Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Intel's first LTE chip announced for Bay Trail-powered tablets capable of global roaming

Intel's first LTE chip announced for Bay Trailpowered tablets capable of global roaming
At last, Intel finally has its very own LTE modem chip! Intel's Computex 2013 press conference is going on right now, and a company press release states we'll see a 4G LTE multimode solution paired with its 22nm quad-core Atom SoC for tablets. The XMM 7160 will bring Bay Trail tablets (demonstrated on stage running graphically intense games and streaming 4K video over the integrated LTE) with global roaming capability "towards the end of the back to school season." While it's not clear when consumers can get their hands on this technology, hopefully we'll see something pop up on our end before the end of the year. The talk is still ongoing and we should have more details shortly, check out the press release after the break for now.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8- and 10.1-inch versions to launch worldwide early June


Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8- and 10.1-inch versions to launch worldwide early June
In addition to the Galaxy Tab 3 with a 7-inch display we've known about for a while, Samsung's announced the slate will come in 8- and 10.1-inch varieties, too -- something rumors and FCC filings have long suggested. The 8-inch model has a TFT display sporting a 1,280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution (189 ppi), a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter. It's got vaguely respectable internals: a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (no word on the manufacturer), 1.5GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB storage configurations. A microSD slot is present, supporting up to 64GB cards, and a 4,450mAh battery provides the necessary juice. Android 4.2 is OS of choice -- no surprise there -- and when it arrives, you'll have the choice of WiFi-only (dual-band, a/b/g/n), 3G (HSPA+) and LTE variants.
The 10.1-inch version stretches that same WXGA resolution across its display (149 ppi), and carries a smaller 3-megapixel rear camera and the same 1.3-megapixel front-facer. According to Reuters, the 1.6GHz dual-core CPU in this larger slate is provided by Intel, confirming a previous rumor. Unfortunately, it's saddled with only one gig of RAM, and the storage options are the same as the 8-inch model, with a microSD slot also supporting up to 64GB cards. Also running Android 4.2, the 10.1-inch Tab 3 packs a 6,800mAh battery, and comes in WiFi-only, 3G and LTE variants. Both tablets will be available worldwide at the "beginning of June."

Acer upgrades its PCs with Haswell, new models include the Aspire V7 Ultrabook








This is hardly the biggest Acer news of the week (that would be this, this and this), but it's worth a PSA nonetheless. Now that Intel's formally unveiled Haswell, Acer announced it'll be refreshing much of its PC lineup with those fourth-generation chips -- 23 notebooks and six desktops, to be exact. Obviously, that includes too many models and configurations for us to discuss today, but Acer did say the updates will span the S7, M, V3, V5, V7 and E Series laptop lines, with prices ranging from $600 to $1,600. On the desktop side, the changes are limited to AT3-605 series and the Predator AG3-605 series, with prices running the gamut from $700 to $1,500.

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If there's one model that caught our eye, though, it would be an Ultrabook from Acer's recently announced Aspire V7 series. The V7-482PG-9884-U (how's that for a name?) has 14-inch IPS display, a Core i7-4500U processor, a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GT750M GPU, 12GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. That'll be available this month for $1,300, putting it squarely at the high end of what Acer has to offer

Monday, June 3, 2013

Dell VP says forthcoming XPS 11 will be a Yoga-style hybrid


Dell VP says forthcoming XPS 11 will be a Yogastyle hybrid
It's Computex week, which means the technology world is ready to talk up the PCs it'll be pushing out between now and January. Dell's Kirk Schell has let it slip that the company will be beefing up its mobile offerings with an 11.6-inch laptop that should arrive in time for the holidays. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Dell XPS 11 will come with a high-definition display that can be folded backwards to use as a tablet -- which would have been exciting, but for the fact Lenovo got there first.