25
Sep
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Barnes & Noble Launches 7" NOOK HD And 9" HD+, A Duo Aiming To Beat Competition With Better Displays, Lower Prices

Posted by in Android OS, Barnes & Noble, News, NOOK HD, NOOK HD+

Looking to steal some of Amazon's limelight, Barnes & Noble tonight announced a new duo of NOOK devices that seem to take aim directly at Amazon's newest additions to the Kindle Fire family.

For some reason, B&N's press release covering the announcement focuses primarily on the tablets' weight – both the 7" NOOK HD and its 9" HD+ counterpart are the "lightest HD and full HD tablets," with the HD+ earning the title of "lightest, lowest-priced full HD tablet ever." There's so much more to the new set of NOOK tablets, though. First, let's take a look at some shots.

17
Sep
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Weibo User Reveals Questionable Press Shot Of HTC's Unannounced 5" Phone [Update: Shot Is Confirmed Unofficial]

Posted by in HTC, News, Rumors

Remember HTC's 5" mystery device we caught a glimpse of last month? Well, according to Engadget, a user of China's popular social network Weibo earlier revealed what may (or may not) be an official press shot of the device – a shot which also reveals the device's potential name – the HTC One X 5 (named, obviously, for its ample display size).

Engadget has "reason to believe [this] is an authentic press image of the finished result," but we're always skeptical of leaked press shots, and after putting the image under a magnifying glass, we're not so sure. Without further ado, here's the image in question:

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Comparing this image to the blurry cam photos we saw before, the shot looks pretty accurate.

27
Aug
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LG Officially Announces The Optimus G – Headed For Korea Next Month With Global Release To Follow

Posted by in LG, News, Optimus G

The LG Optimus G, the tantalizing flagship device for which LG released an teaser video last week, is finally official.

The phone, which we know to be packing a 4.7" 1280x768 display, 2GB RAM, a 1.5GHz quad-core S4 Pro processor, and a 13MP rear camera, is slated to launch in Korea next month, followed by a yet undated global release expected to start with Japan in either October or November. The Optimus G will also be packing a 2100mAh battery pack, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and a super slim 8.45mm body.

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The Optimus G's Japanese debut on NTT Docomo will see it getting a red paint job and a few extra features including an infrared transmitter, waterproofing, and LG's Palette UI.

26
Aug
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Samsung Announces Galaxy Player 5.8 – Ample 5.8" Display, 2500mAh Battery Included

Posted by in Galaxy Player 5.8, News

True to a rumor we saw earlier this month about a possible addition to Samsung's Galaxy Player line, the Korean manufacturer has just unveiled – via Samsung Tomorrow – the ginormous Galaxy Player 5.8.

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As the name would imply, the Galaxy Player 5.8 features a huge, large, ample, plentiful 5.8" LCD display that buyers can only hope will fit in their pocket. The downside here is that the display carries a resolution of just 960x540. To make up for that, however, the player houses an awesome 2500mAh battery pack for hours upon hours of media enjoyment. We aren't privy to the upcoming device's full spec sheet just yet, but here's what we do know: the Galaxy Player 5.8 will also come with either 16 or 32GB internal storage, a microSD slot, a front facing VGA camera, and Android 4.0 running with Touch Wiz on top.

06
Aug
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[Rumor] HTC Reportedly Working On A Massive 5" 1080p Phone To Be Launched In September-October

Posted by in HTC, News

According to a new report from DigiTimes (hang on!) this morning, HTC is preparing a new monster flagship phone for launch this fall. The Taiwanese publication says the device will come with a 5" display and a resolution of 1794x1080. If that number sounds a little off to you, it's because those dimensions probably exclude 126 lines to make room for the navigation buttons.

Of course, it's there that the story gets interesting. Typically, manufacturers don't omit lines of resolution from a spec sheet, especially when it would make a nice marketing bullet point like "full 1920x1080 resolution." Neither do supply chain vendors.

06
Jun
2012-06-06_16h19_20

Tactus Technology Demos A Prototype Android Touchscreen Display With Disappearing Physical Keys

Posted by in News

If there's one downside to the proliferation of touchscreen technology, it's the lack of tactile feedback. Tactus is one of many companies that aims to alleviate this problem. This week, at SID 2012, the company demoed a product that offers disappearing physical touch keys. As seen in the demo video here, these buttons can raise on command and disappear when they're not needed. Which sounds like something out of science fiction.

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At the moment, the display can only be configured for preset layouts. Meaning, you configure it for a landscape QWERTY layout, that's all you'll get. No gaming controls, no dialer configurations.

23
Apr
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Pixel Qi Reveals Next-Generation Display With Retina-Like Resolution, "Massive Power Savings"

Posted by in Android OS, News

You may remember Pixel Qi, an ambitious display maker looking to provide users with brilliant displays that not only save energy, but which are actually readable in sunlight. Since we covered their 7" and 10.1" displays way back in May, the company has continued working, announcing in a blog post yesterday a new display which "matches the resolution of the iPad3 screen, and its full image quality including matching or exceeding contrast, color saturation, the viewing angle, and so forth with massive power savings." In the post, Mary Lou Jepsen, founder of Pixel Qi, goes on to explain the display's special low power mode which "runs at a full 100x power reduction from the peak power consumed by the iPad3 screen."

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Of course, the new display's ratings in the table above are "proposed" and not quite official just yet.

07
Apr
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Sprint ZTE Optik Review: A 7" Tablet That Offers A Great Display And Smooth Performance For A Low Price

Posted by in Tablet Reviews, Tablets
Last Updated: April 30th, 2012

Adding a tempting new device to the current pool of affordable 7" tablets, ZTE and Sprint introduced the 3G-connected Optik in February, bringing to market a great 7" display, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, and an ample 1.2GHz dual-core snapdragon processor, all for $99 on a new contract. In a nutshell, the Optik is a decent 7" tablet for those on a budget. While it isn't the best tablet around, it's powerful enough for most tasks, feels great in the hand, and isn't too bad to look at. Here's a more complete look at what the Optik has under the hood:

  • Android 3.2 Honeycomb
  • 7" PLS display at 1280x800 (216dpi)
  • Dual-Core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16GB Built-in storage with microSD slot
  • 5MP camera and 2MP front-shooter
  • 800/1900MHz 3G connectivity
  • 4000mAh battery

Before we get started with the full-on review, we'll look at just a few of the Optik's positive and negative points.

28
Mar
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Editorial: 5 Million Galaxy Notes Sold In 5 Months Says A Lot About The Future Of Smartphones

Posted by in Editorials, Galaxy Note, News

Clarification: Yes, it is 5 million sold to end consumers, officially confirmed by Samsung to Phone Scoop.

The Galaxy Note - it's a device that stirs up passions among many technology enthusiasts. It's big - so big that is just looks silly held up to your face. But its gorgeous, 5.3" HD display (1280x800) has owners absolutely loving the phablet (alright, I won't use it again - promise).

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Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy Note

It was panned by critics, and online magazine Slate even called it a "disturbing trend," saying Samsung should "take a lesson from [Apple's] success and realize that bigger isn’t necessarily better and that a phone’s utility decreases as its screen inflates." The Galaxy Note debuted with an MSRP of $800, and while carrier subsidies have seen many consumers avoid that price, it's worth mentioning that still means the Note is pricier for carriers than the iPhone 4S.

28
Mar
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Epson Begins Shipping The Moverio BT-100, A See-Through Wearable Display Powered By Android

Posted by in Android OS, News
Last Updated: August 1st, 2012

Epson announced today that the Moverio BT-100, the first Android-powered see-through wearable display, is now available from the Epson store.

While Epson's Moverio glasses aren't exactly the fabled augmented reality spectacles Google is said to be working on, they are at least an interesting entry into the wearable display market, utilizing a wired, Froyo-powered track pad controller and micro-projection technology to put a perceived 80" display over whatever you're looking at. The interesting thing is that the virtual display is ever so slightly translucent, meaning it won't totally block your vision.

The glasses also support side-by-side 3D imaging, have Wi-Fi connectivity, and a microSD slot preloaded with a 4GB card, expandable all the way to 32GB.

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