Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
Microsoft is working on its next version of tablet software. This will be Windows 8, but until now the launch/debut date has not been known. We now hear that Microsoft could unveil Windows 8 for Tablet computers as early as next week. The debut will be at the AllThingsDigital conference that will be held next week.
The specific tablet it will debut on is not known, but reports indicate it will be based on an NVIDIA Tegra Chip/
iRemoco is an RC helicopter that is controlled by an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. The kit comes with a radio device that connects to the 30 pin dock connector on your iOS device. When connected, you load up an app and can then be used to fly an RC helicopter around with either two on-screen analogue controls, or by a single control and motion to move the helicopter around a room.
The app also can be used to switch between three different frequencies so that up to three helicopters can be used at the same time.
Over on the official HTC Facebook page, Peter Chou has officially announced that HTC will now open up bootloaders on HTC phones. The company will no longer lock bootloaders and in turn, allow easier access to each device.
At the moment it isn’t clear if HTC will apply this to all past devices. We are waiting for more details on this, but we suspect that HTC might, where possible, also unlock bootloaders of older devices.
The iPad 3 could be launched with an AMOLED screen according to one report today. Apple COO/acting CEO Tim Cook made a visit to South Korea last week and a suggestion has been made that he visited one of the Samsung factories (Gen-5.5). It is also believed Apple made an advanced payment for the displays.
The current capacity is 48,000 substrates per month at this particular factory and it isn’t clear how many screens can be made from each substrate. By the end of the year, the number is expected to ramp up to 100,000 substrates per month.
Google Wallet was announced by Google yesterday which brings the ability to use your smartphone to make mobile payments. By using an NFC enabled smartphone (Nexus S), you can store your card details in the phone and then make payment using the MasterCard PayPass system. For those without an NFC enabled smartphone, we hear from TechCrunch that special stickers will be used to make payment although this iteration of the system is more limited than the fully fledged NFC way.
Google Wallet is an app that will be launched soon on Android smartphones. When launched, card details, loyalty cards and gift cards will be capable of being stored. This means that you can carry your wallet around with you, without the bulk of all the cards. Looking forwards to the future, Google also comment that boarding passes, ID cards and keys will also be able to be stored in Google Wallet.
The problem with iPad 2 smartcovers is that you are always conscious of the back of the device being scratched. The smartcover does a good job of protecting the screen, but that’s all it protects.
The Tuff-Luv Tri-Axis Stasis case is one option that can provide more protection for your new iPad 2. The cases are available in several materials which includes Genuine Leather, Saddleback Leather, Napa Leather and Veggie Leather. The case wraps around the whole of the iPad 2 to keep it protected. The inside of the case is covered in microsuede that helps keep the screen protected when the case is closed. The Stasis part of the name was chosen as the case is capable of switching the iPad 2 on and off by opening/closing the front cover.
Angry Birds has been a huge success for Rovio. Back in December it hit an impressive 50 million downloads. We now hear from TechCrunch that it has now hit 200 million downloads which is more than double what was expected by the company.
iFixit has revealed that the iPhone 4 has noise cancellation technology that is powered by Audience. Audience is the same chip that is used in the Google Nexus One in that two microphones are used with one capturing the voice and the other capturing background noise. The chip then can cut out background noise to make better quality calls.
The iPhone 4 uses this same technology. When iFixit first took the iPhone 4 apart, they did find two microphones but it wasn’t clear what technology was being used for noise cancellation. After another look inside the iPhone 4 when the Verizon model launched, the same mysterious unknown chip was found inside. Rather than ignore it, Chipworks (friends of iFixit), decided to take a look inside the chip and they found the following:
An advert showing the Nokia N9 has leaked. The new ad looks to be officially made by Nokia and shows a few features of the N9. With this in mind, it’s believed that the new MeeGo powered smartphone will be launching soon.
Although it is believed to be a MeeGo powered smartphone, there’s also some hints that it could be using Anna. Symbian Anna is the new version of Symbian^3 that currently runs on the latest Nokia phones. Until Nokia make an official announcement, or if info leaks, we wont know for sure which OS it runs. If you take a look at the Facebook Page found here, you might also see that it could actually be MeeGo after all.
Amazon is likely to be launching two new tablets by the end of this year. The two tablets are codenamed Coyote and Hollywood with Coyote being the entry level tablet which will utilise a Dual-Core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor inside. Moving on to Hollywood, it is expected that Amazon will use a quad-core chip called the NVIDIA T30 “Kal-El”.
Near Field Communications (NFC) was first rumored to be arriving in the iPhone 4 last year. This of course didn’t happen. Due to a few Apple patents, these rumors were then reignited for the soon to be released iPhone 5. We now hear that this also wont be happening.
The x2301 is a new display from HP that measures 23 inches diagonal and is also classed as being very thin. The monitor is just 9.8mm thin which is achieved by moving a lot of the electronics in to the base/stand of the monitor. The weight of the screen is also quite low at 7.7lbs.
