Editorial: Turning point for the tortoise and the hare

Editorial Turning point for the tortoise and the hare

That meteor shower was a bust. I’ll never get back the five minutes I spent waiting to be awed. Anyone similarly impatient will be in gratification heaven for the next week, as the biggest cosmic bodies in the tech cosmos streak across the sky with announcements, device releases, price shifts and earnings reports.

Tossing astronomy aside for its failure to bedazzle, I turn to astrology to illuminate the upcoming eventful days. From a This Week in Astronomy blog: “A Venus-Pluto-Uranus T-square will be testing relationships and finances. The Sun enters Scorpio and aspects every slower planet except Pluto, and there’s an intense Mars-Jupiter opposition.” I don’t understand most of that, but I know about opposition. That fits. The energy of opposition crackles in the ecosystem warfare waged this week by Apple, Microsoft and Google.

Switching now from inscrutable astrology to fables (because next to cosmic messaging I like simple allegories to explain life), we can see that the slow-but-steady tortoise is placing the most audacious bet.

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Editorial: Turning point for the tortoise and the hare originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG announces Windows 8 12-inch slider laptop hybrid and all-in-one PC (updated)

LG announces Windows 8 slider laptop and allinone PC

Windows 8’s imminent launch continues to draw out even more devices in almost every permutation imaginable. LG’s up next, with its collection ranging from a familiar-looking V325 all-in-one PC, through to a slider PC with tablet skills. The size of LG’s 11.6-inch H160 hybrid means we’re not certain whether it’ll be running Windows RT or the more power-intensive complete package. LG’s brief explanation below the press shots also suggests we’re only looking at two models for now — despite the three devices on show here; presumably that tablet is just the laptop transformed, given that the company decided to put that particular family of devices on the back burner. The hybrid laptop houses its own auto-slide button, and measures in at 15.9mm thick, despite the built-in keyboard. The 11.6-inch screen is another LG-made IPS panel, promising up to 178 degrees of crisp visibility, while the manufacturer expects the battery to last up to 10 hours. Connectivity encompasses WiFi, HDMI output and a USB port and — according to Google’s translation — a microSD card slot. The device will have to compete for fans against Sony’s similarly-sliding VAIO Duo 11 — not to mention Toshiba’s U925t Ultrabook.

The touchscreen V325 AIO packs all the thinking parts behind a 23-inch display, with up to 10-point touch sensitivity. There’s a (presumably Korea-only) TV tuner built-in, which can be activated without powering up the whole PC, while processing powering is provided by a third-generation Core i5 processor and NVIDIA’s GeForce GT640M. Both devices are currently set to remain on home turf for now, starting from October 26th and will be accompanied by LG’s latest range of Ultrabooks, refreshed with Windows 8 software.

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LG announces Windows 8 12-inch slider laptop hybrid and all-in-one PC (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 04:25:00 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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Microsoft Surface for Windows RT pricing now official: tablet starts at $499, keyboard not included

Microsoft Surface for Windows RT pricing now official: tablet starts at $499, keyboard not included

With Surface for Windows RT going on sale in just 10 days, Microsoft is finally ready to talk about pricing and availability — not to mention, some technical details it left out when the tablet debuted back in June. After the Surface product page prematurely went live on Microsoft’s site a few hours ago, the company just officially announced that the 10.6-inch, ARM-powered slate will go up for pre-order at 9AM PT today, starting at $499 for the 32GB version. The 64GB model will cost $599.

To be clear, these prices do not include that snazzy Touch Cover with the flat, pressure-sensitive keys. Rather, it’ll be sold separately for $120. Ditto for the more traditional Type Cover keyboard, which is priced at $130. If you already know you want the packaged deal, however, you can buy the 64GB tablet and Touch Cover as a bundle for $699. Lastly, when Surface starts shipping on October 26th, you’ll be able to buy it on Microsoft.com or at a Microsoft Store (if you happen to have one in your neck of the woods). If you’re hankering for hands-on photos, we’ll redirect you to the first look we published the day Surface was announced. Hopefully, though, we’ll soon get a review unit so that we can supplement our preview with meaty, real-world impressions.

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Microsoft Surface for Windows RT pricing now official: tablet starts at $499, keyboard not included originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft reportedly building up to 5 million Surface tablets for the fall

Microsoft reportedly building up to 5 million Surface tablets for the fall

Just how confident is Microsoft that its Surface tablets will take off? To the tune of 3 to 5 million units shipped in the fall alone, according to the Wall Street Journal‘s supplier contacts. While that wouldn’t be much when Apple already ships more than three times as many iPads, even discounting the supposed 10 million tiny iPads coming this fall, it would represent a strong start for a company that’s only just dipping its toes into own-brand computing. Microsoft isn’t confirming any numbers at this stage, but the large production volume might explain that Busby Berkeley-style TV ad — you’d want a full song and dance routine if you had that many Surfaces to sell.

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Microsoft reportedly building up to 5 million Surface tablets for the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft puts a price on Surface RT: starts at $499, or $599 with Touch Cover

Microsoft reveals Surface pricing $499 for 32GB $599 with Touch Cover $699 for 64GB

With a stamp from the FCC on its passport, and some fancy new TV ads, the smell of Microsoft’s Surface tablet is thick in the air. Until now, however, price has been a mystery. Microsoft has just revealed, via its own store, that if you want a slice for yourself, you can do so starting from $499. That price will get you the 32GB version, without the touch cover, with pre-orders available now, penciled in for a 26th of October delivery date. If you must have that cover, it’ll set you back another $100, and the same amount again if you want to hop up to 64GB of memory. With the current status of the larger-memory version showing as out of stock though, those with a thirst for storage still might have to wait a little longer.

Update: It looks like Microsoft might have pulled the listing for now. Perhaps the pages weren’t meant for prime-time just yet.

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Microsoft puts a price on Surface RT: starts at $499, or $599 with Touch Cover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year

Office 2013 OneNote

Break out the party streamers and balloons — if only in an orderly fashion, because this is the day Office 2013 has been released to manufacturing. The completion swings Microsoft’s attention towards a rollout staggered over the next few months. Wider availability will have to wait until the first quarter of 2013 — such synchronicity with your branding, Microsoft — but companies who’ve sprung for volume licensing will get access as early as mid-November to December 1st, depending on whether or not they’re embracing a Software Assurance plan. In the meantime, Microsoft is offering an easy path for anxious workers by promising a free copy of Office 2013 to everyone who buys Office 2010 from October 19th onwards. The upgraded software might not be cheap for those who aren’t already buying a Windows RT tablet, but it’s likely to be an important piece of the puzzle for anyone hunting down a touchscreen Windows 8 PC.

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Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T gets its hands on ASUS VivoTab RT and Samsung ATIV Smart PC, wants to put them in yours this holiday

AT&T just packed a one-two punch of holiday tablet news, announcing that it’s going to serve as the exclusive US carrier for both ASUS’s VivoTab RT and Samsung ATIV Smart PC, both of which were originally unveiled this summer. The ASUS offers up a quad-core processor, LTE and a 10.1-inch IPS display in a thin and light form factor. The somewhat beefy Samsung, on the other hand, has an 11.6 inch HD PLS display, 1.5GHZ processor and 64GB of storage. Not much on specifics on availability at this point, beyond the fact that both will be hitting AT&T’s site and stores “in time for the holidays.”

Continue reading AT&T gets its hands on ASUS VivoTab RT and Samsung ATIV Smart PC, wants to put them in yours this holiday

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AT&T gets its hands on ASUS VivoTab RT and Samsung ATIV Smart PC, wants to put them in yours this holiday originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Surface Windows 8 RT tablet hits the FCC?

Microsoft Surface tablet hits the FCC

Well well, it looks like Microsoft’s getting all its Windows 8 ducks in a row today. First, it sends out the invite for the Windows 8 launch event and a save the date for a Windows Phone 8 party, and now it looks like one of its Surface tablets has garnered FCC approval. Dubbed the Model 1516, the device in question can’t be confirmed as a Surface slate, but we do know it’s running Windows RT and has a membrane keyboard peripheral thanks to the docs submitted to Uncle Sam. We also know that it’s got a stand, as the FCC label will be residing on the back panel beneath it, and the radios on board are of the Bluetooth and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi variety. Does that add up to a Surface RT tablet? We sure think so, but see the evidence for yourself at the source link below.

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Microsoft Surface Windows 8 RT tablet hits the FCC? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 8 launch event gets real, the celebration starts October 25th

Windows 8 launch event gets real,

Microsoft’s been doing its best to get Windows 8 ready for public consumption. After dogfooding the OS to employees and IT pros and getting unsolicited feedback from company co-founder Paul Allen, the time has come for its official unveiling. Microsoft told us to save October 25th on our calendars for a Win8 celebration, and now the invites are out. Naturally, we’ll be there in New York City reporting on the event live, so come on back in three weeks to get your full Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface fix.

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Windows 8 launch event gets real, the celebration starts October 25th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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