CES 2016: HTC shares details on 2nd-gen developer edition Vive Pre VR system

HTC updates its virtual reality system, the Vive, with a new Vive Pre developer edition. This 2^nd-generation VR headset has a new look to it, which promises a more ergonomic experience, and a new front-facing camera. It comes with new room-scaling technology, too, to help bring in real-life objects and elements into the virtual world. The company sent out an additional 7,000 units to developers to help improve its VR ecosystem before it officially launches in April.

Source: Droid Life

CES 2016: Huawei intros MediaPad M2 tablet and GX8 phone

Huawei just unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show floor two new devices: a new tablet as well as an affordable new smartphone.

The MediaPad M2 tablet comes with a 10-inch IPS display (1,900 x 1,200 resolution) and is powered by a 2GHz Kirin 930 octa-core processor, 2GB or 3GB of RAM, and 16GB or 64GB internal storage with microSD expansion. It also has a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front shooter as well as a sizable 6,660mAh battery. Its 7.35mm thick, full-metal body is made with aluminum alloy.Huawei boasts that this tablet’s four speakers carry an Intelligent Power Amplifier, Clari-fi Audio Restoration and SWS 2.0 Surround Sound courtesy of Harman/Kardon.

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CES 2016: ASUS debuts ZenFone Zoom

With compact cameras almost all but forgotten these days, companies like ASUS take full advantage of that with their mobile photography-centric smartphones like the ZenFone Zoom they just launched at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016. It’s touted as the world’s thinnest 3x optical-zoom smartphone with a 10-element HOYA lens, which is said to give sharp, detailed images even when you zoom in. Of course, it packs in a PixelMaster rear camera with a Panasonic SmartFSI 13-megapixel sensor. It has optical image stabilization and, as mentioned, a 3x optical zoom by 28-84mm focal length. ASUS also packs in laser autofocus, which promises “complete clarity” in 0.03 seconds. ASUS is also introducing a Super Resolution mode, which takes images with a super resolution equivalent of 52 megapixels. And yes, you get manual mode, too.

But what powers this camera-centric smartphone? Underneath its 5mm metallic unibody is an Intel Atom Z3590 SoC with quad 64-bit cores. It has 4GB of RAM, LTE Category 4+ connectivity, and 64GB or 128GB internal storage (which you can expand up to 128GB via microSD). The ZenFone Zoom has a 5.5-inch IPS touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery with BoostMaster technology that promises to charge the battery from 0 to 60% capacity in under 40 minutes. The 64GB model will retail in the US early next month for US$399.

CES 2016: Sleep tracking gets high-tech with new low-cost it bed

Sleep Number has a new “smart bed” made just for the millennials. Called the it bed (styled in lowercase), it’s designed to track and improve your sleep and perhaps help make you a better human. It comes with the company’s “SleepIQ” technology, which makes use of biometric sensors in the bed to monitor your heart rate, breathing rate, and relative restfulness. It even comes with its own API that you can integrate with existing health and fitness apps.

The it bed’s companion app takes information from those sources to give you recommendations on when you should be sleeping. It will even tell you what setting to use during the night to get maximum relaxation. Sleep Number beds are designed with dual air chambers so firmness can be adjusted. It doesn’t even cost as much as the US$8,000 X12 bed they showed off last year. This will retail for around $1,000 later this year.

Source: itbed.com | Via: The Verge