HTC Thunderbolt Clocked to 1.8GHz

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPad 2 Radio Teardown

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: iPad

Evernote Web Interface Gets New Redesign

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Microsoft Mobile Payment Technology Coming Soon

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Onkyo AV Receiver Supports Spotify Music Streaming

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Gesture and Motion Controls on Samsung Galaxy S2 Demoed

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Acer Iconia Dual-Screen Touchbook Shipping April

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Impressive Quadrocopters Juggle Ball In the Air

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Flying Gadgets

DROID X and 2 get Android 2.3 Update Unofficially

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It is now possible to update your DROID X or 2 to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, thanks to the guys over at MyDroidWorld.

Each of the smartphones needs to be rooted prior to installing the updates and once installed, the Gingerbread update cannot actually be rooted yet although the team is working on that. We also hear that it’s easy enough to jump back to a stock install in case things don’t go as well as planned, or if you run in to too many problems. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPad 2 UK Sells Out

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Reports today are hinting that the iPad 2 has sold out in the UK and that stock will not be available for a few more weeks now. The Daily Mail says that within 24 hours, all iPad 2’s we gone. What we have found is that a few other stores (non Apple stores) still have a few left here and there. If you want to still get your hands on one in the UK, check the likes of Argos through the morning. We found that very occasionally, a particular model would be available for next day or 2 day delivery. Other than that, most places have little or no stock.

It isn’t known just yet how many iPad 2 units were sold in the UK, or across Europe for that matter. We expect Apple to publish a press release in the next few weeks telling us that they beat last years iPad launch. We also expect that we might need to wait for the 2 – 5 week wait for UK shipments to pass so those numbers can also be reported on. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Amazon Cloud Player Service Goes Live

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Amazon has launched a streaming service called Amazon Cloud Player. What it does is allow you to upload your music to the Amazon Cloud Drive and then stream the music back to your computer or Android smartphone.

The system works by you purchasing an MP3 album in the Amazon US store and when clicking purchase, you select the “Save to Amazon Cloud Drive” option. When done, your music becomes available for you to stream online. There are two ways to play the music. The first is to use Amazon Cloud Player for web in which you get 5GB of storage for free on a Cloud Drive. The other option allows you to use an Android app that you can download to your Google Android smartphone. This allows you to stream any of your music from anywhere. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Google Nexus Tablet Could be Built by LG

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Information provided by Mobile Review hints that Google is looking to make a Google Nexus Tablet device. The company who has been given the task of creating the Google branded tablet is LG.

If LG go ahead and make it, the tablet will follow on from a couple of smartphones with the first being built by HTC (Nexus One) and the second being a Samsung device called the Nexus S.

Right now, it isn’t clear if Google will use the Nexus Tablet externally and make it available, or if it might be for internal development only. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News