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Microsoft confirms 3D compatibility in Halo, Xbox 360 Remake

Microsoft has finally confirmed 3D gaming for XBox 360. This comes almost a year after Sony added 3D support to their PS3. Joystiq experienced a demo at Gamescom in Germany, and reports that it only works with the game’s updated graphics mode, and that the game’s producer claims the framerate will stay consistent even in 3D. While there are already a number of Xbox 360 games that support 3DTVs.

Epic Games had also announced earlier this month the Gears of War 3 will also support 3D, but this is the first instance of game from Microsoft. Its good news for those already on the 3DTV bandwagon, but not too great for people who don’t want to loose their sight and hemorrhage their brains with excessive 3D.

[Joystiq]

August 29, 2011
Samsung will Launch GALAXY Tab 7.7, the Wave 3, and the GALAXY Note On 1st September along with Upgraded SII

Remember the “Big Announcement” Samsung told us about? Well looks like we won’t have to wait for D day. Samsung is all set to launch the new GALAXY Tab 7.7, the Wave 3, and the GALAXY Note and an upgraded Samsung Galaxy SII on the 1st of September. If sources are to be believed, then the newer variant of the SII will be the first 4G LTE/WCDMA/GSM handset. The phone may also sport a faster 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, a 1,850 mAh battery and a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display.

Samsung may have already confirmed rumors of the Nexus Prime in a dumb letter by the legal department. The 1st September date seems logical to announce these devices, because “big Apple announcements” are supposed to happen in September.

August 27, 2011
Samsung Confirms the Nexus Prime in Legal Action Letter

The Leaked Nexus Prime firmware was still based on rumor, but to avoid its spread , Samsung’s legal department appears to have confirmed both the existence of the phone and rumors that device was built by Samsung.

It has come to our attention that you are wrongfully in possession of, and intend to release or otherwise publicly disclose without Samsung’s consent, firmware for the Nexus Prime

Read the Full letter:

August 27, 2011
Leaked : HTC Vigor pictures

Droidlife has got its hands on new images of the HTC Vigor, the device is rumored to have a texturized backplate comes “WITH HTC SENSE” a dual LED flash, a front-facing camera along with four capacitive buttons its also rumored to have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The popular Beats by Dre Sound engine will also possible premiere in this device.

Looks like this device is heading to Verizon, so it may never reach the Indian Shores.

August 27, 2011
Leaked : PlayBook OS version 2.0, Drops BES

A bunch of pictures / screenshots of the playbook running what appears to be RIM OS 2 for Playbook are being tossed around on the internet. As if the Playbook wasn’t out of the sack punch the next update is really going to drop notice.

Looks like RIM is dropping the BES from its playbook, disabling enterprise support on their only tablet that sold only 40,000 units since it was launched. It could also mean that the BES isn’t installed on whatever dev version this device is running, but there have been a lot of speculations regarding the BES dropout by RIM, and this looks like what is going to be the first real proof of their desertion of BES.

Also if you look closely enough you can spot the green Android that could mean only one thing- Android app compatibility could be built into this update. Is that a big woohoo? I guess not, considering only a couple of you have bought the Playbook if any.

August 27, 2011
Microsoft Patent Applications Reveal a possible Dual Screen Tablet Future

Microsoft has been playing with the idea of a dual screen tablet for quite some time, remember the courier tablet? This time around MS is teasing the world of tech itself with the Tablet patent that promises a dual screen experience. Microsoft has been talking a lot about Windows 8 and a tablet specific OS.

MS has filed for multiple patents including, Muti-screen dual tap, on-off gesture, Muti Screen Pinch and expand, Muti-screen – Hold – Expand- page flip and radial gestures. Microsoft has not yet been awarded with these patents. But looks like the whole Tablet frenzy has been fueled by the Apple Patent Lawsuits.

August 27, 2011

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro Unboxing and Hands On Video

We got our Hands on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro. Check out the Unboxing of the impressive Android Slider Phone :

Hardware Specs

Model	Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro
Price	15,399 approx.
Frequency	GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz; HSDPA 900 / 2100; HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Phone Style	Touchscreen with QWERTY Slider
OS	Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Thickness	18mm
Length	92mm
Width	53mm
Weight	136 grams
Built-in Memory	320MB + pre-installed 2GB memory card
Additional Memory	MicroSD up to 32GB
High-speed Data	GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA
Connectivity	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS
Screen Size	3-inch, 320 x 240 pixels
Secondary Screen Size	N/A
Screen Colours	16 million
Camera	Yes, with LED Flash and Auto Focus
Camera Resolution	5-megapixels
Flash	Yes
Ringtones	Yes
Music Player	Yes
Music Formats	MP3, WMA, AMR, OGG, AAC, AAC+, WAV
Radio	Yes
Speaker	Yes
Processor	Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor
Internet	Yes
Browser	HTML With Flash support, Webkit browser
Games	Yes
Battery	Talk Time: Up to 5 Hours 40 Min (2G) Up to 5 Hours 25 Min (3G)

Unboxing Video

August 26, 2011

Sony Ericsson will Update the Xperia line with Gingerbread 2.3.4 (PR)
Sony Ericsson has announced that it will start pushing upgrades for its Xperia line and start moving them on to Gingerbread in October. In this Upgrade users get
- OEM enhancements
- Facebook integration
- 3D sweep panorama technology
- 3DTV viewing
- Native screen capture function
- Google Talk with Video Chat
The upcoming Sony Ericsson Neo V will be the first phone with these upgrades with the rest to follow suit

[toggle title_open=”Collapse” title_closed=”Read the Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]25 August 2011
Sony Ericsson boosts 2011 Xperia™ family with new experiences and new software

2011 Xperia™ range to be upgraded to Android Gingerbread platform version 2.3.4
Enhanced Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality
Introducing Xperia™ neo V Android smartphone with the best of entertainment technologies from Sony and Google

25 August 2011, London, UK – Sony Ericsson today announced new functionality and features to its 2011 Xperia™ smartphone range with a comprehensive software upgrade from October 2011. Consumers with 2011 Xperia™ smartphones will benefit from improvements to Sony Ericsson’s unique Facebook inside Xperia™ offering and 3D camera functionality from Sony. The upgrade also allows consumers to enjoy the full benefits of the Android Gingerbread platform including Google Talk with Video Chat.

Sony Ericsson’s unique social experience provided by Facebook inside Xperia™ has been super-charged enabling Xperia users to like, share and discover on Facebook in a faster, easier and more intuitive way. The new functionality aims to make entertainment more social by giving users the ability to share and discover apps and games with friends through Facebook.

The latest camera enhancements from Sony introduce 3D sweep panorama technology so that images can be captured and then viewed in 3D by connecting the phone to a 3D TV using the HDMI output.

“With this software upgrade, we are bringing a wealth of new and really entertaining experiences to all our 2011 Xperia™ smartphones, including those already in consumers’ hands today,”said Nikolaus Scheurer, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson. “Our users will get to enjoy new features from Google, an even richer Facebook integration, and enhanced camera functionality from Sony.”

Xperia™ neo V is one of the first new products to launch with the new software and will include all the features like Google Talk with Video Chat, 3D sweep panorama and enhanced Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality. Building on the success of the original Xperia™ neo launched earlier this year, Xperia™ neo V takes the latest Android software for smartphones and the best of Sony entertainment experiences, including Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, to even more markets. Sony Ericsson Xperia™ neo V will be available globally in select markets from Q4 2011.

The software upgrade will be available in select markets through a phased roll out starting from October 2011. Xperia™ owners will receive a notification instructing them to instantaneously download the software over the air via 3G or WiFi. Alternatively, they will have the option to connect to a computer and download it via PC companion.

Upgrade at a glance:

Xperia™ smartphones to be upgraded to the 2.3.4 version of the Gingerbread platform with new features including Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
Updated Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities
Xperia™ smartphones introducing world’s first 3D sweep panorama functionality powered by Sony.
The software upgrade enables consumers to turn their Xperia smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock™ multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
Swipe text input – text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone

For full details all products news, please visit the press room and the product blog:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/latestnews
http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products/

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ neo V at a glance.
*Please note that all services mentioned below may not be available in every market.
Colours

White
Blue Gradient
Silver

Facts

Size: 116 x 57 x 13mm
Weight: 126g
Operating system: Google™ Android 2.3 (Gingerbread version 2.3.4)
Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255

Camera

3D sweep panorama
5 megapixel camera
16x digital zoom
Auto focus
Face detection
Flash/LED
Front facing camera (VGA)
Geo tagging
HD video recording (720p)
Image stabiliser
Red-eye reduction
Scene detection
Self-timer
Send to web
Smile detection
Sweep panorama
Touch capture
Touch focus
Video light
Video recording
Video stabiliser

Music

Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
Media player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow™ service
Sony Ericsson Music player
TrackID™ music recognition
xLOUD™

Internet

Android Market™
Bookmarks
Google™ search
Google Voice™ Search
Pan & zoom
Web browser (WebKit)

Communication

Call list
Conference calls
Facebook™ application
Facebook inside Xperia™ V2
Google Talk™ video chat*
Noise Shield
Polyphonic ringtones
Sony Ericsson Timescape™
Speakerphone
Twitter™ (Timescape™ integration)
Vibrating alert
Video chat ready

Messaging

Conversations
Email
Google Mail™
Instant messaging
Multimedia messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Sound recorder
Text messaging (SMS)

Design

Auto rotation
Keyboard (on-screen, QWERTY)
Live wallpaper
Picture wallpaper
Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
Swipe to write
Touch screen

Entertainment

3D games
Media browser
Motion gaming
Radio (FM radio with RDS)
Video streaming
YouTube™

Organiser

Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Document readers
E-Manual
Flight mode
Google Calendar™
Google Gallery 3D
Infinite button
Phonebook
Setup guide
Widget manager

Connectivity

All services mentioned in this leaflet may not be available in every market.

3.5 mm audio jack
aGPS
Bluetooth™ technology
DLNA Certified™
Google Latitude™
Google Maps™ for Mobile
Google Maps™ with Street View
HDMI™ support
Media Transfer Protocol support
Micro USB support
Modem
Native USB tethering
Synchronisation via Facebook™
Synchronisation via Google Sync™
Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson Sync
Synchronisation via Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync®
TV Out
USB mass storage
USB High speed 2.0 support
Wi-Fi®
Wi-Fi® Hotspot functionality
Wisepilot™ turn-by-turn navigation

Display

Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
16,777,216 colour TFT
Capacitive touchscreen (multi-touch)
3.7 inches
480 x 854 pixels (FWVGA)
Scratch-resistant

Memory

Phone memory: Up to 320MB
Memory card support: microSD™, up to 32GB
Memory card included: 2GB microSD™

Battery life

Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 6 hrs 55 min*
Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 430 hrs*

Talk time UMTS: Up to 7 hrs*
Standby time UMTS: Up to 400 hrs*

Music listening time: Up to 31 hrs*
Video playback time: Up to 7 hrs 25 min*

*According to GSM Association Battery Life Measurement Technique. Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configurations, and phone usage.

Networks

UMTS HSPA 900, 2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

UMTS HSPA 850, 1900, 2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

In the kit

Xperia™ neo V
1500 mAh battery
Stereo portable handsfree
2GB microSD™ memory card
Charger
Micro USB cable for charging
Synchronisation and file transfer
User documentation

Legal
1) Facts and features may vary depending on local variant. 2) Operational times are affected by network preferences, type of SIM card, connected accessories and various activities e.g. playing games. Kit contents and colour options may differ from market to market. The full range of accessories may not be available in every market.

© Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, 2011[/toggle]
August 26, 2011
BBM music now available to Blackberry Users looking for cloud love

A new service for Blackberry Messenger services has now been officially announced after being tossed around in the rumor mill for the past weeks. BBM Music is a new cloud based music streaming service for Blackberry owners. For $5 per month, users may keep up to 50 songs in their personal library. A social component allows you to add BBM Music friends, which gives you access to their current 50 songs, and up to 25 songs per month can be swapped out for new ones, and your current library can be stored locally on the handset.

A launch of several music based services has happened over the months, it seemed only logical that RIM jumps the bandwagon.

[toggle title_open=”Collapse” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

RIM Announces BBM Music – A New Social Music Sharing and Discovery Service

New Cloud-Based Music Service Makes Music a Social Experience

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) today announced BBM Music, a new BBM (BlackBerry® Messenger) service for socially connected music fans.

BBM Music is an easy-to-use cloud-based service that enables social and viral music discovery by allowing users to build an evolving, community-based music library that is shared amongst their BBM Music friends. The size of the music library continues to grow as new friends join the community and each user can select music from a catalog with millions of songs from leading music companies – Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI.

“More than 45 million customers already love the social communication benefits delivered through BBM and we are thrilled to be extending the experience into a uniquely social and interactive music service,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “We have partnered with leading music companies to provide a „full track? music sharing and discovery experience that will provide users with quality music on demand and allow them to connect with friends on a whole new level.”

Key features of BBM Music include:
– Music made social – BBM Music is a cloud-based, social music service that allows you to share and discover music with your friends, creating a continually evolving music library:
– Build a personal music profile with 50 of your favorite songs. You can refresh your profile by swapping out up to 25 songs each month.
– Invite your BBM friends to subscribe to BBM Music and to join your BBM Music Community.
– With each friend that is added to BBM Music, you grow your music collection since the songs from the profile of each BBM Music friend are available to you at any time.
– Up to 50 tracks from your personal profile are shared with your BBM Music Community, and each member of your community shares up to 50 songs from their profile with you.
– Enjoy a truly social community-based music experience – the more friends who join your community, the more songs you can listen to.
– Easily discover music that your BBM Music friends are listening to, and comment on your friends? songs and playlists.
– You can create multiple playlists from music in your profile as well as all of your friends? profiles, and with one click you can shuffle the entire collection of music from your BBM Music Community. You can even see which friend contributed each song while it plays.
– Within your BBM Music app, you also see a visual timeline that shows the recent updates of all users within your community. It gives you a chronological view of community updates, including who added new friends, which songs were added or removed, which playlists were created and what comments were made by your BBM Music friends.
– Listen to Full Tracks – BBM Music subscribers can listen to full tracks from their friends? profiles – not just previews.
– Offline Listening – Music can be saved to smartphones for offline listening, allowing users to access songs even when they don?t have wireless coverage.
– Topping the Charts – Keep track of how many friends are listening to your tracks.

“A major component of online music continues to be about community, and the ability to discover new artists and music through word of mouth,” stated Rob Wells, President of Global Digital Business for Universal Music Group. “BBM Music dynamically and elegantly integrates the excitement of this social music discovery process with a high quality music service, enabling tens of millions of BlackBerry users to experience new music and to share those experiences with their friends virtually anywhere and at anytime.”

“We are pleased to be partnering with Research In Motion on their BBM Music service. RIM and its large base of BlackBerry Messenger users represent an exciting platform for expanding the reach of commercial digital music around the world,” stated Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, U.S. Sales and Corporate Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment. “The combination of a premium music solution and instant messaging will enable viral music discovery and emphasize the social power of digital music. It also offers an effective way of serving younger consumers by integrating music into the fabric of an important hub of their digital activity.”

“A dynamic social music experience is a powerful way for our artists to connect with fans and also for fans to discover music by interacting with each other,” said Michael Nash, Executive Vice President, Digital Strategy & Business Development, Warner Music Group. “Addressing more than 45 million BlackBerry Messenger users with a service tailor-made for its mobile community, BBM Music has the opportunity to reach a broad and engaged audience.”

“We are very excited to work with Research In Motion to bring our artists? music to BBM?s huge and very loyal user base,” said Mark Piibe, Executive Vice President of Global Business Development at EMI Music. “BBM Music?s unique social discovery experience offers fans a great new way to discover music, share their favorite tracks with their friends and build a stronger connection with the artists they love.”

“The widespread adoption of mobile devices provides the perfect foundation for consuming and sharing music. Brands that want to deliver a unique interactive experience must create services that are mobile, social, and contextual,” said Maribel Lopez Principal at Lopez Research and Constellation Research Group.

A closed (limited) beta trial of the BBM Music service is starting today in Canada, the United States and the UK. The BBM Music service is expected to be commercially available to customers later this year for a monthly subscription of $4.99 USD* in Australia, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States.

[/toggle]

August 25, 2011
Breaking : Steve Jobs resigns Apple as CEO

A news story that changes everything about a company that changed everything about computing. CEO Steve Jobs has resigned Apple naming Tim Cook as his replacement.

In a letter self published Steve Said

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

-Steve

Apple does confirm that Steve will stay on to be the chairman of the board.

[toggle title_open=”Collapse PR” title_closed=”Read The Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

“Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.

As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.[/toggle]

August 25, 2011
Samsung Preps the Stage before iPhone 5 Launch, Readies new Galaxy GT-19220

Looks like Samsung was expecting the Apple next smartphone to be a knocker, and has studied a next gen device, in hopes of attracting the crazy iPhone buying crowd.

The device itself has 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED Plus display that measures in at 5.29 inches diagonal, it will run Android 2.3 and will have a 1.5ghz dual core processor, not to forget a 8mp camera

The device hopelessly reminds us of the trailer and details that came out by Samsung recently. Either way there is a big announcement on the 1st and we will wait for that.

August 25, 2011
HTC Bliss gets caught on pictures with front facing camera

The folks at XDA China got their hands on the new HTC bliss and took a few high-quality images for the world to see. These images do justice to the device and negate on earlier images.

According to XDA China the measurements of the device are similar to the Desire S. The device is expected to be launched on the 1st September.

[XDA.cn]

August 25, 2011
Exclusive : HP DV6 6121TX Unboxing and Comparison

We got our hands on the brother of DV6 6017 tx that we Unboxed and Reviewed earlier. The HP DV6 6121TX adds few major upgrades and does not affect the price of the computer.

Available in the market for about INR. 54,000/-

HP DV6 6121TX Specs Sheet

Images

Unboxing Video

Stay tuned for an in-depth review.

iG Test Labs

August 24, 2011
Apple will release a cheaper 8GB iPhone 4 in the coming weeks with new iPhone 5

A the heat begins to mount for the impending launch for the next big iOS device, reports are pinging to a cheaper 8GB iPhone 4 this september itself, that could also means an end September release for the the upcoming iPhone 5.

Reports are also mentioning that Apple has warned their manufacturers that the demand of 45 million iPhones need to be shipped when the lower price is announced. The rumors of an early october launch are also shunted to show a end-september Launch of the iPhone 5

August 24, 2011
Samsung may buy HP’s PC Business

Reports and rumors on the inter webs claim that Samsung is moving strong and hard in acquisition of HP’s PC business. A move of this nature will tie Samsung the boost it needs to be the number one PC maker in the world.

According to the reports Samsung may also outsource its own existing line , where as focusing on technologies that it may acquire from the HP Pc Business.

[Read]

August 24, 2011