Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve got a pretty good inkling that it’s coming — the big question is when will Amazon finally ship an LCD tablet. According to DigiTimes, and its occasionally trusty sources at upstream component makers, when is defined by the second half of 2011. What’s more, the media tablet will feature a Fringe Field Switching LCD display and touch panel from Amazon fave E Ink Holdings, a company better known for the technology behind the Kindle’s EPD e-paper displays. According to DigiTimes, Quanta has received the manufacturing honors with production expected to peak at about 700,000 – 800,000 units per month. So yeah, the Amazon Kindle tablet won’t be sporting a Mirasol display according to this gossip. Then again, it’s only gossip so anything goes.

Amazon tablet shipping later this year according to new tattle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so if you had to guess a name for an Apple service that exists in the cloud it’s pretty safe to say you’d pick “iCloud,” right? Good, now that we’re past the obvious, there are some slightly more compelling indicators out there that this may indeed be what Apple is going to call its (presumably) soon-to-launch music streaming service. We received anonymous tips about this name in the past, and now Om Malik is reporting some interesting history, that the domain iCloud.com is owned by a company called Xcerion, which recently re-branded its cloud-based storage service from iCloud to CloudMe. TechCrunch reached out to the company and got a beautifully-worded non-denial talking about how the new name better embraces the company’s cross-platform approach. That it does, but the timing is interesting. Obviously nothing is confirmed, but with Warner and at least one other of the big four record labels signed on, we’d guess the real name for this service should be drifting into view any time now.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple’s cloud streaming service to be called iCloud? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android users have spoken, and maybe, just maybe, Motorola actually heard — AusDroid claims to have a statement direct from the mobile phone manufacturer promising unlocked bootloaders later this year:

We completely understand the operator requirement for security to the end user, and as well, want to support the developer communities desire to use these products as a development platform. It is our intention to enable the unlockable/relockable bootloader currently found on Motorola XOOM across our portfolio of devices starting in late 2011, where carriers and operators will allow it.

Wonderfully corporate of them to pass the buck to the carriers, no? This quote comes by way of a gentleman who petitioned Moto for just such a thing, mind you, so please take it with a grain of salt, and you’ll be the first to know if we get confirmation from Motorola itself.

Update: AusDroid managed to get in touch with Motorola North Asia, and it sounds like we’re looking at the truth — let’s see if Sanjay Jha agrees when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

Motorola promises unlocked bootloaders for future Android phones? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one is obviously still very much in rumor territory, but a couple of separate reports have cropped up today that suggest Apple could be set to debut some updated iMacs as soon as next week. That includes a report from 9 to 5 Mac that iMac orders are being delayed until May 2nd, despite the fact that they’re still listed as shipping within 24 hours on Apple’s website, and a separate confirmation from a trusted source of the site, who says that Apple will stop shipping iMacs to retailers this week in advance of next week’s supposed release. That’s further backed up by a report from Mac Rumors, which cites another source who says that Apple will be changing the promotional materials in its retail stores for a launch on Tuesday, May 3rd. Details are comparatively light on the rumored new iMacs themselves, but the safe money seems to be on Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt ports.

iMac rumor mill suggests new models could be coming next week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the ultra-thin Lenovo ThinkPad X1 we detailed just a few hours ago? The document that dished those secrets also mentioned an “X Slate,” which made us wonder if Lenovo’s LePad was finally hitting the states… but This is my next seems to have stumbled across a grander piece of technology than that oft-delayed slate. According to a presumably leaked company presentation, Lenovo’s planning to release an Android 3.0 tablet this July with a giant raft of specs — a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 IPS capacitive multitouch panel, a Tegra 2 processor, up to 64GB of storage, front and rear cameras, a full-size USB 2.0 port, mini-HDMI out, a genuine SD card reader and up to 8 hours of purported battery life in a package about 14mm thick and weighing 1.6 pounds.

What’s more, it will reportedly have an optional dual-digitizer with “true pen support” and an optional keyboard case, possibly aping ASUS’s recent Slate and Transformer tablet input mechanisms by allowing for both simultaneously. There’s also apparently plenty of software support for the business-minded, including IT integration as well as anti-theft and remote wipe options, and all this will apparently start at the competitive price of $499 — assuming these documents are legitimate and still valid. You see, they look a little preliminary for a slate supposedly sampling in just a couple of months, and there are contradictions here and there, such as the mention of a 1080p display in one slide, and some watermarks from 2009 in others. Still, Lenovo, if you’re indeed producing a tablet today, we’re liking its proposed specs — don’t suppose we can get a Tegra T25 chip while you’re at it? Find a few extra renders and plenty of slides at our source link.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet leaks out with Honeycomb, IPS screen, optional stylus and keyboard folio? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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