Meet the XPERIA Z. It’s everything a phone has never been (at least from Sony): attractive, fast, and up-to-date. There’a a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 4G LTE, 5-inch 1080p display, Android 4.1, 2GB of RAM, NFC, is water and dust resistant, 2,330 mAh battery, 16GB of storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD), and finally a 13.1MP rear camera with 2.2MP front-facing camera. Where is it launching? Western Europe and Japan; no exact word on an American release.
Sigma has a tendency to design unusual cameras, and the DP3 Merill is no different. It has a 50mm f/2.8 lens with Sigma’s unique APS-C Foveon X3 sensor, which basucakky stacks three 15.3-megapixel layers on top of each other; so Sigma claims this equates to a 46-megapixel image, though in practice the resulting shots aren’t necessarily comparable to more traditional cameras. Instead, they’re known for their unique color rendering and high quality considering the cameras’ small physical size against other cameras produced by Sony, Nikon, and Canon. No word on price, but expect it to ship this year for close to a grand.
Via: Sigma
In an effort to give us all late Christmas gifts (and this allows the company to stop using the old, 2005-era CS2 activation servers), Adobe is giving away Creative Suite 2 and Photoshop CS2 for free and a dedicated download page, just at the source link. It’s a full version with a serial code, and it’s free. Apparently the requirements are for older PCs and Macs, but a system running Windows 7 and even Windows 8 should run it just fine. Thanks Adobe.
Via: Adobe CS2 Downloads
Qualcomm, the company behind some of the best smartphones (in terms of processors) decided it’s time to clean up shop for 2013. Meet the new silicon mobile processor family: the Snapdragon 800, Snapdragon 600, Snapdragon 400 and Snapdragon 200 processors. The Snapdragon 800 and 600 are the two highest processors in the range; the quad-core Krait processor and Adreno 320 graphics have been bestowed upon the Snapdragon 800, with a speed bump, plus a 40 percent increase since the last generation. Snapdragon 600 devices should arrive in the second quarter of the year, with the lower-end models following.
Ready for more numbers on the Snapdragon 800 There’s a 75 percent CPU performance increase and double the graphics compute performance with new Krait 400 CPU cores (at up to 2.3GHz each) and an Adreno 330 GPU, a faster LTE Cat 4 modem, faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi, QFHD video recording, support for resolutions up to 2560 x 2048, and overall just more awesomeness.
Basically what all this means is that the next phone you buy will have the coolest processor. Ever. No need for professionalism or nerdy stats — it simply will be fast, efficient, and means new designs will be possible.
Via: Qualcomm
This is impressive. really. Samsung has taken the liberty of designing the world’s largest Ultra High Definition — in other words, 4k — TV at 85-inches. The design is very industrial, geared at making the TV appear as if it was floating, due to it being lifted up by an easel-like metal frame, that can tilt the viewing angle of the TV. The frame holds an even better function, however; a 120-watt 2.2 speaker system.
There are additional features, like Samsung’s new Smart Hub software, S-Recommendation, and voice control. It’s also worth noting that the set is powered by a 1.35Ghz quad-core A15 processor. You’ll also find standard ports such as 4 HDMI inputs and optical audio. And as per CES tradition,there isn’t any pricing information yet, but Samsung will release the UN85S9 Ultra High Definition TV in March.
Robotics is a beautiful thing and Lego has made this a possibility for years. So, it was time for an update to the aging NXT platform: the Mindstorms EX3 has a new Linux-based “intelligent brick” — the central Mindstorms operating braing — that is now compatible with iOS and Android devices out of the box. The latest brick has an ARM9 processor, 16MB of flash memory and 64MB of RAM, and an SD expansion slot. You can buy multiple cores and connect up to four together as an added plus.
The cool part of the EX3? Autodesk has produced in partnership with Lego a desktop app that can be used as a 3D construction guide for any and all of your crazy robotic ideas, from any angle. The Mindstorms EX3 kit will cost you $349.99 come Q2 of 2013.
This is some seriously cool hardware coming from a company who makes parts, not entire systems. NVIDIA has introduced Tegra 4, their new mobile chip platform, which has 72 custom NVIDIA GeForce GPU cores (6x what the Tegra 3 had), a quad-core ARM Cortex A-15 CPU, 4G LTE supported, ehnaces mobile imaging and HDR, and allows for better battery management. That’s very cool. But it’s Project Shield that takes the meat from the lion.
NVIDIA’s Project Shield is a game console. It sports the new Tegra 4 processor, a 5-inch 1280×720 HD touchscreen, a full controller, has HDMI, micro-USB, microSD, and audio-out ports, and can project an image over HDMI at 4k resolution (in other words, Hyper/Ultra HD. And it runs Android — without a skin. What’s a really awesome app on the Project Shield console? Steam’s Big Picture, allowing for full PC games and the Tegrazone, which are a set of NVIDIA-optimized Android games.
Both specifics are probably far on the horizon: price and retail availability; NVIDIA states it should ship by Q2 of 2013 in the US and Canada, but other than that, it’s quiet. But man, is this a gadget to own.
Via: Project Shield
Price as Reviewed: $150 at Ogio
Score: 9/10
This is another one of Ogio’s awesome experiments: a bag with a ton of zipper, pockets, and places to hide stuff, with super supportive straps and a comfy back to support your spine. In this case, that all costs $150 and is called the Renegade RSS. It weighs 3.6 pounds empty and holds up to 17-inches of laptop goodness inside of its special and specific weight management system pouch, with has both extra padding and is suspended in such a way so that laptop doesn’t bog down the whole backpack.
Don’t worry though: the Renegade RSS isn’t just for carrying heavy stuff: I threw in a tablet in there without a problems, and some snacks and books while running around New York City. But that’s not all.
Lenovo has done some pretty great things with IBM’s ThinkPad brand ever since they purchased it in 2005, however Lenovo has mostly been known for its lower-end computers plus the mainstream laptops. The ThinkPad brand remains their only high-end market line of computers, so in an effort to be more efficient and better promote the brand against companies like Apple, Toshiba, and Samsung, they’re splitting the ThinkPad brand away from the Lenovo household.
To accomplish this, Lenovo will be split into two parts: Lenovo Business Group (LBG) and Think Business Group (TBG).
Effective from April 1st, LBG will be headed by Senior Vice President (Mobile Internet Digital Home) Liu Jun to focus on mainstream consumer and business desktops, laptops, and tablets, as well as smartphones and smart TVs. On the other side of the fence, TBG will be led by Senior Vice President (Product Group) Dr. Peter Hortensius to better establish the business-friendly Think brand in the consumer market, as well as continuing to stay ahead of the game in the global commercial business — a crucial point of its survival. Interesting plan, no doubt.
Via: Eng Chinese
Don’t worry: it’s not a silly Windows RT tablet. Running full Windows 8, Vizio’s new 11.6-inch 1080p display tablet has packs a dual-core, 1GHz AMD Z60 chip, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of solid-state storage, a 2-megapixel front camera and micro-HDMI / micro-USB ports. On top of all that, it’s signed off by Microsoft Signature, indicating that it is free of any bloatware — a fresh Windows install. No word on pricing or availabilty, but it looks good on paper and in press photos.
Have you ever experienced a 3D TV like you get at the cinema? Lightweight glasses, cool effects and a great picture experience? LG 3D televisions bring it right into your home.