Hasta La Gadget!

From Barcelona to Hanover to Vegas and Taipei, we’ve seen our fair share of low-end Android tablets, some of which actually offer a bit of promise, and get it done for under 200 bucks. And while even a few sub-$100 models have littered the exhibition hall floors, they’re most often mere vaporware, never actually making their way to US and European retailers and online shops. The Matrix One, for its part, could actually get the nod of approval from big box execs, however — according to company reps, at least. And it wouldn’t be a half-bad option at $99, shipping with Android 4.0.3, a 2-megapixel webcam, 1.5GHz Cortex A8 processor and an 800 x 480-pixel 7-inch capacitive display. Those specs also make their way to a nearly identical $149 flavor, which ups its budget counterpart’s 512MB RAM and 4 gigs of storage to 1GB and 16GB, respectively, while keeping the other components intact.

While that display won’t best any brand-name slab on the market, it’s certainly usable, even in bright sunlight, as we experienced today at CE Week in New York City. The tablet performed just fine during our quick demo, which included navigating through some menus and watching a few HD video clips. The built-in speaker on the rear won’t come close to filling a room (or even a noisy car, perhaps), but a headphone jack will let movie fans and youngsters alike appreciate content a bit more, especially if traditional tablets are priced out of reach. There’s also an HDMI port for outputting 1080p video to a TV, along with one full-size USB port, a mini-USB connector for syncing and updates, a power port and a micro-SD card slot, for adding up to 32 gigs of extra storage.

You’ll also find a built-in mic and a two-megapixel webcam (no rear-facing shooter, however). All in all, the 11.1-ounce package is quite polished, especially given the price. We won’t likely be adding the Matrix One to our personal collection, but if a $99 tablet is on your must-have list, this wouldn’t be a bad choice — let’s just hope it does indeed pop up in stores, perhaps as soon as the tablet’s ready to ship at the end of next month. There’s a gallery below if you’d care to take a closer look, and do jump past the break as well — that’s where you’ll find our hands-on video, with a lively Manhattan soundscape to boot.

Continue reading Matrix One is a $99 ICS tablet that could ship to retailers next month… but probably won’t (hands-on)

Matrix One is a $99 ICS tablet that could ship to retailers next month… but probably won’t (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Less than 24 hours before the biggest Google developer event of the year, Google I/O 2012, over at the Googleplex the newest Android software version has been revealed: Jelly Bean. Just as suspected due to leaks, tips, and the fact that each of the treats thus far have been alphabetically inserted, Jelly Bean will come right after the update that’s live now: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Now we’ve just got to figure out what version number this treat corresponds with, and of course what the actual software updates will be.

We’ll be at Google I/O 2012 all week long bringing you updates on this software as well as everything else Android, Chrome, and Google’s online apps as well. I/O is an event that’s not to be missed by all Google-loving developers as well as seekers of the next big things in the mobile universe. Have a peek at our Jelly Bean timeline below to see everything that relates to what we’ve seen thus far of this ghost of an operating system as well.

The photo above comes from Google Developers on Google+, another fabulous place to check out our updates on this event at SlashGear+. And of course stay up to date through our Google I/O 2012 portal all week as we bring the updates as quick as a bunny from all corners of the software-sphere. Also don’t forget the hardware – we’ve already seen a glimpse of what very well may be the tablet that’ll be revealed this week, Nexus style – stay tuned!

UPDATE: Nothing new has been revealed on the contents of the software, but the statue has apparently been continuing to get updated throughout the day. As far as Google’s Louis Gray can show, this may well be the same Android we know and love, just filled with a few more sweets than before – it’s symbolism!

Android Jelly Bean statue appears at Googleplex [UPDATE] is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Those of us yearning to bring Huawei’s Ascend D Quad on summer vacation will have to file that dream away for next year. The company’s consumer division chief, Yu Chengdong, has pushed back the phone’s volume production from this month to August. Blame for the setback rests squarely on that custom-developed K3V2 processor — there have been “technical problems” getting it ready, if we go by Huawei’s less than precise explanation. The timing certainly isn’t what we’d call ideal: now that the Galaxy S III and One X are both common features of the smartphone landscape, the Ascend D Quad’s performance won’t be turning nearly as many heads when it arrives. We’ll have to make do with the solid Ascend P1 in the meantime.

Huawei pushes Ascend D Quad production to August, pins it on processor hiccups originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this lede pretty much wrote itself. A 13-inch tablet, seriously? Toshiba is pushing the form factor limits with the Excite 13, and while its dimensions make it stand out in a sea of 7- and 10-inch devices, that isn’t necessarily what tablet buyers are looking for.

There’s no shortage of skepticism about such a large slate — “slab” seems appropriate here — so the Toshiba Excite 13 needs to provide an exceptional experience, with a brilliant display and smooth graphics, to make 2.2 pounds seem more palatable. On paper, its specs are promising: there’s a quad-core Tegra 3 CPU under the hood, a 1600 x 900 display at 138 ppi and a clean build of Android 4.0. The company already has the Excite 7.7 and Excite 10 in its arsenal, and their good performance and bright displays make for compelling tablets. But how does a 13-inch tablet that starts at $650 round out that trio? Read on for our full impressions.

Continue reading Toshiba Excite 13 review: a big-screened tablet with a price to match

Toshiba Excite 13 review: a big-screened tablet with a price to match originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The bad news: if you’ve been hoping to grab a Droid Incredible 4G LTE so you can show it off to your friends at your local July 4th extravaganza, you’re out of luck. The good news: you might be able to cheer up from your post-holiday depression the very next day. According to internal employee docs captured by Droid-Life, we should expect Verizon’s first Sense 4 device to arrive at stores on July 5th for $200 with a two-year contract. As always, pricing and availability are never set in stone; after all, internal employee docs gave us false hope that the Motorola Droid 4 would show up several weeks before it actually launched, but that was likely a result of Verizon pulling the launch at the last minute. Provided Big Red doesn’t change its mind (or other snafus throw a wrench into the process), we won’t be disappointed this time around.

HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE may hit Verizon on July 5th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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