IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 08/05/2012

LG announces Optimus LTE2, sports 2GB of RAM, tries to step out of Samsung's shadow
Samsung caused quite the stir over the past week or so with their GALAXY S III announcement, but not wanting to fade into the darkness, LG have announced their new LG Optimus LTE2 which definitely looks like it could butt heads with Samsung.

Design and build-wise, it looks spiffy: sporting a glass and metal casing instead of the glossy plastic exterior that the GALAXY series features. The second note you should take away from this announcement is that it sports 2GB of RAM, a first for any smartphone, as well as a very sexy TrueHD IPS display rather than the standard RGBG subpixel layout that's expected to outclass the PenTile RGBG layout that Samsung has opted for in the GALAXY S III.

We are also looking at wireless charging with a separate dock, 4G LTE connectivity, a decent 2,150 mAh battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. At hte moment, processor and screen size/resolution are all unknowns, but if the other specs are anything to go by, they should impress too.

The LG Optimus LTE2 should splash down in Korea sometime in mid-May, and currently has no ETA on when it will jump the pond.

Apple wants the iPhone5.com domain
We all know it's coming, but Apple and their secrecy shuns us from the truth, constantly. We don't know if the next-generation iPhone will be called just 'iPhone', or 'iPhone 5', or something completely different.

But, Fusible has reported that Apple have filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) where they seek to gain control of the iPhone5.com domain. WIPO authorities are currently assessing compliance of Apple's claim with the agency's regulations, and proceedings are likely to be initiated in the near future.

Right now, the iPhone5.com domain hosts a small discussion forum dedicated to the, well, discussion of the 'iPhone 5'. The forum was launched in October 2010, hot on the heels of the iPhone 4 release earlier on in the year. This should be interesting to most people, as Apple didn't even try to gain control of the iPhone4.com domain until over twelve months after the iPhone 4 itself launched.

Apple also didn't seek control of iPhone4S.com until weeks after the smartphone launched last October.

Looks like GALAXY is working on a single-slot GEFORCE GTX 670
The GEFORCE GTX 670 action over the weekend has been entertaining to say the least. I was busy for most of the weekend and only had my smartphone to check the going ons of the Internet, our site, our Facebook page, and to keep up with news.

If you didn't already know, Shane has posted up a glorious preview of the GTX 670's performance, Cameron smashed out an awesomely written piece on why we didn't receive the GTX 690 for review, and now we have news that GALAXY has a single-slot GTX 670 that will launch shortly.

Now we're staring down the barrel of a single-slot GTX 670 which sports the NVIDIA reference design PCB. The VRM area looks to be located near the front of the card, and the PCB appears to be cutting off at two-thirds the length of the card. Since the GTX 670's PCB is shorter, the fan being longer has to mean something, right?

Well, it gives the heatsink and fan more room to breathe, with the possibility of it sporting intakes on the reverse of the card. This could give us a slower, quieter cooler. Gone are the days of the single-slot Team Green cards that would spin their fans up like crazy. I look forward to seeing these cards in the near future!

KingMax 1TB SSD hits retail shelves of Japan
Been waiting for that magical 1TB number for your SSD purchase? Well, you won't have to wait long, or you could grab one now if you're based in Japan! A 1TB KingMax-branded SSD has been spotted on Japanese retailer shelves.

The SSD in particular? It's the KM01TBSMI25 from KingMax. This SSD is the usual 2.5-inch form factor coming in at 7mm thick. It's controller and NAND flash memory are unknown at the moment. We do know it supports TRIM, sports the SATA 3Gbps interface (instead of the SATA 6Gbps interface).

Spec-wise, it's not too bad: it's able to pump out 20,000 IOPS in random read/write, sequential read and write speeds of 250MB/sec and 200MB/sec, respectively. This drive comes with a three-year warranty and currently has a price of Yen119800 (US$1500).

Samsung GALAXY S III to hit all major UK carriers
Later on this month, all local UK carriers will have the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung, the GALAXY S III. Similar to the HTC One X launch, it will catapult itself onto all major carriers.

We should see it arrive on Vodafone, Three, Orange, T-Mobile and O2. Most of these carriers hope to have the handset by May 30. Vodafone UK will have an exclusive though, where they'll have the 32GB version for a limited time where the rest of the carriers will have the 16GB for starters.

This isn't too big of a deal, as the GALAXY S III is upgradeable with a MicroSD slot, unlike the iPhone or even the HTC One X. We should be looking at the GALAXY S III having a price of around £500. This could change in the next few weeks, but we'll see.

Do you want one? I have the GALAXY S II and I'm tied whether I want this, or to wait for the GALAXY Note 2...

Genius SP-i250G LED Portable Gaming Speakers Review
Genius is not a company we have dealt with before in terms of audio products. And that is because they do not have a massive fan base or a reputation for building great audio products - they have been making products for a very long time, though. But all that can change today with the Genius SP-i250G which is a stereo portable and USB powered speaker system.

In our experience with portable speakers, especially the cheaper ones, are not especially great things to behold and is much like putting a house on wheels. Which is all well and good, but there are several important reasons a house and a set of speakers are usually stationary items - that's because they need to be powered (properly) in order to work well.

Inside of each speaker is a single 40mm omni-directional driver which is tasked with producing the entire audible spectrum of sound. Twisting each speaker enables the unit to be turned off or made louder and as an added feature, each speaker lights up with a colored LED. Also provided are two small carry cases to make things even easier when transporting the speakers. When left alone the speakers charge themselves up and are ready to go the next time they are needed.

So for such a small package it seems like Genius have squeezed in a number of features and other little extras. But really the main appeal of a system like this is going to be its portability and flexibility of environments in which it can be used.

Overall the specs for the system seem fairly modest; of note firstly is the use of a metal driver which is 40mm in size. This small driver is of decent quality, but ultimately it is going to be too small to really handle a wide spectrum of frequencies.

Speaking of which, the frequency response is 250hz-20Khz which sounds fine on paper, but in reality there is a lot of information below 250hz that is not being conveyed here.

Each speaker also features a built in battery which charges through the USB connection whenever the computer is turned on. We felt this was a really nice touch that adds to the portability of the system.

Also included are two small carry cases for the speakers which are a nice touch we feel and should keep things safe. Also of interest here are the LED lights built into each speaker. These lights cycle through a myriad of different colors and probably made the strongest impression on us of any part of this system.

General Thoughts

During testing we quite enjoyed several aspects of the sound quality provided by the small Genius SP-i250G speakers. Audio quality was crisp and clear during dialogue sections of test material and the overall audibility was quite good.

Various types of music and various types of ears are going to each receive their own inherent ups and down with this system. Some music is going to be quite enjoyable due to what is decent sound quality, however as soon as any low of mid bass comes in, the whole show goes off air.

This really is not any fault of the little speakers themselves, which on their own really sound up to the task. It's just that without the driver in place to produce bass frequencies, things can only ever be so good.

Music and Movies

Listening to some light orchestral stuff will sound pretty good as will some simple music with only one or two instruments - this system is definitely not great for intense metal music or bass heavy dance music.

In terms of watching movies we were not really happy with these speakers because too much of the information is being left out of the mix due to size limitations within the design. They are just simply not able to convey adequate emotion to do movies any justice.

Games

We know serious gamers will not be able to settle for anything this small, but for others, perhaps we might have something worth talking about here? Afraid not though, because games these days just have too much going on to get away with so little. It's really a similar case here as with movies. This is so because both games and movies in many instances try to emulate the real-world and low frequency sound is produced constantly in everyday life.

The SP-i250G started out very well with a decent build quality on offer along with an attractive design and some lovely LED lights built in also. Testing was slightly mixed though with some good aspects to the performance and some bad. Well that's the wrong word really though... nothing is "bad" about this system, it just lacks the capability to reproduce low end information, but that's a big deal. But other than that there is enjoyment to be had listening to some types of music and certainly dialogue driven material.

Overall though, if you are getting a little tired with headphones and would like an equally portable and decent sounding speaker system, then take a look here. And enjoy the light show, plus for the low asking price, you can't go too wrong. There are much better audio solutions out there, but for this price and the portable nature of this product, some could consider it.

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Kid Icarus: Uprising Nintendo 3DS Review

If you asked most people what the longest time between sequels in video game history was, they generally would say Duke Nukem Forever. However, that is not the case, we have a new champion. Kid Icarus has had a whopping twenty six years between drinks and in the years since there have always been rumours that Nintendo has wanted to bring Pit back to the big time - that time is finally here and on a platform that was unexpected, the Nintendo 3DS. So has the twenty six year break been kind to the series? Yes and no. Many of the changes Nintendo has implemented into the game don't do the game justice, but in other areas the game is a success.

For those of you who have never played the original NES game, Kid Icarus is set in Greek mythology and you play as Pit. A warrior destined to take down Medusa and save the world. In this new game you once again play as Pit, but for some reason Nintendo has decided to make him a kid who sprouts various annoying comments through the game. Many times you will just want Pit to shut up. Moving past that, the game is a direct sequel to the original NES game, but it has a few significant differences, as you would expect.

Whilst the original game was a platform puzzle game, Kid Icarus: Uprising is a third person shooter and features elements of games such as Panzer Dragoon Orta. At the start of each level, you begin in the air and the gameplay is a bit like space harrier where you move around the screen and have to avoid incoming fire whilst taking out enemies. You eventually move to the ground where you can directly control where Pit runs and the game offers a bit more freedom here. Finally you hit a boss character.

In some ways this mimics what the original game was all about. You always took on a boss to progress through the levels. The enemies from the original game have returned as well although for some reason Nintendo has seen fit to throw in Metroid's into the mix. The game also features a customizable difficulty level. Before each level you can set the intensity of the battle and to try the higher levels out, you need to have a number of hearts. Generally you cannot play the highest levels of difficulty without playing through the level first.

One of the biggest bugbears we have with the game is the control system. If you haven't got arthritis before playing Kid Icarus, you probably will by the end. In fact, the problem is so bad that with certain copies of the game, Nintendo has included a tray for the 3DS to sit on whilst you play. There are some control options you can enable to alleviate the problem such as auto fire on targets, but to play the game properly requires four hands. You have to hold the 3DS, use the thumbstick to move, use the left top trigger to fire and the stylus moves pit around. It is almost impossible and the lengthy levels do not help at all.

But perhaps the most perplexing feature of the controls is how the Circle Control Pad Pro has been used. Instead of the right stick replacing the stylus and the game becoming infinitely easier to play, it is only used to replicate the function of the left stick. This is designed for left handed people, but is an entirely missed opportunity. Clearly they wanted you to use the stylus no matter how much it breaks your hands.

One area of the game which is very impressive is how customizable it can be. You can unlock new weapons for Pit which can significantly change the gameplay and also you can merge weapons. The depth of this area of the game is quite surprising for what to be honest in most areas feels like a dumbed down game for a younger market.

Visually the game is impressive. Running flawlessly on the 3DS hardware and with some of the better graphics on the system so far, the use of 3D is incredibly good as well, offering excellent depth to the world and enemies which inhabit it. It's also clear that Nintendo is starting to get to grips with its 3D system as its one of the first games we've not had to turn the 3D down to be able to play the game. The game runs flawlessly in both 2D and 3D mode which is something not many of the 3DS games so far have managed to achieve. The voice acting is annoying due to the child-like voice, but the music suits the game well.

There is also a multiplayer mode. Focus on a light versus dark theme, in a surprise most of the multiplayer modes represent that you have seen in other third person action games. That is team style death match against each other, but also there is a ticket style system like in Battlefield. As team members are defeated, their overall life is depleted and once gone, the teams boss character appears. This is an interesting addition to the game and plays well over the Internet - something that we didn't expect to see in this title for sure.

Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS has had a few surprises. None more so than how long it's taken for Nintendo to bring back one of its most loved franchises, and most wanted franchises. However, also the gameplay style and customizable options. It is a game that when you look at it on paper it appears to not have that much depth, but look under the surface and there is an incredible amount of things to do and try when playing through the game again. The controls let the game down a lot, as does the use of the Circle Pad Pro, but it is not enough for this to become a failure of a game.

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Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S III, the Smartphone Designed for Humans and Inspired by Nature
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced today the third generation GALAXY S, the GALAXY S III. Designed for humans and inspired by nature, the GALAXY S III is a smartphone that recognizes your voice, understands your intention, and lets you share a moment instantly and easily.

This sleek and innovative smartphone has the enhanced intelligence to make everyday life easier. With Samsung GALAXY S III, you can view the content like never before on the device's 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display. An 8MP camera and a 1.9MP front camera offer users a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly. Samsung GALAXY S III is powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, with greatly enhanced usability and practicality to make life easier. Packed with intuitive technology, the GALAXY S III delivers a uniquely personalized mobile experience that refuses to be compromised.

"With the GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability," said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. "Designed to be both effortlessly smart and intuitively simple, the GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. What makes me most proud is that it enables one of the most seamless, natural and human-centric mobile experiences, opening up a new horizon that allows you to live a life extraordinary."

Introducing Natural Interaction

The GALAXY S III enhances the interaction experience between the device and user. Smart enough to detect your face, voice and motions, the GALAXY S III adapts to the individual user to provide a more convenient and natural experience. With the innovative 'Smart stay' feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how you are using your phone - reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance - by having the front camera identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure.

The GALAXY S III features 'S Voice,' the advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to your words. In addition to allowing information search and basic device-user communication, S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III "snooze." You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

In addition to recognizing your face and voice, the GALAXY S III understands your motions to offer maximized usability. If you are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and 'Direct call' will dial their number. With 'Smart alert,' the GALAXY S III will also save you from trouble by catching any missed messages or calls; your phone will vibrate to notify missed statuses when picked up after being idle.

Easy and Instant Sharing

The Samsung GALAXY S III is more than a personal device that can be enjoyed by one user - it wants you to share and experience smartphone benefits with family and friends, regardless of where you are. With the new 'S Beam,' the GALAXY S III expands upon Android Beam, allowing a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone, even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. The 'Buddy photo share' function also allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.

With 'AllShare Cast', users can wirelessly connect their GALAXY S III to their television to immediately transfer smartphone content onto a larger display. 'AllShare Play' can be also used to instantly share any forms of files between GALAXY S III and your tablet, PC, and televisions regardless of the distance between the devices. Under AllShare Play is also the 'Group Cast' feature that allows you to share your screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; you can make comments and draw changes at the same time with your co-workers, witnessing real-time sharing on your individual device.

Human-centric Design with Uncompromised Performance

The GALAXY S III not only presents features with enhanced usability, but also provides an ergonomic and comfortable experience through its human-centric design. Its comfortable grip, gentle curves, and organic form deliver a rich human-centric feel and design. Inspired by nature, its design concept is the flow and movement of nature. The elements of wind, water and light are all evoked in the physical construct of the GALAXY S III. In its essence, the minimal organic design identity is reflected in the smooth and non-linear lines of the device. Available in Pebble Blue and Marble White at launch, Samsung will introduce a variety of additional color options.

With a 4.8" HD Super AMOLED display, the GALAXY S III offers a large and vivid viewing experience. Samsung Mobile's heritage Super AMOLED display even enhances to HD and 16:9 wider viewing angles. To ensure faster content sharing and connectivity, the GALAXY S III offers Wi-Fi Channel Bonding which doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth.

The GALAXY S III also sports a range of additional features that boost performance and the overall user experience in entirely new ways. It introduces 'Pop up play,' a feature that allows you to play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web. Its 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed that lets you capture moving objects easily without delay - the image you see is the picture you take. With the 'Burst shot' function that instantly captures twenty continuous shots, and the 'Best photo' feature that selects the best of eight photographs for you, the GALAXY S III ensures users a more enhanced and memorable camera experience. HD video can be recorded even with the 1.9MP front-facing camera, which you can use to capture a video of yourself. Improved backside illumination further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low lights.

Mobile payment is also accessible with the device through advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The gaming experience is enhanced through 'Game Hub,' providing access to numerous social games, while Video Hub brings users high quality TV and movies. Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service. Game Hub, Video Hub and Music Hub will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.

The Samsung GALAXY S III will be available from the end of May in Europe before rolling out to other markets globally.

Samsung GALAXY S III Product Specifications

POWERCOLOR ANNOUCED HD7800 OWN DESIGN SERIES
TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today releases its own design edition of HD7800 series: the PowerColor HD7870 and HD7850. The latest HD7800 series packed with selected power kit and efficient cooling system; with solid components onboard, easily enhancing the stability and thermal capacity, delivering truly rich and stunning HD performance with the support for vivid DirectX® 11.1 gaming.

The PowerColor HD7870 clocks at 1000MHz core speed and 1200MHz memory speed, while HD7850 has 860MHz core and 1200MHz memory; with advanced PCI Express 3.0 support, the latest series can boost up the power of GPU easily by doubling the bandwidth per land of previous generation.

The PowerColor HD7800 series equipped with industry-leading technology; by utilizing AMD Eyefinity 2.0 technology and AMD HD3D Technology, the HD7800 series supports multi-display stereoscopic 3Dcontent, allowing an immersive "wrap around" gaming experience. Also, with the support of AMD PowerTune technology and AMD ZeroCore technology, enabling the intelligent power monitoring to enable higher clock speeds and better performance when needed, delivering the most efficient way for gaming like never before.

AMD Appoints Colette LaForce as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
AMD (NYSE: AMD) announced today that Colette LaForce, 39, will join the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer, reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer Rory Read. In her new role, LaForce will lead global integrated marketing for AMD, including marketing strategy, branding, internal and external communications, corporate events, sponsorships and entertainment marketing.

"Colette brings strong technology marketing and brand-building experience, a fresh perspective and a results-oriented approach that will strengthen AMD's global marketing organization," Read said. "Her deep expertise will accelerate the revitalization of the AMD brand, amplifying our voice in the marketplace while helping position the company for long-term growth."

LaForce will join AMD this month from Dell, where she is currently global vice president and chief marketing officer of the approximately $8 billion Dell Services business unit. As chief marketing officer for Dell Services, LaForce leads integrated marketing, demand generation, events, internal and external communications, sales enablement and alliance partnerships. While at Dell, LaForce has also held senior leadership positions within the corporate marketing, global communications, product marketing and business unit marketing groups. She also led Dell's corporate thought leadership and executive communications programs.

Before joining Dell, LaForce spent nearly a decade in marketing and communications leadership roles for a variety of technology and venture capital companies, including Rackable Systems (now SGI) and Accenture.

LaForce has a Bachelor of Arts and graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame. She will join AMD on May 14, 2012 and will be based in Austin, Texas.

Available Tags:LG , Apple , GALAXY , GEFORCE , GTX , SSD , Samsung , UK , Gaming , Nintendo , Smartphone , AMD ,

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 08/05/2012

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