Mobile Devices - Page 125

ASUS has just unveiled its new VivoStick, which is a PC-on-a-stick powered by Windows 10. The new VivoStick sports an Intel Cherry Trail-based processor inside, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of local storage packed into an eMCP (multi-chip package).

The new ASUS VivoStick includes 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 1 x USB 3.0 port, 1 x USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port. ASUS has also included a headphone jack, and there's even an integrated speaker. Windows 10 will come pre-installed, which is a nice touch. Even Intel's Compute Stick packed Windows 8.1, but the VivoStick is going to be quite the winner with Windows 10 installed.

ASUS has placed an MSRP of $129 on the VivoStick, with no word on availability just yet.

The Toshiba Digital Products Division (DPD) has announced the Satellite Radius 12, a new compact 2-in-1 12.5" convertible laptop supporting a 4K UHD display.

The laptop supports the 12.5-inch diagonal IPS touchscreen display (3840x2160), and runs the 6th Gen Intel Core processor. It weighs just 2.8 pounds, and has been designed to be an ultimate travel companion for power users on the go. It also supports Laptop, Tablet, Tabletop, Presentation and Audience modes.

"Toshiba has made significant investments to deliver an exceptional customer experience across its portfolio of Windows devices," said Peter Han, VP of worldwide OEM at Microsoft. "Toshiba's Satellite Radius 12 provides an optimized experience that allows customers to take advantage of some of the exciting new features in Windows 10 including Windows Hello."

Device manufacturer ARCHOS has unveiled the ARCHOS Diamond Plus, a larger screened model of the Diamond smartphone. ARCHOS plans to show off the device during IFA in Berlin, which starts later this week.

The device features a 5.5" FHD IPS screen (1920x1080) that is powered by an Octa-Core A53 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB internal storage. It runs the Google Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system. The phone itself will be released sometime in November and will cost around $273 at launch.

"There's no reason customers should have only one model option in our quest to offer 4G/LTE smartphones to a greater public," said Loic Poirier, CEO of ARCHOS. "Offering a larger-screened product with a slightly different design gives ARCHOS customers more diversity and choice."

Sony has just announced the Australian availability of its most exciting tablet yet, the Xperia Z4 Tablet. The Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is the world's lightest and thinnest 10-inch tablet, which is quite the achievement for Sony, especially against Samsung and Apple.

The Xperia Z4 Tablet features a 10.1-inch 2K display, an 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and weighs in at just 393g (13.8oz) for the 4G-capable model while the Wi-Fi-only model weighs 389g (13.7oz). As usual, the Xperia Z4 Tablet features IP68 waterproof protection, with dust tight rating with cap-less microUSB charging.

Sony is selling the new Xperia Z4 Tablet through Telstra for an RRP of $888, or on a 24-month plan through Go Mobile Broadband for $62 per month.

Samsung's marketing team is coming up with some good ideas to grab iPhone users, offering consumers a test drive of their latest and greatest Galaxy smartphones for just $1. Now, the South Korean giant has upped the ante.

Samsung is offering consumers $200 if you switch from an iPhone to a Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge or Galaxy S6 edge+ smartphone. Samsung will split it into two, offering a $100 Google Play store gift card and a $100 cheque. iPhone owners will have to trade in their handset, but with $200 enticing them, some users will take up the deal.

The deal is a limited time only affair, where you have until December 31 to make it happen, and up until January 1, 2016 to redeem the $200 in Play store credit and the cheque.

It looks like the iPhone 6S is going to feature upgraded cameras, with the front-facing side of things getting bumped up from the ludicrous 1.2-megapixel camera on the current iPhone 6 to a better snapper - let's hope for a 5-megapixel shooter.

Round back, we can expect the 8-megapixel iSight camera to be upgraded to a 12-megapixel shooter that is 4K-capable. Up until now, the iPhone has been stuck at shooting 1080p video, but this is all set to change with the 'S' upgrade to the iPhone 6. The new iPhone 6S will also reportedly feature Force Touch technology built-in, where it can be used as a shortcut button to execute commands throughout iOS.

Apple is also expected to cram 2GB of LPDDR4 into the iPhone 6S, with 16GB, 64GB and 128GB models to be put on offer. iOS 9 will be included, and will reportedly include the ability for iPhone users to temporarily delete their app data to make more room for iOS updates, which sounds ridiculous - but it's needed with these big iOS updates of late. We should hear all about the new iPhone on September 9 at Apple's iPhone event.

ARCHOS has announced its Diamond Tab, an impressive flagship Octa-Core 4G/LTE tablet aimed at providing users with some hardware power for gaming and CPU-intensive activities.

The tablet is powered by a Mediatek MT8752 Octa-Core 1.7GHz CPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, running Google Android 5.1 Lollipop. The front-facing camera is 2-megapixels, and also has a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. The 7.9" IPS screen supports a 2048 x 1536 resolution.

"Tablets have become a crucial piece of hardware in many customer's tech lineups. We wanted to expand our Diamond line to include a tablet without sacrificing any of the specs that make an ARCHOS Diamond special," said Loic Poirier, CEO of ARCHOS.

Smartphone and tablet maker ARCHOS has launched two new 5" smartphones, available for £99 ($155), and consumers can choose whether they want to run Windows 10 or Google Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The ARCHOS 50 Cesium is powered by Windows 10, while the ARCHOS 50e Helium runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. It's an interesting decision to allow consumers the flexibility of choosing which OS they want to use, and make the phones available at a good price point.

Both phones are scheduled for release in November 2015. Expect to learn more when ARCHOS shows off the 50 Cesium and 50e Helium at IFA 2015.

Device manufacturer ARCHOS is adding to its Diamond line of smartphones, as the company announced it will show off the Diamond S smartphone during IFA 2015 next week.

The device runs Google Android 5.1 Lollipop.

It will be available starting in November 2015 with a retail price of £159.99 ($251 USD).

The new ZenFone 2 smartphone from ASUS is making waves, with Tom's Guide recently publishing an article that has three smartphones competing against one another to see which one recharges the fastest.

Many of the biggest and best smartphones out were tested, including iPhone 6, Nexus 6, LG G4, OnePlus 2, ASUS ZenFone 2, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Motorola Droid Turbo. The ASUS ZenFone 2 was the winner, hitting 53% from 0% in just 30 minutes, and was the fastest to reach 80% and full charge. When battery capacity is factored, the ZenFone 2 still beat the Galaxy S6, but not by much.

Making good on its promise earlier this year to roll out Cortana to Google Android and Apple iOS, Microsoft has started a beta run of Cortana for Android devices.

Not surprisingly, the Android version of Cortana doesn't offer full features available to Windows users, with some apps left out - and you can't say "Hey Cortana" to get instant access. Microsoft also limited this beta phase to consumers in the United States only, and hasn't detailed international rollout just yet.

It looks like Microsoft has plenty of beta users, as the signup page offers the following message: "Thanks for your interest in becoming a beta tester for Cortana. At this time, the beta program has enough testers and isn't accepting more users."

LG Electronics will show off the G Pad II 10.1 tablet during the IFA 2015 tech conference in Berlin, offering both an LTE and Wi-Fi version.

The LG G Pad II 10.1 features a 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU, 10.1-inch display (1920x1200), 16GB eMMC, 2GB RAM, and microSD. The device runs Google Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The device features LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, and 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Pricing information and an official release date will be announced during IFA 2015.

Let's face it, our smartphones do not last throughout the day for most users. I've tried all varieties of the iPhone, multiple Samsung, Sony, HTC and other handsets, but I just do not get through an entire day without worrying.

Well, hydrogen-powered batteries could alleviate this, with a British company teasing that hydrogen-powered smartphones could last for an entire week under heavy usage. The company has even shown off a working iPhone 6 prototype smartphone powered by a hydrogen battery. The fuel cell inside of the prototype is the same size as the iPhone 6 chassis but is so thin that it can "fit alongside the conventional battery without any alternations" reports Digital Journal.

Better yet, the hydrogen battery is recharged using the headphone jack on the iPhone 6, which was modified solely for this purpose. Intelligent Energy is the company behind the idea, where it said that production devices are still "a couple of years out". Intelligent Energy CEO, Henri Winand, said: "To our knowledge this has never been done before. We have now managed to make a fuel cell so thin we can fit it to the existing chassis without alterations and retaining the rechargeable battery. This is a major step because if you are moving to a new technology you have to give people a path they are comfortable with".

It was only two days ago that we reported that Samsung was offering iPhone users a 30-day trial of its new Galaxy smartphones for just $1, but the South Korean giant has received "overwhelming demand" and has, for the time being, stopped the test drive.

Samsung was offering iPhone users the chance to test drive one of their new Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ or Galaxy Note 5 smartphones for just $1. The company has now put up a note on their promotional page, thanking people for the huge demand. Samsung said: "Due to the overwhelming demand, we are temporarily out of test drive phones. Please keep checking back for available phones".

I think Samsung needs to pull out as many phones as it can to bring the offer back, as it was obviously quite the lure for iPhone users bored or looking to change over from their Apple smartphone.

Most people will remember the iconic VAIO brand that Sony had, but sold the rights to in early 2014 to investment firm Japan Industrial Partners, which is ramping up to launch a new VAIO tablet in the United States in October.

The company started off selling products locally, but now they want VAIO products selling across the world. VAIO CEO Yoshimi Ota said that the reason VAIO was so unprofitable when Sony had the rights was a focus on market share. Under the ownership of Japan Industrial Partners, VAIO won't be pushing any cheap or unprofitable devices. This is where the new Canvas Z steps up to the plate.

The new VAIO Canvas Z is a "monster tablet" rocking a 12.3-inch 2560x1704 display, a massive Core i7-4700HQ processor, up to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The Canvas Z rocks a built-in kickstand, stylus, and a detachable keyboard.

Samsung has only just unveiled its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ handsets, but DisplayMate has put them both under the test awarding the new Galaxy Note 5 with some serious praise for its display.

Most people would think that the display on the Galaxy Note 5 being the same size and resolution, would not be that much of an upgrade, but DisplayMate says quite the opposite. President of DisplayMate, Dr. Raymond M. Soneria, said that the Galaxy Note 5 is the best performing smartphone display the company has ever tested.

The display in the Galaxy Note 5 breaks new records in various categories, including highest absolute color accuracy, peak brightness, and highest contrast rating in ambient light, and that's not even all of the categories the display in the Note 5 wins in. The new Galaxy S6 edge+ was also given some praise, with Soneira saying that the fact that the flexible plastic substrate used in the dual-edge display is now essentially the same as traditional glass substrate.

The likely announcement of a new Apple iPhone has its customers excited, even after the infamous "Bendgate" fiasco from the previous iPhone's launch. The new iPhone 6s is rumored to launch in late September, so carriers in the United States are preparing marketing and sales campaigns to get customers to upgrade.

Carriers aren't the only ones preparing, as Apple has reportedly made a few critical improvements based on lessons learned following Bendgate:

"Each new iPhone launch should hopefully be an all-around improvement, with a focus on more than just the 'bells and whistles,'" said Stacey Vogler, US managing director for Protect Your Bubble. "To avoid a repeat of last year's Bendgate, Apple appears to be looking a a stronger frame this time around."

In a not-so-surprising move, Samsung has just made its Galaxy Note 5 smartphone official. The new Galaxy Note 5 features the same 5.7-inch display, with an identical 2560x1440 or QHD resolution, but with improved colors and sharpness.

Inside, the Galaxy Note 5 we have an 8-core Exynos 7420 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, a non-removable 3000mAh battery, support for LTE category 9 and LoopPay's wireless credit card imitating MST technology, and much more. The Galaxy Note 5 includes the usual S Pen for your stylus action.

Moving over to the Galaxy S6 edge+, which is a spruced up Galaxy S6 edge with a larger dual-edge display, we have the same 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display which is more gorgeous than ever. Inside of the S6 edge+ we have the same Exynos 7420 processor, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, 3000mAh non-removable battery, and Android 5.1 Lollipop powering both handsets. The two new smartphones come in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options.

The tablet market is dragging along in 2015, but manufacturers can appreciate rising interest in 2-in-1 tablets. Shipment volume of 2-in-1 products will increase from 11.5 million in 2015 up to 22 million in 2019, according to the Strategy Analytics research group.

"The timing could not be better for 2-in-1 Tablets as Windows 10 makes the multi-mode computing experience smoother, Intel's Skylake processors hit the market at the end of 2015, and Windows Tablets have become more cost-competitive with Android Tablets," said Peter King, service director of tablet & touchscreen strategies at Strategy Analytics.

Even though Google and Apple have found success in the tablet market, Windows offers a more familiar experience: "Windows provides a familiar environment for traditional PC vendors to compete in the Tablet market and also gives CIOs a higher level of comfort when considering higher-end Tablets in the commercial setting."

Now that the release of Windows 10 is out of the way, the next big thing for Microsoft is the refreshed Surface Pro 4 that's expected to drop sometime next month.

Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 is expected to rock Intel's new Skylake-powered processors, as well as an increase in on-screen pixels with a 4K option. There will be lower resolution offerings, but you can customize the new Surface Pro 4 to 4K if you want to spend the money. We will of course see Windows 10 powering the new Surface Pro 4 units.

The base model should feature a 10-inch 1080p display with a fanless Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and USB Type-C connectivity. This model will pack a huge 8600mAh battery. The higher-end Surface Pro 4 will rock a Skylake-based Core i7 processor, a huge 16GB of RAM and a larger 13-inch display that can be configured up to 4K.