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.