Business Traveller brings you a round-up of travel gadgets announced at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas and set to appear in the UK over the coming months
Pricing on all devices is yet to be announced
Sony Xperia Arc
Sony has announced the first of a new range of smartphones to bear the Xperia name. Following on from the X10s of last year, the Arc employs many of the same aesthetics making it recognisably Sony. The Arc is an update of the full-sized X10, but with Android’s new 2.3 “Gingerbread” operating system. Other specifications include an extra wide 4.2” multi-touch screen, 8.1 megapixel camera, HD video recording and a 1GHz Qualcomm processor.
AVAILABLE Q1 2011 (early rumours give a general release date of April)
CONTACT sonyericsson.com
Acer Aspire 5253 and 4253 notebooks
The new Acer Aspire 5253 and 4253 are designed for productivity, entertainment and education, with better high-definition entertainment, multitasking and impressive power savings. At the heart of these notebooks is the powerful AMD E-Series processor, enabling stutter-free HD movies and HD video streaming. The new Aspires comes in two format sizes – 35.5cm (14”) for the Aspire 4253 and 39.5cm (15.6”) for the Aspire 5253.
AVAILABLE Q2 2011
CONTACT acer-euro.com
ViewSonic ViewPad 10s and ViewPad 4 tablets
ViewSonic has strengthened its range of tablet devices with the launch of the Android-powered ViewPad 10s and ViewPad 4. The ViewPad 10s is a 10.1” Android 2.2 tablet with a 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor, native 1080p HDMI display output and a built-in 1.3MP camera. It’s also fully connected with 3G, GPS, wifi and Bluetooth. The new OS comes with flash 10.1 support. The smaller ViewPad 4 offers both phone and tablet functionality in a flash 10.1 enabled, Android-based 4.1" WVGA touch capacitive device, with HD 720p video recording and HDMI 720p output. It also boasts a 5MP auto-focus camera, Bluetooth, wifi and video telephony via an additional front facing camera.
AVAILABLE European pricing to be confirmed in Q1 2011
CONTACT viewsoniceurope.com/uk
Acer beTouch E210
The Acer beTouch E210 is one of the few handsets out there that combine a touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard and an optical trackpad with the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system. Its relatively small form factor and 2.6” screen make it standout in a market dominated by large handsets bearing large displays. Aside from that, it has all the standard features one would expect from a modern smartphone such as social network integration, 3G and wifi connectivity, a 3.2MP camera, GPS and Bluetooth, an FM radio and access to thousands of apps via the Android marketplace.
AVAILABLE March
CONTACT acer-group.com
App of the week
Sleep Cycle alarm clock for the iPhone
The latest app causing a stir is the Sleep Cycle alarm clock from Swedish software designers Maciek Drejak Labs. With the iPhone sitting on the user’s bed, this innovative app determines sleep patterns by detecting movement during the night, allowing it to produce a sleep level time graph. The app also doubles as a super-intelligent alarm clock that wakes the user only when they enter the lightest level of sleep within a pre-set time range.
PRICE $0.99
CONTACT itunes.apple.com
