All About The Streaming of Xbox 360

Microsoft has a pretty interesting post on their official blog yesterday about the Xbox 360. It’s been pretty clear in the past few years that the console is an extremely important part of the company as a whole, but until recently it had seemed that the Xbox was still about gaming first and foremost. Other features of the Xbox experience like the Netflix app were great, but definitely a secondary priority of the overall focus.

According to Microsoft, 40% of all activity on the Xbox 360 is non-gaming activity. That means that users spend close to half the time on the console watching streaming video. The Netflix application, ESPN streaming, and newly introduced Hulu partnership make up a dominating trio when it comes to usage. Not to mention that users can stream movies and music through Zune.

Over 30 hours per month per Xbox is spent consuming video. That’s about an hour a day. When you think about the fact that there are over 53 million Xbox owners, 30 million of which are Xbox live members, that totals out to a lot of streaming video.

Sure, this means that 60% of use on the 360 is still gaming, but a substantial chunk has been replaced by other activities. This makes Microsoft’s console not just a video game system, but a real entertainment hub. While the PlayStation Network is doing everything but work for the last few weeks, Microsoft is reporting growth in their entertainment division that is simply astonishing.

In April, when Microsoft reported their Q3 earnings, the Xbox 360 and Kinect emerged as the stars of the report.

All of their divisions grew (Business 21% year-over-year, Server & Tools 11%, Online Services 14%). But their entertainment division grew 60%, fueled by Xbox console and Live subscription sales, as well as Kinect sales.

Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s VP of Corporate Communications says that “simply, Xbox = entertainment” in the blog post. And then he hints about the future of how Xbox will be marketed:

The vision for Xbox is straightforward: All of the entertainment you want. With the people you care about. Made easy. That is why you’ve seen us invest in partnerships with ESPN, Netflix and Hulu. That is why we’ve baked social directly into the experience with Xbox LIVE – connecting gamers, friends and families across the globe. That is why you’ll see Xbox marketed more as an entertainment brand this year.

Will the Xbox console, both the 360 and any future versions ever be less about gaming than other entertainment? It’s possible. Microsoft seems to know that it got into everyone’s homes with gaming on the Xbox, and that it can use that established position to develop a full on entertainment brand. Their recent acquisition of Skype may be further evidence of the changing landscape of the Xbox gaming console.

 

Credit By Josh Wolford via wepronews

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The New Facebook Feature: A Send Button Replaces Email

Start now we all have a chance to see a new Facebook feature – a new Send button on websites along with the Like button, and this new Send button will improve the functionality of Groups and it should replace the old email to a friend button.

When you click the Send button, a pop-up will appear that allows you to send the article that you’re reading to your friends, family, groups, or to a specific email address. Of course, you can add your own message and forward the page to your friends’ inboxes or to the specific Group wall. It will be fastastic because it function like email commonly.

This button is designed so that you can share pages with a close groups of friends, and so far, more than 50 websites have used the Send button. The new Send button is a great addition, and if you want it on your website, you can get the code for it on the Facebook’s Developer Website. And as with the Like button, it only takes a few lines of code to get the Send button running on a website.

Source

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Coolest Gadgets and Games that Will Be Released a Few Months Ahead

3 + Months Away

Technology:

 
Android 2.4

The next release of Android's mobile OS is due in summer and is to also be called Gingerbread, confusingly. Faster processing speeds are promised and it should also be more compatible with the tablet optimised Honeycomb OS.

Game:

 
Resident Evil:Mercenaries

The Mercenaries, that zombie massacre style mini game you unlock at the end of Resident Evil 4 and 5, is getting its own full-scale release, in 3D. Coming to the 3DS this summer it will be a spectacle of gore.

6 + Months Away

Technology: 

 
Sony NGP

 
With no UMDs, far more advanced controls and longer battery life, the Sony NGP, or PSP2 if you will. should be released by Christmas. By that time will the 3DS have already won next-gen handled war?

Game:

 
Anarchy Reigns

 
This multi-player brawler, due to hit PlayStation and Xbox 360 this Autumn, places you right in the middle of a death match pit uourself against online combatants, each wielding big pointy weapons and hungry for your guts.

9 + Months Away

Technology:

 
iPad 3

 
Do you think to buy iPad 2? Well by February next year it'll be old hat, and you'll be mooning over the new iPad 3 with more storage and a higher-res screen. What a fickle person you are, guys.

Game:

 
Crusader Kings 2

Indulge your inner dictator with this epic strategy game that requires you to keep control of Euroupe over 400 years-hopefully this is not played in real-time. Heavily character driven, your choices may resut in bitter feuds, much like in real life.

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10 Hottest Technologies Latest Days

It is a snapshot of the products igniting the tech world at this moment in time. Much of the gear has just landed or will touch down shortly. But all of it is blowing us away. Hottest 10 Hi-Tech Technologies is all about the products that are the most talked about and anticipated by most all peoples. This list is the most explosive ever.

10. HTC Flyer

HTC is Android's BFF. It was there at the birth Google's mobile OS and the first to overlay it with a more user-friendly interface in the form of sense UI. It's since won favour with critics and consumers alike-three of the five top-selling UK mobiles were HTC's last month-so it's only logical that it's now serving up a Honeycomb tablet. This seven-inch wunderkind wraps an aluminium unibody around a 1024x600-pixel screen and nippy 1.5 GHz processor. Making it useful for more than just browsing and consuming is the smart stylus, which utilises HTC's new Scribe Technology to make time-stamped notes.

9 & 8. LG Optimus 3D and Samsung Galaxy S II

 
A saturated market had started to leave us wondering where phones could go next, but this brace of dualcore devices from South Korean tech giants point to the smartphone's second coming. LG's effort produces 3DS-style, glasses-free 3D on its massive 4.3-inch display. It can capture and process 3D stills and video too, through twin five-meg cameras.
The Galaxy S II has no gimmicks as imressive as that, but its dualcore processor and full gigabyte of RAM should make downloads, apps, games and HD video unprecedentedly fast and smooth. It's also only 8.49 mm thick and very light to boot. Both mobile use Android, and lay down the gauntlet to Apple. Can iPhone 5 possibly measure up to these super-mobiles?

7. Sony HDR-TD10

Sony realises that the initial success of 3D relies heavily on early adopters making their own eye-popping content. Hence the Bloggie 3D and this, the best-looking 3D camcoder to date (not with standing the fact that Sony appears to have ripped Wall-E's head off in order to build it). Whereas some other 3D cams reduce the resolution by forcing both images through the same sensor and don't allow zooming, the TD10 has two independent HP sensors and a 10x optical zoom. It'll store up to five hours of 1920x1080 3D footage ready to be viewed on the 3.5-inch Xtra Fine LCD display without the need for specs, or on your new 3D TV. You can also watch 3D footage back in full-HD 2D, shoul you be in the shameful situation of lacking a state-of-the-art telly.

6. Motorola Xoom

 
With Android 3.0 Honeycomb on board, the Xoom makes the first Galaxy Tab and other early Android tablets look a bit Fisher Price. Its crisp, 10.1-inch, widescreen display has a higher resolution than the iPad 2 and provides ample room for myriad apps and self-updating widgets, such as Google Books and the revamped Gmail for mobile. The 1GHz dualcore processor and tabbed web browser give the kind of polished performance it needs to take on iPad 2. Your communication needs are taken care of thanks to Wi-Fi, optional 3G and two cameras-a rear-mounted five-meg/720p HD one and an impressive two-meg/VGA, front-facing webcam. Add Falsh support-it should be here by the time you read this-and you have both a killer Android and the first real iPad rival.

5. Samsung BD-D7500
 

Following in the footsteps of the DVD players they've superseded. Blu-ray decks have largely been unappetising slabs of black designed to squat under your telly like malevolent metal turds. Not so the wall-mountable, ineffably lovely, very boringly named BD-D7500. The slimmest 3D BD deck money can buy is just 28 mm deep and can upscale 2D to 3D as well as upscaling non-HD materials to 1080p. It also allows you to wirelessly download thousands of movies if you've shelled out for a six-quid lovefilm subscription, as well as DLNA for streaming your own music and movies. Don't hate it for being beautiful.

4. Sony NGP

This is higher up the Hotness Index than arch-rival Nintindo's 3DS because it bypasses gimmicks such as 3D and goes all out for heavyweight specs. The dual joypads finally allow proper control in a games. While a touchscreen and gyroscope give game developers plenty of other options. The quadcore processor allows for, at the very least, PS2-quality games, while the five-inch, 960x544 widescreen should serve as a crystal-clear window onto virtual worlds. Of course it also higher up the Hottest 10 because it won't be out till Christmas. Remember the immutable law of the tech world:perceived hotness is in inverse proportion to the amount of time spent actually using stuff.

3. RIM BlackBerry Playbox

RIM is taking on Apple and the Android brigade with its own OS and the off-putting tagline of "The world's first professional-grade tablet". RIM's punting the Playboox to its traditional business market then, you might think, but twin HD cameras, access to 7 Digital's excellent music store, superb video on the multi-touch, high-res, 1024x600 screen, a web browser with support for flash 10.1 and "hard core gaming" are not the stuff of dry accountancy seminars. With a 1GHz dualcore processor and 1GB of RAM, N Wi-Fi and the promise of 4G access (where avalaible, ie: not here) this thing shoul really fly..

2. Apple iPad 2

And in a lowly conference centre in Cupertino, the new iPad was born unto us. And yea, Apple's saviour who is called Steve Jobs did see fit to bless it with a faster dualcore CPU and the miracle of "nine times faster graphics"-have faith, brothers-HD video recording and cameras both on the front and yea, unto the back. "And lo, "The Jobs proclaimed, "it shalt be 33 per cent thinner, up to 15 per cent lighter, have a slick new OS and shall retain the same teh-hour battery life and price as my last tablet testament."

1. Motorola Atrix 4G

And so, after much heated debate, this year's hottest gadget is a phone. No, a media server. Oh hang on, no, it's a laptop.

Winning nine awards on its unveiling at CES 2011, this leek Android smartphone boasts the same dualcore Nvidia Tegra 2 processor as Moto's Xoom (#6), 1 GB of a RAM and a four-inch, 960x540 screen. Despite that, it's lighter than the iPhone 4 at 135 g.

That's impressive, if not exceptional-witness the Samsung Galaxy S-but the USP that's grabbed the world's tech heads' attention is its unprecendented versatility and potential to transform a product category, The Atrix, which will be launched exclusively on Orange, can be hooked up to ahost of peripherals via its multimedia dock. Three USBs let you add a keyboard and mouse, while an HDMI output lets you use your TV as a screen, turning the Atrix into a media computer and mini set-top box.

Add Motorola's Lapdock and it becomes an 11.6-inch laptop with eight hours of battery life. We're so excited about it all thet we've run out of room to talk about the 1080p camera, the 4G-readiness, the 16 GB of storage, and the fingerprint scanner.

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Top 10 Most Expensive Cars In The World: Top 10 List 2010-2011

What is the most expensive car in the world? The 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe was sold for $8,700,000 in 1987. However, that car and many alike will not be included in this list because it is not available on the market today. It is hard to imagine someone would actually spend 8 million dollars on a car instead of using it for something more productive. However, if you have the money and the opportunity, you will definitely spend a small fraction of it to place a few of these supercars in your garage. Here are the 10 most expensive production cars on the market.

1. Bugatti Veyron $1,700,000. 

This is by far the most expensive street legal car available on the market today. It is the fastest accelerating car reaching 0-60 in 2.6 seconds. It claims to be the fastest car with a top speed of 253 mph+. However, the title for the fastest car goes to the SSC Ultimate Aero which exceed 253 mph pushing this car to 2nd place for the fastest car.


2. Lamborghini Reventon $1,600,000. 

The most powerful and the most expensive Lamborghini ever built is the second on the list. It takes 3.3 seconds to reach 60 mph and it has a top speed of 211 mph. Its rarity (limited to 20) and slick design are the reasons why it is so expensive and costly to own.


3. McLaren F1 $970,000. 

In 1994, the McLaren F1 was the fastest and most expensive car. Even though it was built 15 years ago, it has an unbelievable  top speed of 240 mph and reaching 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Even as of today, the McLaren F1 is still top on the list and it outperformed many other supercars.


4. Ferrari Enzo $670,000. 

The most known supercar ever built. The Enzo has a top speed of 217 mph and reaching 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Only 400 units were produced and it is currently being sold for over $1,000,000 at auctions.


5. Pagani Zonda C12 F $667,321. 

Produced by a small independent company in Italy, the Pagani Zonda C12 F is the 5th fastest car in the world. It promises to delivery a top speed of 215 mph+ and it can reach 0-60 in 3.5 seconds.


6. SSC Ultimate Aero $654,400. 

Don't let the price tag fool you, the 6th most expensive car is actually the fastest street legal car in the world with a top speed of 257 mph+ and reaching 0-60 in 2.7 seconds. This baby cost nearly half as much as the Bugatti Veyron, yet has enough power to top the most expensive car in a speed race. It is estimated that only 25 of this exact model will ever be produced.


7. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo $555,000. 

The first true American production certified supercar, this cowboy is also rank 3rd for the fastest car in the world. It has a top speed of 248 mph+ and it can reach 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. If you are a true American patriot, you can be proud to show off this car.


8. Koenigsegg CCX $545,568. 

Swedish made, the Koenigsegg is fighting hard to become the fastest car in the world. Currently, it is the 4th fastest car in the world with a top speed of 245 mph+, the car manufacture Koenigsegg is not giving up and will continue to try and produce the fastest car. Good luck with that!


9. Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Roadster $495,000. 

A GT supercar, the SLR McLaren is the fastest automatic transmission car in the world with a top speed of 206 mph+ and reaching 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. It is a luxurious convertible with a really powerful engine, which results in outstanding performances and style.


10. Porsche Carrera GT $440,000. 

A supercar with dynamic stability control and a top speed of 205 mph+ and it can reach 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. The Porsche Carrera GT applies the absolute calibers of a true racing car to offer an unprecedented driving feeling on the road.

Source thesupercars

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Top 10 Most Expensive Cell Phones in the World

Here’s the list of top 10 most expensive cell phones in the world. Not all people, especially people that own most expensive cell phone in the world, use cell phones for communication purpose only. As we all know, cell phones is one of the most important thing to buy nowadays. But buying the most expensive one is not everyone’s interest. So let’s just take a look at these most expensive cell phone in the world and buy a usual cell phone instead :)

10. Nokia Lamborghini 8800 Sirocco: Price is not published

 

This Lamborghini 8800 Sirocco cell phone has 3 bands GSM coverage so that it can be used in 5 continents. It’s just like usual mobile phone that it has internal memory, TFT display color and the camera. This cell phone is protected by scratch-resistant sapphire coated glass. I guess the things that made it expensive is the Lamborghini tag attached to this phone. It has a wallpapers, screensaver and ringtones and documentary video about Lamborghini.

9. Gold Edition Nokia 8800: $2,700
This cell phone is just like standard of Nokia 8800. Just the outlook casing of the cell phone is encased with gold. This casing will capture attention from the people around of course. It’s has a standard of a smart phone. Such as 62,000 color TFT (208 x 208) display screen along with a SVGA .5 MP camera. MMS, SMS, USB, Java, WAP, Infrared, Bluetooth and Edge connectivity are present. Other standard features like FM Radio, Mp3 Player, 64 polyphonic and Video Recording are also present.

 

8. Motorola V220 Special Edition: $51,800

 

 

This luxury cell phone is coming from Motorola cell phone producer. THe Motorolla Special v220 edition. It’s tagged for $51,800 and was designed by Peter Aloisson, Austrian designer. It’s pretty much feminine in looks. All features are standard except that this cell phone is studded with 1200 diamonds on the front panel as well as 18 carat gold is laid in the keyboard.

7. Vertu Diamond: $88,000

 

Vertu diamond cell phone is featuring tiny diamond dotted all over the body and the keypad that carries eight carat of diamond. The body is created from finest platinum and underpinned with ruby bearings. It’s also equipped with similar ceramic originally intended for space shuttle. You have to provide $88,000 to own this cell phone. 200 cell phones of this model have sold worldwide.

6. iPhone Princess Plus: $176,400

 

Another design of Peter Aloisson. The name is coming from the princess shaped diamond cut that studded all over the casing. 138 diamonds out of 318 shaped in this style. The others is shaped in brilliant-cut pattern. This cell phone totally use 17.75 carats of diamonds and 18 Carats of white gold. This version of iPhone are sold for $176,400.

5. VIPN Black Diamond Smartphone: $300,000

 

The body of this cell phone is made from titan and polycarbonate and spots a cutting edge mirror that finish cladding, adorned with diamonds. It’s designed by Jaren Goh. The cell phone itself is using an intel 400 Mhz processor, 4 mega pixel with 256 TFT screen. This cell phone was designed by Jaren Goh.

 

4. Vertu Signature Cobra: $310,000

 

 

This cell phone is produced by Boucheron, a French jeweler. Vertu Cobra phone is a limited edition cell phone that so far only 8 ever made. this cell phone is featuring ne carat round diamond, two carat pear cut diamond, two emerald eyes and 439 rubies that used to give a cobra look of the phone. Totally this cell phone is using 21 carats of diamond and rubies.

3. Diamond Crypto Smartphone: $1.3 million

 

This cell phone is produced by JSC Ancort that originally designed by luxury accecories designer Peter Aloisson. This expensive smart phone is encased with a platinum base and has 50 diamonds and 8 of them is a rare blue diamonds. The navigation key and the Ancort logo are of 18 Carat of rose gold. This cell phone was built on Windows CE.

 

2. GoldVish Le Million: $1.3 million

 

 
Goldvish LeMillion is designed by Emmanuel Gueit. The uniquness of this cell phone is certified by Guinness World  Records in 2008. The cell phones use a VVS1 (only microscopically flawed) diamonds with 18 Carat of white gold. The features of the cell phone is pretty standard with 2 GB storage, FM radio, digital camera, MP3 playback and bluetooth are the internal features of the cell phone. This cell phone just available by individual order.

1. Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme: $3.2 million

 

 
This luxury gadgets is coming from the designer Stuart Hughes. It’s the world’s most expensive cell phone unveiled in 2009. Goldstriker iPhone is encrusted with 271 grams of 22 carat pure solid gold. More than 200 diamonds added on the cell phone. Apple logo on the back features 53 gems and home button is covered with a single 7.1 carat diamond. The iPhone 3GS Supreme decorated as well in a chest carved from granite and Kashmir gold along with a lining made from top Nubuck grain leather.

So, are you interested to have one of those most expensive cell phones in the world?

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Google fixes Flash Player security hole in Chrome

We wrote about latest security hole in Adobe Flash Player and how it can affect users on various platforms. In order to provide their users with better security, Google has fixed this exploit in Google Chrome, making it safe once again.

Flaw in Adobe Flash Player has affected many users, but it appears that Chrome users are safe unlike users of other browsers that will have to wait for Adobe’s official solution – that should be released soon. If you’re wondering how has Google managed to fix this problem for its users, the answer is quite simple. As you know, Google Chrome comes with Adobe Flash Player preinstalled, and therefore, Google has access to new builds of Flash Player. So if you’re using the newest Chrome with preinstalled Flash Player, you’re safe from this exploit, but if you’re using any browser with stand-alone Flash Player, you’re still vulnerable to this attack.

Source Gadgetlite

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Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD video recorder / monitors bring compression jutsu to pro filmmaking

We all drool over the hi-res video shot by cameras like the RED EPIC, but for indie-film types, processing the massive files produced takes a lot of time (and therefore money) and not everyone has an ARRI ALEXA FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 and 3.0 to do native recording compression. Enter the Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD recorder / monitor / playback devices that take your 10-bit video and compress it in Apple's 1080p ProRes QuickTime format to make your post-production life a little easier. The Ninja pulls video through HDMI and deposits it on your choice of 2.5-inch HDD or SDD storage, does playback via a 4.3-inch 480 x 270 touchscreen, and has continuous power thanks to dual hot-swappable batteries (available in 2600, 5200, and 7800 mAh varieties). Meanwhile, the Samurai matches the Ninja's specs, but swaps out the HDMI connection for HD-SDI ports and adds SDI Loop-Through to connect an external monitor, a larger 5-inch 800 x 400 display, and 3D support (if you get two Samurais genlocked together). Both units have connections for offloading your vids. Those with Spielbergian aspirations can pony up $995 for the Ninja right now, or pay $1,495 for the Samurai upon its release this summer.

 

Via Engadget

Source Atomos

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Top 10 Very Best Accessories for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

1. Sub-£ 100 Speaker Dock (Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 £ 77)

This venerable speaker dock has been arround for years, but it's still the best we've heard unless you want to spend some serious money. Despite its size, it produces rich, full sound, and it has its own built-in battery so you can enjoy your music in the park. Set it up next to your bed and you'll start each morning with a fully charged iPhone.

2. £ 100 Speaker Dock (Creative ZiiSound D5 £ 255)

Sure, the big, meaty sound that you get out of the ZiiSound D5 is reason enough to buy it but, if we're honest, we're a little bewitched by what it can do and how it looks. (There's a touch-sensitive volume control strip on the top, for example). It comes with a dongle that slots into your iOS device to stream audio wirelessly, too.

3. Sub-£ 50 Headphones (Apple In-Ear Headphones £ 44)

Perhaps suprisingly, given how lacklustre the earbuds that Apple bundles with its devices are, these upgrade headphones sound great for the price. After the leaky, tinny buds you got in the box with your iPhone or iPod touch, these comfortable earphones will come as a bassy, rich revelation. Even the case is brilliantly designed!

4. Sub-£ 50 Headphones (Sennheiser PX 210 BT £ 103)

With the exception of the original iPhone and iPos touch, all iOS devices can stream audio wirelessly over Bluetooth (which is actually great quality these days), and you get a tremendous feeling of liberation when you don't have wires to get tangled in your clothing. These sound terrific, and the battery lasts for hours.

5. Bluetooth Headset (Aliph Jawbone Icon £ 58)

If you think Bluetooth headsets make you look like either a douche or a cabbie, think ag...Well, you might not be entirely they're handy-essential, even when driving-and this one's not only look gorgeous, but has some serious smarts that help isolate your voice from ambient noise, so your caller can hear you.

6. iPad Case (Orbyx Leather Folder case £ 27)

There are cases that offer more protection and features, but as a brilliant basic case with a little flair-essentially, a fancier, leather version of Apple's own, £ 10 cheaper case-we think it's superb. It doesn't add much bulk to the iPad, and a little catch on the back lets you stand it up or lay it flat for typing.

7. iPhone 4 Case (Apple iPhone 4 Bumper £ 25)

You can spend a fiver on a case, or a hundred quid or more, but unless one particularly takes your eye, you'll actually do just as well to get Apple's. You might balk at £ 25 for a little plastic and rubber, but it's actually pretty complex and well-made, and it provides reasonable basic protection. (Stops your iPhone from sliding around, too!)

8. iPhone 3G/3GS Case (Incipio Feather £ 10)

This very slim moulded-plastic sheath doesn't offer much protection if you drop your iPhone, but it protects the back from scratches and, crucially, doesn't make your iPhone all bulky in your pocket. It also comes with a couple of screen protectors-although in our experience, the screen's tough enough.

9. iPad Stand (Twelve South Compass £ 33)

There are lots of great stands for the iPad-Griffin's A-Frame is another terrific one for about the same money-but the compass is our favourite. You can use it to stand your iPad vertically in potrait or landscape mode, or you can drop it down to place it at typing-friendly angle. It also collapses for travelling.

10. Charging (Idapt i4 £ 40)

The idea of the i4 is as simple as it is brilliant. You can slot different tips into its charging points so you can charge different devices with Apple's 30-pin dock connector, mini-and micro-USB port can supply enough power even to charge an iPad

The List Version By Tap! Magazine Apr 2011

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