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Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • Video View Expanded by Sony’s Wearable HDTV


    Sony has devised a virtual-reality headset that simulates a real video situation by allowing you to expand the view by moving your head side to side or up and down. The wearable HDTV that comes with a price tag of $1,000 worked as expected in a demonstration staged by Sony.

    The HMZ-T3W is able to fit on your head snugly even if you are wearing glasses, although you need some assistance to strap it on. Straps at the back of the head provides a snug fit while a big soft pad on the forehead makes it comfortable to wear.

    The device is relatively light weight, as it weighs 11.3 ounces, making it quite easy to wear it on through a full length movie. Two diagonal screens that measure 0.7 inches are featured on the hooded viewer. A high definition image with a resolution of 720p is delivered by the two screens to each eye. It also features slider knobs that are fitted under the screens to help the user focus.

    In a demo that is hosted on the international CES show, you will be placed on a motorcycle that is racing down through the English countryside. You can view the pavement by looking down or the clouds by looking up.The device also features a censor that is placed on the back straps to capture the motions during the demo. The sensor is used to measure the users head movement in order for the view on both screens to be shifted in accordance with the movements.

  • Blackphone Said To Be the First Smartphone That Is NSA-Proof


    There has been a lot of talk about privacy in the recent past as services for secure and private messaging pop up everywhere. However, most consumers may not be in a position to ascertain that these services are actually present on the smartphone. Equally, the companies themselves may also not be aware of the features that are missing.

    Blackphone is a new smartphone that has prioritized user privacy by creating an entire ecosystem around the issue. The smartphone is produced by Silent Circle, a company owned by a cryptographer Phil Zimmermann, in conjunction with Geeksphone, a Spanish startup company.

    The phone will run on PrivatOS, a modified version of Google’s Android that is built with the intention of making all the tasks secure. The Blackphone website indicates that customers are able to make secure calls, messages, video chats, private browsing as well as exchange and store files securely.

    The Blackphone handset is not locked and can operate on any GSM carrier. The company claims that the smartphone is a top performer, although many people are not sure about the technology and features found on it. However, many note that it is a positive step to focus on an ecosystem that is primarily based on privacy. It is expected that many companies will learn from the success or mistakes that will be found on the new smartphone.

    Pricing of the Blackphone has not been released, but the smartphone will be ready for pre-orders during the Mobile World Congress opening day on 24th February 2013.

  • Samsung’s 110-inch 4K HDTV Now Available for Sale


    After displaying its new 110-inch HDTV at CES, Samsung has finally opened up orders for this set. However, it is not clear what the cost of the HDTV will be. Besides, Samsung is availing the huge set in the Middle East, China, and a number of European countries.

    Samsung’s 85-inch 4k set had the cost of $40,000 after its launch in March. Taking this into consideration, the gigantic set is likely to be costlier. In that pricing range, it is clear that Samsung is using this TVs to aim for bragging rights.

    At CES, 4K TV sets were among the few new technologies and they are expected to be such a bigger deal at 2014 CES coming up next week. While several manufacturers are attempting to introduce their 4K sets to the market, Samsung is wielding its might by displaying huge sets. Ultimately, it does not really count if only a few of the sets get sold.

    These days, many people in need of a huge screen would rather invest in home projectors. You will need to go for the 1080p projectors currently (the 4K projector from Sony costs $25,000), though this isn’t a loss, given the absence of 4K content in the market.

  • Samsung SC-03F Tizen Device Seen in FCC Listing

    Samsung has been in the news for a while now with regard to its very first Tizen smartphone. Now, the FCC listing has a Tizen smartphone whose model number is SC-03F and it is thought to be bound to NTT DocoMo, a Japanese carrier.

    Tizen Indonesia was the first to spot the FCC listing of the claimed Samsung SC-03F and this gadget has a design similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4. However, the alleged SC-03F comes with a sleeker profile than the Galaxy S4. According to the site, Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon chipset, operating it 2.3GHz, powers the alleged Samsung SC-03F. It is worth noting that the same chipset is one that powers Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 and the recently released Galaxy J.

    The spotted SC-03F model supports radio frequency bands such as WCDMA 850 and 850/1900MHz GSM. The connectivity options are Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) and Wi-Fi. At this time, the details of the gadget’s innards are yet to be known.

    Besides, Sammobile proposes that the Japanese carrier (NTT DoCoMo) will be the very first mobile carrier to start selling the Tizen smartphone. It also suggests that Samsung might release the anticipated Tizen smartphone around February 23. According to an earlier report, Samsung would display its commercial gadets based on the Tizen OS in 2014 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Catalonia.

  • Cloud Storage Services Linked With Apps by Cloud Elements Hub

    A one-to-many document hub integration platform has been created by Cloud Elements that will offer a single API for developers to link cloud applications with the leading cloud storage and document services such as SkyDrive, Dropbox, Microsoft SharePoint, and Box.

    The company has also indicated that the new document hub will have support for Rackspace Files and Amazon S3 by early 2014.

    Cloud elements is extremely talented in creating ‘elements’ that are extensions of API’s whose main work is to speed up the integration of various cloud services. The company serves both SaaS developers as well as corporate IT teams that aim at integrating their applications with a variety of cloud services.

    In the past, such integration required the use of custom written integrations that always had to be updated.

    The CEO of SlideFish, Neil Smith indicated that the new elements from the company have taken a lot of pain from them. He indicated that the company will no longer have to worry about changes on the API from different cloud storage providers. This will enable such SaaS companies to integrate their services in a large scale at a faster and more reliable way than before.

  • The USPTO Offers an Issue Date For Mobile Gateway Patent for VoIP-Pal.Com


    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have finally offered an issue notification to VoIP-Pal.com for its mobile gateway patent. The issue date is set for January 14th 2014.

    The mobile gateway enables users to make long distance calls at the local rates through the use of the existing mobile telephone network. The users can also access the reserved telephone numbers extracted from the origination site of the call.

    The Chairman as well as CEO of VoIP-Pal.com, Dr. Thomas E. Sawyer stated that with the worldwide extension of LTE, services such as LTE broadcast, LTE connected vehicles, and carrier grade WiFi makes the Voip-Pal’s patented mobile Gateway quite obvious. He also indicated that VoIP-Pal is well set for the future, being technologically savvy in terms of mobile internet.

    Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google indicated that the mobile trend has seen a significant increase and is poised to stand out in 2014. He also indicated that Voip-Pal has the patented technology that will see it emerge as the leading player in the rapidly growing roaming internet.

  • Leaked Screenshots Purportedly Reveal New Smartphone UI from Samsung


    Although Samsung was busy with the CES 2014 announcements, a new rumor has indicated that the company is gearing up for its next generation User interface UI. Several screenshots that indicate the home screen panel for the new smartphone have been released by @evleaks, a popular tipster.

    The snapshots show the new design, icons and fonts that are totally reworked as compared to the TouchWiz UI that runs on the Android based Galaxy smartphones. A cartoonish theme is evident on the purported home screen panels.

    The alleged designed UI will include Internet, PlayBooks, S Health, Samsung Links, Play Store, dialer, S Memo, Maps, message, Gallery and Gmail. The design also indicates that users may be able to browse through different updates, which is similar to the BlinkFeed UI from HTC.

    The tipster unfortunately did not reveal when the new UI will be released and even if there will be a name change from the previous TouchWiz.

    However, Samsung is not expected to release the new UI on the Galaxy S5, its next flagship smartphone that is set to be released in February, at Mobile World Congress  that will be held in Barcelona, Catalonia.

  • CES 2014: New Bravia HDTV Lineup Announced by Sony


    An all new HDTV lineup from Sony is on display this week at CES 2014. A number of HDTVs will be included in the Bravia series including the W630B, the W850B, and the W950B.

    All the new releases will feature top notch technological advancements that Sony hopes will take it back to the premier position in the TV market.

    Sony's new flagship TV, the W950B series incorporates various HD goodies such as the TRILUMINOS Display that works together with the X-reality Pro Engine from the company. The second tier W850B HDTV series will have a wedge shaped design that tries to offer an alternative to the paltry sound that is common with most flat screen TVs.

    The ClearAudio plus sound processing will be integrated in all the new models. This feature tries to offer a clearer dialogue in a one sound package. A revamped user interface is also expected on the new HDTVs for online streaming as well as video messaging.

    The Live football mode will also be features to offer soccer programming with a live stadium experience. The new Sony Bravia series will be available in stores this spring.

  • Samsung to Launch Galaxy S5 and Galaxy F Series in 2014


    Latest reports indicate that Samsung has plans to release its next generation gadget – Galaxy S5 together with the Galaxy F series in early 2014.

    Initially, speculations about Galaxy F appeared on the internet in September 2013 but no much has been heard again until now.

    ET News, Korean media, citing sources from the industry, reports that Samsung created its Galaxy F prototype in Europe recently and has shifted to its Vietnam branch, possibly for mass production.

    While there is no solid evidence to ascertain the report, many people believe that Samsung’s mystery device – SM-G900F may turn to be the brand new Galaxy F.

    Antutu benchmarking site had indicated that SM-G900F (the current Galaxy F) would have a full HD display (1920x1080p), Snapdragon chipset (MSM8974AC), CPU speed of 2.45GHz, 3GB RAM, Android v4.4 KitKat OS, 32GB inbuilt memory, front camera of 2.0-megapixel, and main camera with 16.0 megapixel.

    Also, Galaxy S5, which is said to be in the production line, will feature a huge (5.25-inch) display with 2560x1440p resolution and a metal shell, 64-bit architecture, KitKat OS, 16-megapixel main camera that uses ISOCELL technology, 4GB RAM, front camera of 2.1 megapixel and biometric technology for unlocking screen.
    Samsung is expected to release both Galaxy S5 and Galaxy F at once, either March or April.

  • 2014 Predictions for Cloud Storage Services

    A lot has happened in the world of cloud storage. The market has had room for new vendors like Dump Truck. 2013 saw the launch of new cloud storage devices for industries including EMC, Verizon, Lenovo and Colt Telecom. This shows that vendors expect a huge demand for cloud services. Here are the 2014 predictions for cloud storage.

    1. 1.Services are likely to close down their free storage offers

    2. Expect a Box and DropBox IPO in 2014

    3. Because of the NSA and PRISM debacle, most of the non US companies may want to stop hosting their data from the US.

    4. When handling data, most companies are more concerned with security. So, more file sharing outlets are expected to follow the SME’s lead as they try to retrofit auditing or logging in their product offers.

    5. More companies are likely to want an encryption of remote data with keys they can control. This may become a part of security playbook for companies.

    6. In 2014, companies will expect more from their storage solutions. For example, will these solutions help to solve their business issues, integrate corporate governance and aid in policy implementation?

    7. Expect big data to continue dominating hype cycles for the cloud storage vendors and expect a rise in new products as well.