LAS VEGAS: Samsung unveiled its Windows 8-powered Series 7 Chronos alongside its new Ultra ultrabook at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Sunday.

Running Windows 8 standard and featuring a touchscreen, Samsung touted the Chronos as proof it was capable of making laptops oozing with business appeal.

Design and build
The Chronos' most striking feature is its bare metal chassis and ample dimensions, with it measuring in at 376x249x20.9mm.

This meant that while the Chronos feels very sturdy, with its aluminium chassis giving the impression it could withstand the odd heavy whack, it's also fairly heavy, even when compared to other devices in its size bracket. For this reason, the Chronos is more a desktop replacement than portable device and won't be suitable for execs expecting to rack up the air miles.

Its large backlit keyboard does have advantages though. Testing the Chronos, we were pleased with the keyboard, with it proving very responsive and pleasant to type on.

Additionally, the Chronos' size has let Samsung load it with a slew of ports. These include two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0, and individual HDMI and VGA ports. On its top, the Chronos also features a 720p integrated camera for video calling.

Screen
Samsung's loaded the Chronos with a 15.6in Full HD display. Boasting the increasingly common 10-point touch functionality, we found the display suitably eye-pleasing and responsive, recognising and enacting our touch inputs instantaneously.

The only issue we noticed with the Chronos' screen was that it could be prone to glare when it caught the light at a certain angle - though this could be more to do with the insanely bright lights Samsung had on its show floor and might not be an issue when using the Chronos in normal conditions.

Performance
Power-wise the Chronos sits in the middle of Samsung's laptop range, packing an AMD Radeon HD 8870M Graphics chip with 2GB GDDR5 Graphic Memory on board that is complemented by an Intel Core i7 processor.

While we didn't get the chance to fully run the Chronos through its paces during our hands on, we were pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it ran. Testing the Chronos using the slew of pre-installed apps on it we found the device could easily handle multi-tasking and most general tasks.

We're looking forward to seeing how the Chronos performs when challenged with more intensive tasks come our full review.

Battery
Samsung claims the Chronos will boast an eight-hour battery life off one charge. We didn't get the chance to test Samsung's claim during our hands on, but if true this should mean the Chronos will last a full working day off one charge.

However, given the device's large size, we're not sure how often users will find themselves using the Chronos on the go, away from a power station.

Chances
There's currently no official word on the Chronos price or release date. However given its middling specifications, we're guessing the Chronos will come with a similarly middling price tag. If our guess is right, then while its large size and weight make it unsuitable for prolonged mobile use the Chronos could be a solid choice for users looking for a desktop replacement.

Check back with V3 later in the year for a full review of the Samsung Series 7 Chronos.

LAS VEGAS: The Helix is one of many new ThinkPads to be unveiled by Lenovo at the 2013, Consumer Electronics (CES) show. However, being the company's first tablet-come-laptop hybrid it is debatably the most interesting.

Taking on the likes of the Microsoft Surface and Samsung Ativ-series of hybrids, the Helix seeks to offer businesses an all-in-one tablet that also acts as an ultrabook.

Having beaten the rush to get our hands on the tablet, if our opening impressions are anything to go by, Lenovo may have actually managed to achieve its goal.

Design and build
At first glance the Helix has a lot more in common with its ThinkPad predecessors than other convertible laptops.

The Helix design is unashamedly barebones, featuring the same minimalist black, hard edged plastic design synonymous with all ThinkPad devices.

It's only when you open it up and look up close that you realise the Helix is actually a convertible, spotting the rather unsubtle left hand switch that when popped separates the 21mm tablet section from its dock.

Playing with the Helix we were fairly impressed by the hinge mechanism's builds quality. Despite being made of plastic the connecting section felt sturdy.

Popping the tablet in and out of the dock a few times we felt suitably reassured the section wouldn't break after prolonged use. The same was true of the Helix main tablet section, with it feeling fairly robust.

Our only qualm with the device is that it feels slightly heavier than many other convertible devices weighing a hefty 835g.

Screen
The Helix comes loaded with an 11.6in Full HD 1920x1080 pixels, 10-point multi-touch screen. During our opening tests we found that looks very nice, boasting great viewing angles, colour and brightness levels.

Testing the screen we found the Helix was pleasantly responsive, with it easily picking up and responding to every swipe and poke we threw at it.

Another added boon for artistic users, is the inclusion of a Wacom stylus, that sits neatly in the Helix's top edge.

While we didn't have time to do anything but use the stylus to make a few quick doodles, we were impressed with how well it worked.

Using Photoshop Elements, we found the Helix was able to pick up on even minor variations in pressure and angle and are fairly certain it could be used for digital painting and design purposes.

Performance and price
The Helix is designed to offer users ultrabook-level performance with the top-end version coming loaded with an Intel Core i7 processor 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. However, for this, users will have to shell out a massive $1,500.

For those shopping on a budget Lenovo's also confirmed the Helix will be available in Intel i3 and i5 versions, though there is still no official word on how much these lower specced versions will cost.

Chances
Overall our opening impressions of the Helix are positive. However, costing over $700 more than other cheaper convertible laptop-tablet hybrids, we're unsure whether the Helix will be able to attract anyone but the wealthiest of users.

LAS VEGAS: Prior to the kick off of the 2013 CES show, Sharp showed reporters a sneak peek of a new display technology called Igzo. Based on a collection of four materials, Igzo acts as an efficient semiconductor and an alternative to traditional silicon compounds. The company believes that Igzo can support more powerful and efficient screen designs.

The monitors on display at this year's show did impress, though any technology in its infancy carries plenty of caveats. The touchscreen systems were sharp and responsive in their limited demonstrations.

One of the most impressive features on the Igzo monitor was its ability to quickly and clearly perform the type of zoom activities rarely seen outside of TV dramas. The screen was able to seamlessly go from this...

To this...

The most intriguing feature of IGZO technology, however, is its power efficiency. Due to its ability to intermittently power off hardware without losing picture, the displays are said to be as much as 90 per cent more efficient.

Also intriguing were the possible form factors for Igzo. Screens based on the format include both traditional and flexible handset displays.

LAS VEGAS: It's not easy to follow in the footsteps of Windows and Xbox, but that's exactly what Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chip was tasked with doing in the first ever non-Microsoft CES opening keynote.

The mobile chip was the headlining announcement in the headlining address of the biggest technology conference of the year. With that billing comes high expectations. Does the Snapdragon 800 measure up?

The first versions of the 800 series, which will be aimed at the tablet sector, are only available in prototype devices. The first OEM models equipped with the hardware are still some months away and will likely only arrive in full force towards the end of the year.

Qualcomm has made a point of playing up the muscle behind Snapdragon. The company loves to show its complex images rendered as wireframe to underscore just how much processing power is being put into each of its demonstration scenes.

The Snapdragon 800 will largely target the gaming market in its earliest incarnations. However, where high-end gaming is found, creative professionals and other high-demand business users are not far behind. The chip offers console-quality graphics and high frame rates, while controls were fluid and responsive, even for a prototype.

Along with more processing power, Snapdragon 800 chips will feature brand new power management tools. The above meters show the chip regulating its power intake by completely turning off unused processor cores and regulating the activity of the GPU as needed.

LAS VEGAS: Tablets have long been seen as consumer-first devices. Even when they were brought into the enterprise, it was only because end users forced the issue. This year, however, Panasonic is looking to change that with a large-screen tablet model designed strictly for business use.

The Panasonic 4k is a 20in tablet designed for professional use. Unveiled at CES, the large-screen tablet looks to provide a platform for designers, photographers, architects and other digital professionals who require a large and accurate canvas for their work.

The main attraction of the Panasonic 4K tablet is, of course, the screen. True to its billing, the touchscreen offers an ultra-clear image with a resolution four times higher than that of the 1080p HD picture standard. While it doesn't come across in photo form, the screen clarity and picture quality is everything the company hyped it up to be. But the 4K isn't just a fancy display. Beneath the touchscreen lies a full Windows 8 tablet based on Intel's Core processors.

While the sheer size of the 4K makes it a two-handed device, the tablet itself is rather light and when held up provides a good weight distribution, so no need worry about wrecking your back carrying it around the office or through the parking lot.

The touchscreen interface still needs some work, but that is to be expected in a device so early in its development. Panasonic will have plenty of time for tweaks before the tablet hits the market in the second half of the year.

LAS VEGAS: Samsung initially announced its plans to use Windows 8 to increase its presence in the enterprise space in October 2012, when it unveiled its Ativ series of convertible tablet-laptop hybrids.

Following up its opening salvo, Samsung unveiled its Series 7 Ultra ultrabook at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Monday.

Eager to get a look at the device, V3 wrestled past the crowds at Samsung's CES booth and took a hands on look at the Ultra to see how it measures up to its more established Lenovo, HP and Dell-built competition.

Design and build
The first thing that strikes you about the Ultra is its unashamedly ultrabook design, featuring the telltale polished aluminium chassis that has become synonymous with with the title.

With its familiar brushed metal finish, the Samsung Series 7 Ultra looks sleek and stylish and feels fairly solidly built.

It also looks to be extremely travel friendly, measuring just 18.9mm thick and weighing a modest 1.65kg.

Underneath its shiny metal exterior, the Ultra packs a surprisingly large backlit keyboard. But during our tests we found the keyboard, though usable and responsive, did feel slightly less well built than the rest of the device. The keys had a disconcerting spongy feel when pressed.

The Ultra sports a surprising number of ports, despite its diminutive size, packing a single USB 3.0 port, a pair of USB 2.0 connectors, HDMI, mini VGA and HP/MIC options.

Another added boon for business users is the inclusion of a 720p HD camera, which when tested was more than adequate for video calling.

Screen
The Samsung Series 7 Ultra packs a 13.3in Full HD 1920 x 1080, 1080p, 10-point multi-touch screen.

Using the device we found the screen was suitably responsive, recognising our pinch, zoom and swipe commands instantly, making navigating its Windows 8 Pro operating system an absolute joy.

Ultrabook performance
The Ultra we tested was powered by an Intel Core i7 processor though there is also an Intel Core i5 model is to launch too.

Testing the i7 version we were pleased how well Ultra handled, with programmes loading blazingly fast. We're looking forward to pushing the Ultra further and seeing how it handles more intensive tasks come our full review.

Samsung claims the Ultra will boast an eight-hour battery life. If true this will be another strong selling point for the Ultra, adding to its "use on the go" travel friendly appeal.

Overall
The Samsung Series 7 Ultra offers great performance - although a critical point, as ever will be price, a key bit of information Samsung's chosen to keep quiet about.

Check back with V3 later for a full review of the Samsung Series 7 Ultra.

LAS VEGAS: It's no secret that V3 was left slightly cold by Sony's 2012 Xperia smartphone line up.

This is largely because while handsets like the Xperia S and T were interesting, showcasing what Sony's custom Bravia and camera technology could do, they ultimately fell short, packing outdated versions of Android and slower processors than the competition.

It appears, however that Sony was aware of this problem, and has come out swinging, unveiling what we think could potentially be its best smartphone to date, the Xperia Z.

Design and build
The Xperia Z is an unashamedly large handset. Packing a 5in HD screen, the Xperia Z measures in at 139x71x7.9mm and weighs 146g.

However thanks to Sony's "OmniBalance" design, the handset doesn't look overly large and you don't realise quite how big it is until you actually pick it up.

OmniBalance is a design approach that aims to give the Xperia Z a consistent appearance from whatever angle its viewed at.look the same from all angles.

This is reflected in its minimalist look with its front and back being entirely devoid of buttons, only housing fairly well camouflaged cameras and Sony logos.

The Z's ports are also fairly well hidden, each being covered with a plug, that as well as hiding the device's inputs also make the smartphone water resistant.

The only noticeable design feature on the Z is its aluminium power button, which sits on the Z's right side.

Display
Sony's packed the Xperia Z with a sizeable 5in Full HD 1080p Reality Display, loaded with its own Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology.

Boasting 1080p 443ppi resolution, Sony claims the Z's screen is the best it has ever created and will offer equivalent performance to most HD televisions.

During our hands on, we only got the chance to test the screen in a fairly well-lit room, but saw no reason to doubt Sony's claims. Comparing the Xperia Z to the Lumia 920, a phone we've consistently listed as having one of the best screens seen on any smartphone, we couldn't pick a clear winner.

Performance
The Xperia Z is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and boasts 2GB RAM.

Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see how well the Z performed, as the demo unit we got to try wasn't connected to the internet. This meant that we didn't get the chance to see how well it performs loading web pages, streaming video or running demanding applications.

Connectivity
The Xperia Z is 4G-enabled, although there's currently no word on whether it will be released on the UK's EE network, with carriers Three and Vodafone being the only operators yet to confirm they will carry Sony's new flagship handset.

This means those looking to take advantage of the 4G option will have to wait for Vodafone and Three to launch the service.

NFC
One of the nicest touches we saw on the Z is the inclusion of Sony's OneTouch near-field communication (NFC) service.

The feature aims to increase integration levels between Sony devices. During the demo we saw Sony show how the technology lets you sync your phone with speakers, headphones and even TVs simply by tapping them with the Xperia Z.

Camera
Looking to wrestle the best smartphone camera title from Nokia and its Lumia 920, Sony's loaded the Xperia Z with a 13MP camera, complete with its own custom Exmor RS for mobile sensor.

The Exmor RS for mobile is the first image sensor with HDR (High Dynamic Range) video designed for smartphones. It promises to radically improve the camera's usability and versatility.

Testing the camera we were only able to take a few photos of the showroom floor, but we were nonetheless very impressed. Even in the brilliantly bright lighting conditions, the test shots we took looked great, not looking oversaturated, and boasting great brightness and colour balance levels.

Battery and storage
Sony's loaded the Xperia Z with a fairly meaty 2400mAh battery and 16GB of storage, which is upgradable thanks to the inclusion of a microSD card slot.

Operating system
The Xperia Z runs using Android 4.1 Jelly Bean combined with Sony's own custom user interface. This means that while boasting all Jelly Bean's features, like Google Now, the Z's interface still looks largely identical to the one seen on Sony's 2012 Xperia lineup.

Outlook
The Xperia Z is set to arrive in the UK "in the coming weeks" in white, black and purple options. While there's currently no word on the Z's final cost, considering Sony's track record for charging a premium for its devices, we're thinking it could be fairly expensive.

That said, having had a chance to test the Xperia Z we've been left wanting more and can't wait to put the device through some more thorough tests.

Check back with V3 in the coming weeks for a full review of the Sony Xperia Z.

LAS VEGAS: Chinese phone maker Huawei took the word 'phablet' to a whole new level at its CES press conference on Sunday, with the launch of its gigantic Ascend Mate smartphone.

V3 was lucky enough to get its mitts on the 6.1in Ascend Mate handset following the event to check out whether such a massive device can actually work in the real world.

We must say, it really is enormous. We found it difficult to hold the cumbersome smartphone with one hand. It's plenty slim enough at just 6.5mm thick at its slimmest part, but the handset's 6.1in screen meant we found it difficult to wrap our hand around the device. It's quite a weighty device too, tipping the scales at 192g.

In fact, the Huawei Ascend Mate is so big that we're struggling to view it as a smartphone, as it feels much more like a tablet device. For example, we'd feel pretty stupid holding the device up to our ear while making a call, and it would be pretty much impossible to squeeze the Ascend Mate into a pocket.

However, we're not going to let the size of this device spoil our view of this phone, because in terms of performance it's very exciting.

For starters, the 6.1in screen is absolutely gorgeous, albeit not quite on par with the iPhone 5. That's no doubt thanks to its 1280x800 IPS screen, which looked extremely impressive even under florescent lighting.

This screen also comes with Huawei's new Magic Touch screen technology, which means that - much like on the Nokia Lumia 920 - it can be operated while you're wearing gloves. We have yet to test this feature, but will be sure to do so in our full Huawei Ascend Mate review once we're back in the UK.

The Huawei Ascend Mate is an extremely slick device to use too, due to the 1.5GHz dual-core processor under the bonnet. Swiping through homescreens was impressively nippy, as was firing open applications, and although we were unable to test the browser due to the flaky Wi-Fi at CES, Huawei assured us that web access is just as lightning fast. Well they would, wouldn't they?

Another reason the Ascend Mate is fast is due to Huawei's stripped down user interface that Huawei calls its Emotion UI. Turn the device on and you're greeted with a panel of applications and widgets, which didn't appear obtrusive during our time with the giant phone. Another cool software feature is Huawei's live updating wallpapers, which means that your device could look different every time you switch it on.

Speaking of looks, we were pleasantly surprised by the casing of the device. Sure, it's huge, but the phone's glossy plastic casing - also available in black - felt much more robust that the casing used on Samsung's competing smartphones.

Huawei boasts that this casing is waterproof and resistant against drops and tumbles too, so we'll be sure to give this a thorough testing in our full review of the handset.

While we're not convinced that a 6.1in smartphone is a great idea, the Huawei Ascend Mate is a great phone if you look past its ridiculous size. It looks like Huawei is ready to take on the big names in the mobile industry, and if it starts putting out such highly specified devices it might be able to do in 2013.