Hasta La Gadget!

The world’s love affair with tablets may have been bubbling along under the surface for a while, but it really got started in earnest during CES 2010. Back in those wild days, you could see 15-inch jumbo screens, TV tuners, and even hybrid pseudo-laptops stalking the tablet area of your favorite trade show. ASUS was there too, of course, though it still believed in the upstart smartbook category — a modernized take on the netbook that relied on an ARM CPU and a mobile OS to extract more battery life out of a lighter, thinner device — and was busy showing off a seductively slim prototype of just such a machine. Alas, nothing came of that Neo concept, most likely because it was relying on Android 1.6 and a Tegra 2 system-on-chip that was then still months away from hitting the market.

Today, however, is a different day. The 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 is finally being produced in volume, Google has evolved Android to version 3.0, specifically targeting higher-resolution displays, and ASUS has abandoned the idea that a keyboard is crucial to mobile computing. No, wait, that last bit’s still there. The Eee Pad Transformer is a 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet very much in keeping with the current trend, but it also has an optional keyboard dock that turns it into a, you guessed it, instant smartbook. So, does that mean you’ll get two devices in one or has ASUS been overly ambitious and compromised too much? We got to grips with the £380 16GB WiFi-only model and its keyboard buddy (£430 when bought as a pair) in an effort to find out. Answers await just past the break.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (UK edition) review

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (UK edition) review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Evolve Three’s goal of creating the world’s most versatile touchscreen tablets seems to be going swimmingly so far — first the boutique Australian outfit introduced the triple-booting Maestro, and now it’s got an Oak Trail slate on the way with some most intriguing hardware. You see, not only does this Maestro C have a 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 inside, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and most all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a netbook PC, it’s also got a bezel that physically rotates — turning into a chunky kickstand and exposing ports at the same time — and a removable wireless keyboard that doubles as a hard-shell protector for the entire 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen. There’s also a 32GB “high performance” SSD, optional 3G connectivity, a pair of stereo speakers and once again, three operating systems (Android 3.0, MeeGo and Windows 7) to choose from at startup. The only things keeping us from purchasing our customary two units is lingering worry that the other shoe has yet to drop… not to mention a starting price of $729, sans optional keyboard.

Evolve Three’s Maestro C tablet has a swiveling bezel stand and a screen-protecting keyboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  NetbookNews  | Email this | Comments

ASUS apologizes for Eee Pad Transformer delay it won’t detail, US launch pegged for end of April originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  ASUS (Facebook), Joanna Stern  | Email this | Comments

We haven’t heard much about Hannspree’s 10.1-inch HSG1164 tablet since it turned up at the FCC back in December, but a seemingly identical SN10T1 model has now surfaced in Italy, and it’s apparently available right now for €399 (contrary to what the roadmap pictured above would have you believe). What’s more, it looks like Hannspree will also be releasing two more tablets before the end of the year, including a cheaper 8GB model that will run just €299 (or about $430), and a Honeycomb-based model that packs a higher resolution 1280 x 600 display, 16GB of storage and a price tag of €449, or just under $650 — look for those to be available sometime in the second and third quarter, respectively.

[Thanks, Laura]

Hannspree SN10T1 tablet hits Europe, SN10T2 and SN10T3 to follow later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Notebook Italia  | Email this | Comments

When ASUS dumped the source code for its 10.1-inch, Honeycomb-powered Transformer tablet online we knew it was only a matter of time before someone cracked it open and bent it to their will. Before it hit store shelves here in the US MoDaCo founder Paul O’Brien managed to get his hands on one of the upcoming Android devices and, with a little help from Twitter user BumbleDroid, gained root access to the tablet. So, you’ll still have to hang out for a bit before getting yours, but at least when it lands you won’t have to wait to get your hack on.

[Thanks, Alessandro]

Transformer rooted before ASUS can get it out the door originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  @PaulOBrien (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments