CES 2012 Phone Roundup
Overview of Devices:
- HTC Titan II: huge phone (4.7" screen) with a 16 megapixel camera
- Nokia Lumia 900: Nokia’s first truly competitive Windows Phone device (previous had no front facing camera)
- Huawei Ascend P1 S and P1: Super slim Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) device
- Lenovo K800: First Intel Atom powered Android (2.3) phone with a 720p screen
- Lenovo LePhone S2: Unique gesture area for an Android (2.3) phone with iPhone 4S screen resolution (960x540)
- Sony Xperia Ion: big LTE phone (4.6" screen) with a 12 megapixel camera and 720p screen
- Sony Xperia S: mainstream 4.3" screen with a 12 megapixel camera and 720p screen
- LG Spectrum 4G: 4.5" 720p screen with LTE 4G (LTE/CMDA device not workable in Brunei)
- LG Connect 4G: 4" 720p screen with LTE 4G (LTE/CMDA device not workable in Brunei)
HTC Titan II
- 4.7" WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) super LCD screen
- Single core, 1.5 MHz
- 512 MB RAM
- 16MP rear camera, 720p video, dual-LED flash
- 1.3MP front camera
- Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
- HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
- LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100
- Links: GSM Arena, HTC Press Release
Nokia Lumia 900
- 4.3" WVGA (800 x480 pixels) AMOLED ClearBlack display
- Single core, 1.4GHz
- 512MB RAM
- 8 MP rear camera, Carl Zeiss optics (f2.2/28mm), 720p video, dual LED flash
- 1 MP front camera (f2.4), VGA video
- Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
- HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
- LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100
- Links: GSM Arena, Nokia Press Release, Nokia Lumia 900 microsite
Huawei Ascend P1 S and P1
- 4.3" (960 x 540) Super AMOLED with Gorilla Glass
- Dual core 1.5GHz
- 8 MP rear camera, 1080p video, dual-LED flash
- 1.3 MP front camera
- Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)
- HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
- “World’s slimmest smartphone”
- Links: GSM Arena (P1), GSM Arena (P1 S), Huawei Press Release
Lenovo K800
- 4.5" 720p (1280x720) screen
- 1.6Ghz (Intel Medfield platform)
- 8MP rear camera
- Android 2.3, Gingerbread
- Links: GSM Arena, Intel Press Release
Lenovo LePhone S2
- 3.8" WVGA (800 x 480) TFT display,
- Single-core 1.4GHz
- 8MP rear camera, 720p video
- 1.3MP front camera, VGA video
- 200 GB of free cloud storage, gesture area below the screen
- Android 2.3
- 8/16GB storage, 512MB/1GB RAM
- HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
- Links: GSM Arena, GSM Arena’s Lenovo’s Announcements
Sony Xperia Ion
- 4.6" 720p (1280x720) HD Reality display
- Dual core 1.5GHz CPU.
- 12MP rear camera, 1080p video, LED flash, image & video stabilization (standby to ready in 1.5 seconds)
- 1.3MP front camera, 720p video
- PlayStation certified
- Android 2.3 (Android 4.0 to come)
- 1GB RAM
- LTE Band IV and Band XVII
- HSPA 850/1900/2100
- Links: GSM Arena, Sony Ericsson Press Release
Sony Xperia S
- 4.3" 720p (1280x720) HD Reality display
- 1.5Ghz dual-core processor
- 12MP rear camera, 1080p video, LED flash, image & video stabilization (standby to ready in 1.5 seconds)
- 1.3MP front camera, 720p video
- PlayStation certified
- Android 2.3 (Android 4.0 to come)
- 1GB RAM, 1-1.5GB ROM
- HSPA 850/900/1900/2100
- Links: GSM Arena, Sony Ericsson Press Release
LG Spectrum 4G (CDMA/LTE phone, not GSM/UMTS)
- 4.5" 720p (1280x720) IPS Gorilla Glass screen
- 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor
- LTE
- 8MP rear camera
- 1.3MP front camera
- 1GB RAM
- 4GB ROM
- Android 2.3
- Links: GSM Arena, LG Press Release, LG Spectrum 4G product page
LG Connect 4G (CDMA/LTE phone, not GSM/UMTS)
- 4" 720p (1280 x 720) NOVA, Gorilla Glass screen
- Dual core 1.2 GHz CPU, 1GB RAM
- 4G LTE
- 5MP rear camera, 720p video
- VGA front camera
- Links: GSM Arena, LG Press Release, LG Connect 4G product page
CES 2012 Ultrabook Roundup
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 concluded last week and showed off what technologies will be coming to consumers this year. This year there were a lot of ultrabooks, phones, tablets and smart TVs (some with Google TV). Below are the ultrabooks announced/previewed at CES.
Key Points
- Many hitting the under US$1000 mark
- Less compromises compared those currently out with more ports and full-sized ports
- Dell XPS 13, HP Envy 14 Spectre, Samsung Series 5 and 9 are/should be available in Q1
Overview of Devices
- Acer Aspire S5: Thunderbolt port with AcerCloud for syncing/backing up data/devices, probably competitive on price as with most Acer products
- Dell XPS 13: 13" screen in a 12" chassis. Smaller form factor for 13" screen
- HP Envy 14 Spectre: 14" screen in 13" chassis with Beats and an optional 2nd SSD
- Lenovo ThinkPad T430u: interesting with optional nVidia graphics but looks to be released late in the year with the newer Intel processors
- Lenovo YOGA: for Windows 8, interesting slate, tablet & laptop usage scenarios
- Lenovo U310/U410: targeting lower end with the cheap price
- Samsung Series 5: mainstream ultrabooks with the 14" model having an optical drive
- Samsung Series 9: premium ultrabooks 13"/15" but light
- 13.3", 1366 X 768 screen
- 8GB of RAM
- 128GB SSD
- 1.35kg
- 2 x USB 3.0, HMDI, Ethernet port, 1 x Thunderbolt, SD card reader
- MagicFlip I/O port panel that hides ports in the hinge/base. When open, raises ultrabook
- AcerCloud that allows backup/syncing of pictures, media & documents via the cloud
- Availability: Q2 2012
- Links: Engadget hands on, Engadget Hands on Revisited, The Verge hands on, The Verge Aspire S5 annoucncement, Ars Technica, Ultrabook News database
- 13.3" (1366x768) screen in 12" chasis
- Core i5/i7 processor
- 4GB of RAM
- 128GB/256GB SSD
- 1.4kg
- 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0 (with PowerShare - charge devices while device is asleep), 1 x MiniDisplay ports (no SD card slot / HDMI port)
- Backlight keyboard
- Aluminum lid, Gorilla Glass covered screen, Carbon fibre base
- Starting at US$999
- Availability: end of February
- Links: Dell, Engadgetd, TheVerge, T3 review, TechRadar Review, Ultrabook News database
- 14-inch, 1600 x 900 screen in 13.3" chassis
- Core i5/i7 processor
- 4GB of RAM
- 128GB/256GB SSD
- 1.8kg
- 128GB SSD drive with an option to add a second SSD to double the storage
- Gorilla Glass covered
- Beats Audio system
- 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet port, SD card reader
- Starts at $1,399 (i5, 128GB)
- Availability: March 2012
- Links: TheVerge, CNET, Ultrabook News database
- 14-inch (1366 x 768) screen
- Next Generation Intel Core processors (or Ivy Bridge) with optional Nvidia graphics
- Windows 8 ready
- 1TB HHD
- 1.8kg
- Starts at US$849
- 2 x USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, full-size HDMI socket, SD card reader
- Availability: Late 2012
- Links: TheVerge, Engadget, Pocket Lint, Ultrabook News database
- 13.1" (1600x900) screen
- Intel Core processor
- Windows 8
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 1.47kg
- 360 degree dual- hinge flip design: screen bends all the way back so that the keyboard becomes a stand or device can be used as a slate
- 10-point capacitive touch
- Starts at US$1199
- Availability: 2nd half of 2012
- Links: ArsTechnica, TheVerge
Lenovo U310/U410
- 13" (U310) / 14" (U410) (1366x768) screen
- Intel Core processor
- 2GB RAM
- 320 GB HHD (configurable with SSD)
- 1.7kg (U310) / 1.9kg (U410)
- U310: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI, ethernet,
- U410: 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI, ethernet, SD card reader
- U410: Nvidia GeForce 610M graphics
- Availability: May 2012
- Start at U$699
- Links: Engadget, TheVerge, TechRadar, Ultrabook News database (U310), Ultrabook News database (U410)
- 13.3" (1366 x 768) / 14" (1366 x 768) screen
- Intel Core i5 processor
- 128GB SSD / 16GB SSD and 500GB hard drive combo
- 4GB of RAM
- 1.39kg (13") / 1.84kg (14")
- 13": 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card reader, Ethernet, full size HDMI
- 14": 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA, SD card reader, Ethernet, full size HDMI, optical drive
- Starts at US$900 (13") / US$950 (14")
- Availability: End of January
- Links: TheVerge, Pocket Link, TechRadar, Ultrabook News database
