Asus confirms work on a smart watch

"The watch connected, it's good, eat it !"... This is the slogan that although we may repeat ad nauseam major electronics manufacturers in the future to impose their new gadgets.

On the occasion of a little hop organized by Asus at the end of year, the company president - Jonney Shih - slipped his opinion on the future market of connected objects and other wearable devices. According to him explaining that there is "still a lot of challenges in this sector", especially as meaning "to be truly useful, these products will need to be perfect and offer innovative features".

A challenge for Asus ? Definitely ! The latter having also added: "Yes, of course, with Asus also we will try to replace your watch by all means". Without mentioning any further details, Jonney Shih had to rise to the idea of a smartwatch Asus. It is as easy to make the link between these statements and those made earlier in a previous telephone briefing, when spokesman of Asus hinted that wearable devices of the brand would be exposed soon the next Computex, in the month of June. Products that should be sold before the end of 2014. The calendar does not cease, then, to clarify.

A future market taken seriously

Of course, Asus will not be alone to step into this breach of connected objects market, as other big names such as Samsung, LG, Acer or Intel have already announced their intentions to be the most possible innovative show. A market in which everything remains to be done to convince consumers of the value of these products, as evidenced by the success on any of the first Samsung Galaxy Gear (which is also at work on a second, more advanced model...).

Samsung may abandon Windows in favor of Chrome OS

The almighty Samsung will sink even further Microsoft after having essentially abandoned its tablets and smartphones branded Windows? Again, the giant reserved its favors to the decidedly dreaded Google.

If 2014 will still see Laptops Samsung under Windows arrive on the shelves, the next year could be very different, according to our fellow Taiwanese of Digitimes. For the newspaper, the Korean conglomerate will stop simply "conventional" laptops by less than a small year. By conventional, talking of course about machines under Windows, then shelved to focus only on Chromebooks.

It must say that the business is not doing particularly well at the front of notebook for Samsung, which had delivered 17 million machines in 2013, to finish at 12 million sold units. As a result, forecasts for 2014 figure a target of only 7 million units, while the need for a revision of strategy is strongly felt. The orientation while Chromebook could therefore make sense, even if we keep in mind that things can change, and that Microsoft might not hear it that way.

Forced to change the name of its SkyDrive service, Microsoft opts for "OneDrive"

For British justice, SkyDrive can be assimilated to the activities of a local media group, Microsoft had to change, and pronto. A decision a little absurd, the consequences will soon be felt around the world.

In August, Microsoft was obliged and forced to change the name of its SkyDrive service, after having tried everything to find an arrangement with the British group British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), which clearly didn't want to hear nothing. Since then, everyone had a little closed the case and even forgotten that the Redmond giant had a "reasonable time" to find a new name for its online storage service.

The period in question is clearly past or about to be, Microsoft has unveiled the new name SkyDrive so it will be... "OneDrive" presumably for consistency with "One Microsoft" or Xbox One console. For users, nothing should change, the name changes do not affect the rest of service. As for the date SkyDrive finally disappears to make way for OneDrive, the company Steve Ballmer is vague and evoke a simple "soon".

SanDisk will produce SSD in UltraDIMM size

Install a SSD on a DDR slot allows particularly benefit from a very low latency. This is the concept of UltraDIMM.

In development for a few months now, the format UltraDIMM on what work Smart Storage Systems and Diablo Technologies consists of a SSD in DRAM array format compatible with DIMM slots for present DDR3, to enjoy a very high bandwidth and very low latency.

Today we learn that SanDisk has decided to produce SSD in UltraDIMM size with capacities of 200 and 400GB and assembled based on NAND flash MLC chips engraved in 19 nm. SSD in modules format which present, characteristic side, latency of only 150 microseconds in reading and 5 microseconds in writing. This is much better than what can be offered any other SSD, even on PCIe interface. SanDisk also evokes speeds of 1 GB/s in reading (150,000 IOPS) and 760 MB/s in writing (65,000 IOPS).

However, useless to dream of the arrival of such solutions in our PC for a few years at least, SanDisk has announced its intention to produce these SSD UltraDIMM in very small quantities at first, and make first use of industries that are able to really take advantage of this very low latency. But who knows, once fully developed, perhaps the UltraDIMM will prevail in the machine of good old Mr Everyone at a decent price.

LG G Flex: a pre-order, price in Orange, and bubbles surcharge

The first screen smartphone flexible and curved LG comes to us in a few weeks, but in a single operator, and at a high price...

Major trends mobility in the end of 2013, smartphones of curved screens are undoubtedly one of the most curious and we do not really know what to think, as the technological prowess is as impressive as its utility seems limited... Anyway, it is LG that will have the scoop to be the first to try a luck with the G Flex, smartphone 6'' which has been quite convincing our eyes there a few weeks.

Flexible phablette (pronounced ten times in succession to sharpen your language) has just arrived preorder in Orange, only operator to have at the moment the right to sell it. The release date is however not specified, but the prices are known: from $ 397 with a plan and a commitment of 24 months, or $ 957 naked.

In parallel with this imminent arrival, our fellow Android And Me relayed a somewhat unpleasant discovery: early versions of G Flex have a slight problem of "bubbles" on the screen, which appear after too many bending attempts of the device. A relatively minor concern according to the manufacturer, since enough to hold it to make them disappear. Not sure, $ 957 the smartphone, this response is appropriate to first time buyers...