Hasta La Gadget!

Just in case you didn’t catch it in the whirlwind of announcements that were laid down today at IFA 2012 by Samsung, Qualcomm has announced that their ultra-powerful Snapdragon S4 processor lineup will be bringing the heat to the ATIV S smartphone and ATIV Tab tablet. The ATIV Tab tablet running Windows RT while the ATIV S is set to be one of the very first Windows Phone 8 devices to hit the market this Fall. The Qualcomm team’s Snapdragon lineup also remains the only set of processor to power Windows Phone, 100% of them, the whole world over.

With the Qualcomm Snapdragon line of processor, it’s assured by the manufacturer that the user is getting “seamless integration and collaboration between hardware, software, and services.” This is of course because Qualcomm manufactures other gear inside the devices they have their processors in as well, and offer software solutions for sharing and media wizardry of all kinds. With Windows RT (the mobile tablet version of Windows 8) on this Samsung tablet and Windows Phone 8 on the ATIV S, you’ll have a full Qualcomm experience in both next-level hardware universes.

Have a peek at our Samsung tag link for more information on everything that’s been revealed today, and stay tuned to our IFA 2012 portal as well to make sure you’ve got information on everything that’s going down all week. We’ll have hands-on with devices of all kinds, Samsung and Qualcomm included, throughout the week!

Qualcomm brings S4 power to Samsung ATIV Tab and S is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve seen the ins and outs of Samsung’s first Android-based digital camera, but how about an outer shell? You likely won’t be transporting this junbo point-and-shoot in your pocket, making a variety of protective options a necessity. First up is the Flip Cover — a camera-friendly variant of the Galaxy original, with a slide-in design and a large protective flap to cover up the LCD. There’s also a full-on carrying case, which slips open to reveal the lens while offering a bit more protection. And, if you’re going au naturel, you’ll want to suit up with a wrist strap at the very least, offering a bit of insurance against potential slips and spills. We don’t have pricing and availability info to share, but like the camera itself, it looks like there’s a bunch of color configurations to choose from, all pictured in the gallery below.

Filed under: Cameras

Need a case for that Galaxy Camera? Samsung’s got you covered (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s Windows 8 range was a surprise addition to the IFA 2012 line-up, kicking off with the ATIV smart PC. A hybrid tablet/notebook following in ASUS’ Transformer footsteps by pairing a slate “brains” section with a detachable keyboard dock, the ATIV Smart PC runs Windows 8 and impressively promises up to 13.5hrs of battery life. We grabbed some hands-on time.

The similarities with Samsung’s Android range is clear, though the ATIV Smart PC is a little heavier than the Android slate norm. The touchscreen – which recognizes up to 10-point multitouch – was swift and responsive, though, whipping through the Metro-style Windows 8 homescreen neatly, and revealing a section of new Samsung apps including S Note.

That works with the Samsung S Pen – just as with the Note II, Samsung has used an active digitizer and a special stylus, which docks into a silo on the side of the slate – for handwritten notes and annotations. Unfortunately that pen wasn’t present in Samsung’s demo unit, but the concept is the same as we’ve seen on the Android phablet, and notes will actually synchronize between the two despite the different platforms.

Detached – something of a struggle on these prototype units, but an aspect Samsung promises will be made easier in retail versions – the slate section supports portrait and landscape orientation use, flipping automatically between the two. There was some lag noticeable in actually using apps, though it’s unclear if that’s down to the Intel Atom processor or the pre-final software.

Still, that processor helps keep runtime so long, which is essential if the ATIV Smart PC is to compete with Apple’s iPad. Samsung is betting that enough users will want to do content creation with their tablet to make the extra bulk worthwhile (and ignore what’s a plasticky and fingerprint-prone casing). Whether that will hold true with a $649 starting price (or from $749 with the keyboard dock) when it lands in the US on October 26 remains to be seen.

Samsung ATIV Smart PC hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Redditor Perma aka Shane is one lucky bastard. Samsung Canada gave him the “only customized SIII in Canada”, featuring Shane’s own drawing of a dinosaur. How did this happen? Simple. He just asked for it.

Three months ago, Shane shared the above screenshot on Reddit, saying “Well, Samsung Canada has won me over.” I’m pretty sure neither Shane nor Samsung Canada’s Facebook guy didn’t expect just how popular his screenshot would become, but it did, and everyone had a good laugh. Then yesterday, Shane shared a new series of pictures on Reddit, saying “Well, Samsung Canada has me over again.”

Shane’s newer pictures obviously became a hit as well.

Samsung Canada has obviously dug itself into a hole here. They’ll have to send Shane another gadget for this latest round of positive media, which will prompt Shane to post pictures of the gadget, which will get Samsung more love, another gadget…. until eventually Shane becomes the Prime Minister of Canada. And if that doesn’t happen? Shane, may I suggest your next target.

[via Reddit]

When computer graphics was in its infancy—well before CG dinosaurs appeared—a simple 3D model of a teapot was used for testing software and new rendering techniques. And the simple lines of Normann Copenhagen’s Geo thermos is reminiscent of that time when CG was comparatively primitive to what we see on screen today. More »