Jan 05

3D UI patent snapped up by Apple in 2008: could be bases-covering, could be life-changing

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, multitouch, tablet, Today's Chili

We’ve seen this done badly so many time that it’s hard to imagine anyone so self serious as Apple taking a crack at it (even if they’ve already done so in the desktop space), but for whatever reason the company picked up this 3D UI patent back in 2008 under the guise of a few French employees. The patent was just released in December, and describes in some detail a method of zooming around in 3D using multitouch. Of course, this picture seems to imply that it’s for jumping through some representative icons on a 3D plane, but the patent seems more concerned with the core mechanics of using multiple fingers at once to get around in 3D space and manipulate 3D objects — and then going to great lengths to cover Apple’s back in regards to multitouch, capacitive touch, and “multifunction” devices. So, this could be something we see in “the tablet,” the next iPhone or even never, but at least we can rest assured that pinch to zoom won’t be the only multitouch game in town forever.

3D UI patent snapped up by Apple in 2008: could be bases-covering, could be life-changing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Baltimore Sun  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 05

Haleron’s iLet 10-inch tablet starts cheap, gets expensive, ships next week

Posted in: 10-inch, multitouch, tablet, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7
Haleron's iLet 10-inch tablet starts cheap, gets expensive
You have no shortage of tablet options these days and trust us: by the time the week is through you’ll have many, many more. The Joojoo has been the most notable of late, but if you’re looking to save a little money and don’t mind a clunkier form-factor, Haleron’s Mio iLet (internet tablet) could be an alternative. It starts at $419 and for that you get a 10-inch, 1024 x 600 multitouch screen, 1.6GHz Atom N450, a 160GB HDD, 802.11a/b/g wireless, and a lovely pleather carrying case. Cough up another $100 and you’ll get 3G, a further $50 for quad-band GSM, and upwards of $260 more for a bigger drive. Finally, GPS will set you back another $75, turning what was a solid value into something a bit… more. Windows 7 is at least free, but instead of Tablet edition it seems instead to feature a special version celebrating the Seven Deadly Sins. The iLet is said to be shipping next week, so if you order now you could find out what comes in the box before the month is through.

Haleron’s iLet 10-inch tablet starts cheap, gets expensive, ships next week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink lilliputing  |  sourceHaleron  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 04

HP TM2-1070US tablet details leaked, is temporarily out of stock

Posted in: HP, leak, tablet, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7
HP TM2-1070US tablet details leaked, is temporarily out of stock
Wondering about HP’s TM2 tablet we heard about back in September? Read on and sate thy curiosity, as eCost seems to have updated their database a bit early, spoiling HP’s fun and, if this is accurate, confirming the detailed specs of the TM2-1070US. It’s packing a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo processor behind a 12.1-inch multitouch screen, 4500MHD integrated graphics, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB disk, and even a fingerprint scanner, all in an aluminum case that’s been given the “factory custom” treatment with some laser etching. It’s listed next to a $1,099 price, which seems fair enough, though the site still won’t let you order one at this point. We’re guessing this one will stay “temporarily out of stock” until HP gets the druthers to make it official. That should be soon enough.

[Thanks, Liam]

HP TM2-1070US tablet details leaked, is temporarily out of stock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceeCost  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 04

Freescale’s $200 Design Shows Tablet Possibilities

Posted in: Notebooks, tablet, Today's Chili

freescale-design

While gadget enthusiasts wait for the fabled but possibly $1,000 tablet from Apple, cheaper alternatives are possible, says Freescale Semiconductor.

The company has created a tablet reference design featuring a 7-inch touch screen and has a a form factor that is approximately a third the size and volume of a typical netbook. The idea is to help PC manufacturers create a device that uses the company ARM processor and is priced at less than $200.

“Freescale’s new tablet is optimized to support common online activities including social media, high-quality audio and video playback and light gaming,”says Henri Richard, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Freescale. “We believe the tablet will emerge as a popular form factor for the next generation of smartbooks.”

Freescale’s tablet design offers instant-on functionality and all-day battery life, says the company. It plans to show some prototypes running the Android and Linux operating systems at the Consumer Electronics Show later this week.

The tablet includes a i.MX515 processor that uses ARM Cortex A8 technology, 512 MB memory, 4 GB to 64 GB internal storage, a 3-megapixel camera and an accelerometer.

The device also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and support for 3G connectivity. The tablet has a web browser with Flash player, PDF and image viewers, a mail client, RSS reader, office suite, handwriting utilities and widgets for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, weather, text messages and other applications.

Freescale says products based on the design could hit retail shelves in the summer of 2010. But that’s only if some of the Taiwanese PC manufacturers buy the idea.

Photo: Freescale smartbook designs/Freescale


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Jan 04

‘Major’ Apple announcement coming January 27th, devs already working with beta SDK (update: shipping in March)

Posted in: Apple, rumor, speculation, tablet, Today's Chili

According John Paczkowski over at All Things D, Apple is planning a “major product announcement” for Wednesday, January 27th — not the 26th as we’ve heard in previous reports. Additionally, the French site Mac4Ever says developers have been given a beta of the iPhone OS 4 SDK which includes a “simulator” for reformatting / scaling applications to a new, tablet-sized screens. Here at Engadget, we can confirm that sources very familiar with the situation over in Cupertino have been given info about a tablet heading for launch at the end of January, which will — in fact — require reformatting and resizing for (we assume)… yep, its new screen size and resolution. As far as details, they’re pretty scarce right now, but you can probably begin preliminary salivating and / or player hatin’ as it relates to new Apple hardware. We’ll have more info as it becomes available, but for now, stay tuned.

Update: The Wall Street Journal just added its support for the rumor by saying that Apple will unveil its “new multimedia tablet device later this month” with a “10- to 11-inch touch screen” with plans to ship it in March. The WSJ’s sources claim that Apple believes it can “redefine the way consumers interact with a variety of content” as we’ve been hearing all along. [Thanks, David]

‘Major’ Apple announcement coming January 27th, devs already working with beta SDK (update: shipping in March) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAll Things D, Mac4Ever  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 04

Be.ez Offers Protection for Tablet Owners

Posted in: tablet, Today's Chili

BEEZWacomTablet.jpg

Designers, if you cart your Wacom tablet around with you, you certainly don’t want to risk scratching it up. Be.ez (pronounced “be easy”) has the answer with a line of attractive LA Robe sleeves for Wacom Intuos4 and Bamboo tablets. All of them have a black exterior and a green interior. The sleeves are 5mm thick and have an inner lip for storing the tablet’s pen and pen tips.

The LA Robe sleeve for small Wacom Bamboo tablets costs $19.99, and the medium sleeve costs $24.99. The sleeve for small Intuos4 tablets costs $24.99, while the Intuos4 medium sleeve is $29.99.

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Jan 03

Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200

Posted in: arm, tablet, Today's Chili

Freescale Semiconductor is helping to kick this year’s CES off with a bang, as its latest reference smartbook design actually has somewhat of a sexy flair to it. Currently, the model is little more than a great idea, but the company is hoping to have it available for partner evaluation starting next month. In theory, at least, this “smartbook tablet” would boast an ultrathin form factor, weigh around 0.8 pounds and get powered by a 1GHz i.MX515 processor. Other specs would include 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 touch panel, 4GB to 64GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, optional 3G WWAN module, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, a USB 2.0 socket, audio in / out, 3 megapixel camera, inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a 1,900mAh battery. We aren’t quite sure what kind of bulk discounts Freescale is counting on, but it’s hoping that this design will “enable a second generation of smartbook products with prices less than $200.” We dig the ambition and all, but we’re guessing OEMs will actually want to turn a profit should they sign on to sell something like this.

Gallery: Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200

Continue reading Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200

Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 03

HTC testing out ‘touch tablets’ for Android and Chrome OS?

Posted in: adobe, Android, chrome os, ChromeOs, Google, handheld, HTC, qualcomm, rumor, slate, speculation, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, touchscreen

What good would the rumor mill be if it didn’t voice our innermost desires? Apparently not content with giving us the roomy 4.3-inch HD2, HTC is now said to be actively testing out fully fledged tablet devices. Slated (get it?) to be driven by Google’s Android and minimalist Chrome OS, multiple varieties are currently being run through their paces and there’s even word that “core HTC customers” will get to check them out at CES. Who these doyens are and whether they’ll be so kind as to leak us a few photos is unknown, but word is that Qualcomm and Adobe are engaged to provide their hardware and software knowhow — making for an impressive corporate combo if nothing else. This is still strictly uncorroborated, one-source rumormongering, but ain’t it fun?

HTC testing out ‘touch tablets’ for Android and Chrome OS? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Silicon Alley Insider  |  sourceSmartHouse  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 31

BPhone looks like a netbook, acts like a netbook, has ‘phone’ in its name (video)

Posted in: MID, slate, tablet, Today's Chili, Windows XP

If you were looking for a large and impractical “cellphone,” we just might have some news for you. Hot on the heels of a certain Dell netbook mod, we submit for your approval a 5-inch convertible device that features a QWERTY chocolate keyboard, trackball, and quite possibly Windows XP. We’ve got no relevant data for you, such as manufacturer, price, and release date are all mysteries at this point, but you can see it in action if you like — just check out the videos after the break. As for us, we think we’ll just wait for the xpPhone.

Continue reading BPhone looks like a netbook, acts like a netbook, has ‘phone’ in its name (video)

BPhone looks like a netbook, acts like a netbook, has ‘phone’ in its name (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Cloned in China  |  sourceM8 Cool  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 30

Apple tablet rumor party: Fox News, former Google China president, and the ‘iGuide’

Posted in: Apple, roundup, rumor, speculation, tablet, Today's Chili

No words can stress how much we’re sick of Apple ‘iSlate‘ rumors right now, but when someone with powerful links speaks up, we gotta take note. Kai-fu Lee — former Google China president — has joined the Apple rumor mill by leaking what he claims to be insider knowledge of the device. Now, we’ve heard a lot of this same noise before: sub-$1000 price, an iPhone-like appearance, 10.1-inch multitouch screen, video conferencing, cellular connectivity, 3D graphics and virtual keyboard. What really got our attention is Lee’s link with Foxconn — the Apple OEM is one of the main contributors to Lee’s post-Google investment venture, Innovation Works, so there’s a good chance that Lee’s spoken to someone overlooking the manufacturing of a certain Apple device. Of course, we can’t abide Lee’s final proclamation that “Apple expects to produce near ten million units in the first year!” This is pretty bold considering Apple’s only sold five million portable computers so far this year (and ten million was the number of iPods sold in Q3 2009 alone), but hey, who knows if Steve Jobs has already worked out a subsidizing plan with some carriers to lure us all?

Continue reading Apple tablet rumor party: Fox News, former Google China president, and the ‘iGuide’

Apple tablet rumor party: Fox News, former Google China president, and the ‘iGuide’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The iPhone Blog, CNET  |  sourceKai-fu Lee’s microblog, Fox News, Mac Rumors  | Email this | Comments

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