Dec 29
Samsung this weekend teased an upcoming announcement about its Exynos processor ecosystem. The company will formally deliver the announcement on Jan. 7, 2014 at CES. Details are scant at best, … Continue reading
Dec 29
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we’re using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
For now, the new PlayStation Vita is available in Japan …
Dec 29
Are Family Photos Still a Thing?
Posted in: Today's Chili
Family photos can happen any time, but all-clan snaps seem like an imperative around the holidays. Does your family still do them? Is it a last-minute smartphone camera affair or do you have an aunt who busts out a DSLR?
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Dec 29
One of the most significant controversies of recent years has been the NSA’s mass surveillance of individuals via telecommunications and internet data monitoring. And while the ‘bots which are watching us are not much more than bits of data coursing through CPUs and electronic storage devices, it’s sometimes easier to imagine a physical manifestation of such unseen evils.
What we have here is just that. Technabob friend and artist Metin Seven designed this satirical, physical version of one of the NSA’s all-knowing, all-seeing spybots, rendering it in 3D. And if you really want one, you can have it 3D printed over at Shapeways. A 4-inch-high full color sandstone print will set you back about $25(USD), though it’ll be rough, not shiny like the rendering above. It’s also available in a variety of other materials, including steel and brass.
Just be careful when you order one, you never know who might be monitoring your purchases.
Dec 29
Lumia 520/521 Account For 30% Of All Windows Phone Devices Around The Globe
Posted in: Today's Chili
As Nokia gears up to hand off its Lumia brand to Microsoft, one must look back and see what the Finnish manufacturer was able to do right. Time and again it has been reported that the low cost Windows Phone devices, Lumia 520 and Lumia 521, have proved to be major hits. Latest data from Ad Duplex reiterates that, with both variants accounting for 30 percent of all Windows Phone devices being used around the globe. In the U.S., the Lumia 520 has overtaken the Lumia 920 as the second most used Windows Phone device. Of the entire Windows Phone market in the U.S., the Lumia 520/521 command 30 percent.
The popularity of T-Mobile branded Lumia 521 has propelled the carrier ahead of AT&T as it now has the second most Windows Phone devices on a U.S. carrier. The future of these devices in the country is uncertain. While Nokia has launched the Lumia 525 which has roughly the same specifications as these two devices but comes with twice the RAM at 1GB, which makes it compatible with latest content on the Windows Phone Store. So far Nokia hasn’t said if it plans to release the Lumia 525 in the U.S. Nokia’s high-end smartphones still struggle in the market, with the new flagship Lumia 1520 down at 16th and Lumia 1020 at 12th on the list of most used Windows Phone handsets. The low cost strategy seems to have worked wonders for Nokia, the question is, will Microsoft go down the same road once it assumes control of the brand and of Nokia’s hardware business?
Lumia 520/521 Account For 30% Of All Windows Phone Devices Around The Globe original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Dec 29
China May Use Microsoft-Nokia Deal As Leverage To Get Lower Patent Licensing Fees
Posted in: Today's Chili
Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services division hasn’t hit any major roadblocks. The deal sailed through Nokia’s shareholders meeting and it wasn’t held up by EU and U.S. regulatory bodies. There might be some trouble brewing in China though, which initially launched a probe into the deal. Just last week the country’s Ministry of Commerce launched another probe apparently after antitrust concerns was launched by local vendors. Rumor has it that China may require Microsoft and Nokia to lower their licensing fees before it approves the deal.
Nokia has sold its hardware business, but it hasn’t sold its patents to Microsoft. Technically speaking, both companies don’t have a joined patent portfolio. Nokia itself holds more than 7,000 patents and just last year it filed infringement complaints against ViewSonic, HTC and BlackBerry. Sources who spoke to Digitimes claim that while Nokia has been “reluctant” to file infringement complaints against local vendors in China, it may seek fees once it hands off the hardware division to Microsoft, presumably at the end of the first quarter of 2014. They claim that local vendors want the ministry to “force” both companies to make certain “concessions,” with regards to the licensing fees before the deal is approved, as they fear Nokia might file complaints against them as their global brand recognition grows.
China May Use Microsoft-Nokia Deal As Leverage To Get Lower Patent Licensing Fees original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Dec 29
This year we saw the trend of fingerprint scanners in smartphones pick up. It was rumored for months that the iPhone 5s would come with a fingerprint scanner, and it did. Then the HTC One Max was unveiled, which also had a similar scanner, albeit on the back. Even Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 was rumored to have it, but that didn’t pan out. Rumor has it that a number of flagship smartphones in 2014 will come with fingerprint scanner and the folks at Digitimes are hearing from “industry sources” that both HTC and LG are planning to use sapphire for home buttons of 2014 flagship devices.
Apparently the HTC One 2 and the LG G3 will come with sapphire home buttons, thus allowing both manufacturers to bundle fingerprint scanners. It has already been rumored that LG’s 2014 flagship is going to have the scanner. HTC already released one device touting said scanner this year, it seems likely that the company will introduce it into next year’s flagship as well. Both smartphones, the HTC One 2 and the LG G3, are expected to be launched earlier than originally planned in 2014. So far the companies haven’t confirmed anything about their smartphone plans for next year, perhaps things might be a bit more clear around the time when the Mobile World Congress is about to kick off.
HTC And LG Expected To Use Sapphire In Next Year’s Flagship Smartphones original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Dec 29
Welcome to Mr. J’s carnival. You must be 1.5″ tall to ride. That’s because this is a LEGO diorama featuring the Clown Prince of Crime’s headquarters of sorts. Made by Paul “Brickbaron” Etherington, it contains lots of moving parts and depicts Batman and other characters in dire straits against Joker and other villains.
Paul built the diorama over a two-month period using a number of video game levels as his inspiration. Its moving parts are powered by LEGO Power Functions motors. There’s a lot going on here and lots of villains are present, including Joker’s zealot Harley Quinn, the Riddler and Two-Face. Batman is actually in three different scenes at once. He’s being harassed by goons at the entrance of the fun house, battling with Joker on a carnival ride and is also about to be caught by a huge jack-in-the-box. Best to watch it all in the video below:
The Joker’s Fun House won the Best in Show, Evil Genius and Honorable Mention in the People’s Choice awards at the 2013 Brickcon. You can see more of it on Paul’s Flickr page.
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
Dec 29
We’re just one week away from the International Consumer Electronics Show 2014, which takes place in the first week of January in Las Vegas. It is the biggest show of its kind with a wide variety of exhibitors showing off the latest technology which will be all the rage next year. Some companies have already started teasing the announcements that they are going to make, Asus is one of them. The company has released its second CES 2014 teaser today, this one hints that Asus might announce a handful of new smartphones at the event.
Titled “What’s Your Number,” the setting is Taipei, Taiwan where balls fall from the sky. Each ball has a number printed on it, either four, five or six. This could be a subtle hint that Asus is going to announce smartphones with the aforementioned screen sizes. Apart from this, no further hints have been given, so we’ll have to wait until CES 2014 to find out for sure. Asus released its first CES 2014 teaser last week, which contained subtle hints towards a hybrid device that would perhaps be able to run both Android and Windows. That particular device is expected to be a tablet, but obviously, nothing is confirmed at this point in time.
Asus CES 2014 Teaser Hints At Handful Of New Smartphones original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Dec 29
90 million unique visitors a month has to be good for something. But so far Reddit hasn’t been able to stay consistently profitable even with all those people (yeah, you) banging down the door.
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