While CES showcased a lot of technology that isn’t quite available for consumers to own yet, this futuristic table from Samsung fell into the category of soon to be available, meaning consumers will soon be able to take the SUR40 home. Of course with the technology this genius device is packing it is likely that those intended to own one will have to part with a fair amount of dosh.

The stylish design consists of the latest touchscreen technology from Microsoft 2.0 and a full 1080p high definition display. It also features PixelSense technology and hidden cameras under the table that allow for the recognition of over 50 simultaneous touch-points being poked and prodded. The developers have been able to create various apps for the device too, making it one of the largest tablets the world has ever seen.

While the SUR40, or Surface 2.0 as it is also referred to, is not a necessity by any means, it does stand to be a stylish addition to one’s living room and is sure to impress your friends. However those friends better be worth it as if as if you are planning to get one you’re looking at spending around $8000 or $9000. It will begin shipping at the end of this month. Check out TechCrunch for more details where you will also find a video of the table in all its glory.

Would you consider buying the Samsung SUR40?

The company has kicked started the rumor mill after releasing a video that showcased the ‘Best of CES 2012’. It is being suggested that the new Galaxy S III will make its debut at next month’s Mobile World Congress, and according to T3.com may have already made a fleeting appearance.

Around seven minutes into the video a smartphone appears that shows off Samsungs wireless remote features for the company’s new digital cameras. The device in question appears to have a similar shape to the S II, but has an oversized screen with a minimalist bezel, which has led many to believe it could be the first sighting of the Galaxy S III.

It has been rumored the new device will come running a 2GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM. The display is believed to follow the trend of large screens with a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD screen. It is thought the camera will have a twelve megapixel sensor and capable of 1080p full HD video capture.

There has been some reports suggesting the S III will be called the Galaxy S 3D that will have a 3D display, but it is doubtful if Samsung will go down this route as it is felt that many consumers are not interested in 3D technology on a smartphone.

Have a look at the video below and the handset makes an appearance just after seven minutes. Do you think the device is the Galaxy S3 or just a mockup unit?

The S5 is said to arrive in Q2 of this year, we don’t have a full spec listing or price information yet, but we do enough information to give you a pretty detailed product overview, also while we are here we will tell you what the guys over at SlashGear had to say about the S5 which they got their hands on a few days ago.

You can see Acer’s official press release here, this reveals that all S5 Ultrabooks will boast Intel Core processors (2nd-gen Core i3, i5 and i7 options we presume), this in turn means that there will be DDR3 RAM options. As for storage it looks like Acer are snubbing hard disk drive technology in favor of solid-state options, that said we wouldn’t be too surprised if some cheaper HDD options arise upon release. We don’t know a great deal about the display, but we can reveal that it has a 13.3-inch diagonal, we have also been promised professionally-tuned Dolby Home Theater v4 audio.

Other specs which we can confirm include 1x HDMI-out, 2 x USB 3.0 ports and 1 x 20 Gbps Thunderbolt, all of which are hidden by Acer’s unique MagicFlip I/O panel, this panel is activated by pressing a button located near the top-right corner of the keyboard it then expands and contracts to reveal/hide these ports. This neat feature not only looks cool but also allows the Ultrabook to be just 15mm thin at it’s thickest point – this undercuts the MacBook Air’s thickest point by 2mm, however at 3 pounds the S5 is a little heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Air. At the bottom of this post we have embedded a video which shows the MagicFlip I/O panel.

When SlashGear tested out the S5 they seemed very impressed by it’s solid build quality and desirable aesthetics, they weren’t amazed by the I/O panel or the keyboard, but ultimately they spotted nothing which put them off too much, however we have to remember that no pricing information has been disclosed just yet.

For more information about the S5 and the features it offers out-of-the-box check the link to Acer’s press release in this post’s third paragraph, do you like the MagicFlip I/O panel feature?

As you will be able to see in the video below Nintendo showcased some new panoramic controller modes at CES 2012, which according to T3.com will enhance game views. Since Nintendo first revealed the Wii U last June at E3 there hasn’t been many new specifications and features officially announced by the company.

But now the company showcased the Wii U panoramic controller features at CES, and will allow the 5-inch wireless display come controller to offer panoramic views in certain games. The users TV will provide the standard front facing static view.

Nintendo’s new console will be capable of 1080p HD gaming that will bring it into line with the Xbox 360 and PS3, and the company will be hoping to build on the success that the original Wii had with its motion controllers. Trouble is at the time the technology was ground breaking and now has to compete with the Kinect and PlayStation Move.

What may help it is the appeal to families and the non hardcore gamers, which was the big pull when the Wii first launched. The company will surely be looking at its experiences with the 3DS, and make sure the Wii U has some great launch titles available.

Does this new feature make you consider the Wii U even more?

We also brought you news of another tablet from the company, the Eee Pad MeMO ME370T and how it gained CNET’s vote for best tablet of CES 2012. They have been headlining with news of this new 7” tablet that they are planning to ship soon, which will be packing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and an impressive quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor all for just $249.

That brings us to today’s news which many off our readers will find disappointing as unfortunately ASUS has announced they will not be shipping the tablet in the UK due to a lack of user base for their products at this moment in time. Instead, as a consolation it seems, the British market is set to be receiving the ASUS Padfone, which is a tablet/smartphone hybrid. A formal announcement is expected to be made next month at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

Some of the other goodness that the Brits are set to miss out on from the Eee Pad MeMO ME370T includes a 1280 x 800 resolution on its IPS screen, a microSD card storage option, microUSB port, a rear-facing 8 megapixel camera and 1GB RAM. The Padfone meanwhile is a two part device that combines an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone with a 10” tablet. Check out the article at the Inquirer for more details on both devices.

Are you disappointed to hear that the UK will be missing out on this ASUS tablet?

For those that already own a MediaPad you can expect to receive the update to Google’s latest Android OS before the end of the first quarter. If you do not already own one of these devices and are interested, the ICS pre-loaded versions are expected to launch during this first quarter at some point also. Additionally the company will also be offering the device in three new colors; passion pink, classic brown and shadow black as well as in its original color silver as explained in the article at Recombu.

Huawei Chairman Richard Yu said ‘In a tablet market defined by staid black and white tablets, the new colorful MediaPad offers a personalized look without the need for an external case.’ For those that are unaware of what the Huawei MediaPad is all about here is a quick reminder of its key features. They include 6 hours of battery life, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, full 1080p HD video playback capability and a 7” display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution as well as the up to date version of the most popular OS on the market Android.

In related news, the UK mobile network provider, Orange is offering the device under the name Tahiti for those that are interested in owning the tablet in the UK. Meanwhile Huawei has also been showing of it super-thin Android smartphone, the Ascend P1 S at CES, which is also packing an Ice Cream Sandwich surprise. Are you a fan of Huawei products? Are you glad to hear an ICS upgrade is on the way?

Microsoft demonstrated their new Windows 8 software at CES 2012, and just like the recent Xbox Live Dashboard update on Xbox 360 consoles, the main focus will be on the Metro interface, which essentially takes heavily elements from the Windows Phone 7.5 OS.

Microsoft has remained silent on when the public should expect Windows 8 to become available, but a report over at Pocket-Lint reveals that Microsoft has given a strong hint that the software will be available sometime in October this year. Steve Ballmer mentioned during CES that consumers will be able to get a preview of Windows 8 in February, but here is what Janelle Poole had to say when speaking to Pocket-Lint at CES:

“One of the things that I think is a good guideline though is we’ve always said that Windows releases come round about every three years and this year will be three years in October since we launched Windows 7. So I think that’s a good guideline to consider.”

We’ve been very impressed with what we have seen from Windows 8 so far, and at CES there was plenty of opportunities to see how the new software runs on Tablets. Many manufacturers unveiled brand new tablet devices at the event, and used Windows 8 as their OS of choice to show to the public. An example of this can be seen in the quad-core Tegra 3 tablet that NVIDIA had on show at Windows 8, we’ve included the video of this below so you can see the smooth interface in action.

Another tablet that will be shipping with Windows 8 is an effort from Intel, which will be available during the second half of 2012 and will run on Intel’s new Atom ‘Clover trail’ processor. – we’ve added this clip below for you as well to give you another look at Windows 8.

Are you excited about the upcoming release of Windows 8, or do you believe that Microsoft still has a lot of work to do? Opinions are obviously divided between Mac and Windows preferences, but we would say that Windows 8 is definitely a step in the right direction for Microsoft.

Lots of the specs which the Ion boasts have been seen in previous smartphones, but to see all of these things come together in one device shows us just what we can expect from devices in 2012, also if a smartphone doesn’t meet these specs we question whether it can still be regarded as a high-end device in this day and age. The Ion runs Android and for obvious reasons we can only say this is an archetype for Android smartphones as alternative software platforms can run perfectly on much lower spec hardware.

In 2012 we believe that manufacturers who release high-end Android smartphones should look at the Xperia Ion as a benchmark, it features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 720p display (screen size is not greatly important in our opinion), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with support for microSD cards), HDMI-out and a 12.1 megapixel camera which can capture 1080p Full HD video. Obviously WiFi, Bluetooth and some form of 4G connectivity are all essential features these days, also we think that anything under 4-inches in terms of display size wouldn’t work with such a high-resolution panel, but in terms of performance hardware the Xperia Ion has everything an Android smartphone needs in 2012.

The only thing which disappoints us about the Xperia Ion is the software platform, it runs Android 2.3 out-of-the-box and Ice Cream Sandwich has been promised – we would much prefer it to ship with ICS as a fresh new smartphone should boast the latest Android version to kick-start the year – do you agree?

You can see a full breakdown of Xperia Ion tech specs over at SonyEricsson.com, do you think that this should be seen as a benchmark for high-end Android smartphones this year?

The Japanese company is not known for their smartphones, as most of you may even own a Fujitsu-Siemens branded computer since this is their main area of business. Like a growing number of other companies though, the temptation to enter the blooming smartphone market is as high as ever and the company has used CES as their stage to deliver the world’s first quad-core smartphone to a mainstream public audience.

Unfortunately, the device is still a prototype and was kept behind a glass unit so nobody could get their hands on it yet. There is also no name attached with the device so far, but the good news is that Fujitsu has already confirmed an initial list of hardware specs for the device, as well as confirming that the device will be ready for a proper showing at the MWC event in February.

So let’s move on to that quad-core chip, as according to Fujitsu their device will feature NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor which features on the likes of the ASUS Transformer Prime tablet and is clocked in at four cores running at 1.2Ghz each. Other specs include a mouth-watering 13 megapixel camera, LTE support, and a 4.6-inch display which Fujitsu are calling a ‘liquid crystal’ screen.

Another interesting aspect of this device is that it will feature a fifth processor which is hidden away and will be primarily used to conserve battery life when the phone is used for demanding tasks. For a phone that nobody has seen yet, this is full of promise and we can’t wait to see more at MWC. Check out an image of the device below courtesy of Droid-Life and let us know your thoughts on it. Bring on MWC 2012.

Are you ready to drop your current smartphone for a quad-core powerhouse?

As BGR reports the device won’t be blowing anyone away as far as specs are concerned but the price tag of $170 is certainly eye-catching to say the least. For this affordable price, customers will be getting the latest offerings from Google’s successful Android OS out of this 7” tablet, as well as front and rear-facing cameras, 1080p HDMI-out and 4GB of storage with microSD expansion option up to 32GB all run by a 1GHz single-core processor.

ViewSonic Vice President of business development, Michael Holstein claimed the company ‘is committed to delivering advanced technology designed with the consumer in mind.’ The ViewPad E70 certainly looks to be promising that with its rich user experience which not only includes the latest Android operating system but also premium features and apps. The tablet will be one of the most affordable on the market when it launches as expected late during this first quarter of 2012. Check out the link above for the full press release.

TechRadar were able to get some hands on time with the device during CES and were impressed, claiming ‘The ViewPad E70 is capable, it’s just not especially pretty.’ They also pointed out that if price is your main concern then the lack of subtly and sexiness in the design shouldn’t matter. Check out their full hands-on review by clicking the link above. Will you be putting price before design when purchasing a new tablet?