Hasta La Gadget!

Alright, we know AMD’s busy showing off its Atom killer, but there’s still a little life left in Intel’s netbook stalwart, which has been harnessed to its fullest in Dell’s screen-flipping Duo tablet / netbook. And the good news is that we apparently won’t have to wait too long to see that zany concoction out in the real world. Well placed sources have informed CNET that Dell intends to release the Inspiron Duo at some point next week, potentially on November 23rd, while pre-sale information should be dished out later this week, alongside Microsoft’s announcement of a new store opening. Things are moving along nice and swiftly, it would seem.

Update: And just to fan those flames of desire a little more, the Duo has shown up in Microsoft’s latest cloud computing advert. See it after the break.

Continue reading Dell Inspiron Duo tablet could be with us next week

Dell Inspiron Duo tablet could be with us next week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keen readers of the Financial Times will have been greeted this morning by a nice little bit of insider information regarding HTC’s future software plans. We already knew the phone maker was keen to play a more active role in the softer parts of the smartphone experience it offers, but two new sources have come forward with word that HTC is actively hiring new staff in preparation for setting up its very own app store. The HTCSense.com cloud service that recently launched with the Desire HD and Desire Z Android models in Europe looks like the first step toward that goal, with its HTC Hub area already acting as an app discovery assistant — it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to include an extra section in it for HTC’s own application offerings. That’s not to say that this would be an Android exclusive thing, however, as HTC already boasts a selection of ten apps on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform and it would seem quite logical that it’d want an organized repository where it could sort through all its wares.

HTC said to be working on its own app store, would make a lot of Sense originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peter Dille — Sony’s Senior Vice President of marketing at SCEA — sat down for a “fireside chat” with CNN, and made some interesting comments regarding the PlayStation Phone. Despite kinda / sorta sticking to the company’s policy of refusing to discuss rumors, Dille allegedly said that the lack of a cellular data component in current PSP devices could be holding the line back. “The PSP is a Wi-Fi device,” he said. “People are used to having always-connected devices.” Dille also noted that current smartphone platforms don’t give users a hardcore experience, instead providing “Time-killers,” which “gamers aren’t satisfied with.”

While the CNN article certainly includes some healthy speculation, Dille (and a company spokeswoman who told the publication that Sony “has relationships with Google”) was pretty talkative when it came to the PSP and more specifically the PlayStation Network. Apparently, Dille alluded to the fact that the current PSP doesn’t fulfill Sony’s goal for creating a content delivery hub that’s always accessible, saying “I don’t think we fully realize that vision with a Wi-Fi device… If it’s not connected [to a cell network] then it does sort of limit people.” Of course, we’re not taking this as any kind of confirmation from the company, but Sony seems awfully talkative about a device that they won’t comment on.

Sony’s Peter Dille thinks the PSP could use a cellular data connection, iPhone gamers ‘aren’t satisfied’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The whole world and his neighbor’s dog may already know when Windows Phone 7 will be announced, but when are the actual phones going to hit actual shelves? If you’re in the US, that time still looks to be a month away, but the UK release window has just been narrowed down from late October to a single, albeit still speculative, date: October 21. Our tipster forwards the above snapshot from a Three UK document showing a “Windows 7Phone” nestled in between the BlackBerry Torch and Samsung Europa. Its Super AMOLED display tells us we’re definitely looking at a Samsung handset, while the 4-inch diagonal suggests it’ll be the Cetus (SGH-i916/7). This sheet of revelation also finally gives us a hint as to the number of apps WP7 will start off with, enumerating them at “over 2,000 at launch.” We don’t know why Microsoft’s been so shy about that number — 2,000 good apps are more than enough.

UK carrier’s roadmap points to October 21 release for Windows Phone 7, over 2,000 apps at launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By now you may have seen some photos of an alleged iPad casing doing the rounds that is purported to be the next generation of Apple’s tablet. In the pics, you can clearly see that there are two distinct slots for the company’s 30 pin dock connector, which would allow you to plant the iPad in either landscape or portrait mode. Unfortunately, this isn’t a sign of things to come — it’s a future that never was. According to a trusted Engadget source, what the image actually shows is a rejected concept from the current generation iPad. The story goes that originally there had been plans to feature two dock connections, but close to the last minute a design decision was made to kill the landscape port.

It’s still possible that Apple has decided to go back to the two-port design, but in all likelihood this is a piece of a prototype which has found its way into the world. If the story we’ve been told is correct, then there would likely be dozens if not hundreds of these back pieces floating around China. From what we can suss out, this is not the direction Apple is going in for the next version, but hey, if come January we see a new iPad with two dock connectors — drinks are on us.

Debunk: Leaked iPad photo doesn’t show next gen design originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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