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Box.net will offer free online storage to new TouchPad tablet buyers. Photo courtesy Box.net

Those in the market for a tablet may have more incentive to opt out of buying the iPad.

Box.net will offer 50 GB of free online storage to buyers of HP’s new tablet device, the TouchPad. The company plans to announce the deal Friday, the same day as the TouchPad’s launch.

New TouchPad owners can download the Box.net app from HP’s App Catalog store beginning Friday.

Over a year late to market, HP needs to give potential tablet shoppers all the reason to buy a TouchPad it can muster. Along with the storage promotion, HP offers a $50 rebate to owners of Palm smartphones — like the Pixi and Pre — through the end of July.

The cloud-based storage industry has grown dramatically over the past few years.

Despite recent security issues, Dropbox attracted a considerable number of users since its launch in 2008, hitting the 25 million user mark in April. Google obviously has its entire suite of cloud-based apps, including the invite-only Music Beta. And of course, Apple’s iCloud is due to drop this fall, offering 5 free gigs of online storage, as well as backups to iOS devices.

Box.net’s offering is actually a fairly nice deal for those needing online storage. The 50 GB of free storage amounts to approximately $240 in yearly savings, as the 50-GB storage costs the average user a $20 monthly subscription fee. Though it’s difficult to compete with Amazon’s storage pricing, which costs only $1 a gig yearly (the first 5 GB are free).

But still, will these packaged freebies make it worth buying the TouchPad? Amazon’s storage locker is available on any Android device, and Google’s suite is available across most platforms (except webOS 3.0, that is). We’re not sure, but if you’re already planning to buy a TouchPad, hit HP’s App Catalog to pick up Box.net’s deal.

The TouchPad launches in the United States this Friday for $500 and $600 for the 16- and 32-GB versions, respectively. The tablet rolls out globally over the rest of July.

Many of us are perfectly content viewing only 2D content on our mobile devices, but if you’ve been dying to add a bit more depth to your smartphone’s display, Global Wave may have just what you’re looking for. At the 3D and Virtual Reality Expo in Tokyo, the Japanese company demoed its Pic3D sheet, which converts your Windows-based desktop or laptop, or iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into a 3D display. The sheet uses a lenticular lens system instead of a parallax barrier for a smoother, more consistent image, yielding a reported 90-percent transmission level and 120-degree field of view. The company’s Windows and iOS apps output video in a side-by-side format, simulating a 3D image. The software also allows you to view side-by-side content from the web, submitting the YouTube URL of a compatible video, for example — perhaps not the most elegant solution, but a good start, if it works. Prices range from ¥2,000 (about $25) for an iPhone or iPod touch sheet, all the way up to ¥15,000 (about $186) for a 23-inch desktop version. We’ll be on the lookout for Pic3D at the Tokyo Game Show in September, but in the meantime, you can get Diginfo TV‘s take in their video after the break.

Continue reading Pic3D sheet brings glasses-free 3D to iPhone for $25

Pic3D sheet brings glasses-free 3D to iPhone for $25 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Samsung S23A550H does away with DVI, but does anyone care?

Continue reading Crapgadget: ‘money to burn’ edition

Crapgadget: ‘money to burn’ edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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