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05:32
ram
MacBook Pro with Retina Display
From £1,999
If you're a creative designer or work in the graphics industry then the MacBook Pro is going to be near the top of your list for a work-based laptop; but the staggering graphical power and screen resolution is matched by the astronomical price.
The top specification arrives with a 2.7-inch quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of DDR3 RAM and 512GB of flash storage.
Graphics are supplied by an Nvidia GeForce GT650M with 1GB of dedicated video memory that backs up the Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated chip. Apple has included both Thunderbolt and DVI digital video output that lets you attach up to four extra monitors to the MacBook Pro for a complete professional setup.
Even without the extra monitors, the 2,880 x 1,800, 220ppi display on the 15.4-inch screen is breathtaking and ideal for filmmakers, game designers or anyone else who needs the best screen money can buy.
All that technology brings the MacBook Pro in at 2.02kg and 9.7-inches thick.
The price precludes this being a realistic purchase for all but the most demanding of professionals. But it undoubtedly deserves a spot in our list.
05:27
ram
Sony Vaio Duo 11
£1,149
The only hybrid device on our list, the Sony Vaio Duo 11 is an exceptionally powerful sliding Ultrabook that doubles as a full featured Windows 8 tablet.
One of its highlights is an 11.6-inch full HD IPS touchscreen display, which also provides also the main navigation method as there's no touchpad, merely an optical nubbin stuck into the keyboard.
If you're looking for portability this is going to be of interest, although we have to point out that at 1.3kg, the Duo 11 is about the same weight as a standard laptop. However, the tapered edges and classic Vaio styling mean it's certainly a looker and won't fail to draw heads in the boardroom.
Performance and connectivity haven't been left out. At the entry level configuration at the price we've quoted above, you'll find an x86 Intel Core i5 processor with integrated graphics and 4GB of RAM.
The speed comes from the 256GB SSD storage space and Sony has fitted the Duo 11 with two USB ports (one of which is the faster 3.0 format), HDMI, VGA and Ethernet ports as well as an SD card slot.
The caveat to this machine is that battery life could be improved. Sony quotes up to six and a half hours, but in real life don't expect more than about five.
04:59
ram
Lenovo's Ultrabook Convertible, aptly christened IdeaPad Yoga 13, has been rolled out in India recently for over Rs 1,03,775/- with all its aluminium unibody awesomeness. With Windows 8 Pro OS to spine it, the tablet-to-laptop (and vice versa) convertible boasts a full HD 13.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive display with 10-finger multi-touch technology which revolves 360 degrees that offers user a freedom to browse anything any way with just a single touch on the screen. The 360 degree Flip and Fold design lets the device shift between four modes (Notebook Mode, Stand Mode, Tent Mode and Tablet mode) while the AccuType keyboard remains static in its place.
The 1.5kg weighing device is equipped with 3rd generation 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3537U processor, which provides enough power to combine integrated touch, keyboard, and mouse for a better user experience. Intel HD Graphics 4000 has been incorporated within the system, and the battery life of Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is of 8 hours. A 1.0M 720p HD integrated webcam suffices for video calls. It offers a memory of 8GB DDR3. For connectivity, the device offers USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 port, USB 3.0 Super Speed (that transfers data 10x faster than its earlier versions), a combo jack, HDMI and a 2-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC). It even supports Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi.
04:54
ram
The immensely successful, Steve-Jobs inspired Apple product 'the iPhone' is making it big in India. Thanks to the EMI as well as cash back schemes offered, Apple India's monthly iPhone sales have risen by 300% to 400% over the last few months. To quote the numbers, the iPhone sales are now nearing 400,000 units per month in India (analysts at Credit Suisse share). That is huge. How is this news significant, you ask? Well, it is the fact that the budget-driven, low-end feature phone prone audience in India no more seems to be perceiving the iPhone as a high-end product. It has become an affordable option for the masses. More importantly, this news coincides with another mind-boggling headline from Apple - the launch of a budget iPod Touch.
Yep, Apple has launched a cheaper 16 GB iPod Touch that doesn't feature the rear-facing iSight camera for $229, which is $70 cheaper. Though the new iPod touch has the same tech specs - a 4-inch Retina display, a dual-core A5 processor, and a front-facing FaceTime HD camera for video calling, it now comes in just one color — grey with a black front.
So, it seems Apple is growing by leaps and bounds in India. The key to its success is its super aggressive pricing and and the advertising mania it has created. You can rarely go through a fresh copy of newspaper or a TV channel without seeing an advertisement about the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S older models. It is interesting to note that those are not sold in any other country and have surprisingly created a strong foothold for iPhone as a product in India.
What do CEans here have to say about this news? We would like to know, so speak up in the comments. And not to miss - if you are looking forward to buying the new iPod touch, know that it is shipping 'within 24 hours' if you live in the United States, or you can pick it up at an Apple retail store starting tomorrow, May 31.
04:49
ram
Engineers at NHK are developing an 8K Ultra HD television and the broadcasts are expected to begin in Japan in 2016. The camera head required is being jointly developed with Astrodesign and the initial prototypes are much compact and lightweight; with total weight approximately about 2 Kg. The engineering team has been successful in packing a 33MP image sensor and all the surrounding driving circuits inside a 10cm x 10cm box. The image sensor itself is just 25mm diagonally, which allowed the lens to be made compact as well. The lens is particularly used in digital cinema recordings, but now it can be used to capture Ultra High-Definition videos as well.
The monitor has 4K resolution, but the signal processing is 8K. The team says that the image sensor itself can run at 120 Hz, however the signal processing component is not ready for it yet. The display, therefore, runs at 60Hz.
NHK has also developed the world's first HEVC/H.265 real-time encoder for 8K Ultra HD video. HEVC is the latest video encoding system and has been accepted as a standard this year. Compared to MPEG2, this code has 4x compression efficiency. While encoding an Ultra HD video with a very high resolution, encoding is done in real-time by dividing the screen in 17 strips. Compression to 85 Mbps enables on Ultra HD channel to be transmitted using one satellite transponder.
