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    Syrian government cuts off all internet traffic to country, good guy Google launches Speak2Tweet to help citizens spread the truth

    Gadgets Team
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    Syrian government cuts off all internet traffic to country, good guy Google launches Speak2Tweet to help citizens spread the truth

    In an extremely dickish move that’s aimed at muzzling the local populace, the Syrian government has effectively cut off the population of Syria from the web. In response, Google has made their Speak2Tweet system available to the Syrian people to help them tell the world what’s happening in their country. The service does what it says in the tin – it allows users to leave voice messages which are then tweeted by the service for the world to hear. http://twitter.com/speak2tweet. While there’s not a lot of people left in Syria with access to a working phone line that can dial international numbers, it’s nice to know that a company like Google is doing some good, and not just looking out for its bottomline.

    Source: Google

    Check out these cool holiday ads for Windows Phone!

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Check out these cool holiday ads for Windows Phone!

    From the Abominable Snowman to Santa and his elves, it seems like everyone in the North Pole are using Windows Phone, according to these Christmas ads from Microsoft.

    Santa, for instance, uses an app to track how many kids are being naughty or nice. The information can be easily accessed on the Windows Phone Live Tiles, so he can immediately give out the signal to his elves to churn out more toys. Bumble (a.k.a. the Abominable Snowman), on the other hand, looks like he needs someone to snuggle with in front of the fireplace, as he enters a speed dating session. As each prospect arrives, Bumble receives dating tips from his friends, which he can instantly see on the Live Tiles.

    Watch the videos below!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DI6f31HnTqM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kuYoEaUJXvw

    Sorry, fanboys. William Shatner Isn’t going to the USS Enterprise decommissioning.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Sorry, fanboys. William Shatner Isn’t going to the USS Enterprise decommissioning.

    William Shatner, who you SHOULD know played James Kirk on the cult classic Star Trek, has just announced through his twitter account that he will not be attending the starship’s aircraft carrier’s decommissioning in Virginia this week. According to Wikipedia the real USS enterprise is the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name, as well as being the longest naval vessel in the world. This… was… crushing news… to the crew…. of the actual Enterprise, a ship that has played a rather large part in the history of Trekkie fandom over the years, serving as host to a Star Trek Convention, a visit by George Tajei, and (sort of) playing a part in the ’86 Star Trek movie, and, of course, serving as one of the namesakes for Star Trek’s main ship. If you aren’t a fan of the franchise (shame on you), you may also be interested that the real-world USS Enterprise also served as the main setting for the movie “Top Gun,” which raises the proposition that maybe they should get Tom Cruise to attend the ceremony instead.

    Eye In The Sky gives you one less topic of awkward conversation

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Eye In The Sky gives you one less topic of awkward conversation

    When at a loss for topics of conversation, talk inevitably goes towards weather. Everyone knows this  but few people actually point it out. Whether or not you’re actually concerned with your locale’s meteorological well-being, Eye In The Sky might just be the perfect weather app for you. This ‘Droid program gives you u-to-date weather reports including temperature, the forecast over hours and days and even custom icon sets so you get the news in the cleanest, slickest presentation even the most OC Android user would be proud of. It’s a free app and requires Android 2.2 or higher. Download your copy HERE.

    Here’s the Nexus 7 stand/docking station you’ve been waiting for.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Here’s the Nexus 7 stand/docking station you’ve been waiting for.

    Asus’ wildly popular Nexus 7 has been available here in the country for a while now, through all sorts of channels, and for good reason. The little tablet has a beautiful screen, a slick, usable interface and a price tag that’s about as cheap as a manufacturer can make it without serving a worthless paperweight. The problem, however, is that the little guy can’t stand on its own. Calm down, Google fanboys; we mean that literally. People have resorted to all sorts of stands, both off-the-shelf and jury-rigged, and have come up with mixed results. If you want to have a stand that was built around the device, however, you may have finally gotten your wish. The Japanese Asus website has released the official Nexus 7 dock HERE. It features a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as a USB port, and allows the tab to be used while docked. No word yet on international availability or pricing, but it’s only a matter of time before this dock hits the shelves at your favorite retailer.

    Apple unveils iTunes 11, features improved interface and better iCloud support

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Apple unveils iTunes 11, features improved interface and better iCloud support

    Apple showed the world a glimpse of iTunes 11 back in the iPhone 5 unveil a few months ago, and now the company has officially sent out notices that the new version is ready for download. When you open the newly designed app, you’ll be greeted with a new, improved interface that seems to highlight the album art more than anything. Playlist creation has been tweaked somewhat, and gives users a dedicated pane that allows them to drop songs and albums without jumping around the interface and losing sight of what you’re doing. Apple has also taken iTunes support for iCloud to the next level – all purchased music, movies, and TV shows will show up in your library regardless if you’ve downloaded them locally or not. Interested in checking it out? You can go direct to Apple’s site and download iTunes there.

    THQ Humble Bundle allows you to pay what you want for 6 awesome AAA games (7 if you beat the average!)

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    THQ Humble Bundle allows you to pay what you want for 6 awesome AAA games (7 if you beat the average!)

    If you’re a frequent reader of this site, you pretty much know how the Humble Bundle works, right? You pay what you want for a set number of games, and if you beat the current average price of what people are paying for, you get an extra game, free. Well this time around, the Humble Bundle is bringing out something special via their newest offer from THQ. This new bundle packs 6 awesome, triple A games from renowned games studio THQ, and makes you set the price for all those six games. This is the first time that the Humble Bundle has bundled non-indie games of the PC, though this time around there are no direct downloads to be had – everything needs to be activated through Steam. What games are you getting then? Well, you’ll be getting Company of Heroes (and its two full-game expansions, Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor), Darksiders, Metro 2033, and Red Faction: Armageddon. If you pay more than the current average (which as of writing is at $5.73 or Php 234), you’ll also be getting Saint’s Row: The Third, which basically ups the value of the bundle through the roof. Excited yet? You’ll also be helping a good cause! There’s absolutely no reason not to buy this particular bundle, as the price of the bundle is basically less than what you probably spend for a swanky dinner.

    Source: Humble Bundle

     

    Indie band creates stop-motion music video using Instagram

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Indie band creates stop-motion music video using Instagram

    Mexican indie band The Plastics Revolution created a stop-motion music video for their single “Invasión” using 1,905 Instagram photos that were taken on an iPhone.

    “Every single frame of this music video is an actual picture that we ran through Instagram. We never shot any video. We only shot still photography,” said the band on Vimeo.

    No more words. Just hit play and watch the video below!

    Source: Mashable

    Intel Philippines rolls out Sing to Win II

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    Intel Philippines rolls out Sing to Win II

    Intel Philippines recently launched the campus edition of Sing to Win II, its music video making contest from last year.

    Intel will visit 20 universities and major malls nationwide to give students and mall goers a chance to try out the newest ultrabooks in the market, and sing and get a chance to win one of them. Interested participants must sing any of the five pre-selected songs in the booth’s recording area, and those with the most creative and entertaining videos will get the chance to take home a new Intel-powered notebook. Intel collaborates with Acer, Dell and Lenovo to give the public a chance to see, touch and experience the latest notebooks and ultrabooks through live demos and tutorials.

    Intel Philippines also rolls out an online component for Sing to Win II. Participants must create their own music video rendition of one of these five songs: Moves Like Jagger (Maroon 5), I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing (Aerosmith), I Won’t Go Home Without You (Maroon 5), A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton) or How Do I Live (Trisha Yearwood). The entries must be uploaded to the Sing to Win 2 Gallery tab on the Intel Philippines Facebook page on or before January 31, 2013. The top 3 entries will each be given a notebook PC powered by an Intel Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 processor, respectively.

    Interested? For more details, you can visit www.facebook.com/IntelPhilippines.

    Sony outs slimmer, thinner version of PS3 in the Philippine market, starts at Php 14,999

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Sony outs slimmer, thinner version of PS3 in the Philippine market, starts at Php 14,999

    Sony’s bringing a slimmer and thinner version of their PS3 console to the Philippines come December 6, which should be of interest to people who have yet to pick-up the Japanese company’s aging console. The newer models are around 25% thinner than the current PS3, and comes with either a 250GB or 500GB capacities. For a just a little bit more (Php 16,390), you can spring for Sony’s Ultimate Pack which bundles two games – God of War III and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves –  alongside the 500GB Charcoal black model PS3. Interested? Of course you are. The new PS3s will be landing on December 6.

    HDD 500GB

    Charcoal Black

    CECH-4012C

    PHP 15,999

    6th Dec

    HDD 250GB

    Charcoal Black

    CECH-4012B

    PHP 14,999

    6th Dec

    HDD 500GB

    Classic White

    CECH-4012CLW

    PHP 15,999

    6th Dec

    HDD 250GB

    Classic White

    CECH-4012BLW

    PHP 14,999

    6th Dec

    Samsung Galaxy Camera hands-on, first impressions

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Samsung Galaxy Camera hands-on, first impressions

    When Samsung announced the Galaxy Camera in IFA this year, we were all slightly curious as to what an almost eternally connected camera would mean for us. Because of its Android origins, the Galaxy Camera’s appeal would inevitably be one of instantaneous sharing, wherever, whenever. And from the way things are going, this concept isn’t going to be lost on other manufacturers as well, and we’re pretty sure that this is just the beginning of a whole new chapter in digital cameras.

    We got to see the Galaxy Camera during the local launch of the Galaxy Note II, and we spent a little time with it there. While we were initially impressed at what the device had to offer, we couldn’t really gauge image quality and how the it handled being an Android device. Today we’ve managed to score a little more time with the camera, and we’re liking what we’re seeing so far.

    If it hasn’t been abundantly clear from the previous stories that we did, make no mistake – the Samsung Galaxy Camera is big. With physical dimensions of 128.7 x 70.8 x 19.1 mm, it’s not the most portable camera around. There’s few physical controls present on the device itself, and most of it is located on the top – the zoom controls, shutter and power buttons are all clustered together.

    There’s an enlarged, textured area near the left side of the camera that acts as the grip to help you get a solid purchase on the device when you’re using it with one hand. On the right side of the device you’ll see the flash button that pops up the built-in flash.

    The Galaxy Camera has a large, 4.8-inch Super Clear LCD capacitive screen that has a resolution of 720×1280 pixels, which puts it pretty much on par with another Samsung product, the Galaxy S III. Inside the camera beats the heart of a Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core processor running at 1.4Ghz paired with 1GB of RAM, which weirdly enough puts the processing power of the Galaxy Camera leagues away from most mid-tier Android smartphones currently in the market today.

    When you initially turn on the Galaxy Camera, you’ll be greeted by a traditional camera GUI. You can select the shooting mode that you want using the menu on the right side of the display, while the camera’s settings can be controlled by pressing the gear icon near the top left of the GUI. Shooting effects are accessed by pressing the arrow on the bottom, while you’ll be able to quickly capture videos by pressing the large record key on the left side of the GUI. All the videos and the pictures that you shoot can be accessed anytime by pressing on the small thumbnail on the bottom left of the display.

    The Galaxy Camera transforms from a simple camera to a fully featured Android device once you press on the home icon on the top left of the display. Once pressed, you’ll be treated to a familiar Android 4.1 menu with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI layered on top. Samsung has made a few adjustments to the UI for the Galaxy Camera, which include quick adjustments to the shooting modes that you use. To get back to the camera function of the device, there’s a camera icon on the bottom left of the UI that’s present in all of the home screens.

    The Galaxy Camera feels like a smartphone in terms of usage, chiefly because of its Android origins. You can do pretty much everything you can do with an Android smartphone with the Galaxy Camera except make a voice call.

    Because the device has a microSIM slot, you can chuck in a data SIM inside and always have internet access with it, which allows you to share your pictures instantaneously the minute you take a picture with it.

    Speaking of pictures, the Galaxy Camera uses a 16.3-megapixel sensor that’s capable of taking quality pictures. The Galaxy Camera is also equipped with a 21x optical zoom, and has a wide-angle 23mm lens. Check out our unedited, full-sized pictures below for a taste of its image quality (click on the pictures to enlarge):

    That’s it for now. We’ll be posting the full review of the Samsung Galaxy Camera later next week, so keep tuned.

     

    Manli releases GeForce GT 630

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Manli releases GeForce GT 630

    Manli has released the GeForce GT 630 on our shores, and with Blu-ray 3D support, DirectX 11 support and OpenGL 4.2 support, you’ll have a quality card on your hands that doesn’t take up a lot of space.

    With an 1.3 GHz memory clock and an 810MHz GPU clock, your games will be up to five times faster than if you were playing on an integrated graphics setup, and its 1 GB of DDR3 memory ensures that your games and movies won’t stutter or lag. Its connectivity options include dual-link DVI, HDMI, and VGA, so whether you’re using a flat screen HD monitor or an older LCD monitor, you can still utilize the card. Manli’s GeForce GT 630 also holds support for Blu-ray 3D, so if you have a monitor that supports 3D, you can also play your games or watch your movies in 3D HD.

    Microsoft is selling four times as many Windows Phones compared to last year

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Microsoft is selling four times as many Windows Phones compared to last year

    To say that Microsoft has its work cut out for it in the mobile space is an understatement of epic proportions. In a world where a majority of mobile users either use iOS or Android (with a smattering of BlackBerry OS in between) the firm from Redmond is swimming in mighty rough seas. That’s the reason why it came to no surprise to us that Steve Ballmer was excited to tell everyone present at company’s shareholder meeting that the new OS managed to sell four times as many Windows Phones compared to last year.

    “Windows Phone 8 has been on sale for a few weeks and is off to a great start,” Ballmer said at a shareholders’ meeting today. Handsets made by HTC Corp and Nokia Oyj  “are getting rave reviews and have initially sold out in many countries.”

    While the CEO of Microsoft is rightfully proud of their current achievements, it’s still not clear just how many phones they’ve managed to sell. Until Microsoft releases that particular information, it’s still up in the air if the company will be able to catch up to the performance of both Android and iOS, two of the most successful OS out in the market today.

    Source: Bloomberg

    Nokia conducting pre-Christmas sale on Dec. 1-2, up to 50% off on 9 phone models

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Nokia conducting pre-Christmas sale on Dec. 1-2, up to 50% off on 9 phone models

    Just got your 13th month paycheck and wondering where to drop it on? Well, you might want to buy yourself something pretty from Nokia. Nokia Philippines is conducting their pre-Christmas sale on Dec. 1 to 2 with deep cuts on the prices of phones for 9 of their models. Up for grabs is the entry-level Nokia 1280, the Nokia X1-01, Asha 200 and 305, Nokia 500 and even the 41-megapixel Nokia 808 Pureview. Nokia will also be putting up select models for their Lumia lineup in the sale, which includes the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 900. The sale will only be available in select Nokia stores in SM Mall  of Asia, Nokia Store Festival Mall and SM Dasmarinas. First come, first  serve and strictly no reservations.  The sale is open for cash  and straight transactions and only those in-line and in-store are entitled  to avail of the promo.

    US congressman proposes 2-year ban on bills about the Internet

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    US congressman proposes 2-year ban on bills about the Internet

    Earlier this year, SOPA and PIPA were defeated in the wake of mass protests and concerns about privacy. Now, bills about the Internet in general might be stopped—at least in America, but it could have wide-reaching effects around the world as well. Congressman Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, seeks to ban bills about the Internet for at least two years. Issa posted the full text of the bill, which can be found here.

    Issa, a proponent of online freedom, said, “Together, we can make Washington take a break from messing with the Internet.”

    “After SOPA and PIPA (the Senate’s similar Protect Intellectual Property Act), it became very clear that we needed a cooling-off period to figure out a better way to create policy that impacts Internet users, job creators and all Americans,” a spokesman for Issa said.

    Some were a bit skeptical of Issa’s proposal, saying, “I have a problem with legislation that preemptively ties your hands for years at a time. You can’t know what the internet or society will look like in six months, let alone two years, and making it harder to respond to emerging threats or opportunities is an abdication of your responsibilities as a member of Congress.”

    Another user said, “The answer is NOT to ban new regulation. We need regulation,” another said. “But, I don’t believe ANYBODY in Congress has the vocabulary, is intelligent in knowing how the internet or computers work, or has the foresight to put current trends and future technologies together in a context to create those new regulation that protect the internet and it’s users/consumers.”

    For those who frequent Reddit, you can also add to the discussion on Issa’s proposal on his IAMA here.

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