Last month an app with the name of Evi was cleared by Apple for the app store but now Apple is about to pull that app from the App Store since according to Apple, that app is very similar to Siri. This app Evi was a personal digital assistance on your device and worked just like Siri works. And this is indeed the case, since that is not only quite similar to Siri, it can also work on older Apple devices as well as Android devices.
 
This app was created by True Knowledge and was submitted to the app store a while back. Apple cleared the app for the app store last month and eventually the popularity of the app started growing. The app, at present, happens to be number one in the UK App Store chart and number five in the US charts. It was this popularity of the app against Siri that has made Apple consider removing this app from the store. According to the tech critics, the app indeed is quite similar to Siri and provides almost all the services that Siri provides. According to a representative of Apple, this app would be removed from the app store in accordance with the rule 8.3 of App Store’s Terms and Conditions. According to this rule, “apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be rejected.” So Apple does seem quite justified in removing this app since the similarity between the app and Siri seems quite remarkable. Maybe when Apple accepted the app for the App Store, it was not really expecting that the app would prove to be immensely successful.
 
Increase in the popularity of Evi simply meant that the popularity of Siri would decrease. And since Siri was among the top reasons why people preferred iPhone 4S over the previous versions, the popularity of Evi was also affecting the popularity of iPhone 4S. After the removal of the app from the App Store, you would not be able to use it on Apple devices. However, you would still be able to enjoy the app on your Android devices since it is also a part of Android Market. The decision of removing the app from the App Store has not been implemented as yet but it is expected that this would happen within a few days.

Although there aren’t grand changes in the structure and design of the latest version of Apple’s iPad, we do see some enhancements in the functionality. For example the resolution of the display has been considerably improved and the wireless connection is also faster. So there aren’t any grand changes, but then again, Apple does not really need to undertake drastic changes to attract new customers and the brand name itself has proven to be quite sufficient over the years.
 
In the iPad announcement event, Apple said that the sale of the new iPad would start from March 16^th and you can buy iPad 3  at prices starting with $499.  The price is same compared to the previous versions of iPad. Another noteworthy announcement that Apple made was decrease in the price of the previous model of iPad, which was brought down to $399 from $499. This move shows that Apple intends to retain its market dominance in face of increasing competition. Finally, Apple also displayed a new version of Apple TV which would stream high definition videos in 1080p format.
 
Interestingly, there is not any number or letter with the name of the new version of iPad and it is simply known as iPad. The name of the device was particularly source of lot of rumors but none of them proved to be accurate. iPad happens to be the main source of revenue generation for Apple and according to the present CEO of the company Tim Cook, during the last quarter Apple sold iPads more than the personal computers developed by any other manufacturer. Today, there is no doubt in the accuracy of the opinion that Apple has totally transformed the concept of portable computing.
 
From the physical structure, there is hard to differentiate this version of iPad from the previous versions, even though it is slightly heavier and thicker than the last one. Besides, the display of this iPad is remarkable, having more than 3.1 million pixels which are four times more than iPad 2. Good news is that this iPad does have support for LTE technology which was a source of lot of speculation. A little disappointment would be the absence of Siri, the voice operated digital assistant found on iPhone 4S. Overall, the functionality and features of iPad seem to be quite impressive and the price is also reasonable so it seems that the fame of Apple tablet would be retained.

Just when the release date of next version of iPad arrived, the rumor started circulating that it would actually be called iPad HD and not iPad 3. Several media reports that have been released about the device are calling it iPad HD. We are not sure if iPad HD and iPad 3 are the same devices since Apple might be considering two iPads this year. This is other than another possible mini version of iPad that, rumors has it, would be released later this year. It is also possible that the release date of iPad 3 is actually deferred and what we hear from the latest information, Apple has decided to release iPad on 16^th of March. So basically there is a lot of confusion about the release date, the name and the technical specs of the device. What we understand is that the device would be announced on 7^th and would be released on 16^th of March, which makes perfect sense.
 
As the release itself is getting closer, more and more sources are claiming that the device would actually be called iPad HD and not iPad 3. The HD with the name, as probably many of you would have already guessed, is because of the Retina display. The Retina display would certainly be a huge enhancement on iPad, even though it has previously been displayed on iPhone 4S. The rumors about the name are not new and previously, some people were speculating about iPad HD but majority was in the favor of iPad 3. But now it seems that the case for iPad HD is stronger. Other than the launch of iPad 3, Apple is also expected to announce the new streaming service for Apple TV. This release would most probably be also announced during the same event during which iPad HD would be announced and the service itself would be made available later this year, most probably on Christmas. As for iPad HD, other than the Retina display, other improvements that we are expecting are changes in iTunes and iCloud technology, availability of Siri, enhanced battery life, and support for LTE. As far as the support of LTE is concerned, Apple might or might not make it available on iPad HD. Other than this, the rumors about the possible release of a mini version of iPad this year are also gaining momentum and we have also heard that Apple has already started purchasing the 7.1 inch screen components for mini iPad. But for the moment, let’s just wait for iPad HD and see how it turns out to be.

So Mobile World Congress has ended and during the three days of the event, we have seen some pretty exciting products with enchanting technical specs from major tech companies. HTC also introduced some of its high end products, among which HTC One XL was noteworthy. What’s remarkable is that the device is ready to be released and can now be pre-ordered, under contract with AT&T, on Best Buy. However, the international model that was previously advertised was known as HTC One X but the model that is being offered at Best Buy happens to be HTC One XL, which would be different from the international model. The international model would come with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor while the one that is available for pre-orders right now happens to be powered by dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Most probably the international model with better processor would also be available a few weeks after this version is released. Besides, so far the re-orders are being accepted only in the stores and not online.
 
At present there is no information on the final price of the device. However, $50 can reserve a device for you online, for later purchase. The official release date would take place in April. The technical specifications of this device are pretty impressive. We would have 4.7 inch Super LCD 2 display along with a resolution of 720 x 1280. Hardware specifications include a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm QSM 8960 processor and 1 GB of RAM memory. At present, the phone would be available with a massive internal memory of 32 GB. We would also have an 8 mega pixel rare end camera with the facilities of 1080 p HD video recording, auto focus and flash. Other than this camera, there would also be another 1.3 mega pixel front end camera for the purpose of self-portraits, video conferencing and chatting.
 
So HTC has also geared up after the Mobile World Congress and in the next few weeks, we would see a few other impressive smart phones from HTC. With the release of iPad 3 and several Samsung devices, next few weeks would be almost showering some of the very best mobile devices upon the users. And with respect to competition, 2012 would probably be the most active year in the history of mobile devices.

HTC wasn’t making the news for the last few months but now it seems that the tech giant is back with a bang. During the Mobile World Congress, HTC introduced several new smart phones that include One X, One XL, One S and One V. One X is the accumulation of the HTC smart phone technology so far and showcases the very best features that you would be able to find on any HTC phone as yet. Running on a power 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, this device would come with 1 GHz RAM memory and 32 GB of internal memory. We would have a powerful 8 mega pixels rare end camera along with another 1.3 mega pixels front end camera. Needless to say, we would be able to experience Android ICS along with HTC Sense 4.0 on this remarkable phone. A little draw back might be that the device does not support microSD card but this is compensated with the fact that you would get 25 GB of free DropBox memory for two years from HTC on this device.

 HTC One XL is a slightly different phone from One X in that it comes with a dual-core processor and also has support for LTE. Talking about HTC One, this is the thinnest phone that HTC has ever manufactured, having a thickness of just 7.6 mm. Running on a powerful 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, this mobile has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display and once again, a powerful 8 mega pixels back end camera.

 After these high end devices, we have HTC V which can be considered an entry level device. Important technical specs of this phone include a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB of RAM memory and 5 mega pixels rare end camera. Although we would be able to experience ICS on this phone as well, it would have Sense 3.6 interface instead of the latest 4.0 version. Having a limited internal memory of 4 GB, you would have the facility of 25 GB free storage at DropBox for two years. We would have a powerful 1500mAh battery for this phone, which would have support for GSM and WCDMA. So for users with constrained budget, this seems to be a perfect choice.

 Exact release dates and prices of these devices have not yet been disclosed by HTC, but we would most probably be able to get these devices during March and April.

There are mixed up and even contradictory rumors about the upcoming model of Samsung Galaxy Tab, which would most probably be announced during the Mobile World Congress. Previously, we heard that an 11.6 inch version of the device is to be released, but now the latest information suggests that we should keep our fingers crossed for a 10.1 inch version which would actually be named as Galaxy Note. So you might as well call this device the next version of Galaxy Note. May be we would have a separate 11.6 inch model of Samsung tablet. Or maybe there would be just one 10.1 inch device.

As for the rumored 10.1 Galaxy Note, it would be a successor to the original 5.3 inch Galaxy Note and would also contain an S Pen just like the original version. For this updated version, people were also expecting the feature of voice activation which, however, would not be present as per the latest information. Other than this little piece of information, no detailed information on this device is available. But for many people, the main source of anticipation is the rumored 11.6 inch version of Galaxy Tab that Samsung plans to release in near future, possibly during the Mobile World Congress. As is evident, the display of this device would be considerably larger than the original version and what’s more, the mega pixel resolution would also be increased to 3.69. Once again, any details about the technical specs of this model are not available for the time being. If these devices are actually to be released, there is not any information about their release dates as well.

Samsung would be releasing some pretty impressive products during the Mobile Word Congress, it seems. This should actually be the case if Samsung intends to make up for the delay of Galaxy S 3. Other than the tablets and smart phones, other products and services that would possibly be launched by Samsung during the event include a new inductive stylus by Wacom, a new operating system (Bada 2.0) and software development kits designed for S Pen use. Everything would be unveiled before too long since Mobile World Congress is set to be held from 27 th of February in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung would probably be the leading tech giant in this event and would release more products and services than any other competitor.

A few images have popped over the internet that are claimed to be the images of iPad 3 displays. These displays are being manufactured by Samsung and it appears that Samsung has also outsourced the manufacture of these displays, probably because of the tight schedule. These leaked images were spotted on a Chinese tech blog according to which these images were taken in a Chinese display manufacturing factory. These images were supposedly leaked from Opto-Electronics factory in China. This factory is among the suppliers of equipment to Samsung. Even though there was tight security in the factory and photography was strictly prohibited, about twenty images of these displays were leaked and hence spread over the internet.

It appears from the images, and is being confirmed by the reliable sources, that the appearance of the displays that would be made part of iPad 3 is not different from iPad 2. However, good news for Apple lovers is, we would see Retina Display on iPad 3 and other than that, these displays would also feature dual LED display. There are a few other rumors that seem to be strengthened with these latest images. For example, there were rumors that the upcoming model of iPad would contain an 8 mega pixel camera sensor and these images also give a similar idea. However, still it is not a confirmed fact that the camera of iPad 3 would indeed be an 8 mega pixel camera. It can also be 5 mega pixels but that seems quite unlikely since there are other tablets in the market already showcasing 8 mega pixel cameras.

Another thing worth mentioning is the processor that would power iPad 3. According to the rumors and speculation, A6 processors would be made part of iPad 3, but these leaked images tell some other story. According to these images, we would see an A5X CPU on the logic board of iPad and not the anticipated A6 processor. A5x processor would certainly be an improvement but of course, that won’t be as good as A6 processor. The images also give the possibility of a bigger battery and if iPad 3 would have support for LTE technology, bigger battery is a must requirement. Anyways, the release date of iPad 3 is not too far, even though we don’t have any official statement on it, and there are not more than just a few weeks before the wait would end.

Now that the release date of iPad 3 is quite close, leaks about the technical specs of the device have become a norm. Every week we see scores of pictures over the Internet where some information about the iPad 3 is rumored. The latest leak concerns the processors that would power the upcoming model of Apple tablet. What almost everyone was speculating was that iPad 3 would come with an A6 processor which was quite natural since iPad had an A4 processor and iPad 2 had an A5 processor. But what the latest leaks suggest is that iPad 3 would actually come with an A5x processor and not A6 processor.

Well, this might be a disappointment for many, just like the disappointment that was seen when against the expectations of iPhone 5, Apple decided to release iPhone 4S. But then again, this does not really matter much as long as have a faster and reliable processor, which A5x hopefully would be. Probability is that instead of developing completely new chips, Apple would prefer to improve the existing chips, which explains the use of A5x instead of A6. There weren’t many complaints about the A5 processor anyways, so things seem pretty fine as long as the next processor holds at least some improvement.

Installation of A6 in iPad 3 would have required designing of an entirely new chip from scratch, which does not seem to be very viable for Apple. For companies like Intel, this option might be attractive and they have been developing new processors at regular intervals, but their priorities are quite different compared to Apple. Developing new processor each year, since at least one new product is released each year, is not really necessary for Apple since the performance of the new device can be enhanced just by improving the previously working processors. And that is exactly what Apple seems to be doing for iPad 3.

So far, the specs of the A5x processor are not known since the leaks only showed the image of the chip written A5x on it. We don’t even know whether this is a dual-core or a quad-core processor, although expectations lean toward a quad-core processor. Most probably we would have an improved GPU with its parallel processing architecture that serves well when it comes to tasks such as Infinity Blade and video decompression. But whatever the reality is, most probably we would find out in a couple of weeks.

Acer was not very active in the market of the mobile devices for a while but now it seems that the tech giant is brushing the dust off. Just a few days ago, we learnt that Acer is accelerating its marketing campaign in the European market and for this purpose the company has hired the services of a leading advertising agency. The reason was that Acer’s first tablet failed to do well in the market of tablet computers where competition is already quite high.

Other than paying special attention to the marketing strategy, Acer is also set to release the next version of its tablet soon. This version is named Acer Iconia A510 and would most probably be released in April. Just like the previous version, this tablet would also be running Android. We are not sure about whether it would come with Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich but chances are that it would come with the later. A while ago, this tablet showed up at FCC, although detailed technical specifications of the device could not be revealed. Although the tablet would be equipped with Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS, there does not seem to be any support for 3G or 4G at the moment, which is no doubt a huge problem. Already we have several tablets in the market that have support for 3G and 4G and releasing a tablet without any support for these technologies can create problems. We can expect a slimmer version from Acer since the previous version was also beautiful physically. The tab would have standard 10 inch size like most other Android tablets in the market. The plastic structure of the Acer tablet, coupled with beautiful design does give it a very special look. Technical specifications of the initial version were not bad so with al the expected improvements in this version of the tablet, we are sure Acer would have something special in store.

According to the sources, this tablet would be released in April, although we are not sure about the exact release date of the tablet. During the first quarter of 2012, we are expecting the release of several new high end devices and this might be one of them. Thanks to the new marketing strategy of Acer, this tablet might be able to do something good for the company. Keep your fingers crossed till April.

Apple’s iPad remains to be the most popular tablet device of all time with no other tablet posing serious threat to it. However, when we consider tablets with smaller size, Amazon Kindle Fire has proven to be immensely successful. Previously, not everyone was considering 7 inch tablets a viable area of production, but Kindle Fire has changed the entire perception. As for Apple, Steve Jobs had a clear position on this matter and he ruled out any possibility of manufacturing a 7 inch version of iPad. Now, however, it seems that things have changed at Apple as well as the company is considering manufacturing a smaller version of iPad, mainly to compete with Kindle Fire.

According to the resources related with this news, Apple is considering production of 8 inch versions of iPad, which might be called iPad mini. Production of these devices has not kicked off as yet but might be started any time in near future. The production, if it really happens, would most probably be started after the release of iPad 3 since at present, Apple would be devoting the full concentration to iPad 3 release which would take place in a few weeks. The resources revealing the news of the possibility of producing 8 inch tablet have not come with detailed technical specifications of this device. However, it was told that this 8 inch version of iPad would showcase a screen resolution of 1024 x 768. Other technical specs would most probably be less than the standard version of iPad since  Apple wants to compete with Kindle Fire market, the price of this new device would have to be considerably lower than the standard version of iPad. According to the resources, although mass production of these devices has not started as yet, the test panels are being produced by AU Optronics and LG Display. What’s more, this mini version is expected to have support for LTE networks. However, all this is just speculation and there is no official announcement form Apple to take any such initiative. It might turn out to be just another hoax and to know about the actual truth, we would have to wait for a few months. But if this actually turns out to be true, we would be having two versions of iPad this year, another new precedence form Apple.