Hasta La Gadget!

Qantas just upped the ante for its Australian counterparts Jetstar and Virgin in the airline tablet wars. Following an earlier trial, the transporter plans to hand out free iPads to all of its passengers — not just the high-flyers in business-class, like with Jetstar’s iPads or Virgin’s Galaxy Tabs — on every Boeing 767 aircraft in the fleet. The rollout, which starts in the last quarter of the year, will let those bored in the back seats watch an equally free 200 hours’ worth of QStreaming audio and video. Don’t confuse the gesture with a sudden bout of altruism on Qantas’ part, however. The pound-and-a-half weight of a current iPad sheds the tremendous amount of weight that would normally be needed for a conventional in-flight entertainment system built into the headrest, which on a typical 375-seat 767 could see the iPads pay for themselves within years, if not sooner. The option will give many Aussies something to look forward to for their domestic summer vacations. In the meantime, hop past the break for a Qantas video explaining how QStreaming worked during the original trial run.

Continue reading Qantas to hand out free iPads to all passengers on Boeing 767s, save fuel and our sanity (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Transportation

Qantas to hand out free iPads to all passengers on Boeing 767s, save fuel and our sanity (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has lately become big on touchscreens — sometimes, really big — which makes it only natural that the company would want to explore Windows 8’s on-screen keyboard in detail. As User Experience team member Kit Knox explains, the company has made an about-face from the days of unceremoniously foisting touch on a desktop OS. Windows 8’s keyboard is not only optimized for fingers, but accommodates the little subtleties that others might miss, like the typical postures for tablet use and our tendencies to frequently hit certain wrong keys. The crew at Redmond ultimately hopes to bring out all the advantages of touchscreen keyboards while reminding us of some creature comforts from old-fashioned physical buttons. The surest way to understand Microsoft’s keyboard research will likely be to pick up a Surface tablet this fall, but those of us who can’t wait to put fingers on real glass can hop over to Knox’s all-encompassing overview at the source link.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Microsoft delves into Windows 8 touchscreen keyboard design, wants us to be extra-comfy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bummed that Instagram wasn’t suited for your shiny new Nexus 7? Well friends, those sorrows are about to come to an end. The photo application has been updated to accommodate the Jelly Bean slate with version 1.1.7. While the software’s primary function is viewing the post-filter photography, you’ll be able to employ the front-facing shooter for self-portraits and the like. Also included in the update, the option of posting your tablet and smartphone creations to Flickr via the app’s share menu. Hit the source link to snag the current version for your 7-inch slate.

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

Instagram updated to outfit Nexus 7 tablets, now likes the taste of Jelly Bean slates originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC has been stoking the fires of anticipation for its return to tablets, and that small flame is quickly turning into a full conflagration. A slab nicknamed the Vertex has surfaced in benchmarks with a 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 and a 1,280 x 752 usable resolution that’s noticeably wider than the similarly Tegra 3-equipped One X’s 720p display. Other than Android 4.0 (and a probably Sense 4.0), however, there’s scant else to go on. The last murmurs of a Vertex from the fall had it carrying a rear 2-megapixel camera and a front 1.3-megapixel shooter, but it’s been long enough now that we wouldn’t count on that still being true — or that the new benchmarks necessarily reflect what we might get. Let’s just hope that the resulting device is more competitive than the pricey Jetstream.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

HTC Vertex pops up in benchmarks, might bring a slice of One X muscle to tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer might be working overtime to keep Apple at bay, but the PC market that his company largely built is hurting, if you ask researchers at Gartner and IDC. Both estimate that shipments of traditional computers dropped by a tenth of a point in the second quarter of 2012 — not a good sign when Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and a wave of Ultrabooks were supposed to usher in a PC renaissance. While the exact numbers vary, the two paint a partly familiar picture of the world stage: HP and Dell are taking a bruising, while ASUS and Lenovo are making huge leaps forward. Depending on who you ask, though, Acer is either kicking Dell down to fourth place or occupying that all too comfortable spot itself. The economy and tablets are once again blamed for making would-be PC upgraders jittery, although this time it may also be the wait for Windows 8 leading some to hold off.

If there’s a point of contention, it’s the US figures. Gartner and IDC alike agree that Acer, Dell and HP all took a drubbing. The two analyst groups are at odds with each other when it comes to everyone else, though. Apple will have gained market share to as much as 12 percent, but either increased or shrank its shipments; it’s Lenovo or Toshiba completing the top five outside of the usual suspects. Accordingly, take results with a grain of salt until all the PC builders have reported in. Nonetheless, if the groups have the same reasonable level of precision as they’ve had in the past, Microsoft may have to defer its ambitions for a little while longer.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs

IDC and Gartner: PC market flattened out in Q2 while Apple, ASUS and Lenovo remain the stars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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