Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces

Dell Streak Gorilla Glass torture test

You could argue that toughened glass is the cornerstone of the modern mobile industry: without the knowledge that our touchscreen phones and tablets could survive the everyday risks of scratches and minor drops, many of us would be terrified of leaving home with a glass-covered mobile device in our hands. Corning now has evidence to prove just how important that silicate can be. In addition to the mostly upbeat third quarter fiscal results you’ll find after the break, the firm brags to us that more than one billion devices have shipped with some variant of Gorilla Glass in place, spread across 33 major brands and 500 individual models that are occasionally very immobile. We can’t give Corning all the credit when alternatives like Dragontrail exist, but numbers like these make it hard to dispute that millions of gadgets have been spared an untimely end (or a flimsy plastic display) by some clever primate chemistry.

Continue reading Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces

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Corning touts 1 billion Gorilla Glass devices: that’s a lot of face-saving surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slickdeals’ best in tech for October 24th: Canon EOS Rebel DSLR bundles and refurbished 3rd-gen iPads

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we’ll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You’ll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won’t stick around long.

Slickdeals' best in tech for October 17th Windows 8 Pro, GoPro HD Hero2 and Lenovo IdeaPad U410

If you’re hoping to cross a few names off that holiday shopping list a full two months early, today may be the time to do just that. Canon EOS Rebel T3i and T4i DSLR bundles top the list of tech links today and both include lenses and a PIXMA 9000 Mark II printer for outputting all of those shots that you’re sure to capture. If the imminent arrival of a new iPad doesn’t bother you too much, refurbished units that carry the 3rd-generation moniker and lack a Lightning connection get a handsome discount this time around as well. Slide past the break before these deals are gone for all of the particulars. And keep an eye on those rebate forms.

Continue reading Slickdeals’ best in tech for October 24th: Canon EOS Rebel DSLR bundles and refurbished 3rd-gen iPads

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Slickdeals’ best in tech for October 24th: Canon EOS Rebel DSLR bundles and refurbished 3rd-gen iPads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google delivers search app for Windows 8 with a touch of tablet optimization

Google delivers search app for Windows 8 with a touch of tablet optimization

It’s not a finished, Windows 8-tuned Chrome build, but we’ll take it. Much as Google has been catering to iOS users who don’t have its search completely baked into the platform, there’s now a dedicated Google Search app for the Metro-inclined. Ignore the desktop OS foundation; the Windows 8 app is much closer to the touchscreen-oriented mobile version with its oversized search box, service shortcuts, an emphasis on voice recognition and finger-friendly instant previews of the results. Although incorporating Google search on a Surface will undoubtedly rankle Microsoft’s Bing team, the app could be the ticket for many tablet owners who live in Google’s cloud without using its hardware.

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Google delivers search app for Windows 8 with a touch of tablet optimization originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Apple iPad mini, 4th-generation iPad reach the FCC

New Apple iPad mini, 4thgeneration iPad reach the FCC

Apple’s iPad mini and 4th-generation iPad didn’t arrive alone. In the company’s time-honored tradition, it has timed the FCC filings for both devices to show up alongside the products themselves. Each iOS tablet has been approved in both singular WiFi and dual cellular editions: the iPad mini has appeared as the WiFi-only A1432 as well as the A1454 and A1455 for worldwide HSPA+, EV-DO and LTE coverage, while the full-size iPad has been cleared in directly paralleled A1458, A1459 and A1460 versions. Not surprisingly, the frequency range matches that of the iPhone 5 and suggests that we’re dealing with the same Qualcomm MDM9615 chip. We’ll know more once the two iPads are in our hands and those of teardown artists, but for now you can explore Apple’s regulatory gymnastics in full at the source links.

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New Apple iPad mini, 4th-generation iPad reach the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future

ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future

Want an early glimpse of the VivoTab RT without having to attend ASUS’ special event? Thanks to our tipster, you’ve got it. An Office Depot has received at least one example of the Windows RT slate a full three days in advance. The short impressions: it’s an “awesome” Tegra 3-packing tablet, although the OS reportedly chews up more than half of the 32GB of storage, and USB depends on an adapter if you’re not relying on the keyboard. While price wasn’t immediately available, we’re not expecting retail to deviate greatly from the $599 pre-order formula.

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ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD update brings Kindle FreeTime to tablet-craving tykes

Kindle FreeTime on Kindle Fire HD

One of Amazon’s subtler but potentially valuable promises for the Kindle Fire HD was its Kindle FreeTime mode — a fenced-off world that would give kids a simple place to play and their parents the confidence to step away for a few precious minutes. It wasn’t part of the initial launch, but a new update to the 7-inch model is rolling FreeTime into Amazon’s latest tablet. The upgrade gives as much flexibility as Amazon promised, letting adults introduce filters as well as cap the time their children spend with different kinds of content. Most of the remaining updates pertain to general fixes; that said, we imagine that most parents won’t mind the narrow focus once they know Junior can’t watch Kill Bill.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD update brings Kindle FreeTime to tablet-craving tykes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NEC LaVie Y brings Lenovo’s 360-degree IdeaPad Yoga hybrid tablet to Japan

NEC LaVie Y mates Windows RT, 360degree hybrid tablet for the Japanese crowd

Don’t think that Lenovo is keeping the IdeaPad Yoga’s bendy secrets all to itself: its Japanese partner NEC is bringing a variant of the ARM-based Yoga 11 to the land of the rising sun as the LaVie Y. The 11.6-inch blend of laptop and tablet keeps the signature 360-degree display, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as its more internationally-minded counterpart, and confirms that there’s a quad-core Tegra 3 powering either of the Windows RT systems. What differences exist will stem from the software: there’s hints of a custom NEC app on an otherwise vanilla interpretation of Microsoft’s platform. The LaVie Y should precede its IdeaPad sibling by days, arriving in stores around November 22nd, although any local buyers will pay dearly for the privilege with an estimated $1,136 price. We’d suggest that patience ought to be a virtue for everyone else.

[Thanks, Gerald]

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NEC LaVie Y brings Lenovo’s 360-degree IdeaPad Yoga hybrid tablet to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight

Acer Iconia Tab reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight

Acer hasn’t had an easy mid-year: it trotted out the Iconia Tab A110 at Computex as a budget Android tablet that could still claim Tegra 3 speeds, only to watch the Nexus 7 arrive and leave virtually every other comparable tablet in a tight spot. It’s North America’s turn at the A110 this month, and the side-by-side looks aren’t getting much easier. When the 7-inch Jelly Bean slate ships to the continent on October 30th, it will cost $230 in both the US and Canada for the lone 8GB version — a better value than we see in Europe, but still a slightly awkward middle ground between an 8GB Nexus 7 at $199 and its $249, 16GB edition. We’re guessing that Acer is counting on the microSD and micro-HDMI expansion to tempt would-be North American buyers away from a less flexible (if Google-blessed) rival.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight

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Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Calendar for Android becomes stand-alone app

Google Calendar for Android becomes standalone app

Google has historically broken out preloaded Android apps like Gmail and Maps as stand-alone titles so that they don’t have to be upgraded in lock-step with the main OS, but its Calendar app typically hasn’t had that privilege. The isolation ends with a newly distinct Google Calendar that’s treated as just another Google Play download. You’ll need at least Android 4.0 or 4.1, which leaves relatively few differences between the download and what’s already on your device, but that’s not the point — the change really lets Google move users on to the Jelly Bean app and beyond, even if their device makers aren’t ready. Owners currently running Jelly Bean will still get a few extras, such as better support for non-Nexus hardware and a wider time range for calendar syncing. Hit the source link if you’re game for that kind of futureproofing.

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Google Calendar for Android becomes stand-alone app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reuters says Insignia Flex Tablet may cost $239 to $259, we’d say it faces stiff odds

Insignia Flex Tablet

Best Buy omitted a handful of details when it unveiled the Insignia Flex Tablet last week, not the least of which is the price that usually sells Insignia-branded gear. A Reuters tipster claims to have filled in that blank: the 9.7-inch, Ice Cream Sandwich-based slate will reportedly cost between $239 to $259 when it ships November 11th. That’s not bad for a tablet at the size of the Flex, but you’ll be giving up a lot to get that screen size if the price tag is real. A similar outlay could net a (likely faster) 32GB Kindle Fire HD, for starters — and while we don’t know any details of what’s coming from Apple’s “little” event next week, we have a hunch that it just might overshadow Best Buy’s hopes of being the value leader in the tablet field. Without an official confirmation or denial, we’d suggest fence-sitting for a little while longer if you’re not already in love with the big-box retailer’s in-house brand.

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Reuters says Insignia Flex Tablet may cost $239 to $259, we’d say it faces stiff odds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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