Lower-end Broadwell CPUs may be soldered onto the motherboard

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: none;"><img alt="intel, motherboard, cpu, broadwell, broadwell cpus, cpu sock" src="http://static.techspot.com/images/teaser/enthusiast%20hardware.jpg" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/50897-weekend-tech-reading-haswell-to-be-intels-last-swappable-cpus.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">Rumors</a> surfaced late last year that Intel was planning to ditch socketed processors once Broadwell, the 14-nanometer successor to Haswell, is released. The chip giant ultimately denied the rumor, claiming they would offer socket CPUs for the foreseeable future. That of course did little to quell rumors as we are now hearing that at least some Broadwell chips will indeed be soldered directly to motherboards.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">According to the <a href="http://techreport.com/news/24191/trusted-source-confirms-soldered-on-broadwell-cpus" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Tech Report</a>, a trusted source in the motherboard industry told them that some Broadwell chips will be permanently mated to the motherboards they ship with. In fact, some low-end Broadwell pieces may not come in socketed versions at all. The source did note that Intel isn’t totally ditching socketed processors and that they are still on the roadmap until at least 2016.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The idea of a motherboard and processor coming in a single package may not thrill many enthusiasts but we are told that it will give larger motherboard makers an advantage over their smaller rivals. High volume customers will be able to cherry pick processors for higher-end CPUs which means they could ultimately offer pre-overclocked combos or at least guarantee a certain amount of headroom with regards to clock speed.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The RMA process could be a bit trickier, especially for board makers. Despite the fact that Intel would eventually reimburse them for faulty processors, manufacturers would be on the hook for making the repairs. This again would be easier for larger companies as they would likely already have the equipment necessary to remove and resolder a new processor in place.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51311-lower-end-broadwell-cpus-may-be-soldered-onto-the-motherboard.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Lower-end Broadwell CPUs may be soldered onto the motherboard

Rumors  surfaced late last year that Intel was planning to ditch socketed processors once Broadwell, the 14-nanometer successor to Haswell, ...

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New zero-day vulnerability in Java being widely exploited

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Yet another zero-day vulnerability in Java has reared its ugly head, and according to security researchers, early indications suggest it is already being 'widely exploited' by malicious sites.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">A researcher going by the name <a href="https://twitter.com/kafeine" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">@kafeine</a> first <a href="http://malware.dontneedcoffee.com/2013/01/0-day-17u10-spotted-in-while-disable.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">spotted the exploit</a> in action and noted it's being used by a number of sites to silently install malware in drive-by download attacks. According to reports, one particular group is even using the exploit to install ransomware on affected PCs.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-01-11-image-2.png" style="outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Kafeine notified security firm AlienVault labs, which has independently <a href="http://labs.alienvault.com/labs/index.php/2013/new-year-new-java-zeroday/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">verified that the exploit exists</a>. What's more, it's already been added to a number of exploit toolkits such as Blackhole and Nuclear Pack, making it easy for criminals to deploy. The exploit is specific to Java 7 and there is no fix for it at the moment, although Oracle says it's working on it. There’s still no word on how long it's going to take.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Right now the only way to protect your machine against this exploit is disabling the Java browser plugin. Others, including <a href="http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/625617" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">US-CERT</a> (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) have given the same advice, or recommended the more drastic measure of uninstalling Java entirely.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51310-new-zero-day-vulnerability-in-java-being-widely-exploited.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

New zero-day vulnerability in Java being widely exploited

Yet another zero-day vulnerability in Java has reared its ugly head, and according to security researchers, early indications suggest it is ...

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Intel Haswell integrated graphics are on par with GeForce GT 650M

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Intel’s Haswell chip made an appearance at this year’s CES although it wasn’t the star of the show. The chip maker wasn’t keen on playing show and tell with the CPU itself but we did get a pretty solid look at what the integrated graphics on Haswell (codenamed GT3) are capable of courtesy of a comparison video recently posted by the <a href="http://techreport.com/news/24187/haswell-integrated-graphics-keeps-up-with-geforce-gt-650m" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Tech Report</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">In the video below, one system was running Intel’s Haswell CPU with integrated graphics while the other system was packing a Core i7 Ivy Bridge chip and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics card. Dirt 3 was running at 1080p resolution with all of the details set to high and as you can see for yourself, it’s tough to determine which system is which.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tDhgyZcVi_o" style="margin-bottom: 12px; outline: none;" width="600"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">We are reminded that the GeForce GT 650M is a midrange graphics card with 384 ALUs, a 128-bit path that dips into dedicated memory and clock speeds as high as 900MHz. The part is Nvidia’s fastest mobile GPU under the GT banner and is used in Apple’s <a href="http://www.techspot.com/review/556-macbook-pro-retina/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The publication also points out that drivers have been a sticking point with Intel graphics for some time but they are now releasing updates on a quarterly basis. The fact that Intel has released a new QuickSync SDK will help to ensure developers will have compatible software by the time the chip launches. At last check, Intel is planning to launch Haswell by the end of Q2 2013.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51307-intel-haswell-integrated-graphics-are-on-par-with-geforce-gt-650m.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Intel Haswell integrated graphics are on par with GeForce GT 650M

Intel’s Haswell chip made an appearance at this year’s CES although it wasn’t the star of the show. The chip maker wasn’t keen on playing sh...

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Acer Aspire S7 Review

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/aspire-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Acer Aspire S7 Review" border="0" height="212" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/aspire-header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Products cross my desk regularly. Some are great, some aren't, and most are in between. It's a perk, to be sure, but review products aren't often made for me. On a case-by-case basis, the products I'm looking are often aimed at different market segments than my own. That isn't the case with Acer's <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215621" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">Aspire S7</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The touchable, classy ultrabook is targeted right at the road-warrior, power-hungry, super-user. The S7 is an expensive machine. The starting price hovers near $1400, but our Core i7 configured spec clocks in at $1650. For the price customers do see a superlative spec sheet and a beautifully designed body. I know what you're thinking. The S7 had better be amazing for that kind of money. Don't worry, with a few qualifiers, the Aspire S7 easily ranks among the top Windows 8 machines. Is that enough to justify the cost?</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/01b.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Hardware</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Fashioned from aluminum and Gorilla Glass the S7's thin profile makes a great first impression. The deck and lid are completely rigid. There is zero flex in the laptops frame. It's very reassuring considering how light (2.29 lb) the machine is. The lid is framed with brushed aluminum that is soft and cool to the touch. That frame is filled with white glass that isn't nearly as fingerprint prone as I expected.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The same goes for the (more important) glass on the other side of the lid. I suspect that Acer applied an oleophobic coating to the glass surfaces on the machine. That oleophobic coating sparks a trend that follows through the construction of the rest of the laptop. On a laptop with a touchscreen, fingerprints are guaranteed to be a pain. That coating eases the user's pain, preventing all but the greasiest of fingers from greasing up the screen. Thoughtful design, and smart touches like these litter the Aspire S7.</div><div style="background-color: white; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 20px 10px; outline: none; width: 350px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 25px; outline: none;">Acer Aspire S7 - <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215621" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">$1,650</a></span><br /><ul style="outline: none;"><li style="outline: none;">13.3" 1920x1080 LED backlit multi-touch display</li><li style="outline: none;">Intel Core i7-3517U (1.9 - 3.0GHz)</li><li style="outline: none;">Intel HD Graphics 4000</li><li style="outline: none;">4GB of DDR3 RAM</li><li style="outline: none;">256GB SSD</li><li style="outline: none;">SD/MMC card reader</li><li style="outline: none;">2 USB 3.0, HDMI, audio jack</li><li style="outline: none;">802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0</li><li style="outline: none;">1.3-megapixel webcam</li><li style="outline: none;">Chiclet keyboard</li><li style="outline: none;">Multi-gesture touchpad with integrated buttons</li><li style="outline: none;">4-cell Li-Polymer battery (4680mAh)</li><li style="outline: none;">12.73 x 8.79 x 0.47 inches, 2.86 pounds</li></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Consider another constant problem with the first wave of touch-enabled laptops: The hinges simply aren't designed to stand up to poking and prodding. It leads to awkward ergonomic situations where the left hand is holding the screen in place while the right is slicing fruit in Fruit Ninja. Acer's machine corrects this error The hinge is remarkably stiff, and becomes even more stiff at the normal viewing angle. This addition makes the touchscreen function infinitely more comfortable and practical.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">There's a trade-off there though, the strengthened hinge makes the S7 a bit more difficult to open than I'd like. To compensate, the entirety of the lid has a slight indentation on the rim. It's perfect for sliding a finger under, and while the laptop still isn't the easiest to open, smart design makes a distinct design trade-off less of a...well, trade-off.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The S7's cooling solution is another of my favorite design decisions. Every external fan is situated on the rear of the laptop. Because of this, the S7 will never blow hot air over your hands. It's smart, user-facing design.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">These qualities, when combined with the S7's gorgeous frame make a compelling argument. Beyond that, the hardware design, even with a few small quibbles is the S7's best quality.</div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #05408f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px;">Hands-On</h3><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Actually using the S7 is more of a mixed bag. Some things, like the tiny power supply and charging port are great, other things, like the placement of the power button are not. The power button is on the left side of the deck and is very easily pressed. More than once, when moving the laptop while in-use (the power button is inactive while the lid is closed) my palm found the button and turned the machine off by accident. It seems that the power button moved as a concession to making a clean deck for the S7.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">It wasn't a smart call, but that is the exception rather than the rule.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/02b.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/03d.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/04d.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/05d.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Moving to the deck, the keyboard is wonderful to touch. The keys are soft, responsive and have great travel, and not just for an ultrabook. There is a quirk to the keyboard. There's no function row. Instead, keys like the number row end up with triple functionality under Acer's five-row arrangement. It's not the biggest loss in the world, but keep in mind there will be a learning curve to the deeper functionality of the S7's keyboard.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The Elan manufactured trackpad is not very good. The one-button sheet of aluminum is, like the rest of the laptop, pleasing to the touch, but it simply doesn't work well for some tasks. Two-finger scrolling works extremely well in the Metro Start Screen, but can be jerky on web pages. Pinch-to-zoom is as wonky on Windows as it has ever been. Unfortunately, the Elan device stumbles on basic tasks as well. Finger tracking is solid, but tapping the pad to click works about 60% of the time, a tragically low proportion. Actually clicking the trackpad works, but this is hardly my first choice for interacting.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><center style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/06c.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1658461837330835216" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/627/images/07c.jpg" style="border: 0px; outline: none;" /></a></center><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"></div><div id="masthead_back" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 12px; outline: none; overflow: hidden;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The touchscreen is superlative. It is responsive in every case and works exactly as you expect and want it to. Curiously, I found myself using it much more than I expected in the traditional desktop segments of Windows 8. </span></div><div id="masthead_back" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 12px; outline: none; overflow: hidden;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/review/627-acer-aspire-s7/" target="_blank">Read More...</a></span></div></div>

Acer Aspire S7 Review

Products cross my desk regularly. Some are great, some aren't, and most are in between. It's a perk, to be sure, but review products...

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Valve and Xi3 show off "Piston" Steam Box prototype at CES

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Last month, following weeks of hints and rumors, Valve CEO and co-founder Gabe Newell <a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51043-valve-readies-living-room-pcs-to-rival-next-gen-game-consoles.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">finally admitted</a>that his company will start selling PCs for the living room in 2013. How far along they were on the project was unclear, but now we're starting to see the first fruits of their labor emerge, with a still-in-development gaming-focused system tailored for Steam's Big Picture Mode being showcased at CES.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Codenamed "Piston", the cube-shaped rig is being developed by <a href="http://xi3.com/" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">Xi3</a>, a company that specializes in modular computers you can upgrade by switching any of three interconnected boards or modules -- the processor module and two I/O modules -- to change the capabilities or performance of the system. The idea is to make upgrading less intimidating and more efficient than upgrading an entire system.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-01-08-image-2.jpg" style="outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Xi3 wouldn't discuss any specifics for Piston, but said that the Steam Box is based on its "performance level" X7A offering. For what it's worth the latter starts at $999 and has a quad-core AMD APU, up to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, up to a terabyte of solid state storage and support for three monitors. Connectivity and expansion features include one ethernet, 1/8" audio in/out, SPDIF optical audio, four USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, four eSATAp ports, two Mini Display Port ports and one DisplayPort/HDMI port.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The use of a modular hardware design for its Steam Box is certainly interesting, though at first glance it looks like Valve is going for entry-level performance using integrated graphics. It remains to be seen how much the X7A and Piston will have in common and if higher end models with discrete graphics will be available.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Xi3 attempted to Kickstart its boxes in 2012 but fell far short of the $250,000 crowd-funding goal. Luckily they've now received an undisclosed investment from Valve to move the project forward.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51265-valve-and-xi3-show-off-piston-steam-box-prototype-at-ces.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Valve and Xi3 show off "Piston" Steam Box prototype at CES

Last month, following weeks of hints and rumors, Valve CEO and co-founder Gabe Newell  finally admitted that his company will start selling ...

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Panasonic shows 20-inch Windows 8 tablet with 4k IPS display

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Display makers are really hyping 4K and OLED this year, with most of them unveiling new flagship big screen TVs. As a major Japanese electronics outfit, it's no surprise that Panasonic is also toeing the industry line, revealing a new 56-inch OLED Ultra HDTV among other displays.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The company's press showcase wasn't just more of the same, however, as it also yanked the covers off a jumbo-sized, pixel-rich tablet. We don't know what it'll be called when it goes on sale, but the system is<a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20533597/panasonic-develops-new-tablet-with-20-inch-4k-ips-alpha-lcd-panel" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">equipped with a 20-inch 4k screen</a> and that's enough to get our attention.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The slate is said to have fantastic viewing angles and color accuracy thanks to its IPS panel, while its 3840x2560 resolution (230ppi) makes for a crisp image. The device will be geared toward designers and other professionals who want extra precise stylus input thanks to the pixel density.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Most reports indicate that the units at CES are deemed prototypes, so their specifications might not match the final product. Nonetheless, here's what the current design has: a Core i5 3427U processor, GeForce graphics, 4GB of RAM (Panasonic might offer up to 16GB) and a 128GB SSD.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-01-08-image-6.jpg" style="outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Besides its 4k resolution, the tablet's display touts 10-finger multitouch and Anoto's pattern-based pen input technology. Other details include 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 2.0 port, a microSD card slot and a 720p camera. The system can run for about two hours between charges and it measures around half an inch thick and weighs just over five pounds. No word on pricing or availability yet.</div></div>

Panasonic shows 20-inch Windows 8 tablet with 4k IPS display

Display makers are really hyping 4K and OLED this year, with most of them unveiling new flagship big screen TVs. As a major Japanese electro...

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Project Fiona gets official as Razer Edge, coming this quarter for $999

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/46998-razer-unveils-project-fiona-ivy-bridge-win-8-tablet-for-pc-gamers.html" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">Project Fiona</a>, the prototype portable gaming device that wowed CES attendees last year, is back yet again. This time around, however, it’s being showcased as a real product known as the <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413967,00.asp" style="color: #05408f; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Razer Edge</a> that can be yours later this quarter for under a grand.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Razer is billing the 10.1-inch, sub 2-pound machine as the world’s first tablet designed exclusively for high-end gaming with a base model and a performance-boosted Pro model in the pipeline. The former will ship with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of system memory, a 64GB solid state drive and a discrete Nvidia GT640M LE GPU.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-01-08-image-11.jpg" style="outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">The Pro edition will come with an Intel Core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM and either a 128GB or 256GB SSD. The GPU will remain the same between the two models, we’re told. Furthermore, both versions will carry a USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and run a full version of Windows 8. The latter means that games can be run on the system just as they would any other Windows PC without the need for porting or optimizing.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none; text-align: center;"><img src="http://static.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2013-01-08-image-12.jpg" style="outline: none;" /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Aside from being a serious gaming tablet in terms of hardware specifications, Razer is also giving gamers multiple options when it comes to how they want to interact with the Edge. There’s tablet mode which is pretty self-explanatory; Keyboard Dock mode which essentially turns the Edge into a notebook so you can use a keyboard and mouse; Gamepad Controller mode which is the configuration you’ve mostly likely seen it in with controls on either side of the tablet and Docking Station mode which effectively turns the Edge into a home console.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;">Look for the Razer Edge to hit retail sometime this quarter starting at $999 for the base model with no accessories. Pricing for the Pro version with the 128GB SSD is $1,299 while the i7 with a 256GB SSD will set you back $1,449.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: none;"><a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/51277-project-fiona-gets-official-as-razer-edge-coming-this-quarter-for-999.html" target="_blank">Read More...</a></div></div>

Project Fiona gets official as Razer Edge, coming this quarter for $999

Project Fiona , the prototype portable gaming device that wowed CES attendees last year, is back yet again. This time around, however, it’s ...

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