Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve been seeing supposed iPad 2 cases for about a month now, all of them with the same telltale cutouts: a camera hole in the back, a camera hole in the front, and a big ol’ speaker hole. Today’s find beats them all, however: we just found a case with a machined aluminum iPad 2 mockup inside. Dexim is the eager exhibitor, with an actually very intriguing case design involving a Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically adheres to the front cover of the book-like sleeve, allowing for a laptop-style setup, or a keyboard-free case when you want to shave a few ounces. It was so intriguing that we asked to put our own iPad inside, which is when we were told it wouldn’t fit, since the case was designed for the next iPad. Indeed, the mockup that we found inside the case was a tad bit slimmer than the first-gen iPad, with a taper leading to the edges that reminds us of the iPod touch, and a home button positioned nearer the bottom edge. We found all the typical cutouts on the case, and their mirror on the machined mockup, including a large square for the speaker.

So, what does it all mean? Well, there’s certainly a consistent iPad 2 make that these Chinese manufacturers seem to be designing against, and while there’s always the off chance that their info is wrong, it seems odd they’d go so far as to actually make the cases if they were unsure about their sources. It also means a slimmer iPad with cameras and a bigger speaker, which is never a bad thing. Check the pictures in the gallery below and make up your own mind.

iPad 2 case shows up at CES, packing a mockup iPad 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG is busily preparing its CES presentation area right now, where the well known Optimus 2X is being joined by a pair of intriguing new devices, the Revolution you see above, an LTE-connected handset that seems destined to ride Verizon’s minty fresh 4G network, and an Optimus Black (pictured after the break). The latter handset promises the “power of light” housed within an “innovatively slim smartphone with the best display clarity.” Both the allusions to slimness — we’ve found specs listing it as a 9.2mm-thick device with a 4-inch screen — and display prowess match up to the LG “B” device we’ve seen leak out previously, which LG itself promised will be launching at CES. Other details include Wi-Fi Direct certification and the world’s first two megapixel front-facing camera. It’s gonna be a fun week, to be sure.

Continue reading LG Optimus Black and LTE-equipped Revolution coming to CES

LG Optimus Black and LTE-equipped Revolution coming to CES originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ powerful 12-inch Eee Slate EP121 tablet has been no secret — don’t forget, it was teased at Computex and then sketched on a digital blackboard — but here it is, with final specs and pricing information. Unlike ASUS’ trio of Android tablets, the EP121 is all about Windows 7, and oh does it have the guts to run it smoothly — it’s powered by a Core i5-470M processor, packs 2 to 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD. It sure has the internal muscle to compete, but it also has a high-resolution (1280 x 800) 12.1-inch IPS capacitive display with a Wacom digitizer. The latter will allow you to use the included stylus to draw self-portraits or you know, take notes in class. ASUS maintains that the tablet breeds entertainment with enterprise, but something tells us the front-facing camera and HDMI port will have this one in the living room more than the board room. ASUS says the EP121 should be hitting sometime in the first quarter of the year for around $1,100, but expect us to bring you hands-on impressions way before that. Hit the break for the full specs.

Update: ASUS says it’ll actually start at $1,000, with an upgraded model available for an extra Benjamin, and it’s due out later this month!

Continue reading ASUS Eee Slate EP121 officially unveiled, IPS display, Core i5, and stylus in tow

ASUS Eee Slate EP121 officially unveiled, IPS display, Core i5, and stylus in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember when Lenovo said it wasn’t going to do a Windows 7 slate product? We do too, but apparently the company has had a change of heart regarding Microsoft’s operating system for tablets and has brought a 10.1-inch Windows 7 slate to CES. The IdeaPad tablet, which doesn’t have a name right now, will be powered by Intel’s forthcoming Oak Trail Atom processor and will run Windows 7 Home Premium with Lenovo’s own application skin. We don’t have any other real details on the tablet — it isn’t expected until May — but we did get a chance to check out the touchscreen slab this morning. The build of the device was very similar to the Android Le Pad with a tapered plastic back and metal sides, but the 1280 x 800-resolution capacitive touchscreen has an active digitzer and comes with a stylus. Lenovo didn’t have details on who was making that digitizer, but the battery-powered pen worked very nicely for doodling on screen and taking some test notes in WordPad. We could go on about the touch experience or we could just let you see for yourself in the video after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo goes back on its word and shows off an IdeaPad Windows 7 slate, we go hands-on

Lenovo goes back on its word and shows off an IdeaPad Windows 7 slate, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember last year at CES 2010 when Lenovo made a huge scene with the tablet / netbook U1 Hybrid, which ran Windows when docked and Lenovo’s Skylight Linux in tablet mode? And then Lenovo killed Skylight in favor of Android and put everything on hold? Well, it’s back — and we just got some serious hands-on time with production-ready Chinese versions of what’s now being called the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid with LePad tablet. Things have substantially changed for the better in the past year and since we saw a pre-pro model last month — in addition to Lenovo’s skinned version of Android 2.2 (called LeOS, sigh), there’s now a newer 1.3GHz Snapdragon in the LePad and an 1.2GHz Intel Core i5-540UM in the U1 base, with an optional i7 available. Switching from Windows to Android just requires disengaging the latch on the base — the flip to Android is basically instantaneous, while getting back to Windows takes a few seconds. The U1 base is much nicer than the unit we played with last year — it’s been restyled and features a chiclet-style keyboard and dimpled trackpad. Best of all, the LePad now features a 10.1 1280 x 800 capacitive multitouch display, instead of the floppy resistive unit we saw last year. Both pieces are pretty thin individually, but docked up it makes for a pretty chunky laptop — but you are getting two machines for the price of one.

Now for the bad news — the LePad will run for about $520 when it arrives in China this quarter, but the full U1 kit will run $1300. There’s also no US availability or pricing right now — and Lenovo told us the U1 won’t hit the States until it runs Android 3.0, so we could be waiting months while the company reskins the OS. And we might have to wait even longer for Lenny to retool the LePad to meet that supposed dual-core CPU requirement — but then, it’s already been a year. We can wait a little longer, we suppose. You know, for love. Video and PR after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo LePad tablet and IdeaPad U1 Hybrid return with Android 2.2 in tow

Lenovo LePad tablet and IdeaPad U1 Hybrid return with Android 2.2 in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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