Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon handson

So far we’ve had the opportunity to review the global edition of the Samsung Galaxy Note II — as well as get our hands on three of the five variants known to be making their way to the US — but tonight we got our first official look at Verizon’s particular flavor. Not that it’s much different than the rest of the crowd: it’s loaded with the same specs we’ve seen on the N7100 model (5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display at 1,280 x 720, 3,100mAh battery and a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz), with the exception of Verizon-specific LTE bands, and have the same button layout that we’ve come to expect. Of course, there’s that hideous Verizon logo on the main button, but that’s the only visual difference we could spot.

Software-wise, Verizon’s version of the Note II contains the built-in apps we’ve gotten accustomed to with its Android phones: VZ Navigator, My Verizon Mobile, and Mobile Hotspot. The device we picked up was running Jelly Bean, like its counterparts from other carriers. Sadly, no pricing or availability is yet available for the Note II on Verizon, with reps at the Samsung event we’re at saying that it’s up to Verizon to loose that news.

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC One X+ benchmarked vs Jelly Bean Galaxy S III: Fight!

The new HTC One X+ has landed on the SlashGear test bench, and with HTC so especially proud of the performance tune-up its given its Android flagship, we were keen to see how it fared. Day-to-day speed we’ll have to test awhile ahead of our full review, but some early benchmarks should help identify where the Tegra 3 smartphone has been particularly polished. Plus, with the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for Samsung’s unlocked Galaxy S III dropping in the UK just earlier today, it seemed rude not to run some comparative scores.

Compared to the One X we reviewed back in April, HTC’s new top-end Android phone steps up to the latest version of Tegra 3, a quadcore running at 1.7GHz. It’s paired with 1GB of RAM and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense 4+; our review model is European-spec, which means no LTE.

We focused on some basic benchmarking tools most Android users are familiar with. First up, Quadrant Standard, which tests CPU, I/O, and 3D graphics performance; next SunSpider, a test of browser JavaScript performance, which gives a good idea of how web surfing compares to other phones, tablets, and even desktops; then Qualcomm’s Vellamo, which focuses on mobile web performance, examining HTML5 crunching abilities and CPU subsystem performance; and finally, AnTuTu, which looks at CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance.

In Quadrant, the One X+ pulled ahead with a score of 6068, over 800 points more than the Galaxy S III, at 5207. The HTC did particularly well in the CPU and I/O subcategories, though the Samsung did much better in memory performance and 3D graphics. HTC’s phone put in a better showing in SunSpider, too, scoring 1082.2ms (lower is better) against the Samsung’s 1215.4ms. Neither managed to quite match the results we saw from the iPhone 5, however, which nipped underneath the 1,000ms boundary with a score of 914.7ms.

Quadrant and SunSpider benchmarks:

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As for Vellamo, the scores here were mixed. In the HTML5 side of testing, the One X+ did better, edging ahead with 1894 against the Galaxy S III’s 1615. However, the tables were turned in the Metal tests, with the One X+ managing 491 against the Galaxy S III’s 558.

Vellamo benchmarks:

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Finally, AnTuTu. The HTC pulled ahead once more, though again not in all of the categories. In total, it scored 12,945, besting the Samsung in CPU, RAM, and I/O testing. The Galaxy S III, however, scored 12,082 overall, with better performance in the GPU category.

Synthetic tests of smartphone performance don’t tell anywhere near the full story; you can’t say from benchmark results whether a phone will necessarily lag in multitasking, or suffer frustrating pauses in keyboard responsiveness or when trying to open up a well-stocked inbox. They’re a good indicator of the raw potential of the smartphone, however: what well-written apps will be able to call upon to achieve great performance.

We’ll be running the One X+ through real-world testing ahead of the full SlashGear review, but already HTC’s new powerhouse has shown its mettle.


HTC One X+ benchmarked vs Jelly Bean Galaxy S III: Fight! is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Lenovo Windows 8 Convertibles family comes together for hands-on action

This week we’ve gotten the opportunity to take a peek at the nearest-to-final builds of Lenovo’s entire Convertible Windows 8 / RT family this week, including the IdeaPad Yoga 13, IdeaPad Yoga 11, ideatab Lynx, ThinkPad Twist, and ThinkPad Tablet 2. Each of these units is unique in its ability to bring Windows 8 or Windows RT to users in their feature sets that include flipping, turning, folding, and straight up sheathing. While we’ve seen all of these devices before, here lies an opportunity to see them up-close and personal right before review unit time.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

This machine is what Lenovo is proud to claim as one of the world’s first multi-mode Ultrabooks. It’s got a 13.3-inch 1600 x 900 IPS LCD display with Intel HD 4000 graphics and up to Intel Core i7 processors inside. You’ve got the ability to work with up to Windows 8 Pro on this machine, and it ready to rock in several different display modes.

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You can place it upright like a notebook, backwards like a tent, bend up and forward – inverted from its notebook mode, and flat like a tablet. The current MSRP for this device is $1099 USD and it’ll be out in stores relatively soon – exact date to be determined.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

The IdeaPad Yoga 11 is the more compact version of the unique idea the Yoga 13 presents with a 360-degree folding hinge for multiple modes of use. It also has a massively powerful display of 1366 x 768 pixels across an 11.6-inch HD panel and it works with Windows RT. This tablet-based operating system is powered here by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor we’ve seen many time before, and the whole unit is just 0.61 inches thick. This unit will be coming in at MSRP $799 USD.

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We found both of the Yoga units to be surprisingly high quality for how seemingly dangerously exposed they are at first with the hinge innovation. But the actual execution of the hinge, in all its two-part glory, takes Lenovo’s assurance that they put their products through rigorous battle-testing and delivers. These units look really, really high quality.

Lenovo ideatab Lynx

The Lynx is a tablet that’s also a notebook – a Windows 8-toting oddity that’ll have you amazed that this is truly one of the first Windows 8 Atom-based machines on the market. Up front you’ve got an 11.6-inche IPS LCD display at 1366 x 768 pixel resolution – and it gets quite bright: 400 nit bright to be exact. This tablet works with a full detachable Lenovo Accutype keyboard and will be running with Intel Atom dual-core processors – that’s X2760 dual-core 1.8 GHz. The Lynx has a price of MSRP $599 for the tablet and $149 for the base as of this week.

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The Lynx is going to be hitting a rather unique crowd, the same way the Twist will. With the Twist we’ve got the whole machine working with that single bar that allows the display to twist – a bit more fragile-seeming than we’d like to really comment on extensively at this point. The Lynx, on the other hand, appears to have the ThinkPad family in mind with its recognizable keyboard and a full Windows 8 experience ready to rock with Atom.

Lenovo ThinkPad Twist

The ThinkPad Twist has a 12.5-inch 12.5-inch IPS LCD display covered with Gorilla Glass, getting up to 350 nit bright and bringing on the HD with Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 to back it up. The full casing on this machine is 0.79-inches thick and it’ll be running full Windows 8 Pro when it hits shelves. The Twist will be appearing for MSRP $849 USD.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2

This lovely little beast is the ThinkPad Tablet 2, taking everything great about your everyday-awesome hardcore ThinkPad notebook and bringing it up in a tablet form that’s ready to attach to its own keyboard dock, multimedia dock, and lovely carrying case. The case is able to keep both the tablet and the keyboard base safe in itself at once, both the tablet and the base being essentially the same size, and thusly interchangeable on both sides. This unit has a 10.1-inch IPS LCD display, Gorilla Glass over the front, and Intel Atom inside. You’ve also got wi-fi and AT&T 4G LTE versions available in the very near future – the wi-fi version will be MSRP $649 USD.

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Stay tuned for more awesome Lenovo action as Windows 8 and Windows RT takes over the world. Stay close to our Microsoft tag and our Windows 8 tag for the full lo-down as it all goes down over the next few weeks and months. The wave is coming in!


Lenovo Windows 8 Convertibles family comes together for hands-on action is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video)

Humminbird is a 'preArduino' for kids video

It’s an Arduino — you know, for kids. Or, as BirdBrain Technologies’ chief robot design Tom Lauwers put it, a “pre-Arduino.” It’s never too early to get kids into robot building — or so goes the thought process behind this nectar-loving kit. At its center is a custom controller that can be used to manipulate a slew of different sensors, motors and lights, a number of which are included in the box. Getting started is extremely simple — don’t believe us? Check the video after the break, in which Lauwers connects two wires to get the whole process underway.

The kit’s also reasonably priced at $199 a piece. On top of the controller, you get a handful of LEDs, two vibration motors, four servos and light, temperature, distance and sound sensors. The kits are currently available through the company’s site (click on that source link). Lauwers tells us that his company (which you may remember from last year’s MakerFaire NYC) is working on a slightly more affordable option priced at around $130, which scales back a bit on the in-box components.

Check out a conversation with Lauwers — and a pretty awesome cardboard dragon — below.

Continue reading Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video)

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Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless camera hands-on! (video)

Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless camera handson! video

If you followed the launch of Nikon’s J2 interchangeable-lens compact recently, then waking up to today’s announcement of a higher-specced V2 probably won’t come as a huge surprise. Nevertheless, whereas the J2 was frustratingly incremental compared to the J1, the V2 will likely represent a more significant upgrade when it lands on shelves at the end of November. For a start, the magnesium alloy camera has been bestowed with a sizable grip, which makes a vast difference to its ergonomics — it feels much more secure and manageable in the hand, without hurting the small and lightweight appeal of this form factor. Nikon has found room for a pop-up flash too, which is certainly nice to have. The mode dial has moved to the top of the camera and now includes the four main shooting modes (P/S/A/M) — a change which, in one fell swoop, helps the entire remainder of the control system to become more intuitive and accessible. A new processing engine allows the camera to shoot 15 fps with continuous focus (versus 10 fps with the V1), with Nikon claiming that AF speed has been improved as well. And as for the bad news? It’s waiting for you after the break.

Continue reading Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless camera hands-on! (video)

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Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless camera hands-on! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad Mini And The New 13″ Retina MacBook Pro Strut Their Stuff In Our Hands On Video

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I already shared my first impressions of a lot of Apple’s newly announced products today, but we’ve also got video from the time we spent with the iPad mini and the Retina MacBook Pro. Watching these things in action provides an entirely different perspective compared to reading about them or looking at static pictures, and seeing the iPad mini do its thing really does a better job of conveying the value of the device, so check out the video above.


iPad mini thumb rejection technology revealed

In the quest to make an iPad mini that takes into account every single little detail, Apple has revealed that they’ve integrated a new Thumb Rejection technology into the iPad mini. In SlashGear’s briefing with Apple this new technology was outlined and it was made clear that it runs at a negative level, this meaning that all apps currently working on the iPad mini will be able to make use of it – anything outside of that circle will have an update soon to make the tech workable. What this technology does is to detect that your thumb is indeed touching the display while you’re holding the iPad mini, rejecting it as you work with your hand that’s working with the iPad mini with “active gestures.”

This Thumb Rejection technology has indeed been tested (hands-on, that is) by our own Vincent Nguyen who confirms that it works perfectly well here at the outset. Holding the device with one thumb near or on the display rejects said thumb as the other hand utilizes the iPad mini’s new 7.9-inch touchscreen. With this technology running on the device with integration on all apps out now, we’ll likely be seeing some heavy mentions (or later realizations) of its simple “it just works” nature.

UPDATE: This technology works on the iPad 4th gen as well – perhaps integration with the rest of the handheld Apple touchscreen-toting universe isn’t far behind?

With the device coming out soon with bezels far thinner than the iPad 3 or iPad 4th generation, it’s no wonder Apple moved forward with an advancement in the touchscreen universe right out of the box. Now we’ll see if this smart tech hits the rest of the handheld smart device world for greatness in mobile gaming, not to mention ebook reading and web browsing.

Have a peek a the timeline below to read and see everything we’ve got to offer surrounding the iPad mini, it’s announcement and release, and our own hands-on experience thus far. This device will be out on the market well in advance of the holiday season and has a real taste for competition chomping. Stay tuned for more hands-on action in the future!


iPad mini thumb rejection technology revealed is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


13-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro Hands-On: A Beautiful Screen In a Lighter Laptop (Updating)

The tech aficionados of the world are slowly getting their hands on the 13-inch MacBook Pro with its new Retina Display loveliness, and not surprisingly, it’s a thing of beauty. The body is lighter, the screen is crisp—now all we need is more software to take advantage of that gorgeous display. More »

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One of the happy surprises from Apple’s event today was the new iMac. Now that the dust has settled people are putting their grubby blogger-paws all over that shiny, pristine monolith. Guess what, it’s like, suuuuper thin! More »

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display hands-on

It’s the ultraportable road warriors have been begging for, and Apple has finally delivered: after the barnstorming 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, now there’s a 13-inch counterpart. Freshly announced today, and falling under our eager fingers straight after Apple’s San Jose launch event, the new notebook follows the successful route of its bigger brother. Gone is the optical drive, in comes the super-high-resolution screen, and wide open pop our wallets.

The screen size may be smaller – and lower resolution, too, at 2560 x 1600, though for an overall higher pixel density of 227ppi – but actually the 13-inch model is slightly thicker, at 0.75-inches. In contrast, the 15-inch Retina version is 0.71-inches thick. You don’t really notice the difference, however, and the advantage in weight, with near a full pound dropped, more than makes up for it.

We’ve been wowed before with Retina-level graphics, and the new MacBook Pro delivers the same impact. The mode most often used isn’t actually stretching things to 2560 x 1600, but instead offering an on-paper lower resolution but with smoother graphics all round. The result is clean icons and text of the sort you’ll struggle to find on a Windows notebook.

As before, those who want an integrated optical drive can still find a MacBook Pro to deliver that. The existing 13-inch model remains on sale, though you don’t get the Retina display. It’s also the cheaper option; the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina may be $500 less than the entry-level 15-inch version, but that still means a $1,699 starting price for the 128GB model, or $1,999 for the 256GB version.

Still, you’d have to really, really be addicted to CDs and DVDs to not prefer the form-factor and performance of the new Retina 13-incher. It demands few compromises in graphics processing, either, and further extends the distance between the Pro and the Air branches in Apple’s MacBook range. We’ll look forward to putting it through its paces when we have a review unit on hand.

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13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display hands-on is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.