Dev Tips & Technobuzz

  Apple  unveiled a new  iPad  with twice the storage capacity as the existing model in an effort to score business with companies that share large amounts of data.  Apple's new iPad will have a capacity of 128 gigabytes compared with the current model, which comes with different memory capacities but has a maximum of 64 gigabytes.  "With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs," said Apple senior vice president of marketing Philip Schiller in a statement.  Apple quoted several web application developers who said the additional memory capacity would allow businesses to better serve clients in conceptual design, music recordings and sports strategy.  Apple's move to expand its iPad following comes as the company faces tough questions from Wall Street over its growth prospects.  Company shares lost about 12

Samsung has made the rumoured Galaxy Xcover 2 official, a mid-range smartphone that is IP67 certified. This means it is waterproof and is impact and dust resistant. The new smartphone runs on  Android  4.1 (Jelly Bean) layered with Motion UI and takes over from its younger sibling, Galaxy Xcover.  The newly announced Galaxy Xcover 2 features a 4-inch TFT display with resolution of 800x480p and has approximately 233ppi pixel density. It is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor, paired with 1GB RAM, and comes with 4GB onboard storage, along with microSD card support up to 32GB. Connectivity options in the device include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0  Samsung has included a 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash on the back of Galaxy Xcover 2, while a VGA unit is placed on the front panel. The new device is powered by a 1,700mAh battery and comes with a host of pre-loaded apps, such as S Voice, S Cloud, Best Shot and Samsung Hubs. Apart from these, the phone also has ap

  Apple  launched  iPhone 5  with much fanfare just five months ago, but reports say the company is already working on not one but two iPhones as well as next generation  iPad and iPad mini.  Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities, says that Apple is working on an  iPhone  5 successor that will have new features like snappier processor, fingerprint sensor, better camera and more powerful LED flash. Kuo's claim of fingerprint recognition system gains a little credence from Apple's 2012 acquisition of Authentec, which deals with this technology.  Coming to the  cheaper iPhone  being developed by Apple, Kuo says this device will be same as iPhone 5 but will be a little stockier. Instead of the aluminium body and waistline of 7.6mm, the cheaper iPhone will have a plastic casing and measure 8.2mm around the sides. He also said this device will be available in six colours, a rumour that has done rounds in the past as well.  Technology blog iLounge has also reported about the up

 Refrigerators are getting smart. A new model released earlier this month runs apps to help users browse recipes, create shopping lists and manage the expiration dates of items like yogurt and milk.  The  T9000 refrigerator  by electronics company Samsung  has a 10-inch Wi-Fi-enabled touchscreen and includes apps such as Epicurious for recipes and  Evernote  for note-taking.  "The fridge, because it's the hub of the family and the kitchen, is now another access point without having to drag around your tablet or have your phone with you in the vicinity of where you're cooking or entertaining," said Warner Doell, a vice president in the home appliance division at Samsung Canada.  The display enables users to keep up with the news, weather and even Twitter from the fridge door. It can also replace hand-written calendars with Google Calendar integration, and run slideshows of photos, according to Doell.  Shopping lists can be created on the fridge with the Evernote

Microsoft’s research lab in Cambridge, UK has developed a new way to interact with the digital world using intuitive hand gestures. “Digits” uses 3 different IR cameras to track the positions of fingers with respect to each other. One of the  applications  for this technology includes 3-D  spacial  interaction with a mobile device. By assigning gestures to certain functions, the user could conceivably control any aspect of a device. This also allows for vision free control of the device. In example used in Microsoft’s  video , they assigned the the “thumb’s up” to answer an incoming call. Other applications include  sign language interpretation  and endless possibilities for gaming. Could this be the new controller for XBox 720? Guess we will have to wait to find out. Watch the Video Demonstration Of MIcrocoft's Digits Computer Interaction:

Microsoft has released a new version of its Try F# web portal for developers interested in the open source multi-paradigm programming language. The new resource features tutorials and information to learn the fundamentals of F# through new domain-specific tutorials. According to an official statement from Microsoft, "Try F# is geared to areas of focus such as data science, statistics, advanced computing, visualization, and machine learning. This focus provides a significant tool to those without extensive programming skills to run multiple data sets against computing algorithms, visualize correlations to make key decisions on further research and discovery, and prevents the need to use multiple programming interfaces." The Try F# site is not just a bunch of tutorials; it lets users write code in the browser and share it with others on the web to help grow the community of F# developers. Passionate to learn and code in Try F#: http://www.tryfsharp.org/

•    First devices featuring Firefox OS to be manufactured by TCL Communication Technology (Alcatel) and ZTE •    Leading global network operators back initiative, including Deutsche Telekom,  Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Telenor Mozilla, the free software community, is best known for its web browser Firefox. It was hinted last year that the company  was developing mobile OS  devices and they have finally revealed two phones: The Keon and the Peak. Developers will be the first to get their hands on the new Mozilla handsets in February. The phones are not expected to go on sale for consumers until later this year. The preview devices are being sent to developers so they can build apps for the  open-source mobile platform.  Mozilla partnered with Spain-based manufacturers  Geeksphone  and Telefonica to develop the handsets. The Keon, the orange phone pictured above, is the low-end handset, features  a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S1, an