As we all know by now, the Samsung SII was a big hit in the market, offering a significant heavyweight competitior from the Android camp with an equally challenging price. Now, Samsung offers consumers the Galaxy S Advance – a more cost-effective solution with almost the same power as its big brother. So how does it shape out?
The Motorola Droid 4 was released this month being one of the few smartphones that still sport a physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard for those who prefer having the feel of hardware buttons over virtual ones. Its keyboard has LED edge-lit keys for use in the dark, and its display is shielded against scrapes, scratches, and water attacks. The device runs on the Android Gingerbread OS and packs a lot of power with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. It also features an 8-megapixel primary auto-focus rear-facing camera with LED flash, capable of recording 1080p at 30fps, which is a lot better than what most smartphones are capable of in today’s market. It also has an HDMI output so you can play videos on an external device.
The 127 x 67.3 x 12.7mm body weighs in at 178.9g and comes with a TFT capacitive 4-inch touch screen display. What may separate this smartphone from the rest though, is its connectivity. The unit is capable of Wi-Fi, LTE , HSDPA, HSUPA, GPRS, and EDGE connections, some of which are capable of delivering lightning fast download speeds and internet connections. The Droid 4 comes with 16GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for up to 32GB of additional space, while its battery life is about 204 hours for stand-by 12.5 hours for talk-time.
The Droid 4 is expected to be available in the Philippines with a price tag of around Php 28,000 – 32,000.
With all the massive ultrabook news and release dates lately, we’d probably forgive you if you forget manufacturers are still making regular ol’ notebooks. Dell is one such company, and has launched their XPS 14z notebook today at the M Cafe in Makati. This 14-inch notebook promises to deliver blisteringly fast performance in a chassis that’s comparable to most 13-inch notebooks.
The XPS 14z features a body made out of anodized aluminum, is powered by Intel’s Core series of processors and uses an NVIDIA GeForce GT 250M for discrete graphics. The overall design of the notebook is actually pretty tasteful and elegant, with the device sporting nice rounded corners and a brushed aluminum anodized finish. The XPS 14z also uses a chicklet style keyboard that’s extremely comfortable to type on. It’s overall thickness isn’t in crazy ultrabook territory, but for what you’re getting, its 23mm thickness is actually pretty good.
There will be two processor choices available for the XPS 14z – a Core i5 deal that’s priced at Php 65,150 and a Core i7 model priced at Php 69,590. We think it’s priced to high, and realistically the device only caters to tech junkies and enthusiasts who have money to splurge on such a high-priced gadget. We’re hopefully getting our demo unit soon, and we’ll give you a lowdown on how the notebook fares in real-world conditions as soon as we can.
We’ve always had a soft spot for Nokia’s first and only MeeGo offering, the N9. There’s no denying that Nokia’s efforts on the hardware side of things were more than up to par, sadly, the device was severely limited because of the use of a stillborn mobile OS. Mobile developer Alexey Roslyakov would have none of that, and seems to have successfully managed to make the N9 load and boot Android 4.03, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Of course, the port isn’t perfect – there’s still a lot of bugs to be squashed (like making it connect to the internet, for one) though the demo video of the device that’s been making the rounds in YouTube has us hopeful for a solid, usable port in the future. Who knows, it may invigorate the ailing smartphone’s sales when the port goes official.
Source: YouTube (drunkdebugger)
Whoever says fashion and technology does not mix is clearly mistaken – and it’s not just in the latest “fashion” phones and gadgets – even a bit of math, geometry, and “technology” can be infused together to make one very fashionable (and wearable) collection.
Arena Page, student at the London College of Fashion, showcases her “Simple Complexity Complex Simplicity” – a collection of womenswear which used 3D modeling software. The designs which began as 3D models were then flattened to become a 2D pattern and then put together in it’s original 3D.
And you don’t even need to wear 3D glasses to appreciate the pieces.
Remember the LG Optimus Vu that the Korean company teased earlier this week? Well, some nice blurry side-by-side photos against its natural 5-inch rival, the Samsung Galaxy Note have just surfaced in the interwebs. The difference in the aspect ratio is immediately clear once you see them both beside each other. The Galaxy Note’s 5.3-inch, 1280×800 screen uses a 16:9 aspect ratio, while the Optimus Vu’s 5-inch screen uses a 4:3 aspect ratio, comparable to early boob-tubes and Android devices. It’s still not clear though what the Optimus Vu is running under its unique exterior – we reckon we’ll know more once the device is officially unveiled at MWC.
Source: Unwired Review
LG Electronics Philippines hosted a press event today at the Makati Shangri-La to unveil its new PRADA phone by LG 3.0, the third handset from the PRADA and LG collaboration following the LG 1.0 and 2.0. The device delivers LG’s technology with PRADA’s trademark chic simplicity design, which makes it very stylish and powerful at the same time. It’s loaded with a 1.0 GHz Dual-Core processor and runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS while sporting a bright 4.3-inch 800-nit NOVA glossy touch screen on the front and PRADA’s signature Saffiano pattern on the back. The phone also includes an 8 megapixel camera.
The press event’s program began with a few words from Sung Woo Nam, managing director for LG Philippines and Faith Mijares, product marketing manager for the mobile division of LG Philippines, followed by a video presentation to officially launch the new product. The executives of the company also went around personally thanking the attendees, while everyone was encouraged to do a hands-on inspection of the new PRADA phone. The phone’s black-and-white PRADA themed user-interface is unique and the unit itself is very surprisingly light at a mere 138g in weight. The unit was also very thin at 8.5mm and slightly wider and taller than most phones at 127.5mm x 69mm. Its large screen made it easier to use the qwerty touch pad for various functions. All in all, the new PRADA phone by LG 3.0 is a true beauty in a way that other gadgets aren’t due to its perfect harmony between classy PRADA design and state-of-the-art technology.
Indonesia doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to freedom of speech, but now a the government is now looking at a new law that can now land a citizen in jail for 12 years for Tweeting. Indonesia’s Communication and Information Minister has just declared that anyone caught tweeting illegal content could see jail time of up to 12 years. Illegal content in this case include pornography, gambling, threats, fraud, and blasphemy. Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that “If they violate the laws, they will be punished.” “Principally, every account user could be held responsible by tracing his position and device.” he added.
So Indonesians, the next time you feel the need to lambast someone over Twitter, don’t. Instead, take a chill pill, relax, do some meditating or something along those lines, because a wrong tweet can land you more than a decade’s worth of jail time.
Source: Jakarta Globe
The hits just keep coming for Kodak. After announcing earlier last month that they are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the beleaguered brand has now announced it is exiting the camera business, which includes their digital cameras, photo-frames and pocket camcorders. This comes as a bitter and ironic blow to the 131-year old company, as Kodak was the one who invented the digital camera back in 1975. The company will complete the move in the second half of this year, which leaves licensing, printers and photo labs as its main source of income. The company says that it will still honor warranties of its products as long as they are valid.
Source: Reuters
While there certainly is no shortage of smartphones in the country, a lot of peeps are missing out on large amount of the experience by not being able to buy and download paid apps. There’s a multitude of reasons for this, but the most apparent is the lack of a viable payment gateway – while the penetration rate of mobile devices in the Philippines is almost close to 90%, only a couple of million actually own credit cards which is the preferred payment method of a number of app stores (BlackBerry, Android). That’s probably the reason why Globe saw the need for their MyAppsMall service that was unveiled last night at an event in Makati.
The MyAppsMall is a collaboration between Globe and Singtel, and is basically an app store of sorts for Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Java. The site allows people to pay for apps via their credit cards, post paid accounts and through their pre-paid load. At first we thought it was just a payment portal that goes in between the app stores that facilitates payment, but apparently it’s like a whole new app store which houses a number of apps from all the ecosystems that we mentioned earlier. Naturally we asked Globe if they were shooting for a 1:1 presence of apps on the different app stores on their service and while that would be the ideal set-up, space and licensing constraints prevent that from happening. Instead, Globe is collaborating and picking apps to put in the store, which users can then download as APKs (if you’re on Android) to their device. Sorry Apple fans, due to the way iOS is set-up (walled garden and all that jazz) iOS devices are out of luck.
If you’re keen on trying it out, you can head over to their site at apps.globe.com.ph or if you’re reading this on your mobile device, you can point your wee little browser over to m.apps.globe.com.ph.
We’ve been waiting patiently for HTC to disclose when they’d be rolling out ICS updates for their devices, and though the Taiwanese phone giant has given us a vague “early Q2 2012” date, we never really knew when in Q2. Well, you can start ticking off the dates in your calendar, as the firm has said through their US and UK Facebook pages that the update will be coming at the end of March with three devices in the spearhead of the ICS party – the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Sensation XE, with the HTC Sensation XL following soon after. The firm also added that they’ll also be pushing out ICS updates for the HTC Rezound, HTC Vivid, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD later this year.
Source: HTC Facebook
It was probably only after my 6th time of watching The Matrix Trilogy did I finally realize that machines were using babies as fuel and those who had sockets in their bodies (like Neo and Trinity) were once babies “grown” to become fuel rather than being naturally born.
Yes it took me that long, probably because the idea at the time seemed so far-fetched it was beyond my immediate comprehension.
But now it seems there is a way to harness human byproducts to create biofuel. A research team, lead by Dr. Serge Cosner, from Joseph Fourier University of Grenoble has created a Biofuel cell technology that receives its power by converting glucose and oxygen found in the human body into a viable and continuous energy source. The ‘bionic engine’ will make it possible to extend the functional lifetimes of a range of implants and biomedical devices from sensors and drug delivery devices to entire artificial organs.
Because devices often only last 5 years, some patients have to undergo 2-3 risky surgeries during their lifetimes to ensure they have a fully-functioning implant. Along with improving patients lives, these developments in sustainable Biofuels enable researchers to focus on developing the next evolution in life extending surgeries, organ replacement and bionic limbs. Dr. Cosner’s team isn’t the only one looking to alleviate patient’s risk and open the door to new possibilities.
Prof. Itamar Willner, of the Univeristy of Jerusalem, claims that this novel use of glucose oxidase enzymes has allowed research groups to create internal electrical systems. Wilner explains the future possibilities, “Today we can generate enough power to supply an artificial urinary sphincter, or pacemaker. We are already working on a system that can produce 50 times that amount of power, then we will have enough to supply much more demanding devices.”
Source: BBC
Here’s a nice gesture by Norton – the company has just released a free Android app that’ll help parents keep tabs on their young’uns internet use on their smartphones. Dubbed Norton Safety Minder: Mobile Edition, the app allows parents to keep a sharp eye on their children’s browsing habits, and has the capability to block out websites that parents feel are inappropriate for their’ kids. The app requires parents to have a Norton Online Family account (you can create one from within the app if you don’t have it) and is available free from the Android marketplace. There’s also additional functionality and features that can be unlocked which include SMS text monitoring. You can grab the Android app from here.
We’ve had the good fortune of testing Samsung’s NX series of interchangeable lens offerings before, and we’ve always come out of the experience wanting our own. So you can forgive us a bit if we’re excited at Samsung’s announcement that their newest NX200 interchangeable lens camera can now be had locally. Specs-wise the NX200 doesn’t dissapoint, as it packs a 20.3 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor this time round. The NX200 also uses a large, 3-inch VGA AMOLED display, and has an extremely high ISO range of 100-12800. The NX200 is also fully capable of 1920×1080/30p (H.264) Full HD movie recording which adds to the camera’s versatility. Like the previous NX series cameras, the NX200 is compatible with Samsung’s nine other i-Function lenses, giving photographers a whole range of tools to choose from. The NX200 retails for Php 39,990.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Samsung NX200/]
March has been agreed upon as the unofficial iPad 3 unveil month by most tech outfits, so as we approach that hallowed month, it’s only natural that iPad 3 rumors are now coming out en-masse. This time round, it’s because of a supposed back housing from the iPad 3 taken from the Repair Labs Blog. The new back housing has subtle differences from the iPad 2, namely a narrower logic board which will allow the iPad 3 to have a bigger, beefier battery. Other major differences is the camera port and the LCD housing, which means that the iPad 3 will use a different kind of display from the iPad 2. The source of the pictures also said that there did not seem to be much of a difference thickness-wise between the two back housings, which would mean that thickness-wise, the iPad 3 will be near identical to the iPad 2. As with most rumors, take this with a grain of salt – only when the iPad 3 is officially unveiled that we can actually be sure of what its specs are and what it’s packing.
Source: Mac Rumors, Repair Labs Blog