Hasta La Gadget!

So, here’s an interesting tale. That render that Ocosmos teased us with at the front-end of this week? The version with the slide-out QWERTY keyboard has been nixed, so those hoping and praying for a release date on that one can keep right on dreaming. But the other units are mighty real, and the company swears up and down it’s on track to ship ’em both, despite not having a functioning unit here at CES. The OCS1U will be based on Intel’s Oak Trail platform (1.5GHz), and if all goes well, it’ll ship in the first half of this year. The device be based around Windows 7, and will be “priced competitively” compared to the iPad — so, in other words, around $500 or so.

Other specifications will include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, optional 3G, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, a 5-inch capacitive touch panel (1024 x 600), a 32GB / 64GB SSD, microSD card slot, HDMI / USB ports, an inbuilt accelerometer and front (1.3 megapixel) / rear (3 megapixel) cameras. Furthermore, both of the joystick pads — which flank the screen on the left and right — will be totally customizable, so they can do one thing while in a game and another while handling Office duties. The OCS1E is a screen-only affair, with the same internal configuration. In order to add joysticks to this one, you’ll need either a magnetic dock or a folio case, both of which have Bluetooth joystick pads embedded. This guy’s expected to ship at the end of this year or in early 2012, but it’s obviously too early to estimate pricing. Take a closer look in the gallery below and the video just past the break.

Continue reading Ocosmos showcases next-gen OCS1 Windows 7 handhelds at CES 2011 (video)

Ocosmos showcases next-gen OCS1 Windows 7 handhelds at CES 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Launched back in October, Sprint ID is the carrier’s service for deeply skinning your Android device with a curated selection of wallpapers, ringtones, and apps — think of it as phone customization for people who don’t have the time (or patience) to find and install stuff they like. Currently available on three models — the LG Optimus S, Sanyo Zio, and Samsung Transform — we’d heard that the service would eventually be spreading to other phones and also to the Galaxy Tab, leading to the obvious question: how do the ID packs scale to the larger form factor and higher screen resolution?

Well, the short answer is that they don’t — at least, not yet. At a Sprint event last evening we had a chance to play with a Tab that had received the Sprint ID firmware update early, and existing packs designed for phones that we tried produced a variety of results ranging from force close messages to weird-looking home screens. That’s not to say that the packs can’t be designed to support the Tab, of course — the one for Sprint employees that was pre-installed and designed specifically to take advantage of the extra screen real estate looks great — but the packs out there now don’t seem to play nice. This might explain why the update hasn’t been released yet, because Sprint either needs to make sure every pack works with every ID-enabled product or set up the pack store to block Tab owners from downloading incompatible packs. Check out the gallery!

Sprint ID for Samsung Galaxy Tab hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The urge to kill a chicken is surprisingly strong when operating in the dead space between sleep deprivation and a caffeinated buzz of hyper alertness. The fact that the beast is giant and in space makes it downright compulsive especially when given the opportunity to team up in combat with Max Planck over an 802.11n WiFi Direct connection… without an access point and without any lag. This isn’t your father’s Bluetooth connection, son. See the carnage go down after the break.

Continue reading WiFi Direct helps you kill space chickens without an access point (hands-on)

WiFi Direct helps you kill space chickens without an access point (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t imagine how this might have slipped your attention, but LG and Motorola used this year’s CES to roll out the smartphone world’s first dual-core devices in the shape of the Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X. Both are built around NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, which has been the most popular thing out here in Vegas after the free food and shuttle rides (Moto even has the Droid Bionic, a 4.3-incher bound for Verizon, using it). But what does that extra core matter to you? Well, aside from facilitating 1080p video playback on both phones, it does make them quite formidable mobile gaming stations. NVIDIA took the time to show us a couple of games being handled with ease by the 2X and Atrix before noting that it isn’t leaving it entirely up to Google to provide the compelling content for its hardware. Gaming is, after all, close to the GeForce maker’s heart, and we were told that NVIDIA is working closely with developers to help them exploit the added firepower of Tegra 2 so as to deliver prettier, shinier things on screen. We were also informed of the introduction of a Tegra Zone, an Android app designed to serve as a showcase of Tegra partners’ wares, whether they be video or gaming content, though you shouldn’t fear the specter of fragmentation here — it’s not a separate app store, any purchases will be directed through the Android Market. Anyhow, enough talking, there’s video to be watched after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video)

NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beamz laser instrument gets upgraded to please hardcore laser rockers and gamers alike originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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