Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this year, HTC spent much of its mobile bombast on that other major European conference: MWC. But that doesn’t mean the company showed up to Berlin empty handed. In a closed door session today, the company demoed a flagship of sorts: the Desire X. The 4-inch handset, just recently announced, may look familiar — that’s because it lifts distinctive elements of the premium One series for a decidedly upscale spin on an entry-level device. With an 800 x 480 Super LCD display, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 8255 running Sense 4.1 atop Ice Cream Sandwich and a 5-megapixel rear shooter enhanced by the outfit’s ImageChip, this first-timer device is anything, but average. Curious to see how this top-shelf budget phone fared in our testing? Then follow along after the break for some initial impressions.

Continue reading HTC Desire X hands-on (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

HTC Desire X hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 05:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

Dell announces XPS 10 Windows 8 hybrid, XPS 12 Duo convertible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Continue reading HTC Desire X announced: Android 4.0 on a 4-inch Super LCD screen

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

HTC Desire X announced: Android 4.0 on a 4-inch Super LCD screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Continue reading HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the ins and outs of Samsung’s first Android-based digital camera, but how about an outer shell? You likely won’t be transporting this junbo point-and-shoot in your pocket, making a variety of protective options a necessity. First up is the Flip Cover — a camera-friendly variant of the Galaxy original, with a slide-in design and a large protective flap to cover up the LCD. There’s also a full-on carrying case, which slips open to reveal the lens while offering a bit more protection. And, if you’re going au naturel, you’ll want to suit up with a wrist strap at the very least, offering a bit of insurance against potential slips and spills. We don’t have pricing and availability info to share, but like the camera itself, it looks like there’s a bunch of color configurations to choose from, all pictured in the gallery below.

Filed under: Cameras

Need a case for that Galaxy Camera? Samsung’s got you covered (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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