ApoTheTech

Lenovo has launched a new series of laptops at the CES 2015 and one of it is the updated ThinkPad X1 Carbon which is now one of the lightest 14 / 15 inch ultrabooks in the world. It is built to celebrate 100 million ThinkPad laptops sold over the past 22 years.

Continue reading “Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015 edition specifications, much improved over 2014 model”

Flip covers first got popular with the launch of Galaxy Note 1 in 2011 and they have been growing in popularity ever since. Samsung wanted to enhance the functionality of flip covers and with S4, they introduced S-view functionality that allowed user to view and answer calls without opening the flip cover. With the Note 3, Samsung has made it bigger than ever and added a lot more functionality than before.

The official flip cover has NFC antenna which allows you to do NFC data transfer just like you do with its back cover. Talking about back cover, you take it off while putting this on since it replaces the back cover, keeping the overall profile thin.

Like the s-view cover for S4, you can answer or reject incoming calls. You can do certain things without opening the flip such as take a picture or control the music player. These are very useful as with the flip on, you can still use your phone with one hand to do important functions like playing / pause the music or take a picture.

The case also looks much more elegant thanks to real nylon stitching and since it is made by Samsung, it fits perfectly. The build and construction has improved multifold times compared to Note 2 and Note 1 cases.  It is made from high quality synthetic leather materials and it feels amazingly well built and premium in hand.

I strongly recommend this to any Note 3 owner who is planning to keep his device new for a long time to come. You can find many other note 3 cases on mobilefun.co.uk.

NEC is a Japanese company and it has just rolled out a laptop hybrid that can turn into a slate tablet with a just a slide. It has distinguished style and a processor from Intel Core M family. Called the NEC LaVie U LU550, it measures 301.1 x 192.5 x 9.6 millimeters and weighs about 776 grams. We would admit that the whole thing looks very fragile.

NEC LaVie U LU550 specifications

Display: 11.6-inch display with a resolution IPS 1920 x 1080 pixels, active matrix with a dedicated stylus (optional)
Processor: Dual Core (4-thread) Intel Core M-5Y71 clock frequency of 1.2 GHz to 2.9 GHz maximum,
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
NAND Memory: 128 GB (SSD) + micro SD card slot,
Camera: 5 megapixel sensor,
Front Camera: 2 megapixel,
Communication: Wireless WiFi module, Bluetooth, USB 3.0 port, micro HDMI output ,,
Battery: 8.2 hours of continuous to work,
System: Windows 8.1.
Weight: hi tablets (LU350 – 822 g, LU550 – 795 g), docking station 560 grams.
Thickness: 9.6 millimeters.

NEC LaVie U is available for about 1,490 dollars.

	LaVie U LU550 / TSS	YOGA 3 Pro	Surface Pro 3	ThinkPad 10 20C1002PJP
CPU	Core M-5Y71 (1.20 / 2.90GHz)	Core M-5Y70 (1.10 / 2.60GHz)	Core i5-4300U (1.90 / 2.90GHz)	Atom Z3795 (1.59 / 2.39GHz)
Video chip	Intel HD Graphics 5300	Intel HD Graphics 5300	Inte HD Graphics 4400	Intel HD Graphics
Memory	LPDDR3-1600 4GB	LPDDR3-1600 8GB	PC3L-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 8GB	LPDDR3-1066 4GB
Stress N / A di	128GB SSD	512GB SSD	256GB SSD	64GB eMMC
OS	Windows 8.1 Update 64bit	Windows 8.1 Update 64bit	Windows 8.1 Pro Update 64bit	Windows 8.1 Pro Update 64bit
PCMark 8 v2.0.282 (Surface Pro 3, ThinkPad 10 Use v2.0.228)
Home Accelarated 3.0	2261	2124	2190	N / A
Creative accelarated 3.0	2472	2786	2540	N / A
Work 2.0	3514	3038	3282	N / A
Storage	4868	4930	4882	N / A
PCMark 7 v1.4.0
PCMark score	4480	3998	4816	2300
Lightweight score	2973	2783	3209	1392
Productivity score	2269	2055	2428	1041
Entertainment score	3146	2673	3107	1548
Creativity score	8040	7811	8691	4266
Computation score	13609	11140	14 289	5631
System storage score	5001	5270	5135	3860
Raw system storage score	3965	5318	4015	1501
PCMark05 Build 1.2.0
PCMark Score	N / A	N / A	N / A	N / A
CPU Score	7662	6601	9081	4632
Memory Score	8327	7318	8446	2983
Graphics Score	2862	2788	N / A	807
HDD Score	41 756	46 113	38 847	13 259
3DMark Professional Edition V1.4.828 (YOGA 3 Pro is v1.4.778, Surface Pro 3 and ThinkPad 10 Use v1.3.708)
Ice Storm	36 275	30 836	29 479	10605
Graphics Score	41 190	34 632	32413	10207
Physics Score	25 589	22286	22 387	12 284
Ice Storm Extreme	24 794	18903	N / A	N / A
Graphics Score	24 622	18 417	N / A	N / A
Physics Score	25 417	20 827	N / A	N / A
Ice Storm Unlimited	38 617	N / A	N / A	N / A
Graphics Score	43 449	N / A	N / A	N / A
Physics Score	27 798	N / A	N / A	N / A
Cloud Gate	3593	3046	2791	N / A
Graphics Score	4429	3747	3254	N / A
Physics Score	2164	1842	1864	N / A
Sky Diver	1738	1516	N / A	N / A
Graphics Score	1638	1468	N / A	N / A
Physics Score	2797	2262	N / A	N / A
Combined score	1571	1253	N / A	N / A
Fire Strike	464	398	1679	N / A
Graphics Score	516	440	1589	N / A
Physics Score	3058	2533	2672	N / A
Combined score	154	134	1478	N / A
3DMark06 Build 1.2.0 1901
3DMark Score	5160	3832	4288	1387
SM2.0 Score	1812	1543	1881	480
HDR / SM3.0 Score	2191	1409	1376	505
CPU Score	2508	1963	2459	1956

• Via pcwatch

The Guleek i8 is a mini desktop computer with a built in battery. This makes it one of the most unique desktops around. It is as small as Zotac mini PCs but has a 3000 mAh battery inside too which allows you to move it from one place to another without shutting it down.

The Guleek i8 is a compact computer with windows 8.1 operating system and is powered by Intel bay trail processor.

Guleek i8 video review

As you can see, this is basically a mini laptop without a display. It features 1.8 GHz Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a fanless design.

On the ports front you get 2x USB 2.0 ports, a micro USB port (for charging), a micro HDMI port, a headset jack, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. It measures 5.9″ x 3.2″ x 0.4″ and weighs about 8.5 ounces.

Here is what we did not like about it:
– Doesn’t have a network port;
– The power socket is right next to the USB sockets, should be on the back;
– You can find tablets for the same price with bigger batteries, a screen, and more storage.

This would be interesting paired with one of the old Motorola Lapdocks from the Atrix/Bionic era. The lapdock itself is powered and would provide nearly everything else that’s missing: Display, keyboard, trackpad, audio (possibly), and maybe some extra USB ports. Roll your own networking? Just Velcro the thing to the back of the lid and route the cables into the dock ports like with any other stick PC.

Verdict – It’s really pointless when consumers can spend less and have a fully portable system with dual functionality. This mini PC would only work if it was on par with prices to the ARM devices. If you need a dual display option you can buy a Asus Vivo that runs Intel 4th Gen. It supports THREE displays connected at once, runs Linux and Windows and is almost the same price as this mini PC. And has USB 3, Ethernet “yada yada”. I just don’t see the market appeal if its priced the same as a tablet.

Blu has launched three new android phones to its smartphone lineup. All the three phones are members of the Blu Studio family and all of them boast 4G LTE radio for providing high speed broadband connectivity in the USA.

Blu Studio Mini LTE is the cheapest of the newly models. It is priced at 120 dollars and has these specifications. Currently it runs Android 4.2 jelly bean operating system but the company has confirmed it will be pushing kitkat update very soon. The Blu Studio Mini LTE supports AT&T, T-Mobile, Straight Talk, Cricket, and Metro PCS networks.

Blu Studio Mini LTE specifications

* 4.5 inch with 854 x 480 pixel display
* 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor
* 1GB of RAM
* 4GB of storage expandable via microSD card slot
* A 5MP rear camera and front facing 0.3 megapixel webcam
* Connectivity options include onboard WiFi, Bluetooth, all of which is powered by 1850mAh battery.

Next is the Blu Studio 5.0 HD LTE which sells for 199 dollars. It comes unlocked to be used on any cellular network.

Blu Studio 5.0 HD LTE specifications

5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display, has a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, sports a 2200mAh battery, and has 8GB of storage. Unlike the aforementioned model, the Blu Studio 5.0 HD LTE ships with Android 4.4 kitkat operating system onboard. Rest of its specifications are similar to the Blu Studio Mini LTE.

Last one is the Blu Studio 6.0 LTE which costs 279 dollars and like Studio 5.0 HD LTE, it also comes unlocked and runs latest Android 4.4 kitkat operating system software. However it does not supports AT&T’s 4G LTE network.

On the brighter side the Blu Studio 6.0 LTE does have full support for T-Mobile’s LTE network for faster internet browsing.

Blu Studio 6.0 LTE specifications

* 5 inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution
* 2 gigabytes of memory
* 16 gigabytes of flash storage expandable via micro SD card slot
* 13Mp and 5MP cameras
* Android 4.4 software
* 1.6 GHz Snapdragon 400 chip, and a bigger 3200mAh battery.

Asus will be unveiling the Zenfone 2 at the Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas in 2015 but its filing at Bluetooth SIG has already spilled out its specifications.

A phone by model name ZC451CG has surfaced on Bluetooth SIG’s website which tells us that the Asus Zenfone 2 will feature 4.5 inch display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. It will be powered by Intel dual core processor backed by 1 gigabyte of memory. There is a 5 mega pixel camera and a VGA front facing shooter as well.

Power all this is a 2100 mAh battery which should be enough for a day of good usage.

We loved Asus Zenfone 5 which was one of the best budget android phones of 2014. We will learn about the Zenfone 2 in about two weeks time when it will be unveiled at the Las Vegas.