New quad-core Snapdragon supports 55-megapixel images, Ultra HD

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/new-quad-core-snapdragon-supports-55-megapixel-images-ultra-hd/

Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, shows off the processing power of the upcoming Qualcomm 800 series mobile processor.

Andrew Cunningham

A new Snapdragon series processor will arrive from Qualcomm this coming summer, the company announced during its keynote presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show Monday. The new processor, named the 800 series, “delivers 75 percent better performance” than its predecessor, the Snapdragon S4 Pro, while consuming less battery life.

The 800 series includes a quad-core Krait 400 CPU clocked at up to 2.3GHz per core alongside an Adreno 330 GPU. Qualcomm claims that the Adreno 330 has twice the “compute performance” of the Adreno 320, showing off its processing power during the presentation with a real-time render of a dragon blowing fire and stomping its feet.

The chip will include support for 4G LTE and 802.11ac as well as “Ultra HD” (née 4K) video resolutions of 4096×2304. The chip also has dual image signal processors that will support up to four cameras, 3D image capture, and photo-merging to create up to 55-megapixel images, if manufacturers can provide the hardware.

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Matias' new Mini Quiet and Laptop Pro bring silent mechanical keyboards to road warriors

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/matias-mini-quiet-laptop-pro/

Remember that unheralded Matias keyboard that we spotted at the FCC a few weeks back? Well, it transpires that it was one of a pair of units for those who want tactile typing on the go -- but without encouraging the death-stares of their fellow commuters. The (wired) Mini Quiet Pro for PC and Bluetooth Laptop Pro for Mac are tenkeyless units that use the same modified ALPS "Quiet Click" switches that we found on the Quiet Pro. The Mini Quiet Pro comes with a three-port USB 2.0 hub and a spare cable that you can tote around in your laptop bag and will set you back $130. The Laptop Pro, on the other hand, gets a high-capacity battery that the company promises will last half a year between charges and will cost $170. Both are available to pre-order now for delivery in February.

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Source: Matias, (2)

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SiliconDust announces two new HDHomeRun network tuners with transcoding, DLNA DMP beta firmware available soon

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/silicondust-announces-two-new-hdhomerun-network-tuners-with-tr/

SiloconDust let us kown that it would be the first to certify a live TV tuner as a DLNA Digital Media Server, easily enabling premium cable TV to more devices with its existing HDHomeRun Prime network CableCARD tuner. A beta firmware of that software will be available next week for existing customers. The rub, though, is that you'll need a DLNA Digital Media Player (or Rederer) that supports MPEG2, and that just isn't as common as you might think -- as well as DTCP-IP support for copy protected content. In comes two new network tuners, the HDHR4-US and the HDHR4-CC. Both offer hardware transcoding for "digital-to-digital conversion of high-bandwidth MPEG2 streams to bandwidth-friendly H.264." The primary difference between the two new quad tuner boxes is one has a CableCARD slot for premium TV, and the other is for clear QAM or ATSC -- there is also a third unit, HDHR4-DT2, for Europe and Australia. The number of DLNA Digital Media Players (DMP) that support H.264 is far more vast and the codec is far more efficient. This basically means you'll have access to your favorite live content on more devices and in more places, and use less bandwidth while enjoying it. These new ones should be available starting in "mid-2013" with no mention of price in the releases below. But with the HDHR3-CC retailing for $199, we'd suspect the new quad tuner versions with transcode, will come just a bit above that.

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Hands-on with Xi3's 'Piston' modular PC at CES

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/hands-on-with-xi3s-piston-modular-pc-at-ces/

Remember when Xi3 announced a Kickstarter project for its modular computers late last year? Well, those machines are here today at CES, thanks in no small part to some lofty backing from Valve. We got a first look at its latest mini-PC, code-named Piston, tonight -- and though a more comprehensive demo is to come, we walked away with some impressions nonetheless. Of course, Valve wouldn't back this system if it didn't have some serious graphics chops. It's optimized to run Valve's Steam platform -- and specifically big-picture mode -- and to that end it packs a quad-core chip. Most specs remain vague, though the Piston apparently offers up to 1TB of storage. The package is tiny yet rugged, with an aluminum chassis that's made to resist heat (and that will certainly come in handy during gaming sessions). Xi3 is also touting the system's low energy consumption; it runs on just 40W. And it's somewhat future-proof, too, with a modular motherboard that lets you swap out components when newer tech becomes available. Our hands-on gallery will have to tide you over till we get a full walkthrough at Xi3's booth tomorrow.

Gallery: Xi3 Piston Modular Computer hands-on

Joseph Volpe contributed to this report.

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“The telephone network is obsolete”: Get ready for the all-IP telco

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/01/the-telephone-network-is-obsolete-get-ready-for-the-all-ip-telco/

Dan Brady

Two months ago, AT&T petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to plan for the retirement of traditional phone networks and transition to what AT&T sees as an inevitability: the all-IP telco.

AT&T had been discussing the transition internally, spurred on by the FCC's own suggestion that the Public Switched Telephone Network might be ripe for death somewhere around 2018. "This telephone network we've grown up with is now an obsolete platform, or at least a rapidly obsolescing platform," Hank Hultquist, VP of AT&T's federal regulatory division, said today. "It will not be sustainable for the indefinite future. Nobody's making this network technology anymore. It's become more and more difficult to find spare parts for it. And it's becoming more and more difficult to find trained technicians and engineers to work on it."

Hultquist was speaking as part of a Consumer Electronics Show panel titled "Introducing the All-IP Telco." The panel was moderated by Daniel Berninger, founder of a startup called VCXC (the Voice Communication Exchange Committee) devoted to speeding the transition to all-IP networks.

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Vizio's XVT Ultra HDTVs to bring 4K and glasses-free 3D to the masses, we go eyes-on

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/vizios-xvt-ultra-hdtv-hands-on/

Vizio officially announced its 2013 HDTV lineup this morning and now we've gotten to see the new sets in person. At the top of the list are the company's XVT Ultra models at 55-, 65- and 70-inches, which will bring 4K video to living rooms on an unknown date later this year. The company had the 70-inch set on hand showing some native 4K footage, and as you'd expect, it looked good. Viewing angles approach 180 degrees, and the new design's 10mm bezel is barely noticeable. Speaking of which, the industrial design on the XVT line is understated and premium, with an anodized silver metal band surrounding the edge of the set and minimal branding.

In addition to the 70-inch set, Vizio also had a prototype 55-inch 3D XVT model that was most impressive. Its viewing angles were just as good as the 70-inch set, but the highlight is its glasses-free 3D. Vizio's implementation of the technology takes full advantage of the 4K resolution to provide a high quality 3D picture, and its software maintains a focused picture from all angles. Of course, there are sweet spots for viewing the full 3D depth affect, but outside of those zones, 2D picture quality was maintained. Unfortunately, Vizio hasn't committed to a 2013 release date for glasses-free 3D, but the rest of the lineup, set to debut later this year, will still have the firm's glasses-dependent passive 3D technology. Interested? There's plenty of pics of the new sets in our gallery below.

Gallery: Vizio TVs at CES 2013

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Zotac refreshes ZBOX range with Ivy Bridge, dual WiFi antennas, improved cooling

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/zotac-zbox-id83-id42/

Despite the fact that Zotac's model number sequence appears to run backwards, the company's latest mini-PCs on show at CES appear to contain healthy upgrades relative to the ZBOX ID84 we saw in August. According to a brief report at Hot Hardware, the new range -- including the ID42 and ID83 -- will bring additions like dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual WiFi antennas for better reception and, most importantly, a cooling system that allows for more powerful processors up to a dual-core 1.1GHz Celeron or even a Core i3-3120M. Different configurations will come with either HD4000 integrated graphics or NVIDIA's GeForce 620, and can be purchased as barebones units or with RAM and HDD preinstalled. As for pricing and availability, we'll just have to wait and see --although early retailer listings suggest the Ivy Bridge ID83 could cost around £320 ($520).

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Source: Hot Hardware, Xtrasoft

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Nvidia officially unveils next-generation Tegra 4 SoC

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/nvidia-officially-unveils-next-generation-tegra-4-soc/

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang officially unveils the next-generation Tegra 4 processor.

Andrew Cunningham

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang took the stage at CES on Sunday evening to unveil, among other things, the company's next-generation tablet chip: the Tegra 4.

By Huang's own admission, the chip is one of the company's "worst-kept secrets," and the core specifications are basically identical to those that were leaked last month: four Cortex-A15 CPU cores (along with an additional low-power companion core, which switches on when the tablet is idle to save power) take care of the CPU side, while 72 GeForce GPU cores boost graphics performance over Tegra 3.

Enlarge / Nvidia's tests put the Tegra 4 ahead of all comers in page loading times.

Andrew Cunningham

In a side-by-side webpage loading test with Google's Nexus 10 (the current reigning champion of Android tablet performance) a Tegra 4-based prototype loaded a set of webpages nearly twice as quickly: 27 seconds compared to 50 seconds. It's worth noting that the Tegra tablet appeared to be running the stock Android browser, however, while the Nexus 10 was running Google Chrome—the latter browser has proven to have slightly lower benchmarking scores, so take these results with a grain of salt.

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Hands-on with Toshiba 84-inch L9300 Series Ultra HD 4K LED TV

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/hands-on-with-toshiba-84-inch-l9300-series-ultra-hd-4k-led-tv/

The latest to announce its entrance into the Ultra HD market with its 84-inch 4K LED TV is Toshiba. The L9300 series is also available in 65-inch or 58-inch models and will be available this summer with no word on price. According to a representative of the company, the key to Ultra HD is the processing as there won't be much native content at launch, and it has the best with its CEVO 4K Quad+Dual Core Processor and CQ Engine. The demo model on display sure impressed, but we'll hold our final judgement when the product finally ships.

Gallery: Hands-on with Toshiba 84-inch L9300 Series Ultra HD 4K LED TV

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Hands-on with Liquid Image's Ego Mini action cam at CES Unveiled

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/liquid-image-ego-mini-hands-on/

GoPro ain't the only name in the action camera game, and here at CES Unveiled we've just got a look at Liquid Image's latest mountable cam -- the Ego Mini (that's it on the right, pictured next to the first-gen Ego). It shoots 1080p video at 30 fps or 720p at 60 fps, and is WiFi enabled, so you can livestream if hooked up to something with internet access. Obviously it's pretty small and light (as well as waterproof), and we saw it nestled inside a motorbike helmet, and in various mount configurations, like four cams pointing in all directions for 360-degree recording, and two side-by-side for 3D video. In camera mode, it can shoot 12-megapixel stills with a continuous photo-taking mode if you want something in-between full video recording.

The Liquid Image app, which has just been released for iOS and will be making its way into the Google Play store at some point in the future, can pair with the cam and solicit the live video view. It can also access data stored on the Ego Mini's microSD card (up to 32GB supported), and upload short clips to social networks. The app also works as a remote control for taking stills and will allow you to change settings on the camera. We saw the app in action briefly, and it worked as described, with only a little lag in the video stream, and pretty good image quality from what we could tell from an iPhone screen. Due to arrive in stores in August 2013, the Ego Mini is expected to cost $200. Check out the PR after the break for more info, and check out the gallery below for our hands-on pics. If you're interested in a more integrated action cam specifically for snowsports, we also took a quick tour of Liquid Image's Apex HD+ goggles (or HD + WiFi depending on your source), which started shipping in November 2012.

Gallery: Liquid Image Ego Mini, Apex HD+

Richard Lawler contributed to this report.

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Trakdot Luggage hands-on: find your lost bags

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/trakdot-luggage-hands-on/

Lost luggage is a seemingly unavoidable inevitability for the frequent traveller. Millions of bags either get left behind, sent to the wrong city or simply disappear completely every year. GlobaTrac has created Trakdot Luggage to give the constant flyer a little more of a sense of security. The palm-sized plastic device slips discreetly into your duffle or suitcase and updates the owner on its location via an app, SMS, email or the Trakdot website. Sadly the apps are not live in Play or the iTunes app store, so we can't tell you much about their functionality, outside of some specialized alerts that are promised, like a notification when your bag hits the claim carrosel. On the site you can set up customized text and email notifications or view location pins via Google Maps.

The preproduction box we handled was stunningly light, though we wouldn't be surprised if the device packed on a little weight when the final version hits shelves in March. Rather than rely on battery draining GPS, the Trakdot Luggage relies on a quad-band GSM chip and triangulation, which allows it to last up to two weeks on a fresh pair of AAs, which are generously included in the packaging. The Trakdot luggage will $49.95, though a one time activation fee of $8.99 and an annual service fee of $12.99 will be required to keep it functional. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break for more.

Gallery: Trackdot Luggage

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USB 3.0 enhancement to bring 10Gbps transfers, backward compatibility in mid-2013

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/usb-3-10gbps-data-transfer-rate-ces-2013/

Don't call it USB 4.0. Here in Las Vegas, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced the development of a SuperSpeed USB (that's USB 3.0, if you're curious) enhancement that will "add a much higher data rate, delivering up to twice the data through-put performance of existing SuperSpeed USB over enhanced, fully backward compatible USB connectors and cables." This supplement to the USB 3.0 specification is anticipated to be completed by the middle of this year, bringing along a new 10Gbps data rate, improved data encoding for more efficient data transfer, and of course, compatibility with existing 5Gbps hubs and devices (and even USB 2.0 products). We've yet to hear of any device makers trotting out new gear that'll handle the new spec, but hopefully we'll hear more at CES really gets rolling.

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Source: Marketwatch, USB-IF

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Delphi and Verizon launch new connectivity system: track and monitor your vehicle through your smartphone

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/delphi-and-verizon-announces-new-connectivity-system-to-track-an/

Delphi has allied itself with Verizon to launch a new Vehicle Diagnostics service. It works through a cloud system that connects your four-wheeler to your smartphone (or internet browser), showing precisely where your car is, as well as options to secure it and check its vitals. Delphi promises the new system will work in most vehicles sold in the US since 1996 and users can pick up alerts for driving and vehicle performance issues, as well as setup geo-fences to monitor if your car goes outside specified zones. Connecting your phone to the car is done through Bluetooth and adds access to key fob commands including remote door control. The compatible smartphone app will arrive on devices running Android 2.2 or later and iOS 5.0 onwards, while the Delphi Web portal works on Internet Explorer 7, with Firefox, Chrome and Safari versions still in the works.

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Withings new flagship Smart Body Analyzer scale now measures air quality, heart rate (update: hands-on video)

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/withings-body-analyzer/

Now that Withings has added a "low-end" model to its connected-scale pantheon, it's time for the flagship model to get a refresh. The company's latest Smart Body Analyzer may look like its predecessor, but now comes with heart rate and air quality monitoring sensors to make sure you're getting enough oxygen. As before, the data is then pumped over WiFi to Withings' website and mobile app, which can be shared as far as your dignity allows. Priced at $150, it'll be arriving at some point in Q1, at which point we can validate our paranoid fantasies about airflow.

Gallery: Withings Smart Body Analyzer Hands-On at CES 2013

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Withings goes after Fitbit with its pulse-reading Smart Activity Tracker (update: hands-on video)

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/withings-activity-tracker/

Withings' assault on our paunchy bellies doesn't look like it's going to stop, now that the company has launched a portable sleep and activity tracker that's clearly designed to go after the Fitbit Ultra. The Smart Activity Tracker makes some impressive claims, offering pulse monitoring if you push your finger onto the back of the device, calculating calorie consumption and monitoring the quality of your sleep. The 43.3-millimeter device has an OLED touchscreen display and will instantly upload your data to the Withings Health Mate app over Bluetooth Smart, and promises to go a full fortnight without needing a recharge. The company hasn't made any statement as to when it plans to release the unit, or how much it'll cost you, but we're looking forward to putting it through its paces.

Gallery: Withings Activity Tracker Hands-on at CES 2013

Continue reading Withings goes after Fitbit with its pulse-reading Smart Activity Tracker (update: hands-on video)

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