Facebook second most accessed site, behind Google in the US

In a study carried out by Nielsen Media Research, it has been concluded that Google is the number one website in the U.S. The number two spot is taken by Facebook, followed by others, such as Yahoo!, MSN, YouTube and Microsoft in that order. There are some interesting facts to consider. The study was completed between January and October, this year. The ranking displayed based on the number of average unique visitors that accessed each site. Google took a lead of roughly 11 percent in terms of these numbers, over Facebook. The data was collected based on computers used in offices and homes. Some 153.4 million visitors from the U.S accessed Google. on an average per month.

Although this was a study done by Nielsen in the U.S, similar patterns are expected for other countries around the world, including India. The use of Google is obvious, whereas Facebook is a major phenomenon these days. Microblogging services like, Twitter didn’t not figure in that list - sites like Wikipedia, Apple and Ask.com did. The study shows without a doubt, the dominance of Google on the web and these numbers reported don’t even include international traffic.

Source : Facebook second most accessed site, behind Google in the US

Apple to receive $10 for every Android phone sold?

We all know that Apple is going all guns blazing in the war against patent infringement (read: Android). Now, as reported by Phone Arena, Kevin Rivette, managing partner at an intellectual property firm called 3LP Advisors LLC has mentioned in a conversation with Bloomberg that if things do go Apple’s way in this patent war, there’s a good chance that they might get $10 for every Android device that has been sold. This figure is close to twice of what Microsoft receives from its licensing deal with Android manufacturers. It seems like Apple is gearing to become foes with a lot of companies in the tech world.

So, what do we think about this? For the love of technology, definitely not good, because these two are fighting like Optimus Prime vs Megatron! We, on the other hand, are peace lovers and have happily installed the MIUI iOS themed ROM on our Android phones.

Source : Apple to receive $10 for every Android phone sold?

Angry Birds the most downloaded paid app of 2011

Rovio's Angry Birds has been named the most downloaded paid app for the smartphones and tablets in 2011. According to research firm Distimo, Angry Birds was downloaded more than any other application across all major operating systems including Android, iOS, Windows Phone and others. The only platform missing out on the list is BlackBerry. However, the game was recently made available on the BlackBerry's App World.

Angry Birds was followed by Fruit Ninja, while another variant of Angry Birds, Angry Birds Season grabbed the third spot on the list of the paid apps for the year 2011. Among the free apps, Facebook grabbed the top spot, while Pandora Radio followed at the second spot. The free versions of Word with Friends and Angry Birds remained on third and fourth position respectively.

The Distimo report covers data collected from January to November 2011. The report has various notable findings such as Apple App Store has four times more revenue than Google's Android Market. China is rapidly catching up with the US in downloading apps from the Apple App Store. Amazon's Appstore for Android has posted the fastest growth in terms of apps availability. The Windows Phone Marketplace has increased the number of apps by 400 per cent past this year and is the fourth largest app store.

Source : Angry Birds the most downloaded paid app of 2011

Spire Program Ports Siri to Jailbroken iOS Devices

A recently released Siri port called Spire promises to bring Apple's personal digital assistant to any jailbroken device running iOS 5. And unlike previous Siri ports, Spire is not burdened by copyright issues, according to its developer. But as is typical for hacks that put Siri on non-Apple approved devices, Spire is not a complete solution and there a few technological hurdles to overcome. Besides a jailbroken iOS device, you also need access to an iPhone 4S and a proxy server as a go-between for your jailbroken device and Apple's servers.

Spire comes from Grant Paul (no relation to the author) who recently worked with Steve Troughton-Smith to get Siri running on the iPhone 4 and helped created an iPad 2 jailbreak method in July.

A token iPhone 4S

The downside of porting Siri to devices other than the iPhone 4S is that they require an authentication token from Apple's latest smartphone, currently the only Apple-approved Siri device. Most of Siri's voice-command processing happens via Apple's servers instead of on the actual device. To prevent unauthorized use, Apple requires each Siri-enabled device to have an authentication token before it can communicate with Apple.

Thus Spire will only work if you have access to an iPhone 4S to get your authentication token, and then you need all commands to go through that proxy server. That seems like a lot of technical overhead just to get a few voice commands on your phone, but right now it appears to be the only viable solution.

Other hacks, including the H1Siri hack that came out in early December also require a proxy server. The advantage with Spire, however, is that you can configure your own proxy instead of using a third party. Using your own server is a much safer way to handle a Siri hack since it avoids having your personal data flow through a server that you may not be able to trust.

Another advantage Spire has is that it appears to be a "legal" Siri hack, or at least a piracy-free one. “Spire uses a new method to obtain the files necessary for Siri, so it doesn’t have the copyright issues encountered by previous attempts,” Paul recently told 9-to-5 Mac. Earlier in December, Apple released an iPhone 4S update that allowed hackers to obtain iPhone system files without resorting to piracy. You can download Spire for free from the Cydia market for jailbroken iOS devices, but you'll want to be connected to a Wi-Fi network when you do it as the app download requires 100MB of data. You can also find a tutorial on how to install Spire on the blog Limera1n.

If you're thinking of jailbreaking your iOS 5 device, the iPhone Dev Team announced Tuesday morning that an untethered jailbreak for devices running iOS 5.0.1 (not including the iPhone 4S and iPad 2) was now available.

Source : Spire Program Ports Siri to Jailbroken iOS Devices

Apple's Purchase of Anobit Will Give It a Leg Up on Rivals

Apple's buyout of Israel-based solid-state drive (SSD) manufacturer Anobit Technologies will give the company a significant technological boost in the mobile market, and the deal could yield huge cost savings.

Apple is the industry's largest NAND flash consumer , so acquiring Anobit gives it a means of addressing the reliability problems that arise as solid-state memory shrinks in size.According to published reports , Apple will pay around $500 million for Anobit. It sees the purchase of a NAND flash technology developer as key to its product strategy going forward. The acquisition of Anobit would be Apple's largest purchase since it bought NeXT in 1996. NeXT, which produced high-end workstations, was founded by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs after he was fired from Apple in 1985.

Apple has been using NAND flash memory in its products since 2005, when it began selling the iPod Nano media player. It has continued expanding its use of flash with an all-flash MacBook Air, the iPad tablet and SSD options for its MacBook Pro line of laptops.

The purchase of Anobit addresses several issues for Apple. It frees the company from dependency on flash component makers such as Samsung and Intel , which lead the market in NAND flash production. Using Anobit's controller technology -- a type of error correction code (ECC) -- would allow Apple to choose the cheapest NAND flash chip inventory available for its products. "It could ultimately impact the cost of the NAND flash they buy if they're able to continue to develop [technology] that allows them to use the cheapest flash possible," said Michael Yang, a memory and storage analyst at market research firm IHS iSuppli.

Industry analysts said they weren't surprised by Apple's move, noting that it follows an industry trend. In March, SSD-maker OCZ Technology Group signed an agreement to acquire privately held Indilinx, a maker of popular NAND flash controllers, for $32 million. In October, fabless semiconductor maker LSI Corp. announced it was acquiring flash controller maker SandForce. Neither Apple nor Anobit have confirmed the sale, and neither company responded phone calls or emails seeking comment.

Objective Analysis analyst Jim Handy said Apple won't be saving much money by owning its own controller technology. "These controllers cost from $5 to $20. The NAND flash in most SSDs is significantly more expensive than that," he said. Joseph Unsworth, a Gartner analyst specializing in NAND flash and SSD, said that "if this acquisition was to take place" it would support Apple's strategy of using technology that allows it to innovate and differentiate itself from competitors with flash management and system software. He added that it would also enable Apple to use the cheapest flash available, and that should help boost the company's profit margins.

"That's why Anobit is interesting," Unsworth said. "This is about flash management and the integration of this technology into their greater ecosystem" of both hardware and software. Noting that intellectual property "is always important," he added, "having it is always better than not." Unlike LSI, which said it would continue to sell SandForce's technology to other equipment makers, Unsworth said it's highly unlikely Apple will allow Anobit to court competitors. "I see no value for Apple in doing this. Why share their secrets?"

"This is NAND management technology, not actual flash chips. So to me this makes little sense when considering other [system manufacturers]," Unsworth added. Handy agreed, adding, "I think the door will be shut. Apple very infrequently shares technology." Anobit has produced two generations of its Genesis SSD technology . The intellectual property that sets it apart from other SSD manufacturers is its controller, which uses firmware it calls Memory Signal Processing (MSP), a type of ECC.

Anobit's MSP technology increases the signal-to-noise ratio, making it possible to continue reading data even as electrical interference rises. The MSP controller technology also extends the endurance of standard consumer-grade multilevel cell (MLC) flash from about 3,000 write/erase cycles to more than 50,000 cycles -- making MLC technology suitable for heavy-duty cycle applications, such as relational databases.

According IHS iSuppli, in 2010, Apple spent $17.5 billion to purchase semiconductors -- that was an increase of 79.6% from the $9.7 billion it spent in 2009. Earlier this year, iSuppli figures showed Apple's iPad was leading an almost fivefold surge in NAND flash memory use as consumers gobbled up tablets in increasing numbers.

"Flash memory is not getting better. It's getting worse. So having a controller technology that you work in-house allows you to dictate ... technical specifications as the geometry moves down," Yang said.

Yang said while Anobit's intellectual property is key to Apple, it isn't unique. Flash controller makers Indilinx, Marvell and SandForce all have slightly different ECC technology that accomplishes the same thing: improving the resiliency and performance of NAND flash memory.

Source : Apple's Purchase of Anobit Will Give It a Leg Up on Rivals

Apple will launch iPad 3 on Steve Jobs's birthday

If Apple sticks to its usual schedule, Cupertino will likely unveil its third-generation iPad in early 2012. But when exactly will we get our hands on the shiny new tablet?

A new report from the Economic Times, picked up by Focus Taiwan and 9to5Mac, says Apple will launch the iPad 3 on Feb. 24 in honor of Steve Jobs's birthday.

As 9to5Mac noted, Apple typically unveils its gadgets at press events on Tuesdays or Wednesdays and launches those products on a Friday or Saturday. Feb. 24 is a Friday, so if there's any truth to the rumor, the iPad 3 would probably hit stores that day but be introduced earlier in the month.

The iPad 2 hit stores on Friday, March 11; it was unveiled on Wednesday, March 2. Jobs, who at the time was on medical leave, returned to show off the new tablet. "We've been working on this product for awhile and I didn't want to miss today," Jobs said at the time.

The first iPad was unveiled on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and hit stores on Saturday, April 3.

Apple has not made any announcements regarding its next-gen tablets (and it won't until the invites go out). It would, however, be great timing for my own birthday just a couple weeks later, should Apple feel like passing one along.

Whatever the release schedule might be, we'll likely see a spate of rumors surrounding the iPad in the coming weeks. Already, we've seen reports of an early 2012 launch, a revamped iPad, display shipments, a March launch with a smaller dock, and a cheaper, smaller iPad.

Source : Apple launching iPad 3 on Steve Jobs's birthday

IBM is now 100 years old

Yep, the three-lettered computing corporation is celebrating its centennial anniversary this week. Big Blue officially hit the triple digits on Thursday; it was way back in June of 1911 that the company entered the world, bare-bottomed and red-faced (no wonder people paid attention).

IBM wasn't technically IBM in the beginning, though. The company initially incorporated as C-T-R, short for Computing-Tabulating-Recording. According to IBM's website, the original C-T-R had 1,300 employees and sold everything from "commercial scales and industrial time recorders to meat and cheese slicers."

Oh yes -- you read that correctly. Mock the odd combo if you must, but let me say this: If any modern tech company sold computers and cheese slicers in the same store, I'd be there every damn day saying "Swiss cheese and PCs, please." And you know you would, too.

But enough dairy dreaming; we're talking about IBM here. The IBM name actually came along in 1924, when the company decided it had grown and expanded too much (and probably sold far too many cheese slicers) to stick with the silly ol' C-T-R moniker. No amount of CPR could save C-T-R; the overly dashed name was dead, and International Business Machines was born.

Not many tech companies can claim a hundred year history -- heck, most other tech giants look like toddlers in comparison. Facebook is a mere 7 years old this year; Google is discovering the joys of manhood as it turns 13; and Apple and Microsoft are striding through their mid-30s. Converted into tech years, by my estimation, IBM is actually almost 4,976 years old.

Source : IBM is now 100 years old

OpenPlug Studio now available for free

There is a good news for RIA / mobile developers, OpenPlug Studio is now available for free for all. OpenPlug Studio allows Flex developers to reuse their development skill, and existing code in developing applications for the mobile using ActionScript3, MXML, and web development languages such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS etc, and offers an alternative to the Flash Builder IDE.

Earlier a free version of the application has been available, but added advertisements into the application. Now instead the development tool itself is available for free, and instead "PRO" and "PREMIUM" support tiers are available for those that need it.

While this will also be possible with the latest Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex SDK 4.5, Flash Builder and OpenPlug have different ways of running the code on the target device.

While Adobe's answer to creating applications that run across platforms is to bring their Flash and AIR runtimes to each platform they plan to support, OpenPlug goes another way. OpenPlug takes the code you write in ActionScript3 and MXML and compiles it for the platform you want to run your code on, producing a native application for each platform.

OpenPlug extends the APIs available in Flex adding support for more mobile APIs with each new release. With OpenPlug native applications can be developed for the following platforms, iOS, Windows Mobile, Android, and Symbian. Since it uses a modified Flex SDK, it is possible for developers to use some of their existing Flex application code (the core bits, not the UI), as a base for developing a mobile version. OpenPlug applications can also be extended using native code components. So one can write native code in C, Objective-C, or Java that can gain better access to the systems, allowing existing code to be reused without losing the unique advantage each platform allows.

OpenPlug itself is an Eclipse-based IDE that runs on Windows and Mac OSX, like the Flash Builder IDE, and can in fact even be installed as a plug-in to Flash Builder rather than a standalone application.

OpenPlug has a number of advantages over Flash Builder for those wanting to create mobile applications using Flex code, such as being free, supporting native UI components, native extensions and not requiring any additional runtimes.

You can find out more about OpenPlug on their site, and can download a copy after registering for a free account on their site.

Source : OpenPlug Studio now available for free

Apple iPhone 6 to get Sharp LCDs

Rumors of the iPhone 5 continue to rife and images of purported prototypes are already soaring on the web. Amidst that craziness, Japanese news daily Nikkei, reported that Apple will partner with Sharp to create next-generation low-temperature poly-silicon LCD displays for the iPhone 6. That means the iPhone 6 would have thinner and lighter display compared to the iPhone 4 and also offer more durability, higher aperture ratios and few connection pins.

Even in the past, Apple employed the Retina Display technology in the iPhone 4 providing crisper images, bright and improved contrast ratio. However, Apple seems to be trying out another option for the iPhone 6 scheduled to hit production floors in mid-2012.

For iPhone 6, Apple will use Sharp's LCD displays with Thin Film Transistors made from polycrystalline silicon (p-Si). These p-Si LCD displays are thinner, lighter and consume less power compared to the traditional LCD display screens. Apart from that, the p-Si LCD displays have high aperture ratio, more durability and less number of connection pins.  

Apple is expected to make use of these p-Si LCD displays as the technology allows putting optical sensors and other components on the glass substrate. So there's no need to add any additional layer of 'touch panel' to the device. In short, it will be part of more compact and slimmer iPhone device which we're currently referring as iPhone 6.

According to the images of iPhone parts circulating online, loads of assumptions can be made about the form factor, size and display technology to be used in the iPhone 6. However, nothing can be confirmed beforehand since Apple may just change the plans/designs for iPhoen 6. Take it with a pinch of salt.

  

Source : Apple iPhone 6 to get Sharp LCDs

Apple to Launch Music Service Before Google

According to Reuters, Apple has almost finished development of their upcoming cloud-based music storage service. It’s been known through a number of sources that Google too has been working on a similar service for a while now. It turns out that Apple might beat Google to make their service public.

Apple is still in talks with music labels for licenses. Some of these labels include Universal, Sony Music, Warner Music and EMI. The service will allow its users to store their music on an online server and be able to access it from anywhere using an internet connection.  Amazon had recently launched a music service. Google and Apple have both been buying music service companies. Google had bought Pushlife and Simplify Media. Apple too had bought a service called Lala, which they closed back in April 2010. There has been no official statement on the launch of such a service, although Google was to said to have launched the service around Christmas last year.

Source : Apple to Launch Music Service Before Google

Your iPhone is Tracking Your Locations

Two researchers, Pete Warden and Alasdair Allan, have found that Apple iPhones store data on their users' locations which they store in a folder, both on their phone and on their computer when they sync with iTunes. Warden says that at first they didn't realize how much data was actually being stored, but when they discovered, it turned out to be a scary amount.

 

The data is stored in a file called "consolidation.db" and it contains longitude and latitude information along with timestamps. Apple has been recording this data since iOS 4.0 came out, it seems. The researchers believe that the data is collected from information from cell phone tower triangulations. It isn't very exact but it gives a good reference to where your cell phone has been over time. Warden and Allan have created an app that creates a visualization of the users' information on the iPhone 3G or the iPad.

They maintain right now that only the user has access to their location information. If someone else wants to access the information, they'd have to physically have the phone or computer with data backups. It seems to be a security feature you could use to track your phone but if someone already has your phone and they've run away, there's no information you can gather about where they've gone. So what is the point.

Source : Your iPhone is Tracking Your Locations

Apple iPhone 5 to Hit Production in September

Last month, we reported that the Apple is considering an Aluminum back panel for the iPhone 5 and it will have the new A5 SoC processor. AppleInsider reported that the Apple iPhone 5 will head for mass production in September and will bit slightly different from its predecessors. The iPhone 5 will have an 8-megapixel camera and dual-mode Qualcomm chip that will be compatible with GSM and CDMA networks.

Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities issued a note based on his talks with sources in Apply Supply Chain. In the note, Kuo mentioned that according to those sources, iPhone 5 will have same dual-core A5 SoC chip found in iPad 2. With improved antenna design which might place the antenna behind the logo, the iPhone 5 will have 8-megapixel camera sensors. For networks, the iPhone 5 will have a dual-mode Qualcomm baseband radio chip that will make the same hardware compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks.

Considering iPhone 5's production in late in September (due to natural calamity in Japan) means that the company might skip launching the new iPod touch devices this year. All this is just a part of the speculation that's floating around and not a confirmed detail. The iPhone 5 is expected to be shown at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6 in San Francisco, California. 

However, the iPhone madness doesn't end here. According to Kuo, Apple is planning to show iPhone 6 in the first half of 2012. Yes, it does sound early but Apple is said to be experiencing fierce competition from the Android based smartphones. Kuo's foresight has turned out to be true in the past.

One thing is for sure that consumers will get to see a new iPhone every year but not globally at the same time. Either they can wait for the device to arrive officially in their respective countries or buy an unlocked handset from select regions. Apple should consider adding more countries at the launch time and that would require ramping up production at heavy pace. Else the entire grey market and jailbreak activities will continue growing. 

Source : Apple iPhone 5 to Hit Production in September

Apple Sues Samsung Over Similarities in Mobile Products

The smartphone patent wars have heated up with Apple's patent infringement suit against Samsung, which claims Samsung's Galaxy line of phones and tablets borrows too much from the Apple iPhone and other products.

The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco and first reported by the Wall Street Journal, alleges that Samsung infringes on a number of Apple patents for technology and "trade dress" of its mobile product line.

In exhibits attached to court documents, Apple displays photos of Samsung's thin, black, glossy, rectilinear-with-rounded-corners mobile devices displaying lots of colorful icons, next to photos of its own thin, black, glossy, rectilinear-with-rounded-corners mobile phone and colorful icons.

That's the problem with making insanely great stuff. Everybody else wants to be insanely great too--even companies like Samsung, which are both Apple's competitor and a supplier of microchips for the iPad and other devices. In fact, we reported last year that Samsung intended to use the same chips Apple used in its iPhone and iPad for its own Galaxy product line.

The Cupertino company claims in the suit that Samsung's earlier device and interface designs were entirely different. According to the pleadings, "Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface, and innovative style in these infringing products."

Our Jared Newman noted back in March that Samsung was taking a second look at the Galaxy tablet line in the wake of the iPad's success. "It's clear that [Samsung does] not intend to let Apple run away with the category," CCS Insight analyst John Jackson told Reuters.

Apple suffered a setback today in a similar case against HTC and Nokia, Bloomberg reports. The U.S. International Trade Commission recommended to an administrative law judge that Apple's request be denied to ban imports of HTC's Android phones. The judge's ruling is expected on Aug. 5.

Apple says HTC's Android phones, and some of Nokia's devices, infringe five of its patents, according to the Bloomberg story. "HTC is a smartphone innovator and pioneer in the smartphone sphere--they were there long before Apple," lawyer Robert Van Nest said. "The fundamental differences from the Apple patents represent choices made by HTC and Google."HTC has made patent claims of its own against Apple. A different complaint by Apple against Nokia will be decided by late June. An attorney for the Finnish phonemaker says the patents in question are outdated and were "dredged up" by Apple after Ericsson and Nokia approached Apple for royalties.

Source : Apple Sues Samsung Over Similarities in Mobile Products

Dell Exec: iPad Too Costly, Closed, Complex

On a recent trip Down Under, a Dell executive made an over the top slam against Apple's iPad. Head of global marketing Andy Lark apparently went on a bit of a verbal Walkabout in an interview with PCWorld's sister publication CIO Australia, calling the iPad too expensive, closed and complex to keep up with Android.

"I couldn't be happier that Apple has created a market and built up enthusiasm but longer term, open, capable and affordable will win, not closed, high price and proprietary," Lark told reporter Lisa Banks.

Lark was particularly pointed in his criticism that the popular tablet doesn't work for enterprise users.

"Apple is great if you've got a lot of money and live on an island. It's not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex."

"Apple is great if you've got a lot of money and live on an island. It's not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex."

"We will do Windows 7 coupled with Android Honeycomb, and we're really excited. We think that giving people that choice is very important."

Dell recently unveiled a ten-inch Windows 7 tablet aimed at business users. Previously, the company failed to gain much traction with its five-inch Streak, a cross between a smartphone and tablet.

Lark's other central rip against the iPad was price.

"An iPad with a keyboard, a mouse and a case [means] you'll be at $1500 or $1600; that's double of what you're paying," he said. "That's not feasible."

 

Apple should take some comfort in the fact that Lark's stinging criticism wasn't only directed at the iPad during his trip to Sydney. He also complained to his foursquare followers that Wi-Fi at the Sheraton where he stayed was overpriced... a critique he posted via his Apple iPhone.

Source : Dell Exec: iPad Too Costly, Closed, Complex

Samsung shows off new super slim Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1

The Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2011 CTIA event was meant to introduce the world to just the Galaxy Tab 8.9, but Samsung had a surprise in store – a completely new Galaxy Tab 10.1 than it had shown off at MWC 2011, with a fancy new slim design that’s thinner than Apple’s latest iPad. Admittedly, the iPad 2 is the device to beat, and this isn’t the first time Samsung has taken a pill from Apple’s diet designs - the MacBook Air openly inspired the Samsung 9 Series laptops after all.

The two Honeycomb tablets have been given competitive prices pegged to the iPad 2, with the 16GB WiFi-only 10.1-inch model priced at $499 and the 32GB model at $599, while the 16GB WiFi-only 8.9-inch model will retail for $469, and the 32GB model for $569. For now, only WiFi models of the two tablets have been announced, though 3G and 4G HSPA+ tablets were detailed. The WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 10.1 is scheduled to hit shelves in the U.S. on June 8th, and the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 8.9 has been given an ‘early summer’ or July-August arrival.

While Samsung has still not revealed exact nature of the 1GHz dual-core application processor that powers both tablets, it’s still assumed to be Nvidia’s Tegra 2 offering. Both tablets are thinner than the 8.8mm thick iPad 2, measuring just 8.6mm. The large 6000 mAh and 6860 mAh batteries that power the devices are expected to give about 10 hours of video playback. Both tablets also pack Wi-Fi a/b/g/n connectivity, will support Flash 10.2, and have dual speakers for stereo surround sound.

As confirmed in yesterday’s leak, both the 10.1 and 8.9-inch tablet have an impressive WXGA 1280x800 resolution screen, and both feature Samsung’s TouchWiz 4.0 UI onboard. While this last fact has bothered many, Engadget reports that a few additions and features were actually quite useful, such as the ability to resize widgets, both its own Live Panel and Google’s native widgets. The Mini Apps Tray was also deemed useful, but redundant in the fact of Google’s app launcher. Samsung has also thoroughly customized the native apps in the Galaxy S-style. The CTIA event also showcased some TouchWiz 4.0 features like Readers Hub, Social Hub, and Games Hub. Some regions can expect vanilla versions of the tablets however.

Source : Samsung shows off new super slim Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1