Akai’s been rolling out one impressive product after another this year, beginning with the MPC Renaissance and Studio. But it seems as if they’re not done just yet.
Meet the Akai Max49 and MPC Fly
Travel the world with Google Earth 6.2
Google Earth 6.2 was recently released, which promises more “seamless imagery and a new search interface.”
LEGO + Minecraft = most awesome geek toy ever
Like other geeks, we love Minecraft. And unsurprisingly, we also love LEGOs. So it made sense that the two combine to make the most awesome toy ever made for geeks via LEGO’s CUUSOO page. LEGO CUUSOO, for the uninitiated, allows the community to pitch ideas to the LEGO team and if there’s enough community traction behind it, it eventually gets made into an actual thing. Here’s the official word from LEGO:
Happy New Year! Since the Minecraft™ project reached 10,000 supporters on LEGO CUUSOO, many of you have been eagerly awaiting our update. Until now, the project has been in the LEGO Review—a stage before product development begins where a LEGO Jury evaluates the idea’s feasibility as a product and makes a decision.
We’re happy to announce that the Minecraft project on LEGO CUUSOO has passed the LEGO review and we are now developing a concept that celebrates the best aspects of building with the LEGO system and in Minecraft and we can’t wait to show it to you—but we aren’t ready just yet. These things take time, so we appreciate your patience. More details are to come.
This means our favorite ABS construction toy will soon meet our favorite virtual construction game soon. Really soon. You better believe that we’ll let you guys know when these things are finally available for purchase.
Source: Techno Buffalo, LEGO
HELOStrap helps you from dropping your 10-inch tablet, makes sharing a breeze
If you’re a tablet owner, chances are you’ve affixed some kind of protective cover on it to help it withstand the rigors of daily use. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that it won’t get damaged – slips and falls happen, especially if you have anything remotely similar to our butter covered hands. Electronics accessory company HELO wants to prevent your prized tablet from falling to the ground with an ingenious strap system that secures it to your hand while still allowing full 360 degree rotation. It also allows you to share the screen with other people while keeping a solid hold on the device. The HELOStrap is available in a variety of colors and retails for $19.95. There is currently no local retailer for the device, though you can buy one through Amazon if you really want one.
Artificial reef dome deployment in Boracay
With its coral cover assessed to be in alarmingly poor condition, proponents of the Boracay Beach Management Program (BBMP) have undertaken coral reef restoration efforts as part of its coastal resources management program.
In September 2011, the BBMP-Technical Working Group launched their coral reef restoration efforts with activities consisting of the establishment of coral nurseries, transplantation of coral nubbins on degraded reefs, and deployment of reef domes. Monitoring reports by the coastal and marine resources team headed by Mike Labatiao have reported encouraging results.
Earlier studies revealed that Boracay’s live coral cover had seriously deteriorated to only about 15-20%. In 2009, the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation Inc. (CCEFI) reported that coral conditions on the western side consisted of about 23% live coral, while about 77% were non-living. A Xavier University assessment of the eastern side in 2010 recorded 42% live coral cover, while a 2011 study of the southern side by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) indicated an alarmingly low 9% live coral cover.
Through the initiative of the local government of Malay, Aklan, under the leadership of Mayor John P. Yap, and in close collaboration with Boracay Foundation Inc., Petron Foundation, San Miguel Corporation and other stakeholders, the Boracay Beach Management Program (BBMP) focused on coastal resources management as one of its priority areas.
In particular, Petron partnered with Boracay Foundation Inc. to champion the reef rehabilitation program. In September 2010, a coral nursery using PVC nets was established near Crocodile Island. Another coral nursery, made of biotech screens, was planted at the Balinghai snorkeling area in May 2011. Coral nubbins from the nurseries were then transplanted and attached to dead coral to encourage regrowth and eventually restore live coral cover.
Last January 17, 2011, ten multi-functional reef domes were deployed about 100-meters from the Boracay shoreline. Made from a mixture of cement and other organic materials, these slightly re-designed artificial reef domes not only serve as fish sanctuaries which help increase fish density, but also serve as wave breakers during typhoon season. Because of their utility, the BBMP-TWG is building more reef domes to be deployed along Boracay’s main beach area.
With its previous experience in the United Nations Development Programme’s Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) framework, Petron coordinated the local government initiatives of Mayor Yap to target seven priority areas under the BBMP. These include coastal resources management, water and waste water management, solid waste management, watershed protection, hazard prevention, local governance, and information, education and communication. With a strong partnership among stakeholders under the leadership of the local government unit, other partner agencies who actively contribute to the BBMP include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local agencies, non-government organizations, youth groups, and the business sector.
For a complete list of BBMP’s partners, please visit the For Boracay I Will Facebook page.
Globe Tattoo@Home unveils DSL, WiMAX and GPON offers
Tattoo@Home introduces its brand ambassador, Filipina supermodel Danica Magpantay (2nd from left). Photo shows (from left) Nikko Acosta, Broadband Business Head of Globe Telecom; Jurist Gamban, Head of Globe Telecom’s At-Home Broadband Business; and Dong Ronquillo, Head of the Nomadic Broadband Business of Globe.
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Tattoo, the flagship broadband brand of Globe Telecom, unveils its new line-up of broadband offers for consumers that offer superior and customizable speeds and the best value-for-money packages in the market today.
Using the most diverse array of broadband technologies in the country—Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), 4G WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and GPON (Gigabit-capable
Passive Optical Network)–Tattoo@Home provide stable and flexible connections that give families the best internet experience at home, from parents working or paying bills online, young adults downloading their favorite songs or movies to kids and teens doing research and expressing themselves in multiple ways online. The best part about Tattoo@Home is that the plans are customizable based on the subscribers’ unique needs.
For instance, Tattoo@Home Plan 1099, a DSL and landline bundle, runs of speeds of up to 1mbps. Plus, customers get free NDD calls forever (to Globelines and Globe DUO subscribers) and one month of speed boost for free. On the other hand, Tatttoo@Home Plan 1299 runs on speeds of up to 2 mbps and subscribers get free NDD calls forever (to Globelines and Globe DUO subscribers), one month of speed boost and a free WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) router.
Launching its greatest value for money and high-speed broadband plans for the whole family, Tattoo@Home also introduced Ford Supermodel of the World 2010 Danica Flores Magpantay as its newest brand ambassador.
Samsung Galaxy S III rumored to drop in April – quad-core processor, ICS and 12-megapixel camera on board
Mobile World Congress is less than a month away, so you know what that means: rumor time! Today’s juicy tidbit comes from Russian Tech Blogger Eldar Murtazin on the eagerly anticipated successor to Samsung’s record breaking Samsung Galaxy S II, the aptly named Galaxy S III. The S III is supposedly landing in April, right after its official unveil at MWC. The blogger said that the S III will be sporting a quad-core processor, ICS, HD screen and a 12-megapixel camera, which to be honest, isn’t a surprise, seeing as these are the same specs that were being pranced about by other manufacturers back in CES. Still, if the rumors are true, it’s nice to know that Samsung is on the right track specs-wise, and we’re pretty sure that there’s going to be a lot of demand once the S III is officially unveiled.
Source: Phone Arena
Smartphone use in the Philippines to rise sharply in 2012, Android leading the pack – Smart
It may seem like a no brainer, but it’s nice to hear nonetheless – Smart has said that they expect Smartphone use to rise sharply in 2012. Not exactly shocking news, but it seems to confirm a growing trend for consumers who are dumping feature phones and are snagging more smartphones. So what smartphone OS is rising in this country? Unsurprisingly, it’s Android – a series of one-day snapshots of Smart’s network taken from August to December showed Android increasing 300%, as opposed to its competitors BlackBerry 66% and iOS 62%.
“Our subscribers have responded very well to our attractive and innovative smartphone offers campaigns, particularly in the second half of the year. At the same time, our network modernization program which is far ahead of the competition, is already delivering a superior mobile internet experience to our subscribers today,” Smart Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando B. Vea said. “The growth of iOS is significant given that Smart started offering iPhones only last December 2011,” Vea adds.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus: hands on
We’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to our shores ever since it was announced late last year. After Smart announced that they’ll be the exclusive carrier for Google’s latest ICS laden smartphone, we knew it was only a matter of time before it landed in our office. Well, today is the day. Samsung Philippines have delivered the Galaxy Nexus to our office today, and we are impressed.
First off, let’s start with the basics. Measuring at 135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9mm, it’s considerably larger than most typical 4.3-inch smartphones currently out in the market. And while it’s overall size is a bit larger than the norm, it’ll still fit in the palm of most people’s hands, unlike the truly monstrous Galaxy Note.
It It uses a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display that has a resolution of 1280 x 720. To be honest, we’re smitten with the display of the Galaxy Nexus, and it’s not hard to see why – colors really just pop at you, and blacks are just truly black, not light gray. Powering the whole thing is a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor, which is paired with about 1GB of RAM.
Of course the biggest star of the whole show is Android 4.0, better known as Ice Cream Sandwich. A lot has changed from the jump from 2.3 to 4.0, most notable of which is the disappearance of the four soft touch keys that are typically found at the bottom of Android devices. It’s been replaced by three keys (home, back, and running apps) that are built-in directly to the display. While this setup works well with the larger screened Galaxy Nexus, we’re not sure how this will work on devices with smaller screens once they’re upgraded to ICS.
Once you’re in the apps screen, swiping left will allow you to go through your app list until it runs out of apps to show, at which point it starts showing widgets you can embed into your home screen (complete with information on how much screen real-estate it’ll take up).
It sounds weird, but it works pretty well in practice.
Another nice feature we’re sure a lot of you will appreciate is the ability to monitor and cut-off data depending on the limits you’ve set – handy for preventing bill-shock.
That’s it for now. We’re sure we missed a lot of other features, but don’t worry, we’ll be doing a more in-depth review of the device once we get more time in. In the meantime, enjoy more photos of the Galaxy Nexus below along with comparison shots with the HTC Sensation XE and XL.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Samsung Galaxy Nexus/]
New guitar effects: the Zoom G5
Meet the Zoom G5, which combines a stompbox pedalboard, multi-effects pedal,USB audio interface and more into a single sleek machine.
Plant-shaped solar lights give character to any garden
Another eco-friendly décor for your home: Add light and color into your garden and show off those lovely flowers (or vegetables) even in the night-time. With the Mohzy petal solar light and petal solar light mini, you can give your garden (indoor or outdoor) some character and charm. These two solar lights come with a rechargeable battery and solar panels which charge in direct sunlight. It automatically lights up as the sun sets and deactivates as the sun rises.
Of course, in the Philippines, most gardens are enclosed in huge gates to keep prying eyes from seeing the inside of your home as well as easy access to break into it. With all of these solar lights lining your garden, they might even keep burglars away.
Bang and Olufsen’s BeoSound 8 iPod dock adds a touch of class to your home, won’t completely bankrupt you
If there’s two things we know about Bang and Olufsen products it’s that they a) have awesome quality b) have prices that usually put them out of the reach of normal people. But if you’ve been lusting to add a B&O product to your home but are unwilling to sell both your kidneys, you’ll be glad to know that the firm has released their BeoSound 8 iPod dock. Featuring the firm’s iconic style and audio quality, the BeoSound 8 is an elegant solution for your music woes, especially when you consider that it can also double as an auxiliary speaker that you can connect to your PC when needed. You can even connect to it wirelessly using Airport Express and Bluetooth. Of course, while the BeoSound 8 is one of B&O’s more affordable offerings, you’ll still have to shell out Php 65,450 for the privilege of owning one. The BeoSound 8 is sold locally by Living Innovations.
Do you have a story to tell? Join Youtube’s Your Film Festival.
YouTube and Emirates, in partnership with La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Film Festival) and Scott Free, announced Your Film Festival – a global competition to find the world’s best storytellers, connect them with a global audience, and provide one deserving entrant with a career-changing opportunity.
Content creators around the world are invited to submit a 15-minute, story-driven video of any format, style and genre, to Youtube.com/yourfilmfestival. After submissions are whittled down to 50 semi-finalists, audiences from around the world will cast their votes, choosing ten finalists. The ten finalists will travel to Italy, where their work will screen at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in August. A grand prize winner will then be named by a special jury and awarded a $500,000 YouTube original production grant to work with Scott Free, ultimately creating a brand new work for the world to see.
Submissions, which open February 2, 2012 and close on March 31, 2012, will be reviewed by Scott Free and narrowed down to 50 semi-finalists from around the world in the summer of 2012. The YouTube community will then vote for ten finalists who will be flown to unveil their films in a special program at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. In Venice, a jury will vote among the ten films to select one Grand Prize Winner. The winner will receive a development deal with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions.
Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, is the sponsor of this year’s YouTube Your Film Festival. “The foundation of the Emirates brand is connecting people. As an airline, we link people from one destination to another and we also act as a cultural bridge for people’s thoughts, ideas and dreams,” said Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Emirates. “Through our sponsorship of Your Film Festival we are supporting the journey of emerging filmmakers through YouTube’s innovative entertainment platform.”
Your Film Festival is one of several efforts by YouTube to push the boundaries of music, art, and film.
For more information, please visit youtube.com/yourfilmfestival and submit your film between February 2 and March 31, 2012.
Review: HTC Sensation XL
We’ve spent a lot of time with HTC’s Beats equipped Sensation XE over the holidays, and now we’ve managed to snag its bigger brother, the HTC Sensation XL. Like the XE, the XL offers Beats Audio to the masses, along with a larger, 4.7-inch 480 x 800 pixel screen, albeit with a slower, single core Qualcomm 1.5 GHz Scorpion processor. Is the size difference enough of a motivation to grab one?
One of the most striking physical aspects of the Sensation XL is the overall size of the device. At around 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9mm, it’s pretty substantial, though it’s not as big as the gigantic Galaxy Note we reviewed a few weeks back. The device sports an all white exterior with an aluminum back, with the relevant Beats Audio branding near the bottom. The volume rocker sits on the right side of the device, with the power button sitting flush against the chassis on top near the 3.5mm jack. Aside from the power/data micro-USB port, the left side of the device sits bare. All of the relevant Android-related navigation is done via the touch-sensitive buttons on the bottom of the device. Imaging duties are handled by an 8-megapixel camera (with dual LED flash) and a smaller, 1.3-megapixel camera at the front. Overall the device is pretty damn solid and feels like a premium device.
Like we said the Sensation XL is powered by a single core Qualcomm 1.5 GHz Scorpion processor, paired with 768 MB of RAM. This means that this particular device is slower than its smaller brethren, the Sensation XE. Worse still is that while the the screen is bigger at around 4.7-inches, the resolution is worse than the XE, which is around 540 x 960. It doesn’t mean that the XL has a bad display – far from it – its just that when compared to the competition (which at this point let’s be honest, it’s the Samsung Galaxy Note) which has a better 800 x 1280 pixel resolution, the XL kinda looks a bit flat.
The device is currently packed with Android 2.3 (with an ICS update coming soon, or so we hope) with the customary HTC Sense UI on top of it. Like we said before, HTC’s Sense UI adds a bunch of added functionality to your device, including the ability to locate your device if it’s ever misplaced, as well as locking and wiping it remotely (as long as you have an active data connection).
The XL also has Beats Audio inside, along with a pair of Beats Audio branded in-ear headphones. We’re not going to get into a more in-depth review about the headphones as you can check out what we said about it in our earlier review of the Sensation XE, suffice to say that they bring decent sound quality to the table (if a bit bassy). Aside from the color (white instead of red and black) the in-ear headphones included with the device is virtually identical to the one in the XE version.
Like any other Android device that passes through the gadgets office, the Sensation XL went through benchmark tests using AnTuTu. Unfortunately, this is where the Sensation XL’s shortcoming really shine through – as the device only posted a score of 3249, which frankly isn’t good. The device’s score only just beats the Google Nexus S, and falls far behind the established scores of its dual-core competitors like the LG Optimus 2X and the Samsung Galaxy S II.
If there’s a silver lining to the Sensation XL’s performance it’d be battery life. And though it pales in comparison performance-wise to its contemporaries, it certainly has more endurance. The Sensation XL lasted a bit more than the XE, lasting about a day and a quarter with moderate use. Then again, we weren’t really using the XL for anything more complicated than browsing, music and the occasional video clip as the XL simply is not as fast as its other competitors.
Probably one of the biggest things going for the XL is the size of the screen – at 4.7-inches, it’s pretty substantial. To be honest, we found that the 5.3-inch screen of the Note too big at times. The 4.7-inch screen of the XL is perfect for folks who want a smartphone with a bigger screen but aren’t keen on getting the absolutely huge 5.3-inch Note.
Which actually puts the XL in a precarious position. It’s certainly not the fastest device currently out in the market, and the Beats Audio branding may not do it for most people who have to swallow its almost Php 30,000 sticker price. But then again, its closest competitor, the Galaxy Note, isn’t something that you’d be able fit in your pocket (well, it’ll fit some pockets, but not all) and the huge 5.3-inch screen may not be for everyone, plus at over Php 30,000 it may be too expensive to justify. Of course, it all boils down to personal preference, and if you’re the type that wants to buy a large smartphone with Beats Audio, well, the Sensation XL might just be for you.
What’s Hot:
Large screen
Comes with Beats Audio in-ear headphones
Solidly built
What’s Not:
Single Core Processor
A bit expensive
Bottomline:
The HTC Sensation XE appeals to a very select market, one that wants a large screen but are unwilling to go settle with a device that is more than five inches. If you’re the type that wants a smartphone that has a good set of cans and a large screen, then you might want to give the Sensation XL a try.
Buymeter:
3.5/5
Tech Specs:
- Operating System: Android 2.3 Gingerbread (ICS update to follow)
- CPU: Qualcomm MSM8255 1.5 GHz Scorpion
- LCD size: 4.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 resolution
- Physical Dimensions: 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm
- Weight: 162.5
- Band: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
- Storage: 16GB
Line 6 StageScape rethinks live mixing with a touchscreen and graphical interface
Line 6 dives into the heart of live sound with the StageScape M30d, a touchscreen digital “smart” mixer that provides a unique (and daring) DSP-based mixing environment.