Most mobiles – 73% – are smartphones and nearly half are running Google’s Android operating system, according to the latest research.
ComputerWeekly: IT hardware
Mobile technology and its peripheral industries move faster than fingers can type or the eye can perceive sometimes, and that ever-changing dynamic is one of the core reasons the mobile technology world is a very exciting one. We browse through some up-and-coming developments and concepts to bring you a few ideas that piqued our curiosity and interest.
3D Printing and Imprinting iOS App
As quickly as the mobile phone industry adopted and is adapting to 3D viewing technology, it’s not surprising that 3D printing also follows suit.
3D-printing has been used by designer shops for some time, but it’s recently been sneaking into mobile phone technology. A French company called Sculpteo, has created an iPhone app that allows you to create projects that present 3D images on solid objects, such as cups, vases and even mobile phone cases – in this iOS-specific case, iPhone cases.
The image you choose is paired with the object you choose from their gallery. Sculpteo creates a vase, for instance, whose outline matches the prominent image in your photo choice. The image is not projected ONTO the object but INTO its design.
Alas, Sculpteo isn’t always able to transform your vision into realistic 3D images with all surfaces or items, but it’s certainly an intriguing concept.
We can’t wait to see what printer manufacturers do with 3D paper printing! Will the breakthrough come in printer or paper design?
Apple Transmutes Visible Ops Philosophy
While many aspects of Apple’s designs are cloaked in secrecy behind closed, locked and security-sealed rooms, it seems, Apple is breaking new boundaries in its new philosophy of openness: They are constructing a see-through store.
Three walls of the one-storey structure being built in Aix en Province in France will be constructed from earthquake-proof glass provided by Apple’s supply line whilst the fourth wall is constructed from light-coloured brick.
If the glass is being supplied by Corning, what a boost that would be for their new Gorilla Glass 2, thinner but just as strong as the well-known original Gorilla Glass that protects, among other things, many of the display screens in several top mobile phones.
It’s unknown at this point whether Apple will export the structural design to China.
Apple previewed its biggest iOS platform change in June 2011, calling it the iOS 5. They touted it was the most secure mobile OS platform it ever developed, and they eventually and formally released it in October 2011 in the iPhone 4 S smartphone and iPad 2 tablet.
Pod2g, heading a collection of some of the world’s best hackers, took less than three months to present an untethered jailbreak of the iOS on an iPhone 4 S mobile phone. The iPad 2 jailbreak is believed to be only a few days away.
The iPhone 4 S jailbreak feat is the first to tackle and conquer the dual-core devices that sport iOS 5, and no one believes that Apple will drag its collective programmer heels in finding the exploited loopholes and attempt to close them.
Security updates, however, are but food to the hacker gods, who will probably just consider them as additional challenges to overcome.
Hackers are those who push technology and programming boundaries. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, for instance, those who transformed the computer world for all time, are considered hack geniuses in their specialty.
Crackers, on the other hand, are those who break through firewalls for destructive or illegal purposes.
There is a huge difference between a hacker and a cracker, despite the fact that most crackers (wrongly) call themselves hackers, and the world perceives each type under the same name because of it.
Breaking new ground brought us the aeroplane and even space flight. It brought us silverware and software. It brought us penicillin and aspirin. It brought us the computers we use and the mobile phones and tablets we adore.
And now, it’s brought an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4 S, although it’s not yet officially or publicly presented by the hackers group or Pod2g, it will probably be made available once the iPad 2 is jailbroken and confirmed.
Before CES there was a bunch of silliness floating around about how Apple might bring Thunderbolt to the iPhone based on a creative interpretation of an Apple patent. Some folks even theorized that Thunderbolt would bring about faster sync. I meant to address the speculation before CES but I never got the chance to. Now that I'm done with most of what I needed to cover from the show, I can get to what I planned on earlier.
Inflation plays a part in the price of mobile phones around the globe, but few people think that only inflation causes inflated retail prices. Thankfully, not all quality smartphones cost as much as the iPhone 4S off contract – up to 9 US. Recently, Micromax takes an implied shot at Apple’s greedy prices.
A recent advertisement for the Micromax A75 Superfone Lite features a play on – and with – words. The main phrase, noted below in bold font, would seem to promote the Apple iPhone 4S. But the additional captions, first noted above the main ad phrase then at the end of it, tell a different story. The footer line explains what the ad actually promotes.
Here’s Micromax’s A75 Superfone Lite advertisement:
Let’s see how accurate that boast is.
Micromax A75 Superfone Lite Specifications
Dimensions: 120 x 63.5 x 10.9 mm / 135.4 g
Display: 3.75 inches / TFT capacitive screen / 320 x 480 pixels at 154 ppi
Operating System: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
Speed: 650 MHz
Memory: up to 32 GB with microSD slot
Battery: 1300 mAh / Talk: up to five hours / Stand-by: up to 288 hours.
Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048 x 1536 pixels, LED flash.
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n; WiFi Hotspot. DNLA. / 2G: GSM 900 / 1800. 3G: HSDPA 2100. Data: GPRS / EDGE / HSDPA at 7.2 MB/s; HSUPA at 5.76 MB/s.
Additional comments: Advertised US price: 9. Advertised iPhone 4S price: 9 with contract, up to 9 without contract. Unknown if Gingerbread OS is available for 4.0.X Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade. Secondary or front VGA camera provided. Video capable.
The mobile phone lives up to its “Lite” designation in the title: It doesn’t provide all the fancy iPhone 4S features, but it costs a heck of a lot less!
iPhone 4S Specifications
Dimensions: 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm / 140 g
Display: 3.5 inches / 640 x 960 pixels at 330 ppi / TFT capacitive touchscreen
Operating System: iOS 5
Speed: 1 GHz / dual core / Cortex-A9.
Memory: Depends on model. 16 MB / 32 MB / 64 MB.
Battery: 1432 mAh / Talk: 2G: up to 14 hours/ 3G: up to 8 hours. / Stand-by: up to 200 hours (both) / MUSIC PLAY: up to 40 hours.
Camera: rear: 8 MP / 3264 x 2448 pixels / autofocus / LED flash.
Connectivity: 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; CDMA: CDMA 800 / 1900. 3G: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100; CDMA2000 1xEV-DO. Data: GPRS / EDGE / HSDPA at 14.4 MB/s; HSUPA at 5.8 MB/s.
Additional comments: Front camera available; specs unknown. Video calling available only via WiFi; recording at 1080p at fps. Internal memory only; no microSD slot. However, the iCloud service provides free online storage; requires Internet connection, however, which is a disadvantage for low-ceiling data plans. Users are finding they save money by downloading to a PC or laptop first, then uploading to the iCloud service, a bulky but often necessary procedure. Terrific music play battery life, a functionality not noted in the Micromax A75 Superfone Lite.
All in all, would you consider the Micromax A75 Superfone Lite over the iPhone 4S at those prices?
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