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CES 2014: Samsung reveals Galaxy TabPro, NotePro tablets including 12.2-inch model

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 10:04

CES 2014: Samsung reveals Galaxy TabPro, NotePro tablets including 12.2-inch model Samsung took to the CES stage today to unveil their best tablets to date, the new Galaxy TabPro and NotePro, in exciting sizes including a large 12.2-inch version.

On the specs side, both of the tablets run on Android 4.4, have 2560 x 1600 pixel displays, Snapdragon 800 processors, 2 or 3GB RAM, Wi-Fi/LTE and 8MP/2MP cameras. The TabPro is available in 8.4-inch, 10.1-inch, and 12.2-inch varieties while NotePro is only available in the largest size.

Samsung has aimed to create "professional" tablets that can be used instead of a regular laptop. This is the same goal Microsoft has tried to achieve with their Surface Pro Windows tablets. For example, the NotePro (and 12 inch TabPro) include four-pane multiwindow multitasking, and all the tablets include layered pop-up windows for multitasking. You can resize the windows and even open up the same app twice. Bluetooth accessories will be offered through Samsung.

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AfterDawn: News

CES 2014: Nvidia unveils 192-core Tegra K1 'super chip'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 9:41

CES 2014: Nvidia unveils 192-core Tegra K1 'super chip' Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang took to the stage this morning to unveil the company's new "super chip," the Tegra K1 and its 192 CUDA cores.

A successor to the Tegra 4 chip, the K1 integrates a CPU, GPU and memory controller and can be used in 4K televisions, consoles, cars and the standard tablets/smartphones.

The graphical capabilities of the SoC are supposed to be incredible, with one released video (below) showing the chip easily render Unreal Engine 4. The 192 cores surpass the 72 cores of the Tegra 4, and the company says that the Kepler GPU of the K1 "has more raw computing power than the PlayStation 3."

There will be two versions of the Tegra K1 available: a 32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex A15 and a more powerful 64-bit custom dual-core ARM CPU that is built by Nvidia. The A15 model can clock in at up to 2.3GHz while the 64-bit model can top out at 2.5GHz.

32-bit models will be powering Android devices in the first half of the year and the 64-bit models will be powering devices by the Q3.

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AfterDawn: News

CES 2014: LG has major plans to revive webOS

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 9:18

CES 2014: LG has major plans to revive webOS Nearly five years after Palm unveiled the intuitive and smooth operating system on its smartphones, LG used CES to reveal its plans for webOS.

LG looks to be bringing the operating system to the big screen, and about 60 percent of the company's TV releases in 2014 will run webOS TV.

Differentiating from current Smart TV operating systems, the new flexible webOS is arranged completely horizontally, including the home screen, which is an overlay on top of whatever you are watching rather than the standard grid of apps.

As former Palm owners remembers, webOS pretty much created the cards system that Android and iOS integrate today, and the TV version still has cards of your favorite apps and the last app you had open. Another card makes recommendations based on your viewing habits. More importantly, it doesn't matter what input you are on, as the cards integrate everything. For example, if you plug in a new PlayStation 4, it shows up as a PS4 card, not a generic "HDMI 1," right next to the live TV card, YouTube, etc.

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AfterDawn: News

T-Mobile buys $2.3 billion in spectrum from Verizon

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 8:58

T-Mobile buys $2.3 billion in spectrum from Verizon T-Mobile has acquired significant spectrum today from Verizon Wireless that should help boost the company's networks.

The 700 MHz A-Block spectrum will cost the carrier $2.365 billion in cash and the "transfer of certain AWS and PCS spectrum licenses will have an aggregate estimated value of approximately $950 million."

After the deal is completed, T-Mobile will have low-band spectrum in 9 of the top 10 and 21 of the top 30 markets across the United States.

T-Mobile CEO and President John Legere was very pleased by the acquisition, calling it a "great opportunity to secure low-band spectrum in many of the top markets in America." He added: "These transactions represent our biggest move yet in a series of initiatives that are rapidly expanding our already lightning fast network and improving its performance across the country. We will continue to find ways to advance our customers' network experience just as our bold Un-carrier moves have shaken up the wireless industry to benefit consumers."




AfterDawn: News

World of Warcraft players beware, there is a trojan out to steal your account but there is a cure

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 8:49

World of Warcraft players beware, there is a trojan out to steal your account but there is a cure Blizzard has issued a warning that a new trojan is being used to compromise accounts.

Even if you are using a specialized authenticator for added security, the publisher says you are still at risk.

"We've been receiving reports regarding a dangerous Trojan that is being used to compromise player's accounts even if they are using an authenticator for protection. The Trojan acts in real time to do this by stealing both your account information and the authenticator password at the time you enter them," reads Blizzard's post.

It seems that the trojan comes via a fake add-on management application.

If you have been infected, the publisher has posted instructions on how to remove the trojan. You can view that here: WoW Forums




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft sold 3 million Xbox One units last year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jan 2014 8:19

Microsoft sold 3 million Xbox One units last year Microsoft has announced that the company sold 3 million Xbox One consoles in 2013.

The system launched at the end of November and quickly reached 2 million units sold by December 11th. The pace did not slow down too greatly as it took just over two more weeks to reach the 3 million milestone.

Says Microsoft: "Over 3 million Xbox One consoles were sold to consumers in 13 countries before the end of 2013. It's been incredible to see Xbox One selling at a record-setting pace for Xbox, and we were honored to see Xbox One become the fastest-selling console in the U.S. during our launch month in November. Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible."

Sony announced that its PlayStation 4 had reached 2 million sales in 16 days from mid-November launch but has not disclosed figures since.




AfterDawn: News

Giant crop circle actually a Nvidia CES stunt?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 6:34

Giant crop circle actually a Nvidia CES stunt? A massive crop circle shaped like a computer chip appears to have been a Nvidia stunt for the upcoming CES event.

The crop circle, in a field outside of San Francisco in the town of Chualar, is shaped like a Nvidia Tegra 4 chip and if true, was likely a publicity stunt in an effort to boost interest in the upcoming Tegra 5 system-on-a-chip.

Tegra 5 chips combine a CPU, GPU, and memory controller and should be much more energy efficient than its predecessor.

Scott Anthony, the owner of the field in which the crop circle was pressed, returned home from a trip and quickly hired a crew to plow the circle.

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AfterDawn: News

Square, Griffin show off integrated case reader for merchants

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 6:11

Square, Griffin show off integrated case reader for merchants Square and accessory maker Griffin have unveiled a new case for iPhone owners that integrates Square's mobile card reader.

The "Merchant" case is a standard protective case that comes with a Square reader that can be tucked away in the case and has space on the bottom to perfectly fit a Square Reader.

Griffin and Square have reasonably priced the case at just $19.99, although shipping is backordered by two weeks.

Additionally, Square has announced "Works with Square," a new program that allows devs and third-party companies to build accessories for Square businesses. Griffin is the first to be part of the initiative.

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AfterDawn: News

Hundreds of thousands of Yahoo.com users hit with malware

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 5:58

Hundreds of thousands of Yahoo.com users hit with malware Yahoo has confirmed that their advertising servers had been hijacked allowing malware to be distributed to hundreds of thousands of users.

Two security firms first brought the situation to light, including Fox IT, who wrote: "Clients visiting yahoo.com received advertisements served by ads.yahoo.com. Some of the advertisements are malicious." The regular ads were replaced with an "exploit kit" that "exploits vulnerabilities in Java and installs a host of different malware."

The malware appears to have started on December 30th, and lasted a few days. Yahoo says, "At Yahoo, we take the safety and privacy of our users seriously. We recently identified an ad designed to spread malware to some of our users. We immediately removed it and will continue to monitor and block any ads being used for this activity."

While they were active, "malicious payloads were being delivered to around 300,000 users per hour," said Fox IT, who estimates 27,000 users per hour were clicking on them and becoming infected.




AfterDawn: News

HTC has yet another awful quarter

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 5:46

HTC has yet another awful quarter HTC, once the poster child for smartphone growth, has had yet another awful quarter.

For the fourth-quarter, net income was NT$310 million ($10 million), well below the analyst expectations of NT$694 million. The income even included the company's very profitable sale of its stake in Beats Electronics. The company had an operating loss of NT$1.56 billion ($50 million).

Despite the launch of the One Max phablet and adding Robert Downey Jr. as a promoter of the brand, sales continued their nine-quarter-strong slide.

The Beats sale netted the company a large $85 million pre-tax profit, but it appears falling revenue and operating costs erased most of that gain.

Revenue fell to NT$42.9 billion and the company has posted its first full-year annual loss, ever.




AfterDawn: News

Apple buys camera app developer SnappyLabs

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 5:18

Apple buys camera app developer SnappyLabs Apple has acquired iOS camera app developer SnappyLabs, run by John Papandriopoulos, an electrical engineering PhD from the University Of Melbourne.

The dev wrote the app SnappyCam, which is popular with iOS users due to its ability to take full-res photos at up to 30fps, much faster than the native iPhone/iPad app and the ability to take an infinite amount of photos while holding down the shutter, just like an SLR.

Apple did not comment on their upcoming plans for the app and its founder: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

The app and its burst-mode technology sold for just $1, and topped the paid app chart on-and-off in multiple countries.

It is likely a version of the technology will be integrated into future updates for the iOS app.




AfterDawn: News

AT&T giving T-Mobile users up to $450 to switch carriers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 5:01

AT&T giving T-Mobile users up to $450 to switch carriers T-Mobile, which has not-so-quietly been taking back subscribers from rival carriers, seems to have struck a nerve with the U.S' second-largest carrier, AT&T, which is now offering up to $450 to users that switch over.

AT&T has offered up to $250 for smartphone trade-ins along with $200 credit per phone line.

T-Mobile started a revolution last year when it eliminated contracts, instead making subscribers purchase their own phones (or finance them) in exchange for much cheaper monthly rates. The company then introduced "Jump," a program that allows customers to upgrade their phones twice per year at a cost of $10 per month. Finally, the company killed off international roaming data fees and dropped the price on minutes and texting when roaming.

The U.S.' third-largest carrier, Sprint (Softbank), appears to be readying a bid for T-Mobile, and such a merger would create a company large enough to properly compete with Verizon and AT&T, which have created a duopoly in the nation.




AfterDawn: News

New Samsung-built Nexus 10 to be revealed at CES?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 11:37

New Samsung-built Nexus 10 to be revealed at CES? According to the least accurate "reporters" in the world, Digitimes, Samsung is slated to unveil the second-generation of the Nexus 10 tablet at next week's CES event.

Over the past few weeks it has been rumored that Samsung may not be back for the new device, but rather Asus or LG could be the manufacturer. LG was removed from the list after they made their popular LG G Pad 8.3 into a Google Play Edition. Asus is the maker of the very popular Nexus 7 tablets.

Outside of the new tablet, the publication says Samsung will also show off Exynos 6 eight-core processors with 64-bit support, which is not a stretch since Samsung has already teased Exynos-related announcements.

Google nor Samsung has confirmed a new Nexus 10 is coming.

Rumored specs for the device include a 10.1-inch AMOLED screen with 2560x1600 resolution, 2GB RAM and a Snapdragon 800 under the hood.




AfterDawn: News

Simpsons, Family Guy pirate must pay Fox $10.5 million

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 11:24

Simpsons, Family Guy pirate must pay Fox $10.5 million A Canadian man who was accused of running streaming websites allowing users to watch "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" illegally online, has been fined $10.5 million in statutory and punitive damages.

The websites, "Watch The Simpsons Online (WTOS)" and "Watch Family Guy Online," launched in 2008 and lets visitors stream the shows via embedded media players using external video sources including Megavideo and other. The sites did not host the infringing content but made it easier to access.

Altogether, the sites saw about 87 million visitors and had drawn the ire of Fox, the MPAA, WIPO and more. In October 2013, Fox filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Canada, and the site's admin had his house raided later that month. The site admin could not afford to try the case against Fox and the case was resolved in his absence.

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AfterDawn: News

Zynga testing out Bitcoin payments for popular games like Cityville

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jan 2014 11:10

Zynga testing out Bitcoin payments for popular games like Cityville Casual gaming company Zynga has begun accepting Bitcoin as a payment option for a few of its most popular games, becoming the first gaming company to do so.

Zynga has partnered with BitPay as a payment processor for the web versions of FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille.

"We wanted to share with the r/bitcoin community that Zynga Inc. is now conducting a Bitcoin test with BitPay (https://bitpay.com/), a leading Bitcoin service provider, in select Zynga.com web games," Zynga wrote in a statement.

"In response to Bitcoin's rise in popularity around the world, Zynga, with help from BitPay, is testing expanded payment options for players to make in-game purchases using Bitcoin. The Bitcoin test is only available to Zynga.com players playing FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille. The games can be accessed at Zynga.com.

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