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    Review: NEO Basic B5702

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    Review: NEO Basic B5702

     

    Now that Sandybridge has been out for a good 9 months, it’s managed to find its way into all manner of devices and is now being used by a variety of manufacturers. NEO, a local brand that specializes in delivering affordable notebooks has come out with their own offerings based on Intel’s next generation chip. The NEO Basic B5702 is the biggest and baddest of the bunch – it packs a Core i7-2630QM processor at a price that’s hard to resist.

    The Basic B5702 remains true to its name. It’s a no frills device that eschews gimmicky designs for a familiar layout. Visually it’s not as stunning or as interesting as other notebooks. The display is a 14-inch LED screen, capable of resolutions up to 1366×768. It has a plain gloss black lid complimented by a faux-wood grain chassis.

    In keeping with the no frills theme, the Basic B5702 doesn’t have touch sensitive keys or media shortcut keys – just a large power button and the grill for the speakers are near the lid of the device.

    There’s a lot of connection options for the Basic B5702 – you get 3 USB ports (with one doubling as an eSata port), D-sub, Ethernet, HDMI and your usual audio connections. It also has an optical drive for you to use if you prefer. The keyboard layout is good, with the keys being spaced evenly.

    Like I said earlier, the Basic B5702 is equipped with an Intel Core i7-2630QM@2Ghz which is paired with about 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 640GB HDD. This particular processor is extremely powerful – it’s usually used in dedicated gaming machines and the like, so it’s capable of breezing through most applications like Adobe Photoshop without much issue. The screen size is big enough to watch movies on, and though the sound quality isn’t the best in the world, it’s good enough.

    One thing that potential buyers will need to be aware of when they consider the Basic B5702 is its weight – it’s about 2.4 kilos, so it’s probably a good idea to keep this thing on your desk rather than carry it around everywhere.

    Speaking of mobility, if you do choose to carry this thing around, you’ll be happy to know you’ll have about 4 hours of battery life available to you if you ever find yourself in a place without power plugs.

    I used PCMark Vantage to come up with a rough performance estimate of the Basic B5702. PCMark Vantage tests everything from viewing and editing photos, video, music and other media, gaming, communications, productivity and security. It managed to score 6365, which is pretty decent.

    No gadget is ever perfect, and the Basic B5702 is no exception. Aside from being pretty bland visually, the keyboard of the Basic B5702 is a bit stiff and takes a bit of getting used to. And while it’s totally capable of entry level gaming, this isn’t the machine for gamers, owing to its lack of a discrete GPU.

    But those things may not be as important as the unit’s price tag, which is a measly Php 34,999. It’s one of lowest price notebooks we’ve seen so far that’s equipped with a Core i7 processor, and for people hunting for a bargain machine might want to give the Basic B5702 a try.

    What’s Hot:

    Low price

    Powerful processor

    What’s Not:

    So-so design

    No discrete GPU

    Stiff keyboard

    Bottomline:

    At Php 34,999, it’s one of the best value for money Core i7 equipped notebooks out there.

    Buymeter: 8.4

    TECH SPECS

    • Screen Size
    • 14-inch LED, 1366×768
    • Memory
    • 4GB DDR3
    • CPU and chipset
    • Intel Core i7-2630QM@2Ghz
    • Wireless used802.11 b/g
    • Warranty
    • 1 year warranty on parts and service

    Man makes Augmented Reality version of OutRun, makes us want to drop tokens again

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Man makes Augmented Reality version of OutRun, makes us want to drop tokens again

    Sega’s arcade hit OutRun holds a special place in the hearts of all the kids who grew up in the 80’s. Aside from letting you drive a friggin’ Ferrari, it made our 9 year-old self feel extremely bad-ass. One man’s taken that feeling of nostalgia and has taken it upon himself to bring the radness of the 80’s back by creating an extremely cool mod using an OutRun cabinet and a golf cart. Here’s how it works: cameras in front of the hybrid carcade take road information in front of it and incorporates it into the 8-bit arcade game. So basically if you’re rolling down a track that has a left-hand corner or bend, you’ll see a representation of that bend rendered into the game. You can check out the video below to see it in action.

    Source: Concept Lab

    RIM releases new BlackBerry 7 devices

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    RIM releases new BlackBerry 7 devices

    Seems that Research in Motion has been keeping busy – after the official launch of the BlackBerry Playbook last night, we’ve gotten word that they’ve launched a couple of new BlackBerry 7 devices on the other side of the world. The Canadian company is rolling out with two new BlackBerry Bold models and three new BlackBerry Torch models, all of which will be running the BlackBerry 7 OS.

    The new devices under the Bold line are the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the 9930, which is skinnier that RIM’s previous offering. The new Torch lineup meanwhile includes the Torch 9810, 9850 and 9860.

    Also shipping with these smartphones is the latest version of the BlackBerry OS. RIM promises the new version is faster, and is more fluid when browsing the web. Combining the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with the powerful hardware enhancements found in the BlackBerry 7 based smartphones delivers browsing  results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry 5 based smartphones.

    Sadly, there’s no word on how much these devices will cost once it lands on our shores, but it wouldn’t be too far fetched to think that they’ll be offered by Globe in different plans when they do.

     

    Gadgets Magazine turns 11!

    Gadgets Team
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    25
    Gadgets Magazine turns 11!


    After a decade of keeping you up-to-date on the latest technology and gadgets as well as lifestyle products, services, and trends, Gadgets Magazine continues to serve you up a monthly dose of tech-lifestyle info with no signs of holding back. So to usher in Volume 12 and our 11th anniversary issue, we give you a taste of the high-life and lavish excess. With the ever-beautiful Angel Locsin gracing our cover and the equally charming Isabel Oli to show you the beauty of opulence, the Gadgets Magazine August issue is one must-have copy for those who wouldn’t mind a little Luxe to go with their Living.

    Grab your copy now!

    Sam Milby signs with Samsung once again

    Gadgets Team
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    Sam Milby signs with Samsung once again

    Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) and local celebrity Sam Milby have renewed their partnership once again, hoping for even more success in their future ventures together.

    Sammy and Sam have a longstanding relationship, which include endorsements for the Genoa, Champ and Corby. He was also Samsung Hope’s brand ambassador and has raised donations for his charity of choice, World Vision.

    Sam Milby also represented both SEPCO and the Philippines as the official torch bearer in the the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, which was held in August of 2010.

    So, why does Sammy love Sam?

    “Sam is a very relatable personality…he is also tech-savvy and knowledgeable about mobile phone technology…We want Sam to help SEPCO further grow its No. 1 position in the touch phone category. And we are sure that it is very possible because his appeal transcends all ages, gender, and social status.”

    – Glenn Martin Glinoga, Business Unit Director of Hand Held Phones for SEPCO

     

    So, watch out as Sam Milby, along with the Samsung Mobile Team, tours the Philippines as a Samsung Hope Icon.

    You’re Just A Little Show Off, Aren’t You?

    Press Release
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    You’re Just A Little Show Off, Aren’t You?

    Do you think you are God’s gift to graphic design; or perhaps the next hotshot commercial director? Maybe you are. But there is only one way to find out.

    Rebel designers and visionaries are invited to show off their creative streak and visual genius in Pony Footwear’s digital film and poster art competition billed “Show Off.” A competition open to everyone, each contestant is expected to interpret Pony Footwear’s tagline “Let’s Get It On” using imagery, digital design and short narrative.

    There are two categories for this competition, namely: the Digi-Film Contest, for which participants are encouraged to submit an original 60-second short video that must highlight the image of any Pony footwear and may also contain digital animation and text; and the Digital Art Poster Contest, wherein participants are expected to produce original photo which should have a title, a short narrative describing the concept and a clearly visible image of Pony Footwear. Contestants may send in more than one entry.

    The “Show Off” contest begins on June 15 and will run until October 15, 2011. Entries will be judged on concept and story (50%), visual impact (30%) and number of online votes (20%).  The best part is the prize that awaits each winner of the Digi-Film and Digital Art Poster categories: First prize is P40,000 cash plus P10,000 worth of Pony shoes; Second prize is P20,000 cash and P5,000 worth of Pony shoes; and Third price is P10,000 cash and P5,000 worth of Pony shoes.

    Pony is an American brand of footwear, founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1972. Pony has since become a top global athletic brand and, by the ‘80s, the brand had been worn by champion athletes in the World Cup, Super Bowl, NBA and the likes.

    A 2001 re-launch of the brand, Pony footwear became associated entertainment celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton. Rebel rockers like Staind, Limp Bizkit and Korn—whose lead singer, Jonathan Davis, even had his own signature Pony shoes that he wore during live performances.

    Pony’s image thrives on breaking conventions and revolutionary attitude. The PONY “Show Off” digital art competition hopes to capture the youthful exuberance and the fighting spirit of its users, whose talents and vision might just be the beginning of a new generation finally taking over. Participants may send their entries to [email protected]

    For more information on and the detailed mechanics for the Pony “Show Off” competition, visit www.ponyshowoff.com.

    Globe officially launches BB Playbook, deets inside

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Globe officially launches BB Playbook, deets inside

    We mentioned last week that Globe will be officially carrying the Playbook locally. Well tonight they’ve officially launched it at an event held in the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati. RIM’s 7-inch entry into the tablet market will be available in 16GB and 32GB varieties. It’ll be powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, have 1GB of RAM and will support 1080p video recording.

    We’ve seen and used the Blackberry OS in some form or another in the past, and to be honest we have mixed feelings about it. It does the job well most of the time, but there’s still some things that we haven’t gotten used to, like swiping upward to get out of apps for example.

    Visually, the OS looks good, and from what we could gather from the installed apps on the device, it’s able to handle some fairly heavy number crunching. Visually, it seems like it’s able to keep up with Android Honeycomb tablets with Tegra 2 procies – the game Need for Speed Undercover that was on the demo device looked on par visually with the Android variant, Need for Speed Shift, that we tested on Android tablets.

    The biggest complaint that we had against Honeycomb tablets were the lack of apps, and that goes double for the Playbook. We don’t have the exact numbers on how many apps are currently available for the Playbook, but it’s probably safe to say that that number isn’t as numerous as the ones for Android or iOS. This could improve in time, but it’s definitely something to think about.

    One of the features that RIM has been touting that directly benefits owners of Blackberry devices is the Blackberry Bridge feature. It basically syncs the Playbook with a RIM device of your choice, pushing emails, contacts, calendars and other things directly to the Playbook.

    Right now only the WiFi version will be doing the rounds – there’s still no word on the availability of the 3G variant. If you read our first announcement about the availability of the device, you probably noticed that there isn’t a listing available for just the Playbook. A Globe exec told me that there’s a possibility for the Playbook to be available without the additional Blackberry device.  It will also be available for sale without a plan, but there’s still no word on when that’ll happen.

    Serato ITCH 2.0 is out now

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Serato ITCH 2.0 is out now

    Serato has just released ITCH 2.0., the latest update to their highly revered DJ software. It is available for download at their site, and previous ITCH owners will receive this update for free.

    For those that aren’t familiar with ITCH, it’s a DJ program that is best paired with its dedicated controllers. Since the union between both software and hardware has been thought out from the start, the result is an intuitive, accurate and reliable DJ system that requires no CD players or turntables.

    Some of the new features in ITCH 2.0 include: (taken from Serato.com)

    • A fresh new look, with changeable Night & Day mode
    • New SP-6 Sample Player including Sample Sync
    • Multiple display modes to suit different styles of DJing – vertical, horizontal, stack and library views
    • Re-optimised Serato SmartSync engine for precise grids and locked grooves
    • Improved Instant Doubles functionality, including support for 4 decks

    If you’re looking for an ITCH controller, you can take a peek here at Serato’s site. One such controller that I’m excited to review is the Pioneer DDJ-S1 (pictured below) which has an SRP of Php 75,990.

    Unboxed: Asus TUF Sabertooth 990FX motherboard

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Unboxed: Asus TUF Sabertooth 990FX motherboard

    We’ve seen this board before back when we visited Asus’ booth in COMPUTEX, but this is the first time we’ve managed to get our hands on the AMD version of Asus’ TUF board.

    The Sabertooth 990FX brings almost all the features of Intel variant (sans the thermal armor). CeraM!X  Heatsink Coating Tech keeps everything cool and military grade components mean that this little board will be able to take almost everything you can throw at it.

    It’s also equipped with the latest niceties in board design, including USB 3.0 slots, eSATA ports, 6GB SATA connections and a buttload of PCI-E slots.

    Additional features include TUF Thermal Radar (which monitors heat levels real-time), DIGI+ VRM and UEFI BIOS. You can grab the TUF Sabertooth 990FX for about Php 11,990

    [album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Asus Sabertooth 990FX/]

    Secure your gadgets with Pelican

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Secure your gadgets with Pelican

    The pricier the item, the higher the security. This is especially true for those gadgets that might have cost you at least part of an arm and a leg. And it doesn’t help that these delicate machines usually need a little more armor if you want it to withstand the elements of nature or just plain human clumsiness. That’s why it’s important to invest in a protective case that can give you true protection and better security.

    Pelican, maker of high-grade protective cases, has taken your need for security and introduces the 1075 HardBack protective case to protect various electronics from netbooks to tablets to even external hard drives. Designed in partnership with BMW Designworks, the 1075 HardBack is water-tight and remains shut under pressure or after impact while the lid foam keeps the gadget in place. An Automatic Purge Valve keeps water and dust out while balancing air pressure. It measures at 11.38 x 8.19 x 1.63 inches so for those who own a slim and fragile gadget you’re almost always afraid of breaking, this is something you might want to check out.

    The 1075 HardBack is available for $70

    Symantec releases July 2011 intelligence report, aggressive and rapidly changing form of malware on the rise

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Symantec releases July 2011 intelligence report, aggressive and rapidly changing form of malware on the rise

    Symantec has just notified us that their July 2011 intelligence report is now available for download. Aside from telling us the obvious (that the internet is a bad, bad place), the report highlights a couple of worrying trends in the security world. One of these is the rise of aggressiveand rapidly changing form of generic polymorphic malware. What does big words mean is that malware writers now code their software in a way that it changes enough every time someone opens it to spoof antivirus software, allowing it free reign in your PC and network. They’ve also a couple of other trends related to security:

    • Spam – 77.8 percent in July (an increase of  4.9 percentage points since June 2011)
    • Phishing – One in 319.3 emails identified as phishing (an increase of 0.01 percentage points since June 2011)
    • Malware – One in 280.9 emails in July contained malware (an increase of 0.02 percentage points since June 2011)
    • Malicious Web sites – 6,797 Web sites blocked per day (an increase of 25.5 percent since June 2011)
    • 35.9 percent of all malicious domains blocked were new in July

    You can read the entire report, including some of the nitty gritty details of it here.

    Android nabs almost 50 percent of smartphone market according to research firm Canalys

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Android nabs almost 50 percent of smartphone market according to research firm Canalys

    Well here’s a bit of news that’s sure to delight the folks up in Mountain View: Android has now taken almost 50 percent of the smartphone market globally, beating out Symbian, iOS, Blackberry and others. According to research firm Canalys, it’s the number one platform in 35 of the 56 countries Canalys tracks, resulting in a market share of 48 percent. Apple’s iOS meanwhile, holds second place, with a market share of 19 percent. Samsung managed to grow globally and overtook Nokia, all the while shipping 17 million devices, a rise of 421 percent versus a year ago. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is looking at 1 percent of the market share, something that Steve Ballmer is definitely not happy with.

    Source: Reuters

    Wear your transit card with OI.

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Wear your transit card with OI.

    For a country that really needs to revamp its public transportation to make traveling more efficient, here’s something that may help. Since the only transit card is available for the Manila Metro Rail Train System (MRT), a similar (and much simpler way) to board other forms of public transportation (particularly the bus) comes in the form of Oi – a wearable transit card. Designed by Benjamin Parton and like London’s Oyster card which is a contactless smart card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves, Oi also uses an RFID chip except put into something more fashionable.

    Now you can wear your Oi, as a ring or a widget on your watch. This way, you won’t need to hold up the line of impatient passengers ready to get to and from work, dig through your bag, your wallet, your purse, or even your pocket just to get that ride.

    If only it could make it’s way here.

     

    Source: Yankodesign

    Diablo 3 will require a constant on internet connection, Blizzard doesn’t seem so awesome after all

    Gadgets Team
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    3
    Diablo 3 will require a constant on internet connection, Blizzard doesn’t seem so awesome after all

    We’ve been seriously excited about the eventual release of Diablo 3, but recent news just brought down our excitement down a notch…to 0. Seems like Blizzard is doing an Ubisoft by requiring players to always be online when playing their game. Yes, seems like old Blizzard took a page out of Ubisoft’s “how-to-piss-off-people-who-just-gave-you-money” playbook and copied it word per word. There will also be no modding of the game of any sort which is a surprise considering there’s a huge modding community for Blizzard’s other titles. Finally, there will be RMT, or real money trading of items. Meaning anyone can buy (and sell) items in the game’s auction house for cold, hard, cash. We’ve already taken one highly anticipated game off of our shopping list (Driver 3) because of draconian, always-on DRM measures like the one Blizzard wants to implement, and it seems more than likely we’re taking another one off. Oh well, there’s always Guild Wars 2….

    Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

     

    Nido Discovery Center’s “i Play i Learn” hub officially opened to the public

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Nido Discovery Center’s “i Play i Learn” hub officially opened to the public

    Education has no boundaries because knowledge is limitless.

    MANILA, Philippines – Vibal Publishing House Inc. has officially opened its i Play i Learn Hub to the public on August 1, 2011, which is  located at the Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center in Mall of Asia.

    The i Play i Learn Hub offers the chance to learn by interacting with some of the latest technology, combining education with entertainment. Children (as well as adults) will have access to games and activities on touch screen computers, digital storybooks on iPad and Android tablets (including Vibal’s Chikiting books) and a DOST information station that features an archive of digital articles and information.

    Vibal Publishing House Inc. is one of our country’s educational pioneers ever since it published its first textbook in 1961, and is also the founder of WikiPilipinas.org and Filipiniana.net. The i Play i Learn Hub is their most recent undertaking as part of the Vibal Digital campaign, which aims to incorporate digital content into the Filipino’s educational experience.

    The Vibal i Play i Learn Hub can be found on the second floor of the Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center at SM Mall of Asia. The center is open from 10 AM – 8 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to 10 PM on weekends.

    Fore more information:

    Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center
    Vibal Publishing House Inc.

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