LG signs TV deal with Unity Technologies to further video game ambitions

LG really wants to be part of the video game industry. Well, perhaps that’s stretching it a bit too far. Let’s just say it wouldn’t mind if its name actually came up one day in a discussion about gaming. That’s what the company is hoping for as it introduces a new video game-related partnership to bring additional content to its line of Internet-connected TV sets. The latest partnership with Unity Technologies brings on a company that has expanded 3D and 3D interactivity to smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, and TV sets from other manufacturers.


Unity has a roster of 750,000 registered developers spanning the industry from independent hobbyist to large multinational publishers. Although Unity has dealt in programs that aren’s considered video games, this deal with LG seems to be all about a new chapter in how gamers interact with their TV. In 2012, the company will offer TV sets that come with special motion controllers for remotes, which will work directly into this new strategy.
Right now, the state of gaming on Internet-connected TVs is abysmal. Among the scant selection of apps that have been optimized for the living room device are very casual, very clunky, and very slow-paced fare. After all, you’re controlling them with a traditional TV remote that isn’t exactly built for gaming. LG hopes to change all of that, but the video game market is finnicky at best. It has a long road ahead.
[via VentureBeat]

Olympus announces new cameras that are tough, offer amazing zoom

Olympus has taken the covers off three new digital cameras today, the SZ-31MR iHS, the TG-820 iHS, and the OM-D E-M5. Okay, so that doesn’t mean anything. Unlike smartphones, digital camera model names are still just a confusing conglomeration of letters and numbers. But here’s what is cool – the SZ-31MR iHS has 920,000-dot touch-screen LCD display, the TG-820 iHS offers protection from everything from water to being crushed, and the OM-D E-M5 has the world’s fastest autofocusing system.


And that’s just the beginning of the specs. Let’s look at each of them individually. So going back to the SZ-31MR, it has a 16-megapixel sensor and an eye-popping 24x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens. It also packs in a Multi-Recording feature that allows users to take photos and video simultaneously. There’s functionality for movie and image stabilization, and it offers full HD video and HDMI control for 1080p playback. It will be available in April for around $400.
For the TG-820 iHS (pictured), it’s all about durability. Olympus promises that it sets a new benchmark for “Waterproof, Shockproof, Freezeproof, Crushproof and Dustproof performance.” The 12-megapixel sensor and TruePic VI image processor, originally developed for DSLRs, offer fantastic image quality. That’s good to know if you ever need a crystal clear shot while 220 pounds of weight are being applied to your camera. Yep, it can withstand 220 pounds of force. This one will be available in March for around $300.
And finally the E-M5 is the first of a new series for Olympus, the OM-D brand designed to meet the needs of advanced photographers. The device has a 16.1-megapixel sensor, the world’s fastest autofocusing system, the world’s first 5-axis image stabilizer, and a touch-screen OLED display. This high-end camera will sell in April for between $1,000 and $1,300.

StatCounter: Mobile web usage doubling every year, Nokia leads the way

We already knew that Nokia sits atop the world's market when it comes to shipments and market share. As it turns out, though, the Finnish manufacturer leads the way in terms of mobile web browsing, too. That's according to the latest report from StatCounter, which found that Nokia handsets account for about 40 percent of the world's mobile browsing, followed by Apple, at around 29 percent. Coming in at a relatively distant third is Samsung, with an approximately 14 percent share. Android OEMs as a whole, however, account for a little under 25 percent of the world's mobile browsing, while RIM came in at just 8.3 percent (thought it still ranks second in the UK, behind Apple). Overall, global mobile web usage has just about doubled every year since 2009, which is both crazy and not crazy. For more numbers and insight, check out the full PR after the break.

RIM tells European developers it's "ready to compete"

Next-generation software for BlackBerry's smartphones is "ready to compete", Research In Motion's new chief executive, Thorsten Heins, told more than 2,000 technical developers on Tuesday, expressing confidence in RIM's long-term future.

The Canadian company has lost market share and market value after being comprehensively outplayed by technology giants Apple , Google and Samsung. But it is betting that yet-to-be-released products powered by its new QNX operating system will improve its image after a year of product delays, the botched launch of its PlayBook tablet and a shareholder revolt. "The smartphone market is still young, and there are huge opportunities for us, both with consumers and business," Heins said.

In his first formal speech since he became CEO on January 23 after RIM's former co-chiefs bowed to investor pressure and resigned, Heins told a packed Amsterdam conference of BlackBerry developers that he would listen to them, that RIM would continue to innovate, and that the new QNX-based operating system would kick off its next technology growth curve. He also said he was thrilled to take the reins at RIM and believed the new technology used in BlackBerry 10 devices, which are promised for later this year, will set the standard for a "new user paradigm" for use in the home, cars, tablets and in smartphones.

The Canadian firm was holding its first European developers meeting, with 2,000 attendees focused on making applications for the latest and future BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet, which RIM had hoped would compete with Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab models.

Developers... Assemble!

"It's taking a little while for BlackBerry to fully transition to the new QNX-based operating system, but once it is ready to go, it will provide an exciting experience for consumers and will only get better as it's a powerful technical platform to build upon for the next decade of mobile," said Kevin Michaluk, founder of enthusiast website CrackBerry.com and a conference participant. "Apple's iOS is well-developed, but it is actually now the oldest mobile operating system, older than Android, webOS, Windows Phone, while BlackBerry 10 is now the newest mobile platform," he said.

RIM said in December that it is delaying the launch of phones based on BlackBerry 10 until the later part of 2012 as it is awaiting the availability of a high-powered chip.

Heins didn't tell the developers on Tuesday exactly when the new phones would hit the market, but reiterated that they would be out "later in the year". A long-awaited software update for the PlayBook is still due before the end of February.

Heins cited market research from GfK that the Blackberry is the No. 1 smartphone in Britain, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and the Netherlands and that 2 billion BlackBerry apps had been downloaded from RIM's App World. Six million BlackBerry apps are downloaded every day, he said.

"Those stats were really exciting, and with all the recent negative publicity, this data put things into context, and actually BlackBerry is doing well in the app space," said Ryan Hall, an app developer and director at Nice Agency in London.

Images and specs of the mid-range WP LG Miracle surface

Towards the end of December, a handset from LG had surfaced running the Mango build of the Windows Phone operating system. But, at that time there was not much information available, regarding the handset, except for a leaked image and a tentative name, which was known as the LG Fantasy. From the image, we gathered that the smartphone featured a 4-inch IPS display and the supposed date of an announcement was projected to be at CES 2012. This device did not make an appearance at the event, though, but as per a report by Pocketnow, this smartphone has made an appearance once more and it now goes by the codename – LG Miracle.

First official image of the LG Mircle surfaces

The website claims that the LG Miracle had been sold by a Romanian tester to an XDA developer who has revealed some of the specifications about the upcoming handset. Below is a look at what the LG Miracle is said to feature:

• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
• 4-inch WVGA NOVA display
• Snapdragon chipset with 1GHz Scorpion CPU
• 5 Megapixel rear camera with 720p video recording capabilities
• VGA front facing camera
• 8GB internal memory
• 14.4Mbps HSPA radio, 5.0GHz-capable 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth v3.0
• NFC

The report goes on to state that due to its NOVA display, the LG Miracle will be one of the brightest Windows Phone handsets to come out. This handset will be a mid-range handset, which comes as no surprise, taking into consideration the supposed specifications on offer.

This is not the first time that we have heard about LG contemplating on using the Windows Phone OS on their handsets. Back in July, an image had surfaced showing the LG Optimus Black running on this operating system. Since then, no word had surfaced apart from the report back in December. This may be a good move on LG’s part as it expands the choice for consumers, while choosing a brand as well as the operating system. Though the OS from Microsoft isn’t yet a full fledged one, it certainly is gathering enough of steam that will one day become a three horse race with Android, iOS and WP all battling for the number one spot.

Like the Lumia 800, the Nokia Lumia 900 to go White

Yesterday, it was revealed that the Nokia Lumia 800 was going to be available in white, after already being available in Cyan, Magenta and Black colour options. So, for those who have put off buying the Lumia 800 in anticipation of their upcoming flagship, the Lumia 900, here is some good news for you. As per a report by Engadget, Nokia will offer the handset in three colour options with the latest choice being that the handset will come in a snow White choice as well, apart from the Black and Cyan options that have surfaced in the past.

Beautiful white handset could be available on launch

This may not be any news, as back in December, when the handset had not even made its official debut, an image surfaced showing the Lumia 900 in a range of colours, which included Magenta, Cyan, Yellow, Black and White. However, as soon as the image surfaced, it was taken down giving rise to doubts about its credibility. However, when the handset made its official debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Nokia showed off only two colour options, which were Black and Cyan. Strangely, all the other colours were left out. So as per the report, the website stated that the handset made a brief appearance on the official Nokia blog, Conversations. It was then taken down and was left on their official Facebook page. However, the image of the Nokia Lumia 900 in White has been removed from the popular social networking site as well.

The report goes on to state that Dave Zatz of ZatzNotFunny, was offered the choice between a Black handset and a White one when he was pre-ordering his Lumia 900 from a Microsoft store. This indicates that the handset may be available in both options at the time of its launch. There was no word on whether the Cyan or any of the other colours would be available when the handset hits the shelves. But hopefully, for those interested in purchasing this handset, Nokia launches the Lumia 900 in more than a single colour variant.

Like the Lumia 800, the upcoming flagship from Nokia will not have the colour painted on it, instead its body will have a white dye that will be stirred into the polycarbonate liquid to make the mould. Apart from this, the Lumia 900 will feature a unibody design, a front facing camera and a non-curved display.

7.7-inch Galaxy Tab coming soon, priced at Rs. 34,900

We’ve been hearing about the Galaxy Tab 7.7, since quite a while. It was unveiled at IFA 2011, along with the Galaxy Note and it’s finally coming to Indian shores. Online store, Flipkart has put the 7.7-inch tablet a.k.a the Galaxy Tab 680 on its website and they’ve priced it at Rs.34,900. The Galaxy Tab 7.7, as the name itself suggests, comes with a 7.7-inch screen. But wait, there’s something more to it – it’s a SUPER AMOLED Plus display with a 197 ppi. It’s powered by a dual core, 1.4 GHz Cortex A9 processor, has 1GB of RAM and runs on the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. The 16GB of internal storage can be expanded upto 32GB via the microSD card slot. It’s got a heavy duty 5100 mAh battery underneath the hood as well, and all this at a weight of 340 grams.

Galaxy Tab up for pre-order

If you’ve forgotten, here are the specs of the 7.7 inch Galaxy Tab again

• 7.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, 
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (2.4GHz & 5GHz), 802.11n Wi-Fi Ch. Bonding, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
• Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 Host
• 3 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording
• 2 megapixel front camera
• Memory expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Wanna buy?