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Friday Grab Bag: New Tablets, Hybrids ahead of WMC

February 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Rumor has it that Google may be taking a page from Apple’s playbook and plans to open a real brick and mortar line of retail outlets to sell Nexus and Chrome products in a manner that enables the buying public to touch and try the devices prior to purchase.

Currently it is already possible to test drive some of Google’s products at retail but as its lineup of tablets and notebooks grows, and with the possible inclusion of smartphones as well, the company has reportedly been planning a retail move for some time, according to 9to5Google, as relayed by Intomobile.


Instagram coming to BlackBerry 10 OS, indirectly
It looks like users of the spanking new BlackBerry 10 will get a shot at using Instagram on their new devices, however it also appears that it will not be an app that is written from the ground up to run on that platform.

All Things D is reporting that the app will simply be a port of the Android version rather than a native creation. Still the appearance of the popular app will be welcome on the platform as it continues to fight for a bigger share of the market.

LG expected to show a hybrid Tablet/Ultrabook next week
LG has said that it will be displaying its hybrid tablet/ultrabook next week at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. The Tab-Book Ultra Z160 operates with the Windows 8 operating system and is powered by Intel Core processors, according to Gizmag.

The device, first talked about last month at CES is expected to have two different processor configurations. One will have a 1.8GHz Core i5 chip while the other will be running a 1.8GHz Core i3 chip.

Asus debuts low cost tablet
A new player in the 10-inch tablet space comes from Asus with its Memo Pad Smart ME30, which has apparently already been released in some countries, according Android Authority. The tablet is expected to have an official unveiling next week in Barcelona.

Among the details that have been made available is that it is running a quad-core 1.2GHz Tegra 3 processor and will have 1GB RAM and 16GB on board storage with a microSD slot for additional storage. It is expected to have a 5MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front-facing camera.

Google’s Chromebook Pixel now available
Google is moving its Chromebook upscale, at least in price with a $1,300 offering that comes in a Wi-Fi only model as well as an LTE equipped model that will be a about $150 more. It is equipped with a 12.85-inch 2560 x 1700 resolution display.

It will be powered by a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 chip and will feature 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Other features include an SD card reader, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0.

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MLB’s AT Bat 13 Also Shows Up for Spring Training

February 21, 2013 by 2 Comments

at bat

For many baseball fans one of the landmark days of the season is when pitchers and catchers report. For others it has now become when MLB.Com releases its At Bat mobile sports program at the start of each season.

The popular app is now in its fifth season and it is now available on a much greater variety of platforms than ever, with its mainstay Apple iPad and iPhone as well as support for Android-driven smartphones and tablets. New this year will be the support for the BlackBerry 10, due by opening day. Apparently still no Windows Surface Pro support.

Like the players the app is now only ready for Spring Training but there will be an Opening Day update soon. It costs a onetime fee of $19.99 for the entire season including the World Series, although there are a few options. Subscribers to MLB.TV Premium can upgrade to MLB AT Bat 13 for free while Apple’s iOS users can get a monthly billing of $2.99 a month if they wish.

As with every year there are new and/or enhanced features with the program, and it also varies a bit by which operating system and device you are using to view the app with although the differences are narrowing.

Some of the features for all devices include a new app navigation system, searchable video highlight library, and a classics games video library archive. For iPad and Android tablet users there is also sortable batting, pitching and fielding statistics as well as favorite team enhancements. Then there are also ones just for smartphones such as new team pages and revamped news interface.

There is also a host of Spring Training features including the ability to watch an estimated 200 games, live audio broadcasts, scoreboard tracking as well as breaking news and full season calendars.

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Samsung Faces New Challenger to Galaxy Note in LG

February 18, 2013 by 4 Comments

Samsung is a battle-tested developer, and while the focus has apparently been with Apple and its iPhones, iPads and lawsuits, it was only a matter of time before someone else bubbled up to the forefront with products that might make inroads against Samsung’s offerings.

Of course there are a host of Android-driven devices that already compete with Samsung and you can now add LG Electronics and its Optimus G Pro smartphone to that growing list. The difference here is that the company is directly challenging Samsung and its popular Galaxy Note 2.

Introduced today and available now in South Korea and expected in the U.S. market in the second quarter the new device will have a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, better than the resolution available from the Note’s 1280 x 720.

It will be interesting to see how much additional competition the Samsung Note 2 draws. When the company released it initially I believed that it was a novelty item and would not last, shows what I know. Now that the form factor has been increasingly widely accepted I expect addition companies to enter the space to try and wrest some market share away from Samsung.

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U.S. Soccer Federation Delivers App and Digital Magazine

February 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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If you are interested in tonight’s opening match of the Final Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying that will have the U.S. team playing Honduras the U.S. Soccer Federation has just made it easier for you to stay abreast of the news.

The Federation has again expanded its digital presence, this time with a Facebook app as well as a new digital magazine called ‘Anthem’, with the first issue of the free publication now available online. The magazine is currently only available for iPad and iPhone users but an Android version is expected soon.

The interactive Facebook app, called Supporters XI, provides a different experience for users. They can select virtual lineups from Coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster of 24 players, putting them in one of 10 different formations, and can share their lineups with their friends.

There are also other methods to follow the team including the ability to watch matches online, including today’s versus Honduras by heading to on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, or you can follow the conversation on Twitter at @ussoccer. If you are interested in images from the match, and ones from the past you can check out the team’s Instagram page.

Tonight’s US/Honduras match is one of three CONCACAF regional qualifying matches being played today, the others being Jamaica at Mexico and Costa Rica at Panama. The second set of group games is scheduled for March 22, when the U.S. Soccer team will host Costa Rica.

For this qualifying round, which will run through October, each team will play 10 matches with the top three earning automatic advances to next year’s World Cup and the fourth place team going to a home and away qualifier against the first place team from the Oceania Football Confederation with the winner advancing to the World Cup.

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Research in Motion has New Identity as BlackBerry 10 Arrives

January 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Research in Motion’s comeback attempt starts today with the long awaited release of its next generation smartphone, the BlackBerry 10, a device the company is hoping will be the cornerstone of a revival in its fortune.

You have to give the company credit, it is not launching the new phone in a half hearted manner with events in New York City, Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai and Johannesburg and its executives have informed the world that RIM no longer exists and that it will now be known as BlackBerry.

BlackBerry introduced a pair of phones, the BlackBerry Z10 which has an all touch interface and the BlackBerry Q10 that has touch features but also includes a physical keyboard.
The company originally made its name as a supplier of a phone that served as a top flight business tool and it has not abandoned its roots, although it has also taken major steps in providing features that general consumers demand as well.

Some of the highlights of the platform include a new fast browser that supports HTML5. The BlackBerry Storefront now features 70,000 apps for the BlackBerry 10 family, and while a far cry from the millions available for iPhone and Android platforms it is a good start. The phones also come with some very popular apps now pre-installed including Facebook and Twitter.

The BlackBerry Hub (BBH) is a place to manage work and personal e-mail and social media. It features a messaging app called the BlackBerry Messenger that includes call and voice chat features and a program that is designed to separate your work apps and data from personal content and keep them secure. There is a host of additional features, some smply enhanced from previous versions, included on the new phones.

The company desperately needs a winner here as its woes have been well documented as the once undisputed leader in first smartphones for businesses has witnessed a steady erosion of its sales and market share followed by its revenue and profits following the same downward spiral.

At the same time its rivals are keeping the pressure on BlackBerry. In what is becoming a common game of one-upmanship Samsung picked today as the day it also unveiled one of its latest smartphones, the Galaxy Express 4G.

Apple, one of the other major powers in the smartphone space has been regularly updating its iPhones on a regular basis and the Internet is full of speculation of a new iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and cheap iPhone or a mixture of all of the above. But you can be sure that the company has an aggressive rollout plan to attempt to maintain its position in the market.

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Sony Unveils Latest Tablet-The Xperia Z (Non-Smartphone Version)

January 22, 2013 by 1 Comment

Sony released a smartphone at CES called the Xperia Z and has now followed that release up with its latest tablet offering, the Xperia Tablet Z as the company continues to battle for relevancy in the tablet space.

The tablet is a light, thin device that features a 10.-1 inch display with a 1920 x 1200 pixel high definition display, 2GB of RAM, and a 1.5GHz quad core processor. It will run the Android 4.1 operating system.

Included will be support for 4G LTE as well as NFC (near field communications) capabilities and weights a very light 495 grams and is 6.8 millimeters thick, making it slightly thinner than Apple’s iPad Mini. The case is waterproof and dustproof.

Other features include a microSD slot for memory expansion and an 8 megapixel camera that can automatically adjust its settings in low light and dark conditions to provide the best possible image. Overall storage capability and the frequency for the NFC have not been unveiled yet.

There are a number of questions that have yet to be answered about the device that received a very quiet launch that consisted of a simply press release in Japan. The two biggest questions are will it be released in the United States, or for that matter outside of Japan, and what will its pricing be? It appears that the tablet will be available this spring with pricing set at that time.

Still the move shows that Sony, despite some missteps in the tablet, and smartphone space, are not ceding them to Apple, Microsoft, Samsung or any other player without a fight. That will be good for the market as the increased competition will continue to help drive innovation in this space and provide new features and technology for users.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apple, iPad, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Surface, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,
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