Hasta La Gadget!

At last, the webOS-empowered TouchPad, HP’s answer to the growing tablet market. And make no mistake, it’s coming in with guns blazing — specs-wise, the slate stands up pretty well to the competition currently in play (e.g. iPad) and the other up-and-comers not quite out the gate (e.g. Motorola Xoom and BlackBerry PlayBook). Stacked side-by-side, it’s clear Apple’s entry is lacking a bit in both memory (256MB vs. 1GB for everyone else) and front-facing camera — not that we expect that to be the case for all of 2011. When it all comes down to it, what’ll set these slates apart will be the platforms and software themselves — should make for an interesting summer, no? In the meantime, for the nitty-gritty on technical specifications, venture past the break.

Continue reading HP TouchPad vs. iPad vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook: the tale of the tape

HP TouchPad vs. iPad vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook: the tale of the tape originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Call us crazy, but we’re having a hard time interpreting this line of fine print in any other way:

“To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required.”

That’s listed under Best Buy’s most recent ad highlighting the world’s first Android 3.0 tablet, and it most certainly sounds both ominous and ridiculous. Hardcore Verizon followers may remember the days of Big Red crippling Bluetooth radios in phones in order to “coerce” users to purchase ringtones and such from them rather than snagging one on the subway from Tom, Dick and / Jane, so we definitely wouldn’t put something like this by the company. It’s hard to say how this will be implemented once the $800 Xoom hits retail shelves, but it’s certainly hard to believe that this is a Best Buy policy (and not a Verizon mandate). We’ll be digging for more details (after all, this could all be some strange, terrible dream), but we’ll be straight with you — we don’t like the potential implications here.

Update: We’re hearing from some Best Buy Mobile employees that these simply won’t be able to be sold without being first activated on Verizon’s network, so even though you could theoretically cancel the same day, you’ll still likely get hit with a one-time activation fee (and possibly one month of data). Then again, there appears to be typos on the flyer, so you may want to wait for Verizon’s official word before getting up in arms.

[Thanks, Michael]

Verizon locking WiFi on Motorola Xoom until you buy one month of data service? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

This podcast is so disgusting that #1 Digitimes bestselling author Paul Miller wants to take a shower. JK, not disgusting at all! Lots of cool stuff, actually. Just look at that topics list! It’s a real beauty, right? We’re not sure we COULD fit any more platforms into a podcast if we tried. Hang out with it. It’s the Engadget Podcast, just the way you like it, with especially special guest Chris Ziegler.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Guest: Chris Ziegler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Sexy Chick

00:08:24 – Live from Google’s Android event!
00:08:37 – Android in-app purchases hands-on (video)
00:08:55 – Android Market gets a web store with OTA installations, in-app purchases coming soon
00:11:00 – Android Market web store hands-on
00:20:47 – Motorola Xoom first benchmark: 1823 in Quadrant
00:21:47 – Google shows off Fragments API for Android 3.0
00:25:00 – Motorola teases Xoom Super Bowl ad: ‘2011 looks a lot like 1984’
00:36:30 – Motorola’s Atrix 4G coming to AT&T on March 6th for $200, bundled with Laptop Dock for $500
00:51:35 – Verizon iPhone review
00:52:23 – Verizon can now throttle top five percent of bandwidth hogs, downres multimedia transfers
00:53:12 – Verizon breaks first day sales record with iPhone 4 pre-orders — in only two hours
01:01:43 – Nokia, Microsoft announcing partnership next week, possibly involving Windows Phone 7?
01:10:19 – Palm creating palmtop computer with detachable, dockable cellphone?
01:12:15 – HP CEO: New webOS products shipping weeks after February 9 reveal, another big announcement March 14
01:13:35 – Palm ‘Think Beyond’ teaser shows off glimpses of… something (updated with longer video)

Hear the podcast

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @engadget @reckless @zpower

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 231 – 02.05.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Diving through the Motorola Xoom’s sweet, sweet blend of Android 3.0, we found an interesting perk — there’s an “Encrypt Tablet” option buried in the settings page, intended to secure all your personal data with a password or PIN. While a handy Google rep couldn’t tell us which cryptographic standards the OS uses, he did tell us the feature is part of Honeycomb as a whole, not a Motorola exclusive, so we’re sure to see the option in other business-minded Android slates to come. Oh, and Google asks that all you sysadmins stay tuned, as the company’s whipped up an API that lets you enforce policy restrictions upon your peons as far as encryption is concerned. Just make sure they remember to keep the tablet charged. See a close-up after the break.

Continue reading Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ can encrypt all your data, needs a full hour’s charge

Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ can encrypt all your data, needs a full hour’s charge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We got a taste of what TouchType was doing to tweak its SwiftKey keyboard app for tablets back at CES, and the company has just now gotten official with the final result: its SwiftKey Tablet app. It’s apparently been designed “in partnership” with Google and Motorola to coincide with the launch of the Xoom and, as you can see above, it’s clearly been tailored specifically for Honeycomb — the company describes the skin as “holographic” and “thumb-optimized.” As with previous SwiftKey keyboard apps, it makes use of the company’s so-called Fluency Prediction Engine, which promises to predict “around a third of words” before you enter a single character, and can now even analyze your Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts to learn how you write (though that can apparently be turned off if you prefer). Head on past the break for a quick video, and stay tuned for some hands-on impressions.

Update: Impressions after the break!

Continue reading TouchType debuts SwiftKey Tablet app for Android tablets, we go hands-on (video)

TouchType debuts SwiftKey Tablet app for Android tablets, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  SwiftKey  | Email this | Comments