Top Costa Rica News

• On June 14, SUTEL certified the Samsung Galaxy S III GT-I9300″ for use in Costa Rica. Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S III in London on May 3, and was officially available to select markets on May 29. The version of the Samsung Galaxy S III coming to Costa Rica sports a quad-core processor, with 1 GB of memory. While the standard version has 16 GB of internal storage, there are versions that support 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage. The phone will support up to 64GB of external storage. The phone comes with Android Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.4). Claro is currently taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S III.
• The Ministry of Science and Technology (MICIT) announced the availability of national indicators for science, technology and innovation. While the data only covers the years 2007 to 2009, the tables provide an interesting insight into the growth of science and technology in Costa Rica. In these tables, the acronym ACT refers to the total of science and technology.

Top Mobile Device News

• Facebook created a new mobile site for “Find Friends Nearby.” You can only access the site from a mobile device, and it does require that you grant permission for Facebook to track your mobile location. The mobile Web site is a little quirky, as it only finds friends that are currently on-line, and using the Web site. There is no Facebook app for this new feature. Consequently, there is a question as to whether this is the result of the acquisition of Glancee, who provided a mobile app that found nearby people with similar interests, or a separate Facebook project.
• Pinterest and Fab.com showed that social shopping impacts on purchase decisions. ShopSocially takes this concept one step further. Instead of a retailer competing for attention on an existing social network, ShopSocially provides the tools for any retailer to integrate social shopping into their own Web site, and manage SEO operations. ShopSocially provides apps for Viral Offer Sharing, Share-a-Promotion, Get-a-Fan, Ask-a-Friend, Share-a-Promotion, and Social Community. ShopSocially brings the focus to the retailers Web site, and not a social shopping network.
• After three years, Facebook is ending their experiment with Facebook Credits. In July, Facebook will start transitioning to subscriptions and local currency pricing. Existing Facebook Credits will be converted to local currency. Facebook is moving to a model that is more like Apple’s iTunes.
• While location-based apps are becoming more common in social networking, there are no apps that are oriented towards business. Google seeks to fill this void with Google Maps Coordinate. Google Maps Coordinate allows businesses to track and communicate with their mobile work force. Businesses could assign work based on an employee’s current location, or send messages to employees in a given area.
• Lookout’s Mobile Mindset Study reveals our addiction to mobile devices. Overall, 58% of the respondents to the study said they cannot go more than an hour without checking their phone, with 68% of the 18-34 age group being the most compulsive about checking their phone. Are you one of the 54% that check their phone in bed, or the 39% who admitted checking their phone in the bathroom? How do your feel when your phone is misplaced? 73% of the respondents panicked at the loss of their phone, with men leading women by 84% to 63%. Yet, women are more likely to feel desperate or sick over the loss of a phone. 62% percent were concerned about the cost and inconvenience of losing their phone, while only 20% were concerned about the loss of personal data. Do you suffer from Nomophobia – the fear of losing your phone?

Other Top Technology News

• Scientists discovered that Mars is full of water, below the surface. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry, scientists at the University of New Mexico discovered that two meteorites from Mars contained evidence of water. These meteorites were ejected from volcanoes on Mars about 2.5 million years ago. The Curiosity Mars Research Laboratory, which is due to land on Mars on August 5, 2012, will conduct additional research for underground evidence of water.
• Telsa Motors, a manufacturer of electric cars, announced their new Model S family sedan. The car goes from 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and can travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. The price for this innovative car starts at a mere $49,000 USD. For a $5,000 USD deposit you can customize your own car. Will the future see gas stations having charging sites for electric cars? Will hotels provide car charging parking spots? You will need to check your battery charge, before heading off on a long trip. How about service trucks with quick chargers, in case the car battery fails before the next charging point?