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    Logitech set to unleash washable keyboard later this month

    Gadgets Team
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    Logitech set to unleash washable keyboard later this month

    Eating snacks while typing can sometimes lead to a big mess that could harm our PC. We’re pretty sure that almost all of us have spilled juice on our keyboards or ate bread while typing, allowing the crumbs to fall. Oftentimes, the fallen crumbs get tucked away into the keys and the space under the edges of the trackpad. You’d have to clean it. But since you can’t clean most electronic devices by hosing it down with water, you’d have to use alternative methods, like thoroughly dusting the dirt off the device.

    Logitech introduces an extremely easier solution to your messy situation—the Washable Keyboard K310. It’s basically a normal plug-and-play keyboard that you can soak in water when it gets dirty.

    The device has drainage holes at the back that easily let out water and let in air to dry. The characters on the keys won’t rub away after cleaning because they are laser-printed and UV-coated. According to Engadget, the keys can reportedly last for up to five million keystrokes each. Although the keyboard itself can be submerged in up to 11 inches of water, you have to remember to keep the USB connector nice and dry to be able to use it.

    The Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, and is expected to be available in the U.S. later this month at an SRP of  USD$39.99. No word yet on whether it will be made available in the Philippines as well. But we know some of you would love to get your hands on one of these nifty (and squeaky clean) keyboards.

    Source: Mashable, Engadget, Yahoo! News

    Nokia Asha 311 now available in the Philippines, touchscreen display for only Php 5,650

    Gadgets Team
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    Nokia Asha 311 now available in the Philippines, touchscreen display for only Php 5,650

    Nokia has given us a heads up that their adorably affordable Asha 311 touchscreen phone should now be hitting retail in the Philippines. This particular device is fully capable of mobile data (3.5G), WiFi and is equipped with a 3-inch touchscreen display. A 1GHz processor powers the entire experience, which incidentally also allows the Asha 311 to run mobile games. Nokia has pegged the local price of the Asha 311 at only Php 5,650 so a purchase shouldn’t put that much of a dent in your checkbook.

     

    Android powered Nikon Coolpix S800c official, costs $350

    Gadgets Team
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    Android powered Nikon Coolpix S800c official, costs $350

    Seems like the initial leak for Nikon’s Coolpix S800c Android powered camera was correct, and now the Japanese firm has made it official. The Nikon Coolpix S800c boasts a 10x optical zoom lens, built-in GPS module for geotagging duties, a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, 3.5-inch OLED WVGA touchscreen display and Android 2.3.

    The addition of Android 2.3 into the mix means that you can immediately upload your photos from the phone to the internet to the social network of your choice, or if that’s not possible, wirelessly transfer said images to your smartphone. The camera is also capable of full HD 1080p recording, so you won’t need to bring along a camcorder to take videos of you nailing that dive into that green lagoon. We’re not entirely sure if you can use Google’s Play store with this particular Android device, but we’re sure we’ll find out in the coming months. The Nikon Coolpix S800c will hit the states next month with an SRP of $349.99 (Php 14778), unfortunately there’s no word how much this particular device will retail for when it comes to the Philippines.

    Source: Nikon

    The New Media awards ‘Digital Heroes’ of the Habagat calamity

    Gadgets Team
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    The New Media awards ‘Digital Heroes’ of the Habagat calamity

    Pioneer digital marketing site The New Media (TNM) held its first ever The New Media Digital Heroes Awards. The first batch of awardees are individuals and organizations who used social media to help out during the recent Habagat flood. They are:

    • Mahar Lagmay (Project NOAH)
    • DOST_Pagasa Twitter Team
    • MMDA Twitter Team
    • Aileen Apolo, Google and Google Volunteers
    • Undersecretary Manolo Quezon III, PCDSPO
    • Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigal Valte
    • Rosario Juan, #RescuePH and #Relief PH
    • Tonyo Cruz, #RescuePH and #Relief PH
    • JP Loh, #RescuePH and #Relief PH

    These awardees were key figures who used various online channels including Twitter, Facebook, and Google Docs to mobilize and lead rescue and relief efforts to aid the families that were struck by the disaster.

    TNM hopes that through this event, they will be able to inspire more Filipino netizens to use technology and social media as a positive driving force, especially during a calamity.

     

    Instacube: A living canvas for your Instagram photos

    Gadgets Team
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    Instacube: A living canvas for your Instagram photos

    For those of you who would like to take pictures of your breakfast, lunch, dinner (and probably other things as well), frame it and show it to your friends wherever you go, there’s the Instacube. According to Wired, “It’s got all the basics—wireless, touchscreen, flash memory—packaged up to look like the [Instagram] app. In fact, the package is a big part of the attraction. If digital photo frames seem like they’re not “in” anymore, it may be because so many are unattractive with a poor user interface. Instacube aims to change that with a slick, straight-from-Instagram interface and a stylish box.”

    Although it’s only a Kickstarter project right now, it aims to become a reality by March 2013. The project just started today, and already has over 800 backers and over $90,000 raised towards its goal. “Liberating Instagram photos from your smart device, Instacube feeds your favorite images wirelessly at 3x the size,” the project page says. The first 1,000 backers will receive an Instacube for $100, and everyone else can get one for $150. What you get is a display that matches the 600-square-pixels size of Instagram photos and toggles through different feeds, based on friends or hashtags. The frame runs an Android operating system, so developers will be able to play around with it too.

    LG launches first 84-inch Ultra Definition 4K TV in Korea

    Gadgets Team
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    LG launches first 84-inch Ultra Definition 4K TV in Korea

    Looks like the next big thing in TVs will be 4K displays, or as LG likes to call them, ultra definition displays. The Korean company has just unveiled their own 4K display in Korea earlier today. This 84-inch behemoth uses LG’s triple XD image engine, which compliments the TV’s eye popping 3840×2160 native resolution. This particular TV also boasts 3D functionality, and sports LG’s Smart TV functionality. It also uses LG’s Smart Remote, and LG promises that this particular device has access to multitude of apps available to LG’s Smart TVs. No local availability has been set yet, so Toshiba’s RZ1 can still sleep soundly tonight.

     

    New BlackBerry prepaid kits from Globe

    Gadgets Team
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    New BlackBerry prepaid kits from Globe

    To respond to the growing demand of BlackBerry phones among prepaid users, RIM and Globe team up once again to offer prepaid bundles featuring two BlackBerry models—the Curve 9220 and the Curve 8520.

    The Curve 9220 package comes with a free BlackBerry smartphone skin, a Globe prepaid SIM, and free three months of subscription to BlackBerry Chat, giving users unlimited access to BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). You can avail of this package for PHP 9,990.

    The BlackBerry Curve 8520 package costs only PHP 6,990 and comes with two smartphone skins, a Globe prepaid SIM, and free three months subscription to BlackBerry Chat.

    Globe prepaid subscribers who avail of these bundles from participating Globe stores can also get PHP 100 worth of load for calls, texts, and data services for free. These prepaid kits are available in selected Globe stores and authorized distributors nationwide until November 30, 2012.

    Here’s an interesting sneak peek at the new iPhone

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Here’s an interesting sneak peek at the new iPhone

    We here at Gadgets aren’t all that into speculating about the new releases without solid evidence, but this one just has to be shared. It’s a pretty convincing Apple promotional video for the iPhone, and though we have our suspicions, we have a feeling this might be legit. We’ll just have to wait and see if it happens the way this ad says. Hit this LINK to watch the video for yourself and tell us what you think.

    Huawei Ascend G300 arriving in the Philippines this week

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Huawei Ascend G300 arriving in the Philippines this week

    Huawei has given us a heads-up that their Ascend G300 will be arriving at stores this week. This particular smartphone brings a 4-inch IPS display to the fore, along with a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) that will be upgraded to ICS sometime this year. From the specs of the Ascend G300, it seems like this Android device will slot into the low-mid end of the market, unfortunately Huawei has not provided us with a solid price for this particular unit. We’ll be updating this post once they reply to our queries.

     

    Review: Galaxy Note 10.1

    Gadgets Team
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    Review: Galaxy Note 10.1

    It was inevitable that Samsung would create a full sized Note. The original phablet (phone/tablet) managed to win over millions with its size and innovative S-Pen technology. Now the Korean manufacturer is looking to hit it big again with the Galaxy Note 10.1. Does their new tablet have what it takes to make waves in the local tablet market?

    The Galaxy Note 10.1 was first revealed back in February during the Mobile World Congress in Spain. Back then, it pretty much had the same horsepower under the hood as their other tablet announcements, the Galaxy Tab 2 – 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an external stylus. Rumors then swirled that Samsung was replacing the dated hardware with something more modern to compete with other, more powerful tablets at that time. That rumor turned out to be true, as the review unit we received packs a more powerful quad-core processor that’s roughly equivalent to the one in the Galaxy S III.

    Most of Samsung’s recent product releases are mostly of a plastic persuasion when it comes to materials used, and the Galaxy Note 10.1 is no exception. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is mostly made out of white plastic, surrounded by a silver plastic trim. The display used is a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen that has a native resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels, and an overall pixel density of 149ppi.

    Two speaker grills are visible on either side of the panel, which hints at the multimedia capabilities of this particular tablet.

    On the top of the device lies the SIM port, volume rocker, power button and microSD slot, along with an IR port.

    One of the main design changes of the Galaxy Note 10.1 over the original device shown back in February was the inclusion of a dedicated slot for the S-Pen on the back. The S-Pen now neatly slides into the back of the device, near the lower right portion of the tablet when not in use. There’s a 5-megapixel camera located on the back of the device as well for imaging.

    Like we mentioned earlier, the Galaxy Note 10.1 has received a major upgrade in its internals, and now sports a quad-core Exynos 4412 processor pumping out 1.4GHz. That, paired with 2GB of RAM, should give the Galaxy Note 10.1 blistering performance in theory. But as you’ll find out, performance isn’t just based on hardware alone. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is powered by Android 4.0 and has Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI layered on top. Samsung will only be selling the 16GB GSM version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 in the Philippines.

    One of the main features of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is its S-Pen, which is Samsung’s fancy way of calling a stylus. The S-Pen, combined with the S-Note app on the Galaxy Note, gives the device content creation abilities.

    The S-Note app allows you to write and edit documents, and the S-Pen really thrives in apps like Photoshop, giving users a bigger degree of control when it comes to content creation on the tablet. Handwriting recognition has improved over the original Galaxy Note, and the Galaxy Note 10.1’s accuracy rate has dramatically risen. The Galaxy Note 10.1 can even recognize formulas and chart them out for your using the internet and Wolfram Alpha, which should be a great help for students looking for a leg up in their studies.

    As impressive as the S-Pen is, what really blew us away during our review of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is its multimedia capabilities. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is possibly the first and only tablet that we know of that has multi-screen capabilities.

    Users can now browse the web and watch a video at the same time, much like how people watch two video feeds via picture-in-picture technology in some TVs. Users can also have two apps running concurrently on the screen – one app, and either one of the six apps that’s been optimized for dual-screen operation: S Note, Gallery, Video, Browser, Polaris Office and Email.

    Performance-wise, the Galaxy Note 10.1 did not disappoint when it came to synthetic benchmarks. The Galaxy Note 10.1 bested the Galaxy S III on AnTuTu, racking up 12371 points.

    On Quadrant, the Galaxy Note 10.1 bested the similarly quad-core powered HTC One X, racking up 5178 points.

    We’re glad to see that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1’s performance doesn’t come at the expense of battery life. Using the Galaxy Note 10.1 as a WiFi tablet netted us around 8 ½ hours of useful battery life. Using the GSM radio knocked an hour off the operating time at 7 hours.

    In practice though, the Galaxy Note 10.1’s performance is a bit hobbled by the very thing that strives to differentiate it from the pack – TouchWiz UI. While Samsung’s UI overlay tries to deliver additional features to the fore, the thick layer sometimes impedes on the tablet’s overall performance. We noticed a bit of sluggish performance when swiping through different screens, and though it’s not really that pronounced, you’ll still notice it from time to time.

    Another complaint of ours is the relatively low-resolution screen. For a device that’s supposed to be on the top of the pile when it comes to Android tablets, the 800 x 1280 pixel falls short of what its competitors are offering. It’s not a bad display per se, but we feel Samsung could’ve done better.

    So is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 the Android tablet for you? Well, that depends. While Samsung’s S-Pen and the accompanying apps that make use of that pen is a breath of fresh air and gives creative a way to express themselves, we feel that the Galaxy Note 10.1 will be relegated to a niche market. Priced at Php 32,990, it’s not exactly cheap, and users may opt to get cheaper tablets for that price. In the end it’ll be up to you to decide if the addition of the S-Pen and the accompanying software merits the premium price that the Galaxy Note 10.1 is asking for.

     

    What’s Hot:

    Quad-core processor

    Multi-screen capabilities

    S-Pen and S-Note app allow users to create content

    Long battery life

     

    What’s Not:

    Pricey

    Performance is sometimes hindered by TouchWiz UI

     

    Bottomline:

    Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 does a lot of things right. The S-Pen, multiscreen capabilities and quad-core processor make it one of the better Android tablets to come out recently.

     

    Buymeter: 4

     

    Tech Specs

    • Operating System: Android 4.0 (ICS), TouchWiz UI overlay
    • CPU: CPU: Quad-core Exynos 4412 1.4GHz processor
    • LCD size: 10.1-inch PLS TFT screen, 800 x 1280 resolution screen
    • Physical Dimensions: 262 x 180 x 8.9 mm
    • Weight: 600 grams
    • Band: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
    •  Internal memory :  16GB memory, expandable through microSD

    Lenovo joins the phablet game with K860 LePhone, 5-inch 720p display, quad-core processor

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Lenovo joins the phablet game with K860 LePhone, 5-inch 720p display, quad-core processor

    It seems that more and more manufacturers are jumping on the phablet bandwagon, as Lenovo has recently announced that they’re coming out with their own interpretation of the phablet, the K860 LePhone. This particular smartphone has a 5-inch, 720p display, quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos 4412 processor with a Mali-400MP GPU and is powered by Android 4.0 (ICS). It’s also equipped with an 8-megapixel camera that’s capable of shooting in burst mode, much like other quad-core equipped devices out there today. Unfortunately, the Lenovo K860 LePhone is currently just floating around in China today, there’s no word when (or even if) this particular device will hit markets outside of China.

    Source: Engadget

    LG announces global availability of Optimus Vu, gets an upgrade to Tegra 3

    Gadgets Team
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    LG announces global availability of Optimus Vu, gets an upgrade to Tegra 3

    Remember LG’s Optimus Vu? Well, the Korean electronics firm has just sent word that its unique, 4:3 aspect ratio smartphone will be hitting global markets soon, and will be getting an upgrade of sorts when it hits the ground in select markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East/Africa and Latin America starting in September. The global version of the Optimus Vu still gets a 5-inch screen but its processor has been upgraded from a paltry 1.5GHz dual-core deal to a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. It’ll have Android 4.0 right out of the tin, and sport 32GB of storage space, along with an 8-megapixel camera.

     

    Samsung teases Galaxy Note II ahead of unveil, promises to make your magical moments come alive

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung teases Galaxy Note II ahead of unveil, promises to make your magical moments come alive

    Samsung’s setting the mood for its Galaxy Note II unveil in IFA in about two weeks time, and has released a teaser video [briefly] showing off the new stylus for the device. Director Wim Wenders is in the trailer, and Samsung promises to deliver “all the things you can do in the blink on the eye, on such a small and light thing.” Pretty cryptic, but hey, at this point we’re just happy that they’ve officially acknowledged the existence of the Note II. You can check out the video yourself below.

    Free power? Sure. Give it a few more years.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Free power? Sure. Give it a few more years.

    One of the basic problems of computing is that it requires power. No matter how long the battery life on your phone is, no matter how  many power packs you carry along with you, you’re going to run out of juice at some point. However, he researchers over at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are creating small, highly-efficient batteries that recharge themselves through movement. It basically uses a bunch of hard-to-pronounce materials that can generate and keep charge by getting flexed, moved around and squished, such as what happens  to our soles when we walk. The voltages produced are quite low at the moment, but improvements are already being thought up. Once this piece of tech becomes a practical reality, we may finally see the age of devices that we won’t ever have to plug into a wall outlet ever again. For a more technical explanation, grab your thick glasses and head over HERE.

     

    (Image from the American Chemical Society)

    Samsung supposedly launching a 5.8-inch player/tab along with Galaxy Note 2 during IFA

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    Samsung supposedly launching a 5.8-inch player/tab along with Galaxy Note 2 during IFA

    Phandroid is reporting that Samsung might release another oversized tablet/media player alongside the Galaxy Note 2 in IFA this year. The device is set to run on Android 4.0 and will be a player only (which means WiFi only, no GSM support) and is rumored to have a dual-core 1GHz processor. We’re not sure if there’s a large market for Android media players, especially one this size – we were barely comfortable using the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note when it first came out, and we think that a 5.8-inch device is just a tad too big. We’re not even sure that this is a regular media player or just a scaled down tablet but we’ll see soon enough if this particular device is real when IFA begins two weeks from now.

    Source: Phandroid

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