The display is for one eye only and on the side. The navigation system currently used is a head tilting movement for the purposes of scrolling and clicking. It is believed that its very quick to learn and once the user is adept at navigation, it becomes second nature and is almost indistinguishable to outside users.

Oakley Thump Glasses

I/O on the glasses will also include voice input and output, and it is likely that the CPU/RAM/storage hardware is near the equivalent of a generation-old Android smartphone.

Even though the product is a long way from being completed, Google is still in discussions over how it will be marketed and sold. There are rumours circulating that Google is apparently unsure if the glasses will ever have mass-market appeal and is therefore considering making this a pilot program, like the Cr-48 Chromebooks last year.

It seems that wearable technology is on the rise and its not just Google working on these kinds of products. Apple, Motorola and Recon Instruments are also working on bringing the technology to the public.

Samsung recently introduced the new Notebook Series 5 ULTRA, which combines high performance with a Ultrabook casing.

On the inside the Series 5 ULTRA is powered by a Intel Core i5 processor; combined with ExpressCache system by Diskeeper and a powerful AMD Radeon HD graphics card, with which it delivers high performance packed in a thin and light form factor.

“Based on in-depth market research and consumer surveys, we propose a new type of Ultrabook which will change the perception of Ultrabooks among users. Our findings strongly indicate that consumers demand more than just thin and light devices, hoping for a satisfactory level of daily performance and storage, as digital files become larger. The Samsung Series 5 ULTRA will be the first to answer these needs,” said David Song, Senior Vice President, IT Solutions Business at Samsung Electronics. “The latest Samsung knowhow  has been applied  – our Series 5 ULTRA positions the device for today’s fast changing media environment by adding greater value for consumers through a more balanced product concept.”

“The Series 5 ULTRA is a further step to demonstrate Samsung’s commitment to coming up with ways that continue to meet the day-to-day consumer needs by producing the best products,” adds Suria Pretorius, Product Manager of Notebooks at Samsung Electronics South Africa.

Performance

Available in 13” and 14”, the Series 5 ULTRA reveals its performance through an Intel Core i5-2467M processor, up to 8GB memory, ExpressCache system by Diskeeper and AMD Radeon HD graphics card. As a result, the Series 5 ULTRA is able to fast boot in just 20 seconds and wake up in two seconds.

Performance alone is insufficient without enough space to store your data. Due to the development of digital image devices and various media platforms, files are getting larger every day, increasing the need for bigger user storage. Despite the recent trend of cloud storage, local storage is still preferred among many users on a daily basis. Not to compromise these needs the Series 5 ULTRA 14” offers up to 1TB ultra storage capacity ensuring that users never need to carry a peripheral storage device with them.

The performance has been further enhanced by the extended battery life. The Samsung Series 5 ULTRA delivers up to 6.4 hours of battery life on a single charge. The Samsung Battery Life Plus is a long life battery technology which keeps 80 percent of the cell’s original capacity in a life cycle lasting up to 1,500 charging cycles / three years.

Choice of 13″ or 14″

To meet the concept of being the true companion of consumers, the Samsung Series 5 ULTRA will be offered in 13” and 14”.

To ensure ease-of-use while on the move, the Series 5 ULTRA 13” is just 17.6mm thin and 1.38kg. The Intel Core i5 processor, up to 8GB memory, up to 500GB storage and 16GB iSSD with ExpressCache ensures that mobility is not compromised. Consumers can also choose from a 128GB SSD or 258GB SSD as their preferred storage. To offer maximum connection to other devices, the 13”  model also carries full-size HDMI port along with one USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, 4-in-1 multi SD card slot, Ethernet and webcam.

The 14” model equipped with Intel Core i5 processor, up to 8GB memory and 16GB iSSD with ExpressCache system offers exceptional performance. For larger storage and heightened visual experience, the Series 5 ULTRA 14” embraces up to 1TB storage as well as an AMD Radeon HD7550M 1GB graphics card. An integrated Optical Disc Drive is also installed for maximum convenience. In terms of connectivity, the 14” model offers full-size HDMI, VGA, two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, 4-in-1 multi SD card slot, Ethernet and webcam. All the above features are packed into a 20.9mm thin and 1.84kg light chassis.

So when is it available in SA?

The Samsung Series 5 ULTRA will be available locally in February at an approximate recommended retail price of R10 199 for the 13’’ and R10 299 for the 14’’.

Clearly the next big battle in the tech world is TV – not in terms of ever growing screen sizes and resolutions, but rather the software and services that power it. With rumours circling about Apple’s apparent entry into the TV market, many manufacturers are taking a wait and see approach. Not Lenovo though – they decided they will build there first TV as well, and it will be powered by Android. Lenovo is planning to release their first TV in China at first, but international markets will get it later. It should be noted that this TV will not ship with Google TV. Instead it will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, with Lenovo’s own custom skin, and it will pack some serious processing power. Here are some of the specs:

• Snapdragon processor running at  a healthy 1.5 GHz.
• Two screen sizes – 42 and 50 inch. Both LED, Full HD.
• Built in Webcam with 5 megapixel resolution – great for Skype sessions.
• 8GB of built in storage, which is expandable by SD card.
• The remote control will include a touchpad, and it will recognize your voice with a built in microphone.

The TV will still ship with standard HDMI inputs, so you can still connect your set-top boxes. Lenovo must still announce their streaming services that combine with this TV – which makes us think this was rushed to market as an answer to that apparent Apple threat. Which we are not to certain about either… The idea that Apple would move into a highly commoditzed market like TV manufacturing is still difficult to comprehend, but their advantage will lie in the ecosystem that iTunes will provide. But if a Apple Cinema Display costs $1000, we wonder if Apple can crack the TV market where profit margins are lower than ever.

Best Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2

Even the most ardent fans of iPhone have to agree – the Galaxy S2 is a truly great phone. It is very fast, is built well (despite being made of plastic), the screen is beautiful, the camera is excellent – the list goes on. Pricing is also pretty good, and the phone is still great several months later, which you cannot typically say of the Android phone marketplace. You cannot go wrong. Not even Samsung’s bigger and faster Galaxy Note could change our name. Now we just have to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Close second: Apple iPhone 4S. Expect our review in the new year.

Best Tablet: Apple iPad 2

The iPad was the first successful touch-centric tablet on the market, and after some growing pains from the phone-only iOS to the larger screened iPad based iOS, Apple merged the two with the launch of the iPad 2. No other tablet comes close when it comes to the interface, app selection and overall build quality. Even more than year after the original iPad has been launched, no other tablet has come close. And the best part – it is priced very well. Close second: The Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet is a might impressive enterprise focussed device.

Best Computer: Apple Macbook Air 13

The Macbook Air is nothing new, but the latest Core i-carrying Macbook Air is truly great computer. Extremely thin, great battery life and surprisingly good performance has many users wondering why they might need a different (or higher end) laptop. The price is still a little high, but it is still great value for money. Sure, gamers will stick to their Alienware class machines, but the Macbook Pro is looking less and less relevant. And before the Apple haters start – we are referring to the hardware and overall performance. The OS is your own choice. Close second: The Lenovo X220 is a great laptop if you are not interested in the whole Apple thing. It can take a few knocks, and it is very fast.

Best Camera: Olympus E-PL3

Here at BandwidthBlog we love our SLRs, but carrying around big ol’ cameras with long lenses quickly get tiring. The Olympus PEN series is still a great range of cameras for people who want SLR-class image quality in a nice compact camera shape. Sure, it is not cheap, but nothing comes close for sheer portability and image quality. The new flexible screen is also great to use for difficult shots. Close second: The Nikon V1 follows a similar principle – but we have not tried it yet.

Best Broadband Product: 8ta 10GB deal

South Africa still has some pretty expensive broadband, and Telkom is primarily to blame for that. That is why we really appreciate it that cellular operators have stepped up to make ADSL look less and less relevant. Last year Cell C did it with their 5GB deal, and this year Telkom’s cellular arm 8ta did it as well. Yes the irony is not lost on us – 8ta offers 10GB of data for R199 per month. Yes, it is a 24 month contract, and you have to be in 8ta’s own coverage map. But if you are, it is really a great deal. 10Gb of data for less than the cost of a Telkom line and the ADSL “line”? Great. Close second: Nothing really.

Best Gaming Device: Xbox 360 Kinect

The XBox 360 has been around for a while now, but Microsoft has to commended for bringing out the Kinect. The Kinect is a truly great add on, and it really breathed some new life into the console market. The Kinect effectively took away the market from the Nintendo Wii, with better graphics and better control schemes. Good thing is that the Kinect is still very new, and there is still some great features that will arrive in future. The Kinect SDK for Windows means you will also see some pretty great things on Windows soon as well. Close second: The Microsoft Speed Wheel is a lot better than we expected – expect a review in the new year. It is a great steering wheel for guys who do not want their lounges to look like a bachelors flat. Use it, put it away.

Best Cheap and Cheerful Product: BlackBerry Curve 8520

The Blackberry 8520 is now officially quite an old phone – in fact many people are on their second 8520 because their contracts could have been upgraded already. Even though BlackBerry had a tough 2011, the 8520 continues to sell like hotcakes. It is a seriously good deal – it costs around R1700 cash, and it is bundled with many of the cheapest contracts by the operators. Combine that with BIS “all you can eat” web browsing at R60 a month, and you have a winner on your hands. Now we just hope that BlackBerry replaces the 8520 with their newer Curve models at the same price point. But 2011 was the year RIM focussed on higher end handsets like the brilliant Bold 9900, but maybe 2012 sees some of that designs trickling down to the Curve. Close second: The iPhone 3GS. Yes, not close to as cheap as the 8520, but still a mighty good phone at the price.

SA Tech Innovator of the Year: FNB

Yes – a BANK. But FNB did a bang up job in 2011. They announced brilliant deals for clients who needed devices like iPads, but most importantly they rolled out mobile apps to the major smartphone platforms. We still find it strange that only FNB has decent smartphone apps - In essence the app provides a more convenient and elegant version of all the commonly used functionality provided by the online banking system. Kudos to FNB for bringing some much needed innovation to the SA banking sector.

Miller continues,  ”In the past several years, the changes on the technology and device front have been incremental. The iPad changed the game by popularising the tablet format. In South Africa, Incredible Connection was granted the exclusive right to sell Amazon Kindle e-readers in a retail environment. Now, tablets are the fashion item of 2011 and the ideal gift for the festive season.”

Another step-change in the device arena was the introduction of the Ultrabooks, the first of which was the Macbook Air. Ultrabooks are an ultrathin machine with the portability of a netbook and the advanced functionality of a notebook. Other notebook manufacturers are racing into this space, by bringing models to market that are less than 20mm thick, have no optical drive, use a solid state drive (SSD) for all storage, use a core i5, i7 processor, weigh less than 1.4kg, yield up to eight hours of battery life, and are at the low end in terms of price.

Most of the new models are available globally and Incredible Connection currently stocks the Macbook Air, the Asus Ultrabook and the Samsung 9 Series and Intel predicts that these will carve out a new space in the netbook and notebook market in time to come.

The trend towards convenience and portability will see both tablets and ultrabooks dominating consumer technology spend for the foreseeable future, but they will serve slightly different purposes,” says Miller. “While Tablets are seen to be personal devices because they’re superb for easy access to news, internet, books, movies, music, and social networking they are not as functional to use when you are required to work on large spreadsheets or slide presentations, large volumes of email and other traditional uses of notebooks.

Ultrabooks will be used rather more for work, although they will give users access to a high level of entertainment. In the end, the real difference is price and functionality. An entry level tablet costs around R2,000 whereas an entry level Ultrabook currently will be in the order of R8,000″. However, this cost will come down as the technology adoption rate increases and cost of manufacturing decreases.

To meet a growing consumer need for simplification of the acquisition of technology, Incredible Connection will be offering a number of products and data bundles.

“With a 16 Gig, 3G WiFi iPad 2, for instance, they are providing a 500meg data bundle and the Ipad for only R379 per month for 24 months. “So you’d be paying only R379 a month for world’s most acclaimed tablet and the ability to download more data than you can easily use,” explains Miller.

Incredible Connection’s focus on helping shoppers get the most out of the technology they need extends to ensuring that they are given instore advice  from only experienced specialists in the areas of hardware, digital audio and sound, and gaming. The retailer also offers a fourteen day returns policy. Because every store is on a nationwide system, items bought at one store can be repaired, and, if necessary, exchanged at another.

Incredible Connection also provides a 10-day guarantee time on repair, and if it is not repaired within that time frame customers can elect to receive a new one or their money back. In addition, one of the services Incredible Connection offers which no-one else is doing, is the ability to set up their new computer, notebook or netbook bought at one of its stores, so that the item is “ready to use” as soon as you step out of the store.

OK, so another month, another best Android phone out there. This is partly to blame on the massively quick development with Android and the constant competition between the manufacturers. In recent months Samsung seems to be having the upper hand, with the great Galaxy S2, and the recently released Galaxy Nexus.

The Galaxy Note is different however – it aims to combine the use of a phone with a tablet, and it includes a stylus as well, something which is relative scarcity since the arrival of capacitative screens. This “phoneblet” is truly huge – if you ever look at your current smartphone and think the screen is too small, or if you think your tablet is too big, you might want to give the Galaxy Note a serious look.

Design and Build

First off – this phone is massive. Or this tablet is small? Either way you look at it, the Note is good deal bigger than any phone you might be used to. Luckily the phone is incredibly thin – think Galaxy S2, but stretched out. The Note is a lot more comfortable in your pocket than you expect because it is so thin – but it does make it awkward to handle. Luckily the phone is very light as well.

I have fairly average sized hands for a guy, and the Galaxy Note is not easy to use one handed. In fact, trying to hit the back button with your left thumb is next to impossible. You are pretty much forced to use two hands when operating this phone. You might want to try one out in store to see if you have magic bendy fingers. But lets get back to the build – the phone is built very solidly, despite being made of plastic. There is no hint of flex in the body, and materials look like they will wear well over time. The front is dominated by the massive 5.3 inch display, with only one physical button on the front, and the Samsung logo.

You will find the headphone jack at the top, and a power button on the right. On the bottom there is a micro-USB plug, and volume button on the left side. But on the bottom there is something new – what Samsung calls the “S-Pen”. Yeah it is just a stylus, but it works great. More on that later.

Display, Stylus

This is the best part of this phone – yes, it very big display for a phone. But the clarity and brightness is simply brilliant. Colours simply pop, and the blacks are really black, which is typical of AMOLED displays. It is pretty crazy to think that phones can now sport 1280 x 800 pixel display – which is still pretty much the standard for many laptops! That gives you 285 pixels per inch, which is not quite “retina” level resolution, but honestly we could not notice.

The other differentiator of this phone is the stylus – and it works a lot better than we expected. It is very sensitive, and the software seems to work well with it. While you can use the stylus for all the interface elements, it is obviously meant for taking notes, which it does incredibly well. If you are someone who does not like typing out notes with a keyboard, the S-Pen does a great job.

Performance, Battery Life

The Note carries some serious processing power – it comes with a dual core 1.4GHz processor. Again, that is not far off from what many laptops come with these days, so it is pretty amazing to get this in a phone. Apps launch much faster than most Android phones, and web browsing is really a lot faster than any Android phone we have used. But even with all of this power, you cannot prevent some of Android’s little quirks. The animations of sweeping between menu home screen pages is still not as smooth as some other OS’s. This is not an issue with the Note itself, instead inefficiencies in the OS. Hopefully Android 4.0 will fix this, which Samsung has confirmed will arrive on the Note.

The phone also becomes noticeably warm with extended use – while I doubt this is a design flaw, it is obvious all those MHz need to let off some heat, and the plastic casing is not a great heat conductor. Then again, if the phone was made of steel, it might have burned your hands, right?

The phone ships with a very big 2500MAh battery, which might make you think this phone will have a great battery life. Sorry – that 1.4GHz processor and big screen really chows through your battery. With moderate use I got around 20 hours, with much fewer hours if you keep the screen on for long times. This is fairly standard fair for modern smartphones, but we are sure you can push it to two days with light use.

Camera

The Note’s camera is simply great – even though the megapixel race is over, the 8MP camera really does deliver some great images. Low light performance is great, and macro shots look good as well. The LED flash does a good enough job. The front camera shoots at 2MP, which is more than enough for video conferencing.

Video recording is great as well – 1080p resolution at 30fps makes some great videos. It does eat up storage though – so keep an eye on that.

Software

The Note’s interface is an almost exact copy of the Galaxy S2, with some added apps and add-ons for the S-Pen. There is also a lot more bundled software, like Polaris Office, Video Maker, Reader and Social Hub, Mini Diary, and the stylus specific S Memo. Taking notes with S Memo works remarkably well – writing on the screen is very comfortable, and note taking really is a breeze. While this wont well help people who type faster than they can write, the speed at which you can take notes is quite remarkable. The stylus is also quite silent in use, something we had issues with with other stylus carrying devices. The stylus is also pressure sensitive, so slow deliberate writing results in thicker lines, and quick scribbles have finer lines.
The Note ships with Android 2.3.5, but is covered with the Samsung TouchWiz software. We have to be honest here – we are not fans of TouchWiz. While certain aspects are worth living with, the feeling that TocuhWiz somehow slows down the interface never quite goes away. Screen animations are little too slow, and you expect more from a 1.4GHz dual core processor.

Then there is the question of whether the Note can indeed replace a tablet. In our experience, we are afraid not. It is simply a very large screen, and the fact is that it runs the very same software as other Android phones out there. Once again, this is something that Ice Cream Sandwich might fix, but we are just not sold on the tablet experience of the Note.

Final Points

The Galaxy Note is an interesting beast – and Samsung has to be commended for creating an Android device that really is different from other offerings on the market. While the specs are nothing to sneeze at, the Note is still going to go for a niche market. The hardware is first rate, but we cannot help but think the Note really needs to have Android 4.0 sooner rather than later. The stylus and large screen really begs for Ice Cream Sandwich, and we really hope that Samsung does not mess around with it too much.

The device really is big, so we really recommend you try one out before you get one. If you are willing to live with the large size and putting such a large phone to your ear, the Galaxy Note will serve you well. But if you are dead set on the best Android phone, our recommendation still goes to the Samsung Galaxy S2, which will probably be a good deal cheaper as well. We have however not gotten our hands on the new Galaxy Nexus though…

Rating:
Build: 8/10
Display: 10/10
Performance: 7/10
Connectivity: 9/10
Software: 6/10

Overall: 7/10

Pros: Big gorgeous screen, thin design. Stylus is great differentiator.
Cons: Size makes it difficult to use with one hand. Battery life could be better. TouchWiz is not to everyone’s taste. More large phone than a tablet.

So 2011 is drawing to a close, but I thought it might be cool to look back and see what was our most popular articles of the year. 2011 was a great year for Bandwidth Blog, not only terms of traffic, but also with regard to interaction and loyalty with our reader base. More than ever we have seen what you think, be it through comments or tweets, and we would like to thank you for that. We value your feedback and opinion, so here is our most popular posts of 2011:

10) The iPhone 5 – What to expect, Why you should upgrade to iOS5 right now

OK, so it was not the iPhone 5, but the 4S did show up. While many people were initially irritated because it was not called iPhone 5, the iPhone 4S is a more significant update than the name and appearance would suggest. Most of predictions were right, with the major exception of the larger screen.

9) iPad 2 in South Africa, iPad 2 Hands On Review

Clearly people were interested to get their hands on the iPad 2. Core stepped up and brought the iPad 2 to SA a lot sooner than most of us expected, and at a pretty decent price! We managed to get hold of iPad 2 a while before release in SA, and we were very impressed. Even a few months later, it is still the tablet to beat.

8 ) Nokia’s New Lumia Smartphone Leaked

In 2011 Nokia announced that they will finally be moving away from the aging Symbian operating system to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. But then it got silent, and no one knew what these new phones would look like. Windows Phone 7 and first rate hardware sounds like a great recipe, and the Lumia 800 was leaked a few hours before its official announcement. It is almost a carbon copy of the brilliant but very sad Nokia N9, and we cannot wait to get our hands on it.

7) Vodacom Announces 20GB for R500 Promotion

In a bandwidth starved country like SA, there is a constant battle between the network providers to see who can give customers the best bang for the buck. In 2010 it was Cell C, but in 2011 the landscape evened somewhat. But in November Vodacom announced that they will be running a 20GB for R500 promotion during December and January. Now Vodacom, do the right thing and make it more permanent offer, OK?

6) The Top 5 Twitter Clients for iPhone

Twitter is one of the most visited social networks from a mobile phone, and the number of clients out there just seems to increase every day. Luckily it is pretty easy to choose with this list. Luckily our favourite choice is still free.

5) Blackberry Bold 9900 out in SA, Bandwidth Blog’s Hands on Review of the Bold 9900

RIM had a tough 2011 with a worldwide outage that lasted more than 3 days. But for the die hard crackberry fans, this will not scare them off – they have been looking forward to the ultimate Blackberry, the 9900. Dressed in steel, glass and carbon fibre, the 9900 impressed us with a pin sharp display, beautiful construction and a new touch screen plus physical keyboard combo. We can confidently state it is the best Blackberry yet.

4) 8ta Announces Blackberry Deals

You would think there is enough Blackberry deals out there, but readers were clearly waiting to see what 8ta would bring to the table. In typical 8ta fashion there is plenty of incentives included, even though the pricing was not a major improvement over other networks.

3) Microsoft Shows off Windows 8 New Ribbon Explorer Interface

While 2011 is the year Apple might have reached the highest market cap in the world, the fanbase waiting for Windows 8 is clearly bigger than we expected. Windows 8 will sport a new Metro start menu interface, but also more touch friendly ribbon bars throughout the desktop.

2) Vodacom Puts Cap on Blackberry Usage, Pieter Uys has to clarify Blackberry Throttling

Vodacom announced that it will be throttling Blackberry BIS users who use more than 100MB per month, effectively stepping them down to 2G speeds. Needless to say – there was tremendous backlash to this decision. Twitter was abuzz, and Bandwidth Blog had massive traffic from users who wanted to comment on this. People were NOT happy, and they did not see this helping all Blackberry users in the bigger scheme of things. All in all, everyone thought they will be affected. Vodacom’s CEO had to cut a trip short to quickly return and face the media regarding this announcement… He put everyone’s fears to rest.

1) The Best Thing Tim Cook Did Not Announce

Everyone was waiting for the ever-delayed iPhone 5, which Apple did not announce. Instead they announced the iPhone 4S, while keeping the iPhone 4 on the market at a lower price point. But in a new move for Apple, they also kept the iPhone 3GS on the market, a phone first released in 2009. In the US this phone will be given free with contracts, and it can still run the latest iOS5 software. Richard Oakley did an excellent post on the iPhone 3GS’s extended life – instead of developing a new watered down version of the iPhone, the 3GS is more in tune in with Apple’s vision of devices that just work.

Inside, customers are offered an interactive spaceship zone that features a flight simulator via the search giant’s Google Earth software, a massive screen on which they can play Angry Birds and a dedicated area to ‘Androidify’ themselves. Of course, customers are invited to explore and play around with a number of tablets and phones including those from Samsung, LG, Motorola and HTC.

The staff have been expertly trained to assist customers with choosing and operating devices, setting up their new handsets and tablets and recommending applications.

source: The Next Web

ExoPC who will officially be announcing the product at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012, has uploaded a teaser video onto YouTube to showcase just a few of its features. The video shows a widget hub in the corner of the desk that can launch applications on the screen and the ability to pull down a timeline populated with news information, RSS feeds, tweets and other alerts from the top corner of the table. All applications can be easily swiped away out of sight and widgets and screen settings are all customisable.

While the EXOdesk isn’t the first in multi-touch desk technology with Samsung  having recently announced its Samsung SUR40, a 40-inch, 1080p multitouch table running Microsoft’s Surface software, the EXOdesk differentiates itself with its affordable price tag. The SUR40, designed primarily for business use and as a computer replacement, can be purchased for a staggering $8,400 (about R71, 990) while the EXOdesk, more of a computer supplement and desk replacement is offered at just $1,299 (about R11, 130), a bargain in comparison.

Watch the EXOdesk teaser video below:

source: Gizmag