Category: computex2014

Hands-On: Acer Iconia Tab 8

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.

The post Hands-On: Acer Iconia Tab 8 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Acer Liquid X1 in the flesh, first impressions

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.

The post Acer Liquid X1 in the flesh, first impressions appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi unveiled!

Abe Olandres Leave a comment

One of the surprising device that was unveiled today was the Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi which is a detachable 2-in-1 laptop.

transformer-book-chi

The Chi is perhaps the thinnest laptop we’ve seen. It measures 14.3mm in the laptop mode and just 7.3mm in the tablet mode. The lid detaches from its body and still run Windows 8.1 in full throttle.

transformer-book-t300-chi

It is said to be powered by a new Intel multi-core chip. The 12.5-inch IPS display has a resolution of 2560×1440 (WQHD). It will also have 4G LTE connectivity.

That is all the details that have been shared by Asus CEO Jony Shih in this afternoon’s announcement.

The post Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi unveiled! appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Asus Zenfone 5 comes with Snapdragon 400 and LTE

Abe Olandres Leave a comment

Asus refreshed one of their Zenfone this year and re-introduced the Zenfone 5 with LTE, replacing the dual-core Intel Atom processor with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip.

The design is the same as the older Zenfone 5 so there’s really no cosmetic changes.

zenfone-5-lte

ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE A500CG specs:
5-inch IPS+ panel @ 1280 x 720 pixels, 294ppi
Qualcomm MSM8962 Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core
Adreno 305 Graphics
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
FDD LTE 3/7/8/28 150Mbps/50Mbps
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP BSI rear camera, Sony sensor w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
GPS with aGPS support
Li-Ion 2,050mAh battery
Android 4.3 (Android 4.4 Kitkat by July)
148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3mm (dimension)
144 grams (weight)
Colors: Charcoal Black, Pearl White, Cherry Red, and Champagne Gold

We don’t have any other details as to the suggested retail price but we’re expecting it would be a little more expensive than the Atom-touting one.

The post Asus Zenfone 5 comes with Snapdragon 400 and LTE appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Asus PadFone S announced!

Abe Olandres Leave a comment

Asus announced today a new member of the PadFone family, the Asus PadFone S. The PadFone S is a 5-inch Kitkat device that sits inside an 8.9-inch full HD tablet.

The design is already familiar with the PadFone line, only this time the tablet form is smaller at just 8.9 inches.

asus-padfone-s

Asus PadFone S specs:
5-inch LED backlight Panel + IPS LCD @ 720×1280 pixels, 400 nits (phone)
8.9-inch IPS LCD @ 1080×1920 pixels (tablet)
Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core
Adreno 305 graphics
16GB eMMC internal storage
LTE 150Mbps/50Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
Android 4.4 Kitkat
150 grams (phone), 514 grams (tablet)

Asus did not mention the amount of RAM (we expect 1GB) on the phone as well as the battery capacity of the handset and the tablet. Asus also announced the PadFone E back in January which has almost the same specs as the PadFone S. It also supports PMA/Qi wireless charging and comes in either black or white color combinations.

No word on release date and suggested retail price but we will update once we get more details.

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