Do you think Alienware consider a gaming tablet?

Razer’s Project Fiona might not be the only gaming tablet in the works, since Alienware is also considering branching off...

Samsung Galaxy S3 will not be showing in MWC this year

For a relatively long time, people around the world are waiting the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S3...

Cut the Rope now playable on your Web Browser

Following the footsteps of Angry Birds, the popular Cut the Rope game made the transition from mobile devices to your web browser. ..

Lord of the Rings and Batman-related MMOs to be develop by Korean developers

Inplay Interactive, a company that is not that famous MMO company in Korea. They were known recently by developing F.E.A.R.: Origin Online which also licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment...

Is Samsung ChatON wants to kill SMS?

Is Korea-based smartphone maker Samsung quietly trying to kill SMS (text) messaging?

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Is Samsung ChatON wants to kill SMS?


Is Korea-based smartphone maker Samsung quietly trying to kill SMS (text) messaging?

Samsung has started porting to its smartphones its cross-platform Web-based "ChatON" messaging client app, tech site TechCrunch reported.

The web version of the messaging client is likely to work on most feature phones and computers as well, it added.

"ChatON" had been in the works, with Samsung indicating ChatON will be a cross-platform service.

"Now, with the web app, the crusade is seemingly complete. ChatON users can easily communicate using either their platform’s app or just a web browser. Accounts are linked, so no matter what device you’re rocking, you’ll be available. See ya later, text messages!" TechCrunch said.

Another article on TechCrunch said ChatON is to go live next month in over 120 countries and 62 languages.

On feature phones, the ChatON ervice allows for text, images, calendar appointment and contact sharing.

But on smartphones, it offers extra options, such as the ability to comment on each other’s profiles, send multimedia messages that combine text and audio, and view their own “Interaction Rank,” which displays how active they are on the ChatOn network.

The new web-based app also allows users to group chat, have 1:1 conversations, and supports attachments, emoticons and more.

Yet, TechCrunch noted carriers are reportedly losing major revenue from services like ChatON that use a data connection rather than traditional messaging rates.

"While text messages are essentially locked into a 2003-ish feature set, apps like Samsung’s ChatOn and Apple’s Messages are free to roll out innovative features to users anytime. I say good riddance. Death to SMS and it’s crazy cost," it said.

ChatON goes cross-platform

ChatON is a cross-platform mobile chat service similar to RIM’s BlackBerry Messaging (BBM) and is slated to support a variety of mobile operating systems.

Such OSes include Samsung’s own mobile operating system, Android, feature phones and even competitors’ platforms, including iOS and BlackBerry.

Social media eating into carrier revenues?

A third TechCrunch story said Twitter, Facebook and other social networks may be eating up revenues.

It cited the analyst firm of Ovum, part of the Informa Group, has estimated that operators lost $13.9 billion in SMS revenue in 2011, as customers used services like Twitter and Facebook to message each other instead of the carriers’ own text messaging services.

TechCrunch also cited a separate report from mobile analytics firm Bytemobile showing huge growth in the use of social media on mobile — with operators getting virtually no benefit as a result.

Bytemobile, using data it gathers from its tier-one carrier customers, found that the average mobile user spends around nine minutes per day each on Facebook and YouTube on mobile.

"There is a caveat, of course: carriers are still making money from people using their phones to use social networks: users are, after all, still buying 3G and 4G data plans; and many (but not all) carriers also roll public Wi-Fi connectivity into those plans," TechCrunch said.

But it said it is questionable whether in the short term that incremental data revenues for tweets, status updates and check-ins, and the more substantial data usage from services like YouTube, can offset the loss from the more lucrative messaging services that operators built up and still count on for revenues.

"Longer term, Ovum predicts that by 2016 mobile data will bring in $419 billion in revenues for operators, out of a total service revenues of $1,047 billion," it said.


[source GMA]
[via GMA]

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Do you think Alienware consider a gaming tablet?

Razer’s Project Fiona might not be the only gaming tablet in the works, since Alienware is also considering branching off in the same direction by delivering a slate designed from the ground up to satisfy gamers.

With regards to Alienware product manager Eoin Leyden, it appears the high-end PC manufacturer could be looking into something similar. We asked Alienware what it thought of Razer's efforts.

"We have discussed it [tablets] a couple of times." explained Leyden. "There are issues and limitations that make it difficult to see that would appeal to our core audience right now."

The problem is that translating a hard-core gaming experience to tablets is very difficult. For casual applications, Angry Birds for example, the touch interface makes sense. The intricacies of PC controls however are very different.

"The issue is the input mechanism and how the game uses the the mechanisms and turns them into in-game actions."

Possible fixes are alternative ways of play. Unlike Razer's bolt-on controllers, Leyden sees very different control methods being used in future:

"At some point in the future tablets could have eye tracking in there, so you could control your character that way."

Thanks to the likes of Nvidia and its Tegra setup, tablets are going through a rapid power increase. More cores, bigger GPUs and larger amounts of RAM are being added yearly. This is leading to a rapid portable graphics evolution. It still isn't quite enough for the likes of Alienware to get excited however.

"From a performance point of view tablets are on an accelerated curve. They aren't quite there yet though."
So no tablet from the gaming experts just yet. Clearly though the market share tablets are chewing up has sparked the interest of top-end PC manufacturers. If what Razer releases proves a success, who knows - we might see Alienware jump on board as well.

[via Pocket-lint]

Monday, January 30, 2012

Samsung Galaxy S3 will not be showing in MWC this year


For a relatively long time, people around the world are waiting the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S3. Actually, Verge is telling that Samsung has delayed Samsung Galaxy S3. There are some reports that disappointed the Samsung Galaxy users who were eagerly waiting for the launch of the smart gadgets.

WHAT IS THE INFORMATION?

Originally, the report pegged the phone to be launched at Mobile World Congress (MWC) but later on, the reports said that the Samsung has decided to postpone the launch. People that were familiar with this matter said that although no expected date for the Galaxy S3 launch has been decided yet but still people are hoping that it will come before the summertime.

REASON FOR THE DELAY

Verge has reported that Galaxy S2 was launched last year in the MWC, but the phone came after 3 months later. Samsung Galaxy S2 was unveiled in the February whereas, it came in North America in July, and United States got it in September.

So, probably this time Samsung is sacrificing MWC launch to avoid the long wait between the availability of the device and unveiling date. Although, people will be missing Samsung galaxy S3 in MWC, but still there are some hopes that some Windows devices and quad-core tablets might be seen in the MWC this year.

[via NewGadget]

Cut the Rope now playable on your Web Browser


Cut the Rope


Following the footsteps of Angry Birds, the popular Cut the Rope game made the transition from mobile devices to your web browser. 

Now you can feed the cute, candy-gobbling monster, Om Nom straight from your browser simply by going to http://www.cuttherope.ie/.

The game, which has been downloaded over 60 million times on the iOS and Android platform is converted to HTML5 and optimized for Internet Explorer 9 (although Chrome, Firefox and other modern web browser users can also play). This web version is developed by a partnership between Microsoft, web design agency Pixel Lab and ZeptoLab’s lead creative team to showcase the rich interactive capabilities of the HTML5 web standard.

IE9 users get more fun though. Aside from being able to pin the game to your Windows 7 task bar for one-click access, you will also unlock 7 unique levels that’s not available to other browsers. I just wonder how it will reflect those levels where you need two fingers to swipe at the same instant when all you have here is a mouse.

[via PinoyTechBlog]

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Korean Developers to develop Lord of the Rings and Batman-related MMOs licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment


Inplay Interactive, a company that is not that famous MMO company in Korea. They were known recently by developing F.E.A.R.: Origin Online which also licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Inplay Interactive could be recognize by developing more and more western games as they might develop a Lord of the Rings MMO and another MMO that could be like Batman and DC comics in cooperation with Warner Bros. Entertainment. There are reports that Warner Bros. Entertainment has become the investor and shareholder of Inplay Interactive and that the Korean developer is licensed to use the IPs owned by Warner Bros Entertainment. There is no detailed info about what could be the looks of Korean version of Batman Online and Lord of the Rings Online will be. But there are rumors that it could be AOS style online game.

[source GameMeca]
[via MMOSITE]

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Apple iPads will sell at least 48 million this year -Analyst



Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu believes that Apple will sell at least 48 million iPads this year by their upgraded iPad which is the iPad 3. 

Wu recently indicated in his forecast speculation that iPad 3 will reach customers in March and would be a "significant update" over the last iPad models and he did say that new features and improvements would be "welcome surprises." Also, there are many reports that show around regarding the next iPad that it will be powered by a quad-core chip and will support 4G LTE.In some cases, many people criticized mobile phones that support 4G LTE for draining battery life quickly. But according to the analyst, that would be a limitation Apple may have been able to talk to.  

Wu wrote, "Our industry sources indicate Apple has made noticeable progress in improving battery life that have plagued competitor products. This is due to the company's ownership of core intellectual property including systems design, semiconductors, battery chemistry, and software."  
With that said, if the next tablet of Apple would have major changes and improvements regarding its features, Shaw Wu believes Apple will push it sales even higher that could lengthen the gap from all Android devices and from its only real rival- Amazon's Kindle Fire. 

The company is due to release its sales figures for the December quarter on January 24.

[source CNET]