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Qualcomm S4 chips in short supply, forcing manufacturers to seek other sources

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15 May 2012

Qualcomm S4 chips in short supply, forcing manufacturers to seek other sources

DigiTimes is reporting that Qualcomm’s S4 chip is currently in very short supply due to high demand. As a direct result, it has forced vendors and manufacturers like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, HTC and Sony Mobile Communications to look for alternate suppliers for chips for their devices, according to Taiwan-based handset supply chain makers. The main culprit of the lack of supply? According to DigiTime’s source, it’s 28nm foundry of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company which is currently not sufficient and/or the yield rate of the process is not high enough. If the report is accurate, the lack of supply from Qualcomm will mean that other players, such as NVIDIA now have an opportunity to try and nab a few more customers to use their chip solutions.

Source: DigiTimes

Nokia releases 1 Series of phones, promises access to the internet for the “next billion”

Gadgets Team

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15 May 2012

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Nokia releases 1 Series of phones, promises access to the internet for the “next billion”

Nokia has unveiled two new phones for the extreme low-end that are affordable yet still deliver internet connectivity to people who want it. The Nokia 110 and 112 are both aimed at the “Next Billion” of users and have been designed to appeal to young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience. Both devices have built-in access to both Twitter and Facebook, and uses Nokia’s own browser. The browser basically reduces a website’s footprint to suit mobile devices, and as such deliver 90% less traffic to the device, making access faster for potential owners.

The Nokia 110 is a dual-SIM deal, and is expected to retail at around $45 (or about Php 1,900 without taxes). The Nokia 112 meanwhile, is also a dual-SIM device that’s expected to retail for about $49 (or about Php 2,000 without taxes). Both devices have single-SIM variants (the 111 and the 113, respectively) and both sport a 1.8-inch display and VGA camera. There’s a microSD slot included, with the memory being expandable up to 32GB. Nokia will also be offering 40 free game titles for people who purchase the new devices, which include Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed: The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe. No word on the Philippine availability or pricing has been set, though Nokia has confirmed that the Nokia 110 and 111 will start shipping in the second quarter of 2012, while the Nokia 112 and 113 will start shipping in the third quarter of 2012.

[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Nokia 1 series/]

Diablo 3 officially launched in the Philippines thanks to IP E-Games

Gadgets Team

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15 May 2012

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Diablo 3 officially launched in the Philippines thanks to IP E-Games

12 years. It’s taken 12 years for the follow up to Blizzard’s highly successful RPG, Diablo 2. Now Blizzard has unveiled the highly anticipated follow-up to one of the most iconic games of all time. IP E-Games, the official distributor of Diablo 3 in the Philippines says that this is the first time ever that our country will be officially participating in the launch of a Blizzard game.

Diablo 3 picks up years after the events of Diablo 2, as we all know you can still play diablo 2 and get in-game d2 items so this might allow for a continuation into the third installment. Diablo 3 allows players to play with five characters – barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk and demon hunter – to battle the forces of darkness and embark on a long and epic journey throught the depths of hell itself. Some notable features of the game include an auction house system where players can buy and sell loot using in-game gold and more importantly, using real world money, a new quest and skill system and advanced social features and functionality.

The game will be available in a variety of retail outlets, which include iTech, Datablitz, Mineski, Digital Walker, Beyond the Box, PC Hub, PCQuest and a host of others. For a more complete list of official distributors, please go to http://diablo3.e-games.com.ph/where-to-buy. One thing that players need to note is that Diablo 3 needs an active internet connection to work – even if you’re just playing the single player game.

We asked IP E-Games if they will be offering prepaid cards to use in the game’s auction house (remember, only a fraction of pinoys have credit cards) to be able to buy items. Additionally, unlike Starcraft 2, there will be no other plans available (E-Games previously offered various day passes for Starcraft 2 before) – either you buy the box or you don’t get to play. Diablo 3 retails for Php 3,145.

That’s it for now, we’ll give you a more in-depth review of the game once we get more time with it.

Apple’s OS is “really vulnerable”, says Kaspersky Lab CTO

Technology

Gadgets Team

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14 May 2012

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Think you don’t have to worry about viruses or malware when using Apple’s OS? Think again. Tech outfit Computing recently quoted Kaspersky Lab CTO Nikolai Grebennikov as saying that Apple’s OS is vulnerable to attacks. “Mac OS is really vulnerable,” he claimed, “and Apple recently invited us to improve its security. We’ve begun an analysis of its vulnerabilities, and the malware targeting it.”Kaspersky has reportedly been tapped to advise it on the security of its Mac OS.

If you remember, we reported on a Trojan virus that specifically targets Macs, and Grebennikov said that’s it’s a sign that the firm needs help with its security. “Apple blocked Oracle from updating Java on Mac OS, and they perform all the udpates themselves. They only released the patch a few weeks ago – two or three months after the Oracle patch. That’s far too long,” he said. He adds, “This botnet, which the security community identified, is a huge sign that Apple’s security model isn’t perfect. Our experience tells us that in the near future, perhaps in a year or so, we will see the first malware targeting iOS.”

Source: Computing

Yahoo CEO resigns amid scandal

Technology

Gadgets Team

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14 May 2012

1

Yahoo’s latest CEO, Scott Thompson, has stepped down amid reports of him falsely claimed to have a computer science degree from Stonehill College. The discrepancy in Thompson’s resume was first raised by activist shareholder Dan Loeb of Third Point, in which he points out to Yahoo’s board in a letter that Thompson has inaccurately added a computer science degree to his resume. All Things D has followed up on the claim, and called up Stonehill College where Thompson graduated in 1979. The college says that Thompson only graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration (Accounting), and not Computer Science.

Unsurprisingly, the embattled CEO has resigned from his post at Yahoo, with the company stating that he is leaving because of “personal reasons”. Yahoo’s global media head Ross Levinsohn will be stepping in as an interim CEO until a suitable replacement can be found. The whole affair begs the question: why didn’t the people in charge of hiring talent at Yahoo check if Thompson’s resume was legit before you know, actually hiring him?

Source: All Things D, Yahoo

Review: Acer Iconia Tab A500

GadgetsLab

Gadgets Team

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14 May 2012

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By Michelle Callanta-Toledo

I may not be big on tablets, but I do like things that keep me preoccupied, informed, and entertained. The Acer Iconia Tab A500 does just that. Measuring at 260 x 177 x 13.3 mm and weighing at 730g, this machine—with its 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 TFT LCD screen—sports an incredibly sleek brushed aluminum design that has very little frills.

The power button, headphone jack and a mini HDMI port are on the left, while the charging micro USB and USB port are on right. The power button glows white when the tablet is on and orange when charging with the display off. At the top you’ll find the volume rocker and orientation lock and a small flap that protects a microSD slot while a docking connector is on the bottom. The 5-megapixel camera and impressive speakers are located at the back and a smaller 2-megapixel front-facing camera on the front.

Now if you’re not all too familiar with tablets, you may find the A500 a bit on the heavy side. And for someone with really small hands, I didn’t feel all that secure holding it with one hand while the other poked and prodded lest I want to throw Php 21,900 down the drain. And for its seemingly sturdy build, there were obvious creaks which just made you want to be even more careful man-handling it.

The Acer A500 is powered by Android Honeycomb and has a dual-core Nvdia Tegra 1Ghz processor which makes the tablet relatively fast especially when you want to surf the net or just go from one app to the next as my overzealous fingers did. Even my 4-year old had an easy time with it and enjoyed playing Angry Birds since the screen was larger than my mobile phone’s and the colors were much more vivid. Software included LumiRead, an e-book reader; SocialJogger, which is a Twitter and Facebook status update browse; NemoPlayer, a photo, video and music navigator; Clear.Fi multimedia browser; and Photo Browser 3D, which allows you to flip through digital scrapbooks of your camera images. Game Zone links to the included versions of the games Need for Speed: Shift and Let’s Golf. Whatever it is you’re doing, be mindful. The screen can get a little dirty with all the fingerprints and smudges so it’s good to have one of those display cleaner cloths handy.

What I personally liked about the A500 is its battery life. I’m not a heavy user generally but the tablet lasted a whole weekend without needing to make a run for the charger (which I deliberately left in the office). I guess it can go about 7 hours for the average user.

Specification:
Display: 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 TFT LCD
OS: Android Honeycomb, 3.1
Processor: 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core processor, Tegra 2 chipset
Dimensions: 260mm x 177mm x
13.3 mm
Weight: 730g

What’s Hot:
• Sleek design
• Impressive sound and screen
• Battery life

What’s Not:
• A bit on the heavy side
• Slight creaks and smudges easily

Bottomline:
It may take a strong arm to wield this tablet but for its price, you get considerably more for your money.

Buy Meter: 8.2

[This review originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of Gadgets Magazine]

Dual-core processors in 20% of smartphone in 2011, Samsung still king with 60% share

Technology

Gadgets Team

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13 May 2012

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Dual-core processors in 20% of smartphone in 2011, Samsung still king with 60% share

Strategy Analytics has claimed that 20% of smartphones sold last year had dual-core processors in them, with Samsung leading the pack. The research firm says that Samsung led the dual-core smartphone applications processor market in 2011, with 60 percent volume share, followed by Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and NVIDIA. Interestingly enough, the research firm attributes the strong market position of Samsung to sales of its dual-core processor to Apple (several Apple products use Samsung’s processors) as well as the brisk sales of its own dual-core Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Note.

As for emerging leaders in the quad-core processor market (which right now is currently NVIDIA), Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst, had this to say: “Strategy Analytics would advise NVIDIA to focus on high volume tier-one design-wins in 2012 in order to maintain its first-mover advantage with quad-core processors. NVIDIA, whose Tegra 2 smartphone shipments declined 8 percent at the end of 2011–compared to shipments in the first half of the year– lost momentum, despite being early to market with dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processors.”

Source: Strategy Analytics

Sony NEX-7 hands-on

Archives

Gadgets Team

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11 May 2012

1

Sony sent their NEX-7 interchangeable lens camera to our office today, and like good little tech geeks we are, we quickly set about photographing the heck out of it. The NEX-7 is, if we’re not mistaken, their top-of-the-line interchangeable lens camera, and as such is armed to the brim with hi-end features that we’re going to quickly look at today.

The NEX-7 isn’t an imposing device, in fact it’s overall dimensions is almost the same as the NEX-5N. The NEX-7 does have a few more features that most camera enthusiasts will drool over, chief of which is the 24-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor that’s the same size as most DSLRs today. That’s paired with a an electronic viewfinder (something missing on the NEX-5N) that uses a 2.4M color OLED screen, and a 3-inch TFT display. The display sadly isn’t a touchscreen one, though that’s more than made up for by the amount of controls available on the camera.

Speaking of controls, the NEX-7 has two dials on the top of the camera near the shutter, as well as another button on the immediate right of the shutter for more advanced functions. The NEX-7 uses a conventional hotshoe as well as an integrated flash unit, two features missing on the NEX-5N. The LCD screen is tilt-able and can be adjusted, and helps users to shoot in weird, unconventional angles.

The NEX7 is able to shoot in different modes, as well as use ISO 100 all the way to ISO 16000, though we’re pretty sure image noise would be a huge issue at those high ISO settings. The NEX-7 has 25 focus points for AF. The camera is fully capable of shooting HD video, and it’s capable of taking Sony’s E mount lenses, giving it excellent versatility in a convenient, small package.

[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Sony NEX-7/]

Man makes real-life tracking and talking Portal turret, wins at everything

Technology

Gadgets Team

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11 May 2012

1

Man makes real-life tracking and talking Portal turret, wins at everything

There’s tech geeks, and then there’s this guy. Meet YouTube user kss5095 and his scratch-built, tracking AND firing Portal turret. Built for his Advanced Mechatronics class at Pennsylvania State University, this particular doppelganger of the murderous (yet cute) robots in the game Portal can track you using an attached IP camera and shoots Nerf bullets at you until you fall dead (or until it runs out of ammunition). The device was made using Arduino and is controlled via MATLAB. While it’s currently naked as of the moment, it’s creator promises it’ll be making an outer shell and will be improving the design to make human-oriented elimination via Nerf guns as swift and as efficient as possible. Check out the full video below.

Source: Reddit

Mozilla cries foul over Windows 8 RT browser limitation, calls it ‘Return to the Digital Dark Ages’

Technology

Gadgets Team

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11 May 2012

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Mozilla cries foul over Windows 8 RT browser limitation, calls it ‘Return to the Digital Dark Ages’

Mozilla is protesting against Microsoft decision to limit the web browser used on the ARM optimized version of the Windows 8 (which is dubbed as Windows 8 RT) to just IE, essentially locking out both Google and Mozilla. On a post on the official Mozilla blog, Harvey Anderson, Mozilla General Counsel called the move “an unwelcome return to the digital dark ages where users and developers didn’t have browser choices.”

There will be two running environments on Windows 8 RT – the heavily styled Metro UI interface that we’ve seen before, and a traditional desktop Windows Classic environment that’s everyone has grown to love (and sometimes hate). Anderson says that the crux of the problem is that “Windows on ARM prohibits any browser except for Internet Explorer from running in the privileged “Windows Classic” environment. In practice, this means that only Internet Explorer will be able to perform many of the advanced computing functions vital to modern browsers in terms of speed, stability, and security to which users have grown accustomed. Given that IE can run in Windows on ARM, there is no technical reason to conclude other browsers can’t do the same.”

Mozilla asserts that this particular practice is the same abuse of power that helped push aside Netscape during the early days of the internet. “Because Windows on ARM relies upon so many traditional Windows assets, including brand, code, footprint, and experience, the decision to exclude other browsers may also have antitrust implications”, Anderson adds.

Source: Mozilla

NVIDIA outs GeForce GTX 670, claims to soundly beat AMD’s Radeon 7950

Gadgets Team

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11 May 2012

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NVIDIA outs GeForce GTX 670, claims to soundly beat AMD’s Radeon 7950

With the release of their hi-end GTX 680 tucked neatly under their belt, NVIDIA is now slowly releasing their other, ~~cheaper~~more affordable offerings based on the 28nm Kepler architecture. The GeForce GTX 670 is the latest release, which the technology company says will retail at the $399 (about Php 16,800) price point. So what do you get for that price? Well, NVIDIA says that the GTX 670 soundly beats the next competitive product (in this case, it’s AMD’s Radeon 7950) in gaming performance by as much as 45%, while consuming 18% less power. As always, partners from different brands like Asus, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, MSI, Palit, Sparkle, and Zotac are making their own GTX 670 offerings, and should be hitting the market soon-ish.

[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/NVIDIA GTX 670/]

Review: Epson B-510DN

GadgetsLab

Gadgets Team

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11 May 2012

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By Benjamin Arnold

Nowadays, every brand of printer is boasting about the amount of money you will save by using their printers paired with their economically developed inks. Who can argue with that, since every cent counts in this tight-budgeted economy we live in today? Perhaps that is why the Epson B-510DN business color ink jet printer was developed.

Within its boxy exoskeleton, this printer holds four high-capacity color cartridges that contain DURABrite Ultra pigment ink. These Individual, high-yield ink cartridges can—according to the manufactures—print out around 8,000 pages in black and white or 7,000 full-colored pages before replacing cartridges. We put this to the test by printing out a variety of documents and photos ranging from simple black and white text documents to full color page layouts. After recycling nearly a full ream of paper to print out stories, filling up multiple photo frames with pictures of our loved ones and printing out the entire September issue twice, we didn’t even put a dent into the ink level.

But with all this ink, there is one thing that doesn’t fit right with me as a graphic artist—the actual color of the ink. The colors come out a little dull and slightly darker. But then again, this printer was designed to be an office printer. When it comes to standard prints such as text documents or forms that have simple graphics like logos or colored text, this printer is more than sufficient to do its job and costs only about Php 0.26 for a black and white print and around

Php 1.36 for a full-colored print.

We tested the printer to see how quickly it could print out a variety of documents from simple text documents to full color photos. When it came to simple black and white text documents it could spit out around 9 pages per minute (PPM) with the high-speed option turned off and around 35 ppm with the high-speed option turned on. For pages that had a slight mixture of text with colored images, with the high-speed turned off, it printed around 3ppm while on high-speed, around 15 ppm. For full page colored graphics and photos, the printer was able to print out around 2 ppm with the high-speed turned off, and around 0.55 ppm with the high-speed on. In addition to ppm, the click-to-print takes an average 11.2 seconds.

Though printing with the high-speed option on can save you a lot of time, there is a draw back—the detail or accuracy of the printouts degrade with the higher speed applied. Degrading comes in the form of misaligned prints, horizontal and/or vertical banding, loss of color density as well as loss of sharpness in photos and text edges. Using it on high-speed all the time can also shorten the lifespan of the printer.

One of the unique features of the printer that could be useful in any office would have to be the back-to-back printing option. The printer can automatically print on both sides of a piece of paper, simplifying the thought process of how to put the paper into the printer properly so that it will print on both sides in the right direction.

The Epson B-510DN is fitted with two paper trays: a front tray that can hold up to around 500 pieces of paper; and a rear try that can hold up to around 150 pieces of paper. The problem though is that with the dual tray, I had a difficult time printing on certain types of paper, because I had to manually adjust which tray should be used for what—though there is an automatic setting, but that only determines the tray based on the size of the paper, not the type of paper.

In the end this printer is an excellent addition to any office that has a high output volume of documents on a daily basis, because—based on our tests—this printer will last your company a very long time while cutting down the cost of ink and paper.

Specifications
Ink Type: DURABrite Ultra pigment ink
Interface: Desktop: Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Network interface: 100Base-Tx / 10Base-Tx Ethernet
Network Printing Protocol: TCP / IP, LPR, PORT9100
Dimensions (WxDxH): 18.9 inches x 21.6 inches x 12.3 inches
Weight: 24lbs

What’s Hot:
• High yield ink cartridges
• Fast printing speeds
• Can handle a wide variety of paper types
• Ink doesn’t smear easily
• Can hold up to 650 sheets of paper
• Can automatically print back-to-back
• Save on usage costs

What’s Not:
• Color isn’t that bright
• Noisy when in high-speed mode
• Confusing paper trays

Bottomline:
The Epson B-510DN is an efficient high-yield business inkjet printer that can save you time and money plus the environment.

Buy Meter: 8.8

[This review originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of Gadgets Magazine]

HTC uses space technology to toughen up the One S smartphone

Gadgets Team

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10 May 2012

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HTC uses space technology to toughen up the One S smartphone

HTC is improving the strength of its One S smartphone’s housing by treating it with a process called microarc oxidation, which makes it three times stronger than stainless steel. It’s the same electrochemical surface treatment process used on a lot of NASA’s satellites. The process is similar to conventional anodizing (a process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal) except that the aluminum is subjected to 10,000 volts, giving it a matte black ceramic finish and an incredibly dense crystalline structure.

The smartphone was announced at the Mobile World Congress last February, and it was allegedly spotted this week at the International CTIA Wireless 2012 sporting a unibody housing that had undergone the microarc oxidation process.

Intermec releases new handheld scanners and printers for industrial and health applications

Technology

Gadgets Team

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10 May 2012

0

Intermec releases new handheld scanners and printers for industrial and health applications

Intermec isn’t a brand name that’s widely recognized by the layman, in fact, save for a few people in the logistics industry, most people won’t even know that the company exists. Yet the products that this particular company make are responsible for a lot of the amenities you enjoy now, from the devices you enjoy to the package that the mailman just dropped off your door. Intermec is a company that makes products and solutions for logistics and supply chain inventory and tracking and just recently they invited members of the press to see the new products that they’re offering for the Philippine market.

The company showed off new products, which include the SG20 family of handheld scanners for bar codes, PC23d desktop printer for labeling applications, PC43d and PC43t for light duty labeling, the PM43 and PM43c industrial mid-range label printers and PR2 and PR3 mobile receipt printers for mobile applications. The new products are aimed at speeding up and simplying tasks while offering the best-in class performance for the devices.

“Built with customer challenges in mind, Intermec’s PC Series of desktop printers aredesigned specifically to empower the user,” said Chuck Dourlet, Intermec Vice President of Printers & Media. “With a highly intuitive and flexible design, Intermec’s newest line of printers offers a fast return on investment by empowering users with simple set up, various ease of use and maintenance features, and a modular design enabling future upgrades for investment protection.”

Windows 8 will not support film DVDs

Technology

Gadgets Team

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10 May 2012

0

Microsoft has announced that when their next generation OS, Windows 8, rolls around, customers won’t be able to play DVDs until they download extra third-party software. This applies to film DVDs, and does not affect software DVDs. Microsoft is justifying not including software to play films by saying that the use of DVDs on PCs and desktops have been in a sharp decline, and the company says that they would have to spend a significant amount in royalties to offer such a capability moving forward.

Microsoft will still offer a variety of codecs available for online media, which include H.264, VC-1, MP4, AAC, WMA, MP3, PCM and Dolby Digital Plus. This particular move might be a result of the movement of the industry away from optical media – personally, I haven’t really used my DVD player in a awhile, relying mostly on digital downloads and file transfers from USB drives and external HDDs. Newer notebooks such as ultrabooks rarely have optical disk drives as well, so this particular feature omission by Microsoft in Windows 8 might be justified.

Source: Windows