For those who don’t know, Baidu is sort of like the Chinese counterpart of Google, both starting with a search engine then ventured out to creating an operating system before finally partnering with a mobile phone manufacturer to create their own smartphone.

Also known as the Baidu phone, specs of this new device includes an MTK6573 650MHz processor, 3.5-inch touchscreen 480 x 320 display, a camera with a 3 megapixel sensor, dual-SIM capability, a microSD slot, and a 1,400mAh battery that cannot be removed. It also runs on a Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal Platform which is essentially a Baidu-enhanced Android Gingerbread operating system so you can expect voice search, voice control, and other online services from Baidu including 100GB cloud storage space. The phone itself bears a distinctive resemblance to Nokia’s Lumia 800 with its matte housing with brightly colored backing.

Many have remarked on this move by China to promote locally-produced devices as similar to Japan’s strategy of creating local phones made especially for their own people. While many smartphones are penetrating the Chinese market, many of the 1.3 billion Chinese people can’t afford an iPhone or a Galaxy S, which is why this low-cost Baidu phone comes as a welcome relief to budget-conscious Chinese consumers.

The Baidu phone (ChangHong H5018) will cost about CN¥899 or around US$140. When this phone will be released in China, however, is still unknown.

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However, one developer seems to have been very much taken with RIM’s virtual keyboard that he made a jailbreak tweak similar to it for iOS devices. Mario Hros has released a teaser revealing his latest jailbreak tweak, the Octopus Keyboard, which brings BlackBerry 10′s new gesture-based keyboard concept to iOS devices.

The Octopus Keyboard can do certain functions such as automatically learning new words as you type them. It also has a custom completion engine which works for any key input language. As you begin typing, the Octopus Keyboard will suggest words you can use which appear on top of letters in the keyboard. You can then add the word if you wish by simply holding the letter with the word displayed on top then swiping up to add the word.

What’s remarkable about this tweak is its ability to learn and determine what words the user usually uses. The downside to that, however, is its vulnerability to learn mistakes which is being remedied by Hros.

The developer still has a number of other things he wishes to add to the software such as autocapitalization of words in sentences, better handling of longer words, and compatibility to other tweaks such as SwipeSelection. And with less than a week before its scheduled release, he just might be able to include them all.

It might take some time for users to get used to the tweak but compared to the keyboard and predictive text input offered by iOS devices, many seem to think it’s worth it. With better keyboard size and placement, those who have tested the tweak have discovered that they made considerably less mistakes with the Octopus Keyboard as compared to the current iOS keyboard.

Of course, it’s still premature to make a complete review on the Octopus Keyboard while it’s still not fully complete as the developer still has a few bugs to take care of until its May 20th launch on Cydia. See demo below.

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Vehicles and weapons alleged to be the ones included in the newest installment of Grand Theft Auto has been found in another Rockstar Games franchise, Max Payne 3. The information came in a long string of code with a title: “Max Payne Vehicles”. But while the title does say it’s for Max Payne, since these two games being under the same developer and with the file being the same as the fourth installment of GTA, many are accepting this as legit. Of course, there’s also the fact that this isn’t the first time that GTA files has been discovered in other, non-GTA games such as Bully and Red Dead.

Gamers are asking what this means for the anticipated game. Will Max Payne 3 vehicles be compatible with GTA V? On the other hand, fans of the game are brimming with anticipation after reading the list which contains a whole new stuff such as snowmobiles, boats, helicopters, trains, and a plane.

Excited much? So are dozens of fans raring to play the game. So to satisfy that craving, here’s the list of vehicles and weapons purported to be included in GTA V:

Cars

• apc
• bobsleigh
• benson
• biff
• bobcat
• boxville
• buccaneer
• burrito
• brzbus
• casco
• cadge
• car_brzhatchplc
• car_brzsedanplc
• car_brzhatchjnk
• car_brzsedanjnk
• carga
• cavalcade
• cognoscenti
• cs2000
• chavos
• dukes
• dune
• feroci
• forklift
• futo
• furzen
• fxt
• gant
• hauler
• minivan
• infernus
• patriot
• phantom
• prairie
• police
• rancher
• rhino
• schafter
• seinove
• skimobile
• taxi
• vanpony
• willard
• winky
• trash (Trash Master?)
• railmu
• flatty
• snowplough

Bikes

• enduro
• jz125
• z75
• faggio2
• spike

Helicopters

• autogiro
• bchopper
• annihilator
• bentham
• maverick
• hind
• napalm
• scamp
• heli_vcpf
• heli_tfe

Planes

• cuban800

Boats

• squalo
• bassboy
• chika
• fisher
• fishboat_a
• fishboat_b
• fishboat_c
• fishboat_d,
• marquis
• reefer
• tropic
• gunboat
• sabs_boat
• small_gb2
• dinghy
• p_mi_botfsh
• whaler
• woody
• woody2
• sporto
• tinny
• tug
• contbo
• smug
• edsboat

Trains

• cablecar
• chairlift
• subway_lo
• subway_hi
• train_carg
• trainf_carg
• trainr_carg
• train_int
• lighty

Weapons

• Ak47
• Baretta (M9?)
• Desert Eagle
• Handgun
• MP5K
• Rocket
• Shotgun
• Uzi
• Rifle
• Binoculars
• Camera
• C4
• Detonator

Rockstar Games have yet to announce a release date for Grand Theft Auto V, although many predict that the game will come out next year.

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AMD’s Trinity has reportedly made a huge increase in APU’s performance as compared with the Llano’s which amounts to 29% and 56% hikes in CPU performance and GPU performance respectively. Depending on one’s application needs, shifting power between CPU and GPU can be achieved dynamically through its latest Radeon HD 7000 series GPU and third-generation Turbo Core technologically enhanced CPU. When combined, the CPU and GPU features are capable of delivering higher than 700 gigaflops of computing performance. This speed is several times higher than the fastest x86 CPUs and aims to increase performance of several hundreds of applications.

The new processor family of the A-Series uses 32nm process technology, DirectX 11 support, dual-graphics support, and Eyefinity for multi-display support. It is equally built with the new AMD HD Media Accelerator which delivers a Perfect Picture HD technology, a Steady Video technology, Quick Stream, four people video chat capacity, and an engine for video compression.

AMD claims that a Trinity-powered hardware is cheaper than an Intel-powered system with its light and thin systems at a starting price of $699. The first batch of Trinity products shall include a pair of chips for supersleek laptops and three new APUs for those laptops on the mainstream. These products will be emerging in products from manufacturers such as Asus, Lenovo, Sony, Acer, HP, Samsung, and Toshiba.

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Who said learning and meetings are not fun? With this interactive display, students of all ages would really appreciate the lessons being taught by teachers. If set on a meeting, everyone would probably be eager to share their thoughts on important issues.

Since it is an interactive display, it is able to be oriented horizontally and vertically. In a vertical orientation, the screen can display a whole page from a digital textbook at one time. On the other hand, when in horizontal orientation, it can replicate dimensions available on a conventional white board.

It makes use of a new electronic pen system that Panasonic boasts to be giving high-speed drawing as well as smooth and highly accurate writing. The screen is also able to support up to four (4) pens simultaneously. According to Panasonic, there’s a wide range of possibilities with the display as the screen can be divided into two (2) areas – upper section to show videos or images and the lower section for taking notes.

Among the countries that get to enjoy first this interactive display includes US, Europe and Japan. Release is slated to be by end of June. And before we forget, Panasonic is also eyeing the release of 85-inch and 103-inch versions of the device.

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This strategy has several implications and one of which is that more unlocked Nexus devices means that there are more choices when carriers are the topic. Moreover, it also correlates to Google’s fondness over Motorola Mobility after the $12 billion acquisition. Google will also have more control over the apps that run on its own OS. It really favors Google as we may see them working with Samsung for a tablet version of their JellyBean OS and Motorola for its smartphone equivalent.

These devices from Google will have Android’s latest offering which is 5.0 or Jelly Bean. It will also be directly sold from Google to consumers in America, Europe and Asia with the devices being in unlocked form. Timeline is by Thanksgiving which will just coincide with Black Friday and the nearing holidays shopping.

Lenovo is marketing their ultrabook to consumers looking for these three (3) features – lightweight, durable and performs well – whenever shopping or choosing the right laptop for them. The features alone may be the devices’ strong selling points.

Looking at its material, the X1 Carbon has a carbon-fiber exterior and Lenovo wastes no time in branding it to be the world’s lightest ultrabook. Weight is not an issue as it registers at just three (3) pounds and it is 0.7-inches deep when looking at its thickest point. Since it is made from carbon fiber material (said to its secret ingredient), durability comes into mind as the ultrabook is able to withstand scratches as well as those minor or petty device accidents that happen during travel, leisure or work.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon also sports a 14-inch screen that offers 1600×900 display resolution. According to Lenovo, the device projects a bright picture even when its screen is at wide viewing angles. As for its processor who is in charge of running the show, it has Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips embedded on it. Keyboard is backlit and spill-resistant (this comes in very handy).

One can also find 3G connectivity on it. There is also the optional rapid charge wherein its juice reaches 80% charge even when just plugged for half an hour or about 30 minutes. Lenovo though has been quiet as to how long battery life would be. One distinct feature of the X1 Carbon is that its LCD monitor can open almost 180 degrees which is not very common for your average laptop. It also comes with vPro enterprise-manageability tech.

Per Lenovo, consumers can expect the X1 to be available by summer (it will actually go on sale at this time). With respect to price, no details were provided yet.

Dave Hurban, a tattoo artist from New Jersey, believes that having surgically implanted magnets on his arm to carry an iPod nano in place is the coolest thing on earth. With this move, he believes himself to be the true inventor of the strapless watch.

The project, labeled as iDermal, started off by making four incisions on the wrist where four small magnets are then inserted. After a gush of blood and some healing time, the magnets are now placed permanently on his wrist. They are supposed to hold on to Nano’s four corners by holding it close to the wrist and allowing the magnet to grab hold of it and attach it consequently to his body.

The magnets, otherwise known as micro-dermal anchors, are very common in body piercing. They measure at a mere 5 millimeter magnetic tops which might explain why Hurban needed to do the whole process with great concentration.

When Hurban was asked about how much the total process costs him, he nonchalantly replied by saying that it wasn’t really that bad. It wasn’t even the worst piercing job he’s ever done to himself. He just wanted it so badly and was determined to have it done.

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Both models feature faster web browsing capacity through compressing web pages for faster downloads and cheaper prices. These phones are also dual-SIM so there’s no need to switch phones off for using another network. Other features of both phones include a 1.8” screen, a Bluetooth, a 64 mb internal memory which can be expanded with a micro-SD card up to 32 GB, a VGA camera, Java Games, a music player and up to 8 hours of talk time.

So one might ask, what’s the difference between the two? Well, the Nokia 110 model only weighs 80 g and is available in black, blue, green and fuchsia while the 112 model is slightly heavier at 86 g. and is available in grey, blue, white and red.

Other than the 110 model having smaller dimensions, buyers can be happy with either cheap but efficient phone. See video below for more details.

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The newest member from the Ultrabooks family, the Aspire M5 never fails to stun anyone who desires an ultra-thin, light, and smartly-designed laptop which doesn’t compromise quality and speed. Both 14” and 15” models are packed with powerful graphics and processors, modern audio technology, and smooth connectivity.

The Aspire M5’s eye-catching metallic silver top cover blends with its futuristic display technology. Moreover, one would surely feel awed on how the neat lines, the geometric-inspired shapes and soft angles form a conspiracy to create an ultra-stylish and minimalistic look and feel.

Built with powerful and versatile performance features, the Aspire M5 sports the latest NVIDIA GeForce GT640M with 1 GB DDR5 memory to create sharp graphics and increase game details and effects for a quick and smooth imaging experience. Likewise, the Microsoft DirectX 11 delivers a movie-like geometric detail, realistic animation, and flawlessly smooth curves to give a totally unprecedented interface experience.

Following the trend of Intel Core processors family’s third generation, the Acer Aspire M5 provides a faster multitasking opportunity and an admirable processing performance while using less energy and power. The Acer Green Instant-On gives an ultra-responsive experience by providing a fast 1.5 second resume from its sleep mode. On the other hand, the Acer Instant Connect simultaneously scans and stores frequently-accessed sites which allow users to connect to the web in a span of 2.5 seconds.

Leading the pack when it comes to thin and light laptops, the 20 mm thin Acer Aspire M5 still sports an optical disc drive, a keyboard with backlight and numeric keypad, a hard disk drive capable of storing large files, an integrated solid state drive that gives instant-on capacity, and an 8-hour battery life which can retain its usage capacity of up to four years.

The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 is scheduled to hit UK shops in mid-June. Price and other details are yet to be announced.

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