Google I/O 2012 : Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The Latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Moscone West in San Francisco is where its all happening  over these next 3 days 27/28/29 June and already (day 1) Google’s Hugo Barra has revealed  the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Update was originally thought to be a major one(Android 5.0).

The First on Googles list of added extras to Jelly Bean is Project Butter, and its meant to make the Jelly Bean experience “buttery smooth.” The Android team did so by upping Jelly Bean’s framerate to 60 FPS, and implemented vsync and triple buffering. Google Developers also have access to a new tool called systrace in the Jelly Bean SDK that displays what processes are in the rendering.

Just As we expected… Google has overhauled their mobile search experience, starting with the UI. When searching from the Google bar it brings up attractive white cards that display information picked using the Knowledge Graph. It Also has on deck is an improved voice search, which seems shockingly Siri-esque in how it can display and read out search results with a very natural sounding female voice (very nice). Swiping away those cards exposes regular search results.

Google Now “gets to the right information at the right time… automatically” by looking at your “search history, your calendar, and more to figure out what you might want. Examples include Google Now displaying information about sports scores and upcoming games without the need for telling it your favorite teams — your search history has already done that. Users bring up Google Now by tapping on the search box or by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. This, I have to say, is simply amazing.Jelly Bean on Notifications, users can now return phone calls from within the notifications shade, as well as view multiple emails without having to go into a isolated app. Apps can also tap into the notification shade, and they can be expanded by dragging down with two fingers(nice).

The Text input has been improved also, with emphasis to voice typing –Android users do not need to have a solid network connection to make the feature work anymore, this is because the speech interpretor is embeded directly onto the device. It has a predictive keyboard that is also able to guess at which word you intend to type out next.As for now only U.S. English will be supported for now. All together they’re looking to add 18 new input languages.

Jelly Bean on accessibility. The new addition, Gesture Mode,  allows blind users to navigate their devices with gestures, and support for external Braille devices has been added aswell.

Its Camera application has been reorganised with a faster way to look at your photos and shots.Android Ice Cream Sandwich users may be familiar with the Cameras app’s quick-shooting capabilities, but now users can pinch to enter a film strip view for faster perusal.

New Android Beam has been strengthened with an ability to share video via NFC, as well as the ability to pair with an NFC-enabled Bluetooth device just by tapping it.

When can I get it? Well, Google are starting to roll out downloadable updates to the Motorola Xoom Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus S, around about the 15^th of July, and SDK is available today to developers looking to dip in.

Google Nexus Q Pictures & Video

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_q

The New Fifa 13 Preview

FIFA 13 Preview

Here it is FIFA 13, and it might well cause some problems with the fans first time around. Electronic Art’s world-beating football game comes loaded with a ton of tweaks and modifications to its game engine this time round. All together these little nips and tucks dramatically alter the overall FIFA experience, making it look, sound and feel more realistic.

Ever Since FIFA 08, Electronic Arts has worked hard to make its footy game play like real life. Well This year, the new features that have been announced focus on the unpredictability of the beautiful game, Euro 2012 anyone?

First of all, the most obvious change has to do with each players first-touch capabilities. In the previous games, the players could receive a lobbed pass as though the ball was glued to their foot. Now, the ball bounces and curls convincingly in the air, and a player’s ability to control it is dictated by their overall score. This opens up both defensive and offensive rethinks; a defender who is struggling to control a ball is easy picking for a good striker.
The players are able to push and pull each other and have a new capability to block other players running into space on the pitch. Fifas’ impact engine has also been yanked, so tackles no longer lead to unintentionally hilarious animations – instead, they look eye-wateringly painful to most.

Fifa Players have new dribbling controls. Like the ones from this year’s FIFA Street engine, FIFA 13 allows players to control the ball with pin point precision, and this is very simple to do – pull both triggers, toggle the left stick and you’re dancing.

Even more the game’s Free-Kick procedure has got better. Usually, players were had only a few options –to play the ball off to a nearby player? or go for glory towards goal? Well now, attackers have lots of options, including adding fake kick-takers, playing the ball into space and lob the ball forward for you to header it home.

The new defenders also have a set of options too when going up to a free kick They can add players to a wall, move their wall forward and mark potential header threats or storm towards the kick-taker once the ref blows.

Electronic Arts hasn’t publicized any features other than the new gameplay, really  it doesn’t need to tell us all. All the basics for their game ready and the game feels solid as a rock. The new FIFA 13 is a massive move forward from its last game FIFA 12 feels like an arcade game when you compare them both.

Apple MacBook Pro 2012 Review

Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display 

    

 Gadgets & Stuff rating

                   8.5/10

Feather weight

• Breathtakingly good screen
• Remarkable new processors
• New graphics card
• Astronomical performance
• Fast USB 3.0 conection

Heavyweight

• Too expensive
• Few customisation options
• Upgrades practically impossible
• No optical drive
• No Ethernet or FireWire 800

            Here it is The new Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display. It takes a fresh approach to the top of the range notebooks market. It’s obviously aimed at photographers, video editors and graphics professionals; the new Retina screen offers an unbelievable 2880 x 1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch. That's over 5.1 million pixels in total, three million more than an HD TV! 

 Its Enhanced applications and software look stunningly clear .Its OS and other Apple packages have already been improved, and third party software will be optimised over time, Photoshop already salivating. The new notebook is certainly thin and light, but a few losses have been made to facilitate this. As you'd expect from a high-end Apple laptop aimed at specialized users, it's very expensive, with prices starting at £1,799 in the UK and $2,199 in the US.

Didn’t Like

With its power and capabilities, the MacBook Pro with Retina display was never going to be cheap. But with the more reasonable 2.3GHz model costing £1,799/$2,199 and the slightly better 2.6GHz notebook priced at £2,299/$2,799,

A few losses had to be made due to the ultra-thin and super-light form factor. There's no room for a hard drive. Solid state storage offers significant speed and battery advantages. There’s no optical drive . There isn’t even enough room for Ethernet or FireWire 800, although there are optional adaptors to use Thunderbolt ports.

Final verdict

Will this be the forthcoming of Apple laptops? I think it might. In a when time solid state drives are getting cheaper, the degeneration of optical drives' and the exceptional versatility and speed  of theThunderbolt ports, it looks like Apple's notebooks will use the thin and ultra-portable format established by the MacBook Air, and now trailed by this high-end MacBook Pro. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is truly amazing. Having unbelievable power, and its screen puts the rest  to embarrassment. It’s a notebook like nothing seen before. The only problem is the price, looks like we’ll just leave it to the experts assuming that there are some out there ..Probably alone …solitaire. 

Battery life	7hrs (claimed)
Dimensions	358.9x247.1x18mm
Operating system	Mac OS X
Optical drive	No
Processor	Intel Core i7 2.6GHz
RAM	8GB
Screen resolution	2880x1800 (220ppi)
Screen size	15.4in
Storage	512GB SSD
USB	USB 3.0 x 2, Thunderbolt x 2
Weight	2.02kg

Samsung Galaxy S3 exploded in a user's car

The phone started burning at the bottom just by the charging port.The pics show where it has been burnt, with scorch marks and melted plastic around the charging slot.

He said  'I was driving along with my Galaxy S3 in my car mount when suddenly a white flame, sparks and a bang came out of the phone I pulled in to look at my phone, the phone burned from the inside out. Burned through the plastic and melted my case to my phone. The phone kept working but without any signal.  

'The phone was destroyed and it slightly burned a piece of plastic on the inside of my car.' 

He added: 'I'm really annoyed. That could have burned the side of my face or through my pocket and my leg, or set fire to my bed. It's very dangerous.'

The Galaxy S3 has sold more than 10 million worldwide and was one of the fastest-selling gadgets of all time after its launch in May this year.

Samsung said it will examine the claim, to check if the phone is susceptible to overheating. The company is now trying to get hold of the unit for a proper examination.

A spokesman said: 'Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question.

'Once the investigation is complete, we will be able to provide further details on the situation.'

Apple iTV 

Having conquered the laptop, tablet, smartphone Apple looks set to turn its attentions to the TV area with numerous reports suggesting the Cupertino-based company is planning to update its existing Apple TV offering later this year and launch its first full blown television sets dubbed Apple iTV.

Not yet confirmed, Apple iTV rumours have been circulating for a couple of months following the publication of the official Steve Jobs biography in which the Apple co-founder and former CEO said he had “finally cracked” how to change the television market.

"I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,” Jobs reportedly said. “It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."

Apple iTV Release Date

Although far from established the Apple iTV release date has developed one of the most talked about upcoming publications of the year with Apple CEO Tim Cook recently offering the closest indication yet that the iPhone and iPad maker is planning to out a full television service.

Talking about this during his keynote speech at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference Cook described the current Apple TV offering as a ‘hobby’, whilst revealing the Cupertino based company shifted short of 3 million Apple TV units during 2011.

Asserting that Apple “doesn’t do hobbies as a general rule,” Cook revealed that the current Apple TV unit was testing the waters of the television sector stating the company would need something “special” in order to make TV a “serious category” for Apple.

“The reason we call it a hobby is because we don’t want to send a message to you or our shareholders that we think the market for it is the size of our other businesses” Cook said of Apple TV. He added that he understood Apple could “find something that was larger” so that its ventures into the television business “could go more main-market.”

Although Apple has untaken no indication as to the validity of such claims it is widely believed that the Apple iTV hardware and associated software platform will land before the end of the year.

Late last year analyst Gene Munster proposed the Cupertino based company would follow the 2012 launch of the Apple iPad 3 and Apple iPhone 5 with an Apple iTV release of its own around October with the service to land ahead of the money-spinning Christmas period.

Further implying towards a late 2012 release, a selection of reports have proposed Apple iTV units are to enter production in May giving the Cupertino based company ample time to generate enough stocks for what is expected to be an extremely high profile release.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek claims he saw "early production evidence of iTV" on a recent trip to Apple manufacturing plants in China. Suggesting Apple will produce between two and five million units in time for launch Misek said the manufacturer would introduce a number of "specialty components" to the process.

Adding to this offensive of release date guesswork, forecaster Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets has suggested Sharp will issue displays for the final Apple iTV models to company Foxconn during Q3 with the Apple's China based hardware companion putting the final touches to the next-gen TV ahead of a pre-Christmas 2012 arrival.

"In our view, a holiday launch would make for a very merry holiday season for Apple and consumers," White said. "However, we will continue to monitor the data points surrounding the timing of this launch as they could change."

New Nintendo 3DS XL

Nintendo unveils 3DS XL with 90% bigger screens

A restyled 3DS will be released next month with larger screens and twice the battery life, as Nintendo also approve release dates for Professor Layton, Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem.

A new kind of the 3DS portable console is to be released in Europe next month, with the 3DS XL publicised during a new Nintendo Direct Conference last night. The new hardware will be released on July 28 and though there's no established UK price as yet it'll be sold for $199.99 in the US. 

That's about a $30 increase on the normal 3DS, so you're possibly looking at a price of around £170 in the UK. 

The 3DS XL (LL in Japan) will see the size of the screens increase from 2.02 inches on the original 3DS to a considerably larger 4.88 inches on the new model - the largest ever for a Nintendo transportable. The maximum resolution of the graphics though will remain the same. 

The battery life for the 3DS XL will also see a noteworthy increase, going from a unsatisfactory 3.6 to 6.5 hrs for the original 3DS to 6 to 10 hrs for the XL. 

A 4GB SD memory card will also be shoved with the 3DS XL, twice as big as the 2GB card that comes with the 3DS. Strangely though the XL will not come bundled with an AC adapter or cradle charger - you'll have to buy those individually, although it will be harmonious with the adaptors for the 3DS and DSi. 

The 3DS XL will lift-off in three colours: red, blue, and silver. Despite fan conjecture the 3DS XL does not feature a additional analogue slider. In fact Nintendo will have to release a new type of the Circle Pad Pro to fit the XL, but they haven't publicized one yet.

Microsoft Xbox 720 details leaked

Microsoft admits Xbox 720 document is real

Microsoft has asked websites to takedown a 56-page paper with details around its next-generation "Xbox 720" wiped from the Web.

Originally hosted on Scribd, the document, which revealed prima component and software updates, was removed at the pass of worldwide law firmly Covington & Burling LLP.

According to The Limit, takedown notices were dispatched to sites hosting the leaked credit, including European school position Ihned.cz, which reportedly received a mention over the weekend from a Microsoft Internet scientist.

The writing has also reportedly been distant from darken hardware place Dropbox, The Limit said.
Microsoft did not forthwith pay PCMag's request for report.
The software behemoth, however, danced around the issuance in a statement to Forbes, speech that spell the society understands the large pursuit and prevision for what comes succeeding from Xbox, "there has never been a outdo period to own an Xbox 360 housing."
The report went on to trade Microsoft's 360 fluid, adding that "We are continually thinking about the future of the platform and when we make something to assets, we give."

Microsoft is no stranger to document battles, winning a top bemire in a past Google Uncloudedness Examination, which found that the reserves requested a number of 2.95 cardinal URLs be removed, averaging writer than 56,000 per period.

According to the two-year-old leaked writing, the all-in-one box will be released sprouted of the 2013 spend toughen. Xbox 360 owners may get a aid, though, since the document indicated that Microsoft plans to resign XTV function and apps for the 360 before the end of 2012.

The Xbox 720 is foreseen to displace substantiation for Blu-ray, domestic 3D, recording speed and five nation states, from "plangent power" to "histrion," according to the credit.

Also, a second-generation Kinect accouterment, dubbed the Kinect V2, gift render "finisher, wider, deeper" 3D gambol expanse, reinforced strain identification, four-player tracking and much, the document revealed.

Microsoft Surface Tablet release date and specs

Microsoft Surface 8 Pro and RT

Microsoft has finally got its first tablet

Microsoft Surface will come in two systems: one running Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, and a more mobile version with Windows RT on an Nvidia Tegra processor. Both tablets have bezeled edges angled at 22 degrees, with shells made from VaporMG – a new material that seemingly offers the solid finish of a high-end luxury watch. They will both come with 10.6in screens, front and rear cameras, integrated kickstands, USB ports and dual Wi-Fi for connection.

The Windows RT tablet is the thinner and nimbler of the pair at 9.3mm and 676g (compared with 13.5mm and 903g). It features a ClearType HD screen (resolution not yet announced) while the Windows 8 Pro version has a 1080p ClearType Full HD resolution display. Storage, using microSD can be up to 64GB on the RT and 128GB using microSDXC on the Windows 8 Pro Surface. The Pro also has a stylus with up to 600dpi precision and is powerful enough to hook up desktop monitors.

 But the interesting announcements came in the accessories section. The Touch Cover is a 3mm, magnetically attaching cover that includes a pressure sensitive keyboard. There’s also the Type Cover 5mm version that features physical keys and a multi-touch track pad.

The Microsoft Surface for Windows 8 Pro should launch in the next few months with the RT version coming three months later. Pricing is vague but expect to pay between £380 and £635. I will have more on this little beauty as it comes. Looks like Microsoft have finally entered the tablet arena with all guns blazing. Watch this space!

Microsoft Surface RT/ 8 Pro Specs

Surface RT
Surface 8 Pro
Weight:
676g
903g
Size:
9.3 mm
13.5 mm
Screen:
10.6” ClearType HD Display
10.6” ClearType Full HD Display
Processor:
nVidia-made ARM chip
Intel Core i5 - Ivy Bridge
Battery:
31.5 Wh
42 Wh
Connectivity:
microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
Attributes:
Office Home & Student 2013 RT, Touch Cover, Type Cover
Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
Design
VaporMg Case & Stand
VaporMg Case & Stand
Storage:
32 GB, 64 GB
64 GB, 128 GB

                                                                         

Samsung Galaxy S3 Review 

The Good

• Great screen
• Decent life battery
• Lots of new features
• Excellent battery life
• Superb screen
• Quad core speed

The Bad

• S Voice not optimised
• It’s just so big
• Gloss plastic looks cheap
• Some extras seem gimmicky   

Never has an Android phone been so eagerly awaited as the Samsung Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy S3 follows on from the runaway success that was the Samsung Galaxy S2, which won great praise and sold in huge numbers. So the new Galaxy had a lot to live up to. It had to be fast, powerful and feature-packed. Oh, and it had to look classy.

Amid levels of hype and speculation usually reserved for the launch of a new iPhone, the latest Samsung handset has arrived with a heavy brief – it must at least live up to its phenomenally successful predecessor (the Galaxy S II) and also attempt to dethrone the HTC One X as the top dog of Android smartphone royalty.

The S3 has gone big on innovation, with lots of new features the speculation hadn’t dreamed of. But the first thing you notice is the size. Samsung has shown it can make a success of big screens with the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.

So can the Galaxy S3 compete with HTC’s combination of raw power and elegant design?

Samsung Galaxy S3 – design, build and connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is closer in design to the Galaxy Nexus than the Galaxy S II, thanks to those rounded corners which (I imagine) leave Apple's lawyers with a little less work to do over the coming months.

The S3 has a 4.8in display and it's certainly big. It’s a slim phone from front to back so it’s more manageable than you might think, but even so. Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. It’s like a smooth, flat worry stone that you can roll seamlessly through your fingers. A matte finish wouldn’t have felt as good.

Available in both pebble blue and marble white (I prefer the former’s textured appearance), the Galaxy S3 cuts a dashing figure at a svelte 8.6mm thick, just 0.2mm thinner than the HTC One X. That’s an impressive feat given its larger 2100mAh battery (the One X’s battery offers 1800mAh).

Samsung Galaxy S3: Screen

Back to the size. If your hands can, er, handle it, the positive consequence is a superbly viewable screen. Video playback on a mobile is always a questionable priority – if you can’t watch on a TV, a tablet makes much more sense – but with 4.8ins of high-resolution Super AMOLED screen with its vivid colours and contrasty blacks, this makes it more of a possibility than before.

The screen resolution is identical to the HTC One X, so the pixels per inch aren’t quite as high on this slightly bigger screen, but both displays look lush and inviting, with this one winning in terms of bright, rich colours.

Samsung Galaxy S3 – processor, power and gaming

At the heart of the Samsung Galaxy S3 lies Samsung's very own 1.4Ghz quad-core Exynos processor, and it handles Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with ease. Transitions are delivered with a gossamer-like fluidity, while the One X offers the occasional stutter between homescreens at times. Simply put, the Galaxy S3 offers the slickest Android experience we've had to date and brings iPhone-like levels of smoothness to the Google camp at long last.

Firing up a 1080p movie trailer is also no problem for Samsung’s new phone. Smooth, fluid playback and intensive 3D games from the Google Play store posed little challenge for Samsung's homegrown silicon. GTA III and Frontline Commando perform perfectly with no lag, proving the Galaxy S3 is more than ready to take on the mantle of portable gaming.

Samsung Galaxy S3 – camera and video

The Samsung Galaxy S3's 8MP camera fires up in seconds and can snap shots even faster. So fast, in fact, you might not realise you've actually taken a photo. The photos themselves are sharp and offer more detail than the HTC One X's camera, which look slightly hazy by comparison.

Colour reproduction is also accurate with little grain on show, and the Samsung Galaxy S3's camera is easily on par with other imaging heavy hitters like the Sony Xperia S and brings along some useful options like a quick-fire burst mode which automatically selects the best picture.

One gripe we do have with the camera app is the lack of some of Ice Cream Sandwich's default imaging features like sweep panorama and time lapse, along with a few real-time effects. The One X, by contrast, has a plethora of effects, though the Galaxy S3 does ape the HTC phone’s ability to snap photos while shooting video.

The S3 also lets you assign contact thumbnails directly from photos. Simply tap a face, assign a name, and the Galaxy S3 automatically changes the corresponding contact profile picture.

Video quality is equally impressive, with 1080p-recorded video serving up vivid colours and sharp detail. Fast movement could be handled a bit better – we noticed a bit of motion blur while filming rapid action.

Samsung Galaxy S3 – verdict

Samsung had a lot to live up to with the release of its latest flagship Galaxy phone. Having set the bar for Android smartphones with the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Nexus – and seen it exceeded with the HTC One X – the S3 needed to be a special phone.

Although some people may prefer the truer whites of the One X's screen, the Samsung Galaxy S3 still more than deserves to stand at the top of the pile, just above its HTC rival. Given its innovative software, expandable storage and much better battery life, the S3 has a rightful claim to be crowned the new king of Android phones. And Apple needs to watch its back... the smartphone war isn't won yet.

specs

• Large 4.8" HD Super AMOLED display
• Super-fast 1.4 GHz quad-core processor
• Large 2100mAh battery
• 1.9 megapixel front camera with BSI
• 8 megapixel low light camera with auto-focus and LED flash
• Full HD video recording and playback
• Up to 16GB internal memory
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Operating System
• NFC
• Notification light

some content and images taken from t3.com and stuff.tv