Hasta La Gadget!

Intel has announced a pre-Microsoft Windows 8 tablet event later in September, gathering together a clutch of manufacturers to discuss new hardware and its upcoming Atom chips. Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and ZTE are all among the attendees, with ZTE being particularly notable as the only company of the group yet to officially announce Windows 8 intentions.

The most obvious plan for the company, which is so far better known for its phones, might be a Windows RT tablet. That would slot more readily into ZTE’s line-up, alongside its rumored Windows Phone 8 device which was teased earlier this week. However, it would also fail to fit with Intel’s CPU strategy, which will be powering full Windows 8 machines.

As for Intel’s new Atom Clover Trail, that’s part of Intel’s increased focus on mobility computing as it struggles to catch up with ARM-based chipsets. The company unveiled a 2GHz smartphone with Motorola yesterday, the RAZR i, though previous Intel-based handsets have yet to make a significant impact on the market.

We’ll know more on September 27, when Intel gathers together press and manufacturers together in the warm, loving huddle of a new technology showcase. Microsoft itself is expected to officially launch Windows 8 on October 25.

Intel Windows 8 tablet event on Sept 27 sees HP, Samsung and ZTE on the agenda is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A lot of manufacturers are excited to get in on the Windows Phone 8 action, and it seems that ZTE has decided it wants a slice of that pie. The company is teasing a new Windows Phone 8 handset through some rather unconventional means, with ZTE marketing strategy manager Dennis Lui sharing a very blurry image of three different devices on his Sina Wiebo account (as reported by Winp.cn). Have a look at the picture below.

The device on the right is the only one that see clearly (or at least semi-clearly in this case), and it’s easy to see why: it looks an awful lot like a ZTE Tania, and even though it appears to be running Windows Phone 8, in reality it’s probably running the Windows Phone 8 simulator app that’s available on the Marketplace. The other phones are a little harder to place thanks to the liberal use of blurring, but the one on the left could be legitimately running Windows Phone 8, with the one in the middle running some version of Windows Phone 7.

This suggests that not only does ZTE have a Windows Phone 8 device in the works, but that it will also continue to offer Windows Phone 7.x handsets – the device in the image is presumably a Windows Phone 7.8 device – after the launch of WP8. Things get even more interesting though, as Lui also shared an image of a tablet running Windows RT or Windows 8, so it looks like ZTE has a lot in store for the future.

ZTE traditionally makes budget devices, and with many of the big companies eager to show us their snazzy new Windows 8 tablets, laptops, and smartphones, ZTE may be able to squeeze in there and bring Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT to the budget-minded consumer. ZTE obviously sees an opportunity there, and this strange marketing strategy sure has garnered some attention. Stay tuned for more details, as it probably won’t be much longer before ZTE clarifies a few things (pun was definitely intended there).

[via WMPoweruser]

ZTE teases Windows Phone 8 handset in very blurry photo is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Who needs a marketing department when you have a personal Sina Weibo account? So reasoned ZTE’s marketing strategy manager, Dennis Lui, as he posted the above photo of three ZTE Windows Phones to the internet. The right-hand device is just a regular ZTE Tania and, although it looks like it’s running Windows Phone 8, the screen is actually a dead ringer for a certain “WP8 simulator” app available for WP7 phones. The remaining two devices are obscured by a generous helping of blur, but the handset on the left could well be running legit WP8, as evidenced by the shrunken live tiles, hinting that ZTE may be among the first wave of manufacturers diving into the new OS. To further whet our budget hardware appetites, Lui also posted a photo of a Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet (shown after the break), which suggests that ZTE is getting into that game too.

Continue reading ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPowerUser, Winp.cn  |  Sina Weibo  | Email this | Comments

Welcome to Thursday evening folks. We had a lot of news coming out of Germany for the second day of our IFA 2012 trip, so let’s jump in. We have a ton of hands-on posts to get through, but first, be sure to have a look at our Dell IFA 2012 Wrap-Up for all of the details on what the company announced and what it let us see. Moving on, today was a big opportunity to get some hands-on time with a bunch of different devices announced at IFA today and yesterday, and of course we took full advantage of it.

Starting right off with Sony, we have a hands-on post with the absolutely massive 84-inch 4K Bravia 84X900 TV for you to check out. If a display that’s a little more wearable is more your cup of tea, then have a look at our hands-on with the Sony HMZ-T2. Of course, we’ve also got a hands-on with the Sony VAIO Duo 11, and for those of you who still want more big, we’ve got you covered there too with this Sony Tap 20 oversized tablet hands-on.

Lenovo has announced a number of devices during IFA, revealing the IdeaPad S Series Laptops. We have a hands-on with the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 for you to peruse, along with this Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 hands-on and this hands-on with the IdeaTab A2109 and A2107. That does it for the Lenovo and Sony hands-on articles, but in the words of some guy we see on TV all the time, “we’re not stopping there!” We also spent some quality time with the new Liquid Image EGO HD Mountable Camera, and we recommend that you also have a look at our hands-on with the HTC Desire X.

At IFA today, Toshiba announced a set of three new ultrabooks, and ZTE was there to show off its new Grand X IN smartphone – the first ICS phone to sport Intel inside. It seems that the incoming Windows 8 is making manufacturers go a little bit touch-crazy, and today we were treated to a number of leaks in addition to all of the news from IFA. The Motorola DROID RAZR M 4G LTE has suffered yet another leak, and it would seem that both the next Kindle Fire and the next Kindle Touch were leaked today as well. Speaking of the Kindle Fire, it turns out that the tablets have sold out in anticipation of Amazon’s big reveal next week.

Samsung seems to be learning more toward Microsoft after its loss to Apple, and the company may just have a plan to make Apple pay up should the iPhone maker release a new device with LTE capabilities. The iPhone 5 was featured in a new video and photo leak today, Steam Greenlight is officially up and running, and the Mars Curiosity Rover has finally left its landing site to go and look for clues on the surface of the Red Planet. Finally tonight, Windows Phone 8 may be getting a handy new parental control feature, and Google and Apple’s CEOs have gotten together to talk about a potential patent settlement. That does it for Thursday’s Evening Wrap-Up, but be sure to join us back here tomorrow for more straight from IFA 2012!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 30, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It was all getting a little quiet on Intel-powered smartphone front, but now ZTE’s decided to refresh its not-so-elderly Grand X with a Medfield processor and Ice Cream Sandwich. Part of ZTE’s showing here at IFA, it’s the company’s first Android 4.0 device, running on an Atom Z2460. Expect HSPA+ speeds up to 21Mbps, alongside some familiar Grand X specs. This includes a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 screen, while this model now packs an 8-megapixel camera and 1,650mAh battery. ZTE’s latest redesign will arrive in Europe at the start of next month — and we’ll be tracking down a model in Berlin later today.

Follow all of our IFA 2012 coverage by heading to our event hub!

Continue reading ZTE Grand X IN: Intel-powered ICS smartphone to launch next month

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

ZTE Grand X IN: Intel-powered ICS smartphone to launch next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments