Samsung recently announced their newest high end Android tablets: the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and 8.4. Both of these devices offer the exact same specs, with the only difference being the size of their displays (and price of course). The major claim to fame of these devices is the high-tech displays which are a QHD Super AMOLED design.
Here’s the full spec-sheet:
- 2560x1600p Super AMOLED display
- Samsung Exynos 5420 SoC (WiFi model), or Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC (LTE model)
- 3GB RAM
- 16/32GB internal storage with micro SD card expansion slot (up to 128GB)
- 8MP rear and 2.1MP front facing cameras
- 7,900mAh battery
- Samsungs Magazine UX software
- Fingerprint scanner (supports up to 8 different users)
- 6.6mm thin, 465g (10.5) or 294g (8.4)
Other notable features include Kid mode, SideSync 3.0,” and a partnership with Marvel. Here’s a quote with the details,
One the software side of things, Samsung mentioned the tabs will feature a child-friendly Kid mode and connectivity with your Galaxy S5 that allows you to receive calls directly from the Tab S via a feature theyre calling SideSync 3.0. Samsung also announced partnerships with Netflix to bring full HD 1080p video streaming to the Tab S, along with Condé Nast for Vogue, GQ, Glamour, content, as well as National Geographic.Marvel who will include the Tab S in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron movie also announced that theyd be giving away a free 3 month subscription to Marvel Unlimited, along with Google Play with their free 90-day trial to Google Play Music All Access and free copy of Gravity for Play Movies & TV.
Despite the high-end nature of these tablets, they are not quite as expensive as one might assume. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi model will be coming in July for $500, while the the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 will be only $400. Pre-orders begin June 13th. On top of this, Samsung announced accessories like the Book Cover, and the Logitech Type-S Bluetooth keyboard for $99 (shown in the picture above with the tablet).
Earlier this year, at MWC, HTC made a fairly queit announcement about two new devices that they were launching. They were the HTC Desire 816 and the HTC Desire 610.
Here we are taking a look at the Desire 816, this new smartphone offers a larger screen, that’s reaching phablet proportions, decent performance and features at at mid-range price.
With a design that certainly demonstrates that it’s from the same stable as the ever popular HTC One, the Desire 816 has top and bottom stereo speakers with built in amplifier, 13MP camera and 5MP front-facing selfie camera.
Check out the video below to see more of what the HTC Desire 816 has to offer:
HTC Desire 816 specification:
- Nano SIM/Optional Dual SIM
- Dimensions: 156.6 x 78.7 x 8 mm (6.17 x 3.10 x 0.31 in)
- Weight: 165 g (5.82 oz)
- Display: Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours, 720 x 1280 pixels, 5.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density)
- HTC Sense UI v6
- 3.5mm jack
- microSD, up to 128 GB
- Internal Memory: 8 GB, 1.5 GB RAM
- HSDPA, 42 Mbps, HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
- Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
- NFC
- microUSB v2.0
- Primary Camera: 13 MP, 4160 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p
- Secondary Camera: 5 MP, 1080p
- Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
- Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400
- Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A7
- Adreno 305
- Accelerometer, proximity, compass
- FM radio
- GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
- Battery:Non-removable Li-Po 2600 mAh battery
A photo lover’s dream. 13 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel front-facing camera ensure high-resolution pics from either side. Capture moving HD images with built-in editing and sharing tools, and combine results for multiple-angle views. Incredible design, massive 5.5” HD display, dual front-facing stereo speakers, customised real-time info feeds and a quad- core processor all make this one of the best value smartphones ever.
If you are a fan of the flavor/style elements of the Angry Birds series, then you might perk up at the above teaser video and this news. Previously we shared teasers regarding Rovio’s next game in the Angry Birds universe. This time around the game takes the same characters and world, but the gameplay changes completely. Instead of a physics based action-puzzler, Angry Birds EPIC is a turn based RPG.
Of course, the game still revolves around the feud between the birds and the pigs, but this time it happens in a medieval fantasy world complete with swords and sorcery. For fans of this gaming genre and the Angry Birds theme, this is a welcome and refreshing change up for the series. It looks like game will be hitting Android and iOS devices on June 12th.
A look at the newly released Windows 8.1 tablet and laptop hybrid. This convertible has an attractive design and comes with a unique, magnetic detachable keyboard. Alongside some fairly attractive specs we have a tablet with a “Zero air gap” that brings the screen right up to the front glass making this a lot brighter and vibrant.
Unboxing Acer Aspire Switch 10 specification:
- 10.1 inches, 16:9, Active backlit LED
- Windows (8.1)
- Wifi 802.11 a, b, g, n (2.4, 5 GHz)
- quad-core Intel Atom Z3745 processor
- 2GB RAM
- Intel HD Graphics
- 2-megapixel front-facing camera
Supposedly, two pictures of the new Google Nexus 8 tablet might have leaked online. Along with the photos, the source of this intel claims the following details for this tablet:
- A 64-bit Qualcomm processor
- 3GB of RAM
- Android 4.5
- Will debut at Google I/O on June 25
All of these specs are just generic but plausible enough to easily be viable, therefore, if this is a fake report, the source took the safe route and didn’t go crazy with out of this world ideas. The main reason we are so sceptical of this report is that the tablet has such a huge bezel. It looks like an 8-inch tablet, yet with an ugly inch thick bezel, the display would be no different than a Nexus 7.
Likely, this is beta hardware for testing some new additions to the hardware feature set, the sensors required for Project Tango for example.
What is the ZX-Uno? Essentially it is a fan-made clone of the ZX Spectrum hardware, set to offer retro gamers an alternative to getting their 8-bit game-on.
The ZX-Uno has no release date just yet, the official website shows the hardware is already at quite an advanced stage of development . The FPGA based board not only behaves exactly like a ZX Spectrum, but also offers several new features the micro-computer could only dream of having.
Coming equipped with an SD Card slot, gamers will be able to load .TAP files directly into memory for use on the system – allowing easy access to the likes of Jet-Pac, Manic Miner and just about everything else. Designed to fit inside a Raspberry Pi case, the ZX-Uno also offers a rather snazzy audio-in 3.5mm jack port, allowing those who really want to stay true to the hardware the ability to boot up original cassette tapes.
According to the team behind this device, the ZX-Uno is estimated to cost a mere 30 Euros. So should you be a fan of the British micro-computer or need a good alternative to the dated hardware, keep a close eye on the ZX-Uno.
A quick look at Viewsonic’s All-in-one Android monitor, the VSD241 Smartscreen. This 24″ touch screen Android machine houses a NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-Core 1.7GHz,1GB of DDR3 RAM, a criminal 8GB storage with 4GB available under it’s Wide Color TFT Transmissive LED at a resolution of 1920×1080. There is a built-in SD card port and 4 USB (2 full size, 1 mini & 1 micro) ports for connectivity.
Viewsonic VSD241 Key Features:
- 24″ (23.8″ viewable) all-in-one smart display
- Full HD 1920×1080 resolution with Dual Point Optical Touch technology
- Features NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core Processor
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean for PC-Less computing
- Google GMS certified for access to thousands of Android applications
- USB HID Compliant Dual Point Optical Touch for intuitive interaction
- Integrated 2M pixel webcam for crystal clear video conferencing
- Includes Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet
- ViewSound premium audio system
The Android 4.4.3 update is finally baked. Google made the Factory Image available for download. This one is designed for the Nexus 5, the Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10. These images are 440MB to 465MB in size and will require fastboot set up to install.
This update includes a few new tweaks and enhancements: the dialler app has new colour accents and a card-based process for speed dialling, there is a bug fix related to CPU usage and the Nexus 5 camera. These factory images are obviously perfect for those who don’t want to wait for the OTA.
Here’s the link to the factory images: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
Speaking of OTA’s, the 2013 Nexus 7 WiFi-Only version is already receiving the update push right new. Users can expect to get it any time within the next few days. For some reason, the LTE version of the 2013 Nexus 7 is not yet supported by this update.
Gareth and Matt get together to chat about the latest mobile phone, tablet and chromebook news in the UK.
Plenty going on in this week’s show with news from Apple about a couple of small announcements, LG and their new G3, benchmarks, Chromebooks and more.
Featuring Gareth and Matt
Email us: [email protected] Tel: 0208 123 3757
Watch:
Listen:
Love:
Email us: [email protected] Tel: 0208 123 3757
Show Notes
Mobile Mayhem
The LG G3 – A Quad HD smartphone
Archos Smart Home Bundle now available exclusively through Clove Technology
Apple iOS 8
Smartphones – your best budget options
Samsung Galaxy S5 is it worth the hype?
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 7.0 blurs the lines
Benchmarking comparison – S5 Vs. Note 3 Octa Core
Nvidia stepping back from mobile tech
Newchunks:
Another massive security breach at Ebay – What you need to know!
Panono
Tablet Table and Laptop… Lap
Asus go for broke to take the world
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ unboxing and hands-on
New HP Chromebook and Android Slate announced
Bargain Basement
LG G3 32gb/3gb ram + Free LG Wireless Charger (Approx £497)
Allfine Fine 8 Work 8.0″ Windows 8 Tablet £120.08
Three’s feel at home now includes France, Switzerland, Israel, Finland and Norway added to the list of USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Macau, Australia, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland
Smartphones – your best budget options
Email us: [email protected] Tel: 0208 123 3757
Gareth Myles – @garethmyles
Matt and Tracy Davis – @tracyandmatt
Dan Carter – @mobilemandan
Phil Lain – @low405
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It seems like every few months a new swish gadget hits the market. Unfortunately, the latest gizmos do not usually come cheap and even for the most avid tech geeks, it can be difficult to finance the latest state of the art technology. Not all of us have the means of a multi-billion dollar corporation like Stark Industries at our disposal and that is why it is handy to know a few tips and tricks which can help making it easier to afford new technology, fancy gizmos and fun gadgets.
eBay Is Your Friend
Set up a “saved search” on eBay for the item you are looking for and that way you will be notified immediately as soon as it is being sold. Quite often, you will find second hand items on eBay that are in mint condition and some might only have been taken out of their box but they were never used. This will usually knock a few pounds off the price and you might be able to get yourself a bargain.
Claim It Back
If you are self-employed and need the latest gadget for your business, you might be able to claim back the expenses of the item when filling in your tax return. You can find more information on whether you are eligible to claim back expenses for an item by clicking here.
Borrow the Money
There are ways to cheaply borrow money and one way of finding out is by using Totally Money’s ‘Cheapest Ways to Borrow’ tool to find out what the cheapest way of borrowing money would be for you. The tool also lets you know how long it will take you to pay back the borrowed money, so that you know exactly what you’re getting into. One of the suggestions this tools makes is taking out a 0% interest credit card. That way you can pay back the money interest free over a period of time until the 0% expire.
Sell Old Gadgets
Once we upgrade our technology most of us have no more use for the previous models, whether that is a phone, a laptop or an e-reader. There are plenty of places that will pay you money for trading in your old gadgets. This might help you to raise some money for the newer version of a gadget.
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