Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook gets updated with Ivy Bridge (updated)

File this under things we could’ve sworn happened already: Dell is updating its nine-month-old XPS 13 Ultrabook with third-generation Core (read: Ivy Bridge) processors. While the rest of the company’s Win 8 lineup isn’t shipping until October 26th now, the refreshed XPS 13 should already be live on Dell’s site, with the same starting price of $1,000.

Update: A previous version of this article reported that the XPS 13 would be available with a touchscreen. In fact, it will still be offered with non-touch-enabled panels only.

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Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook gets updated with Ivy Bridge (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Does the iPad’s Touchscreen Recognize These Trading Cards? [Video]

Not since the inclusion of stale bubble gum has there been an innovation in trading cards as awesome as what these Nuko cards are capable of. They look, feel, and flex just like regular cards, but they can be recognized by touchscreens when simply pressed against the display. More »

What Would You Do With a Touchscreen Ultrabook? [Chatroom]

I didn’t like the idea of touchscreen ultrabooks when the rumors first popped up, and now that they’ve all arrived en masse, I still don’t like ’em. Sure, the product itself is fine, and they work as they’re supposed to, but the concept is just no good. They don’t fold, detach, or convert. And given the rise of multitouch trackpads, regularly poking at a laptop screen seems like something that just won’t be necessary. More »

HP’s Spectre XT Touchsmart Has a Screen So Beautiful, You Can’t Help But Touch It [Laptops]

The idea of a touchscreen shoehorned into a traditional laptop form factor still seems a bit strange, but like it or not, they’re coming. And as such, HP’s Spectre XT Touchsmart is a pretty good way of doing it if it has to be done. Instead of using some cheap display panel, the company opted for a 15.6-inch bonded IPS panel, ensuring a screen that’s as responsive as it is vibrant. More »

New Software Could Let Your Touchscreens Work Under Water [Guts]

Trying to use a touchscreen with wet hands has always been more trouble than its worth, but new technology from Freescale is changing that with new software, Xtrinsic 3.0, that makes capacitive touchscreens work even through a layer of water. More »

LG Display starts volume production of in-cell touch screens, we have a hunch as to who wants them

LG Display 1080p 5-inch panel

Looks like we’ll be finding in-cell touch displays in our devices sooner rather than later: LG Display has confirmed that it’s been mass-producing the thinner LCDs since earlier in August. CEO Han Sang-beom also notes that manufacturing has been going as smooth as, well, glass. Despite the complexity of building touch input directly into a display, the company expects to keep the supply going “without any fail,” according to the executive. As to who’s making the orders? LG Display isn’t naming its customers on the record, and production could be as much for its sister company’s phones and tablets as anyone else’s. It’s hard not to pinpoint Apple as the 800-pound gorilla in the room, however. Apart from Apple representing one of LG Display’s biggest existing customers, multiple rumors and component leaks point to an iPhone with an in-cell display being in the works. The timing raises a distinct possibility that we’ll know more about the screen manufacturer’s clients in less than a month.

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LG Display starts volume production of in-cell touch screens, we have a hunch as to who wants them originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple gets patent for in-cell touch display with impeccable timing

Apple gets patent for incell touch display with impeccable timing

So Apple could be working on an iPhone with a thinner display, you say. Look what we have here, possibly in the nick of time: it’s a newly granted Apple patent for a screen with in-cell touch, where the LCD and touch recognition are integrated into one panel instead of stacking up in separate layers. Apple’s implementation would slim things down by either having electrodes share duties, both driving the display and taking finger input, or stuffing two electrodes into each pixel to accomplish the same goal. The net effect isn’t just one of squeezing a device into a thinner chassis; the company also envisions costs coming down by reducing the number of parts and streamlining the manufacturing process. As envisioned, the screen looks like an ideal fit for a significant revamp of Apple’s mobile display technology, although we’d be careful about assuming that this or any in-cell touch implementation is a lock for potentially imminent iOS hardware. Apple first filed the patent in early June 2007, before the original iPhone had even marched into a retailer — display technology has come a long way since then.

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Apple gets patent for in-cell touch display with impeccable timing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your Fat Thumb Could Let You Navigate Your Smartphone Single-Handedly [Video]

Thanks to researchers at the University of Calgary, you no longer have to be ashamed of your gigantic thumbs. In fact, their Fat Thumb smartphone interface takes advantage of your opposable digit’s monstrous dimensions to let you fully interact with your device with just one hand. More »