Firefox 5 Beta 2 Lands, Opera Mini 6 Released for iPhone, iPad

There's major browser releases both on the mobile and on the personal computer front

These days the Mozilla Foundation is feeling the heat. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has delivered a surprisingly sporty and compatible Internet Explorer 9. And Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Chrome browser is becoming the first new browser in some time to gobble up a significant market share.

I. Firefox 5 Blazes Ahead on Schedule

But nothing lays concerns to rest better than adopting an aggressive schedule and sticking to it. That's exactly what Mozilla did, with the release of Firefox 5's second beta.

Delivered right on schedule, the new build features speed improvements and a number of new features, including:

* Added support for CSS animations
* Added support for switching Firefox development channels
* The Do-Not-Track header preference has been moved to increase discoverability
* Improved canvas, JavaScript, memory, and networking performance
* Improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL, and canvas
* Improved spell checking for some locales
* Improved desktop environment integration for Linux users

The inclusion of CSS animations support was particularly important, as the Webkit source (which Chrome and Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) Safari browser are based on) already supports it. Mozilla and its collaborators also made some tweaks to the GUI art, which they say are subtle, but will be noticed if you return to FF4.

Aside from new functionality and speed-ups, the beta also resolves many stability issues and other bugs that cropped up in Firefox 4. A full log of these changes is found here. Full release notes can be found here. And last, but not least, the download can be found here.

Firefox 5 is scheduled to release June 21 -- less than a month from now. It will contend with Internet Explorer 10, which is currently being previewed, and Chrome 12, which is currently being beta tested.

II. Opera Mini 6 Hits the iPad, iPhone

Yesterday also saw the release of Opera Mini 6 for the iPad and iPhone. The first major release for the iOS platform since its launch title -- Opera Mini 5 -- Norwegian software company Opera Software ASA (OPERA) is hoping to replicate its previous success. Opera saw 1 million downloads of Mini 5 for the iPhone/iPad in a mere 24 hours after its release.

Available on the iTunes store now for free, the new browser features:

* Much faster and smoother panning and zooming
* Share buttons which are compatible with My Opera, Facebook, Twitter or vKontakte
* A new" jazzed-up" skin
* Redesigned Opera menus

It also reportedly gives the browser a healthy injection of speed.

Opera’s, CEO Lars Boilesen compared the release to a rock concert, stating, "I would compare it to walking onto the stage and hearing the roar of the crowd. We have put in a lot of rehearsal and clever thought behind the new experience. The Opera Mini browser has always kicked up the tempo when downloading pages; now the browsing flows along to a smooth, easy beat."

While Opera is seeing a bit more competition these days -- namely from the Firefox Mobile browser for Android -- it's still makes the most used mobile browsing pair in the world, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. These mobile browsers are unique in that they leverage heavy server-side compression, something the competition still hasn't embraced. The net effect for users is that in areas with poor signal or low data speeds pages load much faster in Opera Mini/Mobile than in their competitors.

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Posted in: Other-mobile-and-platform

Foxconn Factory Explosion Unlikely to Affect iPad 2 Production

Apple iPad 2 production is unlikely to be affected long-term by the explosion at a Foxconn production facility that killed three workers, according to an analyst.

An explosion at Foxconn’s production plant May 20 killed three workers and raised questions over whether production of the iPad 2 and other Apple products will be affected.

Early reports cited combustible dust in the plant’s polishing workshop as the cause of the explosion, which also injured 15 workers. Foxconn manufactures iPads and iPhones for Apple, among other products. Its production plant is based in Chengdu, a city in southern China.

“Our current view is that this tragedy is likely to have some impact on iPad 2 production; however, we believe Hon Hal has the flexibility to shift manufacturing back to the Shenzhen facility if necessary,” Brian White, an analyst with Ticonderoga Securities, wrote in a May 23 research note sent to media. “As such, we currently don’t expect a material impact to Apple’s iPad 2 shipments.”

Apple has faced its share of Foxconn-related issues in the past. In 2010, it launched a high-level investigation into 12 suicide attempts that look place at the Foxconn facility throughout the first half of 2010, complete with Apple COO Tim Cook visiting in June 2010. Apple also claimed it commissioned an independent team of suicide-prevention experts to survey Foxconn workers about their quality of life.

Throughout 2010, Apple completed first-time audits of 97 suppliers and repeat audits of another 30, for an apparent total of 288 supplier facilities audited since 2007. Much of the company’s probing seems focused on weeding out underage workers, protecting the rights of migrant workers, and mapping the use of potential conflict minerals such as tantalum and tungsten; however, it also cites improperly maintained machines and violated engineering controls.

“Foxconn is not a sweatshop,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in June 2010. “You go in this place and it’s a factory but, my gosh, they’ve got restaurants and movie theaters and hospitals and swimming pools. For a factory, it’s pretty nice.”

Apple’s mobile devices helped buoy the company’s revenues to $24.67 billion for the fiscal 2011 second quarter, with a net profit of $5.99 billion. Apple sold 4.7 million iPads during the quarter, which saw the release of the iPad 2. Though Apple commands the lion’s share of the tablet market and continues to maintain a healthy presence in smartphones, it finds itself increasingly challenged by a variety of manufacturers pushing devices loaded with Google Android.

Apple is expected to issue a new iPhone and iOS later in the year, along with Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion,” the next version of its operating system for Macs.

“Demand on iPad 2 has been staggering,” Cook told analysts and media during an April 20 earnings call. Despite that demand, however, he expressed confidence that “we can produce a very large number of iPads for the coming quarter.”

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform

Deceased Chinese Have Burning Desire For iPad 2

While many consumers have been dying to get their hands on an iPad 2, other customers are landing the devices long after they are dead.

With the Qingming festival at hand, Chinese families in Malaysia are snatching up paper copies of Apple's newest device. Apple's newest tablet is joining replicas of LCD televisions and expensive sports cars as the latest gift to the dead, Reuters reports.

By burning the replicas, celebrants honor their dead ancestors, who they believe will receive the gifts in the afterlife. The popularity of expensive gifts like the iPad is a departure from more traditional gifts like clothing and money, which many Chinese see as more essential.

But celebrants looking to gift their deceased relatives with the iPad 2 have been frustrated as supplies of the paper replicas have dwindled. Similar to the supply constraints facing the actual iPad 2, shop owners have struggled to fulfill the demand for paper copies of the tablet. Most have only been able to offer customers replicas of the original iPad, which customers are less interested in.

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform

Sony may supply 8MP Image sensors for iPhone 5

All eyes are set on Worldwide Developers Conference starting on June 5 where Apple is expected to announce the next generation iPhone 5. Sir Howard Stringer, president and CEO of Sony Corp, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, is said to have slipped Sony s plans about 8 megapixel image sensors to be supplied to Apple for next generation iPhone 5. Seth Weintraub, owner of 9to5Mac blog noted that Stringer stated that the factory making image sensors for Apple was affected by the Tsunami in Japan.

Apple usually sources the image sensors for its iOS devices from OmniVision that offered backside-illuminated 5 megapixel CMOS Image sensor in the iPhone 4. OmniVision Factory located in Japan is reported to be affected by Tsunami and hence there has been a delay in supply of image sensors for Apple products.

According to report by WSJ, Stringer casually stated -
Early on, he raised the irony of Sony supplying camera components for Apple devices. It always puzzles me, he said. Why would I make Apple the best camera? It is unclear what devices he was talking about as Sony isn t known to supply key camera components, known as image sensors, to Apple.

As opposed to that, Weintraub had paraphrased Stringer s mention as:
Our best sensor technology is built in one of the (tsunami) affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones or iPads. Isn t that something? They buy our best sensors from us?

Sony also manufactures backside-illuminated Exmor R image sensors which were recently used in the current Xperia Arc model. Hence it might have been an indirect offer from Sony to Apple for buying image sensors from them instead of getting the iPhone 5 shipment delayed. As of now there s no second reported to confirm what Weintraub heard at the interview but it looks ambiguous why Sony would supply parts to one of its rivals.

From the mixed reports available so far, I believe iPhone 5 indeed will have 8 megapixel Image Sensor. However, there s no clarity whether those Image Sensors would be from OmniVision or Sony.

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform

Fake iPhone 4 are sold in China

Police in China arrested the syndicate, dubbed ‘Apple Gang’. A total of 6 members of this syndicate to sell the iPhone 4, IPAD and other electronic products that looked real, but it is actually false. It is unmitigated, the sales value has reached U.S. $ 764 thousand.

The fake electronic goods are sold cheaply in Shanghai since December 2010. At first glance looks authentic product concerned, very similar to the original.

The investigation began when Sanghai police received reports that sales of counterfeit goods. They arrested the perpetrator who was the elder sister continued to 4 other syndicate members.

Around 4465 counterfeit products were seized. According to the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, the fake products are manufactured in China. The display is three-quarter money with Apple products, but when it used, it was seen that use different operating systems.

Apple products are quite popular in Shanghai. Some people desperate to buy fake goods because not able to reach the original price.

Local police really enough incentive to do raids. Since October 2010, police reportedly arrested a total of 777 suspects in 365 cases of infringement of intellectual property rights.

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Posted in: Other-mobile-and-platform

10 Reasons Why The Motorola Xoom Beats The iPad 2

Apple has introduced their new iPad 2 tablet which is the successor to the iPad. Improvements included a faster processor, a camera, the operating system, and the addition of Facetime. It is also lighter and thinner.

But the competition will get stiffer in the days to come. The Motorola Xoom is among the best competitors; here is a look at ten reasons why Motorola Xoom is better.

Display:
Previously, Steve Job criticized smaller display sizes and said a 7-inch screen would be too small to effectively use media-oriented software. Hence the 9.7-inch display offered by the iPad 2. Motorola's Xoom ships with a larger 10.1-inch, 800 x 1280 pixel display screen compared to the iPad 2’s 9.7-inch, 768 x 1024 display.The Xoom also has widescreen ratio of 16:9 so that images ported from movies fit better than they would on the 1:1.33 ratio on the Apple iPad.

Operating system:
Google has introduced the new Android Honeycomb, which is specifically designed for tablets. The iPad 2 on the other hand has the upgraded iOS operating system. Basically, the iOS 4.3 was tweaked but not a major breakthrough. The Honeycomb is a better OS as it handles notifications, better multi-tasking and app switching, the widgets outdo the iOS and it is more customizable. The major offering in iOS 4.3 is a faster Safari browser, enhancements to AirPlay and the new iTunes Home Sharing feature, enabling users to play content stored in desktop over Wi-Fi.

4G upgradable:
The Xoom tablet is upgradable to 4G, and Motorola will do it free of charge. Upgrades should be available in second quarter of 2011. The iPad 2 does not feature 4G connectivity.

Browser:
The chrome browser featured in Xoom provides tabbed browsing and like the PC and Mac version of Chrome, a single box does double duty as a search box and for typing in a URL. And Chrome automatically syncs your bookmarks on PC and Mac. Safari does not do this nearly as well.

Flash:
The Xoom tablet didn’t feature Adobe Flash during its launch but the Flash support is expected soon via an upgrade. There is no word of Flash compatibility being added to the iPad 2.

Download freedom:
Although Apple features much more apps than Android market, it also bans plenty of apps as well. The Xoom will be able to connect to the Android app markets, which have fewer restrictions though quality control can be an issue.

Memory:

Apple has not revealed the how much RAM the iPad 2 has. AppleInsider is reporting early analyses are finding 512 MB, which would be double the earlier models. The Xoom features a 1 GB which goes with the 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor for better performance and 3D game capability.

Camera:
Motorola Xoom features a better camera as it has a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera compared to iPad 2’s 0.7-megapixel rear and the fron-facing VGA camera.

Card Slot/HDMI:
Motorola has a microSD card slot for up to 32 GB and features an HDMI port, which Apple iPad 2 lacks.

Audio:
The Motorola Xoom features stereo speakers as against Apple iPad 2’s one.

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform

AT&T will support iPhone hotspot feature

AT&T made a huge announcement today that will help with the envy we GSM (AT&T) iPhone users have had against our CDMA (Verizon) brethren. So what’s the big deal? Well, when the Verizon iPhone came out, one of its great features was the personal hotspot. Well, thanks to iOS 4.3, GSM iPhone users will now be able to set up a personal hotspot too.

AT&T will launch the service on March 11, the same day that the iPad 2 and iOS 4.3 is released to all of us. It’ll work the same as it does on the Verizon iPhone, except you’ll be able to make a call while using the data.

More good news for AT&T customers: Unlike Verizon’s puny amount of allotted data, AT&T is being generous. Verizon only allows a max of 2GB for the hotspot feature, and if you go over, you’ll get charged. With AT&T, go over the 2GB tethering/hotspot limit, and it will dip into your iPhone’s 2GB of data. (The two for your dedicated phone data.) What that means is you could theoretically get a max of 4GB of data on AT&T. Again, on Verizon, the mobile hotspot data cap is 2GB.

Do you think that this hotspot feature is going to sell like hotcakes on AT&T? Tweet @jakezarobsky, or comment down below!

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform

AT&T to start selling Amazon Kindle on March 6

AT&T will sell the 6-inch, 3G version of the Amazon Kindle in company-owned stores starting Sunday, it announced today.

The carrier will be selling the e-reader for $189, the same price it's available for on Amazon.com and in other retail outlets. Customers who opt to buy the Kindle at AT&T stores won't find any special arrangements with the carrier, so consider this just another place where Kindle seekers can pick up the e-reader.

AT&T's decision to start selling the Kindle on its store shelves makes for a rather interesting dynamic in its stores. Soon, the Kindle will be sitting next to the iBooks-equipped iPad in AT&T stores, enabling those looking for an e-reader to try out both devices before they make their choice.

Amazon's Kindle 3G connects to the Web via Wi-Fi or over AT&T's 3G network for free. It allows users to download books, periodicals, and other content wirelessly, and is capable of storing up to 3,500 books. According to AT&T, the Amazon Kindle Store now has over 810,000 books for customers to choose from.

Amazon revealed in December that its third-generation Kindle is the bestselling product of all time on its Web site, surpassing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)." On Christmas Day, "more people turned on new Kindles for the first time, downloaded more Kindle Buy Once, Read Everywhere apps, and purchased more Kindle books than on any other day in history," Amazon said at the time. The company did not release sales figures however.

The Kindle was also the top-selling device on Amazon between November 14 and December 19, besting the 8GB iPod Touch, according to the company.

AT&T joins Target and Best Buy in the growing number of retailers that sell the Kindle on store shelves.

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Posted in: Other-mobile-and-platform

HTC Thunderbolt Prepares To Launch as iPhone 5 Nears

It has been nearly 2 weeks since Verizon released its first version of the Apple iPhone and sales have been anything but exciting. This could be from news of an iPhone 5 that is expected to launch sometime in June or later this summer. The iPhone 5 rumors have certainly kept some consumers who have been waiting for the Verizon iPhone on a stand still until further information with exact dates is released. Verizon has not made any official comments in regards to their iPhone 4 sales results, but many think results will fall well short of analyst pre iPhone sales predictions.
The iPhone 4 is just one of the big smartphones that is making news in the first quarter as the HTC Thunderbolt powered by Android prepares to launch within the next 2 weeks. The original release date was pushed back to avoid the possibility of customers looking to return their iPhone 4 within their 14 day trial period to get a piece of Verizon’s first 4G phone. The HTC Thunderbolt will be the 2nd smartphone on Verizon’s network that will feature a front and rear facing camera for video chat. It will also be the first phone that will allow its users in a 4G area to simultaneously surf the web during a phone call. This has been something that AT&T customers have been able to do on their current 3G smartphones. This has helped AT&T keep some of their customers who enjoyed the ability to do both.
The HTC Thunderbolt is just one of the cool phones that is expected to launch on Verizon’s 4G network sometime in the near future. Whether you are a Apple or Android fan Verizon has finally given its customers what they have been waiting for….options. You no longer have to switch companies to get the phone you want. The real test will be how long they will keep their unlimited smartphone data plans.

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Posted in: Apple,Other-mobile-and-platform