Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t let all of the Computex Wintel madness throw you off — there are a plenty of ARM-based, Android tablets around these parts, too. We stopped by VIA’s booth to check out some of its tablets, which we’re told are bound to ring up in the $100 to $200 range. Virtually all of the devices on display had 7-inch resistive touch displays, and were running Android 1.6 on the company”s WonderMedia WM8505 ARM 9 based processor. It probably goes without saying that we found most of the plastic slates to be quite chintzy, but the slick Android skin and homescreen dock definitely caught our eye. Also, on display were two smartbook-like devices, which were based on a similar WM8605 chip, but running Android 2.1. That’s all the specification details we have for now, but enjoy some of the pics we stole below as well as a short video after the break.

Continue reading VIA’s WonderMedia decorates Computex with ARM 9-powered, Android 1.6 tablets

VIA’s WonderMedia decorates Computex with ARM 9-powered, Android 1.6 tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Sony exec says the company is working on PlayTV 2, a new version of its DVR add-on product that hasn’t yet made it to the U.S. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20006416-17.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Digital Home/a/p

HP isn’t being shy about spending cash and taking big steps to reinvent itself lately: it just spent $1.2b on Palm in order to strengthen its consumer device portfolio, and now it’s announcing another billion-dollar outlay designed to streamline its enterprise services business and fully consolidate its $12.5b acquisition of EDS. Part of the process will involve laying off some 9,000 workers over several years as HP moves to automate more and more of its data centers and integrate more of EDS, but the company is planning to add some 6,000 jobs in different areas over the same period of time, so the hurt isn’t too bad. Taken together with the Palm acquisition, this means that both HP’s enterprise and consumer divisions will undergo some radical changes in the next few months — we’ll see how things pan out.

HP cutting 9,000 jobs during billion dollar enterprise services restructuring originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been hearing about / poking fun of ITG’s xpPhone since June of last year, but amazingly enough, we’d yet to actually see one in the flesh until today. Slyly stuck in the back corner of Microsoft’s Computex booth were a trio of xpPhones, at least one of which was shockingly functional. As the story goes, the company has decided to axe Windows XP in favor of a much more lightweight version of WinXP Embedded, and responsiveness seemed suitable enough given the circumstances. And by “circumstances,” we mean “the outrageous size.” You see, we’ve no qualms making and receiving calls on an ultra-sleek Dell Streak, but this bad boy was pushing a solid inch in thickness. Sure, there’s a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, optical sensor and integrated Bluetooth, but that hardly makes it viable in a world where smartphones are thinner than wallets and full-fledged laptops are rolling in at under 10mm. During our time with the device, we found the display to be surprisingly crisp, and while our finger presses were easily recognized, the omission of an accelerometer, the tremendous size, inexcusable weight and the tremendous size kept us from falling head over heels. We will say, though — it’d make a darn good weapon should someone pull a fast one in the alley, and we’d probably buy one for kicks at under $150. Comedy ensues after the break.

Continue reading ITG xpPhone functioning at Computex, we go head-on (video)

ITG xpPhone functioning at Computex, we go head-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s easy to forget that E Ink is an actual company and not just a display technology, but the company was out in full force at the recent SID 2010 conference to remind folks of that fact, and show off some of its latest and greatest prototype displays. Chief among those is a new color display that promises crisper, brighter colors, though still not quite full color — something that’s apparently achieved by applying a filter on top of a regular black and white E Ink panel, which itself has blacker blacks and whiter whites than before. Also on display was a new “fully flexible” display (not color), and another black and white display that was apparently able to playback Flash video — although E Ink curiously wasn’t allowing anyone to film it in action. The folks from MIT’s Technology Review did manage to capture a brief look at the rest of them on video, however — hit up the link below for their report.

E Ink shows off brighter, crisper, more flexible displays originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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