Sony Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact with 8-Inch Screen Tipped for IFA 2014

IFA 2014 kick starts in Berlin in a few weeks and most major tech players will be present in Europe to show off their new hardware. This is the case of Sony, a company that in recent times has decided to focus on its smartphone and tablet business.

                

Rumor on the street has it that we’re going to see the Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone get unveiled on September 3, but this might not be the only “compact” product the device manufacturer has planned for us. 

The folks over at TechTastic seem to have received a tip saying that Sony Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact will also be launched at the big event in Berlin. 

Speculation about a new Sony tablet surfaced a few weeks ago, so the info doesn’t come as a major shock. You might remember a mysterious Sony SGP621 device appeared with the Indonesian website Postel. Back then, we told you this could be either the Sony Xperia Tablet Z3 or Xperia Z2 Ultra.

Well, the newest information indicates Sony plans to release a tablet with a smaller form factor. So far, the company’s flagship devices have been boasting 10.1-inch displays, but most tech players like Apple or Samsung also offer slates with smaller displays.

Therefore, there's a high chance that the Sony Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact will arrive with an 8-inch form factor and will follow the company’s tradition of being waterproof.
ony enthusiasts probably know that the company launched the Xperia Tablet Z back at MWC 2013. Then, exactly a year later, the device maker put out the second Xperia Z2 Tablet, a product which has been marketed as the world’s slimmest waterproof tablet.


Will Sony manage to make the Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact even slimmer? As the name suggests, the machine should be extremely sleek, but at this point we can’t provide you with any real numbers.

It will be interesting to see if Sony is going to roll out the mini tablet with a better resolution than what it is currently offering with the Xperia Z2 Tablet (1920 x 1200 pixels). Something akin to the iPad mini with Retina Display of Samsung TabPRO 8.4 will be quite nice, indeed.

That being said, Sony could also offer the device with a stylus companion, an aspect surely appealing to a lot of tableters out there.

Gamescom 2014 Hands On: Batman: Arkham Knight

After taking extra time to work on the latest installment, Arkham Knight, the studio has brought the title to Gamescom 2014, showing off a fresh section of the open world action adventure game, shining a spotlight on the Batmobile, which makes its fully playable debut in the series, and the actual Arkham Knight, a mysterious villain that wants to go head to head with Batman in the game.

The actual demo mission saw the Caped Crusader burst into the ACE Chemicals plant, first using his own grapple gun and, after a few intense encounters, with the Batmobile. In terms of regular gameplay, the combat has been drastically improved with plenty of fresh mechanics. 

First up, there are the fear takedowns. These can happen in certain spots and see Batman quickly take out groups of foes in blazing fast succession. There are also environmental takedowns, as if enemies are in a certain zone Batman can use items from the environment, like chandeliers, to easily take them out.

The level design has also been improved in some areas, as the famous ground grates are now connected to some of the ventilation shafts, allowing Batman to seamlessly transition from one to the other. Glass windows are also breakable and the hero can burst through them to easily eliminate at least one foe.

The Dark Knight's arsenal of gadgets has also been expanded, like with a Batarang scanner, which can fly around a building, like the ACE one, and allows players to scan certain areas of interest.

Of course, the biggest “gadget” in Arkham Knight is the Batmobile. The special vehicle allows the hero to easily go around Gotham City and to take part in brand new gameplay mechanics. It features two different modes – Pursuit and Battle.

Pursuit mode allows for high speeds, which can be augmented using the afterburner, perfect for making sweet jumps off of ramps. Battle mode, however, is more about precision and, of course, combat. The vehicle deploys a machine gun and a canon that fire live rounds against other vehicles or buildings, and switch to rubber bullets when going up against human enemies.

Besides the new aforementioned takedowns, Batman can also perform an uppercut to send enemies in the air and, if the Batmobile is in the zone, it can shoot one round and immediately take out that foe.

Overall, Batman: Arkham Knight seems like a great evolution of the franchise's recipe, with quite a lot of small improvements ensuring that it has plenty of innovation.

Xolo announces Q510s, a 4-inch budget quad-core smartphone with 1GB RAM

Xolo has introduced a new Android smartphone called the Q510s. Priced at Rs. 6,499, the Xolo Q510 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582M processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone has been spotted on the company's official website.

The Xolo Q510 is a dual-SIM smartphone featuring a 4-inch display with 480x800 pixels WVGA IPS display. It sports a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and 0.3MP front-facing camera. Camera features include Scene detection & tuning, Face Recognition, Panorama, Geo tagging, Best shot, Smile shot, HDR. The smartphone comes with 8GB of built-in storage, supports expandable storage up to 32GB via microSD.

In terms of connectivity, the Xolo Q510 supports dual-SIM, 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and microUSB. It is powered by a 1500 mAh battery. 

While the Q510 is targeted at the entry-level segment, Xolo's recently launched the Play 8X-1200 smartphone aimed at the gaming enthusiasts. Called the Xolo Play 8X-1200, the smartphone runs Android 4.4 KitKat OS is powered by a 2.0GHz true octa-core processor along with Mali 450 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The smartphone is available for Rs. 19,999.

Lumia 730 selfie coming soon

According to GSM Arena, the Lumia 830 will feature a massive 20MP PureView rear camera, similar to the one we had seen on the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930. This is a big jump from the 8MP camera we had seen on the Lumia 820. Other features include a 4.5-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon chipset with LTE support and16GB of internal storage. The phone is expected to run on Windows Phone 8.1 and will come with a micr0SD card slot.

The bright-coloured ad also hints at the launch of the Lumia 730, which sported a similar hue in some of its photos. According to leaked specifications, the Lumia 730 is expected to sport a bright uni-body polycarbonate design, 4.7 inch 720p screen, dual-SIM capability, 6.7MP rear and a 5MP front camera, Snapdragon 400 processor and Adreno 305 graphics, with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. The invite, which says “Join us for More Face Time” also backs up the rumour that the Lumia 730 might actually sport a 5MP selfie camera.

 Both phones are expected to run the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. The latest OS comes with interesting new features such as the Siri-inspired voice-assistant Cortana, one-swipe notification from Action Center, and the fast Word Flow keyboard.