App Store Subscriptions recurring your way soon

Expected to debut as one of the key features in iOS 4.3, the new digital billing service will be similar to In-App Purchases, as currently used in most apps in the App Store.

Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly). Then with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment (weekly, monthly, etc.). Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription. Apple processes all payments, keeping the same 30 percent share that it does today for other In-App Purchases.

With regards to whether content may also be offered outside of this new billing mechanism, Apple CEO points out that publishers are free to offer content outside of the app. But if so, the same or better offer has to be given to subscribers of the app.

"Our philosophy is simple - when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," said Steve Jobs, Apples CEO. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers."

Besides providing customers an easy way to keep track of their subsription and ease of activation and billing, Apple is pushing this new App Store Subscriptions as 30% of the content providers revnue will go to Apple.

But for the ease of potential customers and the vast distribution power of the App Store, Im sure many content providers will submit to Apples demand in exchange for a potential 160 million iOS users around the globe.

Source: Apple

Amiga returns... with an $98 Android Tablet

Lo and behold, we received news from Bill McEwen that Amiga is introducing a seven inch tablet powered by Android 2.2 operating system. The price of the 7" Amiga Xpedio 7MTB is set at only $98, while the add-on USB keyboard and protective case raise the price to only $118.

The Amiga Xpedio 7MTB is powered by VIA Technologies WM8650 ARM chip ticking at 720MHz, 256MB LPDDR2 memory, 4GB embedded storage and of course, the multi-touch screen. In order to keep the price down, 7MTB comes with resistive two-point touch-screen. You can expand the storage up to 32GB locally via MicroSD/MemoryStick/MMC cards.

Besides the Xpedio 7MTB, Amiga also offers Xpedio 7 MT ($189) and Xpedio 10 MT($289), which also feature Samsung PV210 SoC with ARM Cortex-A8 processor ticking at 1GHz, 512MB LPDDR2 memory and 8GB of local storage, also expandable up to 32GB. 7MT and 10MT are both equipped with capacitive multi-touch display.

The manufacturer is stating that the preorder prices are good until November 11, 2011 with the delivery taking place before December 25, 2011.

Angry Birds developer shows trailer for next game

Rovio, the developer behind the popular Angry Birds series, has released a trailer for its next game, Amazing Alex, which promises to bring more physics-based puzzles to mobile gamers.

The game focuses on Alex, a kid who sets up various contraptions with his toys, giving players over 100 levels of physics puzzles that will make use of toy cars, footballs, balloons, and any piece of furniture in the vicinity.Another unique feature of the game is a level creator, which means gamers can expand the possible game experiences with 35 interactive objects, a number which is sure to grow over time. Player-created levels can also be shared online and Rovio is promising plenty of free updates.If the game is as well-crafted as Rovios bird-flinging pig-crushing antics the gaming world could be in for another puzzle phenomenon.Amazing Alex launches tomorrow, 12 July for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

An app store for non-smartphones

It is common knowledge that the draw of smartphones does not lie in the devices themselves; that honour has to go to the online applications store (or app store for short), where owners of such phones can access various downloadable widgets and applications which provide additional functionality, either for free or at a price.

Of course, with smartphones well on the way to becoming the next mainstream devices in mobile telecommunications, it is easy to forget that there are still large numbers of classic web-capable non-smartphones which are every bit as capable as their newer counterparts, and locking all of these handsets out from the boon of online services would no doubt cause many owners to feel somewhat left out of the trend.

And that is where Snaptu comes in to save the day: by releasing an app store specially targeted at non-smartphones.

To access to Snaptu's app store users need to access its homepage with their mobile phones at m.snaptu.com to download and install an application (which TechCrunch claims is Java-based, something which most older phones should have pre-installed)., as shown below:

Once this is done, you should have a new application installed in the handset which allows you to browse through the various applications that Snaptu has to offer.

So if downloadable apps are what you have been craving for, there's no reason to junk your current handset away now that Snaptu has given it a new lease of life with its own app store. Of course, you 'll still need a data plan before you start downloading anything.

Source: Snaptu via TechCrunch

AMD Showcases Bulldozer At E3

AMD 8-Core Bulldozer Processor

AMD 4-Core Bulldozer Processor

8-Core on AMD Vision!

AMD is going to bring back some fond memories by naming the Bulldozer processors, AMD FX-Series. The FX-Series come in 4-core, 6-core and 8-core processors. Fans will love the attractive design of the FX-Series boxes. Just look at the 8-core sweetness in the AMD Vision.

Source: 4Gamer

AMD reports Q4 and 2011 results

AMD has announced financial results for Q4 2011 and full year 2011. Revenue for Q4 2011 stayed flat over Q3 2011 at $1.69 billion, while revenues were slightly up in 2011 to $6.57 billion over 2010.

Non-GAAP net income for Q4 2011 was reported as $138 million. However, AMD underwent restructuring changes costing $98 million, and an impairment of AMDs investment in Globalfoundries at $209 million. Accounted for in the GAAP results, this lead to a net loss of $177 million for Q4 2011. Despite this, AMD still managed an increase in net income for 2011 to $491 million, up from $471 million in 2010.

AMD shipped more than 30 million APUs in 2011 over A, C and E series. AMDs server division also saw strong growth, due to the introduction of Bulldozer bazed Opteron 6200/4200 series. The graphics segment however saw a decrease in Q4 2011, 5% over Q3 and 10% over Q4 2010. This was largely due to a decline in mobile GPU shipments, possibly caused by processor graphics / APUs gaining traction, as well as NVIDIAs Optimus gaining mind share. However, this was offset partially by increase in royalties from increased Xbox 360 and Wii sales in Q4.Curiously, AMD made no mention of the hard drive shortage, something NVIDIA and Intel have blamed.

Looking forward to Q1 2012, AMD expect revenue to decrease 8% ± 3%.

Source: AMD Press Release

Asus readying Rampage IV Formula for LGA-2011

It appears that Asus has more motherboard coming based on Intels X79 chipset and its next model will be the Rampage IV Formula, a more affordable sibling to the Rampage IV Extreme. This move makes sense considering the price tag of the Rampage IV Extreme and in all fairness; the two boards have slightly different target markets as the Rampage IV Formula is more of a gamers board than its more expensive sibling.

Sadly we dont have a top-down view of the board, so its not entirely clear what has been changed. However, the Rampage IV Formula has some features that you wont find on the Rampage IV Extreme, such as a new audio design which has a small part of the PCB isolated to reduce EMI interference. Asus took the opportunity to add a rather pointless but interesting looking backlight to the PCB to highlight the separate audio area. Asus has also added a massive 1,500uF capacitor to the audio circuitry which the company claims will somehow improve the audio quality thanks to reduced ripple.

Most of the other features are cost savings, such as a pair of PCI Express x1 slots instead of that fifth x16 slot and a x1 slot, four DIMM slots, a simpler cooler design which were happy to say is using a passive heatsink and a few cuts when it comes to connectivity options such as only two front USB 3.0 ports. The rear I/O is fairly similar, but the Bluetooth dongle is gone, but you still get a PS/2 port, six USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA ports, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a clear CMOS and ROG connect button.

The rumour also has it that Asus is working on a Rampage IV Gene, i.e. a mATX LGA-2011 R.O.G. motherboard, although neither model has a firm launch date at the moment. This brings Asus total board count for the LGA-2011 platform up to eight boards, thats a few too many in our opinion as the platform isnt likely to gain a major uptake among consumers until at least the more affordable quad core Core i7-3820 which were hearing has been pushed even further back now and is not expected to launch in January. Check out the source for a slide deck detailing a few more of the features of theRampage IV Formula.

Source: Sweclockers

AMD Socket F Opterons Has No Pins

It seems like the next generation Opteron based on the newSocket F will have a LGA775-like socket. The dual-core Opterons next year willmove on to 1207 contact pads it appears instead of the usual pins.It willsport DDR2-667 memory support and also Pacifica Virtualization, PresidioSecurity, Memory RAS.

ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 Heavy Duty Motherboard Joins Durable TUF Series

The new SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard delivers the latest Intel chipset and support for the fastest processors on the market, including the Intel Core i7-980X, as part of the TUF Series of heavy duty motherboards. It is the latest entry in this ruggedized lineup, providing uncompromised durability and the utmost reliability to users who demand 24/7, high-intensity usage.

As the name implies, TUF Series motherboards put reliability and endurance above all else. They are built with more rigorous stress testing than normal motherboards, and ship with added longevity measures. TUF Series motherboards are the most reliable and stable models on the market, making them ideal for tough, heavy duty tasks where compatibility is critical.

True to its TUF Series form, the SABERTOOTH X58 offers superior stability and reliability, putting it at the level of server and mainframe boards in terms of durability.

Covering all the Essentials of Reliability

The key emphasis for TUF Series motherboards lies in enabling prolonged use. The SABERTOOTH X58 can keep going round the clock with no pause thanks to its meticulous thermal design, which means heat and stress are not obstacles. This new thermal design revolves around CeraM!X Heatsink Coating Technology, using revolutionary ceramic application on vital motherboard surfaces and components to ensure unrivalled heat resistance and dissipation. Thus, it is the perfect choice for server functionality and extreme, steady reliability. CeraM!X application has never been done on a motherboard before the ASUS TUF Series entered service.

Reliability Tested to Military Grade

The SABERTOOTH X58 from ASUS uses heavy duty materials and parts to ensure truly unmatched capabilities in terms of stability, reliability, endurance, and value.
The chokes, solid state capacitors and MOSFETs have all been tested under the most arduous of conditions and harsh environments based on military standards, providing users with a proven heavy duty solution.

TUF Series motherboards are ruggedized from the ground up, so they can handle more than just long-haul usage and heat. They are also tested to server-grade standards and can stand up to humidity and ambient temperatures to an exponentially larger extent than normal motherboards. As a consequence, they are long-life products users can install with complete confidence.

Being strong does not mean TUF Series motherboards compromise added features. The SABERTOOTH X58 ships with new data transfer standards USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s, so it offers some of the latest innovations in addition to superior strength. It is a complete package of guaranteed reliability and compatibility.

Source: ASUS PR

ASUS Singapore announces RT-N53 Black Diamond dual band wireless router

ASUSSingapore has recentlyannounced the launch of their latest RT-N53 Black Diamond dual band wireless router, designed to bring the best home and office networking experience to users. It has a slim and elegant wall-mountable design, universal repeater mode that extends and enhances Wi-Fi network coverage, and boasts data rates of up to 600Mpbs at bandwidth with simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The 2.4GHz band allows users to download files and browse the web, while the 5GHz band takes care of high definition content streams. In the security department, the RT-N53 features enhanced network security with support for up to four SSIDs.

There is no need for software installations and users can easily configure the settings, thanks to the intuitive ASUS QIS wizard that automatically connect to the Internet regardless of the OS being used, and EZ UI that offers user-friendly graphics-based management interface. The ASUS RT-N53 Black Diamond dual band wireless router is available at all ASUS authorized resellers, at S$169.

Apple Changes Its Website, Virus Proof No More

Apple gathered a lot of negative press in terms of security, with hackers and crackers gaining access to the user files within half a minute, becoming a running joke of conferences such as Defcon.

Still, the company rode the wave of "Im a Mac and Im a PC"focusing on the "fact" that Windows-based PC systems get viruses, while OSX-based PC systems cannot (be inflicted). With the fact not being true anymore, and Flashback botnet destroying the sense of security for the already insecure platform - Apple did what it does the best - deploy its legal system to remove any traces of potential liability for the company.

In a story that spread thanks to Australian version of Computerworld, a security blog Naked Security by Sophos discovered that Apple has changed its security policy, as you can see on the picture below:

The company is slowly changing its approach to security, with Geniuses in Genius bars recommending Anti-Virus products, security guides for mobile operating system iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod). Furthermore, do you remember User Account Control (UAC), a controversial security routine which debuted with Windows Vista, continuing its existence with Windows 7 and Windows 8 as well? UAC was designed to prevent users from installing different application types, restricting access to websites and so on and so forth.

Well, Apple users will get the same dosage of security - the 10.8 version of the OS X codenamed "Mountain Lion" will bring a similar feature, an "Apple-ized" version of Microsofts UAC named "Gatekeeper".

At the end of the day, attacking other platforms based on your claim of security is something that will only bring attention and provoke people from other side of computing specter.

ASUS confirms Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade on Eee Pad family

Google hadannounced the latest update for the Android mobile operating system, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which claims to bring exciting new features and capabilities to devices. In a statement issued by ASUS, the company has confirmed that theAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade will be available on the Eee Pad family.

"We are delighted to confirm that we will be supporting Ice Cream Sandwich on our ASUS Eee Pad Family – our aim is to bring the latest Android updates to the Eee Pad Series. At this time, we are unable to confirm a date for this update. Please stay tuned for more news on our Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans"c

ASRock X79 Extreme7 Full Board-Shots Surface

Here are some of the first press shots of ASRocks elusive X79 Extreme7, which we broke to the world last month with a teaser picture. The pictures reveal a beast that more or less meets our expectations from a high-end socket LGA2011 motherboard, and confirms much of the feature-set we guesstimated with the help of that teaser pic.

Youve got to hand it to ASRock, theyve managed to give this board the right amount of high-end "polish" to woo enthusiasts with even the deepest pockets. The X79 Extreme7 has a bustling landscape. Power is delivered to the CPU using a 16-phase VRM that uses high-grade chokes and Poscap capacitors. The memory looks to be powered by a 4-phase VRM arranged in sets of two on either sides of the socket.

An oddity here is ASRocks choice of six DDR3 DIMM slots for a platform with four memory channels. Among channels A, B, C, and D, channels B and D have two DIMM slots. So users with four memory modules to spare should populate the six slots as "1-0-1---1-0-1", in which the middle slot in each of the two sets of DIMM slots is left blank. Assuming this board supports 16 GB module densities, a total of 96 GB of memory is supported.

Expansion slots include five PCI-Express x16, among which two are electrical Gen. 3.0 x16 capable, four are Gen 3.0 x8 capable, and one is Gen 2.0 x4 capable, depending on how the slots are populated with add-on cards. ASRock didnt leave out legacy PCI, in case you dont want to let go of your awesome PCI sound card such as the X-meridean or X-Fi Elite Pro.

In terms of storage connectivity, there are four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, a total of seven SATA 3 Gb/s, and one eSATA 3 Gb/s. 8+2 channel HD audio is care of a Realtek ALC889 codec, there are six USB 3.0 ports in all (two on the rear panel, four via internal headers), FireWire, two gigabit Ethernet connections, and a number of USB 2.0 ports.

The board uses UEFI firmware. We expect the setup program to be rich in overclocking options that take advantage of the awesome (on paper) VRM deployed on this board.

The ASRock X79 Extreme7 is expected to be a part of the companys first wave of socket LGA2011 motherboards, due for November 2011.

Source: XFastest