Suzuki unveils its newest “advanced commuter” motorcycle, bringing cost-effective personal transportation to inexperienced riders with a price tag of only Php 47,900.
Smart will be LTE ready by the middle of 2012
Wondering when you’ll be able to taste that sweet, sweet nectar of the LTE gods? Don’t worry – as Smart has just confirmed that they their entire mobile phone network will be LTE-ready by the middle of 2012. Billed as the evolution of the mobile network, LTE promises to deliver speeds greater than 100 mbps and beyond. So what exactly does being LTE-ready really mean?
“That means we will be able to activate LTE or HSPA+ services at any of our base stations, depending what the market in that area requires,” said PLDT and Smart Technology Group Head Rolando G. Peña. “This is a major component of the P67.1 billion network modernization of PLDT and Smart which we have accelerated and intend to complete within the year,” he added.
It seems that Smart has fast tracked the development of their LTE offering to cater to the multitude of LTE devices being unveiled and teased by different manufacturers. Almost every smartphone vendor has an LTE-equipped device, and based on the grumblings from different sites, there’s a large chance that Apple’s next iPad will be LTE-ready.
Unfortunately, it is still up in the air when Smart’s LTE service will officially go live for consumers. One thing is for sure though – you won’t have to wait long.
Wikipedia going dark on January 18 to oppose SOPA, along with Reddit, Boingboing, The Cheezburger Network and a multitude of other sites
Wikipedia and a host of other large sites like Reddit, The Cheezburger Network and BoingBoing are going dark later today, January 18 to protest a highly controversial bill that, if passed, could break the very fabric of the internet as we know it. The bill, called Stop Online Piracy Act, is designed to curtail piracy and help intellectual property enforcement through various means, which include blocking the site from being accessed by people in the United States. The bill as it currently stands provide overly broad mechanisms for enforcement of copyright would summarily threaten websites where content is submitted by users, and websites where there are broad swaths of communities who routinely share content.
If you’re anything like us, you like keeping the internet open and free for everyone. That’s why if you have any relatives in the US, we implore you to tell them to call their congressmen and their senators and protest SOPA, NOW. If this bill passes, the internet as we know it will cease to exist, and the consequences will be dire for everyone – regardless where you live in the world. To know about the evils of the bill, go here.
Source: CBS News, AmericanCensorship.org
Apple sues Samsung in Germany (again), targets Galaxy S II and 9 other devices
Apple is suing Samsung (again) in Germany (yet again), claiming patent infringement (what’s new) against the Korean company’s Galaxy S II and 9 other devices. The suit was filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court, a venue where Samsung managed to get their modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N through as a replacement for the banned Galaxy Tab 10.1 version. The new suits bring another bitter round of litigation to the fore – the only question now is if the courts will rule in favor of Apple like they did last time or hand this round over to Samsung.
Source: Bloomberg
Asus Eee Pad MeMo 171 hands-on
While being interviewed by GMA 7 for Pop Talk, I happened to notice that Asus Technical PR Specialist Eason de Guzman was playing with their newly announced Eee Pad MeMo 171. Naturally I pried off it his hands and started playing with it. The 7-inch tablet feels good in the hands, though the inclusion of the stylus dock on the bottom enlarged the unit a bit. Like we mentioned earlier, the MeMo 171 sports a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, in stark contrast to the Tegra 3 processor that’s being shoehorned into their other tablets. The MeMo 171 is also 3G enabled, and has a companion device called the MeMic, which acts as a remote of sorts (among other things). No price yet unfortunately, but we estimate this to fall into the 26-27k range. The Memo 171 sports Honeycomb right now, though there may be a chance that it ships with ICS when it becomes available. More detailed hands-on to come soon.
No more “cold feet” with Hammacher Schlemmer battery-powered socks
I don’t know about your office but here at Gadgets, it can get pretty nippy. And the fact that I sit right below the air conditioner and insist on wearing shorts and dresses to work doesn’t help my shivering, frost-bitten calves and feet which I usually cover with a jacket or scarf. As if that’s bad, afterwards, I’d need to lather on the lotion from all the cracking and the cold. But with Hammacher Schlemmer battery-powered socks, you’re sure to keep your legs and feet nice and toasty way beyond the end of your shift. Strewn with wool, these 12-hour heated socks also feature Thermostat warmth which are these “hollow-core fibers that trap air while moving moisture away from skin.” All you need are two D batteries and you can say goodbye to “cold feet.”
Review: Bounce Speakers by Mobile Wonders
Out of the box, the Bounce adopts a very simple design, which is great because this means it will easily fit into any setting and will pair nicely with almost any device. We received a black unit for our test review, but its also available in a “dashing red shade.” Each speaker is palm sized, so you can rest assured that it will be easy to take around with you wherever you go.
They may seem a little heavy to some people but that’s because of the magnet at the bottom (which we’ll talk about later), but it makes it feel solidly built. Both speakers are identical in design, only differentiated by the “L” and “R” labels. On the front you’ll see the Bounce logo and the LED lights that indicate power and battery life and rotating the unit will lead you to find the power switch, mini USB connector and 3.5mm jacks. Having separate inputs is actually a great design choice, because this grants you the ability to only use one speaker should the other run out of battery first.
The Bounce has an interesting feature integrated in its design, which is the patented Extendable Resonator System. As the name implies, this lets you expand the speakers in order to improve bass response. Unfortunately, the bass isn’t great to begin with, and extending it doesn’t really do much, other than make it look cooler. In fact, the Bounce speakers’ frequency range is 280Hz – 16kHz, and you’ll notice that the first number (which represents the lower end of the spectrum) is quite high. Most consumer speakers and headphones have a low end that goes down to at least 20Hz, which is the average low frequency that most people can hear. The 280Hz low end of the Bounce speakers indicate that it lacks a lot of sub bass and low mid tonality – such that when we listened to songs with bass solos, it was practically inaudible on these speakers.
On the other hand, you can never expect a whole lot of bass anyway from portable speakers of this size and price range from any manufacturer. In fact, the Bounce was surprisingly loud and presented great vocal clarity, depth and punch. High frequencies, such as cymbals and hi hats, do tend to get piercing at times and occasionally distort. Moreover, the actual speakers are located on top of the unit at a fixed position that points directly upwards. It would have been better if the speaker angle was adjustable so that you could point it towards you for even greater clarity. Nevertheless,the Bounce speakers provide a significant amount of amplification considering its compact size.
As mentioned earlier, the Bounce has a magnetic underside that lets you lock together the two speakers into a compact size for transport. Unfortunately, the magnets aren’t strong enough to let you stick the speakers onto a surface such as the casing of a desktop CPU. Nevertheless, what’s great is that you can still use them once they are attached to each other, making it easy to carry the speakers around in one hand when you’re on the go.
All in all, the Bounce by Mobile Wonders are pretty good, and will be a great accessory for your portable device, whether it’s an mp3 player or smartphone. They won’t be a signiciant upgrade to your laptop’s speakers, and some might find the suggested price of Php 2,250 a litte steep. If you need a pair of loud portable speakers that have a unique design, then the Bounce is right for you.
What’s hot:
– ultraportable – solid build
What’s not:
– lack of bass/low-end frequencies – non-adjustable speaker angle
Buy Meter:
7.0Bottomline:
Bounce by Mobile Wonders provides big sound in a small package – it’s a decent pair of portable speakers that can be a great add-on to your mp3 player or smartphone.
SPECIFICATIONS: Dimensions: 63mm x 60mm Net Weight: 200.4g Speaker: 40mm x 2 Input: L/R380mV Power Output: 3w x 2 S/N >60dB Amp Freq Range: 280Hz – 16kHz Charge Voltage 5V+0.5V Internal Rechargeable Lithium Battery Dual speakers for better output 3.5m Universal Jack Audio for multiple speaker connection Patented Extendable Resonator System Internal Rechargeable Lithium Battery Magnetic Connection USB Cable
HzO makes your gadgets impervious to water
Water plus gadgets equals disaster. It’s one of those things that we, as consumers, have accepted as a fact of life. One accidental trip to the bath tub, sink or even a toilet means that our smartphone or tablet is destined for a life as a paperweight. Of course, that needn’t be the case says a company named HzO which has found a way to make your gadgets waterproof without the need for bulky waterproof cases. The company applies a special coating on all electronic parts of a gadget, and as you can see on the demo video linked below, electronic gadgets can now sleep with the fishes without any ill effects. The company says that their waterproofing solution isn’t intended as an aftermarket solution (as it’ll be too expensive), it’s instead being offered to device manufacturers as part of their manufacturing process. The best part is that HzO says that their waterproofing solution shouldn’t raise the prices of existing gadgets if it’s adopted.
Source: IDG
Ice Cream Sandwich coming to the Asus Transformer TF101 in February
Own an Asus Transformer TF101 and envious of ICS on the newer Transformer Prime? We have good news for you. Asus has confirmed that the ICS upgrade for the original is coming this February, as referenced by this post on the firm’s Singaporean Facebook page:
The rollout of ICS on the TF101 will begin in early February, with folks in the US and Taiwan getting first dibs before being deployed to other countries. If you want to see how ICS looks on a tablet, you can take a gander at our hands-on we did of the Transformer Prime with ICS when Asus dropped by our office.
Source: Android Police
Monster and Beats contract not renewed, partnership will end this year
In a surprising turn of events, Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre are set to part ways after enjoying a phenomenal partnership in the audio market.
LG’s D2500 Cinema TV closer to production, glasses-less 3D coming soon
Glasses-less 3D. That is the goal of TV manufacturers now, and we’re pretty sure all of them are racing to see who can get a viable product out to market first that doesn’t make a mockery of your bank account. It seems that LG is almost there, as the Korean firm has just sent us a notice that their D2500 Cinema TV has just been certified by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) for product safety. LG says that their product is the first of its kind to be certified by UL, which was officially presented to LG at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
“Our glasses-free CINEMA 3D monitors will continue to lead LG in the glasses-free 3D market,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. “We will strengthen our glasses-free 3D product line-up to further distance ourselves from the competition.”
After that little victory, it’s only a matter of time before we see LG’s glasses-less 3D product offerings pop up in our shores.
iPad 3 will have LTE, sharper screen and a quad-core processor, now in production – Bloomberg
We usually don’t like stroking the fires of iPad rumors for the sake of web traffic, opting instead for more solid reports from reputable sources, but this rumor is pretty solid. Bloomberg has reported that the next iteration of the iPad will have LTE capability (aka 4G) and will sport a sharper screen according to three people familiar with the product. Furthermore, it seems that production has already started on the units this month, which will reach full swing by February. The new screen will supposedly have greater resolutions than HD TVs today, which leads us to believe that it would possibly have a 2048 x 1536 resolution display.
So what does this mean for a market such us ours that doesn’t have commercially available LTE networks(yet)? Well, it only makes sense for Apple to make a version of the iPad 3 without LTE, as many other markets currently don’t have LTE yet. It may also mean that the two telcos will have to talk to Apple and ask them to make a version for their own LTE networks as the nuances of the LTE spectrum mean that you can’t just take an LTE device tailored to work on a certain network from the US and expect it to work here.
Lenovo’s K91 Smart TV has Android Ice Cream Sandwich inside
There’s three main products in the spotlight at this year’s CES – tablets, ultrabooks and smart TVs. And while Lenovo isn’t a brand you’d necessarily think of when it comes to TVs, they’ve announced that they’ll be making their own smart TV, dubbed the K91. What makes this little TV stand out is the inclusion of Google’s Android OS, specifically Ice Cream Sandwich, in the mix. This 55-inch TV sports a Qualcomm 1.5GHz dual-core 8060 Snapdragon CPU to power the ICS experience, as well as a 5-megapixel webcam embedded in the bezel for video interaction, access to the Google Marketplace and WiFi capability.
The remote control of the K91 will also sport a ton of bells of whistles too, which includes a 5-way directional pad, voice recognition and a motion sensor. No word on when the device will be available. Will this nifty TV be Lenovo’s chance to make it big in the TV market?
Cooler Master’s new Cosmos II tower makes your rig look like a pro
New Year, new rig. At least, that would be the ideal set-up of course. And with AMD’s release of the absolutely monstrous Radeon 7970 graphics card and the impending release of Intel’s newest Ivy Bridge processors, a new PC rig might just be in the cards for some. If you’re one of the privelaged few that loves building beastly rig at the start of the year, you might want to throw all those expensive parts into Cooler Master’s latest offering, the Cosmos II.
Packed with enough features that’ll satisfy even the most diehard PC builder, the Cosmos II is THE tower to own if you want the very best. Features include support for up to 10 fans and 13(!) HDDs, 4 way SLI, XL-ATX / SSI CEB / SSI EEB board support and has all the necessary holes and brackets for watercooling.
