How would you change ASUS' Zenbook Prime UX31a?
To paraphrase the words of our reviewer, ASUS' Zenbook Prime UX31A is the third-best thin and light laptop you can buy. That's high praise indeed when the only two superior devices are the MacBook Air and Samsung's Series 9. So, why does it deserve such love? That's probably down to its sleek design, six-hour battery life and smooth performance. The only things it has in the "demerit" column is a wonky trackpad and weak audio, but we can forgive that, can't we? No, this is How Would You Change, which means we want to know exactly that: what, if you've owned one of these units, would you change about it?
Filed under: Laptops, ASUS
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Facebook reportedly building Flipboard-style mobile reading app
There have been murmurs of Facebook building a mobile reading app; tonight, that talk is getting a little louder. The Wall Street Journal claims that the social network has spent the past year working on a dedicated story browser, codenamed Reader, that would curate articles in a Flipboard-like interface. While most other details of the rumored project aren't available, it's reportedly important enough that Mark Zuckerberg is closely involved. The company isn't commenting on its plans, but there's reason to believe that Reader is more than just idle speculation: Facebook recently added hashtag support as a "first step" toward helping users track topics. Accordingly, the company's Graph API includes some unused RSS code that could prove relevant for browsing story feeds. There's no guarantee that we'll see the app soon, if at all. When mobile is becoming the cornerstone of Facebook's business, however, we wouldn't completely rule out Reader's existence.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
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Source: Wall Street Journal
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Refresh Roundup: week of June 17th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile
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The Weekly Roundup for 06.17.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
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Switched On: Touchy subjects
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
In 2002, the first LCD-based iMac succeeded the translucent PowerPC G3-based models that the original Bondi Blue iMac begat. The new generation was much more striking than the one that had placed Apple on the comeback trail. The iMac G4 mounted the display on a balanced arm similar to a Luxo lamp while the motherboard resided in a hemispherical base. This allowed the display to be adjusted to a wide range of heights and angles and each of the two main sections to be "true to itself."
Alas, the design had its limits. It's difficult to imagine today's ample 27-inch iMac displays balancing off such a mount. Furthermore, after the switch to Intel, processor thermals improved to help enable the slim iMac of today. The idea of efforts being true to themselves (at least until nearly compromise-free convergence is possible), however, has stayed a hallmark of Apple. For example, the company would resist adding video to the iPod for years after competitors had the feature.
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablets, Software, Apple, Microsoft
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AT&T cuts smartphone prices in half, jumps on the discount bandwagon
If you're looking for a new smartphone, this is apparently the weekend to go shopping. Following Radio Shack's promise to chip in a $100 Google Play credit with purchase an HTC One and Walmart's deep iPhone discounts, AT&T has quietly tacked on a 50% discount for phones under $199. This puts devices like the HTC One, Samsung's Galaxy S4 (and the S4 Active), the Note II, both of BlackBerry's latest handsets and iPhone 5 at an enticing $100. Naturally, Ma Bell has attached the usual hooks: the deal necessitates a new 2-year agreement or contract renewal, and in-store purchases require a trade-in device to activate the discount. Not a bad deal if you're hankering for new hardware -- just make sure you don't walk away with buyer's remorse.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T
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Via: TUAW
Source: AT&T
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The After Math: Samsung's big Premiere and Instagram's video debut
Welcome to The After Math, where we attempt to summarize this week's tech news through numbers, decimal places and percentages.
This week's been arguably less hectic than the last, but both Samsung and Facebook decided to up the tempo on Thursday. The Korean hardware maker announced a stack of new hardware, from tablets to cameras to desktop PCs, while Facebook's Instagram went toe to toe with Twitter's Vine, announcing a new video-sharing feature. On the very same day, Tesla had something to show, deftly switching batteries on its Model S faster than you'd be able to fill a gas tank. There were, however, six other days to the week, and we've pored over all of them for this week's numeros.
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Transportation, Samsung
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Inhabitat's Week in Green: flying bicycle, tattooed fruits and a wireless EV-charging system
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
This week, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar -- the world's largest solar-powered boat -- docked in downtown Manhattan, and Inhabitat was on the scene to tour the 115-foot Swiss catamaran and learn about its latest trans-Atlantic voyage. The PlanetSolar team isn't the only one pioneering new technologies, though. Google announced plans to deploy fleets of solar-powered balloons to bring the internet to remote locations around the world. A pair of British men debuted the world's first flying bicycle, which combines a bike with a fan-powered paraglider. A 16-year-old developed a cleaner, more efficient way to create biofuel from algae, and Coca-Cola produced a classic Coke bottle that's made entirely from ice that melts away when you're finished with it.
Filed under: Misc, Internet
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Vertu TI now available in red or blue limited editions, only 1,000 of each made
It's been almost half a year since Vertu launched its first-ever Android phone, the TI, and now the company's decided to throw in a couple of limited editions to lure the big spenders. As pictured above, the new Vertu TI Colours collection is wrapped in either "Sunset Red" or "Midnight Blue" calf leather, and only 1,000 units are made for each color. As per typical Vertu style, there's a unique number etched on the back to indicate which of the 1,000 units yours is.
The rest of this hand-crafted, matt grey titanium phone remains unchanged otherwise, namely its 3.7-inch tough sapphire screen, Android 4.0, 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4, 64GB storage plus an 8-megapixel camera. And of course, the phone still comes with the famed Vertu Concierge, a "100 percent independent" service that CEO Perry Oosting is very proud of. To join this exclusive club, you'll have to somehow fork out a whopping HK$90,000 or €8,900 (about US$11,700) -- just a tad more expensive than the TI Titanium Pure Black edition, but also more flamboyant. This author already spotted these new phones at Vertu's Hong Kong Airport store, and he's currently accepting donations.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
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Gionee ELIFE E6 smartphone leaks with 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core SoC and 13MP cam
It looks like the battle for affordable smartphone flagships is heating up. Hot on the heels of TCL / Alcatel's tasty $280 Idol X comes word of Gionee's ELIFE E6, also boasting a 5-inch 1080p display, 1.5GHz quad-core processor (MediaTek MT6589T) with 2GB RAM and 13-megapixel BSI camera with flash. In addition to these main specs, the Chinese handset allegedly packs a 5MP front-facing shooter and 2000mAh+ battery, runs Android 4.2.1 (Jellybean) and features a svelte 8mm profile. Gionee is officially expected to launch the ELIFE E6 in Beijing on July 10th for somewhere between $320 and $360. Availability is unknown, but with MediaTek's SoC supporting both 42Mbps HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA (no LTE here, folks), this phone is likely destined to China, India and other APAC nations.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
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Via: VR-Zone
Source: GizChai
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FIFA reconsiders 3D World Cup 2014 coverage after ESPN 3D shutdown
ESPN 3D launched in 2010 with coverage of 25 FIFA World Cup matches, but word that the channel will be mothballed has the international football association reviewing whether it will use the tech in 2014. An Associated Press report quotes FIFA director of television Niclas Ericson saying that there is interest from several broadcasters in a 3D presentation, but the cost is currently under review. While FIFA focuses on its standard HD broadcasts, it's also thinking over offering 4K Ultra HD coverage, which is currently being tested during Confederations Cup matches. The Hollywood Reporter points out that while Sony has backed off some of the sponsorships that pushed early 3D productions, it's providing some of the equipment for UHDTV tests like its F55 4K camera. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is already in line for a 4K soccer broadcast in 2014, we'll see if it's put to use alongside new goal-line technology.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
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Source: Associated Press
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Huawei Ascend P6 solves 4 x 4 Rubik's Cube in 50 moves, considers meaning of life (video)
Okay, it might not be the fastest phone-cubing you've ever seen (or the funkiest,) but it's likely some of the shrewdest. Using an Ascend P6 at its heart, "MultiCuber 3" is the latest contraption from serial cube-coder (and ARM Engineer) David Gilday which combines Lego Mindstorms, algorithms and "because it's there" style optimism in equal measures. A custom app snaps the unsolved cube from all sides, to understand the starting point, then figures out the quickest path to color-coded harmony. Gilday claims that most human cubers would take about 120 moves to solve the 4 x 4 puzzle, making MultiCuber 3's 50 somewhat impressive. Watch the whole thing unfold in the video past the break, complete with appropriately euphoric soundtrack.
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Via: Phone Arena
Source: ARMflix (YouTube)
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