Hasta La Gadget!

Enter the olloclip: an iPhone lens system that connects to your device with a set of three different shooting modes: fish eye, macro, and wide angle – and the case we’re looking at today is hitting the market very soon. This system has been out on the market for some time in its original iPhone 4/4S form and is now bringing on the heat for the iPhone 5′s body and size. We got our opportunity to have a hands-on look at this bit of hardware at ShowStoppers 2013 during CES this week in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.

This system comes in a box that contains a microfiber bag with the olloclip logo on it so you can carry it all in your pocket safely, two lens caps (one for each side), and the actual olloclip unit. The unit connects to the corner of your iPhone 5 either on its own or combined with a special protective case (that of course protects your iPhone 5 as most people love to do.) The unit carries with it all three different lenses at once, one of the two red units being able to flip to reveal the second angle, the other containing the third.

This system is a bit of hardware and works with the lens on your iPhone in a way that you don’t have to concern yourself with which app you’re using to match up with it. Instead, you’re modifying the eye through which your iPhone sees, this allowing you to take photos as you normally would, here with extraordinary results. The entire system can be left on your iPhone in your pocket or, if you prefer, can be attached at will and carried separately in your handy olloclip pouch.

This solution for your iPhone 5 is out in stores right this minute, ready for action for a cool $69.99 USD right this minute. You’ll be able to pick one up in red and black, black and black, or white and black. Have a peek at the rest of our ShowStoppers 2013 action as well as our CES portal for more action than your eyes and ears can handle – all week long!

olloclip lens system case for iPhone 5 hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With the Lenovo IdeaPhone K900, the company enters in the race for a real live hero phone for the whole world, here reminding us instantly of the other massive smartphone in this warring market – the Samsung Galaxy Note II. What we’ve got here is a real live fight for a dominant beast, a massive machine made to rule them all, starting with displays – and Lenovo takes the cake with resolution right out of the box. Samsung, on the other hand, has the physically larger display (though it is a bit less dense in its pixel distribution.)

The thing about the IdeaPhone K900 right this minute is that it’s still in its prototype phase, not actually coming out until somewhere around April of this year – and the initial plan is to release it in China alone. The Samsung Galaxy Note II is already out in quite a few countries around the world, including the USA and Europe. The prospect of the IdeaPhone K900 is great though, regardless of its release range, simply because it’s working with the relatively rare Intel Atom Z2580 Clover Trail SoC.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II works with the Samsung Exynos quad-core processor we know works to great effect even across its massive face. The IdeaPhone K900 has a display that’s 5.5-inches and 1080p resolution with IPS technology while the Galaxy Note II’s face is a 5.5-inch 720p display working with Super AMOLED – bright as can be.

Some of the items we’re really not able to compare at the moment are the Android OS versions, as though the Note is up to Android 4.2 in some places, the Lenovo offering has not yet been shown with a full working version of Android as of yet. We’ll be sure to see a whole lot more in the very near future from the company as the device hits the market. Have a peek at our hands-on comparison images above and below and let us know which one you’d choose if given the chance!

Also be sure to check out our giant CES portal to see all the CES 2013 content your heart can handle, and check our ShowStoppers 2013 tag to see everything we’ve seen today!

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 vs Samsung Galaxy Note II is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 has been revealed: a massively powerful smartphone working with Android and a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS display with an Intel Atom Z2580 processor (that’s Clover Trail, mind you) under the hood. This smartphone is super slim at just 6.9mm and weighs in at just 162g, both of these specifications rendered extra impressive by the fact that you’re working with the features you’re about to read all about. This machine feels just as nice as it sounds, looking ready for the market in the very near future.

The Lenovo K900 is the company’s new hero phone, working with a composite of stainless steel alloy and polycarbonate in a Unibody mold – sleek and robust. The phone remains thin due to work Lenovo’s done on optimizing both the thinness of the camera setup and the layout of the internal battery. The front of this device is covered with top of the line Corning Gorilla Glass 2 for scratch protection as well – their newest solution.

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 hands-on with Chris Davies:

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 interview with Lenovo’s Mark Pinner:

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 hands-on with 1080p display:

Though as Lenovo mentions, Intel has not released full specifications on the chipset as such, Lenovo will be bursting forth with this SoC sooner than later – April in China, in fact. Pricing, if you’re wondering, has not been announced at the moment. Then there’s the camera technology behind this machine’s lovely 13 megapixel shooter.

You’ll be working with a Sony Exmor BSI sensor as well as an F1.8 focal length lens. This camera has the widest aperture of any smartphone-based camera in the field today, and the front-facing camera has been given a boost as well. With a fabulous 88 degree viewing angle on the front-facing camera on this smartphone you’ll once again be working with the best of the best – no front-facing camera on a smartphone has a wider angle than that.

Have a peek at the hands-on look we’ve got above and below to get a handle on what this phone will mean for you in the very near future. At the moment it is, in fact, only announced for China – but we can dream! Stick around our CES 2013 portal all week long as well to make sure you’re into the fold with all of our up to the minute news bits and hands-on adventures.

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Beatpower just announced its existence to the world today and it’s brought a fleet of speakers to help celebrate. For years its parent company, CorpCom, has developed and distributed audio products for other outfits, but it set out to develop its own line of HiFi Bluetooth speakers roughly 13 months ago. Each of the firm’s boxes connects to audio sources via bluetooth, feature USB ports for charging devices and are accompanied by a Bluetooth remote that can even control treble and bass. With the help of architects and industrial engineers, Beatpower has managed to concoct particularly striking audio hardware.

Take the outfit’s 40Hz to 20KHz BeatClear speaker, which packs 350mV amp input sensitivity, two tweeters and a pair of woofers inside a clear acrylic case. There’s no release date attached to the hardware just yet, but it’s set to retail for $199. The BeatBlock set of speakers wraps a pair of tweeters and a duo of woofers in a striking hand-stitched leather package, which comes in a variety of color combos, while offering a 20Hz to 20KHz frequency range. Word of a release date hasn’t arrived yet, but it’ll carry a $199 price tag.

Continue reading Beatpower enters the HiFi Bluetooth speaker fray, introduces speakers with panache (hands-on)

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

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Source: Beatpower

Either Improv Electronics loves trees, or note taking. Perhaps both? What we do know for sure is that its latest offering to the list maker is here at CES, and we just got some hands (and pen) on time with it. The Sync is a 9.7-inch slate containing the company’s own eWriting technology. More than that, it also has a microSD card slot, USB and Bluetooth. That last addition is where the money is with this particular model, allowing you to wirelessly… sync with other enabled devices (i.e. second screens, desktops and iOS / Android devices). This means you can scribble away on the Sync, and have your scrawls appear at presentations and beyond. Of course, any note taking device wouldn’t be complete without some Evernote integration, and luckily enough, it’s present here. So, once you’re done transferring inspiration from brain to slate you can grab it as a an image, and store it in the cloud for later.

The models themselves were still prototypes, but they looked and felt solid and comfortable to use. As with the other models in the line, there are little ergonomic touches that please the eye and hand alike. There’s a mount on the side for the all important stylus, and the screen itself — wile utilitarian in nature — is easy to look at, and text, words and drawings appear clear. The SD card functionality means you can save your notes for later upload, and the mobile app functionality is also set to continually improve, with real-time second screen coming to mobile and tablets, as well as on desktop. The Sync will be up for grabs sometime around the holiday season this year. For now, sync with the gallery and video past the break.

Steve Dent contributed to this report.

Continue reading Improv Electronics Boogie Board Sync hands-on (video)

Filed under: Tablets

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