iOS, Android, Firefox OS: HERE is available everywhere

Introducing HERE Maps for iOS

We’re making HERE Maps available in the Apple App Store: iOS users can more easily access our rich mapping experience with a single tap on their home screen. The app has been developed with the same HTML5 technology that powers the mobile web and is therefore very versatile and optimized for mobile use.

With HERE Maps for iOS you can get smart directions to navigate your way around town, whether you’re driving, walking or taking public transportation, so let’s have a closer look at all the features available.

What is HERE Maps for iOS?

With HERE Maps for iOS you can save an area to your device, so you can explore even without data coverage. You can save an area in advance and use it later at up to 4 different zoom levels.

Since you don’t walk on the same routes you drive, HERE Maps for iOS gives you dedicated voice guided turn-by-turn walk navigation that guides you along the best route for walking there: pedestrian routes, through parks, down alleyways, and more. With voice navigation, you will spend less time looking at your phone and more time enjoying getting there.

Because HERE Maps for iOS has been designed for urban use, the voice navigation only works for journeys on foot. However, there’s also public transportation and driving directions in over 500 cities and you can make transfers easily with detailed public transport connections. With live traffic information and incident notices, you know where the traffic is, so you can spend less time driving there and more time being there.

With HERE Maps for iOS you can organize favourite places by categories such as “Hip Bars” or “Cheap Eats” and sync them withHERE.com so you can build your personal map on the go and easily find them again.

For instance, you can add a place to your favourites on your phone and post a review when you get home: wherever you are, you’re always in sync. This feature is very easy to use because you can sign-on with your Nokia or Facebook accounts.

On an iPad you can also see the top 25 places nearby at a glance: HERE Maps automatically displays up to 25 best places near you in a scroll window at the bottom of the screen. Simply tap a place and get all the details or scroll down and filter your results by category (shopping, going out, sights and more).

Whether you’re making plans for later or just want to share a great new find, HERE.com lets you share locations with just a tap, including how to get there, with a simple link sent over SMS, email, or social networks.

Introducing HERE Maps for Firefox OS

Because one of the main attributes of HERE is its openness, we’re also partnering with Mozilla to create new location experiences for Firefox OS. In the coming months, we will introduce HERE Maps for Firefox OS and we’ll continue working, together with Mozilla, to give people the best mapping experience on the OS.

One more thing… HERE Android API

HERE Maps for iOS and Firefox OS are not our only effort to give everyone the ability to use the best location platform in the world. Today, we’re also introducing HERE Maps API for Android, which will made available to partners in the next months.

In apps built with the HERE Android API, users will be able to interact with extruded 3D buildings, search for specific buildings and preview their routes in detail to more realistically show where they’re going.

To showcase what partners can offer when they build Android apps with our HERE API, we have prepared a reference app in the following video.

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Apple iPad Mini vs. Google Nexus 7 Benchmarks

The Apple iPad Mini is the new kid on the block looking to distinguish itself from all the other 7 inch tablets in town. Apple set itself up for future comparisons between its iPad Mini and the Google Nexus 7 by comparing the two side by side the day the Mini was released. In case you’re wondering which tablet wins the benchmark battle, we did a few tests for you.

We ran both tablets through several Benchmark tests including Geekbench, Sunspider, Browsermark from Rightware and GL Benchmark. There are some who believe that benchmark results are the end all be all of a tablet’s existence, but in the end there’s no benchmark test that can measure how the device feels in your hand or how well you feel it responds to your needs. If you’re looking for a more detailed review of the iPad Mini, 

I won’t spoil the video by telling you what happens in this battle royal, but if you’re really impatient fir the results, here’s a handy t table:

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Sony Promises Galaxy S III, iPhone 5 Competitor Soon

Sony, the electronics giant from Japan recently acquired its erstwhile partner Ericsson’s stake in the mobile phones business. This led to the dissolution of the “Sony Ericsson” brand. Sony continues to make mobile phones under the “Sony” brand albeit it hasn’t had much success of late with most of its handsets. That however might change soon if we are to believe the company’s sales chief Dennis van Schie. In an interview with an  European newspaper, the senior official made a candid acceptance when he frankly said that Sony currently doesn’t have a direct competitor to products like the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S III.

That however won’t be the case for long. If all goes according to plan, Sony would debut its new flagship handset during MWC 2013 in February next year. Details regarding this handset remain sketchy at this point but having seen what Sony can do, we are sure it would surely be one hell of a device.

That reminds me. Have you ever wondered what ails Sony Mobile? Without doubt, they make some of the most gorgeous looking handsets – this side of Mercury. Specs wise too, they are not much far behind. Still, people flock towards the likes of the Galaxy S III and the iPhone? Why?

The issue seems to be multi pronged. Sony does an awesome job of designing and producing handsets. Then they ruin it all by providing virtually nonexistent updates to the once awesome phone. The result? People move towards manufacturers that provide updates and new features to their devices as it helps their handsets to stay “relevant”. If that wasn’t all, Sony seems to have a completely disjointed marketing team which has not done much to promote their flagship devices. As Matt Burns of MobileCrunch aptly puts it – Sony’s current flagship handset, the Xperia TL is virtually an unknown device which even some of the most seasoned tech bloggers are not aware of. This, in spite of the fact that it has a very decent spec sheet and an entry level price of just $99 on AT&T.

Anyway, it seems Sony has been thorough enough lackluster quarters and it is finally gearing up to get its act together. We can only hope that Sony delivers something really awesome this time round.

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Top 10 Tips For Windows 8

Since the release of Windows 8, we’ve had to get ourselves acquainted with Microsoft’s latest OS. Windows 8 is a huge leap for Microsoft and vastly different from Windows 7, XP and Vista. We’ve come up with 10 tips and tricks to make the transition a bit less jarring for you.

1. Explore the Edges of a New Universe: The Touchscreen

It sounds odd, but the edges of the touchscreen are very important to Windows 8. There are a lot of important and useful functions in Windows 8 that aren’t obvious at first glance. A swipe from the left edge, for instance, will show you your most recently used applications, making it much easier to switch between multiple apps.

A swipe from the right edge opens the Charms bar, which I’ll explain in the next section, while a swipe from top to bottom closes an application. A swipe in the middle of the screen allows you to dock an application on either the left or right of the display.

2. Charms Bar = Start Menu

For decades we had a comforting start up screen staring us in the face every time we turned on our Windows computers. Now a bunch of colorful tiles pop up. Where are my applications? Where is the search function? Where is my network status? Don’t panic, it’s all hiding in the Charms bar.

When you swipe from the right side of the screen, out comes the Charms bar. It’s here that you’ll find options like Start, Search, Share, Devices and Settings. And now at the bottom left of the screen, the date and time are displayed and (gasp) they’re legible!

Everything that used to be accessible via the start menu is now conveniently located in the Charms bar. It takes some getting used to, but in the end, the method of operation feels streamlined and simplified.

For example, you can search for a specific picture or file and easily email it using the Share button. The different buttons in the Charms bar work together and are intended to make the user experience easier. The sooner you make friends with the Charms bar, the better.

3. Shortcuts

Windows 8 is obviously optimized for touchscreens, but should you prefer your mouse and keyboard, there are many shortcuts that allow you to make the most of Windows 8 without having to get your hands dirty. With the Windows key you can switch between the program and the tiles on the start screen. The following is a list of the shortcuts:

C Charmbar
D Show Desktop
E Open Explorer
F File Search
H Charm tiles
I Charm “Settings” window
J switch focus from display two apps side by side
K Charm “devices” Open
L Lock your computer
M Minimize all windows / apps
O Screen orientation lock
P Projector options
Q App GO
R Run
T Browse pinned to taskbar programs
U Open Ease of Access Center
V scroll through notifications (with reverse + Shift)
W Wireless Settings in the Start Search

These are only the shortcuts that can be used in conjunction with the Windows button. You can find more here.

4. Direct to Desktop Mode

So you have worked through the first three points but still think that it would be much nicer to start immediately in the desktop mode? Well, you can if you disable the auto login. You are allowed to do so only when Windows starts. After entering the password, do not press the arrow next to your name, hit the Enter key instead (you have to hold it down for more than one second). This will automatically open the app, which is hidden behind the top-left tile of the start screen. The desktop application will open before the actual start screen appears. If the auto login is active, there are still ways to boot directly to the desktop. You can find information about it at DrWindows, to whom I also owe this first desktop-Tip.

5. Get the Classic Start Menu Back

Microsoft understands your nostalgia. You can get the classic start menu back if you and the tiles don’t get along. Classic Shell is one tool, which you can download here. It looks like this:

Other alternatives are Vista Start menu and Start8.

6. Arranging & Adding Tiles

There doesn’t have to be an app behind every tile. A tile may also be a contact, a link to a page or a folder. To add a tile to the start screen, you have to open the App Bar in the application (just swipe from the left) and then press or click on “pin to start”. You can also get rid of an app from the start screen this way. In this case, the application will not be deleted, it just disappears from the first start screen. You can also enlarge or shrink the tiles and you can group or arrange the tiles on the start screen via the App Bar.

7. Create Your Own Tile

To truly customize Windows 8, some of you will want to customize your tiles. This is not possible with available materials, but at Caschy and Casi found a way to create a few tiles. To do this you need a freeware called OblyTile, which can be found on the XDA-Developers forum. You can then use your own pictures (must be 120×120 and PNG), icons or ObyTile’s templates to make the start screen more your style.

8. Two Apps Parallel to One Another

Windows users are all used to having multiple windows open at the same time, but Windows 8 is a different creature. You can, however, use two apps at once side by side. You open the first app and then use the app bar and and pull out a second app and pale it beside the other ( a separation bar must appear). Using this bar you can adjust the size of each application in relation to the other.

That way your inbox can always be open and a larger window can sit beside it while you surf the web. Your screen resolution has to be set at 1366×768 for this parallel view to function properly.

9. Media Center/DVD PlayBack

If you are desperately looking for the Media Center, stop looking – it is not installed by default. Basically, you need it to play your DVDs and Blu-Rays on Windows. Next year you will have to pay extra for the Media Center, but until the end of January 2013, Microsoft has made the Windows 8 Media Center pack downloadable for free. After January it will cost you $10 or so.  Alternatively you can, of course, look for other software with DVD playback – my recommendation would be here the VLC player.

10. Windows 8 Shut Down

Finally, a tip that at least for the tablet users, is not part of the normal procedure – the shutdown of the operating system. On Windows, we are used to clicking “shut down”. Here, you have to open your Charms Bar and click the on/off button under “settings”.

These are our top 10 tricks and tips! Windows 8 isn’t rocket science, it just might take some getting used to.

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Microsoft Surface Tablet to Rival Apple iPad

The Microsoft Surface is the new kid on the block, with all the bells and whistles it can be a formidable contender to Apple iPad, Samsung Tabs and Google Nexus. It is evident that the Redmond IT Giant with its super user-friendly and fully functional tablets, is all set to destroy Apple’s and Google’s market share and rule the tablet market just like PC market.

Let’s have a closer look at the Surface – at a glance it looks more like an iPad with keyboard cover, but a glimpse inside would reveal it has PC like functionality. It’s has a svelte design and quite an attractive piece of gadget. With a dimension of 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37 inches weighs just about 1.5 pounds. It has 8 hours of battery life with pen support. It is priced at $499 and with keyboard cover at $599. This puts the tablet right in the league of the iPad.

The Surface is powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 processor (Pro version – Intel Core i5 third-generation, “Ivy Bridge” with Intel HD graphics 4000) and sports Windows RT (a subset of Windows 8 family; Pro version – Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit), 2 GB (Pro version – 4 GB) of RAM, 10.6 inch ClearType display running at 1366 x 768 with 5 point multi-touch (Pro version – 1920 x 1080 with 10 point multi-touch), 32 GB or 64 GB of storage, has two front-and rear-facing 720p HD cameras, USB 2.0, microSDXC card slot, headset jack, HD video out port (proprietary), sensors, cover and comes bundled with Office RT

The key differentiating features between Surface and iPad are iPad’s seductive Retina Display (2048 x1536 with 264 pixels per inch) – a clear win for Apple, Windows RT 32 Bit (Pro – Windows 8 64 Bit) vs IOS 6.0 – Microsoft can be a tough contender in terms of functionality with familiar Windows Metro UI.

In spite of packing quite a punch, the Surface with Windows RT fails to deliver full tablet experience just like iPad, although the Pro version of Surface is a step closer but still not there yet.

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3 From Asia – Wearable Computing, Chinese Smartphone Numbers & Guang Hua Digital Plaza

In 3 From Asia we take a look at the Wearable Computer Competitive Exhibition 2012 in Korea where by far the coolest product was a glove that hooked up to a smartphone and turns your text messages into brail and runs the it across the wearers finger tips.   We look at Chinese smartphone numbers and our trip to the computer market.

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Sony VAIO Tab 20

Sony went big at IFA 2012 yesterday by unveiling 

table -top pc, which (when laid on a flat surface) looks something like a battle overview screen from Star Wars. The device is set to sport an Intel i7, i5 or i3 processor, accompanied by a maximum of 8GB RAM, 750GB or 1TB HDD, USB 3.0, SD card slot, HD webcam and Intel HD 4000 graphics. Powering windows 8, the Sony 

VAIO Tab 20 will definitely turn heads.

Our team on the floor at IFA in Berlin managed to take a minute to look more closely at the Sony VAIO Tab 20, which can be seen in the video. Be sure to take a gander and see just how large this portable device is - remember it features a built-in, rechargeable battery but does weigh in at 11 pounds. The stand is visible in the short clip to reveal just how the table-top PC can be used as both a tablet or as a desktop.

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Skydrive for Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8 has been designed to take full advantage of the latest cloud services such as SkyDrive. SkyDrive has already made a massive difference for plenty of nokia lumia 800 and lumia 900 owners, helping to keep their photographs and files safely backed up online, and now owners of the  Nokia Lumia 820 and lumia 920 are set to benefit as well.

There’s no real need to download SkyDrive for your Nokia Lumia 820 or Lumia 920. It’s already integrated into the Windows Phone 8 OS. Browse through your pictures, and you’ll be offered the chance to upload to SkyDrive, open your documents and SkyDrive is in the list, open Office and there it is again.

With your files stored in the cloud, you’ll have the perfect backup should your Lumia get damaged, lost or stolen. SkyDrive isn’t just about keeping your files safe either. The fact everything is stored online means you’ll always have access to them, on any platform, wherever you go. You’ll always have the latest version, and it’s easier than ever to share files.

With your files stored in the cloud, you’ll have the perfect backup should your Lumia get damaged, lost or stolen. SkyDrive isn’t just about keeping your files safe either. The fact everything is stored online means you’ll always have access to them, on any platform, wherever you go. You’ll always have the latest version, and it’s easier than ever to share files.

To get started with SkyDrive on the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, all you have to do is enter your Microsoft account details, and you’re good to go. All your photographs, videos and Office documents will be automatically backed up to the cloud.

Automatic sync for OneNote

Users of OneNote on Windows Phone 8 are in for a treat, with the app automatically syncing with SkyDrive without you having to do a thing.

You’ll be able to store up to 7GB of your files online, and if you have lots of important media content you can also get subscriptions for up to 100GB of storage space.

It’s also the best way to share cinemagraphs online so you can show them to friends and family in all their glory.

Finally, it’s not just the integration of SkyDrive into Windows Phone 8 that makes the app perfect for the latest Lumia smartphones. The inclusion of super-fast 4G/LTE technology on the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 will see your files uploaded or downloaded in considerably less time than older 3G rivals.

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Will the Kindle Fire HD Outsell the Apple iPad Mini?

Amazon’s upgraded Kindle Fire HD tablet as you might be aware has went on sale – a few days earlier than its scheduled launch date of November 20. The 8.9 inch, Wi-Fi – only version of Amazon’s much popular Kindle tablet will start at $299 and according to a new report, is expected to beat the sales of the iPad Mini. The 4G enabled version will go on sale in the next few days as well. The first generation Kindle Fire was a popular product and was able to dent the sales of the iPad – although not by a significant margin.

As for the report which says that the new Kindle Fire HD would outsell the iPad, let me warn you that it comes from folks over at CouponCodes4u.com who assert that the Kindle Fire HD would outsell the iPad Mini by a ratio of 2 to 1! And how did they arrive at this conclusion? Well data collected by them from the number of searches conducted on their website makes its clear that people are searching more for the Kindle Fire HD rather than the iPad Mini. In fact, there are twice as many searches for the Kindle Fire HD than for the iPad Mini.

Is this a conclusive enough indication that the Kindle Fire HD would outsell the iPad Mini? Surely not – but there is no denying the fact that the Kindle Fire HD does prove to be an attractive, lower priced and feature packed alternative to the iPad Mini – which costs an astronomical $329 for the base version.

According to CouponCodes4u Chairman Mark Pearson, “It’s no surprise that although some families would probably love to purchase an iPad mini device for every member of their family, they simply cannot afford the higher cost and would rather purchase a Kindle device instead”.

So, how many of you think that the Kindle FireHD would actually outsell the iPad Mini?

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HTC Deluxe – The Global Version of the Droid DNA Leaked

I am sure most of you folks might be aware of the recently announced DROID DNA. In case you are not, let us inform you that this latest superphone from HTC boasts of some totally out of this world specifications. Exclusive to Verizon, we all knew that this phone  would  soon be getting an international version as well. But we didn’t expect that one to “leak” this soon! Anyway, before we go in to the specifications of the device, let me inform you that the international version of the Droid DNA would be called the HTC Deluxe – as per rumorsville.

To start with, the Droid DNA boasts of a 5-inch Super LCD3 display with a resolution of 1080*1920 pixels. Yes, you read that right. A full HD display on a freaking 5 inch phone! Thanks to that insane resolution it makes the famed 326 ppi retina display look pedestrian. The pixel density here is an astonishing 441 pixels per inch! Amazing! And yes, it does get the now standard Gorilla Glass coating for that added durability.

Powering the device is a Qualcomm MDM615m/APQ8064 chipset which houses the impressive quad core processor based on the Krait architecture. Each of the four cores run at 1.5 Ghz. Thats tremendous amounts of processing power in your palms – right there. (Pun intended). The graphics bit is handled by the Adreno 320 GPU which will ensure smooth gaming performance. You also get 2 GB of RAM.

The phone gets an 8 megapixel camera complete with auto-focus and LED flash. As expected, it can record videos in full HD resolution and supports video stabilization. There is a 2.1 megapixel front camera as welll- which can also capture full HD videos.

The Droid DNA will of course support Verizon’s LTE network.

As for the leak, folks from over at evleaks have posted an image of what they say is the international version of the Droid DNA. While the internals of the device would more or less remain the same, it is unclear as to what kind of networks would the device support.

All said, one thing we would like HTC to change in the international version of the Droid DNA is its rather paltry 2050 mAH battery. Whats with HTC ruining totally awesome phones with insufficient battery capacity? Seriously.

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Steve Ballmer Terms Android “Wild”; iOS “High Priced”

You can trust Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to have an opinion on everything tech. A few years ago, he was (in)famously involved in a diatribe against the just announced first generation iPhone. He was made to eat his words as Apple went on to make history with the iPhone. For the next few years, as Apple stomped on the smartphone sector with authority, Microsoft was turned into a mere spectator. Finally, they came up with a brilliant (but commercially unsuccessful so far) product with Windows Phone 7. However, Microsoft seems all set for round 2 of the smartphones war with its newest version of Windows Phone – released a few days ago. And as usual, Steve Ballmer is here with his opinion on both these platforms.

In a recent interview with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman Steve Ballmer was at his best trying to pitch his company’s Windows Phone 8 platform as a viable alternative to the current kings of the ring – Android and iOS. He was quite vocal about what he thinks ails Android and iOS both.

According to him the Android platform is “wild” and “uncontrolled” – thanks to the lack of effective policing by Google on the kind of applications that make it to the Google Play Store. This according to him makes Android users susceptible to malware. Ballmer’s assertion does have some truth as there have been many recent security concerns regarding susceptibility of Android devices to malware. Also, the fact that it is now the worlds most widely used smartphone platform makes it that much more attractive for hackers and unscrupulous elements.

As for Apple’s iOS, Steve was unhappy to see the kind of control that Apple exerts over developers and for applications wishing to be on the App Store. He also termed iOS devices expensive – and that’s quite true considering the fact that the iPhone and almost all of the other iDevices are prohibitively expensive in many countries across the globe where they are not subsidized.

As for Apple’s iOS, Steve was unhappy to see the kind of control that Apple exerts over developers and for applications wishing to be on the App Store. He also termed iOS devices expensive – and that’s quite true considering the fact that the iPhone and almost all of the other iDevices are prohibitively expensive in many countries across the globe where they are not subsidized.

All this brings us to Windows Phone 8 – which according to him is the most viable option for consumers here. With handsets like the lumia 920 and the HTC X being just made available, it would be interesting to see if people would really flock towards Windows Phone 8 in large numbers.

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Dual SIM Galaxy Note 2 Coming Soon to China

Looks like the talk of a customized Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for the Chinese market is coming true, a Dual-SIM Smartphone will be released on November 24th.

The handset appears to be unmodified apart from the addition of another SIM card slot. The downside is that it won’t be working globally. One SIM card slot will be used for a CDMA network and the other one for GSM-based one. CDMA networks in the US don’t use SIM cards, so this handset has really been customized for the mainland.

According to Chinese website Bolopad, China Telecom will be the first carrier in the country to offer the dual-SIM Galaxy Note II.  If you’re wondering how much it is going to set you back the off-contract Note II will cost 5,199 CNY, which translates into some $835. Pretty pricy, but the price will likely drop dramatically shortly after launch.

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3 From Asia – Android Dominates in China, Samsung Drops $1.8B & AR Maps in Japan

Want to know what’s going on in Asia? We’ve got three tech from Asia to keep you up to date. Today we look at Android market share in China, Samsung’s expanding OLED plans and an augmented reality app that makes navigation fun.

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Samsung, Apple to Continue Court Battle; Samsung In No Mood to Give Up

I am sure there were a group of peace loving tech enthusiasts out there who thought the ongoing legal tussle between Samsung and Apple would end in a peaceful manner. The reason being HTC and Apple’s recent decision to sort all differences and strike a licensing deal for the next ten years.

Well, if we are to believe Samsung’s Shin Jong-kyun, who heads the Korean giant’s Mobile and IT division, the company is in no mood to wave the white flag. In a report published by Korea’s YonhapNews, the high ranking official made it clear that there is no way that Samsung would go the HTC way and settle all issues out of court. Instead, it would be going full steam against Apple and would ensure that Cupertino doesn’t breathe easy. “It may be true that HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don’t intend to [negotiate] at all,” Jong-kyun was quoted.

It was just a few days ago that HTC and Apple both decided to stop fighting in courts across the globe and focus on “innovation” – instead of litigation  The companies settled various patent related suits that dated back to 2010. To ensure that they don’t start squabbling all over again, they also signed a patent deal for the next ten years ensuring that both companies would cross license their respective technologies (for the overall good of mankind).

Apple and Samsung’s battle however is visibly much more vicious and neither parties seem to be in a mood to loosen their grip. Earlier in 2012, Apple did manage to score a win over Samsung by managing to win a ruling that directed Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages. That however is just one of the many court cases these two tech giants are fighting out in courts across all continents.

How long do you think would it take for Apple and Samsung to settle ALL their differences? Do you foresee such a thing happening anytime in the near future?

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Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 Compete With Google Glass For Coolest Wearable Device

Vuzix’s Smart Glasses M100 look like a large Bluetooth headset, but with Android Ice Cream Sandwich onboard, they can obviously do a whole lot more. The device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth integrated, a 720p HD camera, head movement sensors and is in cahoots with your iOS smartphone or Android handset for a bundle of augmented reality applications. It also has GPS and a compass

The display acts like a 4 inch display when positioned about 14 inches from your eye. It has a WQVGA resolution, over 2,000 nits of brightness and a 16:9 aspect ratio. When making calls or doing speech commands, it uses a noise canceling microphone.

The Smart Glasses can support up to an 8 GB memory card and have 4 GB of Flash memory onboard. The gadget runs on a 1 GHz OMAP4430 processor with 1 GB RAM. As far as battery life is concerned, the M100 gets 8 hours of hands free use and 2 hours of hands-free use while using the display. Obviously battery consumption is a huge problem. If you want to use all the device’s functions simultaneously, it’ll last you about 1 hour before all the juice is sucked out.

Vuzix is making a brave leap forward with this crazy gadget and making the astonishing concept Google wowed us with a reality, albiet an impractical one. It will be fascinating to see where this technology goes in the future. I know I’m eagerly awaiting more info on Google’s Project Glass!

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Le Samsung Galaxy Axiom en fuite, prochainement annoncé chez US Cellular ?

Voici une fuite intéressante qui concerne le marché américain et en particulier l’opérateur US Cellular. Le Galaxy Axiom de Samsung semble être une espèce de variante opérateur du s3 mini , que cela soit au niveau du design ou des spécifications.

D’après Evleaks, l’Axiom posséderait un écran 4″ WVGA et tournerait sur un processeur dual core 1.2GHz (contre dc 1GHz pour le S3 Mini).

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SFR propose le paiement sur facture sur le Play Store

Android est un OS mobile ouvert à tous et pourtant le paiement sur le Store devait jusqu’alors s’effectuer par carte bancaire, moyen de paiement dont tout le monde ne dispose pas.

Le paiement sur facture opérateur, ou operator billing, est un système qui permet de faciliter les micro-paiements sur mobile en imputant le coût sur la facture mensuelle du consommateur.

Plus besoin de CB pour acheter le dernier Need for Speed ou autre contenu, Livres, Films ou encore Albums depuis l’ouverture de Play Musique à nos contrées. L’operator billing est disponible sur le Play Store chez certains opérateurs américains depuis 2010 puis a été déployé au Japon en avril 2011. Depuis août de la même année, l’option est proposée aux clients de Vodafone en Angleterre.

Cette fois c’est en France que les choses bougent, deux ans après les USA, avec SFR qui propose dès maintenant le choix à l’achat d’un contenu. L’utilisateur peut ainsi choisir entre un paiement via CB (si une carte a été ajoutée) ou directement sur sa facture opérateur. Pour les autres opérateurs il faudra encore attendre un peu.

Parents : faites tout de même attention et pensez à sécuriser les options de paiement avec un code PIN, à définir dans les paramètres du Play Store (menu > paramètres > définir un code PIN > cochez ensuite Utiliser PIN pour achats, voir capture).

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Pas d’Android 4.2 pour toi, Nexus S

Il y a deux jours, Google a déployé Android 4.2 sur l’Android Open Source Project (AOSP), rendant le code source de base de cette nouvelle mouture du système disponible pour tous. 

En parallèle,une petite déclaration  a été faite par Jean-Baptise Queru, un français qui travaille chez Google aux USA,Technical Lead sur l’AOSP, qui explique que le Nexus S et la Xoom ne devraient pas bénéficier d’Android 4.2.

Les termes exacts sont d’ailleurs « There is no support for 4.2 on Nexus S and Xoom. Those devices should continue using 4.1.2. », à propos de l’AOSP 4.2, il n’y a pas de support de la 4.2 pour le Nexus S et la Xoom, ces appareils devraient continuer de tourner sous Android 4.1.2.

Surprenant ? Non pas réellement, le Nexus S a été lancé sous Gingerbread (porte-étendard de la 2.3 à sa sortie) et s’est tout de même retrouvé sous la 4.1.2, soit GB > ICS > JB (en zappant les MAJs intermédiaires) ce qui reste une belle performance.

Si vous avez un Nexus S actuellement, que pensez-vous de cette info ? Comment trouvez-vous que Jelly Bean tourne sur votre terminal ?

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