The folks at Mercedes-Benz have given us a demonstration and hands-on look at their second-generation in-car technology environment mbrace2, here with a set of built-in apps as well as a mobile application working on an iPhone connected directly with the vehicle. In the group’s brand new SL-Class we get to check out how a fabulous looking set of menus will bring us everything we could possibly need or want to the drivers seat of our car. No need for a dongle anymore also, as mbrace2 brings with it a brand new mobile application that is able to control your car from your iPhone.
iPhone apps
First have a peek at the mobile application. Though we do not have a fully working model here in person, we’ve got all the functionality built-in to this setup anyway. First you’ll get a glimpse of the smartphone-based out-of-car controls, then we’ll step into the vehicle for another connection. Here you’ll get a taste of what connecting your car directly to your iPhone for a fully immersive and interactive experience in intelligent console computing feels like.
Built-in Facebook app
Next have a peek at a couple of apps that will be working with mbrace2 aside from the smartphone experience. First you’ll get a peek at Facebook, fully operational with your in-car dial and able to update your status on the fly. Pay special attention to how smooth the operation already is even though we’re still in a bit of a pre-release phase here. This is but one of a collection of apps you’ll have built-in with mbrace2.
Built-in Google Local Search app
Next there’s Google Local Search, this also built-in to mbrace2 and ready for some search and map action. The unique thing about this build of Google’s search and mapping system is that no other group currently has street view and panoramic view from the vehicle. This will prove quite valuable to you when you’re hunting for that one tiny sandwich shop amongst hundreds of buildings in your own gigantic city.
mbrace2 Control Module
Finally take a look at the mbrace2 Control Module. It’s through this that you’ll have the connectivity for everything you’ve seen above, be it the iPhone-connected interface or the built-in applications. This bit is built-in to the car and you’ll never physically see it, but it’s a comfort to know what it looks like nonetheless. This technology is built by Continental and has its own chip, internal Bluetooth connectivity, cellular connections, and GPS connector antenna.
This whole technology suite will be hitting Mercedez-Benz vehicles in spring of 2012. Look for it at your local dealer’s lot relatively soon!
Company is determined to learn from the lessons of the 3DS launch
Some more information has emerged about the Wii U console.
And the biggest snippet is the fact that Nintendo’s sequel has been confirmed as launching before the end of 2012.
The company has learned “bitter” lessons from the 3DS launch, which failed to make the Christmas launch window and slipped to March, with sales suffering as a result.
Hopefully they’ll have learned pricing lessons as well, as the 3DS had too steep a price tag for many when it was first out.
The Wii has always been a competitive piece of hardware, of course, but the Wii U boasts higher-end technology capable of HD visuals, not to mention a mini-tablet controller, which will push the price up. Fingers crossed not by too much, though.
One of the other fails with the 3DS launch was the lack of big name games, with punters having to wait until the end of 2011 for the likes of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart.
The Wii U will apparently be launching replete with a stock of great titles, as it should be.
In other Wii U news, the controller will come with NFC technology as well, apparently. This will allow it to read cards or other objects with chips embedded in them, although again, we’re eyeing that potential price tag nervously.
Another rumour is that Nintendo may be considering a name change to differentiate the console more from the original Wii.
We guess we’ll find out about the name when the official unveiling comes at this year’s E3 in June. Hopefully, some impressive launch titles will be revealed, too.
In other Nintendo news, the company just updated its forecast for a bigger loss for the year running to April 2012. The estimated loss has been upped from 20 billion yen to 65 billion, not good at all.
3DS sales are still underperforming relative to Nintendo’s expectations, even after the big summer price cut. Whereas the handheld was previously expected to shift 16 million over the year, Nintendo has revised that figure down to 14 million according to Bloomberg.
This month we got the opportunity to speak with Qualcomm on a technology of theirs by the name of AllJoyn, made to allow proximity-based device-to-device communication possible without the use of an intermediary server. We’ve got hands-on looks with smartphone games, tablet games, music and document applications, and some tablet-to-television action as well all lined up for you here. Discover what makes Qualcomm’s all-inclusive framework surrounding this powerful technology so great!
With AllJoyn, most of the work is done by developers before you, the user, ever gets it in your hands – this is part of what makes AllJoyn so excellent – you barely even need to know it’s there! The next thing that makes AllJoyn so enticing is its ability to connect devices together without a middle-man – you’ll see several different examples of ways this is happening in the videos below. Then there’s the support developers get from Qualcomm when developing with AllJoyn – there’s nothing like having an ultra-pro group of technical specialists there to help you when you’re working with a new technology, especially when you’re a developer on the rise.
Namco’s Pacman Kart
First peek at a presentation of Pacman Kart from Namco working on a pair of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphones. Here you’ll hear how when both devices are connected to one another directly with AllJoyn – pay special attention to the end of the video where we speak on how these devices could be connected with their Wi-fi radios or their built-in bluetooth, AllJoyn not needing you to choose between them – it just works!
Phunware on a tablet connected to smart TV
Next take a look at a set of apps created by Phunware to work on a Qualcomm-powered tablet (an HTC Jetstream for those of you wondering) communicating with a Qualcomm-powered smart tv (powered by an S3 chip). You’ll find that the connection between the tablet and the television is in-sync because AllJoyn is communicating between the two devices with the radios built-in to either. The first example has an interactive trivia game controlled by the tablet. The next example has video playing on the television while related links and images appear on the tablet. The final example has a karaoke game that uses the tablet as a microphone, able then to play the song back with the voice you recorded the song in on the television immediately after you sang it.
JamJoyn music
JamJoyn is shown next, this an application custom-made for AllJoyn in which music is able to be controlled by several different devices all working with the same stereo. The devices used here are the HTC Thunderbolt and the HTC Nexus One (both running Snapdragon processors, of course) working with a Jawbone JAMBOX, each of them able to control the music by switching tracks, adding to a single playlist, and more. In this use case you’ll find the list of songs sitting below a control panel on both devices – the JAMBOX is connected to the Thunderbolt with an audio output cord, but both devices can control the jams.
Whiteboard
AllJoyn shows its power again with an app by the name of Whiteboard in which regardless of how many devices you’ve got open with the same canvas, anyone can draw and the canvas will be modified accordingly. Imagine the use of such a tool in an educational setting – especially in an art class! You could have a set of tablets all showing off the same piece of artwork with each one able to modify the rest – brilliant!
Fight Game: Heroes
We also got the chance to play the brand new mobile game Fight Game Heroes connected with AllJoyn on Qualcomm MSM8960 developer platform tablets. It was your humble narrator versus Cory Gunther and, believe it or not, I get knocked out in no time flat. Have a peek and see how versatile this system is on a couple of tablets made for developers only!
We’ll certainly continue to keep you updated on Qualcomm’s work with AllJoyn and will continue to bring you use-case scenarios as they appear on the mass market. Exciting stuff coming from a group that brings you not just the processor, but a network of finely tuned hardware in every device they work with. Developers get your thinking caps out!
The Dell XPS 17 L702X is a desktop replacement style laptop that is powered by an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and Nvidia dedicated graphics. The XPS 17 L702X can be configured and purchased on Dell.com starting at $ 899 for the entry level configuration. You are able to configure the XPS 17 to your hearts delight, doing so causes the price to quickly ramp up with all of the options and upgrades that are available with this model. As such, the XPS 17 can be configured as a mid-class desktop replacement style laptop or a fully tricked out gaming machine. The XPS 17 cannot be configured as powerfully as Dell’s more powerful and expensive Alienware m17x, but it can still run modern games on mid to high settings if you configure it with Nvidia GT 555m graphics and a Core i7 processor. This review involves a more modest configuration, or “budget” setup of the XPS 17 if you will. Below are the specs of the XPS 17 under review:
Model: Dell XPS 17 (L702X)
Processor: 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Memory: 6GB,DDR3,2 DIMM
Screen: 17.3 in HD+ WLED TL (1600×900) with 2.0MP HD webcam
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB graphics with Optimus
Speakers: JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
Wireless: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
Battery: 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Webcam: 2.0MP HD with single digital mic
Ports: Mini DisplayPort (1), 2 total USB 3.0, 2 total USB 2.0 (1 / 1 eSATA/powershare combo), Ethernet LAN (RJ45), HDMI 1.4, Audio jacks:headphone(2 total) with SPID/F support (1), 1 Mic-in
Weight: 7.41lbs
Dimensions: 16.3″ x 11.3” x 1.3” – 1.5” (Width x Depth x Height)
Price as configured: $ 699 (on sale)
The Intel Core i5-2410m processor can be overclocked to 2.90GHz when necessary using the TurboBoost feature. The graphics can be switched between Intel HD3000 and Nvidia GeForce GT550M depending on what applications you are running, obviously anything gaming related will lean on the Nvidia card to get things done. When you switch to web surfing and Office productivity apps the Intel graphics will suffice and help to save battery life.
Dell XPS 17 (L702X) Video Overview
I put together a short video to just review the components, design and ports you get with the XPS 17, click the play button below to watch:
Dell XPS 17 (L702X) Quick Review
Dell XPS 17 Packaging
The XPS 17 arrived in an all black shipping box, which is one design step up from a typical brown Dell box.
Inside you find a black box with the power cord and adapter inside, the XPS 17 itself braced between Styrofoam inserts and wrapped in a black cloth, and then documentation and disks inside cardboard sleeve. Overall the presentation is nice, though not on par with the HP Envy 17 I recently did an unboxing of.
Once you remove all of the packaging you’re left with the XPS 17 with a bunch of protective stickers on, the power cord wrapped up and secured with twisty ties, and a sleeve of disks.
Design and Build
I’ve heard it said that the XPS 17 looks somewhat frumpy with its design, I can’t say I disagree. It just doesn’t look as sleek and cool as the competing HP Envy 17. It’s a big laptop and it doesn’t try to hide it, the curves are exaggerated and it makes it look like a bumper car or VW Beetle. Not that I’d prefer sharp cornered edges, but the curves at the top of the screen are almost reminiscent of the fruit colored Apple iBook.
The colors used on the XPS 17 don’t exactly excite. The lid is made of aluminum and silver in color. Inside the keyboard area has a brushed metal look and then a black trim around the edges. The case is made of a mix of aluminum and plastic, the aluminum portion doesn’t have the same sheen as the aluminum on the HP Envy or MacBook Pro so the overall design effect is not as impressive. The aluminum does at least add to the overall build quality, the laptop feels solid and there’s little flex in the chassis.
The XPS L702X got an updated keyboard in the form of a chiclet style design. This means that each key is an island and stands by itself and you see the keyboard tray plastic in between each key. The plastic tray is glossy and shiny and tends to show dirt and dust, this can get annoying.
One design touch that does really help the XPS 17 is the backlit keyboard:
Not only does the keyboard backlighting offer a nice design touch, it also contributes to usability making the keyboard much easier to see in the dark. Notice that you also get a number pad on the keyboard due to its spacious size.
XPS 17 Performance
I mentioned before that the specific configuration of the XPS 17 under review is not earth shattering in terms of specs. The configuration I have is more of a desktop replacement style mid range laptop than than a gaming rig. The Nvidia 550m card I have is rated as a fast middle class graphics card. A lot of people ask about getting the Nvidia 555m Vs. 550m, the GT 555m is a $ 150 upgrade for the XPS 17 and comes with 3GB of dedicated RAM. The 555m card will give you in the range of 10 – 15% better performance and scores for 3D related benchmarks. The 3GB of RAM is kind of wasted as a graphics card of this class can’t really utilize that amount of RAM. Whether this graphics card improvement is worth $ 150 to you is really based on individual needs, to me it seems like a steep sum to pay for not a whole lot of gain.
I think the bigger question comes with the processor and whether the upgrade to an Intel Core i7 over the i5, a $ 190 upgrade, is worth the price. If you really need performance and want to do some gaming, I’d say it definitely is. However, if you just want to use the XPS 17 as a desktop replacement for productivity, some entertainment and have little need for 3D performance then a Core i5 processor will do just fine.
I ran some benchmarks and found that the more capably configured Envy 17 whipped the XPS 17 we have, but that system cost $ 500 more.
HP Envy 17 Core i7-2670QM 2.20GHz, AMD 7690M, 6GB RAM, HD 7200RPM)
10,120
2,703
6,970
N/A
HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition – Intel Core i5-2410m, Intel HD 3000 Graphics, 6GB RAM
7,173
N/A
1,845
N/A
PCMark Vantage: 5,764
PCMark 7: 1,995
3DMark Vantage: 4,747
3DMark 11: 1,041
While the benchmarks aren’t impressive on this XPS 17 configuration, remember the price was a budget level $ 699 and not at all high end. The XPS 17 offers a lot of upgrade options and it also has dual drive bays so you can easily put in an SSD after market.
In terms of perceived performance in every day use, the XPS 17 was snappy and there was generally no lag. Watching HD movies provides very smooth playback and didn’t cause the system to break a sweat. The bootup and program opening could certainly be helped if an SSD were used.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the XPS 17 is full sized and very spacious, it offers a built-in number pad which will appeal to accountant and other number cruncher types. The older L701X XPS 17 had a regular keyboard while the XPS 17 L702X has a chiclet style keyboard design. These days it’s hard to find a laptop that doesn’t have a chiclet style design, so for the most part by day this will just look like any other keyboard. However, by night the keyboard backlighting will kick in and the effect is impressive, transforming an also ran looking keyboard into a sleek and cool looking keyboard. I can’t emphasize how handy it is to have keyboard backlighting, it makes it easy to find those hard to see keys such as Page Up and Page Down, even if you’re a touch typist it’s hard to master finding every key without looking down.
The keyboard feel on the XPS 17 is nice. There is no sag to the keyboard, it’s very firm feeling. The travel of the keys is somewhat short, that’s good for fast typists with a light touch but not so good if you really like hammering at keys and feel them go in like myself. The tactile feedback of each key is decent, though not as good as the ThinkPad X220 keyboard I use as an everyday laptop. On the whole the XPS 17 keyboard gets a solid passing grade of a B.
The touchpad is provided by Synaptics. I had to disable the pinch to zoom feature that was automatically enabled, it seemed to be overly enthusiastic and would now and again zoom in the screen even when I was only using one finger. Meanwhile the two finger scroll wouldn’t work no matter what I did. For the most part the touchpad worked ok for normal usage, i.e. moving the cursor, but advanced features were hit or miss.
The mouse buttons on the other hand were great. They are a good size, have the perfect amount of travel and in general are just easy to use and feel great.
I’m a big fan of the touchpad and mouse buttons so far. The mouse pad is very responsive, much more so than the touchpad on the HP Envy 17. In addition, the mouse buttons are nice and easy to push, with great travel and feedback.
Input and Output Ports
The port selection on the XPS 17 is impressive, you get all the latest port technologies:
On the left side you get a USB 2.0 port at the back and media card reader at the front
On the right side you get the optical drive, either DVD Burner or Blu-Ray
Zooming in on the ports at the back you can see two headphone jacks, one microphone and an eSATA / USB combo port
On the back right side you get two USB 3.0 ports and the power jack
On the back left side you get a mini DisplayPort, HDMI and Ethernet RJ45 port
I usually don’t like having a lot of ports on the back of a laptop, but with a desktop replacement style laptop it makes sense because most people will be keeping this on a desk with accessories permanently plugged in and don’t need to be reached or pulled out frequently.
XPS 17 Screen
The XPS 17 can be configured with either the standard 1600 x 900 screen or for $ 100 more a higher resolution 1920 x 1080 display. For those that want to get higher frame rates and better performance when gaming the lower resolution screen will actually be the better choice. If you’re interested in high resolution 1080p HD movie watching in all its glory then the 1920 x 1080 upgrade will be worth it. The other advantage to the 1080p display is you can fit more on the screen, thus making you more productive with less scrolling. If you have poor eye sight then the text size might be too small, so be careful with your decision on the resolution.
The colors on the XPS 17 screen really pop, it provides for a great movie viewing experience. The colors are enhanced by use of a glossy screen. The glossy finish helps to enhance colors, but the downside is that it causes screen reflections that can lead to eye strain.
Viewing angles on the XPS 17 horizontally are very good, meaning if you’re off to the side colors hold true. Vertical viewing angles are not as great, this is typical of TN panel technology screens like the XPS 17 has.
You’ll notice in the pictures above that when the screen is tilted back colors tend to invert and lose clarity. Of course, if you view the screen straight on there are no issues.
Screen brightness is perfectly adequate, at the top level the screen is very bright, I had to keep it a couple of notches down from the brightest level for comfortable viewing.
Heat & Noise
The XPS 17 is a large and powerful laptop and such machines have a reputation for being hot and noisy. This is not the case with L702X, the fan at the back does a good job of carrying heat away from anywhere your hands may fall, the keyboard and palm rest stays cool to the touch. When you start to play games and peg the processor and graphics card the fan will get noisy, it’s the only choice you have to keep the machine cool. Under more normal usage such as web surfing and using MS Office the heat stays to a minimum and the fan will not sound like a dust buster, in fact it’s barely audible in a room with ambient noise.
Speakers
The speakers on the XPS L702X certainly stand out relative to your typical laptop. The fact you get a subwoofer means you’re in a rarefied field of laptops that include such a feature, you actually get some bass! The speakers are JBL branded and definitely get loud enough to fill a room. These are some of the best laptop speakers I’ve heard in a long time, but with that said for the best possible audio experience you’ll still want to plug in a high quality pair of headphones. The XPS 17 offers to headphone ports if you have somebody next to you that wants to listen in on a movie as well.
Conclusion
The XPS 17 doesn’t look as appealing design wise as the competing HP Envy 17, but it starts at a lower price and has certain features that may appeal to some like a built-in subwoofer and choice of 1600 x 900 or 1920 x 1080 screen. There are a slew of upgrade options on the XPS L702X, you can get up to a Core i7 Quad Core processor, 3D capable screen, touch screen, Nvidia GT 555m graphics and an SSD. It’s easy to make after market upgrades on the XPS 17 as it has two hard drive bays that are easily accessible via a bottom panel. The 2 memory slots are also accessible under this same panel for easy RAM upgrade.
My main complaint with the XPS 17 is that it starts at a reasonable price but the upgrades are all very expensive. After making a few choice upgrades the laptop can quickly reach the $ 1,500 price point and at that point I’d be looking at either the HP Envy 17 or Alienware m17x as more attractive laptops at that price. Still, there’s a lot to like about the XPS L702X, it’s got a high quality build and Dell gives good support to the XPS brand so you can buy with confidence if you determine this laptop has all the right features for your needs.
Pros
Starts at a reasonable price of around $ 800
Nice build quality, solid feeling case
Backlit keyboard
Excellent JBL speakers, subwoofer
Cons
Cost of upgrades is expensive
Nvidia Graphics card is not powerful enough for running latest games in high detail
If you’ve enjoyed playing id software’s Rage FPS shooter game on your iOS device, you will be pleased to hear that Rage HD has seen an update to version 2.0 which brings about a couple of new “episodes” (or levels if you’d rather), high-resolution skins along with HDMI video support which we’re guessing will be for those who enjoy playing the game on their massive HD television sets.
The two new episodes are the Kraken and Aqueduct, both of which can be purchased together for $ 0.99 from Rage HD’s in-app store. For those who have yet to get their hands on Rage HD, you will be able to pick it up from the iTunes App Store for $ 1.99. A quick overview for those new to the game, Rage HD places the player as a contestant in a fictional reality show called Mutant Bash TV.
The gameplay itself is rather straightforward where you will fight your way through a horde of mutants with a variety of weapons, after which assuming you did not die in the process, will have successfully completed the “episode”. [iTunes App Store]
Related articles: RAGE iOS now available for free Rage HD might go free for a week if its Facebook page gets 100k “Likes” DOOM returns to Xbox LIVE Marketplace
China is a known for its gadgets in today’s world. It has become the one stop shop for the people to buy gadgets as china offers the best and lowest price for the consumers. There are many places in the world that produces gadgets; however china has out beat everybody as they are now the number one producers of gadgets in the world. The china gadgets come with the best price and look cool. If you are looking to open the electronic store it’s advisable to buy gadget from china market as there are varieties of gadgets found for the cheaper price. Only thing is you have to identify the right wholesalers who will give you the best gadgets for the cheap price. Everywhere you go you will see the gadgets which say “Made in China” as people prefer to buy gadgets which is produced in china as they come handy and will be trendy also. As china is very creative you will also find gadgets which are unseen in other parts of the world. People go for gadgets from china which is not yet launched in other parts of the world.
Nowadays most of the retailers worldwide have made china their target to buy gadgets. The gadgets made in china is not only cheap it is also reliable. So who will not want the gadgets ‘made in china’ which is cheap and reliable? It’s really a value for money if you buy from china rather than spending extra money in going for gadgets made in other countries.
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It is not necessary that you have to go to china always to buy gadgets. In this internet world you can place order through online wholesalers who take bulk orders and deliver the goods on time. Some of the wholesalers do not charge extra money for delivering and some give free delivery or shipment also. China also produces gadgets which is eco-friendly like solar powered gadgets which can save power. They also manufacture space saving gadgets which is elegant and consumes less space. Some of the space saving gadgets is used for kitchen. That’s the reason people nowadays prefer to buy gadgets which is produced in china as they will fit your needs.
Starting from Mp3 to laptops you will find all kinds of gadgets with different brands and good price in china. There is a exclusive market in china which is called “Electronic City” which is a multi-storeyed building offers you exclusive and unique gadgets for a cheap price. There are varieties of wholesale stores which wide range of collections offers you the gadgets. Most of the people buy gadgets from this place as they get the best original brands for a very lowest price.
Again, there are companies in china who also produces fake gadgets. Some companies also sell refurbished gadgets like laptops, cameras or video games. It’s advisable to do a research and have a review of the wholesalers who sell original products before you buy gadgets. By doing this you will buy gadgets which is not fake but original with a lowest price which are completely reliable.
China is a known for its gadgets in today’s world. It has become the one stop shop for the people to buy gadgets as china offers the best and lowest price for the consumers.
Apolie Turtz Writer of buy gadgets For almost 3 years
www.umpcportal.com at Intel booth. Computex. This is a prototype early sample of a tablet running Windows 7. Unfortunately we couldn’t get any details but based on the sizing we assume it’s based on the Intel Menlow platform. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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Warner Brothers and some of the other major movie studios are making it really hard on people that rent movies via Netflix and other services. The moviemakers are trying to force users to go back to the old days of movie rentals where you went into a store to rent or just bought the movie. The world has moved on, but Hollywood refuses to see that for the most part.
Not too long ago Warner Brothers decided that the key to more revenue was to not allow video rental services like Blockbuster and Netflix to access its films for rentals until 56 days after the videos have been on sale in stores. Apparently, even that wasn’t enough to make Warner Bros. feel content with their movie fiefdom.
Warner has now come back and decided that blocking rentals for 56-days isn’t enough. The studio will also be blocking Netflix user’s from adding the movie to their rental queue for 28 days after the movie goes on sale in stores. Adding the movies to the queue is a way for Netflix users to help ensure the movie comes to them as soon as it is available for rental, it doesn’t get the movie before that 56-day douchebag blockade that Warner has already implemented. Warner seems intent on making it hard on people that want to watch the movies it makes for some reason.
In the ding-dong battle to be the world’s top smartphone seller, Apple has returned to the top spot after a strong fourth quarter, though Samsung isn’t far behind the iPhone maker.
Apple bounced back in the October to December quarter of last year to once again become the world’s largest smartphone vendor, knocking Samsung back into second place.
According to data released Thursday by research firm Strategy Analytics, the iPhone maker took a 23.9 percent share of the smartphone market against Samsung’s 23.5 percent for the three-month period.
The top two positions are reversed from the July to September quarter when Samsung was helped by two factors in particular: strong sales of its Galaxy S II handset and the fact that many consumers were holding off buying an iPhone because they were waiting for October’s launch of the iPhone 4S.
When the iPhone 4S did come to market, it made a real splash, outselling every other iteration of Apple’s popular device. It’s the astonishing popularity of the 4S that has helped propel Apple back to the top spot for the fourth quarter.
To be fair to Samsung, there really isn’t much between the two tech giants, with Apple selling only marginally more smartphone units than its Korean rival in the three-month period—37 million to 36.5 million. Taking the number three spot is Nokia, which sold 19.6 million units, giving it a 12.6 percent share of the market.
And Samsung can also draw comfort from the fact that its shipment figures for the whole of 2011 just pipped those of Apple, with 97.4 million units shipped compared to Apple’s 93 million. In 2010, Apple sold twice as many smartphones as Samsung (47.5 million to 23.9 million), so the trend certainly looks to favor Samsung.
The challenge for Apple now is to maintain healthy sales of the 4S until the iPhone 5 is launched, though that shouldn’t be too much of a problem once it finally gets a proper release in China. It’s not known when Apple’s next-generation iPhone will be appearing, though recent rumors, and there are plenty of them of course, suggest it may come to market as early as this summer.
Irish government sites taken down including the finance and justice departments
Anonymous, the collective of internet activists, has struck again with its latest cause – action against copyright legislation in Ireland.
Currently, a statutory instrument – a change in law which doesn’t require approval from Parliament – is being pushed through swiftly over in Ireland.
And that instrument aims to achieve SOPA-like goals of making it easier for copyright holders to block websites deemed to have violated their intellectual property.
There’s currently concern over whether this, like SOPA, is a rather blunt instrument which is overreaching and could be abused when it comes to shutting sites down, threatening freedom of speech on the web.
Anonymous has certainly made its feelings felt on the matter, with targeted distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) launched at Irish government websites in a campaign dubbed #OpIreland.
DDoS isn’t hacking the sites, merely bombarding them with traffic so they’re taken down, and indeed the web pages in question were offline for some time.
According to the BBC, they included the Irish department of justice and finance websites, which were both down for a period of time yesterday.
They are, however, back up and running now.
However, it seems that more action is on the cards, at least according to the @Anon_Architect Twitter account, which announced #OpIreland as “we are attacking irish governments to prevent them bringing SOPA to ireland to censor what they see”.
The latest tweet from the account, made an hour ago, urges: “@AnonOpsSweden @AnonymousIRC use my email spammer to spam irish government officials!”
So we can expect some further volleys of fire across the net later today, possibly.
I’ve heard it said that the XPS 17 looks somewhat frumpy with its design, I can’t say I disagree. It just doesn’t look as sleek and cool as the competing HP Envy 17. It’s a big laptop and it doesn’t try to hide it, the curves are exaggerated and it makes it look like a bumper car or VW Beetle. Not that I’d prefer sharp cornered edges, but the curves at the top of the screen are almost reminiscent of the fruit colored Apple iBook.
I mentioned before that the specific configuration of the XPS 17 under review is not earth shattering in terms of specs. The configuration I have is more of a desktop replacement style mid range laptop than than a gaming rig. The Nvidia 550m card I have is rated as a fast middle class graphics card. A lot of people ask about getting the Nvidia 555m Vs. 550m, the GT 555m is a $ 150 upgrade for the XPS 17 and comes with 3GB of dedicated RAM. The 555m card will give you in the range of 10 – 15% better performance and scores for 3D related benchmarks. The 3GB of RAM is kind of wasted as a graphics card of this class can’t really utilize that amount of RAM. Whether this graphics card improvement is worth $ 150 to you is really based on individual needs, to me it seems like a steep sum to pay for not a whole lot of gain.
If you’ve enjoyed playing id software’s Rage FPS shooter game on your iOS device, you will be pleased to hear that Rage HD has seen an update to version 2.0 which brings about a couple of new “episodes” (or levels if you’d rather), high-resolution skins along with HDMI video support which we’re guessing will be for those who enjoy playing the game on their massive HD television sets.
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