Top 15 London 2012 Olympic Apps

Top 15 London 2012 Olympic Apps

Tim Berners-Lee Honored At London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony 

Well I just couldn’t hold back any longer. I had to face the elephant in the room and include the London 2012 Olympics in this blog. Just watching the opening ceremony at the moment, I was not expecting much to be honest but blimey! They have put on a very good show. I have decided that over the next few days I will be posting sports and Olympic related Gadgets an Stuff in this blog.

So here is my first round up of the top 15 London 2012 Olympic apps. Due to time constraints I have compiled these from T3 magazine, thanks boys. Please visit the original source. 

BATMAN : THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

BATMAN : THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - THE GAME

To fit in nicely with the recent release of the new batman flick The Dark Knight Rises, a new game from Gameloft has been released.

Batman is unleashed once again to the masses across the globe and the inevitability of a mobile app/game for the movie has launched for Android and iOS platforms.

Just in time to coincide with this awesome looking new film the similarly titled app-based game lets owners of smartphones/ipads play as the caped crusader in levels straight from action from the hit flick.

The app/game will cost around £5 (around $8)

We will bring you more info when it comes in.

LATEST IN (ANOTHER) APPLE COURT CASE

Samsung tablet not as cool, says UK judge

Korean Tech Giant Samsung has won a UK High Court case against Apple over the design of the Galaxy Tab.

Apple had brought the case to court alleging that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10 cpoied the design of its iPad.

The UK Judge Colin Birss disagreed saying Apple's designs were not being infringed because Samsung's Galaxy Tab was not as "cool" as the iPad, Ouch!

Courtroom showdown

Judge Birss added "They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,”

"They are not as cool," he said. "The overall impression produced is different."

The court ruling means that Apple cannot stop sales of the Galaxy Tab on the grounds that it closely resembles one of its products.

As expected Samsung was happy with the ruling "Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited."

After Apple did not want  to talk specifically on the UK case instead it gave a statement that repeated its view that there was no "no coincidence" that Samsung's latest products resembled the iPad and iPhone.

Apple added: "This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we've said many times before, we need to protect Apple's intellectual properties when companies steal our ideas."

They can now appeal against the judgement it has 21 days. I hope that it decides to let it go, they really are starting to sound like spoilt little brats.

The decision is the latest in a series that have gone against Apple  on the 6^th July a US court lifted a sales ban on the Galaxy Nexus smartphones although it upheld a ban on sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet.

Apple even had a go at HTC back in July, claiming that it stole the idea of its “slide to lock” function on its phones. Just let it go Apple!

What do you think?

Is Apple right to bring these cases to court? Or is Apple being too overzealous with its court claims?

Let us know by leaving a comment below.

New HTC Handset

DETAILS OF THE NEW HTC HANDSET CODENAMED "PROTO"

HTC Desire C

Details are coming through on a new HTC smartphone.

HTC said in June that they weren’t going to make any more budget smartphones, they lied. After a bit of digging round I have found some details of a mid-priced, mid-range smartphone. It’s a take on the Desire range. It remains to be seen if it will actually be part of the Desire models or it will start a whole new range.

The new phone, codenamed HTC Pronto, will have

• ·         1GHz Dual Core Processor
• ·         768MB RAM
• ·         4GB Storage Space
• ·         4in LCD Screen
• ·         480x800 Screen Resolution
• ·         5MP Rear Camera
• ·         Android 4.0.3 Ice cream Sandwich
• ·         HTC Sense 4.0
• ·         114g Weight
• ·         9.3mm Width
• 
  

The “Pronto” looks set to be a perfect budget/mid-range phone. All sources suggest that the prices will sit nicely in the market next to the Desire C and One V, between £15-£30 ($20-$40).

That’s all I have for now, as soon as I get more info. I will make sure you’re the first to know.

Have your say! Please leave your comments below.

O2 NETWORK DOWN

O2 NETWORK DOWN!

Millions of O2 customers have lost connection services right across the UK due to a problem with the network.

O2 said that it started experiencing problems “at lunchtime" but they don’t know what the cause is.

Tesco Mobile customers have been affected as well because they use the same masts as o2.

They say the problem is not based on where about you live. Some customers still have a signal at the same place as others who don’t have any.

On o2s website it states: "Those customers affected will have difficulty making or receiving calls, sending texts or using data. Our engineers are dealing with the problem as a priority and we hope to restore full service as soon as possible. “The question is when?

"The problem is an issue within part of our core network that is preventing some mobile phones from successfully connecting. The problem is not location-specific."

You can keep track of this mess at o2 service status webpage.

At the time of posting it currently says;

Making calls and using data

We continue to manage the problem on our network that is affecting some of our customers. Customers may still be having difficulty making and receiving calls, sending texts or using data.We are sorry for any inconvenience. Our engineers are dealing with the problem as a priority and we hope to restore full service as soon as possible.

Project Glass

Project Glass is Google's effort to make a wearable computer system and it's come up with a smart pair of glasses with an integrated heads-up display and a battery hidden inside the frame (think fighter pilot).
This is not a new idea, by all means,  but Google's mammoth funds and a dogged determination  will mean that Project Glass will have a very good chance of becoming mainstream.

Project Glass will be released to the masses early in 2014. The latest news is that developers will receive a special ‘explorer edition' unit at some time in 2013.

As far as I can see (no pun intended) Google's glasses will possibly use a transparent LCD or AMOLED display to put information in front of your eye. It will have location based software thanks to a camera and GPS, and you can scroll and click on information by tilting your head, and according to Google the controls will be very easy to master, and of course there will be the ubiquitous voice control.

It is yet to be seen whether or not it will run Android or a stand alone system. It will have though the usual GPS, 3G/4G, WIFI, Bluetooth 4.0 and motion sensors. It will also have a front facing camera with flash for taking instant pictures.

I have just given you a brief look at Google’s Project Glass here, what the future holds nobody knows just yet. Will this change the way we live are lives forever? I certainly believe its a step towards a world changing idea.

Google Glass

Why Google Glass is the next frontier for developers | The Social Analyst - CNET News

APPLE vs SAMSUNG

Apple has paid a $95.6m bond to ban the Samsung Galaxy Nexus from being sold in the US. 

Apple has posted the court mandated $95.6 million bond to bring the Samsung Galaxy Nexus US sales ban into force, this happening days after Samsung’s appeal against the ban was thrown out of court.

With the Galaxy Nexus now completely banned from sale in the States, Google has withdrawn the top-of-the-range handset from its online sales outlet whilst Samsung is to continue to appeal the against the court order.

An official Samsung spokesperson said today "We will continue to pursue an appeal of the Galaxy Nexus preliminary injunction, which we filed on July 2 to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,” "Meanwhile, we are also working closely with Google to resolve this matter, as the patent in question concerns Google's unified search function."

Samsung was told earlier on this week by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, that she would not be lifting the sales ban imposed on the company’s Google branded smartphone in the US.

The legal complaint was brought before the courts by Apple and is accusing the Samsung of copying its iPhone and iPad devices.

Judge Lucy Koh

The ban came into effect when Apple posted a $96 million bond.Judge Lucy Koh ruled that due to Samsung's large number of alternative smartphones available, the Korean based company is not likley to be hit too heavily by the sales ban of the Galaxy Nexus.

“Although some consumers may be disappointed that they cannot purchase the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Nexus, as Samsung itself has repeatedly insisted, is not Samsung’s only smartphone product on the market,” said the US judge.

This news comes just days after Apple was granted a US sales ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, which is another case that Samsung has had its appeal thrown out of court. Having lost a sequence of major legal disputes with Apple, Samsung is to appeal the decisions, stating Apple can’t prove any potential patent infringements are damaging its market share.

The ban will come into effect once Apple has posted a bond of $96 million (£61.2m).

Korean firm Samsung has appealed the ruling on seven grounds, in its attempt to dismiss claims its Nexus handset unlawfully infringed on Apple patent no. 8,086,604, an intellectual property right that covers a device’s ability to carry out multiple source searches through a single interface.

The initial ruling was made on the original Apple iPhones 5^th Birthday by US Judge Lucy Koh, with Apple saying that it will push to have the ban rolled out across a further 24 Samsung handsets, including the brand new Samsung Galaxy S3.

Judge Koh said in her ruling "Although Samsung will necessarily be harmed by being forced to withdraw its product from the market before the merits can be determined after a full trial, the harm faced by Apple absent an injunction is greater,”

"Apple's interest in enforcing its patent rights is particularly strong because it has presented a strong case on the merits."

Samsung said last week that it was “disappointed” with the court’s decision asserting the injunction will “restrict U.S. consumer choice in the smartphone market.”

An official Samsung spokesperson said “We will take all available measures, including legal action, to ensure the Galaxy Nexus remains available to consumers."We say, keep on going Samsung.

GOOGLE NEXUS 7 RELEASE DATE AND PRICE

Google Nexus 7 Release Date July 19th

With its official unveiling at this year’s Google’s I/O conference a week ago, UK store Currys  has proposed the Google Nexus 7 UK release date as July 19^th, which is nice.

Google’s new tablet is a strong contender to Apple’s choke hold on the tablet market, the Google Nexus 7 is set to seduce a new range of consumers to the tablet market with a Tegra 3 quad-core processor alongside 1GB of RAM and a 1280 x 800p HD display.

When you add to this a £159.99 price tag (8GB), £199.99 for the 16GB version, the Nexus 7 is truly a  A Amazon Kindle Fire beater.

APPLE iPHONE 5 RELEASE DATE, LEAKED PICTURE

iPhone 5 Latest    

All the Rumours surrounding the iPhone 5 have drove reports that Apple is going to launch its next-gen smartphone the next few months.

The word on the grapevine is that the naming of the device is going to go the route of the iPad and will be called simply the iPhone.

Here is what I have mustered so far, these are reports from respected sources and given their track record on leaking tech news it looks promising. So here goes

Macotakara the very much esteemed Japanese Apple blog has apparently received word from "Asian sources" who claim that Apple will launch the device in September or October 2012.

In a translated report it said; "According to Asian reliable source, next iPhone will be released in September or October, and this cycle seems to be kept for years,"

Now if this article turns out to be accurate, it would mean that Apple is going back to its yearly launch dates that we saw for the first four versions of the iPhone.

Also adding to the raft of Apple iPhone 5 rumours, sources have claimed to leak the upcoming  front screen that is to be used, it now looks for certain it’s going to be a nice 4-inch retina display.

As it’s not the first time the iPhone 5 has been tipped to have a larger screen. The latest leaked images suggest Apple will incorporate a 4-inch Retina offering that is slimmer that past units allowing for a more condensed device.

Reducing its size by integrating touch sensors directly into the LCD panel, the next-gen iPhone is in for a whole new redesign, making it look like its spent the last 12 months at weight watchers. While the rumour mill is fully loaded at the present time, gadgets an stuff will try to sort out the wheat from the chaff over the next few months. 

STUFF MAGAZINE COOL LIST 2012

Stuff Magazine has released its annual drool fest that is… the cool list. Every year they get together and go through some of the hottest tech, the cool list 2012 is no exception. Stuff Magazine have gathered together some of the most desirable equipment money can (and cant) buy. At Gadgets an Stuff we wouldn’t want you to miss this, so we have given you the top 5 Gadget erotica to longingly look over, whilst you think of ways to raise the funds required of such technological greatness. Here goes…

01 LEICA M
MONOCHROM

£6120 (body only) leica-camera.com

02TEENAGE
ENGINEERING OP-1

€800 teenageengineering.com    

03B&W

P3    

£170 bowers-wilkins.com     

04CUBIFY

CUBE 

US$1300 cubify.com

                  

05ALLERTA

PEBBLE   

US$150getpebble.com             

Want some more? OK compose yourself an visit 

                                                  

Higgs Boson

Scientists Believe They Have Found 'The God Particle' : The Higgs Bosson

Scientists at Cern, reporting from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have claimed the discovery of a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

The results announced at Cern (European Organization for Nuclear Research), home of the large hadron collider in Geneva, were met with loud applause.

The Higgs boson experiments at the LHC see a level of certainty in their data worthy of a "discovery".

It has been the subject of a 45-year quest to clarify how matter attains its mass.

British scientist Professor Peter Higgs, after whom the particle is named, wiped a tear from his eye as the teams finished their presentations in the Cern lecture theatre.

"I would like to add my congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement," he added later.

"It's really an incredible thing that it's happened in my lifetime."

Statistics of a 'discovery'

• Particle physics has an accepted definition for a discovery: a "five-sigma" (or five standard-deviation) level of certainty

• The number of sigmas measures how unlikely it is to get a certain experimental result as a matter of chance rather than due to a real effect

• Similarly, tossing a coin and getting a number of heads in a row may just be chance, rather than a sign of a "loaded" coin

• A "three-sigma" level represents about the same likelihood as tossing eight heads in a row

• Five sigma, on the other hand, would correspond to tossing more than 20 in a row

• Independent confirmation by other experiments turns five-sigma findings into accepted discoveries

Canon EOS 600D

The Canon EOS600D Review    

£371 online, £570 nearby

The Canon EOS 600D is a mid-range digital SLR with an angle adjustable LCD screen for flexible framing and high quality pictures. With a resolution of 18 megapixels, Full HD video shooting and a plethora of user friendly features and modes, this is defiantly the one to watch.

With an exceptional 18 megapixel resolution, the Canon EOS 600D’s CMOS sensor captures images packed full of detail in stunning clarity and this isn’t lost when images are cropped or enlarged . In its package the EOS 600D comes with a 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II lens kit so you can get straight to it out of the box.

 Having a high ISO range (Min ISO- 100,Max  6400), the Cannon allows you to shoot high-quality pictures in low-light conditions, the DIGIC 4 image processor allows it to provide  excellent colour reproduction, smooth tonal gradation and tight control over noise. It doesn’t  just stop at quality pictures, the EOS 600D also has full HD video capture, with manual control over sound ,frame rate, exposure, and Video Snapshot technology allows for short clips to be merged into a single, professional-looking movie file.

 A whole host of modes make taking pictures very easy indeed, such as Scene Intelligent Auto analysing each scene in detail to automatically optimise settings while the 9-point wide-area AF offers swift and accurate focusing even on off-centre matters. You can also apply Creative Filter Effects post capture, including Toy Camera, Soft Focus, Miniature, Grainy Black & White and Fish Eye.

The on-screen feature guide provides descriptions of many of the camera’s functions, as well as advice on how to use them, and Basic+ technology allows photographers to customise basic auto settings according to ambience or lighting conditions for the perfect photo.