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The Apple Online Store is down, and this usually only happens – pre event – when Apple is about to launch some new hardware. While iOS 7 and Mac OS X updates are in tow, looks like new goodies also might be headed our way. With only just minutes for the Live event to begin. We just cant wait to see what is up Apple’s sleeve, a new iWatch perhaps?
Samsung has been pounding us with so many devices that look so identical to each other that it has almost become impossible to keep up. The Korean portability giant is expected to launch two new Galaxy Tabs for its third year cycle called the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. While the design remains almost identical to recent launches by the company, the matte back with a golden brow finish may be a big welcome.
The leak on the 8.0 inch Galaxy Tab 3 shows a Samsung Galaxy S4 sort of UI, so expect HD display, and Android 4.2 where as the 7.0 could possibly be running 4.1 Jelly bean. No details on any of the hardware just as yet, but stay tuned for updates.
[@evleaks (1), (2)]
Its 2013, and what has been almost 6 years from the announcement of the original iPhone back in 2007, Apple will today announce a new version of iOS deemed “iOS 7”. WWDC or the Worldwide Developer Conference is Apple’s yearly conference with its developers to show off what the company has designed for the developers to make functional apps in the oncoming year.
Apple’s prized possession; the mobile os to power their extremely popular portables, has led the company for over 5 years into undeniable success. This year around John Ive’ design philosophy takes over that of Scott Forstall, which makes the design exceptions of the iOS 7 a lot flatter vs the skeuomorph designs of Forstall.
Apple may also change their closed nature towards third party apps allowing them to be set as default apps (eg. presently default browser cannot be changed from Safari), this might make the experience of iOS 7 a lot more personal.
Apple removed all Google based apps from the default apps list on iOS, including Youtube and Maps to replace with their own, this time around we are hearing of partnerships with Yahoo to provide Flickr integration along with Tumbler posting, possibly directly from the notification panel, a spot presently secured by Facebook and Twitter.
There is a also a possibility of Apple integrating quick toggles in the Notification panel or even as direct apps, something that would be widely appreciated.
Apple has also signed a deal with Sony Music among other major music companies, enabling the possibility of “iRadio” a music streaming service directly from Apple. As “the Guardian” points out a mix of iRadio and Genius playlists would put Apple in the forefront of all competition simply because the Genius playlists would automatically play music like the music you already like listening to.
Apple will also announce the next version of Mac OS dubbed 10.9 and will also include a Lion in its commercial name, this iteration of the OS for their portables and desktop is expected to be midway between a tablet and a pc, allowing more direct availability of Apps.
Apple is also expect to update key features of the OS, including notification center and Siri Integration within the OS.
iWatch : Apple wearable control device which has been heavily rumored ever since Apple changed the design of the multitouch iPod Nano from the Square watch band friendly to a vertical more media player-esque design. Although a wearable Apple product sounds interesting, many previous editions have failed to grab market attention.
Apple TV: Apple has also been toying with the TV industry for years hinting at a piece of hardware that will revolutionize the Television industry. Whether this “Jesus TV” will ever be launched is unknown. But Apple will need to update its current gen Apple TV (box), so atleast a refresh of the 100 $ TV is expected.
App Ecosystem: Rumors have suggested in the past that Apple will launch a better App Store allowing more flexibility in a way a user buys an app. Possible examples could include renting of Apps and even trial periods as seen on Windows Phone.
While it is almost always impossible to know what Apple has up its sleeve, it is almost certain that no new iDevice hardware is expected to be launched at WWDC, no new iPhone, iPad or even iPOD is expected. But, with everything so well under wraps, the world might just be shocked as Tim Cook walks onto stage with a shiny new hardware, that may set to create yet another category in the buying space. We will get you all the details during the launch.
After its press shot leaked earlier today, Samsung has now officially launched the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has a 4-inch WVGA LCD display with a middling 800 x 480p resolution, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 features an average array of innards wrapped within a design that arcs back to the Samsung Galaxy S3. Although marginally larger than the 3.8-inch Galaxy Ace 2, the new Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 screen features the same resolution as the past model, suggesting images will benefit from no improvement.
Lining up at 10mm thick and 119.5g in weight, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 spec sees Google’s latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS alongside a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 1800mAh Lithium-Ion battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 camera is the same 5-megapixel rear-mounted offering from the Ace 2 alongside a VGA forward-facing snapper.
Set to be made available in 3G and 4G LTE forms, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 specs sheet is rounded off by the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD.
The device will also come pre-loaded with Samsung features and applications such as S Translator, S Travel, Smart Stay, S Voice, Easy Mode, Samsung Hub and Samsung ChatOn. In terms of sensors, the device will come with Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity and AGPS connectivity.
Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything on date or price yet.
[toggle title=”Press Release”]Enjoy the New Mobile Essentials with Samsung GALAXY Ace 3
SEOUL, Korea – June 10, 2013 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leader in mobile technology and digital solutions, today announced a new addition to the popular GALAXY family with the Samsung GALAXY Ace 3, a smartphone that synthesizes a multitude of smart features to produce an enriched user experience suitable for everyday life.
Building on the success of the previous GALAXY Ace series, the GALAXY Ace 3 brings users powerful performance with a dual core processor built to perform data-intensive tasks faster and more efficiently than its predecessor. Powered by Android™ Jellybean 4.2, users will enjoy the larger 4.0 inch display for a brilliant viewing experience while playing games, watching movies, and enjoying the device’s many smart features. The 5-megapixel camera is equipped with multiple features, including Sound & Shot, Best Photo, and Buddy Photo Share to fuel users’ creativity and to allow easy sharing amongst friends.å
To provide a more intuitive user experience, the GALAXY Ace 3 comes equipped with several smart features, providing innovative tools that continue to make the GALAXY series successful in the market.
• ‘S Translator’: Gives instantaneous translations at any time
• ‘S Travel’: Provides guides and travel information for your next trip
• ‘Smart Stay’: Recognizes when a user is looking at the phone, and saves battery life when a user looks away by
dimming the screen and powering down using advanced facial recognition
• ‘S Voice’: Offers voice command functionality
• ‘Easy Mode’: Brings a simple and intuitive homescreen mode for streamlined access to your top functions
Depending on the market, the GALAXY Ace will be available in two different versions – 3G or LTE.[/toggle]
Apple and Sony Music have reportedly inked a deal, moving Cupertino’s anticipated iRadio service another step forward.
According to All Things Digital — which cited a person familiar with the companies’ negotiations — this means Apple now has the support of all three major music labels, including Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.
With the record companies on board, Apple plans to announce an advertising-supported service that will compete with Pandora Media for listeners. iRadio will allow users to build custom stations based on an artist or genre that draws on music from the company’s iTunes library. Apple’s agreement with Sony Music was reported by AllThingsD. Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture of Sony and the estate of Michael Jackson, signed its agreement with Apple, CEO Marty Bandier said in an interview.
The majors publishers had looked like they were going to be the holdout because Apple initially offered to pay them a rate of 4.1% of its advertising revenue, while the publishers had been withdrawing digital rights from the U.S. performance rights organizations BMI and ASCAP because they wanted higher rates. BMG, Sony/ATV, UMPG and Warner/Chappell executives had privately said they were seeking rates of 10%-15% of iRadio’s advertising revenue. But when Apple agreed to a 10% rate, Warner/Chappell last week signed the deal and now so has Sony/ATV.
Google also recently stepped into the streaming Internet radio market with All Access , which launched in May. The search company’s subscription music service is expected to debut on iOS devices in the coming weeks.
Apple is expected to reveal iRadio at WWDC which begins today.
[AllThingsD]
Popular mapping-app Waze has been a hot commodity in the tech world recently, fetching offers from Facebook and Apple along the $1 billion range. But it appears Google won the bidding war, for a cool $1.3 billion, according to a report from Israeli media.
Haaretz newspaper said on its website that the two companies had agreed terms and were about to sign for a price “exceeding $1 billion”.
Business daily Globes said the purchase price was $1.3 billion. Neither report identified its sources. “We don’t comment on rumour and speculation,” a Google spokesman told AFP about the Israeli media reports.
Waze, whose mobile app solicits input from more than 40 million users to improve directions and display traffic and road-hazard details, would help Google add social features to its mapping tool, said Greg Sterling, an analyst at Opus Research.
Interestingly, Microsoft was reportedly an early investor in Waze back in 2009, helping the fledgling start-up with building capital. Microsoft (or Nokia and their HERE services) were not part of the latest round of negotiations, which means either they did not see the value in the company, had alternatives or were simply caught off guard.
Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology for Apple Mapssoftware, which was followed by the announcement of an iOS version from Google of Google Maps.
In an interview with “AllThingsD” at D11 in May, Cook announced that Apple had not bid for Waze.
[T3, Haaretz]
Samsung has always had lower priced devices away from their flagship models and now a Galaxy Ace 3 image along with specs appear before any official reveal.
The Galaxy Ace 3 codenamed GT-S7270 will come in 2 versions with duo sim (GT-S7272) and without duo sim (GT-S7270). The Galaxy S Ace 3 features a 4.0” TFT display 480×800, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, VGA resolution front camera, 1.0 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM. 4 GB intern and up to 32 GB extern, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps and a battery of 1500 mAh.
According to leaked information will the dimension of the device be 121.2×62.7×9.79mm. There currently is no information about the weight. Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 will run on Android 4.1.2 or 4.2.2 and uses Samsung’s own touch-wiz Nature UX. (via SamMobile)
Rumors claim the price of the Galaxy Ace 3 should be around US$300 (~Rs 17,000/-), which would actually make it substantially more expensive than the current Ace 2, which runs for about 2/3 of that amount.
The device is said to be available sometime this summer and will come in three colors: Metallic Black, Pure White, and Wine Red.
Anyway, the Galaxy Ace 3 should be announced quite soon, as according to further leaked info, the Ace 3 should become available in July.
[SamMobile, GSMArena]
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive set a new speed record for a production electric car at the Nurburgring.
The electron-drives Mercedes SLS AMG managed to get round the ‘Ring in seven minutes and 56.2 seconds, which also makes it the first EV to break the eight-minute barrier on the infamous German track.
Last year the R8 e-tron came close with a lap time of 8:09.099 minutes after Audi engineers raised the standard car’s speed limit from 124 mph (200 km/h) to 155 mph (250 km/h).
The four motors powering the SLS Electric Drive deliver thrust to all four wheels. That’s a good thing, since the powertrain serves up a mind-blowing 737 lb.-ft. of torque. Mercedes-Benz estimates the SLS Electric Drive needs less than 4.0 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. Top speed is electronically-limited to 155 mph.
In addition to its brute force, the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive also features a unique carbon fiber structure built around its battery system that helps improve overall stiffness and dynamics. Then there are the racing-style pushrod shocks and carbon ceramic brakes to harp on about, but the aspect that draws the most attention is the sophisticated torque vectoring system of the car developed using Formula One technology.
The Mercedes SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive celebrates its sales launch in June 2013. The purchase price is approximately $550,737 USD. (Don’t count on us reviewing it.)
[Motor Authority, NYDailyNews]
The Sony Xperia Z is already a good smartphone, but the Android device’s interface may get even better thanks to a report that says a Google Nexus edition is on the way.
Sony and Google have teamed up to develop a Google Edition of the smartphone that Katrina Kaif loves to drop water on, according to anonymous Sony sources who spilled the goods to Android Geeks.
The “Google Edition” Sony Xperia Z should be sold in the U.S. through the Google Play Store later in the year, just like the two other Google Edition handsets. Being a “Nexus user experience” phone it’s very likely this new Xperia Z will benefit from speedier system updates.
Whether certain features will be compromised in the Google edition of the device is still unknown. Sony’s UI of the Xperia Z as it is close to the stock Vanilla experience. Perhaps the camera app that has certain additional features or Sony’s Bravia Engine that reduces noise in the display will be missing the Google edition. But these are certainly not something that most users would miss.
The Xperia Z comes with an impressive spec sheet. There’s a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSD expandability, a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS rear camera and IP57-rated water and dust-resistance credentials.
The Sony Xperia Z Google Nexus, if the report is accurate, will cost $599 in the Google Play Store after it is announced in July.
[Android Geeks]
When Apple crossed over the 50 billion app download mark last month a press release hinted that they’ll show the world “new versions of iOS and OS X.” The much anticipated iOS 7 recently appeared in a GFXBench database and confirmed its presence.
Banners have been going up outside Moscone Center in San Francisco this week and the latest is a simplistic design showing the number 7, which basically confirms that we’ll see Apple finally unveil iOS 7. Other banners stated that WWDC is “where a whole new world is developing.”
Jony Ive, Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design, is the man behind the new foray into iOS 7. This has been rumoured to be “black, white, and flat all over.”
Apple is rumored to announce upgraded MacBooks featuring Intel’s new Haswell processors at the event. More specifically, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been reliable in predicting Apple’s product announcements, expects a slimmer 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro model with upgraded FaceTime camera, and a dual microphone MacBook Air, to be introduced.
Apple’s official WWDC 2013 app for iOS is already available. WWDC 2013 is scheduled to run from June 10 to 14, with a keynote slated to kick off the event on Monday. We’ll bring you all the details as WWDC 2013 unfolds.
[Apple Insider]
The Galaxy Camera failed to be a camera that Samsung wanted it to be, and people truly asked for a camera which had phone capabilities as well. By the looks of the leaked images, that might just happen this year, The Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom, as seen in the images, will replace last year’s mess-of-a camera and will add phone features along with a camera device on their June 20th event in London.
SamMobile and TechTastic have leaked out renders and leaked images respectively, and seem to glorify the claim with adding, that the features on the camera-phone combo will be a mix of all the S4 Zoom hardware from the Galaxy S4 fused with the camera from the Galaxy Camera. Honestly if that is the case with the S4 zoom, we might just have another premium android phone, but this time it will also have a bulky camera that takes horrible pictures.
But rumors suggest that Samsung will replace the 16.3 MP sensor from the Galaxy Camera with a 20.9-megapixel sensor on the Galaxy S4 Zoom, which has zero shutter lag for a faster picture taking experience and better image handing.
The leak could also be Samsung’s answer to Nokia’s teaser video of the Pureview equipped Lumia EOS. They have been known to do similar leaks in the past, and the S4 Zoom’s leak around the launch could also mean that the company has established a separate launch cycle for its Android camera.
Microsoft loves its Internet Explorer browser and has no problem showing off to the world what it is capable of doing. This time around, IE is championing a new title as the most energy efficient browser on Windows 8.
According to the new findings, Internet Explorer 10 is the most energy-efficient browser on Windows 8, using less energy than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox to display a large number of websites.
The study discovered some pretty miniscule changes between each browser when it came to situations like “Average, Top 10 Websites” and “Fishbowl Benchmarks.” However, the introduction of Flash into the test showed a fairly substantial change between browser power consumption, with Internet Explorer consuming approximately 18.6 percent less wattage than Google Chrome.
“In the above scenarios, Internet Explorer 10 exhibited the lowest energy consumption. In some scenarios such as playing Adobe Flash video on laptop PCs, it was 18% more energy efficient than Google Chrome, and it was 17% more efficient than Mozilla Firefox in playing HTML5 video,” Microsoft explained.
Microsoft goes so far as to say that if every single Chrome and Firefox user switched to Internet Explorer 10, it would save enough energy to power over 10,000 US homes for a year.
“This is enough energy to power 10,722 households in the United States for an entire year [and] would eliminate the release of over 85,000 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
[SoftPedia, TechCrunch]
The Galaxy S4 may be on its way to selling 20 million units faster than any other Android device, but it’s not without its issues.
One of the major out-of-box problems with the Samsung Galaxy S4 is something users may not notice until it’s too late: of the 16GB advertised storage, only 9.15GB is available to the user. The rest is used for high-resolution assets, system files and other Samsung necessities, all but ensuring that extra expenditure for a microSD slot.
An upcoming software update, rolling out to users in Germany starting today, addresses that issue by harkening back to Android 2.2 Froyo, adding a “Move to SD Card” button in the App Settings menu of the Galaxy S4. The system update also reclaims 800MB or so for users, bringing the default free space to 9.23GB, but having that option to move individual apps to the SD card could be the difference between playing that big-time 3D game or not.
The main issue here is that Samsung seems unapologetic about its misleading advertising of the Galaxy S4, preferring to resurrect a feature that was a security concern to developers and an annoyance to users rather than releasing a high-end phone with enough storage to satisfy the needs of its buyers.
The update to build I9505XXUBMEA also fixes many performance issues present on the release build, including a graphics bug that made the screen appear like it was tearing when the user scrolled through an app.
The camera app adds a new firmware and the ability to take HDR video, a net positive for users trying to eke that extra bit of dynamic range from uncertain lighting conditions. Users can also toggle Smart Pause in the Expanded Settings portion of the notification shade, but we’ve yet to see whether the software improves the feature itself.
Samsung hasn’t officially mentioned the new software update so there’s no news on availability in other countries. Given the understandable disappointment in free storage for the 16 GB models of the phone, however, we don’t expect Samsung to wait too long to get this update out globally.
[SlashGear]
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is coming to Android and iOS this summer and according to a T-Mobile UK Tweet the released yesterday, the date is set for June 27th.
When Thorsten Heins announced the news that their popular messaging app would arrive on other platforms he also noted that BBM would be slimmed down. The app will be free and compatible on devices running iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich (OS 4.0) or higher. BBM for iOS and Android will be limited to messaging and groups at launch, then updated “later on” with BBM Voice, screen share, and the BBM Channels.
T-Mobile UK then deleted their Tweet claiming BBM for Android and iOS coming June 27th. Rumours are that they jumped the gun on pressing publish and that the app is not available for download on that date.
The company has confirmed the rumored date is wrong,
“On May 14th, BlackBerry announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), available to iOS and Android users this summer, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. While there have been reports that BBM will be available to iOS and Android on June 27th, this is not accurate. We will communicate an update as soon as we have an availability date to share. (via MobileSyrup)”
T-Mobile UK later apologized for the error, noting on Twitter that “Sorry folks, we got over-excited about the #BBM app coming to Android / iOS. No specific availability date yet, stay tuned for details”
Are you guys excited about BBM coming to Android And iOS? Let us know below!
Mercedes Benz has offered the 3-pointed star on their vehicles for decades, and it has now evolved into a symbol which goes beyond the idea of brand recognition. The 3-pointed star has come to stand for a guarantee of excellence for the customers of the German manufacturer, one which every Mercedes Benz owner would flaunt with pride.
Well, now Mercedes Benz is making it easier for owners to flaunt their cars with a new accessory. An illuminated 3-pointed star emblem will now be available in a number of Mercedes Benz vehicles including the 2006+ CLS-Class, 2012+ M-Class, 2013+ GL-Class and the 2014 E-Class. A dealer-fitted option, the accessory utilises LED and light tube technology to light up the 3-pointed star in the radiator grille of the car when the car is unlocked, its engine is turned off or its doors or trunk are opened – remaining on for 15 seconds. It does not work while the car is being driven.
If this accessory takes off, expect other OEMs to come up with something similar for their cars soon. Is the illuminated 3-point star accessory cool and classy, or too blingy and garish? Let us know in the comments section.
[youtube id=”Il5-uuSXpDk” width=”100%” height=”300px”]
Image courtesy: Mercedes Benz
Video courtesy: mbusa