Hasta La Gadget!

After being available on the iPad for over a year, SketchBook Pro finally makes its way to Android Honeycomb tablets. Photo courtesy of Autodesk

Autodesk, most well known as creator of the popular 3-D design software AutoCAD, on Tuesday will announce the debut of its SketchBook Pro drawing application for Android tablets, the company has told Wired.com.

SketchBook Pro, essentially a digital canvas and brush set, allows you to use both your fingers and aftermarket styluses to create illustrations and designs. Included are over 60 different brush tools, the ability to create up to six different layers for one file, as well as the ability to export files to Photoshop.

The app was previously available on iPhone, iPad and Android phone devices, as well as in an expanded desktop version. This is the first version of the app that will run on Android’s tablet-optimized software, a.k.a. Honeycomb.

“In this world, size matters,” said Chris Cheung, senior product manager of SketchBook products, in an interview. “There’s this kind of different engagement — while phones are convenient and fit in your pocket, they aren’t the same experience as using the app while holding something the size of an actual sketchbook.”

The app’s tablet release is a timely one. Tablet manufacturers are trying hard to differentiate their hardware from others on the market, occasionally offering a stylus pen to complement a device. HTC’s Flyer tablet, which debuted earlier this year, was the first major Android tablet launch to include a stylus. And if This Is My Next blogger Joanna Stern’s sources are to be believed, we may soon see a tablet from Lenovo that includes a stylus as well. If so, Autodesk could potentially ride a wave of stylus-bundled Android devices to further popularity.

Though the software isn’t exactly a sleeper. Autodesk says SketchBook Pro has already been downloaded over 5 million times across all available platforms.

The company has more than just armchair artists in its sights. Cheung says the software caters to both amateur illustrators as well as established professionals in the design industry. Take Helmut Jahn, a 76-year-old architect and self-avowed technophobe, for instance. Jahn says after discovering the app on the iPad, he uses it for “90 percent of the drawings he makes while on the road,” according to a recent Chicago Business profile.

“It doesn’t remove the need for professionals and high end tools,” Cheung stresses. “But it basically almost level-sets the access to the technology. Effectively, we have these treasures that bring creativity to the masses.”

Of course, the artistic tablet software field isn’t solely populated by Autodesk. Famed Creative Suite makers Adobe recently debuted three apps for the iPad, all of which work in conjunction with Photoshop on the PC. Using the Eazel, Lab and Lava apps, you can finger paint, select Photoshop tools and mix colors, transferring results from iPad to PC instantaneously.

The biggest sea change rests in the app’s utility, rather than the new platform on which it will appear. Since the iPad’s debut, consumer tablet devices have typically been seen as content consumption devices, readymade for movie viewing and game playing. With applications like SketchBook Pro and Adobe’s new tools showing up on tablets, there’s more of an emphasis on content production occurring on novel forms, outside of the traditional desktop environment.

The app will be available through the Android Market for $5 to users running Android version 3.0 and up on their tablets. If you want to try before you buy, there’s also a free (though less feature-rich) version available for Android phones.

Check out the clip below to see SketchBook Pro for Android tablets in action.

What’s the difference between a case and a cover? The Korean company Anymode is provoking just that question with a Galaxy Tab 10.1 case (cover?) that looks awfully familiar. The Smart Case, as it’s known, comes in multiple colors, protects the tablet’s front, and folds into a triangular stand. You might be thinking that sounds remarkably like Apple’s Smart Cover, and if so, you’re not the only one. Ah, but the plot thickens: 9to5mac reports that the maker of this blatant knock-off has strong ties to Samsung. Family ties, even, as their tipster claims Sang-yong Kim, the Anymode CEO, is the nephew of Kun-Hee Lee, Sammy’s chairman. We couldn’t confirm any blood relation, which could mean we’re dealing with a cover-clone conspiracy theory. Either way, we suspect this’ll lead to more billable hours for Cupertino’s lawyers.

[Update: Samsung has responded on its official blog, distancing itself from Anymode’s product:

As a general practice, Samsung Electronics reviews and approves all accessories produced by partners before they are given the “Designed for Samsung Mobile” mark.

In this case, approval was not given to Anymode for the accessory to feature this official designation. We are working with Anymode to address this oversight and the product has already been removed from the Anymode sales website. The product has not been sold.

Thanks, Phil.]

Anymode’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 case cops Apple’s fashion sense (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CultOfMac  |  Anymode, 9to5mac, Samsung  | Email this | Comments

If you’re still waiting to pull the trigger on an Android 3.1 tab, decision day may be coming soon. Back in June, Archos revealed two G9 models: the 8-inch 80 and the 10-inch 101. Well… in case you needed time to save up a little extra dough from your paper route, pricing has been revealed ahead of the September release. The smaller of the two tablets will start out at $299.99 and the more stout of the pair at $369.99 (both 8GB base models), a cool Jackson more than originally reported. Just as a quick refresher, keep in mind that beastly 250GB options are available for both, boasting Seagate’s 7mm Momentus Thin HDD technology. You know, if you’re wanting to carry around your entire Metallica bootleg discography on one of these bad boys.

[Thanks, Elliott]

Archos G9 tablets priced: $300 and up, ship in September originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Archos  | Email this | Comments

Sony's two new Android tablets, codenamed S1 and S2, come in form factors different than most others on the market. Photo: Mike Isaac/Wired.com

Sony is betting you’ll buy one of its upcoming tablets for one big reason: They look like nothing you’ve seen before.

Codenamed the “S1″ and “S2″ for now, Sony’s two unreleased Android tablets depart from the usual square, flat slabs we’ve seen so far in 2011. Instead, the S2 design comes as a dual-screen, clamshell device, while the S1 is similar to many current tablets with one significant deviation — its funky, wedge-shaped form factor, which tapers from one end to the other.

“It looks like a magazine with the cover folded backwards,” a Sony spokesman said at a Wednesday event in San Francisco. “And the tablet’s center of gravity rests on the wider end with the hand holding the device.”

Sony's S1 looks like a wedge-shaped slab, a magazine with its cover folded around the back. Photo: Mike Isaac/Wired.com

The stakes are high for Sony, as the company is one the of latest entrants to the tablet market. Of course, the iPad remains the market leader with a year-plus head start on other tablets, and over 90 percent of the tablet market share. The first Android tablet to debut this year was Motorola’s Xoom, which received lackluster reviews and complaints on the lofty price. A host of other tablets followed in Motorola’s footsteps, but compared to the iPad, customers aren’t opening up their wallets for Android devices. Sony hopes its drastic departure in design will differentiate its two tablets enough for you to snag them up.

To be sure, the changes are drastic. The clamp-down S2 device is wide enough to display five inches of visual real estate when opened, while still small enough to fit in your pocket — “or a purse,” says Sony — when closed. And considering the open-and-shut form, reading e-books on the S2 makes a certain amount of sense. Flipping between pages was effortless, mimicking the act of thumbing through an actual book. It would have been nice to see an animated page flip from one side to another; as it stands, the text only changes without any sort of virtual page flip. Still, it works for what it is.

The S2 fits well in a jacket pocket after you close its clamshell form. Photo: Mike Isaac/Wired.com

The company is also boasting two of its software accelerated enhancements that come with the tablets: QuickView and QuickTouch Panel. With QuickView enabled, Sony claims web pages load much faster than they would on non-QuickView enabled tablets. In a demo on Wednesday, we saw the same web page load five seconds faster on a tablet with QuickView turned on compared to one without the software.

The QuickTouch Panel enables speedier scrolling on the devices, letting you move up and down a browser page faster, less jerky than you’d be able to on another device (or so Sony says). Scrolling seemed smooth in our demo, though we didn’t have another non-Sony tablet on hand to compare.

Sony’s tablets stack up to others in certain respects. They come with DLNA compatibility, Android Honeycomb, Adobe Flash capability — all mainstays in the Android tablet field.

But other than those broadly sketched features, Sony isn’t saying much more about their devices. We got zero information on hardware specs, pricing, specific release dates or even the actual device names.

We do know, however, that the S1 will be available in a Wi-Fi only version first, and the S2 will come carried on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. As a further perk of going with a Sony device, you’ll have full access to Sony’s PlayStation Suite, where you can access a library of 40 to 50 older PlayStation games on the Sony device.

What’s more, the clamshell-modeled S2 uses the bottom screen as a touch-sensitive, virtual control pad, while the top screen displays your game. It’s like Sony’s Xperia Play smartphone, only in tablet form.

Sony says to look forward to the tablets come the fall of this year.

Have you heard of Evolio? Neither have we, but it might be time we all start paying attention to this Romanian start-up if its grandiose claims of tech stardom prove true. Heralding it as the “most powerful Android tablet” — and the one ring to rule them all — the Neura is a 1GHz dual core Tegra 2 processor-packing, 9.7-inch full HD displaying, Flash-capable slab of Eastern European engineering. Since its been (self-)declared king of the little green robot OS hill, the company’s aiming this market entry squarely at Apple’s iPad 2 — hoping its powers of 1080p and expandable memory can best that category titan. Unfortunately, the company’s proud boast only covers its hardware specs, leaving Froyo to underpower what could be a truly premium experience. A September update to Honeycomb is loosely mentioned, but with 3.2 already rolling out to Xooms, this baby’s starting to look dated. If owning an exotic tablet strikes your cooler-than-thou fancy, get your credit card set to import mode on July 25th. Informational video and its excellent Romanian-electro intro after the break.

Continue reading Evolio’s Neura making a foolio of other Android tablets (video)

Evolio’s Neura making a foolio of other Android tablets (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Evolio  | Email this | Comments