Hasta La Gadget!

Well hells bells, it was only yesterday that the idea of an e-ink / LCD screen mash-up device was the stuff of patent dreams, and now it’s a reality. The chaps at Stuff were shown the prototype handsets at a closed meeting at IFA, as expected with a regular screen on one side, and the e-reader-style display on the other. E-ink was apparently tight lipped about possible vendor interest, but they did confirm that one firm was working with the concept already. We’re not about to make any leaps, but if we’d applied for the patent, we’d also want first dibs.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

LCD and E-ink dual-screen prototypes show up at IFA, one vendor already said to be on board originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to Thursday evening folks. We had a lot of news coming out of Germany for the second day of our IFA 2012 trip, so let’s jump in. We have a ton of hands-on posts to get through, but first, be sure to have a look at our Dell IFA 2012 Wrap-Up for all of the details on what the company announced and what it let us see. Moving on, today was a big opportunity to get some hands-on time with a bunch of different devices announced at IFA today and yesterday, and of course we took full advantage of it.

Starting right off with Sony, we have a hands-on post with the absolutely massive 84-inch 4K Bravia 84X900 TV for you to check out. If a display that’s a little more wearable is more your cup of tea, then have a look at our hands-on with the Sony HMZ-T2. Of course, we’ve also got a hands-on with the Sony VAIO Duo 11, and for those of you who still want more big, we’ve got you covered there too with this Sony Tap 20 oversized tablet hands-on.

Lenovo has announced a number of devices during IFA, revealing the IdeaPad S Series Laptops. We have a hands-on with the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 for you to peruse, along with this Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 hands-on and this hands-on with the IdeaTab A2109 and A2107. That does it for the Lenovo and Sony hands-on articles, but in the words of some guy we see on TV all the time, “we’re not stopping there!” We also spent some quality time with the new Liquid Image EGO HD Mountable Camera, and we recommend that you also have a look at our hands-on with the HTC Desire X.

At IFA today, Toshiba announced a set of three new ultrabooks, and ZTE was there to show off its new Grand X IN smartphone – the first ICS phone to sport Intel inside. It seems that the incoming Windows 8 is making manufacturers go a little bit touch-crazy, and today we were treated to a number of leaks in addition to all of the news from IFA. The Motorola DROID RAZR M 4G LTE has suffered yet another leak, and it would seem that both the next Kindle Fire and the next Kindle Touch were leaked today as well. Speaking of the Kindle Fire, it turns out that the tablets have sold out in anticipation of Amazon’s big reveal next week.

Samsung seems to be learning more toward Microsoft after its loss to Apple, and the company may just have a plan to make Apple pay up should the iPhone maker release a new device with LTE capabilities. The iPhone 5 was featured in a new video and photo leak today, Steam Greenlight is officially up and running, and the Mars Curiosity Rover has finally left its landing site to go and look for clues on the surface of the Red Planet. Finally tonight, Windows Phone 8 may be getting a handy new parental control feature, and Google and Apple’s CEOs have gotten together to talk about a potential patent settlement. That does it for Thursday’s Evening Wrap-Up, but be sure to join us back here tomorrow for more straight from IFA 2012!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 30, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon is widely assumed to be gearing up for a new Kindle Fire reveal next week, but recent rumors are also telling us that it might launch a new E Ink Kindle as well. If these new images from The Verge are the real deal, then we might be looking at the next E Ink Kindle, which appears to be a refresh of the Kindle Touch. As you can see from the images, Amazon is using the phrase “Paperwhite” to describe this Kindle, but whether or not that’s the name of this new device remains to be seen.

Obviously, the term Paperwhite refers to the new display we can clearly see in the images. This looks to improve on the Pearl E Ink displays we’ve been seeing lately, and in these promotional shots, Amazon is touting “higher contrast, high resolution, integrated lighting, and eight weeks of battery life.” Perhaps most importantly, this new Kindle appears to sport a backlit screen, which you can bet will go over well with consumers.

And why wouldn’t Amazon offer an E Ink Kindle with a backlight? That would align this new Kindle to be the perfect competitor to Barnes and Noble’s Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight, and with that device on the scene, it makes a lot of sense that Amazon would want to offer a backlit eReader of its own. These images all seem legitimate too, which further reinforces the idea that Amazon is ready to pull the veil off a new Kindle Touch, perhaps alongside the next iteration of the Kindle Fire.

Of course, we’re still hesitant to call it a sure thing, but the good news is that we won’t have much longer to wait until these new devices are revealed. Amazon is holding a press conference on September 6, and all of new reveals are rumored to be going down there. Stay tuned, because we might just come away from that event next week with a number of new Kindle devices to talk about.

‘Paperwhite’ Kindle struts its stuff in leaked images is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that the next generation Amazon tablet has been “leaked”, so to speak, via a photo of its smaller iteration’s front side. This photo was sent to The Verge by an anonymous donor who has not been specific about the details. There’s apparently two different models in the pipeline, one 7-inch model and one 10-inch model, and a new streamlined user interface in the mix as well.

It does not appear to make a whole lot of sense that this tablet would have a more streamlined user interface over Android while it mysteriously grows a collection of buttons on its side. What you’re seeing here is a keyboard inside the software aside a bar of buttons also inside the screen. It seems as if this tablet too will have no physical buttons (other than a power button and maybe a volume rocket) and will continue the Google trend of on-screen controls with a wide mix.

This bar has a home key, back button, gray arrow button that more than likely reveals an expanded set of controls, full-screen button, menu button, search, and favorite star. The star will likely interact with online sales of digital content as well as with your Amazon shopping experience. The keyboard as well is nothing like the standard Android experience – unless you’re using Android 2.3 Gingerbread, that is.

The top bar above the search bar we’re seeing here has a battery symbol and wi-fi connectivity icon that appear to be part of Android, so we can probably use these and the rest of the clues to assume that Google will have built at least the software that this tablet will be based on. This is the same as the first Kindle Fire tablet, while Amazon will probably once again be heavily modifying the software to the point where Google will not certify it for Google Play. Amazon will be OK with this, of course, as the aim is to make the Amazon app store mainstream – or continue to do so – here in the next generation.

Join us on the 6th of September to see the full real deal via the Amazon event scheduled for that day – and expect something slightly advanced!

Amazon Kindle Fire 2 leaks in model photo is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Verge claims it’s got its hands on an image of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire being announced next week. We’re dubious. More »