Samsung will showcase smartphone with curved glass next month!!!

Samsung is planning to unveil a smartphone with a curved glass display next month according to D.J, Lee, Samsung’s mobile business head of strategic marketing. The announcement came during a media event to launch the Galaxy Note 3 in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

Ben Wood, analyst at research company CCS Insight, said a curved screen wouldn’t radically change the smartphone user experience but it does help Samsung differentiate itself in a crowded market where phones are homogenous, flat-screen rectangles.

Curved displays are something Samsung has been working with internally for quite some time. The company showcased a curved smartphone prototype at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show back in January. The 5-inch, 720p quality panel on that phone was constructed of a thin piece of plastic that was said to be virtually unbreakable even when dropped.

The unnamed prototype featured a display that extended over the edge of the phone which could allow a user to quickly read a line of text or check a stock ticker without having to have the phone out for a full front-on view.

Elsewhere, Samsung has also been experimenting a lot with flexible displays. Technical hurdles aside, the main problem with flexible displays thus far has been figuring out a practical use for them. Samsung even went as far as to launch a contest over the summer offering cash prizes totaling $20,000 for flexible display device ideas.

Many thought we might see flexible displays used in Samsung’s smartwatch but now that the Galaxy Gearhas been unveiled, we know that isn’t the case.

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Roku refreshes line-up with slick new look, lower price point and M-Go integration!!!

Roku has unveiled a refreshed line up of its lower budget streaming boxes today with the new Roku LT, Roku 1 and Roku 2. The new models are set to replace the existing Roku LT, Roku HD and Roku 2 XD, while coming in at a less expensive price point for those who aren't looking for the full functionality of the well received Roku 3.

The flagship Roku 3 released to excellent reviews, boasting a sleek new look and an updated processor, and now the company has brought much of these refinements to the lower budget models. The Roku LT will come in at $50, with suggested retail prices on the Roku 1 and 2 at $60 and $80 respectively.

Along with the needed facelift the boxes also come along with some other upgrades. Most notably, the Roku 1 adds 1080p support and the Roku 2 adds dual band wireless and a WiFi remote with the headphone jack for private listening.

The remotes on the three new models come along with direct access buttons to Netflix, Amazon Instant, Blockbuster, and now video renting and purchasing service M-Go. The video content service provides Roku with a renting and purchasing system that is fully integrated for existing Roku customers. All rentals and purchases through M-Go are tied with the user's existing Roku account, effectively putting the company in the content business without having to run the service themselves.

The new models are available to pre order on Roku.com now and the company will be making the new software functionality available to existing owners through a software update come October when the new models are set to hit store shelves.

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China to ease Internet ban in Shanghai free-trade zone!!!

The Chinese government will soon allow access to previously banned websites in the Shanghai free-trade zone according to a report from the South China Morning Post. Citing anonymous government sources, the publication says Facebook, Twitter and The New York Times will be among the sites that locals may soon have access to.

Shanghai is the newest of China’s 15 free-trade zones which are areas that have more relaxed economic rules. The area was first announced in July of this year as a bit of a test bed to see how economic and financial reforms might affect the rest of China.

The Chinese government actively censors websites they feel are politically sensitive to the homeland. Unblocking sites like Facebook will help foreigners living and investing in the area feel more at home, the publication noted. One source said if such an individual can’t get onto Facebook or read The New York Times, they may naturally wonder how special the free-trade zone is compared to the rest of China. Feeling more at home is likely to stimulate additional trade and investments from overseas, or at least that appears to be the goal.

Facebook stock shot up to an all-time high of $49.66 earlier in the day but has since settled down a bit to around $48.50 as of writing. The social network has been doing rather well on the stock market since posting better-than-expected revenue from mobile ads back in July.

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Next up for Nest Labs: A smoke detector?!!!

Nest Labs is reportedly developing a smoke detector to complement the Learning Thermostat the company first unveiled in late 2011. Key details like the product’s name, when it will go on sale or how much it will cost remain unknown but according to former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin, it’ll contain a wealth of features that make it much more appealing than a traditional device.

People close to the startup claim the smoke detector could feature a subscription service that would alert a user if smoke or fire is detected (I assume through your smartphone). Additionally, the device could communicate with a Nest thermostat which would give it a longer battery life as it wouldn’t need its own Wi-Fi chip.

Other features like carbon monoxide detection or the ability to silence the alarm by waving a hand in front of it would no doubt be useful but the subscription service is worth reiterating as it would give the company a new and constant revenue stream. What’s more, it would give Nest a foot in the proverbial door with customers where they could up sell buyers on future products.

Either way, Nest certainly has a lot of potential moving forward. Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures have pumped tens of millions of dollars into the company and it’s no secret that they have acquired some of the finest hardware engineers in Silicon Valley. With founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers on board, the future certainly looks bright.

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Cooler Master's nimble Cosmos SE arrives next month under $170!!!

Cooler Master has launched the latest iteration of one of their most popular product lines to date. Based on user feedback from the original chassis and the Cosmos II, the Cosmos SE shares the same core design that made the enclosure a popular choice among enthusiasts in a decidedly more compact form.

Despite the diet, however, the Cosmos SE still has more than enough room to house even the most component-rich builds. The chassis can support up to eight cooling fans – four of which are included. Two 120mm blue LED fans serve as intakes up front while a 140mm fan in the top and another 120mm in the rear aim to keep operating temperatures under control.

If water cooling is your thing, the Cosmos SE has you covered with support for 120mm, 240mm, 280mm and 360mm radiators. What’s more, 120mm, 280mm and 360mm radiators can be installed all at once.

The Cosmos SE can hold up to eight hard drives or 18 solid state drives via removable HDD/SSD cages, we’re told, while multiple graphics card up to 395mm / 15.5 inches long are also supported. CPU coolers of up to 175mm / 6.9 inches will fit under the side panel as well.

System maintenance should be a breeze as removable dust filters are located in the top, front and bottom of the case. Multiple cable pass-through areas should go a long way in keeping things tidy looking while at the same time improving airflow.

The Cosmos SE will be available early next month - October 9, to be exact - priced at $169.99.

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Raptr & AMD launch Gaming Evolved app to rival GeForce Experience!!!

By Tim Schiesser

On September 25, 2013, 10:42 PM

At AMD's GPU14 Tech Day event in Hawaii, the company announced a partnership with Raptr to bring a new application designed specifically for game setting optimization. Similar to Nvidia's GeForce Experience announced last year, AMD's Gaming Evolved application will analyze your setup and download information from the cloud so you're running games at the optimal settings.

Raptr will bring in a crowd sourcing aspect to the Gaming Evolved application. Instead of having a bunch of technical guys sitting at desks and analyzing system performance all day, the Gaming Evolved application will pull information from other users and their setups to produce configurations. You will be able to choose from three configuration targets: Performance, Balanced and Quality, the latter of which is the default setting.

The Gaming Evolved app also incorporates other aspects of the current Raptr app, including social connections, quick broadcasting to social media, in-game tools such as a web browser, and the ability to earn rewards just from playing games.

Initially the app is designed to work with any PC, desktop or laptop, that has a current generation AMD GPU inside, although support will expand to older cards in the future. Raptr also states that only 28 game titles are currently supported for optimization, although the team is working hard to add in more games.

If you have an AMD GPU and are interested in checking out the AMD Gaming Evolved application, you can download a beta version from Raptr's website now.

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Spec by Spec: Kindle Fire HDX vs. Nexus 7 vs. iPad Mini!!!

Things are getting interesting for tablets as we move into the final months of 2013. Although Apple comfortably led the market since the original iPad was announced in 2010, Android is picking up the lead with the arrival of smaller and more affordable options -- so much so that late last year Cupertino decided it was high time to jump on this category, albeit not necessarily worrying about having the lowest price.

In between Google’s Nexus refresh back in July and the rumored launch of new iPads next month, Amazon made their move with two new Kindle Fire HDX tablets that will fight for your holiday dollars. But whereas past devices have focused primarily on value, with mid range internals capable of handling most tablet-centric tasks, this time around the company is pulling the big guns with a couple of high-spec yet still affordable tablets.

We've compiled a comparative table with a handful of what we consider are the best options in the 7- to 9-inch form factor right now. Let’s see how the new Kindle Fire HDX lineup stacks up against the competition.

	Apple iPad mini	Kindle Fire HDX 7	Kindle Fire HDX 8.9	Google Nexus 7	Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0
Price (on contract)	$329 - $659	$229 - $424	$379 - $594	$229 - $349	$299
Availability	Now	October 18	November 7	Now	Now
Metascore	85	N/A	N/A	87	78
Review	More info	More info	More info	Review	More info
System chip	Apple A5	QualComm Snapdragon 800	QualComm Snapdragon 800	Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064	Samsung Exynos 4 Dual
CPU	Dual core, 1000 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9	Quad core, 2200 MHz	Quad core, 2200 MHz	Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait	Dual core, 1500 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9
GPU	PowerVR SGX543MP2	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Adreno 320	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Display	7.9-inch IPS LCD	7.0-inch IPS LCD	8.9-inch IPS LCD	7.0-inch IPS LCD	8.0-inch TFT
Resolution (PPI)	1024 x 768 (162)	1920 x 1200 (323)	2560 x 1600 (339)	1920 x 1200 (323)	1280 x 800 (189)
RAM	512MB	2GB	2GB	2GB	1.5GB
Front camera	1.2MP	720p	720p	1.2MP	720p
Rear camera	5MP	none	8MP	5MP	5MP
Storage	16/32/64GB	16/32/64GB	16/32/64GB	16/32GB	16/32GB
Data connection	Lightning	micro USB	micro USB	micro USB	micro USB
microSD	No	No	No	No	Yes
Video out	$40 adapter	--	--	HDMI	$40 adapter
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 3G/4G	Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G/4G	Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth, GPS,  3G/4G	Wi-Fi 802.11n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G/4G	Wi-Fi 802.11n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G/4G
Sensors	Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer	Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Compass / Magnetometer, Accelerometer	Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Compass / Magnetometer, Accelerometer	Proximity, Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer	Compass / Magnetometer, Accelerometer
Operating System	iOS 7	Fire OS 3	Fire OS 3	Android 4.3	Android 4.2
App Store	iTunes	Amazon Appstore	Amazon Appstore	Google Play	Google Play
Weight	308g-312g	304g	384g	299g	313g
Size	200 x 134.7 x 7.2 mm	186 x 128 x 9.0 mm	231 x 158 x 7.8 mm	200 x 114 x 8.65 mm	209.8 x 123.8 x 7.4 mm
Other	Airplay	Second Screen, Mayday, Free month of Amazon Prime	Second Screen, Mayday, Free month of Amazon Prime

A few considerations

If all you care about is specs, it shouldn’t be too hard picking out a winner, but keep in mind the iPad is due for an update soon and rumors suggest Microsoft is entering the small tablet space -- though not likely until 2014.

It’s also worth pointing out that when you are buying a tablet you’re buying into a particular ecosystem. In that regard iOS often comes out on top, not because it has the largest app catalog of all (a meaningless metric after a certain threshold) but because high profile apps and games usually launch for Apple’s platform first and sometimes remain exclusive for a while. Android is closing the gap but it’s not quite there yet when it comes to tablet optimized apps. Your mileage may vary depending on what you’ll be using your tablet for.

Making some picks

With that in mind those opting for an iPad are advised to hold out a little longer as Apple is expected to refresh the lineup in October. Otherwise, if you are an Android person, the decision just got a bit tougher.

When Amazon’s Kindle Fire first arrived, the main reason it made waves was because it was better and cheaper than the competition at the time. Google took that advantage away with the Nexus 7, and since then it has released an upgraded version starting at $230. If you’d like a pure Android experience this is a solid choice.

But things are a little different with the new Kindle Fire HDX. Amazon has decided to compete in specs, and at least on paper, it has managed to outclass Google with a faster processor, better graphics and just as much RAM. Throw in 24x7x365 on-device “Mayday” tech support and tight integration with the company’s services, and Amazon makes a compelling case at $230 and even at $380 for the 8.9-inch model.

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