WSJ: Apple, Foursquare in talks to share local data

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/17/wsj-apple-foursquare-in-talks-to-share-local-data/

The battle over localized data continues to heat up, and according to rumor's Apple's next weapon against Google, Nokia and the rest could be a partnership with Foursquare. Last week TechCrunch noted a check-in tweeted by Apple SVP Eddy Cue, coincidentally at the same time Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley happened to be in the San Francisco area. Now, the Wall Street Journal has followed up with its always-helpful "people familiar with the talks" who indicate that yes, the two are in early discussions about sharing data.

Currently, iOS features deep ties with Yelp, but Apple could swap in Foursquare and its check-in supported database, giving both a leg up on the competition. At the same time, Foursquare's iOS app received an update today, shifting location details like phone number and hours to the top, and bringing bigger photos and info after users have checked in somewhere. Of course, we'll have to wait for an official announcement to see what, if anything may arise from the talks, but with Google's Maps app off to a quick start on the App Store, the folks in Cupertino may not want to wait very long.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal

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Trustonic: a way for mobile apps to benefit from ARM's hardware-level security

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/18/trustonic-mobile-security/

This here narrative begins back in April, when ARM, Giesecke & Devrient and Gemalto teamed up and gave themselves precisely nine months in which to find the perfect brand name for their newly merged mobile security platform. Today, we're looking at the fruits of their efforts: Trustonic; a word which snappily captures the essence of what's at stake (trust-onic) and which you may soon encounter in connection with your next-gen smartphone, Mastercard payment app or 20th Century Fox DRM'd media.

What does Trustonic do, exactly? Pretty much what Mobicore already does in the Galaxy S III, or what Trusted Foundation does inside a Tegra-powered tablet: it allows certain pieces of software to tap into hardware-level encryption and authentication, courtesy of the TrustZone silicon that many ARM chips already contain, thereby removing many of the risks associated with malware and other intrusions within the mobile OS. As far as we understand it, the key difference with Trustonic is that it won't require direct input from OEMs like Samsung and NVIDIA, but will instead be more readily accessible to any banking, payment or DRM service that is willin! g to pay for a key. In return, the service would get enhanced security and faster logins for its users, who'd only need to enter a short, locally-verified PIN rather than wading through cloud-based steps to prove their identity. Indeed, perhaps that's where the tonic comes into it.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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Samsung Galaxy Grand announced: single and dual-SIM versions, multi-window apps, not-so-spectacular 5-inch WVGA screen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/18/samsung-galaxy-grand-dual-core-wvga-5inch/

After getting a glimpse in an FCC filing (and some certification via China) the Galaxy Grand has now appeared in earnest, with a 5-inch 800 x 480 WVGA display that betrays that glamorous naming. It'll arrive running Android 4.1.2, while the dual-core (unspecified) 1.2GHz apparently enough to handle running two apps on screen with Samsung's Multi Window mode, seen on the flagship Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back, while a 2-megapixel sensor on the front will offer 720p video for calls. Inside there's a 2,100mAh battery, alongside 8GB of built-in memory and a microSD slot for expansion up to 64GB. Likely due to the bigger screen, the familiar looking Galaxy Grand carries 30g more weight than the Galaxy S III, while connectivity is provided by HSPA+ (up to 21Mbps down, 5.76 up) on 850 / 1900 / 2100 bands, alongside Bluetooth, DLNA and WiFi. Despite those familiar bands, Samsung hasn't revealed where we can expect to see the phone appear for sale, although the appearance of a dual-SIM version suggests appearances in Asia. We plan to catch the Galaxy Grand somewhere within the madness of CES -- and you can expect that we'll test it out then.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Samsung

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AMD Radeon HD 8000M-series GPUs revealed, coming to a laptop near you in Q1 2013

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/17/amd-radeon-hd-8000m-series/

Had you been cruising these pages in the early hours of this morning, you'd know that the very first laptop to contain AMD's next generation of discrete graphics chips was quietly put up for sale over in Germany. The chipmaker has now confirmed that this machine -- the Asus Vivobook U38DT -- is indeed shipping, with a Trinity APU and hitherto unknown Radeon HD 8555M GPU on board. At the same, it's made a few promises about what the new discrete graphics components are capable of. These claims include the typically confusing graph above, which at first glance may appear to show an 8000M-series chip trebling the performance of NVIDIA's Geforce 650M (of 15-inch Retina MBP fame), but which actually suggests a 20-70 percent lead over the six-month-old competitor -- and with no information about power consumption to help us make a proper judgment. There are some straightforward factual details too, thank goodness, and you'll find them right after the break.

Gallery: AMD Radeon HD 8000M-series slide deck

Continue reading AMD Radeon HD 8000M-series GPUs revealed, coming to a laptop near you in Q1 2013

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops, AMD

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Google Just Launched Another Killer App On iPhone (GOOG, AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-capture-for-iphone-2012-12

Google launched a new app for iPhone today called Capture that lets you quickly upload videos to YouTube.

Unlike Apple's built-in Camera app, Google's Capture lets you sync to your Facebook, Google+, and Twitter accounts to easily push your videos to all your social networks in one go.

The app also features image stabilization, some basic video editing tools, and access to your camera roll so you can upload older videos stored on your phone directly to YouTube.

We took the app for a spin this afternoon and found that it's much easier to use and has more functionality than Apple's Camera app. 

One downside: Once the video uploads, it automatically posts to your social networks, even if YouTube's servers haven't finished rendering the clip yet. Your followers and friends may get an error message at first.

Capture is just the latest in a string of new and updated Google apps for the iPhone. For a long time, Google had a reputation of delivering half-baked apps on Apple's platform. Now it's going all out, delivering some excellent apps that are often better than what Apple can come up with.

Google says Capture will launch on Android devices soon.

You can download Capture for iPhone here.

Here's a quick video demo from Google:

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