Competition is hotting up in the tablet market.  Despite, Steve Ballmer demo-ing a Windows 7 Tablet in advance of the Apple iPad launch, no Windows tablet has yet to be launched.  However, serious competition to Apple’s iPad is starting to emerge, based on Google’s popular Android operating system.

A strong contender for tablet of the year is the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  This super slim tablet from Samsung incorporates a very strong spec list, and looks beautiful in the flesh.

The Galaxy Tab  incorporates a 7 inch WSVGA screen, as well as four buttons on the front for home, options, back and search; similar to Android handsets.  Inside is a 1Ghz processor so it’s super-fast.  It has two built-in cameras – a 1.3MP front facing camera and a 3MP rear-facing camera.

Connectivity is well supported with 802.11n Wi-Fi, and 3G support is included in all models.

In terms of storage two sizes are offered, 16GB and 32GB.  However, both Galaxy Tab’s include a microSD slot so a further 32GB of storage can be added (of course, multiple microSD cards can be utilised so the iPad’s 64GB of storage can be exceeded)

To assist with the launch of the Galaxy Tab, Samsung have produced a series of videos.  My favourite is by a London-based photographer, who shares how he uses his Galaxy Tab:

To learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Tab, click here or visit their Facebook page here.

Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

Object of Desire: Samsung Galaxy Tab is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

How long will Apple’s iPad dominate the market? An interesting question that was asked by Gartner Research recently. Basically, they predict that Apple will maintain a virtual stranglehold on the tablet market through 2011 and 2012, and remain as the top tablet platform through at least 2015.

Dell’s Approach

Dell is betting on Android and Windows 7 tablets to counter the surge in popularity of the Apple iPad. Why two tablets? First of all some history is needed here.  Last year Dell tried its hand at Android tablets but it was not a successful venture. They tried it with the 5-inch Streak, a hybrid tablet/smartphone. But it had old software, high pricing and negative reviews. Most saw the Streak as a flop. Then Dell unveiled a 7-inch Streak tablet in January, running Android 2.2. Dell also experimented with a 10-inch tablet/netbook hybrid last year, called Inspiron Duo, running on Windows 7. So now dell is looking at a new approach.

The release anticipated sometime later this year will involve two Windows 7 tablets and a 10-inch Android Honeycomb tablet. The approach will be with three tablets the Latitude ST, Streak Pro, and Latitude XT-3. Each is configured for different clients. The Windows tablet is the the 13-inch Latitude XT-3 with release expected in July, and the Latitude ST expected  in October. The Android tablet is the Streak Pro, is due to be released in June.

What is interesting about Dell’s use of the Windows Tablet is that they feel that Android will ultimately dominate the market, not Apple, and not Windows.  So why bother? Probably because they don’t want to miss out on getting some market share, even if it is not overwhelming.

Many companies are becoming tablet manufacturers. And why are tablets successful now when they weren’t before? that is an easy question to answer. It’s Apps. Sure the hardware technology is better now than it was even five years ago. It is more powerful, faster, lighter, and can run longer on batteries. But the game changer were the Apps. Because now the tablet was distinctly seen as something different than a PC.

Source: AndroidCentral

Dell to Release Tablets To Compete with iPad is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Update: Apple have now officially announced that the white iPhone 4 will go on sale from April 28th..

I’m sure many of you have been following the whole saga around the white iPhone 4. For those of you who haven’t, here’s a brief summary of what’s happened.

When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 last year, he said it would be available in black or white. However the white wouldn’t be available until a couple of weeks later. That date was then pushed back to September. Then it was pushed back to Christmas, and then delayed until Spring… Eventually we all thought Apple had scraped the white model all together.

There’s been multiple rumored reasons for the delay. We know it’s a manufacturing issue, some have said that it’s because they couldn’t get the right shade of white. Others have said it was due to the camera flash being reflected off the white casing, distorting the picture as well as many other reasons.

But now, it would seem that the white iPhone 4 has risen from the ashes and at last is going to be coming to the market.

Now Apple haven’t officially announced it yet, but the signs are there, and they all point towards and April 27th launch.

The other day, Engadget reported that Vodafone UK prematurely sold a white iPhone 4 to a customer.

Now, we’ve secured a few images of a 16GB model from a separate source that has seemingly made its way into the hands of one lucky customer (read: bloke) over in Britain.

As the story goes, the carrier’s point-of-sale system rang it up as a black iPhone, and shortly after the sale went down, Voda sent out a notice to halt sale of these gems “until next week”.

Several European carriers are also pointing towards an April 27th release date too.

Even Bloomberg were reporting earlier this month that the white iPhone 4 will be available by the end of the month.

Best Buy has also said that they’ll be selling the white iPhone 4 from April 27th

And finally, apparently Apple has started shipping white iPhone 4′s to its retail stores in the US.

So it’s pretty much guaranteed that the white iPhone 4 will be going on sale April 27th. But will you buy one? It’s 10 months late, and the iPhone 5 could be announced this summer, however it would seem that that’s being delayed until September. This could possibly be Apples way of extending the life cycle of the iPhone 4.

Will you buy a white iPhone 4?

Let us know in the comments below

Updated:White iPhone 4 Launching This Week is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

This week, Blackberry via Research in Motion(RIM) released the Playbook tablet. While not a game breaker, it caught the attention of a lot of buyers.

A team of investigators found a range of responses from light sales to 11 percent of the stores sold out, with the overall consensus of an estimate of 50,000 units sold on opening day this past Tuesday, which included presales.

Best Buy’s online inventory tool showed that the 16GB version of the PlayBook was unavailable at 13 percent of the stores, the 32GB edition unavailable at 87 percent, and the 64GB model unavailable at 91 percent. These figures have to be read carefully because they don’t indicate how many units of each model were initially in stock before the sales began.

Overall, analysts expects RIM to ship about 500,000 PlayBook tablets during its first fiscal quarter, ending in May. Still the problem with the Playbook is one of perception because people don’t know that it is supposed to be a competitor to the iPad.  So you’re probably wondering. Why bother? Apple’s iPad table is the dominant one in the market and an attempt to compete with it is not going to work unless there are other partners in the mix.

Which then brings us to Cisco and Amazon.

It has been suggested that RIM might up its marketing chances if it teamed up with other partners to make a dent in that tablet market. Cisco has been suggested because it is a dominant hardware player. Sure they know routers and switches and phone systems, but they could be a source of hardware innovation. And Amazon is a dominant market oriented enterprise. See the connection? Among all three players they could conceivably add a measure of innovation that could take tablet sales to a new level. It won’t be easy or quick. Both Apple and Google are dominant players in that market, without looking to slow down any time soon.

Source: Tech Broiler

Business Tech

The Arrival of the Blackberry Playbook is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Rumors have been floating all around the web over the last couple of weeks about the iPhone 5, Apple’s next gen iPhone. Traditionally Apple announce their next gen iPhone at WWDC, however this year it looks like they wont be. Many reports have claimed that Apple wont be announcing the iPhone 5 until September of this year.

Today we’ve also got some fresh reports in from a fairly reliable source. Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been more or less right in the past when it comes to iPhone and Apple rumors for future products. He’s generally very well informed with plenty of sources directly involved in the Apple supply line.

His latest report is generally concurrent with most of the rumors we’ve heard to date. First off is that the iPhone 5 will sport Apple’s new A5 dual core processor. That was pretty much a given and always on the cards. Kuo says that the iPhone 5 will not be a significant change from the iPhone 4. It will retain the same design, with a few spec bumps internally.

He also reports that a new 8 megapixel camera is set to replace the current 5 megapixel camera. This also goes along with rumors which recently appeared suggesting that Sony will be supplying the 8 megapixel cameras.

Kuo also echos the reports that the iPhone 5 won’t go into production until September 2011. However he still reckons that Apple will be announcing the iPhone 5 at this years WWDC, even though it’s a full 3 months before when it’s expected to be released. Many are skeptical about an announcement at this years WWDC as Apple seem to be focusing more on software rather than hardware.

The final tidbit from Kuo is that he reckons Apple will release the iPhone 5 in September, but they are also planning on releasing an iPhone 6 in the first half of 2012 as well. Given the later than normal iPhone 5 release date this would seem odd. The iPhone 5 would barely be on the shelves and the iPhone 6 would be out. What’s more everyone who signed up for new contracts would still have to wait at least another year before they could break them and upgrade.

He feels the iPhone 6 will be a significant redesign, and not just the spec bump that we’re expecting from the iPhone 5.

What do you think about this news?

Let us know in the comments below

iPhone 5 Coming In September – Just A Spec Bump is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Sandy Bridge, is the codename for a microprocessor architecture developed by Intel as the successor to Nehalem. It is based on the 32 nm process, development began in 2005 at Intel’s Israel Development Center in Haifa. Processors based on this architecture are marketed as the second generation of the Core i series and were announced on January 3, 2011.

Sandy Bridge

Expected Release

Now Intel is refreshing its Pentiums with a trio of new CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge platform, releasing them on May 22.  Intel’s desktop processor lineup, once dominated by the Pentium brand has since become a value line, sitting between the lower end Celeron family and the higher end, better performing Core i3 series.

Intel will release three new dual-core processors to sell at wholesale for between $50 and $100. Here is the breakdown:

• The  Pentium G620 runs at 2.6GHz and costs $64.
• The Pentium G840 runs at 2.8GHz and costs $75.
• The Pentium G850 runs at 2.9GHz and costs $86.

Each comes with 3MB of L3 cache and integrated HD graphics, and uses the new Socket 1155. They will compete against AMD’s Athlon II processors for those looking for a little more performance than a bare-bone system using a Celeron CPU.

Security featues for Stolen or Lost PC’s

Because network administrators or just PC owners are frequently looking for ways to bolster the security of their system, Intel offers a new approach. The Sandy Bridge processors have security features built in that include the ability to remotely disable a PC or erase information from hard drives. This can be useful in the case of a lost or stolen PC. The commands can be received through 3G signals, ethernet, or internet connections. AES encryption acceleration will be available, which can be useful for video conferencing and VoIP applications. This no doubt in this day of new hacking techniques will be a will add some comfort to users, and also network admins.

Intel Sandy Bridge Processor Set For Release May 22 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Here are some Free Network Analysis Tools that you should look at for help in understanding your network operations.

WirelessNetView

Start with Wireless. If you want to see the wireless activity around you, run WirelessNetView. All detected networks will provide the following information: SSID, Last Signal Quality, Average Signal Quality, Detection Counter, Authentication Algorithm, Cipher Algorithm, MAC Address, RSSI, Channel Frequency, and Channel Number.

System Requirements

1. Wireless network adapter and wireless card driver that works with the built-in wireless support of Windows XP/Vista/7
2. The OS supported is Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP with SP2/SP3. For Windows XP with SP2, it’s recommended to install the KB918997 update. To download this update, click here.

[Download Link]

Bopup Scanner

Who’s on your Network? Now you can find out quickly with this network scanner, which  displays active computers with logged user names (NetBIOS), MAC and IP addresses. Bopup Scanner also recognizes and shows HTTP (Web) servers running on remote computers (TCP ports). It also quickly detects online computers, and allows you to browse shared resources of a remote computer and save results to a text file. This is a simple but effective tool for network admins to use.

[Download Link]

KontrolPack

Most networks have computers that have different operating systems. Network Administrators now you have the ability to access hundreds of computers simultaneously regardless of their operating systems guaranteeing your privacy and your data integrity. It is a cross platform system which will support either GNU/Linux, Mac OSX, MS Windows and access whichever workstation you want. You can get Windows from Mac, Mac from Linux, Linux from Windows, and so on; or all of this simultaneously.

[Download Link]

Summary

These network monitoring tools can offer a quick way to access information about the network system you are on. This can be a wireless network, or one with multiple operating systems.

Top Freeware Network Analysis Tools is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Apple have released their first commercial for the iPad 2. In the past all Apple have had to do is show off a video demonstrating people using their products with some nice little graphics thrown in and simply show the Apple logo at the end. That was enough because their products are just so appealing to the eye.

Now I’ve been slated as an Apple hater here before, but I assure you I’ve nothing against the fruitful company. They’ve done incredible well for themselves, and I applaud them for trying a new approach on their adverts. Instead of going with the same old marketing technique of demonstrating like they have with the 1st gen iPad, they’ve gone with something different.

This time Apple has given us a brief… that they believe. They want you to know just how much easier the iPad 2 is to use than competing slates. They know the technology is incredible and better than pretty much any other tablet out there, but that’s not what they want you to focus on.

They want you to focus on how easy it is to use. Forget about the hardware, it’s irrelevant to you, let Apple take care of that for you. As the announcer says ” Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter: Those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful, even magical”

And I’m agreeing with Apple here, they’ve got it bang on. What is so appealing about not only the iPad, but also all of Apple’s products is there ease of use. We’ve seen (or at least I have) countless videos of toddlers who can figure out how to use an iPad. It’s intuitive, there’s not a whole lot of thinking involved in using Apple’s products, and in general everything works.

That’s why the iPhone and iPad appeal to so many people. They just want something to do the basics quickly and easily for them. They don’t want to have to think about it, they don’t want all these different options and customizations, they just want it to work.

This is also one of the reasons Android has been branded with the tag of being for nerds. It’s not, it’s just for people who like to have a bit more freedom, they want to be able to customise things that little bit more, they want those extra options.

And that’s fine for some people, but at the moment, most people prefer to be inside Apple’s nice comfy ecosystem, where it all just works.

iPad 2 Ads Focus On Ease Of Use And Not Technology is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Today Apple announced the dates for its 2011 WWDC ( World Wide Developers Conference) It will be held from June 6th to June 10th inclusive at the (WWDC) from June 6th-10th at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco. Passes for the conference are now on sale for $1599 a piece and are expected to sell out fast as they do every year.

It would seem that the focus of this years event is purely just software, with the catch line reading “join us for a preview of the future of iOS and Mac OS X”

Here’s an extract from their press release

“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”

Apple will have over 100 technical sessions for developers and say they’ll have over 1,000 Apple engineers on hand to provide support all those in attendance.

I’d expect to see a lot more coming from the Mac OS X side of things this year, especially with Mac OS X Lion in the works.

However what’ shocking most people at the moment is the fact that the iPhone 5 doesn’t look like it will be released at this years event.  Instead we could be looking at a 2012 release date. According to multiple sources, Apple has no plans to release the iPhone 5 at this years WWDC.

The loop reports that Apple has no plans to introduce any hardware at the WWDC, but they aren’t ruling out a launch of the iPhone 5 at a separate event.  It looks more like the iPhone 5 will be released in September 2011 instead, with multiple reports backing this up and also reports that Apple hasn’t even aligned part suppliers for the iPhone 5 yet to begin production for a summer launch.

This would mark a big change for Apple, as they’ve released the latest iPhone model at WWDC consistently for the past few years and I’m sure it will disappoint several Apple enthusiasts.

Apple’s WWDC 6-10th June – No New iPhone 5 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I’m sure most of you remember my post not too long ago, “5 Reasons Why You Don’t Need To Buy The iPad2″ I was delighted to see that it sparked many great debates which I’ve been missing on this site as of late, and I’d like to thank all of you for your input, positive or negative. I was accused of being an Apple hater, but I assure you I am not. So to make it up to you and prove my point, I’ve come up with 10 reasons why you should buy the iPad 2.

Well actually I haven’t come up with them, but David Letterman has. However I must say I agree with him on most of his points so I thought I’d share them with you. I don’t want to ruin it on you so watch the video below before you read on.

As you should have seen, they aren’t all exactly the most practical reasons and aren’t all entirely relevant but I hope it added a little bit of humor to brighten up your day.

For those of you who didn’t bother watching the video , here’s the top 10 reasons why David Letterman says you should get the iPad 2.

10. Special Microchip makes it obsolete 50% faster

9. Apple will sell it to you for $100 if you tell’em Dave sent you

8. So thin you can use it to chop vegetables!

7. Comes with a camera on the front, one on the back, and one in your neighbor’s shower

6. This is off topic, but who buys tickets to see a live Charlie Sheen show?

5. New App which makes any room smell like biscuits

4. No Number 4 — Writer still on line for an iPad 2

3. Isn’t it about time you did something for you?

2. Instead of a touch screen, it has a lick screen

1. In this economy, who doesn’t have 600 bucks to throw around?

So that’s it, David Letterman’s top 10 reasons to get an iPad 2

What else would you add, serious or otherwise, let me know in the comments

Top 10 Reasons To Buy The iPad 2 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

A new kind of device will be release by Samsung. It may be an ultra-mobile devices or a mini tablet, or a jumbo iPod touch. Or Android smartphones without the phone.

What is the Galaxy Player?

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Players will come in two sizes a 4 and 5-inch screen. In New York, on Wednesday, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Players at its 2011 product preview at the Samsung Experience showroom. They are mini versions of the Galaxy Tab.

What is the Galaxy Tab?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a light weight device that fits in the palm of your hand. It has the full virtual QWERTY keyboard and SWYPE technology, and this device is ideal for typing on-the-go. It has  the latest Google platform with good performance and speed, and better enterprise capabilities. It also has as a faster and more powerful browser. The Galaxy tab is integrated with Google apps, so users can check Gmail, perform quick Google searches, and download apps from the Android Market.

Specs of the Galaxy Player

Here are the Samsung Galaxy Players’ key specs:

• 4 or 5-inch (WVGA) screen sizes
• Run on Android 2.2 (Froyo), upgradeable to 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• Cortex A8 1GHz processor (same as Galaxy Tab’s processor)
• Will be available in 8 and 16GB versions
• microSD card slot accepts cards up to 32GB
• Rear camera (3.2 megapixels); front camera (VGA)
• Weight: 5 and 7 ounces respectively
• Support for Adobe Flash 10.1
• Stereo speakers, with Virtual 5.1 surround sound and Samsung’s SoundAlive post-processing technology
• Battery life: unknown

It runs on the same 1GHz processor as the Galaxy Tab and features front and rear cameras and the 5-inch model has a flash. The microSD expansion ports, It has WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) connectivity, and support for Adobe Flash 10.1. Both models will start off running the Android 2.2 OS (Froyo) but will be upagradable 2.3 (the Gingerbread version).

Android-based Galaxy Players is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

2 alerts are out dealing with vulnerabilities, one for Blackberry and the other for Adobe.

Blackberry

The research firm, Research in Motion (RIM), has taken the step to urge BlackBerry users to disable JavaScript in the smartphone’s browser, this in order to block exploits from a security vulnerability that was brought to the public attention at this year’s CanSecWest Pwn2Own contest. What is the vulnerability? It exists in the open source WebKit browser engine provided in BlackBerry Device Software version 6.0 and later,was exploited to hack into a BlackBerry Torch 9800 smart phone to steal the contact list and image database.

How does the exploit occur?

Successful exploitation requires that the Blackberry user to browse to a website that the attacker has maliciously designed. A hacker can make a successful exploit possible by using the BlackBerry Browser to access user data stored on the media card and in the built-in media storage on the BlackBerry smartphone, but not to access email and other personal information on the file system of the BlackBerry smartphone.

Adobe

Adobe is warning against a different type of attack. This is a zero day attack using Microsoft Excel files and the Flash Player.

Adobe says that the “critical” vulnerability affects the latest versions of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and Chrome.   It also exists in the authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat X.

Reports are showing that the attacks have been limited so far.  The targeted attacks via a Flash (.swf) file embedded in a Microsoft Excel (.xls) file and delivered as an email attachment.

What does the vulnerability allow?

This vulnerability could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.  Adobe is not currently aware of attacks targeting Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Adobe Reader X Protected Mode mitigations would prevent an exploit of this kind from executing.

So what is being done about it? Adobe expects to ship a patch for Flash Player 10.x and earlier versions for different operating systems including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and Android. The release date of the patch is March 21st.

2 Security Alerts – Blackberry and Adobe is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Once again I have to take my hat off to Apple for generating such a massive buzz around a new product launch.  Last month we had the mobile world congress, where for three days nearly every (other than Apple of course) mobile and tablet manufacturer showed off their upcoming 2011 products.

If you didn’t watch the usual tech shows, blogs and websites you wouldn’t have known about this event.  Yet, this morning every mainstream news channel had the iPad 2 launch on their front pages and lead items.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the original iPad; I’ve been a proud owner of an iPad for around 5 months and I also use an iPhone 4 as my main phone.  But, I do find it bizarre that Apple have created such a dominant position in the market that most people aren’t even aware of the strong competing products.  When the iPad came out it was fairly unique and created a whole new market sector, but now it doesn’t have a clear run at the market with some great Android and Windows 7 Tablets available vying for potential buyers.

The iPad 2 is an improvement over the original iPad, being thinner, lighter and faster without an increase in price.  But, I don’t think the increase in specification is enough to make current iPad users want to upgrade:

• Addition of cameras: Lots of my friends have iPhone 4s, but I think I’ve only used facetime around a dozen times – adding a camera to an iPad isn’t going to increase this usage.  I also don’t think I’d ever take a picture with my iPad as I use my phone which is much more accessible
• Faster processor: Only useful if you’re playing the latest games
• Thinner & Lighter: My iPad gets chucked in a bag when I’m travelling, so saving a few grams means I can carry an extra packet of sweets in my hand luggage

I personally will hold off on an upgrade until the iPad 3 comes out, as I’m sure by then the original iPad will struggle to run whatever version of iOS Apple are up to by then.  I will probably be in the minority though;  Mashable are reporting that the secondary market for iPads has already taken a hit, as users attempt to offload their unwanted iPads.  Apple of course are also doing their best to whip users into a frenzy by shifting the launch time from the usual 8am slot to 5 o’clock in the evening, ensuring that there will be mile long queues outside Apple stores on March 11th.

Will you be joining the throngs?

Thinking Of Trading In Your iPad For An iPad 2? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Recent news has appeared in the media which doesn’t bode well for Sony. All shipments of their PlayStation 3 game console have been seized in Europe. The decision came about after LG won a preliminary injunction in a patent dispute with Sony.

The 10 day ban on the import of the Sony PlayStation 3 into Europe came into effect yesterday when the civil court of justice in the Hague granted the injunction on shipments of the PlayStation 3 to Europe. Of course this news is not too good for Sony who will inevitably see there sales slip dramatically, especially if LG apply to have the embargo extended after the initial 10 days.

The decision came about after a patent dispute between LG and Sony. LG believe that they hold two patents that they claim Sony are using and violating with the PlayStation 3. The patents relate to the way the game console’s Blu-ray player uses data from a Blu-ray disc, apparently for the “reproduction of multiple data streams”  when a couple of different camera angles are used, but also includes how text is displayed in subtitles.

The consoles were first seized by custom officers in the Netherlands yesterday where the officers are said to have stopped “tens of thousands” of game consoles from entering Europe according to the Guardian. Sony generally imports around 100,000 of the consoles a week, and of course are frantically trying to get the ban lifted. They do have the right to appeal to the European patents office.

LG have also filed a similar patent lawsuit in the US, but at the moment there has been no further action on it. This all came about after Sony filed a complaint against LG last December claiming that it’s using some of it’s technology found in there mobile phones and they were looking for LG phones to be banned from sale in the US. But nothing more ever came of it.

This news is not good for consumers in Europe either. The majority of orders here are pre-orders which means consoles have been sold nearly before they’ve even shipped. This could mean current supplies could run out within 2 or 3 weeks. Let’s hope Sony can get this embargo lifted by then.

PlayStation 3 Shipments Banned In Europe is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Apple’s iPhone 4 is undoubtedly one of the best smartphones on the market today, but it’s constantly plagued with the antennagate issue. Ever since the iPhone 4 was released on AT&T, frustrated users have been complaining over the poor signal quality and the number of dropped calls.

The iPhone 4 has a completely new and innovative antenna design. An Apple rep said

“iPhone 4 has a great antenna that allows it to have an amazingly thin design, great battery life and reception. We designed the iPhone4 external antenna to work great on Verizon’s network”

However this unique antenna design doesn’t seem to be able to do what it’s meant to do, make phone calls….

Many thought that the Verizon iPhone would have solved the antennagate issue, but apparently not. After Consumer Reports “Did Not Recommend” the AT&T iPhone 4 to its subscribers, they’ve now said that same thing about the Verizon iPhone 4.

As posted on their website,

“The Verizon iPhone4 closely resembles the original AT&T iPhone 4 in many positive respects, including offering great multimedia functionality, a sharp screen and the best MP3 player we’ve seen on a phone,”

“Unfortunately, it also shares with its sibling the possibility of compromised performance in low-signal conditions when used without a bumper, or case.”

So just like the AT&T iPhone 4, it’s a brilliant smartphone and it performs better than many other phones on the market. However it can’t excel in the one area it should, and that’s making a simple basic phone call.

It was this “Not Recommended” rating that prompted Steve Jobs to publicly apologise and give away free iPhone 4 cases to solve the issue.

The “Death Grip” occurs when users place their finger on the bottom left hand side of the device. Once the finger covers that part of the antenna the signal quality is greatly reduced, and in poor signal areas, calls are dropped all together.

So now both the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 are on the Consumer Reports “Not Recommended List” even though they out perform many other smartphones.

What do you think of this decision? Does the iPhone deserve to be on this list?

Verizon iPhone 4 Still Suffering From Antennagate Issue is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

In a bid to outdo the high-end performances that are offered by large format processors, Qualcomm Company has conceptualised a brand new mobile processor that is an advanced version of its earlier Snapdragon mobile processor. This earlier version, introduced to the market in the year 2008, consisted of a 1 gigahertz chip and a single core. The new version promises to stir up the business of processing data with the speed at which it stipulates to do being marked at a whopping 2.5 gigahertz. That’s per core because this is a multicore version.

With this new product about to be launched in the market, the challenge to laptop and desktop processors is abundantly clear. Qualcomm aims to bring mobile phones, smart phones and tablets at par with the performance seen in laptops and desktops. The Qualcomm chip, consisting of around 4 cores, will inhabit the next generation smartphones and tablets. Working on handhelds will of course, never be the same again. They would now be able to run 3D games as well as enable video images to be splashed across big screens from the phones, with absolute clarity of picture and sound. All this has been promised to the consumer market by this year itself so that soon mobile users will have all the advantages of the computer in the palm of their hands. This new successor of the Snapdragon has been code-named Krait.

The company will also be offering 4 wireless features with this new product. These are- WiFi, a global positioning system or GPS, Bluetooth and interestingly — an FM radio system. All these features would be available on one SoC. Along with this advantage, the user will also be able to access the near-field communication services which is basically a relatively new technology that allows a customer to run his phone over a reader instead of swiping a card to make purchases. Krait has also assured the more creative and entertainment-seeking users that it would enable the screening of stereoscopic 3D video, allow 3D photography and ensure that everything is played back smoothly. In terms of its competition with computer processors, the new version of the Snapdragon is said to have a 150% greater overall performance accompanied by a 65% lower power usage compared to the ARM-situated CPU cores. With Qualcomm’s conceptualization of the 28 nanometer technology, a radical invention that enables finer circuits to be marked on chips, the creation of this highly adventurous and technologically avant-garde product has been successful. Its earlier version had used a mere 65 nanometer technology. Seems like Qualcomm right now is emboyding Moore’s Law— a scientific prophecy by the former chairman of Intel, Gordon Moore who stated that the chip components would escalate at a double rate every 2 years.

Along with this innovation, Qualcomm has also introduced to the market its new collection of GPUs, called Adreno. As an upgrade on the previous Adreno chip, the new one which is a quad-core Adreno 320, can provide a service which is 15 times more advanced. Without feeding on as much power as the gaming consoles, this product promises to provide its users graphics that are similar in quality to those offered by the consoles.

demo game designed by qualcomm to show off Adreno

The single-core Snapdragon MSM8930 on the other hand provides an in-built modem technology which ensures the cheap process of transference of data networking speeds for smartphones. This speed is marked at around 24 megabits.

All the news about the new inventions was relaeased by Quadcomm at the Mobile World Congress 2010 held in Barcelona earlier this month.

Qualcomm’s Next Big Thing is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

A recent survey by the NPD group shows that consumers are starting to move away from the PC and over to the tablet.

What do Consumers Want?

According to the report, consumers have adapte their e-mail usage, Internet browsing, and social networking from their PC to a tablet, and consequently consumer PC usage is on the decline.

If you think about it, it makes sense. Why do you need a PC? If you are a business, for data gathering, manipulation, analysis, and control. If you are a gamer for speed. But what if you are neither? Just a lowly consumer, who likes to surf the web, share pictures on Facebook, and send and receive e-mail. That sums it up, in a nutshell. From a consumer’s point of view, the PC’s time has come and gone.

Stats

Thirty percent of tablet owners said they are e-mailing and browsing the Internet less on their PCs, and 28 percent said they are using social networking features less. Then among smartphone owners, e-mail has the most occurrence, even more than tablets, which come in with 35 percent of owners shifting their e-mail consumption from their computer to the phone.

Meanwhile, Internet browsing and social networking, have taken much less usage time from the PC when compared to tablets.

Overall, tablet owners are happy with the results of this migration away from their PC. In fact, levels of satisfaction are high ranging from 68 percent of consumers saying they were very satisfied with their Internet experience on their tablet, and 67 percent with e-mail, and finally to 60 percent were happy with social networking.

Tablet vs Mobile phone

Now compare those three tasks between tablet owners and mobile phone users. Smartphone owners are finding much less satisfaction when they shift usage to that platform. Fifty-nine percent of smartphone owners said they were very satisfied with e-mail, 49 percent with social networking, and 42 percent with browsing the Internet.

Overall, the tablet, because of its size, not too big, but bigger than a mobile phone, and not too heavy, but heavier than a mobile phone, allow users a comfortable working technology experience.

Source: ZDnet

Users are Moving to Tablet, Replacing PC’s is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Rumors of a mini iPhone have once again started to do the rounds around the blogosphere. Way back when the iPhone was first released there were many people assuring us that an iPhone nano was just around the corner, but of course it never came to light.

Now however rumors of a mini iPhone have cropped up again from several reputable sources such as the WSJ and Bloomberg

The two reports are slightly different but they both cite people who are inside Apple or are very well linked. They both agree that this mini iPhone is a lot cheaper than the current iPhone and will go on sale, contract free for just $200 which would mean carriers could subsidize it and sell it for free.

There are rumors that it’s a third smaller than the current iPhone 4, and others saying that it’s half the size of the current iPhone but either way it definitely is a lot smaller. Some say that it’s Apples answer to the rising tide of Android devices which are currently starting to take over the mobile phone market mainly because they’re cheaper than the iPhone.

Some people are claiming to have actually seen prototypes of the device late last year saying that it has an edge-to-edge screen with voice navigation

However there have also been question marks over whether or not it will actually make it to market. According to these “sources” Apple has been aiming to unveil the device near mid year, probably along with the iPhone 5, but it may well be delayed or scrapped all together. Very few Apple employees are said to even know about the project.  Apple do regularly work on projects that never find there way to market.

It’ll be interesting to see how an mini iPhone would do, I think that edge-to-edge screen would look pretty cool, but it may cause problems for people who are a bit clumsy with their fingers.

What do you think of one?

Let us know in the comments below

Is There A Mini iPhone In The Works? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Current iPad

The new iPad 2 is almost here, with improved features and ergonomics and a lot of speculation and rumors as is normal for the industry. However, it is also being said that other than the dual core GPU and improved RAM speed (512MB RAM running at 1066 MHz), the Apple iPad 2 does not have anything new to offer. Apple of course has nothing to say about the rumors. It rumored to have a dual core 1.2 GHz CPU, as compared to the single core 1 GHz CPU in the first generation model and is therefore expected to provide a speed boost. Some obvious improvements are expected to include slimmer and thinner body with antiglare coating on the display for better reading in the daylight. The resolution (1024 x 768) however shall remain the same as the previous iPad. The Dual resolution cameras shall be like the one in iPod touch. It shall be launched in two parts, GSM and CDMA versions.

Apart from the second-generation iPads, there is a lot more to come our way in 2011. While Sony Ericsson is going to launch the next generation Vivaz handsets, rumors are in the air than LG is going to announce the launch of its new LG Optimus 3D. Whether it is a 3D phone or it is just the name, hasn’t been confirmed by the company as of now.

The Xperia X10

The Sony handset shall probably be named Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo in spite of the fact that it resembles the old Vivaz handset more than the XPERIA. It is said to be preparing for an unveil at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) that is coming up next on the Tech yearly calendar. Certain leaked sources say that the new handset will run an Android 2.3 install and will also feature an 8.1 mega pixel camera with the inclusion of a Bravia Display with an 854×480 resolution. At this rate, it is said that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo shall soon be at par with the already announced Xperia Arc and the yet unannounced Xperia Play. Sony’s going all out in order to woo the market right at the beginning of the year. Probably because the first XPERIA did not do that well in the market.

The leaked image of the Optimus 3D, credit:Phandroid

Other anonymous sources are talking about the LG Optimus 3D saying that the LG model shall feature a dual core CPU like the rumored A5 from Apple, multi channel RAM modules and a tentative screen size larger than 4” apart from a front facing camera (which is an in-demand feature right now). The resolution of the camera however could not be confirmed. From the images in circulation, it is guessed that it must be more powerful than the Dual Core 3D Droid X. There has been a sudden revolution-like increase in the 3D hype that has taken over the tech industry in the past year. Initially it was limited to theatres, televisions and now is gradually being introduced in monitors and now on to handhelds as well. As technology makes its progress, what manufacturers are looking into is creating 3D gadgets that shall do not require special 3D glasses for viewing. The pace at which things are making progress, it seems phones with 3D technology without having to use those glasses shall indeed become very common in the days to come. And that is not restricted to mobile phones either. Handheld gaming devices from the likes of Nintendo are also implementing the same technology to lure new markets.

Rumor Round UP: New Phones And More iPad 2 Leaks is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Enspert had a surprise hidden for its customers at the recently concluded CES 2011. The company unveiled an Android tablet called E201, which looks quite impressive on the surface. Along with the release of this tablet, the company also revealed to the press that from this month, the company would be exporting 100 percent Google-certified Android tablets. The Android 2.2 tablet that sports a 7-inch screen would be ready for the consumers from the 1st of February. The new tablet is based on the Android platforms which will increase the compatibility of the tablet with already existing app, some of which are tablet friendly.

Notion Ink, the company that manufactures the Notion Ink Adam tablet ran into rough weather with its pre-orders. The company revealed that the customers who had ordered the product after checking it out at the recently concluded CES 2011, will not receive the product until the eve of Valentine’s Day at the end of this week. The company made it very clear right at the outset that the waiting time for customers pre-ordering the Notion Ink Adam tablet would increase under the present circumstances. The reason for this unexpected delay can be traced back to the accidental damage to the touchscreen components that happened during the transit of certain shipments. This damage meant that the company had to replace the existing Adam tablet units with a new touchscreens.

But replacement is bound to take a long time as the parts are supposed to arrive from their manufacturing hub in China. With the celebrations of the Chinese New year slated to commence from the first week of February, chances are that the arrival of the touchscreen replacement parts would be delayed even further

Whilst one company is experiencing problems with its damaged touchscreen shipments, the Barnes and Noble NOOK color has perfected its graphics with the Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb supporting its high definition images. The $250 tablet from B&N is happily sporting the more tablet-friendly version but it’s not official so far. When Google finally gets around to releasing Android 3.0 Honeycomb to the entire market, it would augment the performance of the Barnes and Noble tablet in leaps and bounds. Since the tablet was built using the previous version of the operating system, there are certain glitches that could not be solved with the current port. The accelerometer, sound and WiFi are still not compatible with Honeycomb but an official version is sure to fix that for good. At least that is what we hope will happen. Tablet manufacturers have this tendency to rush their products out the gate and hence overlook glaring problems untill it’s been all over the forums and blogs.

Meanwhile the Enspert Identity Tab E201 has tried to capitalise on the shortcomings of the Barnes and Noble tablet by offering to the customers a more full-proof option. This is possible because the former is coupled with the benefits of both Gmail and Android platforms. For a price of $350, you can get a tablet with a 512 MB RAM and a 8 GB Hard Disk. For seamless connectivity, it sports an 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 device. This 800 x 480 tablet comes armed with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor which supports PowerVR SGX540 graphics.

Tablet News Round Up is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Google yesterday showed off its forthcoming Android (Honeycomb) OS for tablets.  It’s been specifically designed with the larger screens on tablets in mind and the advantages are clear and obvious.

There are better widgets that allow you to see your email or calendar properly along with other things such as the weather.  Google are also taking advantage of the larger screen sizes available to offer better multi-tasking.  Gizmodo are reporting that the tablet version of the OS also provides better notification reporting.  To help with this Google are including a new set of APIs which can include sounds, icons, music controls and… frankly… everything that Microsoft have worked hard to hide from users in Windows 7.

The OS will allow for split panel applications which will be a boon to email in particular and the OS includes new 3D rendering frameworks which will allow better gaming and coverflow-style displays.

This is all backed up by a new and improved web store for apps.  The current store in Android has been heavily criticised for its usability.

It’s excellent that Android has been updated for tablets as, while currently it’s significantly better than Windows 7 in the devices, it has still been criticised by reviewers and users alike.

Overall, this new version of Android seems to address many of the criticisms of earlier versions, and demonstrates that Google is indeed listening to its customers and acting quickly to resolve issues.  This could help ease the OS ahead of the iPad on tablets and keep it in the top spot for many tears to come.

There’s no word yet on when Honeycomb will be available and whether existing tablets, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, will get an update.  We’ll keep you informed on the progress of this new tablet OS.

Google Shows off Android (Honeycomb) for Tablets is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Asus’ recently launched Eee Slate EP121 is a device that runs on Windows 7 Home Premium. This is a tablet type device that has a 12.1-inch capacitive multi touch LED-backlit 1280 x 800 display.

It is powered by an Intel Core i5-470UM processor and comes with optional SSD storage capacities of 32GB and 64GB, and a system memory of 4GB. All models of the Eee Slate EP121 feature specifications including 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2-megapixel camera and a 2-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC). The device has two USB 2.0 ports that enable connections between a variety of devices ranging from external Blu-ray drives to keyboards. There is also a mini-HDMI port that is suited for connections with external displays.
The device is well built, neatly designed and quite sturdy. The back plate has a cover with a leatherette finish that introduces a hint of luxury in the design, thereby setting it apart from other plastic tablets available in the market.

Being powered by Windows 7 and iCore, the device serves merely as a keyboard-less laptop and struggles to carry out the functions of a tablet as expected.

However, with the help of USB and Bluetooth connectivity, users can add a keyboard to the device. Since the design does not include a kicker, it becomes necessary for the user to arrange for a stand. Like in other Asus tablets, there is also an option of using the digitizer pen that comes with the Eee Slate EP121. This pen makes it much easier to draw and write on the device, and is quick on responding and is very sensitive to pressure. Of course, users can also operate the device by using their fingers on the touch screen display.

The device, as claimed by Asus, is capable of 10-finger multi-touch support and allows pinch and zoom gestures during web browsing. However, Windows 7 not being made from ground up as a touch based OS posits quite a few standard problems when using the device. This is why most new tablets in the market are using Android, which was meant to be touch-based from the get go. At 1145 grams, the Eee Slate EP121 is also quite heavy (In comparison, the iPad weighs 680 grams). Therefore, it becomes difficult to carry the device around without a bag. For a tablet device that is meant to be used , that is a serious set back.

The device has a wide 187 degree viewing angle, which makes it great as a multimedia device on the move. It will be easy for two people to share the tablet between them. But is expensively priced at $999, which makes it costly for a device that can be used just for watching movies at home and costlier than the iPad, which it is competiting against just by being the form factor that it is. However, the Intel Core i5-470UM processor and the large SSD storage capacity make the device extremely powerful and excellent in its speed and performance.

But with its size and heavy weight, the Eee Slate EP121 is hardly like other tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad. Windows 7 is not a suitable platform for touch-based operation. Unlike companies like Dell, which has developed a more touch savvy interface on top of the basic Android, Asus has not made any effort to produce an interface that is more suited to touch. This is actually a let down because the machine is otherwise quite capable of getting things done.

First Look: Asus Eee Slate EP121 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Unlike most other tech companies, HP (Hewlett Packard) has decided to let us know about their upcoming devices but probably without really realizing that they are doing so. Recently, in a Web OS learning guide that HP let slip on to the Internet, there are mentions of netbooks and tablets based on the OS. It promised Web OS on a “phone and a slate and a netbook” in a part of the presentation. The website video also suggests that HP will now have a three pronged strategy for WebOS – smartphones, tablets and netbooks. So it is more or less confirmed that HP is doing exactly what the rest if us expect them to do with the WebOS.

With the rise in sales of smartphones and tablets, there has been a slight decline in the netbook hype. However, HP is not deterred by any of that, it seems. They are probably going to introduce some dual-core Tegra 2 Web OS netbooks in the near future and will probably see a lukewarm response because the market would’ve moved on by then.

According to the official statement released, HP purchased the Palm common stock in cash for $5.70 per share. Palm’s former chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein will lead the Palm global business unit at HP and report to Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP’s personal systems group.

The netbook details are mostly but it is quite likely going to be one of the devices that will be shown at the fast approaching February 9 Web OS event. It and will need a new version of Web OS to support a larger screen though if it is to match the current trend of netbooks with 7-10 inch displays.

While HP makes fast progress with its upcoming gadgets, Apple’s move to faster mobile graphics for the next iPad and iPhone gained some limelight earlier this month. The company is now thought to be using the SGX543MP2, the dual-core version of the chip that is used inside Apple’s internally designed A4 chip. The new processor is estimated to have about four times the theoretical performance of the current SGX535.

It is predicted that the next iPad will have a screen resolution of 2048 X 1536 enabling a higher quality movie playback that would keep Apple competitive in a fast adapting market. The increase in its speed would definitely be required to pull it off. It will also likely support 1080p hardware decoding. Although Apple has historically been conservative with the video output of its mobile devices, it could also more readily support HDMI and get true HD through a dock.

It has also been said that the company will not only be upgrading its video core, but also be going to multiple cores, a feature that is designed into the SGX543. The SGX543MP2 could be combined with the dual core ARM Cortex-A9 as main processor delivering a far better quality of picture and video. The SGX543 core is designed to parallel as many as 16 cores together, in a way that is transparent to higher level software. This would mean that apps don’t have to be rewritten specifically to benefit from the new speed boost, which would work out perfectly for a platform that is highly dependent third party software for its continued success.

Apple is predicted to be following its pattern of yearly upgrades with a new iPad expected in April, a new iPhone in June or July and a new iPod touch and Apple TV both in expected this September.

The Latest Leaks: HP & Apple is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The world of the mobile app is good and it is expected to get better in 2011. According to Gartner research, worldwide mobile application store downloads are forecast to reach 17.7 billion downloads in 2011.These numbers say that it is a 117 percent increase from the 8.2 billion downloads in 2010. Moreover, the long term projections from Gartner are that by the end of 2014, over 185 billion applications will have been downloaded from mobile app stores, since the launch of the first one in July 2008.

Furthermore, Worldwide mobile application store revenue should exceed $15.1 billion in 2011. This includes end users buying applications and from applications themselves generating advertising revenue for their developers. This amounts to a 190 percent increase from 2010 the collected revenue of $5.2 billion.

What are some of the App stores? There is the Apple App Store. The Google Android Market, the Nokia’s Ovi Store, and Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) App World, Microsoft Marketplace, and Samsung Apps. This give you a feel for the reason that there is so much activity…there are a lot of App stores available.

For App developers, this is good news. They typically keep 70 percent of revenue for apps sold in app stores. Over time, the business model for apps is being refined; app sales only account for only a portion of the revenue generated. Followed by Ad revenue, which is on the rise. Developers are also seeing more revenue from in-app sales. This practice,  fueled by using ad-supported free apps on the hot Android platform, is bound to grow as Google is set to allow this practice for apps in the Android Market.

Finally, another form of revenue may come from the rise of the tablet. This should drive app sales up, as consumers will be grabbing apps for these mobile devices.

The next few years should be good ones for mobile phone makers, and App developers.

Mobile App Store Revenue Forecast to Surpass $15 Billion in 2011 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Subscribers are on the march towards Verizon communications. Ever since Apple announced that its iPhone would be available for service besides AT&T, subscribers have been anxiously waiting for the iPhone Verizon launch.

On Tuesday the company, jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone, reported that it added almost a million new contract customers, actually 872,000 during the last quarter of 2010. Overall, Verizon Wireless had a total of 102.2 million wireless customers at the end of the fourth quarter. They grew by 26% over 2009 at year-end 2010 in customer smart phone devices.  This was up from 15 percent at year-end 2009. Finally, in the fourth-quarter of 2010, more than 75 percent of new customers on contract service to Verizon Wireless bought smartphones.

Other growth – Fios

In it’s Fios, fiber-to-the-home service The company added 197,000 new customers and 182,000 new Fios TV customers. Overall, the company is approaching 4.1 million Fios Internet customers and 3.5 million Fios customers. The average revenue per user on Fios increased about 10.7 compared to the same quarter in 2009. And Fios revenues now represent about 53 percent of all consumer revenue at Verizon.

AT&T

Still, with all of this growth, the iPhone will increase the profit since many new subscribers will be moving from AT&T. As long as their vaunted service keeps up, they will not have trouble keeping their growth rate constant.

This, however, is not good news for AT&T. Its monopoly of the iPhone is coming to an end, and in the short run their profits may take a hit. However, now they may be forced to address some of the technical issues that made their subscribers criticize or potentially move away, like dropped calls, delays, and broadband outage. In one sense, the loss of the iPhone monopoly may make AT&T a better company in the long run. If they can fix their problems, new subscribers may feel confident in AT&T. Most consumers aren’t wedded to any service. They could just as easily recover the customer base.

New Subscribers are Moving to Verizon is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

A new line of portable drives was launched by ioSafe. This is known to be amongst the most rugged portable drives in the world, which was proven after numerous first-hand demonstrations at the ioSafe laboratory as well as other testing zones. This came to the front during CES when ioSafe went on offering the new model in both spinning platters and solid state drive versions. ioSafe made the casing of this portable drive in to a ‘Full Metal Jacket’ which essentially made out of a strong combination of Aluminum and Titanium. The drives are designed to work in adverse climatic conditions and extreme abuse. Think 12 gauge shotgun fire and being dropped from 10 ft high several times and you’ll know what I am talking about.

ioSafe CEO Robb Moore was seen to have a confident look on his face, almost meaning to challenge anybody who can prove that his drivers are not as rugged as he describes them to be. One and all accepted defeat as soon as they received first-hand demos. The Rugged Drives are shock-proof, crush-proof, water-and chemical-proof, but cannot be guaranteed against fire. This is because then, the drive would not be ‘portable’. ioSafe provides its customers with warranty to repair and re-adjust the portable anytime within the warranty period. Even if it is proved that a purchaser has done the damage on purpose, ioSafe will still provide free data recovery service — underscoring their promise to deliver extremely safe data storage.

ioSafe had earlier manufactured its series of desktops that are known for their water-proof and fire-proof qualities. In other words, ioSafe produces products that are ‘disaster-proof’ protecting both external spinning platter disks and solid state-based drives along with 3.5” internal drive modules. The prices range from $149 for 250GB and $399 for 1TB for the new Rugged Portable series which comes in aluminum casing along with the manufacturing company details. The drive that provides with such details is of the manufacturer company Seagate with multiple options like 250GB @5400RPM, 500GB @5400RPM, 750GB @7200RPM and 1TB @5400RPM.

It is true though that ioSafe drives are not the cheapest storage solutions available available but they are not trying to beat everyone else at price. Their selling point is purely the strength and ruggedness of their drives that can withstand things no other drives can. Warranty period is generally for a year but that is extendable up to 5 years with an additional investment of around $100. This would include free data recovery service as well as replacement of the damaged products. These new drives are resistant to 2500lb of exerted force, drops of up to10feet drop and are water-proof even when submerged in 10feet water level for 3 days while staying plugged in. It can withstand oil, petrol, diesel, rain dust, salt fog and ice for a day and is workable up to altitudes of 15000feet. If this does not impress, then you are probably part of some secret military research that we don’t know about. Send us an email!

This portable drive is so resistive that even gun-shots on it do not matter much. It so happened that one of the journalists was made to shoot on it and after the latter shot it, the drive casing got completely damaged but Moore took it back as it was and showed that data was still recoverable and readable. So the end game was that these drives really do deliver what they promise and probably a bit more — rarity in the times of inflated promises and low budgets. See it in action in the video below.

ioSafe’s Rugged Portable Drives Come With Full Metal Jacket, Free Data Recovery is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Ever since Apple introduced the iPad to the world at Large, it has been been a positive downpour of tablet/slate type devices of all kinds.You cannot get away from them, they are everywhere. In the midst of all the controversy about whether they are really useful and consumer being confused about what do with them — these so called ‘iPad Killers’ have been leaking out and getting announced by the dozen. Asus, being the company they are, have as usual looked at the trend and thought of what small modification they might be able to add that can allow them to create their own copy cat tablet. So what’s the number one complaint that you got to hear about tablets — where’s the damn keyboard! Seems like Asus has tried fixing exactly that.

Asus had previously launched a standard tablet in the guise of the Asus Eee MeMo and a tablet with a bolt on keyboard in the guise of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. Now it has come up with the new Eee Pad Slider, a tablet that reveals a QWERTY keyboard beneath it when one pushes the screen back and upwards. Much like the slider smartphones that have been around in the market for quite some time now.

The new Eee Pad Slider weighs 886 grams, is 16.7mm thick, has dual cameras — a 1.2 MP one in front for video chatting and a 5 MP one at the back for shooting — and comes with Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor. The operating system is Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) although like all the Android Asus devices on show on CES in Las Vegas, it was running Android 2.2 (Froyo).

It has 1280 x 800-resolution display, and houses mini-HDMI and mini USB ports as well as a micro SD card slot. The capacitive touchscreen uses an IPS display and apparently it has decent viewing angles. It also offers an Adobe Flash 10.1 support so that one can “enjoy the full experience” of the web. The Tegra chip helps make the running of Apps and using the device easier. This will of course create quite a drain on the battery but the new crop of tablet makers don’t seem to care much about that.

Onboard 3G is optional, which means the base model is WiFi only. How useful a slide out keyboard will be on a 10 inch tablet is debatable .but apparently it has a nice amount of resistance to the keys and features-dedicated Android shortcut keys are spread around the standard QWERTY layout. So you have the advantage of having the Home, Menu, Search and Back keys. But you still can’t use more than your thmbs for typing while holding it up — it is designed to be set down on a surface. If there’s one thing this tablet can beat though, it is netbooks. With some basic productivity apps, it can easily replace netbooks, which now look bulky in comparison.

To pull the keyboard out, you simply lift one edge of the screen and pull. The keyboard appears below, and the display is propped up at an angle which should make typing comfortable. On pushing the back of the screen forward again, you can close the tablet. The dock has an integrated battery that will keep the tablet running for 16 hours on a charge; however the tablet on its own should last for eight hours.

The Asus Eee Pad Slider is expected to be in the market by May this year. ASUS says that the prices for the Slider will range from $500 to $800.

Asus Eee Pad Slider is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Using the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas as a platform to showcase his company’s upcoming revolutionary projects, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the ‘windows will be everywhere’ concept. The basic idea is that almost all devices will be able to run on Windows, from phones to tablets. In the presentation that he delivered at the Show, Ballmer charted out his company’s plans of using Windows to run devices that would cater to home entertainment. The Xbox 360 coupled with its wireless, touch-free controller, Kinect would act as the communicative medium and transfer the features of home entertainment such as games, videos and music to their locations.

Revolutionising the services of the Kinect further, he talked of its improved face recognition abilities that has led to the conception of the avatarKinect. Now the Kinect would be able to recognise an individual by noting his smile and other facial expressions. These expressions would then be transferred on to the user’s Xbox avatar which would impersonate the bodily movements of the actual user in a parodic manner. Using the bodily movements and voices of the Xbox 360 users, Kinect would enable them to command and use the services of Netflix. The Xbox 360 users would also have the pleasure of catching up on any television show, running on any device by subscribing to Hulu Plus, which will be arriving at the doorstep of the Xbox 360 users with the support of Kinect. Since its introduction to the market about 2 months back, Microsoft has sold 8 million Kinect kits.

Windows Phone 7 which happens to be a recent offering by Microsoft is a mobile operating system that is an enhanced version of the earlier Windows Mobile platform. Microsoft announced the new mobile OS last year and the first smartphones using the OS have already started coming out and we will see more this year. Ballmer further promised that Microsoft would come back with a cut-and-paste capabilities for WinPho7 — something that a lot of people are sorely missing.

At the CES2011 event, the he also introduced the modified version of Microsoft Surface, the multitouch-adept table. This version promises to be sleeker because of the replacement of cameras by infrared sensory features. It would be a 4 inches thin wonder. This version of the Microsoft Surface has been incorporated with a “Pixel sense” technology which is not only sensitive to touch, but to sight as well. Therefore, it would provide efficient responses to whatever it “sees” before it. They demonstrated it with the help several different visual objects and also printed material, showcasing of course its corporate and retail friendly features.

Since almost all devices would run on Windows, Microsoft is building various versions of Windows. These are being powered to function for not just big devices, but also for smaller ones like smartphones and some tablets. For this, Window needs to work on the low-power ARM processors. Microsoft made test-runs available to the public where Windows was made to work on systems built with chips provided by ARM manufacturers. Quite successfully, the system worked swiftly enough in spite of the low-power chips. In a bid to reduce the virtual world to a single chip, Microsoft has started out on its support campaign for all ‘system-on-a-chip’ devices. Soon this would enable Windows to permeate every space, big or small. So it is a possibility that soon, the entire Windows spectrum will be able to run on ARM chips. That is of course ARM can actually match Intel’s full-size processors. Currently ARM is leading in SoC’s but Intel rules the rest of the roost.

‘Windows Will Be Everywhere’, Promises Ballmer is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Acer is introducing a brand new tablet ICONIA Tab A500 device which will work on Verizon’s network to provide access to Verizon’s 4G LTE. This tablet will have navigation features, along with the media-streaming, larger, 10.1-inch display version. The Tablet powered by a Tegra 2 dual-core processor with clock speed of 1GHz, will have the latest version of Android and will also feature Clear.fi. This new technology will enable people to share their media with other devices on the WiFi network. The Clear.fi media sharing system for easy access, play and sharing of multimedia across the home network as well as to instantly publish updates to social media networks. It is essentially an assisted program for managing WiFi connections and data transfers.

Acer’s vice president of Smart Handheld, Campbell Kan said that they were proud to offer the ICONIA Tab in a version that works on Verizon’s 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network. This will make sure that users get a mobile Internet experience like no other. The tablet is using a LTE chip from ZTE, who have become quite ubiquitous in the 3G and 4G mobile internet markets all across the world. It features a Sky Cross antennae for reception.

The ICONIA Tab A500 is part of the new crop of Android based tablets that have come out after Apple released the iPad. It is running on Android with Acer’s on proprietary UI 4.5 skin slapped on for effect. Acer is really trying to tap in to the mobile entertainment market by making the A500 HD capable. It comes packing an HDMI port with full 1080p support thanks the Tegra 2 SoC with a 1.0GHz dual core processor — a structure similar to what Apple’s next chip, the A5, is rumored to have. The same hardware enables the tablet is its ability to run and play premium HD arcade games and complex online 3D games with the 10-point multi-touch and it even features a gyroscope for movement detection. Given the right developer action, this tablet could see some major gaming action happening.

However, that does make battery life a major suspect. With support for Flash 10.1 and 3D gaming, it has to be wondered where the tablet is going to get all the power from to run for a respectable amount of time.

The 10.1inch touchscreen is fully capacitive and is encased in an aluminum housing that has a fingerprint loving glossy finish along with an engraved pattern. Also, it boasts of being 13.3 mm thin, completing the sleek look.

Verizon Wireless launched its 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network in December 2010. It is the fastest, most advanced mobile data network in the United States at the moment. It provides speeds which are up to 10 times faster than VZW’s 3G network. This 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network currently reaches only one-third of all Americans though, with plans to expand the network to the company’s entire 3G coverage area over the next three years.

The press release of course contained a lot of statistics about VZW’s network like it is currently serving 93 million customers. It also said that its 3G network is the largest and the most reliable one in the country. Of course, given the spat of ad fights between them and AT&T just a year or so back, the debate still remains unresolved. Your mileage will definitely vary on either network depending on where you are and what the situation is. And with the iPhone now available on VZW, things are bound to get interesting.

Acer’s Iconia Tab A5000 For Verizon Will Support 4G LTE is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Samsung has high hopes for this year. They are targeting a 15% growth in the sales of flat-screen TVs in 2011 to 45 million units and hope to more than double shipments ofthe pricier LED sets. Also, it’s going to want us to keep using those special glasses for 3D sets.

Samsung plans to increase its sales of 3D TVs by four times this year, reaching up to 8-9 million units. Simultaneously, it also aims to promote Internet enabled TV sets to push up margins as severe price competition keeps profits razor-thin. In addition to all this, Samsung aims to sell 12 million Internet-enabled TVs in 2011, which sport access to its own TV Appstore, video-streaming site Hulu and social networking sites such as Twitter. The 12 million would make up 27 percent of its total TV shipments this year if achieved.

Like most other TV manufacturer, the recession made Samsung take quite the hit in sales and revenue. As a result, the company failed to inspire consumers with newer models. On the other hand, all the major competitors, from LG Electronics to Sony — showed improved versions of 3D and “smart” TVs at the CES2011 held earlier this month, hoping to grab a bigger slice of an emerging market where no single player has emerged dominant so far.

The fight over the connected living room, which enables viewers to hook up TVs to the Web and hence access shows and software stored in the cloud as well as on personal computers, is not short of aspirants with technology heavyweights from Google and Microsoft to Apple all joining the fray. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
At the CES in Las Vegas this year, Samsung booked the biggest show offering a showcase of a wide range of products from smart phones and tablets to PCs and cameras. It was mainly focused on Internet enabled and 3D TVs, betting on the global the Smart TV market to grow to 30 million units this year. It is expected that 21 percent of all TVs shipped in 2010 had internet connectivity and the segment is expected to grow at double-digit rates over the next four years, swelling to 122 million units by 2014 as estimated by research firm DisplaySearch.

The market for 3D sales wasn’t good for Samsung owing to the high prices and having to use heavy glasses. Samsung plans to bring in better and improved models this year. Samsung, which controlled more than 50 percent of the global 3-D TV market last year, is pushing for the active-shutter technology, which requires special glasses with batteries, chips and switches to synchronize with the 3D content on the TV sets. Some producers, led by Japan’s Toshiba, are introducing glasses-free 3D sets also, while LG Electronics is placing a bet on a new display called Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) that makes glasses much lighter because they do not need to be electronically activated.
Samsung’s Yoon said that in the current scenario, striving after glasses-free 3D displays is not a practical move. Especially for larger displays sets. It makes viewing angles impractically narrow and takes more away from the TV experience than it gives. Hence, according to him it will actually be a deterrent to the growth of 3D TV sets.
However, the general tone in the consumer is that they do not want to use special glasses while watching TV. Also, people with corrective glasses have a tough time with 3D content because the 3D glasses are obviously not designed to be worn over existing glasses. So it remains to be seen what actually becomes of the hardly a year old market.

Samsung Aims High In TV Market Despite Setbacks is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

With the Internet constantly growing , and more users actively pursuing a variety of network, and social media communication forums, the bandwidth problem will get bigger as time goes on. To remedy that in part, MCSI, a Canadian satellite maker plans a network of 78 small, relatively low-flying satellites designed to help relieve network congestion. Apparently that is significantly dampening smartphone enthusiasm, if not in Canada, then in areas around the world where there is not a high technology base.

MSCI, (Microsat Systems Canada Inc.) is initiating this project, called CommStellation. The approach is to use small, inexpensive satellites about 620 miles above the Earth which will provide better coverage of the world’s population, quicker launch, and better network capacity.

Direct competition may come from the O3b, a Google-backed satellite project to improve Net access for the 3 billion people who live outside of wealthy, well-wired areas. However, realistically, MSCI’s competition is more down to Earth involving fiber optic lines and perhaps femto cells built to ease network congestion. (A femto cell is a device used to improve mobile network coverage in small areas. Femto cells connect locally to mobile phones through their normal GSM, CDMA, or UMTS connections. Next they route the connections over a broadband internet connection back to the carrier; this bypasses the normal cell towers that are arrayed across the countryside.)

Nevertheless, MSCI considers the use of rugged but relatively ordinary terrestrial electronics means it can move fast enough to make entry into new satellite communications markets a success.

By using a lower orbit, the company is able to use more ordinary electronics. In contrast, medium orbit satellites, those that are about 5,000 miles above Earth, like the O3b, need special components with higher reliability because they have to withstand the temperature and radiation rigors of space. Another thing that results from this is MSCI’s satellites are relatively small, so up to 14 can be packed into a single launch rocket compared with O3b’s 4 satellites. And much less power is required to transmit data to and from the MSCI’s satellites since they’re closer to Earth.

The launch date starts in 2014 and it should reach full network capability in 2015.

Source: MSCI

MSCI plans 78-satellite Net service is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Google seem to be rolling out new versions of Android quicker than anyone else can update their hardware. But this latest flavor, Honeycomb is said to “Entirely for Tablets” We had heard rumors up to now that it would only be for tablets and this is confirmed in the latest video released by Google.

I think it’s safe to say that this Tablet UI doesn’t look anything much like the current Android, and it’s pretty obvious that it wouldn’t work to well on smartphones.

It was debuted on the Motorola Xoom tablet today at CES which will be shipping with Android 3.0 along with a Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor that can kick out an impressive 2Ghz of power. It has two digital cameras on board: A front-facing 2.0-megapixel camera acts as a webcam for video chat, and a 5.0-megapixel camera on back is for photos and 720p high-definition video capture. It has a higher resolution than the iPad at 1280×800 compared to 1024×768 and user will be able to watch 1080P HD video as well as use the HDMI port.

Android 3.0 is a brand new, completely different user interface. It’s a truly virtual and holographic user interface” with “refined multitasking, elegant notifications,” and “home screen customization with a new 3D experience and redesigned widgets that are richer and more interactive.” It has a new browser, auto-fill, private browsing and integrated book mark syncing

Have a look at the Android 3.0 Honeycomb video below, and let me know what you think of the new interface.

Android 3.0 – Honeycomb “Entirely For Tablet” is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

For years now Apple and their iPod Touch have had the entire market to themselves. The iPod Touch was really the first proper touchscreen music device that worked and people actually bought. Since then it’s only evolved further and has become more than just a music player. Microsoft have tried to get in on some of Apple’s territory with the Zune HD but they never really managed to make much of an impact.

Now Samsung is going to give it a shot, and it looks like they’re going all out. The Samsung Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tablet both serve as legit competitors to the iPhone and iPad and are doing some damage to Apple’s sales. Samsung are hungry and are now going after the iPod Touch as well with their latest creation, the Galaxy Player.

It looks great, it’s almost identical to the current iPod Touch but it’s running Android which gives you a lot more freedom. It also has a removable battery, a 3.2 MP camera on the back and a VGA one on the front, Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD card slot, a 1-GHz processor and is running Android 2.2 Froyo.

While the screen may be bigger than the iPod Touch’s at 4-inches, it’s a lower resolution of 800 x 480 (while the Touch sports a 960 x 640 “Retina” display) The other thing is it’s slightly thicker than the iPod Touch at 9.8mm compared to 7.2mm. But then again it’s probably how they fit in the better camera and removable battery.

We’re still waiting for pricing, but expect more information at CES which is less than 2 weeks away. It will come in 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB capacity’s but i’m not sure if that includes the SD card slot or not.

Anyway it looks like a promising contender to the iPod Touch, what do you think?

Let us know in the comments

Samsung Galaxy Player To Challenge iPod Touch is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The iPad rumors seem to be flooding in thick and fast, more so than the forth coming iPhone 5, then again the iPad 2 is expected to be released before the next gen iPhone. We’ve already added a couple of rumors to our iPad 2.0 checklist, but none of them were really out of the ordinary and I’d be mildly surprised if most of, if not all of them found there way to the second generation iPad.

Let’s have a quick recap of them:

1. Front Facing Camera
2. Thinner Glass
3. Retina Display
4. Gyroscope
5. USB Connector

So what else have we got to add to this list? Well citing unknown Chinese sources, a Japanese blog – Mac Otakara has reported that Apple’s next generation iPad will have a wide range speaker for better sound quality and have a flatter back, more like the current iPhone 4. The iPad currently has a curved shape similar to the iPod Touch and previous iPhone generations.

The blog also said that it is an additional 3 mm thinner than the current iPad, which would place it at a mere 10.4 mm thick, or thin.

Mac Otakara reckon that the second generation iPad will be shipping in January, the same time that Apple introduced the first generation iPad, however that didn’t ship until April later that year.

Leaked cases for the second generation iPad suggested that the slots in these cases were for a USB port or for an SD card slot, however this latest rumor of a thicker higher quality speaker would lead us to believe that it’s to accommodate that.

I’m sure there will be plenty more rumors between now and the inevitable launch of the iPad 2, but it’s always nice to speculate.

iPad 2: Louder And Thinner – Shipping January is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Google announced “Gingerbread” the latest iteration of Android not too long ago. However, most of the news about it has since died down ever since the Nexus S was announced, the successor to the HTC built Nexus One.

The Nexus S is built by Samsung and is a slightly higher spec device than the current Samsung Galaxy. The Nexus S is the flagship device for Android 2.3 also known as “Gingerbread”.

The Nexus S has a crystal clear 4-inch Super AMOLOED touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a front-facing VGA camera, a microUSB 2.0 port, 16GB of built-in memory, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and Near Field Communication (NFC).

But what about all those users who jumped onto the Nexus One ship before Google decided to pull the plug on it and stop selling it? The Nexus One is by no means a bad device, in fact it’s still one of the best out there and I wouldn’t be disappointed if I got one in the morning, it’s almost identical to the extremely popular HTC Desire.

Well the Nexus One was always going to be the first handset to get the update for Android updates, it was for Android 2.2 anyway (Froyo) Google tweeted out that the update for the Nexus one will be coming in the coming weeks

The Gingerbread OTA for Nexus One will happen in the coming weeks. Just hang tight!

So hopefully Nexus One users wont have to wait to long, unless of course you’re running one of the carrier branded Nexus One’s which will always have slight delays before the carriers add their own stuff to it. Of course you can easily flash it onto your carrier locked device if you haven’t the patience.

Now all the remains to be seen is when Android 2.3 will make it to other Android devices like the HTC Desire? I’d imagine it wouldn’t be too long after since it’s so similar to the Nexus One and it didn’t take too long to get the update to Froyo 2.2 either. I’d imagine other popular handsets like the EVO 4G, Incredible, Galaxy S and Droid won’t be too far behind either.

Gingerbread Update Coming To Nexus One Soon is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

All of the current 3D TV’s utilize some sort of image separation in order to project two slightly different images to each eye, thus creating the illusion of 3D. The problem is that all of these TV’s are dependent on some kind of 3D glasses to make the image separation possible. Some are based on active shutter glasses and some rely on passive, polarized ones. Glasses for viewing 3D TV’s are usually sold separately, incurring an extra cost beyond the TV itself. With this adding to the inconvenience of wearing awkward glasses while watching TV has ensure a steady rise in the demand for 3D TV’s without glasses.

Traditional passive 3D glasses create the illusion of three dimensions when viewing specially prepared images. These classic 3D glasses have one red lens and one blue or cyan lens. Modern passive 3D glasses uses polarized filters, with one lens polarized vertically and the other horizontally, with the two images required for stereo-vision polarized the same way. Polarized 3D glasses allow for color 3D, while the red-blue lenses producing a dull black-and-white picture with red and blue fringes.

With a saturation in the market for normal TV’ manufacturers are constantly pushing for 3D TV’s to increase their sales figures. Companies are competing to excel in the field of manufacturing 3D televisions. In keeping with consumer demands, multiple companies have come up with 3D solutions that do not require 3D glasses. 3D TV’s that don’t require the viewer to wear glasses are called Auto-stereoscopic televisions. However, there’s one major problem with the technology — they can only be properly viewed from one angle. In order to solve this, Toshiba Mobile Display came up with a novel idea for a self-adjusting display. By sticking a six-axis accelerometer inside this 12.1-inch slate, the device can now adjust itself as the user tilts it. This is done by using software algorithms rather than the fancy lens-and-camera assembly that Microsoft has been prototyping. Toshiba is one of the biggest TV makers who do not actually have a huge stake in stereoscopic 3D right now, the format used in the flagship sets from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Vizio, and others. If the company has indeed been working with the Autostereoscopic format instead, that would certainly give them an edge over the rest in the race for better 3D.

The technology works by embedding thousands of tiny mirrors into the display to make the images appear to have real depth. Toshiba said that its 3D technology, which is currently best-suited for small displays, provides “nine different perspectives of each single 2D frame.” The company added that those perspectives are then “superimposed” by the viewer’s brain “to create a three-dimensional impression of the image.” The new LCD TVs are “first step into the 3D future of the consumer’s home cinema market,” Toshiba European marketing Chief Sascha Lange said in a statement. “But it will take several more years to develop larger 3D TVs without glasses with screen sizes of 40 inches and more at a reasonable price point.” Though Toshiba is trying to excel in the ‘glasses-free’ arena, the company is already well known in its own right in the 3D TV market. It currently sells the WX800 line of 3D TVs. Both the 46- and 55-inch models of the WX800 require glasses. Toshiba’s 20GL1 and 12GL1, which can switch from 3D to 2D mode, are scheduled to be released in Japan later this year. They will retail for about $2,900 and $1,400, respectively. The company has not announced plans for availability outside of Japan.

Toshiba Introduces Glasses-Free 3D Slate Device That Can Be Viewed From All Angles is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Apple announced the first generation iPad back in January 2010, even though it wasn’t released until April. But in keeping with Apple’s one year product cycle, we should expect to see another iPad come about in January. So if a product announcement is due to come up, that must mean the blogosphere should be exploding with rumors, and of course it is.

DigiTimes is reporting that the Chinese-language Economy Daily News has listed five new features that we can expect from the Apple’s next tablet:

Front Facing Camera

This first one is pretty much a given, if Apple didn’t introduce this they would be pretty stupid in my opinion. I don’t see why it wasn’t there in the first place, but Apple have it in their iPods, iPhones and Computers so I’m sure they’ll be eager to get in into the iPad.

Thinner Glass

This one is sort of a no brainer too.. Steve Jobs has a constant obsession with getting everything thinner and lighter so anything that can be made smaller will be.

Retina Display

Whether or not Apple will put a retina display in the iPad remains to be seen as the display on it is already pretty impressive, but who’s complaining if they do?

Gyroscope

This one is kind of obvious too, Apple are constantly marketing their products as gaming devices and the gyroscope only improves that experience. It’s already in the iPhone and iPod Touch so should find it’s way to the iPad.

USB Connector

This is the biggest question? Will Apple finally submit to the standard USB connection and get away from it’s own one? Apple signed up to be part of the Universal Standard Mini USB connection in the EU not to long ago so they will have to implement it, will be interesting to see if this comes about

But to be honest, this list is fairly predictable and if I was to think of one, I’d have something very similar. There’s also one other rumor going around that Apple are planning to release it on the same day as the Blackberry Playbook to really stir things up.

As usual, only time will tell, throw your ideas into the comments below

iPad 2 Rumors Flying Around Already is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

enTourage burst on to the scene last year with a brand new concept — a dual-screen device that has an e-Ink display on one side and a color display on the other. The former had a Wacom digitizer feature and the other was a full fledged touchscreen. Now, the time finally seems to have come for the device to come out in a new way. Entourage has just made a new version of the device official — Pocket eDGe — claimed to be the smallest dualbook in existence.

The e-Ink display has digitizer technology from Wacom and measure 6 inches. The color screen is 7 inch in size and is a touchscreen. The idea is that you will can be using on display or both at once, depending on what you are working on. One workflow that uses both screens is when you have to do a quick web search whilst reading a book. May be to look up a reference or a meaning. At that moment you can drag things from the e-Ink display to the color screen and work with them. Another use case is where you can read an e-book on the e-ink screen and if there’s an image; you can view it in color. Words can be highlighted on the e-ink screen and then searches on Google, Wikipedia can be made with that word.

The e-ink display cannot display anything other than static things and is useless for anything other than reading because it has a really low FPS performance. So one might argue that it would’ve been much easier to just have one screen that does everything. Well, the idea here is that you will can use the device in anyway you like without sacrificing battery life unnecessarily. If you want to read a book and make some notes and highlights — you can use the e-Ink display and enjoy a really great battery life. On the other hand, you will still have the option of using the color display for the times when you need to surf the web and look at things in color. So even though you are carrying only one device, you getting the best of both worlds.

The Pocket eDGe is an Android device but it will not be able to access the Android Market because it is a non-standard device. However, enTourage Systems is offering some applications on their own accord, which are available for download from their website. They are also saying that you can get applications from Third-party app devs. But that does not mean there already are third-party apps for it.

enTourage is following the market trends and offering some content from their own web store. They offering what they call a “vast array of e-Books” along with some periodicals and music. E-Book support is extensive and supports common formats like EPUB and PDF. The LCD screen also supports viewing and editing of all Microsoft Office documents.

The Pocket eDGe is geared mostly towards the academically inclined ones. It has a built-in microphone and camera — which the company says are for recording lectures and then revisiting them later. No doubt though that having a Wacom Penabled e-Ink screen really helps in taking notes while reading and these supportive features also help a lot. enTourage Systems seems to have researchers and students as their target audience mostly. Even the publishers seem to be university and academics oriented in general.

The functionality of the device is also quite flexible. The LCD screen can be set to display in both portrait and landscape orientations. It can be opened completely so that the screens are back to back — enabling you to use only one screen if you want. It will be retailing at $399.

[Official Website]

Entourage Finally Outs Pocket eDGe is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I think we can all agree that the hype and build up to the Google Nexus One, the iPhone killer, was much bigger than the actual sales of the smartphone. Yes it was a great device, and still is, but it just didn’t stand out from the crowd. Just over a month after it was released, HTC, who made it, released the HTC Desire, which was the exact same spec wise, with one or two better things.

Google also tried a new method of selling the device. They tried to sell it via their own online store, and later through carriers but the concept just never took off, and less 11 months after it’s release, Google axed the Nexus One.

Now rumors have begun to rock the web again as we look for a Nexus Two. This time though, if we’re to believe rumors, it’s coming from Samsung. What’s more, they’ve even come up with a release date, 11th November? IntoMobile, say they’ve got a reliable source saying that Gingerbread, the next iteration of Android (2.3) is coming out to coincide with the release of the Nexus Two on this date. Conveniently Samsung have also scheduled a press conference in New York on the 8th, so they reckon that’s when the Nexus Two will be announced.

Rumored specs are as follows : A full touchscreen with black, shiny glossy plastic and a curved back. The updated Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system will offer a video chat feature built-in with the help of a front facing camera.

Sounds good? Well it does I guess, if you believe it. I personally can’t see why Google will want to release a Nexus Two, and secondly, why they would suddenly ditch HTC for Samsung? Google said they had a very close relationship with HTC and up to now have worked very closely with them. It seems odd that they would suddenly switch manufacturers.

Then less than 24 hours after all these rumors came out, Samsung say it’s all just hot air and there’s no Nexus Two coming from them. Techcrunch then suggest that the Nexus Two does actually exist, but it’s been delayed until next year due to hardware issues.

I’ll leave this one in your hands, is there a Nexus Two coming anytime soon? Do you want one? Do we need one?

Let me know in the comments

Google Nexus Two? Is It For Real? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Ok technically speaking Sony have made a profit before, but haven’t managed to make one in gaming in years! Ever since the company launched the PlayStation 3 in 2006, they’ve been losing money on it. However, since the redesign of the Playstation 3 back in August last year, things have taken a turn for the better.

Previously Sony were losing money on every single PlayStation 3 console sold. However in April it finally passed a milestone which made the PS3 profitable. This happened because advances in Technology made the console cheaper to produce and sales were higher than expected. That profitability has continued on through July to September. Sales of the PS3 were an impressive 3.5 million units, higher than the 3.2 million sold during the same quarter last year.

“The game business has been profitable for four quarters in a row and is steadily progressing to a profit for the full year,” said Masaru Kato

Sony managed to generate a profit of $375 million during it’s second quarter with revenue of $20.8 billion. $4.4 billion of that came from the division that includes both the PC and Playstation 3 consoles which saw an increase of 5 percent.

The increase in PC sales was caused from Sony expanding into more regions and increasing their market share. Even though game sales were down, strong sales of PlayStation 3 hardware and the arrival of the PlayStation Move towards the end of the quarter more than made up for them.

So it’s good to see Sony finally making a profit on their game console after 4 years of a losses. Fair play to them for sticking at it for this long, it must be hard when your shareholders are shouting at you for selling a product at a loss for 4 years to keep at it.

Sony Finally Makes A Profit is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Problem: Today’s bandwidth technology in inadequate for the upcoming demands like cloud computing, streaming high definition video, and distributed data storage.

Solution: A 1 terabit Ethernet. That’s an impressive solution. And it is not outside the realm of possibility. Consider that researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Terabit Optical Ethernet Center (TOEC) division are aiming just for that; a 1 Terabit Ethernet over optical fiber, that is 1 trillion bits per second in a few years, specifically by 2015 and then a 100 Terabit Ethernet by 2020. This research has garnered the attention of Intel, Verizon, Agilent Technologies, Google, and Rockwell Collins. They are partnering with TOEC as founding industry affiliates.

The Wall has been Hit

Power and generated heat are dictating the limits of today’s networking equipment. When running a 100 Gigabits per second network you need a lot of power to run and cool the required systems. So to get Ethernet toward the 1 and 100 Terabits per second range, the underlying technologies will require to scale power and cooling elements as needed.

So what is the path to take; what is the research foundation? Photonics energy is the way forward. Indeed scientists at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs claim that optical transmission gear consumes less power by a factor of 10 than other network technologies such as cellular base stations and packet routers.

Current research at TOEC anticipates that advancements made in photonic integrated circuit technology, materials, advanced electronics, silicon photonics, and high-speed integrated optical and electronic circuits, will result in bridging these new technologies together to create real networking systems.

Research into new low-cost, and energy-efficient optical technologies will, hopefully, leverage the techniques now used in semiconductor manufacturing to become the foundation for the next generation of Ethernet of the future. The strategy will be to use silicon photonics to create integrated, low-cost, Terabit-per-second Ethernet devices.

Coming – 100 Terabit Ethernet is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

It’s finally been made official, what is much hoped to be the first real competitor to the iPad has been given a release date as well as a price.

Verizon Wireless customers in the US will be able to get their hands on the 7 – inch Samsung Galaxy Tablet running Android 2.2 from November 11th for $599.99

Customers will then be able to pay for a monthly wireless plan starting at $20 per month for 1Gb of data on the go. It looks like there will be more plans than this , but information on those isn’t available as of yet.

All the 4 major US carriers are set to carrier the Samsung Galaxy Tab at some stage, but Verizon is the first out of the gates to tell us a release date as well as pricing, I can only imagine that other carriers will be fairly similar.

Verizon also had a few more details to share with us about the tablet device itself.

You’ve got a 1GHz Cortez A8 CPU running Android Froyo 2.2. You’ve then got a 3MP camera on the back and a 1.3MP camera on the front so video chatting should be easy. The device is 4.7 x 7.4 x .45 inches with a screen that’s 7-inches big, smaller than the iPad.

It’s interesting price wise, it sounds fairly expensive, but the Galaxy Tablet is Wi-Fi and 3G enabled and comes in $30 cheaper than the iPad 3G. However you can now get the iPad on Verizon as well for just a tiny bit extra, and you also have to carry around the MiFi hotspot with you everywhere.

What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy Tab? Is it the first tablet that is actually a real competitor to the iPad and will tempt even those of us that aren’t nerds?

Samsung Galaxy Tab $600 On Verizon is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Apple seem to have gone fairly quiet on the Mac front over the last couple of months and have mainly just been focusing on iOS. We barely got a mention about OS X at previous press events, and we’ve begun to question Apples commitment to Mac.

Apple have just brought Mac back into the picture however with this press event that they have planned for October 20th at 10am in the Town Hall on Apple’s Campus in Cupertino California.

Invitations to the event entitled “Back to the Mac” began showing up earlier today.

So what can we expect to see Apple announce?

OS X Update

OS X is long overdue an update I think if it wants to keep up with Windows 7 and the likes, a refresh is in order. If the image in the press invitation is anything to go by, the next Mac OS could well be named “Lion”. Mac users have felt rather ignored over the past several months with all the iOS talk about iPads and iPhones, Macs seem to have been given the long finger.

New MacBook Air

The MacBook Air hasn’t got an update in ages, it’s screaming out for an update at this stage and since Apple love the ultrathin masterpiece, I’m expecting them to go to work on their 13 inch beauty.

Intel Core i3 and i5?

The MacBook Pros were updated six months ago and are on target for a refresh. The larger MacBook pros feature i3 and i5 processors, but the smaller 13-inch model has yet to get the upgrade. So I’d expect to see an update to that at the very least.

New Nvidia Graphics

Apple has pretty decent graphics in its current line of MacBooks, but they could be better. Especially the MacBook Pro 15 and 17 inch models, these more expensive models should be packing a bit more punch than they currently do in the graphics department.

What do you think Apple will have to say?

Let us know in the comments

Apple Hosting Mac Event Next Week – What Will We See? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Android seems to be making a real impact on the smartphone market and is rapidly catching up with the iPhone. Every month we’re getting new reports and surveys which are consistently showing that Android is being rapidly adopted and it’s market share is growing quicker than you’d believe.

But why are so many people making the switch? Why is Android growing so rapidly? Well here’s why I think Android is beginning to take over the smartphone market.

Excellent Range Of Handsets

Ok, I’ll be honest and say that Apple do make probably some of the best hardware out there. Their devices are all very well made and of the highest quality. Not only that, but they’re also one of the best designs out there and they do appeal to the masses. In the past, Android didn’t really have any killer devices, but the whole turning point came with the HTC Hero and the Motorola Droid. These were the first devices that created some hype and caught the attention of people. Ever since then the quality of Android devices has been excellent. You have the likes of HTC churning out these high quality, high performance handsets everyday of the week which match the performance of the iPhone, and in many cases surpass it. It’s the same story with Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

It’s this range of excellent hardware, that’s both attractive and functional, for a lower price than the iPhone is what makes Android sell.

Freedom Of Carriers

Unlike the iPhone, you can pretty much choose any carrier you want for Android. That’s what makes Android so attractive, it’s openly available to the masses. While the iPhone isn’t locked to one single carrier in the EU for most countries, it is in the US. AT&T seems to be one of the main reasons for people jumping ship in the US and Apple would really want to consider bringing the iPhone to Verizon sometime soon to keep all their customers on board.

Open and Free Platform

The iPhone OS is one of the easiest to use and most attractive operating systems out there, and I believe this is one of the main reasons why the iPhone has been so successful to date.

However the recent controversy over Adobe on the iPhone OS has really ruffled some peoples feathers. Android is open and supports flash, true multitasking as well as many more features. What’s more Android allows pretty much anyone to develop an app for it, and the apps can do so much more since the Android OS is an open platform.

As a result many people are flocking to Android for those reasons, it’s one of the reasons why I made the switch, what about you guys?

Have you made the switch? Will you?

Should You Make The Switch From The iPhone To Android? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Laptop users, beware. I know the name “Toasted Skin Syndrome” doesn’t sound like it came from an advanced medical crowd, but unfortunately it’s very real. You know all about exposure of your skin to the sun, but I bet you don’t think twice about having your laptop resting on your laptop.

Image: Engadget

While your sitting there happily gaming away, or “studying” your laptop is brewing up a mini inferno right on your lap. These laptops are threatening the very existence of mankind and the future! Thanks to a study from Pediatrics, the researchers have confirmed that the biggest risk to us all is not global warming, or the banking crisis, but in fact it’s that laptop resting on your lap.

Researchers have collected and analyzed various reports from youngsters who have been treated for exposure to extreme laptop heat. What they discovered is that prolonged use of laptops can lead to a condition that’s now known as “Toasted Skin Syndrome” lovely!

By using your laptop on your lap in can’t cool itself efficiently, and after long periods of intense gaming your laptop will become very hot, on your lap. This heat can leave the skin in a mottled, sponge like state and possible cause permanent skin darkening in that particular region. Try explaining that one to the opposite sex…..

Closer examination of the damaged areas reveal that the prolonged exposure to the heat causes damage similar to that of long term sun exposure.

So next time, suit up in your heat resistant trousers and use a laptop cooling mat for extra protection. Alternatively you could always put your laptop on the desk?!

Source:

Pediatrics

Laptop Horrors! “Toasted Skin Syndrome” is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I think it’s fair enough to say, that despite all the critics who said the iPad would never be a success, it’s done quite well for itself. Sales are through the roof and don’t appear to be letting up anytime soon, even with the rumors of a new iPad coming along in the very near future.

So who exactly is buying the iPad? Are they all just Apple fan boys? Avid tech users or is it your Granny and Grandad? Well a new study by the NPD Research Group has the answer for us. They surveyed 500 iPad owners during the month of August. The focus group comprised of “Early Adopters” (who bought it within the first 2 months of it’s release) and those who purchased the device outside the “Early Adopters” window.

iPad

A couple of reports have been coming out recently saying that PC manufacturers are going to lose out on sales big time this year because of the iPad, and according to this survey 13 percent of people say that the iPad replaced a planned PC purchase. Another 24 percent said that they had purchased the iPad over an e-reader that they were planning to purchase. So the Kindles and Nooks will be suffering more than the PC makers at the moment anyway.

And now here’s the non-surprising bit. Out of the early adopters, 50 percent of them already owned a Mac, and after the “early adopters” another 45 percent said they owned a Mac as well, so the old Apple faithful aren’t letting Steve Jobs down.

But things begin to get interesting when you look at the satisfaction ratings from this report. 80% of the early adopters and 65% of the other group said they were “very satisfied” with the device. 51  % of the users felt that the lack of USB ports was a major shortfall for the device.

As with every first gen device from Apple, the iPad has it’s shortfalls that really bug some people, but there’s a good lot of Apple fans who see right through these problems and will buy it without hesitation. I wonder will the next gen iPad address these issues?

Let me know what you think in the comments

Who Exactly Is Buying The iPad And Why? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

A while back I wrote a post expressing my view on the iPod Touch. It was becoming so very like the iPhone that the two were almost being seen as one, I couldn’t see why you would buy just an iPod Touch when you could get the iPhone which has the same, albeit it with a little higher specs.

This was before the iPod Touch 4th generation was officially announced, and now that it has, I believe it only strengthens my case. The latest iPod Touch generation is almost identical to the current iPhone 4. It sports the same A4 processor, a gyroscope, 2 cameras, Face Time, 720p Video recording and the rest. It’s almost identical, the only thing that sets it apart from the iPhone 4 is it’s a different design, with no GPS or Phone features, other than that the specs are the same (also has less ram) .

So for the two devices that have the same specs, how do they compare when you put them up head to head against each other. Well we already know that the retina display on the iPod Touch 4 isn’t actually as good as that on the iPhone 4. Both displays pack the full 326 pixels per inch, but the iPhone 4 has better viewing angles thanks to IPS technology.

The camera on the iPod Touch also appears to have darker colors and stronger contrast when compared to the iPhone 4. Interestingly, while the iPhone 4 has double the ram of the iPod Touch, it’s still slower when it comes to start up times, with the iPad coming in at 19.04 seconds. Next was the fourth-generation iPod touch, which took 26.40 seconds to start, followed by the iPhone 4 at 28.64 seconds. Last year’s iPhone 3GS started in 32.80 seconds.

There’s a whole load more video comparisons carried out by http://www.letemsvetemapplem.eu/ who compare the iPod Touch 4th Gen, iPhone 4, iPad and the iPhone 3GS. Check them out below

iPhone 4 vs iPod Touch 4G is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Gigabit Wi-Fi

With all the mobile technology innovations that are taking place, one more needs discussion, that is WiFi technology. New standards are under consideration for Gigabit WiFi. There are three standards IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ad and Wireless Gigabit aka WiGig.

802.11ac

First consider 802.11ac. This is a follow up for the old 802.11a Wi-Fi standard. This is a 5 GHz Wi-Fi standard with a speed range of 54Mbps. However, it was not a hot standard, so vendors were slow to implement 802.11a equipment. When 802.11g came along, 802.11a was slowly killed off. The reason is that 802.11g operates in the 2.4GHz range, and simultaneously could produce the same transmission speed. Furthermore, it was compatible with the older and slower 802.11b.

But now, with 802.11ac, 802.11a is coming back from the dead. This new standard will continue to work on the 5 Ghz band; however, it will also provide larger channels for data throughput.

802.11ad

802.11ad and WiGig will deliver 6 Gbps speeds, but they will deliver it in the 60 GHz range. This is good news, but the downside of this millimeter band Wi-Fi, is that its range will be measured in feet rather than yards. In other words, 802.11ad and WiGig APs will be able to cover the size of a room, but that is about it.

WiGig already has commercial support from Atheros, Broadcom, and Intel. It will be used specifically for streaming high-definition video. The goal for designers is for Wi-Fi adapters to support 802.11g’s 2.4 GHz for backwards compatibility and range; in addition, to support 802.11n and 802.11ac’s 5GHz for performance, and to support 802.11ad/WiGig’s 60GHz for short-range, High Definition video data transfers.

The upshot is that 1 Gbps transfers and operations may be in the near future, but not that near. The big problem is device compatibility. Getting the new standards to work with the chipsets that exist will take some doing.

New WiFi Standards Coming is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Now I’m sure most of you know all about over clocking processor chips, heck I’m sure many of you are probably running machines with over clocked chips. You can buy some chips over clocked above their rated speed, but this usually involves a bit of hacking around and if you don’t do it right, you could cause some trouble for your machine.

But Intel now are testing the water and offering to unlock additional caches and threads on the new Pentium G6951 processor. It’s not exactly the same as over clocking, but it should give you a modest performance boost, albeit for $50.

Hardware.info got their hands on an early sample of the chip and discovered it’s actually a full 1MB of L3 cache that’s enabled plus HyperThreading support, and they say it’s a modest, but noticeable upgrade to the chip.

Now the likes of Intel and other chip manufacturers do regularly sell chips with lower specs than what they’re capable off, and thats why people can over clock them above their “rated” performance. Regularly the chip is capable of more than what it’s rated, but due to stringent quality control, they aren’t run at their full performance.

So Intels new processor performance upgrade card will give you that little extra boost, and go about it the legit and right way,but they only appear to be trying it out on their new pentium processor for the moment. What do you think about paying an extra $50 to unlock the features that are already on the chip?

Let us know in the comments as usual

Source:

Engadget

Intel Wants To Charge You For Something Your Chip Can Already Do is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Electronic computing may finally get a challenger, photonic computing. Based on photons instead of electrons, researchers have produced a new photonic chip that works on light rather than electricity. An international research team built the chip. This paves the way for the production of ultra-superfast quantum computers with capabilities far beyond today’s devices.

Quantum Mechanics - Atom

The director of the project, Jeremy O’Brien, of the UK’s Centre for Quantum Photonics, said that “… we can say with real confidence that, using our new technique, a quantum computer could, within five years, be performing calculations that are outside the capabilities of conventional computers.”

Apparently, one of the things that is radically different in quantum computing is using one of the tenants of quantum physics, that particles can be in multiple places at the same time. In real world physics, an object can only be in one place at one time.

By using the principles of quantum mechanics, revolutionary design will be possible. CPU’s will have new structures because they will be able to run operations trillion times faster, but not using the old designs. Memory chips will be able to store much more data than before.

Technically speaking, this is just the beginning. It will be necessary to overcome many other barriers. Re-designs in all aspects of computer technology, from motherboards, network cards, memory chips, audio and video cards will take place.

Infinity of light

Size matters also. As we have seen in the last 2 – 3 years, many popular electronic products have gotten smaller. The iPhone, iPod, netbooks, all have changed how computer manufacturers look at dimensions. With quantum computing the challenge will not just to take advantage of the processing capabilities, but they must also mimic the size dimensions that have been brought by electronic computing. It may take decades to reach the size dimensions of the iPhone, but that will be one of the goals to reach in order to have a commercially successful product.

Quantum Physics

Source: FT.Com

Quantum Computing Chips are now a Reality is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.