Star VR for Gamers and IMAX, plus more: Acer at IFA

Acer decided to kick-off IFA 2016 with a bevy of new products. Many of these sadly aren’t part of our scope, like in the case of the monstrous 21-inch Predator gaming laptop. Still the case of the Liquid Z6 line-up of smartphones is an exception, a long with something that truly left us wanting to know more. Acer announced a new partnership with companies like IMAX, as it has now launched a new Star VR headset that’s capable of making every existing competitor look bad.Learn more in our full hands-on video.Sponsored by XCom ...

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Asus ZenPad 3S 10 hands on: a thin tablet for multimedia junkies

Asus set a high standard for android tablets, and alongside new Transformers, they also revealed the new ZenPad 3S 10. Not the most graceful name, but a sleek slate built around high quality media consumption. This 9.7” screen is housed in an aluminum frame with some tiny bezels bordering that screen, and a 78% screen to body ratio. That 2k display clocks in at a resolution of 2048 x 1536.It’s sleek, it’s shiny, and Asus thinks it’s the right recipe for you music and movie junkies. The ZenPad 3S 10 aims to do battle with Apple and Samsung with a high quality screen ...

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UK availability of HP Elite x3 rises to next day delivery

The HP Elite x3 is beginning to let loose of its pre-orders period globally — though each country has to play it by ear — and it looks like the UK side of operations is ready to get away from the qualifying heat and shoot for the real thing.Both HP and Microsoft are offering the phone for its revised £706.80 price with delivery wait times as low as two days. ...

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Lenovo Yoga Book hands on: A fancy new keyboard for stylus fans

It’s like something straight out of Tron.Lenovo’s take on a multi-mode tablet is a fresh way to add keyboard functionality while still catering to touchscreen apps and stylus input. We of course also have that sexy hinge which delivers tent and tablet modes.The Yoga Book sports a 10.1” 1080p LCD powered by an Intel ATOM quad core, 4GB of RAM, and includes 64GB of built in storage. An 8500mAh battery should deliver plenty of run time, Lenovo estimates around 15 hours, for multimedia and content creation, and like previous yoga tablets, there will be both Android and Windows ...

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Asus ZenWatch 3 First Look: Circular style with extra buttons

Asus delivers a substantial shift from previous ZenWatches. New for this year is a circular display, a casing made out of stainless steel, and a pair of new programmable shortcut buttons. It’s a clean look with a dramatic flare thanks to a little strip of rose gold.Asus is addressing battery life thanks to a new Qualcomm CPU, and a novel magnetic quick charge system. Included with the watch is an external battery which can top off the watch while still being worn.And while Android Wear remains fairly stock, Asus does have a collection of applets which might appeal to folks looking to ...

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Samsung Gear S3 Hands-on: Beauty Takes Over Geeky

The adoption of the Samsung Gear S2 was very interesting, with half the market base being completely new to the platform. It served to prove that Samsung’s plan to adopt a new concept in design and user interface made a lot of sense, up to the point where the legacy continues. For those of you who were enticed over the Samsung Gear S2, there’s a newer and larger batch of kids in town, the new Samsung Gear S3 and Gear S3 Frontier. These don’t look at all like your average geeky smartwatch, and instead borrow as much as possible from the look and feel of a traditional time ...

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More details on Snapdragon 821 improvements

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 was publicized several weeks ago as a reasonable (if only small) improvement above the meaty main train of the Snapdragon 820. Seriously, a 10 percent jump in speed? That’s it?Well, Qualcomm is putting a bit more spin to its promoting game for the 821. It has expanded that 10 percent improvement figure over to faster boots, faster app launches and… well, not “smoother, more responsive user interactions,” but all that ...

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HTC Desire 10 event looks to be edging on September 20

Quickly after Taiwanese manufacturer HTC posted a 20-second video on Twitter that gave slow light ray reveals of some dark, mysterious HTC smartphone that’s yet to come, several users in the social sphere pulled up an image of what’s rumored to be either the Desire 10 Pro, Desire 10 Lifestyle or maybe just the Desire 10 — after all, we only see one device in the ...

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Deal: How to keep hackers out of your life forever for just $49

Receive superior protection from hackers and access more of what the internet has to offer with a lifetime subscription to SaferVPN Basic at over 90% off typical retail price.If you surf the net without protection, then it’s only a matter of time before someone hacks into your network and steals your data. Stop break-ins before they happen and save yourself the clean-up with a subscription ...

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 shipments delayed over quality control testing

Samsung's flagship smartphone, the recently released Galaxy Note 7, is facing delays due to quality control testing.

"Shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 are being delayed due to additional tests being conducted for product quality," said Samsung in a statement to Reuters. Samsung did not elaborate on which regions of the world would be affected by the delay, as there are several variants of the phone for different markets.

The smartphone maker didn't elaborate on what exactly it's testing for, but reports of exploding phones could be the culprit. Two separate reports linked the Galaxy Note 7 explosions to device charging. Whether incompatible chargers or cables were used is unclear.

Samsung responds

Samsung responded swiftly by acquiring the damaged phones for testing. News of delayed shipments of the Note 7 could deal a big blow to Samsung's quarterly profits.

Demand for the Galaxy Note 7 has been strong, said Samsung speaking to Fortune. So much so that the company is trying to boost production to meet the high demand, though news of today's delays may hamper production.

Hopefully Samsung sorts out the problems with the Galaxy Note 7, or customers might flock to Apple's iPhone 7, which will be announced next week.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 tips and tricks

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/1327556

Hasselblad True Zoom MotoMod Review

What’s the most important feature in a smartphone? We’ve asked you that before, and usually one of the most popular answers is the camera. There hasn’t been very much innovation in terms of really good high-quality smartphone cameras ever since Nokia released the Lumia 1020 and Pureview 808 over 3 years ago, though that’s not for a lack of trying. We were kind of hoping for a nice camera attachment expansion pack for the

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Lenovo Yoga 910 and Yoga Tab 3 Plus bring hi-res with low-impact form factors

Lenovo has a few separate products that are also getting their play before IFA today. That includes what the company claims as the thinnest convertible tablet running the latest Intel Core i processors and a simple Android tablet with killer media specs and a battery to last.But both the Yoga 910 and Yoga Tab 3 Plus, though, are said to get screens right.The Windows 10-running Yoga 910 is a 13.9-inch convertible that has a full HD IPS screen (or 4K if you can will it so) showing off the full sRGB gamut with only a 5mm bezel around the edges. Dolby Audio Premium enriches sound from the JBL ...

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Thin, screen-ful Lenovo Yoga Book runs on Android or Windows 10

A 2-in-1 tablet usually means that we’re talking about laptop form factor, too. But with Lenovo’s Yoga Book announced at its IFA pre-game show today, “2-in-1” can also refer to the software — you can choose to get an Android version or one with Windows 10.Here’s the twist with this convertible, though: it has no physical buttons.There’s a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 display on one side and a capacitive pad on the other that can house the virtual Halo Keyboard or the Create ...

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The Moto Z Play brings back the headphone jack

You may have already seen our extensive review of the new Moto Z and Moto Z Force flagship Android phones from Lenovo only about one month ago. It’s the end of August and we’ve already got a 3rd version of the Moto Z!  This one is called the Moto Z Play and it’s got some significant yet subtle differences. The Moto Z Play is about 1mm wider and taller than the Moto Z, and it’s almost 2mm thicker. That gives you room for a much larger 3510 mAh battery. The Moto Z Play also uses a ...

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Lenovo Miix 510 Windows detachable mixes up high-end tablet and laptop features

It’s not hard to explain why the 2-in-1 Lenovo Miix gadget family constantly falls short of the mainstream popularity and media attention given to the extra-versatile, stylish and powerful Yoga lineup, but the latest installment in the former series takes a number of cues from its cousins in order to stand out.And at least on paper, the Lenovo Miix 510 Windows detachable looks elegant, affordable and feature-packed enough to remain in the spotlight long after IFA 2016’s completion.Its “refined design elements” include a dual watchband hinge with “intricately tooled 280 individual ...

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Old Gear VR is Amazon Deal of the Day today

Now that the new Gear VR headset (with support for the Galaxy Note 7) is out, it’s about time that Samsung’s older headset make a run down the price ladder, right?Amazon certainly agrees as it has slapped on its “Deal of the Day” label on the Gear VR, compatible with the Galaxy S6 through the Galaxy S7 edge. Until midnight ...

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AT&T to sell Samsung Gear S3 frontier with LTE

Samsung has not provided a specific date of availability nor has it spilled the prices of its latest wearables, the Gear S3 classic and the Gear S3 frontier. Both of them come in Bluetooth-only and LTE-connected flavors as well, so carriers are bound to be wanting in on the action.Well, AT&T, carrying the 3G version of the Gear S2 and first to grab at the

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Rumor-dubbed Lenovo Vibe P2 has 5Ah battery looked at by TENAA

We now have a better picture of what Lenovo’s next Vibe phone will look like and how it will spec out, thanks to Chinese regulatory agency TENAA.A Lenovo device, codenamed P2c72, has made it through the system with a very large battery — some 5 amp-hours worth of charge.That power pack will fuel up a full HD AMOLED display at 5.5 inches that’ll get driven by an octa-core processor running at 2.0GHz (a previous Geekbench log tell of a Snapdragon 625). There’s 4GB of RAM and ...

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Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS running watch costs just $200 with wrist-based HR

aGPS technology pioneer and smart wearable rising star Garmin seems to be technically sitting IFA 2016 out, electing to unveil its latest budget-friendly multisport watch from the comfort of its Olathe, Kansas home via a lackluster written press release.The announcement is lackluster, mind you, not the actual Forerunner 35 device, which offers the core features of the luxury Fenix Chronos at a ...

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Watch the Samsung Gear S3 announcement [Live]

With all due respect to other companies’ wearables to be showcased at IFA Berlin this year, the only real smartwatch of Note (heh) that’s garnered enough buzz to be watched is Samsung’s Gear S3.Three variations have been rumored about at ...

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IFA 2016: Nubia Z11 is a smartphone claiming to take DSLR-quality pictures

Smartphone firm Nubia has launched its latest flagship handset at IFA 2016, with the Nubia Z11 promising to give you DSLR-quality snaps as it eyes up other flagship wannabes such as the OnePlus 3 and Honor 8.

The Z11 packs a 5.5-inch full HD display, Snapdragon 820 processor, either 4GB or 6GB of RAM (depending on how much you're willing to pay), 64GB of internal storage, microSD slot, a 3000mAh battery, 8MP front snapper and a fingerprint scanner, all in a 7.7mm slim body.

It's the 16MP rear camera which is the main attraction here though, as is combines OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer), Nubia HIS (Hand-Held Image Stabilization) and EIS (Technology and Electronic Image Stabilizer), which the firm says "is perfect for taking photographs with long exposures without the use of a tripod."

Low-light wonder?

The Z11 can provide up to a 72 second long exposure, which will be great for low light shots of cities, streets and stars – although we'll have to wait and see if the camera actually lives up to the billing.

The Nubia Z11 will be available in a number of countries including the UK and US from September, with the standard edtion (with 3GB of RAM) coming in at €499 (around £420, $550, AU$740).

If you fancy bunmping yourself up to the black-gold, 6GB of RAM model you're looking at a Nubia Z11 price tag of €599 (around £510, $660, AU$890).

• All the latest from IFA 2016

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/1327423

Nubia Z11 gets re-released at IFA 2016, with a starting price of €500 for the old continent

What’s “Nu” (read new) from Nubia at the 2016 Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin? Not much, as ZTE’s growingly ambitious sub-brand essentially follows Asus’ suit by expanding a previously domestic-exclusive product to European shores.The difference is the “bezel-less”, no-boundary-dreaming

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Corning develops Gorilla Glass SR+ solution for tougher next-gen wearables

While it’s recently had to face unusual criticism for Gorilla Glass 5’s apparent scratch vulnerability on the otherwise tough as nails Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Corning remains the clear leader of the cover glass industry it single-handedly established almost a decade ago.But keeping more than 4.5 billion devices ...

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IFA 2016: Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 821 promises faster and longer-lasting phones

We already know the Snapdragon 821 is Qualcomm's next flagship smartphone processor, but now the company has detailed the chipset in full, highlighting improvements across the board.

Currently a lot of flagships (such as the HTC 10 and LG G5) use the Snapdragon 820, which is clocked at up to 2.2GHz, but the Snapdragon 821 pushes the speed up to 2.4GHz, representing a 10% improvement in CPU performance.

The GPU, meanwhile, has received a 5% speed increase over the Snapdragon 820, and the Snapdragon 821 can also boot up devices up to 10% faster and reduce load times by up to 10%.

These increases might sound small, but Qualcomm promises that phones using the new chip should offer smoother scrolling and more responsive browsing, so hopefully the improvements will be noticeable.

Built for VR

All that power sounds like it could help enable great VR experiences and Qualcomm has built the chipset with that in mind, bringing compatibility with Google's Daydream VR platform and promises of a superior level of visual and audio quality, for more immersive VR and general gaming experiences.

And as well as making phones faster the Snapdragon 821 should also help them last longer, with 5% more power savings than the 820, to extend battery life.

The new chipset is even set to improve smartphone photography, with support for extended laser autofocus range, for improved focal accuracy, and Dual PD, which offers faster autofocus speeds.

While the Snapdragon 821 seems positioned as an incremental upgrade over the 820 (given that it's only a small jump in number) it also sounds like it could offer a significant improvement, particularly in the VR space.

Big 2017 flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S8 may use the Snapdragon 830, but we could see some major phones launch with the Snapdragon 821 this year.

The new Nexus handsets for example are prime possibilities, as they're sure to support Daydream, and if nothing else there's the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe, which is the first phone with the 821, alongside a meaty 6GB of RAM.

• The iPhone 7 will use a different chipset

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/1327522

More Galaxy Note 7 explosions reported, quality tests now delaying shipments

While one isolated event where a massively popular, sizzling hot mobile device like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 randomly bursts into flames doesn’t sound particularly troubling, five separate claims of freak home explosions purportedly occurring within a ...

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