Smart Power Strip now works with SmartThings WiFi hub to keep your home always connected

If you couldn't tell by its name alone, the Smart Power Strip's a card-carrying member of the 'internet of things' or, for those of you without jargon translators, 'connected devices.' The current Kickstarter project (and recent Insert Coin semifinalist) is nearing the final throes of its funding goal and to sweeten the pot for potential backers, its creators have announced SmartThings compatibility. We know... that's a lot of 'smart' being thrown around. Allow us to explain. SmartThings is essentially a remote-controlled WiFi hub that monitors and governs all of the (wait for it) smart things, like the thermostat or lighting, around your house. The Smart Power Strip does just the same, granting users access to plugged in objects via a smartphone app. It's easy to see why the two would want to link up in an happily ever internetted world. But buyer beware: you'll have to specifically elect to receive a SmartThings compatible Smart Power Strip when you back the project, otherwise you're in for a plain 'ol intelligent power strip. How very common, we know.


Source: Kickstarter

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The Last Days of the DSLR

The DLSR is everywhere. You see it around the necks of tourists, against the faces of pro photographers. Since Canon introduced the Digital Rebel in 2003, the DSLR has come to dominate photography outright. That ubiquity is about to come to an end so abrupt, you might not even have time to notice it.

No, this isn't another smartphone screed. Yes, they're popular, but they're still not anywhere near winning over the enthusiast demand for more expensive, higher quality devices like DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. This is about a turning point in photography, and the relegation of one of its most popular formats into a purely niche product for pros. It's already begun.

Back in the DSLR

Digital SLR has become such a common acronym that most people confuse it for any camera that has interchangeable lenses. It's actually a very specific type of camera, with one very specific mechanism: the single lens reflex. That SLR mechanism dates back almost a century, and it has dictated many iconic camera attributes such as size, shape, and some aspects of performance.

The SLR accounts for what you see when you look through your camera's viewfinder. When light enters through the camera's lens, it strikes a little reflex mirror that bounces it up into a prism, then onto ground glass, which is what you look at when you bring the camera up to your eye. When you finally press the shutter button, the mirror swings out of the way so that the light can strike the digital sensor (or film) that sits behind it.

That's where the single lens part comes in; it merely distinguishes SLRs from older twin-lens reflex cameras, which feature an entirely separate lens solely for delivering light to a viewfinder. The SLR became popular simply because it was the best way to frame your shots—letting you see exactly what the lens saw. This was only possible by physically bouncing the light from the lens into your eye, by way of the reflex mirror.

Room With a Viewfinder

In the last couple of years a new type of camera has appeared, one that has interchangeable lenses but ditches the SLR part. These have come to be known as mirrorless cameras (for want of a snappier name). They include the Sony NEX, Olympus PEN, and FujiFilm X cameras, among others. In place of the SLR, these devices make use of a large LCD you hold away from your face, and/or a tiny LCD you hold up to your eye—the electronic viewfinder.

Many enthusiasts love the compact sizes and throwback feel of mirrorless cameras, but they haven't yet found broad appeal. They're too unfamiliar and they can seem expensive to a marketplace that equates "quality" with "big and bulky." Simply put, DSLRs look more professional. They let the world know that you are doing Serious Photography.

But despite the sluggish dissemination of mirrorless cameras, changes in technology are taking place that will threaten the dominance of the DSLR with brute force, whether the public even knows it or not.

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Electronic viewfinders are starting to rival or exceed the quality of experience in optical viewfinders. Where EVFs were once pixelated and laggy, they are now big, bright, and accurate. Using a great EVF means having access to features just not possible on a DSLR. Being able to preview exactly how your photo will be exposed before pressing the shutter is invaluable. Manual focus aids like image magnification and peaking, where edges of in-focus objects are highlighted, make it easier to use vintage lenses successfully.

Focus systems are also evolving rapidly. The reigning champ of focus systems, phase-detection, was once dependent on a reflex mirror to bounce light into a separate sensor in charge of calculating focus. Now, on-sensor phase detection is replacing the need for mirrors, and contrast-detection auto focus is improving as well.

The result is a new breed of high-performance interchangeable lens cameras that are smaller, lighter, and more durable.

The New Regime

The final step for mirrorless hegemony is tackling the high end. Sony will soon ship its milestone A7 series, two compact mirrorless bodies with full-frame sensors, the lynchpin of top-tier camera bodies and the harbingers of the DSLR's doom. They are, simply put, the best of both worlds.

The 24-megapixel A7 and the 36-megapixel A7r feature these high-performance sensors, eliminating the gap in image quality between mirrorless cams and pro DSLRs. The A7 series is priced at $1700 and $2300 respectively (body-only). That's on par with entry-level full-frame DSLRs like the Nikon D600 and Canon 6D. But what you get in return are cameras that are much easier to carry around and that are less intimidating to subjects, while not sacrificing anything when it comes to the ability capture pristine images. They aren't anywhere near perfect cameras, but they are different cameras.

 

More and more manufacturers are throwing their weight behind mirrorless cameras, but it's the big guys, Canon and Nikon, playing catch-up. That makes sense; they profit heavily from DSLR sales, and have failed to capitalize on the turning of the tide. Both brands have introduced limited mirrorless offerings that have failed to live up to the competition from the likes of Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and Fujifilm. It's a sign that they are unwilling to invest heavily in this new product category, hoping the storm will pass. Nikon just announced the Df, a slightly smaller full-frame DSLR that borrows the retro stylings of the most popular mirrorless cameras, but is stubbornly conservative in its insistence on retaining the mirror and pentaprism.

DSLRs aren't going to disappear entirely; they still reign supreme in areas like continuous autofocus, where tracking moving subjects requires the robustness of traditional phase-detection. And they still are better suited to carry humongous telephoto lenses. There will always be studio pros, sports photographers, and others, who have no concern for size and weight, who just want the most heavy-duty, reliable, speediest beast they can find. And they will soon make up the brunt of DSLR owners.

But for most people, there's little reason to own one now. We have mirrorless cameras that can match or exceed the DSLR in user experience, image quality, and handling. Why strap an extra pound of glass and metal around your neck for no reason?

Lighter and smaller means easier to have with you at all times, and for many shooters like myself who take pictures on the streets and while traveling, that is hugely important. Yes, DSLRs will continue to provide niche benefits. But when it comes to the vast majority of camera users, the hobbyists, amateurs, and first-timers, the moniker and mechanics that have been a mainstay of photography for decades—the single lens reflex—is likely to fade away.

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Nokia Lumia 2520 has arrived, check out our hands-on

The Nokia Lumia 2520 is the Finnish company’s first tablet to boot Microsoft Windows. Like the Microsoft Surface 2 we reviewed recently, the Lumia 2520 comes with Windows RT 8.1 out of the box.

We got our hands on an AT&T version of the Nokia Lumia 2520. The highlights of its spec sheet include a beefy Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 10.1” ClearBlack 1080p display, 32GB of expandable memory, 2GB of RAM, 6.7MP Carl Zeiss camera, and LTE connectivity.
The Nokia Lumia 2520 features the same design as the manufacturer’s smartphone range. With its curved polycarbonate body, it literally looks like a stretched Lumia handset.

Nokia Lumia 2520 live photos
Windows RT 8.1 is the OS of choice for the Nokia Lumia 2520. You can see it in action below.


We are already hard at work on a full review of Nokia’s first Lumia tablet. Stay tuned!

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2 Million Gmail, Facebook and Twitter Accounts Reportedly Compromised In Pony Botnet Hack

Here's a bit of news that's far from deserving of a "Giddyup!": Thanks to the work of a botnet called "Pony", hackers have gained access to credentials for over 2 million individual accounts. These accounts span the entire gamut: Facebook, Twitter, Google (Gmail), and even a payroll service provider - perhaps the most dangerous of them all.
Pony works as a keylogger, capturing login details as users type them in. In this particular instance, the transactions end up going through a central server in the Netherlands, one that security analysis firm Trustwave has been tracking. After discovering all of the accounts that Pony had been exploiting, the firm notified the biggest companies in question, and prepared some in-depth analysis of just what it was that the botnet gathered, and from where.

Of the user credentials stolen, 1.58 million were website logins, while 320,000 were for email. Further, 41,000 FTP, 3,000 remote desktop, and 3,000 secure shell credentials were also taken.
The leader of the pack here was Facebook, with a staggering 318,000 accounts compromised; Yahoo!, by contrast, placed second, with 59,000. Clearly, these 2 million accounts encompass a wide variety of websites.
When analyzing the geo-location stats, it was discovered that the vast majority of credentials were routed through the Netherlands - something that was expected, given Trustwave's focus on a particular server there. Other countries might as well not even rank.

Whenever credentials get leaked en masse from a breach like this, passwords are often something that are looked at simply because they're sure to trigger  a head-scratching. This case is no exception. About 16,000 people used the password "123456", and 2,200 used "password". Further, the number of people who used multiple character-types in their passwords is, as expected, far too low.
The thing to note about this data-gathering effort is that this is just one operator. Pony's source code has been floating about, which means there are sure to be other operators around the globe taking advantage of it as well - a scary thought.

Via: Spiderlabs | News Archive|

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Fleksy predictive keyboard for Android exits beta, multilingual support and iOS integration in the pipeline

Almost a year after it made its debut, Syntellia's Fleksy keyboard for Android is finally out of beta. It actually arrived on Google Play six months ago, but was only available to those who joined the company's Google+ community as testers. Now anyone who wants to use Fleksy's predictive keyboard can go ahead and download it from Google Play -- it's free to try for the first 30 days, after which you'll need to fork over $3.99 for continued use. That doesn't mean Syntellia's done improving it however; it'll continue to keep the beta app alive for testing purposes. In fact, it rolled out a new update to the beta today that adds multiple language support.

Things are moving along on the iOS side of things as well. The company introduced Fleksy 2.0 for the iPhone a couple days ago with a completely revamped engine that promises better responsiveness, a new user interface that matches iOS 7, additional keyboard-hiding gestures, plenty of bug fixes and more. According to Fleksy founder Ioannis Verdelis, these changes are in preparation of the company's SDK launch with app partners that could result in users being able to replace the standard iOS keyboard, a huge first on Apple's mobile platform. We've reached out to find out just which apps have signed onto the SDK so far, and will be sure to update you when we find out. In the meantime, Android users can enjoy having first dibs at a keyboard so intuitive that it's been implemented on a smartwatch.

Source: Fleksy, App Store

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iPhone Anamorphic Lens Lets You Shoot Wider Than Widescreen

Even though 35mm film dominated the film industry for years and years, the majority of movies released to theaters were much wider than the stock's 4:3 aspect ratio. But instead of sacrificing resolution and simply cropping off the top and bottom of a frame to make it widescreen, filmmakers used special lenses that squeezed a wider vista onto the 35mm film stock, and then unsqueezed the images when they were being projected. They were known as anamorphic lenses, and soon you'll be able to get one for your iPhone.

What looks like one of the many external lenses you can get for your smartphone is actually one of the first to do an anamorphic squeeze on your footage, letting you shoot video that's approximately 33 percent wider than the iPhone's standard field of vision.

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So if you're shooting video in an old-school 4:3 aspect ratio, when the footage was unsqueezed in your video editor it would have a wider 16:9 vista. And if you're shooting in 16:9 to start with, the resulting footage would have an even wider and more majestic 2.4:1 aspect ratio. For still images the iPhone's panoramic mode easily accomplishes this, but this is currently the only way to pull it off for video.

The anamorphic adapter lens is currently raising funds on Kickstarter, and with a pledge of $85 or more you can claim one of the first production units when they're available sometime closer to March of next year. In the meantime, you'll have to keep stomaching the limited 16:9 videos you can shoot with your phone, or go out and buy yourself a proper 35mm movie camera. [Kickstarter via DPReview]

 
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Nokia Wins Ban on HTC One Mini in U.K.

A U.K. judge this week granted Nokia's request for an injunction against the HTC One Mini in the region, but declined to immediately extend the same ban to the flagship HTC One.
At issue is a hardware patent for a "modular structure for a transmitter and a mobile station," technology found within the HTC One and HTC One Mini smartphones. HTC failed to secure a license for the technology from Nokia, prompting the lawsuit, which kicked off in May 2012, and has since expanded to dozens of courts, including the U.K.'s High Court.
Judge Richard Arnold ruled in favor of Nokia on Oct. 30 and this week, he agreed to Nokia's request for an injunction on HTC devices. The ban on the HTC One Mini will go into effect this week, but an HTC One ban in the U.K. will be delayed pending HTC's appeal because pulling the HTC One from the market would significantly impact HTC's business.

HTC One Mini (AT&T)

 

 

 

 

 

"HTC's evidence is that the consequences of an immediate injunction will be catastrophic for its U.K. business because the One is its flagship model," the judge concluded. "HTC paints a dramatic picture of what will happen."
Judge Arnold said he was "skeptical" about HTC's evidence since the phone maker "will shortly be launching its new flagship phone." Still, he acknowledged that there was a "period between now and February or March 2014 when HTC is vulnerable," and could suffer considerably.
Since the HTC One Mini was released more recently, however, the judge did not believe HTC would suffer as much by having it pulled from the U.K. market.
HTC's appeal will likely be held in July or October 2014, the judge said, so the HTC One will remain on the market at least until then.
"HTC is pleased by the decision of the High Court of England and Wales to stay an injunction against certain chipsets, including those in our flagship HTC One, pending the outcome of our appeal," an HTC spokesman said. "Whilst the Court also granted an injunction that affects other third party chipsets, we have filed urgent application to appeal. In the meantime, we are working with our chip suppliers to explore alternative solutions. As always, HTC's primary focus is on supporting our customers and ensuring minimal disruption to them and our business. Rest assured that our award winning HTC One handset will be available as usual."
No other details about that new flagship phone were mentioned, meanwhile, but HTC unveiled the HTC One in Feb. 2013, so an upgraded device in early 2014 wouldn't be too surprising.
For more, see PCMag's reviews of the HTC One and HTC One Mini.   

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Finally, USB 3.1 Will Feature Reversible Connectors

Thinner, sleeker, and always right-side up

Statistics are crap when it comes to plugging in a USB peripheral. What we mean by that is, statistically speaking, you have a 50 percent chance of choosing the correct orientation as you fumble around the back of your desktop or try to plug in a USB flash drive into your notebook in the dark. Why then, does it always seem like it takes two tries to get it right? Such an annoyance will be a thing of the past when USB 3.1 arrives with USB Type-C connectors.
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced (PDF) that it was adding the Type-C connector and cable solution to the official specification. Similar to Apple's Lightning connector, the Type-C connector on USB 3.1 devices will fit either way, making it far easier to plug in.
It will also be smaller, measuring about the size of existing UBB 2.0 Micro-B connectors. By shrinking the connector, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group says it will lead to thinner and sleeker product designs.
"Intel is excited to see the development of the new thin Type-C connector as it will enable an entirely new super thin class of devices from phones to tablets, to 2-in-1s, to laptops to desktops and a multitude of other more specific usage devices," said Alex Peleg, Vice President, Platform Engineering Group. "This new industry standards-based thin connector delivering data, power and video is the only connector one will need across all devices."

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MSI Launches Small But Mighty Z87I Gaming AC and GTX 760 Gaming ITX Motherboard and Graphics Card Combo

Compact motherboard, meet compact graphics card. MSI announced a sweet-looking mobo/GPU one-two punch that offers a mini-ITX motherboard and a commensurately-sized graphics card to better enable users to put together a compact yet powerful gaming system.

The MSI Z87I Gaming AC supports Intel’s 4th-gen (Haswell) processors and features a Killer E2205 gigabit NIC that includes built-in 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and Intel WiDi. There are five SATA 6Gbps ports, one eSATA 6Gbps port, and a single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

It also has six USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, as well as 8-channel audio and DisplayPort, HDMI, and DL-DVI-I.

The companion to the Z87I Gaming AC is the GTX 760 Gaming ITX GPU, a 17cm card which offers a 1006/1072 MHz base clock, 2048MB GDDR5, and 6008MHz speed with a 256-bit interface. The card adds to the motherboard’s video inputs with its own mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, and DL-DVI-D ports.

Via: MSI | News Archive | 

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Samsung Galaxy S5 benchmark reveals 2K screen

While the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is busy tending to its flagship duties for Samsung, the heir to the Galaxy S4 is making headlines steadily building up the hype.
The latest rumors concern its body and some of its specs. According to EMSOne, a Japanese-based website, ODM Catcher Technology (Taiwan), BYD (China) and Ju Teng (Taiwan) has been assigned to make between 10 and 30 million unibody metal shells for the next high-grade Galaxy device. That could very well turn out to be the Galaxy S5.


This fits nicely with the leaked metal frame we've seen before which was also said to be for the Galaxy S5.
Some rumors are hinting at a two-pronned approach by Samsung - producing a metal-clad flagship of a new F series along with an all-plastic S-series member.
And in other news a device, by the name of Samsung SM-G900S, has popped up on GFX Bench running on a highly-clocked Snapdragon 800 chipset and the Adreno 330 GPU. The clock is at most 2.46GHz. Sadly this isn't the Snapdragon 805 with Adreno 420 GPU nor is it the 64-bit Exynos chip we're hoping to see sooner rather than later.
There's more, though - the SM-G900S sports a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440 or 2K. And if the rumors of either a 5" or 5.2" screen turn out true we may be looking at an insane density of over 560 pixels per inch. As far as results go, the device in question rounded up 27.7 fps on the T-Rex 1080p Offscreen test - on which we've found the Galaxy Note 3 to be the best with 26 frames per second.
Other rumors suggest the Galaxy S5 will be launched (or at least shown) as early as Q1 of next year, have a 16 MP snapper with the ISOCELL tech, perhaps without optical image stabilization and possibly with some elements resistance in tow. That is hard to take in all at once, we know.
But let's not get too ahead of ourselves as we highly doubt the Galaxy S5 to premiere with a mid-2013-grade chip inside (no offense, Snapdragon 800). We'll have to wait a little longer.
Source 1 | Source 2 | Via 1 | Via 2

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NVIDIA Fan in Bejing Builds a 6ft Replica GeForce GTX 690 Using Over 11,000 Legos

There are many things you could build with 11,396 Lego pieces, but for Xiaosheng Li, a 23-year-old freelance writer for Chinese websites and an avid NVIDIA fan, there was only one thing on his mind. He wanted to build a replica GeForce GTX 690 graphics card, so in July he created a digital mockup using Lego modeling software. Three months later, he had accomplished his goal.

According to NVIDIA, the 23-year-old writer came up with the idea after seeing a "crude model of a competing company's graphics card" that also used Legos. Being an NVIDIA fan, he wanted to make a better looking model. It appears he succeeded, having built a realistic looking replica that measures almost 6 feet long, more than two feet wide, and has a working fan.

"I think I have already qualified to become history’s most powerful Nfan," Li wrote in Chinese-language forum post.

Since constructing the giant size replica, which by the way is built to scale, Li has been able to visit NVIDA's headquarters in Santa Clara, California and meet the company's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, who gave him an autograph.

Via: NVIDIA | News Archive | 

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Are dual-booting phones the future of Android?

Let’s face it, Android isn’t perfect. It has issues, it has flaws. And sometimes, you just get the urge to change the software that you’re running. The beauty of Android is that you can do that. You can do everything from a simple launcher tweak to a full-blown ROM change. Now, it’s becoming possible to even change the operating system you’re running on.
We first saw this with the ASUS Transformer Book Trio, which ran both Android and Windows 8. On the go, you had an Android and light Windows tablet. But when you plugged it into its keyboard dock, it really came to life with a full blown Intel Core i7 processor, expanded hard drive and larger battery, which turned it into a fully fledged Windows 8 laptop. A unique device, to say the least.
Unfortunately, the Transformer Book Trio was a niche device that never really blossomed. It was struck with a high price that effectively killed the deal for many potential buyers. But the execution of the Transformer Book Trio isn’t the only way to release a dual-OS device.
Just in the last couple of days, we’ve seen the CEO of Jolla, creator of Sailfish OS, come out and say that Jolla is working to allow Sailfish to run on Android hardware. Within just a couple of months, you could run an entirely new operating system on your existing Android device. No need to go out and buy a new high-priced device, just simply do a little bit of work and get it right there on your Android phone. Can we get a round of applause for Jolla for working to make this reality?
I’ll be completely honest; I think Sailfish looks quite nice. And since it’s compatible with Android apps, I’d be perfectly happy with, at the very least, trying it. If it’s as simple as flashing a new ROM onto my phone, I would be entirely up for using it. The UI looks beautiful, and I’m leaning towards optimism that apps designed for Sailfish will look just as nice.
Now here’s a thought. What if we didn’t need to flash it onto our Android phones? What if our phones came pre-installed with Android and Sailfish? Dual-booting Android and Sailfish phones? It’s entirely possible. Both operating systems are rooted in Linux, and because we can flash Sailfish onto Android phones, they must be able to run on the same hardware. With full Android app compatibility, the idea of a phone running both Sailfish and Android sounds quite appealing.
Dual-booting phones could, in fact, be the future of Android. When you press the power button on your phone to boot it up, you could simply have an option asking which OS you wanted to boot into. Let’s be honest, a lot of us certainly wouldn’t say no to that. If you’re really a die-hard Android fan then you can simply boot into Android and run your favorite li’l OS. But if you prefer to shake things up a bit, then you could boot into a different OS such as Sailfish, or even something like Ubuntu for Mobile. Any of the other open source operating systems that also have a Linux core could easily be an option for dual-booting phones



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AllCast for Android pushes media to Apple TV and Roku, available for willing beta testers (video)

If you've been eager to send cloud or locally-stored media to your TV, another option could be on the way. Currently in beta, AllCast is an Android app that streams content from places like Google Drive, Dropbox or your mobile device's storage to an Apple TV, Roku, Xbox console, Samsung Smart TV and other DLNA-compatible hardware. ClockworkMod dev Koushik Dutta is behind the wheel here, however there's currently no support for Chromecast -- something we hope he'll be allowed to restore once the device's Cast SDK is released. In order to test drive this latest version of the software, you'll need to join the ClockworkMod beta testers group before nabbing the download from the Play Store (no rooting required). Need further convincing before opting in? Head down past the break for a video demo.

Via: Android Police

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Alcatel Idol X+ to launch with smartwatch and smart bracelet?

On Thursday, we told you some more information about the TCL/Alcatel Idol X+, which is going to be powered by the true octa-core MT6592 CPU. That chip allows all eight cores to be active at the same time. The rest of the specs belonging to the Idol X+ are top-shelf, including the 5 inch screen with 1080 x 1920 resolution, 2GB of RAM and a 13MP rear-facing snapper. 

It also appears that TCL/Alcatel has some other interesting products that will be released at the same time as the Idol X+. A published report out of China includes a picture showing a smartphone alongside what appears to be a smartwatch and a smart bracelet. The image also shows a cryptic formula
reading "1+1>2?" We don't know what the capabilities will be for the watch or the bracelet, but at the very least we would imagine that they will be able to notify the user to phone calls or messages coming in to the Idol X+.

While TCL licenses the Alcatel name, we expect the phone and accessories to be branded TCL in China and Alcatel elsewhere in the world where the products will be offered. The prior model, the Alcatel One Touch Idol X, was priced at $350 lock, stock and barrel so the Idol X+ could turn out to be a very affordable package.

It looks like a smartwatch and smart bracelet will arrive with the Alcatel Idol X+

source: MTKSJ (translated) via UnwiredView

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The legend of the HTC HD2 continues; aged device runs KitKat ROM

The HTC HD2 was a heck of a phone. Still is, actually, and while the device originally hit the market late in 2009, it was powered by Windows Mobile 6.5. The phone's 4.3 inch screen was considered humungous back then, a giant in a land of 3.2 inch and 3.5 inch smartphones. Since the device has been 'retired' by HTC, it has run on Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, Windows Phone 7.5 and various builds of Android including Froyo and Jelly Bean. Earlier this year, Firefox OS was seen powering the HTC HD2.

This amazing run continues as a Custom ROM has been developed for the HTC HD2, allowing KitKat to run on the device. Not everything is running so smoothly on the phone, and problems exist with the Wi-Fi connectivity, microSD slot and data connectivity. But those issues could get resolved. Keep in mind that the U.S. version of the HTC HD2 was not built to run Android and has a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor and just 576MB of RAM inside. The installation, as imperfect as it for now, shows off Google's attempt to quash the fragmentation in the platform by making Android 4.4 compatible with Android handsets offering as little as 512MB of RAM.

The HTC HD2 is turning out to be the cockroach of smartphones as it never dies. Eventually, there might be a future OS build that completely stumps the device, but for those who lusted after the phone just a few short years ago, it goes to show that your desire was in the right place.

KitKat runs on the HTC HD2

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Android 4.4 running on the HTC HD2

source: XDA via PocketNow, AndroidAuthority

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Amazon Prime Air drones revealed on 60 Minutes, aim to deliver in half an hour (video)

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took to 60 Minutes to reveal the company's latest delivery method: drones. In what is likely a cunning reminder of the e-tailer's upcoming Cyber Monday sales, these bots will apparently be capable of delivering packages up to five pounds (86 percent of orders are apparently less than that), with the aim of getting them to your house in under half an hour. The system is called Prime Air and the octo-copter drones, which wait, ready to deliver, at the end of conveyor belts, have a range of 10 miles. As Amazon puts it, "Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance the technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations" and Bezos himself added in the TV segment that it won't be before 2015 at the very earliest. While it sounds like they''ll take their time to get here (if they ever do), we've at least got a video of the drones in action -- it's right after the break.

Source: Lance Ulanoff (Twitter), Amazon

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Samsung to create 20 MP camera sensor for future flagships

16 MP camera modules with low-light friendly ISOCELL technology aren't the only thing brewing at Samsung for next year's flagships, it seems. Korean media is reporting on an even more resolute, 20 MP sensor being in the pipeline.

The source claims that December 1st marked the date when Samsung's R&D department commenced a project to develop such sensor from scratch, including the autofocus actuators and the elaborate lens set. There's no word as to whether this 20 MP unit will also utilize the space-saving ISOCELL tech, or have optical image stabilization.

For Samsung to adopt OIS in flagships like the S5 would mean at least 50 million suspensions mechanisms for the camera have to be procured, and there is not nearly enough yield for that yet. Perhaps that is why the sources mention that the new 20 MP sensor won't be ready until the second half of 2014, and maybe even reach Samsung flagships in 2015.

As for next year, the 16 MP ISOCELL sensor is expected to land on 25% of Samsung handsets sold, which would peg its production to about 90 million units, which probably will include both the Galaxy S5 and the Note 4. There is a big batch of 13 MP and 16 MP Sony sensors procured by Samsung for next year, say the sources, so we can expect the megapixel race to be kept alive by the Koreans, in order to offset somewhat the ever more resolute and elaborate phone cameras with OIS that the competition is and will be bringing. With the Galaxy S4 and Note 3 Samsung proved it can create a phone that takes very good low-light pictures even without OIS tech, so we keep out hopes high for the 16 MP editions next year, too.

source: ETNews via UnwiredView

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Oppo's swiveling N1 smartphone to be available worldwide on December 10th for $599

Oppo promised that its swivel camera-toting N1 smartphone would arrive in December, and it's making good on that promise today by offering international launch details. An unlocked HSPA+ version of the 5.9-inch Android flagship should be available through Oppo Style and other outlets on December 10th, when it will cost $599 in the US and €449 in Europe. The company hasn't said whether this is the 16GB or 32GB model. There's also no mention of whether or not N1s with CyanogenMod pre-installed will arrive on the same day, although those who get the ColorOS-based phone should have a relatively easy time loading Cyanogen's firmware. You won't have to wait until the 10th to find out if the device is worthwhile -- our colleagues at Engadget Chinese have just reviewed the N1, and they believe that it competes well against many of its global rivals.


Source: Oppo (Google+)
Engadget Chinese (translated)

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Dell preparing to squeeze 4K resolution onto a 24-inch monitor

It's hard to know whether PC monitors will continue to be much of a focus for the new Dell. Nevertheless, the relevant department looks to have been gearing itself up for 4K, as Bright Side of News and others have spotted a leaked product page for a 24-inch IPS LED panel with 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. There's no price or availability information at this pre-launch stage, but we do have a bunch of specs: The UP2414Q has an 8-bit panel, with Advanced Frame Rate Control (AFRC) to try to simulate 10-bit color. It appears to lack HDMI 2.0, so it can only handle frame rates up to 30Hz over this type of connection, but it has DisplayPort 1.2 for 60Hz. It'd be nice to have a few more inches along the diagonal perhaps, but 4K on a 24-inch display still "only" equates to 185 ppi so maybe that's a safe limit for professionals requiring close-up perfection. Check out the source link for more on the color gamut, contrast/brightness and other vitals.



Via: MacRumors, Anandtech
Source: Dell

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Pebble Smartwatch for Android and iOS Hit Amazon for a Discount

One of the more affordable smartwatch options out there is from Pebble. Unlike Samsung's Galaxy Gear, which sells for $299 outright, you can snag yourself a Pebble smartwatch for $150, or even less. Pebble is offering a $20 discount on its website, a sale that it decided to extend beyond Black Friday, bringing the cost of ownership down to $130 with free shipping.

Pebble also found its way to Amazon where it's being offered for a slight discount, though pay attention to the actual seller. For the Pebble smartwatches that are shipped and sold directly from Amazon, the going rate is $147.49 with Prime eligibility (free 2-day shipping for Amazon Prime members).

Not all colors are in stock, and unfortunately some third-party sellers on Amazon are taking advantage of the shortage by jacking up the price. The orange model, for example, is selling for a whopping $280 on Amazon through a company called Widget One, LLC. That same color is backordered on Pebble's website.

When Pebble finished its Kickstarter campaign last year, it had raised over $10 million, making it Kickstarter's most-funded project at the time. High demand forced the company to delay its initial September 2012 launch before finally shipping out models to early backers earlier this year.

Pebble has since updated its SDK to allow it to communicate with smartphones. It supports iOS and Android.

Via: Amazon | News Archive | 

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