Hasta La Gadget!

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie actually declined to show off the his company’s tablet today on the Web 2.0 Summit stage, but in private he was more than kind, treating us to a nice long glimpse at the BlackBerry PlayBook in a quaint hotel hallway. We only got to heft the one-pound slate for a few seconds, but we got the basic feel of the device in the hand — warm to the touch, solid if a little plasticky, with a responsive glass touchscreen up top and a bottom that’s mildly rubberized. Balsillie didn’t bother to locate the “module cavity” for us, but he did try to explain where those 5300mAh lithium ion cells might hide — we suspect the CEO exaggerated only slightly when he told us “it’s all battery and glass inside.” He then wrenched the device forcefully from our unprepared hands (at least that’s how we like to think it went down) and proceeded to let us film a brief film showing off the QNX and Air-based OS juggling a spreadsheet, photo gallery and some beautiful underwater footage all at the same time. Hit the break for that hastily-shot video.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video)

BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.2 update starts rolling out to unlocked Dell Streaks, includes Stage UI originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the grand re-opening of a Verizon Plus store in Tampa today, Big Red was demoing its latest FiOS TV feature, Flex View. As announced, this feature lets you take your video on demand content with you on your PC as well as various other Verizon Wireless devices — no iOS support though as Apple doesn’t license its FairPlay and the Microsoft PlayReady DRM used doesn’t work on Apple’s products either. There are about 2,000 movies available for rent now, with a subset of them available for purchase. Currently they are all SD with stereo sound, but HD and discrete surround sound are planed for later versions. Unlike the FiOS VOD, you can download these shows from any internet connection and play them back on the go or at home — resume between devices is also in the coming-soon category. Overall the user interface looked good, but we did see lots of blocking artifacts that we just hope were a result of the in-store demo and not an indication of what customers can actually expect. The content is linked to your Verizon FiOS user ID, which means that purchased content can still be viewed even if you cancel your FiOS TV service. No word on if Verizon’s free VOD selection will ever become available, but we have to say we really like the idea of watching content on the go no matter how good our network connection isn’t.

Hands-on with FiOS Flex View originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t say we’ve ever dreamt of a pico projector / speaker dock combo, but we also can’t say the idea doesn’t make a bit of sense. Continuing its expansion into the projector space with its Cinemin sub-brand, WowWee‘s Slice is much more than your usual unitasking pico — it packs six-watt stereo speakers along with a 854 x 480 resolution, 16 lumens DLP projector. As you can see, it’s been designed for your choice of Apple products — its 30-pin connector is compatible with the iPad, iPhone 3G/3GS/4, etc. — but the back of the device does hold additional VGA, mini-HDMI and AV ports for hooking up whatever other gadget you’ve been dying to project on a wall. Speaking of that projection, the maximum image size is 60 inches, though you’ll have to set it back quite a bit from the projected surface to achieve that viewing size — WowWee says the viewable range is anywhere between 11 to 125 inches. We caught a look at the Slice at the CES Press Preview event in NYC, and have to say it’s not a bad looking dock — the glowing red LED buttons give it some pizzazz. Obviously, it was hard for us to judge the image and sound quality from the brief look, but we were able to hear Bolt over the event background noise if that counts for anything. The Slice will be priced around $400 but won’t be hitting stores until January — until then you’ve got the pictures in the gallery below and some more tech specs at the source link.

WowWee Cinemin Slice takes the pico out of your pocket originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If surprise was the focus of the event, we’d say the Samsung Android-powered, Verizon-exclusive (and, alas, Bing-driven) Continuum reveal was a comedy of errors — but who cares now that we’ve got our hands on the Galaxy S phone, secondary ticker and all (at 480 x 96 resolution). The Android buttons themselves, as it turns out, are on the display as well — basically, it’s one huge display. The grip sensor that activates the display seems to work well, although it’s pretty easy to squeeze the camera button by accident since it’s also on the lower right of the phone. Unfortunately, there’s no way for third-party apps to update the ticker — it’s limited to Samsung’s stuff right now. We’re trying to get some battery life info — we’re curious if turning on a smaller screen more often will result in a longer shelf life, or if it’ll just be about even.

Update: Video after the break!

Update 2: Okay, we got some more info on that screen. The entire front of the phone is one huge four-inch screen, with the Android buttons more or less painted over the lower third — the screen lights up underneath them in white to illuminate them. Samsung says it’s just easier for marketing purposes to say it’s two screens, but that they’re selectively turning on the bottom portion of the display for the ticker. As far as battery life, it’s a 1500mah battery that’ll last about a day, we’re told — the lower screen turns on whenever a notification comes in, but since it’s a smaller screen the battery life is on par with the Fascinate.

We also learned the “grip sensor” isn’t really grip-based at all — it’s capacitive, so just lightly touching both sides of the phone lights up the ticker. It’s pretty nice, although super easy to set it off by just holding the phone. Samsung says there will eventually be an API for third-party apps to use the ticker, but right now they’re just focused on their core experiences. As for Bing, well, no one’s saying why some Verizon phones get Binged out and some don’t, but every indication is that Verizon calls those shots, not Samsung. We’re also told that an Android 2.2 update will eventually arrive, but there’s no timeline yet — and there’s a real chance this’ll launch with 2.1 after 2.3 hits. Developing…

Update 3: Added a quick macro pic of the buttons after the break — you can see how it’s just one big screen. We also took some side-by-sides with a Captivate — the Continuum is thicker and narrower. Samsung says the narrower size is designed to appeal to women, who generally have smaller hands.

Continue reading Samsung Continuum first hands-on (update: video!)

Samsung Continuum first hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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