The European Space Agency will today launch the first two Galileo Validation Satellites in to orbit in preparation for the launch of the new tracking system called GNSS. When fully operational there will be 30 satellites in orbit (inc 3 spares) which will be at an altitude of just over 22KM.
Archives for October 2011
Samsung Galaxy Nexus UK Release Date is November 17
October 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Samsung has confirmed to Clove in the UK that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus release date will be November 17. At this point we are not sure if that means only the unlocked version priced at £515 will be available or if the networks around the UK will also be selling the device at that time on contract. Either way, prepare for a mid November launch perhaps with pre-orders being taken early in November for those devices sold on contract.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Barometer Sensor Explained
October 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
One of the unusual specs of the Galaxy Nexus is the built in barometer. This particular sensor is usually associated with forecasting weather and pressure changes. We’ve now had confirmation as to why a smartphone needs a barometer.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich Ported to Nexus S 4G
October 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Google [GOOG] launched the Android 4.0 SDK just a few days ago and already we have seen the new version of the operating system ported to another smartphone. The first phone to get the unofficial update is the Nexus S 4G.
New Apple Advert Shows off Siri
October 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Apple [AAPL] has aired its first ad for Siri on TV. The new ad doesn’t mention anything about the iPhone 4S other than right at the end. Instead, it just focusses on how people can use Siri to interact with the iPhone 4S.
The whole ad is a bunch of questions that people ask and then shows some of the answers that the Siri gives.
iPhone 4S 16GB Model Estimated to Cost $188
October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The iPhone 4S launched last week and within just a few days, 4 million of them were sold. As usual, iSuppli has decided to take a look at what components are used and then estimate the cost of building each device. The cost for each 16GB model was estimated to be $188 although this doesn’t include the build cost of $8 per item.
Leaked Nokia Sabre Windows Phone Spotted
October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Next week we should see the first Nokia Windows Phone smartphones unveiled. The picture below is believed to be one of them which carries the name of Nokia Sabre.
Toshiba Creates a 6 Inch Display with a 498ppi Density
October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Toshiba has created a new 6.1 inch display that has an extremely impressive resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. This many pixels crammed in to a 6.1 inch screen gives it a pixel density of 498ppi which is far more than that of the Retina display of the iPhone.
With the resolution that it has it also is better than full HD although it isn’t clear at the moment what is needed to keep the screen being used to its full potential (meaning the graphics chip on a tablet it will be attached to).
iPhone 4S Location Gets GLONASS Support Alongside GPS
October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Looking over the specs page of the iPhone 4S you might have noticed that as well as supporting GPS, the new smartphone also has support for GLONASS. GLONASS (meaning GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema) is Russias answer to the US GPS system. The project started as far back as 1976 and is essentially a different system to track you around the globe. At the moment GLONASS isn’t active although the last satellite was sent in to space very recently.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 16GB Priced for the UK
October 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
As the day of launch moves on we are now finding out more of the details of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Clove in the UK has just announced that it is selling the 16GB model for £514.80 inc VAT. This is of course the unlocked price. We have also been told that the 32GB model is not coming to the UK. We’ll wait for a bit more clarification on that as it could mean Clove is not stocking the 32GB model or that the larger model will only be available locked and on contract.
iPhone 4S Battery Problems – Possible Solutions
October 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
iPhone 4S users seem to be getting a little upset about the battery not lasting as long as expected. In most cases, users are reporting that the iPhone 4S has a worse battery life than the iPhone 4.
I have a mixed experience with the iPhone 4S compared to the iPhone 4 running iOS 5. Both do really well or both can perform bad depending on what features are used. It’s hard to confirm if this is all hardware related or if Apple just needs to tweak iOS 5 a little more to be more effective at getting the information it needs for location based reminders and iMessage etc… Below is a list of new features that seem to cause the battery to die.
Using Siri to Add Tasks to Remember The Milk and OmniFocus
October 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
iOS 5 on the iPhone 4S lacks an API that allows developers to integrate with Siri, we assume this will happen when Siri is taken out of Beta, but this restriction hasn’t prevented some smart ways of getting data in to apps that you want to use with voice control.
One of these is the Remember the Milk app which is used for task management. Siri by default does not speak to Remember the Milk but thanks to some smart ideas the developers can now let you add a reminder to Remember the Milk.
