Walmart exploits Amazon publisher feud to remind people that it still sells books
While Amazon is caught up in an e-book pricing dispute with one of the world’s biggest publishers, Walmart is making hay. As the internet retailer continues to squeeze Hachette for better pricing on e-books by limiting the amount of printed books it orders, which include titles from J.K Rowling and James Patterson, competing booksellers are conducting fire-sales to remind consumers that they’re a viable alternative (and boost revenues in the process). Case in point: Walmart slashed 40 percent off nearly 400 Hachette titles (both online and in-store) and shortened delivery times in order to beat its internet rival. The tactic appears to have worked, the retailer said that by the end of last week, physical book sales were up 70 percent in just three days. Amazon seems unfazed by it all and has told inconvenienced customers that they can go to “one of [its] competitors.” Many customers have evidently done just that, but their actions aren’t likely to help put an end to this e-book feud.
[Image credit: Walmart, Flickr]
Source: CNN Money
ASUS’ Transformer Book Flip has a 360-degree rotatable screen, realistic pricing
Lenovo’s Yoga series has a lot of fans — and we just mean within the PC-making fraternity. ASUS might have initially bested the Yoga with its dual-screened convertible laptop, but two screens meant weaker battery life and well, it was expensive too. The Transformer Book Flip, then, also offers four different use cases: completely flat like a tablet, a house of cards style prop-up structure, a media-viewing mode with the keyboard down, and good-ole laptop mode. The notable thing here is that the Transformer Book Flip will arrive with similar pricing to ASUS’ middleweight to entry-level Vivobook series. (We managed to get UK pricing: the Flip starts at £449 for the 13.3-inch Core i3 model, with the top-of-the-range 15.6-inch Core i7 is priced at £699. Once we get some US prices, we’ll update this article.)
Screen resolutions go up to 1,900 x 1,080, and while there’ll apparently be cheaper 720p models in both 15.6- and 13-inch sizes. we’d advise sticking to the higher resolution models if you can afford to. The build quality feels a lot like the middleweight laptops that ASUS has shown in years past, although there’s a classy brushed aluminum effect to the top of the laptop. Both sizes will launch in Europe and Asia at the end of June, although we’re sure ASUS will want to capitalize on back-to-school/college sales in the US as well.
ASUS’ 20-inch ‘portable’ all-in-one PC has gesture controls and a carrying handle
Portable can mean different things to different people, and ASUS is also severely stretching the definition of the word with its new 20-inch all-in-one PC. The built-in battery will apparently go the distance, as long as said distance takes five hours, while a fold-out handle ledge offers a way to carry it without getting finger smudges on the screen. The unit weighs in at 3.2kg, and when we gingerly picked it up to carry, we were left wishing for a handle that was a little more substantial.
The AIO is pitched at families, with built-in gesture controls and navigation for web-browsing and more, as well as an adjustable hinge attempting to offer plenty of different ways to swipe around Windows 8 (yep, it’s touchscreen.) While it has no pretensions of being a games machine, there’s still 4GB of RAM, a Core i5 processor and NVIDIA’s GeForce 820M GFX powering it all, complementing the 1,600 x 900 IPS screen. As ASUS’ big Computex presentation kicks off, we haven’t been given a price yet, but if Jonney Shih decides to fill us in, we’ll share the knowledge.
Apple Rises to #5 in This Year’s Fortune 500 Rankings
Fortune has just released its annual “Fortune 500″ list, which is a high-profile ranking of the largest companies in the United States ranked by revenue. This year, Apple has taken the #5 spot, up from #6 in last year’s rankings and from #17 in 2012.
The Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York City, New York
Apple’s net sales keep climbing, as the tech giant continues to sell more iPhones and digital content. But the company faces pressure in the smartphone business, as Android phones grow increasingly dominant. Meanwhile, Apple reported an annual drop in net income in fiscal year 2013, a first in more than a decade. Activist investor Carl Icahn last year disclosed a stake in Apple and subsequently pushed for the company to spend billions on share buybacks. In April, the company increased the amount of shares it is authorized to repurchase and raised its quarterly dividend by 8%, and in late May it announced it was acquiring Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion.
Wal-Mart once again beat out ExxonMobil for this year’s #1 ranking, with Chevron and Berkshire Hathaway ranking ahead of Apple’s $170.9 billion in revenue. Apple’s profit of $37 billion dollars also ranked first among Fortune 500 companies despite falling 11.3% from last year.
Apple announced last week that it would be buying Beats Electronics and the Beats Music streaming service for a total of $3 billion, making it the largest acquisition in company history. Apple is also expected to launch a number of new products this year, including a larger iPhone, new Macs, new versions of OS X and iOS, and an “iWatch” smartwatch.
Watch YouTube videos while using other apps with Viral Popup [App of the Day]
Google’s stock youtube player is great, but if that app leaves you wanting more look no further than Viral Popup (Youtube Player).
Viral Popup is a full-featured Youtube player designed for phones and tablets. It has a familiar user interface and all the usual options that we have become accustomed to when using the stock app, but that’s where the similarities end.
The app is equipped with features you just can’t get with the stock offering. Advantages that Viral Popup has over the stock app include: allowing the user to play videos in its native resolution (even 1080p), and allowing the user to watch videos in a small “popup” screen while utilizing other apps. You can even turn off the video and have the sound playing in the background.
Get this app today and take your video viewing to the next level.
The post Watch YouTube videos while using other apps with Viral Popup [App of the Day] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung debuts 7-inch Galaxy W for Korea
File under: Seriously?
Samsung on Monday introduced a new 7-inch smartphone (not tablet) for its Korean home turf with the Galaxy W. Yep, the same model/branding used for another Android smartphone from 2011. And, much like the Mega line, this is a case of being bigger, but not necessarily better.
Featuring a display resolution of 720×1080 pixels, it’s a 4G LTE-A handset with mid-range hardware under the hood. Specifications here include a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1.5GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, and a 3200mAh battery. In terms of cameras, the Galaxy W offers an 8-megapixel rear shooter with a front-facing 2-megapixel experience.
Powered by Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, it will retail for roughly 499,400 won ($490, £290, AUS $526). Color options are black, red, and white and each comes with the faux-leather found in the Galaxy Note 3.
The post Samsung debuts 7-inch Galaxy W for Korea appeared first on AndroidGuys.
ASUS launches 3 new 64-bit tablets: ASUS Fonepad 8, MeMO Pad 7 and MeMO Pad 8 [Computex 2014]
Computex 2014 is now in town and the biggest Asian technology manufacturers are out in force to show off their latest and greatest. Included in ASUS‘ usual grand showcase are 3 new tablets, the ASUS Fonepad 8, MeMO Pad 7 and MeMO Pad 8, all of which house 64-bit processors. Starting with the ASUS Fonepad 8 (pictured above), the device intuitively has an 8-inch 1280×800 IPS LCD display with side bezels that measure just 5mm. The quadcore Intel Atom Z3560 processor inside of it chugs along at 1.8GHz and is also 3G capable, and also features dual speakers situated on the top and bottom bezels of the device.
Next is a newer version of the ASUS MeMO Pad 7 (above), which also intuitively has a 7-inch display and a more regular 720p resolution. There is a 5MP camera to be found on the back of the device and it is powered by a quadcore Intel Atom Z3745. Unsurprisingly, the MeMO Pad design does seem to take a lot of design cues from the ASUS-manufactured Nexus 7.
And lastly is the ASUS MeMO Pad 8, which ASUS is calling “the world’s lightest 8-inch LTE tablet”. Also sporting dual speakers, this time on the rear of the device, the MeMO Pad 8 is a substantial jump from the 7-inch variant; with an 8-inch 1080p display and a 64-bit quadcore Intel Atom Z3580 clocked at 2.3GHz, the MeMO Pad 8 is a formidable tablet. Throw in some physical traits like a metal coated chassis and measuring only 7.3mm thick, and you have a very attractive device. Unfortunately, ASUS hasn’t yet explicitly mentioned availability or pricing for any of these devices, but that’s likely to come through soon.
Who would be interested in getting one of these three tablets? Is the fact they are 64-bit powered mean anything to you? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: ASUS via Phone Arena
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Researchers are using 3D printers to make blood vessels
There has been talk of printing blood vessels for a few years, but it’s tricky to make tissue that fits the complex shapes of a human body while remaining effective. However, a research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital may have licked that problem: they’ve 3D printed vessels using a new technique that allows for intricate yet capable designs. Their process first prints agarose (sugar-based molecule) fibers as templates for the vessels, and then covers that in jelly-like hydrogel to produce a cast. Since the agarose is sturdy, scientists can pull it out to create channels without damaging any cells inside the gel; the resulting vessels are much better at transporting liquid and otherwise behaving like the real deal.
This doesn’t mean that you’ll soon get vessels on demand. As the less than organic-looking cubes you see here suggest, there’s a long way to go before these artificial constructs get under your skin. Given time, though, this breakthrough could lead to both custom-made replacement tissues for your body as well as true-to-life drug testing that doesn’t involve a real human’s bloodstream.
[Image credit: Khademhosseini Lab]
Filed under: Science
ASUS Transformer Pad refreshed with front speakers, lighter keyboard
It’s been a while since we last heard about ASUS’ Transformer Pad series, so today’s announcement of two new 10.1-inch models was a nice surprise. Starting from the higher end we have the TF303CL, which not only features Intel’s 64-bit, 1.86GHz quad-core Atom chip (Z3745), but it also supports LTE for Europe and Asia-Pacific. Otherwise, the plastic tablet packs the usual set of goodies for a decent Android tablet: a 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of storage with microSD expansion, 5MP/1.2MP cameras (a downgrade from the old 8MP main imager) and a 25Wh battery. The TF303CL is also enhanced with stereo front-facing speakers, as opposed to the old single-channel speaker (but with two drivers) on the back.
A less obvious change is the removed battery in the new keyboard dock, which is for both reducing its weight — from 546g to 505g, so just 1.1kg when docked — and also for keeping the price competitive; though there’s no pricing info at the launch event. As with most ASUS tablets, this one seems to have a solid build quality, and we dig its textured shell that deters fingerprints. ASUS’ Zen UI is also a nice touch on Android 4.4 — elegant and not too heavy. Expect this device to arrive in Q3 with blue and gold color options.
ASUS also announced the WiFi-only TF103C as the entry-level refresh of the Transformer Pad line. Apart from the processor and the microSD expansion, pretty much everything else have taken the cost-down route: 1,280 x 800 IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 8 or 16GB storage options, 2MP/0.3MP cameras and a 19Wh battery. This will arrive in the coming weeks with white and black options, followed by a 3G version (TF103CG) due July. Again, no prices for now, but they will no doubt be very attractive.
Hands-on with ASUS’ Zenbook NX500: The MacBook Pro meets its match
Before you yell at me for putting the word “MacBook” in the headline, hear me out: the new ASUS Zenbook NX500 really is one of the closest things I’ve seen yet to a Retina display MBP competitor. For all of you who ever wanted something as thin and powerful as the MacBook Pro, something just as high-res, the NX500 is it. Only, you know, it runs Windows! If you’re just catching up (the news broke overnight, while our American readers were asleep), the NX500 is a 15.6-inch Ultrabook with a 3,840 x 2,160 IPS display, and a Core i7 processor, 2GB NVIDIA GTX 850 GPU and up to 16GB of RAM under the hood. Wowza. Oh, and all of this fits inside a package that’s just 19mm thick and weighs 4.85 pounds. That’s technically thin and light enough to be considered an Ultrabook, though ASUS would prefer you not call it that — whatever this is, “Ultrabook” is probably too wimpy a name.
It’s not just specs that remind me of the MacBook Pro, though. This, too, is made of unibody aluminum, similar in color and texture to the ol’ MBP. That said, you’d never, ever mistake the two: The NX500 has the Bang & Olufsen speakers built into the keyboard deck, with the fine grille flowing out from underneath the keys in an circular pattern. I think it’s tasteful and quite lovely, personally, but to each his own; if you prefer more discrete speakers, I totally get that. Speaking of the keyboard, the 15.6-inch form factor allows for a spacious layout, though the buttons are on the shallow side, as is often the case with Ultrabooks (keep in mind that ASUS just barely got the machine down to the Ultrabook spec of 19mm, so I’m not sure it could have afforded to go with thicker keys).
As for the display — the star of the show, really — it covers 100 percent of the NTSC spectrum, along with 108 percent of Adobe RGB. Between the rich colors, sharp resolution and wide viewing angles, ASUS has cooked up one hell of a display. I’ll reserve judgment for a full review, of course, but let’s be real: it’s pretty obviously a nice screen. I don’t expect my opinion to change much, not even after more careful examination.
Mat Smith contributed to this report.
AIVAnet 