Articles by Alexandra Burlacu
iPhone 5: Is Apple's Biggest Bet The Biggest Disappointment Of 2012?
Apple offered a radically different experience when it introduced its first iPhone back in 2007, and it has managed to shake up the industry a few times since then. Five years later, the sixth-generation iPhone, called the iPhone 5 (iPhone 4S was the fifth), offers a clear improvement over its predecessor but delivers no groundbreaking innovation.
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Free WP8, Surface RT Tablet, and Windows 8 PC for Microsoft 'Blue Badges'
Microsoft is in a generous mood, and will reportedly give all 90,000+ of its full-time direct employees known as "Blue Badges" a bunch of freebies, including the company's soon-to-be-launched Surface tablet.
Apple Scores Another Victory As ITC Finds No Violation Of Samsung's Patents
Apple scored its second U.S. victory in a month against Samsung Electronics, its largest smartphone rival, as the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple's iPads, iPhones, and iPods do not violate four Samsung patents.
GoDaddy Apologizes For Outage, Offers 30% Discounts To Customers
GoDaddy suffered an outage on Monday, Sept. 10, taking countless sites offline along with it. On Thursday, Sept. 13, GoDaddy apologized for the outage and announced 30 percent across-the-board discounts to its customers to make up for the damage, along with one month of free service.
Motorola Unveils Android-Powered AIO Desktop With 18.5-inch Touchscreen, Mouse & Keyboard
Motorola has unveiled an Android-powered desktop in China. The HMC3260 system, officially dubbed the CloudBB, comes complete with an 18.5-inch LED touch screen, keyboard, and mouse.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 May Land On AT&T On Oct. 21
A new report claims the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 2 may launch on Oct. 21, exactly one month after Apple's new iPhone 5 hits U.S. stores and several other markets. The carrier has not confirmed the release date.
Nintendo Wii U: All You Need To Know About Launch Date, Price & Features
Nintendo announced on Thursday, Sept. 13, that its new Wii U console will go on sale in November in the U.S. and Europe, and in December in Japan. Wii U, Nintendo's first high-definition gaming console, will also work as a home entertainment center, connecting with video streaming services.
iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S: Should You Upgrade?
The brand new iPhone 5 was the star of Apple's event on Wednesday, Sept. 12, and the company touts it as "the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone." The next-generation iPhone sports an all-new design, a larger 4-inch Retina display, 4G LTE connectivity, a speedier processor, and a slew of other features, but is it a significant enough improvement to upgrade from the iPhone 4S?
Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE Hits Sprint Sept. 16 – $99 Android ICS Smartphone
Samsung and Sprint have officially announced another Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE, a new handset aimed at budget-conscious consumers. The Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE will be available on Sprint's Now Network this coming Sunday, Sept. 16, with a $99 price tag after a $50 mail-in rebate. The price is available with a two-year contract with Sprint.
Your PC May Come Pre-Loaded With Malware, Right Out Of The Box
Cybercriminals have taken their battle to the next level and are now infecting computers right before they reach the end-consumers. According to a new Microsoft study, several brand-new computers were carrying malware that were loaded before it reaches a customer or end purchaser. This means that the malware is loaded after the product is shipped by the original equipment manufacturer to a distributor, transporter, or reseller.
Intel Ports Android Jelly Bean To Medfield-Based Smartphones, But Rollout Depends On Carrier
Intel has successfully ported Google's Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS to smartphones packing the low-power Medfield Atom chips. These Intel chips are currently powering some devices running on Android 2.3 and Android 4.0, but it is uncertain at this point just when those handsets will get the Jelly Bean update.
Google Confirms 500M Android Activations, 1.3M Daily – Can Apple Keep Up?
Google has confirmed that as many as 500 million Android devices have been activated across the world, and more than 1.3 million new devices add to that figure each day. Google's Hugo Barra announced the impressive milestone in a post on the company's social network, Google+.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean Update Confirmed For October, EE 4G Version To Sport Jelly Bean As Standard
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is one of the hottest Android devices currently on the market, but fans are getting anxious about the promised Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update. Although Samsung does not have the best track record in terms of timely updates for its Android handsets (remember last year's delays with the Galaxy S2), this time the company promises to offer the upgrade soon.
Intel & Nuance Launch Dragon Assistant Beta, Bringing Siri-Like Voice Control To Ultrabooks
Nuance Communications, the developer behind Swype and Dragon for PC, has announced that Dragon Assistant Beta is now available for Intel-inspired Ultrabooks. The Dell XPS 13 will be one of the first Ultrabooks to ship with Dragon Assistant Beta in the fourth quarter of 2012.
YouTube For iOS Is Out – Better Discovery, Social Sharing, New Features, And Ads
Just days before Apple's new mobile operating system, iOS 6, arrives on iPhones without the pre-installed YouTube app, Google has launched a new version of the popular app.
Oppo Find 5 X990: 5-inch Display With 1080p, 441ppi, Quad-Core Processor, Jelly Bean
Chinese company Oppo may not be very well-known, but it recently gained a lot of attention for its new Oppo Finder, the thinnest smartphone ever - 6.65mm. The company has not stopped there, however, and now it has announced yet another whopping device. The Oppo Find 5 X990 is a quad-core smartphone, the thinnest quad-core smartphone, to be precise, and sports an incredible pixel density.
Toys R Us Unveils $150 Android ICS Kids Tablet With Extensive Parental Controls
Toys R Us has decided to join the increasingly crowded tablet market; the toy retailer announced on Monday, Sept. 10, that it plans to start selling its own proprietary tablet designed specifically for children. The news comes ahead of the lucrative holiday season, which can account for up to 40 percent of retailers' annual sales.
HP Unveils Windows 8 All-in-One PCs with NFC, Multi-Touch – Specs, Pricing & Availability
Hewlett-Packard (HP) unveiled some of its upcoming Windows 8 Ultrabooks and laptops a little over a week ago, and now it is time for the company's new all-in-one PCs. The HP Spectre One, HP Envy 23, HP Envy 20 TouchSmart, and HP Pavilion 20 will all debut this fall, packing features such as multi-touch screens and NFC technology.
U.S. Samsung Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean Firmware Leaks – Still No Release Date For Official Upgrade
More than 20 million people already own Galaxy S3 smartphones, and all of them anxiously await the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Last week, during its IFA 2012 Unpacked event in Germany, Samsung promised that its flagship devices will soon get the upgrade. The list includes the Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 10.1, and Galaxy Note, but older Samsung devices may get the upgraded OS too.
Nokia Lumia 920 LTE Everything Everywhere Exclusive Deal Tipped – EE Event Sept. 11
Nokia is reportedly planning an exclusive 4G LTE deal with UK carrier Everything Everywhere for the new Lumia 920 smartphone. According to a Financial Times report citing "two people with knowledge of the situation," the UK exclusive would see Everything Everywhere, run by mobile giants T-Mobile and Orange, snag the Windows Phone 8 handset for a November launch. The deal echoes Nokia's sole-carrier agreement with AT&T in the United States.
Amazon Kindle Fires Will Offer $15 Opt-Out of Ads Option After All
Amazon held an event on Thursday, Sept. 6, in Santa Monica, California, unveiling its new Kindle Fire HD. The tablet will be available in a 7-inch version for $199 and an 8.9-inch model for $299. During the event, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explained that his company wants to make money when customers use its products, rather than when they buy them. In other words, Amazon needs to sell content to consumers who purchase the Kindle Fire HD.
Airlines Gearing Up For iOS 6 Passbook – Delta, American Preparing, Virgin Australia Already On Board
Apple's latest mobile operating system iOS 6, seems to be a real blessing for travelers and other consumers due to its Passbook, a feature that stores boarding passes, retail coupons, movie tickets, and others such. Airlines and retailers are reportedly gearing up already to get on board.
New Kindles' Default Search Engine Is Bing, Not Google – What Does This Mean?
Amazon caught the media's attention a few days ago when it announced its new Kindle tablets on Sept. 6, but one thing seems to have slipped under the radar: Bing will be the default search engine across all new Kindle Fire models.
Nokia Extends Apology Over Misleading Video At Lumia Launch, But Its Credibility Is Dented
Nokia unveiled its new Windows Phone 8 smartphones a week before Apple's big event when it is expected to pull the wraps of its next-generation iPhone, which gave the Finnish company the perfect opportunity to make a bold, confident and strong statement. Instead, Nokia managed to seem a little too desperate due to its misleading promotional video.
Wonderbook: JK Rowling's Book Of Spells For PS3 Launches Nov. 13
JK Rowling, the author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books, is now moving to conquer the video game world as well, with her new effort set to be ready just in time for the holidays. Still riding on the whopping success of her last seven books, Rowling's current project is called the "Book of Spells," and comes as a spin-off based on the Harry Potter universe. This book, however, has something unique.
iPhone 5 Rumors: Apple Cuts Orders From Samsung To Diversify Supply Lines
Apple has reportedly reduced its orders for memory chips from Samsung for its next-generation iPhone, in an effort to reduce its dependence on its archrival, according to several industry sources.
Pandora May Face Web Radio Competition From Apple – Shares Already Tumble
In a bid to expand its dominance in online music, Apple is now in talks to license music for a custom-radio service similar to Pandora, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing "people familiar with the matter."
