CES 2012

Now, here’s a show that everyone would love to go to, it’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) time again. It’s the biggest tech show everyone’s looking forward to every year – I’m one of them, but I could not afford to go there. So for those gadget freaks out there, here’s a list of new technologies introduced during the CES 2012:

Phones


1.    Huawei’s Ascend

Ascend P1 and P1 S

       Named P1 and P1 S, are believed to be the world’s thinnest smartphones as of now. These two handsets are equipped with the newest Android version, the Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.0, and powered by a dual core 1.5 Ghz processor. The P1 S has an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, accompanied by a 1.3 megapixel front camera for video calls. The handsets will be released in April.

      2.    Xpal Power’s SpareOne

SpareOne

         A handset that could hold its charge for 15 years if not used. Well it’s not near a smartphone capability, but it can be used for emergencies, which a smartphone could not do with only 4 hours of battery life.

      3.    Sony Xperia S

         A nice looking smartphone, unfortunately powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbred (but will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in late 2012), comes with a dual-core 1.5 Ghz processor. Its noted features are: it includes a HDMI port, Bravia Sync, PlayStation capable, Sony’s Exmor R technology – 1.5 seconds of capture speed with its 12 megapixel camera.

“The Sony Xperia S may not be the smartest smartphone we have seen, but it is a decent Android handset.” – techradar

      4.    LG Spectrum

LG Spectrum

       LG humbles itself in creating its latest smartphone, which they said that could win over iPhone’s screen quality. The LG Spectrum comes with a 4.5 inch screen display, a HD IPS display – which makes its pixel density greater than of the iPhone. It has a 1.5 Ghz dual core processor, Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread (with ICS upgrade), 8 megapixel camera and a 1.3 megapixel front camera. Testers said that quality of LG Spectrum is great, no lags, and no buffering during video playbacks.

      5.    Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia Lumia 900

         It’s the first smartphone built for North America, and will be exclusively available for AT&T. The Nokia Lumia 900 is packed with 1.4 Ghz processor, a front and rear cameras – all cameras are made with Carl Zeiss optics 28mm focal length, which means it will give users a clearer image. And of course Nokia Lumia 900 is powered with Microsoft Windows.

      6.    HTC Titan 2

HTC Titan 2

      If Sony Xperia S wows you with its 12 megapixel camera, wait until you see the HTC Titan 2. This smartphone comes with a 16 megapixel camera, with two LED flash. Now, that would top other point shoot cameras, eh? Along with that, it is powered with a single core 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon S2 chip and 720p HD video recording. However, no luck for Android fans, because this phone comes with Microsoft Phone Mango 7.5.

      7.    Motorola Motoluxe

Motorola Motoluxe

        The company announced its new budget smartphone, the Motorola Motoluxe. There’s not much about the smartphone since it’s just an 800 Mhz powered processor, unlike other smartphones introduced during the show. It comes with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, 8 MP camera and a VGA front –facing camera. The phone is good enough for those budget conscious users who wanted to change their old phones into smartphones.

      8.    Motorola Defy Mini

Motorola Defy Mini

       The handset is also a dust and water resistant phone, just like the Motorola Defy. It is a 3.2 inch touchscreen phone with Gorilla Glass, has a 3 MP camera with LED flash, accompanied by a front facing camera.

      9.    Lenovo S2

Lenovo S2

    Lenovo creates its own smartphone, with an approach not similar to other companies. While other smartphones boasts their looks and UI design, Lenovo focused on the advanced security functionality of their smartphone, especially on phishing attacks. That promising feature along with a dual core 1.4 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 8 MP camera and vga front facing camera, with a 3.8 inch screen display with 800x480 resolution, and either 512 MB or 1 GB  RAM.

Tablets


1.    Lenovo IdeaTab S2

IdeaTab S2

       A tablet that comes with a keyboard dock. The Lenovo IdeaTab S2 runs Android 4.0 ICS, with a 1.5 Ghz dual core Snapdragon. The tablet alone can operate up to 10 hrs, but if snapped with its keyboard dock; it doubles its battery life of up to 20 hrs. The dock also comes with USB ports for plugin devices, which makes the device look like a net book.

      2.    Lenovo IdeaTab K2

IdeaTab K2

     The tablet also runs Android 4.0 ICS but is equipped with a much faster processor of a quad core Nvidia Tegra 3. Other notable features are the fingerprint reader and built-in speakers at the back of the tablet. The amazing part is that it has an IPS high screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,200. 

"It looks absolutely pin sharp." – techradar

      3.    Acer Iconia Tab A700

Iconia Tab A700

        Another Android 4.0 ICS device, the tablet did not appeal the audience with its usual Acer look. However, the device looks pretty fast with its 1.3 Ghz quad core Tegra 3 processor, and has a nice screen display similar to that of the Lenovo IdeaTab K2, but is not an IPS display which Acer announced, but is using a similar technology.

Television


1.    LG 55 inch OLED TV

LG 55" OLED TV

          LG is proud to announce its thinnest television – around 4mm thick, which is thinner than a smartphone.

      2.    Lenovo TV

Lenovo Android TV

         LG may have introduced the thinnest, but Lenovo has introduced the first Android 4.0 ICS television to the world, and it’s no joke, it’s the ultimate Google TV.

Laptops


1.    Intel Nikiski

          It’s all in the looks, it’s Intel’s see through notebook. The see through portion serves as the trackpad when the notebook is opened, but it becomes a small touch screen display when the notebook is closed.

      2.    Ultrabooks

Lenovo U310

       I would summarize the ultrabooks in just one bullet since for me they only show one thing – a Mac-like look. Lenovo introduced its own ultrabooks, the IdeaPad U310 and U410. On the other hand, HP announced its ultrabook, the HP Envy 14, it’s an ultrabook but has a weight onto it – introduced as the heaviest ultrabook. Acer might as well show their own version of ultrabook, the Acer Aspire S5. There’s not much to say in this ultrabook war, they all look alike, and with similar processors and functionalities, the only difference would be the prices.

Acer Aspire S

HP Envy 14

Others



1.    Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

          As always, the makers of AR.Drone stole the attention of the people during the CES 2012. With its upgrade, the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0, a quadricopter. The greatest upgrade is that the device can be controlled with an IOS device, like the iPhone. This is a neat addition to your phone accessory. An additional feature enables users to create the path where the device will go through, and it will film its flight. I would love to have this!

         To sum up everything about the CES this year? Smartphones and Ultrabooks war! There’s nothing much new about the introduced gadgets this year. I think they should create new technologies more than relying on what’s already there. >:) But I guess, the perspective of those who attended is different from mine. The actual show must have been great.

Samsung wins, HTC loses

Samsung phone sales increased to 73 percent from its 2010 sales, while HTC decreased to 26 percent. Now, that’s a big leap from Samsung, considering HTC smartphones were a trend, following Apple’s iPhone, just a year ago. But thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone and Galaxy Tab, the company is now having an increased profit and definitely higher sales this year. (source here)

This only proves that users change their preferences; from a more good looking phone to a more usable phone. HTC phones are better known for their great phone designs, and touch sense UI, which users prefer first before looking into the actual features of a phone. On the other hand, Samsung phones prefer not to focus more on the phone design – just a black and silver combination with some buttons, but more on to the usability – from speed to simple UI design.  

Whether design or usability, still both companies create top notch smartphones that can compete with Apple’s iPhone. Maybe HTC should have fix underlying issues with their smartphones (as I have searched through forums, some users complain about their HTC handsets), in order to win over Samsung this year. 

Are you Mr. Android?

So, are you a typical Android User? :D

Logitech K750: Solar Powered Keyboard

Solar powered devices are getting popular these days, from cellphone chargers to vehicles. This idea is well accepted as we are now facing energy consumption problems. The thing is, companies from all over the world find ways in order to facilitate change in energy consumption but still having the same quality.

Recently, Logitech released its Solar Powered Keyboard, Logitech K750. What’s new about this keyboard? Well, as the name suggests, it is solar powered, meaning it stores solar energy and uses it as a source of battery energy. The good this is, it still works in dark and closed rooms, you don’t have to charge the batteries every now and then. The battery lasts for about three months. With a device such as this, you’ll have no more battery worries ever!

Besides having a solar powered feature, the Logitech K750 is also thinner than other keyboards, it is only 1/3 three inch thick. With that, you’re as if using a thick folder while typing, comfortable and fast typing capabilities. Along with this, the keyboard also uses an advanced 2.4GHz wireless feature; it supports long range wireless capacity.

So, if you are interested with this keyboard, buy this for only $80, supplies will be shipped this November and December in some countries.

Turkey: "The end of Youtube Ban"

Youtube serves as the top video streaming website all over the world. Every one of us, especially those who are fond of making videos, find the website as a way of sharing thoughts through videos of course. However, some people violate this privilege of sharing videos by uploading inappropriate things, such as violence, false news reports and the like. As a result, some countries banned the website for such improper use. These countries are Iran, UAE, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey, and many more. See list of countries that banned Youtube.

In May 2008, Turkey banned the access to Youtube because some videos insulted their founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which was against their law. After which the government have been communicating with Google (owner of Youtube), to make amends for those uploaded videos. Google then made such changes, and the said videos were removed. Now, after two years of banning Youtube, Turkey finally decided to end the prohibition to access Youtube to their country.

What have we learned from this? There’s always freedom to express yourself, through any means you wanted. However, there are limits to where such expression goes.

Technopreneurship

Technopreneurship in Davao City:

Davao city is one of the highest technopreneurship city in the Philippines, based on the study conducted by the information communications and technology. As the findings suggest, Davao city is an emerging city of new developments and because of this, new jobs are being adapted, and one field is in technology. Jobs related to technology such as internet cafes, computer stores, call centers, mobile phone stores, web design and computer related businesses and corporation and the like have been emerging since the development of Davao city. For this reason, the city has also produced a lot of graduates of information technology related courses, as well as in commerce and management.

A lot of business now, in davao city, are focused marketing technology stuff, such as computers, computer parts and gadgets. In line with this, some loans have been converted to it parks and businesses, mostly call centers. Outsource companies have a lot to do with the technopreneurship in Davao city. Also there are more online stores now, davaosale.com, for example.

Technopreneurship in the Philippines:

The Philippines’ technopreneurship can be concluded in just a sentence, the Filipinos know technology, however, they are not able to fully adapt the concept because they are not ready for the change. Based on the resources that I have read, a lot of Filipinos are aware of what technology can do to them, however, because of its fast emerging event, changes may not be easily adapted, since they are more accustomed to old ways, which cannot be easily replaced. But to take note, the Philippines have a lot of IT businesses already, and some infrastructure also adapt IT stuff in order to operate.

However, as Filipinos are so eager to compete with the changing world, they tend to buy and sell products that aren’t good in quality. Although these products (mostly gadgets), are usable, most of them are fake and that’s not a great thing for technopreneurship in the country.

Global Technopreneurship:

Technopreneurship, globally, is such a fast pacing economic builder. Nowadays, engaging into technopreneurship gives a company, a businessman, or even a young man, a greater edge than other companies who prefer using the old ways. Take for example the ever growing business in the world wide web, may it be local, a lot of people are experiencing convenience surfing the net and buying online. Online stores, shopping cart systems, do not only provide convenience but the easiest way to earn profit, and saving a lot from expenses.

Also, technological advances, like computer manipulated machines, are marketed to large companies to enhance their service, this in turn does not only show how popular technology is in the market, but it also shows that people, globally, are adapting technology in their business, and in their lives. Probably the most noted countries for having such great influences on technopreneurship are Japan and the United States. Because they have more advances and that they profit more on using technology, other countries follow them.

In short, the global technopreneurship is one of the greatest achievements of technology, and it is one of the most influencing changes that the world is going through, and is continue to grow.

New Gmail Beta Features Added!

For four years now, Gmail has been undergoing reconstruction and development, in order to serve their users with their best interests, and what's going to make them more interested to Gmail. It is quite a long time for the Google developers to take the development of the Gmail to a complete email processing, multi-processing, and user-friendly. Just imagine, four years, and it is still under development, how serious Google is, especially on the user-friendliness of their Gmail feature.

Some of the new features added to Gmail are:

• Custom Keyboard Shortcuts


• Mouse activated actions - users can use mouse movements to do a particular action


• "Labs" tab for user setting

These features are only 3 out of 13 new features of Gmail. For the list or for the overview about an article about the added features, click here.

Snake Robot

So much for the new robots made by some of the largest robotics and technology companies, I have enough of those walking man like machines that can do whatever a human can. I'm not quite interested with those kind of robots, I prefer watching Lego (game blocks) being made as robots.

Well, let me share with you this amazing and quite promising robot invention that i've searched through the world wide web. It's a snake robot, or a snake-inspired robot. Although there are a lot of animal like robots out there, this one's a neat one, and very helpful. As the inventors have said, they've already used this robot in search and rescue operations. Great invention indeed, and what's next for this snake robot? It is actually being developed to be used in surgical operations.

Click here to see a video on the snake-inspired robot.

Google Page Rank

After 3 months of waiting, finally I got my page rank.. and I have a rank 3! Yes, it is true! This topic is not a technology stuff but it is related to this blog, so I just want to share it to you guys.

As I was searching for other page rank checkers on Google, I'm quite annoyed because some page rank checkers do not show the current rank of a website, take for example mine. I have done this in order to check if my page rank is really rank 3, but I guess I just have to consider the Google page rank checker (heheh.).

For those who are still waiting for their page ranks, just be patient... and keep blogging! Make blogging a hobby, don't just aim for a higher page rank, or "making money" (even though this one's the major reason why other bloggers blog). Making friends, and be able to share ideas, information and opinions are the priceless things you can get from blogging. :D