A week in tech: Windows 8.1, lasers for goalposts and Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Revealed: Sony Xperia Z Ultra (Picture: Stuff)

Stuff, the world?s best selling gadget magazine, fills us in on the hottest tech news from the week including the new Sony Xperia Z Ultra and?Windows 8.1.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra revealed ? world?s most powerful smartphone with a 6.4in screen that works with normal pens

Sony has revealed the Xperia Z Ultra, a huge-yet-thin smartphone that?s packing enough beefy specs to pre-emptively bring the fight to the likes of the unannounced Samsung Galaxy Note 3. And given what it?s packing beneath its slick innards, the Galaxy Note 3 should have something to worry about.

The 212g Xperia Z Ultra is the world?s thinnest smartphone with a full HD display, measuring in at just a tad thicker than the non-HD Huawei Ascend P6, at 6.5mm thin, and its X-Reality engine can upscale standard YouTube videos, adding extra pixels to improve the quality.

Google console, smartwatch, Android laptop and Nexus Q on their way to you

Nexus Q: Google has been busy (Picture: Stuff)

Google is working on a console, a smartwatch, an Android laptop and a new Nexus Q ? according to the Wall Street Journal?s sources.

At least one of these products could ship as soon as this Autumn. All of them will be designed and marketed by Google itself to take on the likes of Ouya, GameStick, and a rumoured Apple TV gaming update.

Windows 8.1 reinstates the Start button and adds support for 3D printers

Upgrade: Windows 8.1 (Picture: Stuff)

Microsoft is currently strutting its stuff on the brightly coloured stage at its Build 2013 developer conference ? and it?s kicked things off with a look at some shiny new features in Windows 8.1.

With Windows 8 coming in for some criticism from users who felt that Microsoft had changed too much, too soon, Windows 8.1 is a chance for the software giant to tease those who have yet to switch. And yes: the Start button is back.

Lasers for goalposts: Nike lights up the streets with its laser football pitch

New: Nike laser football pitches (Picture: Stuff)

There is nothing that cannot be improved with lasers ? including football.

With that in mind, Nike?s created a portable pitch that uses a crane-mounted laser system to conjure up a five-a-side footy field in the location of your choice ? as long as you live in one of six lucky neighbourhoods in Madrid.

3D print your very own Mini-me

3d printers just got better (Picture: Stuff)

Desk decorations are, in general, fairly boring. A framed photo of the family. A wilting fern. A dancing flower if you?re a bit ?zanier?. But a startup called Levavo lets you do something much more interesting: create a miniature statue of yourself.

Pay Levavo?s East London studio a visit and they will take a full body scan of your chosen pose (apparently this takes a second, similar to having a photo taken). Pretty much any pose is possible, and Levavo told us that soon it?ll be able to scan two people at once.

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Source: http://metro.co.uk/2013/06/29/a-week-in-tech-windows-8-1-lasers-for-goalposts-and-sony-xperia-z-ultra-3861978/

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