Hasta La Gadget!

This week Apple unveiled several new products at an event that you’ll now be able to watch in its entirety from start to finish in a replay video. This video is accompanied by advertisement spots from Apple bringing to light the simplicity and excellence they want to push forth in the iPad mini, the iMac 2012 refresh, the Mac mini, and the iPad 4th gen. Each of these devices have also been run down by our helpful staff and detailed to the fullest, with prices, release dates, and all the innards.

What you’re seeing here first is a video outlining the work that went into the iPad mini. This video shows several of Apple’s most prominent minds speaking on the fine detail that keeps the iPad mini at the forefront of the tablet universe, complete with the notion that the iPad mini doesn’t just improve over the competition, it creates a brand new segment in Apple’s own lineup.

The next spot you’re seeing below is a very simple Smart Cover advertisement for the iPad mini, showing the simple “click” that happens when you move the cover towards the unit as it attaches via magnetism.

Finally you’re going to see the full-on Apple keynote that took place just earlier today. This video shows off each of the hardware units that Apple is keen to bring to your home immediately if not soon as well as a few software improvements as well, particularly in the iBooks department. This video should be accompanied by a look down our full Apple event run-down post for full information on all things brand new and fabulous.

Full Apple iPad mini event video available now for replay is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

About a year ago, when Ultrabooks were first starting to go on sale, ASUS was one of the first out of the gate with some lightweight, Intel-approved ultraportables. Since then, it’s released a handful of iterations, including redesigned models with improved keyboards and sharper screens. That’s a lot for a 12-month period, but there’s one area where it fell behind: it tended to ignore larger-screened ultraportables, even as its competitors started selling models with 14- and 15-inch screens. That changed today, as the company announced three new Zenbooks, the 14-inch UX42VS and the 15-inch UX52VS and U500VZ, all of which will go on sale next month. Though the company hasn’t issued granular pricing for each possible configuration, we know that prices in the US will range from $699 at the low end all the way up to $2,000.

So what do these have to offer, aside from a larger footprint? For starters, the UX42VS weighs 1.9kg (4.19 pounds) and has a chassis that whittles down to 6mm. It makes room for an optical drive, unlike ASUS’ smaller Zenbooks, and features NVIDIA GT645M graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory. Like any other ultaportable worth its salt, it will be offered with Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, though this guys steps up to 6GB of RAM and up to 1TB of hybrid hard drive storage.

Moving on, the 15-inch UX525VS (pictured) has a Core i5 or i7 Ultrabook-grade CPU, up to 10GB of memory (!) and up to 1TB in hybrid hard drive storage. The graphics card is the same 645M as on the 14-inch model. As for the U500VZ, it isn’t an Ultrabook at all, as it has a standard-voltage, quad-core Core i7 processor. Other specs include 8GB of memory, a 1080p display and a beefier GT650M GPU, this time with 2GB of video memory. Despite the horsepower, though, it weighs in at a relatively light 2kg (4.4 pounds) and measures 6mm thick. Finally, wrapping things up, ASUS still plans to sell touchscreen versions of its 11- and 13-inch Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks. No word on availability for any of these, but we’ll follow up with more details as they come in.

Filed under: Laptops, ASUS

ASUS expands its Zenbook line of Ultrabooks to include 14- and 15-inch models originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s iPad mini and 4th-generation iPad didn’t arrive alone. In the company’s time-honored tradition, it has timed the FCC filings for both devices to show up alongside the products themselves. Each iOS tablet has been approved in both singular WiFi and dual cellular editions: the iPad mini has appeared as the WiFi-only A1432 as well as the A1454 and A1455 for worldwide HSPA+, EV-DO and LTE coverage, while the full-size iPad has been cleared in directly paralleled A1458, A1459 and A1460 versions. Not surprisingly, the frequency range matches that of the iPhone 5 and suggests that we’re dealing with the same Qualcomm MDM9615 chip. We’ll know more once the two iPads are in our hands and those of teardown artists, but for now you can explore Apple’s regulatory gymnastics in full at the source links.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple

New Apple iPad mini, 4th-generation iPad reach the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Apple was busy introducing new devices and updating its existing ones this morning, Facebook game creator Zynga was apparently relieving itself of several studios worth of employees. Several reports on Twitter indicate that Zynga is cutting its Boston, Austin, and Chicago studios; our colleagues at Joystiq spoke with a Zynga Austin employee who confirmed at least two of his location’s teams were let go (The Ville and Zynga Bingo teams). Further reports on The Verge indicate that “more than 100” employees were let go as a result of the Austin layoffs. TechCrunch is reporting the full shut down of Zynga’s Boston studio, which was apparently working on an unannounced title before being closed. The company’s San Francisco location — its headquarters — has yet to be affected, nor have employees heard anything from upper management.

Notoriously, Austin-developed The Ville is the root of an ongoing lawsuit between game publishing giant Electronic Arts, wherein EA alleges The Ville too closely resembles its own Facebook game, The Sims Social. Beyond the lawsuit, Zynga’s faced declining stock value since its IPO, and the $200 million purchase of Draw Something developer OMGPOP remains a sticking point for investors. The company is slated to release its quarterly earnings tomorrow, which are expected to be down for another quarter. We reached out to the company for comment, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.

Update: Zynga confirmed layoffs at its Austin studio, as well as outlining closures at its Boston, Japan, and UK locations. A full letter from CEO Mark Pincus to employees was released by Zynga detailing the layoffs and closures, which we’ve added below. The company also says it’s closing 13 of its games, and “significantly reducing” its investment in The Ville.

Continue reading Zynga shutters Boston, UK and Japan studios, lays off 5% of full-time staff

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software

Zynga shutters Boston, UK and Japan studios, lays off 5% of full-time staff originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our very own Eliane Fiolet is at the Asus Windows 8 event in New York City–yes, there are two technology events going on today–where Asus has just announced six–count them, six–new lines of Windows 8 PCs. The new lines are the VivoTab, VivoBook, the Transformer Book, the Touch Zenbook, the TAICHI, and the Asus All-in-One. Let’s take a look at the VivoTab RT, which is a Surface competitor:
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Asus Announced a Whole Slew of New Windows 8 PCs Today, Asus Transformer Book Hands-On! ,