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ASUS' ROG Phone 5 focuses on audio quality for mobile gamers
The ASUS ROG Phone 5 has redesigned innards for better heat dissipation, weight distribution and audio performance. There's also a Pro model plus a limited edition ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, with the latter boasting a whopping 18GB of RAM.
BBK's Vivo X1 is a phone for audiophiles, packs high-end DAC and Beyerdynamic earphones
We've never paid much attention to BBK's phones in the past, but today, this Chinese company -- who's actually the creator of the Oppo brand for the Western market -- announced a rather interesting Android 4.1 device. The idea of this Vivo X1 is that BBK wants to take audio very seriously on its new flagship phone, which is why it's been given a Cirrus Logic CS4398 digital-analog converter plus a CS8422 sample-rate converter -- a combo that's seemingly popular amongst Hi-Fi connoisseurs and manufacturers. And to match that audio performance, BBK's also throwing in a pair of Beyerdynamic MMX 71 iE earphones (20Hz-22kHz, 12Ω, 104dB) as part of the ¥2,498 ($400) package; though you can also choose the AKG K420 or the Sennheiser CX215 instead when buying from BBK's official online store. The rest of the Vivo X1, however, is more bog-standard in comparison: MediaTek MT6577T processor (1.2GHz, dual core, Cortex-A9), 4.7-inch 960 x 540 IPS display, 1GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage, eight-megapixel main camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and WCDMA 2100 3G radio. The only real highlight here is perhaps the 2,000mAh battery, which is non-removable but still rather impressive considering it's in a 6.55mm-thin body. Even the Oppo Finder has a 6.65mm thickness and yet lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, whereas BBK's thinner phone has one. What's missing here is microSD expansion, but there's 15GB of Baidu cloud storage should users wish to take advantage of that. The Vivo X1 may just be available for pre-order now, but the folks at BBK couldn't help but tease the highlights of its next-generation device already: bezel-free design, 1080p display, big battery and 13-megapixel camera. We look forward to that.
Native Instruments' Audio 2 DJ claims to be 'world's smallest' USB audio interface
You know you're living in the digital age when even DJs start ogling capacitive touchscreens with glee and turntables can be replaced by pocket DJ systems. Aiding this trend along is the newly announced Audio 2 DJ, which packs studio-grade 24-bit / 96 KHz Cirrus Logic converters inside an impossibly svelte and stylish package. This USB-powered device can best be understood as a supercharged sound card: two 1/4-inch stereo outputs are amplified to a "pristine" +9.7 dBu, while low-latency OS drivers ensure rapid responsiveness. The best thing about the Audio 2 DJ, though, might just be the price -- at $119, it's reasonable enough to make the product appealing to non-professionals too. Should you care about souped-up sound on the move, there's not long to wait now, with availability set for September 1.[Via Macworld]
