Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for Dec.15, 2014.

Samsung launches 850 EVO 3D V-NAND SSD in Japan

Japanese chain store firm ITG Marketing Inc. announces that it will be releasing Samsung’s (KRX: 005930) 850 EVO 3D V-NAND SSD in Japan, with it is official launch sometime during the latter half of December.

The 850 EVO is the technical successor to the 840 EVO SSD. Like all other current Samsung SSDs, it also introduces the much advertised 3D V-NAND technology that was previously unveiled with the release of the 850 PRO. Unlike the 850 PRO however, which uses 3D V-NAND 2bit MLC, the 850 EVO will use 3D V-NAND 3bit MLC, making it technically more data dense.

Availability will come in 120GB ($120.00), 250GB ($160.00), 500GB ($300.00), and 1TB ($565.00) capacities.

Asus to release new 2-in-1 notebook

Asus (TPE: 2357) will be launching its Transbook T200TA in Japan, with the official release data slated on Friday, 19th of December.

The Asus Transbook T200TA is an 11.6-inch business class 2-in-1 convertible PC, which is mainly advertised to last for more than 12 hours off a single charge. The keyboard features not only an extra battery, but also a 500GB HDD, and both add-ons extend the functionality of this hybrid notebook. It will be powered by an Atom Z3775 (1.46Ghz) processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage (eMMC), and a multi-touch 1366×768 IPS LCD screen. OS is Windows 8.1 (32 bit)

Prices will be announced on the day of its release.

Lawson upgrades to Windows 8.1

Major Japanese convenience store franchise chain Lawson (TYO: 2651) will soon upgrade more than 6,500 store terminals and units in different store branches into Windows 8.1.

In addition to upgrading operating systems, the convenience store branches will also replace some of its older PCs and computer terminals. At least 1,500 units used by store supervisors will now be upgraded to convertible 2-in-1 PCs, specifically into the Lenovo Thinkpad Helix. Also, as a next step to the upgrades, the company also plans to optimize the systems to use Microsoft Office 365’s Power BI feature.

In accordance to the changes in hardware and software, the entire work system will also be properly shifted.

The post Samsung 850, Asus T200TA, Lawson 8.1: The Headlines in Tokyo for Dec. 15 appeared first on VR World.

After launching a full-HD Chromebook earlier this year, Toshiba (TYO:6502) is once again targeting the entry-level segment with the launch of the Satellite Radius 11, a convertible notebook featuring a 360-degree hinge.

Weighing in at 2.9 pounds, the Satellite Radius 11 comes with an 11.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768, Intel Celeron CPU, up to 4 GB RAM, 32GB of flash storage or a mechanical 500GB hard drive and Windows 8.1. The low TDP CPU means that the convertible notebook features a fanless design.

The two-axis hinge allows the notebook to be used in various different configurations that include Laptop, Tablet, Tabletop, Presentation, and Audience modes. When in tablet mode, the keyboard automatically locks to prevent any accidental key presses when holding the notebook. The hinge utility is similar to what Lenovo (HKG: 0992) has offered with its Yoga line and more recently, the Flex 2 notebook. Once filled with dreary notebooks, the entry-level segment is now full of well-designed offerings that feature much better hardware than what was considered the norm even until a year ago. Most of it has to do with increasing competition and the fact that the high-end notebook segment has plateaued of late.

The Satellite Radius 11 is coated with what Toshiba calls “trendy patterned light gold finish”, and there’s also an HD webcam at the front that facilitates video calls. As for connectivity, the convertible has one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, one HDMI and an SD card reader. Not the best hardware in the world, but for $330, it is a viable contender if you’re looking for a multi-touch notebook with decent hardware. The Satellite Radius 11 will go on sale starting this weekend.

For users looking for a machine with more grunt, Toshiba sells a variant of the Satellite Radius that features a 15.6-inch screen and Intel Core i5 CPU, although that model retails for around $900. Although for that mount, there are lots of other notebooks that offer more in terms of features.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) appears to have decided to entirely skip the idea of Windows 9 and release their next version of Windows as Windows 10.

The company’s new strategy does in fact do what the company has been aiming to do for quite some time. It helps unify the marketplaces and apps while still giving people customizeable experiences depending on the platform that they’re using. So now users can use the same app on their phone, tablet, and PC while also being able to (hopefully) share data across those devices through the cloud. They are also bringing back the start menu and getting rid of the full-page start menu from Windows 8 and 8.1. As a result, you can customize the size of the icons that you have pop up when you engage the start menu and you can also use it for search like you could in Windows 7 and Windows 8. However, now, the search box also does web searches as well, which is a brilliant move on Microsoft’s part because there’s a very good chance that Bing will be the default search engine for that and could help them gain more traction with Bing.

Microsoft has also implemented new multitasking UIs that bring back some of the legacy snap views as well as multiviews that look strikingly a lot like Apple’s own OSX expose. And Microsoft has also improved little things like the command prompt in Windows 10, which has remained unchanged forever, so now you can paste things into the command prompt instead of manually entering them.

Microsoft also appears to be pulling back more from the overall metro UI idea and forcing people to use fullscreen metro apps, but rather more along the lines of what they are familiar with. As many people have said, Microsoft’s jump from Windows 7 to Windows 8 was too drastic and did not allow for people to slowly adjust to change. Really, Windows 10 kind of slots in between Windows 7 and Windows 8 and finds a middle ground between the two. This is a clear recognition from Microsoft of what their users want and the fact that they simply didn’t listen to what people want and instead went on their own direction (Windows 8). Some may blame Ballmer for that move, but really, it had more to do with Sinofsky, who is no longer with the company.

If you’d like to test drive Microsoft’s newest OS, they will have an ‘insider’ preview available shortly to allow people to test out Windows 10 and give them feedback. The OS is expected to launch in the latter half of 2015 and there’s still no word on upgrades or what prices will be for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users. You can download the insider preview here.

The post Microsoft Skips Windows 9, Introduces Windows 10 appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft has clearly not stopped with their aspirations with the new Surface Pro 3 that they launched today. This is a follow up to their Surface Pro 2, which also featured an Intel ultra low voltage Core family CPU, except now you have a choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU as opposed to only being able to choose an i5. The CPU in the Surface Pro 3 is actually the same as it was in the 2, which is a little disappointing but Intel’s Broadwell won’t hit until much later this year. Once that new Intel chip starts to pick up steam, we’ll probably see a Surface Pro 4 (or whatever they decide to name it) that even further improves upon the Surface Pro 3.

Getting back to the Surface Pro 3, it is actually a larger tablet than the Surface Pro 2 as it features a 12” ClearType Full HD Plus 2160 x 1440 resolution multi-touch display. This is in contrast to the Surface 2 Pro’s 10″ ClearType Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution multi-touch display. This changes the aspect ratio of the display on the Surface Pro 3 to 3:2 as opposed to the standard 16:9 that most displays today currently have. This is a clear indication of Microsoft’s laser focus on this being a professional device. Storage capacity and RAM still have not changed, where the 64 and 128 GB models will come with 4GB of RAM and the 256GB and 512 GB versions will come with 8GB of RAM. It still has a full-size USB 3.0 port, miniDisplayPort connector and MicroSD card slot but does add new 802.11ac wireless connectivity. Microsoft also supposedly upgraded the cameras from being dual 720P on the Surface Pro 2 to being dual 1080P on the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface Pro 3 with Pen

One of the best things about this upgrade is that the Surface Pro 3 is going to benefit from overall better hardware while simultaneously getting lighter. The previous Surface Pro 2 weighed in at 2 lbs while this new, larger Surface Pro 3 actually comes in at 1.76 lbs all while still maintaining a magnesium body. Microsoft also made a few minute changes to the overall usability of the tablet by changing the pen technology that they were using (Wacom) in favor of (N-Trig) in order to get a more accurate and pressure sensitive pen functionality. They also added palm rejection (which should be a nobrainer) to the tablet so that you can write on the tablet without moving things around with the side of your hand or arm. They also added the ability to adjust the angle of the kickstand to virtually any angle that you want, as opposed to all of the previous Surface tablets which effectively had one angle or closed as options. This will make the Surface Pro 3 a lot more comfortable for users in general since people’s preferences for tablet angles vary greatly and so do their use case scenarios.

Last but not least, they’ve vastly improved the type cover (I haven’t tried it yet) and supposedly make it much more user friendly. I personally haven’t been sold on the Surface tablets primarily because of the keyboard, so if the new typecover is really a major improvement, there’s a good chance that a lot of people will go out and buy one after using it. Even so, Microsoft needs to ram the professional message home and make sure that people know that this tablet, which starts at $799, is going to be the tablet they want to get things done. We’ve also included a pricing table for all of the different models and accessories for the Surface Pro 3.

You can pre-order a Surface Pro 3 tonight at midnight EDT (9pm PDT) on Microsoft’s website (site isn’t live yet) and other select etailers. Starting June 20th, US and Canada customers can visit Microsoftstore.com, Microsoft retails stores and select third-party retailers (like Best Buy) to purchase Intel Core i5 Surface Pro 3 ($999 and up) and select accessories. Additional configurations will be made available during August and more accessories will come over the course of the following months.

By the end of August, Surface Pro 3 and select new accessories will become available for purchase in 26 additional markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

The post Surface Pro 3 – Surface Gets Bigger and Better appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft has clearly not stopped with their aspirations with the new Surface Pro 3 that they launched today. This is a follow up to their Surface Pro 2, which also featured an Intel ultra low voltage Core family CPU, except now you have a choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU as opposed to only being able to choose an i5. The CPU in the Surface Pro 3 is actually the same as it was in the 2, which is a little disappointing but Intel’s Broadwell won’t hit until much later this year. Once that new Intel chip starts to pick up steam, we’ll probably see a Surface Pro 4 (or whatever they decide to name it) that even further improves upon the Surface Pro 3.

Getting back to the Surface Pro 3, it is actually a larger tablet than the Surface Pro 2 as it features a 12” ClearType Full HD Plus 2160 x 1440 resolution multi-touch display. This is in contrast to the Surface 2 Pro’s 10″ ClearType Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution multi-touch display. This changes the aspect ratio of the display on the Surface Pro 3 to 3:2 as opposed to the standard 16:9 that most displays today currently have. This is a clear indication of Microsoft’s laser focus on this being a professional device. Storage capacity and RAM still have not changed, where the 64 and 128 GB models will come with 4GB of RAM and the 256GB and 512 GB versions will come with 8GB of RAM. It still has a full-size USB 3.0 port, miniDisplayPort connector and MicroSD card slot but does add new 802.11ac wireless connectivity. Microsoft also supposedly upgraded the cameras from being dual 720P on the Surface Pro 2 to being dual 1080P on the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface Pro 3 with Pen

One of the best things about this upgrade is that the Surface Pro 3 is going to benefit from overall better hardware while simultaneously getting lighter. The previous Surface Pro 2 weighed in at 2 lbs while this new, larger Surface Pro 3 actually comes in at 1.76 lbs all while still maintaining a magnesium body. Microsoft also made a few minute changes to the overall usability of the tablet by changing the pen technology that they were using (Wacom) in favor of (N-Trig) in order to get a more accurate and pressure sensitive pen functionality. They also added palm rejection (which should be a nobrainer) to the tablet so that you can write on the tablet without moving things around with the side of your hand or arm. They also added the ability to adjust the angle of the kickstand to virtually any angle that you want, as opposed to all of the previous Surface tablets which effectively had one angle or closed as options. This will make the Surface Pro 3 a lot more comfortable for users in general since people’s preferences for tablet angles vary greatly and so do their use case scenarios.

Last but not least, they’ve vastly improved the type cover (I haven’t tried it yet) and supposedly make it much more user friendly. I personally haven’t been sold on the Surface tablets primarily because of the keyboard, so if the new typecover is really a major improvement, there’s a good chance that a lot of people will go out and buy one after using it. Even so, Microsoft needs to ram the professional message home and make sure that people know that this tablet, which starts at $799, is going to be the tablet they want to get things done. We’ve also included a pricing table for all of the different models and accessories for the Surface Pro 3.

You can pre-order a Surface Pro 3 tonight at midnight EDT (9pm PDT) on Microsoft’s website (site isn’t live yet) and other select etailers. Starting June 20th, US and Canada customers can visit Microsoftstore.com, Microsoft retails stores and select third-party retailers (like Best Buy) to purchase Intel Core i5 Surface Pro 3 ($999 and up) and select accessories. Additional configurations will be made available during August and more accessories will come over the course of the following months.

By the end of August, Surface Pro 3 and select new accessories will become available for purchase in 26 additional markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

The post Surface Pro 3 – Surface Gets Bigger and Better appeared first on VR World.

As someone that has spent the good part of the last 2 years with ultra-high resolution displays ranging from 13.3″ up to 36″ I can tell you that as an operating system, Windows is simply not ready for 4K. On a 31.5″ monitor you can still appreciate the pixels and not feel like you have to squint to see things. The truth is that when I’m using Adobe Photoshop CC on this Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (3200 x 1800 resolution) it is incredibly clear that the software is not ready for high resolution displays and that the operating system and the ISV are both to blame. Microsoft’s Metro apps do not have problems with 4K displays, those scale nearly perfectly to 4K resolution when used on a laptop or a desktop, however, in the past they were very touch focused. And sure, with the Windows 8.1 Update we will see a lot of mouse and desktop improvements, but the truth is that ISVs are not creating ‘desktop’ apps for the Metro UI.

Applications like Adobe Photoshop need to be rethought in a Metro state of mind and require the ISVs to be more thoughtful about the platform they’re working with. They can’t simply continue to milk the same UI they’ve been using on Windows for the past few decades.

So, this brings us to the Toshiba Satellite P55t 4K laptop that will be launching next week. This laptop will feature a 3840 x 2160 resolution on a 15.6″ display and will also sport Technicolor’s own color accuracy certification, which may prove invaluable for people looking to do some photo editing on such a high-res laptop. But once again, the most valuable application for such a high-res laptop also happens to be one of the most handcuffed as well. What’s interesting is that the current model of the P55t sells for $900 but it doesn’t feature anywhere near the horsepower of the expected specs of the P55t with the 4K display.

Namely, the P55t will feature an AMD Radeon R9 256X dedicated GPU along with an Intel Core i7 CPU and will retail at a starting price of $1,500 allowing you to customize it to your heart’s desire, increasing RAM, SSD, HDD, etc. However, if you ask me, I don’t really see much purpose for such a laptop considering that 4K resolution can’t be used effectively in most scenarios and 4K content is still quite sparse. But don’t get me wrong, this is a technological feat to accomplish on the part of Toshiba and to do it for $1,500 is all the more impressive. I would probably still get this laptop even though the software isn’t quite ready primarily because I would like to have an even higher resolution than I do now on my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. In the end, the software will slowly catch up with the hardware and I like the idea of being ready for when that day comes, even if I have to ‘suffer’ with a higher resolution for some time.

The post Toshiba's P55t 4K Laptop is Awesome, Too Much for Current Apps appeared first on VR World.

If you haven’t been following Microsoft lately, then you’re missing out on what could be one of the most significant changes of strategy I’ve seen in a long time. They have slowly been making baby steps towards reorganizing and reconsidering how they address mobile. I have been following Microsoft’s attitudes towards mobile since Windows Mobile 5.0 and even owned a fair amount of Windows-based devices over the course of that time. However, Microsoft made a lot of mistakes along the way and is finally making major changes to remedy them. And with the smartphone market being a virtual duopoly between Android and iOS it comes as no surprise that people are looking for something different.

At the same time, Microsoft is struggling to retain users in Windows while people start to move towards Android, iOS and ChromeOS-based devices. With their release of Windows 8, Microsoft actually alienated a lot of users because they ruined a fairly well received operating system in Windows 7 and tried to modernize it for touch, but made an insane amount of mistakes. Since then, Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 which has made some significant improvements and is continuing to do so by bringing back the start menu in the Windows 8.1 update which will also bring a bunch of other tweaks that will make Windows 8 more usable for users without touch. One of Microsoft’s biggest mistakes with Windows 8 was to assume that everyone would have touch and that application developers would immediately switch to the ‘Modern’ Metro UI that Windows 8 employs with tiles, many of these tweaks fix those mistakes. Some of those fixes include allowing boot to desktop, a start menu, Metro apps on the desktop taskbar, a persistent taskbar, mouse friendly menus, reduced system requirements and much more. Sure, its a bit late when you consider that Windows 9 is likely due next year, but that’s an entirely different conversation. Right now they need to focus on keeping people happy in the now and preparing for the future, which is exactly what they appear to be doing.

Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia also signifies Microsoft’s renewed focus on hardware as did their announcement about their expansion of hardware partners for Windows Phone, which was necessary to show that they wanted to enable more than just Nokia. Clearly Microsoft can sell their own branded devices as Google does successfully with Nexus and Android. One way that Microsoft followed up on their hardware commitments was by announcing that they would be making Windows free on any device that is 9″ or less, which means we could actually see a lot of 8.9″ Windows tablets relatively soon. But what this enables is Microsoft’s operating system to become a considered option for OEMs when building tablets and smartphones.

Microsoft’s new strategy is to monetize on their cloud software like Office, One Drive and One Note and to utilize their strengths in cloud computing to make their operating systems more attractive. If they continue on this trajectory, they could have a fully unified operating system across all platforms. Eventually, with Windows 9 we can expect to see essentially the same OS plus or minus a few features (based on platform) on Desktop, Tablet and Smartphone. Which is reinforced by Microsoft’s move to make app purchases in their store universally applicable across Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Xbox. This will not only encourage people to use Microsoft’s platform for the flexibility and cross-platform nature, but it will also encourage application developers to make applications that think in a cross-platform manner. That is in combination with their announcement of Cortana, which I would expect to see intelligently integrated into all of Microsoft’s operating systems and eventually into Windows 9. Cortana is going to be Microsoft’s next weapon to fight against Google and Apple to help create differentiation.

I really feel like Microsoft really has it together more than they ever have in their history since Bill Gates left his position as CEO. And to be honest, considering that Bill Gates left Microsoft as CEO when I was 10, it seems pretty fair to say that this is the best I’ve seen them since he stepped down as CEO. They finally understand what they need to do in order to be successful in competing with Google and Apple, and their strategies are solid. Only time will tell how quickly they will start to erode Apple and Google, especially when you consider they’ve successfully helped erode Blackberry’s share.

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