handle it for the Nexus 7 going forward. Based on the various arrangements with other manufacturers and telcos around the world, it's likely to be the latter. We'll know more come Google I/O.

Update: The document says that the Nexus 7 will run Android Jelly Bean, but makes no mention of the version number. We understand that the device will be version stamped with Android 4.1, rather than leaping ahead a generation and stamping it as 5.0. Wired had suggested after spotting a leaked benchmark that this would be the case.

Rumours about Google working on a Nexus-branded tablet with Asus have been swirling for a while. Even as far back as May, a report emerged of a super cheap Tegra 3-powered device was coming at the Google I/O developer event, which is now only days away.

The first clue was when Asus demonstrated the awesome cheap and wonderfully cheerful Eee Pad MeMO 370T at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, before delaying the unit indefinitely.

Since then, rumours about a home-grown tablet from Google have been few and far between, but this is the first time we've seen anything official regarding specs.

Apple has already played its announcement cards around iOS 6, Microsoft has announced Surface and Windows Phone 8, and Google risks being left behind without its own bespoke tablet product. June is one hell of a month to be following what's new in tech.

Priced at $200, the Google's Nexus 7 will become Amazon's biggest problem post-launch, threatening the market share of the hugely successful Kindle Fire. The Fire runs a highly modified version of the Android operating system and prevents users from wandering outside the customised Amazon environment. The Nexus brand, however, has always been associated with the purest form of the Android operating system Google has to offer, meaning that it's likely going to be a better experience. Google is also banking on the fact that the screen is better than the Fire's, with a higher resolution and 10-point touch capability.

Of course, this could all prove to be an elaborate fake. We've seen them before and we'll see them as long as there's a rabid tech-loving public that will queue up around the block for value this good.

We'll bring you the news as we hear it about this tablet. If it really is the Nexus 7, we'll find out soon as we'll be reporting live from the Google I/O keynote, Wednesday at 12:30pm EST (9:30am PST). Check back for updates.

Source:http://gizmodo.com/5921000/nexus-7-this-is-googles-new-nexus-tablet

LG slips out Optimus L3 DualSim for Russia and Ukraine, keeps you in touch with both Kiev and Kursk

LG's Optimus L3 was always designed with modest ambitions -- mostly of scooping up the starter smartphone crowd -- but a new variant for Russia and the Ukraine has our ears perked. The tiny L3 DualSim includes two SIM slots to let locals hop between two different phone numbers with a switch. Ostensibly it's to give jetsetting businesspeople a way to switch between their home and work phone lines, although the abundance of prepaid service options in the two countries makes us think there's some cost-saving involved as well. The tweaked L3 isn't just another dual-SIM conversion; LG has also seen fit to overcome qualms about performance with an 800MHz Snapdragon replacing the 600MHz of the original. Sadly, we're not seeing any upgrades to the creaky Android 2.3 install or the 3-megapixel camera, so this won't let you get a shrunken L5 on the cheap. At a price of 1,500 Ukranian grivnas (6,169 Russian rubles, or $186) without a contract, however, we suspect many Muscovites and Sevastopolians won't have objections to picking up the L3 DualSim for themselves come the July release.

sourceLG (translated)

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/25/lg-slips-out-optimus-l3-dualsim-for-russia-and-ukraine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+%28Engadget%29

Satechi Portable Energy Station 5200mAh Portable Battery

Here comes another high-capacity portable battery, the Portable Energy Station from Satechi for users to rejuice their mobile devices on the go. The unit is equipped with 5200 mAh (2 amp) 18 Watt Compounded Interconnection Battery, which accroding to Satechi, is more stable and longer life than lithium batteries. It has a USB port for charging mobile devices and a micro USB port for recharging.

The Portable Energy Station comes with six charging tips, including 30-pin dock connector, micro USB, mini USB, making compatible with most mobile devices including iPhone/iPod/iPad, Kindle, and Android smartphones/tablets. While charging mobile devices, the portable battery can also be recharged at the same time.

Satechi’s 5200mAh Portable Energy Station is priced at $39.99.

Source:http://www.itechnews.net/2012/06/22/satechi-portable-energy-station-5200mah-portable-battery/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ItechNewsNet+%28ITech+News+Net%29

The next-gen MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review

What happens from here on out is what's really interesting. Intel has already committed to moving the TDP of its mainstream parts from 35W - 45W down to 10 - 20W. Since the Air is the new mainstream Mac notebook, Apple has already made that move. The performance in this 10 - 20W segment is going to get much better over the next two years, particularly once Haswell arrives.

The Thunderbolt Display is the first sign of what's to come. Moving IO controllers and expansion into the display, and potentially even moving discrete GPUs out of the notebook are all in store for us. Apple is really ahead of the curve here, but it's easy to imagine a future where laptops become a lot more like the new Air and shift to a couple high bandwidth ports instead of numerous lower bandwidth connections.

Perhaps I was being too aggressive in the prediction of a couple of high bandwidth ports. After all, the next-generation MacBook Pro with Retina Display features four such IO ports (2 x Thunderbolt and 2 x USB 3.0). But you get my point. Gigabit Ethernet and Firewire 800 are both gone. The discrete GPU is still present but I suspect even its days are numbered, at least inside the chassis. The personal computer as we knew it for so long, is changing.

The personal computer is getting thinner, lighter, more integrated and more appliance-like. The movement is no longer confined to just Apple either. The traditional PC OEMs are following suit. Even Microsoft has finally entered the PC hardware business, something it threatened to do for years but hadn't until now. Distribution models will change, the lines between different form factors will continue to blur. What was once a mature industry is going through a significant transformation. It’s exciting but at the same time it makes me uneasy. When I first got into this industry everyone had stories of companies with great ideas that just didn’t make it. As we go through this revolution in computing I’m beginning to see, first hand, the very same.

Apple makes the bulk of its revenue from devices that don’t look like traditional personal computers. For the past couple of years I’ve been worried that it would wake up and decide the traditional Mac is a burden, and it should instead be in the business of strictly selling consumer devices. With its announcements two weeks ago in San Francisco, I can happily say that my fears haven’t come true. At least not yet.

It’s been a while since Apple did a really exciting MacBook Pro launch. Much to my surprise, even the move to Sandy Bridge, the first quad-core in a MacBook Pro, was done without even whispers of a press conference. Apple threw up the new products on its online store, shipped inventory to its retail outlets, updated the website and called it a day. Every iPhone and iPad announcement however was accompanied with much fanfare. The MacBook Pro seemed almost forgotten.

With its WWDC unveil however Apple took something that it had resigned to unexciting, dare I say uncool status, and made a huge deal about it. Two weeks ago Apple did the expected and offered relatively modest upgrades to all of its portable Macs, all while introducing something bold.

Apple calls it the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. You’ll see me refer to it as the next-gen MacBook Pro, Retina MacBook Pro, rMBP or some other permutation of these words.

After using it for the past two weeks I can honestly say it’s the best Mac Apple has ever built. And there’s a lot more to it than hardware.

If you were hoping for a 15-inch MacBook Air, that’s not what the rMBP is. Instead it is a far more portable 15-inch MacBook Pro. I have to admit I was a bit let down the first time I laid eyes on the next-gen MacBook Pro, it looks good but it doesn’t look all that different. The disappointment quickly faded as I actually picked up the machine and started carrying it around. It’s not ultra light, but man does it make the previous chassis feel dated.

While I never really liked lugging around the old MBP (and it always made me feel like the old fogey at tradeshows where everyone else had something 13-inches or smaller), carrying the rMBP is a pleasure by comparison. Pictures really don’t do it justice. The impressively thin display assembly or overall chassis thickness look neat in a photo but it’s not until you actually live with the rMBP that you can appreciate what Apple has done here. I carry around a 15-inch MacBook Pro because it’s my desktop, and as such it’s incredibly useful to have with me when I travel. For my personal usage model, the Retina MacBook Pro is perfect.

If your workload demands that you need the performance of a MacBook Pro and your lifestyle requires you to carry it around a lot, the reduction in thickness and weight alone will be worth the upgrade to the rMBP. If you spend most of your time stationary however, you’ll have to be sold on the display and internal characteristics alone. The bad news is if the design doesn’t get you, everything else will.

Source:http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review

Google to launch Amazon, Microsoft cloud rival at Google I/O

Google is very likely to launch a cloud services platform at its annual developer conference, Google I/O next week in San Francisco. It was one of the topics of discussion in the hallways of our Structure 2012 conference. We have since confirmed with multiple sources who are familiar with Google’s plans which include a more comprehensive offering that its current app engine and storage offerings. The Mountain View, Calif-based Internet giant declined to comment.

In early May, my colleague Derrick Harris broke the news that both Google and Microsoft were launching their competitors to Amazon later this year.

Google is hard at work on a cloud computing offering that will compete directly with the popular Amazon EC2 cloud, according to a source familiar with Google’s plans. Not to be outdone, other sources have confirmed Microsoft is also building an Infrastructure as a Service platform, and that the Redmond cloud will be ready — or at least announced — before Google’s. According to my sources, Google should roll out its service for renting virtual server instances by the end of the year, while Microsoft is slating its big announcement for a June 7 event in San Francisco.

Although Google declined to comment on whether the offering is indeed on the way, an IaaS cloud would make a lot of sense for the company. It already has a popular platform-as-a-service offering in App Engine that is essentially a cloud-based application runtime, but renting virtual servers in an IaaS model is still where the money is in cloud-based computing. Google also has an API-accessible storage offering — the aptly named Google Cloud Storage — that would make for a nice complement to an IaaS cloud, like Amazon’s ridiculously popular S3 storage service is for EC2.

While Amazon seems to be a target for all cloud service providers, my sources say that the real target for Google seems to be Microsoft and its developer community. While Amazon has achieved amazing traction with startups and new cloud companies, experts believe that there is a wider opportunity to tap into the corporate markets. Amazon too is trying to move into the enterprise market. The enterprise developer community is also one of Microsoft’s biggest strengths, and Google wants to go after them.

In order to lure these enterprise developers, the company has focused heavily on making it easier to write, deploy and manage applications on its platform. It is doing so by partnering with third parties. Two companies I have heard who are in cahoots with Google are Rightscale and Opscode.

Source:http://gigaom.com/2012/06/22/google-to-launch-amazon-microsoft-cloud-competitor-at-google-io-2012/

Top 10 tips for selecting a cellular radio

The primary goal of cellular radio systems — providing communication services to a large number of wireless data, video and mobile users — has become increasingly challenging in light of the rapidly evolving demand for these services and the resulting call for higher bandwidths and data rates in backhaul telecommunications systems, all at lower costs.

To meet these demands efficiently, it is important to carefully consider an array of factors when choosing the cellular radio that best suits your needs. The following "top 10" tips are based on Richardson RFPD's experience supporting the latest products from the leading suppliers in cellular radio technology. The tips are discussed at a level of detail appropriate for new cellular radio designers as well as more experienced designers who are either presented with a unique design challenge or are simply looking for a way to standardize a decision-making checklist.

Tip 1: Determine required data speeds: 2G, 3G, 4G?
This is a fundamental decision that will affect not only the functionality of the embedded processor, but the associated costs and longevity of the ultimate device. It's important, in many cases, to design for the fastest speeds. In fact, many carriers are moving to the faster data speeds sooner than expected. AT&T, for example, is already phasing out 2G in New York City because the network became so rapidly congested, and for the same space, the carrier can have twenty-five 3G users for every one 2G user. On the other hand, designing for the newer technology, in this case the faster data speed, will also mean higher associated costs.

Tip 2: Choose your network technology: CDMA or GSM?
Understanding the differences between CDMA (code division multiple access) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is integral to choosing the right network technology for your needs. Generally speaking, CDMA is well-established, uses better technology, is more efficient, offers cheaper data plans (at this point), has better throughput, and is less susceptible to noise. Possible downsides, depending on your needs, include its geographic limitations (U.S. and Canada, only) and more expensive hardware. GSM basically covers everywhere else in the world, though GSM networks continue to make inroads in the U.S.

Tip 3: Pick your interface: connectorized, surface mount, Mini PCIe?
The PCI Express Mini Card (Mini PCIe) is about as industry-standard as you can get. They're on tablets, laptops, routers, you name it, and it's the easiest integration option. Surface mount, at the other extreme, requires laying out the entire PCB around the module that you are trying to integrate. A connectorized (proprietary) interface is somewhere in the middle. You do not have to lay out the entire board, but you do have to lay out the specific connector.

Tip 4: Keep an eye on production volume when deciding between modules and modems.
Are you deploying so many units that it make sense to pay for development and certification? If so, a module would make sense. Or do you want simplicity and a ready-to-go solution? In that case, think modem. As a general rule of thumb, if you will be deploying fewer than 3,000 units, a modem is a better choice than a module, because the modem is fully integrated with hardware and fully certified. If you choose a module, the final device has to be certified (that's industry and carrier certifications), which can run $20K and up — a decision which makes sense at higher quantities where you will recoup your certification and hardware development costs.

Tip 5: If choosing a modem, plan your peripheral needs.
So you've decided on a modem, now it's time to think about the peripherals. What will be needed? What kind of software requirements does the customer have? Modems can have expansion cards, and you have choices: USB, WiFi transceiver, Ethernet port, etc. What will your application need? The more choices you make now, the smoother your design process will be — and the easier it will be to control costs.

Tip 6: Match your carrier choice to your application and market needs.
Each carrier has its own nuances that make it unique in the market, and it pays to take note of existing carrier features and trends. For example, in the U.S., AT&T is doing away with its 2G coverage in favor of 3G, while Verizon and Sprint are attempting to capitalize by promising longevity in their 2G offerings. In Canada, Rogers is mirroring AT&T's move away from 2G. And while Bell Canada and Telus Networks may be picking up the slack there, it is simultaneously true that nearly all carriers in both countries are moving their 4G offerings toward LTE. Whether LTE will live up to the hype and promises that surround it is yet to be seen.

Tip 7: Consider who will be providing the data plans for the deployment.
MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) are smaller companies that buy wholesale minutes and/or plans from the bigger carriers and then redistribute them to M2M customers. MVNOs exist to serve the M2M space in ways that the big carriers do not (yet) — making it easy for customers to deploy their M2M products by pooling data plans for cost savings and offering easy internet platforms that monitor SMS/data usage.

Tip 8: Identify the necessary professional services: who will produce or assist in the software and/or hardware development?
If you've chosen a module (vs. a modem, see Tip 4), you'll need to consider both software and hardware development, as well as factors like electromagnetic interference (EMI), proper RF channel for a well-situated antenna, software developments, and application programming interfaces (APIs). With modems, you only have to consider the software development. A "smart" modem has an integrated operating system that allows customization similar to a home router; whereas a "dumb" modem needs a host's OS platform, so you will still have to customize software to integrate the modem with the OS.

Tip 9: Map out supply logistics.
A company that offers extensive worldwide logistics services that amount to a total supply chain solution can greatly simplify things for you. Look for features like same day shipments to domestic customers, extended hours "on call" support, ship scheduling to meet JIT (just in time) or future planned need dates, consolidated shipments to domestic and international locations, special packaging options, freight carrier coordination, and special product testing or acting as the 3rd party logistics provider.

Tip 10: Don't forget about accessories.
When planning out your accessories, pay special attention to the antenna — it plays an important role, particularly in relation to types of modules, and is often a crucial component to successful certification and deployment. Other accessories to consider include: data cables like the RS-232; cable assemblies such as the U.FL to SMA, or SMA to SMA extension; and signal boosters in low coverage areas.

Source:http://www.eetimes.com/design/microwave-rf-design/4375598/Top-10-Tips-for-selecting-a-cellular-radio

Tips for safe online banking on your mobile

Today’s smartphones are so powerful and diverse that they’ve replaced many of our traditional, everyday items such as the laptop, mp3 player, camera, and now, the wallet.

With the rise of apps and new technology, mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Unfortunately, all the amazing data that your phone contains—including banking and payment info—makes it a very attractive target for the bad guys.

According to police, between 250,000 and 300,000 mobile phones are reported stolen each year in the UK.

The potential benefits of these technologies far outweigh the risks, so as long as you take precautions, you can reap the rewards. Lookout shares tips on how to stay safe while enjoying the convenience of mobile banking.

Set a passcode That way, if your phone is lost or stolen, you can have peace of mind knowing your banking and personal data is safe.We also recommend that you and put an auto-lock on your device and set your screen to lock after five minutes.

Double-check weblinks, especially those that link to sites where you need to enter payment details. Sometimes people fall prey to “phishing” attacks by putting their details into fake apps or websites. In fact, Trusteer found that people are three times more likely to succumb to a phishing attack from their mobile device compared to their computer. Before you login, check to make sure you are on the right URL.

Set a strong password for your banking app. It should be a unique password that you don’t use anywhere else.

Make sure your banking apps are up-to-date. If there is bug or security flaw, the bank will generally release an update to fix it, so make sure you download all updates as soon as you are notified.

When you are downloading apps in general, make sure you are using trusted sources. This will minimise the risk of malware being downloaded onto your phone and accessing your information. As a guide, look at the number of downloads or rating the app has, or read reviews.

Download a mobile security app such as Lookout that will keep your phone free of bad apps that might contain malware and spyware, locate your device if it ever goes missing, and remotely wipe data if the phone is ever stolen.

Source:http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/money/Online+Banking-243283.html

Dell XPS 13

Plenty of hardware manufacturers have attempted to combine the performance and productivity of a traditional computer with the light weight of an iPad and the battery life of a cellphone, but for my money, the XPS 13 is the pick of the bunch. It has a sharp and sexy look to it, boasts a 13.3-inch (diagonal) display despite being less than 15 inches from corner to corner, and IT departments will love the enterprise-friendly features. Oh, and it boots up in around eight seconds from cold.

Part of Dell’s high-end XPS brand, re-launched last year to meet the needs of today’s mobile professionals, the XPS 13 delivers on its promises, and delivers well.

Among those promises is the Intel Smart Connect technology, which wakes periodically to detect known networks and update the user’s calendar and email. In other words, it knows what you want to have synced, probably before you do. Combine this with a battery life of several hours – I used it on battery for six hours without any problems – and speedy boot up of just a few seconds, and you really do have the best of all worlds.

The XPS 13 uses second-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, 128GB and 256GB solid state hard drive options, Intel HD 3000 graphics and a bright high definition WLED 300-nit display to full advantage to deliver quick processing times and crisp, clear imagery.

Light enough to carry in a simple sleeve – or a handbag – there is nothing flimsy about this little notebook. Despite weighing less than 1.5 kilos and being around ix millimetres at its thinnest point, it still feels and looks stable and sturdy.

For an SME looking to equip a team, it would be hard to go wrong with the XPS 13, especially as Dell has included a standard Trusted Platform Module for BitLocker Data Encryption, optional ProSupport after-sales service, and Configuration Services such as custom imaging and asset tagging, in order to offer IT security and reassurance.

Take the XPS 13 home and it becomes a great personal machine for web browsing and day-to-day computing. Graphics are crisp, sound is clear, and browsing is uncomplicated.

For small business or for personal use, the XPS 13 would be my current pick of the bunch.

5/5

Price range: $1699 - $2399

Source:http://www.techday.co.nz/netguide/news/review-dell-xps-13/23949/

Review: Samsung Galaxy S III

The Samsung Galaxy S III launched in late May, to a level of consumer and media attention once reserved for only Apple's smartphone offerings

When we crowned the HTC One X as “the [Android] phone you should lust after” we were aware that we may have to revise our position after we’d had a chance to put the Galaxy S III to the test.

With its 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos CPU, the S III is an incredibly powerful Android phone. Is it enough to knock the One X from its perch? In raw performance, certainly – but we knew that , based on benchmark scores we'd seen long before we got our hands on an S III review model. Power doesn’t make a winner, though. It’s what you do with that power, and Samsung had some grand ambitions for the Galaxy S III.

Display
Sleek and slim at just 8.6mm thick, the S III seems built to draw your eye to its huge 4.8-inch, 720 x 1280-pixel touchscreen. Yep, that’s right – 720p High Definition. Watching videos is a pleasure, particularly HD video from YouTube or your own media collection at its native resolution.

The S III’s display boasts 50% more pixels than the Apple iPhone 4’s Retina display (itself 640 x 960). The iPhone's 330ppi pixel density still pips the 306ppi of the S III, but the S III is capable of the same sort of smooth, no-pixels-visible rendering of text and icons as devices with Apple’s Retina technology.

Samsung’s Super AMOLED display provides beautifully rich colours, good contrast and sufficient brightness for outdoor viewing. In summary, the S III can delivery some stunning eye candy.

Design
Our white model has minimalist styling, with shiny silver trim around the outer edge. There’s a physical ‘home’ button on the front, touch-sensitive menu and back buttons, and that’s it. On the left side is a volume up/down rocker switch, and on the right is the power button. The back is just one smooth sheet of polycarbonate plastic, which is removable to reveal a user-replaceable battery, microSIM slot and microSD memory card slot.

It’s not a particularly attractive design – in fact, though it feels very solid in the hand, it looks a little cheap at first glance. Some may be put off by this. Personally I liked the way the screen was the sole focal point of the device, and nothing else was worth a second glance: the screen is the only part of the phone you really interact with.

Android & TouchWiz
The phone runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) out of the box, with Samsung’s TouchWiz 'Nature' UI lightly draped across the top. It’s not a heavyweight, Android-crushing ‘skin’, and doesn’t negatively impact the performance of the S III as some vendor-specific Android overlays have been known to do.

TouchWiz 'Nature' adds several neat features, including very quick access to common settings via Android’s pull-down notification bar. That may seem a trivial thing to single out, but it’s amazingly useful and quicker to access than the home-screen widgets often supplied for the same purpose. The 'Nature' portion describes many of the themed alerts and responses of the S II, which were based on the sound of wind, water and stone.

Smart stay
Honestly, Smart stay sound a little creepy. You flick the setting on, and your phone is always watching. Rather than hitting its ‘no activity’ timeout and going to sleep, the front-facing camera checks whether you’re looking at it. If you are, the phone stays awake. Brilliant, right?

The idea is that if you’re reading a long document, checking your mail or perhaps trying to view a magic-eye picture, you won’t have to keep pawing the screen every minute or two so your phone doesn’t fall asleep on you.

It worked for me, most of the time. The feature isn't as effective in the dark, because the camera can’t see you. I also found it didn’t work when I put the phone on a table and leant forward over it to read. I suspect the camera couldn’t see my eyes, or recognise me at that angle. In daylight, holding the phone in a comfortable reading position, it worked almost perfectly. When it ‘fails’, you haven’t lost anything – the phone would have gone to sleep anyway – so it’s a nice option.

S Voice
‘S Voice’ is both more useful, and less novel than I imagined. It’s something you may have heard of before... Apple calls it ‘Siri’, and it’s a cloud-based speech recognition system that allows you to issue the phone commands, or ask it questions, in ‘natural language’ (as you would speak to a human).

I only had a week with the Galaxy S III, and apparently that wasn’t enough time for ‘S Voice’ to learn its way around my strange accent. Set to either US or UK English, it had a terrible time with even the simplest commands and message dictations. I did have a few pleasant successes, such as ‘set alarm for 6:00 am’, ‘what’s the weather like here’, and ‘what is 27 inches in centimetres?’. Simple questions like those will be answered right in the speech command window.

If S Voice can’t answer you directly, it offers to perform a web search. My luck was mixed in that area – common phrases worked alright, but names, numbers and technical terms were usually a no-go.

I can’t say much more about S Voice without a lot more hands-on time. With the speech recognition happening server-side, it’s also something that I’d hope to improve behind the scenes as time goes on. As it stands right now, I wouldn’t call it a major selling point.

Pop up play
An interesting little feature of the S III, Pop up play uses the phone’s immense processing power to let you watch windowed HD video on top of another application – like a very simple version of multitasking.

Pop up play hasn’t gained a great deal of attention, and really seems more suited to a tablet than a smartphone. However, if you’re watching a video to pass the time – the only reason I ever watch a video on my phone personally – it’s nice to be able to handle your messages, email or even check the bus timetables without pausing the video and switching apps.

Camera & Best photo
The Galaxy S III’s rear-facing camera records stills at 8 megapixels, and full HD 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Photo and video quality are great, with the high-resolution screen making a particularly good viewfinder. It’s also easy to whether your shots are slightly blurred, and re-take if necessary.
The ‘Best photo’ feature makes that a rare necessity indeed, taking eight photos in rapid succession when you press the shutter button, and auto-selecting the best of the lot. You can then manually confirm which shot (or shots) you wish to keep. It’s very similar to the feature of the same name found on the HTC One X.

Battery life
Despite the S III’s quad-core CPU and massive screen, the 2100mAh battery easily provides at least a full day’s use. For me, that included extensive web browsing, use of email and calendar features, a few hours of music playback and a few minutes of video. If you’re trying to watch feature-length films, expect a different outcome.

Charging is via Micro USB, and an ultra-compact USB/mains adapter is included in the box.

Conclusion
If you want power, and you want it now, Samsung’s Galaxy S III is the most powerful Android smartphone on the market. It’s your best option, and at $1,049 outright from 2degrees, Telecom and Vodafone, it’s just $50 more than the HTC One X.

Speaking of which, it’s hard to say whether the S III is ‘better’ than the One X overall. Both have a similar feature set, the same display resolution and nearly the same size. S Voice or Samsung’s other proprietary additions to Android are not enough to steamroll the competition outright – not yet. The One X feels a little more solidly built, the S III has the advantage in grunt. Try out both in store if you can, because it’s a tight race.

On its own merits, the Galaxy S III is well worth PC World’s Platinum award, as today’s most cutting-edge Android phone.

Source:http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/mobile/review-samsung-galaxy-s-iii