IFA 2012 wrap-up: Galaxy Note II, 84-inch 4K TVs, Windows 8 convertibles and much more
Europe's premier consumer electronics trade show has further cemented its status on the industry's radar, thanks in no small part to Samsung, Sony and a shocking number of 84-inch 4K TVs. Since Wednesday, we've welcomed a brand new Galaxy Note, a healthy heaping of smaller mobile phones, a few cameras (including that Android stunner) and enough laptops and tablets to keep us computing well into the fall. From your perspective, the show ran silky smooth, though Berlin's mobile data plague continued to take its toll on our productivity, while the Messe's absolutely insane sprawl left us with a few well-worn shoes. As always, we still had a blast bringing you all the latest gear as it hit the floor, and German hospitality (and beer) made the setbacks a bit more bearable. Since there's oh so much to get through, we're sorting out our grouping of news and hands-ons from major manufacturers, followed by some smaller device makers and a few one-hit wonders — all tidied up just past the break.%Gallery-164013%
Acer
- Acer Aspire M3 and Aspire V5 touchscreen laptops hands-on
- Acer Aspire ZS600 23-inch multi-touch Windows 8 AIO hands-on
- AcerCloud blows into Europe, bringing remote access to your (Acer) laptop
- Acer Liquid Gallant hands-on
- Acer launches Liquid Gallant, Liquid Gallant Duo in preparation for IFA
Lenovo
- Lenovo 15-inch IdeaPad U510 Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge CPU hands-on
- Lenovo IdeaPad Y400, Y500, Z400 and Z500 hands-on
- Vodafone shows off a pair of Lenovo-made Smart Tabs, we go hands-on
- Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 makes official debut (hands-on)
- Lenovo announces IdeaPad S300, S400 and S405 notebooks for $499 and up
- Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 has 9-inch 1280 x 800 display, Tegra 3, Android 4.0
- Ruggedized Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 Android 4.0 slate hands-on
LG
- LG EA93 29-inch display with 21:9 aspect ratio hands-on
- LG 55-inch 3D-enabled OLED TV hands-on
- LG 84-inch UD 3D TV hands-on
- LG 27-inch Personal Smart TV hands-on
- LG Optimus L9 hands-on
- LG's Smart TV alliance grows, promises first cross-platform HDTV apps in September
- LG EA93 21:9 aspect ratio 29-inch LCD spotted on IFA show floor
- LG Optimus G revealed: 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, ICS, LTE, 4.7-inch screen
- LG preps 21:9 aspect ratio EA93 and WQHD EA83 series IPS LCD monitors for debut
- LG announces 27-inch Personal Smart TV ahead of IFA
- 4K, 84-inch 'ultra' HDTV from LG is ready to start shipping now
Samsung
- Samsung dual-display Windows 8 laptop and other prototypes (hands-on)
- Samsung Series 9 prototype with 2,560 x 1,440 matte display hands-on
- Jelly Bean makes appearance on Vodafone's Samsung Galaxy S III LTE
- Samsung slips into AMD's HSA party, may seek parallel processing boost for Exynos
- Samsung Galaxy Camera flashes, wireless charging pad, barn doors (eyes-on)
- Samsung Galaxy Note II gets early benchmark treatment at IFA
- Samsung Smart TV with Google TV on display, ships 'later this year' (hands-on)
- Samsung 22-inch Transparent Showcase Panel eyes-on at IFA 2012
- Visualized: Samsung's human, Galaxy Note-powered taxi
- Visualized: Samsung's eerily familiar IFA Smart Lounge
- Samsung Unpacked at IFA 2012: watch it online now
- Need a case for that Galaxy Camera? Samsung's got you covered (eyes-on)
- Hands-on with the Samsung ATIV Smart PC (aka the Series 5 Slate)
- Samsung names dockable Windows 8 tablets ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro
- Samsung ATIV Smart PC dock hands-on
- Samsung Galaxy Note II: what's changed?
- Samsung Windows RT ATIV Tab hands-on
- Samsung Galaxy Note II getting redesigned S Pen with rubber tip, improved grip
- Samsung introduces ATIV Tab: a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet
- Samsung announces ATIV S, a 4.8-inch Windows Phone 8 device
- Live from Samsung Unpacked at IFA 2012!
- Samsung Galaxy Note II: hands-on with the new S Pen-toting phablet
- Samsung Galaxy Note II has 5.5-inch display, Jelly Bean and boosted S Pen
- Samsung announces Series 5 and Series 7 Windows 8 tablets
- Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch Ultrabook arrives October 26th, starting at $799
- Samsung ATIV Tab and ATIV S details hint at Windows RT and Windows Phone 8
- Samsung expands Galaxy S III colors: yes, you can get brown
- Samsung trademarks Ativ Tab and Ativ S names
- Samsung enters advertising market with small-bezel and transparent displays
- Samsung teasing Series 5 Hybrid PC announcement at IFA
- Samsung teases Galaxy Note II, 'a small and light thing'
- Samsung confirms next Galaxy Note will debut at Mobile Unpacked
- Save the date: Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012 set for August 29th
Sony
- Sony Xperia sola Android handset with floating touch hands-on
- Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA (hands-on)
- Sony HMZ-T2 3D display, heads-in
- Sony Xperia J approved, torn down by FCC
- Sony VAIO Duo 11 slider PC hands-on
- Sony's VPL-HW50ES projector revealed at IFA, ships in October
- Sony unveils top of the line HX95 HDTV for Europe
- Sony VAIO Tap 20 hands-on
- Sony Xperia TX hands-on
- Sony Xperia V hands-on
- Sony debuts NFC and Bluetooth-enabled SRS-BTM8 wireless speaker
- Sony quietly drops new HMZ-T2 Personal 3D viewer
- Sony's 84-inch 4K Bravia KD-84X9005 hits the show floor (eyes-on)
- Sony announces new Bravia KD-84X9005, 84-inch 4K TV
- Sony announces PlayMemories camera apps
- Sony announces 60-day Music Unlimited trial for new customers
- Sony unveils NFC-capable MDR-1 headphones at IFA
- Sony unveils VAIO Duo 11 slide-out tablet, Tap 20 portable touchscreen AIO
- Sony Action Cam gets official with 16MP Exmor R, WiFi (hands-on)
- Sony Xperia T flagship unveiled with 4.6-inch HD display, 13MP cam, NFC
- Sony 16.1MP NEX-5R (hands-on)
- Live from Sony's 2012 IFA press conference!
- Sony Xperia tablet reappears in new photos, adds a few more details
Other news
- LCD and E-ink dual-screen prototypes show up at IFA
- Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD hitting stores starting in September
- Elgato outs smaller EyeTV Mobile for iOS, EyeTV Micro for Android
- Lenovo announces IdeaCentre A520, B340 and B345 all-in-ones
- Sennheiser launches the Momentum retro-cans and CX890i earbuds
- Toshiba outs Satellite U945 and P845t Ultrabooks, Satellite S955
- ZTE Grand X IN: Intel-powered ICS smartphone to launch next month
- Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit
- HTC Desire X announced: Android 4.0 on a 4-inch Super LCD screen
- Fujitsu outs Esprimo X AIO with Win 8, adjustable display, vPro Core CPUs
- Sony and Samsung's IFA 2012 press events happen today
- ASUS Designo MX279H and MX239H monitors are slim, inspired by sundials
- TomTom bringing its navigation app to Android in October
- Haier's ultra high def 3D, transparent and eye-controlled TVs
- We're live from IFA 2012 in Berlin!
- ASUS launches PB278Q WQHD monitor for pros and gamers
- Hisense Pulse Google TV set-top box coming in November for 'under $99'
- HTC Proto breaks cover, brings the New Desire V out of China
- Stream TV strikes deal with Hisense, outlines plans for glasses-free 3D
Other hands-ons
- Early benchmark scores are in for the Sony Xperia T, TX and V
- 50 Cent talks up two new headphones in his SMS Audio line (video)
- Sennheiser's Momentum headphones come to IFA (hands-on)
- Hi-Fun's call-receiving Bluetooth gloves (hands-in)
- Huawei Ascend G330 appears at IFA, we go hands-on
- Sharp demos IGZO low-power, high-res display technology
- Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite hands-on
- Creative's D5XM self-calibrating modular wireless speaker gets previewed
- Huawei Ascend G600 has 4.5-inch qHD screen, dual-core processor (hands-on)
- Hisense Pulse with Google TV set-top box hands-on
- Creative D5 Air Airplay speaker hits IFA
- Mophie Outride ruggedized action case for iPhone hands-on
- Plantronics GameCom Commander headset hands-on
- ZTE Grand X IN: early benchmarks for the latest Intel-powered smartphone
- Jabra Solemate Bluetooth speaker hands-on, soles off
- Huawei shows off early version of Emotion UI for Android (hands-on)
- Dell announces XPS One 27 AIO running W8 on a touch display
- Dell announces XPS 10 Windows 8 hybrid, XPS Duo 12 convertible
- HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart and Envy 4 Ultrabooks
- HP unveils Envy x2 hybrid with 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support
- Panasonic's 103-inch glasses-less 3D plasma panel arrives at IFA (eyes-on)
- Panasonic's 145-inch 8K PDP eyes-on
- Toshiba 84-inch 4K Quad Full HD TV hands-on
- Haier's Eye-Control TV set, we go eyeballs on
- Haier's 46-inch transparent display shows up at IFA (hands-on)
- HTC Desire X hands-on
- ASUS 15-inch Zenbook U500: Ivy Bridge, NVIDIA graphics, full numpad