Will a $200 ASUS Eee PC finally ship with Google’s help?

As hard as it tried, ASUS never could get its Eee PC prices down to $200 MSRP as promised way back in 2007 — a time when Intel-based netbooks still shipped with Linux distros and “tablet PCs” ran a Microsoft OS. Fast forward to today and netbooks are being kicked to the curb for ARM-based tablets running smartphone operating systems. To compete, ASUS, a company that’s become synonymous with netbooks, is planning to ship an unsubsidized $200 to $250 netbook running Android 3.0 or Chrome OS in June. According to DigiTimes sources, anyway, who tend to be pretty accurate with regard to Taiwanese companies. If true then expect to see it announced at Computex which kicks off in Taiwan on May 31st.

Will a $200 ASUS Eee PC finally ship with Google’s help? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us

We have no small amount of respect for Samsung for coming out and admitting that its Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate won’t necessarily be the best thing since sliced Apples, but we wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as “inadequate,” which is what company VP Lee Don-Joo recently called it. It’s a handsome, svelte and undeniably powerful device, a set of qualities that is in full show during AndroidHD‘s 11-minute long video of a day spent in the company of a Tab 10.1. Now, this isn’t a hands-on video so much as a commercial made by someone other than Samsung. You can tell Sammy didn’t author it because nobody tries to fit this Galaxy Tab inside a pocket. Jump after the break for the ocular feast.

[Thanks, Taylor]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn’t look all that inadequate to us originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update)

Contrary to reports floating about the web, the Motorola Xoom isn’t getting Adobe Flash Player 10.2 today — rather, the tablet is getting updated to support Flash, which will actually arrive in one week. Adobe now says that Flash Player 10.2 will be ready to download from the Android Market on March 18th, supporting only Honeycomb tablets (in other words, just the Xoom) to start, and will eventually be available for Android 2.2 smartphones — again, contrary to what we’d been told, but we can’t really complain on that count supporting Android 2.2 (Froyo), Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and a beta version for Android 3.0.1 (Honeycomb) at release. Froyo devices won’t get the full battery-friendly Stage Video rendering pipeline and deep browser integration like their Honeycomb tablet brethren, but dual-core phones will reportedly see a performance improvement nonetheless, and there’s a new tweak that’ll let Flash web apps pull up a virtual keyboard if needed for full functionality. PR after the break.

Update: Adobe contacted us to clarify that Flash 10.2 is, in fact, headed to all three of the most recent versions of Android on March 18th — the Honeycomb tablet version will simply sport a beta label, and the smartphone builds will lack full functionality as described above.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update)

Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo Skylight slate hits the FCC, no longer the LePad?

You remember Lenovo’s 10.1-inch, Android LePad tablet, right? Well, we hope you didn’t get too attached to its name since according to this fresh FCC filing it appears Lenovo’s renamed it the Skylight slate. Yep, it looks like the company just didn’t want that Skylight name to perish along with its never-released smartbook. We found the tablet hanging around those good old federal stomping grounds and from the images it looks exactly like the LePad we saw back at CES. According to the Skylight slate’s user manual, it also has the same specs as the version we saw back in January — there’s a 1280×800-resolution 10.1-inch display, Snapdragon 8650A processor, Android 2.2, SRS speakers, and 1GB of RAM. There are also a few very clear shots of its two-cell, 27Wh internal battery. We don’t have any details on the US arrival of the new slate and its U1 dock (if it’s even still called that), but we’re still assuming it won’t arrive stateside until Honeycomb has been ported over. Hit the source link for a bunch of internal and external pictures and a glossy user manual.

Lenovo Skylight slate hits the FCC, no longer the LePad? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 steps out with an FCC certification

Not much to look at, is it? Still, though, if you squint and use the most overactive parts of your imagination, you can kinda see how this is the Honeycomb-powered Galaxy Tab 10.1 that Samsung is starting to launch in some markets this month. Sure enough, the FCC has granted certification to model number P7100 (the original Galaxy Tab is P7000, by the bye), and the early stamp of approval by the feds plus the support for 850 / 1900MHz 3G gives us hope that there’s a plan for an American launch in the near term — likely on AT&T, we suppose, since this radio setup wouldn’t be appropriate for any other of the US nationals. In the meantime, though, we encourage you to stare into this large, white, rectangular space and tell us your deepest thoughts.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 steps out with an FCC certification originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung finds parts of Galaxy Tab 10.1 ‘inadequate’ compared to iPad 2, reconsiders pricing

Whether you love or loathe Apple, you have to be happy with the company’s aggressive upgrade of the iPad. It has led to Samsung, purveyor of an Android 3.0 tablet by the name of Galaxy Tab 10.1, to look more closely at its own hardware and pricing model and, according to executive VP Lee Don-Joo, “improve the parts that are inadequate.” We don’t know what those are, specifically, however he notes that “Apple made [the iPad 2] very thin” and also goes on to say that Samsung will be rethinking its pricing strategy with the Tab 10.1. It was originally going to cost more than the 7-inch Galaxy Tab, but in light of Apple’s new product, Samsung might have to cut into its profit margins… or maybe even forgo profits altogether to make its new Tab a success.

Samsung finds parts of Galaxy Tab 10.1 ‘inadequate’ compared to iPad 2, reconsiders pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Specs Still Matter (Or: iPad 2 vs. Motorola Xoom) [Ipad 2]

Apps are the most important part of any tablet right now. But great apps need great hardware to run. More »

Motorola Xoom Review: The Future of Tablets (Whether You Like It or Not) [Video]

It’s taken almost a year to get here. The first tablet to matter since the original iPad. The Xoom is the first real Android tablet, arriving ahead of the iPad 2 by a hair. Since it’s living in the “year of iPad 2,” as Apple put it, it seemed only fitting to wait to drop judgment until we’d seen everything the iPad 2 had to offer. Frankly, there’s no way the Xoom could live up to everything it needs to be. It’s not even done yet, really. It has problems. But it’s still very good. It’s the first non-iPad tablet worth buying. And it’ll get better. More »

Motorola Xoom 3G arrives in UK for £600, gets enigmatic listing on Amazon.de for €700

Yesterday we saw the WiFi-only Xoom get its UK pricing straightened out at £500 via PC World, and today Carphone Warehouse is putting up pre-order availability of the 3G-equipped version at a nice round hundie more. The £600 Xoom 3G is listed as “in stock” now, but deliveries will likely take until the first week of April to get going, assuming Moto is delivering both SKUs of its Android 3.0 tablet at the same time. We’ve also come across an Amazon.de pre-order for the Xoom, asking for €700, but alas there’s no hint as to whether it includes 3G connectivity or not — no hint other than the price, that is.

[Thanks, Yosef]

Motorola Xoom 3G arrives in UK for £600, gets enigmatic listing on Amazon.de for €700 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus Pad listed on Amazon.de for a slightly less crazy €899

Shortly after our first hands-on encounter with LG’s Optimus Pad, we came across a press release from the company announcing the price for its 8.9-inch Android Honeycomb tablet in Germany: €999 ($1,380). We rubbed our eyes and pinched our cheeks, but we weren’t dreaming — that’s LG’s recommended retail price, alright. Now Amazon has listed its pre-order page for the same slinky slate, though it’s sagely opted to chop €100 off and offer it up at €899. We still don’t know who exactly will be jumping at this opportunity, even with 32GB of onboard storage, a dual-core CPU and a dual-camera array on the back allowing for 3D video recording, when equally or more compelling products are about to hit the market at lower price points. At least shipping’s free.

Update: And just like that, Amazon’s listing is gone. Did we just alert them to LG’s RRP or something?

LG Optimus Pad listed on Amazon.de for a slightly less crazy €899 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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