Hasta La Gadget!

The wonders you can find on YouTube, eh? LG’s G-Slate (to be known as the Optimus Pad outside the US) has made yet another appearance on Google’s video repository, this time giving us a whirl to show off its slender body and port and speaker arrangement. The integrated 3D cameras also get a demo, as you can see above, though we’re much more excited to be able to churn out 1080p video with this device thanks to the Tegra 2 SOC it’s built around. Its smartphone buddy the Optimus 2X delivered some very smooth output and we can’t see any reason why the G-Slate should do any worse. Make your way past the break for all the intimate video action.

[Thanks, KC]

Continue reading LG G-Slate handled on video, looks like a giant Optimus 2X

LG G-Slate handled on video, looks like a giant Optimus 2X originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

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The growing pains of being a small company dealing with big demand have bitten Notion Ink again, as the company has had to dish out a disappointing email to some Adam buyers informing them their delivery has been delayed to February 14th. The culprit in this sad case is a shipment of damaged touchscreens, which company chief Rohan Shravan estimates will affect just over five percent of all orders. Touchscreen supplier Sintek has promised to work through the Chinese New Year to refill that stock, so hopefully the bump back to Valentine’s Day will be the last, seemingly fitting, one for the Adam.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Notion Ink delays some Adam shipments to February 14th due to touchscreens damaged in transit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s promotional strategy for the G-Slate seems to be to keep officially mum about the device, while letting random pseudo-celebrities tease it out in brief glimpses. A week ago, K-Pop artist Seungri gave us our first sighting of the dual-camera array on the back of the G-Slate, which has today made its triumphant return to YouTube, courtesy of one MysteryGuitarMan. The rear of the device here doesn’t look identical to the one in Seungri’s video, however the metallic strip separating the cams and its “with Google” branding look nearly identical to what LG has on the back of its Optimus 2X Android smartphone. We’re also seeing a single LED flash for the first time, there are a couple of unidentified connectors at the bottom, at least one of them likely to assist docking in landscape mode, and we do get to see the tablet in profile for an idea of how thin it is. Video after the break.

Continue reading LG G-Slate makes guest appearance on MysteryGuitarMan’s YouTube channel (video)

LG G-Slate makes guest appearance on MysteryGuitarMan’s YouTube channel (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s no denying that Meinolf Althaus brings some personality to an otherwise stoic slate. Good thing too, because the idea of Fujitsu and Microsoft spawning a stylus-driven tablet from a session of ugly-bumping doesn’t elicit much excitement in the burgeoning tablet space. Enter Mr. Althaus who begins his lesson with an explanation that software user elements must be based on recognition and not on something that’s remembered. You know, like a hammer (or Fujitsu’s new slate) which is obvious in its usability and function. He then likens the current crop of consumer-based tablets to chocolate bars: they’re great for consumption but do little to help with content creation unlike Fujitsu’s Windows-based slate that’s optimized for corporations — spreadsheets naturally, not music or illustrations. The highlight, however, has to be the point in the video where he equates the Windows 7 user experience to a “scratchy” kitchen sponge that’s useful for utilitarian tasks like cleaning the dishes. Fujitsu’s tablet, he contends, is “cozy” like a silk scarf thanks to a custom-built layer that sits on top of the standard Win7 desktop. Brilliant. We’ll take two… Meinolfs that is. You will too after watching the video embedded after the break.

[Thanks, Hanson]

Continue reading Fujitsu’s tablet is easy like a hammer, cozy as a scarf, and never scratchy like Windows 7 (video)

Fujitsu’s tablet is easy like a hammer, cozy as a scarf, and never scratchy like Windows 7 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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