Alienware 15 (2016) Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

It’s a great time to be a PC gamer, or at least a fan of PC gaming hardware. Desktops are flying off the shelves, thanks to the popularity of virtual reality headsets among tech early adopters. Companies such as Nvidia and AMD have new graphics hardware that makes major leaps over older components, and there’s even a small but growing number of gaming laptops that are ready for VR.

The older Alienware design is on the left, with the new design on the right.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Alienware is joining that arms race with a pair of redesigned gaming laptops. The new Alienware 15 and Alienware 17 both feature current-gen Intel processors and Nvidia’s new 10-series GPUs. That’s important, as these new Nvidia GPUs promise nearly the same performance in both their laptop and desktop versions — no more underperforming “M” versions of graphics chips.

That means the Alienware 15 and Alienware 17 are ready for the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, despite being slimmer than the models they’re replacing. The new design is subtly updated, with a thinner body, an inset hinge that gives the fans and vents more room to work without adding bulk, and even optional eye-tracking, from a company named Tobii, in the 17-inch version.

The sleek, new Alienware logo.

Sarah Tew/CNET

If you look closely, you’ll see one more important change. The Alienware logo, untouched for most of the company’s 20-year history, has gotten a makeover. The iconic alien head is just a hair slimmer and more streamlined, while the Alienware name is now written in a lighter font for a more modern look.

HTC One A9S Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

HTC

I know, I know. In the age of phones as metal rectangles, it’s not easy to make your product’s design profoundly unique. But HTC is doing its best to wow us, at least in how it describes its newest phone, the One A9S.

With phrases like “perfectly glistens” and “nature-inspired” in the A9S’s press release, HTC almost trips into hyperbole. It also promises “diamond-like cut buttons”, which is a bit odd given that many phones these days ditch buttons almost completely. We’ll give you a report on how the A9S looks and feels when we actually hold one. But if HTC’s design history is any guide, it should be something of a looker.

An update to 2015’s One A9, the A9S has a slate of popular features without delivering any huge upgrades over its predecessor. Highlights include a 5-inch 720p display, a fingerprint sensor, an octa-core processor and a 13-megapixel camera. The A9S also promises a durable design that will withstand “hundreds of drop and scratch tests in addition to hundreds of hours of extreme weather.”

HTC didn’t have a final price except that the A9S would cost less than the A9 ($499 or £430). It will be available globally at a yet-to-be-announced date.

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Features and key specs

• 5-inch, HD 720p Super LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass
• HTC Sense
• Fingerprnt sensor
• Octa-core, 64-bit processor
• 13-megapixel main camera with LED flash
• 5-megapixel front camera
• 16GB or 32GB internal memory (depends on region)
• microSD slot takes cards up to 2TB
• HTC BoomSound
• 2,300 mAh battery
• Comes in multiple colors

Panasonic DMP-UB700 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Panasonic

Panasonic has introduced a new 4K Blu-ray player at IFA in Berlin, designed to be a more affordable version of its high-end DMP-UB900.

The new DMP-UB700 player can play back 4K Blu-ray discs with HDR, as well as regular HD Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs.

Like the $699/£599 DMP-UB900, the UB700 also offers high-end video processing, including upscaling 4K color information to 4:4:4, which offers potentially better picture quality.

The UB700 has internet connectivity, which brings with it Netflix and YouTube 4K playback, though it’s yet to be determined if the player is capable of delivering Netflix’s HDR video.

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The player will also play music from your network including FLAC, WAV, MP3 and DSD files, though it lacks the high-end digital-to-analog converters of the UB900.

The UB700 is destined for Europe only at this stage for £400 and Panasonic said the company is yet to decide if it will get a release in the US or Australia. This price converts to $530 or AU$700.

With the release of the $300 Xbox One S, the market for 4K Blu-ray players is getting cutthroat. Even with its cheaper price the UB700 costs substantially more than Xbox, the Samsung UBD-K8500 and the Philips BDP7501, so it might be a tough sell for Panasonic.

Google Android Nougat review – CNET

The Good We welcome Android 7.0 Nougat’s faster speeds and more efficient notification displays. It’s handy to reply right from an alert, and new and updated emoji are always 🙂 .

The Bad Thanks to manufacturer and carrier restrictions, Nougat is only available for a handful of Android Nexus devices at first. Google’s more enticing hardware and software endeavors — the Daydream VR platform and rumored new phones — won’t hit until later.

The Bottom Line Android Nougat offers welcome improvements in what is a functional, if not very exciting, update.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

When Google announced Android 7.0 Nougat as the latest version of its mobile software, we envisioned something feature-loaded we could sink our teeth into. Something with real chew, like this:

View full gallery James Martin/CNET

Instead, we got something airier, like this:

View full gallery James Martin/CNET

There’s a good reason why Nougat doesn’t seem as dense as past Android updates, and that’s because a lot of the upgrades happen behind the scenes. It’s undoubtedly faster and smoother, and your battery should last longer between charges. These are less-visible — but still important — performance gains. But the interface doesn’t look or function all that differently, and that’s disappointing for a major OS update.

While you should jump on the Android 7.0 update as soon as your phone gets it, you’ll be happier thinking of Nougat as the cherry on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, not a brand-new dessert. We hope Google follows up with more interesting updates in the months to come — possibly when rumored new phones hit later this year.

That said, here are Nougat’s most notable and likable improvements.

Bundled notifications

You know the endless list of notifications that stack up in the pull-down window? Nougat takes care of that. It groups related alerts into a tidy package you can expand and collapse with a tap on a button. It works terrifically well and is one of our favorite new features. From here, you can share, reply and open to view more.

Get to know Android Nougat in 19 photos
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Direct replies

This goes hand-in-hand with bundled notifications. You can either reply to messages straight from the alert when it pops up at the top of the screen, or from the bundled notification, without leaving this part of the screen. We love that, and it lets Android catch up to Apple here. Direct replies work for most texts and chat apps, but replying to a Gmail message opened the Gmail app, so we know there are still some limitations here.

Battery savings with Doze on the Go

The idea is to get big battery savings from a sleeping device in your pocket or bag. It’s a hard thing to determine if you’re getting more battery life if you aren’t paying close attention over the course of days, and that’s kind of the point. This is one of those invisible Android benefits. We’ll be doing some intense testing of Doze on the Go, as soon as we finish intensely testing Nougat. Stay tuned!

Withings Steel HR Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

There are fitness trackers galore that track heart rate, but none I can think of that do it with an analog watch. Withings says the new Steel HR is the first of its kind. I believe it.

The Withings Steel HR arrives at the beginning of October for $180 (38mm), equivalent to £137/AU$239, or $200 (42mm), equivalent to £152/AU$266.

The Withings Activite was an analog-type watch with a digital inside, tracking steps and sleep automatically and syncing via Bluetooth, too. A stainless-steel version, much like what you see here, was released last year. Steel HR takes another step forward by adding an optical heart-rate monitor to the back of the newly redesigned watch, as well as a digital display within the watch face to show heart rate, activity and notification data.

Heart rate on display.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

So, it’s analog, but digital. Its design is certainly sharp as hell.

Withings, now a part of Nokia, hasn’t incorporated heart rate into any of its current fitness trackers. A newly updated Withings Health app will fold in the data, much like other fitness apps have already done.

Not too thick.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Withings Steel HR comes in two versions: 38mm in black or white, and 42mm in black. Unlike the older Activite watches, which used a replaceable battery that lasted for over six months, the Steel HR is rechargeable via an included and lasts up to 25 days when tracking heart rate — and another 20 days after that in a “low power mode” that still shows time and tracks steps and sleep. Heart rate tracking continues at night to get resting heart rate while sleeping. The Steel HR is 5ATM water resistant for swimming, too.

Hands-on impressions are coming shortly, but this already looks promising. Of course, how well it tracks heart rate is also important, and we don’t know that yet.

Canon EOS C700 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Canon

Canon’s cinema-focused camera line gets a lot more flexible and professional — and way more expensive — with the introduction of its EOS C700 models. Redesigned for the needs of professionals, the new versions offer service-center interchangeable EF- and PL-mounts, plus a model of the camera with a global shutter.

These top-of-the-line models shoot 4K video in both DCI and UHD resolutions, and Canon claims a 15-stop dynamic range for the Super 35mm-sized, 4.5K-resolution sensors. Mac-based producers will welcome native support for the ProRes codec. Canon also introduces the ability to shoot anamorphic 2:39:1 aspect-ratio video with algorithmic corrections to facilitate accurate monitoring.

In conjunction with the cameras, there will be a new external Codex recorder model (CDX-36150) that will enable features like 4.5K raw at 100fps, 4K raw at 120fps, 4K ProRes at 60fps, HD ProRes at 240FPS and XF-AVC at 60fps.

Canon expects to ship the C700 and C700 PL in December 2016 for $35,000 (£28,840); the EOS C700 GS PL should follow in January 2017 for $38,000 (£30,790). I don’t think it’s been announced in Australia, but those prices directly convert to about AU$46,375 and AU$50,350. Support for the Codex recorder comes later via a firmware update in March 2017.

Canon XC15 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Canon

After about a year an a half since the introduction of the XC10, Canon’s compact UHD 4K prosumer camcorder receives a minor update. The XC15 has an XLR input for external microphones and the “look” modes that have been in the higher-end models so that you can better match the video from the XC15 with them.

Canon expects to ship the XC15 in September 2016 for $3,000 (£2,410). I don’t think it’s been announced yet for Australia, but the price converts to roughly AU$4,000.

Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Tado’s Smart Radiator Thermostat, announced at the IFA 2016 tech conference in Berlin.

Tado

The era of the smart thermostat is here with Nest, Ecobee and Honeywell leading the charge worldwide. But there’s one type of connected home heating that’s been largely overlooked: radiators.

In other thermostat news:

• Ecobee’s smart thermostat closes in on Nest
• Same great Nest, now with even better looks
• Same great Nest, now with even better looks
• These smart thermostats steal the heating and cooling spotlight
• What’s a C-wire, and why should you care?
• That time we cranked up the heat in the CNET Smart Home to 105 degrees
• How to buy a thermostat

Of course, some of the Wi-Fi thermostats on the market today can work with select radiator units. The majority, though, are optimized for forced-air systems that rely on ducts to carry warm and cool air from a centralized source around your house.

Tado, a startup based in Munich, Germany wants to change that trend with its new Smart Radiator Thermostat exclusively for the European market, announced today at the IFA 2016 consumer electronics conference in Berlin.

Available now on Tado.com, the team will offer a Smart Radiator Thermostat Starter Kit for £179/€199 with two thermostats and one Wi-Fi hub, as well as standalone Smart Radiator Thermostats for £59/€79 a pop.

In addition to smartening up your radiator setup via a related app, Tado says its thermostats are also compatible with Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa, as well as IFTTT.

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How to install the Honeywell Lyric Thermostat
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With HomeKit and Alexa, you can literally command your thermostat to do your bidding. Phrases like “Alexa, set the living room to 23 degrees [23 degrees Celsius converts to 73 degrees Fahrenheit],” and “Siri, switch on the A/C in the bedroom” give you even more ways to access your thermostat remotely. And with IFTTT, you can create a variety of custom automation rules linking your Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat with connected products from other manufacturers.

Tado told me it has no immediate plan to sell this thermostat or its new £199/€249 next-generation Smart Thermostat V3 overseas, but its Smart AC Control, announced at last year’s IFA show, is available in the United States.

Want to see more IFA 2016 coverage? Check here.

Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Dyson

Dyson’s rolling its newest vacuum innovation to the US. On display at the IFA trade show in Berlin, and on sale starting today at Dyson.com, the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball follows you diligently as you clean with the attached wand, and should it fall, it’ll pick itself back up.

A vacuum that rights itself certainly sounds like science fiction, but Dyson keeps all components of the canister inside of a sphere with a low center of gravity. Should the canister get jostled and tip, it’ll naturally work itself back to its upright position.

As usual with Dyson products, you’ll need to pay an exorbitant price to take advantage of this cool feature. The Cinetic Big Ball costs $600. Again, it’s available today at Dyson’s site. Starting September 18, you’ll find it at major US appliance retailers.

If you’re in the UK or Australia, the self-righting Big Ball is already on sale. Dyson introduced it in those markets, where canister vacuums are more popular, back in April. It’s £450 in the UK and AU$1,000 in Australia.

Dyson’s competition

• Miele Blizzard CX1
• Electrolux Precision Brushroll Clean
• Oreck Touch Bagless

Like the Cinetic Big Ball Animal Allergy we reviewed last year, the new Cinetic Big Ball ditches the need for a filter. The Cinetic technology breaks down dirt as it sucks it in, so you don’t need to hassle with filter maintenance and it never loses suction. I was skeptical of this innovation when Dyson debuted it a year ago, but after rigorous tests, I’ll confirm Dyson Cinetic tech works, and it’s cool.

Between the filter free approach and the canister that takes care of itself, the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball might have enough going for it to convince Americans to give up their uprights. The price, though, is still a lot to stomach, and the one sticking point we’ve been unable to justify in all of our Dyson reviews to date. Maybe this vac can change our minds when we put it to the test for a full review.

Head here for much more from IFA in Berlin.

Sony Xperia X Compact Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Sony’s Xperia X Compact is a phone of contrasts.

It packs the same 23-megapixel camera as the higher-end Xperia XZ that Sony announced alongside it, but in an itty-bitty body. How tiny? The X Compact’s 4.6-inch display looks positively peewee compared with the XZ’s 5.2-inch screen. The pro: It’s seriously palmable and easy to use one-handed. The con: Its small screen is harder to read. There’s less room for your fingertip taps, too.

Just how small is Sony’s 4.6-inch Xperia…
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Another thing you should know: The phone’s body is made of glossy plastic instead of the XZ’s metal, though I didn’t mind. It makes sense for the phone type, but it’s important that the price be right. It doesn’t have the waterproofing of some more top-tier Sony phones.

Still, the X Compact doesn’t feel like a throwaway device. In addition to identical cameras, the two new Xperias have nearly the same battery capacity — 2,700mAh versus 2,900mAh — as well as the same USB-C charger port and same 3GB of RAM. That’s pretty generous for a small phone that I expect to come in at a budget price — but we don’t have anything official yet. In some senses, Sony’s generosity could wind up making the X Compact the better deal.

Sony starts selling the small handset in September (on September 25 in the US).