Hasta La Gadget!

Thanks to the magic of leaked YouTube videos, we already knew Sony was working on another slider Ultrabook to replace the failed Duo 11. Now it’s official: the company just formally announced the Duo 13, and if Sony’s to be believed, it addresses many of the original’s shortcomings. For starters, the new “Surf Slider” hinge is supposedly easier to open — Sony even says it’s possible to maneuver with one hand. If you look at those product shots below, you’ll see it’s also prettier to look at from behind (guess Sony heard us complaining about the exposed cabling on the Duo 11). What’s interesting is that the Duo 13 has similar dimensions as its predecessor, and it only weighs a fraction more (2.93 pounds vs. 2.87). The trick was to shrink the bezels, and also to switch to a carbon fiber design, similar to what you’ll find on the old Z series and the new Pro line. Oddly, though, while the dimensions haven’t changed dramatically, Sony still made room for a less cramped-seeming keyboard, one that even includes a proper trackpad. That’s right, folks, the optical tracking stick is gone. We have a feeling you won’t miss it.

Some other design notes: the Duo 13 adds a place for stowing the digitizer pen, which the Duo 11 lacked. What’s more, while the Duo always had a scratch-resistant 1080p IPS display, this one also makes use of Sony’s Triluminos technology, originally used on the company’s Bravia TVs. Additionally, it has the same X-Reality processing engine you’ll already find on some Xperia smartphones. Rounding out the spec list, there’s NFC, Haswell processors and optional AT&T LTE. The main camera, meanwhile, has been upgraded to an 8-megapixel shooter with an Exmor RS sensor; the front webcam now does 1080p video. As for battery life, it should last about 10 hours, thanks to Sony’s Active Sleep technology. Look for it to arrive June 9th, in both black and white, with a starting price of $1,400. We’ve already given the Duo 13 the full review treatment; check that out here.

Filed under: Laptops, Sony

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Things we expected to see at the world’s premier computer show: mainstream notebooks, gaming notebooks, thin notebooks (“pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp“), maybe even a tablet or two. But a desk lamp? Not so much. And yet, that might be the most memorable thing Gigaybte is showing here at Computex. The Smart Lamp is, as you’d expect, a proper light, one you can use on four different brightness settings. But it also doubles as a laptop hub, with a DVD player built into the base, along with a handful of other ports. These include two USB sockets, dual headphone / earphone jacks and an SD reader.

It’s a neat idea, to be sure — who doesn’t love two-in-one devices – but considering it’s supposed to supplement the ports normally found on Ultrabooks, it seems to be missing quite a few big ones. Why not throw in an HDMI port, or some other kind of display output? Ooh, or how about an Ethernet jack? Or a DVD drive that can burn discs in addition to play them? Anyway, you can color us slightly disappointed after having gotten an up-close look, even if the concept itself deserves an ‘A’ for creativity. No word yet on how much this will cost, when it will go on sale or in which countries it will be available. Until then, check out the walk-through video below — not that this thing needs much further explanation.

Filed under: Peripherals

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For once, we were offered some nicely specific pricing for ASUS’ incoming MeMo Pad HD 7 (namely $129 for the 8GB model and $149 for the 16GB option), but were left wanting on any sort of release date. Fortunately, ASUS’ UK branch has told us to expect the colorful Nexus 7 doppelgänger this August. As mentioned during the company’s Computex reveal, the smaller, cheaper iteration is geared towards developing markets and it looks like ASUS is sticking with that — only the 16GB model will go on sale in the British Isles, priced at £149.

Filed under: Tablets, ASUS

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Computex 2013 is a platform for where companies take the opportunity to roll out their latest hardware as well as perform groundbreaking announcements, and Acer, who hails from Taiwan, decided not to lose this opportunity to make a splash in their own backyard by announcing what is the first 8.1” tablet in the industry that runs on the Windows 8 operating system – and it is known as the Acer Iconia W3. With the Acer Iconia W3, you are sure you will be able to enjoy portable entertainment as well as full PC capabilities, all controlled via a single hand, now how about that? In order to up the productivity ante, Acer has also ensured that the Acer Iconia W3 would come pre-loaded with the Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 without requiring you to fork out an extra cent. This is generous on Microsoft’s part, but there is a method to this madness, too, since those who are weaned on the Microsoft Office environment would want to use the software the next time they graduate and enter the working world, where they might need to purchase the full copy then – helping Microsoft earn some more money along the way.

It is said that the Acer Iconia W3 is able to deliver an unprecedented tablet experience, where it boasts of a design that is compact enough to be used comfortably with just one hand, regardless of whether you are using it to read or to browse the Internet. The 8.1” display is more than adequate to handle all your entertainment and desktop applications, and it does not matter whether you are a professional, student or family, the Acer Iconia W3 suits just about all of you just fine.

The entire shebang was specially designed with productivity in mind, where it tips the scales at a mere 1.10 pounds, and measures just 0.45” thin, making it a snap to tote around anywhere you like. The Acer Iconia W3 would be able to be paired to an optional full-size Bluetooth keyboard which would be able to hold the tablet upright whenever you need to type, as well as allowing you to dock it to the tablet conveniently so that it lays flat for easy screen-protected transportation. It is said that the keyboard itself mirrors the size of those that can be found on larger 13.3” notebooks, making it comfortable to use even for long hours of typing on end. Running on an Intel Atom processor, the Acer Iconia W3 has up to 8 hours of battery life on a single full charge, where it is accompanied by a 720p resolution LED display, front- and rear-facing 2MP webcams, micro-HDMI and microUSB connectivity, and will arrive in 32GB or 64GB configurations which can be further expanded via a microSD memory card slot.

Press Release
[ Acer Iconia W3 is first 8” Windows 8 tablet copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

If you are mad about gadgets, then surely shows such as CeBIT, the grand daddy of them all, CES, or even a more oriental slant like Computex would capture your attention, as you lap up the different kinds of news as well as press releases that different companies come up with. Asus is one such company, using the opportunity of launching yet another computer peripheral in their own backyard in the form of the Asus VivoMouse. Just when you thought that a mouse is a mouse, is a mouse, Asus comes along to try and prove everyone wrong. Now the Asus VivoMouse is not any kind of gaming device, but rather, it will be oriented more towards the office and serious crowd.

Just what kind of goodies does the Asus VivoMouse come with? For starters, it is highly versatile, since it can double up as a standalone touchpad and wireless remote. In a nutshell, you can go around to claim that the Asus VivoMouse is the first wireless mouse with an integrated multi-touch touchpad in the world, delivering not only full desktop but handheld control as well.

Certainly the lines of normal hardware categories are being redrawn all the time with each successive generation of peripherals that enter the market. Take the smartphone for instance – this category of gadgets have moved on from carrying a QWERTY keyboard to being a full touchscreen device, and now we have the screen size getting larger and larger until they start to encroach on tablet territory. I guess you can more or less say that the same is happening with the Asus VivoMouse, where it combines mouse, touchpad, and wireless remote into a single device.

It is said to be an entirely new kind of pointing device, courtesy of its innovative combination of traditional desktop input and a wireless handheld remote for a more casual PC control. When you want to use the VivoMouse as a standard optical mouse, it will fit comfortably in the hand, although its top surface would also boast of a large circular touchpad with full support for Windows 8 multi-touch gestures. Since it is wide and flat, you can use the VivoMouse interchangeably as a mouse and desktop touchpad, which makes it the ideal partner for Windows 8 machines. No idea on pricing, but the Asus VivoMouse will be out later this Q3.

Press Release
[ Asus VivoMouse announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]