Jan 06

Speakal Unveils Phone/Computer Hybrid Devices at CES

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, phone, Today's Chili, windows 7

Speakal BTS8

Speakal is more commonly known for their iPhone and iPod Docks, including the iPig and the Cool iPig, but they had a surprise in store for CES this year: the BTS8 Phone/Personal Computer Hybrid. The BTS8 is essentially a standard office phone with a 5-inch display (which can be connected to an external monitor) that runs Windows 7 and, according to Speakal, “doubles as a personal computer.” 
The BTS8 comes with Windows 7 pre-installed, has an on-board Webcam and can do videoconferencing using Skype, and can even receive faxes, SMS messages, and play music or movies and let you surf the Web when you’re not busy taking calls. 
Admittedly businesses aren’t likely to start replacing their laptops with phone/PC hybrids just yet, and I can only imagine how difficult it would be to deal with making sure your phone doesn’t get hacked, but Speakal hopes businesses will bite. Pricing and availability were not announced.
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Jan 06

Toshiba’s Tablet: Up Close

Posted in: tablet, Today's Chili, Toshiba

toshiba tablet vert.jpg

One more tablet to look at before the CES showroom floor opens up this morning (that’s right, we’ve still got another hour before the show technically opens). This one’s from Toshiba. And it’s so new that it technically doesn’t have a name. Toshiba was just calling it the Toshiba Tablet. We like that simplicity. Go with it, Toshiba.
The slate is going to run Google’s Android Honeycomb, which means that it most likely won’t be out until the spring, but the company says it’s gunning for a release in the “first half” of 2011 (the unit we saw was running Froyo, which, after checking out Motorola’s entry, looks downright ancient).
It features a 10-inch screen with a 1280-by-800 resolution and slots for USB, HDMI, and mini USB, as well as an SD card slot for expanding memory. Like pretty much every non-iPad tablet these days, it has front- and rear-facing cameras (at 2MP and 5MP, respectively).
More shots, after the jump
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Jan 06

Motorola Xoom Tablet: Pics Galore

Posted in: motorola, tablet, Today's Chili
moto tablet side finger1.jpg
Okay, here’s my last tablet post of the night (though almost certainly not the show). Such a device designed by a company like Motorola certainly warrants mention, right? It’s called the Xoom (pronounced Xoom).
It’s an Android tablet–a Google sanctioned one, in fact. The thing will run Honeycomb, the first version of the company’s mobile OS actually designed to run on tablets. It features a 10 inch widescreen and is a little bit skinnier than its chief rival, the iPad.
The device sports a 1GHz NVidia Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of memory (expandable via SD card). It also has front and rear facing cameras (2- and 5MP, respectively), for all of your teleconferencing needs.
Also, interesting, the thing docks in landscape mode, unlike the iPad’s upright docking. 
Pretty slick, Motorola. A bunch more pictures, after the jump.
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Jan 06

Samsung PC7: One Slick Convertible Tablet

Posted in: samsung, tablet, Today's Chili

samsung pc7 guy.jpg

Yeah, I know, CES has yet to actually officially begin, and we’re already up to our ears in tablets. Samsung’s newly announced device definitely deserves mention, however–it’s easily one of the slickest gadgets I’ve seen this week.
The PC7 is really a reimagining of the whole netbook concept, with a screen that slides right over the keyboard, turning into a slate tablet.The device has a multi-touch 10.1 screen and runs Windows 7, making it arguably the coolest device built around that hardware.
Inside you’ll find an Intel Atom Z670 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and either 32- or 64GB of storage.The PC7 can do both WiMax and 3G, and it weighs in at just over two pounds. Check out some closeup shots, after the jump.

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Jan 05

Another Android Tablet Launched–But This One Has “Fun” in the Name

Posted in: tablets, Today's Chili

Next5.jpg

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m beginning to think that the Consumer Electronics Association was sort of low balling things when it announced earlier in the week that 80 tablets were set to be announced at CES this year. So, how does a small electronics manufacturer distinguish its device in a sea full of shiny new Android tablets? Simple: use the word “fun.”
That blurry press shot above is the company’s Next5 from E Fun (wooo!). The tablet runs Android 2.1 and ships with an APEN digital pen, which lets the user save and transmit notes in real-time. 
The tablet has a seven inch TFT screen, a whopping 2GB of memory standard, and an SD slot. It also comes loaded with 25 free books and access to the Borders eBook store. It’ll hit the market in April for $279.99.
So, what makes this tablet so “fun?” Is it the note taking, the book reading, or the outdated mobile operating system?

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Jan 05

Cinemin Slice: iPad Dock Meets Pico Projector

Posted in: ipad, projector, Today's Chili

slice-iphone_large.jpg

WowWee had at least one surprise up its sleeve at this year’s CES. The company last night showed off the Cinemin Slice, an iPad speaker dock that features a rear pico projector.


The Slice can project images up to 60 inches, with a viewable range of up to 125 inches. It projects at 16 ANSI lumens. Images are projected in a WVGA resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 100:1 contrast ratio. It features a 90 hinge and manual focus.

The 30-pin dock lets you plug in and charge your iPad, iPod, or iPhone. There’s also a Mini-HDMI and AV ports for plugging in other media players and a VGA port for computers.

The Cinemin Slice is coming later this month and is available now for pre-order from WowWee. It’ll run you around $430.

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Jan 04

Lenovo Le Pad Up Close

Posted in: lenovo, tablet, Today's Chili

Lenovo u1 stand.jpg

Lenovo’s U1/Le Pad looks to be one of the big hits of CES, thus far. Granted, it’s still early in the show. Heck, the show technically hasn’t even started yet. Still, the thing is darned cool. It’s an iPad-like tablet (the U1), which converts into a laptop with the help of a dock (the Le Pad).

For the time being, the device doesn’t appear to be coming to the US, sadly, so we’ll just have to admire it from afar. I did manage to snap a shot of the device up close tonight, and seeing it in person only makes me want one all that much more.

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Jan 04

AHX Launches iTablet (It’s a Tablet)

Posted in: tablet, Today's Chili

itablet_ces2011.jpg

Sick of tablets yet? Might want to sit the rest of the week out. After announcements from Lenovo and ASUS today to that effect, here’s a welcome change: a tablet from a company you likely haven’t heard of. iTablet, from a company called AHX Global is Windows 7-based. It features a 10.1 touchscreen with 32GB of memory on-board.

There’s 802.11b/g/n built-in and a 2MP Webcam–it can also run Flash, unlike, ahem, some other tablets. The thing is running an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor and has 2GB of RAM, standard. The system comes loaded with a trial version of Office 2010, which you can use with the on-screen virtual keyboard–or, if you so choose, a keyboard plugged in via one of the device’s two USB ports.

The company’s CEO calls it “is the hardest working tablet computer,” for whatever that’s worth.

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Jan 04

ASUS Launches Eee Pad MeMO Tablet

Posted in: Today's Chili

Asus_eee_meemo.jpg

CES is a couple of days from officially starting, and I’m already suffering from a bit of tablet overload–and believe me, ASUS, you aren’t helping. During its press conference today, the company launched the Eee Pad MeMO, a seven inch tablet, which harkens back to a simpler time, when people used a thing called a “stylus” for their touchscreen devices.

The device, which is set to launch in June, will run a future version of Android (the company is calling it “Android 3.0,” incidentally) and ships with a capacitive stylus for note taking and picture drawing (it comes pre-loaded with Media Note and Painter, for precisely those things). There’s a 1,2GHz Qualcomm processor inside and front and rear facing cameras, for all of your teleconferencing needs.

The device also ships with a MeMic Bluetooth headset, to make it all the more smartphone-like. The thing will run you $499, when it launches this summer.

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Jan 04

Lenovo’s Le Pad/UI Tablet is a Little Slate, a Little Laptop

Posted in: lenovo, Today's Chili

Lenovo's U1 Hybrid Laptop Undocks to form the LePad Slate.jpg

What was that number? 80 tablets being introduced at this year’s CES? Odds are that most of them will be long forgotten by this time next year. One that will likely make a bit of a splash amongst enthusiasts, if only because of sheer aesthetic awesomeness, is Lenovo’s entry.

This time last year, we caught a glimpse of the U1 hybrid. Now the thing is official–officially awesome, from the looks of it. The device shifts between laptop and slate tablet (the Le Pad). The whole will run a lofty $1,300–or just $520 for the Le Pad tablet portion.

There’s one other major caveat, aside from price, unfortunate–for the time being, the thing (like the LePhone that we saw at last year’s show) is only available in China.

If you’re still reading this because you A. Live in China, B. Know an Importer, or C. like to drool over things you can’t have (we fall into the latter category, by the way), here are some more specs:

The UI Hybrid has a 10 inch 1,280 by 800 pixel display, an ARM SnapDragon 1.3GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM (as a laptop and 1GB as a tablet),and runs Windows 7 in its laptop form.

Both configurations will be available in March.

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