Samsung Series 5 and Series 7 Slate PCs,
hands-on!

post from Ubergizmo on 29 August 2012 01:00:51 PM. © Ubergizmo

Ahead of Windows 8′s arrival on October 26, Samsung is launching a couple of Slate PCs with their Series 5 and Series 7 naming. Both slates have been designed to turn from laptop to tablet, thanks to their detachable display and QWERTY dock. In the Android world, this would be something like the Asus Transformer Series. These two tablets are powered by an Intel processor, so they run the desktop version of Windows 8.

Because of that, these tablets can truly run any Windows program, past or future, and that should be most important to those who have legacy or enterprise applications that they can’t live without. There is definitely a market for that. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Series 5 Ultra laptop, hands-on, Sony VAIO Tap 20 Family Touch PC debuted at IFA 2012,

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Unreal Engine 3 runs on Windows 8 RT + Tegra 3

post from Ubergizmo on 29 August 2012 12:43:12 PM. © Ubergizmo

NVIDIA has announced that it has worked with Epic Games to port the Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT (the version running on ARM architecture). This means that game developers using it will be able to target Windows 8 RT without too much trouble, if they account for the overall decrease in system and performance resources. Fortunately, that is very much manageable, so you can expect many Unreal game to show up soon.

If you are not a Windows person, you may have seen the Unreal Engine in action in iPad games like Infinity Blade (1 & 2). At the moment, the Unreal Engine 3 for Windows 8 RT will only run DirectX 9 rendering as it is the RT hardware platform limitation for now, but we’ve been told by several hardware manufacturers that 2013 would be the year of DirectX 11 for Windows 8 RT. At that point, we may see Unreal Engine 4 show up on Windows 8 RT.

The availability of Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 RT isn’t so surprising because this is an engine that was developed on Windows to begin with, and Windows 8 RT development is very close to regular Windows 8 development. Which Unreal-powered game would you like to see first on Windows 8 RT?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Unreal Engine runs in Flash, Unreal Development Kit will eventually arrive on Android,

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Foxconn Posts $226 Million Loss on Declining
Smartphones Orders

post from I4U News on 29 August 2012 12:25:46 PM. © I4U News

Foxconn is the manufacturer of many of the smartphones we all know from companies such as Apple and others. Foxconn also constructs phones for Nokia and declining orders from Nokia have resulted in...

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ers

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World of Warcraft Players in Iran Hit with US
Sanctions

post from I4U News on 29 August 2012 12:24:41 PM. © I4U News

Players of Blizzard's video game World of Warcraft from Iran have been hit with sanctions from the United States. Iranian players have found themselves blocked from accessing Blizzard servers to play...

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Unreal Engine 3 ported to Windows RT

post from I4U News on 29 August 2012 12:23:43 PM. © I4U News

Nvidia has announced that it and Epic Games have ported the Unreal Engine 3 flagship demo program over to Windows 8 and Windows RT. The demonstration program is called Epic Citadel. The port was done...

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Sony VAIO Tap 20 Family Touch PC debuted at IFA
2012

post from Ubergizmo on 29 August 2012 12:14:36 PM. © Ubergizmo

Earlier today at IFA, Sony unveiled not only the VAIO Duo 11, but the VAIO Tap 20 which they are calling a Family Touch PC. Like the VAIO Duo 11, the Tap 20 will run on Windows 8 which means that it?s not entirely surprising to learn that it too will sport a touchscreen display, a 20? one at that. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony VAIO Duo 11 Windows 8 tablet/laptop hybrid revealed, Sony Xperia T makes its official debut at IFA 2012,

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2012/

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Sony XBR-84X900 TV brings 4K resolution to
84-inch image

post from Ubergizmo on 29 August 2012 11:45:31 AM. © Ubergizmo

We’ve heard that Sony was going to announce a 84″ TV at IFA, but things just became official this morning when Sony’s CEO officially unveiled the Sony XBR-84X900 HDTV. With a resolution of 3840 x 2160 (4K), the Sony XBR-84X900 certainly looks amazing.

It is not designed to be super-thin or particularly “edgy” in terms of industrial design (although it is nice). At this point, the Sony XBR-4K about delivering the best visual and audio experience possible in a large TV form-factor. For folks who already own their audio equipment, the side speakers are detachable to make the TV look slimmer. It’s a nice touch because although no price has been announced it’s fair to imagine that those who can afford it, will probably have the means to get the best audio as well.

Now, the real question is where will the content come from? As you can imagine, Sony is jumping early in the 4K game because it thinks it has an edge when it comes to content. Sony is currently producing a lot of professional equipment used in Hollywood to film 4K movies, and its own studios will undoubtedly provide the first content. Secondly, there are reasonable ways to upscale content – even if that’s not as good as native 4K content.

I personally think that 4K is much more interesting than 3D, especially for large displays. what’s your take?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Top 10 CES Gadgets, Sony BRAVIA HX850 and HX750 LED LCD HDTVs,

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Wireless charging via your laptop is now one step
closer to becoming a reality

post from Ubergizmo on 29 August 2012 11:27:55 AM. © Ubergizmo

Wireless charging is not a new piece of technology, although the ability to charge our phones simply by placing it next to our computers and without cables? Well that certainly sounds pretty handy and could potentially free up a port or two! Not to mention the convenience and ability to charge our phones even when we did not bring a charger. Such technology was demonstrated by Intel back in June and according to a recent blog post by Intel, it looks like the concept of wireless charging via our computers is a step closer to becoming a reality.

Integrated Device Technology has announced that they will be developing and delivering chipsets for Wireless Charging Technology by Intel. IDT?s full chipset solution for reference design is expected to be ready in early 2013, which means that we still have quite some way to go before we start seeing this technology make its way into consumer products. Intel has stated that a timeline will be given at a later date, but in the meantime we guess we can take comfort in knowing that such (convenient) technology isn?t too far.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Intel rumored to bring wireless charging to their smartphones in 2013, Unannounced HP tablet spotted in a commercial,

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p-closer-to-becoming-a-reality/

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Sony VAIO Duo 11 Windows 8 tablet/laptop hybrid
revealed

As expected with upcoming Windows 8 devices, Sony did not disappoint as they officially took the wraps off the VAIO Duo 11, a hybrid sort of device which is part tablet and part laptop. As you can see in the photo above, the Duo 11 can slide forwards, covering the keyboard entirely and double as a tablet. Alternatively the screen can be pushed back which allows it to function as a regular laptop, albeit one that has a capacitive touchscreen for a display. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Xperia T makes its official debut at IFA 2012, Sony XPERIA Tablet gets Sony back in the tablet race,

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evealed/

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Digital Cameras + Android = Unavoidable

Fan concept of an advanced Android camera

The world of compact cameras has changed rapidly in the past few years, and this change is due to the rise of smartphones, and more precisely, due the high quality of smartphones internal cameras. Sales of compact cameras has declined and manufacturers can barely keep their revenues afloat, if at all.

A possible way out: raise the bar and provide an added-value that only a bigger form factor can: bigger sensors, bigger lenses. However, smartphones and wireless broadband have changed user behavior forever: the main incentive for taking photos has shifted from ?memory preservation? to ?social sharing?, and users demand a way to share their photos with as little friction as possible.

To address these challenges, camera manufacturers have tried building their own software stack, and it is fair to say that it hasn?t worked. It?s too much work, too complex, and it?s likely that Android will emerge -again- as being the solution of choice. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New Paper-Thin Lens May Allow Ultra-Sleek Cameras , OnLive Game Streaming Company Goes Under,