It’s that time again! We’re live at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts, where Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to take the stage
to debut everything the company has been secretly working on for the
last few months.
What will they show? No one knows for certain, of course — but we’ve got some ideas,
and there’s been no shortage of rumors. New iPads? Probably! New iPad
Minis? Perhaps! Release details for OS X Mavericks, or the crazy
cylindrical Mac Pro? Maybe!
You’ll have to tune in to our live blog to find out. We’ll be bringing back the news the very second it breaks by way of our liveblog down below. As with the last few big Apple events, it’ll mostly be Greg Kumparak typin’ away while Darrell Etherington blasts out photos.
Remembering the days when people used personal computers ,desktops and laptops are to check email, view video and keep tabs on
Facebook? Back in that far-away era, I'd have several windows open for
Web browsers, a word processor, a photo editor and sometimes a reader
for PDF documents.
I miss that capability on mobile devices, particularly on full-size
tablets with a decent amount of display space. With iPads and Android
tablets, I'm typically limited to one window displayed at a time; other
apps run in the background, out of sight. With Windows 8 tablets, I can
run two windows side by side, but I'm constrained in what I can do with
them. It gets better with the Windows 8.1 update due out next week, but
it's still not the free-for-all I had with PCs.
So I marvelled at
a pair of multitasking features that come with Samsung's new tablet,
formally called Galaxy Note 10.1 latest edition.Sporting a 10.1-inch
display, measured diagonally, the Note tablet goes on sale in the US
starting Thursday at a starting price of $550.
The first of the
multitasking features, called Multi-Window, has been available in
Samsung devices for about a year, but it works with many more apps now.
You can run two apps side by side, such as Facebook on one side and
YouTube video on the other.
Like Windows 8 tablets, you're
limited to just two apps. You can change how much of the screen each one
takes, a capability coming with Windows 8.1, but you can't choose to
have a window take up just the top left corner, the way you can on PCs.
In addition, Multi-Window isn't a universal feature. Apps for Netflix
and Hulu won't work, for instance. You currently have about 18 apps to
choose from, including Facebook and a variety of Google and Samsung
apps.
The new Note 10.1 has many new stylus-related features
Like Windows 8 tablets, you're limited to just two apps. You can
change how much of the screen each one takes, a capability coming with
Windows 8.1, but you can't choose to have a window take up just the top
left corner, the way you can on PCs. In addition, Multi-Window isn't a
universal feature. Apps for Netflix and Hulu won't work, for instance.
You currently have about 18 apps to choose from, including Facebook and a
variety of Google and Samsung apps.
With that limitation, it's
nice that Samsung Electronics Co. is supplementing Multi-Window with a
feature called Pen Window. With it, simply draw a box on the screen with
the included stylus, and choose one of seven apps to open in a new
window. Do it again and again until you open all seven apps, if you
wish. That's nine in all, counting the two with Multi-Window. Each Pen
Window app appears in a window that floats over your main app (or two
apps if you use Multi-Window). You can move that window around on your
screen and resize it, just as you can on PCs. Need a break from it? Just
minimize it into a small dot and move it out of the way.
Like
Multi-Window, you're restricted in what apps you can use with Pen
Window, though I expect more to get added over time. For now, Pen Window
on the tablet works with YouTube, the calculator, the alarm clock, your
contacts list, the Web browser and two chat apps - Samsung's ChatOn and
Google's Hangouts. I like the fact that you can open all of them and
keep them out of the way in a minimised state. That way, it's just one
click when you need the calculator and one click when you're done.
The
iPad doesn't do that. Amazon's Kindle Fire doesn't do that. Other
Android tablets don't do that. Windows 8.1 won't do that - at least not
in the tablet-style viewing mode that Microsoft prefers you stick with.
You'll have to go to the classic, desktop mode to resize windows, which
defeats the purpose of having Windows 8 or 8.1. Windows 8.1 will go
further than Multi-Window in letting you run up to four apps side by
side, but that works only on larger screens, not portable tablets.
Beyond
multitasking, the new Note tablet offers a My Magazine mode giving you
personalised highlights, such as news topics of interest, content from
your social media feeds and suggestions on things to do and see, based
on your current location. It's a good concept, though Facebook isn't
available through it yet.
The new tablet also gives you quick
access to the tools you can accomplish with its stylus. Pen Window is
one. Another feature lets you add notes to a screenshot of what you see.
Another lets you clip a section of a Web page and store it with a Web
link.
The back is still plastic, albeit better feeling plastic
Unfortunately, not everything worked. Text recognition was poor.
I'm supposed to be able to jot down an email address or a phone number
with the stylus and have that handwriting converted into a contacts
entry. But the device constantly confuses the letters "o" and "l" with
the numerals "0" and "1."
Pen Window also is more difficult than
necessary to set up. You need to take out the stylus for an Air Command
tool to appear on the screen. You choose Pen Window, then draw a box on
your screen with your stylus. Then you choose the app you want to open.
Do all of that again to get additional apps, after figuring out how to
get Air Command again with your stylus already out. It would have been
simpler to have a button on the home screen that you can tap with your
finger or stylus.
In addition, Samsung could have done more with
the apps in minimized state. Google's chat app is reduced to a circular
icon. It could have flashed or changed colors to notify me of a new chat
message, rather than make me open and close it regularly to check.
The
tablet's back is still made of plastic, but it feels like leather - an
improvement over previous Samsung devices. The tablet does feel heavy,
at 1.2 pounds, but that's still lighter than the 1.4 pounds for the
full-size iPad. If you want light, wait until early November for the
large-size version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX. It weighs just 0.83
pound.
Samsung's tablet is also pricey - the $550 starting price
tops the iPad's $499 and the Fire's $379. Of course, neither the iPad
nor the Fire includes a stylus. One more complaint: Although the tablet
uses the latest version of Android, 4.3, it doesn't offer that system's
feature of letting multiple people share a device with separate
profiles.
With the Note, it's clear some of the functionality
we've long associated with PCs is coming to devices we're just getting
to know. There's more to be done, including support for multiple users,
but I'm glad Samsung is leading us in that direction.
The day has come. Today, we learn more about the next versions of the iPhone -- that is the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C -- from Apple itself.
Will the 5S be able to read your fingerprint with a new sensor in its
home button? Will it have a faster processor and better camera? Will it
come in real gold? Okay, that last one is unlikely, but it is said to
come in a new champagne color.
How about the iPhone 5C? Is the plastic, lower-end model going to come
in the colors of the rainbow? Will both phones and iOS 7 fly straight
into your arms on Sept. 20?
We will find out the answers to those questions and so much more
starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET when Apple kicks off its event. We
will be there bringing you the details as we get them right from Apple's
Campus in Cupertino, Calif., in the live blog below.
We should have updates below starting at 9:30 a.m. PT / 12:30 p.m. ET.
Updates will appear below automatically when the event starts or at this
link if you are on a mobile device.
The firm has tried to provide the best features but let's see how it works in the rael market situations.But one thing is sure when the firm launches a product it is passed through multiple tests so that everything should be set.
Asus To Build The New Nexus 10; Launch Likely in Ocober
Oct 07, 2013 04:04 PM
Latest documents suggest Asus will build the next iteration of Google's
10-inch tablet, the Nexus 10, which might have a mid-October launch
with Android 4.4 KitKat.
Google Inc., the largest web company, does not rest on its laurels
and constantly strives to improve its catalog of smartphones and tablets
to keep ahead in the market. Recent leaked documents suggest that the
web giant has teamed up with Asus again to build the next iteration of
Google's 10-inch tablet. Several earlier reports hinted at a Google
Nexus 10, but now it seems that Asus will indeed build the device.
The leaked document, an inventory listing of the Nexus 10 on an
anonymous store computer reads, "Google Asus Nexus 10". The details of
the yet-to-be announced tablet are scarce. But the leaked photo by the
popular tipster,clearly
names Asus as the manufacturer for Google's second-generation Nexus 10,
Phandroid reports. This means Google has not chosen the largest
smartphone maker, Samsung, to build the next 10-inch tablet, unlike the
first time.
Asus, renowned computer hardware and electronics company, had
previously helped Google build the new Nexus 7 device, launched this
summer. The partnership has been successful and beneficial for both the
firms.
Thereportalso hints at the launch of the device to be somewhere in mid-October. It will run the latest Android 4.4 KitKat.
.
Another leaked document by sources also
showed the upcoming tablet listed as "Nexus 10 16G" to be manufactured
by Asus. As the web giant has not sent out invites for its speculated
October 14 launch with only 7 days left in hand, it is unlikely that the
Nexus 10 will be unveiled then.
The details on the new device have not been leaked, but it is
definite that it will boast a Snapdragon chipset and a 2560x1600 pixel
display. Reports suggest that the Nexus 10 will be priced around $399
and will be listed on Google Play Store as well as hit the retail
outlets.
The latest rumor coincides with another report of Google being in the
midst of launching the next Nexus 5 smartphone, later this year. It is
likely to be made by Motorola.
Well hopping the best to come out even if it takes time.
Microsoft Acquires Nokia’s Devices & Services Business
Nokia-MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation and Nokia Corporation Tuesday announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license Nokia’s patents, and license and use Nokia’s mapping services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents, for a total transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion (approximately $7.2 billion or Rs. 47,000 crores, as per Tuesday’s exchange rate) in cash. Microsoft will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia’s shareholders, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
“It’s a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer. “In addition to their innovation and strength in phones at all price points, Nokia brings proven capability and talent in critical areas such as hardware design and engineering, supply chain and manufacturing management, and hardware sales, marketing and distribution.”
Microsoft also announced that it has selected Finland as the home for a new data center that will serve Microsoft consumers in Europe. The company said it would invest more than a quarter-billion dollars in capital and operation of the new data center over the next few years, with the potential for further expansion over time.
