Sony's 2013 HDTVs start shipping, quantum dots are on the way

We got a peek at Sony's 2013 HDTV lineup during CES in January, and now the company has announced they're starting to roll out and confirmed official pricing. The new sets add features like NFC, MHL and Miracast support to certain models, while the top of the line W900A is its first to use Quantum Dot technology in combination with edge LED lighting. Sony's brought back its old Triluminos brand name for the technology, which it claims provides a wider color gamut while keeping prices quite a bit lower than its last TVs to rock the tag, the now-retiredXBR8 series.

There's no word on the XBR series, but in the lower W- and R- lines the KDL-W900A is the only one with Triluminos. It also brings an extra long internal speaker duct for improved sound and standard NFC remote, and the 55-inch model will carry an MSRP of $3,299. The step down W802A version keeps MHL standard, has the NFC remote as an option and comes in 55- and 47-inch versions that start at $1,799. The 32-inch W650A will ship for $799. The R-Series dodges some of the higher end features, but some still include 3D, WiFi, RVU and the Sony Entertainment Network suite of apps including Netflix, Hulu Plus and more. The R550A has all that and is available in 70-, 60- and 50-inch versions that start at $1,399. Hit the source link for info on more models, or just keep an eye out on (digital) store shelves as these leak into retail.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple gets defensive with new iPhone campaign

Apple has launched a new section of its website dedicated to singing the iPhone's praises. The timing is no surprise, seeing as Samsung has just lifted the lid on the Galaxy S4, which is the iPhone's biggest threat by far.

The Cupertino company also took the opportunity to fire a few potshots at rival operating systems. Which seems a bit defensive if you ask me.

The whole thrust of the page is how much people love their iPhones. Apple makes a big deal of the fact it's won eight straight awards from J.D Power and Associates. It bigs up the device's design too: "every detail and every material -- particularly the sleek aluminium enclosure -- has been meticulously considered and refined." This attention to detail is usually seen in high-end watches, Apple reckons.

Apple also praises the iPhone's Retina display, battery life, A6 processor, 4G skills, and camera. But it's when it comes to the App Store that the gloves really come off. Apple says the "App Store is home to over 800,000 apps -- all reviewed by Apple to guard against malware. Other mobile platforms have a myriad of fragmented store options, resulting in availability issues, developer frustration, and security risks." Could that be Android and Google Play it's thinking of, by any chance?

iOS 6, Siri, iCloud, and Apple's support teams also have smoke blown up their behinds.

Apple is obviously proud of its handset -- and justifiably so -- but I can't help but think this seems a bit defensive. Does it really need to slate Android? The only reason I can see it would is because it feels threatened by Google. Whatever happened to the Apple of old, the one with such swagger it didn't even really bother with marketing? The one that didn't feel the need to tell you how good its products were, just let them speak for themselves?

[Source: CNET]

Is this the Nexus 5?

Pinch of salt time: a render of what purports to be the Nexus 5 has surfaced online, along with a spec list. There are plenty of reasons to think it's fake, but a few that hint it could be the real deal too.

An anonymous source claiming to work for Google sent the image and specs to Android and Me. They say the Nexus 5 is due for release around October, and Google is currently evaluating several prototypes from different manufacturers. This one is from LG and is codenamed "Megalodon". Sound real? Or bent as a nine bob note?

The spec list does sound too good to be true. The Nexus 5 is said to be packing a 5.2-inch OLED display with 1,920x1,080 resolution. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.3GHz, along with a ridiculous 3GB of RAM. Storage is said to go up to 64GB (dwarfing the Nexus 4's 16GB), and a 16-megapixel camera is capable of capturing 4K video. Like I say, sounds too good to be true.

Some of the tech isn't found even in devices yet, like Qualcomm's chip, though it should be by October. It also seems a bit early to be seeing renders, but then this could be more of an artist's impression. We've also heard previously that a successor to the Nexus 4 was already on the cards.

Adding fuel to the fire, the very reliable Twitter account @evleaks tweeted: "LG Nexus 5 looks pretty hot, if that was just it…" It followed this up with: "I had to beg to say even that much :P"

The Nexus 4 has been wildly popular, but Google has had trouble meeting demand, with the device being in and out of stock at Google Play since its debut in November. That price tag of £239 will have helped, no doubt. Buy it elsewhere, and you'll have to shell out way more than that.

[Source: CNET]

World’s Fastest Wireless Radio Frequency Chip Boasts 10 Billion Bytes Per Second

Researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a new radio frequency chip capable of sending/receiving 10 gigabits per second.  That equates to a 4.7GB movie file that can be downloaded in 3.76 seconds.

Park Cheol Soon, the lead KAIST professor of the project, states the chip can be used in future smartphones and cameras, but can also replace cables and deliver cable/fiber optic speeds without the costly infrastructure.

The team claims the design of the chip and antenna has been made to be small (4mm tall and 6.6mm wide) for use in most mobile devices. The antenna itself is designed to transmit and receive data, rather than needed multiple antennae to perform the task, further reducing the size of the design.

For consumers, this means some really cool applications, imagine Google Fiber datatransmission speeds without all the laying of wires and infrastructure in homes, or transferring a full 64 GB SD card wirelessly in mere seconds.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Wii U gets UK price slash, after Nintendo ruled it out

Wii U sales may not have set the world alight, but Nintendo claimed just recently it wouldn't cut the console's price. Well now UK retailers have gone behind the gaming giant's back, and done so anyway, CVG reports.

Asda and Amazon have knocked £50 off the RRP of the Wii U basic and premium packs, selling each for £199 and £249 respectively. ShopTo is also in on the slashing, dropping its Wii U basic pack by £60 to £190.

But it's believed the trade price of the console hasn't changed -- it's still £205. Which would mean retailers are selling the device at a loss. Can things really be that bad?

It seems so. In January, Nintendo lowered its Wii U sales forecast for the year from 5.5 million units to 4 million. But company president Satoru Iwata was adamant it would not lower the price. "With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown," he said in a statement.

He admitted Nintendo "had not yet fully communicated the value of the product," and that it would "work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U." Chop-chop.

The Wii U has been criticised for being too complicated for casual gamers won over by the original Wii. It's also under threat from the rise of cheaper (or even free) games for mobiles and tablets. Why buy a console with a tablet control, and be tied to its roster of games, when you can pick up a standalone tablet and have thousands to choose from? That seems to be what a lot of punters are thinking, anyway.

[Source: CNET]

Canon Sends Out Invites For March 22 Event; Canon 70D Inbound?

There have been rumors suggesting Canon might announce a new product—possibly the 70D—this month, and low and behold, press invites have gone out for an event on March 22. These aren’t your ordinary invites, either.

Recipients were sent a secretive black box containing a nondescript silver pen. So? So, the pens actually contain a hidden message one can only see in a dark room. That’s some Bond-level spy stuff right there.

The pen is actually branded PowerShot, so perhaps in addition to the possibility of the 70D, Canon will announce one or two other shooters for the spring season. It’s unclear what time the announcement begins, but we do have a date, so we’ll keep an eye out leading into next Friday.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

HP and Samsung offer setup-free printing on the Galaxy S 4, with others to follow

As ubiquitous as wireless printing has become, there remains the occasional hoop to jump through for printing from mobile devices if you don't happen to have either a special app or iOS gear that supports AirPrint. HP and Samsung are teaming up to remove many of the headaches for the Galaxy S 4: when the phone launches in April, it should have setup-free WiFi printing to almost 200 HP inkjets and LaserJets, as long as any given printer is either on the same network or is otherwise accessible through direct printing. Don't expect ubiquitous support, though. Beyond being limited to the one phone, you'll have to stick to some of its preloaded apps, including the browser, contacts, email client, photo gallery, Polaris Office and S Note. It's far from a truly universal solution, then, but the two partners are at least promising zero-setup printing on both the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II through firmware updates coming later in 2013. We'll take the approach if it saves time snagging an old-fashioned boarding pass or someconcert tickets.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple sued over defective MacBook Pro Retina displays

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court in California alleging that Apple is misleading consumers by not advertising that there are two different types of displays used in its MacBook Pros with Retina displays. The issue stems from widespread reports that MacBook Pros with Retina displays that use display panels from LG suffer from ghosting issues. MacBook Pros that use Retina displays from Samsung reportedly are not affected by the same issues.

ArsTechnica reports that the class action lawsuit says that because the two makes of the Retina displays "exhibit different levels of performance and quality" Apple is wrongly marketing the MacBook Pro with Retina display as one product when instead it should be marketed as two different products -- the difference being which display, LG or Samsung, is used in the laptop.

[Source: TUAW]

Samsung Galaxy S4 cases launched

Gadget accessories company, Proporta, has released its collection of cases for the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. Adopting its wealth of experience in protective, fashionable accessories for the latest technology innovations, the line-up of Galaxy S4 cases includes signature Proporta favourites, fashion brands and fresh designs.

Leather Case with Aluminium Lining - £29.95 Leather Style Flip Case - £24.95

Lynnette Prigmore, Head of Product at Proporta, expressed her delight at the announcement of the new S4 and commented on the accompanying cases: "In the world of Smartphone tennis it would appear that Samsung has had the first serve for 2013 and, in some areas, raised the bar for mobile technology with a new S4 rammed full of features. For the industry and Proporta, where we continue to manufacture our own branded, British designed accessories as well as producing cases and sleeves for a number of global fashion and lifestyle brands, this makes for a very exciting time. As with any new device launch, it's a race against the clock for the accessories market; our design team will once again have initial designs ready for pre-order first thing - with many more designer cases to follow in the next few weeks."

Union Jack Case - £14.95 Screen Protector - £4.95

Quiksilver Hard Shells - £19.95 each 'Redemption', 'Blue Checks', 'Black' and 'Echo Beach'

UK broadband speeds climb 34 per cent in 2012, but at a cost

The UK's broadband speeds have hit double figures for the first time, watchdog Ofcom jubilantly reports! But are Brits paying over the odds to get faster Internet speeds?

The average fixed-line speed of a UK connection was 12Mbps in November of last year, thereport claims, up from a more modest 9Mbps in May of last year -- a 34 per cent speed increase. The numbers come via 1,291 panel members, who had measurement units strapped to their routers to measure Internet speeds.

It's not all good news though, as Ofcom's findings suggest there's a greater disparity in speeds -- a kind of broadband inequality. The average speed of connections advertised as 'up to 10Mbps' (excluding connections billed as 'up to 2Mbps') was 4.4Mbps in November, down from 5.6Mbps in May.

Ofcom reckons this fall is partly down to Virgin Media shifting its cable customers onto speedier 20 or 30Mbps services. As cable is generally faster than ADSL1 connections, the average has fallen -- ie most of the people left on 'up to 10Mbps' connections are getting less than half that. BT, meanwhile, is upgrading its ADSL network, leaving ADSL1 connections in rural areas that are further from exchanges, and consequently get slower speeds.

The overall speed bump appears to have come from an increase in the number of folks opting for super-speedy fibre connections of 30Mbps and above. The average speed for these connections was a pacy 44.6Mbps, but Marie-Louise Abretti of Uswitch warns the increase in broadband speeds may be putting pressure on our wallets.

Demand for streaming video and downloads has "led to some being frustrated with slow speed," Abretti says, "and, where they can, opting for a pricier fibre connection.

"There are still coverage blackspots across Britain," Abretti also notes, "where consumers still struggle with frustratingly sluggish speeds." 

In other words, while the average speed across the UK is up, things don't look much rosier for those who can't afford -- or can't access -- the kinds of zippy download speeds that fibre provides.

The report to some extent contradicts recent findings by streaming-video service Netflix, which found the UK's average speed recording by its servers was 2.07Mbps. That put us near the bottom of a league table of the countries in which it operates.

[Source: CNET]

Dropbox acquires Mailbox, teases an email and cloud collaboration

That was fast. It was just a month ago that Mailbox launched its unique (if queue-ridden) email client for iPhone users, and today we're hearing that it's been acquired by Dropbox. While the two aren't explicit about their plans, the Mailbox crew makes clear that a Dropbox union will help scale its client, including to non-Gmail providers and more devices. The team also isn't shy about speculating about what could happen if Dropbox's cloud storage was "connected" to Mailbox. We'll just have to give the new partners some time to produce what could be an alluring software hybrid.

[Source: Engadget]

Samsung Galaxy S4 Announced

In the Android landscape, Samsung is an unrivaled titan, sitting atop the highest possible perch of smartphone glory and supremacy. Over the past few years, the company has gone from tepid challenger to olympic gold medalist. The Samsung Galaxy S sparked a revolution back in March 2010, and four iterations later, the Korean company is releasing its biggest Galaxy product ever—probably its biggest gadget across every product lineup it offers—the Galaxy S 4. Finally, at last, it’s here.

Samsung describes its new super phone as one that will get you close to what matters in life, designed in a way to heighten the user experience. It’s not a thing you only hold and look at and occasionally make calls on; the S 4 is, according to Samsung, something that understands the value in relationships… believes in the importance of an effortless user experience… empowers your life, helping take care of your well-being.

The overarching theme, you see, isn’t a focus on specs—they are decidedly next-gen, as expected—but how software and technology can improve your experience in a positive way. So there are features like Dual Camera, Dual Video Call, Story Album; Group Play, Share Music, S Translator, Smart Pause, Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Scroll, S Voice Drive, Optical Reader, WatchON; S Health, Adapt Display and Adapt Sound. That’s an enormously overwhelming laundry list of new features, all designed to make everyday use seem more natural and painless.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]