Techztalk

September 28, 2011

Amazon Introduces Kindle Fire Tablet Priced $199

Today’s major Amazon announcement was their new tablet called Kindle Fire that Amazon says is the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books magazine, apps, game and web browsing. The Kindle fire is designed to bring Amazon’s selection of digital content at your fingertips.

All iPhone 5 Case Leaks Came from One Missing Prototype

Chinese website M.I.C Gadget claims that all the iPhone 5 cases leaked till now are based on an iPhone 5 prototype that went missing from Foxconn factory. Chris Chang posted on M.I.C Gadget:

Everyone is waiting for tomorrow’s Amazon press event, where it is believed that Amazon will announce their first tablet, which according to many analyst will be the first true iPad competitor (Yes, I know same claims have been made for every tablet launched since iPad in 2010). The reason behind this optimism is the rumor that Amazon will sell their tablet for much less than iPad’s price ($499), even though the Amazon tablet will be a comparable product.

Few More Details About Upcoming iPhone Revealed

9to5mac has posted an article titled “It’s time to show our cards” about upcoming iPhone launch. Most of the hardware information that they posted is the same old news dual-core A5 processor, 8-megpaixel camera and Qualcomm Gobi chip. However, it’s the information about the upcoming software features that is very interesting. Mark Gurman wrote on 9to5mac:

Analysts are fighting over what iPhone model Apple will release, whether it will be iPhone 5 with new design, iPhone 4S with no design change or both. Today two analysts released their research notes for upcoming iPhone event and both had differing views about the upcoming event.

There is no information whether iPhone 5 is coming or iPhone 4S is coming but that isn’t stopping the case makers to design cases for next generation iPhone. The latest iPhone 5 case images leak comes from SlashGear, they received a tip about an online merchant site that is selling no one but three cases designed for iPhone 5. SlashGear posted:

iPhone October Event to be Held on Apple Campus

Few days back All Things D reported that Apple iPhone event will be held on October 4th. Today they are reporting that the event will take place on Apple’s campus in Cupertino and not in San Francisco, as Apple has done for past iPhone launches. John Paczkowaski posted on All Things D:

This is My Next has posted information about two major Motorola handsets coming later this year. The first and the most interesting handset is Motorola Spyder or Droid RAZR, a LTE handset that will come to Verizon. It is the first Android phone to feature 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) Super AMOLED screen, which is “wrapped in Gorilla Glass and a Kevlar casing with a splash-guard coating”, according to Nilay Patel on This is My Next. Other features of the new Droid RAZR will be dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8-megapixel camera, 1080p video recording and HD front facing camera.

Otterbox: iPhone 4S Case Packaging Images were Real, But weren’t Really Real

Few days back images showing the packaging for iPhone 4S case from Otterbox were leaked. And many blogs started saying that this confirms upcoming iPhone 4S launch. However, Kelly Richardson of Otterbox told TUAW that they have no idea what’s coming from Apple, even though they are running a “iPhone 4S or iPhone 5? Yes.” banner on their website.

“Stampede” The First Supercomputer Using Intel’s MIC Architecture

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin today announced that they are building a new supercomputer, called Stampeded, in partnership with Dell and Intel. When Stampede is deployed in 2013, it will be the most powerful system in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) eXtreme Digital (XD) program.

Digitimes is reporting that a bubble defect in touch panels supplied by Wintek for upcoming iPhone 5 might constrain initial iPhone 5 supply at launch in October. Yenting Chen posted on Digitimes:

Nikon Launches Nikon 1 Brand with J1 and V1 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras

Nikon has introduced their new Nikon 1 camera brand that will join existing Nikon D-series digital SLR cameras and the CoolPix brand of compact digital cameras. Nikon says “The name for this new system, Nikon 1, came from the idea of developing a completely new camera system that would be a leader in the digital age by starting from nothing, or "0", and giving birth to "1".” Though Nikon claims that Nikon 1 started from nothing and is a completely new camera system, the fact is mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras from Sony, Olympus and Panasonic forced Nikon to give birth to their new “1” brand.

NVIDIA has released two whitepapers titled “The Benefits of Quad Core CPUs in Mobile Devices” and “Variable SMP – A Multi-Core CPU Architecture for Low Power and High Performance”. In the first whitepaper NVIDIA talks about the same old benefits of quad-core processor and how quad-core Kal-El uses less power than dual-core processors while doubling performance across the board, as you can see in the video below. However, it’s the second whitepaper where NVIDIA reveals interesting new details about Kal-El architecture, which now has a fifth “companion core”.

Nikon Teaser Page Hints at Upcoming Nikon J1 and V1 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras

Nikon has posted a teaser page with a ticker giving strong clue of the upcoming mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras from the company. The teaser page says “I AM COMING” with the ticker showing about 40 hours left, indicating that the new cameras will be announced on Wednesday morning.

Image of iPhone 5 Mainboard Leaked and J.P. Morgan Analyst Claims Two iPhones Coming

Chinese website Weibo has posted an image showing a mainboard with A5 processor on it. The website claims that the mainboard is for the next generation iPhone 5 and it does looks very different from iPhone 4 and iPad 2 mainboards. The image shows a 1430mAh battery, up slightly from 1420mAh on iPhone 4 and a wider mainboard than the one on iPhone 4, which would need a wider iPhone design, as has been rumored about next generation iPhone 5.

8 Great Windows 8 Previews

Just few days back, Microsoft showcased next major release of Windows, the new Windows 8 at BUILD conference. Microsoft also posted Windows 8 Developer Preview on Windows Dev Center for developers to download and test. Below we are adding links to eight best Windows 8 previews posted online. Each of the eight previews look at slightly different aspect of Windows 8, while covering most of the main new features. We are also adding a hands-on preview video posted by HotHardware below.

Apple iPhone Press Event on October 5th for Announcement of Two New Models

All the recent rumors are hinting at an October iPhone 5 launch and now Pocket Gamer is reporting that Apple is gearing up for an October first week iPhone 5 announcement. Jon Jordan wrote, “Our inside source says there will be a press conference announcing the new hardware on October 5th, with retail release occurring a week later.” Read More

September 15, 2011

Canon Announces PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS Featuring Digic 5 Image Processor

Canon today announced successor to its highly successful S95 compact camera, the new PowerShot S100, as well as a new superzoom camera PowerShot SX40 HS. Both the cameras are designed to offer superb low light performance and increased overall speed with new Digic 5 processor, HS System, High-speed Burst HQ and Intelligent IS. The new Digic 5 image processor improves the noise reduction and advanced Multi-area White Balance optimizing color tones of both subject and background under multiple light sources.
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iPhone News: Screen Protectors with Elongated Home Button, Broadcom Rush Order to Meet Demand from Apple and TD-LTE Support

MacRumors has posted images of a screen protector that is designed for the rumored iPhone 5. The first image shows an elongated home button, and a wider hole for speaker and front facing camera on top. The second image shows that the screen protector is bigger than current iPhone 4, especially its wider indicating a bigger screen. Read More

Also, Case Mate has Posted iPhone 5 Cases Showing Complete Redesign.

September 14, 2011

Intel Executive Shows Working Haswell Prototype and Reveals More Details About Ivy Bridge

At Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2011 in San Francisco, Ultrabook are all the rage, and every Intel executive is talking about these thin and light laptop designs inspired by Apple’s MacBook Air lineup. Mooly Eden, Vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel, said in his keynote today that personal computing experience is undergoing another fundamental transformation with Ultrabook devices based on 2nd generation Intel Core processors. And this transformation will gain further momentum with introduction of next generation Ivy Bridge processors in 2012 and Haswell processors in 2013.
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Intel CEO Talks Ivy Bridge and Haswell Processor Platforms at IDF

Intel CEO today gave the keynote speech at IDF 2011 (Intel Developer Forum) in San Francisco. He talked about upcoming Ivy Bridge processors that will ship by end of Q4 2011 and Haswell processors, which will be released in 2013.
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September 13, 2011

Microsoft Previews Windows 8 at BUILD Conference, Releases Developer Preview

Microsoft today showcased the next major release of Windows, code-named “Windows 8” at BUILD conference. The company also detailed new tools for developers to write applications of Windows 8.

“We reimagined Windows,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, in his keynote address to the thousands of developers in attendance. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.”

Microsoft highlighted and described the following features on Windows 8:
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September 12, 2011

Review Roundup: Motorola Droid Bionic

One of the most awaited Android handset of 2011, Motorola Droid Bionic was launched by Verizon last week. The Bionic is the first dual core 4G LTE handset on Verizon featuring 4.3-inch (960 x 540) screen, dual Core 1GHz OMAP4430 processor, 8-megapixel camera, 16GB onboard storage with 16GB microSD card preloaded, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. The handset is available on Verizon priced $299 with two-year contract.
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September 11, 2011

Boot Up Time on Windows 8 Computers with SSD Under 10 Seconds

One of the main new features of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system will be its 30-70% faster boot up time. Microsoft says, “Few operations in Windows are as scrutinized, measured, and picked apart as boot. This is understandable—boot times represent an effective proxy for overall system performance.” To improve boot up time Microsoft devised a completely new solution called Fast Startup Mode, which combines traditional cold boot and resume from hibernate.
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September 9, 2011

TSMC to Start Mass Production of 28nm (A6) Chips in Early 2012, Hinting at iPad 3 Launch in Q1 2012

Apart from the ongoing lawsuit problems between Samsung and Apple, one of the main reasons behind Apple’s switch to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) was their 28nm process technology for manufacturing ARM based chips. Till now Samsung has manufactured Apple’s A4 and A5 chips, but as anyone who has seen both the chip would know that A5 chip is almost double the size of A4 chip. The size difference is because both the chips are made with 40nm process technology, even though the A5 chip has dual core Cortex A9 processor and dual core PowerVR graphics engine, in place of single core process and graphics engine on A4 chip.
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September 8, 2011

More Hints Pointing to Imminent iPhone 5 October Launch

Few days back, we posted that more and more evidence is pointing to October iPhone 5 launch and today we have more information pointing to an iPhone 5 announcement coming soon with shipping date in October. The first piece of information comes from EXIF data of an image (above) posted by an Apple engineer online. Pocketnow got their hands on the image and posted:
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IBM and 3M Developing 3D Semiconductors with New Types of Adhesives

IBM and 3M today announced that the two companies plan to jointly develop the first adhesives that can be used to package semiconductors into densely stacked silicon "towers." The companies are aiming to create a new class of materials, which will make it possible to build, for the first time, commercial microprocessors composed of layers of up to 100 separate chips.
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September 7, 2011

Carriers Start Testing New iOS 5 Features, And Apple to Use New Thinner, Lighter Battery in iPad 3

Apple’s carrier partners have started internal testing and training of iOS 5 in preparation for launch of the new Apple mobile OS along with next generation iPhone 5. 9to5mac is reporting that the training is similar to what occurred soon before last year’s iOS 4 launch alongside the iPhone 4, and uses materials developed with Apple’s help including videos and documents describing the new features of the OS.
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September 6, 2011

Recent Rumors Point to an October Launch and Complete Redesign for iPhone 5

Till mid-August our sources were still saying that Apple was planning to launch iPhone 5 before start of fall (early or mid September). However, now it looks like they were wrong even if by just few days, more and more evidence is piling up for an October iPhone 5 launch. Also evidence that iPhone 5 will see a complete redesign is becoming very strong.
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September 3, 2011

Amazon’s Tablet will have Smaller and Cheaper Display, Less Storage to Keep the Price Down

Last week, New York Post reported that Amazon’s tablet “will sell for hundreds less than the entry-point $499 iPad”. As soon as this rumor spread every journalist / blogger started speculating that Amazon will sell a tablet that will match iPad hardware-wise, but Amazon will subsidize the cost in hope of recovering it later via digital media purchases.
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September 2, 2011

Samsung Announces NX200, WB750 and MV800 Cameras

Samsung has announced three new cameras including interchangeable lens NX200, superzoom WB750 and point-and-shoot MV800. The NX200 is an update if NX100 and features 20.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 3-inch AMOLED screen, 7fps continuous shooting mode, 100ms Advanced Autofocus, ISO range of 100-12,800 and 1080p video recording. The camera support i-Function 2.0 lenses, which allow control of smart filters and more from the lens in Lens Priority mode. The NX200 will ship in October at an undisclosed price.
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Fujifilm Announces X10 Compact Camera Featuring 2/3” EXR CMOS Sensor

Fujifilm today announced all new premium compact FUJIFILM X10 digital camera, featuring a new larger 2/3" 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor and a bright, high-definition FUJINON F2.0 wide-angle to F2.8 telephoto, 4x manual zoom lens (28-112mm) with a proprietary Super EBC (Electron Beam Coating) that produces superb image quality from edge to edge.
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September 1, 2011

Sony Unveils 15-inch Vaio S Series Laptop

Sony is bringing their slim and light S Series design to a new 15.5-inch model featuring full HD 1080p display and optional sheet battery for all day mobility (up to 12 hours). The 1-inch thin laptop sports an elegant design in jet black or platinum silver and is crafted with magnesium and aluminum materials for lightness and weighs just 4.4 pounds. Making it one of the lightest 15-inch laptop on the market.
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Samsung Introduces Series 7 Slate PC

Samsung today introduced the Series 7 Slate PC, a lightweight slate computer with full PC capabilities running Windows 7. According to Samsung, Series 7 Slate PC offers all of the features of a full-sized laptop in an extremely portable package, providing highly mobile users with the computing power they need for maximum productivity anywhere they go.
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August 30, 2011

Leaked Front LCD Assembly of iPhone N94 Prototype Creates More Confusion

There is already lot of confusion about Apple next generation iPhone. What it will be called iPhone 4S or iPhone 5? Will there be two separate new models or just one new model? Will it have bigger screen, A5 processor and so on? And today Engadget posted pics of iPhone N94 prototype front assembly, which has added more confusion. The part looks every similar to iPhone 4 front assembly with just one difference it has a dotted pattern near top that looks like webcam LED on Mac computer. It is very likely that N94 prototype is the cheaper 8GB iPhone 4 and hence the components are very similar. Engadget explains:
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August 29, 2011

Nikon Updates the CoolPix Compact Camera Lineup

Nikon has added six new cameras to CoolPix compact camera lineup including P7100, S8200, S6200, S100, S1200pj and AW100. All the six cameras will ship in September in preparation for coming holiday season.
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August 28, 2011

Samsung Brings LTE Support to Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab 8.9

Samsung today officially announced the much rumored LTE versions of its Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet. Both the devices will now work with LTE / WCDMA / GSM networks around the world.
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August 26, 2011

Rumors: Amazon Tablets to Sell for Hundreds Less Than iPad

New York Post, a newspaper known more for gossips than tech news is reporting that Amazon will enter the tablet market in October with a lower priced tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad. Garett Sloane wrote:
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August 24, 2011

Sony Adds Two New DSLRs SLT-A77 and SLT-A65 to Alpha Series Lineup

Sony today announced two new DSLRs SLT-A77 and SLT-A65 featuring newly developed 24.3-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, as well as the world’s first XGA OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder. Sony’s latest refinements to its Translucent Mirror Technology and next generation of Sony’s BIONZ image processing engine make these cameras the fastest and most responsive interchangeable lens cameras in their class, according to Sony.
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Sony Introduces The Much Awaited NEX-7 and NEX-5N APS-C Mirrorless Compact Cameras

Sony today added two new cameras to their Alpha NEX series, the much rumored/awaited NEX-7 aimed at enthusiast photographers and the sleek NEX-5N mid-range mirrorless compact camera. The NEX-7 features new 24.3-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that in combination with new BIONZ image processing engine gives flawless images and HD video, even in low light conditions. The camera has ultra-high sensitivity range of ISO 100-16000 and very low noise.
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Android Becomes Most Popular Mobile Malware Target

Computer security firm McAfee has released their “McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011”. The report talks in detail about security challenges like hactivist groups, continuous growth of computer malware and Android’s rise to malware supremacy. According to the report:
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August 23, 2011

WSJ: iPhone 5 Coming to Sprint in October

Earlier today we reported that the iPhone 5 would have dual-mode chipset supporting both the GSM and CDMA networks with a single model. And now The Wall Street Journal is reporting that iPhone 5 will be launched simultaneously on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. WSJ posted:
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Cheaper iPhone 4 and Dual-Mode CDMA/GSM iPhone 5 Coming in September

Reuters is reporting that Apple has started manufacturing of a lower priced iPhone 4 version that has 8GB of flash memory. Also Apple is sourcing the 8GB flash memory from a Korean company in place of Samsung or Toshiba to bring the cost further down. According to Reuters, cheaper iPhone 4 will be released along side the new iPhone 5 by end of September.
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August 22, 2011

More iPhone 5 Parts Leaked and iOS 5 Reveals LTE support

Just last week images showing the new iPhone 5 headphone jack and flex cable for the jack were leaked. And now more images of various iPhone 5 parts including battery pack, back camera assembly and flex cable have been leaked. MacRumors has posted images comparing the leaked iPhone 5 parts with iPhone 4 parts and the images show that they are definitely different.
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August 19, 2011

AT&T VP Almost Confirms Early October iPhone 5 Launch

BGR is reporting that they have heard from a very reliable source that AT&T is preparing for an October iPhone 5 launch. AT&T’s vice president has asked many store managers to be prepared for this busy launch. Jonathan Geller posted on BGR:
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WSJ: iPad 3 Coming in Early 2012 with 2048 x 1536 Resolution Screen

Lorraine Luk today reported for WSJ that Apple is planning to start trial production of next generation iPad 3 in October. One of the main features of the new iPad will be its ultra high-resolution screen (2048 x 1536) and Apple’s component suppliers have already started shipping small quantities for sample testing of the new screen technology. WSJ posted:
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August 17, 2011

iPhone 5 Parts Leaked and Carriers Preparing for September Announcement and October Shipment

Images showing the new black and white headphone jacks and camera lens assembly for iPhone 5 have been leaked. Apple has always used different color headphone jacks to maintain color consistency for white and black iPhone models. And the leak of both the white and black headphone jacks at the same time would hint at simultaneous launch for both iPhone 5 models. Similar parts leak happened before iPhone 4 was launched, but the parts were of only black color at that time, and as we all know white iPhone 4 was delayed by almost 9 months.
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August 16, 2011

Review Roundup: Apple Mac mini (Mid 2011)

Apple updated the Mac mini with second generation Core i5/i7 processors, AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete graphics, Thunderbolt port and Mac OS X Lion in July. According to Apple, the new Mac mini delivers up to twice the processor and graphics performance of the previous generation model. The 2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Mac mini with 2GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 300 and a 500GB hard drive is priced $599 and the 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Mac mini with 4GB of memory, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics and a 500GB hard drive is priced $799. Options include 2.7GHz dual-core Core i7 processor, up to 8GB RAM, 750GB hard drive and 256GB SSD.

Below we have added links of 12 best Mac mini reviews posted online:
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Apple to Delay iPad 3 Launch Till 2012

Rumor is Apple will be delaying the rumored Q3 2011 iPad 3 launch till 2012. According to Digitimes’ sources the delay was caused by the ultra high-resolution screen that Apple plans to use in the next generation iPad. Yenting Chen posted:
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August 15, 2011

Apple to Ship 56 Million iPhone Units in Q3 and Q4 2011

Digitimes is reporting that Apple has increased their order for total iPhone production (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and upcoming iPhone 5) by 12-13% for second half of 2011. Apple now plans to ship 56 million iPhone units up from previous estimate of about 50 million units. Out of the total shipment iPhone 5 will account for 25.5-26 million units. According to Digitimes:
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