IFA 2013: all the news from Europe’s biggest tech show – The Verge

Spec Sheet: IFA 2013

2013-09-06T23:13:02-04:00

A lot of products come out each week - we don't highlight all of them, but all of them make it into The Verge Database. In Spec Sheet, a weekly series, we survey the latest product entries to keep track of the state of the art.

There really are a lot of products announced each week, and that's truer than ever when a major electronics show is happening. This week, that's IFA. So rather than diving deep into a couple of new devices, we're taking a look across a bunch of products that were shown off at the event to get a better picture of what the conference floor looked like.

Harman Kardon speakers

Harman Kardon announced three slick looking …

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Sony offers a magnetic solution to the Windows 8 hybrid problem

2013-09-06T07:07:26-04:00

Gallery Photo: Sony VAIO multi-flip PC hands-on

At IFA in Berlin this week there have been a host of new Windows 8 laptops and PCs. Some small enough for your pocket, ones that recline into your lap, and the usual hybrids that twist and turn from laptop to tablet. While Acer, Lenovo, and Samsung have experimented with their own unique flipping laptops, Sony has now entered the game. The new VAIO multi-flip PC is the latest attempt to merge tablet, laptop, and desktop computing into a single device.

The multi-flip PC looks like a normal Windows 8 laptop. It has an aluminum casing and a Haswell processor. The 13-inch model features a 1920 x 1080 display. On the 15-inch that jumps to 2880 x 16 …

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Sony’s HMZ-T3 continues a proud tradition of awkward head furniture

2013-09-05T14:38:29-04:00

Gallery Photo: Sony HMZ-T3 hands-on gallery

The latest iteration of Sony's head-mounted display is somewhat obscured, deep at the back of the company's IFA 2013 booth, but that didn't stop me from paying it a curious visit. I'd never previously gotten the chance to experience this strange contraption for myself, and having recently taken a magical ride inside the Oculus Rift, I was keen to see what Sony had to offer as competition. Alas, my experience is best described as mixed.

Reaching the milestone of a third-generation product should mean the HMZ-T3 has the benefits of a couple years' of evolution and, indeed, the latest model has been subjected to a range of small nips, tucks, a …

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LG’s G Pad 8.3 has the build quality to compete with the iPad mini, but not the apps

2013-09-05T09:00:22-04:00

gpad

LG has traditionally kept a low profile during the annual IFA show in Berlin, but this year it's introducing a big new product in its Android portfolio: the G Pad 8.3. The company couldn't contain itself and already fully detailed the spec sheet of its new 8.3-inch slate, which marks its return to the Android tablet market. There's an aluminum back cover, a Snapdragon 600 processor and a quite handsome 1920 x 1200 display to woo potential buyers, though I must warn that the G Pad 8.3 suffers from the same issue that plagues every other Android tablet: a shortage of worthwhile apps exploiting the form factor.

Physically, the G Pad 8.3 is a n …

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Samsung promises over 70 apps for Galaxy Gear, these are the first 12

2013-09-05T07:58:01-04:00

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Now that Samsung has finally announced the Galaxy Gear, you've probably made up your mind on whether it's beautiful or hideous. What you probably don't have a great grasp of is what apps will be available on the smartphone, and how they'll work. We had a brief preview of Pocket for Galaxy Gear yesterday; it offers a complimentary experience to the Android app, effectively functioning as a remote control for the phone version. You can ask your phone to read an article aloud to you, favorite articles, or archive them, and that's about it. Other Gear apps are a little more ambitious.

Facebook and Twitter haven't announced any plans to make Gea …

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Lenovo adds flexible hinges to even more laptops, including its best Yoga yet

2013-09-05T07:30:30-04:00

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Lenovo is one of many PC manufacturers convinced that the traditional laptop form factor is on its way out - and the company is doing a better job than anyone at figuring out what's next. It's bet primarily on its rotating Yoga hinge, which swings seamlessly from a traditional laptop look to far more touch-friendly modes.

The Yoga 13 was one of our favorite Windows 8 laptops, and now the Yoga family is growing by two models: the Yoga 2 Pro and the ThinkPad Yoga. Both notebooks support up to the new Intel Core i7 Haswell processors, and feature displays that can flip a full 360 degrees. But there's plenty more to like about the new models.

T …

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Toshiba’s Click Windows 8 hybrid takes on the Transformer

2013-09-05T07:21:04-04:00

Gallery Photo: Toshiba Click hands-on gallery

Toshiba has created another Transformer. The newly launched Satellite Click is the latest in the Windows 8 detachable category, and Toshiba's attempt to provide tablet and laptop form factors in one device. Toshiba has opted for a 13.3-inch display that locks into a hinge and keyboard base. Like many others before it, the form factor is still not perfect. The base includes a full-size keyboard, alongside an additional battery to help power the tablet. It looks and feels very similar to Asus' own Transformer products.

Toshiba's Click will debut as the W30T in Europe with an Intel i3 Haswell processor. Strangely, the company's US variant will sh …

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Toshiba’s 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet is another weak attempt to match the iPad mini

2013-09-05T05:36:26-04:00

Gallery Photo: Toshiba Encore hands-on gallery

Toshiba tells us "smaller is where it's at" as it introduces its small Encore tablet at IFA today. Developed in "close collaboration" with Microsoft, the 8-inch tablet is one of the first to use Intel's new Bay Trail Atom processor alongside the Windows 8.1 update. Bay Trail promises to deliver better performance alongside great battery life. This hardware and software combination should be promising for Windows, but is Toshiba's new 8-inch tablet a match for the competition?

A little too chubby for this form factor

While the only other 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, Acer's Iconia W3, has a shockingly bad display, Toshiba has opted for an IPS panel r …

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Galaxy Note 3 first phone to feature ugly new Micro USB 3 port

2013-09-05T05:07:22-04:00

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With all the news coming from its big event yesterday, Samsung glazed over the importance of one new feature of its Galaxy Note 3 - it's the first phone we know of that uses USB 3.0. The benefits of the switch to the more modern standard are two-fold. The obvious plus for USB 3.0 is that it offers far faster data rates, potentially increasing the speed of transferring music, videos, and photos to and from your phone. "Potential" is an important word here: the speeds you'll actually achieve will depend on the quality of the storage Samsung has included in the Galaxy Note 3.

Another less obvious benefit is you'll be able to charge your phone …

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Toshiba says ‘we’re re-energized’ by Windows 8.1, launches two new tablets to prove it

2013-09-05T04:00:03-04:00

Gallery Photo: Toshiba Satellite Click, Encore, and NBT15 review

This is the IFA of Windows tablets. And for Toshiba, it's also the first time the company has decided to foray into the market at all. "We just didn't believe there was a robust experience to be had there," reps told us. But with Windows 8.1 right around the corner, the company's diving in with two different models: the 8-inch Encore tablet and the 13.3-inch Satellite Click, a detachable laptop.

Toshiba's clearly excited about the half-kilogram Encore - "smaller is where it's at," they told us. It's not quite a full-powered Windows PC, opting for an Intel Atom processor (the Bay Trail T) instead of the more p …

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