Earlier today we had a nice sit-down with Kobo, where we got some quality hands-on time with the company’s Arc Android tablet. As you can imagine, that was the marquee product on display, but we also had the chance to handle the outfit’s newest e-readers: the Glo ComfortLight, which has built-in frontlighting, and the Mini, which is exactly what it sounds like. Both will be available October 1st, with the 6-inch Glo going for $129 and the 5-inch Mini priced at $79. Neither will have ads, which might be one of the biggest differentiators between these and some of Amazon’s offerings. If you’re short on time, we’ve got some hands-on photos below, but if you’ve got a few minutes to spare, a walk-through video awaits after the break.
The Replicator may have just been pushed off this writer’s Christmas list. (Note to self: send updated letter to Santa.) But, this isn’t a loss for MakerBot Industries, because it’s being replaced by the Replicator 2, the newest model of 3D printer from the company. This is a big boy version of its previous devices that were aimed more at tinkerers than serious designers, and that’s reflected in the $2,199 price. The build plate is significantly bigger, with the ability to spit out creations that measure 11.2 x 6.1 x 6.0 inches (410 cubic inches). That’s a full 37 percent larger than the original Replicator, but the machine itself is the same exact size. The frame is no longer assembled from laser-etched wood, instead there’s a powder-coated steel frame with PVC plastic sides to help shield the various moving parts and lend an air of professionalism to the affair. The extruder is designed specifically for use with MakerBot PLA, a new plastic material based on corn, that Bri Pettis claims wont expand when exposed to the heat — which means it wont contract when it cools, leading to smoother printed objects and less cracking. The new printer has a resolution of 100 microns, by comparison, the original Replicator had a layer resolution of 270 microns. Now each layer of plastic is as thin as a sheet of copy paper, resulting in smooth printed prototypes.
In a departure from previous models, the Replicator 2 is shipped fully assembled. You need only lift it out of the box and plug it in to get started. And one of our biggest complaints about the setup process, leveling the build plate, has been addressed. The new model now has a simplified three-point leveling system, what should eliminate some of the opportunity for error in the four-point system of its predecessor. The Replicator 2 even comes in an experimental dual-extrusion model for those that like life on the cutting edge, called the Replicator 2X, that retails for $2,799.
To run all this there’s a new software tool, called MakerWare that greatly simplifies the act of printing objects. You can even drag and drop multiple models into a virtual build platform, scale them and tweak them (either independently or simultaneously) before sending them to the Replicator 2. Perhaps, most interesting of todays announcements is the MakerBot Store — an actual physical shop — in NOLA. The company believes this will help expose people to 3D printing who might otherwise be confused by the concept. You can order the Replicator 2 now direct from MakerBot. But, be warned, there’s a four to six week lead time on deliveries.
HTC is making a two-pronged attack on Windows Phone 8, and while it may not match up to the specs on its new flagship, the Windows Phone 8S by HTC (yes, that’s the official moniker) has some charm all of its own. The screen is a pretty underwhelming Gorilla Glass-coated 4-inch WVGA LCD, with a similarly middleweight 5-megapixel camera peering out from the other side. Given that it’s looking to be priced closer to the One V than the One S, we’re not all that surprised. The phone itself is a good-looking slab, thanks to the breezy color schemes and while the build is certainly solid enough, we’d be hard-pressed to put it in league with the 8X, which felt at home in our hand from the start. The 8S is cocooned in a matte plastic finish, arriving in four different color options — depending on carrier and territory.
The two-tone color scheme, aside from a few color licks around the lens and ear piece, keeps the second color limited to the bottom edge and the detachable cap. This offers access to the microSD slot (upgrading the built-in 4GB of storage up to 32GB), but like the 8X, no access to the battery. Yep, these new Windows Phones look nothing like HTC’s One series, and while the same design studio is responsible, this time, it took its inspiration from Microsoft’s tile interface. There’s a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor inside, but the phone wasn’t quite ready to be put completely through its paces. While the software was still locked down, you can take a video tour — and read more of our hardware impressions — after the break.
It’s easy to make a flagship phone: simply throw the works at your drawing board. Harder, though, is crafting a midrange phone on a relative budget, and that’s where the Windows Phone 8S by HTC comes in. The second device in the company’s new line-up, the Microsoft-powered 8S is the culmination of some tough decisions on HTC’s part, around whether the target audience will appreciate Beats Audio or photography more. Read on for our first impressions.
In some ways, the 8S is arguably a more impressive design than the larger 8X. HTC’s choice of color schemes – black/white, grey/yellow, red/orange, and blue/purple – are eye-catching and, with the matte-finish to the plastic, draw your fingers in to touch them. The grey/yellow has something distinctively sneaker-like about its vivid yellow and putty grey; HTC says it’s counting on the Beats Audio cachet to win appeal in the youth market, but it’s the hues themselves that are most attractive.
While the exterior may be distinctive, what’s inside is less unusual. Altogether more pedestrian than the 8X, the 8S pairs its 4-inch WVGA display with a 1GHz dualcore Snapdragon S4 chipset and 512MB of RAM; it also has just 4GB of internal storage, but HTC has sensibly thrown in a microSD card slot. Pull off the brightly colored end-cap – which, as in HTC devices of old, doubles as the antenna – and there’s the SIM and memory card slots.
Windows Phone 8S by HTC hands-on:
Unfortunately there are compromises to be made elsewhere. The rear camera runs to 5-megapixels, an understandable figure given the positioning of the phone, but despite Microsoft’s emphasis on Skype integration in Windows Phone 8, HTC hasn’t equipped the 8S with a front-facing camera. The company tells us that it doesn’t expect video calling to be a particularly popular activity among the target audience.
That audience will get Beats Audio but not to the same extent as on the 8X. No twin amp magic here, individually driving speaker and headphone socket, with instead just the DSP we’ve seen on previous HTC phones that’s specially tuned to suit Beats headphones. Since Microsoft is playing it coy with Windows Phone 8, pre-official launch, we weren’t able to dig through the 8S to see exactly how well it performs, something which will have to wait until review units drop.
A price tag expected to come in at around the HTC One V point and the option of LTE in North America – if not Europe, at least according to the current plans – could still see the Windows Phone 8S by HTC carve out a niche for itself. Its certainly already found some favor among carriers: HTC tells us that over 100 operators in 37 countries have picked the 8S up. It will stand out on shelves, certainly, but Microsoft will need to put all its heft behind Windows Phone 8 if HTC’s midranger is to succeed.
Cumbersome name; classy hardware. The Windows Phone 8X by HTC owes its awkward nomenclature to a deal that might prove HTC’s salvation and Nokia’s frustration: the company has inked an agreement with Microsoft to make the 8X the “signature handset” of Windows Phone 8, after apparently convincing the software firm that the new flagship suitably “embodied” the OS’ spirit. We caught up with HTC to spend some time with the 8X and to see if we’d end up similarly charmed.
HTC is particularly proud of the design language of its new Windows Phone 8 line-up, based – so the company’s designers say – on the squared-off Live Tiles of the OS’ homescreen, only plumped up and crafted in polycarbonate. Whether or not that convinces you is beside the point; in the hand, the 8X is a solid and tactile shape, legions apart from the bland and bloated lumps that were HTC’s first Windows Phone 7 devices.
The matte-finish plastic – which will be available in blue, black, yellow, and red, though the red won’t be making it to the EMEA – is easily gripped and the curved edges are comfortable to hold. It doesn’t make for a bulky phone, either, though the 8X is arguably reminiscent of Nokia’s own polycarbonate smartphone range, perhaps more in the way the Gorilla glass smoothly meets the bezel.
Whatever the inspiration, it’s a solid and nicely weighted phone. HTC – or more accurately Microsoft – isn’t allowing anybody to dig any further than the Windows Phone 8 homescreen, but that’s enough to give a glowing impression of the 4.3-inch Super LCD II display. At 720p HD resolution it’s crisp, and the viewing angles are great, aided not least by the optical lamination construction of the display stack itself.
Windows Phone 8X by HTC hands-on:
Colors are vivid and blacks (which make up so much of Windows Phone’s UI color scheme) are suitably inky. A bright lockscreen image was the closest we could get to a decent test, which the 8X handled with aplomb. HTC will theme the UI colors according to the handset’s own hue, though that will be user-adjustable if you’d rather have contrast.
HTC’s specifications certainly don’t single the 8X out as the weak cousin of an Android device. Hardware we’re familiar with from the One X make an appearance in a new Windows Phone guise, with NFC, LTE (for North American models, at least; Europe will have to make do with HSPA+/DC-HSDPA for the moment), a 1.5GHz dualcore Snapdragon S4 chipset, and 1GB of RAM. The decision to bypass expandable storage and instead settle on 16GB of fixed internal memory is unpleasantly reminiscent of Microsoft’s initial limitations on Windows Phone, however, and while we understand HTC was loathe to mar the 8X’s sleek lines, it’s hardly a capacious phone for the sort of power user it’s targeted at.
Happily the camera promises to redeem the 8X somewhat, taking a step ahead of what the One X already offers. The main, 8-megapixel backside-illuminated shooter is paired with an f/2.0 lens and HTC’s own Image Chip processing, while the front camera is an impressively pixel-packing 2.1-megapixel BSI CMOS which can also shoot 1080p Full HD video. HTC is particularly proud of its front lens, too, an 88-degree wide-angle example that can fit four people into a vanity shot.
That, along with the Beats Audio tuning that throws not one but two amplifiers at the 8X – one for the boosted headphone jack, the other for the integrated speaker – will have to wait to prove its worth until review samples arrive. If anything, though, HTC has convincingly done its part: delivered an admirable house for Windows Phone 8 to live in. Whether the smartphone – and its 8S sibling – sinks or swims in the marketplace depends on just how good Microsoft’s platform proves to be, and how much heft the software giant puts behind its marketing. At least as the “signature handset” of Windows Phone, the 8X promises to reap the main rewards of the hype machine.
One thing’s for sure: HTC’s not playing it safe with the Windows Phone 8X. The flagship line, officially announced at its event in New York today, arrives emboldened not only by an array of lively hues, but also with the mark of the mighty Microsoft, itself. Yes, you need only glance at the handset’s name to know this tapered, polycarbonate affair bears an intrinsic connection to the UI it aims to bolster; a symbiotic bond made all too apparent by the hard-edged, modern hull housing the equally modern, live-tiled WP8 OS. But a focus on fresh, eye-catching industrial design isn’t the only tale being told by the OEM. There are specs to talk about — compelling ones.
Departing drastically from the Mango forbears that attempted to blaze a path, the 8X boasts internals that position it competitively with other contemporary smartphones, ushering WP 8 into the tech industry’s here and now. In keeping with its high-end ilk, the device sports a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display (341ppi) powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core S4 and complemented by 1GB RAM, NFC, 16GB of storage, as well as an integrated 1,800mAh battery. It should be clear from that rundown alone that this is not your Windows Phone device of yore. So, follow along as we wrap our fingers ’round its California Blue body and report back with some first impressions.
When Kobo released the Vox, its first tablet, Engadget had just recently abolished review scores. In retrospect, that was a good thing for the company, as we didn’t have very many nice things to say about it. The product suffered from short battery life, for one, along with sluggish performance and WiFi connectivity issues. It’s no wonder, then, that Kobo is loathe to call its new Arc tablet a “follow-up” to the Vox so much as a “re-thinking.” The tablet, which will go on sale in mid-November starting at $199, brings a faster 1.5GHz TI processor, a battery rated for 10 to 12 hours of runtime and a re-tooled software experience built on Ice Cream Sandwich. Is that enough to unseat the new Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7? That, friends, is a question best answered in our forthcoming review, but after a few minutes of hands-on time we can at least say that we’re pleasantly surprised. Meet us past the break to find out why.
Sure, Nokia’s recently announced Lumia 920 runs Windows Phone 8, but its banner feature is actually the PureView camera, which in some ways seems more capable than that of its 808 sibling. Company reps were on hand at the Carl Zeiss booth at Photokina demonstrating this latest handset’s low-light abilities — which are quite striking. Just as impressive, however, is the device’s heralded stabilization feature, which captures an impressively smooth clip even with exaggerated hand shake. Considering the degree to which the Nokia rep was shaking, users with steadier hands shouldn’t have any issue capturing excellent quality video. We were unable to view the clip on a computer, so our impressions are only based on what we saw on the LCD, but the feature was impressive nonetheless. We’ll of course need to reserve formal judgement until we can conduct our own tests, but this PureView preview was certainly convincing, and quite encouraging — especially the side-by-side clip comparing the 920 to a “US-based manufacturer’s” smartphone. Catch it in full in the hands-on video after the break.
Everyone loves a sequel, right? This here is the K-5 II, the new DSLR from Pentax, making an appearance on the show floor, here at Photokina in Germany, alongside the rather similar, if somewhat pricier K-5 IIs. Let’s start with differences between the K-5 and the K-5 II, shall we? Megapixel-wise, we’re still talking 16.2, though the II models have the new SAFOX X AF sensor, which delivers the promise of better low-light sensitivity and quicker auto-focus. On the rear, that 3-inch, 925k LCD promises a sharper image and better image angles — both looked pretty good in our time with the camera.
As for differences between the K-5 II and IIs? Well, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the two, if it weren’t for the difference model names on there front. So, what are you paying that extra $150 for? Well, the premium ditches the low-pass filter, promising sharp images (though you’re losing anti-aliasing in the process). On the top of both, you got a big monochrome display and a somewhat tricky function wheel that makes you press down a button to turn.
Both of these guys are coming to a camera store near you next month for $1,200 and $1,350, respectively.
Looking for a superzoom camera without the bulk of a DSLR? Casio’s Exilim EX-H50 is a pretty slick proposition. The camera’s got a reasonably slim profile that’s a bit more like an oversized point-and-shoot, slight bulk that’s presently largely because of the extended soft grip and big three-inch TFT display on the rear — and then, of course, there’s that 25 mm wide-angle lens with 24x optical zoom that certainly adds a good deal to the camera’s footprint when extended. The flash adds a bit too, but that’ll lay dormant until you pop it out via the devoted switch just to the left of the bump, on top of the camera.
The zoom is quite smooth — it certainly did the trick snapping photos of strangers socializing in the halls of the Cologne Convention Center. That three-inch screen is big, if not particularly bright, but does the trick for the camera’s fairly simple menu system, which also includes a number of filters like Fisheye, Sepia (move over Instagram) and Monochrome — the processing on each occurs after the photos are snapped. Inside, you’ve got a 16.1-megapixel sensor.
The superzoom will run €250 when it hits Europe next month.
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