Facebook Wants Your Credit Card Information

After the re-launch of Gifts, Facebook seems extra motivated to get your credit card information and physical address, in what could be another attempt to gather more data about you and sell more targeted ads.

The social network recently launched its Gift service after shutting it down in 2010 for lack of traction. The re-launch is seen as a way to appease investors, generate a new revenue stream and, of course, keep harvesting data.

“Gifts should also contribute more to Facebook’s treasure trove of user data, which has the benefit of a virtuous cycle, driving more personalization of the site, leading to better and more targeted ads, which improves overall monetization,” Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird, told the New York Times.

The service allows users to easily buy gifts for their friends directly on Facebook. On a friend’s birthday or special occasion, a gift tab will appear on your timeline, allowing you to access a varied list of items to buy your friend.

Mashable.com

It's time for the US to partner with China in space

The future of America's space program is at a critical point in time; decisions are being made that will affect our ability to successfully maintain our leadership in human space flight, our national security and our capability to successfully compete with the international community in the commercial use of space.

What does the future hold for U.S. human spaceflight? The United States had been the undisputed leader in space exploration for several decades, until recently.

With the completion of its last flight in July of 2011, the space shuttle has been arbitrarily retired. And today, Russia is the only partner in the International Space Station program that is able to transport astronauts and cosmonauts to and from low Earth orbit (LEO).

The space shuttle amassed an impressive record of achievement during its lifetime, culminating in the very successful assembly of the space station. It was a very versatile spacecraft that allowed the crews to perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), assemble structures in space, repair satellites and perform spacecraft retrieval missions.

In addition, the shuttle was also a superb research platform, especially when equipped with a Spacelab or Spacehab module. It could carry a cargo of 60,000 pounds (27,000 kilograms) to orbit or return a cargo of equal weight to Earth.

In its place the U.S. is developing Orion, referred to as a Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Orion returns the nation to flying capsules that return to Earth via parachutes using technology from the 1960s. It has no capability to carry cargo, support EVAs, do structural assembly in space, accomplish satellite repair or retrieval missions. It returns to Earth by parachute, landing in the water, as Orion is too heavy to be recovered on land.

The MPCV is supposedly being developed for exploration missions beyond Earth orbit but it provides no protection from space radiation for the crew. The first planned human flight is currently scheduled for 2021. That date is dependent upon the availability of a new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is yet to be developed.

Currently, only funds for research, development and risk mitigation have been awarded for SLS, which raises the question of whether or not the launch system will ever be developed at all.

NASA is also providing funding to three commercial space endeavors. Some impressive achievements have been made. Most notably SpaceX having succeeded in its first operational cargo delivery mission in October 2012. These commercial enterprises, with one exception, also employ 60s technology capsules returning by parachute to water landings. These programs at best are several years away from Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for manned flights. And they are all currently dependent on being funded by the government.

Thus, we can expect that "The Gap" in U.S. human spaceflight capability that started with the end of the last space shuttle mission in July 2011 will likely last another five years or longer. In the meantime, fortunately, Russia continues to fly and support the flights of American astronauts to space.

When considering the future direction of NASA one point is quite clear. The construction of the ISS is now complete and the United States should maximize the utilization of the station. Research aboard ISS will help answer the questions and provide solutions that will enable future long duration flights out of Earth orbit.

One of the primary reasons for bringing the Russians into the station program was the desire to have dual access to the station. The dual access provided by the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz is the only reason we have a space station flying today. The shuttle was able to fulfill a need when Russia experienced launch vehicle problems, and the Soyuz, in a similar fashion, fulfilled a need when the space shuttle was unable to fly.

Dual access is critical to ensure the maximum utilization of the space station.

This year China demonstrated manned rendezvous and docking, flying a crew of three (which included China's first female astronaut) to their crew-tended Tiangong-1 orbital vehicle. China plans to launch the larger Tiangong-2 in 2013 and Tiangong-3, a Zvezda-class core module in 2020.

The U.S. is at a decision point. On its present course, the United States will lose at least the perceived leadership role in human space exploration. But there is an alternate path and one that would again provide for dual access to the space station.

The U.S. could lead the way to bring China into the ISS program, and lead the work to adapt the Shenzhou spacecraft to be compatible with the ISS. The U.S. would continue funding the three commercial space endeavors to supplement and support the logistic needs of the station.

This path would allow the U.S. to retain its leadership position in the current human spaceflight program (on the ISS) while it re-evaluates the real needs of an optimized exploration program. A program that would transition the ISS partnership, with all its capabilities, to a beyond-LEO program with the United States remaining as the lead partner.

Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency has already stated that ESA plans to hold a series of meetings with the China National Space Administration and explore closer cooperation in the areas of astronaut training, spacecraft docking and developing life support systems. ESA would also like China to become a member of the ISS program if U.S. objections can be overcome.

When Canada hosted the ISS Heads of Agencies Meeting on March 1 in Quebec City, Canada, Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general of the ESA, told reporters, "I am in favor of seeing how we can work together with China. It will take some steps, but it will come, I am sure."

Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, also said the day will come when China and India will work together with the five current partners — the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and the ESA. "We are not a closed club," he said. "Our doors are wide open."

A partnership with China could be developed along the same lines as was done with integrating the Russian space program into the ISS partnership. Using this model, no military-sensitive technology would be transferred. China's economy would allow for it to fully fund its own efforts. Thus there would be little increased expense to the United States for developing this advantageous relationship.

As Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College and author of numerous books on space, including "Heavenly Ambitions: America's Quest to Dominate Space" (University of Pennsylvania Press), told CNN on June 20, prohibiting NASA by law from working with China makes no sense:

"If one believes that China and the United States are not inherently enemies, then working together on space projects — with technology transfer controls — will benefit both countries. If one believes that China is inherently a threat to the United States, then the adage "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" comes to mind. The script for U.S.-China relations — and space relations in particular — is constantly evolving. The United States can influence the direction, but only if we engage and persuade the Chinese to engage with us. It's one way of preventing a scenario of a galactic Wild West in which China has become the world's leader in space."

It is clear the United States' international partners see the benefits of working with the Chinese on the space station; it is time for the United States to provide the leadership to make it a reality.

George W.S. Abbey is the Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy at the Baker Institute, at Rice University. From 1996 to 2001, he served as the director of NASA Johnson Space Center. His NASA career spanned the US human spaceflight program from Gemini and Apollo, through the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.

Dr. Leroy Chiao is a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander. He served as a member of the 2009 Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, and is the special adviser for human spaceflight to the Space Foundation. He holds appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University.

© 2012 Discovery Channel

Msn.com

Apple CEO Cook redesigns executive ranks

Apple CEO Tim Cook is "remapping" Apple's organizational chart.

The company that prides itself on meticulous products has shown the door to failed Maps chief Richard Williamson in part of a broader redesign of the company under Cook.

Widespread consumer outrage over Apple's wonky Maps software put Williamson in the hot seat. That led to Cook lieutenant Eddy Cue, senior vice president at Apple, firing the senior director of its iOS mobile software division, according to Bloomberg News.

The move underscores a series of management shakeups, a major shortcoming in a core Apple utility — Maps — and Cook's preparedness in cleaning house.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment.

New leaders need to come in and clear out "dead wood," says Vivek Wadhwa, vice president of academics and innovation at Singularity University, of recent management changes under Cook's regime. "Tim Cook is bringing his own guys in. He knows where the doers are."

The booting of Williamson comes on the heels of last month's ouster of mobile operating system chief Scott Forstall. The former executive in charge of iOS, Forstall served as a longtime lieutenant under Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and was seen as a likely successor and rival for the top spot.

He was also a polarizing figure. Forstall was reportedly at odds with Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design and close Jobs confidant, whose role as taste-maker has been since elevated to span software and hardware.

Cook is "doing the right thing. He's less concerned about the public perception than getting the product right. Jobs tried to manage the media and perception more aggressively," says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Along with ejecting Forstall, Cook oversaw the exit of retail chief John Browett. The former leader at U.K.-based Dixons Retail, who didn't even last a year, was seen as a bad fit from the start. His focus on cutting costs vs. customer service raised flags among analysts.

Executive expulsions alone won't be able to fix Apple's Maps blunder. "People below them are the critical ones," says Wadhwa.

Apple fans have vented across social media about misplaced landmarks, streets and incomplete directions. A lack of public transit information had many calling for people to avoid updating their software.

Yet Apple's ill-fated move to displace Google Maps as the provider of its mapping technology is part of a growing rivalry between the technology giants for Internet services. And giving that business over to Google — massive Web traffic — was just no longer an option.

The problem is that coming even close to Google Maps could take a long time. The search giant has spent years tweaking Google Maps in widespread efforts that suck in data that include staff images from Google Street View crews and Google Map Maker, crowd-sourced maps made by people, says Mike Dobson, president of TeleMapics.

Criticism has fallen on navigation company TomTom for providing Apple the data it uses. TomTom has defended its maps data. "My belief is those are Apple's problems, not TomTom's data," says Dobson.

The fix will likely require massive hiring and human interaction with data, he says. "They thought it would be good enough, but the reality was it was not good enough. It was real sloppiness."

Usatoday.com

Merkel Backs European Central Bank

 PARIS — Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has returned from vacation with an endorsement of the European Central Bank’s conditional support for Spain and Italy, but a Finnish official has suggested that euro zone leaders are preparing for the worst, including a possible breakup of the currency bloc.

 Speaking late Thursday at a news conference in Ottawa with Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, Ms. Merkel backed a statement by Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B., that the bank would do whatever it took to preserve the euro.

In contrast to some members of the German Parliament, Ms. Merkel expressed no objections to plans by the E.C.B. to buy bonds to hold down borrowing costs for stricken countries, if certain conditions were met.

While her statement left room for interpretation, Ms. Merkel appeared to be showing her openness to such action by the E.C.B. and the euro zone rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism. A benign attitude toward bond interventions by Ms. Merkel could be significant. Germany has been the main obstacle to efforts to take financial pressure off countries like Spain and Italy, because many Germans believe they would wind up paying for the irresponsible spending behavior of others.

Political leaders have been expressing the same resolve for more than two years, Ms. Merkel said in Ottawa. “European heads of government also feel a duty and have a duty to do everything possible to preserve the common currency,” she said. “In that respect the European Central Bank, despite its independence, is fully following the same line.”

Mr. Draghi’s professed determination to act has helped to restore calm to the fragile nerves of euro zone investors who feared that the problems of Spain and Italy would overwhelm the bloc’s resources.

But there is widespread skepticism over whether Europe can muster the political will to save the euro.

“We have to face openly the possibility of a euro breakup,” Erkki Tuomioja, Finland’s foreign minister, told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published Friday in Britain.

The issue of bailing out weaker euro zone members has been a divisive one in Finnish politics, with one euro-skeptic party, the True Finns, gaining almost one-fifth of the seats in Parliament by virtue of its opposition. While Finland could in theory block new bailout measures, so far officials have been content to criticize anything that smells of a weakening of will on demands for austerity before falling in line with Germany.

“It is not something that anybody — even the True Finns — are advocating in Finland, let alone the government. But we have to be prepared,” said Mr. Tuomioja, a member of the Social Democratic Party, one of six parties in the governing coalition. “Our officials, like everybody else and like every general staff, have some sort of operational plan for any eventuality.

“But let me add that the breakup of the euro does not mean the end of the European Union. It could make the E.U. function better.”

In response, Finland’s European affairs minister, Alexander Stubb, a member of the National Coalition Party of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, told Reuters on Friday that Mr. Tuomioja’s “speculation does not reflect the government’s position.” The euro, Mr. Stubb added, is “an economic and political project to which we are 100 percent committed.”

Bond purchases by the E.C.B. have been criticized by the Bundesbank, the German central bank. But Ms. Merkel appeared to take a softer position, noting that the E.C.B. had made it clear it would only buy bonds if political leaders did their part.

This month, Mr. Draghi said the E.C.B. was prepared to intervene in bond markets if the European Stability Mechanism acted first, and if political leaders kept promises to reduce deficit spending, overhaul their economies and build stronger European institutions.

News from Spain on Friday served as a reminder of how the euro zone’s problems continue to grow as economies weaken further. The Bank of Spain said problem loans held by Spanish banks reached record levels in June as the real estate market continued to decline.

Loans classified as nonperforming, meaning those in or near default, made up 9.42 percent of banks’ portfolios in June, up from 8.96 percent in May, the central bank said. In June, Spain was granted a financial-sector bailout of €100 billion, or $124 billion, and is expected to ask for the first disbursement of that aid within weeks.

But the property sector, which boomed during the years of easy credit, has much further to fall, analysts say, boding poorly for the banks’ near-term prospects.

Nytimes.com
David Jolly reported from Paris.

Xiaomi Phone 2 : 4.3-inch 720p IPS, quad core and Jelly Bean for just $310

 At last, no more secrets. Announced in Beijing just now is the Xiaomi Phone 2, and with the exception of the appearance, most of the specs match the many leaks we've come across: 4.3-inch 720p IPS display by Sharp, Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 quad-core chip, 2GB RAM and 16GB memory. To power this beast, Xiaomi's throwing in a 2,000mAh cell, but you can also purchase a 3,000mAh version if you don't mind the extra 2mm thickness on the phone. As for photography, you get a 28mm two-megapixel imager at the front along with a 27mm F2.0 eight-megapixel BSI camera on the back -- we saw some stunning untouched shots from the latter at the launch event.

The good news doesn't stop there. On the software front Xiaomi's decided to jump straight to Android Jelly Bean for the phone's MIUI ROM, which itself packs several new features as well. Just to name a few: enhanced security, phone finder, Chinese voice assistant (apparently with 85 percent comprehension accuracy), more interactive themes and 5GB of cloud storage service with online client.

As you can already see, all of this will cost just ¥1,999 (about $310) -- the same as the original Xiaomi Phone announced this time last year -- when it launches in October, and local carriers China Unicom plus China Telecom will also be offering the DC-HSPA+ handset at subsidized prices. Interestingly, Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun even admitted on the stage that the phone's raw cost is ¥2,350 ($370) per unit, so hopefully it'll go down sooner than later for his sake. But if ¥1,999 is still too much, there's also the ¥1,499 ($235) Xiaomi Phone 1S which, as we've already seen, is very much just the original Xiaomi but bumped up from 1.5GHz to 1.7GHz, along with a front-facing camera.

Until we get hold of the phones to play with, here are some photos from the event.

Update: Now we have some photos from our very brief hands-on -- each person was only given 90 seconds with the beta units! That said, the Xiaomi Phone 2s already felt pretty solid and the UI animation was slick, so we look forward to the more refined engineering samples next month.

Update 2: Forgot to mention that both devices support WCDMA 850、1900 and 2100MHz. So yes, it'll work just fine on AT&T!

Engadget.com

Facebook App Center hits iOS and Android

Facebook App Center has launched in the US, bringing mobile users access to native and web-based apps wrapped up in a social layer. Available for iPhone, Android, Facebook app users and those accessing the site from their mobile browser, the Facebook App Center mixes together both browser apps, which don’t require installation, and native apps that are automatically downloaded from the App Store or Play Market. The common theme among all 600 or so on offer at launch is Facebook integration.

 Facebook is promising an highly individual experience for each user, with the app usage of themselves and their friends used to educate which titles are recommended. The social site is also being reasonably discriminatory as to what it allows in through the door in the first place, and will use user-ratings and engagement to bury any titles that don’t meet with Facebook members’ approval.

 Apps can also be browsed from the desktop, with a “Send to Mobile” button automatically triggering your phone to grab the app you’re looking at. As with previous browser-based apps, each title is listed with its privacy settings – including what it can access from your account, and which of your friends will be able to see your activity – clearly set out.

Draw Something, Pinterest, and Nike+ GPS are among the apps in the first wave, along with new titles including Jetpack Joyride, Ghosts of Mistwood, and Ghost Recon Commander. Facebook says a roll-out for all users should take place within the coming weeks.

Slashgear.com

HTC One X Review

HTC needed to hit reset on its smartphone strategy. Lulled, perhaps, by several years of leading the Android device market, 2011 brought an incredibly strong push by Samsung and a growing mismatch between the agile software users desired and the bloated, over-stylized interface of HTC Sense. The HTC One X – and the One Series it leads – is the first of the company’s attempt to reclaim its former position, a Tegra 3 toting powerhouse with a big screen, boastful camera and slick design. Still with the specter of the Samsung Galaxy S III on the near horizon, not to mention Apple’s iPhone 5, the One X needs to do more than storm the spec sheet if it’s to make the impact HTC requires. Read on for the full SlashGear review.

Hardware

The One X is a big device, there’s no escaping it. Still, at 134.36 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm and 130g it’s surprisingly lightweight considering the fact you get a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 display. Build quality of the polycarbonate chassis feels slightly cheaper than the metal-bodied Sensation-series devices of last year, but the upshot is a more pocket-friendly device. It’s creak- and flex-free, too, though the downside to that is the non-user-accessible battery. Beyond a microSIM slot – complete with an HTC branded tray-opening pin, no less – the casing is a solid lump.

HTC has used a Super LCD panel on the One X, and it’s an excellent screen. Bright and crisp, with great viewing angles and escaping the sometimes over-saturated colors you find on AMOLED screens, it floats nicely in the inset Gorilla Glass panel. Our main complaint is the banding visible on graduated graphics, noticeable in Android’s many screens with shades of grey. The curved glass edges are reminiscent of Nokia’s Lumia 800, too, catching the light and leaving the handset feeling more organic and tactile.

The polycarbonate itself – available in black or white – is bowed in cross-section though the glass itself is flat. That gives a little of the Galaxy Nexus’ profile, though it’s a fleeting optical illusion. Also unlike the Nexus are the dedicated buttons beneath the screen, HTC not following Google’s own Ice Cream Sandwich implementation and instead insisting on touch-sensitive back, home and app-switcher keys. Despite accommodating them, the HTC is actually roughly the same length – though broader – than the Samsung, thanks to a narrower earpiece section.

Still, there’s enough room for a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a double-row of drilled speaker perforations; behind lurks a notification LED. On the left edge is the microUSB port while the volume rocker is on the right; the power/lock button is on the top edge, and thanks to the length of the One X can be tricky to reach at times. You also get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a row of five pins on the lower right hand corner of the rear panel for use with the optional docking cradle.

The back also plays host to a Beats Audio logo above a small but reasonably loud speaker. The One X has two microphones, one on top and the other on the bottom edge, for noise-reduction during calls and stereo audio recording in video clips. Finally, there’s the camera, an 8-megapixel unit which protrudes slightly in a silver nub, and which packs autofocus, an F2.0 aperture, 28mm lens, a backside-illuminated sensor, “smart” LED flash and support for 1080p HD video recording.

Inside, this European One X packs NVIDIA’s 1.5GHz quadcore Tegra 3 chipset, paired with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of non-expandable storage. It’s an ambitious chip, especially given the non-accessible 1,800 mAh battery, though NVIDIA insists that its 4+1 core design means performance won’t outweigh longevity.

Connectivity includes WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX high-quality audio support, NFC and, in the European model, quadband HSPA/WCDMA (850/900/1900/2100) and quadband GSM?EDGE. The microUSB port supports MHL-HDMI with the appropriate – and not included – adapter – while there’s the usual GPS, gyroscope, digital compass, proximity and ambient light sensors, and G-Sensor.

In the US, the One X will be sold on AT&T as an LTE version, ditching Tegra 3 in favor of a Qualcomm-supplied dualcore chipset but gaining high-speed 4G mobile connectivity.

Software and Performance

The One Series is the first of HTC’s devices to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, woven through with the latest iteration of Sense. HTC’s custom interface and apps suite had become over-stylized and unnecessarily hefty in its latter versions, and there’s been a conscious move to pare it back to basics which is obvious from the start.

Gone are the eye-catching but GPU-sapping 3D homescreen widgets of last year, replaced with cleaner range more in keeping with Ice Cream Sandwich. You wouldn’t necessarily realize Google’s newest version is under the hood, with the app launcher controls and other buttons redesigned, and even the app-switcher UI has been replaced, a CoverFlow-style carousel of running software instead of the basic thumbnail previews of the Galaxy Nexus.

Some of HTC’s changes work better than Google’s own design decisions. Tapping and holding on the homescreen opens up the widgets panel, a more common-sense placement than as an addendum to the app launcher. Up to nine homescreen panes can be live – shown in a scrolling bar across the top of the widgets organizer – with the various sizes of widget themselves underneath. You can either side-swipe to see each preview, or select from a drop-down list. Tabs along the bottom of the screen offer app icons and shortcuts, the latter for things like Direct Dial contacts, bookmarks, Gmail labels, Dropbox folders – the cloud storage service now being baked into HTC phones – and music playlists. A pinch-gesture shows all of the homescreen panes in thumbnails from the desktop.

The app menu itself is now split into three sections – all apps, those frequently accessed and those downloaded – with search and Play Shop shortcuts at the top. However you can also choose to remove and rearrange these tabs, though even if you get rid of all categories bar “all apps” the same number of icons are shown on-screen.

HTC has a number of new widgets, including radio apps – which require the headphones to be plugged in and act as the antenna – and a selection of useful calculators. They look great, though they’re all oversized: most of the widgets take up half or more of each homescreen pane, when even the calculators could be smaller and still usable.

The new HTC Music hub pulls together shortcuts for all of the audio services – though not the FM radio, at least by default – and more third-party options can be added in. It’s more like a launcher than a true unified media system, however. There’s no way to combine tracks from different services into a single playlist, for instance, so your local tracks will always be separate from your Spotify streaming.

HTC has made a few modifications to the standard browser, adding a Flash Player toggle to the contextual menu alongside the option to force the desktop version of sites. There’s also an incognito tab option next to the new tab button in the window switcher, making it more straightforward to browse without leaving a trail in the history. Panning, scrolling, pinch-zooming and Flash playback is all as smooth as you’d hope from a high-end phone.

NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 is a mainstay in recent Android tablets, but it’s a rarer thing in smartphones. With 4+1 cores – the latter responsible, so NVIDIA says, for low-level tasks that might otherwise demand the main cores light up and consume more power – there’s certainly no shortage of grunt for games and multimedia playback, both being smooth. However, the performance is also noticeable in day to day use, such as in the speed that a heavy Gmail inbox is ready for use. We ran Geekbench Advanced, and the One X scored an admirable 3399.

We’re had our eye on the aptX Bluetooth stereo audio profile for some years now, but it’s only now that the technology is turning up in more consumer hardware. Replacing the default audio codec – in devices that support it – it promises “true hi-fi quality”; in practice, with a set of Sennheiser PX-210 headphones, we found improved bass and treble clarity along with a reduction in background hiss. Of course, if you only have regular Bluetooth accessories then you won’t see the aptX improvement.

Camera

HTC is particularly proud of its camera technology in the One Series; according to the company’s research the camera is the number one deciding factor when a buyer eyes up their next phone. The One X gets an 8-megapixel CMOS with a backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor for improved low-light performance, along with an F2.0 aperture, 28mm lens and a dedicated imaging chip.

As well as 8-megapixel images, the One X can record Full HD 1080p video. In fact, the phone can shoot still images at the same time as recording footage: both the video recording and the shutter release button are on-screen at all times, along with a new effects control with a range of the image tweaking options.

There’s also an LED flash. We’ve generally been unimpressed with LED photo-lights on smartphones – they usually have a narrow sweet-spot outside of which images are either washed out or hopelessly under-illuminated – but HTC’s flash can automatically adjust between multiple levels of brightness according to the proximity of the subject.

The extent to which it works is tricky to see; low-light images are still something of a pot-luck. Supply decent lighting, however, and the One X is capable of some very good stills, with accurate colors rather than the over-exaggerated hues some phones err toward, and crispness in all but the closest macros. Hold down the camera button and the One X automatically goes into continuous shooting mode, capturing up to 99 shots in a row; let go, and you see a timeline of the images so as to pick out the best, optionally deleting the remainder.

1080p Full HD video, meanwhile, shows some jerking in fast pans, though the picture quality itself is relatively strong. We also noticed an occasional jitteriness during the first few seconds of recording at times, though that’s easy enough to trim out of the final clip. A camera button shown during playback allows 1920 x 1080 stills to be grabbed too.

Phone & Battery

The One X is a large phone, and making voice calls can be a little unwieldy; still, the end result is clear audio, thanks to the dual microphones and noise reduction system. The Beats Audio tuning is available to all media apps, not just HTC’s own as in 2011 Beats-branded phones, and does its usual job of boosting bass frequencies.

By opting for a unibody design, HTC has been forced to make the 1,800 mAh battery non-user-accessible. It’s larger than what’s inside many handsets, but with a quadcore processor that seems something of a necessity.

Still, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the One X’s runtimes. From a full charge, with push email turned on and a mixture of heavy browsing, messaging, Google Maps and some media playback, as well as use of the camera and a few voice calls, the One X lasted nearly 12 hours.

That’s under somewhat extreme conditions; with more typical use, we managed a day before recharging was needed, and that “+1″ Tegra 3 core seemed to justify its inclusion with low standby drain even with push services active. Turn to CPU- and GPU-intensive gaming and it’s possible to drain the One X in relatively short order, unsurprisingly, but it’s good to have the option of either hardcore performance or regular speed.

Wrap-Up

HTC has a lot to prove. Whether it was down to resting on its collective laurels, misreading the market, or simply getting its 2011 product line wrong, last year turned out to be something of an annus horribilis all round. Rivals accelerated past, Apple broadened its iPhone range across price points, and in contrast HTC phones looked derivative and lumpen.

They’re not accusations that could easily be levelled against the HTC One X. The new flagship is distinctively designed and well constructed, has an admirable camera and a solid screen. The Tegra 3 chipset is capable of both speed and endurance depending on what’s demanded of it, particularly gaming and HD video, though the non-expandable storage could prove limiting if your connection isn’t up to streaming from cloud storage such as Dropbox.

Is the One X enough to inure HTC against the incoming threat of the Galaxy S III or the iPhone 5? Both devices are shaping up to be worthy contenders, and HTC’s 2011 range struggled to compete with their predecessors, but the One X is leagues ahead of where the Sensation series left off. It’ll take more than good looks and a fast chip to make the One X an automatic success, but it’s is a capable phone and, perhaps more importantly, a sign that HTC has finally turned a corner in its strategy and products.

Slashgear.com

Google updates YouTube for Google TV

Google is releasing an update to YouTube for Google TV over the next few days, aiming to make it easier to navigate the video service on its connected sets.

On Saturday, the company promised that it would release “big announcements” about Google TV on Monday. Oddly enough, the company posted the notice on its Facebook page before publishing the post about YouTube on its blog.

The new service will also have a big focus on channels, making it easier for users to navigate between related videos and find content from the same account. Users will also be able to rate videos, add comments or add a video to their playlists.

YouTube has been growing like a weed for the past few years, quietly maturing beyondbeing the Internet’s repository of cute cat videos. According to the latest statistics from Google, an hour of video is being uploaded to the site every second, and the site loggedone trillion page views in 2011.

With channels, the company is getting more ambitious with content creation, cultivating talent that produces content that is ideal for the Web. In his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, YouTube executive Robert Kyncl predicted that, soon, 90 percent of Web traffic will be video.

The update also points to Google’s decision to double-down on Google TV, even though the product hasn’t been a great success. Google has been adding more hardware partners to its lineup, including Samsung and LG, promising new products will be pushed out to the market in the coming months.


Washingtonpost.com

Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 2 with Android 4.0 ICS

 Color us confused. Unless we're missing something, Samsung has installed Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a chubbier, slower version of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and rebranded it the Galaxy Tab 2. I hate to open a post with such an accusatory tone, but I've read (and reread) today's press release and that's precisely what I see comparing the specifications between each "generation."

The Galaxy Tab 2 shaves some bulk off the original 2010 design, measuring 10.5mm thick and weighing 344g (down from 11.98mm and 380g), but it's a tad thicker than September's Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (9.96mm). Assuming it uses the same chip architecture, the Galaxy Tab 2 also downgrades the Tab 7.0 Plus' 1.2GHz processor to 1.0GHz (which is in line with the original Galaxy Tab 7.0).

Other innards are virtually identical to the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. This includes a 7-inch WSVGA (1024x600) PLS TFT touchscreen, a 3-megapixel rear camera and VGA front camera (downgraded from the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus' 2-megapixel front camera), 1GB of RAM, and 8GB to 32GB of storage (another 32GB via microSD). Select models have 3G support alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0.

Along with Google's latest snack-themed OS, the Galaxy Tab 2 will feature Samsung's new AllShare Play service, which lets you stream multimedia content between compatible devices. Neither piece of software is enough to justify a new model and the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is expected to get ICS sometime this spring anyway -- presumably around the time the Galaxy Tab 2 hits shelves.

The only way we can make sense of this: the Galaxy Tab 2 will be priced low enough to compete with the Kindle Fire (despite lacking Amazon's library). Unfortunately, the company hasn't shared official international pricing yet, but PCWorld reports that Samsung Sweden claims the Wi-Fi model will cost €270 (roughly $350). SammyHub reports even higher figures at ~$450 with a $100 premium for 3G. Hopefully Samsung clarifies its plans for the Galaxy Tab 2 at Mobile World Congress in two weeks.

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