Asus ZenWatch launched with Killer Looks

Asus took stage in Berlin to reveal several new products but the center of attraction was the new Asus ZenWatch.  It’s no doubt the best looking smartwatch to date maybe giving a tough competition to Moto 360. Featuring a curved 2.5D design on the front and a stainless cover on the back, it’s newly announced ZenWatch emphasizes style above all else. Also the price isn’t so bad. Coming at around €199 it sets a high benchmark for the upcoming smartwatches. 

The super sleek ZenWatch runs Android Wear OS and features a version of the ASUS ZenUI developed specifically for the ZenWatch. The ZenWatch features comes with a rose gold-colored middle layer and stainless steel top and bottom, with a brushed surface around the face. It has a 1.63-inch 320×320 AMOLED display with a slight curve to its surface, and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, as well as 512MB or RAM and Bluetooth 4.0. But Asus wants to wow you with its looks, not specs. 

Like the Gear Live and G Watch R, the ZenWatch is also capable of monitoring a user’s heart rate.  IP55 water and dust-proofing helps it tolerate accidental splashes, and it has a 9-axis sensor for tracking activity and movement. 

Asus hasn't yet revealed the release date for its first Android Wear smartwatch, but you can see it up close and personal in our photos.

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Sony Smartwatch 3 and new fitness tracker SmrtBand Talk Launched

Apart from Sony Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact and Z3 Tablet Compact, yesterday IFA 2014 Sony also launched a bunch of accessories to be coupled with your device to provide a whole new experience. It includes Sony Smartwatch 3, Sony SmartBand Talk. 

Finally Sony forayed in the world of Android Wear. Sony Smartwatch 3 is Sony’s first smartwatch running Google’s Android Wear. The company says this is the first “specifically designed for the latest Android Wear updates in close collaboration with Google.” 

Equipped with a 1.6-inch LCD Transflective display, Sony’s SmartWatch 3 is capable of acting as a standalone device to a certain extent; with support for GPS. It runs on 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and 420mAh battery. In addition to GPS, it also includes accelerometer, compass and gyroscope.  

You can pick this up in black or lime at launch for about €229 (approx. $300 USD), with pink and white straps coming after launch. 

The company announced another wearable, called SmartBand Talk. The company described it as a “powerful lifelogging wearable, with intuitive features”.  

This model also packs a speaker and mic so that you can use it to field calls from your phone as it supports HD Voice, so you should have no issue hearing with people are saying on the other line and it has a 1.4-inch always-on e-ink display for power conservation and visibility in any lighting. The SmartBand Talk is powered by a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 processor, 2MB of internal flash memory, a 70mAh battery, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and microUSB support. You’ll be able to pick this up for €159 (about $208 USD). 

And also, following the Sony’s waterproof obsession he SmartWatch 3 and SmartBand Talk comes with IP68 waterproof and dustproof certification. 

When the SmartWatch 3 and SmartBand Talk launch later this fall, both devices will be compatible with Sony’s Lifelog app, which is available in the Google Play Store for free.

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Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact: Probably the best Tablet now Launched

Sony added another member to its tablet category with the new Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. It is the lightest and thinnest waterproof tablet on the market. At just 270g and 6.4mm thick, the Tablet Compact might well be the lightest and thinnest tablet full stop, but Sony has added "waterproof" in there just in case.  

Taking its cues from the Xperia Z3 smartphone that leads Sony's IFA offering this year, its guts are equally impressive. A 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor powers the full HD display, with the tablet's 4,500mAh battery said to be good for a solid 13 hours of video playback. On the back is an 8-megapixel camera, which has a forward-facing 2-megapixel counterpart, and a tonne of fun photography features that are built in across the range. 

Also, like the other smartphones in the Z3 category, Z3 Tablet Compact will also be joining the PS Vita in being able to stream and play PlayStation 4 games away from the console. You can even buy a custom mount for your DualShock 4 controller so that you don't have to find a safe resting spot for the slate. 

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has an annoyingly long-winded name, but a decent slug of technology inside its skinny frame. If the price is right, this slim slate could be one of the best tablet offerings on the market. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact will launch globally in autumn 2014, in both LTE and Wi-Fi versions, although pricing details are not available yet.  

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Sony's new flagship Z3 and Z3 Compact is here

Sony is now here to add to the long list of phones being launched today. Although these devices weren’t the best kept secrets but it’s great to see them officially unveiled. Sony keeps on refreshing its flagship phones every 6 months and that’s why we are seeing Xperia Z3 precisely a year after the launch of Xperia Z1. The company on Wednesday officially unveiled the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact, two devices that bring both beautiful looks and cutting-edge technology. 

Up first is Sony’s flagship, the Xperia Z3. The new 5.2-inch phone from Sony lacks for nothing, with a 1080p screen resolution, quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a familiar 20-megapixel camera sensor that has now been boosted to reach an unprecedented 12,800 ISO sensitivity. The lens has been made wider, with the new 25mm-equivalent field of view capturing more of the scene around you, and there's improved image stabilization for video, which can once again be recorded at 4K resolution. 

Citing improvements in the efficiency of the display and processor, Sony also says that the Z3 will last a full two days on a single charge. The Xperia Z3 will launch globally later this autumn and is anticipated for an October release in the UK. 

Joining the Z3 on Sony's IFA stage is the 4.6-inch Z3 Compact. It sports a 4.6-inch 720p screen and the premium aluminium edging, but those are intangible losses, but otherwise comes with the same features and design as its bigger brother. You still get that 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 chip, LTE support, and 20-megapixel camera with G Lens for a no-compromise photo experience. The colour scheme of the new Compact has been switched up with a pair of bold and inviting shades of red and green to go with the standard black and white. It has earned an even higher waterproof rating of IP68 .

One of Sony's hidden synergistic weapons here, though, may be PS4 Remote Play. The Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact are joining the PS Vita in being able to stream and play PlayStation 4 games away from the console. Starting in November, the three members of the new Z3 family will allow you to play your PS4 games directly on their screens so long as they are on the same Wi-Fi network as the big games machine. 

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Samsung Gear VR: A limited edition portable Oculus Rift

Facebook's Oculus VR is creating the Rift. Sony's PlayStation is creating Project Morpheus. Google is... well, Cardboard exists. And now as expected Samsung just unveiled Gear VR. The company’s first virtual reality headset was developed with direct help from Oculus and it works pretty well. The Gear VR is a virtual reality headset powered by the Note 4. Gear VR is a virtual reality headset with a removable front cover where Samsung's newly announced Note 4 slips in, acting as the screen. 

Gear VR Innovator Edition is an add-on to the new Samsung Galaxy Note 4, using the phone’s GPU/CPU to power the device and the Quad HD low-persistence 5.7 inch 1440p AMOLED screen as the display. One of the best aspects of mobile VR is the completely untethered, easy-to-use experience: you connect the Note 4 to the headset, you put it on, and you’re in. That level of accessibility, combined with Oculus software to easily launch and transition between VR applications without taking the headset off, really makes the experience magical. 

The Gear VR is powered by the new Oculus Mobile SDK, and also uses variations of the Oculus Tracker and firmware built into the headset for extremely accurate, ultra-low latency 3DOF tracking. It’s impossible to deliver a high quality mobile experience without this kind of deep end-to-end hardware, software, and firmware optimization. As a result, we’ve been able to achieve sub-20 millisecond motion-to-photons latency, roughly equivalent to the most highly optimized experiences on DK2. 

Using the Gear VR is very similar to using the Oculus Rift: it's a completely immersive experience that detaches you from your real environment. But unlike the Rift, there are no wires tethering you and the Gear VR to a computer, so you can freely move about and walk around.  And since you strap the Gear VR to your head, you don't have to hold up to your face the entire time like Google Cardboard.  

The only information on availability is "this year," and there is no price just yet; it'll be available for purchase online and through "select carriers." Considering how low-tech Gear VR is, and the fact that Samsung's pushing a product into a market that doesn't really exist just yet, I expect the company will aim as low as possible in terms of pricing. 

Read More: OculusVR

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