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Apple has always been opened to new innovations that can render their devices originality and therefore uniqueness. And how can this be done if not through exploring various possibilities that emerge on the area of inventions?! It is the case with the patent for the non-visual control of a multi-touch device. Apple patent develops a non visual control of device in that it relates to the option that enables an iPhone, iPod user to navigate an electronic device’s menu without having a visual display. By using of a multi-touch user interface component this proves to be possible. In this way the user can listen to music, initiate phone conversations, send and receive electronic messages, at the same time being able to use a multi-touch input panel in an eyes-free manner. The system releases the user from any other buttons, or cues or prompts, the only possibility to control is using any type of audio information, in this way the user being able to navigate quickly and mentally map the device’s menu system.

Apple describes the background of invention, saying that in the era of ever faster processors, more portable devices trying to use the most sophisticated technology, it is no wonder that inventions come up to revolutionize systems that are also in their own growth and innovative emerging. This new device is a portable package that includes processing power combined with a single multi-touch display screen. This screen incorporates a transparent touch panel and visual display component and responding to a touch action it generates a signal that can be taken over by other components of the electronic device. The user sees a display which has the same space hosting different virtual buttons at different times, with a dynamic way of navigating through menu system.

Even if the shape, location and size of virtual buttons are changing the user will be able to feel only the smooth surface of the multi-touch display screen. For instance when a user is prevented temporarily or permanently from visualizing he can use this non visual control device in order his attention not to be distracted; it is perfect also for those riding a motor vehicle, or for those who keep the device in a pocket, etc. there are some electronic devices that static touchable feedback (as it is the case with Braille tactile form of reading) with audible instructions in order to help the people who are visually impaired to use different devices. The point is that the audible instructions are often inefficient and can render the feeling of frustration. There is this situation that occurs while listening to a long list of options for in the end to be able to decide which option one chooses, and this is really annoying. This is exactly what the non visual control device is offering, and the inventor of this device, Ashwin Sunder, surely must be proud of himself.

Palm Pre customers have commented via Web forums and tech blogs that the new smart phones offer them the disillusion of falling apart from their joints. Some say that the screens have cracked; others complained that the two sides present a gap and problems while sliding. Due to the warranty terms many of the Palm Pre fans have returned the device two times already, hoping that the third time would bring them more luck.

The editor of PreCentral.net, Dieter Bohn, has declared that following all the given complaints, is obvious that there is something wrong either with the functioning or with the design of the unit. At this point it’s still uncertain the number of Palm Pre customers who are having troubles with the device’s hardware, but one thing is certain: the ones having problems are more than the ones that don’t.

Analyst of this issue say that actually the problems revealed on online forums are treated in an anecdotal note, therefore one can not take them too serious for solid evidence. But Bohn is still worried that they might actually face a poor build quality at a larger set of Palm Pre phones. One of the customers has declared that his third Palm Pre in the last two weeks presents a large gap on the left side of the device, in fact that large that he can actually see the innards; also the two sides make a squeak noise while pushing. Other customer complaints of the squeaking noise while typing and of the thing that if slide the screen down a little bit too hard, the phone instantly turns off.

The representatives from Palm didn’t have an immediate reply when ABCNews.com approached them in this matter, but the principal analyst with Charter Equity Research declared that the online comments do not represent enough prove to be considered as data points. Palm agrees that there are flaws here and there that need to be taken care of, but the company’s success mostly depend on webOS, the new OS of the company that allows the users to keep several applications open instantly and incorporates information from various mobile applications. The sell of the new Palm Pres doesn’t show an impressive figure compared to that of iPhone 3GS, but it outran the company expectations.

An independent analyst sees this matter as a usual aspect for Palm Pre, since the company is known to come with good hardware but it has some issues when it comes to new released products. His advice for the customers is to refrain themselves from buying the new device at least for a few weeks and then to buy new designs that come with the past flaws already fixed.

The Palm Pre fans do not complain at all, they say that their device is working properly, no sliding issues, no squeaking noises… So it seems that in this tough time of competition with constant new devices emerging on the consumers market, phone users need to be satisfied, and the more they are, the harder it is.

The releasing of Mozilla’s Firefox 3.5 is meant to bring in few extra features such as, speed enhancements, geolocation services, support for HTML 5, improved search feature, and an addition to the private browsing mode.

A result of one year of quest to create these features, Firefox 3.5 offers itself in nearly 75 languages and is available for OS X 10.4 or later, Windows and Linux. It is equipped with engines for both static web sites and JavaScript code, privacy features, new abilities to play video and audio files and search improvement tools.

All this past year has brought in Google Chrome support for many of the web’s recent technologies, and the latest versions of Safari and Opera proved speedier access to the sites, as well. The need for faster browser is the complexity that websites (not only for social networks, or media sharing, but also calendars, e-mails and other office apps) have lately gained. Meanwhile Microsoft has released a new version of Internet Explorer, IE8, which also refer to privacy, safety and speed.

With the above mentioned competition, Firefox had to come up with something more impressive. And here it is: Firefox 3.5.

Why we are really into Mozilla Firefox is the feature that satisfies everybody: the massive speed gain. The last version, Firefox 3.5 is twice as fast as its predecessor. The faster proves to be the result of TraceMonkey JavaScript Engine, with its new tools that enables JavaScript code to be on the same level with native code, as well as an add-on performance improvement.

As to the specification for HTML 5 we can say that it is already incorporated by the latest browsers supporting many of the abilities that HTML 5 affords. This support enables video and audio embeds without the use of Flash plug-in. tough it is a free download for Adobe’ Flash Player, Mozilla believes that it is too restrictive to require a plug-in in order to listen to songs or watch videos. The result was incorporating these capabilities into the browser. The new browser reveals support for offline data storage and tools for designers to have their drawing improved. The most important side of Firefox 3.5’s HTML 5 support is the introduction of the feature called “web workers”  that enables Firefox to access resource-intensive tasks in the background.

The other improvement brought in by the Firefox 3.5 version is the geo-awareness that allows you to see exactly where you are located by simply asking the Firefox. The next one is the private browsing mode that limits the information that your browser is putting together while you surf the websites. This feature is very useful especially on public PCs, for instance the ones located in internet cafes. Firefox 3.5 also enables a selective mode to choose which windows and tabs to be restored in case your system crashes. In this way it’s easier to put aside the problem sites without these interfering with your entire session.

Firefox 3.5, the faster version of 3.0, offers itself more flexible to our needs allowing our applications to run faster, cleverer and more at handy. But the good news is that Mozilla has some other aces hidden in its sleeve translated in other new versions to be released.

On February this year, GSMA has announced that together with other 17 mobile operators, they plan to develop a universal charging solution where a standard Micro-USB socket will be commonly compatible. The other companies involved in this planning are AT&T, Motorola, LG, Nokia, Orange, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, T-Mibile, and GSMA declared that this development would improve the phone users’ life in that of using the same charger for all other available units. BBC has declared that this plan was possibly a reaction to the pressure that European Commission made since it was noticed that more than 30 different kinds of chargers are in use across Europe.

The plan was to develop a charger to be three times more energy-efficient and to consume 50% stand-by energy.

At that time Apple was missing from the list of supporters, but yesterday they have announced their adherence to the list of top handset producers that control 90% of the European market. According to EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, people would be able to keep their old charger while purchasing a new one, in this way the unwanted accessories will not make the object of thousand of tones of waste in Europe any more. The agreement will set for the developing of charges usable for data-enabled phones (reported to account for half of all 2010 purchased mobiles), which can deliver more capabilities than simple standard calls and SMS texting. In a period of three to four years from now all data-enabled phones will consider using the same standard chargers.

Mr. Verheugen said that this initiative would have a global impact, hoping that these chargers would also be usable in other countries beside the European ones. Next to the environmental benefits the initiative should mean less cost for companies, since the phone producers would stop delivering chargers together with their new items, so long as the micro-USB chargers will be all compatible.

Producing this micro-USB socket has a major impact on Apple’s iPhone current hardware, since the iPod and iPhone dock-connector port would be altered, the port in question not only supplying iPhone with power, but it also enables the transmittal and receiving of data, both audio and video. The question is: what will further the Apple producers do? Will they consider replacing the dock port entirely or produce a second port for power only? The closest to the given situation solution possible would be a dock-connector to mini-USB adapter, but how would the unique image of iPhone model will be kept unspoiled since this initiative will affect the iPhones produced for US and other non-European countries?

The release of Apple’s iPhone 3 GS has made a big sensation among the users of iPhones, the lines at the stores have already proved it! Now with the wave of enthusiasm cooled down, we can cast a closer look at Apple’s upgrades and define better what are the performances introduced by these upgrades.

To begin with the outside - “design changes”, we can say that the only relevant change, the one that makes it different form its predecessor iPhone 3G, though not so noticeable, is the oil resistance display which prevents the smudge to stay stuck to the screen, since after several days of using the touchscreen it still looks fresh as in the first day you’ve purchased the unit. Not to mention that touching on a specific area of the screen the objects are revealed into a clearer relief adjusting at the same time the exposure and other settings.

The processor ARM Cortex A8 introduced for the speed reactions, does its job brilliantly: you can use its applications in a matter of seconds, the games are loading with the speed that worth being envied even by a desktop version. Leaving the CPU and GPU aside, we turn our attention toward the benefits of an upgraded camera sensor, which even if it offers a 3.2 megapixel resolution, compared to some competitors that offer 5 megapixels or even higher, it can still be more useful than the ones mentioned above. Images are displayed more defined in the low light with vibrant colors, though taking photos in a dark environment is not such a good idea, since Apple hasn’t included a flash yet, yet the image is not as grainy as it looks with the previous iPhone types. The fact is that without the need of SLR or advanced point-and-shoot features, the quality of the images is great.

Video recording is a new feature that is well-executed, recording scales up to VGA 640x480 at a speed of 30 frames per second preserving much of the visual and audio quality. The post-shoot software offers the possibility of editing clips in a simple way to handle, the same goes for uploading where you can rename, tag and use other features bor both MobileMe and YouTube.

The voice commands are also new on iPhone 3GS and they depend on the tasks and on the surrounding noise, but they do their job in a good way, recognizing names or some parts of the names, they can enable you to narrow down the calling to a particular contact without prompting twice. Some flaws are present however in the music department while identifying the correct artists or tracks. But in this case it is recommendable to use physical headset controls.

The 3GS model presents a device-wide search with speedier searches, more storing place for voice memos and a quicker way to leap between apps in order to copy and paste texts. All in one, Apple’s new iPhone 3GS is a device that pleases most of the iPhones’ users since it proves to be more capable and more improved than its previous model reflecting the further steps that Apple took in the upgrading area.

The best thing to say about this model would be that iPhone 3GS eliminates many reasons for selecting other phone instead.