Samsung has out-Retina’d Apple, and Google is definitely making the most of it. The Nexus 10 tablet may not have had the New York City debut it was promised, but even with a low-key press release its segment-busting specifications catch your eye. A 10.1-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 display breaks through the 300dpi pixel density mark, easily satisfying the “individual pixels indistinguishable at typical use-distance” criteria Apple created, while inside there’s Samsung’s own 1.7GHz dualcore Exynos 5250 with 2GB of RAM. If the Nexus 7 is Google’s attempt to conquer the bargain mainstream, then the Nexus 10 is its assault on the very high-end, giving Android 4.2 Jelly Bean everything it needs in hardware in order to shine.
It’s the display that obviously catches your attention. Samsung calls its panel True RGB Real Stripe PLS but the only takeaway you need is that it’s incredibly bright, has vast viewing angles – you can basically look at it askance and still see everything, without any color inversion or distortion – and graphics appear painted onto the Gorilla Glass 2.
We’re not sure if it’s wariness around Apple’s design patents, or a specific design direction for Google and Samsung, but the curvy Nexus 10 has echoes of the first, albeit not-officially-Nexus Android tablet, Motorola’s XOOM. The soft-touch plastics are creak-free but lack the premium feel of metal, though they do make for a grippy slate and a lightweight one, with the Nexus 10 tipping the scales at 603g. It’s also slim, at 8.9mm thick.
The dualcore ARM Cortex A15 chipset isn’t the only magic going on inside: there’s also WiFi a/b/g/n (with MIMO), Bluetooth 4.0, twin NFC, a 9,000 mAh battery to keep up with all those pixels, and twin cameras: 5-megapixels on the back, working with the new Photo Sphere feature of Android 4.2, and 1.9-megapixels up front for video calls. We’ll be particularly interested to see how Google’s battery life predictions hold up in regular use, with the company promising 9-10hrs of runtime on a single charge, despite the power-hungry specifications.
Android 4.2 also debuts one much-requested tablet feature, the ability to set up multiple profiles for different users. With so many tablets – particularly those that live on the coffee table and seldom leave the house – being shared by all family members, it’s a welcome addition. We’ll see how it shapes up in practice for our full review.
Kicking off at $399 there’s certainly plenty to the Nexus 10 on paper, and our first impressions are similarly positive. We’ll be putting it through its paces to see if it can truly deliver; until then, enjoy our hands-on gallery and demo video!
Fourth in the Nexus series Google’s new LG Nexus 4 has plenty to live up to. Android phones have proliferated, but the expectations of Nexus flagships by users and platform enthusiasts have arguably increased even more. Not only do they represent a glimpse into the hardware direction Google envisages for Android, but the promise of the most timely software updates in an OS world growing increasingly fragmented. With the Nexus 4, there’s also a resurrected challenge at the carrier model, with some impressively competitive pricing for an unlocked device. Read on for some first-impressions.
The Nexus 4 is instantly familiar from our time with the LG Optimus G: the new Googlephone shares the LG’s 4.7-inch 1270 x 768 IPS LCD display, as well as its 8-megapixel camera, and its quadcore Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. It also gets a plastic chassis that, while creak free and sturdy, doesn’t match the same premium feel as, say, Apple’s metal iPhone 5 or HTC or Nokia’s polycarbonate.
The 1.5GHz processor is running Android 4.2, complete with updated Google Now functionality, a clever 360-degree “Photo Sphere” panoramic camera feature, and keyboard gestures for Swype-style typing – those on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean can get the new Google Now abilities by updating the Google Search app from the Play market.
In practice, the Nexus 4 runs smoothly and slickly; Project Butter continues to show its worth for keeping the Android interface lag-free, and we far prefer Google’s pure UI than LG’s modified layout. It’s perhaps price that’s the biggest selling point of the Nexus 4, though. Yes, T-Mobile USA will be offering a subsidized version – HSPA+ only, unfortunately, with no 4G LTE Nexus 4 available – but the more cost effective route to purchase will be the $299 SIM-free, unlocked option from Google’s own Play store. That’s impressively affordable, and starts to make rival devices from other Android OEMs, Windows Phone manufacturers, and Apple look uncomfortably expensive.
We’ll have a full review of the Nexus 4 up very soon, but until then enjoy our hands-on gallery and demo video. Let us know your questions and thoughts in the comments!
Technology’s always getting smaller, right? As such, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Eye-Fi can now cram 16GB of storage and a WiFi radio into one of its SD cards, but somehow, it still is. This is the latest, the Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB, the company’s first Class 10 unit. It’ll be landing on the doorsteps of tech-savvy photographers in the next week, so we thought we’d take a quick look at how things have improved with this year’s vintage and if it can justify that $100 price-tag.
So here it is at last, the Nexus 4. After countless leaks we finally got a chance to put our dirty little paws on Google and LG’s lovechild. The verdict? It’s simply phenomenal. By combining the nicest elements of the Optimus G with the latest iteration of Jelly Bean (Android 4.2) the two companies have created something that’s better than the sum of its parts. Like its cousin, the Nexus 4 is built around Qualcomm’s speedy 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdradon S4 Pro SoC with Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM. Storage comes in 8GB and 16GB flavors with no microSD expansion. It features the same lovely 4.7-inch 1280×768-pixel non-PenTile IPS display but sheds LTE support for an unlocked pentaband DC-HSPA+ (42Mbps) radio and wireless charging. On the camera front the Nexus 4 inherits the Optimus G’s optional eight-megapixel BSI sensor and f/2.4 autofocus lens, instead of the fancier 13 MP shooter. WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, NFC and Miracast round up the spec sheet, and a sealed 2100mAh Li-polymer battery completes the package.
Aesthetically, the Nexus 4 blends aspects of the Optimus G and Galaxy Nexus designs, with a glass-covered back and rounded-off top and bottom edges. This phone looks and feels great — materials and build quality are much improved over last year’s handset. At 9.1mm (0.36 inches) thin and 131g (0.31 pounds), it’s also very comfortable in hand. Most of the controls are unchanged from its cousin — you’ll find a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and secondary mic on top, a volume rocker and micro-SIM tray on the left, a micro-USB port and primary mic on the bottom, and a power / lock button on the right side. The Optimus G’s capacitive keys give way to on-screen buttons and the RGB notification light moves below the screen (from its former position near the 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera). Overall we’re really impressed with the Nexus 4, and that’s just from playing with the hardware. Sadly, we spent very little time exploring the software, which includes a plethora of improvements, so keep an eye out for the details in our full review.
You’ll be able to purchase the Nexus 4 unlocked in the Play Store starting November 13th for $299 (8GB), $349 (16GB) or $199 with a two-year contract on T-Moble (16GB). Until then, check out the gallery below, then hit the break for our hands-on video.
The Samsung-made Nexus 10 just landed in our hands, and we had a little time to take it for a spin. It’s no secret that this particular tablet is ready for some serious hand-to-hand combat against the iPad, possessing a rather stunning set of components and solid build quality. First, let’s go over the laundry list of specs. The Nexus 10 has a dual-core 1.7GHz dual-core Exynos 5250 under the hood — these are Cortex-A15 processors — as well as a Mali T604 GPU and 2GB RAM. There’s little doubt in our minds that this is more than sufficient to please power users, especially now that we’ve had some time to see how incredibly speedy everything is. We were even more impressed than we had anticipated, as the tablet features some of the most detailed and smoothest graphics we’ve seen.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Nexus 10 offers a 2,560 x 1,600 display, which equates to just over 300ppi. For comparison, the new iPad packs a 2,048 x 1,536 panel for a pixel density of 264. Numbers are just numbers, of course, but the “True RGB Real Stripe PLS” screen is definitely one of the nicest we’ve gazed upon. Pixelation was nearly non-existent, viewing angles were great and colors were amazingly vibrant.
There’s plenty to say and see, so check out our gallery below and head past the break for a video and more impressions.
Today the folks from Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8 in all its glory here live in San Fransisco. Along with many announcements and improvements we were able to grab a quick hands-on with what appears to be one of the best Windows Phone 8 phones coming soon. That being the impressive 4.8-inch Samsung ATIV S. This isn’t quite a Galaxy S III caliber smartphone, but it’s as close as you’ll get with Windows Phone 8 so lets take a look.
For those that missed the original details on the ATIV S that leaked back in August, Samsung’s built an impressive smartphone running Windows Phone 8 — and has equipped it with some top tier specs. The screen is bigger than the new Lumia 920, as well as the Windows Phone 8X by HTC “signature handset” of WP8. Here’s the full rundown on this sleek all aluminum smartphone.
The Samsung ATIV S comes with a bright and crisp 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor by Qualcomm. You’ll get 1GB of RAM (vs 2GB on the Galaxy S III) 16 or 32GB of storage based on carriers, an 8 megapixel rear camera, and 1.3 front shooter for Skype video chat. Under the hood Samsung’s equipped this 4.8-inch beast with a large 2,300 mAh hour battery (compared to the HTC 8X’s 1,800) and it will rock the usual 4G LTE radios where available, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, and more.
The Samsung ATIV S will be available in one color, that being the gorgeous and durable brushed aluminum silver shown here, and is protected with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 on the front face. The brand new Samsing ATIV S takes some subtle hints from the Galaxy S III, right down to the menu and back buttons neatly placed around the physical home (or start in this case) button in the middle. The entire device is actually just barely bigger than the HTC 8X in size, a little thinner, and comes with a much larger 4.8-inch display. Feel free to check out our in-depth Windows Phone 8 Review. Until we hear more on the Samsung ATIV S enjoy a few quick photo’s and Windows Phone 8X by HTC comparison pictures below.
It’s taken its sweet time showing itself but we’ve finally got to handle Samsung’s first Windows Phone 8 device, the ATIV S (not to be confused with the similarly-named Windows RT tablet). At Microsoft’s launch event for its new mobile OS, the phone’s 4.8-inch AMOLED display certainly helps to make the most of those colorful tiles — this time around a higher resolution (1,280 x 720) screen kept everything looking sharp. Aside from the screen, the hardware doesn’t pack a unibody build, but it does offer the power user both a 2,3000mAh battery and the microSD slot — a combination that’s looking pretty rare among debut Windows Phone 8 devices. On the other hand, Samsung’s brought its (admittedly divisive) glossy plastic shell of its Android Galaxy phones, although there is some cosmetic differences. We take a tour of the hardware — and that freshly minted OS — after the break.
Last week, if you recall, Microsoft announced Skype for Windows 8, a touch-friendly app that appeared in the Windows Store the same day Win 8 went on sale. Now, with Windows Phone 8 getting its big reveal, the company is following up with a WP8 version, which Microsoft says is coming soon. Like the new Windows 8 app, it runs in the background, delivering push notifications even when you’re looking at something else. In particular, now that Windows Phone allows for three different tile sizes, you can view the Skype tile in small, medium or large formats, with the largest displaying your latest message. (All tile sizes show an unread message count.)
There are other similarities to the Win 8 app, too, despite the fact that these phones have smaller screens. There’s a favorites list, for one, along with a shortcut that makes it easy to toggle between open IM conversations. As on Windows 8, the app is deeply integrated with the People Hub, so that Skype handles appear on contact cards and incoming Skype calls look the same as any other. On the messaging side, there’s an impressively large collection of emoticons (TMI-face, anybody?). It’s also possible to start group chats, as well as change the conversation topic. So far, it’s unclear when, exactly, the app will be available for download, but in the meantime we’ve got a short video demo waiting for you after the break.
As you take notes and record audio with Livescribe’s new Sky WiFi Smartpen, the device automatically uploads the data to Evernote. This is an update to the company’s Echo pen. That 2010 launch digitally stored your notes onboard and transferred them via USB, but the Sky does it all wirelessly. More »
Colored LED lighting that could be remotely controlled used to take professional installation and thousands of dollars; now, Philips’ new hue system makes it as easy as screwing in a bulb. On sale on Tuesday – initially exclusively through Apple Stores – the hue bulbs screw into a regular ES fitting and are remotely controlled from iOS or Android apps over a ZigBee connection, either locally around the home or (handy if you’ve left the lights on while you’re on holiday) anywhere with an internet connection. They’re hardly a cheap replacement to a standard incandescent bulb, though, so we spent some time with Philips to find out why hue is special, and how the system could actually make us happier or more productive.
The starter box – containing three bulbs and the base station – is priced at $199/£179, while individual bulbs are priced at $59/£49. That might seem expensive on the face of it (though Philips has high-end white LED bulbs in its range that are $50-60 alone) but, in comparison with the LivingColors lamps which come in with an RRP of £159 apiece, it starts to look more reasonable. If you’ve already bought any LivingColors models, incidentally, you’ll be able to use them with the hue system too (with one or two limitations).
Installation is simple: screw in the bulbs, plug the ZigBee base station into a spare ethernet port on your router, and hook it up to the mains. A pairing button on the base station allows you to link up any other hue bulbs, while three LED lights show system status including whether there’s an internet connection for remote access. Since ZigBee is a mesh system, each hue bulb can talk to each other: bulbs can be a great distance from the base station itself, just as long as there are other bulbs spanning the intermediate distance (though lag increases the more mesh-points the signal needs to hop through).
Philips hue official demo:
The bulbs themselves use 8.5W at most, and – at 600 lumens – are equivalent to 50W traditional bulbs. They also use a special internal coating that, coupled with the shape of the glass, projects light more evenly around the bulb, meaning there isn’t a dead-zone to your lamp. Officially, up to 50 can be paired with a single base station, though Philips told us that in fact that’s more of a quality-assurance guarantee; in fact, the company has had 250+ bulbs paired with test systems, and had no real issues with them. Bayonet fitting versions are in the pipeline.
Control is via smartphone and tablet app, with iPhone, iPad, and Android versions available at launch; up to ten devices can be linked to control any one base station. The software itself is surprisingly comprehensive. At its most basic, you can adjust the color of any one bulb across the spectrum, including adjusting brightness and color temperature, from a rich red, deep blue, bright white, or anything in-between. You can link up two or more bulbs into a group, and control them all simultaneously, and create preset scenes which each have their own icon on the app’s homescreen.
However, there’s also color sampling to be played with. Philips includes a number of photos in the app – scenes like beaches or mountains – and by dragging pointers linked to each lamp, you can recreate the color of that point in the image. Again, custom setups of multiple lamps tied to different points can be saved, or you create a random arrangement by physically shaking the tablet or iPhone.
You can alternatively pick out a photo from your own photo gallery – or take a new photo, within the Philips hue app – and select colors from that instead. Each of the scenes, whether basic colors or based on photos, can be set to timers, either turning them on or off; you can also have them gently fade in or out over a period of several minutes, helping you to gently wake up or drift off to sleep. Of course, you can also shut off all the bulbs with the tap of a single button.
Finally, though, comes Philips’ splash of science. The company preloads four “LightRecipes” – relax, read, concentrate, and energize – which adjust lighting to specific shades and brightness levels based on research into how those scenarios affect the human body. Philips says testing in schools showed students did better in tests, were calmer, or read faster and more accurately, depending on the different setting active at any one time. It’s worth noting that older LivingColors lamps won’t work with these new LightRecipes, as they don’t have the settings baked in like the new hue bulbs do.
There are some sensible tweaks and decisions Philips has made along the way to the hue system overall. An override feature automatically lights the bulbs up to a regular white “lamp light” default if the physical power switch is used, just in case of emergency, and you can easily deactivate a phone or tablet from the control group in case it’s lost or stolen (or if your kids insist on triggering a mini disco in your room at 2am every day). At launch, the Android app will lack the out-of-house remote control feature, though Philips says it’s coming; if you have any existing remotes from the LivingColors line-up, the company confirmed to us that they, too, would still work, useful for the less tablet-savvy in the household.
Perhaps best of all, it’s all designed to be open. Philips’ base station works as a regular ZigBee hub, and so will function with any other ZigBee devices that conform to the standard, while the individual bulbs are compliant with the ZigBee Light Link standard and so can be integrated with wireless home automation setups you might have already. The company is also opening up its app to third-party developers, in the hope that they’ll step in and augment the functionality. Suggestions included flashing the lights when you get a VIP email, synchronizing color changes with musical playlists, or geo-location so that the lights automatically turn on when you get home, and off when you leave. Individual users will be able to use the site to swap color scheme presets.
At sixty bucks apiece, hue bulbs aren’t cheap. However, the popularity of recent Kickstarter campaigns for WiFi-enabled bulbs such as Lifx – which raised more than 13x of its goal – has shown that there’s a consumer interest for more flexible, smarter lighting. Unlike fund-raising projects, though, Philips’ hue system ships from tomorrow, not sometime next year, and comes from a company with a long history in lighting. We’ll be putting hue through its paces soon, to see if the promise lives up to the price.
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