SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA Eight months ago we brought you the world’s first Galaxy S3 versus iPhone 5 drop test. As much as we hated to admit it at the time, the iPhone proved superior to the Galaxy S3 when it comes to build quality and sturdiness. The S3’s plastic cover popped open upon impact with the ground, and its front glass, lacking the protection of a sturdy metal case, shattered. Meanwhile, the iPhone escaped with just some minor bruising. Samsung has long been criticized…

SHAFAQNA - Are you generous with your Facebook Likes? Do you click that thumbs up button for anything that even just slightly amuses you? Maybe you should start charging for liking things. According to a study, your Likes of a brand on Facebook are worth about $174.17 to that brand. Syncapse, a social intelligence company, conducted a study with more than 2,000 Facebook users who liked a brand and considered a Facebook user's product spending, loyalty, recommendations, brand affinity and…

SHAFAQNA-- LG Display’s work on flexible OLEDs has been underway for some time, though the company’s efforts have perhaps been overshadowed somewhat by rival Samsung’s YOUM development. Last year, according to a Korea Times report, LG Display was preparing for mass-production of flexible screens by the second half of 2013. Samsung, meanwhile, demonstrated a flexible OLED concept back at CES, though the screen wasn’t implemented in quite the way many had expected. Rather than being a clamshell device, with the flexibility used to…

SHAFAQNA-- No iPhone 5S until September or October. A smartTV at the end of 2013. Larger-screen iPhone and smartwatch in 2014. A new killer service around mobile payments. A China Mobile deal for the iPhone – finally. Those are some of the takeaways from comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday after the company reported second-quarter earnings. To be sure, Cook never mentioned the iPhone 5S or said anything about a smartTV or smartwatch or a mobile payments service. What he…

SHAFAQNA-- device on the market, made it thinner and added a slightly larger (and better) screen to it. It threw in a nice 13-megapixel camera and some snazzy controls. Photos turn out better than they do on the GSIII (though, just like with the iPhone 5, the camera still has a problem shooting in low light). Samsung also upgraded that pesky skin that the company feels compelled to use to hide genuine, actual Android, so even if you don't like…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) In a short time Apple has gone from Wall Street's darling to its favourite whipping boy. The tech firm has seen its stock tumble more than 40% over the past seven months despite posting its highest ever sales and profit figures in January. Its second quarter update, due out later this Tuesday, could either restore or further erode confidence. Part of the problem has been weak earnings from some of the firm's suppliers, coupled with…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) It’s business news time. The Q1 2013 figures for global smartphone sales are in, and there’s an unsurprisingly clear winner. According to data collected by DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, Samsung has yet again come out on top and has managed to maintain its 30% share of the world wide smartphone market. Overall the smartphone market saw a 9.4% quarter on quarter growth rate from Q4 2012 to Q1 2013, with total shipments…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Is Apple (AAPL) secretly searching for a new chief executive to replace Tim Cook? SomeWall Street sources close to some Apple executives say such a move is afoot, although there’s yet no available evidence that the board of the once-mighty top tech-innovator is officially in such a game-changing mode. But if it isn’t yet pursuing such a goal, it should, according to some big stakeholders, who have trimmed their Apple holdings. They assert privately that it’s…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) The iPhone 5s will see an extended delay while iPad Mini demand is softening, according to a research note from Citigroup Capital Markets. The note also claimed a Retina MacBook Air is coming. "We have previously written that iPhone5S, despite an accelerated design phase, was modestly delayed from June to July," wrote Citi's Glen Yeung in a research note Sunday. "With input from Citi's Taiwan-based technology research team...we now believe that a further 1- to…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) It’s funny: Back in high school I had a project called "Mount Julie" (which Julie never knew about), and now here in 2013 we see a new project called "Mount July." Coincidence? Probably… Anyhow. Mount July will be a set of camera filters for film, stills and video which will add Instagram-like effects, using old-fashioned analog glass filters. From the site: BK-7 multi-coated precision optical glass provides crystal clear transparency with a low refractive index and low…