Howdy everyone! It’s Tuesday once again which means it’s time to get your weekly dose of technology news and updates from TFL. And just like what we said last time, the storm product launches and announcement has already begun with Amazon on Nokia leading the race.

So in this week’s edition of Tech Tuesdays on TFL, we’ll be talking about the recent announcement of several tablets, a couple of smartphones and an invitation to introduce one of the most anticipated gadgets of the year.

LUMIA

After weeks of information leaks, hoaxes and rumours, Nokia has finally broken their silence as they announced two new Nokia Lumia phones last week. Although Samsung was the first manufacturer to jump into the Windows Phone 8 ship, The Finnish Company’s close relationship with Microsoft has proven its worth with the much sensationalized announcement of the Lumia 920 and 820.

But the two phones weren’t only sensational because of the company’s partnership with Microsoft. The two Lumias sports several notable design elements and functionality. For starters, both phones have exceptional cameras (8 Megapixels), the Lumia 920 to be specific sports the company’s PureView technology (not to be confused with the technology in the PureView 808) that helps with optical image stabilization that helps users take sharp and crisp pictures even in low light conditions.

Specs wise, both the 920 and 820 feature high pixel density displays, 1.5GHz dual core Krait processor, 1GB of RAM, Adreno 225 GPU, wireless charging and the usual host of features that any smartphone has. This includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass and A-GPS support.

Based on reports, the two phones will be available to consumers in a few weeks time, probably by October.

KINDLE

The war of the tablets has just gotten bloodier. After Google’s launch of the Nexus 7, Microsoft’s announcement of its Surface tablet and the upcoming iPad mini; Amazon has upgraded its arsenal with the three new devices.

First on the list is the Kindle Paperwhite. This device is a touchscreen e-reader that uses a high-res screen with 25% better contrast and will cost around $199 with built in light for reading in the dark. The second announced device is a revamped version of the current Kindle Fire which would cost around $159.

The third and most important tablet from Amazon is the Kindle Fire HD. Unlike the Paperwhite and the first generation Kindle, the Kindle Fire HD has a high-resolution screen which comes in 7 and 8.9-inch sizes. Screen resolution is set at 1920x1200 and 1280x800 pixels respectively. In addition, the Fire HD will have 4G LTE connection and dual Wi-Fi antennas.

And unlike tablets from other manufacturers, the Kindle line will still cost significantly lower as they still follow the company’s advocate in generating profit through selling software rather than hardware. Availability of the said devices is yet to be announced especially with a rumoured iPad mini in the works.

iPHONE

Last but definitely not the least is Apple’s September 12 announcement which all points to the introduction of the fifth generation iPhone. The event press invite was released last Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines) which provides the event’s venue – Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

It is still unsure whether or not Apple will reveal an iPad mini in the event. Nevertheless, the announcement has definitely made some waves in the IT world and has heightened the public’s anticipation.

So are you excited with the numerous news and announcements? We are excited too! Tune in again next week for more tech news, updates and features from the Filipino Lifestyle blog. You can also follow and like our Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest profiles for other interesting topics from the rest of the TFL team. 

Hello everyone! The month of September has already arrived; and with all the events that the major IT companies are lining up that will probably start next week, the next few days can certainly be considered as the calm before the storm.

So what actually are we expecting this month of September from the tech industry? Here’s a quick roundup of what new products and technology might come in the very near future.

For starters, the second generation of Amazon’s Kindle Fire is rumoured to be released this month. According to previous reports, the Kindle Fire 2 will come in either a 7-inch or a 10-inch variant and will most likely pack quad-core Tegra processors. Of course, the new Kindle Fire will run on a skinned version of Google’s Android mobile operating system. The tablet’s specs sheet will most probably put it below the $200 price range in the direct line of fire with Google’s own Nexus 7 tablet.  

Microsoft on the other hand is prepping their camp for the launch of their newly revamped mobile operating system – Windows Phone 8. Microsoft has actually built some momentum last week when Samsung announced its ATIV, and the rest of the crew – Nokia and HTC are sure to follow.

And last but not the least, the most highly anticipated event of the year is centred on the new generation of the iPhone. The announcement is scheduled on September 12 and will mark the end of all rumours regarding the device. A release date has already been set on September 21 just 9 days after the event.

And that concludes this week’s edition of Tech Tuesdays on TFL. Tune in again next time for your weekly dose of tech news. You can also add us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for other interesting stories about Filipino living. 

It’s Tuesday once again and it’s time for another weekly roundup of news about gadgets and technology. In this week’s edition of Tech Tuesdays, we’ll be talking about updates on two very influential social networking sites, alleged patent infringements from two popular brands and news about two smartphones.

If you’re ready, let’s begin.

Social Networks

Twitter’s fender bender a few weeks ago was the storm before the rainbow as the company announced a slew of improvements to its user interface. These new features include Smart search, related search and narrowed search.

Smart search acts very similar to Google’s instant search that autocompletes a query even before the user has finished typing. Related search on the other hand is also now available in the social network. According to company engineer Frost Li, people can now use search queries that match multiple terms and Twitter will provide relevant suggestions where the majority of those terms can be found in conversations happening on Twitter. Lastly, the site now also allows narrowing search results which will now be seen next to the regular search filter options.

On other social networking site news, Facebook has been reported to roll out a new mobile advertising strategy which makes use of a software that tracks the apps that are installed on consumer’s phones. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Facebook engineers have created a software that can track apps that a user has downloaded. By using this information, the company seeks to improve its mobile revenue by serving consumers with targeted ads based on their app purchases and downloads.

However, unlike existing advertising strategies employed in the past by Facebook, users will receive ads regardless if they liked the brand or not. If Facebook is indeed developing this software, it can possibly  get the social networking giant in a very precarious position as the implications of the development of such an app-tracking software can be very controversial since it may put consumers at risk in terms of privacy and security.

Infringements

Apple has been waging a patent war against almost all the big brands in its sphere of operation. Just recently, Apple paid Shenzen Proview Technology, a Chinese company, $60 million for the name iPad. And if that’s not enough, another Chinese company is claiming that the Cupertino Company is infringing one of its trademarks and is asking Apple approximately $80,000 in damages.

Jiangsu Xuebao is a Chinese household chemicals manufacturer that holds a registered copyright for the Chinese translation of Snow Leopard which is also the name given to Mac OS X version 10.6. Aside from the financial compensation that the Chinese company may receive if they win the case, they are also asking for a formal apology from Apple. The Xuebao’s case against Apple will be heard today – July 10, 2012, in Shanghai.

Nokia on the other hand has accused ASUS of using one of its patents on the recently announced Google Nexus 7 tablet without a license. According to Nokia, ASUS used the patent for IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard to include the said feature on the Nexus 7. The Finnish company also said that the licenses for the patents were given to around 40 mobile device manufacturers and Google or ASUS were not on the list.

However, unlike Apple, Nokia is not pushing any legal actions towards ASUS or Google. Instead, Nokia took the less expensive route and just offered the two companies to sign up for a license.

Smartphones

Android has once again proven itself as the top platform choice for manufacturers. The latest brand to jump into the bandwagon is Amazon. A report from Bloomberg talks about Amazon partnering with China-based factory Foxconn to build the new device.

Amazon has also been reported to have started acquiring patents related to wireless technology, possibly to protect itself from being legally attacked for copyright infringement. Furthermore, unconfirmed reports surfaced that the retail giant is developing its own mapping service with the acquisition of UpNext for an undisclosed amount.

The new device will be most beneficial to Amazon as this will strengthen the company’s Kindle line of 

products. The new phone will allow Amazon to reach more consumers for all their virtual goods and can even boost sales of Kindle Fire tablets and e-readers as users will then be able to seamlessly transfer content from phone to tablet and vice versa.

From good news to (sort of) bad news, Meego developers have left Nokia’s camp which is definitely not good for the only Meego device in Nokia’s arsenal – the N9. It is still unclear why the Meego team has left Nokia but the good news is that a startup company in the name of Jolla, will be taking over the Finnish company’s efforts in developing the platform.

And that’s all for this week’s episode of Tech Tuesdays on TFL. For comments and suggestions, the comment box below is always open for everyone’s voices. For more news and updates in the world of technology, tune in again next week!