HP Slate priced at €400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed?

Reputable Spanish publication Clipset has the first concrete report on pricing and internal specs for HP’s Slate. Seemingly obtained from HP itself, the €400 ($546) price tag positions the Slate a notch above netbooks and bodes well for the expectation that it’ll undercut the iPad’s entry level pricing. Straight currency conversations are inadvisable in such situations, so we’ll just have to wait until official stickers for the iPad in Europe are known or HP announces US prices for the Slate. Further info includes an Atom CPU, Flash support, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, and a back-mounted webcam (see it after the break). The launch of this Windows 7 device is slated for June, while retail availability in Europe is said to be expected at some point “before September.” It’s not clear what all that means for the US, but we doubt HP will be making its home turf wait longer than the rest of the world. Rest assured, we’ll be reaching out to HP HQ before they’ve had their first cup of green tea to find out.

Update: HP’s response to our queries has been typically tight-lipped. The company refused to discuss Clipset‘s specs and pricing, which would suggest that — even though they may be spot on — they are not yet official.

Continue reading HP Slate priced at €400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed?

HP Slate priced at €400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Spanish  |  sourceClipset  | Email this | Comments

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative

When chipmaker Marvell told us its technology would power $99 smartphones, we took the company at its word. We weren’t expecting a sub-$100, 10-inch tablet PC, however — and we definitely weren’t expecting Marvell itself to build it. Marketed at students looking to lighten their textbook load, the Marvell Moby will be an “always-on, high performance multimedia tablet” capable of full Flash support and 1080p HD playback — thanks to those nifty Armada 600 series processors — and supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS and both Android and Windows Mobile platforms for maximum flexibility. No release date has yet been announced; like the OLPC, Marvell will introduce the Moby in pilot programs at participating at-risk schools. While it’s far too early to say if the Moby will be the universal educational e-reader Marvell hopes (that depends on software), it’s certainly an intriguing device for the price, and we’ll admit we’re a touch jealous of those kids who’ll first get to try one.

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ARMdevices.net  |  sourceMarvell, Technologizer  | Email this | Comments

NPR and WSJ building ‘Flash-free’ pages for iPad, Apple quietly delays select iPad accessories

For awhile, we couldn’t decide what we were more angry at: the fact that select devices wouldn’t support Flash, or that Flash was simply too demanding on select devices. We still can’t say with any degree of certainty which side of the fence we’re on, but there’s no question that Apple’s refusal to play nice with Adobe on the iPhone, iPod touch and forthcoming iPad limits the abilities of those devices significantly. Curiously enough, it seems that Apple’s importance in the mobile (and media delivery) realm is coercing select portals to develop Flash-free websites for those who drop by on an iDevice. Both the National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal are furiously working on iPad-friendly websites, which will be devoid of Flash for at least the first few pages down. What’s interesting is that we get the impression that this will soon become the rule rather than the exception, and it could be exactly what’s needed to launch HTML5 into stardom and put these Flash or no Flash debates behind us.

In related news, we’re also seeing that a couple of iPad accessories won’t actually be ready to ship when the device itself cuts loose on April 3rd. Yesterday, the iPad Keyboard Dock was listed with a “May” ship date, though today it has moved up to a marginally more palatable “Late April.” The iPad 10W USB Power Adapter also carries a “May” date, while the iPad Case is slated for “Mid April” and that elusive camera connection kit is still nowhere to be found. But hey, at least you’ll get your (overpriced) iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter and iPad dock by the first weekend of next month, right?

NPR and WSJ building ‘Flash-free’ pages for iPad, Apple quietly delays select iPad accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ArsTechnica  |  sourceAll Things D, Apple Store  | Email this | Comments

Windows Phone 7 tablet concept is just a big iPhone (video)

How’s that headline treating you? Surely the same criticism leveled at the iPad holds true for this tablet concept running the Windows Phone 7 smartphone OS right? Maybe. But it’s certainly advantageous to see all those metro UI panels laid out as a single image instead of a series of vertical slices suitable to a mobile handset. And a pair of backside joysticks and double-duty touch QWERTY / viewing stand are nice features as well. Nevertheless, we already have a fictitious lover in the Courier who we’re not quite ready to betray even if the designer is named Umang Dokey, okey? Test your own nobility in the video after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 tablet concept is just a big iPhone (video)

Windows Phone 7 tablet concept is just a big iPhone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceRecombu  | Email this | Comments

Viv magazine iPad concept is sin city, man (video)

Want to get our attention in a hurry? Tip us on a digital magazine concept for the iPad that combines footage captured by a prototype RED Mysterium-X sensor from inside of a Frank Miller style, noir hellscape. Of course, just because it was created for the iPad doesn’t mean that the concept isn’t applicable to any of the hundreds (not an exaggeration) of tablet devices destined to arrive over the next year. The feature concept, created by Alexx Henry and Andrew Grant together with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung, redefines the art of infotainment. And make no mistake: as mainstream media fights for eyeballs this is blood for blood and by the gallon. These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They’re back. There’s no choice left. And publishers are ready for war. See the video (and making of) after the break.

Update: While the making-of video says the footage was shot using a “RED Epic M-X Sensor” a screen grab of the actual camera shows that it’s a RED ONE, not an Epic. Image after the break.

Continue reading Viv magazine iPad concept is sin city, man (video)

Viv magazine iPad concept is sin city, man (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePlanet5D  | Email this | Comments

ExoPC delayed till summer, getting specification upgrades to dull the pain

Now that the tablet PC revolution is upon us (for the second time in as many decades, if you’ll recall), there’s bound to be a few that really stick out, and a few that get left in the dust. ExoPC is doing its darnedest to be grouped in the former, and it’s choosing to hold off on rushing things out in hopes of delivering a superior product to the world this summer. If you’ll recall, we heard that the 8.9-inch slate would originally be out and about this month, but the company’s own Jean-Baptiste Martinoli has informed us directly why the ship date is being pushed back a few months. For starters, production has been shifted from China into Canada thanks to a freshly signed deal with CiaraTech. And if you’re wondering what you’ll get in return for waiting just a few more months to get your hands on one, we’ve excellent news. Here’s the good word straight from the outfit:

“With [CiaraTech’s] help we are improving the specs: better processor, graphics, better battery life, thinner, better screen and touch panel. We should hit FCC soon. As we have more time we are adding more features in the ExoPC UI Layer (ex. an app / media store).”

We aren’t exactly big on waiting, but we’ll let that other tablet keep us company until this one finally gets its shipping papers. Summer ain’t too far out, now is it?

ExoPC delayed till summer, getting specification upgrades to dull the pain originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Reportedly Working on Tablet

samsung-ebookreader.jpgAPCMag has claimed an exclusive: that Samsung will be developing a slate tablet to ship sometime in the second half of 2010.

As others have noted, the hardware details are sketchy. But it appears that APC, traveling to the Samsung Forum “as a guest of Samsung,” connected with enough Samsung executives to convince me that the company plans to manufacture some sort of tablet. Will it ship to the U.S.? If so, for how much? And what processor will it run? Will it be some sort of an e-reader, like the Samsung model above, or an iPad-like device?

All interesting questions, which will have to wait to be answered until Samsung ships its device.

Samsung confirms slate PC in the works

Well, the details are extremely thin here folks, but it looks like Samsung’s working on a tablet PC — or ‘slate’ if you’re into the new fangled lingo — just like pretty much every other manufacturer on the planet. Speaking with APC (the website, not the clothier), Philip Newton, director of Samsung Australia’s IT division, said that the company is working on a slate PC for the second half of 2010 that will have “PC-grade processing power and connectivity” — two things Newton had previously cited as the main things lacking in the iPad. That’s really all there is to go on — no specs or features mentioned, though Samsung has been vaguely hinting that the tablet, when it appears, will run on Intel’s Atom platform, which sounds about right. We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?

Samsung confirms slate PC in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink JKK Mobile  |  sourceAPC  | Email this | Comments

JooJoo refund issues creating some bad juju

Given the legally-disputed origins of the JooJoo and the current shipping delays, you’d think Fusion Garage would scrupulously maintain a squeaky-clean image with its customers as it leads up to launch, but it looks like it wasn’t quite prepared to handle refunds in a sensible way — we just confirmed that the company asked a customer for his bank account information in order to deposit a refund directly after running into some troubles with PayPal. Here’s the relevant exchange:

“Support Joojoo” wrote:

Dear Rony,

We have checked this at our end and there seems to be a problem with
refunding via paypal.

To avoid any further wait time, could you send us your bank name, bank
account name, bank account number, sort or swift code and your bank address.

We will have a direct transfer done to your bank account. If you could
provide us the details today, we will ensure that the refund hits your bank
account by friday of this week.

Please advise . Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Fusion Garage tells us that this customer actually changed his mind about getting a refund several times, and that they’ve only had three customers with refund issues, all of which were related to problems with PayPal issuing credit long after pre-orders were placed. While it’s uncommon here in the States (and obviously this buyer wasn’t keen on it), bank to bank transfers are the norm in Europe and widely used for the wiring of cash across international lines. Clearly after the issues with PayPal, however, the idea of handing over bank details doesn’t seem appealing in this case. We’ll see how everyone feels when that promised March 25 ship date rolls around, and we’ll let you know what happens with Rony and his refund when we find out more. Maybe next time just mail a check, guys.

JooJoo refund issues creating some bad juju originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Homegrown Wacom Cintiq LCD tablet comes to life through prefab DIY enclosure

Dropped a stack of change on a premium Wacom drawing tablet, only to find yourself with Cintiq envy? Got an old laptop handy? If so, odds are good that you’ve occasionally (or persistently, for that matter) thought about hacking together an LCD tablet of your very own. Problem is, the mods we’ve seen require some serious shop time — building a custom enclosure isn’t for the lighthearted, you know? But if you’re in possession of a sizable Wacom Intuos and roughly $220 of post-tax cheddar, TabletMod.com has a purpose-built, laser-cut acrylic enclosure with your name on it. You’ll still need an LCD controller kit and CCFL extenders, and there’s still a chance you’ll be paying more for the whole kit and caboodle than if you just got a low-end $1,000 Cintiq 12WX to begin with — but if you’ve already got half the parts lying around (or you’re just dying to scratch another DIY itch), this project might be worth your while. Cheapskates like us, however, will continue to wait for the Bamboo variety, though you can certainly dabble in the source link if you’re scouting some instructional videos.

Homegrown Wacom Cintiq LCD tablet comes to life through prefab DIY enclosure originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack A Day  |  sourcePonoko, TabletMod.com  | Email this | Comments