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Thursday 9 May 2013

Apple seeks Android source code from Google: Report


 In its patent war with Samsung, US technology titan Apple seems to have finally taken the fight to Google. The company founded by late visionary Steve Jobs has asked a US court to direct the world's biggest internet search company to handover the source code of its Android operating system.

According to a news report in Bloomberg Businessweek, Apple told the US court that Google is "improperly withholding" data that it requested in the pre-trial information sharing stage. Apple has sought this information in the second-patent infringement case it has filed at the San Jose court. As per the court filing, the iPhone maker has argued that Android is used in all of Samsung's allegedly infringing products and "provides much of the accused functionality."

The latest development in the war between Apple and Samsung comes in the lawsuit that includes patent violation charges on phones like iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III.

However, a lawyer for Google (but who also represents Samsung in the case) told the court that the Tim Cook-led company made this "strategic decision to keep Google off the complaint." He said that the internet search giant does not have the same legal rights as the Apple and Samsung in this case "with respect to reciprocal discovery," the report states.

Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a patent battles across various parts of the world. One of the biggest judgements in the matter came last year, when a US jury concluded that Samsung has violated Apple patents and awarded the latter $1.05 billion. However, this sum was slashed later to $450.5 million by the court and a new date to determine final damages in the case was set.

Friday 3 May 2013

Now, charge your mobile phone with water

Researchers in Sweden have developed a new technique where you can charge your devices anywhere without electricity, provided there is a water source nearby. Just add a spoonful and get instant power, anytime anywhere.

Handy for anyone who spends time away from electricity, the small, lightweight PowerTrekk could power critical devices for warfighters and aid workers deployed to remote areas of the world, Fox News reported.

Developed by a team in Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and made by MyFC, it's the world's first water-activated charging device that powers using fresh or salt water, the developers claimed. It can extend battery life up to 3 watts.

So if you take an iPhone, the charge would be enough for between 25 and 100 per cent of its battery capacity. Any convenient water can be harvested for power, from a kitchen faucet through to a puddle in the jungle.

Solar charging can be affected by the weather and the position of the sun, of course, and not hugely helpful if your urgent power shortage hits at night. Water charging isn't hindered by these external factors. Even in a desert, a spoonful of water from your thermos can give you power.

The new device leverages the team's more than 15 years of research on micro fuel cell technology and small flat Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells at the Department of Applied Electrochemistry at KTH.

To use the PowerTrekk charger, you fill-up water compartment with about one tablespoon, close the lid and connect it to the electronic device with a USB cable. It starts charging automatically as the water inside interacts with a small disposable metal disc causing hydrogen gas to be released.

When the gas combines with oxygen it converts chemical energy into electrical energy. While in many ways fuel cells are similar to batteries, they are different in that electrodes do not become consumed making them finite.

Instead provided water and air is provided to the electrodes, these fuel cells will run. Very green power, water vapor is the only by-product.

Currently, Powertrekk works with devices like cell and smartphones, digital cameras, iPods and GPS. The company is looking into developing their fuel cells to function for larger devices like laptops.

Apple rolls out iOS 6.1.4 update for iPhone 5





Apple rolls out iOS 6.1.4 update for iPhone 5
Oh dear, no one in rumor-land got the sniff of this one. Landing as a surprise, Apple has rolled out the iOS 6.1.4 update, which tweaks the audio profiles and enhances audio from the handsfree speaker on the device. This update is specifically for the iPhone 5. The change log released by Apple simply states “Updated audio profile for speakerphone”, and the update itself is around 11.5MB in size. While the update size isn’t too big, we would still advice updating this over Wi-Fi. If the update isn’t showing up on your device just yet, have patience, because the updates are always sent out in batches.
However, once the update rolled out, the people of the rumor world do suggest that this update will bring in minor security updates directed at a particular phone model. However, Apple has not said anything regarding any security or performance tweaks with this update, so we would assume this is more of a case of the rumor people smarting at the moment.
This could be one of the last updates that iOS 6 may get, considering the iOS 7 is being tipped for a preview at WWDC this summer, and a release well before the end of the calendar year. Sir Jonny Ive has been in charge of the development of iOS 7 and it is believed that radical UI changes in terms of visual appearance are in the works, with the focus on simplicity getting prime importance. A recent report suggested that while the development is running behind schedule, Apple’s bosses are giving Sir Ive all the time he needs to polish the OS. One of the things being suggested is the ‘flat’ design and the doing away with the skeuomorphic interface.

Angry Birds Friends starts rolling out to iOS and Android

Play with friends on mobile or Facebook and compete in weekly tournaments of Angry Birds Friends
Angry Birds Friends starts rolling out to iOS and Android
Rovio has started rolling out its Angry Birds Friends to iOS and Android platforms. The social version of the popular Angry Birds franchise is available for free for users.
The weekly tournament, however, is slated to begin May 6, after that users can play with their friends on mobile or Facebook while the progress synced on both platforms.
"Download it today to get some practice in before it all begins. And be sure to invite your Facebook friends to take part in all the fun," Rovio said in a blog post.
Every Monday, users will get to play different tournament with new challenges. Users can also take help from power-up such as King Sling, Super Seeds and Birdquake, or get Wingman to boost on a level. Moreover, they can share their scores as well victors on Facebook and send out gifts to other competing players.
Players winning the tournament get a gold trophy, while the second and third players get silver and bronze trophies respectively.
In a related news, Rovio has updated its Angry Birds game for Windows Phone, adding 100 new levels. "The reason why we're re-releasing the game is that it will be technically easier for us to support in the future," Rovio said in a separate blog post.
The game is available for free until May 15 for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5.

Apple iPhone 5S launch date revealed


Rumour mills have for long speculating on the launch of the alleged iPhone 5S. Now, a news report also claims to have got the launch date of the much-awaited smartphone, the follow up to Apple's current flagship iPhone 5. 

French website Nowhereelse.fr, which has a decent record of leaks surrounding Apple products, has released the image of an internal document of Japanese telecom operator KDDI. This document states that iPhone 5S will be announced on June 20 and hit the stores in July. The document also calls the device iPhone 5S, giving credence to speculation saying that the phone will not be named iPhone 6. 

This internal document states that the device will get an upgraded 13MP camera, as compared to the 8MP unit used in its predecessor. The phone will run on iOS 7, it states. 

Previously, a Chinese website leaked the first photos of iPhone 5S under production. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, citing supply chain sources, said the upcoming smartphone will feature a 13MP camera, snappier processor, fingerprint recognition sensor and more powerful LED flash. Various analysts, including Kuo, Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster and Peter Misek of Jeffries, expect Apple to launch the device in the third quarter of 2013.

Jonathan Ive giving iOS 7 a major revamp


Jonathan Ive, six months into an expanded role as Apple's top product visionary, has embarked on a sweeping software overhaul that leaves the company at risk of falling behind on a new version of the operating system that runs iPhones and iPads, people with knowledge of the matter said. Already in charge of product design, Ive assumed oversight of the look and feel of software running all Apple electronics in a shakeup by chief executive officer Tim Cook last year that included the departure of software chief Scott Forstall. Ive, 46, has begun revamping iPhone and iPad applications, shunning realistic images, such as wood bookshelves for the Newsstand feature, and he's exploring more dramatic changes to the e-mail and calendar tools, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

Ive is also methodically reviewing new designs, seeking to avoid a repeat of last year's release of map tools that were widely panned, and he's encouraging collaboration between the software and hardware divisions, which operated in silos under co-founder Steve Jobs, people said. The introduction of new features, along with an emphasis on cooperation and deliberation, comes at a cost for Cupertino, California-based Apple. Engineers are racing to finish iOS 7, the next version of the mobile software, in time for a June preview at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. While the company still expects to release iOS 7 on time as soon as September, internal deadlines for submitting features for testing are being set later than past releases, people said.

'Tremendous pressure' Staff from Apple's Mac team have also been roped in to help the mobile-software group finish the job, people said. Apple has made similar moves in the past, including with the first version of iOS in 2007. "Apple is really under tremendous pressure to come out with something different and something new," said Greg Sterling, an analyst at Opus Research in San Francisco. Ive has "a tremendous sense of design, and he's been the guru behind a lot of these enormously successful products, but he's always had someone like a Jobs to push back on him and give him some guidance, and it's not clear that Tim Cook is capable of playing that role. Maybe without a collaborator, he's not as strong." Another possibility is that Apple's next upgrade isn't as robust or feature-rich as projected, and some changes come in future releases.

'Spiritual partner' Ive has a storied place in Apple's history. After Jobs returned as CEO in 1997, Ive's design of the iMac helped the company regain its footing after nearly falling into bankruptcy. Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that Ive was his "spiritual partner" at Apple to whom he gave more operational power than anybody at the company. Ive is widely credited with working with Jobs to create the company's most famous products, including the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Even so, his specialty has been hardware, designing a product out of materials like aluminum and glass -- not software, which is based in code. He also has shunned the spotlight, rebuffing overtures to figure more prominently at product events. Seeing Ive around Apple's campus was akin to a celebrity sighting, according to a former manager. It's not clear that Ive will be as effective as Jobs in getting teams to finish projects on time. Cook elevated Ive in October, seeking to end clashes between Forstall and other senior managers that flared in the wake of the death of former CEO Jobs, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.

Tim's 'challenge' The strife made it harder for teams to work together and threatened Apple's ability to keep producing the types of electronics that made it the most valuable company in the world. An operations expert who built Apple's vast supply chain, Cook opted to leave the minutiae of product design to Ive amid intensifying competition from Samsung Electronics and Google. "Tim is a supply-chain expert and he needs to rely on people like Jony to be able to make the right decisions," said David Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School in Boston. "That doesn't mean things run smoothly — because a challenge for Tim not being involved in the detailed product discussions is making sure that gridlock is avoided and decisions are made." The management shuffle in October tapped the brakes on work on the upgrade to iOS 7. New features typically submitted for testing around February ran a month or more behind schedule, according to one of the people with knowledge of the matter.

'Tidying' needed Software design involves the graphical style of images on the screen, as well as the deeper experience of how a user progresses through a given task, such as the steps needed for deleting an e-mail or entering a calendar item. Apple hasn't changed the look of many mobile-software programmes like e-mail since the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Social-networking features are limited, and applications don't always work well together, said Benedict Evans, an analyst at Enders Analysis in London. "There is a tidying up that needs to be done and a rethinking," he said. On top of that, Ive is moving the company away from layered and literal — or skeuomorphic — design elements, toward ones that are intended to give the software a flatter design that's more unified and less cluttered, according to people familiar with the changes. Bigger shifts, to such features as e-mail, may not even be ready this year and may be introduced in future releases, people said.

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