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Monday, February 25, 2013

Chromebook Pixel review: another impractical marvel from Google

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/chromebook-pixel-review/

We've had a bit of a love / hate relationship with the Google Chromebook since the first one crossed our laps back in 2011 -- the Samsung Series 5. We loved the concept, but hated the very limited functionality provided by your $500 investment. Since then, the series of barebones laptops has progressed, and so too has the barebones OS they run, leading to our current favorite of the bunch: the 2012 Samsung Chromebook.

In that laptop's review, we concluded that "$249 seems like an appropriate price for this sort of device." So, then, imagine our chagrin when Google unveiled a very similar sort of device, but one that comes with a premium. A very hefty premium. It's a high-end, halo sort of product with incredible build quality, an incredible screen and an incredible price. Is a Chromebook that starts at more than five times the cost of its strongest competition even worth considering? Let's do the math.

Gallery: Chromebook Pixel review

Filed under: Laptops, Google

Apple's Mac Sales Grow 31% In January (AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/npd-mac-sales-were-up-31-in-january-2013-2

imac

Here's some slightly good news for Apple.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster reports Mac sales were up 31 percent on a year-over-year basis in January, according to the latest NPD data.

Last quarter Apple's earnings missed analyst expectations due partly to significantly worse than expected Mac sales. Apple sold 4.1 million Macs, versus Street expectations of 5 million.

Munster believes Mac sales were up sharply because Apple is catching up to demand. It introduced new iMacs last quarter and it couldn't manufacture enough of them to meet demand. This pop is probably the result of Apple improving production.

As good as this sounds, the Mac business, like the entire PC industry, appears to be in decline. Munster is calling for Mac sales to be down 5 percent on a year-over-year basis for the first quarter of this year.

The Mac business has been affected by the rise of iPad. This hurts Apple inasmuch as it's losing some sales. But, overall, the growth of the iPad is strong enough to offset the decline of the Mac.

The big question for Apple is whether or not the iPad business will be able to fend off the increasingly fierce competition.

See Also: The End! Of The Mac Is Coming And Apple Is Thrilled

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Panasonic's New Sensor Captures 3D Images With a Single Lens

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986675/panasonics-new-sensor-captures-3d-images-with-a-single-lens

Using similar techniques that enable the Nintendo 3DS to display 3D images without the need for special glasses, Panasonic has developed a new image sensor that can capture 3D stills and videos without the need for multiple lenses.

Using lenticular lenses and a layer composed of digital micro lenses to further focus the light hitting the sensor, the system could in theory give any camera 3D capabilities, from expensive DSLRs to cheap point and shoots. And while there is some tomfoolery being done with post-processing to produce the final 3D images, Panasonic claims the depth calculated by its algorithms and the actual depth of objects in the scene only differs by about five percent. And that's presumably going to be improved even further by the time these sensors are rolled out in mobile devices starting some time in 2014.

Asus Padfone Hands On: A Sleek Two-For-One Device That Makes You Pay for Both

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986688/asus-padfone-hands-on-a-sleek-two+for+one-device-that-makes-you-pay-for-both

If it were sold without its tablet dock, you might give the Padfone phone a second look all on its own. It's really pretty, after using it for a few minutes, it's just as powerful and smooth as any other flagship Android phone coming out, like the Optimus G Pro or the HTC One.

The phone is fast. Every app loaded up opened like lightning, though the selection was limited due to lack of a connection on the demo units. But it was smooth, and there was no stutter despite Asus's considerable modifications to Android (it's built on 4.1.2). The screen is just as beautiful as you'd expect given the absurd resolution, but the thing that stands out about it is its vibrant color performance. It's just so bright and saturated (it did not seem overly saturated, but we didn't have time to load up pre-shot photos) that it catches your eye, even under hot display lights.

It's also relatively light, and doesn't feel its 5-inch size. It's sort of like the Droid DNA, in that it's huge, yes, but feels somehow less huge than its 5-inch contemporaries. The aluminum build is fairly nice, not top tier industrial design, but ahead of the curve. It's sort of reminiscent of an iPhone 4 crossed with a Zenbook.

The tablet portion of the Padfone is manageable, and not as unwieldy as it could be. It's not as comfortable to hold as a Nexus 10 or an iPad, but still fine for handling as a tablet. We weren't able to get any content loaded up to try reading articles or books, but it seems like it would be adequate, though not ideal. The 16:10 ratio on it is decent for holding in portrait, but the phone being on one side in that alighnemt limits how much you might use it like that.
As for the switching, it was pretty seamless. There's a second or two of hiccup, but it's nothing that worries you as you switch from one device to the other. It's faster than the time it takes to load a second display after plugging it into your laptop, for example. There was no perceptible slowdown going from the phone to the tablet, either, but again, we didn't have access to the really graphically or processor-dependent apps. But given its impressive guts, it would make sense for the performance to be that smooth.

It's really pretty impressive. But for the enormous 1,000 euro price, you could probably buy a Nexus 7, or 10, and the phone of your choice. You'd be missing out on some of the neat features that Asus has here, and also the schtick of having two devices in one, but it's definitely worth thinking about if you're considering this.

Aptina unleashes 1080p and 4K mobile sensors, entire point-and-shoot segment cringes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/aptina-1080p-4k-mobile-sensors-smartphones/

Hear that? That's the sound of the entire point-and-shoot camera industry bracing for yet another blow. As smartphone cameras mature, it's becoming ever more difficult to convince consumers to use anything other than their phone outside of special occasions where ILCs or DSLRs are necessary. Aptina has a lot to do with that. Here at Mobile World Congress, the sensor outfit has announced its 12 megapixel and 13 megapixel mobile image sensors, aimed squarely at next-gen flagship phones that ought to be coming out in Q2 or Q3 this year. The smaller 1.1-micron pixel construction is the standout feature, with the AR1230 capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps as well as 1080p video at up to 96fps. The AR1330 throws in electronic image stabilization support at 1080p, while snagging 4K UHD and 4K Cinema formats at 30fps.

Over on the tablet PC / TV front, the AR0261 is a new 1080p-capable sensor that's destined to redefine what a front-facing camera can accomplish. It relies on a 1.4-micron pixel, and should have no issues capturing faces at up to 60fps when using its 720p mode. Furthermore, Aptina promises that this guy can work with applications involving gesture recognition and 3D video capture, but sadly, no OEMs are coming forward just yet with concrete plans to include it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile< /a>, NVIDIA

Source: Aptina

ASUS FonePad official: 7-inch tablet with phone functionality, priced at $249 (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/asus-fonepad-announced/

ASUS FonePad official 7inch tablet with phone functionality, priced at $249 for 16GB handson

We already knew ASUS was prepping a product called the FonePad, a 7-inch tablet with built-in phone functionality (yes, just like the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0). Well, ASUS just formally unveiled it here at Mobile World Congress, which means we've got a few more details to share than we did previously. First off, the speculation about its specs was all true: this does indeed have an Intel processor -- a 1.2GHz Atom Z2420, to be exact -- along with 1GB of RAM, a PowerVR SGX540 GPU, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and an HSPA+ radio. What's more, the 4,270mAH battery is said to get up to nine hours of runtime, which would put this in the same league as other Atom tablets we've tested recently.

In terms of hardware features, the FonePad has a smooth metal back (available in gray and gold), making it drastically different in appearance from the similarly sized Nexus 7. 'Round back you'll find a panel where all the usual antennae are, and hidden underneath are both the micro-SIM slot and the microSD reader. That microSD slot, by the way, supports 32GB cards, which should come in handy considering this has just 16GB of built-in storage. Additionally, the tablet has a 3-megapixel rear shooter and a 1.2-megapixel front camera, attached to a 7-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display.

The FonePad will be available in Europe for £179 / €219. Here at MWC, ASUS also confirmed a US dollar price of $249, though we had heard rumblings it wouldn't actually be sold there. In any case, the on-sale date will be confirm! ed at so me later time. We're hoping to test one ourselves soon enough, but until then, stay tuned for the usual round of hands-on shots.

Update: Our hands-on photos and video are in! Enjoy!

Gallery: ASUS FonePad

Gallery: ASUS FonePad hands-on

Filed under: Tablets, ASUS

BII MOBILE INSIGHTS: Google Glass Will Connect With Android And iOS

Source: https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/welcome

Mobile Insights is a daily newsletter from BI Intelligence that collects and delivers the top mobile industry news. It is delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence subscribers.

Google Glass Will Tether With Android And iPhone (Forbes)
It’s nice to see that Google is not escalating the platform wars by locking iOS out of the Glass ecosystem. Google opened up a sort of pre-order contest for non-developers for its new augmented reality headgear. "Glass will be able to connect via Bluetooth to both Android phones and the iPhone. Glass can pull down data from Wi-Fi or use the 3G or 4G feed from a connected phone, but it won’t have its own cellular radio." The bigger question with Glass is how users will manage— and to what extent they will be allowed to manage— the huge potential torrent of data that this device will collect. Read >>

In Mobile Advertising, How Fast Is Fast Enough? (Bloomberg)
After Millennial Media reported this week a 71 percent surge in 2012 sales, the company’s CEO started calling top investors to address their concerns. As much as the mobile advertising company is growing, it’s not enough to meet its own targets or the expectations of analysts. While putting ads on phones and tablets may be the industry’s future, predicting the industry’s growth is turning out to be difficult as companies compete to find successful models. Millennial is something of a barometer for an industry that’s still in its early days, with high expectations. There are few easy comparisons Millennial investors can make, for better or for worse. That makes for a volatile stock. Read >>

Three Key Points About Mobile Advertising (Smart AdServer)
With Mobile World Congress 2013 underway, here is a review of mobile advertising related facts:

Mobile Advertising

Click here for the full infographic. Read >>

By 2017, Mobile Connections Will Outnumber People (Cisco via e27)
According to Cisco, worldwide mobile data traffic is expected to increase 13-fold in the next five years, reaching 11.2 exabytes per month by 2017. The number of mobile Internet connections on both personal devices and machine-to-machine applications will then eventually exceed the world’s population, which is estimated to be 7.6 billion by the United Nations. Read >>

What Is Slowing Down Mobile Video Adoption? (TechCrunch)
Mobile video continues to be a huge pain for viewers and broadcasters alike. For many, the mobile video landscape is too fragmented and frustrating.

android ios video

So why, then, is mobile video still an unsolved problem? The short answer is Android. The longer answer is that a number of power players refuse to work together and adopt universal standards for mobile video and instead battle for digital turf, confusing the rest of us in the process. Read >>

Sprint Is Driving Samsung Traffic (Chitika)
A recent rep! ort from Chitika Insights illustrates the success of Samsung’s smartphone in North American markets, where the Galaxy S III stands neck-and-neck with the iPhone 5 in terms of Web usage.

samsung galaxy web traffic sprint

Sprint users generate the largest amount of Samsung Galaxy S III Web traffic at 28 percent. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T capture 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place with 22 percent, 20 percent, and 18 percent of Samsung Galaxy S III Web usage, respectively. Read >>

Mobile Is About Doing One Thing Great (TechCrunch)
What exactly is it about the mobile market that changes the rules of the game and why might this be the best thing for startups? The screen size, the pattern of time availability and “location” in the real world lead to a more single-task orientation on mobile than on the desktop Web. What has changed with mobile is that no (large) company has been able to pull off a “fast follow” to unseat an incumbent startup who achieves mind share with a differentiated single-task oriented product. Before, every startup when raising capital was invariably asked the dreaded questions, "What if Microsoft, Facebook or Google copied this?” Now in mobile, if that is the question your startup is asked, you are in luck because it implies that you are first to market with a differentiated and focused product. Read >>

Which Mobile Approach Is Right For You? (Mutual Mobile)
These days everyone’s saying they need an app. But before you rush to say “me too,” take a moment to think about what makes the most sense for your enterprise. Read >>

mobile approach

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Sony Xperia Tablet Z Hands On: Thin, Light, and Very Promising

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5984718/sony-xperia-tablet-z-hands-on-thin-light-and-very-promising

We've known about Sony's Xperia Tablet Z for the last month or so. It promised incredible lightness, thinness, speed, and beauty. Guess what? It deliveres.

The Xperia Tablet Z is a 10.1-inch tablet that will launch with Android 4.2 (the most recent Jelly Bean update). It boasts a redesigned 1,920x1,200 screen, Qualcomm's beastly quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, NFC, an IR blaster, a microSD expansion slot, and it's listed as waterproof to one meter for up to half an hour. All that and it's just 6.9 millimeters (0.27 inches) thick and it weighs only 495 grams (1.09 pounds). To put that in perspective, that's the lightest 10-inch tablet in the world, and it's the thinnest tablet period (just eking by the iPad mini's 7.2mm frame).

Not surprisingly, it's a joy to hold. It feels impossibly light; you wonder how there's room for a computer inside. It's also extremely well-balanced. And the waterproofing's not just hype; we turned on the screen and dunked it in a fishbowl, and the touchscreen worked just fine after we pulled it back out, even while wet. We've said it a million times before: all gadgets should be waterproof.

The display uses Sony's new Mobile Bravia Engine 2, which the company claims gives it twenty percent better color reproduction than the latest iPad. While we couldn't do a side-by-side comparison, we can tell you that the screen is gorgeous. It was bright, sharp, and colors were incredibly vivid. Low reflectivity, too, an area where the iPad mini left a lot to be desired.

Another positive sign: Sony is finally stepping back a bit and letting Android shine. The Xperia Tablet Z does have a third-party skin, but it's light and mostly only noticeable on the desktop. It has the same Battery Stamina Mode as the Xperia Z and ZL phones, which is a clever power management solution. Sony says it will boost standby time up to 400 percent, which would be impressive. The Tablet Z also comes with TVSideView, a very slick app that acts as both a TV guide and a means for controlling your home entertainment setup via the built-in IR blaster.

Unfortunately, the software was still a couple months away from being final when we got to play with it. The overall experience was frequently laggy and slow, and there were some crashes. Hopefully that will be addressed before the Tablet Z goes on sale in May.

There will be some good-looking accessories for it, including a very sturdy stand and some nice, thin covers. Sony is building NFC into a lot of its upcoming audio products. This means that you'll be able to tap it to the Xperia Tablet Z and it will instantly pair the audio. We tried it on a few speakers and headphones and it worked seamlessly.

The Xperia Tablet Z will come in 16GB and 32GB flavors for $500 and $600, respectively. That ain't cheap! But if the software can live up to the promise of its high-end hardware, it might just be worth it.

LG's 5.5-Inch Optimus Pro Has a 1080p IPS Screen (Hands On)

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986617/lgs-55+inch-optimus-pro-has-a-1080p-ips-screen-hands-on

PPI might not matter much, but LG's new Optimus Pro, which we've seen in Korean form, has a 1080p screen, and it's pretty damn gorgeous.

It has a 1.7GHz processor, 3,140mAh replaceable battery, and a 13MP rear camera. As for the display, it's wonderful, but isn't quite as bright as you'd like. I popped into settings to turn up the brightness, and was a little surprised when it was already at full blast. But it's really, really impressive. Sticking your nose right up against the glass (very sanitary with a phone a bunch of tech bloggers have been grubbing), you'd have trouble making out a single pixel. Text looks great, and video is beautiful.

Body-wise, it's what you expect from a Note-like megaphone. It's thin, but not incredibly thin. Holding it in one hand feels absurd, but only if you go in thinking of it as a phone. As a mini tablet, the jump to 5.5 inches of real estate actually makes the pixel perfect display a lot more impressive, considering we've sort of gotten used to compromising on displays for tweener-sized gadgets, like the Note and iPad Mini.

The Optimus G Pro is on Android 4.1.2—as are all the phones LG announced today—and it runs quite smoothly. LG's skin isn't the most intrusive of the major OEM carriers, and it doesn't seem to slow things down, but it does move some common settings around a bit in ways that can be confusing if you're not used to it. The camera on the G Pro is 13MP, but didn't seem overly quick after a few quick test shots. Very quick and unscientific test, but also sort of the way you'd use the camera in real life.

The Optimus G is getting some upgrades, like an update to Android 4.1.2, and a few new LG UX additions, but mainly it's being released worldwide.

LG also announced phones in a few new lines. There's the F series, which is intended to make LTE more accessible in mid-tier phones, and the L Series II, which is focused on style.

The F5 and F7 are 4.3- and 4.7-inch phones with mid-tier guts (dual core processors), but are actually really comfortable to hold. They have slightly harder lines than Samsung's Galaxy series, but retain most of the charm. They're good looking phones, and Jelly Bean runs pretty smoothly on them.

The L7 (above) is a 4.3-inch phone, and actually pretty divergent in its "style" push. It's not glossy, like most Korean phones, instead going for a textured back piece. It's got underpowered guts—a 1GHz dual core processor!—but does run decently loading up apps and games.

Prices and availability weren't made immediately available by LG, but we'll let you know when it is.

LG Has Acquired webOS From HP to Power Smart TVs

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986632/lg-has-acquired-webos-from-hp-to-power-smart-tvs

LG Has Acquired webOS From HP to Power Smart TVs LG has just announced that it has acquired the much-troubled webOS from HP. But instead of using it to power smartphones or tablets, it's planning to roll out smart TVs which will make use of the OS.

The deal will see LG take control of the source code for webOS, along with "related documentation, engineering talent, and related webOS websites." It also gets licenses from HP for use with its WebOS products, along with a slew of patents HP obtained from Palm. There's no word on how much the deal was worth.

The news lends weight to rumors which surfaced late last year, claiming that LG was working on a range of TVs which used webOS. Clearly, LG has had its eye on the software for some time.

It's the end of a rather sad period in the life of webOS, which has been terribly mis-managed by HP. In fact, insiders reported last year that webOS was doomed from the outset at HP because "there were neither the right leaders nor the right engineers to do the job." Hopefully LG can do a little better. [CNET]

LG Shows Off Wireless 4K Streaming, From Phone to TV

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986642/lg-shows-off-wireless-4k-streaming-from-phone-to-tv

LG Shows Off Wireless 4K Streaming, From Phone to TV LG has been showing off the first example of wireless Ultra HD steaming at MWC: it can take video from a phone, playing at 1080p, upscale it on the fly, and show it off at 4K on a TV.

The technology uses Wi-Fi and Miracast to mange that, essentially mirroring phone content on a big screen, be it video, games, or whatever. According to the Verge in the video below, the streaming is pretty smooth, with only extreme panning causing frame rates to drop. Still, it's early days for this kind of streaming—and this already looks pretty damn promising. [Verge]

Samsung hands out paper invitations to Galaxy S IV launch at MWC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/samsung-galaxy-s-iv-invite/

Didn't receive an emailed invitation to the Galaxy S IV event in Manhattan? You're not alone. It looks like Samsung is shaking things up a bit this time around, handing out paper invitations to the NYC shindig at its decked-out booth at Mobile World Congress. The note confirms the earlier news: March 14th is the big day, and unlike last year's kickoff, which was held in London to coincide with Olympics coverage, 2013's flagship will make its debut at 7PM ET at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. And we've got the golden ticket. We'll be liveblogging the event, of course, so mark the date!

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy SIV invite

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

General Dynamics locks down Android, demos ultra-secure LG Optimus 3D Max

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/general-dynamics-locks-down-android/

General Dynamics doesn't exactly make the sexiest gear in the world. But, it sure has this secure gadget thing on lockdown. The NSA contractor is moving to ensure that Android is as snoop proof as can be with its new GD Protected software. The heart of the system is a sandboxed virtual instance of Android that delivers the sort of security features demanded by governments and the military (and some particularly paranoid businesses). That isolated OS runs alongside a standard Android install that you can use for personal purposes, while keeping your sensitive data on the secure side -- not unlike BlackBerry Balance. There's two layers of encryption separating the virtual install from the standard one, along with hardware security provided by Fixmo. The company has worked with LG, the DoD and the USMC to build a customized version of the Optimus 3D Max to showcase how the software works. The device even has a dedicated button that lets you quickly and seamlessly switch between the personal and secure personas, indicated by green and red borders, respectively. If you're not really keen on equipping your foot soldiers with last year's mediocre LG handset (and have no need for super secure stereoscopic snapshots) then you'll probably be happy to hear that General Dynamics will be bringing GD Protected to the Galaxy S III as well. The platform has been integrated into Samsung's own security solution, dubbed KNOX, and will be available ! sometime in Q2 of this year. For a few more details, check out the video demo and PR after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Duracell Powermat adding mesh network, scaleable power to its wireless charging plates

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/duracell-powermat-mwc-features/

Duracell Powermat is announcing a pair of new features to encourage sales of its wireless charging gear. The first is "Mesh Network," a set of controls that let multiple hotspots be centrally monitored -- so if you're stealing all the juice in the Wall St. Starbucks, central office can cut you off. On the upside, those same network features will enable you to find another charging hotspot on your smartphone, including Madison Square Garden and Jay-Z's 40/40 club. The second feature is that the latest mats will be able to vary the power on offer between 5 and 50 watts, making them capable of recharging smartphones, tablets and (potentially) Ultrabooks. Now all we have to do is work out how to power all of our electronics without arousing the suspicions of Jay-Z -- we'd hate to add a 100th problem to his worry list.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Huawei Ascend G526 hands-on: a midrange 4.5-inch LTE handset

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/huawei-ascend-g526-hands-on/

The Ascend P2 is getting the bulk of the attention at Huawei's booth at MWC 2013, but the Chinese company has a history of hiding an unannounced phone or two in less-visited corners of the booth. This time around it's the Ascend G526 that blends into the background, hanging out with a few other LTE-enabled devices. The G526, which hasn't been assigned any pricing or timeframe for availability (we've reached out to Huawei for more information), features a 4.5-inch qHD IPS display, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor paired with 1GB of RAM. Additionally, it enjoys a 5MP rear camera and VGA front-facing cam, as well as a 1,950mAh battery and WiFi Direct support. There appears to be three variants of this device -- L11, L22 and L33 -- each one offering different frequencies for various carriers and markets. More details are forthcoming, but we'll update this post as we hear more.

The phone, which measures 133 x 67.5 x 9.9mm, is actually rather comfortable to hold in the hand. It's about par for the course when it comes to midrange handsets, with a slick plastic back that curves inward on each side so as to hug the edges. A 3.5mm jack can be seen up top while the power and volume buttons are on the right. Tragically, the micro-USB charging port is located on the upper left side of the phone, which is an incredibly awkward place when you're trying to use the device whilst it's chained to an outlet. We have a full gallery of images of the new device below.

Gallery: Huawei Ascend G526 hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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