Everything Samsung seems to be just a touch better in Seoul, and the South Korean giant’s Galaxy Player 70 smartphone is no exception. For starters, it ships with a dual-core 1GHz processor — a first for the WiFi-only Galaxy Player series. The 5-inch capacitive-touch LCD offers 800 x 480-pixel resolution, and can display whatever the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS throws its way, but it also packs a unique Korea-only punch: a DMB TV tuner, for pulling in terrestrial programming only available in Samsung’s home country. There’s also a requisite 8-inch retractable antenna, in addition to the standard micro-USB port, microSD card slot, headphone jack, built-in mic and stereo speakers around back. Like most Samsung smartphone, it’s also photo friendly, with a 5-megapixel camera with flash on the rear and a VGA cam up front. The 2500mAh battery isn’t easily swappable, unfortunately, since the PMP’s backplate is screwed to the housing.

Considering that the Samsung Galaxy Player 70 smartphone is only going to be available for purchase in Korea, the only opportunity to go hands-on at this point is at Samsung HQ, which we just happen to be visiting this week. We spent some time with the device today, and while there’s no chance of this iteration ever making an appearance on U.S. shores, we certainly wouldn’t mind if it did. The plastic housing has the same look and feel as most other Galaxy smartphone, so there were no surprises there. It does bear a striking resemblance to the Galaxy S II, though the LCD here doesn’t offer contrast or color reproduction that’s anywhere close to the Super AMOLED Plus display on that record-breaking smartphone. Navigating the TouchWiz interface felt snappy, as it should given the processing duo on board, and the DMB television viewer worked flawlessly — at least once we had a chance to take it away from the rumored-frequency-jamming R&D facility. Join us past the break for a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy Player 70 smartphone – for those of you living outside of Korea, this may very well be your only chance.

Samsung Galaxy Player 70 smartphone hands-on video

Source – Engadget

Neo

DSLRs tend to have longer refresh cycles than oh, we don’t know, phones with RAZR in the name, but every shooter must eventually go to heaven nonetheless. About a year and a half after introducing the Alpha A55 translucent mirror camera, Sony’s putting that model out to pasture to make way for its replacement, the Alpha A57. This time around, Sony’s bumped the ISO to 16000 and boosted the continuous shooting rate from 10 frames per second to 12. It’s also rolling out some improvements to the 15-point autofocus system, including enhanced object-tracking and quick AF in Full HD movie mode. Like the A55 before it, the A57 packs a 16-megapixel APS HD CMOS sensor, though this guy records 1920 x 1080 video at 60p, 60i and 24p/25p. It also packs the relatively new Bionz imaging engine introduced with Sony’s fall 2011 models. Also on board: effects like Auto Portrait Framing (it is what it sounds like) and Clear Image Zoom, which promises an effective two-fold increase in focal length. Design-wise, the A57 takes some cues from the A65, and sports a tilting, 921,600-dot LCD. It’ll start at $699 for the body only when it goes on sale next month, though it will also be offered as a $799 kit with an 18-55mm lens. Until then, we’ve got official press shots below.

 
Sony Alpha A57 DSLR Features:

• 16.1 Effective Megapixels Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor
• Powerful BIONZ Processor
• 3D Sweep Panorama Mode
• Multi-Frame NR
• Clear Image Zoom
• Translucent Mirror Technology
• Eye-Level Electronic Viewfinder
• SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
• Full HD 1080/60p/24p Movies

 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A57 Camera Technical Specification:

• Pixel Gross: Approx. 16.7 Megapixels
• Effective Pixels: Approx. 16.1 Megapixels
• File Qualities/Formats: JPEG (Standard, Fine), RAW, RAW + JPEG
• Imaging Sensor: Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor (23.5 X 15.6 mm)
• Processor: BIONZ Image Processor
• Lens Type: A-Mount 18-55mm Zoom Lens
• Focal Length (35mm equivalent): APS-C 35mm eqv. 27mm to 82.5mm
• Sensitivity: Still Images: Auto (ISO 100-3200)/ISO 100-16000 (1 EV Step), Movies: Auto(ISO 100-3200 Equivalent)/ISO 100-3200 Equivalent (1 EV Step) ; Multi Frame NR (Up to ISO 25600)
• Shutter Speed: Still: 1/4000 to 30 Seconds, Bulb Movies: 1/4000 to 1/4 (1/3 Step), Up to 1/60 in AUTO Mode
• 3.0? TFT Xtra Fine LCD (921,600 Pixels) w/TruBlack Technology
• Self-Timer: 2-Sec. Or 10-Sec. Delay
• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• HD Output: HDMI TypeC mini
• Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC And Memory Stick Pro Duo/Pro HG Duo
• Info LITHIUM NP-FM500H (7.4V) Battery
• Dimensions: 132.1 x 97.5 x 80.7 mm
• Weight: 618 gm

Source – Engadget

Neo

If that display up there looks familiar, it’s because it’s already won itself a fancy schmancy iF product design award. But as Prospero would say, ’tis new to thee — at least if you live on this side of the Atlantic. Acerjust announced it’s bringing that very S23HL monitor to the US, along with four other models whose screens range in size from 20 to 27 inches. The S235HL is clearly the star of the show here, with a half-inch-thick frame and asymmetrical stand. (It has 1080p resolution and VGA / HDMI ports too, if you’re interested in more than just the design.) Intrigued? You can expect to fork over $219 for it when it lands stateside next month.

Moving on, Acer also has two other 23-inch, 1080p monitors — the S230HL Abd and Abii — with the former packing VGA and DVI ports, and the latter trading DVI for two HDMI sockets. Look for those in April for $169 and $189, respectively. Of the lot, the most expensive is the 27-inch S271HL, a 27-inch, 1080p monitor with DVI, HDMI and a VESA mount. You can snag one now for a cool $329. Last but not least, if you’re on a tighter budget there’s the 20-inch S200HL, which has a more modest 1600 x 900 resolution, along with VGA and DVI ports. That’s on sale now for $139. More info on all of these in the PR after the break, though we’re pretty sure we passed on all the pertinent details already.

Press Release: ACER INTRODUCES NEW ULTRA SLIM DISPLAYS

Eco-Friendly High-Definition Widescreen LED Backlit Displays
Provide Stunning Picture Quality for Work or Play

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 13, 2012 – Acer America today announced five new ultra slim LED-backlight displays. Available in 20-, 23- or 27-inches and with adjustable tilt bases, their slim profile and sleek contemporary designs are also packed with top-of-the line features and technologies. They’re ideal for viewing family photos and videos, watching the latest DVDs/movies or for business applications that require excellent resolution, contrast ratios and graphics performance.
With a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Acer’s new ultra-slim monitors radiate the brightest whites and deepest blacks. This advanced technology enables a dramatic improvement of gradation and detail, especially in very dim or very bright scenes, for stunning picture quality. Their quick 5ms response time reduces deviations in transition time, delivering stutter-free moving images.

Included in all the new models, the Acer eColor Management tool lets users optimize image performance under different viewing scenarios at the touch of a button.

The Acer S Series of monitors are also eco-friendly. Their white LED technology minimizes environmental impact by consuming up to 68 percent less power than standard LCD displays, ultimately saving on energy costs. Energy Star® compliant, the displays are also durable and constructed of mercury-free materials, further reducing their environmental impact.

Acer® S235HL — 23″ Widescreen LCD
Winner of a prestigious 2012 iF product design award, the exceptional style of the S235HL bii is sure to impress, providing a high-end luxury feel to any home or professional business environment. It is a true blend of aesthetic appeal, premium performance and earth-friendly functionality.

Its razor-slim profile is just over half an inch, delivering a minimalist, modern look. It is encased in a glossy black bezel and features a sleek asymmetrical design. The silver stand provides elegance, while the embedded ice-blue LED buttons embedded in the stand offer a contemporary feel. To top it off, all the I/O ports are located on the base, eliminating cable clutter and further enhancing the clean and simple appearance.

The S235HL bii LCD offers the ultimate multimedia experience with a widescreen cinematic view that shows off photos and videos, and makes viewing HD content a breeze. Its powerful graphics performance and stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution means 16:9 HD digital content can be viewed without image distortion. Device compatibility is maximized with three video inputs, including one VGA and two HDMI ports with High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) that supports 1080p HD and allows for viewing of digital movies and copy-protected media.

The Acer S235HL LCD monitor will be available in April at online retailers and has an MSRP of $219.

Acer® S200HL — 20″ Widescreen LCD
This LED-backlit display combines stylish ultra-thin functionality with 1600 x 900 resolution and dual inputs (VGA and DVI) for greater compatibility with peripherals.

Its rounded glossy, porcelain-like stand looks nice in any environment and its glossy display frame radiates a sense of simple modernism.

The Acer S200HL Abd monitor is available now at online retailers and has an MSRP of $139.

Acer® S230HL Abd and S230HL Abii — 23″ Widescreen LCDs
These 23-inch ultra thin LED-backlit displays will complement any home or office, and combine stylish functionality with powerful graphics performance.

They both provide the ultimate multimedia experience with a widescreen cinematic view that shows off photos, videos and HD content. With stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution, 16:9 HD digital content can be viewed without image distortion.

The S230HL Abd offers two video inputs; one VGA and one DVI (with HDCP). The S230HL Abii maximizes device compatibility with three signal input ports; one VGA and two HDMI (with HDCP) for viewing 1080p full HD graphics.

The Acer S230HL Abd monitor is available now at leading retailers and has an MSRP of $169. The Acer S230HL Abii monitor is also available now at online retailers and has an MSRP of $189.

Acer® S271HL — 27″ Widescreen LCD
With a 1920 x 1080 resolution, this 27-inch display offers an impressive viewing experience and the ultimate multimedia experience. It also delivers widescreen cinematic viewing of HD photos and videos with its 16:9 aspect ratio. DVI and HDMI ports with high-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) support 1080p HD and allows for viewing of digital movies and copy protected media. It is also VESA compliant for easy mounting to a wall.

The Acer S271HL bid LCD monitor will be available in April at leading online and traditional retailers and has an MSRP of $329.

Source – Engadget

Neo

Did Apple actually release a new iPad with LTE and a Retina Display last week? Or did it waft hallucinogens at us while we liveblogged, making us see only what we wanted to see? These doubts should be quashed when the third-gen tablet starts reaching consumers who are too populous to drug effectively. Fortunately, that process has already started, with some folks over in Vietnam claiming they’ve got hold of the retail version of the new iPad 3 and posting evidence to prove it. Take a look at the video after the break and the images at the source link to catch a glimpse of what your pre-order might look like when it solidifies into reality.

New iPad 3 unboxing video



Source – Engadget

Neo

Has spring 2012 brought a rebirth to the Xperia range, or just a rebranding? On the face of it, that’s an easy one. The Sony Xperia S (codenamed “Nozomi”) is the first handset we’ve reviewed in the post-Ericsson era and you only have to glance at its spec sheet to see that more has changed than just the logo. The 4.3-inch LCD display outguns older Xperias with a bright and contrasty 1280 x 720 resolution. This feature alone helps the device to sit more snugly on the Sonyfamily sofa, where it can share popcorn with the tablets, PCs and TVs that Kaz & Co. want to merge into a seamless media-munching ecosystem. The Xperia S’ camera pushes in that same direction, shooting 12-megapixel stills and 1080p video and then streaming its creations to other displays over HDMI and DLNA. Rounding it off, you get quirky features like NFC and a distinctive, Bravia-like physical design. But not everything here is so fresh and spring-like: other aspects of the device are still tinged with winter, as you’ll discover if you read on.

Hardware



Like any good tour, this one begins at the bar — the distinctive, LED-lit plastic bar that appears to segment the Xperia S into two parts. Having seen the phone handed around a room of bloggers before we picked up our review sample, it was one of the first things people noticed, and it was either championed or chided depending on each person’s taste. Bearing in mind that Engadget has a thing for Tron furnitureand fur coats, we actually kinda like it. The three Android navigation buttons are etched into the bar and look nice when it lights up.

So yes, we enjoy it, but there are equally as many reasons not to. For a start, it makes the device feel longer than it needs to be, and considering it’s already a lot thicker than previous Xperias (e.g., the Xperia Arc, pictured below), that’s a big sacrifice. What’s more, it doesn’t do Philips Ambilight-style tricks like the Xperia U, and it doesn’t necessarily have the same technical justification as the aluminum unibody Xperia P.

A more serious problem with the Xperia S’ hardware isn’t the way it looks, but the way it’s built. There are seams everywhere, where plastic meets plastic around the translucent bar, around the port covers, around the scratch resistant screen and around the rear cover. (Note: the video review says “Gorilla Glass”, but scratch resistant is right.) These gaps attract dust, make the device feel unfairly cheap considering the high quality materials, and occasionally cause the port covers to pop open if they catch on your finger or pocket. Considering that the 1,750mAh battery isn’t removable and the 16 to 32GB of onboard storage isn’t expandable via microSD, the rear cover seems unnecessary — we would rather have had a Micro SIM drawer, better flaps over the ports and a Lumia 800-style unibody instead. Sony’s designers may be based in Lund, Sweden, but with the Xperia S they haven’t been Nordic enough.

There’s an issue with the navigation buttons too. The touch-sensitive spots for Back, Home and Options are nowhere near their corresponding icons in the translucent bar, and they’re unmarked, save for three barely visible silver dots. Not knowing where precisely to aim your finger initially results in a lot of mis-hits, and the buttons themselves aren’t particularly responsive, but you do get used to them after three or four days. Virtual buttons might be preferable, but there’s no way they could come with the promised upgrade to Android 4.0 — that would make the design of the lower part of the phone completely redundant. Speaking of ICS, we initially heard it might be here already, but now the word is Q2.

Display

Just when the Xperia S’ build quality makes us feel low, the wonderful display picks us up again. Every single time. It may be plain old TFT LCD rather than AMOLED, but at least there’s no PenTile pixel arrangement here and the 342ppi pixel density renders everything with perfect stability and smoothness. We’d much rather watch a movie on the Xperia S than on the AMOLED-equipped PlayStation Vita, for example. Although the Vita has a bigger screen and better stereo speakers, the Xperia S delivers sharper, more colorful images — plus the sound from its speaker is louder and more engaging.

The display’s strength is also readily apparent when you compare it side-by-side with an older, LCD-packing Xperia like the Arc. You won’t see it on a photo unless you look closely enough to notice the matrix of pixels on the Arc, but load up the Kindle app and things become more obvious: text looks blocky at 854 x 480 resolution but immaculate at 1280 x 720. The Arc also has worse viewing angles.

The screen performs admirably outdoors and proves just what LCD is capable when it’s implemented properly. While some other LCD displays can be quickly obscured by excessive reflections outdoors, the Xperia S’ panel retains its contrast much better. There’s a consistent yellow tinge to all white areas, especially compared to the more neutral Retina Display on the iPhone 4, but the Mobile BRAVIA Engine seems to make up for that when watching movies and stills. Overall, it’s clear that Sony has invested a lot of time and money in getting this new panel just right.

Calling and reception

As you’d hope, there’s little to report here. We used the phone solidly for a week and found that it flicked sensibly between bands, gave us consistent reception, and handled data averagely well at regular HSPA speeds on the UK Vodafone network. The speaker worked fine both ways, as did the bundled headset — although as ever we only used it once to test it, before switching to some proper headphones (in this instance, an amazing pair of IE 80s lent to us by Sennheiser.) The Xperia S has a smart notification LED that glows different colors to indicate different events, such as blue for a missed call and orange for charging. This is something missing from many rival phones, and anyone who depends on their smartphone for productivity will appreciate it.

Camera

The 12-megapixel shooter on the Xperia S is a world away from last year’s Xperias. You get fuller controls, including Exposure Value, ISO, Focus Mode, Metering Mode and White Balance (manual or presets). Even better, you can position up to four controls of your choosing on the main viewfinder screen, which provides quicker access to the settings you adjust most frequently.

Sony Xperia S review hands-on camera sample shots

You also get much faster operation, with the ability to hold the dedicated camera button down while the phone is still in standby mode and snap off a shot within 1.4 seconds, by our measure. This way of shooting doesn’t produce great results, because it gives you no time to frame or focus accurately, but it does prove what the camera module is capable, and it may come in a handy on the odd occasion. During regular operation, taking shots as normal within the camera app, the Xperia S was extremely responsive.

As for the pictures themselves, they testify to good automatic exposure, white balance and flash control, and they’re sumptuous on the phone’s display: sharp, bright, colorful and contrasty. The combination of the hi-res sensor and HD display also helps low-light shots, because the camera is able to pump up gain while hiding noise among the abundance of pixels — i.e., the noise is there, and it’s pretty bad, but you have to zoom in further to see it.

The Xperia S’ camera is a treat if you primarily view photos on the phone itself. However, if you occasionally want to blow up a picture to frame it, or if you want display your pictures on a bigger screen over the HDMI output or DLNA, then there’s an important caveat.

Previous Xperias, such as the Neo, suffered from excessive image compression, and that’s still unfortunately an issue with the Xperia S. There’s no option to change the JPEG settings to create bigger, prettier files comparable to what you’d get on the Galaxy S II or iPhone 4. The default compression has improved considerably since the Neo, with 12-megapixel stills averaging a file size of 3MB, but that’s still not enough.

The Xperia S creates JPEG files that are around 25 percent bigger than those from an iPhone 4, even though they contain 240 percent more pixels. So you can zoom in further on an Xperia S image, but what will you find when you get there? Either Sony is callously wasting the power of Xperia S’ higher resolution Exmor R sensor, or they’re deliberately maxing out on compression in order to disguise the fact that the sensor is noisy. Either way, the resultant image quality is designed for superficial viewing only, and we’d still rather shoot on an aged iPhone 4 (let alone a 4S).

Sony Xperia S review hands-on camera video sample



It was a similar story with 1080p video, which was compressed to around 100MB per minute. The Nokia Lumia 800 also shoots between 80MB and 100MB per minute, but with 720p resolution. Despite the over-zealous compression, however, we were generally pleased with Xperia S’ clips: autofocus was slow but dependable, there weren’t too many sudden switches in exposure or white balance and audio levels were consistent.

Performance and battery life

The Xperia S arrived too soon to be endowed with any of the new chips revealed at MWC. Instead, it contains one of the better processors from last year: the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8260. We’ve already spent a lot of time with this processor, on phones like the HTC Sensation XE, and it’s certainly powerful enough to handle the functions the Xperia S is designed for. There are no lags or stutters to note, browsing is fluid, and there’s no nasty mismatch between the battery and processor either. We scraped just under two full days with light use, involving a maximum of two hours spent out of standby each day and careful connection settings. Even heavy usage patterns, such as leaving WiFi on (as in the 15-hour day below) and watching movie trailers (an addiction with a screen like this), left the Xperia S with plenty of reserves when we hit the sack. A standard battery test with looped video yielded over five hours, which is around the same as the Sensation XE despite the Xperia’s higher resolution screen.

Here’s how the processor stacks up against the Xperia Arc S and — for a bit of fun — the Galaxy Note, whose Exynos processor was another great SoC from last year. The Xperia S holds its own, especially when it comes to graphics and browsing benchmarks.

Software

If you’ve never heard of Android 2.3.7, then here’s everything you need to know: it’s old. The Xperia skin that sits lightly on top of the OS is very familiar too, as are the various pre-loaded apps and social networking integration efforts, such as TimeScape, which we’ve covered in previous reviews. Some of these additions are good, like the music app which has a good equalizer system. Others are bad, like the repeated McAffee antivirus notifications that are too difficult to exterminate.

Aside from the bloatware, however, Sony has come up with some genuinely exciting stuff. The Xperia S integrates well with the Xperia SmartWatch, for example, sending notifications straight to your wrist over Bluetooth. We only had a chance to play with a prototype SmartWatch, but we had fun with it and no one can deny that Sony is sticking its neck out to do something different.

Sony has found useful employment for NFC, bundling the Xperia S with two NFC SmartTags that you can use to automatically change your phone settings to suit different locations. You simply hold the tag against the handset to initialize it, and then choose various actions that will be triggered the next time the tag comes into contact. These settings aren’t flexible enough to make this very useful yet — there’s no airplane mode, you can’t disable data without disabling calls, and you can’t stack instructions on top of each other to achieve more sophisticated automation. Perhaps these things will come in a software update, but for now Sony gets points more for the idea than the practicality.

Notice a theme developing here? Yup, that’d be the need for patience, as Sony gradually (perhaps too gradually) makes good on the promise of its new ideas. That applies to NFC, but it applies even more to another key area of the Xperia S’ software: it’s ability to hook up with Sony’s gaming, video and music platforms. It’s supposed to be great, but the reality hasn’t quite caught up.

Take a movie rental as an example. There’s a placeholder app for the PlayStation Store on the Xperia S, but it doesn’t work. Instead, you can use the pre-loaded Video Unlimited app, which offers exactly the same video content as the PS Store, for the same prices, using the same login and credit card details, but which is totally separate. A purchase you made on the PS Store on another Sony device — such as the PS Vita — won’t be remembered in Video Unlimited, and vice versa.

Now, this might all be solved in a week’s time, when the PS Store placeholder app informs us it will ‘wake up’ and start doing stuff. If that happens, our complaint will become a spring shower in a tea cup. On the other hand, it’s also possible that the two storefronts will operate in parallel for some time. We asked Sony about this, and got the following reply:

“While the Sony Entertainment Network storefront is fully integrated among the various Sony devices compatible with the Video Unlimited service and the PlayStation Network Video Store, our device domain model currently restricts playback of rented or purchased content. While we are exploring a less restrictive model, at this time, users who download content to Xperia (or PS Vita) can only play that content back on that device.”

Confusing? Just a little. You also have to bear in mind that Sony rarely gets things done in a hurry. The PlayStation Suite is a case in point. This is yet another storefront that will offer independently-produced titles for the Xperia S and other PlayStation-certified devices, but developers are still testing out the SDK. There’s no clear timeline for when their creations might start to appear in the Suite, or when the Suite might appear on the Xperia range. If you imagine that Kaz Hirai only has to click his fingers for things to get done, the Xperia S will likely prove you wrong.

Wrap-up

Could the Xperia S be your first Sony-branded phone? It you’re all about media consumption, and if you’re prepared to wait while Sony makes its cloud-based platforms more coherent, then the Xperia S is a great device. The display and the speaker are absorbing and addictive. The battery life is excellent, the processor is a good fit and the absence of expandable storage shouldn’t weigh too heavily if you get the 32GB option.

On the other hand, if you make more varied demands of your smartphone — like excellent build quality, pocket-friendly slimness or photos you can enlarge — then things get more complicated. US pricing has yet to be announced, but the 32GB version of the Xperia S is going for upwards of £430 ($680) SIM-free in the UK, or £370 pay-as-you-go on the Three network. Similar money could fetch you a legendary all-rounder like the Galaxy S II, or stretch to a 16GB Galaxy Nexus with an HD screen and better build quality, or — very soon — an HTC One S, which promises a cutting-edge Qualcomm S4 processor and a better camera. When sized up against a long rubric of criteria, rather than just its entertainment credentials, there’s little to make the Xperia S a compelling purchase.

Source – Engadget

Neo

Here she is! Er, new iPad 3. Breaking away from the numerical tracking system used before (and still used in the iPhone range), Apple has decided to highlight the most major change in its newest slate by simply dubbing it “new.” By and large, the new guy is the same as the old guy (Home button included), but with a few nice amenities that could very well convince OG iPad owners to upgrade. Upon touching the HD variant, it’s not the overall form factor that grabs us — it’s the screen. Given that we’re unashamed Pixel Density Enthusiasts ’round these parts, seeing a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution display in the same area as the prior ‘Pads is stunning. Nearly two months ago to the day, ASUS wowed our entire CES trailer with a reported 1,920 x 1,200 display on the TF700T; this, however, is something that really needs to be ogled to truly appreciate. In fact, the first viewing conjured up familiar feelings — ones that came to light when placing the iPhone 4 beside the iPhone 3G for the first time.

Unsurprisingly, Apple has managed to produce something that’s truly beautiful to look at, and while we’ve yet to see the full potential of having this many pixels on a 9.7-inch slate, we’re guessing a cadre of game developers are already hard at work in order to remedy that. Beyond being dazzling from a density standpoint, colors are sharp and accurate, and viewing angles are predictably ridiculous; even taking a peek from an extreme side angle gives way to a fairly solid image with next to no washout.

iPad 2

New iPad 3

Apple iPad 2012 first hands-on pictures

Other differences? Well, the rear camera has been greatly enhanced; not too shocking given that a) the iPhone 4S is sporting bolstered optics and b) FaceTime chats just won’t look as sexy without a higher-res sensor to fill up that higher-res display. Unfortunately, the front-facing camera is the same, so those beaming their face from that one won’t be doing so with any extra resolution. We weren’t able to give FaceTime a run here in San Francisco, but you can bet we will in our upcoming review. As for Siri? Well, it’s not here per se, but voice dictation is a nice compromise given that Siri isn’t exactly tailor made for products that don’t have an always-on connection. The A5X adds quad-core graphics power, and while zipping through home panes doesn’t feel dramatically faster, the bulk of the added horsepower isn’t truly appreciated until you fire up a forthcoming 3D title.

Apple iPad 2012 first hands-on video



We can already hear the pundits cockily renaming this thing the iPad 2S, but as Apple’s latest quarter has shown, people tend to spend money on even slight upgrades to existing hardware. Much like the first iPad, it’s pretty tough to say what sort of market impact the new iPad will have without first waiting for developers. A few months down the road, we’ll be able to more appropriately evaluate how devs are taking advantage of the massive uptick in pixels. In fact, we’re hoping for an entirely new wave of apps that will be enabled by the ability to shove so much more content onto a single screen. That said, it’ll bereally interesting to see how new apps — those designed specifically for the iPad’s Retina Display — scale down to the display seen on the iPad 1 and 2.

There’s no doubt that this here tablet feels every bit like a $500 product, oozing quality from edge to edge and being as delightful as ever to use. Is it the second coming of the tablet? Of course not, but if we’ve learned anything from the iPhone 4S, it doesn’t need to be. Apple just put an insane amount of screen real estate in the hands of crafty developers, and frankly, we can’t wait to see what they cook up. Till our full review, have a look at the shots below!

Apple iPad 2012 first hands-on (apps and camera) pictures

Update: We just circled back with Apple and learned a few more nuggets. The new iPad is ever-so-slightly thicker than the iPad 2, but we’re told that “most accessories” (including the Smart Cover) should work just fine. Moreover, the Voice Dictation feature here requires a web connection, which leaves us even more baffled at the omission of Siri. With Airplane mode toggled on, the microphone button on the keyboard simply vanishes. In practice, Dictation picked up our phrases perfectly, even in a crowded room that was simply buzzing from random chatter.

There’s also a new ability to delete photos from Photo Stream with iOS 5.1 (a particularly pointed issue for some users), and the camera shutter button has been relocated to roughly halfway up the screen in both horizontal and vertical orientations — it’s a heck of a lot more useful there. Everything else, including the headphone jack, volume rocker, mic slit and Dock Connection, remain the same as the iPad 2. We poked around in the Settings menu, and didn’t see an option to disable LTE on the Verizon slate that we had in front of us; you may remember the ability to disable 3G on prior models, but it doesn’t seem that those having LTE issues will be able to force themselves down to a slower network — at least not on the VZW edition.

The new iPhoto app is simply astounding. It’s fast, it’s elegant and infinitely useful. And the tweaks that you can apply to your photos are seriously impressive; gimmicky this is not. At $4.99, it’s probably the best bargain you’ll find on the App Store, particularly if you’re a photo lover, and those that rely on iCloud will appreciate the ability to edit on one’s iPad and have the revised version synced sans effort back into iPhoto or Aperture.

As for the new iWork apps? All of those will work on prior iPads, and even the new “trailer” feature in iMovie will be operational on the prior versions. We also confirmed that the new iPad has “the same CPU” as the iPad 2, but there’s dedicated silicon for the camera module and a lot more horsepower on the graphics front.

Source – Engadget

Neo