High Tech Lounge

3D-capable 3D1 camera unveiled by Panasonic

2011-11-09T19:53:38Z

Panasonic with its Lumix update offered a minor surprise when unveiling the first 3D camera it made. The DMC-3D1 is chasing the same market as the Real 3D line of Fujifilm. The whole revolves around two cameras with 12.1-megapixel resolution, both having 25-100mm lenses and producing a stereoscopic 3D effect together.

Eight megapixels is the limit when shooting full 3D and videos are not included. Like with its rival, the lenses can be used to try 2D modes as well. While capturing wide-angle shots in one camera, the other one can be used to zoom to telephoto-like distance. It is possible for the users to continuously record video content from one camera while shooting photos from the other.

A unique quad-processor layout provides relatively fast performance by offering relatively quick shooting for a compact camera. Continuous shots with autofocus at 4FPS and 8FPS without autofocus are totally acceptable. Video recording reaches 1,080i. The standout feature for still imaging provides a multi-shot exposure mode able to minimize blur, more than what optical image stabilization could manage. The main interface is served by a 3.5-inch touchscreen.

Panasonic will ship the 3D1 this year in December and the price of $500 out-of-the box will match Fujifilm.

Xperia Arc HD of Sony Ericsson with dual-core and 720p screen

2011-11-09T19:42:26Z

Sony Ericsson Nozomi, the first company’s phone with a micro-SIM, has appeared in iAndroid. It is supposed to receive to be called Xperia Arc HD, its name coming from its very sharp 4.3-inch screen with 720-pixel resolution that puts it on par with its rivals like the HTC Rezound. It has a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, probably a Snapdragon, sufficient to obtain a quite fast 1,800-point Quadrant benchmark score.

Details like, for instance, the camera resolutions were left unmentioned. Previous rumors have said it would carry a 12-megapixels camera together with the front camera. The faster processor is supposed to offer it 1,080-pixel video recording. The phone may ship with the outdated operating system Android 2.3.5, although it would have a new-looking version of the Timescape interface of Sony Ericsson.

If Sony will keep what it did this year, its new phone Xperia Arc HD might be unveiled at CES in January and would ship within other few months. If the phone will not be available by that time, it will have to wait until late February, at the Mobile World Congress.

Siri to work fully on iPod touch and iPhone 4

2011-11-09T10:13:10Z

Steve Troughton-Smith, mobile application write, and Grant Paul, Cydia developer, created a completely functional implementation of Siri, which works on the fourth-generation iPod touch and on the iPhone 4 as well. Files and a validation token obtained from a jailbroken iPhone 4S are used to trick the voice recognition system and make it work as it would do it on its original platform. Unlike earlier hacks, the current implementation works at full speed and connects properly to the network.

More refinement involves now making the system work smoothly. There are about twenty steps to make it working, said Troughton-Smith. He wanted to be sure that his technique does not break other components in the background and is very safe to use.

Siri Service on Apple iPhone 4

Other details would come once the whole process was cleaned up. Steve Troughton-Smith did not want to insert himself the code in the Cydia jailbreak store, as he wanted a proof of concept. Being interpreted as illegal is also a possibility he would want to avoid.

The hack shows why Apple did not implement it on the iPod touch. The microphone is not powerful enough to receive voice on a consistent level, such as on the iPhone. However, the iPhone 4 appears to process tasks at a similar speed the iPhone 4S does. This suggests that Apple perhaps did not have enough time or simply lacked resources to backport Siri. Another hypothesis would be that Apple held off in order to encourage early sales.

European Union deal asks for airwaves clear for 4G until 2013

2011-11-09T10:03:40Z

Three important European regulatory bodies have agreed to a plan to create free bandwidth for LTE 4G phone networks. The European Commission, European Parliament and states members in the European Council have agreed to set wireless spectrum aside for high-speed mobile networks by the 1st of January 2013. The necessary bandwidth has to be made available by auctioning off access frequencies that are currently used to convey analog TV broadcasts.

Under this deal, countries of the European Union will have to make the 800MHz frequency band free for wireless broadband services before that date. After 2013, but before 2015, mobile data traffic would be assigned at least 1,200MHz. By the 1st of January 2015, the European Commission has to determine if supplementary spectrum would be needed to handle the development of wireless data traffic.

Like in North America, the LTE networks will offer data download speeds reaching 150Mbps, while HSPA and HSPA+ 3G networks very common in the country only provide 7.2Mbps and 21Mbps. Deployment of 4G services has lagged in Europe. In the United States, many carriers are advanced on their way to widespread deployment. For instance, Sprint has plans on offering LTE in 120 cities by the end of next year, and extending it in more than 260 areas, while 250 million people will benefit from it until the end of 2013. Verizon has even more aggressive plans. It intends to cover more than 178 markets by the end of this year. By the end of 2013, its 3G network will be completely overlaid with 4G services.

Another carrier, AT&T, has its own network in five cities.

Regulation of bandwidth in Europe has been, until now, up to each country. The United Kingdom had plans of auctioning up its bandwidth next year, in the spring. The scheduling has however been put of until late next year. Initial deployment of 4G will happen in 2013.

Samsung claims Android 4.0 to hit Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab next year

2011-11-09T09:55:04Z

Samsung Italy put an end to doubts after revealing its plans to upgrade the higher-end devices to Android 4.0. Consequently, the Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, and the Android 3-based tablets from the Tab 7.0 Plus through the Tab 10.1 would be upgraded by the spring of next year. HDBlog.it says that the original Galaxy S as well as other models represented lower priorities. Samsung considered the highest priority as getting the operating system on devices that would support it and only then evaluating its lower-end devices.

Samsung may have revealed a real hardware baseline for the new Android 4.0 operating system when saying that any device had to have at least WVGA at 400×800 to receive an upgrade.

Android 4.0 will help most the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II, both of them getting major phone interface changes. The changes are subtler on a tablet and mainly include updated core applications and face unlock, as well as others that are not dependent on the size of the screen.

While showing Samsung decided to support its older hardware, it is still clear that the Galaxy Nexus is the only device of Samsung to carry Android 4.0 in the near future. Other devices are likely to appear at the CES expo in January and in February at Mobile World Congress.

Nokia chief says Windows 8 tablets are an interesting opportunity

2011-11-09T09:51:32Z

Stephen Elop, Nokia’s CEO, said, during an interview at Nokia World, that a Windows 8 tablet would be well received. He did not comment his company’s strategy but told the Financial Times that Microsoft’s desktop operating system was an “interesting opportunity”. Both the new Lumia phones and Windows 8 share the same basic tile-based interface and therefore the success of Windows 8 tablets is supposed to draw attention to Windows Phone.

Elop said that when one sees the user experience from Nokia’s Lumia environment appearing on many hundreds of millions of PCs and tablets, it becomes clear that a synergy exists between both environments.

The Finnish-based company is not a newcomer in the world of tablets. It was one of few companies putting a mobile operating system on a tablet through the Maemo-based N800 and N700 models. Nokia has kept itself completely outside of competition when the iPad era began. However, the company had plans that included two design patents that may not be finalized as shipping hardware. Elop resisted pressure to involve the company in the competition and said he would do this only if Nokia could be unique.

There would certainly be some risks for Nokia in moving to Windows 8 for an eventual tablet, mainly when it would not be unique and would have to compete with devices coming from Dell, Hewlett Packard and others. Nokia’s last attempt related to a Windows PC was the Booklet 3G, which was well built but could not compete against netbooks with similar features but including cheaper parts that helped them cost significantly less.

Samsung pushes past Apple to be first with 27.8 million smartphones sold

2011-11-09T09:51:06Z

According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung was the top smartphone maker of the summer, way ahead of its rival Apple. Although Samsung did not directly supply sale numbers, the firm found out the Korean company had shipped about 27.8 million smartphones. After claiming the top in the spring, Apple shipped 17.07 million devices in the run-up to its iPhone 4S and therefore only got the second place.

While Apple dipped to only 14.6 percent of the whole smartphone zone, Samsung touched 23.8 percent. Nokia had 16.8 million devices sold and, with its 14.4 percent, is still behind Apple

The success Samsung was credited with is a consequence of getting “memorable” brands in “elegant” hardware. Most people have connected the recent run to the Galaxy S II. It has managed to sell over ten million devices since its arrival in April. Although sales of cheaper or older models, such as the original Galaxy S versions or budget Galaxy ace phones, had a contribution to these results, their sales are considerably smaller.

Sales of smartphones are a central point for a rather downbeat quarter, with chips and displays dragging the profit down. Apple has had record sales with the occasion of the iPhone launches and it is already established that iPhone 4S sales have even offset the company’s summer drop. Therefore, Samsung may not keep its top position for a long time. Apple is adding KDDI and Sprint to its carrier choice for the first time and expects to see its new phone arriving on Verizon too.

Yahoo trying to shed Alibaba stake, but not paying taxes

2011-11-09T09:41:04Z

It is believed that Yahoo tries to find a way to shed its stake in Alibaba Group avoiding to pay taxes related to the sale, says a Wall Street Journal report. Not paying these taxes would bring about $5 billion savings, as Yahoo has a forty percent stake in the Chinese company, which means about $14 billion.

A “cash-rich split-off” strategy may be one of multiple potential actions in what is considered to be a “global chess game” related ownership of Yahoo as well as its investments. About a dozen companies are believed to look for favorable positions.

Expected candidates certainly are supposed to be eyeing Yahoo’s popular network of sites and advertising business. However, the major investments in Yahoo Japan and Alibaba have provided further levels of complexity. In order to avoid paying taxes on share sales, it would be necessary for Alibaba to create a new subsidiary. Its stock would have to be swapped instead of being sold outright.

Negotiations are ongoing, but it is still unclear if Yahoo has to be sold entirely or divest a part or all of its assets.

Samsung’s profit 23% lower in summer despite smartphone success

2011-11-09T09:40:01Z

Finalized summer results for Samsung show its net profit dropped 23 percent in a year-to-year comparison as its display and chip groups offset the smartphone success. The summer quarter brought a modest $3.1 billion, slightly down from the spring too. It had been dragged backwards by slow sales of traditional computers and TVs, which caused the display division a loss of money. The chip business for memory and mobile processors had also the profit cut to $1.42 billion.

Operating profit at $2.3 billion was over double and came mainly from runaway success of handsets like the Galaxy S II. Although the company did not say how many smartphones and cellphones it had shipped, leaks have mentioned over twenty million smartphones and topped the 17.07 million iPhones of Apple. This success is not supposed to repeat as Apple waits for its iPhone 4S to establish historical sale records.

Samsung’s past fall quarter might get a lift from sales of the holiday, but most of that may still come from smartphones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, as well as closely related components that the company provides to itself and to customers including Apple, like mobile screens and flash memory.

There is no mention of the preliminary bans Apple requested on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and Australia and also a brief ban related to the Galaxy phone line.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus to reach Europe on November 17

2011-11-09T09:37:04Z

Samsung Galaxy Nexus would arrive in Europe on the 17th of November, Samsung Mobile said over Twitter. As Samsung and Google want to launch the device worldwide simultaneously and this means the launch date will come stateside within a few days. The first Android 4.0-based handset is not yet officially scheduled for the United States, but a November 10 release at Verizon is rumored.

Talks of a November 3 arrival stateside also existed. Whatever the arrival date would be, the device will be available through a number of carriers including Verizon. The handset is expected to support LTE and cost $300 with a two-year contract.

The main features of the new phone are its operating system, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 720×1,280, 4.65-inch curved Super AMOLED touchscreen, a very fast five-megapixel camera, and also its slim 8.9mm thickness.