Samsung officially unveils ATIV Q and ATIV Tab 3 Windows 8 tablets and announces ATIV Book 9 Plus, ATIV Book 9 Lite ultrabooks and Galaxy NX Camera

Today Samsung has announced the next generation of their sleek Series 9 ultrabook. The two new ultrabooks are called ATIV Book 9 Plus and ATIV Book 9 Lite respectively and both run Windows 8, as you might have guessed.

Both feature aluminium unibodies and 13.3-inch screens with touch functionality. The one on the ATIV Book 9 Plus however packs the whopping 3200 X 1800 QHD+ resolution.

The ATIV Book 9 Plus uses Intel’s fourth gen Haswell CPUs – both Core i5 and i7 ULT are available – and provides up to 12h of battery life. It has 2xUSB 3.0 ports, it weighs only 1.39kg and comes in black.

The ATIV Book 9 Lite takes it easier on the wallet with a screen, which has 1366 x 768px resolution and touch functionality only as an option.

The ATIV Book 9 Lite is powered by a low-voltage quad-core CPU and weighs 1.44kg-1.58kg depending on the touchscreen option. It has one USB 3.0 port and another USB 2.0 port on board. It will be available in both black and white.

There is no info on pricing and availability just yet.

Samsung announces Galaxy NX, first Android-powered interchangeable lens camera with 20.3MP APS-C sensor

Samsung just unveiled the first interchangeable lens camera that is powered by Android, the Samsung Galaxy NX. The device is a more advanced version of the Galaxy Camera with a much larger sensor and you get a choice of NX mount lenses.

The Galaxy NX uses an APS-C sensor with an effective resolution of 20.3MP. Besides high resolution stills, the camera can also record 1080p video at 25fps. The camera features DRIMe IV Image Signal Processer and can do burst shots at 8.6fps with a maximum shutter speed of up to 1/6000 sec.

The big sensor isn’t the only advantage – with the Galaxy NX you can use any NX mount lens, pancake lenses, fish eye lenses, long primes and zoom lenses, even a 45mm 2D/3D lens. Some lenses feature Optical Image Stabilization too.

The camera packs a powerful xenon popup flash and you get an electronic viewfinder with SVGA resolution (800 x 600) if you are into that sort of thing.

The Samsung Galaxy NX also packs a 4.8″ HD TFT LCD display on the back, which is a lot better than what cameras usually get (yes, even expensive DSLRs). It gets much better functionality too, thanks to Android 4.2.2 with TouchWiz 5, which is becoming standard issue for recent Galaxy devices.

The Samsung Galaxy NX is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. The storage can be expanded with a microSD card (up to 64GB). Connectivity is worthy of a smartphone too with LTE (market dependent), HSPA+ (42Mbps download), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS plus GLONASS for accurate geo-tagging.

The TouchWiz software means users get the same creative camera modes that we saw on the Galaxy S4 Zoom – more than 30 Smart modes including Animated photo (creates a GIF), Multi Exposure and Sound & shot.

The Galaxy NX will come bundled with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for advanced image processing, but the camera also comes with True 3D Creator for making 3D images and movies.

The camera measures 136.5 x 101.2 x 25.7mm and weighs 495g with the battery. Speaking of which, it’s a 4,360mAh battery, which is close to four times the capacity of the Samsung NX2000 battery, but it’s needed for the bigger screen and powerful chipset.

There’s no info on the price and availability of the Samsung Galaxy NX just yet.

Samsung officially unveils ATIV Q and ATIV Tab 3 Windows 8 tablets

At today’s Premiere event in London Samsung officially announced two tablets – the convertible ATIV Q and ATIV Tab 3. Both devices run Windows 8, while the ATIV Q can dual boot Android as well.

Starting up with the Samsung ATIV Q, as it is the more interesting slate of the two. It’s built around a 13.3″ display with the jaw-dropping resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels. This results in pixel density of 275ppi, more than some not-so-old smartphones out there.

Since its a slider tablet, it supports a few lock modes: typing, floating (the display is lifted from the base), stand and writing.

It’s powered by a fourth-gen Intel Core i5 processor with Intel’s HD Graphics 4400 GPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD storage. It runs Windows 8 and can run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, as well. Connectivity options include one USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 port each, micro HDMI, Ethernet port (via a dongle), and an SD card slot. The front-facing camera is capable of shooting 720p HD video.

The Samsung ATIV Q weighs 1.29kg (2.84 pounds) and measures 327.0 x 217.8 x 13.9mm, which is not too shabby for a tablet with these specifications. The battery is of unknown size, but Samsung claims it can power the ATIV Q for up to 9 hours.

Samsung ATIV Tab 3

On to the Samsung ATIV Tab 3, which sports a 10.1″ display, packing a more modest 1366 x 768 pixels resolution. It runs Windows 8 again but is powered by he Intel ATOM Z2760 CPU and 2GB of RAM. The internal storage is 64GB, expandable via the on-board microSD card slot.

The ATIV Tab 3 weighs 550 grams and is just 8.2mm thick, which Samsung claims is the world’s thinnest as far as Windows 8 tablets go. The company hasn’t provided details about the battery yet, but says it’ll be good for 10 hours of usage. There’s one microUSB and one microHDMI port as well.

Sharing the design of the Galaxy Tab series, the ATIV Tab 3 also features an improved S Pen, which is fully compatible with the Microsoft Office suite, which is preloaded on it (Home & Student version).

Samsung Galaxy and Ativ live streaming

Live video from Samsung’s event in London. It’s scheduled to start at 7 p.m. U.K. time, 9 p.m Beirut Time.

Note that once the event starts we will suspend the posting of new articles and updates until the show is over.

Justin Bieber collapses on stage in London

Justin Bieber‘s health is on the rebound after he collapsed onstage Thursday in London due to shortage of breath and was later taken to a hospital.

And although the pop star is now out and about—he was discharged from the hospital and is still slated to perform his final London show tonight—footage has emerged showing him buckling onstage during the concert in question, underscoring the considerable alarm that the incident raised among both his entourage and his fans.

In the clip, the 19-year-old prances onstage while performing “Beauty and a Beat” when suddenly, he appears light-headed and stops to catch his breath while a vocal track continues to play.

He then bends down, propping himself up against his knees before later stumbling toward the back of the stage.

Bieber was subsequently administered oxygen backstage, but after a 10-minute hiatus, he returned onstage to finish the show, flouting doctors’ orders that he rest up and pull the plug on the concert.

The crooner, however, seemed to be having a rough time getting back on track: On Friday morning, an agitated Bieber was photographed lunging at paparazzi while being restrained by his bodyguard, who at one point lifted the pop star off the ground.

Bieber later alluded to the incident on Twitter.

“Ahhhhh! Rough morning,” he tweeted, adding, “Sometimes when people r shoving cameras in your face all day and yelling the worst thing possible at u…well I’m human.”

He also promised to channel his energy into mounting a good show Friday night.

“Gonna get focused on this show tonight. Adrenaline is high now. Gonna put it on the stage,” he wrote.

“This is Lumia” light show seen by thousands live in London

For the second straight year, Canadian performer and DJ deadmau5 lit up the dark skies of London with a light show to promote the latest Nokia Lumia models, the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820. This year’s event included a concert that was held at the Electric Brixton following the light show. Last year’s celebration was for the Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710 and was held at the Millbank Tower in London.

Nokia said that thousands showed up for the event which was also streamed to the rest of the world. The Nokia Lumia 920 is off to a great start, having been sold out already in some countries. Nokia has high hopes for the handset. Just the other day, we passed along a video from the phone’s designer that explained some of the thought process that went into the design of the Windows Phone 8 powered model.

Those who would like to see Windows Phone 8 make a move on Android and Apple have been looking for the one breakout device that would catapult the platform into the mainstream and beyond the same way that theMotorola DROID did for Android only three years ago. It would appear from all indications that the Nokia Lumia 920 will be the candidate. Whether or not it can do for Windows Phone 8 what the OG DROID did for Android is another matter although at least one analyst sees it coming.

A United Lebanon in the United Kingdom – London Olympics 2012

At 11 p.m. Beirut local time yesterday, a newly cast bell that is larger than Big Ben will ring out from London’s Olympic Stadium and the eyes of one billion people across the globe will be upon us. But what will they see? What does modern Britain look like? Well, it’s a mix of things, many of them characteristics that we share with Lebanon.

The challenge for Danny Boyle, artistic director of yesterday’s opening ceremony, was to capture this diversity, with just three hours to portray the British people and our society to the world. I hope that every one of you watching will be able to take something away from it and think of Britain in a new light.

Danny’s vision for the ceremony came from thinking about the people of Britain: who we were, where we have come from, what our history and heritage is; and then who we are now and where we are going.

The U.K. has always been an open society. It’s in our blood. Sitting on one of the world’s crossroads the British have always thrived on the exchange of goods, ideas and people – much as Lebanon has. For millennia, the Lebanese have set out from these shores to push the boundaries, to pursue dreams. Both of our countries have a history looking outward and taking the global perspective and we help other people connect too.

The English language, the product of centuries of influence, is used all over the world and our greatest writers, poets and playwrights have left behind them a global birthright. It is no secret that Danny’s concept was inspired by a speech in William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” nor that the first scenes you will see celebrate William Blake’s rural idyll of “England’s green and pleasant land.”

It is this rich and vibrant history that so many people around the world associate with Britain: from the pomp and ceremony on display at our great Royal occasions to the Sunday afternoon games of cricket on village greens across the land. Indeed, many of our customs and values, laws and ideals seem to have changed little over the years. But in reality we are constantly inventing ourselves. Just like Lebanon, Britain is at its best when we’re pioneering, when we’re trading, when we’re dreaming. Our deep roots give us enormous energy and our lively origins as a nation of migrants express themselves in a continuing tradition of exploration, discovery and creativity.

I expect that all eyes across Lebanon will be on the 10 Olympic athletes, who will proudly join the parade. These young people represent not only this country’s top achievers in sport but also Lebanon’s great resilience in times of trouble and its ambition to compete on a world stage. The Olympics are a great unifier and I hope that they will unite Lebanon behind their team.

Let’s show that Lebanon can unite in supporting the very best of this diverse, resilient country, at London 2012