Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s Series 5 Hybrid tablet/notebook will make its official debut at IFA 2012, the company has confirmed, a converting Windows 8 portable with touchscreen control. Samsung took to Facebook to further tease the tablet, asking whether tableteers were “ready to be smart?” with the promise of a Berlin unveil this week. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Hybrid.

In fact, Samsung brought the concept to Computex back in June, where it had a detachable 11.6-inch slate screen section and a magnetically-attached keyboard dock. Samsung was coy with specifications at the time – we spotted HDMI, and front and back cameras (2- and 8-megapixels respectively) and an active digitizer stylus were confirmed – so we’re expecting to see full hardware details revealed this coming week.

Samsung has already used its digital stylus technology to good effect on the Galaxy Note and Note 10.1, though those devices run Android rather than Windows 8. The pen is a potentially strong differentiator between Windows 8 machines and Apple’s iPad, supporting higher-accuracy in sketching, handwriting and more.

It’s not the only teaser we’ve seen from Samsung in the past few days. The company had another Windows 8 focused tidbit over the weekend, with what could well be another angle of the Series 5 Hybrid or, indeed, its Core i5-powered Series 7 cousin.

[via The Verge]

Samsung Series 5 Hybrid due at IFA 2012 confirms teaser is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re just two short months away from the launch of Windows 8, and unsurprisingly, we’re beginning to see Microsoft‘s manufacturing partners tease upcoming products. The latest is Samsung, which earlier this week released a video teasing its new Windows 8 notebook. When it comes to actually seeing the notebook, the video leaves something to be desired, but then again that’s the entire point of a teaser isn’t it?

However, there are a few brief glimpses of the new notebook to be found in the video, but most of it centers around making reference to Leonardo da Vinci. It’s difficult to say with any certainty what this new device is, but it’s entirely possible that it’s a tablet/notebook hybrid instead of just a straight-up notebook. The few shots we see give us the feeling that it’s the Samsung Series 7 Hybrid that we saw back at Computex in June, but hard to confirm considering that each shot is up-close and never long enough.

For what it’s worth, the teaser is titled “Something Smart is Coming,” which also suggests that this could be a tablet/notebook hybrid. Whatever it is, it’s clear that Samsung thinks this is going to be big, as the video shows that Samsung considers this to be the next step in “the evolution of technology.” The description of the video on YouTube says that a reveal is coming soon, which almost definitely means that Samsung will be showing this off at IFA 2012.

If that’s the case, it would make sense that it is indeed the Series 7 Hybrid we’re seeing in the video. When we saw it at Computex, the company didn’t part with any pricing or release information, and there’s a pretty good chance that information is coming at IFA 2012. Of course, given the nature of “the tease,” we could be completely off. One thing is for sure, though: we don’t have much longer to wait before we find out what Samsung is plotting, so keep an ear to SlashGear for more information!

Samsung’s incoming Windows 8 notebook teased in brief video is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I’ve recently been using the final, Released to Manufacturing version of Windows 8 on one of my computers, to much delight. I’ve been very impressed by how fast, well-designed, functional and capable this latest iteration of Windows is. However, my tinkering around from a security/privacy perspective has left me concerned. More »

The global PC market has been taking a beating thanks to several factors, including some rather boring products and a sluggish global economy. Research firm IDC recently released its outlook for the global PC market and has announced that it expects the market to grow only 0.9% in 2012 thanks to slow mid-year shipments. The research firm expects 367 million PCs to ship this year.

If IDC’s predictions prove true 2012 would be the second consecutive year of growth below 2%. One big factor that has affected the market according to the research firm is slowing PC growth in Asia/Pacific that has reduced the impact of emerging market growth. While growth is slowing in emerging markets, mature areas like the US are also seeing shipments of PCs decline. IDC attributes the shipping decline in the US and other mature markets to factors other than weak economic conditions alone.

According to IDC, consumers are waiting to see what Windows 8 and ultrabooks will look like before purchasing. Considering the ultrabook has been on the market for a while now and people have pretty much stayed away I think the market has a very good idea of what the ultrabook looks like they simply don’t want one at the current price. IDC also says PC shipments are declining because people are spending on other products like smartphones and tablets.

IDC expects updates later this year, such as Windows 8, to revive PC growth, to some extent. IDC expects worldwide PC shipment growth to average 7.1% from 2013 through 2016, which is a decline from 8.4% compound annual growth rate IDC predicted previously.

“IDC remains optimistic that PC penetration opportunities in emerging markets will form the bulwark of the market and help sustain double-digit Portable PC growth in the long run. However, a host of all-too-familiar variables will lead to a subdued second half of the year with only consumer notebooks remaining in growth mode for all of 2012,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. “Factors such as Windows 8 coupled with Ultrabooks could present a positive turn of events next year, but it also faces some initial hurdles; chief of which is that buyers must acclimate themselves to an operating system that is a dramatic departure from existing PC paradigms. The PC ecosystem faces some work to properly educate the market.”

IDC lowers PC shipment outlook is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s a brand new version of VMware out today for those of you that want to run Windows inside your Apple computer – Fusion 5 with support for both Mountain Lion and Window 8. This new software build comes with “over 70 new features” for your OS X Mountain Lion machine with a wish to run Windows 8 inside. This new build is made specifically to make your Mountain Lion machine ready for not only Windows 8, but legacy systems Windows 7 and Windows XP as well.

This new software VMware Fusion 5 will bring on a whole new generation of performance, with “40% faster general performance” than in previous versions of VMware. That’s a pretty darn good improvement, and the team is making sure we know that this improvement comes in faster 3D graphics as well as improved power management which leads to longer battery life on your MacBook products galore. You’ve got support for Linux 3D desktops as well, for those of you looking to expand far beyond the two titans.

This system is build specifically for Mountain Lion and optimized for Windows 8. You’ll be able to run Windows and Mountain Lion searches both in Launchpad and will be able to use AirPlay Mirroring to stream both environments to your Apple TV. VMware Fusion notifications will also appear in your Mountain Lion notification center regardless of if they’re through Windows 8 or OS X. VMWare Fusion 5 will also be supporting Windows 8 standard, pro, and enterprise editions.

Enhancements for your Mac in this software release include compatibility with Retina-quality displays, USB 3 connectivity, and improvements in support for large memory machines. You’ll be able to pick up Fusion 5 for $49.99 for the standard version immediately – there’s also a Professional version available for $99.99. And what’s best of all is that if you purchased VMware Fusion 4 on or after the 25th of July, you’ll be able to upgrade to this new version for free!

If you’re not a VMware sort of person and instead choose Parallels as your cross-OS software of choice, you’ll be waiting until September 4th. More info on that release soon and very soon!

VMware Fusion 5 revealed for Mountain Lion and Windows 8 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.