Hasta La Gadget!

To be completely honest, the YotaPhone is one of devices I’ve been most looking forward to seeing during Slashgear’s stay here at CES 2013. The device was announced last year and was immediately turning heads with its dual-screen setup. Dual-screen phones are nothing new, but the folks at Yota have put their own little spin on the dual-screen setup: instead of offering two LCD screens, the YotaPhone sports an HD LCD display on the front, and an eInk display around the back.

Of course, with dual-screen phones, manufacturers run the risk of having their devices ultimately come off as nothing more than gimmicky. The YotaPhone has its share of dissenters, but I’m pleased to report that it seems like a very solid device. We’ve got some powerful hardware running under the hood, including a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, and a custom 2,100mAh battery, so there’s plenty to get excited about for the hardware enthusiast (though admittedly, it would have been great to see a quad-core CPU in place of the dual-core).

Both of the displays come in at 4.3-inches in size, with the LCD displaying at 1280×720 resolution. That naturally means 720p HD, so visuals are nice and sharp, and if you’re a fan of eInk displays, the YotaPhone’s rear screen will certainly please. Add to that a rear-facing 12MP camera and you’ve got a phone with one solid set of specs.

Interestingly, the folks at Yota have ditched buttons and have instead opted for gesture controls. This was something I was a bit hesitant about, but as it turns out, gesture controls work really well and seem like a intuitive replacement for the Android navigation buttons we’re all familiar with. While we’re on the topic of Android, it’s worth pointing out that Yota expects its device to be running Android 4.2 by the time in launches here in North America, but unfortunately the device we saw today was only running Android 4.1. Still, having Jelly Bean out of the box is always a good thing, so you won’t hear many complaints from me.

The phone is pretty lightweight and feels good in the hand, though there is a bit of a curve to both of the displays, which are each kept safe behind a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It’s important to keep in mind that the device we saw today is still only a prototype, so aspects of its design could change by the time the it launches here in North America. At any rate, I can safely say that the YotaPhone is every bit as cool as I was hoping it would be, but there are still a few kinks to iron out in the weeks and months to come. Yota says that it’s aiming for a late 2013 launch in North America, so expect to be seeing much more of the YotaPhone as we get closer to the end of the year. As always, you can find all of our coverage from CES 2013 at our CES portal, so be sure to have a look at that!

YotaPhone hands-on is written by Eric Abent & 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.

Wearables like Google Glass may be eye-catching, but it’s tiny fitness monitors like Jawbone UP, Nike Fuelband, and others that are actually showing up clipped or strapped to people, and that’s the market Fitbit is chasing with the new Flex. We grabbed some hands-on time with the new Bluetooth 4.0 equipped activity dongle – and its companion smartphone app – at CES to see if it could oust UP from our wrist.

It’s certainly small. While Fitbit has been focusing on Flex as used with a wristband, the dongle itself can be removed and used with another type of clip; when out, it’s a small, sturdy lozenge of plastic. On the outer edge there’s a discrete row of LEDs which show your progress toward your daily goal in 20-percent increments; it’s a nice balance between the fuller (but battery-consuming) display of the Fuelband, and the UP which gives no feedback whatsoever until you plug it into your phone.

The strap itself fixes on snugly, and Fitbit will supply two sizes to suit different wrists; it’ll also be available in a range of colors, depending on whether you want a more discrete black, or prefer something eye-catching like bright red.

Fitbit Flex hands-on:

It’s the app and the Bluetooth that really make Flex special, however. The low-power Bluetooth – when used with the right phone – sends over performance data in real-time to your device, allowing you to monitor how you’re going through the day. It also records sleep patterns, showing different light or deep phases, and telling you if you’ve had a rough night.

All in all, we’re left with warm, fuzzy feelings about the Flex, and even though Fitbit is later to the market with it than Nike or Jawbone, the company appears to have learned from its forebears with elements like the battery-sipping LEDs and the water-resistance. It’s up for preorder now, priced at $99.99, and will ship in the spring.

Fitbit Flex hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung is going big with TVs at CES 2013: big in screen size, and big in resolution, with the record-setting 85-inch Ultra HD UN85S9000 at the top of a new HDTV line-up that also includes OLED models. The largest UHD set we’ve seen so-far, the Samsung UN85S9000 delivers four times the resolution of an 1080p Full HD TV, as well as 3.2-channels of 120W sound and all of the Smart TV functionality you’d hope for. Meanwhile, Samsung has refined its 55-inch OLED monster, with a special new 3D feature catering for two people wanting to watch different things.

Inside the 85-inch behemoth, there’s not only 2D to 3D conversion, but HD to UHD conversion, along with Smart TV features like streaming, apps, motion control, and voice control. It’s all powered by an A15 quadcore 1.35GHz processor, something you’d more commonly expect to find in a high-end phone or tablet, as well as support for the Smart Evolution Kit which will add new features further down the line. However, it’s likely to unusual easel-style mount which will grab the most attention (at least before the screen gets powered on).

Samsung has been pushing OLED as the Next Big Thing in TV technology, and the 55-inch KN55F9500 Real OLED TV is the latest iteration of the company’s vision. Built around the same quadcore processor as the UN85S9000, and with all the Smart TV functionality including voice control and streaming media, the OLED set is also the first to feature Samsung Multi-View, which uses 3D display technology to show two viewers (each wearing active 3D glasses) different content simultaneously.

That works in 2D and 3D, and even delivers stereo audio to the viewer thanks to tiny speakers built into the glasses. There’s also Smart Evolution Kit Connector support, and a new version of Motion Control gesture recognition that can better track hands held at up to 45-degree angles.

Most regular buyers will head to Samsung’s LED 8000 Series or LED 7000 Series sets, of course, also new for CES 2013. The 60-inch UN60F8000 borrows the 1.35GHz quadcore A15 of its bigger brother, along with the same Smart TV functionality, motion and voice control, and streaming from the web and mobile devices. It also gets Micro Dimming Ultimate for more precise control of the LED backlighting, and De-Jagging Pro for cleaner edges. 3D crosstalk is down too, by 30-percent, and even web content is meant to look better, with text and image processing applied to the TV’s browser.

As for the 60-inch UN60F7500, that sticks with the same quadcore processor but does without the Micro Dimming Ultimate technology; otherwise, it’s the same mixture of De-Jagging Pro smoothing, Precision Black intelligent contrast control, and improved 3D crosstalk prevention. Both the 8000 and 7000 Series support the Evolution Kit.

Finally, there’s a new plasma set on offer, the Samsung Plasma 8500 Series, with the 64-inch PN64F8500 promising the darkest blacks and brightest pictures ever from a plasma TV. It shares the processor and Smart TV features as its LED brethren, but adds Deep Black Algorithm II and Real Black Pro for a combination of computer-controlled white light reduction – keeping those black areas inky – as well as 2.5x brighter whites when necessary. There’s also a new “nanocarbon compound” used to reduce stray ambient light.

Samsung doesn’t have availability or pricing details for either the UN85S9000 or the KN55F9500, though neither is likely to be cheap. The LED 8000 Series will ship in the first half of 2013, along with the LED 7000 Series, and the Plasma 8500 Series.

Samsung reveals full Ultra HD, OLED and Smart TV lineup at CES 2013 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Fitbit has revealed its latest take on the activity tracker, the Fitbit Flex, a new challenger to the Jawbone UP complete with Bluetooth 4.0 for real-time sync with a nearby iPhone, iPad, or Android device. The tracker slots neatly into a waterproof wristband, or can be removed and clipped on elsewhere, tracking steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned, and even sleep, and giving at-a-glance feedback on the wearer’s performance using LEDs.

Those lights show 20-percent increments of the daily goal, which is set by the individual wearer. However, the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 is used to ping more complex data over to Fitbit’s Flex app, with various graphs and graphics to show how close you are to your targets for steps, calorie burn, and other factors, as well as how long you’ve been sleeping, how many times you woke up, and how efficient your sleep was.

The Flex can also wake the wearer up with a silent alarm, using its sleep tracking abilities to automatically figure out what the best time to vibrate is, based on how fresh you’ll be feeling at any point. The new Flex app – which also works with the Fitbit One and Zip, and is available for Android for the first time – has social integration too, with activity badges, and support for challenges between friends and family.

There’s also support for a food log, allowing the wearer’s diet to be recorded each day, and compared with activity and overall health. However, Flex can also integrate with third-party apps, such as Endomondo, LoseIt, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, and Sparkpeople.

Fitbit Flex is up for preorder now, priced at $99.95, and is expected to ship in the spring of this year. The Android Flex app will arrive by the end of February.

Fitbit Flex takes on Jawbone UP with Bluetooth activity tracker is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.