Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
If you ever wanted to look popular to your friends, but don’t happen to be the popular type then this app could be perfect for you. The application is called iNotifyYou and is capable of faking notifications on your iPhone so you can show your friends that you are so popular because you have over 5,000 text messages waiting for your reply.
The application lets you alter notification numbers for any application that runs on your home screen. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has said that your Android battery should last a day. This information first came from Larry Page over at the Google annual partner forum, Google Zeitgest. This information was then backed up by Eric Schmidt.
The problem as described by Larry is that people install applications that constantly keep data going such as Twitter and other apps. When applications constantly run in the background they tend to eat up battery life and drop the life of the charge down significantly.
“I have noticed there are a few people who have phones where there is software running in the background that just sort of exhausts the battery quickly. If you are not getting a day, there is something wrong.”
iFixit has decided, along with Chipworks, that it was time to teardown a Microsoft Kin Two that recently launched, to see what exactly is inside and what makes it run. We often see the technical specs which includes details of how much RAM, ROM a device has along with what type of processor powers the device and how fast it runs, but generally it stops there. What these teardowns do is let us know all the parts in detail such as what kind of RAM is used, what camera is used and who builds the camera etc…
What we do find out about the Microsoft Kin Two is that is uses a Sony IMX046 camera to capture images and that the camera has an 8.11 megapixel effective resolution. [Read more…]
Facebook has announced a new mobile website called 0.facebook.com that allows free access to the Facebook service on some network carriers around the world. What we mean by free access is that there will be no data charges to get to facebook at this web address.
The 0.facebook.com site has been optimised for speed and is based around text rather than images and logos. A lot of the common functions and key features have been included at this web address and accessing them on a number of carriers will give you no charges unless you decide to open up photos and other media.
Facebook has worked with 50 mobile operators in 45 countries to get the zero charge facebook to users. A list of countries can be found over on the announcement page here. [Read more…]
Apple [AAPL] has launched the latest beta for iPhone OS 4.0 which brings it one step closer to being launched for the iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4G when available.
One of the features found by users indicates that we might finally see internet tethering on the iPhone. The settings screens pictured above (and larger below) show the network settings page with a control for Internet Tethering over Bluetooth or USB. When selecting this option a screen is presented asking you to enable the account via a phone number or a website. [Read more…]
Avataron has created an app that allows your Apple iPad to function as a secondary monitor for your Mac. The app is called Air Display and uses the WiFi built in to the iPad to transmit data to and from the Mac.
Simply put, it extends the desktop on your Mac allowing you to drag windows across to the iPad as and when needed. Another interesting feature of the application is it’s ability to use the touchscreen of the iPad as a mouse to control the mac if needed.
The application isn’t available just yet and is going to be submitted to Apple [AAPL] next week for approval. If approved you’ll get the ability to use the iPad as a mini screen assuming you also install the app on your Mac to allow the two to communicate together. [Read more…]
Seagate is launching a new hard drive later this year with a huge capacity of 3TB. The new 3TB drive won’t function on all computers though due to it’s sheer size.
Back in the 80’s the standard set for hard drives restricted them to 2.1 TB (a limit they might have thought couldn’t be achieved on a single drive). Due to this restriction the only way the drive will work is when using a 64-bit operating system. In particular, Windows XP will not work and you’ll need to choose a 64-bit variant of either Windows Vista or Windows 7. Also, some modified versions of Linus will be capable of running this drive.
No formal announcement has been made about the drive, but we expect that we will hear something later this year prior to the release of the mammoth drive. [Read more…]
The EB710 is a colour eBook reader that features a 7 inch TFT colour screen that is capable of displaying 800 x 480 pixels.
The manufacturer is believed to be NSECO who I don’t believe I have heard of before. Either way, the device looks quite interesting and certainly has a unique user interface from looking at the picture above.
As well as being able to read ebooks on the device, MP3 and video playback is possible. A USB 2.0 connector can be found on the device although there is no mention of wireless of 3G connectivity in the specifications. [Read more…]
Dell has launched a new laptop called the Dell Inspiron M501R. This laptop is powered by an AMD Phenom II X4 processor making it quite powerful in terms of processing power.
Other features include the choice between a HD 550v graphics card or a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250. The screen measures 15.6 inches and has a HD screen with a 720p resolution.
For connectivity the Dell M501R has WiFi 802.11n as well as Bluetooth and wired LAN. Around the edges three USB 2.0 ports can be found along with eSATA/USB and a 7 in 1 media card reader. Both a VGA and HDMI output are also to be found on this laptop. [Read more…]
Check out this Lego bridge launcher. The Lego Bridge launcher was built by Mahjqa Kreuger who managed to build a Lego vehicle that is capable of deploying it’s own bridge across a gap, driving over it’s own bridge and then recovering the bridge afterwards.
It’s quite amazing to see the video of it working and how all the various parts move to get the bridge to open up correctly.
The video can be seen after the break which is then followed by a couple of out takes which are quite fun to watch. [Read more…]
The Omnivision OV2720 is a very small image sensor that is capable of capturing video at 1080p (Full HD) resolutions. The new sensor has been compacted down making it about 1/6 of an inch in size making it ideal for being embedded in to devices such as smartphones, laptops and perhaps the iPad 2.
When recording video in 1080p, the device is capable of capturing up to 30 frames per second. The device also uses a process to achieve better image quality in low light situations which is also a bonus, especially where smartphone cameras are concerned.
Omnivision has said in the past, or at least hinted in the past, that the Apple iphone 4G could get to use the sensor, but due to manufacturing on a mass scale not happening till next month of this sensor, it could be a little late for the next generation iPhone. Instead, Devicemag believe that the OV5650 will be used instead as that sensor is also capable of capturing video at 1080p. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has updated the platform version chart that gives a break-down of which versions of Android OS are the most popular.
The reason Google launch the chart is to give information to developers on which build they should focus on most. Up till last month Google Android 1.5 and 1.6 were always in the lead with versions such as 2.0 and 2.0.1 having a very small usage foot print. For the first time though, Android 1.5/1.6 have been kicked out of the top spot and replaced by Android 2.1. 2.1 accounts for 37.2% according to the chart (larger version below) and that is followed by Android 1.5 and then 1.6.
A few interesting things to note are that some users are still on Android 1.1 which indicates either some small network is not pushing out updates, or some people are just happy the way their phone is. [Read more…]
