IFA Berlin 2013: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Gear and Sony QX Lenses

Here’s a quick recap of what I find really cool from IFA Berlin 2013 recently. Samsung just announced the launch of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and a new wearable technology called Galaxy Gear which most or less a smartwatch. Sony isn’t missing out the action and pretty much wowed the consumers with their amazing QX Lenses. Let’s take a quick look at these great gadgets that will be coming our way.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Samsung took the stage in Berlin and announced the new Galaxy Note 3 following the success of Galaxy Note 2 just year ago.

The Galaxy Note 3 sticks close to its winning formula. This time enlarging the Super AMOLED display to 5.7 inches, adds a whopping 3GB of RAM and powered it with a 2.3GHz quad-core processor. Samsung also gave the camera resolution a boost to 13 megapixels, and simultaneously trims the fat so it can be a millimeter thinner at 8.3mm and a shade lighter at 168g.

Perhaps the major highlight for the Galaxy Note 3 is the Air Command. This menu pops up any time you extract the S Pen from its silo and can be interacted by hovering the stylus right close to the display. From the Air Command launcher, you can access all the central S Pen features — dubbed Action Memos, Pen Window, S Finder, and Scrapbook. Watch the video below and have a better picture yourself.

Samsung Galaxy Gear

Next up is the must-anticipated Galaxy Gear. After waves of rumours and leaked photos, the Galaxy Gear is finally shown to the world. The Galaxy Gear is Samsung’s attempt to jump into the Wearable Technology bandwagon. Although such technology is nothing new but it’s still rather new and has plenty of room for improvement. Now the same goes for the Galaxy Gear.

Although it is supposedly a smartwatch, Gear comes with a relatively small screen which measures 1.63 inches diagonally. Users can receive e-mails, share pictures and use myriad apps designed for Gear. Just like the Google Glass, Gear does not function as a stand-alone device and must be paired with a Samsung phone or tablet. It is reported that Gear could be targeted more towards athletes and runners.

Galaxy Gear has 512 megabytes of RAM and an internal memory of four gigabytes. It has an 800-megahertz, single-core central processing unit and weighs 73.8 grams. It is also equipped with a 1.9-megapixel camera on the strap with 720p video capture. Available colors include lime green, oatmeal beige, wild orange, mocha gray, jet black and rose gold.

 

Sony QX Series Lenses

Sony did not miss the opportunity to wow their fans and consumers. By introducing their DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lenses, Sony is truly looking thing from a different perspective… literally.

The DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lenses are actually lenses with fully functional camera features that can be attached to any Android or iOS smartphone which acts as a digital viewfinder. Using the PlayMemories app, users can trigger the shutter, zoom in and out, and change basic settings on the lens attachment to snap their favourite image.

The DSC-QX100 is the flagship version and has a 20.2MP Exmor R sensor. It’s equipped with an f/1.8 Zeiss lens capable of 3.6x optical zoom, and even has a manual-focus/zoom adjustment ring. The less-powerful DSC-QX10 uses a 1/2.3″ 18.2MP sensor, an f/3.3 Sony G lens with 10x optical zoom, and will be available in black or white and come with mechanical smartphone mounts.

If you’re wondering how these ‘attachable’ camera lens is going to help you to be a creative amateur photographer? Well, just simply check out this video and you’ll find out how wonderful these lenses can be.

Tagged Galaxy Gear, Galaxy Note 3, QX10, QX100, Samsung, Sony