Huawei Ascend D quad XL unboxing and hands-on

This week we’re getting our hands on the Huawei Ascend D quad XL, a quad-core smartphone made to bring the brand up to speed with the rest of the hardcore top-tier smart device universe in more ways than one. This device will be spreading across the market in China rather soon with its 4.5-inch IPS+ LCD touchscreen with a massive 720 x 1280 pixel resolution – that’s 326ppi, for those of you keeping track. In this initial look we’ll do a basic flipping back and forth on the displays and a show of the hardware as it stands here right before the big drop.

This device has 8GB of ROM, 1GB of RAM, and connects to your computer or a wall charger with a standard microUSB plug. You’ve got an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of 1080p video, there’s a secondary camera on the front working at 1.3 megapixels capable of 720p video, and inside you’ve got Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box. The biggest reason this device should raise your radar is the processor, of course, it being a quad-core beast from Huawei itself coming in at 1.2GHz.

This quad-core processor appears very much to be doing quite well for itself in our initial benchmark tests, busting up Quadrant Standard with a CPU score of 11373, this just a bit less than the HTC One X and the Transformer Prime. The I/O, on the other hand, is a massive 6494, well outperforming both devices. Of course these tests don’t count for everything, and we’ll be letting our own hands-on everyday use decide what’s best for the average consumer.

It’s important to note that we’re working with a Sample Unit, this meaning that it’s possible that the final product won’t be exactly the same as we’re seeing here. The specifications will likely be pretty much the same, but processor clock speeds, Android version, and firmware builds may be different – we shall see. Also of note is the fact that this device carries a 2600 mAh battery rather than a 1800 mAh, as the original (non-XL) version of the device did.

This device is also relatively heavy, carrying with it a variety of technologies that Huawei appears to have not concentrated on in the weight department. We’ll also see if this trade-off is worth it in our full review, coming up sooner than later! Let us know if you’ve got any questions in comments below for that post as well!

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Huawei Ascend D quad XL unboxing and hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Your Kids Will Never Outgrow This Drawing Desk [Tables]

Designed to accomodate kids of any age and height, this Grow Table drawing desk features a sloped work surface so at one end it’s low enough for little tikes, while the other is high enough for teenagers. More »

Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in ‘Super Bunny Breakout’ on iOS

Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in 'Super Bunny Breakout' on iOS

Atari may be little more than a vestige of its former self, but that isn’t stopping the publisher from crafting new versions of its classic games. “Super Bunny Breakout,” for example, is a project created with Ville-crafter Zynga, and it’s a new spin on Atari classic Breakout. Not to be outdone, Zynga’s added its own Zynga-esque flavor to the game, which means … in-app purchases. Yes indeed, rather than a regular ol’ ball bouncing around a stage, Super Bunny Breakout has players bouncing “a daredevil rabbit with an appetite for revenge — sadly, that rabbit (and his friends) have seasonal affective disorder (or something) and can’t help but lose energy. How to replenish that energy? You’ll “collect or purchase coins via in-app purchase,” apparently. Despite the stink of in-game purchases, Super Bunny Breakout costs $0.99 and is currently available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes.

Continue reading Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in ‘Super Bunny Breakout’ on iOS

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Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in ‘Super Bunny Breakout’ on iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese Robot Mimics Complex Calligraphy

It takes years for a person to learn how to write Japanese or Chinese characters. There’s good news though. Robots can do it a lot quicker. A research group has developed a ‘bot that can identify and mimic detailed brush strokes that are required to write these kinds of characters.

japanese calligraphy robot

The Motion Copy System was developed at Keio University by Seiichiro Katsura. It stores the gestures associated with traditional Japanese calligraphy, and copies them. All that one needs to do to train the system is to guide the robot’s arm with their hand, and it can precisely replicate their recorded brush strokes. Unlike traditional system, the robot can record and reproduce the force applied to the brush similarly to when people touch something.

The calligraphy replication ‘bot was presented at the 2012 Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies in Tokyo, Japan.

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[via DigInfo.TV via designboom]


Apple wins iPhone and iPad delay of ban in South Korea

Though it seemed as though Apple had lost a battle against Samsung earlier this year with a ban of both the iPad and the iPhone in South Korea, an update has been made today by the court that the defending party will be able to keep items for sale pending appeal. This event is rather similar to the situation currently happening in the USA with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also placed back up for sale pending appeal in a completely Apple vs Samsung case. This case in South Korea had the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1, and iPad 2 banned from sale due to Samsung connectivity patents.

Oddly enough, several Samsung Galaxy devices remain banned from sale in South Korea because they’ve not sought appeals as Apple has. It is because an appeal has been sought by Apple in this case that they’re able to keep their devices up for sale in the country. The August 24th ruling in this case remains in place unless Samsung decides to take action as they have – so to speak – in the USA-based case.

Here in the USA, the case regards quite a few patens owned by Apple that Apple says Samsung crossed over with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This is just one of several devices that Apple successfully had banned over the past year inside the USA, another of them being the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, another device that has been placed back on sale after a brief period of time this Summer.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see what’s been happening in this epic battle that’ll be going on for a long, long time. It’s this battle that Google’s own people feel will be the death of us all, you might like to know, and it’s certainly not something that we’re glad to see continue – nor is anyone not profiting from the experience, of course. Stay tuned for more device wars in the courtroom.

[via Bloomberg]


Apple wins iPhone and iPad delay of ban in South Korea is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Apple Hires Away Top Samsung CPU Designer to Build Custom Apple Chips [Chips]

Apple just took a big step toward upping its chip-making game, and took a big swipe at Samsung in the process. According to the Wall Street Journal, Cupertino’s hired away Jim Mergard, a well respected and vastly experienced engineer, from the Korean company. More »

Google announces simplified Zagat ratings, launches new application for Android

Google announces simplified Zagat ratings, launches new application for Android

Avid Zagat users may or may not tell you that the Google-owned restaurant finder service hasn’t exactly been offering the best rating system possible. With the most recent update, however, the hard-working devs from Mountain View are aiming to fix those woes, announcing that it’s now “easier than ever” to publish reviews on the platform. The new rating system, as you can see above, will let users in on a more simplified scoring method, with the ability to simply rate as “poor-fair,” “good,” “very good” or “excellent.” Meanwhile, Google also launched a revamped, free-of-charge Zagat app for Android, which brings all the features you love to both handsets and slates. You’ll find the fresh application at the Google Play link below.

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Google announces simplified Zagat ratings, launches new application for Android originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Rogue PC Software Is Mascarading as Antivirus to Scam You [Malware]

There’s some new malware preying on your PC, and you might not even realize is malware at all. More »

Todd Akin Ad Claims Claire McCaskill ‘Pocketed $40 Million Of Federal Subsidies’ (VIDEO)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Republican Senate challenger Todd Akin launched a TV ad Thursday claiming the family of Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill “pocketed $40 million of federal subsidies” – an assertion that McCaskill says is not true.

The ad dubs McCaskill as “corrupt Claire” and claims she is “getting rich off government.” It cites an Associated Press report from earlier this week that businesses affiliated with McCaskill’s husband had received almost $40 million of federal housing subsidies during her first five years in office. That report, however, did not say McCaskill’s family personally pocketed all of that money.

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Joe Arpaio Called A Chicken, Still Won’t Debate

A group working to oust Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio showed up to his office Wednesday with chickens, accusing him of being too scared to debate his opponents.

But Arpaio isn’t budging. He told Phoenix TV station KASW that he doesn’t need to debate because he has been in office long enough for the public to know his record.

“I don’t have to debate the two people running against me,” the Maricopa County sheriff said, KASW reported. “Maybe they can debate themselves and let the public know who they are, which they don’t.”

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