It's not just a tablet, it's a PC in a portable body with a touch screen, that is, a tablet PC. I wouldn't pay over $250 for a mobile tablet, that is, one running a mobile OS, like a maxipad or an Android tablet, either. Granted, the Surface RT version isn't the full computer OS, but it's appears more capable than anything else on the market, including its own predecessors running XP Tablet Edition
Sherlund’s full statement says:
Separately, our industry sources tell us that Microsoft may be working with a contract manufacturer to develop their own handset for Windows Phone 8. It is unclear to us whether this would be a reference platform or whether this may be a go-to market Microsoft branded handset. We would not be surprised if Microsoft were to decide to bring their own handset to market next year given that Microsoft has decided to bring to market their own Windows 8 ‘Surface’ tablet/PC products.Can Microsoft pull off a successful smartphone? They certainly have plenty of experience with what not to do when designing and marketing a phone, as the KIN debacle readily testifies to. If the finished Surface hardware is as good as it looks they probably have the talent and experience to make a successful smartphone – but would it be the smart thing to do? Making their own phone would certainly upset many of their OEMs – especially those who also make PCs/tablets and were already getting nervous about having to compete directly with Microsoft. Of course Android has a similar issue after Google’s purchase of Motorola, but Google hasn’t yet turned on OEMs – many PC vendors still recall how Microsoft wielded its monopoly power at the height of their OS dominance.
The move might also hurt Nokia, which has acted almost like a hardware division for Microsoft the last year. On the other hand, Nokia’s financials are looking bad enough that they could potentially collapse even without Microsoft entering the phone hardware fray, and having a real in-house hardware division would help to insulate Microsoft from the fallout of a Nokia bankruptcy.
It may also be a financial reality for Microsoft – they can’t charge as much for Windows Phone licenses as they do for a full version (or the RT version) of Windows, and with phones set to outpace PC growth Microsoft may think it’s necessary to try and get more profit from each sale by entering the hardware channel. Surely their business planners also have read the headlines that Apple and Samsung (two companies that make hardware and control their supply chain) are taking home 90% of mobile profits with 55% of the market share.
Clearly it’s a gamble either way: with a successful phone Microsoft could make more money per unit and insulate themselves against OEM failure or departure. On the other hand, if Windows Phone sales continue to stagnate, OEMs may be more inclined to abandon the platform if Microsoft is competing against them. Especially combined with a possible Nokia failure (since they bet the farm on Windows Phone) such an exodus could lead to a very nasty narrative about the role of Microsoft in consumer software going forward.
Would you buy a Microsoft phone?
source: Business Insider
Whether you count by revenue or downloads, the U.S. tops the list for both platforms. The Google Play Store gets 45% of its revenues and 35% of its downloads from the States while for iOS the figures are 42% and 28% respectively. In Asia, iOS has been able to hold its lead with a quarter of App Store downloads coming from that region. According to App Annie, China and Korea have plenty of third party app stores for Android that are preventing the Google Play Store from gaining traction.
With Google I/O opening next week, these numbers might be fodder for those developers who believe that some big changes are needed for the Google Play Store to catch up with the App Store.
source: AppAnnie via IntoMobile
This is actually a race:
Google and iOS use more performing OS but with stripped functionalities. Windows RT has more functionality, but higher prices.Google will keep adding funcionality in the next years as far as hardware and prices allows. Windows will be getting cheaper as the hardware becomes more powerful.
But if you ask me Apple and Google are ahead in the game, as their strategy allows the tablets to be cheaper. Most of the people buy a tablet as the second or third computer, just a toy to surf the web, play vidios, games, etc. So price is key in the tablet market to gain volume.
The Pro version has an opportunity in the profesional market for people traveling a lot that need a full computer AND a tablet.
But for $600 the RT has very little chances to gain track. You can buy an Asus transformer 300 with keyboard for $500 or a higer resolution iPad. 500 would have been a good price, for 600 I don't see it getting a lot of market.
While we have no idea when this phone is going to launch, it did visit the FCC, which is often the signal of an impending (although not imminent) release. While the model of the Sony Xperia go examined by the Feds is the international variant and can run on GSM and EDGE with U.S. carriers, the 900MHz and 2100MHz bands supported by the unit spell out overseas 3G connectivity.
source: FCC via Engadget
T-Mobile is selling the 16GB variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III for $279.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a signed 2-year pact. The 32GB model is $329.99 after the same $50 rebate and the signed contract. The carrier says it will broaden out the release of the phone on June 27th.
source: T-Mobile
Of course, AT&T customers have been relishing the super large smartphone for some time now, but it seems that T-Mobile customers are poised to experience the same thing. Specifically, a filing for the Samsung SGH-T879 recently made its appearance over at the FCC, bearing the all too conspicuous compatibility with the 1700MHz AWS CDMA band – thus, making it a likely candidate for being T-Mobile bound.
Combining its recent approval over at the FCC and that AT&T’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Note has the SGH-i717 model number, this is looking more like a T-Mobile version of the Galaxy Note. Well folks, that’s all the information that can be gathered from the filing for right now, but the rumors suggest that the handset will be launched by T-Mobile on July 11th, which is touted to be the same time when Huawei’s myTouch branded smartphones for T-Mobile are expected to arrive.
source: FCC via Unwired View
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With Verizon going back to its DROID DOES ad campaign that it used when AndroidMania took off in late 2009, the Motorola DROID brand seems to have been, pardon the pun, recharged and the Motorola DROID RAZR HD could turn out to be the most highly spec'd DROID of them all. For example, speculation is that the device will feature a 13MP camera. This seems to be confirmed by EXIF data from pictures allegedly shot by a Motorola employee and reproduced on Picasa. The EXIF data reveals that the photos came from the Motorola DROID RAZR HD with an f/2.4 aperture and doesn't rule out a 13MP sensor. Motorola has already released a smartphone in China that features a 13MP camera and offers specs similar to what is expected on the Motorola DROID RAZR HD, right down to the 720p screen.
source: DroidLife
It should be clear by now that Google+ is definitely not going anywhere. It’s gaining in popularity and is a great complement or alternative to Facebook. If you’re already set up on Google+, you might want to look into adding a Google+ page for your business, organization, club, or just good old personal self-promotion.
Setting up one or more pages is easy, but you should of course put some thought into how to make it distinctive. If you’re still new to Google+, check out the MUO Guide, Get Into Google+: A Guide For Everyone to get up to speed.
If you don’t hang out on Google+ a lot, you may not have yet seen examples of Google+ pages. Some of the top pages include Android, Google Chrome, The New York Times, and of course MakeUseOf’s very own hangout.
Google+ Business pages are similar to personal Google+ streams but of course the space is promoting your business, brand, or group, rather than the streaming content of you and your contacts.
Though most popular Google+ Pages are business sites, there’s plenty of room for groups and personal pages. Google+ pages can be used like blogs where you can add original content, or linked content from anywhere on the web.
To create a Google+ page, simply log into your Google+ account and locate the “More” icon on the side menu bar of on your account page. Click the Pages icon right next to Games.
Next, click the red “Create new page” top-left button to create a new page. You can add more pages for different purposes. Each page gets its own unique URL.
The next part of the setup involves picking a category that best describes your page. Notice that the categories are pretty wide – from Local Business, Institution or Organization, to Arts, Entertainment, and Sports. If none of those fit, choose Other.
Add the other information about your page, including title and description. Be sure to include your business, club, or blog website address, which will help support and bring traffic to your Google+ page.
Next, you need to click the big blue Profile Photo icon and add a photo in which the dimensions are at least 250×250 pixels. After you drop the phone into the editor, you can crop and move the photo around as you see fit.
The “Creative Kit“next to the editor also includes additional options for editing and enhancing a photo, and adding image effects.
After your click Finish, your Google+ page is ready to go. Clicking the Profile button on the top-left side of the page will show you how your page will look to others. Each Google+ page gets a standard background image behind the profile image added in the setup process. Put your cursor over the background image and select “Change cover photo” if you want to customize it.
You get the option to add five separate photos in each square, or you can add a banner photo that runs across the header.
Now just as with any other online site, you need to start adding rich content to your page. Just as with regular Google+ pages, you can link articles, and add photos and videos to your page. You can promote your page of course to your circle of Google+ friends and link it to your existing websites. There are plenty tools available for promotion.
At this point, what makes Google+ pages significantly different from say Facebook is Hangouts, which allows you to connect via video chat with your clients, club members, and readers. You might consider even setting up a weekly “event” for your page where attendees can ask questions and get feedback.
Google+ may not be as widely popular as Facebook, but it is nevertheless a another useful place on the net for promoting your business, organization and institution to build a following.
For other related articles on Google+, check out these:
Let us know how you’re using Google+ Business pages.
While Samsung’s artistic barista ads were amusing (at least to non-Apple fans), they also failed to demonstrate why their products were better. So far Samsung has chosen to eschew their inner pitbull for their Galaxy SIII commercials, opting instead to carry on the “Designed for Humans” they began at their product launch. The new 30 second spot shows people using their Galaxy SIII to celebrate a wedding, propose to a girlfriend, and a parent and daughter falling asleep while reading a "book" on the handset.
This kinder and gentler take on self-promotion is one we think is more sustainable in the long run – everyone likes a good chuckle at a competitors expense once in a while, but sooner or later you have to make the case that your product will make consumers’ lives better. Check out the ad below to to decide if they have succeeded:
souce: Droid-Life
Verizon of course denies any particular bias, but what do they say behind closed doors? To find out we spoke with Verizon sales associates, and what they revealed was…well…revealing. The representatives we spoke to reiterated that Verizon definitely does not make it official policy to push one mobile OS over another – during training sessions that were scheduled around the same time as the CNN article sales reps were reminded that it isn’t Verizon policy to “dissuade” people from buying iPhones.
It turns out that’s not the whole story though, as Verizon’s sales targets and compensation models paint a somewhat different picture. To be fair, Verizon’s main goal is to make money – like that of every other carrier business – and the easiest way to do that is to upsell customers from feature phones to smartphones. The reasons for this are obvious: smartphone customers must add data plans to their voice and text options, which adds quickly to a carrier’s bottom line. Verizon's specific target for smartphone sales varies by region, but according to our contacts can reach as high as 80% - that is 8 out of every 10 phones sold "should be" smartphones. Those numbers aren’t totally crazy – around 70% of mobile phone sales in Q2 were smartphones in the U.S., and some places do much better than the average.
Of those smartphone sales, Verizon has also set sales targets for how many phones should be 4G LTE devices – a number that we’re told is can be as high as 60%. So for a high-volume region where 80% of phone sales in an area are smartphones, the goal is that 60% of that number (or 48% of all phones sold) would be LTE devices. The kicker of course is that the only 4G LTE phones available on Big Red are powered by Android.Store and regional managers get reviewed (and compensated) based on how well their numbers match up against sales targets. Sales associates are also rewarded for selling 4G phones; we’re told that in at least some regions they receive an extra $25 bonus for each 4G phone they sell. The results are predictable: managers and sales associates alike do their best to push 4G phones. They certainly won’t stop you from buying an iPhone or a BlackBerry, but you’re likely to hear about the benefits of 4G before you do.
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We could tell you that all U.S. carriers offering the Samsung Galaxy S III have now started accepting pre-orders. We could say that, but we'd be wrong because earlier on Tuesday we told you that another regional carrier, C-Spire, will also be adding the handset to its roster. The mundane details like pricing, available versions, pre-order date and arrival date have not yet been released.
source: U.S.Cellular via AndroidCentral
My favorite deals are the app bundles. A bunch of great apps for a sweet price. Today we have a great mini bundle for you that gives you eye candy (10,000 HD wallpapers!), security (lock down apps on your Mac—great for shared machines!), cleaning (uninstall apps so they are really all gone), entertainment (convert videos to watch on the go), and some back talk (voice narration software) for one low price.
The Mac Stack Bundle give you a nice, inexpensive pack of useful tools for $20. Simple, easy, and done.
Get over 100,000 HD wallpapers with Wallpaper Wizard.Protect your apps from unwanted usage with Mac App Blocker.Uninstall applications, widgets and more with AppDelete.Convert videos the easy way with VidConvert.And get the ultimate voice synthesis with Narrator.
No more surfing the web to find a nice wallpaper that fits your screen – you’ll now have Wallpaper Wizard and its access to a private collection of MORE than 100,000 HD and top quality wallpapers!
With Mac App Blocker, you can password-protect EACH application on your Mac. It keeps your apps and your Mac safe from the many silent but deadly threats out there. Set a timeout value to automatically exit the protected application so even when you leave your computer unattended, you’re still protected.
AppDelete is an uninstaller for Macs that will remove not only Applications but also Widgets, Preference Panes, Plugins and Screensavers along with their associated files. Without AppDelete these associated items will be left behind to take up space and potentially cause issues.
VidConvert is a video converter designed to make converting your videos SIMPLE and EASY. It will convert just about any type of video into one of the many popular formats of today. Creating videos for your iPhone or iPad, for your Mac or TV, or formats such as DivX and MPEG are just a click away with VidConvert!
Narrator brings text to life by reading it to you using voice synthesis – your letter, an ebook, emails, online news – or any text. You can choose different voices, rates, pitches, inflections and volumes for each character you assign, giving your text a wide range of expressiveness.
Take a moment from all the iOS 6 excitement and grab something for your Mac…
Signing deals with the music labels would allow Amazon to instantly match the music on your computer with already existing files in the cloud – letting you skip the current process of uploading your files. The deal is said to be far enough along that Amazon may be able to announce it “in a matter of weeks”. That would certainly make their service more compelling to iOS users, who already have access to Apple’s file-matching implementation, and it might also help Amazon gain traction on Android, where Google Music, which also has to upload users’ music collections, has so far proven to be more popular.
Of course Amazon ships its own tablets based on a forked version of Android, and new (and potentially larger) Kindle Fire models are expected later this year. While we’re sure that Amazon would like to see their music service expand in popularity on other platforms, their biggest goal may be to improve their own mobile computing platform. On that note it will be interesting to see if Amazon’s agreements with the music labels are simply bringing them to parity with Apple’s iCloud, or if Amazon will have some differentiating service to offer its users.
source: CNET via Engadget
Apple seems to have revamped quite a few apps in iOS 6 that come bundled with iOS devices. We've already covered the revamped App Store and iTunes Store app, Phone app and the new features and improvements in mobile Safari.
In this article, we take a look at the changes made to the Music app.
Here are the list of changes:
Just like the iTunes Store and App Store apps, the Music app in iOS 6 also gets the slick new look with the new silver grey theme instead of the traditional blue bar at the top and the black bar at the bottom.The "Now Playing" section gets a black theme.Apple has also tweaked the look and feel of the music buttons.Apple has replaced the the Shuffle icon and text with just the icon in iOS 6, which turns orange when you enable it instead of blue.Here's a change that will blow you away. It was first spotted by a reddit user - streborhcaz who writes:Launch the iPod app, slightly tilt your phone from side to side (don't rotate) and look at the new metallic sliders. Apple is now using the gyroscope/accelerometer to change the reflection on the slider buttons.
Check the slight change in the reflection on the virtual knob of the slider
Check it out in the video embedded below:
We must admit that it is quite a small change, which most users may not even notice, but we've fallen in love Apple's attention to detail all over again. Kudos to the reddit user for discovering it.
Here're some screenshots of the revamped Music app in iOS 6:
Artists tab
Songs tab
Albums tab
Now Playing
Let us know what you think of the new changes in the Music App especially the effect on the virtual knob on the slider.
Image Credit: iDownloadBlog, CultofMac
Recently, we revisited our most popular Best Of page, the Best of Windows Software page (of course) and sifted through your comments with a fine-tooth comb. There were definitely some great suggestions so we decided that it was time to update the page and include your recommendations. We’ve also linked to relevant reviews, making it easier for you to gauge how the particular application works.
The update is now complete! Here’s a list of new apps which are now featured on our Best of Windows Software page:
Lavasoft Ad-Aware+ FreeCalibreCamStudioCobian BackupConnectifyDaemonTools LiteDVDFab HD DecrypterFilezillaFlashGetf.luxGoogle TalkInkscapeWindows Live MeshWindows Live WriterMiPONYMultiCommanderPandora RecoveryPeerblockPlexRainmeterRaptrRIOT – Radical Image Optimization ToolRocketdockSecunia Personal Software InspectorSugarSyncTunnelBearUMPlayerVirtualBoxWunderlistXAMPPXBMCXnViewzeZebraRead more about these useful applications on our Best of Windows Software page and explore over 166 apps which we deemed to be the best for your Windows PC.
Questions, suggestions, recommendations, and corrections are appreciated. We hope you enjoy browsing through our Best Of pages.
We may be entering the post-PC era, if Apple is to be believed, but many of us still use computers and still choose Windows as our operating system of choice. Whether that will still be the case after the release of Windows 8 remains to be seen, but for now Windows it is.
The problem with buying a new Windows PC from a big manufacturer such as HP, Lenovo, Dell, or Acer is the amount of pre-installed software bundled on the machines. Most of it is useless, and none of it was requested by the buyer, hence why we refer to it as crapware. Thankfully there are solutions to the problem of crapware.
We asked you, How Do You Deal With Windows PC Crapware? The response was brilliant, with dozens of people weighing in with their opinions and suggestions for how to deal with crapware. We thank each and every one of you, as would everybody who is able to make use of the software and other methods for dealing with crapware if they had a platform to show their appreciation.
What follows is the list of programs our readers suggested for cleaning a new PC of the crapware, vendors insist on forcing down our throats. And with no need to pay Microsoft $99 for the privilege:
Suggestions other than using software included building your own PC from scratch, installing Linux instead of Windows, uninstalling unwanted programs manually, and using the publicly available ISOs which give you a fresh install of Windows without any of the various add-ons.
Comment of the week goes to LigJuryJr, who gets nothing but my admiration and respect (which is surely more than anyone needs) for:
Although Windows 7 came installed on my Asus laptop, I re-installed it from one of the publicly available ISOs Microsoft made available. (I’ve heard this doesn’t work for all brands, such as HP.)
Zero crapware!
This was the first comment to mention the publicly available ISOs, and it started a discussion during which they were linked to. This method is the best bet for people serious about starting out with clean machines free of extraneous programs. However, I would urge caution to those who aren’t fully computer-literate. They may find some of the crapware they’re deleting useful and may run into difficulties heading down this route.
We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. ‘We Ask You’ is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.
Image Credit: Florian
Utter the word contest and you will immediately get some perked up ears even in a fish market. It’s probably one of the more sweet sounding words next to others like ‘free’ (of course) and ‘giveaways’ (don’t we have so many for you here!). Thanks to Pinterest and the social web of today, you can easily carry along the ‘free’ word with you wherever you plan to launch a contest. Pinterest is the latest playground for playing a few rounds of branding target practice.
The best thing about Pinterest contests is that the social network itself is so visually attractive. The second best thing is that lots of famous brands are hopping on the Pinterest wagon.
The third good thing is that you can easily follow the ones that have come before you, or take a pinprick of inspiration and craft your own Pinterest contest.
The airline company (now with the International Airline Group, who also run British Airways) used the concept of random numbers and a lottery to kick off their Pinterest based branding campaign. At stake is a chance to win free flights to your dream destinations…at least those covered by the airline. The BMI Pinterest page lists number marked pictures from travel spots. You have to pick any and re-pin them onto your image boards. There are no limits on the images you can re-pin, but only the first six will count when BMI picks a number at random (each week) and matches it with the participant who has re-pinned the image that corresponds to that number. The BMI Pinterest contest is still on and it looks like a sweet deal if you are anywhere in the United Kingdom.
One of the more creative Pinterest campaigns I have seen, the carmaker’s board is an eyeful. Peugeot uses the format of a puzzle to cleverly weave in its branding. Different car models are pinned with some parts missing. You have to scour the Peugeot.com site or their Facebook page for the missing (four) pieces. Then you have to create a board and individually pin the images (and arrange them) to complete the jigsaw puzzle. The first five people to complete their boards win prizes. The very arrangement of the different pins and boards is an innovative use of Pinterest.
AMC Theaters are the second largest movie theater chain in North America. I may not be able to take advantage of their services yet, but as I love movies, I love their Pinterest boards. They also keep generating interest with their Pinterest contests. A recent once was around Oscar time when users were asked to ‘pin’ the photo of each of their personal favorites to a board called ‘My Oscar Picks’. The ones whose predictions hit the mark won tickets to the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Their Pinterest account has a board titled – Repin and Win! which is a collection of Giveaways that are on. From a director’s chair autographed by Riley Scott to your favorite Avenger print, there’s a lot you can lay your hands on.
TeachHUB is a K12 resource site for teachers. Their Pin It To Win It Giveaway was an example of a very simple Pinterest contest – simple in idea and simple in execution. The contest involved re-pinning a specific “Pin It To Win It” image to a new board created by the pinner and named as TeachHUB. The contestant had to fill out a simple form and also follow TeachHUB on Pinterest. Anyone who contributed by recommending teacher websites, apps, or resources on their board ramped up their chances of walking away with the iTunes Gift Cards on offer. The contest is closed.
The Pin Your Inbox contest is one for the newsletter marketers themselves. Marketers are given a URL field on the Pin Your Inbox site where they can give the URL of their email creative to Pin Your Inbox. Pinterest viewers (and the EmailVision community) can view and ‘like’ the ones showcased. The email design with the most gets the prize and its designer gets free creative work from EmailVision.
Yes, Windows did it to. Though the contest is now closed. It was open to U.S. residents only and was all about Windows hardware. The contest involved pinning eligible Microsoft hardware (mouse) images to a created Pinterest board. Minimum pins had to be ten and the winner was picked through a random selection. The winner’s prize was a Microsoft hardware prize package that included the mouse pinned to the board, a LifeCam Studio and an Arc Keyboard. There was also a Nokia Lumia contest on Pinterest which ended in April and followed a similar theme.
The explosion of this new social media tool and its visual scrapbooking style has opened up a new frontier away from Facebook and Twitter. It is visual, so brands are applying some of advertising’s most creative design concepts to capture mind space as these six different examples show. Heck even the Queen’s Golden Jubilee has been turned into a Pinterest contest. This one is over too, but lots more are in the offing.
Keep an eye on these too:
It is difficult to examine the scope of Pinterest’s success yet when it comes to contests, giveaways, and scavenger hunts. That’s for another article. But tell me here; what is your take on Pinterest contests? Do you see a social media phenomenon in the making or are they just cool contests that will just be another set of bookmarks? Also mention any Pinterest contest that you have been a part of or an example of one you would like to craft on Pinterest.
It seems like forever since Amazon launched their Cloud Player, but now it is finally available on iOS devices. The Cloud Player app on iOS allows users to stream and download any music stored with Amazon to their device.
Just like Google and Apple’s Cloud based music service, you can buy songs through Amazon’s Cloud Player and upload an entire music library that was acquired elsewhere. Of course, you will need to have the space on your Amazon account to fit the music from your own library. You can purchase more space if you need it.
One feature that is conspicuously absent from the iOS version of Amazon Cloud Player is the ability to buy music. Apple takes 30% of all revenue generated through in-app purchases, so it seems Amazon would prefer that their music sales do not help line the pockets of Apple.
The player itself looks quite nice, and has all the features you would expect to see from an app trying to compete with iTunes and Google. You can listen to and create playlists, browse music by artist, album and genre and do everything else you would expect to do with a top-tier music player.
You can download the Amazon Cloud Player app from the iTunes App Store.
Source: TheNextWeb
From the sound of it all, HTC is indeed confirming that the HTC One S will be sporting a dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor in select Asian and European markets. However, as we know, the current version of the handset for the US, UK, Japan, Korea, France, and Germany are all featuring the newer dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor produced with Krait cores.
To make it less confusing for consumers as to which model is being sold, HTC is kind enough to label the S3 versions of the Android powered smartphone in the markets where it’s making the change. Therefore, if you see one labeled as a dual-core 1.7GHz, it’s a Snapdragon S3 – whereas, if it’s labeled with a dual-core 1.5GHz, you’re obviously getting the S4.
Perhaps, there might be some people in those regions that will be bummed by all of this, but nonetheless, HTC is doing its part in trying to meet the demand for devices that rely on the faster and more energy-efficient processors. Until then, those consumers in the select Asian and European markets might want to double check the box to see which model they’re getting before forking over their hard-earned cash.
source: The Verge via Engadget
This really seems more like iOS 5.3 (or 5.5 to be generous) rather than an entire 6.0 upgrade.Disappointing to be honest. Windows phone, Android and even BB10 within the past year have all gone through MAJOR UI changes, yet for iOS there have been no major UI changes recently, arguably ever.
This year seemed like the chance to shut all haters and doubters up, but apple have just added a few extra features to some of its apps,generally done bug fixes and added apps that already existed, but made them included with release rather than having to download them later. (this is referred to as bloat ware on other Os's)
Features from iOS are taken from Android, RIM and Windows phone, but all mentioned above are EQUALLY guilty.
The reason I believe people complain about apple is because of the companies mentioned above, it is the one that is litigating more than it is innovating in the past year or so.
Apple's marketing is amazing and the next iphone will still sell in boatloads. Interest in apple products may not be dwindling, but the reaction to the Lumia, the sales of the SGS3 and the high expectations of Windows 8, and arguably BBX, really does show that the the common consumer is noticing its competitors much much more.
Who cares which OS is the best, It has shifted in the past, and it will shift again in the future.
Competition benefits the consumer and that's what should matter to us isnt it?
While the purported specs of MacBook Pro have suggested that it will come with only minor improvements and won't come with Retina Display, the first Retina-ready app has just arrived in the Mac App Store.
As reported by The Next Web, Brothers Roloff - developer of FolderWatch has released an update for their app, which includes support for "Retina graphics".
It is possible that Apple has informed some developers about the upcoming upgrade so that there are enough apps available when it launches the new MacBook Pros with Retina Display at the WWDC Keynote. Interestingly, FolderWatch was also featured as an Apple Staff Favorite in June 2011.
Though Apple may still end up launching new MacBook Pros with Retina Display, we feel that the developer is just looking for some free publicity as we find it hard to believe that a developer who has early access to sensitive information (especially when it comes to Apple) would leak information so blatantly (as you can see below they even tweeted about it).
Apple just approved FolderWatch 2.0.4. The app is ready for retina displays and comes with a couple handy new features.
— Brothers Roloff (@brothersroloff) June 8, 2012
Apple is widely expected to unveil updates for nearly its entire Mac product line at the WWDC. According to rumors, the new MacBook Pros (13-inch and 15-inch) will be thinner, come with Retina Display, flash memory and Intel's latest generation Ivy Bridge processor.
Success through the App Center is tied to the quality of an app. We use a variety of signals, such as user ratings and engagement, to determine if an app is listed in the App Center.The App Center already lists more than 600 apps at launch, which span across various categories like games, music, news, sports and photos. Any app using Facebook's login framework can be listed on the App Center, provided it follows guidelines set up by Facebook.
[...]
Well-designed apps that people enjoy will be prominently displayed. Apps that receive poor user ratings or don’t meet the quality guidelines won't be listed.
ManualsLib – This is a free to use web service that includes user manuals for various user products. These products range from electronic appliances to other user products. You can either browse the manuals listed on the homepage or search for a product using keywords; the site has more than 465,000 manuals listed. Read more: ManualsLib: Get User Manuals For A Variety Of Products 
Mail Widget – Apple’s default mail client is great, but the one problem with it is that you always have to have it running in order to find out if you have any new mail. If you are running a slower Mac, this can be a real problem because the memory it is using can be very valuable. That is why MailWidget exists. Read more: Mail Widget: Display Amount Of New Mail On Your Mac Dashboard
Scripted for iPad – Have you ever wondered what a movie script looks like? Yes, they are stories and what each character is all about but how are they exactly written? Well, if you own an iPad then you don’t have to wonder. Scripted for iPad is a nice and innovative app that lets you do exactly that. Read more: Scripted for iPad: Read & Share Movie Scripts
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Baidu is already the most popular web search engine in China, having gained market share hand over fist after Google decided to abandon the Chinese mainland and move its search servers to Hong Kong. Apple most likely sees this as a way to try and increase their popularity in the Chinese mobile phone market, where they have lagged far behind the many forms of Android (both forked and official). The fact that it will not provide Google with a way to grow its market share of Chinese mobile search is in all probability just a bonus.
Despite having smaller market share in China than elsewhere, the sheer size of the Chinese user base lead to the territory growing to become Apple’s second largest market last quarter, behind only the United States; as such Apple and Google undoubtedly view China as an extremely important battle field in the ongoing war over mobile market share.
According to Bloomberg’s sources the announcement could come as soon as next week, perhaps during WWDC. As an interesting quirk of history, way back in 2010 none other than Motorola chose to replace Google with Baidu as its default search engine on its Android smartphones; presumably they reversed course at some point!
As you might expect, no one at Apple, Baidu, or Google wished to comment on the story.
source: Bloomberg
