What's new on SlashGear.com |
- Engkey Egg-Shaped Robot Teaches South Korean Students English
- First X-Ray Image of Lightning Captured
- Researchers at University of Glasgow Create 1,000-Core Processor
- Nintendo Adds 32 3DS Titles for Nintendo World 2011
- LG Xnote P210 Notebook Unveiled
- Gresso iPad Features 200-Year-Old Wood and 18K Gold Apple Logo, Goes on Sale New Year’s Eve
- BlackBerry PlayBook Could be Delayed Due to Battery Issues
- TENQ P07 Ubuntu tablet spotted in wild
- Olympus PEN E-PL2 leaks: new lens kit & PENPAL Bluetooth dongle
- Sprint Palm Pixi gains mysterious front-facing camera
- SkyWire iPhone serial cable allows remote telescope control
- SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: December 28 2010
- Cellbots Android app wants to be your robot’s brain [Video]
- Sony dismiss iPad-rival color Reader tablet plans
- Alphaline Entertainment movie & TV download store launches
- HP scoops $2.5bn NASA computing contract
- Android music player update leaks but streaming still absent [Video]
- Ring Socket concept makes timed charging easy
- Amazon patents auto gift exchanges for online shopping
- 90′s AOL discs cost AOL about $35 per subscriber
- Sonic the Hedgehog inductive Wii Remote charger from Mad Catz
- Quirky Digits turn any gloves into iPhone working wonders
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and LG Optimus Pad inbound at CES according to report
- Samsung Galaxy S successor due at MWC 2011
- iGo to unveil new gear at CES 2011
- PhoneGuard blocks texting when a phone is traveling faster than 10mph
- iPad 2 to have separate AT&T and Verizon versions not single multimode?
- AT&T beefs up WiFi coverage in NYC for Times Square festivities
- Sony PlayStation Phone coming in spring 2011?
- App Developers and Apple get sued over user tracking
| Engkey Egg-Shaped Robot Teaches South Korean Students English Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:55 PM PST It looks like South Korea’s aspirations of having robots in classrooms, teaching their youth, which were aiming for 2012, may be seeing adoption at a quicker rate. But, that’s not stopping a school in Daegu, South Korea, from planting a few 3-foot tall robots, oddly shaped like huge eggs, right in front of students, and teaching them English. The students reportedly love the Engkey, though, and that’s kept the little bots around.
In total, the Engkey robots stand 3.3-feet tall, and feature a small display where a female woman’s face is displayed. The robots don’t control themselves, though. The English teachers are in another room, controlling Engkey in its content, as well as the reactions to the students. The image of the woman’s face will actually copy the reaction of the teacher’s, thanks to cameras watching his or her face. Other than the fact that the students love the little ‘bots, the schools are adopting the robots at a faster rate due to the cheaper cost of hiring Filipino teachers. According to a school official, Kim Mi-Young, “The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person.” She went on to add that having a robot in the classroom makes the students more active, and that their participation has climbed steadily since the robot’s introduction. [via GearLog]
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| First X-Ray Image of Lightning Captured Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:31 PM PST Scientists have reportedly known that lightning emits radiation within it for quite some time, but unfortunately for those scientists they have been unable to take any kind of x-ray photographs of the event. It simply moves too quickly, and up until recently, there simply hasn’t been an x-ray camera that was able to take the necessary shots to capture lightning in mid-strike. That is, until now. A giant x-ray camera, which was created by a graduate student named Meagan Schaal, has been the first ever to capture a lightning strike with an x-ray camera.
The photograph was taken during a batch of recent thunderstorms at Camp Blanding, in Florida. The lightning bolt streaked down from the sky at almost one-sixth the speed of light, but the camera was able to capture it. Joseph Dwyer, who is a lightning researcher at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, said, “Something moving that fast would go from Earth to the moon in less than ten seconds.” Obviously, finding a camera on the shelf wasn’t going to cut it, so Dwyer turned to his students. One of his graduate students, Schaal, managed to create the x-ray camera. It weighs in at 1,500 pounds, and it is made of an x-ray detector that’s housed in a box that resembles a refrigerator. It’s lined with lead, to make sure that the x-ray detector is kept safe from stray radiation. How many images does this new camera have to take to capture lightning in its natural state? 10 million per second. Unfortunately, storage of so many photos meant that the images couldn’t be all that detailed. The camera can only take 30 pixels. Meaning, the results are images that are produced on a hexagonal grid. However, the researchers were able to learn that lightning carries the majority of its x-rays at the head of its strike, with barely any lingering radiation trailing away. Dwyer confirms that the lightning’s strike holds all of its x-rays at the tip, rather than through the entirety of its length. One thing to note, is that while these tests were being run during thunderstorms, the scientists had to make sure that the bolts struck where the camera could capture them. For that to happen, the researchers had to shoot rockets into the thunderstorm’s clouds, with wires trailing behind them, making sure that the lightning would streak down the wire and into the camera’s field of view. With that being noted, Dwyer points out that this artificial creation of lightning probably had no affect on the results, and if they could reproduce a truly natural strike, he is confident the same conclusion would be revealed. [via National Geographic]
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| Researchers at University of Glasgow Create 1,000-Core Processor Posted: 28 Dec 2010 11:51 AM PST Lead by researcher Dr. Wim Vanderbauwhede, a team of scientists have used the technology found in Field Programmable Gate Arrays, or FPGAs, to create a 1,000-core processor. At this point, they’ve effectively created a proof of concept that can perform almost 20 times faster than “modern computers.” To add to the possibility of this new processor finding its way to the real world eventually, it seems that Intel has been playing around with the idea, very recently, and believe that a processor of that magnitude is certainly “feasible.”
The researchers, in order to get the results they wanted, had to separate the millions of transistors within the FPGA, and place them on 1,000 mini-circuits. Each of these mini-circuits are able to process their own instructions, which is why the proof of concept is able to perform at the level that it does. As said above, the researchers claim that the new processor could make computers work up to 20 times faster than modern machines. As for Intel, Timothy Mattson of Intel’s Microprocessor Technology Laboratory says that they’ve been thinking about this type of processor, and that it certainly could be possible. He mentions Intel’s Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC), which manages to have 48 cores on it. However, Mattson says that it could be upscaled to 1,000 cores. There are always factors to consider, though, and Mattson points out that it will still take some time to get something like this off the ground and into machines. [via Engadget]
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| Nintendo Adds 32 3DS Titles for Nintendo World 2011 Posted: 28 Dec 2010 11:25 AM PST While we all wait for an official price tag for the 3DS, which just went up for pre-order at GameStop, we’ll have to tide ourselves over with the fact that, if you’re going to be in Tokyo for Nintendo World 2011, you’ll be able to get your hands on quite a few upcoming titles for Nintendo’s 3DS portable gaming console. The company has just unveiled the 32 titles, so far, that will be making an appearance at next year’s event, almost half of which will be playable for all of those in attendance.
As we mentioned above, there are a total of 32 titles that Nintendo has revealed will be at next year’s show. However, while most all of them are games, there are some that would probably be better suited in the “applications” category, such as the 3DS Camera. Nintendo also points out that not all of the games, at this point in time, have a finalized title. For those, an asterisk will appear next to them, indicating that game features a working title. To make it easy to point out, we’ve italicized the games that will be playable at Nintendo World 2011, so if you do get to go, you’ll know what to look for. You can see the full list below. Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample” [via 1UP]
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| LG Xnote P210 Notebook Unveiled Posted: 28 Dec 2010 10:53 AM PST The old saying, “Go big or go home,” may have applied to LG’s recently unveiled 72-inch LED-backlit 3D TV the company plans on showing off at CES 2011, but for the brand new LG Xnote P210 notebook, it certainly doesn’t. The new notebook, which features a ridiculously small form factor, manages to pack plenty of tech inside the body, even if it manages to slim down its figure. Rumros have it that the device will be shown off at CES 2011, but details are scarce on that bit.
As for the notebook itself, it features a 12.5-inch display, which LG is proud to say features the thinnest bezel out there. The entire package measures in at only 299 x 192 x 20.9mm, and it weighs in at only 1.3kg. On the inside, you’ll find an Intel core i5-470UM processor, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, a 320GB hard drive, and 4GB of RAM. Pricing and a release date are still missing, but we’re hoping that LG is a bit more forthcoming on their information regarding the little Xnote when they show it off at CES 2011. [via Pocket-Lint]
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| Gresso iPad Features 200-Year-Old Wood and 18K Gold Apple Logo, Goes on Sale New Year’s Eve Posted: 28 Dec 2010 10:23 AM PST Gresso is a well-known name when it comes to luxury products, especially when they’re making tech gadgets look ridiculously pricey. Of course, the price tag always matches the extravagance your getting your hands on, but then again, that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. This time around, they’re putting their name on a brand new iPad customization, which features the world’s reportedly most valuable tree, along with just enough gold to catch someone’s eye.
With Christmas over and done with, perhaps buying a lavish gift for yourself, or someone you know, isn’t at the top of your list. But if you were someone who managed to rake in the dough this holiday season, then maybe you have a chance to pick up one of these Gresso iPads, when they release on New Year’s Eve. We’re only saying that because Gresso hasn’t come forward with the price yet, and some impossible notion in our mind has us believing that maybe, just maybe, the price tag won’t have us dropping into fits. Then again, considering the device features wood from a 200-year-old African Blackwood, which as we mentioned above is reportedly the world’s “most valuable tree,” we are pretty sure our dreams of a cheap luxury iPad are dashed. Not to mention the addition of the 18K pure gold Apple logo on the back. [via PhoneArena]
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| BlackBerry PlayBook Could be Delayed Due to Battery Issues Posted: 28 Dec 2010 09:57 AM PST Despite not having a firm release date quite yet, it looks like Research In Motion’s first tablet device, the BlackBerry PlayBook, might be looking at a few delays. According to analyst Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros., a significant issue with the battery may be causing RIM to look at delaying the tablet. Wu has heard this from sources close to the matter. As of right now, in its current state, it looks like the PlayBook can only manage a “few hours,” and against the major competition which can manage between 6 and 10 hours of battery life, that’s simply not good enough.
According to Wu, the issue is battery life. And some of the options that the company are kicking around, which include a bigger, and heavier battery, may negate the “bonuses” of having a smaller, 7-inch tablet device. Wu points out that this may have something to do with the fact that RIM has pushed back the BlackBerry PlayBook’s release date until some time in the May quarter of 2011. Wu adds, “Keep in mind that QNX wasn’t originally designed for mobile environments but rather for devices like network equipment and automobiles where battery life isn’t as much [of] a constraint.” If that’s not enough to dampen the mood for RIM’s tablet plans, Wu also points out that developers aren’t all that gung-ho about the device, either. They point out that the distinction between the QNX software, and BlackBerry 6, and the fact that there’s not a lot of apps, or people buying apps, from BlackBerry’s App World. There doesn’t seem to be enough apps, or users, to generate a cash flow, according to Wu. And the tablet isn’t looking like it will help matters. At the time of this writing, Research In Motion hasn’t made a comment on the possibility of a delay due to battery issues. However, they are still sticking to a timeframe of early 2011 for the release of the PlayBook. Keeping the release date open, and not narrowing it down to an exact date, may be driving some people crazy, it’s a good way to make sure that if there is a delay, they can still, maybe, reach their goal. [via Electronista]
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| TENQ P07 Ubuntu tablet spotted in wild Posted: 28 Dec 2010 09:32 AM PST Android tablets may be Linux-based, but if you’re more interested in Ubuntu then a new Chinese slate from TENQ might satisfy instead. The TENQ P07 has been spotted over at Gizchina, and reportedly runs Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10 “Maverick Meerkat” on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor with 2GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD.
The OS supports multitouch and, since it’s the netbook edition, will have chunky, finger-friendly buttons making it somewhat more suited to tablet use. Unfortunately, that Atom processor probably means battery life won’t be stellar, though instant-on is rumored. There’s obviously a hunger out there for Ubuntu tablets: there’s already been a project to get the OS running on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.    [via Slashdot]
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| Olympus PEN E-PL2 leaks: new lens kit & PENPAL Bluetooth dongle Posted: 28 Dec 2010 09:13 AM PST A new micro four thirds camera has leaked, the Olympus PEN E-PL2, ahead of its official debut at CES 2011 next week. According to 43rumors, the E-PL2 has a new high-resolution 3-inch 460k-dot LCD and will be paired with a 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) kit lens; optionally, it can also be used with the Olympus PENPAL, a Bluetooth dongle that attaches to the E-PL2′s hot-shoe and wirelessly sends photos to Android or Windows Phone 7 smartphones.
Once there, they can be automatically published to online galleries such as Flickr or Facebook. To help you look your social-network best there’s a new “Dramatic Tone” art filter, and up to ISO 6400 is supported. The sensor itself is the same as in the PEN E-PL1 we reviewed back in July. A direct movie record button, as on the Panasonic LUMIX micro-4/3 range, rounds out the main changes, though we imagine there’ll be plenty more detail once Olympus officially announce the camera next week. It’ll supposedly hit the market in February 2011, pricing tba. [Thanks Tony!]
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| Sprint Palm Pixi gains mysterious front-facing camera Posted: 28 Dec 2010 08:44 AM PST Photoshop goof or pre-CES 2011 leak blunder; either way, Sprint has some explaining to do about its Palm Pixi listing. According to the photo the carrier has used on the Pixi landing page, the webOS smartphone has a front-facing camera; that’s not something we’ve seen on the handset before.
Now, the rest of the photos in the Pixi gallery on the Sprint site still show the regular handset we’re familiar with, and only the main page has the camera-blessed version. There’s no telling whether it’s a mistake by Sprint’s artwork team – though we can’t really think of a reason why they might be modifying the smartphone like that – or an accidentally posted image from an imminent Pixi refresh. HP-owned Palm has told us to expect a new range of handsets in 2011 though is yet to suggest what sort of hardware we can look forward to. Meanwhile, the underlying webOS is due for a significant update too, and video calling might well be part of that. For the moment, though, we’ll have to wait to see what arrives at CES 2011. [via Ubergizmo]
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| SkyWire iPhone serial cable allows remote telescope control Posted: 28 Dec 2010 08:14 AM PST A serial connection is probably not the first port that sprang to mind while bemoaning Apple’s shortage of socket options on iOS devices, but that’s just what Southern Stars and Redpark are offering. The SkyWire is a $79 adapter for the iPhone 4, iPad or other iOS models that allows you to hook the handset up to various computer-controlled telescopes.
Since it’s been developed according to Apple’s “Made for iPod” specifications, you don’t need to jailbreak or otherwise hack your device in order to get SkyWire working. Now, telescope control might not be top of everybody’s list of priorities, but Redpark say it’s just the first serial application; the technology they’re using is suitable for home automation, networking, scientific instrumentation and more.
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| SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: December 28 2010 Posted: 28 Dec 2010 08:05 AM PST Behold the best idea any road-safety authority ever thought of – PhoneGuard – blocks texting when a phone is traveling faster than 10mph. Get teased with a preview pic of the ASUS Eee Pads pre-CES. Take another leaky look at the upcoming Android Music App (video). See as AppsFire adds video previews for Android apps, possibly tipping this sort of functionality in the Android Marketplace soon. Take a peek at a tip from a Japanese newspaper calling spring 2011 as the release time for the eve elusive Sony PlayStation Phone. Marvel as your Android phone becomes the brain of a robot. All this and MORE on SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up!
R3 Media Network Editor’s Choice SlashPhone Android Community SlashGear To see more wrap-up posts, follow the following tags: [The Daily Slash] or [SlashGear Morning Wrap-up]
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| Cellbots Android app wants to be your robot’s brain [Video] Posted: 28 Dec 2010 07:46 AM PST We first wrote about the Cellbots project back in March, when Android tinkerers were first looking at the potential to use a Googlephone as the brain for simple Arduino-based robots. Now that project has spawned a full – and comprehensive – Android app, allowing you to use your handset as a remote control for a robot (with various platforms supported), as a brain directly mounted on the robot itself, or even pairing two handsets to delivery both roles. Video demo after the cut
The free app – available in the Android Market for 2.2+ devices – works with iRobot Create, LEGO MINDSTORMS, VEX Pro, and custom Arduino Cellbots. At its most basic, it functions as a simple directional pad for the ‘bot; however, it can also respond to voice commands, stream video directly from the robot platform over the net, and send compass headings back to a remote operator. In brain-mode, the app basically creates a web-accessible control page with streamed content, from which you can log in remotely and direct the robot. Impressive stuff; how long before someone straps their Android phone onto a Parrot AR.Drone? [via Android Community]
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| Sony dismiss iPad-rival color Reader tablet plans Posted: 28 Dec 2010 07:15 AM PST Sony has again dismissed speculation that they are planning a color ereader tablet to directly take on the iPad, with deputy president of the digital reading division, Fujio Noguchi, telling Tech-On that the company’s range is still resolutely focused on ebook consumption. “I think recently developed color e-paper devices are suited for displaying movies” Noguchi suggests, “but I believe that color e-paper should be employed for e-book readers with a focus on displaying texts.”
The exec goes on to criticize color reproduction of the incipient color display technologies, suggesting that – as happened with ink-jet printers – it will take refinement before decent picture quality is achievable. Last year, Sony CEO Howard Stringer insisted that a dedicated ereader would be more appealing than a generic tablet, despite rumors that a so-called VAIO slate was in the works. Noguchi also pointed out the benefits of a bundled data package for the Sony readers and the Amazon Kindle, claiming that as a result he did not “think the business model of the iPad is innovative.”
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| Alphaline Entertainment movie & TV download store launches Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:57 AM PST Is there room in the world for another digital media download store? Kmart and Sears reckon so, hence the launch of Alphaline Entertainment, a RoxioNow-powered movie and TV store offering purchases for around $19.99 and rentals for $3.99. The two retailers are promising title availability on the same day as DVD or Blu-ray release, along with growing support for connected A/V devices.
Those connected devices will eventually include Blu-ray players and HDTVs, the pair reckon, along with portable media players and even cellphones. Thanks to the underlying RoxioNow technology, you should be able to view any purchased or rented content on any device that supports the standard. Whether the pricing is still appealing when taken in context of oft-discounted physical media remains to be seen, however. Previous RoxioNow powered stores, such as Best Buy and Walmart’s, have shown themselves to be reluctant to discount any digital content, despite the retailers physical shelves often being filled with cut-price discs. Still, that’s the price of convenience. Press Release:
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| HP scoops $2.5bn NASA computing contract Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:38 AM PST HP have snatched a NASA computing contract worth $2.5bn, though it seems the kit supplied to the space agency will be staying on the ground rather than headed into orbit. According to NASA spokesperson Michael Sweigart, the deal covers “basically everything that’s plugged into the wall that’s IT,” including PCs, software and peripherals.
Lockheed Martin had previously been supplying the NASA contract, but were pipped to the post by HP’s bid. The company still supplies other contracts at the agency, however, and is responsible for NASA’s computer networks and data centers. [via Bloomberg]
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| Android music player update leaks but streaming still absent [Video] Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:17 AM PST A new version of the Android music player app has leaked ahead of official release, updating the PMP software’s UI and bringing it more in line with the Android gallery app. Available from xda-developers if you’re willing to try out alpha software, the new app gets refreshed iconography but lacks the media streaming functionality which Google showed off at Google I/O earlier in the year. Video demo after the cut
Andy Rubin had shown how an Android device could wirelessly access a computer’s media library and stream content from it, or have files pushed across from the computer to land on the phone’s memory. That was expected for Froyo or Gingerbread but failed to arrive; it now seems it might be a part of this new music app, which could be released as a standalone upgrade or may be held back until Android Honeycomb, expected in the first half of 2011. [via Android Community]
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| Ring Socket concept makes timed charging easy Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:05 AM PST Timed AC outlets aren’t new, but they’re generally tricky to program ad-hoc and so only get used for security lighting, heating or other regular tasks. Designers Cheng-Hsiu Du and Chyun-Chau Lin want to change all that; their Ring Socket concept would replace the confusing digital display or dozens of clicky pegs with a simple illuminated loop, rotated clockwise according to how many hours you want the appliance to be active.
Turning it a single notch would leave the socket active for an hour; turning it further would increase the time accordingly. If the hoop lights green then the device is in a standby state, whereas yellow indicates power is actively being drawn. Red, meanwhile, would suggest the socket was overloaded. Obviously there’s no repeat scheduling, so this is more useful for recharging your cellphone without leaving the AC adapter powered all night, or similarly impromptu tasks. It’s the sort of idea that wouldn’t take much to reach the market, though whether the aesthetically-pleasing loops would make it – along with an affordable price – is less certain.   
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| Amazon patents auto gift exchanges for online shopping Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:48 AM PST
Although the benefit to Amazon would primarily be one of simplifying their returns process, the patent details potential upsides of the filtering system to gift recipients. Matters of taste are a common theme, with unpleasant Christmas jumpers automatically being put on hold, as well as overly cautious presents that do not fully match up with the recipient’s expectations:
Causing most controversy is the fact that Amazon would allow for a thank-you note to be sent to the sender of the gift, referring to the original choice rather than the replacement item (or the fact that you swapped it for a gift card). “The user may also be provided with the option of sending a thank you note for the original gift” the patent describes, “even though the original gift is converted,” though it would also be possible to disclose that the present was exchanged, presumably in an attempt to better educate people to your tastes. [via Washington Post]
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| 90′s AOL discs cost AOL about $35 per subscriber Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:44 AM PST I remember back in the 90′s you just couldn't get away from all of those AOL discs. They seemed to show up in my mailbox daily and each time I went to Wal-Mart they were there in droves too. I threw them all away without even opening the wrapper. I always wondered how much money AOL spent on those CDs.
One person wondered the same thing and posted the question on question and answer site Quora recently. Apparently, the CEO of AOL at the time you couldn’t escape from the discs, Steve Case, saw the question and decided to answer it. The answer in short was “a lot.” According to Case AOL had decided that it could spend 10% of its lifetime revenue per customer on landing that customer. He also said that the lifetime revenue was $350 so each of those CDs cost AOL about $35. I guess the plan worked out OK for them at the time. AOL went from 200,000 users when the company made its IPO to 25 million in a decade with a market cap of $150 billion. Via TechCrunch
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| Sonic the Hedgehog inductive Wii Remote charger from Mad Catz Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:32 AM PST One of the more popular characters in the world of gaming is the classic Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega. Sonic has been around for a long time a now and has been in games on multiple consoles. This is the first time I have seen the blue guy on a gaming accessory though.
Mad Catz has put a Sonic figure on an inductive charger for a pair of Wii remotes and judging by the look on Sonic’s face, you better not try and put more than two remotes on there. The plastic Sonic figure is 6-inches tall and the thing is shipping already in limited numbers. The cool charger is part of the 20th anniversary of Sonic. The charger should be able to be found online and in stores and the little gadget will sell for about $50 each. The rechargeable battery packs inside the remotes are good for 15 hours of gaming per charge and you only have to sit them on the charge stand to juice them back up. Via Coolest Gadgets
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| Quirky Digits turn any gloves into iPhone working wonders Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:16 AM PST Anyone that lives in a cold climate knows that working your touchscreen smartphone can be a big problem outdoors if you are wearing gloves. You can get drastic to use your iPhone with an app like NoseDial or you can just get these simple and cheap devices from Quirky called Digits.
Digits are a set of four little pins with brass backs and conductive silicone fronts that you pin to your glove fingers. The little devices allow you to work your iPhone touchscreen without having to take your gloves off. The things will work with any touchscreen device. They should fit on any gloves as well. I would think that poking a hole in your gloves might affect the waterproof gloves out there though. You can order the Digits from Quirky and they are shipping right now for $13.99 for a four-pack.   
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and LG Optimus Pad inbound at CES according to report Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:04 AM PST If you just got a new Galaxy Tab from Santa, we have some news today that may make you regret your new gadget. Korea Times is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will be debuting at CES 2011 along with a new tablet from LG possibly called the Optimus Pad.
The new Galaxy Tab 2 has been rumored for a while now and is expected to run the NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip. That Tegra 2 part is a dual core processor that us significantly faster than the 1GHz Hummingbird processor inside the Tab today. The Tab 2 is also said to be the reference design for Honeycomb as well. Along with that new Samsung tablet, LG is also supposedly set to pull a new tablet out of the shadows at CES that might be called the Optimus Pad. The Optimus Pad is rumored to use an 8.9-inch screen and run Honeycomb. You can be that there will be many tablets being debuting at the show this year and many of them will be Android tablets.
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| Samsung Galaxy S successor due at MWC 2011 Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:56 AM PST Little surprise, perhaps, but Samsung Korea has apparently confirmed that MWC 2011 will mark the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S successor. According to Korean news site Chosun Ilbo, Samsung confirmed yesterday that the replacement Android smartphone would first be shown in February next year; specifications and launch name haven’t been mentioned, but the assumption is that the “Galaxy S2″ will feature a dual-core processor, NFC and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
In two of those three respects, it will be similar to the Nexus S, the Samsung-made smartphone sold under Google’s own brand. That handset has been criticized – including by ourselves – for launching with a single-core processor (the 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird) rather than a more modern chipset; rumors circulated prior to the Nexus S’ official announcement that Google had axed plans to launch the phone and would instead wait until a dual-core version was ready. SlashGear will be at MWC 2011 next year to bring back all the details on the new device, which promises to be one of the most important Android handsets of 2011. The Galaxy S helped Samsung knock HTC from the Android top-spot in the US last quarter, with its carrier-branded and -customized variants. [via Android Community and via Samsung Hub]
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| iGo to unveil new gear at CES 2011 Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:39 AM PST iGo will be on hand at CES 2011 to show off some of its new gear and accessories for mobile devices and computers. Among the new gear that will debut at CES will be a small pocket projector, battery power devices, a cooling pad, and new headphones.
The pocket projector will be one of the cooler of the gadgets unveiled at the show by iGo. It is called the iGo Pocket projector UP-2020 and is designed to connect directly to a Flip video camera, smartphones, and other devices. The projector is claimed to be the lightest and slimmest pocket projector on the market. The other gear includes the iGo KeyJuice, which is a USB charging and sync cable for mini and micro USB devices or Apple devices. iGo will also unveiled the new Arctic Laptop Cooling pad for keeping your notebook cool and the iGo Noise-cancelling headphones.
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| PhoneGuard blocks texting when a phone is traveling faster than 10mph Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:25 AM PST With all the press, that has surrounded texting and driving with the hazards and fatalities that distracted driving can bring, people still do it every day. Many states and cities have laws in place banning texting and driving, but people ignore the laws and teens especially tend to think that they can text and drive.
A company called PhoneGuard is set to debut new software at CES 2011 that will prevent anyone from texting and driving. The PhoneGuard software promises to install easily on smartphones and disables the ability to text when the phone is moving faster than 10 mph. The software uses the phones internal GPS system to determine how fast the phone is moving and it disables the texting, email, and keyboard function of the phone when it detects speeds over 10mph. The app can also be set up to notify a parent or boss when a vehicle is moving at an unsafe speed by sending a notification to another device. Another feature is TimeOut mode that determines when a child can send or receive text messages, email, and surf the web.
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| iPad 2 to have separate AT&T and Verizon versions not single multimode? Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:17 AM PST Apple has reportedly eschewed dual-mode UMTS/CDMA radios for the rumored iPad 2, instead apparently planning separate UMTS and CDMA models alongside a WiFi-only version of the second-gen slate. According to DigiTimes‘ channel sources, the new iPad 2 will be available in three flavors rather than the two current-gen models; component makers claim the WiFi/UMTS/CDMA ratio will be 3:4:3.
The current iPad WiFi + 3G works on AT&T’s 3G network in the US, but the CDMA version would likely support Verizon’s data network. Rumors persist that Verizon will be offering a version of the iPhone in early 2011, potentially including LTE 4G for high-speed access; it’s unclear whether the CDMA iPad would also have 4G support. According to the leaks, Apple is also boosting the iPad 2′s anti-smudge and anti-reflective display treatments so as to make the second-generation tablet more user-friendly. It’s expected to reach the market at the end of the first quarter 2011 or at the beginning of the second.
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| AT&T beefs up WiFi coverage in NYC for Times Square festivities Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:09 AM PST
The new capacity in Times Square will help ease congestion as thousands flock to the festivities to take place this weekend. AT&T calls the new WiFi areas Hot Zones and they overlap to cover large outdoor areas and are designed to use a cluster of access points to provide robust coverage. Along with new Hot Zones in Times Square, AT&T is also adding new coverage for the busy San Francisco Embarcadero waterfront district. AT&T has planned to set up more Hot Zones as well, particularly in sports stadiums to beef up coverage. The best news for AT&T smartphone and home broadband services is that the zones can be used for free and don't count towards monthly data allotments.
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| Sony PlayStation Phone coming in spring 2011? Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:55 AM PST The rumors surrounding when the Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone will land keep going. The latest rumor has the device landing in the spring of 2011. That rumor comes from a Japanese paper called Asahi Shimbun and was printed today. According other paper the device will be based on the PSPgo.
As we all know the go was a massive failure for Sony, but adding calling capability with the same gaming chops as the PSP rolled up with the Android OS and you could have a winning smartphone that gamers will gravitate towards. The report claims that the device will launch in the spring of 2011. The smartphone will reportedly go on sale in the US and Europe to start with. Sony has offered no official comment on the report other than to say it has no comment on rumors. We are hoping that the PS Phone will be one of the things that debuts at CES next week, though a debut at MWC in February would make sense too.
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| App Developers and Apple get sued over user tracking Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:25 AM PST Back on December 20, I mentioned a study that the Wall Street Journal had published that showed a lot of the popular apps on the Apple App Store were grabbing personal identifiers for people along with demographic information and passing those details on to third party advertisers without the user knowing or agreeing to share the data. The apps sharing this data were from companies both large and small.
It will come as no surprise that there were users out there that didn't appreciate being tacked without their permission have filed suit. The suit was filed in federal court in Northern California, seeks to stop the sharing of personal data without the users consent, and seeks monetary damages as well. The suit names Apple as a defendant because it alleges that with Apple approving each and every app that it knows the data is being shared and hasn't made the app developers tell users that the data is being shared. One of the attorneys in the suit named Majed Nachawati said, “Apple knew this was an issue. They had a duty to warn consumers and at a minimum, if they intend to profit from this, they need to let people know and get their consent.”
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Amazon has 
The biggest party in the country on New Year’s Eve has to be in New York’s Times Square. AT&T has announced that it is setting up 
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