Mobile phone can monitor skin changes, check for acne

A MOBILE phone that monitors the user's skin condition, checking for blemishes and colour, has been unveiled in beauty-conscious Japan.

The "Hada Memori" (skin memory) program allows women to keep tabs on their complexion and track changes over time by storing records in the cloud.

Users can also share their data through social networking sites, says IT giant Fujitsu, which plans to use the information to target advertising of beauty products.

A spokeswoman said the skin system comes with a small card that has a 15 millimetre hole, which must be pressed to the cheek. The smartphone's camera then takes a picture of the skin and analyses the result.

The Hada Memori is the first of a series of devices that will measure users' stress levels, exercise habits and quality of sleep, helping the company gather a significant pool of health data which it can then sell.

"We will be able to offer the data to service providers eventually," said Hayuru Ito, senior manager of Fujitsu's strategic planning division.

A model demonstrates how to take pictures of her face using a smartphone, which checks her skin condition through a cloud computer system produced by Fujitsu.

Fujitsu is aiming to have one million users of the system in the next two years.

Source: News

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Despite Rumors, Nokia Is Not Switching to Android

Recently, there was speculation that Nokia was considering giving up on Microsoft's Windows Phone and switching to Android. A company exec has pulled the rug out from under the basis for this rumor.

What set off the discussion was a job posting from Nokia looking for an expert in "embedded Linux device software and hardware drivers for our exciting new products." As Android is a Linux-based operating system, some jumped to the conclusion that Nokia was considering making smartphones running this operating system.

This would be a major change, as Nokia and Microsoft have built a partnership for creating devices running Windows Phone. However, sales of their first and second-generation models have yet to take off, so it's not completely unreasonable to consider that Nokia could be considering a change to a different OS. 

However, a Nokia spokesperson threw cold water on this theory this morning by posting "Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android." HERE is the new name for Nokia's navigation software, which recently launched for the iPhone

Source: BrightHand

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Nokia attempts to block BlackBerry sales after patent dispute

Nokia has won a patent dispute with RIM over the inclusion of WLAN technology in its BlackBerry handsets, and has asked for a sales ban in the UK, US and Canada

The Finnish company made the disclosure by submitting a US court filing that asked for enforcement of the earlier ruling that RIM infringed on a Nokia patent by including WLAN in its BlackBerry handsets.

According to Nokia the ruling was that RIM could not manufacture or sell any WLAN product without paying royalties first, and so it has filed cases in the US, Canada and the UK to have the ruling enforced - which could mean a sales ban on BlackBerry handsets.

It has to be said the squabble comes at a remarkably bad time for both companies. Nokia is struggling to capture a foothold in the smartphone market, despite recent releases in the form of the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820.

Meanwhile BlackBerry continues to lose ground to the likes of Apple and Samsung, and is heavily relying on the new BlackBerry 10 operating system that was originally slated to appear this autumn but has been pushed back to early next year.

So far RIM has yet to comment on the ruling but has said that it will respond to Nokia in time. Whether a royalty agreement will be reached by the two companies remains to be seen.

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Microsoft and Amazon To Launch Smartphones in 2013

According to a report coming out of Asia, both Microsoft and Amazon will introduce their own lines of phones next year. Foxconn International Holding, a subsidiary of iPhone-maker Foxconn, will reportedly assemble both of these devices.

While unnamed sources at FIH were willing to leak the existence of these two smartphones toDigiTimes, they did not have many specifics about them.

Microsoft's device will certainly run its Windows Phone operating system, but nothing is known about Amazon's. Still, this retailer's line of tablets runs a modified version of the Android OS, and its handset might as well.

There have been rumors about both these companies introducing smartphones for many months, especially after each came out with a line of tablets. Their plans are apparently moving forward, as the sources at FIH indicated that these phones will be released around the middle of next year.

Sources: BrightHand

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ZTE building eight-core smartphone for launch next year?

Forget dual core, or even quad core, the latest generation of smartphones will be rocking no less than eight cores if new rumours are to be believed

ZTE, the Chinese manufacturer known for giving us the likes of the ZTE Grand X and the ZTE PF100 apparently has an eight-core smartphone in the works, set for a 2013 release.

According to sources, the manufacturer's new handset is codenamed "Apache" with a CPU provided by MediaTek and based on the 28nm microarcitecture.

Other rumours beginning to emerge give the Apache handset a 13MP camera, 4G connectivity and a Full HD screen.

Although ZTE has yet to achieve any real penetration here in the UK mobile phone market, it overtook HTC last month as the world's fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer - thanks almost solely to sales in China.

In real terms though, you won't need to abandon your iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3 for an eight-core device just yet. Apps and programs designed for use on a dualcore or quadcore phone won't run any differently on an eight-core device.

Where the extra muscle comes in handy is for multitasking - but given the screen real estate on the average handset ain't exactly expansive, we don't see this as a deciding factor.

Still, the race for greater power isn't going away anytime soon. Samsung is reportedly working on its own eight-core device, although it looks like ZTE might have beaten it to the punch with the Apache.

Whether or not the Apache will make an appearance at CES 2013 is anyone's guess but we'll keep our ears to the ground to bring you the latest developments.

Sources: Android Headlines and TechRadar

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Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8 - Start Screen

Microsoft’s big Windows Phone 8 event wrapped up last week with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer taking the stage to announce all of the new Windows Phone 8 devices and when they will launch.

“We wanted to build a phone that would be personal for each of us,” said Ballmer. To that end, he showed off a variety of Windows Phone 8 smartphones from HTC, Nokia, and Samsung.

He began by showing off Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone 8 device, the Lumia 920. Ballmer was present at an announcement earlier this year when Nokia announced its new lineup of Lumia smartphones. The Samsung ATIV S came next, then the HTC Windows Phone 8X.

Ballmer then announced that these phones, and others, will begin launching starting this weekend. In the U.S., three of the major wireless carriers will be carrying windows phone, with Sprint the major carrier that wasn’t mentioned at the event.

In addition to being sold through carriers, Microsoft Stores will carry every Windows Phone 8 smartphone available in the U.S., and all color options for these devices will be available through the online Microsoft Store.

Smart Features:

Xbox SmartGlass allows control of an Xbox 360 with a phone (Available for Windows Phone, iOS and Android)
Xbox Music and Xbox Video services support playback of video and audio files in Windows Phone, as well as music purchases.
Easy transfers
Native code support (C and C++), allows for simplified porting from platforms such as Android, Symbian, and iOS
Simplified porting of Windows 8 apps to Windows Phone 8 (compatibility with Windows 8 Metro apps)
Remote device management of Windows Phone similar to management of Windows PCs
VoIP and video chat integration for any VoIP or video chat app (integrates into the phone dialer, people hub)
Firmware over the air for Windows Phone updates
Minimum 18 month support of Windows Phone updates to Windows Phone 8 devices
Camera app now supports "lenses", which allow third parties to skin and add features to camera interface
Native screen capture is added by pressing home and power buttons simultaneously

Windows Phone 8 minimum device requirements
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor
Minimum 512MB RAM for WVGA phones; minimum 1GB RAM for 720p / WXGA
Minimum 4GB flash memory
GPS and A-GNSS; GLONASS is supported if OEMs decide to include it
Support for micro-USB 2.0
3.5mm stereo headphone jack with three-button detection support
Rear-facing AF camera with LED or Xenon flash, optional front-facing camera (both need to be VGA or better) and dedicated camera button
Accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, as well as vibration motor (magnetometer and gyroscope are optional)
802.11b/g and Bluetooth (802.11n is optional)
DirectX graphics hardware support with hardware acceleration for Direct3D using programmable GPU
Multi-touch capacitive touch screen with minimum of four simultaneous points

HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 820 running Windows Phone 8

Sources:  Wikipedia, Webpronews

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Google's Nexus 4 is a Sell Out

GOOGLE'S latest phone can't claim to be unpopular. It sold out in Australia in 22 minutes.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly why this phone was so popular - perhaps its software, its hardware or its low price.

Made by LG, the Nexus 4 is Google's latest reference device for Android software and features the very latest version of Jelly Bean, v4.2, before any other phone. This update adds several useful if not major additions.

Drag two fingers down the phone and new software delivers a fresh shortcuts menu to popular settings. Swipe a finger to the left when unlocking it and you can add widgets for quick access to mail, messages or calendar.

The Nexus 4's camera has also received software additions. Tapping a round icon delivers quick access to camerher automatically. This mode rarely stitched photos together seamlessly in our tests, but it was fun to use.

Software aside, the Nexus 4 is instantly recognisable as a Google device, thanks to its curved form.a settings, while a new Photo Sphere mode helpfully stitches 360-degree panoramas toget

Unusually, though, it features Corning Gorilla Glass 2 on the front and the back, with the rear offered a sparkly treatment.

The 4.7-inch IPS screen is much more attractive, and clearly the reason Google tapped LG for this job. It features a 320ppi resolution that is sharper than its price point should allow.

On the downside, this phone's storage cannot be expanded, its battery is about average, the glass facade is bound to unnerve clumsy users and, unlike some other Nexus models, it does not up the power stakes.

Priced under $400, though, this slick and powerful Google phone is bound to add to its early, keen following.

Source: www.news.com

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