The Samsung Galaxy Note II. Now officially the biggest hunk of smartphone technology you can fit, probably not in one hand, and pretty sure not in your pocket. It now sports a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display (.5 inches more than the previous), with a quad-core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, up to 64 gigs of storage, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and Samsung’s S Pen/stylus/thingy.
Throw that all together with an 8 megapixel rear camera, along with 4G LTE, NFC with the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a bigger 3100 mAh battery — and you have the phone of giants, kings, and those of you who can’t distinguish the difference between phone with tablet — a “phablet”.
Via: Samsung
Low and behold, today was composed of a mass unveiling of new technology in Berlin, and despite being an ocean away in the United States, the noise still resonates of Windows RT-based Microsoft Surface competitors: for the first time, Microsoft will have to fight for market share against its own, long-term PC partners.
Quick! What’s the newest competitor to Microsoft’s Surface Windows 8 tablet? The Vaio Duo 11, just announced by Sony. The Japanese have blessed it with an 11.6-inch “full HD” touchscreen (16:9, 1080p), and will have current-gen Intel Core Ivy Bridge processors, configurable to 4 or 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB or 256GB SSD for storage. The keyboard is non-removable and the whole unit is 17.85mm thicker than the 14mm Macbook Air, the 9.3mm Surface, and even thicker than the 9.4mm iPad.
While GoPro has been loudly taking over the action shooting market share and creating epic videos for the past few years, Sony has yet to enter the arena, as large of a behemoth as they are: until now. Enter, the Action Cam, with video recording modes including 1280 x 720, 60 or 120 fps (for slow motion action) or 1920×1080 at 30 fps. Under the hood the camera sports a 16-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, and a 170-degree Carl Zeiss® Tessar lens. The basic model will be available for $200 and a Wi-Fi version for $270, tons of accessories built for use in different scenarios (bike mount, waterproof headstrap, angle mount, etc.) for around $30 each.
Sony may have dumped a ton of press release on the tech press just a few moments ago in Germany at IFA 2012, but here’s one of the best products from those announcements: the Sony NEX-5R is a state-of-the-art mirrorless camera with a new “Fast Hybrid” autofocus system (similar to what Canon uses for contrast), WI-Fi connectivity and a new programmable dial and multi-function button. Plus, there’s a software-based 99-point autofocus ability, as well as being able to transfer photos wirelessly using camera apps that the NEX-5R will have access to.
Does this photo near NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover displaying its landing site in the distance really need a scientific description? No, not really. Just invest in science. Via: 
Not to be confused with anything excessively noteworthy, the Galaxy S III has additional colors from Samsung: red, silver, grey, and brown. Colors will depend on the carrier and store who has them, but now it’s become a fad of some sort for the world: smartphones in different colors are slowing becoming a reality. Via: 
