IBM says OSX exploits going to rise

Apple security is rubbish

 

Big Blue has rounded on Apple's iOS security claiming that there will be many more iOS exploits in the future

IBM's X-Force Trend and Risk Report says browser exploits and BYOD continue to pose challenges and it warned that OS X attacks are getting more sophisticated. IBM hopes the findings will give enterprises a better perspective on the dangers they face particularly as Apple fanboys lean on them to allow their shiny toys to operate on mission critical business networks. The advice would appear to be to tell the Apple fanboys where to stick their toys

The report is drawn from IBM's database of more than 68,000 vulnerabilities, and real-time monitoring--performed on behalf of 4,000 clients in 130 countries and from 15 billion daily Web events. Mac threats have not only increased in volume but also in sophistication and now rival those usually seen on Windows platforms, even though they are a tiny percentage of the total computer market

Windows exploits are still more numerous, but the report "is not about infection rates" so much as using "technical attributes of the malware" to extrapolate how attacks might evolve. There was strong parity last year between Windows and OS X but cited malware releases such as Crisis and Flashback as evidence that "an increasing worldwide user base, as well as attention from the security research community" has made Apple's computers

a desirable target

HTC One X Jelly Bean update coming

Rollout to kick off in October

 

According to Modaco.com, it appears that HTC One X users might be getting the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as early as next month

The Jelly Bean update will be first rolling out to unlocked HTC One X devices while branded/operator-linked devices will come a bit later. Modaco.com also noted that that all One X smartphones might be updated before Christmas in case Google and operators approve it of course. Unfortunately, there is still no info regarding the One S update, but surely it should not be that far away either

The upcoming One X+ will ship with the "out of the box Jelly Bean" and the One XL heading for EE should share the same fate

You can check out more here


 

Intel shows us Clover Trail performance on a tablet

Windows 8 looks good on Acer W510

 

Last week at IDF 2012 we had a chance to sit down with the guys from Intel performance labs and a chap called Francois Piednoel, a well-known figure in Intel’s technical PR used the opportunity to show off Windows 8 on an Acer W510, a Clover Trail tablet with 10.1-inch screen that works just great

Many people are still skeptical about Microsoft’s ability to do something big on the tablet market, but this video might actually help to change some minds. Microsoft did a great job on multitasking enabling you to jump through applications including games in the blink of an eye

Our video clearly demonstrates that the tablet, powered by a dual-core Clover Trail chip, handles Windows 8 quite nicely and the whole user experience looks quite impressive

The Acer W510 weighs around 500 grams tablet and it can play very popular DivX HD content without necessity to transcode, which many pirates will find attractive. The tablet feels good in hand and the build quality is really great. We tried it ourselves and it felt and worked great

Enough talking, you can simply play the video to get an idea how fast it is

Intel now sees Qualcomm as main competitor

So does Nvidia

 

One good thing that happened to AMD in the last year is that both Intel and Nvidia have started to see another company as their main competitor

The name that popped out many times on our recent trip to the US and as you could have guessed the main competitor for both Intel and Nvidia is now Qualcomm

Qualcomm has swept across the US smartphone market due to its dominance with LTE integrated SOC and Intel and Nvidia want a piece of that market. Right now AMD looks quite weak in its eternal fight against Intel and the Core architecture dominates the PC and especially notebook market, the fight goes down to tablets and phones

Intel wants to get into many Windows 8 and eventually Android tablets as well as phones. Qualcomm is in the way and it currently looks really strong in these markets. The key to success is LTE as well as low power chips and Intel is getting better and better in this market with each generation

It is finally starting to get important phone design wins, such as Motorola, and with Windows 8 we will see many tablets based on Intel Atom Clover Trail chips. Don’t forget the new category started by Asus that everyone now calls convertibles, which is basically an Asus transformer or – insert brand here — transformer, basically a convertible tablet or a tablet with a keyboard dock

We saw Dell and HP making these machines with Windows 8 that will hit the market in late October as soon as Windows 8 goes public. The big fight will be Intel versus the rest of the ARM market. Qualcomm and to some extent Nvidia are key targets and the showdown is about to start in roughly a month

Super Slim does not equal price drop

Actually, prices are going up a little bit

 

One question that we have been getting from our readers is whether the price of the new Super Slim PlayStation 3 means that the price is going to drop on the older units that retailers have on the shelves. The simple answer is that Sony is not dropping the price of the PlayStation 3, nor are they giving retailers financial support to do so on the older models to move inventory. So, if you see the price dropped on older units, the retailer is selling it at a lower price to move their inventory because they choose to do so; not because Sony is funding it

As for an actual price drop on the PS3 this time around, Sony isn’t planning one for the Super Slim at this time, at least in the North American market. The old 160GB version of the PS3 cost $250 and the 320GB cost $300. The new 250GB version will retail for $270 and the 500GB version will retail for $300. Sony explains the pricing by saying that the upgrade from a 160GB hard drive to a 250GB hard is the reason for the price increase on the low end

As for why the 12GB flash memory low end Super Slim PS3 isn’t coming to North America, Sony claims that users in North America use and need the additional storage, and a 12GB model would not work in this market. In other markets, the 12GB unit is seen as a gateway to get users to choose the PlayStation 3 because of the lower price

We are not so sure that Sony will end up sticking with this strategy. Sources tell us that Sony might change its mind at some point in the future; and if Sony continues to trail both Microsoft and Nintendo this holiday season in console sales, Sony could go for broke and release the 12GB unit into the North American market to be more price competitive. If they do, you don’t have to say we told you so

We are not living in a Post PC world

HP boss lays down the law

 

Todd Bradley who is  executive vice president of HP’s printing and personal systems group, is quite emphatic that we are not living in a post-PC world. In an interview with PC World, Bradly said that it was “just wrong” to think that the PC has had its day

He said that when a kid goes to college, they need a PC. Businesses who want their employees to be productive, need a PC. Bradley said that the size of the PC market was huge and even if there is a place for tablets, they will not be the big enchilada for a while

He was also a little sniffy about HP moving to make Windows 8 Arm based tablets. Apparently the maker of expensive printer ink will be making tablets that run on the x86 platform

It will use both Intel and AMD architecture  because it was a lot more robust and established than things Armish. HP sees x86 chips delivering one of the best experiences in the short term and near future. While it will develop ideas with its partners in the ARM ecosystem, its first tablets will be based on the x86 architecture

F1 2012 Wear-Gate continues

Disgruntled fans asked to be mature with feedback

 

Creative Director Steve Hood from Codemasters has responded to disgruntled fans over the outright disgraceful messages that have been sent to him and his colleagues at Codemasters over what has been dubbed Wear-Gate. Hood is asking for maturity and more polite behavior for those leaving feedback

The problem is that buyers of the game are unhappy with the tire wear in the game, or what is now being referred to as Wear-Gate. Hood acknowledges that he has read almost every Tweet sent his way; and while people seem to be jumping on the bandwagon to carp about the tire wear in the game, many of the comments seem to be piling on

While Hood is asking for patience and more mature conduct, nothing has been said yet about how the issue might be addressed - or if it will be addressed in an upcoming patch. The forum does offer an explanation as to why the changes in the new version of the game were made. We will have to see where all of this leads and how it shakes out in the end

Join the discussion on the Official F1 forums here

HTC announces its Windows Phone 8 lineup

Meet the new 8X and 8S

As we draw closer to the official Microsoft Windows Phone 8 launch date more and more devices are showing up and HTC will certainly be in the starting lineup. At its media event in New York, HTC has announced two smartphones that will be running on Windows Phone 8 OS, the flagship Windows Phone 8X and a rather mid-range Windows Phone 8S

The Windows Phone 8X is not going to break any benchmark records and certainly does not have any impressive specifications, but these are apparently quite enough for Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 OS. It features a 4.3-inch 1280x720 (341ppi) touchscreen placed behind Gorilla Glass 2. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is powered by a Qualcomm S4 Plus (MSM8260A) 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, has 1GB of RAM memory, 16GB of storage, has an 8MP rear camera with BSI sensor and f/2.0 lens, 2.1MP front camera with an 88-degree wide lens, NFC chip, 802.11abgn WiFi (2.4 & 5GHz), Bluetooth 2.1, Beats Audio, uses microSIM, and has a 1800mAh battery

The precise dimensions are set at 132.35x66.2x10.12mm and it weighs 130 grams with battery. The design itself is rather strange or should we say too close to what we have seen on Nokia's recent smartphones and it will apparently be available in a couple of different color choices named as California Blue, Flame Red, Graphite Black and Limelight Yellow

As noted, the HTC Windows Phone 8S is a rather mid-range smartphone and has a 4-inch 800x480 touchscreen with Gorilla Glass and is powered by Qualcomm's MSM8227 1GHz dual-core CPU. It also comes with 512MB of RAM memory, 4GB of storage space expandable via microSD card, 5MP f/2.8 rear camera with autofocus and LED flash capable of recording 720p video, 802.11bgn WiFi (2.4GHz) Bluetooth 2.1, Beats Audio and a 1700mAh battery

The precise dimensions of the HTC Windows Phone 8S are set at 120.5x63x10.28mm and it weighs 113 grams with battery. It resembles its bigger 8X sibling in terms of design and it will be available with the same choice of colors

According to our sources, the Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S will be available in Europe (or at least in the DACH region) in early November with a price tag set at €549 for the Windows Phone 8X and €299 for the Windows Phone 8S

iOS 6 rolls out today

All post-3GS devices supported

 

Apple will start rolling out iOS 6 today and the new OS is compatible with all iOS devices dating back to the good old iPhone 3GS, which was discontinued last week

The new version brings improved Siri functionality, Apple’s all-new Maps app, the ability to rearrange icons on the home screen and deeper Facebook integration, which is a must in today’s social-centric world. The phone app has also been reworked to include a do not disturb option and the ability to turn down a call with a text message

The mail app will now allow you to refresh with a simple spite down and it includes a new VIP inbox. iCloud gets a handy tabs feature, allowing you to keep track of all open tabs on all your devices, but this functionality will probably not be available for Windows users who are likely to miss out on Safari 6.

Comparisons with Android Jelly Bean are inevitable, but frankly they really don’t make much sense. iOS 6 will roll out to practically all post-2009 Apple devices, while Jelly Bean powers a negligible one percent of Android devices

Internet companies form powerful lobby group

Wading into Washington

 

Google, Amazon.com, eBay, Facebook and other Internet companies are joining forces and  forming a lobbying group called The Internet Association. The group opened for business today and aims to tackle regulatory and political issues in Washington, D.C

The group's president Michael Beckerman, former advisor to Fred Upton, the chairman of the US House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the group will  lobby on issues such as allocation of visas for engineers and matters of privacy and piracy. Other members include Expedia, LinkedIn, Monster Worldwide, Yahoo! and Zynga

Internet companies have not tried to pool their resources before to influence regulations pertaining to revenue repatriation, cyber security, and sales tax. As a result they usually get stomped on by the Telcos

Beckerman said that the Internet's decentralised and open systems have created unprecedented entrepreneurialism. "Policymakers must understand that the preservation of that freedom is essential to the vitality of the Internet itself and the resulting economic prosperity," he said

Google and Facebook are among the companies that have been steadily ramping up spending on lobbying the federal government

Micron hires Nvidia executive

Wants to expand memory chips

 

Micron has hired a former senior executive from Nvidia to manage its expansion of memory chips for tablets and smartphones. Michael Rayfield, who left Nvidia last month, will take the role of Micron's vice president of Wireless Solutions Group

He will be in charge of DRAM and NAND flash chips for mobile devices. Rayfield was heavily involved in Nvidia's ongoing expansion from its core PC graphics chip business into mobile devices with its Tegra processors

Micron is looking for new ways to make cash with PC sales barely growing. The plan is to follow Samsung Electronics and other memory chipmakers as they look at chips for tablets and smartphones

Data released last week by market research firm IHS iSuppli showed that for the first time since the 1980s, personal computers no longer account for the majority of demand for DRAM memory chips

Intel working on Pentium 997 ULV as well

Coming in Q4

In addition to a couple of mobile Pentium CPUs based on both Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge architectures that will be launched at the end of Q3 or early Q4, Intel will also launch the Pentium 997 ULV CPU, a dual-core 1.6GHz CPU with 17W TDP

The full list of new mobile Pentium CPUs includes Sandy Bridge based 987 and B980 as well as the Ivy Bridge based 2020M and 2117U CPUs. The last but not the least is the Pentium 997 ULV, spotted by CPU-World.com. Similar to the already detailed Pentium 987, the Pentium 997 ULV is also based on Sandy Bridge architecture, has two CPU cores, 2MB of L3 cache, integrated HD graphics and does not feature any advanced technologies like Hyper-threading or Turbo Boost

The CPU works at 1.6GHz and has a 17W TDP. The Pentium 997 ULV is clearly a budget ULV part as it will end up slower than Ivy Bridge based Intel Pentium 2117U CPU

Some of these CPUs have already shown up in some notebook specs sheets and we will probably see more of them in the Q4.

You can check out more here

Kinect Sports most successful Kinect title

Over six million copies sold of the two seasons

 

Microsoft has announced that the Kinect Sports franchise is the most successful Kinect franchise so far, with Season 1 and Season 2 of Kinect Sports combining for sales of over six million units; and it continues to grow

The news came as the company announced the Kinect Sports Ultimate Collection that we told you about some time ago. The Kinect Sports Ultimate Collection, as you might guess, includes Kinect Sports Seasons 1 and 2 as well as all of the DLC content and an All-Access Pass add-on

While not yet officially announced, sources tell us that a Kinect Sports Season 3 is coming and it is believed that it will be for the Xbox 360, but some sources suggest that instead it might be for the Xbox Next/720; but with the success that the franchise has had, it is a no brainer that Microsoft will produce another title for the franchise at some point

Shuttle launches new OMNINAS KD20 low-energy NAS server

With two hot-swap drive bays

Shuttle, a company well known for its impressive mini-PC XPC barebones has announced its first network-attached storage (NAS) system, the OMNINAS KD20.

Following the design of its XPC line of barebones, the new OMNINAS is built from a combination of solid aluminum and white plastics in order to blend easily with home and office environments and it is definitely not something that you want to hide in some corner. Based on the PLX NAS 821 dual-core ARM 11 CPU working at 2x750MHz and paired up with 256MB of DDR2 memory the new OMNINAS KD20 uses only 9W in standby mode, 15.5W in average load and a respectful 21W under maximum load

Since the case is made out of aluminum, the KD20 is pretty cool and the 80mm fan only kicks in at full load, when the temperature reaches a certain level

As noted earlier, the OMNINAS KD20 is a dual-drive NAS with two hot-swappable drive bays with support for up to 4TB HDDs or SSDs. Drives can be set to work in RAID-1, RAID-0 or in JBOD mode. The energy-saving dual-core CPU also enables rapid read/write data transfers which are set at around 75/55MB/s in optimal test conditions, according to Shuttle

The rest of the specs include one USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 ports and a card reader. It also comes with Gigabit Ethernet. The new OMNINAS KD20 also comes with AutoCopy feature that copies data from USB or SD cards automatically, has an integrated DLNA-compatible media server, iTunes server and BT download function and comes with free OMNINAS Android and iOS app for mobile access to the KD20.

According to Shuttle, the new OMNINAS KD20 has a suggested price of €129 (ex. VAT) and should already be available across Europe

Adobe gives up on XP

Photoshop will not run it

 

Adobe said today that the current CS6 version of Photoshop will be the last one to support the operating system

Adobe Product Manager Tom Hogarty said in a blog post that the Photoshop team would like to provide advanced notice that Photoshop CS6 (13.0) will be the last major version of Photoshop to support Windows XP. He said that modern performance-sensitive software requires modern hardware graphics interfaces that Windows XP lacks, in particular a way to tap into the power of GPUs. By only working on newer operating systems and hardware Adobe can bring in significantly better performance

Photoshop CS6 already demonstrates that relying on a modern operating system, graphics cards/GPUs and graphics drivers can lead to substantial improvements in 3D, Blur Gallery and Lighting Effect features not available to Windows XP customers, he said

Adobe hopes that by providing this information early it will help you understand our current decisions around operating system support and where we we're headed with future releases of Photoshop. It is hard to see how any serious user of Adobe products could be using an XP machine anyway. The move away from XP started with CS 5 which only ran on Vista

Pegatron gets in on iPad mini contract

Foxconn no longer sole provider

 

According to a reports emanating from Chinese media Foxconn is no longer the only supplier of iPads

The outfit has reportedly lost 50 to 60 percent of iPad Mini production to rival manufacturer Pegatron. Economic Daily News reports that both suppliers are expected to churn out up to five million units of Apple new diminutive tablet

The iPad mini is expected to roll out sometime next month, but in keeping with tradition Apple is not saying anything yet

Additionally, Pegatron is reportedly being brought on board to help produce the iPhone and the first Pegatron built iPhones should appear sometime in Q4.

Lenovo goes on Cloud buying spree

Buys Stoneware

 

PC maker Lenovo has bought software company Stoneware as it boosts its cloud computing operations

Lenovo will add new technologies and boost its capabilities for commercial and consumer cloud and add the ability to provide secure content across multiple devices in education and government. Lenovo will also help Stoneware branch out its cloud products into more consumer-focused products

Peter Hortensius, senior vice-president, and president, Product Group, Lenovo issued a statement which was full of non-words like “leverage,” “innovation” and “embracing new technologies” so the deal must be important. Rick German, CEO, Stoneware, said the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and in the coming weeks the US Stoneware team, which will remain in Indiana and Utah in the US, will be fully integrated into Lenovo

LG Optimus G goes official in Korea

Worldwide availability expected in October

 

LG’s new powerhouse, the LG Optimus G is launching in Korea and worldwide availability is expected in October

The G is based on Qualcomm’s new APQ8064 quad-core, the fastest ARM-based chip on the market. It also packs Adreno 320 graphics, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The usual array of sensors is on board, along with a new 4.7-inch screen in 1280x768. It also has a 13-megapixel camera and a host of other goodies. The only thing apparently missing from the impressive spec sheet is a microSD slot

As we reported over the weekend, the Optimus G is already listed in Europe at €599, placing it at the top of the Android ladder, along with the Samsung Galaxy S III.

It all sounds nice on paper, but with LG’s poor software update track record, the Optimus G seems like a perfect choice for consumers who place an emphasis on hardware rather than software. It ships with Android 4.0 and we have no idea when it will get 4.1.

PS3 Super Slim to arrive for holidays

To be offered in 12GB and 500GB models

 

The PlayStation 3 Super Slim model that we have been telling you about is finally going to arrive on dealer shelves. While Sony has not officially announced the new models, it is expected that the company will confirm them during their Tokyo Game Show press conference on September 19th, according to our sources

The Super Slim PS3 model will arrive with the latest cost saving features. It will be offered in two versions, a 12GB flash storage edition and a 500GB hard drive model. Many believe that the introduction of the new units for the holidays will be accompanied by a price cut, but that is still apparently up in the air in Sony land; and we are not sure it is going to happen

Polygamia.pl shows a picture of a Polish retailer here, claiming it will arrive September 28th. You might want to bring your favorite translator

Steve Jobs blamed for white cars

Yet another thing to blame him for

 

Top Car designer Sandy McGill has come up with the odd statement that Apple messiah Steve Jobs apparently was responsible for the white car

McGill designs cars for MW Designworks and his main job is to sort out the colour, materials, and finish. He claimed to Motoramic's Brett Berk that until Jobs came along, silver was the most popular exterior car colour in America for nearly a decade. But that has been replaced by white which until then had been associated with refrigerators or the tiles in in the your bathroom. He claimed that Apple made white valuable

This will be news for the rest of us. My first car was white and it was a 1956 Ford Prefect. It might be valuable now, I think I left it by the side of the road in a pile of oil with its gear box in fragments. All you would need to do is stick an Apple logo on the boot and it would be priceless. Of course that was 1984 so it might not be there now

Wireless docking with WiGig has its limitations

IDF 2012: 802.11ad 60MHz travels 10 meters

After Intel’s keynote finished we went to Justin Rantner to find a few answers about 802.11ad wireless docking concept that remained answered. We got a live demonstration that wireless docking can pass through barriers and the Intel chap was kind enough to demonstrate that. It will go through walls but this will depend on many factors especially on the thickness of the wall

The speeds that Intel was getting were about 1.5Gbit which is quite impressive and it is enough for two monitors, wireless hard drive, wireless keyboard and notebook connection. It worked just fine as Intel demonstrated. Wireless docking actually as a big advantage as at 60MHz channels and 10 meter range, your neighbors won’t be able to interrupt your wireless docking, apart the ones that share the wall with you. Intel and this wireless alliance was thinking about that as well once the 802.11ad device starts talking with its docking, it will focus the signal to that point and won't scatter it around the room

It also doesn’t need line of sight which also nice to know for people with a creative mess on their desks. Once wireless docking becomes reality you will buy what Intel calls WDS (WiGig Docking station) plug all cables in it and get it going wireless. You put your notebook on a table or within 10 meters (30 feet) and you are good to go

In the future, when monitors and hard drives come with 802.11ad, you will really be able to have a truly wireless office, except of the power cords or course that is here to stick around for at least a few more years

Intel is not alone at this rather interesting concept 18 key players support it including AMD, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell, Huwei, Marwell, Microsoft, NEC, Nvidia, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, Toshiba, Mediatek and Wilocity

Some 25 other companies are supporting the idea so who knows, maybe this will happen sooner rather than later

Google pulls XP support

Upgrade you insecure bastards

 

Search engine Google has joined the lynch mob targeting those computers which are still running Windows XP

Google said today it will soon no longer support Internet Explorer 8 for its outsourced, cloud-based enterprise email and collaboration platform, Google Apps. This will mean that older browser users can't use Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar, and certainly no Google Drive for users of the older browser

The move will follow the release of Internet Explorer 10 is shipped to stores worldwide. However there will be a knock on effect on Windows XP. Users of the ancient operating system can't install IE9. Google Apps are popular in colleges and schools, businesses and even government departments and many of these rely on Windows XP for legacy applications

Ironically the move is likely to benefit Microsoft who has been trying to get people to upgrade from XP for the last five years

First iPhone 5 bench figures emerge

Wipes the floor with A5, A5X chips

 

Although Apple did not shed much light on its new A6 processor at the iPhone 5 launch event, CEO Tim Cook made quite a few bold performance claims and it seems he was spot on

GeekBench has published a few performance figures which seem to indicate that Apple’s first in-house designed chip is a vast improvement over the A5 and A5X

The new iPhone scored 1601 in Geekbench, whereas the latest iPad scored 794 and the iPhone 4S managed just 631. The A6 is said to run at 1GHz, a 200MHz speed bump over the A5, but the performance boosts obviously have more to do with architecture than sheer clock speed. The A6 is also coupled with faster memory to help move things along

Looking beyond the Apple universe, the score also places the new iPhone ahead of the Exynos 4 touting Samsung Galaxy S3, which scored 1588 points

More here

Qualcomm eyes AMD graphics

Easy fix for Windows RT drivers

 

Since AMD is not really in the best shape of its life, a lot of people that live and breathe the chip industry have been telling us that Qualcomm has a thing for AMD graphics

Qualcomm already acquired AMD’s mobile phone chip division known under its Imagion name for pitiful 60 million dollars and few years later Qualcomm is showing its interest for the rest of AMD graphics, previously known as ATI

Qualcomm is reportedly having issues with moving from Direct X 9 graphics in Adreno parts and we already wrote that Eric Demmers, the former CTO of AMD graphics, has the job of making sure that Qualcomm gets DirectX 11 and beyond as soon as possible

Qualcomm graphics run worse than Nvidia’s, but the real performance winner is Intel as its Atom Clover trail parts despite the need for more power will run faster, at least in CPU intensive applications. Intel chips will run regular Windows, while the ARM alliance will only have Windows RT

We are not sure if Qualcomm will acquire AMDs graphics division, but that would make quite a twist. If one asks what would AMD do without AMD graphics for future Fusion APU parts, the answer is rather simple, it could just license the AMD graphics back from Qualcomm or any other potential buyer

That is what Intel does for Atom processor, Samsung, Apple, Texas Instruments and just about anyone else except Nvidia and Qualcomm does

New London studio to focus on tablet

Microsoft Studios to have a Windows 8 shop

A new London-based studio to be run by Lee Schuneman will be the latest opening by Microsoft Studios. The new studio will focus exclusively on the Windows 8 Tablet project with the goal of developing a long-term business with Entertainment as a Service as its core

Schuneman, a veteran of Rare, did not offer any specifics as to what they would be working on. The studio is hiring and will not be fully open and running till November. Microsoft claims that they wanted to get the word out to head off rumors and speculation about what they might be up to

The move by Microsoft signals that the company has the desire to generate software for the tablet market, as they know that it will take software to make the new Windows 8 tablet devices successful

Windows Phone 8 RTM ships, reportedly

First devices expected in November

 

For consumers tired of Apple’s underwhelming updates and Android fragmentation, there will finally be a third way

Redmond is reportedly shipping the RTM version of Windows Phone 8 to manufacturers ahead of the October 29 launch and if all goes well we should see the first devices in October

Although Windows Phone 7.x has been with us for a while now, it never really grew into a proper alternative to iOS and Android. There are quite a few reasons for this, limited number app, poor choice of devices, lack of carrier support and Microsoft’s draconian hardware limitations to name but a few

However, Windows Phone 8 Apollo addresses most if not all of these shortcomings. Apollo phones will feature the latest Qualcomm S4 dual-core parts, they will support 720p screens, more storage and optional microSD support. The number of WP apps is growing fast and to top it all off Windows RT is also on the way, which opens a range of possibilities

Although Windows Phone 7.x devices will never get an Apollo update, they will be updated to Windows Phone 7.8, with a new UI styled like Apollo

However, although WP8 looks great on paper, Microsoft has a really limited window of opportunity to take on Apple and Google, as the smartphone market is already saturated and Microsoft needs more than a good OS to make a dent in it. For lack of a better word, it needs a lucky break and the patent wars, if they escalate, could be just that

More here

International press divided on Windows 8

Most hacks aren’t in love it

 

Back at IDF we had a chance to spend some quality time with many of our colleagues from around the world and we heard mixed emotions regarding Windows 8 and its potential effect on the industry

The new is certainly the biggest chance for Microsoft since its trademark desktop OS is taking a back seat and after more than two decades of desktop dominance. For some people it is hard to imagine life without desktops, but the market is changing

Think about it like a Blackberry user without a physical keyboard. Windows 8 needs touch to works as it was meant to, and many of the computers today don’t have touch support. Most old desktops don’t and never will have touch, but in all fairness you can get by with a mouse and keyboard, but it’s not as easy and smooth as with touch

We heard many colleagues voicing concerns about Windows 8 and the fact that the Windows application shop is not flooded with applications doesn’t help either

As far as people who miss the traditional desktop layout and the start button go, someone has already made a free application that can get you automatically to desktop (Windows 8 doesn’t allow this, you launch to Metro only Ed.) that will make quite a few old-timers happy

It’s a mixed bag but we don’t see many Windows 7 users rushing to upgrade and certainly not the Windows XP crowd

Apple A6 is not A15-based

Custom Apple core apparently

 

The iPhone 5 is finally out, but its A6 processor is still somewhat of a mystery. Although the tame Apple press speculated that the A6 is the world’s first SoC based on ARM’s new A15 architecture, Anandtech has a different and perhaps even more surprising theory

The A6 is not an A15 chip, but it’s not an A9 chip either. Apparently it’s a custom Apple design, based on the ARMv7 instruction set. Anand came to the conclusion after comparing extensions supported the new chip. Originally he thought Apple tapped the new A15 architecture, but it turns out that Apple took the road less travelled

But why would Apple even bother designing a new chip? Well, for starters it can afford to, literally. With billions in the bank the development of a mobile processor is not an issue. Designing a chip from the ground up to suit the needs of the iPhone delivers an excellent balance of performance and power consumption, and the latter is very important for the featherweight iPhone 5.

Of course, Apple is not designing an entirely new chip solely for the iPhone 5 and we probably won’t wait long to see the new architecture trickle down into other Apple products. The upcoming iPad mini is the obvious candidate. Like the iPhone 5, it is rumoured to be much thinner and lighter than 9.7-inch iPads and it is also said to feature a similar resolution screen, with only about 10 percent more pixels (1024x768 vs. 1132x640). We can’t be sure that the A6 will end up in the iPad mini, but at this point it seems very likely indeed

So, although the iPhone 5 launch wasn’t very spectacular and did not deliver any world-beating innovations, the biggest innovation could be under the bonnet, in the form of Apple’s first in-house designed mobile chip

You can check out the geeky details here

Samsung expects to sell 20 million Note 2 phablets

Bigger smash than Gangnam style

 

Although quite a few punters though Samsung’s Galaxy Note line of phablets would never go mainstream, the oversized phone was a runaway success

Sales of the original Note topped 10 million units and now Samsung reckons Galaxy Note 2 sales could pass 20 million units

Samsung mobile boss J.K. Shin told reporters that sales could grow “more than twofold” and he also hinted that the Note II will launch sometime in October

Although many believed it would be dead on arrival, the phablet form factor seems here to be here to stay. In fact the Galaxy Note is outselling proper Android tablets and sales are still picking up

More here

New round of Radeon price cuts coming next week

10 to 20 percent

Good news if you are planning a GPU upgrade. According to PC Perspective, AMD are planning to slash cut of several Radeon HD 7000 boards next week and some of the cuts are substantial

In the low end and mid-range markets, the HD 7750 will drop to $95, while the HD 7850 and HD 7870 will have their prices slashed to $200 and $240 respectively. The HD 7950 will go for $290, while the boost edition will set you back $10 more

Flagship HD 7970 are also getting a haircut and the plain HD 7970 should go for $410, while GHz Edition cards should sell for $430. The cut is expected to go into effect next week, so nothing is official yet and a grain of salt is advised

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