Toshiba Satellite C660: another 15.6-inch laptop at the right price / quality ratio

After Dell two weeks ago, today’s turn to launch a Toshiba laptop quality / attractive price, suited for everyday office use for little more than a netbook.

For the general public, the “Toshiba Satellite C660-220″ follows the same recipe as its American rival: the components of the previous generation in any case (3.6 cm thick and 2.54 kg) 15 format, 6 inches (definition WXGA). Its 6-cell battery would give a range of just over 5 h.

Eee PC 1225B: renewal for the netbook from Asus

The “Asus Eee PC 1225B” abandons the aesthetic seashell (shell) in force for some time to open a new case, inspired by the ultra-portable series U, hired both for their finesse and finish. If we are to believe the photos the newcomer would be, like a ultrabook, too thin to accommodate a standard VGA output.
The screen for this purpose from 12.1 to 11.6 inches diagonally, but maintains the definition WXGA (1366 x 768 pixels) and LED backlight.

Jingxing S7100: Android tablet dedicated to games

A company called Jingxing Venus has unveiled the S7100, a touch pad running Android and embedding a battery of buttons designed to orient the side of video games. If the principle is interesting, this tablet shows Chinese still some limitations that may be possible to get around, especially considering its price.
The Venus S7100 could it be the tablet that the Xperia Play is for smartphones, including Android terminal dedicated to the game? If the concept can leave dreamer, he is not certain that the Chinese firm Jingxing book shelf here really at the forefront, particularly in its OS.


Indeed, the site explains Zol the tablet is running an outdated version of Android, namely 2.2 – the latest being the 4.0, which shows full compatibility with the interface shelf. Technically, the tablet 7-inch boarding still an ARM Cortex A9 processor coupled with 512MB of RAM, WiFi connectivity and 2 sensor 2 megapixel camera on the front and rear. Not a word, against, for its storage capacity and the rest of the connector.
The brand’s primary ahead of the tablet’s ability to run games, especially through emulators Playstation or Nintendo 64 – a practice legally questionable. Of course, the games running Android are also present but it will settle for versions that run on smartphones Android 2.2, knowing that the rendering is not always the most effective on a relatively large screen – unless change the version of the OS. To ensure a good grip, the tablet has two pad, a joystick and multiple buttons that make it look like an oddly PS Vita … and this is probably not a coincidence!
This tablet takes a lot to Chinese competition while maintaining its status as a touch pad Android. Its other advantage is its price, since it is found on pre-order sites in China around 110 euros. There is however little chance of such a device actually leaves the land of Asia.

Free Mobile does not get a 4G license

4G frequencies gold: a faster allocationThe outcome of this second round has been rapid, considering their importance. Unlike the first 4G licenses on the 2.6 GHz band, which ARCEP had delivered its verdict after several months, it only took a few days a week to be precise, to the Authority to assign frequencies so-called "gold "on the 800 MHz band. It must be said that time is short, the mobile network begins to saturate with the democratization of smartphones, using a large bandwidth for Internet browsing.
Free Mobile will be satisfied with homelessnessA fierce battle was announced, was the case. The big loser in this story is called Free Mobile, which did not get lots of frequencies. ARCEP considered that the future mobile operator, to be launched in a few days, did not meet the conditions of accession to the 800 MHz frequencies, namely the commitment to planning, commitment home virtual mobile operators (MVNO) and the amount of money proposed for the frequencies.
Free Mobile will have to settle for homelessness, probably on the SFR network, which was granted two lots on the 800 MHz band. Roaming will be available as soon as Free Mobile reaches 25% coverage of the territory on the 2.6 GHz band, as provided by ARCEP. A seemingly deliberate Free Mobile, which did not seek at all costs these "frequencies or": "We said we would be reasonable, and also indicated that the offer was very unfavorable for a new entrant like us. We have no regrets. If we had thought it was vital for us, we would have been more aggressive, and now we consider that we have everything we need, "has said Maxime Lombardini, chief executive of Iliad Group, parent company of Free.
SFR is the package and allows itself two sets of frequenciesSo the winner of the second round. With two wins in four batches (10 MHz duplex), SFR has the package, contrary to initial licensing 4G where the operator had been rather quiet, with no less than 1.05 billion euros over the table. Orange and Bouygues Telecom share the remaining two lots (10 MHz duplex) with respectively 891 million euros and 683 million euros.
In total, Orange will have spent 1.3 billion euros, 1.2 billion euros SFR, Bouygues Telecom 911 million euros and Free Mobile up the rear with 271 million euros (only for frequencies in the 2.6 GHz band).
The State looks forward to a "complete success"Earlier in the day, the state, through the voice of the Industry Minister Eric Besson, welcomed the "full success" associated with the licensing 4G. It is true that between the frequencies distributed in September and yesterday, the state will reap an additional one billion euros compared to the minimum amount. So close to a whopping 3.5 billion euros (900 million for the 2.6 GHz band and 2.6 billion euros for the 800 MHz band) that the State will win in total. A very nice sum.
It only remains to wait for operators launching their first 4G capable of providing a theoretical transfer rate of 100 Mbit / s (equivalent to the optical fiber). According to some analysts, the first offers should arrive in 2013.

Sharp decline in the popularity of Apple's iPhone in Europe

After years of supremacy in the world, Apple is beginning to feel the ill effects of economic and concurrency. The facts suggest that the popularity of the firm at the apple begins to descend steeply. Although it is hard to believe, this is not a mere hypothesis. It also shows that the reports published by the firm "Kantar Wordpanel" about iPhone sales during the last quarter. The largest decline was recorded in September with 3.3 million iPhone unsold, and that, compared to the previous quarter.
If Apple Smartphones continue to be popular in England and the United States, it is not at all the case in the rest of Europe. In France, sales of Apple products recorded a fall of 9% in one year, from 29% to 20%. In Germany, sales fell 5% from 27% to 22%. Apple posted the same percentage decline in countries such as Italy or Spain.
Decrease of the Apple iPhone
Many reasons for this slump in sales of smartphones Apple. The limited purchasing power of users leads them to resort to models of lower-priced smartphones. Note that many brands have recently released models whose prices are more responsive to users, to name a tablet Iconia Acer A200 in terms of competitors iPad or Smartphone from HTC or Nokia. Compared to the price of an iPhone, those brands mentioned above are significantly lower. In addition, Android is becoming increasingly important and is extremely efficient.
The growth of competition is also something to do with this decline in sales of iPhone. Indeed, this competition has increased 42% this year alone. Korean giant Samsung has made things worse by releasing its Galaxy S2, which by the way, rivals the iPhone. Considered the finest of the Smartphone world, the Samsung S2 Galaxy is the ultimate smartphone manufactured in Asia. France was one of the favorite targets of Samsung. The amount of the French campaign at its output is estimated at 25 million euros. By running the Smartphone, Samsung did not skimp on the means used to reach the French public. It is therefore quite normal that sales of the Korean company far exceed those of Apple.
The output constantly pushed the iPhone 4S associated with the absence of a highly anticipated iPhone 5 yet was also one of the reasons for the decline in sales. Technophiles and fans of the brand have suffered badly from the long wait and some of them preferred to turn to other models.

Galaxy Y Duos and Pro Duos : two dual-SIM Android smartphone from Samsung

Samsung ended the year with the unveiling of the Galaxy Y and Galaxy Duos , two Android devices each can accommodate two SIM cards, a relatively rare opportunity today in the market for smartphones.
The Galaxy Y and Galaxy Duos can therefore couple two SIM cards in one smartphone to improve efficiency, but also limit the number of aircraft take-away as part of a movement, whether professional or not . Overall, the two forms of terminal repeat units of the Galaxy and offer


similar specifications: processor running at 832 Mhz, 512 MB ​​RAM, 2 GB of internal storage, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, 3 megapixel photo sensor GPS. It works with Android 3.2 Gingerbread.

The only notable difference between the two terminals is in their interface: the Galaxy Y is entirely Touch and has a 3.14 inch LCD screen, while the Galaxy Y Duos has for its screen more smaller than 2.6 inches, coupled with a physical keyboard. The Duos confirms its career with the integration of Polaris – which allows you to view and edit Office documents – Find My Mobile Social Hub.
These two smartphones will be available in Europe in 2012, a date and price so far unknown.

iPad: Sketch the application now available

Skitch, this photo editing software acquired by Evernote last August, is now available for iPad Touch Pad, wishing well the first version compatible with IOS.
A version for iPhone is also expected to emerge soon. The version of Skitch for Android is itself available since August and a huge success in the light of three million downloads from since.

When she was a small start-up, its flagship application Skitch offered at a cost of $ 20 on the Mac App Store. Its technology is now integrated with Evernote and offered free of charge.

Skitch is a practical and popular for editing and then easily share photos via social networks. The user is offered the ability to annotate a new image or an existing on a web page or a screenshot, and even on a virtual map. The application offers several tools to work to draw freehand, move objects previously drawn, insert arrows and shapes and to customize the size of the file worked.

All drawings and other annotations are saved on the application Skitch iPad but may also be available through cloud computing. The user only has to save its files to Evernote, by pressing the icon elephant, to achieve this end.