Are you ready for IFA’s most-anticipated event? We’re live from the Tempodrom in Berlin, and we’ll be bringing you the latest on the Galaxy Note 3, the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and any other surprise announcements. Follow along with our liveblog to get the news — it’s the next best thing to getting a front-row seat to JK Shin and co.’s notoriously elaborate event.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Samsung
The Xperia Z1 was clearly the darling of today’s Sony press event at IFA, but what is a smartphone without a smart imaging stand, right? The peripheral only got a quick mention as Kaz ran through phone specs, but we managed to get a bit more time with it on the floor afterward. The device is a cradle for your handset that you can control via phone, tablet or, in this case, the company’s new SmartWatch 2. That’s what Sony was using at the event — though, we have to say, while we appreciated it killing two birds with one stone, maybe it wasn’t the ideal choice.
Tap the icon on the watch’s display and you’ll see a barebones interface. At the center is a camera icon for still photos, with a video record icon in the upper right. There are also four arrows around the perimeter that let you adjust the stand’s position. We had some serious trouble with the latter. Connected with the stand via Blueooth, we found ourselves having to hit the arrows multiple times to get it to move. When we did eventually get it to shift, the whole stand moved a bit — though we’re willing to chalk some of that up to the somewhat precarious position the stand was in while on display.%Gallery-slideshow79438%
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile
Sony didn’t mention this during its IFA press event, but it just unveiled a big treat for home theater fans: meet the S990A, the world’s first curved-screen LED TV. The introductory 65-inch, 1080p model uses the same color-rich Triluminos display technology that we’ve seen in Sony’s recent TVs, just in a more immersive (or at least, more impressive-looking) form factor. Its built-in sound quality reportedly gets a boost, too. Since the eight built-in speakers are angled at different directions, Sony can simulate surround sound more convincingly than it could with a flat-panel set. As you’d expect, the TV also includes mobile-friendly features like Smart Connect media sharing, One-touch NFC remote pairing and second screen interaction through SideView. The S990A won’t ship to the US until late October, but Sony is taking pre-orders today — and at a $4,000 asking price, the curved LED set is much more affordable than its OLED counterparts.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: Sony
Sure smart watches are the hot newness, but Sony’s already been there and done that. In fact, the company got a jump on IFA by first announcing its second-gen wearable way back in late June. The device did grab a brief mention at today’s press conference (due in part, we suspect, to something Samsung may have up its sleeve), and the device got some face time on the IFA show floor. The watch doesn’t look entirely unlike its predecessor, though there have been some modifications.
For starters, the display has been kicked up a bit to a 1.6-incher with 220 x 176 resolution. Of course, that’s still a tiny color touchscreen, so you’re only going to fit around six icons on there at any one time. The device is also slimmer than its predecessor, which goes a long way for something you’re going to wear on your wrist, though we wouldn’t exactly call it thin at the moment.%Gallery-slideshow79435%
Nothing like a leaked video to get you pumped about a product. Of course, we’re not suggesting that ASUS went out of its way to post information about the forthcoming Fonepad 7, but either way, that teaser piqued our curiosity. Now that ASUS has officially unveiled the product here at IFA, though, we can confirm these are fairly minor upgrades to the company’s original 7-inch, talk-enabled phone / tablet crossbreed. Namely, ASUS moved to glossy back cover and (as we saw in that video) added an extra speaker on the front side.
Not that this isn’t a good speaker setup. A number of companies have tried and failed to perfect the art of speaker placement, but we quite like what ASUS did here. For starters, they actually, you know, face you while they’re playing. Quite the innovation, we know. And while they’re placed near where you hold the device when it’s in landscape mode, it’s quite easy to grip it without muffling the sound. That said, we weren’t able to get the sound all that loud when we played around with it in the echoey halls of Berlin’s Hotel de Rome. The sound was easily drowned out by the admittedly larger MemoPad 10.%Gallery-slideshow79397%
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS
Here at IFA, Sony thinks it has just the thing to help struggling musical artists become breakout successes. Say hello to the $300 HDR-MV1 Music Video Recorder. Set to take on the likes of the Zoom Q2 HD, this stereo field recorder / HD camcorder might just be the best ticket to getting high quality music videos on the web painlessly. The POV-style shooter features 120-degree stereo microphones that record in AAC or uncompressed linear PCM (CD quality), and there’s also an input for external mics. Better yet, you can manually set levels and check them using the onboard 2.7-inch screen and speaker — a four-way toggle switch lets you change settings.
The back houses a replaceable battery and a Micro SD card slot, and the rear gives you access to HDMI, line in, headphone and USB ports. Video gets captured at 1080/30p by a wide 120-degree Carl Zeiss lens and a back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor that’s ready to handle low light situations. Recording is simply enabled by hitting a red record buttons at the top of the unit. To keep things extra worry-free, the recorder also features automatic Audio Lip Syncing. Lastly, on-board WiFi lets you share your clips with Sony’s PlayMemories Mobile app, while NFC allows for tap-to-pair with Android devices. Aspiring video rock stars can get their hands on the Music Video Recorder this December. For now, get a closer look in the embedded galleries. %Gallery-slideshow79390% %Gallery-slideshow79405%
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Sony
Source: Sony
We assure you, the camera above is not Sony’s HDR-AX200. While it shares a similar body, this is the new FDR-AX1 that leaked this morning — a fixed lens 4K videocamera for prosumers, priced at a cool $4,500. Although JVC beat Sony to the market with its $5,000 kit, Sony’s vying to have the upper hand with the tech inside its take, namely by using its XAVC S format. It works by capturing video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Long GOP and audio in linear PCM, which all gets saved in an “MP4 wrapper.” To handle the massive amount of data throughput from its 4k/60p stream, the camcorder records to QXD cards (two slots are onboard) which, until now, haven’t had much use outside of Nikon’s D4. A 64GB card will net you two hours of 4K video, while downscaling to 1080/60p adds an extra hour on top of that.
Video gets captured by a 1/2.3-type Exmor R CMOS sensor and a 20x optical zoom (31.5-630mm) G lens, which comes equipped with a trio of ND filters and Optical SteadyShot. As you’d expect, there are a plethora of manual controls, powered stereo XLR inputs, a 3.2-inch display and a viewfinder on back. It’s worth noting that while the AX1 won’t be HDMI 2.0 compliant at first, Sony’s planning a firmware update down the line to enable it. Until that occurs, it’ll only be able to transfer HDMI video over to Sony’s existing 4K TVs. We’re also told that the camcorder will work with SD cards for shooting in HD.
If you don’t care for the flexibility of interchangeable lenses or need something more affordable than the likes of a RED Scarlet, the FDR-AX1 can be yours this October. Sweetening the deal just a little more, Sony will also throw in a 32GB XQD card and a full copy of Vegas Pro 12 to ensure you can get started out of the box. Check out our eyes-on gallery with the prototype seen above in the meantime. %Gallery-slideshow79389% %Gallery-slideshow79406%
Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: Sony
Sony has released camcorders and cameras for a variety niches here at IFA, including a new HD action cam, the HDR-AS30V. It’s immediately noticeable that the second-gen model is 25 percent smaller and 35 percent lighter than the original, making it even less cumbersome when clipped onto a helmet — especially compared to a GoPro. As far as the layout goes, not much has changed; you’ll find USB, line-in and HDMI ports at the bottom, with the power and record buttons still on back. The rear panel also opens up to give you access to a microSD card slot and the battery compartment. The side features the same basic info LCD with two selection buttons, so you’ll still make need to make use of its onboard WiFi and a smartphone — or the new Live-View Remote (details in a bit) if you need a viewfinder.
You’ll find stereo mics and a fixed Carl Zeiss lens at the front with a 170-degree viewing angle, though you’ll only get a 120-degree field of view with SteadyShot enabled. Lastly, there’s the obligatory tripod mount at its underside. The new bits are essentially a backlit Exmor R CMOS censor, GPS and NFC. Full HD videos can now be captured at 1080/60p (last year’s model topped out at 30p), while 720/120p and 720/60p settings are available for slow-mo videos. As a bonus, it can also take 11.9MP images and shoot at interval timing. Using Sony’s PlayMemories Home app, you’ll be able to sync up video from two of the new Action Cams, rotate the orientation of your clips, and add overlays based on GPS data.
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Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Sony
Source: Sony
To go along with the Xperia Z1′s 1/2.3-inch, 20.7-megapixel G lens sensor, Sony’s just announced the Social Camera Suite at IFA 2013. The glamor feature is Info-Eye, which gives you a visual search function on any captured landmarks or items like wine or books. There’s also the AR effects function, which can overlay animations (dinosaurs, for instance) on top of your pictures. Rounding out the suite is Social live, giving you instant social network broadcast, and Timeshift burst, which takes 61 images in 2 seconds before and after you press the shutter to avoid missed shots. To get it you’ll need the Xperia Z1, aka Honami, of course — check out our hands-on here. %Gallery-slideshow79421%
Filed under: Cellphones, Sony
Well, ASUS already spilled the beans on this one. Just a few hours ago, the company posted a YouTube video of its new Zenbook UX301 Ultrabook — i.e., the same Zenbook Infinity we saw back at Computex, just with a new (less catchy) name. Well, if a teaser video didn’t make it official enough for you, the company just revealed the laptop on-stage here at its IFA press event in Berlin. As we learned back at Computex, this has a lid made of Gorilla Glass 3, which promises to stand up to both scratches and maybe even drops. Meanwhile, the palm rest is also made of glass, though there’s a ceramic coating mixed in, so it doesn’t feel at all glassy; just exceptionally smooth. (Think of how smooth the metal on Samsung’s old Series 9 felt and maybe you’ll get the idea.) All told, this definitely isn’t the thinnest or lightest Ultrabook we’ve held, at 1.38kg (3.04 pounds), but on the plus side, you get a good deal of travel on that backlit keyboard, and most of the keys are amply sized too.
Also revealed in that spoiler of a YouTube video: the UX301 comes standard with a 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 IPS touchscreen. On the inside, it combines a Haswell dual-core Core i7-4558U processor with 802.11ac WiFi, up to 512GB of solid-state storage and Intel Iris graphics — basically, the best Intel has to offer short of a discrete GPU. If you do need more power, though, ASUS will also offer an NVIDIA GT 730M GPU on some models. Additionally, ASUS will sell a lower-end spinoff called the UX3012 (not pictured here), which will have generally the same design, but a lower-res, 1080p screen. Both will be available in white, along with a dark, navy blue — quite the departure from ASUS’ usual color scheme. No word yet on pricing or availability, except that the line is still on track to ship sometime in the fourth quarter. For now, we’ve finally had a chance to get some hands-on time — remember at Computex when we had to snap photos through a glass box?%Gallery-slideshow79395%%Gallery-slideshow79404%
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