Vacations In Santa Clarita - Learning New Skills Keeps Aging Minds Sharp

Source       - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
By             - Press Release
Category   - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By  - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

We are constantly reminded to "use it or lose it," and new research from the University of Texas at Dallas shows the same is true for keeping your brain up to speed.

 

No one likes the idea of slowing down as they age, but a new study suggests that challenging yourself to learn a new skill can bring noticeable benefits to an aging mind. 

The Administration on Aging predicts that there will be 72.1 million Americans aged 65 and over by the year 2030 - 19% of the population. And the new research provides insight into how everyday activities contribute to cognitive vitality as we age. 

Lead researcher, Denise Park, PhD, from the University's School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, says: 

"We need, as a society, to learn how to maintain a healthy mind, just like we know how to maintain vascular health with diet and exercise."

Randomly assigned activities

For the research, published in Psychological Science, Professor Park and her colleagues studied 221 adults aged between 60 and 90 for a period of 3 months. 

The researchers randomly assigned participants an activity and asked them to engage in it for 15 hours each week. 

Some participants were asked to learn a new skill, such as digital photography or quilting. These activities require active engagement and tap into both working and long-term memory, as well as other high-level cognitive processes. 

Others were encouraged to pursue more familiar pastimes in the comfort of their own homes. They were asked to listen to classical music and complete word puzzles, including crosswords. 

And keen not to overlook the importance of social contact, the researchers assigned a third group of participants to engage in activities with social interactions, such as field trips and excursions. 

Interestingly, participants in the study were very open to the idea of new experiences. 

Park explains: 

"Our participants essentially agreed to be assigned randomly to different lifestyles for 3 months so that we could compare how different social and learning environments affected the mind." 

"People built relationships and learned new skills - we hope these are gifts that keep on giving, and continue to be a source of engagement and stimulation even after they finished the study." 

And it seems that fortune really does favor the brave, as those who were the most mentally challenged showed the biggest improvements in recall and memory. 

 

While acknowledging that all three learning groups were pushed to keep mastering more tasks and skills, only the groups "confronted with continuous and prolonged mental challenge improved."

Vacations In Santa Clarita - To Live a Longer, Healthier Life: Delay Aging, Don’t Just Cure Disease

Source       - http://www.washingtonpost.com/
By              - Tara Bahrampour
Category    - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By   - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

Delaying aging and the infirmities associated with old age would make populations healthier overall and could save trillions of dollars over the next five decades, a new study says.

While research has focused largely on diseases such as cancer or heart disease, the elimination of these diseases would have less effect on longevity and quality of life than delaying aging itself, according to the study, which appears this month in Health Affairs. 

This is because older people tend to suffer from a combination of ailments brought on by aging, said the study, which was conducted by scientists from the University of Southern California, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and other institutions.

“When we treat someone with cancer, or heart disease, or stroke, we are treating a manifestation or byproduct of biological aging -- the underlying process marches on unaltered by this approach to disease,” said Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago and a co-author of the study.

“This means that even if we succeed for a time in extending life by treating disease, either that disease or another will emerge with time….Slowing aging alters the risk of all diseases simultaneously by attacking the origins of all of the things that go wrong with us as we grow older.”

The study cited research into the genetics of centenarians and animal studies of caloric restriction, as well as hormone manipulation, altering insulin-signaling pathways, and removal of senescent cells as showing potential for delaying the aging process.

The study coincides with Google’s September announcement that its next startup, Calico, will focus on delaying aging and extending the human lifespan. Another California-based company, SENS research foundation, also seeks to repair the damage done in the aging process.

Currently, a long life does not necessarily mean a healthy life; disability rates have increased along with life expectancy, the study said. The current population of young Americans is expected to have higher incidences of health problems like obesity and diabetes than their older counterparts, according to projections using federal data.

The number of Americans over 65, now around 43 million, is expected to more than double in the next fifty years, to 106 million. Around 28 percent are currently disabled, and the decades-long gains in the functional status of older Americans ended in 2002, the study said.

Even modest scientific advancements in delayed aging would result in an additional 11.7 million healthy people over 65 by 2060, according to the study. It would also raise life expectancy by around 2.2 years.

Delaying aging would be costly because of longer entitlement outlays, but the study said that the costs could be offset by raising the age for official Social Security retirement and Medicare eligibility to 68. It also predicted that delaying aging could save $7.1 trillion in the next fifty years, as people stay in the workforce longer and live without having major medical expenses associate with aging.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Gmail’s Ongoing Email Slowdown Nearing Resolution

Source      - http://techcrunch.com/
By             - Sarah Perez
Category   - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By  - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

Good news! Today you can blame your non-responsiveness to all those important emails you’ve been ignoring on Google itself. The company’s online email service Gmail has been experiencing issues leading to delayed emails and attachments failing to download, the company confirmed. Earlier this morning, Google said an estimated 0.24 percent of its Gmail user base was affected by these problems, but in an update released later this afternoon, the delays were said to being affecting “less than 50 percent of Gmail users.”

Given the wording of that announcement, it sounded like, at first, things were getting worse instead of better. Gmail has some 425 million users, according to a public announcement detailing the size of its user base, which was revealed last summer at its Google I/O developer conference.

Google has been providing regular updates regarding the situation throughout the day, the first appearing at 10:25 a.m. ET and noting that it was then starting to investigate reports of an issue with Gmail. This was followed by an update over an hour later that informed customers that delays were involved and some attachments were failing to load.

Updates released at 12:43 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:05 p.m., and 2:45 p.m. ET so far only said that the team is continuing to investigate the problem and will update when there’s more information available.

At 3:00 p.m. ET, the company added that the service has been restored for some users, and it expects full resolution within an hour, but this time frame may change. Google did not say which percentage of the “less than 50 percent” of users has had service restored.

We reached out to Google via email for comment on what may have caused this issue, and other details, but you know…

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Airplane Wi-Fi Gets Up To Speed

Source      - http://online.wsj.com/
By            - JACK NICAS And ANDY PASZTOR
Category   - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By  - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

The race for fast Internet at 30,000 feet is accelerating as airlines roll out new technologies and speedier connections—offering more productivity for business travelers but also encroaching on a rare refuge from the wired world.

Gogo Inc., GOGO +10.78% the largest provider of inflight Internet in the U.S., on Wednesday plans to unveil a system that uses a combination of satellites and cellular towers, connecting airplanes to the Web at speeds six times as fast as its current best option.

Virgin America Inc. will launch Gogo's new inflight Wi-Fi service in the second half of 2014 and says it expects to eventually upgrade its 53 aircraft with the product.

That comes after JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU -2.04% received government approval last week to install a new high-capacity satellite link on many of its aircraft, an inflight Wi-Fi solution that can support streaming video to fliers' devices from Netflix Inc. NFLX -1.52% and Hulu, among others. 

JetBlue, which has lacked inflight Internet, plans to launch the service on some aircraft this year and equip its entire fleet of 180 aircraft by the end of 2015.

Gogo sets the prices for its onboard Wi-Fi, with options including $14 one-day passes and $50 monthly passes.

JetBlue said it is reviewing pricing for the service, but that basic Internet use initially will be free, while the airline will charge fliers for streaming content, which uses more bandwidth. Other airlines that provide Wi-Fi currently block access to streaming services like Netflix, to avoid cannibalizing their own fee-based inflight entertainment.

The new technologies could mean Internet speeds in the air that are at least as fast as the average Internet speeds for Americans on the ground—something that could help break down flier resistance to paying and make the service profitable. 

Almost nine of 10 U.S. fliers said they think every flight should offer Wi-Fi, according to a survey of 2,000 people released last week by Honeywell International Inc., which makes equipment for providing in-flight Internet. Yet Gogo said about 6% of potential customers currently purchase its Internet on flights.

Tim Farrar, a Menlo Park, Ca., satellite-industry consultant, said the same lower-than-expected percentage has generally held steady across the industry, "there's no indication of any dramatic shift" on the horizon and the trend could impede the swift growth that Gogo and rival services foresee. 

Some blame pokey speeds for that gap between desire and purchase. Fliers must share bandwidth, meaning that speeds slow when more passengers log on. David Cush, Virgin America's CEO, said that on average flights, about a fifth of its fliers pay for Wi-Fi, but that "it starts to top out at 30 to 35 users very simply because response time starts to degrade."

Gogo says its new service will offer speeds of 60 megabits per second to each airplane, compared with 3 mbps on its original Wi-Fi connection, which 1,700 aircraft still use, and 10 mbps on an updated product launched last year, which about 300 aircraft have. Panasonic Avionics Corp., which provides Wi-Fi to about 2,000 aircraft internationally, says its speeds now average 5 mbps to 10 mbps.

The average Internet connection on the ground in the U.S. is 8.6 mbps, according to Akamai Technologies Inc., a network operator.

JetBlue is connecting its aircraft via ViaSat Inc.'s VSAT +1.21% satellites, the first time a commercial airline will use the higher-capacity Ka-band satellite spectrum, which some in the industry see as the future of inflight Internet. Gogo intends to use a different constellation.

JetBlue said its new service would provide speeds of 12 mbps to each flier's device—not just the airplane, like on other providers. That model means "almost everyone on the airplane can enjoy that, not just one or two," said Don Buchman, ViaSat's director of mobile broadband.

Consultants said that JetBlue may be able to deliver high speeds to each device if several dozen fliers are just surfing the Web, but if users gravitate toward more bandwidth-intensive applications, JetBlue may find it hard to meet expectations.

Flights have been one of the few places that require people to unplug for a few hours. But since 2008, when AMR Corp.'s American Airlines flew the first Gogo-equipped commercial aircraft, the U.S. airline industry has rapidly expanded inflight Wi-Fi, connecting nearly 2,500 aircraft over the period.

Today, nearly 60% of commercial passenger aircraft in the U.S. are connected, not counting commuter jets, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of the nation's 12 biggest airlines. That compares with about 35% two years ago. By the end of 2015, the airlines plan to have more than 85% of their mainline aircraft connected, including virtually all of the larger jets flown by the nation's biggest carriers.

"It's bittersweet," said Jason Cupp, an independent management consultant from Kansas City, Mo., who took about 150 flights last year. "On one hand, it's good because I get a lot of work done. On the other, [a plane] is the only space in literally my entire life where I'm not on the Internet."

Matt Nevans, who travels more than 200,000 miles a year helping local governments set up email systems, said he is a loyal flier of United Continental Holdings Inc. But in recent years, as United was slow in adding inflight Wi-Fi, "I chose other airlines because I knew I needed to be online" during the flight. 

United expects to add Wi-Fi to 200 of its 700 mainline aircraft by the end of the year, from 90 now, and to be fully equipped by the end of 2015. 

"It's been a long time coming," Mr. Nevans said. 

Various foreign carriers have tried to focus on business travelers by maximizing connectivity on long-haul and intercontinental runs. But in some cases the revenue hasn't been as hefty as envisioned, according to industry consultants, partly because many of those trips are overnight flights. There also are signs that short-haul flights may not be conducive to streaming video. Southwest Airlines Co. which specializes in such flights, originally agreed to have Row44 Inc., is a unit of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp., provide such content for a fee. But at least temporarily, the connectivity is now being provided free of charge as long as users watch a brief advertisement for sponsor satellite-broadcaster Dish Network Inc.

Gogo posted a loss of $70.5 million in the first half of this year. According to Mr. Farrar, Wall Street analysts expect Gogo's revenue to climb to about $500 million over the next two or three years from an estimated $300 million in 2013. But plans to enhance Gogo's hybrid network will cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the same period, according to industry consultants and analysts.

Jimmy Schaeffler, who runs satellite consultancy the Carmel Group, said hybrid satellite and land-based systems "still may have to contend with quality issues stemming from clouds, weather systems and other factors."

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Apple's Next Big Thing May Be Lower-Priced iPhone

Source     - http://www.boston.com/
By           - MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Category   - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

Apple’s much-anticipated update to its line-up of iPhones may leave the impression that the technology pioneer’s focus has shifted to making more affordable products than engineering innovative breakthroughs.

In keeping with its tight-lipped ways, Apple Inc. hasn’t disclosed what’s on the agenda for the coming-out party scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PDT Tuesday at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

But this is the time of year that Apple typically shows off the latest generation of its iPhone, a device that has reshaped the way people use computers since its debut in 2007. Apple took the wraps off the iPhone 5, the current model, last September. The company has never waited longer than a year to update the iPhone, which has generated $88 billion in revenue during the past year.

Apple’s timetable for rolling out products has vexed many investors who have watched the company’s growth slow and profit margins decrease. Meanwhile, a bevy of smartphone makers, most of whom rely on Google Inc.’s free Android software, release wave after wave of devices that cost less than the iPhone. Those concerns are reflected in Apple’s stock price, which has declined nearly 30 percent since peaking at $705.07 at about the same time the iPhone 5 went on sale last year. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen about 14 percent during the same stretch.

Even though Apple’s market value of roughly $460 billion is more than any other company in the world, the deterioration in its stock price is escalating the pressure on CEO Tim Cook to prove he’s the right leader to carry on the legacy of co-founder Steve Jobs. Since Cook became CEO two years ago, Apple has only pushed out new versions of products developed under Jobs, raising questions about whether the company’s technological vision has become blurred under the new regime.

In public appearances, Cook has repeatedly said Apple is working on some exciting breakthroughs, but he hasn’t revealed details. The company is believed to be working on a so-called ‘‘smartwatch’’ that would work like a wrist-bound smartphone. Samsung Electronics, one of Apple’s biggest rivals, introduced its own $300 smartwatch called Gear last week, as did Sony and Qualcomm Inc. It’s unclear whether a smartwatch will be on Apple’s Tuesday agenda.

The company isn’t expected to reveal the latest model of its tablet computer, the iPad, until later in the fall. Apple introduced a smaller, less expensive version of the iPad last year in response to the success of more compact and cheaper tablets running on the Android system.

This year’s refresh of the iPhone line may address the growing popularity of cheaper Android phones. Based on leaks from suppliers, it appears Apple is poised to release a less elaborate and less expensive version of the iPhone in an attempt to appeal to consumers too frugal or too poor to pay for the high-end model that sells for more than $600 without a wireless contract.

If reports published in technology blogs and newspapers pan out, the stripped-down iPhone will be called the ‘‘5C’’ and be housed in plastic casing that will be offered in a variety of colors instead of an aluminum casing.

Apple declined to comment, but an invitation for Tuesday’s event fed the multi-hued speculation swirling around the less expensive iPhone. The invitation was filled with colored bubbles and predicted, ‘‘This should brighten everyone’s day.’’

If it introduces a cheaper iPhone, Apple might end production of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S that were released in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Those models have been sold at a discount to the iPhone 5, a factor that has lowered the average price Apple has fetched for its phones.

A new version of the high-end iPhone also is expected to be revealed Tuesday. The top-of-the-line model, expected to be dubbed the ‘‘5S,’’ will be the first to be sold with Apple’s revamped mobile software, iOS 7, already installed. The new system, which will automatically update apps installed on the device, can be downloaded on the iPhone 4 and later models, as well as on the tablets beginning with the iPad 2.

The redesigned software announced in June relies on simple graphical elements in neon and pastel colors. Gone is the effort to make the icons look like three-dimensional, embossed objects — a tactic known as ‘‘skeuomorphism,’’ that was favored by Jobs. This will be the second iPhone model that Apple has released since Jobs’ death in October 2011.

Besides running on iOS 7, the upgraded iPhone may include technology that enables its owner to unlock the device with a fingerprint instead of a four-digit code. There is also speculation that the high-end iPhone will be sold in a golden color to supplement the product line’s more prosaic choice of black or white.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - 70% Of Americans Have High-Speed Internet: Study

Source         - http://news.yahoo.com/
By               - Press Release
Category      - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By   - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

The percentage of Americans with high-speed Internet connections at home has reached 70 percent, while just three percent still use dial-up to go online, a study showed Monday.

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project said the percentage of high-speed users represented a small but statistically significant rise from the 66 percent of adults who said they had home broadband in April 2012.

The percentage using dial-up as of May 2013 has held steady at three percent for the past two years, Pew found, but is down sharply from a peak of 41 percent in 2001.

Overall, 85 percent of Americans use the Internet, the report said. Of those who lack a high-speed connection at home, 10 percent have smartphones that can access the Web.

As previous research has found, those with the highest rates of home broadband use continue to be college graduates, adults under age 50, and adults living in households earning at least $50,000 per year. Whites and adults living in urban or suburban areas also had above-average rates.

"We've consistently found that age, education, and household income are among the strongest factors associated with home broadband adoption," said Kathryn Zickuhr, research associate for Pew and lead author of the report.

"Many dial-up users cite cost and access as the main reasons they don't have broadband, but for adults who don't use the Internet at all, a lack of interest is often the main issue."

The survey notes that more than half of all American adults own a smartphone, but it did not determine whether this constitutes "broadband" speed.

"Broadband users can consume and create many types of content in ways that dial-up users cannot, and our research has long shown major differences in these two groups' online behavior," said Pew's Aaron Smith, a co-author of the report.

"Smartphones may offer an additional avenue for Internet access that surpasses the dial-up experience in many ways, but those who rely on them for home Internet use may face limitations that are not shared by those with traditional broadband connections."

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Rich People Have Different Toxins In Their Bodies

Source - http://finance.yahoo.com/
By - Brandon Ballenger
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

For some reason, British researchers were interested in which poisons Americans’ bodies contain. What they found surprised them.

A team from the University of Exeter found that being wealthy doesn’t mean you live in a nontoxic environment. Actually, it means you have a higher risk of exposure to certain chemicals, U.S. News & World Report says.

Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the researchers looked for associations between income level and 179 toxins found in the body. “The researchers found that, among 18 toxins that appeared to be associated with income, half were more likely to be present in richer Americans than those at the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum,” U.S. News says. Here are some of the chemicals wealthier people had higher levels of:

• Mercury.
• Arsenic.
• Caesium.
• Thallium.
• Perfluorinated chemicals.

These likely come from sources like fish and shellfish consumption, dental fillings, and fresh or home-grown fruits and vegetables, U.S. News says. Wealthy people also have higher levels of BP3, a toxin from sunscreen that may actually increase the risk of skin cancer, Quartz says.

Here’s what poorer people are more likely to encounter:

• Lead.
• Cadmium.
• Antimony.
• Toxins in plastic.

These chemicals probably come from smoking, poor air and water quality, or jobs in construction, manufacturing and other industrial settings.

“In some ways, in moving up the economic ladder Americans are simply trading one set of environmental toxins for another,” Quartz says.

But despite the findings, the risks are far from equal, U.S. News says. For the wealthier class, many toxins are avoidable: More money can be spent on higher quality products with fewer chemicals, and they can live in less toxic neighborhoods. For the working class, many toxins are an inescapable fact of life.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - 5 Things: Why Does Your Dog Yawn So Much?

Source - http://nashua.patch.com/
By -  Carol Robidoux
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

1. Someone Gets Paid to Study This:  In a study published Wednesday in the open access journal PLOS ONE, University of Tokyo researchers say dogs are more responsive to their owners' yawns than to a stranger's yawn -- a sign that dogs are more empathetic than previously understood. In the study, 25 dogs were observed in their owners' homes. Researchers recorded their responses to watching their owners yawn, then watching an unfamiliar researcher yawn. They yawned nearly fives times more often in response to their owners' yawns.

2. Christie v. Rubio in a NH Popularity Poll: Politico.com reports that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio lost favor with many New Hampshire voters in recent months while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie saw a surge in support, according to a poll released Aug. 6. Rubio dropped 9 percentage points since April and fell from first to fifth among likely GOP contenders for the 2016 election, according to a Granite State Poll, sponsored by WMUR-TV, and conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Rubio was the choice of 12 percent of voters in February and 15 percent in April, but just 6 percent in July.

3. Cocoa Boosts Memory: Drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day may help older people keep their brains sharp and improve their memory, U.S. researchers say. Study author Dr. Farzaneh A. Sorond of Harvard Medical School in Boston said the study involved 60 people with an average age of 73 who did not have dementia. Keeps the blood flowing, it seems.

4. George W. Gets Heart Healthier: President George W. Bush was hospitalized Tuesday morning after having a procedure to open a blocked heart artery. The procedure was successful, and according to Bush's office, the 67-year-old former president should be able to "resume his normal schedule on Thursday." including a statement issued by Bush's office.

5. Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks: This letter to the Animal Doc Michael Fox in WaPo dispels the long-running adage that you can't teach a dog new tricks. I like it when that happens.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Leap Motion: Control Your PC Through Air Gestures

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/
By - Edward C. Baig
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

You're not about to replace your mouse, trackpad, keyboard or even touch-screen as the chief ways to control your computer. But then you start using the new Leap Motion Controller and -- at least in some circumstances -- you can imagine relegating those other devices to the bench. 

Using the compact Leap Motion box, I was able reach out into the open space in front of my computer and pluck a digital harp, manipulate a three-dimensional rendering of molecular structures, dissect a frog and — in the popular game of the same title -- Cut The Rope. I didn't make physical contact with the computer or any other devices.

Leap Motion is a gesture-driven peripheral for PCs and Macs that I've been fascinated with ever since the South By Southwest Interactive conference in March where I had my first hands-on — nope, make that hands-above -- experience with the clever motion controller. Though my experience at home with Leap Motion wasn't perfect, I'm no less intoxicated not only by what it can already do but by what it promises to do in the future. 

For now, you can draw or paint with your fingers, mold 3-D objects, or explore Google Earth through hand gestures. You can interact using objects too.

Today, Leap Motion finally starts shipping to customers who preordered it for $79.99, considerably cheaper than the $249.99 Microsoft Kinect sensor that Leap Motion is inevitably compared to. Leap Motion reaches Best Buy stores July 28. The controller was originally supposed to ship in May.

The smallish (0.5 by 1.2. by 3-inch) rectangular unit plugs into the USB ports on a PC or Mac — both long and short proprietary USB cables are supplied. Once in place, the controller can detect even the subtlest hand and finger movements, anywhere inside an interaction area that goes about two feet above the controller, two feet out to either flank (150 degree angle) and a depth of two feet on each side (120 degree angle). You can use multiple hands and fingers, depending on the gestures required in the specific apps that work with the controller. For that matter, another person can stick their hands into this invisible cone of detection too and have the computer respond provided the hands aren't somehow overlapping in space. 

Inside the controller are two camera sensors and a pair of infrared LEDs, but the real wizardry arrives with the software. Leap Motion claims an accuracy level of up to 1/100th of a millimeter, and for the most part I found it responsive, though a couple of the apps that work with it crashed in my tests on an iMac and at least one lagged a bit. Figuring out and mastering the gestures within certain apps may take some trial and error -- at times the interaction gets a bit finicky.

You find compatible apps inside the aptly named Airspace store. Many are free, though others fetch 99 cents on up. Leap Motion has around 75 apps a modest but reasonably diverse sum. Some apps work on PCs and Macs, some just on one platform or the other. 

The Airspace store is nicely laid out, with sections devoted to music & entertainment apps, creative tools, science, education, productivity & utilities, and other categories. In the "experimental" apps section, you'll find Touchless for Mac and Touchless for Windows, free apps that let you create a "virtual trackpad" in the air for interacting with your computer. I tried the Mac version but didn't exactly excel at it right away. As I wrote this review inside Microsoft Word, I was able to scroll up or down by moving my entire hand towards the computer screen with my hand and then raising it up or down but it was just as easy to manipulate the trackpad the old fashion way. Through Touchless, you can do a "click" gesture by pointing a single finger towards the screen.

I didn't quite master the $2.99 Swoosh DJ app from a developer called Just Add Music Media either. But I had a good time with it anyway. Working in tandem with the music grooving inside iTunes, Swoosh simulates a spinning vinyl disc. Through gestures and movements, you can create reverb effects, or pause and restart a song. But for some reason whenever I tried playing songs in iTunes after using Swoosh, the volume within iTunes was turned all the way down.

I also had fun trying out the $3.99 Frog Dissection simulation app from Emantras, which lets you explore the inner organs of the amphibian wielding virtual scissors, scalpels and forceps -- mercifully without formaldehyde or a mess. 

I can't say it is easier reading the New York Times via their free Leap Motion app, than through more traditional methods. In fact, you feel slightly silly twirling your fingers in the air to navigate from one article to another, pointing and holding your finger to select what to read, and drawing clockwise circles to scroll up or counterclockwise circles to scroll down. And then when you're done reading the piece, you shake your entire hand to escape, which also isn't natural.

For now, you'll need the Leap Motion controller itself to exploit the company's technology. But Leap Motion has struck deals with Asus and Hewlett-Packard to embed 3-D motion control into machines from those computer makers.

During South by Southwest, Leap Motion marketing vice president Michael Zagorsek told me that the company hoped to make the user interface disappear altogether. "I'm not clicking on something to do something else, I'm not touching something to do something else. There is no interface, it's just me represented here," Zagorsek said.

To be sure, you'll still rely on the mouse and keyboard most of the time. But with Leap Motion you won't always have to.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Astronomers For First Time Determine Color Of a Planet Outside Solar System _ It's Blue

Source - http://www.startribune.com/
By - JAMES BROOKS
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

Astronomers have for the first time managed to determine the color of a planet outside our solar system, a blue gas giant 63 light-years away.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, an international team said the planet known as HD 189733B would look like a deep blue dot if viewed up close.

"Measuring the planet's color is a real first — we have never managed it before with a planet outside our own solar system," Frederic Pont of the University of Exeter in England said Friday.

While Earth looks blue from space because of its oceans, the astronomers said the planet's color was created by a hazy turbulent atmosphere of silicate particles that scatter blue light. To determine the planet's color, the team measured the amount of light reflected off its surface as it passed behind its star.

Discovered in 2005, the planet belongs to a class of giant gas planets called "hot Jupiters" that orbit close to their stars. It has a daytime temperature of around 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 F), and the heat causes rocks to evaporate and glass to possibly rain sideways in howling 4,500 mph (about 7,250 kph) winds.

Astronomers chose the planet for observation because of its proximity to Earth and size in relation to the star it orbits. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles.

Pont said the technology the astronomers used pushed the Hubble telescope to its limit given the distance and light from other stars obscuring their view.

"People keep coming up with a better way of viewing planets indirectly so I'm sure the technology will eventually improve," Pont said.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - iPhone 5, iPad And Macbook Air, May Be Banned

Source - http://guardianlv.com/
By - Veverly Edwards
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

 

Vacations In Santa Clarita

Boston University is requesting a ban on Apple Inc. leading devices including the iPhone 5, iPad and Macbook Air, purportedly for patent violations.

The Trustees of Boston University filed a complaint this week with Massachusetts federal court alleging that Apple Inc. products contain a “gallium nitride thin film semiconductor device” in which the University owns the patent.

The component in question powers the LED in the iPhone 5, iPad and Macbook Air.  The device is also expected to be used in the iPhone 6 which is expected to have a dual LED flash which will improve the photographs taken with the phone.

In the complaint filed this week, the Trustees asked the court to forbid Apple Inc. from making, having made, selling, offering for sale, distributing and/or using products that use the device in question including the accused products.

In the papers filed with the court, the inventor of the device is identified as Theodore D. Moustakas, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at BU, the device is referred to as 738 patent. According to the complaint Boston University owns by assignment the entire right, title, and interest in and to 738 patent, including the sole right to sue for the past and present patent infringements’

Dr. Moustakas applied for the patent in 1995 and it was granted in 1997. The lifespan of a patent in the U.S. is approximately 20 years; therefore, the patent will not expire until 2017 and the University owns all rights to it.

The first iphones were released on the market in 2007.  The iphones like many other smartphones use the blue laser light/LED- “gallium nitride thin film semiconductor.”

The Trustees are also asking for damages to include past and present profits from all products that use the component in question.

The documents filed in court this week also allege the infringement has caused substantial and irreparable damage to the University and is demanding a trial by jury.

The court documents state that Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States, and one of the largest employers in Boston, with more than 10,000 faculty and staff and over 33,000 students.  It conducts a diverse range of interdisciplinary, collaborative and innovative research projects across a broad spectrum of academic departments, programs, centers and institutes, including research in the field of electrical and computer engineering.  BU faculty members have won five Nobel Prizes and BU has been awarded hundreds of United States Patents, including U.S. Patent No. 5,686,738 (the “738 patent”).

If the alleged complaint is true, Apple is not the only company to infringe upon this device.  Several other companies have been named including Amazon and Samsung. Certainly if their has been an infringement these companies are at fault, but Boston University certainly waited a long time before filing a complaint.

While customers are awaiting the release of new devices by Apple Inc., if they have indeed infringed upon Boston University, and are using 738 patent, this could be the end to the iPhone 5, iPad and Macbook Air and possibly delay or prevent the release of the iPhone 6.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Candy Crush Soon To Hit The Stock Market; Developer Hired Analysts To Pursue IPO

Source - http://www.hngn.com/
By - Julie S
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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This may sound really weird but its developer, King, has hired Wall Street firms including J.P Morgan Chase, Credit Cruisse, and Bank of America to pursue this IPO plan. They will be discussing the pricing and timing of the IPO.

So why did King decided to do IPO? “King's success and growth presents numerous opportunities for the business to develop further, and one option would be to take the company public,” King told the Wall Street Journal. “However, while it's an option for the future, we would not comment on when we could consider making such a decision."

This move by King is a brave move for a game developer after Zynga’s performance plummeted to 70 percent of its IPO price. It will be quite difficult for the investors to decide to put their money on another online game.

However, mobile game developers may be successful if they are able to convince the investors since mobile game sales were projected to yield over $9 billion this year which is 13.5 percent higher than last year.

Candy Crush is not alone in this plan as other games are also planning to do IPO such as Kabam Inc.’s Kingdom of Camelot and The Fast and The Furious 6 which may be offered to the public in 2014. Rovio Entertainment Ltd., developer of Angry Birds, also expressed its interest, and then there is Supercell Oy that introduced as Clash of Clans and Hay Day.

Once Candy Crush becomes successful, we should expect more games joining the stock market soon. While others believe that investing on games is not a wise decision, it will still depend on how King can convince the audience to invest to them.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Apple Adding 'Kill Switch' To iPhones

Source - http://edition.cnn.com/
By - Doug Gross
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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It's called "Apple picking," a growing wave of crime in which thieves target mobile devices, particularly iPhones and iPads.

Now the company that gave the crime its name is taking a step to stop it, with a "kill switch"-style update aimed at making the mobile gadgets less valuable to thieves.

Activation Lock will be part of iOS 7, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system expected to roll out in the fall. The feature will require an Apple ID and password before the phone's "Find My iPhone" feature can be turned off or any data can be erased.

At a keynote address opening its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the company said the same ID and password will be needed to reactivate a device after it's been remotely erased.

"We think this is going to be a really powerful theft deterrent," said Craig Federighi, a senior vice president at Apple.

As mobile devices become more popular, stealing them has become a unique sort of crime that has law enforcement and government officials taking notice.

In New York, a special police unit has been created to deal with stolen mobile devices.

The overall crime rate in the city increased 3% last year -- but "if you subtracted just the increase in Apple product thefts, we would have had an overall decrease in crime in New York," Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said.

Advocates have been calling for so-called kill switch tools in all mobile devices for some time.

Apple's announcement came the same week that George Gascon, the district attorney in tech hub San Francisco, plans to meet with the New York state attorney general and representatives of cell phone companies to discuss ways of discouraging mobile-device robberies.

In a letter last year to the Federal Communications Commission chairman, the wireless industry's trade association released details of a voluntary effort to "help law enforcement deter smartphone theft."

A major plank of that effort is the creation of a database for smartphones reported stolen. Phones on the database, which is scheduled to be up and running at the end of November, could not be activated and would not work on an LTE network in the United States.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Samsung's Surprise Patent Win Could Block Apple iPhone 4 Sales In US

Source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/
By - Charles Arthur
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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Samsung has won a surprise victory in a patent battle with Apple that could see the iPhone 4 and 3G-capable iPad 2 banned from sale in the US.

The decision – over a patent deemed essential to conform with the 3G standards, which Samsung has pledged to license freely – will be appealed against by Apple, which said that it will have "no impact" on the availability of its products in the US.

The final judgment by the International Trade Commission, which only adjudicates on requests for import bans to the US, will intensify debate over the US patent system, which is seen as hobbling competition in some fields. It came just hours after Barack Obama pledged to shake up his country's patent litigation system, with reform of the ITC among its objectives.

The ITC decided that the provision of 3G mobile data links in the iPhone 4, released in 2010, and 3G-capable iPad 2, infringed US patent 7,706,348. It rejected Apple's contention that Samsung had failed to license the patent on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) terms, as is required for standards-essential patents (SEPs). The iPhone 5 and 4S, and iPads released in 2012, are unaffected by the decision.

Apple and Samsung have been fighting a war of attrition through the various patent courts in the US and around the world in which they have sought to ban and otherwise limit sales of each other's products in Europe, the US, Australia and Asia. The ITC decision is the most significant win for Samsung in the US after a series of losses and indeterminate rulings there.

The decision to allow Samsung's request for a ban is controversial, because the FTC in January demanded a consent order from Google in which it would pledge that its Motorola subsidiary would not seek sales bans against "willing licensees" of SEPs.

It will also focus attention on the ITC, which has been used by a number of companies including Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia and others to seek import bans over alleged patent infringement against rivals in the hugely valuable smartphone business. On Tuesday, Obama announced plans to overhaul many of the US's patent litigation systems, including "change the ITC standard for obtaining an injunction to better align it" with the tests applied in US federal courts. Those effectively preclude sales bans over SEPs on willing licensees.

In Europe, the antitrust arm of the European Commission has indicated it will take legal action, perhaps including fines, against Samsung for seeking sales bans over SEPs against Apple – the same scenario in which the ITC has backed Samsung. One of the ITC's commissioners dissented from Tuesday's ruling, citing "public interest grounds".

Normally, the owner of a patented technology can decide whether or not to license it, and what rate to charge for it. But with SEPs, the owner pledges to a standards body to offer it on FRAND terms to any licensee. The payment for such patents is usually small – perhaps amounting to a fraction of a penny per use – in return for widespread use. That allows other companies to build their products to an agreed standard. Systems such as the 3G and Wi-Fi wireless networking and the H.264 video encoding/decoding standards incorporate hundreds of patents, all of which are licensed under FRAND terms.

In its judgment, the ITC said that Samsung's FRAND declarations "do not preclude" a sales ban. However, that is at odds with the FTC and European Commission position over SEPs.

"We believe the ITC's final determination has confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations," Samsung said in a statement to the AllThingsD website. "Our decades of research and development in mobile technologies will continue, and we will continue to offer innovative products to consumers in the US."

Apple said it was "disappointed" with the decision and that it would appeal to a federal court. Its only other alternative to avoid the import ban would be to appeal directly to Obama.

"Samsung is using a strategy which has been rejected by courts and regulators around the world," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to AllThingsD. "They've admitted that it's against the interests of consumers in Europe and elsewhere, yet here in the US Samsung continues to try to block the sale of Apple products by using patents they agreed to license to anyone for a reasonable fee."

Apple has been seeking a US sales ban without success on a number of Samsung smartphones and tablets after it won a jury verdict and $1.05bn in damages against the South Korean company in a Californian court in August 2012. That case revolved around patents which Apple has not made part of a standard, and which it said Samsung knowingly infringed. The jury rejected counterclaims by Samsung that Apple had infringed a number of SEPs.

Lucy Koh, the judge in the case, has so far declined to allow that ban, and has ordered a retrial affecting about $400m of the damages award.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Samsung Galaxy S4 Shipments Hit 10 Million One Month After Release

Source - http://techcrunch.com/
By - Catherine Shu
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has hit 10 million channel sales one month after its release. The company announced its latest milestone today just eight days after confirming that it had shipped over 6 million units of the S4 since its international launch on April 26. According to Samsung, this is the fastest ever sell rate for any of its smartphones.

The latest entry in the Galaxy series–meant as Samsung’s iPhone challenger–has sold much more quickly than its predecessors. The Galaxy S4′s milestone beats the record set by the Galaxy S3, which reached 10 million channel sales 50 days after its launch in 2012. The Galaxy S2 took five months and the Galaxy S seven months to reach the same number.

(Channel sales are to wireless operators and not direct to consumers. In other words, the numbers are for units shipped.)

The Galaxy S4 had to overcome inventory issues that disrupted its U.S. rollout and were attributed by the company to unexpectedly high demand for the phone. Though the Galaxy S4 is indeed selling swiftly, reinforcing Samsung’s dominance of the worldwide smartphone market, Jordan Crook noted after it hit 6 million units shipped that the iPhone is still technically a faster selling phone than any of Samsung’s Galaxy models.

When the iPhone 5 launched, Apple took over 2 million pre-orders in the first 24 hours available. Furthermore, iPhone 5 pre-orders were two times the number of pre-orders seen for the iPhone 4S. Despite Apple’s recent earnings woes, consumers still love their iPhones, and Samsung VS Apple: Battle Smartphone is not over quite yet, especially as the Cupertino company prepares to launch new products this fall.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - U.S. Jobless Claims Jump 32,000 to 360,000

Source - http://www.marketwatch.com/
By - Jeffry Bartash
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

 

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The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits surged by 32,000 to 360,000 in the week ended May 11, putting jobless claims at the highest level in a month and a half, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 330,000 from a revised 328,000 in the prior week. A Labor official said there was nothing unusual in the report and there was no evidence that reductions in federal spending under a law known as the sequester contributed to the spike. The average of new claims over the past month, which smoothes out weekly volatility, rose a much smaller 1,250 to 339,250 and remained near a five-year low. Also, the government said continuing claims decreased by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.0 million in the week ended May 4. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. Initial claims from two weeks ago, meanwhile, were revised up to 328,000 from an original reading of 323,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level
 

Vacations In Santa Clarita - China Trade Data Beats Expectations, Skepticism Remains

Source - http://www.reuters.com/
By - Langi Chiang and Jonathan Standing
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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China's exports rose 14.7 percent in April, while imports grew 16.8 percent, leaving the country with a trade surplus of $18.16 billion for the month, the Customs Administration said on Wednesday.

That compared with market expectations for a 10.3 percent rise in exports, a 13.9 percent increase in imports and a trade surplus of $15.1 billion.

From a month earlier, exports edged up 2.7 percent while imports fell 7.7 percent.

Chinese export data in recent months has seemed to signal to a gradual revival of external demand, though some analysts suspect exporters may have overstated their business to sneak funds into the country and avoid capital restrictions.

"I have no strong conviction whether the data reflects reality. We'll focus on next Monday's activities data," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong.

"China's SAFE recently launched new rules to crack down against capital inflows disguised as trade payments. I'm suspicious about the trade data," Zhang said, referring to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The regulator released new rules on Sunday to crack down on hot money inflows disguised as trade payments.

A Reuters estimate of hot money flows based on official data indicates that $181 billion in speculative cash entered China in the first quarter, fuelled in part by loose monetary policy from the United States and Europe.

SIGNS OF WEAKNESS

Adding to the skepticism over the trade data, a pair of PMI surveys last week showed growth in China's vast factory sector eased in April as new export orders shrank. However, in the trade figures, manufacturers were among the sectors reporting increases in exports in the month.

In addition, the customs figures showed a 57 percent jump in exports to Hong Kong and a 250 percent rise in exports to bonded areas, adding weight to theories that goods are not being exported to final destinations.

"In 1Q13, China's export data were heavily distorted due to over-reporting by exporters who might bring in hot money through fake exports and arbitrage the differential between CNH/USD and CNY/USD by moving goods in and out of HK," Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Ting Lu wrote in a report on Wednesday's data, referring to offshore and onshore yuan currency rates.

"The evidence includes the abnormally strong exports to bonded areas and Hong Kong."

Spot onshore yuan hit a fresh record high of 6.1424 per dollar on Wednesday, on strong corporate demand and expectations of further policy reforms to liberalize the exchange rate. <CNY/>

The latest export figures also don't chime with those from other regional economies. South Korea and Taiwan posted weaker-than-expected exports for April, showing the fragility of global demand.

Taiwan's government said on Wednesday it will cut this year's economic growth forecast due to sluggish export data.

Although the United States posted firm jobs numbers for April, they followed a series of weak data, while the recession-hit euro zone has record unemployment.

However, there were positives in the data. While China's exports to the United States fell 0.1 percent in April and those to the EU fell 6.4 percent, the rates of decline were much less than March's declines of 6.5 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Exports to ASEAN countries rose 37.3 percent and those to South Korea were up 7.2 percent.

"I think the export growth must be supported to some extent by the real overseas demand, adding to signs of gradual revival in the world economy," said Shen Lan, economist at Standard Chartered in Shanghai.

"With Beijing tightening checks on hot money inflows disguised as trade transactions, I think the export figures in the coming months will more reflect the real underlying momentum of external demand."

China's economy unexpectedly stumbled in the first quarter, growing 7.7 percent from a year earlier versus a rise of 7.9 percent in the previous three months.

A Reuters poll in April had forecast second-quarter annual growth of 8.00 percent and most economists expect a steady and gentle economic recovery this year.
 

Vacations In Santa Clarita - Intel Names 30-year Veteran as New Chief

Source - http://www.ft.com/
By - Chris Nuttall
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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Intel High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.

has promoted 30-year veteran Brian Krzanich to the role of chief executive, as the world’s largest chipmaker by sales navigates a post-PC world dominated by smartphones and other mobile devices.

The Silicon Valley company’s chief operating officer will succeed Paul Otellini at this month’s annual meeting, becoming only the sixth person to lead Intel in its 45-year history.

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Intel broke with tradition when it appointed Mr Otellini, its first non-engineer in the top job. However, Mr Krzanich is steeped in Intel’s core manufacturing operations, having joined in 1982 as an engineer and rising to manage one of its “fabs”, the fabrication plants that produce its processors from silicon wafers.

His appointment will increase speculation that Intel could focus on growing this side of its business to become more of a foundry for outside companies, given its lead in the miniaturisation of chips.

Intel’s processors are in four out of every five PCs sold, but that market slumped a record 14 per cent in the first quarter as consumers turned to tablets and smartphones.

Mr Otellini had focused on reducing the power demands of the company’s processors to make them more appealing to those markets. However, Intel has made little impression with device manufacturers, which have preferred the chip designs of the UK’s Arm.

Mr Otellini, 62, who joined Intel in 1974 and who has been chief executive since May 2005, sensed that the company was at a pivotal point when in November he announced his decision to retire so “a new generation” of leaders could face the mobile challenge.

Mr Krzanich, 52, said Intel was well positioned to expand into mobile markets. “We have the best silicon technology and the best factories in the world bar none . . . and so I think we’re perfectly poised for growth in that area and that is absolutely our intention," he said.

Andy Bryant, Intel chairman, said Mr Krzanich was a strong leader with a passion for technology. “He has the right combination of knowledge, depth and experience to lead the company during this period of rapid technology and industry change.”

Nathan Brookwood, analyst at the Insight 64 consultancy, said moves by Intel to become more of a foundry for outside companies could be a good alternative if its mobile processor designs failed to have much impact.

“One of the things that Intel really needs to look at is how it can tie up with some of the key fabless chip suppliers, which are Arm-based companies like Apple and Qualcomm, in order to leverage its manufacturing strengths, even if it doesn’t get to leverage its processor design strength,” he said.

Intel has a handful of partnerships making chips for companies that do not compete with it on PC microprocessors, including Altera, Cisco Systems and Microsemi.

Mr Otellini had combined the roles of president and chief executive, but Intel announced that Renee James, 48, would become president. She has been an executive vice-president in charge of Intel’s software business.

Intel shares, which have fallen 18 per cent over the past year, rose 0.5 per cent to $24.11.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - T-Mobile Announces iPhone Trade-In Special, Gives You iPhone 5 For $0 Upfront

Source - http://www.slashgear.com/
By - Brittany Hillen
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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T-Mobile has been making big changes lately, moving to rebrand itself as the “Uncarrier” and to do things in a way that is different from its competitors. It has made good on all that talk, revealing a trade-in deal for current iPhone owners: trade-in an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and receive the iPhone 5 for $0. The special is in effect until June 16.

The trade-in special will begin at T-Mobile stores April 12, which is this upcoming Friday. Only so-called well-qualified customers will be able to take advantage of the special, and will need to trade in either an iPhone 4 or a 4S. In return, the iPhone 5 will be priced at $0 upfront plus the monthly service fee.

The special is in conjunction with a Simple Choice Plan. If your iPhone 4 or 4S is in good condition, you could receive credit on top of the iPhone 5 up to $120, which T-Mobile says can be used towards monthly payments, towards an existing bill with the carrier, or to buy accessories from the company. The plan starts at $50 per month, and offers unlimited talk/text and 500MB of data. Another $10 will get you 2GB of additional data, while an extra $20 will get you unlimited data.

T-Mobile’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert said: “Our message to iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 customers is simple: bring in your device and trade up to iPhone 5 on T-Mobile. We’re making it incredibly attractive to buy an iPhone 5 by pairing an un-beatable upfront price and trade-in offer with Simple Choice, the most hassle-free and affordable rate plan in wireless.”

Vacations In Santa Clarita - T-Mobile Shakes Up Its Service

Source - http://www.nytimes.com/
By - BRIAN X. CHEN
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

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But it may not be enough to persuade smartphone users to abandon the competition. 

Analysts said the new marketing strategy, which spreads the cost of a new phone over two years as a separate line item on the monthly bill, will still feel like a commitment to many customers, even if they can choose to pay it off early and walk away. And T-Mobile, which has a slower network than its competitors, is only just beginning to introduce major upgrades. 

The company on Tuesday said the Apple iPhone 5 would be available starting April 12 for $100 up front, with customers paying an additional $20 a month for two years. Other new smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and the BlackBerry Z10, will be available with similar payment plans. 

Although T-Mobile’s new phone plans require no long-term contract, customers would have to pay off the balance owed in order to end service prematurely. 

For several years, T-Mobile, the No. 4 American mobile carrier by market share, has been bleeding subscribers to Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint. In earnings calls, the company has said its main problems were consumers’ negative perception of its network and its inability to offer customers the iPhone. 

Now that T-Mobile has landed a deal with Apple and turned on its new fourth-generation network, LTE, in seven cities, the company is hoping to mount a comeback. If T-Mobile does not find a way to bounce back, it risks losing even more market share to Verizon and AT&T and becoming a small niche player like Leap or U.S. Cellular. 

The carrier, led by its eccentric new chief executive, John Legere, has been undergoing a rebranding into what it calls an “uncarrier.” 

At a news conference in New York on Tuesday, Mr. Legere, wearing a blazer, T-shirt, jeans and sneakers with hot-pink shoelaces, casually dropped curse words while mocking his competitors, saying they were deliberately confusing customers with unclear two-year contracts and punishing them with fees for surpassing data limits or ending contracts early. 

“Do you have any idea what you’re paying?” Mr. Legere said. “I’m going to explain how stupid we all are because once it becomes flat and transparent, there’s nowhere to hide. You pay so much for your phones, it’s incredible.” 

He said that T-Mobile’s contract-free plans would be more straightforward and cheaper over all for consumers, and that by moving to contract-free plans, the company was doing away with overage and early-termination fees. 

Mr. Legere said that over two years, an iPhone on T-Mobile would cost $1,000 less than it would on AT&T. That would apply to heavy data users. But when looking at the cheapest plans on both carriers, the difference is much narrower. For example, an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile’s plan with unlimited text messages, unlimited minutes and 500 megabytes of data a month is only $360 cheaper over two years than an AT&T plan with unlimited voice and text and one gigabyte of data a month. 

At $580, buying an iPhone from T-Mobile would also be cheaper than buying a $650 unlocked phone directly from Apple. 

On Tuesday, T-Mobile formally replaced all its old phone plans with new plans that do not require signing a contract. For $50 a month, customers can get unlimited minutes, text messages and 500 megabytes of data; they can pay an extra $20 for unlimited data. 

At AT&T and Verizon, the most popular phone plans cost closer to $100 a month with a two-year contract for limited data. The iPhone 5 costs at least $200 on their networks with a two-year contract. 

Despite T-Mobile’s promise to be more straightforward than other carriers, some consumers might still find it confusing that they have to pay an extra device fee after paying $100 up front for an iPhone. 

In an interview, Mr. Legere said that the announcement of T-Mobile’s new contract-free plans was just the beginning of a conversation about greater transparency. He said T-Mobile would make every part of its plans visible to customers and break down their options for how they want to pay. 

“The dialogue has just started,” he said. “This is an ages-old industry that’s very opaque that people just gave up understanding.” 

Even though T-Mobile’s $50 plan costs less than its biggest competitors’ offerings, cheaper no-contract plans are already offered by smaller carriers, said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst at Alekstra, a mobile diagnostics firm. 

Virgin Mobile, for example, sells an iPhone for $650 and offers a plan including 300 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited text messages for $30 a month. 

Consumers still feel that T-Mobile’s network coverage is poor, Mr. Kuittinen added. And T-Mobile’s rivals are far ahead in deploying fourth-generation networks using LTE technology; Verizon is leading the race with LTE deployed in roughly 500 cities, while T-Mobile only recently started its LTE service in seven markets. 

“They can’t relaunch the operations from a clean slate because people have negative conceptions of what T-Mobile’s quality is,” Mr. Kuittinen said. 

The main difference between a traditional two-year contract and T-Mobile’s two-year device payment is what happens after that period of time. For T-Mobile customers who pay off their iPhone, their monthly bill would drop by $20. At other carriers, the monthly bill stays the same even after the two years of the contract are up.