Monthly Archives: June 2012

Samsung investigating Irish report of exploding Galaxy SIII Smartphone

Posted on June 25, 2012 by | Leave a comment

 

The Samsung Galaxy SIII was released on May 29, 2012. The flagship Android smartphone has received rave reviews, and is already being hailed as the closest competitor to Apple’s iPhone 4S. There was a large element of shock last week when reports of the phone ‘exploding’ began to surface on discussion forums and Twitter.

A consumer based in Dublin, Ireland, posted his story on Boards.ie, claiming that his Galaxy SIII exploded on the dashboard of his car, while driving. The device emitted “a white flame, sparks and a bang”, according to ‘Dillo2k10’, a student. He went on to say that “there’s no confirmation it was a fault with the phone. It may actually have been caused by a combination of my car mount and my car’s heating system”. Either way, everybody seems baffled. He uploaded some photographs directly after the incident, showing his white Galaxy SIII with scorch and burn marks noticeably visible. Thankfully, he was not hurt in the situation which could have had serious repercussions while driving.

The user was immediately supplied with a replacement phone, while the damaged device was sent to Samsung’s headquarters for further investigation. It isn’t the first time such incidents have occurred. In March, there was an episode involving the Samsung Galaxy SII, the predecessor of the SIII. A spare battery exploded in a Korean schoolboy’s back pocket, burning his buttocks and fingers. Samsung responded, stating the explosion was caused by “massive external pressure or force”.

With regards to the latest explosion in Dublin, Samsung spokesman James Chung stated: “our initial investigation found no fault with the phone, but we’ll conduct further investigations to decide the exact cause of the problem.” It certainly was a serious mishap for this new smartphone and may well deter customers from further purchases until the problem is solved. The story and images went viral, tarnishing Samsung’s image and may well prove a serious coup for Apple. All going well, Samsung will find a reasonable explanation for the unexpected explosion and Galaxy SIII fans will remain undetered.

imagenote: Stereopoly/wikimedia/cc

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Posted in Digital Technology, Mobile Technology

Microsoft unveils its first tablet

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

 

Microsoft revealed its long awaited tablet on Monday, an ultra-slim device called ‘Surface’. Running a new version of the company’s Windows 8 software, the tablet is directly designed, produced and sold by Microsoft, a departure from its usual association with production partners like Hewlett-Packard and Dell. It’s a very important step for Microsoft as they struggle to compete with Apple in the mobile technology market.

First off, the design of the tablet is very appealing. Surface features a 10.6 inch high-definition touchscreen, front and rear facing cameras, as well as a very innovative cover, which also doubles as a keyboard. This is an exciting feature which significantly increases usability, something already praised in the Transformer series of tablets produced by Asus. At just three millimetres, the cover/keyboard is exceptionally slim. When the device is closed, it looks like a wafer thin laptop.

Surface weighs slightly less than Apple’s iPad, and at 9.3 millimetres, it is also fractionally thinner. Its chipset will be powerful – customers will have a choice of an Intel or ARM based processor. ARM will offer storage amounting to 32GB or 64GB, while Intel chipsets will be available with 64GB or 128GB of storage. While this may sound exciting, it may not bode well in the market for tablet computers. Consumers like choice when it comes to desktop and laptop computers but not tablets. Apple has shown that the simplicity of offering everything in one package leads to success.

The price was not revealed at Microsoft’s press conference on Monday, but officials stressed that it would be priced like comparable tablets. The most basic iPad comes in at $499 and the higher-end 128GB Surface tablet is expected to be priced in the same region as ultrabooks, around $1,000 at most. Expect the first wave of Microsoft Surface tablets to reach customers this autumn.

So, to the most important question. Can Surface wrestle away some of Apple’s dominance of the tablet pc market? It’s hard to tell. Surface does have the benefit of 128GB of storage – double that of the iPad as well as an extremely ergonomic keyboard which makes life easier. It also operates without iTunes – that head wrecking, controlling, ugly software on which the iPad depends. Apple sold 40 million iPads in 2011, out of worldwide tablet sales of 60 million. It will be difficult for Microsoft to entice that loyal Apple fan base, but with the right design, price and quality, anything is possible in the world of digital technology.

Imagenote: Some Rights Reserved by SpicaGames’ photostream  via Flickr.

 

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Posted in Digital Technology, Internet Usage, Mobile Technology

Will you buy a Wii U?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

 

The most important date in the gaming industry’s calendar took place last Wednesday in Los Angeles – E3. This massive trade fair and press event takes place annually in California, bringing all major gaming developers together under one roof to showcase their wares. At last year’s E3, Nintendo unveiled its eagerly awaited Wii U – the next generation of the famous Wii gaming console. Last week, it was time for E3 2012, where a more mature, refined product was on display.

The original Wii was released in November 2006 and after almost seven years, it’s definitely time for an upgrade. The new manner of interaction between the gamer and the system proved highly innovative and appealed to a broad demographic. After the Wii arrived, gaming wasn’t just the realm of kids and nerds. Everybody wanted to experiment with the Wii – it was simple, fun and even encouraged a certain amount of exercise. The Wii was sometimes called a ‘casual’ console and with the Wii U, Nintendo are hoping to lure avid gamers back into frame.

The success of the original Wii means that there is a huge amount of expectation surrounding its successor. Feedback from E3 was positive, even if journalists and gamers were slightly perplexed by the unusual new controller. It looks similar to a tablet pc, complete with a touchscreen, two analogue sticks, speakers, a front facing camera and the usual buttons found on previous Nintendo consoles. There will also be a standard controller minus the touchscreen called the Wii U Pro Controller, something which might tempt those hardcore gamers to splash out on the new system. The Wii Remote, Wii Nunchuk and Wii Balance Board will also be compatible with the Wii U, along with games designed for the original Wii console.

This results in asymmetric gameplay where players can carry out different tasks within the game world, depending on which controller they choose. A dedicated social network called Miiverse will also be established, where players will be able to communicate with friends through the touchscreen while gaming.

The real test of any console, of course, is the gaming experience, and feedback from E3 was relatively positive, with some minor frustration. This stemmed from some users working together with different devices, finding the experience somewhat difficult, complicated and uncoordinated. This may well be down to inexperience and lack of practice. Other gamers found the experience addictive and refreshing, either cooperatively or with the single player mode. Most of them had the simple message: ‘You can’t understand this device until you get your hands on it’.

That surely has to be expected when a handheld gaming device is crossbred with a console. In general, the gamers at E3 were impressed with this ‘Wii-velution’. Nintendo are planning to release a broad range of gaming titles, ranging from the classic Mario series, to Pikmin 3 for kids, to violent adult titles like Mass Effect 3. The company are hoping to keep that broad demographic while tempting the hard core community away from the Playstation 3 and Xbox. Will Nintendo’s new console be as successful as the original Wii? It does build on the innovation of the previous device and the touchscreen gamepad adds a new, exciting level of ingenuity. Most people at E3 gave the Wii U a solid thumbs up and all going well, it will be on sale in time for Christmas.

For more exciting technology news, be sure to visit our friends over at mycomputernews

imagenote: ze_bear/wikimedia/cc

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Posted in Digital Technology, Mobile Technology

Is goal-line technology a step closer?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

It’s a Wednesday night – the living room is dark, lit only by the glare of the television screen. Empty beer cans litter the floor, several half eaten bags of chips lie on the table. Five loud, shouting men, grasping their beer cans tightly, are enveloped in a Champions League match.  Suddenly, one of their players takes a shot on goal which strikes downward from the crossbar, landing over the goal-line. The players think they’ve scored. The guys in the living room know they’ve scored. Sadly, the referee and linesman missed it, making sure they haven’t scored. The rugby fan and the tennis fan in the corner of the room are laughing while the football fans unleash their fury in a cascade of swearing, screaming and arguing.

That’s modern football – wealthy, powerful, influential and entertaining. Until somebody makes a wrong decision; then it becomes plain to all that this sport remains in the Stone Age, left behind by cricket, tennis, rugby and others.  Disputed line calls have all but disappeared in tennis due to the introduction of Hawkeye technology. A disputed try in rugby can be verified in a matter of seconds through the television match official. And the radio conversation between the officials can be heard clearly on the television. It seems fair and transparent.

Contrast that with FIFA’s incomprehensible opposition to the introduction of technology. Football fans have been talking about goal-line systems for years and the chorus has gotten louder with the European Championships just around the corner. English fans in particular remember Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Germany went on to win the game comfortably, but the result might have been different if technology helped make the correct decision. Irish football fans were deprived of their place at the same World Cup when Thierry Henry infamously handled the ball right before the French scored. Everybody saw that blatant act of cheating on television but the referee did nothing. FIFA and UEFA didn’t want to hear calls for a replay from the Irish and the English in these cases.

In the wake of several terrible decisions and countless FIFA corruption scandals, things finally started to change and goal-line technology was considered for testing. Two systems, Hawkeye and GoalRef have been developed and Hawkeye was tested at the Hampshire Senior Cup Final on 16 May 2012 in Southampton. It was again tested on June 2 at England’s international friendly game against Belgium at Wembley in London. It is hoped that some form of agreement will take place at the beginning of July, directly after the European Championships.

How does this technology work? Hawkeye in football would function in a similar manner to its counterpart on the tennis court. Six cameras are installed in each goal and they use ‘triangulation’ to track the position of the ball. Once the ball crosses the line, an encrypted radio signal is sent to the referee’s watch, informing him that a goal has been scored. GoalRef is a little bit different. A microchip is implanted within the ball and low magnetic waves are used around the goal. Any change in the magnetic field behind the goal-line informs the referee that a goal has been scored. Both of these technologies process the information in under one second, in line with FIFA requirements.

So, after countless decades filled with terrible decisions and frustration, technology is on the way to football. The English, German and Swiss leagues are hoping to adopt one of the systems this year or next year. There is an air of confidence that a goal-line system will be in place for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. The fans should indeed be hopeful…FIFA has inexorably delayed the process but finally seem to be caving under the weight of common sense. If there are more controversial decisions at the European Championships, surely it will just add fuel to the fire of the fans’ arguments. Maybe, just maybe, football fans will be able to relax alongside tennis and rugby fans, confident in the fact that technology will eliminate all those frustrating errors from their sport.

imagenote: Daniel Lobo/wikimedia/cc

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