Jabra introduced its original Solemate wireless speaker late last year, and as we noted in our hands-on, it was about the weight and size of your average water bottle. For those who need something with more portability, the company is back with a new offering, the Jabra Solemate Mini, which it hails as an ultra-portable […]
Think the Microsoft Surface’s Touch Cover was thin? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. CSR, a company that delights in coming up with clever ideas and putting a significant amount of engineering personnel behind them, has a working prototype of a 0.5mm-thin keyboard. The board — if you can call it that — is made of flexible material and printed circuitry, combined with an Atmel touchscreen sensor and a few other life-bringing chips near the top (because of this, the top of the keyboard is a little thicker). Since it uses Bluetooth Smart to transmit your strokes and taps to a phone, tablet or computer, the only possible concern is the issue of incompatibility with devices that don’t support the standard yet; iOS 7 and Windows 8 will be good to go (a rep told us that while Android 4.3 supports Bluetooth Smart, it doesn’t utilize the HID profile that CSR relies heavily on).
The model we played with was a little cramped, which means we had to consciously try not to hit the wrong keys; other than this, we actually had the same kind of typing experience tonight that we’ve had with the Touch Cover. Of course, these kinds of things can easily be worked out as CSR works out the kinks. As you might expect from a prototype, don’t expect to see the white membrane pictured above in a big box store. CSR doesn’t plan to sell it directly to users, but rather it’s busy pitching it to developers and OEMs in case they want to embed it into devices of their own. Because of this, the company isn’t ready to disclose details about when or where we’ll see its tech show up first — when it makes an appearance, however, we’ll let you know. Head below for a gallery and video.
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Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Filed under: Peripherals, Mobile
Lenovo has built upon its original Yoga foundation with the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, a so-called multi-mode notebook that will be familiar to anyone who got their hands on the original model. We got some hands-on time with the laptop here at IFA 2013 and have returned with a gallery and our impressions of the […]
Wacom’s drool-worthy new tablets certainly made us lament our lack of artistic skill when we saw them online, but do they pass muster up close and personal? We just got a chance to play with both the Companion Hybrid, the one with Android, as well as the full-fat Companion (the one with Windows 8), and we thought we’d show you how they behave. Naturally, in order to do that, we had to unleash our creative side, so be warned — we may need to throw an artistic hissy fit after the break. %Gallery-slideshow81823%
Filed under: Tablets
At the last CES event, we got our hands on Lenovo’s K900 handset, a powerful smartphone that has been eclipsed by the company’s latest offering, the Lenovo Vibe X. With the Vibe X comes some of the features we liked most about the K900 wrapped in a modern makeover for the 2013 consumer sphere. We […]
Remember the 3Doodler? Odds are plenty of you do, seeing as how the company managed to nab a staggering $2.3 million for its $30,000 Kickstarter campaign. For the minority of you who didn’t participate, here’s a quick refresher: the device is a 3D printing pen. It’s a bit like a hot glue gun for plastic — simple and ingenuous, it melts a single strand of ABS or PLA, allowing you to draw objects in the air, solidifying as you draw up.
The pen was still in early prototype phase when we first saw it, and now, here at IFA its co-creator Max Bogue is showing off the final shipping product (seeing as how Kickstarter funders will be getting theirs later this year). This 3Doodler actually looks pretty similar to that early unit. All the same elements are in place: a slot in the rear to feed in the plastic, the heated tip where it comes out in semi-liquid form, an exhaust fan (which is pretty loud, but should quiet down before people start to get theirs) and two buttons for fast and slow extrusion.%Gallery-slideshow81791%
Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Filed under: Peripherals
So we know all about Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite, but those press images don’t really do the trick, do they? Weirdly, we had to travel all the way to Berlin, but we did manage to get our hands on the new device. As we said before, there aren’t a ton of aesthetic changes here. Thankfully, we had our last-gen Paperwhite in hand, and quite frankly, we couldn’t really tell the difference — until we picked it up, that is. Gen two of the Paperwhite is noticeably lighter than its predecessor.
Longtime Paperwhite users will be able to tell you that the minute they hold it in their hands. Another obvious clue: the giant Amazon logo on the soft-touch rear. Granted, we’re probably picking nits here (especially yours truly, someone who carries his own Paperwhite around in a case), but the older Kindle logo was a bit more tasteful. We did really appreciate the front lighting in the earlier generation — and then Kobo came along with the Glo. Since then, things haven’t really been the same.%Gallery-slideshow81815%
Update: Amazon wanted us to let you know that the version of the Kindle we had a chance to look at is specifically intended for the European market.
Filed under: Amazon
Major companies have a notorious reputation for quietly bringing unannounced products to trade shows like IFA 2013 and tossing them in some random part of the booth, which means we’re always walking in expecting to find something new. Fortunately, LG did not disappoint us this time, as it showed off a new 13-inch “Ultra PC” Ultrabook called the Z935. Reps told us that this model, due to arrive in Korea this November for $1,000, is a minor refresh to its existing series of Ultrabooks; the Z935 in particular gets a bump in IPS display resolution to Quad HD (2560 x 1440) and also sports a Haswell SoC. The Win8-powered machine measures 314 x 219 x 13.6mm and weighs 1.15kg, much like the Z360 we peeked at in January. There’s a USB port and HDMI port to the right, along with a headphone jack, while a pair of microSD slots are tucked away just a tad underneath the right-hand side, hidden barely out of sight but still easily accessible; USB and ethernet ports line the opposite side. All told, there are only a few minor design changes here, and we’ve put together a gallery of images for you to see it from all angles. We’re still waiting for the full listing of specs, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more.
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PayPal’s status as the mobile payment method of choice for the masses is beset upon all sides by many would-be usurpers. What’s the company doing to stay on top? Beefing up the feature set of its apps for iOS and Android in a big way today — adding a full-on mobile wallet, automatically-applied deals and discounts and some new ways to order stuff and pay for it.
The wallet feature lets people pay with a PayPal account, a credit or debit card, bank account or a line of Bill Me Later credit that can be applied for within the app. Like Google Wallet, the new PayPal app incorporates deals and discounts that are then automatically applied when you pay. Speaking of which, you can still send money the old-fashioned PayPal way, but the new app also integrates ordering, couponing and paying within PayPal’s merchant network. We got to see the new app in action, so join us after the break for more.%Gallery-slideshow79631%
Last year, Sony brought the HMZ-T2 to IFA and tried to convince us to wear a 3D display helmet; at IFA 2013, the company is hoping that cutting the cord with the new HMZ-T3W will persuade us to open our wallets. As before, the concept is straightforward: two small OLED screens that give the impression […]
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