Wednesday, July 31, 2013

US zoo to breed rhino siblings - W4llppr

In a desperate bid to preserve a critically endangered species, a US zoo is taking the controversial step of trying to mate brother and sister captive Sumatran rhinoceroses.

The coupling of six-year-old Harapan and his older sister Suci could take place as early as August at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, animal keepers say.

The tactic has stirred strong emotions, but Terri Roth, director of the Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife, said she has no other choice.

"We are in a really tough spot and we just don't have any other options," she told AFP.

Conservation experts say there are as few as 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in their native lands of Indonesia and Malaysia.

In captivity, there are only 10 in the world. Four of them are closely related, with three having been bred in recent years at the Cincinnati Zoo.

A fourth born in Indonesia last year was the son of a Cincinnati-bred captive rhino and a formerly wild rhino.

For Suci, who is marking her ninth birthday next week, the only available suitors are her relatives, Roth said.

The other captive male of age in Indonesia is her older brother.

Harapan, who is on the cusp of adulthood, was brought to Ohio earlier this month from his previous home at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Artificial insemination has never worked in Sumatran rhinos, so shipping sperm from a genetically unique mate is not a viable alternative.

"Unless Indonesia were to capture more animals and an unrelated male became available to us, we don't have the genetic diversity that we need," Roth said.

In the meantime, experts say female rhinos need to breed in order to keep their reproductive organs from developing cysts that eventually render them infertile.

"Female rhinos, if they don't reproduce they tend to lose the ability to reproduce. It is kind of use it or lose it with them," said Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation.

Ellis said the population of Sumatran rhinos has dwindled dramatically due to humans encroaching on their land and poaching for their horns, which some Asian cultures believe carry healing powers though they consist of simple keratin, the same protein as in nails, hair and hooves.

"The species has really hit a crisis point," said Ellis.

"There are maybe as few as 100 animals left in the wild."

Still, the decision to breed siblings carries risks, including abnormalities, harmful genetic mutations and poor sperm quality in the offspring.

"In general, we are very much against the idea of breeding relatives because we know that more often than not it causes problems," said David Wildt, head of the Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

"I don't know if I would call it a solution. I think it is a strategy. And it really opens up some healthy debate," he added.

"If those were the last animals on the planet, what else would you do? But this isn't the situation here, though. These aren't the last two animals on the planet."

Zookeepers are hopeful that the Indonesian government will take steps to capture some wild rhinos that may be in isolation already due to deforestation, and add them to their captive sanctuary population in order to boost breeding options.

Roth said she was aware of the publicity the decision to mate siblings would bring -- both good and bad -- and she hopes it raises people's interest in preserving the habitat of these precious creatures.

The Sumatran rhino "is not like the giant panda that everybody knows about and follows. I thought people need to know about this," she said.

"We are about to lose this rhino quietly, without a whimper, and I don't want to see that happen."

 

Continue reading →

GoodInc Flat Responsive WordPress Blog, News Theme (Blog / Magazine) - W4llppr

GoodInc Responsive Blogging WordPress Theme

Your blog should standout as much as you do, and that's why we created GoodInc. This modern and unique responsive blogging theme is truly one of a kind. From the stunning homepage slider and carousel, to the thoughtful page templates for authors, archives, site map and more. GoodInc is sure to captivate you and your readers.

Bold Blogging

Don't settle of a typical boring blog, instead choose something with style. GoodInc is full of features aimed to please like the awesome homepage and archive pagination options. You can choose from traditional pagination, a Load More button, or infinite scroll. Since each post format has it's own styling (standard, image, gallery, video, audio, aside, quote, link, and even status) your homepage and archive will look great no matter which option you choose. You can also set layouts by post, so if you want a full-width video post or an audio post with a left sidebar or one on the right it's no problem at all. Another great feature is the Taqyeem Ratings plugin so you can add your own percentage, point, heart, thumbs up, or star ratings for anything you want. You can also allow your readers to submit their ratings as well. This is a great way to share your opinion and get readers involved in your site!

GoodInc has lots more features that you can read about below!

 

Illustrate Portfolio WordPress Theme Features

  • WordPress 3.5+
  • Responsive Layout
  • Custom SMOF Theme Options Panel
  • Custom Header & Footer Logo Options
  • Custom Favicon Option
  • Infinite Scroll, Load More, or Pagination Options
  • Enable/Disable Responsiveness Option
  • Enable/Disable Retina Option
  • Sticky Navigation Option
  • Homepage Featured Slider
  • Custom Slider Animations
  • Homepage Carousel
  • Google Analytics Option
  • Taqyeem Ratings & Reviews Plugin ($14 Value)
  • View JS Lightbox (A $10 Value)
  • Blog Post Formats
    • Standard
    • Image
    • Gallery
    • Video
    • Aside
    • Link
    • Quote
    • Audio
    • Status
  • Blog Post & Page Layouts
    • Right Sidebar
    • Left Sidebar
    • Full-Width (No Sidebar)
  • Custom Page Templates
    • Default
    • Full-Width
    • Authors
    • Archive
    • Site Map
  • Symple Shortcodes Included
    • Accordion
    • Box
    • Button
    • Clear Float
    • Column
    • Divider
    • Google Map
    • Heading
    • Highlight
    • Pricing Table
    • Skillbar
    • Spacing
    • Social Icons
    • Tabs
    • Testimonial
    • Toggle
  • Gallery Metabox Image Management
  • Widgetized Sidebar
  • Custom Flickr Widget
  • Custom Video Widget
  • Custom Recent Posts Widget
  • Custom Recent Posts Slider Widget
  • Contact Form 7 Support
  • WooSidebars Support
  • Threaded Comments
  • Localized (.po & .mo Files Included)
  • W3C Valid
  • HTML5 & CSS3
  • XML Sample Data Included
  • Documentation Files Included (In the "All Files & Documentation" Download)
  • Helpful Knowledgebase
  • Great Support
  • Regular Updates
  • Created By An Elite Author
  • Anything Else I Forgot To Mention!

 

Photo Credits: Mark J Sebastian


GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →
Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Speedy PM for WordPress (Social Networking) - W4llppr

This script creates a modern user interface for sending ajax based PM(Private message) among all users in wordpress site. Users dont need to go to a spicific page to send a message, Speedy PM interface can be launched from any wordpress page or post.

If a user receives a message he/she is notified via a facebook style notification at bottom of screen. User can click that notification to see the message and reply.

Basic features of this plugin :-

File Attachments and Smiley supported User friendly, flexible and responsive design to support maximum modern devices No server modification or 3rd party software is required Load on server is very low as we do most programming stuff in javascript except what cant be done. Also we reduce server hit by storing data in cache, instead of loading on every page by ajax. Lifetime Free Support and Updates Modern User Interface


GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Hark - Responsive One Page Template (Portfolio) - W4llppr

Hark is a responsive one page template built for creatives, studios and small agencies but flexible enough for a wide variety of small businesses.

The download includes four (4) homepage variations and is built with the following features: supersized background slideshow, filterable portfolio, prettyphoto lightbox, smooth scrolling, contact form and an interactive google map.

Hark is built using Gridiculous, a fully responsive grid boilerplate that makes it extremely easy to edit the template to work with your content.

Credits:

  • Gridiculous
  • jQuery Library
  • Supersized
  • PrettyPhoto
  • Flexslider
  • Quicksand
  • Gmap3
  • Images from Photocase.com by Baencc, barbaclara, connor212, steffne and Fiff14


GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Pandora Box: Mobile Develop Onepage HTML Template (Landing Pages) - W4llppr

Pandora Box – creative and minimal onepage HTML Template for mobile developers.<>

Features:

  • LESS CSS
  • Responsive layout
  • Responsive 3D slider
  • PSD included
  • Unique design
  • Well documented
  • Easy and quick custom
  • And Much More…

Version 1.1, 28.07.2013

Changes:

  • Add endless slider (return to the first slide after the last)
  • LESS bugfix
  • JS bugfix
  • PSD corrected

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Blogo - Stylish WP Theme for Creative Bloggers (Personal) - W4llppr

Blogo is a stylish WordPress Theme designed for creative bloggers. It's also suitable for Portfolio, Multimedia or Personal websites.

Other Blogo Versions

  • PSD Version
  • HTML Version

Skins (styles)

  • Boy
  • Girl

Colors

  1. Blue
  2. Dark (Purple)
  3. Green
  4. Grey-Blue
  5. Grey-Light
  6. Yellow

Fonts

  • Arial
  • Providence

Credits

  • Aziz Ansari Poster
  • Typography Photo 1
  • Typography Photo 2
  • Andrea Stark – Design Portfolio
  • "How Your Money Works" Video

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Light - Coming Soon Page (Under Construction) - W4llppr

LIGHT is super clean responsive design with animated countdown, animation, unique pre-loader page, feedback and subscribe forms, team page, etc. And of course, it's displayed perfect in all major browsers!

Main features

  • HTML5 and CSS3
  • Responsive
  • Animation
  • jQuery countdown
  • Super clean
  • AJAX subscription form with validation
  • AJAX feedback form
  • MailChimp
  • Pack with popular icons (140+ icons)
  • Full screen slider
  • Team page
  • Displays perfect in all major browsers
  • Compatible with MacBook Pro's Retina Display
  • IE 8 ( Internet Explorer 8 ) support
  • Documentation

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Wild Island (Nature) - W4llppr

Feed: VideoHive
Posted on: Saturday, July 27, 2013 23:14
Author: Primus1
Subject: Wild Island (Nature)

 

Wild island with rocky surface and waves of blue sea on hot summer day.

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

Text Analyzer (Windows) - W4llppr

The Text Analyzer is a software which helps you to analyze text and calculate word statistics and frequency.

The Text Analyzer is a seo tool which helps you to display how many words are used in your article. Usage of the software is very easy.

Features: - Shows how many words are used in the text - Shows size of the text - Shows repeated word combinations and phrases - Displays unique words in the text - Stop words list ( a, an, is, the,... etc ) - Import .txt file to make analysis

Requirements: - Microsoft.NET Framework 3.5 - Windows XP,Windows Vista, Windows 7

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →
Monday, July 29, 2013

Sngine - Social Engine Platform (Social Networking) - W4llppr

Sngine – Social Engine is the best way to create your own social website or online community. Launch it in just 1 minute with ultimate features.

Quick Video Demo #1: Video Demo

Quick Video Demo #2: Video Demo

Profile Demo: Profile Demo
User Demo: User Demo UserName: CodeCanyon Password: 123456
Admin Demo: Admin Panel UserName: adminPassword: 123456

if viewing this site straight from CodeCanyon, don't forget to remove the frame by clicking on the X on the top left corner in order to see certain things work

Live Example: www.amrdiabfans.net – Amr Diab Fans Social Network Launched: (19 August 2011) with more than 32,093 users

It's easy to intgerate any thing like Games, Pages, Events you can see live examples here: http://www.amrdiabfans.net/directory/pages/

If you like this script, please dont forget to rate it Large-star-onLarge-star-onLarge-star-onLarge-star-onLarge-star-on

Features

User/General Features:

  • SEO Friendly Urls
  • Real-time Chat, Messages & Comments
  • Follow/Unfollow users
  • Real-time updates on Search Page
  • Block/Unblock users
  • Emoticons (smiles) in Posts, Messages, Comments and Chat
  • Filter Posts with Most (Recent, Liked, Favorited, Discussed)
  • Filter Posts to show from (All , Just Me, Just Followers, Just Followings)
  • Users can share (Status, Music, Videos, Photos, Questions, Polls, Links)
  • Post on friends profiles
  • Disable new registrations
  • Users can publish posts in real-time to his/her Facebook & Twitter accounts
  • Linked Accounts ( Users can like their Facebook & Twitter accounts)
  • Signup with Social Networks (Facebook & Twitter)
  • Getting Started page to upload avatar edit user info and connect social accounts
  • Verification Emails ( User can re-send verification email or change it)
  • Multi-Languages system (Support Arabic and RTL Design)
  • Ajax Powered system
  • Users can create/share photo albums and Video Albums ;)
  • Apps powered system
  • Questions App with Voting System on Answeres and Notes System
  • Users can Like, Dislike and Favorite posts
  • Real-Time Tricker like Facebook to see what others do right now!
  • Directory System to Make your website indexed and seen by search engines
  • Awesome profile page
  • Privacy settings
  • Sponsored Ads System
  • Real-time chat and Messaging system like Facebook
  • Themes system and you can easily build your own theme
  • Discussion App with WYSIWYG editor
  • About/Privacy/Terms pages
  • Block: Users can block other users preventing them from chatting with each other.
  • #Hahtag, @mention & smiles supported
  • Support Age Verification
  • See more option for long-text post like Facebook

Change Log / Updates

Version 1.1 – 26 July 2013

·  Fixed all errors

Version 1.0 – 25 July 2013

·  Initial Version

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →

NANO UI - CSS3 Web Elements UI Kit (Miscellaneous) - W4llppr

A stylish Pure HTML5 and CSS3 Companion Web UI Kit built with ease of use and flexibility in mind, fully responsive and works well across all modern browsers without compromising on older browsers like IE8.

The Kit is extremely easy to setup, modify and will integrate well in your existing designs and markup with little or no changes made and above all you won't need any media queries to get going.

Keep in Touch! Don't Miss an Update!

Features

  • Flexible and Responsive
  • Pure CSS3 No images
  • Smooth CSS3 Animations (On Toggle Switches, Input Focus, and Progress Bars)
  • Professional Clean Design
  • Cross-Browser Support (including fallback support for IE8)
  • Multiple Color Themes
  • Easy to implement, customize and style
  • Well Coded and Documented

Elements Included

  • Web Forms 2.0 Custom input Elements (text, url, tel, password, search e.t.c)
  • Input Elements focus, disabled, and validation states
  • Pure CSS3 Custom Checkboxes and Radios (no images, no vector icons, no javascript)
  • Pure CSS3 Animated Toggle switches – with HTML5 data attribute support
  • 4 Custom CSS3 search forms
  • Pure CSS3 Custom form file input ( file upload widget – 5 Themes)
  • Pure CSS3 Form Select
  • Pure CSS3 Form Multi-Select
  • Pure CSS3 Buttons (5 Themes)
  • Pure CSS3 IOS Style Buttons (5 Themes)
  • CSS3 Button Menu Pills
  • Pure CSS3 Progressbars (Animated and stripped 4 Themes)
  • Clean CSS3 Notifications (4 Themes)
  • Clean CSS3 Pagination
  • Font Awesome Icons (optional)

For Questions and Help?

For any help, feature request or to report a bug, contact me from my profile. And don't forget to rate this item.

GET PRODUCT NOW

Continue reading →
Sunday, July 28, 2013

Ajax iTunes Search - WordPress Plugin (Media) - W4llppr


Did you ever wanted to share your favourite iTunes playlist with others? Have you ever tried to collect the best songs of your favourite genre but failed when finding people who share the same taste? Then Ajax iTunes Search is the plugin you have been looking for! Ajax iTunes Search communicates with the iTunes Search API and allows users of your site to submit their favourite songs in real time. When doing so, only the title of the song or the artist is necessary. Everything else is automatically generated! Of course, you as administrator still have full control of what is submitted. A powerful admin backend lets you even adapt the style of Ajax iTunes Search, ensuring that it fits perfectly to your design. Create your own music discussion WordPress site in seconds with Ajax iTunes Search!

Highly Customizeable

  • Ajax iTunes Search comes with a powerful admin panel
  • Change colors & appearance in seconds
  • Select where to display your tracks



Full Control

  • Decide who is allowed to submit tracks
  • Hold tracks for review before setting them live
  • Reorder tracks as often you want using drag & drop



Requirements

  • WP 3.5.x
  • PHP5.2.4+
  • jQuery 1.8.x (the plugin automatically includes it if you theme doesn't support it)



Changelog

 V 1.0  Initial Release (July 26, 2013)  * Initial Release  ###------------------------------------ 

READ MORE

Continue reading →

(28-07-2013) Hacker Barnaby Jack dies in San Francisco aged 35 - The Guardian - W4llppr

Hacker Barnaby Jack dies in San Francisco aged 35 - The Guardian Jul 28th 2013, 15:34

Barnaby Jack
Jack was due to speak at the Black Hat conference, which starts Saturday in Las Vegas. Photograph: Isaac Brekken/AP

Barnaby Jack, a hacker who was due to present his findings on the security vulnerabilities of implanted medical devices, has died.

The San Francisco medical examiner's office said Jack, 35, died in the city on Thursday – but did not provide details on the circumstances surrounding his death.

Jack had exposed a security flaw in insulin pumps that could be made to dispense a fatal dose by a hacker 300ft away, pushing some medical companies to review the security of these devices.

He was also a popular and respected figure in the information security scene. Within that small scene, reverse engineers are especially close, said Matthieu Suiche, a friend of Jack's and chief scientist at CloudVolumes Inc in an email. "We pretty much all know each other, or have lots of common friends," Suiche said. "It's almost like we all grew up together."

He added: "There isn't much to say except that Barnaby was one of the rare people in InfoSec who was a brilliant researcher but also a good friend to many of us."

Suiche met Jack at the Black Hat conference a few years ago and said they had been really good friends since. He said he had drinks with Jack and his girlfriend in San Francisco just over a week ago.

He called his friend "brilliant", and said Jack's latest research on medical devices could help save the lives of many people. "In this world full of people fearfully complying and worrying, very few people are crazy enough to challenge the rules, to approach life in an unconventional paradigm and to speak up to contribute to change this world," Suiche said.

Jack was due to speak at the Black Hat conference, which starts Saturday in Las Vegas. His presentation, "Implantable medical devices: hacking humans," would have explained how these devices could be compromised and would have suggested ways to improve device security.

Black Hat said the room his discussion was meant to take place will instead be used as a place for his friends and colleagues to gather and remember him on 1 August, when the session was set to take place.

Black Hat said in a statement:

We have lost a member of our family. Everyone would agree that the life and work of Barnaby Jack are legendary and irreplaceable. Barnaby had the ability to take complex technology and intricate research and make it tangible and accessible for everyone to learn and grow from. Beyond his work in our industry, Barnaby was an incredibly warm hearted and welcoming individual with a passion for celebrating life. We all have a hilarious and upbeat story about Barnaby. He is truly a shining example of what we love about this community.

Black Hat will not be replacing Barnaby's talk on Thursday, Aug. 1. No one could possibly replace him, nor would we want them to. The community needs time to process this loss. The hour will be left vacant as a time to commemorate his life and work, and we welcome our attendees to come and share in what we hope to be a celebration of his life. Barnaby Jack meant so much to so many people, and we hope this forum will offer an opportunity for us all to recognize the legacy that he leaves behind.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Barnaby Jack's family and loved ones. Words cannot adequately describe how much he will be missed, but it is certain that Barnaby will NEVER be forgotten.

At the time of his death, Jack was director of embedded security research at security firm IOActive. On Twitter, the company said: "Lost but never forgotten our beloved pirate, Barnaby Jack has passed. He was a master hacker and dear friend. Here's to you Barnes!"

Continue reading →

(28-07-2013) NASA Mission Discovers Particle Accelerator in Heart of Van Allen Radiation Belts - Yumanewsnow - W4llppr

NASA Mission Discovers Particle Accelerator in Heart of Van Allen Radiation Belts - Yumanewsnow Jul 27th 2013, 01:06

500 Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@yumanewsnow.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.


Apache/2.2.23 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.23 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.yumanewsnow.com Port 80

Continue reading →

(28-07-2013) Here's The First Press Shot Of AT&T's HTC One Mini - Android Police - W4llppr

Here's The First Press Shot Of AT&T's HTC One Mini - Android Police Jul 28th 2013, 01:02

27
Jul
image

Here's The First Press Shot Of AT&T's HTC One Mini

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Exclusives, HTC, News, One Mini

We've already seen plenty of HTC's One Mini for AT&T in the flesh, but a blurrycam can only go so far. Tonight, we've got one more treat – a crisp, clear press shot of the device.

While the shot doesn't hold much more information than what we already saw in our exclusive photos recently, it's interesting that the Beats Audio logo isn't sporting its typical red brand color (though the same is true for the press shots that have been released). The phone's Blink Feed screen has also been updated, showing different stories than the press shot we saw when HTC made the phone official, but that makes sense considering the location has changed to Atlanta from London. The date on both reads July 23rd.

Without further ado, here's the first press shot for AT&T's variant of the HTC One Mini:

m4_att_press

If you need a refresher, here's what to expect from the AT&T One Mini in the specification department:

  • 4.3" display at 720p
  • Dual-core 1.4GHz processor
  • 1GB RAM

Thanks, Anon.

Tags:AT&TcarrierHTCone miniPhotopressshot
Liam Spradlin
Liam loves Android, design, user experience, and travel. He doesn't love ill-proportioned letter forms, advertisements made entirely of stock photography, and writing biographical snippets.

Follow @LiamSpradlin

Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:
  • droidsmini
    Motorola DROID Mini For Verizon Poses Next To Big Brothers DROID Ultra And DROID MAXX
  • small
    HTC One Mini (a.k.a. M4) Spotted In Leaked Photos Next To Its Bigger Brother
  • 00_GT-I9190_Front_white_Standard_Online
    Samsung Officially Announces The Galaxy S4 Mini In 3G, LTE, And Dual-SIM Versions, No Price Or Date Yet
  • 1[4]
    HTC M4 Details Leak – It's Basically Just A Smaller, Less-Powerful One
  • image
    Weibo User Reveals Questionable Press Shot Of HTC's Unannounced 5" Phone [Update: Shot Is Confirmed Unofficial]
  • wm_23ap
    Exclusive: This Is The AT&T HTC One Mini (Pictures, Specifications)
  • portalpirate

    Is that a new logo in the watermark for Android Police? I like the geometric vibe.

    • Steven Koehl

      Yeah I have to admit that is pretty sexy. Could this point to a possible AP site redesign? I remember awhile back Artem mentioned it, when the new mobile site was introduced courtesy of Reddit user davidlgj
      http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1dxjdl/making_android_polices_mobile_site_holo_css/

    • Bojan Gutic

      Am I imagining things, or was that logo proposed a LOOOONG time ago, before the one currently in use was chosen?!

      • http://www.androidpolice.com/ Artem Russakovskii

        There may or may not have been a logo or not a logo that inspired what you have or have you seen here tonight or yesterday.

        • nxym

          Yes

  • http://twitter.com/SParKlngCyaNide SparklingCyanide

    Liam, you've really been kicking up the articles a lot more lately. Great content, AP has been on Point!

  • barjwoods

    Oh great, another AT&T exclusive....

    • psychoace

      It's ok AT&T can keep this mini to themselves.

    • http://www.androidpolice.com/ Artem Russakovskii

      I don't know if it's an exclusive - could be one or could be also on other carriers. What are you basing this on?

  • NemaCystX

    Now the HTC One Max needs to leak for AT&T and then my selection of devices will be complete!

  • ThomasMoneyhon

    no nfc is a deal breaker for a phone in 2013. HTC should be ashamed of cutting an important corner. I mean how am i going to complain about AT&T and VZW blocking google wallet?

  • sourabh

    aint buying another phone until i see the Next NEXUS

    • Cristian Borsa

      I'm a bit worried that Google is going to fork android itself with the Moto X.

Continue reading →

(28-07-2013) Galaxy Note 8.0: Still the best small tablet - ZDNet (blog) - W4llppr

Galaxy Note 8.0: Still the best small tablet - ZDNet (blog) Jul 28th 2013, 12:04

Note 8.0
Image credit: James Kendrick/ZDNet

When the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 arrived a couple of months ago the value over the iPad mini was readily apparent. In addition to rivaling the size of the super-thin little iPad, the Note 8.0 has two features the former lacks. After two months of heavy use of the Galaxy Note 8.0, the value of the tablet is still very good.

Google recently launched the new Nexus 7, a nice tablet at a decent price. The refreshed model has good hardware running the newest version of the Android OS. While the new Nexus 7 is a solid entry into the tablet space, it doesn't have anything to knock the Note 8.0 off its high pedestal.

Hardware specs:

  • Processor: Samsung Exynos 4412, 1.6GHz quad-core
  • Display: 8-inch, 1280x800, 189 ppi, touch + pen digitizer
  • Memory: 2GB
  • Storage: 16GB, microSD up to 64GB
  • Cameras: Front- 1.3MP, Back- 5MP
  • OS: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
  • Battery: 4,600 mAh
  • Connectivity: wi-fi a/b/g/n, 2.4 and 5 GHz
  • Dimensions: 210.8x135.9x7.95 mm, 8.29x5.35x0.31 inches; 340g, 0.74lb

While the hardware inside the Note 8.0 isn't as fast as that in the Nexus 7, pefrormance of the former is very snappy. The processor in the Note is more than enough to handle anything you need to do on the tablet. Scrolling is smooth, video plays well, and it handles multitasking with ease.

Multiview
Multiview on Note 8.0 -- Image credit: James Kendrick/ZDNet

Google launched Android 4.3 with the Nexus 7, an advantage over the Note 8.0. Even so, Android 4.1 which is used on the Note 8.0 has been modified by Samsung to provide unique functionality. The multiview feature that allows running two apps side-by-side on the display (see image above), is a powerful feature. It makes it possible to keep an eye on a running app on the left while working in another app displaying on the right pane.

Smart stay is another feature that uses the front camera to check if the user is looking at the screen. As long as it "sees" the user looking it prevents the display from dimming and shutting off. This feature is available on certain Samsung smartphones, too and is one of the best utilities on mobile devices.

The Note 8.0 has something not found on other small tablets, the S Pen. Taking handwritten notes on the fly is a great feature. Samsung has included special apps to leverage using the pen. These include a note app and a planner app that leverage pen input to great effect.

The pen can be used to write in any app due to special support by Samsung. Anywhere you can use the onscreen keyboard in Android you can use the pen to write text instead.

Next page: Great apps on the Galaxy Note 8.0

Continue reading →