CES 2017 Day One: Processors, convertibles, and clamshells galore

Honor 6X goes for the broke

A decent enough Android phone for a cheap enough price.

Honor is back at it with the new Honor 6X, a phone that offers far more than you’d expect for its low price — just $249. For that you get a 5.5-inch 1080p display, an octa-core Huawei Kirin 655 processor, 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, and a 12MP camera. That main camera is paired with a 2MP monochrome sensor that Huawei uses to enhance clarity and depth of field. Alas, it’s a new phone running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but at that price we’re honestly not surprised. What is surprising is the use of a Micro-USB port instead of the newer and better USB-C standard.

• Honor 6X hands-on
• Honor 6X specs

VR comes to practically any game

Lenovo’s Entertainment Hub includes a neat trick: VR adaptation for first-person shooters.

Lenovo introduced a new bit of software for their Legion laptops in the Entertainment Hub. It pulls together your TV shows, movies, and games into one easy-to-use app, but the neatest part is a clever bit of software to bring any first-person game into VR. Essentially it maps the movement of the headset to the look/aim controls in a game, so where you turn your head is where you look. It’s a neat way to bring existing game libraries into virtual reality.

• Lenovo’s clever hack to bring VR to every game
• Lenovo’s new Legion gaming laptops are ready for VR
• This is Lenovo’s first VR headset

Lenovo’s new Echo

It’s an Amazon Echo, but made by Lenovo.

One of the most surprising early announcements from CES 2017 was the new Lenovo Smart Assistant. It’s a smart speaker in a cylinder that you can trigger by calling out for… Alexa. Just like you would with an Amazon Echo. Because the Lenovo Smart Assistant is running the same software. But Lenovo’s design is a bit classier than Amazon’s plain black or white cylinders, and they’re undercutting Amazon by $40.

Crazy for convertibles

Your next laptop might just flip all the way out, er, around.

Convertible laptops aren’t anything new, but for a while they lagged behind their traditional laptop brethren. That’s changed recently, and CES 2017 is proving to be a big show for the flip-around touchscreen laptops. Lenovo updated their ThinkPad X1 line to be even thinner and lighter, as well as faster and longer-lasting, and the only notable difference between the X1 Carbon laptop and the X1 Yoga convertible is that the Yoga’s a convertible and the Carbon is not.

Dell also announced a long-awaited XPS 13 convertible, bringing all of the power and hardware design that we love about the super-compact XPS 13 laptop to a 360-degree convertible form factor. Also coming from Dell was the new Latitude 5285, which packs all the latest hardware in a 12.30-inch 2-in-1 tablet. And HP took the Spectre x360 that we love so much and scaled it up to a huge 15.6 inches with a 4K display.

• The updated ThinkPad X1 Carbon packs Kaby Lake chips and zero bloatware
• Dell’s XPS 13 officially goes convertible with a new 2-in-1 variant
• HP reveals revamped Spectre x360 15.6-inch with 4K display, Windows Hello

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon, Intel’s new Lakes

Faster, more integrated, and significantly smaller.

There’s a lot of fuss over nanometers in the processor game, and for good reason: smaller transistors mean processors can use less energy and be physically smaller. That’s the game Qualcomm is playing with the new Snapdragon 835 mobile processors, which is both 30% smaller and 40% more efficient than the older Snapdragon 820, even while offering a 27% performance boost. Not only that, but the 835 includes a gigabit-capable LTE modem, Bluetooth 5, support for HDR video, a secure enclave for biometric data, and more.

On the other side of the processor spectrum, Intel rolled out their new 7th-generation Intel Core i processors for desktops, following a launch a few months ago of the laptop versions of the Kaby Lake generation of chips. Ranging from a Core i5 at 2.7Ghz to the top-end Core i7-7700K at a whopping 4.2GHz, these new chips aren’t significantly faster than the older Skylake chips, but they are less power hungry and thus less hot.

• Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 835 mobile processors
• Snapdragon 835 vs. Snapdragon 821: How much of an upgrade is it?
• Intel brings Kaby Lake processors to the desktop

March of the Chromebooks

With Android apps coming to Chrome OS, Google’s browser-based operating system is starting to come into its own. The first Chrome OS announcements from CES 2017 come from Acer and ASUS. Acer rolled out a new Chromebook 11 N7, which takes their standard Chromebook 11 and bulks up its ruggedness to better withstand the rigors of the classroom environment. ASUS, on the other hand, updated their touchscreen-driven Chromebook Flip C302, going all-in on USB-C and dropping the big old USB-A ports.

• The latest ASUS Chromebook Flip is $500 and all USB-C
• Acer announces education-focused Chromebook 11 N7 with rugged body

Honor 6X faces an uphill battle in India’s competitive budget segment

Honor wants a piece of the budget market in India.

Huawei sub-brand Honor unveiled the Honor 6X late last night at CES, and the handset will make its way to India before the end of the month. The phone will go up for sale in the fiercely-contested budget segment as Huawei looks to increase its presence in the country.

The Honor 6X features a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Kirin 655 SoC with four 2.1GHz Cortex A53 cores and four 1.7GHz A53 cores and Mali-T830MP2 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, 8MP front shooter, micro-USB port, and a 3340mAh battery. While the phone has a dual camera setup, it is different from the dual 12MP configuration we’ve seen in the Honor 8. In the Honor 6X, you get a primary 12MP camera, and a secondary 2MP shooter for depth-sensing information.

The Honor 6X will run Huawei’s older Marshmallow-based EMUI 4.1 out of the box. The company has mentioned that the Nougat update — which brings the vastly improved EMUi 5.0 — will be available in the country sometime early next quarter. Huawei has launched devices running Nougat out of the box, like the Mate 9, but the delay in bringing the update to the India-bound Honor 6X has to do with adding local language options in EMUI.

With stellar value-for-money options available in this segment, the Honor 6X will face a tough time standing out. For its part, Honor is hoping that the dual camera setup will be enough to convince buyers to eschew other Chinese brands and pick up the Honor 6X.

We’ll know more about pricing and availability details in the last week of January, but the Honor 6X certainly looks like it can take on the likes of what Xiaomi, Lenovo, and others offer in this segment this year.

• More: Honor 6X hands-on
• Honor 6X vs. Honor 5X vs. Honor 8

MacBook Pro accessory adds ports that the 2016 model lacks

As you know by now, you have to learn to embrace dongle-city if you want to buy Apple’s latest products. A component supplier called OWC has unveiled a different kind of expansion solution for the 2016 MacBook Pro’s lack of ports, though. It’s called the DEC, and it’s a slab that sticks to the bottom of the laptop to add up to 4TB of additional flash or SSD storage, an SD card slot, full-sized USB 3.0 ports and an Ethernet jack for wired internet.

That’s a whole lot of additional features you might be missing from the older MacBooks. The downside is that it makes your new laptop as chunky as the 2012 model. From a depth of around 0.6 inches, you’ll now have a machine that’s almost an inch thick. OWC chief Larry O’Connor said they’ve been developing the concept for over three years. “[We] feel now is the perfect time for this ground-breaking product,” he added.

The company doesn’t have a release date and pricing info for the DEC yet, but it will showcase the accessory at CES this week.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Via: 9to5mac

Source: OWC

NASA has a new plan to observe black holes with cosmic X-rays

Since humanity hasn’t quite figured out a way to directly take a picture of black hole yet, NASA’s next major science mission will send a trio of highly specialized telescopes into space to study the high-energy X-ray radiation surrounding black holes, neutron stars and pulsars. According to NASA’s announcement today, the ultimate goal of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission is to learn more about the gravitational, electric and magnetic fields at the edges of these cosmic phenomena.

The IXPE works as its name suggests: superheated gases around black holes become polarized and vibrate in a particular direction, so the IXPE gets a look at the invisible by measuring the polarization of those X-rays.

“We cannot directly image what’s going on near objects like black holes and neutron stars,” Paul Hertz, a director with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington said, “but studying the polarization of X-rays emitted from their surrounding environments reveals the physics of these enigmatic objects.”

The IXPE mission will launch in 2020, and NASA expects it to cost $188 million including the cost of the launch vehicle, which is being provided by Colorado-based Ball Aerospace. The Italian Space Agency also contributed the Italian-made polarization sensitive X-ray detectors. The mission itself came from NASA’s Astrophysics Explorer’s Program, which accepts outside proposals for new missions and has led to breakthroughs in the study of everything from Earth’s atmosphere to cosmic background radiation.

Source: NASA

Flow is a wearable that helps you avoid nasty air pollution

While humanity has made strides to cut down its greenhouse emissions, the fact remains: we produce a lot of harmful gases every day. If you live in the city, however, it’s easy to forget the quality of the air around you, and the impact it might be having on your personal health. Flow, by Plume Labs, could change that. The tiny air quality sensor looks like a portable thumb drive, with a leather strap that lets you hang it from bags and clothing. It can measure dust, exhaust fumes and other harmful gases, as well as the household chemicals you might encounter indoors.

If you care about the environment, I can see the appeal. At CES, the team showed me the various LED combinations that you can trigger with a small, dimpled button on the front. Different colors clearly indicate the quality of the air around you; a second button press gives you an overview of the day, with each tiny light representing an hour or two hour block.

Flow works best when lots of people are using their devices simultaneously. Plume Labs will be collecting and comparing user data to create accurate, real-time pollution maps. The result will be an ever-evolving heat map with clearly defined routes to avoid and clean, picturesque spots to enjoy. Swiping through the Flow’s companion app, I was able to tap on starred parks that had been logged as pollution-free zones. The challenge will be persuading users to take potentially longer routes around their city or hometown. If you’re running late for work, for instance, would you still accept a detour to avoid a patch of smog?

I care about my health, but I’m not sure I care that much. Unfortunately for Plume Labs, I suspect many people feel the same way. That’s a problem, because scale will be critical in order to realize its crowdsourced air-mapping dream. Still, it’s a noble goal, and one that I can’t help but admire. Flow’s success will ultimately depend on its pricing — if the sensor is cheap, curious souls might be willing to give it a try. If it’s expensive, however, only the most green-thumbed individuals will take the plunge.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Olly is like an Amazon Echo but with personality

Everyone’s making a smart personal assistant these days — thanks, Alexa — but not all of them are as adorable as the Olly. It’s basically a donut-shaped speaker that lies flat when dormant, but stands and spins around with lights flashing when active. But what sets the Olly apart from the Echo clone pack is by incorporating a bit of personality into the mix. What kind of personality? Well, yours. The unique bit with the Olly is that its personality adapts to yours over time. According to London-based Emotech, its parent company, Olly’s behavior will evolve depending on how you interact with it.

At CES, we saw two different models of the Olly. One spun around energetically and chattered with a fast cadence, while another was a lot more deliberate and only spoke when talked to. This, Olly’s creators say, is based on the personalities of its owners, which it can judge based on how they speak.

It’s all based on AI and machine learning smarts, which helps Olly figure out your interests and your daily routine. It’s also able to recognize different household members by their voice, and will adjust its personality to suit each person.

Functionally, Olly is pretty similar to that of Amazon Echo or Google Home. You can use it control your other smart devices, ask for the weather, schedule appointments and search for information on the internet. The unique characteristic of Olly lies in its personality and what it learns about you over time. So, if you find out it’s raining tomorrow, for example, it might suggest you read a book, and it could even recommend what that book could be. Or if it might know what music to play when you make breakfast in the morning before you even have to request it.

The Olly devices we saw at the show were just prototypes, but we hear that they should be out later this year, for a yet to be disclosed price.

Richard Lawler contributed to this report.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Swarovski’s first Android Wear watch is launching in March

Swarovski’s first Android Wear smartwatch is designed for women, debuting later this quarter.

The smartwatch segment is currently in a holding pattern as we await Android Wear 2.0. While LG and Motorola haven’t committed to releasing new smartwatches, Swarovski has announced that it is teaming up with Qualcomm to launch its first Android Wear watch designed for women at Baselworld 2017, which takes place in March.

Timing is Everything. A #CES2017 announcement; our brilliant new #Swarovski Smart Watch will be unboxed at #BaselWorld2017. Watch out for its dazzling debut

A video posted by SWAROVSKI (@swarovski) on Jan 3, 2017 at 3:01pm PST

Swarovski didn’t reveal a whole lot beyond the fact that the smartwatch will be powered by a Qualcomm processor. Smartwatch sales are in decline, but we could see renewed interest from brands and consumers with Android Wear 2.0. The update will bring standalone apps, NFC with Android Pay integration, and access to the Play Store. Google is also slated to make its foray with two “Nexus” smartwatches coming sometime this quarter.

Kingston’s latest USB flash drive offers an astounding 2TB storage

A flash drive with more storage than your desktop.

At CES, Kingston announced the DataTraveler Ultimate GT, a USB flash drive that offers 2TB of storage. The drive features a case made out of zinc-alloy for improved durability, and the storage capacity means you can carry over 70 hours’ worth of 4K video in your pocket.

The DataTraveler Ultimate GT is USB 3.1 Gen 1 compatible, so you’ll need to connect it to a dongle if you’re using a device that has USB-C ports (like the new ASUS Chromebook Flip 2). The flash drive will be available in February in 1TB and 2TB storage configurations, and as of now, there’s no mention of retail pricing.

Intel gives its NUC mini-PCs new processors, new ports and a new design

When you’re looking for a tiny desktop, Intel’s NUC computers are something of a standard. These bare-bone PCs have made a name for themselves as affordable, reasonably powerful and adorably small. Now they’re even better: Intel is gifting its line of tiny computers with new seventh-generation desktop CPUs, a fresh design and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

All told, Intel is introducing five new NUC models: two using the new Core i3 desktop CPUs, two with Core i5 processors and a single machine with a Core i7. There are also two different case sizes: a larger version that supports 2.5-inch SATA storage devices, and a shorter enclosure designed for PCI Express SSDs. It’s a little confusing, but at least they all look the same, sharing the same dark finish.

Intel’s NUCs are, by definition, compact. But they offer plenty of connectivity too. Each model boasts four USB 3.0 ports, as well as connections for Ethernet, HDMI and audio, not to mention a microSD card reader and a Thunderbolt 3.0 capable USB-C socket. Not bad. Now if only Intel would tell us how much they’ll cost.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Source: ArsTechnica

Panasonic EZ1002 4K OLED TV doubles-down on peak brightness for HDR thrills

At CES 2017 it’s all about the tellies. And Panasonic is looking to make its mark in TV this year with a brand new Ultra HD 4K OLED, the EZ1002.

But this is no ordinary OLED: the EZ1002 is said to produce nearly double the brightness of a normal OLED panel for peak HDR (high dynamic range).

While Panasonic wrongly claims it’s the first HDR-capable Ultra HD OLED TV in its press release – 2016’s LG G6 OLED was Ultra HD Premium certified (but not necessairly brighter, we’re awaiting official Panasonic specification) – the EZ1002 does come with a variety of other interesting features.

Principal to those is the so-called Absolute Black Filter which – and no prizes for guessing what this achieves – soaks up ambient light reflections for blacks said to be truer than they’ve ever been on an OLED telly before.

With HDR10 support, including the new Hybrid Log Gamma HDR format, and full DCI colour support, the EZ1002 is future-proofed to support all the high-dynamic range options of the future.

• What is HDR and what TVs support it?

Add a “dynamic blade” speaker tuned by Technics and the EZ1002 looks to round off top picture with top quality sound.

The 65-inch Panasonic EZ1002 4K OLED HDR television will be availabile in Europe from June 2017. In terms of price, it’s anyone’s guess – but we wouldn’t expect this HDR master to be budget, especially given where LG has positioned itself.