Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been quite a while since Ainol last popped up on our radar, but it looks like the company is now busy preparing a Honeycomb tablet that might actually stand out from the pack — for better or worse. According to a couple of teasers that have cropped up in recent days, the tablet will apparently pack an ARM Cortex A9 processor, a 1,280 x 800 IPS display of unspecified size, WiFi and 3G connectivity, a microSD card slot, HDMI out and, most noticeably, a full suite of buttons that adorn what appears to be a somewhat chunky design. Still no indication of a price, but the tablet is apparently due out sometime next month.

Ainol Honeycomb tablet surfaces with Cortex A9 processor, buttons aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Community  |  MP4 Nation  | Email this | Comments

Verizon just filled in the rest of the Xoom pricing story — in addition to the $800 off-contract version that’s already up for pre-order at Best Buy, you’ll be able to sign a two-year data contract and pick up a Xoom for $600 upfront. That’s a decent savings, although you’ll be getting just 1GB of 3G data for $20/month, so it’s not exactly a stunning deal in the end: a Xoom and 24GB of data over two years for $1,080. On the plus side, Verizon has confirmed that the Xoom LTE upgrade will in fact be free when it goes live in Q2, which is terrific news — but we’re waiting to see what the LTE data plans look like before we get too excited. PR after the break.

Update: We’re hearing from Verizon reps that the Xoom will also be able to take advantage of the carrier’s larger data plans as well — $35 a month for 3GB, $50 a month for 5GB, and $80 a month for 10GB. Still no word on LTE pricing, though. [Thanks, droiddoesall]

Continue reading Verizon announces Xoom pricing: $600 on contract, $20 per month for 1GB data

Verizon announces Xoom pricing: $600 on contract, $20 per month for 1GB data originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

That’s right, that little green blob in the upper left hand corner of that built-in touchscreen is indeed the Android logo, and that display does indeed belong to a tablet of unknown origin, currently riding around on the back of a headrest on a bus somewhere in India. We’re not entirely sure who’s funding this project or which bus line the tablets can be found on, but the login screen you see here does give us a little bit of insight: “As per government policy, we need to record details of the person using the Internet on this device.” The service is apparently free and unlimited, and if this is a government program, it would be right in line with India’s democratic outlook on technology. Sure, Indian college students are still awaiting the storied $35 tablets, but we suppose if they have enough scratch to ride the bus all day, these headrest slates could do in a pinch. For a look at what Android tablets look like on public transit, check out the video after the jump.

[Thanks, Kartik]

Continue reading Android tablets bring touchscreen connectivity to Indian bus riders — still no $35 slates in sight (video)

Android tablets bring touchscreen connectivity to Indian bus riders — still no $35 slates in sight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Samsung’s MWC 2011 presentation is this Sunday, at 6PM Central European Time (midday for those on the American east coast). We already know it will feature a dual-core evolution to the Galaxy S smartphone and we know for a fact there’ll be at least one new tablet on show. Pocket-lint is today filling in some details about said Tab successor by identifying it as a 10.1-inch Android 3.0 device. That means Samsung is stepping right up to Motorola, whose Xoom still looks likely to be the first Honeycomb tablet to ship, and saying it can do better. It might just be able to do it, too, as the new and unnamed Tab is said to be physically smaller than Apple’s iPad in spite of having a slightly larger display. Somewhat less believable is the mention of a dual-core Qualcomm processor as the thing to power Samsung’s new tablet — can you really see Samsung undermining the future success of its Orion / Exynos chip by using a competitor’s hardware? Then again, weirder things have happened.

Samsung preparing a 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 2 with Honeycomb for this Sunday? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Pocket-lint  | Email this | Comments

Call us crazy, but we’re having a hard time interpreting this line of fine print in any other way:

“To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required.”

That’s listed under Best Buy’s most recent ad highlighting the world’s first Android 3.0 tablet, and it most certainly sounds both ominous and ridiculous. Hardcore Verizon followers may remember the days of Big Red crippling Bluetooth radios in phones in order to “coerce” users to purchase ringtones and such from them rather than snagging one on the subway from Tom, Dick and / Jane, so we definitely wouldn’t put something like this by the company. It’s hard to say how this will be implemented once the $800 Xoom hits retail shelves, but it’s certainly hard to believe that this is a Best Buy policy (and not a Verizon mandate). We’ll be digging for more details (after all, this could all be some strange, terrible dream), but we’ll be straight with you — we don’t like the potential implications here.

Update: We’re hearing from some Best Buy Mobile employees that these simply won’t be able to be sold without being first activated on Verizon’s network, so even though you could theoretically cancel the same day, you’ll still likely get hit with a one-time activation fee (and possibly one month of data). Then again, there appears to be typos on the flyer, so you may want to wait for Verizon’s official word before getting up in arms.

[Thanks, Michael]

Verizon locking WiFi on Motorola Xoom until you buy one month of data service? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments