Microsoft sued because of Surface Memory Capacity

Even before the arrival to the market it was known that a big part of the internal flash memory of Surface is reserved for Windows alone and applications that come preloaded on the device. Thus, a 32-gigabyte version has only about 16 GB of free space for user data. That was reason enough for California Attorney General Andrew Sokolowski to sue Microsoft. In fact, he bought the Surface (RT) with 32 gigabytes of internal memory, but the internal memory got filled very fast with music and documents and then he realized that he actually has only half the space than he thought it should have.

Therefore, he decided to file a lawsuit against Microsoft for false advertising and unfair business practices. His goal is to change the Microsoft method of advertising of their devices, and make the company to return the money they earned by selling these devices. Microsoft justifies by claiming that customers realize that the operating system and preloaded applications are placed on the internal memory and that the whole 32GB of space wont be available. They also announced on the 5th of November exactly how much free space there is on each Surface version (32 gigabyte has a 16 gigabyte and 64 gigabyte has 45 gigabytes).

However, the information is buried on the Microsoft site and is not included in the specifications of those devices. There is also the question of the unit for the amount of data (kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte ...), or if they have taken one kilobyte as 1000 bytes (a typical case for specifying capacity of drives, flash memory, etc.) or 1,024 bytes (a typical case for many operating systems such as Windows). Therefore, when looking in Windows the capacity of internal flash memory, hard disk or SSD, it turns out that you have a lack of memory - and the thing is variously defined units. Now it's just a question of whether customers really understand that the operating system and applications can take up so much of the internal memory.

It is worth mentioning that a similar situation is present with the other devices, like the iPad. However, because the iPad's operating system takes up relatively little space, the difference between the declared and the free space is much lower (14.3 GB free of 16 GB).

Soutce: decryptedtech.com

'Car of the Year' uses no gasoline

The auto industry is shifting gears. For first time ever, Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" is an all-electic car.

The Tesla Model S took the top prize.

The magazine started with 11 finalists, including Ford Fusion, Porsche 911, and Hyundai Azera.

In the end, the decision was unanimous.

Motor Trend said the Tesla Model S was one of the most efficient cars, with an electric capacity of 75 miles per gallon.

The luxury car can also go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds. But that's not all.
Thanks to its electric motor, the Model S is quiet. And since there is no internal combustion engine, Tesla's vehicle has more space for passengers and cargo.

But it comes with a hefty price tag. The car retails for $50,000 to $100,000, depending on desired mileage. Basically, the farther you want to go on one charge, the more it will cost you.

And there is one big unknown: How this vehicle will perform in the long run



Source

Google Rolling Out Jelly Bean 4.2

Yesterday Google’s Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 went on sale, of which the former sold out within minutes. But if you’re one of the many who missed out on a Nexus 4, you might not have to wait long for the latest version of Android.

Google has already begun releasing the new software as an over the air update. But unlike iPhone users, who tend to receive software updates in unison, Google's update will be reaching Nexus devices first.

Nexus devices use a stock (aka vanilla) version of Android. Unlike manufacturer ROMs which feature a custom skin, Nexus phones don't require months of additional testing, and more often than not, receive over the air updates as soon as a new Android version becomes available.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Asus Nexus 7 owners should receive an update notification. Unfortunately support for Samsung's Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom tablet will stop at Jelly Bean 4.1.2.

Jelly Bean 4.2 is an update on the existing 4.1 version, adding 360 degree panorama photos (PhotoSphere), gesture typing and an array of tweaks across the operating system. For the full low-down on Jelly Bean improvements, cl ick here.

Other smartphones will eventually inherit the updated software, but by the time manufacturers tweak the software with their custom skin, and carriers perform the customary 16 weeks of testing, it will be some time before the fragmented community catches up.

Source

Google Nexus 4 to hit T-Mobile stores on Nov 14th for $199 on-contract, $499 off

Didn’t get a chance to purchase a Google Nexus 4 from the Google Play Store today? On November 14th you’ll be able to walk into some T-Mobile stores and pick one up in person… for the right price.

While Google is selling a 16GB, carrier unlocked Nexus 4 for $349, The Verge reports T-Mobile will charge $499 for the same device. Or you can get it for $199… if you sign up for a 2-year service plan.

In other words, if you want to use the Google Nexus 4 with AT&T’s network in the US, you have two choices: Wait a few weeks for Google to get more in stock or pay a $150 premium to buy one from a T-Mobile store.

Keep in mind, $499 is actually a pretty great price for an unlocked smartphone with a 1280 x 768 pixel display, a quad-core processor, 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. The Nexus 4 is also the first phone to ship with Google Android 4.2. You’d end up paying more than that for a brand new, unlocked Samsung Galaxy S III or HTC One X.

While the Nexus 4 doesn’t support 4G LTE, neither does T-Mobile. But the wireless carrier does offer HSPA+ speeds as high as 42 Mbps, and that’s exactly what this phone can handle.

Basically, T-Mobile’s $499 price tag represents an early adopter’s premium. The $199 price for a subsidized phone is probably a much better deal if you were planning on becoming a T-Mobile customer anyway, or renewing your contract. Sure, there are plenty of phones available at that price, but the Nexus includes a pure version of Android without any customizations from the carrier or device maker, and it’ll be first in line for future software updates from Google.

Source

Google Nexus 4 already sold out at U.S. Google Play store

Following a worldwide trend, the new smartphone goes on sale in the U.S. and within hours is no longer available.

Just minutes after going on sale in the United States, the new Nexus 4 smartphone from Google and LG was already sold out. Visitors to the Google Play store are greeted with a "coming soon" notice for both the 8GB and 16GB versions of the device.

The phones previously sold out in the United Kingdom in less than an hour. Some customers reported having trouble accessing the store or checking out successfully. Meanwhile, Dutch blog AndroidWorld reported that a planned Netherlands launch was scrapped amid high demand elsewhere.

It's unclear how many units Google was able to produce by launch time. The Nexus 4 won praise for its low $299 starting price, the fact that it arrived without a contract, and for subtle improvements in the Android 4.2 operating system, which it is the first phone to run. But it LG Nexus 4 drew criticism for failing to run on 4G LTE networks.

The expanded Nexus 7 lineup and the new Nexus 10 tablet, which also went on sale in the United States today, were still available for purchase in all their configurations.

Source: CNET

Steven Sinofsky, Windows President, leaving Microsoft effective immediately

Steven Sinofsky, President of Windows and Windows Live Division, is leaving Microsoft effective immediately, reports All Things D.

The move is claimed to be a result of growing discontent within the software giant, with a number of executives reportedly unhappy when working with him due to his failure to be a "team player." Such a move has striking parallels with Scott Forstall's recent exit from Apple.

Sinofsky held his most current position since 2009, but joined Microsoft more than 20 years ago (1989). All Things D says responsibility for Windows will now be split between two of Sinofsky's reports: Julie Larson-Green, who'll head up Windows engineering, and Tami Reller, who'll take care of the business side.

In a press release, CEO Steve Ballmer said the company needed to be more aligned and integrated, with more regular software releases:

I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company. The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft. We've built an incredible foundation with new releases of Microsoft Office, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Microsoft Surface, Windows Server 2012, and Halo 4, and great integration of services such as Bing, Skype, and Xbox across all our products. To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings.

In his statement, Sinofsky wrote:

It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft. I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company.

Source

Why Buying An iPad Mini Is An Incredibly Dumb Idea

You! Yes, you. You're thinking about buying an iPad mini. And I'm about to ask you -- for God's sake, why?

I suppose you could say I'm a technological curmudgeon, because I was never all that excited about tablet computers. When the original iPad first came out, I was one of those kids who made iTampon jokes and wondered snarkily how it would be different from a computer without a keyboard. Turns out, it's worse then a computer without a keyboard because you can't multitask.

What's worse, all the things that might have once been "websites" or "flash games" or "add-ons to your browser" are now little screen-clogging squares called "apps." Apps, as far as I can tell, were invented for smartphones because browsing websites on a smartphone screen was infinitely irritating. Given the choice of "website" or "square thing built originally for a smartphone," I'd pick "website" every time. But iPads work under the assumption that what I really need in my life is several screens of "apps" to scroll through.

Guys, apps are worse than websites! I'm not jazzed here!

For the marginal effort of "sitting up in bed" you could stick a laptop on your lap and play FLASH GAMES on WEBSITES for FREE instead of playing the same games as APPS that you PAY FOR and are WORSE.

Also, all this hoopla about the iPad being more portable? Rubbish. An iPad is about as portable as a MacBook Air, but with a MacBook Air you get an actual keyboard and the ability to, you know, have different windows open at the same time so you can engage in the revolutionary activity of, say, taking notes while watching a video.

So there you have it. The secret is out: Laptops are like iPads, only better.

Moreover, are we sure that an iPad mini isn't just a largish iPod Touch being sold for an iPad price? The only possible advantage I could see to the original iPad was that it was like an iPhone, kinda, but with a much bigger screen so you could, for example, watch movies on it without squinting. (Although, unlike a phone, the iPad doesn't come with calling and texting features baked in, so that's a big disadvantage.) But an iPad Mini doesn't even make movie-watching easier -- now you have to squint to watch the movies on its 7-inch screen! And it still doesn't have calling or texting.

Silicon Angle has already speculated that the iPad mini is little more than an iPod Touch that connects to cellular WiFi. What's different? You get "native iPad apps," and you have to pay an extra $130 to get the cellular WiFi at all. As far as I can tell, the base-model iPad mini (for $329) really is just an iPod Touch.

So it doesn't take much verbiage to make the argument that the iPad mini is strictly worse than your average smartphone. Remember how smartphones can call and text? Yeah, I remember that too. Also, smartphones can fit in your hand, and my smartphone even comes with a physical keyboard, although I know that's super special and not something every smartphone comes with.

At the end of the day, everything I could do with an iPad -- miniature or no -- I can do with a smartphone. Except that I can put my smartphone in my pocket. Like laptops, smartphones are also better than iPads.

But what if you just happen to have an extra $459 on hand and can't think of anything better to do with it than buy a tablet computer to "supplement" the functionality of your smartphone and laptop? Well, first of all, if you actually can't think of anything, you're incredibly unimaginative. I mean, for God's sake, amusement parks exist. If you still can't think of anything, go donate that $459 to One Laptop Per Child and give a small child her first computer instead of getting a another gadget/toy for yourself.

Seriously. It's much more worth it than a new iPod Touch -- I mean iPad mini.

Source

The Call of Duty: Black Ops II midnight-launch survival guide

This is it. You’ve waited your whole life for this mission — or you’ve waited your whole life since last year around this time. Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the newest first-person shooter from publisher Activision and developer Treyarch, goes on sale around the country when the clock strikes 12:00 a.m. Only you’ll have to brave a sidewalk filled with other COD fans if you want to be among the first to get your hands on the game.
That’s where we come in. We’ve compiled a few tips to help you survive the experience, the exposure to the elements, and the dudebros.

Dress appropriately

One word: Camouflage.

You’re going to need to fit in. That means you’ll need the Call of Duty midnight-launch uniform. Head to your nearest Buckle (it’s in the mall right next to the Sbarro’s) and pick up the sickest Tapout, Affliction, or Ed Hardy t-shirt you can find. People need to only look at you to know that you’ve been in dozens of fights — and by “been in fights” I mean that you’ve gone to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch UFC while scarfing down some delicious mango habanero boneless wings.

I’d also normally recommend growing some kind of neckbeard, but let’s be honest: You already have one of those.

Know the language

It’s been a few years since I was embedded with a platoon of Call of Duty faithful, but I can confirm that they have a lingo all of their own. Mostly it’s just faux-macho posturing that causes all animate and inanimate objects to illicit a homophobic response. This always made me uncomfortable, and I expect it will do the same for many of you. That’s why I’ve created the following list of questions and statements that you can use to quickly change the subject. Be sure to memorize these:

1. What is your favorite-smelling Axe body spray? Personally, I think nothing beats the Essence line of aromas.
2. On a scale from “Dude, yes!” to “Totally, my bro!” how much better is Call of Duty than Halo?
3. A classically trained wrestler has the advantage over a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter any day of the week.

Bring rations

Every gamer needs fuel, so pack a lunch. Here’s an easy-to-reference checklist of things that should be in every midnight-release attendee’s duffel bag:

• Cool Ranch Doritos
• Red Bull
• Nacho Cheese Doritos
• Mountain Dew: Code Red
• What’s left of your Halloween candy
• A jar of peanut butter
• Cheetos
• 5-Hour Energy
• Pepperoni Pizza Pringles

That’s it. Oh, and bring money, I guess.

We’ll have a review up for Call of Duty: Black Ops II tonight at midnight. We’ll have further coverage on the site throughout the week.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you get beat up for following any of these guidelines.

Source

Could 'Call of Duty' mean absences at work?

An annual bug is making its way around the workplace and classroom: the Call of Duty contagion.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, expected to be the biggest video game release of the year, hits stores Tuesday. And hundreds of thousands of gamers are expected to line up at thousands of stores, including Best Buy and GameStop, to get the game at midnight and play all night long â?? and perhaps all day Tuesday.

Some fans of the popular first-person shooter combat game already have taken the day off. But don't be surprised if a few co-workers and students call in sick Tuesday morning suffering from a Black Ops II hangover.

"I have a few folks on my staff who are passionate gamers, and I know for a fact they are going to be taking the day off," says Chris Koller, vice president of Best Buy's home business group. "I signed the day-off slip for them. ... It's an event. They do it every year."

The chain plans to have about 900 stores open Monday night â?? about one-third of which will let customers play the game on big-screen LG 3D TVs starting at 9 p.m.

Each of the past three years, Call of Duty releases have surpassed the preceding release, and pre-orders suggest Black Ops II will continue the trend. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took in first-day sales in 2011 of more than $400 million, selling more than 6.5 million units in North America and the United Kingdom.

In addition to a story mode that takes about eight hours to play through, there's an online multiplayer combat game that many gamers devote hundreds of hours to playing.

The game, which is rated "Mature" for ages 17 and older, hits a sweet spot among males, from teens to fortysomethings. "Many of my husband's students will cut classes," says Esther Cepeda of Chicago, an avid video gamer married to a high school teacher. In their household, she says, "there's no class cutting allowed for a video game, even Black Ops II."

In the workplace, "we might see some unplanned absences go up, especially among Generation Yers and Millennials," says John Challenger, CEO of employment consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas. "I could see where (information technology) departments might be decimated."

But the numbers of absences won't reach the levels seen after Election Day or even the release of a new Apple iPhone, says Lisa Orndorff, manager of employee relations at the Society for Human Resource Management. Far fewer will take off than do during the first two days of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

"Thankfully for me, it's my day off," says Josh Cascio, a TV reporter for WTVT, a Fox affiliate in Tampa Bay, who played Halo 4 in preparation for his Election Day shift. This Tuesday, he says, "I'll be spending the day saving the U.S."

At Treyarch, the studio that developed Black Ops II, studio head Mark Lamia confesses that "I've heard stories of increased numbers of 'sick days' during Call of Duty launches. I'd like to wish everyone I'll see online on (Tuesday) a speedy recovery."

Source

ASUS giving vouchers to Europeans who bought a Nexus 7 before price drop

If you live in Europe and happened to buy a Nexus 7 right before Google dropped the price, then you might be eligible to receive a €30 voucher from ASUS to make up some of the difference (₤25 voucher for UK users). However, only customers who purchased the device directly from either ASUS or Google are eligible.

There are some stipulations, though, that you must meet in order to claim your voucher. First, you obviously would’ve had to purchase a Nexus 7 before October 29, which was the day that Google announced the price drop. Also, you have to register your Nexus 7 with ASUS and provide your proof of purchase.

Towards the end of October, Google announced a 32GB version of the Nexus 7, as well as 3G HSPA+ capabilities. They released it a price of $249 while bumping the 16GB model down to $199 from $249. Obviously, those who bought a Nexus 7 right before that date are most likely pretty upset, but ASUS is doing their part to make at least some of its customers happy.

In order to claim your voucher, you must submit all the required info by November 30, and the voucher itself is good through December 31. However, the voucher can only be used at ASUS’s online store. We’re not sure if ASUS will be bringing a similar program over the US, but it could just be a matter of time.

Soutce

Windows 8 security patches to be released

Windows 8's first security patches will be part of a package of fixes released Tuesday during Microsoft's monthly Patch ritual.

Microsoft announced the Windows 8 security fixes in a recent security bulletin.

The bulletin was issued days after a security company in the business of selling zero-day vulnerabilities, Vupen, announced that it had found multiple vulnerabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10.

Three "critical" fixes for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8 will be issued on Microsoft's Patch Tuesday.

According to Microsoft, critical vulnerabilities are most severe.

They can be exploited to allow code execution without user interaction. Such execution allows malware to self propagate itself or code to be executed without warnings or prompts to a user.

In addition to the Windows 8 fixes, the Patch Tuesday package will include critical updates for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 and Windows RT.

Microsoft will also be issuing a number of "important" updates for its Office productivity suite for both Windows and Mac platforms.

After Vupen revealed that it had found vulnerabilities in Windows 8, Microsoft declined to comment on the discovery.

Technologies that Vupen claim to have bypassed included HiASLR (hi-entropy Address Space Layout Randomization), AntiROP (anti-Return Oriented Program), DEP (data execution prevention) and the IE 10 Protected Mode sandbox.

Although Microsoft has made great strides in securing Windows 8 and IE 10, vulnerabilities were bound to be found, according to Bitdefender senior product manager Alex Balan.

"As with any software, things are found to be vulnerable at one point or another," he said in an interview. "It's not that Microsoft is a great company and doesn't develop great software."

"They've made huge leaps forward in terms of security," he added. "But holes are always going to be found that will allow someone to lower the security barriers. One way or the other, vulnerabilities will be exposed, and they will be exploited."

Source: PCWorld

AT&T, Verizon Offering Windows Phone 8 as Nokia Hits New Low

AT&T began selling the Lumia 920 and 820 Nov. 9, and Verizon made three new Windows Phone 8 smartphones available for preorder.

The Nokia Lumia 920 and 820, the first Lumias to run Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 operating system, became available on the AT&T network Nov. 9. The same day, Verizon Wireless began taking preorders for three new Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 822, the Windows Phone 8X by HTC and the Samsung ATIV Odyssey.

Nokia has been in desperate need of Windows Phone 8's arrival—which happened Oct. 29—so that its newest smartphones could go on sale. The phone maker's market share has been plummeting in recent years, precipitating its February 2011 move to fade out support for Symbian and get behind Microsoft's Windows Phone. Nokia's need for the new phones' release became particularly desperate after Microsoft announced June 20 that the pair's original crop of Lumias wouldn't be able to receive the upgrade to Windows Phone 8, essentially killing on the spot Nokia's chances at decent summer sales.

Canalys, reporting global smartphone shipments for the third quarter of 2012 Nov. 8, revealed the extent of Nokia's suffering. The long-time leader of the market failed to make the top-five list.

Samsung led the market, with sales of 55.5 million smartphones, followed by Apple with sales of 26.9 million iPhones. Sony surprised industry observers by not only jumping onto the list for the first time since 2006 but rising to the No. 3 spot, with sales of 8.8 million smartphones. HTC finished fourth, with sales of 8.4 million units, and RIM, with sales of 7.3 million BlackBerry devices, held on to fifth place.

A year ago this quarter, a troubled Nokia still managed to retain third place—behind Samsung and Apple, respectively—with sales of 16. 8 million units. In a still more painful example of how quickly the market changes, during the third quarter of 2010, Nokia led by a considerable margin, holding 32 percent market share to second-place Apple's 17 percent, according to data from IDC.

AT&T has talked up its new Lumias as offering a "fantastic experience." It's now selling the Lumia 920 for $99.99 with a new two-year contract and the Lumia 820 for $49.99, by the same conditions.

Between now and Thanksgiving, it will also begin selling a 16GB version of the HTC Windows Phone 8X for $199.99 and an 8GB version in California Blue and Limelight for $99.99. Limelight, a shade of yellow, will be exclusive to AT&T.

Verizon has also grabbed a few exclusive deals. Again, by Thanksgiving, it will sell the Windows Phone 8X by HTC for $199.99 in choices of blue, red or black, with the latter two colors unavailable elsewhere.

The Lumia 822, a Nokia model exclusive to Verizon, will come in black, white or gray and sell for $99.99 with a two-year contract, while the Samsung ATIV Odyssey, also exclusive to Verizon, will be available by the end of the year, with pricing and other details to arrive before then.

Samsung introduced an ATIV line of devices at the IFA 2012 trade show in Berlin Aug. 29. The ATIV name is vita, the Latin word for life, spelled backward.

Analysts have expected the carriers to get behind Windows 8, as they're "looking for leverage over Apple and Android OEMs, which dominate the marketplace and saddle carriers with high device subsidies," Technology Business Research analyst Michael Soper wrote in a July research note.

U.S. Cellular has also gotten behind the mobile OS, selling the ZTE Render, as has T-Mobile, which will also soon begin selling the HTC Windows Phone 8X.

Source: Eweek.com

A New Era Of Detente? Apple And HTC Settle Legal Claims

In a sign that Apple may be ready to drop its insane jihad against Android handset makers, Apple and HTC have announced they are dropping all legal claims against one another, ending a bitter two-year court battle that has involved numerous lawsuits in courts around the world.

Apple and HTC have struck a 10-year global licensing agreement that "extends to current and future patents held by both parties," an HTC press release said.

Could this mean Apple is sick of being the world's biggest (and least successful) patent troll? Let's hope so.

The two companies did not release terms of the settlement. The press release contained canned statements from Peter Chou, CEO of HTC and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. Chou said HTC "can focus on innovation instead of litigation," and Cook said Apple "will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation."

Apple sued HTC in 2010 as part of a wider legal assault on Android phone makers. Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs had vowed to wage "thermonuclear war" against Android, which he considered to be a knock-off of Apple's mobile operating system.

An End To Apple's Legal War?

Does Apple's settlement with HTC indicate that Cook doesn't share Jobs's hunger for vengeance? It certainly looks that way. Certainly Cook is more pragmatic and less emotional than Jobs was.

And the truth is, Apple's lawsuits are mostly ridiculous, and have mostly failed. In one case against HTC, all of Apple's claims but one were tossed out, and the one that survived was so trivial that HTC created a work-around in a week.

In other words, Apple has been wasting money and energy (not to mention harming consumers) by pursuing a quixotic crusade launched by its late founder and CEO.

Cook seems to realize this.

He might also realize that he is fighting the tide when it comes to Android. It's worth noting that this settlement occurred not long after the latest damning IDC numbers came out showing that Android is now outselling Apple five-to-one in the smartphone market, and that Android is also surging in tablets.

All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance

The biggest question is whether this settlement with HTC signals more settlements to come with rivals like Motorola and Samsung. Those fights, particularly the one with Samsung, have been more bitterly fought than the one with HTC.

So in those cases it may be more difficult to bury the hatchet. But for the sake of customers, let's hope Apple can drop the pointless warfare and do the right thing.

Source

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Review

With so many Windows 8 PCs launching in the next couple months, manufacturers are going to have find something to make their machines stand out. Lenovo has taken this idea to extremes with one of its new computers, the IdeaPad Yoga 13. Convertibles are nothing new – we’ve seen plenty of laptops that can “turn into” tablets – but the IdeaPad Yoga 13 features a 360 degree hinge that makes it so much more than just a tablet/laptop convertible. I’ll say this right off the bat: the IdeaPad Yoga 13 is one of the coolest machines I’ve ever seen. But being cool is only one part of the equation, and that 360-degree hinge can’t carry the whole machine if the rest of it is nothing to write home about. Has Lenovo delivered an interesting and unique machine that won’t disappoint when it comes to actual usability, or is the Yoga 13 a dud that will be lost in a sea of Windows 8 machines despite the fact that it has some intriguing features? Read on to find out.

Design

If we were basing this on looks alone, the Yoga 13 wouldn’t do very well. That’s not because the Yoga 13 is a bad looking computer, it’s just that the silver ultrabook look is getting a little old these days. With the Yoga 13, you’ve got a silver chassis on the top on bottom, which is accompanied by black trim along the sides. It looks good, but it’s been done plenty of times before. I would have liked to have seen Lenovo take a chance with some color, but then again I can see why it didn’t – after all, silver is a pretty good neutral color, and the last thing a manufacturer wants is for consumers to be hung up on colors, of all things. If you’re shooting for as many people as possible, neutral colors are better.

On the left side of the device is where you’ll find a full-size HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and the volume buttons for when you’re using the machine in tablet mode. On the front, we’ve got the One Key Recovery button, which is standard on most Lenovo laptops these days, as well as the power button and a battery indicator. Finishing off with the right side, we have the power jack – which for some reason is yellow – a USB 2.0 port, a 2-in-1 card slot (SD and MMC) and the screen lock button. The screen lock button prevents the screen from changing orientation, which I think is definitely a handy thing to have around. One thing that’s worth noting is that there isn’t an Ethernet port present on the Yoga 13. That means it’ll be Wi-Fi or bust if you decide to pick one up, so keep that in mind.

Opening the computer up, we’ve got a really nice looking 13.3-inch display, which features a Windows 8 button that you can pretty to quickly get back to the Start screen, and the keyboard. Here’s where the Yoga 13 deviates from the boring old silver notebook scheme, as the keyboard and trackpad are entirely black. It actually looks sharp and goes well with the screen, but there’s one small problem: by making the entire keyboard black, it can be kind of hard to see in low light settings. That’s especially true since there isn’t any backlighting to speak of on the Yoga 13. You’ll want to use this is a well-lit area if you know you’ll need to be looking at the keyboard, though this won’t be much of an issue for folks who know a keyboard as well as I know the lyrics to Will Smith’s Wild Wild West (trust me, I know them).

The design aspects covered above are all secondary, however, to the 360-degree hinge. Using this, you can fold the Yoga 13 into a number of different positions, and there are four positions in particular that Lenovo has been advertising with the machine. First off we have the traditional laptop mode – this is the only position the keyboard and trackpad will function in, which is important to remember as we go through the remaining three modes.

Next up is stand mode, which has the user folding the screen back and flipping the machine over so that it rests on its keyboard. This mode seems best-suited for getting the keyboard out of the way to watch movies. I’m tempted to argue that it isn’t the best choice for playing games and instances when you’ll be using the touch screen a lot, as it doesn’t take much pressure to get the screen to fold back even further.

Then we have tent mode, which is my personal favorite. In tent mode, you’ll fold the screen over even further and then flip the computer on its ends so that it forms something resembling a tent when it’s resting on a surface. This would be another good choice for watching movies, but it’s also a better choice for gaming than stand mode is due to the fact that the screen will be much more stable in tent mode. Lenovo has also specifically suggested that it would be good for using in the kitchen – perhaps reading a recipe on your Yoga 13 as you cook, and while I think that’s an excellent idea, I have to be honest and say that I didn’t test this sort of application (I’m not much of a chef, to tell the truth).

Finally we have tablet mode, which will have you folding the screen all the way around to the back to form your slate. I have to say that the Yoga 13 makes one surprisingly excellent tablet, but the fact that the keyboard is exposed on the backside feels a little strange at first. You get used to it after a while, and thankfully the keyboard and trackpad are deactivated in any configuration other than laptop mode, but I do wonder if putting that kind of pressure on the keys while you’re holding the Yoga 13 in tablet mode would result in a shorter lifespan. For what it’s worth, I didn’t have any problems, but I can’t help but feel that having the keyboard exposed on the backside might have an adverse effect on the keys in the long run.

There’s also another cause for concern when using the Yoga 13 in tablet mode: the exhaust vents run along the back edge of the system. When you’ve got the Yoga 13 folded up in tablet mode, the bottom edge of the screen is pressed up against the exhaust vents. It isn’t normally a problem as there’s still plenty of room for air to come in and escape, but if you’re doing something that’s making the computer’s fans work hard, you’ll definitely feel some heat at the bottom of the screen. That’s a bit worrying, though again, I didn’t run into any problems in testing – the computer ran cool enough, and it never got to the point where the warm air caused any issues with the screen.

Don’t let those few concerns dissuade you though, as the Yoga 13 is really a pleasure to use in tablet mode. The machine is lighter than I was expecting at 3.3 pounds, but that gives it plenty of extra heft over traditional tablets and even a few ultrabooks. There are far too many tablets out there that feel incredibly fragile, but that isn’t the case with the Yoga 13 – it feels nice and sturdy in tablet mode, and its 13.3-inch screen gives it another advantage over traditional tablets. Yes, it feels a little on the big side at first, but after using the Yoga 13 in tablet mode for a couple of days, I don’t really want to go back to 10.1-inch tablets.

So there you have it – the four faces of the IdeaPad Yoga 13. Some of them seem more useful than the others, but each have their advantages and each bring something unique to the tablet. The Yoga 13 earns points for that alone, but as I said above, the cool factor is only one part of the equation; the Yoga 13 is going to have to impress in other areas to be truly worthy of a place in your tech collection.

Hardware

As far as hardware goes, the Yoga13 doesn’t offer much that you can’t already find in tons of other ultrabooks. 4GB of RAM? Check. Third-gen Intel Core i5-3317U clocked at 1.7GHz? Yes sir. 128GB SSD? Present and accounted for. Those are three components that are included in almost every ultrabook, but then again, there’s a good reason for that. More than anything else, an ultrabook should be fast, and that combination of components makes for one speedy machine. I doubt that the Yoga 13 will disappoint when it comes to speed, even if it does have some predictable innards.

What is surprising about the Yoga 13 is its screen. When I mentioned that the Yoga 13 has a 13.3-screen earlier, I have a feeling that more than a few of you immediately thought 1366×768 resolution. I can’t really blame you, seeing as how 1366×768 is still for some reason the most popular resolution when it comes to laptops and ultrabooks, but I’m happy to report that your assumptions were wrong. The Yoga 13 actually displays at 1600×900 resolution, which is a little strange to see these days, but certainly not unwelcome. The 16:9 aspect ratio means that the Yoga 13 is great for watching movies, and that bump is resolution also means that visuals are much sharper than on laptops with 1366×768 displays.

The IPS display features 10-point multi-touch, which is certainly nice, though I have to say that the screen seems a little too eager to switch sometimes. One wrong move and you’ll have the screen switching orientation on you, but that’s one of the pitfalls of having so many different modes for the Yoga 13. Luckily, Lenovo thought ahead and included that screen lock button I mentioned above – use it. It will become your best friend before long.

System - LENOVO 20175

Manufacturer	Lenovo	Product Type	Notebook
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Motherboard	LENOVO INVALID
Processor	Intel Core i5-3317U
Processor ID	GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency	1.70 GHz	Processors	1
Threads	4	Cores	2
L1 Instruction Cache	32.0 KB	L1 Data Cache	32.0 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	L3 Cache	3.00 MB
Memory	4.00 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz	FSB	99.8 MHz
BIOS	LENOVO 66CN48WW

The IdeaPad Yoga 13 comes equipped with Intel 4000 integrated graphics, so you’re not going to have much a powerhouse when it comes to graphics ability. Still, the Yoga 13 performed well enough running Civilization V with most of the settings on medium (though a few settings had to be turned down to low), so you should be able to do some light gaming on this thing without any problems.

One interesting thing I noticed when booting up Civilization V was that it has been updated with touch controls for Windows 8. Though you wouldn’t think that Civ V would be an ideal game to play with a touch screen, it actually worked out quite well, and that’s a testament to how accurate the touch screen is. The new controls obviously take some getting used to, but outside of that, I didn’t have any issues playing Civilization V with the Yoga 13’s touch screen – something to consider if you take the quality of a touch screen seriously.

The speakers on the Yoga 13 are decent, but like the speakers on most ultrabook and laptops, they aren’t anything to get excited about. Bass doesn’t sound as hefty as it should out of the box, and though you can certainly crank up the volume on the Yoga 13’s speakers, you might not want to. Music can sound pretty tinny if you turn the volume up too high, so while the speakers will suffice if you use them sparingly, you might want to invest in a good pair of headphones if you’ll be playing a lot of music or watching a lot of video on the machine.

I touched on the trackpad and the keyboard a bit earlier in the review, but now let’s talk about them in a little more depth. As I said, it’s black-on-black with the keyboard and trackpad, which can make it a little difficult to see if you don’t have a lot of light. Aside from that issue though, the keyboard and trackpad are both solid. Scrolling works really well on the trackpad, though swipe controls have been inverted, meaning that you’ll swipe down to scroll up and swipe to the left to scroll right. Using four fingers and swiping downward, you can freeze the screen, which will bring down an overlay with the time and date. Swiping upward removes the overlay, letting you resume whatever it is you were doing.

The keyboard is one that helps you type as quickly as possible with few errors, though be warned that the enter, right shift, and backspace keys are smaller than on full-size keyboard. This is because the home, print screen, insert, and delete keys have all taken up residence on the right side of the keyboard, putting space at a premium. There are also a set of hotkeys above the row of number keys that allow you do things like change the volume and brightness, put the machine in airplane mode, and close the window you’re currently looking at. Standard fare for a laptop keyboard, but that isn’t a knock against it – the keyboard is a good piece of equipment, and I liked using it a lot.

Software

The Yoga 13 comes running Windows 8, which gives it an edge over the other Windows RT devices that are currently on the market or will be shortly. Windows 8 is clearly geared toward touch, so I think if you want the best Windows 8 experience, the Yoga 13 might not be a bad idea. Of course, there are some issues with Windows 8 on touch screens, namely the desktop. While the Start screen is perfect for touch screens, the desktop can prove to be quite frustrating if you’re using the Yoga 13 in any configuration other than laptop mode.

Double clicking on desktop icons isn’t a problem, but clicking those tiny little icons in the system tray can be a headache, especially when you’re like me and have hands that can’t exactly be called “dainty.” Likewise, clicking buttons in programs or in browsers that were made to be navigated with a mouse and keyboard can be difficult, so if you’re going to use touch, it’s recommended that you use Windows 8 apps when you can.

Touch screen controls in Windows 8 are solid, but if you’re new to the operating system, it’ll be a while before you’re navigating like a pro. This is the same regardless of if you’re using the trackpad or the touchscreen, and it’s worth pointing out that you can still use the touch screen when the Yoga 13 is in laptop mode. I found myself doing that quite a bit, thanks to Windows 8’s touch-friendly interface and inviting tiles. I image you’ll end up doing that quite a bit yourself, but I don’t really think that’s a bad thing.

Other than Windows 8, the Yoga 13 comes with a healthy amount of pre-installed software. If you’ve purchased a Lenovo computer before, you likely won’t be surprised by what comes packaged with the Yoga 13. We’ve got programs Lenovo YouCam, One Key Recovery, a trial to Absolute Data Protect, 30 days of Norton Antivirus, and SugarSync. Most of that you’ll be able to live without, though it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get One Key Recovery set up, just in case you make a mistake and need to restore your computer.

Of course, there’s also the software that comes bundled with Windows 8, like apps for Internet Explorer and SkyDrive. Lenovo has pre-loaded its own selection of Windows 8 apps on there too, including rara.com, Evernote, eBay, and Kindle. It isn’t a bad selection, but you might want to do some house cleaning once you get your Yoga 13 out of the box.

Battery

The Yoga 13 comes packing a 3860mAh Lithium-Polymer 4 cell battery that’s quoted for up to 8 hours of use. Naturally, you’ll probably never get as much use out of a full charge as manufacturers say you will, but I was actually surprised with how long the battery lasted in my tests.

After browsing the web and streaming a couple hours of video on YouTube, I was able to get right around 5 hours and 15 minutes of battery life out of a full charge. This was with Wi-Fi on the entire time and the screen brightness turned down to 50%, so the battery on this bad boy isn’t half bad. How long you get out of a charge will obviously vary depending on what you’re doing, but if you’re not on your computer all the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if you managed to get a full day of use out of a single charge.

It should also be noted that 50% brightness is still plenty bright to see what’s happening on screen, so you could bring it down even further to make the battery go the extra mile. Bring it down to around 25% and the screen is a little too dark for my tastes, but that still gives you plenty of space to work with if you’re trying to conserve battery life.

Benchmark

The Geekbench results tell us what everyone who is familiar with ultrabooks already knew. The Yoga 13 is not the most powerful computer on the market, but it doesn’t need to be. Using less powerful hardware keeps the price down, and the hardware that’s running under the hood in the Yoga 13 is still enough to keep things running fast.

Benchmark Score - LENOVO 20175

Section	Description	Score	Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) - Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Integer	Processor integer performance	5310	6866
Floating Point	Processor floating point performance	9520
Memory	Memory performance	5846
Stream	Memory bandwidth performance	5068

So no, you’re not going to be blown away by the power you hold in your hands, but the hardware in the Yoga 13 is still enough to get the job done. That’s all anyone really wants when it comes to an ultrabook (or a tablet for that matter), and in that respect, the Yoga 13 is a solid little device.

Wrap-Up

At the end of everything, I have to say that I’m impressed. The folding design of the Yoga 13 definitely takes some getting used to, and it will like elicit a few strange looks from people you see on the street, but no matter – the Yoga 13 is one solid device, and I would even say that it’s one of the best Windows 8 machines on the market at the moment.

That’s because it’s so versatile. That 360-hinge is just plain cool, and it opens up a lot of possibilities when it comes to actually using the Yoga 13. Yes, the hardware in the Yoga isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but that’s not where Lenovo needed to wow us. It needed to make a machine that not only stood out from the crowd, but also had some useful applications. Lenovo succeeded in doing both.

There are also a range of options depending on what you want. If you don’t mind sacrificing power to save a bit of money, you can swap out the Core i5 for a Core i3, bringing the price down to $1099.99 – at the moment, however, the Core i3 configuration has a promotional price of $999.99 on Lenovo’s website. The configuration we were given to review normally comes with a price tag of $1199.99, though with the promotions Lenovo has been running, it shouldn’t be hard to find it for $1099.99. Finally, you can bump up the power with a Core i7, though that will bring the price up to as high as $1399.99.

Those prices may be a little difficult to swallow, but I think if you have a bit of extra cash you’re willing to part with, you probably won’t be disappointed with the Yoga 13. I liked the time I spent with it a lot, and if you want a good Windows 8 machine that is fast, versatile, and above all else, fun to use, then I have no problem recommending the Yoga 13.




Source

Evernote Overhauls Its iOS Apps With Latest Update

Evernote, the popular digital note-taking service, updated its iOS app lineup Thursday with a slick redesign and new ways to navigate through the wide variety of content you can upload to the app.

The new look focuses on making interactions more efficient. (But it looks modern and minimalist, to boot.) According to the company’s blog, all major functions can be accessed within two taps.

The home screen is now organized into screen-wide section dividers: Places, Tags, Notebooks, and All Notes. Tap one to fill up the whole screen, then either tap the Evernote logo in the upper left or drag it down for an accordion-like transition to the homescreen’s tabbed section view.

At the top of the homescreen, all it takes is a quick tap to add a note, take a picture, or take a snapshot (useful for adding business cards to the mix).

The All Notes section lets you view your notes either in a list or grid view, organized by date or title. The grid view is particularly nice for getting a quick peek at the contents of the note.

The Places tab offers a convenient way to check out your notes based on where you made them (if you enabled location in the app). You can view notes as flag points on a map, or tap to get a grid view of the notes you’ve made for a particular area.

The Evernote app update is free and available now.

Source

Galaxy S III, Dashing Ahead of the iPhone 4S, Was Q3's Best Seller

The Galaxy S III was the top-selling smartphone during 2012's third quarter, beating the iPhone 4S for the first time.

Samsung's Galaxy S III was the best-selling smartphone model in the world, during the third quarter of 2012, according to a Nov. 8 report from Strategy Analytics.

Telling yet another story of Samsung's smart use of the long stretch between Apple's iPhone releases, the research firm found that Samsung sold 18 million of the pocket-busting, Android-running Galaxy smartphones.

"The Galaxy S III captured an impressive 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally and it has become the world's best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever," said Senior Analyst Neil Shah. "A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S III's success."

While Apple offered its iPhone exclusively through AT&T for years before expanding its availability to Verizon and Sprint, Samsung's strategy for the Galaxy S III—from the device's specs, to the May 3 London event at which it was introduced, to the numbers of Samsung's carrier partners—has been to go big. While intense global demand for the phone initially caused delays, the Galaxy S III more or less debuted simultaneously the Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular networks.

The Galaxy is remarkably thin and light and packed with features, from the ability to use its front camera to watch the user to the NFC-enabled ability to swap content with another GS III when the two are tapped together. Still, Strategy Analytics suspects that the device's taking of the title had as much to do with Apple as Samsung.

Apple, with the second-best-selling smartphone of the quarter, sold 16.2 million iPhone 4S units—the result of consumers temporarily putting off purchases in anticipation of the iPhone 5, said Shah. When the iPhone 5 arrived, with just days left in the quarter, Apple managed to sell 6 million of them.

"Samsung's Galaxy S III has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia. However, the Galaxy S III's position as the world's best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived," Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston said in the report.

With the iPhone 5 having already gotten off to a solid start, Mawston added, "We expect the new iPhone to out-ship Samsung's Galaxy S III in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world's most popular smartphone model."

Apple sold more than 5 million iPhone 5 units within three days of the phone going on sale, Apple announced Sept. 24. It added in a statement that it had sold through its initial supply and was working hard to get an iPhone 5 to everyone who wants one.

While the Galaxy S III, at launch, was the largest smartphone most anyone had seen, featuring a display that measures 4.8 inches on the diagonal and measuring 5.38 by 2.78 by 0.34 inches, the iPhone 5 is a study in barely-there. Reviewing it in The New York Times, David Pogue called it startlingly thin and "well on its way to becoming a bookmark." It features a display that's 4 inches on the diagonal and it features 4.87 by 2.31 by 0.30.

Consumers, likely, weren't persuaded away from the prospect of a new iPhone but from nearly everything else. The Galaxy S III accounted for a 10.7 percent share of the market by smartphone model, during a quarter that saw sales of 167.8 million smartphones.


Source

How Social Pressure Gets Facebook Friends to Vote

Facebook, like every other Internet site today, is dominated by election stuff, which you might find annoying. But it can actually do some good in this election. Believe it or not, posting information about voting on Facebook gets people to the polls in the real world, a study looking at data from the 2010 midterm elections found. The researchers presented three varieties of messages to eligible voters on Facebook: one social one that showed friends who'd voted, one that had strict voting information, and one that was no message at all. Those who had their friends' faces linked to the message were more likely to vote in the real world, proving that my Facebook friend Kathryn (above) isn't alone in feeling the peer pressure of her social network. It also helps explain why the Obama campaign sent out an email earlier today urging his people to "remind friends to vote" using the Facebook widget above.

The researchers attribute their findings to "social influence," but other studies suggest it's more emotional than just seeing a friend do something that can get people to vote. This is about two powerful motivators: Shame and FoMo (the fear of missing out). I don't know about your feed, but mine is full of exclamation points. "Enthusiasm," too, has been proven to get people voting, Sasha Issenberg explained in a column for The Los Angeles Times today. A piece of campaign mail doesn't exactly elicit excitement from someone who doesn't care about voting in the first place. However, watching your friends celebrate a thing they all did that you didn't, does.

Another study found that shame has a lot to do with voting behavior, too. The researchers ran a mailer campaign that threatened to share voting information between neighbors. That move (i.e., shaming) led to a 1.8 percent increase in turnout, as Issenberg explained to Stephen Colbert last night. That follows a 1996 study that found that in-person canvassing increased voter turn-out more than less personal moves like a phone call or mailer. Making people accountable for their voting record matters.

Facebook applies that social pressure all by itself, in perhaps a better and more natural way than the mailer, or other similar efforts. "You don’t want your analytical efforts to be obvious because voters get creeped out," a Romney campaign official told The New York Times's Charles Duhigg, alluding to campaign social pressure tactics. Seeing your close social circle get excited about rocking their vote feels like an organic way to get guilted into heading to the polls, in a way that an email from the Romney or Obama campaign doesn't. The "I Voted" sticker has a similar impact, as The Atlantic's Derek Thompson explained, putting it a bit more nicely with words like "social cohesion, civic duty, and belonging" rather than shame. In any case, social pressure matters. And Facebook sure has a lot of that.

Source

Google’s Nexus Strategy In A Nutshell: Cheap Mobile Internet Everywhere

Google unveiled an entirely new line of Nexus devices in a range of shapes and sizes, from the Nexus 4 smartphone to the Nexus 10 tablet, and some aspects of the product launch proved confusing. Why build a smartphone with modern specifications across the board, and then leave out LTE connectivity? Or why push more and improved Nexus tablet hardware, when there’s a surprising paucity of apps designed for those screens? A new interview by the NYT’s Brian X. Chen with John Lagerling, Google’s Director of Business Development for Android, provides some answers to those questions, and illuminates how Google approaches its signature Nexus line of devices.

The bottom line is that what Google wants to do with Nexus is a completely different thing from Apple’s strategy with its own iOS hardware, or, for that matter, from the goals of other OEMs creating Android devices. Lagerling goes through the standard checklist of specs and features on the Nexus 4 and talks up pushing the envelope in terms of delivering improved storage options at existing price points on Nexus 7 tablets, but the real meat of the story comes when he’s faced with a question about the paltry selection in terms of dedicated tablet apps on Google Play, and instead of answering directly, launches into a discussion of the overall point of the Nexus program:

I don’t have a number for how many apps are properly adding those APIs that you need to put fully to use the extra screen real estate. What I can say is that the Nexus 7 has been a superstrong catalyst to kick off developers’ attention to making those expansions, so we’ve seen tremendous growth in apps for the larger screen size. The trending is very positive because of the Nexus 7.

But before, I’ll be honest and say, yes, there was a lack of tablet apps that supported bigger screen real estate. But I’ll add that, I know we talked about the Cupertino guys, but obviously people who have smartphones are a huge target for us. If you look globally that’s something we worry more about, not so much about competing with other smartphones, but more about, how can we get more people onto the Internet on mobile phones? And that’s a big deal. That’s why low cost is so important.

Lagerling also said in reference to recent statements by Asus regarding Nexus 7 sales that Google doesn’t release numbers, and doesn’t usually allow its hardware partners to either. He said simply that the Nexus 7 has “sold way above expectations,” with the caveat that either means it’s selling very well or that Google had extremely low expectations to begin with, without hinting at which scenario was more likely.

The obvious goal of the Nexus program is then not to sell the most of any single kind of device, but to drive prices for quality hardware down to the point where it becomes universally accessible. And while Lagerling didn’t directly address the Nexus 4′s lack of LTE in the interview, seen in the context of a company trying to strike a balance between power and affordability, that omission makes a lot more sense. Google’s Nexus program is an experimental path towards mobile internet ubiquity; the end goal is to increase its core product profitability by getting as many eyes on Google software products as possible, but in the interim, that doesn’t require that any of its Nexus devices necessarily become breakout hits. The point is to drive costs down, do more with less, find out what users consider essential in a mobile device and evolve the Nexus line until it becomes both affordable and attractive to everyone.

Whereas Apple’s products need to be a hit to justify the company’s expenditures on their development, Google’s hardware need only produce experimentally meaningful feedback. The search and software company has the resources and strong OEM partnerships to make Nexus a global-scale field test in affordable mobile computing, and that’s a frightening proposition for competitors whose product development strategies are based on more traditional revenue and profitability needs.

Source

New features of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean You should know

Along with the announcement of Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, Google brought the new advanced system Android 4.2 going by the same name of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. So what’s new compared to Android 4.1? Can it really draw people’s attention? Following just let’s have a look.

Multi-user support

If you use Android 4.2-powered tablets, you’ll be able to have multiple users. Each user will have his unique home-screen, background, widgets, apps and games. That means you can share your tablets with your spouse or friends but with different tablets experience. Unluckily, smartphones based on Android 4.2 cannot support multi-user at the moment.

Photo Sphere

If you like taking photos with mobile device, then Photo Sphere can be your addict. Photo Sphere is a panorama application that allows you to stitch images into a larger one not only in vertical orientation in full 360 degree. You can share them on Google+ with your friends and family, or even add them to Google Maps for the world to see.

Gesture Typing

Now you can write messages easier than ever with Gesture Typing. You can now just glides over the letters you want to type, and the new improved keyboard will find the word you want to type. With predictive input and a futuristich blueish trace your fingers leave on the screen, Gesture Typing seems more useful than Swype.The improved text-to-speech capabilities works even when you don’t have a data connection, so you can type with your voice everywhere you go.

Miracast

Android 4.2 let you through your screen to any TV, DVD-player, or other media device that supports Miracast. Miracast, an AirPlay-like protocol, is the trade name for Wi-Fi Direct or WiDi. You can stream Internet TV shows and movies from your smartphone or tablet to your TV via a compatible device or a Miracast adapter.

Improved Google Now

Without question, Google Now was already a killer Jelly Bean feature. With the inclusion of cards containing flight information, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations, shipping details and more, you can live with ease .It uses Gmail to pick up data like flights ,hotel reservations , nearby movie times, attractions, photogenic locales, and concerts by your favorite artists and show them to you in a card just when you need them.

Daydream screensaver

With Daydream, you can display photo slideshows, news headlines, and the like when idle or docked. It is actually a smart screen-saver.

Expandable Notifications

Built upon the actionable notifications introduced in 4.1 Jelly Bean, Expandable Notifications let you expand notifications from more apps. It is partly a function of Google Now, where notifications are “cards” that can be acted upon from the drop down menu.

Android Beam

You probably have heard of NFC, a unique feature introduced in the Android 4.1.And Android 4.2 built Android Beam, the NFC that enables people to share photos, websites, music, directions, apps or videos with a single touch.

Android 4.2 will be released on November 13th for Nexus 4, 10.And I think these new features are indeed attractive and let’s just wait for its come.

LG Nexus 4 hands-on

Fourth in the Nexus series Google’s new LG Nexus 4 has plenty to live up to. Android phones have proliferated, but the expectations of Nexus flagships by users and platform enthusiasts have arguably increased even more. Not only do they represent a glimpse into the hardware direction Google envisages for Android, but the promise of the most timely software updates in an OS world growing increasingly fragmented. With the Nexus 4, there’s also a resurrected challenge at the carrier model, with some impressively competitive pricing for an unlocked device. Read on for some first-impressions.

The Nexus 4 is instantly familiar from our time with the LG Optimus G: the new Googlephone shares the LG’s 4.7-inch 1270 x 768 IPS LCD display, as well as its 8-megapixel camera, and its quadcore Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. It also gets a plastic chassis that, while creak free and sturdy, doesn’t match the same premium feel as, say, Apple’s metal iPhone 5 or HTC or Nokia’s polycarbonate.

The 1.4GHz processor is running Android 4.2, complete with updated Google Now functionality, a clever 360-degree “Photo Sphere” panoramic camera feature, and keyboard gestures for Swype-style typing – those on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean can get the new Google Now abilities by updating the Google Search app from the Play market.

In practice, the Nexus 4 runs smoothly and slickly; Project Butter continues to show its worth for keeping the Android interface lag-free, and we far prefer Google’s pure UI than LG’s modified layout. It’s perhaps price that’s the biggest selling point of the Nexus 4, though. Yes, T-Mobile USA will be offering a subsidized version – HSPA+ only, unfortunately, with no 4G LTE Nexus 4 available – but the more cost effective route to purchase will be the $299 SIM-free, unlocked option from Google’s own Play store. That’s impressively affordable, and starts to make rival devices from other Android OEMs, Windows Phone manufacturers, and Apple look uncomfortably expensive.

Source