Qualcomm officially unveiled their new Snapdragon lineup. They are moving away from the "S" series naming convention. Their new chips will be called the Snapdragon 200, 400, 600 & 800. The 200 series will be their budget-friendly chips, and the 400 will be for the moderate crowd. The 600 and 800 are left for the high-end flagship devices. Of course, we are most excited by the upper echelon chips, so here’s a breakdown of specs for Qualcomm’s newest beastly tech:
We teased the Iconia B1 last week, and had a strong suspicion it would be launched at CES this week. It turns out we were right, and some folks from Phandroid were able to video the tablet in action at the tech show. The tablet will only debut in Europe and Latin America, which is sad news for folks in the US. It will retail for $119 Euros (about $160 US Dollars). Here’s a spec breakdown:
This seems like a pretty competitive price point, and could do really well in the markets it is destined for. Check out the hands on over at Phandroid.
Posted by: Gareth
Nuance Communications Inc. and ZTE Corporation have announced a multiyear collaboration where Nuance’s voice capabilities will be integrated as part of a new portfolio of ZTE Android devices worldwide. The result will be a diverse set of mobile applications and devices that foster a more natural, human interaction between people and their ZTE phones – in more than 25 languages. Among those applications is ZTE’s new Car Mode application unveiled at CES 2013 in Las Vegas.
Car Mode integrates Nuance’s powerful voice capabilities to let users speak to stay connected to the people and content they love, without bringing additional manual-visual distractions into the car. Taking advantage of Nuance’s automotive-grade voice technology and expertise, ZTE’s Car Mode application is embedded within the device to provide people with a reliable, always available hands-free, eyes-free access to the phone functions that are used the most while driving, such as making phone calls, reading text messages and accessing music. At the same time, no network or data connection is required and the app is designed for noisy automotive environments.
People simply engage Car Mode with a hands-free wake-up word, and the app is at their command to dial contacts and numbers, launch navigation apps, get the local weather, and play music on the device. Furthermore, Car Mode announces incoming callers and reads incoming text messages aloud with Nuance’s natural text to speech, and allows people to barge in with new voice commands or cancel incoming audio when needed. Car Mode also features a “Do not disturb” mode where drivers can further minimise distractions by blocking all incoming calls and text messages until they arrive at their destination – with notifications available of the calls and text messages missed.
Over at CES this week Huawei have announced their first Windows Phone 8 device to be launched. The Ascend W1 is set to be a low cost Windows Phone and here in the UK will initially be an exclusive on O2.
Prices are not yet confirmed but if I was to have a guess I would imagine it would be in the region of the £150 mark. With its 4 inch screen the W1 will feel right at home in many peoples hands and if the price is right it could well be a big hit on the pay as you go scene? In addition, Huawei say the Ascend W1’s battery has a standby time of up to four days which will be an attraction to many consumers.
Posted by: James
Another big phone has been announced at CES in Las Vegas, this time by ZTE who are proud to show off the Grand S. The Android 4.1 handset sports a 5 inch 1920 x 1080p HD display and that’s just the start of the good stuff.
Under the hood is a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage. Combined with a rear facing 13MP camera and a 2MP front, both can record video in full HD.
The device is bound for China in the next couple of months and as yet we are not aware that it will make its way to our shores, but often we get similar or a variant. Fingers crossed at this one looks pretty kick ass.
Posted by: James
The recently announced Xperia Z is already available to pre-order from Clove. The new flagship device from Sony is expected in stock on March 1st. Available in both black and white variants the handset will set you back £528 inclusive of VAT, which doesn’t come cheap but it does look to be a great device.
Posted by: James
There will be quite a lot going on over at the ASUS booth during this year’s CES. That’s because the company will have a whole bunch of gadgets to show off, including its fresh lineup of Windows 8 tablets and Ultrabooks. However, while most of these are devices we’re already familiar with, one of them is a brand new arrival.
Remember that mysterious Google TV gizmo that appeared at the FCC in November? No? That’s okay, there was. We now officially have the ASUS Qube. What we have on our hands is a set-top box that allows you to enjoy content from the Google Play store, Netflix, and the Amazon Instant Video service right on your HDTV. Access to the web via the Chrome browser also comes standard, in addition to the built-in YouTube client. In addition, an advanced remote control with motion sensing is included in the set, but alternatively, users can control their ASUS Qube from an Android app designed for the purpose. Each Qube comes with 50GB of cloud storage, courtesy of ASUS.
At CES yesterday, a Japanese company called Ubitus just announced that their cloud gaming solution will be joining forces with Google and coming to the Google TV. They plan to bring what they call their "industry leading cloud gaming solution" to the Google TV, and promise a "console and MMO gaming" experience for the device. Just a few of the games on their service are pretty big names, like Resident Evil 5, Lost Planet 2, and Super Street Fighter IV. They didn’t specify what international markets the service will be available for, but it is possible it will launch across all possible Google TV areas. We will keep you apprised when we find out more.
It probably would have been a surprise if Vizio, the well-known budget-friendly HDTV manufacturer, had only announced a high-end 10-inch Android tablet at CES. After-all, they’ve done a remarkable job dominating that segment with TVs, so it wouldn’t make sense to completely abandon that strategy with their Android tablet products. It runs out they haven’t. Vizio also announced this morning they will be launching a new 7-inch Tegra 3 powered Android Tablet sometime early this year. Here’s what we know about the tab:
It’s not clear how Vizio will be able to distinguish themselves with a tablet that seems very similar to the Nexus 7, but based upon their past history, it is likely to be priced very aggressively. We will keep you informed when more details emerge.
Posted by: Gareth
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