Samsung reveals new Galaxy tablet – and it runs Windows 10

While Samsung’s CES 2016 press conference largely focused on home entertainment and appliances, its mobile division had two small announcements: that they are releasing new variants for the Galaxy Gear S2, and a brand new Galaxy tablet called the Galaxy TabPro S – that runs on Windows 10.

The Galaxy name have largely been reserved for Android, with Samsung using the “Ativ” brand for its suite of Windows-powered tablets. However, according to Samsung, the name is deliberate as the tablet balances “the best of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab [series] with the wealth of features on the Windows 10 operating system.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Microsoft Corp. to deliver a 2-in-1 tablet that truly allows people to enjoy productivity and connections that matter most, through a seamless mobile station designed for all purposes,” Dongin Ko, the head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business division, said in a statement.

The Galaxy TabPro S is a two-in-one device like the Surface Pro – you can use it as a tablet, or as a laptop by attaching a full-size keyboard cover (which is included with the device). It features a large 12-inch Super AMOLED display, and two 5-megapixel cameras.

Internally, the Galaxy TabPro S features a dual-core 2.2GHz Intel Core M processor, 4GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB via a SSD drive. It also includes Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, and LTE Cat. 6 support.

The device will be available globally from February 2016. Samsung Australia has confirmed that it will be bringing the tablet to Australia, with no confirmed date or availability.

Twitch is to launch a data centre in Sydney to improve video quality

Twitch watchers will be pleased with the news coming from Twitch from this year’s PAX Australia. The live streaming website has announced that it will open a data centre in Sydney, which they say will improve how people watch Twitch in Australia.

“It’s no secret that the quality of service with internet in Australia is not as good as it could be,” Chase, the PR director at Twitch, told TechGeek. “We’re bringing new infrastructure to Australia, so the quality of service will noticeably be improved.”

Twitch says that the servers will be installed this week and should be fully operational by the end of November. Marcus Graham, the director of programming at Twitch, has also confirmed at itsTown Hall event on Friday that they plan to work with local ISPs to further improve the quality of service and provide a better experience on the site.

The data centre launch is part of a series of moves by Twitch to better support their Australian and New Zealand community. Twitch has also announced they plan to hire local partnership representatives to bring in more local talent and assist existing partners in Australia and New Zealand. They also announced plans to improve advertising and sales in the region so broadcasters could potentially transition into broadcasting full-time.

The Xiaomi Mi Note and Note pro – iPhone Killer?

Xiaomi’s latest offering is out and looks pretty promising, the Mi Note, which aims to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Apple iPhone 6 Plus. The event, which took place in Beijing, saw constant comparisons between the Mi Note to the iPhone 6 Plus.

Display: The Mi Note features a 5.7-inch screen – slightly larger than the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. It’s a full HD display with a pixel density of 386ppi.  The Mi Note’s display features a Nela Tech LCD , which Xiaomi claims offers a higher contrast and dynamic pixel adjustment for better readability outdoors and improves contrast of darker areas in photos. Xiaomi also claims it has improved the colour reproduction from the Mi 4. The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Camera: The Mi Note has a 13MP rear camera with optical image stabilisation. It uses Sony’s CMOS sensor, with a f2.0 aperture for low-light shots. The company claims that it uses a dual-tone flash developed by Phillips for more natural-looking colours in photos. Taking a dig at Apple once again, Xiaomi said that the Mi Note’s main camera does not protrude out like the iPhone 6. Mi Note has a 4MP front camera with large 2 micron pixels.

Build: Similar to the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus, the front panel of the Mi Note features a 2.5D curved glass and a 3D curved glass rear panel. However, Xiaomi claims that it is thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus, with dimensions 155.1×77.6×6.95mm (hxwxd) and weighs 161g. There’s a metallic rim around the sides and the back camera. Also, like the larger iPhone 6 Plus, the Mi Note has a one-handed mode that minimises the size of app windows for easier one-handed use.

Features: The Mi Note is powered by a 3,000mAh battery, comes with dual 4G Sim slots and runs a Snapdragon 801 processor backed by 3GB Ram. It will be available in 16GB and 64GB storage options and there’s no card slot for increasing the storage capacity. Out of the two SIM slots, one supports a nano Sim while the other is for a micro Sim. The Mi Note also claims to pack a hi-fi audio system with ESS ES9018K2M audio decoder for minimum distortion and lossless playback at 24-bit/192KHz.

Mi Note’s official price is 2299RMB or about Rs 22,900, while the 64 GB model set to launch for RMB 2,799 (Rs 27,900) later this year.

There’s also a Mi Note Pro version of the smartphone, which runs on Snapdragon 810 with 4GB RAM and 64GB of built-in storage. It also features a higher resolution display (2K) 2560x 1440 pixels. The Xiaomi Note Pro is priced at 3299 RMB, which is around Rs 32,900. Xiaomi also announced Mi Box mini  – a set up box that is smaller in size than its predecessor.

Source and Image : GSM Arena