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LG Launches 100-inch Short Throw Laser Projector

LG’s new Hecto projector may be just the thing for folks who want a huge viewing space, but have a limited area in which to do it.

High-end projectors have been around for some time now, but the big issue has been that you needed to have a lot of space between the device and the screen. Using lasers, this latest device from LG only needs 22-inches of clearance to give you a 100-inch diagonal display. Capable of 1080p projection, the Ultra Short Throw unit also features a digital tuner.

The projector also boasts Smart TV and Digital TV functionality, 3 HDMI ports, audio outs, a 10w speaker and can be placed near the floor in front of the screen, rather than having to be attached to the ceiling.

LG says the system, built using its laser-based Illumination technology, will provide a better option for those without the space to hang a traditional projector and bring cinema-style viewing to the home.

[quote]It will provide picture quality “about the equivalent to plasma,” said Tim Alessi, LG product planning director. “It will have great color and black levels, the motion reproduction is excellent and you don’t need a totally dark room as you would with a traditional front projector.”[/quote]

No word as of yet on a price or release date, but as this one of the many pre-CES 2013 announcements the company is making, we’re sure to learn more in just a few weeks.

December 27, 2012
Shopper : Amazon Sold Me A Stolen iPhone!

Ben Dreyfuss bought his mom an iPhone for Christmas. Mama D. tears open the package, finds a shiny aluminum bundle of joy, and then decides to set it up. One problem: When she called Verizon to activate the thing, they told her that her new iPhone was stolen.

Dreyfuss tweeted that the iPhone in question had been listed on Amazon’s warehouse deals as refurbished. He claimed that it originally came from an Amazon trade-in; in other words, someone likely stole the phone and sold it to Amazon.

Amazon should be responsible for checking whether the merchandise it sells is hot. Either way, Dreyfuss reported on Twitter that Amazon had instructed him to return it and was “very apologetic.”

We’re not sure if Amazon is merely going to credit the son, leaving mom short one Apple iPhone, or if they are going to send out another refurbished unit. Either way, we’re sure that Amazon will leave the customer satisfied because a retailer doesn’t grow as big as the online retailer has without keeping customers happy.

[Gizmodo]

December 26, 2012
Instagram Hit With Lawsuit Over Terms Of Service Change

A class action lawsuit against Instagram has been filed in San Francisco federal court, following user outrage regarding the mobile photo sharing app’s changed Terms of Service.

This appears to be the first civil lawsuit filed as a result of Instagram service term changes, Reuters reports.

The new Terms of Service agreement included clauses that referred to the company’s new powers to sell users’ photos without warning or compensation, reported RT. New clauses also said that users waived their rights to participate in class-action lawsuits against the company.

A strong backlash, including a blizzard of news coverage, made Instagram relent and issue a statement of apology. The company agreed to reword the terms and delete some of the more controversial language.

Instagram did, however, retain the clause forbidding arbitration as well as ads with user content.

The lawsuit was filed by the San Diego-based law firm Finkelstein & Krinsk on behalf of Instagram user Lucy Funes and others. The plaintiffs in the suit claim that Instagram breached their contract with users as the only way to get out of the terms is to deactivate the service altogether.

This controversial issue has also caused many users to switch to other services which are similar to Instagram such as Yahoo!’s Flickr which released the new mobile app for iOS with build in vintage filters to rival with Instagram prior to the changes of terms and conditions by Instagram. Flickr also started offering it’s user three months of free Flickr Pro service to take advantage of this situation.

December 26, 2012
Apple Wins Mini/Micro SIM Connector Patent

Apple has received a Granted Patent that relates to connectors that allow SIM cards to be easily removed and replaced, may be resistant to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card, and may provide reliable mechanical performance.

The timing of Apple’s new micro SIM connector patent couldn’t have been more perfect in light of the battle between Nokia and Apple over the design of future miniature SIM cards for mobile devices. It was even been reported that Nokia had threatened to withdraw 50 or so SIM card related patents from ETSI if the Apple proposal is approved. Well, in June Apple’s design won that very battle. Today, Apple has been officially granted the patent regarding the Micro SIM card.

[quote]Connectors that may allow SIM cards to be easily removed and replaced, may be resistant to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card, and may provide reliable mechanical performance. One example may provide a plunger system where a user can push on a plunger rod and eject a SIM card. Another example may provide contacts that are not damaged by improper insertion of a SIM card. Another example may provide a plastic housing, the housing reinforced by a metallic shield and having a relatively uniform thickness [/quote]

Apple has received the patent from the USPTO and while the official title is for a Mini-SIM card connector, the technology involved will work with a SIM-card, Mini-SIMor a Micro-SIM card. Actually, it will work with any sized SIM card. The connector allows for easy insertion and removal of the SIM card and is resistant to any damage that could be caused by an incorrect insertion of the card, and provides for “reliable mechanical performance” of the connector.

December 26, 2012
Nokia 10.1-inch Windows RT Tablet To Come With Battery-Equipped Keyboard Cover?

Quoting information provided by sources familiar with Nokia’s plans, The Verge claims that Nokia is working on a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet. While rumors of a Nokia Windows RT tablet have surfaced as early as March this year, the latest report reveals some specifications of the device.

The Nokia Windows RT slate is said to be equipped with an ARM chip, HDMI and USB ports. It also has cellular connectivity and AT&T will be among the first carriers to sell it in the U.S.

Nokia’s tablet will go head-to-head with Microsoft’s Surface RT and will feature a battery-equipped cover that “clicks in” like the Surface’s, plus has a built-in kickstand, a keyboard, 10-hour battery life, two USB ports.

Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari had said in an interview with Finnish magazine Kauppalehti Optio that he was spending a third of his time on creating a tablet for the cellphone maker, which would stand out among hundreds of iPad-challengers. “We are working on it,” he was quoted as saying.

DigiTimes previously pointed out that the tablet will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2013.

December 26, 2012
Zync Launches Six Dual SIM Phones, Priced From Rs 1399

Zync Global Private Limited has launched six new models of dual-sim phones this time round. The models are called Zync C18, C21, C22, C24, C27 and C30; they are priced at Rs. 1399, Rs. 1990, Rs. 1990, Rs. 1990, Rs. 1990 and Rs. 2499 respectively.

The other features include loudspeaker, a 4GB microSD memory card, USB connectivity, Bluetooth support, a dual LED torch light and many others. These mobile phones also have a primary camera of 1.3 MP which supports video recording, a music player and features an FM radio, enabling the users to tune into their favorite music stations.

[quote]“This is the first time we have entered the mobile phone category. With the mobile segment growing by leaps and bounds and recording sales of around 200 million units in 2012, we felt this was the right time to expand our horizon and enter a new territory. At Zync, we continuously work on innovation with our product range and seek to provide the right solutions for our customers for their technological needs. With the launch of these six new cell phones, we aim to bring a powerful and dependable device with great features at a very affordable price point,” said Amul Mittal, Co-founder, Zync Global.[/quote]

The high-end Zync C30 comes with a mobile tracker, email support and King Movie Player.

December 25, 2012
BlackBerry X10 Pictured Next To BlackBerry Z10

Earlier today RIM’s BlackBerry 10 full QWERTY/Touch device leaked online. The image showed an updated look to the Bold 9900. Now, a post on 4Chan reveals the all-touch “BlackBerry Z10? sitting in between the full QWERTY/Touch – rumoured name is the “BlackBerry X10.”

There’s a white version and a black version, however the white version seems to have a different style as it’s missing the chrome frets. So it could be the Dev Alpha C that RIM gave 1,500 developers.

The new update to RIM’s mobile firmware is slated for official release on 30, January, 2013. RIM is on the path of comeback. It aims to take on its rivals like Google Android and Apple iOS with the new Blackberry 10. It is largely hoped by the company that the new firmware can bring back its lost reputation in mobile market. In his words about the firmware, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins instills his hope about BB 10 and its future products.

All set for 30th January then!

December 25, 2012
Flickr Offers 3 Months Free Pro Trial

Flickr may find themselves falling behind in the social photo/video world. Regardless of their position, Flickr is giving all of their current subscribers, including free account holders, 3 months of free Pro service. For those members who have already upgraded to Flickr’s Pro service, the 3 months can be used as an extension to your current subscription.

The three-month trial is offered in an email titled “Merry Flickr,” and explains the features available from Flickr Pro.

The three months of Pro service would normally cost $6.95, or $24.95 for a year. Flickr is likely hoping that users who get used to the Pro level will continue to pay rather than go back to the limited version. Now that Instagram has backpedaled on their privacy policy changes, not as many people will likely be deactivating their accounts, but this could serve as a pretty tempting offer for anyone who already has.

When Instagram announced some policy changes that made it look like they would be selling user photos to advertisers, a lot of people got upset. Some even jumped ship and deactivated their accounts. Flickr is hoping to swoop in and pick up those shutterbugs left behind by offering this service.

The free offering also follows the launch of a brand new Flickr iOS app, which introduces Instagram-style filters, a brand new and attractive interface and the integration of Flickr Groups.

December 24, 2012
Even The Big Guys Do it! YouTube Confiscates 2 Billion Views From Universal And Sony For Fake Views

Google slashed the cumulative view counts on YouTube channels belonging to Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG, and RCA Records by more than 2 billion views Tuesday, a drastic winter cleanup that may be aimed at shutting down black hat view count-building techniques employed by a community of rogue view count manipulators on the video-sharing site. A spokesman for YouTube was cryptic about the slashing, saying “This was not a bug or a security breach. This was an enforcement of our viewcount policy.”

Universal’s channel is the one that took the biggest hit. According to figures compiled by the YouTube statistics analysts at SocialBlade, the record company’s YouTube channel lost more than 1 billion views from its preexisting tally of 7 billion views Tuesday.

Sony/BMG was the second largest sufferer, dropping more than 850 million views in one day, bringing its total number of views to a mere 2.3 million. RCA, which got off scot free by comparison, dipped 159 million views. Its tally now sits more modestly at 120 million views.

Other notable channels affected include the ones belonging to Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Beyoncé, and Avril Lavigne, among others. More than 500 prominent YouTube channels have been stripped of preexisting YouTube views in the past 30 days, something that causes concern when you consider that YouTube views counts, unlike subscriber statistics, are cumulative and cannot organically drop at any point throughout their existence.

[Daily Dot]

December 24, 2012
Dayum! Huawei 6.1-inch 1080p Ascend Mate “Phablet” Shown Off Before CES!

It’s a little over two weeks until the world gets to know the massive Huawei Ascend Mate smartphone, but one company exec has already given fans a sneak peak.

The company confirmed it would be launching the 6.1-inch, full HD 1080 Ascend Mate earlier this month, with an eye on taking down the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note II.

Now it has appeared in the flesh, courtesy of Richard Yu, Hauwei chairman of devices, who couldn’t wait to show off the behemoth at a company store in Guangzhou, China.

You can see the smartphone in action in the video above, as it runs Titanic on the display (hope the phone doesn’t replicate the movie’s ending!). The 1080p-friendly device (sporting 361 pixels per inch on its screen) has been rumored to sport a quad-core, 1.8-GHz HiSilicon K3V3 CPU and two gigabytes of memory. Additionally, it’s been suggested that a whopping 4,000 mAh battery will power the device. It’ll be interesting to see just what kind of uptime Huawei will be able to deliver given the trade-off between the phone’s massive screen size and equally massive battery.

We will likely learn more about the Ascend Mate as CES 2013 approaches, but will people really line up to get a smartphone that is so big it might not fit in their pocket? Time will tell.

Watch the video below :

[Engadget]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sdOttZJo-o]

December 24, 2012
Blackberry Z10 Rumoured Specs

BlackBerry 10 is coming to spotlight. Slated for official release early next year, RIM’s new software may be the company’s final attempt to stay alive in mobile market. Things are not much good for Research In Motion. Google Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows Phone are dominating the mobile and tablet segments with Android having over fifty percent market share in the U.S.

Rumours surfaced a couple days ago that the all-touch BlackBerry 10 device might go to market with the name of “BlackBerry Z10.

Little is known about the actual all-touch device, only that it will be powered by RIM’s new “mobile computing platform” BlackBerry 10. The screen resolution has been confirmed to be 1280 x 768, have LTE connectivity and that it’ll come with an HD camera.

Various hi-res pics and a video surfaced online that might give a greater insight into what we can expect the Z10 to look like. CrackBerry has done a fine job at dissecting all the rumours and have created a list of potential specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor LTE, 4.2-inch display (1280×768) with a 356ppi, 8MP camera that shoots 1080p HD videos and a 2MP front-facing camera, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, HDMI and a 1800mAh removable battery.

December 24, 2012
Leaked : ZTE Grand S! World’s Thinnest Full HD Display Smartphone

A press shot of the heavily-touted ZTE Grand S smartphone has appeared online, two weeks before its launch at CES.

The handset will be competing for attention against a raft of fellow 5-inch, full HD 1080p displays when it officially arrives in Las Vegas in the second week of January.

It has been revealed on the popular Chinese social network Sina Weboi, and is being touted at the “world’s thinnest FHD (full HD) smartphone.” HTC and Sony have also been working on 5-inch 1080p Android phones for the market.

The ZTE Grand S looks like it wil sport a slightly modified version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and will use on-screen navigation buttons.

[Engadget]

December 23, 2012
Samsung : Windows Phone 7.8 Updates For All WP 7.5 Handsets

WindowsPhoneItaly reports that Samsung has just confirmed that all its Windows Phone 7.5 handsets, including the Omnia W, would receive the hotly-anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 update.

As we’ve discovered in recent weeks, however, not all devices will be getting the 7.8 update. Last month, LG confirmed that its Optimus 7 won’t be updated, and with Dell now well and truly out of the smartphone business, it’s unlikely that the Venue Pro will be updated either.

All first- and second-generation Windows Phones were eligible for update to 7.5, so as Samsung says, this guarantees that all Windows Phone 7 handsets will qualify for the 7.8 update. However, the last part of that statement is critical; while each model will be offered the update, the responsibility for pushing the software to devices lies with Microsoft, which will need to work with carriers to test and finalise the update before it’s deployed.

Microsoft has just started the rollout of PR1.1 update for Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, but the upgrade is only available in the United States and Canada. Nokia announced the rest of the countries would get it in early February, 2013.

Anyone excited for Windows Phone 7.8, or have you already set your sights on WP8?

December 22, 2012
Rumour : Sony Yuga Officially Named As Xperia Z, Coming In 2013

We’ve been bringing readers news about an upcoming Sony smartphone called the Yuga since October and just recently heard that it may be called the Sony Xperia Yuga along with some more leaked specs. Today we have rumored news that the Yuga name may be dropped before release and that it will then be called the Sony Xperia Z and we also have some further news on the specs and features of this phone.

According to sources close to XperiaBlog, Sony will title the 5-inch 1080p handset Xperia Z, knocking another letter off the dwindling alphabet of naming conventions. And, if the leaked dimensions are correct, the Xperia Z will be extremely svelte, coming in at 7.9mm at its thinnest point. at 139 x 71 x 7.9mm it will be significantly taller and slightly wider than the Xperia T’s 129.4 x 67.3 x 9.4mm frame.

The ‘Xperia Z’ will apparently have water and dust resistance ratings of IP55 and IP57, same as some earlier high-end offerings from the Japanese manufacturer. And the phone’s 1080p screen is said to include ‘OptiConrast’ tech, of the sort usually found in Sony TVs. Amongst other benefits, OptiContrast reduces on-screen reflections through its use of a special resin coating on top of the display.

We’d also imagine the Sony (Mobile) Bravia Engine, another holdover from Sony’s TV tech, will be included, just as it has been on previous Sony phones.

Other specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, a 12 or 13-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS CMOS sensor, 2GB of RAM, microSD expansion and unibody frame. It’s also likely to have a flat glass back with a shutter key to one side. Frankly we can’t wait to find out more and hope that this is indeed unveiled by Sony at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas and then released soon afterwards.

One hell of a device if these rumours are true!

December 22, 2012
Leaked : Blackberry 10 QWERTY/Touch Smartphone Backside Image

The BlackBerry 10 leaks just keep on coming. Just a day after a leaked image suggested that the official name of the BlackBerry 10 L-Series smartphone might be “BlackBerry Z10,” a newly-leaked shot posted by NerdBerry shows the backside of the QWERTY/Touch. Not too many details are known and it’s unclear if this is the actual device or a Dev Alpha C that 1,000 developers were recently given.

The N-Series has previously had its keyboard photographed and also appeared as a render in a leaked promo video, but this new image gives us a look at the actual phone in the wild. It’s only the rear of the phone, so all that we can see is a rear cover that looks somewhat similar to the one found on the all-touch L-Series/Z10, but with an added fret divider like one found on the phone’s keyboard.

Just 40 days more to go till it all unveils!

December 22, 2012