Acer has revealed the Iconia One 8 tablet. The family-oriented slate is destined for a CES 2016 debut tomorrow.

In terms of specs, the Acer Iconia One 8 keeps it simple with an 8″ IPS display of 720p resolution at the front and a 5MP camera at the back. Inside the tablet, there’s an unspecified MediaTek chipset with a quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage. There’s also a microSD card slot for expansion.

On the software side, the slate runs Android with special parental control features. Parents can set a time limit for their children to use the tablet as well as limit content and accessible web pages.

The Iconia One 8 will be available in blue, black and white. Acer will release it in February for…

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Just over a couple of months after the MIUI 7 started rolling out, Xiaomi has announced that the latest iteration of its mobile OS – MIUI 7.1 – will begin hitting supported devices starting January 5.

Both global as well as China stable build will roll out tomorrow. Devices that will get the former include the Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi Note, Mi 4i, Redmi Note 4G, Redmi 2/Prime, Redmi 1S, Redmi Note Prime, Redmi Note 2, Redmi Note 3G, and Mi Pad, while those getting the latter include Mi 3, Mi 4 3G/4G, Mi Note, Mi Note Pro, Mi 4c, Mi 4i, Redmi 1S, Redmi Note 3G, Redmi Note 4G Single SIM/Dual-SIM, and Mi Pad 1/2.

However, some devices including the Mi 2/2S, Redmi 2, Redmi Note 2, and Redmi Note 3 will receive the China stable build later, although no specific time frame was mentioned. Full change-log and download links will only be made available…

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If you’ve been following the mobile convention scene for the past few years, then one particular trend has surely become apparent. CES isn’t quite what it used to be, with less and less OEM interest each year, but most major brands still tag along and bring at least a couple of things to show. Well, this year Acer didn’t skip the venue and brought an interesting Windows 10 handset, but it is hardly what you would call “new”.

Acer Jade Primo

The smartphone in question is the Liquid Jade Primo, which Acer apparently decided to announce for a second time, since it was promptly featured at last-year’s IFA. Back then it stood out from the crowd of other Acer Windows phones, like the Liquid M330 and M320, mainly because of its superior specs sheet and the presence of Windows 10 Continuum, which was still in its infancy and not rally featured in any commercial devices.

We could go ahead and excuse Acer for the double announcement, as the Jade Primo did serve more as a technology presentation platform back in September 2015, but its specs still remain unchanged since our first encounter, only now, the device is closer to end-user markets.

The Liquid Jade Primo is equipped with a 5.5-inch FullHD AMOLED display, runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC and has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Its camera setup consists of a 21MP, f/2.2 rear shooter with dual LED flash and 4K video recording capabilities and the front-facing one boasts 8MP and an aperture of f/2.2.

Acer Jade Primo

As already mentioned, the Liquid Jade Primo runs on Windows 10 and one of its cornerstone features is Microsoft Continuum that allows you to leverage a PC-style productivity experience with a compatible dock, like the company’s new USB Type-C monitor. The only new piece of information about the handset concerns its release. The Liquid Jade Primo is said to hit the shelves in February in Europe, with a price tag of around $600. A US release will…

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If you consider yourself an Android power-user or have ever tried to dip a foot in the wonderful realm of tech automation, then you have surely heard of Tasker. The powerful app, or rather framework has a formidable history of being the de factor standard for crafting and automating tasks and procedures on Google’s mobile OS. Weather it is as simple as muting your volume after a given hour or as complex as toggling third-party home automation switches and devices, Tasker and its extensive library of plug-ins and advanced root-level features has you covered.

It is always exciting to see developers come up with new ideas to extend this endless stream of functionality and with the rising popularity of smart wearables, it only makes sense to transfer that power on to our companion devices as well. TaskS2 is a fresh new app that invites the Samsung Gear S2 to the Tasker party. In its current state, it is what one would describe as a remote interface for Tasker on your phone. It is a small piece of code that runs on your smartwatch and allows you to see and execute the Tasker recipes stored on your handset.

It therefore enables such simple and elegant solutions like implementing custom app controls or predefined message responses, remote settings editing and generally managing any other aspect of your phone you see fit, from your wrist. The sky is the limit. In order for the smart scheme to work, you need Tasker running on your phone, which currently goes for $2.99 on the Play Store and the aforementioned TaskS2, for an additional $0.99. The only other real setup, necessary to make the two play together is going to Tasker -> Preferences -> Misc and ticking Allow External Access.

And yes, we are aware that Tasker integration is nothing new in the Android Wear realm, with apps like WearTasker and AutoWear taking the concept to the next level and enabling automation of smartwatch settings, just like the ones on your phone.

Still, TaskS2 is a splendid first step into the Tasker world for Samsung’s latest smartwatch and definitely adds even more possibilities to its already amazingly extensive library of features, which you can read more about in our in-depth review.

Source |…

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Archos has just announced two new smartphone series for this year. The Power range features phones with big batteries and long endurance, while the Cobalt lineup is all about colors.

Archos 40 Power

The Archos 40 Power is an entry-level device with a 4-inch display of 480 x 800 pixel resolution. It’s powered by the Spreadtrum SC7731C chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU clocked at 1.2GHz. RAM is a modest 512MB, while internal storage is 8GB, expandable via microSD.

Archos 40 Power and 50 Power

The 40 Power (Power 40 might make more sense, but it’s not us in charge of naming conventions at Archos) comes with a 5MP camera on the back with an LED flash, while the front snapper is a 2MP unit. The basic connectivity suite covers quad-band 2G and dual-band 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS, and there’s also an FM radio.

Running Android 5.1 Lollpop, the smartphone comes with a 1,900mAh battery, which may not sound like a lot of “Power”, but given the hardware the capacity should be more than adequate. And when you hear the MSRP of €49.99, it becomes obvious where the focus of the 40 Power lies.

Archos 50 Power

The 50 Power sits a bit higher up the lineup and boasts an IPS 5-inch HD display. The Mediatek MT6735 is in charge here, with a quad-core CPU coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The 50 Power adds 4G to the connectivity package, and replaces the 5MP primary camera of the 40 Power with a 13MP unit.

The 50 Power comes with a 4,000mAh battery, making it a more worthy bearer of the Power moniker. It also commands a higher price – €129.99 to be precise. Both Power models will be available in May.

Archos 50 Cobalt

The Cobalt range launches with two new smartphones, both available in in either cobalt blue or dark grey color schemes. The 50 Cobalt is the more affordable of the pair, listed at €99.

Archos 50 Cobalt and 55 Cobalt +

It comes with an 5-inch 720p IPS display, Mediatek MT6535 chipset, a single gig of RAM and 8GB of built-in storage, expandable too. The 50 Cobalt comes with Cat.4 LTE support, quad-band 2G and dual-band 3G. The primary camera in this case is 8MP, complete with an LED flash. Battery capacity is a bit worrying at just 2,000mAh.

Archos 55 Cobalt +

The 55 Cobalt + has a 5.5-inch display, again of HD resolution and is powered by the same MT6535 chip. RAM and storage have been doubled compared to the 50 Cobalt, and the 55 Cobalt + has them at 2GB and 16GB, respectively.

The 55 Cobalt + features a 13MP camera with an LED flash on the back, and a 2MP front snapper. The power pack inside it has a 2,700mAh capacity, which sounds a bit more adequate than the 50 Cobalt. This largest model of the bunch has its price set at €149, and the Cobalts should hit the stores in…

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LG Display unveiled a plethora of innovations for the upcoming CES expo in Las Vegas and it will be showing them off once the doors open in two days.

Some of the highlights of the OLED lineup of displays LG is bringing to CES include a rollable 18″ OLED, you can treat just like you do with a regular newspaper. There is also a 55″ paper-thin OLED TV, made possible because all circuits are installed separately. Finally, 65″ concave/convex model of the paper-thin TV is also expected to make an appearance.

LG will be introducing a double-sided 55″ OLED panel, capable of displaying different images on each side.

LG is working closely on different concepts of OLED combinations and the S-shaped 139″ Vertical Tiling OLED is one of those crazy innovations you will be able to see on CES. It has 8 65″ double sided OLED panels and it can show different picture on each size.

Enough with the concepts, there are some pieces that will make it to mass production and you will be able to experience those in Vegas. LG is prepping 65″ and 77″ OLED TVs with HDR capabilities for superb color accuracy, contrast, and equal color gamut to professional monitors for movie editing.

A 65″ UHD borderless TV will be also on the floor, as well as 8K 65″ TV and 31.5″ monitor. An 86″ LCD with 58:9 aspect should allow for some new ideas to go live.

Finally, LG will showcase a 25″ waterfall-like curved LCD to fit in different car interiors as well as 10.3″ LCD panels that respond drivers wearing gloves. The auto fans seems to be getting some interesting treatment indeed.

Fingers-crossed some of those wonders makes it to mass production later…

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The HTC One A9 has been available in the UK for a couple of months now, but Vodafone is spicing things up with an exclusive Deep Garnet version of the premium mid-ranger. The metal unibody is painted in the dark red color, while the glass front is black.

HTC One A9 in Deep Garnet (exclusive to Vodafone UK)

The One A9 is available from £29 a month (with just £9 upfront), which gets you 1,000 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of 4G data. You can also get it with a Pay as you go plan for £400. There’s free home delivery in 2 – 4 working days.

Here’s a promo video for the Deep Garnet…

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Phase One has announced a new 100 megapixel camera sensor for their Phase One XF camera system. Co-developed with Sony, the full frame, medium format sensor can take ultra high resolution images in 16-bit color with 15 stops of dynamic range, live view capturing with HDMI output, ISO range of 50 to 12800 and exposure time of up to 60 minutes.

The camera also has other features, such as the proprietary Honeybee Autofocus, vibration tracking, electronic first curtain shutter, and vibration detection. The camera supports a range of Schneider Kreuznach Leaf Shutter lenses that can take advantage of the high resolution sensor, and modular design with interchangeable prism viewfinder and waist level viewfinder.

The Phase One XF 100MP Camera System with Schneider Kreuznach 80mm LS lens is priced at $48,990. The camera is aimed at professional photographers who require high resolution images for product photography and print work and not for average…

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We are only a few days into 2016, but it never seems to be too early for a new batch of Samsung Galaxy S7 rumors. Last we heard, there will, be a total of four S7 handsets – a basic one with a 5.1″ screen, S7 edge at 5.5″ and a couple of 6.0-inchers – the S7+ and S7 edge+ respectively. Now, if that wasn’t confusing enough, there is also the question of specs with some big points still open for discussion, like chipset options, memory and camera setups.

A new leaked photo now claims to shed some light on the latter issues. It depicts a hardware info app, running on a Samsung SM G93, said to be the Galaxy S7 edge+. For a single shot, it does seem to revel quite a lot of hardware details. For starters, the display is listed as being 5.7-inches in diagonal with a QHD resolution, just like the current generation of Samsung flagships. This does contradict with our previous information of a 6.0-inch display on the two bigger S7 models, but hardware info tools aren’t famous for providing spot on size numbers either.

Another interesting observation to be made concerns the chipset. The photo specifically lists the phone GPU as the Adreno 530, which definitely can’t be the new Samsung-made Exynos 8 Octa 8890, said to power the Galaxy S7, as it uses the Mali-T880MP12. Instead, it seems to be Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 chip, which proves that Samsung will indeed return to its tradition of offering an Exynos and Snapdragon variant of its flagship, which was skipped with the current S6 generation.

Memory is listed at 4GB, so there appears to be no change from the current gen in this department. The camera setup, on the other hand, looks entirely new. The main shooter has a 12.2MP sensor, which would have definitely raised a red flag considering the 16MP of the Galaxy S6, were it not for our previous knowledge of Samsung’s new camera tech. Codenamed BRITECELL, it is an ambitious endeavor that aims to improve low-light photography by cutting down on the resolution and employing a large 1/2″ sensor size, which results in much larger pixels.

Samsung Galaxy S7 (5.1″) • Galaxy S7 edge (5.5″) • Galaxy S7+ (6″)

This all sounds very exciting, but, sadly, we can’t really vouch for the source’s authenticity in any way. Hopefully, more information will be unearthed as the Galaxy S7 draws closer to a release, which will hopefully be as early as February…

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Lenovo unveiled a host of computers, the highlight of which is the ThinkPad X1 trio. It includes the flagship Carbon, the OLED-packing Yoga and the convertible Tablet.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

“The ultimate in go-anywhere Ultrabook,” says Lenovo about the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It sports a 14″ display in a compact body, 16.5mm thick and weighing 1,2kg. Don’t confuse slimness for weakness though, the X1 Carbon fought through 12 MIL-SPEC tests, including surviving the transition from -20°C to +60°C.

The display is a 14″ IPS unit with either QHD or FullHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440px or 1,920px x 1,080px). Both are rated at 300nits. The laptop can be configured with up to Intel Core i7, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD. The battery is rated at 11 hours (52WHr).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

On the connectivity side there’s 4G LTE-A, Wi-Gig (wireless TV out), Bluetooth 4.1 and 2 x Wi-Fi 802.11ac. For wired hook-ups you get three USB 3.0, HDMI, mini DisplayPort. A fingerprint reader is available for added security.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga carries roughly the same specs as the Carbon, but its hinge allows it to open beyond 180° and you get an integrated Stylus Pen plus software to handle old-school handwriting.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga

A unique option is the 14″ QHD AMOLED display with touch support. The alternatives are QHD IPS LCD (no touch) and 1080p IPS (with touch), all three match at 300 nits brightness. Other configuration options include up to Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD.

The connectivity features are the same down to the LTE-A modem, but the laptop is a hair thicker and heavier – 16.7mm (17mm for OLED) and 1.29kg.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet

The Yoga can be used a tablet, but Lenovo also has an actual tablet – the ThinkPad X1 Tablet. It comes with a full-size ThinkPad keyboard, including the trackpoint. There’s a Stylus Pen as well.

The X1 Tablet is smaller – 12″ IPS display with 2,160 x 1,440px resolution. It measures 13m thick and weighs 795g without the keyboard, 1.1kg with it (and thickness doubles to 26mm).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet is powered by a Core m7 processor, but you can still get up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD (not NVMe though). The battery is rated at 5 hours for the tablet alone, 10 hours with the keyboard and the optional productivity module can add another 5 hours.

It also features a built-in projector, which promises a 60″ image at 2 meters. There’s a single USB 3.0, one USB Type-C, HDMI and mini DisplayPort. You also get a fingerprint sensor and LTE…

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