Samsung has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone - the Galaxy S3.

The handset has a 4.8 inch (12.2cm) screen, an increase on the 4.3 inch screen of its predecessor.

The device is perceived to be critical to how people view both Samsung's brand and the Android system it runs.

Analysts say the popularity of the previous Galaxy - the S2 - was a major factor in the firm overtaking Nokia to become the world's best-selling mobile phone maker.

Samsung said that the new Super Amoled (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display was 22% larger than its predecessor, but the actual device was not much wider since it had shrunk the size of the bezel.

The development allows Samsung to boast it has a slightly larger screen than the 4.7 inch dimensions of the HTC One X, the top of the range model from its Taiwanese rival.

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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Intel is launching its Ivy Bridge family of processors - the first to feature what it describes as a "3D transistor".

The American firm says the innovation allows it to offer more computational power while using less energy.

The initial release includes 13 quad-core processors, most of which will be targeted at desktop computers.

Further dual core processors, suitable for ultrabooks - thin laptops - will be announced "later this spring".

Intel and PC manufacturers expect the release to drive a wave of new sales.

"The momentum around the system design is pretty astonishing," Intel's PC business chief, Kirk Skaugen, who is spearheading the launch, told the BBC.

"There are more than 300 mobile products in development and more than 270 different desktops, many of which are all-in-one designs.

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Source : news.bbc.co.uk - 23rd April 2012

Microsoft's next operating system will come in just three different flavours, the company has announced.

For those with Intel-compatible machines, the OS will be available in two versions - Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.

And for those with devices, largely tablets, powered by ARM-designed chips there will be a Windows RT version. Microsoft wants to simplify how it markets Windows 8, which is expected to launch in autumn 2012.

The complex flavours of past Windows - from basic to home, premium to ultimate - have become something of a joke among tech experts.

Microsoft has called Windows 8 the most significant redesign of the Windows interface since its groundbreaking Windows 95 OS.

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Source : BBC NEWS / TECHNOLOGY. 17th April 2012

Apple is prompting some of its iTunes/App Store/iOS customers to set up three new security questions and an alternate email, in an attempt to smother a growing wave of phishing and fraud.

Media reports state that the request to set up three security questions, apparently implemented on Wednesday, is being asked when a user downloads an app from the App Store.

Apple is also requiring a backup email address, presumably in case a user's primary address and associated Apple ID become compromised.

While it's a welcome move toward stronger security for the increasingly targeted venues, users have been caught off-guard, unsure if the messages themselves are the work of phishers or scammers.

After all, the messages bear the scam stamp: they're unsolicited, they were unannounced by the characteristically tight-lipped Apple, and they solicit information.

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Source: nakedsecurity.sophos.com - by Lisa Vaas on April 16, 2012