HTC One X+ with Jelly Bean and Sense 4+ official, One X and One S Android 4.1 updates start in Oct.

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The HTC One X+ is one of the leakiest handsets in recent memory, appearing three times in as many days at the end of September, but today the leaks can finally stop because the new One family member has made the leap into official-dom. As expected, HTC's One X+ looks pretty much the same as the original One X on the surface, but it packs a handful of hardware upgrades underneath. That includes a bump to a 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 AP37 processor, 64GB of internal storage and a 2,100mAh battery. The remainder of the One X+'s spec sheet includes a 4.7-inch 1280x720 Super LCD 2 display, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.6-megapixel front shooter and 1GB RAM.
On the software side of things, the One X+ will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean beneath HTC's Sense 4+ overlay. HTC says that Sense 4+ includes tweaks like a Self Portait mode for the front-facing camera that adds "subtle enhancements" to a user's skin and eyes as well as two new ways to view photos and images in the Gallery. There's also a new HTC Get Started mode to help users set up their new handset through the browser on their main computer.
So when can you get your hands on all of this? The HTC One X+ is slated to begin arriving in Europe and North Asia in October. There's no word on a U.S. launch just yet, though HTC does promise that a separate announcement concerning North American availability is coming.
Finally, HTC dropped some good news for some folks that are already members of the One family. The company announced that it plans to begin rolling out an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Sense 4+ to the HTC One X and One S starting in October. However, no U.S.-specific rollout details are available quite yet.
HTC's announcement of the One X+ this morning doesn't contain many surprises thanks to the fact that the phone leaked more times than most of us care to count, but the phone still looks like a worthwhile option for folks in the hunt for a high-end Android smartphone. Meanwhile, I'm sure that folks that already have a One X or One S are happy to hear that their Jelly Bean updates are finally nearly ready to start rolling out, though it's a mystery as to when those updates will make it through the carrier approval process and hit the AT&T One X and T-Mobile One S. Here's to hoping for some speedy testing. HTC's full announcement of the One X+ is available below for your early morning reading pleasure.

HTC Introduces The HTC One™ X+. More Speed, More Storage And More Battery Life Make HTC's Best Rated Android Phone, Even Better
HTC also announces Sense™ 4+ with Android Jelly Bean upgrades for HTC One X and HTC One S coming soon
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today unveiled the HTC One™ X+, a refreshed version of its award winning HTC One™ X smartphone, running the HTC Sense™ 4+ experience on Android™ Jelly Bean. The HTC One™ X+ combines the iconic design, amazing camera and authentic audio experience of the HTC One series, with increased performance, longer battery life and expanded internal storage.
"We are taking the HTC One™ X to a new level with the introduction of the new HTC One™ X+," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "Our customers will have super-fast browsing, an even better camera and more immersive entertainment with Beats Audio."
Performance, Endurance and Storage
Featuring a 1.7 GHz quad-core NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 AP37 processor and 64GB of internal storage, the HTC One™ X+ LTE version is up to 67% faster than the HTC One™ X[1] LTE, making the HTC One™ X+ the best rated Android phone on the market. Developed to be lightning fast, the HTC One™ X+ enables quicker web browsing, fluid gaming and graphic rendering, and speedy downloads, providing effortless usage on the go.
In addition to its increased performance speeds, the HTC One™ X+ introduces extended performance with the inclusion of a 2100 mAh battery, giving you up to 50% (6 hours) more talk time, and longer to browse the web and enjoy your favorite music and videos[2].
Imaging, Music and Movies
Combining the amazing camera capabilities of its predecessor[3]* with a series of intelligent features, powered by Sense™ 4+, the HTC One™ X+ has been designed to deliver the most premium mobile experience. The newly launched Self Portrait mode on the front camera helps you capture high quality photos by intuitively detecting the human face at various angles and applying subtle enhancements to skin and eyes. Sightseeing mode makes sure you'll always be ready to capture the moment - one touch of the power button bypasses the lock screen and launches directly into the camera. Two new views in the Gallery display images and videos and group them according to where and when they were taken.
Exclusively available on HTC smartphones, Beats Audio™ provides authentic, studio-quality sound that delivers the most immersive sound experience with an enhanced audio profile, crisper vocals and detailed high notes for your music, games, movies and videos. Making it easier to listen to music out loud, and through Sense™ 4+, the HTC One™ X+ introduces a new Tap and Go function, which allows you to connect the phone and your music to Beats speakers[4] when you tap them. To disconnect, it is just another quick tap.
Providing exclusive access to thousands of movies through HTC Watch 2.0, the HTC One™ X+ will appeal to both the avid film fan and the casual movie-goer. Combined with the introduction of video hub, another benefit of Sense™ 4+, for the first time you will be able to put all your video entertainment in a single place.
Easy Set Up
A new feature in the HTC One™ X+ is HTC Get Started, a new web service that guides the user painlessly through the set-up and personalisation process from a desktop web browser.  Designed to enhance the experience of setting up a phone for the first time, this feature ensures that users will get the most out of their new phone from the beginning.  With the touch of a button, the user's phone will reflect the settings and apps that were chosen on the Web.  Visit start.htc.com for more details.
Availability
The HTC One™ X+ will be available in Europe and North Asia from October and in South Asia from November 2012. North America will make a separate announcement regarding availability of the HTC One™ X+. The Android Jelly Bean with HTC™ Sense 4+ update is scheduled to begin rolling out for the HTC One™ S and HTC One™ X from October.
About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) is the creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC's portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by HTC Sense®, a multilayered graphical user interface that vastly improves user experience. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). For more information, please visit www.htc.com.
The names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

[1] HTC One™ X+ (non LTE) is up to 27% faster than the HTC One™ X (non LTE). Source: HTC internal testing

[2] HTC One™ X+ has up to 37% more talk time than the HTC One™ X (up to 50% for LTE version). 6 hours more talk time (LTE version) and 4.7 hours more talk time (non LTE) when compared to the HTC One™ X. Source: HTC internal testing

[3] 8MP camera with an f/2.0 wide aperture lens, backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor, Video Pic, HDR and one-press Continuous Shooting

[4] Tap and Go only works on selected Beats speakers, which are sold separately to the handset

Microsoft Previews New JavaScript Like Programming Language TypeScript

Today Microsoft released a developer preview of TypeScript, a new JavaScript-like programming language that is translated into JavaScript so that its apps can be run in any browser. The language and compiler are open source under an Apache 2.0 license.
TypeScript has a syntax that is very similar to JavaScript, but adds features such as optional static typing that Microsoft programming language guru Anders Hejlsberg says will make it easier for developers to build larger applications. It attempts to address some of the same issues that Google’s Dart programming language does, but without a radical departure from JavaScript.
Like CoffeeScript, TypeScript compiles to JavaScript, but that’s where the similarities end. Hejlsberg says TypeScript is actually largely based on the specifications of the next version of JavaScript being developed by the ECMA committee.
JavaScript started out as a simple scripting language for the Netscape browser, it was never intended to become a language for building large scale applications. Yet the rise of the web and HTML5 have made it into the standard language for client-side development, and Node.js has proved to be a popular way of writing JavaScript applications on the server side.
Frameworks like Backbone.js, the heavily venture funded Meteor and Nodejitsu‘s Flatiron are also trying to address the issue of making it easier to develop modern JavaScript applications.
TypeScript (like CoffeeScript) will actually work with existing frameworks and libraries — any JavaScript can just be pasted into TypeScript and should just work.
Hejlsberg created Turbo Pascal, was the chief architect Delphi, is the lead architect of C# and LINQ. He developed TypeScript with Steve Lucco and Luke Hoban.
Here’s a list of features:

• Optional static typing
• Class declarations
• Support for modules
• A Visual Studio plugin

Asked whether Microsoft might do something to prioritize TypecSript in Internet Explorer, Lucco, the chief architect of IE’s JavaScript rendering engine Chakra, says no. Because most developers will only actually be putting TypeScript online, it’s not in Microsoft’s best interest to handicap JavaScript, and there won’t be any real way for IE to run TypeScript faster than any other browser can — apart from differences in their JavaScript rendering engines, of course.

HP shows ElitePad 900 Windows 8 business tablet

HP's Atom-powered ElitePad 900

Hewlett-Packard on Monday introduced the ElitePad 900, the company's first Windows 8 tablet aimed at business users.
Scheduled for release in the U.S. in January, the 10-inch slate supports pen input and drive encryption, as well as optional 3G and 4G connectivity. HP did not announce pricing.
The ElitePad 900 has an aluminum shell, housing the 10.1-inch display with 1280-by-800-pixel resolution. The IPS display is coated in Gorilla Glass, making the tablet 9.2mm thick and weighing in at 1.5 pounds. HP says that the battery should last around ten hours on a single charge.
Inside, HP's Windows 8 tablet runs on an Intel Atom processor with 2GB of RAM, with storage options of 32GB or 64GB. Behind the service door on the back you will find a microSD card slot and one for 3G and 4G SIM cards. On the back there's an 8-megapixel camera with a flash, while on the front there's a video call camera that supports 1080p HD quality video.
HP also prepared a line of accessories to go with the ElitePad 900. A range of adapters are available for the proprietary connector on the tablet, including an SD card reader, full USB port, Ethernet, line out, VGA, and HDMI. Alternatively, you can get all these connectivity options via a dock, which can be also paired with a wireless keyboard.
Alternatively, HP also made what it calls Smart Jackets, basically faux cases that add functionality. One of the Smart Cases has USB and HDMI ports, a card reader and a removable battery, while a second clamshell-style case turns the ElitePad 900 into a laptop hybrid.
Dell has also announced a 10-inch Windows 8 tablet aimed at the business market, and its the Latitude 10 is scheduled to ship by the end of October. Dell's tablet screen has a higher resolution at 1366 by 768 pixels, but the tablet has otherwise very similar specs. Dell has not yet announced pricing, either.
Other PC manufacturers previously previewed some of their Windows 8 devices, including tablets and ultrabooks.

New, touch-optimized MSN portal to showcase Windows 8, IE 10 this fall

Microsoft plans to make a touch-optimized version of its MSN portal available to users running Windows 8/Windows RT and Internet Explorer 10 as of October 26.

Microsoft officials are showing off a near-final preview of that portal in New York during Advertising Week, which kicks off this week on October 1. They also will be showing off new touch-centric Windows 8/Windows RT ads that will be available on MSN and on select Windows Store apps during this week's advertising confab.
The updated MSN portal will be available only to Windows 8/Windows RT and IE 10 users, starting with those in Microsoft's 11 biggest markets worldwide, saidd Bob Visse, General Manager of MSN.com. It will not be vieweable by the public until October 26, the day Windows 8 goes on sale at retail -- even by those who already are running the final version of Windows 8. Consumers using older versions of Windows and Internet Explorer (or other third-party browsers) won't have access to the updated MSN experience for the foreseeable future, he said.
The new portal will have a Metro look and feel. While optimized to be navigable via touch gestures, it also will support mice and keyboards. The MSN logo in the upper left corner serves as a "return to home" anchor for the site.
The updated site will feature MSN News -- the updated news portal featuring AP and Reuters news, along with content from Microsoft's own reporters. (Visse declined to say how many reporters Microsoft is employing now that it sold its 50 percent stake in the former MSNBC joint venture, but that number is estimated at 100.) The new MSN also will feature entertainment, sports and money subsites, like the current MSN portal does.
The new MSN portal site will include tutorials to help users learn how to navigate the new site and take advantage of Windows 8/Windows RT features like "snapping" appications to the side, and making use of the new charms.
"Eventually, we also will offer a MSN Windows 8 app and Windows Phone 8 app, too," said Visse. Visse didn't have a timetable to share as to when those apps will be available.
Microsoft also offers a Windows 8 Bing News app (which is available currently in the Windows Store), as well as the new MSN portal. While both will serve up "news" content, Bing News will be more like an aggregated news source, while the MSN portal is meant to deliver content, but also highlight and demonstrate other Microsoft technologies, like Bing search, Skype, Outlook.com, etc.
Windows 8/Windows RT users will have the option of circumventing the new MSN if they so choose and revert back to "classic" mode, which is what users with other browsers and Windows versions will see.

Internet Explorer continues to lead the Market Shares with 53.63 Percent

Firefox and Chrome have chipped away at its lead, but IE remains top dog, according to the latest data from Net Applications.

 

 

Microsoft's Internet Explorer still grabs more than half of all traffic among browsers, at least as viewed by Web tracker Net Applications.
Leading the desktop browser market for September, IE took home a share of 53.6 percent. That left Firefox in second place with 20 percent and Chrome in third with almost 19 percent.
Trailing the top five were Apple's Safari with 5.2 percent and Opera with just 1.6 percent.
IE's lead has dipped over the past few years. A high of 79 percent in November 2007 fell to a low of 51.8 percent last December before recovering a bit the past year. Firefox captured a high of 25 percent in November 2009 before slipping to 19.7 percent this past May.
In the meantime, Chrome continues to slowly but surely inch its way higher. Since its debut four years ago, Google's browser has seen a steady rise up the charts, hitting a high of 19.5 percent in May. Chrome could have handily outpaced Firefox by now had it not experienced a decline over the past few months.
Drilling down to specific versions, Internet Explorer 8 was the leader, grabbing 24 percent of all browser traffic seen by Net Applications. IE 9 was second with 19.4 percent. That left Chrome version 21 with 14 percent and Firefox 15 with almost 11 percent.
Among mobile phone and tablet browsers, Apple's mobile Safari was on top with a 64 percent share, a healthy gain from 55 percent a year ago.
Android's built-in browser was second with almost 21 percent, up from 16 percent in September 2011.
Opera Mini, the BlackBerry OS browser, and the Symbian OS browser all saw their share of traffic continue to plummet as more users adopt iOS and Android devices.
Net Applications records the number of unique visits to its network of more than 40,000 Web sites and includes only one unique visit per site per day. The company typically tracks around 160 million unique visits per month.