Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been nine months — nine months! — since Acer first announced it was getting into the tablet game, with a promise of both 7- and 10-inch slates. Well, the 10-inch Iconia Tab A500 has been on the scene for months, but until now we’ve been tapping our feet impatiently waiting for the other tab to drop. Acer came out and said it wouldn’t be here until the second half of the year, and meanwhile we’d heard rumors it would arrive in September and that it was delayed due to “Honeycomb compatibility issues“.

Well, folks, dog years later it’s finally here. Say hello to the Acer Iconia Tab A100, the company’s first 7-inch tablet, and the first 7-inch tablet to run Android 3.2. Other than its OS, its specs are fairly run-of-the-mill: a Tegra 2 SoC, five- and two-megapixel cameras, and micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports. And rejoice, geeks, because that’s vanilla Honeycomb loaded on there — you won’t find any custom skins or proprietary widgets clogging your home screens. As much promise as these vitals might have for nerds, though, Acer is clear the tablet is for mainstream consumers (“moms,” among others, according to the press release). We’re not sure how your mother would feel about the precious pattern on the back, but chances are she’d appreciate the bargain factor: the 8GB version costs $329.99 while the 16GB number rings in at a reasonable $349.99, undercutting the 16GB HTC Flyer by $150. We’ve been lucky to get some quality time with the A100 the past few days, and let’s just say we’re coming away with some mixed feelings. But do we like it enough that we feel this little guy was worth the wait? That’s a toughie, guys.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A100 review

Acer Iconia Tab A100 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might have noticed that accessory makers have a habit of churning out stuff for iDevices first and everything else second. Specifically, though, we’re noticing that in the world of tablets, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is fast becoming companies’ No. 2 once they’ve gotten the iPad squared away. Take Logitech, for example. The company just announced a keyboard case for Samsung’s deliciously thin slate — a near facsimile of the one it released for the iPad a few months back. To recap, this isn’t your garden-variety folio case with a keyboard and kickstand, but rather, an aluminum lid with a full ‘board lining the interior. Logitech also attempts to justify the steep $99.99 price with shortcut keys for copying and pasting and cushioned corners that offer a modicum of protection in the event of a drop. But does that make it worth it? We’ll leave that to your and your wallet.

Logitech trots out another keyboard case, this time for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well friends, if you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the 8-inch Vizio tab (and don’t live near a Costco), your time has come. The company announced today that its slate has begun shipping to retailers nationwide including Sam’s, Walmart and Amazon. The Android tablet is now priced at $299, a $30 drop from our last retail sighting — and just in time to entice those of you heading back to school in search of a new piece of tech to play with during that history lecture. Or perhaps you just want to kick it like Blake Griffin… don’t worry, we won’t judge you. Besides, what else do you need for your dorm room other than an integrated universal remote to queue up all those Lord of the Rings marathons?

Continue reading Vizio tablet now shipping nationwide, priced at $300

Vizio tablet now shipping nationwide, priced at $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos Arnova 8 G2 tablet makes FCC appearance, gets friendly with metal yardsticks originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s do a roll call, shall we? Who doesn’t have a Honeycomb tablet to shill in the states? Acer, ASUS, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba all have something to their names, with Dell possibly bringing its China-only Dell Streak 10 Pro here too. Until now, Lenovo was one glaring exception. The company already had a head start selling the LePad tablet in China, but it was only last month that it announced not one, but two Honeycomb slates for the US market: the IdeaPad K1 for mainstream consumers, and the ThinkPad Tablet for business users (and a fair share of geeks, too). Now, we could easily roll our eyes at how saturated the market for Android tablets is becoming, but Lenovo isn’t just any old OEM. The brand has won such an avid following that we bet the company could have essentially slapped its name on a plain-Jane black slab and waited for loyal fans to line up.

In fact, though, you’re in for a bit more than name recognition. The K1 goes after mainstream consumers with a winsome design, sure, but also a software package designed to make Honeycomb easier to use, and to help ensure that flummoxed, low-tech users don’t have to spend too much time downloading apps out of the box. What’s more, it ships with Android 3.1 and has a two-cell battery that promises up to ten hours of battery life. Oh, and the 32GB model rings in $499, undercutting the 32GB iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 by $100. But is that enough for it to stand out? Let’s see.

Continue reading Lenovo IdeaPad K1 review

Lenovo IdeaPad K1 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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