We’re not saying the Google Glass will finally make its UAE debut (although a little birdie has told us it will be there) but there’s a host of new gadgets to look out for at Gitex Shopper Spring this year, many of them hitting our shores for the first time. tabloid! rounds up five of the hottest and newest products to launch at the biggest consumer IT and electronics retail show in the region.
HP Slate6 VoiceTab. Starting price: Dh1,099
Launched in India earlier this year, HP is taking their VoiceTab line wider, starting with the Slate6, which will make its UAE debut this weekend at Gitex. With a six-inch screen, this phablet comes without any physical buttons in front and weighs only 160g. Powered by the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, this mid-range handset comes with 16GB of internal storage, expandable to 32GB via a microSD card. There’s also an HD front camera and a five-megapixel rear-facing camera — and the plastic back comes in a few swappable colour options.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet. Dh1,299 (8-inch, 3G) and Dh1,599 (10-inch, 3G)
The guys at Lenovo say they considered three main challenges tablet users faced while developing their Yoga tablet — the way we hold tablets, support when sitting them on a flat surface and viewing angle when they’re on a table. That’s why the Yoga comes with a cylindrical base, which can make it stand up, is slightly raised when laid on a flat surface and is supposed to be comfortable when held. Specifications differ, of course, according to the size, but this Android-powered tablet comes with a 1.6 megapixel front camera and five megapixel rear camera. If all that cool stuff still doesn’t convince you, maybe the fact that Ashton Kutcher’s the brand ambassador will?
MakerBot 3D Printing Products. Starts at Dh9,352
Jacky’s Electronics is bringing tech’s next big thing to Gitex this year: 3D printers. Two products from New York-based MakerBot will make their UAE debut: The Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer (Dh9,352) and the Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer (Dh12,074).
Create a design, print and watch this machine recreate it for you in all its 3D glory. There’s no assembly required. The Replicator 2 Desktop is for those who want to experience this revolutionary way of re-creating things while the 2X is a more advanced product for those professionally already using it. MakerBot will be available with the entire 3D printing eco-system so you can have all the things you need.
HP Pavilion x360. Starts at Dh1,799
This is almost a laptop (remember those?) but can also be a tablet if you like, thus the name 360 — also because it can turn 360 degrees. The 11.6-inch hybrid weighs a little more than 1kg and is 2.1cm thick. For perspective, the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch is 27.9cm at its thickest. Use it as a propped up lappy and then bend the lid over and use as a tablet. Simple.
Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. Dh4,499
Speaking of 360 degrees, the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro does it too. An improvement of the last Yoga 13, this one also comes with the same versatility and can be used in laptop, tablet, standing and tent modes. The Yoga 2 Pro is one compact beauty and comes in at just 1.5cm thin and weighs 1.36kg. Other internal choices include options of Intel 4th generation Core i7 ULT processors, Windows 8.1, up to 512GB SSD, Intel WiDi for streaming content wirelessly to a TV, Dolby Home Theatre v4 and up to nine hours of battery life. And oh, the keyboard is backlit and it comes in grey or orange.
Samsung NX Mini. Price on request
If your smartphone’s not up to scratch for the best selfies, this one’s made just for it. Stylish and powerful, with interchangeable lens, Samsung has all you fashionable people in mind with this one. Just about 3.5cm thick including the basic lens, the NX Mini will come in pink, green, brown, white and black. And with that touch and flip-up screen, you will never take a bad selfie again.
Samsung Curved UHDTV. Dh50,000
Got a few dirhams to spare? Samsung believe the future of television is curvy, not flat. This 2.6 metre beauty will be on display at Gitex. The curve shape creates a wider field of view that makes the display seem even bigger than it really is. But if you really want it, you have to make an order, and wait for about six weeks.
