Thursday, February 28, 2013

Kate slams Kendra on 'Celebrity Wife Swap'

Getty Images

Kendra Wilkinson and Kate Gosselin swapped lives for a week.

By Anna Chan, TODAY

When women swap lives on ABC's "Wife Swap," they tend to go home having learned a few life lessons. The same couldn't exactly be said for the season premiere of "Celebrity Wife Swap" Tuesday night, when Kate Gosselin and Kendra Wilkinson made the switch.

Former "Girls Next Door" star Kendra -- a mom of one who has a pretty splendid life being pampered by former football player Hank Baskett -- got a rude awakening when she took care of Kate's eight children, but she did it all with a smile on her face. And in the end, she even bonded with the children.

"I really worked my butt off to get these kids to at least appreciate me and know my heart," Kendra told us. "I really wanted to know their hearts. I really wanted to know about them and know where they come from. I don't want to just do the show, I want to ... really learn about these kids."?

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For Kate, the experience didn't seem quite so positive. She spent the majority of her time at Kendra's house criticizing Kendra's seeming lack of effort around the house and leaving the majority of the child-rearing to hubby Hank and maid Rosa.

When it came time for the couples to meet face to face (Kate's friend Deanna, who helped Kendra out with the kids, sat in as the husband figure), the mom of eight showed just how judgmental she was of the other woman.

After Kendra praised the warmth of Kate's home and expressed being overwhelmed by Kate's rule book, the mom of eight whipped out her claws and reduced Kendra to tears.

"Imagine my surprise when I arrived at your house and discovered you had ONE child," she told Kendra. "It was a very unique experience to sort of do nothing. Reading your manual made me believe that you let everybody else do everything because you don't care. And between (Hank) and Rosa, they do everything, so it essentially enables you to not have to."

Oh, ouch! Could Kendra have chipped in a little more at home? Probably! But did she deserve this treatment? Not really! (Especially since the same message could've been delivered in a more tactful manner.) ?Loving husband Hank stepped up to defend his wife.

"No! She's very hands on with Little Hank!" he insisted. Hank then said to Kendra, "I don't want you to change who you are." Awww!

Kate's reply? An exasperated face.

At the end, Kendra admitted that she had "grown up so much" from the experience. "I took some advice from her, and I am taking that in," Kendra told us. The show also revealed that she's spending even more time with her little son now.

As for Kate? Her parting words at the table weren't about what she learned from the experience, but that she hoped Kendra took a few lessons with her.

Every show needs a good guy and bad guy, right?

"Celebrity Wife Swap" airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC.

What did you think of Kendra and Kate's behavior on "Celebrity Wife Swap"? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/02/27/17119604-kate-gosselin-slams-kendra-wilkinson-on-wife-swap?lite

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Health Insurance Is Not Complicated When You Use These Tips ...

It can be risky to live without health insurance if you get seriously ill or experience a trauma, as unexpected things like that often result in a large amount of medical expenses. It is safe to have sufficient health insurance, and for you to get help with that process this article provides tips for when you are deciding on what policy you want to protect your family and yourself.

A great credit score will mean a low insurance premiums. You are likely to discover higher premium payment costs if your credit assessment lands you a considerably pricier premium. The health insurance company may even refuse coverage to you. Consider cleaning up your credit before getting health insurance.

You need to find out which health insurance plan that can fit your individual needs. Chose from HMO, POS and HMO. Each one has different options to choose from that you will need to consider before purchasing a policy. Be sure that you can continue seeing your current doctor.

You would do well to thoroughly digest all written material regarding your insurance policy to make sure you understand you coverage so there will be no ugly surprises when you need it. It might seem tedious, but you really do need to know the information that is provided in there.

Try not to pay your insurance premium with credit cards. Many health insurers charge up to 15% more if you pay with a card, and they might also charge an administration fee.

To get the greatest benefit from your plan, know your plan well. This means that you should take care to know about what providers are covered fully, what the responsibility of the insurance company really is, which specialties will be partially covered and know what services your insurance company will fully cover.

It may be less expensive for each of you to get coverage through your own workplaces, so compare costs under both circumstances.

Try not to pay your insurance using a credit cards.Many insurance providers charge an extra fee up to 15% more if paying you pay the premium with your credit card, and on top of that they could also charge you an admin fee.

If your eyes already have issues, or if there are hereditary factors that could cause problems in the future, vision insurance should benefit you. The insurance will cover a percentage of check ups and eyeglass or contact purchases. You do not have to have vision insurance, and not opting for this coverage can actually sometimes save people money.

There are many health insurance polices from which you can choose. For you to pick the right policy and company to go with, it?s as simple as you doing the right type of research and asking all the right questions. Listen to these tips when determining the appropriate insurance policy for you.

more advice is here at wiki.animedimension.de and here at moodle.seda.ac.uk

Source: http://blogs4mccain.com/health-insurance-is-not-complicated-when-you-use-these-tips

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Van Cliburn, pianist and Cold War hero, dies at 78

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) ? For a time in Cold War America, Van Cliburn had all the trappings of a rock star: sold-out concerts, adoring, out-of-control fans and a name recognized worldwide. He even got a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

And he did it all with only a piano and some Tchaikovsky concertos.

The celebrated pianist played for every American president since Harry Truman, plus royalty and heads of state around the world. But he is best remembered for winning a 1958 piano competition in Moscow that helped thaw the icy rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Cliburn, who died Wednesday at 78 after fighting bone cancer, was "a great humanitarian and a brilliant musician whose light will continue to shine through his extraordinary legacy," said his publicist and longtime friend Mary Lou Falcone. "He will be missed by all who knew and admired him, and by countless people he never met."

The young man from the small east Texas town of Kilgore was a baby-faced 23-year-old when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow just six months after the Soviets' launch of Sputnik embarrassed the U.S. and inaugurated the space race.

Cliburn returned to a hero's welcome and the ticker-tape parade ? the first ever for a classical musician. A Time magazine cover proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia."

But the win also showed the power of the arts, creating unity despite the tension between the superpowers. Music-loving Soviets clamored to see him perform. Premier Nikita Khrushchev reportedly gave the go-ahead for the judges to honor a foreigner: "Is Cliburn the best? Then give him first prize."

In the years that followed, Cliburn's popularity soared. He sold out concerts and caused riots when he was spotted in public. His fame even prompted an Elvis Presley fan club to change its name to his. His recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Russian conductor Kirill Kondrashin became the first classical album to reach platinum status.

Time magazine's 1958 cover story quoted a friend as saying Cliburn could become "the first man in history to be a Horowitz, Liberace and Presley all rolled into one."

Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, who won the Tchaikovsky competition in 1998 at an age of 23, the same age as Cliburn, said Cliburn's "romantic style captured the hearts of Soviet audience."

"Everyone was in love with him," Matsuev said. "And he loved the Soviet Union, Russia and the Russian public."

Matsuev, who knew Cliburn personally, described him as an "incredibly delicate, kind and gentle man who dedicated his entire life to art."

He also used his skill and fame to help other young musicians through the Van Cliburn International Music Competition, held every four years. Created in 1962 by a group of Fort Worth teachers and citizens, it remains among the top showcases for the world's best pianists.

"Since we know that classical music is timeless and everlasting, it is precisely the eternal verities inherent in classical music that remain a spiritual beacon for people all over the world," Cliburn once said.

President George W. Bush presented Cliburn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom ? the nation's highest civilian honor ? in 2003. The following year, he received the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I still have lots of friends in Russia," Cliburn said at the time. "It's always a great pleasure to talk to older people in Russia, to hear their anecdotes."

After the death of his father in 1974, Cliburn announced he would soon retire to spend more time with his ailing mother. He stopped touring in 1978.

Among other things, touring robbed him of the chance to enjoy opera and other musical performances.

"I said to myself, 'Life is too short.' I was missing so much," he told The New York Times in 2008. After winning the competition, "it was thrilling to be wanted. But it was pressure, too."

Cliburn emerged from his sabbatical in 1987, when he played at a state dinner at the White House during the historic visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev leapt from his seat to give the pianist a bear-hug and kisses on the cheeks.

Cliburn was born Harvey Lavan Cliburn Jr. on July 12, 1934, in Shreveport, La., the son of oilman Harvey Cliburn Sr. and Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn. At age 3, he began studying piano with his mother, herself an accomplished pianist who had studied with a pupil of the great 19th century Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt.

The family moved back to Kilgore within a few years of his birth.

Cliburn won his first Texas competition when he was 12, and two years later he played in Carnegie Hall as the winner of the National Music Festival Award.

At 17, Cliburn attended the Juilliard School in New York, where fellow students marveled at his marathon practice sessions that stretched until 3 a.m. He studied under the famed Russian-born pianist Rosina Lhevinne.

Between 1952 and 1958, he won all but one competition he entered, including the G.B. Dealey Award from the Dallas Symphony, the Kosciusko Foundation Chopin Scholarship and the prestigious Leventritt. By age 20, he had played with the New York Philharmonic and the symphonies of most major cities.

Cliburn's career seemed ready to take off until his name came up for the draft. He had to cancel all shows but was eventually excused from duty due to chronic nosebleeds.

Over the next few years, Cliburn's international popularity continued as he recorded pieces ranging from Mozart to a concerto by American Edward McDowell. Still, having been trained by some of the best Russian teachers in the world, Cliburn's heart was Russian, with the Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff concertos.

After 1990, Cliburn toured Japan numerous times and performed throughout the United States. He was in the midst of a 16-city U.S. tour in 1994 when his mother died at age 97.

Cliburn, who made his home in Fort Worth, endowed scholarships at many schools, including Juilliard, which gave him an honorary doctorate, and the Moscow and Leningrad conservatories. In December 2001, he was presented with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors Medallion at the televised tribute held in Washington.

He practiced daily and performed limited engagements until only recently. His last public appearance came in September at the 50th anniversary of the prestigious piano competition bearing his name.

Speaking to the audience in Fort Worth, he saluted the many past contestants, the orchestra and the city: "Never forget: I love you all from the bottom of my heart, forever." The audience responded with a roaring standing ovation.

___

Associated Press Writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Van Cliburn Foundation: http://www.cliburn.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/van-cliburn-pianist-cold-war-hero-dies-78-210055108.html

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Samsung announces new KNOX system for secure BYOD

Samsung KNOX

Android Central at Mobile World Congress

Samsung is hoping to further its position in the enterprise space by introducing Samsung KNOX, a full software solution for companies to implement with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programs. KNOX is aiming to be an end-to-end solution for securing corporate data on a personal device, keeping both sets of data and apps completely separate. The solution provides system-level encryption of the enterprise data and apps, which are accessed via an app icon on the employee's homescreen. Everything inside KNOX is a completely separate container from the rest of the phone, and ships with integrated email, browser, contacts, calendar and file sharing apps for the enterprise.

Additionally, any Android app can be made KNOX-compliant without any change in the source code, so developers don't have to submit a new version of the app to work with KNOX. Samsung can add features like FIPS compliant VPN, on-device encryption and Single Sign On (SSO) to these existing apps.

These security features require changes in both the hardware and software of the devices, and Samsung is saying that KNOX will be available on "selected Samsung devices" starting from Q2 2013 as part of its SAFE (Samsung for Enterprise) platform. This is a great step forward for users that want to have both corporate and personal data on a single device.

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/z8q0VjjyaPY/story01.htm

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Oscars 2013 Backstage: Private Meet-Ups Revealed

MTV News' eyes on the inside share best behind-the-scenes moments.
By Brett White


Bradley Cooper at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702534/backstage-oscars-academy-awards-2013.jhtml

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Ubiquitous Mobile Broadband- Huawei Makes It Possible

Shenzhen, China, February 25, 2013]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, will launch innovative mobile ICT solutions, products, and services at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 in Barcelona. With ?Make It Possible? as its theme at MWC, Huawei will demonstrate its ability to provide ubiquitous mobile broadband in the new mobile era, as well as showcase its confidence to help customers achieve business success.

Huawei?s Theme at MWC 2013: Make It Possible

With the advent of a new digital revolution, intelligent infrastructure will drive ICT technological advancement and user experiences characterized by high bandwidth and zero wait time will be in demand at all times. As ICT convergence continues and information technology advances quickly, mobile communications will become one of the key drivers for economic growth, introducing the infinite possibilities of a connected lifestyle.

?At this year?s MWC, Huawei will further define the increasingly connected world, illuminating the fact that the experiences and possibilities of a connected lifestyle are infinite,? said Ryan Ding, senior vice president of Huawei. ?As a leading global ICT solutions provider, Huawei will remain committed to meeting customer needs, focus on the pipe business, and provide operators with pipes that have a diameter as wide as the Pacific Ocean.?

As part of its drive to pursue higher-level communication and cooperation with customers, Huawei offers end-to-end solutions, including strategic and business consulting, network planning, network operation, network technologies and products, among others. Ryan Ding said: ?Our discussions with customers not only touch on the present, but also the future. Our goal is to help customers achieve business success. To that end, Huawei will continue to build business models that encourage win-win results, create a sound industry ecosystem, share greater business value with customers, and propel the industry forward.?

Huawei?s Solutions, Products, and Services at MWC 2013

In order to embrace the new era of big data, big traffic, and big wisdom together with customers, Huawei focuses on providing high-traffic pipe systems capable of carrying big data, and keeps the pipe in mind when deciding on product and solution portfolios. The pipe is part of Huawei?s strategy to meet the challenge of future data floods, and represents Huawei?s major growth source. At MWC 2013, Huawei will showcase the following solutions, flagship products, and services:

SoftCOM: Huawei?s ICT network architecture that is built on cloud computing and software-defined networking (SDN). As a core part of Huawei?s pipe strategy, SoftCOM features such core concepts as network-level cloudization, equipment-level cloudization, telecom IT cloudization, and Internet-oriented operation. By capitalizing on cloud computing revolutions and Internet-oriented operation models, the SoftCOM network architecture delivers two major benefits. First, the architecture helps tap into more revenue sources by expanding IT services beyond networks, enabling traffic operations, and creating an open ecosystem. Second, the architecture can slash costs by structurally improving network utilization and operating efficiency.

SoftMobile: Huawei?s SoftMobile redefines the design architecture for mobile broadband (MBB) network equipment and supports software-defined modular pipes of large diameter. SoftMobile can resolve equipment problems related to multi-mode and multi-frequency networking. Therefore, SoftMobile is essential to building an MBB network with a diameter as wide as the Pacific Ocean. On-demand customization and collaboration are additional benefits. On the foundation of SoftMobile, the mobile industry will develop further and transition into a new mobile age with infinite connected possibilities.

In addition to leveraging the advantages of Huawei?s SingleRAN offerings, SoftMobile makes full use of cloud computing technologies. Additionally, SoftMobile incorporates the core concepts of ?unified scheduling and virtualization of resource pools? and ?on-demand service? into MBB network architectures, network topology architectures, and business architectures. In this way, SoftMobile can transform MBB networks into open software-defined networks. The SoftMobile-enabled transformations will help operators build profitable MBB pipes with enhanced elasticity, intelligence, scalability, and automation capabilities that address the ICT convergence.

At MWC 2013, Huawei will demonstrate its latest SoftMobile-related solutions and products, including SingleRAN Advanced, LTE, Voice over LTE (VoLTE), UMTS/HSPA, Multi-service Engine (MSE), and SingleOSS, all of which support software-defined products and service collaboration, while delivering larger capacity and better user experience. Therefore, these solutions and products can help operators increase profits from networks and optimize user experience.

The following flagship products will be showcased in Huawei?s booths.

  • Baseband Unit (BBU): Huawei is the first to launch a four-mode BBU (GSM/UMTS/LTE FDD/LTE TDD) that enables flexible software-defined configuration.
  • Brand new Blade Remote Radio Unit (RRU): Huawei?s Blade RRU supports different modes, frequency bands, and channels. Owing to its standard and compact designs found nowhere else in the industry, the Blade RRUs can be deployed easily. Many leading operators in Europe, Asia, China, and other countries and regions have successfully used the Blade RRUs for commercial purposes.
  • High-performance AAU: Thanks to its modular design, the AAU boasts an integration level two times higher than the industry average, thus facilitating installation and maintenance. The AAU is being tested by Vodafone UK, Deutsche Telekom, and other leading operators, and its ability to enhance performance by 50% is highly recognized by the operators. At this MWC, Huawei will demonstrate AAU beamforming together with Vodafone UK.
  • AtomCell solution: This solution has been put into successful commercial use in more than 50 countries. With its compact size, the innovative LampSite solution allows power supply through Power over Ethernet (POE) and supports multiple frequency bands and modes to offer Wi-Fi coverage in subway stations, shopping malls, office buildings, and other indoor scenarios. It has been commercialized by Softbank.
  • LTEHaul solution: This solution introduces a new bearer network architecture that allows evolutions towards LTE.
  • E-Band: This microwave transmission product has an ultra-slim appearance of 1.5cm that is attributed to compact design integrating the antenna, indoor unit (IDU), and outdoor unit (ODU).

End-to-end integration and managed services: Huawei provides consulting and system integration solutions, next-generation managed services that increase total value of ownership (TVO) from end to end, and SmartCARE?CEM solutions that center on user experience. Building on these services and solutions, Huawei seeks to fully align its strategies with those of operator customers, and helps them manage user experience throughout lifecycles in addition to helping shift the focus of end-to-end operation management from networks to end user experience. In doing so, Huawei aims to help operators maximize their return on investment (ROI).

Traffic operation: To resolve operators? pain points in traffic operations and improve ROI in broadband and network efficiency, Huawei introduces a series of concepts, strategies, and actions that aim to meet customer needs, unlock the value of traffic, and improve user experience. The direction of traffic operation is to increase the volume, significance, and benefits of traffic based on smart pipes and aggregation platforms. The Value Growth Solution (VGS), a flagship offering of Huawei, can increase overall revenue per megabit by 10% to 30% and enhance MBB user penetration by 5% to 15%.

Huawei?s devices: At MWC 2013, Huawei will release Ascend P2, a new-generation smartphone that combines elegant designs, fashionable elements, and the world?s fastest response speed. Several other smartphones will appear too, including Ascend D2, Ascend Mate, Ascend W1, and Honor 2, all of which promise a faster speed, slimmer appearance, longer battery life, larger screens, higher definition, and a friendlier user interface (Emotion UI) that can satisfy each and every mobile phone user?s demand for superior experience and functionality. In terms of MBB, Huawei will launch E5372, a mobile Wi-Fi card with a 5 GHz Wi-Fi frequency range for LTE Catetory-4 networks; E3331, the world?s smallest data card and also the best connectivity accessory for MacBook Air and Ultrabook; E5220, the world?s smallest mobile Wi-Fi card; and E8278, the world?s first LTE Wi-Fi card.

In addition, Huawei will release the Connected Home solution and unveil the following offerings: multi-media home devices with multiple screens; broadband and voice devices for homes; high-end MediaPad 10 Full HD, cost-effective MediaPad 10 Link, and a fashionable 7-inch MediaPad 7 Lite.

Huawei Broader Way Forum

At the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals held at the beginning of this century, the United Nations pointed out that, broadband networks are important to the future development of global economy and society, just like transport, energy, and water networks. Sitting on the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, Huawei actively advocates the broadband initiative by hosting Broader Way Forum and other large-scale professional forums worldwide. At the forums, Huawei invites people from all walks of life to explore ICT trends and hot issues as part of its wider effort to bridge the digital divide and build a future of ?broadband for all?. Following its first session at MWC 2012, Broader Way Forum has been held in quite a few countries, including Spain, Poland, Venezuela, Turkey, South Africa, Germany, and Indonesia.

At the Broader Way Forum, to be held on February 25 during MWC 2013, both Ryan Ding, senior vice president of Huawei, and Dr. Hamadoun I. Tour, ITU Secretary-General, will deliver keynote speeches and exchange ideas with cross-industry experts, academics, operator customers, Internet service providers, government representatives, and the media. Hot topics include: mobile communications as the driving force behind society development, innovations in broadband technologies, and possibilities of connections. This forum also features the following special topics: digital society and socioeconomic benefits of broadband coverage; roles that governments should play in expanding broadband coverage and increasing the influence of digital societies; and benefits of changes to broadband-enabled digital societies.

At MWC 2013, Mr. Li Sanqi (chief technology officer of Huawei?s Carrier Network Business Group), Mr. Yang Chaobin (chief marketing officer of Huawei?s Wireless Network Business Unit), and Mr. Khalid Attia (director of Huawei?s User Experience Mgmt Dept) will present Huawei?s opinions and ideas about ?Business Transformation: Reshaping Mobile in the Digital Revolution?, ?SoftMobile, A Foundation for Business Transformation?, and ?QoE: Enriching the User Experience, Enriching the Operator?, respectively, at sub-forums.

MWC 2013 will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from February 25 to February 28, 2013. Huawei?s exhibition booths are in Fira Gran Via Hall 1 and Hall 3. For details, visit http://www.huawei.com/minisite/mwc2013/cn/index.html

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date

Source: http://newswire.telecomramblings.com/2013/02/ubiquitous-mobile-broadband-huawei-makes-it-possible/

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Libor scandal no threat to Deutsche Bank co-chief Jain: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank co-chief executive Anshu Jain will likely not be sacked as a result of the investigations into the bank for manipulating Libor interbank rates, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The current findings of financial services watchdog BaFin would not lead to Jain's dismissal, said the three people, who declined to be identified, confirming a story in German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

"One needs to find more to justify using this heavy weapon," said one of the people.

The traders investigated for rigging Libor (the London interbank offered rate) worked several levels below Jain so he could not be made responsible for any wrongdoing by them, Welt am Sonntag reported.

The BaFin probe will likely not lead to an investigation from state prosecutors either, the sources told Reuters.

BaFin and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

BaFin only began an in-depth Libor probe into Deutsche Bank last year - around four years after the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) initiated an industry-wide investigation.

Deutsche Bank, which has set aside nearly 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) to cover legal liabilities including possible Libor-related costs, suspended two traders last year for Libor-related misconduct.

(Reporting by Alexander H?bner, Philipp Halstrick and Peter Dinkloh; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/libor-scandal-no-threat-deutsche-bank-co-chief-143416113--finance.html

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Monday, February 25, 2013

ASUS Fonepad promo video suggests they really see you holding a tablet to your head

The ASUS Fonepad is real, having been formally introduced to the world earlier today in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress. The collaboration with Intel sees phone and tablet meshed together in perfect harmony, and keeps everything at a pretty competitive price. Like the Galaxy Note 8.0, the Fonepad has an earpiece on the front along with its phone capabilities. 

Android Central at Mobile World Congress

We've mocked the thought of holding something the size of a tablet to the side of our faces, but it seems ASUS is pretty serious on that train of thought. As this promotional video for the new device shows, its considered perfectly natural to be out in public and hold a 7-inch device to the side of your head. Crazy? Maybe. We'll reserve judgment for now, but jump into the comments below and let us know what you guys think. 

Source: ASUS (YouTube)



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/MMWB9fNGyL0/story01.htm

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Pope gives final Sunday blessing before resigning

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

Faithful hold up a banner with pictures of Pope Benedict XVI and writing reading in Italian "Thank you" as they attend Benedict's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Faithful attend Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Nuns pray as they wait for Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

(AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square, explaining that his waning years and energy made him better suited to the life of private prayer he soon will spend in a secluded monastery than as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to have resigned from the papacy in 600 years.

Sunday's noon appearance from his studio window overlooking the vast square was his next-to-last appointment with the public of his nearly eight-year papacy. Tens of thousands of faithful and other admirers have already asked the Vatican for a seat in the square for his last general audience Wednesday.

Perhaps emotionally buoyed by the warm welcome, thunderous applause and the many banners reading "Grazie" (Thanks) held up in the crowd estimated by police to number 100,000, Benedict looked relaxed and sounded energized, in sharp contrast to his apparent frailty and weariness of recent months.

In a strong and clear voice, Benedict told the pilgrims, tourists and Romans in the square that God had called him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.

"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his approaching departure. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."

The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.

Benedict smiled in pleasure at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window and he gazed at the people packing the square, craning their head for a look at him. Giving greetings in several languages, he gratefully acknowledged what he said was an outpouring of "gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer" since he stunned the church and its 1.2 billion members on Feb. 11 with his decision to renounce his papacy and retreat into a world of contemplation.

"Prayer is not isolating oneself from the world and its contradictions," Benedict told the crowd. He said he had heard God's call to prayer, "which gives breath to our spiritual life" in a special way "at this moment of my life."

Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.

"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said.

Even as the cheering continued and shouts of "Long live the pope" went up in Italian and Spanish, the pontiff simply turned away from his window and stepped back down into the apartment, which he will leave Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.

A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you."

No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.

"Now there will be two popes," said the Rev. Vilmar Pavesi, a Portuguese priest who was among the throngs in the square. "There will be the pope of Rome, the elected pope, and there will be the bishop emeritus of Rome, who will live the life of a monk inside the Vatican walls."

One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the names of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.

Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.

The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope. The papacy was considered the realm of Italian prelates for centuries, until a Pole, John Paul II, was elected as pontiff in 1978, to be followed in 2005 by the German-born Benedict.

Crucially, Italian prelates have continued to run the behind-the-scenes machinery of the church's governance, and cardinals will likely be deciding what role the Italians might have played in a series of scandals clouding the central bureaucracy, including allegations of corruption and power-grabbing.

Benedict has not made any direct comment on details of the scandals.

In one of his last papal tweets, Benedict wrote Sunday in English: "In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the church, trusting as always in divine providence."

___

AP reporter Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-24-EU-Vatican-Pope/id-15e56d15320841a498784a0eae2833d3

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Tennessee Vols outlast Texas A&M 93-85 in 4 OTs

Texas A&M's Elston Turner (31) moves the ball up the court Saturday against Tennessee's Skylar McBee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M's Elston Turner (31) moves the ball up the court Saturday against Tennessee's Skylar McBee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in College Station, Texas.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas ? Trae Golden scored a career-high 32 points to lead Tennessee to its fifth straight win, a 93-85 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday in a marathon four-overtime game.

The Volunteers were up by one point in the fourth overtime when Golden made four straight points to make it 85-80. Elston Turner missed a shot for A&M before Skylar McBee?s 3-pointer pushed Tennessee?s lead to 88-80. McBee made a pair of free throws with less than a minute left to pad the lead, and the Volunteers held on for the win.

It was the first four-overtime game for Tennessee (16-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference), and the most extra periods the Aggies (16-11, 6-8) have played since dropping a 116-110 five-overtime game to Baylor on Jan. 23, 2008.

Turner had 38 points to lead the Aggies.

Jordan McRae added 23 points for Tennessee, and Jarnell Stokes had 20 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.

Stokes blocked a layup by Jarod Jahns and was fouled on the rebound, but he missed both free throws with 40 seconds left in the third overtime to leave Tennessee up 79-77. Jahns made a layup to tie it with 9 seconds left, and J?Mychal Reese stole the ball from Golden to send it to the fourth overtime.

Turner scored the first four points of the second overtime, before a 3-pointer by Golden. The teams exchanged baskets before a jump shot by Golden tied it at 75. Just as in regulation and the first overtime, Texas A&M had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but the Aggies couldn?t make the shot.

In the first overtime, Ray Turner grabbed a steal on a pass by McRae with 25 seconds left and Tennessee immediately fouled Fabyon Harris.

He sank both free throws to make it 68-64 before Golden cut the lead to two points on a layup with 19 seconds left.

Tennessee fouled Reese three seconds later, and he made one of the free throws.

McRae tied it at 69-all on a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left in overtime.

Josh Richardson blocked a layup by Harris with two seconds left. The Aggies got the rebound, but Elston Turner?s jump shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer to force the second overtime.

At the end of regulation, McRae missed a 3-pointer for the Volunteers, but Stokes grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 5.9 seconds left. He made the first free throw, but missed the second one to tie it at 62-all.

A 3-pointer by Reese clanged off the rim at the buzzer to send it to overtime.

The Volunteers were up by three when Texas A&M used a 10-2 spurt to take a 50-45 lead with about eight minutes left. Turner led the Aggies in that run with six points and a steal.

It was the sixth overall meeting between these new SEC opponents, and the first since a 108-84 win by the Volunteers on Dec. 2, 2003.

Harris returned after missing Wednesday?s game with a sprained ankle to score 13 points, and Reese added 15 for A&M.

Source: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/feb/23/tennessee-vols-outlast-texas-m-93-85-4-ots/

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With Pope Benedict's retirement, the where is clearer than the how

It is about to become the world's most famous retirement home, its occupant the world's most famous retiree.

A former nunnery set within the stone walls of the Vatican is being extensively refurbished by workers in preparation for the arrival of Benedict XVI, who steps down as Pope and head of the world?s 1.2 billion Catholics on Thursday.

The 85-year-old German pontiff?s decision to live out the rest of his days just a few hundred yards from where his successor will guide the crisis-hit Church has thrown up some highly awkward questions for the Holy See.

Will the ex-Pope interfere in his replacement?s affairs? How will they greet each other when they bump into each other in the Vatican gardens or anywhere else in the tiny sovereign nation? And will Benedict become a sort of shadow Pope, his presence looming large over the new papacy?

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about the Catholic Church? Take our quiz!

Vatican officials insist that Benedict plans to adopt a quiet life of prayer and reflection and that he will not meddle in the affairs of the Holy See.

But at his last ever Sunday address today, Benedict assured 100,000 people crowding St Peter?s Square that he would not be ?abandoning? the Church.

He raised questions about exactly what his role will be when he told the faithful that he would "continue to serve it [the Church] with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."

A FORMER NUNNERY, WITH A VIEW

Whatever his role turns out to be, it will be performed in comfort. The three-story nunnery, which has an adjoining chapel, boasts a study, a library, and living quarters for the band of personal staff that Benedict will bring with him from his papal apartments.

Set on a hill within the Vatican City State, it commands wonderful views of the terracotta rooftops of Rome, the Spanish Steps, and the distant Apennine mountains, which at this time of year are coated in glistening snow.

Gardeners were busy weeding and trimming the surrounding gardens and a cement mixer churned away in the driveway which leads to the entrance of the residence.

Mature palm trees and umbrella pines provide shade and the roof of the Sistine Chapel looms so close it almost seems to be in touching distance.

It is there that 116 cardinals will gather next month to elect Benedict?s successor in a secretive, centuries-old process known as a conclave. (Read here for how a conclave works.)

Past conclaves have lasted for weeks and occasionally ended in fist fights between feuding cardinals. In modern times, it is rarely more than a few days before white smokes wafts from a chimney stack on the Sistine Chapel?s roof, signaling the election of a new Pope.

FIRST, TO A CASTLE

Benedict will not move into the ex-convent immediately. On Thursday afternoon at around 5 pm local time he will be flown by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, a magnificent castle which sits on the lip of a steep-sided extinct volcano.

It is the traditional summer residence of the papacy and has been used by successive popes for 400 years to escape the squalor, heat, and intrigue of Rome.

Benedict is expected to spend around two months living in the castle, while renovations to the nunnery are completed.

Attached to the castle is a huge estate made up of landscaped gardens, box hedges, mature oak trees, fish ponds, and fountains ? a perfect place for Benedict to indulge in long contemplative walks and contemplate the ramifications of his historic resignation.

There is even a small model farm, consisting of a freshly-planted vineyard, greenhouses, orange and lemon trees, and a herd of 25 Friesian cows, which are prized for their milk and yogurt.

A broad, shaded terrace, built over the remains of a Roman villa constructed by the Emperor Domitian, offers views of the Mediterranean. ?There are also the remains of a Roman theater, which was excavated in the 1970s,? says Pier Paolo Turoli, the administrator of the estate.

Benedict will live in an apartment within the castle, the oldest parts of which date back to the 13th century.

?It was acquired by the Vatican in 1596 when the Savelli family, who owned it, were unable to pay a debt to the Papacy,? says Saverio Petrillo, whose official title is director of the Papal villas.

When Benedict's helicopter arrives at the estate on Thursday he will be driven to the castle, which looms imposingly over the main piazza of the tiny village of Castel Gandolfo.

He will appear at a balcony over the entrance gate and greet thousands of well-wishers crammed into the cobbled square.

FINAL HOURS AS POPE

Then he will pray in the private chapel as the final moments of his pontificate tick away ? at 8 pm precisely local time, he will cease to be Pope and he will no longer be Benedict XVI, the 264th successor to St. Peter.

Vatican officials say he will pray, study, and write during his retirement. He has produced several books, the last one the final part of a trilogy on the life of Christ.

Benedict has said he will live "hidden from the world," but Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi has said he could provide "spiritual guidance" to his successor.

His retirement will certainly be more opulent than that enjoyed by the tiny number of Popes who have resigned in the past.

When Celestine V resigned after a few months in 1294 and returned to his former life as a hermit, he was hounded by the Church, with his successor fearing he could be a threat and set up as an anti-Pope.

He was captured after an attempt to flee to Dalmatia and imprisoned in a castle south of Rome, where he died a few months later.

It is widely believed that an unnamed character in Dante's Inferno refers to Celestine; Dante consigned the man to Hell for his "great refusal."

Benedict's resignation may have been an ecclesiastical bombshell, but perhaps not even his sternest critics would wish a similar fate on him.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about the Catholic Church? Take our quiz!

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-benedicts-retirement-where-clearer-193559640.html

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ZTE exec: Grand S won't carry a grand price, at least in China

ZTE exec Grand S won't carry a grand price, at least in China

A cursory look at the ZTE Grand S might leave you worrying that it will fetch quite the premium for that 5-inch screen, LTE and quad-core performance. Not so, according to mobile division lead He Shiyou. He estimates that the smartphone's price in mainland China will hover between ¥3,000 to ¥3,500 ($481 to $561), depending on market conditions -- a reasonable bargain for a high-end model expected to ship before the first quarter of the year is out. We're just left wondering whether the value-minded pricing will hold if and when the Grand S goes on a world tour.

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Via: GizChina

Source: MyDrivers (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/23/zte-exec-grand-s-wont-carry-a-grand-price-in-china/

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Louisiana state president of Capital One Bank to be inducted into LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction

POSTED: Saturday, February 23, 2013 - 5:00am

UPDATED: Saturday, February 23, 2013 - 5:04am

Robert M. Stuart, Jr., head of middle market commercial banking and Louisiana State President for Capital One Bank, has been selected for induction into the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction.?

Stuart and two other members that comprise the 2013 Hall of Distinction class will be inducted March 22, at a ceremony to be held at the Business Education Complex, the new home of the E. J. Ourso College. Selection into the Hall of Distinction is the E. J. Ourso College of Business? highest honor for alumni and friends of the college. Inductees are recognized for their business, academic, government and community contributions. The Hall of Distinction was established in 1996.

?Rob has provided invaluable input as a member of our Dean?s Advisory Council,? said E. J. Ourso College Dean Richard D. White, Jr. ?His accomplishments and his civic contributions to the business community more than qualify him for induction into the Hall of Distinction.?

Stuart, who joined Capital One in 2005 following the company?s acquisition of Hibernia Corporation, has more than 30 years of banking experience.

Before being appointed to his current position, he was responsible for leading Capital One Bank?s middle market commercial banking business in Louisiana and Texas.

At Hibernia, Stuart served in several management positions, including chief credit officer, Baton Rouge City President, and head of middle-market corporate banking in South Central and Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas, Commercial Dealer Services and Consumer Finance Company Banking and Public Finance.

Stuart began his banking career at Fidelity National Bank, for which he served as a Commercial Lending department manager. Hibernia acquired Fidelity in 1986.

Among his many accomplishments in banking, Stuart led Hibernia?s efforts to finance a $55 million expansion of LSU?s famous Tiger Stadium, undertaken by the Tiger Athletic Foundation in the late 1990s.

Stuart has dedicated many hours of his spare time throughout his career to help local communities. He serves as the chair of the Southeast Super Regional Committee and on the executive committees and boards of the LSU Foundation, the Tiger Athletic Foundation and the Louisiana Flagship Coalition. Additionally, he serves on the boards of Blueprint Louisiana, Council for a Better Louisiana, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Louisiana Economic Development Board, the Shaw Center for the Arts and as a member of E. J. Ourso College of Business Dean?s Advisory Council. He is also a past chair of Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Woman?s Hospital.
A native of Baton Rouge, Stuart earned his bachelor?s and master?s in finance, both from LSU. He also completed the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School.
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Source: http://www.nbc33tv.com/news/local-news/louisiana-state-president

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From Kurtis Blow To Lil Wayne: The NBA's Complicated History With Hip-Hop

Hip-hop has become synonymous with the NBA, but the relationship between the two remains complicated.
By James Montgomery


Lil Wayne
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702420/nba-hip-hop-history.jhtml

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

Particle physics research sheds new light on possible 'fifth force of nature'

Feb. 21, 2013 ? In a breakthrough for the field of particle physics, Professor of Physics Larry Hunter and colleagues at Amherst College and The University of Texas at Austin have established new limits on what scientists call "long-range spin-spin interactions" between atomic particles. These interactions have been proposed by theoretical physicists but have not yet been seen. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a "fifth force of nature" (in addition to the four known fundamental forces: gravity, weak, strong and electromagnetic) and would suggest the existence of new particles, beyond those presently described by the Standard Model of particle physics.

The new limits were established by considering the interaction between the spins of laboratory fermions (electrons, neutrons and protons) and the spins of the electrons within Earth. To make this study possible, the authors created the first comprehensive map of electron polarization within Earth induced by the planet's geomagnetic field.

Hunter -- along with emeritus Amherst physics professor Joel Gordon; postdoctoral fellow Stephen Peck; student researcher Daniel Ang '15; and Jung-Fu "Afu" Lin, associate professor of geosciences at UT Austin -- co-authored a paper about their work that appears in this week's issue of the journal Science. The highly interdisciplinary research relies on geophysics, atomic physics, particle physics, mineral physics, solid-state physics and nuclear physics to reach its conclusions.

The paper describes how the team combined a model of Earth's interior with a precise map of the planet's geomagnetic field to produce a map of the magnitude and direction of electron spins throughout Earth. Their model was based in part on insights gained from Lin's studies of spin transitions at the high temperatures and pressures of Earth's interior.

Every fundamental particle (every electron, neutron and proton, to be specific), explained Hunter, has the intrinsic atomic property of "spin." Spin can be thought of as a vector -- an arrow that points in a particular direction. Like all matter, Earth and its mantle -- a thick geological layer sandwiched between the thin outer crust and the central core -- are made of atoms. The atoms are themselves made up of electrons, neutrons and protons that have spin. Earth's magnetic field causes some of the electrons in the mantle's minerals to become slightly spin-polarized, meaning the directions in which their spins point are no longer completely random, but have some net orientation.

Earlier experiments, including one in Hunter's laboratory, explored whether their laboratory spins prefer to point in a particular direction. "We know, for example, that a magnetic dipole has a lower energy when it is oriented parallel to the geomagnetic field and it lines up with this particular direction -- that is how a compass works," he explained. "Our experiments removed this magnetic interaction and looked to see if there might be some other interaction that would orient our experimental spins. One interpretation of this 'other' interaction is that it could be a long-range interaction between the spins in our apparatus, and the electron spins within the Earth, that have been aligned by the geomagnetic field. This is the long-range spin-spin interaction we are looking for."

So far, no experiment has been able to detect any such interaction. But in Hunter's paper, the researchers describe how they were able to infer that such so-called spin-spin forces, if they exist, must be incredibly weak -- as much as a million times weaker than the gravitational attraction between the particles. At this level, the experiments can constrain "torsion gravity" -- a proposed theoretical extension of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Given the high sensitivity of the technique Hunter and his team used, it may provide a useful path for future experiments that will refine the search for such a fifth force. If a long-range spin-spin force is found, it not only would revolutionize particle physics but might eventually provide geophysicists with a new tool that would allow them to directly study the spin-polarized electrons within Earth.

"If the long-range spin-spin interactions are discovered in future experiments, geoscientists can eventually use such information to reliably understand the geochemistry and geophysics of the planet's interior," said Lin.

Possible future discoveries aside, Hunter said that he was pleased that this particular project enabled him to work with Lin. "When I began investigating spin transitions in the mantle, all of the literature led to him," he explained. "I was thrilled that he was interested in the project and willing to sign on as a collaborator. He has been a good teacher and has had enormous patience with my ignorance about geophysics. It has been a very fruitful collaboration."

Lin had his own take: "The most rewarding and surprising thing about this project was realizing that particle physics could actually be used to study the deep Earth."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Amherst College.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. L. Hunter, J. Gordon, S. Peck, D. Ang, J.-F. Lin. Using the Earth as a Polarized Electron Source to Search for Long-Range Spin-Spin Interactions. Science, 2013; 339 (6122): 928 DOI: 10.1126/science.1227460

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/kRqfrY6qU1w/130221192736.htm

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a new opinion in Computer about Sony VAIO E Series SVE1511M1E

Ok, so its been almost 3 months since i bought my laptop, lets divide this review into pros and cons.

Pros -

1 -> Build Quality, yes its not a mono-cog design, but its still very very strong, I travel alot with it, around 1000 to 1500 miles every month, in the mean time I use buses and railways. And sometimes, kilos of luggage is kept over my laptop bag, still no signs of damage. And you can't feel how strong it is even by holding it, but it certainly is very strong. Also, the rests and the 60% of body is made of metallic materials, which gives it a very beautiful looking design.

2 -> Speakers, It's got excellent speakers for a laptop in its price range. Sony's been using there new xLoud audio technology and its phenomenal. Yes, it lacks bass, but its very powerful, and can be heard all over the room, no need to carry external set of speakers for general purpose.

3 -> Ketboard, It's got a very nice keyboard, its gives a feedback of a mechanical keyboard, also its a full desktop keyboard, so there's no problem using it.

4 -> Performance, It can run any game on the market period. I've played Hitman absolution, need for speed run, and most wanted 2, no problem, not a hint of lag. Mostlly on higher than medium settings. Its surprising what a laptop in this price range can do.

5 -> Heat sink, Sony was really on a point when they were designing this laptop, it literally never gets hot, even on intense gaming some mildly hot gas is released by the heat sink place conveniently on the left of the laptop (next of the USB port), so you're not blocking it even by placing it on bed.

6 -> Nice recovery options, Its got an ASSIST and WEB, button along side power button. ASSIST button takes you straight to recovery options from bios, there on you can recover your laptop to factory settings etc. While WEB button takes you to a fatory linux installation, which boots up in seconds in case you want to browse web instantly.

7 -> Multi Touch Touch Pad, its got an extremely nice touch pad, it works with 2-3 or more fingers. The whole pad is clickable, if you decide to upgrade to windows 8 (which you should), the multi finger swype, and scrolling and other tasks become heavily easier. Infact its impossible for me use a laptop without one now.

8 -> Battery life, Its incredible for its performance, you can watch 4 movies on one charge and it barely takes any time to charge, infact i remember charging it over 33% in a matter of half an hour.

CONS :-

To be honest there aren't many

1 -> Sometimes the track pad would stop responding to multi finger gestures under intense CPU pressure.(No, I dont really know why.)

2 -> Some times, random particles would slide under keys, which are impossible to remove. They make key feedback awful.

3 -> The laptop is strong, but as i mentioned it lacks mono-cog design, which means there are tiny openings between the joints, which doesn't look good.

In all, its a very good purchase, it seems like it would last for ever on me, without any problems.

Summary: A nice and hassle free laptop. Runs everything smoothly and has an almost flawless design.

Source: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/laptops/sony-vaio-e-series-sve1511m1e/1691233/

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Snow in Arizona delays resumption of Match Play

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) ? Bundled in a winter jacket in a chilly tent near the snow-covered driving range, Mark Russell was asked where the opening day of the Match Play Championship ranked among his bizarre weather experiences.

"It's right there," said Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of competition.

And Russell has been on the job for more than 30 years.

First-round play in the World Golf Championships event was suspended Wednesday when rain that came down sideways quickly gave way to snow from a winter storm that dumped close to 2 inches on Dove Mountain in about an hour. The temperature plunged to 33 degrees at the cactus-lined layout 2,800 feet above sea level.

"I've seen snow on the course when I was a kid, but nothing like that on any of the tours. It was crazy," said top-ranked Rory McIlroy, one of 20 players in the 64-man field who never even made it to the first tee Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton Club.

After more snow during the night and morning temperatures around freezing, the course remained coated Thursday morning and play finally resumed at 1 p.m.

The field is cut in half after each round and, with sunshine in the forecast the rest of the week, it shouldn't be difficult to get caught up.

"We've got a lot of possibilities with this small field," Russell said.

Tiger Woods also was in one of the 10 matches that didn't start Wednesday. He opened against Charles Howell III, while McIlroy faced Shane Lowry.

Sergio Garcia, in the leadoff match, had just holed a 10-foot par putt to win the 15th hole and go 2 up over Thongchai Jaidee when play was suspended Wednesday.

Ian Poulter's only other tournament this year was on Maui for the Tournament of Champions, where it took four days just to get started because of high wind.

"I can't believe it. When have we ever seen that?" he said, taking off his rain gear in front of his locker. "The two events I've attempted to play this year have been three days of 50 mph wind and 2 inches of snow in an hour. It's absolutely, flippin' unbelievable."

What does that say for the rest of the year?

"Can't get worse," he said. "Just incredible. Bizarre. Have you ever seen it? Especially where we are."

Maybe he should consider himself lucky. At least he didn't play Torrey Pines, where fog wiped out an entire round Saturday and Woods had to wait until Monday to polish off his 75th career victory. There were frost delays in the opening rounds at Phoenix.

But snow?

"I remember one year in Vegas in a collegiate tournament it was sleeting," said Webb Simpson, who played one shot. "We all charged toboggans to our coach in the pro shop and he wasn't too happy about it. This is crazy weather. But we've got a great forecast for the weekend, so hopefully, it will melt tonight."

Poulter was cold from the start, rubbing his hands together and jumping in place to keep warm in the morning chill.

The Englishman had a 3-up lead over Stephen Gallacher through 12 holes, then left the course plotting revenge after European Ryder Cup teammate Peter Hanson hit him with a snowball.

"I'm like an elephant," Poulter said. "I will not forget."

In only 3? hours of golf, there was some impressive play.

Bo Van Pelt, who took three shots to get out of a bunker early against John Senden, won six straight holes ? only two of them with birdies ? to build a 5-up lead through 12. Jason Day was 6 up through 10 holes against Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar was 3 up over Hiroyuki Fujita through 14, and defending champion Hunter Mahan was 4 up at the turn against Matteo Manassero.

"It's hard to keep your hands warm," Mahan said. "You're feeling of everything just isn't quite there. By the last three shots we hit, it was unbelievable, crazy."

The best competition might have come after play ended.

Rickie Fowler wound up and fired snowballs from the parking lots. The caddies spent an hour having a snowball fight, though most of the players stayed inside.

That included Carl Pettersson, a guy who tries to see the glass half-full.

"This is one time I have the advantage of being fat," Pettersson said.

With delays like this, he might have company.

"It seems like every rain delay ? or snow delay ? that we have, you just seem to sit there and eat dessert," Day said. "And there's a bunch of yummy chocolates in there."

This was the second time in three years that wintry weather interrupted the Match Play Championship. Light snow covered everything but tee boxes and greens the morning of Luke Donald's victory over Martin Kaymer in the 2011 championship match. It cleared before the match, but there was a brief delay because of sleet that turned greens white.

DIVOTS: The last time the opening round wasn't finished was in 2005, when it never got started because of rain that put just about every hole at La Costa under water. ... The first-round losers will receive $46,000.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snow-arizona-delays-resumption-match-play-154830912--spt.html

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Sony Xperia Z review

Sony Xperia Z review

The Xperia Z is one of the main pillars of Sony's new plan to focus on mobile, gaming and imaging. In fact, it's a device that addresses all three of those areas, while also pressing reset on Sony's smartphone past. The handset ushers in a new design language, one Sony's decided to bring to its new tablet too. It's called omnibalance design, but it's best described as a combination of 90-degree angles, even weight distribution and flat glossy sides.

Once you get to look at the phone in person, all Xperias that came before it pale in comparison. The phone feels solid and you'd be hard-pressed to describe any part of it as plasticky. Between those mirrored sides, you'll find Sony's first 1080p phone display, measuring five inches and benefiting from the company's new Bravia Mobile Engine 2. Improvements to the Xperia line aren't merely cosmetic, though: Sony's added a 13-megapixel camera (featuring the HDR video-capable Exmor RS sensor) and a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro -- Qualcomm's most potent mobile processor currently available.

Meanwhile, those precious electronics are protected by a shell that's water- (IPX5/7) and dust-resistant (IP5X). It's rare to see such protection on a phone that's not being marketed as a rugged device, let alone a company's new flagship. Sony is looking to succeed in mobile and, with just a week away from the world's premier phone tradeshow, has the company created something that can stand up against current Android champions and win?

Hardware

Where to start with the hardware? How about here: this is Sony's best-looking smartphone ever. Lacking any removable panel to access the battery meant that the Xperia Z's components could be squeezed together into a slender profile measuring a mere 7.9mm (0.31 inch) and weighing in at 146g (5.15 ounces). Thanks in part to the hidden ports, light is able to bounce off the phone's white sides. In short, it's a real beauty. It's worth noting that alongside the increasingly safe choice of black and white, there's also a purple edition -- one that our Spanish team got to play with.

Where to start with the hardware? How about here: this is Sony's best-looking smartphone ever.

But while it's certainly a looker, the expanse of that 5-inch screen and accompanying bezel mean that it isn't the most comfortable smartphone we've handled. Compared with the substantial Lumia 920, the Xperia Z is slightly taller, but it's easier to grip, thanks to that slimmer shape. Put differently, it feels more like the Droid DNA than, say, the Galaxy Note II. As we noted before, reaching the phone's upper edge is a bit of a stretch if you're using it one-handed -- we're hoping Sony's incoming Xperia ZL (with its smaller dimensions) will prove a little more manageable. Thanks to one very geometric silhouette, the phone is a little uncomfortable to hold after extended use, what with those sharp corners pressing into your palms. However, we had no problems sliding it into our pockets -- something we can't say of other phones with 5-inch screens.

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That glass-coated backing brings the Xperia Z into such esteemed company as the Nexus 4 and iPhone 4S, although Sony has differentiated its design by extending these glass panels to the sides too. Both the back and front include a shatter-resistant layer (not Gorilla Glass), while a glass-fiber polyamide skeleton connects all those panels together. This skeleton rounds out the corners between the panels, which helps smooth those angles at least to some extent.

Two other notable features are the Xperia Z's IPX5/7 and IP5X ratings. In real terms, Sony says the phone can handle water up to a depth of one meter, and is resistant to guided water jets. It's also designed to steer away dust from the phone's more delicate parts. To access the micro-SIM and microSD slots, as well as the micro-USB and headphone sockets, you'll need to flip out the sealed covers. There's a rubber lining behind each one, ensuring the water's kept out. We tested it in bowls of water, the shower and even gave it a quick hose down, but none of this resulted in a panicked call to Sony requesting another review unit. The flaps also feel substantial -- we have no concerns about them breaking off after extended use. Heck, you could even lift the phone up with them (not that we suggest you do that). At the same time, opening these flaps is less laborious than pulling off a battery cover or battery to access a micro-SIM slot or SD reader.

While you won't have to open those flaps very often, you'll be accessing that micro-USB port pretty frequently. (Not to spoil our battery performance section, but the runtime isn't great.) With all those mechanical openings covered, it would have been nice to see some form of wireless charging, given that it's already out there on rival phones like the Lumia 920, Droid DNA and Nexus 4.

DNP Sony Xperia Z reviewThanks to those port covers, however, the phone's streamlined perimeter is interrupted only by the power button, which will look familiar to anyone that's turned on a PlayStation Vita. Just off-center along the length of the right edge, it's made of machined aluminum (like the volume rocker just below it) although you won't get a camera button this time around. This is apparently a sacrifice that had to be made to ensure the phone would be water-resistant, but it feels like a glaring omission just the same. The micro-SIM slot is on the same side, while a single loudspeaker sits on the bottom of the right side. Unfortunately, the speaker is tinny and, even on full blast, lacks punch during video playback.

On the left edge, you'll find the covers for microSD and micro-USB, plus contacts for an as-yet-unseen dock. Flip the phone over to the glossy (but fingerprint-prone) back, and you'll note the main 13-megapixel camera, flash and secondary mic. The lens is fortunately slightly recessed, which should defend it from scratches. When we pulled the phone out of its packaging, there was a removable NFC sticker, but otherwise there are only some Xperia branding and a few serial numbers at the bottom interrupting that white surface.

On the front, there's no white paneling (aside from a sliver of the side), with a black border instead framing the 5-inch screen. Up top, you'll find the front-facing 2-megapixel camera with Sony's Exmor R sensor -- and it also supports HDR! Below the screen, there's nothing beyond the phone's mic. The Xperia Z has on-screen buttons rather than any capacitive keys.

Display


DNP Sony Xperia Z review

While quite a few companies have announced phones with 5-inch, 1080p displays, the Xperia Z is still one of the first to arrive for review, if not the first. The phone beams out a resolution substantially higher than the Xperia T, and as dimensions have increased only slightly (4.6 to five inches), it offers a higher screen density of 443 pixels per inch. As we said during our Droid DNA review, while there's less of a leap from 720p to 1080p compared to qHD to 720p, that's not to say you won't notice sharper fonts, richer images and a crisper view of your photos.

Comparing the Xperia Z against the only other 1080p phone we've reviewed, the Droid DNA, Sony unfortunately comes in second place

Comparing the Xperia Z against the only other 1080p phone we've reviewed, the Droid DNA, Sony unfortunately comes in second place. Sony is calling its new, thinner display the OptiContrast panel, but its performance doesn't offer the same viewing angles, or outdoor performance, of HTC's Super LCD 3 screen. In fact, turn the screen away from straight-on viewing, and you'll see a grayish discoloring that starts to obscure what's going on -- especially under bright light. While Sony says the new display construction should reduce reflection, sunshine and certain lighting conditions often made it difficult for us to read even the home screen.

As we've also seen on Sony's mobile displays in the past, black backgrounds and detail often appeared more like a dark gray. If anything, the phone is often too bright -- the Xperia Z's brightness setting could do with a wider range of contrasts and a lower base setting. Not that we'd want to lose the brightest option, as while you won't have anything to fear from rain with the water-resistant Z model, we needed one of the top brightness settings to see what we were doing on the touchscreen when the sun came out.

This is the first phone to feature Sony's improved Mobile Bravia Engine 2, which is responsible for a host of contrast and sharpness enhancements to your photos and videos (whether they were recorded on the phone or downloaded from some other source). The software will tweak darker regions to be even blacker, while distortion from lower-quality videos from the likes of YouTube is also reduced -- videos did look marginally smoother. Conversely, there's also a sharpness filter for images, which boosts edges and contrast -- apparently without adding noise, either. The additions seem a bit more aggressive than on preceding Sony phones, and when we looked at our freshly captured photos we noticed an excessive bluish tinge on some of them, regardless of white balance selections. This doesn't appear to be tied to the Bravia tweaks (which can be turned off if you don't like your photos extra-saturated) and appeared substantially reduced when we viewed them on other device, like a PC.

Camera


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It's the debut for Sony's new Exmor RS sensor. Promising improved signal processing, while matching the image size of the Xperia T (up to 12 megapixels); it's a whole new sensor. The standout improvement here is HDR video, offering a bigger dynamic range of lighting in your video capture. In practice, it works well. We test a lot of cameras, and the Xperia Z's new feature generally offered better light composition during our tests. Sometimes it overcooks colors, with a bit too much noise, but we'll definitely take that in exchange for the better light balance. Check out our sample video, taken in a dimly light underground tunnel.

Naturally, HDR stills are also possible, although during our time with the camera we found the new "auto i+" setting generally offered up results that were as good (if not better) than what we got with the HDR option or manual settings tweaks. The new auto setting mostly does an excellent job adjusting ISO, white balance and toggling HDR. After we were done taking our comparison shots, we ended up leaving the phone on auto for the majority of our photos.

Most of our shots were taken on the preset 9-megapixel setting and though the phone does output images at 12 megapixels, they arrive in an awkward 4:3 ratio that doesn't really do the high-resolution screen justice.

However, when comparing both sizes to 8-megapixel images on rivals, we found those larger images offer scope for a little more detail. The 9MP images appeared almost identical in quality to the full 12MP samples, although the subject appears closer. Color reproduction was good, with HDR offering a boost to our low-light images. We did notice that HDR mode on stills was pretty gentle -- probably due to that Exmor RS sensor tweaking we heard about late last year. Compared to our photos on normal mode, there's some slight highlighting of darker areas. So it's bad news if you were hoping for the same sci-fi-esque effects you get on other HDR cameras, but it's at least more realistic.

Sony has also made adjustments to the camera interface, which at least started in a good place, with access to ISO and white balance, not to mention the ability to create shortcuts for these right on the surface camera UI. There's now a burst mode, capable of 10 frames-per-second at 9-megapixel resolution. You can now grab shots while taking video, but better still, there's no need to flip between camera and video camera modes -- just choose the appropriate record button. Also, if you've used one of Sony's point-and-shoots (or even NEX cameras) you'll find navigation and icons have been transported across. Like the button detail from the Vita, it's great to see Sony's many electronics lines finally start to converge towards each other.

Software


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The Xperia Z arrives just behind the latest Android iteration. It's still Android Jelly Bean, but it's version 4.1.2. Admittedly, the additions since then are relatively minor, but Sony has the unfortunate knack for launching its best phones without the very brightest software. Since last year's Xperia models, we can now welcome Google Now to the fold, while Spotify and other apps are now accessible from the lock screen. Take a closer look at Sony's distinct take on Android and you'll find some likable additions, like the Rolodex-style gallery widget or the expandable power management widget pre-installed alongside some slightly more unnecessary space hogs, like a Walkman audio player widget or Sony's Entertainment Network.

Yep, you'll be hard-pressed to avoid Sony's media libraries when you first boot up the phone. We resisted the urge to delete these from the outset and gave them a try, regardless. Sony Select offers a gentle introduction to Google Play wares, as well as Xperia-centric music and movies. We can't fault it for offering a spot-on selection of beginner apps, but you'll find there's a lot of crossover from Google's own recommended section. The gaming options here are a little more tiresome, although you'll get some of Gameloft's better (and licensed) titles here. Again, we're not sure if anyone already versed in buying their apps and games direct from Google will need the Select service -- the icons even redirect to Google Play.

It's a shame to see so relatively little 1080p content, something to showcase that full-HD display

Sony's thrown your video collection into its new movies icon. It's also a more subtle way to usher you towards its Video Unlimited catalogue of movies and TV shows. We tried the service out, downloading a 90-minute (1GB) movie quickly enough. Prices are a little steep: we bought Mass Effect for £11.99 (it's just £8 on the UK's Google Play), while renting costs £3.49 -- the same as on Android's stock movie service. The payment process is all relatively painless once you've got your Sony Entertainment Network account up and running -- you can even use the same username from your PlayStation. Still, it's a shame to see so relatively little 1080p content, something to showcase that full-HD display. Almost everything we browsed (even Sony movies like The Amazing Spiderman) had a standard-definition option and nothing else. The player itself was at least capable; it plays back DivX videos and uses Gracenote to grab extra details, like cast lists.

Walkman, its musical counterpart, contains your own music catalog, a few free tracks from artists like Tom Odell and -- no surprises here -- Music Unlimited. Signing up for a premium subscription will net you offline playback across your compatible Sony hardware, the iPhone and other Android devices. In the UK, this rings up at £10 and there's a good amount of music on offer -- thanks to Sony's own music industry clout. The service has also recently upgraded its streaming quality to 320Kbps on Android, PS3 and PCs. But if you've already got a Spotify subscription going, we can't find much here to pull you away.

There are also a few extra apps that also land on the phone right out of the box -- some good, some less so. They include Dropbox, File Commander, Sony's WiFi-connected Media Remote for compatible TVs, OfficeSuite, Sony car (think big icons for use on the move) and Socialife. That last one is Sony's latest effort to combine your favorite RSS feeds with Twitter and Facebook updates. It's less intrusive (and resource-hungry) than the widget we remember from previous Xperia phones, but there's nothing that compelled us to use it beyond some cursory testing. For now, we'll stick to Flipboard and Pulse.

A more notable addition is Sony's new Stamina battery saver mode. Located under power management in settings, the focus here is to stop rogue apps from accessing data through your phone signal (or WiFi) when the screen is turned off. We're sure you're thinking, "Makes sense, but what about your email?" Not to worry, as your mail and the likes of Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook can all be added to a whitelist, so that they can ping for updates whenever they please. The power management section also gives you a rosy estimate of how many hours left on standby you're likely to get. Flip the stamina mode off, and you'll see that slashed, sometimes halved. It took us a while to figure out how to give apps permission to access data (hint: you need to tap on the Stamina mode bar) but once you have, adding apps that just need data is no hassle.

However, perhaps due to the fact that we need to prod and poke the device during the review process, we didn't find any miraculous expansion of battery life through the new stamina mode. The screen was on a lot, meaning not only did the battery have to power that rich 5-inch display, but all apps were free to dip into data as needed. If you're a more casual phone user, the service could add a few extra hours of use, but we'd treat the phone's estimates of standby time with a pinch of salt.

We already touched on the improvements made to the Xperia Z's camera app, but highlights include HDR video capture, seamless camera and video modes, burst capture and an enhanced auto mode that made taking decent stills much easier. For this editor, Sony has a more usable interface than that found on the stock Android camera, which can sometimes feel a little too stripped down.

Performance and battery life


Sony Xperia Z LG Optimus G HTC Droid DNA
Quadrant (v2) 8,019 7,628 8,028
Vellamo (v2.0 HTML5) 2,198

1,710

1,752
AnTuTu 19,876

11,284

14,474
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms) 1,900

1,284

1,150
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt 1080p Offscreen (fps) 29 31 31
CF-Bench 16,079 14,398 18,386
Battery life (rundown test) 5:35 8:43 6:38
SunSpider: lower scores are better

Qualcomm's quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro powers the lush 1080p screen, and is paired with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of flash memory and expansion through microSD up to 32GB. Does it sound a bit familiar? It should, as this is nearly identical to the HTC Droid DNA and (barring that microSD option and resolution boost) LG's Optimus G and Nexus 4, which at least makes for some interesting comparisons.

Curiously, the benchmark results are a mixed bag. While the Xperia Z took the lead in AnTuTu and Vellamo, it offered us a surprisingly poor score in SunSpider, a test for browser performance, and one where you'd expect a top-drawer handset to score closer to 1000ms (remember: lower numbers are better in this case). Meanwhile, CF-Bench, which tests subsystem goings-on and JavaScript performance, placed the Sony phone squarely between LG's Optimus G and HTC's Droid DNA.

However, numbers are just numbers and we found the Xperia Z to be impressively swift in most use cases. If anything, it handled processor-intensive tasks better than simple ones. We had a few issues with the phone stuttering while trying to open the task manager widget -- there's a substantial lag between your tap and the widget expanding to offer access to various wireless and brightness toggles. Similarly, when launching the camera app from a freshly booted device, it took a mind-numbing three seconds on average -- something that could be a dealbreaker for shutterbugs, especially considering the lack of a physical camera key. At least once it's running, it then launches within a more bearable timeframe. Alas, even then, launching the camera from the lock-screen still took around two seconds -- not good enough.

When launching the camera app from a freshly booted device, it took a mind-numbing three seconds on average

What concerned us more, though, was that the Xperia Z didn't go beyond six hours on our battery rundown test. Looping video at 50 percent brightness, with WiFi on (but not connected), the phone managed a little over five and a half hours on our first test. That's actually longer than the Nexus 4 which also had issues going the distance at 5:18, but less than both the Droid DNA and the 720p Optimus G. Oddly, the Z model packs a 2,330mAh power cell, versus the 2,020mAh battery found on HTC's 5-incher. So what's going on here? We repeated our test twice, as it'd be a shame for an erroneous benchmark to sully the Xperia Z's name. However, the second round added only 10 minutes. It could be that Sony's screen tech is less power-efficient than HTC's IPS Super LCD 3. That's our best guess, as there's really not much else to separate the pair -- we even ran the video clip from the flash storage, not the microSD slot.

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Our UK-bound review model arrived with plenty of radio bands to share. There's quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) plus tri-band HSPA (850/900/2100) and a healthy dose of LTE on Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 20. Unfortunately, we were unable to test the phone with an EE SIM, but across Three, EE and O2's HSPA services, we saw download speeds on HSPA+ around 4 Mbps, while uploads hovered around 1.5 Mbps. AT&T customers, with their compatible HSPA bands, are the ones most likely to benefit from importing the device early -- we've still heard no word about US pricing and availability for either the Xperia Z or the Xperia ZL.

Wrap-up


DNP Sony Xperia Z review

It's been five months since Sony's last phone, Xperia T, was released. During that review, we noted that while Sony had perfected the art of the press shot, the hardware really didn't live up to the fantasy. Particularly in comparison to an iPhone, Lumia or HTC's One series, it did the Sony brand a disservice. So, it's a relief to see the company now making a concerted effort to make a premium phone -- and that's what this is. If you weren't sold on the older polycarbonate look, perhaps Sony's new beauty will be more to your tastes. Exactly how much rough and tumble the Xperia Z's glossy sides will stomach remains a mystery, but after our testing period the phone is still free of scratches. We also applaud Sony for bringing water resistance to its new phone. Protection from an early watery grave often meant settling for less when it came to design or performance, but that's certainly not the case with the Xperia Z.

It's a relief to see Sony now making a concerted effort to make a premium phone -- and that's what this is

We can expect to see many, many more 1080p phones through 2013, and while the Xperia Z might not best the overall quality of HTC's 5-inch panel, the phone itself has a far more distinctive look than its competitors. While the Snapdragon S4 Pro was the best of the 2012 processor bunch, we already know what to expect from phones later this year -- maybe Sony should have waited a little longer?

Perhaps the bigger question is how to square the £300 difference (off-contract) between the Xperia Z and the Nexus 4. Both are powered by the same high-performance S4 Pro, with 2GB of RAM, but Sony's option has expandable storage, a 13-megapixel camera capable of HDR video and that 1080p display -- even if the Google phone's screen performs better outside of a pure pixel count. If the Xperia Z had trounced the Nexus in battery life, we'd have happily recommended the omnibalance smartphone, but a disappointing showing there makes it a much tougher call, and one your wallet might have to make for you.

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