Archives for August 2012

Kindle Paperwhite with backlit display revealed/leaked

The Verge has managed to get some details about what will be announced next week by Amazon. Earlier today I wrote about the Kindle Fire hardware that will likely be announced. The Verge also now has information on what is called the “Kindle paperwhite”.

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ZAGG launches ZAGGkeys PRO and PRO Plus

ZAGG has announced at IFA that it is launching a couple of new iPad keyboards. The new keyboards are called the ZAGGkeys PRO and there is also a PRO Plus model launching. The PRO Plus with backlit keyboard is pictured below.

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Get 50GB of Dropbox storage when buying a Galaxy Note II or Galaxy Camera

Dropbox is giving new Galaxy Note II or Galaxy Camera owners 50GB of free storage for two years. To activate it, you will simply need to log on to Dropbox from your new Samsung device (when they launch).

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New Amazon Kindle Fire picture leaks

Amazon is holding an event in the next few days to announce something new. The device likely to be announced is a new model of the Amazon Kindle Fire. I believe that because a refresh is due and also stock levels dropped to zero yesterday which is about perfect timing for the company to announce something new.

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Windows Phone 8 release date revealed

Although not official details, ZDNet has been told by an anonymous source at Microsoft that the Windows Phone 8 release date will be October 29. This date is a few days after the launch of Windows 8 and when Windows Phone 8 arrives a few days later although this is specifically talking about the announcement rather than handset availability.

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Samsung ATIV S Windows 8 smartphone revealed

Samsung has revealed the first Windows 8 powered smartphone at IFA. The new smartphone is called the Samsung ATIV S. Specs have also been revealed which show the device is just 8.7mm thin. It has a brushed aluminium chassis along with a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display. The glass on the front is provided by Corning and is the new Gorilla Glass 2 which is thinner but stronger than the previous generation of glass.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II made official – runs Jelly Bean and has a 5.5 inch display

Samsung have announced the launch of Galaxy Note II at IFA. The new smartphone/tablet is the next generation of the original Note launched last year. The new model has a larger 5.5 inch screen and runs the latest Android operating system which is Jelly Bean. Other specs inside include a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor.

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iPad mini estimated build cost is $189.32

Well, I can’t say I expected to see something written about the build costs of the un-announced and only rumoured iPad mini… but today, I see that someone has added together the cost of all the leaked parts and estimated that it will cost Apple $189.32 to built each iPad mini.

The iPad mini has been rumoured to cost $299 when launched… and I will add “if launched” to that as it has been rumoured each year since 2010 without being launched yet.

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NASA Curiosity Landing on Mars video interpolated to increase frame-rate

You might have seen the video that NASA produced which showed the Curiosity being dropped from space down to Mars. The original was taken with a still camera capturing images 4 times a second. Although the results were impressive as they showed Curiosity being dropped down to the planet, they were still a bit clunky as the frame rate was extremely low.

One person, Dominic Muller, decided to use a technique on that video called interpolation. What that means is that the frame rate can be increased to make the video look smoother. This is achieved by putting artificial frame mixed in-between the regular real frames. The results in this case take it from 4fps to 25fps and with that, the video is also enhanced to show a bit more detail and look a little less dull.

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NFC for iPhone 5 is now considered unlikely

A few days ago an picture of a front panel on an iPhone 5 went around the web. This particular image had a picture of a square device at the top right (when looking at the panel from the back). Matching it up to an earlier patent that Apple filed as well as some speculation based on Passbook being added to iOS 6, many people, including me, mentioned that NFC could be coming to the iPhone 5.

Well, AnandTech has commented that NFC is unlikely. The reason for this is how the iPhone 5 has been built. If all the leaked parts are official then the back of the iPhone will have a metal and glass back. The glass portions at the back are classed as RF windows which can let radio waves through. But, as they are quite small it is unlikely that NFC built in to this configuration will work correctly.

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Mars GigaPan image uploaded for your perusal

The image below is a collection of images taken by the Curiosity rover on Mars. The view is 360 degrees and allows you to zoom closely in to rocks and even to the mountain seen in the distance.

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iPhone 5 part with NFC chip spotted

I’ve mentioned before that I think Apple could add another unique feature to the iPhone 5 and that it might be NFC. My reasons for thinking this were that Apple gave the 4S Siri last year to make it a little more unique. When Apple [AAPL] announced iOS 6 they also announced Passbook which essentially uses the GPS/WiFi to track where you are and when at specific locations it loads up voucher codes, boarding passes and other items for you to have scanned in by a scanner. By adding NFC on the new iPhone, it opens up the possibilities of simply tapping your phone on a sensor (or hovering over it) to make payment or use a pass.

So, what appears next is a new part leak that appears to have some sort of NFC functionality embedded.

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