via "spain" "residency" "visa" - Google News www.residentvisaspain.com
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Surge in mortgage enquiries puts Spain back in the top spot - Property Magazine International
via "spain" "residency" "visa" - Google News www.residentvisaspain.com
Monday, 18 November 2013
Gift Guide 2013: Phones, tablets and computers
Network World - In the past, we used to separate out categories for cell phones, tablets and computers. In theory, we still could create separate guides just for those products - there are so many options to choose from and not a week goes by where another phone, tablet or computer hits the market.
[HAPPY HOLIDAYS: See a listing of all the products of Network World's holiday gift guide]
But uniqueness and variety are starting to go away - we're getting kind of sick of seeing the same features over and over again on these devices, other than processor changes, memory upgrades and other tweaks. For the following gift ideas, we focused on products that we thought went a little bit extra, providing some interesting new concept to the product that could make it stand out. For anyone asking for a mobile device this year, start with these suggestions:
Product: Xperia Z smartphoneCompany: Sony (via T-Mobile)Price: $50 (upfront price, or $530 full retail/unlocked), plus $20 per month for two years, plus voice and data plans.Buy this for: A Sony fan who wants an Android phone with a very large screen and excellent camera, who also happens to have good coverage from T-Mobile.
Smartphones are becoming less and less about the phone, and more about the different features/functions/apps you can run on them. They really are just mobile computers to the extreme, dominating our lives with distractions like watching movies, playing games, taking photos or videos or doing hundreds of other things. The problem for smartphone vendors, then, becomes trying to focus on what features/functions their new device has that will appeal to the consumer.
For Sony, this means discussing things like photos, videos and display with its Xperia Z. The smartphone features its Exmor RS for mobile, 'the world's first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones', and a 13-megapixel digital camera/camcorder (1080p recording).
In addition, the phone boasts impressive water-resistant features - as long as the port covers are all closed and snapped shut, you should be able to drop the phone in some water (or, more likely, a toilet, as sad and gross as that sounds) without suffering a total loss of your device. Sony claims you can submerge the device for up to 30 minutes in water, so you have some time to retrieve it during one of those incidents. In our dunk tests, we were even able to watch a movie while the unit was submerged in our water - the movie kept playing (and you could hear the sound from the speaker) while it was in water. I'm not sure that's a real selling point, but it was interesting that the Xperia Z could do that (instead of just shutting down during the water submerging).
The phone features a Snapdragon S4 Pro Quad-core processor, runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of ROM (we saw about 11GB free for storing media), and 32GB of expandable memory via memory card slot. The phone is 4G capable, but that all depends on whether you're in the good T-Mobile zone (sadly, we weren't). However, Sony makes other Xperia models for other carriers, so check with your carrier to see if they support the phone.
www.best-budget-tablet.com For tablet reviews of the best budget tablets
Expat alert: 'Buy' Maltese passport, become European citizen - Emirates 24/7
via "spain" "residency" "visa" - Google News www.residentvisaspain.com
UAE expat alert: 'Buy' Maltese passport, become European citizen - Zawya (registration)
via "spain" "residency" "visa" - Google News www.residentvisaspain.com
Sunday, 17 November 2013
UAE expat alert: 'Buy' Maltese passport, become European citizen - Emirates 24/7
via "spain" "residency" "visa" - Google News www.residentvisaspain.com
Black Friday 2013: BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club deals on tablets, laptops, desktops
Summary: The warehouse stores offer a variety of computer specials, but are they worth the price of membership?
You're probably familiar with the warehouse club model: You pay a yearly fee for the right to buy jumbo quantities of paper towels and Cheerios at a discounted price. Over the years, the likes of BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club expanded their offerings, including the latest computers. As a result, they're a definite option for Black Friday deals if you're in the market for a new tablet or PC, especially if you're already a member. Even if you're not, a big enough special could make it worth it the price to become a member to be eligible for the same price.
Black Friday 2013 Staples Black Friday 2013 ad leaks: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals OfficeMax: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals Staples selling HP Pavilion Chromebook laptop for $179.99 Office Depot Black Friday 2013 ad leaks: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals Dell ad leaks: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals Best Buy: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals Adobe: Thanksgiving will surpass Black Friday in online sales
Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the case this year with the stores' tablet deals. No iPad specials or Microsoft Surface sales, but plenty of Samsung Tab listings, even if the pricing hasn't differed much from any store with Black Friday deals disclosed thus far. The difference here appears to be in bundled items, though it's unclear what precisely Sam's Club's bundles entails. At $159.99, BJ's price on the Samsung Tab 3 7-inch model is $10 less than Sam's Club and includes a case; the same goes for the Tab 3 10.1-inch slate ($289.99 vs. $299.99). Costco tries to spin things a slightly different way, offering 'instant savings' on the Tab 3 versions, though the prices wind up the same as everywhere else.
BJ's at least has another option in the Asus Transformer T100TA, a 10.1-inch Windows 8.1 tablet with the new Intel Atom Z3740 Bay Trail processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of solid-state storage, and a detachable keyboard dock for $299.99, or $100 off its current price. Costco has another wrinkle: If you purchase a computer online for $599.99 or more, you'll be able to purchase a Dell Venue 8-inch Android tablet for just $99.99 (normally $179.99, though Dell is selling it for $129.99 for Black Friday).
There are more choices when it comes to laptop deals at the three warehouse stores. BJ's is selling the HP Pavilion Chromebook 14 for $229.99, but it loses out in comparison to the $179.99 sale at Staples for a similar model (though this one has 4GB of RAM instead of 2GB). There aren't other truly budget-priced sales, with the next lowest-priced notebook (also available at BJ's) being the Asus R510-CA with Intel Core i5-3337U Ivy Bridge processor, 6GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive and 15.6-inch screen for $449.99. A more robust portable from BJ's is the Toshiba Satellite S55t-A5331, complete with 15.6-inch full HD touchscreen, 12GB of RAM, terabyte hard drive, and Core i7-4700MQ quad-core Haswell CPU for $749.99, or $250 less than the current price.
Sam's Club two notebook specials are HP Haswell-based machines. The Pavilion 15-n047cl is a Black Friday exclusive with Core i5-4200U processor, 6GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive, and 15.6-inch touchscreen for $499, while the HP Envy 15-j067cl is similarly sized with the same capacity hard drive, but offers 8GB of RAM and Core i7-4700QM for $699. Not to be outdone, Costco has a trio of HP Envy laptops, including what appears to be a similar model to the Sam's Club one, but with a Black Friday price $100 lower (online only). In stores, there's an Envy 15t with a slightly faster Core i7-4700U processor and 12GB of RAM for $799.99. The third Envy, another online-only offer, upgrades the RAM to 16 gigs, comes with Windows 8.1 Professional, and throws in Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 for $999.99.
Rounding out Sam's Club's laptop deals are a pair of online specials. The Dell Inspiron 15R features Core i7 Haswell processor, 8 gigs of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and 15.6-inch touchscreen for $649.99, and for those with need for a big screen, the Toshiba Satellite S75 offers the Core i7-4700MQ chip, 16GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, a full version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013, and 17.3-inch display for $699.99, $200 off Sam's current price.
Further confirming the move away from the traditional desktop, these stores each has just one special: BJ's has a Dell Inspiron i660s with Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, terabyte hard drive and bundled 20-inch LCD monitor for $419.99, while Sams's Club has a deal on an HP Pavilion TouchSmart all-in-one PC with A6-5200 processor, 6GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and a 23-inch touchscreen for $599 (apparently a special Black Friday configuration). If you're looking ofr more power, Costco offers a Dell XPS 8700 tower with Core i7 CPU, a sizeable 16GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drive as an online-only deal of $899.99, or $200 less than what it sells it for today.
You can see the full leaked ads for yourself from BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club.
www.best-budget-tablet.com For tablet reviews of the best budget tablets
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