Steve Jobs On Space of

Steve Jobs On Space of

Go Ahead, Drop This Tablet Into the Toilet

LAS VEGAS — Admit it, you’ve used your favorite gadget gear in the bathroom and, at least once, that phone (or even your tablet) has taken the plunge. You fumbled and in it went into the toilet or sink — or perhaps the tub. If you have one of these new tablets and phones from Fujitsu, though, you don’t have to worry. They can survive a drop into the drink and even full submersion for up to 30 minutes. Fujitsu proved this simple fact in a live demonstration at this year’s CES 2012.

Fujitsu dipped the white, 10.1-inch Android tablet into a bowl of water and then, finally, slipped it fully beneath the shiny surface. Then they grabbed an equally slender Android phone and dropped it in beside the tablet. How do they do it? Well, Fujitsu wasn’t exactly forthcoming. They promised that the ports are “covered” and that the gadgets would work fine when removed. However, they would not describe the exact technology used to keep the tablet and phone safe from the H2O.



Still, when they pulled the gadgets from the drink and let them drip-dry, they worked — perfectly.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that Fujitsu won’t bring this waterproof tech to the U.S. until it’s proven in Japan. So, for now, folks, please keep a tight grip on that tablet and those phones when you’re using the facilities.

Windows 8 Beta Roadmap Leaked


Next month, Microsoft should make the beta version of Windows 8 available for public download, following the release of a Developer Preview in September last year.
In this regard, some new details on the Windows 8 Beta roadmap have emerged, suggesting that the build might be ready for preview as soon as January 30.
At the moment, Windows 8 is still in a pre-Beta state, and should remain the same until January 21, WinUnleaked reports.
Starting with January 23, it will enter the Beta Escrow period, and testers will have until January 28 to vote for the Beta final build.
After Windows 8 Beta is signed off, Microsoft is expected to display it during an internal preview.The news site also notes that the currently targeted build number for Windows 8 Beta is 8200.winmain_win8b1.
Previously, Microsoft confirmed that it was targeting the second half of February as the release timeframe for the beta flavor of Windows 8.
Some suggested that there might be a connection between Windows 8 Beta’s release date and the Mobile World Congress that will kick off in Barcelona in late February.
Since Windows 8 will target tablet PCs, chances are that we’ll see new such devices being showcased at the event.
Microsoft already demoed Windows 8 on a Samsung tablet PC, and it should be only a matter of time before more such devices are being unveiled.
Compared to the Developer Preview, the Beta version of Windows 8 will bring along some new UI changes, along with a resizable on-screen keyboard and access to the Windows 8 Store.
Following the February release in Beta, Windows 8 should hit Gold sometime towards mid-2012. The first tablet PCs running under it are expected to be released in late 2012, and should pack Intel processors inside. Windows 8-based ARM tablets might not arrive on shelves before the end of this year.

Beetel Magiq Glide unveiled in India


Beetel has launched a new Android tablet Magiq Glide in India. Beetel Magiq Glide is the upgraded version of Beetel Magiq tablet, this new tablet features a capacitive display. This new tablet is powered by Android 2.2 Froyo OS and 1 GHz processor.

Magiq Glide sports a 7 inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, an optical trackpad, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity and Google market access. It sports dual camera front 2 MP for video calls and 2 MP rear camera.

Beetel Magiq Glide comes with an internal memory of 8 GB which can be expanded up to 16 GB with the help of microSD card slot. It is energized by 2200 mAh Li-Ion battery, which offers up to 60 hours of standby time.

Beetel Magiq Glide is priced at Rs. 11,999.

Although there have been doubts about the Nook (and e-book readers in general) lately, Barnes & Noble isn't giving up on the brand anytime soon.


Although there have been doubts about the Nook (and e-book readers in general) lately, Barnes & Noble isn't giving up on the brand anytime soon.

CEO William Lynch told CNBC today that Barnes & Noble will continue to reinforce the relationship between the digital Nook e-book brand and its brick-and-mortar stores.

Rebuffing the idea that B&N would be spinning off its Nook unit, instead, Lynch reaffirmed the company's stance on the future of digital content:

The growth is going to be in digital, hence our investments in digital and how we've scaled that business. But the physical book business, by any measure and any projection, will continue to be the largest part of the business, and we've been growing share there, and in fact growing the business in absolute terms...That is a very profitable side of the business.

Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble said in a statement that it's examining how to "unlock" the value of the Nook unit after disappointing sales results--especially for the Nook Simple Touch reader that debuted in May.

In December, Barnes & Noble reported fiscal second-quarter losses of $6.6 million, though there was a silver lining: the recently released Nook Tablet is said to be the fastest selling Nook product in history.

Nevertheless, Lynch argued during the CNBC interview that the Nook brand is "undervalued," and that B&N has established the No. 2 brand in the digital book business with a value of $1.5 billion after two years.

Huawei reveals world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, it is the MediaPad



Huawei has revealed its new upcoming tablet at CommunicAsia this year, it is a 7-inch device, which the company has named MediaPad and would be the world’s first Android 3.2 tablet device. Huawei mentioned that the Android 3.2 Honeycomb version would be the same as the Android 3.1 Honeycomb, however the former would be specifically optimized for 7-inch tablet devices.

The Huawei MediaPad includes a 217 pixels-per-inch IPS capacitive touchpanel, it has a 5 megapixel front facing camera and a secondary 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, GPS and Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity options. The Huawei MediaPad would be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and also include 1080p video playback, HSPA+ support, Flash 10.3 and over 6 hours of battery life.

It is expected to be available in select markets from Q3 2011 and it seems that the company will bring it to the Indian market during the same time. The pricing has is yet to be announced.

What's coming in Firefox 11


Big changes are arriving in the developer's build of Firefox for Android in a bid to make it more appealing, while the significantly more popular desktop version is getting several noteworthy but smaller changes, the company announced at the end of 2011.

Available for download now, the first versions of Firefox 11 Aurora for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android came out just after the stable build of the browser updated to version 9. The Android update is again the more notable release, as the new native Android interface reaches a wider audience. For the first time, the browser also supports playing Adobe Flash content, which competitors like Dolphin HD and Opera have offered for a while.
The new Firefox for Android Start page has cleaned up its act.

The new Firefox for Android Start page has cleaned up its act.
(Credit: Mozilla)

This is more than a new look, though, as many of the browser's features have been stripped out. This includes Firefox Sync, which allows seamless synchronization of personal data like bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history, and Mozilla's popular add-ons. In a blog post announcing Firefox 11 Aurora for Android, Mozilla promises that Sync and add-ons will return "soon."

Personally, I've found Sync to be the single most useful feature in the mobile browser. To be able to open a tab on the desktop, and have it nearly instantaneously pushed to my Android, makes jumping from desktop to phone or tablet practically seamless. On the other hand, very rough testing indicates that Firefox 11 is a much faster browser. While site-loading tests indicate speed gains only around half a second to a full second, initial app start time tests show major speed gains over the current Firefox 9 of around 50 percent.

Meanwhile, Firefox 11 Aurora for desktops gets two useful changes. Windows 7 and Vista users will no longer see the User Account Control (UAC) for Firefox after the browser's initial installation. This completes Firefox's alignment with Chrome's seamless updates, which haven't required your interaction with the UAC. On first installation, the browser now adds Chrome to its list of browsers from which it can import your personal data.

Other changes in Firefox 11 Aurora are aimed at developers. More HTML5 code is supported, Google's SPDY protocol for faster site loading can now be tested, Tilt support allows for 3D Web page visualization, and the HTML5 video controls have been redesigned. Check out the Firefox 11 Aurora changelog published by Mozilla.
Although Firefox Sync is expected to break on Android under the current interface, this mock-up indicates that Mozilla isn't about to let it die.

Although Firefox Sync is expected to break on Android under the current interface, this mock-up indicates that Mozilla isn't about to let it die.
(Credit: Mozilla)

The new Aurora builds bump Firefox 10 to beta status. Changes in this version offer users an improved add-on experience, as all compatible add-ons except for binary add-ons will not be disabled by the browser. This sorts out the "maxversion" situation, which required developers to set a Firefox version number with which the add-on would stop being compatible. Mozilla expects that this will significantly decrease the number of problems related to add-ons. The Sync setup process has been improved, too.

For developers, Firefox 10 beta improves the developer experience in the browser with a bucket of changes. These include support of the full-screen API for better gaming in Firefox, Page Inspector and Style Inspector for testing new code, WebGL improvements for better 3D rendering, and Orion code editor support in the Scratchpad tool for on-the-fly coding. Mozilla released the Firefox 10 beta changelog here, with a scheduled graduation to stable release the last week in January.

BlackBerry PlayBook officially launched in India



Frenny Bawa, Managing Director of RIM India and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan unveil the BlackBerry PlayBook in Mumbai

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) Wednesday launched its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in India. It is available at Rs.27,990 (16 GB), Rs.32,990 (32 GB) and Rs.37,990 (64 GB), depending on the models.
It will be distributed nationally through Redington India and Ingram Micro, initially in 1000 retail stores across eight cities and will then expand to other parts of the country. Accessories for the BlackBerry PlayBook will also be available in these stores from Wednesday, the company said.

A conference attendee examines the PlayBook at its launch in Mumbai

"The BlackBerry PlayBook is an incredibly powerful and innovative product in the growing tablet marketplace. It's perfect for both large organizations and individuals, and it gives users an unmatched mobile experience," said Frenny Bawa, managing director, India, (RIM).
"With the BlackBerry PlayBook, we are stepping into a new era of mobile computing and opening up new and even more exciting opportunities for developers and content publishers with support for Adobe Flash, Adobe Mobile AIR and HTML-5," she added. The PlayBook is also equipped with Wi-Fi support. -IANS Photo Credits:Danish Siddiqui / Reuters



BlackBerry PlayBook specifications

7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen

Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)

1 GHz dual-core processor

BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing

MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback

Support for 1080p HD video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)

HDMI out

Dual HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture

1 GB RAM memory

Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)

Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity

Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support



Development platform:

Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java

Motorola Xoom now in India, too pricey?



Motorola Mobility has now officially launched the very first Android 3.0 Honeycomb based tablet in the Indian market. The Xoom soon follows after the launch of the HTC Flyer.



This tablet device from Motorola is powered by a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, along with 1GB of RAM. It has a 10.1-inch display, plays 1080p HD videos, includes 32GB of in-built memory, a 5 megapixel on its rear which can capture life at 720p HD and a secondary 2 megapixel camera so users video chat with their buddies or probably enjoy random conversations on Chat Roulette. THe device also includes a HDMI port, Bluetooth, GPS and A-GPS connectivity.

The company priced the WiFi-only version at 32,990 INR and the WiFi+3G model is priced at 39,990 INR. However, we think the device is absurdly priced and it could have done much better in the market if the WiFi-only version would have been priced at around 30,000 INR and the WiFi+3G version would have been on sale for around 35,000 INR.

Currently, it goes up against the HTC Flyer which eve though is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread device is bundled with some interesting services. Moreover, we are still awaiting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which would be a real deal breaker.

HTC Flyer now available in India, comes with HTC Watch, HTC Scribe and OnLive


HTC has finally launched its very first Android tablet in the Indian market. The HTC Flyer tablet runs Android 2.4 and is powered by a 1.5GHz processor. The tablet supports WiFi as well as 3G connectivity. It sports a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera and a 5 megapixel rear camera.

The Flyer also includes a tablet optimized version of the famous HTC Sense UI, and is bundled with a few other exciting services like the HTC Watch, HTC Scribe and OnLive. HTC Watch will allow users to stream HD quality videos directly to their tablet device. HTC Scribe is the capacitive stylus technology supported technology from HTC. Finally, OnLive is a cloud based gaming service which brings some interesting games to the device.

The hardware on the HTC Flyer is decent, yet not up to the mark to compete with the newly released Android tablets, or even RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook and Apple’s iPad 2. To our disappointment the tablet is officially priced at 39,890 INR and it seems a lot more expensive than what we had earlier speculated. However, it is noteworthy that the tablet will introduce a unique experience when compared to various stock Honeycomb-based tablet devices available in the market.

Internet Explorer 6 Usage Drops Below 1% in the U.S., Finally

The end is finally nigh for IE6. Microsoft announced Tuesday that Internet Explorer 6 usage in the U.S. has dropped below 1% and is at 7.7% worldwide.

“So as we kick off 2012, we call on the rest of the world – make it your new year’s resolution to end IE6 and move to a modern browser like IE8 or IE9,” Microsoft wrote in a blog post.

NEW YORK: announced within an official post on The Windows Blog, Microsoft seems elated to relay the news that usage of the Internet Explorer 6 Web browser has dropped below one percent within the United States. Tabulated from data collected by Net Applications, the official Internet Explorer 6 C0untdown site have dropped the usage rate to 0.9 percent in the United States. While the worldwide rate of usage dropped to approximately 7.7 percent, China still leads the world in Internet Explorer 6 usage with just over a fourth of the population active on the Internet still utilizing the old version of the Web browser. South Korea is in second place with 7.2 percent still using IE6 and Japan stand in third place with 5.9 percent.

Other countries that are under the one percent mark are entered into Microsoft’s “Champion’s Circle” and include countries like Czech Republic, Portugal, Philippines, Ukraine, Mexico, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Finland and Norway. While developers around the United States are likely applauding the fact that Microsoft’s taking a more active role in updating older versions of the Internet Explorer browser, the 0.9 percent usage rate means roughly two million people in the United States are still using the browser since the country has approximately 245 million Internet users.

Microsoft also has reason to celebrate about Windows 7 as the operating system made gains over 2011. Windows 7 grew by approximately 13 percent since February 2011 and now takes up about 37 percent market share. Alternatively, Windows XP lost about 11 percent market share during the year and Windows Vista dropped from 11.5 percent in February 2011 to 8.4 percent in December 2011. Microsoft plans to end all support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014 and users cannot use Internet Explorer 9 without first upgrading to either Windows 7 or Windows Vista. While Microsoft still dominates the market with approximately 92 percent market share, Apple’s Mac OS X comprised about five percent of the operating system landscape.

Apple Is $50 Billion Away From Becoming The World’s Most Valuable Company


After a record setting quarter that shattered Wall Street estimates, Apple is in a position to become the most valuable company in the world.

The company announced on Tuesday that it sold 20.34 million iPhones and 9.25 million iPads in the second quarter of 2011, up by 142% and 183% respectively. That translated to a quarterly record revenue of $28.57 billion and a record net profit of $7.31 billion.

The result? Apple shares soared by more than 4% in after hours trading to $394. That translates to a market capitalization of $364 billion.

Despite that growth, Apple remains the second most valuable company in the world.

Last year, Apple surpassed Microsoft’s market cap and took the title of the world’s most valuable tech company with a market cap of $223 billion. Only one company exceeded its worth: Exxon Mobil, whose net worth at the time was $281.5 billion. Today, the oil giant is worth an astounding $412 billion.

Can Apple catch up with Exxon and become the world’s most valuable company? If Apple continues to post record-breaking earnings, it’s definitely possible. However, Exxon Mobil’s profits are soaring as well, and energy tends to perform better than consumer electronics in a stagnant or down economy (you don’t need an iPad, but you still need to drive your car).

Our verdict? These two companies are going to continue breaking revenue and profit records, but unless something drastic happens at Exxon or Apple, it may be some time until the technology company beats the oil giant.

Samsung Galaxy offers up super AMOLED


Samsung's 2011 flagship still tantalizingly out of your wallet's reach? Well, you might be tempted by the latest addition to the Galaxy family that's just gone official in Korea. ...

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