It’s Tuesday again and it’s again time for some Tech and
Gadgets news from all around the globe.
This week, we’ll be talking about a major product launch for
a very popular brand of laptops, a newcomer in the desktop and laptop computer
market, a major turn in a world renowned brand and some local tech news on the
side.
So let’s get the ball rollin’, shall we?
Leap. American TV
manufacturer Vizio recently joined the PC wars and become the newest competitor
in the personal computer market. The company has already announced in the past that
they are planning to extend their reach beyond the LCD displays market by
venturing into the PC arena. And last week, Vizio just announced their first
batch of Windows powered machines.
Surprisingly, Vizio was able to produce an almost complete
line of machines from AIOs (all-in-one), a notebook and even an ultrabook. All models also pack Intel’s new Ivy Bridge
core processors and of course the company’s signature LCD displays. The AIO
model comes in either a 24 or 27 inch screen, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, 500GB or 1TB
of HDD, a wireless keyboard, wireless keyboard, touchpad and a subwoofer to
boost that bass when listening to music. The notebook, packs a 15.6 inch
screen, a 500GB or 1TB HDD, Nvidia’s GeForce GT640M LE and at least 4GB of RAM.
The ultrabook, on the other hand comes in either a 14 or a 15.6-inch screen,
either a 128GB or 256GB solid state drive and configurable with a Core i3, i5
or i7 processor.
All models also come with HDMI outputs and inputs for
mirroring the screen on a big-screen TV and for connecting other multimedia
devices such as gaming consoles. Both the AIO and the notebook model have full
HD displays with a native resolution of 1920x900 pixels while the ultrabook
has a resolution of 1600x900 pixels.
Lay Offs. Finnish
company Nokia has once again made headlines (but not in a good way) when it
announced that they will lay off 10,000 employees including 3 key executives in
its effort to sharpen its strategies. The man power reduction will be done due
to factory closings in various parts of the globe including Canada, Germany and
Finland. Furthermore, VP of mobile phones Mary McDowell, CMO Jerry Devard and
VP of Markets Niklas Savander will also be leaving Nokia come June 30.
And to make matters worse for Nokia, their luxury subsidiary
Vertu will soon belong to EQT VI for an undisclosed amount. EQT VI will be
acquiring 90% of Verut’s shares will the remaining 10% will remain with Nokia. There
have long been rumours about Nokia selling Vertu but it was only late last week
that announcement of the acquisition was made and that it will happen in the
second half of the year.
Launch. The biggest
news of last week was Apple’s announcement of the newest incarnation of their
mobile operating system and their top of the line laptop model.
A lot of rumours and speculations were already circulating
in the internet about the new additions that will come with the release of iOS6
and it was only last week that all the rumours have been cleared. The good news
is that a lot of the new features that majority of iOS users have missed and
wanted in the past are now available with iOS6 like Facebook integration, an
improved version of Siri, Facetime over cellular networks, a do not disturb
functionality, improved accessibility extras, better privacy controls, improved
voiceover and dictionaries, improved cameras and redesigned apps and stores.
In addition to these long awaited features, Apple has added
a few improvements into the operating system such as a completely new maps
application complete with turn-by-turn navigation, iCloud integration in Safari
and an app called Passbook (an application that collects all your boarding
passes, tickets, coupons, etc. and organizes them).
Aside from the launch of iOS6, Apple has also announced last
week the latest update to their MacBook Pro line of laptops. The 15-inch model
in particular received most of the updates; most notably it’s
ultra-high-resolution anti-glare retina display with a resolution of 2880x1800
pixels and has a pixel density of 220ppi.
The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is around 0.71 inches thin and
features praise worthy specs. The base model, which will retail for at least
$2,199 will have an Intel quad-core i7 processor clocked at 2.3Ghz, 8GB of RAM,
a Nvidia GeForce GT650M and a 256GB SSD. The top of the line model will feature
up to 2.7Ghz core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a whopping 768GB solid state
drive.
Sadly though, the new MacBook Pro ditches the optical drive
in favour of two Thunderbolt ports. It also packs two USB 3.0 ports, a thinner
Magsafe 2 power connector, HDMI port and SD card slot. Connectivity wise, it
has the usual set of specs like Bluetooth 4.0 support, FaceTime HD camera, dual
microphones and stereo speakers.
As for the rest of the MacBook Pro crew, their chassis and displays
will remain unchanged although they will be receiving the Intel treatment as
their processors will be upgraded to the latest Ivy Bridge core processors from
Intel.
Local News. In
local news, German audio equipment manufacturer Sennheiser has recently opened
its first concept store in Greenhills’s’ Vmall. According to the company’s
executives who flew in during the launch said that the company will be
continually expanding their presence here in the Philippines by building more
concept stores in malls and extending their reach into other cities.
This is good news for audiophile Pinoys as the new concept
store and Sennheiser’s plan to expand in the country means that consumers will
now enjoy the full line of Sennheiser products. These include specialized audio
products for travel, sports, communications and street use.
And that concludes this week’s episode of Tech Tuesdays.
Until next week!
Again, if you have any comments and suggestions, please do
leave a message in the comment box below.
Sources: Mashable, GSMArena, Cnet Asia and Interaksyon
Sources: Mashable, GSMArena, Cnet Asia and Interaksyon
