iPhone 5 Has a Laser Keyboard, Holographic Images According to This FOX Affiliate

With all of those concept videos floating around out there, I’m kind of surprised that this didn’t happen sooner.
People are already waiting in line to purchase the iPhone 5, which is set to hit the shelves on September 21st. That’s crazy enough. But that’s not what’s really special about this clip.
FOX 5 in New York sent a reporter to an Apple Store to snag an exclusive interview with a fanboy. Everything seems to be going according to the plan until she starts talking about the features of the new iPhone.



source: webpronews  

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LG Optimus G Touts Quad-Core CPU, LTE, 13-Megapixel Camera

LG is aiming for the Galaxy S IIIs and One Xs of the world with its latest Android handset, the Optimus G. Announced on Tuesday in Seoul, the new phone features top-of-the-line accoutrements such as a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, NFC, and 32GB of built-in storage.
Oddly enough, LG is going to offer the Optimus G with either an 8- or 13-megapixel rear camera, both capable of shooting up to 1080p video. For viewing all that content, the Optimus G will make use of a 4.7-inch, 1280×768 pixel display with a unique 15:9 screen ratio (16:9 is common on Android handsets and even Apple’s iPhone 5).
LG is also touting the Optimus G as the first 4G LTE smartphone with a quad-core processor. While quad-core handsets are becoming quite popular overseas, they’ve so far been limited to 3G networks. We’ve seen the growth of LTE phones in the U.S., but so far there hasn’t been a quad-core 4G handset stateside.
Aside from hardware, LG has made a lot of software changes to Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. LG’s “QSlide Function” enables users to view two different apps side-by-side on one display. The idea here is to allow users to multitask more efficiently on their phone — e.g., sending a tweet while looking at a website at the same time.
LG has also added a feature that allows for zooming in and out of a video being played on the device, whether streamed or stored on-board. And another feature, called “Dual Screen Dual Play” allows for an Optimus G user to stream one image to a nearby HDTV while looking at a different image on their phone. For example, a business presentation could be wirelessly streamed to a TV while the phone displayed speaking notes.
Another cool feature: The camera can snap a photo as soon as a user says a specific word, such as cheese, kimchi or smile (those are LG’s examples, not ours).
LG says the Optimus G will go on sale in Korea next week, with launches in “key global markets in October.” No word yet on whether the Optimus G will hit the U.S., but LG is hosting a press event in New York Wednesday morning, so we might have an answer on this tomorrow.

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Galaxy Tab 10.1 Injunction Still Stands in Apple v. Samsung

Apple v. Samsung judge Lucy Koh issued an order Monday denying Samsung’s motion to dissolve the June 26 preliminary injunction banning U.S. sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Judge Koh listed a few reasons for the decision in the five-page order. First, both parties agreed that the jury’s Aug. 24 ruling in the case “did not resolve all substantive remedies” for the parties, so the judgment is not final as far as the appeals process goes. And since the case is in appeals now, Judge Koh no longer has authority to dissolve the injunction unless the Federal Circuit returns the case to her court.
The preliminary injunction was originally filed because the court found that Samsung had “likely” infringed Apple’s D’889 patent; the jury did not come to the same conclusion.
Because of this, Judge Koh acknowledged in this ruling that Samsung’s motion raised “substantial issues” that could send the case back to her court. Specifically,  since the jury did not find Samsung infringed the D’889 patent, the circumstances surrounding the injunction have changed.
Judge Koh cancelled the parties’ upcoming Sept. 20 hearing about this preliminary injunction. Instead, a post trial hearing to discuss this and other issues, like Apple’s request for a additional damages and “injunctive relief,” will take place in early December.

 source: wired

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iPad Mini now in production, says Taiwanese newspaper

There's been no shortage of rumours about the so-called Apple iPad Mini, which is a smaller 7.85-inch version of the popular iPad tablet. However, speculation has just been given renewed life by a report in one of Taiwan's Chinese-language newspapers, United Daily News, which was picked up by Engadget's Richard Lai.
The UDN story reports that, according to Yuanta Securities, Pegatron has a contract to manufacture iPad Minis, which means that Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) will no longer be the sole supplier of iPads. Foxconn is, of course, under some strain meeting orders for Apple's iPhone 5, as shown by the forced labour of bussed-in "work experience" students on the assembly lines, according to China Daily. (Following publicity, any unwilling students were quickly allowed to return to their studies.)

Is a smaller version of the iPad on its way?

UDN also notes that "the iPad mini will adopt a new generation of connectors" — presumably the new Lightning port introduced with the iPhone 5.
Finally, it says that "iPad mini can be shipped in September", though this does not indicate a launch date. Apple will want to build up a stockpile of several million units to satisfy initial demand.
Although not all Taiwanese sources can be considered reliable, The Wall Street Journal reported on 5 July that "Apple Inc.'s component suppliers in Asia are preparing for mass production in September of a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the iPad."
The idea that Apple would never do a tablet smaller than the iPad has already bitten the dust. One of the disclosures from the Apple vs Samsung trial in the US was an email from Eddy Cue, one of Apple's senior staff, saying: "I believe there will be a 7-inch market and we should do one." That was dated 24 January, 2011.
Today, there clearly is a market for 7-inch tablets, and more than a dozen companies sell them, including Samsung, HTC and RIM. Both Google and Amazon have low-cost 7-inch tablets that appear to sell in volume, with the Nexus and Amazon's Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD models. These are eroding the iPad's market share. However, an iPad Mini seems likely to reverse that trend, with production starting at 5 million per month.

source: zdnet

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Facebook Skips On Hosting The F8 Conference This Year

An tech company is only as strong as the developers who make apps for their services. That’s why Google, Apple and the rest court developers every year with a big show that touches upon the latest in developing for iOS, Android and the like. Facebook has joined in with this tradition over the past few years with their F8 conference. Unfortunately, it will be MIA this year.

Facebook told reporters yesterday that their seemingly annual F8 conference would not be happening this year. The reason being that Facebook hasn’t shipped a major new product this year. In fact, the company is still pushing Open Graph, which was introduced at last year’s F8 conference.
For their part, Facebook is still pushing development on the Facebook platform, but in other ways. A conference doesn’t let Zuckerberg and crew get intimate with developers. That may be why the company vouched for putting more emphasis on World Hack 2012 with more locations around the world. In fact, the Facebook crew is hosting a Hackathon in Barcelona today.
Facebook will hold other F8 conferences in the future. The developers who love gathering together and talking about the latest movements in the Facebook scene need not worry. It’s just that Facebook needs something on par or greater than Open Graph to make such an extravagant event worth the cost. The company does have to answer to investors now, and a conference without any major announcements could only hurt their market growth.
As for now, Facebook is going to keep focusing on mobile growth. They have the desktop development market squared away, but the mobile market is still an untamed frontier ripe for the taking. Facebook may be the big name in town, but a small start up could easily usurp them. The next F8 conference will undoubtedly address this potential problem.

source: webpronews

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Pakistan cuts off all access to YouTube

Pakistan has now blocked YouTube entirely from the country, after the video sharing site declined to remove the "Innocence of Muslims" trailer that sparked protests throughout the world.
Attempting to browse to the site results in users within Pakistan being redirected to a page that states "this page is blocked due to restrictions enforced by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA)," even if the video is not related to the offending trailer.
The PTA has stated that it was ordered by the Chief Justice of Pakistan to block all anti-Islamic videos. It had previously been provided with a list of 753 anti-Islamic sites, which has now grown to 934 sites.
Google's Transparency Report shows that, at about 7 a.m. AEST (2 p.m. PT), YouTube traffic from Pakistan dropped off dramatically, and states that the site is inaccessible from the country.
Google has not put in place a country-wide block, and has told ZDNet that there are no issues with its network that would prevent Pakistan users from visiting the site.
YouTube has previously stated that the video is "clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube," but the Australian Department of Broadband and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) disagrees with the video remaining online, stating that the video is "clearly offensive" and is calling on Google to "review its terms of service to see if they are being appropriately applied in this case."
"Australia has strong anti-vilification laws. If people believe this video is in breach of these laws, they can make a complaint to Google or the Human Rights Commission," the department said in a statement.
"What people shouldn't do is engage in violent protests on the streets. It is totally unacceptable behaviour and should be condemned."
DBCDE did not respond to queries as to whether it had actually made a request of its own to have the video removed.

source: zdnet

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Windows 8 Tablets: Born to fail

It's no secret that I don't like Windows 8 on new or old desktops. I really thought it might have a shot on tablets though. But at these prices!? Windows RT and 8 on tablets is as dead as a mackerel.
I mean seriously. Asus, a mid-range computer vendor, wants $599 for a Nvidia Tegra ARM-powerd Windows RT tablet? The Windows 8 tablet with an Atom processor for $799? Oh, and if you want a keyboard for either one, it will cost you an extra $199!?


Come on! My Nexus 7, the best tablet I've found to date, cost me $250. A totally maxed out iPad 3 runs runs $829. I'll take either of those in a New York minute over a Windows 8 tablet at those prices.
A friend of mine said the Windows 8 tablet with a keyboard would be worth the price since he could then use it as a full computer. My response to him was: “Isn't that called a laptop?” Actually with an Atom processor at its heart the question should be: "Isn't that called a netbook?" And can't I get those for hundreds less? Why yes, yes I think I can.
Besides with programs such as GotoMyPC you don't need a Windows device to run your Windows applications. They'll run just fine on a less expensive Android tablet or an iPad. And, of course, you can always use a cloud-based office suite like Google Docs on pretty much any device.
Leaving aside my dislike for Windows 8, even if this was the best operating system ever, I can't see anyone buying them at these prices. They're just too expensive for both consumers and businesses. In a world where Apple has an iron-lock on high-end tablets and Android is securing its place on the mid and low-ends with devices such as the Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, I don't see anyone wanting to buy a Windows 8 or RT tablet at these price points.

source:zdnet

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