Dec 30
One year ago, the first views of Huawei’s Ascend Mate appeared in the wild. The phablet debuted a week later at CES 2013. Today images for the Ascend Mate 2 … Continue reading
Nov 18
Looxcie 3 gets a new, square design so you can stream video from your kid’s chest
Posted in: Today's Chili
Action cams typically go hand-in-hand with the dudebros risking life and limb for adrenaline, and are named to match. Looxcie’s target demo’s a bit different. Beyond embracing the pun (and creative spelling) at its utmost, the company’s new Looxcie 3 aims to get even more wearable with a squarish design that weighs just 1.3 ounces. And if the Looxcie 3’s promo shots are any indication, the company’s hoping you’ll strap this video streamer to your kid’s chest and share that whimsy over WiFi (in 480p) live to Facebook. Or record and edit captured 720p video and stills from your smartphone (Android and iOS are both supported). The $100 compact cam supports microSD expansion up to 64GB so you should have plenty of space to keep the cherished memories (or banal moments) stored. You can order the Looxcie 3 now at the link below, but just FYI, the kid leashes are sold separately.
Filed under: Wearables
Aug 19
Oppo’s 4.7-inch R819 arrives with svelte 7.3mm profile, stock Android option (updated)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Oppo has just announced the R819, a 4.7-inch smartphone that’s likely to have high appeal to lovers of stock Android. The Chinese firm will release the handset with its Oppo Color ROM, but users will also be able to install stock Android through a relatively simple sideloading procedure. Hardware wise, it’s also decently spec’d, considering that Oppo seems to have tried to cram as much as it could into the sleek 7.3mm thick (.29 inch), 110 gram (3.9 ounce) shell. You’ll get a quad-core MediaTek CPU, 720p IPS display, 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM, a Sony Exmor-equipped 8-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera with an LED flash, a 2,000mAh battery and dual-sim capability. There’s no word on availability or pricing yet, though unlike some China-based handset makers, Oppo’s devices often wind up in the US.
Update: As you probably saw in our hands-on, the Oppo R819 is indeed set to arrive at online retailers in September for $349 (269 euros).
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Aug 06
Microsoft: Xbox One will capture game footage at 720p even if source is higher res
Posted in: Today's Chili
One of the many uses for Microsoft’s vaunted 300,000 Xbox Live servers for the Xbox One is to power the Game DVR, which lets you record, edit and re-visit your many exploits. Platform chief Marc Whitten told a panel that the resolution will be limited to 720/30p video, even if the game itself is higher resolution (Forza Motorsport 5 is 1080/60p, for instance). The console will automatically record the last five minutes of your gameplay, and can even save the last 30 seconds of action on command without interrupting play. Whitten added that all of that footage would be stored in the cloud, letting you edit and share content via Upload Studio. Games will create “magic moment” videos from such footage, which you can view from the Xbox OneGuide, your personal DVR collection and the gamer cards of other players. That sounds like a lot of footage, even for 300k servers — which may explain why Microsoft limited the resolution to 720p.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Via: Eurogamer
Source: IGN
Aug 05
Moto X review
Posted in: Today's Chili
One year ago, Motorola, fat and fed by its Google acquisition, inched quietly into a silicon-spun cocoon to gestate. The subsequent passage of time allowed it to transmogrify and re-emerge a thing of red, yellow, blue and sometimes green beauty; a Google thing made by a Google company. The Moto X, its newborn monarch, arrives in an array of different colors, made possible by the NikeID-like Moto Maker site. It also comes with a homespun narrative: it’s assembled here in the USA. Time to empty your wallets, patriots. This is America’s smartphone and it costs $199 on a two-year contract.
If I’m right in reading between the lines of Google’s marketing speak, the Moto X was made in the image of the everyman. It’s the product of a democratic process — you can take that future design poll on Facebook as proof of this point. The 4.7-inch screen size, the curvature of its back, the composite materials, its weight and front-face look were focus-tested for maximum inoffensiveness. The Moto X exudes no tech halo like the Galaxy S 4 or the HTC One because it is the sum of averages. Here’s how I see it: You know those people who own iPhones, but don’t know which model number they own and also refer to all Android phones as Droids? This phone is for them.
Gallery: Moto X review
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Google
Aug 01
Motorola. A Google company. It’s time to commit that to memory. With the Moto X, a 4.7-inch phone going on sale later this summer for $199 on contract, the company has officially started the shot clock for the “new Motorola”; this is the first Moto product designed from scratch with Google’s direct oversight. And it shows, from the packaging to the messaging to the features aimed at mainstream users. Most importantly of all, there’s Moto X’s standout feature: personalization. We’ve been hearing for years from various OEMs that smartphones are a personal statement, a reflection of the individual, but aside from the occasional color option, the wallpaper and case have been the only real opportunities for personal expression. Well, you can kiss those days goodbye. Motorola’s keyed in to a core part of the user experience — self-styling — and we expect its rivals to follow suit.
But all of that backstory can wait. We need to talk about the Moto X. The company never explicitly said so when it showed us the phone behind closed doors today, but this is clearly a mainstream phone (it’s geared towards the “majority of users” several execs told us). To that point, its spec sheet and feature list (Touchless Control, Active Display, Quick Capture) won’t dazzle the technorati. And, from what we can tell, it’s not supposed to. To hear the company tell it, the Moto X’s journey began one year ago with a whiteboard listing all of the most common user problems, ways to address those issues and a plan to get the device into as many hands as possible. You won’t be able to assess that for yourself until the phone launches on AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular later this summer. For now, though, if our initial hands-on time is any indication, it appears Motorola’s succeeded.
Gallery: Motorola Moto X preview
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Google
Jul 04
While its mostly been busy blurring the lines between smartphone and camera lately, Samsung’s still churning out regular shooters as well. Case in point: it just launched the WB110, a 20-megapixel successor to last year’s 16-megapixel model packing the same 26x optical zoom. That’s far from superzooms like Nikon’s 42x P520, but Samsung’s model does go a touch wider with a 35mm equivalent range of 22.3mm to 580mm. Other highlights include 720p AVC/H.264 video, 3,200 max ISO, Smart Auto mode to aid in tricky still and movie exposures, a pop-up flash and a 3-inch HVGA (480 x 360) display. None of those specs will set the world on fire, so hopefully the price won’t burn your wallet once Samsung gets around to announcing it. There’s no date for availability either, but the rest of the story’s in the PR after the break.
Gallery: Samsung WB110 Bridge Camera
Apr 29
Sony’s mash-up Xperia, the SP, is taking its transparent element light show to the UK today, giving budget-minded Brits one stylish and feature-packed mobile alternative. The 4.6-inch 720p handset, which is basically a Best of… edition of the Xperia S and P with an aluminum unibody, is shipping now at T-Mobile UK for £250 outright (about $387 USD), whereas Orange and EE are offering up the device for free with qualifying plans. If you want LTE, however, you only have one carrier option and that’s EE — a choice that’ll have you shackled for a two-year period. As for O2 and Three, those carriers still have the SP listed as “coming soon,” but it’s safe to say you won’t find a better bargain than *free.
*Nothing in life is free.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sony
Via: Xperia Blog
Source: T-Mobile Uk, Orange, EE
Mar 19
Much of ZTE’s MWC 2013 focus was its desire to go from white label to global brand name. And from the looks of these leaked shots, the Chinese OEM’s taking that goal seriously, purportedly prepping a new handset for Sprint. Going by the rumored name “Quantum,” the handset falls below flagship status, allegedly running Android Jelly Bean and bearing a Snapdragon S4 processor, 5-inch 720p display, 1GB RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera housed in an outsized circular module. There’s no visible carrier branding anywhere on the device to confirm its possible Sprint LTE destiny — only a logo in the notification pane and an anonymous tip, as reported to Android Police, pegs it for that. If this leak does indeed pan out, then that’s good news for Sprint subs looking for more hardware choice, giant screens and 4G. And if not, well, no one will know the difference. Check out the source for additional shots.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
Source: Android Police
Mar 18
Sony Mobile adds two new Xperia smartphones to its Spring line up with the SP and L
Posted in: Today's ChiliSony today announced in Europe two new Xperia smartphone models to join its 2013 line up – the Xperia SP and Xperia L. The Xperia SP delivers 4G LTE performance and an exceptional viewing experience, with a razor sharp HD screen housed in a beautiful design. The Xperia L provides class leading camera technology with HDR for both photos and videos complemented by a high quality screen.
Xperia SP – High Definition brilliance in a premium design
The Xperia SP utilises expertise from Sony’s BRAVIA …
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