Not Everyone Wants a Smartphone: Nokia Launches $30 Phone

Contrary to what Apple may want you to believe, not everyone wants or needs a smartphone. Some may want a phone simply for (gasp!) making a phone call and  sending the occasional text or two.

Nokia’s new 101 and 100 cell phones, available for just $35 and $30, respectively, offer users a cheaper option for connectivity.

“It’s inexpensive, so it’s designed to be great for kids or older adults who don’t want a smartphone and don’t care to learn how to use one,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. “It’s a decent looking phone, but it’s not something you’re going to wow the neighbors with.”

Historically, entry-level phones are Nokia’s  sweet spot, according to Enderle, and phones like these keeps it the largest phone maker in world.

“Cheaper phones without a lot of features are Nokia’s bread and butter,” says Enderle. “Holding onto this market is critical to Nokia’s survival. If not for phones like this who go to folks who can’t afford iPhones, they would lose their market leadership status.”

Enderle  describe both the Nokia 101 and 100 as good quality phones and said they would make a great choice for parents looking to get an inexpensive phone for children. Apart from the phone’s text messaging abilities, it will also include a music player that Enderle compares to “an old iPod.” Initially, the phones will not be available in the U.S., and will be sold in countries including India, China, and other nations that Nokia spokesperson Keith Nowak refers to as “emerging markets.”

“The question for us was how do we help the next billion users of mobile phones get everything they need, and nothing that they don’t,” says Nowak. “The great thing about these phones is that it allows for users to switch between two SIM cards so they can choose between two different carriers according to where they can find the best rate.”

According to a Nokia press release, the Nokia 101 marks the fifth “dual SIM device” the company has created in the last three months, and is the cheapest ever made.

Other competitors in the non-smartphone market include Samsung and LG, according to Enderle, who says that other Korean and Chinese companies are getting in on the act to compete “at the bottom of the market.”

“This is where the volume is,” says Enderle. “The volume worldwide remains with this class of phone, and the older you are, the happier you will be with this class of phone. While it’s hard to point to baby boomers as a long-term growth market, this phone will certainly appeal to that demographic.”

Roger Kay, founder of Endpoint Technologies Associates, says that while there is still plenty of life left in this category of phone, overtime they will get  forced out of the marketplace as smartphones drop in price along with coverage plans.

“Nokia is maintaining its large presence at the low end of the market while it creates a smartphone  presence,” says Kay, adding that Nokia is likely using sales from feature phones like the 101 and 100 to stay afloat while they develop a new smartphone.

“There is still plenty of life left in the feature phone business, and it’s not something that Nokia wants to abandon right away,” Kay says. “Apple doesn’t make any feature phones, and a lot of other companies are getting out of the feature phone business, so Nokia is really positioning itself well. There is still a big enough business there to warrant keeping your products up to date and refreshing things.”

The Nokia 101 will be made available in the third quarter of 2011 and will come in colors of Phantom Black and Coral Red. The Nokia 100 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2011 and comes in Legion Blue, Festival Pink, Ocean Blue, Phantom Black and Coral Red.

Motorola unveils budget Android phone

Hot on the heels of LG and Nokia announcing wallet-friendly smartphones, the Optimus Pro and Nokia 500 respectively, Motorola Mobility has unveiled its latest Android handset: The XT531.

Touted as a wallet-friendly Android smartphone, the XT531 features a 3.5-inch HVGA (480 x 320 pixels) capacitive touchscreen. It also has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and onboard flash. The front-facing VGA camera allows you to make video calls via Qik.

Motorola has decided to do away with the Motoblur user interface (UI). In its place is Moto Switch UI, which enables users to switch between different modes--work or play.

Another upside to this phone is its battery life. Heavy users should be pleased with the 1,540mAh battery, which Motorola claims gives up to eight hours of talktime.

The XT531 will be available in China starting this month. Hong Kong and Taiwan will have to wait a little longer though, as the phone will only be launched from end-September onwards. Pricing of the handset and its availability in other Asian regions have not been announced yet.

There is also a dual-SIM version which will be available in selected Asian countries from end-September.

RIMM Focuses on Upgrades

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Ltd., recently announced its plan to upgrade its service offerings by adding another value-added service to its portfolio. The new service, namely BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Music will enable BlackBerry users to share songs and music with other users.

Growing competition from Google Inc’s  Android-based smartphones and Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad series will likely lead to further market share loss. Even the popular BlackBerry Messenger, the only unique product in the company’s portfolio, has also come under threat from Apple’s iMessenger, which is believed to be quite advanced in nature as compared to BBM.

The new BBM Music service is believed to be an attempt on the company’s part to counter further market share losses. Under the new service, the users will have to pay a monthly rental of $4.99 to access up to 10 million popular music tracks from which they can include up to 50 songs to their BBM Music profile.

Moreover, these newly added songs can be accessed by other friends who are also subscribed to this new service. Hence, users of this new service will be able to access many songs from their other friend groups at no extra costs.

According to the industry analysts, Research In Motion may launch new BlackBerry devices that will support Android applications. Such a move will enable the company to boost its sale volume as well as regain its lost market share.

Stiff competition and continuous loss of market share coupled with tepid response from their much hyped PlayBook tablets and delayed product launch will put pressure on profitability going forward. Moreover, reduced second quarter outlook will further lose investors confidence on its stock.

Google+ for Android Updates with Reshare and Bug Fixes

In addition, Google+ 1.0.6 addresses several bugs that plagued previous versions of the Android application.
One of the most important new features added with the latest update is called Reshare and allows users to reshare posts of people from their 'circles.'

According to Google, the Reshare feature was one of the most requested features and it was introduced based on users' feedback.
Currently, the Reshare feature is only available for Android users, but Google confirmed that iOS and the Web apps will also receive it in the near future:
“... don’t worry, iOS and web app folks, reshare is coming soon for you too!”

Furthermore, Google added support for 38 languages, which makes the application available in more regions where the English language is not that popular.
Other changes added with Google+ 1.0.6 include the following:
- Incremental improvements to notification reliability;
- Clearer Instant Upload options in the initial setup dialog;
- Performance fixes and minor UI tweaks;
- Ability to create a new circle from the “Circles” destination.
However, improvements and new features is not everything that has been added, as Google also fixed several issues that have been reported by users:
- Eliminate Instant Upload duplicates on HTC models;
- Fixed “No name” issue in Huddle;
- Hidden 1:1 Huddles now reappear when new messages are sent;
- Fixed issue with notifications count changing when switching from portrait to landscape.

Although Google+ is still a work in progress and is constantly being developed with new features and fixes, it looks like the search giant is doing a great job so far.
Google+ v1.0.6 for Android is now available as a free download from Android Market and is compatible with all smartphones running Android 2.1 or newer.

 

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ZipRealty Introduces Rich New Features to its Android App

ZipRealty, (http://www.ziprealty.com), the nationally-ranked, full-service real estate brokerage powered by proprietary technology and effective online marketing, announced today the introduction of a rich new feature set for its free mobile real estate application for Android OS devices. The new and improved ZipRealty for Android application is available for download now via the Google Android Market and the Amazon App Store for Android.

The ZipRealty for Android application provides a reliable, high-quality, on-the-go mobile real estate search that allows users to sync up their home search wherever they are, and search for homes in over 5,000 cities and neighborhoods in the 23 major U.S. metro areas that ZipRealty serves.

New features within the ZipRealty for Android application include:

• All available MLS listings of homes 'for sale' and more complete MLS data on each home
• An action bar that enables users to easily request a visit, ask a question, contact their ZipRealty agent, and save any home they are interested in from every home details screen within the app
• Cross-platform synchronization: any homes saved are now synced with each user's ZipRealty website account and vice versa allowing users to sync up their search wherever they are
• The option to log in using Facebook Connect
• Share home details with friends and family via Facebook or email
• Home estimates from HomeGain and eppraisal from each home details screen
• Create a ZipRealty account from within the app
• Upgraded, visually rich map search results with embedded 'for sale' and recently sold prices

"Providing a high-quality mobile app that mirrors the same excellent user experience our customers have on our website is important because the home buying process is extensively a mobile one – driving streets, touring open houses, walking neighborhoods, and looking at schools," said Lanny Baker, CEO of ZipRealty. "The real killer app, however, lies in the combination of our local, knowledgeable real estate agents and our technology."

The ZipRealty iOS and Android mobile applications have been downloaded over one million times since their initial launch in December 2009 and March 2010, respectively. ZipRealty applications are consistently ranked among the top 10 real estate apps in both the Apple App Store and Google Android Market. According to a recent report by Gartner Research, the projected market growth for Android devices is expected to jump from 38.5 percent in 2011 to 48.8 percent in 2015, or 539.3 million Android devices worldwide.

Additional information and screenshots of the application may be found on the ZipRealty website at http://www.ziprealty.com/android.

About ZipRealty, Inc.

ZipRealty is a leading full-service residential real estate brokerage focused on finding better, faster ways to connect clients with the information, tools and professional services they value to complete their residential real estate transactions. The Company serves its clients through its combination of a leading online presence, robust proprietary technology and knowledgeable local real estate professionals in the field. The Company's award-winning, user-friendly website and mobile applications give its clients on-the-go access to comprehensive local Multiple Listing Services home listings data, as well as other relevant market and neighborhood information and tools. The Company's proprietary technology, including its agent productivity platform, helps increase the efficiency of real estate agents while reducing customer acquisition and management costs, allowing the Company to invest in making its value proposition differentiated and more attractive to both clients and agents. Founded in 1999, the Company operates in 23 major markets in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The Company also has referral arrangements with third-party brokerages in two markets where it does not conduct its own brokerage operations. For more information on ZipRealty, visit www.ziprealty.com or call 1-800-CALL-ZIP.

Microsoft Previews Tablet with Quad-Core ARM Chip

Microsoft previewed a new quad-core media tablet identified as a Windows "Slate" at the Tech Ed 2011 conference in New Zealand on Friday. Microsoft principal architect Patrick Hevesi said the software giant is currently working with its OEM partners to produce next-generation tablets that make better sense from a business perspective.

"We are seeing people bringing in iPads with a Bluetooth keyboard, a mouse, a pen, and all this other stuff," Hevesi noted. The goal at Microsoft is to "find that middle ground" that will enable business users to have "all this other stuff [in a] hybrid form factor [that] is a lot more critical [to business users]," he said in a Tech Ed video interview.

For example, Microsoft is working with selected partners to bring "instant on" PC capabilities to next-generation Windows tablets, Hevesi noted. What's more, Windows-powered mobile devices are already available that offer eight to 14 hours of battery life.

Even better, Hevesi expects ultrathin notebooks and tablets running Windows to be able to operate for up to 24 hours from a single battery charge by late this year or early 2012. The new Windows slates also will sport "brilliant HD screens in a very thin form factor" and be equipped with quad-core processors, he added.

TI's quad-core OMAP Chip

Several chipmakers are poised to launch quad-core chips based on the ARM architecture that will offer support for Microsoft's next-generation Windows 8 operating system. For example, the 1.8-GHz OMAP4470 quad-core chip announced by Texas Instruments in early June will integrate ARM CPUs with enough moxie to run Windows-style applications and offer support for Microsoft's DirectX technology for gaming applications.

TI's chip will feature HD user interfaces for connecting the host machine with as many as three high-definition screens simultaneously, and also integrate HDMI technology for supporting stereoscopic 3D. Mobile devices running TI's new chips are expected to arrive in the consumer marketplace in the first half of 2012.

"Fast and crisp web browsing, HD and liquid UIs, support for the latest applications -- these are the elements consumers judge and buy their devices on," said TI Vice President Remi El-Ouazzane. "The OMAP4470 processor delivers the maximum experience possible with an unmatched, power-efficient architecture."

Quad-Core Tegra Chip

Rival chipmakers such as Nvidia and Qualcomm also have developed quad-core chips based on the ARM architecture that will be able to run Windows 8 by the time Microsoft is ready to launch the next-generation OS. Nvidia showed off its next-generation Tegra processor at the Mobile World Congress last February.

"This is the first mobile quad-core processor, [and it] contains a new 12-core GeForce GPU," noted Michael Rayfield, the general manager of Nvidia's mobile business unit. He said OEMS received samples of the new quad-core chip earlier this year. So the first consumer products with the new chip might arrive in time for this year's holiday shopping season.

Windows 8 isn't expected to launch until the latter half of next year, which will hamper Microsoft's ability to gain market share for Mango -- the company's fledgling Windows Phone 7 mobile platform released to manufacturers last month. Still, some analysts believe the evolving Phone 7 platform will benefit in the long run from its compatibility with Microsoft's next-generation OS for desktop PCs and notebooks.

"Microsoft will claw its way to success and market share over the next couple of releases," said Al Hilwa, director of applications development software at IDC. "Its chances will be helped significantly with a successful Windows 8 release in 2012, which will create synergies between the PC and the phone in new ways."

Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM and GeminII S524 Review

Introduction:

Cooler Master is a manufacturer of many different computer components that I've always enjoyed working with. Over the many years of its life, Cooler Master has developed hundreds of different products from computer cases, processor heatsinks, power supplies, and even some dabbling in laptop cooling. We all know of its incredibly popular HAF case series and Hyper series coolers. Regarded as probably one of the best, if not THE best, bang-for-your-buck heatsink out right now is the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. It can be had for under $30, and performs better than just about every other mid-range cooler on the market. A couple of weeks ago, Cooler Master launched its newer, bigger version, the Hyper 612 PWM. It still features a single 120mm fan design and 6mm heatpipes, however, in the Hyper 612 PWM's case we find that Cooler Master added two extra heatpipes to the mix, along with other optimizations. In this roundup, we'll be exploring those improvements very closely. Along with studying the Hyper 612 PWM, I'll be checking out Cooler Master's GeminII S524 cooler, which is a high clearance low-profile cooler. Many may choose a heatsink such as the GeminII S524 in order to clear tall memory modules. On top of the high "ground" clearance, it can be oriented over the memory modules to provide airflow from the large 120mm or optional 140mm fan — keeping more than just your CPU cool.
I can say that I've never been disappointed in a Cooler Master heatsink, so I have to say that my expectations for these two coolers are high. I don't doubt that I'll definitely be satisfied, but with Cooler Master's reputation it might be hard for me to be hit with a surprise (of course, that's a good thing!).

Anyways, in this review I will be combining the evaluations of two of the latest heatsinks from Cooler Master — its Hyper 612 PWM, the newer, bigger sister to the Hyper 212+, along with the new GeminII S524. I will present an in-depth look at both coolers, from their exterior features and construction to an intense benchmarking session to determine their performance relative to other coolers on the market. Without any more jibber-jabber, I'll get started!

Closer Look:

At first glance, we see the package for the Hyper 612 PWM and GeminII S524 flying the standard Cooler Master colors of white, teal, and purple. Both boxes, as well as just about every other heatsink box from this manufacturer, sport these same colors and are unmistakeable as belonging to Cooler Master. The GeminII S524 box is a much different shape from that of the Hyper 612 PWM, for good reason. The size and shape of each cooler differs, and thus are packaged differently. However, both show the same information. Each box has the Cooler Master logo on the front along with an angled view of each cooler and its model name. The left sides of each box show numerical specifications, such as dimensions, weights, materials, and other tabulated points. The right side is a plain picture of the cooler without any extra information. The rears of the boxes list a few features in several different languages. Among these features, in general, are things that make each cooler different. For example, the Hyper 612 PWM is a massive 6-heatpipe cooler with extra large fin spacing to accommodate extra airflow and the GeminII S524 offers a unique shape to clear motherboard components and cool other heat-producing components besides the CPU during operation.

Inside each box, both heatsinks are packed similarly. There is an accessory box, reading material (warranty card, owner's manual, etc), the heatsink itself, and the fans are secured inside of a foam sandwich. Both heatsinks arrived in perfect condition, had no fingerprints, no bent fins, etc. Cooler Master did an excellent job with packing and handling these coolers. Looking at the install/mounting kit, it appears that these coolers use the typical Cooler Master mounting which is very simple for both AMD and Intel setups. Complex mounting systems are usually clumsy and troubling to install, so it's nice to see that there are manufacturers that still hang on to the K.I.S.S (keep it simple, stupid) principle!

My first thought of the Hyper 612 PWM is that it's quite big. In fact, it's quite a lot bigger than it looks in the picture! I could fit a 120mm fan on each of the four sides it seems, judging by the dimensions it's nearly a 150x150x150mm cube! I noticed the large array of heatpipes, and the two "black sheep" fins at the top into which the Cooler Master logo is stamped. The fan looks to be the same 120mm fans used in Cooler Master's cases and other 120mm coolers. The fin spacing is a good bit larger than I am used to seeing, and maybe that's why the pictures are so misleading! The fins are spaced approximately 2mm or more apart (I cannot find a Cooler Master-provided number, and I misplaced my calipers while recently moving) to allow for more airflow through the heatsink. While less fins are used, there is a smaller pressure drop through the cooler itself allowing for more airflow between the boundary layers of each fin — which may lead to a higher efficiency cooler.

The fan of the Hyper 612 PWM is screwed into two clips which are then snapped onto a lip on each edge. It is held securely and can be removed easily! Cooler Master did provide an extra pair of clips if the user chooses to snap on an additional fan for a push-pull configuration.

The GeminII S524 is certainly a different animal from those with which I've had experience. There are still the basic essentials, namely the base, heatpipes, fins, and a fan, but we see that the cooler is more of an "L" shape. This shape can be oriented to blow air not only through the fins, but on top of other components such as RAM, voltage regulators, and other pieces on the motherboard. The overhang the cooler is set up to be able to clear large RAM modules, however I already see that if the cooler was oriented over the RAM slots, removing and exchanging RAM modules may be difficult to do without first removing the cooler. Luckily if the user chooses not to do this, they may turn it any other direction, blowing over or near the northbridge or voltage regulators. The fan on the GeminII S524 appears to be the same fan as the one used on the Hyper 612 PWM. However, instead of using a detachable clip, the fan on this heatsink is directly screwed into a larger plate, which is fastened to the cooler directly with another set of screws. The main cosmetic difference between these two coolers is that the heatpipes and base of the GeminII S524 are plated, while the heatpipes and base of the Hyper 612 PWM are plain, exposed copper.

 It's clear that these two coolers are very unlike each other. The Hyper 612 PWM has no concern for space and appears to be a very heat-capacitive beast, and the GeminII S524 is an elegant, concentrated problem-solver. Being based off of many other Cooler Master models, the Hyper 612 PWM doesn't have a lot of original elements to itself as it uses the simple, proven design of many other heatsinks. However, the GeminII S524 intrigues me with its interesting shape. The heatpipes are crimped onto the edge of the base through which they run out the other side and back around through the fin array. It is a rather different design that accomplishes the same task. I am excited to see this thing in action and I'm curious to see how effective it is, being that it's such a different design!

The heatpipes at the top of the Hyper 612 PWM peek through the top two black fins and are alternately crimped. The ends of heatpipes are not identical, so Cooler Master as well as many other manufacturers choose to alternate which end goes on which side on coolers that have both ends of the heatpipes coming out of the top. This is not mandatory for performance as heatpipes are not uni-directional — this is merely a cosmetic manufacturing decision. The heatipes coming out of the base and into the fins of the Hyper 612 PWM are aligned single file perpendicular to that of the airflow. This helps eliminate hot spots caused by improper heatpipe placement and allows for the maximum amount of air to flow around each. An interesting addition that I see on this cooler is the large additional "heatsink" directly on top of the base. Not all heat is going to exit the base by conduction through the heatpipes, so Cooler Master chose to put more fins on top of the base to help accelerate the heat removal from the base. I've only seen this on a very few coolers, and this is the best use of the extra space I have ever seen!

The heatpipes of the GeminII S524 will exit the base parallel to the motherboard and the air from the fan will blow over them in a similar manner to that of the Hyper 612 PWM. As you can see, the ends of the heatpipe shown here are the "cup" end, and the ends at the base are the crimped ends. This angle also shows how the top fan plate is fastened, at least half of it, to the cooler itself. The angle showing the heatpipe arrangement from the other side shows the other half of the screws holding this plate to the heatsink, as well as the screws that hold the fan to this plate. An observation that I've made here while looking at the rear is the "stepped" design of the sides. Rather than coming out of the base at a constant, angled slope (i.e. making the cross section trapezoidal), Cooler Master seems to have cut this design into the fins in order to increase clearance around the edges of the cooler. This extra design concern is yet another thing that Cooler Master didn't forget to include!

With the fans of both heatsinks removed, the base design can be observed. We don't see much more of the Hyper 612 PWM as there being only one fan on the cooler to begin with, so we can look at the naked side and know exactly what the other side looks like. A glance of the Hyper 612 PWM at this angle shows another look at the integrated heatsink at the bottom, which reminds me of an earlier-styled (forgive me, like Slot 1 days) cooler that was milled out of a solid block of aluminum — just like this one is. The bare view of the GeminII S524 offers a view of the large surface area at the top that is capable of accepting a large, 140mm fan. By taking advantage of using heatpipes, Cooler Master has taken the performance of a tall tower cooler, bent it over, and made it into a low-profile version. I like this way of thinking, as original ideas can cause the birth of some really excellent products. Of course, this isn't the first GeminII line that Cooler Master has produced, but it's been over four years since its introduction.

One thing that leaves me a little disappointed is the finish on the bases of each cooler. First, when I first removed the protective stickers, I found that the adhesive used on these stickers left quite a heavy residue that took some scrubbing to remove! I haven't had this happen before, so I don't know what may have gone wrong. It's been super hot in the south lately, so it's possible that it did something to the adhesive during shipment. After removing the residue, I didn't get the sight that I expected. For middle/upper-end coolers, I generally expect to see somewhat of a reflective sheen on their bases. However, the bases are a matte finish at best. The machining marks aren't very evident so Cooler Master got the process right — but one extra step to provide a smoother finish could have really made a big difference in my impression of both! The GeminII has a slightly better-looking base, but the extra shininess probably comes from the plating process and doesn't mean that it's any flatter. Of course it doesn't take a mirror-finish to have great performance, but when the reflection is warped (see the GeminII S524 reflection) and curvy it generally means that the base lacks flatness.

As I said earlier, the fans on both the Hyper 612 PWM and GeminII S524 are identical both cosmetically and statistically. Each fan operates on 12V, use PWM 4-pin plugs, and pull a maximum of 0.37A — making them around 4.5W each. The undersides of the fan clips of the Hyper 612 PWM have a rubber spacer on each corner, which will absorb some of the vibration of the fan. The GeminII S524 fan or clip does not have these, although I expect with its cantilevered construction that it will absorb some vibration on its own.

The installation hardware between the coolers is slightly different, but for the most part they are the same. On a side note, the Intel installation kit as shown is identical between the two. First, the "legs", as I'll call them, are each fastened into the base of the cooler using the provided screws. The required backplate is placed on the back side of the motherboard, and the threaded portion from each leg is pushed through the backplate and secured in place using the provided nuts. At first I thought that the springs on each corner are for evening the compression over the processor, but in fact are there to hold the pegs in the correct slot depending on which Intel socket is used. Not having a spring mechanism doesn't immediately mean BAD, but I've generally had a lot better luck with them since it's a lot easier to get the compression even. However with proper machining and manufacturing tolerances, there shouldn't be any worry!

Specifications:

Hyper 612 PWM:

CPU Socket	Intel Socket: LGA 1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 775 AMD Socket: FM1 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2
CPU Support	Intel: Core™ i7 Extreme / Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Duo / Pentium / Celeron AMD: Phenom™ II X4 / Phenom™ II X3 / Phenom™ II X2 / Phenom™ X4 / Phenom™ X3 / Athlon™ II X4 / Athlon™ II X3 / Athlon™ II X2 / Athlon™ X2 / Athlon™ / Sempron™
Dimension	140 x 128 x 163 mm (5.5 x 5.5 x 6.4 inch)
Heat Sink Material	Copper Base / 6x6mm Heat Pipes / Aluminum Fins
Heat Sink Weight	806g (1.78 lb)
Fan Dimension	120 x 120 x 25 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 1 inch)
Fan Speed	600 - 2000 RPM (PWM) ± 10%
Fan Airflow	24.9 - 82.9 CFM ± 10%
Fan Air Pressure	0.3 - 2.7 mmH2O ± 10%
Bearing Type	Long Life Sleeve Bearing
Fan Life Expectancy	40,000 hours
Fan Noise Level	9 - 36 dBA
Connector	4-Pin

Features:

• Optimized with wider fin gaps and resistance reduction cut-offs for low fan speed condition


• Unconventional layout of the heatpipe direction: all 6 heat pipes can cross over the “hot zone” on most of the modern CPUs for better cooling efficiency


• Quick-snap fan bracket design for easier installation


• Wide range PWM fan (600 – 2000 R.P.M.) provides versatile performance for full loading efficiency and for quiet idling

Specifications:

GeminII S524:

CPU Socket	Intel Socket: LGA 1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 775 AMD Socket: FM1 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2
CPU Support	Intel: Core™ i7 Extreme / Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Duo / Pentium / Celeron AMD: Phenom™ II X4 / Phenom™ II X3 / Phenom™ II X2 / Phenom™ X4 / Phenom™ X3 / Athlon™ II X4 / Athlon™ II X3 / Athlon™ II X2 / Athlon™ X2 / Athlon™ / Sempron™
Dimension	144 x 144 x 105 mm (5.7 x 5.7 x 4.1 inch)
Heat Sink Material	Copper Base / 5x6mm Heat Pipes / Aluminum Fins
Heat Sink Weight	490g (1.08 lb)
Fan Dimension	120 x 120 x 25 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 1 inch)
Fan Speed	800 - 1800 RPM (PWM) ± 10%
Fan Airflow	34.2 - 77.7 CFM ± 10%
Fan Air Pressure	0.43 - 2.46 mmH2O ± 10%
Bearing Type	Long Life Sleeve Bearing
Fan Life Expectancy	40,000 hours
Fan Noise Level	15.1 - 31.6 dBA
Connector	4-Pin

Features:

• Compatible with Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo and AMD Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2 Duo core


• Cools CPU and its surrounding components such as the motherboard, memory, VRM, chipset, etc


• Copper base, 5 heat pipes and high density aluminum fin


• Unique fan bracket for mouting one 120mm fan/two 90mm fans/two 80mm fans


• Silent operation at only 19 dBA

 

Conclusion:

Both Cooler Master heatsinks in this review perform two separate purposes to achieve the same task — to keep your processor cool. The Hyper 612 does so by sparing no extra space with its massive size and the GeminII S524 maintains clearance in mind as it will most likely be used in something like a SFF (small form factor) PC where space may be an issue. Of course, a cooler that aspires to be as small as possible in order to fit in low volume areas requiring less mass generally won't perform as well under high-heat loads. However, most likely where space is an issue, the generally unspoken but almost immediate result that you should expect is more concentrated heat and thus higher temperatures. Though the GeminII S524 isn't a hugely strong competitor in these tests, it is by far the smallest of the comparison models, and truthfully, it serves a different purpose. The Hyper 612 PWM is meant to be big, bulky, and a powerhouse performer for keeping your processor cool. On the other hand, there's no way that this monster would EVER fit into a mini ITX case. So, if it's not some large tower heatsink and still performs far better than the stock cooler, then something like the GeminII S524 would be a good choice.
I have always liked Cooler Master's products as they are well-constructed, thoughtfully designed, and generally good performers. I liked the Hyper 612 PWM's idea of using a less dense fin array, which allows for more airflow and offers a lower pressure drop through the cooler. Because of this, the Hyper 612 PWM, with only a single fan, is able to achieve what you'd expect from a cooler with two fans. I'm sure that adding an extra fan into a push-pull configuration would offer even better performance. On the other side, due to the Hyper 612 PWM's huge size, I came across two potential clearance issues. The top exhaust fan of the case used is only millimeters away, and the fan on the cooler is physically touching one of my RAM modules. It is indeed a trade-off, but I think that shaving off a few millimeters could have made it a little less obtrusive. The GeminII S524 accomplishes several different things. First, it's low profile so it can fit in small cases such as an HTPC or a general media PC. Next, it has great side-to-side clearance and a very small, immediate footprint. On top of all of that, it can be rotated into four (effectively 3) different positions allowing for the "overhang" of the cooler to provide airflow to other crucial components such as the northbridge, voltage regulators, and even RAM sticks. Having this one positioned over the passive northbridge heatsink on the test board, I noticed about a 5 °C drop in temperature. It's clear however that the GeminII S524 isn't made for gracious amounts of heat. It is small, and I can say with my experience tgat there is a direct correlation between size and performance!
To put everything together into my final words, I like both of these coolers and they do well at what they are supposed to — although they are in two far separate categories. We have the massive, heat gulping Hyper 612 PWM, and then we have the small, conservative, and thoughtful GeminII S524. Both are easy to install and offer great performance for each application. For the Hyper 612 PWM at a price of $49.99 it is definitely a great alternative to spending upwards of $80 and $90 on similarly performing coolers. The GeminII S524 price has not been listed yet, but at my estimated price of between $40 and $50 it is also a great choice for someone with a small, low-clearance case!

Pros:

• Nearly silent during normal operation


• Easy to use and install mounting hardware


• Hyper 612 PWM: Strong performer on overclocked processors


• GeminII S524: Thoughtful design clears any potential component interference

Cons:

• Hyper 612 PWM: Massive size can interfere with memory; maybe other components too


• GeminII S524: Lacks some performance when overclocked heavily

src: overclockersclub

Apple cancels iPad 3 supply schedule for 2H, DigiTimes reports

Apple recently canceled its iPad 3 supply schedule for 2H, sources from the upstream supply chain tell DigiTimes, forcing other tablet PC brand vendors that are set to launch same-level products to also delay their launches. The sources say supply of the iPad 2 in 2H will be maintained at 28M-30M units. Apple was slated to launch the iPad 3 in 2H with a supply volume of 1.5M-2M units in Q3 and 5M-7M in Q4.

Microsoft aims to engage developers with Windows 8 blog

Aiming not to repeat the mistakes of its past, Microsoft pledged Monday to engage the developer community as well as consumers during development of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system. As part of that, the company has launched a new blog called "Building Windows 8."

The company will use that to discuss what technologies its building into the next-generation OS. It mirrors a similar effort undertaken by the Redmond company for Windows 7, following what many call a disastrous rollout of Vista.

Microsoft was criticized for failing to engage its partners during the development process, and it left a sizable chunk of software and hardware either incompatible or malfunctioning when used with Vista. That OS release was considered one of Microsoft's worst, and was passed over by a good portion of its customers.

"Together, we will start the unique adventure of bringing a major product to market," Windows chief Steven Sinofsky wrote. "Windows 8 reimagines Windows. That's a big statement and one that we will return to throughout this blog."

Even with the announcement, Sinofsky was light on any technical details. So far, Microsoft generally has released little about Windows 8 development, and it's expected Microsoft will not until next month. That's when the company's BUILD conference will take place in Anaheim, Calif.

He alluded to the frustration that the company has heard from some developers over Microsoft's lack of details on Windows 8. He explained the company's silence as learning from its past, where Microsoft often discussed features in detail and then failed to deliver.

"In the next weeks we will just start talking specifics of features, since there is no obvious place to start given the varying perspectives," he continued. "From fundamentals, to user interface, to hardware support, and more, if something is important to you, we promise we'll get to it in some form or another."
 src: betanews

Google buys Motorola Mobility, Android's top supporter

Google thoroughly rocked the smartphone world on Monday morning by announcing it will be acquiring Android phone maker Motorola Mobility for approximately $12.5 billion. Motorola Mobility has existed as a standalone entity for just 8 months, and has produced some of the most successful Android smartphones such as the first Droid with Verizon Wireless.

Most importantly, though, Motorola Mobility holds one of the most valuable wireless patent portfolios in the business, and this acquisition serves as a follow up to the Nortel Patent auction where Google placed bids, but lost out to a consortium of bidders that included Apple, EMC, Microsoft, Ericsson, Research in Motion, and Sony.

The results of that auction turned into quite a war of words, when Google publicly accused the consortium of buyers of wanting those patents strictly to sue Google for Android patent violations.

Irrespective of patents, Motorola Mobility has been a committed Android manufacturer that devoted one hundred percent of its catalog of devices to Android. Without the manufacturer's total support, Android's position in the smartphone market would no doubt look very different than it does today.

"Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers," said Larry Page, CEO of Google in a statement on Monday.

Google's announcement said the transaction will close at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012, and Motorola Mobility will run as a separate business.

 source: betanews

Samsung to Reveal U.S. Galaxy S II Models on August 29th

Invites are going out from Samsung for an August 29th event in NYC where U.S. Galaxy II models will be unveiled. With the original GSII being a huge hit overseas for a while now, it’s about time to get some solid information on what variants the U.S. will see.

There has already been reports from us on which devices the major carriers will see. I’m most excited about the Hercules for its Nexus style body rumored to be coming for T-Mobile. For Verizon, there’s the Stratosphere (though reports say this is not part of the SGSII series) and questionable Celox. Sprint has the Epic 4G touch and AT&T has the possible variant, the SGH-i927.

I’ll be foaming at the mouth until the 29th as my next device is sure to be a Samsung. Maybe there will even be a big surprise no one has seen just yet. Please Samsung, show us something new with TouchWiz so I can walk proudly with my new Galaxy S II device in hand.

Anyone else looking to jump on board with Samsung? If not, what’s scaring you away?

Android Takes 20% of Tablet Market from iPad

Apple is still on top, but Android has been catching up quickly. Just last month, Q1 reports showed Android with a 34% market share. The latest report from ABI Research says Android-powered tablets have snagged 20% of the market in the last year. It’s worth noting that at the end of Q3 2010, Android really only had the Galaxy Tab for a mainstream tablet. This was followed by the XOOM which didn’t take off as expected.

Though Android is making its presence known in the tablet world, ABI says no tablet vendors have been able to “mount a significant challenge” against the iPad at this point. Could this be because iPad design is solid and everyone is still playing catch up? I’m sure the fragmentation of Android across its tablets isn’t helping either. Progress is being made and there are more Android tablets to show off their goods later this year. We will see how this continues to shake down.

Hit the break for ABI’s full press release.

Android Takes 20% Media Tablet Market Share from iPad in Last 12 Months,

  Says ABI Research



NEW YORK -- August 11, 2011



Worldwide annual media tablet shipments are expected to top 120 million units

in 2015. While not quite as strong as traditional PC or smartphone annual

sales, media tablets are emerging from the shadow of non-handset mobile

devices and rapidly coming into their own. Android media tablets have

collectively taken 20% market share away from the iPad in the last 12 months.

However, no single vendor using Android (or any other OS) has been able to

mount a significant challenge against it.



ABI Research mobile devices group director Jeff Orr comments, “Many vendors

have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the

pack to pose a serious threat to Apple. In fact, most have introduced products

at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be

waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet

while keeping product pricing unchanged.”



Fragmentation within operating system software is hindering growth of this

device category. Application developers must choose an initial software

platform and may delay starting development if the market potential is not

significant. Google’s Android OS has no less than three different software

builds deployed across media tablets at the same time. The benefits of open

software platform development have yet to be realized for media tablets.



“De-featured, low-cost media tablets are being introduced by more than fifty

vendors in 2011,” Orr says. “This will certainly help bolster year-over-year

growth for the category, but it also creates a negative perception in the

minds of the mass consumer audience about the readiness of media tablets to be

fully functional within the next several years. Good user experiences and

product response are needed to propel this market beyond the ‘early adopter’

stage.”

PC TV Programs – Watch TV Programs on PC

This article describes the possibilities of PC TV, which simply means to watch tv on the pc using PC TV programs. Have you encountered a situation like the following before? Great the next match of my favorite sports team will not be shown on free tv. Actually it will not be shown at all in my country, except for satellite of course. If you encounter situations like this one and always thought there would be no other solution than to watch boring live tickers on internet sites, then you have come to the right place that brings you the solution called PC TV.

I will describe three freeware programs that let you connect to channels that stream tv and especially live sports events. This includes all major european football (soccer) leagues, champions league, uefa cup, espn, wrestling, national team matches, boxing matches aso.

You also find regular tv stations like mtv and custom stations like gamers tv there. On with the PC TV programs.

PC TV

All you need to watch pc tv is a computer with the latest windows media player and / or real player. A broadband connection is desired for best results. All three PC TV programs to watch TV on the PC have been produced in Asia making it hard to read the websites. Those websites offer tv program lists among other information.

First, let us take a look at some options in media player and real player:

Start the media player, make sure you use the latest version. Right-Click and select Options from the menu. Click on Performance and Change the Buffer Size of Content to 30 seconds.

In real player you select Tools -> Preferences and click on the General -> Playback Settings. The setting Buffer up to 30 seconds is at the bottom of this window.

Stream formats:

mms:// and .asx open with windows media player
rtsp:// and .rm / .ram open with real player

Starting Streams manually:

Sometimes you need to start streams manually. Use the stream formats information to figure out the program to use.
On windows media player choose File -> Open Url or the shortcut ctrl + u
On real player choose File -> Open

PC TV Programs

This is a list of free PC TV programs that can be used to view TV on PC.

Sopcast

Download from the above link, unzip, start. A channel list will be displayed. Double-click a channel and windows media player should start and begin buffering and displaying.

Pplive

Just download and run the installation script on pplive. Its all in English, no need to worry. You need the pplive channel list for it, it does not come with a loaded list.

Ppstream

Download from the above location. This one has an installation script that is unfortunately producing lots of gibberish. The buttons are designed like in every other windows installation script. (left button, choose a directory, 3x middle button). The Channel list is on the left, you see the channel name, the quality of the stream in Kb per second and the users connected to the channel.

If I had to choose one of them I?d defiantly choose ppStream which has the best interface and good user rates and a nice overall stream quality.

Popular PC TV Channels:

channel	content	language
CCTV5	european soccer, other sport events.	Asian ?
ESPN	All major us leagues, european soccer + more	English
Games Tv (ppstream)	professional game play, tournaments, mags	Asian ?
Soccer Demo	soccer	Asian ?
Sport Italia	Italian Sports Channel	Italians

Additional Information:

Live Football Streams Schedule

More P2P TV Tools:
Coolstreaming
QLive
TvAnts

Using PC TV programs on your computer has never been easier than in today’s Internet. Users can pick a wide variety of applications that bring

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro launches On Rogers

Here is a phone that’s sure to extinguish the Galaxy S II excitement! Probably not, but for a budget handset this looks like a pretty capable device. Inside you’ll find Gingerbread 2.3, tri-band HSPA, quad-band GSM, 5MP camera, HD video recording, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and memory expandable to 32GB.

Pricing is set at $50 on a 3-year contract and $275 without. It’s not a bad little device with its small form factor. With the market being overloaded with 3.5-inch and larger displays, there’s sure to still be a market for something “cute”.

Anyone want one?

Read the Review of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Here

Gingerbread Update Still Coming To The HTC Incredible?

It was reported two days ago that the Droid Incredible would not be seeing Gingerbread even after reports that it would. Now it seems to be officially confirmed it still coming (though not confirmed when).

This reversal statement comes in e-mail form from a U.S. HTC rep. The rep states there has been nothing official from HTC canceling the Gingerbread update. This is great news for Incredible owners, but also a reminder that nothing is solid until it comes from the company directly. While there is still no official release date HTC is at least throwing in a handful of hope.

Do people really care how their gadgets sound?

HTC is making a $300 million bet that people want cell phones capable of producing high-quality audio. But will it pay off?


The Taiwan phone manufacturer said Thursday that it plans to acquire a majority stake in Beats Electronics, which designs headphones and other audio equipment endorsed by Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga and other musicians. Dre, more officially known as Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, co-founded Beats with record producer Jimmy Iovine.

HTC CEO Peter Chou intends to utilize Beats' technology to improve the audio fidelity on HTC devices, he told The Wall Street Journal. HTC's portfolio includes high-end Android smartphones such as the Droid Incredible.

"With the magic of mobile devices, it is easier than ever to discover and buy new music," Chou told the website AllThingsD. "However, without great sound experience, it is a shame."

HTC's stock closed Thursday on a high note, defying the weak performance of the Taiwan Stock Exchange and seemingly reflecting an endorsement of the Beats deal from shareholders.

"We need to continue to innovate and have products that differentiate and make more of an emotional connection with the consumer," Chou told The New York Times.

What's not clear, however, is whether consumers are actually clamoring for better speakers in their gadgets.

We see plenty of people on the streets listening to music with headphones -- increasingly those made by Beats -- but rarely do people crank tunes from their phones' speakers. (Unless it's that irritating Katy Perry ringtone that's always going off in Starbucks.)

That probably has less to do with phones' subpar audio performance and more with the impracticality of listening to music in that way. For now, a sound maker built into a small gadget cannot come close to the quality of solid headphones or a standalone speaker system.

Besides, many music consumers are already used to the less-than-stellar sound quality of digital songs, whose files are usually compressed to make them download or stream faster.

Two years before the HTC deal, Hewlett-Packard similarly surmised that outstanding audio quality in its hardware devices could position them to consumers as superior products worthy of a price premium. So it signed a deal with Beats.

The computer giant said it sold 1 million Beats laptops during the first 16 months of the partnership. HP typically sells as many computers in about 16 days.

HP also tapped Beats for its TouchPad tablet, touting the "amazing sound quality thanks to Beats Audio" and parading Iovine onstage for the product's unveiling. But HP cut the TouchPad's price by 20% on Thursday, less than two months after it hit stores, in a move that analysts say suggests poor sales for the touchscreen tablet.

The exclusive partnership between HTC and Beats only covers phones, AllThingsD reported. Beats CEO Iovine told AllThingsD that the deal with HP is unaffected. An HP spokesman declined to comment on the matter.

A record-industry initiative that would increase the sound quality on iTunes and other services, first reported by CNN in February, hasn't yet borne fruit. That could indicate that better-sounding music files is not a priority, according to some industry insiders, who are bullish on the convenience of streaming services as a selling factor.

Spotify, the popular music-streaming service, added high-quality tracks two years ago. A spokesman said then that the company would continue updating its catalog until the entire library was available in high fidelity. A blogger recently analyzed a sampling of Spotify songs and found that a substantial number were still not available in high quality.

The Walkman players of the '80s and '90s didn't have speakers. Last decade's iPods contained only a tiny speaker to produce the recognizable click noise when turning the wheel. Apple gave the iPhone a speaker because most phones need a speaker-phone option, and so the iPod Touch followed suit.

Copyright: CNN

Twitter Launches Image Tweets . . .

Acer Eyeing September for Phoneblet Release

Call it tablet, phone, phoneblet, tabphone, phab, phlate, phablet, padfone, phad, tabone, or some other creative portmanteau that you can come up with for a phone that’s also a tablet. Acer Germany has new word about its version of such a device–the Acer Iconia Smart.

According to Acer Germany, the Acer Iconia Smart will be released some time in September. We presume they’re going to debut this hybrid device at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA)an international consumer electronics fair to be held in Berlin this coming September.

Acer first showed the world the Acer Iconia Smart at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011 held earlier this year.


The latest update from Acer regarding the Iconia Smart shows that the device will have the same specs showed off at the MWC: 4.8-inch touchscreen, 1024×480 display resolution, 21:9 aspect ratio, single-core 1.0-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, primary and secondary cameras, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, and DLNA support.

The expected retail price for the Acer Iconia Smart is about US$710 (EUR500), although the price may go down a bit when–and if ever–the handset reaches U.S. carriers.


Samsung is also reportedly launching a similar hybrid device–the Samsung Galaxy Q–at the Berlin expo. The Samsung Q is rumored to sport a whopping 5.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen.

Looks like the phone-tablet hybrid devices are finally coming in September. What do you think of such hybrid devices?

Google Introduces Search By Image feature in its Search Engine:

Recently Google has introduced a new feature in its search engine called Search by Image.  This feature, as its name implies, can be used to conduct a search using an image.
This innovative feature produces results that are just “unbeatable”.

How-To
Here is a little How-To for using this feature:

• Open your Browser


• Goto Google


• Click on the images on the top left of the Google's home page


• Now in the Search bar you should be able to see a small camera icon, click on it


• A little pop-out will open, there will be two options


• one asking you to specify a URL of the image


• other option will let you upload an image from your computer


• Select the second option


• Browse to any image you want to get search results for, and double-click on it


• Within no-time you will see the marvelous results.

You will notice an interesting thing that the Google has automatically generated a Search Query for the image, isn't it amazing?

Results
One thing is worth-noting in the results page. The search results consists of three parts: The first part shows the results for the query which is automatically generated by Google after examining the image,  The second part includes the websites which has  Similar images in their content and the third part consists of the images which are Visually Similar.


Flexibility
An interesting feature is that you can drop the image on the Search Bar to get the results.
This Drop may be local, i.e, you select an image from your computer and drop it onto the Search Bar,  or it may be local, i.e, you select an image from a website and drop it onto the Search Bar.


My Experience
If I tell you the truth than I am really impressed with the results produced by this innovative feature.
I want to share one of the search I made.


When I searched for this image:

I got the following results page:

But the thing I want to mention is the search query generated by the Google. Now you can guess that the image was that of  a Ferrari car, but what was the model of that car? Ask the Google which got ahead of you and generated the query f50 ferrari, as it can be seen here: