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- Verizon confirms CEO Lowell McAdam will succeed Ivan Seidenberg as Chairman
- Insert Coin: ODDIO1 straps an iPod shuffle to your head, makes you inexplicably cooler
- LG updates eye-tracking, glasses-free 3D displays, learns to love the hyphen
- Man on vacation confused for a Russian spy, almost restarts cold war
- Sprint gives Clearwire $1.6 billion golden parachute, lovers of WiMAX rejoice
- Barnes & Noble's Q2 earnings reveal Nook to be a $220 million business, Nook Tablet said to be fastest-selling yet
- Carrier IQ: What it is, what it isn't, and what you need to know
- AT&T blows a gasket, calls FCC report 'an advocacy piece, not analysis'
- Daihatsu Pico concept commuter EV hands-on
- ADATA S101 flash drive brings USB 3.0 speeds, shrugs off shocks and splashes
- Traxxas X0-1 RC car can reach 100 mph, decimate your bank account in under five seconds (video)
- CEO bans email, encourages social networking
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review
- Galaxy S II Skyrocket rides in on a white horse for AT&T on December 4th
- Samsung's mSATA PM830 is eight grams of pure SSD
- Nissan demonstrates Leaf-powered Smart House, we go hands-on
- Verizon Galaxy Nexus landing in Best Buy on December 11th?
- Speedier Archos 101 G9 Turbo tablet hits the autobahn
- Android 4.0, meet your granddad x86
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- Nissan Pivo 3 extreme agility concept EV hands-on
- BBC brings global iPlayer iPad app to Canada, one step closer to the US
- Crapgadget: iStation woos Apple romantics with the glory of the late '70s, fails
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- Amazon launches Kindle in Italy and Spain, brings Kindle Store to the Mediterranean
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- Sony Bravia TVs updated with Twitter, YouTube HD and more
- Verzo repackages Kinzo Android smartphone, offers lower prices in response to user feedback (video)
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- ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review
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| Verizon confirms CEO Lowell McAdam will succeed Ivan Seidenberg as Chairman Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:17 AM PST  It certainly doesn't come as the biggest of surprises, but Verizon confirmed today that its current CEO, Lowell McAdam, will succeed its former CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, as Chairman when the latter retires on December 31st. McAdam, as you may recall, took over as CEO when Seidenberg stepped down from the position in July of this year, with Seidenberg remaining on as Chairman to aid in the transition, which has apparently gone just as planned. The carrier also announced today that Melanie L. Healey of Proctor & Gamble will be immediately joining the board, which will stand at twelve members following Seidenberg's departure. Head on past the break for the official press release. Lowell McAdam Elected Verizon Chairman; Melanie L. Healey, P&G Group President, Joins Board McAdam Will Be Chairman and CEO Following Ivan Seidenberg's Retirement as Chairman at Year-End NEW YORK – December 1, 2011 – The Board of Directors of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq:VZ) today elected Verizon President and CEO Lowell C. McAdam as chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2012. In addition, Melanie L. Healey, group president for North America at Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG), was elected as a new member of Verizon's board, effective immediately. McAdam's chairmanship will begin following the retirement of Ivan G. Seidenberg as Verizon's chairman on Dec. 31. Sandra O. Moose, presiding director of Verizon's board, said: "The board's decision to name Lowell as chairman is a reflection of his comprehensive understanding of Verizon's operations and the fast-moving and ever-evolving communications industry. He is uniquely qualified to step into this role, having spent his entire career as an industry leader creating growth and value for shareholders. As chairman, Lowell will provide insight and expertise as he oversees the functioning of the board." McAdam has been president and CEO of Verizon since Aug. 1, with responsibility for all business operations at Verizon, including the strategic direction of the company's products and technologies. He has served on the board of Verizon since March 2011 and on the board of Verizon Wireless since 2003, chairing the Verizon Wireless board since September 2010. He was president and CEO of Verizon Wireless until October 2010, when he became president and COO of Verizon. Healey, a Recognized Global Marketing Leader Healey serves as group president for North America at Procter & Gamble. Before this, she had been president of P&G's global feminine care business since 2005, adding responsibilities for global health care brands in 2007. Moose said: "Melanie brings to Verizon's board an extensive background in consumer goods, marketing and international operations. With first-hand experience in several global markets and a wealth of knowledge about delighting consumers with great products, she will be a superb advisor and asset to Verizon. We look forward to her active participation on the board." Brazilian by birth, Healey began her career in marketing at S.C. Johnson & Sons in 1983 and moved to Johnson & Johnson in 1987. She joined P&G Brazil as a brand manager in 1990 and over the next eight years managed brands across categories as diverse as baby care, health care, hair care, personal cleansing and fabric care during assignments in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. In 1998 she was named general manager of the feminine care business in Latin America. In 2001 she became vice president and general manager of the feminine care business for North America, moving to P&G's headquarters in Cincinnati. In addition to her current business responsibilities, Healey is the leader of P&G North America's Diversity and Inclusion Team, as well as the Global Corporate Women's Leadership Team. She serves as a member of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport Board, and she has been a director of Bacardi & Co. Limited since 2008. Since 2007, she has been recognized in multiple business-leadership lists, including Fortune magazine's Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business, Forbes magazine's The 100 Most Powerful Women and the Wall Street Journal's The 50 Women to Watch. Healey has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Richmond, where she is a member of the Board of Trustees. Seidenberg Completes Leadership Succession Plan Seidenberg, who turns 65 this month, had previously announced his intention to retire by year-end, after stepping down from the CEO post earlier this year and completing the company's CEO succession process under way since 2010. As chairman, Seidenberg has continued to assist in the transition. Following Seidenberg's retirement, Verizon will have 12 board members. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 107 million total connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $106.6 billion in 2010 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 195,000. For more information, visit www.verizon.com. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Insert Coin: ODDIO1 straps an iPod shuffle to your head, makes you inexplicably cooler Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:03 AM PST In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.  Micro music players like the iPod shuffle are great when you're shredding the powder, but long cords can be a health hazard, even in the office -- if one wraps itself 'round your coffee mug, you risk having twelve ounces of hot liquid landing in your lap. Designers Jeremy Saxton & Jacob Hall have developed the ODDIO1, a pair of headphones that do away with all that unnecessary cabling -- holstering the shuffle on the right earpiece. If you're interested in getting your hands on a pair of these infuriatingly simple yet elegant cans, ride on past the break to find out more.  Hall and  Let's be honest, this ain't exactly rocket science here, the ODDIO1 packs a pair of 30mm dynamic audio drivers, has an adjustable headband and comes in three colors -- grey / black, black / blue and black / pink (oddly, the coolest pair of the three). Because the headphone jack is still accessible, you can sync your shuffle with iTunes without having to tear it out of its holster.  Currently the project has $2,168 toward a planned $45,000 goal -- which is required to buy the production tooling and further development of the device. The aim is that the 'phones will retail for $50 when they reach general sale, but only $35 if you pledge now (two pairs for $65 and three for $95). Throwing in $200 will get you the trifecta of regular headsets, a limited edition white version, t-shirt and iPod shuffle in the color of your choice. If you wanna get donating, head on down to our source link to deliver your hard-earned into the hands of these gentlemen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LG updates eye-tracking, glasses-free 3D displays, learns to love the hyphen Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:49 AM PST  LG EXPANDS ITS GLASSES-FREE 3D MONITOR LINE-UP Latest Monitor from LG Takes Glasses-Free 3D To A Whole New Level SEOUL, Nov. 30, 2011 -– LG Electronics (LG) extends its glasses-free 3D monitor lineup with the 25-inch DX2500, which incorporates glasses-free parallax barrier 3D and head-tracking technologies. With the DX2500, LG becomes the first in the industry to receive TÜV Rheinland certification for a glasses-free 3D monitor. "LG is taking glasses-free 3D monitors mainstream with the DX2500," said Si-hwan Park, Vice President of the Monitor Division at LG's Home Entertainment Company. "With the DX2500, we are making the LG brand synonymous with glasses-free 3D monitors. In 2012, we'll continue to expand our range of glasses-free 3D monitors featuring different designs and advanced functions." For optimal viewing of 3D images, existing glasses-free 3D products generally require viewers to stay within a tightly restricted angle and distance. However, the DX2500 has removed this restriction with the parallax barrier 3D and head-tracking technologies, allowing viewers greater freedom of movement, enabling a more comfortable user experience. Position tracking in the DX2500 works via a camera embedded in the monitor, which detects changes in the user's eye and head position in real-time. Based on this information, the monitor calculates the angle and position of the viewer and adjusts the image to display the optimal 3D effect. And with an advanced 2D to 3D conversion function, DX2500 users can view unlimited 3D content such as movies, photos and games all with a single mouse click. Now available in Korea, the DX2500 will be launched worldwide in early 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man on vacation confused for a Russian spy, almost restarts cold war Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:35 AM PST  However, five months later a Curran Gardner water pump fails, and an IT contractor eyeballing the logs spots the Russian-based IP address. Fearing stolen credentials, he passes the info up the chain of command to the Environmental Protection Agency (as it governs the water district) without bothering to contact Mimlitz, whose name was in the logs next to the IP address. The EPA then passed along the paranoia to a joint state and federal terrorism intelligence center, which issued a report stating that SCADA had been hacked. Oh boy. A media frenzy followed bringing all the brouhaha to Mimlitz's attention. After speaking with the FBI, the massive oversight was identified, papers were shuffled, and everyone went about their day. So, next time you delete all your company's e-mail, or restart the wrong server, remember: at least you didn't almost start World War III. Tap the source link for the full story. [Image courtesy Northackton] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sprint gives Clearwire $1.6 billion golden parachute, lovers of WiMAX rejoice Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:19 AM PST  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:06 AM PST  Barnes & Noble Reports Fiscal 2012 Second Quarter Financial Results EBITDA Increases 21% over the Prior Year Comparable Store Sales Increase 10.9% over the Three Day Holiday Weekend NOOK Tablet™ Becomes Fastest Selling NOOK™ Product NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) today reported sales and earnings for its second quarter ended October 29, 2011. SECOND QUARTER SALES Total sales decreased 0.6% as compared to the prior year, from $1.90 billion to $1.89 billion. Barnes & Noble store ("Retail") sales decreased 1% from $931 million to $918 million, with comparable sales decreasing 0.6%. Physical book sales declined, offset by increases in NOOK products and were positively affected by the liquidation of the remaining Borders stores. Comparable store sales improved each month throughout the quarter. Barnes & Noble College ("College") sales declined 4% from $797 million to $768 million, due to a shift from selling new and used textbooks to lower priced, higher margin textbook rentals. Comparable store sales increased 0.4%. College comparable store sales reflect the retail selling price of a new or used textbook when rented, rather than solely the rental fee received and amortized over the rental period. BN.com sales increased 17% over the prior year, from $177 million to $206 million. Comparable sales increased 38%, on top of a 59% increase a year ago. This increase was driven by continued growth of digital content sales and purchases of award winning NOOK™ devices. BN.com comparable sales reflect the actual selling price for eBooks sold under the agency model rather than solely the commission received. SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 21% over the prior year, from $46 million to $56 million. Retail EBITDA grew from $1.3 million to $21.0 million, benefiting from higher product margins this year. In addition, the prior year included $10 million of litigation and proxy contest costs. College EBITDA declined slightly from $95.3 million to $93.9 million. BN.com EBITDA losses increased from $50.2 million to $58.9 million, driven by planned product markdowns on the recently announced NOOK price adjustments, as well as higher advertising production costs. Total company net loss was $6.6 million for the quarter, or $0.17 per share, as compared to a net loss of $12.6 million last year, or $0.22 per share. Included in the current quarter is a $0.06 loss per share related to the company's preferred stock dividend, in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings per Share. The dividend is deducted from earnings available to common shareholders in the earnings per share calculation and does not impact the company's results of operations. BARNES & NOBLE LAUNCHES NOOK Tablet™ On November 7, 2011, Barnes & Noble launched NOOK Tablet, the company's fastest and lightest tablet with the best in entertainment. msnbc.com cited the product as a "terrific tablet," The Associated Press called it "really impressive" and Forrester Research Inc. called it a "wow product". In the first few weeks of launch, NOOK Tablet has become the fastest selling NOOK product in the company's history. Concurrent with the launch of NOOK Tablet, the company also announced enhancements and new low prices for NOOK Color™ and NOOK Simple Touch™, retailing at $199 and $99, respectively. The newly updated NOOK Simple Touch continues to earn high praise from leading tech review outlets. CNET, PCMag and Laptop Magazine rank it among their top-rated touch eReaders with all three naming it "Editor's Choice" and this week, PC World rated NOOK Simple Touch the #1 eReader (11/29/11). The consolidated NOOK business across all of the company's segments, including sales of digital content, device hardware and related accessories, increased 85% in the second quarter to $220 million, on a comparable sales basis. "The launch of NOOK Tablet, combined with the product enhancements to NOOK Color and $99 NOOK Simple Touch, represents the highest-quality portfolio of digital reading products on the market at incredible values," said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We expect to sell millions of devices during our third quarter, adding to the millions of current NOOK customers. This growing base of customers buying digital content from Barnes & Noble will continue to position us as one of the fastest growing companies in this exploding digital content market, and we project this will generate significant returns on our investments for years to come." HOLIDAY RESULTS TO DATE Over the three-day holiday weekend, comparable store sales increased 10.9% at Barnes & Noble stores, on top of 17% comparable store growth last year. "Based on early sales and traffic results in stores we are encouraged by our prospects for this upcoming holiday," added William Lynch. FULL YEAR GUIDANCE The company expects full year EBITDA to be at the lower end of the previously issued range of $210 million to $250 million. Although the company has seen and continues to expect increases in retail earnings from plan, it plans to invest more heavily in customer acquisition activities to fuel NOOK digital growth. These investments primarily include promotional activity and advertising for NOOK products, as well as technology costs related to developing other opportunities. CONFERENCE CALL A conference call with Barnes & Noble, Inc.'s senior management will be webcast beginning at 10:00 A.M. ET on Thursday, December 1, 2011, and is accessible at www.barnesandnobleinc.com/webcasts. Barnes & Noble, Inc. will report holiday sales on or about January 5, 2012. ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 703 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 637 college bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through BN.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, which also features more than two million titles in its NOOK Bookstore™ (www.bn.com/ebooks). Through Barnes & Noble's NOOK™ eReading product offering, customers can buy and read digital books and content on the widest range of platforms, including NOOK devices, partner company products, and the most popular mobile and computing devices using free NOOK software. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com. NOOK®, NOOK Tablet™, NOOK Simple Touch ™, NOOK 1st Edition™, NOOK 1st Edition Wi-Fi™, NOOK Color™, Reader's Tablet™, PagePerfect™, Best-Text™, Fast Page™, NOOK Books™, NOOK Store™, NOOK Bookstore™, NOOK Newsstand™, NOOK Magazines™, VividView™, ArticleView™, NOOK Newspapers™, NOOK Comics™, NOOK Cloud™, NOOK Apps™, FREE NOOK Reading Apps™, PubIt!™, NOOK Discover™, NOOK Kids™, Read and Play™, Read to Me™, Read and Record™, NOOK Digital Shop™, Read In Store™, More In Store™, NOOK Friends™, LendMe®, NOOK Library™, NOOK Boutiques™, The Barnes & Noble Promise™, NOOK Books en español™, NOOK Study™, Free Friday™, Lifetime Library™ and Read What You Love. Anywhere You Like™ are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Other trademarks referenced in this release are the property of their respective owners. Follow Barnes & Noble on Twitter (www.bn.com/twitter), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/barnesandnoble) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/bnstudio). FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains certain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) and information relating to Barnes & Noble that are based on the beliefs of the management of Barnes & Noble as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the management of Barnes & Noble. When used in this communication, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will" and similar expressions, as they relate to Barnes & Noble or the management of Barnes & Noble, identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of Barnes & Noble with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks, including, among others, the general economic environment and consumer spending patterns, decreased consumer demand for Barnes & Noble's products, low growth or declining sales and net income due to various factors, risk that international expansion will not be successfully achieved or may be achieved later than expected, possible disruptions in Barnes & Noble's computer systems, telephone systems or supply chain, possible risks associated with data privacy, information security and intellectual property, possible work stoppages or increases in labor costs, possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping service, effects of competition, the risk that the expected sales lift from Borders' store closures is not achieved in whole or part, the risk that digital sales growth is less than expectations and the risk that it does not exceed the rate of investment spend, higher-than-anticipated store closing or relocation costs, higher interest rates, the performance of Barnes & Noble's online, digital and other initiatives, the performance and successful integration of acquired businesses, the success of Barnes & Noble's strategic investments, unanticipated increases in merchandise, component or occupancy costs, unanticipated adverse litigation results or effects, product and component shortages, and other factors which may be outside of Barnes & Noble's control, including those factors discussed in detail in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in Barnes & Noble's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-K/A, and in Barnes & Noble's other filings made hereafter from time to time with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those described as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Barnes & Noble or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. Barnes & Noble undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this communication. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carrier IQ: What it is, what it isn't, and what you need to know Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:54 AM PST  How Carrier IQ uses your behavior data remains unclear, and its lack of transparency brings us to where we are today. Like you, we want to know more. We'll certainly continue to pursue this story, but until further developments are uncovered, here's what you need to know. What is Carrier IQ, anyway?Privacy concerns surrounding Carrier IQ were initially brought to light by Trevor Eckhart, a security researcher who became alarmed by the extent of information accessible by the analytic software. In the following video, Trevor presents much of his findings, which seemingly demonstrate Carrier IQ's keystroke logging, location tracking and ability to intercept text messages. Even information that should be transferred only within encrypted sessions is captured in plain text by Carrier IQ. During the entire demonstration, Trevor's phone was in airplane mode, operating only over WiFi. Although his actions were outside the scope of his wireless carrier (Sprint), the software continued to monitor his every key press. On his Android device, it's evident that Carrier IQ is running, even though it does not appear in the list of active processes. Further, the application doesn't respond to "Force Quit" commands, and it's set to startup when Android launches. After watching Trevor's video, it's easy to form opinions that Carrier IQ may be the omnipresent snoop. In some ways, it is. The software has the ability to record nearly every action you perform with your phone. The actual data logged, however, isn't determined by Carrier IQ, but rather its clients. The system enables manufacturers and carriers to examine how phones are used, how they behave and to aid in resolving issues that customers may experience. Clients are able to define specific parameters they wish to track, and also set events that would cause the device to report this information back to Carrier IQ. For instance, a manufacturer may wish to know which currently installed applications use the most battery life, while a carrier may choose to query the devices that experienced a service outage in a particular region during a given time frame. Unfortunately, without Carrier IQ or its clients being explicit in the information it tracks, there remains a very real concern for individual privacy. As of present time, nobody is handling this quite well. The companyCarrier IQ was founded in 2005 in Mountain View, California. It's a privately held operation, with investors including Accel Partners, Bridgescale Partners, Charles River Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Natua Capital. Intel Capital is known to be a prior investor as well, although it's unclear whether it still holds equity in the firm. Carrier IQ's management of these privacy concerns so far has been a mess, to say the least. After Trevor Eckhart reported his findings, which included the company's training materials, Carrier IQ attempted to silence him with a cease-and-desist letter, demanding he replace his analysis with a statement disavowing his research. The company has since retracted its threat and apologized for its behavior, but not without first earning a black eye in the process. The company's newly appointed CEO, Larry Lenhart -- who remains part of Mohr Davidow Ventures -- recently published a video to YouTube explaining the firm's stance on privacy, in which he outright denies that Carrier IQ records keystrokes or provides tracking tools. Perhaps the company is truthful in its assertion, although the statement seems to contradict the design and capabilities of its software. The softwareFor some further insight into Carrier IQ, we'll examine some of these aforementioned training materials that we obtained from Trevor Eckhart's website, along with one of the company's patents concerning data collection. On the analytics end, the software features a portal that allows administrators to create events that would trigger a Carrier IQ-enabled device to "phone home," and choose the data which is to be sent. Alternatively, admins may also submit queries to individual devices, either by using an equipment or subscriber ID -- or, they may choose to query pools of handsets by inserting wildcards into the string. The extent of information available to administrators upon querying a specific device is unknown. Seemingly contradictory to Carrier IQ's assertion that it does not collect keystrokes is the company's patent application #20110106942, published May 5, 2011. An excerpt of the claims follows:
The responseFor its part, Sprint has denied any foul play: HTC also insists it's benign: As the Carrier IQ controversy comes to a boil, it's not only privacy advocates that are taking notice. Paul Ohm, a former prosecutor for the Department of Justice and current professor at the University of Colorado Law School believes the software may violate federal wiretap laws, based on its perceived collection of text messages without users' consent. If so, says Ohm, then there are sufficient grounds for a class action lawsuit. He adds, "In the next days or weeks, someone will sue, and then this company is tangled up in very expensive litigation. It's almost certain."  In an industry where the protection of intellectual property is paramount, it seems that so much of this controversy could have been avoided with a simple opt-in policy. Executed properly, Carrier IQ has the potential to improve the quality of service for millions of mobile customers -- provided that the data collected stays on the up-and-up. What remains clear is that until Carrier IQ or its partners address these privacy concerns with explicit evidence and formal policies to the contrary, this issue isn't going away. What you can do If you're curious about the existence of Carrier IQ on your current Android handset, a simple application from Trevor Eckhart will give you the answer. His Logging TestApp requires that your phone be rooted, but thankfully, once you've gone that far, you've got a decent shot of removing the software from your phone entirely. Perhaps the most direct way to distance yourself from Carrier IQ is by installing a custom ROM that's built from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP.) Alternatively, the pro version of Logging TestApp -- available in the Android Marketplace for $1 -- has also proven successful in most situations. Methods also exist for manually removing Carrier IQ from individual devices, which can be found within the forums of xda-developers. Naturally, we're going to treat this as a developing story, and will continue to provide more information as it becomes known. Update: Jeffrey Nelson of VZW corporate communications has confirmed that Carrier IQ isn't on any of its handsets. [Gavel photo via Shutterstock] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AT&T blows a gasket, calls FCC report 'an advocacy piece, not analysis' Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:36 AM PST  As you'd expect in any legal / political throw down with billions at stake, AT&T feels that the report "cherry-picked facts to support its views, and ignored facts that don't." Hardly shocking, mind you, but it's the clearest evidence yet that the company isn't backing down from its stance. Of course, with a $4 billion break-up fee looming if this all falls apart, it's probably worth a few Hail Marys along the way. As you'd expect, Sprint also took the time to respond to AT&T's response of an FCC report, which responded to both Sprint and AT&T's initial responses. You'll find that, and perhaps other tales of intrigue, after the break. AT&T's response: The following may be attributed to Jim Cicconi, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President of External & Legislative Affairs: We expected that the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction would receive careful, considered, and fair analysis. Unfortunately, the preliminary FCC Staff Analysis offers none of that. The document is so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece, and not a considered analysis. In our view, the report raises questions as to whether its authors were predisposed. The report cherry-picks facts to support its views, and ignores facts that don't. Where facts were lacking, the report speculates, with no basis, and then treats its own speculations as if they were fact. This is clearly not the fair and objective analysis to which any party is entitled, and which we have every right to expect. All any company can properly ask when they present a matter to the government is a fair hearing and objective treatment based on factual findings. The FCC's report makes clear that neither occurred on our merger, at least within the pages of this report. This has not been our past experience with the agency, which lets us hope for and expect better in the future. Here are examples of what we are describing: Expanding LTE to 97% of the U.S. Population The report states, based purely on speculation, that AT&T will expand its LTE deployment from 80% of the population to 97.4% even without the merger. The report says this will occur because AT&T will be forced to do so by competition, despite documents and sworn declarations by AT&T to the contrary. To argue this, the report apparently assumes a high enough level of competition exists in rural areas to compel billions of dollars in investment. Yet the report elsewhere argues that the level of wireless competition in more populated areas of America is so fragile that the merger must be disallowed. At the very least, these conclusions show a logical inconsistency. This discounting of AT&T's firm commitment on broadband deployment is even more inexplicable given that the President of the United States, in his 2011 State of the Union speech, said it was vital for the nation to deploy mobile broadband to 98% of all Americans. It appears the FCC did not inform the President that in their view this was not a needed or worthy objective because it was apparently going to happen anyway. The report also seemed to pay no mind to the FCC's own National Broadband Plan which called the building out of mobile broadband to rural areas a national imperative. Again, the report's argument is that rural buildout is not really an issue to be taken into account in our merger because it will occur anyway. This is at odds with virtually every FCC and Administration statement of the past year when it comes to rural buildout, and in our view demonstrates how far the report's authors were willing to go in order to ignore every single benefit of our merger with T-Mobile. Job Gains Versus Losses Because the report effectively concludes that the billions of additional investment promised by AT&T to deploy 4G LTE mobile broadband service to 55 million more Americans over the next six years will occur anyway, it concludes those billions will create no new jobs and spur no new investment by others. Yet, just two weeks ago the FCC announced that its new $4.5 billion broadband fund, which will help to deploy wireline broadband to a much smaller number of Americans–7 million– over the same time period, will create "approximately 500,000 jobs and $50 billion in economic growth over this period." This notion - that government spending on broadband deployment creates jobs and economic growth, but private investment does not-makes no sense. Conversely, if the FCC had applied to its own broadband fund the same analysis it used for our merger-related investments, the result would be similar-zero new broadband, zero jobs, zero growth. After discounting the job-creating impact of AT&T's LTE and other investments, the report asserts that the merger will cost jobs despite public commitments AT&T has made to address this very concern, including the following: Commitment that the merger will not result in any job losses for U.S.-based wireless call center employees of T-Mobile or AT&T who are on the payroll when the merger closes; Commitment to bring 5,000 wireless call center jobs back to the U.S. that today are outsourced to other countries; Commitment that T-Mobile's non-management employees whose job functions are no longer required because of the merger will be offered another position in the combined company. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's Parent, Has Serious Investment Constraints The report simultaneously discounts the capital investment necessary for AT&T to keep its commitment to build LTE to more than 97% of the U.S. population while speculating that T-Mobile will invest heavily in future years despite direct evidence, and sworn declarations by Deutsche Telekom, indicating that T-Mobile must develop into a self-funding platform due to extensive capital demands in Europe. T-Mobile has no clear path to LTE. Indeed, this path has become even more difficult over the past several months due to explosive data demands on current network systems as well as the rapid pace of innovation and buildout of LTE by T-Mobile's competitors. By doing this, the report blatantly ignores facts, and instead substitutes speculation and hypotheticals – treating them as if they were fact. Any fair person, however, knows the difference. Spectrum The FCC has made a national issue of the spectrum crisis the U.S. faces, and has made addressing this shortage the basis of its requests for incentive auction authority. Yet the report barely mentions any spectrum issue, much less the spectrum crisis previously identified by the FCC, although that is the primary reason driving AT&T's need for this merger. The report seems to discount the significant spectrum constraints faced by AT&T, including an 8,000% increase in data traffic on our network over the past four years, even though we have submitted volumes of evidence documenting these constraints. In addition, the report claims "the record is silent" with respect to capacity constraints faced by T-Mobile, even though Deutsche Telekom submitted a sworn declaration explaining those constraints. Deutsche Telekom also noted that the volume of data traffic on T-Mobile's network has doubled every seven months, with 4G device customers using more than 1 gigabyte of data per month on average. In short, the report's authors find this evidence inconvenient, and simply claim it does not exist. Surely, it is neither fair nor logical for the FCC to trumpet a national spectrum crisis for much of the past year, and then draft a report claiming that two major wireless companies face no such constraints despite sworn declarations demonstrating the opposite. The report also claims the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction would result in an increase in spectrum concentration that is unprecedented in its scale. This is simply inaccurate based on the FCC's own published data, which clearly shows that Sprint-Clearwire has more spectrum today than the combined company would have post-merger. Again, the report manipulates its own spectrum data to support its preferred conclusion. Competition The report's competitive analysis willfully ignores critical facts about the wireless market, and distorts the evidence presented. A few of the many examples: The report acknowledges that in past transactions the FCC has said the market for mobile wireless services is local, and repeated that conclusion in its Mobile Competition Report issued this year. Now, though, the report's authors have concluded it was "not necessary" to assess the impact of the merger in local markets, effectively ignoring competition from, among others, U.S Cellular, Leap, and Metro PCS, all of which have a higher market share than T-Mobile in numerous major markets across the U.S. The FCC's Mobile Competition Report this year concluded that 90% of all Americans have a choice of five or more facilities-based wireless carriers, not including competition from resale providers. Yet the draft report on our merger dismisses the significance of the FCC's own official finding in assessing the competitive impact of our merger. The report understates the spectrum holdings of regional providers. Instead of showing their average spectrum holdings in the markets they serve, the report calculates their average holdings across all markets– including markets they don't serve. This creates the false impression that regional carriers have insufficient spectrum to serve customers in the markets in which they operate. This is an obvious attempt to manipulate data to support the report's conclusion. The report hinges its analysis on its characterization of T-Mobile as a critical "disruptive force" in the industry. But it fails even to mention that for the past two years T-Mobile has been losing customers despite growing demand across the industry; it has no clear path to building an LTE network; and that its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, has said T-Mobile will have to become self-funding. This failing is magnified when one considers that the report treats companies such as Leap and Metro PCS, which have gained market share over this same time period, as though they do not even exist. The report finds that the loss of T-Mobile as an independent purchaser of backhaul could lessen competition in the provision of backhaul. The Justice Department did not even see fit to include this claim in its lawsuit and, when raised by Sprint, it was dismissed by the U.S. District Court as unsupported by any facts. Amazingly, the report does not even acknowledge evidence in the record that just last month Sprint announced that it had awarded backhaul contracts at 25,000 cell sites and "will end up with 25 to 30 significant backhaul providers" and that "it could still build its own backhaul facilities," if necessary. Further, just months ago the FCC concluded, in its separate special access proceeding, that it had insufficient data about available services, numbers of competitors or pricing to reach any conclusions. Yet somehow, the draft report was uninhibited by that same lack of data in supporting Sprint's contentions that the loss of T-Mobile as a purchaser of backhaul affects Sprint's ability to obtain backhaul from the 25-30 sellers of backhaul capabilities with whom Sprint has independently contracted for services. Conclusion We have summarized here only a portion of the infirmities we see in the FCC's report. We would encourage all observers to read the report itself. We believe that the utter absence of balance is clear, and demonstrates that the document lacks all credibility. The decision to issue such a report that has no legal status, without a vote of the Commission, and in a proceeding that has been withdrawn, was also without precedent, and underscores that this was intended more for advocacy and to impact public perceptions. And neither is a proper basis for action by a regulatory agency. If our economy is to recover and once again create jobs, major private-sector investment will be required. Over the past several years, no company has invested more in the United States than AT&T. In our merger with T-Mobile, we made commitments to invest additional billions-investments made possible because of the merger. We also face spectrum constraints of a nature and magnitude faced by no other carrier as we strive to provide services everyone concedes are vital. In this circumstance, we understood the issues such a combination might raise, and we made clear, publicly and privately, our readiness to address those concerns. We are still ready to do so. _________ Sprint's Response: This morning, AT&T issued a statement to media responding to the Federal Communications Commission's report on the company's proposed takeover of T-Mobile. The following statement may be attributed to Vonya McCann, Sprint's Senior Vice President for Government Affairs: "The FCC staff's Analysis and Findings provide a careful, substantive analysis of AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile, consistent with the FCC's role as the independent, expert agency responsible for such merger reviews. Rather than accept the expert agency's Analysis and Findings, AT&T has chosen to make baseless claims about the FCC's process. Let's not forget that it was AT&T who tried to game the process by requesting to withdraw its merger application in the pre-dawn hours of Thanksgiving. AT&T can't have it both ways: either it wanted to have an application that would be judged on the merits or it didn't. We agree with AT&T on one point however: the public should read the Analysis and Findings on AT&T's proposed takeover." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daihatsu Pico concept commuter EV hands-on Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:35 AM PST  Other than that, the Pico's very much just a cute little EV with a driving range of up to 31 miles (with a full two-hour charge), plus a top speed of 31mph. We also dig the touchscreen console inside the car, but with just the two LED bars acting as doors, we sure hope it'll withstand a bit of rain. Video after the break. Zach Honig contributed to this article. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ADATA S101 flash drive brings USB 3.0 speeds, shrugs off shocks and splashes Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:17 AM PST USB flash drives may not be the hottest tech hardware out there, but that doesn't mean they can't look good. ADATA's latest thumb drive refresh packs the same military-spec rough and tumble credentials of last year's S007, but this time it's guarding some USB 3.0 goodness. While the design of the S107 is nigh-on identical to its predecessor, it's now capable of read speeds of up to 100MB per second. The rubberized storage sticks, available in red and blue, will be available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes, although ADATA is still keeping schtum on pricing and release dates. ADATA Launches S107: Waterproof and Shock-Resistant USB Flash Drive November 30 2011, London, UK: ADATA™ Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, has launched a brand new USB 3.0 Flash drive, the S107. The S107 offers a radical new approach to shock-resistant designs and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interfaces, with a sporty exterior and dynamic design – perfect for users who have active lives and a strong sense of style. Engineered to Military Grade shockproof standards, the S107's exterior uses a unique silicon rubber material to ensure your data remains water resistant – perfect for travelling or working in challenging conditions. Performance is lighting quick, with USB 3.0 read speeds of up to 100MB/second – allowing you to back up data almost 3 times quicker than with USB 2.0 interface. The unique curved design is pleasing to both the hand and eye, while the vibrant colour combinations (Scarlet Red and Wild Blue) are guaranteed to generate interest from friends and colleagues. Even so, the design is functional, with a convenient slot at the back of the drive to hold the safety cap when it's not needed. Initial capacities available will be 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traxxas X0-1 RC car can reach 100 mph, decimate your bank account in under five seconds (video) Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:56 AM PST  [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CEO bans email, encourages social networking Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:33 AM PST Who needs email when you have text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and a menagerie of alternative communication tools? Not Atos, a French IT firm that's planning to give email the boot. Over the course of the next eighteen months, CEO Thierry Breton hopes to ween 80,000 employees off of the old standby, pushing text messages, phone calls and face-to-face chats as alternatives. Breton strives to promote a collaborative social network similar to Facebook or Twitter to fill email's void and suffice as an easily accessible global network. Having himself been email sober at work for three years, Breton claims email is inefficient, and a burden to the workflow. Will this new social environment promote efficiency, or will pet photos and status updates become the new spam? If employees can't keep their social inclinations under wraps, Atos may have to resort to the Medieval carrier pigeon. Delivery estimates for long distance range from five days to never. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST  But now the time of reckoning is upon us, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- Android 4.0's mother ship -- is slowly spreading across the globe, its users being treated to this year's smartphone dessert. ICS is one of the largest and most important upgrades we've witnessed from Android since its humble beginnings, making a huge change in user experience as well as a massive number of bullet points on the list of features. Now that we've had the opportunity to take it for a spin, where does it stand in the ranks of mobile operating systems? Follow us beneath as we dig into the layers of this sweet sandwich. |
On skins and stock ICS | Return to top |
In beginning our deep-dive of ICS, we'll be quick to point out that, much like the HTC-made Nexus One and the Samsung Nexus S preceding it, the Galaxy Nexus is running the pure vanilla and completely unskinned iteration of the OS it's ushering in. This means we're looking at ICS the way Google designed it, and not an OEM's interpretation such as on Samsung's TouchWiz, HTC's Sense or Motorola's not-so-Blur. Just as before, different skins lying on top of ICS are like having 31 flavors of ice cream: your experience with a Neapolitan-flavored sandwich may vary widely from one with Rocky Road inside.
We won't pretend to know what changes these OEMs will make to the user experience, but rest assured that they'll be just as rampant as ever. While we're definitely fond of the improvements Google's made to ICS as a whole, it'll be intriguing to see how widely the interface differs from phone to phone.
Booting up | Return to top |
Do you remember the last time you booted up a brand new Android device? It was a sweet moment, we'll bet, and the setup procedure remains largely unchanged, as you still have to either sign up for a Google account or throw in your existing login codes. New to the process, however, is the option to tie a Google+ account to your device as well and lets you enter credit card information for Market purchases. You're also given the choice of watching a tutorial meant to show you the ICS ropes. Whether you choose to view it or not, your phone's now good to go. The handset begins to sync in the background after you exit the bootup menus, a process that will take several minutes; we strongly recommend you connect your device to a WiFi network during setup, since ICS will hook you up with email, contacts, calendar entries, books, Picasa albums and Chrome bookmarks -- all data-intensive activities that eat gigabytes for breakfast. Fortunately you can still dive right into the enjoyment of your new phone without having to wait until the syncing is all done. Just don't panic if Bob Johnson isn't in your list of contacts yet.
Here's a handy tip if you want to take advantage of ICS's accessibility features (discussed in more detail later): when you boot up the phone for the first time and reach the Getting Started page, put your finger on the top left corner of the screen and draw a clockwise square. Doing so will activate all of the accessibility features and take you directly into a tutorial on how to use them.
User interface | Return to top |
The good news: the user interface has been improved on ICS, with a litany of new elements geared to make it significantly better. Still, whether or not you're coming from an Android background, there's going to be a learning curve. That doesn't seem like such a terrible prospect, but our geek dreams of an OS without the need for proprietary OEM skins won't get any closer to becoming a reality -- on the contrary, we'll likely see plenty of tweaks made by vendors in attempt to "enhance" the user experience.
One of the first things you'll notice when making the journey to ICS is the color scheme. Gone is the lime green-on-black theme present on Gingerbread, and in its place comes a subtle light blue-on-gray motif. There are five home panels at your disposal, and there's no option to add or take away screens. Along the bottom is a "favorites tray" capable of holding up to four shortcuts -- besides the standard app tray button, of course -- doubling the previous version's layout of two (phone and browser). And while stock Gingerbread wouldn't allow those icons to be swapped, ICS does -- heck, you can even put folders here or just get rid of all of the apps altogether. The fact is, you're now given the choice, something we deeply appreciate.
You'll notice that a long-press of the home screen still brings up a menu, but it's only associated with wallpapers now. No longer will you find access to widgets, folders and shortcuts here; widgets and shortcuts are now located in the same space as the app tray, and folders can be created easily without the long press.
While we're on the subject, folders have definitely graduated in design, transforming from ugly manila covers to transparent circles showing your apps inside, piled on top of one another. In fact, it almost has a look reminiscent of -- dare we say -- iOS. Sure, there's the obvious difference in shape, but all it takes to create a new folder is the act of dragging one icon on top of another. Once established, it's easy to rename your new creation.
The app tray's definitely grown and matured to sport a Honeycomb-style look and feel. Instead of one continuous panel that you navigate by scrolling up and down, the menu actually consists of multiple panels that you navigate by swiping left and right (a la TouchWiz). Long-pressing an app from here will bring up a birds-eye view of your five home screens, as well as a couple options above them: uninstall and app info. Dragging the app to either option will trigger the appropriate action.
The widgets galleries can be accessed by touching the second tab at the top of the app tray, or by swiping the panels from right to left until you get there. Several widgets are now resizeable -- a feature present in Honeycomb but not in anything 2.x or earlier -- and can be adjusted dynamically as soon as they begin taking up real estate on your screen.
Another welcome addition to the ICS scene is the row of virtual navigation buttons on the bottom: back, home and task switcher. The menu button -- mandatory to all pre-ICS phones -- is completely gone, as is the search (a moot point, given the standard Google search bar on the top of each home panel as well as search options in most apps). We doubt that they'll be missing from every ICS-enabled device, though; in fact, we'd be more shocked if we didn't see a virtual search button pop up on a proprietary skin rather than the other way around. We're also curious to see how the menu button on legacy devices (that is, phones upgrading from Gingerbread that still utilize hardware or capacitive keys) will be applied to ICS, however, because the stock OS is designed to work specifically without that button getting involved. Ultimately, we can see the direction Google's heading here with these new soft keys: offering virtual buttons will allow for larger displays and minimize the number of physical keys lining the outside of the phone, and we get the sense that the company envisions a future with none whatsoever.
Unlike previous versions of Android, soft keys on the stock OS don't offer long-press shortcuts. The task switcher, once accessed by holding down the home button, now shares an equal amount of real estate on the bottom row of virtual keys. A quick press of the switcher brings up a vertical list of all of your running programs, displayed in a way that will make Honeycomb users giddy. Each app on the list can be individually removed by simply swiping it to the left or right, but now's the perfect time to offer a disclaimer: this isn't a guaranteed task killer. Some running programs close completely, but a majority of those that have background network access won't actually be shut off by simply swiping them away. The only way you can be absolutely positive that your app's no longer running behind the scenes is to go into the Apps section of your Settings menu and manually stopping the process.
The notification bar also got a facelift. It's still accessed the same way as before -- sliding your finger down from the top -- but you can also reach it on the phone's lock screen if you prefer (more on that later). Much to our satisfaction, we were happy to see that rather than only being able to clear all of our notifications in one fell swoop, most of them can be swept away one by one with a flick of the finger to the left or right; you can still clear them all out at the same time, however, by hitting the "x" in the top right corner.
Oh, and what about easy access to the settings menu? The notification bar's got it at the very top. It's an obscure icon and easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for, but after we got used to its new location and look, we discovered it was much easier to get to settings now because we could reach it from any app we wanted to, rather than having to jump out of the app first.
Lock Screen | Return to top |
By now, you're probably starting to get a full sense of the scope of how much Android's UI has actually changed, and it certainly doesn't stop there. Even the lock screen saw a remodeling, and it's definitely for the better. Upon first glance you'll find the date and time laid out in Roboto, ICS's new signature font (an incredibly clean-looking one at that), with a simple lock icon near the bottom. You can slide the lock to the left or right -- right taking you into the standard home screen, and left taking you directly to the camera (which lends additional aid to Google's goal of taking a picture on a moment's notice, given the camera's professed lack of shutter lag). Slide your finger down from the top and the notification menu pops out -- and yes, you can access all of those notifications directly from the lock screen, which means you're able to check emails, voicemail messages and anything else within seconds of turning your phone back on.
If extra security is what you need, ICS still offers you the usual suspects of PIN and pattern lock, though you sacrifice direct access to the camera and notification bar. But Google threw a unique technological nugget into its latest OS in Face Unlock, which theoretically cranks the security knob on your phone up to eleven.
Face Unlock
It's pretty easy to forget all about every other feature or UI enhancement in ICS considering the amount of buzz being generated by Face Unlock. We'll admit, we were pretty enticed by the feature as well at first, but let's not kid ourselves here: it's a gimmick. Clever, sure, but it's not as secure as you might think it is.
Here's how it works: go to the security settings, select screen lock and choose "face unlock." The camera then memorizes your face -- or at least, the shape of it -- and asks you to submit a PIN code or pattern lock just in case it doesn't recognize you, which honestly happens more than we'd like. In fact, we saw both extremes: our faces typically weren't recognized if we angled our head slightly away from the camera or if we tried to unlock the phone in low light, but the phone easily recognized our face in the mirror and when wearing glasses. Even worse, we were able to gain access to the phone simply by holding our picture up to the camera.
Face Unlock still needs some tweaking before it's ready for primetime, but the feature is still a clever gimmick that you can show off to your friends -- provided you're in a room with adequate lighting, that is. From a software perspective, we believe the technology will gradually get smarter and catch up to various PC facial recognition programs, but for now we'd recommend a good old-fashioned password to keep your sensitive information away from everyone else.
Core Apps | Return to top |
Android's made it a point to include several core apps in each edition of its firmware, and ICS is no exception. These apps, which comprise of what many consider to be the absolute essentials, can be found in the revamped app tray -- and for easier access, you'll notice a "Google" folder on the main home screen panel that includes a healthy portion of apps offering Mountain View's services.
Many of ICS's core apps have evolved from their previous iterations, allowing these programs to have complete synergy with the new user interface. No doubt they look and feel like they belong right at home on Android 4.0, and let's not forget about the extra functionality they bring to the table. Here's how each core app was enhanced with Ice Cream Sandwich.
Phone
Yeah, it has a dialpad and you can push numbers and make it call people. But what else can you do in the phone app? The first and foremost improvement is called "quick response," which allows you to reject an incoming call and fire back a text message letting the caller know that you're otherwise predisposed. Four different messages are allowed, and you can stick with the preset list of message options or swap them out with your own custom ones.
The phone app itself has also received an ICS makeover, with smooth black and blue tones throughout, simplistic icon-based tabs on the top bar along with search and options on the bottom. Moving between tabs is now just a matter of swiping right or left. The contact tab now offers a unified listing, integrating all of your social networks and Google services (such as Gmail and Google+) into one crazy mix. Fortunately ICS gives you the chance to be picky and opt out of specific services you don't care to add into the list. High-res photos are also now allowed in the contacts tab, which means that you have a large and high-quality image of your friend or family member getting all up in your face when they call you.
Then there's the People app, which also offers a unified landing spot for all of your friends, family and acquaintances, but also adds a little more pizzazz than its phone app counterpart: you'll see the latest status update from your social-savvy associates. Not only that, clicking on the person's name will bring you into a contact card with multiple panels that looks an awful lot like Windows Phone. The first screen shows all of the person's connection information -- complete with links to their social networking profiles -- and the second one displays a list of their most recent statuses. This makes for a well-rounded contacts app, for sure, but there's just one small oddity about it all: Ice Cream Sandwich currently lacks the ability to merge or link Facebook contacts (more on this later).
Gmail
Liked Gmail on your Gingerbread device before? It was pretty good before, but we have a hunch that you'll love it even more now. For one, you can actually create new messages without having to press an options key. In fact, most of Gmail's most used features have been brought forward to the app's forefront in ICS.
In the inbox you'll see an extra line of text for each email, showing off the first few words. This is an improvement over Gingerbread's version, which merely shows the subject and sender, leaving the actual body of the message as much of a surprise as a birthday present. When you get into the individual email, you're given plenty of options, such as assigning labels, replying, marking it as an important message (or spam, for that matter), marking as unread and archiving / deleting the email. When you're ready to the next message, all you have to do is swipe to the left or right to move along to another email conversation.
Also included in ICS is the opportunity to read your Gmail when you're offline. By default the phone will sync email from the last 30 days, but the amount of time you prefer can easily be customized. This is ever-so handy for catching up on your email when you're in Airplane Mode or just simply not within range of a tower. We also noticed that messages had very little lag when loading. The only thing we were disappointed in was the app's lack of pinch-to-zoom support for images -- odd, since the functionality was added to the new calendar. Aside from this, however, we enjoyed the improvements made in ICS and will find it difficult to review Gingerbread handsets after playing with the new firmware and seeing what it's capable of.
Browser
It's hard to know where to begin with the browser, as so many features and elements of its performance were affected by the upgrade. Besides the temporary omission of mobile Flash (which we'll discuss in more detail later), we had a hard time finding something to dislike. First, the ICS browser has certainly sped up; while benchmarks aren't a tremendous indicator of real-life performance, we were still quite happy to see SunSpider 9.1 bring up a time of 1,850ms. To offer perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S II, another well-oiled machine with hefty oomph underneath the hood, rarely dips down below 3,000. The Acid3 test on the Galaxy Nexus also scored a perfect 100 / 100.
Google's also added the ability to save webpages to read whenever you lack an internet connection -- like a native version of Instapaper -- for those times when the train goes through a tunnel or you want to do some reading midflight. Sadly, there's no way to specify exactly how many links are cached, but we can live with that. Chrome bookmarks are now synced with the ICS browser as well, and you can also take advantage of a home-brewed incognito mode when you don't want to show your browsing history.
Another new feature in the browser is an option to request the desktop version of sites; we find this concern often when navigating to Engadget, since we normally have to scroll all the way to the bottom of our mobile site to switch over to the desktop flavor. Having our browser do this automatically makes for a much faster and more enjoyable experience while surfing the net.
Lastly, check out the Labs option in the browser settings, where you'll discover a clever UI element that's not thrown into the browser by default. When enabled, you can pull up a three-button menu by swiping your finger from the left or right edge of the screen. This semi-circular menu gives you fast access to your open browser tabs (by the way, you can now have 16 open simultaneously), settings and the hidden URL bar at the top. Traditional Android users may not prefer it, but we found ourselves quickly growing attached to this new method of navigating around the browser. Tip: holding down the tab button while in this mode will prompt a small menu to pop up on the screen that shows your other open windows without having to leave the site you're currently viewing (seen above).
Calendar
webOS may be having some rather tough times lately -- to put it mildly -- but Android 4.0 has borrowed some great design elements from its calendar (given Matias Duarte's heritage, should we be surprised?). The ICS datebook now supports pinch-to-zoom capability, which lets you expand or compress your appointments and helps you navigate to specific time slots more easily, and it also offers color coding to differentiate between your various calendars. You can also flip between view types: day, week, month and agenda can all be viewed.
Google+
Hangouts. In ICS's version of Google+, you're now able to join hangouts -- a feature we've always felt was wrongly missing from the app. The ten-person limit applies here, but you'll be able to do video group chats with your friends or associates. Keep in mind, however, that just because you can join 'em doesn't mean you can create 'em. Perhaps that's a bullet point on the list of features that just didn't make the cut in time.
As mentioned earlier, Google's definitely plugging its social networking service into more nooks and crannies on the OS by prompting you to sync your Google+ account from the start, infusing status updates with the People app, integrating it into image sharing (as well as several other sharing options scattered throughout the OS) and offering new widgets for the home panels. The company's determined to make its new service work, and we can't think of a better way to do that than expose the heck out of it to millions of Android users.
Talk
We'd mention that the Google Talk app has a completely new design to fit with ICS, but let's face it -- nearly every native app on the new version of Android has been revamped, so this isn't any new revelation by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from UI, however, ICS has spiced up Talk's video chat service by adding image stabilization as well as a few fun (read: pointless) live visual effects that we'll cover in slightly more detail in the camera section.
Music Player
Keyboard and text input | Return to top |
Google didn't let the keyboard off the hook in this update, and we're excited about it. The 'board itself looks quite similar, but there's a lot more horsepower pulling the wagon. ICS adds spellchecking, in which a red underline indicates a misspelled word and gives you suggestions on replacements. It delivers an improved autocorrect -- which shows several possible word ideas in a brand new row above the keyboard -- and prediction, which tries to guess the words you're trying to type as you go along, and detects double-typed words, letters or spaces you left out as well as other various errors. Double-tapping a word highlights it and brings up a "replace" option that offers suggestions from the dictionary. You can still add your own words to the phone's dictionary, and even better, third-party spellcheckers and dictionaries are now supported in ICS.
Our relationship with the stock Android keyboard has always been hit-or-miss up to this point, but the latest revision is certainly making us a believer. We found that the new autocorrect functionality allowed us to type faster and with greater confidence.
As before, you can also utilize voice recognition to type for you. But this time around, Mountain View's boasting some tremendous server power to back up its input engine; ICS offers continuous voice recognition, which means that the mic is continually listening for your voice and will update your message as you talk. Previously, you had to wait until your sentence was completely done before the engine stopped to process your statement and push out what it thought you said.
We also discovered that the new Android is also able to understand punctuation, which was a very exciting prospect to us: instead of having to insert question marks and commas manually (defeating the purpose of using voice dictation services), we could just say the word "comma." To our delight, the program even dictated smiley face emoticons. The voice recognition service has improved over Gingerbread's offering, but we still had to exercise a fair amount of patience -- it's far from perfect, as it still occasionally missed words that we stated loud and clear, and contractions didn't always come through as we expected. Last (but certainly not least), since voice input is largely controlled on Google's side, a solid data connection is a must in order to fully take advantage of the service. No internet at all where you're at? Sorry, the voice recognition doesn't work at all and the dedicated icon on the keyboard is greyed out.
Camera, galleries and media editors | Return to top |
Camera / camcorder UI
It won't take a very long time for stock Gingerbread users to become accustomed to ICS's camera, as the look and feel has largely remained untouched. There are, however, several key differences that will make you glad to jump to 4.0.
The most heavily advertised feature of the new camera is its lack of shutter lag, and it really does work -- as long as you don't want to autofocus first. While a quick press of the shutter button generates an image in virtually no time at all, it's not guaranteed to be in focus unless you actually give it a second or two to do the job. Speaking of which, tap-to-focus and face recognition are both in full swing with ICS.
Other new additions to the camera include a zoom slide bar on the right -- this replaces the standard set of options found in Android 2.3, though a press of the settings key will slide the zoom away to make room for them -- and panorama mode, accessible by pressing the toggle in the bottom right corner. Once you activate panorama, you just need to press the shutter button, pan your phone left or right, and hit the shutter again once you're done. Presto, your images are getting stitched together.
When switching over to the camcorder (also accessed using the same toggle in the lower right corner), you'll have a few new items of interest to play around with. The first one is the set of visual effects that can be added to your recording as it happens. These effects either involve distorting faces (such as buggy eyes, squeezed faces or abnormally large mouths) or throwing in a background picture behind the person you're shooting video of -- similar to what you'd see on a green screen. Also new is a time lapse option.
Galleries and photo editor
Along with a redesign, photo galleries now come included with a homegrown editor. You can easily crop images, add effects and filters, rotate and flip. Fortunately, the newly-edited images won't overwrite the originals when you save them. Screenshots taken with your phone can be edited as well.
Movie Studio
Honeycomb's Movie Studio has migrated to ICS, and much like its counterpart, it's ideally suited for creating fun little video clips rather than turning into a mobile substitute to your computer's movie editor. You can combine videos together, shorten or lengthen each individual clip, and top it off with a music track of your choice. It's simple, but not laden with features. As phones become more powerful, we'd like to see the number of editing tools increase, effectively turning our Android devices into fully functional movie-making machines.
Android Beam | Return to top |
Ah, the term just sounds so futuristic, doesn't it? In our heads, we associate it with Scotty from Star Trek or sharks with laser beams. Either way, Google's dead-set on bringing the future closer to our grasp by delivering NFC capabilities to the mainstream crowd, and we can't think of any better method of doing so than by loading it onto each and every one of the 500,000 Android devices activated every day. Don't get us wrong: NFC is not a stranger to the OS (Google Wallet and Tags are already offered), but its functionality is still somewhat limited and unknown. Android Beam, introduced in ICS, wants to slap the general public in the face with a large helping of the technology.
Beam gives ICS users the opportunity to share apps, URLs, videos, contacts and directions -- not to mention anything third-party developers can dream up, since they have access to the API -- with another user's NFC-enabled device. Here's an example of how simple the process is: find the content or information you want to share, put your handset back-to-back with somebody else's, and Beam will prompt you to touch the screen to initiate the data transfer. Contrary to all of our experience with science fiction TV shows and movies, however, the beam doesn't make a pew pew sound when transferring information from one phone to another.
While we didn't have two Galaxy Nexus units to test the full bi-directional scope of the Beam's abilities, we were able to take advantage of our Nexus S' tag-reading feature to initiate one-way transfers. Apps and websites pushed to the S like a charm, though nothing else worked. YouTube videos pretended to move over, but the tags showed up blank on the other side. Granted, given the limited scope of the phone's NFC powers, none of this should come as much of a surprise. We'll find this feature to become incredibly useful once more ICS phones come with the tech built in, but its reach is massively small at the time of this writing.
Miscellaneous | Return to top |
Data monitoring
So you're not one of those lucky saps that still has unlimited data, eh? Data management on Gingerbread was an project that resulted in one or two pieces of bloatware taking up valuable virtual space, but ICS will let you access your overall data usage, warn you when you approach a custom boundary and set limits based on your current plan. Have a 2GB plan? You can tell the OS to warn you when you reach 1.5GB, and then have the phone shut off access to the internet once you hit your monthly data allowance. You can also tell specific apps not to collect data or incur usage when it's running in the background, or just restrict those apps to only do so when you're in a WiFi zone.
We do need to make one critical disclaimer here, however: the numbers offered up by ICS may not accurately reflect the same numbers your service provider offers up. So don't rely fully upon Android to do all the dirty work for you -- if you believe you're quickly approaching your limit, we still recommend checking with your carrier to make sure you're safe.
Screenshots
We were absolutely elated when we learned Android 4.0 would add the ability to take screenshots natively. While a couple Gingerbread devices somehow found a way to make this happen, the fact that it's officially sanctioned in stock Android is rather joyous. Previously, taking screenshots was a lengthy process that involved plugging your phone into a computer, making sure the right software was downloaded and Mars and Jupiter had to be aligned with Mercury in a perfectly straight line in the evening sky.
With ICS, simply hold down the screen lock / power button and the volume down button for around one second. The shot magically goes into its very own screenshot folder, and we were able to drag and drop the files from there onto our computer with absolute ease.
Disable unwanted apps
Dost our eyes deceive us? Could it be? Yes! Ice Cream Sandwich -- in its pure vanilla state, at least -- lets you disable virtually any app on your phone. That's right, even the essential ones that you might actually use from time to time. Granted, these apps haven't actually gone anywhere, so they're still taking up storage space. They are, however, at least out of your hair.
The wild card (as you probably expect) is OEM skins and carrier customization. We can easily see HTC quietly dismissing this feature -- among others -- in Sense 4.0. So this is absolutely a step in the right direction for stock devices, but what will happen to every other phone or tablet that becomes subject to the manufacturer's desires?
Easter Egg
How much do those clever folks on the Android team love easter eggs? Enough to include one in each successive update, at least. A picture of "zombie art" by Jack Larson was hidden in Gingerbread, and Honeycomb featured a bee. ICS followed suit with an image of the Android robot dressed up in an Ice Cream Sandwich, which grows in size when you long-press it until it transforms into a Nyan Cat-style animation. We love easter eggs as much as anyone else, but it's not really hidden anymore: each of these gems can be found by simply going to the "About phone" option in the settings menu and pressing the Android version repeatedly until the robot pops up. It's not a well-kept secret anymore, to say the least.
Downfalls and shortcomings | Return to top |
Flash Player
Wait, what? The effect of Adobe's recent decision to silence mobile Flash may seem to have reached ICS, though the company's assured us that even though the Player faces an eventual death, it has one more update left in it and it's for sure coming to Android 4.0 before the end of the year.
There's a slightly devious workaround to this problem, though it isn't foolproof. To our delight, we found that we could technically sideload the Flash Player 11.1 APK onto the Galaxy Nexus -- tragically, however, it didn't seem to work out quite as well as we'd hoped, as it only worked on a scant few Flash-enabled sites. But hey, it was worth a shot, right?
Facebook syncing
We briefly mentioned some concerns with Facebook earlier in the review, and it's worth circling back on them. In our time with ICS, it grew apparent that the social network's experience on the new firmware is a bit behind. Facebook contacts cannot be synced into your address book or People app; when attempting to access your account through the settings menu, you're greeted by an option for Facebook on the list, but pressing it just takes you back to the previous screen. We imagine this will be worked out in due time, and if nothing else, we'll likely see OEMs come up with a workaround of their own.
Legacy apps
No need to act terribly surprised here, given how fresh ICS is out of the virtual box, but many legacy apps optimized for older versions of Android may not work as well as we'd like them to -- at least, not for a little while. The new OS smell still eminates from Android 4.0, which means the vast majority of developers are hustling to get their apps ready for primetime. Since it's too early to get a firm grasp on how well these applications will perform once they're optimized for ICS, we'll hold off on the final judgment of third-party app performance until a later date.
No Google Wallet... yet
In what seems like an odd step backwards, Google Wallet -- an NFC-based mobile payment service available on the Samsung Nexus S 4G -- is completely missing on the Galaxy Nexus. We have a sneaky suspicion that this will eventually show up on at least a few ICS phones, but Google has remained quiet on the matter for now.
USB mass storage
We had a brief moment of geeky panic as we fired up our Galaxy Nexus only to discover that USB mass storage was nowhere to be found, but rather only supported MTP / PTP file transfers. While we originally assumed this was a restriction based on ICS itself, it was determined that the firmware does indeed support it -- on devices that offer expandable storage, anyways, a feature the Galaxy Nexus lacks.
What's available to developers | Return to top |
So we've covered the visible portion of ICS at length, but haven't taken much time to dive deep into what types of features developers will be able to take advantage of behind the scenes. Here are just a few of the various APIs and other services made available in Android 4.0.
WiFi Direct
WiFi Direct is a relatively new concept for phones, one that hasn't been highly utilized. Essentially, the tech enables devices to connect directly to one another without needing a router or internet connection to act as a middleman. In other words, it gives your Android phone another method of sharing pictures, files or just about anything else with your desktop computer -- but it can also connect a group of gamers, stream media content from your ICS phone to an audio player, print files and so on.
Hardware Acceleration
To be clear, hardware acceleration was an option made available for Honeycomb tablets and has finally been expanded to cover phones in ICS. Ultimately, Google's added framework support for hardware acceleration in both versions so that developers can enable it on their apps simply by adding a single line of code.
Bluetooth Profiles
Google has included support for connecting to Bluetooth Health Device Profile (HDP) devices, which means ICS is capable of hooking up to heart monitors, sensors in hospitals and a whole load of various wireless medical devices. Also included in Android 4.0 is support for Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile 1.6.
USB game controller and HDMI support
As it turns out, our future game consoles may not actually be standalone machines at all, but rather our actual phones hooked up to a TV via HDMI. This could be made possible through ICS's support for external USB game controllers -- using a USB-to-microUSB adapter, of course -- and the usual HDMI to go along with it. This was enabled for Honeycomb tablets, but this is the first time we've seen the ability on Android handsets as well.
Visual Voicemail
Confusion erupted when the Samsung Galaxy Nexus came out with visual voicemail inexplicably missing from the firmware -- rightfully so, since we were all originally told in Hong Kong that the functionality would be included in ICS. After a bit of clarification on Google's part, we now understand that this feature is actually buried deep within Android 4.0 in the form of an API. This way, developers can work closely with carriers or other third parties in order to take advantage of it.
Accessibility
ICS has made some progress on the accessibility front as well. Earlier we talked about how to enable the functionality directly from the setup screen, and our above video dives deeper into exactly what you can do. Specifically, ICS brings a new explore-by-touch mode that offers audible feedback on any part of the screen you may touch. Touching an icon, for instance, prompts the phone to tell you what you're touching -- but it doesn't activate that icon until you press it a second time.
A web script-based screen reader on the internet browser can read out content and assist the user in navigating websites. The font size can be increased and inverted screen rendering is now allowed.
Devs also now have access to accessibility APIs such as Text-to-Speech and explore-by-touch.
Sensors
With ICS comes support for two new sensors: ambient temperature and relative humidity. Yes, we're one step closer to turning our phones into tricorders, and we couldn't be happier about it.
Enterprise
Work in a facility that doesn't allow cameras? Finding a phone of any decent quality that doesn't have at least one camera is incredibly difficult these days, making your options a bit limited and frustrating. ICS adds Device Policy Manager, which can remotely disable your phone's camera. There's also an API for keychains (encrypted credential storage) as well as one for VPN clients, which offers even more options for developers to appeal to the Enterprise.
Other APIs included in ICS
We can't include every single new API in our review without turning it into four or five separate articles, so we'll just offer a few small tidbits.
Additional APIs for the camera give access to continuous focus, ZSL exposure, image zoom and even offers devs the ability to capture high-res photos while taking video. Apps can also now set custom metering "regions" and then adjust exposure and white balance dynamically within those regions.
A new social API gives third parties (primarily social networking apps, we presume) the opportunity to integrate into the address book. Other APIs are now available for the calendar, Android Beam, low-level streaming media and audio remote controls.
Honeycomb API
There are plenty of elements introduced in Honeycomb that still hadn't seen the light of day in a phone, so ICS includes several of them in the package. In addition to the features we've discussed already, here are a few more: renderscript 3D graphics, HTTP live streaming, improved screen-support API, property-based animation, MTP / PTP file transfers and support for RTP.
Wrap-up | Return to top |
If you argue that Ice Cream Sandwich isn't the largest incremental update to the Android platform since its birth, you're probably going to lose the fight. Not even counting the number of features added to 4.0, the changes in UI alone are enough to take your breath away. It's modern and refreshing, and the user experience is more polished than its predecessors, but we believe that newcomers to Google's mobile ecosystem won't find it quite as intuitive as competing operating systems as the tech-savvy and power-hungry crowd that has grown accustomed to Android in the past. Regardless of previous knowledge, this will probably be water under the bridge soon enough, as manufacturers push out devices with customized skins.
The interface isn't perfect, and several of its new features still have a beta feel (we're looking at you, Face Unlock), but Android 4.0 appears to do exactly what it set out to do: merge the best of two worlds into an attractive package. It's a gorgeous OS that offers great performance and -- for the most part -- doesn't feel like a half-baked effort. Factoring the new functionality, ICS effectively throws a one-two punch of mobile wonderment in our face. Ice Cream Sandwich feels like a natural evolution for Android, and we have a feeling Matias Duarte & Co. are just getting started.
Zach Lutz and Myriam Joire contributed to this review.
Galaxy S II Skyrocket rides in on a white horse for AT&T on December 4th
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 07:45 AM PST
Samsung's mSATA PM830 is eight grams of pure SSD
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 07:29 AM PST
The newest member of Samsung's 6Gb/s PM830 family of SSDs is designed to sit inside the Ultrabooks of 2012, which means it's had go through some slimming down. The mSATA drive uses 20 nanometer NAND for face-melting speed, but is crammed into a 50.95 x 30 x 3.8mm package, weighing only eight grams. The drive will comfortably read 500MB/s and write 260MB/s on a clear day, six times faster than a comparable HDD. It'll allow Windows to boot in under ten seconds and transfer "five DVD files" (roughly 45GB) in around a minute. The drives also come with 256-bit AES for those moments when your Ultrabook gets stolen, or more likely, floats away in the wind. 64GB, 128GB and 256GB variants will roll out to OEMs shortly but we expect a consumer version to be announced shortly for everyone with some courage and a screwdriver.
Samsung Announces High-Performance mSATA SSDs for Ultra-Slim Notebook PCs
SEOUL, Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, today announced volume production of SSDs (solid state drives) that support the Mini-Serial ATA (mSATA) interface. The drives are designed for use in ultra-slim notebooks such as Ultrabook™ PCs.
"Samsung's compact mSATA SSDs will provide performance of the highest quality in helping to deliver the advanced ultra-slim PCs that consumers have been wanting," said Myungho Kim, vice president of memory marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung plans to continue providing timely delivery of advanced SSD solutions, while preserving its leadership position in the SSD market for notebook PCs."
Combining Samsung's new high-performance mSATA SSDs with the latest multi-core processors will help PC manufacturers to substantially improve performance of their Ultrabook-class portable PCs up to that of notebook PCs, in meeting ever-increasing consumer needs.
The new Samsung mSATA SSDs* will be available in 256, 128 and 64 gigabyte (GB) densities as main storage devices, and also at 32GB for caching. They measure 50.95 x 30 x 3.8 millimeters and weigh a mere eight grams.
The new SSDs will be part of the highly popular Samsung PM830 product family that was introduced earlier this year. They make use of Samsung's advanced 20 nanometer class** NAND flash memory components which incorporate the toggle DDR interface.
Utilizing high-performance SATA 6Gb/s controllers based on Samsung's own technology, the new mSATA SSDs can operate at the industry's highest sequential read and write speeds of 500 megabytes per second (MB/s) and of 260MB/s respectively, under optimum conditions. This is, more than six times the speed of hard disk drives typically offering a data transfer rate of 80MB/s. The Samsung SSDs also enable faster system boot-ups (in the 10-second range) and will transmit five DVD files in about a minute.
In addition, the Samsung mSATA SSDs feature an advanced hardware-based security solution including 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) protection, which will prevent unauthorized access to data on a lost or stolen notebook PC.
Beginning this year, the market for Ultrabook-class mobile PCs has been growing rapidly and is expected to expand beyond that of tablet PCs as early as next year due to outstanding performance characteristics, more advanced processors and use of the Windows 8 operating system. According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, the Ultrabook share of global notebook shipments will exceed 40 percent in 2015.
For more information about Samsung Green SSDs, visit www.samsung.com/GreenMemory and www.samsung.com/us/oem-solutions.
SEOUL, Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, today announced volume production of SSDs (solid state drives) that support the Mini-Serial ATA (mSATA) interface. The drives are designed for use in ultra-slim notebooks such as Ultrabook™ PCs.
"Samsung's compact mSATA SSDs will provide performance of the highest quality in helping to deliver the advanced ultra-slim PCs that consumers have been wanting," said Myungho Kim, vice president of memory marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung plans to continue providing timely delivery of advanced SSD solutions, while preserving its leadership position in the SSD market for notebook PCs."
Combining Samsung's new high-performance mSATA SSDs with the latest multi-core processors will help PC manufacturers to substantially improve performance of their Ultrabook-class portable PCs up to that of notebook PCs, in meeting ever-increasing consumer needs.
The new Samsung mSATA SSDs* will be available in 256, 128 and 64 gigabyte (GB) densities as main storage devices, and also at 32GB for caching. They measure 50.95 x 30 x 3.8 millimeters and weigh a mere eight grams.
The new SSDs will be part of the highly popular Samsung PM830 product family that was introduced earlier this year. They make use of Samsung's advanced 20 nanometer class** NAND flash memory components which incorporate the toggle DDR interface.
Utilizing high-performance SATA 6Gb/s controllers based on Samsung's own technology, the new mSATA SSDs can operate at the industry's highest sequential read and write speeds of 500 megabytes per second (MB/s) and of 260MB/s respectively, under optimum conditions. This is, more than six times the speed of hard disk drives typically offering a data transfer rate of 80MB/s. The Samsung SSDs also enable faster system boot-ups (in the 10-second range) and will transmit five DVD files in about a minute.
In addition, the Samsung mSATA SSDs feature an advanced hardware-based security solution including 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) protection, which will prevent unauthorized access to data on a lost or stolen notebook PC.
Beginning this year, the market for Ultrabook-class mobile PCs has been growing rapidly and is expected to expand beyond that of tablet PCs as early as next year due to outstanding performance characteristics, more advanced processors and use of the Windows 8 operating system. According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, the Ultrabook share of global notebook shipments will exceed 40 percent in 2015.
For more information about Samsung Green SSDs, visit www.samsung.com/GreenMemory and www.samsung.com/us/oem-solutions.
Nissan demonstrates Leaf-powered Smart House, we go hands-on
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 07:07 AM PST
Additionally, it turns out that the Smart House can also power itself during sunny days using its solar panels on the top, and any remaining electricity is used to charge up the Leaf; so effectively the car is acting as a mobile battery for the house. But what if it's cloudy and the Leaf is out and about? Well, the fuel cells inside the Smart House's belly will keep your party going, so there's really nothing to worry about as long as you keep an eye on your propane level. Head past the break to watch Nissan's Shinsuke Suzuki switch the house off and on for us.
Zach Honig contributed to this article.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Verizon Galaxy Nexus landing in Best Buy on December 11th?
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:46 AM PST
[Thanks, anonymous]
Speedier Archos 101 G9 Turbo tablet hits the autobahn
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:21 AM PST
[Thanks, Chris]
Android 4.0, meet your granddad x86
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:05 AM PST
[Family photo via Shutterstock]
Geeks lose minds, recreate first level of Super Mario Land with 18 million Minecraft blocks
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:43 AM PST
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Nissan Pivo 3 extreme agility concept EV hands-on
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:21 AM PST
Behind those pop-out doors one of the most interesting features we saw was the subtle side-view cameras with accompanying screens, thus reducing the car's width. Also, it turns out the lone steering wheel handles all four wheels, meaning the driver won't have to sacrifice too much brain power over multiple controls. That said, we can imagine that even the most experienced drivers may find this car to be a tough animal to tame initially -- the lady in Nissan's earlier demo looked like she had to steer dramatically around sharp corners. But keep the car going straight and it'll accelerate up to 120km/h (75mph), while on a single charge it can go up to 100km (62 miles). Video after the break.
Zach Honig contributed to this article.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
BBC brings global iPlayer iPad app to Canada, one step closer to the US
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:59 AM PST
BBC Worldwide offers festive promotion on Global iPlayer App with a free piece of content every day from 1st – 25th December
Date: 01.12.2011Last updated: 01.12.2011 at 09.29
Category: BBC Worldwide
London, 1st December 2011 BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm, has announced that the global BBC iPlayer App will be offering users a free piece of festive content every day from 1st – 25th December, exclusively from the App store, as part of a special Christmas promotion.
From today the service will also be available in Canada – the sixteenth territory to be added to the pilot launch.
The global BBC iPlayer App is a unique Video on Demand pilot subscription service available on iPad that offers viewers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland the opportunity to delve into an extensive archive of award-winning classic and contemporary British TV programming both at home and on the move.
Jana Bennett, BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer said: "We're proud to be building on the successful launch of this App by introducing it to Canada. It will open up the opportunity for a whole new audience to enjoy the best moments from seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes, wherever and whenever they want."
From today those who download the App for free from the App store can access an episode every day until Christmas Day for no charge and without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription. The free content includes a festive themed variety of the best of BBC and the best of British creativity including Christmas specials from iconic shows Only Fools and Horses and Absolutely Fabulous, plus 12 Days of Gavin and Stacey, Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef – The Christmas Party, and Blackadder's Christmas Carol dependent on availability per country.
Matthew Littleford, General Manager for Global iPlayer said: "For those not familiar with the great BBC content available on the App, the festive offering is the perfect way to trial the service and get a good flavour of the quality and breadth of programmes it provides."
Those who wish to subscribe to the service can do so for a cost of €6.99 a month (or €64.99 for an annual subscription) in Europe, $8.99 a month (or $84.99 for an annual subscription) in Canada and $9.49 a month (or $89.99 for an annual subscription) in Australia. Viewers will be able to sample carefully selected content for free before subscribing.
A subscription to the global BBC iPlayer offers access to iconic British comedies such as Fawlty Towers, Absolutely Fabulous and Only Fools & Horses as well as contemporary sitcoms and sketch shows including Gavin and Stacey and Little Britain. Viewers can also enjoy thrilling new drama series Whitechapel and Spooks, classic period dramas such as the much loved and quintessentially British Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, recent episodes of the UK's famous soap EastEnders, global motoring phenomenon Top Gear, the Doctor Who archive, stunning natural history programmes Blue Planet and Horizon, and the adorable children's show Charlie & Lola[1].
On 1st December the app will debut EastEnders: E20 in some territories[2]– a brand new online spin-off version of EastEnders comprised of 3 16-minute episodes, perfect for watching on the smaller screen or on the go.
In addition to featuring the best in classic and current British shows, the app offers specially curated collections of programmes that will give audiences an opportunity to explore thousands of hours of fascinating content. Subscribers can embark on a journey of discovery of great British talent and writers, as well as learning the story of Doctor Who's famous Daleks in Daleks Forever which is just one of the curated collections available in the extensive archive.
Subscribers will also have the opportunity to access the BBC's music archive including captivating live shows by Oasis and Robbie Williams at the BBC Electric Proms from 2007 – 2009, Blur – Live at Hyde Park and Dire Straits – Arena.
A weekly-updated BBC News Programme collection is also available to subscribers[3] offering highly respected topical news shows broadcast on the BBC News channels. Key titles include the BBC's flagship news and current affairs programme, Newsnight, noted for its in-depth analysis and robust cross-examination of senior politicians (available within a week of the UK broadcast), as well as HARDTalk, Click (a popular technology magazine show covering news and developments in consumer technology), Fast Track and Talking Movies (a guide to the best in film, from the most recent Hollywood blockbusters to ground-breaking world cinema).
Designed to be intuitive and easy-to-use, a key feature of the app allows subscribers both to stream and download shows for offline viewing for when Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity is unavailable. Users will also be able to use the 'Airplay' feature to wirelessly stream videos and music to Apple TV (2nd generation) and also stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express.
The global BBC iPlayer App is now available to download for free from the App Store on iPhone at www.bbc.com/iplayer/tv.
Date: 01.12.2011Last updated: 01.12.2011 at 09.29
Category: BBC Worldwide
London, 1st December 2011 BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm, has announced that the global BBC iPlayer App will be offering users a free piece of festive content every day from 1st – 25th December, exclusively from the App store, as part of a special Christmas promotion.
From today the service will also be available in Canada – the sixteenth territory to be added to the pilot launch.
The global BBC iPlayer App is a unique Video on Demand pilot subscription service available on iPad that offers viewers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland the opportunity to delve into an extensive archive of award-winning classic and contemporary British TV programming both at home and on the move.
Jana Bennett, BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer said: "We're proud to be building on the successful launch of this App by introducing it to Canada. It will open up the opportunity for a whole new audience to enjoy the best moments from seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes, wherever and whenever they want."
From today those who download the App for free from the App store can access an episode every day until Christmas Day for no charge and without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription. The free content includes a festive themed variety of the best of BBC and the best of British creativity including Christmas specials from iconic shows Only Fools and Horses and Absolutely Fabulous, plus 12 Days of Gavin and Stacey, Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef – The Christmas Party, and Blackadder's Christmas Carol dependent on availability per country.
Matthew Littleford, General Manager for Global iPlayer said: "For those not familiar with the great BBC content available on the App, the festive offering is the perfect way to trial the service and get a good flavour of the quality and breadth of programmes it provides."
Those who wish to subscribe to the service can do so for a cost of €6.99 a month (or €64.99 for an annual subscription) in Europe, $8.99 a month (or $84.99 for an annual subscription) in Canada and $9.49 a month (or $89.99 for an annual subscription) in Australia. Viewers will be able to sample carefully selected content for free before subscribing.
A subscription to the global BBC iPlayer offers access to iconic British comedies such as Fawlty Towers, Absolutely Fabulous and Only Fools & Horses as well as contemporary sitcoms and sketch shows including Gavin and Stacey and Little Britain. Viewers can also enjoy thrilling new drama series Whitechapel and Spooks, classic period dramas such as the much loved and quintessentially British Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, recent episodes of the UK's famous soap EastEnders, global motoring phenomenon Top Gear, the Doctor Who archive, stunning natural history programmes Blue Planet and Horizon, and the adorable children's show Charlie & Lola[1].
On 1st December the app will debut EastEnders: E20 in some territories[2]– a brand new online spin-off version of EastEnders comprised of 3 16-minute episodes, perfect for watching on the smaller screen or on the go.
In addition to featuring the best in classic and current British shows, the app offers specially curated collections of programmes that will give audiences an opportunity to explore thousands of hours of fascinating content. Subscribers can embark on a journey of discovery of great British talent and writers, as well as learning the story of Doctor Who's famous Daleks in Daleks Forever which is just one of the curated collections available in the extensive archive.
Subscribers will also have the opportunity to access the BBC's music archive including captivating live shows by Oasis and Robbie Williams at the BBC Electric Proms from 2007 – 2009, Blur – Live at Hyde Park and Dire Straits – Arena.
A weekly-updated BBC News Programme collection is also available to subscribers[3] offering highly respected topical news shows broadcast on the BBC News channels. Key titles include the BBC's flagship news and current affairs programme, Newsnight, noted for its in-depth analysis and robust cross-examination of senior politicians (available within a week of the UK broadcast), as well as HARDTalk, Click (a popular technology magazine show covering news and developments in consumer technology), Fast Track and Talking Movies (a guide to the best in film, from the most recent Hollywood blockbusters to ground-breaking world cinema).
Designed to be intuitive and easy-to-use, a key feature of the app allows subscribers both to stream and download shows for offline viewing for when Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity is unavailable. Users will also be able to use the 'Airplay' feature to wirelessly stream videos and music to Apple TV (2nd generation) and also stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express.
The global BBC iPlayer App is now available to download for free from the App Store on iPhone at www.bbc.com/iplayer/tv.
Crapgadget: iStation woos Apple romantics with the glory of the late '70s, fails
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:37 AM PST
Meizu to launch first store outside mainland China, opening in Hong Kong this month
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:15 AM PST
Later this month, visitors of Mongkok will notice a brand new Meizu store pop up somewhere along Sai Yeung Choi Street (yes, that gadget street), where the upcoming dual-core, 4-inch 960 x 640 MX Android phone will also be sold starting in early January -- just a tad later than its mainland counterpart. What's more, the Hong Kong version will come with extra features such as Facebook, Google Mobile Services and various Android Market apps that are absent on the original MX. Prices and absolute date to be confirmed later this month, but either way, we have a feeling that we'll be seeing some long lines again around China, if not Hong Kong.
Acer riding shotgun on quad-core bandwagon, confirms Tegra 3 tablet coming next year
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 03:53 AM PST
The web was rife with scuttlebutt yesterday that the artist formerly known as Kal-el would make an appearance in an Acer slate next year. In response, Acer's President Jim Wong has confirmed that the company will, indeed, be bringing a quad-core tablet to market in 2012. Unfortunately, Wong failed to mention any other details about Acer's next Android slate, though he did say the company plans to "remain very aggressive" on the tablet front. We're not sure what that means, but we do know we can't wait to see the results of that aggression -- who's up for a quad-core cage match between the unnamed Acer and a Transformer Prime?StatCounter: Chrome leapfrogs Firefox for the first time, still trails Internet Explorer
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 03:37 AM PST
StatCounter has just released its latest global report on web browser usage, and it's something of a doozy. According to the analytics firm, Google Chrome overtook Mozilla Firefox for the first time this month, becoming the world's second most widely used browser. During November, Chrome accounted for about 25.7 percent of the global market, up from a measly 4.66 percent in 2009, and slightly higher than the 25.2 percent that Firefox pulled down this month. It still trails Internet Explorer, however, which enjoys a healthy 40.6 percent market share globally, and a 50.7 percent share in the US. As the above graph clearly demonstrates, though, both IE and Firefox have seen notable declines in recent months, though the latter still has a slim lead over Chrome in the US market, with a 20.9 percent share, compared with Google's 17.3 percent cut. For more country-specific stats and crunchy numbers, check out the source link, below.
Chrome Overtakes Firefox Globally for First Time – StatCounter
Free web analytics company reports that Internet Explorer still leads despite falling market share
BOSTON & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Google's browser Chrome overtook Firefox for the first time globally on a monthly basis in November, according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm's research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome took 25.69% of the worldwide market (up from 4.66% in November 2009) compared to Firefox's 25.23%. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63%.
"We can look forward to a fascinating battle between Microsoft and Google as the pace of growth of Chrome suggests that it will become a real rival to Internet Explorer globally," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also."
In the US Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66%, up slightly from 50.24% year on year. Firefox retains second place on 20.09%, down from 26.75%. Chrome is up to 17.3% from 10.89%. Safari is on 10.76% from 10.71%.
In the UK, Internet Explorer also leads the market with 42.82%. Chrome is on 24.82%, having overtaken Firefox (20.56%) in July. (For other individual country or regional analysis see StatCounter Global Stats).
StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month (4 billion from the US) from the StatCounter network of more than three million websites.
As well as free web research, StatCounter (http://statcounter.com/) provides free website traffic analysis. This allows website owners, developers and bloggers to capture valuable intelligence on their site in real time including number of visitors, visitors by country/region, search terms, popular pages, download stats, exit links and other data.
In September StatCounter announced its new website with added features.
Free web analytics company reports that Internet Explorer still leads despite falling market share
BOSTON & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Google's browser Chrome overtook Firefox for the first time globally on a monthly basis in November, according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm's research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome took 25.69% of the worldwide market (up from 4.66% in November 2009) compared to Firefox's 25.23%. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63%.
"We can look forward to a fascinating battle between Microsoft and Google as the pace of growth of Chrome suggests that it will become a real rival to Internet Explorer globally," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also."
In the US Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66%, up slightly from 50.24% year on year. Firefox retains second place on 20.09%, down from 26.75%. Chrome is up to 17.3% from 10.89%. Safari is on 10.76% from 10.71%.
In the UK, Internet Explorer also leads the market with 42.82%. Chrome is on 24.82%, having overtaken Firefox (20.56%) in July. (For other individual country or regional analysis see StatCounter Global Stats).
StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month (4 billion from the US) from the StatCounter network of more than three million websites.
As well as free web research, StatCounter (http://statcounter.com/) provides free website traffic analysis. This allows website owners, developers and bloggers to capture valuable intelligence on their site in real time including number of visitors, visitors by country/region, search terms, popular pages, download stats, exit links and other data.
In September StatCounter announced its new website with added features.
Amazon launches Kindle in Italy and Spain, brings Kindle Store to the Mediterranean
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 03:13 AM PST
After having already conquered France, Germany and the UK, Amazon has now brought the Kindle and its associated online store to the shores of Italy and Spain. With today's launch, Iberian users will be able to choose from a selection of more than 22,000 Spanish-language titles, which they can now devour on their very own Kindle devices, available for the first time on Amazon.es. Italian readers will have a slightly smaller selection to choose from, with about 16,000 native-language books available online, though they too now have a Kindle to call their own, giving them access to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service, as well Both country-specific versions of the e-reader are available for €99 at the source link below, but curious lettori can dig up more information in the dueling press releases, after the break.
Amazon.es Launches Spanish Kindle Store and First Spanish-Language Kindle
Customers can now buy the all-new Kindle - the world's bestselling e-reader - the lightest, fastest and most affordable Kindle ever - for only 99€ on Amazon.es
Offering the most best sellers in Spain and largest selection of Catalan, Basque and Galician titles
LUXEMBOURG-December 1, 2011-(NASDAQ: AMZN)-Amazon.es today launched the Spanish Kindle Store offering customers a vast selection of over 22,000 Spanish-language Kindle books, including the most best sellers in Spain with 20 of the Top 30 El Cultural fiction and non-fiction best sellers, the largest selection of Catalan, Basque and Galician books-and over a thousand free classics in Spanish. The new store offers customers over 900,000 titles – including thousands of global best sellers – in English and other languages. Amazon also announced the new Kindle-the smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever-is now available on Amazon.es for only 99€. Amazon.es customers can order the first Spanish-language Kindle today on www.amazon.es/kindle.
"We are excited to introduce the new Spanish Kindle Store which features the most best sellers in Spain, the leading selection of titles in Catalan, Basque and Galician and also includes unique and exclusive titles from Rosa Montero," said Gordon Willoughby, Director, EU Kindle. "Kindle is already the best-selling e-reader in the world. It comes with an electronic ink display that reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright daylight and it offers the convenience of downloading books in less than 60 seconds. Kindle is so small and light that it disappears in your hands, which is just what you want when you are reading a great story like 'El puente de los asesinos,' by Arturo Pérez-Reverte."
The Spanish Kindle Store's vast selection of content in a wide range of categories includes popular titles from best-selling authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Julia Navarro and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, as well as short form content from El País and La Vanguardia, uniquely available on Kindle. In addition, the store will launch with three exclusive self-published books from award winning author and journalist Rosa Montero, using Kindle Direct Publishing. From today, independent authors and publishers can use Kindle Direct Publishing to make their books available inAmazon.es's Kindle Store. (For more information on Kindle Direct Publishing, see today's announcement at www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.)
Kindle books are "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" with free Kindle reading apps available for the most popular devices, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC , Mac and Android-based devices. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across all devices, so you can pick up reading where you left off. Plus, with Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store, and any notes or annotations you create, are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon.es where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Customers can now buy the all-new Kindle - the world's bestselling e-reader - the lightest, fastest and most affordable Kindle ever - for only 99€ on Amazon.es
Offering the most best sellers in Spain and largest selection of Catalan, Basque and Galician titles
LUXEMBOURG-December 1, 2011-(NASDAQ: AMZN)-Amazon.es today launched the Spanish Kindle Store offering customers a vast selection of over 22,000 Spanish-language Kindle books, including the most best sellers in Spain with 20 of the Top 30 El Cultural fiction and non-fiction best sellers, the largest selection of Catalan, Basque and Galician books-and over a thousand free classics in Spanish. The new store offers customers over 900,000 titles – including thousands of global best sellers – in English and other languages. Amazon also announced the new Kindle-the smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever-is now available on Amazon.es for only 99€. Amazon.es customers can order the first Spanish-language Kindle today on www.amazon.es/kindle.
"We are excited to introduce the new Spanish Kindle Store which features the most best sellers in Spain, the leading selection of titles in Catalan, Basque and Galician and also includes unique and exclusive titles from Rosa Montero," said Gordon Willoughby, Director, EU Kindle. "Kindle is already the best-selling e-reader in the world. It comes with an electronic ink display that reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright daylight and it offers the convenience of downloading books in less than 60 seconds. Kindle is so small and light that it disappears in your hands, which is just what you want when you are reading a great story like 'El puente de los asesinos,' by Arturo Pérez-Reverte."
The Spanish Kindle Store's vast selection of content in a wide range of categories includes popular titles from best-selling authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Julia Navarro and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, as well as short form content from El País and La Vanguardia, uniquely available on Kindle. In addition, the store will launch with three exclusive self-published books from award winning author and journalist Rosa Montero, using Kindle Direct Publishing. From today, independent authors and publishers can use Kindle Direct Publishing to make their books available inAmazon.es's Kindle Store. (For more information on Kindle Direct Publishing, see today's announcement at www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.)
Kindle books are "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" with free Kindle reading apps available for the most popular devices, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC , Mac and Android-based devices. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across all devices, so you can pick up reading where you left off. Plus, with Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store, and any notes or annotations you create, are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon.es where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Amazon.it Launches Italian Kindle Store and First Italian-Language Kindle
Customers can now buy the all-new Kindle – the world's best-selling e-reader – the lightest, fastest and most affordable Kindle ever-for only 99€ on Amazon.it
Largest selection of digital Italian-language titles
LUXEMBOURG-December 1, 2011-(NASDAQ: AMZN)- Amazon.it today launched the Italian Kindle Store offering customers the largest selection of Italian-language titles in digital with over 16,000 Italian-language Kindle books, a wide array of best sellers and hundreds of free Italian classics. In all, the new store offers customers over 900,000 titles-including thousands of global best sellers-in English and other languages. Amazon also announced the new Kindle-the smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever-is now available on Amazon.it for only 99€. Amazon.it customers can order the first Italian-language Kindle today on www.amazon.it/kindle.
"We are excited to introduce the new Italian Kindle Store with the largest digital selection of Italian-language titles to millions of Amazon.it customers today. Italian customers are passionate about books and reading and we believe they will love reading great Italian books like Roberto Saviano's 'Gomorra,' Tiziano Terzani's 'Un indovino mi disse' and current best sellers like the new Steve Jobs biography on Kindle," said Diego Piacentini, senior vice president, Amazon.com . "Kindle is already the best-selling e-reader in the world. It comes with an electronic ink display that reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright daylight and it offers the convenience of downloading books in less than 60 seconds. Kindle is so small and light that it disappears in your hands, which is great when you are looking for a story in which you can get lost in the author's words like Umberto Eco's 'Il Cimitero di Praga.'"
The Italian Kindle Store's vast selection of content in a wide range of categories includes popular titles from best-selling authors Roberto Saviano, Tiziano Terzani, Umberto Eco, Susanna Tamaro, Erri De Luca and Marcello Simoni. Independent authors and publishers can also now use Kindle Direct Publishing to make their books available in Amazon.it's Kindle Store. (For more information on Kindle Direct Publishing, see today's announcement at www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.)
Kindle books are "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" with free Kindle reading apps, now in Italian-language, available for the most popular devices, including: iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac and Android-based devices. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across all devices, so you can pick up reading where you left off. Plus, with Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store, and any notes or annotations you create, are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon.it where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Smallest, Lightest Kindle Ever: The first Italian-language Kindle is small and light enough to fit in your pocket and take with you everywhere. At only 170 grams, the new Kindle is 30 percent lighter than the previous generation Kindle, weighing less than a typical paperback, and 18 percent smaller while still keeping the same 6-inch e-ink display.
Most Advanced Electronic Ink Display: Kindle's high-contrast electronic ink display delivers clear, crisp text and images. Unlike LCD screens, Kindle reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright sunlight.
Even Faster Page Turns: Kindle's powerful processor is tuned for 10 percent faster page turns compared to the previous generation Kindle.
Built-In Wi-Fi: The first Italian-language Kindle has built-in Wi-Fi support.
Books in 60 Seconds: With fast, free wireless delivery, you can start reading books on Kindle in less than 60 seconds.
Holds up to 1,400 Books: Kindle allows you to carry your entire library in your pocket.
No Battery Anxiety – Up To One Month Battery Life: Read for up to one month on a single charge with wireless off.
Free Cloud Storage: Books purchased from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up for free in the Worry-Free Archive where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly, anytime.
"Buy Once, Read Everywhere": Kindle books can be read on Kindles, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, PCs, Macs and Android-based devices.
Whispersync: Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.
Free Books: Over one million free books in Italian and foreign languages are available to read on Kindle.
Free Book Samples: First chapters of Kindle books are available to download and read for free before you decide to buy.
Adjustable Fonts: Read comfortably with eight different sizes and three font styles.
Customers can start shopping in the Italian Kindle Store and learn more about the first Italian-language Kindle at www.Amazon.it/kindle.
For high-resolution images of the new 99€ Kindle, visit www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.
Customers can now buy the all-new Kindle – the world's best-selling e-reader – the lightest, fastest and most affordable Kindle ever-for only 99€ on Amazon.it
Largest selection of digital Italian-language titles
LUXEMBOURG-December 1, 2011-(NASDAQ: AMZN)- Amazon.it today launched the Italian Kindle Store offering customers the largest selection of Italian-language titles in digital with over 16,000 Italian-language Kindle books, a wide array of best sellers and hundreds of free Italian classics. In all, the new store offers customers over 900,000 titles-including thousands of global best sellers-in English and other languages. Amazon also announced the new Kindle-the smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever-is now available on Amazon.it for only 99€. Amazon.it customers can order the first Italian-language Kindle today on www.amazon.it/kindle.
"We are excited to introduce the new Italian Kindle Store with the largest digital selection of Italian-language titles to millions of Amazon.it customers today. Italian customers are passionate about books and reading and we believe they will love reading great Italian books like Roberto Saviano's 'Gomorra,' Tiziano Terzani's 'Un indovino mi disse' and current best sellers like the new Steve Jobs biography on Kindle," said Diego Piacentini, senior vice president, Amazon.com . "Kindle is already the best-selling e-reader in the world. It comes with an electronic ink display that reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright daylight and it offers the convenience of downloading books in less than 60 seconds. Kindle is so small and light that it disappears in your hands, which is great when you are looking for a story in which you can get lost in the author's words like Umberto Eco's 'Il Cimitero di Praga.'"
The Italian Kindle Store's vast selection of content in a wide range of categories includes popular titles from best-selling authors Roberto Saviano, Tiziano Terzani, Umberto Eco, Susanna Tamaro, Erri De Luca and Marcello Simoni. Independent authors and publishers can also now use Kindle Direct Publishing to make their books available in Amazon.it's Kindle Store. (For more information on Kindle Direct Publishing, see today's announcement at www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.)
Kindle books are "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" with free Kindle reading apps, now in Italian-language, available for the most popular devices, including: iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac and Android-based devices. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across all devices, so you can pick up reading where you left off. Plus, with Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store, and any notes or annotations you create, are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon.it where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Smallest, Lightest Kindle Ever: The first Italian-language Kindle is small and light enough to fit in your pocket and take with you everywhere. At only 170 grams, the new Kindle is 30 percent lighter than the previous generation Kindle, weighing less than a typical paperback, and 18 percent smaller while still keeping the same 6-inch e-ink display.
Most Advanced Electronic Ink Display: Kindle's high-contrast electronic ink display delivers clear, crisp text and images. Unlike LCD screens, Kindle reads like real paper, with no glare, even in bright sunlight.
Even Faster Page Turns: Kindle's powerful processor is tuned for 10 percent faster page turns compared to the previous generation Kindle.
Built-In Wi-Fi: The first Italian-language Kindle has built-in Wi-Fi support.
Books in 60 Seconds: With fast, free wireless delivery, you can start reading books on Kindle in less than 60 seconds.
Holds up to 1,400 Books: Kindle allows you to carry your entire library in your pocket.
No Battery Anxiety – Up To One Month Battery Life: Read for up to one month on a single charge with wireless off.
Free Cloud Storage: Books purchased from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up for free in the Worry-Free Archive where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly, anytime.
"Buy Once, Read Everywhere": Kindle books can be read on Kindles, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, PCs, Macs and Android-based devices.
Whispersync: Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.
Free Books: Over one million free books in Italian and foreign languages are available to read on Kindle.
Free Book Samples: First chapters of Kindle books are available to download and read for free before you decide to buy.
Adjustable Fonts: Read comfortably with eight different sizes and three font styles.
Customers can start shopping in the Italian Kindle Store and learn more about the first Italian-language Kindle at www.Amazon.it/kindle.
For high-resolution images of the new 99€ Kindle, visit www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.
eSleeper combines cats, Arduino and Twitter in an eMac shell (video)
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 02:34 AM PST
Sony Bravia TVs updated with Twitter, YouTube HD and more
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 01:35 AM PST
Enjoy higher quality online content with our latest firmware update 30 November 2011
From High Definition YouTube™ to Twitter Ticker™, the evolution of our BRAVIA TVs brings even more entertainment to your home
Watch YouTube™ in High Definition and enjoy Facebook™ videos and photos in full screen
Stay in the loop – Twitter Ticker™ shows rolling updates of the latest tweets while you're watching TV
Share your TrackID™ song search results straight to Twitter™
Experience YouTube™ as never before
Watching the latest Internet sensation on a smartphone or laptop simply doesn't come close to the big screen experience. Now with our latest firmware update you can enjoy High Definition videos from YouTube™ in crisp, clear quality on your BRAVIA TV. What's more, YouTube™ videos are further optimised by the advanced image-enhancing technologies already built in to your BRAVIA TV. From sports clips to music videos, YouTube™ has never looked better.
See the bigger picture
Expanding your social network will take on a whole new meaning too with our new firmware update. Log in to your Facebook™ account and view shared photos and videos in full screen on your TV – so friends and family appear larger than life. Follow any URL links posted by your friends direct from your TV screen, as well as updating your status, sending messages and more.
Let the news follow you
Another feature new to BRAVIA TVs is Twitter Ticker™. Follow a real-time Twitter™ newsfeed scrolling along the bottom of the screen and keep tabs on your favourite tweets without missing a moment of your favourite TV show. You can share Track ID™ results straight to Twitter™ quickly and easily too. Heard a song you like on an advert? Just hit Track ID™ on your remote to find the title and artist, then pass on the results to friends and followers on Twitter™ at the touch of a button. Simple.
Put your laptop to good use
You can already use your smartphone or VAIO keyboard to control your TV and surf the web – and now you can use other laptops too*. From typing a web address to searching for information about the latest movies, it makes entering text on-screen even easier than using your TV remote.
Never miss an update – connect your TV to the Internet
We are always coming up with new and innovative features to enhance your Internet TV experience. So it's important to make sure the firmware in your TV is up-to-date. The easiest way to stay up-to-date is to connect your TV to the Internet, either with a cable or through a wireless network. Whenever you switch on your BRAVIA TV, you'll be automatically notified of any available firmware updates.
Firmware updates are also available from the Sony Support website and can be transferred to BRAVIA TVs using a USB memory storage device.
Verzo repackages Kinzo Android smartphone, offers lower prices in response to user feedback (video)
Posted: 01 Dec 2011 12:35 AM PST
We've gotta hand it to Verzo. It's not every day that a manufacturer lowers the price of its flagship smartphone in explicit response to consumer feedback, yet that's exactly what the Americano Czech company has done today, with a new pricing and packaging scheme for its Kinzo Android handset. Previously marketed as a single, accessory-laden package for $459, the 4.3-inch device is now available in two bundles: the Verzo Kinzo Plus GPS, and the standard Verzo Kinzo pack. The former, priced at $384, includes offline navigation capabilities and a carholder, while the latter ($349) does not. According to the company, the prices are in effect as of now, and "will stay that way." Best of all, anyone who bought the Kinzo at its original price will now be able to recoup the difference, courtesy of Verzo. But don't take our word for it -- check out the above video to hear it straight from the source.
Galaxy Nexus OTA update quietly rolls out, addresses volume bug
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:44 PM PST
Google, as promised, has begun rolling out an OTA update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in response to a curious volume bug affecting many European users. According to Android Central, "several" Nexus users have reported receiving the update, bundled in a package that weighs a little less than 1MB. Early reports indicate that the refresh only addresses the volume issue, though it appears to be rolling out on a piecemeal basis. If you've already updated, let us know how it's treating you in the comments, below.
[Thanks, Shaun]
[Thanks, Shaun]
Olive: the first feature film 'intentionally' shot on a smartphone (video)
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:23 PM PST
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:00 PM PST
All of which means we dropped just everything when a 32GB Prime showed up on our doorstep earlier this week, and soon enough, you'll have your chance to nab one too. ASUS announced today that the WiFi-only models will be available through online sellers the week of December 19th, and in retail the week after. (No word yet on 3G versions for the US just yet.) It'll start at $499 for the 32GB model -- not bad considering five hundred bucks is the going rate for a high-end tablet with 16GB of storage. From there you can get a 64GB number for $599, while that signature keyboard dock will set you back a further $149. Worth it? Read on to find out.
Hardware
The Prime looks familiar and no, it's not just because we're looking at a device that's dominated by a 10-inch slab of glass. If you've been following the recent explosion of Ultrabooks as obsessively as you have Ice Cream Sandwich, then you know the second-gen Transformer shares its industrial design with ASUS' line of Zenbooks, which went on sale back in October. Like those skinny laptops, the Prime features a spun metal aluminum lid, this time available in "amethyst gray" and "champagne gold." Sure, there will be some who think these brushed metal digs would look more appropriate on a trendy kitchen appliance, but many of you will appreciate how distinctive this tablet looks -- and how nicely that faint circular pattern masks fingerprints and scuffs. In case it wasn't obvious when we reviewed the UX31, you can count us among the second group. We think it looks great.
If, however, you think the Zenbooks are a little too fashion-forward, the whole spun metal thing manages to look less aggressively industrial in this tablet form. Maybe it's because the Prime comes in a warmer, more inviting gold. Maybe it's just that the Zenbooks have a severe, pancake-flat shape that makes them look painfully futuristic. Whatever it is, the Prime is just as lovely, though something tells us it'll be somewhat less polarizing.
Moving past aesthetics, there's no denying the Prime is every bit as well-made as you'd want your $500 tablet to be, and we just can't get over how thin and light it is. Oftentimes, we make excuses for metal tablets, such as the 7-inch T-Mobile Springboard and HTC Flyer (hell, let's throw the first-gen iPad in there, too). We're used to saying, "Well, yeah, it's kind of dense, but at least it's well built." In the case of the Prime, though, its 0.33-inch-thick frame makes it a smidge skinnier than the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and, at 586 grams, it's a wee bit lighter, too. Despite that it manages to feel considerably more premium. That's at least partly thanks to that metal construction, which we can't help preferring to the feel of plastic -- at least, that is, when this is both thinner and lighter than something made of the stuff. That's not to say the 10.1 feels flimsy, just that this feels better.The Prime is every bit as well-made as you'd want your $500 tablet to be.
It must be said, though, that it doesn't necessarily feel better in the hand. While the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has gentle, rounded edges that respect your meaty mitts, the Transformer Prime is instead a tapered curve with a somewhat sharp edge. It's the same sort of shape as the iPad 2 and, while it certainly isn't uncomfortable to hold, the terminating edges of this device can cut into the more vulnerable bits of your palms after a long period of use. This does, at least, help the tablet turn into a nice clamshell shape when paired with its dock, the accessory that turns this thing from being a merely very nice tablet into a potential laptop replacement.
As far as ports and other such trappings go, the optional dock naturally steals the show with its full-sized USB 2.0 socket and SD card reader. The selection on the tablet itself is a little light -- but no more or less than most slates. Pick this guy up in landscape mode and you'll find a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera looking at you, with an eight megapixel, f/2.4 shooter 'round back, coupled with an LED flash.
On that top edge you'll find a lone power / lock button with a wee tiny LED indicator built-in, tucked over in the left corner. Look down on the opposite side and you'll see the proprietary connector that allows the tablet to slide neatly into the dock. This handles all the data exchange with the dock itself and, if you want to get data off the thing, this is how you'll have to do it. There's no standard micro-USB connector here.
There are two other openings on the bottom that serve as receivers for a pair of latches built into the dock. These come plugged up with bits of rubber when you unbox the tablet, so be sure to clear them before your slate has its first curious encounter with the dock. Still holding it in landscape, you've got a 3.5mm headphone jack on the right side, which cuts a rather drastic profile thanks to the heavily tapered edges, while the left edge houses a volume rocker, mini-HDMI socket and -- happy day -- an unoccupied and uncovered microSD slot.
Rounding things out is a single finely cut speaker grill, sitting on the right side under the back. This of course dismisses any hopes of stereo sound but, more troublingly, places that single tweeter exactly where your palm is likely to go should you be holding it with your right hand. Of course, you can always just flip the tablet over should the dialogue from that episode of SVU you're streaming get a little more muffled than usual, but we'd have preferred the speaker somewhere on the top. Or, even better, facing right at you, as on the new 10.1N. We are happy to report that, when unimpeded, the volume coming out of the lone speaker is actually quite good.The single tweeter exactly where your palm is likely to go should you be holding it with your right hand.
Display
ASUS, apparently jealous of the increasingly lengthy string of designations Samsung is applying to its OLED displays, has crafted what it calls a Super IPS+ LCD for the Transformer Prime. With or without the heroic prefix and mathematical designator it's safe to say this is a very nice panel. What you have here is a 10-inch, 1280 x 800 display that manages a stunning brightness maxing out at 600 nits, handily topping what you'll find on most laptop panels and more than 50 percent higher than your average tablet panel. The luminosity is quite noticeable, and the contrast too, with deep darks and vibrant brights. However, color reproduction seemed a bit flat, with whites tending toward yellow and brighter hues coming up short.With or without the heroic prefix and mathematical designator it's safe to say this is a very nice panel.
If you're using this tablet indoors you won't need to go anywhere near maximum brightness to get an eyeful, though we won't blame you if you crank it up anyway. Should you want to dial things down, though, ASUS allows you to disable that 600-nit, Super IPS+ mode to extend the battery life. Even when we did that and dialed the brightness down to 50 percent, the display was still quite arresting.
The viewing angles are also exceptionally wide, which will come in handy if you and a friend decide to prop the tablet up in the dock and watch a movie together. ASUS claims 178-degree visibility and indeed, we were able to make out the screen clearly from severe side angles. From the front, too, the colors stayed strong even as we dipped the screen farther and farther forward -- an area where even high-end displays on MacBooks start to show their limitations. That yellowish hue did start to darken when we took the angles to extremes, but even then we could still follow what was happening onscreen without issue.
The dock
Despite the fact that ASUS calls this the Transformer, out of the box it isn't even a Gobot. To make the thing live up to its name you'll need to spring for the $150 signature accessory: the keyboard dock. Let's start by being clear on one thing: this is not the old dock, rebadged to go with this brand new tablet. It, too, has gone on a diet and, thanks to some slimmer dimensions, it won't be compatible with your first-gen Transformer. (Sorry, early adopters.) The good news is that even with the dock attached, the tablet is thinner and lighter than a netbook (remember those?) and, shockingly, better-built than most were. You can easily stuff the whole thing in your messenger bag with plenty of room left for, well, anything, really.Despite the fact that ASUS calls this the Transformer, out of the box it isn't even a Gobot.
To connect the tablet to the accessory you simply flip-up the connecting port on the back of the dock and slip in the Transformer. While the thing sadly does not make the iconic Transfoming sound (which sounds like this, of course), it does at least latch securely thanks to those two metal hooks that grab on and won't let go as soon as it's slotted into place. Won't let go, that is, until you slip a release to the left, at which point you can easily lift the thing free.
As soon as the Transformer falls into place something magical starts happening: the battery gets recharged. There is a second battery inside the dock and it nobly sacrifices its own juice so that the tablet can live on. So, plug a nearly dead tablet into a full dock and, after some time, you'll have a full tablet and a dead dock. That means, if nothing else, this is a very handy $150 external battery.
But of course it's also a heck of a lot more than that. With this you'll get a full USB 2.0 port and a SD card reader, giving you yet another way to expand the storage. You can use that USB port to plug in an external mouse if you like, but the idea is of course to instead use the little trackpad that's built into what is ostensibly a wrist-rest at the bottom of the keyboard but, thanks to the petite dimensions here, doesn't offer much respite at all.
That trackpad may be small but it is at least reasonably responsive, letting you use gestures for scrolling webpages and even for navigating around the tablet's myriad home screens. (Though if you want to pinch-zoom you'll have to reach up on the display.) In fact if anything it's too responsive, picking up the most subtle of brushes from your fingers as you type, often causing the cursor on your tablet to jump unexpectedly and unwantedly. There's no way to disable the trackpad automatically while you're typing, which is a major annoyance.
Also annoying are the trackpad buttons, built into the bottom. Push in on the left for a primary click and on the right for secondary, but try and click anywhere toward the middle and it just won't move a bit. The button itself seems plenty wide, but only the outer extents can actually be clicked. Thankfully you can simply tap anywhere and just ignore the buttons altogether.
The keyboard itself is passable, but far from good. The island keys are tiny and have a very light touch to them, but we just wish for a bit more room. Everything is cramped but, it must be said, most of the important keys are reasonably generously sized -- except, unfortunately, for the right shift.
One final annoyance: when mounted in the dock, the whole contraption is disconcertingly top-heavy, the Transformer itself weighing considerably more than the lid of your average laptop. This made the thing very prone to tipping over backward. In fact we inadvertently sent ours tumbling off of its perch and toward the floor while writing this very section of the review. Some deft reflexes, honed on years of Samurai Showdown and its ilk, saved our tablet from crashing into the floor, but suffice to say you should always use yours in a secure location.
But the question, of course, is whether you should use this dock at all, and we honestly think that we might. While typing on a keyboard this small is certainly a chore, it sure as heck beats using an on-screen keyboard. And, while we aren't entirely fond of the trackpad, it certainly makes selecting blocks of text much easier than tapping and dragging and tapping again with your fingers on the screen. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the experience is far better here than on Motorola's various lapdocks.
Performance and graphics
Benchmark | ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime |
| Quadrant | 3,023 |
| Linpack | 43.35 (single-thread) / 67.05 (multi-thread) |
| Nenamark 1 | 60.07 |
| Nenamark 2 | 46.07 |
| Vellamo | 953 |
| SunSpider 0.9.1 | 1,861 |
The Prime is something of a curiosity around these parts in that it's the first tablet to ship with NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 SoC. Actually, let's just call it what it is: the first quad-core tablet, period. We've run our usual spate of benchmarks (listed above for your viewing pleasure), and the combined scores are among the highest we've yet seen, handily beating the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 7.0 Plus we recently tested in most cases.
Suffice to say, all the mundane bits -- swiping through menus, opening apps -- run as briskly as you'd expect on a quad-core slate. The Prime's display is as responsive as it is gorgeous, and we made ourselves at home quickly -- so much so that we found ourselves tapping the screen even when we were plugged into the dock. Make no mistake: the Prime is fast, but we suspect Honeycomb's 3D animations aren't the best way to highlight this, given that dual-core Tegra 2 can stomach these flourishes well enough already.
That said, we were sorry to still see some occasional stutters and hiccups from time to time, instances where the device would hesitate for just a half-second or so before responding. There are three performance modes that are easily selected between in the pop-up settings menu, but even on its highest we couldn't get it to be a consistently smooth operator. They're the kind of stops and starts we've seen on just about every Android device to date and it's a bit of a shame that even four whopping cores running at 1.3GHz can't do away with them.
Battery life
Tablet | Battery Life |
| ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime | 10:17 |
| Apple iPad 2 | 10:26 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 | 9:55 |
| Apple iPad | 9:33 |
| HP TouchPad | 8:33 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad K1 | 8:20 |
| Motorola Xoom | 8:20 |
| T-Mobile G-Slate | 8:18 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus | 8:09 |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet | 8:00 |
| Archos 101 | 7:20 |
| Archos 80 G9 | 7:06 |
| RIM BlackBerry PlayBook | 7:01 |
| Acer Iconia Tab A500 | 6:55 |
| T-Mobile Springboard (Huawei MediaPad) | 6:34 |
| Toshiba Thrive | 6:25 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab | 6:09 |
| Velocity Micro Cruz T408 | 5:10 |
| Acer Iconia Tab A100 | 4:54 |
Yes, wow. Pity the Engadget editor who had to babysit this thing while it ran unplugged, looping through our battery drain test for hours and hours. ASUS says the Prime's 22Wh pack should last a maximum of 12 hours without the dock and indeed, it squeezed out an impressive 10 hours and 17 minutes in our battery rundown test, which involves looping a video with the brightness fixed at 50 percent and WiFi on but not connected. That's a scant nine minutes short of what the iPad 2 accomplished in the same test, a difference that could just as well swing the other way should we test these two a second time. This was also running in standard power mode -- upshifting to economy mode likely would have delivered an even more longevous result.Pity the Engadget editor who had to babysit this thing while it ran unplugged, looping through our battery drain test for hours and hours.
Much of this is thanks to the new Tegra 3 chipset, which is not only fiendishly quick but also freakishly efficient. The chipset is capable of processing each frame that's rendered to the screen and determining the minimum necessary brightness of the backlight to properly display it. The backlight is constantly cycling up and down while the color temperature is dynamically cycled to compensate. The net result: great visuals and killer battery life.
ASUS promises a further six hours of dependability when docked with the keyboard and we'll update this review as soon as we have a result -- suffice to say it's still running. This will be, after all, a whopping 16 hour test if things go according to plan.
We should also tell you that the Prime can charge via the bundled AC adapter or over USB. But -- and there is a but -- the dock doesn't yet support USB charging, so if you want to prime yourself for a potential 18 hours of runtime, you had best start out near an outlet.
Software
We wish we could use this as an occasion to walk you through ICS on a tablet but alas, that day isn't upon us just yet. The Prime ships with Android 3.2.1, and you know what that means: Honeycomb, jazzed up ever-so slightly with a few removable widgets, power management profiles and handy settings shortcuts, which you can access by swiping or tapping the clock in the lower-right corner. Those settings, by the by, include Bluetooth, WiFi, IPS / Super IPS+ mode and auto-rotation for the screen. It's quite similar to what Samsung is packing in its TouchWiz'd Galaxy Tabs these days.
Those widgets, meanwhile, are pretty harmless and not particularly exciting, with weather and mail, as well as a larger one that cobbles together weather, calendar, music, Gallery access and a shortcut to the last website you visited. Again, these are easy to dump if you like your homepages a little more pristine, as we typically do.
As for pre-installed apps, the Prime comes with @vibe Music, Amazon Kindle, App Backup, App Locker, Big Top THD, Bladeslinger, Google Books, Davinci THD, File Manager, Glowball, Movie Studio, MyCloud, MyLibrary, MyNet, Netflix, Photaf Lite, Polaris Office, Press Reader, Riptide GPk ShadowGun, SuperNote, WebStorage, yskk, Zen Pinball THD and Zinio. Yes, that's a lot of games, and you'll want to be using them -- if only to show off just how good this thing is at 3D gaming.
And it is good. Very good. ShadowGun is the showcase title here and it runs beautifully. NVIDIA has been promising "PC-class" graphics and, while we wouldn't quite take it that far -- the game lacks some of the visual polish of top-shelf PC shooters -- it is safe to say these are the best graphics we've yet seen on a tablet. The water effects in particular are very good, and more importantly it's a fun little shooter.
Camera
Wrap-up
The dock, however, is a bit of a tougher sell. If you need crazy battery life on the road then it's definitely a good choice, even if you won't be relying on that cramped keyboard too often. In fact, the less you have to use that part the better, but it's still a perfectly usable way to enter URLs and it sure beats the pants off of any virtual, touchscreen text input method.
For the moment the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the best Android tablet on the market. All hail the new king.
[Review co-written by Dana Wollman and Tim Stevens]
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Wind River and Clarion pair up to bring Android to your imported street racer
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 08:09 PM PST
Wind River and Clarion Collaborate On Next Generation Android-based In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* Wind River helps automotive IVI device manufacturers and OEMs speed their rate of innovation and time-to-market.
* Android offers the automotive industry new opportunities to create compelling user experiences.
* Wind River has two decades of automotive experience and been pioneering Android innovation since joining the Open Handset Alliance in 2007 as a founding member.
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wind River, a world leader in embedded and mobile software, announced that Clarion, a leading manufacturer of high-performance in-car entertainment systems, is collaborating with Wind River to develop Android-based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems.
Wind River is creating a custom Android software platform for an automotive environment and providing software integration services to ensure Clarion delivers a reliable and high quality device. Leveraging Android's flexibility for innovation, Clarion Malaysia's new IVI device is designed to deliver a compelling user experience, especially in areas of multimedia, entertainment and connectivity. The Clarion Malaysia IVI device is based on the Freescale i.MX applications processor family. Clarion designs and manufactures leading automotive audio and video products and related accessories for the aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers.
"With two decades of automotive experience, as well as extensive Android project knowledge, Wind River provides an ideal mix of expertise to address the latest IVI trends," said Georg Doll, general manager of automotive solutions at Wind River. "Wind River delivers commercial-quality Android software and takes care of the complex matters of custom software development, integration and testing to allow customers to concentrate on developing innovative features that will distinguish their devices."
"Clarion continues to be at the forefront of the newest automotive technologies. With Wind River's expert help, we are taking breakthrough Android technologies that have resonated with consumers and leveraging it for the automotive market," said T.K. Tan, Managing Director of Clarion Malaysia. "Ensuring that new technologies work for the automotive industry is a complicated task. In order to get to market quickly and deliver the highest quality device, it was critical to collaborate with an expert like Wind River who possesses deep automotive and Android experience."
Wind River's world-class customization and consulting services and global support help customers in the management of highly detailed requirements and complex project planning associated with the automotive industry. In addition to Wind River's Android software platform and services and support, Clarion is using Wind River FAST to test for device software quality and user experience. Wind River FAST is an automated software testing solution that is able to rapidly test any Android or GENIVI-based implementation for software quality, performance and compliance with the Android Compatibility Test Suite (CTS).
As a veteran in the automotive industry, Wind River is an expert in handling complex matters such as automotive regulations and combining the latest automotive innovations with integration services, life cycle support offerings, testing and validation, while working closely with a dynamic partner ecosystem to meet the needs of the automotive market. Additionally, Wind River's automotive portfolio also includes Wind River Platform for Infotainment, a software platform on which automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers can develop sophisticated IVI devices. Wind River Platform for Infotainment is among the first GENIVI-compliant automotive solutions.
For additional details about Wind River automotive solutions, visit http://www.windriver.com/solutions/automotive/.
About Wind River
Wind River, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), is a world leader in embedded and mobile software. Wind River has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices since 1981, and its technology is found in more than 1 billion products. Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., with offices in 20 countries. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com or www.facebook.com/WindRiverSystems.
Wind River, its referenced products and its logo are trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. Other company names and marks used herein may be the property of their respective owners.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* Wind River helps automotive IVI device manufacturers and OEMs speed their rate of innovation and time-to-market.
* Android offers the automotive industry new opportunities to create compelling user experiences.
* Wind River has two decades of automotive experience and been pioneering Android innovation since joining the Open Handset Alliance in 2007 as a founding member.
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wind River, a world leader in embedded and mobile software, announced that Clarion, a leading manufacturer of high-performance in-car entertainment systems, is collaborating with Wind River to develop Android-based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems.
Wind River is creating a custom Android software platform for an automotive environment and providing software integration services to ensure Clarion delivers a reliable and high quality device. Leveraging Android's flexibility for innovation, Clarion Malaysia's new IVI device is designed to deliver a compelling user experience, especially in areas of multimedia, entertainment and connectivity. The Clarion Malaysia IVI device is based on the Freescale i.MX applications processor family. Clarion designs and manufactures leading automotive audio and video products and related accessories for the aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers.
"With two decades of automotive experience, as well as extensive Android project knowledge, Wind River provides an ideal mix of expertise to address the latest IVI trends," said Georg Doll, general manager of automotive solutions at Wind River. "Wind River delivers commercial-quality Android software and takes care of the complex matters of custom software development, integration and testing to allow customers to concentrate on developing innovative features that will distinguish their devices."
"Clarion continues to be at the forefront of the newest automotive technologies. With Wind River's expert help, we are taking breakthrough Android technologies that have resonated with consumers and leveraging it for the automotive market," said T.K. Tan, Managing Director of Clarion Malaysia. "Ensuring that new technologies work for the automotive industry is a complicated task. In order to get to market quickly and deliver the highest quality device, it was critical to collaborate with an expert like Wind River who possesses deep automotive and Android experience."
Wind River's world-class customization and consulting services and global support help customers in the management of highly detailed requirements and complex project planning associated with the automotive industry. In addition to Wind River's Android software platform and services and support, Clarion is using Wind River FAST to test for device software quality and user experience. Wind River FAST is an automated software testing solution that is able to rapidly test any Android or GENIVI-based implementation for software quality, performance and compliance with the Android Compatibility Test Suite (CTS).
As a veteran in the automotive industry, Wind River is an expert in handling complex matters such as automotive regulations and combining the latest automotive innovations with integration services, life cycle support offerings, testing and validation, while working closely with a dynamic partner ecosystem to meet the needs of the automotive market. Additionally, Wind River's automotive portfolio also includes Wind River Platform for Infotainment, a software platform on which automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers can develop sophisticated IVI devices. Wind River Platform for Infotainment is among the first GENIVI-compliant automotive solutions.
For additional details about Wind River automotive solutions, visit http://www.windriver.com/solutions/automotive/.
About Wind River
Wind River, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), is a world leader in embedded and mobile software. Wind River has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices since 1981, and its technology is found in more than 1 billion products. Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., with offices in 20 countries. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com or www.facebook.com/WindRiverSystems.
Wind River, its referenced products and its logo are trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. Other company names and marks used herein may be the property of their respective owners.
Apple II drum sequencer surfaces for chiptune composers
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 06:37 PM PST
[Thanks, Seth]
Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 05:46 PM PST
Siri hasn't been caught cooking dinner yet, but hackers worldwide have boldly taken Apple's personal assistant to a whole new level by incorporating its functionality with a plethora of different devices. We've seen Siri use custom commands, change the temperature in your house, and even allow select car owners to utilize their automobile's Bluetooth integration. Nifty, no doubt, but this assistant's evolution towards greater heights isn't over yet. Vimeo user toddtreece has whipped up a slick demo of the iPhone 4S' right hand gal (or guy) taking command of his television set. From changing channels to turning off devices, with the help of a proxy and a few parts, you can get your own home setup running on voice activation. Feeling a bit guilty for your sudden interest in slothfulness? Fret not -- Siri's apparently quite good at calling you out. Have a look just after the break.
[Thanks, Jesse]
Urban Ears Plattan headphones prove that quilted isn't just for toilet paper anymore
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 04:42 PM PST
Get diagnosed by spitting on an iPhone, social graces terminal
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 03:57 PM PST
Korean scientists reckon that the capacitive touchscreens on our phones and tablets could help diagnose diseases from what's floating around in your mouth. It works through the screen's ability to detect minute capacitive differences in disease-carrying liquids placed on its surface. Experiments by Hyun Gyu Park and Byoung Yeon Won at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology in Daejeon managed to detect chlamydia microbes in three different concentrations. Once again, the iPhone acted as medical chief, although the setup isn't yet able to distinguish between different bugs. There are also teething troubles with the touchscreen, as capacitive read-outs can be affected by moisture and sweat that are on the screen alongside your 'sample.' One solution to this would be to create a disposable film that attaches to the iPhone surface. There's a second reason for this, as Park diplomatically puts it: "Nobody wants direct application of bio-samples onto their phone." Let's hope Siri doesn't take it personally.
[Sneezing photo via Shutterstock]
Acer's 27-inch HR274H monitor promises to do 2D-to-3D conversion on the fly
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 03:19 PM PST
New Acer HR274H 3D Display Converts 2D Content to 3D
New Lightweight Flicker-Free Polarized Glasses Make Viewing Vibrant 3D Imagery More Convenient and Comfortable Than Ever
SAN JOSE, CA, Nov 29, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Acer America Corp., the number one provider of 3D displays worldwide(1), today introduced the Acer HR274H, a 27-inch 3D monitor featuring new advances in 3D technology. Featuring Acer's innovative chip-based solution, the new monitor can convert any 2D content to 3D, allowing anyone to watch their favorite movies, videos, photos and games in 3D.
With crystal clear 1920 x 1080 resolution, it is the ideal monitor for advanced 1080p full HD gaming on a PC, Blu-ray Disc(TM) console gaming, widescreen movie playback and multimedia and productivity applications.
"The Acer HR274H delivers the highest level of realism available for fans of 3D games, TV programming, movies and photos," said Chris White, senior director of product marketing, Acer America. "Every detail is so clear, bright and rich in color, immersing yourself in your favorite game or movie has never been so utterly exhilarating."
Through a single HDMI cable connection, the HR274H monitor easily connects to any 3D-enabled PC, Blu-ray(TM) player, game console, cable set top box or camera. 3D enthusiasts can then enjoy a broad selection of high-quality 3D content, including more than 550 full-HD 1080p 3D games, more than 100 Blu-ray 3D movies and thousands of 3D videos and photos from YouTube and 3DVisionLive.com.
3D for Everyone Acer's innovate chip based solution easily converts any 2D content to 3D in real time. There is no extra software required; the feature only needs to be enabled via the on-screen-display. This allows regular movies and traditional photos and videos to be enjoyed in a completely new way. In addition, it works with any graphics card, so popular PC games can now be viewed in eye-popping 3D.
Lightweight Polarized Glasses Reduce Eye Strain Acer includes a set of polarized glasses that deliver vibrant 3D imagery without straining the eyes. In addition, the glasses do not require batteries and are made of composite materials for a lightweight comfortable fit, which makes viewing 3D content more convenient and comfortable than ever before.
Film-patterned retarder (FPR) technology in the Acer display and glasses enable a flicker-free 3D viewing experience. This reduces eye strain, fatigue, and headaches by separating left/right images so only one image reaches the left or right lens at a time. It also eliminates ghosting, since the display and glasses don't need to synchronize. Slightly larger than first generation 3D glasses, they provide a wider viewing area and increased external light blocking.
High quality moving images and a crystal clear viewing experience is provided through 2ms response times and an impressive 100 million:1 contrast ratio.
Eco-Friendly The Acer HR274H monitor uses LED backlight technology, minimizing environmental impact while offering superior performance and durability. White LEDs do not contain the toxic substance mercury, making them safer for the environment. They also consume less power and are more durable than CCFL lamps, resulting in big savings. It is also RoHS compliant, ENERGY STAR(R) certified and is packaged in recyclable materials.
Pricing and Availability The 27-inch Acer HR274H 3D LCD is available for U.S. customers at leading retailers with an MSRP of $599. It includes a three-year parts and labor limited warranty(2).
About Acer Since its founding in 1976, Acer has achieved the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Globally, Acer ranks No. 2 for notebook PCs(3). A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental to the company's continuing growth, while its multi-brand approach integrates Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell, and eMachines brands in worldwide markets. Acer designs environmentally friendly products and has established a green supply chain through collaboration with suppliers. Acer is proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement, including supporting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and London 2012 Olympic Games. The Acer Group employs 8,000 people worldwide. Revenues for 2010 reached US$19.9 billion. Visit www.acer-group.com for more information.
Copyright 2011 Acer America Corp. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. All offers subject to change without notice or obligation and may not be available through all sales channels. Prices listed are manufacturer suggested retail price and may vary by location. Applicable sales tax extra.
1. Source: DisplaySearch, FY 2010 2. Limited warranties and service agreements apply. May not be available in all locations. Availability varies. Other conditions apply. 3. Source, Gartner data Q3 2011.
New Lightweight Flicker-Free Polarized Glasses Make Viewing Vibrant 3D Imagery More Convenient and Comfortable Than Ever
SAN JOSE, CA, Nov 29, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Acer America Corp., the number one provider of 3D displays worldwide(1), today introduced the Acer HR274H, a 27-inch 3D monitor featuring new advances in 3D technology. Featuring Acer's innovative chip-based solution, the new monitor can convert any 2D content to 3D, allowing anyone to watch their favorite movies, videos, photos and games in 3D.
With crystal clear 1920 x 1080 resolution, it is the ideal monitor for advanced 1080p full HD gaming on a PC, Blu-ray Disc(TM) console gaming, widescreen movie playback and multimedia and productivity applications.
"The Acer HR274H delivers the highest level of realism available for fans of 3D games, TV programming, movies and photos," said Chris White, senior director of product marketing, Acer America. "Every detail is so clear, bright and rich in color, immersing yourself in your favorite game or movie has never been so utterly exhilarating."
Through a single HDMI cable connection, the HR274H monitor easily connects to any 3D-enabled PC, Blu-ray(TM) player, game console, cable set top box or camera. 3D enthusiasts can then enjoy a broad selection of high-quality 3D content, including more than 550 full-HD 1080p 3D games, more than 100 Blu-ray 3D movies and thousands of 3D videos and photos from YouTube and 3DVisionLive.com.
3D for Everyone Acer's innovate chip based solution easily converts any 2D content to 3D in real time. There is no extra software required; the feature only needs to be enabled via the on-screen-display. This allows regular movies and traditional photos and videos to be enjoyed in a completely new way. In addition, it works with any graphics card, so popular PC games can now be viewed in eye-popping 3D.
Lightweight Polarized Glasses Reduce Eye Strain Acer includes a set of polarized glasses that deliver vibrant 3D imagery without straining the eyes. In addition, the glasses do not require batteries and are made of composite materials for a lightweight comfortable fit, which makes viewing 3D content more convenient and comfortable than ever before.
Film-patterned retarder (FPR) technology in the Acer display and glasses enable a flicker-free 3D viewing experience. This reduces eye strain, fatigue, and headaches by separating left/right images so only one image reaches the left or right lens at a time. It also eliminates ghosting, since the display and glasses don't need to synchronize. Slightly larger than first generation 3D glasses, they provide a wider viewing area and increased external light blocking.
High quality moving images and a crystal clear viewing experience is provided through 2ms response times and an impressive 100 million:1 contrast ratio.
Eco-Friendly The Acer HR274H monitor uses LED backlight technology, minimizing environmental impact while offering superior performance and durability. White LEDs do not contain the toxic substance mercury, making them safer for the environment. They also consume less power and are more durable than CCFL lamps, resulting in big savings. It is also RoHS compliant, ENERGY STAR(R) certified and is packaged in recyclable materials.
Pricing and Availability The 27-inch Acer HR274H 3D LCD is available for U.S. customers at leading retailers with an MSRP of $599. It includes a three-year parts and labor limited warranty(2).
About Acer Since its founding in 1976, Acer has achieved the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Globally, Acer ranks No. 2 for notebook PCs(3). A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental to the company's continuing growth, while its multi-brand approach integrates Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell, and eMachines brands in worldwide markets. Acer designs environmentally friendly products and has established a green supply chain through collaboration with suppliers. Acer is proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement, including supporting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and London 2012 Olympic Games. The Acer Group employs 8,000 people worldwide. Revenues for 2010 reached US$19.9 billion. Visit www.acer-group.com for more information.
Copyright 2011 Acer America Corp. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. All offers subject to change without notice or obligation and may not be available through all sales channels. Prices listed are manufacturer suggested retail price and may vary by location. Applicable sales tax extra.
1. Source: DisplaySearch, FY 2010 2. Limited warranties and service agreements apply. May not be available in all locations. Availability varies. Other conditions apply. 3. Source, Gartner data Q3 2011.
Nokia Siemens Networks looks to unload WiMax division onto NewNet Communication
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:57 PM PST
WiMax expansion isn't exactly all the rage as of late, and so it comes as no surprise that Nokia Siemens Networks is shedding itself of the extraneous baggage. Following its recent whopping round of layoffs, the move is a continuation of the company's efforts to bring stability to its bottom line. NewNet Communication Technologies has agreed to bring the castoff WiMax technologies into its fold, along with approximately 300 NSN employees -- all for an undisclosed price -- in a deal that's expected to be finalized before year's end. A full press release follows the break. NewNet plans to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks WiMAX business
Espoo, Finland / Shelton, Connecticut – November 29, 2011
NewNet Communication Technologies, LLC, a Skyview Capital, LLC portfolio company, announced today that the company plans to acquire the former Motorola Solutions' WiMAX business from Nokia Siemens Networks. Under the terms of the agreement, NewNet would acquire the complete WiMAX product portfolio, the related employees and assets, as well as active customer and supplier contracts. Approximately 300 Nokia Siemens Networks employees would transfer to NewNet. The companies expect to close before December 31, 2011.
"The addition of the WiMAX business would enhance the breadth of NewNet's product portfolio, R&D capabilities, customer relationships and our overall market position in providing wireless infrastructure solutions to carriers on a global basis. We are thrilled at the prospect of welcoming a world-class group of WiMAX pioneers and thought leaders to the NewNet team," said Ron Pyles, president and CEO of NewNet. "NewNet recognizes there is enormous potential in providing outstanding products, support and services to operators who have already invested heavily in WiMAX technologies as well as those who will do so in the future. We are committed to serving the market with an industry leading roadmap and innovative product migration options."
"We believe that our current WiMAX customers would receive the highest quality products, services and sales support from NewNet," said Marc Rouanne, head of Network Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks. "This transaction would also provide an excellent opportunity for our WiMAX employees. We have great confidence in NewNet's plans to become a major WiMAX infrastructure provider. The company has a solid track record in acquiring telecommunication businesses and driving revenue growth."
"This transaction represents a significant milestone in our strategy of building a strong global presence in the telecommunications marketplace through NewNet Communication Technologies", said Alex Soltani, chairman and CEO of Skyview Capital. "We are very excited about the WiMAX market opportunity and are fully committed to supporting Ron and his team as they evolve the business into a global leadership position."
As a part of the transaction the companies expect to transition approximately 300 globally deployed Nokia Siemens Networks employees to NewNet. Many of these employees are based in suburban Chicago, USA and Hangzhou, China. Nokia Siemens Networks and NewNet believe this acquisition would provide transferring employees with attractive professional growth opportunities in a solid, technologically advanced company that has an on-going focus within their core areas of expertise.
Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Espoo, Finland / Shelton, Connecticut – November 29, 2011
NewNet Communication Technologies, LLC, a Skyview Capital, LLC portfolio company, announced today that the company plans to acquire the former Motorola Solutions' WiMAX business from Nokia Siemens Networks. Under the terms of the agreement, NewNet would acquire the complete WiMAX product portfolio, the related employees and assets, as well as active customer and supplier contracts. Approximately 300 Nokia Siemens Networks employees would transfer to NewNet. The companies expect to close before December 31, 2011.
"The addition of the WiMAX business would enhance the breadth of NewNet's product portfolio, R&D capabilities, customer relationships and our overall market position in providing wireless infrastructure solutions to carriers on a global basis. We are thrilled at the prospect of welcoming a world-class group of WiMAX pioneers and thought leaders to the NewNet team," said Ron Pyles, president and CEO of NewNet. "NewNet recognizes there is enormous potential in providing outstanding products, support and services to operators who have already invested heavily in WiMAX technologies as well as those who will do so in the future. We are committed to serving the market with an industry leading roadmap and innovative product migration options."
"We believe that our current WiMAX customers would receive the highest quality products, services and sales support from NewNet," said Marc Rouanne, head of Network Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks. "This transaction would also provide an excellent opportunity for our WiMAX employees. We have great confidence in NewNet's plans to become a major WiMAX infrastructure provider. The company has a solid track record in acquiring telecommunication businesses and driving revenue growth."
"This transaction represents a significant milestone in our strategy of building a strong global presence in the telecommunications marketplace through NewNet Communication Technologies", said Alex Soltani, chairman and CEO of Skyview Capital. "We are very excited about the WiMAX market opportunity and are fully committed to supporting Ron and his team as they evolve the business into a global leadership position."
As a part of the transaction the companies expect to transition approximately 300 globally deployed Nokia Siemens Networks employees to NewNet. Many of these employees are based in suburban Chicago, USA and Hangzhou, China. Nokia Siemens Networks and NewNet believe this acquisition would provide transferring employees with attractive professional growth opportunities in a solid, technologically advanced company that has an on-going focus within their core areas of expertise.
Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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