If you drop it, it will break; the new iPad’s screen that is

News

  • March 19, 2012 at 12:38 pm

1

3rd generation iPad vs. iPad 2 drop test

A reminder to all: glass shatters, even fancy fortified glass like Corning’s Gorilla Glass. If that glass happens to be attached to the screen of your favorite gadget, then an unfortunate mess ensues.

Take the iPad, a 9.7-inch screen dominates the tablet’s front, which in turn is covered by glass. The iPad 2’s screen was protected by Gorilla Glass, while it has been rumored that the 3rd generation iPad would feature the latest Gorilla Glass technology that we saw this year at CES. So is the new iPad more impervious to drops compared to the iPad 2?
continue reading

Panasonic Lumix GF5 Micro Four Thirds camera leaked

News

  • March 18, 2012 at 4:31 am

0

Panasonic GF5 leaked image

An image of a new model in Panasonic’s entry-level GF series of Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mirrorless cameras has just emerged. Skipping number four, which is an unlucky number in Asia, the Panasonic GF5 looks very much like its predecessor the GF3, but with a more substantial rubber grip. In the image you can see it together with the Lumix G X VARIO PZ 14-42mm collapsible zoom lens.
continue reading

The pieces fit, could this finally be the Samsung Galaxy S III getting ready for a May 22 announcement?

News

  • March 17, 2012 at 10:50 am

0

Samsung Galaxy S III leak

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Samsung Galaxy S III, the successor to the incredibly popular Galaxy S II smartphone. There have been numerous rumors on its release date and several very fake renders of the device. Now we are sharing the above image, which appeared on Reddit this morning, because it certainly looks more credible than whatever we’ve seen so far — note we’ve cleaned-up the original image a bit and you can click to enlarge.

First off, we have what seems to be a photo of a projected image on a screen, rather than a ‘perfect’ render. Then, there is the logo of PR firm Weber Shandwick, with which Samsung has been working with in different regions. The actual device follows what we’ve been hearing so far, i.e. a very slim left and right bezel (and you know how much we loath big bezels) and a very slim profile, perhaps even just 7mm thick.
continue reading

iPad 3 receives untethered jailbreak and Cydia install on its first day out

News

  • March 17, 2012 at 6:23 am

0

Cydia running on 3rd generation iPad - chpwn method

You know how it goes, Apple releases new iOS hardware and the chase to jailbreak the device begins. With the third-generation iPad running iOS 5.1 barely out, developers are showing off their skills having been able to to jailbreak the tablet within a few hours.

What’s amazing is that so far there have been three different developers/teams showing off jailbreaks that they claim have been done using different methods. There’s no public release of a jailbreak just yet, but you should expect one to be out before too long.
continue reading

Leica could be preparing a black-and-white only sensor digital camera (rumor)

News

  • March 16, 2012 at 9:48 am

1

Leica M9 digital Rangefinder - black and white

This is a pretty wild rumor, but extremely interesting nonetheless. Leicarumors is reporting that the German camera maker could also be unveiling a digital camera with a black and white only sensor at its upcoming event in Berlin.

Obviously this would be a niche product, but would offer some obvious advantages to Leica’s discerning fan base. Almost all digital camera sensors feature a color filter array in order to be able to record a color image. A typical array features red, green and blue filters that essentially cut out other wavelengths to allow incoming light of that particular color only. The intensity of each color is then recorded and used to recreate the color image. Because of the color filter array, sensors are essentially throwing away a large amount of light that would otherwise hit the sensor. You can see how the most common type of filter, the Bayer color filter, works below.
continue reading

Watch 10,000 volts of electricity blast through the HTC One S aluminium case (video)

News

  • March 16, 2012 at 6:32 am

0

HTC One S case micro arc oxidation process

HTC is mighty proud of its new One series of smartphones and it has been ‘subtly’ pointing out their benefits. We’ve already seen images taken from the new ImageSense camera module found in the 4.7-inch quad-core HTC One X and the 4.3-inch dual-core HTC One S, but what can demonstrate anything better than watching a piece of aluminium getting hit by 10,000 volts of electricity?

The HTC One S case is made of one piece of aluminium metal that first undergoes a brutal treatment, called micro-arc oxidation, giving it an extremely durable finish. The case is made of aircraft-grade aluminium and the process involves 10,000 volts hitting the metal like lightning. This treatment creates a metal oxide coating that is typically thicker than by other methods, like anodizing, and results in a ceramic-like finish.
continue reading

Nexus S to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update soon, for real this time

News

  • March 16, 2012 at 5:29 am

0

Nexus S special edition back

One of the allures of getting one of Google’s developer-friendly Nexus Android devices is that you have bigger chances in getting timely official updates when new major Android versions hit. Well, the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G started receiving the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update only a month after Google released the latest and greatest version of Android, however the update was soon pulled with Google citing battery and Wi-Fi issues related to the update.
continue reading

No, Apple didn’t make a battery tech breakthrough in the iPad 3; it just stuck more of it inside

News

  • March 16, 2012 at 4:03 am

0

3rd generation iPad teardown pulling out the battery

Some of the initial coverage on the new 3rd generation iPad suggested that Apple somehow increased the power density of the Lithium-ion battery cells inside the new iPad in order to achieve the jump from 25Whr, in the iPad 2, to 43Whr — that’s more than a 70% increase in battery capacity. The reasoning behind this was that while there was this huge increase in battery capacity the new iPad is only very slightly thicker (just 0.6mm) and heavier than the iPad 2.

Now, the iPad 2 was practically all battery already, so somehow it made sense that Apple had magically created a new battery technology without anyone catching wind on it.

That would be some awesome news for the entire consumer electronics industry and you know how much we deplore mobile devices that don’t offer full-day battery life and how we are always on the lookout on ways to keep us powered on the go. However, if you knew anything about the evolution of battery technology you’d know how slowly and incrementally power density has improved.
continue reading

Diablo III coming on May 15th

News

  • March 16, 2012 at 2:28 am

0

Diablo III box

Some might think that waiting more than ten years for a computer game is way too long, others will say that it’s worth it. Diablo III suffered numerous delays since it was initially announced in 2008 by Blizzard, each time bringing disappointment to the hearts of dungeon-loving hack and slash fans.
continue reading

The new iPad goes under the scalpel, teardown reveals Samsung retina LCD

News

  • March 15, 2012 at 1:26 pm

0

3rd generation iPad teardown A5X processor

The guys at iFixit are really committed to what they do, and what they do is dissect all your favorite gadgets piece by piece and document every step of the way. Well, the 3rd generation iPad may not be out yet but the iFixit crew managed to grab one from a store in Australia and promptly brought it in for surgery.

First task was to separate the new stunning retina display from the rest of the iPad’s body and here we get the first revelation. The screen is probably made by Samsung rather than LG as it was initially rumored.
continue reading

Leica M10 and X1 successor to be announced on May 10th?

News

  • March 15, 2012 at 5:44 am

0

Leica May 10th 2012 Berlin event invite

Leica has been sending invites to an event in Berlin on May 10-11th. The invitation reads: We invite you to exclusively experience a whole range of product launches in a culturally and photographically unique atmosphere.

Now Leica had indicated in the past that it would be updating its M and X camera lines every three years, and both the M9 full-frame digital Rangefinder and the X1 APS-C cameras are due for an update this year, having been released in 2009.
continue reading

Apple could be releasing a 15-inch MacBook Air in April (rumor)

News

  • March 14, 2012 at 3:14 pm

0

MacBook Air (mid-2011)

We think it’s inevitable that eventually all of Apple’s excellent MacBook like will go Air-like thin, it’s just a matter of when. Now there has been a lot of chatter lately that Apple may soon be introducing 15 and 17-inch MacBook Airs, that could eventually kill off the MacBook Pro as we know it. The rumors are not too far-fetched, the MacBook Air already took care of the 13-inch white MacBook.
continue reading

Encyclopaedia Britannica going fully digital, trees sigh in relief

News

  • March 14, 2012 at 9:46 am

0

Encyclopaedia Britannica on iPad

The print version of Encyclopaedia Britannica has kept humanity company for 244 years. The wealth of knowledge that makes up the 32-volume printed edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica has adorned library shelves since 1768 and, as sign of our times, the company that publishes it has decided to abandon it and go fully digital.

Upon the onset of the digital age and the internet, Britannica’s sales started falling and the company managed to sell only 8,000 sets of the 2010 edition from the 12,000 set initial run. Now considering the wealth of information available for free on the internet and the speed with which new knowledge and information is created, you see why a printed encyclopedia no longer makes sense. Also typing a search query and hitting enter, beats the hell out of having to pull down a heavy volume and flick through hundreds of pages to find an answer.
continue reading