Since the turn of the year Nokia has been busy expanding its range of Windows phone 8 hardware that now includes handsets at a variety of price levels, and now the Nokia Lumia 521 has been officially confirmed but the price is still MIA.
We first heard about the Nokia Lumia 521 was heading to T-Mobile back in February and now the carrier has confirmed the device will be available next month, although the company has yet to reveal the pricing for the device.
The handset is the carrier’s version of the Nokia Lumia 520 and could sell unlocked for around $180, and for your money the handset offers entry level access to the WP8 platform that provides users a 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD touchscreen display.
This is powered by a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running at 1GHz that is coupled with 512MB of RAM, and there is 8GB of built in storage that can be expanded further up to 64GB via microSD card.
There is also a 5-megapixel rear facing camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS, and a 1,430 mAh battery unit. The Nokia Lumia 521 will be available via T-Mobile retail channels, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft Retail Stores.
Will you be getting the Nokia Lumia 521?
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There have been news reports in the past which suggested that Apple will be outing its next generation iPad in April 2013. However, in a new report DigiTimes claims that Apple will be commencing production of its fifth generation iPad in July or August. The website claims to have got this bit of information from its sources in the Taiwan-based supply chain.
The fifth generation iPad is expected to come with a 9.7-inch screen and is expected to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. LG Display and Sharp are reportedly engaged in producing the display of the fifth generation iPad while touch panels are being made by TPK.
As per the rumours, the next generation iPad will have thin bezels, much like the iPad mini. There have been plenty of speculations being made in regards to the launch of the next generation of iPad. Some reports point to an October release, while some recent reports suggested an April release.
Apple had introduced the fourth generation iPad along with iPad mini at a special event in San Jose, California on October 23 2012. Apple surprised many by launching the 128GB version of the fourth generation iPad in February 2013.
The grapevine also suggests that Apple is gearing up to launch an iPad mini with Retina display. Alleged pictures of this iPad mini with Retina display were also shared online in February 2012. As per past reports Apple is cutting shipments of iPad mini in the second quarter of 2013. According to this report, the cutback may be as high as 20 percent in April and the shipments may continue to decrease gradually throughout the quarter to bring total shipments to as low as 10 million units during the quarter.
The reason for these cut backs was cited as Apple’s efforts in adjusting its reserves for the next-generation iPad mini, which is likely to be released in the third quarter.
A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone
It has been a while since I have written a review about an entry-level smartphone.Budget smartphones are particularly one of the subjects that caught my interest because they are affordable and still deliver some of the features shared with its big brothers, the expensive, high-end smartphones. My subject on interest in this post is theSamsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570. (Also known as T-Mobile Move and Samsung Galaxy Pop for India market) This model is released in February 2011.
Design:
It is a full touch bar design, compact with flashy colour stripe along the side. It is a “mini” so it has to be small, although with its compact size still appeals to both sexes. It also great for an entry-level smartphone especially for teenagers or adults that don’t really want a bulky phone. It is also perfect for a second phone. The dimension is 110.6 X 60.6 X 12.1mm and weigh only about 106.6g.
Performance and Display:
The display is slightly larger than its cousin –the Galaxy Young. It has a 3.14-inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 256K colours and 240X320 pixels (~127 ppi pixel density) PPI stands for “pixel per inch”. The Mini is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU clocked at 600 MHz which is a little slower than the Galaxy Young’s 832MHz.
It runs on Android OS Froyo V2.2 and upgradable to V2.3 . It is also equipped witj Samsung’s own TouchWiz v3.0 UI.
Applications:
I think the highlight for this phone is its Predictive text input or SWYPE functionality. With this function, a user can write a message quickly by connecting the dots instead of pushing the virtual buttons. Apart from that, the phone also features the following:
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser: HTML
Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support
Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors: Black
SNS integration
MP4/H.264/H.263 player
MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
Organizer
Document viewer/editor
Image/video editor
Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
Voice memo/dial
Connectivity:
You can connect to the internet either through Wi-Fi or 3G networks. Full data specifications are as follow:
GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
EDGE: Yes
Speed: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth: Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0
Battery:
The battery is a standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh with a stand-by time up to 570 hours and talk time up to 9 hours 30 minutes. The battery life is quite efficient for normal operation but running multitasking and graphics intensive programmes would decrease the talk time estimates.
Audio:
The audio is fine as long as you don’t expect too much from it. It has sound alert types of – vibration, MP3 and WAV ringtones. It is also equipped with a decent loudspeaker and as well as a DNSe sound enhancement, that may improve music quality compared to ordinary phones. It also has a 3.5MM jack that you can use to plug in your favourite earphones, headphones or even portable speakers.
Camera:
The camera is 3.15 MP (2048 X 1536 pixels) which is better than the Galaxy Young’s 2.0 MP. It is able to record videos at QVGA@15fps and fitted with Geo-tagging functionality. Picture quality is decent enough if taken in daylight conditions. Do not try to compare it with its big brother – the Galaxy S II’s 8MP camera! However, pictures are good enough for posting on Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Ergonomics:
The compact design will suit both sexes, easy to carry around and can slip comfortably in your pocket. Those with larger fingers might find it a bit difficult to touch on the virtual keyboard but with enough practice, you might get used to it and eventually love it.
Price:
Advertised price (AP) is around RM520 (US$167) to RM535 (US$174) but if you shop around you might be able to get it at a much lower prices. A quick check on local stores gave me a range of price from RM450 (US$147) to RM530 (US$173).
The giant Korean phone makerSamsung is rumoured to be producing yet another “massive” 6.3-inch Android smartphone. The new device will be larger than the current Galaxy Note.
According to a Korean website ETNews, Samsung is perhaps experimenting with the 6.3-inch device if it is acceptable by users. ETNews termed it as a “smartpad” or a phone cum tablet combination (phablet).
The news apparently was leaked by an unknown Samsung official as stating, “As of now, smartphones and smart pads are separate gadgets, but the two will converge into one product under Project Möbius.” The massive device is rumoured to be launched as the Samsung Galaxy Mega.
The rumour also indicated that the Samsung Galaxy Mega will debut in June and will feature Google’s latest operating system – Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.
Other specs rumoured is a dual-core Exynos processor, an 8MP main camera, a 2MP front-facing camera and available in both black and white colour models only. The humongous phone is likely to be aimed at a mid-range market.
There is no news as regard to pricing or availability yet, and Samsung said it does not comment on rumour and speculation.
Samsung Electronics America said on Tuesday that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will hit the North American market this Thursday, April 11. It will be offered through participating offline and online retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile, h.h. gregg, Newegg, P.C. Richard & Son, Staples and TigerDirect.com. The price? A meaty $399.99.
Sporting an 8-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) screen, Samsung's new Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" tablet packs an Exynos 4412 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Also thrown into the hardware mix is a 1.3MP camera on the front, a 5MP camera on the back, and a microSD card slot allowing up to 64 GB of extra storage. Dual-band Wireless N connectivity allows the tablet to access 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network channels, if available.
"A mid-sized addition to the Galaxy Note family of products, the Galaxy Note 8.0 has the power and advanced technology to enable multi-tasking at home, at work or on the go," the company said. "The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the perfect size for entertainment and productivity, with unrivaled multimedia performance in a compact format. The S Pen has evolved to improve everyday usability with Air View, and Multi Window now supports more apps to perform tasks simultaneously allowing users to do more."
The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the first tablet to feature Samsung WatchON, a new search and recommendation service for finding TV shows and on-demand video content. The tablet also comes with a built-in IR blaster so that it can be used as a universal remote, and a Multi-Windows functionality so that apps like Facebook, Chrome and Polaris Office (20 supported apps total) can be open on the same screen, side-by-side.
The new 8-inch Samsung tablet also features a Reading Mode which adjusts color and brightness to an optimal level for reading. It also allows users to customize fonts and themes so that ebooks, magazines, documents and Web pages are easy to read. All of this is backed by a 4,600 mAh battery promising up to 9 days of usage time and up to 30 days of standby time.
The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available this Thursday in white for $399.99. Optional accessories sold separately in mid-April will include Book Covers in white, grey, pink or green, as well as USB and HDMI adapters, and a travel charger that connect via the device’s microUSB port.
Sony is trying hard this year and with already impressive Xperia Z smartphone things just got even better. With increasing gaming accessories for smartphones and tablets, Sony announced today that it has added support for the Play Station 3 DualShock 3 controllers to Xperia smartphones.
This means that users can use the popular game pad to navigate, automatically improving gaming experience. With HDMI support in some Xperia handsets, it is time to connect the device to a television and try some Android games on a big screen.
PC gaming is poised to break free from the desktop—it just needs a device that delivers fast frame rates and lush graphics in an affordable, portable package. Enter the Razer Edge Pro, a Windows 8 tablet built expressly for playing PC games on the go. The hardware even comes with an optional controller accessory that turns the tablet into a handheld game console.
But Razer's pitch goes way beyond gaming. The company is marketing the Edge Pro as a multi-purpose machine that can replace your laptop, desktop, tablet, and, yes, even your Xbox, PS3 and Wii. After using the premier version of Razer's new tablet as my primary device for a week, I think it comes close to delivering on its multi-disciplinary promise—if you're willing to make some compromises.
First, the good news: It works. Thanks to a Core i7 processor and discrete Nvidia graphics, the tablet is powerful enough to run Far Cry 3 and Dishonored at decent frame rates. And thanks to Windows 8 Pro, it can run legacy desktop applications, including essential gaming utilities like Steam, uPlay and the launchers for World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. The Edge Pro also easily chews through productivity applications, handling the processor-intensive Photoshop with aplomb.
The bad news: Whether you’re playing games, watching movies, editing images, or writing tablet reviews, the Edge Pro requires significant compromises. In terms of raw processing performance, sure, the tablet can do everything. But in terms of ergonomics, convenience, display quality and price, the tablet falls short of more specialized, cheaper devices. We reviewed the highest spec'ed version of the Edge Pro, and at $1450, it proved to be a luxury product for hardcore PC gamers only.
But at least it's a luxury product that solves a nagging PC gaming problem: Finding killer performance in a reasonably portable package.
Durable chassis with a disappointing display
Compared to the Surface Pro, Razer’s matte black Edge Pro feels chubby. It weighs roughly 2.25 pounds and measures just over 20 mm thick, whereas Microsoft's high-end tablet is just 2 pounds and 13.5 mm thick. Razer’s tablet is durable: it doesn’t have the advantage of Gorilla Glass or a fancy VaporMg chassis, but it survived a week gallivanting around San Francisco in my crowded messenger bag without so much as a scratch. Its composite aluminum body feels cheap to the touch, yet holds up under significant wear and tear.
Even when using the Edge Pro as a regular Windows 8 tablet, sans accessories, the weight of the hardware is noticeable.
While certainly functional, the Edge Pro's 10.6-inch, 1366-by-768 pixel screen is a letdown when watching movies, playing games or doing pretty much anything that’s predicated on visual fidelity—in short, everything that the Edge Pro is designed to excel at. It’s a serviceable platform for playing Skyrim, but I can’t help but envy the iPad's Retina display or even the bright, 1920-by-1080 screen on the Surface Pro. The Edge Pro looks shabby by comparison, and it’s just not bright enough to use in direct sunlight. This is hardly a deal-breaker, but it does mean you’ll need to draw the shades during daylight gaming sessions.
The 10-point capacitive touchscreen is big enough for playing games, as long as you run them full screen. I had no issues browsing the web or using Windows 8 apps, but I felt cramped while trying to manage multiple desktop applications on the Edge Pro’s limited real estate. It’s a problem that’s easily solved by hooking up the tablet to an external display, but you’ll have a difficult time doing so without purchasing the dock accessory, as the Edge Pro tablet itself sports just a single USB 3.0 port.
Bottom line: To use the Edge Pro as a full-fledged desktop PC replacement, an HDTV gaming console or a mobile gaming machine, you must invest in Razer’s portfolio of pricey peripherals.
If you choose to shell out $99 for the Edge docking station—which packs three extra USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI out port, a mic jack, a stereo port, and a jack for the power adapter—you won’t have any trouble outputting to a full 1080p display. I connected the tablet to both a 24-inch Gateway monitor and a 40-inch Mitsubishi HDTV via HDMI, and it effortlessly drove each display at 1920-by-1080. To this extent, the Edge Pro actually doubles as a decent desktop gaming PC—if you’re willing to pay for the docking station and deck it out with a keyboard, mouse, monitor and headset.
Razer earns respect for cramming so much processing performance into a tablet chassis. But with PC power comes PC problems. Play a processor-intensive game like Dishonored for more than a minute, and you’ll feel the heat—literally.
Despite the integration of heat-dissipating grilles along the top-rear edge of the tablet chassis, the tablet consistently became almost too hot to handle during gaming sessions. I passed it around to a few friends and nobody found it painfully hot, but we all agreed that the Edge Pro is uncomfortably warm to the touch while running PC games. It’s not a deal-breaker, but Razer might consider adding “lap warmer” to the Edge Pro’s already lengthy list of functions.
As far as fan noise, the Edge Pro emits a noticeable hum during processor-intensive use. I found it inoffensive and easy to ignore, but your tolerance may vary.
Best-in-class performance
The Edge Pro’s go-for-broke hardware helped the tablet earn top marks in PCWorld's suite of performance benchmarks. Razer sent us the premium version of the tablet, so our tests were able to tap into a 1.9GHz Core i7 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a discrete NVIDIA GT 640M LE GPU alongside the standard Intel HD 4000 graphics chip.
Our review unit, which you can order now on Razer’s website for $1450, also came with a 256GB SSD. The standard $1300 Edge Pro comes with a more modest 128GB SSD. And if you want to spend even less money, a cool $1000 will get you the basic Edge tablet, which sports the same discrete Nvidia GPU, but comes with a Core i5 processor, a 64GB SSD, and just 4 GB of RAM.
The top-of-the-line Edge Pro tablet runs contemporary PC games like Crysis 3 at playable framerates.
The premium-priced Edge Pro delivers fantastic performance that helps justify its $1450 price tag. For one, we saw 73 frames per second running Dirt Showdown at native resolution. That’s more than twice what Microsoft’s Surface Pro was able to deliver in the same test, and confirms that the Edge Pro is the best gaming tablet on the market.
Razer’s beast also outperformed the Surface Pro, The Acer W700 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 in our PCMark 7 suite of productivity tests, including our Photoshop CS6 image editing tests and the 3DMark11 graphics rendering tests. Granted, the Edge Pro has a lower native resolution that the competition, and this makes it easier for the tablet to deliver high frame rates in games. But when you view all the benchmark results together, it's clear the machine is purpose-built for performance.
The flipside of all this fantastic performance is poor battery life. The Edge Pro was pitiful in our battery rundown test, burning through a full charge in just under four hours—six with the extended battery attached. Of all the Windows 8 hybrids we’ve tested, only the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist fared worse. And that’s just in our lab tests, which are actually a little forgiving because they rely on looping video playback and automated PCMark 7 tests to drain the battery. While running demanding PC games on the Edge Pro, I routinely ran the battery dry after two to three hours of continuous play.
This presents a significant problem for real-world use: The utility of a portable gaming machine that can only run for a couple of hours is dubious at best. The brief battery life isn’t an issue if you’re just puttering around your Steam library from the comfort of your couch, but it’s a complete deal-breaker if you’re on a long plane trip or otherwise isolated from a power outlet for more than a few hours.
The 256GB SSD in our review unit was more than spacious enough to install Windows 8, a few productivity programs, benchmarking software, and a handful of games with large storage footprints (Skyrim, Far Cry 3, XCOM and Sleeping Dogs) with plenty of space left over. Even the 128GB SSD in the basic version of the Edge Pro seems spacious enough if you don’t load it up with an excess of music, movies and games. The 64GB SSD in the base Edge tablet concerns us, though, given the storage requirements of Windows 8 and most modern PC games.
Accessories required
It’s impossible to discuss the Edge Pro without delving into its accessories, which Razer sells separately at premium prices. Three are available at the time of this review: a $99 Docking Station, a $249 Gamepad Controller, and a $69 Razer Edge extended battery, which inserts inside the Gamepad Controller. Razer's engineers are also working on a keyboard dock, which should be available by the holidays. Its price is still unknown, but it's slated to support the extended battery.
The docking station resembles a sleek USB hub. Along the rear are three USB 2.0 ports, audio out and mic jacks, an HDMI 1.4 port, and a power jack for the Edge power supply. The idea is to set up the station next to your PC or TV, plug in all the requisite cables for your display, mouse, keyboard, and so on, and then just plop the Edge into the dock when you get home and use it as your desktop PC or gaming console.
Plug the tablet into the docking station (sold separately) and use it's suite of ports to hook up three additional USB devices and drive external hardware via HDMI and audio out.
I did both, and I’m happy to report the Edge Pro performs very well in either capacity. It’s a little challenging to find decent PC games that support multiple players using gamepads, but my friends and I had a fantastic time playing through Double Fine’s The Cave on a 40-inch HDTV. The Edge Pro performed equally well when docked with my mouse, keyboard and 24-inch monitor—the extra screen space and input control make the Edge Pro shine as a desktop replacement.
Of course, if you’re away from the docking station and want to play anything other than simple touch-based games on the Edge Pro, you’ll need to either plug a controller into the tablet’s sole USB 3.0 port, or jack into the optional $249 Gamepad Controller, which cocoons the tablet in a considerable amount of extra hardware.
The Gamepad Controller gives you console-style button controls—a welcome feature when playing many PC games. But the accessory is also a hefty investment in terms of both price and poundage: When you slot in the extended battery, the machined aluminum chassis adds more than two pounds and almost four inches to the tablet. This expanded form factor is manageable, but I needed to curl up on a couch when using the Edge Pro in all it’s mobile gaming glory for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. The ergonomics are challenging, and many seating positions just won't work.
The Edge Pro is at its best—and heaviest—when jacked into the gamepad chassis (which conceals a slot for an extended battery.)
The chassis is sturdy—there’s no danger of snapping the thin supports that link the hand grips to the shell—and conceals motors that deliver surprisingly satisfying vibrational feedback during game play. Razer’s design clearly duplicates Microsoft’s Xbox 360 for Windows gamepad, with two analog joysticks, a directional pad, four face buttons (A, B, X, Y), and the requisite Start and Select buttons.
Six triggers crown the two cylinders—three on either side—and all are within comfortable reach of your index fingers. Using the directional pad and face buttons isn’t as comfortable, because each button cluster is nestled about an inch beneath an analog stick. This is a cramped arrangement, and when you're quickly moving your thumbs back and forth between the controls, fatigue sets in quickly. Given how much real estate is available on each cylinder, it’s hard to understand why Razer built the buttons and sticks so close together.
Can a tablet really fulfill all your gaming needs?
The Razer Edge Pro is the most powerful Windows 8 tablet PCWorld has ever seen. Sure, it’s not as sleek as the competition, but the extra girth is an acceptable compromise in exchange for the power of an Nvidia GPU and a Core i7 processor.
More importantly, it’s solid proof that Razer can successfully build a Windows tablet that runs the latest PC games at playable frame rates. The Edge Pro is expensive and cumbersome, but it works: It lets you play Skyrim in bed, and that alone makes it a must-buy for a subset—a very, very rich subset—of PC gaming enthusiasts.
My biggest problem with the Edge Pro is that it’s so clearly a luxury product. Razer built a Windows 8 tablet that only gamers could love, and even then only if they shell out almost two grand for the premium model with all the optional accessories. For that price, you could pick up an Xbox 360, a Nexus 7 and enough hardware to build your own gaming PC, andstill have a little cash left over for games. The Edge Pro simply isn’t a practical replacement for any device save perhaps a Windows tablet, and even there it can’t match the price, portability or convenience of the Microsoft Surface Pro and its Type keyboard covers.
The Edge Pro is an amazing piece of kit, but it's hard to recommend it to anyone but a hardcore PC gaming enthusiast. If you want a Windows 8 device for any other purpose, you'd be better served by a Surface Pro or a Windows 8 hybrid, at least until Razer improves upon the Edge Pro's design shortcomings. It's just a few ounces, inches and dollars from being a game-changing product.
