BlackBerry 10 L-Series caught in new photo?

Leaky L-Series (credit: N4BB)

RIM is managing to stay relevant and keeping interest in its BlackBerry 10 alive both through official announcements and inadvertent leaks.

While the company likely isn't to blame for a BB10 handset image that surfaced Thursday, it probably appreciates the publicity.

The image in question purportedly shows the L-Series, otherwise known as the touchscreen phone that will cradle RIM's forthcoming OS early next year.

Nothing new is revealed, though the image shows clear frontal detail and the same lock screen found in BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A and B handsets.

'It's coming'

RIM has repeated the "it's coming" sentiment surrounding BlackBerry 10 for months now, and on Wednesday announced the OS and accompanying devices are on track to arrive in early 2013.

CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed that over 50 carriers are in the midst of testing BB10 and according to him, response to the new operating system has been "tremendous."

Along with the touchscreen L-Series, RIM is also reportedly preparing a QWERTY-equipped N-Series - will be made publicly available.

Looking back at the L-Series, there's something iPhone 5 about it, so if design set it apart, hopefully BB10 will.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/blackberry-10-l-series-caught-in-new-photo-1109365

Read More

Asus Windows 8 lineup features dualscreen ultrabook Asus Taichi

← Previous Next →

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Amidst Apple iPad announcements, Asus took charge to unveil its own line of Windows 8 computers, featuring the dualscreen Taichi ultrabook. The 11 incher boasts screens on both the inside and outside of the cover, allowing you to use your laptop in a more social setting.

Asus founder Jonney Shih took to the stage this afternoon in New York City to unveil a slew of Windows 8 computers, including a dockable tablet (Asus Vivo Tab RT), a lightweight notebook (Asus VivoBook), and an all-in-one PC. But the star of the show was clear the Asus Taichi dualscreen convertible ultrabook/tablet that can display two screens simultaneously, making even the laptop a social gadget.

The 2.75-pound Asus Taichi features an 11.6-inch screen that’s equipped with Intel Core i5, 128GB of solid state drive, Intel graphics, 10-finger touch capacitive display, and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. It’s also got a 5-megapixel front-facing camera capable of capturing 1080p HD video while the inside cam records in 720p. Did we mention an integrated Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speaker? Battery life takes a backseat for powering two screens, however, coming in at just five hours per charge.

While most Windows 8 laptops have a button on the keyboard that takes you to the Windows Metro UI, once you close the laptop, the outer screen will automatically switch on to whatever you were working on from the inside screen. You have the option of turning this off, of course, as well as the ability to lock auto-screen rotation. At the top corner of the display, you can also jump into the Asus’s own UI which will let you select screen sharing options. Here, you can choose Display Modes, such as turning on just the outer or inner screen, or a Mirror Mode that turns both screens on at the same time with the same content. The fourth option lets you display two different screens between the outer and inner screens, making it easy to share the laptop between two people or play games with one laptop.

It’s unlike many laptops we’ve seen, and certainly have its unique perks. Those who are afraid of getting scratches on their laptop might want to think twice about being extra cautious around using the Asus Taichi. The hybrid laptop slash tablet ships in November, and starts at $1,300 while the maxed out version with Intel Core i7, a stylus, and 256GB of SSD bumps up to $1,600.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/asus-windows-8-lineup-features-dualscreen-ultrabook-asus-taichi/

Read More

SpareOne emergency phone: One battery, 15-year charge, now in waterproof bag

When you can't rely on your smartphone battery to last forever, use the SpareOne emergency phone as backup.

Tis the season for new smartphone announcements. Whether you are a diehard gadgeteer or a general consumer shopping for a new phone, one of the most important thing you want to learn about a product is how long the battery lasts. You never know when you will need to make calls during emergency situations. Luckily, you don’t always have to rely on smartphones in case of long term power outages. The SpareOne emergency cellphone is your perfect backup, running on a single AA battery and can reportedly last up to 15 years with 10 hours of talk time.

We received a demo unit of the SpareOne phone and it’s as bare as an emergency phone gets. The candybar style device has all the buttons in the front, is extremely lightweight, and comes complete with the one AA battery it needs to power on. You’ll need to insert your own micro SIM card to make calls, but 911 will always work with or without a SIM. SpareOne recently released the device with a new waterproof, floating bag so your one emergency won’t get destroyed, making it durable in an all-weather situation.

While it’s not a particularly fancy gadget, it does seem like a fairly useful one to have sitting in your emergency shelf. If necessary, the phone also doubles as an torchlight and and last up to 24 hours with the single AA battery. Though the idea is for SpareOne to be an emergency backup phone, the device could make for a good starter phone for younger kids whom you don’t believe has the responsibility of owning a smartphone just yet — but should still have cellphone access at the minimum. It could also make for a good rugged, traveling phone for when you take outdoor trips and don’t want to ruin your fancy iPhone 5. Of course, the only problem you’ll run into in these situations is having to actually remember your contacts’ phone numbers or carry a phonebook … and when was the last time anyone did either?

If you’re intrigued, SpareOne emergency phone is available for purchase now at $120 apiece.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/spareone-emergency-phone-one-battery-15-year-charge-now-in-waterproof-bag/

Read More