Despite having something of a terrible last couple of weeks what with the San Jose court case, today's press regarding Samsung has been all positive thanks to the company doing what it does best - talking new gadgets. As well as the Galaxy Note II and the ATIV S Windows Phone 8 smartphone, which we discussed in an earlier post, the Korean outfit has also showcased a couple of new tablets, and here, we give them the once-over.
Joining scores of other vendors, Sony has just announced its very own ultrabook / tablet effort with the VAIO Duo 11, and it certainly packs in some decent hardware to help kick its way into this increasingly-competitive market. When Microsoft first announced the Surface, it was praised as an innovative median between notebook and tablet, and since, a string of manufacturers have joined the potential gravy train.
Samsung's IFA gathering in Berlin, Germany, is fast-approaching, and as is usually the case in the run-up to a media event, the rumors and speculation regarding what'll be revealed are arriving thick and fast.
Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is not too far from releasing, and whilst we all mull over the Metro user-interface and quicker boot-up times, there are some very unsettling findings with regards to the privacy of its users.
If you happen to be the owner of a touch-screen tablet like the iPad or something similar, and also a big fan of Microsoft's Office suite of programs, then you probably live under an umbrella of disappointment and are aware of the fact that the Redmond software giants don't offer any native Office apps for the iPad. There's been talk of the iPad App Store receiving some official apps from Microsoft, but up until now nothing has come to fruition, leaving some users extremely disappointed and having to look for alternative solutions to satisfy their need to create and edit documents on the go.
If you are dicing with the idea of going out and purchasing the fabulous new Windows 8 operating system from Microsoft, then it could be worthwhile getting on board with it earlier rather than later. Microsoft is planning on offering the Windows 8 Pro version at an initial promotional price point of $69.99 for early adopters, with the price finally increasing to $199 when that promotion comes to an end on January 31st 2013.
If you are the owner and operator of a Windows based PC then the chances are that you might have taken the plunge and downloaded the Windows 8 release-to-manufacturing (RTM) build that has recently been made available by Microsoft to subscribers of MSDN and TechNet. The Windows 8 operating system has gained some significant traction during the course of the testing phase and there is definitely quite a buzz surrounding the official release with Windows fan desperate to get their hands on Microsoft's latest creation.
Need for Speed is one of the most exciting driving titles on the market. If you like tooling around in super cars, injecting them with subhuman doses of nitrous before bursting corners and markers at light-speed, then you've more than likely played at least one iteration of Need for Speed, and the next in line - Need for Speed: Most Wanted - won't be breaking from that mold for anybody. In fact, it's one of those enthralling motor-based gaming series where very little braking is actually done at all, and although it can be quite repetitive in terms of gameplay, the missions and achievements always keep drivers coming back for more.
In development since 2009, announced officially at CES in early 2011, went through three different previews (Developer, Consumer and Release) and recently announced to be code complete, the final, code-complete, release to manufacturing version of Windows 8 is finally available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Check out the details after the jump.
With everything that is currently going on in the technology industry, it sometimes gets quite difficult to keep all of the announcements in memory and remember what hardware or software is going to be introduced to the marketplace. With the iPhone and iOS 6, the Nexus 7, the chatter surrounding Windows 8 and more recently; the imminent launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, I had actually totally forgotten about the impromptu media event where Microsoft introduced us to their Surface tablet. When Apple announces an iPad, it is pretty much available immediately. When Google announced the Nexus 7, it was available for immediate pre-order and was dispatched a couple of weeks later. Microsoft announced the Surface and then, well, nothing happened.
