HTC's UK chief wants to ease off the new-product gas, focus on 'amazing hardware'

If you ever thought remembering HTC's titanic product line was like trying to recall the Greek alphabet, then it seems you're not alone. Phil Roberson, head of the firm's UK operations apparently thinks the display cabinet is getting a little crowded, too, telling Mobile Magazine "We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware." No surprises that there's been a tightening of focus after filing disappointing results just earlier this month. There's already been the odd whisper of new directions for HTC, and this year's phone roll-out is already under way, but with Roberson suggesting tablets aren't high on its list of priorities this year, we're banking on further details of 2012's product plans at next month's MWC

Jailbreaking exemption to DMCA is about to expire, EFF would rather it didn't

Back in 2010, the US Copyright Office added a set of anti-circumvention exemptions to the DMCA, effectively making it legal for smartphone users to jailbreak and/or root their devices. These exemptions, however, were never made permanent and now, they're about to expire. The EFF doesn't want this to happen, which is why it's decided to launch a campaign dedicated to the jailbreaking cause. With this initiative, the EFF is hoping to convince the Copyright Office to renew its exemptions and expand them to a wider range of devices, including tablets and video game consoles. To achieve this, the organization is calling upon programmers and other jailbreaking enthusiasts to contact the Copyright Office directly, explaining why the ability to freely modify software is so vital to their lives or livelihoods. As the EFF argues, "Concrete examples will help show the Copyright Office why they should renew and expand the exemptions for jailbreaking." If you're interested in getting involved, you can contact the Copyright Office at the coverage link below, though all comments are due by February 5th. Hit up the source link for more details on the EFF's involvement.

BlackBerry Curve 9360 review

The BlackBerry Curve 8300 emerged as one of the best smartphone ideas of 2007. It pre-dated the first Android handset by a full year, and unlike the original iPhone, it was priced within reach of the average consumer. It introduced the masses to the possibilities of a connected and capable handset, and was the primary catalyst for the BlackBerry's meteoric rise to household name. With each subsequent iteration, however, the Curve remained a handset geared toward first-time smartphone buyers, and that axiom feels particularly true today.

We're now presented with the Curve 9360 ($29), a device that's ostensibly hobbled in order to differentiate itself from RIM's higher-end offerings, most notably the Torch 9810 ($49), Torch 9860 ($99) and Bold 9900 ($199). Specifically, we refer to its lack of a touchscreen. The omission will certainly be a deal-breaker for some, but whether it causes the market to reject it as a whole remains unknown. For our part, we're most interested in the impact on the handset's usability and its relevance in an increasingly competitive environment. In other words, has RIM included enough improvements to keep its Curve franchise afloat, or will this iteration sink like a stone? Join us after the break, as we delve into the Curve 9360 and explore these finer details.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 620 (P6200) Review

Tablet or a smartphone? When it came to choosing a high-end, do-it-all mobile gadget, the answer used to be simple, and it remained this way, till tablets came along. Now looking at the way the competition is shaping up, we believe that it’s only going to get a lot more complicated and chaotic. Once we enter February, which is when the whole tech community awaits this year's highly anticipated Mobile World Congress (MWC), we should see the battle heating up. But that’s then and this is now, so let’s check out which latest tablet is adding to this dilemma.

A handsome chap

Samsung entered the tablet space with the Galaxy Tab P1000, back in the October of 2010. But it didn’t have an easy childhood. It was a bit bulky, glitchy, due to Froyo and simply too expensive to even consider, especially when you had the iPad selling for around the same price. What we did like about it, though was the form factor, 7-inch is the perfect size for carrying around or holding in your hand and today we have the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Tab 620 or 7.0 Plus (in international markets), a successor to the not so successful Tab P1000.

 

On video: Samsung Galaxy Tab 620

Design and Build
The Tab 620 borrows a lot of its features from its elder siblings - the Tab 750 and 730. The chunkiness of the old one has been shaved down for a more streamlined and curvy design. It’s slimmer at 9.9mm and lighter as well, at just 345g. In order to achieve this, Samsung have used a lot of plastic for the chassis, but despite this, it feels sturdy and durable. There aren’t any creaking parts and everything feels put together well. The power and volume rocker has been placed on the right, while the SIM and microSD card is placed on the left.

What was wrong with a microUSB port? Seriously?

Apple supports helps everyone, including thieves

Unlike many smartphone manufacturers in the market, the after sales service of Apple is one of the best in the world. Apple users have always had a word of praise for them for cooperating with them and helping them resolve issues without any hassles. The Apple support team also helps in replacing handsets that are broken, as Apple’s warranty for their iPhones allows consumers to replace the handsets or pay a discounted amount for their affected iPhones. However, this warranty is associated with only the iPhone and not the owner of the smartphone. But what happens when a person’s iPhone is stolen? Apparently the same rules apply and if a person’s handset is stolen, a thief can take advantage of these Apple privileges the same way the owner could, according to reports.

Apple to launch a new tool for creating ebooks?

Robert Siciliano, a consultant for Intel Corp's technology security unit, McAfee and an identity theft expert says, “Apple seems to have not considered stolen devices and instead is relying on the honor system. The honor system is devised with the mindset that we are all sheep and there are no wolves.” He goes on to state that he has been aware of this problem from some time and he does not foresee anything being done about it immediately, not until consumers collectively raise their voices about it.

Kayla Mernard, was one such affected iPhone user. She claims that while she was sending a text message, while waiting for a train at Boston's Park Street Station, someone snatched her three month old iPhone. A few days later she had received an e-mail stating that her damaged phone had been repaired at the Apple store. She then went to the store to try and claim it back, but the employees at the store would not hand it over to her and said that there was nothing they could do about it. She states, “Because I don't have possession of the phone, they won't help me at all.” She was taken aback by Apple and their refusal to help her even though they had her iPhone in their possession. She claims that because someone else brought in her phone, they could not return it to her.

As of now, there may be no solution for this problem, but due to the rise in the number of iPhones being stolen, several developers have come up with apps to address the issue. One such app is the iGotYa, where if a person incorrectly types in a wrong password on a locked iPhone, a picture of the person is clicked automatically and emailed to the owners e-mail address, along with the location where the password was incorrectly put.

While this may not be a concrete solution to address the problem, Apple certainly has to have work arounds in place for their warranty as many people tend to have their handsets stolen or lost, thereby allowing others to wrongly avail their Apple support benefits.

Insert Coin: 50-Dollar Follow Focus

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

If you've watched HD video footage captured by a DSLR, you've probably wondered why, despite the fact that you own the exact same model, your clips lack the fluid feel of a professional production. One culprit may be the lack of a steady support system to maintain balance as you shoot, like the rather complex Steadicam. That's just part of the equation, however. What you're also missing is the precision handling of an external follow focus. As its simplistic name implies, the 50-Dollar Follow Focus is a cheap and effective solution.

Made of CNC-machined aircraft-grade aluminum, the 50-Dollar Follow Focus includes two belts and two pulleys to accommodate a variety of lenses, and with the exception of your DSLR and a pair of support rails, everything you need to get started ships in the box. Author Wiley Davis teamed up with The Robot, his in-house CNC mill, to develop some early prototypes, before bringing the project to Kickstarter and launching a campaign to raise $10,000 in order to buy supplies in bulk and invest in a more efficient production system. The result looks very slick, and while it adds some bulk to your DSLR rig, the size tradeoff seems to be worthwhile. Ready to buy your own? Hit up the Kickstarter link below to make your pledge, and keep an eye on that mailbox -- these are expected to ship in March. You'll find a video demo just past the break

Eyes-on the innards of Fujitsu's K supercomputer

Fujitsu's K supercomputer was on our radar before it was even completed, and naturally, we let you know when it smoked the competition and became the supercomputing speed king. So, when we had the opportunity to see a piece of K at Fujitsu's North America Technology Forum today, we couldn't pass it up. In case you forgot, K is a massive machine powered by 864 racks with 24 boards per rack housing SPARC64 CPUs. We got to see one of those boards, and Yuichiro Ajima -- who designed the inter-connection chips (ICC) on them -- was gracious enough to give us some more info on this most super of supercomputers.

Eyes-on the innards of Fujitsu's K supercomputer

As you can see in the gallery above, each board has extensive plumbing to keep the SPARC silicon running at a manageable 32 - 35 degrees Celsius (90 - 95 Fahrenheit) under load. Underneath that copper cooling system lies four processors interspersed between 32 memory modules (with 2GB per module) and four ICCs lined up next to the board's rack interconnect ports. Currently, the system takes 30 megawatts to do its thing, though Ajima informed us that K's theoretical max electricity consumption is about double that -- for perspective, that means K could consume the entire output of some nuclear power plants. When asked if there were plans to add more racks should Fujitsu's supercomputer lose its crown, Ajima-san said that while possible, there are no plans to do so -- we'll see if that changes should a worthy opponent present itself.