Hasta La Gadget!

One of the least-known features of the Google Nexus 7 tablet is its ability to work with a magnetic cover that’ll shut its display off like a snap. This sort of feature exists in your laptop, you’ve got a similar situation in your iPad 2 and 3, and the technology has existed in many BlackBerry devices for some time now as well. Now the folks at MobileFun UK are showing off some brand new SD TabletWear cases with the Nexus 7 to show how you’ll be utilizing the feature here on Google’s first Nexus line tablet ever.

What you’ll see is a couple of different cases being shown off, one of them a “stand and type” case, the other just a SmartCase. Both are made of reinforced materials so you wont have to worry about dropping, smashing, or bashing your equipment, and both are also available for sale now from the MobileFun UK online shop. Have a peek at the simplicity right here:

These cases are not unlike what we’ve seen in the past for the iPad ever since the iPad 2 was revealed to have a magnetic responsive casing. This sort of functionality will likely become the norm for most high-end mobile devices in the near future – expect it! Meanwhile have a peek at the most recent wave of Nexus 7 news flashes to see how well this beast is doing in the wild!

Nexus 7 gets smart covers for magnetic display sleep is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s only so much kit you can cram into a sub-$200 tablet without pushing past the price ceiling. And for Google’s Jelly Bean-blessed Nexus 7, corners were definitely cut, leaving users without a handy microSD slot for expansion and rear-facing camera. But where there’s a will, there’s the XDA and its community of developers to remedy the situation. As you can glimpse from the photo above, an enterprising forum member by the handle of c0m47053 devised an interesting workaround for the slate’s lack of expandable storage and then some. Using the StickMount app available on the Play store, which allows users to mount/dismount mass storage devices, he was able to connect the ASUS-made tab to a USB hub and hook it up to a keyboard, mouse and, most amusingly of all, a floppy drive — to play Ultima on DOSbox, of course. It goes without saying that a feat of this kind requires root access, but thankfully that’s what Mountain View made the Nexuses for.

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablet PCs, Software

ULTIMAte hack: Nexus 7 hooks up with external USB storage, floppy drive for retro-gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 22:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Friday, everyone. It’s the end of another work week and the technology news keeps pouring in. We have a couple big announcements in the world of video games, so let’s start with those – 3DS XL getting anti-glare screen upgrade and Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition hits 3 million units sold. And also, in the world of mobile news, get ready for this – Samsung sets major Galaxy announcement for August 15th.

Featured: On this Friday, we have one featured article for the computer enthusiasts out there. Check it out – AVADirect Quiet Gaming PC Custom System (Z77, Core i7 Ivy Bridge) review. We’d probably all like one of those, wouldn’t we? If you haven’t clicked the above link to check out the review, you really should. It’s a great read. Alright, then, let’s move on to the rest of tonight’s wrap-up.

Asus, Nexus 7, & Hacking: And finally, we’ll check on the rest of the stories that made headlines today. This time around, we’ll start with this – ASUS confirms full Jelly Bean update schedule. In addition to that, here’s some other Android-related news – Nexus 7 sells out across the USA. And in a completely different channel of news, we’ll finish with this – Seattle hacker held for massive retail cyberattack.

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: July 20, 2012 is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s an amazing feat to behold when a company makes a device so popular that it sells out in one store, much less the entirety of the USA – but that’s what Google is doing with the Nexus 7. This ASUS-manufactured tablet appears very much to be capturing the imaginations – and pocketbooks – of users across the United States as well as the UK as retailers both offline and online are showing sold out signs galore. From what we understand it appears that 3rd party retailers are “frantically” attempting to get more units in stock as ASUS and Google make moves to make it all happen smoothly.

Those of you looking to grab one of these swiftly moving devices will want to head to the Google Play store, the only location that appears to have the 8GB model of the tablet in stock. [The Google Play online shop currently has 3-5 day shipping] listed aside this smaller of the two tablets right this minute. The 16GB model of the tablet is completely out of stock at the moment at the Google Play store online.

You can also of course head to eBay, but you’re going to be seeing something like a 30-40% cost over retail if you do. Otherwise you might be out of luck for the larger tablet – while the smaller one is good to go, again, on Google Play. The following stores also have the tablet coming soon after having sold out completely:

• GameStop
• Office Depot
• Staples
• Kmart
• B&H NYC
• MobileCity
• Sam’s Club
• Curry’s PC World UK

Good luck, and be sure to let us know if you find a tablet for sale out there in the wild – and snatch it up quick! Also be sure to check out our full review of the Nexus 7 to get an idea of what you’ll be snatching!

Nexus 7 sells out across the USA is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This morning it’s time to continue the epic saga that is the Parisian McDonalds wearable camera incident – with Steve Mann continuing his quest to make AR a reality for the universe. Yahoo is pleading with their staff to “please don’t stop” – an odd battle cry if ever have we heard one. Those of you waiting for Jelly Bean on your Android phones might want to turn to Nokia – yes Nokia – to find it: Android 4.1 has been ported to the N9.

Science is making a healthy attempt at getting smudge-free touchscreens for the near future. It’s once again time to check out Marissa Mayer’s cash fee for heading to Yahoo as its new CEO. There’s an update to Jelly Bean in Australia for emergency calls. You’ll want to take a peek at the LG IPS7 Series LCD IPS display and its easy to use MHL port.

You wont be seeing Thunderbolt 20Gbps until 2014 – bummer! Have a peek at how Microsoft has enlisted a Special Projects chief to replace their shuttered skunkworks. Make sure you check out the column entitled Will public shame stem Apple’s patent aggression?

SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: July 20, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.