ios

Browsers pick up the pace (week in review)

It might seem like the tech news this week has been all about the new iPad, but speedier browser versions grabbed some big headlines as well.

Google on Tuesday released Chrome 10, endowing its browser with faster JavaScript, password synchronization, and a revamped preferences system. Chrome is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Google announced Chrome 10's stable release on its blog but refrained from mentioning its product number. That's in line with the company's effort to focus on features rather than version numbers, which it calls mere milestones. Google tries to get new versions into users' … Read more

Tested: iPhone 4 (iOS 4.2.1 vs. 4.3) and Android phones

Earlier this week, we posted some very interesting tablet testing results. Today, it's smartphones.

Over the last few weeks we've tested a number of smartphones in a multitude of ways. If you're looking for talk time tests, however, check the full review of each phone. The tests detailed here will focus on real-world speed as well as audio and video battery life.… Read more

Next-gen storage firm Fusion-io files for IPO

Enterprise storage company Fusion-io--whose largest customer is Facebook--filed today for an initial public offering, but the financials reveal an outfit that's still a work in progress.

For the six months that ended December 31, Fusion-io reported a net loss of $8.24 million on revenue of $58.3 million. For the same period a year earlier, Fusion-io reported a net loss of $13.2 million on revenue of $11.93 million. Those results show a lot of growth, but relative to other tech companies that are planning to go public--Skype and LinkedIn, for example--Fusion-io looks a little green. Still, … Read more

Rumor: Apple to hold iOS 5, MobileMe event in early April

According to a German Web site claiming to have a reliable source, iOS 5 and the new-look MobileMe, widely expected to become a free syncing service offered by Apple, will be unveiled at an event in early April to be held on the Apple campus in Cupertino, Calif.

MacRumors.com, via Macerkopf.de, is claiming to have knowledge of the event, to be held "on Apple's campus in the 14th or 15th week of the year."

This rumor may be closer to an educated guess, though, as Apple announced (and showed a preview of) iOS 4 on … Read more

Rumored Valentine's Day release for Apple's iOS 4.3

A new rumor surfacing online pegs February 14 as the release date for Apple's iOS 4.3, the newest update for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches.

MacStories has reported from a "reliable source" that iOS 4.3 will be available on February 14 at 10 a.m. PT.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber conjectured in his review of the Verizon iPhone that an iOS 4.3 release would make sense in the next two weeks. Verizon would have a launch and time to market its iPhone as the only one with the personal hot-spot feature (widely expected … Read more

A unique app that tells a haunting story

Strange Rain is pretty hard to describe without actually playing with it, but we'll give it a shot. The primary function of the app is to give you a break from your hectic life by displaying a mesmerizing scene of rain falling from the sky. The iPhone screen acts as a skylight, so you're looking straight up as rain drops fall and hit the screen. You can slightly affect the raindrops as they fall by touching the screen and moving your iPhone, and tinkly music from a haunting melody plays amid soothing storm sounds, every time you touch … Read more

Do iOS icons confirm iPad 2 front-facing cam?

It's almost considered certain among fanboys that Apple's next iPad--which so far we're imaginatively calling the iPad 2--will come out in the next couple of months. It might be as early as April, as it was April of last year that saw the launch of the original iPad, which now has 87 percent of tablet market share.

Because the supposed unveiling is so close--some say within the next few weeks--the gossip mongers are in overdrive trying to find out what it will and won't have. And the latest rumor, which we spotted on Mac Rumors, … Read more

Seagate reinforces BlackArmor NAS with IoSafe disaster-proof drive

LAS VEGAS--Soon you'll be able to make your BlackArmor NAS server even tougher.

Seagate today showed off at CES 2011 a new storage package that the company says offers the ultimate in data security. It combines the flagship BlackArmor 440 NAS server, which offers RAID 5 and up to 12GB of storage space, with an IoSafe SoloPro disaster-proof external hard drive, which is used as a backup drive for the BlackArmor server.

The external hard drive is branded with the Seagate logo and called a fireproof/waterproof BlackArmor external hard drive. This is similar to how the company has … Read more

IoSafe's Rugged Portable drive vs. a shotgun

LAS VEGAS--How often does a journalist fire a real gun in the line of duty? Let me tell you, not often. But that's just what I did today. And no, I wasn't taking an anger management class.

It was just another demo by IoSafe, maker of disaster-proof storage solutions like the IoSafe SoloPro. These are extreme types of devices and, it seems, their maker believes they deserve some over-the-top demonstrations.

For that reason, it's now somewhat of a tradition that IoSafe stages grandiose product demos during CES. The company did a crazy fire and water demo during CES 2009 for the IoSafe Solo and an even crazier one during CES 2010, which included a 35,000-pound excavator, for the Solo SSD.

This year, the demo of the IoSafe Rugged Portable, while smaller in scale, was much louder, literally. It involved firing live rounds to prove just how rugged the Rugged Portable is.

According to Robb Moore, CEO of IoSafe, the Rugged Portable isn't designed to be bulletproof but just to withstand a significant amount of impact. "There are types of bullets that can go through any electronic devices we make," he says. "I believe, however, the Rugged Portable can survive multiple rounds of shotgun. Still, I keep my fingers crossed."… Read more