Electronics Review

Cool Baterai Case for iPhone

2013-09-27T00:25:00.001-07:00

PowerSkin PoP’n. [$60.53]

Case-Sticky-on Removable External Battery. [$39.99]

DOCA Fashion Design 2800mAh Battery Case. [$29.99]

MiLi Power Spring 5. [$69.99]

Patuoxun 4200mAh Battery Case. [$27.76]

Eton Mobius. [$42.92]

Bao Xin Extended Battery Charge Pack. [$16.99]

Mophie Juice Pack Plus. [$114.95]

Elite Battery Case White. [$39.95]

Power Jacket – 2000mAh. [$74.99]

KAYSCASE Power2800. [$52.99]

Grip Power. [$84.37]

Energi Sliding Power Case. [$99.99]

uNu DX Protective Battery Case. [$34.95]

Mojo Refuel Aqua. [$119.95]

MOTA Extended. [$57.76]

The Lenmar Meridian. [$79.99]

Maxboost Fusion. [$69.95]

PowerGlider Slim. [$49.95]

Alpatronix BX110. [$36.95]

Mophie Juice Pack Helium. [$79.95]

The Freedom 2000. [$75.69]

Mojo Refuel Removable Battery Case. [$74.95]

Prolix Slim. [$39.99]

T5 Premium 2800mAh Charger Case. [$37.90]

LG Announces Optimus G Pro

2013-02-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

LG's Optimus G Pro smartphone will be launching this week in Korea, LG has announced.
The company's first full HD smartphone, LG Optimus Pro has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, a 13-megapixel camera, 2GB of DDR RAM, and 32 GB of storage memory, expandable via microSD memory cards.

The device also has a huge 3,140mAh battery and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

LG has developed several unique features for the Optimus G Pro, including Dual Recording, a video capture mode which simultaneously uses both the front and the rear camera, and VR Panorama, which enables users to shoot a horizontal or vertical 360-degree panoramas.

We'll have a change to try the LG Optimus Pro at this year's Mobile World Congress, which takes place in Barcelona, Feb 25-28.

The device will become available in South Korea this week, for a yet-unannounced price.
Image courtesy of LG
LG Announces Optimus G Pro

Review Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro

2013-02-12T04:12:00.004-08:00

Everything in the portable world is a tradeoff. You can get 10+ hours of battery life, but then you need to run a low-power processor that either runs a mobile OS (Windows RT, Android, iOS) or it runs Windows 8 slowly. You can permanently attach the keyboard for convenience and make the screen do acrobatics, but then the system will be heavier and only let you use the screen as a tablet part of the time.

Then there are systems like the Surface Pro, which balance the price/performance/feature equation well. It's one of the faster ultrabook-class devices out there, it's much more portable than an ultrabook convertible, and it runs the Windows XP/Vista/7/8 programs your household or business needs to run.

Compare!

Design and Features
From the front, the Surface Pro resembles the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT $649.99. It has the same height and width (7 by 11 inches), but it's just a bit over a quarter-inch thicker than the 0.37-inch thickness of the ARM-powered Surface RT. The screen size is an identical 10.6 inches, but the Surface Pro's screen has a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 (true 1080p HD). The screen is bright, and Microsoft has done a good job tweaking the zoom scaling settings on the Surface Pro to make the Windows 8 UI (Start screen) and the desktop mode on the tablet both readable and usable with your fingertips.

Continue reading Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro Review
Review Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro

Review BlackBerry Z10 (AT&T)

2013-02-02T05:05:00.003-08:00

The BlackBerry Z10 is a thoroughly modern smartphone with a thoroughly modern mobile OS. I've been using it for about a week, and can say it's competitive with the latest offerings from Apple, Google, and Microsoft. But is it competitive enough? The first new OS from BlackBerry (no longer known as RIM) in years offers better video support than Windows Phone 8, better messaging than Android, and more elegant graphics than Apple's iOS. It's secure and manageable for businesses, and it'll be available on all four major U.S. carriers. But its app library so far lacks some of the major brands you expect on iOS and Android, which will make it difficult for existing smartphone owners to make the jump.

The BlackBerry Z10, meanwhile, is attractive and well built, but doesn't set itself dramatically apart from other leading slab-style smartphones. It's another nice black slab. We've seen a lot of these, and its physical design is so understated that it tends to fade into the background. I'd have been more profoundly moved if the first BlackBerry 10 phone was the BlackBerry Q10, with one of the spectacular hardware keyboards BlackBerry is famous for. There are no flagship smartphones with full QWERTY keyboards any more, despite the fact that physical keys are still much easier to type on than virtual keyboards.
An important note: This isn't a rated review. I want to wait until the phone's U.S. availability date to cement my opinion on the phone's software stability and BlackBerry's app store before I assign a star rating. At the moment, that's looking like sometime in March.

Hardware and Keyboard
The BlackBerry Z10 is a medium size, rounded black slab. Although it's a high-quality build all around, it's got a generic look. The phone is mostly very high-quality plastic with a rubbery finish on the back and smooth black polycarbonate bumpers on the top and bottom. At 5.1 by 2.6 by .35 inches (HWD) and 4.8 ounces, it fits right into the middle of popular smartphone sizes, just a bit bigger than the Apple iPhone 5

As with most slab-style phones, the front is dominated by the 4.2-inch 1,280-by-768 LCD. At 356 pixels per inch, the display is higher density than both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S III $189.99 at Amazon Wireless, although it isn't the highest-density screen around. (That's the HTC Droid DNA, at 443 ppi.) There's a Power button on the top, volume rockers with a hardware Mute button on one side, and MicroUSB and MicroHDMI ports on the other. Turn on the Z10 on and you'll see a sharp LCD with rich blacks, but not stunning brightness.
Peel off the NFC-enabled back panel to find a long, narrow 1800mAh battery and a MicroSD card slot that supports up to 64GB cards without a problem. The 8-megapixel camera lens sits on the back left corner.
BlackBerry is very proud of its software keyboard, calling it the best in the business, but every time I used it, I was wishing I had a BlackBerry Bold. The innovation here is to space the four rows of keys further apart vertically than typical for more accurate typing, along with a very aggressive autocorrect system that learns from your common word sequences. Possible autocorrects and shortcuts float above individual keys as you type. The keyboard takes up less screen real estate than Windows Phone and some Android keyboards, and the keys are nice and wide. I found it more accurate than the iOS keyboard and about on par with Windows Phone. But make no mistake, it's still a software keyboard, and longtime BlackBerry fans will miss their clicky, tactile buttons.
OS and Performance
The Z10 runs the brand-new BlackBerry OS 10, which bears no resemblance to the BB operating system of old; it's much more like the OS on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The company says 100,000 BlackBerry 10 apps will be available when the phone launches in the U.S., so while the device is incompatible with apps for older phones, BlackBerry has done a solid job of building up a launch library for the new platform.
The key idea in BlackBerry OS 10 is "flow." There's no system-wide Back button; you're always moving forward. The BB10 experience pivots around a page of your eight most recently used, minimized apps, called the Active Frame. Swipe left to go to the BlackBerry Hub, or the universal inbox; swipe right to view a very iPhone-like set of app icon pages. If you're doing something and you want to do something else, you swipe up, minimizing your app, to return to the central screen where it's easy to jump into another app.
Swipe, flip, swipe: Just like with the good old Palm WebOS, you work up a real rhythm here. BlackBerry OS 10 isn't customizable like Android or Windows Phone, but to some extent it customizes itself: Those eight most recently used apps can update their pages as new information comes in, potentially making them a little like Android's widgets or Windows Phone's Live Tiles. You can't move them around, though: They're just the most recent ones you've used.
For a much deeper dive into BlackBerry 10, including third-party apps, check out our full preview.
Built around a 1.5GHz, dual-core Qualcomm processor and 2GB of RAM, The Z10 doesn't have any performance problems even with large, heavy apps like Bard's Tale or, say, playing 1080p videos on a larger screen via an HDMI cable. The Z10 notched a 2,452 on Browsermark (which measures general browser performance) and 2198.4ms on Sunspider (which measures Javascript performance.) Browsermark results were on par with dual-core Android 4.0 phones like the HTC One SV, while the Sunspider results were slightly slower than competing Android phones, but not so much that you'd notice in typical use.
Call Quality, Networking, and Battery
You'd expect a BlackBerry to excel in the voice department, and in this case you'd be right. In my tests, the X10's earpiece delivered round, warm voice tones at moderate to high volume. The speakerphone was downright excellent—unusually clear and loud enough for most any situation. Transmissions from both a noisy street scene and a loud Starbucks blanked out the background noise very well. A call from the speakerphone let through a little bit of background noise, but the voice was fully forward and very well rounded. The Z10 had no problem connecting to a Plantronics Voyager Legend headset for voice, music, video, and voice dialing.
Voice dictation is everywhere—it's built into the OS—and it's moderately accurate, but not perfect. You can dictate about 24 seconds at a time, spelling out punctuation. Errors I encountered included "BlackBerry can" for "BlackBerry 10" and "Sasha see can" for "Sascha Segan." That puts voice control accuracy at around Windows Phone's level and below Android's.
Our test Z10 runs on AT&T's LTE network, but there will be BlackBerry Z10s on each of the four major U.S. carriers. The phone also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, along with GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC. You can send files to another BlackBerry via NFC, as well as read NFC tags.
LTE usage saps the Z10's battery. I was able in to get 10 hours and 54 minutes of voice calling, which locks the phone into 3G mode, and 10 hours, 15 minutes of local video playback before the battery died. Both good results. But I only saw 3 hours and 34 minutes of YouTube streaming over LTE, which is quite poor. Hopefully this is something else that will be tweaked in the final firmware. The 1800mAh battery also fills up very quickly. I was able to move from almost no charge to 100 percent in three hours.
Reviewed by Sascha Segan in pcmag.com
Review BlackBerry Z10 (AT&T)

Dell XPS One 27 Touch

2013-01-24T05:37:00.001-08:00

The Dell XPS One 27 Touch ($2,599.99 list) is a high-end all-in-one desktop PC that gets Windows 8 right. It starts off by helping you learn how to use the new operating system (and let's face it, Win 8 is new to most people); plus its touch interface makes sense in the new tiled Start screen environment. Add a speedy Core i7 processor and feature set that lets you run faster and farther than other all-in-one PCs, and you'll see why we chose the Dell XPS One 27 Touch as our new high-end all-in-one desktop Editors' Choice, sharing the title with the Apple iMac 27-inch (Late 2012). It has the power, it has the features, and it's got the touch.

Design and Features
From the front, the XPS One 27 Touch looks a lot like Dell's older non-touch model, at least until you adjust its height. Both systems sport 27-inch 2,560 by 1,440 (a.k.a., QHD) screens. Per its moniker, the XPS One 27 Touch has a 10-finger capacitive touch screen built into its chassis. The most prominent difference between the two is apparent when you look at the system from the side: The XPS One 27 Touch has a two-hinge support arm that not only governs tilt, but also allows a range of height adjustment, which is more versatile than a single-hinge arm that doesn't have height adjustments. The dual-hinge design also allows you to lean the screen way back for easier hands-on use. This is similar to systems like the Lenovo A720 $1,699.00 at Microsoft Store, which also tilts far back.

Read full Review here

Top 10 Best PC Games

2013-01-24T05:25:00.002-08:00

Battlefield 3

$59.95
Battlefield 3, the latest wartime first-person shooter title from DICE, launched the opening salvo in this fall's FPS conflict. Battlefield 3 puts gamers in the role of U.S. Marines who battle opposing forces (The People's Liberation and Resistance) in New York, Paris, and Tehran—the perfect settings for making things go boom. The military combat title is powered by DICE's proprietary Frostbite 2 engine, which enabled the developer to build massive, destructible environments, dynamic audio, and incredible animation (utilizing ANT technology) that its rival, Activision's mega-popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, simply can't match. The FPS features a variety of controllable vehicles (sonic boom producing fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, APCs, and transport vehicles), co-op split screen play, and a competitive multiplayer mode that supports up to 64 combatants.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

$52.00
The fifth installment in Bethesda Softworks' long-running fantasy action-RPG series is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2011. Set two centuries after the events in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Skyrim sees gamers trekking through the open-ended Skyrim world during the midst of a civil war—all while a prophesized apocalypse at the hands of a dragon god looms. Players can "roll" a character based on human, elf, and other races, each of which come with their own specific attributes that you can tweak over the course of the adventure by adding new abilities, magic, and weapons.

NBA 2K12

$29.99
The 2012-2013 NBA season coincides with the inevitable video game tie-in with the release of 2K Sports' NBA 2K13. Featuring outstanding ball-handling and shooting controls, and the presentation sensibilities of executive producer Jay-Z, NBA 2K13 feels fresh—something you wouldn't expect from a sports game that lacks competition (EA Sports' NBA Live is M.I.A. for the third consecutive year). Simply put, NBA 2K13 is the best NBA simulation ever made.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

$29.99
Blizzard Entertainment has a reputation for taking a long, long time to release titles, but military strategy fans were more than a little pleased that the developer displayed a slow hand with StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The sequel to the award winning StarCraft sees three factions—the Protoss, Terrans, and Zerg—battling it out with weapons both old and new. An expansion, Heart of the Swarm, is set to appear…someday.

Team Fortress 2

Free to Play
Valve's team-based first-person shooter is almost five years old, but the game's personality and comedic take on the FPS keeps it fresh. TF2 lets players play as one of nine offensive, defensive, an support classes—Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, Spy—in a war between two organizations , RED (Reliable Excavation & Demolition) an BLU (Builders League United). The game's recently gone free-to-play, so you can jump into the shenanigans without opening your wallet.

Wakfu

Free
Wakfu, developer Ankama's free-to-play tactical MMO that combines political intrigue, anime-style visuals, and turn-based strategy gameplay, opens to the public on February 2012, but you can get on the closed beta right now by signing up at the official site. Wakfu features customizable character classes that gamers can use to defend their nation against enemy attacks, conquer new territories, vote, elect government officials and even run for governor. An optional $6.00 monthly subscription fee opens the door to premium content, and a microtransaction–based store allows users to purchase cosmetic items to help differentiate their on-screen avatars.

Guild Wars 2

$59.99
ArenaNet's massively multiplayer online role-playing game is set in the world of Tyria, a land overrun by hulking dragons. Your mission? Reunite the troubled Destiny's Edge guild and combat the fire-breathing threat. Players select a race, profession, and skill set which they use to battle enemies in "PVE" and "PVP" combat. Guild Wars 2 also features "World vs. World" persistent battles that see players entering cross-server wars. Despite being a MMO, Guild Wars 2 has no monthly fee, meaning that your pockets will survive the online warfare.

Hawken

Free
Adhesive Games' Hawken is a free-to-play Unreal-powered mech action game that appeals to the anime fan who still dreams of piloting lumbering metal machines that boost through war-torn environments while firing off Macross-style missile swarms. There are three mech types (light, medium, heavy), each has its own speed and armor ranking. You can further customize mechs by selecting a secondary type within a weight class, such as Brawler or Sniper. If you have mech fantasies, this is your game.

League of Legends

Free
Riot Games’s mega-popular MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games features two teams of “Champions” engaged in either 3 vs. 3 or 5 vs. 5 combat. Each player begins at opposing sides of a map with the mission to destroy the opposing side’s Nexus while plowing through Turrets, monsters, and minions. Earned experience points and gold lets you improve your fighters' abilities, and outfit warriors with better combat tools. LoL is a very team-oriented game, so find a crew of like-minded folk and have a blast.

Torchlight II

$19.99
All hail the new action-RPG king. Runic Games' monster-slaying titles manages to out-Diablo the legendary Diablo with its unique, hand drawn art style, customizable skill trees, randomized dungeons, pets (hawks, dogs, and more), and the ability to actually—gasp!—play the game without an internet connection. Torchlight II also includes a new game plus so that you can tackle a new set of challenges with your character and skills in tact after you complete the game's main campaign.

Top 10 Best PC Games

Tablet thinner than the iPad mini; Sony's 10.1-inch Xperia

2013-01-21T05:20:00.002-08:00

Hot on the heels of the Xperia Z smartphone which it showed off at CES, Sony has just announced a larger companion — the Xperia Tablet Z. It's a 10.1-inch Android 4.1 tablet with a 1920 x 1200 display, a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, and an 8-megapixel camera that Sony says is the first backside-illuminated sensor it's put in a tablet. Taking pictures with a tablet may not be the best idea, but Sony seems keen to promote the Tablet Z's shooting capabilities nonetheless, touting its automatic low-light mode.
The thinnest tablet we're aware of

Most impressive of all is the thickness, or lack thereof; the Xperia Tablet Z is just 6.9mm thick, which compares favorably to the 7.2mm-thick iPad mini — previously the thinnest tablet we were aware of. Despite this, the tablet is said to be waterproof and dustproof, though we're not yet sure to what degree. It looks like Sony has abandoned the "folded-magazine" design of 2011's Tablet S and last year's Xperia Tablet S in order to achieve the thin dimensions.

Another feature promoted by Sony is something called "S-Force Front Surround 3D" which apparently helps convey the movement of sound and a spacious feeling, but we'll have to try that one out for ourselves. The Tablet Z also supports LTE and NFC, and will be available in black or white. Sony says this product is aimed at the Japanese market, where it'll be released this spring — no word on pricing or availability elsewhere, but we'll let you know when we hear more.

Tablet thinner than the iPad mini; Sony 10.1-inch Xperia

30 Stands For Your iPad Mini

2013-01-14T21:49:00.002-08:00

We’ve sifted through shopping sites to help narrow down the best iPad Mini stands that you can get. Here are 30 that we’re sure you are going to take a liking to.

iGuy [$33.95]

Bamboo iPad Mini Stand [$19.95]

Bamboo Panel iPad Mini Stand [$39.99]

Universal Clear Tablet Stand [$29.00]

Cellet Hand Stand [$17.99]

Mobile Stand [$15.39]

Skadoosh Mini Stand for iPad Mini [$59.95]

Incipio FIXIE Universal Tablet Stand [$36.95]

Smarter Stand [$14.99]

IntraStand Mini iPad Stand [$123.00]

Oak Log iPad Mini Stand [$95.00]

Rusty Apple Wooden Stand [$45.00]

Breffo Spiderpodium for iPad Mini [$19.10]

Pad Relax Mini for iPad Mini [$49.90 - $54.90]

Aluminum Alloy Stand Holder [$8.19]

Durable Peacock Stand [$12.99]

Earpod Stand [$9.95]

Just Mobile Slide [$34.61]

Cracked Wood iStand for iPad Mini [$39.99]

iBallz Minis for iPad Mini [$24.95]

PadPillow [$28.90]

BookArc [$29.99]

Stump [$24.95]

Windfall for iPad Mini [$99.99]

Portable Folding Stand Holder [$2.29]

Multi Functional Stand [$7.99]

Universal Wave Tablet Stand [$34.99]

iProp Universal Tablet Stand [$29.95]

Clean Stand [$24.95]

Facet [$39.95]

Have a favorite that is not in the list? Share it with us in the comment box below.
30 Stands For Your iPad Mini

Best in CES 2013 [List]

2013-01-11T23:30:00.000-08:00

Here are the Best Product in CES (Consumer Electronics Shows) 2013

BEST PHONES in CES 2013

BEST TABLETS in CES 2013

BEST LAPTOPS in CES 2013

BEST DESKTOPS in CES 2013

BEST HDTV in CES 2013

BEST HOME THEATER GEAR in CES 2013

BEST GAMING GEAR in CES 2013

BEST CAMERAS in CES 2013

BEST NETWORKING PRODUCTS in CES 2013

BEST GADGETS in CES 2013

BEST TOY CES in 2013

BEST ROBOT in CES 2013

BEST CARS in CES 2013

source pcmag.com
Best in CES 2013 [List]

BEST CARS CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:12:00.000-08:00

Dodge Charger Pursuit

It is kind of cruel to pick the best car at CES and make it something you can't go out and buy. Then again, there are a lot of great ideas at CES that will never make it to market. You can, however, take comfort in the fact that this tricked-out police cruiser will be on the Los Angeles streets just a few weeks. With an automatic license plate scanner, infrared cameras, 12.1-inch in-dash display, fully integrated keyboard and bulletproof doors, this is the most technologically advanced cop car in the country. Or at least that is what Sgt. Dan Gomez of the L.A.P.D. Information Technology Bureau's Tactical Technology Department says. He helped design the car with Chrysler and a dozen other vendors. And who am I to argue? The guy carries a gun. –DC
Runner Up: Formula Ford Racer
BEST CARS CES 2013

BEST ROBOT CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:10:00.001-08:00

InTouch Health RP-VITA

Developed in partnership with iRobot, InTouch Health brought it latest medical robot to CES 2013: the RP-VITA. Although InTouch has other medical robots, the RP-VITA is the first one that can navigate autonomously. The RP-Vita has built-in mapping, obstacle detection, avoidance technology, and an iPad user interface that can connect directly to hospital systems. When a patient rings a call button, the RP-VITA could be dispatched bedside allowing the doctor to evaluate the patient's condition from anywhere in the world. That won't help if you just need help getting to the bathroom, but it can help doctors be in more place than one. –DC
BEST ROBOT CES 2013

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BEST TOY CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

LEGO Mindstorms EV3

After four years, LEGO finally updates its Mindstorms robotics kit with Mindstorms EV3. This time, the "Intelligent Brick" is smarter, more expandable, and can be programmed on your mobile device. It's Linux-based now, so hackers can have even more fun playing with it and pushing the limits of what LEGO can do.
Because it's LEGO, it's compatible with the company's many licensed building sets. Yes, that means you'll be able to build R2D2 by combining the Mindstorms EV3 set with some creative Star Wars sets. Me? I'm going to put a Bluetooth speaker on my Mindstorms EV3 robot, throw a black sheet over it, and torment my coworkers with a cyber-Nazgul. –WG
BEST TOY CES 2013

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BEST GADGETS CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:05:00.001-08:00

Hapifork

Given the nationwide obesity epidemic, it is a wonder no one thought of this before. We need smarter forks. The Hapi Fork is a little bigger than you standard fork, but it does a lot more. Charge it up and it will monitor not just how many bites you take, but also the pace at which you eat. If you try to take more than one bite every 10 seconds, the fork will gently vibrate to tell you to slow down. Once you are done, you can upload all this data to an online service that will let you track it, and presumably, share this data with friends. –Dan Costa
Runner-Up: Fitbit Flex
BEST GADGETS CES 2013

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BEST NETWORKING PRODUCTS CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:02:00.000-08:00

DiskStation Manager (DSM) 4.2 Beta

If you took a look at many of the new offerings in networking products at this year's CES most of the noise was surrounding 802.11ac. Speeds over 1 Gbps! More range! Whole-home wireless coverage! But without suitable client devices to support 802.11ac, and without testing, it's hard to say which wireless router will be the best of 2013. Our top networking pick is software: Synology's DiskStation Manager 4.2 Beta. We've seen incredible products from Synology, and that excellent hardware along with a beefed up interface with added features that the DSM 4.2 promises to bring, should make for some top-of-the-line products. The best feature is the ability to remotely connect to your DiskStation NAS without having to configure port forwarding on your home networks. Other vendors have tried to implement this feature, but none has gotten it quite perfect. With DiskStation Manager, Synology has a good chance of changing the game. –Samara Lynn
Runner Up: Almond+
BEST NETWORKING PRODUCTS CES 2013

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BEST CAMERAS CES 2013

2013-01-11T23:00:00.002-08:00

Fuji X100s
At last year's show Fujifilm walked away with this award thanks to its X-Pro1 compact interchangeable lens camera. Fuji wins again in 2013—this time with the X100s. On the exterior the camera isn't that much different from the X100, which was first shown at a trade show in 2010 and hit the market in 2011—but the internal components have been very much improved. It now features an X-Trans CMOS sensor, a design unique to Fuji that uses a six-by-six color filter array rather than the traditional Bayer four-by-four array, omits a low-pass filter for sharper images, and delivers improved autofocus.
The X100s features a retro black leatherette and chrome design—from a distance it doesn't look that much different from a Leica M2—and has a hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder. The resolution of the EVF portion of the finder has been greatly improved from the previous version of the camera. Its lens is a fixed 23mm f/2, which delivers a field of view comparable to a 35mm lens in terms of full-frame photography. The X100s is priced at $1,299.95 and will be available in March. –Jim Fisher

Runner-Up: Pentax Mx-1
BEST CAMERAS CES 2013

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BEST GAMING GEAR CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:58:00.001-08:00

Nvidia Project Shield

Nvidia has been fighting for years to make Android a viable gaming platform, and 2013 may finally be the year. Project Shield isn't just the first viable standalone gaming system to disrupt the cozy duopoly of Sony and Nintendo in ages. It's also the flagship product for Nvidia's Tegra 4 chipset, which will bring tricks like much-improved photo quality to future smartphones and tablets. The only possible point of failure: Games. Nvidia has done a decent job nurturing high-end games for Android in its Tegra Zone showcase, but the best titles still appear on consoles, PCs, and even iOS before they come to Android. Can Project Shield change that? We'll see. –SS

Oculus Rift

Virtual reality feels like a technology that never really congealed for consumers, but Oculus VR might change that with its Oculus Rift head-mounted display. It's one of the most immersive visual experiences I've ever seen in a gaming or home entertainment device, and I can definitely see it making action games like Skyrim and Far Cry 3 more exciting, and horror titles like Slender more pants-wetting.
How it works: 3D images combine with head tracking to let you look around a virtual world and feel like you're really there (at least visually). The demos I saw showed how they work together to put you into the virtual world, but they require coding software that incorporates both a 3D picture that looks realistic and head tracking that can keep up with you. I can definitely see motion sickness and disorientation being a factor if developers don't consider just how effective the Oculus Rift can be. –WG

BEST GAMING GEAR CES 2013

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BEST HOME THEATER GEAR CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:55:00.002-08:00

Epson Home Cinema 750HD

The Epson Home Cinema 750HD is the company's brightest home theater projector to date, so it could replace your HDTV. Offering 2D and active-shutter 3D with 720p resolution, it can display movies, video games, and other content at sizes of up to 300 inches diagonally. Rated at up to 3,000 lumens, the projector features five pre-set color modes, including one dedicated to gaming. It can be placed in an entertainment center or mounted to the ceiling from 3.5 to 35.5 feet from the wall or screen. The Epson Home Cinema 750HD ($899) should be available in late March. –Tony Hoffman

Runner-Up: Dish Hopper with Sling
BEST HOME THEATER GEAR CES 2013

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BEST HDTV CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:54:00.001-08:00

Samsung UN85S9

Nearly every HDTV manufacturer was showing off 4K or UHD (ultra high-definition) televisions here at CES. One that really stood out: Samsung's 85-inch 4K LED HDTV has a massive frame that supports a thin panel, turning it into a unique piece of furniture as much as it is an HDTV and giving it a unique up-and-down pivot for getting the viewing angle just right. It sports all of Samsung's Smart Interaction enhancements, including voice command, gestures, and a built-in camera, and can upconvert 1080p quite capably, as I saw from a video clip from Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows. Samsung hasn't announced pricing for it yet, but this huge, striking set should be available in May. We're guessing it won't be cheap. –Will Greenwald

Panasonic 56-Inch 4K OLED HDTV

Panasonic's 4K OLED HDTV isn't as large as Samsung's and it won't be available as soon, but it's one of the most technically impressive. First, it's a 4K HDTV that uses an OLED panel. Second, the panel is manufactured using a printing process that places color elements like ink on a page. Third, the entire panel is just half an inch thick. This could be the face of 4K HDTVs in the future, with new technologies to make the panel and form the picture. It won't be in homes any time soon, though, as it's only a proof-of-concept. –WG
BEST HDTV CES 2013

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BEST DESKTOPS CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:51:00.002-08:00

Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC

A Table PC? That's an idea, and one that Lenovo decided to run with. Witness the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon, an all-in-one PC that can be used while propped up with its attached stand or laid flat. In its upright or "vertical" mode, the system runs Windows 8; in its flat or "horizontal" mode, the Horizon automatically activates its proprietary Aura touch interface.
With Aura activated, multiple users—as many as you can fit around the 27-inch, 1,920 by 1,080 screen—can play games together. There are even bundled accessories (dice, joysticks, and strikers) that can be used for games developed by such companies as Electronic Arts and UbiSoft. With a battery that reportedly lasts for two hours, you can even move the system around, At 25 pounds, though, you're better off using the optional Horizon Multimode Table. With the Horizon Table PC, Lenovo is making a big pitch for interpersonal computing. –Laarni Ragaza

Runner-Up: Velocity Micro Edge Mini
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BEST LAPTOPS CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:49:00.001-08:00

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Ultrabook

The Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Ultrabook wins for solving one of the biggest problems that come with laptops that convert into slate tablets: Docking. While most tablets that link with keyboard docks are fidgety with their orientation (only one way) and how they clip together (with tiny guides), the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix makes sure you're (almost) always clipping the tablet to the keyboard in the right way with its innovative "Rip and Flip" design. This is just one of the elements that make us excited to see this beefy, enterprise-grade ultrabook later this year. –JSD
Runner-Up: MSI GT60 Quadro Workstation
BEST LAPTOPS CES 2013

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BEST TABLETS CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:46:00.003-08:00

Razer Edge Gaming Tablet

Compared with last year's show, the tablet space was relatively quiet; traditional tablet makers seem to be waiting for February's Mobile World Congress to show off their wares. (Even our runner-up tablet isn't a brand-new product.) As such, the top tablet this year comes from a gaming company. The fun-focused Razer Edge injects some much-needed excitement into the tablet space. While we've heard all the promises from manufacturers that their tablets can handle games, Razer has gone on Edge to show us a tablet that is made specifically to excel at gaming. Integrated controllers and brag-worthy components give gamers all the tools they need for a Windows 8 tablet that could slay the competition. Portable gaming isn't just for laptops and small-form-factor desktops anymore! –Joel Santo Domingo

Runner-Up: Microsoft Surface Pro
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BEST PHONES CES 2013

2013-01-11T22:44:00.001-08:00

Sony Xperia Z

As far as high-profile smartphone launches at CES are concerned, Sony impressed us the most this year with the absolutely beautiful Xperia Z. From a technical standpoint, this phone hits all the marks that will make geeks happy—it's got a huge 5-inch, 1080p display, a state-of-the-art quad-core processor, and a 13-megapixel camera with HDR video capture. But where this phone really shines is design. While most smartphones seem to be growing more and more delicate, Sony has made the Xperia Z dust resistant and waterproof. Despite the all-glass construction, tempered glass and anti-shatter film promise to make this phone much more rugged than it seems. Throw in some innovative battery-saving software, and you've got one of the best smartphones at CES. –Alex Colon

Yotaphone

We love new thinking, and the Yotaphone's dual-display system is not only new, but surprisingly well thought out. Not a gimmick, the e-ink screen on the back of the Yotaphone can act like a custom case, display the time and weather, or store images like a boarding pass that you want to remain available even if you're doing something else on your phone. Plenty of other dual-display phones have entered the market and failed, but Yota actually thought through what you'll do with this. The company's dry sense of humor helps, too. –Sascha Segan_pcmag.com
BEST PHONES CES 2013

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The 8 Biggest Trends at CES 2013

2013-01-11T00:38:00.000-08:00

Ultra High Definition (4K) TVs

We've known for some time that 4K television was going to be everywhere at CES, and that has largely proven to be the case. It's still a ways off in terms of whether you should care, since there's basically zero 4K content available that you can watch on it. But theaters have been showing movies in 4K for several years now. Consider this a first, solid stab at the kind of televisions we'll all be watching five to 10 years from now. Sharp even jumped the line and unveiled an 85-inch 8K TV (pictured) with 7,680-by-4,320-pixel resolution. It's not just about TV, either; Gigabyte unveiled a software driver for its PC motherboards that supports 4K display resolutions using multiple standard 1080p monitors, which should make for one hell of a Skyrim session.

Touch-Screen PCs

Love Windows 8 or hate it, PC manufacturers are responding to its touch-friendliness with verve. And to be fair, a lot of vitriol directed against Windows 8 has to do with trying to use its finger-friendly interface on a PC without a touch screen. As a result, all across CES, we're seeing new all-in-one PCs with touch screens, ultrabook convertibles that can convert into tablets, and touch-enabled laptops from Dell (pictured) and other hardware vendors. The next-generation spec for ultrabooks even includes touch as a mandatory feature. PC display manufacturers have also jumped into the fray, with new touch-screen 1080p monitors from HP, Samsung, and other vendors. Speaking of resolution, 1080p is the new norm on tablets and high-end laptops, while 4K is beginning to surface on all-in-one desktops.

Next-Generation Mobile Chipsets

Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Intel are all throwing down in the mobile space this year with next-generation SoCs (system-on-a-chips) that promise faster performance and more battery life. Specs aren't as important as they once were; it's really more about new capabilities. For example, Qualcomm is promising its upcoming 28-nanometer, quad-core Snapdragon 800 is capable of capturing and playing back 4K video, which is four times the pixel density of 1080p, thanks to its Adreno 330 GPU. It also supports 802.11ac Broad connectivity for faster Wi-Fi. The Nvidia Tegra 4 (pictured) will let users apply HDR to live video with moving objects, instead of just to still shots. Intel's latest Atom Z2760 processor is already powering full-blown Windows 8 tablets, but a quad-core Atom CPU is on the horizon for later this year that should deliver desktop-like performance.

In-Car Smartphone Integration

Automakers are finally getting the idea that people don't want expensive, outdated, $2,000 navigation systems just because they're built into the dashboard, especially when they've already got a smartphone in their pocket that's much more powerful. Carmakers like Ford (pictured) and GM are moving fast to standardize and open up their in-car platforms so programmers can develop dedicated third-party apps, which hook into your smartphone's 4G LTE data connection that you're already paying for, instead of having to sign up for another one just for the car. Oversized multitouch screens, projected heads-up displays, and even the beginnings of augmented reality are the order of the day

Digital Health

Everyone has already gone mobile, so why not work some fitness into the equation? Fitbit announced the Flex, a wristband that syncs via Bluetooth 4.0 to Android and iOS devices and tracks your steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned, and how much you're sleeping. The Smart 'Hapifork' and 'Hapispoon' (pictured) are actual, electronic utensils that monitors your eating habits, with the idea being to make sure you eat smaller meals more slowly. The Withings Body Analyzer smart scale tracks your heart rate and ambient air quality, while the company's new Activity Tracker is a Fitbit-like device that measures calories burned, sleep quality, and walking and running performance.

Non-Traditional Gaming Devices

Normally when we think of gaming, it conjures up images of consoles hooked up to an HDTV, portable systems, custom-built PCs, and more recently, phones and tablets. Manufacturers are now moving even past these categories into new realms. Nvidia's "Project Shield" is a clamshell, handheld, Android-based portable with a Tegra 4 chipset, a 5-inch 720p screen, a D-pad, analog sticks, and various buttons and bumpers. The Razer Edge Pro (pictured), formerly known as Project Fiona, is a 10.1-inch tablet running Windows 8 with an Intel Core i7 chip and internal storage up to 256GB; it has separate tablet, keyboard dock, gamepad controller, and docking station modes depending on the accessories you use. Xi3's 'Piston' appears to be the long-awaited "Steam Box" from Valve; it's a striking, miniature PC dedicated to running Steam games in a living room setting using Big Picture mode.

Wireless Audio and Video

The days of the iPod speaker dock are numbered, at least in its current form. There's much more demand now for wireless music playback, now that people are streaming music straight from cloud-based apps like Spotify, Google Play, Pandora, and the still-in-transition iTunes 11. Plus, Android smartphones are everywhere, and none of them fit Apple's dock connector. Even Apple went and switched the connector out for a new one, and by now everyone is tired of syncing iPods to their PCs with wires anyway. As for video, the big news is actually a protocol, as D-Link, Amped Wireless, Buffalo, and other manufacturers release the first big wave of 802.11ac-compatible products for faster streaming performance. We're also seeing new set-top boxes like the Netgear NeoTV Prime (pictured), all ready to take advantage of cloud-based services from Google, Netflix, and others.

Wireless Cameras

As our camera analyst Jim Fisher has been reporting, all of the new Samsungs, the Canon PowerShot N (pictured) and one of the Canon Elph models, and a Polaroid Android-powered camera are among the new crop of Wi-Fi-enabled shooters. Once a niche feature, wireless capability has taken hold. It's not just about syncing photos to your PC anymore, either; it's being able to post photos to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other sharing sites without moving through a PC first, just like you can do with an (inferior) cell phone camera. And speaking of Instagram, many cameras are gaining the ability to give your photos a faded or vintage look right from the camera, without having to use what has now become a rather controversial photo sharing service.

Compiled from http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/306766/the-8-biggest-trends-at-ces-2013/8
The 8 Biggest Trends at CES 2013
Read Also : List of Best Product in CES 2013

Acer $99 Tablet: How New Android Tablet, Iconia B1, Compares To The Competition

2013-01-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Taiwanese PC giant Acer is ready to rock the gadget world with a new $99 tablet set to compete in the low-cost market against Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Acer is planning to launch the $99 Android tablet, Iconia B1, in early 2013, a source close to the project told the Wall Street Journal. The $99 tablet will feature a 7-inch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution screen and 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Plans for the tablet reportedly began in the fall, after the company's competitors began offering aggressively priced options.

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Acer's $99 tablet would beat the competition in the low-cost tablet market.
Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire is priced at $159 for 8GB, while the Kindle Fire HD starts at $199. Barnes & Nobles' Nook Color HD, also 7 inches, comes in at $199 for 8GB. The iPad Mini, which measures 7.9 inches, starts at $329 for 16GB.

For those "looking for a minimal investment starter-tablet" Acer is a great option, writes Gizmodo's Brian Barrett, but there is one caveat.

Acer's $99 tablet is aimed at emerging markets, according to the Wall Street Journal. The device has been submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for clearance, but there is no confirmation on whether the tablet will be sold in the U.S. just yet.

Acer's low-cost tablet could also have competition in the near future.
Google is ready to go even cheaper than the $199 Nexus 7 with a tablet as low as $99, Digitimes reports. However, the $99 price might not be available at the get-go. The tablet may first be priced in the $129 and $149 range.

China's O-Film Tech has reportedly already started shipping products for the new Nexus 7 this month, according to Digitimes. Launch is allegedly slated for Q1 2013.
PHOTOS: Spec images of Acer's alleged new tablet first surfaced via GLBechmark.

Mock up of Acer's new tablet, courtesy of the Federal Communications Commission.

Acer $99 Tablet: How New Android Tablet, Iconia B1, Compares To The Competition

Cheaper iPhone Would Cost $99 to $149

2013-01-11T00:20:00.003-08:00

Report:

Apple's rumored cheaper iPhone would cost anywhere from $99 to $149, according to a new report.
The device, which would debut in late 2013 "at the earliest," is part of an effort to attract more customers from developing markets, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source. Among them, Apple is particularly eyeing China.

Last December, CEO Tim Cook said the country is "a very important market for us." At the time, Apple had sold more than 2 million units of the iPhone in China, setting a record for best first-weekend sales in the country.

A lower-cost version of the iPhone would also help Apple compete with Google's Android phones, which are available in a wide range of prices.

As one of the mobile market's pricier smartphones, the iPhone 5 starts at $199 for 16GB of storage with a two-year contract. There are also 32GB and 64GB models available for $299 and $399, respectively. In terms of its older phones, Apple now offers the 8GB iPhone 4 for free, while the 16GB iPhone 4S costs $99 (both requiring two-year contracts).

The company has been developing a more affordable phone since "at least" February 2011, Bloomberg said. It has spoken to one or more major U.S. wireless carriers about its plans, the newspaper added.
Earlier reports suggested that the lower-cost iPhone would look like a standard iPhone 5, but made with cheaper materials. Polycarbonate would replace the aluminum shell, and other components could be sourced from parts designed for older iPhones.

What do you think of the rumored cheaper iPhone's price range? Would you buy one? Tell us in the comments below.
Image and news from MashableCheaper iPhone Would Cost $99 to $149