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LG slowly starts rolling out its 2021 OLED and LCD 4K TVs
LG's 2021 4K and 8K TVs are starting to roll out. This year the LCD includes a QNED line with Mini LED tech and the OLED TVs are getting cheaper than ever.
Huawei's $80 smartwatch isn't worth it
You remember that adage about how if you want something cheap, fast and good, you can only get two? I'm too drunk to recall it properly, but Huawei's doing its best to tick all three boxes with the Honor Band Z1. It's a wearable from the company's Honor sub-brand that's designed to appeal to tech-savvy, budget-conscious shoppers. It's just gone on sale in the US for $80 and, up front, it's far too much for a neat but badly executed idea. It might be $20 less than the discounted OG Pebble and significantly more stylish, but the experience is so compromised that it's not worth the pain.
The international version of the Lenovo-backed ZUK Z1 runs Cyanogen 12
There's a lot to like about the ZUK Z1, a Chinese flagship smartphone backed by the folks at Lenovo -- it has a USB Type-C port with support for audio output, a huge 4,100 mAh battery, a multi-function fingerprint reader and an attractive 1,799 yuan ($280) sticker price. If Cyanogen is your favorite flavor of Android, it just got a little better: today ZUK announced that the international version of the handset will come loaded with the commercial version of Cyanogen OS 12.1.
Lenovo-backed phone has reversible USB 3.0 and a big battery
Following the LeTV "Superphones" and the OnePlus 2, here's yet another Chinese smartphone that supports the reversible USB Type-C port; except this time, we're going beyond USB 2.0 speeds. The Android device we're looking at here is dubbed the Z1, which is the first product by Lenovo-backed startup ZUK (pronounced "z-u-k") to compete with affordable online brands like Xiaomi, Smartisan, Meizu and Huawei's Honor range. The competitive 1,799 yuan or $280 price point is of no surprise in today's market, but what stands out here is the presence of both USB Type-C and USB 3.0 (or USB 3.1 Gen 1) specs, which is a first for smartphones. To be exact, the Z1 boasts a USB data rate of up to 500 MB/s or 10 times that of USB 2.0, which comes in handy for its 64GB of internal storage.
Samsung is launching 'several' more Tizen smartphones this year
It's tempting to think of Tizen as an also-ran in the smartphone world next to powerhouses like Android and iOS, but that's not entirely true when Samsung has sold 1 million Z1 phones in India since January. In fact, there are now signs that the Korean firm is doubling down on its partly in-house platform: Reuters sources hear that Samsung is planning to release "several" more Tizen phones later this year at a range of prices. While there aren't more details yet, the move suggests that Samsung is confident that it can expand Tizen's audience relatively quickly.
How would you change Sony's Xperia Z1?
There's a familiar theme whenever Engadget reviews a Sony smartphone, which is that the hardware's great, but not compelling enough to make you buy one. When Sharif Sakr got his hands on the Xperia Z1, he found that the headline feature -- that 20 megapixel camera -- wasn't strong enough to compete with the Lumia 1020. That said, we imagine that some of you did splash out on this handset, so why not come to Engadget's product forums and spill your brains as to what you liked, and hated, about the Z1?
Samsung launches its first Tizen smartphone... again
Where were you when Samsung launched its first Tizen phone? That's debatable. The company proudly revealed the "Z" last year, but later scrapped the "high-end" model before it ever reached customers, instead choosing to refocus on creating budget devices. We're now seeing the first fruits of that effort, as Samsung has just announced the Z1, a low-end Tizen smartphone for India. "Budget" is definitely the right word for this phone: priced at 5700 Rupees (a shade over $90), it has a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) display, a 1.2GHz processor, 3.1-megapixel camera (and a VGA front camera), 768MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD) and a 1500mAh battery good for 8 hours of talk time. Fitting for its intended market, the Z1 also comes with dual-SIM support, and is available from today in white, black and red.
Sony's Xperia Z1 Compact finally comes to the US
When we reviewed Sony's Xperia Z1 Compact, we concluded that it's exactly what a miniature flagship should be: big features in a small package. But despite the handset's many merits, Sony hasn't so far managed to offer it through any carriers in the US. Instead, starting today, it's selling the Z1 Compact direct from its own webiste, for a price of $550. The device is unlocked, of course, so at least you get the choice of whichever GSM carrier takes your fancy -- although its LTE bands don't make it especially friendly with AT&T.
Engadget UK Giveaway: win a Sony Xperia Z1 courtesy of Expansys
You know what's better than the latest Sony Xperia Z1? A free Sony Xperia Z1, and that could be exactly what one of you lucky readers in the UK will be receiving -- courtesy of Expansys. What do you have to do to stand a chance of bagging the photo-friendly waterproof phone for yourself? Simply head to the competition widget past the break and take your pick of entry options.
iFixit tears open an HP Z1, finds it impossibly easy to repair
Those guys and gals at iFixit love nothing more than destroying something beautiful and, in the process, finding out exactly what makes it tick. The latest victim of their reckless deconstructive tendencies is HP's Z1. The all-in-one turns out to be just as beautiful on the inside as it is outside. The components aren't haphazardly tossed inside the tight enclosure or soldered in place. The impressively repairable and replaceable parts all slide out easily, with at most the turn of a few screws. Only the LCD and glass pane posed an obstacle, but even that turned out to be relatively simple to remove. For more photos of the tiny workstation torn asunder, check out the source link.
HP unveils Z1 all-in-one workstation: 27-inch IPS display, starts at $1,899
If you fancy yourself a power user, HP's got a "world's first" trick up its sleeve that might lure you in. Earlier today, the Palo Alto outfit took the wraps off its newest all-in-one, the HP Z1. This workstation is a mere distant cousin to HP's consumer-focused Omni and TouchSmart lines -- not that that's a bad thing. The machine comes sporting a 27-inch, 2560 x 1440, IPS display, the back of which snaps open for easy access when making hardware tweaks and, if you wisely choose to take the premium road, you could be walking out with a quad-core Intel Xeon CPU and NVIDIA Quadro graphics, as well as your choice of a 160GB or 300GB SSD for storage. Needless to say, it all depends on how much dough you're willing to part with. HP says the Z1 is expected to ship around April, with the lowest-end model starting at $1,899. It'll be a while before you can get your hands on one, but in the meantime you can keep yourself entertained by checking out those glossy press shots below.
Japanese paper pegs PlayStation Phone for spring launch
In case you needed any more evidence that Sony is ramping up to launch a gaming system on a phone in the next few months, here you go: Japanese rag Asahi Shimbun says that the PlayStation Phone -- which could be known as the Zeus Z1, Xperia Play, or something else altogether by the time it's on store shelves -- is expected in the spring of 2011 for a North American and European release. That lines up with virtually everything we've been hearing lately, and it's also fortuitous timing considering that both CES and MWC are right around the corner; we don't know what Sony Ericsson might have on tap for CES, but we definitely know they're planning some new Xperia-branded models for MWC. There are many questions left unanswered -- how (and if) any of this ties into the standalone PSP2, how gaming titles will be purchased, and how many models will be available that support the platform, just to name a few -- but hopefully Sony can clear all that up here within the next few weeks.
Sony's Kaz Hirai talks up virtues of touch controls, weighs in on PlayStation phone
The PlayStation phone keeps popping up time and again, and still no one at Sony is going to flat-out admit anything -- but that hasn't stopped playful speculation. Even SCE chief Kaz Hirai is joining in the fun. "We don't want gamers to be asking, what's the difference between that [a PS phone] and a PSP... we have to come up with a message that users will understand," he told The New York Times. "It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact." So that's the issue, then, differentiating a new PSP and a variant with phone capabilities -- nothing a good marketing campaign can't fix, if you ask us. But enough about the phone, what of the PlayStation's portable brand in general? Hirai seems to fancy touch controls, actually. "Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel," he said, adding that "immersive games" -- the ones he think are Sony's focus, vs. the more casual fare offered by Apple and Android -- do well with physical buttons, and that some games work well with the two. We can't help but notice he said touch panel and not touch screen, which reminds us of the touchpad we saw on the PS phone leaks, but we wouldn't want to harp too much.
Exclusive: PlayStation Phone 'Zeus Z1' prototype benchmarked on video
We can't get enough of Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we're guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it's running Qualcomm's Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn't seem like much -- our Nexus S, for example, just pulled off 55.6fps -- but bear in mind, this isn't the final software (or hardware probably), so there's no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Just think of it as another nice view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can't make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week -- don't be greedy. Video after the break.
Sony Ericsson's Zeus Z1 PlayStation phone contributes sample shots to Picasa
At this point, does it really surprise anyone that a new phone is leaking by way of a photo sharing site? We totally understand the conundrum: when you're logged into a phone that you're testing and you're taking pictures, it's so easy to upload 'em. And hey, you need to test the sharing functionality at some point anyway, right? At any rate, we love it, so we're not going to complain that a few photos with Sony Ericsson Zeus clearly called out in the EXIF data have started showing up on Picasa. The four appropriately-labeled pictures all clock in at 5 megapixels, so we hope you weren't expecting an N8-beating resolution here... but then again, when you're heads-down in PlayStation-branded games for hours on end, do you really have time to be taking decent pictures anyway?
PlayStation Phone 'Zeus Z1' caught on video again, this time you can actually see it (update)
Wow guys, we just spotted a new video of the PlayStation Phone, codenamed Zeus Z1, and this time we get a long, loving look at the entire device -- a refreshing contrast to last time's blurry tease. In addition to appreciating just how fat this phone is, and just how real it is, you can clearly see a "PlayStation" icon, which should hopefully put to rest any doubts that this phone will actually play PlayStation games. Check out a close-up of the icon after the break. Oh, and by the way, there's no audio on the video, your computer is not broken. [Thanks, Sha] Update: There's another video! Check out a brief look at the PlayStation app after the break...
PlayStation Phone espied in Greece, said to have Gingerbread and 4-inch screen (video)
It's quite fitting for a device that's purportedly codenamed Zeus to make its first video appearance somewhere in the wilds of Greece. What we have here is the apparent full motion debut of Sony Ericsson's big crossover device, the PlayStation Phone, one half portable gaming console, one half Android smartphone. Unfortunately, we never see it flexing out its slider to reveal that delicious control pad, but judging from its curves and little design details, it does indeed look to be the real deal. Techblog.gr reports that it's dubbed the Sony Ericsson Z1 and comes with Gingerbread on board -- something that meshes well with earlier indications that some Zeus devices in the wild are already running Android 2.3 (and above) -- while the screen is a 4-inch panel that apparently offers great touchscreen responsiveness. See the mythical creature for yourself after the break.
Toshiba's new REGZA record over LAN, convert 2D to 3D quite soon in Japan
Though Toshiba's flagship ZX900 Cell TV has yet to make its feature-packed US debut, the company is already planning fancy new toys for the motherland. This week, Toshiba announced a full fifteen new LCD HDTVs destined to spice up the sweltering Japanese summer -- each of them ready to pull double duty as DVR -- and Nikkei Electronics reports that the company's 3D-converting sets will debut around the same time. Meanwhile, Google Translate tells us a bit about the rest. While the low-end REGZA HE1 series have only a built-in 500GB hard drive and LED-backlit LCDs (as if that weren't enough), the RE1 can send footage to up to four external hard drives over USB in a system that gives each family member their own dedicated hard drive. But the Z1 series takes the cake -- it's got fleshed out DVR functionality that lets users record two programs at once (while watching a third) and jack into a LAN switch with eight drives for a veritable NAS of up to 4TB. It's little things like this that make us wish we lived in Japan.
Panasonic's 1-inch thick Z1 plasma reviewed: playing with perfection
The plasma may be a dying breed, but the ones that are left are undoubtedly some of the best the world has ever seen. Take Panasonic's 54-inch TC-P54Z1 for example, which wowed audiences (us included) when it was first unveiled way back at CES. The HD Guru recently had an opportunity to take this very screen into his abode for review, and after a labor-intensive (around "one hour") setup process, the gazing was officially on. Panny's engineers were able to slim the set down to an inch by requiring that a dedicated (wireless) set-top-box be used for tuning OTA channels and managing connections, and the result was nothing less than elegant. If you're wondering what north of five large really buys in an HDTV these days, wonder no more -- the set was deemed darn near perfect, with "outstanding" color, contrast and deep black levels. Potentially best of all, there were no motion artifacts to speak of, and anyone with a 120Hz / 240Hz set can testify to just how annoying those things are. Hit the read link for a detailed unboxing, setup and review, but don't even bother if you're looking for someone to talk you out of what you're about to do.
Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker takes the inevitable unboxing journey
Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker conjured up all sorts of love and hate-filled emotions when we toyed with it earlier this month, but for fans of unorthodox handhelds, minor details like a wonky optical pad and frail keys aren't apt to put a damper on the excitement found in this moment. The cool kids over at Pocketables were able to procure a unit over the weekend from Japan (right on cue, might we add), and predictably, they've broken out the camera in order to let you relive the unboxing experience and see it side-by-side with a UMID mbook M1. The read link folks, that's where it's at.