May 18
Dairy cows on a farm in Canada have joined the Twitter herd, tweeting about milk production. The project aims to get consumers to think about where their food comes from.
May 18
After a close look at word, syntax, and punctuation patterns in user-generated content, Hebrew University researchers come up with software that can detect sarcasm in online communication.
May 18
The Crave video podcast returns! Donald Bell and Jasmine France review a weird and wonderful week of posts from CNET’s Crave blog, highlighting a new robot from Honda, a vintage video game sound box, a Kug, a cooler, and a privacy helmet that should come with its own spit valve.
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May 18
It may have taken a long time for the competition to respond to Apple’s iPod and iPhone. Not so with the iPad: All sorts of companies — Google, Sony and Research in Motion, to name a few — are sitting up and taking notice of the iPad, thanks to Apple’s claim that it sold a million of its tablets in less than a month.
Since then, rumors of half-a-dozen new tablets have leaked out. Tablets haven’t been this hot since Moses came down from Mount Sinai.
But with all the news, there’s a lot of confusion. And, so far, none of the tablets are available for purchase, and most haven’t even been officially announced. It’s all vaporware at this point.
That said, here’s an overview of some interesting tablets we expect — or hope — to see this year. And don’t miss our earlier roundup of even more non-Apple tablets.
Verizon, Google Working on a Tablet
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed last week that Verizon has been “working on tablets” with Google, combining hardware and Google’s services “to make it a great experience.”
Google hasn’t commented on this, but a few months ago it released a video of what a Google tablet might look like. Considering the company’s dominant position in services like search, e-mail, maps and calendars, it could be an extremely powerful rival to the iPad.
On the other hand, Google doesn’t have a lot of experience designing hardware. Its smartphone, the Nexus One (developed in conjunction with HTC) is far from becoming a smash hit.
Photo: nDevilTV/Flickr
Acer’s Tablet Launches in 2 Weeks
Acer is rumored to be presenting a tablet device in less than 2 weeks. Numerous sources suggest the hardware giant would be unveiling a Chrome OS–based device at the Computex show in early June. That would make it the first device to run Google’s operating system tailored for netbooks.
Yet, there have been rumors that Chrome OS might not be ready for prime time until later this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean Acer won’t be unveiling the tablet next month — it’s still unclear whether Google sees Android or Chrome as the ideal platform for tablets.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the two operating systems might eventually merge, but right now, Android’s popularity and multitouch capabilities might make it a more likely candidate for Acer’s tablet.
Dell Tablet Coming on AT&T in Late Summer
Dell’s Mini 5 — also known as Streak – will be coming this summer (Europe first, North America a bit later). It takes a different approach than most wannabe iPad killers: It’s significantly smaller, with a 5-inch display, and features a powerful 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3G connectivity and a 1-GHz processor.
The Mini 5 will be coming on AT&T, running the Android OS. Smaller than a tablet but bigger than a smartphone, it’s an open question whether anyone actually needs a device this size.
Photo: Dell Mini 5 by nDevilTV/Flickr
HP Kills Tablet Project. HP Resurrects Tablet Project. Stay Tuned
First, Steve Ballmer appeared with a mysterious HP Slate at CES 2010 in January. Then, two months later, Hewlett Packard released a video of the device. Soon after we got some neat-sounding specs: a 1024 x 600 widescreen display, 1-GB RAM, USB port, 3-megapixel camera.
However, a leaked prototype was slow and buggy, and HP was rumored to have murdered the project entirely.
A new report says HP, which recently acquired Palm for $1.2 billion, simply opted to murder Windows 7 as the tablet’s operating system, and that it might go with Palm’s WebOS instead. The project is now code-named HP Hurricane and, according to an HP insider, could be released in the third quarter of this year.
Photo: HP Slate (HP)
Sony Still Looking at Opportunity
Consumer electronics giant Sony must be working on its own tablet, right? Guess again: The company refuses to commit.
“We have been taking a deep look at developing a tablet for a number of years, not just because of Apple, but because it creates some interesting opportunities,” Mike Abary, vice president of Sony’s IT Products unit, told Bloomberg last week.
If it does decide to join the grand tablet wars, Sony, with its popular PSP platform, could curb Apple’s advantage when it comes to mobile gaming.
But so far, all talk of a Sony tablet is just so much hot air.
Blackberry “Companion” Tablet
BlackBerry is looking to copy Apple’s “smartphone first, tablet later” formula, preparing a tablet-like device with an 8.9-inch display, according to reports.
Not a lot is known about it at this point. It is supposed to launch in December, and will serve as a “companion” device, which might mean you’d use Bluetooth to connect it to your BlackBerry and get online wherever Wi-Fi isn’t available.
MSI Tegra-Powered Tablet
Micro-Star International is launching a tablet powered by the powerful Nvidia Tegra chip, to be presented in June. The device will likely appear in stores this summer.
Users will be able to chose between 8.9- and 10-inch models, and between Android and Windows 7 ones. The pricing, according to Engadget’s report. will be “extremely aggressive.”
See Also:
- First Look: BeeJive Offers Best IM for iPad Yet
- Eye-Tracking Tablets and the Promise of Text 2.0
- iPad Could See 50 Tablet Rivals This Year
May 18
HP says webOS coming to slates and web-connected printers
Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, earnings, financial, financials, hewlett-packard, HewlettPackard, HP, palm, Today's Chili, webos
We joked about HP printers running webOS almost the second we learned about the Palm acquisition, but it turns out that’s actually part of the plan: HP CEO Mark Hurd told analysts that webOS would hit a “variety of form factors, including slates and web-connected printers” on the company’s Q2 financial results call today. webOS tablets were obviously a no-brainer, but printers are slightly more intriguing, in a way: while we’re not overly surprised HP wants to leverage webOS on its line of advanced touchscreen printers, we’re very curious to see what that actually looks like in practice — a printer with Synergy-level Facebook integration for easy photo printing? A printer that can play 3D games like Need for Speed? A printer that can… multitask? The possibilities are amusingly endless, if you think about it — and HP’s printing and imaging division is a $6.4 billion dollar business, so the money and motivation to push this idea into strange new places are certainly there. Speaking of money, HP’s doing just well on that front in general: profits were up 25 percent this quarter to $2.9 billion on total revenues of $30 billion, so yeah — Palm certainly has the money and resources it’s desperately needed. Now it just needs some new products and sharper execution.
HP says webOS coming to slates and web-connected printers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 18
Along with questionable App Store rejections, Apple occasionally makes peculiar approvals. Take for example the app Mirror, which is nothing short of a black screen with a frame. Flipping your iPhone screen off would make a better reflection for checking out your mug.
It’s a joke, get it? Nonetheless, a large number of people fooled into purchasing the app don’t find it very funny.
“No good,” writes customer “Benhoolio.” “Not even a mirror. Total waste of a dollar. Don’t get it. What is the point of looking in to a black screen with a border around it?”
“Can they really just lie to people like that??” writes user MelanieFD. “It’s BULL!!”
About 2,400 additional negative reviews for the app express similar sentiments. Joke or not, this app is not a strong testament for Apple’s push for quality in the App Store — a reason Steve Jobs said he was requiring iPhone and iPad apps to be made with Apple-approved programming languages, effectively banning Adobe Flash code from the platform.
Still, we find it hilarious, and we wouldn’t want Apple banning humor from the App Store. (Satire already seems blacklisted, after all.) The reviews are merely a reflection of how impulsive people are with buying iPhone apps. Mirror costs just a buck (and you shouldn’t buy it). If only people would lighten up.
Download Link [iTunes]
See Also:
- Apple App Store Bans Pulitzer-Winning Satirist for Satire …
- Apple Removes Porn Apps From App Store
- With More Than Enough Apps, Apple Pushes for Quality
- Steve Jobs Debates Developers Over Apple’s New App Policy
- For the iPhone’s App Store, Quantity Really Does Matter
- Apple’s App Store Hits Six Digits; How Many Apps Do You Need …
May 18
On earnings conference call Tuesday, CEO Mark Hurd talks form factors on which he expects to see the OS from newly-acquired Palm. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20005315-260.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Circuit Breaker/a/p
May 18
Sony rumored to be announcing premium PSN service at E3
Posted in: e3, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, rumor, sony, Today's Chili
We’ve been hearing about a premium PlayStation Network service for some time now — even from Sony’s Kaz Hirai himself — and if a report from VG247 is to be believed, it looks like it could finally become a reality at E3 next month. According to the site, a “highly-placed source” says that Sony will be announcing the service and a slew of new premium PSN features during its June 15th keynote at the show, and that it will cost less than £50 (or $70) per year. As we’d heard previously, the current PSN service would apparently remain as-is for anyone that doesn’t wish to upgrade, but it seems that Sony will be throwing in some pretty big incentives to get folks to pay up — you’ll supposedly get a free PSN game from a choice of “two to four” each month with your subscription. Details on the premium service are otherwise still pretty light, but VG247 says it will include a music streaming service similar to Spotify.
Sony rumored to be announcing premium PSN service at E3 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 18
CNET reviews the Samsung BD-C6500, finding it has excellent image quality, outstanding features for the price, and a slick design–we just wish it were a little faster.
May 18
For this week’s Photoshop Contest, you conceptualized the technologically appalling fast food industry of the future. And better yet? Frog Design took your ideas somewhat seriously, offering a class of criticism far beyond our pay rate. The winners: More »
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