Eyes On With Samsung's 34-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor

BERLIN—Gamers want the best graphics, delivered at the fastest speeds, on the sharpest monitors. And now they can have it all with curves. On Thursday at IFA, Samsung unveiled three curved gaming monitors: the CFG70, available in 24 or 27 inches, and the CF791, a 34-inch model. All three monitors use Samsung's quantum dot technology. I got to take a look at Samsung's booth.

The 34-inch CF791 packs a 3,440-by-1,440 display, while the smaller CFG70 models come in at 1,920 by 1,080. Design-wise, the CFG70 monitors are black, while the CF791 comes in white. They all sport very thin bezels, and have ball-and-joint mechanisms in the neck that you can tilt and rotate to adjust height without moving the base.

Samsung's quantum dot technology is already available in its line of Ultra HD TVs. According to the company, it makes for better color accuracy and a sharper picture. That certainly appears to be true based on what I saw at the show. The latest Call of Duty and some sports titles really popped. On the wider CF791 I also got to try Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, which is a weird game to use to showcase gorgeous graphics, since it's pretty bland.

With AMD graphics cards that use FreeSync, the monitors have screen refresh rates ranging from 100Hz for the CF791 to 144Hz for the CFG70. And each CFG70 monitor has input delay of only 1ms. Basically, that means games played on the smaller screens (with AMD cards) will have less input lag and stutter (the larger CF791 has 4ms of lag).

A user interface called Gaming UX, which pops up over the screen's image with the press of a button (behind the bezel), has options for picture modes, black equalizers, and motion blur. But this feature looked incomplete on the monitors I saw, and it's only available on the CFG70 models.

All three monitors will be available in the fourth quarter of 2016. The 24-inch CFG70 costs $399, the 27-inch model goes for $499, and the CF791 is $999.

Get Sony's $3,200 Gold-Plated Walkman in 2017

The 70th anniversary is customarily celebrated with a platinum gift. But Sony is bucking tradition by unveiling a gold-plated Walkman.

The Japanese electronics maker, now seven decades old, is releasing a new line of high-resolution personal audio products: two Walkman players, headphones, and headphone amplifier.

Boasting the "highest-quality materials and structures for reproducing the best possible sound," the Signature Series is led by the gilded NW-WM1Z Walkman (right).

Available next early next year for a whopping $3,199.99, the high-end music player not only shimmers in the light, but promises to reduce "contact resistance and oxidation," according to Sony.

For nostalgics bearing more shallow pockets, the company in November will launch its NW-WM1A Walkman, with a $1,999.99 price tag and a touch panel UI.

Both support the 384kHZ/32-bit "Hi-Res" music format, which utilizes separate digital and analog circuitry, as well as technology to upscale lower bit-rate files to "near High Resolution Audio quality," the company boasted.

"This series of audio products faithfully conveys the heart and soul that artists pour into their music, from the sublime resonance of an orchestra to the overflowing passion of a live concert," Dunja LaRosa, head of mobile audio at Sony, said in a statement. "Together, the Signature Series devices push sound to an entirely new level—taking the headphone experience from 'listening' to 'feeling'."

Optimized for hi-res "personal listening enjoyment," Sony's new MDR-Z1R headphones feature a 70mm magnesium dome driver, aluminum-coated diaphragm, and neodymium magnet for "greater velocity, less signal loss, and more natural sound."

Audiophiles, meanwhile, may want to save up for the TA-ZH1ES headphone amplifier, complete with a new D.A. Hybrid Amplifier Circuit and Acoustically Tuned Panel for controlling vibration and resonance.

Skagen Hagen Connected is a minimalist analog watch that keeps track of fitness goals and pushes notifications to your wrist.

BERLIN—Fossil has quite the showing of smartwatches at IFA this year. Aside from its namesake lineup of new Q watches, it's bringing sub-brand Skagen into the fold with the Hagen Connected, a rather attractive new option that looks like a traditional analog model. It allows you to track fitness goals on a sub-dial, vibrates to let you know you have a phone notification, and acts as a trigger button for smartphone functions like camera and music. I got to try it on at the show.

As you can see, the Hagen Connected looks a lot like the Withings Activite Steel, but with the sub-dial on the left rather than the right. It's also a bit thicker. The watch comes with a soft leather band, which can be swapped out with silicone or steel mesh options. I tried on the default leather band and found it to be pretty comfortable. Compared with the gargantuan Fossil Q Nate (pictured at left below), it was like wearing nothing at all.

Despite the lack of a digital display, the Hagen Connected can relay information through vibrations—it buzzes when you receive a call, text, or email. With a companion app you can customize the notifications so that the hour and minute hands point at specific numbers on the watch face to indicate who is calling you. For example, when your partner calls, you can set the hands to point to 11 o'clock when the vibration comes through.

As far as fitness tracking goes, the sub-dial counts your daily step progress, and the watch tracks basic activities like walking and running, and stats like distance.

The watch updates the time and date automatically, and supports multiple time zones. Using the buttons on the side, you can find your phone, control music on it, and snap photos. A standard coin cell battery eliminates the need to place it on a charger, although there's no word yet on battery life.

The Hagen Connected will arrive later this month for $195. Check back soon for a full review.

This AI software can tell if you're at risk from cancer before symptoms appear

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with one in eight women receiving the terrifying diagnosis in their lifetime.

But researchers have now developed artificial intelligence software that can accurately predict breast cancer risk, which would enable doctors to closely monitor those most at risk of developing the potentially life-threatening disease.

The AI program reliably interprets mammograms and translates patient data into diagnostic information 30 times faster than a human doctor, with 99 per cent accuracy.

It was developed by researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas.

“This software intelligently reviews millions of records in a short amount of time, enabling us to determine breast cancer risk more efficiently using a patient's mammogram,” said Stephen T Wong, chair of the Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering at the institute. “This has the potential to decrease unnecessary biopsies," he added.

The team used the AI software to evaluate mammograms and pathology reports of 500 breast cancer patients.

The software scanned patient charts, collected diagnostic features and correlated mammogram findings with breast cancer subtype. Clinicians used results, such the expression of tumour proteins, to accurately predict each patient's probability of breast cancer diagnosis.

In the US, 12.1 million mammograms are performed annually, but half yield false results, according to the American Cancer Society, resulting in one in two healthy women being told they have cancer.

Patients who are told they are at particular risk of breast cancer are often recommended for biopsies – a necessary but invasive procedure that removes tissue or fluid from a suspicious area so cells can be analysed. However, 20 per cent are performed unnecessarily.

The researchers hope their software will help physicians better choose which patients need the procedure and decrease unnecessary breast biopsies.

Manual review of 50 charts took two clinicians 50 to 70 hours, whereas the AI software reviewed 500 charts in a few hours, saving the human doctors 500 hours of their time.

"Accurate review of this many charts would be practically impossible without AI," Dr Wong said.

Logitech's ZeroTouch transforms any car into a smart car

Cars across the board are being sold with more and more smart capabilities but if you can't afford to upgrade your current vehicle to take advantage of these new features, Logitech has a solution.

The Lausanne-based firm has launched its ZeroTouch gadget in the UK which promises to add smart features to any car using just an air vent.

When connected to an Android phone, the smart car mount responds to gestures, voice commands and can even help you use individual apps as you drive.

ZeroTouch comes in two models. The ZeroTouch Air Vent attaches to any vent on a dashboard, while ZeroTouch Dashboard can be attached to your windscreen.

When you connect your phone to the magnetised ZeroTouch it triggers Logitech's voice-controlled app which lets you respond to incoming texts, and operate certain apps – including Spotify, Waze and Google Maps - hands-free.

It can also be used to make calls, dictate and send text messages, and share your location without touching your phone.

"New car owners can experience the luxury of a connected car, but there are still tens of millions of older cars on the road," said Bracken Darrell, Logitech president and chief executive officer.

The product is already available in the US. The ZeroTouch Air Vent and ZeroTouch Dashboard are available in the UK from September 7, exclusively from Carphone Warehouse, priced at £49.99 and £59.99 respectively.

ZeroTouch is compatible with Android smartphones running Android OS 4.4 or later, and requires an active Bluetooth connection.

September 7 event (launching of iphone 7)

Rumours suggest the new iPhone will ditch the headphone jack

Apple has confirmed its next event will take place on September 7.

The Fall event is typically when Apple unveils a new iPhone and this year it is expected to announce the iPhone 7 alongside a second-generation Apple Watch.

Invitations were sent out by the tech giant to media this morning with the simple tagline: "See you on the 7th."

The event will start at 10am PT and is being held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. It will also be live streamed on iOS devices and Safari.

A number of photos purporting to be leaked images of the iPhone 7 show the handset looking almost identical to the current iPhone 6S range with a more advanced, potentially dual-lens camera on the rear and no headphone jack.

The lack of a headphone jack has been the most discussed rumour surrounding the next-generation iPhone and has split opinion.

Critics claim Apple will use this to push a new range of wireless, Bluetooth-enabled Beats headphones, while supporters have praised the idea, suggesting it will make the phone thinner or potentially see the internals shifted around to make way for a larger battery.

Beyond the iPhone and Watch, Apple is expected to reveal more about the full release date of its iOS 10 software, a revamped HomeKit and a new line of Mac computers.

A University of Oxford professor can boost efficiency of silicon solar panels by a third

Henry Snaith, a professor at the University of Oxford has found a way to boost the efficiency of solar panels

Henry Snaith claims he can boost the efficiency of commercial silicon solar panels by almost a third. Even better: he says he can do it for £1 per metre. The trick? Applying a thin film of a crystalline structure called perovskite.
"The best available silicon modules are still around 22 per cent efficient and cost around $85 [£60] per metre," explains Snaith, a physics professor at the University of Oxford. "This increases the cost by ten per cent for an increased output of up to 30 per cent."
 
Snaith has worked to increase the standalone efficiency of perovskite from four per cent to 20 per cent, the fastest ever efficiency increase in solar technology since its photovoltaic properties were first tested in 2009. The strength of perovskite is that its band gap - the range of the spectrum from which it absorbs energy - is adjustable, unlike the band gap of silicon, which is fixed at one electron volt.

"This is the same as infrared, so all the excess energy from the light that's at a higher energy is lost," explains Snaith, 38. By tuning the lab-grown perovskite crystals to a higher band gap for visible light and combining it with a silicon panel for infrared, Snaith's two-part solar cell splits the spectrum to absorb more energy. Such multi-bandwidth cells have been produced before, but the prohibitive cost of manufacture has restricted their use to small-scale, high-value applications such as aerospace.

Snaith aims to have the panels available in three years through his company, Oxford Photovoltaics. Founded in 2010, it is developing a production line with a £12.6 million funding round in 2015. The end goal, however, is to get rid of silicon panels completely.

"Perovskite is a better material," Snaith explains. "You need only half a micron of perovskite instead of 200 microns of silicon. It's easier to process, and it should be more efficient. We're close to a tipping point where conventional power becomes not just un-environmental, but economically unfeasible."