The next-generation Kindle Fire HD has appeared today in both a set of photos and with a reminder that Amazon wont be letting this unit slip under the radar with high-end specifications. This unit will be popping up with a 7-inch display, a resolution at 1920 x 1200, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor […]
Earlier this year a device code-named DA220HQL was introduced to the world – silently – this being the same device appearing along technology newslines being reported as brand new, and coming soon with Haswell inside. What’s actually happened here is a bit of a mistaken identity – the device in question is, indeed, already on the market – and it comes with a dual-core Texas Instruments processor inside.
This machine is what Acer calls a “Smart Display”, working with a kickstand in the back, a full touch display, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich inside. This machine works with the dual-core TI OMAP 4430 inside and is available in Europe right now for right around $450 USD, depending on where you’re picking it up from. Resellers, according to CNET, had as recently as earlier today been listing the device as coming with a next-generation Intel Haswell processor under the hood.
While the device won’t be busting up the next-generation charts with that particular bit of Intel technology, it will be continuing its odd placement in the market with a 21.5-inch multi-touch display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution – across that much display space, it’s not exactly as sharp as some of the top smartphones on the market, but is more than enough to get you through the day as a media center.
Inside is 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage, microHDMI out, microUSB (one of them), and included in the box you’ll get both a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. This system is very similar to what appeared at the ViewSonic stand earlier this year at CES 2013. ViewSonic showed off their own “Smart Display” by the name of VSD240 – basically the same concept, but ringing in at a slightly more hefty $675 USD (MSRP). While that system did boast an NVIDIA Tegra processor, the style sticks with Acer.
These systems show the continued experimentation being done with Android as its versatility expands. Android notebooks like the HP SlateBook X2 have popped up alongside cross-breeds like this – and Android is inside Google Glass, too, mind you. Expect this trend to keep tapping.
PSA: Acer’s Android all-in-one won’t roll with Haswell is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Taiwan might have an HTC One and an HTC First, but starting today, Singapore has a Synrgic Uno to join the banter (get it?). The name Synrgic might not immediately ring a bell, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see a mention of its earlier phone plus three tablets from a while back. Alas, said phone was eventually canned as the quality didn’t meet expectations, so consider this Uno a new attempt by the same Singaporean startup.
Announced in its home city just now, this device is positioned as a mid-tier Android phone with some modest specs, namely a 4.7-inch, 720p IPS display with Gorilla Glass and, more interestingly, a dual-core 1.5GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 SoC (with 1GB DDR2 RAM and SGX 544 graphics chip). With the upcoming TI OMAP 5 series shifting towards automotive systems, chances are the Uno will be one of the last OMAP-powered smartphones before TI waves goodbye to the mobile world. More after the break.
Update: We’ve added a hands-on video after the break. In short: smooth software and solid hardware build, with some room for improvement on the coating at the top and bottom sides.
Gallery: Synrgic Uno hands-on
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Synrgic
You might remember ViewSonic’s slightly strange VCD22 Smart Display from our journey to Computex. If the sight of that 22-inch, Android-based all-in-one desktop set your heart aflutter, you’ll be glad to know the finished version is coming to the US as the VSD220 by mid-to-late October. It’s decidedly less portable what we saw in Taipei this June and strips out the battery we suspect most buyers wouldn’t have used. For better or worse, though, most everything else is the same: while we didn’t expect a change to the TI OMAP 4 processor, the VSD220 will be clinging to Android 4.0 instead of upgrading to Android 4.1 for its trip across the Pacific. The micro-HDMI video input, 1.2-megapixel front camera, microSD slot, three USB ports and Ethernet (yes, Ethernet) do help justify a space on the desk, especially for those who want a secondary display for another mobile device or PC. The VSD220 faces a stiff fight from traditional all-in-ones that don’t always cost much more — but we’ll at least get a price drop to a more palatable $399 in return for our patience.
Filed under: Desktops, Displays
ViewSonic VSD220 Smart Display with Android 4.0 comes to US in October, dips to $399 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
This week the folks at Amazon introduced a set of new Kindle tablets including a refresh of the Kindle Fire, two new Kindle Fire HD tablets, and a reader called Paperwhite. This last entry in the list of new items might be the most overlooked to the biggest news seekers, but it’s set to overtake a still massive ereader market with technology that’s set to dash standard E-Ink’s brains out – and it’s relatively inexpensive, too! The original Kindle Fire was refreshed with a lower price, and both the Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9 were introduced with pre-orders starting today.
Start your journey with a look at how the original Kindle Fire has been updated with a select number of features right alongside a price drop to $159 – that’s madness! The new set of Kindle Fire devices come in both 7 and 8.9-inch display sizes, the latter also having a 4G LTE iteration coming with a new data plan that will run you just $50 USD a year – that’s 250MB of 4G LTE data a month for a total of $50 USD a year! Don’t get too pumped up though, there’s a catch: you still gotta pay overage costs.
There’s also a catch for those of you that aren’t fans of advertisements in your devices – the device you payed for and supposedly own. Amazon’s entire Kindle Fire lineup now also has Special Offers showing up on their lock-screens – with no option (other than hacking, of course) to get rid of them. Per Amazon’s press release:
“Special Offers
The new Kindle Fire family comes with special offers that appear on the lock screen. Examples of special money-saving offers that customers will enjoy include a $5 credit in the Amazon MP3 Store and a $5 credit for select titles in the Amazon Instant Video Store. Customers will also receive special offers and screensavers from brands like AT&T, Discover and Intel, such as a special offer of a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card when a customer uses their Discover card to purchase a digital product on Amazon.”
You’ll be glad to know, however, that we’ve got no reason to believe that this line of tablets is immune to hacking – as it was with the original Kindle Fire. Also, it does appear (according to several sources, but not yet confirmed by Amazon directly) that the Kindle Fire HD lineup is coming with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich behind their own customized user interface. That’s good news for you future-looking developers out there with diamond software modification in your eyes.
Kindle Fire HD 7 hands on:
The Kindle Fire HD lineup comes with a collection of software innovations like X-Ray and Whispersync. Have a peek at the timeline here to see our hands-on with the Kindle Fire HD duo as well as notes on the software features at hand:
Prices for the Kindle Fire HD lineup are as follows (followed by the refreshed Kindle Fire and the Paperwhite as well):
Kindle Fire (Refresh): US $159 / UK £ 129
Kindle Fire HD 7: US $199 for 16GB and $249 for 32GB / UK £159 for 16GB and £199 for 32GB
Kindle Fire HD 8.9: US $299 for 16GB and $369 for 32GB / UK N/A thus far
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 4G LTE: US $499 for 32GB and $599 for 64GB
Kindle Paperwhite: $119
Kindle Paperwhite 3G: $179
Kindle (Refresh): $69
Most if not all of these devices are now up for pre-order on Amazon with ship dates either in mid-September, early October, or November – it’s a spread!
Have a peek at the information we’ve got on the Paperwhite – including its 3G iteration with free – yes free – 3G. The smallest and lightest Kindle has also been updated with a few new software updates like improved fonts and 15% faster page turns as well. We’ve got hands-on with the three biggest beasts here, and of course more details than you can shake a stick at from throughout the day today. Stick around our Amazon tag portal for more information as it pops up between here and release time!
UPDATE: The full event video is now up via Amazon – enjoy!
Amazon Kindle Fire full event video and wrap-up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Though we wont be able to have a peek at AT&T’s 4G LTE version of the tablet until later this year, Amazon has allowed us a quick touchy-feely experience with the 8.9-inch version of the Kindle Fire HD before its software is finalized. What we’re seeing here is the slightly larger version of the Kindle Fire HD 7, that being essentially the same size as the standard Kindle Fire which also got a refresh this week. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is the company’s new flagship device, we would say, with an 8.9-inch display made to compete directly with Apple’s iPad.
This device has a back that’s slightly rubbery with a single ribbon of shine on the bottom half, there showing the device’s brand. The device is relatively light and certainly thin, and though its chassis don’t tell much about how it’s forward-thinking here in 2012, the software features and display construction certainly do. One of the more important elements sits right up front and center with the display being closer to the glass panel than Amazon’s previous efforts, this resulting in a much clearer, crisper, and less glare-prone solution.
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is indeed going to be coming with essentially the same software build as the Kindle Fire HD 7, with a user interface that’s been upgraded from the original Kindle Fire as well. Here we’re seeing nearly buttery-smooth action and next-level response time thus far – we’ll need more time with the finalized device to know for sure.
With a relatively standard non-intrusive and certainly quiet-seeming bit of hardware to surround it, Amazon appears to have once again created what may be a winner for the 2012 holiday season for hardware. How it’ll work to ramp up sales in all sectors when they’ve now got not two, but three tablets with quite similar specifications and three very different prices though, we’re not sure. Check out the timeline below for additional information on the releases that’ve occurred this week with Amazon and plan on getting a Kindle this winter – this 8.9 tablet wont be out until November.
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week we’ve had the opportunity to take a peek at the next generation of media tablets by the name of Amazon Kindle Fire HD. There are two new devices, one of them being a 7-inch tablet, the other a 8.9-inch tablet, and both of them will be released alongside a slight upgrade to the original Kindle Fire which has also had a price cut to compete with the Google Nexus 7. The Kindle Fire HD in its 8.9-inch display edition has a 1920 x 1200 display (or 254 ppi) display while the smaller device has not yet had its entire set of specifications released – rest assured though, they’ll be a bit of a bump over the refreshed standard edition.
The Kindle Fire HD lineup has a OMAP 4470 processor from Texas Instruments, Bluetooth connectivity on the inside as well, and an HD webcam on the front. The smaller edition of both the 7 and 8.9-inch devices have 16GB of internal storage while the larger edition of the 8.9 tablet has 32GB of internal storage as well as 4G LTE connectivity. The 7-inch version of the tablet you see here will be shipping on September 14th and for $199 while the original Kindle Fire (refreshed) will be popping up for just $159 – the 4G LTE version comes in November.
The Kindle Fire 7 has a body that’s had its predecessor’s square-edges taken out, so to speak, with a bit more flare on the back to boot. You’ve got a stripe of shine across the back while the majority of the device’s backing is made of a slightly grippier bit of rubbery plastic. The software we’re seeing here is an upgraded user interface compared to the original Kindle Fire, but for the most part you’re working through the same set of media in a very similar way. That said, a lovely collection of software updates that you can find in our Amazon tag portal today – as well as in the timeline of today’s events below.
Note also that the 7-inch version of the device appears to be closer to final form than the 8.9-inch version of the device, the latter being held to the side by none other than Amazon’s own Peter Larsen a this week’s event. Don’t worry though, the biggest difference between the 7 and the 8.9 is the display size – stay tuned to SlashGear for more on the development of these tablets as it occurs!
Kindle Fire HD 7 hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
