Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
HTC has uploaded a video to Youtube that shows more details about the new tablet called the HTC Flyer. The video explains the benefits of the 7 inch screen in that it makes the device lighter and still big enough to make useful. The 7 inch screen has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.
We also learn that the Flyer is built using a unibody, similar to how the iPad and other Apple products are made. The Flyer tablet runs a 1.5GHz CPU and uses the Scribe pen for digital note taking. [Read more…]
Photoshop for the iPad can currently be described as a very basic image editor that lets you add some effects, change colors and do some basic manipulation. This will soon change though as a new version of Photoshop for iPad has been revealed. The new version allows even more interaction with images on the iPad and includes the ability to work with layers.
No release date has been made available yet for the app. The cost is also not known although we could see the same as the current Photoshop app in that it could just land as a free update. We expect to know more about this in the coming weeks. [Read more…]
Samsung is beginning to mass-produce a transparent 22 inch LCD panel. Each screen is either black and white, or color and has a contrast ratio of 500:1 with a resolution of 1680×1050 pixels.
“Transparent displays will have a wide range of use in all industry areas as an efficient tool for delivering information and communication. With the world’s first mass production of the transparent LCD panel, Samsung Electronics plans to lead the global transparent LCD market by developing various applications.”
Each of the screens has a transparency of either 20% for the B/W model and 15% for the color model. This is higher than the next competitor which is rated at 5%. [Read more…]
Android Developers has announced the launch of in-app billing for developers and app users on the Android ecosystem.
What this system does is allows developers to create apps that utilize in-app purchases. In turn, when users are using those apps, they can choose to pay and upgrade or add new features as they are released.
This also opens up an alternative way to try before you by apps in that you can offer a cut down app to users and then when they pay, the extra functions are added on. [Read more…]
The HTC Thunderbolt has been overclocked up to 1.8GHz. This was enabled by twitter user @drod2169 who managed to create a new kernal. This new kernal could be configured to increase the speeds from the regular amount which is 1GHz, to almost double the speed.
What makes this task even more interesting is the effect that the clock increase has when benchmarking the smartphone. To see the graph, check out the image below. At the top of the list called “Your device:” is the Thunderbolt which scored an impressive 2772. [Read more…]
We’ve already seen the insides of the iPad 2 and now, iFixit has gone more in to detail with the radios to see what differences there are between the WiFi only, CDMA and GSM models.
What you are looking at above is three versions of the iPad 2 headphone jack. You’ll notice that the top two are the same, but the bottom one houses a microSIM slot (meaning it’s the GSM model).
What you see below is another comparison of the iPad 2 main boards. Each looks identical on the right of the board, but you’ll notice the top one uses a Toshiba chip on the left while the other two use Samsung. Also, you’ll notice that the bottom two are the CDMA and GSM versions and each has an extra attachment on the end which houses all the necessary chips to make the communications work. [Read more…]
Evernote has announced that they have redesigned the web based version of their note taking software. The Evernote web app now features a new design, improved user experience and better performance.
The web app also now reflects what the desktop app looks like in that you get the familiar three-column layout with folders on the left, notes in the middle and content on the right. [Read more…]
Microsoft is working on a new version, perhaps update, for the Windows Phone platform. The new update could arrive this year and when it does, it will bring a mobile payment technology to the smartphone. However, current smartphones are more than likely not compatible with the new service which means it will be available on new hardware only.
The system follows on from what Google is doing with Android 2.3 Gingerbread where smartphones embedded with NFC (near field communications), can be used as mobile wallets. Microsoft will include the necessary code in Windows Phone so that manufacturers can add NFC to their smartphones and in turn, allow end users to make payments by waving their phone over a sensor. [Read more…]
Spotify has announced that its service has been integrated in to Onkyo’s new sound systems. In particular, all of Onkyo’s 2011 network models will now come with Spotify enabled which allows you to stream plenty of music from the Spotify service. The two current models that support it are the TX-NR609 and the TX-SR608.
To configure the service, you just need to connect it up to your TV and use the on-screen interface to sort through tracks and playlists. All the features of the desktop app appear to be available on the Onkyo models in that you can search, browse, look through playlists and get recommendations. [Read more…]
When Samsung launches the Galaxy S2, it’ll come with the new TouchWiz 4.0 UI. We normally cringe a little when we hear smartphones are getting an alternative to vanilla overlay. This time around, it could change a little though as the new TouchWiz actually looks quite useful.
What we see in a video, created by Android Community, are a few new features that make use of the sensors on the Galaxy S2.
The first of these features allows you to hold down on the screen and when you move the device towards or away from you, the webpage zooms in and out. [Read more…]
After a few months of seeing pictures of the Acer Iconia, we now hear it’s actually going to be shipping in the next few weeks.
The Iconia is a dual-screen Touchbook that allows users to work with two 14 inch touchscreens. When opened like a laptop, a virtual keyboard can be set on the lower screen while a regular OS running on the top screen.
The technical specs reveal that the device runs an Intel Core i5 chip. The operating system is Windows 7 and the screens are covered in Gorilla glass to make it extra strong. [Read more…]
We’ve mentioned the quadrocopters before and how amazed we are at the speed and agility of them.
Today, we are even more impressed in that we now see a couple of quadrocopters working together to pass a small white ball back and forth through the air. When working alone, the quadrocopter can keep the ball in the air. If someone throws a ball at it, it can pass it back to the thrower. Accuracy doesn’t look to be quite 100%, but it certainly doesn’t look far from it as it might miss maybe 1 in 10 although that number is based on an edited video and not real numbers. [Read more…]
