If touch keyboards aren’t your thing, new pics leaked today that supposedly show the Motorola Droid 5 sporting a QWERTY slider keyboard ought to pique your interest. The photos show the slider lacking the capacitive buttons the previous gen phone had with the addition of wireless charging and a shockproof water resistant design. Other features […]
Fans of hardware keyboards have at least one reason to keep rooting for Motorola’s Droid line, and these leaked pics suggest it will continue on. Posted on Weibo, these supposed Droid 5 pics show a QWERTY slider that seeming drops the capacitive buttons of its predecessors, and brings wireless charging, NFC and a “shockproof” water / dust resistant design. The laser cut 5-row keyboard we appreciated on the Droid 4 appears to be intact, along with a screen in the 4.3-inch to 4.5-inch range. The conveniently placed Verizon 4G LTE logos also places it as a higher-end companion to the just-announced LG Enact as Android options for fans of hardware keyboards. Any other details are still up in the air, if you have a login for the Chinese social networking service you can check out the source for yourself at the links below.
Via: NewCellPhonesBlog
Verizon isn’t just releasing its variant of the HTC One today — it also has a treat for fans of the oft-neglected QWERTY slider smartphone. The carrier has just launched the once-rumored LG Enact, which hides a landscape keyboard underneath its 4-inch WVGA screen. As you might gather from the display, though, this device is no flagship. The combination of a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA front camera and 8GB of expandable storage puts the Enact at the low end. What’s more, it’s also stuck on Android 4.1. When LG’s new device costs $20 on contract, however, it’s inexpensive enough that many fans of hardware keys can afford to take a look.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, LG
Source: Verizon (1), (2)
According to serial leak merchant @evleaks, the LG Enact is days away from making an official appearance on Verizon, a carrier that reckons there’s still life in the ‘ole keyboard-packed form factor, with a phone that looks a whole lot like the Android sliders of the past. Yep, LG’s new Android smartphone houses an increasingly rare full QWERTY keyboard, a pretty old-school four-key capacitive button layout, and a mix of Verizon and LG-skinned app icons. However, we’re already wary of how the Enact’s keyboard will handle — with space at a premium on these keyboards, that substantial border either side of the keys could result in some cramped thumbs. However, at this stage we’re not certain of the screen-size and dimensions of the slider, so we’ll hold our judgement until we get to tap away on it in real life.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, LG
Source: @evleaks (Twitter)
New York documentarian Paul Sahner’s blog NYC Grid is a lovely project, and amongst the coolest recurring features on the site is Before & After, which compares archival images of New York monuments with photos of the same spot today. Above, we see the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge as it was in 1915, compared with the monster in 2013.
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The products keep coming. The latest announcement from Samsung is a new addition to its ATIV range and it’s a hybrid in more ways than one. Similar to the ASUS Transformer Book Trio, announced earlier this month at Computex, Samsung just introduced its own dual-OS portable. It’s called the ATIV Q, and it combines Android 4.2 and Windows 8. Under the hood, the device is powered by a Haswell-series Intel Core i5 processor and manages to fit a 13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen into a 1.29kg package that measures just 13.9mm thick. Other notable specs include an S Pen with 1,024 degrees of sensitivity. There’s space for the stylus to be stored in the bottom corner of the device. Hardware considerations have also been folded into the design, with the processor housed inside the ATIV Q’s hinge. Samsung says that this ensures that heat dissipates from the back of the device.
A software highlight from this particular Windows 8-Android team-up is the ability to share files (photos, documents… seemingly anything that can be opened with programs on the other OS) and share folders across the operating system divide. We can certainly see the usefulness in this approach — sharing images to your favorite Android social app and generally unifying how you use the hybrid, regardless of OS. The ATIV Q will launch globally in Q3, and we’ve been told “in time for the back-to-school season”, which sounds like sooner rather than later. We’ve managed to spend a bit of time with the new multi-talented slider: check out some first impressions after the break.
Update: We just added some video.
Gallery: Samsung ATIV Q hands-on
Thanks to the magic of leaked YouTube videos, we already knew Sony was working on another slider Ultrabook to replace the failed Duo 11. Now it’s official: the company just formally announced the Duo 13, and if Sony’s to be believed, it addresses many of the original’s shortcomings. For starters, the new “Surf Slider” hinge is supposedly easier to open — Sony even says it’s possible to maneuver with one hand. If you look at those product shots below, you’ll see it’s also prettier to look at from behind (guess Sony heard us complaining about the exposed cabling on the Duo 11). What’s interesting is that the Duo 13 has similar dimensions as its predecessor, and it only weighs a fraction more (2.93 pounds vs. 2.87). The trick was to shrink the bezels, and also to switch to a carbon fiber design, similar to what you’ll find on the old Z series and the new Pro line. Oddly, though, while the dimensions haven’t changed dramatically, Sony still made room for a less cramped-seeming keyboard, one that even includes a proper trackpad. That’s right, folks, the optical tracking stick is gone. We have a feeling you won’t miss it.
Some other design notes: the Duo 13 adds a place for stowing the digitizer pen, which the Duo 11 lacked. What’s more, while the Duo always had a scratch-resistant 1080p IPS display, this one also makes use of Sony’s Triluminos technology, originally used on the company’s Bravia TVs. Additionally, it has the same X-Reality processing engine you’ll already find on some Xperia smartphones. Rounding out the spec list, there’s NFC, Haswell processors and optional AT&T LTE. The main camera, meanwhile, has been upgraded to an 8-megapixel shooter with an Exmor RS sensor; the front webcam now does 1080p video. As for battery life, it should last about 10 hours, thanks to Sony’s Active Sleep technology. Look for it to arrive June 9th, in both black and white, with a starting price of $1,400. We’ve already given the Duo 13 the full review treatment; check that out here.
Gallery: Sony VAIO Duo 13
We’ve already seen Sony take a stab at a Windows 8 hybrid in the form of the VAIO Duo 11, and now a clip has appeared on YouTube apparently showing an unannounced 13-inch Ultrabook slider with a 1080p Triluminos touchscreen display. Allegedly, the video is being used for training at UK retail chain Dixons, and in addition to repeatedly collapsing and opening the slim white and silver unit, the demonstrator plays around with a stylus in Microsoft’s Fresh Paint. There are a couple of text overlays near the end of clip, highlighting the “SurfSlider design,” backlit keyboard, ClearAudio+ and ActiveSleep tech, as well as its 10 hours of battery life. NFC is also said to be on board, along with an 8-megapixel camera with Exmor RS sensor, Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD. The incredibly grainy video is embedded after the break, and although we can’t verify its authenticity, we also can’t ally it to any known product.
Update: There’s also a handful of press images — we’ve included one after the break too.
[Thanks, Aiga and Christopher]
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Sony
Source: YouTube, Notebook Review forums
We spotted a concept of the iPhone 6 last month that imagined a device without its iconic Home button, which looks like Apple may be considering if a recently published patent is any indication if the company’s future plans.
The patent dubbed “Disappearing button or slider” describes an iPhone that could come with “invisible” buttons and controls that blend into the device when they aren’t in use, to fully appear when needed. Buttons would use the same material as the housing of the device, which would make its blending in even more accurate, and could use selective backlighting to make them appear when tapped or if it senses the motion of your finger, detects heat or sounds. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Instagram Rolls Out Photo Tagging Feature For iPhone, Android Users, iOS 7 Allegedly Gets Detailed Ahead Of WWDC, 
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New models from Sony’s VAIO series will be released beginning on May 18. This included 3 touch panel Fit models and 1 non-touch panel Fit model, as well as the latest version of the Duo 11, featuring the “Surf Slider” tablet/laptop sliding display and digitizer stylus pen.
VAIO Fit 15, 2 models:
SVF15A18CJS, B, P – About ¥180,000
– Intel Core i7-3537U Processor (2GHz)
– 15.5 inch full HD (1920×1080) display
– Memory: 8GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel
SVF15A17CJS, B, P – About ¥165,000
– Intel Core i5-3337U Processor (1.80GHz)
– 15.5 inch full HD (1920×1080) display
– Memory: 8GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel
VAIO Fit 14:
SVF14A19CJS, B, P – About ¥150,000
– Intel Core i3-3227U Processor (1.90GHz)
– 14 inch (1600×900) display
– Memory: 4GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel
VAIO Fit 15E:
SVF15217CJW, B – About ¥105,000
– Intel Pentium 2117U Processor (1.80GHz)
– 15.5 inch (1366×768) display
– Memory: 4GB, HDD: HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: white, black
– Non-touch panel
VAIO Duo 11:
SVD11239CJS, B – About ¥160,000
– Intel Core i5-3337U Processor (1.80GHz)
– By sliding a display, you can use it as both tablet and laptop (Surf Slider style)
– It comes with a digitizer stylus pen
– 11.6 inch full HD(1920×1080) display
– Memory: 6GB, SSD: 128GB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Colors: silver, black
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