Hasta La Gadget!

Somewhere in the world, Creative just announced a pair of 7-inch (480 x 800) and 10-inch (1024 x 768) Ziio tablets running the Android 2.1 OS. Both feature a ZiiLabs ZMS-08 processor, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, WiFi 802.11b/g, and microSD expansion. They’re slated to ship in December with the 7-incher costing €229 (8GB) or €259 (16GB) and the 10-incher demanding €289 (8GB) or €319 (16GB). And somewhere, somebody must be jonesin’ for these resistive touchscreen tablets (China?), just not here.

[Thanks, Yutaka]

Creative Ziio 7- and 10-inch Android tablets say ‘me too’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The story of the Galaxy Tab has been quite a saga, to say the least. In fact, it was actually back in May that we first heard rumblings of Samsung’s plans to unleash a 7-inch Android tablet much like its Galaxy S phones, but it was only after months of painful teasing — including a cruel look at just its packaging on the Engadget Show — that Sammy finally unveiled the Galaxy Tab to the world at IFA. The Tab certainly packed the specs — a 1GHz processor, full Flash support thanks to Android 2.2, dual cameras, support for up to 32GB of storage and WiFi / 3G connectivity — to put other Android tablets to shame, and our initial hands-on with it only had us yearning for more. Without pricing and availability, however, the story was at a cliffhanger. Of course, those details trickled out over the next few months, and here in the US, Samsung finally announced that all four major US carriers would be getting Tabs to call their own. Verizon then finally took the lead in announcing pricing, and revealed that its Tab would hit contract-free for $600 — Sprint followed with the same no-contract pricing along with a $400 two-year contract option.

Indeed, it’s been quite a long journey, but even after all of that, some of the major questions are still left unanswered. Does the Tab provide a more complete and polished experience than all the other Android tablets out there? How are Samsung’s specially tailored apps? And ultimately, has a tablet finally hit the market that can rival Apple’s iPad? We think it’s about time we answer those questions and finally open what might be the most important chapter of the Galaxy Tab story — the official Engadget review. We knew you’d agree, so join us after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab review

Samsung Galaxy Tab review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic’s heavy foray into the tablet market has been no secret, but we’ve been a bit uncertain as to where on the map its products would land. Until now that is. According to ViewSonic’s American team, the company will be kicking off its US tablet invasion with the ViewPad 7 in November. Just as we’d heard, the 7-inch device packs an Snapdragon processor, Android 2.2, two cameras (a 3 megapixel cam on its rear and a VGA front facing one), 512MB of memory and 3G capabilities. Sure, it sounds a heck of a lot like the rest of the other Android tablets we’ve been seeing, but according to ViewSonic this one will most definitely have access to the Google Market and come preloaded with Google’s apps. Well, that’s a horse of a different color, though its $479 MSRP seems a bit high to us. What about the ViewSonic fans out there that have been eyeing the Android 1.6 / Win 7 dual-booting ViewPad 10, you ask? Well, they’ll have to wait until the first quarter of 2011 to get their hands on that one, though at least that gives ’em time to save up the $629 that it’s expected to retail for. We should note here, that the ViewPad 10 is identical in design to the Tega v2 we recently reviewed and similar in specs — it has a 1.66GHz Atom processor, 16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. We’re still unsure where the 10-inch, Android 2.2 G-Tablet that was recently spotted in a Sears circular fits in, but we’re definitely getting the hint that Viewsonic’s in it to win it with tablets.

Continue reading ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and 10 officially comin’ to America

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and 10 officially comin’ to America originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Steve Jobs doesn’t like the form factor and Google thinks that Froyo is less than ideal for tablets, we were pretty impressed by the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab’s ability to run Android 2.2. Today it’s officially on sale in UK shops as previously announced. It’s supposed to be coming to all the major UK carriers in addition to Carphone Warehouse, Dixons, and T-Mobile shops. At the moment, we’re seeing it in stock at the Carphone Warehouse under a variety of plans ranging from a £499.99 with a £10 pay monthly plan on Talk Mobile that includes 1GB of data. On the other extreme is a £99.99 deal that requires a £40 per month two year contract that includes 5GB of data on Three. It’s also offered for a standalone price of £529.99. And please, whatever you do don’t call it a UMPC, that was so 5 years ago.

Update: We’ve just heard that Orange is also launching the Tab at similar price points, starting from £499. Similarly, Vodafone’s offering the same tablet for £499 across all of its monthly contracts. On the other hand, O2’s slapped a staggering £599 tag onto the device for all of its plans — a very odd move, we’d say (link only works within the UK).

Samsung Galaxy Tab on sale now in UK originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still trying to understand why Entourage has chosen the Home Shopping Network of all places to reveal its new Pocket Edge, but at least we now know that the previously spied dualscreen tablet / e-reader lives! Although the 1.35-pound device has been shrunken down with smaller displays — a 6-inch “Wacom Penabled” e-ink panel and 7-inch LCD — it actually doesn’t appear like much else has been changed from the original. Unfortunately, that means our biggest complaints about the device are very much present — it’s got a resistive touchscreen and appears to run an older version of Android. If it’s any consolation, the trackball on the right edge has been replaced with an optical touchpad and there are now red and black color options. Spec-wise, it still boasts 4GB of storage, a 2 megapixel camera (hopefully there’s software now that takes advantage of it), 802.11 b/g, a USB port, and micro-SD slot. It is, however, more affordable — though it’s originally priced at $499, HSN has a sale running that puts it at $399. Of course, no word on if a 3G version will be arriving at Verizon as we’ve previously heard, but we’re sure this thing will get its official unveil sometime soon. Until then feel free to keep yourself preoccupied with the gallery below and at the source link — just don’t get lost in the cookware section.

Entourage Pocket Edge reveals itself on the Home Shopping Network originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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