Thursday, June 14, 2012

Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/14/acer-aspire-s5-pricing-availability/

DNP EMBARGO Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving in the US in late June for $1,400, S3 gets refreshed with Ivy Bridge and new color

It was only last week that Acer unveiled its first touchscreen Ultrabook, so you'd be forgiven if you forgot about the company's other pinch-thin laptop -- the one that was announced back in January at CES. That would be the Aspire S5, and now, five months later, it's finally going on sale. We just got word that it will hit shelves the last week of this month, with a starting price of $1,400. To recap (in case you've been overwhelmed by all the Ultrabooks on display lately), this is the one with the motorized, drop-down door hiding HDMI, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports. If fourteen hundred bucks seems expensive, remember that these specs (a Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor and 256GB SSD) are actually pretty standard for the money. And, at 2.65 pounds, it's lighter than almost every other 13-inch Ultrabook we've seen. Still, at that price we'd expect something a little crisper than a 1366 x 768 display.

For what it's worth, too, the S5 is the first product to ship in the US with the company's free AcerCloud service baked in. In brief, you get unlimited storage for backing up your stuff, all of which you can access remotely using an Android app (Acer has said iOS and Windows Phone versions are on the way). As with other syncing services, your computer needs to be asleep, not powered-off, in order for yo! u to ret rieve your files, so avoid shutting down if you think you'll need to reach into your PC later.

In other news, Acer is refreshing its first-gen S3 Ultrabook with a new champagne color, and will now offer it with an Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor and 256GB hard drive. The starting price has dropped to $648 with a Sandy Bridge CPU, with the highest-end models fetching about $1,000. Look for these upgraded models sometime next week.

Continue reading Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color

Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color originally appeared on Enga! dget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy Note 10.1 up for pre-order on Amazon US: $549 with quad-core CPU in tow (update: pulled)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/13/galaxy-note-10-1-pre-order-amazon/

Galaxy Note 101 up for preorder on Amazon US $549 with quadcore CPU in tow

Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 was recently caught on camera, which indicates that it's well along the production pipeline. Further evidence: the ICS tablet is up for pre-order on Amazon US. The asking price is $549, and the retailer says it will be available "within 3 to 5 weeks." In line with earlier rumors, it looks like Samsung swapped the Note 10.1's original dual-core processor for a quad-core CPU, though as Unwired View points out, Amazon probably meant a Samsung Exynos processor rather than the Intel Xeon currently listed. Ready to shell out for this S Pen-equipped slate? Click on through to the source link to see the product page.

Update: We've received word from Samsung that Amazon published the page in error, and has since taken it down. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is in fact not available for pre-order at this time.

Galaxy Note 10.1 up for pre-order on Amazon US: $549 with quad-core CPU in tow (update: pulled) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARM vows Mali-450 graphics will liven up mid-range smartphones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/13/arm-vows-mali-450-graphics-will-liven-up-mid-range-smartphones/

ARM vows Mali450 graphics will liven up midrange smartphones, shoots for the moon with Skrymir

ARM is still cooking its next-generation Mali-T604 mobile graphics, but it has what could be a massive lift to performance coming considerably sooner through the Mali-450 family. The architecture is almost almost literally two Mali-400 chips (the same that powers the Galaxy S II) grafted together, and the maximum eight cores accordingly run up to twice as quickly as what we saw just a year ago. The real achievement might be just be targeting the Mali-450 at a more down-to-Earth audience: where the 400 was all about conquering the high-end, ARM wants the 450 to focus on mid-range and even entry-level phones. Design work for the new Mali video should be done before the end of 2012, although it'll be up to chip manufacturers to carry the torch and finish work that likely won't show in phones and tablets until 2013.

ARM vows Mali-450 graphics will liven up mid-range smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/13/aviary-photo-editing-ios-android-app/

Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

Last we heard, Aviary was being chosen to replace the deceased Picnik as the main photo editor on Flickr, and now the startup is getting ready to launch its first iOS app and give its previous Android offering a major boost. The Jeff Bezos-backed company has just announced its entry into the application game, giving iOS and Android folks access to an array of its image editing tools -- much like Apple's iPhoto on Cupertino devices or Photoshop Express on ones powered by Google's OS. Naturally, you'll be able to do run-of-the-mill tidbits such as cropping, rotating, sharpening and blurring, which are bundled alongside others like cosmetic tools, one-tap auto enhance and "gorgeous effects." It's also worth noting Aviary was once present on Google Play as a plugin, but has now made the change to a full-on, feature-packed application. Those interested in taking the fresh app for a spin can hit either of the source links below, where a mighty free download awaits you.

Continue reading Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rascal Micro hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/13/rascal-micro-hands-on-video/

Rascal Micro hands-on (video)

Not far from the bustling labs of Northeastern University is the even more bustling hacker space known as Artisan's Asylum. The roughly 30,000 square foot complex is home to more than 100 makers, tinkerers and artists who building all sorts of crazy contraptions. One of the less ostentatious projects being worked on within its cavernous halls though, is the Rascal Micro. This tiny board is home to an ARM-based SOC and has its hungry, open-sourced eyes on competitors like Arduino and Beagle. Brandon Stafford, the creator, boiled down its primary selling points to this: "it's maybe 25 times faster, has 1,000 times more storage." Where as the Arduino excels at making things blink, move or Tweet, the Rascal Micro has enough power to function as a full-fledged web server.

Continue reading Rascal Micro hands-on (video)

Rascal Micro hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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