HTC Rezound (Verizon Wireless) Review

HTC puts audio quality front and center with the Rezound, the company's first smartphone for the U.S. with integrated Beats Audio. When paired with the bundled earphones, the technology makes music sound like it was originally intended instead of a compressed mess. This $299 Verizon 4G Android phone is also the first for the carrier to feature a sharp 720p HD display. Does the Rezound do enough to make you forget about the Droid RAZR and the Galaxy Nexus?

Android and HTC Sense fans alike will certainly appreciate the Rezound's software. The phone runs the company's latest iteration of Sense UI, version 3.5, on top of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. Sense 3.5 adds the ability to delete home screens plus an updated browser with a cleaner look.

Like on the HTC Rhyme and HTC Sensation, a new lock screen displays a digital clock with time and date plus icons for Camera, Mail, Messages, and Phone. Pulling a virtual ring from the bottom to the center of the screen wakes up the handset. Dragging any of the icons directly into the ring launches that specific app.

There are seven customizable home screens to choose from, and swiping left or right flips through them. A finger pinch opens an aerial view of all seven screens for fast navigation. The notification drawer includes a couple of features you won't find on standard Android handsets. There's a list of recent apps up top for switching between programs, and a tab for Quick Settings down below for engaging airplane mode and toggling other settings.

The App menu on this and other HTC Sense phones looks dated to us, with unnecessary Downloaded, Frequent, and Verizon Wireless tabs at the bottom of the screen. It's time for HTC to modernize this menu.
Apps

Besides the typical bundle of Verizon software such as VZ Navigator, VCAST Music, and VCAST videos, the HTC Rezound includes Kindle for Blockbuster movie rentals and Kindle for purchasing and reading eBooks. Polaris Office lets users open and edit common file formats, such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, and an app called Scan reads QR codes using the Rezound's camera.

As per usual, HTC adds its own software to the mix. For instance, the FriendStream widget combines all your social media updates into one feed. And the HTC Watch app provides access to video titles including movies and TV shows. For example, Transformers: Dark Side of The Moon costs $3.99 to rent and $14.99 to buy.

Spesification
Carrier Verizon Wireless
Form Factor : Candybar Touchscreen
Operating System : Android 2.3.4
Networks : LTE 700MHz (band 13); CDMA 800/1900MHz
Data : LTE
CPU : 1.5-GHz Qualcomm MDM9600
RAM : 1GB
ROM
Internal Memory : 16GB
Memory Expansion Type : microSD Card
Display (main) : 4.3-inch 720p, 1280 x 720
Display (secondary)
GPS : Yes
Bluetooth Type : Bluetooth 3.0
Wi-Fi : 802.11 a/b/g/n
Front Camera Resolution : 2MP
Camera Resolution : 8 MP
Audio formats supported : AAC; AAC+; AMR-NB; MIDI; MP3; OGG; WAV; WMA
Photo formats supported : GIF; JPEG; PNG
Talk / Standby Time : 404 minutes usage/261 hours standby
Ports : 3.5mm headphone; microUSB
Size : 5 x 2.6 x 0.54 inches
Weight : 6 ounces
SAR Rating (Head)
SAR Rating (Body)
(laptopmag.com)

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon Wireless) Review

It should come as no surprise that Google's latest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, has the best of everything: a huge 4.65-inch 720p screen, one of the fastest cameras around, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the most complete version of the company's mobile OS to date. And now it's riding on Verizon Wireless' scorching 4G LTE network. With elegant sweeping curves, it's one stylish-looking phone, too. But does that mean you should drop $299 to pick one up? Read on to find out.

Click to EnlargeSamsung deserves serious credit for making a mammoth 4.7-inch screen not feel like overkill. That's because the Galaxy Nexus' high-def display is housed inside a body that weighs a fairly light 5.2 ounces and measures 0.4 inches thick. However, the GSM version weighs just 4.9 ounces and is a hair thinner; the difference may seem minimal on paper, but it's noticeable when holding both phones at the same time.

By comparison, the Droid RAZR is lighter (4.5 ounces) and thinner (0.3 inches), but you're getting more real estate than the Motorola's 4.3-inch display. By contrast, the 4.3-inch HTC Rezound weighs a hefty 6 ounces and is 0.5 inches thick.

The Galaxy Nexus has an all-plastic gray body with a subtle swooping curve. The design felt solid for the most part, but the textured back cover felt flimsy when we took it off. In addition, snapping it back into place was a bit of a challenge. The Droid RAZR's Kevlar-infused design feels more durable. The Galaxy Nexus just doesn't scream flagship as much as we'd like because it doesn't use premium materials.

Spesification
Verizon Wireless
Form Factor : Candybar Touchscreen
Operating System : Android 4.0
Networks : CDMA/PCS/1xEVDO Rev. A (800/1900 MHz)
Data : LTE
CPU : 1.2-GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460
RAM : 1GB
ROM : 32GB
Internal Memory : 32GB
Memory Expansion Type : none
Display (main) : 4.65 inches/1280 x 720 Super AMOLED
Display (secondary)
GPS : Yes
Bluetooth Type : Bluetooth 3.0
Wi-Fi : 802.11 a/b/g/n
Front Camera Resolution : 1.3MP
Camera Resolution : 5 MP
Audio formats supported : AAC; AAC+; AMR; AMR-NB; eAAC+; MP3; MP4; WAV
Video formats supported : H.263; H.264; MPEG-4
Talk / Standby Time : 12 hours/150 hours
Ports : 3.5mm headphone; microUSB
Size : 5.3 x 2.7 x 0.37 inches
Weight : 5.2 ounces
SAR Rating (Head) : 0.63
SAR Rating (Body) : 0.88
(msn.com)

Battery life is price you pay for Verizon Galaxy Nexus

We just put the wraps on our review of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first phone to run Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and came away impressed with its sleek new software, large 720p display, fast camera, and blazing 4G LTE speeds over Verizon Wireless’ network. However, as we discovered with the Galaxy Nexus, as well as other phones that use Verizon’s LTE network, there’s a price to be paid for all that speed: Battery life.

As you can see from the above results, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus lasted only 3 hours and 40 minutes on our Laptop Battery Test. This test involves continuous web surfing over 4G with the screen brightness at 40 percent. GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Auto Sync are all turned off. When we ran our battery test on the unlocked Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile’s network, the device saw 5 hours of runtime. That’s a difference of nearly 1.5 hours.

The Galaxy Nexus for Verizon delivered even less endurance than the HTC Thunderbolt, the first 4G LTE phone from the carrier that established a reputation for short battery life. Because 4G LTE radios use more power, the phones that use them tend to last significantly shorter than the smartphone average. But as you can see some Verizon phones at least last longer than the 5-hour mark.

We really like the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, but its below-average battery life kept it from earning an Editors’ Choice Award in our review. If you do pick up this phone, make sure you keep the brightness down and follow our other tips for making your Android phone last longer.
(msn.com)

iPad who? Tablets try again at CES

2011 was the year when Android tablets broke loose and ran rampant over the annual Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. It was here that Motorola showed off the world's first Android 3.0 tablet and lookalike Android 2.x devices seemed to pop out of every booth.

The year that followed has been a tumultuous one for tablets. Big players like Hewlett-Packard and RIM released major products that quickly found their way to the bargain bin. Apple sent everyone back to the drawing board after the release of the ultrathin iPad 2. And Amazon reset everyone's expectations of what a tablet should cost, and what features consumers could live without.

What will 2012 have in store for tablets? There's no way of knowing for sure, but here are some trends I expect to see at CES 2012.

Thinner designs
With the iPad 3 release still months away, the competition still has some time to show off designs that are thinner and lighter than the current iPad. It's a particularly tough engineering challenge for Android tablet manufacturers, as Android fans have come to expect features such as microSD expansion and HDMI output, which bulk up the design. You also have to account for the thickness of LCD panel technology and the rechargeable battery pack.

Android 4.0
What Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) was to CES 2011, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be to CES 2012. The first question that will be asked of any tablet unveiled at CES will be whether or not the device is capable of running Google's latest operating system.

But unlike last year, no one company will be able to claim Android 4.0 exclusively. Google has already released the code into the wild and manufacturers should be able to demonstrate some basic functionality on the tablets.

Windows 8 tablets
Considering that Microsoft introduced Windows 8 at CES 2011, we're bound to hear about its progress at CES 2012. Much has been made of the software's suitability for use on tablets, but we haven't been able to get hands-on with yet. Perhaps we'll hear some official product announcements about Windows 8 compatible tablets.

Higher resolutions
One of the most expected features of the iPad 3 is a higher-resolution display that can rival the Retina Display used on Apple's iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.

Rumor has it that manufacturers are now capable of making tablet-size QXGA resolution (2,048x1,536 pixels) touch-screen panels with a pixel density of 264ppi, which is twice that of the iPad 2.

Flexible displays
Nokia's future phone concepts


We've seen companies like Sony and Samsung show off flexible OLED screen technologies in years past, but never yet on a product they had any intention of making available. Perhaps 2012 will be the year we see this technology become viable.

Recently, Nokia has been showing off its Kinetic concept device, which allows users to navigate through menus and zoom in and out of images by twisting and bending the screen. If a manufacturer at CES could demonstrate a similar concept on a larger, tablet-worthy screen, it would make quite a story.

Different sizes
The success of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have show that the 7-inch tablet isn't the dud form-factor we thought it was. Samsung has clearly shown a willingness to try different screen sizes, such as its Galaxy Player 5 and Galaxy Tab 8.9. Maybe we'll finally see a tablet that dares to venture into larger 12-inch or even 15-inch sizes.

As noted in CNET's laptop predictions for CES, the worlds of tablets and laptops are showing signs of collision.

One of the hottest tablets on CNET currently, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime employs a detachable keyboard dock that makes it practically indistinguishable from a modern laptop. The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, and its suitability for both laptops and tablets, will surely blur the line further.

The Asus Eee Pad Slider is a tablet with a full slide-out keyboard that blurs the line between tablet and laptop.
(Credit: Josh Miller)


4G
Because compatibility with high-speed 4G cellular networks is one of those features that the iPad doesn't have, we expect that it will continue to be used as a selling point for an increasing number of tablets. Whether or not tablet shoppers really want the contracts and fees that come along with 4G service, remains to be seen.

E-ink gets colorful
The color e-ink display is another one of those technologies that has popped up at CES year after year, but has yet to make it to a mainstream device. Perhaps this year we will see a more mature version of color e-ink that will help bridge the gap between black and white e-readers and tablets.
(cnet.com)

Will BlackBerry survive 2012?

Troubled BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion has announced further delays to its new phones - now analysts and commentators are making their complaints ever more loudly.

It seems that every month BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion has more bad news to announce. In November it paid a $365million charge for unsold PlayBook tablets; yesterday it announced that crucial new phones would now be delayed to the latter half of 2012, rather than being out by March.

Co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis charitably cut their pay to just a $1 each, but analysts and critics argued they’re still overpaid. One writer on the respected blog PaidContent blog said the pair should have been “fired months, if not years ago”.

At the heart of BlackBerry’s problems lie its troubled transition to a new operating system: in order to compete with the iPhone and with Google’s Android phones, the Canadian company has had to rebuild its software from the ground up. So far, the only product using a new version is the underwhelming PlayBook.

Yesterday, announcing RIM’s results, Lazridis delivered the bad news almost casually. The new OS will power a new generation of phone, but in order to compete RIM had earlier changed its mind on which chips to use. Now he said RIM could not get enough of them and that delays were unavoidable.

Lazaridis compounded the disappointment for investors by cutting the firm’s prediction of sales to between 11 and 12 million smartphones in the current Christmas quarter, down from 14.8 million over the same time last year. Others companies’ sales are rising at his expense.

Last month, analyst Ian Fogg said that “if you look at RIM’s track record they have a history of missing launch dates; that doesn’t bode well.” He warned ominously that “If they fail to ship quality products we’ll see a slow decline,” and it would appear that Fogg’s predictions are already coming true.

With rather dry understatement, however, Lazaridis said in a statement that "It may take some time to realise the benefits of the platform transition that we are undertaking, but we continue to believe that RIM has the right set of strengths and capabilities to maintain a leading role in the mobile communications industry”. When he claimed that people tell him “every day” that BlackBerry is the best communications device around, commentators immediately said he was listening to the wrong people.

RIM's share of the smartphone market in the US fell to 9.2 per cent in the third quarter from 24 per cent in the same period last year, according to research group Canalys. Increasing numbers of analysts across the board now find one conclusion inescapable: RIM doesn’t just need customers – it needs a buyer.
(telegraph.co.uk)

A Boggle of BlackBerrys

OTTAWA — Research in Motion’s chief executives, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, frightened its investors Thursday when they said the company would not have new BlackBerry phones until late in 2012. Until then, they said, RIM would heavily promote the existing lineup.

Some analysts argue that developing multiple BlackBerry models is spreading RIM too thin.

The reaction was swift and sharp. The stock fell to an eight-year low Friday. One reason for the worry, analysts say, is that no amount of advertising will help increase the sales of BlackBerrys in the United States because the current line is a jumble of models. There are BlackBerrys that flip, BlackBerrys that slide, BlackBerrys with touch screens, BlackBerrys with touch screens and keyboards, BlackBerrys with full keyboards, BlackBerrys with compact keyboards, high-end BlackBerrys and low-priced models.

Features have proliferated on BlackBerrys as part of RIM’s move to the broader consumer market, and so have the number of models. Since 2007, RIM has introduced 37 models. The company, in a statement, said it did not know how many models were on the market.

Adding to the shopping confusion are RIM’s product names, which generally rely on four-digit model numbers and sometimes have different products sharing a name. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 are touch-screen phones that are on some shelves next to the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and 9810, touch-screen phones with slide-out keyboards. (The model number differences reflect models adapted for different cellphone systems.)

By contrast, Apple has introduced only four iPhones since 2008 and all were basically the same phone with differences in the amount of storage, or upgrades from older models.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with Sterne Agee in San Francisco, said that even though he closely followed the company as part of his job, he was unable to keep the various BlackBerry models straight at times. “The company may not see this, but its product line is still too complicated,” Mr. Wu said. “They have all these different models, all these different model numbers and nobody knows what anything is. Apple’s a much bigger company, but they’ve made it simple for people.”

Model proliferation and fragmentation is nothing new in the wireless business. Nokia offered a wide range of cellphones tailored to appeal to specific, sometimes comparatively small, groups of buyers. And several companies, notably Samsung, also offer an array of phones.

But in the era of more sophisticated smartphones when many shoppers are already baffled by choices between operating systems and software features, some analysts and marketing experts say that RIM is only confusing consumers, rather than increasing sales, with its array of handsets.

The extensive product line has not reversed RIM’s declining market share in North America. Canalys, a market research firm based in London, estimates that BlackBerrys accounted for only 9 percent of the United States market in the third quarter of this year. At the end of 2009, it held almost half the market.

RIM’s variety of BlackBerry models present it with an additional problem that could also make a comeback less likely. The different keyboards, screen sizes and screen types used by RIM make it more time-consuming and difficult to create and test BlackBerry apps. Without a lot of apps, consumers see the phones as less useful than an Apple or Android phone.

“It can be hard,” said Al Hilwa, the director of the applications development software program at IDC, a technology research firm. On top of the current fragmentation, he added, apps developers often struggle to accommodate older BlackBerry models that lack features, like a GPS receiver, that are now common on other devices.

Some analysts also argue that developing and supporting a smorgasbord of models is spreading RIM too thin. Its entry into the tablet computer market, the PlayBook, arrived in April without key features like e-mail, and the release of software to fix those problems is not expected until February. As a result, considerable concern has risen about RIM’s ability to successfully introduce phones next year. Those phones would be based on a new operating system that the company hopes will rekindle interest in BlackBerrys.

It is not just some financial and technology analysts who find the BlackBerry lineup overwhelming. Even some enthusiasts would like to see the company consolidate its models. On Crackberry.com, a Web site that reports even the smallest BlackBerry product and software developments, Kevin Michaluk, the editor in chief, wrote last month that the most common requests he receives are about which BlackBerry model to choose.

“Sometimes less is more,” he wrote. “In comparison over the years, RIM has taken the opposite strategy, giving customers almost too many options.”

Simona Botti, a professor of marketing at the London Business School who studies consumer decision-making, said that while people would always say that more choice was better, they were often mistaken.

“Too many options can be frightening, can be overwhelming,” she said. Her research found that people who buy complex products like smartphones in those circumstances are less satisfied than shoppers who lack choice.

Much of RIM’s decline in the United States is the result of consumers choosing Android phones. While some Android makers, notably Samsung Electronics, also make a wide array of models, Adnaan Ahmad, an analyst with Berenberg Bank in London, said that it was a mistake for RIM to emulate them. He noted that Samsung produces many of the key components for its phones in-house which, when combined with its high-volume production, gives it an insurmountable cost advantage over the Canadian company, even on niche products.

RIM’s success with low-end phones in developing countries, Mr. Ahmad said, has more to do with the popularity of BlackBerry Messenger service than its phones. All multiple models do for RIM, he said, is give it more shelf space in some stores. “But if you go to a big retailer virtually anywhere in the world, Apple’s there,” he said.

RIM declined to make anyone available for an interview about its product strategy.

In an e-mailed statement, the company said that it “continuously assesses its mix of handsets with our carrier partners to determine the best approach to serve various market segments.” The statement continued: “The smartphone market is not a ‘one size fits all’ market and RIM’s strategy of ranging its products to address high, mid and entry-levels has been important, particularly in parts of the world where smartphones are not subsidized.”

While announcing more bad financial news on Thursday, Mr. Balsillie and Mr. Lazaridis, the co-chief executives of RIM, indirectly acknowledged that the company might have too many models. They announced a major review of the company’s operations, which will include assessing its product lines.
(nytimes.com)

Microsoft Office 365 Vs. Google Apps: Compliance Clash

Microsoft on Wednesday declared that Office 365 is the "first and only major cloud productivity service to comply with leading EU and U.S. standards for data protection and security."

There are, of course, not many "major cloud productivity services." In fact, you'd be hard pressed to come up with "major" contenders beyond Microsoft and Google. There are certainly major companies like IBM and Cisco that offer cloud productivity options, but they aren't really challenging Microsoft Office head-on like Google Apps. Thus Microsoft's dismissal of browser-based apps can be read as a critique of Google, the company that would have you believe Microsoft's hybrid approach, with local and cloud apps, is archaic and inefficient.

"Developing cloud-based productivity tools that meet the needs of European businesses means more than simply building apps in a browser," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, in a statement. "Microsoft has a more complete approach to European data protection and security laws than any other company, and we're proud of the work we've done to ensure the widest range of organizations can move to the cloud with confidence--or choose an equally functional on-premises option."

Microsoft's claim might be best boiled down to something like, "Office 365 is more compliant than Google Apps."
There's some truth in that, but also some posturing.

Microsoft says that it will abide by not only European Union model clauses, rules that certify compliance with the European Commission's Data Protection Directive and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the U.S., but also by local data regulations in the 27 EU member states.

Google hasn't fully embraced the model clauses, let alone all the unique member state rules. One reason might be that the model clauses require data processors to make their data processing facilities available to client or government auditors. Given how many clients Google has, the company might be wary of offering data center tours on demand for reasons of security and practicality.

Microsoft says that it's the first major cloud-based productivity service to be certified under ISO/IEC 27001, a data security management benchmark. Google Apps isn't ISO/IEC 27001 certified at the moment but it is certified under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)--despite Microsoft's claim to the contrary--and certain FISMA requirements can be mapped to ISO/IEC 27001 requirements. So by complying with FISMA, Google Apps is more or less in line with the expectations set forth in ISO/IEC 27001.

Microsoft also cites the online services it has developed for Office 365 that provide safeguards necessary for HIPAA compliance. Yet HIPAA regulates the use of information services in organizations rather than in the service providers themselves. So it's not as if Office 365 is HIPAA compliant and Google Apps isn't. Both companies provide resources to help their customers use their services under HIPAA.

Microsoft says it believes it’s the only cloud productivity service that includes a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to customers covered by HIPAA. The BAA establishes contractual requirements between the customer and Microsoft related to the customer’s HIPAA obligations.

Google points out that compliance isn't everything, an assertion affirmed by the number of companies that have complied with security rules and still suffered data breaches.

"Certifications help communicate certain assurances to customers, but they only tell part of the story," a Google spokesperson said in an email. "Most were not developed with cloud infrastructure in mind. Google Apps has secured several important certifications while developing our own security technology specific to cloud computing."

Indeed, compliance might not be everything, but it's significant enough that it can be used to attempt to thwart the competition.
(informationweek.com)

Nokia Batman Dark Knight Rises limited edition Lumia 800 revealed

Nokia has revealed a limited Lumia 800 Dark Knight Rises special edition, complete with a laser-etched Batman logo, to tie in with the upcoming feature film. Only forty of the handsets will be produced, seen here snapped by Jon Choo in London this morning ahead of IMAX previews of the Batman film it self.

Matching packaging – wrapping up the traditional bright Nokia blue with a matte black sleeve complete with black Batman logo – rounds out the package. There’s a movie tie-in Live Tile visible on the screen in the video below, though it’s not clear exactly what specific software or apps Nokia has added at this stage.

Although the chances of picking up a Batman Dark Knight Rises Lumia 800 in stores is low, we wouldn’t be surprised if one or two show up on eBay eventually. Otherwise the regular black Lumia 800 and some time with a laser etching machine are your best bet; check out our full Nokia Lumia 800 review here.
(slashgear.com)

Samsung Galaxy S Line Spurs 300M Global Handset Sales

Thanks in part to sales of its popular Galaxy S and Galaxy S II Android smartphones, Samsung has broken its own record by selling 300 million handsets--and counting--in 2011.

Samsung also said sales of smartphones powered by its own bada operating system are picking up steam worldwide, thanks in part to its refreshed bada 2.0 build. The flagship Wave 3 bada phone is available in Europe and "continues to gain sales traction in all its launch markets," Samsung said.

Bada phones aren't available in the United States, where Samsung's Android models draw much attention from rivals such as Motorola Mobility and HTC. Samsung began selling the Galaxy S line in 2010 and has now sold more than 20 million of those handsets to date, excluding the typically busy December shopping month.

The phone maker began selling the much-ballyhooed successor, the 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution)-equipped Galaxy S II, in April. By September, the company sold more than 10 million S II units
, its fastest mobile device sold in the company's history.

"We are incredibly proud of this record-breaking sales milestone and have exceeded the annual target announced early this year, which is testament to the enduring appeal of Samsung phones with consumers around the world," said JK Shin, president and head of Samsung's mobile communications business.

AT&T (NYSE:T), Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile all sell Galaxy S II models, which sport anywhere from 1.2GHz to 1.5GHz dual-core processors paired with 4.3-inch to 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus displays. These devices compete with Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4S smartphone, which itself has helped AT&T to its single strongest smartphone sales in a quarter.

One of the ways Samsung has helped its own cause versus the iPhone 4S has been its "The Next Big Thing Is Already Here" ad and marketing campaign, which touts the 4G LTE speeds and larger screen size of the Galaxy S II handsets compared to the iPhone 4S.

Samsung also took a shot at Apple's reputation as a maker of devices for "creative" types, a meme that started with Macintosh computers for graphic artists.

Not everything is going Samsung's way. The company launched its Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone in the U.K. in November and expected to watch Verizon launch its version of the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone the week of Dec. 5.

Unfortunately, Verizon and Google are locked in negotiations regarding the inclusion of the Google Wallet mobile payment application on the phone. Verizon is concerned with the app's security.

Hold-up notwithstanding, Best Buy and Verizon stores accidentally sold some Galaxy Nexus handsets to some lucky consumers.
(eweek.com)

5 Apps Banned from Apple's App Store in 2011

From tethering, a DUI checkpoint app, and a radiation detection app - here are five apps shown the door by Apple.

Apple gave the app, Drivers License, the boot this week after concerned politicians claimed it encouraged identity theft. Drivers License joins a short list of apps that Apple gave boot in 2011 because Apple either didn't get the joke, offered too much functionality, or that Apple felt was downright dangerous.

Here is a brief 2011 rewind of apps that got the boot in 2011 starting with Drivers License.

Fake Driver's Licenses

On Monday, Apple removed a two-year old app, called Drivers License that allowed you to create a fake drivers license using a photo, biographical info and a state template of your choice. The app was pulled after the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License tapped Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey to send a letter to Apple asking that the free app come down. The Senator was concerned about the ability to send the fake license to an email account, which could then be printed and laminated.

Avoiding DUI Checkpoints

Senators also stepped in in the case of apps like "Buzzed" which provide information about nearby DUI checkpoints to help tipsy drivers avoid law enforcement. A few months after first being pressed by lawmakers to remove the apps, Apple quietly took them down and updated its App Store guidelines to ban "Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving."

Phone Story

Turns out that creating a game with the explicit purpose of criticizing Apple will get you banned from the App Store. Who would have guessed? The app called Phone Story was designed as a game that allowed players to force African miners to extract the minerals used in the manufacture of iPhones at gun point, among other things. The App only lasted a few hours in the App Store before disappearing.

iTether

Just like its Android equivalent, PDAnet, iTether allows iOS users to turn an iPhone into a portable modem and tether their 3G connection to a laptop or other device to be able to get online when there's no WiFi around. Obviously, this app and its one-time only fee are significantly more affordable than the monthly fee wireless carriers charge to turn your phone into a hotspot. Tethering also violates the carriers' terms of use. Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before iTether was pulled from the App Store.

Tawkon

For those who worry about smartphone radiation, Tawkon is an app devised to determine how much of it you're soaking up while using your phone. It also provides tips on things like phone position that could help lower your dosage. According to Tawkon, Apple execs rejected the app, and an appeal directly to Steve Jobs elicited a terse response – "No interest," he reportedly replied. Talk about being bounced.
(pcworld.com)

NTSB Recommends Banning Texting, Cell Phones While Driving

Distracted driving, which includes texting and talking on a cell phone, is a major cause of death on the road. Nearly two out of every 10 drivers and half of drivers ages 21 to 24 said they are texting while driving, according to a NHTSA survey. (Anne Rippy/Getty Images)


The National Transportation Safety Board today urged all U.S. states to ban drivers from using electronic devices while driving, including for text messaging.

The NTSB issued the recommendation after several investigations that found texting to be the cause of deadly accidents.

In Missouri, two people died and 38 were injured in a pileup in August 2010 after a 19-year-old driver rammed his pickup truck into the back of a tractor truck and was then hit by one school bus and then another. The teen was texting while driving, the NTSB found after an investigation, leading to today's ruling strongly recommending a ban on all mobile usage.

"According to NHTSA [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration], more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving. No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life."

Though the NTSB doesn't have the power to enforce such a regulation, experts say the recommendation itself would have significant implications.
(abcnews.go.com)

Microsoft releases OneNote as first Office app for iPad

Already out there as an iPhone app, the latest 1.3 update to OneNote turns it into a full-fledged iPad app able to take advantage of the tablet's full-screen real estate.

Though it's part of certain versions of Microsoft Office, OneNote is probably the least understood application in the midst of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access.

As its name implies, it's basically a note taker and todo list, but one designed to capture free-form notes and ideas as text, images, tables, bullet points, and other types of content. You can also link to or embed video and audio clips and draw illustrations in your notebooks.

You can easily move each piece of content around the screen to organize it. OneNote can also tie in with Outlook, so you can e-mail information and link meeting notes and todo items between the two applications.

You can do all that and more in the full desktop version. The iPad version is much more limited.

Wtth the OneNote IOS app, you can type notes, create bullet and checkbox lists, and insert photos from the photo library or by snapping a new picture.

You can create multiple notebooks and easily organize them. You can also e-mail a notebook. But you can't insert objects other than photos or move and manipulate your content the way you can on the desktop application.

Still, OneNote for the iPad can come in handy for viewing notebooks created on your desktop. OneNote for Windows lets you save each notebook on the Web through your SkyDrive account. Your iPad or iPhone will then automatically retrieve new and updated content by syncing with SkyDrive in the background.

From there, you can open any synced notebooks to view them on your tablet or phone. Though your notebooks don't retain their original layout on the moble device, you can easily read them and make changes to the text, though not to the images.

As described in a Microsoft blog, the new version of OneNote supports both the iPad and iPad 2, is available in different languages, and easily syncs over a Wi-Fi connection.

Microsoft is reportedly prepping a mobile version of its Office suite
for the iPad, according to sources, though the company hasn't confirmed those reports.

As Microsoft's first effort, OneNote for the iPad is a promising idea, but the current version feels incomplete, especially compared with its desktop counterpart. I'd like to see Microsoft try to enhance the app in the next round to give it at least a few of the features that distinguish the desktop version.

The basic free app lets you create and store up to 500 individual notes. Those of you who need more will have to shell out $4.99 for unlimited use on your iPhone and $14.99 for unlimited use on the iPad.
(cnet.com)

Is Apple vulnerable in 2012? You bet

After Steve Jobs was fired in 1985, it took Microsoft 10 years to catch up--and exceed--the technical and user interface innovations of the Mac OS that Jobs helped create. Now, Jobs is gone and Apple is once again in a position of clear market leadership with competitors gunning to match its products.

Apple's rivals aren't taking a decade, however. Far from it. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, along with partners such as Intel, Samsung, HP, and Lenovo are all heading into 2012 with impressive products aimed squarely at Apple's hits--the iPhone, the MacBook Air, and the iPad.

The iPhone alternatives
When you hold the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Nexus, or other versions for the new generation of Android devices, it's clear why Samsung phones are now outselling the iPhone and why Apple is suing various Android handset manufacturers. These devices are a huge threat to the iPhone. The screens are bigger than the iPhone's. They weigh less and they're speedier.

The new version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, is almost at parity with the beauty and ease of use of iOS. Plus, the emergence of apps from Pandora and Spotify, both amazing music streaming services, make the iTunes library lock-in hardly a lock-in at all. In fact, more than 370,000 apps are now available for Android, including most of the ones that people want. Apple is adding great new features such as Siri, but let's not forget that Apple acquired Siri and the underlying voice recognition technology is provided by Nuance. Android already has similar apps and Microsoft's TellMe will not be far behind.

Conclusion: even before all these advances, Android was already outselling iOS. Apple's position in this war is weakening.

Up in the air
Here come the MacBook Air clones. Air-like notebooks based on Intel's next-generation Ultrabook components are going to be announced en masse at CES in January. I recently played with an Asus Zenbook, the Asus version of an Ultrabook. The Asus looked great and even had stylish metal keys that are far nicer than I had expected from the photos. It's not as if Apple has an exclusive on making computers lighter and batteries last longer. Apple was just the first to perfect it because it controls the entire system--the operating system and hardware right through to retail--and has the will and pricing power to push for what it wants among the component makers.

I use both Windows 7 and Mac OS on a daily basis and really can't tell the difference between the two anymore, mainly because I spend most of my time on Google's Chrome and Microsoft Office. Windows 7 actually has better desktop management--when I open or select a document it only brings that document to front, not every other document already opened by that particular app. Yes, the Mac OS is easy to use and stable, but stand next to the Genius Bar at a Mac store and you will see that many people have many problems, just like Windows 7.

Conclusion: most notebook computers will adopt the MacBook Air form factor, and Windows will not only maintain its tremendous market share, but possibly even retake Mac's recent gains.

King iPad is at risk
Tablets are a category that Apple completely dominates, with 80 percent market share. Android competitors have flailed, but Amazon's Android-based Kindle Fire is likely to outsell the iPad in 2012 due to its low price ($199). Amazon is focusing the Kindle as a cheap, content-consumption device rather than full-fledged tablet, and it's subsidizing the price in exchange for people subsequently purchasing movies, apps, and physical goods from Amazon.

While the Kindle Fire will nibble at the iPad from the low end, at the higher-end, $500-plus price range, full-fledged computers based on the ultrabook and Netbook form factors and Windows 8 Metro will begin to compete with the iPad, including hybrids with pivoting screens and detachable keyboards that effectively merge an ultra-lightweight notebook and tablet.

Conclusion: the iPad will dominate through 2012, but after that the iPad will be squeezed on the low end by the Kindle and on the high end by full-fledged touch-screen PCs.

Of course, Apple is not sitting idly by. It is rumored that Jobs left years of product plans behind and Apple is widely expected soon to enter the TV set business in order to further ensconce consumers in its vision of gadgetry. Apple's vast manufacturing volume enables it to get the next generation of components, such as screens and processors, before its competitors.

However, technology is accelerating faster than ever before and it doesn't take long for the competition to catch up. Apple's ultimate attribute, that of design and "taste," is almost like fashion. And as with fashion, being first doesn't mean you will rule the market; it just means that you are going to get copied. Remember, H&M sells a lot more Prada-like designs than Prada.
(cnet.com)

iPad 3 to Launch Within Months

iPad 2 successor possibly to hit stores as early as February
While this can be lumped squarely in the "unconfirmed" column, rumors have begun swirling about the possibility of Apple's next-generation tablet, the iPad 3, launching within the next "three to four months."
Anonymous sources in the supply chain are cited by DigiTimes saying that the parts and components for the iPad 3 are being delivered to OEM contractors while reducing deliveries for the iPad 2.
"OEM production of iPad 2 will remain high at 14-15 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 but decline to 4-5 million units in the first quarter of 2012, paving the way for the launch of the new iPads," DigiTimes writes.
The rumors are bolstered by further reports from a Chinese Commercial Times report that says Foxconn will begin production on the new models in January, and increasing production by February.
The aforementioned anonymous supply-chain sources say that anywhere from 9.5 to 9.8 million units of the iPad 3 will be produced in Q1 of 2012.
Another report from last week, this one from the L.A. Times, cited February as the target launch date, so the new timeframe isn't too far off.
According to the Times, the iPad 3 will be similar to its predecessor, but will include Apple's retina display, doubling the resolution found on the current model.
The original iPad launched in April 2010. The iPad 2 launched in March 2011. If Apple's 11-month trend for next generation of its popular tablet continues, February 2012 would be the target.
With increased competition in the tablet market from the likes of Microsoft and additional Android offerings, Apple might be feeling a sense of urgency to stay ahead of the curve if it wants to hold on to its tablet.
(dailytech.com)

Intel cuts revenue forecast by $1bn

Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker by sales, said its fourth-quarter revenue would miss forecasts because of a shortage of hard disk drives.

The company cut its forecast for revenue in the October through December period to $13.7bn, plus or minus $300m, from an earlier estimate of $14.7bn, plus or minus $500m. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had also predicted revenues of $14.7bn.

Intel cited a shortage in the supply of hard disks, which has resulted in computer manufacturers reducing inventories and cutting back on microprocessor purchases. The company is the leading producer of microprocessor chips, which perform the central processes of computers.

About one-third of the world’s hard disk drive production is located in Thailand, which was hit by devastating flooding in recent months. In November, many computer makers said they expected fourth-quarter sales would be affected by the disruption to their supply chains.

Intel said on Monday: “The company expects hard disk drive supply shortages to continue into the first quarter, followed by a rebuilding of microprocessor inventories as supplies of hard disk drives recover during the first half of 2012,.” However, the company added that PC sales were expected to rise in the fourth quarter from the third quarter.

Intel also cut its forecast for gross margin in the quarter from 65 per cent to 64.5 per cent.

The company’s shares were down 4.7 per cent to $23.84 in early trading in New York. Intel’s stock had risen 30 per cent over the past three months, helped by strong growth in chips. Rising demand for PCs in emerging markets have contributed significantly to that growth.
(ft.com)

Amazon set to roll out update to Kindle Fire

The honeymoon period for the Kindle Fire appears to be drawing to a close as reports of customer complaints about the device’s Web browsing, touchscreen and other features have surfaced after the initial excitement about the tablet’s low, low price.

To address some of those concerns, Amazon is planning to push out an update to its Kindle Fire user interface in the next two weeks, the New York Times reported. The company has already updated the software for its tablet a couple of times, promising improvements to the tablet’s performance — and getting rid of root access to the device.

The new update will reportedly improve overall performance (again) and make some improvements to multitouch navigation, the report said. The update will also reportedly give customers a little more privacy by allowing them to edit their recent activity.

The report also hinted that Amazon will be rolling out a new device in the coming months, likely in the spring.

The Kindle Fire is, essentially, a tablet enclosure for Amazon to push out its ecosystem of content, from books to movies to cloud music and storage services. It’s never been a serious competitor to Apple's iPad, instead offering a different avenue for the tablet market — a cheap device for books, movies and consumption, and not for content creation.
(washingtonpost.com)

DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and 8.2 in stores today at some Verizon locations

Though earlier today the word was that the online and pre-order sales for the newest Motorola tablet by the name of XYBOARD were the only thing starting today, with in-store sales starting Monday (the 12th), we’ve now come to find that in some stores across the USA the slates are already in stores ready for sales right this minute! This tablet line comes in two sizes, 8.2-inches and 10.1-inches, the latter providing a next generation for the original Honeycomb tablet in the Motorola XOOOM. These tablets are priced at $429.99 for the 8.2 and $529.99 for the 10.1 both on contract, with various other prices in place for different memory and contractual agreements.

For the XYBOARD 8.2, you have the choice of also picking one up with a 32GB built-in memory card for the upgraded price of $529.99, with this price and its 16GB version (listed above) bumping up to $599.99 and $699.99 at full retail price and activation required. For the 10.1-inch version of the tablet, there are three different built-in memory options, 16GB, 32, and 64, full retail prices (off-contract) coming in at $699.99, $799.99, and $899.99 respectively. We’ll be going for the 32GB at $629.99 on contract or the 64GB for $729.99 on contract, but with a healthy “this seems sort of expensive” thought at the back of our minds.

This tablet selection is what Verizon is calling the “first 4G tablet worthy of the name DROID”, and we’ll be seeing how true that is SOON. Stay tuned to SlashGear to see full reviews of both of these tablets within the next week! Or if you’re feeling frisky, head down to your local Verizon right this second to see if you’re amongst the lucky to have a store that’s jumped the gun and is offering the tablets up for sale right now!
(slashgear.com)

Apple App Store has over 500,000 apps

Apple’s App Store now has over 500,000 titles for download, the company has confirmed, announcing the figure as part of its 100m Mac App Store downloads milestone news this morning. The fresh app count brings Apple on a par with Google, which claimed over 500,000 of its own apps in the Android Market back in October 2011.

The rivalry between Apple and Google over apps has been a long running one, with each company competing to offer iOS and Android users respectively the most choice in their mobile download stores. However, each company takes a dramatically different approach to its store: Apple insists on a strong-arm approvals process, making developers submit their titles for review before they can be included in the App Store itself.

In contrast, Google allows developers to submit their apps at will, and relies on user feedback reports, reviews and other safeguards to weed out “bad” software. The two companies remain well ahead of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, which has around 45,000 titles on offer.

App Store shoppers have downloaded 18 billion apps in total, with a download rate in excess of 1 billion apps per month, Apple says. The half-million app figure was first mentioned by Scott Forstall at the iPhone 4S event back in October, though subsequent independent research that month suggested it was more like 456,000
(slashgear.com)

Global BlackBerry web filter vow to block child abuse sites

RIM's proxy-style web delivery is bypassing mobile network operators' filters on internet filth, including the thoroughly illegal sites listed by the Internet Watch Foundation, much to the delight disgust of the Daily Mail.

RIM admits that it isn't implementing a block on sites identified by the IWF as hosts of banned material, and that its proxy server could result in operator filters being ineffective. So bored executives could access pornography without proving their age and, in some circumstances, access sites on the IWF-blocked list.

The Daily Mail stumbled across the hole, and points out that BlackBerry devices could be used to access child abuse images, though hasn't space to report that the same thing applies to anyone connected to the internet using one of the smaller ISPs that doesn't subscribe to the IWF list.

RIM tells us it is working on a family-friendly architecture, and that it will start blocking IWF entries by the end of 2011. That new block will apply internationally - to BlackBerry users anywhere in the world. That's an interesting expansion of the IWF's remit which has hitherto been restricted to UK ISPs.

The UK has two levels of content censorship, both of which are involved here.

Internet service providers over a certain size are expected (but not required) to block traffic to sites listed by the Internet Watch Foundation. That list only includes content that is illegal in the UK and, while it has included the occasional Wikipedia article, in general it's pretty uncontroversial.

The second level of censorship applies only to mobile operators, who block access to any adult content until the customer has demonstrated their age (generally with a credit card authentication). That system is implemented by companies such as Blue Coat for the network operators, and mostly annoys technical people when they discover their browsing is being intercepted, and those who find gay smut sites blocked and accuse their network operator of being homophobic.

Here at El Reg we get both types of complaints from readers, every week or so, in roughly equally quantity.

The mobile model is one that the UK government has tried to push onto fixed operators a few times, but with little success so far.

RIM has a problem with both levels of censorship. Where a network operator runs its own proxy for BlackBerry web browsing, such as T-Mobile, then both levels of content control from the operator apply. But where the proxy is hosted by RIM then there's no IWF lookup, and the operator filters are bypassed, so the whole world is available and the Daily Mail gets all excited. ®
(theregister.co.uk)

Lenovo Could Unseat iMac as Top All-in-One PC

Apple is currently the world's number one vendor of all-in-one PCs but is likely to lose that crown next year to Lenovo, according to research.

Digitimes' figures give Apple's iMac a leading share of the all-in-one PC market for 2011, with 3.7 million units sold, ahead of Lenovo's 2.9 million and HP's 2.4 million.

Next year, though, Apple is likely to sell 3.8 million iMacs while Lenovo could shift four million all-in-one PCs, Digitimes reckons.

"Although Apple's iMac series has advantages in industrial design, the product series has shown only limited room for change in specifications. However, HP and Lenovo have delivered above-the-standard industrial design in their products, while offering better hardware specifications, price and a variety of choices. Therefore, Apple's leading position in the AIO PC market will be taken by Lenovo in 2012," Digitimes says in its report.

Overall, 13.5 million all-in-one PCs will be sold in 2011, which will rise to 15.8 million in 2012, Digitimes reckons. In 2011, all-in-one sales will account for 9.3 percent of the desktop market, whereas they will account for 10.5 percent of the overall desktop market in 2012, according to Digitimes' projections.

China is seen to be one of the key markets for all-in-one PCs and Lenovo's foothold in this market, combined with lower prices than Apple's, will be key to its growth in 2012.

"AIO PC models that feature a Wintel structure and have a lower price than iMac will continue to penetrate into advanced countries due to many brand vendors entering into the AIO PC market in 2011. Meanwhile, Lenovo's aggressive planning for AIO PC market in China will become another key driver that helps drive market growth."

HP, however, "has been affected by a lack of stability in its PC department, which may mean it will have difficulty expanding its share of the AIO PC market."
(pcworld.com)

Ever since Modern Warfare, Call of Duty has grown from a great series to a multi-billion franchise that's core to the publisher's survival. Key to that success has been Infinity Ward, the studio that recently saw its founders bail out and leave to start up a new studio which works with Activision's main competitor: Electronic Arts. Also several key members from the studio decided to leave, making everyone wonder: does Infinity Ward still have what it takes to deliver a top product that is capable of holding the crown in the first person shooter genre?
Activision didn't want to gamble so they had the experienced people at Raven Soft and Sledgehammer help out on the making of Modern Warfare 3 to guarantee success. And seeing at the sales numbers, it worked.
The singleplayer starts where Modern Warfare 2 ended and just as we're used from Call of Duty, you get thrown in the middle of the action, put on a freight train of action with adrenaline pumping from the first minute until the last second. The campaign has a coherent structure split over a couple of different characters that have to complete missions all over the world, and it all just feels like you're going from one blockbuster action movie scene to the next.
The Eiffel tower getting blown to pieces, a hi-speed chase in the subway, entering a nuclear submarine from under water, clearing a parking garage with a tank to end up with your tank falling through a couple of stages, ... it's all breathtaking to watch. However, a great movie doesn't depend on its special effects alone (although they do help) and the same goes for videogames.
Just like a Michael Bay movie, Modern Warfare 3 blows you away with scenes that loudly shout "holy f*ck!" and the technical expertise with which everything is made is impeccable. This latest Call of Duty refines the well-known setup to become a perfectly cut diamond. Unfortunately, that's also where the main problem is located.
Modern Warfare 3's singleplayer refines but doesn't innovate. Yes, technically everything looks amazing, but you're constantly running in a preset path and never ever get any feeling of freedom. And that takes away a lot of the excitement. After all, if you don't have a feeling of freedom then you don't get the feeling your actions truly matter. And that's exactly what happens here. Unless of course your AI partners decide that you haven't crossed some invisible line yet, which will make them stop until you've performed action "x" or "y". Or shot down that one annoying opponent they for some unknown reason can't seem to take out themselves.
This actually ruins the experience a bit and takes out the soul of the game. You want to continue to find out what the devs have in store for you next when it comes to spectacle, but just like a Transformers movie, you don't really feel immersed or care much about what's going on.
The multiplayer is a different matter. Many people will compare with Battlefield 3, but in all honesty: they can hardly be compared.
Where EA's shooter focuses on large-scale battles with up to 64 players, Modern Warfare 3 has 16 maps that are focused on frantic hi-speed action with a smaller number of players. This of course also means you're running down narrow streets with hostiles lurking around just about every corner, unlike for instance Battlefield's Caspian Border where you can run for almost a minute at times without even coming close to a hostile.
It's quite the difference but it works nicely as well. There's a ton of different modes available, most making only small changes to the standard versions we all know for years, but the changes do give some additional spice to the game. Most notable is without a doubt Kill Confirmed which is pretty much like standard Deathmatch but with the added twist that you have to "capture" the dogtags of the enemy you just killed in order to complete the kill. This also means, of course, that your opponent's team can capture those tags as well and in effect deny you your kill. Yes, it's as fun as well as frustrating as it sounds :)
So regarding that comparison between BF3 and MW3 qua multiplayer: it depends a lot on your personal taste. If you like hectic and rather short games that aim for quick kills, then Modern Warfare 3 is without a doubt the game for you. If you prefer longer-running games with open areas and a more realistic approach, then go for Battlefield.
Next to the multiplayer, MW3 also provides an extensive co-op possibility. In Spec Ops you can replay campaign missions with friends and complete certain objectives, while in Survival you and your friends face off waves of ever-increasingly strong hostiles in some of the multiplayer maps. And with sixteen maps available in each mode, you can be sure you'll be busy for quite some time!
All in all, Modern Warfare 3 polishes, refines and perfects Call of Duty in just about every area. Unfortunately, it also loses its soul in that process. The singleplayer is spectacular like a Michael Bay movie, but makes you wonder if you actually have to do anything else but watch the spectacle pass by. Hopefully, Infinity Ward's next Call of Duty will innovate again as it's clear we've come to an end when it comes to possibilities of refinement.
The multiplayer and co-op provide an overload of stats and perks as well as plenty of modes and maps to keep you going for quite some time. The hectic action is perfect for short rounds of headshot hunting and stats collecting.
We started with the question if Infinity Ward was capable of holding the crown in the first person shooter genre. The answer to that is a clear "yes". But just barely. Modern Warfare 3 is a more complete and coherent product than Battlefield 3 and as such earns to be the better seller in stores. But I prefer Battlefield 3's multiplayer any day.
(fragland.net)

Samsung Series 7 Slate PC – First look

We’ve seen a lot of tablets hit the market over the last year or two. Most run Google Android, iOS, or other operating systems designed for mobile devices. The Samsung Series 7 Slate is something different. It’s a Windows 7 tablet that takes full advantage of the touch-based features in the operating system, and which has hardware powerful enough to provide a pretty good Windows experience.

Those extra features come at a price. Tehe Series 7 Slate sells for $1149 and up .

Samsung loaned me a demo unit of to test, and while I’ve only spent a few days with the tablet so far I wanted to share a few initial thoughts. We’ll have a full review coming soon.

It’s not just the operating system that sets the Series 7 apart from the Android tablets I’ve reviewed recently. It’s what you can do with the tablet. Since it runs a full version of Windows 7 you can run full desktop apps including Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and more. But Samsung also includes a finger-friendly app launcher and a handful of apps that run in full screen mode, much as they would on an Android, iOS, BlackBerry, or webOS tablet.

So at times, it’s actually a little tough to really tell the difference between the Series 7 and a much cheaper tablet. For instance, you can use the web browser to scroll through pages with your fingers or pinch-to-zoom. The browser feels a little faster than the one you’d get on a cheaper tablet, but the experience isn’t that different.

Where things do start to get different is when you exist the finger-friendly UI and start using a stylus to navigate the Windows 7 desktop experience. The tablet has a capacitive touchscreen display for finger input, but it also has an active digitizer that works with a digital pen.

This allows you to tap the screen with more precision, draw pictures with pressure-sensitive input, click or right-click, and generally use the Series 7 almost as easily as you could if you were using a computer with a keyboard and mouse.

Samsung also bundles a version of the Swype digital keyboard with the tablet. So if you don’t want to use the built-in Windows keyboard or handwriting recognition function you can pull up Swype and enter words by swiping your finger from letter to letter without lifting your finger from the screen.

Up until recently Swype was only available as an Android app, but I find it much easier to use than the default Windows keyboard. Unfortunately it has a way of taking over the input panel and popping up when you don’t need it, or when you’d rather use the Windows handwriting feature.

Samsung also loaned me the optional docking station and wireless keyboard which really does make the Series 7 into a sort of desktop computer. The 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display is about the same size as the screen on my laptop, and I can imagine getting some serious work done with this setup. There’s also a full-sized USB port so I could plug in a mouse as well.

At nearly 2 pounds the Series 7 is a lot heavier than most Android or iOS tablets. The widescreen display is also wide enough that the device feels a bit odd when held in portrait mode. But at 0.5 inches thick, the Series 7 Slate is pretty svelte, even by modern tablet standards. It also feels very sturdy.

The unit I’m reviewing has a 64GB solid state disk, 4GB of memory, and a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-2467M processor. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium and has a Windows Experience Index f 4.6.

I’ve found that at times the back of the tablet can get a little warm to the touch and the fan can be a little noisy when it kicks in to try and cool the computer down.

But so far the Samsung Series 7 is the fastest, most responsive Windows 7 tablet I’ve spent any appreciable time with — although to be fair, I’ve mostly spent my time with low-end computers with Intel Atom processors.

Is the Samsung Series 7 Slate worth more than twice as much as those devices thanks to the faster processor, higher quality screen, active digitizer and other features? It’s hard to say.

It’s definitely easy to justify spending more money to get those features. But $1149 is a lot of money to spend on a computer when you can pick up an iPad for $499, an Amazon Kindle Fire for $200, or a netbook for under $300.

I have a hard time imagining the Series 7 Slate unseating any of those devices. But it feels like a solid niche product that’s going to appeal to customers that really need to be able to draw on a tablet or use a stylus for other reasons, as well as customers that need to run Windows software rather than mobile apps on their portable tablet-style devices.
(liliputing.com)