Nokia hasn’t forgotten its Finnish roots with the Lumia 920, using a new “super sensitive touch” display that can be used even if you’re wearing gloves. Unlike most capacitive touchscreens, which only recognize actual flesh in contact with them, the Lumia 920 has two different touch modes that are automatically switched between to suit what your fingers are wearing.
Normally, with bare fingers, the Lumia 920 works as a regular phone. When it senses the user is wearing gloves, however, it automatically switches into a more sensitive mode that allows navigation without you taking them off.
Nokia hasn’t said exactly how the system works, but we doubt most owners will care about those technicalities. Instead, they’ll be pleased to be able to pull out their phone when it’s ringing and not miss a call, or check an incoming text message without having to pull off mittens with their teeth.
Verizon has officially unveiled the Intuition by LG, the carrier’s LTE version of the 5-inch Optimus Vu phablet, with sales kicking off September 6. Priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement, the LG Intuition will come preloaded with the company’s QuickMemo app, intended to gather up handwritten notes and sketches made with the bizarrely named “Rubberdium” stylus.
There’s also LG Tag+ loaded, which uses NFC to control settings and modes, and Verizon will throw a couple of programmable NFC stickers into the box. These can be used for automatically kicking the Intuition into silent mode, for instance, when you tap it on your nightstand. The Intuition comes preprogrammed with four different modes: Car, Office, Sleep and User.
The 5-inch display uses the unusual 4:3 aspect ratio and has a 650 NIT backlight for easier outdoor use; there’s also an 8-megapixel main camera, with LED flash and 1080p Full HD video recording, along with a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. OS is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, running on an 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, while connectivity includes Bluetooth 3.0+HS and that all-important LTE, complete with mobile hotspot sharing for up to ten WiFi-tethered devices.
Online sales kick off on September 6, with in-store sales following on September 10. Of course, with Samsung’s Galaxy Note II freshly announced, it’s entirely possible that Verizon and LG have collectively waited too long to bring the Intuition to market.
If you can’t wait until next year to see the future for RIM, N4BB has obtained what it claims is a picture on the BlackBerry 10 L-Series, aka London. The screenshot shows a launcher pane full of app icons including BBM, Facebook, Maps and StoryMaker, which could be an iMovie-style video editor. Other leaks, including one from a video posted by BlackberryItalia.it (embedded after the break), indicate it could pack a removable 1800mAh LS1 battery and will be gunmetal colored. Of course, we don’t know how far along the software is on this unit compared to the ones we had hands-on experience with, but if you’re committed to sticking with the team from Waterloo then any news is likely welcome.
Update: CrackBerry has a more revealing version of the image now seen above, which surfaced in its forums and on Instagram.
If you’re waiting for the next generation of RIM‘s software-toting smartphone, you’ll be glad to see the BlackBerry 10 L-Series appearing tonight in a single leaked photo and a hands-on video that’ll have you freaking out. You’ll be seeing a Battery, a SIM card, and more all-touch interface action than you can handle. The battery is an LS1 1800mAh meaning this device is more than likely near-complete and ready for prime-time action and the software is looking quite square.
Inside you’ll see a standard set of apps right on the home screen including Music, Videos, Maps, App World, Text Messaging, BBM, Calendar, Browser, and Contacts. Have a peek at the video first, complete with lots of blurring going on around the edges. This hands-on video also shows off StoryMaker, FocalPoint, and a few more apps you may well have never heard of before. FocalPoint specifically has been tipped to be related to RIM’s recent acquisition of JayCut – made for video editing.
The photo you see at the head of this post shows DocsToGo and Facebook, meaning you’ll be able to edit documents while you’re thinking about heading to the social network to tap your life away. Of course Facebook is a surprising addition to the previously “confirmed” set of apps for the next generation BlackBerry 10 operating system for RIM, more because Facebook’s current state of affairs on Android is less than fabulous and less because RIM is still slightly down in the dumps. Facebook’s current market value appears to be having no baring on how much they dedicate themselves to a variety of mobile operating systems.
The video comes from BlackBerry Italia where they’ve had a keen eye on the spy reports as well – take it all with a grain of salt, of course! Have a peek at our BlackBerry 10 tag to see additional leaks on the devices appearing soon with the software onboard and get pumped up about RIM’s next big effort for the mobile space! Also keep an eye out for two big waves of BlackBerry-toting devices, the N series and the L series, both of them ready for touch action well into the future – or so RIM hopes!
Sony has introduced a new hybrid computer that is made significantly less bonkers by the touch-friendly nature of Windows 8. The Sony Vaio Tap 20 is an all-in-one “tabletop” PC: it has a keyboard and mouse and other standard desktop hardware, with a couple of additions: the 20″ 1600×900 display is a touchscreen. And it has a battery.
As you can see the Tap 20 has an integrated kick stand at the back. You can prop it up at the usual eye-level angle for traditional desktop use, but you can also lay the display flat and use it like a gigantic tablet. The screen can recognize up to 10 points at once, and the computer will come with 20 multi-touch apps to play around with.
Inside the Tap 20 will be Intel Core i3 to i7 CPUs, 4GB to 8GB RAM, 750GB to 1TB HDD and as I said, an internal battery. The battery is supposed to make it easier to transport the display around the house. Then again the display weighs about 11.5 lbs. I’m thinking Sony should have used the space to fit a discrete graphics card, instead of making-do with the Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated GPU. Below is a brief hands-on video taken by Pocket Now:
I wonder if the Tap 20 will turn out to be a consumer version of the Microsoft/Samsung Surface (now known as PixelSense), or if it will just be remembered as a gimmick.
Alongside the slew of 90-inch TVs, Sharp also used this year’s IFA to show off something a little less glamorous. Its IGZO technology (that’s indium gallium zinc oxide, kids) was developed in conjunction with the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory. According to Sharp, the displays “have a significantly higher translucency [compared to traditional LCD TFT displays]. This improvement means that smaller or fewer LEDs are needed for the backlighting.” The result is less power consumption for high-res displays and higher sensitivity on touchscreens, with far less noise to contend with.
The company plans to create three panel sizes to start: 10-inch (2560 x 1600), seven-inch (1280 x 800) and 32-inch (3840 x 2160). Sharp was also demoing a prototype seven-inch tablet (which you can see in the gallery below) alongside the displays. The representative we spoke with wouldn’t reveal anything about specific products the company plans to produce using the technology, but did tell us that we can expect to see some IGZO products in 2013. Check out an explanatory video after the break.
This week the folks at Lenovo have revealed an all-in-one computer by the name of IdeaCentre A520 – a smaller version of the A720 we reviewed quite recently – with Windows 8 and 10-point multi-touch greatness. This machine is still able to adjust its display from -5 to 90 degrees flat, works with Ivy Bridge – 3rd Gen Intel Core processors of all kinds (i3 up to i7) and comes with Windows 8 (64 bit) right out of the box. You’ll be working with unique touch-optimized applications and user interface updates with your basic build and will have the same great casing aesthetics as the A720 too.
In other words, we’ve got no reason to believe that this unit wont be a winner. The original was (and is) massive beyond comprehension, this one has been made for people that like the design of the A720 but want to keep it a bit smaller for more realistic human-sized rooms. You’ve got a 23-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution) IPS LCD display working with Intel® HD Graphics 4000 / optional NVIDIA GeForce 615 2G/1G – and there’s two parts to this equation.
First you’ve got the monitor which measured in at 561×345.9×21.5 mm (22.08×13.61×0.84 inches). Then you’ve got the base which is 337x32x210.8 mm (13.26×1.25 x8.29 inches). The whole thing is still going to be relatively heavy at 9.8 kg (21.60lb), but the size is what matters here the most – instead of the massive A720′s beastly proportions you’ve got, again, a human sized monster on your hands.
The Lenovo IdeaCentre A520 will be popping up in October 2012 starting at $999 USD – also a very human-sized price. Have a peek at the rest of our Lenovo coverage of IFA 2012 and stick around for future reviews as well!
If you’re looking for the Lenovo style and grace and want 10-finger multi-touch action on an all-in-one beast of a computer this Fall, you’re in luck with the B Series. The Lenovo IdeaCentre B340 and B545 bring the heat with two giant displays – the B545 working with a 23-inch frameless screen and the B340 having a 21.5-inch screen which can also function as a high-def TV running independent of the PC’s OS. These are two odd beasts, that’s for certain – and certainly a good thing for the new Windows universe!
The B340 is the one of these two units that works with optional OneKey TV with the ability to turn the display into a high definition television with one button click. When you’ve got this function activated, you’re able to watch TV without powering on the PC at all – cool stuff! You’ll be working on a 21.5-inch Full HD touch-screen display with a collection of specifications that out-do this device’s predecessor, the B320, which was the first computer to have OneKey TV working on it.
This is the second – working with an independent hardware TV circuit board inside the PC to operate separate from the PC’s board. The B320 is also able to allow you to watch picture-in-picture so you can have your PC and TV on the screen simultaneously. As Lenovo notes, “this technology is the first hardware TV solution to be put into an all-in-one PC.
The B340 also has Dolby Advanced Audio V2 as well as NVIDIA GeForce 615 1GB/512M graphics with DirectX 11. You’ll be working with up to 8GB DDR3 memory at 1600MHz and you’ll have the option to have an integrated DVD reader/writer or Blu-ray Disc drive. This AIO can connect with Bluetooth 2.1 if you choose it to be able and you’ve got wi-fi connectivity as well. The IdeaCentre B340 and B345 will be available October 2012 starting at US $599.
Then there’s also the B545, a device which was available in April starting at $699 USD. This all-in-one PC has a 23-inch frameless screen with 10-point multi-touch for Windows 8 – in the near future, that is – as well as 3D vision. You’ll be working with this device in the very near future with up to Genuine Windows 8 as well as the AMD A10 quad-core processor under the hood. You can add on an integrated Blu-ray Disc drive. This device also has HDMI-out as well as HDMI-in with TV tuner – but not quite the same magic tech the B340 has with TV – separate stuff!
Check out the rest of our Lenovo coverage at IFA 2012 and stick around as the more pops up all week long – and over the weekend, too!
Is 20-inches too much for you? Sony thinks every home doesn’t just need a coffee table tablet, but a tablet scaled more like a coffee table: the Tap 20 takes Windows 8 and touch to all-in-one PC levels. In fact, the 20-inch device sits somewhere in-between AIO and tablet, offering 10-finger multitouch control of Microsoft’s new OS for something targeted at browsing, casual gaming and multimedia.
Up front is a 1600 x 900 display, short of Full HD but still good enough to do duty for video playback in your kitchen or den. You needn’t settle on just one location, either; Sony has equipped the Tap 20 with a rudimentary battery, enough to keep it powered up while you move from room to room.
Ports are arrayed along the edge, including audio in/out and USB, and there’s a front-facing webcam for video calls. Support is from a single metal stand that allows for tilt adjustment, though as you’d expect Sony has had to make it on the stiff side so as to support the chunky upper section.
Sony Tap 20 10-finger Fruit Ninja multitouch demo:
We scoffed at first, but after a while stabbing, slashing, and swiping with all fingers on Fruit Ninja on a huge display, the Tap 20 begins to shine. As it’s a full Windows PC, of course, you can plug in a keyboard and mouse and do “proper” work with it, should you need to.
Sony hasn’t finalized the design yet, so pricing isn’t settled, but that’s likely to be the deciding factor for most homes. If Sony can undercut the smaller all-in-one PCs – think along the lines of ASUS’ Eee Tops from a few years back – then it may not be quite as ridiculous as it first seems.
Sony likes to do things differently, and the VAIO Duo 11 is its unusual entrant to the Windows 8 tablet market. Billed as a “hybrid sliding PC” the Duo 11 looks, at first glance, like a chunky tablet, but pull up just above the front-facing webcam and the touchscreen slides back and up to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. It’s an approach we’ve seen before, from the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, but here running Microsoft’s full Windows platform and with a digital stylus for handwriting and sketching.
VAIO notebooks generally look the part, especially the more expensive ones, and the Duo 11 follows in those footsteps with an angular black casing that’s a nice diversion from the usual round-cornered fare. The glossy plastic is a fingerprint magnet, of course, and Sony’s non-final hardware showed some flex when you pull the screen open, but once upright and in place – in a single, non-adjustable angle – it stuck fast no matter how roughly we jabbed at it.
Sony has chased connectivity not headline grabbing dimensions, and so while the Duo 11 isn’t the fattest tablet we’ve ever seen, nor does it rival recent Samsung and Apple slates for waifish form-factors. Instead, you get HDMI and USB connections, along with – in what seems to be a bizarre accommodation of legacy business users – a full-sized VGA connection. Things get even thicker if you bolt on the extended battery slice, doubling runtimes at the cost of significantly increasing width.
Sony VAIO Duo 11 hands-on video:
Unfortunately, adding that extended battery is seemingly the only way to accommodate the pen when you’re not using it – it slots into a cutaway underneath – which is a shame since stylus input works well in general. OneNote, Microsoft’s unfairly overlooked notetaking app (which will sync its notes with its cut-down counterpart on Windows Phones), receives digital ink with aplomb, the pressure sensitivity of what we’re guessing to be a Wacom-sourced digitizer paying dividends for quick sketches and handwritten notes.
As for the keyboard, it’s more compact than a regular notebook, but still very usable for typing. There’s a trackpoint-style navigation nub in the middle of the ‘board, though rather than physically moving it uses an optical sensor to map the movement of your fingertip. Still, we found ourselves using the touchscreen more often than not, as reaching forward felt more natural.
Unlike some Windows 8 tablets, Sony hasn’t compromised on raw grunt. There’s Intel’s Core i7-3517U paired with 4Gb or 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of SSD storage; the 1080p 11.6-inch display is incredibly crisp and bright. The underlying message is yes, you can use this as your main PC, but you’re probably going to have to pay handsomely for it. Sony will announce numbers closer to the VAIO Duo 11′s official release in late October.
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