Our next stop on the Windows 8 announcement train is Dell, which today unveiled the XPS 10, a Windows RT hybrid device that runs Microsoft’s latest OS on a 10-inch touch-enabled display. Dell says you can expect up to 20 hours of battery life, though the company didn’t touch on CPU and storage specs.
Dell also unveiled the XPS Duo 12, which sports a 12.5-inch touch display. When closed, it looks like any old XPS laptop, with a machined aluminum built and carbon fiber surrounding the display. To enter tablet mode, you literally flip the Duo 12’s display around and close it over the keyboard. Processor options will go up to Core i7, and the keyboard includes backlighting. Both products will be available later this year after the official Windows 8 launch.
Dell has launched its latest XPS all-in-one desktop, refreshing the XPS One 27 and including a touchscreen for navigating Windows 8. Targeted both at domestic and business users, the One 27 runs at Quad HD 2560 x 1440 resolution with 3.7m pixels, and – with Dell disagreeing strongly with Apple’s hands-on approach for AIOs – allows you to page through Windows without using a keyboard or mouse.
Supporting the discrete grey casing there’s a multi-adjusting desk stand that can be pushed back for regular sitting work, or then pulled up higher so that those standing can use it more comfortably. Dell actually launched the XPS One 27 back in May originally, but the touchscreen interface makes much more sense now that it runs Windows 8.
Inside there’s a choice of Core i5 or i7 processors, along with optional NVIDIA discrete graphics to augment the standard Intel HD 4000 GPU. There’s up to 16GB of RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and an optional mSATA flash drive for speedier app loading. Connectivity includes both HDMI input and output, together with gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0.
No word on pricing at this stage, though we’re guessing the updated XPS One 27 will start at around the $1,399 point just as its Windows 7 predecessor did.
With the imminent arrival of Windows 8, there is an avalanche of touchscreen laptops, but the Toshiba U925T is quite original in its design and does not use the typical “clamshell” design with a detachable keyboard.
Instead, it uses a “slide and rise” (my term) design where the display can lay completely flat on top of the keyboard, turning the U925T into a tablet. When the user needs a keyboard again, he/she can slide the display back to reveal the keyboard and rise the display in position. (more…)
Third-party navigation apps still tend to fall apart when the keys are out of the ignition — try to cut back on car use and you’re often kicked over to another app with its own set of rules. Both Garmin’s StreetPilot Onboard app and its Navigon equivalent are getting a much more holistic experience through respective upgrades due this fall. Android and iOS users alike can soon buy an Urban Guidance pack that factors buses, subways and other forms of public transportation into their on-foot routes. The playing field is leveling off for drivers willing to stretch their legs, too: iPhone owners with Navigon’s app get the same last-mile walking directions and parking finder as their Android counterparts. StreetPilot iPhone app users are left out of this last addition, but they’ll see compensation in the form of an optional Panorama View 3D mode and the Google Street View they’re about to lose from Maps in iOS 6. The updated titles will still cost $30 for Navigon-only regional packs, $50 for editions with US-wide maps and $60 for all of North America, although you’ll need to spend $5 more ($3 during the first two weeks) for Urban Guidance and $10 for the Panorama View 3D pack.
HTC has a low profile at IFA this year, with only one new smartphone – the HTC Desire X – and a midrange one at that. More compact than the One X and One S (and likely to be cheaper, too), the Desire X resurrects a familiar name with an eye firmly on the mass market. We caught up with HTC to find out whether it strikes the all-important balance between affordability and performance.
It’s not hard to see that it’s an HTC phone. The company’s rather sober styling has stayed a constant in recent years, and the Desire X owes much of its two-tone curves to the One X. It’s a successful design, though whether it will stand out on store shelves amid more eye-catching phones remains to be seen. The white does better there than the black, with its matte silver around the bezel and the matte white backing.
In the hand, it’s solid if not entirely inspiring, though we can see the compact 4-inch screen being an advantage to those who aren’t persuaded by big-display handsets and phablets. Unfortunately that comes at a price – namely resolution – and at WVGA 800 x 480 the Desire X’s pixels are visible. It’s a shame, as the Super LCD itself has decent viewing angles and bright colors, and the laminated screen means there’s no gap between glass and display, so we wish HTC had opted for at least a qHD panel.
HTC Desire X hands-on video:
As for the camera, it’s a good example of why megapixels aren’t everything. HTC’s own research continues to suggest that photographic performance is one of the key factors buyers make when they pick a new phone, and so while the Desire X may only have a 5-megapixel sensor, it’s backside-illuminated for improved low light performance, and paired with an f/2.0, 28mm wide angle lens. We’ll have to wait until review units are available to see how well the Desire X actually uses all that, but based on the track record with the One series devices we’re quietly confident.
Also like the One series is HTC Connect, the company’s media streaming system. That hooks up to certified speakers or receivers over WiFi or WiFi Direct, and can currently squirt across audio from the phone’s music apps. However, HTC plans to expand that to support video streaming in the future, and while so far only Pioneer has signed up, the expectation is that more manufacturers will jump on board soon.
UI is the Sense 4.1 we’re familiar with from the One series, running on top of Ice Cream Sandwich with a 1GHz dualcore Snapdragon S4 keeping things churning with 768MB of RAM. That’s less than we usually like to see in an Android smartphone – 1GB has generally become the standard, with more devices showing up at 2GB in recent months – but we didn’t notice any immediate stuttering or lag. The Desire X is, of course, a phone built with a semi-budget price in mind, so HTC had to save somewhere; the same is visible in internal storage, of which around 2GB of the total 4GB is available to the user. A microSD card slot can be used to add more.
Unlocked, HTC expects the Desire X to come in at under €300 ($377), though contract pricing isn’t finalized. If HTC can work with carriers to significantly undercut other midrange models from Sony, LG, and Samsung when the Desire X hits shelves in Europe and Asia come mid-September 2012, then it could grab a slice of first-time smartphone buyers. So far Phones 4U has revealed one free-on-contract deal, in the UK, from £20.50 per month; that sounds a little high to us, though if you opt for a £26 tariff you get a free set of Beats Solo headphones. Nonetheless the risk, as always, is that bigger and more capable phones are often available for just a little more.
A brand new HTC device has been revealed with several of the features that make the HTC One series a “Hero” set of phones, here in a more modest package with the HTC Desire X. This device works with a 4-inch 480 x 800 pixel super LCD display and a 1Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor from Qualcomm and comes with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device also comes with the newest software the manufacturer has to offer with their user interface Sense 4.0.
This device will appear with 4GB of internal storage and 768 MB of RAM. You’ll also be getting 25GB of cloud storage free with Dropbox for two years. You’ll be able to expand your memory with this device’s included microSD card slot as well by 32GB. The HTC Desire X has a 3.5mm headphone jack with which you’ll be accessing Beats Audio high quality sound delivery.
Beats Audio continues to be a part of the HTC experience with enhanced Bluetooth 4.0 stereo audio quality – APT-X CODEC for BT A2DP included. You’ve also got HD voice here (if your chosen mobile network allows it) and FM radio. Also under the hood is a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and G-sensor. The battery in this device is a lovely 1650 mAh unit that HTC says will bring you 10 hours of talk time in 3G or 20 hours in 2G, with 34 days of standby if you’re using 3G or 31 days using 2G – strange!
This device is also able to connect with a standard 5-pin microUSB cord – included in the box – and is DNLA compliant for sireless media streaming. You’ve got wi-fi connectivity in addition to 2G and 3G and Bluetooth 4.0 here allows you PBAP as well for phonebook access from your brand new car kit – we’ll see more about that situation soon.
Then there’s the camera – here with the HTC ImageChip, the same one included in the HTC One series for awesome media capturing abilities, you’ll be rolling hard with your 5 megapixel camera. Your camera also uses a F2.0 aperture, wide angle 28 mm lens, and an LED flash with SmartFlash. This SmartFlash functionality allows five level of flash that are automatically set by your camera detecting distance to the objects at hand.
Your camera also has a BSI sensor, one-press continuous shooting with up to two frames per second, face and smile detection, geo tagging, and WVGA video recording. This camera also has the ability to work with intelligent group shot mode, Video Pic (allowing photos while you’re capturing video), and Instant Capture. This device allows you to access your camera from the lockscreen and shoot quick so you never miss a shot!
Stay tuned as we check this device out up close and personal here on SlashGear soon – meanwhile check out the HTC One tag to see the history of that lineup, and compare it to the Desire X as you do so!
HTC is keeping a low profile at IFA 2012 this week but it does have at least one phone to reveal to the throng of tech journalists and writers making their way around Berlin, the Desire X (formerly Proto). It’s a humbler new handset for the Taiwanese manufacturer and one whose outer hardware has already toured China. It’s now been mildly adjusted (that is, improved) with one of Qualcomm’s lower-end Snapdragon S4 processors, clocked at 1GHz, while it keeps that 4-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, Beats Audio integration and 4GB of storage we saw earlier. There’s also an extra 25 gigs of free cloud storage courtesy of Dropbox, while the camera packs the same capabilities as One series devices including HDR capture, continuous shooting and the ability to capture video and stills at the same time. The device will launch across as-yet unconfirmed countries in Europe and Asia starting next month — and we’ll have a hands-on for you later today.
As expected, Samsung has launched the Galaxy Note 2, which is even larger than the original Galaxy Note. Many didn’t think that this was possible to make it larger, but Samsung did, and they have pushed the concept of the Galaxy Note phone to the next level.
First, the design is beautiful, and although it comes in two colors, I have to admit that I like the pearl white version better. In many ways, it looks like the first Galaxy Note, but with some traits of the Galaxy S3 as well. The combination of both designs yields a winner here. Beyond the appearance, there are three things that have been improved by quite a bit. (more…)
If you thought laptop / tablet mashups were trendy, we can think of at least one other theme you’re going to see repeated ad nauseam over the coming months: PC makers putting touchscreens on things that didn’t used to have them. That’s right, in addition to all those funky-looking hybrids, you’re going to see lots of familiar-looking laptops get upgraded with touch in time for the Windows 8 launch. Exhibit A: HP, which just announced two conventional notebooks with touch. This includes a finger-friendly version of the 14-inch Envy 4 Ultrabook, as well as the Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, a 15-inch version of the Spectre XT announced earlier this year. Both will be available during the holiday season. That’s the short version, but if you follow past the break, we’ve got a lot to talk about in the way of specs. Join us, will you?
You didn’t think the world’s top PC maker was going to sit out the laptop / tablet hybrid trend, now did you? HP, one of the last OEMs to share its Windows 8 plans, just announced the Envy x2, an 11-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard dock. And while that form factor may already seem tired, HP is dressing it up with some higher-end features, including an aluminum build, NFC, pen support, Beats Audio and a 400-nit, IPS display. (The resolution is 1,366 x 768, as is the case for many of these 11-inch Windows 8 hybrids.)
The tablet itself measures about 8.5mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, while the dock weighs 1.6. Unlike competing products, the device combines magnets and a mechanical latch to keep the tablet from falling out of its dock (watch us manhandle the x2 in the video below to see what we’re talking about). All told, we were impressed by how surprisingly light the tablet and dock feel — given the metal armor encasing it all, it’s easy to assume otherwise.
Under the hood, the x2 runs an Atom-based Clover Trail processor. Though HP isn’t ready to talk battery life, we’ve noticed that every other OEM releasing a Clover Trail device is promising between nine and 10 hours of runtime, so we expect the x2 to deliver comparable performance. What’s more, the dock has a built-in battery of its own, so you’ll definitely have some reserve power there. Poke around on the dock and you’ll find two USB ports, HDMI output and a full-size SD slot. The tablet itself is home to an 8-megapixel rear camera and microSD slot, in case the 64GB of built-in storage isn’t capacious enough.
Right now, it’s unknown how much the x2 will cost, or when, exactly, it will go on sale, except that it’s expected to arrive in time for the holiday shopping season. For now, feel free to poke around our hands-on photo gallery, and avail yourselves of our walk-through, embedded just past the break.
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