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Jan 17

Asus teases Eee PC Sirocco, promises to make more waves than a VW coupe

We’re still catching up on sleep after leaving CES, but ASUS is tireless, winding up for another product release, something new it calls the Eee PC Sirocco. We have nothing to go by at this point other than the teaser image above, which promises this new product is going to be “making waves” when it is released. This metaphorical euphemism could mean anything from a revolutionary new architecture that will sweep across the industry to another netbook with some funny textures on it. If forced to bet we’d put more money on the latter than the former but, as we mentioned, we simply aren’t in Vegas any more and so won’t be engaging in such shenanigans.

Asus teases Eee PC Sirocco, promises to make more waves than a VW coupe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 15

Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7

Posted in: Android, Apple, arm, ASUS, Google, LG, Microsoft, motorola, NVIDIA, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili, ui, Windows, windows 8, windows phone 7, Windows8, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

CES 2011 saw the debut of what could be the biggest challenge to the Wintel dominance of personal computing since Windows 95 cemented its position. The combination of the Android operating system on ARM processors — ARMdroid if you will — grabbed most of the attention in the emerging tablet category on products such as devices such as the Motorola Xoom and LG G-Slate. But it was also clear that manufacturers — unconstrained by Cupertinian notions of what operating system is best suited to what kind of device — are willing to take the combination in new directions that come much closer to the notebook form factor. A clear example of this was the ASUS Eee Pad Slider. If having the tablet thunder stolen from Microsoft wasn’t enough to make the company uncomfortable, clearly encroaching designs like this were.

And so, at Steve Ballmer’s keynote, the company announced that the next version of Windows will support not only x86 offerings from Intel and AMD – themselves moving closer to ARM-like system-on-chips – but ARM designs from companies such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA as well. Microsoft noted that the new chip support was requested by its partners, implying that PC companies want to take advantage of the long battery life and thin form factors enabled by ARM architectures, but also bring along Windows’ broad driver and software support. Microsoft clearly considers the tablet another PC, albeit one that Windows’ hardware and user interface layer needs to support better. However, in striking back at Android evolution, Microsoft risks collateral damage to its own mobile OS. Can Windows Phone 7 co-exist with a ARM-based version of the real thing?

Continue reading Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7

Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 14

Windows Ill-Suited to Touchscreens, New Tablets Show

Posted in: ASUS, Microsoft, multitouch, Notebooks, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili, Windows

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Most of the tablets released in 2011 will be Android-based, but a few stalwarts are sticking with Windows.

We recently got a closer look at two tablets shown off in Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s CES 2011 keynote: The Acer Iconia and the Asus Eee Slate EP121. Together, they show the potential — and the limitations — of a Windows-based tablet strategy.

It’s not that surprising to see Windows tablets, given that computer makers have been making them since 2001. In a sense, the Tablet PC never went away.

But in another respect, these tablets show just how wrong-headed Microsoft’s plan to use Windows for everything is. The company recently announced plans to create versions of Windows for ARM-based processors like the Qualcomm Snapdragon and Nvidia Tegra 2, which are found in a lot of upcoming tablets and high-end smartphones.

Microsoft division president Steven Sinofsky, speaking at CES last week, pointed to a convergence between the hardware requirements for Windows (the desktop OS) and most smartphones. Windows 7 requires no more resources than its predecessors, Windows Vista (in fact, slightly less) and he anticipates that its hardware requirements will remain level. Meanwhile, smartphones are gaining features previously found only in PCs: dual-core processors, gigabytes of RAM, heavy-duty graphics-processing capabilities.

“This convergence is pretty interesting to us as we think about the next generation of Windows,” Sinofsky said.

But the hardware convergence is only part of the story. The fact is, the Windows interface is not designed for touchscreens, a fact that was immediately obvious after spending a few minutes with the Asus and Acer tablets.

Above: The Acer Iconia is an unusual, dual-screen laptop. Its design echoes that of last year’s twin-screen Toshiba Libretto, except the Acer has two 14-inch displays, making it a full-size notebook.

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Photos: Jonathan Snyder / Wired.com

Upcoming Asus Tablets Will Run Android Honeycomb

Posted in: Android, ASUS, delay, honeycomb, tablet, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

Asus has confirmed that three of its upcoming tablets will run the next version of the Google mobile operating system, Android 3.0. aka Honeycomb.

The Eee Pad tablet will run Honeycomb and start shipping this summer, Asus spokesman Gary Key told Wired in an e-mail message.

That contradicts a report in The Inquirer, in which Asus marketing specialist John Swatton said Asus Android tablets would not launch until the fall.

Information around hardware requirements and technical specifications for running Honeycomb has been murky at best. Korean consumer-electronics firm Enspert originally speculated that Honeycomb would require a dual-core processor in order to run. But according to a Twitter status update sent by Android Open Source lead Dan Morrill, there’s no “hard minimum processor requirement” to run version 3.0.

By way of comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is running Android version 2.2 Froyo, and will be upgradable when Honeycomb is officially released. Motorola’s Xoom tablet will launch with Honeycomb in the spring. It hasn’t been said if that’s the case for the Eee Pad series or not.

See Also:

Photo: Courtesy of Asus

Jan 12

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look

Posted in: Android, ASUS, Features, gingerbread, honeycomb, impressions, london, preview, prototype, slider, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, uk

Remember those eccentric ASUS Android tablets at CES? Yeah, it’s all a bit of a blur for us as well, but turns out both the Eee Pad Transformer and Slider prototypes just made it to the BETT (British Educational Training and Technology) Show in London this morning, so we decided to wander along to get our hands dirty again. Sadly, the Transformer had a bit of a rough ride from Vegas and remained dormant, but we were still able to admire its sturdy keyboard dock with great key press travel. And in case you’ve forgotten, said dock is also an external battery that doubles the juice up to 16 hours. UK shoppers will see this slate popping up in the stores around May or June for £379 ($597), and its docking kit for £100 ($158).

We were more fortunate with the functioning Slider prototype, even though it had the same sliding issue we saw at CES. But fear not, as we were told that the engineers are already reworking the mechanism, and here’s hoping that they’ll do something about the flexing keyboard as well. As for software, we didn’t have time to test everything, but we were surprised by the general snappiness of the current Froyo test build. And speaking of which, we’re not too sure what the plan is with ASUS’ Android roadmap — even though we were told at CES that Honeycomb will be on these tablets at launch, the folks we met today said that they’ll be shipped with Gingerbread instead; and even then, there’s no time frame for the 3.0 upgrade just yet. Anyhow, this is less of a concern for the Slider given its July or August launch, but it’ll cost you a hefty £429 ($676).

Additionally, both tablets will see their 3G variants in the UK a quarter after their respective launches, but regardless, it’s never too soon to start a petition for your carrier to spread the ASUS tablet fever.

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer: another look

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad Slider: another look

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 11

ASUS Wavi Xtion motion sensing control system demoed at CES (video)

Posted in: ASUS, kinect, set-top-box, streamer, Today's Chili, video, Wireless

ASUS may not be anywhere close to ready for its Wavi Xtion to hit retail shelves (we’re hearing Q2 of 2012), but that didn’t stop our brethren over at Engadget Spanish from stopping by for a hands-on demonstration at CES. We’ll spare you the details on how it works, but in practice, we learned that it’s quite similar to Kinect. Not shocking considering that PrimeSense is behind both boxes, but the primarily difference seemed to be the reaction time. ASUS’ solution wasn’t quite as snappy as the Kinect, being slower to recognize and translate motions in testing. Of course, we wouldn’t expect a product that’s 18 months out from mass production to be completely on top of its game, but feel free to head on past the break to see exactly what we mean.

Continue reading ASUS Wavi Xtion motion sensing control system demoed at CES (video)

ASUS Wavi Xtion motion sensing control system demoed at CES (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

The Best New Tablet [BestOfTheBest]

Posted in: ASUS, BlackBerry, blackberry playbook, lenovo, LG, motorola, motorola xoom, playbook, streak, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, top, xoom

Tablets! Tablets tablets tablets. They’re the hot ticket at this year’s CES. Just about everyone’s got one (not that everyone should). We’ve parsed, prodded, and played with the main contenders. And this one’s best. Well, these ones. More »

Jan 06

ASUS tablet lineup preview: Slider, Transformer, MeMO, and Slate EP121 go wild (with video!)

Posted in: Android, ASUS, honeycomb, impressions, preview, slate, slider, Today's Chili, video, windows 7, Windows7

We just played with ASUS whole new tablet lineup, which is truly impressive not only in scope, but also for the fact that ASUS didn’t just pick a few capacitive screen sizes and call it a day. Each of the four tablets (three Android-based Eee Pads and one Windows-based Eee Slate) has its own “twist” on what’s come to seem traditional in modern day tablets, while also maintaining significant hardware and screen quality. We’re not crazy about the ‘MyWave’ ASUS software skin on its Android models, but they at least seem serious about providing UI and apps for the entire experience — they’re not kidding around, is what we’re saying.

We’ve got a ton of pictures and impressions, so follow after the break as we break it all down!

Update: We’ve added video as well. You’d be a fool not to click.

Continue reading ASUS tablet lineup preview: Slider, Transformer, MeMO, and Slate EP121 go wild (with video!)

ASUS tablet lineup preview: Slider, Transformer, MeMO, and Slate EP121 go wild (with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

ASUS EEE Slate EP121 shows up for pre-order on Amazon

Posted in: amazon, ASUS, CoreI5, pre-order, PreOrder, slate, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

Just yesterday, ASUS finally officially unveiled its brand new, IPS display-sporting EEE Slate EP121. If you can’t remember yesterday, the EP121 boasts an Intel Core i5-470UM processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD all in a 12.1-inch package running Windows 7. This high end tablet is due later this month, but if you simply must pre-order one today, well, taht’s now possible as it recently appeared at popular online retailer Amazon, for $999. Get over there!

[Thanks, DocWllk]

ASUS EEE Slate EP121 shows up for pre-order on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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