Intel Ivy Bridge Release Pushed Back Until Mid-2012

While previous roadmaps and estimations straight from Intel pointed to a late-2011 release for their Sandy Bridge successor, the 22nm-based Ivy Bridge, the latest updates from Intel show a revised, delayed schedule. Instead of late 2011 we’re now looking at a public release of Ivy Bridge in March/April of 2012. PC enthusiasts will likely be bummed, though the wait should still be well worth it.

Ivy Bridge continues on the successes of Sandy Bridge by shrinking down to the 22nm level allowing more transistors in a smaller space which equates to more performance and more efficiency. Also, Ivy Bridge is the first platform to make use of Intel’s new “tri-gate” transistor technology. According to Intel’s own metrics, the tri-gate technology will produce performance improvements up to 37% higher than current 32nm hardware. Other joys of Ivy Bridge include PCI Express 3.0×16 interconnect, PCIe x4 controller, USB 3.0 (native), and support for multiple displays.

Still, having to wait 4-6 months longer isn’t going to sit well with those already chomping at the bit for something bigger and better than what Sandy Bridge has to offer.

Angry Birds Magic To Use NFC To Unlock New Levels.

If you’re eagerly waiting for new ways to tap into NFC technology, Rovio Mobile, developers behind the massively popular Angry Birds franchise, and Nokia have just what you’re looking for in their latest game titled “Angry Birds Magic”. The “magic” in this case is NFC. The concept: tap phones together to unlock new levels. Basically, Rovio Mobile is looking to spearhead NFC technology with a bit of social networking. At the beginning, users will be able to play the first five levels of AB: Magic. Of said five levels have been complete, the user will have to meet someone else with AB Magic installed whom also uses an NFC-capable phone, tap the two phones together, and prepare to enjoy five more new levels. Want more levels? Tap more phones.

It’s pretty simple and ingenious at the same time. While the new game was officially announced by Nokia at the WIMA Conference and so far only supported on the Nokia C7, we can only hope the game and similar features make their way across the pond in the near future. Speaking of Nokia devices, AB: Magic will be supported on all NFC-capable Nokia devices also capable of running the upcoming Symbian “Anna” update later this year.

One potential roadblock for us here in the U.S. in the near-term is that the list of phones with NFC technology is quite small — far smaller than other places on the globe. But thanks to Google’s recently announced Google Wallet and support for NFC technologies, we expect that list of phones to grow mighty quickly over the coming months.

Video of the phone tapping’, bird slingin’ goodness after the break…

iOS Jailbreaker iH8sn0w Promises All New “ProjectIF”

Talented 16-year old iOS jailbreak developer, iH8sn0w, (aka Steven) has something new and “groundbreaking” dropping in three days, according to a recent tweets and a new Twitter account dedicated to the subject. Dubbed “projectif, the new project’s focus is pretty much anyone’s guess as iH8sn0w isn’t saying much other than it is again (1) new and groundbreaking and (2) not iPad 2 releated. With that said, what do you think it could be?

We’ll be following iH8sn0w in the coming days and let you know the second projectif is announced. Check back here at 5pm (EST) this Thursday, June 2n, 2011.

Verizon Adds More Anti-Tethering Checks In Gingerbread.

The anti-consumer tactics tied to free tethering by carriers got another shot in the arm today compliments of Verizon Wireless. Reddit community member Pooper_Cooper highlighted the new development on the popular online community. Specifically, the new Android 2.3 Gingerbread update that recently rolled out to the DROID X has a new, nasty feature — when using an unauthorized tethering app, all data is cut off and redirected to Verizon’s upsell page advertising the $20 tethering package. A reboot of the device or toggle of the airplane mode switch is the only way to “reset” whatever setting VZW changes and get data flowing once again.

While people content with allowing VZW and other carriers in general to further rip off consumers will say the solution is simple — “stop unauthorized tethering” — we here at GS take a more pro-consumer approach. As such, give the active Android developer community a few days to a couple weeks to find a way to block Verizon’s ability to monitor “flagged” tethering data and restore free tethering to the masses.

Of course, the whole situation wouldn’t be so bad if VZW and other carriers actually gave consumers viable options. The current tethering packages we’ve seen from all carriers are both far too expensive and offer up very little data. In Verizon’s case, $20/month for 2GB of data is ridiculous. If users already have to pay a set fee for additional bandwidth, having a “tethering surcharge” is nothing but double dipping on top of added charges for additional bandwidth, and as such not needed. But alas, consumers’ wants are rarely in the forefront of such decisions. It appears VZW envys Apple’s current situation in the never ending cat and mouse game the iOS maker faces with jailbreakers.

In the meantime, let us know if you find a way to circumnavigate VZW’s system of checks.

Claimed Nexus 3 Images Pulled. Likely Fake.

Previous images showing an HTC device that was claimed to be the next-gen Nexus 3 device have been pulled. This move adds fuel to an already growing fire for a number of reasons. First and foremost, all of the rumors we’ve heard thus far point to LG being the Nexus 3 hardware manufacturer. Second, having HTC jump on board just didn’t make much sense as it again contradicted numerous rumors from some pretty well-placed sources. And now that the original leaked images have been pulled, it creates even more questions. Were the images pulled because they were in fact found out to be fake? Or, were the images pulled because HTC is in fact the Nexus 3 manufacturer and doesn’t want their secret out in the open yet (too late)?

Unfortunately, a recent update by the original leaker, TechHog, points to an outcome nobody wants to hear — the photos were likely fake. The author of the post, Michael Blake says the original source that sent him the photos is no longer responding to questions via email or phone after talking to a couple of Google employees as well as hearing from two Adobe employees who claim the photo is fake. It certainly doesn’t look promising…

Sprint’s WiMAX PlayBook Outed By Google, Bing, And Friends.

We already know a BlackBerry PlayBook sporting Sprint’s WiMAX 4G network is on the way, slated for release sometime this summer. While official acknowledgement from RIM and Sprint is still forthcoming, it appears Google, Bing, and pretty much any other search engine can peek on what Sprint still wants to keep hidden (as seen above). The link redirects to the homepage meaning confirmed specs, release date, and pricing information is still anyone’s guess. With that said, guess away after the break…

Qualcomm’s 28nm, 2.5GHz “Krait” SoC Sampling In June. Promises 65% Increase In Power Efficiency!

Nvidia may be once again beating Qualcomm to the finish line with their quad-core Kal-El mobile processor, but that thankfully isn’t stopping Qualcomm from pushing onward with their own ventures. The previously announced 28nm Snapdragon processor (“Krait”) will be quite the performer on its own. How does a 2.5 GHz clock speed sound? Single, dual, and quad-core (APQ8064)? What about a claimed 65% increase in efficiency over current hardware? All will be coming with Qualcomm’s new silicon which is said to be sampling to manufacturers this summer and “available” late this year. Unconfirmed at this point, however is if the “availability” is to manufacturers or consumers.

To say we’re excited would be an understatement. We’ll update you right here once we know.