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    We’re giving away free swag!

    Gadgets Team
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    93
    We’re giving away free swag!

    We’re truly happy that you’ve chosen us to be your source of the newest trends in technology and lifestyle. And to show you our gratitude, we’re giving away 2 sets of Draven GCs valued at Php 2500 each. Want in on this? Rules are simple:

    1. Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/GadgetsMagazine
    2. Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/gadgetsmagazine
    3. Tweet: Follow @gadgetsmagazine for a chance to win Php 2,500 worth of DRAVEN GCs #GadgetsGiveaway
    4. Leave us a note on this post with your Name and Twitter User Name
    5. Contest will run till 12 noon, Friday, May 27, 2011. We’ll be drawing 2 winners via electronic raffle.
    6. Results will be posted on our website and Facebook page, and the winner will be contacted through Twitter

    Alright Gadgets fans, get to tweeting!

    Draven is a California-based company bringing together international cultures of art, music and skateboarding. For more information about the Draven, please visit their FB site at http://www.facebook.com/dravenphilippines

    Review: Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Phantom

    Gadgets Team
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    3
    Review: Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Phantom

    A note before the review: while we understand that products like videocards and motherboards are highly technical in nature, we’ll try and explain everything as plain as we can. We understand that a majority of our readers are casual technologists and not overclocking monsters, and as such the wording and the way the review is made is targeted at our main audience. Alright, on with the review.

    Nvidia is patching up all the holes in its product line, as evidenced by the release of the GTX 560 lineup. Not to be confused with the GTX 560 Ti, the GTX 560 is targeted at the $199 to $220 range – it’s a card that’s built for gamers that have extra cash to spare, but don’t want to go all in with either the GTX 570 and its bigger and brasher brethren.

    The GTX 560 nixes the Ti suffix, and while it uses the same GF114 GPU (think processor, but for videocards) it takes a hit with the removal of one Streaming Multiprocessor. The standard clock speed for a reference GTX 560 places it at around 810 MHz. The GTX 560 Phantom has a stock clock speed of 822 MHz, indicating that it’s slightly overclocked straight from the factory – a usual occurrence with cards nowadays.

    Other specs of the Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Phantom include 1024MB GDDR5 (256 bits) memory, clockspeed of 2020 MHz and a custom cooling solution that combines heatpipes, heatsinks and dual fans.

    The overall appearance of the Gainward GTX 560 is eerily similar to its bigger brother, the 560 Ti. The package includes the card and a 6-pin connector plus the display driver, but other than that it’s pretty sparse. The Gainward GTX 560 is also a bit wider than a reference 560, occupying 2.5 PCI-E slots as opposed to 2 slots.

    Our test rig for this particular card is a second generation Intel Core i5 2500K (3.30GHz, 6MB cache) on a reference Intel DH67 Intel motherboard with 8GB of DDR3 memory. For comparison’s sake, we also conducted benchmark tests with an Inno3D GTX 570, a card that’s one tier higher than the GTX 560, running stock. Two benchmarking software were used during the test: Unigine’s Heaven and Futuremark’s 3D Mark Vantage. Identical settings were used for benching both cards (same resolution, Anti-aliasing settings, etc.) to keep a level playing field for both cards.

    After installing the driver with the card (the card was under press embargo when we reviewed it, so no online drivers from NVIDIA), we ran Unigine’s Heaven benchmark twice – an initial run with the resolution set to 1680×1050, 4X Anti-aliasing and anisotropy set to 4. The initial pass yielded good results, netting a nice 32.3 average FPS (frames per second), with an overall score of 814. In comparison, the GTX 570 got an understandably higher FPS of 41.4 with an overall score of 1044. A higher resolution of 1920×1080 (with everything else being unchanged) netted the GTX 560 a lower overall FPS of 28.4, and a lower score of 715.

    Futuremark’s 3D Mark series of benchmarking tools has long been a reviewer’s staple and 3D Mark Vantage isn’t an exception. We ran 3D Mark Vantage at a resolution of 1920x1080p, with the presets set to performance and Anisotropy on 16 and the multi-sample count at x4. The GTX 560 scored a nice overall score of 10,825, with the first test grabbing a nice 38.5 FPS, and the second test netting a 35.46.

    Of course, all the benchmarks in the world won’t real world game performance, so we loaded up Battlefield Bad Company 2, EA’s definitive multiplayer shooter. With the resolution set to 1920×1080, the game never dipped below 55 FPS, even with all the frenetic shooting and stabbing going on around me. It also performed well on my current MMO addiction World of Tanks; netting a nice 50-30 FPS average (my previous 460 only managed an average of 30-40 FPS).

     

    What’s Hot:

    Cheaper than the GTX 560 Ti without a large compromise on performance.

    Includes comprehensive overclocking software.

    What’s Not:

    Virtually similar to the GTX 560 Ti externally, a bit of variance would have been nice.

    Bottomline:

    While we’ve not heard a word on local pricing, if online pricing is any indication, the Gainward GTX 560 Phantom is a good compromise for gamers who can’t afford the higher tier GTX 560 Ti that the company is offering.

    BTW, we’re giving away a Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Phantom to a lucky Gadgets Magazine Fan! Stay tuned for the contest mechanics.

     

    Intel announces plans to join the mobile market

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Intel announces plans to join the mobile market

    Intel is once again set on becoming a major player in the mobile chip market, after a “failed partnership” with Nokia.  CEO Paul Otellini has revitalized the company’s interest earlier this week by announcing to the press that consumers should expect smartphones powered by Intel within the first part of next year.

    Their purported entry is codenamed Medfield, a 32-nanometer platform based on the low power Atom processor. While there is no official announcement yet on which smartphone manufacturers will house the chip, Intel claims that “premiere-brand vendors” will be equipping it.

    While some of us might agree that mobile smartphones are the future, several doubts will obviously arise on whether or not Intel can successfully integrate within this particular sector of the tech market.  The company already dominates the PC/laptop niche with few, if any, competitors, but in terms of mobile processors, some analysts claim that Intel’s experience and capabilities might not be as advanced.

    Furthermore, if Intel does eventually release a smartphone powered by their processor (after two years of unrealized claims), will it be able to stand out significantly in a market that is already dominated by seasoned smartphone chip manufacturers and suppliers such as Nvidia and Qualcomm?  This remains to be seen.

     

    Source: CNET

    World Racers: A new Facebook game developed in the Philippines by Filipinos

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    World Racers: A new Facebook game developed in the Philippines by Filipinos

    Online games have become more and more interactive, now with the participation of more than just the players. Even fans can join in on the excitement and what better medium to get these fans going is via Facebook. And who better to utilize this than our very own local developers who understand that we just can’t get enough of anything online, be it gaming or sheer entertainment.

    Inkstone Inc. introduces a new Facebook game developed in the Philippines by Filipinos.  World Racers is the first game from the Makati-based game studio and promises to introduce a new gaming genre based on the concept of Social Broadcasting.  Launching first in the Philippines the game studio hopes to capture the attention of Facebook users in the 7th largest Facebook market in the world and in the key gaming city of Makati.

    Makati is listed as the number one Facebook gaming city for game developer LOLapps with a player count of over 178,000.  Inkstone hopes to capture the attention of these players with the World Racers game, a free to play game that allows players to team up with a friend and enter a virtual race around the world.

    The game introduces the concept of Social Broadcasting to Facebook gaming.  Social Broadcasting is entertainment that combines user generated content with social networking in the form of a game.  In the case of World Racers, players generate videos from their game play that they share with other Facebook users.  These Facebook users become fans of the players and can affect the outcome of the Race by supporting their favorite teams with in-game cash and even penalize opposing teams with time penalties.

     

    World Racers Tournament

    As part of the launch of World Racers, Inkstone Inc. will be hosting the World Racers Philippine Tournament exclusive to the residents of the Philippines.  The tagline of the tournament is “Win Prizes, Get Famous” referring to the cash and gift items awaiting the top teams as well as the social aspect of fans supporting their favorite teams.  Prizes for the top teams include gifts from World Racers launch partners local companies Neo Computer and Bo’s Coffee.

    The tournament will commence in June with the current deadline for registrations set on May 29.

    Netflix is the largest source of internet traffic in the US

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Netflix is the largest source of internet traffic in the US

    They say content is king, and it seems that it presides in a kingdom known as Netflix, in the US at least. The latest report on Global Internet Phenomena for spring 2011 from Sandvine has fingered the video-on-demand service in the US as the biggest source of consumer bandwidth in the US, accounting for 29.7 percent of peak download network traffic in the US. This ties in nicely with what Cisco executives has told us earlier today about the growth of video traffic. Still that’s a large chunk of bandwidth, and Sandvine (the company that conducted the study) concludes that “Real-Time Entertainment” sites like Netflix will grow up to 55% in traffic this year.

    Via: Engadget

    Source: Sandvine

    Why you should be excited with Cisco’s Videoscape

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Why you should be excited with Cisco’s Videoscape

    There’s a lot of ways I can explain how potentially awesome and game-changing Cisco’s Videoscape, a solution that integrates multiple entertainment sources with social media, is. Instead, I’m going to link a video of what it’ll all look like when it’s implemented.

    Impressed yet? I was.

    So what is it exactly? To put it in their words, it’s a “new solution that allows service providers to provide an immersive television experience platform by combining entertainment from multiple sources with social media, communications and mobility.” A lot of the stuff is done on the back end, and when it’s implemented successfully, all the customer sees is a set top box. It marries content on the web, content providers (Movie Studios, TV Networks, etc.) and delivers neatly to your home, in your TV, smartphone, tablet and PC.

    Wait, doesn’t Google have that with their Google TV initiative?

    That’s what I initially thought too, until their execs started breaking things down for me. Google TV only covers one end of the spectrum, mainly the consumer space. They still rely on the traditional ISP backbone that your computer uses to access the internet, and it’s currently limited to the TV for the meantime. And while one can argue that there are a lot of things to see on the web, it’s all fragmented – you got your YouTube and hundreds of other clones, Video-on-Demand sites like NetFlix, all requiring their own account information, their own player, their own site. What Cisco’s Videoscape solution is promising is bringing all of this into one interface, and into multiple devices. Service providers are now able to reign in all of this content and will be able to make it easy on the consumer to search, view and publish their content.

    But it was all worth it, we guess?

    So what? I can always download and view videos online for myself, I don’t need all of this. I have all the bandwidth that I need.

    See, this is where it gets iffy. You might deny it, but the days of unlimited data will soon be over. The explosion of the internet and the amount of data and bandwidth it consumes is making life hard for Telcos like Smart and Globe. One of the main reasons that they’re pushing for online data caps is that they can’t handle the load that’s being demanded of their networks, especially when it comes to video. Don’t believe me? Well, did you know that 60% of the world’s data traffic is video? And that by 2014, Cisco projects that 91% of the consumer’s IP traffic will be video?

    What does this have to do with Cisco’s Videoscape technology?

    Everything actually. These Telcos are already competing with social networks like Facebook and Twitter for their basic bread and butter service: SMS. With decreasing income from their traditional revenue stream, Telcos are going to be forced to start imposing stricter data caps to control their cost. What Cisco’s Videoscape technology allows them to do is be able to control, and more importantly monetize the content that’s going into people’s homes by delivering effective, targeted ads. Think about it: you’re a PLDT customer, and you’re signed up for a service that uses Cisco’s Videoscape technology.  You also happen to be an avid biker. You’re watching an episode of your favorite sitcom, and an ad appears about a sale on bikes and bike parts. You click on the ad and you’re instantly taken to the relevant web page of the ad, complete with purchase information and address where you can see their showroom.  This kind of targeted ad placement has long been the pipe dream of advertisers and agencies around the world, and now there’s infrastructure in place to make it happen. It allows Telcos to monetize the data they’re sending out, giving them more of an incentive to expand their networks and increase capacity. These services also make data caps more palatable – Telcos can implement unlimited data consumption if users go through their portal to consume content for example. And since a majority of that will be video, users can potentially get by with small data allotments.

    I’m sold. When can I get this?

    Well, since Cisco only provides the backbone, it’s all up to the Telcos and other service providers if they want in on it. But from what I could gather from the smiles and *nudge, nudge* of the Cisco Execs present during the press briefing earlier today, I’m confident to say that we’ll be seeing something exciting in the coming months.

     

    Meet the world’s smallest 3-D printer

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Meet the world’s smallest 3-D printer

    3-D printing has been in existence for quite some time, but until recently, these machines have been behemoths that occupy a large amount of space and cost a ridiculous amount of money.  However, that might all be in the past.

    Meet the world’s smallest 3-D printer, a device that has been designed and forged by engineers from the Vienna Institute of Technology. It is advertised as being “no bigger than a carton of milk” and weighs approximately 3.3 pounds.

    The 3-D printer works by utilizing a unique synthetic resin that is shaped and solidified by lasers, and it is purportedly capable of creating very intricate objects with precise designs.

    Not only is lightweight, but it is relatively inexpensive, which could mean that 3-D printers might find a place in people’s households and could be as mundane as any other domestic appliance in the near future.

    The applications of personally owning a 3-D printer can be left to your imagination, but some uses could include forging a lost shirt button to molding a small statue. Although there is still no definite decision on whether the university is going to mass-produce the device, there might be several issues that need to be ironed out first, such as the potential illegal reproduction of certain items.

     

    Source: PopSci

    Globe unveils search for innovative mobile applications

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Globe unveils search for innovative mobile applications

    Globe lets you get creative and personal with its latest search to find the best and perhaps the most entertaining or even socially-relevant application our local developers can imagine. And what better way to showcase the innovative skills of our homegrown than through the development of a type of art, if I may, that a lot of consumers can actually use and enjoy.

    Globe Telecom recently launched MobApp Hunt 2011, a program for Filipino developers to showcase their creativity in building mobile applications for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone devices. The program aims to recognize and reward local talent in building innovative mobile applications that build on top of network services like mobile broadband, short messaging, voice and location based services

    MobApp Hunt 2011 is being spearheaded by Globe Labs – created in 2008 to expose the company and its partners to emerging technology and innovations as well as identify and develop unique applications that can be commercially introduced in the fixed and wireless consumer market. It aims to usher in the latest information and communication technologies at the earliest market-relevant time to consumers.

    “Through MobApp Hunt 2011, we are creating a venue to develop and commercialize the ingenuous creations of our mobile developers, as well as provide them tools to hone their talents further,” said Blue de Venecia, Head of Globe Labs. “Globe Labs has always been at the forefront of extending support to Filipino innovations especially in the field of information and communications technology. With MobApp Hunt 2011, we will continue to engage our mobile developers by giving them opportunities to showcase their innovations both here and abroad.”

    MobApp Hunt 2011 is open to all individuals and companies registered with the Globe Labs Developer Community. Registration can be done online via the Globe Labs Developer Portal at www.globelabs.com.ph where proposal forms can be downloaded. Participants can be individuals or teams, where teams can have a maximum number of 5 members. Submission of proposals is slated until May 23, 2011.

    Announcement of accepted proposals will be on June 6, 2011. Successful developers will have six weeks to create their applications. Participants will also get the chance to attend various trainings, and technical and user interface workshops to help them improve and enhance their creations.

    Successful developers will get the chance to have their apps published on myGlobe Free Apps or iTunes (for iOS apps) and receive Php50,000 as reward for each app published.

    MobApp Hunt was successfully introduced to the developer community last year with the primary goal of tapping the skills and talents of Filipino developers in the different mobile platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, iOS, MIDP2.0 and Symbian/QT.

    For inquiries, visit www.globelabs.com.ph/pages/mobapphunt.aspx.

    99% of Android devices at risk of being attacked

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    99% of Android devices at risk of being attacked

    Own an Android device? Okay, listen up. Seems like the Wunderkind of the OS world that could do no wrong has a fatal flaw. Researchers from Germany’s University of Ulm has found that it’s extremely easy to attack and gain valuable data from Android devices like calendars, contacts and other goodies. The vulnerability comes from implementation of an authentication protocol known as ClientLogin which is present in Android versions 2.3.3 and below. The researchers said that “We wanted to know if it is really possible to launch an impersonation attack against Google services and started our own analysis. The short answer is: Yes, it is possible, and it is quite easy to do so. Further, the attack is not limited to Google Calendar and Contacts, but is theoretically feasible with all Google services using the ClientLogin authentication protocol for access to its data APIs.” Yikes. How can you protect yourself? Well, it seems that this particular exploit is only possible through unsecured wireless hotspots, so if you’re able to stay clear of those it won’t be a problem. Google is aware of the issue and is trying to locate a fix.

    Via: The Guardian

    Source: Institute of Media Informatics

     

    Microsoft to buy Nokia?

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Microsoft to buy Nokia?

    As is the way of the world, the big fish feed on the little fish for nourishment. And this fact of life can also be seen in many bigger companies who bid for smaller companies and change the game altogether. The latest rumor going around is (big fish) Microsoft who is rumored to buy (little fish) Nokia, maker of mobile handsets.

    Russian blogger Eldar Mutazin is said to be behind the rumor and may just know what he’s talking about as he once suggested that there were talks last year between Nokia and Microsoft over Windows Phone. He also forecast that Nokia would be changing its Ovi online store (which was just announced is now called Nokia Services). He shares that next week, Nokia will begin talks about the sales of the unit to Microsoft. The deal could close before the end of 2011. “Both companies are in a big hurry,” he writes (in Russian).

    What will this mean if ever this rumor proves true?

    Personally, I’m just happy I was able to purchase a new N82 battery for my extra, battery-less N82 phone. It’s been out of commission and I haven’t been able to come up with decent mobile films.

     

    Source: The Guardian

    Samsung makes a 10.1-inch, 2560×1600 pixel display, makes us wish it was here now

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung makes a 10.1-inch, 2560×1600 pixel display, makes us wish it was here now

    One of the main things that people need to understand is that LCDs aren’t created equal. Sure, most displays that go on gadgets and other devices like tablets and smartphones may be the same size, but that doesn’t mean they are all the same quality. A good rule of thumb is that the higher the display resolution, the better and sharper the images are going be. Going by that logic, Samsung is shaping to blow the competition out of the water with their recently unveiled 10.1-inch, 2560×1600 display that’s just begging to be put in tablets. Samsung seems to have solved the power issues that comes with a screen this large and this sharp. The screen is unfortunately just a proof of concept at this point, but it’s not at all unreasonable to expect it in upcoming products of the Korean giant.

    Source: Geek

    SeaGate announces Wi-Fi enabled GoFlex HDD

    Gadgets Team
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    4
    SeaGate announces Wi-Fi enabled GoFlex HDD

    Without a doubt, the issue of memory and mobility is always a concern whenever we purchase new gadgets.   However, this qualm might soon be resolved.

    Meet the GoFlex Satellite, the first battery-powered external hard drive that connects wirelessly to any Wi-Fi enabled device. With this HDD in your backpack or purse, you now have an additional 500GB of extra storage to complement your beloved tablet and/or your much-loved smartphone.

    What are the benefits of this ultraportable wireless drive?  According to Seagate, you no longer have to spend that extra money on more memory for your existing device or when purchasing a new one.  Instead, you can opt to acquire the GoFlex Satellite to complement any of your memory woes, allowing you to bring your media library with you wherever you may go.

    Not only does it look sleek, but the GoFlex Satellite’s battery life is quite amazing as well, with 5 hours of continuous playback and standby time of more than a day.  As if that weren’t enough, it will also come equipped with Seagate’s Media Sync software and GoFlex Media app which will aid users in transferring their media files.

    Set to be released in the U.S. by July this year, we should expect this handy HDD to reach the Philippines soon after.

     

    Source: Maximum PC

    Nokia taking down Ovi, becomes Nokia Services

    Gadgets Team
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    Nokia taking down Ovi, becomes Nokia Services

    The transition to a new and better Nokia is continuing, as Nokia is doing away with the Ovi, the quintessential brand for Nokia’s internet services will now become Nokia services. There’s no cataclysmic disruption of services that is planned however, and Nokia has stated on their Nokia Conversations blog that each of the services under the Ovi umbrella will simply be rebranded as Nokia, with no planned disruption to the service roadmaps.

    Nokia’s EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Jerri DeVard explains the change. “We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.”

    The transition will begin in begin in July this year, and the company is targeting the shift to be finished in 2012.

    Source: Nokia Conversations

    Lime Wire settles case at $105 million

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Lime Wire settles case at $105 million

    Lime Wire has finally settled its long standing lawsuit with the recording industry as Mark Gorton, the software-network’s creator, agreed to pay $105 million for willful copyright infringement.  The conclusion of this drawn-out case has several implications with regards to piracy and the future of music on the web.

    During the trial, the issue of unbundled music arose, with some record labels claiming that since fewer consumers are buying full length albums in lieu of obtaining a few choice tracks, the music industry is finding it difficult to financially “recover”. On the other hand, spokespersons for other labels claim that if consumers are able to obtain only the songs they want, it would foster a greater sense of satisfaction and eventually lead to more purchases and greater profit for record companies. While these views are simply opinions that aren’t backed by facts, it appears as if consumers benefit more from unbundled music, regardless of the debate.

    Furthermore, the conclusion of Lime Wire’s trial can also impact the issues concerning the legality of Google’s upcoming online music storage cloud, Google Music (Beta). The haze that surrounds the legitimacy of this service has the recording industry, lawmakers and consumers scrambling on how to define the legal parameters of purchasing and sharing music over the web.

    Of course, this is still without mentioning the fact that there are various peer-to-peer resources online that provide consumers access to obtain music and other forms of media “illegally”. However, without any solid factual evidence on how piracy directly affects the music industry, consumers and record companies alike will simply have to accept the fact that music is meant to be shared, whether through “legal” means or not.

     

     

    Source: CNet

     

     

    To read a re-cap of the Lime Wire trail, visit C-Net’s coverage here.

    NVIDIA CEO isn’t happy with Android tablet sales

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    NVIDIA CEO isn’t happy with Android tablet sales

    While there’s certainly a lot more choices nowadays when it comes to Android Honeycomb tablets, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang isn’t happy with the state of the Google OS powered devices. According to a CNET interview, he says that the disappointing sales of Android tablets: “it’s a point of sales problem. It’s an expertise at retail problem. It’s a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem.” NVIDIA has a lot of interest seeing the platform succeed, as most (if not all) current Android tablets are powered by their Tegra 2 processor and more Android tablets spell more demand for their procies. He also states that OEMs should push WiFi only baseline configs, not models with 3G as these are usually more expensive. “The baseline configuration included 3G when it shouldn’t have. Tablets should have a Wi-Fi configuration and be more affordable. And those are the ones that were selling more rapidly than the 3G and fully configured ones.”

    Source: CNET

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