Hasta La Gadget!

Kicking off this week’s CEATEC show in Japan, Sharp has played to its strengths with its new Windows 8 tablet, the Mebius Pad, factoring in a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display. That puts it pretty far ahead of the current crowd of 1080p Windows 8 tablets, including Microsoft’s incoming Surface 2, although we admit, we’d have loved to have seen another incredible 4K tablet. Regardless, that’s the highest resolution Windows 8 tablet we’ve seen yet. Alongside the company’s 10.1-inch IGZO panel (known for their low-power credentials), the Mebius Pad runs on a slightly less-exciting Intel quad-core Atom processor (the Z3370), which we’ve had mixed feelings on when it comes to the Windows tablets its powered in the past. The basic Windows 8.1 model will arrive with Office for free, although you’ll have to pay extra if you want it for the Pro edition. Also, following Japanese trends for practically any device, the slab is both water and dust-proof (it’s in the midst of being certified for IPX5, IPX7, IP5X), while you’ll be able to buy it with LTE radios on board, at least for Nippon, as the device is unlikely to leave Japanese shores once it launches in early 2014.

Unsurprisingly, in the flesh the screen looked good — Sharp even provided a magnifying glass so we could get up close to those pixels. The 10.1-inch display is also satisfyingly bright — if we’re honest, it’s unusual to see such a capable screen powered by an Atom processor. The tablet is headed towards business use (which explains the optional stylus) and the extra resolution found on Sharp’s first Windows 8 tablet means there’s more space for your spreadsheets and documents. The hardware itself is suitably thin and light, with the rear of the device bearing a passing resemblance to recent Sony hardware — possibly due to the understated camera lens in the corner. We’ll let you know if Sharp has plans to offer the tablet to global business types. %Gallery-slideshow99502%

Filed under: Tablets

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We hope you didn’t want Apple’s little event next week to be a complete surprise. After promises of extra details for a prior leak, a WeiPhone forum goer has returned with photos of what’s supposed to be the active screen and ports of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display that might be on stage come October 23rd. If this is what we get alongside the similarly unofficial miniature iPad, we’ll take it. The possible leak shows a 2,560 x 1,600 LCD (four times higher in resolution than the existing MacBook Pro) and, importantly, no sacrifices in expansion versus the 15-inch Retina model — there’s still the dual Thunderbolt ports and HDMI video that shipped with this system’s bigger brother. Vital details like the performance and price are left out, so there’s a few cards left off Apple’s table, but the images hint at what could be a tempting balance between the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s grunt and the MacBook Air’s grace.

Filed under: Laptops, Apple

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display reportedly seen with 2,560 x 1,600 LCD, dual Thunderbolt ports originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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