LG announces 84-inch 3D Ultra Definition TV, will show it to you in person at CES

LG is on a roll with the incredibly awesome televisions. After the 55-inch OLED TV that we saw last week, which also happened to be the world’s largest OLED TV, today they have announced the gigantic 84-inch 3D Ultra Definition TV, which, again, is the largest in the world.

The key feature here is the Ultra Definition panel, which has a resolution of 3840 x 2160, four times the resolution of current Full HD panels. It uses LG’s Slim and Narrow Bezel design, which makes the display look like it’s going from edge to edge and does not jut out too much from your wall. The TV will come with a set of passive 3D glasses.
No mention of pricing or availability has been made. We will probably find that out during CES itself.
Source

1 million Samsung Galaxy Notes shipped worldwide

The Samsung Galaxy Note looked an odd device at first but the experiment is proving to be a success - Samsung just announced that they've shipped 1 million units of the phone-tablet crossover globally since it launched in mid-November.
Samsung reports rising sales of the Note in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan and XL-sized droid will be arriving in the US some time next year too (there's still no official info on when that will happen).
Of course, 1 million shipments don't mean 1 million sales (sales are less but we don't have exact numbers), still it's very good going for something that seemed out of a place (too big for a phone and too small for a tablet).
There's not much competition in the 5"-6" range right now but the success Galaxy Note phoneblet might bring new players into the field. Samsung execs are reportedly proud of breaking new ground in mobile devices and promise more to come.
Source

Apple iTV on the way?

Apple have ordered component parts to make iTV sets in 2012 according to sources.
Digitimes, quoting Korean media sources, reports that Apple will be focusing on 32 inch and 37inch sets using Samsung electronic chips and Sharp displays.
Apple TV launched a set top box in 2006 but the new sets will incorporate the technology into a whole TV package.
The new iTV will be released late in 2012 according to rumours.

Story Source: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111227PD204.html

New LED printers from Epson

The new range comprises monochrome, colour single-function and all-in-one devices featuring LED technology

Epson has launched the company’s first range of high performance LED printers that will replace its entry-level laser printer device range.

The new range comprises monochrome, colour single-function and all-in-one devices and features a high-performance LED technology that produces high-quality, high-speed prints with space and power savings.

The new series will continue to use the Epson AcuLaser brand for the foreseeable future.

The new printers provide users benefits that include:

- Low acquisition and running costs as the printers and cartridges are affordably priced
- High print speeds of up to 24 pages per minute (black) / 12 pages per minute (colour)
- High monthly duty cycles of up to 20,000 pages per month
- High buffer memory capacities of 128MB that enable better heavy workload management
- Vibrant colour images and rich, well define text with Epson AcuBrite mono and colour toners
- Compact space saving chassis designs thanks to the compact new LED print engines

The new range consist of:

Monochrome printer models:
- The Epson AcuLaser M1400 single function mono printer
- The Epson AcuLaser MX14 all-in-one mono printer

Colour printer models:
- The Epson AcuLaser C1700 single function colour printer
- The Epson AcuLaser C17NF all-in-one colour printer with networking and fax

Sony agrees to discontinue LCD venture with Samsung

   

Struggling with a loss-making television business, Sony Corp has reportedly agreed to drop its LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics. As per reports, Sony will now sell its stake to the South Korean company for 1.08 trillion won ($938.97 million).
 

Reliable sources informed, both the companies are already in conversation to terminate collaboration on the project, which has been referred to as S-LCD. The two companies have invested $1.8 billion (2.1 trillion won) in the joint venture. The venture is located south of Seoul and it focused to design LCD displays for large televisions using the "seventh generation" manufacturing process.
Sony holds about 50 percent stake in liquid-crystal display (LCD) joint venture S-LCD with Samsung, which was established in April 2004 to secure stable supplies of the component.
Tumbling demand and a surging yen are two significant reasons for the termination of venture. Latest stats revealed, Sony’s television unit alone set to lose $2.2 billion by the end of quarter. Now, it will concentrate on developing its strategy for smartphones
A Samsung spokesman said, the two companies would make an announcement regarding the joint venture very soon.

 

Samsung explains why Galaxy S and Tab 7.0 won't get Android ICS

When Samsung announced the list of phones and tablets to get the Android Ice Cream Sandwich update, there were many questions of why certain models didn't make the cut. The originalGalaxy S for one was quite a surprise, since the nearly identicalNexus S is already getting the update.

Samsung issued an official statement explaining why the the I9000 Galaxy S and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 won't get to taste official ICS.

Both feature Samsung's TouchWiz customizations which run pretty deep (they include things like custom widgets, video calling and so on), and they also have country-specific customizations (like the ISDB-Tb Digital TV tuner for Brazil) along with carrier-mandated changes.

All those customizations will not run smoothly on the older hardware if ported to Ice Cream Sandwich, with limited RAM and ROM storage pointed out as problematic.

Samsung's statement talks only of the Galaxy S and the Tab 7.0, but other Galaxy phones that are not on the ICS update list most likely suffer from similar restraints so they'll remain on Gingerbread too.

Of course, there are plenty of third-party ROMs available out there that will put an unmodified Ice Cream Sandwich (that is no TouchWiz) on your Galaxy droid - we already tried one out and it worked rather well.

Source (in Korean) | Via

Nokia Lumia 800 new color versions coming up

The Nokia Lumia 800 might be just about to get a few new color versions. Nokia France confirmed in an interview with MonWindowsPhone.com that they are now considering the new colors that will be added to the range.

And while nothing has been settled yet, we got a few photos showing the possible choices. The first image shows the white version, which is probably the most obvious choice of all. After all, Nokia N9already got a shiny white dress and it uses the same non-painted polycarbonate unibody as the Lumia 800.

We are not sure if the red version, shown alongside the white one in the first image is new, or if it's the pink version that's already official and the camera just got its white balance wrong. Judging by the second image, the second option seems more likely.

 

Now the next image has some more interesting options to show us. We got a purple and a yellow Nokia Lumia 800, which are reportedly the two other color versions that Nokia is thinking about introducing.

According to the source we should be seeing the new color versions (or at least one or two of them) in the first quarter of 2012.

Tempted in getting a Lumia 800 in one of the new colors? Or are they too flashy for your taste?

Source (in French) | Via

YouTube's UK Top Ten clips 2011

YouTube has revealed the UK top ten most viewed clips which shows that we are a nation of softies at heart!

A teased dog, talking babies and a mother cat hugging her kitten all made the top ten ahead of other major 2011 events, such as the Royal wedding.

The YouTube Trend blog reports that the top ten clips had racked up more than 285 million hits between them.

Here they are;

1. "Friday" - Rebecca Black

2. Ultimate Dog Tease

3. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)

4. Talking Twin Babies

5. Nyan Cat

6. Look At Me Now - Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes

7. The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)

8. Maria Aragon - "Born This Way"

9. "The Force"

10. Cat Mom Hugs Baby Kitten

Check them out at; http://youtube-trends.blogspot.com/

Story Source: http://youtube-trends.blogspot.com/

Apple founding papers sold at auction for nearly $1.6m ..

Apple's founding documents sold for more than 10 times their estimate

Apple's founding papers have been sold at auction for $1,594,500 (£1.03m).

Sotheby's had estimated the three typed partnership agreements would sell for between $100,000 and $150,000.

The documents were signed by the firm's three co-founders, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on 1 April 1976. The papers include an amendment added 11 days later when Mr Wayne quit.

The buyer was Eduardo Cisneros, chief executive of Cisneros Corporation.

His Miami-based firm owns stakes in a range of businesses covering real estate, TV production and telecommunications.

Sotheby's said five other bidders took part in the sale.

The sale price includes a 12% buyer's premium paid to the auction house Sotheby's for holding the auction. That values the documents themselves at $1.35m.

The third man

The seller was Wade Saadi - founder and chief executive of the IT recruitment firm Pencom Systems.

He bought them from Mr Wayne in 1994 for "several thousand dollars".

The documents reveal that Mr Wayne was paid $800 when he decided to hand back his 10% stake in the firm. He later received a further $1,500.

Mr Wayne played a crucial role in the firm's creation, helping Mr Jobs convince his friend Mr Wozniak to leave Hewlett-Packard and set up the new company.

He was given a 10% stake in the company so he could act as a tie-breaker if the other two men had a disagreement.

However, Mr Wayne left the company after less than a fortnight because he was worried that if it failed his assets could be seized by Apple's creditors.

Instead he returned to the computer games maker, Atari, where he had first met Mr Jobs.

When interviewed by the Daily Telegraph last year, Mr Wayne said he was happy with his decision, despite the outcome.

"I felt the enterprise would be successful but at the same time there could be bumps along the way and I just couldn't risk it," he said.

"Would I like to be rich? Everybody would like to be rich but I couldn't keep up the pace. I would have been wealthy, but I would have been the richest man in the cemetery."

The auction is the latest evidence of the public's interest in Apple's history.

Earlier this week Amazon revealed that the biography of Steve Jobs was its best-selling title of 2011. The book was released in October following the death of the company's co-founder.

Why It Is In Apple’s Best Interest To Launch iPad 3 In Q1 – Part 1

According to the latest reports from Digitimes, Apple iPad 3 might have a possible launch somewhere in March – April 2012. Truth is, there is no official word from Apple for even coming up with an iPad 3, let alone a March – April launch. But then, this has been the case always and Apple will lose out a lot of head start if the iPad 3 is launched late in 2012. The iPad 2 is still selling well, but coming out with a new product every March or April has been the tradition with Apple. Let us discuss on why Apple should launch the iPad 3 in quarter 1 of 2012.

iPad 3 has some strong competition in 2012.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and similar devices are already more powerful than the iPad 2. The iPad 2 was ahead of the rest when it was launched, but Android tablets have not only matched the iPad 2 but also are way ahead in terms of speed and features than the iPad 2. Apple will have to pull up their socks and claim the top spot again by releasing the iPad 3 in Q1.

iPad 3 should be wary of a cheap competitor – Kindle Fire

Although the Kindle Fire will be nowhere near in terms of specifications of the iPad 3, it has one killer feature, the price. $199 tablets coming from Amazon’s stable means that Apple should already be worried. The iPad 3 will not sell at $199 but still it can launch early with a $500 tag and it might be able to convert some Kindle Fire customers in its favor.

Android is a worthy competitor now to the iOS

Early in 2011, Android was still sprouting and it was almost nothing against the iOS. But thanks to the overwhelming response to the Android operating system by big time manufacturers, we now have some awesome tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Kindle Fire in the market. The operating system has also matured a fair bit and by all means is certainly on par with the iOS of the iPad 3.

These were 3 very good reasons why the iPad 3 should launch in Q1 2012. Stay tuned for the Part 2 in this series. Until then let me know yours view on this article. Subscribe to the newsletter to 

Why It Is In Apple’s Best Interest To Launch iPad 3 In Q1 part 2

Welcome back to part 2 in this series of discussion where we are trying to understand why it makes sense to launch the iPad 3 in Q1. Part 1gave us some strong reasons to believe that Apple should not delay the launch of the iPad 3 any further than Q1. But that is not all, there are still quite a few reasons why an early launch might help the iPad 3 in terms of staying at the pinnacle of the tablet market. Let us begin with the all important Windows 8.

iPad 3 iOS competition- Windows 8 might launch late in 2012

Windows 8 is under the works and it will probably launch in 2012. Now there is no doubt that there will be a slew of tablets running Windows 8. Windows 8 looks promising in the little tidbits that have come out in the open of the operating system so far. Delaying the launch of the iPad 3 late into 2012, might prove counterproductive to iPad 3’s sales. Although there is no word out on any Windows 8 based tablets but still it will be a worthy competitor and launching the iPad 3 late means that Apple will have more reasons to worry to keep its stronghold in the tablet market.

Global slowdown means the sales number of the iPad 2 will be lower

The global slowdown means that the spending power of people will be less. Some of the projections of early 2012 shows that people will be a little cash strapped and they will think wisely before spending on things. Launching the iPad 3 early on in 2012 might translate into higher sales number for Apple. There is a general tendency of people to spend on new things and people might loosen their purses for the iPad 3 instead of the iPad 2.

Launching the iPad 3 in first quarter will be a good strategic decision for Apple

If the iPad 3 is launched in the first quarter than Apple can space out the launch of the iPhone 5 by a good six months. Apple will be able to launch the iPhone 5 by September or October 2012. There are several advantages of this . For starters, it will give the buyers plenty of time to think what device they want to buy and secondly launching 2 products evenly in a year means that the buzz for Apple products never dies.

Wrapping up this series, I would like to mention that the iPad 3 will be a game changer if it is able to come out with all those features that has been mentioned here and that too in Q1 2012. Subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated with the latest of iPad 3.

Samsung launches white Galaxy S II HD LTE for South Korea

Back in September Samsung announced it would release their flagship Galaxy S II device in new flavors. The South Korean exclusive Galaxy S II LTE and the Galaxy S II HD LTE were just released on the local market and guess what, they now have white as an optional color in tune with the holiday season.

The HD LTE comes in all of its 4.65" Super AMOLED 1280x720 glory with a dual-core 1.5 GHz and, naturally LTE connectivity speeds. The Galaxy S II LTE has a 4.5" WVGA (480x800) display, which is about the only difference between the two. They should both be available on SK Telecom as previously told but on HSDPA and LTE, sans the CDMA.

The phones look stunning and do bring a lot of bang for today's standards. Still we're eager to see what the upcoming CES and WMC will bring - they did bring us the Galaxy S II this year after all.

Source

Apple's new keyboard

Apple's keyless keyboard.

The glass topped design features no moving parts but instead works using acoustic and piezo-electric sensors.

The system compares sounds made by tapping of the screen to a database of signatures determining which key is being used.

The keyboard would still display the traditional Qwerty keys but three sensors within the keyboard would be “sufficiently precise” to triangulate the position of the tap said the patent filing.

Story Source: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/368887/apple-patents-a-keyless-keyboard

Loudest iPhone dock ever??

German audio and music speaker equipment company has introduced the iNuke Boom, which is capable of blasting out 10,000 watts of power!

Suitable for the iPhone and iPod, the Boom weighs a staggering 700lbs and stands 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide!

The Behringer speaker will only set you back a mere $30,000 (£19,100 GPB).

The INuke Boom is set to make it's debut at the CES, (Consumer Electronic Show) in Las Vegas from Jaunuary 7th, 2012.

Story Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57338896-1/monstrous-behringer-inuke-boom-will-rock-your-socks-off/

Next Prada phone by LG to land December 14, we'll be there

It's always a good thing to open our mailbox and get a surprise invite to a hot new event set on announcing something new and exciting. Well we just got surprised today by an invitation to an event held by Prada and LG on Wednesday, December 14 in London.

To get right down to it - we expect to see the chic LG Prada K2. It should feature a 4.3" IPS LCD capacitive display of WVGA (480 x 800) resolution, 8 MP sharpshooter on the back, Android under the hood and a thin profile of 8.8 mm.

We're waiting to see what kind of processor it will utilize and the exact number of cores . The Prada phones were among the first non-Apple devices to use capacitive screen technology back in 2008 and2009, you know.

We'll be there to cover the event, so be sure to check back in 12 days from now.