Hasta La Gadget!

Remember that Latitude ST that Dell gave us a sneak peek at earlier in the week? Well it’s slowly inching its way towards an official release, appearing on Dell’s Corporate Blog early this morning. The Windows 7-based enterprise tablet is powered by an Intel Atom processor and includes a 10-inch multi-touch display with stylus, WiFi, mobile broadband options, front and rear webcams and a mic. There are also durability features like Gorilla Glass and a rubber bumper, enabling it to survive violent impacts with plush office carpeting. Port details are rather vague in the PR, though USB, HDMI and an SD card reader get their 15 seconds of fame in the promo video. There are also security features, like remote hard drive wipe, Microsoft Bitlocker support (this is a Windows 7 tablet, after all) and a Kensington Lock slot. Pricing details are absent and the product page isn’t live quite yet (though that didn’t stop Dell from linking to it from the blog post), but it looks like we could see these ship as soon as November 1st. Ready to get your tap and sketch on? Jump past the break for an enterprise montage, complete with doctors, educators and suit-sporting business pros.

Update: Looks like the specs have leaked out overseas, so we’re guessing it’ll get official soon enough.

Update 2: And here come the unboxing videos!

Update 3: And Dell’s business page is up! Thanks, One Love!

Continue reading Dell Latitude ST tablet gets official with vague press release, dead links (video)

Dell Latitude ST tablet gets official with vague press release, dead links (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a week after we received a tip that a mysterious big box retailer would be getting a kid-friendly flavor of Motorola’s Xoom tablet, Best Buy has come forth to make things official with the Xoom Family Edition. Everything seems to be in line with what we already knew, including the $40 software bundle — yes, yes Zoodles comes preloaded, as does Asphalt 6 and SIM City Deluxe. And after the kids are done playing, mom and dad can catch up on homework with Quickoffice Pro HD. The Android 3.1-powered tablet includes a rather modest 16GB of storage, and will run you $379 when it hits Best Buy stores on Sunday. Any questions? Jump past the break for the full Moto rundown.

Continue reading Motorola Xoom Family Edition includes kid-friendly apps, will hit Best Buy Sunday for $379

Motorola Xoom Family Edition includes kid-friendly apps, will hit Best Buy Sunday for $379 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a small victory for gamers and TV junkies everywhere, scientists found that viewing 2D images helped create long-term memories, meaning that visual media can help your learn. To form lasting memories, nerve cells normally experience “long-term potentiation” and “long-term depression” — both essential for learning. Researchers found that long-term depression was achieved when they let rats actively wander around a new environment. When they replaced the explorable area with a computer screen, the same memory-making phenomenon still occurred. The study’s conclusion? Video games and TV shows can help us learn, similarly to traditional non-electronic methods. Of course, there are concerns that visual media overload could lead to shorter attention spans, interfere with lessons taught at school and… oh look! A cat! Check out the full findings by hitting the source link below.

Scientists prove that active exploration isn’t required to create memories, +1 for 2D learning originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You don’t need a PhD in economics to realize that times are pretty tough right now — especially for those at the lower end of the income ladder. Fortunately, though, Microsoft has announced a new initiative aimed at providing one million students from low-income families with discounted hardware, software and broadband service. This three-year digital inclusion program is an extension of Redmond’s Shape the Future campaign, which, over the course of five years, has already put computers in the hands of more than 10 million underprivileged children around the globe. Under this public-private partnership, Microsoft will work with a variety of nonprofit, corporate and governmental organizations to provide low-cost PCs, educational software, job skills training and high-speed internet to those who need it most. The ultimate goal, of course, is to bridge the achievement gap dividing students with at-home internet from their less digitally-equipped peers. According to the Federal Reserve, children who don’t have online access at home graduate high school at a rate that’s six to eight percentage points lower than those who do. Inflating national poverty rates and widening income gaps probably won’t do much to remedy that discrepancy, but we’re certainly hoping that Microsoft can make a difference. Find out more in the full PR after the break, or at the source link below.

Continue reading Microsoft to offer discounted hardware, software to students from low-income families

Microsoft to offer discounted hardware, software to students from low-income families originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Instead of handing out cheap mugs (or iPads… or iPods) and sending students on their merry way, administrators at Dublin City University will be showering incoming freshmen with free Chromebooks — in doing so, it’ll become the first European higher-education institution to adopt the device. As you probably recall, Google’s always-connected laptops have gone through various incarnations throughout the years, but they’ve always included a dash of WiFi or 3G and a pinch of hasty boot — intentionally ditching local storage for the cloud. The Google Chromebooks for Education partnership is said to support DCU’s commitment to make 80 percent of its classes partially or fully online by 2013, allowing coeds to stay in their Scooby Doo pajamas or attend class from Pi Kappa Delta HQ. Now, if only the dining hall supported online ordering…

Dublin City University adopts Chromebooks — time to go streaking through the quad! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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