Acer introduces 7-inch and 10.1-inch Android tablets, shipping April 2011

Shocker of shockers, folks — Acer’s getting into the tablet game, too. With the holidays too close for comfort, the outfit’s giving everyone pause that was considering that janky Android tablet on sale for Black Friday. All jesting aside, the flagship 10.1-incher looks quite interesting, boasting a dual-core 1GHz processor, an HDMI output and a native 1280×800 (!) screen resolution. You’ll also get a 5 megapixel rear camera, an “HD” front-facing camera for video calling and full multitouch support. Hard to say how many clams it’ll cost ya, but at least there’s an April 2011 ship date to mark down. Moving on, the 7-inch tablet (also unnamed as of now) packs the same screen resolution, a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU and the same Flash 10.1 support — so far as we can tell, the “Android Tablet OS” Acer speaks of is Froyo, or Android 2.2. That one’s also coming in April of next year, and you can bet we’ll be scrounging up more details as soon as we can.

Update: PR’s live after the break, and here’s what’s new. The 10.1-incher boasts a 13.3mm thick shell, 1080p output over HDMI, a ten-point multitouch system and an inbuilt Gyroscope for gaming purposes. The 7-inch sibling seems mostly identical save for the screen size, packing a dual core CPU, DLNA technology, WiFi and integrated 3G.

Continue reading Acer introduces 7-inch and 10.1-inch Android tablets, shipping April 2011

Acer introduces 7-inch and 10.1-inch Android tablets, shipping April 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delta’s JFK terminal now home to 200 iPads, a few more enticing eateries

America can’t say that it wasn’t sniped by Malaysia Airlines when it comes to having iPads in the airport, but we’ll take late over never any day of the week. New York’s JFK airport is now home to 200 iPad tablets, all of which are located within Delta’s terminal. They’re being installed in cooperation with OTG Management, mostly in eateries — “Croque Madame, a French restaurant at Gates 21 and 22 in Terminal 2; and Bar Brace, a casual Italian restaurant at Gate 15 in Terminal 3.” As you’d expect, customers can order food from the iPad in order to have it delivered directly to them. It lacks that certain Sonic Drive-In appeal, but the ability to also use the iPad to check your email, have a look at the latest sports scores and attempt to jailbreak it for the next patron more than compensates. OTG doesn’t plan to put a time limit on the usage here (you’ll still need to make your connecting flight, remember?), and its hoping to engage in a similar installation over at LaGuardia in due time. No word on whether these things will censor any and all Google searches on “uncomfortable TSA pat-downs,” though.

Delta’s JFK terminal now home to 200 iPads, a few more enticing eateries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Tablet now shipping for $300

Not kosher with ponying up $500+ for an Android tablet? You’ve got options, kid. Velocity Micro’s Cruz Tablet has finally hit the shipping stage, and sure enough, it’s doing so in the month that was promised back in September. $299.99 lands you a 7-inch Android 2.0 tablet with an 800 x 480 capacitive touch panel, 512MB of RAM, 12GB of total storage, 802.11n WiFi, inbuilt speakers, a headphone jack, mini-USB port and a rechargeable Li-ion good for around ten hours of use — or so they say. Of course, you’ll be stuck accessing the Cruz Market rather than the bona fide Android Market, and you can forget about embedded 3G. But hey, it’s three Benjamins sans any sort of life-altering contract. And that’s got to count for something, right?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Tablet now shipping for $300

Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Tablet now shipping for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Inspiron Duo finally official, can be yours the first week of December for $549

That’s right, just as we had heard, Dell is finally putting an end to the Inspiron Duo’s mysterious marketing videos and officially spinning its screen for the world to see! You won’t be able to hit the order button on the totally unique 10.1-inch tablet / netbook hybrid today, but according to Dell, it should go up for pre-order sometime soon and start shipping out the first week of December. As for pricing, the base model will start at $549 (£449), and will pack a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, 250GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Naturally, you’ll be able to configure it with a larger hard drive, and adding that JBL speaker dock will bring the price up to $649 (no word on what it will cost on its own). We’re guessing those are the details you’ve been waiting on, but undoubtedly you’ve got to be dying to know what we think of that crazy-looking laptop. Well, we’ve got you covered there too — hit the break for our impressions and a brief hands-on video.

Continue reading Dell Inspiron Duo finally official, can be yours the first week of December for $549

Dell Inspiron Duo finally official, can be yours the first week of December for $549 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video)

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie actually declined to show off the his company’s tablet today on the Web 2.0 Summit stage, but in private he was more than kind, treating us to a nice long glimpse at the BlackBerry PlayBook in a quaint hotel hallway. We only got to heft the one-pound slate for a few seconds, but we got the basic feel of the device in the hand — warm to the touch, solid if a little plasticky, with a responsive glass touchscreen up top and a bottom that’s mildly rubberized. Balsillie didn’t bother to locate the “module cavity” for us, but he did try to explain where those 5300mAh lithium ion cells might hide — we suspect the CEO exaggerated only slightly when he told us “it’s all battery and glass inside.” He then wrenched the device forcefully from our unprepared hands (at least that’s how we like to think it went down) and proceeded to let us film a brief film showing off the QNX and Air-based OS juggling a spreadsheet, photo gallery and some beautiful underwater footage all at the same time. Hit the break for that hastily-shot video.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video)

BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Inspiron Duo tablet could be with us next week

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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ViewSonic ViewPad 7 tablet up for pre-order, now costs a wallet-crunching $599

Excuse us, ViewSonic, but we think there’s been some sort of mistake — your ViewPad 7 tablet is on sale at Amazon for $599, over a hundred dollars more than you said it would cost just two weeks back. Yes, we certainly understand you have to import the OlivePad rebadge from a substantial distance and negotiate with Google for its Android Market innards, but we’re not exactly ecstatic about the 600MHz ARM CPU — even with front- and rear-facing cameras on board. Given that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab doesn’t have phone functionality stateside, we admit there’s a market for a seven-inch Froyo tablet that can do voice calls, but did you really have to take Sammy’s controversial price point as well?

[Thanks, onelove]

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 tablet up for pre-order, now costs a wallet-crunching $599 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania tablet

Believe it or not, America’s favorite holiday is under a fortnight away. And this year, it looks as if Toys R Us won’t even wait for Thanksgiving Day to conclude before forcing employees behind registers and breaking families apart as they seek out lukewarm deals camouflaged as revolutionary purchases. This year, Black Friday begins at 10PM on Thanksgiving Eve, meaning that quite a few desperate souls will be lined up in a parking lot rather than circling a stuffed bird and chuckling with loved ones. The culprit? Two devices in particular. The first is an unnamed 7-inch netbook, complete with WiFi, three USB sockets, a sub-two pound weight, a red chassis and a mind-scrambling $79.99 price tag. The second is a 7-inch Sylvania tablet, sporting Android 2.1, WiFi and an SD card slot; we’re assuming it’s the same unit Kmart is hawking for $180, but Toys R Us will have it for the low, low price of $139.99. Other hidden treasures include a Vivitar point-and-shoot for $39.99, 7-inch Coby digiframe for $24.99 and a Vivitar pocket camcorder for just $19.99. We know your gears are already turning, but lest we forget that time with family is priceless… right?

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania tablet

Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania netbook

Believe it or not, America’s favorite holiday is under a fortnight away. And this year, it looks as if Toys R Us won’t even wait for Thanksgiving Day to conclude before forcing employees behind registers and breaking families apart as they seek out lukewarm deals camouflaged as revolutionary purchases. This year, Black Friday begins at 10PM on Thanksgiving Eve, meaning that quite a few desperate souls will be lined up in a parking lot rather than circling a stuffed bird and chuckling with loved ones. The culprit? Two devices in particular. The first is an unnamed 7-inch netbook, complete with WiFi, three USB sockets, a sub-two pound weight, a red chassis and a mind-scrambling $79.99 price tag. The second is a 7-inch Sylvania tablet, sporting Android 2.1, WiFi and an SD card slot; we’re assuming it’s the same unit Kmart is hawking for $180, but Toys R Us will have it for the low, low price of $139.99. Other hidden treasures include a Vivitar point-and-shoot for $39.99, 7-inch Coby digiframe for $24.99 and a Vivitar pocket camcorder for just $19.99. We know your gears are already turning, but lest we forget that time with family is priceless… right?

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania netbook

Toys R Us Black Friday doorbuster includes $80 netbook, $140 Sylvania netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Slate 500 sees ‘extraordinary demand,’ experiences six-week shipping delay (update)

Yes, the HP Slate 500 is officially backordered, less than a month after its enterprising debut, and Hewlett-Packard claims it’s because of “extraordinary demand,” a phrase that’s presently not quantifiable. The long and short of it, though, is that you’re not getting one by Yuletide if you purchase the pricey portable today, as you’ll have to wait six weeks until they’re ready to ship out. Still, if your budding business bought in on day one, there’s still a chance it might arrive in time — ours is due to our door in early December, if that gives you any idea. We’ve pinged HP for comment, and hope to hear back soon. We’ll be sure to let you know just how “extraordinary” those sales numbers might be.

Update: We’ve yet to hear back from HP proper, but a trusted tipster with a contact inside HP spun us a very interesting tale — HP reportedly only ever planned a limited production run of 5,000 units, and received orders for 9,000 instead. When demand outstripped supply, HP apparently had to re-hire production workers just to get the presses printing out tablets again, and are presently placating angry customers by offering them over $100 off their $800 purchase as apology.

[Thanks, Dan]

HP Slate 500 sees ‘extraordinary demand,’ experiences six-week shipping delay (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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