Hasta La Gadget!

When Acer plans a global press event, asking journalists to fly in from twelve time zones away, you know it’s going to announce more than just some back-to-school PCs. The company just announced the Aspire R7, a 15-inch laptop whose display sits on a flexible “Ezel” hinge, allowing it to be pushed up and back so that it lies nearly flat — yep, just like an all-in-one desktop. Similar to the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga line, too, you can flip the screen all the way back so that it faces away from the keyboard, a feature that seems especially well-suited for giving presentations.

In terms of specs, Acer is being a little cagey, but we have learned the R7 has a 15.6-inch, 1080p display with a choice of Core i5 and i7 processors. The whole thing weighs in the neighborhood of five and a half pounds. Also confirmed: it’s up for pre-order now for $999, available exclusively at Best Buy in the US. We’re told it will ship May 17th. In the meantime, we’ve got hands-on photos below, and we’ll very shortly be adding some first impressions after the break.

Filed under: Laptops, Acer

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Barnes & Noble’s refusal to open its ecosystem has long been one of our primary complaints about the company’s tablet offerings. The Nook HD and HD+ are extremely nice pieces of hardware that have been held back by their own walled software offerings — having a fast device with a nice screen only gets you so far without the proper apps. The company line up to now has been that walling off content allows for a sort of quality control, assuring that apps are developed specifically for the unique form factor of its devices. And while there’s perhaps something to be said for that sentiment in the sometimes-fragmented world of Android devices, it was hard to ignore the fact that offering up exclusive access to content through your own marketplace assures better cash flow. It also, unfortunately, means that without extensive developer outreach, there are sure to be plenty of popular apps that just never make it over to your side of the fence.

With its announcement tonight, B&N acknowledges that, in this case, open is better. The company has responded directly to user feedback and will be issuing a software update to its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices (sorry Nook Tablet and Color owners) that brings Google Play directly to the desktop. The software will come pre-loaded on new devices and will be available as an over-the-air update. If you can’t wait that long, you’ll also be able to download it directly from the bookseller’s site. The update also brings a few other tweaks to the system, but this is far and away the biggest news. The first question we asked upon getting a quick demo: will you be able to buy content like books, magazines and movies through Play? Yep, that’s coming too.

Filed under: Tablets, Software, Google

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Granted, dogs tend to be a bit more vocal than, say, hydroponic plants, but sometimes it’s tough for busy owners to know precisely when their furry best friend is getting enough activity. FitBark, yet another Kickstarter candidate showing its goods on the floor of TechCrunch Disrupt’s Hardware Alley, is a bone-shaped wearable computer than hooks onto your dog’s collar. The device communicates with either a home base (shaped, naturally, like a doghouse) or your smartphone. The company’s got an iOS app (with Android on the way) that monitors your dog’s activity, awarding the pup a “BarkScore” out of 100. That’s an, um, “quantified woof,” according to the company.

FitBark still has 29 days left to hit its lofty $100,000 goal, and a pledge of $99 or more will get you in on the first batch of devices. Check out a video pitch of the device after the break.

Filed under: Misc

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Yet another Kickstarter success story is here on the Hardware Alley Floor at TechCrunch Disrupt. Ninja Blocks look a fair bit different than they used to, however — the 3D-printed case has been traded up for something that looks a lot more like a final, saleable product. In fact, it looks a little like a router or an external hard drive, albeit one with color-changing ninja eyes. The company was also talking up the home automation possibilities of its platform a bit more than the straightforward sensor pitch. In a buzz phrase, the company is calling this “home automation for hackers.”

Using the Ninja Rules app, you can turn lights and appliances on and off, get alerts for things like your wash and monitor your home, without writing code — of course, knowing how helps. The whole platform is extremely open to users, and inside the case, you’ll find a Beagle Bone and Arduino board, both accessible by pulling at the handy “Hack Me” tag that hangs on its side. The base system will run you $199. More information can be found in a video after the break.

Filed under: Household

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This week we’re having a peek at the OPPO Find 5, a device aimed at China’s Android-loving smartphone market made by a manufacturer that, if this handset is any indication, has a very bright future. This device delivers a 5-inch 1080p display – the same resolution as the DROID DNA aka HTC Butterfly, works with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor as the Google Nexus 4, and comes with a 13 megapixel camera on its back. It’s also quite charming to see.

When the device is off, the display is so black you’ll not be able to tell where the blackness of the bezel stops and the screen begins. The bezel around this device’s display is quite thin to begin with at 3.25mm, and it’s nearly full-faced glass front allows for a healthy presentation of the display, a display the company should be quite proud of.

At 441 PPI, this device is one of the most densely-packed on the market, and with the device’s “one glass solution”, also known as OGS, OPPO have implemented an optical lamination to bond the touch layer of the display as close as possible to the rest, allowing this device to also be rather thin overall. The battery inside is also non-removable, allowing OPPO to make it slim too.

On the back you’ve got a 13-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture and the ability to shoot 120fps video for some excellent slow-motion action. The camera software in the end is extremely simple with a no-nonsense user interface and its very few features made easy to access. Another of these features is the ability to shoot 100 photos every five seconds.

This device’s main speaker is back-facing – this is unfortunate as it does sound rather good when facing towards the user. With Dolby 3D sound and Dirac HD, you’ll still have substantial sound as it reflects off the palm of your hand.

More insight and details about the innards and overall package this device delivers will be available to you from SlashGear in the near future in our full review. Until then, please feel free to ask any and all questions you may have about the devices – no limits!

OPPO Find 5 unboxing and hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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