I have just seen Samsung's latest advert for their T3 award-winning 'Phone of the year', the Samsung Galaxy S2. It undermines Apple's 'creative' users rather brilliantly, being both subtle and funny. Of course the advert does not directly mention Apple or either the iPhone 4S, however it is quite obvious what Samsung are getting at with the suggestion of battery problems, and the quote "if it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?".
The advert suggests that the generic iPhone groupies, are blinded by the fact the 'magnificent' phone they see someone holding, is a Samsung. Of course up until the Apple fanatics are aware it is a Samsung, they are blown away by the Galaxy S2. Check out the advert for yourself! Especially if your an Android fan...
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Siri on your Android?! HACKED!
A french mobile software company called 'Applidium' recently managed to hack Apples 'Siri' service, that comes on their latest piece of kit, the iPhone 4S. The developers at Applidium managed to figure out that a vast amount of the work involved with Siri, is done on Apple's remote servers. Hence why Siri doesn't work if you are out of 3G service or not connected to WiFi.
They then figured out by using a reverse-engineering protocol how Siri communicates with Apple's servers, and that if you have the correct 'code' to speak to these servers, you can then use Siri from absolutely any device. The only thing you need to be able to use Siri on any tablet/smartphone then is a unique iPhone 4S key, which you will have to figure out how to get on your own! You can check out Applidium's Siri crack tool on their website.
This news could come as a major blow to Apple, seeing as the introduction of Siri to the iPhone 4S, is one of the main features used to differentiate it from the iPhone 4. Who knows maybe we will see Siri working on Samsung Galaxy sII's , Motorola Razr's and Amazon Kindle Fire's in the next few weeks!!!!
They then figured out by using a reverse-engineering protocol how Siri communicates with Apple's servers, and that if you have the correct 'code' to speak to these servers, you can then use Siri from absolutely any device. The only thing you need to be able to use Siri on any tablet/smartphone then is a unique iPhone 4S key, which you will have to figure out how to get on your own! You can check out Applidium's Siri crack tool on their website.
This news could come as a major blow to Apple, seeing as the introduction of Siri to the iPhone 4S, is one of the main features used to differentiate it from the iPhone 4. Who knows maybe we will see Siri working on Samsung Galaxy sII's , Motorola Razr's and Amazon Kindle Fire's in the next few weeks!!!!
Sunday, 13 November 2011
First Android Docking Speakers?!
Philips have just released a 'Fidelio' range of docking speakers for your android smartphone. This comes quite literally as music to the ears of many Android fanatics, who have been left without a way of docking their smartphones in order to play music aloud while charging. I am almost surprised it has taken anyone so long to get this idea out on the market! It seems like a huge gap in the market, especially seeing as Android are out-selling Apple at a 2 to 1 ratio in the UK!
Philips AS851 - This will be the more powerful of the Fidelio range, rocking 30 Watt speakers, a microUSB port for docking, a remote control, five band equaliser and Digital Sound Processing for 'crystal-clear' music. Includes Songbird for easy syncing of music between your mobile and PC. RRP is £199 and is available to buy now on Philips website.
Philips AS851 - This will be the more powerful of the Fidelio range, rocking 30 Watt speakers, a microUSB port for docking, a remote control, five band equaliser and Digital Sound Processing for 'crystal-clear' music. Includes Songbird for easy syncing of music between your mobile and PC. RRP is £199 and is available to buy now on Philips website.
Philips AS351 - This is the middle of the range speaker dock in the Fidelio series. It's aimed at being more portable for use at home and also on-the-go, therefore it can be powered by AC or battery. It features 10 Watts of power, a FlexiDock and even the capability of charging a second device via USB at the same time. Also includes Songbird and is retailing at £129 on the Philips store.
Philips AS111 - This is entering as the low-end speaker of the bunch, not to say it doesn't still include some top features. The digital clock display automatically syncs its time with your android phone, while it also includes a soft glow night light, Songbird, a FlexiDock and like the AS351 it incorporates 10 Watts of power. This will cost you £70 from the Philips store today.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Emulation on the Samsung Galaxy S2 - N64, PSX, GameBoy Colour, SNES
I just uploaded a video to my YouTube channel showing game-play on multiple emulators running on the Samsung Galaxy S2. All of the emulators shown run incredibly well with completely competent fps rates. I thought I would also write about each one to mention particularly good/bad points! You can check what I have to say about each one after the video...
N64oid - In the video below you can see me running 'The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time', a timeless classic that completely performs on the Galaxy S2. The one thing I would mention with this emulator, is that obviously due to the N64 controllers being rather complex with buttons in all kinds of places!, it isn't the easiest to use. However once you have used it for long enough you will find it usable and will be playing tunes on the ocarina in no time!
Super GNES - Runs all SNES games very well, with the added bonus of the SNES roms being small files so quick to download. The interface is nice to use either portrait or landscape, with simple buttons and a D-Pad.
FPse - This playstation emulator is the most powerful of the four emulators shown in my video. Seems crazy to think you can now play games on your smartphone that were made for a platform that sold 100 million units in 9 years! Really good for all time classics such as Crash Bandicoot , Spyro, Tomb Raider and much more, with easy to use and very customisable controls.
GBC A.D. - GameBoy Colour emulator that makes your smartphone look exactly like a GameBoy! Really good for use on touch-screen smartphones considering the simplicity of the interface. Brilliant for platform games such as Pokemon, Super Mario, Wario Land etc.http://digitalspotter.blogspot.com/2011/10/wow-samsung-galaxy-s2-overclocked-to.html
N64oid - In the video below you can see me running 'The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time', a timeless classic that completely performs on the Galaxy S2. The one thing I would mention with this emulator, is that obviously due to the N64 controllers being rather complex with buttons in all kinds of places!, it isn't the easiest to use. However once you have used it for long enough you will find it usable and will be playing tunes on the ocarina in no time!
Super GNES - Runs all SNES games very well, with the added bonus of the SNES roms being small files so quick to download. The interface is nice to use either portrait or landscape, with simple buttons and a D-Pad.
FPse - This playstation emulator is the most powerful of the four emulators shown in my video. Seems crazy to think you can now play games on your smartphone that were made for a platform that sold 100 million units in 9 years! Really good for all time classics such as Crash Bandicoot , Spyro, Tomb Raider and much more, with easy to use and very customisable controls.
GBC A.D. - GameBoy Colour emulator that makes your smartphone look exactly like a GameBoy! Really good for use on touch-screen smartphones considering the simplicity of the interface. Brilliant for platform games such as Pokemon, Super Mario, Wario Land etc.http://digitalspotter.blogspot.com/2011/10/wow-samsung-galaxy-s2-overclocked-to.html
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
World's first Quad-Core Smartphone? ....Enter the HTC Edge
Recently leaked images, specs and rumours have appeared online over the past few days surrounding the HTC Edge. Potentially the first ever Quad-core smartphone, it will be running a 1.5GHz NVidia Tegra 3 processor, the same one used in the recently announced Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet PC.
Rumours indicate the phone will be the next step onwards from the recently announced 4G HTC Rezound. This means we can expecet a whole host of top smartphone features, including a large 4.7" 720p HD display (simliar to the HTC Titan), 1GB of Ram, 32GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera with backlight and f/2.2 lens, and expected Bluetooth 4.0.
It is not clear what operating system the Edge will be running out-of-the-box, but with the Galaxy Nexus set to kick off Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' on the 17th of November, it would be surprising if it didn't get Android's latest software version. With HTC's recent collaboration with Beats Electronics, it is also incredibly likely that the Edge will launch with Beats Audio.
Rumours indicate the phone will be the next step onwards from the recently announced 4G HTC Rezound. This means we can expecet a whole host of top smartphone features, including a large 4.7" 720p HD display (simliar to the HTC Titan), 1GB of Ram, 32GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera with backlight and f/2.2 lens, and expected Bluetooth 4.0.
It is not clear what operating system the Edge will be running out-of-the-box, but with the Galaxy Nexus set to kick off Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' on the 17th of November, it would be surprising if it didn't get Android's latest software version. With HTC's recent collaboration with Beats Electronics, it is also incredibly likely that the Edge will launch with Beats Audio.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Another Siri 'Blackout'
Yesterday saw frustrated iPhone 4S users due to Siri being '...unable to do that.' Users were left in the dark as Siri was incapable of processing any commands, despite people having full service on 3G or being connected to a WiFi network. The supposed 'network outage' lasted for approximately 5 hours, with problems first being reported at around 11am PDT and the service not coming back online until about 4PM. However not everybodys Siri 'servant' are back to their usual selves, with some users still reporting problems.
Apple were quick to suggest that there could be a 'network outage', but refused to imply there may be a problem with the service. Customers reported that when calling for tech support, Apple were suggesting there servers were overloaded, despite the fact no other Apple devices seemed to incur any problems.
I have mentioned before my personal opinion on how far is too far in terms of 'technical assistants' ? For example people who were relying on Siri yesterday, would clearly have had problems. Apple are not showing any sings of an official statement on the matter as far as we know.
The whole matter almost reminds you of a certain iPhone 4 antenna situation huh?
Apple were quick to suggest that there could be a 'network outage', but refused to imply there may be a problem with the service. Customers reported that when calling for tech support, Apple were suggesting there servers were overloaded, despite the fact no other Apple devices seemed to incur any problems.
I have mentioned before my personal opinion on how far is too far in terms of 'technical assistants' ? For example people who were relying on Siri yesterday, would clearly have had problems. Apple are not showing any sings of an official statement on the matter as far as we know.
The whole matter almost reminds you of a certain iPhone 4 antenna situation huh?
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Preview : Motorola Xoom 2 - 10.1" and 8.2"
Today saw the official announcement by Motorola of the successor to the original, and highly popular Xoom tablet PC, the Motorola Xoom 2. This time there will be a choice of sizes, either a 10.1 inch, which is the same size as the original, or a smaller 8.1 inch version (named the 'Media Edition), perhaps more suited for use on-the-go.
So what's been changed ?
Well to start, Motorola have made their successful 10.1" tablet 10 percent lighter, which weighing in at 599g is just a little lighter than the iPad 2. This weight reduction has had the result of making the tablet a whole 33% lighter! No surprise that Motorola took this decision as there was many a review suggesting the original Xoom was rather weighted. Both screens have an improved High-Definition display, which will make viewing media only more enjoyable. The processor is now a 1.2GHz dual-core, a 0.2Ghz improvement on the original. The cameras included are a 5MP rear-facing, and a 1.2MP front facing. This is interesting seeing as the original version had a 2MP front-facing camera, not really sure what has gone on there! Motorola have also shaved the corners of the Xoom 2 off, in an attempt to make it easier to hold.
A microUSB port is included in the new Xoom, this time accompanied by a microHDMI port which will be useful for input/output with various devices. You can also buy a stylus for the Xoom 2 which can be used to navigate the tablet, while also use it for various drawing applications much like the HTC flyer. It also appears infra-red is back in fashion, with the potential of controlling TV's etc with your device.
Both versions will come in 16GB with no 3G option that we know about as of yet. This is a slight disappointment seeing as there was a 32GB and a 3G option on the original Xoom. The tablet will launch with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, a shame that it won't be running 'Ice Cream Sandwich' out of the box, however Motorola have promised there will be an update made available eventually.
You can already register for the Motorola Xoom 2 on Motorola's website.
Pictures taken from http://www.theinquirer.net and www.CNet.co.uk
So what's been changed ?
Well to start, Motorola have made their successful 10.1" tablet 10 percent lighter, which weighing in at 599g is just a little lighter than the iPad 2. This weight reduction has had the result of making the tablet a whole 33% lighter! No surprise that Motorola took this decision as there was many a review suggesting the original Xoom was rather weighted. Both screens have an improved High-Definition display, which will make viewing media only more enjoyable. The processor is now a 1.2GHz dual-core, a 0.2Ghz improvement on the original. The cameras included are a 5MP rear-facing, and a 1.2MP front facing. This is interesting seeing as the original version had a 2MP front-facing camera, not really sure what has gone on there! Motorola have also shaved the corners of the Xoom 2 off, in an attempt to make it easier to hold.
A microUSB port is included in the new Xoom, this time accompanied by a microHDMI port which will be useful for input/output with various devices. You can also buy a stylus for the Xoom 2 which can be used to navigate the tablet, while also use it for various drawing applications much like the HTC flyer. It also appears infra-red is back in fashion, with the potential of controlling TV's etc with your device.
Both versions will come in 16GB with no 3G option that we know about as of yet. This is a slight disappointment seeing as there was a 32GB and a 3G option on the original Xoom. The tablet will launch with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, a shame that it won't be running 'Ice Cream Sandwich' out of the box, however Motorola have promised there will be an update made available eventually.
You can already register for the Motorola Xoom 2 on Motorola's website.
Pictures taken from http://www.theinquirer.net and www.CNet.co.uk
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
GTA V teaser trailer is here!!
Today saw the release of the teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5 by Rockstar Games. Rockstar's website has had the image below blown-up full screen on the homepage for the past few weeks, obviously to create a bit of hype surrounding the popular sand-box (freeroam) game.
The trailer depicts the typical cool cut, GTA gangster style, and will definitely excite fans from all over the globe. Once again you can see from the trailer, Rockstars attempt to make the game seem even more realistic by including social norms such as family, the rich and the poor, and the obvious - the good and the bad!
The setting in this edition looks to be a fictional Los Angeles, with a clear reference to 'Vinewood' suggesting the game is going back to San Andreas! The theme proposed in the trailer suggests a criminal living a thug life, but looking to get away from it in order to retire. Take a look at the trailer below and see for yourself...
The trailer depicts the typical cool cut, GTA gangster style, and will definitely excite fans from all over the globe. Once again you can see from the trailer, Rockstars attempt to make the game seem even more realistic by including social norms such as family, the rich and the poor, and the obvious - the good and the bad!
The setting in this edition looks to be a fictional Los Angeles, with a clear reference to 'Vinewood' suggesting the game is going back to San Andreas! The theme proposed in the trailer suggests a criminal living a thug life, but looking to get away from it in order to retire. Take a look at the trailer below and see for yourself...
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