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Apple Offers Unlocked iPhone 5

After keeping the iPhone 5 tied up with certain wireless carriers with each purchase, Apple now offers its latest smartphone without the burden of a two-year carrier contract. You can now buy an unlocked iPhone 5 right within Apple’s online store and use it on whichever network you want, as long as it is compatible with the device. And by compatible, we mean only GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States. Those who travel a lot can simply pop in a new nano-SIM card from a local GSM carrier and you are good to go. The unlocked iPhone 5 does not work in CDMA networks such as Sprint and Verizon. The contract-free iPhone 5 starts at $649 for the 16GB model, $749 for the 32GB version, and $849 for the 64GB device.

Source: http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/01/apple-offers-unlocked-iphone-5/

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Top 9 Free iPhone Apps, According to Apple

No matter how Apple would try to eliminate Google from the minds of their faithful users, it does not seem to work. Even though Google-made apps such as YouTube and Google Maps were no longer included among Apple’s suite of default programs when it unveiled iOS 6, users of the iPhone and iPad continue to download them anyway and it was very much evident in iTunes’ year-end chart. Apple recently released its “iTunes Best of 2012,” highlighting the most popular apps for its devices. Leading the pack in the list of free apps for iPhones is YouTube, which was released ahead of the launch of iOS 6. It is very weird that Apple ditched YouTube when the iPhone maker has yet to come up with its own video-sharing service, just like how the company introduced its own Maps app to erstwhile default Google Maps. But after Maps was largely panned by the public to the point its CEO apologized, Apple may want to take their time in developing its YouTube counterpart… that is, if they are making one. Here are the rest of the Top 9 free iPhone apps: 2. Instagram – Many users were initially worried when their favorite photo-editing and photo-sharing app was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion last April. The original company–Burbn, Inc.–remains independently managed and the app’s popularity continues to soar even as it severs its compatibility with Twitter. 3. Draw Something – This Pictionary-style game app is one of the breakout mobile stars of 2012. It was downloaded 50 million times 50 days after its release, then the app (and its company, Omgpop) were acquired by social gaming magnate Zynga. Draw Something has its share of bad news, such as when cyberscammers tricked users into revealing their personal information. 4. Flashlight Ⓞ – This utility app turns your iPhone into a convenient flashlight, harnessing the LED bulb right by the camera. Flashlight can be used for both recreation and emergency situations. It comes with a compass and SOS mode, which are very handy when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere. 5. Facebook – A huge chunk of social media users check out their news feed through their mobile devices, so it is not that surprising why three social media apps are on this list. The latest version allows users to choose an album when uploading photos, as well as view their profiles in a revamped Timeline format. 6. Pandora Radio – The popularity of streaming radio apps is at its highest in 2012, with Pandora leading the way. Users can simply type in the name of their favorite music artist or songs and Pandora would create a customized “station” based on similar music. 7. Temple Run – Temple Run has knocked out Angry Birds as the most popular free action game app on iTunes. (Angry Birds Space, meanwhile, is #1 among paid apps.) The critically-acclaimed endless running game has reached 100 million downloads since its release. 8. Pinterest – Since mainstream media took notice of this visual-board app in 2012, many tech companies took notice. In reaction, Facebook introduced “Interest List“; Myspace and eBay completely flipped their layouts and made it as pristine as that of Pinterest. 9. Twitter – Despite its popularity, not a lot of Twitter users use its native iOS app, opting to tweet instead in third-party applications such as TweetDeck (which Twitter bought) and Echofon.

Source: http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/15/top-9-free-iphone-apps-according-to-apple/

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Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case

Many people think of having the new iPhone 5 for a smartphone as something of a privilege that puts them at a different level among the other smartphone crowd. The iPhone just have established that kind of experience with its ownership. And many people also try to put themselves a step above other iPhone 5 users by dressing up their phones according to their style and status preference. For those who look for elegance, this Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case certainly provides that. The Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case gives that added ounce of elegance to your much-coveted iPhone. It is made out of premium aniline dyed leather covering a durable hardshell case. An easy snap-on attachment feature that provides ample protection to your iPhone 5 makes it convenient to use. The Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case is available at Incase for US$50.
Source : http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/21/incase-iphone-5-leather-snap-case/

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Nokia 808 PureView hands-on, first impressions

We’re here at the Nokia office today for a short hands-on session of the company’s 41-megapixel 808 PureView smartphone. Announced at Mobile World Congress, this particular smartphone is one of the most unique devices to come out of Nokia’s stable so far, considering that it’s megapixel count is considerably higher than some cameras and DSLRs.

The overall size of the 808 PureView is 123.9 x 60.2 x 13.9mm, which bulges out to 17.95mm once you get to the sensor. The 808 PureView is around 169 grams, which is considerably heavier than most other smartphones out there especially at the sensor end. The body is a polycarb deal with a fine textured finish which feels a bit weird at first. The 4-inch screen uses a AMOLED ClearBlack display which has a resolution of 640 x 360, which is a bit disappointing, given the display type used. We think it’s a limitation of the Sybian Belle OS on the device itself, as Nokia’s Lumia range of smartphones have higher resolution displays.

The entire appeal of the 808 PureView is the 41-megapixel sensor, which if you can recall is the biggest one in any smartphone out today. The focal length for the 808 PureView is 8.02mm – when compared to a 35mm focal length, it’s equivalent to 26mm at 16:9, and 28mm at 4:3. Shooting the 808 PureView is easy, and there are several shooting modes available for users, as well as the option to control the shooting type and resolution used. We did notice during shooting that the 808 PureView showed us that we were only taking pictures at 38-megapixels and not 41. That’s because while the 41-megapixel sensor is square, no one really takes square pictures – some parts of the sensor gets cropped out depending on the aspect ratio you use.

That doesn’t mean that the shots aren’t great – in fact, we’ve added some of the shots below for you guys to check out. And even though the 808 PureView runs on a single core 1.3GHz processor, the overall user experience wasn’t terrible – in fact, it was pretty good, with the device being responsive during our time with it. Obviously our time with it was only limited, but for what it is, the device ran pretty well.

(Click the pictures below to see it in the full resolution)

source : http://www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/gadgets/nokia-808-pureview-hands-on-first-impressions.html

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Huawei outs Ascend Y200, budget challenger to the Samsung Galaxy Y and LG Optimus L3

It’s a well known secret that most manufacturers make the majority of their cash peddling low-end devices to the masses. This is probably the reason why Huawei has decided to launch their budget device, the Ascend Y200, in the Philippine market. The Ascend Y200 doesn’t have the highest of specs (predictably) but for money (the Ascend Y200 is priced at Php 5,490) it’s already giving you a lot: 3.5-inch, IPS screen, Qualcomm 800MHz processor, 3.2-megapixel camera, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Wi-Fi and 3G. In addition, Huawei says that this particular smartphone has a quick, 5-second boot time, and charges completely in just 90 minutes.

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Nokia Asha 202 now shipping in the Philippines

Heads up, lovers of all things dual-sim’ed and affordable – Nokia has told us that their Asha 202 feature phone has just gone on sale all over the country. If you’re wondering what an Asha 202 is, well, let us refresh your memory, dear readers – it’s a compact feature phone made by Nokia that’s capable of handling two sims at the same time yet can still deliver a pleasurable web browsing experience by compressing the data efficiently via Nokia’s web browser. The new device also comes pre-loaded with games like Need For Speed The Run and Bejeweled. The Asha 202 is priced at an affordable Php 3,550.

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Asus unveils Tablet 600, world’s first commercial Windows 8 RT device

Before we get carried away with Transforming Intel powered tablets and AIOs, let’s not forget that Asus still had some ARM related goodness in today’s COMPUTEX presser. The Taiwanese company unveiled their Tablet 600, which according to the company, is the world’s first Windwos 8 RT device. The Tablet 600 is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor and has GeForce graphics inside. Unsurprisingly, the device comes with its own dock, which we guess would work just like the other tablet docks in their Transformer line.

The device sports a 10.1-inch Super IPS+ panel, as well as a 8-megapixel camera on the back. Asus also says that the Tablet 600 has their SonicMaster audio technology embedded, so it’s not a stretch to assume that this particular device will have awesome sound to go with its fast performance. No price or availability for the Philippines have been set, unfortunately, but we do have a nice video of the device in action courtesy of NVIDIA. Check it out below.