Hasta La Gadget!

With the proliferation of Ultrabooks, laptops are shipping with fewer ports and smaller screens. One of the benficiaries of the streamlined designs is DisplayLink, whose technology can turn a single USB port into a bevy of connections. At IDF 2012, the company showed off new gear from several vendors, including EVGA, HP, Lenovo and Targus. First, there’s a handsome little puck from EVGA, called the UV Plus+39, that plugs into your laptop’s USB 2 or 3.0 socket to grant you HDMI and DVI output at up to 2048 x 1152 resolution for $85. Next up, Lenovo’s self-explanatory USB 3.0 to DVI adapter that supports the same max resolution as the Plus+39 for $80. Lastly, a pair of docks from Targus and HP. HP’s 3005pr USB 3.0 Port Replicator turns your laptop’s USB 3.0 port into four USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, one HDMI, DisplayPort, and RJ-45 jacks, plus audio in and out connections for a mere $150. Targus’ $250 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Docking Station has similar connectivity to HP’s solution, but swaps DisplayPort for DVI and adds the ability to charge 90W laptops using its included array of power adapters. Having trouble deciding which one’s for you? Perhaps our photos in the gallery below will help you decide.

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

Filed under: Peripherals

DisplayLink shows off adapters and docks from HP, Lenovo, EVGA and Targus at IDF 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week Apple showed off a brand new dock connector for their iPhone 5, and likely for the rest of their mobile line eventually, called Lightning. This cord uses an “all-digital 8-signal design” with an adaptive interface – works with either side up – and is 80 percent smaller than the previous iPod dock solution. This little beast has “improved durability” over the previous cords Apple has worked with and Apple has shown off an Adapter as well – the adapter here will allow you to work with the old 30-pin dock connector too if you’ve got those kinds of accessories.

Note that this technology is a brand effort as well as a technology effort. Apple has made it clear that Thunderbolt is a technology that they’ve branded themselves – so to speak – while Lightening is another brand of theirs here with this cord first and foremost. We’re going to see a whole lot more of this technology in the near future from Apple, you can bet!

UPDATE: Check out the pricing and release details for the basic cord as well as the converter devices and adapters as well – up in the Apple Store online now!

This iPhone 5 news comes along with a massive bunch of details for the device that have been shown off all day long – and will be shown at great length over the next week as well. Stay tuned to our Apple portal for all the information you need on this iPhone 5 as it hits store shelves later this month – or so we expect! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the iPhone 5 and whatever else we see here at the Apple event as it unfolds through the day!

iPhone 5 Lightning dock connector revealed to run alongside Thunderbolt is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The next-generation iPad mini, a device tipped to work with what’s essentially iPad 2 specifications save it’s smaller display, has appeared in several high-definition photos this week. The device appears here from Tech163 as a slightly more blunt version of the larger iPad 3rd generation device on the market today, including here a new dock connector hole and two sets of machine-drilled speaker holes. This device’s docking port is likely matching that of the rumored 9-pin connector set for the iPhone 5.

This device is appearing with a standard design on the back with the Apple logo shining bright and the iPad name sitting halfway between the logo and the bottom of the slate. The innards of this casing show a top-mounted headphone jack and a back-facing camera as well as a microphone hole at the center of the back of the device near the top (portrait-style) for noise cancellation as it almost certainly works with another mic closer to the bottom. The edge of this casing also shows that the front glass of the device will not be surrounded by much of any sort of hard border.

There’s a screen lock switch hole as well as two longer holes up near the upper-right of the device’s casing which are almost certainly in place for volume up/down. This device’s 7.85-inch display will more than likely be high definition as it will contain the same resolution as the current iPad 2, but smashed into a smaller space. This device will also likely be offered in at least a wi-fi-only iteration while no word has yet surfaced on the possibility of a 4G LTE or otherwise mobile-connected version of the tablet.

The iPad mini – or iPad Air, possibly, will be appearing at an event separate from the September 12th event we’re about to attend which will be the home of the iPhone 5. This October event for the iPad mini will likely also bring a refresh of the 3rd Generation iPad with an updated dock connector as well. Stick around SlashGear’s liveblogging portal for instant coverage of the September and October events, and hit our Apple portal for news everywhere in between here, there, and through the future!

[via Apple Insider]

iPad mini backplate appears in HD photos is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While up on stage for their Unpacked event Samsung hasn’t wasted any time announcing a slew of new devices. What you’ll see next is their new Smart PC. With an 11.6-inch HD display tablet that combines into a very Transformer-like keyboard dock this PC offers both a portable and a full keyboard typing experience.

Let’s forget a minute that Samsung just got sued by Apple and look at just how extremely similar that picture above is to the ASUS Transformer and Transformer Prime Android tablets. Moving on! The Samsung ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC PRO are similar to the earlier announced ARM Windows RT model — only will offer the full experience.

With a fully detachable keyboard, S-Pen stylus input and more these tablets that double as laptops will be compatible with both the upcoming Windows 8, as well as the older and still extremely popular Windows 7. The 11.6-inch display only comes with a 1366 x 768 resolution but the rest of the specs are quite nice.

The Smart PC comes with a lower Intel ATOM processor, 3G/4G capabilities, 2GB of RAM, HDMI-out, 128GB storage, and an 8 megapixel camera all running for about 13 hours according to Samsung. The beefier ATIV Smart PC Pro however comes with a much improved Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1080p HD display, USB 2.0 and 3.0 as well as HDMI-out. It does suffer in battery life and a smaller 5 megapixel camera though.

Samsung hasn’t unveiled any official pricing or release date details but surely they’ll be coming along here shortly. With Windows 8 not arriving til the tail end of October we are hopeful for a mid September launch. Stay tuned for our hands-on coming up momentarily.

Samsung ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro with keyboard dock unveiled is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I don’t know if Samsung is now just taunting Apple or if their user interface “designers” are the same lazy idiots who copied the iPhone icons. In any case, this is getting hilarious. Or pathetic. Or disgusting. Or all of the above. Check out the S-Launcher that will be included in all their Windows 8 machines. More »