Hasta La Gadget!

After a long, long wait, the much-loved Nexus 4 is back in stock at the Google Play Store. Google and LG have been experiencing some stock issues with the handset due to incredibly high demand, leaving potential buyers without many more options. The phone has been available at T-Mobile, but those who wanted to go straight through Google had to wait weeks for the handset to become available again.

Luckily, today’s the day, so if you’ve been holding out for it to return to the Google Play Store, you’ll probably want to head over there sooner rather than later. After all, there’s no telling if the Nexus 4 will sell out again, but with so many people waiting to buy one, it might not be long before stock is tight. At the time of this writing, the listings for both the 8GB and 16GB variants say orders will be shipping out in 1-2 weeks.

Hopefully that shipping time doesn’t get extended as more people order a Nexus 4, but you never know. The Nexus 4 proved to be incredibly popular upon release, packing in solid hardware at a price that’s too hard to ignore for many smartphone users. The 8GB Nexus 4 only costs $299.99, while the 16GB model is $349.99 – keep in mind that you’re getting an unlocked Nexus 4 when you order directly from Google, so that sweetens the deal further.

The Nexus 4 offers a 4.7-inch display at 1280×760 resolution, 2GB of RAM, a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, and a 8MP rear-facing camera, so it’s pretty easy to see why folks are going nuts over it. It’s also one of the few devices to be running Android 4.2, and having the latest version of Android along for the ride isn’t bad either. You can grab one now by navigating over to the Google Play Store.

[via Android Community]

Nexus 4 returns to the Google Play Store is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Here in the first few months after Microsoft introduced Windows 8 to the world, we’re still looking for the perfect set of homes for this touch-friendly operating system – and in the Dell XPS One 27 (Touch Screen enabled model 2710), we may have found the best all-in-one solution yet. This beast works with a 27-inch 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution (Quad HD) display ready for 10-finger touch on an articulating stand. This stand will allow you to move 60 degrees, nearly flat to an ever-so-slightly forward-leaning position – your choice!

Hardware

The Dell XPS One 27 is a machine that comes in several different iterations – and you may have seen it in the past without an articulating stand or a touchscreen. This version is the newest and, of course, greatest of the pack with a relatively massive 19.32 x 26.14 inch chassis with depth ranging from 1.25 inches to 2.82 inches. This beast has been called competition for the newest iMac, but as you’ll see in our iMac 27-inch (2012) review, aside from the “all-in-one” name, these computers are altogether different, essentially top to bottom.

This XPS monster weighs in at 35.16 pounds as you’ll see plainly in the hands-on video above. The neck is made to make the computer’s bulk feel light, and indeed it does – we’re able to easily tilt the display back and forth with one hand, no problem. Moving the display up and down will require a couple of hands to manage, but again you’ll have no trouble – it’s picking the whole machine up and moving it from table to table that’ll give you a back-ache, but since you’re only going to have this bulk in one place the whole time you own it, that shouldn’t be a problem.

The front of this machine has about an inch of bezel surrounding the display, a bit more than that at the bottom with an additional bit of casing under the glass that brings you down another inch. The display glass sits out and above the casing rather than being flush with it, this giving you the impression that it goes from left to right to top almost magically – not an easy feat and certainly appreciated in the final aesthetic. The back of the machine is a simple gray on the back, all hard plastic casing with the largest collection of ports sitting below the neck.

This set of ports includes four USB 3.0, HDMI out, HDMI in, SPDIF 1 (7.1 ch), and ethernet. On the right side of the machine you’ve got a disk drive for 12.7mm action, DVD+/-RW and BluRay Combo for your pleasure, HDD LED light, and a power button. On the other side you’ve got an 8 in 1 media card reader with support for SDXC (SD3.0), Secure Digital (SD), Multi Media Card (MMC), Hi Speed SD, Hi Capacity SD, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO, and xD Picture Cards alike. Also on the left side you’ve got two more USB 3.0 ports that are Sleep Charge Capable – how about that?

Up on the front you’ve also got a set of four relatively hidden buttons that are capacitive and only appear when you tap them. The first two buttons increase and decrease the brightness of your display, the third controls the input of your display (if you’re using your HDMI-in, for example), and the last button will eject a disk from your disk drive, no questions asked. Each of these buttons is marked with an LED light that, again, only appears when you tap it.

The front-facing camera on this machine offers you the ability to speak with Skype (or whatever other video chat apps you like), extremely easy to use and decent at least for video chat in general. While you wont be recording any Hollywood-quality videos with this camera, it’s certainly nice to have as a given. It’s also relatively hidden from view if you don’t plan on using it all – no unrelenting design cues here!

Software and Performance

The machine we’ve got here works with Intel HD Integrated Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 2GB GDDR5, so you know good and well you’ll be packing high graphics power from top to bottom. While we’ve been drawn immediately and continuously to playing HD video as this machine cannot be denied as a great motion picture player, gaming is certainly a reality here right out of the box. You may want to pick up a few gaming-centric peripherals if you do want to go that route as wired may feel slightly more perfectly accurate than Bluetooth for mouse and keyboard action, the power under this hood is good to go.

Have a peek first at the system components included in this particular build, then see below the results of our standard benchmark test in Geekbench. Feel free to compare this score with past reviews of similar systems, keeping in mind that each system is indeed unique and benchmarks, no matter how accurate, show numbers, not your overall positive or negative experience.

Windows 8 is running as smoothly and as beautifully as we’ve ever seen it here on the Dell XPS One 27, making its case for what’s easily one of the most high-quality presentations of the operating system to date. Windows 8 is coming in to its own with more official full-screen and touch-optimized apps every day (see: Office 365 for example) and you’re sure to find yourself lost in exploration with this machine if not ready for full-on entertainment action from day one. Video looks great out of the box, graphics and settings can be optimized instantly with NVIDIA’s newest iteration of the GeForce Experience (still in Beta at the moment, but working great), and touchscreen action has never felt more natural.

Wrap-up

This machine will be costing you right around $1300 USD, and for that price you’re getting one beast of a computer. The Dell XPS One 27 with multi-touch display is easily one of the most solidly put together total packages running Windows 8 today, and makes us feel right at home with the touchscreen user interface immediately on startup. Dell has created a computer that makes us confident that touchscreen interfaces are indeed the future of home computing, especially in the entertainment realm – grab it now!

Dell XPS One 27 Review: a real touchscreen Windows 8 All-in-One hero is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We heard last week HTC was planning to launch its HTC M7 at a dedicated media event on February 19 and not during MWC, and wouldn’t you know it, an invite to an HTC event taking place in New York City made its way to our inbox. And you guys wouldn’t believe the date of the event. February. Nine. Teen.

Yes – it looks as though previous reports of HTC launching its HTC M7 outside of MWC may turn out to be true. We’ll just have to sit back and wait a few more weeks until we can attend HTC’s event. In the meantime, if the M7 is planned to be launched at the event, we expect it to feature a 4.7-inch 1080p HD display, quad-core Qualcomm processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

HTC will also be holding an additional event in London on the same day and time, factoring in the time difference, of course. So we’re sure whatever HTC has up its sleeve, it’ll be big enough to warrant simultaneous launch events in two different countries.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone Tank Charger, Starfish Technologies To Unveil Smartwatch At Macworld,

Sony has just announced that they will be rolling out their next generation WUXGA installation projector that will sport Laser Light Source Technology, delivering what Sony claims to be a “world’s first” 3LCD laser, 4,000 lumens WUXGA (1920 x 1200) projector. It is no surprise then, to have another superlative attached to it , making it the brightest projector of its kind and a first for the industry.

What makes the Laser Light Source Projector so different from a traditional projector? For starters, you need not fret over the issues of lamp change thanks to its increased durability as well as low total cost of ownership. Sporting the newly developed BrightEra 3LCD technology, the projector is said to offer up to 20,000 hours maintenance free time, depending on the projector’s environment and setup conditions. It will also rely on lasers instead of LEDs to deliver optimum brightness. Thanks to white light, similar to traditional UHP light sources, being directed into the 3LCD engine, your eyes will be greeted by incredible picture quality that translates to substantially brighter images, better contrast ratios and outstanding color stability.

You will have to wait until this summer to take advantage of the Laser Light Source Projector though, so at least you have a few months to start saving up. [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Olympus Stylus TG-830 Tough Digital Camera, Olympus Stylus TG-2 Tough Digital Camera,

As a result from an anti-trust settlement from a lawsuit filed back in 2005, retailers now have the ability to charge customers up to 4% of their purchase cost for using a credit card, as of January 27. The “checkout fee” applies to only credit cards — not debit cards — and can only be implemented in 40 states in the US, with California, New York, and Texas being some of the states where the surcharge is illegal.

Before you get too bent out of shape, be aware that it’s the retailers who have the power whether or not to implement a surcharge, and if they do, they have to choice of deciding what percentage, but only up to 4%. While it’s not yet known how many retailers plan on implementing a credit card fee at checkout, we can’t imagine the backlash of such a decision being subtle.

The new fee comes from an anti-trust lawsuit filed by retailers who were being tricked by credit card companies that were all discovered to be fixing the fees that retailers pay to process credit cards. Essentially, every retailer pays a fee to a credit card company for the ability to accept that particular credit card in its stores. This fee would basically just be passed on to customers.

It’s a questionable practice, but it seems that it’s been given the go-ahead. Retailers will be forced to notify its customers if they do end up implementing a credit card surcharge, so there’s no risk of being surprised when you get to the checkout counter. Other than that, though, it looks like cash and debit cards may become more popular as a result. Only time will tell.

[via Reuters]

Retailers can now charge you to use a credit card is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.