Samsung Isn't Bothering With Windows 8 Tablets

 

You may have seen reports on how underwhelming the Windows RT tablet has done on the market as of late. However, as of CES 2013, the Windows Surface Pro is on its way and may be what consumers are looking for, if their wallet is deep enough. Alongside Windows are other companies looking to make Windows 8 tablets, but as for Samsung, they've decided to not join in the fight. 

Mike Abary, Samsung's senior vice president has given Windows 8 the cold shoulder as far as tablets go. He says that Windows 8 doesn't interest enough US consumers, leaving not much demand for them. 

With his interview with CNET, he states: 

There wasn’t really a very clear positioning of what Windows RT meant in the marketplace, what it stood for relative to Windows 8, that was being done in an effective manner to the consumer. When we did some tests and studies on how we could go to market with a Windows RT device, we determined there was a lot of heavy lifting we still needed to do to educate the customer on what Windows RT was. And that heavy lifting was going to require pretty heavy investment. When we added those two things up, the investments necessary to educate the consumer on the difference between RT and Windows 8, plus the modest feedback that we got regarding how successful could this be at retail from our retail partners, we decided maybe we ought to wait.

TakTik Extreme, Strike iPhone 5 Cases Make The Toughness Grade

Following up on its TakTik case for the iPhone 4S, LunaTik had plans to release an iPhone 5 equivalent and now it revealed the details of not one, but two extremely tough and innovative TakTik cases for the iPhone 5. The TakTik Strike is designed to encase your iPhone 5 under drop and impact protective layers using LunaTik's unique 9mm thick silicone truss suspension housed inside a steel-bolted, high-impact ballistic polymer bezel. It also features a weapon safety switch-inspired built-in silent switch, silicone covered buttons, hydrophobic membranes that protect the audio ports from water and dust - including water and dust-resistant sealed aluminum ports plugs which are said to be easily accessible.

It has it all. But if that's not enough protection for you, then the $125 TakTik Extreme (below) takes all of that and adds a Gorilla Glass 2 screen protection built into the bezel providing additional shatter protection without compromising touchscreen sensitivity in case your iPhone 5 gets dropped down a cliff when you go mountain climbing. At CES 2013, LunaTik also announced a less extreme and more of an every-day iPhone 5 case called the Seismik Suspension Frame which is based on the silicone truss system featured in the TakTik series at $35. LunaTik did not talk about the expected release date for its new iPhone 5 case lineup.

Skullcandy Crusher Headphones Vibrate Deep Bass

Skullcandy was once known for its outlandish, affordable, mediocre sounding headphones. But that was then. These days, Skullcandy's higher-end headphones actually do sound good for the price. And we wouldn't be surprised to hear Skullcandy's latest and greatest, comfortable-looking over-ear headphones pack a solid punch of audio for the price. The Crusher are Skullcandy's new mainstream designed $100 pair of plastic constructed, closed back cans. But these aren't just another pair of headphones, because the Crusher features an independent vibrating driver which is supposed to deliver that extra bit of THUMP right beside the 40mm speaker driver in both ear cups. Much like a tweeter and woofer setup, but not quite. Users will be able to adjust the intensity of the vibration using the on-board control. This interesting setup should help the Crusher pump out satisfying bass that vibrates into your skull while retaining the necessary clarity in the sound. Or so they say.

Skullcandy's Crusher headphones will be battery powered of course. Because after all, there's a lot of sound that needs pushing. They can fold up for portable carry or storage, and also feature a dethable audio cable with an in-line remote and mic. You'll be able to pick up a pair in red, white and black this March. You can bet these will be awesome for dubstep.

CST-1, The World's Thinnest E Ink Watch

E Ink has partnered with Central Standard Timing to release the world's thinnest E Ink watch destined to wrap around your wrist like a functional slap bracelet. At just 0.80mm, the CST-01's razer thin profile and feather-like lightness is achieved by laminating flexible components including an E Ink display into a thin single piece of stainless spring steel while leaving behind any buttons and knobs. It's so thin and sharp looking it could also make a name for its self as the world's most dangerous watch. Hopefully that's not the case.

Charging and setting the time is done thru an external base station. And because the E Ink display barely wastes any power, the CST-01 watch features an eco-friendly micro-energy battery cell by Thinergy which provides enough power to keep the watch working for a month after just a quick 10 minute charge on the included base. 

Central Stand Timing's minimalist CST-01 E Ink watch just launched on Kickstarter, and is now available to be pre-ordered in black and white colors starting at $129.