iPhone 6 Launch, First Weekend Sales And BendGate Statistics From Twitter Revealed

Twitter TWTR +0.86% offers something that no other social network does: a glimpse into the mind of real people. Despite the fact that the audience is no doubt skewed to certain age groups and other demographics, it’s still capable of producing an amazing insight into what people are thinking about.

I recently started talking to a company called Spredfast. You might not have heard of them, but I promise you’ve seen content on your TV that was derived from its broadcast platform. The firm deals with social media for huge companies, and provides live Tweeting services to TV companies that want to connect with their audience during event broadcasts. The firm is interesting because it has access to the Twitter River, which is the master feed of everything that is happening on the social network, in real time. Access to the River is not easy to get, and is a level above what API access gives you. What it means though, is that Spredfast has insights that other companies do not.

Apple's Sapphire-Screen iPhone Less 'If' Than 'When'

The latest rumors about Apple's plans to manufacture sapphire at a new plant in Arizona are the most credible foundation yet for speculation that the iPhone will someday boast the most scratch-resistant screen on the planet. Of course, it's not clear if the next-generation iPhone would get such a sapphire screen, or if the world would have to wait until 2015, presumably for an "iPhone 6s" model.

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If the latest sapphire tech rumor is true, Apple's exclusive manufacturing partner, GT Advanced Technologies, is gearing up its Mesa, Ariz., manufacturing facility with enough furnaces to forge as many as 200 million iPhone displays.

Previously, most super-hard sapphire crystal rumors were limited to small component usage in Apple products, like scratch-proof Touch ID sensors or camera lens covers.

A new investigative report by 9to5mac.com's Mark Gurman revealing capacity and import/export details, coupled with an SEC filing, leads to the conclusion that GT Advanced is tooling up for extremely high volumes of product -- exclusively for Apple.

Digging Deep

Last fall, the state of Arizona announced that Apple planned to build a manufacturing facility that would create somewhere around 2,000 new jobs during the creation and then maintenance of the facility, which would include a new solar power grid. In November, GT Advanced Technologies announced an exclusive US$578 million deal with Apple to produce sapphire material in Arizona.

Through help from analyst Matt Margolis, Gurman reported that GT Advanced Technologies imported two Intego Sirius sapphire display inspection tools, which GT Advanced Technologies' website says are capable of improving yields and lowering costs of Sapphire for high-volume LED and touchscreen applications.

Gurman extracts his "mobile and touch screen devices" leap from aGT Advanced Technologies downloadable .pdf that describes the inspection tool. (This .pdf shows up in a Google search for "sirius slab," but I was unable to find a navigable link to it from gtat.com.)

Leap of Faith?
Baking Sapphire

Presumably, GT Advanced Technologies would utilize these inspection tools in its Arizona plant, and because the tools are capable of use for sapphire material large enough for mobile device displays, they would be imported for use for Apple's iPhones... or a new product, such as the heavily rumored "iWatch."

However, Gurman acknowledged that there may not even be a direct connection between the imported inspection tools and the Arizona-based facility. Maybe they were delivered there -- but perhaps intended for a different use.

In March of 2013, GT Advanced Technologies entered into anexclusive distribution agreement with Intego for automated sapphire inspection tools, meaning GT Advanced Technologies could sell the tools to anyone, not necessarily only to Apple. So the tools don't even have to be used by GT Advanced Technologies in order to be imported.

On the surface, this just isn't a one-to-one connection, but since Apple reportedly is buying all the materials that go into the sapphire plant -- contracting with GT Advanced Technologies to run it, as Gurman noted based on an SEC filing -- the conclusion that Apple wants the two sapphire inspection tools is reasonable.

Last of all, Gurman connected orders for hundreds of furnaces and chambers, all of which -- if put to use -- could conceivably deliver more than 103 million iPhone screens in the 5-inch range. Additional furnaces on order could ramp the capacity of the plant past 200 million units.

All told, Gurman's digging and connections combine to create the most credible rumor yet that Apple's iPhones could boast the most scratch-resistant screens on the planet. Of course, it's not clear if the next-generation iPhone would get such a sapphire screen, or if the world would have to wait until 2015, presumably for an "iPhone 6s" model.

Then again, maybe it really all is for an iWatch. Late last year, patent-watcher site Patently Apple unearthed an Apple patent for a "sapphire flexible transparent display device created with liquid metal."

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-Article By Pushpendra Kumar Tiwari

Microsoft Accidentally Applies Chinese Censoring Outside of China

Today in international tech news: Microsoft's Bing accidentally extends its Chinese Web filters beyond China. Also: In China, the state-backed developer of a domestic operating system goes belly up; Apple aims to cleanse its supply chain in Africa; the EU wants less U.S. influence over the Internet; and cyberbullying takes center stage in Italy following the suicide death of a teenage girl.

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Now Have Customised Facebook

We have Facebook Layouts that you can apply to your Facebook Profile. These are like Myspace Layouts where your whole Facebook Background or Facebook Wallpaper will look great and express more of who you are as a person. To get one of these Facebook Backgrounds simply Click on the “Get Layout” link or on the image itself to be taken to our partners website where you can download the required plugin and then apply the layout to your profile. Start pimping out your Facebook background with a great looking Facebook layout for your profile. Is a web application that allows Facebook users to place graphic layouts right on top of their existing profile. This virtual skin is simply laid over the top of your Facebook page and can be modified at any time. Simply install into your browser and in just seconds you will have access to hundreds of graphic styles, colors and themes to choose from.

Get Facebook Color

Offers tons of different styles, colors, and themes. Show off to your friends a variety of music, movie, floral patterns, emo and dark themes, sports, or tropical layouts. Get political or show your support for favorite cause. There is no copying and pasting of any code. Once the plug-in is installed, select a layout and the software will load the artwork for you. The installation takes less than a minute and works with both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.

Get Facebook Color

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-Article By Pushpendra Kumar Tiwari

How to Make Your PC Restart Automatically After a Power Outage

It's a rare office indeed that doesn't suffer power outages from time to time -- w

eather-related or otherwise -- but such events don't have to be as disruptive as they once were. Enter the trusty uninterruptible power supply, which today can not only shut your computers down safely, they can also start them back up again once power has returned. Mother Nature: 0; Tech: 1.

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is quietly underway. Kit is available, however, that can help mitigate potential office disruption as weather ramps up.

Uninterruptible power supplies are sophisticated battery-containing devices that supply backup power to desktop PCs during grid electricity outages, like in storms. You can pick up a UPS at office supply retailers, among other places. They're great to have because the battery lets you keep working during short outages, and they let you shut down a desktop computer normally in the event of a longer outage without losing data.

Cortana: Windows Phone's Answer to Siri?

Apple's iPhone has Siri and Android has Google Now, but it looks like Microsoft is developing its own counterpart: a virtual assistant based on the Halocharacter "Cort

ana." In fact, "she has the potential to be a star for Microsoft," said analyst Rob Enderle. "Xbox is Microsoft's strongest platform and Halo is the strongest brand, with Cortana being the cutest character."

For players of Microsoft's Halo video game series, the computer AI character known as "Cortana" can do much more than just provide directions and plot advances in the game. Soon, however, Cortana could become part of Windows Phone users' real lives as well.

PanicGuard: Nice Idea but Not Ready for Prime Time

One major part of the app is that you're supposed to be able to track a phone's location if it's lost or stolen. I tested this feature and requested tracking data for my 

mocked-up lost phone through the website, but I didn't receive any tracking event notifications, even though the website dashboard knew the phone was lost and I had a data connection.

PanicGuard is available for free in the Google Play store.

Here's an app that should bring peace of mind to any late-night solo worker, exerciser or neighborhood watch patroller.

It's an ingenious combination of personal alarm, tracker and alert creator that uses sensor and other components included in the average smartphone, such as the speaker, to sound an alarm. The GPS and other location services are used for tracking; the video camera is key for capturing the bad guy swiping the phone; and a data connection serves to communicate the alert.

All that is instigated by a shake of the device, which is understood by the phone's accelerometer and gyroscope.

Huawei Blasts US for Illegal NSA Spying

Today in international tech news: Huawei is disturbed about reports that the NSA spied on it; a notorious online critic is arrested in China; a hacker nabs personal details for 2 million Vodafone Germany users; and NASA confirms that the Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space.

Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei is taking a PR victory lap following reports suggesting that the National Security Agency spied on the company.

Earlier this week, Brazilian TV network Globo revealed a raft of documents that purportedly came from Edward Snowden. The files implicate the NSA, along with its British snooping ally, GCHQ, in spying on numerous targets, including a Saudi bank, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Huawei -- the same Huawei that was vilified last year by Congress and deemed a security threat because it might do something sinister like spy.

Huawei released a statement saying that it was "very disturbed" that the NSA attempted to worm its way into its networks and information. Huawei added that it "utterly object[s] to such illegal practices."

Sony's Lens Cameras Make Smartphone Photography Smarter

With shutterbugs snapping so many photos with their smartphones these days, camera makers are desperately seeking ways to stay relevant. One way to do that is to cater to the never-ending thirst of some phone snappers to boost the quality of their images. 

That's what Sony is up to with its new Cyber-shot QX series of lens-style cameras, which can connect to a smartphone for added functionality.

Sony introduced its QX10 and QX100 lens-style cameras on Wednesday. The devices, which look like very thin point-and-shoot cameras, can connect to a smartphone wirelessly and use the phone's display as a real-time viewfinder.

Sony Cyber-shot QX100 Premium Lens-Style Camera

Nismo Gizmo May Give Drivers Another Reason to Fiddle

Nissan has designed a smartwatch to go with its Nismo sports car that does everything from tracking the user's heart rate to monitoring the car's performance. Smartwatches could be yet another distraction for drivers, however. There must be careful evaluation before new products are made available to drivers, cautioned AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety spokesperson Bruce Hamilton.

Nissan on Monday unveiled a concept smartwatch that will connect drivers to their cars and provide them with real-time biometric data while tracking their progress across social media.

The Nismo Concept Watch will be created for drivers of Nissan Nismo cars.

It will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs from Tuesday through Sept. 22.

"It's still just a concept," remarked Daniel Matte, head of wearables research for Canalys'Appcessory Analysis Worldwide Service.

ReadKit Outdoes RSS for Good Mac Reading

Google may have been surprised by the great hue and cry that erupted when it discontinued its Reader service, but doing so seems to have energized the RSS 

field. One of the excellent apps that has emerged is ReadKit, which goes beyond the typical RSS functionality to provide all sorts of additional features to optimize the busy reader's experience on the Mac.

ReadKit by Webin is available at the Mac App Store for US$4.99.

With Google's axing of Reader, its RSS app, software makers rushed into the breach to meet the needs of users orphaned by Searchzilla.

Apple Mixes It Up With Sleek, Splashy iPhones

All that worrying about a cheap plastic iPhone in garish colors came to an end Tuesday when Apple trotted out its iPhone 5c. The phone is budget-minded, colorful and, well, polycarbonate, but it's a nice, respectable, well-made iPhone. The iPhone 5s, on the other hand, is something to write home about, with its fancy new fingerprint scanner and A7 chip that boasts 64-bit desktop-class architecture.

At today's official iPhone launch event, Apple delivered five colors for the new polycarbonate entry-level iPhone 5c and introduced its new starship-grade iPhone 5s, which boasts a 64-bit A7 chip, all-new iSight camera with True Tone Flash, and a built-in Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Apple also announced the delivery date for the already pre-viewed new iOS 7: September 18, which means that is also the date iOS users will get to try out the new iTunes Radio app for streaming music.

Inside the iPhone 5c

Apple did indeed introduce the widely rumored low-end iPhone 5c, but there's more to the new model than its name and colors. It boasts a hard-coated polycarbonate body with a steel frame to hold the components. The interior frame also doubles as the iPhone 5c's antenna.

Billy on Steve Jobs and how Apple, not Microsoft, got tablets right

In a rare emotional interview, Bill Gates talked about a wide variety of topics, including a meeting with rival and sometimes friend, Steve Jobs, during the Apple co-founder's last days.

The Microsoft Chairman also found time to applaud Jobs and his sense of design in an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS's 60 Minutes.

When asked by the show host what he wished he could've had that Jobs had, Gates accepted that it was Steve's sense of design.

"His sense of design, that everything had to fit a certain aesthetic. The fact that he, with as little engineering background as he had, it shows that design can lead you in a good direction. And so phenomenal products came out of it."



Gates also touched upon a meeting he had with Steve Jobs during the latter's last days, saying the two talked about what they had learnt in their life, and about their families. He said that Jobs was not melancholic, despite knowing his fate, and that he talked about other things, including what more could be done through the use of technology and even showed him his new boat.

Xperia ZR waterproof phone with 4.6-inch HD display

 

Sony has officially announced the Xperia ZR, about two weeks after the phone's specifications leaked on the Internet.
As expected, the Xperia ZR features the highest level of water-resistance and can capture photos and full-HD videos underwater, with IP55/ IP58 rating. One can keep it submerged in 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. The phone has a 4.6-inches HD reality display sporting a resolution of 720x1280 pixels.

Powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor, the Xperia ZR has 2GB of RAM and internal storage of 8GB expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. It sports a 13-megapixel fast-capture camera with Exmor RS featuring 16x digital zoom with auto-focus and a VGA front facing camera. It has a dedicated hardware button for the camera, and allows using it even when the screen is locked.

Mobiles Internet Gaming Tablets Laptops/ PC Apps Social Home Ent. Telecom Cameras Others You are here:Gadgets Home Tablets News $199 Nexus 7 with full-HD screen to be announced at Google I/O: Report

With the Google Nexus I/O just round the corner there are plenty of rumours doing the round as to what Google might announce at this event.According to a news report by AppleInsider, Google might be looking at launching a refreshed Google Nexus 7 at this year's Google I/O. The website is quoting Ming-Chi Kuo, an Analyst with KGI Securities, who shares that the next generation of Google Nexus 7 tablet will come with a high-resolution screen. It is expected that the tablet will have a 7-inch LTPS display with 1,980X1,200 pixel resolution.

Nokia Lumia 928 with Windows Phone 8 officially launched in the US

Nokia will sell a new high-end smartphone through U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless, it said on Friday, aiming to expand its share in the high-margin premium market after years of falling behind Samsung <005930.KS> and Apple Inc .The new Lumia 928, priced at $99 if customers mail-in a $50 rebate and agree to a two-year deal with Verizon Wireless , is similar to the 920 model currently sold through AT&T , but is lighter and slightly different in appearance.

Vertu TI luxury phone launched in India for Rs. 6,49,990

The luxury mobile maker Vertu has launched Vertu TI in India. The smartphone has been priced at a whopping Rs. 6,49,990. Vertu TI smartphone looks much like the earlier Vertu smartphone. On the specs side, it comes with a dual-core 1.7GHz processor along with 1GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. For camera, there is an 8-megapixel camera rear camera that can also record 1080p videos and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
Vertu TI sports 3.7-inches WVGA screen and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The company has also added its own custom User Interface.

Purported image of next iPhone's motherboard leaks

An image of what is claimed to be a small component of the next generation iPhone's motherboard has leaked online, giving rise to a new set of rumours surrounding Apple's flagship smartphone.

iBall launches Andi 5L and Andi 5Li for Rs. 10,490

The Indian smartphone maker iBall has officially launched Andi 5L and Andi 5Li smartphones.iBall Andi 5L is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) phone that packs in a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480X800 pixels resolution. There is a 1GHz Cortex-A9 dual-core processor on-board along with 512MB of RAM. iBall Andi 5L runs on the dated Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
It comes with 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 32GB via microSD card. For camera, there is an 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash and VGA one in the front. It comes with Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, G-Sensor and 1800mAh battery.

Nokia unveils Asha 501, revamps Asha platform

 

Nokia has unveiled Asha 501, the first phone from a new family of Asha phones that will run a revamped operating system that Nokia is calling the Asha platform.

The full-touch phone will be available in single and EasySwap dual-SIM variants and feature a 3-inch QVGA TFT capacitive display. It will be available in six colours - Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black.