Hasta La Gadget!

While the latest Twitter update for Windows 8 doesn’t feature a major overhaul, it adds a handful of useful functions to the app. Perhaps the most notable addition is multiple account sign-in that gives you power to easily juggle several Twitter personas. Another nice new feature is the ability to pin users’ accounts and lists to your home screen, so you can follow them closely. Seeing as you can now also view lists on profiles, the list you pin doesn’t even have to be yours. This makes it easy to discover new users you might want to follow… unless having Twitter feeds in plain sight makes you feel even more alone.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Source: Twitter, Windows

All in all, global tablet shipments were up for Q2, according to new numbers released by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. Factoring in white-box units, the market saw 51.7 million tablets shipped in that time period — that’s up 43-percent compared to the same time last year. A lot of that good news can be chalked up to Android’s success. The OS saw a healthy bump from 18.5- to 34.6 million units shipped, a number that has Google’s mobile operating system holding 67-percent of the market. The news is a little less cheery on Apple’s side of the OS wars, with shipments dipping from 17- to 14.6 million units, decreasing its marketshare to 28.3-percent, according to the firm. Microsoft, not surprisingly, saw a healthy increase in shipments from last year — though it’s still got a ways to go, calling around 4.5-percent of the market its own.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Microsoft, Google

Comments

We first met Acer’s Aspire S7 at Computex in 2012, and since then it’s gone through a major overhaul to become the Aspire S7-392 — a Haswell-equipped Ultrabook that’s now available in the US. You can choose between two models up for sale at retail outlets and on Acer’s online store, with the cheaper $1,450 package toting a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor and a 128GB SSD. The $1,700 variant comes with a more powerful 1.8GHz Core i7 processor and double the storage space, but their other specs are identical. Both Windows 8 Ultrabooks boast a 13.3-inch 1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen display, an HD webcam, an 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a bigger battery that promises up to 7 hours of power. It’s too bad the European version’s 2,560 x 1,440 screen didn’t make it stateside, but at least the US incarnations are a bit easier on the wallet.

Update: We’ve revised the post to reflect that the higher-end model comes with a Core i7 processor, and not a Core i5.

Filed under: Laptops, Acer

Comments

Source: Acer (1), (2)

One of game development’s most used engines is adding support for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Blackberry 10 today in its latest version, 4.2. Some support was already offered in the latest version’s beta run, but today Unity 4.2 drops out of beta and into primetime. That brings Unity’s mobile platform support up to four: Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8 and BB10 (for both free and paid version of the engine). Of course, the implications here are what matters — Unity powers major mobile titles like Temple Run 2 and Republique, not to mention the new Deus Ex mobile game. As for Windows 8, games like Surgeon Simulator 2013 (trust us — look into that one) and Interstellar Marines are powered by Unity. There are also a smattering of previously paid functions going free — head past the break for the full list.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Mobile, Microsoft, Blackberry

Comments

Here’s some double-edged news, the significance of which depends on whether you just bought an Acer Iconia W3 or were holding off for something with better components. Acer spokeswoman Sterre Swank, quoted by Tweakers.net, has revealed that a successor to the pioneering eight-inch Windows 8 tablet will be out in September with a thinner, lighter build and possibly an upgraded IPS display. In other words, the existing model could be made obsolete within a few months of being on the market, and we’re seeking confirmation of this directly from Acer.

Switching the display would certainly solve one the most serious gripes we raised in our review, but we don’t know yet if there’ll be an impact on the price tag, which stands at $380 for the W3. Also, as we get closer to the end of this year, it makes more sense to wait for Windows 8 tablets with next-gen Atom processors (known as Bay Trail), as the current Clover Trail chips are already straining under the weight of existing desktop applications.

Filed under: Tablets, Acer

Comments

Source: Tweakers.net