Gadgets and Devices to Watch For in 2013

2013 is surely a year where there are major product launches. And these new devices and gadgets are also milestone products and worthy of serious consideration if you are looking for an upgrade to your own stable.

For gamers, prepare for the fight of the year where Sony and Microsoft will be launching new flagship products in their Playstation 4 and Xbox One respectively this coming Christmas.

For gadgets and devices geeks and enthusiasts, you will be spoilt for choices like never before. Worthy of consideration is Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra which is pushing the phone/tablet or phablet to a beautiful 6.4-inch display packed with the best Sony can offer.

For notebooks or tablets (noteblets?) which will be in a hybrid design now, 2013 will bring you the best of both worlds from Samsung in their Ativ Q and Apple in a speculated MacBook Pro refresh.

SE Xperia Arc – a worthy iPhone4 challenger!

If you are looking for a new and nifty PDA phone that is comparable to the Apple iPhone4, look no further. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is all set to pose a serious challenge to Apple iPhone4.

I’ve been on the PDA phone scene since the beginning of such devices from the Palm Treo days through the O2 xda family then the HTC. Now every serious phone manufacturer must compete else they will be set by the wayside.

Thanks to Apple, they certainly know how to legitimize the PDA phone market by whizzing past all competitors by a mile when they first came out in 2007.

For the first time since the Apple iPhone was launched, I can safely say that our wait is finally over and now we have the formidable iPhone challenger in the SE Xperia Arc.

(For the full specs, please check out here).

Here are some key highlights that is worth mentioning:

1. 4.2″ 16M color Reality Display 854 x 480 resolution

Although the iPhone4 has a smaller 3.5″ 960 x 640 resolution with Retina Display (the Arc has the Reality Display), there is little difference in visual quality. SE touts the Bravia Engine enhancing display which is found in their LED TVs today.

The display of the Arc will give an exciting first glance attraction with impressive real life visuals.

A larger than iPhone4 display allows the Arc to be easier visual for the eye for video, games, ebooks and Internet browsing.

2. Sleek Streamline Slim Body

SE has departed from the basic Windows PDA phone format popularize by HTC. Although the Nexus and the first Xperia X1 were made by HTC, this little baby of the Arc has probably found a new constructor.

Whoever that may be, the quality that comes with SE phones has gone up a notch with the Arc.

The way the Arc can contain a 1500 mAh in that sleek body is truly an amazing engineering feat.

3. Highly Responsive 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon

The Xperia Arc has a very responsive user interface. Watch the demo on YouTube here http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Ds0G9LgFarsU&sa=U&ei=1Z2YTe7bGKL50gHXuaSOBg&ved=0CAsQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNEbulwxe2Kf3g0WGWU1Cwba1CDArg.

The Arc has truly matched the iPhone4.

4. 8MP Camera with 720p video capability

As HD is now the video standard, the Arc ensures that it meets the industry standard. It comes with an HDMI port for video and sound output to your LED Bravia TV.

Not forgetting the 1.3M front camera, the Arc has more than adequate high quality photography fun combined with the Reality Display.

Cons

This is hard to say because there isn’t any major flaws. Some may find the device a bit big but the sleek slim design makes it easier to hold and store in the bag or pocket.

Otherwise, there is no real down side to the Arc. The Android 2.3 is perhaps the best version to date from Google with all the kinks worked out already. All the important components are at the industry best. A worthy opponent to the iPhone4.

Sony Ericsson is targeting the Malaysia launch in April timeframe at a great price of RM2,099.

Watch for this iPhone4 worthy CHALLENGER.

Sony Ericsson X1 – Keyboard seemingly better than TyTN II

Arc Slider Design

The X1 comes with what Sony Ericsson calls an Arc Slider Design where by sliding out the screen reveals a really neat keyboard.  The screen slides out and slightly up in an arc fashion, hence, the name.  But it doesn’t tilt upwards like the HTC TyTN II, just slightly up.  It’s somewhere between the TyTN and the TyTN II.  What you will find in the brush metal body bracing the keyboard is a set of great QWERTY keys and those keys are probably one of the best I’ve used so far.  We’ll tackle the screen in another posting.  More on the keyboard. 

Sony Ericsson X1 – A Sexy Body

A sneak preview of the X1

Meeting the X1 the other day was really cool especially when it was a secret one.  A peek at his body showed an incredibly strong frame.  After all, it’s stainless steel.  Reminded me of Superman, the man of steel.  In X1, of stainless steel.  The cool steel has a robust feel in the palm although a tad heavier than normal.  Steel caged frame in PDAs is a rarity actually.  The classier ones were made of expensive aluminium but they were softer.  Once dropped, you get a permanent dent.  In the case of X1, you can throw it at a robber and will still be intact.

Sony Ericsson X1 – An Early Impression

I had the privilege to meet up with X1 from Sony Ericsson this afternoon at a secret location.  He was cautious to meet with me because his time is not yet come.  Fortunately, this meeting was arranged by a very good friend who could pull strings in high places for me.  This secret meeting revealed a closer look at the X1 albeit from my early impressions for now.  X1 allowed me to take some pictures with him and I will be sharing some of them here over the coming weeks.

First Impressions of the Samsung Omnia i900

Neat and Slim - also not my hand 😉

The Samsung Omnia i900 is now officially available in Malaysia.  At RM2,999 for the 16GB model and RM2,799 for the 8GB model, it is currently priced as the top-of-the-line Windows Mobile device.  If you are not a prior user of a Windows Mobile device, you should read on as this is not written as an OS piece.  It’s an impression of having played with the Omnia.  A more detailed posting will be done when I get to actually use it for a period of time.  Let’s see if I can lay my hands on a unit soon.

For now, this is my first impressions of the Omnia.

Diamond vs Omnia i900 at PC Fair – Here is Omnia’s Price!

The PC Fair is starting tomorrow in KL at the KL Convention Centre.  HTC will again show its dominant presence at this event.  Leading the HTC charge is obviously the Diamond, the latest in the pack of HTC’s family of devices available in Malaysia.  Word has it that there doesn’t seem to be any spectacular special packages during this PC Fair.  Hmm is the PC Fair losing its lustre?

Here are the special PC Fair prices for the HTC Diamond and the Samsung Omnia i900.  Remember, you read it HERE FIRST! This is breaking news now but it’ll be old tomorrow when PC Fair opens.  Welcome to the Internet age news.  Read on!

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 – Is it coming still?

SE Xperia X1 - Better looking than Nokia E90

Sony Ericsson’s 1st entry into the Windows Mobile device was announced in February 2008 (read here).  After that, nothing much was heard.  SE alluded to a 2nd half availability of the device.  Given my experience with Windows Mobile device development and marketing, it’s not easy to come out with a quantum leap device to overtake the market leaders like HTC and Samsung who have had a few more years of experience working on such devices.  SE’s Xperia X1 does show a lot of promise for a 1st product and given all the specifications and pictures of the device, I must say that it is indeed a sweet little baby of a device and much better looking than the Nokia E90 for sure.

But is it still coming to town after all this while?