Galaxy Nexus not Gorilla Glass but another type of fortified glass

News

  • October 27, 2011 at 2:21 am

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus Android smartphone

For anyone who hasn’t yet heard of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it’s going to be the first device to carry Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s also a large screened, 4.65-inch, Super AMOLED HD curved beauty. We’ve already discussed how Samsung managed to achieve a 1280×720 HD resolution on the AMOLED screen using PenTile Matrix technology and any caveats that might entail. Well there has also been a lot of discussion whether the Galaxy Nexus features the scratch resistant and durable Gorilla Glass to protect its large display.

Corning, the makers of Gorilla Glass, have now confirmed through Twitter that the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t use their trademark technology.
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HTC Vigor a.k.a. Rezound a.k.a. DROID Incredible HD could be announced November 3rd

News

  • October 26, 2011 at 8:05 am

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HTC Vigor / Rezound front and back

HTC has been sitting on the bench watching while both Samsung and Motorola announced their big contenders for the Android crown, the Galaxy Nexus and the RAZR. It’s now time for HTC to strike back; the company has sent out invites for a New York event on Thursday November 3rd. Now all bets are on an announcement of the company’s long rumored HTC Vigor (a.k.a. Rezound a.k.a. DROID Incredible HD).

The Vigor is expected to be a 4.3-inch 720p and 1.5GHz dual-core processor beast. You can check out our comparison with the other two competing handsets here. Based on earlier rumors, the HTC Vigor (or DROID Incredible HD) should be available on Verizon starting November 10, joining the iPhone 4S, Droid RAZR and Galaxy Nexus in the carrier’s holiday lineup. The full rumored specs are after the break.
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Bluetooth 4.0 devices get new Smart and Smart Ready branding

News

  • October 26, 2011 at 5:10 am

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Bluetooth Smart compatibility mapping

Hoping that this move will actually help prospective buyers and users, rather than confuse them more, the Bluetooth SIG has introduced two new categories and respective logos for devices that include Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

The first is Bluetooth Smart Ready, these are devices like your laptop or phone, which are capable of communicating with any other Bluetooth device, i.e. they offer Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity but are also backwards compatible with every other existing Bluetooth device. They feature a dual-mode radio that can communicate over both classic Bluetooth and the new Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. You can include the 2011 Mac Mini, the 2011 MacBook Air, the iPhone 4S and the Motorola RAZR in the list of Bluetooth Smart Ready devices.

The second is Bluetooth Smart, these are devices that run on small button-cell batteries, and their single-mode radios use only Bluetooth Low Energy. The devices gather information and then send data to Bluetooth Smart Ready devices only, they do not connect to legacy classic Bluetooth devices. These would be for example, blood glucose or heart beat monitors, sharing information with your app enabled Bluetooth 4.0 smartphone.

So to sum it up, when you see the Bluetooth Smart Ready logo on a device it means that it has Bluetooth 4.0 but it’s also compatible with all previous versions of Bluetooth. When you see the Bluetooth Smart logo, these will be small devices that can only communicate with Bluetooth Smart Ready devices.
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Sony Alpha SLT-A65 initial hands-on, OLED EVF and high ISO tests

The Lab

  • October 25, 2011 at 5:17 pm

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Sony Alpha SLT-A65 hands-on

Despite the ominous signs on general availability of the Sony A65, we’ve already confirmed that the camera is shipping to a few lucky individuals in the US.

Stuff-Review has managed to snatch one of the first Sony Alpha SLT-A65 DSLT cameras to ship. This is an initial hands-on with the camera, which is an actual final production unit, and we’ll be sharing some first impressions and test results. As we spend more quality time with the A65 we will update you on our finds.
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Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich ported to the Nexus One

News

  • October 25, 2011 at 2:36 am

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Nexus One received Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich port

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices and its source code are not out yet, but the software development kit (SDK) is. And so, endearing developers work tirelessly in porting the Android 4.0 SDK to a host of current smartphones; just to give us a peek on how ICS would look on a device. First lucky device to get such a port was the Nexus S and now the Nexus One joins in the fun.

A developer, going by the name dr1337md, has posted a video on YouTube showing-off his Ice Cream Sandwich port on the Nexus One. As far as ports go, things are mostly working but there is some lag, while it lacks audio and Wi-Fi.

Google has said that any Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone should be able to run Android 4.0, although when and if that it will be upgraded depends on the manufacturer and carrier. While you wait for your device to get the update, which might take months, you can checkout the video after the break.
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Watch the ultimate gadget porn video: the Nokia N9 gets assembled

News

  • October 24, 2011 at 4:34 pm

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Nokia N9 gets assembled

The Nokia N9 MeeGo smartphone is an all-screen unibody beauty. Unfortunately, many around the world will never get to see the N9 and its MeeGo OS in person. Following Nokia’s agreement with Microsoft on using Windows Phone on its smartphones, the MeeGo running N9 will not be released in any key markets such as the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany and Japan.

As an ultimate tease to us, Nokia has just released a video showing an N9’s journey through the manufacturing process, from getting its polycarbonate body precisely machined, the 1GHz TI OMAP3630 processor and 1GB of RAM installed on its mainboard, the 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss 28mm wide angle f/2.2 optics fitted and finally the Gorilla Glass 3.9-inch AMOLED touchscreen display attached with love.

The N9 is expected to land in Australia and Latin America shortly. Fortunately, those living in the countries excluded from this release, will be able to put their hands around a pretty identical handset running Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, instead of MeeGo, the rumored Nokia 800 a.k.a. “Sea Ray”.

Oh, yes, the video is after the break, if you are feeling strong enough to resist your urges.
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MacBook Pro range upgraded with faster processors, better graphics and more storage

News

  • October 24, 2011 at 6:25 am

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Apple MacBook Pro range

Apple has upgraded the MacBook Pro laptop range with faster Sandy Bridge processors, better graphics and more storage. The changes are internal rather than cosmetic, and prices remain the same, you just get more for your money.

The entry level $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro gets a dual-core Core i5 2.4GHz processor and 500GB hard drive as standard, while for $1,499 you can bump the processor to a dual-core Core i7 2.8Ghz and storage to 750GB. The $1,799 and $2,199 15-inch models come with Core i7 2.2GHz and 2.4GHz processors, with 500GB and 750GB hard drives respectively; the latter gets a new AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1GB GDDR5 graphics card as well. Finally the $2,499 17-inch MacBook Pro gets a Core i7 2.4GHz processor, 750GB and the new Radeon HD 6770M 1GB GDDR5 graphics card.

The MBPs however haven’t received the expected bump to Bluetooth 4.0, that the 2011 Mac Mini, the MacBook Air and the iPhone 4S have received.
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Fujifilm X100 startup time and SD card write speed tests; how to make the X100 faster

GuidesThe Lab

  • October 23, 2011 at 4:47 pm

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Fujifilm X100 startup time and SD write speed test

The X100 shoots amazing photos, in general, and some of the best low-light pictures of any compact camera — it looks the part too. You can read our in-depth real world review here. Unfortunately, it’s not a speed demon; specifically, auto focus, startup time and SD card write speeds are relatively slow. This means that it’s not the ideal action shooter.

Nevertheless, there are things that you can do to get the camera to perform faster. The X100 includes a ‘Quick Start Mode’, which Fuji claims to reduce startup time to about 0.7 seconds compared to about 2.2 seconds when the mode is off. This mode is accessible on page 3 in setup. Fuji however, warns that, setting the mode to on will drain your battery, reducing the number of shots per charge.

It’s also been suggested that a fast SD card will help reduce startup times and of course file write times. So, with this suggestion we set out to test the X100’s performance with three different SD cards: a top of the range SanDisk Extreme Pro card claiming 45MB/s write speeds, a SanDisk Extreme III card with 30MB/s write speeds and finally a cheaper Transcend 16GB Class 10 card.

We measured the amount of time between switching the camera on and the camera becoming responsive, i.e. being able to focus, first, with the quick start mode off, and again with the quick start mode on for each of the three SD cards.

Then, we shot eight continuous RAW files, with each of the cards, in burst mode, and measured the time between pressing the shutter button, taking the 8 shots and the camera becoming responsive again, after writing the files to the SD card.

You can see the results, of our lengthy tests, below — note that we examined the video of our tests in slow-motion to assess the time better and avoid reaction time errors:
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Sony HMZ-T1 OLED 3D head-mounted display lands at Harrods, London

News

  • October 23, 2011 at 11:48 am

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Sony HMZ-T1 3D headset lands at Harrods, London

If you’re passing by the UK this month, you might want to make a visit to London’s luxury department store, Harrods. The UK retailer managed to snap an exclusive on Sony’s new HMZ-T1 OLED 3D head-mounted display until it goes on general sale in the UK at the end of the month. You can get your disorientating hand-ons experience in-store and pre-order one now, if you so please, for £800 (around $1,265) with an end of October release date.

The US release is planned for November and it has been priced at $800 stateside. You might want to check-out our initial coverage, with some tasty info and product shots.
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Motorola Defy+ (Plus) review

FeaturedReviews

  • October 23, 2011 at 9:21 am

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Motorola Defy+ Plus front wet

Rugged phones had been monstrous beasts that could do nothing more than send and receive calls and messages. Motorola pretty much created the rugged smartphone space and last year introduced the Motorola Defy. The Defy looked very normal — which is a good thing — with the added benefit that it was ‘life-proof’. A year later, Motorola released the Defy+ (Plus), which is for all intents and purposes the same as the original Defy, with two key improvements: a faster 1GHz processor and a more recent version of Android, 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Defy+ is a mid-range 3.7-inch Android smartphone, and everything on it shouts average. But for its class and price it’s a really well executed device. It currently retails in Europe for around €240 or £240 ($360) sim-free, while it hasn’t yet reached American shores. The original Defy was available on T-Mobile for $99 on contract.

Motorola also makes military grade rugged phones, like the Admiral; the Defy+, although not military grade, is water, dust and scratch resistant, and much more stylish. Note it’s water resistant, but not waterproof. In a sense it’s a standard Android phone that has been inoculated against the weather and active and demanding lifestyles.
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Android basics: What is Ice Cream Sandwich and why would I want it on my phone or tablet?

Guides

  • October 22, 2011 at 4:54 am

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Google employee putting up the Android Ice Cream Sandwich mascot

Having just had a discussion with a non-‘techie’ friend who owns an Android phone, I received the very logical question: what is Ice Cream Sandwich? My response was followed with the equally valid inquisitive look on why would Google name its mobile operating system after a frozen desert.

Our attention is caught up with new gadgets and technology that we simply skip past all the basic concepts. Well today is the inauguration of a new column, appropriately titled ‘basics’, which will go over fundamental terms and provide beginners with (hopefully) easy to follow and clear how-tos. After all we are claiming that our opinions and advice should reach real people.

First, a background on Android. Android is a mobile operating system, it runs on mobile phones and tablets and provides all the basic functionally needed, such as connectivity (to connect to a Wi-Fi network or your mobile carrier), multi-touch recognition, a phone dialer and some built-in applications, like an internet browser and email. It’s like Windows or Mac OS but for your phone or tablet. Competing mobile operating systems are Apple’s iOS, Microsoft’s Windows Phone and also BlackBerry OS and the now-defunct webOS.
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Galaxy Nexus AMOLED HD display uses PenTile Matrix technology, no biggie

News

  • October 21, 2011 at 1:15 pm

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus Super AMOLED HD display

We quickly covered this issue when we originally reported on Samsung’s new Super AMOLED HD display technology back in August, way before the Galaxy Nexus was announced. All current smartphone HD (over 1280×720 resolution) AMOLED displays that Samsung is producing use PentTile Matrix technology. The displays can be found in Samsung’s just announced, Android 4.0 bearing, Galaxy Nexus and the 5.3-inch mammoth Galaxy Note.

So what’s the big deal you might ask, well display purists will tell you that PenTile technology is sort of Samsung’s way of cheating into getting a higher resolution display, overcoming current AMOLED manufacturing limitations of packing ‘subpixels’ more densely.

In standard RGB flat panel screens, each pixel is made of three subpixels, one for each color, Red, Green and Blue. Samsung’s PenTile screens have only two subpixels per pixel, and instead ‘borrow’ subpixels from neighboring pixels to ‘mix’ the right color. This leads to a blurring of sharp edges, while white blocks may get a tint at the edges. The higher pixel density a PenTile display has, the less profound these effects would be.
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The hottest Ice Cream Sandwich you will ever get: the complete guide to all the major new features of Android 4.0

FeaturedNews

  • October 20, 2011 at 5:10 pm

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google has advanced its mobile operating system by leaps and bounds in just three years and Android is finally maturing. The latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was announced this week, brings a host of usability improvements, new features and a lot of polish.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is a major upgrade, particularly for mobile phones, as it also brings Android Honeycomb functionality to smartphones. ICS will run on both smartphones and tablets. If you are new to Android, you might want to check out our beginners’ guide on what is Android ICS.

The changes in ICS are numerous and it’s easy to get lost in the details. We’ve compiled all the major improvements and new features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in a simple, compact list. Head over the break, for your large dose of piping-hot Ice Cream Sandwich goodness.
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