Something Big Is Coming - Samsung Unpacked, San Diego 2011

Samsung released a teaser video into what's coming up in San Diego next week. Speculations and rumours aside, this event features the handsome collaboration between Samsung and Google - could it very well be the Nexus Prime and the release of Ice Cream Sandwich? Find out within a week but before that, hop over the break for a short video released by Samsung.




A curved screen is all I can guess - the Nexus Prime. Something big is coming this October 11, so stay tuned for the "Google Episode" release. Judging by the fact that this is "Google's Episode", I believe Ice Cream Sandwich cannot be missed, but still no one's able to confirm this as of now. If you hadn't read the rumoured information of the Nexus Prime you can read it here and here. I will be trying to provide live updates as the event proceeds next Monday. Keeping fingers crossed!

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iPhone 4S - Specs and All You Need to Know

Let's Talk iPhone 2011 is now a history, but it's the same time for a new iPhone introduction. The iPhone 4S is an upgrade to the previous iPhone 4 in almost everything except cosmetically. I'd call it an upgrade as it doesn't really introduce any killer specs or visible changes on the outside. It shares the same shell as the iPhone 4, nothing more nothing less. You can read the entire live feed of the event here. Details after the break.

What you will get:

1. A5 Dual-core processor - similar to the iPad 2. Double the processing power, seven times the graphic.
2. An upgraded camera sensor with whole lot of advancements and features. You can read all of these here. Camera goes up to 8 Megapixels and records 1080p. Comes with more than a handful of technological improvements and software supports.
3. Supposedly 1GB of RAM, I have no information as of now.
4. SIRI personal assistant - the most intelligent smartphone personal assistant through voice command ever presented to date. Throw almost any commands at it and you will be granted an answer, and most of the time it carries out all the tasks for you.
5. AirPlay mirroring, iCloud and many other services.
6. HSPA+ support for both GSM and CDMA versions. No LTE support. Apple redesigned the network system. The antennas now automatically interswitch to obtain a better signal lock and call quality.
7. iOS 5 out of the box.
8. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint will all be getting iPhones.
9. New contract pricing. The phones will go on pre-order starting October 7. US, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France and Germany gets it on 14th. Rest of the world begins 28th to the end of the year.
10. And a considerable amount of disappointment.

Now if you have missed much of the information, remember you can always refer back to the live feed here.

Images credit : Engadget

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Let's Talk iPhone 2011 Keynotes - iPhone 4S, NO iPhone 5, iOS 5, iCloud and Tim Cooks, iPhone 4S Pricing and Availability Revealed

All times below are adjusted to GMT+8 time zone - Perth, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur etc.

Let's Talk iPhone event, Cupertino Campus, Oct 4 - Tuesday. Clock's ticking at 12.50AM, less than 10 minutes to the official launch of the event. Jump over the break for the complete live feed from the event.





1.00AM

• The presentation begins, as usual, with the giant Apple logo on screen.
• Tim Cooks takes the stage, expressing his love for Apple, his new position as the CEO, the changes and achievements over Apple in recent years and new stores which opened in LA and HK not long ago.
• Tim expresses the success of OS Lion, achieving 80% more downloads than that of Snow Leopard.
• Tim further expresses its success against Windows 7, which took a long time to reach the same goal.
• Tim emphasizes on the fact that many had been trying to copy the MacBook Air - which refers to none other than the Ultrabooks.
• The Year-over-year growth for PC remains at a low 4%, while Mac goes up to 23%
• iPod, the world leading music player launched in 2001 claimed 78% of music players worldwide - clearly the #1 music player in the world.
• Apple sold 45 million iPods in one year.

1.15AM

• iTunes - the #1 music store in the world, hands down at 16 billion songs downloaded.
• Tim begins to touch on the iPhone.
• iPhone shows a 125% annual growth compared to the 74% of smartphones.
• Mobile phone satisfaction chart - Apple tops it off at 70%, held second by HTC at 49%.
• iPhone is 5% of the overall mobile phone market. Tim hopes that all phones will move into the smartphone section - could this mean a cheaper iPhone is on the way?
• Tim now touches on iPad - it will be changing what the world does with it. Teachers, kids, parents and the likes. Even pilots, said by Tim.
• iPads are actually spreading to all corners of the world - hospitals, here, there and everywhere.
• iPad is the top selling tablet in the world, hands down.
• 250 million iOS devices are sold.
• Scott Forstall takes the stage.
• Since there are 250 million iOS devices sold, it's no doubt the top OS in the world.
• iOS dominates 61% of the mobile OS market.
• 500,000 apps on the app store.
• 140,000 and above for the iPad.
• Appstore experiences 18 billion downloads in mere 3 years - 1 b per month.
• Apple paid more than 3b for developers for apps.
• Apple created new app - called cards. You can now create cards on your phone and Apple takes cares of the rest, including printing and emboss. Various designs are available. Apple will even settle the mailing for you. Simple as that. All you need is to attach an address.
• Service begins 12th October.
• It's free.
• Now, iOS 5.
• Ten of the top 10 features.
• New notification center - separate notifications now pop up on the lockscreen, you swipe and go directly into it. 
• iMessage - messaging service between iOS users. You can sent text photos, video and much more.
• Reminders - You can customize your individual reminders on stuff to do, schedule and etc. They are location based integrated so you can use them depending on where you are.
• Deeper integration of Twitter.
• Newsstand - many new partners including top publishers have associated with it.

1.30AM

• Camera - integrated app launch, snapping photos with volume button, photo edit out of the phone.
• 67 million Game Center accounts.
• Reading list, tabbed browsing on the new Safari browser.
• Wireless synchronization with your PC/Mac and phone.
• iOS 5 begins rolling out on October 12.
• Eddy Cue is up and on iCloud.
• As you have already known, iCloud syncs all stuff among your iOS devices.
• It's free.
• You take a photo > goes to cloud > goes to all iOS devices under the same credentials.
• This includes documents.
• Apps included too.
• Backup on the cloud.
• Find my Friends - works something like Google Latitude. It's a location based programme which allows you to share your location and find your friends.
• Storage upgrades with an annual fee, starting off at 5GB. 10GB goes at $20 a year, 20GB for $40, 50GB for $100.
• iTunes matching system. If you have an iPad which has no music, just sync it to the cloud and you'll get everything - seamless.

1.45AM

• iTunes Match includes many other features such as immediate streaming, upgrades of matched songs, etc at the price of $24.99/year.
• October 12, restated.
• Commercial rolls.
• Now it's Phil Schiller's stage.
• He begins with the reintroduction of the iPod family.
• iPod Nano, launched last year - the interface is reduced to compact icons.
• The integrated Nike application tracks your walks and runs.
• Watches - going Disney? 
• $129 for 8GB, $149 for 16GB - just as we know it.
• iPod touch - most popular iPod.
• It has everything the iPhone has, except the telephony.
• It will run iOS 5.
• It's the #1 portable game player.
• The white iPod touch is confirmed. 8GB at $199.
• 32GB $299, 64GB $399 - beginning October 12.
• All we see is iPod shuffle nano and touch. Classic seems dropped.
• He said many had been trying to copy the iPhone 4.
• Phil is now confirming the iPhone 4S with A5 processor but remaining the same design.
• Dual-core graphics. 7x faster graphics.
• Mike Capps takes the stage - the president of Epic Games.
• He talks the Unreal Engine 3 - featured in Infinity Blade 2, the first installment earned $20 million in revenue.
• The visuals are shown off.
• Emphasizes on console-quality gaming.
• Epic shows off several scenes of Infinity Blade 2.
• Back to A5 talk - 2x Faster CPU.

2.00AM

• 8 hours of talktime, 14 hours of 2G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing.
• Wireless system has been upgraded. It will now switch between antennas to get better call quality, or better signal lock.
• Maximum data speeds has been increased from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S - up to 14.4Mbps.
• 4G network. It is claimed that data even faster on the iPhone, with or without 4G.
• iPhone 4S will come in GSM and CDMA versions.
• Camera system. iPhone is the top uploader on Flickr.
• New camera sensor - 8 Megapixels up to 3264 x 2448 resolution. 60% higher resolution than the iPhone 4 of 5 MP.
• Improved sensor illumination - 73% more light. Think of what Exmor R does.
• Hybrid IR filter - better colour accuracy, more colour uniformity.
• Five element lens, 30% increased sharpness, f/2.4 aperture.
• Image Signal Processor enables face detection and 26% better white balance.
• The first photo could be taken within 1.1sec.
• Macro performance is increased.
• 1080p HD video recording.
• Video Image Stabilization and Temporal Noise reduction.
• AirPlay mirroring - think HDMI without wires (or wired if you desire).
• Shows off the new voice recognition service - Siri.
• Works just like the old voice recognition - hold Home button, Siri listens.

2.15AM

• Asked the iPhone a question, replied with very accurate answers accompanied with even more integrated information.
• Think of it as an Artificial Intelligence - you ask it a question, it responds you with appropriate answers. For example, stock market, restaurant, places, navigation and practically everything.
• Demonstration of the amazing Siri AI is shown off again and again. Why type when your voice does everything for you?
• You can reply messages, plan new schedules and appointments, update your calender - all with Siri.
• Siri isn't only your personal secretary, but also your listening encyclopedia.
• "Search wikipedia for Neil Armstrong" - it brings up the astronaut's profile. "Define mitosis" - it brings up the definition for you.
• Scott asks Siri "Who are you?", Siri says "I am a humble personal assistant." Humble indeed, when it certainly outsmarts any ordinary human.
• Scott off the stage, reinstating the featured Siri.
• Phil returns to the stage.
• You will need a working connection for sure to use Siri.
• Works out of the box and improves over time, learning your voice and commands. Works for English, French and German - more languages to come.
• iPhone 4S once again gets reemphasized.
• iPhone 4S gets another commercial run.

2.30AM

• The commercial shows off all the features previously mentioned. Still no pricing and availability news.
• The pricing for the iPhone 4S is revealed. 
• 16GB - $199, 32GB - $299, 64GB - $399.
• iPhone 4 goes 8GB - $99.
• iPhone 3GS -  Free. All on two year contract.
• Pre-orders start 7th October, Ships October 14th. US, CA, AUS, UK, France, Germany and Japan gets it on 14th.
• Oct 28th spreads 22 more countries, 70 countries by the end of the year.
• Tim reappears on stage and speaks several words of affections.
• No iPhone 5. 
• That's it - the end of Let's Talk iPhone. There will be no iPhone 5.

Several important images courtesy of Engadget.

Event ends at 2.38AM, GMT+8.

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Samsung Nexus Prime Reveals Its First Leaked Shot - HD Screen Confirmed

Full credits of the image and article to GSMArena.com, source here.

In less than 3 hours from now, Apple will be holding the Let's Talk iPhone media event but in all the hype of it, the true live shot of the Google Nexus Prime leaks. This time, it's personally from GSM Arena, so rumour or not - it's for you to decide. More details after the break.


The Samsung Unpacked event scheduled around next week is believed to be the proper unveiling of the Nexus Prime. If you hadn't heard of its recent rumours yet, they can be found under this entry here written a few weeks ago. Perhaps to catch some heat off the Apple's event, GSM Arena received a tip regarding the first proper leaked shot of the Nexus Prime.

The shot above may not be as you might have hoped for, but at least the HD resolution of 720p Super AMOLED display is confirmed on a 4.6" display, giving you all the awesome pixel depth of 320ppi. That's when Apple offers you IPS for 330ppi while you get Super AMOLED for 320ppi. It's not like we can tell the difference after 300ppi anyway, but still - previous Super AMOLED displays has been a static pixel build of 800x480 even on the Galaxy S2. *However, I am not certain whether the bottom bar for the screen is calculated into the total pixel count - for it certainly doesn't carry out any other functions much like in Honeycomb, so perhaps there is a possibility of the total screen estate being 4.65".

The 1184x720 pixels shown above only represent active pixels for operation - the Android notification bar and soft buttons on the bottom are not included. As presumed, the Nexus Prime will not include any hardware buttons which instead will be substituted by soft buttons within the screen. (I'd still prefer hard buttons though). The Nexus Prime is believed to be having the bragging rights of the first ICS device, so be patient and wait through one last week.

Source and credits.

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Kindle Fire Exceeds 95,000 Pre-Orders - Only the First Day

If you haven't heard of the Kindle Fire yet, you can read it right here. The Kindle Fire is the newest weapon to Amazon's armoury, and based on statistical reports on manufacturing costs Amazon is losing approximately $10 per tablet. Why, you may ask. If, the fact that Amazon is indeed losing money per slate is true, the main income in exchange would be the sales and services provided after sales. Read on for more information.


You might have known the trending price slashes of various tablets - the TouchPad, Flyer, and etc. Amazon took the risk (again if it is true) to manufacture the slates and sell them off lower than the manufacturing costs alone aims to prolong its business paradigm in continuous offerings of premium services and sales. But Amazon wouldn't be worried for its revenue - 95,000 pre-orders have been placed only on the first day. That's approximately one pre-order per second! Supposedly with this amount of slates on pre-order on the first day Amazon will gain a total of $950,000 revenue, regardless of the pricing of only $199.

Statistically, the Kindle Fire is notably a success as compared to all other Kindle products combined. According to eDataSource, the iPad racked a 350,000 sale on its first day, while the iPad 2 was reduced to 300,000 units sold. The Kindle Fire doesn't ship until middle of November so these figures could very well tighten up within the next two months. After all, who doesn't like a little market competency? Some people do not need the extra features a tablet offers, so this might be a decent choice as a little pocket companion for web-browsing, little entertainment features and more.

Source

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play gets all FOUR Top EA Games Free of Charge

You heard it right - the XPERIA Play gets all the top four highly acclaimed EA games free of any charges for months until January next year, regardless of carrier. No terms, no conditions; all you need is to own an X Play. What more could you ask for, granted the full PlayStation certified gamepad and controls, gaming could never be more immersive. After the break for more information.

Image source - Sony Ericsson

EA games don't really come cheap, let alone being free. You will not be needing any special permissions for these downloads - just pop up your Xperia Play, enter the gaming portal and begin the downloads. You're advised to perform the downloads over WiFi though, as these games are huge in storage. Have fun!

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What to Expect Tomorrow? Apple's Annual Media Convention at Cupertino Headquarters, Oct 4

No more rumours, no more speculations - this is it, the annual Apple media convention (although a little longer wait this time around) held at Apple's Cupertino Campus live tomorrow. Apple's top-notch secrecy has made any peeks into upcoming reveals almost impossible, hence rumours are flying all over the place regarding what Apple has up their sleeves in confronting the massive array of new devices of assorted operating systems available in the market and does it have enough firepower to mow down the highly successful Samsung Galaxy S2?

Image courtesy Wikipedia

What to expect at the media announcement tomorrow? Find out after the break.


New iPhones & Devices

Apple never misses an annual unveil without a brand new iPhone so obviously, this couldn't be missed. Speculations indicate the possibility of at least one iPhone, but there is the possibility of two as well. No one could really tell since Apple never leak their mouths but supposedly it will be the iPhone 4S and 5. Since the previous Apple's announcement in WWDC 2011, rumours and speculations have been flying all around regarding what might be the actual specifications of the new phones.

The iPhone 4S was initially believed to be the cheaper version of iPhone 4, however newer information reveals different information but most of these indicate that the iPhone 4S will run on the A5 dual-core processor with the upgraded camera sensor of 8MP, similar to what iPhone 5 will be getting. Other than that all other specifications would be rather identical to the current iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S will have a new networking chip allowing it to be used in conjunction with either GSM or CDMA networks, thus various carrier plans may be offered. Another rumour, on the other hand, states that this will be the only iPhone revealed this year - the iPhone 5 might have to grab its limelight some other year.

The iPhone 5 has been under heavy speculations for a long time. Recent image leaks from Cincinnati Bell indicates that the iPhone 5 will be granted a 4-inch screen alongside support for HSPA+ network (LTE was rumoured but pretty much ruled out now). It will share the same A5 dual-core processor as the iPhone 4S as well as the same camera sensor supporting up to 8MP. Other than that no detailed information was revealed. Further leaks of cases and the likes are giving iPhone 5 the impression of being even slimmer than the iPhone 4, on top of a larger edge-to-edge screen.

Another iPod Touch 4G clad in white might also surface under the same media convention, so be sure to watch out for it. The iPod Touch has been a great success, giving users the capability of a full iOS featured device with Retina display while omitting the telephony function at a much lower price tag.

Do note that the devices announced will not be available on shelves right away, as this is part of Apple's usual gap between the announcement and the time it ships out to stores.

iOS 5 & iCloud

There is no way you can miss this. Apple had previously claimed over 200 features incorporated in the upcoming iOS 5, bringing the integration of your phone even closer to your daily life. Major features such as drag-down notification screen (just like how it works on Android) allows users to customize weather and stock updates right out of the notification screen on top of revealing important notifications and information. With iOS 5 you can snap pictures with the volume key, the ability to jump right into the specific notification right from the lockscreen, iMessage which allows you to send message across iDevices free of charge and much more. Information regarding iOS5 features can be found all over the internet. There wasn't once Apple does not release an iPhoneX without its respective companion iOSX, so if the iOS 5 moves completely out of Beta tomorrow, expect the release of iPhone 5.

Now the iCloud isn't really anything new - it was revealed several months ago in WWDC and some features of it has already begun. iCloud was meant to be a full integration with various iDevices alongside Mac OS X. Cloud services are essentially storage or transfer over the internet which leaves no physical traces. Cloud backups are available as well, so even when you lose your iDevice or decide to change a new one, don't fret - all you need to remember is your credentials.

Tim Cooks, instead of Steve Jobs

The appointment of Tim Cooks as the new CEO of Apple was effective right from the moment Steve Jobs decided to step down from his position as he had announced that he could no longer meet his duties. Steve Jobs had been under various medical leaves, and Tim Cooks was the one mainly in-charge in his absence.

The event tomorrow is expected to be Tim Cook's brand new stage. However, he will not be the only person on stage as Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iOS Software and Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marking Phil Schiller will be expected as well, along with several developers of hardware/software alike. People around the globe are enthusiastically awaiting the media coverage tomorrow.

The launch of the media convention is imminent. Stay tuned for further updates on here, on Seednonym.com

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HTC Flyer Suffers Price Slash - Down to $299

Remember HP's TouchPad and the Grid Tablet? These are the trend starters of ultra price slashing action on tablets and we're not talking about mere 10 or 20 percent discounts. This time, BestBuy.com decided to drop the HTC Flyer's price by a margin of $200, all the way down to $299.


The HTC Flyer may not have the best of class features but at the price tag of $299 it's arguably one of the best 7-inch tablets still lying around. It runs the good ol' Gingerbread instead of Honeycomb but leaked screenshots of Honeycomb OS for Flyer probably grants the Flyer a new look some time in the near future -source. Its closest rival would be the recently announced Kindle Fire going at a price of $199 but do bear in mind that the Kindle Fire lacks a bunch of features of a standard tablet. Visit here for more information on Amazon's Kindle Fire.

In short, the HTC Flyer runs a single-core 1.5Ghz processor with 1GB of RAM and 16/32GB of on-board storage. It sports a 7" LCD of 1024x600 resolution at approximately 170ppi on 24-bit (16 mil colours). Two integrated cameras - 5MP for the back, 1.3MP for the front. Bluetooth 3.0, Sense 3.5 and all other HTC goodies come with the bundle. Click on the link down below to visit the purchase link directly.

BestBuy.com

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Amazon adds Kindle Fire to the Kindle Armoury - at only $199

Nobody likes to be left out in the cold - neither does Amazon. Amazon has announced the newest addition to the Kindle armoury - the Kindle Fire. Details and information after the break.










What's under the hood?

1. 1Ghz Dual-core TI OMAP processor bundled with only 512MB of RAM. The Kindle Fire was not designed for intense multi-tasking or gaming, so 512MB might not be that bad in terms of real usability.
2. Google Android OS source
3. 7" IPS Display at 1024x600 pixels, approximate 170ppi, 16 million colours. IPS displays has been well known for their amazing viewing angles. Being an "technologically advanced" e-Reader, viewing angle remains very important.
4. An amazingly attractive price tag of $199. The cheapest iPad you can get is $499.
5. Prebundled with a 30-days free trial of Amazon Prime - premium membership service allowing subscribers to stream videos and free delivery of goods bought via amazon.
6. 8GB of internal storage. You wouldn't need all that storage since most of your content is synced over the net.
7. Brand new Silk browser.
8. The number of physical buttons on-board has been drastically reduced. All you have is a power button.
9. There will be no camera, no microphone, no video output.
10. There will be no support for any mobile internet services. WiFi b/g/n supported.
11. Decent battery life up to 8-hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback depending on usage.
12. No wired connectivity to computers.

The Kindle Fire will ship in the US from 15 November - and will only be available in the US.

Sources 1 and 2 and 3.

Updated 29/9.

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Samsung Announces Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0; iPhone 5 Gets Delayed

• Good news for Samsung, bad news for Apple. iPhone 5 has reported delays due to manufacturer touch-screen defects while Samsung unveils further Galaxy line-up devices.
• 
  

• The above image is artist rendered and borrowed.
• Hop over the break for more details. 

Along the process of manufacturing the new iPhone 5, manufacturers have discovered a defect present in some iPhone 5 touch panels produced by Wintek, which might very well affect the shipment dateline for the market. The launch of the iPhone 5 and its sibling(s) is said to be held on 4th Oct this year, although Apple has not announced any official confirmation regarding this issue. Wintek, in response, has claimed that all of its scheduled delivers will be on time.

The defect termed as the "delayed bubble" is difficult to avoid during panel production and even more when it wasn't detected during lamination of touch panels. Wintek accounts for 20-25% of the total production of touch panels used in iPhone 5, while TPK Holding accounts 60-65% and Chimei Innolux for the remainder. Apple aims to ship 25-26 million units of iPhone 5 in the fourth quarter, as claimed. It wouldn't be much of a surprise as the previous iPhone 4 was selling like hot cakes. -source

Now for the Samsung part. Samsung has announced 3 gadgets up for grabs. First off is the Galaxy Tab 8.9 which was actually announced almost half a year ago along with its sibling 10.1. At last, Samsung has decided to empty their storerooms and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available for pre-order now and shipments will begin October 2. As usual, it ships under two similar models of different storage capacity. The 16GB goes at $469 while the 32GB goes up to $569.

Image courtesy GSMArena.

Samsung really had the liking to place model numbers behind their Galaxy line-up to represent screen sizes. The Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 were not left out. 

Image courtesy of GSMArena

The Galaxy Player is actually Samsung's response to the world's highly acclaimed iPod series, providing all features of a full-fledged functionality only without telephony support. These Players ship with 2.3.5 Android Gingerbread and will be available for pre-order starting Sept 27 and will start appearing on shelves starting October 16. Player 5.0 goes at $269 while its little brother goes for a little lower $229. -source

For extended information, visit here.

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