iOS 7 beta points to slow-mo cam feature in next iPhone

 

Odds are strong that Apple will debut an iPhone 5S in September or October, making this peak season for both rumors and educated guesses about the future device. This one, from 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman, seems to fall squarely into the latter category and substantiates earlier speculation thatan improved camera is in the works.

Gurman was tipped by a developer to some hidden references inside of the latest iOS 7 betas that indicate Apple is designing a new iPhone camera mode called “Mogul,” which would allow for the capture of video at a superfast and precise rate — 120 frames per second — although the resolution of such a recording is still unknown.

This would let users make slow-motion films, a capability already present in competitor phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some sports cameras on the market. Let’s face it, smartphone camera competition is getting stiff.

The big question is whether the feature would be ready for a fall debut. But the release of aniPhone 5S will all but certainly coincide with the availability of iOS 7.

Gurman points out rightly that Apple’s previous iPhone “S” upgrades have “included unique features to set it apart from either previous iPhones or other devices on the market.” The 3GS included new video camera and voice control features. And the 4S introduced Siri.

However, Gurman goes on to say that because the word mogul is defined as “a powerful person in a media industry,” it’s “a perfect code name (or even a marketing name) for a new iPhone camera feature.” We’d challenge that notion by adding that the term might also refer to ski moguls, aka bumps, and could be a code name for an image stabilization tool.

 

source: Cnet

You can now buy a Microsoft Surface RT for $349

 

Following news that a price cut was planned for the Surface RT tablet, Microsoft has made the change today, and is now selling its 32GB model for $349 — down from $499.

Available at this price in the Microsoft store and elsewhere, the drop is a clear — if not painful — attempt by Microsoft to boost sales of its first in-house tablet. The 64GB RT model has also been reduced by $150, to $499.

As for Surface’s sales figures, Bloomberg reported back in March that Microsoft has sold roughly 1.5 million Surface devices, 400,000 of which were the Pro model, which went on sale roughly three months after the cheaper RT model. In other words, the Pro is selling well, which explains why its price remains unchanged. At the time of that report, we noted that these stats are reportedly below Microsoft’s expectations, but not low enough to sink the Surface brand.

The obvious question now is, with this new price cut, will you actually buy a Surface RT? Also, do rumors that new devices are on the way change your mind?

 

Image credit: Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty

 

Source: ThenextWeb

Here’s 66 Google Now Commands That You May or May Not Known About

 

One of the features we use on Android to brag about how great Android is to our friends is Google Now. Which is a pretty big feature as well as a cool one. Google Now was introduced back at Google I/O 2012 with Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean, and is available on every phone running Android 4.1 or higher. Now there are two parts to Google Now. There’s the screen that shows you cards, like the one below, then there’s the search where you can type in your search or say what you want to search for. In that screen there are plenty of commands you can use to show off how great Android really is.

 

 

Here are 66 different commands you can use:

1.Remind me to walk the dog in 2 hours

2.Call the Drake Hotel in Toronto

3. Send a Text to (insert name) “are you busy?”

4. Listen to “insert artist name”Should pull from collection

5. Turn off WiFi

6. Turn on Silent Mode

7.Is it going to rain tomorrow?

8. Pizza Places in ::insert city::

9. Take me to (location) by foot

10. Where’s that museum with Egyptian stuff in San Jose?

11. Where is Wooster Mass?

12. Where is Wooster College?

13. When is the next (insert team) game?

14. Did the (insert team) win their last game?

15. What time is it in Paris?

16. When is sun rise in Tokyo?

17. What time zone is Amsterdam in?

18. When was Canada day?

19. When is Mother’s day in 2015?

20. What is 1 US dollar in Euro?

21. What’s 12 in hexadecimal?

22. 15.5% of 70.20

23. What’s 50 miles in kilometers?

24. What’s once in a blue moon?

25. What’s the answer to life, the universe and everything?

26. US Airways 400

27. AirCanada760

28. G O O G (spell it out)

29. Facebook Stock

30. What’s the cast of the Big Bang Theory?

31. Who produced Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

32. Who founded Napster?

33. Where did Natalie Portman go to college?

34. What’s the definition of dynamic programming?

35. How much is Angelina Jolie worth?

36. Who wrote The Grand Design?

37. What is Area Code 212?

38. What are some movies Bill Murray played in?

39. Fish species in Lake Tahoe

40. How long is the George Washington Bridge?

41. How long is the movie Ted?

42. How old is Mark Zuckerburg?

43. What is the height requirement for Space Mountain?

44. Pictures of the Eiffel Tower at sunset

45. Show me pictures of Android eating Apple

46. Do a barrel roll

47. Where’s the tallest building in the world?

48. Where is The Starry Night?

49. How did Elvis Presley die?

50. How much is a bakers dozen?

51. What is the loneliest number?

52. What’s the temperature of the Sun?

53. How old is the Earth?

54. What’s the theme on Splash Mountain?

55. What’s the slogan at Apple?

56. How tall is Taylor Swift?

57. When was the Statue of Liberty built?

58. When was the first episode of The Simpsons?

59. What are the dimensions of the Mona Lisa?

60. Who are the mascots of the San Francisco Giants?

61. Who is Donald Trump married to?

62. What’s the rating for The Amazing Spider-Man

63. What’s the capacity of Wembley Stadium?

64. What’s the acceptance rate at UCLA?

65. Note to self, buy some apples so I can make a really nice pie.

66. Where is the Pier Cafe in San Diego? >Click See Inside > Menu > Compass mode

 

source: android headlines

Apple Unveils 7.9-Inch iPad Mini for $329

 

As expected, Apple today unveiled a smaller version of its iPad tablet, dubbed the iPad mini.

The 7.9-inch iPad mini includes a 1,024-by-768 display, the same as the iPad 2.

Pricing starts at $329 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. The 32GB Wi-Fi is $429, while the 64GB will be $529. The Wi-Fi plus cellular versions will be $459 (16GB), $559 (32GB), and $659 (64GB).

Buyers can pre-order the devices starting Oct. 26. The Wi-Fi version will ship on Nov. 2 and the cellular version will ship two weeks later.

The iPad mini comes in at 7.5mm thin and 0.68 pounds, 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than its 9.7-inch counterpart. “It’s as thin as a pencil,” Apple’s Phil Schiller said.

Schiller said the Apple team “worked really hard” thinking about the size of the iPad mini. Cupertino wanted an iPad that was capable of running existing apps, but did not want a device that was so small “that it stops being incredibly usable.”

“All the software made for the iPad works on the mini with no change,” Schiller said.

Schiller compared the iPad mini to existing Android tablets, criticizing its rivals for using plastic materials, only making the screen 7 inches, and not having as many apps. “There is a gigantic difference in these products,” he said. “They have phone applications stretched up, not tablet applications.”

The iPad mini runs a dual-core A5 processor from Apple. It supports FaceTime HD and features and 5-megapixel iSight camera. There’s LTE connectivity, as well as 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. Apple promised 10 hours of battery life.

The iPad mini will include the new Lightning connector found on the iPhone 5. Apple is also offering new polyurethane Smart Covers for the iPad mini in pink, green, blue, light gray, dark gray and (PRODUCT) RED for $39.

“It is every inch an iPad,” Schiller said.

Speaking of the iPad, Apple also gave its existing 9.7-inch iPad a boost.

Rumors about an iPad mini have been making the rounds for months – even before the launch of the new iPad. But Apple unveiled its Retina display iPad by itself earlier this year, opting to give the iPad mini its own show.

 

source:pcmag

New Apple TV Events channel will stream the special event later today

 

 

If you haven’t already bookmarked our liveblog (you should get right on that), Apple‘s revealed that it will resume broadcasting its events –starting today. Appearing alongside a new events channel on Apple TV, we get a brief mention of today’s conference in San Jose. But until it kicks off at 10AM PT, you can kill some time by watching Apple’s back-catalog of events, which are ready to view on the new channel.

 

source: TUAW