Razer has just announced the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox 360, the final product following an extensive beta testing program. Tested by some of the world’s best pro-gamers and Fighting Game Community members all over the world, the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick is constructed with modders and tournament gamers in mind. Featuring premium quality Sanwa components, the ten highly responsive buttons and a precision eight-way joystick allow gamers to strike instantly and surely, game after game, while maintaining peak performance and reliability.
An extremely moddable controller, the inside of the arcade stick platform opens up at the touch of a button, making the Razer Atrox a breeze to customize for all tastes and play styles. Users can swap in their own personal designs for a unique look, while also getting access to the internal compartments and honeycomb structure for easy screw mounting.
The easily accessible internal compartment of the Razer Atrox reveals dedicated slots to store an included alternate bat top joystick, the detachable cable, and a screwdriver for modding, giving gamers plenty of room for storage as they travel around dominating FGC events.
The Razer Atrox will reach on the market on June 2013 for a suggested retail price of USD 199.99.
Lenovo has announced that customers can place orders for the IdeaPad Yoga 11S beginning today on www.lenovo.com or pre-order on www.bestbuy.com. The 360° flip and fold Yoga 11S follows its predecessor, the IdeaPad Yoga 13.
Sized well for mobility in a thin, 11.6-inch design, the Yoga 11S Ultrabook convertible comes with choices of a third generation Core i3, i5, or i7 Intel processor giving consumers the ability to create high-performance content and presentations and seamless graphics that make it a great entertainment device.
Yoga converts into four special modes to fit the changing ways people are using technology. It offers a new way to experience mobile computing, letting people define which mode works best for them in their environments, from the park and the coffee shop to in transit, at home, or at the office.
For example, users can watch movies like never before by putting Yoga in tent mode while enjoying the convertible’s rich Dolby Home Theatre audio. They can convert Yoga into stand mode for a different environment; good for things like swiping through family photos using the high definition IPS screen’s 10-finger multitouch support. Yoga even supports hand gestures so consumers can just wave their hand in front of the webcam to instantly advance photos, videos, and other content.
In tablet mode, Yoga makes exploring Windows 8 apps fun and up close with its 11-inch touchscreen. And in laptop mode, Yoga offers a great typing experience with its comfortable and responsive keyboard. Additionally, the Yoga 11S has a soft-touch exterior and comes in attractive Silver Grey and Clementine Orange colors.
Beginning today, customers can place orders on www.lenovo.com and www.bestbuy.com. Models will be available in Best Buy stores starting on June 23. Multiple configurations will be available with suggested list price starting at US$ 799.99.
Project Shield (which is now, officially, Shield) is a portable game console powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 chip (quad core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and 72 custom GPU cores). It provides a full console-grade controller with two joysticks, a D-pad, ABXY buttons, left/right bumpers, left/right analog triggers, Start/Back/Home/Volume buttons, and a multi-function NVIDIA/Power button. A lid flips up on the top to reveal an integrated 5-inch (1280x720) HD touchscreen display.
The Shield is priced at USD 349 and pre-order will go live on May 20th from the partners listed on shield.nvidia.com. Fans who have signed up to receive Shield updates by clicking “Notify Me” on the Shield website will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order starting today.
Razer has announced that its Razer Edge gaming tablet will be available for pre-order on March 1, 2013, at 12:01 a.m. PST at this page. Purchased units will be shipped to consumers later that month.
The Razer Edge and its Intel Core i5 processor and 64 GB SSD, and the Razer Edge Pro with an Intel i7 processor and the option of a 128 GB or 256 GB SSD, will begin shipping this March. The gamepad controller, home console dock and extended battery accessories will be made available for pre-order and shipping concurrent with the Edge on March 1. An optional keyboard dock is slated for launch later this year in Q3.
The all-in-one Razer Edge PC gaming solution starts at USD 999.
ECS has just announced its newest all-in-one PC, the G24. In order to support the latest interface of Windows 8, ECS G24 has considered all the design and components to meet the Windows 8 requirements, including edge-to-edge 23.6” touch panel, 10-finger touch capability, realistic audio display and full HDMI capability. The unique combination of a sleek and neat design is perfect for business productivity as well as a home entertainment platform.
ECS G24 is an ideal central station for the medical and health sectors, with its larger display, high resolution and friendly touch screen. The slim and elegant design makes G24 a perfect digital signage platform for public information, advertising and promotion in shopping malls and chain stores, which can take full advantage of your business.
ECS G24 also comes with a series of interchangeable ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards in order to fulfill the wide range of applications for various segments. Equipped with full HDMI capability, G24 strengthens the application of tablet PC, smart phone and notebook. Besides general PC usage, with TV tuner kit, G24 turns into your second TV at home.
Moreover, ECS G24 is the world’s first All-in-One PC with a hot swap bay on the right side of the display. Users can easily switch an optical drive device to a 2.5” portable hard disk, and grab data to go whenever needed. ECS G24 is the latest all-new customized AIO system that meets the needs of next generation desktop computing.
Today, Sony announced that Xperia Tablet Z will be available for sale in Q2 of 2013. Additionally, Sony’s flagship smartphone, Xperia Z, is now available in stores worldwide.
Xperia Tablet Z is a 10.1” Android tablet. It is slim and lightweight at 0.27 inches (6.9 mm) and 1.09 lbs (495 g). Available in black or white and in LTE and WiFi versions, it is the first tablet to run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro asynchronous quad-core processor. It has the highest levels of water resistance, making it immune to accidental spills and splashes.
Xperia Tablet Z includes several of Sony’s technologies. With a 10.1” HD WUXGA Display, powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, it delivers enhanced color reproduction for a brilliant TV-like viewing experience. It also draws upon Sony’s camera expertise with an 8 megapixels rear camera featuring “Exmor R for mobile” as well as a 2 megapixels HD front-facing camera for capturing the best images in any condition. Sony’s S-Force Front Surround 3D guarantees soul-shaking audio performance alongside Sony’s Clear Audio+ mode and the innovative use of two built-in speakers with four ‘speaker halls’ on the left and right corners, delivering amazing sound no matter how it is held. Xperia Tablet Z also includes Battery STAMINA mode, Sony’s unique battery management technology that can significantly improve standby time. The WiFi variant also offers up to 64 GB of storage with an optional microSD card.
It also includes Sony’s One-Touch functions that allow users to transfer content seamlessly from HD tablet to TV, tablet to speaker, or phone to tablet, just by touching them together. The tablet’s Universal IR Remote allows users to control the TV and other Sony devices – as well as products from other manufacturers – directly from the tablet by placing the device at the heart of the home. TV SideView is a new application that gives users an entirely new way to interact with their TV.
Xperia Tablet Z will launch with a number of accessories including a charging cradle, an LCD Screen Protector, and a Leather Carrying Cover that comes in black, white or red. These will be available from Sony stores or registered retailers.
Xperia Tablet Z will launch on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and is upgradable to 4.2 after launch for the latest Android user experience.
Apple is making the MacBook Pro with Retina display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at USD 1,499 for 128 GB of flash, and USD 1,699 for a new 2.6 GHz processor and 256 GB of flash RAM. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor and 16 GB of memory. Apple today also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256 GB of flash has a new lower price of USD 1,399.
The MacBook Pro with Retina display features the world’s highest resolution notebook display. Whether you’re reading emails, writing text, editing home movies in HD or retouching professional photography, everything appears vibrant, detailed and sharp, delivering an unrivaled viewing experience. The MacBook Pro with Retina display features flash storage that is up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives, and delivers improved reliability, instant-on responsiveness and up to 30 days of standby time.
Today, Zotac updated its ZBox nano XS series with a new model, the ZBox nano XS AD13. The PC comes with an AMD Radeon HD 7340 video card, a AMD E2-1800 APU (dual-core, 1.7 GHz), 2 GB of DDR3 memory, 64 GB mSATA SSD, HDMI output, wi-fi (802.11n), two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader (SD/SDHC/MMC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro).
Microsoft has just announced that its Surface family of PCs is growing. Its newest model — Surface Windows 8 Pro — will be available for purchase on Feb. 9, 2013, in the United States and Canada at all Microsoft retail stores, microsoftstore.com, Staples and Best Buy in the U.S., as well as from a number of locations in Canada.
Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, Surface Windows 8 Pro provides the power and performance of a laptop in a tablet package. It runs Windows 8 applications, as well as current Windows 7 desktop applications. Starting at an estimated retail price of USD 899, Surface Windows 8 Pro will be available in 64 GB and 128 GB models. A Surface pen with Palm Block technology, designed specifically to work with Surface to let customers edit, collaborate and get things done, is included with Surface Windows 8 Pro.
In addition to being able to buy Surface Windows 8 Pro in the coming weeks, customers will soon be able to purchase Surface Windows RT in 14 additional markets worldwide, two more than double the number of markets in which Surface is currently available.
Roccat has announced the availability of the Raivo High-Velocity Gaming Mousepad. Based on the design of the Sota Mousepad, Raivo integrates a new flex-support structure and revised surface design to enhance stability and precision.
Additional features that cement Raivo as the ideal gaming mousepad solution include a non-slip rubber backing for worry-free warfare even in the most hectic battle moments, easy to clean dirt resistant coating, and durable materials built to last for eons of marathon gaming sessions.
With the Raivo, Roccat adds another high-end gaming mousepad to its portfolio. The Raivo is available in three different colors: Lightning Blue, Midnight Black and Stealth Black.
The Raivo High-Velocity Gaming Mousepad is expected to hit the shelves this week, with a suggested retail price of USD 29.90.
NVIDIA has announced the Project Shield, a portable game console powered by NVIDIA’s new Tegra 4 chip (quad core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and 72 custom GPU cores).
Created with the philosophy that gaming should be open and flexible, Project Shield flawlessly plays both Android and PC titles. As a pure Android device, it gives access to any game on Google Play. As a wireless receiver and controller, it can stream games from a PC powered by NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs, accessing titles on its STEAM game library from anywhere in the home.
The portable console provides a full console-grade controller with two joysticks, a D-pad, ABXY buttons, left/right bumpers, left/right analog triggers, Start/Back/Home/Volume buttons, and a multi-function NVIDIA/Power button. A lid flips up on the top to reveal an integrated 5-inch (1280x720) HD touchscreen display.
Shield is expected to ship in Q2 of 2013. It will first launch in the US and Canada, with a worldwide rollout to follow.
Lenovo has just announced the IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC, a multi-user, multi-touch, multi-mode device for the home that allows users to turn their personal computing experience into a shared computing experience.
The Horizon can lie flat on any surface, allows two or more people to use the screen at the same time, supports interactive physical gaming accessories, and is designed for touch screen game-play among several players. Horizon takes advantage of Windows 8 touch functionality to bring customized games from Electronic Arts and Ubisoft to life in a way that players have never seen before. Horizon can also easily transform into a 27-inch desktop to handle whatever productivity tasks users need to do.
With Horizon’s smart hinge system, users can easily lay it flat and in so doing, the Lenovo Aura multi-user, multi-touch interface (UI) will automatically activate. This simple UI lets families play, learn or enjoy multimedia content together on one screen. Aura also serves as a great way to launch pre-loaded gaming and educational apps or download new ones from the online app store.
Lenovo said that the Horizon will come with Core i5 or Core i7 ULV CPUs, along with SSD drive options and NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 graphics chip.
The IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC will be available beginning in early summer through Lenovo business partners and www.lenovo.com. Prices start at approximately USD 1,699.
Toshiba has announced that it will launch a new 20 megapixel CMOS image sensor, the TCM5115CL, as the latest addition to its sensor line-up for digital still cameras. The TCM5115CL offers the industry’s highest resolution in the 1/2.3 inch optical format, using backside illumination technology (BSI) to improve sensitivity and imaging performance.
Sampling of the new sensor will begin at the end of January 2013, and mass production will follow in August 2013.
The TCM5115CL is designed to meet the demands of high quality, fast frame rate image capture and HD video recording supporting smooth, slow motion playback, and delivers the high frame rates of 60fps at 1080p and 100fps at 720p.
Microsoft has announced that its new PC, Microsoft Surface, is now available for purchase at all Microsoft retail, holiday and online stores in the United States and Canada. Designed to be the ultimate stage for Windows RT, Surface is unique and represents exceptional value, providing an immersive entertainment experience and a foundation for getting things done. With a starting price of USD 499, Surface will be available online at http://www.microsoftstore.com in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Apple has launched the iPad Mini, a completely new iPad that is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third-generation iPad. In fact, it is not only smaller, lighter and sleeker than the full-sized versions, but it is also less expensive, as it starts at USD 329.
The iPad Mini features a 7.9” display (1024x768 resolution), an A5 processor (dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics engine, 1 GHz clock-speed, 32 nm process technology), 512 MB of memory, a 5 megapixels rear camera, a 1.2 megapixels front camera, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, accelerometer, gyroscope, and it comes with an Apple iOS 6 operating system. The iPad Mini is 7.2 mm thick and weighs just 0.68 pounds (312 g). Battery life is rated at 10 hours. The iPad Mini will be available for pre-order starting on Friday.
iPad Mini with Wi-Fi
16 GB: USD 329
32 GB: USD 429
64 GB: USD 529
iPad Mini with Wi-Fi + Cellular
16 GB: USD 459
32 GB: USD 559
64 GB: USD 659
Apple also announced the fourth generation iPad featuring a 9.7-inch Retina display, a new Apple designed A6X chip (which is twice as fast as the previous A5X), a FaceTime HD camera and faster Wi-Fi. It will also be available for pre-order on Friday.
