Daily Archives: January 4, 2016

Surface Book coming to 10 new markets, already up for pre-order in certain countries

Posted on by

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that the Surface Book will soon land in 10 new markets, including Australia, Austria, New Zealand, as well as certain European and Asian countries. And now, it is available for pre-order in many of the aforementioned regions.

Those living in France, Germany, New Zealand, and the UK can now pre-order the hybrid device from their respective local Microsoft Store website- shipments begin 28 January in New Zealand and 18 February in other regions. Prices start at £1,299 in the UK, €1,649 in Germany and France, and NZD 2,749 in New Zealand.

However, if you’re in Australia, you’ll be glad to know that the Surface Book is already available for purchase in your country for AUD 2,299.

Source 1 2 3 4…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1TAX9YD
via IFTTT

LeTV teases SD820-powered phone ahead of CES

Posted on by

LeTV’s pre-CES press conference is scheduled to be held today in Las Vegas, and just ahead of it, the Chinese company has teased a smartphone that will be announced at the event. The teaser image was posted by the company’s VP on Weibo (China’s Twitter).

Besides revealing narrow bezels and off-screen capacitive buttons, the image in question also shows the phone’s dialer app with keys 8, 2, and 0 highlighted, suggesting that the handset is powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset.

Going by the rumors we’ve heard so far, the teased device should be the LeTV Max Pro. It is said to be SD820-powered and sport a 5.5-inch (2560×1440 pixel resolution) display. Other rumored specs include 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, 21MP/4MP camera combo, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

There have also been reports that the handset will feature an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor as well as iris…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1O1JVT8
via IFTTT

Low-power Wi-Fi technology to give Bluetooth a run for its money

Posted on by

A very common theme for CES this year seems to be “The Internet of Things” or IoT. With the introduction of smart modules that can be implanted into everyday objects around the home and workplace, the possibilities are endless.

But that is beside the point. The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced a new energy efficient type of Wi-Fi connection that comparable to Bluetooth. It is to be superior in range and travel through walls much better than current Wi-Fi technologies thanks to using the 900MHz band (existing Wi-Fi technologies use 2.4GHz and 5GHz). These conditions are ideal for the IoT that everyone is talking about.

Don’t expect to see any devices with this new Wi-Fi until 2018, though. This is when the Wi-Fi Alliance plans to begin certifying devices for HaLow (pronounced like “halo”).

HaLow is designed to be embedded in devices that transmit small amounts of data like fitness trackers, appliances, and a plethora of “things” that make up the IoT.

Over the next few years (assuming this becomes reality) either of two things can happen: Manufacturers don’t care for HaLow and continue to use an already existing technology called Bluetooth LE (LE stands for ‘low energy’), or HaLow will be integrated into existing Wi-Fi technologies, to only require a single Wi-Fi chip. This would knock the requirement of designing gadgets with two different wireless chips, one for Wi-Fi and another for Bluetooth.

Can we estimate that the new Wi-Fi standard will coincide with an increasing adoption of connected ‘things’? This may be a possible outcome. But it is too early to tell.

The IoT is an interesting idea that is still in the beginning stages of becoming a common consumer industry. We will have to wait and see if people really want to interface ‘things’ with other ‘things’.

Source |…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1Z2axq1
via IFTTT