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| LG Unveils Optimus L9 With 4.7-Inch Screen, 1 GHz Dual-Core CPU | |  LG has unveiled Optimus L9, its most powerful L-series smartphone so far. Though L-series devices are essentially stylish smartphones for consumers on a budget, the L9 has some pretty solid specifications, including a 4.7-inch IPS screen, 1 GB of RAM and a dual-core, 1 GHz processor. The device, which runs on Android 4.9 or Ice Cream Sandwich, has a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a VGA one on the front. LG also points out some of the device's software features, such as instant translation with the QTranslator. Another notable feature is My Style Keypad, which adjusts the keypad depending on whether you're using one or two hands to text. All of these features will likely appeal to those hunting for an attractive device with a lower price tag. Users wanting a little more should take a look at LG's recently announced Optimus G. Price and availability for the LG Optimus L9 have yet to be revealed. |
| Kids Go Gaga Over Tablets [INFOGRAPHIC] | |  We know the iPad has become a major hit with adult tech consumers since Steve Jobs first introduced the gadget back in 2010. But did you know tablets have scored big points with kids as well? Humans are becoming familiar with digital technology and devices earlier than ever. In fact, more than half of children between the ages of five and eight have already used tablets to play or learn, according to some research. For kids between the ages of six and 12, the iPad was the most coveted gadget last Christmas. Tablets are permeating family life, too; in households that own a device, kids 12 and under get their hands on it more often than not. The iPad, especially, is becoming prevalent in American education. More than 1.5 million are currently in use by students, and schools bought some 47,000 in the first month-and-a-half after its release. There are currently more than 20,000 apps meant for education, and 80% of learning apps in the App Store target kids. Some studies even show that students who have access to iPads do better in school than kids who don't. All this information comes from creative media agency MDG Advertising, which pulled research from sources, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and others to produce the following infographic. Check it out below for the fuller picture. How old should kids be before they are allowed to use tablets and other digital gadgets? Share your opinion in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, LeicaFoto |
| Does This Mobile App Prove Vincent Van Gogh Was Colorblind? [VIDEO] | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 8:58 PM | Zoe Fox |
|  Art lovers have gazed amorously at the works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh for the past century. Now, thanks to a tool developed by Japanese vision expert Kazunori Asada, we all might start looking at his famous paintings a bit differently. Asada created the Chromatic Vision Simulator for iOS and Android to show what images look like for people with one or more defective sets of cones, the structures in the eye used to see color. When examining the works of van Gogh, Asada was shocked to discover that the works appeared the same -- if not better -- when cast under the Chromatic Vision Simulator. "This painter has a somewhat strange way to use color. Although the use of color is rich, lines of different colors run concurrently, or a point of different color suddenly appears. I've heard it conjectured that van Gogh had color vision deficiency," Asada wrote in a blog post, earlier this month. "However, in the van Gogh images seen in the color vision experience room, to me the incongruity of color and roughness of line had quietly disappeared. And each picture had changed into one of brilliance with very delicate lines and shades. This was truly wonderful experience." SEE ALSO: Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' Is Beautifully Recreated From 7,000 Dominoes Do you think the Chromatic Vision Simulator reveals something about van Gogh's vision? Let us know what you think in the comments. |
| This Nokia Windows Phone 8 Render Is Kind of Cool | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 4:47 PM | Pocketnow |
|  From leaked hands-on shots, images of components and sketches from patent applications, we've had a ton of opportunities to get a look at Nokia's first Windows Phone 8 hardware. Today we have a new concept render to add to that list, and it doesn't look half bad. Let's be clear: We have no reason to believe this is an actual Nokia design. These appear to be renders from a designer speculating upon what Nokia might be up to for a future product. As a result, we don't put much faith in claimed specs like a quad-core SoC, 12-megapixel camera and 4.5-inch HD screen. The first thing we notice about this version is the elongated speaker grilles. The phone would supposedly feature DTS sound, so making them prominent like that could conceivably be a featured selling point. The speakers themselves almost certainly wouldn't extend the length of the handset like that, with much of the grillework for show. The placement of the front-facing camera is a bit odd, way too off to the side. We're also curious about what's going on up top. Instead of a headphone jack, or even USB port, there's what looks the most like a fingerprint scanner. Unfortunately, we do't get a very complete look at this design from the two pics available. But based on what you can see, what do you think? Would Nokia be wise to release something along these lines? |
| This Android Robot Is Controlled by Your Phone [VIDEO] | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 4:18 PM | Emily Price |
|  Love robots? Have an Android phone? Have we got the thing for you. Meet BERO, and Google Android-inspired robot that is controlled by an app on your Android phone or tablet. Originally inspired by the Google Bug Droid at Maker Faire, the open-source robot can be programmed to do virtually anything you want, with a fully programmable and customizable interface. Robots can be voice activated, and can be programmed to react to smartphone notifications. Out of the box BERO comes with software so it can play your favorite tunes, and dance to the music with "realistic" dance moves such as head turns, arm waves, and side-to-side poses. Headphones on the top of the robot will also light up to match the beatof whatever tunes you're playing. SEE ALSO: This Robot Will Out-Dance You/a> For getting around, BERO utilizes two infrared transmitters for navigation that allow the robot to detect obstacles up to 3-5 inches to the left, right and front. Users can interact with BERO and have the robot interact back with the user. The project launched Tuesday currently on Kickstarter with a number of different BERO options available ranging from a non-functional desk model to a special fully-functional gold-plated limited edition only for Kickstarter backers. BERO is expected to start shipping in late November 2013. Initially only capable of working with Android phones and tablets, plans are in the works to add iOS compatibility in the future as well as Twitter and MP3 functionality. |
| Watch NASA Play the First Song Ever on Mars [VIDEO] | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 2:53 PM | Chris Taylor |
|  Mars: a great place to visit if you like rocks, red sunsets, giant dormant volcanoes and 300-mile-an-hour winds. But if you're looking for a little music? Not so great. Not until Tuesday afternoon, when the Curiosity Rover broadcast a song by former Black Eyed Peas frontman and CNN hologram will.i.am -- the first song, so far as we know, ever played on an alien planet. The tune, entitled "Reach For the Stars," isn't what you might expect from will.i.am. No pumping beats here -- just an uplifting orchestral background and heavy-duty inspirational lyrics about setting our goals higher. Props to will.i.am in particular for destroying that old cliche, "the sky's the limit." (Stay tuned -- we'll have an interview with will.i.am shortly.) In short, it's a pretty good first track to kick off what we hope will become the first DJ set on Mars. But where to go next? How to let the Red Planet know about the whole magnificent range of human music throughout history? That's a problem that confronted the makers of the Voyager spacecraft, who had to figure out what music to put on a playable gold disc that would leave the solar system with the craft. Selected by the legendary Carl Sagan, the tracks included tunes by Beethoven, Guan Pinghu, Mozart, Stravinsky, Blind Willie Johnson and Chuck Berry. Science writer Lewis Thomas famously demurred from that selection. "I would vote for Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again," he wrote. "We would be bragging, of course." What music would you play on Mars? Let us know in the comments. |
| Where Does Consumer Tech Go to Die? | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:43 AM | Brandon Smith |
|  Samsara, a new documentary directed by American filmmaker Ron Fricke is "a non-verbal guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death and rebirth." The film explores many layers and components of the cycle of life, one of which investigates the demise of tech hardware after humans have no more use for it. In one scene, viewers travel to the world's e-waste repositories, the result of a global society's wanton need for electronic consumption. There, they witness Chinese factory workers assembling irons. In a one-minute shot, one employee touches almost 10 irons as they travel the assembly line. She performs small adjustments before quickly moving to the next device. "There is a message of impermanence in the film, which is also a part of the flow we experience in our lives," says Fricke. "When the flow is interrupted, it can be unsettling, which is what you feel when you see these bits being recycled in Ghana, the replication of humans as robots or dolls, and seeing people behind bars and in cages." Samsara tackles issues the tech world deals with on a daily basis, albeit somewhat tangentially. At Mashable, we often write about explosive sales growth or the latest patent battle, but what happens as a result of all that production? "The film is really all about the flow of things, the interconnection of things," Fricke tells Mashable. "We edited the film without any sound or music because we wanted the image to guide the edit. As we were editing, we ended up with all these blocks of subject matter and then those blocks come together to form the film." Shot in more than 25 countries over a five-year span using a Panavision Super 65mm camera, the film is a testament to dedicated work ethics from both director and producer. Fricke and producer Mark Magidson have worked together previously on a similar endeavor, 1992's Baraka. With gear weighing close to a ton, organization and logistics were crucial. "We had local production companies in every country we shot, and they help us get filming permits and access to specific locations we've researched. They provide us with drivers and PAs to help us accomplish the realities we encounter when we get out there," explains Magidson. Since the film is meant to meditate on the flow of life, it is subject to many interpretations. Different audiences will certainly be affected in different ways. Fricke says, "Life invited everyone to the planet and didn't ask anyone to approve the guest list." Note: The film is best seen in theaters featuring 4k Digital Projection systems. Find theaters in your area here Images courtesy of Oscilliscope Labs |
| Flipboard Quadruples User Base to 20 Million in 8 Months [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:22 AM | Lauren Indvik |
|  Usage of Flipboard has increased drastically over the past year. The company behind the social newsreading app, which is celebrating its second anniversary Tuesday, announced it now has more than 20 million registered users, up from 5 million in December. Flipboard owes that growth largely to platform and geographic expansion. After nearly a year-and-a-half as an iPad-only application, Flipboard launched on the iPhone in early December, growing from 4 million to 5 million users in a week. In late June, the app arrived on Android smartphones. Flipboard also released a number of international editions with region-specific content, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands and Spain. Beyond those expansions, Flipboard has also added a number of new features and integrations over the past year, including audio, Google+ and content from The New York Times. Still, not all has been bright and rosy for Flipboard: After pilot testing, some publishing partners disclosed in June that they would no longer serve ads through the app. And it seems increasingly likely that Flipboard is going to lose access to one of its major content sources, Twitter. Flipboard co-founder and CEO Mike McCue stepped down from Twitter's board earlier this month. The company created an infographic celebrating its two-year anniversary, which we've embedded below.
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| How You're Using Your iPad [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:18 AM | Samantha Murphy |
|  If you are one of the 53.2 million people currently with an iPad, there's a good chance you've already developed habits related to how you best like to use your device. The team at Infographic Labs has put together an infographic that details how users have embraced the iPad over the years, from using it while watching TV to cozying up to it in bed or even using it in the bathroom. There's no denying that the iPad's popularity has grown significantly over the years -- only 11.5 million people owned an iPad in 2010, but that number grew to 28 million users in 2011. Now, the Apple device makes up 65% of all owned tablets on the market. Not surprisingly, the third-generation iPad brought in the most sales, with one million sold the first day and three million sold in the first three days. Even though the device has experienced massive growth among different demographics and age groups, it remains most popular among male users (66%), with those ages 25 to 36 leading the pack. SEE ALSO: 'iPad Mini' Coming in October, Following a September iPhone Launch/a> Web browsing is also the top activity done on the iPad, followed by checking email (54%), reading the news (54%) and visiting social networking sites. Not surprisingly, about 70% of iPad users enjoy playing with their device while watching TV. About 57% use it while lying in bed, 25% use it while in the bathroom and 21% access it while shopping and running errands. Check out the infographic below and let us know in the comments below how you are using your iPad. What's your favorite place to use it? |
| Ahead of Next-Generation Kindle Event, Amazon Touts E-book Milestone | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 10:59 AM | Samantha Murphy |
|  Amazon announced on Tuesday that its catalog of over 180,000 Kindle-exclusive books have been purchased, downloaded or borrowed from its lending library more than 100 million times. The news comes as Amazon moves closer to its upcoming press event on September 6. Touting this milestone is more indication that the company is likely gearing up to launch its next-generation Kindle e-reader and Kindle Fire tablet devices. Amazon has provided a growing array of incentives for publishers and self-published authors to sell content exclusively through its store. Reaching 100 million downloads could be a testament of their collective success. KDP Select, a lending program that encourages self-published authors and publishers to make their work available exclusively in the Kindle Store for 90-day periods in exchange for a potential revenue share, is part of that effort. According to Amazon, books enrolled in KDP Select in July earned 77% more royalties from paid sales than the three months before they were enrolled in the program. SEE ALSO: Do E-Reader Owners Read More Books?/a> "This figure is conservative and only includes books that were available via KDP for the entire three months prior to enrolling in KDP Select," Amazon said in a statement. "If you include the money that authors earned from the KDP Select fund, their earnings are even higher." The company said some of its most popular Kindle-exclusive titles include War Brides by Helen Bryan, which has been purchased or borrowed over 270,000 times, and Karen McQuestion's books A Scattered Life, Easily Amused and The Long Way Home, which have been purchased or borrowed more than 500,000 times. Meanwhile, A Modern Witch by Debora Geary recently hit number one on the Kindle best-seller list and briefly surpassed Fifty Shades of Grey as its most downloaded e-book. |
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