Apple launched trade-in program "iPhone Reuse and Recycle"

Summary: Apple Inc. said Friday that it has launched an iPhone trade-in program at its U.S. retail locations. The program will allow consumers to trade in older devices for credit on new products.

If you're worried you won't have enough cash saved up before the imminent release of the iPhone 5S, you're in luck. Apple is reportedly introducing a trade-in program ahead of the next iPhone's release, which would get your old iPhone off your hands and take a few bucks off the new one.

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Values can range depending on a variety of factors, including device color, physical damage and liquid damage. Though the prices could very well be tweaked before the program goes wide, the range is said to be around $120-200 for 16GB iPhone 4 and 4S models. A 16GB iPhone 5 in good condition could go for around $250

Maximum trade-in values

*Company offers gift card, not cash

Once the paperwork is done, the value is added to a gift card. The balance is applied to a new device, and the customer keeps the gift card if there’s money left over. The store keeps the old phone. The trade-in program is only applicable if you’re in the store to get a new phone, so you can’t just trade it for a gift card.

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Source: techcrunch, cnbc, huffingtonpost, apple recycling program

Apple snaps up AlgoTrim, a data compression startup

Summary: Apple acquires Swedish codec and compression algorithm maker AlgoTrim.

According to a new report by Swedish emerging industry news service Rapidus, Apple has acquired AlgoTrim, a Swedish company specialising in compression technologies to optimise memory handling in mobile devices. AlgoTrim develops advanced solutions for mobile devices within the fields of data compression, mobile imaging and video, and computer graphics.

AlgoTrim was founded in 2005 by Anders Berglund, Anders Holtsberg and Martin Lindberg, and according to the report, Holstberg recently moved to California, near Apple's headquarters. While confirming to Rapidus he now works for Apple, Holstberg declined to comment on the acquisition to the publication.

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According to AlgoTrim's website, its imaging codecs are used in Google's Gallery app while other compression technology is used to compress firmware updates in some Android devices.

It also has several image codecs to for JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP files in addition to other imaging solutions for "modern computational photography". The company's products are based on a patented lossless compression method that is used for compressing processor instructions.

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Source: Apple acquires Swedish software start-up

Microsoft eyes Xbox One launching November-8

A leaked email supposedly originating from a Walmart marketing firm marks the Xbox One with a Friday, November 8 launch date.

The company has yet to announce when the Xbox One will be available, but Microsoft may decide to launch the high-powered console on November 8, gaming site Kotaku reported on Monday, citing a person who has knowledge of Microsoft's plans.

Source: The Xbox One Might Be Out On November 8

Nokia’s Phablet “Bandit” to be first 1080p, quad-core Windows Phone coming soon

Summary: Nokia is reportedly entering the phablet market, with a 6-inch, 1080p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor Windows Phone device codenamed "Bandit."

The Verge reports the Bandit will boast a 20-megapixel camera -- almost as powerful as the snapper in the Lumia 1020. Windows Phone 8 currently maxes out at a 720p screen and dual-core processor where Bandit will be quad-core and Full HD 1080p. Recently announced biggest windows phone Nokia Lumia 625 appeared 4.7-inch and Nokia Lumia 925 appeared in a metal shell, the 6-inch Bandit is expected to come in a polycarbonate casing. Whether it'll have a smokin' firebird emblazoned on it is uncertain.

What are the new on Nokia Bandit?

Phone type: Phablet

Codenamed: Bandit

Operating System: Windows

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core

Screen: 6-inch

Display: 1080p

Casing: Polycarbonate

Camera: 20-megapixel

Big-screen Bandit device is currently being tested at AT&T, and it will debut by the end of the year in the US.

Source: Nokia Bandit: a 6-inch giant Windows Phone coming soon

Producer of audio products and equipment "Beats Electronics" want to partnership with HTC Smartphone

HTC smartphone

According to Wall Street Journal report Beats Electronics is in talks with an investor to finance a buy-out of HTC’s investment in the company. HTC’s $300 million mistake quickly turned into a $150 million mistake, and now Beats reportedly wants out once and for all. The rumor come as the popular headphone brand prepares to move into several new categories including other consumer electronics and music streaming. Beats hope to buy out HTC’s 25% stake in the company within the next few weeks.

Source: Beats By Dre Looks to Drop HTC

Microsoft reduced the price of its Surface Pro tablet this weekend by $100

Microsoft over the weekend began offering a $100 discount on its Surface Pro, one of the two versions of the company’s tablet-style computer. Previously, Microsoft announced price cuts of up to 30% on the less-powerful version, called Surface RT.

Microsoft’s website says the lower price on Surface Pro is valid through Aug. 29 while supplies last. The discount is available to people in the U.S., Canada, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Microsoft spokesman said.

Websites of Best Buy and Staples also listed the discounted Surface Pro prices.

Microsoft Surface:

Microsoft Surface was announced on June 18, 2012, by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Milk Studios in Los Angeles.

The Surface comes in two versions: one with Windows RT and another with Windows 8 Pro. The Windows RT model uses an ARM CPU, while the Windows 8 Pro model uses an Intel CPU. Both models are able to install new applications via the Windows Store, however only the Windows 8 Pro model allows the installation of traditional third-party desktop programs

Source: Microsoft keeps chopping the price on the Surface.

Next year ASUS will be enter US smartphone market

Recently, HP has announced that they are going to make smartphone. So why not others, now ASUS has declared that they are also ready to enter US smartphone market but not this year. The ASUS chairman ended by saying that 2013 wasn't likely and he then said “I think next year is more reasonable.”

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih

 In recent time, ASUS have been successful in the Android space with the Nexus 7 and Transformer tablet series, but one area they’ve struggled to gain traction is with smartphones. The company has been busy with their ASUS Padfone and FonePad, but penetrating the already crowded US smartphone market is the next challenge they want to take on.

Source: Taiwan’s Asus Aims to Enter U.S. Smartphone Market Next Year

Satellite E series notebooks E45T & E55t/E55D newly announced by Toshiba

Toshiba announced its Satellite E series ultrathin notebooks  14-inch Satellite E45T and the 15.6-inch Satellite E55t/E55Dt will feature touchscreens and will be available with either fourth-generation Intel Core processors (Haswell) or AMD A6-series (Kabini) CPUs

New Satellite E series notebooks will take design cues from the company’s luxury Kirabook, except they're made of aluminum instead of pressed magnesium, and the bottom isn't made of metal but rather, textured plastic. The screen resolution is also lower, at 1,366 x 768; these are middle-of-the-road machines, after all. On the bright side, they all support 802.11ac WiFi -- of a surprise on otherwise humdrum systems like these.

The E45T will be with a Core i5 Haswell processor and a 500GB hard drive paired with an SSD. Perhaps most interesting, though, is that the E45t will come with Dragon Assistant on board for simple voice commands (think: shutting down the computer, doing a web search, controlling multimedia playback, et cetera). You can expect to find that next week, on August 4th, with a suggested retail price of $818.

The 15-inch version, meanwhile, will be offered with either a Core i5 processor and touchscreen (that's the E55t) or a quad-core A6 APU. There are actually two AMD models: one configuration comes with a touchscreen (that would be the E55Dt) and one has a non-touch panel (that's the E55D). Strangely, the non-touch model also offers lesser storage; that has a 750GB HDD, while the touch version goes up to a full terabyte.

Source: Toshiba outs Satellite E45t / E55 mid-range laptops

Dell's thumb-size PC, "Project Ophelia" Available in Coming Months

The new product from Dell “Project Ophelia” should be available to customers in coming months.  It has already been shipped out for beta testing.

According to PCWorld, in an email a Dell spokesman announced that these mini computers would start shipping sometime in the next fiscal quarter, which runs from August to October.

Know details about the thumb-size PC "Project Ophelia"

Source:  Dell’s New Mini Computer Available in Coming Months

Know about thumb-size PC "Project Ophelia"

What is Project Ophelia?

 “Project Ophelia” is thumb-size PC, newly introduced by Dell. It is alternative to PCs and looks much like a USB stick. It can turn any screen or display with an HDMI port into a PC, gaming machine, or streaming media player. This thumb PC runs on the Android OS and once it is plugged into an HDMI port, users can run applications, play games, watch streaming movies or access files stored in the cloud.

What can you do with Ophelia?

 Project Ophelia can turn any compatible display into a virtual PC.  It can be plugged into any HDMI port, transforming the screen into a gaming device or a computer. It runs on Android OS and allows the user to access information on the cloud in order to stream media, play games, or access files. So anyone can easily run applications, play games, watch streaming movies or access files stored in the cloud by using this thumb-PC.

Features of Project Ophelia

Project Ophelia a relatively inexpensive way to create a computer anywhere the stick can connect to a network via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Feature of its;

1.       Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity options

2.       Able to plugs into the HDMI port of any HDTV or monitor, turning it into a makeshift Android-based PC

3.       Stick-sized PC is a SoC with two Cortex-A9 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz

4.       8 GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for adding more

5.       Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean

6.       Running on 19-inch and 55-inch screens

7.       Lightweight PC

8.       Able to run Android games or stream movies from Hulu or Netflix

9.       Capable to even download apps, movies and TV shows from the Google Play store

10.   Ability to access files stored in the cloud

How much it cost?

Priced at about $100, Dell hopes Ophelia will be an inexpensive alternative to PCs, whose shipments are falling with the growing adoption of tablets and SmartPhones.

Intel will provide Apple with an ultra-high performance version of its Haswell for Apple's upcoming MacBook Pros.

Summary: MacBook Pro may soon be equipped with a particularly powerful type of Haswell processor

According to SemiAccurate, Apple will utilize a “special version” of High-End Haswell Processors for  its upcoming MacBook Pro. The report claims that the chips will include a special version of Intel's highest-end GT3e (Iris Pro 5200) integrated graphics.

If this rumor is true, it would give the Cupertino-based company’s MacBook Pro a unique hardware advantage over its laptop competitors. “Apple has somehow convinced Intel to give them a unique part for the next MacBook Pro, something that no one else will get. Not only that, this ultra-high performance part is something no one else can get for technical reasons” states SemiAccurate.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the updated MacBook Pros will launch in mid-September. It is unclear if Apple will refresh both the Retina MacBook Pros and the standard MacBook Pros, but many believe that Apple is planning to phase out the non-Retina varieties.

Source: Intel to Supply Apple with Special High-End Haswell Processors for MacBook Pro

Apple Developer Website Hacked

Summary: Apple revealed that its Developer Center website was breached by unknown hackers and was taken offline last Thursday as a precaution.

Apple on Sunday addressed a multi-day outage afflicting its developer site, acknowledging that its systems were hacked.

In an email to developers, Apple wrote:

“Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website. Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed; however, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed. In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then.

In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we’re completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologize for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.”

Apple did confirm to Macworld that the website that was breached was not associated with any customer information; all customer information is securely encrypted, a company spokesperson said. The attacker also did not have access to app code, or the servers where app information is stored, Apple told Macworld. The company declined to comment on whether legal authorities were involved in its investigation of the hack.

Source: Apple hacked

Google Motorola acquisition first mobile Moto-X coming August

Summary: Moto X smartphone will be released across multiple carriers in August

Motorola on Friday sent invitations for a press event in New York City on August 1st where the company will publicize its highly predictable Moto X smartphone. The latest rumors suggest the device will be equipped with a 720p display, a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and a 10-megapixel camera. Along with being the first smartphone manufactured in the United States, the Moto X will be the first handset that users will be able to customize with different colors and custom engraving options. The Moto X is expected to arrive on multiple carriers by the end of August.

Source: Moto X

Malaysia bloggers hauled up for sedition

Summary: Malaysian couple has been charged with sedition due to sexual explicit of their blog, after posting a Ramadan greeting on Facebook which led to public outrage.

A couple in Malaysia who gained notoriety for their sexually explicit blog has been charged with sedition, after posting a Ramadan greeting on Facebook which led to public outrage.

Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur district court, where they faced charges for distributing or publishing "seditious" content. Bail was denied, so the couple will remain in jail until the next court date which is set for August 23. If found guilty of sedition, they face a jail term of up to three years.

According to court officials, the bloggers also face other charges of causing disharmony on religious grounds and possessing or producing obscene content, which can lead to a jail term of up to five years.

The couple angered many after posting a photo, marking the start of the Muslim Ramadan fasting month, of the pair eating pork--a meat which is forbidden in Islam. The photo included a hala logo used to indicate foods certified and permitted to be consumed by Muslims.

Following a public outcry, the duo apologized but Malaysia's Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin on Monday rejected the apology and called for the bloggers to be punished. The country's prime minister, Najib Razak, also issued a rebuke. "The insolent and impudent act by the young couple who insulted Islam showed that freedom of expression and irresponsible opinion can jeopardize the community," he said, in a report by The Star.

Najib also took the opportunity to highlight a new law the Malaysian government was looking to introduce to replace the current sedition act, but which had been criticized as a way to stifle political dissent.

Tan and Lee first gained notoriety last year when the bloggers posted photographs and videos of their sexual exploits, including close-ups of their genitals. Both are Malaysians, but Tan is a former law student on Asean scholarship at the National University of Singapore, which terminated his scholarship following the public outrage over their blog.

PayPal mistakenly credits man $92 quadrillion

According to CNN report: Pennsylvania man gets a PayPal statement saying his account contains $92,233,720,368,547,800. "This is obviously an error and we appreciate that Mr. Reynolds understood this was the case," PayPal said in a statement.

When Chris Reynolds opened his June PayPal e-mail statement, something was off.

The Pennsylvania PR executive's account balance had swelled to a whopping $92,233,720,368,547,800.

That's $92 QUADRILLION (and change).

Money that would make Reynolds -- who also sells auto parts on eBay in his spare time -- the richest man in the world by a long shot.

Rich, as in more than a million times richer than Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim. And he's worth $67 billion.

Oh, if only.

"It's a curious thing. I don't know, maybe someone was having fun," Reynolds said.

So he logged online, and reality bit back. His account balance read $0. The correct amount.

PayPal admitted the error and offered to donate an unspecified amount of money to a cause of Reynolds' choice.