Hasta La Gadget!

It’s here folks — the planet’s first Android 3.2 tablet. Huawei just introduced a downright luscious new slate over in Singapore, with CommunicAsia being the launchpad for the 7-inch MediaPad. It’s the first high-profile 7-inch tablet we’ve seen in quite some time, and somehow or another, it’s managed to leapfrog most of the currently shipping Honeycomb tablets with a build of Android we’ve only ever joked about. Huawei tells us that Honeycomb 3.2 is essentially the same as 3.1, but specifically tailored to 7-inch tablets as opposed to 10-inch. Packed within the MediaPad’s 10.5mm shell, there’s a 217 pixels-per-inch IPS capacitive touchpanel, GPS, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, 802.11n WiFi, a battery good for around six hours of life and a bona fide racehorse as a processor: a dual-core 1.2GHz chip from Qualcomm. If all goes well, it’ll ship in the United States in Q3 2011.

It’s a fair bit chunkier than the newfangled Galaxy Tab 10.1 (8.6mm), but still slimmer than the original Tab, which clocked in at 11.98mm. It weighs in at 390g (0.86 pounds), supports full 1080p playback, includes HSPA+ (14.4Mbps) 3G support, offers 8GB of internal storage (as well as a microSD slot) and comes pre-loaded with Facebook, Twitter, Let’s Golf and Documents To Go. There’s also a Bluetooth module, an HDMI output for catching those high-def flicks on the go, and the Flash 10.3 player ensures that those websites won’t be a problem. Unfortunately, the company’s left a great deal to the imagination — like pricing, which is being “sorted with retail partners and providers” — and all we’ve got for system RAM is a promise that it’s “working with partners on specifics.” Oddly enough, the company has “no current plans” to produce a WiFi-only model, which definitely puts a damper on those who aren’t interested in ponying for carrier data. You can bet we’ll be digging for more, but even with the surrounding mystery, calling us “excited” would be a severe understatement.

Update: There’s a demo vid just after the break, and the first eyes-on shots have emerged from the conference.

Continue reading Huawei MediaPad revealed: world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU

Huawei MediaPad revealed: world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wait, Vizio’s concocting a tablet? For those with chronic short-term memory loss, you may have forgotten that America’s so-called low-cost TV leader branched out a bit during this year’s Super Bowl, but it’s been dead quiet on the tablet front ever since dropping the Via and sticking with Tablet. Looks like that’s about to change, though — a courteous tipster handed off the screenshot you see above, highlighting the appearance of a ‘VTAB1008’ within Walmart’s inventory system. The device was just added a couple of weeks ago, and while we’re still no closer to knowing if Vizio’s done the right thing and settled on Honeycomb, we do know that it’ll be pricing this thing competitively. How competitively? $349… competitively. We’ll keep you abreast of any release dates we see, but for now, catch up by having a gander at our preview video from a few months back.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Vizio Tablet (VTAB1008) priced at $349 within Walmart’s system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android, as Andy Rubin (no relation) has pointed out on multiple occasions, plays a game of numbers. And at Google I/O, the company carrying on its development shared some large ones: 100 million activated devices with 400,000 being added each day. However, like in many games, different players can catch up or overtake each other at different points. Just ask Nokia and RIM. To stay on top, operating system vendors implement strategies that lock consumers in. The more money consumers sink into iPhone apps, for example, the more incentive they have to stay with that platform; the same is true for accessories that use Apple’s 30-pin dock connector that has been around since the third-generation iPod.

With Android having become the lead operating system for every smartphone company that licenses its OS with the notable exception of Nokia (which nearly did), Google showed that it’s intent not just on moving Android into other devices with sufficient computing horsepower such as tablets and, increasingly, TVs, but now has its sights set on having just about everything that can’t run Android directly feed into it. Google is taking two approaches – one for things that plug into Android devices, and one for things that don’t.

Continue reading Switched On: Adding to Android’s army

Switched On: Adding to Android’s army originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 May 2011 15:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may be a bit difficult to pay attention to the spate of Honeycomb tablets that seem to be popping up left, right and center — you know, now that Ice Cream Sandwich has been officially promised — but what’s not easy to overlook is an 8.6mm slate. Checking in at a sliver of a pinch thinner than the illustrious iPad 2, Samsung’s rethought-out, redesigned and definitely-not-renamed Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the first Android tablet to date that seriously goes toe-to-toe with Apple in both specifications and design. Granted, the consumer models aren’t slated to ship out until June 8th, but given that Google handed us one last week during its annual I/O conference, we figured we’d spend the following weekend wisely. You know, photographing, benchmarking and testing this thing to the hilt. (Of note, the unit tested here was the Limited Edition model, devoid of TouchWiz, 3G and a microSD card slot, but is otherwise identical to shipping units aside from the design on the rear.)

The Tab 10.1 — not to be confused with the older, since-relabeled Tab 10.1v — weighs just 1.31 pounds (marginally besting the iPad 2’s 1.33 pound chassis), and if looks could kill, few people would’ve made it out of Moscone West with all organs functional. But as you well know, style only gets you in the door — it’s the guts, the software, and the marriage of it all that makes or breaks the tablet experience. Hop on past the jump to find out why we think Samsung truly delivered on the promise of a Google-powered tablet, and why you should all seriously consider socking away funds as early June approaches.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No, you aren’t losing your mind. You’re really tuned in to the second Google keynote in as many days, and if we had to guess, we’d say Chrome and / or Chrome OS will take top billing. Things haven’t started just yet, but your patience (or impatience) is greatly appreciated. Have a look below to see when things get going!

06:30AM – Hawaii
09:30AM – Pacific
10:30AM – Mountain
11:30AM – Central
12:30PM – Eastern
05:30PM – London
06:30PM – Paris
08:30PM – Moscow / Dubai
12:30AM – Perth (May 12th)
12:30AM – Shenzhen (May 12th)
01:30AM – Tokyo (May 12th)
02:30AM – Sydney (May 12th)

Continue reading Live from Google I/O 2011’s day 2 keynote!

Live from Google I/O 2011’s day 2 keynote! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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