7 Days in News (02-05-2012)

1. Hands-on: BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha
ORLANDO, US--Unveiled at the BlackBerry World conference, the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device will not be seen on store shelves. Instead, it’s meant only for the hands of developers to test drive apps.

As a result, RIM is being tight-lipped on much of the device’s specs, including the processor speed, camera megapixel count and display type.The BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha welcome screen.

The first thing that strikes you is the bright and sharp screen. So far, we know that it’s a 4.2-inch 1,280 x 768 pixels (WXGA) display, but not the type of screen or pixel layout. That brings the device’s pixel density to 355 ppi, which beats the iPhone’s 326 ppi Retina Display hands down.The Dev Alpha is able to hold its own next to the Galaxy S II’s Super AMOLED Plus screen and the iPhone’s Retina Display. 

(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)

Many have dubbed the Dev Alpha a mini Playbook, and little wonder. The full touchscreen form factor is similar, and even the Dev Alpha is made from the same matte black material that covers the PlayBook’s back.

2. Microscopic crystal could power supercomputer
Despite its miniscule size, the super computer – which measures less than less than 1mm – has super duper power.

It consists of a quantum simulator composed of 300 two-dimensional crystal beryllium quantum bits (qubits) hanging in space by magnetic and electric forces inside a device called a Penning trap.

These interactions between electrical and magnetic forces are controlled by microwave and laser 'pulses' that cause the qubits to interact, and the breakthrough is the sheer number of qubits this simulator holds.

And knowing how they interact will mean endless research possibilities, say the gurus behind the project, ran by US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

There's no doubt this super computer has grunt as it's able to perform calculations on a scale that would normally require a machine larger than the entire universe, says Michael Biercuk, an Australian physicist from University of Sydney and part of the global project team, told SMH.

Georgetown University, North Carolina State University and South African researchers also contributed to the project.

The simulator has passed a series of important benchmarking tests, described in the April 26 issue of Nature and scientists and will be able to study problems in material science that are impossible to model on conventional computers.

Many important problems in physics remain poorly understood because underlying quantum mechanics is vastly complex.

Conventional computers—even supercomputers—are inadequate for simulating quantum systems with as few as 30 particles.

Better computational tools are needed to understand and rationally design materials, such as high-temperature superconductors, whose properties are believed to depend on the collective quantum behavior of hundreds of particles, says US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

3. One third of Firefox users vulnerable to known flaws; IE and Chrome continue to gain share

 

Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Google's Chrome both gained market share during April, with Mozilla Firefox and Apple's Safari losing out. The Firefox numbers are bad news for another reason, too: Firefox users are leaving themselves open to exploitation with about a third appearing to use obsolete, unpatched versions of the browser with known security flaws.

4. Samsung smartphone shipments soar stunning 267%, trouncing iPhone
Apple apologists' brief respite is over. Late last week, IHS iSuppli and Strategy Analytics released first quarter data putting Samsung handset shipments ahead of Nokia, ending the Finnish company's 14-year reign. But the analyst firms couldn't agree on smartphones, with Strategy Analytics positioning Samsung ahead of Apple, but IHS giving the nod to iPhone. The Apple Fanclub clung to the "We're No. 1!" data, unsurprisingly. But the last word comes today from IDC, which corroborates Strategy Analytics, crowning Samsung king in both categories.

"The halcyon days of rapid growth in the smartphone market have been good to Samsung", Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, says. "Samsung has used its established relationships with carriers in a mix of economically diverse markets to gain share organically and at the expense of former high fliers such as Nokia".

Strategy Analytics puts Samsung's Q1 smartphone shipment at 44.5 million, compared to Apple's 35.1 million, IHS says 32 million for the South Korean electronics giant. IDC's number is way closer to Strategy Analytics, but not as high: 42.2 million. Samsung ended the quarter with 29.1 percent share to Apple's 24.2 percent, according to IDC. Market share rose a stunning 267 percent, lifting Samsung from fourth to first place year over year. However, in the broader handset market, change was 35.4 percent. Apple rose 88.4 percent broadly and 88.7 percent in smartphones.

Together, Apple and Samsung accounted for all the growth in smartphones among the top five during the quarter, dramatically taking it from all the major vendors, including HTC, Nokia and Research in Motion. However, the "other" category grew by 59.6 percent, lifted by some Chinese name and white box manufacturers.

"The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas", Ramon Llamas, IDC senior research analyst, says. "Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones".

He emphasizes: "With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched". Samsung will beat Apple to new model launch, during an event scheduled for Thursday in London.

Disaster wouldn't strongly enough describe Nokia's quarter. Handset sales plunged 23.8 percent year over year and more severely for smartphones -- 50.8 percent. This tremendous share loss comes during the first full quarter of Lumia Windows Phone sales. Last month, I wrote "Nokia does the Windows Phone death dance". Nokia's Q1 performance makes my analysis look faint.

Emerging markets, China among them, where Nokia once was overwhelmingly dominant, greatly contributed to share declines. Apple and Samsung saw strong sales growth, particularly in China.

Research in Motion and HTC loses were severe, even if less than Nokia's -- 29.7 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively. An early leader among Android licensees, HTC can't keep pace with Samsung. The manufacturer had a particularly hard quarter in the United States, which Asia-Pacific performance somewhat overset.

Broadly, global handset shipments declined 1.5 percent during first quarter -- 398.4 million units from 404.3 million a year earlier. By comparison, smartphone shipments rose 42.5 percent year over year but nowhere as strong as the holiday quarter's 57.4 percent. Growth beat IDCs forecast by 1 percent. Manufacturers shipped 144.9 million smartphones compared to 101.7 million a year earlier.

5. Call Of Duty Black Ops II Trailer Is Out

Predictably, stuff gets shot, stuff blows up and bits of Los Angeles fly everywhere in the first trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops II. As always, Mark over at Kotaku has a lot more Black Ops II coverage...

6. Boeing Engineers Just Came Up With A New Supersonic Airliner
Boeing’s Sonic Cruiser began its life almost a decade ago. At the end, its super-awesome supersonic design was replaced by the 787 Dreamliner’s super-boring super-quiet and super-efficient blueprint, which started construction in 2007. Many thought the project was cancelled, but apparently a secret team of Boeing engineers is still working on it. According to Stephen Trimble, the new S ...

7. You’d Never Want To Graduate From This Automated Dorm RoomLike any first-year university student, Derek Low wanted to make a name for himself at UC Berkeley. But instead of streaking across the quad, he converted his boring dorm room into what he dubbed B.R.A.D. — or the Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm. And awesome doesn’t even begin to describe it. Everything in the room — from the curtains to the lighting to the music — can ...