| Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids leaked, weans children into a digital lifestyle Aug 27th 2013, 04:12, by Juan Carlos Torres We’ve seen smartphones and tablets designed and built to cater to different ages and lifestyles, from savvy seniors to athletic adventurers to texting teens. It was only a matter of time before manufacturers started targeting the lowest rung of the ladder: toddlers and kids. Samsung seems to have heard the call and is answering with its Galaxy Tab 3 Kids, a tablet that screams colors and fun. 
Tablets have become so much a part of life that we even start to see kids everywhere doing amazing, and sometimes heart-stopping, things on or to tablets. This is definitely not the first time a child-friendly tablet has been put out, with Archos unveiling it’s ARNOVA Child Pad last year. But now Samsung wants in on that market and has put out what is basically a re-branded and skinned Galaxy Tab 3. The Galaxy Tab 3 Kids has the same 7-inch display with a 1024×600 resolution. It runs on a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, probably the same Exynos 4 chip, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, with a microSD slot that supports up to 32 GB. It seems to come in yellow, with what looks like an orange rubber casing. It will be running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is most probably preloaded with educational apps and games. 
There are still no details on pricing and availability. There also isn’t much information regarding additional features that will make the tablet both child-friendly and child-proof. One would expect some sort of parental control software, or at least some way to prevent kids from maxing out their parents’ credit cards with in-game purchases of candies and extra lives. VIA: moveplayer      |  | Google Play Store now open in Iran for free apps only Aug 27th 2013, 03:32, by Juan Carlos Torres Google isn’t always met with open arms in some territories, forcing it, at times, to withdraw or hold back. One such case is Iran, where Google does not offer certain services or has been blocked a number of times. That situation could be changing as Google announces the availability of Google Play Store for free apps in Iran. 
Google and Iran have not been the best of friends. Google services such as Search and Gmail have been blocked in the past, which was met with outcry even from Iran’s own legislators. Users have found ways to circumvent such censorship but it doesn’t change the general behavior of the government towards the company. Google, on its part, has not made available certain sites like YouTube and, until now, has not opened up its Android market to the region. Google says that Android app developers will now be able to publish and make their free apps available to Iran directly via the Google Play Store. This opens up a whole new market for developers though it remains to be seen whether it will be received with as much popularity as other Google services. It is also unknown how long this favorable situation will last, given the rocky situation between Google and the country. Unfortunately, this good news only applies to free apps. Apps that need to be bought or have in-app billing features are still blocked in Iran. Google has not made any indication when it will follow suit or if it plans to make these apps available at all. VIA: TechCrunch | | Sony Xperia S, SL, and acro S firmware updated with improved camera, longer battery life Aug 27th 2013, 03:00, by Juan Carlos Torres Sony has just announced a new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for a trio of its Xperia smartphones. Rolling out to owners of the Xperia S, Xperia SL, and the Xperia acro S is a new firmware update that brings in fixes and improvements in many parts of the system. 
Sony unveiled the Xperia S early last year, which was its newest flagship back then and was followed by two variants. As a recap of features, the Xperia S has a 4.3-inch HD display and runs on a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 CPU with 1 GB of RAM and a 12.1 megapixel camera. A few months later, Sony outed the Xperia acro S, which is basically the Xperia S but with dust and water-proof features. And finally, the Xperia SL was announced around August last year with basically the same hardware as the Xperia S except for a boosted processor which runs at 1.7 GHz instead. This new firmware update follows one that Sony released a few days ago and addresses issues that were reported then. The update fixes an abnormality in the white balance of the camera and fixed 1080p video recording. It improved power consumption and heat dissipation in order to prolong battery life. It also added some new features, including the ability to launch Google Now with a long press of the home key. The new update will be rolled out over the air with no options for a manual download. Sony reminds that, though the update has been released, it might take some time to reach owners depending on market and carrier availability. SOURCE: Sony | |
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