Hasta La Gadget!

As the third quarter of 2012 comes to a close, companies have been announcing their Q3 2012 earnings for the past several days, and today Netflix posted up their earnings for all eyes to see. The streaming company boasted a growth of two million more subscribers during Q3, and earned $8 million in net income.

Netflix now has 29 million subscribers worldwide, with 25.1 million of which are located in the US. And aside from the $8 million that the company earned, they posted a global revenue of $905 million. However, their DVD business hasn’t been doing so well. The company reported a drop to 8.61 million subscribers from 9.24 million during last quarter.

Netflix says that its streaming members have watched over three billion hours of content combined (which includes the obsessive couple of hours that I spend streaming Parks and Rec on the weekends). TV shows, specifically, now account for about two-thirds of all streaming on Netflix. That isn’t too surprising considering that the service arguably has a better selection of TV shows than movies.

The company iterated that it wants to focus on original content, although that focus will involve some major expenses, but the company says that it believes “investment in originals is wise, and we will evaluate the performance of the slate next year to determine at what level we should fund additional original.”

Netflix posts up Q3 2012 earnings is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In the quest to make an iPad mini that takes into account every single little detail, Apple has revealed that they’ve integrated a new Thumb Rejection technology into the iPad mini. In SlashGear’s briefing with Apple this new technology was outlined and it was made clear that it runs at a negative level, this meaning that all apps currently working on the iPad mini will be able to make use of it – anything outside of that circle will have an update soon to make the tech workable. What this technology does is to detect that your thumb is indeed touching the display while you’re holding the iPad mini, rejecting it as you work with your hand that’s working with the iPad mini with “active gestures.”

This Thumb Rejection technology has indeed been tested (hands-on, that is) by our own Vincent Nguyen who confirms that it works perfectly well here at the outset. Holding the device with one thumb near or on the display rejects said thumb as the other hand utilizes the iPad mini’s new 7.9-inch touchscreen. With this technology running on the device with integration on all apps out now, we’ll likely be seeing some heavy mentions (or later realizations) of its simple “it just works” nature.

UPDATE: This technology works on the iPad 4th gen as well – perhaps integration with the rest of the handheld Apple touchscreen-toting universe isn’t far behind?

With the device coming out soon with bezels far thinner than the iPad 3 or iPad 4th generation, it’s no wonder Apple moved forward with an advancement in the touchscreen universe right out of the box. Now we’ll see if this smart tech hits the rest of the handheld smart device world for greatness in mobile gaming, not to mention ebook reading and web browsing.

Have a peek a the timeline below to read and see everything we’ve got to offer surrounding the iPad mini, it’s announcement and release, and our own hands-on experience thus far. This device will be out on the market well in advance of the holiday season and has a real taste for competition chomping. Stay tuned for more hands-on action in the future!

iPad mini thumb rejection technology revealed is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The iPad Mini may have the headliner at today’s Apple event, but Tim Cook and Co. filled out the afternoon with a very impressive undercard. Heck, the iPad Mini wasn’t even the only new iPad—or Mini—announced today. Here’s everything you need to know about all the newest Apple gear: More »

It’s a long overdue match, really — if the Google Drive productivity suite is considered the centerpiece of Google’s web app catalog, and the Chrome Web Store is the catalog, why weren’t the two combined? Google has seen the light by turning Docs (text), Sheets (spreadsheets) and Slides (presentations) into neatly packaged web apps that can be installed through the Chrome browser. New Chromebook owners won’t even have to go that far, as the trio will surface automatically in the Chrome OS app list over the next few weeks. The web app bundles might be simple, but they could be tremendous helps for anyone who wants to punch out a few quick edits while on the road.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

Google Drive apps reach the Chrome Web Store and Chrome OS for quicker web work originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS has been working on growing its line of Ultrabooks for the past year or so, but it has mostly focused on the smaller screen sizes in general, while mostly ignoring larger displays. However, ASUS decided to introduce a few 14-inch and 15-inch models to their Zenbook lineup, all three of which sport the impressive thinness to carry on the Ultrabook moniker.

Earlier today we posted about a ton of new Windows 8-equipped ASUS machines, including some new all-in-ones, tablets, and convertibles. However, it seemed that the company waited a bit so that could give their Zenbook lineup their own introduction. In any case, ASUS announced the 14-inch UX42VS, and the 15-inch UX52VS and U500VZ Ultrabooks.

The 14-inch UX42VS weighs just over four pounds and is only 6mm at its thinnest point. It features NVIDIA GT645M graphics and even has an optical drive for the occasional disc. The device will be offered with Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, and can fit up to 6GB of RAM, as well as up to 1TB of hard drive storage.

The 15-inch UX525VS (pictured above) comes with either a Core i5 or i7 processor and up to a whopping 10GB of RAM, with the same graphics as the 14-inch model. The U500VZ comes with a Core i7 quad-core processor with 8GB of RAM, and a 1080p display with a beefier GT650M graphics card to go with it. Surprisingly, the 15-inch U500VZ weighs just 4.4 pounds and measures 6mm thick at its thinnest point.

All three will go on sale starting next month, but exact pricing is yet to be known. However, $699 is said to be the price point at the low end, and as much as $2,000 for the higher-tier models. In related news, ASUS still plans to equip its 11- and 13-inch Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks with touchscreens at some point, but details on availability and pricing on those aren’t yet known.

[via Engadget]

ASUS expands Zenbook lineup with 14- and 15-inch models is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.