Hasta La Gadget!

Google is reportedly planning a Chromebook of its own, pushing out a Google-branded touchscreen notebook to follow its Nexus-brand smartphones and tablets. The Chrome OS laptop would be made by Compal, according to the China Times, with the finished product apparently set to ship by the end of 2012.

Two new Chrome OS laptops have debuted in recent weeks, with Acer chasing the budget end of the market with its $199 A7, while Samsung’s Series 3 is only a little more expensive at $249. Although both running Google’s operating system, the two models take different approaches to the underlying hardware: the A7 sticks to Intel’s Atom chip, whereas the Series 3 uses a more frugal ARM-based processor for longer runtimes.

It’s unclear which footsteps Google might follow in with its own machine, with no hardware specifics revealed. Given the company has experience already with ARM chips in the Nexus range, however, and the more impressive battery life such processors generally allow, that would perhaps seem the more likely choice.

Google has apparently ordered around 20m units of the new, unnamed Chromebook, which it’s suggested may be a more tentative move so as to gauge interest in the platform. Alternatively, it could be to seed units with developers, as Google did initially with the Atom-based Cr-48.

[via DigiTimes]

Google branded touchscreen Chromebook due 2012 tip insiders is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple is testing versions of OS X 10.9 that include Siri voice control and Apple Maps integration, sources claim, though it’s unclear if both features will make it to the public release expected in 2013. Development of the new Mac OS was reportedly begun simultaneously with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the current release, so 9to5Mac‘s sources claim, including a “MapKit” framework for coders to embed into their desktop applications much as they can do with iOS apps.

That framework is still in early testing, however, as is Siri support. The latter – familiar from the iPhone and, more recently, the iPad – would rely on the same servers as Dictation in OS X 10.8, though Apple could well choose to limit it to certain generations of Mac hardware.

Siri for the desktop has been well-requested since the digital personal assistant was first launched, though it’s perhaps only with the most recent update that it really grows in relevance for Macs and MacBooks. In its latest iteration, Siri gained the ability to open applications, something which could help cut down on mousing across OS X.

Exactly when OS X 10.9 may hit public Macs is unclear, though a Q1 2013 developer preview is likely if Apple follows the same sort of timescale as it did with Mountain Lion. That could then run up to a public release over the summer.

Apple mulling Siri and Apple Maps integration in OS X 10.9 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Owners of older Windows Phones who expect to run out of railroad after 7.8 could actually have some cause for hope — meager though it may be. A leaked slide, said to originate from a 25-page Nokia roadmap sent to WParea by an anonymous tipster, points toward at least one more update after Windows Phone 7.8 lands. However, it’s clear that whoever drew up the slide isn’t fully in the know, since the mystery version is simply described as “7.x.”. Meanwhile, the official Russian Windows Phone Twitter account has also kept the wheels rolling by promising 18 months of support for 7.8. We can’t exactly vouch for this either, since the tweet appears to have been deleted, but it does suggest that those last-year Lumias will keep chugging on for a good while longer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia

Nokia leak suggests there’s something between Windows Phone 7.8 and 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhoneArena  |  WParea (German), Windows Phone Live (Russian)  | Email this | Comments

With the world currently going crazy over smartphones with high-definition displays, it’s no wonder that manufacturers all want a slice of the high-end pie. We’re seeing it with HTC’s latest, the DROID DNA, and a new GLBenchmark listing suggests that it won’t be long before LG has a 1080p smartphone of its own to offer consumers. Benchmarks for a new phone called the LG F240K have appeared, and if the results are anything to go on, this is going to be one nice smartphone.

The size of the display isn’t known, but with that 1080p resolution, our friends at Android Community guess that it might come in at 5-inches by the time everything is said and done. Couple that with what’s suspected to be a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5Ghz and you’ve got a smartphone worthy of the high-end title. The handset is also running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so you won’t have worry about getting stuck with Ice Cream Sandwich (though it would be great to see Android 4.2 running on the F240K).

Keep in mind that a GLBenchmark result is hardly proof of existence, but it is a pretty good start. It seems that LG is working on something for the high-end, though we’re not likely to get an official announcement for a little while yet. In any case, since no one can keep a secret in the smartphone world, we should be seeing some F240K-related leaks popping up before long.

LG is only one of the companies looking to give HTC a run for its money in the 1080p smartphone market. We’re also expecting to see entries from Samsung and Sony at some point down the road, so the future is looking bright for 1080p smartphones. Keep it tuned here to SlashGear, as we’ll update you if we hear anything new about this mysterious smartphone!

[via Phone Arena]

LG F240K smartphone shows up in GLBenchmark with 1080p display is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple may be forced to delay sales of its new iMac models, sources claim, with suggestions that the complex construction techniques the slimline all-in-ones require have presented a greater than expected challenge. In fact, Apple could well miss the holiday sales period altogether, MacBidouille‘s “commercial source” warns, with the new iMacs pushed back into early 2013.

According to the insider, Apple was aiming for a November 27 release for the smaller of the two iMacs, the 21.5-inch variant. However, unforeseen issues have undermined those ambitions, believed to be the friction-stir welding process that creates seamless joints between sections of the chassis.

It’s that system – which combines heat and pressure to cement two aluminum surfaces together – which helps the iMac be so thin, but raises challenges of its own being a construction technology never previously used in computer manufacture.

Apple’s choice of display, optically-laminating the top glass to the LCD IPS panel itself, is also believed to be proving a bottleneck. While the technique is increasingly being used for smartphones and tablets, reducing bulk as well as improving picture quality, it’s less common at the sizes Apple expects to use it for in the iMac.

As of writing, Apple still lists a November release for the 21.5-inch iMac, and December for the 27-inch iMac. Neither machine is up for preorder at present, though Apple has confirmed prices will start from $1,299 for the smaller model and from $1,799 for the larger.

[via AppleInsider]

New iMac could be delayed until 2013 tip insiders is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.