Quick to jump the gun, HTC shares fell more than six percent Monday morning. The stock slide was a clear result of Friday’s announcement that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) had issued a preliminary ruling in favor of Apple in a patent infringement case which may prevent the import of HTC smartphones. A preliminary ruling is by no means a closed case so let’s sit back, relax and take a look at the facts.
July, 2011
Prepare yourself for a world of smartphone hybrids. Yahoo! Korea is reporting that Samsung is working on the Galaxy Q, a 5.3-inch ‘phone’ which blurs the line between smartphone and tablet. Bridging the gap between the monstrous 4.5-inch Samsung Infuse and the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab might sound logical, but the Galaxy Q is not the future of smartphones.
Could you imaging carting around a 5.3-inch smartphone in your pocket? Unless we’re mistaken, skinny jeans are all the rave these days. The thought of a five-inch smartphone is a far cry from 1999 when the Nokia 8200 reigned supreme as the smallest and lightest Nokia mobile phone on the market. Today, at least according to Samsung, the motto in mobile is ‘bigger is better’.
Counting the days until Microsoft releases the prophesied Mango (Windows Phone 7.5) update? According to a report from winrumors.com, a Fujitsu branded Windows Phone will be available in Japan by the end of August running the new build. This explains why Microsoft showcased several Mango-powered device at its Worldwide Partner Conference this week, but the question remains — are you still interested?
It’s over two years since Spotify announced that it was enabling 320kbps streaming for Spotify Premium subscribers but it looks like it still has a long way to go before every track is available in that higher quality form. An investigation by a blogger dedicated to seeking out classical tunes on Spotify suggests that more often than not the tracks are streaming at 160kbps. That includes new songs and Spotify Premium exclusives.
Though the original July 2009 announcement and the Spotify website make it clear that “not all tracks are currently available in high bitrate”, 320kbps streaming is still one of the headline features for Spotify Premium. The company hasn’t prominently indicated how many songs are available in that format which makes the blogger’s research and the company’s responses interesting reading…
Here’s a fun fact for you. Did you know that a crucial step in making any LCD screen for your telly involves a bit of science that has even the experts stumped? That’s right: nobody knows how LCD TV screens are actually made. Read on, and we’ll explain.
It may not be the weather for al fresco dining at the moment, but that’s just as well, as we’ve got your lunchtime lowdown right here instead: grab a sarnie and tuck into all the latest headlines right now.
Last month, we gave you the chance to win a Google Chromebook in partnership with the search giant, by setting you a seriously hard brain teaser. Want to know if you solved it correctly – and in time? The winners are now online at Google’s competition page, so check it out and see.
Didn’t win this time? Not to worry: there’s still time to enter Electricpig’s Man Cave of the year awards. Click here to enter.
Steam, Valve’s digital game distribution service, can currently grind to a halt when the company announces a big sale or major title like Portal 2 but that should soon come to an end. The company has announced that it’s designed a brand new content system for Steam that will supercharge downloads and put an end to having to download hefty updates for minor changes.
Valve says the new system decreases the amount of data you’ll need to download and will allow you to grab updates to games while playing them. It’s also promised that the new set up will bring long-awaited features including download scheduling, bandwidth throttling and the ability to pick which games you want to download first. Valve is rolling out the new Steam back end now and you can test its speedier approach by grabbing free HD trailers from the store.
Out now | From £free | Steam blog