Technology & Business
You will soon be able to easily buy a Google Nexus 4
Google has blamed LG for Nexus 4 shortages and LG has done the same to Google. Cathy Robins, of LG France, is saying that LG produced the number of devices requested by Google but that the quantity ordered was severly low compared to actual market demand. In most Google Play stores, the device was available for hours to a couple of days (since launching in November). She said that LG is ramping up production to meet the demand. She expects supply and demand to level out sometime in February, as it takes about 6 weeks to change the production rate.
Google's newest competitor is Facebook Search
Facebook has now officially entered the search engine business by publicly announcing its new Facebook Graph Search product. Using natural queries, it will allow anyone to datamine public information from Facebook’s 1 billion users. How does it work? You will be able to ask it questions like: What are the most popular Indian restaurants in Montreal with my Indian friends? Who went to Mcgill University, graduate in 2000 with a bachelor in mechanical engineering and is friends with XYZ? You’ll notice that they went to great lengths to make search easier and more natural.
Cuba may have turned on it's first underwater internet connection
Canadians travelling to CUBA for rest and relaxation often complain about excruciatingly slow internet connectivity. The reason internet in Cuba is so slow is that all traffic goes through an aging satellite infrastructure. Imagine my surprise when traffic monitoring company, Renesys, said it believes Cuba turned on it's underwater Internet connection (via Venezuela) for the first time. It detection an internet connection between the Spanish ISP Telefonica and the national Cuban telecom company (state owned of course). Analysts don't believe this connection is being used by regular citizens yet and it seems to be unidirectional inbound only (which may be a misconfiguration or a special setup).
Android versus IOS, which is better?
As an experienced IOS user, I decided it was time for me to learn Android and early December 2012, I jumped in head first. I bought an Android (Nexus) device and started reading/watching everything I could find. Having spent over a month living and working with an Android device, I wanted to share my comparative thoughts about Android (Jelly Bean 4.2) vs IOS 6.0.1. Applications Android is now competing head to head with IOS and offers almost as many apps to its users.
New Screenshots of Kim Dotcom's Mega
Mega us tge rebirth of the old MegaUpload that was taken down by US authorities for copyright infringement. Here are some screenshots of the service if you are curious: You can see the full size image by clicking on any of these thumbnails. Main screen after you login Account Details option Transfer Settings Account Balance Session History Some people may not like the fact that every time they log in, the MEGA system will log browser, IP address, country of origin and browser.
Megaupload is back offering interesting new features
Kim DotCom, the famous founder of MegaUpload.com had been promising a rebirth of his file sharing service and the day has finally come. His new creation is called MEGA. In its current form, it has a simple drag and drop file sharing interface (easy to use) and provides 50GB of FREE online cloud storage. Mr DotCom has promised many more features such as Google Docs style online file editing, instant messaging, smartphone clients and much more. He is offering paid storage upgrades: Right now, I haven't seen a killer feature that would drive the masses to use Mega but I am sure Kim has some interesting plans to encourage us to try his new creation
iPhone 5s production begins March 2013
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) created a lively debate within the Apple community when it published an article claiming that Apple was reducing its component orders because of weaker than expected sales. The Apple proponents came out swinging while opponents cheered hoping it was the truth. Now Peter Misek, a Jeffries analyst is making a claim that seems to be much more believable. He is reporting that Apple will begin production of the iPhone 5s in March for a June 2013 launch.
VISA approved Blackberry (RIM) for mobile payment
Research In Motion (RIM) is working to build credibility ahead of the Blackberry 10 launch later this month and 3rd party certifications are critical. RIM is able to add another to its hat because VISA just approved RIM Near Field Communication (NFC) and Secure Element Manager (SEM) for use with VISA's mobile payment solutions. In Canada, mobile payments are just starting and the largest consortium (EnStream created by Rogers, Bell and Telus) will allow Blackberry users to pay for purchases using their smartphones.
Backberry 10 specs and features revealed
I have received emails from readers mentioning that carriers (US and Canada) have started training employees in preparation for the Blackberry 10 launch later this month. A training presentation has surfaced showing the browser, powerful multi tasking, etc. One slide claims there will be 70,000 apps at launch, which blows my mind. Spec wise, expect a 336ppi screen, a Qualcomm S4 processor, an 1800 mAh battery and BBM video. Stuff from Chris Parsons
Nexus 4 production alive and well says LG
Anytime a gadget is popular, tech sites buzz about rumors from unnamed sources claiming the most incredible things. Last week, many sites reported that LG was having production issues with Google’s Nexus 4 and that this model would be phased out for a newer one to be released during February’s Mobile world Conference. Android Central is reporting that there is no plan to phase out the device and that everything is humming along splendidly at the factory. It looks like Google and LG will now start offering the Nexus 4 through select global carriers (in the UK, US and Europe).