Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • RIM Recalls 1,000 Playbooks for Repairs

    Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of the popular Blackberry phones, has recalled from the market 1,000 copies of the new-released tablet, PlaybBook, because of problems with the operating system that could pose difficulties in the initial installation of the gadget, writes Reuters, citing overseas media.

    Even if it didn’t pass so much time from the launching of the BlackBerry tablet, it seems that they have been a little rushed. Although sales were not great in the first days or the PlayBook was not a revelation to most users, the gadget is now available worldwide.

    The problem is as follows: RIM factory called back about 1,000 tablets that would have some problems that cannot be solved with a simple firmware update. Through a press release in which are filled the series of all the 935 damaged BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM has defined very well the extent of the problem.

    Even so, BlackBerry phone manufacturer announced in a statement posted on CrackBerry.com that the most affected devices were in stores and have not yet reached the customers. "The company is working to remedy the defects," said RIM.

    According to information published in the weekend by Engadget, the damaged tablets were distributed through the network of Staples stores.

    RIM is facing major challenges to maintain its market share, after the strong competition from Apple and Android devices. The new PlayBook tablet would have to alleviate the competitive pressure, but the gadget has been coolly received by the analysts in this field.

  • Apple Gaining Control over Android’s Dominant Features Speech and Navigation

    Apple is nowadays concentrating high over the things that are really causing hindrances to overtake the acceleration of Android. Android’s major plus points are Speech and Navigation features that are really gaining upper hand over the Apple’s iPhone. These two features are always successful at keeping intact their customer base and helping to improve further too.

    Most of the major features on Android such as SMS, email, search box and many more are speech-enabled. Here, iPhone successfully enabled their devices with “voice control commands” which allows user to perform few functions such as making call, playing music etc. In fact, this narrower facility on iPhone is failing to result as a match for the facilities that are available with Android. Here, it is essential to recognize that the voice search facility on iPhone over Google and Bing is supported through Microsoft and Google technologies and nothing to do with Apple.

    Recently some rumors and news floating all around mentioning that Apple is under talks with popular speech firm Nuance in this aspect. Nuance was the front-end speech facility provider for Siri, which was recently acquired by Apple. Also, Nuance provided speech-enabled keyboard in FlexT9 for Android and Dragon Search apps for the iPhone. This is clearly indicating that the Apple is moving its cards safely towards the “speech enablement”, which has been a competitive weakness for the iPhone since very long. Pretty soon Apple is going to conclude a deal with Nuance in this aspect.

    Smartphones mapping and directions is another vital factor that is ruling the market currently. Currently, Apple is using Google maps for this purpose. Here, the Google maps and direction experience over the iPhone is quite anemic when compared with Maps and Navigation with Android. Also, Google withheld releasing a latest Navigation version for iPhone keeping in mind the prevailing competition.

    Apple is calmly witnessing every development in the Maps and Navigation spectrum and slowly moving its steps towards the right direction. Recently, apple bought Placebase, which is a Google maps current competitor. In June 2010, Apple bought Poly 9 which is almost similar type as Google-Earth and offers 3D mapping successfully. Recently, Apple announced its interest for “locationgate”, which is mainly emphasizes over “crowd sourced traffic database…and will be available within coming two years.

    So, the current scenario is clearly indicating the major interest of Apple and perhaps intended to announce these specialities along with upcoming iPhone 5. It is definitely indicating that the Apple is intended to achieve upper hand over the lacking Maps and navigation aspects and trying to achieve the next level in it.

  • Discover More Easily The Best Apps In Android Market

    Google continues its string of good news for Android fans, revealing the new Android Market, in the second day of the Google I/O conference in Moscone Center, San Francisco.

    Google’s application store has always been criticized for its cumbersome and obscure system of presenting the applications, in contrast with Apple’s App Store, so the IT giant has decided to take action.

    Android Market has now five new functions that will help any user find games and applications more easily. First is Top Apps that comes in a more complex shape, with recommendations by country, a top of both free and paid applications, and also a top of applications with the highest revenues.

    The second novelty is the Editor’s Choice, which contains a collection of the best applications at the moment, carefully selected by the Android Market’s reps.

    Next is Top Developers that will reward the best designers of applications with a special icon, which will ensure quality, they also being present in a special list in the Android Market. Currently the list contains 150 companies.

    Another innovation will give the user a recommendation of any downloaded software by other users who have also viewed the same program analyzed at that time. For example, if you’re using ScoreMobile, an application that gives you the latest scores in sports, you will be advised of other similar applications that sports fans have downloaded.

    The last section introduced is Trending Apps and will contain the applications and the games that are recording an upward trend in terms of download, in other words, the most promising titles of the moment.

    The new features of the Android Market are currently available only for the online version, but Google promises that the mobile version will be upgraded pretty soon.

  • Google Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 3.1, Movies and Music, Announced At Google I/O

    Google moves on with their global domination plans, announcing a lot of operating systems and services from the Google Ice Cream Sandwich to the new Android 3.1, Google Music and the possibility of renting movies on Android Market, all in one single day at the Google I/O 2011 event held at Moscone Center, San Francisco.

    Although it is difficult to say that a story would be more important than another, the operating system called Google Ice Cream Sandwich is certainly a highly awaited announcement. A combination between the Android software for tablets, Honeycomb and for smartphones, Gingerbread, the new Sandwich will be a universal version that will run on smart gadgets, from the smallest cell phones to the most generous tablets. It will offer a series of revolutionary features and is scheduled for the end of 2011.

    Google has decided that it’s time to enter the game of emphasizing the multimedia content and has launched Google Music service, which allows a server to store up to 20,000 songs, from its own collection, which will be played then by streaming on notebook, smartphone or other device. Google Music Beta is already live.

    The video part could not be absent from the equation, Google being able to offer us a service that allows users to rent movies directly from Android Market, at very good prices.

    Another thing that deserves to be noted from the Google I/O conference, which is still ongoing, is the launch of Android 3.1, the new version of the most popular operating system, which brings, among others, the possibility to resize the widgets and to import photos from digital cameras via USB host.

    Stay tuned for more details and fresh news from the Google I/O conference.

  • SAMSUNG GALAXY S II at 3M Pre-Orders

    Samsung continues to break records. After announcing a few days ago that it had sold 120,000 copies of the super-phone Galaxy S II only in South Korea, now Samsung makes public the real number of the preorders.

    According to the company, we are talking about 3 million people worldwide who had pre-ordered the new smartphone Samsung Galaxy S II at the end of April, when it was released in Korea.

    The Korean electronics giant says the 3-million demand is so unprecedented, the pre-orders being made before the official launch of its first dual-core Android. For comparison, it should be noted that the first Galaxy S has been sold in 10 million copies, so this 3m-demand is very huge. In addition, the demand is expected to continue its growth, since the phone will be launched in 120 countries worldwide.

    According to the analyses, in the current pace, the rapid increase in demand for Samsung smartphones continues to threaten companies like Apple or Nokia. Samsung Galaxy S II is the world’s first phone with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen.

    However, the demand for this new smartphone could be overtaken by the launching of the new HTC Sensation in summer or by the launching of the new iPhone in September this year.

  • Voxbone, Jajah Create Service That Localizes International Calling

    Voxbone has collaborated with Jajah to develop a value-added telecommunications service, which is said to make international calling "simple and affordable." The International Favorites service, which Jajah provides for mobile customers of O2 in the United Kingdom, offers a subscriber a virtual overseas number so the users can call at local rates.

    As part of the new service, Voxbone supplies an international “Call Me” number that directly reaches a customer’s mobile phone.

    The customer adds this second phone number from a country of choice to an existing mobile subscription. Calls to the number are dialed, delivered and billed like local PSTN calls. These calls are transmitted through Voxbone’s IP network to the O2 user’s mobile phone. The subscriber doesn’t need a special phone or application.

    The virtual number complements the subscriber’s U.K. mobile number, enabling two phone numbers to be mapped to the same device. The service works with most O2 phones.

    In addition, Voxbone is supplying numbers for another feature of International Favorites: provision of three local outbound numbers per subscriber that the customer may use to reach selected international landline and mobile numbers. A flat fee of £10 per month covers 3,000 minutes (50 hours) of calls to these numbers.

    “We are enthused about this opportunity to help a global telecom leader use our phone numbers and global VoIP backbone to create value for its customers and its business,” said Voxbone CEO Rod Ullens. “International Favorites enables customers to keep in closer touch with friends and loved ones in other countries, while it benefits operators by promoting customer loyalty and international calling.”

    “A new kind of geography is being formed that is about local presence and global relationships superseding distance or national borders,” said Trevor Healy, Chief Innovation Officer for Telefónica Europe. “International Favorites gives us a tremendous opportunity to innovate, reflect our users’ needs and open new revenue streams.”

  • Novell to Enable Development of .NET Apps for Android using Microsoft Visual Studio

    Novell today announced the availability of Mono for Android, the first solution for developing Microsoft .NET applications for the Android platform using Microsoft Visual Studio.

    With the addition of Mono for Android to its existing Mono development tools, Novell is enabling Microsoft .NET and C# developers using Visual Studio and other environments to utilize a common code base to create applications for the industry’s most widely-used mobile devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

    According to statistics released by research firm Nielson, Android has a 29 percent consumer market share, making it the most popular smartphone platform. With Mono for Android, .NET developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) can utilize Visual Studio and their existing skills to build a vast array of Android-based applications and sell their products into this massive market.

    "Since the introduction of MonoTouch in 2009, developers have experienced how Mono streamlines mobile application development," said Miguel de Icaza, Mono project founder and vice president of Developer Platforms at Novell. "As a result, many asked us to build a similar tool for Android. We developed Mono for Android to give both individual developers and businesses a way of sharing their code across multiple mobile platforms, increasing efficiency and reuse of their C# and .NET expertise across the board."

    Mono for Android consists of the core Mono runtime, bindings for native Android APIs, a Visual Studio 2010 plugin to develop Android applications, and a software development kit that contains all the tools needed to build, debug and deploy applications. Developers trained in Microsoft Visual Studio can stay within their preferred IDE, while using their existing skills and .NET code, libraries and tools, as well as C# programming knowledge, to create mobile applications for Android-based devices. With the Visual Studio 2010 plugin, engineers can develop, debug and deploy their applications to an Android simulator, an Android device or the Android Application Store.

    Mono for Android complements MonoTouch, Novell’s popular solution for developing applications for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Developers utilizing Mono for Android and MonoTouch can save time and money by sharing common code between iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android phones and tablets, as well as Windows Phone 7, Windows desktops and Windows Server. A Mono for Android add-in also allows MonoDevelop users to develop on OS X.

    "As a mobile software developer and middleware vendor, Resco customers are enabled to use our products to develop MonoTouch, and now Mono for Android applications for Android and Apple devices," said Michal Sartoris, senior developer at Resco. "With more than 3,000 customers, our business success depends on us delivering feature-rich, highly-quality applications to the market before our competitors. Novell is providing us with innovative, cross-platform development tools that enable us to reduce the cost and resources required to create mobile applications."

    Mono for Android Enterprise Edition is available for US $999 per developer for a one-year subscription, which includes maintenance and updates. A five-developer Enterprise license supports five concurrent developers and is available for US $3,999 per year. Mono for Android Professional Edition is available for US $399 per developer for a one-year subscription. For a limited time, existing MonoTouch customers can receive a 50 percent discount off a similar Mono for Android Edition by using their activation code as a discount code.

  • Samsung Becomes the World's First in Mass Production of Transparent LCD Panel

    Samsung has announced that it began mass production of a 22-inch transparent LCD panel in March this year. The panels come in two types, the black-and-white type and the color type, and they have a contrast ratio of 500:1 with WSXGA+ (1680*1050) resolution.

    Compared with the conventional LCD panels that use back light unit (BLU) and have 5% transparency, Samsung’s transparent LCD panel boasts the world’s best transparency rate of over 20% for the black-and-white type and over 15% for the color type.

    The transparent LCD panel has a high transparency rate, which enables a person to look right through the panel like glass, and it consumes 90% less electricity compared with a conventional LCD panel using back light unit.

    It’s because a transparent LCD panel utilizes ambient light such as sun light, which consequently reduces the dependency on electricity for generating power.

    According to Samsung, its transparent LCD panel maximizes convenience for not only manufacturers but also consumers by incorporating the HDMI and the USB interface.

    Transparent display panels have endless possibilities as an advertising tool, which can be applied to show windows and outdoor billboards or used in showcase events.

    Corporations and schools can also adopt the panel as an interactive communication device, which enables information to be displayed more effectively.

    Younghwan Park, a senior vice president of Samsung Electronics LCD Business, said, “Transparent displays will have a wide range of use in all industry areas as an efficient tool for delivering information and communication. With the world’s first mass production of the transparent LCD panel, Samsung Electronics plans to lead the global transparent LCD market by developing various applications.”

  • Black Diamond Video Launches the Sapphire-QHD1 Conferencing Solution

    Black Diamond Video launched its comprehensive high definition conferencing solution, Sapphire-QHD1, a four-faceted package that offers bi-directional HD video and audio conferencing, unidirectional HD video and audio streaming, HD video recording, and HD image capture.

    Black Diamond Video’s HIPAA compliant Sapphire-QHD1 can be incorporated into BDV’s popular Integrated Digital Surgical Suite (IDSS) for medical applications or stand alone as a commercial, business, or military conferencing system.

    Sapphire-QHD1’s conferencing element provides bi-directional HD video and audio conferencing functionality. VoIP support allows phone calls into and out of the conference room, command center, or OR with no external, third party conferencing codec required. BDV’s Sapphire-QHD1 is compatible with all major conferencing systems that can support SIP and H.323 protocols, including Polycom, Tandberg, Codian, and Sony.

    Sapphire-QHD1 is also equipped with HD video streaming capability. A close relative to Sapphire-QHD1’s bidirectional HD conferencing feature, HD streaming facilitates unidirectional communication via H.264. According to the company, any HD video source can be combined with a superior quality audio feed and streamed to up to 80 remote clients. By utilizing BDV’s proprietary streaming algorithms, such a massive number of clients can be served without degradation of video or audio quality. When streaming, the remote user’s credentials and access rights are controlled by the local user’s Active Directory/LDAP servers and can be fine tuned to accommodate the customer’s requirements.

    While conferencing or streaming, the local user can route a video source to any destination or permit far-end camera control (FECC) or far-end video source selection (FEVSS). Once a conference or stream is initiated or accepted via the Sapphire-QHD1’s intuitive touch panel controls, the incoming video stream can be routed to any destination, including surgical and wall displays. By utilizing the embedded dual-tri-quad view windowing functionality, users can simultaneously see their own video sources side by side with far end video feeds.

    Describing the versatility of the system, Ed Priest, Founder and CEO of Black Diamond Video, commented, “Our Sapphire-QHD1 is an extensive solution that reaches beyond medical market applications. HD audio and video conferences can be initiated and accepted with the push of a few buttons from a business conference room. Military personnel can easily and securely conference with remote forces to discuss plans of action while panning and zooming surveillance cameras to view activity from thousands of miles away, all with the greatest detail possible thanks to our high definition video feed.”

    First deployment of the Sapphire-QHD1 conferencing solution will occur at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Connecticut, with updates of existing IDSS systems at other leading medical institutions to follow shortly thereafter.

  • Google Nexus S 4G Coming to Sprint

    Sprint has announced the upcoming availability of Nexus S 4G from Google. Coming to Sprint this spring, this Android 2.3-powered device features 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, Super AMOLED 4” display, Google Voice integration, NFC support and Mobile Hotspot capability.

    Manufactured by Samsung, Nexus S 4G comes packed with a "pure Google experience" using Android 2.3, Gingerbread, the fastest version of Android available for smartphones. It is powered by a 1GHz Samsung application processor that produces rich 3D-like graphics, faster upload and download times and supports HD-like multimedia content along with a dedicated GPU. 

    It is designed with Samsung’s Super AMOLED touchscreen technology. The 4-inch Contour Display features a curved design "for a more comfortable look and feel in the user’s hand or along the side of the face." It also offers a screen that is bright with higher color contrast, meaning colors are vibrant and text is crisp at any size and produces less glare than on other smartphone displays when outdoors.

    Nexus S 4G also features a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and camcorder and front-facing VGA camera.

    Additional key features include:

    • 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability, supporting up to six Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously
    • Android Market for access to more than 150,000 applications
    • Google mobile services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps with Navigation, syncing with Google Calendar, Voice Actions and YouTube
    • Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®), personal (POP & IMAP) email and instant messaging
    • Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allows the device to read information from everyday objects, like stickers and posters embedded with NFC chips
    • 16GB Internal Memory (ROM)/512MB (RAM)
    • Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n
    • Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR
    • Integrated GPS
    • 1500 mAh Lithium-ion battery

    Sprint Nexus S 4G customers will be among the first to receive Android software upgrades and new Google mobile apps. In many cases, the device will get the updates and new apps as soon as they are available.

    "Nexus S 4G shows the strong commitment Sprint has to Android, and when combined with our 4G network capabilities, it gives customers the option of a pure Google experience," said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. "As the first 4G smartphone with Android 2.3, Nexus S 4G delivers on the promise of the advanced data capabilities of 4G to deliver an incredible Web browsing experience, offers quick and easy access to future Android updates and access to the services built into Google Voice."

    Andy Rubin, vice president of Engineering at Google, stated: "We’re excited to partner with Sprint on Nexus S 4G, which brings innovative hardware by Samsung and innovations on the Android platform, to create a powerful smartphone experience,"

    Nexus S 4G will be available exclusively from Sprint this spring for $199.99 with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade.