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Jan 04

ASUS Eee Pad Slider and Transformer are here for those that can’t imagine using a tablet without a physical keyboard

Posted in: ASUS, breaking news, BreakingNews, honeycomb, slider, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

Here they are: ASUS’s duo of Tegra 2-powered, 10.1-inch tablets with unique physical keyboards. Starting with the craziest of them, is the Eee Pad Slider (pictured on the left), which reminds us a lot of HTC’s old school Shift with its slide out QWERTY keyboard. The device is planned to run Google’s Honeycomb, sports a IPS, 1280 x 800-resolution display, and houses mini-HDMI and miniUSB ports as well as a microSD card slot. The 2.2-pound / .5-inch thick slab also has dual cameras — a 1.2 megapixel front-facing one and a 5 megapixel one with an LED flash on the back. We have to say we love the idea of always having that keyboard around, but if you don’t want to drag along a physical keyboard all the time, ASUS has something for you too. It’s the Transformer, and like the Eee Pad we saw at Computex, it’s a 10.1-inch tablet that will come with a laptop like dock with a full size keyboard and touchpad. The tablet part — like the Slider — will run Android 3.0 and packs a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, two cameras, and a 1280 x 800-resolution IPS display, however, the dock has an integrated battery that will keep the tablet running for 16 hours on a charge — the tablet on its own should last eight. We’re obviously aching in our seats here waiting to get these two in our hands so stay tuned for some crazy videos of the two in action — until then we leave you with the specs after the break.

Update: How much will it cost you to keyboard-ify your slate and how long will you have to wait? ASUS says the Transformer will run between $400 and $700 and the Slider from $500 to $800. Expect them in April and May respectively.

Gallery: ASUS Eee Slate Slider and Transformer

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad Slider and Transformer

Continue reading ASUS Eee Pad Slider and Transformer are here for those that can’t imagine using a tablet without a physical keyboard

ASUS Eee Pad Slider and Transformer are here for those that can’t imagine using a tablet without a physical keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 04

ASUS Eee Pad MeMO tablet takes a pen out of the Courier’s book

Posted in: ASUS, breaking news, BreakingNews, honeycomb, Today's Chili

Yeah, we’re in full-on tablet overload mode, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for innovation. In fact, ASUS’s Eee Pad MeMO is surprisingly fresh in its take on this already-so-worn subject. The 7-inch, 1024 x 600 tablet runs Android 3.0 (which doesn’t exist yet, but we won’t tell ASUS if you won’t), with a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm 8260 processor under the hood and dual cameras (1.2 megapixel front, 5 megapixel rear with LED flash). That’s all very nice, but the highlight is a capacitive stylus and two included apps to make the best use of it. Media Note is a scrapbook / note taking application, while Painter allows you to use the stylus as a pressure-sensitive drawing instrument. They’re probably nothing too special just now, but the prospect of pressure-sensitivity on a handheld tablet is alluring, particularly for the artists among us that thought they’d left the iPad’s fingerpainting methods back in kindergarten. MeMO’s other standout might not win it so many fans, but it’s still worth noting. ASUS calls the device “a perfect blend of tablet and smartphone,” and uses a stereo Bluetooth headset dubbed the “MeMic” media phone extender to make the experience a bit more phone-like. We’ll reserve judgement for when we see more than a render of MeMic in action. No word on price or release for the MeMO right now, but hopefully we’ll know more soon. Until then we can keep our eyes set on Honeycomb’s supposed March timeframe — a river of tablets will carry us there.

Update: ASUS says the Eee Pad MeMO will start at $499, and debut in June.

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad MeMO tablet

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad MeMO

ASUS Eee Pad MeMO tablet takes a pen out of the Courier’s book originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 03

eLocity announces seven 10-inch Android 3.0 tablets… before Android 3.0 is announced

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, honeycomb, Today's Chili

Google and Motorola haven’t quite announced that Honeycomb tablet we’re expecting to see at CES in just a couple days, but that’s not stopping eLocity, makers of the A7 tablet pictured above — the company just announced no fewer than seven 10-inch Tegra 2 tablets running Android 3.0. Specs are pretty light, but we’re told the new A10 line will use the dual-core Tegra 2 T-250, have “high-resolution” multitouch screens, microSD storage, USB ports, a front-facing camera, and feature an HDMI port that supports 1080p output. So why seven 10-inch tablets with what seem to be the same basic specs? We have no idea — we’re sure to find out more when CES kicks off. PR after the break.

Continue reading eLocity announces seven 10-inch Android 3.0 tablets… before Android 3.0 is announced

eLocity announces seven 10-inch Android 3.0 tablets… before Android 3.0 is announced originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 27

Google’s next Android Music app leaks out, gives hints of a 3.0 UI overhaul

Posted in: Android, Google, honeycomb, leak, Music, Today's Chili, video

Remember at Google I/O this year when Google showed off “something beyond Froyo” in the music realm? The demo included an all-new music player (boy, wouldn’t that be nice!), along with magical features that let you push web-purchased songs to your device, and allowed you to browse your PC’s music library from your phone as if it was on the device itself. Well, none of that showed up in Gingerbread, unfortunately, but the new music player itself has just leaked out. It’s super buggy, and of course doesn’t have any of those fancy wireless features we’re waiting on, but it could offer a bit of a glimpse into 3.0, at least as far as UI tweaks go.

The differences seem minimal but aesthetically pleasing, with blurred background images behind frosted glass widgets as far as the eye can see. One important thing to note is that there is a menu button on the top right, at least in some views, and we went back and watched Andy Rubin’s tablet time at D: there’s clearly the same menu button on each app. [Suspenseful strings begin to play]. It seems Google might be getting rid of its hardware buttons entirely, or at least making menu functionality a more obvious part of its relevant applications, instead of the “surprise!” button it currently represents. There are also points in the video where tapping the application’s icon in the top left takes you to the “home” of the app, and we also found similar icons on the top left of each application Andy demoed at D — and we’re guessing they have the same functionality. Check out a video after the break, or hit up the source link to grab the APK… if you dare.

[Thanks, Andre]

Continue reading Google’s next Android Music app leaks out, gives hints of a 3.0 UI overhaul

Google’s next Android Music app leaks out, gives hints of a 3.0 UI overhaul originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

N-Trig teaches DuoSense to write on Android screens, tablet to come in the first half of 2011

Posted in: Android, honeycomb, multitouch, tablets, Today's Chili, touchscreen

This one isn’t much of a surprise — considering N-Trig told us just a few months ago that “the most useful Android slates will be pen-enabled” and that it was working on Android support — but today the Israel-based company has officially announced support for Google’s mobile operating system. What does that mean? On a technical level, it means that N-Trig’s DuoSense pen and capacitive multitouch solution, which is currently on tablets like the HP Slate and Dell Latitude XT, will work on top of Android slates. On a product end, it means that we’re going to start seeing an Android slate or two that takes advantage of pen in 2011. According to N-Trig’s VP of Marketing Gary Baum, one company is far along in developing an Android slate based on DuoSense and there are “several others that are coming along.” Baum wouldn’t give us any specifics on those companies, though he did tell us that we should see one product in the first half of the year, while the majority will be waiting for Honeycomb. We’re still crossing our fingers for Honeycomb in the first part of 2011, so we don’t want to read into that too much, but he also stressed that third-party software developers are working on applications that take advantage of pen and that some of them may be previewed at CES. We’ll be digging as much as we can into what company’s pairing pen with Android, but until then, we leave you with the full press release after the break.

Continue reading N-Trig teaches DuoSense to write on Android screens, tablet to come in the first half of 2011

N-Trig teaches DuoSense to write on Android screens, tablet to come in the first half of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 13

MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life

Posted in: Android, exclusive, gingerbread, honeycomb, intel atom, IntelAtom, msi, tablets, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

You’ll remember that back at Computex MSI introduced two tablets or so-called WinPads — there was the Windows 7 / Atom slate and another one of the Android / ARM variety. Well, MSI is planning to resurrect those with some slight improvements for CES, and this time it’s gearing up to actually release them both. First up is the 10.1-inch Windows 7 Home Premium version, which will be one of the first Intel Atom Oak Trail-powered devices out there, says the company. According to MSI’s Director of North American Sales Andy Tung, Intel’s tablet solution does show both battery life and performance improvements over the current Atom chips, but it’s “not extremely significant.” Based on our discussion with Tung, we got the feeling that it’s a step in the right direction for Atom but still not as long-lasting as it needs to be to compete with ARM-based tablets. Beyond that, the tablet measures less than an inch thick and will have a 1024 x 600-resolution, multitouch display, mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, an SD card slot, and an accelerometer. Tung wasn’t ready to reveal pricing, but he said it should be available in early 2011.

On the Android side of things, MSI’s got a dual-core Tegra 2-powered 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-resolution slate prepped with the same selection of ports and features — although, this one is slightly thinner and also has a drop-proof design. So, what version of Android will it run? Well, that depends on Google’s timing, says Tung. If Android 3.0 or Honeycomb is available by the February / March timeframe MSI will go with that option — however, if it’s not, it will go with Gingerbread, so it can hit the market earlier in 2011. We have to say both tablets sound rather intriguing, but will they be able to go up against the hundreds of others coming at CES: The Tablet Year? We’ll know more in Vegas, that’s for sure!

MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 10

Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan?

Posted in: Android, honeycomb, leak, motorola, NVIDIA, tablet, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

Turns out Andy Rubin might not be the only fella who’s been showing off the elusive Motorola Android tablet. Earlier this week, some lucky guy from Taiwan claims to have stumbled upon the same Honeycomb device, and was kind enough to share the above homescreen spy shot as well as some thoughts on his one-hour hands-on. We’re told that there’ll be a 7-inch version as well as a 10-inch version (the latter appears to be what Rubin had), and the one we’re looking at here has a 1280 x 800 display of unknown size, NVIDIA Tegra 2 T20 dual-core chip, gyroscope, a 5 megapixel main camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera. Memory-wise it has a 32GB embedded MMC and a microSD slot.

The poster reckons the hardware — which is “pretty light” — is all ready for launch, but Honeycomb still needs some final fine-tuning. Sadly, he hasn’t got a date, but said device will apparently be priced like the current Motorola high-end phones, and will be available in three flavors: UMTS, CDMA, and LTE (which we heard about a little while back). Well, only time will tell whether this guy really does have a good friend at Motorola, or that he’s been talking to some unicorns.

[Thanks, Samson]

Update: And just like that, the poster’s removed the offending screenshot and trimmed down his first post.

Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 08

Google’s big week: Nexus S, Honeycomb tablets, Chrome OS laptops, and eBooks to boot

Posted in: Android, Chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, ebooks, gingerbread, Google, GoogleAndroid, honeycomb, maps, motorola, NeXus, nexus s, NexusS, nfc, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, video, vzw

We gotta hand it to Google: if its goal was to own the technology news cycle for 48 hours, mission accomplished. The Mountain View-based company spent the first two days this week laying out pretty much every big announcement it possibly could: a new flagship phone coming next week (the Nexus S), a new Android build (2.3 Gingerbread), a preview of the next Android build (Honeycomb) on a never-before-seen Motorola tablet, the debut of its cloud-based laptop platform (Chrome OS) with hardware, and a giant plunge into the growing e-book market — and that isn’t everything. We’ve done our best to condense all the days’ highlights into something easier to digest, so read on for a recap on all things Google!

Continue reading Google’s big week: Nexus S, Honeycomb tablets, Chrome OS laptops, and eBooks to boot

Google’s big week: Nexus S, Honeycomb tablets, Chrome OS laptops, and eBooks to boot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 06

Android Honeycomb coming ‘next year,’ adds tablet support

Posted in: Android, breaking news, BreakingNews, Google, honeycomb, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, tablet, Today's Chili

Sure, Google might have just dropped Android 2.3 Gingerbread on the Nexus S just today, but that’s old news — Andy Rubin just took the stage at D: Dive Into Mobile and announced that Honeycomb is due “next year” with support for tablets. Andy demoed the new version of the OS on a Motorola prototype tablet, and it was very different, and highly customized — although there were still grids of icons, the apps were more “desktop” in flavor, and the traditional Android buttons weren’t present. We’re waiting for more details, we’ll let you know what’s up.

Android Honeycomb coming ‘next year,’ adds tablet support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 26

The PlayStation Phone

Posted in: Android, breaking news, BreakingNews, exclusive, gingerbread, playstation, psp, sony, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili

It’s hard to believe that what we’re looking at is real — but we assure you, the picture above is in fact the PlayStation Phone you’ve long been waiting for. As we reported back in August, the device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top (and in our gallery below) is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. Looking almost identical to the mockup we hit you with this summer, the handset does indeed have a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and you can see in the photos that it’s still bearing those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you’ll be interested to know that there’s no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.

The particular model in these shots is still in prototyping mode. As such, the unit doesn’t have a custom skin (not even SE’s Timescape design seen on the Xperia devices), and is said to be rather buggy. We’re digging into more facts as we speak, but it’s likely that much of what we reported earlier is still accurate, and though the device could still be headed for a 2010 release, 2011 is looking much more realistic. Still, there’s a lot of time between now and the holidays… so keep your fingers crossed!

Gallery: The PlayStation Phone