Hasta La Gadget!

Oh yes, the world’s first Android Honeycomb tablet really is here now. As Verizon announced earlier, you can snag a Motorola Xoom for $599.99 with a two-year contract, or splash out $799.99 for just the LTE-ready device. Alas, the WiFi-only version is nowhere to be seen just yet, but maybe some will show up in the stores later if not tomorrow, so hold on to your personal hotspot devices and keep believing. Either way, in case you’re still indecisive over this 10-inch goodness, maybe our review will help.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Verizon’s been in touch to inform us of a policy change: customers who purchase the off-contract Xoom will now no longer need to be on a month to month plan. That said, we still see “Month to Month” as a compulsory option at the time of updating this post.

Motorola Xoom now available for purchase straight from Verizon, no data activation required (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been waiting for the pricing and availability pieces of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 puzzle, and a short press release from Vodafone Portugal seems to at least help fill out the edges. While we thought Vodafone’s UK branch had exclusive dibs on the 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet, it looks like it will be hitting Vodafone Portugal first in March for €699. That’s not exactly a bargain, but it’s in line with the pricing of the other Android tablets overseas. Now, if only we knew more about when this one was going to learn English and hit the US. As always, we’re digging as hard as we can on that one.

Updated: It looks like Vodafone Spain announced pricing last week, too. Our friends at Engadget Spanish report that the tablet will go for €349 on-contract sometime this spring.

[Thanks, The Wizard]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hitting Vodafone Portugal in March for €699 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve heard that it was en route, and you’ve seen the preview. Now, it’s time to enter the wild, wacky world of Android 3.0 for yourself. Honeycomb’s SDK is now available for all developers to download, with the API’s being deemed final and able to withstand new apps that will target the fresh platform. We’d bother spilling the beans on the added features, but we know you’ve already torn your left click button off in a frantic race to the source link. Simmer down, son — the URL ain’t going anywhere.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb SDK now available to all, API level literally cranked to 11 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, by now you’ve seen the PlayStation Certified Qriocity tablet known within Sony as the “S1.” But that’s not the only tablet the venerable Japanese company is preparing to launch in 2011. We’ve been told by a pair of highly trusted and proven sources that Sony is also working on two rather unconventional tablet form factors including a dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell and newfangled Windows 7 tablet slider.

First, let’s look at the clamshell model sporting a pair of 5.5-inch displays — a device first hinted at in a 2010 Sony patent application titled “Electronic Book with Enhanced Features.” However, unlike the patent’s blocky illustration, we’re told that Sony’s clamshell — known as the “S2” internally — more closely resembles an oval cylinder when closed as depicted in the illustration above. Spec-wise, we’re told that it will be very similar in performance to the S1 with a Tegra 2 SoC and WiFi + 3G radio on the inside and front- and rear-facing cameras on the outside. And like the S1 tablet, the S2 will be focused on delivering Qriocity media to the consumer. Sorry, no word on whether the S2 is PlayStation Certified. Obviously, the S2 won’t be running stock Honeycomb — instead, Sony is currently optimizing the Android OS to make the most of those two displays. One source reports having seen Gmail running on a demonstration prototype where the list of messages is displayed on one screen with the body of the selected message displayed on the other. Maps, we’re told, will display the map graphic on one display with the detailed turn-by-turn instructions or Streetview displayed on the other. Likewise, the S2 will display a video and picture navigation menu on one half of the clamshell with the selected content blown-up to fill the screen of the other. We’re also told that these apps will work in a variety of orientations. Sounds interesting, to say the least. Regrettably, our sources are less than enthusiastic. Click through to find out why.

Continue reading Exclusive: Sony ‘S2’ dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year

Exclusive: Sony ‘S2’ dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo’s ready to get specific with dates now that Google’s got itself an honest to goodness tablet OS. A company spokesman said that its LePad tablet — first announced by that name back in June 2010 but previewed at CES all the way back in January 2010 — will ship in its home country of China in March before making its way to the global stage in June. Unfortunately, Lenovo isn’t saying anything about final specs or which countries are first on its list — we already knew it was coming to the US in 2011. The company’s also not talking price. Last time we saw LePad in January it was sporting Android 2.2 with a custom “LeOS” skin riding a 1.3GHz Snapdragon processor and 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixel display with a price just north of $500. Question is: will Lenny set it free with vanilla Honeycomb or will it feel compelled to apply the LeOS skin in order to avoid becoming just another Android tablet?

Lenovo LePad set for a global June LeLaunch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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