Samsung announces new waterproof, ruggedized Galaxy Xcover 2

We've still got about a month until Mobile World Congress spills forth an untold number of unseen smartphones, but Samsung's announced something a little early. The Galaxy Xcover 2 is its new ruggedized smartphone, with GPS and GLONASS pitching it directly at the adventurers among us. It's water resistant up to a depth of one meter and can hold its breath for 30 minutes, while a 4-inch WVGA display will beam out Android 4.1. Expect to see the same Motion UI features spotted on other Samsung devices recently, including the ability to overturn and mute incoming calls. It'll be powered by an as-yet unmentioned 1GHz dual-core processor, while a 5-megapixel camera will peer out the back. There's also physical camera button to ensure you don't miss any of your underwater adventures.

Samsung mention that the Xcover 2 will also pack a Cardio trainer Pro workout app, although there doesn't appear to be any hardware additions to augment the fitness program -- aside from a strap holder. No word yet on where the phone is expected to land, nor how much the jungle-ready slab might set you back, but we'll be sure to drop it on the ground in Barcelona in a few weeks time.

[Source: Engadget]

Doctor Who returns 30 March ahead of 50th birthday special

The Doctor is back in the house this Easter. Doctor Who returns to our screens on Saturday 30 March, in the lead-up to the programme's historic 50th anniversary this year.

The TARDIS returns on the bank holiday weekend, so we can watch the Doctor's latest adventure while stuffing our faces with Easter eggs and not worrying about work.

There are eight episodes, once again starring Matt Smith as the bow-tied Time Lord, and featuring Jenna-Louise Coleman as mysterious new companion Clara.

Apparently this is the second half of season seven, even though it's six whole months since the first half of series seven ended. Honestly, when did this this mid-season break business become a thing? 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, which first materialised on British tellies on 23 November 1963. To celebrate, the BBC is planning a birthday bonanza of Who-themed hullabaloo. Each month sees a screening of classic episodes from each Doctor at the BFI and the programme gets back to its educational roots in a partnership with the Science Museum. There will also be commemorative Royal Mail stamps in March.

A series of documentaries fill follow series seven, including a one-hour 50th anniversary special -- presumably on the anniversary itself, which handily falls on a Saturday, and is heavily rumoured to feature the return of every Doctor -- as well as An Adventure in Time and Space, a 90-minute drama about the genesis of the show written by Mark Gatiss.

[Source: CNET]

Microsoft profits down during Windows 8 and Surface launch

Windows 8 has sold 60 million copies, helping Microsoft to take a record amount of money. In the three months during which it launched Windows 8 and the Surface tablet, the big M saw revenue rise but profits fall.

In the final quarter of 2012, Microsoft took in a total of £13.61bn revenue. £4.1bn of that is profit. Revenue is up by 3 per cent on last year, but profits are down 4 per cent.

That might sound disappointing in the period that Microsoft launched a new flagship operating system, but in fact Windows revenues went up by a quarter, with 60 million copies sold. It's the business-focused Office software that's underperformed.

One reason for the reduced profit is that a boatload of cash was ploughed into marketing. With the launch of Windows 8 the click-tastic Surface advert seems to be in every blinkin' ad break. Sadly, Microsoft kept schtum about sales of the Surface.

The Surface runs the stripped-down Windows RT version of the OS that's designed specifically for tablets. The full version of Windows 8 appears on the Surface Pro, which debuts in the US next month but could take a while to reach these shores.

Meanwhile Microsoft is set to hike up the price of Windows 8 by an eye-watering 400 per centnext month.

This week Apple also announced its numbers, and has once again done boffo business thanks to the phenomenal popularity of the iPhone and iPad. In crazy upside-down finance world, however, Apple's record profits led to a dizzying drop in share price. Work that one out.

[Source: CNET]

Intel introduces the Yolo, a low-cost Android smartphone heading to Kenya

Intel, partnering with Safaricoma Kenyan based provider, has announced a new smartphone, the Yolo, headed to African markets. Back at CES, Intel took to the stage to introduce Lexington, which is their new processor targeted at emerging markets. The Yolo is the first smartphone to have that chip and looks positioned to make quite an impact in emerging markets.

The Intel Yolo will contain:

• 3.5-inch screen (320 x 420)
• 1.2GHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage
• micro-SD slot that supports up to 32GB
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Android 4.04 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• 5MP camera

The specs are low to mid-range because that's what this phone is aimed at. Intel wants to make a real push in emerging markets and the Yolo looks poised to do just that. Kenya will be the first market in Africa to get the phone, but we're betting that we'll see it in other markets soon. The phone will cost Ksh 10,999, which is about $125.It will also come bundled with 500MB.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Leaked press image of forthcoming Huawei Ascend P2 emerges ahead of MWC unveiling

This press image obtained by @evleaks claims to be the next high end offering from Huawei. Following on from the Ascend D2 which first launched at CES, the Ascend P2 that we see here is also reportedly joining the 1080p display club. Only, unlike the D2 which comes in at 5 inches, the P2 display is reported to be just 4.5 inches with on-screen buttons. 

Leaks of recent Huawei devices have proved pretty accurate, so while the usual rumor tag applies here too, there's plenty of cause to believe this is what we'll be seeing from Huawei in Barcelona next month at Mobile World Congress.

The P2, besides the display, is also reported to contain an in-house built 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera and a pretty hefty 3000mAh battery. Software is said to beJelly Bean, with no indication as to which version.  If it all pans out, it's clear to see that Huawei didn't just leave their big guns in Las Vegas. How much is true remains to be seen, but we'll be live from Barcelona next month to take a look at whatever it is that Huawei brings.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Skype update adds portrait calling on tablets, rest of the app locked in landscape

The latest update to Skype improved the UI and added a much asked for feature in portrait calling, but unfortunately the rest of the app is locked in landscape. The portrait calling seemed like a no-brainer fix, especially considering many smaller tablets -- like the Nexus 7 -- have camera setups meant for portrait orientation. The unfortunate bug (or at least we hope it's a bug) is that for now the rest of the UI is locked into landscape orientation. This means that browsing your contacts and initiating calls is all in landscape, then you have to rotate the tablet to hold the call.

Overall the new UI is great and pretty well mirrors the styling of the phone UI, but the perpetual landscape really puts a damper on things. Let's hope Skype pushes out a new update to add back in the portrait support, and in the meantime we can at least enjoy portrait video calls.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Facebook Graph Search Beta Rolling Out to Users Who Signed Up

Facebook’s new Graph Search is reportedly showing up for many more users today. Multiple reports who signed up for the beta program last week claim the future of Facebook is now live; the ambitious feature is a way for users to find more information through the social network by making search results more personal.

You should see a redesigned homepage where Graph Search is at the top of your feed. From there, you can search queries such as “bookstores nearby my friends like,” and that sort of thing. If you signed up, and you don’t see Graph Search, expect it to roll out soon.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Tim Cook Congratulates Apple Employees on Record Quarter, Announces Town Hall Meeting Today

Following yesterday's record-breaking earnings numbers for the first fiscal quarter of 2013 that still fell short of analyst expectations, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent out an email to employees (via 9to5Mac) congratulating them on the performance and announcing an employees-only town hall meeting scheduled for today.

Team, 

We’ve just reported another record setting quarter, thanks to everyone’s incredible hard work and focus. We sold over 75 million iOS devices in the holiday quarter alone, which is a testament to the strength of Apple’s innovation. Please join me for an employee communications meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time in the auditorium of De Anza 3. We’ve created a space on AppleWeb where you can submit your questions in advance, and we’ll do our best to answer as many of them as we can during the meeting. The meeting will be broadcast live throughout Cupertino and at many other Apple locations. Please check AppleWeb for details. 

Tim

Apple has held similar meetings in the past, with discussion at last year's meeting reportedly focusing on the company's philanthropy and also including an announcement of a new hardware discount program for company employees.

[Source: MacRumors]

Unauthorized Unlocking of New Mobile Phones Set to Become Illegal in U.S.

As noted by Tech News Daily, a new federal policy in the United States is set to go into effect this Saturday that will make it illegal for certain mobile phone owners to unlock their devices for use on other carriers unless specifically authorized by their carriers. The policy applies to newly purchased devices beginning on Saturday, but not to legacy devices purchased prior to that date.

In October 2012, the Librarian of Congress, who determines exemptions to a strict anti-hacking law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), decided that unlocking mobile phones would no longer be allowed. But the librarian provided a 90-day window during which people could still buy a phone and unlock it. That window closes on January 26.

Unlocking devices allows users to take their phones to other carriers such as T-Mobile or to use SIM cards from international carriers while traveling abroad without needing to purchase expensive international roaming packages from their domestic carrier.

Users can, of course, still purchase unlocked iPhones at unsubsidized prices, and, last April, AT&T began unlocking iPhones for customers whose contract terms were completed or who had paid early termination fees to end them early. The SIM card slots on the Verizon iPhone 5 are already unlocked, while Sprint announced that it would unlock the SIM card slot on its iPhones for international usage three months after purchase. 

In the decision outlined in the Federal Register, these policies were cited as reasons for not allowing an unlocking exemption to the DMCA for newly purchased devices.

The Register concluded after a review of the statutory factors that an exemption to the prohibition on circumvention of mobile phone computer programs to permit users to unlock "legacy'' phones is both warranted and unlikely to harm the market for such programs. At the same time, in light of carriers' current unlocking policies and the ready availability of new unlocked phones in the marketplace, the record did not support an exemption for newly purchased phones. Looking to precedents in copyright law, the Register recommended that the class designated by the Librarian include a 90-day transitional period to allow unlocking by those who may acquire phones shortly after the new exemption goes into effect.

Carriers such as AT&T already forbid unauthorized unlocking in their customer contracts, but the clarification of DMCA policy with respect to unlocking will now make the issue a criminal one. iPhone unlocking services have enjoyed a fair amount of popularity, and while a substantial pool of eligible legacy devices will remain, it appears that these services will be unable to legally unlock any new devices for their customers.

[Source: MacRumors]

Vine for Twitter, and what it means for you on Android

There's no Vine app for Android just yet, but that doesn't mean you can escape its 6-second video onslaught

Twitter and Vine today announced that (1) Vine is now available for iOS devices and (2) has been purchased by Twitter. If you hadn't heard of Vine before today, we're not too surprised -- it's been in limited beta testing until now, and it's not available for Android. But, seeing as how all roads (eventually) lead to Android these days, we're taking a quick look at it here.

The oversimplified version is that Vine is to video what Instagram is to pictures. In actuality, it's a fairly simple app that lets you take up to 6 seconds of video that might well be mistaken for a really good animated gif. It doesn't have to be 6 consecutive seconds, though. You can do two 3-second clips strung together. Or three 2-second clips. Or, if you hate your friends, six 1-second clips.

You're going to start seeing a lot of these, even if there's no Android app.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Apple's iCloud user base breaks 250 million

During yesterday's Q1 2013 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned several times that the iCloud storage service now has more than 250 million users.

That's not particularly surprising, since signing up for a free iCloud account is part of the setup process when you purchase any new Apple product. What is surprising is how quickly the service has grown, jumping from 85 million in January of 2012 to triple that number in 2013.

The company is investing in the data centers used for iCloud. Part of the discussion with analysts yesterday afternoon dealt with capital expenditures, with Apple planning to spend money on three primary targets -- retail stores, equipment for suppliers and data centers.

[Source: TUAW]

Apogee Electronics introduces all new “ONE”, audio interface & microphone featuring iPad & Mac compatibility, upgraded sound quality and new Maestro control app for iOS

Anaheim, California, January 24, 2013 - Apogee Electronics is pleased to introduce the completely redesigned ONE, a 2 IN x 2 OUT USB audio interface and microphone. The all new ONE is the first studio quality audio interface and microphone that makes a direct digital connection to Apple’s iPad (iPhone, iPod touch) and Mac. ONE features Apogee’s Maestro control software, iOS device charging, optional battery power for portable recording with iPad and professional sound quality. ONE is the all-in-one solution that makes it easy for musicians, songwriters, recording engineers, film makers, audiophiles, and anyone else to enjoy professional sound quality on iPad and Mac.

ONE offers three input options; a built-in omni-directional condenser microphone, XLR input for dynamic, condenser or ribbon microphones, and 1/4” instrument input for electric guitars, keyboards or any instrument with an electric pick-up. An upgrade from the original design, ONE now has the ability to record two inputs simultaneously (instrument plus built-in microphone or external microphone). The updated AD/DA converters and mic preamps deliver best-in-class, studio quality sound and allow you to capture and playback your recordings with incredible clarity and detail.

ONE’s audiophile quality headphone amplifier/DAC is a favorite for enhanced music listening on Mac. Now ONE delivers the same hi-fi quality sound to iPod touch, iPhone and iPad users for listening to streaming radio and music libraries with incredible clarity and detail. ONE’s built-in condenser microphone is a unique feature allowing anyone to record with incredible results and without the need for an external microphone. This paired with the option of connecting to iPod touch, iPhone or iPad and battery power enables studio-quality recordings to be created in any location. “We have completely redesigned ONE, incorporating highly anticipated features; iPad compatibility, simultaneous recording of guitar and a microphone, enhanced sound quality, and a much desired metal chassis,” says Apogee CEO and Co-Founder Betty Bennett. “This is an innovative interface, ideal for the musician who wants an all-in-one solution they can count on for ease of use and professional studio quality results, no matter where they are. We’re excited to welcome this next generation of a classic Apogee product and we know our customers will love it.” Apple’s iPad has revolutionized music creation with an intuitive touch interface and a universe of powerful and very affordable music apps. As a studio quality microphone and audio interface, ONE delivers key features to this new paradigm. Apogee’s Maestro software for iOS lets you control ONE’s inputs, mic preamp, outputs and set up low latency monitoring. ONE’s DC power charges iPad while in use so recording is not interrupted. The option of battery power for ONE allows for truly portable professional recording. When used with iPad or an iOS device, ONE works with any Core Audio compliant app like GarageBand, Auria and MultiTrack. For recording on a Mac, ONE works with Logic, Pro Tools, GarageBand, Ableton Live and any Mac Core Audio compliant application.