Galaxy Note 5 Case

2014年2月9日星期日

Alcatel announces affordable One Touch Tab and Evo 7 family of tablets

Alcatel announces affordable One Touch Tab and Evo 7 family of tablets, prices them as aggressively as possible

Alcatel has decided to step into the affordable Android tablets market with two lineup of slates – the One Touch Tab and Evo 7.

The Evo 7 lineup consists of two 7-inch tablets which feature the rather unique add-on modules, one of which allows you to add support for mobile data connection.

Alcatel One Touch Evo 7

Evo 7 HD

First off, the Evo 7 HD, which as its name suggests sports a 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Under the hood it’s got a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU bundled with 1GB of RAM and is running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

There’s 4GB of built-in storage, but fret not, as it’s expandable via the microSD card slot. At the back, there’s 3 MP camera, which you probably won’t be using as much as the front-facing VGA snapper for video calls.

Expect the Evo 7 HD to hit stores worldwide in May carrying the sweet price tag of $179. The add-on mobile data module we mentioned is going to cost the quite pricey $249 for the 3G variant and $349 for the the 4G one.

Evo 7

The Evo 7 HD will also be joined by the more affordable Evo 7, which also features a 7-inch display, but with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Underneath the screen, there’s a 1GHz single-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Unlike its more premium brethren, the Evo 7 tablet will be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, instead of Jelly Bean.

With no camera at the back and just a VGA camera at the front, the Evo 7 sports 4GB of on-board storage, expandable via the microSD card slot. Connectivity is covered by Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi and an optional HSPA+ 21 module.

Pricing and availability are yet to be announced, but you can bet it’s going to be a lot more affordable than the Evo 7 HD.

Alcatel One Touch Tab

Alcatel also announced another line-up of super-affordable tablets – the One Touch Tab family.

One Touch Tab 7 HD & One Touch 8 HD

Both tablets are pretty similar in specs and are running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean powered by the same 1.6GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB as the Evo 7 HD.

Where the Tab 7 HD and Tab 8 HD, as you might’ve guessed is the screen. The Tab 7 HD features a 7-inch IPS display of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels), while the Tab 8 HD is built around an 8-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024×768.

In addition to the 8GB of built-in storage expandable via the microSD card slot, both tablets pack a 2-megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facing one.

The One Touch Tab 7 HD will hit stores carrying a price tag of $149, while the Tab 8 HD will be slightly more expensive at $179. However, it’s still unknown when that’ll happen.

One Touch Tab 7

Finally, there’s the least expensive out of the Alcatel family of tablets. The One Touch Tab 7 features a 7-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, 1GB of RAM and a 1GHz single-core CPU.

There’s no main camera to keep the price as low as possible, but there’s a VGA front-facing one for video chatting. There’s also 4GB of storage coupled with microSD card slot, which considering the $129 price of the slate is wonderful news.

Unfortunately, the One Touch Tab line-up lacks mobile data connection options or modules, like the Evo family, and only pack Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Availability info hasn’t been disclosed just yet.

Via (1), Via (2)

BioWare announces Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut - free DLC adding extended endings

After the unprecedented feedback that Mass Effect 3 received, BioWare promised to listen and respond. Well, today is a lucky day for gamers as the popular title receives the conclusion it deserves.

BioWare has just announced the next Mass Effect 3 DLC called Extended Cut. It does exactly what the name suggest – extend the current finale with additional scenes and so anyone interested can get answers to their questions and proper closure.

This means the endings stay the same as of today – no changes there. What you will get with the new DLC is probably a few more minutes of cinematics answering some of the questions that the very end of the game introduced, rather than those posed earlier.

The DLC will be released this summer for Mass Effect 3 on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

I am one of those people who wanted an extended ending, so I am happy with this news. I am OK with the current one but an epic trilogy deserves more clarity in its conclusion than the original game offered. In case your position is different, though, you can always opt not to install this DLC. After all it will bring a few more answers, but will not change the story and the ending itself. No matter how you look at this – it is a win-win situation.

Update: Here is the official announcement and a short FAQ on the Extended Cut.

Source

Colorful to release an insane Kudan iGame GeForce GTX 680

Following the launch of the most powerful single-core GPU on the market to date, the GeForce GTX 680, the Chinese graphics card manufacturer Colorful is taking Nvidia’s PCB design to a whole new level of awesome.

What you are seeing is the Kudan iGame GeForce 680 GTX. It is powered by the GK104 core and contains the mind-boggling 1536 Cuda cores bundled with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. But what makes it even more special is its overclocking abilities.

But you guessed that from the image above, didn’t you? And why wouldn’t you, when the iGame Kudan GTX 680′s enormous cooler takes three regular slots and features an aluminum fin block the size of the PCB itself.

However, you haven’t seen this video card’s party piece – its VRM Phase design. Usually, most of the video cards out there come with two 6-pin connectors to let the juice from the power supply flow to the GPU. The iGame Kudan’s GTX 680 comes with two 8-pin connectors bundled with an additional VRM board adding 6 more Phases.

This could only mean one thing – monstrous overclocking capabilities. I can only imagine what performance this abomination of a video card would achieve.

Unfortunately, pricing and availability are yet to be announced, but I am sure you’ll be able to afford a decent second-hand car for the price of this video card. What do you think of it?

Via

2014年1月6日星期一

CyanogenMod 7 shown running on Galaxy S II

CyanogenMod 7 shown running on Galaxy S II, you can't have it yet

Remember those Galaxy S II smartphones that Samsung so generously donated to the CyanogenMod Team for developing custom ROMs for the device? Well, that gesture wasn’t in vain as the devs have been hard at work and we can now see the fruits of their hard work.

Below you can see the Galaxy S II running on the CyanogenMod 7 along with LauncherPro. Unfortunately, it is still a work in progress and few things aren’t working quite well as of now but the team is working on them and hopefully should release it soon for users to download. Head past the break to check out the video.

Source

Archos announces ChefPad

Archos announces ChefPad, a 9.7-inch Android tablet for the kitchen

Archos has launched its ChefPad, a tablet that is designed exclusively for cooking enthusiasts. The slate comes with few dedicated apps, which is bound to be your virtually cooking assistant.

Archos ChefPad sports a 9.7″ display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels and is powered by a 1.6 GHz dual-core processor along with 1 GB of RAM. The tablet features a quad-core graphic processor, 2 megapixel front and rear cameras, 8 GB internal memory, built-in mic and a pair of speakers for providing voice cooking lessons.

The virtual cooking assistant runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has the ability to play 1080p videos. Archos ChefPad also comes with an exclusive Chefs app zone, where aspiring chefs can discover a selection of cool cooking apps, cooking tips and cooking TV channels.

The ChefPad has a silicone casing that will keep the slate safe from water or food splashes and the package includes an adjustable stand for the best viewing angles while cooking. Archos ChefPad carries a price tag of $210 and will be available starting from June.

Source

2013年12月15日星期日

Samsung to allegedly use Intel processors for its Galaxy Tab 3 10

Samsung to allegedly use Intel processors for its Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 tablet

Samsung is no stranger to working with a wide range of chip makers for its devices, even though the company fabricates its own chips. The reason for this have often been Samsung’s inability to produce enough chips on its own and thus had to look at other OEMs to supply the processors.

Although Samsung and Intel have worked together in the past on several products, we are yet to see a Samsung Android device running one of Intel’s processors. It seems, though, that it won’t be long before we do. According to the sources at Reuters, Samsung is working with Intel to get the latter’s Clover Trail+ series of x86 mobile processors in at least one variant of its upcoming Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 tablet.

According to Korea Times, the reason once again is related to supplies, as Samsung is seemingly unable to produce enough of its own Exynos range of processors. Although it’s hard to tell just how Intel’s processors stack up against Samsung’s in terms of performance, the former have done well so far on their own and should offer respectable performance on Samsung’s tablet.

Source 1 ? Source 2

MIUI v5 is now available for the HTC One as a custom ROM

MIUI is one of the most famous Android launchers out there and now it’s available for HTC One users as an easy to flash ROM.

Based on AOSP version of Android 4.2.2 via a fork of the CyanogenMod ROM, the MIUI v5 for HTC One is reported as a pretty stable replacement of the Sense UI experience that the stock HTC One provides. Many owners say it’s much prettier, too.

As with any custom ROM out there, there are some bugs to be expected. NFC might not be working, as it isn’t properly tested, while mobile signal strength isn’t in perfect shape. Bluetooth is also reported to be a bit wonky, but that’s due to the CyanogenMod foundation of the ROM.

Anyway, the overall performance of the custom ROM is reported to be great. You can follow the source link for more information on any glitches the ROM might have and to download it for your ROM flashing pleasure.

Source

2013年12月13日星期五

Angry Birds Star Wars gets updated with 20 new Hoth levels

Angry Birds Star Wars has been updated today with the final 20 levels of the Hoth episode.

You’ll get 20 new addictive levels, two bonus ones you’ll need to unlock, and a boss fight.

The update is available now on Android and iOS, while the other platforms that have the game is available on should be getting it too very soon (if not already).

Source

2013年12月6日星期五

LG announces Optimus Pad LTE with 8

LG announces Optimus Pad LTE with 8.9-inch display and Honeycomb, launching initially in Korea

LG has announced a new tablet for its homeland called the Optimus Pad LTE. Compared to the regular Optimus Pad, there are quite a few differences, other than the inclusion of LTE.

For starters, the design is new. The Optimus Pad LTE is thinner at just 9.34mm compared to the 12.7mm thickness of the non-LTE version. It’s also lighter at just 497g compared to the 621g of the Optimus Pad. Other changes include a larger 6,800mAh battery, which is up by 400mAh over the standard version despite the reduced thickness and weight, dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor that replaces the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor on the non-LTE model and a simpler 8 megapixel camera instead of the dual 5 megapixel 3D camera on the back.

The Optimus Pad LTE retains the 8.9-inch, 1280×768 resolution IPS display, HDMI out, DLNA and Android 3.2 Honeycomb. It also has 32GB internal memory and is the first tablet in the world to have a full-size SD card slot. This way, you can, for example, simply take out the card from your digital camera and plug it into the tablet to view your images and videos on it.

The tablet will initially be launching only in Korea but you can expect it in other markets later. No price has been mentioned so far.

Source (PDF)

2013年12月3日星期二

A Samsung and Visa partnership will provide NFC payments during 2012 London Olympics

The NFC movement is picking up steam, guys. Samsung and Visa, already two of the largest sponsors of the Olympic Games, will team up to provide NFC (Near Field Communications) payments during the 2012 London Olympics.

Mobile payments will be accepted through Visa’s contactless payment technology at more than 60,000 locations in London. Samsung will provide NFC enabled handsets to Visa and its own sponsored athletes. The company will also release a contactless enabled device for consumers.

Source

2013年11月28日星期四

LG 55-inch OLED TV pre-orders begin in South Korea for $10

LG 55-inch OLED TV pre-orders begin in South Korea for $10,000

It’s been a year since we first saw LG’s massive 55-inch OLED TV. The television was then showcased to a wider audience at CES, where it dazzled onlookers with its picture quality and amazingly thin design and even managed to nab the Best of Show at CES 2012 award.

Now, a year later, the design has gone through a bit of a change and more importantly LG is finally ready to start shipping out this TV to eager customers, starting with its home country – South Korea.

The LG OLED TV (Model 55EM9700) will hit South Korean stores this month, with deliveries beginning next month. It will be priced at KRW 11 million, which is approximately US$10,000, not too expensive for such a large OLED display (early LCDs and plasmas were way more expensive and nowhere as good).

The OLED panel has one of the thinnest bezels I’ve seen and the entire thing is just 4mm deep. This is possible because OLEDs don’t need space consuming backlight assemblies the way LCDs do and are self illuminating. The panel has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and has a WRGB sub-pixel layout, with an extra white sub-pixel. If you’re worried about over-saturated colors, LG claims that their panel produces images that are vibrant yet natural looking.

Of course, it would be wise to wait for CES as you are likely to find way more alternatives this year in the OLED segment, along with some more 4K panels.

Source

2013年11月27日星期三

Samsung announces 20MP WB110 with 26x optical zoom

Samsung has extended its collection of superzoom cameras with the addition of WB110. Samsung’s latest camera boasts a 26x optical zoom and has a 20.2 megapixel sensor.

Samsung WB110 measures 114.48 x 79.26 x 86.45mm and weighs about 385g. The WB110 lens starts from the ultra wide 22.3mm and its LCD screen measures 3-inch in diagonal. The WB110 can capture 720p AVC/H.264 videos and has a maximum ISO level of 3,200.

The camera packs features like smart auto, which analyses key elements in photographer’s compositions and also adjusts photo and movie settings automatically to capture the best possible shot. The WB110 has the ability to shoot panoramic shots and preview them live on the screen.

Unfortunately, there is no official word on the availability and the pricing details of the camera for now.

Via

Sony Xperia S gets in front of our camera

We met it at CES this year, but now the Sony Xperia S is on our home turf. It’s a huge leap forward compared to Sony Ericsson phones – it’s all dual-core processors, 12MP still shots and FullHD videos.

We had a bit of free time, so dragged the Xperia S right in our studio for a quick hands-on video.

The Sony Xperia S (along with the US-centric Ion) is the most powerful Sony Mobile phone (formerly Sony Ericsson) to date, with two 1.5GHz Scorpion cores, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

Okay, that won’t wow anyone nowadays but the screen might – a 4.3″ LCD with 720p resolution and BRAVIA engine. The pixel density is 342ppi, well over the requirement for the “Retina” label. The image on the screen is tack sharp with great looking colors and contrast.

Sony Xperia S at HQ

The other point that should leave geeks drooling is the camera – it’s one of only few 12+ MP cameras on the market right now. The Symbian-laden Satio has almost faded from memory, but the Xperia S puts Sony at the front of the imaging race yet again.

The Sony Xperia S held in hand • Retail box

The camera can record 1080p video too, thanks to the extra oomph from the dual-core processor. FullHD video capture is very rare among such high-res cameras (unless you’re in China) and the Xperia S is one of the few lucky phones to have this highlight in their resume.

The software is currently Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread with updated customizations courtesy of Sony, but they are hard at work porting Ice Cream Sandwich. There are some other additions that we don’t have the time to cover now.

The Sony Xperia S has a microHDMI port you can use to hook it up to HDTVs, but you’ll need to get your own cable for that, there wasn��t one in the box.

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona will start in a few days, so the review might take a little longer than usual. But in the mean time, we’ll get another hands-on opportunity during the Congress.

2013年11月20日星期三

Samsung Galaxy S II T989 and Skyrocket suffering from display issues

Do you have a T-Mobile Galaxy S II (SGH-T989) or an AT&T Skyrocket? Then you might want to check if your display is having any issues.

According to a thread on xda-developers forum, a lot of T989 and Skyrocket users are complaining about vertical lines, blobs, circles and pixellation on their displays. The defect is especially pronounced at lower brightness levels, where you can see strange vertical lines as shown above depending upon what background you have.

Not all Galaxy S II devices are having this problem, though. None of the international I9100 and Sprint Galaxy S II owners have reported any display-related issues with their phones.

If you have this problem your best bet is to get it replaced and hope the new one does not have the same problem.

Source 1 • Source 2

'Paper Monsters' for iOS and Android game review

Some of you may be familiar with Paper Monsters, which was released on iOS back in January this year. While it took its time, the Android version of the game has finally been released and is now available on Google Play.

For those who don’t know, Paper Monsters is a side scrolling ‘2.5D‘ game involving characters and environment made out of paper. Let’s take a closer look at it.

Title	Paper Monsters
Developer	Crescent Moon Games
Platform	iOS	Android
Release Date	January 2012	November 2012
Content rating	4+	Everyone
Size	108MB	84MB
Price	$0.99

Gameplay

Paper Monsters is a 3D side-scrolling game, which is why I referred to it as 2.5D. Basically, the game is rendered in 3D but the action mostly is in just two planes.

In this game, your objective is to avoid the enemies and collect buttons and paper clips as you move towards the end of the level. There are several silver buttons scattered throughout the level and if you collect 50 you get one gold button. There are also a handful of gold buttons throughout the levels. These buttons can later be used as currency to purchase items to customize the look of your character.

Along with the buttons, there are precisely three paper clips in each level but these are usually hidden or out of reach and requires a bit of exploration to find.

Throughout the game you will face many enemies. To take them out, you just have to jump over them. There are some which cannot be killed this way, or in any way, so you just have to avoid them.

Along with the land levels there are also some underwater levels where you take the form of a submarine. There, along with the sea creatures, you also have mines to avoid. Thankfully, you get an unlimited supply of torpedoes to fire at them.

The gameplay in Paper Monsters will remind you of Cordy or Pandemonium (if you are old enough). The side scrolling action is similar to most 2D games but the 3D visuals makes things more interesting. At times you enter special levels within levels, which are actually placed behind the main level, so the camera just focuses in the background so you can see yourself in the back. Once you exit that area, the camera focuses back to the main level. It’s a neat trick and only possible because the game is in 3D.

The gameplay is fun. It is easy to dismiss the game due to its visual style as something childish and boring but go past the initial levels and you’ll find that the Paper Monsters is challenging enough to keep you on its toes. The difficulty ramps up nicely and offers a fair amount of challenge to keep you interested without being too easy or too difficult. Most of the fun comes from the platforming, where timing your jumps correctly is everything. The presence of enemies and collectibles only makes it more fun.

There are four modes in the game. There is the main story mode and two other modes called Punkin’ Time and Heartbreak Shakedown, which offer similar gameplay to the main campaign but are seasonal packages that were released during Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

There is also a mini game called Drag ‘N Dash, where the character moves forward on its own and you just have to press jump at the right time to collect the buttons and avoid the enemies. Unfortunately, this mode is broken on Android because after a while the game world abruptly ends and your character goes into an infinite fall.

Graphics and Sound

As mentioned before, Paper Monsters is a 3D game and a decent looking one at that. The characters in the game have a boxy, low polygon look to them but that’s fine considering they are supposedly made from paper.

The background score in the game is also pretty good and worth putting on headphones for. Unfortunately, the sound effects aren’t that great and lack the polish of titles from big game studios.

Verdict

If you haven’t played Paper Monsters already, you’re missing out on a lot of fun. For $0.99, Paper Monsters offers plenty of enjoyable gameplay with a lot of replay value. Only major problem with the Android release is the broken Drag ‘N Dash mode, which hopefully would be fixed soon.

Rating: 4/5
Pros: Challenging, enjoyable gameplay, good soundtrack, plenty of replay value
Cons: Broken Drag ‘N Dash mode on the Android version, sounds effects are bit cheesy

Download: iOS | Android