Tag: android
BREAKING: RIM Announces BlackBerry 10 to the World
Research In Motion is trying to gain back the massive amount of customers they lost to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. At BlackBerry World 2012 going on from May 1 – 3 in Orlando, Florida, Thorsten Heins took the stage and announced the fresh new look to Research In Motion’s future Operating System, BlackBerry 10 (BB10).
They showed off the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone in a promo video below, as well as on stage while demoing the new OS. The device itself looks exactly like a 4inch model of the PlayBook with the volume up, play/pause and volume down buttons on the right side and the MiniUSB slot on the let side (same as the PlayBook in Portrait mode). Although the device wasn’t announced, the main event was showing off some new innovations of BB10. The device used is called a “Dev Alpha” model, which may never actually see store shelves in its current form. The device will be given to developers to test their BB10 apps for future release. That release of which was still slated by Thorsten Heins, RIM President and CEO, to be the ‘latter part of 2012′.
The BlackBerry 10 operating system is showing some refinements and promise. One of the most innovative parts of the OS seems to be the ‘timeline lens’ which captures images and still frames as soon as the camera app is loaded, even if you haven’t taken a picture yet. The idea is that you can ‘rewind’ the frames to grab a still frame you’d like to use if the one you thought you captured when taking a picture doesn’t quite cut the cake. The other innovation is with the BB10 touch keyboard which seems a little more intuitive with auto-correct, showing words right above the matching letters as you spell out words, rather than most other auto-corrects showing a collection of possible matches at the top of the keyboard.
Will this be enough to pull people away from the iPhone, Windows Phone 7 devices or Android smartphones? That remains to be seen in the latter part of 2012. Unfortunately for RIM however, is that the next iPHone is also expected to launch in the ‘latter part of 2012′ with iOS 6. To add icing to the competition cake is the new operating system from Microsoft with Windows 8, which will power smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. No doubt we’ll likely see a new announcement for Android 5.0 Jelly Bean as well sometime in the last weeks of 2012.
Sources – RIM, BlackBerry Devblog
Article first published as BREAKING: RIM Announces BlackBerry 10 to the World on Technorati.
Apple iPhone and iPad Corporate Domination – Android Losing
A new report has made its way online from a software company called ‘Good‘, who has their services implemented through multiple platforms within a massive network of enterprise and corporate customers worldwide. Good has analyzed activated smartphones and tablet devices through these networks and found that Apple is killing it in the business realm. Much like you see Windows PC domination within the workplace, Apple has found a way into the corporate sectors by skipping the desktop and laptop deployments, and heading straight for the mobile needs of Fortune 500 companies.
As seen above, Apple’s iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPhone 4, iPad 3, iPad and iPhone 3GS, (the last 3 generations of devices) are out pacing any of the most popular Android devices. The funny thing about that is the Apple iOS devices new to 3 years old are still doing better than the 1 year old Android like the Galaxy S II. The deployment by OS ratio is iOS at 80% versus Android devices at 20% month over month for the last quarter of 2012.
The image above here shows that Android tablets are a complete failure in the corporate realm. It is worthy to note that Apple just reported another record quarter, and getting the top companies in the world to buy into your products is a sure way to continue putting large amounts of money in the bank. Good’s numbers reported above are from 94% of the Fortune 500 list and 75% of the Global 500 list.
With the iPhone 5 launch drawing ever nearer in 2012, there’s no question that these numbers will increase as it seems Apple is unstoppable, despite some claims that they are simply riding on Steve Jobs’ innovative train through 2013.
The iPhone 5 (sixth generation iPhone) is expected to have in-cell touchscreen technology making it easier to maintain a thin body while having more room inside to fill with higher spec hardware. A liquid-metal casing is also expected as opposed to the glass outer casing, and 4G/LTE is expected to be included with a 12 megapixel camera, 4inch screen and quad-core Apple A6 chipset.
Source – Good
Article first published as Apple iPhone and iPad Corporate Domination – Android Losing on Technorati.
Samsung Schedules Galaxy S III Announcement
Samsung let the world know that it plans on announcing and unveiling the next Galaxy device (Galaxy S III) on May 3rd 2012. The event will take place in London at a press conference by invite. This happens to be the next Samsung’s Mobile “Unpacked” event, where in past events, Samsung has not only focused on one device launch, but has shown their next wave of mobile products, including software upgrades and apps.
The Galaxy S III is believed to be the name of the next Galaxy device, despite it not specifically being named on the invite seen above. Regardless, the Galaxy S III device is rumored to have a huge 4.8inch Super AMOLED HD touchscreen with full 1080p display capabilities. Other specs include an 12 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front facing camera, 1.5GHz quad-core Exynos processor (not the Tegra 3), and a unibody ceramic casing as opposed to the plastic casing from earlier Galaxy devices. It will be running Android 4.0.4 ICS at the time of launch, which has been expected to drop into most carriers sometime in June 2012.
Source – BGR
Article first published as Samsung Schedules Galaxy S III Announcement on Technorati.
Apple iPad Mini Coming in Q3 2012 before Windows 8 Tablets
Before the time of tablets and smartphones, a war raged between two technology giants. The PC era was dominated by Apple versus Microsoft, and we may very well see that war again in the “Post-PC Era” of technology. The iPad reigns supreme over Android and BlackBerry tablets, in fact, neither have come even close to challenging the sales figures of the Apple iPad generations. With Microsoft coming back into the game with Windows 8 tablets and PC operating systems, we may finally have a worthy opponent to the Apple iOS family. As Windows 8 launch looms ever nearer, Apple is getting their ‘ducks in a row’ to do battle once again.
We’ve heard about the rumors that Apple is planning an “iPad Mini” tablet which will be 7.85 inches in size. It was thought that this device will be to battle the 7inch tablets with Android and BlackBerry PlayBook OS. Really though, they don’t hold a candle to iOS, but Windows 8 would. All reports suggest that Apple will launch this new ‘Mini’ tablet under the $300 price to make it very competitive, which would basically force Microsoft into selling Windows 8 tablets under the same price line. The main difference however would be that Microsoft may not have a whole lot of control in dictating the sale prices of the Windows 8 tablets, as they are made by 3rd party manufacturers. Apple iPads are made by Apple (or at least manufacturers who build them with Apple’s full control).
Apple may already be testing these devices, and therefore, would be finalizing details on a release product soon. The latest report from NetEase shows Apple has 6 million units ready for launch in Q3 2012 (July – September). We’ll begin a new war for tablet dominance with the same two behemoths that started it 30 years ago.
Source – 163.com (Chinese Translated)
Article first published as Apple iPad Mini Coming in Q3 2012 Before Windows 8 Tablets on Technorati.
ASUS Giving Free GPS Dongles to Fix Issues
As many have reported, the GPS issues within the ASUS Transformer Prime Android tablet have not necessarily been resolved after a few updates have been released for the known bug. Many owners of the Transformer Prime have reported their frustration in the issue, which continues to plague the King of Android tablets. Not really the memory you want to have embedded in the minds of potential android tablet owners in the future when the iPad 2 and new iPad (3rd gen) are ruling the roost.
ASUS may see there’s just no fixing this type of issue without either recalling the Transformer Prime tablets as a whole, or by giving away Free GPS dongles to those who apply. The cheapest way is clearly the dongles, but will their current Transformer Prime users actually want/use these devices? I guess it all depends on how critical GPS accuracy is to them personally. To me, it’s not that big a deal, and I wouldn’t want a dongle hanging out the side of my tablet each time I wanted to use GPS either.
To appease the Prime owners however, a free GPS dongle will be shipped to anyone asking for it. Here are some quotes to show ASUS is serious about making their existing customers happy about owning their products.
We will be releasing a dongle shortly that will address the GPS function and be a fully usable GPS that will lock onto many satellites and keep their lock with wi-fi active.
GPS dongle will be provided for free when it arrives. ETA is mid April for this and we are setting up a process for it. We will inform you once the process is complete and the dongles here.
It will look similar to the hinge from the dock. Where it will be a flush fit on the bottom of the unit if held in landscape matching the color of your Prime chassis.
Article first published as ASUS Giving Free GPS Dongles to Fix Issues on Technorati.
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