Hasta La Gadget!

Sony officially launched its new tablet here at IFA — and it’s keeping that folded-over profile. Happily, it’s running Android ICS. We’ve just spent some time with the Xperia Tablet S here in Berlin and it’s looking like Sony wants this to be the center of your media-consuming world. The new tablet pals up with the company’s range of phones, bearing that familiar Xperia branding on a freshly hewn metal slab. Yes, the new tablet sidesteps the plastic build of Sony’s last two tablets going for a solid metal build. Fortunately, it feels just as light in the hand, while that folded design also remains well-balanced. We’re particularly pleased with the tactile finish on the folded-over surface of the tablet — it’s very grippable. Internally, we’re dealing with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, while a 10-inch 1,280 x 800 IPS display will be showing off all that media and gaming content. Browse our gallery of images below and check out our hands-on video and first impressions after the break.

Continue reading Sony Xperia Tablet S hands-on (video)

Filed under: Tablets

Sony Xperia Tablet S hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like those leaked slides showing Sony’s Xperia-branded tablet were right about pretty much everything. (Well, everything except the price, anyway). The company just formally announced the Xperia Tablet S and, as rumored, it features a Tegra 3 chip, Android 4.0 and up to 64GB of built-in storage. Like last year’s Tablet S, it has that distinctive folded-over magazine shape, except this go-round it’s made of metal, and measures between .35 and .47 inches thick (the weight, too, has dropped to 1.26 pounds, down from 1.31). Sony also kept the Tablet S’ IR emitter, which allows the tablet to double as a universal remote, and this time you can program shortcuts to do things like watch sports. Rounding out the spec sheet, there’s a full-size SD slot, a 9.4-inch (1,280 x 800) IPS screen and a 6,000mAh battery promising 10 hours of runtime.

As we mentioned, the tablet will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, but Sony is promising an upgrade to Jelly Bean as soon as it can optimize all its custom apps. And indeed, there are quite a few specialized applications here. For starters, there’s a new Watch Now app that allows for live TV-viewing (cable subscription required), with the option to “check into” shows and share comments on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, Sony added a Guest Mode that lets you create custom user profiles, forbidding the use of certain apps — a handy parental control tool, we say. Naturally, Sony also threw in Music and Video Unlimited, where you can buy content from Sony’s vast movie and song catalogs. Finally, the tablet comes with 5GB of space in PlayMemories, Sony’s new cloud storage service.

The tablet will be available September 7th, though Sony is accepting pre-orders starting today. It will start at $400 for the 16GB model, with the 32GB going for $500 and the 64GB for $600. And yes, as those leaked slides indicated, there will most certainly be accessories. For starters, there’s that optional Surface-style keyboard we heard about, priced at $100. There’s also a three-position stand, with HDMI output and a USB adapter for a charging. That, too, costs $100. Sony is also selling a charging cradle ($40), a plain-Jane stand ($25), a dock speaker ($130) and a carrying case, priced at either $51 or $80, depending on whether or not you get it in leather. We very much expect to get some hands-on time at IFA, so stay tuned for first-hand impressions.

Continue reading Sony Xperia Tablet S official: slimmed-down design, Tegra 3, IR remote and Android 4.0, starts at $400

Filed under: Tablets

Sony Xperia Tablet S official: slimmed-down design, Tegra 3, IR remote and Android 4.0, starts at $400 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos already has its hands in the kiddie-tablet market, with its 7-inch Arnova Child Pad, and it’s taking on the productivity-minded crowd with its keyboard-toting 101 XS. Now the company is going after another niche segment with the just-announced GamePad. The 7-inch slate runs Android 4.0 with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and a quad-core Mali 400 MP GPU, and it sports physical gaming controls in addition to the standard touchscreen. Archos includes its own “game recognition and mapping tools,” which ensure that the physical buttons are compatible with Android games that use virtual controls (some 1,000 titles are apparently compatible with the GamePad at this point). Of course, this is an internet-enabled device as well, and it will include full access to the Play market and WiFi connectivity when it goes on sale at the end of October. Other specs include 8GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card slot that adds up to 64GB. There’s also a mini-HDMI connection for outputting content to your TV. For now, Archos is only announcing pricing as “less than €150”, and the device will drop in the US and Europe at the same time. For now, the below-the-break press release will have to satisfy your curiosity.

Continue reading Archos unveils 7-inch GamePad with physical controls, Ice Cream Sandwich for ‘less than €150’

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets

Archos unveils 7-inch GamePad with physical controls, Ice Cream Sandwich for ‘less than €150’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even though Jelly Bean’s the latest mobile OS to come out of Mountain View, there are still OEMs and carriers working on delivering the not-so-fresh Ice Cream Sandwich update to some of their earlier handsets. Now, unlike what we’d previously heard, it appears HTC’s Incredible S won’t be on the receiving end of said 4.0.x refresh, with Bell Mobility taking to Twitter to reveal that the Taiwanese outfit “will not be updating the Incredible S with ICS.” Still, things could potentially take a turn for the best, as the Canadian carrier told a cheerless S owner, “If that changes, I’ll let you know.” As for us, well, we’ll have to hold off on making any changes to our current Ice Cream Sandwich list.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Ice Cream Sandwich update won’t be coming to HTC’s Incredible S, says Bell Mobility originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until self-driving cars become mainstream, it’s best to keep eyes on roads and hands off phones. With this in mind, Samsung’s debuting Drive Link, an app that balances in-car essentials with driver safety, complete with approval from the no-nonsense Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association. It’s all about the bare essentials — navigation, hands-free calling and audiotainment from your phone-based files or TuneIn. Destinations can be pulled from S Calendar appointments or texts without trouble, and the text-to-speech feature means you won’t miss a message, email or social media update. The best bit is that via MirrorLink, all these goodies can be fed through compatible dash screens and speaker systems. Drive Link is available now through Sammy’s app store for Europeans sporting an international Galaxy S III, and will be coming to other ICS handsets “in the near future.”

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation, Mobile

Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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