Before the advent of online social network, if you wanted to reach out to someone for whatever reason, there were only three ways: face-to-face, by phone, or by email. This means that you had to find them, their phone number, or their email address before you can do anything.

Now you can tweet, link, like, post, or message your way into pretty much anyone's life. Anyone can do it. And therein lies the rub. Everyone does do it. And the competition for people's limited time and attention is enormous.

Fortunately, or should I say, unfortunately, actor and TV5 news anchor Paolo Bediones need not try hard to differentiate himself from the pack or to stand out for the public to noticed him. His name just became a top trending keyword on Twitter on late Sunday (27 July 2014) when clips of his alleged sex video circulated the Internet.

Many Filipino netizens expressed surprise that the respected host could be involved in such a controversy. Some made jokes about his sexuality, while others tried to take the high road and alleged that there are more important things this country needs to tackle first.

It is not clear who posted the video or when it was take. However, last week, reporter Alex Brosas of tabloid Bandera noted that there were industry rumors that Bediones had a video that was making the rounds online.

TV5 was quick to issue an official statement and said that the top management is standing by Paolo Bediones:

"The recent issue involving our news anchor, Paolo Bediones, on social media is a purely personal and private matter in which TV5 has no involvement or desire to intrude.

We accord our employees and talents all respect that are due them for their privacy and personal action or decision.

We disapprove strongly the malicious and wanton publication of the video, an act that clearly violates pertinent cybercrime laws.

We firmly express our support for our anchor Paolo Bediones in the face of a controversy that represents nothing more than an attempt to smear his reputation."

China Roces, a model and actress, who is alleged as the woman with Bediones in the sex video, has already denied that it was her.

Roces, 22, said that it may look like her, but the resemblance ends there.

Read More ...

This blog showed earlier that Apple iPad sales have begun to slow, with the company announcing unit sales had fallen more than 9 percent in the quarter following a 16 percent decline in the previous quarter.

Back in 2012, Apple was proudly announcing quarterly sales jumps of nearly 85 percent. Rival Microsoft has been spending millions to push its Surface Pro tablet/PC with moderate success, and Google Android tablets are selling but they're getting less expensive every day further shrinking razor-thin profits.

Does the trend clearly show the beginning of the end for tablet computers?

"The sales cycle of iPad remained in negative territory during the June quarter as the tablet market has shown signs of softening," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said in a research note. "Apple reported iPad units of 13.3 million but better than our 11.5 million projection. Apple indicated iPad unit sales met the company's expectations but was below analyst estimates."

Reached by phone, White said the tablet market "has hit a wall for sure." Unlike consumers buying new model smartphones every two years White noted that iPads have been around for only four years and questioned "how often do users really need to upgrade their tablets?"

Microsoft Surface devices have struggled from the day the products were announced. Even now in their third-generation, they're still struggling. Surface devices were introduced running what was then considered as brand new, completely overhauled and somewhat confusing Windows 8 operating systems. It forced Windows users to deal with two different home screens but without the familiar Windows Home button, on top of the confusion between Windows and Windows RT.

Windows RT was designed to bring Windows, in some form, to battery-friendly ARM-based systems-on-a-chip devices. In reality, Windows RT turned out to be a somewhat crippled version of the full OS. Windows RT devices could do nearly everything a full Windows 8 computer could do except for allow users to download/install/use third-party applications. It never came close to being able to compete with iPads on any level.

Thankfully, after being buried in its quarterly income statement report , Microsoft announced that it would not be releasing a third-generation Windows RT device called the Surface Mini. The Mini project had been snuffed shortly before the company announced its Surface Pro 3 device a few weeks ago. At the time Microsoft said the devices had been delayed.

Read More ...

Yesterday, we featured a story about how Apple’s income and profit has surge in the last quarter, but failed to stop the declining demand for their iPads.

Apple said it sold 13.3 million iPads in the second quarter of 2014, down more than 9 percent from the same period last year. It was the second consecutive quarter that Apple saw a decline in its iPad figures: Three months ago, the company reported a 16 percent decrease in sales.

So what is going on? Are consumers losing interest on Apple iPads?

One of the reasons could be the pricing. Apple simply doesn’t want to make any price adjustments, said Tero Kuittinen, managing director at Frank N. Magid Associates, a consulting firm. Compared to other tablets, iPads are more expensive, and that's a sticking point.

The least expensive full-sized iPad starts at US$ 399, while the most expensive model – the iPad Air, with 128GB of storage and cellular connectivity – will cost nearly US$ 1,000. The iPad Mini starts at US$ 299.

On the other hand, a decent Android tablet will cost consumers a little under US$ 200, and both Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX and Google's Nexus 7 (which CNET calls "the best Android tablet") start at US$ 229. Samsung even has 10-inch tablets – the same size as the iPad's screen – starting at US$ 299.

According to the technology research firm IDC, the average cost of tablets in the U.S. has decreased over the last two years, from US$ 476 in the first quarter of 2012 to US$ 378 in the first quarter of this year.

"They literally would rather let the volume decline than get competitive on pricing," Kuittinen said of Apple. "Even a year ago nobody thought that iPad sales would tank like this. It really has hit a brick wall."

Apple can afford to price iPhones way higher compared to iPads, but it doesn’t make sense apply premium pricing strategy for both gadgets simply because people upgrade their phones more frequently than their tablets.

"People don't seem to feel the need to upgrade [their iPads]," Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "So the number of people who have an iPad is still growing every quarter, but there aren't many people buying their second or third iPad."

Unlike smartphones, which nobody can really share, a family may buy just one tablet for the entire household. If they do buy another – perhaps – they will likely buy a cheaper one, said Kuittinen.

Read More ...

Notwithstanding the eventual release of new Apple gadgets later this year, consumers still continue to drive the company’s sales and profit in the last three months. However, there is one glaring trend that is worth noting: demand for iPad is declining fast.

The iPhone, Apple's flagship product, continued to gain significant traction. Apple sold 35.2 million iPhones in the last quarter, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Mac desktop computer was the biggest contributor to the company’s growth, up 18 percent with 4.4 million sold – well above Wall Street analysts' forecasts.

The iPad, on the other hand, was a disappointment. The gadget’s sales fell by 9 percent to 13.2 million last quarter. Another factor hurting Apple's bottom line was the fact that customers are buying cheaper iPads – the average selling price of an iPad fell by about US$ 20 since last year. It means the iPad mini continues to outshine the larger iPad, including the new iPad Air, released in October 2013.

CEO Tim Cook blamed "market softness" in some parts of the world, but he said a turnaround might come from Apple's recently announced deal with IBM to sell industry-specific Apple devices later this year. He also noted that currently, tablets haven't quite caught on in the office. IBM will help change that with a better entry into the business realm.

"We think our partnership with IBM (IBM, Tech30)... will be one such catalyst for future iPad growth," Cook said. "We're very bullish about the tablet market."

The company's profit grew 12 percent to US$ 7.7 billion, or US$ 1.28 per share, during its fiscal third quarter, which ended in June. Apple's earnings per share was nudged up partly because of the company's ongoing stock buyback program, which has lowered the number of shares held by investors by about 7 percent since last year.

Apple posted US$ 37.4 billion in revenue, up 6 percent. Profit exceeded Wall Street's expectations, but sales missed forecasts.

For the current quarter, Apple said it expects sales between US$ 37 billion and US$ 40 billion, also falling short of analysts' forecasts. That sent shares of Apple lower in aftermarket trading.

Even if the company is still swimming in cash, at the end of the quarter, Apple had more than US$ 164 billion on hand, the next period may be a little bit more challenging. All eyes are already on the next few months, because many customers are holding out for the iPhone 6 – assuming that's the name. The phone, expected out in September, will likely have a screen much larger than the latest model's 4-inch display.

Now that Apple has deals with major Chinese mobile carriers and government approval, the iPhone 6 is slated for a blockbuster release around the world – the largest yet.

Read More ...

On 21 July 2014, tech-giant Apple released the iOS 8 Beta 4 in limited form to get the public's general sentiments. It was the company's fourth developer preview release of its iOS 8 software, which will be fully available sometime in the coming months, likely just before the next-generation iPhone 6 launches.

In the meantime, developers can use Apple’s iOS 8 betas to update their apps and build new ones that take advantage of all the new APIs Apple has provided. For the rest of non-tech user, iOS 8 gives a look at all the great new things to come or is it?

Those who have sampled the taste believes that not all of those iOS 8 changes are actually great, especially when they saw how the new Control Center look like.

Apple’s new iOS 8 beta 4 update includes tons of changes, bug fixes and new features. The list is available in Apple’s official iOS 8 beta 4 release notes. Many of the changes in beta 4 are refinements that add stability, bug fixes that address nagging issues and feature additions that bring iOS 8 a few steps closer to being ready for release.

However, changes in the Control Center were not received well despite the fact that this is a just a public version and several changes will probably be implemented before Apple’s new mobile platform launches. The new Control Center design might not be final, or it might even go back to the old design. There is simply no way to tell until Apple releases the iOS 8 Gold Master build, which is a developer preview that is identical to the version of iOS 8 that will be released to the public.

For now, check out the two versions above and tell us what you think.

(iOS 7.1 Control Center is on the left, iOS 8 beta 4 Control Center is on the right)

Read More ...

We reported before that the rumoured Apple iWatch may be released in three variants on the third quarter of 2014. The first version comes with a 1.6-inch screen, while the other two will feature 1.8-inch displays.

There's no reason to doubt the reports, really. Apple's top brass have all gone on the record suggesting a new product from Apple will be released by the end of this year. The next question is what most people would like to see from the gadget.

Smarter Than Smartphone
The first recommended feature would probably be that it really should be 'smart.' Some critics believed that smartwatches are not really as ‘smart’ as smatphones and the same is probably expected from iWatches.

The current offerings from Samsung, Sony, LG and the like have operated as extensions of a smartphone, linking up via Bluetooth or wireless to, for the most part, serve you notifications that you could have seen by pulling your phone out of your pocket.

Apple may do something along those lines as well and could still make a successful product. However, given their close ties with app developers, the wishful thinking of many is Apple makes the first smartwatch that lets you leave your phone behind.

Wireless Charging

Somebody who has several gadgets in their homes knows that competition for socket space is a regular phenomenon. Smartphones, tablets, e-readers and the like usually are charged up at the same time creating a tangled mess. Does anybody want one more device to fit in there?

Whether it's a wireless charging pad or some new tech whipped up by Apple especially for its smartwatch, almost everyone would love to be able to just set the watch down on the nightstand and have it powered up and ready to go the next morning.

Battery Life

Full charging doesn’t mean squat when the user had to charge the iWatch more often as they do their phones. At least for now, these things are nice extras, not essential communication tools, and if they become more trouble than they're worth, the love affair won't last long for even the most dedicated fanboys and fangirls.

Both Android and iPhones already on the market average somewhere around two or three days on a charge as long as appropriate settings are used. The ones that do more, like Samsung's Galaxy Gear, are on the low end of that and those that do less tend to be higher.

Apple is surely planning on releasing a feature-rich device. If it can somehow do that while figuring out how to jam a powerful battery into a tiny watch, it will be a nice selling point.

Affordable Price

This is Apple. So, there's no reason to think it will depart from a model that's always worked for them.

Unfortunately for budget-conscious consumers, the approach is to roll out finely crafted products at premium prices even while devices with similar features can be had without the Apple logo for less.

However, some are hoping that iWatch will be different. Nobody needs a digital watch and, as mentioned above, there's a decent chance that it won't even work unless you already own another, presumably pricey, Apple device. Some people would like to see it is priced as an affordable accessory for iPhones in an effort to pull in customers who want, not need, one.

Read More ...