LG's 55-inch 'world's largest' OLED HDTV panel is official, coming to CES 2012

We only have a few more days left until the festivities truly kick off at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, but LG has already tipped its hand with a press release promising the "world's largest" OLED panel for the show. We've seen smaller screens from LG before and it had already promised a 55-inch OLED HDTV for mid-2012, so this news is just another sign the company is ready to take its technology mainstream. LG's tech uses white OLEDs overlaid with colors, which it claims makes for a lower error rate and clearer "ultra definition" screen, with more colors than standard LCDs. Check after the break for one more promo pic of LG's super skinny 5mm prototype, we'll get a better look at it (and the inevitable competition from Korean rival Samsung) at the company's booth January 9th.

CUPP's PunkThis graduates to tablets, earns a degree in security

Remember CUPP Computing's PunkThis board we played with at Computex 2011? It's now left the confines of its 2.5-inch hard drive form-factor and jumped ship from a standard Asus netbook to a Core i5-equipped Eee Slate EP121, taking residence alongside the tablet's battery. As a refresher, PunkThis puts a complete ARM-based system into an x86 computer by replacing the SATA HDD with a single core 1GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 3730 processor, 512MB RAM and WiFi, along with a mini-PCie socket for SSD storage, plus connectors for the hosts video, audio and USB interfaces. While CUPP computing is still working hard to make PunkThis commercially available for tech-savvy individuals, it acquired Israeli security company Yoggie last July and built this demo machine to attract another kind of customer.

The tablet we tested was running Windows 7 Home Premium and Android 2.3.4 simultaneously, and was equipped with an additional button for switching between x86 and ARM modes. Since the Asus EP121 already uses a mini-PCIe SSD instead of 2.5-inch SATA storage, a prototype PunkThis board was designed to fit alongside a modified battery. Gingerbread didn't break a sweat supporting both the 1280x800-pixel capacitive touchscreen and pen-based Wacom digitizer thanks to some additional hardware and software tweaks. Beyond the ability to switch between Windows for heavy lifting and Android for improved battery life, it's possible to use both x86 and ARM side-by-side. Imagine antivirus and firewall software running on the PunkThis board in mission-critical security applications for enterprise, and it's easy to see where CUPP Computing is going with this. Check out the gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Sony - Samsung LCD venture to end

Unable to stay afloat amidst a cloud of losses, Sony has finally decided to end its LCD venture with Samsung. Reports confirm that prior to making this move, Sony was riddled with losses, with its television unit, alone accumulating losses to the tune of $2.2 billion. Citing little demand for the product, and the soaring value of the yen for the downfall, reports confirm that Sony will eventually sell its stake to Samsung for $940 million. Sony and Samsung had entered into an LCD joint venture in 2004 to "secure stable supplies of the component".

Parting ways with Samsung!

Reportedly, in November, Sony had revealed that all was not hunky dory with its LCD side of business, but immediately added that it would work on revamping it. Samsung has, on its part confirmed the report, and have stated that a brief announcement on the same will happen soon. Reportedly, Sony has 50 percent stake in its LCD joint venture with Samsung.

Report reveals quarter of all photos shot on mobile phones

A report by NPD states that a quarter of all the photos clicked, today are captured on mobile phone cameras. Although, dedicated cameras have been around a long time and have offered superior features and performance than mobile phone cameras, a clear trend can be seen as quality on cameras on phones continue to improve. The number of photos taken using smartphones went from 17 percent last year to 27 percent, this year. The point-and-shoot camera market is slowing down a bit. NPD says there was a drop of 17 percent in units for the most of 2011. Pocket camcorders are also facing the brunt. DSLRs and other detachable lens cameras, on the other hand are getting more popular; so it isn’t all bad news for camera manufacturers.

Sign of things to come?

The most used camera on the popular photo hosting site, Flickr, surprisingly is the Apple iPhone 4, ahead of other DSLR cameras. All of Apple’s previous iPhones figure on the list of popular smartphones as well. People using mobile phones tend to use the cameras onboard them for quick, instant photos, whereas point and shoot cameras and DSLRs are still preferred for proper photography, events and functions - it’s the same case with camcorders.

Apple Building New Palo Alto “Prototype” Store

The San Jose Mercury News has this week reported that Apple is looking to build a new “prototype store” in Palo Alto, Calif. Which is expected to cost around $3.15 million and offer around 15,030-square-foot of retail space. The new retail space is linked to architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, who describe the new build in the planning documents as a “new prototype” as well as acting as a “commons for community to gather.”

Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette explained to the San Jose Mercury News:
“Our Palo Alto store was one of our first retail stores when we opened it nearly a decade ago and it’s been incredibly popular,” -”We are planning a beautiful new store just a few steps away, building on everything we’ve learned from our customers in Palo Alto and around the world.”
As more information becomes available we will as always keep you updated.

Apple Eyes Fuel Cell MacBooks

A pair of new patent apps show that Apple is eyeing MacBooks that have fuel cells for power. The fuel cell isn’t a new concept, but so far there are no notebooks on the market using them. The fuel cell is cool because there is no charge time, you just add more fuel and you can work indefinitely.


The fuel cell is also very green. Two patent apps have surfaced that hint at the fuel cell machines called “Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device” and “Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device.” The patent apps note that the fuel cell could allow the notebooks to operate for days or weeks with no refueling.
That is a very promising though. To be able to travel for a week with no need for an AC outlet would be great. The fuel cells in the apps would charge a battery in the device. It sounds like the notebook equivalent of the Chevrolet Volt car where a power generator charges the battery. I’d like to see this happen, but I take this with a grain of salt. We have been expecting fuel cells for years now and they have proven very difficult to produce and sell.

Sony - Samsung LCD venture to end

Unable to stay afloat amidst a cloud of losses, Sony has finally decided to end its LCD venture with Samsung. Reports confirm that prior to making this move, Sony was riddled with losses, with its television unit, alone accumulating losses to the tune of $2.2 billion. Citing little demand for the product, and the soaring value of the yen for the downfall, reports confirm that Sony will eventually sell its stake to Samsung for $940 million. Sony and Samsung had entered into an LCD joint venture in 2004 to "secure stable supplies of the component".

Reportedly, in November, Sony had revealed that all was not hunky dory with its LCD side of business, but immediately added that it would work on revamping it. Samsung has, on its part confirmed the report, and have stated that a brief announcement on the same will happen soon. Reportedly, Sony has 50 percent stake in its LCD joint venture with Samsung.

Kingston hosts 'SSD Now Challenge' in Hyderabad to promote awareness of SSDs

On December 23, Kingston hosted an event to promote awareness of solid state dives (SSD) at the same time allowing enthusiasts to try them out first hand. Dubbed as ‘SSD No Challenge’, the event was organised in three venues in Hyderabad – Cyber Gateway, Ananth Technologies Ltd and Cyber Pearl, which attracted over 1200 attendees.

The participants at the event

Kingston organised two different challenge rounds: a speed test and a death match. In the first round, the boot up times, and time taken in opening different applications, simultaneously were tested. The death match challenged participants to drop their hard drives from a distance of 5ft. Only upon winning both the rounds would the participant walk away with a free SSD (we don’t know what capacity, though). Let’s just say a lot of people walked home with ruined hard drives as there’s no way for a conventional HDD to survive the second test.

It’s a good initiative from Kingston as many people are still unaware about SSDs and how they function. Hopefully, by next year the prices may drop further, in order for SSDs to go mainstream and we’ll know that’s happened once OEMs start bundling SSDs as part of the standard configuration.

Update, Mindjet Answers Concerns Over Buy-Out

You know, nothing gives us here at Talk Android greater satisfaction then writing a post and having comments from our readers to read as well. We encourage all our readers to comment on any post we put up. Whether you agree with us or not, (That’s what makes us better writers.) it is still important to hear your feedback. What makes it even better is when you get the attention of the company you are writing about.
Yesterday I wrote about Mindjet’s buy-out of Thinking Space Pro, and how a lot of customers weren’t too happy about this. I am more then pleased to say that Mindjet read my post, and answered my questions. In the comments section on the same day no less! Jascha Kaykas-Wolff the CMO of Mindjet had this to say:
Thank you for your passion for Thinking Space Pro. I wanted to let you know that we hear you and we understand you having some reservations; however, I’d like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.
We are sorry that you feel like this came as a surprise; unfortunately, we weren’t able to disclose acquisition information ahead of time. The good news is that we will continue to enhance the current app, and it will remain free. There will be optional subscriptions offered through it (e.g. Connect Business) in the future, but we want to assure you that the app itself is – and will remain – free.
In terms of future plans, we are happy to tell you that we’re working on cloud storage improvements, plus an integration with Mindjet Connect, our cloud-based product. Future updates will also make your maps more shareable, allowing you to take full advantage of the Android OS and be better connected with the Mindjet platform.
We’re incredibly excited about combining the ease of TSP with the power and resources of Mindjet to offer users the best of both worlds.
Have a great holiday and happy new year,
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff
CMO, Mindjet
@kaykas:twitter
For me this is an excellent way to regain some of the trust I had lost for them. He defiantly did put a few of my concerns to rest, and I appreciate his response, as well as how soon he did get it out. I  look forward to the new products he mentions. This is the kind of response I want to expect from a company, quick, clear, and down to business.
I would like to thank Mr. Kaykas-Wolff for reading our blog as well as giving our readers the answers we asked for. Let’s face it people, he didn’t have to read my post nor did he have to respond back to it either, but he did and I thank him for it. I will be keeping an eye on future developments from Mindjet.

A Must Have App For The Holidays: Calorie Counter by FatSecret

If you’re gearing up to head home for the holidays and want to get a heads up on what kind of a caloric intake you’re going to be partaking in then this is the app for you.  Calorie Counter by FatSecret, is a must have app to manage the kinds of food you’ll be stuffing your face with today.  It’s simple, intuitive and offers an aesthetically pleasing UI for navigating.  find nutritional info for all kinds of food fast, easy and on the go.  Keep track of all of your meals while also focusing on exercise and weight gain/loss.

Calorie Counter is simple to use and has all the cool tools to help you succeed:

- A food diary to plan and keep track of what you’re eating.
- An exercise diary to record all the calories you burn.
- A barcode scanner and manual barcode input
- A quick pick to find calorie and nutrition info for your favorite foods, brands and restaurants.
- A diet calendar to see your calories consumed and burned.
- A weight tracker.
- A journal to record your progress.
- Recipes and meal ideas

The application offers “in-the-cloud” support and allows you to store and access all of your info online at anytime.  There’s also a fantastic widget with all pertinent info reflected directly on your home screen.  The dev promises there are “more goodies to come” so stay tuned and don’t forget to let us know what you think of the app in the comments below.  Hit the break for some more screen shots and to hit up the download links.  There’s also a QR code available if you need it.