Archivi giornalieri: 03/05/2012
Samsung Galaxy S III preview: hands-on with the next Android superphone (video)
You remember that Galaxy S II? A phone so good they launched it, well, a whole load of times. But after seeing phablet cousins and LTE variants, the true handset sequel is finally here. The Galaxy S III is moments away from being outed in front of journalists and Sammy’s business partners in London, but in advance of the big reveal we were given a few hours to acquaint ourselves with the new star away from the crush of the show floor.
And what did we make of it? In short, Samsung’s tried to bring its Galaxy S series in line with (and in some ways, further ahead of) what its team-up with Google accomplished. It’s added some new quad-core Exynos processing juice, a 4.8-inch, HD Super AMOLED screen and a handful of Galaxy S III-only features in an earnest bid to maintain its place at the top of the Android pile. You’ll find our detailed impressions and a hands-on video just after the break.
Google Play Now Charges Music, Apps, Books And Movie Purchases Directly To Your Mobile Phone Bill
Google has this week added a new method to pay for music, applications, books and movies whilst browsing its Google Play online store from your mobile devices.
Now a variety if carriers will allow you to charge your Google Play purchases directly to your monthly phone bill. For example in the U.S. T-Mobile customers can now charge purchases from Google Play directly to mobile bill, and in Japan, DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank customers can do the same.
Others include, Italy Vodafone: Korea KT, SKT, LGU+ : Spain Vodafone: UK T-Mobile International, Vodafone : Germany T-Mobile International, Vodafone:
The new Direct Carrier Billing added by Google to its Google Plus online store now makes it easier for users to purchase apps and no credit card or registration is required to use the service.
States See Organ Donor Registry Spike after Facebook Tool Launches
On Monday, Facebook launched its new tool that allowed users to share the fact that they were organ donors. The Facebook tool also allows people that weren’t organ donors to sign up with their state organ donor registry directly from Facebook. I bet there are many people out there who wondered if the Facebook tool was going to make a difference.
According to organ donor registries in 10 different states, the number of registrants in the first day the tool was available for more than a normally see in a month. California alone reportedly had 700% more volunteers than on any other typical day.
100,000 Facebook users shared the fact on their profile that they were organ donors, and 10,000 of those users have linked through Facebook to sign up with their states organ donation registry. It sounds like Facebook’s tool may indeed make a big difference for people on organ transplant lists.
via ABC News
Diablo III Evil Is Back Commercial Trailer (video)
The official launch of Diablo III is edging ever closers for fans, but still the May 15th Launch date seems an age away. To keep you going until the launch, or to make the waiting even worse. Blizzard have launched their first commercial which you might already seen. If you haven’t or would like to view it again, check it out after the jump.
Unfortunately the trailer has been released at the same time Blizzard closes it beta testing service, in preparation for the upcoming launch. Blizzard has already revealed a number of location for launch day events and Blizzard explains:
“In addition to the official US launch event, other retail locations around the country will open at midnight to support gamers looking to pick up their copy of the game the moment it goes live,”-”Please check with your local retailers for further details.”
On the night of May 14th Blizzard has announced that key retail partners in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and the region of Taiwan. Will open their doors at midnight to allow Diablo III fans to be the first to purchase the new game.
Source: Toms Hardware
Razer Naga Hex mouse gets Wraith Red edition for manic Diablo III clicking
Razer looks to be the latest getting into the Diablo III-themed peripheral game with a special version of the Naga Hex, even if it won’t mention the click-and-slash title by name. The Wraith Red edition keeps the same six mechanically-driven side buttons as the original, but drapes the top shell and lights in an infernal red. It’s otherwise functionally similar to the Razer-green Naga Hex we had mixed feelings about last month. Gamers who like what it offers don’t have to wait for Blizzard’s action role-playing game to show, as it’s shipping now in the US for $80 and should be ready for the rest of the world by the end of the spring.
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 go on sale, starting at $459
Lenovo announced a slew of notebooks back at CES in January, so you’ll be forgiven if the ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 don’t ring a bell. Those names are about to hit closer to home, though, because both models are finally on sale in the US and Asia with a base price of $459. To jog your memory, the 14-inch Edge E430 and 15-inch E530 run Intel Core i3-2350M Sandy Bridge CPUs clocked at 2.3GHz and feature 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drives, Intel HD Graphics and a 1366 x 768 displays. Of course, Lenovo lets you customize the processor, storage space and more on its website. Click through to the source links below for the full configuration options.
Windows Phone Developer Summit coming June 20th, makes for one busy month
Just in case June wasn’t busy enough for mobile app developers, between Apple’s WWDC and Google I/O, Microsoft has thrown its hat into the ring. It’s scheduling a Windows Phone Developer Summit in San Francisco for June 20th and 21st, just a week before Google’s meetup. Details are scant in the notice Engadget received, although Microsoft teases us with the prospects of learning “developer opportunities and platform capabilities in Windows Phone.” Whether that means Apollo or just more about Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh (Tango) is still very much a mystery. Either way, it’s likely to be good news for Metro-friendly developers crestfallen after MIX was shut down.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III’s light leak fix found to be black tape
When Canon promised a fix for the EOS 5D Mark III’s preview LCD leaking light, photographers wondered just what the “countermeasures” would be to prevent the display from affecting exposure readouts. The remedy, it turns out, is a simple patch — of the physical kind, not software. Roger Cicala at LensRentals was brave enough to tear down one of the DSLRs shipping with a fix already in place and found black electrical tape covering the LCD area that would otherwise spill light into the exposure meter. While basic, the solution does the trick, and will no doubt be a relief to shutterbugs who want to know exactly what exposure they’ll get while snapping photos in the dark.
Facebook’s iPhone Messenger to get video chat, enlarged variant for iPad?
Been itching for Facebook’s iPhone-dedicated Messenger app to make its way over to the iPad? ? Maybe for the iPhone variant to finally reap the benefits of Skype video chat integration as well? Well, according to 9to5Mac, Camp Zuckerberg is testing both in-house, with the latter planned to hit iPhones this summer. According to the site, one of its trustworthy tipsters was able to grant it access to beta versions of the new apps, and it has the pictures to prove it. Unsurprisingly, the Messenger app for iPad is described as simply a sized-up port of the iPhone version, but surely the bump would be appreciated by many if it ever gets officially released. Perhaps more interesting, though, is having Skype video chat baked into the iPhone version — tapping an arrow next to a contact initiates your video session, and 9to5Mac reports that it’s “smooth most of the time.” Of course, it’s always worth taking such leaks with a grain of salt, but hit up the source link below if you’d like to find more information and screenshots of the apps in question.
Logitech’s definition of ‘strong?’ A range of mice that taste forgot (video)
Logitech has unveiled the global graffiti collection, a range of peripherals that are inspired by the “global community”. We’re not sure if this is the start of the “strong” lineup of products new president Bracken P. Darrell promised or he’s trying to get rid of the, erm, more colorful devices from his predecessor’s tenure. Either way, if you’re interested in picking up the gear, it’ll set you back between $30 and $40 when they arrive in the US in May and from June in Europe.
Microsoft SkyDrive impressions: a look at features and functionality
You may remember a certain, somewhat anticipated cloud service finally coming in to land in recent days. That wasn’t the only news in nebular computing last week, however: perhaps in anticipation of Google’s long-rumored Drive service, Microsoft made some updates to the Windows Phone app for its own offering, SkyDrive. This comes not long after the release of desktop SkyDrive applications for Windows and OSX, all suggesting that Redmond’s hoping to cut itself as large a slice of the cloud-storage pie as it can, preferably while others are still taking their seats at the table. We spent some time with the latest quiver of tools from Microsoft, to see how they’ve progressed.
