Asus TAICHI Hands-On! (Updating)

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 five–count them, five–new lines of Windows 8 PCs. The new lines are the VivoTab, VivoBook, the Transformer Book, the Touch Zenbook, and the Asus All-in-One. Let’s look at the deeply strange, double-screened Taichi:

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Asus Taichi arrives at the FCC , Asus Taichi’s bill of materials reveal $900 costing,

New Apple iMac (2012) Meta Hands-On: Shocker! People Are Psyched

One of the happy surprises from Apple’s event today was the new iMac. Now that the dust has settled people are putting their grubby blogger-paws all over that shiny, pristine monolith. Guess what, it’s like, suuuuper thin! More »

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display hands-on

It’s the ultraportable road warriors have been begging for, and Apple has finally delivered: after the barnstorming 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, now there’s a 13-inch counterpart. Freshly announced today, and falling under our eager fingers straight after Apple’s San Jose launch event, the new notebook follows the successful route of its bigger brother. Gone is the optical drive, in comes the super-high-resolution screen, and wide open pop our wallets.

The screen size may be smaller – and lower resolution, too, at 2560 x 1600, though for an overall higher pixel density of 227ppi – but actually the 13-inch model is slightly thicker, at 0.75-inches. In contrast, the 15-inch Retina version is 0.71-inches thick. You don’t really notice the difference, however, and the advantage in weight, with near a full pound dropped, more than makes up for it.

We’ve been wowed before with Retina-level graphics, and the new MacBook Pro delivers the same impact. The mode most often used isn’t actually stretching things to 2560 x 1600, but instead offering an on-paper lower resolution but with smoother graphics all round. The result is clean icons and text of the sort you’ll struggle to find on a Windows notebook.

As before, those who want an integrated optical drive can still find a MacBook Pro to deliver that. The existing 13-inch model remains on sale, though you don’t get the Retina display. It’s also the cheaper option; the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina may be $500 less than the entry-level 15-inch version, but that still means a $1,699 starting price for the 128GB model, or $1,999 for the 256GB version.

Still, you’d have to really, really be addicted to CDs and DVDs to not prefer the form-factor and performance of the new Retina 13-incher. It demands few compromises in graphics processing, either, and further extends the distance between the Pro and the Air branches in Apple’s MacBook range. We’ll look forward to putting it through its paces when we have a review unit on hand.

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13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display hands-on is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Asus Touch Zenbook Hands-On! (Updating)

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 five–count them, five–new lines of Windows 8 PCs. The new lines are the VivoTab, VivoBook, the Transformer Book, the Touch Zenbook, and the Asus All-in-One. Let’s take a look at Asus’ new laptop flagship:

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ASUS Zenbook ultrabooks with Ivy Bridge will be coming to the US, Asus Zenbook UX31A and UX21A features Ivy Bridge and 1080p display,

Apple Store back up: iPad mini and goodies galore

With the Apple iPac mini event over with, it’s time for the Apple Store to return to the web in full force, here with the tinier iPad, a new MacBook Pro, a new Mac mini, and a whole heck of a lot more. This update to the store brings with it not just a wave of new products, but a set of product retirements, this leading to a rush on the Refurbished and Clearance section – be sure to check the iPad 3 (now retired, believe it or not) for a big thrill ($375!) Then there’s the MacBook Pro with 13-inch Retina display at $1699, the iMac refresh with much-much thinner body for $1299, and the Mac mini for $599.

There’s a new USB power adapter in the Apple Store that works with the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5th gen and iPod nano 7th gen as well as all the iPads. This charger is 12w instead of the until-now 10w, this allowing you to charge faster then ever before – or so we’re to understand. We’ll have to see once we’ve got our hands on a unit in the very near future.

Note that this marks a rather silent retirement of the iPad 3, as marked above. You’ll find the iPad 2 continuing to sit in stock in Apple Stores around the world while the iPad 4th generation device replaces it. This will have Apple’s stock quite obviously showing the iPad 2 as the lesser device across the board, even compared to the iPad mini – with prices that may make the iPad mini and the iPad 4th gen irresistible.

Have a peek at the rest of our Apple event coverage in our giant Apple iPad mini event round-up and stick around the Apple store portal for more information as it arrives. This update to the Apple store and the Apple ecosystem has a whole miniature vibe to it, wouldn’t you say? We’ll see how it all adds up with more in-person hands-on action soon!


Apple Store back up: iPad mini and goodies galore is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


First Impressions Of The 13″ Retina MacBook Pro: On The Path To A New Category-Defining Product

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At its event today, Apple made much of the fact that the 13-inch MacBook Pro is still its top-selling notebook, right before unveiling the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. It’s clear that Apple wants this new version of its top-performer to take over as a product that redefines the laptop category, and judging by limited hands-ion experience, there’s good reason to believe they’ll eventually get their wish, though not just yet.

The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro offers the same amazing display as its larger predecessor, but in a much smaller package, with a 2560×1600 screen but with a starting price $500 less than the 15-inch notebook. That still doesn’t make it exactly affordable (consider that the non-retina version still starts at $999), but it does mean a lot more people will be able to get on board with a Retina-resolution notebook.

As for how it performed, it was very much like using the 15-inch rMBP, which is my main machine currently. In the hand, however, it feels significantly lighter, at about a pound lighter than the bigger model. That’s a big difference for a machine you carry around with you all day, and alone might sway some users, price considerations aside.

The reduced glare did seem to have an effect vs. previous versions of the screen, which definitely photographed better. And changing up the display resolution really gives you a ton of screen real estate at maximum settings for what is a very, very portable computer. So long as you’ve got good eyes, this could be a great solution for people looking for a work machine when they’re away from their dual-monitor setups.

Two Thunderbolt ports also mean you can plug it in at home and power up to two separate monitors at resolutions of 2560×1600, another big bonus. Basically, if the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro wasn’t the right machine for you, there’s a good chance the 13-inch is. But again, at that price it’s still not budget-friendly by any means, so while I expect significant sales beyond the 15-inch’s mostly niche pro market, I still don’t think this is the machine that supplants the regular 13-inch MacBook Pro as Apple’s top-seller.



Apple iMac 2012 hands-on

Apple’s iMac 2012 line-up has been revealed this morning, and those hoping for a compelling alternative to the new Windows 8 all-in-one PCs we’ve been seeing have had their wishes granted. Now incredibly thin – just 5mm at the tapered edge – and occupying 40-percent less volume than the slab-sided predecessors, the narrow iMacs are just as impressive in the metal as they are in photos. These are all-in-ones you almost can’t believe contain a full computer; read on for our first impressions.

Apple is very keen to talk up the high-tech manufacturing magic it had to muster in order to make the new iMacs quite so slim, but it’s the end-result that really grabs the attention. The crisp lines are reminiscent of the edges of the Retina MacBook Pro line, with bunched vents running under the chin of the desktop, and bevels in the stand that echo what we’ve seen Appel doing in its high-end notebook range.

What they don’t have is Retina resolution. Will-they-won’t-they chatter had circulated for months, but in the end it seems Apple’s supply chain either can’t supply higher-resolution panels at a cost the company thinks is realistic for consumers, or simply can’t supply them at all. Instead, you get 1920 x 1080 Full HD on the 21.5-inch iMac and 2560 x 1440 resolution on the 27-inch iMac.

What’s changed is the way the screens are layered together, and even without Retina that’s impressive. Optical lamination, just as we’ve seen used on the iPhone 5, brings the LCD IPS and cover glass together into a single pane, for what Apple says is 75-percent less reflection. To our eyes, though, it’s the colors and detail that really stand out. We hope Apple also uses the same sort of technology for a new Thunderbolt Display, as no matter how good that standalone monitor is, it pales next to the 2012 iMacs.

A solid selection of Core i5 and Core i7 chips, together with the speed/capacity advantages of hybrid SSD/HDD storage (if you don’t opt for regular SSDs or HDDs) should keep the iMacs running swiftly too, though we’ll have to wait until we can review them to know that for sure. For now, enjoy our hands-on gallery.

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Apple iMac 2012 hands-on is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


iPad Mini vs. the new (and newer) iPad: what’s different?

DNP iPad Mini vs thirdgen iPad what's different

We’ve all known that iPad prototypes of every shape and size reside inside Apple’s design lab, but few of us believed we’d ever see one on store shelves. Of course, when the rumor machine leapt into top gear, it seemed that Apple had relaxed its legendary stance on “tweener tablets.” Now Tim Cook and chums have whipped the covers from the iPad Mini, it’s time to delve inside.

Given that this is an entirely new product from the company, we thought we’d stack it up against the third and fourth generation iPads — the latter coming out just seven months after we threw down cash on the former. That way, we can identify what compromises and concessions have been made to squeeze the iPad experience into a smaller body. Join us after the break to to take part in the stats extravaganza, but excuse us if we’re a little distracted — we’re still suffering from concussion where Apple kicked all of us third-generation iPad owners in the teeth.

For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!

Continue reading iPad Mini vs. the new (and newer) iPad: what’s different?

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iPad Mini vs. the new (and newer) iPad: what’s different? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga quietly lays off employees during Apple event

Amidst all of today’s hype and excitement for Apple’s iPad mini event, there’s another side of the spectrum that isn’t doing so well today. Social-gaming development company Zynga has quietly laid off over 100 employees at its Austin branch. Reports are also saying that Zynga’s Boston and Chicago studios are also experiencing sudden layoffs and even studio shutdowns.

Zynga’s Austin studio develops the Bingo and The Ville games, and it’s said that the layoffs will inevitably end development and support for these games. It’s also said that employees were given just two hours to clean out their desks, which just adds insult to injury to a very sad day for Zynga and its now-former employees.

It’s said that the layoffs happened during Apple’s iPad mini event on purpose to avoid any press from finding out about it right away, which might explain the short two-hour time frame that the company gave the laid-off employees. It’s also rumored that Zynga’s Boston studio has completely shut down, ending development for Indiana Jones Adventure World.

Zynga hasn’t been doing so well financially. They suffered a $23 million loss in Q2 2012, and they reportedly even handed out stock as an incentive to keep employees from leaving, which is rather odd since they’re now cleaning house almost completely. We’re almost positive that more details will arrive in the coming days, so be sure to stay tuned for more on this surprising development.

[via Gamasutra]


Zynga quietly lays off employees during Apple event is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Apple’s iPad mini event video now available for replay

Apple's iPad mini event video now available for replay

Apple decided to broadcast its event live this time around (provided you had an appropriate Apple device), but those that missed it as it happened expectedly aren’t out of luck. The company has made the video of the event available for replay at your leisure, although you’ll once again need to view it in either the new Events channel on your Apple TV or in Safari on OS X 10.6 or later (at the source link below). Of course, you can also catch up with the event courtesy of our liveblog for our own running commentary on the proceedings.

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Apple’s iPad mini event video now available for replay originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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