Friday 6 September 2013

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT IFA BERLIN HIGHLIGHTS








SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
IFA BERLIN HIGHLIGHTS

#IFA #IFABerlin #Asus #LG #Sony

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope you have had a good if not exceptional day! And if your day is still unravelling there is still time! Wink, wink!

NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING
That’s wonderful nature of IFA! It is a Tech Lover’s dream! I love tech! Yes, the understatement of this year! IFA certainly backs up what I stated in another blog, “A new handset and tablet release from Android and Windows is like reliving the moment when iPhone and iPad were first introduced.” Jeez! I am quoting myself. Lol! But it is true. However, I didn’t get an iPhone or iPad – they felt and still feel like specialist devices that only serve to glorify Apple and not the consumer in an encompassing manner. Of course that’s just my opinion and you’re entitled to yours. I have to say that it cracks me up to see some iPhone fans pretending that major non-Apple technologies don’t matter. Kudos to Apple for creating that loyalty in some of their users! I see technology as a bridge and not a haven for a chosen few!

REELING...
I am still reeling from the Samsung Unpacked event. I’m trying to figure out a way of getting the Galaxy Note 3 and Gear! Lol! I know... I am nuts! Oooh, c’mon... ...you know you want a Galaxy Note 3! Don’t lie to me! Hahaha!

ASUS
Asus announced the Transformer Pad with the Tegra 4 CPU.
The 10.1-inch Android tablet has a overhaul that includes the 1.9GHz Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor, along with a 2560x1600 IPS display. My thoughts are thus: great innards but the design is a tad disappointing. I would like to see Android tablets with a thinner bezel; however it is not lost on me that having a thick bezel makes the tablet easy to handle, to avoid accidentally interacting with the screen. I am also of the opinion that a thick set bezel makes the screen appear to be smaller than it actually is. I am hoping that the price gets a significant rethink – especially as I have this knowing feeling that I will have a tablet this year.

Then there is the Fonepad Note 6. It features a Full HD Super IPS+ display with both multi-touch and stylus inputs. It's also powered by the new Intel Atom Z2580 processor clocked at 2Ghz. It comes with HSPA+ and 3G that will keep you connected and not reliant on Wi-Fi. The original Fonepad 7” tablet turned out to be quite a hit what with being able to make calls ‘n’ all. It can be picked up for £169! The Fonepad Note 6 is, perhaps, positioning itself as an alternative to the Note 3. Certainly, it will be a phablet to consider amongst a whole range of phablets coming out this year!

Asus also presented the Memo Pad 8 and Memo Pad 10. Both Android tablets offer 1280x800 resolution displays and quad-core processors. The Memo Pad 8 is an 8GB model with a 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front-facing snapper. The 10, meanwhile, comes in 8GB and 10GB versions and has a 10” display. You can currently pick up a 7” Memo Pad for £169! Seeing as Asus is behind the Google Nexus 7 the Memo Pad 8 and 10 are alternatives to the Nexus in that you can get slightly bigger tablets for what I imagine to be the same ballpark asking price. We’ll see!

That’s pretty much the Android side of Asus wrapped up! As you’d expect there are Windows offerings in the shape of the X102BA, snazzy laptop sporting a 10.1” HD display with 10-point multi-touch for navigating Windows 8! Cool! Again, I find myself very curious about the price because the cost of a good laptop keeps tumbling down! And to think I once spent £2k on a laptop that was at one point the state of the art. Now it is state of fart! It has to be one of the most expensive paperweights going!

Then there are the Zenbook models - the UX301 and UX302 – that feature the Haswell Intel processors, souped-up graphics and a high resolution WQHD display (on certain versions). Something tells me that we are already gearing up for 4K video media!

They look very much like the Macbook models and are very desirable indeed!
LG
LG boasted the world's biggest Ultra HD curved OLED TV. The 77” curved screen may one day change cinema once more. If you were old enough to remember the introduction of the VHS video recorder and player then you’d probably recall a minor slump in cinema going figures. Should the 77” TV becomes a commonplace household product I would imagine that the latest movies / films can be screen from the cloud onto your screen at home! That would be so nice; I would love to avoid noisy people and having some idiots shoe at the back of my head!

Then there’s the G Pad 8.3 tablet that may or may not come to the UK market. The G Pad looks like it too, like Asus, Samsung and Sony premium tablets, could give the iPad and iPad mini a considerable challenge. Not to bash the iPad too much but, as I predicted, it is losing ground to Android tablets. I predict again that by mid 2014 the iPad will be on 27% of the tablet market share.

SONY
Sony showed off its Xperia Z1which features what is most likely to be the best camera in the world at 20.7MP camera that does not do 4K video! What???? The Z1 does look good though. It features Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and rocks a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8974 Quad Core CPU! Tasty! It’s also waterproof!

If you’re a little envious of the Z1 the DSC-QX100 might interest you. The DSC-QX100 is an attachable camera that looks like a lens that can be attached to any handset and I presume tablets too! Here’s the spec:

F1.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens
Maximum aperture F1.8 – 4.9
1.0 type Exmor CMOS sensor
20.2 megapixels
BIONZ image processor
3.6x optical zoom (28 – 100 mm)
Optical SteadyShot (image stabilization)
Optical SteadyShot Active (video stabilisation)
Multi terminal/ Triluminos color compatibility
Wi-Fi
NFC

All the above looks very promising for photography enthusiasts! I think it is a great idea, I love taking pictures on my mobile phone and I this is a must have gadget for me!

That’s it for now! If I get more time I will write about more at IFA!

Take good care!


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