Acer T2, Touchscreen Monitors with Transparent Stands

Microsoft's Windows 8 will have advanced touch support, and will rely on it quite extensively, which means that display makers finally have the perfect reason to add touchscreens to their panels.

For those who don't mind holding their arms outstretched while in front of their desk computer, Acer has created the 23-inch T232HL and 27-inch T272HL monitors. The former uses an IPS screen and exhibits a response time of 5ms, VGA/HDMI/DVI inputs and a native resolution of, naturally, 1920 x 1080 pixels. The latter is mostly identical, save for the fact that it uses a Vertical Alignment (VA) panel instead.

Both newcomers have transparent stands (save for the leg holding them up), which is really their only unique element. Acer should start selling the items before the end of the month (October 2012), for $500 /500 Euro and $700 / 700 Euro, respectively. They will be alternatives, of sorts, to the Aspire 5600U and Aspire 7600U all-in-one PCs, which look exactly the same.

Acer T2 Monitor
Image credits to Acer

Read more »

Android Terminal Emulator 1.0.47 Now Available for Download

Android tech-savvy people, rejoice, as one of the popular tools for creating bug patches, Android Terminal Emulator, has just been updated with new features and improvements.

Developed by Jack Palevich, the application also received several bug fixes described below:

• Better emulation of terminal escape sequences;
• Better processing of Alt and Meta keys on Hacker's Keyboard IME and USB keyboards;
• Wide-character Unicode;
• F1-F4 function keys send standard codes.

Aside from the changes above, the latest version allows users to configure the Alt / Meta key to send Esc. In addition, the default text colors are now white text on black background and the default initial command string is now empty. Improved Hungarian translation has been included as well. Android Terminal Emulator 1.0.47 is now available as a free download via Google Play store and it should be fully compatible with all devices running Android 1.5 and up. Check it out on Google Play Store.

Android Terminal Emulator screenshots
Image credits to Jack Palevich

Read more »

Nikon Android Camera, Coolpix S800c

The Nikon Coolpix S800c may not exactly be a response to the Samsung Galaxy Camera, but the overall concept is similar even if the shape isn't quite the same on both ends.

Coolpix S800c has been launched in India and relies almost exclusively on a 3.5-inch OLED WVGA touchscreen for input. We say almost because there are still four actual buttons on one side of the panel. We'll leave the controls to buyers to figure out. Here we will mention that the product, equipped with a 10x optical zoom lens, is run by a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor. Full HD video recording is a given (1080p) and the camera also integrated Wi-Fi and GPS, plus 4 GB of memory.

What's more, the Android 2.3 operating system permits everything from phone tethering to photo and app downloads from the Google Play Store. “The new Coolpix camera range offers Nikon’s elemental technologies providing customers with newer options and brings more colorful and stylish choices during the upcoming festive season,” said Mr. Hiroshi Takashina, MD, Nikon.

Nikon Coolpix S800c Android Camera
Images credits to Nikon

Read more »

CyberPowerPC and ASUS Windows 8 Gaming PCs

We've already seen some gaming PCs emerging, in anticipation of the Windows 8 launch, and now we have two more to talk about, courtesy of CyberPowerPC and ASUS' Republic of Gamers team.

ASUS product bears the name of Tytan and packs all its hardware inside a case shaped like a polygon and featuring built-in indicators that glow either blue or red, depending on which overclocking mode is active. The Intel Core i7-3770K normally works at 3.9 GHz (blue), but the Turbo Gear function will push all the four cores to 4.2 GHz when enabled (red). That said, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2 GB GDDR5 graphics card acts as the pair of the CPU, while a customizable RAM amount and a 128 GB SATA3 SSD maximize system speed (an HDD is present, but the much faster SSD stores the most often used files). The Xonar DX sound card is part of the spec sheet as well. Unfortunately, ASUS did not say what the price of the Tytan will be when shipments start, later this month.

At least CyberPowerPC decided to cover this tiny detail when it released the Zeus Storm: $1,460 / 1,460 Euro. That is only the starting sum, of course. Better hardware will naturally lead to higher price tags. At any rate, there are three versions of the Zeus Storm. One uses the same CPU as above (Zeus Storm 2000), one gets the AMD FX-8150 Bulldozer 8-core chip (Zeus Storm 1000) and the third has a Core i7-3820 (Zeus Storm 3000). “Godly NVIDIA and AMD graphics” can be selected, along with equally high-tier memory and storage capabilities, plus “a host of performance peripherals.”

As for overclocking, CyberPowerPC doesn't offer the same one-touch OC as ASUS, but it does ship the systems as "extreme OC" ready, meaning that they have 20% extra CPU performance by default. Zeus Storm 1000, 2000 and 3000 will ship for $1,460 / 1,460 Euro, $1,682 / 1,682 Euro and $1,943 / 1,943 Euro, respectively.

ASUS ROG Tytan
Image credits to ASUS

CyberPowerPC Zeus Storm
Image credits to CyberPowerPC

Read more »

gMaps Pro for Windows Phone Gets Public Transit and Improved Driver Mode via Update

Even though it’s not among the most popular mapping services for Windows Phone devices, gMaps Pro is highly praised by those who use it.

Developed by Alexey Strakh, the application has just received a new update which brings important new features and improvements. First of all, gMaps Pro now features Public Transit, Improved driver mode, Alternative routes and a new compass engine. In addition, users can now zoom out on “two finger double tap” gesture.

The improved driver mode comes with separate speed indicator, start/stop/reroute buttons, partially visible route line fix, reset speed if stopped and stop navigation if destination reached functions. gMaps Pro 1.26.0.0 is now available for download via Windows Phone Store for only $1.99 USD and it should be fully compatible with all devices running Windows Phone 7.5 and up. Check it out on Windows Phone Marketplace.

gMaps Pro for Windows Phone screenshots
Image credits to Alexey Strakh

Read more »

Boxed Windows 8 Copies on Sale Before Official Debut

Microsoft announced a few days ago the pricing for the new Windows 8 operating system, but the company said that all copies would be delivered after the official debut on October 25.

A Walmart store however is already selling boxed copies of Windows 8, according to a The Verge report citing reader Aaron. While the Windows 8 Pro retail box can also be seen in the photo, the reader told the source that local Walmart employees claimed all copies are for sale, even if the store isn’t promoting them yet.

We’re not sure whether this is an embargo breach or Walmart is indeed allowed to sell the Windows 8 Pro upgrades, but we’ve contacted Microsoft for an official statement on this and we’ll get back when we hear from them.

All boxes were for sale on Wall
Image credits to The Verge

Read more »

Meizu MX 4-Core M032 Spotted with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Meizu might have a new flavor of its MX 4-Core M032 in the pipeline, one that features a different processor than the original, while also running under another flavor of the Android platform.

The handset was spotted in the AnTuTu benchmark with a 1.2GHz processor packed inside, and with Google’s new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system loaded on it. This makes it a bit different than the original Meizu MX 4-Core M032, which came with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board, while being powered by a 1.4GHz Exynos 4412 quad-core processor.

Apparently, the new handset flavor is meant mainly for the testing of Google’s latest mobile operating system flavor, which might arrive on the MX 4-Core M032 in the not too distant future. However, there’s no official confirmation available on the matter, and we’ll have to wait for a formal announcement to be made to learn more on it.

Meizu MX 4-Core M032 spotted with Jelly Bean
Image credits to Leiphone

Read more »

Raspberry Pi Model B, with Double the Memory at No Extra Price

Hardware upgrades almost always result in price increases, but the Raspberry Pi Foundation has decided to live outside that rule.

Meet the Raspberry Pi Model B, the credit card-sized PC that, even with double the random access memory (512 MB rather than 256 MB RAM) still sells for the same sum as before ($35 / 27-35 Euro). The change has happened after customers suggested that the mini PCs should offer enough horsepower for things like Java. Raspberry Pi is keeping the low price even though the ones who made the suggestions implied that they would be willing to pay extra for the benefits.

All current and outstanding orders for Raspberry Pi Model B will ship with the new specification, and the foundation will release a firmware update in a couple of days, to enable access to the new memory. Custom hardware programmers should have a lot of fun after this, as will those that buy the item as a means to turn their TVs into Smart HDTVs.

Raspberry Pi Revision 2
Image credits to Raspberry Pi Foundation

Read more »

BlackBerry 10 L-Series Device Emerges (Again)

Although there are still several months left until Research In Motion (RIM) officially launches its first BlackBerry 10 smartphones, new leaks unveiling the design and look of these devices have recently started to emerge online.

After last week’s very blurry video showing the first BlackBerry 10 L-Series prototype, new photos of the device have just surfaced. This time BlackBerry fans will be able to get a clearer look at the upcoming device, as the pictures are less blurry than the video leaked last week.

Aside from the two pictures that have just been published by the folks over at BerryReview, there’s nothing much we can tell about the phone’s specs sheet. However, there are a few apps that can be seen in the pictures leaked, such as Dropbox, File Manager, Voice Control, Maps, NFC smart tags and more. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter. via CrackBerry.

BlackBerry 10 L-Series device
Image credits to berryReview

Read more »