Smartphone for Outdoor Enthusiasts

KYOCERA TORQUE

Rugged smartphones meant for the trailblazer and the survivalist in all of us certainly aren’t rare, Kyocera recently announced the Torque, a mid-range smartphone that’s encased in a thick hard plastic shell that can absorb energy when dropped. The 4-inch IPS display with a 800×480 resolution smartphone could be your cell phone who like the outdoors activities.

The first thing you’ll notice with the Torque is its rugged look. It has a textured hard plastic Dura-Grip casing that protects it from drops, and every port is covered with a flap to keep water and dust out. The battery cover can come off, however, and it’s held on with a rather large screw that only requires a quarter turn to “unlock” it, so to speak. The cover is made out of a slightly-flexible rubber material to make it easy to pop off.

It’s also water resistant and impervious to dust, and while the average hiker could easily take advantage of the device, the company also targets it towards construction workers and even parents who have small kids that can be more than a little rough with toys. The device meets Military Standard 810G, which applies to protection from dust, shock, vibration, temperature, rain, low pressure, solar radiation, and immersion in water for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water.

Its operating system uses Android Ice Cream Sandwich and able to connect to the 4G network. The processor installed on this phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz accompanied with 1GB of RAM. The phone has a microSD card slot that accepts up to 32GB of additional storage. The Torque sports a 5MP camera on the back, with a 1.3MP front-facing camera.

Underneath the rear plate is a 2,500 mAh battery that powers the show, and it’s a slightly larger battery than we initially expected, but seeing how the Torque is meant for the adventurer, it’s critical to have a phone that can last all day. The battery is able to serve up to 19 hours of talks.

As for ports and buttons, the Torque doesn’t rely on touch-based soft buttons. The phone consists of all physical buttons, including the three navigation buttons on the front. On the right side, there’s a dedicated camera button that acts as a shutter button, but it won’t open up the camera app itself. On the right side, there’s a volume rocker and a big yellow button for push-to-talk communication. On the top is the power button and a toggle button for turning the push-to-talk speaker on and off. Also on the top is the headphone jack in the middle. Then, on the bottom you have the microUSB port and the microphone.

As for the earpiece, it’s actually built into the glass display, and it relies on vibrations to deliver sound to your ear. For the clarity matters, this vibration technology which directly transmits the sound waves to the eardrum. This makes the user able to listen clearly even in noisy atmosphere. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SLASH GEAR | BUDI | KORAN TEMPO 4184] 
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What Next After Blackberry 10 Officially Launched?

Maybe some say that this news is a bit late, but there is no harm if we show the news on this blog. After being suspended twice and filled with many doubts, BlackBerry 10 finally officially launched on Wednesday (January 30th 2013). This is the last attempt by Research In Motion the same day renamed the BlackBerry, to return to the world smartphone market competition.

When CEO of Blackberry Thorsten Heins went on stage, the warm welcome given the invitation that meets building in Manhattan, New York, United States. In his speech, Heins said BlackBerry 10 will bring consumers to another experience in communicating.

Thorsten Heins, CEO of BlackBerry at the launch event of BlackBerry Z10 and Q10. (Picture from: http://teknologi.kompasiana.com/)

In that day, Heins introduced two smart phones based on BlackBerry 10 operating system. The first is the BlackBerry with touch screen Z10. And the other is the BlackBerry Q10, which still retains physical buttons QWERTY which is characteristic of the BlackBerry phones.

Blackberry Q10 and Z10. (Picture from: http://strategimanajemen.net/)

BlackBerry has also introduced a new Global Creative Director, namely Alicia Keys. Despite the extraordinary acclaim and positive comments, but the floor of the U.S. had another opinion. Coinciding with the launch day, even BlackBerry shares fell 2 percent.

The investors found that competition in the smart phone industry is too tight and the BlackBerry will be difficult to compete with the two vendors market dominating Apple Inc.. and Samsung Electronics Co., which together controlled 92 percent of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter of last year.

It should be noted, though launched in New York, the United States, the availability of BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S. will be there in March 2013. While in other markets, such as the UK, most likely will be available on February 5, 2013. This indicates that the United States is only used as a place to release a smartphone, while the BlackBerry is more focused on other markets. This is quite reasonable because BlackBerry users in the U.S. continued to show a decline. Not only the individual user or consumer, but also corporations and federal government agencies that have been the largest user of BlackBerry handsets. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | WIRED | FIRMAN | KORAN TEMPO 4130]

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Health Monitoring Wristband

Manufacturer of health and fitness devices, Fitbit, introduces its newest product, Fitbit Wireless Activity + Sleep Flex Wristband at the Consumer Elecironies Show 2O13, called the Fitbit Flex, the wristband is designed to compete with the Nike+ FuelBand as well as the Jawbone Up fitness wristband. Bracelet that can monitor how far the user step, mileage, and what level of calories burned, Fitbit said in a statement ahead of CES in Las Vegas, USA.

Furthermore, the Fitbit Flex tracks how long you sleep during the night in addition to the amount of times you wake up in bed. The Fitbit Flex also includes a silent wake alarm that vibrates in order to avoid waking up your partner in the morning. Built into a section of the wristband, Fitbit product developers have included five LED lights that turn on during the day as a specific fitness goal is being reached. For instance, someone with a goal of 20,000 steps per day will see three lights on the wristband after hitting 12,000 steps.

The Fitbit Flex wristband. (Picture from: http://www.digitaltrends.com/)

Fitbit device claims it offers the flexibility to connect to the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices via Bluetooth 4.0, so that the device can be synchronized with your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, or computers. iPad, iPhone, and Android devices as well as can be Fitbit dashboard to access charts and activity monitoring tool users.

"People are becoming more aware of the significant health benefits due to move more throughout the day. Fitbit has proven expertise in delivering a great experience that really encourages people to move more every day," said James Park, CEO and Co-founder of Fitbit . This bracelet can be worn when we were in the shower and sold for around 100 dollars (or approximately Rp. 960 thousand). Flex Bracelet is available in the market starting in the spring of this year. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DIGITAL TRENDS | RIF | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 31012013]

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The Amazing Sales of Windows Phone 8 Gadget

NOKIA LUMIA 920

Nokia Lumia 920 that running Windows Phone 8 turns extraordinary worldwide acclaim. In the last quarter of last year, this smart phone with bright colors that sold approximately 4.4 million units. The number is far enough when compared with sales of the another Nokia Lumia in the same period in the prior year. According to Nokia, the previous Lumia series, such as 900 series, only 1 million units sold.

Skyrocketing sales of Nokia Lumia 920 is good news for Windows Phone 8 is made by Microsoft, which is trying to compete with Google's Android operating system and Apple's iOS.

But unfortunately, many requests Nokia Lumia 920 will not always be good news for the Finnish manufacturers. Therefore, the number of requests that are out of allegations that can not be offset by the of the cell phone production capacity. According to the Nokia's chief of executive, Stephen Elop, Nokia should be able to sell phones Lumia 920 more if increased production capacity to meet the demand that continues to flow. 

Nokia Lumia 920 are considered to have an important role for the survival of the company Nokia, has just announced using the OS Windows Phone 8. The handset is well be opening for WP8 Nokia handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 820. Maintaining a beautiful design of the Nokia Lumia 900 made from Polycarbonate but given a glossy polish. Nokia Lumia 920 offers a high specification. 4.5 inches wide of screen, with a 8.7 mega-pixel PureView camera, 32 gigabytes of storage capacity, and wireless battery charger.

Nokia Lumia 920. (Picture from: http://www.nokia.com/)

This phone feels slightly bigger hands than its predecessor, despite the glossy coated, not easy to slip while digenggaman. 4.5 inch screen is perfect for displaying user interface Metro UI. So it looks more alive, let alone we can set the tiles ranging from small, medium to large size.

Nokia Lumia 920. (Picture from: http://sofreakingcool.com/)

Nokia Lumia 920 has Nokia PureMotion HD Plus technology which makes it better than other HD technologies. HD technology is commonly used in other smartphones but did not result in broken images while panning.

The layout of the buttons, headphone jack, and a micro speaker holes on the Nokia Lumia 920 very good looks. Put a headphone jack right in the middle makes it easy to listen to music when it bagged on the streets. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NOKIA | THE TECH JOURNAL | FIRMAN | KORAN TEMPO 4116]
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Five Worst Game Consoles and Controllers Ever Made

Gaming is a very popular entertainment to everyone, especially as in today's digital age. But there's nothing wrong if we recall the controller that ever played before. Some of them look bad, either when played or seen. As published in the uniknya.com, following five worst gaming console and controller ever made:

1. POWER GLOVE

The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time.

Although it looks ugly, but Power Glove is one of the classic game controller products that have brilliant sales of its time. Through the film "Wizard" starring Fred Savage, game controllers in these gloves got high popularity although later many were disappointed when playing.

2. ATARI JAGUAR

The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation, a Japanese game company in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004.

Although it was marketed as the first 64-bit gaming system, the Jaguar proved to be a commercial failure and prompted Atari to leave the home video game console market. Look at it, how many unnecessary buttons on the bottom right and left, so that the existing box being fat and it does not have that big game controller to play.

3. ATARI 5200

The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600.

Indeed, they look fresh with the view controllers that never existed before. But in fact, many gamers is complained about button and analog joystick that quickly to be hot and and make uncomfortable when playing with it.

4. TURBO TOUCH 360

The Turbo Touch 360 is a series of aftermarket third-party controllers made by Triax for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Sega Genesis.

Turbo Touch 360 is a D-pad controller games type that support a circular touch surface on the control direction. But it makes difficult to use, because its touch surfaces was too sensitive and hard make the user thumb to rest.

5. U-FORCE

The U-Force was a game controller made by Brøderbund for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It employed a pair of perpendicular infrared sensor panels to translate the user's hand movements into controller signals.

Well, U-Force often cited most ridiculous and bizarre controller ever made. The shape resembles a laptop and there is a controller in the middle. How it works by moving the controller in the shot and control the games are played. Perhaps, we never play it, because it looks a bit odd. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | UNIKNYA.COM | MUHAMMAD SUFYAN | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 17012013]

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Looking Forward to the 2013 Favourite Gadget

The gadget Industry was so dynamic last year. Marked with the birth of so many new models, which are peppered with endless rivalry like Samsung vs Apple. 

We can expect this year, the manufacturer of the world's gadget will return "throwing a tantrum". So, what will they have to offer this year? Here are the predictions of the most anticipated gadget of 2013,

The Flexible Screen Technology

All created astonished when some time ago cnet.com released the news that Samsung will release a flexible screen smartphone in the prestigious annual event of the world's gadget producers, namely the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January, 2013.

Samsung's flexible screen technology.  
(Picture from:  http://www.gsmnation.com/)

Flexible screen is made from a flexible plastic so freely bendable. From the demo shown, this screen can be pulled up to curved as well be stored in the wallet.

The existence of this screen has been much discussed last year, with the product form plans as TV with size of 55 inches and smartphones (size of 5.5 inches with a resolution of 1,280 x 720 HD and 267 PPI for pixel density).

Sony's flexible screen technology.  
(Picture from:  http://www.engadget.com/)

Possible the Galaxy SIV series smartphones will using this flexible screen. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Japanese company, Sony, is also planning to release a similar gadget since been researching this technology since 2002.

It's possible the Galaxy SIV series of Samsung's smartphones will using this flexible screen. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Japanese company, Sony, is also planning to release a similar gadget, since 2002 they had been researching this technology.

In fact the world's electronics giant, Sony has showcased 4.1 inch of flexible OLED two years ago, on the same time Samsung also showed similar technology. We'll see, who is the first to introduce this powerful new technology.

Amazon's Gadget Airbag

Total solution provider of books, Amazon, appeared out of the ordinary by offering the air bag mobile devices that specifically made for gadget. The goal is to anticipate the device to be resilient when falling at high speed.

"This gadget will use air bags to reduce colliding impact between the gadget with the ground or the floor," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, as reported by Geek.com, citing a built-in accelerometer mechanism as the basis of this technology.

Amazon's Gadget Airbag. (Picture from: http://gadgetan.com/)

Amazon had been given the patent of this system including the function of the gas to slow the fall that uses spring than air bags. Most likely this device will be used on the computer version of Amazon's new flagship tablet, Kindle Fire.

Blackberry 10

Despite continuously postponed, the faithful fans of Blackberry (BB) await presence the Blackberry 10 that slated for release on January 23, 2013. Many people call it as the last gamble of RIM in the global smartphone business.

If this product fails, it could be said gait of RIM  as a manufacturer in the mobile business will soon be over. Not wanting this prophecy come true, the Canadian vendor pay fully  and extra attention to this gadget.

Blackberry Z10. (Picture
from:  http://www.gizbot.com/)

Many wondered how models and specifications. On late last year there were this gadget's photos that leaked to the public, named Blackberry Z10 and Blackberry 10 L-Series that looks not much different from the iPhone 5.

Based on information reported by ubergizmo.com, BlackBerry Z10 will be equipped with 4.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1,280 x 768 and 356 PPI of pixel density. The gadget is also powered by two cameras (8MP rear camera with 1080p video recording and a 2MP front camera).

Another features of BlackBerry Z10 such as 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and the micro-SD memory card slot. For connectivity, this smartphone equiped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. There are installed GPS, NFC, and a micro HDMI out to enjoy the movie on a larger screen.

iPhone 5S

Not yet exhausted iPhone 5 euphoria, Apple will have sped up the release iPhone 5S on the first quarter of 2013, probably around May. 

Apple iPhone 5S-Concept. (Picture
from:  http://www.iphone4jailbreak.org/)

From Topeka Capital Markets analyst, Brian White, the new series of iPhone 5 will become a mainstay from Apple to raise its shares value on the stock market.

"The new iPhone provide more choice to consumers. Selections that include color and size of the screen (possibly called the iPhone 5S) that we believe, it will be released in May or June, and which began production April," White said.

Some sources claim the latest Apple products are made from the repair results of previous products that are already popular, this is due to the assembly in the relatively low quality that is done by their old subscriptions vendors from China, Foxconn.

Playstation 4

In this year despite uncertain, Playstation 4 is rumored to be present as well. But yet nothing, no less pleasant news for Sony to register patents that enable new game console will be playable only on one console.

Sony Playstation 4-concept. (Picture
from: http://sonyps4.com/)

In other words, the Playstation 4 owner will no longer be possible to sell their old game disc to another owner. This occurs due to the use of new technology in the Playstation 4's game disk called RFID ID.

This technology will be able to remember the console that was first played as a console that has a right to play. When the game disk is running on the other console of Playstation 4, the game disc that has RFID ID  technology will refuse to run it, as reported by the Guru 3D on Sunday, January 6, 2013. We'll wait for the truth.

iWatch 

With no tirelessly to spread the news, Apple is reportedly currently developing sophisticated watches titled iWatch the futuristic watches, as an iPhone companion. In fact, it is not impossible in the future, this gadget will actually completely replace the iPhone.

As reported by Forbes, Gene Munster, technology markets analyst at Piper Jaffray, states, about ten years future, the gadget that could be use in the hand will eventually replace the iPhone in particular and in general smartrphone.

The concept of Apple iWatch. (Picture
from: http://infinityloopers.com/)

Apple is also rumored will launch the iWatch on this year. To that end, Apple is working with the world's largest chip company, Intel. About the display of 1.5 inch PMOLED screen is made by RiTDisplay with ITO-coated glass. This gadget will have the iOS operating system such as the variants of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

From concept design this sophisticated clock would look like the 6th generation iPod Nano that includes a music player and video. There are also features voice assistant Siri on this gadget.

Finally, Are all these gadgets will be realized this year? There is not important we know. The important thing we always wise, that only buy what we need, not because we want to, let alone just went along!  *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MUHAMMAD SUFYAN | ILHAM SANTOSO | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 10012013]

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Handsfree Mobile Computer

MOTOROLA HC1

Once the computer is present in miniature form alias tablet, now comes the latest computers with a more sophisticated form.

As reported by Venturebeat, Motorola Solutions is an independent communications infrastructure company, not the phone maker Motorola Mobility, introduced the Motorola HC1, shaped like a portable computer with a headset. This computer is designed to obtain a more practical, but functional as it is used in the head and is operated by voice commands. You could think of it as a Windows-based variation on a theme that is similar in concept to Google Glass.

The HC1 headset computer looks bulky and cumbersome now, but it’s just a demonstration of what can come. The headset is one more example of “wearable computing” that is starting to become more functional and practical as the cost of computing falls.

It's bulky, but the HC1 wearable computer is a very practical device. (Picture from: http://vr-zone.com/)

The HC1 has the same features as smartphones, such as the WiFi connection, Bluetooth, even the "walking" hotspot with the tethering feature. More sophisticated of this computer, it can be used to make telephone calls and doing GPS navigation. "This computer is used in the head and operated using voice commands such as to scroll the page or get information. You can use it to play videos, view pictures, or data access," said Paul Steinberg, Chief Technology officer of Motorola Solutions.

The main use for the HC1 will be in professions where on the fly information is vital, and where it is important to have your hands free. A field technician repairing a car could use it to access repair manuals. That, in turn, could improve inspections, reduce labor rates, increase safety, and make for better repairs. Looking through the display is like viewing a 15-inch laptop screen.

The image shows the HC1 video screen as the wearer see’s it. As the user moves his or her head across the hardware being viewed, the schematic shown in the on screen moves in relation to where the user is actually looking. (Picture from: http://www.mobilitytechzone.com/)

"A firefighter could use it to identify toxic chemicals or building blueprints during a fire. It’s best for use in harsh environments and remote locations, where pulling out a laptop isn’t practical." he said in an interview that the computer could be used in fields such as defense, utilities, telecommunications, aerospace, and aviation markets.

Paul Steinberg demonstrates the use of Motorola HC1. (Picture from: http://venturebeat.com/)

This Motorola Solutions device will competes with Google’s own wearable computing project, Google Glass. The retail price of the HC1 estimating to be around U.S $3,000 - 4,000 (or approx Rp. 29 million - Rp. 38 million). *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS | VENTUREBEAT | VR-ZONE | RIF | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 03012013]
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Why Smart TV Failed to Satisfy the Consumer?

Samsung brags that their company at the forefront of issuing smart television. High definition television (HDTV) offers applications and access to Twitter and Facebook. Then Google took Sony to make a smart TV that can connect to the Internet and could be downloaded. Later, Apple is reportedly also interested and will soon release a smart TV as well.

However, research conducted by NPD Connected Intelligence reverse the company's claims. From the research, it turns out consumers ignore the "smart". They just want to watch television. Another popular access is online video services such as BBC's iPlayer.

The result: What smart TV owners are
actually doing is Watching more TV.  
(Picture  from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

"The Internet connection on the HDTV screen has so far failed to go beyond the boundaries of existing TV, by using slightly beyond the big screen video services," said John Buffone, director of NPD Connected Intelligence.

According to John, the results of this research be both good and bad news for TV manufacturers. On the positive side, still as glass screen TV at home to watch. Subscription TV services can enhance and expand the program. The bad news, TV manufacturers fail to create better TV, "The biggest problem is the confusion among the owners of the TV." It's a challenge because there are too many options and how to create a complex experience. They suggest manufacturers focus on new innovations in space and simplify the user experience.

Luke Peters, Editor of the T3 magazine, said the smart TV is too complicated. "It makes no sense, there is a social network such as Twitter. People will use the tablet in his hand, not on their TVs," he said. According to Peters, the smart TV manufacturers must offer intelligent content that can connect to tablets and other devices. *** [DAILY MAIL | KORAN TEMPO 4103]

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Eye Movements Tracking Device

Soon moves the cursor on the computer quite a glance of the eye. This digital device designed and made ​​by Tobii, could track eye movements. The device was named REX.

This digital device is designed specifically for the computer with Windows 8 operating system. While the owners of Mac computers with the iOS platform can only bite the fingers. Because, REX is not made for computers made ​​by Apple. Before exhibited at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 in Las Vegas, United States, which starts next week, Tobii continues to improve the performance of REX, which is connected to the computer via a USB port.

Rex, the eyes movement tracker device.

The size of the device is slightly larger than a pen and can be mounted on the bottom side of the screen. REX will work in conjunction with special software called Tobii Gaze. Tobii Gaze will allow REX to precisely determine where your eyes are looking on your computer screen. REX isn’t meant to completely replace the mouse or trackpad on a Windows 8 PC, but it will compliment the overall browsing experience.

Although the function of this device to track the eyes movements, REX can be used as a control mouse, keyboard, and touch the board. This tool detects each user's eye movements and translate them into the shape of the mouse pointer movement. According Tobbi, REX is designed for those who have motor problems, such as stroke patients.

Previously, Tobii has issued a similar device called PCEye, which is also intended for the Windows operating system. Unfortunately, PCEye less positive response from consumers.

Tobii's REX developer edition on the laptop. (Picture from: http://www.engadget.com/)

For the price, there has been no official statement, but Tobii plans to offer 5,000 units to consumers before the end of 2013; for developers, however, a special edition (seen above) should be available starting today for $995. To be sure, this device is classified as the future technology will enliven CES 2013, which was also followed by a variety of global digital vendors, such as HTC, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and LG. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | ENGADGET | TECHNOLOGY TELL | BUDI RIZA | KORAN TEMPO 4101]

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