Hasta La Gadget!

Hello, obvious! Anyone who has actually used an Android-based tablet for any length of time would probably tell you that the experience is far from optimal. It works, sure, but it doesn’t take a CSC major to understand that Google’s existing builds of Android were crafted for smartphones and nothing more. Thankfully for those who are tired of arguing the point, Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, is stepping up to the plate and giving you some backing. Quoted over at Tech Radar, Hugo noted that “Android is an open platform, and we saw at IFA 2010 all sorts of devices running Android, so it’s already running on tablets; but the way Android Market works is it’s not going to be available on devices that don’t allow applications to run correctly.” He followed up by proclaiming that “Froyo is not optimized for use on tablets,” and while he wouldn’t go so far as to affirm that Gingerbread would be built for use on the aforementioned form factor, he did say that the company’s working “to ensure our users have [the] right experience.” How’s that strike you, Galaxy Tab?

Google: Android 2.2 ‘not designed’ for the tablet form factor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, popular belief equates Colombian exports with guns and cocaine, but two Bogota-based companies presently have 10-inch tablet computers on the brain. Compumax has got an Android-powered Tegra 2 device on tap with a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9, 512MB of RAM and a 32GB hard drive, and Smart PC’s looking at a netbook-specced Windows 7 slate with an Atom N450 processor, a DVD burner, up to 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, a folding stand and a pair of peripheral-friendly USB ports alongside what looks like a fairly responsive multitouch screen. Intriguingly enough, the companies claim the devices aren’t rebrands and are actually built in Colombia from foreign parts — the “Hyper” Android slate is reportedly already on sale for COP 700,000 (about $387), and you can expect the “Smart Touch” Windows machine to debut for COP 1,099,000 (about $608) when it debuts in Peru next month. See the latter machine in action right after the break.

Continue reading Colombia pumps out 10-inch Android and Windows 7 tablets (video)

Colombia pumps out 10-inch Android and Windows 7 tablets (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already heard LG talk up its forthcoming Optimus tablet, and it looks like we now have our first look at it. As you can see above in a slide apparently shown during LG’s pre-IFA Dealer Days event, the Android-based tablet is now apparently known as the “Optimus Pad,” and it’s described as boasting “superior performance” and being “thinner and lighter than many competitors’ tablets.” Not much more than that at the moment, unfortunately, but here’s hoping that “more information to come” teaser is a lead-up to a full announcement at IFA this week.

[Thanks, Nicole]

LG’s Android-based Optimus Pad gets pictured, looking tablet-like originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re sitting alone, your house is quiet. You turn your phone off and reach for a novel — your favorite novel. You run your hand along the book’s well-worn spine, then crack open the yellowing pages to the spot you were at last. Suddenly you put the book down. Where are you? You stand up and take off your glasses, looking around frantically at your surroundings. Where are you?

Well, you’re not in Berlin, Germany between the dates of September 1st and 7th, attending IFA. ViewSonic just announced, no, threatened an onslaught of 3D product for the upcoming tradeshow, including a 720p 3D camcorder that will pack a built-in 3D display for a mere $300 (we’re sure it will be delightful). Details are scarce, but our guess would be that it’ll utilize a glasses-free 3D display akin to Nintendo’s 3DS or the Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W3. Other 3D members of the brood will include a 3D handheld TV, 3D stills camera, and a 3D photo frame — all of which will undoubtedly scream quality. As if that wasn’t enough, ViewSonic will also be showing off a 7-inch Android tablet dubbed the ViewPad 7, along with a 10-inch tablet that can dual boot to Android and Windows. PR is after the break, we’ll let you get back to your book.

Update: Does that 3D camera (the two images on the left) look familiar? It should, it’s almost certainly a rebadge of the Aiptek i2. Poor Viewsonic, what happened to you?

Continue reading ViewSonic doing 3D like crazy at IFA, plans to debut 3D camera, camcorder, photo frame, and portable TV

ViewSonic doing 3D like crazy at IFA, plans to debut 3D camera, camcorder, photo frame, and portable TV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s brave talk, there’s foolish talk, and then there’s the 5nm line that separates the two. While LG’s Chang Ma didn’t seem to be dabbling in either during yesterday’s Wall Street Journal interview, some subsequent revelations from the financial paper do quote him straying into daring new territory. Having already described the upcoming Optimus tablet as something that will surprise us with its productivity and focus on content creation, LG’s Marketing VP (we know, not exactly the CEO) has apparently gone the full way and straight up claimed that “our tablet will be better than the iPad.” We’ll let you judge on which side of the brave/foolish divide that falls, but it’s certainly an indication of searing ambition on LG’s part, and should, together with the promise that the US will be “a key market” for the tablet, make pleasant reading for Android slate aficionados.

CE-Oh no he didn’t!: LG’s Ma promises Optimus tablet ‘will be better than the iPad’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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