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Farewell, CeBIT 2014
CeBIT 2014 is done, and it's high time that we say goodbye to the Hannover Messe. Of course, much of CeBIT's thunder has been stolen by Mobile World Congress and IFA, but given the interesting products that we've stumbled upon here, there's clearly still some life in the show. We hope that you enjoyed our efforts, and if you missed any of the news or hands-ons, grab a champagne-flavored ice cream (yes, really) and check out the unabridged list below.
NVIDIA says most laptops die after 50 minutes of gaming, claims new GPUs will double stamina
Thanks to the appearance of a curiously thin MSI gaming laptop at CeBIT a few days ago, we had an inkling that NVIDIA's new batch of laptop GPUs were inbound. Indeed, the 800M series has just become official, with a number of features geared toward portability and battery life. For a start, the lower half of the stack -- the 830M, 840M, 850M and 860M -- has been endowed with the company's latest Maxwell architecture, which allows gaming credentials to be claimed by thinner and lighter machines. The new Gigabyte P74 is a decent example: It contains an 860M inside a 21mm-thick chassis and we managed to play BioShock Infinite on it, running at 1080p and max settings with a frame rate above 40 fps -- that's a level of performance that NVIDIA says would have required a 55mm-thick laptop three years ago. The other big promise with this generation concerns battery life, and it comes courtesy of a setting called "Battery Boost."
Bend it like robo-Beckham with the U14 Free Kick toy
Axpro is a Taiwanese company that makes flash drives, so it's surprising to see it building app-connected toys like U14 Free Kick - a game that's a weird hybrid between Frujit Ninja, Subbuteo and Robot Football. Making Fruit Ninja-style swipes on the iOS app determines the power and direction of a free-kick made by a robotic footballer, in the hope of getting it up and over a defending wall. It's been designed for groups of soccerball fanatics who want to show off their ball-curving prowess without doing the real thing, and seems ideal for late night pub competitions. Unfortunately, it won't become commercially available until Axpro finds a distributor, so we might have to clip our nails and dust off that Subbuteo box after all.
When you cram an entire smartphone into a watch, you get the Exetech XS-3
Most smartwatches act as a secondary display for your phone, but there's a select few, like the Neptune Pine, that just want to replace it altogether. It's in this latter category that you'll find the chunky Exetech XS-3: a watch that stands almost two centimeters tall from your wrist. Wrapped in plastic and attached to a heavy-duty rubber strap, the hardware looks tougher than it really is. There's no back cover other than the battery itself, which is exposed to the elements and leaves us concerned as to how sweat-resistant (let alone rain-resistant) this device will be. In any case, it's with the internals and software that things start to get interesting, because the XS-3 comes pretty close to replicating every major function of a smartphone.
Archos' 6.4-inch smartphone puts the buttons on the back
When we talk about smartphones with buttons on the back of the case, most people's thoughts turn toward the LG G2. But now the French electronics outfit Archos has decided to follow in LG's footsteps with the 64 Xenon, a 6.4-inch phablet that puts both the volume and power buttons on the rear side. Packing a 1,280 x 720 IPS LCD display, dual-SIM slots and HSPA+ radios, it's clear that this is designed to square up against the likes of the Galaxy Mega, but with a much lower price tag of 200 euros (around $275).
Power strips don't have to be ugly, just ask Powerdrobe
Yes, power strips aren't the sort of thing we usually discuss on this august periodical but sometimes we spot something at a trade show that simply demands attention. Normally, it's the sort of gear that you tuck behind or under your desk, but Korean designer Sangki Kim wanted to make something a little more stylish. That's why he built the Powerdrobe: a box that sits beneath your display (or all-in-one) to keep everything nice and tidy. Kim, who also designed the Desk Phone Dock we reviewed a few years ago, gave the box a classy rounded look and chrome toggle switches, so turning on your computer makes you feel like you work at NASA, circa 1965. On one side of the unit, there's a pair of USB ports for charging mobile devices, while on the other side you'll find either a US or European mains socket, depending on which version you buy. The back offers up either four or six further mains sockets to satisfy your lust for power, with all the mess hidden behind a solid plastic screen. The four-socket model will arrive in April and set you back $40, with the bigger unit coming later and costing a few dollars more.
Archos' octa-core smartphone is surprisingly quick for the price
When it comes to smartphones, hugs and all-you-can-eat buffets, more is better, right? That's why we had to sit down and play with Archos' 50c Oxygen. The gassy, Jelly Bean-running handset is one of the first to use MediaTek's 1.7GHz octa-core MT6592 CPU, housed behind a 5-inch 1,280 x 720 IPS LCD display. Archos has found room for dual-SIM slots, 1GB RAM, 8GB of onboard storage and a microSD card slot, while the 2,000mAh battery should last you at least a day.
Plextor targets gamers with '50 percent faster' SSD starting at €199 ($275)
It's been more than a year since we last covered Plextor's wares, but the company's been busy with the next generation of its M-branded SSDs. For the first time, the range includes a premium PCIe option explicitly aimed at gamers, which promises much better speeds by side-stepping the SATA "bottleneck." This card, the M6e, starts at €199 ($275) for 128GB and tops out at €540 ($750) for 512GB, with claimed sequential reads/writes of up to 770/625 MB/s, and random reads/writes of up to 105k/100k IOPS. Plextor says that's a gain of around 50 percent compared to the sequential speeds you'd get from the regular SATA option, the M6S, but of course you're paying for that extra performance: The biggest 512GB M6S will set you back just €332 ($460), for example. We've been told to expect availability "very soon," but in the meantime you can check out some early reviews of the PCIe drive at the links below.
Raspberry Pi gets its own sound card
When UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech at CeBIT this year, what examples did he use to highlight tech innovation in Britain? Yes, ARM and Imagination were on his list, but he also referred to the tiny, Linux-based computer called Raspberry Pi, which has now sold over 2.5 million units. In a timely fashion, the Pi's makers, element 14, have just announced a new $33, Wolfson-powered audio card that should give the device a broader range of functions.
Shuttle runs a Haswell Core i7 in a case barely bigger than a disk drive
The Intel NUC proves just how small a desktop-class, 4K-capable Haswell PC can go. What the NUC doesn't do, though, is let us switch out the processor - it comes with either a Core i3 or i5 soldered to the mainboard. Now, Shuttle's DS81 is slightly bigger than the NUC, but it's still tiny (19 x 16.5 x 4.3cm) and its H81 chipset supports user-upgradeable processors up to a Haswell Core i7. Like the DS61 before it, the DS81 comes with serious cooling to let it function in environments up to 50 degrees Celsius, such as in digital signage situations. It's also deceptively big in terms of connectivity, with two PCIe Mini slots (one half-size and one full-size), two slots for RAM (up to 16GB), six USB ports (two of which are 3.0), three displays outputs (1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort), dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and even a card reader. A Shuttle rep we met at CeBIT told us the DS81 should start to become available from next week, starting at 178 euros ($250) for a barebones unit - although some retailers are already offering pre-built systems for upwards of $800 with a two- or three-week shipping delay.
An e-reader that makes calls: InkPhone promises two weeks on a charge
When we reviewed the dual-screen YotaPhone, some of you thought it'd have been better if the device simply skipped the LCD and relied on a single E Ink display instead. Well, that's exactly the approach taken by Onyx (via its Polish distributor, Arta Tech) which is showing off a prototype of the MIDIA InkPhone here at CeBIT. Packing a 4.3-inch front-lit E Ink display (no LCD here), the device is designed as a back-to-basics device for people who need really long battery life or simply those who are looking for an e-reader that can also make calls. Part of the appeal, of course, is that E Ink displays sip power, and the company promises that the InkPhone will last for more than two weeks on a single charge of its 1,800mAh battery.
UK Prime Minister wants a 'permanent technological revolution'... and movies downloaded in a second
David Cameron outlined his Spectrum Strategy for the UK's digital future, touching on 5G mobile broadband, better use of existing wireless frequencies and (as we keep hearing) the internet of things. In a speech at CeBIT 2014 in Hanover, he said: "This is a world on fast forward, a world of permanent technological revolution. Countries like the UK and Germany will only succeed if we have a relentless drive for new ideas and innovations." The government plans to stake £45 million (around $75 million) on research into that pesky internet of things, with the Prime Minister reckoning that improved spectrum use will lead to economic benefits of around £100 billion by 2025 -- and probably less spinning wheel of death.
Fujitsu's latest all-in-ones don't need to be turned off
With all of the talk surrounding smartphones and tablets, it's sometimes easy to forget that desktops still occupy most of our working days. Fujitsu hasn't forgotten them, however, and is wheeling out a pair of all-in-one units that'll accompany you on the 9-to-5. The Esprimo X923 comes with a 23-inch 1,920 x 1,080 IPS LCD and a wide variety of build-to-order options, including a choice of Core i3 - i7 CPUs, HDD or SSD and up to 16GB RAM. It's so far, so Fujitsu, but the company is also trumping low power active mode, a sleep state that'll keep the hardware on and connected to your network, but drawing so little power that you don't actually need to turn it off. The other model that's been outed today is the X923-T, which, as you can guess, is exactly the same as the 923, but with a touchscreen. Both are available from today, so it's high time that you started sending flattering emails to your company's purchasing manager.
MSI gaming laptop packs next-gen NVIDIA graphics and '3K' display into Ultrabook thickness
A nice little surprise here at CeBIT: A 15.6-inch laptop from MSI that gave us an early look at one of NVIDIA's unannounced 2014 laptop GPUs. MSI's reps at the event wouldn't reveal anything about the new graphics chip (which we guess is based on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture) except that it should be able to handle many of the latest games at high settings on their unit's optional "3K" (2,880 x 1,620) display. The laptop itself is called the GS60 Ghost Pro and it's a pleasure to look at and to hold -- it's just three quarters of an inch thick (19.5mm) and 4.4 pounds (1.99kg) in weight. Check out the gallery below and you'll see that the machine has an understated design that should help it to appeal not only to gamers but also to power users looking for configurations up to Core i7, dual SSD storage (in Super RAID, if you wish) with additional HDD, plus 802.11ac WiFi. Expect units to start shipping in April priced between 1,600 and 2,000 euros ($2,200 to $2,800) depending on your spec choices.
Fujitsu's palm-scanning laptops won't be fooled by severed limbs
For all the popularity of fingerprint scanners, Fujitsu believes that it can go one better. The Japanese company has been working on palm-based systems for the last few years, and we've already seen turnstiles, wallets and tablets that are accessed from your hand. Fujitsu believes that palm vein sensing is around a thousand times more secure than conventional biometric methods and it's implementing the technology in its next range of business-focused laptops due out this week. We've been shown around some of these models, which have the new sensor fitted into an area that is roughly the same size and position as the company's existing fingerprint scanners, just below the bottom right corner of the keyboard. Using it is simple: Hold your hand a few inches above the sensor and the hardware will quickly scan the unique arrangement of your veins. If it judges you to be the real deal, it'll open up its secrets for your enjoyment.
We're here at CeBIT 2014!
If you don't count IFA, and for this week at least, we don't, then CeBIT is our favorite German tech show. It may be aimed squarely at business and infrastructure types, but we live in hope that there's some gems lurking between the server racks and point of sale units. Hannover's Deutsche Messe is currently full of burly scene-movers and covered by a hazy cloud of sawdust and smoke, but by Monday, it'll become one of the world's biggest trade shows. Naturally, we'll be cherry-picking the most interesting of what's on show and delivering it straight to your eyeballs via this wonderful thing called the internet.
Samsung announces security-minded Cloud Print apps for Android and iOS
Does anyone actually cable up to a printer anymore? Not if they're kitted out with Google Cloud Print, Apple AirPrint, or Sammy's new alternative: Samsung Cloud Print. The service will launch with an Android app in June, followed by an iOS version in the second half of the year and possibly a Smart TV app at some point too, and all the apps will come with a number of promises about security. Users will have their data encrypted between their device and their inkjet, and those who also use Samsung's freshly updated Knox service are promised "enhanced security" through a level integration between Knox and Cloud Print. Finally, the Android app will also support NFC pairing, allowing a compatible mobile device to be connected to "as many as 20 printers with just a few simple taps" -- although that currently only applies to Samsung's small range of NFC-enabled Xpress-branded printers.
Samsung's thing for (faux) leather continues with the ATIV Book 9 Style
Samsung's clearly been listening to Venus in Furs a lot recently, which explains why it's gone a bit crazy on the faux-leather all of a sudden. After covering both the Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Tab Pro and Chromebook 2 in the stuff, the company has now sought to do the same to a member of its Windows notebook family. Having taken the recently refreshed ATIV Book 9 that we found at CES, this new model gains the fetish-friendly backing and, erm, not much else. We spent a few seconds with an engineering sample of this unit, and felt compelled to share our impressions with you.
