iPhone 6 with 4.8-Inch Display Coming in June 2014 – Analyst

Image comment: iPhone 6 concept by Federico Ciccarese Image credits: Federico Ciccarese (ciccaresedesign.com)

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek has released an estimate of Apple’s upcoming product launches all the way to June 2014, when the Cupertino giant will supposedly unveil the iPhone 6 powered by a new processor and boasting a 4.8-inch display.

Misek has a hit and miss track record on Apple predictions, which is true for pretty much any analyst out there. Though he does seem to be a little more conservative than other Wall Street buffs.

Instead of boasting that Apple will for sure unveil big-screen televisions and iWatches, he maintains that the company will take its time to make forays into new markets.

His first prediction for 2013 is a special event with iTV-related announcements. That’s iTV-related, not the iTV itself.

Misek, like a handful of other analysts, believes Apple will roll out some sort of software development kit (SDK) for developers to code apps for the big screen.

This will be Apple’s first step in its mission to place itself at the center of the living-room, Misek believes.

Come June, Misek believes there’s a good chance Apple will release the iPhone 5S and a low-cost version of the smartphone, as many others have predicted as well. The showcase will be at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference.

In the September-October timeframe, the iPad 5 will be released alongside a Retina-display iPad mini 2, and the iTV itself, according to Misek’s estimates.

That’s right. The big-screen Apple TV is coming this year, Misek believes.

The analyst’s chart then skips a few hard to predict product launches to drop a pin on June 2014.

According to the Jefferies analyst, that’s when Apple will unveil an all-new iPhone powered by a supercharged processor, estimated to be manufactured with a 20-nm process.

The phone’s processor could have as many as eight cores, he says, after checking with sources in Apple’s supply chain. The screen size will also increase to 4.8 inches, according to Misek.

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Mysterious Samsung GALAXY Altius Smartwatch Leaks

 
Word that Apple plans to release an iWatch emerged a while ago and it appears that competition is already taking it serious.

A similar device manufactured by Samsung has just been spotted recently by the folks over at Techkiddy on Korean forums.

Although the devices hasn't been caught on camera yet, there are a bunch of screenshots that suggest this Samsung Galaxy Altius is a smartwatch.

In fact it's more than a smartwatch as the device comes with support for GSM network communication.

It is also worth mentioning is powered by the so-called Altius operating system and allows users to view email and listen to music. The leaked screenshots also indicate the smartwatch is working with South Korean carrier SK Telecom.

For the time being, there's no telling if these images are real or just another hoax, so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

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Samsung Releasing GALAXY S II Plus with Jelly Bean in Q1 2013

Image comment: Samsung Galaxy S logo Image credits: Samsung Mobile

It looks like Samsung will launch the long-rumored Galaxy S II Plus after all. Although the smartphone was initially scheduled to be released this fall, the South Korean company decided to postpone it.

According to SammyHub, the main reason behind Samsung’s decision to delay the smartphone is the fact that the company wanted to launch the Galaxy S III mini and Galaxy Premier Android phones around the same timeline.

However, rumor has it that Samsung is ready to release the Galaxy S II Plus by the end of the year or in early Q1 2013. No word on the exact launch date or pricing options, but more details might surface in the following weeks.

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus will be available in Chic White and Dark Blue, but will only feature 8GB of internal memory.

For the time being, Samsung takes into consideration only one version of Galaxy S II Plus, so Android enthusiasts might want to prepare to purchase a microSD memory card for additional storage.

The good news is Samsung Galaxy S II Plus will ship with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, integrated with the company’s TouchWiz Nature UX interface.

Although the smartphone might be officially unveiled in late December or early January, Samsung will start shipping the Chic White Galaxy S II Plus from week 3, while the Dark Blue version will be available from week 5.

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is expected to be priced somewhere between the Galaxy S III mini and Galaxy Premier, though we will know more as soon as details on the phone’s specs sheet emerge.

Apparently there’s no specs sheet for the moment, which means Samsung is still in the process of adding the phone’s hardware. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

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Quick Look: Angry Birds Star Wars (Gameplay Video Included)

It’s hard to believe that the whole Angry Birds phenomenon started with an addictive mobile game and quickly took the world by storm, spawning sequels, tie-ins, merchandising, and quite a lot of money for developer Rovio.

After the recent Angry Birds Space, the studio continued exploring the universe and has now released Angry Birds Star Wars around the world for both mobile devices as well as for Windows-powered PCs.

Angry Birds Star Wars practically combines two of the most popular franchises on Earth into a single package that can either rule the galaxy or disappoint with its lackluster Force tricks. Is this the great game we’re looking for or should it be frozen in Carbonite? Let’s have a quick look.

Angry Birds Star Wars impresses right from the get go not just with the hilarious splash screen, that shows the famous birds as characters from the TV series, but also with its theme song that smoothly combines the classic Star Wars theme with the more playful tunes of Angry Birds games.

After that, once you actually start the game, you begin a sort of retelling of the events from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where a plucky young Luke Skywalker (the red bird) under the guidance of Obi Wan Kenobi (the black one) start their journey against Darth Vader and the forces of the Empire (the pigs).

You’re then treated with a pretty classic Angry Birds experience, as you need to fling birds at the unlucky pigs who made their homes on some very unstable structures.

As you progress, you unlock special powers for your birds, like a lightsaber for Luke, as well as special bonus levels with only R2D2 and C-3PO that take place in space and feel, as you can imagine, like stages from Angry Birds Space.

Overall, the whole game is quite fun and a treat for many Star Wars fans, not just Angry Birds ones. Check out a gameplay video with the first few stages above.

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Weekend Reading: Season Passes and Taking Risks

Image comment: The first DLC included in Borderlands 2's Season Pass Image credits: Gearbox

In the last week we’ve posted a variety of stories concerning Season Passes, either ones that have been confirmed for upcoming games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 or Forza Horizon, or ones that are now coming into effect, like the one for Borderlands 2.

Season Passes are a pretty new strategy in the gaming industry as they’ve only been around for a year or so and are quickly becoming more and more popular.

In case you’re not aware of them, they represent access to all of the DLC that’s going to be released for a game, and can be purchased for a smaller amount of money than the actual add-ons separately.

In theory, the passes represent a great deal both for developers and publishers, as they receive money early which can immediately be invested in the DLC, and for gamers themselves, which rest assured that they’ll receive the add-ons for a lower price.

In practice, however, a lot of risk is involved with selling and buying a Season Pass.

First up, for developers, the existence of such a thing practically forces them to create the content they promise to customers. Creating a game, even an expansion for it, can be a tricky thing that doesn’t always end up like planned.

Max Payne 3 is a great example, as Rockstar sold a special Pass and posted a release schedule for the DLC included in it. Sadly, it couldn’t stick to it and is now bundling together items in new add-ons like the Hostage Negotiation pack.

Secondly, for gamers, it represents an unknown risk, as you can't know for sure if the add-ons will be any good. You can end up with some impressive expansions, like Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty for Borderlands 2, or you can get some rather short ones, like the Genkibowl VII one for Saints Row 3, which was fun yet felt a bit tedious.

My current strategy is to wait for a few expansions to appear for a game and then decide if I’m going to get its Season Pass. What about you? Do you get the pass right alongside the game or are your more cautious?

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Halo 4 Launch Trailer Now Available

Microsoft has just released the official launch trailer for its upcoming Halo 4 game, produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller, which hints not just at the core conflict of the actual title, but also shows off footage with the origins of the franchise’s hero, Master Chief.

Halo 4 may have been leaked weeks ahead of its actual release on November 6, but Microsoft isn’t affected by this problem and the company has now released the official launch trailer for the long-awaited first-person shooter.

In the footage above, you get to see not just Master Chief facing the “ancient evil” promised by the game’s story, but also glimpses from his origins.

From standing on the beach with his mother when he was a child, to the intense training he received before his powers were augmented in the Spartan program, Master Chief’s life hasn’t been an easy one and, as you can see in the video, even he can make mistakes.

Check out the trailer above and get ready for the release of Halo 4 on November 6, only on the Xbox 360.

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Mark of the Ninja for PC Gets Another Update, More Bug Fixes

  - Mark of the Ninja for PC

The folks over at Klei Entertainment are working hard to iron out the recent issues that have been plaguing their Mark of the Ninja title since its launch three days ago.

Some of the these bugs might have been brought by the previous update, which was pushed two days ago via Steam, but that has yet to be confirmed.

All in all, the latest update for Mark of the Ninja patches lots of the bugs that have been reported in the last 48 hours. Some of these bug fixes are listed below:

-Fixed issue in "Breaching the Perimeter" level where Ninja would sometimes be killed instantly when restarting a particular checkpoint.
-Fixed potential hindering issue where a vent would not unlock in “The Trail of Shadow” level.
-Fixed issue where fuseboxes would not reset in the Challenge Room of "An Ancestral Home" level.

For the full list of changes included in the latest patch for Mark of the Ninja head over to the official announcement. Check out our quick look (video included) here.

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First Press Photo of Huawei Ascend W1 Windows Phone 8 Leaks

- Huawei Ascend W1

Chinese handset maker Huawei has yet to officially announce its first Windows Phone 8 device, the Ascend W1.

Although the fist live pictures of the smartphone leaked a few days ago, it's still unclear when the phone is scheduled to hit shelves.

Today, the folks over at EVLeaks have just published the first press photo of the alleged Huawei Ascend W1. The smartphone is expected to go on sale by the end of the year for around $350 USD (265 EUR) outright.

So far, we know the Ascend W1 should sports a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution.

In addition, the smarpthone will be equipped with a dual core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

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ASUS to Launch PadFone 2 in the UK in Early 2013

- ASUS PadFone 2

Computer maker ASUS has confirmed the upcoming availability in the UK of its new PadFone 2 phone-in-tablet combo for the beginning of the next year, but without an official release date available as of yet.

Asus UK Technical PR Adam King has confirmed to TechRadar the company’s plans for this device: "We will definitely be getting it early next year. As to [exactly] when I can't say, but we'll hopefully have some more details before the end of this year."

PadFone 2 was made official earlier this week with a large 4.7-inch touchscreen display, a powerful quad-core processor packed inside, a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, and Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system loaded on it.

The smartphone also comes with 2GB of RAM, a 2,140mAh battery, NFC capabilities, front camera, and access to 50GB free ASUS WebStorage for two years.

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HTC Nexus 5 Rumored Again, Based on J Butterfly Specs

  - HTC J Butterfly

The same as LG is said to plan the launch of a Nexus handset that would sport the features and specifications of LG Optimus G – save for the outer design – Taiwanese phone maker HTC is rumored to aim at releasing a Nexus phone of its own, supposedly featuring the specs of HTC J Butterfly.

The company has been long rumored to plan the release of a new Nexus device, yet no specific info on the matter was available until now.

New reports, however, suggest that HTC’s smartphone will be launched as Nexus 5 and that it will pack the same 5-inch 1920x1080p full HD (440ppi) display as J Butterfly, along with its quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB of RAM.

LG is said to plan the launch of Nexus 4, which means that other vendors might release new Nexus phones as well, just as previously rumored.

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Quick Look - Doom 3: BFG Edition

 Doom 3 was the original “gotcha!” horror experience, as its gameplay was paced around terrifying surprises and monsters that came out of all sorts of locations in order to get the jump on the player.

Now, id Software and Bethesda are bringing back the experience with Doom 3: BFG Edition, a remastered version of the original Doom 3, complete with new content and its expansion, not to mention the classic editions of Doom 1 and 2.

Does this classic game withstand the test of time or do its scary mechanics fail to surprise players? Let’s have a quick look.

Right from the beginning, you notice Doom 3’s old school pacing. This is a game that can easily take 10 to 15 minutes making the player walk around a facility on Mars before actually giving him a gun and thrusting him into the action.

Nowadays, if the player isn’t killing something in the first few minutes of a game, then a game gets called boring or tedious.

Still, once Doom 3 gets the player immersed into its action, you’re reminded why this is one of the best first-person shooters of all time and one of the most atmospheric ones. The tight corridors and spaces of the Mars facility manage to feel claustrophobic all on their own, without factoring in the lighting or the other effects that accentuate your creepy experience.

Shooting still feels solid and the monsters are as aggressive as ever. This isn’t a game where you snipe your opponents from a distance. This is one where you always check behind your back and every dark corner, as you never know when you’ll be dealing with a possessed human or a demonic beast.

Sadly, despite the efforts of id Software to overhaul the graphics and textures, on the PC at least Doom 3: BFG is showing its age, as textures look pixelated while characters models are filled with jagged or pointy edges.

Check out the Doom 3: BFG Edition in action in the video above.

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Emsisoft Anti-Malware 7 Available for Download [Exclusive

  - Completely new second scan engine, improved real-time protection performance

Emsisoft just launched version 7 for their flagship product, Anti-Malware. This year, the developer made some radical changes that focus on increasing the detection rate and optimizing malware cleaning.

Emsisoft Anti-Malware is still a dual-engine product, but the proprietary A2 engine no longer has Ikarus as a sidekick; at its side is now Bitdefender’s solution that should provide more reliable scans, with detection rate and a lower number of false alerts.

Malware cleaning has been improved by introducing the possibility to restore registry entries affected by threats.

Better protection against online threats is now achieved through hourly updates for malware, phishing and privacy risk hosts.

Additional enhancements touch on real-time protection, which now uses advanced caching. There are also performance settings to tinker with in order to take full advantage of the system resources, or to just allot enough to leave room for other activities.

Emsisoft Anti-Malware 7 is available for download from Softpedia. A review will be published later today is avaialble on this page.

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HTC Makes Windows Phone 8X Official

Image comment: Windows Phone 8X by HTC Image credits: HTC

Today, Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation made official its first smartphones running under Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system.

The company has announced a new flagship handset, the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, with a 4.3-inch Super LCD II 720p HD touchscreen display, as well as with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor.

Thus, the new handset is the most powerful smartphone that the company has unveiled with Microsoft's mobile operating system on board.

HTC also packed the new device with 1GB of RAM, along with 16GB of storage but with no MicroSD card slot to expand it, and support for NFC and Beats Audio.

The smartphone also comes with an 8-megapixel f2/0 BSI photo snapper with support for HD video recording, as well as with a front camera for making video calls.

The hardware specifications of this device also include WiFi a/b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, built-in GPS receiver, and the usual set of sensors.

The new smartphone will be released in the United States with support for 4G LTE networks, while being planned for release in Europe and other markets with HSPA+/DC-HSDPA connectivity inside.

In addition to including Beats Audio, the handset also arrives on shelves with a pair of amplifiers to offer better audio quality to its users, one for the headphone jack, and another for the phone’s speaker.

"We've been inspired by Windows Phone 8 to create new smartphones that give the platform the iconic design and personality it deserves," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation.

"Windows Phone has clearly emerged as one of the top mobile ecosystems and is competitive against any other smartphone platform in the world."

HTC also unveiled that these devices would be pushed to shelves starting with November, and that they would reach more than 150 carriers in 50+ countries.

In the United States, the new Windows Phone 8X by HTC will be launched on the networks of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

It will also arrive around the world at Orange, O2 Telefonica, MTS, Three UK, T-Mobile, and Vodafone in Europe; Chunghwa Telecom, Optus, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel), Smartone, Telstra and Vodafone Australia in Asia-Pacific.

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HP Launches Impressive 24” MVA Monitor with Just 11mm Thickness

Image comment: HP's L2401x MVA Slim Monitor Image credits: HP

HP has just launched a whole lot of new products today and we already reported about the Compaq Pro 6305 desktop system here. If you’re searching for an impressively good looking monitor to go with that, HP now has the slim L2401x for you.

The HP L2401x is a very slim monitor that is only 11 millimeters thick and has a very nice metallic looking casing on the back.

HP decided not to use an IPS panel on the L2401x, but went for MVA technology instead.

MVA is short for multi-domain vertical alignment and this was the first technology that was able to offer fast response time and very good contrast rates for the time it was introduced.

MVA is the VA technology evolved, while VA is short for vertical alignment and Wikipedia describes it as:

“Vertical alignment displays are a form of LCDs in which the liquid crystals naturally align vertically to the glass substrates.

When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystals remain perpendicular to the substrate creating a black display between crossed polarizers.

When voltage is applied, the liquid crystals shift to a tilted position allowing light to pass through and create a gray-scale display depending on the amount of tilt generated by the electric field.”

The VA panel technology also brings large viewing angles, higher contrast ratios and it is generally cheaper to make when compared with IPS displays.

In fact, MVA offers very high-quality black and good color reproduction along with very good contrast rates and wide viewing angles that can only be surpassed by S-IPS panels.

One important note that we must emphasize is the fact that the VA technology offers the highest contrast ratios compared to all other popular panel types, which leads to much better black levels.

There is also a disadvantage as the VA technology usually suffers from higher response times when compared with both TN and IPS panels.

MVA is supposed to fix most of the issues of the VA technology and HP’s L2401x certainly has an impressive contrast of 5000 to 1, but can also boast a 10 million to 1 dynamic ratio.

HP will offer two versions of this monitor. The basic one will have a 1-year warranty while the business one will be just $10 more expensive, but it will also benefit from a 3-year warranty period.

Pricing is set at $250 (192 EUR).

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HP to Build Its Own Smartphone

  - Palm Pre 3

Leading computer maker HP might finally jump on the smartphone bandwagon, although it appeared to have had no plans for that until now.

In fact, the company even killed the handset business that it had purchased from Palm, which clearly showed its lack of interest for the mobile market.

The increased competitiveness on the market, however, appears to have determined HP to reconsider its position, and a smartphone that would sport the vendor’s logo on it might make an appearance on shelves in the not too distant future.

“We have to ultimately offer a smartphone because in many countries of the world that would be your first computing device. We are a computing company, we have to take advantage of that form factor,” HP CEO Meg Whitman told Fox Business News.

HP has seen drops in sales of smartphones in the past several quarters, and it does not come as a surprise that it is looking for alternative solutions.

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Panda Internet Security 2013 Review

Image comment: Slow scanning suite that needs to rejuvenate protection components

Panda Internet Security 2013 by Panda Security

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Version reviewed: Panda Internet Security 2013 18.00.01 Panda Internet Security is a comprehensive security solution designed to keep all sorts of malware at bay. It also includes parental controls and a virtual environment for safe browsing. Download Panda Internet Security 2013

Features: Antivirus / Firewall Antispam / Identity Protection Parental Control Backup & Restore Multimedia/Gaming Mode Home Network Manager Remote PC Access Panda Safe Browser (Sandboxing)

Internet Security is Panda Security’s mid-range product that combines all anti-malware layers of protection produced by the company, but lacks the modules for PC optimization, file encryption, file shredding and password management.

Besides the antivirus, it incorporates a two-way firewall, identity protection, anti-spam and parental controls.

Additionally, it can install USB Vaccine, a tool that blocks infections propagating through autorun.inf on USB drives, and Safe Browser, which is a virtualized browser that allows you to conduct sensitive financial operations online.

The 2013 edition of Panda Internet Security introduces a new scan manager, which is designed to increase the file processing speed by up to 70% by leveraging system resources and kicking in only when necessary.

Part of the protection is based on cloud knowledge, which is why the 2013 is touted as reaching the user faster, thus contributing to keeping the newest pieces of malware at bay.

Looks have also been tweaked to offer users easier access to modules and advanced options intuitively hidden for the more seasoned user, putting simplicity and ease of use first. Also, the menus have been turned into tiles making the bundle suitable for use on Windows 8 touch interface.



The price for the 2013 edition varies from country to country (even in Europe) but, for the US, it is $69.99 for three PCs for one year, although this should not be taken as a reference.

Installation is fast this year and completes without user intervention. We needed to reboot the system in order to finalize the procedure.

All modules available in the package are tiled in the landing screen, with some extra options neatly arranged in the lower left part of the interface. These are tools for backing up your data, network management of stations running Panda solutions, Safe Browser, USB Vaccine and Virtual Keyboard.

Safe Browser, just like in the previous editions, is not integrated in Panda Internet Security, and you have to download it separately and install on the system. It is free of charge, but requires VirtualBox in order to function.

The scan options available include the regular choices (Quick, Full and Custom), but there is also ActiveScan Cleaner, offered as an advanced scan solution for removing malware currently active on your computer.

We used the same malware database as in the case of Bitdefender Total Security 2013 (reviewed here) to test the detection and elimination abilities of Panda Internet Security 2013. The entire process took a lot longer than we expected, as well as compared to other suites we subjected to the same on-demand scan tests.

We would often see no activity on the scan screen, but if we waited long enough, we’d see the needle moving again and the progress percentage jump to a higher value. After processing all the files, the engine eliminated 67,451 of the samples and notified us of 17 infections.



This would amount to a 68% detection and elimination rate. However, the value is increased by behavioral analysis technology, dubbed TruPrevent, which acts against unknown threats that evade regular detection.

The built-in firewall is no fancy tool and our tests showed that it is on par with its counterpart in Bitdefender Total Security 2013. On its own, it showed that it is susceptible to DLL injection, leaking information through Windows DNS APIs or modification of services in the registry. But in defense to Panda Internet Security, many of the attacks were dismantled by the behavioral shield.

While testing the suite, we received multiple firewall conflict alerts. The message stated that Windows Firewall was active and advised disabling it and running Panda’s solution. Despite acting as recommended, the messages kept popping up and we proceeded to disabling Windows Firewall completely; but even so, the alerts continued.

As Pedro Bustamante, senior research adviser at Panda Security, explained to us, they are aware of the bug that causes incorrect detection of inactive Windows Firewall and are working on a fix.

Identity Protection module seems to have undergone no change. The moment it detects transmission of confidential information, it will simply emit an alert asking for permission or denial of the operation. This applies to all unencrypted connections.

The Parental Control module also seems unchanged, vulnerable to the same bypasses we tested in Global Protection 2012 and Internet Security 2012. It remains underdeveloped and unadjusted to today’s standards that also include the possibility to restrict applications from running or Internet activity.



User profiles are outdated and it seems like it cannot restrict access to “https://” pages despite them being added to the untrusted URL list. But more importantly, it allows access to subdomains of a blocked domain. This is a door wide open to resources you might otherwise prevent your kid from being exposed to (such as adult content) if they “stumbled” onto the links.

Protection against phishing attacks is also integrated in the suite and, although not the best, our tests showed it can be a powerful ally, especially in combination with a browser with built-in mechanisms to defend you against web forgeries of this sort.

We used 36 fresh phishing sites and Panda managed to detect 27 of them. It let nine of them through, which makes for a detection of 75%.

Backing up with Panda Internet Security 2013 is no tough thing. It is a simple operation that can be carried out either locally or online, if your data can fit in 2GB of free space Panda Security customers get through the company’s partnership with Mozy online backup service. However, the 2GB of cloud storage is freely available to anyone signing up with Mozy, no strings attached.

The options for a local backup let you schedule when safe copies of your data should be created and where they should be stored. You can also opt for immediately starting the operation as well as define an expiration period, when they are deleted.



The Good

The new interface improves usability. You can prevent sensitive information from slipping out of your computer. USB Vaccine efficiently dismantles malware attacks carried out through autoplay.

The Bad

Scan speed took much longer than expected. Safe Browser needs to be downloaded separately and online backup feature is outsourced to Mozy backup service. USB Vaccine is not inherent and needs to be installed.

At one moment an information dialog popped up in Spanish, although the working language was set to English and during testing the interface crashed several times (protection services kept running).

Parental Control module did not improve over the year and is still limited only to restricting web content, to some extent.

The Truth

With competition rolling out new features that attend to various degrees of security, Panda seems stuck with the old ways and just puts on a fresh coat of paint.

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