Rumor States Two New iPads With Be Released In January

A recent DigiTimes article reported that Apple will be unveiling two new versions of the iPad at iWorld/Macworld on Jan. 26, 2012.  These new models will both include a 9.7 inch screen (Just like the current iPad), but at least one will have a QxGA screen, which is 1536×2048 pixel resolution.

Also, one of the new models is said to have a 8 megapixel rear facing camera and the other will have a 5 megapixel camera.  The new battery being used in these tablets is supposedly a 14,000mAh battery which is the largest battery that we have seen on a tablet before.

Not too much is known and once again, these are just rumors…for now.   Other rumors state that the release date might not be until Feb. 24, 2012 which is the birthday of Steve Jobs.

All we can do right now is wait and see.

Possible 3D Galaxy S III

According to Korean-website ETNews, Samsung will be announcing their new Galaxy S III device at Mobile World Congress this year.

The Galaxy S III has been said to be 3D glasses-free.  It will run on a powerful quad-core processor, with 2GB of RAM, and LTE.  Of course the phone will come preloaded with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (One of the few devices with it) along with TouchWiz.

Although rumors say that the Galaxy S III will be 3D, other rumors say that Samsung will be releasing both a 3D as well as a non-3D model.

Not much is known yet about the device so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012: Trends To Watch Out For

All across the globe, electronic/technology companies are preparing themselves for CES (Comsumer Electronics Show) 2012, which takes place during the second week of January at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  Although Microsoft disclosed its plans to end its participation in CES starting next year, this year’s show should hold some promising insights to what’s ahead in the world of electronics.

During an interview with FORBES Wednesday, Accenture‘s Kumu Puri, a senior executive with the consulting firm’s consumer electronics practice in San Francisco, laid out what she thinks will be the five big themes from the 2012 edition of the show.  Microsoft will of course hold a big role this year.  Apple will be casting a big shadow over the event although it will not be participating this year.

So here they are, Puri’s 5 trends to keep a look out for at this year’s CES show:

1. Ultrabooks: PC makers are expected to role out 20-40 new versions of the incredibly thin notebooks.  Puri thinks pricing will start in the $800 to $1,000 range, but quickly scale down from there.
2. Tablets/Smartphones: As everyone could have guessed, we will be seeing a lot more mobile devices this year, including new Android based tablets and smartphones.  We should be expecting to see more support for mobile payments and location-based services on these devices.
3. Connected Devices: Puri expects to see innovation in connected cars, for instance, with new features for Internet radio, and in-car apps targeting safety issues. There will be more Internet-enabled kitchen appliances. Also big again this year will be connected televisions. She thinks some of those services are maturing, and should improve over previous attempts at TV-based Web offerings that received an indifferent consumer reception.
4. Windows 8: Coming back to Microsoft, the company is expected to launch its new operating system at some point in 2012.  Everyone is just asking how much of it they will be showing off at CES.  Also likely to show up at CES: a variety of new Windows Phone-based mobile devices.
5. Digital Health: Puri thinks there will be an increased focus on health care at the show, with developments in three areas. One of those is the increased adoption of tablets in hospitals and doctors offices for recording data and other purposes. A second focus will be cloud-based solutions for storing, archiving, accessing and retrieving medical records. And the third will be an increased number of consumer medical devices, some apps running on tablets and phones, others dedicated gizmos for monitoring things like glucose levels and blood pressure.

Google Delays Ice Cream Sandwich For Nexus S

Google has hit the pause button on its rollout of Android 4.0 to the Nexus S that began last Friday.   Details are still sparse, but many users are claiming that they’re still getting update notifications over the air.  The only difference is that when the update process is complete, the phone simply boots back into Gingerbread.  No one knows the exact reason for this delay but the company says they are “monitoring feedback”.

If you received an update notification a little while ago but the update isn’t currently available for your phone, this is likely the result of Google pausing the update in your area while we monitor feedback. The Android 4.0 update is continuing to roll out around the world so your phone will receive another update notification when it’s available again in your region.

 

 

Next-Gen iPod is A Bracelet??

Apple may be secretly developing wearable iPods that offer full support for voice commands using the company’s Siri software.  The New York Times released more info on the suspected project earlier today.

The iPod seems like it will be replacing the iPod Nano and Shuffle.  Reports say that it is a curved glass iPod which will wrap around the wrist.

We’re even imagining deeper Siri integration where a user might be able to ask their iPod how far they have run or what their current heart rate is.

Win a Windows 7 Phone For Having the Worst Malware?

Recently, Google has removed 22 malware infected applications from its Android Market.  The apps in question, spotted by security firm Lookout, mainly targeted Android smartphone users across Europe and included premium SMS fraud services that cost users money.

The main culprit was called RuFraud and affected users all throughout Europe.  The malware didnt’ make it across seas to the U.S.

This latest malware scare has caused Microsoft’s Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph to make an offer through Twitter to Android users who have been affected by this malware.

On Monday Rudolph tweeted, “More malware on Android! Been hit? Share yr #droidrage story to win a #windowsphone upgrade. 5 best (worst?) win!” and later “Been nailed with Android malware and have #Droidrage? Share [your] story with me … you might win an upgrade to a #windowsphone!”

People have been sending in their stories all day.  Time to send in yours!

Galaxy Nexus December 15th Launch Date

As an update from a earlier post today, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally received a release date for the U.S.

Many sources have been saying the the release will be later this week on the 15th. The sources consist of second party vendors, different tech blogs, as well as some tipsters who originally leaked phone pictures and videos to the public.

What each of these sources is saying is that Verizon retailers literally have the Galaxy Nexus in their stores right this minute but will not be able to sell them until the 15th of this month.

Galaxy Nexus Sale in Canada, Still No U.S. Release Date

The Galaxy Nexus and Google’s Android Ice Cream Sandwich have finally arrived in North America but not in the U.S.

Last Thursday, Android fans in Canada were able to purchase Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus smartphone as it launched on Canadian carriers Bell for $159.95 and Virgin Mobile for $159.99, along with each company’s respective data plan.

Unfortunatly for many, the Galaxy Nexus does not yet have a release date or even a price set for the U.S.

The Nexus has been on sale overseas in Britain for weeks now and is even launching across Europe in the next few days.

Whenever the Galaxy Nexus hits the States, it’ll be available on Verizon’s 4G LTE network (something we’ve known since mid-October), sporting a massive 4.65-inch touch screen with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, a 1.2-gigahertz dual-core processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM.

The new handset will also have a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of shooting 1080p video and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for video chatting, and no physical buttons on the curved face of the device. The back of the Galaxy Nexus looks, well, a lot like the Galaxy S II and the LG Nitro HD.

Follow me on Twitter for updates when the phone is released in the U.S.

Apple iPad 3 Set to Release in February

According to a Citi analyst, Apple is prepping a next-generation iPad (probably called the iPad 3)  for a February release.

The new device would most likely be close to the same as the iPad 2  but include Apple’s high-resolution retina display technology found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, said analyst Richard Gardner in a research note first reported on by Business Insider and PCMag.

Gardner reportedly said that “several sources” told him that Apple could launch the iPad 3 as early as February, which would put its debut ahead of the first two generations of Apple’s tablet.

Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S have what is classified as a retina display, with a resolution of 960 x 640 resolution, and a 326 ppi. Any display with a ppi of 300 or greater is said be so dense that pixels are indistinguishable from each other to the human eye at a distance of about 10 to 12 inches — and thus, those displays can be dubbed retina displays.

Other tablets have already been made with higher resolution screens by Apple rivals but nothing close to a retina display tablet has surfaced yet (Samsung is working on one though).

 

Your iPhone May Catch on Fire!

Reports say that last Friday, some passengers that were on a flight from Lismore to Sydney saw black smoke in the cabin.  While looking for the source of the smoke, it was found to be coming from a passenger’s Apple iPhone 4, which combusted in mid flight.

The iPhone began glowing red and emitting dense smoke on the flight according to Regional Express.

“In accordance with company standard safety procedures, the flight attendant carried out recovery actions immediately, and the red glow was extinguished successfully. All passengers and crew on-board were unharmed,” REX said in a statement.

While the cause of the apparent combustion is still unclear, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority recently issued a warning over lithium batteries in-flight. The safety authority limits the carriage of batteries to two, with a requirement for them to be placed in separate bags to protect the terminals and the battery from short circuiting.