Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • iPhone in a Smaller and Cheaper Version for Emerging Markets

    A few days ago have appeared a number of new rumors about iPhone 5, according to which the terminal will come equipped with iPad's processor, will have an 8-megapixel camera and will have a radically changed design, as "teardrop".

    The sources close to Bloomberg are disclosing some information that we won’t even dare to hope: Apple is preparing a smaller and cheaper version of iPhone, based on the iPhone 4’s hardware. The device aims the under-development countries, areas that until now have been dominated by Nokia’s handsets.

    The same sources are saying that Apple will soon release a new iPad, which uses an improved version of the “Retina Display” technology, which currently features the iPhone 4. The tablet will have a higher resolution and will include a touch layer to respond more quickly to commands.

    And as the sixth generation of iPhone is becoming more and more interesting for the Apple fans and the speculation have already started to flow, the enthusiasts claim that the iPhone 5 will hit the market in the spring 2012. The phone is expected to come equipped with major hardware updates, with a magnitude as great as the fourth generation had.

    The experts in this field believe that Apple should really embrace a more aggressive launch cycle to cope with strong competition coming from the growing army of Android smartphones.

    It is estimated that by the end of 2011, Apple will hold 18.5 percent points of the market share, while Google will have twice, 38.9 percent points. These are some bad news for Apple, which obtains more than half of revenue from the sales of iPhones.

    Meanwhile, new information on the final design for the iPhone 5 were used to create a portrait that we can form an opinion about how the future iPhone should look like.

    You may also want to read:
    Apple Prepares the Next iPhone for September
    The Most Efficient Mass-Media Apps for iPad
    Adobe Facilitated Android, iOS and BlackBerry with its Updates for Flash Builder and Flex

  • Logitech Teams Up with GN Netcom on Unified Communications Solutions

    Logitech is teaming up with GN Netcom to fuel the Unified Communications market. As a first step in their collaboration, the two companies have entered into a distribution agreement under which Logitech will offer select products from the award-winning line of Jabra headsets and speakerphones through distribution channel partners in North America.

    The two companies also plan to roll out the offering globally as well as collaborate on the development of future audio peripherals for UC.

    As part of the initial agreement, Logitech will begin offering select Jabra headsets and speakerphones for Unified Communications, beginning in July 2011. Logitech will offer the Jabra products, which will be co-branded “Logitech powered by Jabra” as part of a portfolio of audio and video business solutions for UC.

    The products Logitech will be offering are currently certified to work with Avaya, Microsoft Corp., Cisco and Polycom under the Jabra brand. Logitech plans to confirm certifications with these partners as well as others for the “Logitech powered by Jabra” headsets and speakerphones.

    According to Roopam Jain, principal analyst at Frost and Sullivan, with LifeSize meeting rooms, Logitech webcams and ‘Logitech powered by Jabra’ headsets, Logitech is leveraging its strong brand and simplifying deployment and support for customers. “With the convergence of VOIP and video conferencing in unified communications solutions, we see a significant opportunity for Logitech to be a full solution provider,” he said.

    “This collaboration with GN Netcom will enable Logitech to be a full solution provider for Unified Communications,” said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. “Businesses will now have a single company for a full range of UC solutions – from the meeting room with LifeSize video conferencing end points and infrastructure products to PCs, Macs and tablets with Logitech webcams, headsets and speakerphones.”

    “Jabra is already a leader in the UC space and we will continue to market the full range of Jabra branded solutions for Unified Communications. The agreement with Logitech enables GN Netcom to further expand the presence of Jabra products in North American sales channels,” said Mogens Elsberg, chief executive officer of GN Netcom. “We believe this agreement will lead to more people using Jabra headsets and speakerphones for their UC solutions.”

  • Apple Prepares the Next iPhone for September

    Apple prepares for September the launch of a new iPhone 5 which will have a more powerful processor and an advanced video camera, said two sources close to the situation.

    The phone will be equipped with the A5 processor of the iPad 2, and an 8-megapixel camera, compared to the 5-megapixel on the iPhone 4, said the sources, adding that Apple is also testing a new version of the iPad tablet, which boasts a higher resolution screen.

    Apple representatives declined to comment on this information.

    A faster chip will allow faster processing of data and will strengthen iPhone’s market position in relation with the smartphones launched by rival companies such as Samsung and HTC using Google’s Android platform.

    The new Apple phone will run the iOS 5, recently introduced by the company at a WWDC conference. The system has improved messaging features and photo-sharing and can run on all Apple mobile gadgets. By the end of last year, the iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch were using slightly different versions of the iOS.

    The company has delayed the introduction of the fifth iPhone to coincide with the launch of the iOS 5, said the sources.

    The iPhone is Apple's best selling product, generating half of the revenues in the last quarter.

    Market research firm, IDC, estimates that the smartphone market will reach one billion units sold by the end of 2015. The IDC also predicts that Apple will have a market share of 18.2% this year compared to 38.9% for Android phones.

    Apple is close to completing a cheaper and smaller version of the iPhone for consumers in emerging countries, the sources added. This gadget would use chips and screens close to the current seen on iPhone 4.

    You may also want to read:
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  • The Most Efficient Mass-Media Apps for iPad

    It is known that Apple fans have for their devices hundreds of thousands of applications to choose from, but which are the best of them? In this article we will try to find the most interesting and effective tools for those who are interested to know the latest news in the media.

    AP News

    AP News is one of the best programs of its kind, although it has nothing revolutionary. The software includes articles, photos and video clips on the latest news. AP News has a clear interface, easy to use and supports news feeds of local news and weather.

    NPR iPad

    NPR iPad is very useful for users who want to know the latest news in music, arts and media. The design is simple, clear and easy to use, with three horizontal lines that bring users the latest articles and songs for each section. Internet users can listen to the song they want from the thousands of options available in the playlist. The player will start at the bottom of the screen in one click. In addition, you can explore all the details of the program while listening to the chosen song.

    StumbleUpon

    Those who are already addicted to the StumbleUpon site will definitely appreciate the similar program for the iPad, and others will be surprised by the ability of the online publication to find the most interesting information on the web and put them all together. Just select the topics you are interested in, such as nutrition, fitness, travel, design, etc. and StumbleUpon will gather the newest and the most commented news and articles.

    CNN

    CNN app is very useful for those who are greedy for news of any kind. The application can be seen in magazine type format, with a mosaic made up of text and photos, a list of titles or a format with large photos linked to articles. This layout quickly shows you the most important information and other features such as live video news, updates every hour and videos for most of news are making this app very efficient.

    Marvel

    For comic books fans, there’s the Marvel app. This is one of the most effective ways to track your favorite stories on the iPad. Each publication of its kind – here being included an important selection of free titles – can be explored page by page or in "guided tour", which helps user to easily choose from a very wide range.

    You may also want to read:
    Adobe Facilitated Android, iOS and BlackBerry with its Updates for Flash Builder and Flex
    LG Optimus 3D Officially Launched in Europe
    What You Should Keep in Mind When Buying a Smartphone

  • Adobe Facilitated Android, iOS and BlackBerry with its Updates for Flash Builder and Flex

    Adobe today released much awaited updates to its Flex 4.5 and Flash Builder 4.5 software. The new release enables developers to create cross-platform apps successfully for iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

    This release will facilitate functionality of the adobe Framework, which was released in this year April. In fact, Adobe framework support was extended alone for Android from the day of its launch and these latest updates enabled this facility for rest of the operating systems as promised by adobe earlier.

    Adobe introduced several other applications along with these updates that were built through their latest software and informed that these applications will be available soon for the three app stores Itunes, BlackBerry App World and Android Market. There are few games in this list to be introduced such as Mr. Mixit and Pyramix, Conqu-a task management tool, Muni Tracker for San Francisco’s Public transport system and Netflix Queue Manager by UnitedMindset.

    The announced updates are credited successfully with many productivity improvements according to the Adobe. Also, it is informed that these updates will enable Flash Builder 4.5 with the best practice code templates for developers along with code completion and code generation features. These additions will definitely create significant acceleration for the Flex and some more Action script applications. These things will deployed by adobe through Adobe AIR. It is expected that this AIR will support more than 200 million platforms by this year ending.

    This latest updates release from Adobe got significant influence over the Apple. Earlier Apple imposed a ban over the usage of the third-party development tools and that left many developers away from the Adobe’s Flash, Sun’s Java and Microsoft Silverlight and some more. Now, the latest updates from Adobe in the favor of iOS is lifted another special environment for developers to develop apps with more ease and comfort.

  • LG Optimus 3D Officially Launched in Europe

    Starting today, LG Optimus 3D, the 3D phone offered by LG, is available in the Old Continent’s markets. The much awaited gadget, which debuted in February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, offers a fully 3D experience: recording, playback and the possibility to a video to all your friends.

    LG Optimus 3D also has a Tri-Dual architecture, about which, the President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company, Park Jong-Seok said the following: "We believe that the Tri-Dual architecture opens a new chapter in the performance of a smartphone”.

    What exactly the Tri-Dual technology is? The Korean company explains the unique architecture of their new smartphone during a press conference. "Unlike other smartphones – those with dual-core processors and of high speed – that are not using these technologies because of the inefficiency of the single-channel configurations, LG Optimus 3D has a dual-channel configuration, the transfer of the material can be made simultaneously between dual-core and dual-memory, resulting in a high performance.”

    In addition to the Tri-Dual architecture and the ability to record 3D videos in 720p at 30 frames per second, the smartphone has other attractive specifications: a 4.3 inch WVGA screen, HDMI 1.4 connection, a double 5-megapixel camera and will be running on Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo.

    Moreover, the owners of the tri-dimensional phone will be able to upload 3D content on the YouTube page dedicated to these types of videos.

    LG Optimus 3D has firstly been released in Europe, but it will be available in a few weeks in more than 60 other markets in the world.

    You may also want to read:
    What You Should Keep in Mind When Buying a Smartphone
    Windows Phone Will Dictate the Smartphone World Soon?
    New Mobile Malware Droid Dream Affected around 120,000 Android Users Badly

  • What You Should Keep in Mind When Buying a Smartphone

    Buying a smartphone is more difficult than it seems. Often, after you do finally purchase it, you feel like you didn’t take the best. And even if it is not so complicated it’s still a frustrating process. The guys at Business Intelligence did a survey in which they asked buyers what are they taking into account when buying a phone.

    On the 5th place came out that many of those who want to buy a new smartphone think of how difficult it’s for them to move the context from one phone to another – all the messages, pictures, calendar, settings, accounts, says one of the authors of the survey.

    He added that for doing this you need to consider the phones you use for transfer, and if you’re still in this chapter, you’d better get something to eat as it will take a while until you’ll succeed. So if you want to know more … Google it.

    In the 4th place in the top things to keep in mind is the mobile operator. This rule is valid in any country, a telephone buyer, especially when buying the phone under subscription, has to choose the operator depending on family and friends.

    The selection of applications is also a priority for consumers, so it is considered "worthy" of a 3rd place. That’s because our phone is so smart depending on how many applications we put on it. But do not forget that the Internet, which all the smart phones can access it, is the ultimate application.

    The phone features are a very important element to be considered by customers. Slider or not, battery lifetime, screen size, storage capacity or Flash support – all these are factors which consumers take into account. The leaders of this survey warn not to fall into the trap of the camera. It does not matter how many megapixels the camera has, so think efficient.

    The most important thing to consider is the platform. For the most of those surveyed it matters if the phone is running on Android, Windows Phone, Web OS, iOS – basically, the operating system dictates, in many cases, what is the best phone. The way icons are placed, how you interact with it matters a lot, because if you do not like, then you bought the phone for nothing.

    In the survey I mentioned above, surprisingly, price was not one of the most important characteristics that consumers take into account when buying a smartphone.

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  • New Mobile Malware Droid Dream Affected around 120,000 Android Users Badly

    It is informed that approximately from 30,000 to 120,000 Android smartphone users are recently affected by a malware named as Droid Dream. It is believed that this malware is not a new thing and it is the same one that affected 50 applications earlier in March. According to Lookout Security, the latest malware was found in 25 and above mobile applications, which were removed earlier from Android Market by Google.

    Lookout Security also informed that this Droid Dream variant is a naked version of the original Droid Dream. This malware will be automatically active whenever user invokes the receipt of “android,intent.action.PHONE_STATE intent” like an incoming call. This is indicating that this variant doesn’t need any manual response in order get triggered into action. This malware is more malicious and requires no user actions to launch.

    The malware was seen light through a tip informed by a developer. This tip enabled security team of Lookout to verify instantly and found the malicious code which is almost as same earlier Droid Dream sample. It is identified that this malware was distributed from four different developers’ accounts. Some of apps that were affected due to this malware are below:

    Magic Photo Studio:
    • Sexy Girls: Hot Japanese.
    • Sexy Legs.
    • Hot Girls 4.
    • Beauty Breasts.
    • Sex Sound.
    • Sex Sound: Japanese.
    • HOT Girls 1.
    • HOT Girls 2.
    • HOT Girls 3.

    Mango Studio:
    • Floating Image Free
    • System Monitor
    • Super StopWatch and Timer
    • System Info Manager.

    E.T Tean:
    • Call End Vibrate.

    BeeGoo:
    • Quick Photo Grid.
    • Delete Contacts.
    • Quick Uninstaller.
    • Contact Master.
    • Brightness Settings.
    • Volume Manager.
    • Super Photo Enhance.
    • Super Color Flashlight.
    • Paint master.

    As a precautionary measure, it is suggested every Android smartphone user to consider installation of apps from trusted source and it is essential to verify the reviews and developer name. It is essential to give more concern towards the permissions that are prompted by the app during its installation process. It is also vital to observe the unusual behavior of the phone and keep the device well equipped with a mobile security app.

    The latest situations with Android Market is clearly informing all the Android smartphone users the necessity of a mobile security app. Definitely end user is suffering a lot though the situation is affecting badly the developers too. Developers are automatically kept at responsibility when their apps’ were ripped off and used for the malware distribution.

    You may also want to read:
    iOS 5 Launched at WWDC 2011, 200 New Features
    Apple Presented the iCloud Service
    Nokia E6 and X7 Ready for Delivery in Europe
    ASUS PadFone – a hybrid between smartphone and tablet

  • iOS 5 Launched at WWDC 2011, 200 New Features

    WWDC, the annual Apple conference, passed without the much awaited launch of the iPhone 5, but the company has not left their fans empty-handed, presenting, among other, the new version of the iOS 5. iOS 5 will bring over 200 new features on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this fall, the most important being the Notification Center and the iMessage, Newsstand or PC Free systems.

    The Notification Center brings together all the notifications in one location that can be easily managed while iMessage is a redesigned messaging service that allows you to send messages, pictures or videos from all the devices running on iOS 5.

    Apple has listened to criticisms and has also launched the PC Free function, which gives iOS devices users the possibility of activating the product without a PC connection.

    With the new iOS 5 and iCloud, after you’ve entered your Apple ID, iCloud will integrate “into the cloud” all the applications, emails, contacts, photos and music, all without the need to be connected to a computer.

    iOS 5 provides Twitter integration for most applications, so you can access the tweet functions from Photos, Safari, Camera, Maps and YouTube, with a single touch.

    For the fans of magazines and newspapers, the new iOS 5 comes with Newsstand, a new way of organizing the subscriptions, more elegant and more intuitive.

    Safari has also undergone some improvements, including the Reader mode that makes easier reading the text.

    Other improvements that come along with the new iOS 5 are related to the Game Center, mail or keyboard.

    IOS 5 beta is already available for developers, and the final version will be available for free in this fall for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and iPad 2, but also for the fourth and third generation of iPod touch.

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  • Apple Presented the iCloud Service

    Steve Jobs returned from his medical leave to present in San Francisco more novelties, including the iCloud service through which users’ files can be stored on Apple’s servers, they being able to easily access them from anywhere, using iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or other Apple products.

    Companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have massively promoted the cloud computing, and Apple hopes to catch them up, helped by their efficient marketing.

    “The iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your devices," said Steve Jobs, who held a presentation in his style. He admitted that it’s annoying to have to synchronize with your PC order to transfer various files on them and added that iCloud is the solution because if the user buys a song from iTunes for example, it will be loaded automatically "in the cloud" and a user can easily access it via internet using any Apple device, without needing to synchronize these devices separately.

    Jobs says that iCloud was necessary because the PC is no longer the center of the "digital life", the PC drops in rank, being a simple device. He added that iCloud “is not only a hard disk in the sky", but is wanted to be "the latest great idea of us".

    iCloud is free except for an option that an iTunes version, called Match, scans and then sends into the cloud songs that users owned on their Apple devices without being bought from iTunes. Users will be able to listen to those songs anywhere, on any Apple terminal, but will have to pay an annual subscription fee of $ 25 for the privilege of listening to these songs.

    The free iCloud services include:

    • The former MobileMe services—Contacts, Calendar and Mail—all completely re-architected and rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. Users can share calendars with friends and family, and the ad-free push Mail account is hosted at me.com. The inbox and mailboxes are kept up-to-date across all user’s iOS devices and computers.
    • The App Store and iBookstore now download purchased iOS apps and books to all your devices, not just the device they were purchased on. In addition, the App Store and iBookstore now let you see your purchase history, and simply tapping the iCloud icon will download any apps and books to any iOS device (up to 10 devices) at no additional cost.
    • iCloud Backup automatically and securely backs up your iOS devices to iCloud daily over Wi-Fi when you charge your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Backed up content includes purchased music, apps and books, Camera Roll (photos and videos), device settings and app data. If you replace your iOS device, just enter your Apple ID and password during setup and iCloud restores your new device.
    • iCloud Storage seamlessly stores all documents created using iCloud Storage APIs, and automatically pushes them to all your devices. When you change a document on any device, iCloud automatically pushes the changes to all your devices. Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps already take advantage of iCloud Storage. Users get up to 5GB of free storage for their mail, documents and backup—the storage for music, apps and books purchased from Apple, and the storage required by Photo Stream doesn’t count towards this 5GB total. Users will be able to buy more storage, with details announced when iCloud ships this fall.
    • iCloud’s Photo Stream service automatically uploads the photos you take or import on any of your devices and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices and computers. Photo Stream is built into the photo apps on all iOS devices, iPhoto on Macs, and saved to the Pictures folder on a PC. To save space, the last 1,000 photos are stored on each device so they can be viewed or moved to an album to save forever. Macs and PCs will store all photos from the Photo Stream, since they have more storage. iCloud will store each photo in the cloud for 30 days, which is plenty of time to connect your devices to iCloud and automatically download the latest photos from Photo Stream via Wi-Fi.
    • iTunes in the Cloud lets you download your previously purchased iTunes music to all your iOS devices at no additional cost, and new music purchases can be downloaded automatically to all your devices. In addition, music not purchased from iTunes can gain the same benefits by using iTunes Match, a service that replaces your music with a 256 kbps AAC DRM-free version if Apple can match it to the over 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, it makes the matched music available in minutes, and uploads only the small percentage of unmatched music. iTunes Match will be available this fall for a $24.99 annual fee.

    According to Apple, they are ready to ramp iCloud in its three data centers, including the third recently completed in Maiden, NC. Apple has invested over $500 million in its Maiden data center to support the expected customer demand for the free iCloud services.

    You may also want to read:
    iOS 5 Launched at WWDC 2011, 200 New Features
    ASUS to Launch Four New Tablets by the End of 2011
    Nokia E6 and X7 Ready for Delivery in Europe
    ASUS PadFone – a hybrid between smartphone and tablet