From yesterdays article I did tell you that rumors were about the iPhone being unlocked well the rumors are true. The Apple store has the unlocked GSM iPhone 4 at the lovely price of $649 and $749. The 16GB and 32GB versions will be on sale. As with unlocked iPhones sold internationally, the device will work on all Apple-supported GSM networks around the world. Apple also takes care to note that an iPad 3G micro-SIM card will not work in the unlocked iPhone 4.
In the U.S., customers with unlocked GSM iPhones can choose from AT&T and T-Mobile, though data transmission on the T-Mobile network will occur over the slower EDGE protocol because the carrier’s 3G network is incompatible with the iPhone.
There have been rumors circulating all over the place that the US might finally get the unlocked iPhones. The model numbers, MC603, MC604, MC605, and MC606, all line up with the GSM versions sold abroad but without the regional suffixes that normally applies to international unlocked phones, such as B for Britain or C for Canada. These have been supposedly appearing in Apple stores. There is no confirmation on this however and everything here is just rumor and speculation to this point. However Apple has been known to sell unlocked iPhones in other countries. In the US Apple really had no incentive to do such a thing and of course the legal agreement they once had with AT&T to be exclusive also had something to with it I am sure. Although from what I have been reading an unlocked iPhone won? do you much good, you could use it on the T-mobile network but there are massive limitations due to no native 3G support for their network and Sprit doesn?t have proper CDMA support. So Verizon and AT&T were only the real companies that could handle the iPhone to massive extents, so who knows why Apple would be releasing unlocked iPhones into the American market but I am sure if an announcement is to be made the reasoning for it will come along with it.
Today I am focusing on the Playstation Vita which is the new handheld console of the Sony family. Looks like an original PSP with a touch screen to me. But is that all it really offers is a wonderful touch screen? So the cost of this will be $249 with wi-fi and $299 with 3G. 3G is going to be exclusive to AT&T it looks like so if want to use 3G you will have to hook up with their data plans like the iPad. So here are the main differences between the PSP and the new PS Vita:
? Advanced portable entertainment system
A high performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system. PS Vita also adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, which fits comfortably in users’ hands.
? Revolutionary User Interface
A unique multi-touch pad on the rear, with the front touch display. Two cameras on it’s front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer, and electronic compass.
? LiveArea?
Every game title for PS Vita will be provided with a space called “LiveArea?” where users can share the fun and excitement with other players.
? Location-based services
SCE will provide location-based services on PS Vita as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called “Near,” developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system.
? Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity
PS Vita is equipped with 3G in addition to Wi-Fi.
? Closely coordinated with PlayStation Suite
The newly developed and released game content for Android based portable devices can also be enjoyed on PS Vita.
Looks like wireless carriers have something to be worried about. In the US cellphone market people sent and received more than 1 trillion texts in the second half of 2010 and this is according to CTIA which is a wireless industry trade group. That is an 8.7% increase from the last six months but it was however the smallest gain since texting became the thing to do. The big issue with all of this that Apple and Android are creating a new service that will let you text over the internet and bypass the carrier, which means if you can connect to wifi you can text to your heart?s desire and lower your monthly plan in the process. This will be a big blow to the major carriers if this comes to pass, with texting already on a downward trend could we it start to go down even more with these new texting technologies that will be on the horizon for Android and Apple? Only time will tell.
Nvidia introduced a brand new chip, the quad-core Kal-El processor. They showed a demo of Glow Ball tech demo which showed examples of dynamic lighting on mobile devices and shows so great physic calculations, for example fully modeled cloth motion. So this processor takes out static lights that are the norm in mobile gaming today. With this new technology that Nvidia has shown off it is more than possible to create lighting that moves, responds realistically to its environment, and also fluctuates in intensity of light. The most amazing part is this will be done on your smart phone and your tablet device that carries this processor. It is no doubt that Nvidia has done something truly remarkable and is looking to revolutionize graphics as we know it today on mobile devices!
Samsung will demonstrate an all-new 10.1-inch display at the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium next week. Samsung’s new display will have a 2560 x 1600 resolution, far in excess of anything on the tablet market today. At 300 dpi, the display also compares favorably with the Retina Display resolution of Apple’s iPhone 4; meanwhile, Samsung claims the PenTile technology used in the display allows it to operate while drawing 40 percent less power.
The screen size is going to be 10.1 inches and the iPad is always been 9.7 and it will be interesting to see if in the iPad 3 if Apple ups the stakes on the size or not. The iPad?s current resolution is 1024 x 768. Also Apple has currently stayed away from the PenTile technology which is in this new Smasung tablet. amsung’s new display does prove that high-res, tablet-sized displays are indeed possible without giving up power efficiency, which makes it all the more likely that we’ll see a Retina Display quality touchscreen in the iPad 3. It’s previously been rumored that Apple wanted to include such technology in the iPad 2, but was unable to do so because of high costs and manufacturing constraints.
Another step in the battle against Apple for the top tablet in the world, and it is no doubt that if Samsung can do all of this Apple will have some big tricks up their sleeves for the iPad 3. Apple already has the advantage of branding and I tell you that is a huge advantage for any company making a tablet to overcome.
