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AfterDawn: News

Samsung confirms Galaxy Gear smartwatch for September 4th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Aug 2013 8:48

Samsung confirms Galaxy Gear smartwatch for September 4th Although it was widely rumored to be launching the device next week, Samsung has officially confirmed its smartwatch, dubbed the Galaxy Gear, will be unveiled at the company's upcoming September 4th press event.

Lee Young-hee, executive vice president of Samsung Mobile, says the device will run on Android with Samsung's own user interface on top, and it will not feature a flexible display like many hoped. Lee did note that the Gear is a "wearable concept device," which means the device we see on the 4th may not necessarily go to mass production.

To add to her first quote, the exec also says she is "confident that the Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry," suggesting the company is just looking at what kind of market is available for such products.

Additionally, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note III at the event, with the device expected to have high-end specs and a release date before November.




AfterDawn: News

NTT DoCoMo to get iPhone this year?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 11:13

NTT DoCoMo to get iPhone this year? NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest carrier, may be getting the iPhone this year.

The company's Chief Financial Officer Kazuto Tsubouchi says there are many "compelling" reasons for DoCoMo and Apple to come to an agreement.

That being said, during his interview the exec did admit that the two companies may not come to terms, even though smaller Japanese carriers have been offering the handset for some time.

Following the interview, DoCoMo stock jumped 2 percent while rivals KDDI and SoftBank fell 2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

The exec did say they could "alter their stance on the iPhone if it can limit the smartphone's share of sales to less than 30 percent of the company's total.




AfterDawn: News

Judge approves Facebook settlement over targeted ads

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 10:57

Judge approves Facebook settlement over targeted ads A federal judge gave final approval to Facebook's $20 million settlement of a lawsuit that the social networking giant shared user's "likes" with friends without allowing them to opt out.

The class action lawsuit was filed in 2011 by plaintiffs claiming that Facebook's "Sponsored Stories" shared their "likes" of advertisers with their friends without paying them, or letting them opt out of the program.

Sponsored stories are targeted ads that show up on your page and include your friend's name, profile picture and the claim that they like the product or advertisement.

Facebook will pay $20 million to class members and promises to give users better control of how their likes and other content are shared.




AfterDawn: News

Apple to begin iPhone trade-in program in September

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 10:33

Apple to begin iPhone trade-in program in September As first reported in June, Apple's iPhone trade-in program is almost ready and could be available as soon as next month.

The service will be available in all Apple retail stores and allow iPhone owners to trade in their older versions of the smartphone to get a discounted iPhone 5, and likely the upcoming iPhone 5S, as well.

Apple would be offering a service that major retailers and carriers have been doing for months now. Verizon, AT&T, Best Buy and others each offer their own versions of the trade-in program.

Supposedly, the electronics giant has joined up with Brightstar Corp., a major mobile-phone distributor, to create the program.




AfterDawn: News

As promised, new Xbox 360 update kills off Microsoft Points

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 9:11

As promised, new Xbox 360 update kills off Microsoft Points Microsoft has begun rolling out the Xbox 360 dashboard update today, effectively killing off the much-maligned Microsoft Points digital currency.

The system update, which has been in public beta for the last month, has now converted the digital currency system into the gamer's local currencies.

Microsoft points had been maligned due to the fact that you could only buy certain bundles of points and you almost undoubtedly had leftovers after transactions that were unusable.

Across Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox games and services, the digital currency is gone, replaced by your local currency.

The software giant also notes they will begin selling gift cards in stores later this year.




AfterDawn: News

Samsung ATIV Q hybrid delayed over patent issues?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 8:47

Samsung ATIV Q hybrid delayed over patent issues? Two months after launching the device, it appears Samsung's ATIV Q may never see the light of day.

The device, which is a tablet/notebook hybrid that can run Windows 8 and Android, appears to be having some patent issues.

Sources claim that Samsung has embarrassingly run into unexpected patent disputes that may force them to cancel the hybrid, and they are trying to keep it quiet.

The device was certainly interesting, not only for its dual-OS options, but because it packed a 3200 x 1800 resolution into 13.3-inches.

It is unclear who owns the patent, but it is tied to the dual-OS feature that makes the device unique.




AfterDawn: News

More images leak of Sony Xperia Z1 'Honami'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 8:21

More images leak of Sony Xperia Z1 'Honami' More pictures have leaked of the Sony Xperia Z1 'Honami,' which Sony will officially unveil on September 4th.

The press image shows off the flagship phone in three colors; white, black and the formerly leaked purple colorway.

Making the Z1 different than its older cousin, the Xperia Z, is the smooth metal frame protecting the device. It is unclear whether the metal frame also doubles as an antenna, similar to the iPhone.

The Xperia Honami is said to have a 1080p 5-inch Triluminos display, a quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB RAM. What makes the phone standout is a 20.7 megapixel camera with a Sony G-lens and BIONZ image processor. LTE, BT 4.0, NFC and Wi-Fi are standard, and the device has a microSD slot.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Sony PS4 wins best hardware category at Gamescom

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 8:06

Sony PS4 wins best hardware category at Gamescom Gamescom has announced all of its show winners, following the conclusion of the four-day computer and video games trade fair.

Sony took the best hardware category, but Xbox One exclusive 'Titanfall' took the best next-gen game category.

Bungie's upcoming epic 'Destiny' took the most awards, including best console game for Sony and best online multiplayer.

The full list:


Best Console Game Sony:
Destiny

Best Console Game Nintendo:
Mario Kart 8

Best Console Game Microsoft Xbox:
Titanfall

Best Next Generation Console Game:
Titanfall

Best Action Game:
Destiny

Best Role Playing Game:
The Elder Scrolls Online

Best Racing Game:
Forza Motorsport 5

Best Sports Game:
FIFA 14

Best Simulation Game:
WarThunder

Best Family Game:
Mario Kart 8

Best Hardware including Peripheral:
PlayStation 4

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

The Nokia Sirius is a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Aug 2013 7:43

The Nokia Sirius is a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet According to sources, Nokia will launch their oft-rumored Windows RT tablet, codenamed "Sirius," in the very near future.

While some prototypes have leaked recently, the source says the final device will look very much like a Lumia Windows Phone.

Although it is the same screen size as the iPad, the tablet will be thinner and lighter than the market leader. The device will be available in multiple colorful models, and will use a 1080p (1920x1080) resolution display. Under the hood is a powerful Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM.

The tablet will have two cameras, 6MP and 2MP, LTE connectivity, microHDMI, microUSB and microSD ports. Nokia is said to be aiming for 10 hours of battery life even when on LTE.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Finnish court: It is alright to censor a website that criticizes censorship

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 26 Aug 2013 3:26

Finnish court: It is alright to censor a website that criticizes censorship The Supreme Administrative Court in Finland ruled today that Finnish police didn't break the law when a famous anti-censorship website was added to its censorship list.

Back in 2006 Finland implemented a censorship legislation that targeted websites distributing child pornography. Legislation handed the National Bureau of Investigation rights to add child porn sites to its secret block list which national ISPs would then implement and enforce.

As the process of blocking the sites is done in secret and the list of blocked sites has never been officially made public, an individual, Matti Nikki, decided to create a site called lapsiporno.info (translates as child porn dot info) criticizing the secretive process and the fact that there's no way to make an official complaint about one's site being listed on such block list. He also hosted on his site a list of sites known to be on the list, but didn't contain any child porn material whatsoever.

After his website gained popularity, especially in Finnish tech media, his site, too, was added to the NBI's block list.

Nikki sued the NBI for adding his site to the list. First, the Administrative Court of Helsinki ruled that inclusion of his site was illegal on the grounds that the block list was meant to block only sites hosted outside Finland (whereas Nikki's site was hosted and maintained in Finland). The case proceeded to the highest administrative court in Finland, the Supreme Administrative Court, which today ruled that adding Nikki's site to the censorship list was legal.

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AfterDawn: News

Marvell denied request for mistrial in patent infringement case with Carnegie Mellon

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2013 10:22

Marvell denied request for mistrial in patent infringement case with Carnegie Mellon A federal judge has denied Marvell Technology's request for a mistrial in patent infringement case with Carnegie Mellon University.

Carnegie was recently awarded $1.17 billion by a jury over patents related to "how accurately hard disk- drive circuits read data from high-speed magnetic disks." Mellon first sued Marvell in March 2009 over the patents issued in 2002.

The University said at least nine different Marvell circuit devices used the patents and Marvell sold billions of chips using the technology without permission.

Marvell has been asking a judge for a mistrial, claiming that Carnegie Mellon's lawyer made "improper, misleading and prejudicial comments" during the closing arguments.

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer did not agree, stating "Marvell, in throwing old and new grievances at the court under the guise of prejudice, is trying to do what it could not do at trial: convince the court to throw out this case and hope that a second time around will be more successful."




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft, Motorola square off again over patent infringement

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2013 9:55

Microsoft, Motorola square off again over patent infringement Microsoft and Motorola Mobility (Google) will square off for the second of two trials over patent infringement related to smartphones and other tech.

The jury trial will begin on Monday and will resolve "whether Motorola breached its contract with Microsoft to license on reasonable terms its so-called standard essential patents, covering wireless and video technology used in the Xbox game console."

Last November the two tech giants began the first trial, which decided on the fee that Microsoft would pay for Motorola's patented technology. After five months, U.S. District Judge James Robart ruled in favor of Microsoft, suggesting the rate should be in the ballpark of $1.8 million per year, well below Motorola's demand for $4 billion.

Microsoft, in its filing, says it offered to pay Motorola $6.8 million in royalties but they rejected it.

In the upcoming case, Microsoft will argue that Motorola's initial demands were unreasonable and therefore a breach of the agreement that the fee be "reasonable and non-discriminatory."




AfterDawn: News

New iWatch mocks reinvent what a smartwatch looks like

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2013 2:27

New iWatch mocks reinvent what a smartwatch looks like Although the company has still not confirmed the iWatch, designer Federico Ciccarese has created some realistic mocks of the smartwatch.

Ciccarese has created many Apple product concepts in the past, and his latest has brought together all kinds of existing rumors for the device including a slap-on wristband and flexible display along with iOS 7.

Apple is said to have assembled a "dream team" to build the watch, which is not expected until next year. (See video)

Rival Samsung will unveil their Galaxy Gear smartwatch next week at a press event on September 4th, but the device will not have a flexible display, at least not in its first generation.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Intel to allow for overclocking of SSDs

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2013 1:34

Intel to allow for overclocking of SSDs Intel has confirmed that it will demo how to overclock your solid-state drives (SSDs) at next month's Intel Developer Forum.

At the event, the company will show off how to overclock high-end Intel Core gaming processors such as the Core i7-4000-series "Ivy Bridge-E" as well as revealing for the first time how to overclock their Intel SSDs.

A few examples of what can be done to SSDs include increasing the clock-rate of SSD controllers and the data rates of NAND flash memory.

Xbit notes that "modern SSDs are so fast that the bottleneck is not their read, write speeds or IOPS performance, but the Serial ATA-6Gb/s interface itself. Boosting the interface will most likely result in considerably lower reliability."

That being said, overclocking SSDs likely will not make sense until next year's SSD chips come with SATA Express interfaces.




AfterDawn: News

Sony confirms some GTA V files were leaked

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2013 1:02

Sony confirms some GTA V files were leaked Sony has acknowledged and subsequently apologized for leaking some Grand Theft Auto 5 files.

The files spoiled many of the game's main themes, minor details and its soundtrack.

A digital file for the game was accidentally made available through the European PlayStation Store for gamers who had pre-ordered the game.

Reads Sony's apology:

Regrettably, some people who downloaded the digital pre-order of Grand Theft Auto V through the PlayStation Store in Europe were able to access certain GTA V assets. These assets were posted online. We have since removed the digital pre-order file from the PlayStation Store in Europe. We sincerely apologize to Rockstar and GTA fans across the world who were exposed to the spoiler content. GTA V is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year with a very passionate following, and we're looking forward to a historic launch on September 17.





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