BitFenix Introduces Phenom

(BitFenix Design Lab, September 26, 2013) – Today,BitFenix is proud to officially announce Phenom, the newest creation from the BitFenix Design Lab. Featuring clean, uncluttered styling and tremendous build flexibility, Phenom represents the perfect marriage of advanced functionality with next-level SFF design for a case that's sure to be an instant classic.


Engineered to be a sleek modern cube design that suits any environment, fans of clean and elegant chassis are going to feel right at home with Phenom. The mesh accents along the sides of the case perfectly complement the smooth surfaces of the SofTouch-coated top and front panels. In the center is a highly-polished BitFenix logo that contrasts the subtle matte contours perfectly, creating a design that is ideal for any modern décor. And because different systems have different requirements, Phenom comes in both mini-ITX and micro-ATX variants to meet the needs of an even larger group of users.  Both BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX and Phenom Micro-ATX will be available on store shelves in October. Both BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX and Phenom Micro-ATX will be available on store shelves in October.

         

Phenom Mini-ITX: Superior Water Cooling and Massive Storage

                         
Compatible with mini-ITX motherboards, Phenom Mini-ITX is a case that's ideal for both water cooling enthusiasts and storage mavens. The top intake easily accommodates thick radiators up to 240mm in length. The easy-to-use FlexCage™ can store up to five 3.5" hard disks or SSDs, or removed entirely to accommodate long graphics cards up to 330mm in length, or additional water cooling on the front panel. Along with the included 5.25" drive adapter and additional mounts on the side panel and PSU cage, Phenom can support up to six 3.5" hard disks, or an incredible 11 SSDs. Five fan locations and room for tower CPU coolers up to 175mm in height make Phenom Mini-ITX ideal for air coolers. If either extreme cooling or maximum storage in minimal space is on the SFF wish list, Phenom Mini-ITX is a perfect choice.

Phenom Micro-ATX: Micro ATX Compatible and Dual Graphics Ready

With full support for micro-ATX motherboards, Phenom Micro-ATX brings with it five PCI slots for enhanced expansion capabilities. For an intense gaming rig, install dual graphics cards such as SLI or Crossfire for tremendous graphics performance. The removable hard drive rack accommodates up to two 3.5" hard drives or three 3.5" SSDs. The bottom panel can either be equipped with exhaust fans, or up to two additional 3.5" hard disks. Should you opt to install hard disks on the bottom of the case, the included magnetic heat shield prevents warm exhaust from the PSU from re-entering the case, and with its uniquely micro-textured surface, looks great doing it. With a single graphics card installed, the top panel can even fit slim radiators, such as the increasingly popular all-in-one water coolers up to 240mm in length. For air coolers, five fan locations and support for CPU coolers up to 160mm in height ensure a frosty system. Have added expansion cards? Then the Phenom Micro-ATX is for you.

For more information on the Phenom Series, please click below:
Phenom Mini-ITX
Phenom Micro-ATX

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Next Gen Radeons incoming!

AMDs line up of next gen radeons are in the house, well sort of as they aren't available for purchase just yet. But we now know that the names that have leaked over the past few days are official! So what we will be getting is the Radeon R9 290X, that will go head to head with Nvidias GTX TITAN, the Radeon R9 280X that will compete with the GTX 780 and the Radeon R9 270X will compete with the GTX 770. The R7 Series will represent the mid-range and will feature the R7 250 and R7 260X.

The R9 290X is based on second generation GCN2(Graphics Core Next) architecture while the 280X is simply a rebadged Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition. I wouldn’t expect anything drastically different in the case of the 280X maybe a slightly higher clock speed and a new cooler slapped on top, but from what I see so far it’s just a HD 7970 with a new track suit. The 290X on the other hand is shaping up to be a titan slayer (get it TITAN slayer.........…...never mind). The 290X sports a whopping 6 billion transistors and has a bandwidth of 300GB per second pumping out 4 billion triangles per second. The 290X will sport 4GB of GDDR5 memory and also signals the return of a 512bit memory interface, reminds me of the 512 bit monsters of the past. The 290X is also the first card to support Direct X 11.2. Unfortunately no info is available on exact stream processor counts but from what I hear it’s somewhere in the range of 3,000.

The R7 250 will be priced at US $89. The R7 260X will come in at US$ 139. The R9 270X and 280X will be priced at US$ 199 and US$299 respectively. Unfortunately no prices have been announced for the 290X as of yet. 

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New era has begun! Watch AMD live stream Now.

AMD is launching its new line of GPUs Watch the Live stream here

amdlivestream on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

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Nintendo Pioneer Hiroshi Yamauchi Dead at 85

To anyone outside the gaming circle this may not mean a thing to you but to us gamers especially the 80s and 90s babies who grew up playing super Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda, it hits a little closer to home. Ex Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi died this morning of Pneumonia at a hospital in Japan.

Yamauchi was at Nintendo's helm when they single handedly resurrected what was a dead video games industry after the video game crash of 1977. In fact, If it wasn't for him the Nintendo we know and love today probably would not exist! He took over the then 60 year old playing card company (yes, Nintendo is old………real old) from his grandfather in the late 1940s and set out on his mission to modernize and diversify the company. This led to many different ventures, a Taxi company, a food company (selling instant rice) , a TV network and; get this, a “love hotel” yea you read that right! Eventually all these ventures failed and in 1966 Yamauchi moved Nintendo into the toy industry launching a number of successful products designed by Gupei Yokoi who would go on to invent the Game Boy.

The stage was now set as Yamauchi led Nintendo into the arcade industry releasing a number of light gun shooter games. This eventually led to Nintendo securing the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey video game console in japan. Nintendo would eventually manufacture their own hardware, known as simply the Colour TV Game. All this led to the NES/Famicom and the rest is history! The Nintendo we all know and love was born.

Yamauchi left Nintendo in 2002 and reportedly did not accept his retirement pension worth something in the area of $14 million, stating that Nintendo could put the money to better use. Yamauchi’s net worth is estimated at around $2.1 billion and was ranked the 13^th richest man in japan.

Yamauchi is survived by his wife and 3 kids.

Now if you will excuse me, I shall go forth and stomp as many Koopa Troopas in his honor!

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Cyanogen Mod is now Cyanogen Inc.

Yup that’s right, Cyanogen mod has gone commercial! Cyanogen mod has been powering devices all the way back to the original G1 and continues to breathe life into devices both old and new the world over! Hell Cyanogen Mod is the force that keeps my aging Nexus S ticking over every morning. I know what many of you are thinking, they have gone commercial, and so that obviously means they sold out to the corporate machine, gone over to the dark side! Well founder Steve Kondik has made it clear that not much will change as the Cyanogen team will still be as committed to the community as always. 

So far Cyanogen Inc. has received some $7 million in funding and the benefits have slowly been trickling down to the end users in the form of the new professional grade camera app and remote device management features. There is even talk of a Cyanogen Mod installer that will provide a bullet proof method of installing the Custom OS on a variety of devices.  This should be available on the play store in a few weeks so stay tuned. I for one can’t wait to see what else the team at Cyanogen Mod…..I mean Inc. has to offer to the community so until then, good luck to team Cyanogen going forward, I expect great things in the future! To the rest of the community, keep calm, flash Cyanogen mod nightlies!

More details can be found here.

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Space X Falcon 9 v1.1 fires its engines for the first time.

Falcon 9v1.1 Roll out.

SpaceX has conducted their first hot fire test of the Falcon 9v1.1 a.k.a Falcon 9 Reusable (F9-R). During a hot fire or static fire test all crucial systems are enabled and the rocket is fully fueled and fully prepared for launch, sort of a dress rehearsal if you will. Engines are fired and throttled to full power for a few seconds before an abort command is issued to shut them down. All this while the rocket remains firmly bolted to the pad. By doing this, engineers can collect performance data on all the rockets vital systems to determine whether or not the rocket is ready for its mission. This is all in preparation for the launch of the CASSIOPE satellite, the first passenger to ride the F9-R to orbit. The launch which was scheduled for September 15^th has slipped unfortunately and SpaceX has yet to confirm a new launch date.

Business end of the F9-R

The F9-R sports a stretched first stage that will eventually become the core stage of the Falcon Heavy and as the name suggests, is the first steps towards creating a fully reusable rocket. Future incarnations of the F9-R will sport landing legs and will have the ability to return safely to earth after each launch. SpaceX is already hard at work on this endeavor. The first stage is powered by 9 upgraded merlin 1D engines arranged in an octagonal pattern (octaweb) with a single centrally mounted engine. The Merlin 1D engines are a significant step above the older Merlin 1C. Not only are they more powerful providing 147,000 lbf when compared to 94,000 lbf of the 1C, the Merlin 1D also has the highest thrust to weight ratio ever achieved by a rocket engine. The manufacturing process has also been optimized meaning lower manufacturing costs in the long run. The first flight of F9-R will also see the introduction of a payload fairing. A payload fairing is simply a shell made of composite materials that protect payloads whether it be a satellite or a space probe during the accent through the densest part of the earth’s atmosphere after which the fairing is jettisoned so that the payload can be released into orbit. Since all previous launches took the Dragon capsule to orbit, no fairing was needed. A fairing however will be crucial as it is needed to protect the delicate instruments on the CASSIOPE satellite during the climb to orbit.

SpaceX has a lot riding on the F9-R as this may be potentially the most challenging launch in the company’s history. The F9-R incorporates the most technological changes since the introduction of the block 1 Falcon 9 back in 2010. When you have so many new modifications all debuting at the same time, the risk of failure is significantly higher! However the Falcon 9 has proven itself to be a very reliable booster thus far, even surviving an engine failure at launch during the CRS-1 ISS resupply mission. Falcon 9 is designed to make it to orbit even after losing two of its 9 Merlin engines, thankfully it hasn’t had to make use of that feature. Let’s hope it never has to.

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Voyager 1 Now In Interstellar Space!

Its official! Vaoyager 1 is now in interstellar space! The most distant object that man has ever sent into space has finally crossed over into a region where the sun no longer has any influence!  Actually, scientists believe that voyager 1 may have crossed this boundary some time last year. Voyager was launched back in 1977 atop a Titan 3E Rocket as part of NASA’s “grand tour”, an ambitious plan that would see the twin voyager probes visiting the outer planets of the solar system. This venture would only be possible by taking advantage of the alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in the late 1970s. Scientists jumped at the opportunity as this unique alignment would not recur for another 175 years. Although Voyager 2 was launched a week before Voyager 1, Voyager 1 was able to overtake her sister craft and get to both Jupiter and Saturn sooner using a shorter trajectory.

 

Both Voyager 1 and 2 completed their prime missions studying the outer gas giants in 1980 and have been darting towards the edge of the solar system collecting a wealth of data ever since. Voyager 1 is currently traveling at a speed of 38,120mph relative to the sun at a distance of 125 AU. Sounds pretty fast huh? The thing is even at that speed it would still take voyager thousands of years (73,775 years to be exact) to get to the nearest star Proxima Centauri ! Voyager will continue to send back data until 2025 when all its remaining instruments will be shut down.

Approximate location of Voyager 1 as of 2013

Launch of Voyager 1

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Gaming TraxX: Dirt 3

Music Info
Track: Ok Luv
Artist: Starkey

Game Info
Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Genre: Racing
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

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Apple announces iPhone 5S & iPhone 5C

Apple has just dropped the details one their next generation iphone models and this time around we have not one but 2 variants, well the iphone 5C is just a rebadged iphone 5 in a colorful polycarbonate shell. The 5c sill have support fot global LTE and will come in 16 and 32GB configurations. Both will be cost $100 and $200 respectively on a 2 year contract.

Now that we have got that out of the way, onward to the real bit of news, iPhone 5S. Not much has changed on the outside from last year’s model as it looks almost identical at a glance. However quite a lot has changed on the inside.

For starters the 5S is powered by apples new 64-bit A7 system on a chip (SoC). Apple claims that the new A7 chip is 2x faster than the old clunker that powered the iphone 5 both in computational power and graphics performance. The A7 also brings with it OpenGL ES 3.0 support allowing game developers to push the limits of graphical quality.

The A7 is supplemented by what apple is calling the M7. This is basically a low powered co-processor designed to handle all sensor data in real time. What this simply means is the M7 chip will continuously monitor data coming in from the accelerometer, gyroscope compass, ambient light sensor etc.

Next up is the camera. Sporting a larger sensor and a f/2.2 aperture add that to a dual-element flash that apple is calling “True Tone”. This allows the flash to match its output to over 1,000 different colour temperatures, the end result….more natural looking colours when using the camera flash. The main thing that got my attention however was the ability to record 720p video at 120 FPS! What does this mean you ask, well it allows for slow-motion video recording. Simply record at 120FPS and playback at 30FPS.

Onward to what Apple believes is the icing on the cake, the Pièce de résistance, “Touch ID”.This what apple is calling this new feature. What it is I basically a figure print scanner located inside the home button. This presents a host of new security features, namely the ability lock your phone with your figure print or using your figure print as a means to authenticate purchased content. 

The iphone 5S will be available in the usual storage configurations 16,32 and 64 GB at $200, $300 and $400 respectively on a 2 year contract. The 5S will be available in 3 colours; Gold, Silver and Gray. Both the 5C and 5S will be available on September 20^th.

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New Physics sandbox game: Space Engineers

A new game has got my attention called space engineers. According to the developers Space Engineers will be a physics based sandbox style game that will allow you to create, maintain and well...destroy your own spacecraft and space stations if you so desire. Any game that allows me to get creative and just build stuff is always a plus in my book so I can’t wait to see what this game will offer. I have been playing a ton of Kerbal Space program and I have also been messing about with Space Engine these past few weeks so this, hopefully should be a nice addition to my ever growing digital space toy box!

The game is still in development and is not yet available but should see a PC beta demo real soon. More info can be found at the Space Engineers website.

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Mirrors Edge Tribute Video.

What do you get when you take a runner, strap on a helmet cam and set him loose on the rooftops? An amazing tribute to mirrors edge 2, produced by Parkour enthusiasts AMPISOUND, that’s what! Now in all honesty the runner in the video got off easy as he didn’t have armed law enforcement on his tail like our young heroine Faith has to constantly deal with but he does pull of some pretty sweet stunts so hey we’ll give him a pass none the less. Check out the tribute video below and the original E3 teaser trailer for Mirrors Edge 2.

Source: AMPISOUND Source: EA

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Killer Instinct Developers show of alternate character colours.

Micheal Willette of Double Hellix gives us a look at the new colour options for the characters that have been revealed so far. Killer Instinct hits on November 22nd exclusively on the Xbox One. Hey Microsoft how about a PC release? Just saying, PC gamers play fighting games too.

Source: Shoryuken.com

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Catalyst 13.10 Beta is Live

Feature Highlights of The AMD Catalyst 13.10 Beta Driver for Windows:

• AMD Catalyst 13.10 Beta includes all of the features/fixes found in AMD Catalyst 13.8 Beta2
• PCI-E bus speed is no longer set to x1 on the secondary GPU when running in CrossFire configurations
• Rome Total War 2:  Updated AMD CrossFire™ profile
• improves CrossFire scaling up to 20% (at 2560x1600 with extreme settings)
• resolves corruption issues seen while playing the game
• Saints Row 4:  Updated AMD CrossFire profile
• improves CrossFire scaling up to 20% (at 2560x1600 with ultra settings)
• Metro Last Light:  Updated AMD CrossFire profile
• improves CrossFire scaling up to 10% (at 2560x1600 with ultra settings)
• Includes a number of frame pacing improvements for the following titles:
• Tomb Raider
• Metro Last Light
• Sniper Elite
• World of Warcraft
• Max Payne 3
• Hitman Absolution

System Requirements:

• Windows® 8.1 (32 & 64-bit versions)
• Windows 8 (32 & 64-bit versions)
• Windows 7 (32 & 64-bit versions with SP1 or higher)

AMD Product Compatibility:

• AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series
• AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series
• AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series
• AMD Mobility Radeon HD 8000M Series
• AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7000M Series
• AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6000M Series
• AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5000M Series

Get it here

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ASUS Announces Transformer Pad TF701T with 2560 x 1600 Display

ASUS today announced the new Transformer Pad TF701T, a 10.1-inch Android tablet with a stunning 2560 x 1600 IPS display, the latest high-performance NVIDIA® Tegra® 4 quad-core processor and a lightweight Mobile Dock with USB 3.0. 

The new ASUS Transformer Pad is perfect for on-the-go entertainment, thanks to a durable metallic design that’s just 8.9mm thick and weighs 585g. A high-quality speaker with ASUS SonicMaster audio technology gives loud, clear sound for music, movies and games, while the 17-hour battery life when docked means the new ASUS Transformer Pad lasts for two full working days between charges.

The tablet for vivid 2560 x 1600 entertainment
The new ASUS Transformer Pad features a 10.1-inch high-performance IGZO-TFT display with reduced energy consumption and a very wide color gamut. The 2560 x 1600 WQXGA resolution gives an extraordinarily sharp image, while IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology ensures accurate color reproduction, wide 178-degree viewing angles and excellent daylight visibility.

Powered by an NVIDIA® Tegra® 4 processor with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and a 72-core GeForce GPU, the new ASUS Transformer Pad gives a great entertainment experience with HD movies and the latest Android games. Miracast Wi-Fi video streaming means the new ASUS Transformer Pad can mirror its display to a compatible HDTV for big-screen entertainment without cables, while a wired HDMI connection can drive a 4K Ultra HD display for truly immersive enjoyment.

The new ASUS Transformer Pad also features a front 1.2-megapixel camera for crystal-clear video chat and a rear 5-megapixel camera that captures full-resolution photos while shooting simultaneous 1080p Full HD video. Zero shutter lag means photos capture at the right moment, while HDR (High Dynamic Range) and intelligent face enhancement gives great shots, every time.

Mobile Dock for additional productivity
The new ASUS Transformer Pad is more than just a high-performance tablet — it’s also an extremely capable Android laptop, thanks to its Mobile Dock. The dock’s full-size keyboard with a large multi-touch touchpad makes the new ASUS Transformer Pad perfect for productivity apps and the Microsoft Office-compatible Polaris Office suite is supplied pre-installed. 

The dock also features a USB 3.0 port that adds support for the latest next-generation SuperSpeed storage devices, while its own built-in battery extends the new ASUS Transformer Pad’s battery life from 13 to 17 hours. The dock also features an SDXC card slot that complements the tablet’s own microSDXC card slot.

Stylish and practical TransCover protection 
The new ASUS Transformer Pad also has an optional protective TransCover case with a durable synthetic screen cover and a hard shell rear. TransCover also has a folding cover that props up the screen at a comfortable angle for on-screen typing and watching video.

Specifications

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ASUS Announces Zenbook UX301 and UX302 with Sleek Glass Finish

ASUS today announced Zenbook UX301 and UX302, two flagship Ultrabooks™ with a beautiful sleek design and a lid protected by scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 with Native Damage Resistance™.

First glimpsed at Computex 2013, the new Zenbook UX301 and UX302 are next-generation Ultrabooks based on the award-winning Zenbook, launched in 2011. The new models feature a metallic ‘spun’ metal design that’s a Zenbook hallmark, but a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 adds a sheer high-gloss finish that’s as hard-wearing as it is stunning. 

Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has the same durability and thinness as Gorilla Glass 2, but Corning’s proprietary NDR glass composition gives superior scratch resistance, reduced scratch visibility and improved toughness. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has three times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2 and offers a 40% reduction in the number of highly visible scratches, with a 40% improvement in retained strength if a deep scratch does occur.

Premium specifications for astonishing performance


A 13.3-inch display available with a 1920 x 1080 Full HD and 2560 x 1440 WQHD resolution means the new ASUS Zenbook gives incredibly sharp images and text. IPS (In-Plane Switching) display technology also ensures rich and accurate color with wide 178-degree viewing angles, while 10-point multi-touch gives smooth and responsive fingertip control with Windows 8.

4th generation Intel® Core™ processors offering seamless multi-tasking performance and outstanding energy efficiency power the new Zenbooks.  A high-end 28W Core i7-4558U dual-core option makes light work of even the most demanding applications, while optional 512GB RAID0 SSD storage turbo-charges performance even more. Models feature either Intel Iris™ graphics, or NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 730M graphics with Optimus technology for incredible game visuals at high resolution and detail settings. 

Available in Moonstone White and Sapphire Blue, Zenbook UX301 features 802.11ac Wi-Fi for high-speed wireless data rates, and comprehensive connectivity options include USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0. All models feature a backlit keyboard with automatic light level control and large multi-touch touchpads with full support for Windows 8 gestures. ASUS SonicMaster audio technology is also standard on all models, for rich and detailed sound with video, music and games.

Specifications

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Android 4.4 on the way! Code Name: KitKat

Yup there is a new android statue making its presence known on the lawn of Google HQ. A giant Kit Kat Android statue to be exact. This can only mean one thing; the next version of android is on the horizon. In fact Google already made it official so you can get the low down right here and a nice illustration of the version history here. It seems this is a mutual agreement between Nestle and Google as the candy makers are already pumping out android branding treats and coupons for Android devices. Well looks like the entire interwebs got this one wrong as we were all gunning for the name key lime pie. I guess Google pulled a fast one on us! Anyway no word yet on key features or even a release date but expect that to change in the coming weeks.

UPDATE: Whats this I see with my lil eyes? A new Nexus 5 maybe?

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Blur Multi-player mayhem Episode 1

Yup! I still play Blur, 3 years after its release, me and my friends still go at each other in some of the most fun multi-player arcade racing you can find anywhere! The official servers are basically dead now so we have to rely on tungle or meet up for LAN parties to get our game on! Yes Actual LAN parties. 

Stay tuned to my youtube channel for more updates.

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WAVES

Early Morning Waves at Silver Sands State Park, Milford, Connecticut, USA.
Technical Detail : Canon EOS 60D + Tokina 12-24mm, at f/22, ISO100
Manually Blend and Processed in Photoshop and Lightroom.

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Rotary Powered Mazda 3

So quick question, what happens when you swap out the stock 4 cylinder engine from a mazda 3 sedan and replace it with a 20b rotary engine? You get this angry little thing. Don’t be fooled by that mazda smile though, it bites!

Source: belgian-motorsport

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Blackberry Z30

Blackberry Z30

The popularity of "phablets" (as the industry has taken to calling them) is on the rise. These devices offer a large display, while still reaming reasonably pocket-able. Samsung currently leads the charge with the Galaxy Note series while HTC is working on a "MAX" version of the popular HTC ONE. Sony has the Xperia Z Ultra but that's bordering on 7 inch tablet territory! Blackberry is looking to jump in on the phablet action with the blackberry Z30 aka the A10 aka Aristo. Whatever you want to call it, the Z30 is destined to be the company’s new BB 10 flagship device for the holidays. In terms of specs, its pretty decent. What we have to work with is a 1.7GHz dual core processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera, 5inch 720p display and that’s all powered by a 2800mAh battery. Like I said, decent, but it’s going to be pretty darn hard for blackberry to convince customers to drop their hard earned cash on it! The Z30 is going up against some strong competition! It will have LG's Powerhouse G2, the Note 3, the iphone 5S, the previously mentioned HTC One MAX and the new Nexus to contend with later this year! I'm just saying, it isn't going to be easy. This has been BlackBerry's big problem with BB 10 over the past couple months. It’s not that they aren't making good hardware, and the BlackBerry 10 OS is pretty good. But they just lack that, "shut up and take may money" feature that they need to sell units. Android has basically got every base covered, every check mark ticked. Android currently has a great selection of hardware, and the most customizable OS on the market. A huge selection of applications second only to iOS while BB 10’s app selection is still in the pupa stages. Blackberry has a monumental task ahead. Although BB10 was well received by blackberry fans earlier this year, it still wasn’t enough to turn the company’s fortunes around. I just don’t see the Z30 changing that much.

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