Beyond the spectacular announcements, such as televisions with the first 8K definition models coming onto the market, robots and other more or less entertaining gadgets, the IFA show (Internationale Funk Ausstellung) by Berlin also brought together a large number of innovations designed to improve productivity in the work of the business traveller. Starting with laptops, the latest low-energy processors were presented by Intel, with small upgrades called Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake. Numerous new models (not necessarily equipped with these upgrades) were presented on the stands of the major manufacturers. Acer's Swift 7 beats the world record for the thinnest computer, at just 9 millimetres thick! Its other features are standard, and in no way skewed towards this performance: up to 10 hours of battery life, Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 14-inch full HD touchscreen and integrated 4G connection. For €1,499 incl. VAT, it comes with a carrying case and a mini docking station.
Major news
Lenovo has come up with an original product with its Yoga Book C930 (€999), which adds a 10.8-inch e-ink screen to its traditional colour screen to act as a customisable touch keyboard, with haptic feedback to give a better feel when typing. This screen can also be transformed into digital paper for drawing notes and sketches with the stylus supplied, or even a reading light. The new Yoga Book is extremely compact, weighing in at just under 800 grams and 10 mm thick. Typical of this range, the articulated hinge system means it can be folded away completely to use either screen.
At Taiwanese manufacturer Asus, the big news was the ZenBook Pro with ScreenPad, a spectacular little screen that takes up space on the trackpad which can be temporarily transformed into a number pad, for example. As for the large screen, its borders are seriously reduced, until they reach over 90 % of the available surface, approaching the values of the classic top-of-the-range reference Dell XPS 13, which was slightly revised at the IFA to gain a little more power.
On the smartphonesEven if the IFA isn't the most important event (there's the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for that), there are plenty of new products on show. Starting with Sony Mobile's new flagship, the XZ3 (€799 incl. VAT), which boasts a beautiful 6-inch OLED screen (a first for the Japanese manufacturer) in QHD+ definition (2,880 x 1,440 pixels) and HDR to reproduce the contrast of videos shot using this process. Photography is classic, with a single 19-megapixel sensor and f/2.0 aperture. Interestingly, its artificial intelligence helps it to organise the menu offered by the quick access control on the side of the screen, according to usage habits that the smartphone will pick up on during its first week of use.
Fast recharge
In other important news, BlackBerry has extended its range by unveiling the Key 2 LE, which is more affordable than the Key 2 revealed before the summer. Still running Android and, of course, still equipped with the famous physical keyboard with Speed Key quick access key so popular with some, it is available for €399 including VAT in 32GB version and €429 for 64GB. Security is at the heart of the design of this product, which offers a Locker private memory space, a more protective Firefox Focus browser, and updates to the DTEK proactive security control application. Last but not least, the battery supplied will provide a good day's intensive use, while the fast recharge feature will restore 50 % in just over half an hour.
Other manufacturers were not short on smartphone news either. Sharp is back with 3 very classic models, while the Chinese company Honor (part of Huawei) has announced a very top-of-the-range model for next year, the Magic 2, with a screen covering the entire front, and featuring the brand new Huawei Kirin 980 processor, also announced at the IFA, whose artificial intelligence capabilities should deliver both record performance and energy savings. The first device to be equipped with this processor will be the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, to be unveiled in October. HTC, ZTE, Motorola, LG, Huawei, HiSense and other brands also presented more minor models in their ranges at IFA 2018.
It's also time to take a look at headphones with active noise reduction, the faithful companions of travellers on long plane or train journeys. Sony has held a place of honour alongside Bose, the benchmark in noise reduction, for some years now, and the Japanese company is launching the third version of its 1000X headphones with the WH-1000XM3 (€380), equipped with a brand new HD QN1 processor developed specifically for the purpose. According to Sony, its performance is 4 times better than that of its predecessor, particularly when it comes to reducing the sound of voices. On the other hand, it is also possible to choose a mode that allows surrounding noise to pass through, for greater safety or to make sure you don't miss an important announcement, over the loudspeakers at an airport, for example. It has 30 hours of autonomy and can recover 5 hours with just a 10-minute charge. Other brands are also offering new models, such as Germany's Beyerdynamic, which is back with an all-new range including two noise-reduction models, one in-ear (Blue Byrd ANC) and the other on-ear (Lagoon ANC), which offer the distinctive feature of being able to customise their sound balance to suit each individual ear. Japanese specialist Audio Technica is also presenting new models with active noise reduction.
Technology festival
Last but not least, a host of accessories were also showcased at the IFA, a technology extravaganza. The development of wireless induction charging using the Qi standard (iPhone from 8 and X, Samsung S9 and Note...) has given ideas to manufacturers of external batteries, including the Irish brand Mophie, which is presenting its wireless Charge stream model (5 w max) in two versions, 6,040 or 10,000 mAh, for €79.95 and €99.95 inc VAT respectively. We should also mention the appearance of smartphone protectors with... sanitary virtues. The InvisibleShield and EyeSafe screen protectors filter out eye-damaging blue light, while the new Speck Presidio shells have antibacterial properties. Finally, in a more traditional area, storage, Samsung is presenting its X5 SSD (500 MB, 1 TB or 2 TB), which is particularly fast (2,800 MB/s) and robust, resistant to 2 m drops and protected against overheating. All you need to back up the data of your precious travelling companions in a safe place.
