Opera has just released the 10.5 beta version of its web browser for Mac computers introducing several new features to the web browser such as the Cocoa, unified tool bar, growl notifications and multi-touch gestures. This new beta version is also a lot more stable than the earlier released Pre-Alpha version and provides support for Macs running the older 10.4 Tiger Mac OS. There are still a lot of Macs running Tiger 10.4 but Opera 10.5 support is only for those using Intel processors and unfortunately not for those with PowerPC processors. According to benchmark tests conducted by Computerworld, Opera 10.5 beta version is faster than Safari’s latest version and Google’s Chrome. Take note that this is still a beta version and there are still a few bugs that need to be dealt with until the stable version is released. But you can already test drive Opera 10.5 beta to get a feel of how the full version would work.
For those who find it difficult to write text and messages on the iPhone touch screen, your troubles may have been solved already by this clever gadget. The 4iThumbs screen protector adds bumps on the screen area where the keys appear, providing your thumbs with something substantial to push on and minimizing pressing of unwanted characters. You can remove the screen protector when not needed and can be stucked on the back of the iPhone. It not only protects your iPhone screen but also reduces glare for a better viewing and texting experience. The 4iThumbs screen protector is available in two models – the standard unit that is priced at $14.95 and the landscape version, priced at $16.95.
Since the iPad was launched by Apple last January, there has been so much speculation when it will be available in stores. According to several industry sources, it will go on sale on March 26 in the US. The basic version, with WiFi only and 16GB storage, will be priced at $499 while the 32GB and 64GB versions will be priced at $599 and $699, respectively. These units will be the ones to hit the stores first while the WiFi plus 3G models will be available later in April. The 3G feature costs an additional $130 for all models so the top of the line 64GB WiFi+3G will be priced at $829. Data plans for the 3G service will depend on the telco provider that you will choose. The iPad is powered by a 1 GHz Apple A4 CPU and runs on the iPhone OS. So Apple users, especially those who have iPhones, would surely love to get hold of this device once they hit the stores.
A research from Quantcast, a company engaged in analyzing web traffic, shows that the OS market share of Apple’s Mac OS X in North America is getting bigger while that of Microsoft’s Windows is slowly getting smaller. The report indicates that Mac OS X has 10.9% of the market share as of January and most of the OS X users are using Leopard, OS X version 10.5. On the other hand, Windows has 86.8% of the market and XP remains to be the most popular among Windows users. The reason why XP is holding on to this position is because of the increase in sales of netbooks, majority of which are using Windows XP. The Quantcast report also cited that the greatest growth in Internet use has been on mobile devices. This equates to a corresponding increase in mobile operating systems, which was calculated at 123.8% year-over-year in January 2010. In spite of the still no. 1 position of Windows as far as the OS market is concerned, it is worthwhile to note that its piece of the pie is slowly being eaten up by Apple’s Mac OS X.
3D is certainly back with the expected release in the market of 3D displays, cameras and related gadgets from many vendors, including the big names in the consumer electronics industry. The good thing is the HDMI organization is early in ensuring that manufacturers will adopt the same active shutter 3D glasses standards in their products. The organization has now included 3D in its 1.4 version. This version specifies protocols for different 3D display parameters at up to 1080p resolution, such as field, frame or line alternative methods; 2D plus depth methods; and side by side display modes. It also specifies standards for the input/ output connections for consumer 3D devices. The HDMI group also announced that an updated version, to be called 1.4a, is in the works and maybe released very soon. This version is expected to address specifications not only for 3D playout but also for 3D broadcast and distribution.
Netbooks are now becoming a part of our daily lives, much like our mobile phones. We carry them everyday wherever we go. But netbooks are usually equipped with storage devices that have limited storage capacities. We need a portable memory and backup solution and the SanDisk Ultra Backup Flash drive would be a perfect one. The traditional USB HDD is fine when you are in the office or in your home but they are not practical once you are on the road. They are bulky and have moving parts making them not ideal for mobile applications. The SanDisk Ultra Backup Flash drive looks like the ordinary flash drive, but what differs it from the rest is its massive capacity of up to 64GB. With this much capacity, it lets you back huge amount of important data, such as documents and multimedia content with the simple touch of a button. It’s compact yet it offers a huge storage capacity.
Lithium-ion battery technology is in some way revolutionary because it made possible the storage of a huge amount of energy in compact battery sizes and eliminated memory effect. These characteristics made it ideal for use in compact-sized consumer electronics. The shelf life of today’s lithium-ion batteries is typically 5 years, offering about 5,000 charge and discharge cycles. But a company from Japan named Eamex has just developed a way to increase the charge/ discharge cycle to over 10,000 and shelf life to 20 years! What Eamex did is they made the tin inside the battery sturdy by using a new alloy. This new material can withstand more the strain caused by the continuous charging and discharging cycles that the battery is subjected to. And when will this new battery be available in the market? Eamex has announced that this innovative product will hit the stores as early as end of 2010.
This year’s CES is the year of 3D. Almost every major name in the television industry had something to show about 3D in the CES 2010 floors. Upcoming 3D products from Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung and other vendors were either demonstrated or announced during the show. Though many were enthusiastic on the developments, there were still some who were skeptical. This is because of the need for 3D glasses in order to enjoy this comebacking technology. To address this issue, some companies showed a number of no-glasses solutions that are based on the same principle. If a viewer is located at a certain viewing angle from a display, he will perceive different images in each eye, thus creating a virtual 3D image. One of the most most promising solutions is from Sunny Ocean Studios from Singapore, which promises to offer 64 viewing angles compared to a typical 8 or 9 from other companies. It will show its no-glasses 3D technique at the upcoming CeBIT exhibit this March. Though 3D with glasses already had a big headstart, 3D without glasses would certainly be more convenient and exciting.
OLED is a very promising display technology and larger-sized displays are very soon coming into the market. But LED-backlit devices have been around for quite a while and will soon a get a boost with the introduction of a LED coating technique that Nanosys developed. It works by applying nanoparticles to LEDs that allows them to produce a blue hue, the most efficient color as far as energy consumption is concerned. This process is ideal for LED-backlit displays because the blue-coated LEDs deliver enhanced color while using the same energy profile as standard white LED-backlit displays. We are seeing more and more laptops and HDTV sets with LED-backlit displays coming into the market today. This means there is a potentially-rich market waiting for this new technology. So expect more manufacturers to come out with new products that utilize this new technology hopefully within this year.
This year’s CES witnessed the rebirth of 3D and there was so much hype about tablet PCs and other new devices. One notable product development is on pico or mini projectors. If you can remember, Nikon launched last year the Coolpix S1000pj compact digital camera. It has a built-in projector that can project a display up to 40 inches, thus earning the title as the world’s first pico projector. This small device employs LEDs, in conjunction with microscopic mirrors, instead of conventional lamps used by full-sized projectors. One leading manufacturer in this field is Texas Instruments, which came out with the Digital Light Processing Pico chips. Each DLP chip contains up to 2 million microscopic mirrors that can reflect a high-resolution image on a wall or screen when applied a digital video signal. Because of its very small size, DLP Pico projectors can be crammed into all kinds of small devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras. New products, which utilized the DLP pico technology, include a snap-on projector for the LG eXpo mobile phone, the Samsung W9600 projector phone and the Brightboxe, said to be the world’s first Pico gaming projector.
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Apple | cesar | 
March 7, 2010 8:55 am | 
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