Alcatel’s Fierce 2 and Evolve 2 are now available on T-Mobile
Alcatel may have displayed a number of new devices last week at IFA, but it turns out the company is not quite done showing off its goods just yet. Here at CTIA, Alcatel showed us two more handsets — the Fierce 2 and the Evolve 2 — both of which were actually announced a couple of weeks ago but are only just going on sale today. The Fierce 2 is the slightly nicer mid-level model while the Evolve 2 is meant to be a budget entry-level smartphone.
As we mentioned, the Fierce 2 is the higher end of the two, sporting a sizable 5-inch qHD display which I found pleasantly bright and colorful during a brief hands-on. It’s not the sharpest screen around obviously, but for a mid-level phone, it’s not bad. The screen goes nearly edge-to-edge, leaving a little bit of bezel on the sides and a bit more on the top and bottom. Though it has a plastic shell, the Fierce 2 feels pretty solid and I like the curved corners and slim 9.9mm build. Other features include a 5-megapixel rear camera plus a VGA front-facing shooter, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage along with a microSD card slot for up to 32GB of expandable memory and a 2,000 mAh battery. On the inside, it has a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and it’ll ship with Android 4.4 KitKat. I didn’t notice any lag when swiping through the menus, plus I’m glad to see that it appears to be mostly stock Android. Though, as you can see in the pictures, it does have a slightly customized user interface.
Next up is the Evolve 2, which looks and feels like a cheaper handset. Not only does it have a smaller 4-inch WVGA display, it simply feels more plasticky and toy-like. It’s also chunky and quite a bit thicker at 12.05mm. There’s quite a bit more bezel surrounding the screen too. Of course, the screen resolution is definitely not as good as the Fierce 2’s, but I don’t think the display looks that bad for what is obviously an entry-level handset. Text is still pretty legible and colors looked good enough to me. Features include a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA front-facing cam, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage plus it supports up to 32GB microSD cards. On the inside, it has a 1.3GHZ dual-core processor, which means it’s not the fastest phone in the world, and it only has a 1,400 mAh battery. It also ships with Android 4.4 KitKat
As you might have guessed, these phones aren’t expensive, and that’s a good thing. The Evolve 2 is only $80 while the Fierce 2 is slightly more at $126. Both are available from T-Mobile right now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: T-Mobile
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Dell’s new stick lets you share your tablet’s screen with bigger displays
If you happen to own one of Dell’s Venue tablets, you now have an easy way to put its content on a bigger screen. Dell has just launched the Cast, a simple stick that lets you link your slate to any HDMI-equipped display. You can either mirror your screen directly (much like Chromecast) or use the larger panel as a makeshift desktop, including multiple web browser windows. Shades of Motorola’s Webtop, anyone? The add-on is available now for $80, although you may need to be patient depending on your choice of platform. Only Android-based Venue tablets can use the Cast right away. You’ll have to wait until later this year to pair it with Windows-based models like the Venue 8 Pro.
Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets, Dell
Source: Dell
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Little Printer will stop working next March as its creator shuts down
Bad news if you own Berg’s super-cute, internet-savvy Little Printer: it might not be not long for this world. The company is going into “hibernation” after it couldn’t sustain a business based on connected devices, and its current plan has Little Printer services shutting down on March 31st, 2015. There is a glimmer of hope if you can’t bear to be without paper copies of your internet news feeds. Berg plans to at least open source its code so that fans can keep the services alive if they like, and it’s willing to sell the hardware business to any firm that will pledge ongoing support. There isn’t any talk of a savior just yet, though, so you may want to cherish those printouts while you still can.
Filed under: Peripherals, Internet
Via: GigaOM
Source: Little Printer Blog, Berg
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Super cheap diaper insert alerts parents to dehydration and more
As a new parent, there are some issues that I can’t see with the naked eye. Things like dehydration and bacterial infections can go unnoticed in little tykes, but there’s a group of engineering students that’s are looking to help. A team from University of California, Riverside developed The Diaper Detective: a low-cost insert that employs chemical indicators similar to a home pregnancy test to reveal the aforementioned ailments. Using paraffin wax flow channels, the pad directs collected urine to areas where the indicator material resides. While the dehydration tests were quite successful (around 100%), bacterial infection trials suffered due to outside air exposure. Aiming to reduce infant mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries, the non-invasive method of collection can be made for around 34 cents and passed out easily by relief workers. What’s more, the group says it can be adapted for adult use too, adding additional tests for more maladies.
Filed under: Science
Via: Phys.org
Source: University of California, Riverside
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Jony Ive: Apple Watch and New iPhones Apple’s ‘Best Work Yet’
A short time after today’s media event, Apple CEO Tim Cook did an exclusive one-on-one interview with David Muir of ABC News, speaking on the company’s new products and former CEO Steve Jobs. Now, ABC News has shared a clip of an interview with Apple design head Jony Ive, who spoke on the Apple Watch and its development process.
Muir: How many different versions of the Apple Watch are there?
Ive: I think we were talking about this earlier, and when you actually do the calculations, it’s millions and millions.
Muir: Millions and millions?
Ive: That’s right, there are different materials for the actual case, there’s two different sizes, you can choose one of six different straps or bands. But, the way we treated this from a design point of view wasn’t that you had hardware and then software. Our experience as customers, as users, is that their one in the same. So we designed the user interface, gave people multiple choices, for example in terms of just watch faces.
Ive also noted that he was “very proud” of the work that Apple’s design team has done, stating that the company’s new iPhones and the Apple Watch are its “best work yet.” The designer also stated that Apple has always tried to design products that people want to use as opposed to begrudgingly having to use them, setting a high bar to create a “desirable and personal” product with the Apple Watch.
The full length interviews with Jony Ive and Tim Cook aired earlier tonight and should be posted online soon.
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Moto X – Review
Motorola has used IFA in Berlin to broadcast a significant and refreshing product line to display their new smartphone ‘Moto X’. Motorola is in the phase of relaunching and rebranding as it was a busy 12 months for a company. Motorola will soon be sold…
‘Swift’ Programming Language Hits GM Status for iOS, OS X GM Coming with Yosemite [iOS Blog]
Following yesterday’s special media event, Apple has announced that its Swift programming language has hit GM status for iOS. With this latest milestone, Apple is now inviting developers to submit Swift apps to the App Store for review.
You can now submit your apps that use Swift to the App Store. Whether your app uses Swift for a small feature or a complete application, now is the time to share your app with the world. It’s your turn to excite everyone with your new creations.
Regarding Swift for OS X, Apple states the language will hit GM status for the Mac when Yosemite ships later this fall. Until that time, Apple notes that developers can keep developing Mac apps with Swift by downloading the latest beta of Xcode 6.1.
Apple adds that GM status does not mean that language is in a finalized form, as it plans to adds new features, improved performance, and refined syntax. However, Apple notes that apps embedding a version of the new Swift GM runtime will continue to run well into the future.
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Stephen Elop wants to put the ‘entirety of the Microsoft experience’ in your hands
“Our new CEO is taking us through a transformational phase,” said Stephen Elop of Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s recently crowned leader, to a rapt crowd at CTIA earlier today. In a talk given during an afternoon keynote session, Elop wanted to convey to the audience of wireless industry press and professionals that Microsoft’s not standing still in the face of innovation.
Elop, who’s currently Microsoft’s lead of Devices and Studios, plans to do so by zeroing in on what makes Microsoft unique. “At our core, Microsoft is a productivity and platform company,” he said. And in a mobile-first and cloud-first world, this means reinventing and building new productivity experiences and platforms. “That’s what we know best,” Elop said, pointing out that Microsoft has a long history of helping individuals and city governments be successful and productive.
But it’s not all work and no play. Sure, Microsoft has strength in enterprise, but that’s simply insufficient in today’s world. “Our work and personal lives are increasingly intertwined,” Elop said, pointing out that more and more people don’t separate work email from casual texts from colleagues. “It’s incredibly important that we appeal to every person, not just work but at home … a virtual business meeting and a meeting with your daughter should be done the same way. It should be simple; it should be Microsoft.”
That, in essence, is the game plan behind all of Microsoft’s products. From a unified cloud operating system, to an intelligent assistant like Cortana, to the Surface Pro 3 and of course to its line of Lumia phones, Elop wants Microsoft to be in every facet of your life. “Within my team, we have a clear mandate to help people do more. We want to showcase the finest digital life experiences … It is only the totality of that experience that’s most powerful.” Indeed, at one point in the talk, Elop said that he wants to “put the entirety of the Microsoft experience in people’s hands.”
Of course, Microsoft has a ways to go. The Surface Pro 3 has recently landed in 25 more countries, and its sales numbers have yet to be proven. Windows Phone still lags behind iOS and Android. Still, the company’s trying. It recently introduced an affordable Pureview camera in the form of the Lumia 830 (which will be available for AT&T) and Elop has said he’s very proud of the Xbox One, which appears to be doing well.
“We must appeal to people in our lives,” said Elop. “Innovation is anything but business as usual.”
Filed under: Microsoft
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With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 210, even the cheapest smartphones will get LTE
While Qualcomm’s dominating the premium and mid-range smartphone space, MediaTek’s been taking care of the other end of the spectrum until it launched its premium LTE octa-core chipset recently. In China alone, 40 percent of the smartphones shipped in 2014 Q3 are powered by MediaTek, versus 27 percent by Qualcomm, according to IDC (NVIDIA and Intel each had less than one percent share). Of course, emerging markets are where the money’s at these days, so it’s no surprise that Qualcomm’s striking back by offering an LTE-enabled SoC, the Snapdragon 210, for the entry-level market. Better yet, Co-president Cristiano Amon told us in Hong Kong that Qualcomm’s specifically aiming at the off-contract sub-$100 smartphones.
As you’d expect, this 28nm low-power Snapdragon 210 isn’t quite the powerhouse you get in your typical flagship phone, but it’s still a complete package. You get up to 1.1 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPUs, Adreno 304 GPU, Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11n WiFi, along with support for display resolutions of up to 720p, up to 8-megapixel cameras (1080p video capture and playback; H.265 codec supported to cut bandwidth by half) and QuickCharge 2.0. More importantly, on the cellular radio side, this chip supports multi-mode 3G as well as dual-mode LTE (up to Cat 4 at 150 Mbps with 2×10 MHz Carrier Aggregation) and dual-SIM. Amon expressed that with this being the first chipset to offer LTE Advanced in the sub-$100 device category, he’s not too worried about the competition.
Of course, it’ll all depend on the device manufacturers to hit that sub-$100 spot using this new chip, though Qualcomm will also be lending a hand with its upcoming Snapdragon 210 smartphone and tablet reference designs. The problem is that these devices won’t launch until some time in the first half of 2015, so it’ll be interesting to see how Qualcomm’s competitors will react as the LTE race heats up.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
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Visa’s Token Service generates fake CC numbers to keep your real ones safe
If you haven’t heard yet, Cupertino just launched a digital wallet called Apple Pay that randomizes your credit cards’ numbers. The one responsible for generating those fake numbers for Visa cards in particular, is Visa itself, through its new Token service, which the world’s largest credit and debit card company has announced right after Apple’s big reveal. These “tokens” are random numbers not associated with your name or real card numbers. You can use them to purchase anything online or by using mobile to pay via contactless payment systems in brick-and-mortar stores. Visa’s system can even generate different tokens for each merchant, device or type of purchase, if you want to be even more secure.
The great thing about using tokens is that you won’t have to scramble to cancel and replace your card with a new one in case a retailer or a website suffers a security breach, because they never had your real CC details in the first place. As you’ve probably guessed, Apple Pay users will get the first crack at using Visa’s Token Service, starting in October for folks in the US and in 2015 for the rest of the world. The technology was designed to work with all major platforms, though, so it’ll eventually be available to its other customers (read: those using other devices through other digital wallets) in the future.
[Image credit: Alamy]
Via: Reuters
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AIVAnet 