Microsoft Executive: Every Executive in the PC Industry Should Use an Apple Notebook

Rahul Sood, former CTO of HP gaming PC business and now general manager at Microsoft Xbox division, today posted on FaceBook criticism targeting the PC industry. Sood basically says that there is not a single PC maker that can match design and appeal Apple products have. He wrote, “Every executive in the PC industry should use an Apple notebook. Apple doesn’t just design products they designed their business & process.”
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Apple Working on Lower Priced iPhone Says COO Tim Cook

In an interview with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple executives COO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and VP Eddy Cue talked about iPhone, iPad and market expansion. Cook was very happy with the iPhone growth and the halo effect it brings for other Apple products calling iPhone “the mother of all halos”. The most interesting part of the interview was Cook confirming Apple’s plans for a lower priced iPhone. The analyst wrote:
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Apple Should Stop Calling 13-inch Model MacBook Pro

When Apple introduced the aluminum Unibody design in October 2008 they simply called the 13-inch model MacBook, whereas the 15- and 17-inch models were called MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro had discrete graphics and faster processors, while the 13-inch MacBook came with GeForce 9400M GPU that shared memory with the main system. However, in 2009 Apple decided that all aluminum Unibody laptops would be branded as MacBook Pro, even though the 13-inch model didn’t come with Pro features like discrete graphics.
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Intel Officially Announces Superfast 10Gbps Thunderbolt I/O Technology

Intel today announced the availability of Thunderbolt technology, a new high-speed PC connection technology that brings together high-speed data transfer and high-definition (HD) display on to a single cable. Running at 10Gbps, Thunderbolt technology can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds. This Intel-developed technology is coming to market through a technical collaboration with Apple, and is available first on Apple’s new line of MacBook Pro laptops launch today.
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Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Next Generation Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology

Apple today updated the MacBook Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.
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Sony Updates Thin and Light VAIO S Series

Sony today updated their thin and light 13-inch VAIO S series laptop with 2nd generation Intel Core processors. The laptops have a new ‘full flat’ design crafted in magnesium with a wide aluminum palm rest. It is now just 24mm (0.94-inch) thin and weighs 1.75 kg (3.85 pounds).
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More MacBook Pro Rumors

Yesterday, we reported few details about upcoming MacBook Pro models - including complete new design (externally and internally), SSD adoption and 50% jump in performance. And, today French site MacGeneration claims that they have specifications of the new MacBook Pros. MacRumors posted the translated spec sheet that goes as follows:
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MacBook Pro Update Featuring Sandy Bridge Processor, SSD and New Case Design Coming Within a Week

Rumors that Apple will be updating MacBook Pro lineup very soon are getting strong (actually it’s almost certain). Also reports that Best Buy has added new Apple notebook SKUs to their laptop discovery tool, and Apple’s online store shows 3-5 days wait time for new MacBook Pro orders are adding more fuel to the fire.
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Apple Plans to Introduce New High-Speed Connection Technology Soon

Apple has been working with Intel on the new Light Peak technology, which would bring 10Gbps data transfer speeds in both directions simultaneously. Intel hasn’t announced a release date for products based on the new technology, but it looks like Apple plans to use Light Peak technology soon in their upcoming products.
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NVIDIA Tegra Roadmap Reveals Kal-EL Quad-Core ARM Processor with Core 2 Duo Like Performance

NVIDIA revealed their Tegra processor roadmap with processors codenames based on comic book superheroes. NVIDIA will follow Tegra 2 with quad-core processor codenamed Kal-El (Superman) later this year, after that in 2012 they will launch processor codenamed Wayne (Batman) followed by processor Logan (Wolverine) in 2013 and processor Stark (Ironman) in 2014. NVIDIA says by 2014 the processor Stark will offer 75x performance when compared to Tegra processors.
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iPad 2 Leather Case Shows Upcoming New Features and Design Changes on the New Model

MIC Gadget claims to have gotten an iPad 2 leather case from a “secret Asian Case supplier” that was made for, tried and tested on an actual iPad 2 (not a prototype or mockup). The case design clearly shows hole for the new camera on back and big space for bigger speaker grill at the bottom. The case is also smaller and the original iPad wasn’t able to fit in it, giving weight to the rumors that the new iPad will not only be thinner, but also smaller in length and width with a slightly narrower bezel. The case is designed to fit iPad model with tapered sides and flat back.
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BGR Claims Verizon iPhone Sales are Disappointing, But Simple Calculation Shows They are Actually Excellent Numbers

BGR today posted unit sales totals from five Apple Store combined showing both Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 sales since launch of Verizon iPhone last Thursday. BGR also posted that they have heard online pre-orders for Verizon iPhone were around 550,000. The numbers during the Verizon iPhone’s first five days of availability are:

• Thursday: Verizon = 909, AT&T = 539
• Friday: Verizon = 916, AT&T = 680
• Saturday: Verizon = 660, AT&T = 471
• Sunday: Verizon = 796, AT&T = 701
• Monday: Verizon = 711, AT&T = 618

Now lets do some calculations based on the above numbers. On average, five Apple stores are selling 798 Verizon iPhones per day, that’s 160 Verizon iPhones per day per store. Apple has 236 stores in US, so Apple alone is selling 37,760 Verizon iPhone per day. This doesn’t include Apple online sales and iPhone sold at Verizon stores.

Around 550,000 Verizon iPhones were pre-ordered, and if we consider just the Apple store sales and the pre-orders, Apple would sell one million Verizon iPhones in 11 days. That’s 6 times faster than Motorola Droid sales on Verizon, which took over 2 months to reach one million mark after launch. And remember we are not including Verizon iPhone sales through thouands of Verizon stores, Best Buy stores, Walmart and Online Stores.

If the Verizon iPhone sales continue at the same pace, Apple Store alone would have sold around 1.8 million Verizon iPhones by end of this quarter (in just 48 days). And that’s an impressive number anyway you look at it.

Microsoft Shows New Windows Phone 7 Features at MWC 2011

At Mobile World Congress opening keynote, Microsoft showed what the rest of the year will bring for Windows Phone 7. And also defended Microsoft and Nokia’s partnership announced few days back. Microsoft announced that the following new features would be coming to Windows Phone 7 in 2011:
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Deutsche Telekom Slides Hint at iPhone 5 with NFC

Today at Mobile World Congress press conference, Deutsche Telekom announced it plans to deploy Near Field Communications (NFC) payment system for mobile devices in multiple markets. Though Deutsche executives didn’t mentioned Apple name during the press conference, but one of the slide with names of all the partners for the NFC deployment included Apple’s name also along with many other handset markers.
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HTC’s First Tablet “Flyer” Announced

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC announced its first tablet – the HTC Flyer featuring a 7-inch (1024 x 600) touchscreen. Even though Flyer is a tablet it will ship will Android 2.4 Gingerbread and not Android 3.0, which is specifically designed for tablets. However, HTC says that the Flyer will come with an all-new HTC Sense user experience that has been reimagined for the tablets.
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iPhone 5 Rumors: Three Prototypes, A5 Processor and 4-inch screen

Taiwanese website Apple.pro started the day with news that Apple is testing three different iPhone 5 prototypes. Out of the three prototypes, one even has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The other two are just hardware improvements over current model with faster processor, more battery life and an 8-megapixel camera. The website says anyone of the three models can come to the market.
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Sony Xperia Play Now Officially Official

Sony Ericsson today announced the Xperia Play that features slide-out game Pad for immersive gaming experience. According to Sony, Xperia Play delivers the smartphone functionality that the most serious power users could need, teamed with the immersive gaming experience that any gamer would want.
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Smaller and Cheaper iPhone will be a Boon for Apple in Asia

Many websites including Bloomberg and WSJ are reporting rumors about Apple’s plan to announce a smaller and cheaper iPhone model. WSJ wrote the following about the new phone:
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Nokia and Microsoft Partner-up to Fight iPhone and Android

Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Under the proposed partnership:
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Apple to Release Two iPad Models This Year

John Gruber of Darin Fireball believes that Apple will release two iPad models this year, one in April and one in September. He thinks that April is not a particularly good month for an annual iPad release. So, Apple will move the iPad to a September release schedule alongside the iPods. John clearly mentions that he is just guessing based on information he has heard. His guess about Apple’s iPad plans for 2011 is:
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HP Unveils TouchPad Tablet, Pre3 and Veer Smartphones

At their webOS event, HP today introduced three new devices including TouchPad tablet, Pre3 smartphone and Veer smartphone. HP TouchPad is the long rumored tablet based on webOS. The TouchPad has following features:
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Nikon Coolpix P300 with 12-Megapixel Back-Illuminated CMOS Sensor

Nikon announced the new COOLPIX P300, Nikon’s first compact digital camera to feature a super-fast Wide-Angle 4.2x Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens (24mm-100mm, 35mm equivalent) with a maximum aperture F/1.8 for capturing stunning, tack-sharp images and Full HD (1080p) video in a variety of lighting conditions.
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Fujifilm FinePix X100 Semi-Pro Camera Ships in March Priced $1,199

Fujifilm today announced the U.S. debut of its FinePix X100 premium digital camera which will begin shipping in March. According to Fujifilm the camera was developed to appeal to professional and advanced amateur photographers with highest quality images through a high-performance, beautifully crafted compact digital camera. FinePix X100 combines modern technology with a traditional camera design to deliver the ultimate in image quality.
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TI OMAP 5 Chipset Brings ARM Cortex A15 MPCore Processor

Texas Instruments (TI) announced today the next generation of its popular OMAP family: the OMAP 5 mobile applications platform based on ARM Cortex A15 MPCore. According to TI, the 28 nanometer OMAP 5 processor offers up to 3x processing performance and five-fold 3D graphics improvement, consuming nearly 60% less power than OMAP 4 platform.
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Canon Introduces Two New Entry-Level DSLRs Rebel T3i and T3

Canon today announced the new EOS Rebel T3i and EOS Rebel T3 DSLR cameras. Complementing Rebel T2i DSLR, The new Rebel T3i, Canon’s new flagship Rebel, offers fun and easy-to-use features for beginning photographers, and the EOS Rebel T3 provides a more attractively priced option for those looking to experience the pleasure of shooting with a DSLR.
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Review Roundup: Apple iPhone 4 (Verizon)

Verizon iPhone has been the most rumored gadget ever. Since the original iPhone was released in 2007 on AT&T, rumors about a CDMA model for Verizon have been going around. And if pre-orders are any indication it’s also the most wanted smartphone on Verizon right now. Hardware-wise the Verizon iPhone 4 is similar to the original iPhone 4 released in summer of 2010, except for CDMA antenna replacing the GSM antenna. Verizon iPhone 4 will come in 16GB model priced $199 and 32GB model priced $299 with a two-year contract starting on February 10th.
Below we have added links to 10 best Verizon iPhone 4 reviews available online:
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More iPad 2 Rumors

With iPad 2 launch closing in more and more iPad rumors are circulating around the blogosphere. Japanese blog Macotakara posted today that Apple is planning a special event at end of this month for iPad 2 launch. The next gen iPad will be announced in February end, but will ship in March because of Chinese New Year holidays till February 17, which would affect production of the new iPad. Macotakara also posted an image of iPad front glass that Apple will use on iPad 2.
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Verizon iPhone 4 Pre-Orders End in Less Than 18 Hours with Record Sales

Verizon started taking pre-orders of iPhone 4 at 3 AM on Feb 3rd and stopped taking orders at 8:10 PM on the same day, after seeing the most successful first day sales in the history of the company. Verizon sold off the initial pre-order stock of iPhone 4 in less than 18 hours and the iPhone was only available to current Verizon customers. The general market launch of the iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network will occur on Feb. 10, when the phone will be available to non-Verizon customers also.
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iPad 2 Announcement Next Week and Display Specs/Images Leaked

MacNotes is reporting that they have heard from one manufacturer of iPad accessories “Apple is planning on holding an event next week.” The website further adds that at this event, which will be for iOS 4.3 launch Apple will announce the iPad 2 as a “One more thing”. The specifications of iPad 2 provided by MacNotes are same as other rumors with A5 processor, iPod touch like design and an additional mini DisplayPort for direct video output.
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Google Officially Introduces Android 3.0 and Updates Android Market with In-App Billing

At yesterday’s Android event, Google made Android 3.0 of public and introduced some new features for Android Market. As we all know by now, Android 3.0 OS codenamed Honeycomb is focused on tablets and will bring feature like better scaling of Apps, higher resolution screen support and applications aimed specifically at tablet computing. Google demoed the new OS and some of its features at the event and you can check it out in the video below.
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News Corp. Introduces The Daily for iPad

Today Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation, unveiled The Daily -- the industry's first national daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.
"New times demand new journalism," said Mr. Murdoch. "So we built The Daily completely from scratch -- on the most innovative device to come about in my time -- the iPad."
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Flash vs. H.264: Flash Playback Decreases Battery Life by 26 Percent

With MacBook Air launch in October 2010, Apple stopped adding Flash as default to Mac OS X. User can still download, install and run Flash, but they have to get it from Adobe’s website. When questioned about this omission Apple simply said they want users to have the latest Flash update and it’s easier to get it directly from Adobe. However, Ars Technica found out in their MacBook Air review that Apple might have more reasons to keep Flash out.
This gave us an idea why not compare power usage for running Flash and HTML5 on a MacBook Air. As displaying Flash or HTML5 ads continuously for testing can be a problem we decided to run the test using video. We used the same Apple MacBook Air October event video, which is available in Flash on YouTube and in HTML5 (H.264 streaming) on Apple’s website to run the battery life tests.
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Analyst: iPad to Get 1.2GHz Dual-core Cortex A9 Chip

It like a fact now next generation iPad will get dual-core processor, and according to Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities that ARM Cortex-A9 processor will run at 1.2GHz. Ming believes the new processor will bring performance on par with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon and NVIDIA’s upcoming Tegra 2 3D chips.
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5 Best Smartphones

Though smartphones have been on the market for almost a decade, but the actually smartphone race started in 2007 when Apple introduced the iconic iPhone. Since 2007 number of smartphone models available on market and smartphone adoption rate has gone up by 10 times. There are hundreds of smartphones available on the market, but the list below includes cream of the crop – The 5 best smartphone available today:
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MacBook Pro and iMac Updates Imminent

Supplies of current MacBook Pro models are running low in Apple stores and third party retailers. Several sources have told MacRumors that MacBook Pro models specially 15-inch and 17-inch have a long wait time and one major retail chain has notified its branches that it won’t be able to fulfill replenishment orders for current MacBook Pro lineup. Also Amazon is showing 1-2 months wait time for 17-inch MacBook Pro model. The limited supply is a clear indication Apple is preparing to update the MacBook Pro models.
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Google Releases Android 3.0 Platform Preview

Google today released preview of the Android 3.0 SDK, with non-final APIs and system image, to allow developers to start testing their applications on tablets. Android 3.0 has new “holographics” UI theme and an interaction model that builds on multitasking, notifications, widgets and other Android features. Here are some of the Android 3.0 highlights:
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5 Best Interchangeable Lens Cameras for Prosumers

With advancements in sensor technology and decrease in camera prices many good interchangeable lens cameras are now available below $1,000. Here’s the list of 5 best cameras for prosumers priced below $1,000 that offer almost perfect combination of performance, price and size. As always the list below is not ranked and is a reflection of what we think are the best cameras available on the market for prosumers.
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Apple Lines up Component Suppliers for iPhone 5 Summer Launch

According to reports from Asia, Apple has started signing contracts with component suppliers for iPhone 5. Apple will be adding new component suppliers like Foxconn Electronics, Foxlink, Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE), Epistar and Qualcomm to meet the ever-increasing iPhone demand. Digitimes says that Apple will use these component suppliers for iPhone 5, which will be launched this summer.
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More iPad 2 News and New Features in Upcoming iOS

There is a raging war going on the blogosphere about the iPad 2 screen resolution. Some believe that next generation iPad will come with ultra-high resolution (2048 x 1535) screen, while others believe that iPad 2 will have the same screen resolution as the current model. Even though these people might not agree on iPad 2 screen resolution rumors they have started agreeing on some of the features iPad to will have.
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Apple Working on iPad 2, iPhone 5 and Apple TV Update Featuring New A5 Processor

Now that Verizon iPhone is out of the way, rumors about next generation iOS products have started flooding. Over the weekend many blogs posted rumors about upcoming iPad 2, iPhone 5 and Apple TV updates. Engadget started the rumor cycle with news about all three products. And then various blogs followed with information about upcoming iOS devices. So here is the sum of what various blogs reported about upcoming iOS devices over the weekend.
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Leaked Images Show HP’s Upcoming webOS Tablets

Engadget has posted images of upcoming HP tablets based on webOS. According to a trusted Engadget tipster HP will have two webOS based tablets codenamed Topaz and Opal. Topaz will have 9-inch screen, whereas Opal will have 7-inch screen and focus on e-reading. Engadget posted:
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Verizon Announces iPhone 4

Verizon’s Lowell Macadam along with Apple’s Tim Cook today announced the first iPhone for Verizon. Tim Cook said at Verizon iPhone launch “I am incredibly happy to be with you all today. We've been looking forward to today for a long time. Since 2007 the iPhone has been a phenomenal success.”
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Verizon Media Event on January 11th – Is iPhone on the Horizon?

Verizon today sent out invitations for a media event on Tuesday, January 11 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. Just yesterday, Verizon’s CEO presented a keynote address at CES 2011, where they announced their LTE plans and 10 new devices.
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February 3rd Launch Date Set for Verizon iPhone and Design Drawings

Even though Apple is not present at CES, the two most talked about gadgets at CES are iPhone and iPad. And with recent photo leaks and rumored Verizon iPhone announcement coming very soon it looks like Apple will again steal the show at CES.
The Verizon iPhone rumors again started in full-force just few days before CES when a YouTube video showing the redesigned iPhone 4 antenna bezel was posted.
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Windows to Run on ARM Processors

Microsoft Corp. today announced at 2011 International CES that the next version of Windows will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures, including ARM-based systems from partners NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.
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5 Best Point and Shoot Cameras

The convenience offered by small point-and-shoot cameras is unmatched by DSLRs. And, now with advancements in sensor technologies, image quality offered by some point and shoot cameras is also coming close to entry-level DSLRs. Below is the list of 5 best point-and-shoot cameras that offer almost perfect combination of image quality and features:
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5 Best Laptops Under $1,000

In our last list we talked about five best laptops available today priced over $1,000 and today we will be talking about five best laptops priced under $1,000. Most of the laptops on the list are close to $1,000 and only one laptop is price below $800. As always we are not ranking the laptops because these laptops are from different categories offering different set of functionalities. So, the 5 best laptops available today priced under $1,000 are:
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Apple’s Mac App Store to Open on January 6

Apple today announced that the Mac App Store will open for business on Thursday, January 6. By bringing the revolutionary App Store experience to Mac OS X, the Mac App Store makes discovering, installing and updating Mac apps easier than ever. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch and will feature paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.
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5 Best Laptops Priced Over $1,000

If you want one of the best laptops available today you would be easily paying over $1,000. And for that price you will be getting latest in design and technology. Below we have compiled list of 5 best laptops available today priced over $1,000. The list below is not ranked as most laptops are not from the same category, and the price range goes from $1,000 to over $3,000. So, the 5 best laptops over $1,000 are:
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iPad 2 Rumor Roundup

In past few weeks rumor mill has been very active with iPad 2 news. Many major news outlets including WSJ, NY Times, Reuters and CNN have published rumors related to the upcoming iPad. The rumors range from just addition of front facing camera, to completely new smaller 7-inch iPad model, which will be release in first quarter of 2011. Below are some of those rumors about iPad 2 which might come true early next year.
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