Everyone is talking about Coin right now and for very good reason, this smartcard may well replace all the plastic you've currently got stuffed in your wallet. How? It's a smartcard that takes the place of all of your other cards, both debit and credit, in one intelligent card that can be swiped at any register, anywhere.

What is Coin?

Coin is a regular looking swipable card that is like a database of all of your debit and credit cards. It's $100, which isn't cheap, but with the included card reader, you can add any cards you want to Coin and never use the old ones again. As you add cards to Coin, you can enter information and even a photo of the old plastic card to your smartphone to help you keep track. Because Coin is connected to your phone via low-energy Bluetooth, you can always keep track of the card so you won't lose it. The smartcard's tiny screen lets you swipe between the cards stored on it for different purchases and you can also check the picture of the card you're using on your smartphone.

Why is it so cool?

This one is pretty self-explanatory really. Coin replaces all of the cards in your wallet, it's that revolutionary. It's not rocket science, it isn't reinventing the way we make payments, it simply perfects the current system in a graceful idea: why have ten dumb cards when you could use just one smartcard? It not only works at cash registers and point-of-sales, but also at ATMs, so you can also withdraw money on it. The idea started as a crowdfunding project, as so many do, and quickly hit targets thanks to the awesome video below and became a reality. The Coin smartcard should ship next summer, but it is still available for pre-ordering at a reduced price of $55 on the company's website. Link to Video

The project's initial funding goal of $50,000 was achieved in the ridiculously short time of 40 minutes. Needless to say things have been going from strength to strength for the fledgling startup, based in San Francisco. The additional support will see the team add more features to the smartcard, like fraud alerts and a tracking system to keep tabs on how many swipes your card has made. Coin can even replace gift cards and membership cards. How cool is that?

Microsoft Corp aims to upstage rival Sony Corp with a console that goes well beyond gaming and helps transform media viewing, a long-cherished but elusive goal.

The software giant is betting its first new video game console in eight years, which goes on sale on Friday, will help sustain its position as a dominant player in gaming hardware. It also hopes to build a high-margin, rapid-growth business that plays a bigger role in how people watch television and consume media content.

The console has received early positive reviews for its performance, interface and exclusive launch games. Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing and strategy officer for Xbox, said preorders for Xbox One were running at twice the rate of 2005's Xbox 360 but declined to elaborate.

"We continue to be on track for the biggest launch in Xbox history," Mehdi said. "We're building the largest volume of consoles that we've ever done." He added that the company is anticipating an adequate supply to meet demand.

Revenue from Xbox games and consoles, including the blockbuster "Halo" game franchise, yielded 10 percent of total Microsoft sales in the last fiscal year. A successful launch could give a much-needed lift to the software titan, which is trying to become a significant player in hardware.

Microsoft wants to become a "devices and services" giant as it struggles to find the right formula and hire a new chief executive to take on Google Inc, Apple Inc, and Amazon.com Inc in a mobile-computing era.

Japan's Sony, which launched its new PlayStation 4 gaming console last week, and Nintendo Co Ltd, which has struggled with slow sales of its next-generation Wii U console, have also crammed media apps and content onto their machines, but analysts say Microsoft is taking it a step further.

The Xbox One, which will launch in 13 markets worldwide, will cater to its loyal gamer fan base with exclusive titles like "Forza Motorsport 5" and "Ryse: Son of Rome." Beyond that, the company hopes the device crosses over to the mainstream and becomes a family entertainment center.

IN THE LIVING ROOM

To entice TV viewers and simplify their viewing experience, the new device comes with features like voice control via its Kinect input device - ostensibly in place of a remote - and the ability to integrate it with cable boxes.

As with the PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii U, the Xbox One comes loaded with Netflix and other popular media apps. But Microsoft has started its own studio to produce exclusive video content, meaning the new device could become a gateway to much more than games.

To bolster its entertainment offerings, Microsoft launched its Xbox Music app, a digital music service that vies with Apple's iTunes, last year.

"The profit margin of that business is more defensible than the current PC business. Microsoft has a more solid shot at the living room, by way of Xbox, than it does through PCs," said Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

"There's a lot of monetization possible if you can take over the living room, so Microsoft is highly motivated to make that game platform as versatile as possible."

Microsoft is battling Sony, which sold 1 million of its PlayStation 4s within the first 24 hour of its November 15 release in the United States and Canada, and is currently sold out in many retail stores and online. At $499, the Xbox One costs $100 more than its rival console.

TANK OF SHARKS

Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Colin Sebastian has said he expects shipments of 2.5 million to 3 million units for both the Xbox One and PS4 in the fourth quarter.

Microsoft is pulling out the stops on marketing, producing creative stunts such as immersing the first Xbox One console to go on sale, in New Zealand, in a tank of 20 sharks.

"With everything they're going through ... one shining light there that they really feel good about" is the Xbox franchise, said Peter Moore, chief operating officer of Electronic Arts Inc, who led the launch of the Xbox 360 when he was at Microsoft.

"It's a great company with a lot of good businesses, but the real sparkle right now, particularly this week on campus right now ... will be the launch of the Xbox One."

Microsoft hopes to avoid the glitches that plagued Sony, whose PlayStation 4 launch was marred by problems while booting up the machine and units being damaging during shipping.

Selling something more than a game console is imperative, with more and more potential customers gravitating to free online and mobile games, analysts say.

Over the last eight years, Sony and Microsoft both sold more than 80 million PS3 and Xbox 360 units each, while Nintendo sold over 100 million Wii consoles. The industry has debated whether the console heyday is over, with hardware sales in decline for the past four years.

But analysts expect new consoles to reignite the sector. The PS4 is currently in short supply at many retail stores and online after a robust launch.

"All of those questions have been put to rest by the strong pickup this weekend of the Sony platform, and we're very confident Xbox will have a strong launch this weekend as well," EA's Moore said.

EA games like "Battlefield 4" and "FIFA 14" had strong sales as PS4 machines flew off store shelves, Moore said. The same titles will be released for Xbox One, in addition to some upcoming exclusive titles like sci-fi shooter "Titanfall."

In a rare display of solidarity, Xbox sent a congratulatory tweet to Sony shortly after the PS4 hit store shelves.

"This isn't so much a competitive effort. It's really about how we grow the broader market ... that should really be the focus and a little bit of that was the spirit behind congratulating Sony for the good work they've done," Microsoft's Mehdi said.

Smartphones and tablets can now be used for educational purposes as well as for having fun and communicating with friends and family. In this article we will be reviewing some of the best educational apps that we have found to be quite useful and fun at the same time.

Whatchamacology

This app is useful for high school students who are studying science subjects and it is available on both iOS and Android. The basic gist of this app is it helps high school students learn the terminology used in the subjects they are studying. This terminology will be useful in school when writing tests or examinations. When using this app students have to form groups and decipher which word is being referred to using clues being given out by the app. The word they have to decipher is a technical term in that specific field of science and this helps students remember the term and its properties when being tested. The teams are competing against each other which also adds a bit of an incentive to the whole game and the learning process. This app is ideal for use in classroom situations.

NatGeo Today

This app is definitely one of the favorite educational apps but unfortunately it is only available on iOS. Nat Geo Today an official National Geographic app and is particularly useful to those studying anything to do with nature, animals and geography or someone who is just enthusiastic about these subjects. The content is provided by the National Geographic of course and the media available includes text, stunning images and videos covering a wide range of topics such as global warming, big cats in the wild etc. The content is constantly being updated which is great for users of this app. Android users will just have to be content with unofficial apps that can be found in the Google Play store such as National Geographic Apps. Hopefully National Geographic will creates an official Android app in the near future.

English Tutor by Speaking Pal

This app is most useful for people looking to learn English in a fun and interactive manner. Fortunately this app is also available on Android and iOS. It also helps for those wishing to improve on their pronunciation of words in the English language. The app itself is free and there are some tutorials that come with the free version of the app but in order to do the other exercises you have to purchase them within the app. Basically in this app, a scenario is laid out in which a user will have to listen to the conversation and then answer comprehension style questions about the conversation to make sure that they have understood what was being talked about. There is a second type of exercise where the user practices responding to questions using the right pronunciation. This app is fun to use and will be useful to those wanting to learn English.

With the PlayStation 4 releasing imminent, excitement about the future of next-generation gaming is clearly in the air. While the Xbox One doesn’t officially release until November 22, 2013, that doesn’t stop it from making news today. Craig Flannagan is the director of marketing for Xbox Canada, and he recently had some very good news for Xbox fans.

Just How Long Will The Xbox  One Last?

Here’s a direct quote from Flannigan as he was speaking to GamesIndustry about the superiority of the Xbox One:

“Xbox One is going to start ahead, in terms of the experience we can deliver. And because we’re built for the future, we’re going to stay ahead. I think there is not a better experience you can buy this holiday, and there will not be a time this generation where there’s a better experience you can buy than Xbox One…And it’s probably going to be a pretty long generation. We’re probably here for a while because we’re built for the future. This is a console that will last you, conservatively a decade, if I had to put a bet down today.”

Wow – a console that won’t simply just last for a decade, but one that will still be relevant as well! If the Xbox One delivers on both of these fronts, it will be a game changer indeed. (Pun intended)

However, starting out, the Xbox One may be a little bit behind. This is due to the fact that it is simply unusable out of the box without a day one update. For various reasons it won’t be able to launch any applications or play any games without first being connected to the internet for the required update. Once the update is completed, however, Sony may need to watch their backs.

The initial price of the Xbox One ($499.99) might not seem so high compared to the longevity of the console. What are your thoughts?

cool things you can do on Android

Last week we wrote a piece on some cool things you could do with the Android operating systemfrom Google. This week we take a look at some more things you can do on Android that you can't traditionally do on other competing operating systems like iOS and Windows.

Connect to a USB Flash Drive

Every Android phone has a Micro USB port that is used for charging and for transferring files to and from your PC. Most people do not know however, that by simply connecting a USB On The Go (OTG) adapter cable to your Android phone, you can actually access a USB flash drive on your phone and transfer files to and from the USB device on to your phone. This feature will even work with an SD card reader that connects to a USB dongle. This means you can transfer files to and from a digital camera without ever having to use a PC, and then upload them to the cloud right after.

Connect and use a wireless mouse

By using the same On The Go USB adapter that was mentioned in the tip above, you can also connect a mouse to your Android phone and use it to navigate through the phone. The phone will provide enough power for a 2.4GHz wired or wireless mouse. You can also connect a keyboard to the actual phone too, but in that case, you would have to route your connection through a powered USB hub. Still, it's a pretty cool feature if you want to use a keyboard on your phone.

Undervolting your phone for longer battery life

While one of the top Android handsets, namely the Samsung Galaxy S4, allows you to replace the battery and even purchase a new higher capacity one, some Android phones like Nexus devices and the HTC One have sealed backs which means that you can’t replace the battery. You can however, enhance the battery life of the phone by simply adjusting its CPU frequency and voltage. This process is known as undervolting and can add an extra hour to an hour and a half to your battery life. This will only work if you have rooted your phone though.

Everyone knows BlackBerry is in dire straits, but that hasn't stopped the company from taking one more stab at a flagship smartphone. In many ways BlackBerry's latest creation, the BlackBerry Z30, is what the BlackBerry 10 launch device should have been. Unlike the actual BB10 debut product, the smaller Z10, the Z30 is without a doubt the company's biggest, boldest, most advanced gadget yet. Unfortunately, though, this fresh effort from the Canadian handset maker comes way too late. Arriving at just one US carrier, Verizon, this November for $199.99, I fear all those who would have considered the Z30 over iPhones and Android handsets have long since moved to greener pastures.

Sure, the Z30 is compelling. Despite boasting a large 5-inch touch screen, handsome styling, and a high-capacity battery, the device falls short compared with the competition. Specifically the $199.99 Motorola Droid Maxx and $199.99 Samsung Galaxy S4, which, thanks to the growing strength of the Android ecosystem and BlackBerry's uncertain future as a viable company, add up to much better deals on Verizon.

Design
Shaped like your typical rectangular smartphone slab, at first glance we had trouble telling the BlackBerry Z30 apart from the sea of similar-looking Android devices now flooding the market. With its jet-black color scheme, silver accents, and rounded corners, the Z30 could've been crafted by any of today's top handset makers. As a matter of fact, the phone's soft-touch back and subtle striping bears a striking resemblance to the Motorola Droid Maxx. That's a good thing, since people are fond of the Maxx's nano-coated back and soft-touch textures on phones in general.

Prominent BlackBerry logos, both on the back and on the front below the screen, give the Z30 away as device designed in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Verizon couldn't resist slapping its own moniker on the phone, either, above the display and on the rear, but at least they're stenciled in a modest gray.

On the left side you'll find ports for Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB.

Above the Z30's large 5-inch screen sits the earpiece, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and the iconic red BlackBerry notification light. The phone's left edge houses ports for Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB cables, while on the right you'll find controls for play/pause and volume-up and -down. Rounding out the Z30's bevy of physical buttons is a power key on the top edge next to a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The right side holds controls for volume-up and -down plus play/pause.

BlackBerry makes sure to tout the Z30's noise cancellation abilities and the fact that its flagship handset boasts not just two but an array of four microphones. The mics ring the phone, one on each of the Z30's four edges, and they complement the device's set of powerful stereo speakers (top and bottom). Indeed, the first time I fired up the music app and piped a tune through the Z30's sound system I was amazed. The volume this phone's tiny drivers can produce is phenomenally loud, with loads more sound than what you get from the HTC One and Motorola Droid Maxx -- both of which have muscular stereo speakers.

Screen
The Z30 is BlackBerry's biggest-screened smartphone yet. It packs a large 5-inch 720p HD resolution display, which the company says has a pixel density of 295 pixels per inch. Of course, that's nowhere near as sharp as the displays on the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, whose full HD screens offer 468ppi and 441ppi, respectively. Still, it's practically gigantic compared with the displays gracing the previous BlackBerry Z10 (4.2-inch) and BlackBerry Q10 (3.1-inch).

I have to say, though, that the Z30's display isn't very bright. For instance, the Motorola Droid Maxx, while it has the same 720 HD resolution and OLED screen technology, is much brighter when viewed side by side with the Z30. Still, one benefit of the Z30's OLED hardware is that it has high contrast and wide viewing angles.

Software and interface
A bigger screen isn't the only improvement you'll find on the BlackBerry Z30. The phone's software has been updated as well. The Z30 runs the new BlackBerry 10.2 operating system, which has a few fresh tricks up its sleeve. Along with the familiar Peek gesture that lets you quickly see your messages and the BlackBerry Hub unified inbox, both of which first debuted with BlackBerry 10, there's a new Priority Hub feature.

Priority Hub will pay attention to whom you interact with most, whether on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, or texts, then will float those conversations up to the top of a Priority Hub view. By default, the criteria for tagging messages as a priority is pretty straightforward. Priority Hub will prioritize (hence the name) conversations from contacts who have the same last name as you or those labeled as highly important. The same goes for messages you select as vitally significant. Simply long-press a conversation in your inbox to slap it with a priority icon (represented by an up arrow) to accomplish this. You can toggle these Priority Hub settings on and off as you see fit.

It seems that every OS is catching notification fever, and BlackBerry 10.2 is no exception. Just like Apple's iOS 7, BB 10.2 now supplies previews of messages as they hit your phone. No matter which app you happen to be in or settings windows you have open, new notifications appear as thin headers across the top of the screen.

Tapping these notifications will launch a full view of the message to read its full contents and respond. Hitting an "x" icon within the notification preview will dismiss it entirely. To quickly handle incoming calls, a new feature called Priority Calling lets you receive caller ID notifications then either accept, dismiss, or respond with a canned reply. BlackBerry Messenger alerts provide the extra option of responding inside the notification itself so you don't have to switch out of the app or menu you're currently viewing.

For all BlackBerry's efforts to breathe life into its smartphone platform, it can't hide the lack of many popular apps gracing its virtual store shelves. Sure, many of the major players have found a home on BB10, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flipboard. The photo-sharing service Instagram isn't available and neither is Pocketcast.

Keyboard
I know many true BlackBerry adherents out there will bemoan the Z30's lack of a physical keyboard. Even so, from someone who gave up tangible keys years ago for tapping out messages on glass panels, the Z30's software keyboard is one of the best I've used. The bigger screen makes for more comfortable typing than on the smaller Z10, and I also appreciate BB10's impressive predictive text abilities.

Able to learn over time what words you're likely working toward, the phone also offers handy suggestions placed over the letter your finger (and eyes) would have to travel to. Flicking upward pushes predicted text into the body of your message. The Z30 also did an admirable job of accurately detecting what keys I hit. The end result is that this gadget lets me type fast and furiously without many errors.

Core components
Powering the Z30's software is a respectably zippy 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and quad-core Adreno graphics. It's the same thing Motorola packs into both the Droid Maxx and Moto X Android handsets.This CPU engine is backed up by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. As I mentioned before, the Z30 also comes equipped with a microSD card slot for extra storage.

Camera
If you're familiar with the cameras on the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10, the Z30 won't offer many surprises. That's because the Z30 uses the same 8-megapixel sensor and LED flash combo as its predecessors. The camera app is also similarly appointed with mostly identical scene modes and editing options that came bundled with BlackBerry's first BB10 devices.

For example the Time Shift feature takes multiple shots at once so you can choose the best one later. Designed primarily for group photos of fidgeting people, the phone strives to identify faces of folks within the frame. You can then tap on a highlighted mug (outlined in boxes) and slide a virtual knob on the bottom of the screen. This action shifts through points in time so you can select when the person's face in question is either looking into the camera or not blinking.

BlackBerry has added an HDR mode, a function that many of today's camera phones offer, which harnesses the Z30's Back Side Illuminated sensor to brighten shadow detail in strong backlight. In addition to that, there are four other scene modes to choose from such as Action, Whiteboard (very businesslike and so BlackBerry), Night, and Beach or Snow.

Other options include stabilization to smooth out the effect of shaky hands, and burst, which fires the shutter continuously to capture multiple images in quick succession. The Z30 has the ability to process images you take through various filters as well, with examples including Black and White, Lomo, Antique, and '60s. You can also stitch video you've captured together with the Story Maker application. Story Maker lets users create custom slideshows compiled from the photos and audio tracks of their choice.

Despite all this fancy editing prowess, though, many may not be impressed with the quality of raw images I snapped with the Z30. Indoor shots turned out dark with soft details unless I had ample lighting. Additionally, photos of fast moving subjects taken indoors often looked blurry and lacked crispness.

Performance
All in all I found the Z30's new BB 10.2 software responsive enough without unpleasant delays when launching apps or flipping through settings menus. That said, the phone didn't feel quite as nimble as recent Android handsets I've reviewed

I attribute much of the Z30's lack of pep to BB10's animation-heavy interface. For instance, when you tap on an app to open it, BB10 first slides your view to the Active Frame panel, which shows windows for all currently running applications. After that happens, the device will then (and only then) present a full-screen look at your selected app. It's a chain of events that adds a fraction of a second to every app-launching process. Sorry, BlackBerry, I know you want to highlight how many pieces of software BB10 can handle at once, but I'd rather not wait longer just so your phones can prove that point.

In other ways the Z30 proved fleet on its feet. The handset's browser fired up jonesarena.blogspot.com mobile site in a quick 4.6 seconds. The full desktop version of jonesarena.blogspot.com, though, took a much longer 22.2 seconds

Battery life
One bright spot in the BlackBerry Z30's performance, along with call quality, is its lengthy run time. BlackBerry claims the Z30's 2,880mAh battery provides 25 hours of mixed use. This includes voice calls plus audio and video playback. This jived with the longevity I experienced in anecdotal testing. With a full charge bright and early in the AM, the Z30 kept it's charge through a full work day, then overnight, then again through the next day in the office before I had to charge it again in the afternoon.

Conclusion

The good: The BlackBerry Z30 is equipped with a big screen, long battery life, and excellent messaging capabilities. It also boasts great call quality plus a microSD card slot for extra storage.

The bad: The Z30’s BlackBerry 10.2 software is bogged down with unnecessary eye candy. The BlackBerry platform still lags behind iOS and Android in both app number and quality. The Z30’s camera takes unimpressive pictures. The phone is only sold by Verizon.

The bottom line: The BlackBerry Z30 lives up the promise of a flagship phone, but it' maybe too little, too late, except for the most committed BlackBerry users.

Though the Pirate Bay generally hogs the majority of the torrent news cycle and most of the torrent heat nowadays, there were other, arguably better alternatives once upon a time. The Pirate Bay is vast, but private tracker and torrent site Demonoid was once the belle of the piracy ball. While other torrent sites closed around it, Demonoid always managed to withstand the closures, but as history dictates, all great empires will eventually fall. Demonoid has been shut down for around a year, but now the old URL has a short message teasing a proper return.

During the time since Demonoid’s downfall, we’ve seen the tracker pop back up online, and we’ve seen a bogus website posing as Demonoid with the intent of tricking torrenters into downloading malware. Though the Pirate Bay does serve as a place for all your torrent needs, what made Demonoid stand out from the rest was the active community. Rather than simply a place to download torrents, the Demonoid forums were host to a helpful community that jumped at the chance to answer your questions and help you out with tech issues — whether or not they had to do with torrents.

The placeholder graphic and message on the site are concise, and read “We will rebuild! Coming back soon, please check back later. Thanks for your visit.”

TorrentFreak contacted the Demonoid team for some hard details, and were told that though the team could not provide any specifics, they are indeed planning on bringing the site back. We don’t even know if the site is being resurrected by the original crew, and we also don’t know if the site will be brought back with its old torrent and user databases. The only thing we do know — aside from the resurrection message — is that both the original Demonoid.com and Demonoid.me addresses are in the hands of the people who are attempting the return, so it does seem legitimate.

It’ll be interesting to see how long this return takes, and if it actually returns in a form resembling the old, beloved community. Until then, all we can do is check back with hope.

Go Green by Travelling With FlyKly Cycling

Some of the world’s biggest cities have seen an increase in the popularity of commuting to work on bicycles. As the focus shifts onto finding more environmentally friendly ways of travelling, companies are also finding easier ways for us to be greener in our everyday activities. That’s the intention of theFlyKly Smart Wheel, which promises to make cycling more easier by adding a smart wheel to your bicycle.

The FlyKly Smart Wheel is attached to the back wheel of your bicycle. Once you start peddling, the motor in the FlyKly starts and depending on your speed, gives you a boost and so making your cycling easier.

The device has an app, which enable you to control the FlyKly and also track your bike using GPS. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices, as well as the Pebble smart watch.

Once you are up and running (or cycling), the FlyKly is able to travel up to 20 miles per hour for up to 30 miles. It is powered by a lithium battery and can be recharged by any electrical outlet in 2 to 3 hours. It can also charge itself while you ride downhill.

FlyKly has nearly reached half of its Kickstarter campaign target of $100,000. Early pledgers can expect to get the device for $550 and the plan is to ship by May 2014.

LG G Flex, the world's second curved screen smartphone

The LG G Flex is the world's second curved screen smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Round being officially the first, but the G Flex may well be the first truly flexible smartphone. Whereas the Galaxy Round features flexible display technology that simply means the screen will be very resistant to impact but not necessarily that the phone itself is flexible in any way, the G Flex, on the other hand, has now had its flexibility demonstrated in a new video and promo shot. An official promotional video has also appeared for the device, which will launch in South Korea this week.

As yet there is no known schedule for an international release, although Japan, the US and Europe are confirmed to receive to device, according to the Korea Herald. The three main carriers in South Korea, KT, SK Telecom and LG U+, will stock the flexible screened device, commonly referred to as the banana phone, in the coming days. While it wasn't originally apparent whether or not the phone itself would be flexible, or if it merely incorporated flexible display technology like the Galaxy Round, a new picture on a Korean retailer's website shows just how flexible the device really is.

Link to Video

Link Video

A hands-on video also shows the G Flex's flexibility in action, and it is pretty impressive. The promo shot shows a more curved device than what we see in the videos, but we'll attribute that to artistic license for ''demonstration purposes''. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the new smartphone will be almost impervious to screen breakage due to the impact absorption qualities of a truly flexible device. Considering Samsung's leaked roadmap for bendable and folding displays, the G Flex will be the first of many smartphones that will mold to your lifestyle.

Apple working on curved iPhone

Apple Inc is developing new iPhone designs including bigger screens with curved glass and enhanced sensors that can detect different levels of pressure, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing a unnamed person familiar with the plans.

With screens of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, the two new models would be Apple's largest iPhones, according to Bloomberg.

The new handsets are still in development and plans haven't been completed, Bloomberg said citing the person, adding Apple probably would release them in the third quarter of next year.

Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for the Cupertino, California-based technology company, declined to comment.

The Advent And Evolution of Tablet

The tablet market had its breakthrough moment when Apple's iPad arrived sporting a nearly 10-inch screen. Later, much of the significant action among tablets centered on those in the 7-inch realm.

In general, the 7-inch size marks the border between so-called phablets and proper tablets. The group has included the first Android tablet, the original Galaxy Tab from Samsung, the first Nexus-branded tablet from Google (and Asus), and the first Amazon Kindle Fire, introduced at $199, which represented a new pricing benchmark.

But since the introduction of those models, tablet market prices have spiraled down, attracting a glut of 7-inch Android devices, no less, has several exclusives. Many of these are available for less than $150 and some for even less than $100. With the range of budget products coming from companies including Hewlett-Packard, Monster Products, and Vivitar, it has been tough to differentiate based on anything but price.

But if tablet brands aren't finding seventh heaven, perhaps eight will allow for one-upmanship. Over the years, several companies tried dancing around the 8-inch mark, with Motorola introducing the 8.2-inch version of its Xoom tablet and Samsung unveiling a 7.7-inch Galaxy Tab as part of what once seemed a crusade to leave no third-of-an-inch increment without a tablet representative.

Variety does seem to have spiced things up, however. Today's selection of Android 8-inchers, while more expensive, are showing more creative differentiation than we're seeing in the 7-inch category. Among the entrants:

The starter pack: E Fun. One of the companies that's slugging it out at Walmart in the 7-inch category, E Fun has long offered tablets in larger sizes as well. The Premium 8HD edition of its Nextbook tablet was one of its first to support Google Play, a huge improvement from the SlideMe store that had previous limited its app selection. Your price of your ticket to this Play, though, leaves no doubt that some 8-inchers are ready to follow their smaller cousins into the bargain basement:

The widebody: Acer. An early entrant into the budget 8-inch space, the Acer Iconia A1 came to market after Acer had been early to jump on the Android tablet bandwagon with the 10.1-inch A500. Unlike that device but like the Nextbook, the A1 has a display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, the same as the iPad Mini. While the wide bezels make the A1 somewhat hard to handle one-handed, many people prefer this for viewing photos, Web pages, and other documents. That said, the A1 is a significant step up from the Nextbook in terms of performance and support for Bluetooth.

The scribbler: Samsung. Samsung actually has two 8-inch Android tablets; the 8-inch version of the Galaxy Tab 3 is the middle child of the ho-hum Tab line that includes 7-inch and 10-inch models. The nearly identical 8-inch Galaxy Note, though, includes an S-Pen and its optimized apps and gestures for which the handset king is eager to build developer support, landing the 8-inch Note between the large Note 3 smartphone and the very large but high-resolution Note 10.1 or, in other words, nearly the perfect size for one-handed padlike applications.

The standup: Lenovo. After dabbling in the 7-inch Android tablet space, Lenovo has bridged the worlds between the pancake-flat iPad Air and the kickstand-equipped Microsoft Surface with the Yoga Tablet. The device, also available in a 10-inch version, includes a cylindrical side that can be rotated to reveal a kickstand suitable for movie watching, and the company throws in Dolby Digital audio processing to augment that task. The Yoga Tablet's roll bar makes for great battery life and provides a bit of tilt for typing and a handle for reading. Lenovo has attempted to extend the Yoga brand by saying this extends the tablet to a number of modes (including a dubious "hold mode"), but putting all the battery on one side of the device does allow the rest of it to be quite svelte.

As the Nextbook Premium 8HD shows, these step-up tablets aren't necessarily high-end goods, but there's significant pressure to step up the game even at the lower end of the size spectrum. The 8-inch tablets must justify their premium over the cheaper 7-inchers. They also have to compete against the smallest tablet size for ("real", x86-based) Windows tablets that include Microsoft Office.

And of course, there's the king of the tablet hill, the iPad, which is available in an 8-inch Mini version. Apple's latest lineup leaves plenty of room to maneuver around between the original, now at $299, and the new Retina Display-equipped model mocking the iPad 2 at $399. When it comes to Android, though, a smaller screen doesn't have to equate to a smaller number of options.

Which is your pick among the Tablets?

A newly discovered species of humpback dolphin has been seen swimming off the northern Australia coast, an international team of scientists reported this week.

All humpback dolphins have a characteristic hump just below the dorsal fin, but there are several distinct species in this family of marine mammals, the scientists found.

While the Atlantic humpback dolphin has been recognized as a species, the latest research offers the best evidence yet that the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin should be split into three species, including one that is new to science. The findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Molecular Ecology.

Researchers examined the humpback dolphin family's evolutionary history using both physical features and genetic data, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement about the discovery.

The study's authors suggest there are at least four species in the humpback dolphin family: the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuzii) in the eastern Atlantic off western Africa; the Indo-Pacific (Sousa plumbea) in the central to western Indian Ocean; a second Indo-Pacific species (Sousa chinensis) in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans, and a fourth species found off northern Australia that has yet to acquire a scientific name.

The team examined 180 skulls and collected 235 tissue samples from humpback dolphins from the eastern Atlantic to the western Pacific, analyzing DNA for variations.

BlackBerry board rejected proposals to break up company

BlackBerry Ltd's board does not believe a break-up of the Canadian smartphone maker is currently in its best interests, even though Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd, among others, have expressed interest in acquiring parts of the company, according to news paper report.
The board rejected proposals from several technology companies for various BlackBerry assets on grounds that a break-up did not serve the interest of all stakeholders, which include employees, customers and suppliers in addition to shareholders.
Microsoft and Apple had both expressed interest in BlackBerry's intellectual property and patents, a source briefed on the matter write to us by mail. In 2011, the three companies had teamed up with others to buy patents from bankrupt Canadian telecoms company Nortel.
BlackBerry had also held discussions with Cisco Systems Inc, Google Inc and Chinese computer maker Lenovo, among others, about selling all, or parts of itself.

A BlackBerry spokeswoman declined to comment on the board's deliberations, and it is not known what specific proposals were rejected by directors during the company's three-month-long review of strategic options. Microsoft, Apple and the other tech companies have all declined to comment on the matter.

BlackBerry stunned investors on Monday by abandoning plans to sell itself, naming a new interim chief executive, and announcing an $1 billion convertible notes issue to a group of investors including its largest shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings, Canso Investment Counsel, Mackenzie Financial, Markel Corp, Qatar Holding and Brookfield Asset Management.

BlackBerry shares fell 16 percent on the news as investors fretted the company may have missed an opportunity to deliver shareholder value.

But the board felt the notes issue offered BlackBerry the most near-term certainty and the best chance for a turnaround, said the sources familiar with the discussions. Most alternative proposals would have broken up the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, which was not in the best interests of all stakeholders, they added.

One of the sources said the board also took into consideration the current cost of the break-up. Winding down some of BlackBerry's businesses would have created liabilities, including in its commitments with suppliers, and would have weighed on the monetization of the company's intellectual property, according to the details gathered.

BlackBerry's assets range from devices and network assets to software and patents. Some of these assets are so intertwined they could lose value in a company break-up, another source added.

The board was also concerned that any deal involving foreign companies would be closely scrutinized by the Canadian government in an extended review process, prolonging uncertainty and making it harder for BlackBerry to stem customer losses.

Last month, Canada blocked an Egyptian telecommunication entrepreneur's bid to acquire the Allstream fiber optic network owned by Manitoba Telecom Services, citing unspecified security concerns.

The reports stressed the board's decision not to break up BlackBerry reflected the current situation and did not preclude a future split. But future proposals will likely be measured by a similar yardstick.

A landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling in the BCE case in 2008 said a Canadian company's board needs to consider the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, when it decides on a deal. Stakeholders can include employees, customers, suppliers and the wider community.

In 2007, telecoms company BCE Inc agreed to a leveraged buyout that offered its shareholders a substantial premium, but the deal hurt the company's bond prices, and its debt holders challenged the deal in court.

While the deal eventually fell apart for other reasons, the Supreme Court ruled that a company's board has to take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders and not just its investors, when deciding on the merits of a deal.

Towards the end of BlackBerry's review of strategic alternatives, a consortium comprised of BlackBerry founders Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, Cerberus Capital Management LP and mobile chip giant Qualcomm had expressed interest in the company.

BlackBerry's board dismissed that proposal as too tentative since it lacked committed financing, sources familiar with the matter said, adding that this does not mean that the board is closed to entertaining proposals in the future.

Nokia Lumia 1520 orders get underway ahead of release

The Windows phone 8 platform and the Nokia Lumia range of handsets are beginning to gather pace in the smartphone world, which is being helped by the fact that higher end specs are now supported by the platform. Now we can tell you that some Nokia Lumia 1520 orders are getting underway ahead of the handsets release.

A few days ago Microsoft beat the green light and put the handset up for pre-order in the US for AT&T customers before quickly taking the page down, but has since promised to honour orders placed with the company during the period it was available.

Now Microsoft has since re-launched the pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 1520 at the same $199 asking price when taking with a new two year contract with the handset expected to arrive on consumer’s doorsteps from November 22nd.

For those that order by this date will also be treated to a free black flip case worth $39.99 and will also get a free app gift card worth $50 to help purchasers to fill the device up with apps. Meanwhile for consumers in the UK that want to own the Nokia Lumia 1520 an online retailer has begun taking pre-orders for the device.

Unlocked Mobiles will sell you the new Nokia for £594.98 with shipping expected to begin on November 25th but pricing and shipping has yet to be confirmed so could change, and you get a two year manufacturer warranty.

iPad Air catches fire

Every now and then new mobile tech that is released can experience some early teething problems that can vary to software problems or something a bit more sinister, and now news reaches us that an iPad Air demo unit catches fire causing an evacuation from a store.

We often get to hear about mobile devices catching fire or melting but this is often the fault of some cheap poor quality third party accessories such as replacement batteries or chargers. Now the image that you can see on this page is what’s left of an iPad Air that suddenly burst into flames.

Now before you think someone was using a cheap Chinese charger with the device, this incident happened in an official Vodafone store over in Australia. What is being called as a sudden “burst of flames” emerged from the charging port of the tablet PC according to a spokesperson from the company.

The fire brigade were called as the retail outlet begun to fill with smoke and sparks begun to appear from the charging port. Luckily no one suffered any injuries from the incident and the device in question has since been given back to Apple so the company could test it to find out why it suddenly burst into flames.

So far the iPad Air has sold really well and if this problem was more widespread we would have heard about it by now, but we reported before about some minor issues with the device appearing for some users.