Hasta La Gadget!

ViewSonic’s heavy foray into the tablet market has been no secret, but we’ve been a bit uncertain as to where on the map its products would land. Until now that is. According to ViewSonic’s American team, the company will be kicking off its US tablet invasion with the ViewPad 7 in November. Just as we’d heard, the 7-inch device packs an Snapdragon processor, Android 2.2, two cameras (a 3 megapixel cam on its rear and a VGA front facing one), 512MB of memory and 3G capabilities. Sure, it sounds a heck of a lot like the rest of the other Android tablets we’ve been seeing, but according to ViewSonic this one will most definitely have access to the Google Market and come preloaded with Google’s apps. Well, that’s a horse of a different color, though its $479 MSRP seems a bit high to us. What about the ViewSonic fans out there that have been eyeing the Android 1.6 / Win 7 dual-booting ViewPad 10, you ask? Well, they’ll have to wait until the first quarter of 2011 to get their hands on that one, though at least that gives ’em time to save up the $629 that it’s expected to retail for. We should note here, that the ViewPad 10 is identical in design to the Tega v2 we recently reviewed and similar in specs — it has a 1.66GHz Atom processor, 16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. We’re still unsure where the 10-inch, Android 2.2 G-Tablet that was recently spotted in a Sears circular fits in, but we’re definitely getting the hint that Viewsonic’s in it to win it with tablets.

Continue reading ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and 10 officially comin’ to America

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and 10 officially comin’ to America originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did ViewSonic’s 10-inch tablets catch your eye? We’ve got good and bad news. The good news is that the G-Tablet (with a 1GHz processor and Android 2.2) is now on sale at Sears for $379.99 — even less than we were told. The bad news is that the Intel Atom N455-powered ViewPad 10 apparently is, too. We say apparently because Sears seems to have crossed some wires when putting the latter slate up on its site, most egregiously stating that that dual-booting device does both Windows 7 and Android 2.2 for the exact same $379.99. Last we heard, the ViewPad 10 — like the eerily similar Tega v2 — could only do Android 1.6 alongside Microsoft’s OS and would cost quite a bit more. Don’t rely on Sears to cut you a deal, folks.

ViewSonic G-Tablet pops up in Sears weekly ad, mistakenly claims to be the ViewPad 10 at Sears’ website originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve gotten our hands on some more images of the PlayStation Phone, and gleaned a few more juicy details about the handset. Firstly, as you can see in the photos, the model in question does indeed seem to be codenamed “Zeus” (as we reported on the 27th). Furthermore, the handset pictured is running Android 2.2, though apparently there are multiple devices out there with different versions on board (including at least one packed with Android 3.0). Based on what we know, there’s little chance the phone will launch with Froyo — but it’s clear these have been worked on for some time with various versions of the OS.

The device appears to have an 8GB microSD card slotted, and at least 512MB of internal storage (though we’re hoping it’s the 1GB we’ve heard would be present). As you can see from the pictures in the gallery below, the device isn’t exactly thin — we surmise that the handset is around 17mm thick, or slightly thicker than HTC’s Touch Pro 2 (and funnily enough, about the same as the PSPgo). From a design standpoint, the device seems to have more in common with BlackBerry handsets than previous Sony Ericsson phones; that smoky chrome bezel which surrounds the device is definitely giving us Torch flashbacks. As always, we’re hard at work digging up more info on the phone (and potentially more images), but for now, just sit tight and enjoy the exclusive photos in the gallery below.

The PlayStation Phone: new photos, more details! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Milking this one for all it’s worth, eh Samsung? In what’s easily becoming the most drawn-out product launch in the history of product launches, Sammy is just now informing us of a fifth American carrier onboard to carry its Galaxy Tab: US Cellular. The regional CDMA operator has been chosen as the token ‘little guy’ to offer the 7-inch, Froyo-based tablet, but the company’s not saying when it will be arriving nor for how much. We’re guessing it’ll cost between $400 and $600 depending on the contract situation, but considering that every other carrier is getting it within a fortnight or so, those minor points should be clarified in short order.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab notches a fifth American carrier, coming to US Cellular

Samsung Galaxy Tab notches a fifth American carrier, coming to US Cellular originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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America’s number four carrier just landed a launch date for Samsung’s Froyo-based Galaxy Tab, and sure enough, it’ll be trotting out into the spotlight a full 24 hours before Verizon Wireless and four whole days prior to Sprint. Trouble is, T-Mob’s not being kind enough to dole out a price tag, so there’s no reasonable way for you to compare its offering against the competition. But hey, being first out of the gate, they can’t hold out on us too much longer, eh?

Update: T-Mobile USA’s official Galaxy Tab portal just went live, and guess what? You’ll be shelling out $399.99 for this bad boy… on a two-year data contract. You’ll also be responsible for a $35 activation fee and a $200 early termination charge should you soon realize just what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab hitting T-Mobile USA on November 10th, $400 on contract

Samsung Galaxy Tab hitting T-Mobile USA on November 10th, $400 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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