First impressions of the Windows 8 Acer Iconia W700 tablet

Acer announces its latest tablet, the Iconia W700, complete with a cradle dock, Bluetooth keyboard, and of course, Windows 8 compatibility.

As Acer continues to roll out its announcements on its latest Windows 8 lineup, we give you more hands-on impressions of the fresh new products right off the presses. Today, Acer unveils the Iconia W700 tablet complete with an 11.6-inch display in full 1080p high definition at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The Iconia W700 will come in your choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor, and of course, the 10-point touch capacitive feature that will allow you to make the most out of Windows 8′s Metro UI.

One of the first things we noticed about the Iconia W700 is how modular the system is. The full set comes with a standing dock and a separate Bluetooth keyboard, both of which will allow you to use it like a PC at home or in your office. You can tilt the cradle dock up from 20 degrees to 70 degrees, depending on your viewing preference. Of course, you can also adjust the dock to stand vertically or horizontally.

Take it out of its cradle and you’ve got a tablet that’s approximately half an inch thich and weighs 2.3 pounds — not too much lighter than the Acer Aspire S7 ultrabook announced two days prior. However, the Iconia W700′s got a few more integrations that make it more of a mobile device than the Aspire S7. Case in point, the built-in G-Sensor, E-Compass, and Gyro-Meter — all of which are meant to help with location-based apps so you can check into a Foursquare joint, find your friends on Google Latitude, search nearby restaurants on Yelp, or the like, in as small amount of time as possible.

Spec-wise, you’ve got your choice of 64GB or 128GB SSD with 4GB of memory, a back-facing 5 megapixel camera that can record 1080p HD videos, and a 1-megapixel front facer that can capture 720p videos. The tablet also has a MicroHDMI and a VGA adapter if you want to hook it up to a projector. One of my personal favorite components of the set is that it comes with its own leatherette case that can pack up the dock, keyboard, and tablet all in a neat place. This makes it perfect for travel, and it’s nice to not have to spend extra on a decent case that can store all the little components and accessories.

The Acer Iconia W700 will be available on October 26 starting at $800.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

[Infographic] The history of Fashion Week and the evolution of its tech

With New York City's Fashion Week approaching on September 6, this infographic by Eventup will give you a crash course on fashion.

Fashion Week has lately been evolving as technology is increasingly being adopted by designers, editors and enthusiasts alike, and it will be intriguing to watch the new tech used this Fashion Week season in New York City. And with only just days away from  models strutting down the catwalk for Spring/Summer 2012, we’ll give you a crash course on the evolution of Fashion Week.

Surprisingly, despite the guise of being a forward thinking industry, fashion has been slow to accept the introduction of new technologies developed by start-ups, and it’s been the designers who are at fault. You’d think that adopting new tech strategies would help quell the chaos of the Fashion Week shows. Among the older generation of designers, there’s an inherent fear that it may instead complicate matters for the non-technologically savvy.

In recent shows, some designers have offered bar-coded guest lists and iPad-controlled seating arrangements, which streamline the process of shuffling attendees through the door. Other designers have integrated the bells and whistles, whether it’s a holographic projection or giant LED screen, for garnering the “oohs” and “ahhs” from the attendees.

Designers like Narcisco Rodriguez on the other hand, for this year’s Fall/Winter 2012 New York Fashion Week, ended up simply sending out paper invitations.

Still the industry is becoming vogue with technology, and you have to give credit to the concerted efforts over time of many designers and event organizers. For example the live streaming of Fashion Week shows is now a normal occurrence for many designer’s shows, and the GPS event-planning and inventory system, Credit Fashion GPS, was adopted by IMG in 2010. There are even services like Eventup that enable the smaller designers to scout locations other than Lincoln Center or Milk Studios for shows during Fashion Week. It’s evident that the future wherein fashion and technology cannot be without the other is arriving at a quicker pace.

But before we get ahead of ourselves and talk about the future of fashion and technology, Eventup has provided Digital Trends readers with a brief history of Fashion Week in infographic form.

Some notable information includes Fashion Week’s maiden year in 1943, its beginnings in Milan, and its eventual spread across the globe.Today you’ll find the fashion week movement in cities across the world including Beijing, Brazil and even Iran. With the most attended and venerated Fashion Week locations still being held in London, Milan, Paris and New York City.

For the contemporary fashion scene, New York City has been the home of fashion royalty including Vogue’s Editor in Chief, Anna Wintour, designer Marc Jacobs, who were also among the most Tweeted about individuals related to Fashion Week in 2011. Others fashion elite that were popular, based on Tweets, are fashion designers, Victoria Beckham and Oscar De La Renta.

So behind the scenes just how much does setting up Fashion Week cost? According to Eventup, Designers will on average spend between $30,000 and $100,000 to rent a space and slot on the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week podium. The maximum price for the rental of a slot was $500,000.

You can check out the rest of the infographic below.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple offers up to $345 for 4S prior to iPhone 5 launch

Got an iPhone 4S? Looking to buy an iPhone 5? Apple is willing to pay you up to $345 for your old 4S handset, depending on its condition and specs.

Of course, Apple hasn’t yet made any official announcement on the subject of its next-generation iPhone; the company will, as usual, make no mention of it until it actually comes to mention it on stage in front of a crowd of adoring, expectant fans. That’s how Apple works. It likes to keep you hanging on. And hanging on.

The heavily smoking iPhone rumor mill is currently turning so fast that it’s in danger of coming loose and rolling out of view, but as things stand, it seems fairly well agreed upon among Apple-watchers that the phone, possibly called the iPhone 5 (or simply the ‘new iPhone’, or something else altogether…) will be unveiled on September 12 and go on sale September 21.

The company has also given a subtle hint that things are afoot with the news it’s now offering to buy your iPhone 4S from you for $345, because of course, as soon as the latest device shows up, you won’t be wanting the old model anymore, will you?

The Next Web happened upon the offer, which is part of Apple’s buy-back scheme, officially known as the Apple Recycling Program. A spick-and-span 64GB 4S phone will net you $345 – albeit in the form of an Apple gift certificate.

You’ll need to fill out a short online questionnaire to see how much it’s worth – eg. Has it been water damaged? Does the battery fully charge? Any scratches? If you’ve treated it like you would a newborn baby (ie. with great care), then you might be able to secure top dollar, but who really has such a perfect-looking phone?

Bear in mind that the online questionnaire is just a guide – a full assessment is made by Apple once it receives the handset. Of course, if your answers are honest and accurate, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t receive a gift certificate equivalent to what the online evaluator came up with. Of course, you’d be wise to check out other trade-in options, such as Gazelle, which might offer a better price.

Once the next-generation iPhone is unveiled, do you think your 4S is suddenly going to feel extremely old?

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mobile Weekly Wrap: Google’s gift and the patent war is won

The week that was in the world of mobile for August 19-24, 2012.

One never knows what the whirlwind world of mobile phones will bring over the course of a week. Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s a pretty safe bet that someone will mention patents. But there’s no patent claiming that the rest of the news isn’t just as worthwhile. If you were too busy downloading all the major app updates that rolled out this week to keep up on other stories, here’s a collection of all the most interesting tidbits you missed from August 19-24, 2012.

Update all the things

Android users were barely able to keep up with all the updates that were released this week. From Pandora (read our impressions of it here) to Facebook to Flickr and everything in between, it seemed like all the essential apps on Google’s mobile OS got a revamp, relaunch, or redesign this week. It was a virtual gift for owners of the OS, but a physical gift if on its way as well. Google Play gift cards are now available, making it that much easier to purchase those tempting little apps.

Microsoft gets hip by being square

While Android apps were getting new features and looks, Microsoft performed the biggest makeover of all by redesigning its logo. The new image that will represent the iconic company is a square with four other colored squares inside it, a clear representation of the new tile-style OS that will appear with Windows 8 Phones later this year. This news of a new look came around the same time that they also revealed a new carrier of Windows Phone: Verizon. The mobile provider will take on Nokia-made Windows phones later this year.

Apple and Samsung are both losers in Korea

In the never-ending patent war between Samsung and Apple, at least one battle has been decided. The winner: No one. A South Korean court has determined that both companies have infringed upon the other’s patents. The judge on the case also concluded that there was little evidence that anyone would confuse Apple and Samsung devices. Given the seriousness of violating patents, the judge dropped his gavel with full force, leveling Apple and Samsung with fines. The amounts? $35,500 for Apple and $22,000 for Samsung. We beleive both companies paid the money from spare change they found between the seats of their flying cars.

Samsung wasn’t so lucky on this side of the Pacific, where American courts were a little less lenient on patent infringements. Samsung lost the lawsuit against Apple, leading to $1.05 billion being owed to the fruit-based tech company. The case is sure to head to appeals court, which will no doubt keep the story in the news for weeks to come.

Apps and Games of the Week

This was the week of the update for mobile apps. On the new release front, things were a little slow. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some solid applications that deserve a space on your mobile device of choice, though. Here is our collection of the best apps of the week.

Evertale (Free, iPhone) – This app takes all the photos that you and your friends take at a certain location the stores them in a folder shared amongst only your circle. Relive the moments without the embarrassment of untagging those shame-inducing images from last night.

The Daily Hundred (Free, iPhone) – Make money just by being in the right place at the right time. This app indicates a daily challenge and encourages you to send in your best offering. The winner gets $100 for doing what you’d do anyway.

Purl (Free, iPhone) – The world’s first location-based search engine, Purl delivers on the most relevant information to you based on your current location.

eHighlighter (Free, iPhone) – Using your camera, you can turn your paper books into a searchable, highlightable eBook. Transcribe full excerpts from books, mark them up and add notes that are available on your iOS device without ruining the integrity of the physical copy.

VOTE!!! (Free, iOS) – We’ve all thought about how badly we’d like to punch a politician. Now you can do it without getting arrested or drug away by secret service. 

Karaoke by PureSolo (Free, Android) – Sometimes you just get the urge to break out in song. Make sure you’ve got the lyrics right with Karaoke by PureSolo. If only there was an app that told you when you were too drunk to perform acceptable karaoke.

ShuckRelay (Free, Android) – There’s so many podcasts out there these days. It can be hard to keep up with all your subscriptions. ShuckRelay keeps all your feeds in one place and allows you to check out single episodes.

Mikey Shorts ($0.99, iOS) – It’s hard to invoke the old school appeal of platform titles, but Mikey Shorts nails it. With simplistic, flawless controls and great level design, it’s a game you can’t miss.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Angry Birds marches on – theme park based on popular game to open in UK next week

Parents in the UK, prepare to be badgered by your little ones – Finnish game maker Rovio is days away from opening its first Angry Birds theme park there.

Of course, there will be those who are absolutely fed up to the back teeth with Angry Birds. Among them may be the early adopters, who’ve since grown weary of the bird-slinging game, or those who were suspicious from the start, refusing to become one of the many many millions of people who’ve downloaded the game onto their mobile devices and continue to enjoy spending countless hours battling with egg-stealing green pigs.

Among those many millions are, for sure, a huge number of kids, drawn in by the cutesy graphics and simple game play. These same children – at least the ones living in the UK – will likely be impatiently tapping their parents on the back the moment they discover the country’s first ever Angry Birds theme park is about to open.

Located in Nottinghamshire, England, the new activity park forms part of Sundown Adventureland, a popular day-out destination for families in the area.

According to the designer of the new attraction, there’ll be themed swings and roundabouts, as well as several climbing towers. Of course, there’ll be a giant sling too, though hopefully someone will be on hand to stop over-excited kids catapulting their friends into the North Sea. There’s also talk of themed rides being introduced at some stage.

Paul Tomlinson, park manager at Sundown, said he was delighted to be hosting the UK’s first Angry Birds attraction “as the brand is so well known throughout the world.”

Of course, this isn’t the first Angry Birds-based theme park to open – there’s already one in China (albeit unauthorized), and another in Finland, where Rovio, the company behind the game, is located.

Rovio’s CEO, Peter Vesterbacka, told Reuters earlier this year that the Angry Birds attractions – of which there are plans for many more – will resemble small adventure playgrounds rather than full-on Disneyland-style affairs. “We can’t afford to invest billions into theme parks,” he said. “We are a tiny company from a tiny country.”

[via the Guardian]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com