1. DELL LATITUDE 7285
Dell claims its latest 7285 laptop is the world’s thinnest and lightest Windows-based commercial 2-in-1. It’s also the first that’s able to charge wirelessly. As a 2-in-1 detachable, it can function as a tablet or laptop in four modes: tent, laptop, slate, and tablet. To charge the laptop wirelessly, you need Dell’s keyboard and a wireless charging mat that magnetically attaches to the laptop combination. The convenience has a price—the pad and keyboard are available at an additional cost to the base price. To charge, you just set the laptop on the mat (it has WiTricity’s magnetic resonance wireless charging), and you can work while it’s charging. There’s a second 22Whr battery inside the keyboard for extended battery life. The 12.3" display is touch- and Dell Active-pen-enabled, featuring anti-glare 2,880 × 1,920 resolution and thin borders. The processor is an Intel Core i5 (dual core, 3.2 GHz with a 4M cache) running Windows 10. Memory configurations are 8GB to 16GB RAM and 128GB to 256GB solid-state storage. The password system uses an infrared camera and Windows Hello software to recognize you. www.dell.com
2. HTC U11
The just-released HTC U11 is a 5.5" Android competitor running 7.1 Nougat for a few hundred dollars less than Samsung and Apple’s flagship phones. The Super LCD5 capacitive multitouch screen is fashioned from Gorilla Glass 5, has 16M colors, and about 534 ppi pixel density (1,440 × 2,560). The octa-core processor is a Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon that delivers fast responses, and on-board memory is available in two configurations—64GB with 4GB of RAM or 128GB with 6GB of RAM. A card slot provides for a microSD up to 256GB. There are two cameras. The primary is 12MP with an f/1.7 lens, phase-detection autofocus, and dual-LED flash. It provides geotagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama, and 2,160p @30 fps video. A secondary camera delivers 16MP, 1,080p, with an f/2.0 lens. Other features include fingerprint sensor, fast battery charging (Quick Charge 3.0), up to 336 hours standby, and up to 24.5 hours talk time. www.htc.com
3. LOUIS VUITTON TAMBOUR HORIZON
The Tambour Horizon luxury smartwatch is a collaboration of Google (Android Wear), Qualcomm, and the French label Louis Vuitton, and seems to verify that the reach of the smartwatch as a useful accessory is expanding in many directions, albeit slowly. The demographic targeted is the world traveler, and the selection of watch faces and apps reflect that. Along with the standard smartwatch functions—call notifications, texts, emails, time, weather—there’s a My Flight app that takes flight information for times, delay alerts, and terminal and gate information; a 24-hour clock around the outer dial for time in other locations; and guides for a number of major cities. It’s priced from $2,500 to $3,000. www.louisvuitton.com
4. NIKON KEYMISSION 170
Nikon’s KeyMission 170 is a first-person point of view camera that takes a 170-degree wide-angle still or video—think GoPro-size recorder. It’s small and light enough to clip on a variety of helmet and wrist strap mounts at 2.6" × 1.8" × 1.7" and 4.2 oz. It’s waterproof (33 ft.), shockproof (6.6 ft. drop), and has a freezeproof (to 14 degrees Fahrenheit) camera mechanism. It records 4K Ultra HD videos, wide-angle stills, and time-lapse sequences. The Nikon SnapBridge integration provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless sharing. Video has electronic vibration reduction in full HD, and the sound is recorded in stereo. The 170 is one of three new KeyMission cameras. www.nikonusa.com
August 2017
