BackIFA 2016: Gadgets you may end up using in the next few months
The IFA electronics show provides a peek at some of the interesting gadgets which will be launched in the coming months
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The six-day IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) electronic show, which kicks off on Thursday with pre-event shows at Berlin and will conclude on 7 September, has already been the stage for several major brands to showcase their new gadgets pre-event. Taiwanese brand Acer showed a gaming device, while Lenovo took the opportunity to update its Yoga series of tablets, among others. Here are some of the top launches on day one of IFA.
Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus
Lenovo has expanded the Yoga range of tablets with a new device called Yoga Tab 3 Plus. Priced at $300 (approximately ₹ 20,083), the tablet will release in the US market in October. It retains the trademark built-in kickstand which allows the tablet to be used in four modes—hand, tilt, stand and no stand. It doesn’t have a projector, unlike its predecessor Yoga Tab 3 Pro, but still has all the elements of solid entertainment device. The 10.1-inch display has a resolution of 2,560x1,660p, the front panel carries 4 JBL speakers, while the 9,3000mAh battery is among the strongest among tablets. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor and has a splash-resistant part-metal and part-plastic exterior.
Motorola Moto Z Play
Lenovo has added a third smartphone called Moto Z Play in the Moto Z line-up of modular smartphones, which allow users to attach accessories such as camera, battery or speaker to the phone’s back. Priced at $400 (approximately ₹ 26,785), the Z Play is driven by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 quad-core processor with 3GB RAM. It has a 3,150mAh battery and will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The Z Play’s big 16-megapipxel snapper stands out in the glass back. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the front and looks similar to the fingerprint sensor in the Moto G4 Plus smartphones. The 5.5-inch AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1920x1080p.
Samsung Gear S3
Successor to the Gear S2, Samsung’s new Gear S3 smartwatch comes with a slightly bigger 1.3-inch display and a wider 46mm watch dial. The new watch comes in two variants—the premium-looking Classic edition with stainless steel-based dial and the sporty-looking Frontier edition with black matte finish. The display is still circular and retains the same 360x360p resolution. It runs on Samsung’s Tizen but is compatible with all Android-based devices running Bluetooth 4.0 and above. The big improvement is that now all the models of Gear S3 will have built-in GPS and a speaker. There will a 4G version of smartwatches too.
Hasselblad True Zoom camera
Swedish camera maker Hasselblad has come up with snap-on camera for Lenovo’s Moto Z series of smartphones. Priced at $250 (approximately ₹ 16,738), the Hasselblad True Zoom camera is a camera mod that can be snapped on the back panel of any of the Moto Z smartphones. It allows users to get professional-level picture quality from their smartphone without splurging on a full-fledged Hasselblad camera, whose price starts at $6,000. The 12-megapixel camera offers 10x optical zoom and supports RAW file formats. It will be available in the US from 15 September.
Acer Predator 21 X laptop
Acer’s gaming segment has been updated with monster laptop, Predator 21X. Likely to be priced above $5,000 (approximately ₹ 3,34,899), this enormous gaming rig comes with a curved 21-inch display. It runs on Intel 7th Gen Core K series processor paired with 64GB of RAM and carries two Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 graphics cards. The 21-inch panel uses an IPS screen and has a resolution of 2560x1080p. The laptop’s only niggle is going to be the weight and the burly form-factor. It tips the scales at 8kg, making it one of the heaviest gaming laptops ever made. Acer is yet to announce the price and date of availability.
Asus ZenWatch 3
Asus has updated the ZenWatch range with an even more premium-looking ZenWatch 3. Starting at $255 (approximately ₹ 17,076), the new watch will be available in rose gold, gunmetal and silver colour variants from October. The new watch comes with a circular 1.9-inch AMOLED display with a layer of Gorilla Glass. It sports 50 unique watch faces and runs on Google’s Android Wear OS for smartwatches. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 2100 Wear processor, the watch supports Asus’s Hyper Charge technology, which can charge the 340mAh battery up to 60% in 15 minutes. It is water-resistant and carries the IP67 rating.
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