Posts Tagged ‘handson’
Hands-on with Maxwest’s $65 7-inch dual-core ICS tablet at CTIA 2013
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It’s true that cheap affordable Android tablets are a dime a dozen at most trade shows these days, but here at CTIA 2013 we stumbled upon something that caught our eye — a 7-inch dual-core tablet running Ice Cream Sandwich that costs just $ 65. The Maxwest TAB-7155DC aka. Ippo Y88 measures 182 x 122 x 10mm (7.16 x 4.8 x 0.39inch), weighs 187g (6.6oz) and comes in several hues (black, white, silver, red, blue and pink).
It features a 7-inch 1024 x 600-pixel capacitive multitouch LCD, an Infotmic IMAPx820 SoC (1GHz dual-core Cortex A5 CPU with Mali 400 GPU), 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage, dual VGA cameras (front and back), WiFi b/g/n and 2800mAh battery. The screen isn’t covered in glass and there’s no sign of any Bluetooth or GPS radios, but then again, what do you expect for $ 65? You”ll find a power / lock key, DC socket, micro-USB port (with on-the-go support) and mini-HDMI output on the top edge, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker and microSD card slot on the right side. A microphone and speaker round things up in back.
The tablet runs a mostly stock version of ICS (Android 4.1.1, to be specific) and includes the usual assortment of Google apps along with access to the Play Store. Performance is adequate — not buttery smooth but perfectly usable. Build quality and materials are surprisingly decent for the price (the plastic is color-though), but the display leaves a lot to be desired (viewing angle are poor and the acrylic covering the screen is scratch-prone). Then again, it’s only $ 65, right? Check out the gallery below for our rose-colored hands-on with the expensive tablet.
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Voxx accessories shows off hassle-free Soundboard for wireless audio (hands-on)
Author: Tech Blogger
Voxx Accessories (formerly Audiovox) launched its newest Soundflow wireless audio product at CTIA this week: the Soundboard. The idea is quite simple; place just about any handset on the 3-AA battery powered Soundboard while it plays your favorite music and the device instantly amplifies and rebroadcasts it through its own built in speakers. No pairing, no wires and no hassle are the name of the game.
The concept and its ease of use is really slick, though sadly, the execution is sub-par because even if the tech works perfectly the sound is pretty terrible. The housing is so small that there is simply no bass at all so the resultant audio quality is high pitched and tinny. Voxx’s rep did mention that the speaker still needs tuning, so we’ll definitely wait ’til we run into it again for final judgment on the Soundboard’s sonic abilities. So until that time we’ll save its $ 29.99 list price for a decent NFC-enabled speaker that delivers almost exactly the same no muss no fuss wireless experience. Pics of the Soundboard are in the gallery below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment
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Yota introduces Ruby LTE hotspot with e-ink display at CTIA 2013 (hands-on)
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Remember Yotaphone, the twin-display Android smartphone (color LCD in front, e-ink in back)? Today at CTIA in Las Vagas, Yota devices, the company behind the innovative handset, introduced Ruby, a sleek LTE hotspot with a small e-ink screen. We don’t usually get too excited about such devices, but Ruby looks like something out of Jony Ive‘s workshop, with some interesting features to match. The design recalls the iPod mini but is made of white plastic instead of aluminum.
Along the top edge, you’ll find the e-ink display and a two-way power switch — slide it to the left and Ruby behaves like a secure hotspot, slide it to the right and it’s a public access point. The e-ink screen shows battery and signal status, the number of connected devices and a smiley icon to confirm public mode. On the bottom edge is a trick flap that’s both a micro-USB socket and a USB Type A plug depending on how it’s positioned — the micro-SIM slot is cleverly hidden behind it. A programmable RGB LED mounted behind the Yota logo completes the package on the front of the hotspot.
Ruby currently supports quad-band EDGE, plus HSPA+ and LTE for the European market, but the radio can be configured (in hardware) to support other bands. The 2100mAh battery powers the unit for about 16 hours of use (60 hours on standby) and can be charged to 70 percent capacity in about an hour. Yota’s signed a few deals with carriers in Russia and Europe and the device is expected to become available to Russian customers in two to three weeks for about $ 120 (unsubsidized). No word on whether Ruby will land in the US (yet). Take a look at our hands-on gallery below.
Gallery: Yota devices LTE hotspot hands-on
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Nokia brings Lumia 925 for T-Mobile to CTIA 2013, we go hands-on
Author: Markus Smith
We’ve already spent some quality time with Nokia’s handsome Lumia 925 and while it’s no secret the company’s Windows Phone flagship is coming to the US courtesy of T-Mobile, we’d never actually seen the carrier-branded model — until now, that is. Nokia brought T-Mobile’s version of the handset to CTIA 2013 where we took it for a brief spin. As you’d expect, the phone is identical to its global twin save for the operator’s logo below the capacitive button and the radios which support T-Mobile’s bands. Unfortunately, the Lumia 925 we played with was not final, so the software was off limits. In terms of hardware, it features the same 4.5-inch 1,280 x 768 AMOLED screen, 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB RAM and 8.7-megapixel camera with OIS. This is definitely one of Nokia’s most attractive designs yet, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on a review unit soon. In the meantime, why not check out the gallery below?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia, T-Mobile
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Hands-on with the new Xbox One controller and its crazy vibrations
Author: Matthew Wilson
The Xbox One console is nice, but what really matters is the controller: after all, it’s the thing you hold in your hands the whole time you’re using the console, and if Microsoft has its way that’s going to happen a lot. We had a chance to spend a few minutes using the new controller, and while we can’t say our minds are blown, Microsoft’s definitely thinking in new ways about the new Xbox.
The controller’s design is mostly the same as the Xbox 360. It’s a little smaller, since the company was able to retract the removable battery into the device itself, so there’s no bump on the back. It’s also a little more refined, with black buttons instead of colored ones, and Microsoft says it’s also improved the analog sticks and triggers. (Reps…
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Boost Mobile Wallet app and prepaid Visa hands-on
Author: Charity Woods
Boost Mobile launched a Mobile Wallet app and service today at CTIA 2013 with an interesting twist in that it is tied to a Visa Prepaid card. Boost Mobile customers simply hit up a store to get signed up, download an app onto their handset and once funds are added to their account can use them in a wide variety of ways. From sending money via the app to people in 135 other countries, the ability to pay more that 3,500 billers nationwide, top up your prepaid account and using the included Visa debit card any money in your account can be accessed via that card as well. The app also makes use of your handset’s camera with its Quick Check feature — which is coming soon — allowing an account holder to snap a photo of a check and submit it using the app to have the check’s value added to your mobile wallet once approved — which is nifty, if you don’t use a bank we suppose. There are no month-to-month fees for the service but each bill you pay will cost some $ 2 and climbs depending on how quickly you need the payment made against the account. The service launches in Los Angeles, San Diego and parts of New Jersey today with rollout to all markets expected by the end of the year.
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Kyocera Hydro Xtrm and Hydro Edge hands-on
Author: Brittany Turner
Kyocera kitted us out with toques, touch-sensitive gloves and giant black faux fur coats — well, our Brad chose white — and led us all into a bar made entirely of ice in to launch its new sets at CTIA 2013. Kyocera, playing off the tough-guy thing had the Hydro Xtrm and Edge laid out on slabs of ice in a pretty frosty environment for us to check out with our gloved digits. Both handsets will be priced more toward the lower end of the smartphone scale with the Hydro Edge being the lest expensive and lower specced of the two. Both devices are decent as far as material choices, though the Edge was perhaps our favorite even if the Xtrm beats it out in the display department somehow — they have the same specs. There weren’t any water tanks to test out both set’s IPX5 / IPX7 specs so we’ll simply have to take Kyocera’s word for it.
The Edge and Xtrm build on the previously launched Hydro specs but with upgrades across the board. The Edge sports a dual-core 1Ghz CPU, tempered glass (instead of acrylic), 5-megapixel camera, 4-inch 233 ppi display and Android Jelly Bean. The Xtrm adds LTE to the connectivity list also touts a 5-megapixel shooter, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, the same display as the Edge, and Bluetooth 4. The Xtrm launches on US Cellular May 24th with the Edge joining the fun on Boost Mobile and Sprint during “Summer 2013.” Check out the cool blued hued pics in the gallery below.
Gallery: Kyocera at CTIA 2013
Filed under: Cellphones
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Yahoo revitalizes Flickr with huge images, sharing, and a terabyte of free space (hands-on)
Author: Stefanie Jenkins
Yahoo has just taken the wraps off a major update to Flickr, it’s long-suffering photo service, and we just sat down to put the revamped service through its paces to see how it has improved — and whether or not it’ll be enough to keep up with the likes of Facebook and Google+. While it’s a massive visual improvement, it’s still works much like the Flickr of old, for better or for worse. But for a visual site like Flickr, those changes make for a huge upgrade over what users experienced before.
For starters, Flickr made it a priority to remove the massive amounts of whitespace, text, and links that covered up its page, and it makes all the difference. You’re now presented with a stream of photos from your contacts with minimal…
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Yahoo revitalizes Flickr with huge images, sharing, and a terabyte of free space (hands-on)
Author: James Cliff
Yahoo has just taken the wraps off a major update to Flickr, it’s long-suffering photo service, and we just sat down to put the revamped service through its paces to see how it has improved — and whether or not it’ll be enough to keep up with the likes of Facebook and Google+. While it’s a massive visual improvement, it’s still works much like the Flickr of old, for better or for worse. But for a visual site like Flickr, those changes make for a huge upgrade over what users experienced before.
For starters, Flickr made it a priority to remove the massive amounts of whitespace, text, and links that covered up its page, and it makes all the difference. You’re now presented with a stream of photos from your contacts with minimal…
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Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013
Author: JohnnyBells
When Valve‘s first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by “time for new exciting projects.” Well we finally saw what she’s been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It’s called Cast AR, and it’s a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.
The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear’s bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and stay tuned for a video interview with Jeri Ellsworth.
Gallery: Cast AR hands-on at Maker Faire 2013
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables
