Hasta La Gadget!

By now you may have seen some photos of an alleged iPad casing doing the rounds that is purported to be the next generation of Apple’s tablet. In the pics, you can clearly see that there are two distinct slots for the company’s 30 pin dock connector, which would allow you to plant the iPad in either landscape or portrait mode. Unfortunately, this isn’t a sign of things to come — it’s a future that never was. According to a trusted Engadget source, what the image actually shows is a rejected concept from the current generation iPad. The story goes that originally there had been plans to feature two dock connections, but close to the last minute a design decision was made to kill the landscape port.

It’s still possible that Apple has decided to go back to the two-port design, but in all likelihood this is a piece of a prototype which has found its way into the world. If the story we’ve been told is correct, then there would likely be dozens if not hundreds of these back pieces floating around China. From what we can suss out, this is not the direction Apple is going in for the next version, but hey, if come January we see a new iPad with two dock connectors — drinks are on us.

Debunk: Leaked iPad photo doesn’t show next gen design originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, BMW — we appreciate that you were the first automaker to provide seamless iPod integration way back when, but seriously, did anyone on the design squad look at this abomination before shipping it off to France? As the story goes, the aforesaid automaker has demonstrated the first “official” iPad-vehicle integration setup at this year’s Paris Auto Show, and to be frank, it’s heinous. The idea here is to provide world-class rear-seat entertainment, while apparently destroying aesthetics in one fell swoop. It’s just about too hideous to be true, but the iconic “BMW” logo on the mounting brackets all but confirms the authenticity. Perhaps you folks should consult with any number of the skilled DIYers out there before shooting for the stars with version 2.0?

BMW shows off first ‘official’ iPad integration, convinces us to go aftermarket originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What a day — yesterday, that is. Research in Motion finally announced its long-awaited BlackBerry tablet, the 7-inch PlayBook (thankfully not named the BlackPad). While there’s still quite a few missing details, and nary an unit in site for us to try first-hand, we’ve still got a sampling of specs for this little guy to go tête-à-tête on the quantitative field of proverbial battle, at least as it can be seen so far (that early 2011 release date is still a ways off). Looks very promising so far, lined up against Apple’s iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, and the Dell Streak, but our known unknowns — i.e. price, app support, and overall feel of using the QNX-built operating system — are what will really make or break the slate. Until that time, enjoy our number-crunching below:

	BlackBerry PlayBook	Apple iPad	Samsung Galaxy Tab	Dell Streak
Screen size	7 inches	9.7 inches	7 inches	5 inches
Resolution	1024 x 600	1024 x 768	1024 x 600	800 x 480
Pixel density (approx.)	170	133	170	187
Platform	BB Tablet OS	iOS 3.2.2 (4.2 in November)	Android 2.2	Android 1.6 (2.1 / 2.2 in future)
Adobe Flash support	10.1	Not Supported	10.1	Not supported
Processor	1GHz dual-core Cortex A9	1GHz Apple A4 (ARMv7)	1GHz Cortex A8	1GHz Snapdragon
Graphics	Unknown	PowerVR SGX 535	PowerVR SGX 540	Adreno 200
RAM	1GB	256MB	512MB	512MB
Internal Storage	16GB / 32GB (unconfirmed)	16GB / 32GB / 64GB	16GB / 32GB	512MB
Expansion	Unknown	None	microSD	microSD
Connectivity	802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR	802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR	802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0	802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Cellular data	3G and 4G promised for future	3G optional (AT&T)	3G (all carriers)	3G (AT&T)
GPS	None	3G models only	Yes	Yes
Camera	3MP front, 5MP rear	None	1.3MP front, 3MP rear	VGA front, 5MP rear
Weight	0.9 lbs	1.5 – 1.6 lbs	0.84 lbs	0.49 lbs

BlackBerry PlayBook vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Tab vs. Streak: the tale of the tape originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digg Well, would you look at that? Ever since Apple added some leeway (and snark!) to its App Store submission rules, the approved apps have become increasingly more interesting: Google Voice clients, a Commodore 64 emulator, and now the VLC Media Player with claims to support “nearly all codec there is.” We’ve spent a few minutes with the program already, and while it’s import method is reminiscent of CineXPlayer (i.e. via the Apps tab), the thumbnail-rich interface is much prettier. Official launch date is tomorrow, but we’ve had no problem downloading from the US and UK stores already, so go ahead and give it a whirl. Or if not, our gallery is below.

VLC Media Player for iPad now available, your video codec worries decidedly lessen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, the iPad is about one half of a laptop — both in its form and functionality — so it makes perfect sense that it’d chop laptop sales by 50 percent. We might be pulling your leg, but Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn isn’t. The dude in charge of the yellow label empire has told the Wall Street Journal that his company’s internal estimates indicate the iPad has eaten up as much as half of laptop PC market demand. In response to this perceived trend toward more portable gadgets, Brian’s outfit is rearranging its inventory to include more e-readers, tablets and smartphones for this holiday season, while slimming down its selection of desktops and HDTVs. Moreover, new demo zones will be set up in-store to allow people to experience the wonders of Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Move motion-controlled gaming solutions. So it looks like the future’s coming, whether we like it or not.

Update: It did seem weird to us that the mighty laptop would be that vulnerable to the iPad, and sure enough, our queries with Best Buy were met by the following response:

“The paraphrase that was used in the WSJ wasn’t really an accurate reflection of what Brian said to the reporter.

What Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said was that we had no firm numbers, but that we speculated there was some replacement of netbooks by iPads going on. We did not provide specifics because we do not presently have the hard numbers on which to base those specifics.”

So, Brian was not only talking about netbooks, but his words were exaggerated too. Phew, and we were just about to start selling our shares in Dell and HP. You can find his full clarification on this issue after the break.

Continue reading iPad has halved laptop sales, claims Best Buy CEO (update: he meant netbooks)

iPad has halved laptop sales, claims Best Buy CEO (update: he meant netbooks) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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