Today Sony outs in the US its latest Vaio line-up and introduces some already well known devices including the stunning Vaio Duo, and the Vaio Tap 20 alongside the new Vaio T Series, E Series and S Series T Series The top-selling stylish T Series Ultrabook made with an ultra-smooth brushed aluminum shell now comes with a touch display on the new T13 Ultrabook to allow consumers to experience Windows 8-based touch in a clamshell form factor with optional touchscreen. Sony is also introducing …
Today is a hot day for your Acer Windows 8-bound notebook family with not just the V5 series popping up for touchscreen laptop justice, but with the Aspire M5 Series Ultrabook as well. What we’ve got here with the M5 Ultrabook is a unit that will be sold exclusively by Best Buy stores in the United States – so don’t expect them anywhere else, basically. Here you’ll have an 8-hour battery life supporting a 14-inch Aspire M5-481PT and a 15.6-inch Aspire M5-581T. They come in different colors, too!
The smaller of the two units here comes in a lovely silver cover made of aluminum alloy while the larger model in a non-touch configuration comes in a dark gray magnesium alloy cover. The smaller rings in at 4.5 pounds while the larger is just about 5 pounds while they both work with Acer Green Instant On as well as Acer Always Connect.
The Instant On feature allows your device to wake up from sleep in less than 2 seconds and from a deep sleep in 6 seconds. Always Connect then connects to the web in 2.5 second by remembering wi-fi spots galore. AcerCloud technology is ready and willing here on the M5 series and both units work with 3rd generation Intel Core i5 processors with Turbo Boost Technology 2.0.
Both units work with two USB 3.0 ports, backlit keyboards, Dolby Home Theater v4, Acer AntiTheft, and a lovely HDMI port for HD connection to gigantic monitors. The 14-inch version of this series of computers features a 10-point multi-touch display for full Windows 8 touchscreen interaction. You’ve got a vivid HD display with “edge-to-edge” design as well as Windows 8′s full collection of touch-friendly abilities.
Best Buy will be carrying both units starting on October 26th, with prices being ever so slightly different for the two different models. The Aspire M5-481PT with full touch support begin at $799.99, while the 15.6-inch Aspire M5-581T configurations begin at $699.99. This may very well be the first time in history that a pair of notebooks were released that the larger display has the lower price – how about that!
Vizio has updated its PC range with a pair of touch-capable all-in-ones, adding 10-finger multitouch to ready them for Windows 8, while also tweaking its notebooks with new trackpads. The new 24- and 27-inch All-in-One Touch PC models offer Intel Core processors, like their non-touch brethren we reviewed recently, as well as 1080p Full HD displays and 2.1 audio systems.
NVIDIA GeForce graphics using Kepler GPUs will be optional for some of the AIOs, while all will have SRS Premium Sound HD. The new models will be priced from $998, and they’ll be bloatware-free as Vizio has inked a deal with Microsoft to make them part of the Signature program.
As for the newly-updated notebooks and ultraportables, they’ll gain a new multitouch trackpad which supports all of Windows 8′s gestures and taps. Intel’s third-gen Core processors are inside, just as with the desktops, and there are options for 14-, 15.6-inch Think + Light Ultrabook and 15.6-inch Notebook depending on your bag capacity and bank balance.
The Vizio Thin + Light range kicks off at $849, while the 15.6-inch Full HD Notebook starts from $1,129. Like the AIO PC they’re part of the Signature program and so bloatware-free.
As is all the rage right now, Vizio is upgrading its lineup to support Windows 8’s more touch-centric UI. The company’s 24-inch and 27-inch all-in-one PCs will receive touch panels, resulting in a price bump to $998 for the base 24-incher with Ivy Bridge and Kepler internals, 1920 x 1080 display and 500GB hard drive. Meanwhile, Vizio’s Ultrabooks — both the 14-inch and 15.6-inch models — and its heftier 15.6-inch Full HD notebook will all get “enhanced multi-gesture touchpads” that will allow exactly the same swipes, taps and pinches as a touchscreen. These laptops will start at $849 for the smaller Ultrabook and $1,129 for the notebook. Expect the whole lot to arrive as part of the late October crush.
Neonode has announced the market introduction of its new smartphone platform promising to be a low-cost and high-performance touch solution for feature phones and smartphones. The smartphone platform is called the Neonode Smartphone I platform. The platform is a fully integrated mobile phone touch sensing solution that promises a total bill of materials as low as two dollars in high volumes.
The solution uses Neonode’s MultiSensing technology that claims to be up to 10 times faster than industry-standard capacitive solutions on the market right now. The touch solution supports gestures that can be performed by any object such as a bare finger, gloved finger, paintbrush, stylus, or a normal pen. The system also promises ultra-low-power utilization and a 1000 Hz scanning rate to provide close to zero latency.
The touch solution is also pressure sensitive and has a low total building height allowing device designers to make exceptionally thin mobile phones. The solution also offers a short-range proximity sensing capability. That feature allows the user to operate the phone using touchscreen gestures in the air and to detect objects nearby.
The Neonode Smartphone I system also recognizes gestures smartphone users are used to using for navigation, including gestures for zooming and more. One of the better features is a screen that promises to be almost glare free and optimized for use in any lighting condition, including direct sunlight. Most touchscreens lose a lot of their viewing performance and usability when in direct sunlight. The Neonode system is also ruggedized. There is no word on when a smartphone or feature from using this technology will come to market at this time.
Here’s the thing with Windows 8: staring at those live tiles feels kinda weird if you can’t reach out and touch them. That’s why Sony has upgraded its Vaio T13 Ultrabook with a touch panel (making it technically the T13-2), allowing you to reach out across the keyboard and swipe away to your heart’s content. We’ve just left some fingerprints on a high-spec model with a Core i7 processor, 1366 x 768 resolution, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, which will sell in the UK from October 26th priced somewhere north of £1,000 (or $1,600, though Sony doesn’t set exact prices). A more modestly equipped i7, with 4GB and a 500GB hybrid drive should be somewhere around £900 ($1,400), while an entry-level i3 will start at £700 ($1,100), give or take. Bear mind that the dollar prices will be much lower than these currency conversions suggest — for reference, the original T13 starts at just $770.
Our first impression was that enabling touch on this traditional form factor was slightly awkward, especially if the purpose of touching the screen was to achieve something that would have been more readily accomplished with a tap on the keyboard — such as adjusting brightness, scrolling or returning to the home screen. On the other hand, the UI was incredibly responsive on the Core i7 processor and over time the touchscreen may well come to feel more natural than the touchpad within Microsoft’s new OS. Just bear in mind that enabling touch comes with a couple of sacrifices, aside from any price premium: it adds 100 grams and 1mm in thickness to an Ultrabook that was already on the chunky side, due to the addition of tougher hinges as well as the extra layer in the display. Check out our hands-on video after the break and make up your own mind.
It’s not too often that a mobile hotspot graces our home page, but this one is worth a mention. Novatel is launching the Liberate, a MiFi with a built-in touchscreen, on AT&T in the coming months, and we had the opportunity to play with the new device at MobileCon 2012. The hotspot, also known as the MiFi 5792, sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 400 x 240 pixels, LTE, a microSD slot, DLNA streaming capabilities and a 2,900mAh battery that promises 11 hours of life between charges.
While it seems pretty fancy for a MiFi, the touchscreen may be appealing to some. The hotspot runs on a proprietary build of Linux and offers a wide variety of options to choose from: connection details, data usage, a list of connected devices, settings, file sharing, media streaming, WiFi protected setup, messages, GPS and so on. Many of the activities (checking your use, which devices are connected and other settings) previously relegated to a proprietary URL can now be easily viewed directly on your MiFi without any hassle. Don’t expect the quick and buttery-smooth response of a modern smartphone here, but since this is Novatel’s inaugural attempt at a touchscreen device — in addition to the fact that the display is of secondary importance on a MiFi — we’re willing to cut the company some slack. It handles the limited needs of most hotspot consumers without much concern.
Logitech’s latest universal remote, the Harmony Touch, has broken cover, and as the name implies it’s centered around a full-color touchscreen for easier channel surfing. Compatible with 225,000 devices from among 5,000 brands, the Harmony Touch has a 2.4-inch touchscreen bracketed by traditional physical controls for the best of both worlds, and supports macros for shortening multi-step processes – like turning on the TV, choosing source, and powering up your surround sound speakers – into a single tap.
Up to 50 favorite channel icons can be stored in a shortcut list, and up to fifteen devices can be registered to a single remote. Logitech uses its MyHarmony online configurator to set up the Harmony Touch itself, an easier process with a mouse, and existing Harmony remote users can log in with their account and transfer settings across to the new model.
The integrated rechargeable battery is juiced up by the supplied docking station, and the buttons are backlit for nighttime use. The remote also works directly with the Logitech TV Cam HD, the company’s Skype webcam, controlling call end/send, mute, pan/tilt/zoom of the camera, and more.
The Logitech Harmony Touch will begin shipping this month in the US and Europe, priced at $249.99/€179.99/£149.
I’ve had a Harmony 800 remote control since long before Logitech acquired them several years back. It’s a great device, thanks to its easy web-based programming, massive device library, and activity-based commands. But the interface and product design has always felt a little dated to me. Logitech hopes to change things up a bit with their latest remote, the Harmony Touch.
This new remote has a 2.4″ capacitive touchscreen interface that’s reminiscent of the one you might find on your smartphone, complete with thumb-sized icons. The cool thing is that you use simple swipe gestures to move between activity screens and to scroll through your list of channels. It will also support swipe gestures for things like fast-forward and rewind of video content.
Sure, there’s already a Logitech Harmony app and Link device for the iPhone and iPad, it’s really hard to use a remote without some physical buttons. I much prefer the design of a remote with hard buttons – especially for navigating menus and changing volume in the dark. The Harmony Touch has ample tactile inputs, including dedicated playback, volume, channel and D-pad controls among others. As with other Harmony remotes, the Harmony Touch includes a rechargeable battery and a docking station included.
All told, the Harmony Touch can control up to 15 individual devices out of a library of over 225,000. I’m not sure if it can learn from other devices, but based on past Harmony remotes, I’d guess it can. That said, it only appears to support IR devices and not RF.
The Harmony Touch will be released this month for $249(USD). That’s a bit more expensive than I was hoping – I really wanted this thing to be $149 to $199 – but it still looks like a worthwhile upgrade for old Harmony remotes. Some have but apparently some have already popped up at Best Buy, so they’re already in the supply chain. For now, keep your eye out on the Logitech Harmony website for more details, or pop by your local Best Buy to see if any are out on the shelf.
It’s taken forever and a half for Logitech to introduce a new universal remote but they finally have. Meet the Logitech Harmony Touch, a new universal remote that changes the Harmony button layout and replaces most of its actions with a touchscreen. More »
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