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ASUS MeMO Pad 8 LTE hands on, first impressions

June 5, 2014June 5, 2014 Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Among the new products that ASUS introduced during Computex 2014 is the new MeMO Pad 8 (ME581CL) – an Android 4.4 KitKat slate that sports an 8-inch display, LTE connectivity, a slim body, and powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom quad-core CPU.

asus memo pad 8_1

The MeMO Pad 8 (ME581CL) is probably the best-looking sub-10-inch tablet that ASUS has in its arsenal. It has an 8-inch 1920 x 1200 resolution IPS display with a pixel density of 283ppi, mounted with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, and a 6.28mm thin bezels which can satisfy those who prefer a tablet with good screen-to-body ratio.

asus memo pad 8_2

Powering the device is a 64-bit 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 15.2Wh battery, and Android 4.4 KitKat with ZenUI. Other features include an 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.2 megapixel front-facing, dual-rear speakers, NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth, and LTE. All of that are housed in a body that is only 7.45mm thin and weighs in at 299g.

asus memo pad 8_3

With the dimensions mentioned above, the MeMO Pad 8 feels thin and light in the hands. The multi-coated pearlescent rear feels nice to the touch and adds a nice effect to its overall design. And even with the thin bezels, it is comfortable to hold with one hand and provides enough space for the thumb to rest on. It’s a bit wide at 8-inches but handling should be okay if you’re just flipping through eBooks or scrolling webpages.

The ASUS MeMO Pad 8 (ME581CL) is available in three colors – white, blue, and pink, and is expected to arrive in the country in Q3 2014.

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Hands-On: Acer Iconia Tab 8

June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 Abe Olandres Leave a comment

Acer has put in more power to its Iconia Tab 8 with the new quad-core Atom Z3745 processor. That, plus a full HD 1080p IPS display and support for LTE at what could be.

Over at the Computex floors, Acer’s booth was filled with new products including the Iconia Tab 8 with its simple yet elegant design.

acer-iconia-tab8

The body is made of some polycarbonate materials with a metallic finish with a thin and light profile. The full HD display looks pretty stunning and has very wide viewing angles.

The device is snappy and very responsive and while we attempted to run some benchmarks just to see how that Atom Z3745 fares, we were not allowed. Nevertheless, we’re confident that the scores would have been higher.

acer-tab8

The LTE modem could have been installed separately from the Atom chip. And, it also got Kitkat right out of the box.

Acer Iconia Tab 8 A-1 specs:
8-inch IPS display @ 1920×1200 pixels, 283ppi
Intel Atom Z3745 1.33GHz quad-core processor
Intel HD Graphics
2GB RAM
Expandable 16/32GB internal memory
LTE, HSPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
5MP BSI rear camera with LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
Android 4.4 KitKat

The battery capacity (or battery life) is the only information that have not been revealed yet.

iconia-tab8

Acer will start shipping the Iconia Tab 8 this July with a suggested retail price of €199 or roughly just under Php12,000.

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Acer Liquid X1 in the flesh, first impressions

June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 Abe Olandres Leave a comment

Acer made a surprise announcement when they unveiled the Liquid X1, an LTE-capable octa-core smartphone powered by a Mediatek chip.

It was the first handset we looked for when we visited the Acer Booth here in Computex yesterday. The device wasn’t hard to find from the throng of other smartphones Acer had on display.

acer-liquidx1

The handset looked pretty simple and plain and the size was just right on the hands, even with its 5.7-inch display. The front panel is all-glass that stretches from edge to edge.

The device is fairly slim with the back panel covered in rubber-like polycarbonate material with a dimpled texture, perhaps to provide better grip (a close likeliness to that of the Galaxy S5).

liquid-x1-camera
We aren’t sure what that small circular button just below the camera at the back.

The rear camera is touted to be one of the fastest on focusing-speed and wider aperture but we were not able to make any test shots and really tell the difference.

The UI is the same one used by previous Liquid smartphones though there were a few more features that got introduced lately, like Zoom Fit which allows you to resize the screen area to just 4-inches to make it more usable to those with smaller hands; and the AcerRAPID that allows for screen operation even when using a glove or if the display has been sprinkled with liquid.

acer-liquid-x1

The Liquid X1 has some very good promise here and we thought the Mediatek chip with LTE-capability could help lower the retail price.

Acer Liquid X1 specs:
5.7-inch IPS display @ 720×1280 pixels
MediaTek MT6592 1.7GHz octa-core processor
Mali-450MP quad-core GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
HSPA+/LTE 150Mbps, Category 4
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
FM radio tuner
13MP rear camera with LED flash
2MP front-facing camera
Li-Ion 2,700mAh battery
Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

While Acer has not indicate the SRP, they mentioned the handset could be out by 3rd quarter of this year.

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ASUS Transformer Book V: 5 modes in one package

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Along with the Transformer Book T300 Chi, ASUS also announced the Transformer Book V – the world’s first five-mode, three-in-one converged laptop hybrid and Android smartphone that runs Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4 KitKat.

The Transformer Book V comes in three parts: the 12.5-inch HD IPS display/tablet, the full QWERTY keyboard dock, and the 5-inch smartphone. All three devices can dock onto each other to form a single multi-functioning device.

ASUS Transformer Book V_1

As a laptop (1st mode), the Book V features a 12.5-inch HD IPS touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, a next-gen Intel Core CPU, 1TB HDD, and Windows 8.1. Remove the display from the dock and you got yourself a Windows 8.1 tablet (2nd mode) that sports 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, and a 28Wh battery. As for the smartphone (3rd mode), it packs a 5-inch display, Intel Atom quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 8 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front-facing, 2,500mAh battery, and Android 4.4 KitKat.

ASUS Transformer Book V_2

Dock the Android smartphone to the display and it will unlock the two remaining modes – Android tablet (4th mode) and Android laptop (5th mode). Switching between operating systems can be done by simply tapping on the screen or by pressing the dedicated hardware button.

In summary, the Transformer Book V poses to be the most flexible hybrid device to date. It’s a Windows laptop, Windows tablet, Android smartphone, Android tablet, and Android laptop, in one.

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