Hasta La Gadget!

We might have seen digital blinds before, but Sonte’s on-window film, deep within is pitched at home-owners rather than business signage. The switchable film is a thin, light layer that can be retro-fitted to existed windows and the company reckons it’s so easy that you should even be able to do it yourself. We saw the film used both as a picture display and as a see-through panel that can be made frosted — as you can see above in our before-and-after. To control how it looks, you’ll need to install either the Android or iOS app, where there’s controls for multiple smart films. Another use posited was transforming large windows into a projection screen. That extra layer to your windows will also notch up savings on your heating bills too — at least according to Sonte. The product is still in development, so you won’t be able to pick up Sonte’s adjustable film yet, but the company looks likely to approach crowdfunding sites to help get its switchable film tech off the ground.

Continue reading Sonte switchable film transforms windows into projection screens, works through WiFi (hands-on)

Filed under: Misc, Science

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Source: Sonte

It’s all-fingers-on-screen for Sony‘s latest VAIO ultrabooks, the T15 Touch and T14 Touch, which each slap a 10-digit multitouch layer on top of the regular display for some swiping Windows 8 action. Fresh at CES this week, the new Intel-powered duo is more of the same from Sony’s ultrabook line-up, with brushed aluminum chassis and backlit keyboards.

The touchscreen works well, though we’ve still got mixed feelings about the usability of reaching over the keyboard and stabbing at the display. We’re also left thinking that Sony’s decision to carry over the ultrabook branding to the T15 Touch might be a bit ambitious; it’s not exactly a light machine, though in return you get plenty of connections (USB 3.0, both HDMI and VGA, and an ethernet socket) and an integrated optical drive.

The T14 Touch makes far more sense, ditching the separate numeric keypad but still retaining a solid-feeling ‘board and a sizable trackpad. Sony’s choice of materials can’t be faulted, either; the soft-touch composite strip that runs along the upper outer edge of the lid – where the antenna are – is a particularly nice compromise between tactile feel and wireless performance.

Unfortunately, the T14 Touch doesn’t share its bigger sibling’s 1080p Full HD display; instead, it makes do with a more humdrum 1366 x 768 panel. Sony isn’t saying when the new VAIOs will go on sale, nor for what price.

Sony VAIO T15 Touch and T14 Touch hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Philips brought its uWand motion-sensing set-top-box back to CES this year, and as we hadn’t shown you the unit in action, we’d take a look and see what it promises. The company has just signed deals with Broadcom, Marvell and Intel to integrate its Wiimote-style controller into the trio’s home-entertainment hardware. Playing with it for a few minutes, we were impressed by its accuracy, although gestures did take a little time to get used to. If you’d like to catch your humble narrator looking out of touch with a TV, watch the footage after the break.

Continue reading Philips uWand motion-sensing STB remote hands-on (video)

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There’s nothing quite like a war between television manufacturers to bring our the WOW factor at CES, and this year’s Westinghouse presentation includes quite the looker – a 110-inch 4K TV that’ll just swallow your room up whole. This machine is not yet ready for the market, but certainly will be soon – coming in at a cool $300,000 USD when you want to pick yours up with your life savings. Of course this machine isn’t exactly built for the everyday consumer, but getting up close and personal with it will br bringing on the heat to anyone’s eyeballs and brain.

This beast is ready to scale up standard HD signal to fill its monstrous full screen display, running native 4K content with the greatest of ease as well. This is but one of several televisions that’ve been revealed this week by Westinghouse that’ll have you raising your eyebrows, the others being 50, 55, and 65-inch versions of this machine starting at $2,500, moving up to the middle with $3k, and ending on the largest for $4,000 USD.

Each of these sets will be available and shipping in the first quarter of 2013 and will be in stores save the largest of the pack. The giant 110-inch model will be made to order, respecting the idea that if you’re going to pay that amount of cash for a television, the company is going to take care of you. Shake hands with Westinghouse with a 4K television this coming season – and play some Mario Brothers while you’re at it to see how giant the pixels are.

It should be made clear that when we got the opportunity to see this 2013 lineup this week, we saw images so bright and so sharp that we’ll have a difficult time ever looking at a lesser machine again. The room these beasts were in were engulfed in their undeniable wave of image power. Have a peek at the images we have of them above and below, but know that it’s not entirely possible to capture their excellence without your own eyes on the spot.

Westinghouse 110-inch 4K TV eyes-on: massively giant is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve been given another opportunity to get right in deep with Lenovo’s newest convertible tablet running full Windows 8: the ThinkPad Helix, and this time we’re making a point of checking out not just the ripping and the flipping, but the spoiler on the back and the precision ruined craftsmanship as well. As you may well know from our previous look at this machine, you’re able to open it up in its notebook form to use it as a full-function Windows 8 laptop, press the button on the lower left of the display, “rip” it out, use it as a tablet, and place it back in place the other way around – then you can push it back down flat and have a massive battery capacity as well.

One of the more interesting things we’ve learned in this new look at the machine is the fact that you get a couple of relatively hidden cooling fans under the hood in the back. Have a peek at this sequence of photos to see the spoiler (our term, not theirs) coming up as you life up the hood of this beast. Under that spoiler is a couple of fans that’ll keep this machine cool no matter what you’re processing or indulging in.

The Lenovo Helix is solid, made with the same level of attention to detail that the full ThinkPad line always is. When we took a few minutes to literally carry the device around for a while, we noticed it was relatively light and felt solid above all else. The connection between the tablet and the keyboard is strong and ready for everyday work and play action.

Have a peek at the photos and video above and below and make sure you tune in throughout the week to our CES portal for every bit of CES 2013. We’ll be getting much more hands-on and up to the minute updates as we see the best of the season appearing right here, live from Las Vegas.

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix extended hands-on: Rip and Flip up close and personal is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.