Introducing The iMac Touch [Video] - by aby benedict

Introducing The iMac Touch [Video]

Apple has a patent for a touchscreen iMac with an arm that swivels the display down to allow you to manipulate the display more like an iPad, without getting “gorilla arm.” It’s a cool patent, but what would that iMac look like in real life? Motion graphics and 3D animation student Joakim Ulseth put together an awesome video bringing an iMac Touch running OS X Mountain Lion to life. There’s a lot of problems with this sort of design, and Apple would never in a million years release it, but it sure does make a sexy video.

Watch President Obama Drive A Sphero [Video] - by aby benedict

Here’s Barack Obama taking control of a Sphero during a visit to Boulder, Colorado yesterday.

The President is clearly a man comfortable with his gadgets and his iOS. He grabs the iDevice offered to him and immediately starts the Sphero rolling – into some girl’s ankles.

Sphero, for anyone yet to bump into it, is a clever spherical robot toy controlled wirelessly from your smartphone. You can simply drive it around by drawing a route on your iPhone screen, but you can also install extra apps and play just-for-Sphero games.

If you’re not a President, you can order one online for $130. If you are, just wait for long enough and someone will thrust one into your hands on the street.

Americans, this is why the rest of the world thinks your President is cool. I shudder to think what would happen if someone tried to give our British Prime Minister a Sphero on the street. I doubt he’d have a clue what to do with it, and the giver would probably get arrested. Long live the Queen.

Try Mac OS X Lion Online In Your Web Browser - by aby benedict

The boot up sequence of an Apple Mac is an iconic thing. Everyone knows what that white screen and grey Apple logo means, and when that OS X wallpaper pops up you can even guess which version of the operating system you are using.
Take a look at the screen shot  and you’ll immediately recognize OS X 10.7 Lion, along with the usual ‘About this Mac’ screen. But wait, there’s something different…

That’s because the entire thing, from top to bottom excluding a couple of images for icons, has been created using HTML5 and CSS3.
Put simply, the whole thing is actually a web page.
And it’s not static, either. Firing up the project will start you off with what appears to be a Mac’s power-on screen, which will eventually give way to an OS X logon screen. Entering the password of ‘admin’ will then cause the web app to launch what appears to be a Mac desktop.
HTML5 and CSS3 are two technologies that will allow web developers and designers to make more sophisticated websites, blurring the lines between the internet and ‘real’ applications. The demonstration, put together by Alessio Atzeni is there to give us all an idea of just what is possible if you know what you’re doing. There’s no doubt that Alessio Atzeni does!
You really need to give the thing a try yourself to appreciate it, but with web apps like this on the horizon, we have to wonder if Google has the right idea with its Chrome OS. If the web can really replace native applications then why would we need an operating system like we have today?
That may be some way off  becoming reality, but we all know how quickly things can change in this game, don’t we?
We can’t wait to see how the web changes over the coming years.

I’m going to put it out there with a thumbs up that the developer has done a very good job at this. Although there’s not a lot you can do with it, and in no means this project is meant to give you a virtual second desktop, but, it’s a great way to get a minor feel of OS X before you go ahead with a purchase, provided that you plan to do it. Also, inspire other developers and designers to come up with ideas like these for websites.
This is something which Apple and Microsoft both should implement on their website to give new users a look and feel of their operating systems before making a switch.

You can take the project for a spin by heading over to this link.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Made a Funny! (Updated) - by aby benedict

During Apple's call today to discuss its monster earnings last quarter, CEO Tim Cook was asked his opinion on Windows 8. He said all of the expected things about how the iPad has unlimited potential, but also weighed in on tablet-PC hybrid devices with this little bon mot:

You can converge a toaster and a fridge, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user.

I get your point, Tim, but if I'm being totally honest with myself? If I saw a toaster-fridge at Lowe's on payday I would buy it. No question.

iOS Users Surf The Internet More On Their Devices As Compared To Android Users, Study Reveals - by aby benedict

The Android versus iOS debate is one of the most fiercely contested within the smartphone and tablet spectrum. Google’s comparatively new mobile OS  trumps Apple’s offering in terms of reach and activations, but according to research compiled by ad network chithika, iOS users are a lot more active on the Web than their Android-toting friends.

Chitika’s reach covers in excess of 100,000 websites, and in its latest report regarding mobile usage, the company published some interesting results. After monitoring the real-time activity on its out-reach of sites during a 24 hour period, Chitika found iOS to be by far the most popular choice for browsing.

Interestingly, Android accounts for around half of the entire smartphone market , and with daily activations in excess of half a million according to Android chief Andy Rubin, one would have presumed the numbers would be more in favor of the web company’s mobile effort. Alas, 68% of mobile browsing activity occurred through iOS, although 45% of that 68% was on the Cupertino company’s iPad tablet.

Meanwhile,iphones accounted for 15% and the oft-overlooked ipod touch claimed 10%. Considering the iPhone offers cellular data usage (whereas the iPod touch only offers Wi-Fi radio), one may have suspected the iPhone’s number to be at a much higher level – particularly for convenience browsing on-the-fly. Furthermore, as an owner of an iPod touch, I would go to great lengths to not use it for internet browsing, and if my ipad or notebook were accessible, I wouldn’t dream of using the small screen of the touch.

Android could only muster a paltry 27%, which doesn’t look too good with the aforementioned dominance taken into consideration. Then again, in smartphone terms, the numbers are about right, since most of iOS browsing prowess stems from the iPad.
To complete the research, the "other" category of the market’s current also-rans accounted for just under 5 percent of traffic. Windows Phone – with the big launch of Windows 8 on the horizon – should begin to make some ground on the big two in the near future, although the same cannot be said for the likes of BlackBerry. Having seen the popularity of its BlackBerry Messenger plummet, there has been precious little else to entice consumers towards its largely underwhelming range of smartphones.

Apple's new iPad coming to India on April 27 - by aby benedict

NEW DELHI: Apple will launch the new iPad in India on April 27, behind countries like South Korea, Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The company has announced it will launch its third generation tablet in India after the launch in these 12 countries a week earlier. The other markets where new iPad will be launched in this second phase along with India are Colombia, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.

The new iPad Wi-Fi and iPad Wi-Fi + 4G will be available in black or white in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. The cheapest 16GB Wi-Fi only model will be priced at Rs 30,500. The 32GB model is priced at Rs 36,500 and 64GB model at Rs 42,500.

The Wi-Fi and 4G models will start from Rs 38,900 for the 16GB model, Rs 44,900 for the 32GB and Rs 50,900 for the 64GB model.

Apple has also announced it will slash previous generation iPad 2 prices which will now start from Rs 24,500 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and Rs 32,900 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.

The new iPad is 9.4mm thick (0.37 inches) and features Retina display. The device is powered by A5X chip with quad-core graphics and sports a 5 megapixel camera that can record 1080p HD video despite offering a 10 hour battery life.

Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London - by aby benedict

After months of rumors Samsung has officially announced the world will meet the next Galaxy phone in London on May 3rd with this invite, first received by Dutch site Tweakers.net. While most speculation will immediately focus around something we're expecting to arrive as the Galaxy S III, the BlackBerry World-spoiling invite we received is conspicuously devoid of details like name or specifications. While we'll keep the address of the Samsung Unpacked event to ourselves, the only other information included is the date / time (2PM ET) and the address for a live stream on Facebook. The original Galaxy S and GS2 are already million unit sellers many times over since first launching two years ago and have led the Android pack for most of this time, so what will Samsung do to top itself this time? (Answer: not 3D, and it's probably a little too late for another Continuum-like gimmicky split display.) There are just 17 days left until we find out for sure.

Scientists build robot with muscles and joints - by aby benedict

The next time you see someone doing the dance “The robot,” it might not be accurate in the world of modern robotics. Scientists at the University of Sussex, the University of Belgrade, and the Artificial Intelligence Lab of the University of Zurich have been working on a new humanoid robot that has muscles and joints, just like real humans. This means their movements won’t be as rigid as everyone has come to expect from robots.

It’s called the Eccerobot, and right now it is a half-torso that is positioned on a mobile platform. It has arms that can moves flexibly like a human, and they can detect muscular strain. Part of the goal is to better understand human movements and figure out how to more accurately represent the way people truly move. In the future, it could lead to robotic creations that are able to have more complex tasks.

Artificial Intelligence Laboratory scientist Hugo Gravato was quoted as saying, “You can use the passive compliance to make it absorb the energy in the right way to allow for safe interaction and to store energy in the muscles to produce fast movement.” The more human-like robots become, the more powerful the implications are for the future. Combine this with the advancements in artificial intelligence and computers that can render and understand human speech, and it’s a pretty exciting time.

French Designer Philippe Starck says he’s working on a ‘revolutionary’ project with Apple due in 8 months - by aby benedict

Le Figaro reports that renowned designer Philippe Starck (pictured, right) is working with Apple on a “revolutionary” product due in eight months.

French designer Philippe Starck announced today on France Info that it is working with the U.S. computer group Apple in a project “revolutionary” that would emerge in eight months. “Indeed, there is a big project together which will be out in eight months,” said the designer in the show “Everything and its opposite.” Invoking the “religious cult of secrecy” of the California firm, he declined further detail, except to talk about a project “quite revolutionary (…) if not very”.

Interestingly, Stark reveals that he had a close collaborative relationship with Apple’s former Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs with whom he met on a monthly basis for seven years.

Philippe Starck, who has revamped hotels, restaurants, toothbrushes or even the last Parisian Navigo travel card, has revealed that he regularly met in California Steve Jobs, Apple’s legendary founder who died last October. “For seven years I came to see him once a month in Palo Alto and elsewhere I go Monday, because even though he is dead, now I will see his wife. We liked to talk all things interesting, “he said.

While this is beyond tantalizing, much can be lost in translation here. Starck already sells products in the Apple Store, and we could be talking about an iPod dock or iPad case or something less exciting than an Apple HDTV or new camera.

Instagram hits 40 million users after Facebook deal - by aby benedict

News of Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram has really put the spotlight on the already popular photo sharing app, which has seen a surge in new users. Since launching an Android version of the app 10 days ago, Instagram has seen 10 million new signups, taking its total user base to 40 million.

Rakshith Krishnappa, developer of Gramfeed, a website that lets you view Instagram photos on the web, tipped the media this morning about the new milestone. He noticed the app hitting 40 million users through Instagram’s API. That number is about 5 percent of Facebook’s total active user base. It’s no wonder Facebook scooped it up.

Instagram first launched its iOS app back in October 2010 and quickly picked up 1 million users by December. It then surpassed 10 million users the following September. And in just 6 days following its Android app launch, it picked up 5 million new users, now adding a total of 10 million users in just the last 10 days. Instagram has yet to make any official announcements regarding the milestone.

Splashtop brings Windows 8 Metro Testbed to Apple's iPad (video) - by aby benedict

This has gotta be uncomfortable for the iPad. Now, Windows 8 tablet developers -- or anyone, for that matter -- can test their apps and play with the Microsoft's Metro interface from within the confines of Apple's ubiquitous tablet. The functionality is made possible by Splashtop, which is known for its remote desktop apps that are currently available for Android and iOS. It seems that a good amount of effort went into this application, known as the Win8 Metro Testbed, which offers the same swipe capabilities that will be available on a native system. This includes the ability to swipe from the left to switch apps, swipe from the right to reveal the Charms menu, and pull down from the top to close an application. Splashtop's Win8 Metro Testbed is currently available for a promotional $24.99 in the iTunes App Store, whereafter it will sell for $49.99. You'll find the full PR and a quick video tour of the app's functionality after the break.

Intel VP: Ivy Bridge processor is built for ‘Retina display’ computers - by aby benedict

At the Intel Developer Forum that took place yesterday, Intel’s Vice President and General Manager of the PC Client Group Kirk Skaugen revealed (14:30 mark) that Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge Processor is built for Retina display computers, “if OEMs choose to use it.”

“Retina display” is a marketing term coined by Apple to describe a screen where one cannot discern pixels at an average usage distance with 20/20 vision. It is curious that Intel’s VP used an Apple term to describe high-density computer displays for the broader market.

Apple is set to use Intel’s Ivy Bridge processor in its next line Macs, making it an opportune time to introduce its Retina display technology into the Mac line. The Ivy Bridge processor, without help from discrete graphics processors, can power 2560-by-1600 displays (as Skaugen said), which is four times the current resolution found in the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That would look pretty good on 13-inch displays of Apple’s Pro/Air.

Apple’s bigger, high-end notebooks have typically had help from discrete graphics processors. To make bigger displays “Retina,” Apple would likely need to add more GPU processing power.

According to new reports today, the Ivy Bridge processor is set to launch by the end of this month. With the launch of Ivy Bridge, the timeline for new Macs looks to be shortly thereafter. There wereseveral clues found in OS X Mountain Lion that point to Apple introducing Retina graphics. Apple was also rumored to launch a thinner MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Air later this summer.

Google Project Glass smart glasses revealed - by aby benedict

This week Google is showing off their next gigantic project, a pair of augmented reality glasses that connect with your whole Google experience: Project Glass. This “Project Glass” experience is part of the Google X offices for experimental projects and is certainly not an April Fool’s joke, though if it’d been released several days ago we may have tagged it as such. Instead this fantastical vision for the very near future is shown in a demonstration video that has us flipping over the prospect of this product being released in the very near future.

This project is not a prop, it’s not a joke, it’s the real deal – and Google is detailing it via Google+, of course. This project is being touted by Google X employees at a futuristic vision that could very well come to fruition very soon. They’re looking for your input, in fact, to drive the project forward from the very real place its at today. Have a peek at this demonstration (virtualized, of course) video to see what this is all about:

The actual device is a pair of wrap-around glasses with a clear display that sits in front of your eye (the left, for now), and leaks surrounding the glasses have been popping up for months. It appeared back then that these would be Terminator-tech, while now we’re seeing that it’s much more than that – it’s a fully integrated Google apps experience. What’s more than this, the project could potentially not just sit around your head – this tech could get as close to your body as a contact lens.

The image you’re looking at above is a contact lens being developed by Google X which Google X employee Babak Parviz notes allows pixels to be sitting right on top of your eye. Freaky prospects on the horizon! We’ll be following this project as closely as possible as it develops. For now, devour that video and check out these photos!

Facebook launches 'groups for schools,' keeps enrollment tight - by aby benedict

It's no secret that Facebook encourages users to spend as much time as possible on the site, doing things like sharing photos, playing games, chatting, and of course, sharing status updates. Now, the company is giving students a reason to visit that's actually related to academics. 'Groups for schools' creates a virtual venue for collegiate collaboration, letting students and faculty members share un-copyrighted files within the groups created for their sports teams, clubs and even individual classes. There is a file limit of 25MB in play, so consider those dreams of sharing videos and zipped up apps crushed -- you'll also need to provide a .edu address that matches the school before Facebook grants you admission. At first, online cliques will be limited to colleges in the US, though global institutions will eventually be permitted to join in on the fun as well. In the meantime, who knows -- perhaps Dropbox will also launch some kind of super-secret, exclusive club in the near future.

Sony SmartWatch launches, delivers 'Android power' to wrist - by aby benedict

The watch lets wearers read social updates, handle text messages, and manage calls directly from their wrist. It retails for $150.

Have you ever wanted a watch that can communicate with your Android phone? Sony sure hopes so.

Sony today launched its SmartWatch, a timepiece for the wrist that allows owners to read text messages, social updates and e-mail, manage calls, and control music. The SmartWatch connects to an Android phone via Bluetooth in order to deliver its functionality and capture what Sony calls "Android power."

The SmartWatch might be useful for those who don't want to continuously pull their smartphone out of their pocket, but it certainly won't win a fashion contest. The device's strap is rubber and comes in several colors, including white, pink, mint, and blue. However, the black strap comes standard, while the additional colors must be purchased separately. Sitting atop the strap is the watch's touch-screen OLED display measuring 1.3 inches. To alert users to an event or an incoming call, the timepiece vibrates.

Sony announced the SmartWatch at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The company said at the time that the watch would work with Android phones from Sony, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and others. Sony says the handset can run four days on a single charge and is both dust and splash proof.

This isn't Sony's first foray into the watch business. Back in 2010, the company launched LiveView, another watch that interacted with Android phones. Although it floundered after launch, the device is still for sale on Amazon for $54.99.

Sony's SmartWatch is available now for $149.99 on the company's online marketplace and in its stores. Sony says that it will "soon" announce availability at other retailers.

INSTAGRAM Breaking: Facebook's Buying Instagram for a Billion Dollars (Updating) - by aby benedict

Mark Zuckerburg just announced that Facebook has agreed to buy the mega-popular photo sharing service Instagram for $1 billion. Facebook's been on a buying tear of late, and has been beefing up its own already-ubiquitous photo sharing service lately as well.
Facebook is already one of the biggest photo sharing destinations on the web. Everyone's on Facebook, and so are all their pictures. But Instagram isn't just another photo sharing service: it's basically everyone's favorite little social network. And it's been growing. Its expanded its API to include uploads from competitors like Hipstamatic, and recently (finally) launched on Android.

Facebook's other recent buys include a load of patents from IBM, the staff behind a webcam eye-tracking software startup called GazaHawk, and the staffs from Momentus Media and Caffeinated Mind.

We'll fill you in on the details as we know more, but for now, here's the full announcement from his FB page:

I'm excited to share the news that we've agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram's strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That's why we're committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram's experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We're looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we're going to be able to build together.

Bharti Airtel first to deploy LTE in India, launching in Kolkata this month - by aby benedict

It's beginning on a very limited basis, but Bharti Airtel is achieving a rather significant milestone in India: it's set to become the very first operator to deploy LTE service within the country. Having won spectrum for four markets nearly two years ago, the company will debut its ZTE-built 2300MHz next-gen network in Kolkata (Calcutta). There's no word on when the coverage will expand to the other three circles -- the operator's announced that Nokia Siemens will be heading up the effort in Maharashtra later this year, followed by Punjab and Karnataka -- but we imagine the initial deployment will be a good test to make sure Bharti's network is up to the task first.