Technology News and Gadgets Updates: 12/16/10

Thursday, December 16, 2010

LG Optimus 2X is world’s first dual-core smartphone

LG Optimus 2X with Tegra 2 Offers Top Multimedia Features for a Better User Experience

SEOUL, Dec. 16, 2010 — LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, the world’s first smartphone with a dual-core processor. Along with more powerful multimedia features, the LG Optimus 2X’s high-performance Tegra 2 processor makes for faster, smoother web browsing and applications and lets users multitask with virtually no screen lag.

“Dual-core technology is the next leap forward in mobile technology so this is no small achievement to be the first to offer a smartphone utilizing this technology,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, CEO and President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With unique features such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) mirroring and exceptional graphics performance, the LG Optimus 2X is proof of LG’s commitment to high-end smartphones in 2011.”

Developed by graphics processor powerhouse NVIDIA, the dual-core Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip found in the LG Optimus 2X runs at a clock speed of 1GHz and boasts low power consumption and high performance for playing video and audio. Users will experience faster web browsing and smoother gameplay compared with single-core processors running at the same speed as well as instantaneous touch response and seamless multitasking between applications.

The LG Optimus 2X offers 1080p HD video playback and recording with HDMI mirroring that expands content on external displays to full HD quality. The LG Optimus 2X can connect wirelessly to any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible digital device such as HD TVs for a console-like gaming experience taking full advantage of the phone’s HDMI mirroring, accelerometer and gyro sensor. The smartphone also includes both rear- and front-facing cameras, microSD memory expandability, Micro-USB port and a hefty 1500mAh battery.

The LG Optimus 2X will be available in Korea next month with countries in Europe and Asia to follow. The phone will initially be released with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will be upgradeable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The upgrade schedule will be announced in local markets in due course.

Key specifications:

1Ghz Dual-core Processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2)
4-inch WVGA screen
8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD)
1,500 mAh battery
8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera
HDMI mirroring
1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording

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Windows Phone “Mango” Update (WP 7.5?) Coming August/September 2011?

Microsoft has already officially announced that Windows Phone 7 will see its first big update (complete with Copy & Paste) early next year, and the rumor mill has long been whispering about another update that would follow shortly thereafter. This supposed second update (which may very well be a part of that first update, depending on who you ask) would bring forth the likes of improved multi-tasking, in-app downloads, and some level of OS customizability.

And now, we’ve got yet another update to wax on about — but this one’s not coming for quite a while.

According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, the Windows Phone 7 team is crackin’ away at an update that they’ve dubbed internally as “Mango”. (Man, what’s up with all these food names? First Google tries to make me fat by naming all of their updates after desserts, now Microsoft’s labeling with fruits? I sit in front of a computer all day, guys. Stop making me hungry)

The specifics regarding what Mango might entail are a bit slim, but the original tipster mentioned at least two things on the to-do list: a Silverlight runtime (which we’re taking to mean Silverlight support in the browser), and HTML 5 support.

That’s probably not all the update will include, however, given that the same tipster implies that this update may very well be dubbed “Windows Phone 7.5″ when it finally hits handsets. With critics (including us) going a bit hard on Microsoft for launching WP7 with a laundry list of notably absent features, I’d imagine (or at least hope) that they’ll do their damnedest to make anything called “Windows Phone 7.5″ a monster.

Microsoft gives Firefox an H.264 video boost

Mozilla is outspoken in its dislike of the patent-encumbered video technology called H.264, but Microsoft, an H.264 fan, is providing a plug-in that will let Windows 7 users use it anyway.
H.264 is a codec--technology to encode and decode video--that's widely used in videocameras, Blu-ray players, online video streaming, and more. It's built into Adobe Systems' Flash Player browser plug-in, but most people don't know or need to know it's there.
When it comes to the flagship feature of built-in video support coming to the new HTML5 specification for creating Web pages, though, codec details do matter. Not all browsers support H.264 or its open-source, royalty-free rival from Google, the VP8-based WebM. That means Web developers must make sure they support both formats or provide a fallback to something like Flash. Otherwise they risk leaving some viewers behind.
To help bridge the divide, Microsoft has released a plug-in that lets Firefox tap into Windows 7's native H.264 support for HTML5 video. The move could help pave over some of the new Web's rough patches, but also irritate WebM fans who want to see the Web move to unencumbered technology.
"H.264 is a widely-used industry standard, with broad and strong hardware support. This standardization allows users to easily take what they've recorded on a typical consumer video camera, put it on the Web, and have it play in a web browser on any operating system or device with H.264 support, such as on a PC with Windows 7," Microsoft said. "The HTML5 Extension for Windows Media Player Firefox Plug-in continues to offer our customers value and choice, since those who have Windows 7 and are using Firefox will now be able to watch H.264 content through the plug-in."
According to the plug-in's release notes, "The extension is based on a Firefox add-on that parses HTML5 pages and replaces video tags with a call to the Windows Media Player plug-in so that the content can be played in the browser. The add-on replaces video tags only if the video formats specified in the tag are among those supported by Windows Media Player. Tags that contain other video formats are not touched." Microsoft is working on ironing out user-interface differences between Windows Media Player controls and those that would show with video playing natively in the browser.
Microsoft already had offered a related Firefox plug-in that let people watch Windows Media videos on the Web.
Mozilla is working to try to establish WebM as a required codec for HTML5, a specification standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Bing search upgrades include Facebook 'likes'

Microsoft on Wednesday began rolling out Bing upgrades that included showing which query results were "liked" by friends at online social networking hotspot Facebook.

The improvements came as the software colossus tried to wrest market share from the leading Internet search service Google.

"The core of our work addresses the fact that the Web is getting more complex and faceted -- not less," online services division senior vice president Satya Nadella said in a blog post.

"We are building new technologies that help Bing figure out what people like you are trying to do, and match that with the right experiences to help get things done."

Bing is expanding its partnership with Facebook , a California firm in which Microsoft owns a small stake, to show which links displayed in search results have been tagged as "liked" by friends at the social network.

Bing also updated its mobile applications for Internet searches on iPhone and Android smartphones with features that included being able to make restaurant reservations using OpenTable or order take-away food using Grubhub .

In a nod to the growing trend of location based services and advertising, Bing will also begin letting people "check-in" places using mobile devices.

A feature being launching in coming months will let users of Bing on desktop computers virtually step inside and take 360-degree ganders at restaurants or other venues.

Bing also made searches for online pictures more intuitive and better organized, according to Microsoft.

"We continue looking for new ways to bring more visual and social experiences to Bing and help make it the best place to make decisions and get stuff done," Bing team members said in a message announcing the upgrades.

Google relentlessly hones and improves its online search service with the aim of ramping up the speed and relevance of results.

In November, Google rolled out a new feature called "Instant Previews" that allows Web surfers to sample websites without having to click through to the pages.

"Instant Previews" came on the heels of "Google Instant," a feature launched in September that displays search results as fast as a user types.

Industry-tracker comScore on Wednesday reported that Google "powered" 69.2 percent of US search results in November, while 24 percent of online searches were powered by Bing, which handles queries at Yahoo! websites.

Latest buzz in Indian IT sector

The week gone by saw some important developments taking place in the IT sector.

The revival in the global IT demand seems to be benefiting the top-five players more than the rest of the IT pack. The big IT exporters have reported double-digit growth in profits in the last two quarters, but the rest of the lot has not been able to see any significant improvement.

Tata Consultancy Services said India's multi-billion IT industry is now in a "good shape" and the domestic market would record a substantial growth in the coming days.

Global IT services provider L&T Infotech today announced a strategic tie-up with IBM in the Business Process Management (BPM) space to offer solutions, including business process modelling and implementation.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will transfer company shares worth Rs 8,846 crore to his endowment trust later this month, with a view to fund philanthropic activities taken up by the body.

Meet Divya Narendra, son of an Indian immigrant doctor couple in the US, who is involved in a courtroom battle with the world’s youngest billionaire and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

If you thought that the Apple iPad is yet to become officially available, you might just be wrong. Apple’s franchisees across the country have started selling iPads.

And Nokia announced its installation of a server in India to enable security agencies lawfully intercept its email and messenger services, a move which may force BlackBerry to follow suite.