EVENTS
IFA: Your New Gear is Here
The IFA exhibition, held last month in Berlin, was responsible for hosting more than a few awesome product announcements. Below are
some of the best reveals of the show.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4,
Galaxy Note Edge and Gear VR
C
oming as no surprise
whatsoever, Samsung
did indeed unveil the
Galaxy Note 4. While the latest
phablet does not bump its size up
past the 5.7” of its predecessor,
pas t t he 5
its screen resolution did jump
scree n
sc reen
from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440,
fro m 1 92
192
giving a gobsmacking 515 ppi.
giv ing
g
Everyone may have seen the
Everyon
Everyon
Note 4 coming, but Samsung
Not e
still had two surprises in store,
sti ll ha
in the form of its next-gen
th
display sporting Galaxy
d
Note Edge and virtual
N
reality venturing Gear
r
VR. The distinguishing
V
feature of the Note Edge
f
(5.6” quad HD and
(
Super Amoled display),
S
is the curved angular
i
edge on its side, for quick reference to
user’s apps and notifications. Apart from
this new information strip, the Note Edge
incorporates the same chipset, RAM,
memory and camera as its non-edge
counterpart.
Switching things up to the virtual reality front,
the Korean giant showcased the Gear VR,
which works in conjunction with the Note 4
and takes advantage of its responsive quad
HD Super Amoled display (2560x1440).
Developed with virtual reality specialists,
Oculus, the Gear VR offers wearers a
96 degree field of view and generates a
60 fps frame rate, thanks to the Note 4. As
far as apps go, Samsung has partnered
with a range of content specialists to deliver
immersive experiences such as Marvel’s
Avengers, bringing Tony Stark’s lab to life.
Both the Note Edge and Gear VR remain in
the prototype phase.
Asus Zenbook UX305
Proving that advances are
still being made on the
notebook front, Asus trotted
out what it declared the
world’s thinnest ultrabook to
date – its 13.3” Zenbook,
with a razor thin profile
of 12.3 mm and weighing in at a mere 1.2 kg.
Furthermore, the notebook boasts Intel’s latest
processor, the Core M; but the kicker is really
the ultrabook’s screen, particularly considering
the screen’s profile. This boasts a stunning
resolution of 3200x1800 (276 ppi), although
touch is not a feature.
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
Sony’s presentation at IFA 2014
yielded a refreshed lineup of Xperia
devices, most intriguing of which
was the Japanese manufacturer’s
lightweight waterproof tablet offering,
the 8” Z3 Tablet Compact. Coming
in at only 270 g, and measuring
a svelte 6.4 mm thin, the Z3 Tablet Compact
has the potential to shake things up within the
crowded small tablet market. Beneath its 8” full HD
Triluminos display (1920x1200), Sony have opted
for a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor,
clocked at 2.5 GHz, while it also features IP67/68
rated waterproofness and dust resistance.
PS4 Remote Play
Sony also gave gamers something to get
excited about in the form of PS4 Remote
Play, for its next-gen console users to get
stuck into when it arrives in November this
year. This new gaming service, exclusive to
select Xperia devices at the moment, will allow
users to take their experience off-console and
switch things over to a smartphone or tablet.
12
Controls will come courtesy of the specially
designed GCM10 Game Control Mount
to attach to one’s Xperia device and PS4
controller. Furthermore, Sony’s PlayStation
app can turn your Xperia smartphone or tablet
into a second screen for interacting with other
PS contacts, and allows the purchase of PS4
games to download.
October 2014 | TechSmart