Archive for September, 2010

ARM detail new Cortex-A15 core processor design

Think your shiny new device with an Apple A4, a Sammy Hummingbird or Qualcomm Snapdragon is powerful? Well ARM are back once again to restore that feeling of inadequacy with the ridiculous new ‘Eagle’ SoC; the Cortex A15. Capable of up to 2.5GHz speeds, address up to a terabyte of memory, and with 4 cores (four!) the A15’s 32nm and 28nm fabrication means that these potent little chips are also more power efficient. Sadly, A15’s destined for smartphones will most probably be ‘only’ single or dual core versions at ‘only’ 1 to 1.5GHz. The faster quad-core versions mark ARM’s intentions to break into a bigger market, as these are destined for tablets, cars, set-top boxes and even small servers. It doesn’t stop there either – versions with eight cores or more are possible, though they would only live in enterprise infrastructure solutions. The named licensees so far include Texas Instruments, Samsung and ST Ericsson.

Now all we need are super-batteries to juice these up.

Posted by: Vince

Blaq for Twitter is coming

If you are a BlackBerry user you may have heard about a cool new Twitter app coming soon – called Blaq.

Well, if all goes to plan then it will be tomorrow that the app is launched and I can tell you that it is rather impressive.

We were lucky enough to be one of the few tech sites chosen worldwide to get an early copy to review so if you are going to consider downloading Blaq tomorrow you may want to check back with us in the morning as our full review will be online.

If you have been waiting to the app for sometime then all I can say is “Good things come to those who wait”.

Tomorrow is Blaq Friday!

Posted by: James

iOS 4.1 Available for Download

Well iOS 4.1 is finally here after Steve Jobs announced it’s new features last week at the annual Apple music event in San Francisco. Mr Jobs announced many things in iOS 4.1 including bug fixes to do with the proximity sensor and iOS 4 running incredibly slow on the iPhone 3G. But the main features of the new update are HDR photos, 720p upload over Wi-Fi and the debut of Game Center, Apple’s version of Xbox Live. See detailed description of new features here. .

iOS 4.1 is available for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 2nd gen, iPod touch 3rd gen, and the iPod touch 4th gen, so go download it now if you already haven’t! Still no word of Jailbreak yet though…

Posted by Patrick

Post Tags: Apple, iOS, iOS 4.1, iPhone 4, iPod Touch, tracyandmatt.co.uk

Coming soon to Three – Samsung GALAXY Tab

Three has confirmed it will be ranging the Samsung GALAXY Tab (GT-P1000). Samsung’s Android flagship Tablet.

A network built for mobile Internet, Three will provide fast and reliable 3G connectivity for the Samsung GALAXY Tab, making the most of product features such as phone functionality, front and rear facing cameras for video calls, downloading e-books, using GPS and searching the Internet with full Flash capability.

Nigel Field, Director of Devices at Three said, “With both the Android and tablet markets going from strength to strength, we’re proud to be ranging the Samsung GALAXY Tab. More than 97% of Three traffic over the network is data, so more than ever consumers need to make sure they’re on a network that can cope with the demand when buying mobile Internet devices like tablets. With both SIM and Wi-Fi connectivity, Samsung GALAXY Tab users on Three can get the most out of the product knowing they’re with the UK’s number one mobile broadband provider.”

Galaxy Tab – UK & EU prices confirmed, rest of world confused

While we’ve just got a confirmed price for Samsung’s hotly awaited Galaxy Tab, it seems the rest of the world is still in confusion. UK retailers Clove.co.uk have price the 16GB version at £616.88 (inc VAT), that just over $800.  This price is for a SIM-free version so it does appear that the device will be priced rivalling a high end phone (which are always expensive) as opposed to rivalling the Netbook sector that tablets are expected to eclipse next year.  Similar high prices are popping up in the EU with Amazon.de having the device for €699 and €799 for the 16GB and 32GB versions respectively (that’s over $800 or $1000!), which is perilously close to the price of the Apple device it’s meant to be rivalling.

These seem to be upper estimates though, as O2 Germany later confirmed a price of €99 for the device and a further €27.50 for the line rental over 24 months.  This ties in closely with Samsung executive Hankil Yoon’s figures of $200 and $300 given in the Wall Street Journal.  This would seem more accurate as at this price point, the Tab’s closest contract rival now becomes Dell’s Streak, a device that has already laid the table for Android tablets and mobile operators.  Of course, the Tab betters in most departments and with the right contract and initial outlay, UK operator Vodafone could have a worthy alternative to Dell and Apple’s devices.  Galaxy Tab tariffs are expected to be announced next month on Vodafone throughout the EU.

Posted by: Ian