Latest
Switch view

Philips to launch Android-powered Smart TVs this year

by 21 comments

Philips has officially announced that it will be coming up with Android-powered Smart TVs later this year. The company has also confirmed that its new television sets, which will be named Ambilight TVs, will have full access to Google Play Store as well as the firm’s own Smart TV apps.

The upcoming TVs from Philips are said to be powered by a quad-core chips that can handle intensive HD games without any hassle. Read more »

Asus Zenfone 5 hands-on

by 7 comments

Asus Zenfone 5 is the second smartphone from the company’s latest Zenfone trio. As the name suggests, the handset comes with a 5″ screen, which is a 720p unit of the IPS+ variety. The smartphone runs on the fastest available Intel chipset – the Atom Z2580, which gives you a dual-core 2.0GHz Atom processor with hyper-threading, PowerVR SGX 544MP2 graphics and 1GB of RAM.

Zenfone 5, just like the other two Zenfones, is a dual-SIM device. The rest of its specs highlights include 4, 8 or 16 GB expandable storage, 8MP Sony BSI rear camera and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with a KitKat update being in the works already. Read more »

Sony car head unit turns your phone into an infotainment system

by 13 comments

Android in cars has suddenly become a hot topic with the foundation of the Open Automotive Alliance by Google, but who know how long it will be until the first Android-enabled car hits the showrooms. Sony has a simpler solution – a double-DIN smartphone dock.

If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, double-DIN is basically the standard for car head units. Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 hands-on

by 6 comments

Samsung did well to refresh the Android-powered Galaxy Camera, yet despite the “Galaxy Camera 2″ moniker, the changes are minor. The most obvious thing is the finish – gone is the glossy plastic, replaced by Samsung’s cool faux leather.

This, combined with the brushed metal accents (also plastic), actually makes the camera look classy. Read more »

The Alcatel Home V102 is a Google Chromecast competitor

by 2 comments

Alured by Google’s success with the Chromecast, Alcatel has decided to make its own plug-n-stream device for TV sets. It’s called the Alcatel Home V102, which isn’t really as snappy a name as the Chromecast.

Nevertheless, it can play 1080p videos at 30fps and supports 5.1 channel surround sound audio. Similarly to the Chromecast, the Home V102 connects to the TV via HDMI and gets its power from a power outlet. Read more »

Sony Xperia Z1S hands-on

by 10 comments

Better late than never. That’s what T-Mobile and Sony must’ve thought when they decided to help the Sony Xperia Z1 swim across the ocean and hit the US carrier’s domain. Dubbed, the Sony Xperia Z1S, the phone isn’t too far off from its international brother and we’re here at the showroom floor at CES 2014 to tell you what has changed.

On the outside, Sony has kept the beautiful exterior of the Z1 and has made tiny alterations to the overall design. The Xperia Z1S is still built around the same 5″ full HD TFT LCD display and packs the gorgeous glass-body of its surrogate. The water- and scratch-resistant capabilities remain intact as well. Read more »

Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ hands-on

by 7 comments

Alcatel has become known for its low- to mid-range Android phones lately, but with the One Touch Idol X+ the manufacturer attempted a higher-end product.

The Idol X+ was previously announced in China, but now Alcatel has brought it worldwide and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to take it for a quick spin. Read more »

Asus Zenfone 4 hands-on

by 9 comments

Asus Zenfone 4 is the smallest and most affordable member of the new Zenfone family. It comes with a 4″ WVGA IPS display and runs on the dual-core Intel Atom Z2520 1.2GHz processor. The rest of the specs include PowerVR SGX 544MP2 graphics, 1GB of RAM, 4GB expandable storage and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean in charge of operations. Asus has announced it will be launching Android 4.3 Jelly Bean but will be getting KitKat shortly after.

The Zenfone 4 is made entirely of matte plastic and is a bit thicker compared to its siblings. It is a dual-SIM device with a snappy chipset at an extraordinary price though, so we are ready to forgive it the extra few millimeters around the waistline. Read more »

Sony introduces the A5000, dubbed the world’s lightest interchangeable lens APS-C camera

by 14 comments

The highly popular NEX lineup of cameras just got a new member. Oh, and they are no longer called NEX cameras, alright? Despite the naming convention change, the Sony A5000 is the pinnacle of what we came to know and love as Sony’s NEX lineup of interchangeable lens cameras.

The new Sony A5000 has a 20MP APS-C sensor, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, a flippable 3″ 460K-dot LCD, a built-in pop-up flash as opposed to a pop-on accessory, and a zoom control built into the body to control power zoom lenses. It also weighs merely 269g for the body with a battery, adding for a surprisingly compact and powerful camera package. Read more »

Nikon announces the D3300 DSLR and teases the unannounced D4S

by 6 comments

Nikon had a slew of announcements at the CES 2014 – first and foremost, it’s the brand new D3300 DSLR, but also the company revealed it would show their yet unannounced D4S DSLR in Las Vegas.

Along with the D3300, Nikon also announced its new collapsible 18-55 VR kit lens and the full-frame version (FX) of the 35mm 1.8G lens, which has so far been available only for APS-C Nikon cameras. Read more »

NVIDIA Tegra K1 graphics demo impresses

by 18 comments

We stopped by the NVIDIA booth at CES for a quick demo of the company’s new Tegra K1 chipset. In case you missed it, the K1 is more graphics oriented than the already powerful Tegra 4. It uses the Kepler architecture NVIDIA uses for its desktop GPUs and the K1 has a whopping 192 cores.

For comparison, the Tegra 4 had 72 cores (older generation too). Read more »

Sony releases Xperia Z1 Compact official video

by 76 comments

Sony just announced the Xperia Z1 Compact at CES today. From the looks of it, it seems like that compact flagship Android smartphone we have all been waiting for but could never get.

The company has now released a new official video for the phone that details all the important feature, such as the 4.3-inch HD display, waterproof aluminum and glass body and the 20.7 megapixel camera on the back. The phone will be available in four colors: black, white, pink and yellow. Read more »

Samsung brings UHD TVs with 4K online video streaming

by 12 comments

Samsung’s new line of Ultra HD TVs will offer more than just higher resolution; they will also come with the ability to stream 4K video from various online services.

So far Amazon, Netflix, Comcast/Xfinity, M-Go, and DirecTV are all on board and cooperating with Samsung to allow their high-res content to stream through the Smart Hub app: the built-in software on the Korean manufacturer’s televisions. Read more »

ASUS VivoTab Note 8 with Windows 8 and Wacom pen official

by 18 comments

ASUS has announced a new 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, the VivoTab Note 8 today at CES. It comes with a special Wacom stylus, a 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, 2GB RAM, a 5MP primary camera, and an HD front camera.

The real star of the show, asserts ASUS, is the Wacom stylus. It can purportedly deal with 1,000 pressure levels, making this a potentially enticing device for artists and users who are looking for a more true-to-life longhand writing experience. In the Windows tablet landscape, there really isn’t anything else like it, so it makes sense for ASUS to push the Wacom stylus’ technology. Read more »

Samsung announces the 2014 editions of the Samsung Ativ One 7 and the Ativ Book 9

by 25 comments

The Ativ One 7 2014 Edition is a sleek All-in-One PC with a 24-inch FullHD screen. The Book 9 2014 Edition is a spectacular ultrabook, which has a 15.6-inch FullHD screen and which yet weighs only 1.85 kg.

The Ativ One 7 2014 Edition can act as a secure personal cloud server, allowing owners of Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets to store on the computer hard drive photos, movies, music and documents via Samsung Link mobile app. These users also have the option of wirelessly streaming music to the Ativ One 7′s Dolby Home Theater certified stereo 7W speakers via Bluetooth even when the computer is off. Read more »