Archives for July 2010

MacBook Air Update Could Be Arriving this Year

Apple [AAPL] could be updating the MacBook Air this year. We are hearing that Apple could be shrinking down the 13.3 inch screen down to 11.6 inches putting it closer to netbook territory. We also hear that a new low-voltage Core processor could be added along with a new GPU.

As well as shrinking the screen and switching the CPU and GPU we also hear that the SSD might be replaced with a larger capacity model.

We also hear that the new MacBook Air will be thinner and lighter than the previous model. With it having a smaller 11.6 inch screen, the lighter part we can see. In regards to the thinner part, it will be interesting to see how thin they can make the thing. [Read more…]

iOS 4.1 Implements AVRCP Stereo Bluetooth Controls

As well as changing the formula that calculates the signal strength and bars on the iPhone 4, iOS 4.1 also includes ACRCP stereo Bluetooth controls.

What that allows you to do is pair your iPhone iOS 4 device with headphones or a car stereo and control it from the said devices.

Previously you could play and pause tracks, but now you can use the rest of the controls such as the volume and skip track controls. [Read more…]

Google Android Hits 1 Billion App Downloads

Androidlib track Google Android apps and growth rate of the Android Market Place. Recently their estimates indicated that over 1 Billion apps have been downloaded since launch which is a very impressive number.

Hitting 1 Billion downloads is a huge milestone to reach. This number arrives just as the Market Place is to get it’s 100,000th app approved which is expected any time now.

The download numbers are estimates though, so it isn’t clear how the numbers are calculated and how accurate they are. Either way, if it hasn’t officially passed the 1 billion mark, it cant be far away now. [Read more…]

Aegis 640GB Bio Hard Drive

Apricorn has updated it’s Aegis Bio range of portable hard drives by upping the capacity to 640GB.

The Bio Hard drive as the name suggested has biometric security built in that requires authentication before the data can be accessed. By swiping a finger of the sensor you gain access to encrypted files.

The external hard drive is USB 2.0 compatible and is capable of transferring files at speeds of up to 480MBps via a built in USB cable. [Read more…]

Elonex 710EB eReader Ready for Pre-Order

The Elonex 710EB eBook reader with colour screen is now available for pre-order in the UK. The device has an LED backlit screen measuring 7 inches which is a change from the usual e-ink we see on most eBook Readers. The LCD screen does drain battery life though from the usual “days or weeks” that we see with e-Ink down to 8 hours on a single charge.

The 7 inch screen has an 800 x 480 resolution and is touchscreen. For connectivity it has wireless built in that can connect to 802.11b/g networks along with microUSB and a HDMI port. [Read more…]

Buffalo Link Theatre LT-V100 Now Available

Buffalo has launched a new media-player called the Link Theatre LT-V100. The new model supports 1080p video, DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 and also supports several formats which include MPEG-2, MPEG-4 SP/ASP and MPEG-4 AVC.

For pictures and audio it supports jpeg, bmp, png, gif, tiff, WMA, Mp3, WAV, OGG, FLAC and LPCM. [Read more…]

iOS 4.1 Update – What’s Included?

CultofMac have looked in to what new is coming with the iOS 4.1 update that launched in beta to developers just last night. We already know that the signal bar is being redone with the lower 3 bars being raised slightly and a whole new and accurate formula to represent what signal users have.

Also included in the iOS 4.1 update are changed and a revamp of the Games Center application as well as FaceTime favourites and a camera app update that sees auto-rotate being added to the application. Currently the layout stays the same with the icons rotating.

As expected, there isn’t really much added to the new iOS 4.1 and that’s to be expected on an update that arrives so soon after the initial launch of iOS 4.0. [Read more…]

HP Android Tablet Ditched

HP is rumoured to be releasing a few tablet computers although it’s not exactly clear just yet which direction they are going. Earlier this year the HP Slate was announced where Microsoft [MSFT] showed the Slate running Windows 7. Shortly after that it appeared that the Windows version of the HP Slate was going to be scrapped due to HP buying Palm which included the rights to webOS. We then heard a HP webOS tablet would be launched as well as a HP Android Tablet.

We now hear that the Android variant of the tablet has been shelved for now while it seems that HP are focusing on a HP webOS based tablet. [Read more…]

Samsung Vibrant Galaxy S Now Available at T-Mobile US

Last week we heard rumours that T-Mobile could be launching the Samsung Vibrant Galaxy S class smartphone on July 15. It turns out the rumour was correct and for those in the US, you can now go ahead and buy the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant.

The Vibrant costs $199.99 (same as the DROID X that also launches today) and also comes with a two year agreement that needs to be signed. Off contract the Samsung Vibrant costs $499.99.

The Samsung Vibrant is a branded Galaxy S class phone that has a 4 inch Super AMOLED screen that is very Vibrant, hence the name. It comes with Android pre-installed. [Read more…]

Motorola DROID X Now Available

Today is July 15 which means that the Motorola DROID X is now available to purchase.

You can log on now to the Verizon Wireless site and order it now. The DROID X costs $199.99 which includes a two year service agreement.

If you prefer to get a DROID X on a 1 year contract then the price goes up to $269.99 which isn’t bad at all. If you prefer to get the smartphone off contract then the full price of the smartphone is $569.99. [Read more…]

Apple iOS 4.1 Released to Developers

Apple [AAPL] has pushed out iOS 4.1 to developers. The new update includes the fix for the signal reporting problems that the iPhone 4 has. Something to note here is that it doesn’t fix the antenna problems, but instead just fixes the signal bars so that they represent the actual signal better.

We are not part of the developer program, so do not have the download yet to install, but Mobile Crunch does and has made a video showing that the signal still drops when touching the bottom left of the iPhone 4’s antennae as seen below.

Gizmodo has put together a quick image showing the old vs new bar size as Apple has increased the size of the smaller of the 5 signal bars to make them easier to see. Image also below. Again, this is just a cosmetic type fix to help you see how good or bad your signal is and doesn’t actually fix the signal issues (that is assuming you get problems with the antenna which not all people do). [Read more…]

Apple iPhone 4 Press Conference to be Held July 16

Apple [AAPL] has invited press to a press conference tomorrow to discuss the iPhone 4. The reason for the press conference isn’t known officially but our best guess is that they want to talk about antenna problems.

Other things that could crop up at the iPhone 4 press conference tomorrow have been speculated to include a price drop for the iPhone 4 although we doubt it would be a good move for Apple to announce that in light of all the antenna issues they have been getting recently… that of course is unless they plan to give all iPhone 4 buyers some cash back for example. [Read more…]