Hasta La Gadget!

USC researchers have upgraded Boston Dynamics’ LittleDog robot with better walking chops. Think of it as Aibo’s hunter-killer cousin.

That’s right, readers: Apple’s main man Steve Jobs is going to be on stage in just a few short hours at the 8th All Things Digital conference, also known as D8. You never know what’s going to happen at D, and we do not have a full schedule of events yet, but our esteemed colleague Joshua Topolsky has touched down in beautiful Los Angeles, and he’ll be liveblogging the Jobs interview right here. We hope Walt and Kara have an awesome list of questions (they usually do) — and remember — we’ll be on hand for plenty of other events too, including an interview with Microsoft mad man Steve Ballmer. Tune in, right here. We’ll see you on the other side!

Things kick off around 6PM PT (or 9:00PM ET), so check out our liveblog landing page right here for the main event.

Reminder: Steve Jobs on stage at the D conference — we’ll be there! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still haven’t dropped a speedy solid state drive into your PC? SanDisk might just tempt you with its latest batch. At Computex 2010 the memory manufacturer announced its fourth-generation SSD lineup, consisting of the laptop-sized SSD G4 and the diminutive SSD P4 — those tiny mini-SATA netbook boards you see chilling outside Jefferson’s posh, nickel-plated mansion. The former will arrive in up to 256GB capacities with 220MB / sec read speeds and 160MB / sec writes (a sizable bump from prior numbers) while the latter range in size from 8GB to 128GB. Both feature the usual set of marketing buzzwords indicating speed and reliability, and both are slated to enter the OEM market in Q3 2010. That said, considering SanDisk’s recent track record here, we wonder if the company meant third quarter next year. PR after the break.

Continue reading SanDisk works it harder, unveils G4 and P4 solid state drives

SanDisk works it harder, unveils G4 and P4 solid state drives originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To kick off the World Science Festival (WSF), to be held at various venues throughout New York City this week, a full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope, the size of a tennis court, was unveiled this morning in Battery Park in lower Manhattan.

The World Science Festival consists of 40 events (talks, performances, readings, and more) in diverse subjects, including some exploring the relationship between science and music, visual art, and faith. They include a gala in Lincoln Center tonight to honor Stephen Hawking, and events featuring luminaries such as neurologist Oliver Sacks, Mars rover project leader Stephen Squyres, SETI researchers Jill Tartar and Seth Shostak, artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky, physicist Kip Thorne, and even some non-science notables such as cartoonist Jules Feiffer and actor Alan Alda. Also, science-oriented street festival will take place next Sunday in Washington Square Park. The first World Science Festival, in 2008, drew 120,000 people to its events.

More about the Webb telescope after the jump.

Apple is set to face some competition as Taiwanese PC makers get their iPad challengers ready. Companies such as Asus and MSI are showing Android- and Windows-based tablets that they say will be cheaper than the iPad.

At the ongoing Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, Asus announced its first tablet, called the Eee Pad.

The Eee Pad has a 12-inch touchscreen display and is a “full-featured slate computer that serves as a multimedia player, e-reader, compact PC and internet device,” says the company. The Eee Pad has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Windows 7 operating system. The company offers a 10-inch display version of the Eee Pad.

Asus rival MSI is fieldng two tablets: One features the Windows 7 operating system and the other is powered by Google’s Android OS. The tablets, called Wind-Pad, have 10-inch screens, 2 GB of RAM and a 1.6-GHz Atom processor. The tablets will offer 3G and Wi-Fi capability. Both are expected to be available in the third quarter of the year.

“We understand that people are only willing to pay less than $500 for a tablet,” Andy Tung, vice-president of sales for MSI told Wired.com. “And because the OS is one of the biggest costs in the device, our Android tablet will be at least 20 percent cheaper than the Windows version.”

Separately, Korean company Yukyung Tech has demoed an Android tablet under the brand name Viliv. It has a 10-inch capacitive touchscreen and claims to beat the iPad at display quality. The Viliv X10 tablet has an ARM-based processor, USB port, SD card reader, Wi-Fi and 3G capability. The company hasn’t offered detailed specs or pricing for the device.

We haven’t heard about Viliv before, but it’s apparently big in Korea. The company has not said whether its X10 tablet would be available outside the country.

MSI 'Wind-Pad' Tablet

Apple’s iPad has jumpstarted the tablets category. Since it went on sale in April, at least 2 million iPads have been sold, Apple says. Not surprisingly, other PC makers have taken notice of the demand and the hype.

Dell says its 5-inch Android tablet will go on sale in the U.K. starting June 4. The Dell Streak will be free on a $36 (25 pounds) a month data contract with O2, or you’ll be able to buy it outright for $630 (429 pounds).

Consumers that buy these new crop of tablets will consider factors such as mobility and applications, says Tung.

“If you are looking at netbook-like super mobility then a Windows device will be important because you will want to do more than just surf with the tablet,” says Tung. “But if you just want a portable web device, then Android is a better choice.”

At a time when HP has reportedly given up on its Windows-powered Slate in favor of a Palm webOS-based tablet, the arrival of Windows-based tablets should be good news for Microsoft and its fans.

But Microsoft’s vision for a tablet could fall short of consumer expectations, says Michael Cherry, vice-president of research for operating systems at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.

“Microsoft’s vision for the tablet is an extension of the laptop family,” he says. “So things you can do on a tablet are the same as what you can do on a PC. But the downside is the battery life doesn’t last beyond four hours and the device boots slowly — both of which are becoming negative attributes.”

Tung says that MSI has extended the battery life on its tablets to up to eight hours.

Ultimately, Tung says flexibility and options are what will drive tablet sales.

“Apple has a very strong app store, which helps the iPad,” he says. “But there are enough Windows- and Android-based apps out there to make our tablets attractive to consumers.”

Photos: (Masaru Kamikawa/Flickr)

See Also:

• Tablet Rumors Multiply as iPad Sales Soar
• Dell’s Tablet Aims to Stick It to Apple’s iPad
• Gallery: 8 Tablets That Aren’t Made by Apple
• E-Readers Will Survive the Onslaught of Tablets

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