Toshiba rolls out fix for Thrive tablet's sleep problems

Toshiba promised that a fix for its Thrive tablet's pesky resume-from-sleep mode issue was coming this week, and the company's now let us know that the remedy has indeed rolled out today. Thrive owners can download the update simply by opening up the Toshiba Service Station app on the tablet -- if only all sleep problems were cured so easily. As mentioned earlier, the update also apparently enhances the "multimedia playback capabilities of the device," although it's still not clear exactly what those enhancements entail.

Android captures nearly 50% of global smartphone market

By Erica Swallow, Mashable August 2, 2011 --

(Mashable) -- Google Android captured 48% of the smartphone market in Q2 of 2011, hitting an all-time high, according to a report by market research firm Canalys.

The platform has been making big strides during the past year, overtaking Symbian in Q4 of 2010 to become the top smartphone platform, representing a 32.9% market share at that time.Smartphone adoption continues to grow rapidly across the world, reaching a total of 107.7 million units shipped in Q2 of 2011, a 73% year-on-year growth.

Android was the biggest driver of smartphone shipments in Q2, as Android-based smartphone shipments were up 379% year-over-year, coming in at 51.9 million total units shipped. The report cites successful Android-based products from vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei, as a catalyst for the platform's growth.

Apple also fared well, with iOS overtaking Nokia's Symbian platform to rise from third to second place. A total of 20.3 million iPhones were shipped and Apple raked in a market share of 19%. Apple also became the world's leading individual smartphone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position.

Samsung also passed Nokia, which has faced a rapid decline in demand across many markets. However, Nokia is still holding strong at number one in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China.

RIM's new BlackBerry: Too little too late?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's another tough day on Wall Street, yet Research in Motion (RIMM) shares are up more than 5% after the company said it would launch a new series of smartphones operating on its BlackBerry 7 OS.

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 will debut first and is slated to land in August. Two other Torch models and two new Bold phones will also be released soon.

The company needs its new phones to be a hit. RIM has said the BlackBerry OS 7 operating system and new devices would give a boost to the struggling company. For the fiscal first quarter, which ended May 31, sales rose 16% to $4.9 billion, missing analysts' forecasts of $5.2 billion.

RIM said it sold a disappointing 13.2 million devices -- including a measly 500,000 PlayBook tablets -- in that quarter. That fell short of RIM's already reduced guidance of 13.5 million to 14.5 million devices for the quarter.

In July, Research in Motion said it would lay off 10% of its workforce as part of a previously announced cost-cutting effort.

But according to analysts, a slew of new BlackBerry 7 devices won't provide the solution to the company's problems.

"It's good to see new models coming out," BGC Partners senior analyst Colin Gillis said. "But again the broader transition is going to be to the QNX operating system."

Research in Motion is one of 9 job killing companies

RIM acquired QNX from stereo company Harman International (HAR) last year. By next year, many RIM devices are expected to operate on this operating system, which Gillis described as "more suited for today's high end platform."

Peter Misek, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., also said that the newest BlackBerry phones won't be enough to satisfy investors for long.

"While it's nice that they're out, I think the market is really waiting for QNX devices," he said. "The reviews [of the new phones] are okay, but it doesn't solve all their problems."

Those problems include producing devices that allow the company to keep up with competitors in the fast-growing smartphone market. The maker of BlackBerry has taken a hit as Apple (APPL)'s iPhone and Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android phones have dominated the smartphone industry.

Misek said that RIM's decision to produce new devices for an operating system that's being phased out is the company's attempt to stay in the market before QNX is up and running.

It's similar to the move by Nokia (NOK), which will be selling new phones running on its Symbian system despite having a deal to launch phones operating on Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Windows Phone 7 as well. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop made that announcement in February

Phone apps distracting more young drivers

As Ohio lawmakers debate whether to outlaw texting while driving, researchers from across the country said many young drivers are engaging in an equally as dangerous activity while driving: using mobile phone applications.

Motor-safety advocates and law enforcement officials said they are troubled by new research that indicates many owners of smartphones operate mobile apps while behind the wheel.

“When they are not paying attention to what’s going on down the road, that’s just as dangerous as a drunk driver,” said Sgt. Joseph Gebhart, with the Dayton Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that about 35 percent of the college students who own a smartphone admitted that they use mobile phone apps while driving. Among the 93 survey respondents, 10 percent said they often or always used their mobile phone apps while driving, and about one-third said they used them sometimes.

The findings were consistent with a survey conducted in June 2010 by the Columbus-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

Nationwide’s survey of more than 1,000 adults found that about 25 percent of cell phone users, and 37 percent of users under the age of 35, download mobile applications to their phones.

Of those people who download apps, more than one in four admitted to using those apps while driving, according to the survey.

Bill Windsor, Nationwide’s associate vice president with the office of consumer safety, said an estimated 20 percent of motor vehicle crashes are caused by distracted driving.

While drivers can be distracted by all kinds of activities, Windsor said texting and using mobile apps are particularly dangerous because they result in a combination of risky driving behaviors.

As drivers text and use apps, they remove their hands from the wheel, take their eyes off the road and focus their attention on manipulating their electronic devices.

“Texting is one of the worst distractions,” Windsor said, “and use of these mobile apps have some of the same characteristics.”

Lauren McCartney, a researcher who conducted the college study, said the cognitive and visual distraction of using phone apps seems far more dangerous than simply talking on the phone.

Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop Review

If you are looking for ultimate high technology experience with 3D and Blu-ray equipped laptop along with tons of power for gaming at any cost to pay then check this new Toshiba Qosmio. Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop is a powerful and latest gadget comes with supreme performance CPU and Nvidia 3D vision system.

There is a lot of space- that is, RAM- to store all your data and Blu-ray files. The glossy LED display screen is eye catchy and offers sharp picture quality. The smooth curves of Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop offers it a good appearance with all the advanced features and power packed in it.

Pros

Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop is a stereoscopic laptop fully clubbed with power and performance and advanced features. Blu-ray is the screaming featuring about this laptop along with good vision system and digital sound. Windows 7 Home Premium (64- bit) serves user interface for this laptop. The dimensions are quiet well and fine as compared to its early counterparts.

Cons

Despite of such striking features, it is bulky and less portable. The cost of Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop is also high and battery life is equally low.

F3 Sensy – Dual SIM phone with touch screen

F3 Sensy is the latest Dual SIM phone from Allview, a model with 3.2 inch screen and touch interface with customizable menus.

The phone interface provides us a main menu with two virtual screens, along with three menus from which we have access to various phone functions.

The Shell menu is dedicated to multimedia applications, but offers access to address book, and messaging function.

App menu consists of three customizable screens, it can order the collection of Java installed. F3 Sensy allows working with multiple applications simultaneously, so applications are open in the background while using other phone functions, working with them can be resumed later from where we left off.

From the widgets menu we can add various utility for the main menu of the phone, such as calendar, notes, missed calls, alarms, etc. If we have access to internet we can expand the collection of widgets going to Widget Store, where we can download applications like Google Search, bookmarks, browser, days, Blackjack and more.

Connectivity options include GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi. F3 Sensy can play videos on YouTube, with videos and MP3 files stored locally.

The 3.2 MP camera supports video capture at a resolution of 720 x 560 pixels, 30 frames per second. The files can be stored on microSD memory card, which can reach 8 GB capacity.

Data transfer to PC is facilitated by microUSB connection and the headset included in the package is attached using a 3.5 mm jack connector.

Nvidia Tegra 2 3D Processor

Nvidia reveals its new mobile processor known as Nvidia Tegra 2 3D Processor after the success of Nvidia Tegra 2 which is in upcoming new Motorola Xoom Tablet featuring android 3.0.

New Nvidia Tegra 2 3D processor will posses speed of 1.2 GHz and allowing the future tablets to provide a better human computer interaction using 3D effects. 3D view is expected to be 3D glasses free. Nvidia Tegra 2 3D release is expected this year.