Chris Davies

Author Archive for Chris Davies

Manned Mars missions in 20 years say space experts

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

A manned mission to Mars could take place within the next two decades, NASA and the private sector have agreed, though the race is on to research and fund such the next ambitious step fo the space race. The feasibility of such a mission – and the political, financial, technological, and social problems that would need to be addressed first – is on the agenda of the Humans to Mars (H2M) summit this week, with NASA staffers, researchers, private space agencies, and more all coming together at George Washington University to explore the practicalities of sending astronauts to Mars by the 2030s.

mars

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Touch-notebooks to suck some tablet sting from Post-PC says NPD

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

A rise in convertible and slider touchscreen form-factors will offset the "post-PC era" slide of notebooks, but will be unable to fend off the full might of tablets, new research suggests. Tablet shipments will rise to 579.4m units by 2017, NPD DisplaySearch projections indicate, while traditional notebooks will drop to 183.3m units by the same point. However, a new breed of touch-enabled notebooks will step in to help arrest some of the slump. Read The Full Story

BlackBerry R10 leaks with Curve-style specs

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

The BlackBerry R10, what's tipped to be the first mid-range BlackBerry 10 smartphone, has been caught in the wild once more, with a launch tipped to take place sometime in Q3 2013. The R10, keeping with BlackBerry tradition and offering a physical keyboard, has a 3.1-inch display according to DGtle, and a 5-megapixel main camera. Read The Full Story

EU sees Motorola’s anti-Apple patent ploy as antitrust, Commission warns

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

Motorola abused its dominance in wireless patents when it tried to block Apple’s iPhone in Germany, the European Commission has judged, potentially paving the way to official antitrust penalties against the Google-owned smartphone firm. The EU had been investigating Motorola’s use of standards-essential GSM patents to spar with Apple in Europe, citing the company’s intention to chase sales injunctions over use of technologies that had been agreed as core to the GSM standard, despite Apple suggesting it was willing to license them.

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Samsung Galaxy Core cribs GS4 features for dual-SIM slab of average

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

Samsung has unveiled its latest Android smartphone, a low- to mid-range Galaxy S 4-lookalike for those with smaller pockets, the Galaxy Core. Fronted by a 4.3-inch WVGA display and powered by a 1.2GHz dualcore processor, the Galaxy Core won't be worrying Samsung's flagship for speed or graphics, but does at least offer the option of dual-SIM support for those wanting to flip between two lines while keeping them both active simultaneously. Read The Full Story

HTC sees tickle of a turnaround as One demand stokes April sales

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

HTC promised a turnaround in Q2 2013 once the One began to gain traction, and the early signs are - tentatively - promising, with the company's ailing finances seeing a minor blip upward as availability of the new flagship spreads. Revenues for April 2013 were up 23-percent unaudited compared to March, HTC has confirmed, to NT$19.6bn ($664m); that further trims the shortfall compared to 2012's numbers, though HTC is still underperforming in comparison. Read The Full Story

Amazon beats Google to paid apps in China

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

Amazon's Appstore for Android has launched in China, offering both free and paid applications while Google China is still only distributing free titles. The new download store opened its virtual doors this weekend, Amazon confirmed, relying on having a trusted brand name to lure in consumers in a market where malware is rife. Read The Full Story

Mystery LG phone leaks: Nexus 5, Optimus G2, or something else?

Chris Davies, May 6th 2013 Discuss [0]

An LG prototype smartphone that could be the new Optimus G2 or even the Google “Nexus 5″ has been spotted in the wild, though exactly what the sizable handset is still remains a mystery. The image – as well as a close-up of the front camera assembly, shown after the cut – shared by evleaks comes with no hardware specifications nor branding beyond the LG logo in the lower bezel, and there’s no telling whether Google’s Nexus logo gets a mention on the back.

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Jaguar F-Type coupe unofficially previewed (but you’ll have to wait until 2014)

Chris Davies, May 3rd 2013 Discuss [0]

Jaguar's striking F-Type may already be wowing drivers as a convertible months out from launch, but it's taken some premature patent digging to see exactly what the eventual coupe version might look like. The car company has previously conceded that a hard-top F-Type will eventually reach forecourts, but has played it coy on how close to the original C-X16 concept it might be. Fortunately for us, while Jaguar's designers may be tight-lipped, its lawyers are a little more open. Read The Full Story

Acer Iconia A1 crashes the Nexus 7 tablet party

Chris Davies, May 3rd 2013 Discuss [0]

Looks like $169 is the new sweet spot for Android tablets, and bringing the fight to Google's Nexus 7 is the new Acer Iconia A1. Fronted by a 7.9-inch LED IPS display, and promising seven hours of Android - version unspecified - on a quadcore processor, the Iconia A1 also records 1080p Full HD video using its rear 5-megapixel camera. Read The Full Story

Acer Aspire P3 convertible wants to replace your iPad and keyboard dock

Chris Davies, May 3rd 2013 Discuss [0]

Acer] has revealed its latest ultrabook, the Aspire P3, throwing Windows 8 into a touchscreen convertible as part of the company's renewed focus on touch devices. Packing an 11.6-inch HD IPS LCD display, Core i3 or i5 processors, and up to six hours of battery life into a 0.77-inch thick notebook, the Aspire P3 looks at first glance like a regular laptop but - with the screen section pulled forward in what's effectively a keyboard dock - can be flipped into a slate. Read The Full Story

iPhone spreads as US Cellular says it will offer Apple devices this year

Chris Davies, May 3rd 2013 Discuss [0]

US Cellular will offer the iPhone later this year, the regional carrier has confirmed, finally jumping onboard Apple's bandwagon as it hunts new smartphone subscribers. Announced alongside US Cellular's latest financial results, there's still no exact date for when would-be subscribers will be able to find the iOS handsets in-store; however, the carrier does leave the door open to offer Apple's 3G/4G-enabled iPads, too. Read The Full Story