Kindle Fire tablet purportedly on tap for Wednesday, set to ship in November

“Kindle Fire.” Can’t say that’s the name we would’ve thrown together if given five minutes to dwell and assured that we’d take on absolutely no risk at all for it failing, but hey — who are we to question Jeff Bezos? TechCrunch is keeping the Kindle tablet rumors fresh with a new helping of intel, hitting the wires just two days prior to the outfit’s September 28th press event. According to the publication, “Fire” (mocked up above) was chosen in order to differentiate it from the e-ink siblings that’ll sell alongside of it, and we’re told to expect a mind-numbing amount of content deals to make it ever more attractive in a realm that iOS currently dominates. Moreover, a dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP chip is now being tipped, and if all goes well, the sub-$300 device should ship in November. Meanwhile, B&N engineers are reportedly toiling away on the Nook Color 2, and we wouldn’t be shocked in the least to see it hurry into an announcement just to phunk with Amazon’s flow. We’ll be there live on Wednesday to break it all down — water sprinklers in tow, naturally.

Update: gdgt is suggesting that there’s a reason the Kindle Fire will look a lot like the PlayBook — it’s a good read, and it can be found here.

Kindle Fire tablet purportedly on tap for Wednesday, set to ship in November originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s Xoom 2 tablets pair up for a portrait, both at around 9mm thick

There’s nothing like a family portrait, and the Xoom 2 brothers have paired up for this year’s Christmas card shot — or at least for an anonymous tipster’s latest leak. These pictured tablets give us a better look at the rear-facing buttons we heard about last week, which appear to be a power button and a volume rocker. The smaller sibling sports the same “Fleming” moniker we saw in yesterday’s images, the same 8.2-inch screen size as previously reported, and appears to be about as thick as a 9.3mm iPhone 4. Combining with This is My Next’s intel, it appears that both tablets are of very similar thickness. Around back? A few stickers, again spelling out the smaller tablet’s codename and outing LTE compatibility.

Interestingly, our tipster tells us that both slates share the Fleming codename, along with Android 3.2 goodness and five-megapixel HD cameras on the rear, though both prototypes are also “buggy as all hell, with frequent reboots and crashes.” This could mean that we’re still some time away from seeing the original Xoom’s successors, so for now, check out our gallery below to get an eyeful for yourself.

Update: Our tipster has confirmed LTE for both devices.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Motorola’s Xoom 2 tablets pair up for a portrait, both at around 9mm thick originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom 2 evidence mounts — new photos, rumored specs and a Media Edition?

Talk of a younger, slimmer Motorola Xoom just keeps on coming. A helpful tipster is adding fuel to the rumors of a Xoom 2 with these shots of a similar, but not exactly identical Motorola tablet. When compared to the images we saw yesterday, this unnamed Android 3.2 slate looks a tad less polished in the rear and seems to favor a portrait format, with the camera resting up top. What’s more, our source says the slab appears to be smaller than what we’ve already seen, which could line up with a report from This Is My Next, pegging a Xoom 2 Media Edition. That device is rumored to have an 8.2-inch HD IPS display and weigh .95 pounds. It is apparently being billed as an “e-reader replacement,” and comes with an onboard IR remote and subwoofer. In further Xoom 2 news, TIMN is saying the classic version will measure 9mm thick, pack a 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, and enable 1080p video recording. If all of that isn’t enough to satisfy your Motorola-tablet craving, we’ve got a gallery of photos below.

[Thanks, Anon]

Motorola Xoom 2 evidence mounts — new photos, rumored specs and a Media Edition? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is this the Motorola Xoom 2?

Who’s looking sleek in angled corners? Why, it’s the Motorola Xoom 2 — at least it might be, according to Droid-Life and the folks that leaked it the above image. The outfit’s informant tells them that the pictured device is flaunting micro-USB and HDMI ports, a SIM card slot and a few large, flush buttons on its back. Is it the real deal? Well, we can’t say it looks much like Verizon’s door-destroying tablet, or even the shy slate that we spied on Motorola Mobility’s leaked website redesign — but we wouldn’t put too much stock into ambiguous renders and inconclusive advertisements anyway. There’s one more image after the break for those of you that are into rear-facing cameras and “confidential” engravings.

Continue reading Is this the Motorola Xoom 2?

Is this the Motorola Xoom 2? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon press conference set for September 28th, could this be its long-awaited tablet?

Amazon’s been cooking something in a supposed Android-based oven for quite some rumored time. Now, an invite has gone out from the Bezos-backed company for an event on the 28th of this month at 10AM. Will the e-retailer officially announce a pair of 7- and 10-inch Kindle refreshes we’ve seen so much digital ink spilled over, or is this the heavily-skinned Android tab that TechCrunch got its hands-on earlier this month? We’ll be there to let you know what the company’s got up its e-reading sleeve.

Amazon press conference set for September 28th, could this be its long-awaited tablet? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eee Pad Slider shipping now, Archos 80 G9 hits pre-order status

Archos 80 G9

It’s practically raining tablets these days, and two more just hit the market. Of course, the Asus Eee Pad Slider and Archos 80 G9 were announced some time ago, but now you can finally handover your hard-earned paper for one of these Android 3.2-sporting devices. The Slider is already available from a variety of outlets, including New Egg and Amazon, starting at $479, while the G9 is up for pre-order direct from Archos starting at just $299. If you need a reminder of what to expect from the latest Honeycomb slates you should check out our hands-on coverage before hitting those source links and loading up your shopping cart.

[Thanks, BH]

Update: Well, looks like a few of those Archos 80 G9s are shipping earlier than expected. A reader wrote in to let us know he “pre-ordered” a trio of them yesterday and they actually arrived today. He sent in the receipt (which we won’t be sharing) along with a pile of photos and even a video as evidence. Check it out below.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Continue reading Eee Pad Slider shipping now, Archos 80 G9 hits pre-order status

Eee Pad Slider shipping now, Archos 80 G9 hits pre-order status originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei gives October shipping date for MediaPad in Malaysia, US and China by year’s end

Huawei MediaPad

Been wondering when you were gonna get a chance to smear fingerprints all over 7-inches of Android 3.2, courtesy of Huawei’s MediaPad? Well, if you happen to live in Malaysia, it should be by the middle of October. The rest of you shouldn’t fret though — the company plans to have it on shelves in the US, China, Hong Kong and Thailand before the end of the year. Meanwhile, folks in Singapore can already place pre-orders for $598 SGD, roughly $473 USD. It’s a bit later than the Q3 ship date we were originally told but, as they say, better late than never. Though, we’re more apt to cry “gimme, gimme, gimme.”

Huawei gives October shipping date for MediaPad in Malaysia, US and China by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VMK Way-C tablet shows off its full figure, on sale for $300 in select countries this October

We got a look at the back of the African-designed VMK tablet awhile ago, and today we got a bit more info about its pending release. The slate, now named the Way-C, is set to go on sale in October — a month later than initially expected — for $300, and we finally got a look at the front side of the thing. If you like what you see, hopefully you’re reading this in Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Gabon, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal or Belgium, ’cause those are the only places you can pick one up. If not, well, the plethora of pics in the gallery below will have to suffice.

VMK Way-C tablet shows off its full figure, on sale for $300 in select countries this October originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi gets US pricing, 16GB model starts at $469

Samsung’s latest Android Tab has already gotten the in-box hands-on treatment from the blue shirts at Best Buy, but now we have official word on pricing for the 8.9-inch WiFi-only model, set to hit stores as soon as Thursday. Willing to settle for the 16GB flavor? Get ready to hand over $469 to take one of these slim slates home, or pull out another Benjamin to double capacity to 32 gigs — that beefed-up model will run you $569. You’ll also get Android 3.1 Honeycomb with “the freedom of TouchWiz,” a 3 megapixel camera on the rear with 2MPs up front, and a dual-core 1GHz processor. Check out our Tab 8.9 hands-on, or hit up the source link for the full feature rundown from Sammy.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi gets US pricing, 16GB model starts at $469 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi shipments arrive at Best Buy, will go on sale this week

See that there? That’s a Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi, and after months on end of mystery, it seems as if the wait to procure one in the US of A is just about over. Shipments are arriving at Best Buy stores across the nation, and according to our sources, they’ll be stocked and ready for purchase starting September 22nd. We’re still waiting to hear back on a retail price, but those who’d like to hazard a guess can extrapolate from those UK figures. So, did your Tuesday plans just get made?

Update: Select stores may be ushering them out on the 22nd, while others will be force to wait until the 25th. As for pricing? It’s “listed” at $399.99, but we’ve certainly seen Best Buy placeholders be wrong before.

Update 2: Samsung chimed in with official pricing. The 16GB model will sell for $469, with the 32GB flavor costing $100 more.

Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi shipments arrive at Best Buy, will go on sale this week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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