Christmas Tech 2012 : what to get?

So we bring you our top 7 list of our best tech presents for under the christmas tree. The products aren't in any specific order. We will write a little about the product and give you pricing info.

iPhone 5 : a great design piece and one of the most popular mobile devices today. The newest iPhone gives you a faster expirience with iOS 6 and the new dual-core processor and a more pleasent viewing expirience with the new 4 inch screen. All this in a more thinner profile than the last generation of iPhone.

Price: 649$ - 16 gb /  749$ - 32 gb /  849$ - 64 gb > without contract

The Nokia Lumia 920:  a beautiful device with a goregous operating system. The device is going to shock you with the Pureview camera which has floating lens technology and gives you extraordinary low-light performance. The 4.5 inch screen in one of the best you've ever seen on a phone. And you can pick up the device in many interesting colors: black, white, gray, red, yellow or cyan. 

Price: 449$ - 32 gb

The Google Nexus 4 - a great device runnign the pure Android expirience. This device has Gorilla glass on the front and the back which not onkly protects the back camera and the front 4.5 inch screen but gives it that extra flare. A blazing expirience is guarantied with the quad-core 1.5 Ghz processor. And all this in a increadibly thin profile adn amazing price.

Price : 299$ - 8 gb  /  349$ - 16gb

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - this Phablet (phone/tablet) is one of the best bussines companions you are ever going to have. This beast does not just pack a quad-core 1.7 Ghz processor and the latest Android expirience but gives you a monster 5.5 inch 720p HD display! Yeah, you heard it. And it comes with a S Pen which is going to help you do draw and take notes on the Note 2. 

Price:  649$

iPad mini - this little device is going to be your best companion from now on. The iPad mini will fit in any bag or purse with its compact dimensions and 7.9 inch screen. It has two cameras, the back one is a 5mpx iSight. You will get the full iPad expirience in a more compact and really thin profile (it's also increadibly light).

Price: 329$ - 16 gb  /  429$- 32 gb  / 529$ - 64 gb

The Google Nexus 7 - this 7 inch tablet is runnign the real Android expirience and is going to be your best companion becouse it's going to fit in your back pocket. You have the Play store which not only has now almost a million apps, but has a ton of music, books, tv shows and lots more. This tablet is mainly a media conspution device, but aren't all tablets?

Price:  199$ - 16gb  /  249$ - 32gb

The Microsoft Surface tablet - this 11.6 inch tablet is  going to give you the best expirience with full Windows 8 on it. The device is really beautiful and sturdy with magnezium back and Gorilla glass front it has a kick stand and a optional touch cover which acts as a keyboard so you basicly have a laptop.

Price : Surface RT - 32 gb-  499$ + 100$ - touch cover

          Surface Pro - 889$

So, this is our top 7 list of gadgets you sould get under the christmas tree. Which one are you going to choose?

Windows Phone 8 vs Apple iOS 6

We will be comparing these operating systems on their flagship devices iPhone 5 for iOS 6 and the
new Nokia Lumia 920 for Windows Phone 8.

This wont be a review of two devices, their specs and what not. This will be a review and comparison (not smackdown) of two ''popular'' operating systems, their pros and cons, app selection and etc. We will be summing this review up in 3 diferent categories and give the OS a grade from 1 to 5 and then sum it all up and give our final oppinion.

The three categories are: 1. UI and user experience
                                         2. Speed
                                         3. App selection

   1. UI and user experience

Front screen (app selection menu)
on iOS 6

Start screen on Windows Phone 8

As you can see from the screen shots these two operating systems look really different (and work different as well). iOS or originaly called iPhone OS has been (basically) unchanged since launch in 2007. Don't get me wrong the OS is really a joy to use and really simple to use but after a time the experience gets a little bit static and that makes it boring. In 2010 Apple introduced a background image on the menu screen which gave a little life to the static grid of icons which is now a trademark of the iDevices of apple. You don't get much with updates of iOS other than some new apps (like the latest iOS 6 got us the passbook app) so as you can see in a design perspective iOs has not evolved much from its original in 2007.
On the other hand we have Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft. A completely new experience you can have with a start screen which holds your favourite apps. These are called live tiles, the can present you info on the app in real time, lets say the facebook app will show you how many notifications you have or even new statuses (depending on the tile size). The tiles really look alive becouse the flipp around and move as they show you notifications. You can set the size of the tile depending on how often you use the app and how much info you want to get you can set it to a small size, medium size and a large size. The start screen in copmletely customizable with the apps you love and use the most you can swipe from the right to reveal a full app list. Other than just apps you can also pin people, settings and much more to the start screen.

Grades:

iOS 6 - 3 > a solid operating system wich has great power but is stale and has been since 2007

Windows Phone 8 - 5 > something new and noteworthy, the live tiles make the user experience a new meaning.



 

   2. Speed

In terms of speed we have to agree that both OS systems are blazingly fast. But we would like to give WP 8 a higher grade becouse learning from WP 7 the OS can run as well on a single core 1 GhZ processor as on a dual core 1.5 Ghz. The OS itself is blazingly fast the processor just speed up app performance and opening. The phone has apsolutely no lag at all at never actualy frezzes unline the iPhone with iOS. So we would like to give the WP 8 platform a 5 and iOS 6 a solid 4.

   3. App selection

Windows Phone's panorama style app market

  

 A look at the iOS app store

 The app selection varies from these two platforms, Windows phone is a (young) platform that hasn't a big market share (yet) so not many appsare currently available on the marketplace. But those apps that are are really quality apps. The marketplace has about 150+ thousand apps which compared to the Apple app store is nothing. The Apple app store has more than a million apps available. So you know there really is an app for everything. But don't be sad, the windows phone marketplace is densly populated with real quality apps and if there isn't your favourite app that you had on your android or iOs there will be a great replacement.

So the apps on the marketplace are great but they are greately lacking in number so we will be giving the WP 8 platform a solid 3 and the iOS platform here deserves a 5.

So as we conclude all this and sum up the grades we thing the WP 8 platform is a clear winner. It's still a 'fresh' platform and it needs a lot of work but yep its on the road to become a really popular platform, the only negative side is the app selection but that wont be the problem in the near future becouse the number of apps is climbing from day to day.

iOS - cons: unchanged since 2007 and becomes really stale and boring, a stale user experiance
          pros: a solid platform, fast and really pleasent to the eye, largest app selection
          final grade: 4
          points: 16

WP 8 - cons: not many device yet, a poor app selection
             pros: a great platform, with the best user expirence, really fast, something totally different
             final grade: 5
             points: 18

New earphones to ship with the new iPhone?

Apple has a lot of great hardware offerings, built and designed with attention and care. In comparison, its ill-fitting, flimsy, and awful-sounding earbuds currently being packed alongside the iPhone 4S are a bit of a nightmare. And while you’re probably sick of hearing about the iPhone 5, we think you’ll be happy to hear Apple might, possibly, probably not, but maybe have a new set of earbuds to accompany its latest iOS device.

Vietnamese site, Tinhte.vn recently posted a video claiming to feature the redesigned headphones in all their glory. Tinhte even compares the alleged new version to the old in case you don’t have your own pair lying around. After taking a listen to the new buds, Tinhte said the sound quality is superior to Apple’s previous offering with more powerful bass, though the overall volume has been reduced. Apparently they are much more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.

It’s impossible to tell if these are the real thing, but Apple’s unibody signature seems to be present. Plus, there’s the following phrase printed on the cord: “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in Vietnam”. Tinhte claims the buds feel like a cohesive unity with no parts in danger of detaching or falling apart. They’ve also been made more compact, with oval tips replacing the large, round tips that barely funnel sound into your ear. The earphones are cut at an angle so they can slide more easily into the canal and focus their sound. Fabricated wire and other quality finishing materials certainly have Tinhte convinced they’re the real deal. Tinhte also has a proven track record of gaining access to pre-release and prototype Apple devices.

But despite the large number of evidence pointing to the contrary, these rumored earbud replacements could easily be the work of a clever imitator. A lack of in-line microphone and volume control is probably the most compelling evidence against their authenticity, but there’s no way to tell whether the mic has been embedded into the buds somehow. Also, removing a feature that’s been such an integral and useful part of Apple’s original earbuds is like taking a step backward, which doesn’t ring true for Apple.

If they do end up being more than wishful thinking, Apple will finally resolve a glaring flaw in its otherwise well-built products. But as with most rumors, be prepared for all of this to be a distant memory once the truth emerges. It won’t be a long wait at least, with the iPhone 5 announcementrumored to be less than two weeks away.

The new Nokia Lumia 820 & 920

Just a few minutes ago in New York, Nokia lifted the curtain on their first Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920. They’re fast, beautiful, and packed with new tech – and I’ve been lucky enough to work and play with them both for the last few days. 

The smaller of the two devices is the 4.3” 820. It’s a very natural evolution of the great design language that Nokia kicked off with the Lumia 800 (rugged but beautiful polycarbonate) and with the Lumia 710 (interchangeable backplates). Inside is an improved 8MP Carl Zeiss camera alongside a dual-core Snapdragon processor and 8GB of storage, and the display uses the same ClearBlack technology as the Lumia 900 and Lumia 800. The interchangeable backplates are what stand out for me with this phone; you can get them in seven colors (white, black, red, yellow, cyan, purple, grey), and there’s an option to add an accessory backplate that adds wireless charging. Just snap it on, drop it on a charging station, and you’re ready to roll. Pretty awesome.

The single most impressive feature on the 920 is the camera. Nokia’s integrated their incredible PureView technology to deliver a wicked fast 8MP camera that, in my experience, takes the best photos of any phone I’ve ever used. It delivers in low light – a backlit sensor and Nokia’s proprietary software mean you get clear, bright photos, without a flash, even in near-darkness – and Nokia’s unique OIS (optical image stabilization) technology basically eliminates vibration, meaning you can take a clean, crisp photo while walking, running, riding a bike, standing on the train, etc. As a dad of three little ones, I spend most of my time shooting on the run, so I’m REALLY excited to field test (playground test?) this feature.

All in all, I’m seriously impressed with the new Lumias, both inside and out. Design-wise, they’re a nice evolution of the iconic design that Nokia introduced in the Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 – solid, ergonomic, and comfortable. And inside, they’ve added technology like PureView and PureMotion HD+ that offer up real, tangible benefits like smoother, faster, more responsive navigation and professional grade photos. Combined with the power of Windows Phone 8, they’re really something special.

Source: the Windows Phone blog

Dell XPS 12 Duo ft. Windows 8

This year’s IFA in Berlin is packed with new tech running Windows. New phones running Windows Phone 8 like the ATIV S from Samsung and also a bunch of laptops, tablets and also tabtops (a crossroad between a laptop and tablet) like the ATIC Smart PC also from Samsung running Windows 8.

                But we also have a new device believe it or not from Dell. Dell showed off its new laptop the XPS 12 Duo running Windows 8. The device wouldn’t be so special if it didn’t have a form that you never seen before.

                On first sight it seems that it’s just a normal laptop but once the lid is open you will see that it isn’t that normal at all. When open you can turn the display inside out independent from the bottom (keyboard) part. Once turned around you get a fully functional Windows 8 tablet.

             

                Hardware vise underneath the hood of the XPS 12 Duo you have Core i5 or i7 processor, 4 or 8 GB of working memory, SSD drive, Full HD display (that’s 1920 x 1080 pixels) and other additions which are normal for this kind of device.

                More information this fall, during October when The XPS 12 Duo tabtop will hit the market parallel with Windows 8.

Rumor Fridays - iPad Mini

We’re all thinking about the 12^th of September the ‘’big’’ Apple event where we all thing we will see a new iPhone, but a rumor has been circling  around for a month or more now talking about not only a new iPhone but a new iPad. The rumored device is a smaller 7 inch iPad mini or ''nano'' if you like.

                This device as said has been rumored for quite some time now, sources saying about a smaller, cheaper iPad which would be a competition to the Kindle Fire (the Fire 2 is expected to come out some time in September also) and Google Nexus 7. This device was less likely to hit the market when Steve Jobs was still alive as a big hater of screens smaller than 9.7 inches saying that smaller screened tablets were not "sufficient to create great tablet apps" and would be "dead on arrival" but in the biography about Steve Jobs there was a line saying that Steve said yes to this 7 inch smaller iPad idea just before he died so this might contribute to the rumors.

                This device would have a 7 inch screen, running iOS 6 (it would be interesting to see what iOS would look like on this size screen), maybe a back iSight camera and a front facing VGA camera (?),the new rumored 9 pin connector, dual-core A5x chip well we think it will have the specifications of the 3^rd gen iPad but would that make for a cheaper tablet?

                Well now all that remains is to wait for a week or two to see if we are going to see a iPad mini or not and if we see it what the specifications and price are going to be. 

Samsung turning pages? Introducing the ATIV series

                It seems that after the verdict of the Californian court and after paying Apple 1 million $ Samsung turned its back to Google and Android seeing that it brought him no good. Now Samsung is changing its strategy and focusing more and more on the Windows platform. Samsung introduced a lot of new devices on IFA 2012 in Berlin already and one of the biggest is Samsung’s ATIV series of devices.

                Samsung ATIV series is a lineup of devices running on the Windows platform. Samsung introduced a notebook called the ATIV Smart PC and ATIV Smart PC Pro. The ATIV Smart PC is designed for Windows 8 RT and the ATIV Smart PC Pro is designed for Windows 8 Pro. This is a transformer notebook. Or is it a tablet with a keyboard dock? Well it’s both. This notebook comes preinstalled with Windows 8 but is fully compatible with Windows 7. When the tablet is docked in to the keyboard dock you get a bigger battery life. Samsung says this is a device for great portability and maximal productivity.

                Another device from Samsung new lineup is the ATIV S a new and first Windows Phone 8. This phone packs some great specs, with a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, 4g LTE connectivity, 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED screen. The phone shares the design principles that were used in designing the new Galaxy S 3.

                When the ATIV line sis going to hit the market remains a mystery as well as the price of this devices.

Samsung ATIV S – first to run Windows Phone 8

This year's IFA 2012 fair which is held in Berlin is going to be packed with new stuff from the world of ICT technology. A real treat comes from Samsung which presented the ATIV S the first phone running the new Windows Phone 8 platform.

                The device is enveloped in a thin 8.7 millimeter thing aluminum housing, it contains a Super AMOLED 4.8 inch screen (Corning Gorilla Glass 2), dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM memory, back-facing camera of 8 megapixel and a front one which is 1.9 megapixel and it comes in two versions one 16 GB and one 32 GB of internal memory.

                This phone is a classic example of the new design principles in Samsung which they first introduced with the Galaxy S III.When and at what price is the ATIV S going to hit the market remains a mystery. 

It's official the new Galaxy Note 2

This has been rumored for a while and finally Samsung unveiled their new generation of the last-year’s Galaxy Note, the completely new Galaxy Note 2. Samsung unveiled it at the IFA 2012 fair in Berlin.

                From the images it is clear that Samsung completely embraced the design principles of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

                The Galaxy Note 2 has a HD Super AMOLED screen which is 5.5 inches (16:9 aspect ratio), a completely new S Pen which is bigger, longer and overall more ergonomically designed for perfect holding. 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, it has HSPA Plus or 4G LTE connectivity, it’s running Android 2.1 Jelly Bean (which is Androids latest and greatest), it comes in version of 16, 32 or 64 GB of internal memory with the possibility of expanding the storage via microSD card, the battery is a giant 3100mAh and a back camera which is 8 megapixels and a front one which is 1.9 megapixels.

                The new Galaxy Note 2 is available in marble white and titanium silver and it’s expected to hit the market on October throughout Europe, Asia and countries of the Middle East. 

To check the full galery of pictures and videos go to http://samsungifa2012.com/

The new iPhone set to launch on the 21st?

        Judging by the events inside AT&T, iPhone could hit the US market on the 21^st of September. Namely, AT&T has reportedly prohibited vacations for all of its employees from the 21^st to the 30^th which means something big is happening in this timeframe. The launch of a new version of iPhone is as important in the USA as in the rest of the world.

        Unofficial and confidential sources have transferred this rumor but the spokesman of AT&T negated all of it. This cannot affect all of the Apple ‘’fanboys’’ to expect the launch to be on the 21^st. Apple has set an event to take place on the 12^th and it is expected to be the event where the new iPhone (or iPhone 5/6) is going to be released, also a big rumor this past few weeks is a rumored iPad mini which is also expected to be presented on this event. The iPad mini is a 7 inch version of the current iPad. Steve Jobs gave the green light for the device just before he died otherwise a big hater of screens smaller than 9.7 inches.

        Like always just before the official Apple event rumors are flowing like crazy and nothing yet is completely known for sure. The only think we know is that Apple is going to show us something on the 12^th but we don’t know what for sure. However the clue is enough for the excitement.

The new iPhone. Worth the hipe?

Everybody is jumping around Apple now because of the soon to be released iPhone 5 or whatever they are going to call it (if you don’t know Apple is going to release the new iPhone on 12^th September which is 2 weeks from now), but let me just ask you is it really worthy of the hipe? If it’s to judge by the pics and leaks online I don’t think so!

                        Here’s a picture of the ‘’supposed’’ iPhone 5 which was leaked a few weeks ago. So if you look at the picture the new iPhone shares the same design principles as the iPhone 4/4S but the back is now brushed aluminum and glass. Also it has a longer profile and a 16:9 aspect ratio 4 inch screen. We don’t know much about the camera but we suppose it’s going to be about 10 MP, dual-core 1.5 GHz or maybe even quad-core we don’t know. And that’s it, it will run iOS 6 which doesn’t have the new features we want. If Apple doesn’t have ‘’one more thing’’ with this device it won’t be worth the upgrade.

            iOS 6 doesn’t have that many new user features, the only major thing in this is the Passbook app, the user-interface stays the same since 2007 and the original iPhone, we would for one like to see some widgets integrated maybe in the notification center or see some ‘’live’’ backgrounds. iOS 6 was introduced on WWDC 2012 and all of the features that were seen there are not so great. If Apple doesn’t show more great features with the launch of the new iPhone it’s doomed to fall (well not really, Apple is now the most valuable company in the world).

             iPhone 4S had the Apple’s ‘’one more thing’’ and that was Siri, your personal assistant integrated into your iPhone. It was respected and jumped around at first but now it just got boring. So what might we see on the new iPhone remains a mystery. But whatever Apple does with this phone we know that it’s going to become one of the most popular phone at least 2 quarters from release.

Samsung's next big step in inovation ft. Windows 8

As you can see from the picture the word is about a tablet with a keyboard dock. The tablet is probably going to feature a S pen that we've seen in the Galaxy Note line. The tablet is going to run Windows 8.

We are used to see Samsung's name next to the words lawsuit or Apple, but today we write about something completely different from Samsung. Samsung posted a video on Youtube which shows just the siluete and lines of a new product.

It’s not completely sure about what kind of mobile device it’s all about, but there is a keyboard visible and also a stylus which is integrated in the housing of the device. This suggests that this device will be a clear competition to the whole rain of tablets coming this fall. This device is supposed to be presented on IFA in Berlin which is starting in just few days.

In the video the device is under the slogan ‘’Something smart is coming’’ and in the video Samsung uses a lot of Leonardo Da Vinci like visual references with which they are trying to show that it’s truly word of innovation.

In the description of the video Samsung says: ‘’ The time is near for the big reveal! Take a look at this video for a glimpse into our newest Windows-8-ready innovation’’. So we know that this device is going to have a keyboard and a touch screen and if it is not coming with Windows 8 it’s sure that it’s going to be compatible.

Week Recap

This week was an interesting one in the world of tech. All eyes from the tech world were pointed at the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, we also had a few leaks and more.

A lot of hipe was around the icopedance of Zuckerberg to run a huge company like Facebook, so we wrote about why Mark is not right for the place of CEO of Facebook. Also on Monday we had a leak of new Windows Phone 8 Nokia phones, to to be exact. One is supposed to be a new Lumia and the other one to be a new Nokia Phi. Reed here

Microsoft changed its logo after a full 25 years using the old one. This was all over the news because the new logo uses Microsoft's ''modern'' look which means they are really serious about the new interface. Reed here

The big news this week was the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, actually there were two lawsuits one was in South Korea and one in California, the one in Korea was won by Samsung, some of Samsung’s and Apple’s older phones will not be sold in South Korea anymore. The one in California, however was won by Apple (apple sewing Samsung for stealing their design and UI patents) and Samsung had to pay 1,05 billion $ to Apple. Story 1 & Story 2

Leaked Nokia Phi?

There was a leak on twitter today. @camb078 published pictures of the suposed Windows Phone 8 nokia device Phi. If we could belive this pictures (and this is less likely) the Nokia Phi will be coming in more colors then classic cyan, white and hot pink. We could see a yellow, flourescent green and orange. The Nokia Phi is supposed to have a 4.65 inch screen size. So we don't know if to thrust this photos but Mynokiablog says that @camb078 is a valid source. 

As we wrote in a previous article Nokia will be holding an event in New York on 5th September where we suppose they are going to introduce new Windows Phone 8 devices.