Hasta La Gadget!

We’d be naive to think manufacturers were twiddling their thumbs while Apple pimps out its iPad. Sure enough, there could be as many as 50 tablet devices from competing manufacturers worldwide this year, according to mobile microprocessor company ARM.

In anticipation of the upcoming tablet invasion, ARM has rented out more space at the Computex electronics trade show in Taipei to accommodate the new devices, according to ComputerWorld.

“The first tablet devices will launch in the second quarter by [mobile network] carriers,” said Roy Chen, ARM’s worldwide mobile computing ODM manager, during a press meeting in Taipei. “You’ll see a lot more in the third quarter.”

ARM licenses its microprocessor technologies to many manufacturers for their mobile devices, so we can trust that Chen has some inside knowledge about upcoming tablets. (The iPhone’s processor is ARM-based, for example.)

Chen noted the majority of the tablets will launch in China, but that “companies everywhere” are delivering tablets as well. He didn’t name specific companies. However, in the United States we’re aware of upcoming tablets from HP and Dell. And before the iPad even lands, startup Fusion Garage plans to release its JooJoo tablet.

Wired.com last year predicted that 2010 would be the year of the tablet after hearing from industry sources that several major manufacturers, including Dell and HTC, were planning to launch tablets.

See Also:

• Dell Names Secret ‘Slate’ After Non-Existent Apple Product …
• Would You Buy an iPad? Wired Readers Weigh In
• HP’s Windows 7 Slate Strikes at the iPad
• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The first of June could see the introduction of the Eee Pad tablet if DigiTimes‘ proven ASUS sources are correct. The device has been rumored since early December and now appears to be heading to Computex Taipei for its big reveal with a price set below $500. The tablet was already rumored to feature a multitouch display, Tegra (Tegra 2, presumably) and an OS other than Windows CE. And with a name that sounds suspiciously like a feminine hygiene product for a robot, well, we’ll let you guess at which Google OS the Eee Pad will run.

Update: JKKMobile linked us to a video he shot of an ASUS concept tablet running Android on Tegra 2 at CES. Somehow we missed it… we blame the Waveface.

ASUS’ Tegra-powered Eee Pad tablet to make sub-$500 Computex debut? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  DigiTimes  | Email this | Comments

Computex Taipei may be over and done with for another year, but the netbooks on display at the show just keep on surfacing, and the folks at Netbooknews.com have now provided a hands-on with one that didn’t exactly get a ton of attention earlier: the J&W Minix 811. While there’s expectedly not a ton of surprises when it comes to the specs, this one does seem to be thinner and lighter than the average netbook and, even better still, it has both a matte screen and fairly large and apparently responsive keyboard. Head on past the break for the hands-on video.

Continue reading J&W Minix 811 netbook gets the hands-on treatment

Filed under: Laptops

J&W Minix 811 netbook gets the hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’re not so sure that being the “world’s smallest Windows-based MID” is really a benefit for those who appreciate keys that are large enough to mash and screens that are large enough to see, but whatever the case, Compal seems pretty proud of its accomplishments here. Shown off along with scores of other me-too MIDs at Computex, the KAX15 is based around Intel’s existing Menlow platform and sports the polarizing tilt-and-slide mechanism for unmasking the QWERTY keyboard. As for specs, we’re told that it packs an 800 x 480 display and an 800MHz processor, but further details have yet to flow. There’s a hands-on vid just past the break if you’re somehow intrigued with shoving Windows in your left cargo pocket.

Continue reading Compal tries harder with Intel-based KAX15 MID

Filed under: Handhelds

Compal tries harder with Intel-based KAX15 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Computex may finally be winding down, but with most of the big product announcements now out of the way, that only means there’s a better chance for some of the hidden treasures of the show to shine, like this collection of Chinese-styled gadgets discovered by our pals at Engadget Chinese. That includes a stylish “Nah” box made of real china that actually contains a 1.5TB hard drive, a bamboo sheet that supposedly acts as a laptop cooling pad, a pair of vase-shaped speakers, various mice decorated with Chinese opera masks and, of course, no shortage of eye-catching USB drives. All of which are better demonstrated in pictures than words, so we recommend hitting up the gallery below.

Gallery: Computex offers Chinese gadget kitsch aplenty

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

Computex offers Chinese gadget kitsch aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments