iPad4

Introduction

Three Apple tablets in a single year. This is more than anyone asked for and yet, by some weird logic - or lack thereof, not too many for Apple to successfully sell. All fine and dandy, unless you got the iPad 3 - better luck next time if you were unfortunate enough to buy it in September.
Well, so much for the new iPad. Number 4 is the new new iPad. You must've heard the one about the double positives. Did we hear some iPad 3 owners say "Yeah, right"? To be honest, they're not without a point.Anyway, the tablet market is still Apple's to lose and the least it could do is send a message to the competition. The double November release may look like a knee-jerk reaction to Google and Microsoft's raid on the slate market but the fact is that Apple has the depth to compete on two fronts. The mini against compact droids and the iPad 4 against the Surface means Cupertino is leaving nothing to chance in defending its number one spot.
The fourth generation iPad is no major upgrade. It keeps the design, display and the main camera of its predecessor. What it gets is a new chipset and the new Lightning port. Oh, and there's an HD FaceTime front cam but that's barely worth mentioning.
Overall, it's the same tablet as the one released in March, with the class-leading Retina display and a welcome boost to the processing power. Plus, the Lightning port ensures seamless compatibility with the iPhone 5, which has sold by the millions.

Key features

9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
Optional LTE connectivity (data only)
Optional GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS support (for the 3G model only)
Apple A6X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core processor
PowerVR SGX554MP4 quad-core GPU
1GB of RAM
iOS 6.0 with iCloud support and activation
16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
652 grams of weight (662 grams for the LTE version)
Bluetooth 4.0
Lightning USB port
11,560 mAh battery
Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
5MP auto-focus camera
1080p video recording at 30fps
1.2MP secondary camera capable of FaceTime HD calls
Four and five-finger gestures
1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $39), 720p video streaming
Supports magnetic cases
Main disadvantages
iTunes still required for uploading most of the content
Reflective screen struggles outdoors
No standard USB port
No stereo speakers
No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
No memory card slot
Lack of basic iOS apps - stocks, clock, calculator, voice memos
It's an Apple device so things like a file manager and a memory card slot are not even up for discussion. They'll probably never be. Nothing on the list above should come as a surprise and, if you are still with us, you are OK with most of it.
The A6X chipset potentially doubles the processing power but let's be honest, the real life gain is not enough to make anyone throw away a still fresh iPad 3. Yet that's what Apple just did - you can think of that as investing in the future-proofing of the device more than anything else.

iPad 4 over iPad 3

Apple A6X chipset with PowerVR554MP4 quad-core GPU for allegedly 2x faster performance
1.2MP front FaceTime camera with HD video
GLONASS support (for the cellular version only)
Lightning USB port
Whether or not Cupertino will admit to feeling the pressure from Microsoft, they knew the right thing to do is prepare. Apple could not afford to have development split between flagship devices running different hardware.

Someone had to take the hit and leaving iPad 3 users out in the cold was probably a hard decision for Apple. The new product launch schedule may've put the iPad 4's market prospects in question too - users are less certain whether they should commit to a new device that may soon become outdated. Apparently, the new Apple tablets are doing great, but the iPad 4 seems to be the one that's always in stock, while the mini takes about 2 weeks to deliver.
But the iPad mini already had its moment in the spotlight here, it's now iPad 4's turn to have our full attention. Before we get busy, we should note that numbers are the short and easy way to set the different generations of Apple tablets apart. What was until recently known as the New iPad (iPad 3) is now discontinued. The current model (iPad 4) is officially called iPad with Retina. The only older generation Apple tablet officially in circulation is the iPad 2. Quite a mess, indeed.

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Bluetooth Headset That you can Wear on Your Finger

With a simple twist, The O.R.B. transforms from a ring to a headset worn on the ear that is capable of hands-free calling. Incorporating HiWave™ technology, the O.R.B. is a “Digitset™” that provides high-quality bone conduction audio without the discomfort of placing a device inside the ear. A deluxe edition also features an E Ink display for caller ID, text messaging, and calendar reminders.

To use the ring as a headset, simply remove it from the finger and twist open around the hinged joint. The ring (now a headset) is placed over the upper ear, between the ear and the side of the head. The transmitter end of the headset rests just above the jawbone and utilizes dual speaker “voice annihilation” DSP technology. The transmit exciter transducer rests just behind the outer ear.


The O.R.B. will be available in a variety of sizes, available in styles for both men and women.

All sizes have an expansion hinge, spring prongs and adjustable adhesive soft pads on the interior edge, which provide a secure and comfortable fit on the finger (or thumb) as well as the ear.


The O.R.B. features military-grade seals and gaskets, making it fully waterproof and built to accompany you on any adventure.

The ring vibrates, alerting the user to an incoming call, text message, or event reminder. The user can glance down at the finger and see a horizontal streaming message of caller I.D. or meeting schedules. If accepting an incoming call, the user twists open the O.R.B., slips over the ear, and begins the conversation. If declining incoming calls or texts, or dismissing event reminders, the user can simply push the cancel button with the O.R.B. still idle on their finger. When not in use the ring serves as a time device/alarm clock. If the user would like to silence a call he/she can simply touch a button on the band.



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SAMSUNG GALAXY S IV RUMORED TO DEBUT AT CES IN JANUARY, MAY FEATURE A 5-INCH 1080P DISPLAY

The latest trend in the mobile industry seems to be the move towards 5-inch full HD displays. Companies such as HTC (2498) Sony (SNE) and LG (066570) have already added, or are planning to include, higher resolution displays on their products. Not to be left behind, Asia Economics reported on Friday that Samsung (005930) is planning to introduce a smartphone with a large 1920 x 1080 resolution display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January. The handset is said to be the company’s next flagship device, known as the Galaxy S IV, and will be equipped with a 5-inch full HD AMOLED display that includes a pixel density of 441 pixels-per-inch.

The report follows an earlier rumor that claimed the South Korean vendor was planning to release the Galaxy S IV this coming March. The previous report claimed the company was going to unveil the device at Mobile World Congress in February, however, rather than at CES. The Galaxy S IV is also said to include a quad-core Exynos processor and 4G LTE capabilities.

Samsung has repeatedly denied any and all Galaxy S IV rumors.


We’ve just had the release of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with the new Nexus 4 phone and by the time the Galaxy S4 arrives it seems likely that it will run the next major OS upgrade, Key Lime Pie, although it’s too early to tell whether this might be 4.3 or possibly Android 5.0. Other inclusions that seem more than plausible are LTE and NFC and possibly enhanced versions of S Voice and Nature UX. As far as processor, a step up to a 2GHz quad-core Exynos processor doesn’t sound impossible and while ever-increasing screen sizes are very much the trend we feel the 4.8-inches of the Galaxy S3 is still plenty big enough.

Talking about displays, we’ve spoken before about the new flexible Youm displays that Samsung is developing for 2013 and so it also looks feasible that a flexible display may feature on either the Galaxy S4 or the Galaxy Note 3. On top of all this with the anticipated spec upgrades we are hoping for we’d like to see a much larger battery capacity to cope with it all. You may also be interested in our previous look at a video concept design for the Galaxy S4.


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Xperia TL

introduction:

The name’s TL, Xperia TL. Just as the secret agent made famous in the big screen, this “James Bond phone” from Sony surely comes off as being nonchalant with its attitude, since it’s deceitfully packing some killer hardware under its façade. No doubt, it’ll be making an appearance in the latest movie installment of the James Bond franchise, Skyfall, but more importantly, is this something that would actually impress even the famed secret agent?

If you’re scratching your head and wondering why this smartphone looks familiar, it’s because the Xperia TL is none other than a rebranded Sony Xperia T for the US market – AT&T’s lineup to be specific. Employing the Xperia Arc’s best element, the Xperia TL follows in form, as it’s able to stand out from other things for its arched back casing. Obviously, the overall design is undoubtedly Xperia-like, but it’s still a looker for its clean appearance, aluminum rear casing, solid construction, and modest size. More impressive is the fact that it’s actually smaller in footprint to the Sony Xperia ion from not too long ago, with the two sharing the same sized displays
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There are no capacitive buttons beneath its display, mainly because Sony opts to incorporate its Android buttons with the interface, which is something that Ice Cream Sandwich is known for. Above the display, we find its earpiece, tiny LED notification light, and 1-megapixel front-facing camera – the latter of which can shoot videos in 720p.

Checking out the stuff littered around the handset’s trim, it features all the usual suspect of characters we’d expect to find – like a standard microphone, noise-cancelling mic, 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port for charging/data/video-out connectivity, power button, shutter key, volume control, and a small plastic flap that hides away its microSIM and microSD slots

Display:

Being the James Bond phone and all, it’s naturally going to need one sharp looking display to keep even 007 interested. Luckily, its 4.55” HD 720 x 1280 display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine will turn heads thanks to its exceptional detail (323 ppi pixel density), warm color tones, and its deep black color. However, its usability is compromised in direct sunlight due to its high reflectiveness and weak viewing angles.

LAUNCH JAMES BOND’S SONY XPERIA TL ON NOVEMBER 2ND FOR $99.99

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Galaxy Note II -Tips & Tricks:

Application Integration

S Pen Integration: 
The Galaxy Note II lets you personalize your mobile world with the S Pen. You can write handwritten messages in emails or decorate special occasions on your calendars. Handwritten items are only viewable on your mobile calendar and are not synced with Outlook® or online calendars.

S Note on Lock Screen: 
Hold the S Pen button while double-tapping the screen to activate S Note™. This gesture can also be used on the Lock Screen to activate S Note. You can also use your S Pen to draw a line down to the Home key to unlock your screen instead of swiping your screen with your finger.

Contextual Home Screens: 
Much like the S Pen contextual home screen, there are additional contextual home screens displayed when you plug in the earphones and when you dock the phone.

Accessories

Smart Dock:
The optional Smart Dock accessory offers multiple connection points, with three USB ports, an audio-out port, and an HDMI port. Plus, the Galaxy Note II fits perfectly in the dock even when encased in a Samsung Flip Cover.
Gallery

Gallery Views: 

The Gallery offers a variety of ways to view your photos. You can choose between a Grid view (organized folders), Timeline view (a 3-D flipbook in chronological order), or a Spiral view (a spinning 3D spiral of photos) by touching the view icons in the top right corner of the Gallery.

One-Touch Cropping: 
S Pen makes it easy to crop a photo, or even just a small element of a photo, right in the Gallery. While viewing the photo you want to crop, click and hold the S Pen button, and draw around the desired cropping area. Your original photo will remain intact, but the cropped portion will be copied to your clipboard. You’ll also be given the option to send the cropped image to a variety of other applications, including email, S Note and Paper Artist.

Personalization

One-Handed Use:
You can enable one-handed use for the Samsung keyboard, calculator, phone dialer and unlock pattern. When you turn on the one-handed option, the enabled apps shrink and move toward one side of the screen so you can easily touch the keys with your thumb. Touch Settings and under Personal, choose One-handed operation. Place a checkmark in the box next to the desired options.


Smart Gestures

Enabling Smart Stay:
You can get key info—such as number of missed phone calls and messages, number of emails received, remaining battery percentage, and more—simply by waving your hand over the top of a sleeping device. To enable or disable this feature, go to Settings > Motion and check or uncheck the box next to Quick Glance.

Smart Gestures:
Smart Stay keeps the screen on as long as you’re looking at it. To enable the Smart Stay feature, touch Settings > Display. Place a checkmark in the box next to Smart Stay.

Notifications Panel:
Double-tap the top of the phone to instantly open the Notifications Panel.

Direct Call: 
When a contact’s phone number is shown on-screen, Direct Call lets you lift the phone to your ear to automatically dial. When reading a text message, you can call back the sender by simply lifting the phone to your ear.

Social Sharing

S Beam:
Use S Beam™ to share links to maps, web pages, apps and YouTube™ videos with any Android™ device that is NFC enabled. You can also exchange contacts and calendar events. S Beam allows for the transfer of files up to 1GB in size with any S Beam–capable device. To get started, touch Settings > Share and transfer > More settings. Move sliders next to NFC and S Beam from off to on (gray to green) to enable the feature.

Sharing an S Note with S Beam: 
In addition to photos, videos and documents, you can share an S Note via S Beam with other S Beam and S Note capable devices.

Sharing an S Note with Social Networks: 
Collaborate with ease by posting native S Note files, with layers, to your social networks like Facebook® and Google+™ for other Galaxy Note II users to download and edit.

S Pen

Contextual Home Screen:
Contextual awareness means quick access: When the S Pen is removed from its integrated slot, a menu of S Pen–related apps will automatically pop up for selection. The Contextual S Pen home screen and menu are customizable, so you can select which S Pen applications you want handy. Available apps range from productivity to graphic and include the preloaded S Note. Various third-party apps that use S Pen are also available.

S Pen Shortcuts: 
Use the S Pen to scroll down the Notifications Panel to select a number of S Pen shortcuts—Quick Command, S Note and more.

Voice Commands

S Voice: 
Whether you want trivia answers or directions to the closest dry cleaner, S Voice™ is your personal assistant, responding to every voice command with accurate, helpful information pulled from the respected Wolfram Alpha® database. S Voice handles your on-phone tasks too, like dialing calls, sending messages, launching the camera, and even opening and controlling applications. For example, you can use S Voice to open the Facebook® app and update your status.


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Music Hub: All The Music You Want, All In One Place

Samsung Music Hub™ makes enjoying music easier than ever. Upload your music collection to the cloud, stream and purchase songs from an extensive catalog, and listen to personal radio—all in one app. Use these tips and tricks to learn more about how to use Music Hub’s features.

With Music Hub, you can access millions of songs from our catalog whenever and wherever you are. Simply tap Catalog and either browse by music genre or search using the magnifying glass icon. When you find a song or album you like, either tap the title to play or tap the icon to the right to add to My Music or to a specific playlist.

Listen Offline

Music Hub allows you to store your favorite music on your device for offline listening. There is nothing worse than remembering to store music offline minutes before the flight, and spend the entire flight listening to only two or three songs. Music Hub offers the simplest way to make music available offline in just two easy steps:

Step 1: Go to My Music and select the icon to the right of the song or playlist you like.

Step 2: Tap “Download Now.” This will default to Wi-Fi® only, but you can simply adjust the settings to enable this feature over your cellular network. Once you listen to a song, it is temporarily stored on your device and displayed in a bold font to indicate offline availability.

Share a Playlist

Music Hub allows you to beam songs and playlists with another Music Hub subscriber on a Samsung Galaxy NFC-enabled device. Follow these steps to share your playlist:
Step 1: Access the playlist you’d like to share from My Music.

Step 2: Open the playlist to view the tracks.

Step 3: Hold your phone against another Music Hub subscriber’s Galaxy device (remember to turn on NFC). The playlist image will shrink.

Step 4: Tap the center of the image to beam. The playlist will instantly appear in the other subscriber’s My Music.

Upload Your Music to the Cloud Locker & PC Listening

We understand that over the years you’ve accumulated a lot of digital music that you most likely manage in iTunes® and Windows® Media Player. With the Music Hub Uploader, it is easy to move your entire music library to the cloud. Music Hub subscribers are given 100 GB of cloud storage, and employs Scan & Match functionality to transfer your music, cutting down on upload time and offering you higher quality files where available.

Follow these steps to upload your music from your PC to the cloud:

Step 1: From your PC, go to Music Hub.

Step 2: Run the Uploader, and select your music folder—iTunes or Windows Media Player. A notification will appear when the upload process is complete. The next time you visit Music Hub on your mobile device, your music will instantly be available in My Music.

You can also listen to your music and music from our catalog on your PC from musichub.com. Simply sign in with your Samsung Account, and enjoy hours of music listening.

Enjoy Personal Radio

Sometimes it’s nice to sit back and enjoy music programmed for you. With personal radio, you can enjoy personalized radio stations based on your favorite artists or songs. Follow these two easy steps and start enjoying personal radio:

Step 1: From the home screen, select the radio icon and then select Personal.

Step 2: Type an artist or song, select from one of the generated stations, and enjoy ad-free listening. Feel free to skip ahead as often as you like.

At any point, tap the circled “i” icon and view all the songs you’ve just enjoyed. You can add any of them to your own collection by clicking the “tag” icon. These songs can be found in the Tagged section later and mixed into any of your playlists.


Get Intelligent Recommendations

One of the best elements of Music Hub is that it actually gets smarter the more you listen. There are two ways to take advantage of this great feature:

1. Simply double tap the album art on the player page to see options. Select the Lightbulb icon to find similar music to what you are listening to. A list of recommended songs, albums, artists and radio stations will be generated for you.

2. From the home screen, tap the Lightbulb icon for Recommended songs. A list of songs will be generated based on the songs you’ve been listening to.

Content such as DRM content or encrypted files may not transfer to your Samsung device.

Samsung, Galaxy S and Media Hub are trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Other company names, product names and marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and may be trademarks or registered trademarks. Screen images simulated. Appearance of device may vary.

The above content is provided for information purposes only. All information included herein is subject to change without notice. Samsung is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages, arising from or related to use or reliance of the above content.


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