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New iPad battery test complete, see how it did

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Having finished the detailed review of the new Apple iPad, we finally found some time to complete its battery test and see if the new gigantic battery makes up for the power-hungry chipset and the high-res screen.

We put the new iPad side by side with its predecessor, the iPad 2 and set to find out which of them drains its battery faster and which one charges faster. Here go the results from the three tests we ran on each of the tablets. Read more »

AT&T Plus program rewards your loyalty with better support, special offers

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A recent study showed that US carriers are having a hard time keeping their customers, with the average users spending just over two years with one carrier. That’s hardly healthy for their bottom line as the hefty subsidies they pay take time to recoup themselves and the recent financial reports were quite clear about it.

Well, AT&T is obviously trying to do something about it and is launching a new AT&T Plus loyalty program. The exact details are yet to be unveiled, but the eligible customers will be getting a dedicated support line and won’t be charged upgrade and activation fees. They will also be getting a 25% discount from non-Apple accessories. Read more »

iPad’s 4G not working in Australia, Apple getting sued over false advertising [UPDATE: Apple to offer a refund]

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The global success story that is the new Apple iPad just suffered a setback in Australia as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accused the company of false advertising. According to the ACCC, the iPad Wi-Fi + 4G commercial aired in the land of Oz was implying that the tablet could be used on an LTE network, which is impossible.

Currently, there’s only one LTE network in Australia and it uses a completely different spectrum to the one covered by the new iPad LTE radio. Read more »

This Galaxy Y Duos promo video is a thousand times cooler than the phone itself

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The Samsung-employed advertising agents have had no shortage of creativity recently. We covered all sorts of cool videos that they produced over the past few weeks, but it turns out the coolest was yet to come.

The Portuguese Samsung branch came up with one of the most impressive clips we have seen for quite some time, while trying to promote the unassuming Galaxy Y Duos smartphone. The video only took this guy, who was used as a screen, a projector and, well, plenty of inspiration to make. Read more »

Microsoft updates Windows Phone SDK, lower-spec’d smartphones now supported

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Microsoft just announced that it has updated the Windows Phone SDK. As the latest version of Windows Phone, 7.5 Refresh, gets ready for public release, the new version adds support for those lower-spec’d smartphones with just 256MB of RAM.

The WPSDK 7.1 is also said to be the version that developers should use if they have Windows 8-running machines. Other than extended compatibility, the new SDK doesn’t really add anything. Read more »

ICS update for the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket leaks ahead of rollout

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If you happen to own the AT&T-only Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, you don’t have to feel jealous of your friends that own the international version anymore. The LTE-touting edition of the popular smartphone just got its Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update, through a leaked ROM.

Everyone who knows their way around flashing a ROM manually can grab the leaked file and give their Skyrockets a taste of the latest from the Google kitchen. There’s also a root solution already, so you won’t be losing any extra functionality if you make the switch. Read more »

The “Bird Man” video is a hoax, the author admits

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If you’ve spent any time on the internet over the past few days, you may have stumbled upon a certain video of a guy who succeeds at flying like a bird with a set of custom-built wings. There were plenty of debates over the authenticity of the viral clip, but now we have an official confirmation that it’s merely a hoax.

The author himself spoke on a Dutch TV show and revealed the truth about the video. It took 8 months to make and was meant to be an experiment about online media. It’s yet another proof you shouldn’t believe everything you see on the internet, even if multiple sources have confirmed it. Read more »

22nm Intel Valley View Atom specs leaks, to bring a four-fold increase in graphics

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With all the effort focused on ultrabooks and ULV processors like Sandy Bridge, the Intel Atom lineup has hardly been having the best of times recently. However, a leaked presentation indicates that we might not have seen the last of the super power-efficient chipsets.

The next generation of Atoms, codenamed Valley View, will be using 22nm process and will reportedly be coming out next year. It will have an architecture similar to Cedar Trail, but with Ivy Bridge graphics. Read more »

We examine the New Apple iPad heating issues, see how it compares to the iPad 2

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The new iPad heating issues have been one of the hottest topics in the tablet realm over the past couple of days – opinions range from the heat being intolerable to it’s not a big deal. That’s why we decided to conduct a few tests ourselves and found out more about it.

We were aiming to answer two questions – how hot does the new iPad get in regular usage and what is causing the supposed overheating issues. So here’s what we did – we placed the new Apple slate alongside its iPad 2 predecessor and started checking out how the two would react to various challenges.
Read more »

Panasonic GF5 mirorless camera leaks, to offer better high-ISO performance

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We just got photos of an upcoming and yet unannounced member of the Panasonic EVIL camera family. The mirrorless Panasonic GF5 will succeed the GF3 and will reportedly offer much better high-ISO performance.

According to the source, the Panasonic GF5 sensor will be as good as the 18MP camera sensors inside the Canon 7D and 60D when you go wild with the ISO setting. That’s a pretty good achievement for a Micro Four Thirds camera, given the smaller size of its sensor, compared to APS-C. Read more »

First Windows 8 tablets coming in October, to be fewer than five

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We are about six months away from seeing the first Windows 8 tablets and personal computers hit the shelves now. Sources close to the matter were quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the next edition of the Windows 8 platform development will be complete by this summer and the first devices carrying it will hit the market in October.

Microsoft’s goal is to ship the x86 and the ARM versions of Windows 8 simultaneously and the company already confirmed there will be devices running both at launch day. Read more »

Samsung releases the source code for the Galaxy S II ICS kernel

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If you like running custom ROMs on your Galaxy S II or even better creating those yourself, you’d be glad to know that Samsung just released the source code for its ICS kernel of its yet-to-be-replaced flagship.

The code of the updated kernel that started seeding last week (that we also reviewed in detail) is now available to download from the Samsung servers. This will enable the indie dev community to create more elaborate mods, using the official Samsung drivers and even pieces of the code when need occurs. Read more »

New Apple iPad hands-on video is ready, check it out

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As you know, yesterday we welcomed the new iPad in our office and we are already hard at work putting Apple’s latest and greatest slate through its paces.

To make the wait until the full review is complete easier to bear, we gave you an overview of our first impressions, garnished with live shots on the device and camera samples yesterday, and now we have something else for you – a hands-on video. Read more »

7″ Nexus tablet by Asus reportedly confirmed, might cost $149

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Rumors of the mythical Google Nexus tablet are intensifying with each passing day and lately they have almost all been pointing in one direction – a 7″ slate, which will be manufactured by Asus.

Today we got a few more pieces of the puzzle that is the first Google slate. The new rumors have it that Asus has agreed to cancel its $250 Tegra 3 powered MeMo 370T slate, which was announced at CES and turn it into the next Google slate instead. Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Note stop-motion ad might be cooler than the phoneblet itself

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Hey yo dawg, Samsung heard you like stop motion, so it put stop motion in your stop motion! Jokes aside, the latest Samsung Galaxy Note ad is one of the most creative bits of advertising we have seen recently and we believe you may do a whole lot worse with a minute of your life than spending it to watch it.

Even though it didn’t quite have the budget that some of the other Samsung ads had, this video of just over a minute obviously took a substantial effort to create. Read more »