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A good book can make the long commute home on the train or a cross-country plane flight go by so much quicker. The DROID RAZR HD by Motorola offers an amazing reading experience with a 4.7” HD display featuring a higher resoultion that makes every page easier on the eyes. Looking at images from content on Google Play Books means you get richer colors and more true-to-life visuals.
With Android™ 4.1, Google Play Books offers multiple new features to enhance your reading experience:
Embedded audio tracks and videos can now be easily streamed directly within the book you’re reading.
You can now add bookmarks to remember important information for later or pick up where you left off reading.
Play Books now offers fixed layout books, optimized for tablet-reading of books with beautifully designed graphics and layouts, like children’s books and comic books.
For visually impaired users, automatic text-to-speech settings have been enabled.
So whether you’re reading a guidebook for building your new piece of furniture or cozying up to a thrilling mystery during a rainy day, DROID RAZR HD and Google Play Books have you covered. Let us know what your favorite book is in the comments below.
Touch and other new capabilities in Windows 8 are powering the latest hardware innovations coming from our OEM partners. Together we are delivering interactive new experiences through devices and services that deliver on customers’ need for constant connectivity, mobility and flexibility.
This new world of computing is on display this week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, from chipsets, to materials, hinges, touch panels, rotating displays, beautiful new designs and new capabilities in Windows 8.
The PCs and devices we’re seeing come to market are increasingly mobile and much more powerful. When Windows 8 launched in October, we talked about 1,000 PCs and devices that had been certified for Windows 8. There are now more than 1,500 with more expected in the weeks and months to come. The breadth of innovation continues as our hardware partners deliver new Windows 8 devices and experiences that are tuned for play and work.
With that, let’s take a look at some of the incredible new Windows 8 PCs that are being announced and garnering attention on the show floor this week.
This is the Transformer Book TX300CA from ASUS, a lightweight ultraportable with a 13” full HD (1920×1080) IPS display and multi-touch capabilities. Imagine the portability of a tablet but will have access to a more familiar Ultrabook design for productivity. The Transformer Book TX300CA delivers performance and an excellent user experience thanks to the latest Intel Core i7 processor with HD4000 graphics and Windows 8.
Another brilliant touch laptop: Sony’s VAIOT Series 15. This is the 15-inch version of the popular T13 that features built-in HD web cam, which if you haven’t seen it in action is really impressive. The built-in web camera features image sensor that not only provides crisp, bright pictures, but you can use the camera and hand gestures to skip a song, adjust volume, and navigate webpages with VAIO Gesture Control.
For more on Sony, see this video featuring Sony’s VAIO Tap 20 and LL Cool J:
New to the PC market this year, TV-leader Vizio has come on strong with a beautiful line of notebooks and all-in-ones. Now they’ve enabled their Thin + Light series with touch, making them even more attractive for the Windows 8 world.
Samsung will be refreshing its Series 7 Ultrabooks this spring with the Series 7 Chronos and Series 7 Ultra Touch. Both models will feature a full HD (1920 x 1080) display, longer battery life and Samsung’s trademark sleek aesthetics. Slightly thinner, the Series 7 Ultra Touch boasts a JBL sound system and is a great multimedia PC, while the Chronos offers premium performance and is still less than one-inch thick.
Here’s creative take on an all-in-one PC: Lenovo’s IdeaCentre Horizon table PC. This device from Lenovo combines an all-in-one desktop and table PC into one design. It can be used as an HD display or laid flat for a fun new gaming experience. It’s as thin as two DVD cases, and can be outfitted with an Intel Core i7 processor and, of course, Windows 8. We think this kind of design is a game changer for family computing.
Another innovative design from Lenovo, the ThinkPad Helixis a premium convertible that features the company’s groundbreaking “rip and flip” design, giving people absolute mobile freedom and versatility. Use it as a tablet, a laptop, a table-based tablet PC or even a mini movie theater with this flexible new design. Furthering the Helix’s “groundbreaking” label, the new model features optional 4G high-speed wireless and Near Field Communications (NFC) technology that makes sharing files with other devices a easy as tapping them together.
Take a look at both the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix and IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC:
For fans of traditional notebook designs there are plenty to choose from this year. Dell’s Inspiron 14R, 15R and 17R are getting a refresh with a sleek new design that is not only easy on the eyes, but easy to keep at your side. Nearly 5 mm thinner than the previous generation, the laptops include a built-in optical drive, stunning graphics options and fast processors.
LG’s impressive monitor selection comprises of the UltraWide, ColorPrime and Touch 10, all matched for entertainment, professional applications and touch-based interaction, respectively. All three models employ IPS technology for exceptional next generation picture quality.
HP’s Sleekbook line – featuring the latest technologies from AMD – is a great mix of functionality and affordability. Sporting a 15.6-inch diagonal HD display, 1 terabyte of storage and exclusive innovations including HP Connected Photo powered by Snapfish, this is a great Windows 8 PC for photographers.
For gaming and movie enthusiasts, Toshiba’s new Qosimo X875features all the horsepower you’ll need plus a new 1 terabyte hard drive – all in a laptop!
Panasonic has announced its “fearless business tablet” the Toughpad FZ-G1with Windows 8 Pro. The toughness, thinness and light weight are optimized for field operations and the high brightness screen is tuned for outdoor use. It’s an enterprise level tablet equipped with Windows 8 Pro and a high-performance processor.
Check out Jenn Brown from ESPN putting thePanasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 to the test:
Microsoft and our OEM partners are working closely together to delight customers with hardware, software and services that create immersive new experiences and computing scenarios. The hardware innovation from our partners continues with amazing new PCs and devices coming into the Windows 8 ecosystem. Momentum for the platform is also strong with consumers, commercial customers and developers: we’ve crossed the 40 million mark for Windows 8 licenses , crossed the 60 million mark for Windows 8 licenses there are more apps coming online every day, and cloud services to unify media and content across devices.
Microsoft Corp has sold 60 million licenses and upgrades for its new Windows 8 operating system in the 10 weeks since its launch, one of the top executives of the company’s Windows unit said at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday.
The figure marks a solid but unspectacular start for Microsoft’s new flagship product, which has not managed to revive lagging personal computer sales, while new touch-screen Windows devices have not yet captured consumers’ imaginations.
Windows 8 sales are growing in line with those of Windows 7, Microsoft’s last operating system, launched in 2009, said Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows division, in a presentation to analysts and investors at the annual tech show in Las Vegas.
The latest Windows 8 figure means Microsoft sold around 20 million Windows 8 licenses and upgrades since the end of November, when it announced 40 million sales in the first month on the market.
That puts sales broadly in line with Windows 7, which averaged 19.4 million sales per month in its first nine months on the market, when PC sales were running at a lower level than today.
Reller did not say how many of the Windows 8 sales were bulk orders from PC manufacturers and did not break out the proportion of full license sales and cheaper upgrades from earlier versions of Windows. She also did not say how many Surface tablets – designed to tackle Apple Inc‘s iPad head on – Microsoft had sold.
Final figures for PC sales in 2012, due in the next week or so from industry tracking groups, are expected to show the first year-on-year decline in a decade as consumers move toward mobile computing on powerful tablets and phones. Microsoft’s app-based, touch-friendly Windows 8 system is an attempt to adjust to that shift.
Microsoft shares fell 0.5 percent to $26.55 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. They are down 6 percent since the launch of Windows 8 on October 26.
We’ve known for quite sometime now that the Samsung Galaxy S III mini will come new colour options, apart from the existing White by the end of December last year or beginning 2013.
Samsung dedicated blog SamMobile has now received some pictures of the compact Galaxy S III smartphone from a source showcasing the new colours.
These are Titan Gray, Garnet Red and Onyx Black, precisely what was expected earlier. It is needless to say that the Red and Black colour options look identical to the bigger Galaxy S III 4G LTE recently launched in Sapphire Black and Garnet Red colours in Korea.
The company has already introduced two additional colour options for the international version of the Galaxy S III as well, Amber Brown and Titanium Grey.
Samsung is indeed extending colour options across its high-end devices. More recently, the Galaxy Note II was also spotted in a Black variant. SamMobile had earlier mentioned that the Note II will also get new colours namely Amber Brown, Topaz Blue and Ruby Wine in addition to the current Marble White and Titanium Gray.
Whether or not all markets will get to see the new colours still remains unknown.
Apart from adding new colours, Samsung is now shipping the Galaxy S III mini with the latest version of Android Jelly Bean, v4.1.2 in Vietnam and Indonesia. Other Asian regions should soon be getting the good news as well. When launched, the Galaxy S III mini devices came out with Android 4.1.1.
To recap, the Galaxy S III mini was launched in October last year and is a miniature version of the company’s current flagship smartphone the Samsung Galaxy S III. It features a 4-inch screen and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone inherits Galaxy S III’s features like S Voice, Smart Stay, Direct Call and S Beam.
The compact S III version is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor and features a 5-megapixel camera. It has a 1500 mAh battery and 8/16GB internal storage options.
Polaroid Tuesday unveiled the world’s first Android-powered mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with a 18-megapixel censor at CES 2013 in Las Vegas. The iM1836 camera will be manufactured by Sakar International, an authorised Polaroid licensee.
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-running camera comes standard with a 10-30mm optical zoom lens, and is capable of recording full-HD video. It features 3.5-inch display will hit store shelves in the first quarter of 2013 for a price of $399.
“Throughout our 75 year history, Polaroid has been synonymous with innovation, creativity, and ease of use,” commented Scott W. Hardy, President and CEO of Polaroid. “We are continuing that proud tradition at CES this year with the launch of the iM1836. This compact, connected camera is the ideal pocket-sized device to capture and share all of your most precious moments.”
The iM1836 aims to combine the image quality of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras like the Nikon V1, J1, Nikon J2, Canon EOS M, Fujifilm X-Pro 1, Samsung NX300 and the convenience of Android-based cameras like Nikon Coolpix S800c and Samsung Galaxy Camera. Before this, Sony had come the closest to combining the two worlds, with the Wi-Fi enabled mirrorless NEX-5R, minus the Android.
Polaroid also announced the launch of two iM1836 cousins. First, the non-Android, Wi-Fi only iM1232W for $349 and the non-Android, non-Wi-Fi iM1030 for $299. It also unveiled the iS2433 with a 16-megapixel sensor and 24x optical zoom for $199.
After much delay, Nokia is finally set to launch its Windows 8 flagship devices, Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in India. The company has already sent out invites for a January 10 event. Additionally the Finnish handset maker is also running small teaser television ads featuring a yellow Nokia Lumia 920 with a yellow wireless charger to help create buzz around the smartphones.
Nokia introduced Lumia 920 and Lumia 820at a gala event in September 2012. Nokia Lumia 920 is a Windows 8 smartphone, which features a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD display. It is powered by dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU with 1GB of RAM. It has 32 GB of internal storage, 8.7-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front shooter. Nokia Lumia 920 has a 2000mAh battery and supports wireless charging.
Nokia Lumia 820 on the other hand is a mid-range smartphone. It features a 4.3-inch Clearblack display and is powered by 1.5GHz Qualcomm S4 dual-core processor. It comes with a 8-megapixel rear shooter and a VGA front camera. Nokia Lumia comes with 8GB of internal storage and runs on Windows 8. The India price for both these smartphones is not known so far.
Nokia Lumia 920 first started shipping to markets like France and UK markets in October, and it was earlier speculated that Nokia Lumia 920 will be launched in India by November. However, that did not happen, perhaps because the device was in short supply in some markets.
The smartphone has received a warm response in United States mostly due to the aggressive pricing strategy adopted by Nokia in this market. Even in a price sensitive market like India, Nokia will have to price the smartphone attractively to make sure that it generates keen interest amongst Indian consumers.
Sony kicked off its CES activities by lifting the wraps of its latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z, and Xperia ZL.
If you’ve been keeping tracking of the rumours, there are no surprises in the specs. The Sony Xperia Z comes with a 5-inch full-HD (1080×1920) display alongside and is powered a by 1.5 GHzSnapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor. Other highlights include a 13-megapixel rear camera and 2GB RAM. The Xperia Z is IP55 and IP57 certified, which means it is dust and water resistant.
“With Xperia Z, we are bringing over half a century of innovation in TV, imaging, music, film and gaming to create a super-phone experience that truly stands out,” said Kuni Suzuki, President and CEO, at Sony Mobile Communications.
Xperia Z includes a technology called Battery STAMINA Mode that Sony claims can improve the standby time of the phone by four times or more by automatically shutting down battery-draining apps whenever the screen is off and starting them up again when the screen is back on.
Other specifications of the Xperia Z include 16GB internal storage (expandable by 32GB via microSD card), 2230mAh battery and NFC.
Sony Xperia Z will launch globally in Q1 2013 with Android 4.1 on-board with a Android 4.2 to be made available “shortly after launch”. In certain markets Sony also plans to launch a design variant of the Xperia Z – the Sony Xperia ZL – with a “smaller form factor”.
“With great specifications, Sony’s media applications, One-touch functions and outstanding battery life, Xperia Z is well positioned for leadership in the smartphone market,” Suzuki continued. “By putting smartphones at the heart of our strategy, Sony is enabling people to create, enjoy and share content and experiences like never before.”
HP seems to be focusing mostly on monitors at CES 2013. The company took the wraps off its HP U160 monitor. This is first HP monitor to come with USB-powered monitor.
HP U160 monitor features a 15-inch screen with 1,366 x 768 resolution and is expected to appeal to the customers who are usually on the go. It weighs just 1.5kgs and will be available with a foldable carrying case. It is expected to start retailing from end of January for $179.
HP x2401 24-inch LED Backlit Monitor is a 24-inch monitor that comes with LED display. This is Beats Audio powered monitor, which is not expected to hit the shelves any time before November and is expected to cost $249. HP x2401 comes with Multi Vertical Alignment (MVA) panel.
Next up is the HP ProDisplay line of monitors. These monitors are targeted at the office personnel and come in four different variants – P191 (18.5-inch), P201m (20-inch) and P221 (21.5-inch). These monitors will be available starting February and will range between $129 to $179. The only notable feature for these monitors is that they come with an LED backlight.
The 27-inch HP Envy 27 Monitor features built-in Beats Audio stereo speakers, and a full 1920x1080p HD resolution. It is expected to be available in February for $499.
HP ZR2330w is a 23-inch IPS monitor, which features an LED backlit screen, a 14ms screen refresh rate and a full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. It is being touted s budget monitors and will be available in the market for $259
Apart from the slew of monitors that HP has announced at the CES 2013, the company also showcased two new HP Pavilion Sleekbooks. Sleekbooks are nothing but AMD counterparts of the Intel-powered Ultrabooks.
The HP PavilionTouchSmart features a 15.6-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1366X768 pixels. It runs on Windows 8 system. This Sleekbook is powered by AMD A6 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. It will be available from February 3, 2013 and cost $649.
However, the non-touch device will be available from January 13, 2013 and will cost $479. The HP Pavilion Sleekbooks comes with the same screen and resolution as its touchscreen counterpart. The other features include AMD A4 processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive and run on Windows 8.
In terms of ports both HP PavilionTouchSmart and HP Pavilion Sleekbook come with a HDMI port, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. Both these SleekBooks come with replaceable batteries and numpads, along with trackpads that support Windows 8 gestures.
The HP Sleekbook will be available in three colour options – black, red and blue and the touch version will be available only in black.
Apart from this HP also showcased its HP’s Pocket Playlist device at the CES 2013. It is a mobile sized device that can stream content from up to five mobile devices without using a data plan or Internet connection. HP Pocket Playlist cost $129 and the company claims that it can store up to 7600 songs and is expected to be available from February.
The latest additions to Samsung’s Series 7 PC lineup come in the form of the Series 7 Chronos 770Z5E and the Series 7 Ultra 730U3E.
Aimed at professionals, the Series 7 Chronos sports a rather seek and elegant design in an aluminium chassis at just 20.9mm, only a little thicker than a comparable ultrabook. Though it is slightly heavy at 5.2 pounds.
The device claims to be a multimedia powerhouse with quad-core Intel Core i-series processors with up to 16GB RAM and offering up to 1TB of storage, plus discrete AMD Radeon HD 8870 graphics. The 15.6-inch display has a full 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution, which is what we’d expect from a modern multimedia laptop.
The Series 7 Chronos has a 15.6-inch multi-point full-HD (1920×1080) touch screen display and comes integrated with JBL speakers. The machine promises a battery life of up to 11 hours and quick boot times of less than 12 seconds.
The device also features a touchpad and keyboard. Connectivity ports include four USB ports (2 USB 3.0 and 2USB 2.0), HDMI, mini VGA, headphones and microphone, a LAN port and security slot to help ensure the device is securely tethered when necessary.
The Series 7 Ultra, on the other hand, is ultra slim and light at just 18.9mm thick and weighing 3.6 pounds. It also features a 13.3-inch multi-point full-HD (1920×1080) display with wider viewing angles.
Under the hood, the machine is powered by the latest Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with p to 256GB SSD storage. The device claims put to 8 hours of battery life and a 6 second boot-up time.
The Series 7 Ultra will also be available with 4G LTE connectivity for on-the-go accessibility (touch model based). The device comes with three USB ports (1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports), HDMI, mini VGA, headphones and microphone, a LAN port and a slim security slot.
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