Galaxy S4 Korea, US versions:Difference?

Samsung Electronics is offering two different versions of its Galaxy S4 smartphone for its South Korean and U.S. markets. These two versions look the same on the outside but they key components inside are a different story. According to a teardown conducted by IHSiSuppli Teardown Analysis Service, the permutations of the versions in their apps processor, wireless sub-system, and user interface results in significant differences in the capabilities and pricing of the Korean and U.S. S4 versions.

The U.S. version of the Galaxy S4 with 16GB of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of Rs.12,445.65 ($229), which rises to Rs.12,880.43 ($237) when the manufacturing cost is added. The Korean edition with the same memory configuration has a BOM of Rs.13,260.87 ($244) and a combined manufacturing and component cost of Rs.13,695.65 ($252).

"With at least four different known incarnations of the Galaxy S4, Samsung is demonstrating its strategy of offering a mobile product that has appealing features and pricing—and then adapting the device to suit the tastes of varying markets or regions," said Vincent Leung, senior analyst, teardown services, for IHS. "This approach is in stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all philosophy used by Apple Inc., Samsung's primary competitor in the wireless space. While the Korean and U.S. versions of the S4 look pretty much the same and have in terms of their core electronics many same core features—such as the enclosure, display, camera and battery—the products are as different from each other as kimchee and coleslaw."

     

Processor permutations
One of the biggest differences between the two versions of the Galaxy S4 is the apps processor.

The U.S. version offered by AT&T employs the Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, costing $20.00. The Korean variation—as well as some other international versions—integrates Samsung's own Octacore Exynos 5 processor, an eight-core device that costs Rs.434.78 ($8) more at Rs.1,521.74 ($28).

The Octacore Exynos 5 enables some unique, processor-intensive applications that are not possible with the Snapdragon processor. These include eye-movement recognition, which allows a user to pause a video simply by looking away from the S4 display.

Samsung's S4 supremacy
One thing that all versions of the Galaxy S4 share is their extensive use of Samsung-made componentry.

"No other company in the world has an internal supply chain like Samsung's," Leung said. "The display, memory, apps processor, base band, RF transceiver, cameras, power amplifier and a range of other parts—all these make Samsung unique in its capability to supply key parts and capture so much value in a mobile device."

An IHS virtual teardown of the 16GB of the U.S. version of the Galaxy S4 smartphone initially estimated its BOM at Rs.12,663.04 ($233), rising to Rs.13,097.83 ($241) when the manufacturing cost is added. The physical teardown mostly confirmed the pricing and design predictions made in the virtual teardown, with some minor exceptions.

ZTE Open -- world's first Firefox OS smartphone

ZTE Open -- the world's first smartphone to run on Mozilla's Firefox OS -- is launched. The phone will be first launched in Spain, Venezuela and Colombia in mid-2013.   The ZTE Open is an entry-level smartphone featuring a 3.5-inch, HVGA TFT touchscreen display and has 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM combined with a 3.2MP camera. It supports Bluetooth 2.1, WIFI 802.11b/g/n and AGPS and has a 1200mAH battery.   Mozilla's Firefox OS is HTML5-based and completely open source so ZTE Open users will be able to run Web apps and view their favourite websites without losing any of the features they love. Mozilla's Firefox OS is free from restrictions. It provides an open standards platform for developers looking to create HTML5-based websites and apps. Developers will be able to distribute their apps through the Firefox Marketplace.

Mobile displays that change shape!

The European Union has awarded Rs.17.77 crore (€2.47 million) for a three-year project, known asGHOST "Generic and Highly Organic, Shape-changing inTerfaces" that aims at extending the next generation computer and mobile display surfaces beyond the rigid, flat surfaces which people are familiar with and allow users to physically push, pull, bend, fold or flex the display.

GHOSTs are display surfaces made of malleable materials that can change into and retain arbitrary shapes so as to display output from the system or allow new actions. At the same time, GHOSTs enable users to deform, touch, or otherwise manipulate the shape of their display surface to provide input to the system.

The collaborative European research project includes Sriram Subramanian, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, and will bring together a range of partners from across Europe to design, develop and evaluate prototypes to define the current and future challenges of making organic user experiences.

The Bristol researchers will be creating interactive visual surfaces with shape changes at the sub-centimetre scale and with rapid (sub-second) actuation to change forms. The initial prototypes will help understand the technical and scientific challenges of using smart materials to create shape changinginput and output technologies.

The Bristol team will be led by Professor Subramanian with co-investigators, David Coyle, Department of Computer Science and Jonathan Rossiter, Department of Engineering Mathematics and research associate, Anne Roudaut, Department of Computer Science.

Professor Sriram Subramanian in the Bristol Interaction and Graphics group, said: "Display technology developments mean the next generation of visual output devices will extend beyond the rigid, flat surfaces with which we are familiar and allow users to physically push, pull, bend, fold or flex the display. This will better represent on-screen content or support new modes of interaction. Such interfaces will also provide many benefits over current user interfaces by enabling people to express and communicate through touch and manipulation of physical objects."

GHOST, is a collaborative project funded by the EU under the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)-Open programme. The project involves various universities across Europe including the University of Bristol, University of Copenhagen, Lancaster University and Eindhoven University of Technology.

ROBOTS AND ANDROIDS

For hundreds of years people have had a dream that they could create mechanical helpers for man. 

Robots have come a long way since the day the first robot was built in 1927. Nowadays, these machines are used as surgery robots, service robots, and military robots. It is startling to learn that scientists are now trying to make robots human-like by infusing emotions and expressions onto them. However, eyebrows are raised about their misuse too. An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, especially one with a body having a flesh-like resemblance.  Until recently, androids have largely remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently seen in film and television. However, advancements in robotic technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots. It is hardly surprising that man should create robots 'in his own image'

What is a Robot?

What is a robot? It has become increasingly difficult to define exactly what a robot is given the rapid developments that are occurring in the science and business of robotics. Even Joseph Engelberger, often credited as the “Father of Robotics,” was said to have once remarked, "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one.”Various encyclopedias describe robots as anything from a “mechanism guided by human controls” to “a machine that looks like a human being and can perform various complex acts of a human being”. More technically, the Robot Institute of America (1979) defines a robot as “a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."

What is an Android?

Androids, on the other hand, are humanoid robots built to realistically look and act like humans. This has unsurprisingly caused some controversies, especially in the case of fembots or gynoids (from the Greek word "gyn" meaning woman), whose aesthetic attributes and functions may be considered insulting to real women, while at the same time providing the prospect of human-like company to men. It has been argued that humanoid robots are not attempts to recreate humans, but are instead designed to work with them as well as for them through interactions in typical, everyday environments. Once this goal is fully achieved, then we can look forward to adding another definition for the word “robot.” So, a humanoid robot is a robot that can work with people.

An human looking Android 

So what, anyway, is the difference between a robot and an android?

 Well, although the terms are often interchanged or confused, a robot can be described as a machine which is capable of doing a job which would normally have been done by a human. An ordinary filter coffee machine would be too simple to fall into that category, but one with a timer which wakes you up to a fresh cup in the morning has the beginnings of a robot to it. More to the point, machines which can act autonomously, or semi-autonomously, can definitely be called robots. Whereas an android, or anthropomorphic droid, is a robot which looks humanoid and can operate in a human environment.

Future of Robots

Today we have semi-autonomous robots—surgery robots, service robots, and military robots that are used in various industries viz. automotive, electronic petrochemical and military operations. Android robots are the future. Scientists are trying to make them look realistic. Also, there are initiatives. Underway to give them natural effects and human expressions. Though practically, robots cannot have emotions, scientists now want to create an illusion that they are thinking machines. There are many benefits of using robots and I will touch upon a few of them. 

                     Robots are also fast becoming the companions to children and old people. These machines can talk and work as reminders. There are robots with screens with which parents can watch and guide their children. With advances in technology, it is expected that in the next 10-15 years robots will replace human beings in childcare. This can be serious because, then there will be more social exclusion and such a child might become a total social misfit. But we must always remember that their misuse can cause human life an enormous damage, to such an extent that we cannot even imagine.

Finally I would like to conclude by saying "In the future, our lives will be full of robots"

Apple has plans to launch cheap IPhones

Here comes a news cost-conscious customers have been waiting for! According to several media reports,Apple is planning "cheapo" version of iPhone for price-sensitive markets like India and China.

Trying hard to compete with its arch smartphone rivalSamsung, Apple may launch a smaller and cheaper version of its flagship device 'iPhone' this year.

"The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body," a Wall Street Journal report said.

According to BloombergBusinessweek, Apple had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011 and is weighing retail prices of Rs.5,265.96 ($99) to Rs.7,925.53 ($149) for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has even spoken to at least one of the top U.S. wireless carriers about its plans.

However, WSJ reports that Apple could still decide to scrap the plan. But, if the reports turn out to be true then it could be a "big strategy shift" for Apple. Apple products were never intended for "mass-market" and the company always tried to woo upper-class customers.

Is iPhone on the way of becoming another Blackberry?

Android-powered 'iPhone' on sale?

Hang on….before you reach to any conclusion after reading the headline, I would like to clarify that it's not Apple's iPhone. A Brazilian company IGB Eletronica SA is selling Android-based iphones in Brazil. Interestingly, IGB owns the rights to the word 'iphone' in Brazil.

The first model, called 'iphone Neo One', is a low-powered dual-SIM smartphone running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a single core 700MHz processor, a 3.7-inch display, and a 5 megapixel camera.

IGB was formed this year after the restructuring of Gradiente Eletronica SA, which had applied for rights in Brazil to register its products under the name IPHONE in 2000, while Apple came up with its first smartphone under the iPhone brand in 2007. Also, in 2008 the company secured rights to the name from a local regulator of patents.

So, are you happy to see this interesting merger of iPhone and Android???
 

Intel, Qualcomm may invest in Sharp

US-based chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm are reportedly in talks to jointly invest about Rs.2,000 crore (30 billion yen ($378 million)) in Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp Corp.
"Sharp is expected to reach an agreement as early as the end of this month with Qualcomm, while talks with Intel are less concrete amid the chipmaker's unclear financial picture," Reuters quoted an unidentified source as saying. However, another report from The Asahi Shimbun suggests that Intel and Sharp have already entered into alliance talks over joint development of components for smartphones and other electronics products. Negotiations between the two companies are on whether Intel can develop a CPU specifically for Sharp's new IGZO technology—a new liquid crystal display that offers higher resolutions and low power consumption in touchscreens displays. 

Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Sharp's credit to junk on Nov. 2 saying, "Fitch does not foresee any meaningful operational turnaround in the company's core business over the short- to medium-term."