Archive for the ‘Phones’ Category

Singapore launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Monday, June 6th, 2011

The BlackBerry PlayBook from RIM is finally arriving in Singapore. First launched in the US on April 19 earlier this year, the 7-inch tablet computer will officially be launched in Singapore on Wednesday, Jun 8.

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook launches in Singapore this Wed, June 8, 2011

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook launches in Singapore this Wed, June 8, 2011.

The beta version of the BlackBerry Playbook was first unveiled during the Adobe Max 2010 developer conference in October last year. It was first seen in Singapore when two advanced beta prototypes were specially flown in and displayed as part of the Adobe Refresh Roadshow on March 10.

Four days prior to its official launch in the US on April 19, a special preview was held in a BlackBerry PlayBook Bus in Singapore on April 15. Two days from now – and almost two months after the US launch – the PlayBook will hit the shelves in Singapore.

Prices for the 16, 32 and 64-gigabyte models in the US are $500, $600, and $700 respectively. We’ll see what these will translate to in Singapore.

The PlayBook has received a mixed reaction since its launch in the US. The most common complaint has been its lack of native email, messenger, contacts and calendar apps, relying on Bluetooth tethering to access these functionalities via a BlackBerry handset. Other grouses include the lack of 3G/4G, and the relatively small repository of PlayBook specific apps in BlackBerry App World.

On the other end of the scale, the PlayBook features a lightning fast processor, capable of true multi-tasking, has a fabulous display and user interface, and supports both Flash and HTML5. In fact, some analysts have observed that the first day sales of the PlayBook has beaten that for Motorola Xoom and Galaxy Tab.

It’ll be interesting to hear the latest progress for the PlayBook during the Singapore launch the day after tomorrow.

Steve Jobs to unveil Apple’s new Mac OS, iOS 5 and iCloud at WWDC 2011

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Steve Jobs will make an appearance at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to unveil Lion – Apple’s eighth major release of Mac OS X. He will also unveil iOS 5, the next iteration of the mobile operating system for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The much anticipated iCloud – Apple’s upcoming cloud services – will also be revealed.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 (WWDC)The sold-out conference WWDC 2011 will be held from June 6 – 10 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the annual conference with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10 am (PST).

WWDC 2011 will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac developers can see and learn how to develop Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.

Apple iWork available for iPhone & iPod Touch today

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Apple’s iWork productivity apps – Keynote, Pages and Numbers – are now available for the iPhone, iPod touch,and iPad. iWork apps are available on the App Store for US$9.99 each to new users and as a free update for existing iWork for iPad customers.

Originally created for the Mac and now completely redesigned for Apple’s iOS and Multi-Touch interface, Keynote, Pages and Numbers allow users to create and share presentations, formatted documents and powerful spreadsheets on the go.

Keynote, presentation app in iWork“The incredible Retina display, revolutionary Multi-Touch interface and our powerful software make it easy to create, edit, organise and share all of your documents from iPhone 4 or iPod touch,”said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Keynote, Pages and Numbers import and export documents from iWork for Mac and Microsoft Office; print wirelessly using AirPrint; and include beautiful Apple-designed themes and templates.

Pages, word processing app in iWorkAll iWork apps now include improved document management with thumbnail images that let users find files quickly, organise them and group them into folders using intuitive gestures.

From the Tools button in the toolbar, presentations, documents or spreadsheets can be shared directly without leaving the app.

Keynote makes it easy to create impressive presentations, complete with animated charts and transitions. Presentations can be played in Full Screen view on the high-resolution Retina display or be connected to a projector or HDTV for a large audience. Available separately, the Keynote Remote app allows an iPhone or iPod touch to control a Keynote presentation on any iOS device or Mac.

Pages is a word processor specially designed for a mobile device and has everything needed to create documents. Pages takes full advantage of the high-resolution Retina display on iPhone 4 and iPod touch so users can see all the detail and richness of their documents. Numbers, spreadsheet app in iWorkTo make working with text easy on iPhone and iPod touch, Smart Zoom automatically zooms in to follow the cursor during editing and zooms back out when done.

Numbers uses Multi-Touch gestures and an intelligent keyboard to help create compelling, good-looking spreadsheets with over 250 easy-to-use functions, flexible tables and eye-catching charts. Similar to Pages, Numbers takes advantage of the high-resolution Retina display and Smart Zoom to make working with text and cells on iPhone 4 or iPod touch easy.

Pricing & Availability

Keynote, Pages and Numbers are universal apps that run on iPad and iPad 2, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 and iPod touch (3rd & 4th generation). Keynote, Pages and Numbers are available from the App Store for US$9.99 each for new users, or as a free update for existing iWork for iPad customers. Keynote Remote is sold separately via the App Store for US$0.99.

Seagate introduce GoFlexAccess app

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

The free GoFlexAccess app allows the iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones to access media shared on the Seagate’s GoFlex Home network storage system.

Seagate Technology LLCThe free app is now available for download from the iTunes Store and Android Market. The application can be found by searching for “Seagate” or “GoFlex” in either storefront using the computer or the app store on a iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android compatible mobile device.

Seagate’s GoFlex Home network storage server is designed as a simple to set up shared storage drive, which provides back up and sharing capabilities within a home network and is also accessible using remote access from a personal computer.

Seagate GoFlexAccess AppSeagate GoFlexAccess App

With the introduction of the GoFlexAccess app, the GoFlex Home network can be accessed from mobile devices as well.
  • The possibilities enabled by the GoFlexAccess  app include:
  • Access photos, movies, music and documents stored in the GoFlex Home network from an iPad, iPhone or Android smart phone.
  • Create slideshows from photos in the network drive and play music at the same time to accompany it.
  • Stream music or video to mobile devices over 3G/4G and WiFi.
  • large number of files and file types.
  • Album art support for music files.
  • Access Excel, PowerPoint, Word documents and PDFs etc.
  • The app features content type filters, to simplify access to content that may contain a large number of files and file types
Capacity SRP
1 TB S$219
2 TB S$319
3 TB S$379

Available in 1TB, 2TB and 3TB capacities, the GoFlex Home storage system allows files to be centrally stored, easily accessed and continuously backed up wirelessly from computers on the home network running either Windows or Mac OS X operating systems.

Storage capactiy of GoFlex Home system can be increased simply by connecting additional drives to the USB port. What’s more, this USB port can be used to wirelessly share a USB printer with all computers on the network.

Roundup of RIM releases for BlackBerry World 2011

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones on BlackBerry 7 operating system, new Facebook and Video Chat apps for the PlayBook tablet — these are some of the initiatives unveiled by RIM just prior to the BlackBerry World 2011 conference.

A range of enterprise solutions for unified communications, device management and mobile security for smartphones and tablets were also announced.

Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry World 2011The annual BlackBerry World is now ongoing at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Florida from 3 – 5 May. Typically, new devices, solutions and initiatives are announced during this period. This year, there is much anticipation on what devices will be unveiled, given the large number of leaks about Research In Motion’s (RIM) lineup of smartphones for 2011.

Here is a roundup of releases just prior to BlackBerry World. Some are for RIM’s consumer devices while others are from their traditional stronghold of mobile IT solutions.

New BlackBerry Bold Smartphones on BlackBerry 7 OS

New BlackBerry Bold 9900 from RIMThe BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones will be the thinnest and most powerful BlackBerry devices yet. The easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard is integrated with a brilliant, high resolution, capacitive touch screen. These smartphones are built on a new platform powered by the BlackBerry 7 operating system and designed to deliver high performance  in communications, multimedia and productivity for users around the world.

Sporting a 1.2 GHz CPU, a 2.8 inch 640×480 pixels VGA display at 287 dpi resolution, the smartphones support 4G and NFC (Near Field Communications).

The two Bold models are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer.

New Facebook and Video Chat apps for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook appFollowing the release of the Facebook for BlackBerry® smartphones app, RIM has announced the Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook app. This new app delivers popular features of Facebook, optimized for the 7″ high resolution, multi-touch LCD display of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook offers users a highly engaging experience by integrating popular features such as viewing and adding friends, seamless photo and video viewing, connecting with friends by using Facebook chat, and viewing and interacting with the News Feed.

The app be available on BlackBerry App World later this month.

BlackBerry App WorldRIM has also announced the availability of the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat app – an easy and fun way for friends and family to place and receive video calls between BlackBerry PlayBook tablets over an internet connected Wi-Fi network. Key features of the PlayBook Video Chat application include: one-click video and voice over Wi-Fi calls, incoming call notifications, powerful in-call functions and a friends list.

The app will be distributed to existing BlackBerry PlayBook customers through an over-the-air software update and is available on BlackBerry App World.

BlackBerry Balance for Work-Life Balance on BlackBerry

RIM is advancing work-life balance on BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry Balance. This new technology allows the convenience of using a single BlackBerry smartphone for both work and personal purposes without compromising company security or personal privacy. RIM is introducing this technology in response to the growing trend by businesses to allow employees to use personal BlackBerry smartphones for work, or company-owned smartphones for personal, and the need for businesses to secure, manage and control confidential company or client information.

Multi-Platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for Smartphones and Tablets

RIM has announced plans for a multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for managing and securing mobile devices for enterprises and government organizations.

New BlackBerry Bold 9900 from RIM

The solution will make available the market-leading management, security and controls of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for BlackBerry devices. In addition, through RIM’s pending acquisition of ubitexx (creator of the ubi-Suite device management solution), the solution is expected to incorporate secure device management for Android and iOS based devices and tablets, all managed from a single web-based console.

The multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is planned for general availability later this year.

BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 with Voice Over Wi-Fi Calling for Avaya and Legacy Nortel Communications Systems

To help more businesses bring together the desk phone and smartphone. RIM announced plans to make BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 (BlackBerry MVS 5) available to more corporate phone systems and unified communications applications. BlackBerry MVS 5 with voice over Wi-Fi calling will soon be available for Avaya Aura 6.1, Avaya CS1000 Communication Server, as well as legacy phone systems such as Avaya Communications Manager and Nortel Communication Server. BlackBerry MVS 5 has also been re-architected to be more extensible with third party applications and phone systems.

New update to the TomTom App for iPhone

Friday, April 29th, 2011

The update to the TomTom App for iPhone offers TomTom’s latest release of the maps of Malaysia and Singapore. Current owners of the TomTom App can update to the new version for no additional charge.

TomTom App (Version 1.7) for iPhone and iOS devices available nowFor new users, the updated TomTom App (Version 1.7)  for iPhone is now available in the App Store for USD $59.99. The app is available on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS & iPod touch 3rd Gen running iOS4.

White iPhone selling in 28 countries including Singapore from Thursday 28 April, 2011

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
The much anticipated white iPhone will become available on Thursday. Originally planned to be launched together with the black version during the iPhone 4 launch in June 2010, the availability of the white version has been delayed until now by production complexities.

The white iPhone debuts on Thursday April 28, 2011The Cupertino company had stated earlier that “white models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected.”

In addition to Singapore, the white model of the iPhone 4 will debut on Thursday in 27 other countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and the US.

In Singapore, the recommended retail price tag (without contract) for the 16GB model is S$888, while the price for the 32GB model is S$1048.

Purchases can be made through the online Apple Store, and select Apple Authorised Resellers in Singapore, such as EpiCentre, Nubox, istudio, Juzzl and Multimedia Integrated.

Apple profit almost double after iPhone’s Verizon debut

Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Profit for the second quarter almost doubled due to iPhone sales via Verizon, even though sales for newly launched iPad 2 were below estimates because of supply shortage.

Fears of growth being affected by supply disruptions from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami were also allayed.

2nd Quarter A year earlier Bloomberg survey
Net income
(almost doubled)
$5.99 billion,
$6.40 a share
$3.07 billion,
$3.33 a share
$5.04 billion,
$5.39 a share
Sales
(up 83%)
$24.7 billion $13.5 billion $23.4 billion

Apple began selling the iPhone through Verizon Wireless in February, and launched the iPad 2 on March 11.

Demand for the iPad has been so strong that Apple has not been able to make enough, leading to sales that were lower than what most analysts predicted.

2nd Qtr Analysts predictions
iPhones sold through Verizon 18.7 million 16.3 million
iPads sold 4.69 million 6.1 million
Mac computers 3.76 million 3.6 million
iPod media players 9.02 million 9.8 million

“Apple is ramping up production as it prepares to start selling the tablet computer in 13 additional countries this month”, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook told Bloomberg.

Still, sales of products in the country may be $200 million lower as consumers coping with the temblor and tsunami buy fewer gadgets, he said.

Innards of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Have you ever wondered what the insides of a tablet computer looks like? Teardown specialists iFixit has opened up the latest RIM BlackBerry PlayBook – launched only yesterday in the US.

Innards of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Innards of the BlackBerry PlayBook

The PlayBook was easier to tear down compared to an iPad, and has a smaller battery which is not straightforward to replace. The motherboard has to be removed in order to get to the battery, which is glued to the mid-plane assembly.

BlackBerry PlayBook from RIMMany of the chips are from Texas Industries. The main chips include:  1GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual core processor, SanDisk 1GB NAND Flash, Elpida B8064B2PB-8D-F 1GB DRAM, Bosch Sensortec BMA150 Digital 3-axis accelerometer, and an Invensense MPU-3050 3-axis gyroscope.

For those into chips, other components include: Texas Instruments TWL6030 Power Management, STMicroelectronics XTV0987 5 MP mobile imaging processor, Wolfson WM8994E audio codec, Texas Instruments WL1283 WLAN/Bluetooth/FM, TriQuint Semiconductor TQP6M9002 802.11a/b/g/n + BT front-end module.

Motherboard of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Motherboard of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Not detailed enough? There’s also the Texas Instruments LMV339 Quad General Purpose Low-Voltage Comparators, Texas Instruments SN74AVCH4T245 4-Bit Dual-Supply Bus Transceiver with Configurable Voltage Translation and 3-State Outputs, and a Texas Instruments PS63020 High Efficiency Single Inductor Buck-Boost Converter with 4A Switch 

For the gory details, visit iFixit’s report.

BlackBerry PlayBook Launch

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

The 7-inch tablet from Research In Motion (RIM) hits the shelves in the US today. Here’s a quick roundup of the likes and dislikes from those who have tried out the shipping version of the BlackBerry PlayBook.

RIM PlayBookThere’s a lot to like about the PlayBook, but there’re also plenty of frustrations out there from those who’ve had the privilege of playing with the PlayBook. The general feel seems to be that the PlayBook has the potential to be something great – just that it’s not quite complete at the moment.

Already behind the iPad 2 and other Android tablets in terms of launch date, my feel is that RIM wants to get the hardware out as soon as possible before the specs get old – even though the software isn’t quite as ready yet.

RIM PlayBookDare I compare that with an evolutionary release of the iPad 2 with bigger steps only to be expected for the upcoming iPad 3?

With such stiff competition in the tablet market, it is no wonder these slate-makers are rolling off their products as soon as possible. In all honesty, I do believe RIM will sort out the grouses that reviewers have complained about, but the question is whether consumers are willing to fork out the dough to buy what’s beginning to be perceived as an unfinished product, that is only going to be made complete after a few more months – if ever.

RIM PlayBookPerhaps, RIM should have launched it at a discounted price – you know, an early bird discount – to entice consumers and grab market share. Given that the hardware is fabulous, the discount may have worked to convince consumers to buy first and wait out for the software to catch up.

At any rate, below is a quick round-up of the likes and dislikes from people who has played with the PlayBook so far. Prices for the 16, 32 and 64-gigabyte models in the US are $500, $600, and $700 respectively.

Likes Dislikes Mitigation
Fabulous display, and user interface Tiny recessed power button difficult to find and press Nothin’ much can be done about this – but do I care?
Sleek:
10mm / 0.4 inch thick 

Light:
0.9 lbs / 425 g

No native email, messenger, contacts and calendar Need to be Bluetooth tethered via a BlackBerry smartphone to access these. 

Native support could be added later on

Lightning fast processor No 3G connection 3G version in summer 

4G version end 2011

Impressive multi-tasking Small repository of Apps (~3,000) Compatibility with selected Android apps to be introduced later, plus build-up of PlayBook specific apps.
Supports Flash and HTML5 No video chat Video chat app to be released later.