Three with Samsung Galaxy Nexus

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Three were so excited about the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the flagship Android phone, that they sent me one to cast my weary eye over for a week or so. Samsung and Google left little out of the guts of the Galaxy Nexus. Inside the device you’ll find a dual-core TI OMAP 4460 CPU clocked to 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, 32GB or 16GB of storage (I tested a phone with 16GB), and the usual assortment of radios (Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, GPS). The device is also equipped with an NFC chip, as well as a compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, and barometer.


 Smartphone cameras are rapidly getting better and better and are being called upon to do more heavy lifting. The camera on the rear of the device is a 5-megapixel shooter with a companion single LED flash, while up front there’s a 1.3-megapixel camera. Performance was sub-par in low light and it regular conditions it lacked the “wow” of iPhone 4S, but still really good. However the built in Hipstamatic/Instagram functionality is pretty cool and the in camera editing facilities are excellent – knocking the pants of the modest offerings of iOS5.
Settings in general are great – a nice addition to Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest incarnation of Android. It’s really easy to pop in and edit settings on most pages and there lots of little dials I can hit. As someone who feel foul of O2′s “unlimited data” when using Spotify for the first time, the ability to monitor and restrict data usage was a godsend and it’s great to be able to set hard limits for data usage to prevent hefty fees.
The Nexus uses face recognition to unlock the screen, which is clearly a gimmick but is also fun. The battery life is about a day, which is acceptable in this age of lowered expectations.The screen is huge, which is wonderful for gaming and photo viewing yet annoying for day to day use.
Multi-tasking on the Nexus however was brilliant. There is a dedicated software button (if there can be such a thing) on the side that lets you jump in and out of multi-tasking. There is a swipe gesture that lets you flick away tasks. Multi-tasking uses a large thumbnail of the screen rather than an icon. Again this is much better than iOS’s little tray of icons system – at least in terms of user friendliness.
Overall, everything was very fast and responsive and oversized screen aside, delightful to use. The mobile browser was quick and played nicely with 3′s mobile network across East London. 
This article's coverage of the information is as complete as it can be today. But you should always leave open the possibility that future research could uncover new facts.

more info www.three.co.uk

FitBit Ultra, help you look good

Almost as predictable as the wave of articles about unwanted gifts, bumper post-Xmas sales and people stabbing each other over cut price trainers is the wave of articles about “getting fit in the New Year”. And we at Latest Gadgets are sticklers for tradition. 

Not for the first time in my career a tech company emailed me and asked if I’d like to try a weight loss gadget. The company – FitBit and the gadget is the sleek looking FitBit Ultra weight loss tracker, the wellness widget that’s been taking America by storm.

The FitBit Ultra is a tiny USB key shaped dongle that you can clip to a belt or necklace. The design of the dongle is pretty sleek in a really nice matt black and a belt clip design. There is a single button that cycles through the hidden display – revealing the time, how many steps you’ve taken, how many stairs you’ve climbed and how many calories you’ve burned. The Fitbit Ultra tracks steps, distance, sleep patterns and even stairs climbed via a state-of the-art altimeter, and includes an on-device display for real-time feedback. Fitbit Ultra’s accelerometer and state-of-the-art altimeter technology work together to track movement from climbing the stairs, so there is no confusion with taking a lift or escalator. Online, Fitbit.com compares daily climb activities to well-known landmarks around the world such as The Eiffel Tower and Machu Picchu and even Big Ben’s 389 steps.

It automatically uploads all your data to Fitbit.com whenever your dongle is within wireless range, making it easier to keep track or your activities.

Have friends? Fitbit.com has a range of social features to help users stay motivated including messaging and achievement badges for reaching landmarks for stair climbing, steps walked and distance travelled. Fitbit’s online motivational support is available on your PC or Mobile, or via Fitbit’s iPhone app (well mobile website). Fitbit Ultra is available in blue or plum and is £79.99 SRP.

 more info www.fitbit.com

Facebook Messenger is leaked and available for download

There are variety of Facebook apps for smartphones and tablets, and now we’re getting the first Windows-based Facebook Messenger that allows people to stay in touch with their friends without opening Facebook in their browser.

As you know, there are many applications such as Digsby, Trillian, Skype, or MSN Live that have Facebook support, but they only support the basic features, therefore Facebook has decided to release its own Facebook Messenger. Facebook Messenger supports chat, but it also includes notifications, new friend requests, and even a feed that allows you to stay up to date with your friend’s activity. In addition, there’s a button that locks Facebook Messenger on the right side of your screen so you can access Facebook, and stay up to date with your Friend’s updates at all times.

Facebook Messenger has leaked, and it is available for download, so you can try it free of charge. As for the compatibility, this application is currently compatible only with Windows 7 and Windows Vista, so keep that in mind.

Source from www.gadgetlite.com

Helicopter drones with 1.8 gigapixel cameras are being developed by the US Army

New helicopter-style drones with 1.8 gigapixel colour cameras are being developed by the US Army.

The army said the technology promised "an unprecedented capability to track and monitor activity on the ground".

Boeing built the first drones, but other firms can bid to manufacture others.

"These aircraft will deploy for up to one full year as a way to harness lessons learned and funnel them into a program of record," said Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Munster, product manager at the US Army's Unmanned Aerial System Modernization unit.

Big eyes

The army also confirmed that they have hovering capabilities - something its existing unmanned aircaft lack.

The drones will take advantage of the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System first deployed earlier this year.

The Argus-IS's acronym was chosen to recall Argus Panoptes - the one-hundred-eyed-giant of Greek mythology.

The technology is based on a 1.8 gigapixel camera - the largest video sensor used in tactical missions.

It offers 900 times the resolution of the 2 megapixel camera found in some mobile phones. The system can provide real-time video streams at the rate of 10 frames a second.

The army said that was enough to track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet (6.1km) across almost 65 square miles (168 sq km).

In addition, operators on the ground can select up to 65 steerable "windows" following separate targets to be "stared at". Vehicles, people and other objects can be tracked even if they move in different directions.

Night sensors

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is also working with the UK-based defence contractor BAE Systems to develop a more advanced version of the Argus-IS sensor that will offer night vision.

It said the infrared imaging sensors would be sensitive enough to follow "dismounted personnel at night".

The system's first test flight has been scheduled to take place by June 2012.

Flightglobal's website has also reported that the trials will include the use of stub wings "intended for carrying weapons".

While the army discusses the advantages of unmanned drones offering valuable intelligence to troops on the ground, the programme has run into controversy.

Pakistan has criticised drone strikes which killed 24 of its troops in November on the Afghan border. Previous attacks killed children.

Hackers plan space satellites to combat censorship

Computer hackers plan to take the internet beyond the reach of censors by putting their own communication satellites into orbit.

The scheme was outlined at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.

The project's organisers said the Hackerspace Global Grid will also involve developing a grid of ground stations to track and communicate with the satellites.

Hobbyists have already put a few small satellites into orbit - usually only for brief periods of time - but tracking the devices has proved difficult for low-budget projects.

The hacker activist Nick Farr first put out calls for people to contribute to the project in August. He said that the increasing threat of internet censorship had motivated the project.

"The first goal is an uncensorable internet in space. Let's take the internet out of the control of terrestrial entities," Mr Farr said.

Beyond balloons

This [hacker] community can put humanity back in space in a meaningful way”

Nick FarrHackerspace Global Grid project

According to Armin Bauer, a 26-year-old enthusiast from Stuttgart who is working on the Hackerspace Global Grid, this is largely due to lack of funding.

"Professionals can track satellites from ground stations, but usually they don't have to because, if you pay a large sum [to send the satellite up on a rocket], they put it in an exact place," Mr Bauer said.

In the long run, a wider hacker aerospace project aims to put an amateur astronaut onto the moon within the next 23 years.

Ground network

When Mr Farr called for contributions to Hackerspace, Mr Bauer and others decided to concentrate on the communications infrastructure aspect of the scheme.

He and his teammates are working on their part of the project together with Constellation, an existing German aerospace research initiative that mostly consists of interlinked student projects.

In the open-source spirit of Hackerspace, Mr Bauer and some friends came up with the idea of a distributed network of low-cost ground stations that can be bought or built by individuals.

"GPS uses satellites to calculate where we are, and this tells us where the satellites are. Mr Bauer said the team would have three prototype ground stations in place in the first half of 2012, and hoped to give away some working models at the next Chaos Communication Congress in a year's time.

"We're aiming for 100 euros (£84) per ground station. Complications

Experts say the satellite project is feasible, but could be restricted by technical limitations.

"Low earth orbit satellites such as have been launched by amateurs so far, do not stay in a single place but rather orbit, typically every 90 minutes," said Prof Alan Woodward from the computing department at the University of Surrey.

Any country could take the law into their own hands and disable the satellites”

Prof Alan WoodwardSurrey University

This problem could be avoided if the hackers managed to put their satellites into geostationary orbits above the equator. According to Mr Farr, the "only motive" of the Hackerspace Global Grid is knowledge.

"This [hacker] community can put humanity back in space in a meaningful way," Farr said.

"Hackers are about open information," Farr added. "We believe communication is a human right."
source www.bbc.co.uk

Chinese efforts to combat hi-tech crimewave

The Chinese government is cracking down on home-grown cyber thieves seeking to steal online banking details.

The move comes as the personal details of more than 45 million Chinese people were stolen in separate attacks.

The government is investigating the thefts and said that the wave of attacks "threatened internet safety".

Crime spree

The 10 biggest search engines in China have signed up to the anti-phishing scheme to ensure that users looking for bank websites go to the right place.

When people visit the fake site and enter their login details these are recorded by cyber criminals who may loot the account soon afterwards.

By ensuring that the websites of banks appear first, the government hopes to limit the numbers of people falling for phishing scams and visiting the fake sites.

Some of the search engines will put a special icon next to the bank links in lists of results to flag them as legitimate.

Hacked accounts

On Christmas day, the hugely popular Tianya chat site revealed that the login names and passwords from 40 million of its users had been stolen. The attackers got away with email addresses, login names and passwords. Again, all the details were stored in plain text.

"The department believes the recent leak of user information is a serious infringement of the rights of internet users and threatens internet safety," the Ministry said in a statement