Hasta La Gadget!

Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn’t nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain. Today, we’re leaning back with our tablets — and you can head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of August we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — you can hit up the hub page right here!

Your back may be straining from the textbooks, laptop, gym gear and lunch in that dangling overstuffed messenger, but you’re still gonna want to save room for one more item — a tablet. After all, while you can surf, tweet, play games and watch video from your other devices, there’s nothing like doing it from a simple glass window that sits in the palm of your hand. As the hardware gets more powerful, these devices are rapidly becoming versatile enough to let you justify leaving the laptop at home on less-intensive days, so why not check out our picks of the finest devices you should be using and abusing before, during and after class.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: tablets

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A MIPS-based tablet was the first slate to officially run Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and the processor technology will also beat the crowds to running the new Jelly Bean OS. It might be second to the Nexus 7, but Karbonn Mobiles’ new Smart Tab 1, available to the Indian market only, runs Google’s latest software — and its MIPS-based JZ4770 SoC, clocked at 1.2GHz, allows for the low price of $125. The 7-inch Smart Tab 1 itself isn’t new — it debuted with ICS in July — but current owners will receive an update, and new units will ship with Jelly Bean. Other specs include a 2-megapixel front shooter, HDMI support, 3G support through a USB dongle and up to 32GB of expandable storage via the microSD card slot. Head to the press release past the break for more info.

Continue reading $125 MIPS-based Smart Tab 1 brings Jelly Bean on a budget to India

Filed under: Tablet PCs

$125 MIPS-based Smart Tab 1 brings Jelly Bean on a budget to India originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re the old fashioned sort who likes carrying your newly minted device back from the store, then you’ll be elated to know that the Nexus 7 is available at the Carphone Warehouse from today. The Jelly Bean-running slate that sits in the palm of your hand will set you back £199 if you’d like it without any obligation. However, if you’re also due a smartphone upgrade (or just want a new one), you can get it for free if you sign up to a data-sharing deal for £20.50 per month that’ll let the tablet leech your handset’s data for the following 24 months.

Continue reading PSA: Nexus 7 arrives at the Carphone Warehouse today

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

PSA: Nexus 7 arrives at the Carphone Warehouse today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Considering that the Motorola Xoom WiFi was one of the first tabs to devour Ice Cream Sandwich, its plans to pop Android 4.1 Jelly Bean are hardly a surprise. While there’s no official delivery date for the average user, certified testers who signed up for a pre-release won’t have to wait — it’s just been pushed out to their devices. Of course, enterprising tinkerers can always get what they want as well, by installing it using a USB host cable or flashing a recovery file. If you’re one of those brave souls, you’ll score smoother performance, new search options and better keyboard — but there may still be a few bugs before the full rollout happens. Also, if you were looking forward to finally having the update’s Chrome pack-in, it missed the pre-release Jelly Bean bus and you’ll have to stop at the Play store to grab it. Check out the more coverage link below for the gritty details on how to install the latest update.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Certified testers (and tweakers) get Jelly Bean for their Honeycomb era Xoom WiFis originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel has revealed that it’s working on bringing Jelly Bean to its low-power Atom architecture. In an email to PC World, company rep Suzy Greenberg confirmed the project was ongoing, but didn’t offer a timeline as to when the latest flavor of Google’s mobile OS would arrive on a device. It’s the same story regarding when Ice Cream Sandwich would turn up on Medfield-powered devices like the San Diego and its brethren. The report also pours cold water on hopes for Clover Trail powered Android gear — saying that it’s pencilled in as a Windows 8-only platform.

Filed under: Cellphones

Intel porting Jelly Bean to its Atom architecture, is in no hurry to tell you when it’s done originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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