[CES 2013] If you fancy yourself as an enthusiast photographer of sorts and regular compacts are no longer able to accomplish what you want, Olympus has recently announced the STYLUS SZ-15 which based on its specs, should be able to help photographers capture better quality images at slightly faster speeds compared to regular compacts or point-and-shoots. The STYLUS SZ-15 will sport a 16MP CCD sensor and 24x optical zoom for those who like to get up close and personal, and a TruePic III+ Image Processor. It will also allow wide-angle shots to be taken at 25mm at its widest, and with max ISO settings at 1600, it should help boost low-light photography although don’t expect any miracles. (more…)
[CES 2013] Just in case the Olympus SZ-15 wasn’t good enough to meet your photography demands, then perhaps it slightly higher-end sibling the STYLUS SZ-16 iHS might be of interest to you. The STYLUS SZ-16 iHS camera will sport a 16MP CMOS image sensor along with a slightly faster processor to match in the form of the TruePic VI Image Processor. It also features a CMOS sensor which is an upgrade over the CCD one featured on the SZ-15. The STYLUS SZ-16 iHS is also capable of a 24x optical zoom, but takes it one step further by offering 48x super res zoom, allowing photographers to get in even closer than before. (more…)
[CES 2013] Earlier we mentioned that Olympus had a couple of rugged cameras as part of their CES 2013 lineup, such as the TG-630. If you thought that maybe the TG-630 wasn’t rugged enough for you, then perhaps its big brother, the STYLUS TOUGH TG-830 iHS , might be more to your liking. The TG-830 will sport a slightly larger image sensor – 16MP versus the 12MP on the TG-630, but apart from that it still utilizes the same BSI CMOS sensor and will rely on the TruePic VI image processor as well. The TG-830 iHS will feature the same type of protection as the TG-630 iHS, such as waterproof up to depths of 10m, and shockproof from drops of heights up to 2m, and is both freezeproof and dustproof.
Kanex might be typecast as a mere maker of display cables, but that doesn’t mean it’s not capable of belting out the odd line of Shakespeare. Its latest “challenging” role is the meDrive, a device that creates a private cloud to bounce files between your iOS and desktop devices. With its WebDAV support, it’ll let you bounce iWork documents on your private network, and, if you open up port 80, will also let you access it on the go. Simply plug the box into your router, and Bonjour’s auto-discovery support will handle the rest from the free app. You can also hot-swap USB storage of any size into the dedicated port, or even add in a hub for even more space. Put money in thy purse tonight, as it’ll cost you $99 when it goes on sale right… now.
Lenovo is announcing its fair share of brand new products at CES 2013, but its also giving some of its older products a refresh so they’ll act as better Windows 8 machines. One such line of products getting a refresh is the Lenovo U series. This is essentially the same exact thing as older IdeaPad U310 models, but there’s one key feature being added with this latest release: touch.
Lenovo has outfitted the IdeaPad U310 with a touch panel for navigating through windows 8′s start screen. If you’ve read nearly any Windows 8 post penned by me, you’ll probably know that I think Windows 8 is perfect for touchscreens, so bringing touch functionality to the IdeaPad U310 is a great move for Lenovo.
We’re talking 10-point touch to be specific, which is a feature we’ve seen on a number of Lenovo’s Windows 8 machines lately. The addition of touch is pretty much the only difference though, with Lenovo offering up to an Intel Core i7 in the IdeaPad U310 Touch. You’ll also have NVIDIA GeForce graphics, so despite the fact that the IdeaPad U310 is an ultrabook, you might be able to get some reasonable graphics power out of the machine.
Indeed, the U310 is definitely an ultrabook, as it’s quite slim when it’s closed and it’s really light. If the smaller form factor of the U310 isn’t quite your cup of tea, Lenovo will also be offering the U410 with a 14-inch screen. The new U Touch series will be shipping out in Q1 2013, and Lenovo says that the U310 will start at $799.
[CES 2013] 4K seems to be taking over CES this year as a number of TV manufacturers are introducing their next HDTVs, and it seems Sony is another TV manufacturer that is not only showing their first 4K TV, but it’ll be the first 56-inch 4K OLED TV.
Sony’s 56-inch 4K OLED TV is able to display at a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 and is filled with Sony’s oxide semiconductor TFTs and Super Top Emission technologies, which as long as that means we’re able to view 4K on an OLED TV, then that’s good enough for us.
The 56-inch 4K OLED TV prototype didn’t come with any mention of any other specs we expect to hear from an official announcement of a new TV set, which makes sense since this is, in fact, a prototype. We’re sure Sony will be using today’s reveal as a stepping stone to reveal an actual commercial product one day, and when that happens, be sure that we’ll be right there to get all of the juicy details we know you’re dying to hear right now.
AMD held their press event here at CES 2013, and announced a slew of new accelerated processing units (APUs). And as typical fashion of any chipset maker, they were full of codenames. The company announced Kabini, Kaveri, Richland, and Temash APUs today, the first and the last being AMD’s first true SoC APUs.
As far as the other two go, Richland is an APU that’s currently shipping to OEMs and it promises to deliver a performance boost of 20 to 40% over the previous generation of the company’s A-series chips, and the Kaveri is a new 28nm chip that features heterogeneous system architecture (HSA), and it should ship to customers sometime during the second half of this year.
Richland will also be bundling some new software with the chip, specifically a handful of gesture- and facial-recognition tools. These new chips will be used in various HP, ASUS, and Vizio ultrathin laptops, as well as Vizio’s 24-inch AIO desktop. The company announced theseearlier in the day.
Senior vice president and general manager Lisa Su made an appearance at AMD’s press event and mentioned that the company is dedicated “to bring true surround computing and immersive experiences to our everyday lives.” She also mentioned that the new APU’s are “the industry’s first x86 quad-core SoC,” proving the company’s leadership in the gaming industry.
NVIDIA’s Project SHIELD won’t rely on premium games or locked-down ecosystems to offset hardware costs, unlike traditional consoles, with the company instead looking to free-to-play titles already proliferating on Android. “We’ll make our money by selling the device to gamers” senior vice president of content and technology Tony Tamasi said today, contrasting NVIDIA’s approach with that of printer ink merchants.
“The business model that stems from [selling direct] means we’ll make our money by selling the device to gamers. (And we hope, by the way, that they’ll love it.)” Tamasi said. “This differs from the razors-and-razor blades approach, which isn’t just used by Gillette and Schick. Printer-companies use it, as well, making money from highly profitable ink. So do game-console companies, who primarily make their profit from premium games. This time-honored approach isn’t the one we’re taking with Project SHIELD.”
NVIDIA Project SHIELD hands-on:
Android games are often free-to-play, supported either with in-app advertising or purchases. As Tamasi also points out, gamers will be able to stream their desktop titles to Project SHIELD. “We want to help game developers keep you happily entertained with the magic that they dream up” the NVIDIA exec concludes. “We’re not looking to create a walled garden of software, even if it sprouts some gorgeous games.”
From our early play with Project SHIELD that streaming process works well – assuming you have sufficient bandwidth. NVIDIA showed us Call of Duty: Black Ops II from a GeForce-equipped PC, which streamed smoothly, albeit in the same room and over 802.11n 2×2 MIMO WiFi.
Avoiding the hassle of creating an ecosystem of its own is a solid approach; even Sony, with its legacy PlayStation titles, has struggled to gain traction with the PlayStation Store on Android. NVIDIA also has its existing TegraZone brand, which corrals together third-party titles particularly fettled to suit the company’s Tegra chipsets, which it can leverage on Project SHIELD.
[CES 2013] As the world was awaiting for Sony’s press conference at CES, we caught wind of a leak of Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z. Then, moments later, Sony took to the stage to announce some of its products we should expect to be available this year, and wouldn’t you know it, the Sony Xperia Z was one of them. Lucky us!
Sony’s new flagship Android smarpthone, the Xperia Z, has a 5-inch Full HD 1080p Reality Display, Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 4G LTE. It also has NFC and can interact with other NFC-enabled Sony products to instantly sync with them to enjoy music, videos and photos on a number of compatible Sony products.
The main selling point for the Xperia Z is its Reality Display, which Sony is saying they’ve brought its TV manufacturing expertise to the smartphone market as it delivers an immersive viewing experience. Not only is its screen a main selling point, but Sony has made the Xperia Z extremely durable with tempered glass and anti-shatter film on the front and back of the device, as well as made it dust and water resistant, all in a 7.9mm thick body.
The Xperia Z will be released in Q1 2013 and will launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but Sony says it will be upgraded to Android 4.2 shortly after its launch.
Home theater aficionados with both an excess of wall space and disposable income, rejoice! Westinghouse has just unveiled a super-premium, outsized 4K television. 110 Inches. $300,000. Great googly moogly. More »
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