Europe’s biggest tech event, IFA has mostly been about big ticket items like gaming PCs, laptops and smartphones. However, IFA’s all about all types of technology, even those that some of us don’t pay that much attention to (at least on a normal day).

The Harman group, for instance has made several announcements at IFA last week, introducing new products that include headphones, speakers and other types of personal audio equipment.

Chief among these announcements is the JBL Everest Elite series of wireless headphones. The series is comprised of models of different styles: in-ear, on-ear and around-ear. All models in the series have Bluetooth v4.0, NXTGen Active Noise Canceling technology, JBL Pro Audio, TruNote Auto Sound Calibration, ShareME 2.0, Auto-Off functionality and support for a companion app.

The top of the line Everest Elite 700 will be sold for $383, the mid-range Everest 300 will cost $184 while the Everest 100 will be sold for around $122.

Those looking for a sportier alternative can check out the JBL Reflect Mini BT (around $122) that provides comfort and stability, JBL Reflect Aware (around $230) that comes with noise canceling technology and the JBL Grip (approximately $26) which according to JBL was co-designed with athletes.

Now, if in case you want to share your tunes with your friends, the Harman group has also announced refreshes to products already in its line including the JBL Boost TV loudspeaker ($260), JBL Pulse 2 Bluetooth speaker, the JBL Trip car speaker (~$122) and the Harman Kardon Esquire 2  which costs slightly above $300.

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Alcatel is quite a burgeoning brand in the smartphone market and unlike the big hitters like Samsung or Sony, it’s trying to capture the interest of consumers not by introducing very powerful one-off flagship models, but with multiple mid-rangers that a lot of people can afford.

This year at IFA, we’ve already met the OneTouch Pop and Star, so now it’s time to meet the rest of the company’s newest models – the OneTouch Idol 3C, Pixi First and the 10-inch Pixi 3 tablet.

The OneTouch Idol 3C is the most capable of all the devices launched by Alcatel at IFA with a Snapdragon 615 chip with a dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. There’s also a 13MP camera at the back with a five-element f/2.0 lens, an 8MP front-facing selfie camera and a 5.5-inch 1080p display.

Cat 4 LTE as well as Bluetooth v4.1, NFC, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and a 2910mAh battery wraps up the rest of the Idol 3C’s specs.

As for the OneTouch Pixi First, it has a 4-inch display with resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, a Spectrum SC7731 chip with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of expandable storage. It also has a 5MP+2MP camera combo, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi b/g/n and a 1450mAh battery.

Lastly, we have the OneTouch Pixi 3 10-inch tablet. It has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels (~149ppi), a MediaTek MT8127 chip with a 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, a 5MP+2MP camera combo, GPS, Bluetooth v4.1 and a 4060mAh battery.

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While the big players of the industry take most of the limelight at IFA this year, it’s good to know that the smaller players still have some interesting products on display at the event. For instance, French phone maker Alcatel has announced several new models at the event including the OneTouch Pop Up, Go Play and Star phones.

Starting at the top of the pile, we have the OneTouch Pop Up, which has a Snapdragon 610 chip with a 1.4GHz octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

The device has a 5-inch 720p IPS panel with five-finger multi-touch support, a 13MP rear camera with an f/2.0 lens and LED flash and a 5MP selfie snapper at the front. There’s also 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, a 2000mAh battery and dual-SIM functionality.

A small notch down, we’ve got the OneTouch Pop Star – another 5-inch HD phone that offers mid-range specs and performance. But unlike the Pop Up, this particular model does things with a MediaTek chip with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

The Pop Star will be offered in a 3G and 4G model. Both will have an 8MP+5MP camera combo, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, a 2000mAh battery and dual-SIM functionality. Moreover, Alcatel has made the Pop Star with interchangeable back covers that users can snap in place.

Finally, there’s the OneTouch Go Play, which as the name suggests, is a ruggedized model. It has the same 5-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon 410 chip with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.

The device has IP67 certification and boasts an 8MP+5MP camera combo that is capable of recording 1080p videos.

Also announced at the event, was the Alcatel Go Watch, the company’s very own wearable that runs on a proprietary operating system. Specs include a 180MHz processor, a 1.22-inch IPS display (240 x 204 pixels) and a 225mAh battery that is said to last for 2-5 days.

As with other wearables announced at the event, the Go Watch sports a heart rate monitor, a vibration motor for notifications, a gyro sensor and an accelerometer.           

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Last but definitely not the least on Lenovo’s announcement at IFA this week are the company’s new Yoga 3 tablets. These devices were designed primarily for multi-media consumption, hence the large screens and built-in projectors.

First one up, we have the high-end Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro 10 with its 10.1-inch display featuring a 2560 x 1600-pixel resolution, 299ppi and 16:10 aspect ratio. The device also sports a built-in 70-inch projector that can transform any wall or ceiling into a screen.

The tablet is powered by an Intel Atom Z8500 chip with a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. It is also packing a 10200mAh battery that can last up to 49 days on standby, four front-facing JBL speakers with Dolby and a 13MP+5MP camera combo.

Those looking for more affordable models can go for the Yoga Tab 10 or Tab 8.

With the exception of the screen size, both models pack identical specs. These include a Snapdragon 210 chipset with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and a 6200mAh battery.

Both models have a screen resolution of 1280 x 800, a rotating 8MP camera as well as the usual plethora of connectivity features found in tablets in the market today. Moreover, both models will run on Android 5.1 Lollipop and will feature LTE and 3G connectivity.

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8.0 will hit the store shelves come next month for $169, while the Yoga Tab 3 10 and Yoga Tab 3 Pro will be available by November for $199 and $499 respectively.

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Lenovo’s keynote for the most part was mainly about laptops and gaming equipment, but you might be forgetting that the Taiwanese tech giant also makes smartphones and tablets. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the company has made several smartphone and tablet announcements at the German event.

To be more specific, Lenovo has announced three new Vibe phones – the Vibe S1, Vibe P1 and Vibe P1m.

The first phone that was introduced at IFA was the Vibe S1. The handset tries to compete with selfie phones from other manufacturers such as Asus and Sony. However, instead of competing in the megapixel race, the Vibe S1 goes after the competition through software improvements.

For instance, the camera has two front-facing cameras – an 8MP and a 2MP snapper that analyzes depth of field information in order to replicate human binocular vision. Images taken using these cameras can be edited on the fly using several photo filters pre-installed on the handset including bokeh and a “cut out” effect that allows users to crop people out of a selfie and paste them onto another image.

As for the performance department, the Vibe S1 is powered by a MediaTek chip with an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The handset also comes with a 5-inch Full HD display, a 13MP camera at the back, a 2500mAh battery and LTE connectivity.

Lenovo will be shipping the Vibe S1 starting November for $299. It will be offered in two color options: pearl white and midnight blue.

Next, we have the Lenovo Vibe P1 and P1m. Both phones are actually designed with a specific audience in mind – battery guzzlers.

The larger Vibe P1 has a 5000mAh battery and is said to last up to 81 hours on standby. The phone’s’ battery also supports fast charging and features a “rocket charge” function that monitors the battery to prevent overheating. The large battery also allows the handset to charge other device via USB OTG.

It also has a OneKey Power Saver button that activates a power saving mode in order to double the battery life.

In terms of specs, the Vibe S1 has a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, an aluminum body, a Snapdragon 615 chip and 2GB of RAM. It also comes with a 13MP camera at the back, a 5MP selfie snapper, dual-SIM functionality, LTE connectivity, Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4.1.

The Vibe P1 will be available starting next month for $280.

Then there’s the smaller Vibe P1m, which has a 5-inch 720p display and a 4000mAh battery. The rest of the device’s specs are watered down versions from the P1m including a polycarbonate body instead of an aluminum and a MediaTek chip with a 1GHz quad-core processor.

There’s still 2GB of RAM inside as well as dual-SIM functionality, LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 4.1 and the ability to charge other devices via USB OTG.

The phone will be on sale in a couple of weeks starting at $160.

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It seems gaming is a recurring theme at IFA this year; and it’s mostly the Taiwanese firms that are bringing their game on. While Acer has its Predator line and Asus has Republic of Gamers, Lenovo has its Y-series.

The series’ front liner are the IdeaCentre Y900 and Y700 desktop PCs and the IdeaPad Y700 gaming laptop. The desktop PCs can be equipped with 6^th generation Core i7 processor, discrete graphic options and can accommodate future upgrades.

Both models come with NVidia’s GeForce graphics cards with the Y700 featuring the GTX 970 with 4GB of RAM while the Y900 sporting a GTX 980 also with 4GB of video RAM. Memory goes up to 32GB via four DIMM slots (64GB for the Y900) and there are four hard drive bays that is compatible with 3.5 or 2.5-inch hard drives.

Lenovo didn’t skimp on the ports either. Both the IdeaCentre Y700 and Y900 are sporting multiple USB ports both front and rear as well as HDMI, DVI and VGA ports at the back. There’s also Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Giga LAN, a 7-in-1 card reader and 6 audio jack with SPDIF.

As for the IdeaPad Y700, the laptop can be equipped with Intel’s latest Core processors, NVidia’s GTX 960M GPU with 4GB of video RAM and up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM.

Storage options can be a mix of spinning and solid state drives. HDD options can go up to 1TB (with 512GB SSD or 8GB SSHD). Lenovo has also worked with JBL in giving the laptop some audio oomph. To be more specific, the Y700 sports two 2W JBL speakers with chamber, a 3W subwoofer and Dolby Home Theater technology.

The keyboard is backlit with red LED and has two levels of brightness. In terms of connectivity, the laptop has 802.11 ac, Bluetooth v4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, a lone USB 2.0 port, a 2-in-1 audio combo jack, an HDMI port and a 4-in-1 media card reader.

The display department is made up of a 15.6-inch frameless display with Full HD resolution (users can also upgrade into a UHD version that has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels). The screen also has anti-glare coating with 10-point multi-touch.

For a full and immersive gaming experience, Lenovo has also created several accessories including a gaming surround sound headset, a precision mouse, a mechanical switch keyboard, a mouse mat and even a gaming backpack – totaling $389.95.

The laptops will be available starting October for $949, while the IdeaCentre Y900 and Y700 will be available starting November for $1599 and $999 respectively.

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