Hasta La Gadget!

Just when we thought were safe from the grasps the Breffo Spiderpodium Tablet stand, we found Breffo on the CES show floor and were forced to took a closer look at the scary yet flexible solution for all of our tablet holding needs. Priced at $35, the arachnoph-olding stand is aimed at tablets, but is certainly not limited to them. The Spiderpodium Tablet stand is built with a steel exoskeleton allowing for bendability and covered with silicon for maximum grippage of all tech toys, household objects and human faces alike. If the Spiderpodium Tablet stand isn’t your cup of tea for elevating your gadgets, you can still create some terrifying monsters.

Breffo Spiderpodium Tablet stand hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not going to lie, Microsoft’s news on the tablet front here at CES has been quite a disappointment. While it teased that it’s working on “the next version of Windows” for ARM, it didn’t talk about its plans for a tablet-based OS at all. It’s been Windows 7 and more Windows 7. And according to CNET, we’re not the only ones that want Microsoft to show some movement on the tablet UI front — Intel has been pushing Microsoft for a long time. In addition, Intel’s marketing chief Tom Kilroy seemed to imply that Microsoft’s tablet solution is still a ways off. Now, of course, Microsoft seems to be moving away from Intel and starting to work on some flavor of Windows for ARM chips, and perhaps related to that, ZDNet’s Microsoft maven Mary Jo Foley has heard quite a bit about a new “application model” for Windows 8 called Jupiter. Foley has heard that Microsoft is working on a new XAML user interface for Win 8, which will support “smoother animation,” more media capabilities, and “immersive apps.” It will also be lightweight, and thus, ideal for tablets or slates. Microsoft’s Vice President of Microsoft’s Developer Division Soma Somasegar actually seemed to confirm the project to Foley, but claims it has changed directions quite a bit. So, what does this all mean? In sum, Microsoft’s in no better position on the tablet front than it was a few weeks or months ago. And the wait continues…

Intel’s been wishin’ and hopin’ for a Microsoft tablet OS, Windows 8 rumors recommence originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s Vegas, so it’s not completely unsurprising to see folks like Lady Gaga and T-Pain stopping by unannounced. But seeing the latter over at a Jakks Pacific booth at CES? Not exactly — shall we say — expected. Regardless, T-Pain was most definitely in the house, primarily to showcase his newest $39.99 accessory, the I Am T-Pain microphone. For all intents and purposes, this here mic is your dream come true, enabling you to sing into it and hear it emitted back with a “T-Pain Effect” embedded. In other words, it’s your autotune instrument of choice. There’s a bit of inbuilt memory as well, enabling users to record clips for future hysteria, while also giving them the chance to blend in T-Pain remarks as they rap and offload their favorite clips to their PC. It’s absurd in every sense of the word, making it impossible to pass up. If that makes any sense. Head on past the break for an interview with the man himself, courtesy of our pals over at TUAW.

Continue reading T-Pain stops by CES 2011 to plug patently ridiculous, amazing I Am T-Pain microphone (video)

T-Pain stops by CES 2011 to plug patently ridiculous, amazing I Am T-Pain microphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Complaints seem to be growing among some users that Windows Phone 7 is consuming an abnormally plump quantity of data when you’re not doing anything. Granted, there’s lots of stuff on the platform that might need data continuously — email accounts and live tiles, for example — but folks are reporting consumption measuring in multiple megabytes per hour, which can add up pretty quickly: 2MB per hour over a month is nearly 1.5GB, which can be a bummer for anyone with a 2GB data plan. The real issue, though, is that at least some of the data seems to be ignoring available WiFi networks and choosing 3G instead, so there’s no great way to definitively avoid the leak even when you’re in the comfortable confines of your own home. Our money — our hopeful money, that is — is on this being fixed in Microsoft’s first big update that should be coming any day now, but in the meantime, users look to be getting at least some relief by setting mail accounts to manual update and turning off location services. Anyone out there seeing this?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Phone 7 using lots of 3G data while idle, even on WiFi? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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