computex2015
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Acer's Android gaming tablet is the first with Intel's new chip
Mobile gaming doesn't mean low-power gaming according to Acer and Intel. The companies have joined forces to produce the first 14nm Atom x7 processor-powered (aka Cherry Trail) Android tablet. The gamer-centric Predator 8 has the Acer Quad-Audio system with four front-facing speakers and the aggressive design sense (sharp angles, red, black and gray color scheme) that's been prevalent in PC gaming. The Gen8 Intel graphics should render 3D and video with less of the stuttering that pulls you out of your gaming experience. We didn't get a chance to play with the tablet, but it should be on the market in the next few months.
'World's smallest' USB 3.0 flash drive is about the size of a dime
Thanks to Moore's Law we've seen flash drives grow steadily smaller and smaller as storage capacity does exactly the opposite. To wit, the new SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 USB 3.0 storage unit is perhaps the tiniest we've witnessed yet. The company claims the device is smaller than a dime and the 128GB of space can store some 16 hours of 1080p video with read speeds clocking in at up to 130MB per second. Gizmodo Australia notes that this isn't the most expedient drive available, but hey, given the rather diminutive footprint it's probably pretty safe to leave permanently stuck in your gadget of choice. That minuscule size comes at a steep price though: $119 for the 128GB model -- or 1,190 dimes.
This transforming PC tower could be a robot in disguise
Remember that time when Hasbro got really upset with ASUS for calling its convertible laptops Transformers, only to have its request for sales injunction shot down by the court? A little over three years later, we find ourselves staring at a desktop PC dubbed the H-Tower -- a collaboration between ASUS ROG and In Win -- that is begging to be given the same name. At the click of a button, the tower's outer case breaks open to reveal the liquid-cooled core frame, which then tilts up slightly for easier access to the components (or probably just to make it look cool). Surprisingly, we heard from ASUS that it intends to mass-produce this awesome machine, but there's no word on whether it's an Autobot or a Decepticon. Our money's on the latter. Anyhow, we've got a video clip after the break.
NVIDIA's G-Sync brings smoother graphics to gaming laptops
NVIDIA's G-Sync promised to kill a lot of gaming issues like lag and stutter on desktop PCs, but you need both a supported graphics card and monitor to make it work. However, that's obviously not an issue for laptops, and NVIDIA has just announced G-Sync support for several high-end gaming notebooks. It certified models using the latest 960M, 965M, 970M and 980M discreet mobile graphics chips, including the 17.3-inch ASUS G751, the Aorus X5, the MSI GT72 G and two 4K laptops from Clevo.
MediaTek's Helio P10 offers octa-core and faster LTE on the cheap
It's only been half a month since MediaTek announced a 10-core mobile processor, the Helio X20, as its flagship product for next year, but the company is already prepping a slightly lesser model to stay true to its roots. Meet the Helio P10, the first member of the "premium performance" family (while the X family is for "extreme performance"). For the CPU alone, this 28nm SoC sits somewhere in between the X10 -- the one that's inside the HTC One M9+ -- and the X20 as it has eight 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores that go up to 2GHz. It's obviously not a proper powerhouse given the lack of Cortex-A57 cores, but that should be good news for your device's battery.
ASUS has a ridiculous tablet cover that adds 5.1 surround sound
What your tablet lacks isn't NFC or a fingerprint reader. It's a pop-up case that houses six speakers (with subwoofer), and support for 5.1 channel surround sound. Maybe? ASUS says it will output six times the volume of the base tablet, and packs enough power to annoy neighbors for up to six hours. It will go on sale alongside ASUS' new flagship ZenPad 8.0 tablet, but well, does it sound any good? Hopefully following ASUS' press spectacle at Computex 2015, we'll hear for ourselves.
ASUS' new Transformer Book is a Windows 10 hybrid with USB Type-C
As we approach the launch of Windows 10, we'll be seeing more and more devices -- especially portables -- featuring the slim and reversible USB Type-C port. One such device is the refreshed ASUS Transformer Book, aka T100HA, a 10.1-inch two-in-one that will arrive in Q3 2015 with Intel's new Atom x5 ("Cherry Trail") processor plus 4GB of RAM. The tablet part weighs just 580 grams and is 8.54mm thick, but still offers up to 14 hours of battery life and a rear camera. Alas, that's all we know so far about this machine, so we'll keep an eye on further information when it's ready.
ASUS' tiny projector can play video from Android phones over USB
If having friends crowd around your smartphone screen to watch videos isn't exactly your idea of a good time, ASUS' new portable projector might be for you. The E1Z, announced today at Computex, is an LED projector that can play content right from your Android phone over micro-USB. Typically, projectors need HDMI dongles to project from smartphones. The E1Z is small enough to fit in your pocket, and it also has a rechargeable battery, so it can get up and running without being plugged into power. It also works as a portable battery pack, allowing you to charge any USB device with its 6,000mAh battery. We're still waiting for details on pricing, availability and actual specs, but ASUS reps mentioned that it may end up going for around $200.
ASUS ZenFone Selfie is all about its 13MP cameras
Selfie. What a word. It became a thing as front-facing cameras on phones improved dramatically in recent years. Until now, the HTC Desire Eye has been one of the first that comes to mind in this category, but it's about to face a direct competitor that''s also from Taiwan. ASUS has just announced the ZenFone Selfie, which, as you can tell, is all about taking selfies. Both its front and rear cameras feature a 13-megapixel resolution and dual-tone flash, although only the main f/2.0 camera has fast and low-light-friendly laser autofocus (something that even the flagship ZenFone 2 lacks). That said, the front f/2.2 camera makes up for the loss with a wide 88-degree field of view, thus making it easier for group selfies ("wefies?").
ASUS' updated 32-inch 4K monitor does the full Adobe color gamut
Following the $2,200 ProArt PA328Q semi-professional 32-inch, 4K 16:9 monitor announced at last year's Computex, ASUS is back with a follow-up model dubbed PA329Q. The most notable improvement here is it now delivers 100 percent Adobe RGB color gamut, as opposed to just sRGB; plus it has a 16-bit internal lookup table instead of just 12-bit. For those who are into video production, you'll also appreciate the added support for the BT2020 / DCI-P3 color space. The new display is otherwise almost identical to its predecessor: You get the same set of ports (1x HDMI 2.0, 2x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.2 and 4x USB 3.0) and the same 10-bit display color. Each unit is also factory pre-calibrated for high consistency, although it also boasts "the highest compatibility with major hardware calibrators," should you wish to do it yourself. We'll come back with more info regarding availability if we hear any.
ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 has a sharp screen, slim body and plenty of RAM
Just as we heard last week, ASUS is now launching a new family of stylish Android tablets dubbed ZenPads, which will replace the MeMO Pad series. These will come in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch flavors with cellular variants, but it's the light, yet powerful ZenPad S 8.0 that's caught our attention so far. For one, this 6.6mm-thick, 298g metallic slate comes with a sharp 2,048 x 1,536 (324 ppi) IPS display, which has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so it's going head to head with the iPad Mini here. And with Intel's 64-bit Atom Z3580 chip plus 4GB of RAM, you needn't worry about its performance. Better yet, you get front-facing stereo speakers that are enhanced by DTS for some virtual surround sound action. If you're into handwriting or drawing on tablets, you can buy the optional Z Stylus, which supports up to 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity.
ASUS' fancy all-in-one packs a 3D camera and speedy USB 3.1
PCs with integrated Intel RealSense are still hard to come by these days, so excuse us for getting a little excited with this new ASUS all-in-one. Specifically, it's the 23.8-inch Zen AiO (Z240IC) that comes with said 3D camera technology, which offers gesture control and 3D face recognition (for authentication); but you can also go for the smaller 21.5-inch Z220IC variant if you don't mind missing out on RealSense. Similar to the iMac, the Zen AiO consists of an aluminum unibody that tapers to 6mm-thick edges; though it's gone with the "subtle Icicle Gold" as its flagship color, and finished with horizontal brushed lines on the back. ASUS' iconic concentric-circle brush pattern can also be found on the chin below the screen.
ASUS ZenWatch 2 comes in two sizes with more variations
It's only been half a year since we reviewed the stylish ZenWatch, but ASUS is already back with its second attempt in the Android Wear space. At Computex, the company announced the appropriately named ZenWatch 2, which, unlike its predecessor, comes in two sizes: one to go with 22mm straps like before, and the other with smaller 18mm straps. If you go with the larger one, you'll get a bonus feature: It has an optional "Chargeback" battery case that sits on the back of the watch, so you can imagine it being just a thicker watch with extra battery life, though ASUS has yet to finalize the actual specs for this part.
ARM makes another stab at boosting the Internet of Things
ARM's been championing the Internet of Things for several years now, and for good reason: it's poised to win big as more devices tap its low-power chips. Last year it unveiled an Internet of Things platform, now at Computex it's targeting device makers and its chip building partners by announcing an IoT subsystem for its Cortex-M processors. Basically, that means it'll be easier for semiconductor companies to take ARM's designs and build chips that are ideal for connected devices, while also integrating ARM's mbed IoT platform. The company also announced its new "Cordio" low-power radio, which runs below 1 volt and packs in Bluetooth 4.2. Dipesh Patel, ARM's EVP of technical operations, noted that Cordio will be ideal for extremely low-power connected devices like beacons. All of this may seem a tad dull, but if ARM wants the whole Internet of Things ecosystem to take off, it's essential for ARM to make it as easy as possible to build for it.
NVIDIA's GTX 980 Ti has enough power for solid 4K gaming
Who needs a $650 video card? Pretty much anyone who wants to play games in 4K at decent frame rates. That's the basic pitch for NVIDIA's new $650 GTX 980 Ti, its latest high-end video card, which, naturally, packs in even more power than last year's GTX 980. The new card sports 2,816 parallel processing CUDA cores and 176 texture units, around 38 percent more than the GTX 980, as well as two additional gigabytes of RAM giving it 6GB. It's also based on NVIDIA's new GM200 GPU, which is at the heart of the company's absurdly expensive $1,000 Titan X card. Basically, that means in the instances where its former heavyweight card slows down in 4K -- for example, by running Grand Theft Auto V -- the 980 Ti should shine. NVIDIA says the new card gets around 60 FPS in GTA V, while many benchmarks of that game with the 980 see between 35 and 45 FPS. The 980 Ti is also good news for anyone waiting for a good deal on the 980, since NVIDIA is also dropping the retail price of that card from $550 to $500.
ASUS to unveil stylish ZenPad at Computex next week
It's Computex next week, which means we'll be busy fiddling with a whole bunch of new ASUS devices. According to Ausdroid, some of these will be contributed by a new Android tablet line dubbed ZenPad, which will allegedly come in 7-inch 1,024 x 600 and 8-inch 2,048 x 1,536 flavors -- with the latter having a 4:3 screen ratio, as featured on the iPads, the Nexus 9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A. Given the sweet romance between ASUS and Intel, it's no surprise to see the latter's chips powering the ZenPad line. Judging by the leaked press render obtained by Ausdroid, the larger model packs front-facing stereo speakers, and the backside somewhat resembles the sleeve design applied onto the latest MeMO Pad 7. Little else is known about these new tablets, but we'll find out more in a week's time.
