Tag Archives: ascend

Desk Purrrfection

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ascend_desk_for_cats_layout

In all the desk designs I’ve seen over the years, this is a first for me! It’s called ‘Ascend’ and it’s been created for all the cat ladies and fellas out there.

Like any cat person will tell you, the moment you give attention to anything but your furry friend, they’ll find a way to lounge on your keyboard or knock over your utensils until it’s back on them! Designed with this in mind, the wood desk has been crafted with multiple ramps and landings for cats to perch up and play. If you can’t fight ’em, invite ’em!

Designer: Dan Devine

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“Each ramp is set at a gentle 30° incline, so it’s accessible to cats of any age. On top there’s plenty of space to stretch out or curl up including a storage tray area with openings to hold charging cables in place. The Ascend Desk gives your cats plenty of options to supervise while you finish your work in peace,” Devine explained.

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“Manufacturability was a priority for the client, so care was taken to be sure it could be easily made by hand or by CNC.”

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Nest Gets Some Competition in the Form of $80 Quirky Norm

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Quirky - General Electric - Norm Thermostat

New York-based Quirky has teamed up with General Electric to launch Norm, a $80 smart thermostat, along with six other great home security products.

Advertised as “Death of a thermostat” or “anti-thermostat,” the Norm is so advanced that it’s no wonder the manufacturer doesn’t want any association with that ancient piece of technology. In partnership with General Electric, Quirky showcased today the Norm and six other smart home products at the Connected Home press event. The entire line is meant to help people save energy and keep their homes safe, in various ways.

What sets Norm apart from the other smart thermostats is the array of sensors it relies on to determine where people are in the house, and where the temperature needs to be adjusted. The use of smart products is also detected and taken into consideration by Norm. The Wink app, which works with the other Quirky products, as well, allows to monitor and control temperature remotely.

The other smart home devices launched today include:

  • Tripper – a door/window server that improves home security. A pair of sensors costs $40.
  • Overflow – a water sensor priced at $35 that sends notifications when moisture levels are abnormal
  • Outlink – a $50 smart wall outlet that monitors how much energy the appliances in your home use
  • Tapt – a $60 smart wall switch that connects button-operated devices to Quirky’s smartphone app
  • Ascend – a $90 garage door sensor that connects it to Wink, in order to control it remotely and to have a log of who arrived and who left.

The sixth smart home device launched by Quirky is Spotter Uniq, a modular sensor system that can have up to four different functions. The options are quite diverse, and include, but do not resume to sound, temperature, air quality, motion, moisture, carbon monoxide. This one starts at $30, but the price goes up depending on the sensors you’re installing.

Overall, Quirky made some waves today, and let Nest know that it’s not alone. As a matter of fact, this sector has seen a lot of activity in the past few months, so each manufacturer of smart thermostats will have to come with new features periodically. Fighting to stay relevant is great for the progress of the industry, not to mention that the satisfaction of customers is thus maintained at high levels.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the special price of Nest smart thermostats on Google Play Store on Earth Day, or the Honeywell Lyric smart thermostat.

Huawei Ascend P6 review: a beautiful handset, but performance is lacking

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Huawei Ascend P6 review great design but performance is lacking

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Well, what do we have here? Okay, let's scrap the faux surprise. The recently confirmed Ascend P6 has landed, and Huawei hopes it will stir interest in the hearts of mobile users. Debuting across Europe, China and Australia in late June / early August with a €449 ($600) price tag, it's asking you to take it seriously, and that's what we'll do.

The mobile market is a fickle place, so it doesn't matter where you are right now; it's all about where you're going. Huawei? Well, it's definitely got its sights set on an upward trajectory. The Ascend P6 is the latest rung on the ladder, intended to elevate the company to mobile greatness. But, with competition stiffer than ever, can it really call a device with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 720p display and 8-megapixel camera a flagship? (For its P-series at least?) Huawei's certainly giving it a try, and it's hoping that beauty, not brawn, will win the day.

Gallery: Huawei Ascend P6 review

Huawei Ascend P6 review

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Huawei Ascend P6 hands-on (video)

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Huawei Ascend P6 handson

Well, we can't say that we didn't know it was coming, despite only getting officially announced this afternoon in London. Either way, Huawei's Ascend P6 is here, and we got some hands-on time with it. As one leak suggested, the P6 comes with a 4.7-inch LCD display (1,280 x 720), a quad-core K3V2 processor, 2GB of RAM and just 8GB internal storage (there is thankfully a microSD card slot). Camera-wise, reports of a 5-megapixel shooter on the front were on the money, while the rear camera is a shade above that at eight megapixels. The front-facing cam isn't the only talking point, either. At just 6.18mm thick, the Ascend P6 is potentially the slimmest phone out there (for now), but is a trim waist and the promise of improved selfies enough? We spent some hands-on time with it to find out.

Gallery: Huawei Ascend P6 hands-on

Huawei Ascend P6 hands-on

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Huawei Ascend P6 announced: 6.18mm thickness, 4.7-inch 720p display

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Huawei Ascend P6 announced 618mm thickness, 47inch 720p display

We knew it was in the works given the sheer quantity of leaks but, with a small sigh of relief, Huawei's Ascend P6 is now official. At the company's London launch, the handset has been revealed with a 6.18mm-thick, all-metal body that weighs in at 120 grams -- only 8 grams more than the iPhone 5, which, for the sake of context, has a thickness of 7.6mm. The 4.7-inch device comes with a 1,280 x 720 in-cell LCD display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU and 2GB RAM. While users may be dismayed to read that the P6 has a small 8GB of storage, a microSD card slot will let you add up to 32GB more for your media perusal. The phone's primary camera is an 8-megapixel, F/2.0 BSI lens with a 4cm macro, but the vain amongst you shouldn't worry as there's a 5-megapixel shooter up front. The build of Android 4.2.2 will be skinned with Huawei's customary Emotion UI, while AV fans amongst you will be happy to see the handset boasting Dolby Digital Plus sound. A 2,000mAh battery and GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ radios round out the spec sheet, and the handset will be launching in China from June and western Europe from July, with 19 countries covered by the end of that month. A total of 100 nations will have the Ascend P6 by the end of the year, and an LTE version is due sometime in the fourth quarter. You'll be able to pick it up in black, white or pink colors from places like EE, Three, Vodafone, O2, Orange and the Carphone Warehouse in the UK. Most Europeans will have to set aside €449 ($601) for the smartphone; we're still waiting on pricing details for the UK and other countries.

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Huawei Windows Phone appears in render, said to be the Ascend W2

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Huawei Windows Phone appears in render, could be the Ascend W2

It feels almost unfaithful to the Ascend W1 to be looking at a potential sequel already, but that's what evleaks claims this is. How he got the image we have no idea, and neither do we have any price or specs to go with it -- it's just this lone render of a Huawei handset running Windows Phone 8 in Chinese. There was actually a previous leak back in April (shown after the break), which also purported to be the Ascend W2 and which did come with some detail: a 720p 4.3-inch display, Snapdragon S4 chip, 8MP rear camera and 1GB RAM for $289. However, today's picture fails to match up with the earlier one in a number of respects, not least in the shape of the bottom edge and in the position of the front camera / sensor opening next to the earpiece, which means the only certainty here is that they can't both be right.

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Source: evleaks (Twitter)

The Daily Roundup for 05.23.2013

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DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Huawei Ascend P6 leaks in official imagery, may launch on June 18th

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Huawei Ascend P6 leaks in official imagery, may show on June 18th

Huawei's upcoming Ascend P6 must be as slim as we've heard, because it just keeps slipping out -- this time, in an official rendering obtained by @evleaks. The imagery appears to validate what we've previously seen in photos, including the wafer-like 6.2mm thick body, a metal chassis and an iteration of the Emotion UI layer that we just saw on the Ascend Mate. And in case there's any lingering doubts, we've even received a possible launch window from the company itself. In a quickly deleted Sina Weibo post referring to the previous leak, Huawei Device Chairman Richard Yu told his followers that this device is indeed part of the P series, and should be revealed at the company's June 18th event in London. At this rate, all that's left for the company is to walk on stage and make its skinniest Ascend official.

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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: @Evleaks (Twitter)

Huawei Ascend Mate review: a supersized phone with supreme battery life

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Huawei Ascend Mate review a supersized phone with supreme battery life

When Huawei revealed the Ascend Mate at CES this year, it felt like smartphones had reached an end point -- they surely couldn't get any larger. We've since been proven wrong by Samsung's Galaxy Mega 6.3, but the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate has gone on sale first, and it's every bit as intimidating as it was in January. The question is whether or not Huawei has more than just size on its side. Is this nearly tablet-sized device worth putting in our pockets, and can it fend off the suddenly tiny-looking Galaxy Note II and Optimus G Pro? Read on past the break, and you'll find out.

Gallery: Huawei Ascend Mate review

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Huawei Ascend G710 reportedly spied touting a 5-inch, 720p screen

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Huawei Ascend G710 reportedly spied, may tout a 5inch, 720p screen

Just because Huawei has already launched a small torrent of smartphones two months into 2013 doesn't mean the company is taking a vacation anytime soon. Evleaks has spotted what's purported to be the Ascend G710, a not-quite-high-end smartphone that would sit just below the Ascend D2. While it would preserve the 5-inch screen and 1.5GHz quad-core processor, it would dip to a 720p resolution. There's hints that it may be more a step sideways, however, through some less performance-minded changes: the G710 would have a premium-looking metal (or metal-effect) back, free up screen real estate with capacitive navigation buttons and talk to both CDMA and GSM networks. When the camera, storage and the all-important launch plans are still missing, though, there's a long way to go before we know where this latest Ascend might sit in Huawei's catalog.

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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: Evleaks (Twitter)