Apple got off schedule in terms of an annual summer refresh cycle with the iPhone 4S, which launched instead in October, but the Cupertino-based company could be back on track this year, if the latest rumors pan out.
The information comes from "a reliable source" to 9to5Mac. Credence in the matter is given by the fact that the Apple-focused blog states that the source is the same one who told them late last summer that there would be no 2011 iPhone 5, but instead an iPhone 4S.
According to the source, several sample devices are already "on display," all varying slightly from one another such that the final design is not discernible. What seems clear is that the teardrop design rumored leading up to the iPhone 4S introduction is nowhere to be seen.
If the rumors are true, Apple will be moving to at least a 4-inch display, possibly made by LG. the 4-inch screen rumor has been around since last year.
The return to a summer refresh comes by extrapolation. In 2011, iPhone 4S production did not ramp up until late spring. Using an estimated five month lead time, Apple could return to a June / July launch for the iPhone 5.
We'd bet there will be some customers who feel cheated if that is so, though, if they had rushed into the iPhone 4S with an A5 processor, 8MP camera, and Siri, and little else different between it and the iPhone 4.
Sara Lee is expected to announce the move of its new headquarters to Chicago from the suburbs.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to make the announcement at 400 S. Jefferson St., where the food company plans to move.
Downers Grove-based Sara Lee is preparing to split into two publicly traded companies in the first half of 2012: the meat-focused company, being referred to as MeatCo, and a coffee and tea business expected to be headquartered in Europe, where most of its employees are.
Sara Lee has yet to provide a projected head count for MeatCo, but it will be smaller than Sara Lee.
Sara Lee was based in Chicago for more than 60 years before moving to Downers Grove in 2005 as part of a consolidation that pulled 1,000 employees from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Rolling Meadows and Chicago. That year, the company was preparing to spin off its Hanes and Playtex brands to focus on food, beverages and household products.
Sara Lee follows a number of companies that, during the past decade, have moved to the city. Among them is United Airlines, which announced in 2009 that it was moving to Willis Tower after more than 50 years on a corporate campus about two miles from O'Hare. The move is expected to be completed by May.
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is BreakTheBlocks Full.
BreakTheBlocks Full is priced at $1.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $1.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketplaces.
BreakTheBlocks Full is described as follows:
Smooth Gameplay
Do you remember playing Arkanoid when you were a kid at the local arcade? The simple joy of moving the trackball from side to side and breaking blocks became hypnotic and addictive. Now you can relive your brick breaking days with BreakTheBlocks Full. To play the game, all you have to do is swipe your fingers across the screen to control the spaceship platform. You will be surprised at how flawless these controls are. There aren't any jerking motions here; it is just a smooth transition from one movement to the next.
Once you get the hang of the game's controls, you can use your device's accelerometer to control your platform. This will allow you to follow the ball and platform by maneuvering the device by tilting it back and forth. To select the control preferences, all you have to do is press the Menu button on your Android device and select the Controls option on the display. It is so simple to play.
Keep Your Eye on the Ball
The key to this game is to keep your eye on the ball. Try to keep the same ball to destroy the blocks on one level. But if you find that you aren't quick enough to break all the blocks with one ball, you will get plenty of chances. The screen displays your remaining balls and which level you are on in a small section of the screen that doesn't distract your game.
Plenty of Extras
As you break the bricks in each level, little capsules will fall. Catch each of these pills and you can speed up or slow down the ball, make the paddle shorter or longer, gain bonus points or extra life to help you with each level. There are 50 levels in this full version. And unlike the lite version, this application comes without advertisements.
BreakTheBlocks Full has a 4.5-star rating in the Android Market and a 3.0-star rating in the Amazon Appstore.
No permissions paranoia in the Amazon Appstore. The app was simply downgraded because of performance issues and what seem to be valid complaints about performance.
In Android Market, though, you do have that 4.3 rating with 500+ ratings, and a free version with a 3.7 rating and over 15,000 ratings.
Those who are considering "buying" a Free Amazon Appstore app might want to consider what it means to developers.
Amazon.com opened up the Appstore despite a lawsuit by Apple, which has previously trademarked the term "App Store." Microsoft has filed an appeal against that trademark, saying the term is too generic. Amazon.com has responded to the lawsuit in the same manner.
Bollywood Diva Madhuri Dixit introduced her moving plans, the media fraternity continues to be abuzz with assorted reasons of her comeback.
Madhuri who’s shifting her base from Colorado, US to Mumbai was rumored to possess signed ‘Bigg Boss season 5’ for any special stint along with a guest appearance from the show.
However that they continues to be quite vocal about her plans she was quite open in revealing her side from the story. Madhuri says ‘Bigg Boss’ was neither agreed to her and nor she’s curiosity about doing the show because the reality drama wasn’t her ‘thing’. She mentioned that till date she hasn’t been offered any special appearance within the drama-show and when they are doing approach, she’ll contemplate it because it comes.
By now she confirmed the talks of ongoing like a judge around the dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’ is on, however she maintained that they hasn’t completed any deal yet.
Bollywood Diva Madhuri Dixit introduced her moving plans, the media fraternity continues to be abuzz with assorted reasons of her comeback.
Madhuri who’s shifting her base from Colorado, US to Mumbai was rumored to possess signed ‘Bigg Boss season 5’ for any special stint along with a guest appearance from the show.
However that they continues to be quite vocal about her plans she was quite open in revealing her side from the story. Madhuri says ‘Bigg Boss’ was neither agreed to her and nor she’s curiosity about doing the show because the reality drama wasn’t her ‘thing’. She mentioned that till date she hasn’t been offered any special appearance within the drama-show and when they are doing approach, she’ll contemplate it because it comes.
By now she confirmed the talks of ongoing like a judge around the dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’ is on, however she maintained that they hasn’t completed any deal yet.
Earlier in the year, at Google I/O, the Internet giant stated that the next major version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, would be due out in Q4 of this year. On Tuesday, a new rumor began circulating, indicating that Google would be moving that release up to "early Q4," meaning October.
The report states that the company is looking to rush Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) out the door because Apple's next-generation iPhone is slated to launch in September or October, as we've discussed before. An ICS release could blunt, at least somewhat, the impact of the latest Apple device on Android device sales.
Generally, Google has unveiled a new smartphone version of Android with a new Nexus device. It was rumored in late June that Google was going to release a "Nexus Prime" across all Big 4 carriers, but it was also rumored that ICS might be released on a number of devices via a number of OEMs at once.
Ice Cream Sandwich will also be the first version of Android to unify platforms across tablets and smartphones. Once it releases, there won't (cross your fingers) be such a different experience when comparing tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to the Motorola Droid 3.
Although an early release of ICS would be to reduce the impact of the iPhone 5, Google has another "savior" coming soon as well. Samsung's hot-selling and hot-performing Galaxy S II is set to hit the States, perhaps as early as this month or September.
In March we reported that AT&T was cracking down on those who were tethering without an appropriate tethering plan, and now it appears the nation's No. 2 carrier is ready to really take action.
Apparently, AT&T will, if you are using a tethering program without a proper tethering plan, move those with grandfathered unlimited data plans into a tiered data plan, automatically. The threat, therefore, is that a user could lose their "no longer available" unlimited plan vanish.
It's not really new news, as it was revealed in March that the warnings AT&T was sending to the end users that they detected tethering without an appropriate plan included the threat of pushing them to a plan that included tethering, as well. The thing is that such a plan is, by its nature at AT&T, a tiered plan.
Reports are that AT&T will begin enforcement of this program on August 11.
Of course, recently we've learned that unlimited isn't really unlimited anyway. AT&T will, beginning October 1st, throttle their top data users.
In fact, AT&T recommended that users who didn't want to face throttling move to a tiered data plan, as they wouldn't throttle you if you use a lot of data, because instead they would charge you an overage charge.
So really, what good is tethering without a tethering plan. If you're an AT&T shareholder, this might be considered a nice move (and no, we're not commenting on whether or not you should buy the stock).
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Cardio Trainer Pro.
In the Android Market, Cardio Trainer Pro is priced at $9.99. It is normally priced at $9.99 in the Amazon Appstore (as noted previously, the two marketplaces sometimes have differing prices).
Cardio Trainer Pro is described as follows:
WorkSmart Labs' CardioTrainer Pro, which builds upon the features included in the popular CardioTrainer app, turns your Android phone into a detailed and customizable personal fitness tracking device. Keep an eye on your workouts, track your progress en route, and share your results with like-minded exercise aficionados. By recording and tracking all your workout details, CardioTrainer Pro is a handy and popular tool to keep track of each of your workouts.
Pro Features CardioTrainer Pro's additional features help you stay active and make fitness and exercise more fun and thus more productive.
Adds six levels of interval training
Includes 20 levels of difficulty
Provides audio and video feedback during workouts
Free upgrades for life
Starting your workout When you first open the app, the green Start Workout tab invites you to get moving. CardioTrainer Pro's auto-mapping feature automatically tracks where you are, along with the day and time your workout begins. CardioTrainer Pro prompts you to select the kind of workout you're doing. The list includes running, biking, aerobics, and racquetball among more than 40 entries. You can select Custom if your workout isn't on the list.
Personal trainer The Trainer tab provides ways to set goals to customize your workout. You can set time goals, distance goals, and calorie goals, and later compare how you did against the targets you set for yourself.
Workout complete CardioTrainer Pro maps your training route and keeps a running total of your steps, the distance you've traveled (if applicable), your speed, and the calories you've burned. When you've completed your workout, touch the red End Workout button. The app prompts you to save your workout for future reference or discard it if you wish. You can also share your workouts on Facebook or via e-mail.
Customize CardioTrainer Pro provides a wealth of setting choices so you can tailor the app to suit your needs. Among them are selecting your conversion units, adjusting or disabling the live map, setting your weight for the calorie counter, and controlling the way you share your workout information. If you wish, the app's voice feature will notify you about the distance you traveled, your route, and the calories you burned.
CardioTrainer Pro includes a built-in music player and provides a personal access code so you can view your workouts online on the WorkSmart Labs website. The site tracks your workouts anonymously--you won't be personally identified if you choose to track your workouts online. CardioTrainer Pro also seamlessly interacts with other WorkSmart Labs' paid fitness apps such as Race Against Yourself and Move Your Bot!
Note that CardioTrainer Pro requires having previously installed CardioTrainer on your Android device in order to work.
Cardio Trainer Pro has a rating of 4.5-stars in the Android Market. It has a 4.5-star rating in the Amazon Appstore. There is also a free Cardio Trainer app in the Android Market, which has a rating of 4.5 stars. That version does not include interval workouts or a number of other features, as listed above.
Amazon opened up the Appstore despite a lawsuit by Apple, which has previously trademarked the term "App Store." Microsoft has filed an appeal against that trademark, saying the term is too generic.
The iPhone 5 is about 3, 3 1/2 months away if the annual refresh cycle runs true to form, and rumors are beginning to ramp up, just as production will in a few months. The latest appears to have shown up on a Chinese site that resells iPhone parts, as of Feb. 24.
The purported part shows what looks to be the iPhone 5's digitizer panel. From the appearance of the part, it looks like Apple is reducing the size of the bezel in such a way that the screen would extend nearly to the edge of the iPhone 5. Assuming this is a real part, this could lend credence to earlier rumors that Apple was moving the iPhone 5 to a larger, 4-inch screen. However, there's no way of knowing if the part is real, or what the actual screen size would be.
The iPhone 4 comes with a 3.5-inch screen, which has become somewhat undersized in comparison to the 3.7-, 4.0-, 4.3- and even 4.5-inch screens of current Android phones. Of course, most people are perfectly OK with the current-sized iPhone displays.
That said, the trend is for larger screen sizes, as they make it easier for a larger audience to read. Apple would, of course, want to maintain the iPhone's "retina display" resolution, and thus would have to increase the number of pixels on the new iPhone.
Kajal Agarwal, having consolidated her position as one of the most sought-after contemporary heroines, is now moving towards Bollywood.After a constant watch for the right chance, she has accepted a role opposite Ajay Devgn for the remake of Suriya`s Tamil hit Singam (dubbed in Telugu as Yamudu). The film will be directed by Rohith Shetty. Anushka was initially chosen but after she denied the role they moved on to Kajal.Interestingly, many heroines from South, Shriya, Trisha, Asin and Priyamani, have tried their luck in Bollywood, but they had to make a U-turn at the very initial stage, with just one or two films. Let us wait and see how Kajal wades through the high-voltage competition there.
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