Apple Tablet rumor roundup: NYT speaks of ‘impending Apple slate,’ new SIM tray leaks (video)

Bear with us as we bring you the latest rumors related to the most important product that never was: the Apple tablet. Today we have a pair of rumors bubbling to the surface of a delicious tattle brew. First, the SIM card tray pictured above said to be procured from Foxconn (the rumored Apple tablet manufacturer) and available for $14.05 starting October 23rd for the 4th generation iPhone / iTablet… whatever the mythical host device might ultimately be named. It’s certainly different than the tray found in previous gen iPhones and its chunkier appearance would be suitable for a larger GSM device. Plausible yes, though really, such a SIM tray could be used anywhere.

There’s also a pretty big fuss being made this morning over remarks made by Bill Keller, executive editor at the New York Times responsible for the NYT‘s web presence. Speaking at an all-hands meeting with the Times’ digital staff, the supposedly off-the-record speech somehow made its way to Vimeo. Here’s the quote that has Apple fanatics and old-media revivalists in a tizzy:

“I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.”

Now, it’s hard to tell if Keller is speaking from insider information or if he’s just another member of the media convinced that Apple’s tablet will be launched in the New Year. Then again, as Keller himself points out, Apple has always had a special relationship with his paper as routinely demonstrated in Apple’s ads that use the New York Times landing page as proof of the “real internet” browsing capabilities of the iPod touch and iPhone. And with Apple supposedly in content delivery talks with the nation’s newspaper of record, well, the remarks that begin at about 8:15 are certainly suspicious. Listen for yourself after the break.

[Via Gawker, thanks Robert S.]

Read — SIM Tray
Read — NYT ‘impending Apple slate’

Continue reading Apple Tablet rumor roundup: NYT speaks of ‘impending Apple slate,’ new SIM tray leaks (video)

Filed under: ,

Apple Tablet rumor roundup: NYT speaks of ‘impending Apple slate,’ new SIM tray leaks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dell’s rugged Latitude XT2 XFR tablet busts through the FCC

Like the Thing to the Adamo XPS‘ Mister Fantastic, Dell’s Latitude XT2 XFR tablet would rather impress someone by smashing things than sliding effortlessly into a bag (or envelop as it were), but we’re guessing there’s plenty of folks that are more than happy to have things that way. Somewhat curiously, however, Dell isn’t doing much talking about this one itself on this seemingly convenient day, but the FCC thankfully is, thanks to a roundabout filing from Novatel. That latter detail of course means that this one will have plenty of wireless options (including 3G), but it otherwise looks to basically be a beefed-up version of Dell’s existing Latitude XT2 — and, incidentally, Dell’s first rugged tablet.

Filed under:

Dell’s rugged Latitude XT2 XFR tablet busts through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Aspire 1420p tablet cameos on Acer’s US site, at Chinese press event

He’s twisting away from the camera because he’s shy, obviously. Acer’s Aspire 1420p tablet made an appearance today at a Chinese press event, and our regional Engadget correspondents were there to grab as many glimpses as their cameras would allow. What makes it even sweet, though, is knowing this little guy’s coming to the states, as a rough product page was found on Acer’s US site. From what we read, it’s got a 11.6-inch LED-backlit multitouch screen with WXGA resolution, an Intel Celeron processor with integrated graphics, up to 8GB RAM and 320GB HDD, 802.11b/g/Draft-N, Bluetooth, a multi-card reader, webcam, and optional 3G. Some secrets remain, of course, like price and release date — where’s Encyclopedia Brown when you really need him?

[Thanks, Dennis L]

Read – US product page
Read – Engadget Chinese hands-on

Filed under: ,

Aspire 1420p tablet cameos on Acer’s US site, at Chinese press event originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Is Dell Working on a Mobile Internet Device?

Dell’s plans for Google’s Android operating system could go beyond cellphones. Leaked photos and a video (above) show Dell may have a mobile internet device (MID) running Android 2.0 in the works.

The device codenamed ‘Streak’ looks bigger than a smartphone and has a vivid touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera and WiFi connectivity.

Streak will be Dell’s second attempt Android-based device. Dell has said it plans to launch an Android smartphone in the U.S. next year. Android has become a favorite among mobile phone makers such as Motorola and HTC because it is open source and can be customized easily. The OS has now extended its tentacles to gadgets beyond cellphones. Barnes & Noble’s e-book reader Nook launched Tuesday uses Android OS.

“Dell continually develops and tests new products that extend the mobile experience. We have not made any product announcements and do not comment on speculation, rumor or unannounced products,” says a Dell representative.

The MID category that Dell is targeting with Streak is a tricky one. MIDs have been the star of Intel’s annual developer conferences for the last two years. Yet these devices–neither as compact as a mobile phone nor as versatile as a netbook–have found it difficult to grab consumer attention. Based on what we can see, Streak doesn’t look much different from current MIDs.

Instead, Dell may be better off focusing its resources on creating a tablet, rumors of which we have heard before.

See Also:


Gigabyte T1028X and M1022X netbooks launch in Japan, Win 7 in tow

In anticipation of the Thursday’s launch, the crazy kids at Gigabyte Japan have refreshed two of their netbook lineup to include Windows 7 Starter. Unfortunately for the T1028X tablet we’ve been tracking for a while now, this flavor of the OS doesn’t support multitouch. While that makes a touchscreen far less attractive in our eyes, maybe you’re into that sort of thing. Who knows? That said, new OS aside, you’re pretty much looking at the same old netvertible. Also on tap, the M1022X brings the M1022M docking netbook up to speed, adding a 6 cell battery (boasting 8 hours of use) to the 10.1-inch, Atom N280-powered ultraportable. Look for that one to retail for ¥66,800 ($738) while the T1028X fetches ¥72,800 ($804).

[Via Netbooked]

Filed under: ,

Gigabyte T1028X and M1022X netbooks launch in Japan, Win 7 in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apples Abnormal Air Freight Fees Reignite Tablet Speculation

When it comes to Apple, you take rumors where you can get them; when a company is so tight-lipped, inspiration comes from strange places. Recently most rumors have been the result of leaks from third-party manufacturers in countries such as Taiwan. This morning, however, everyone seems to be going nuts over the company’s “abnormal” increase in air freight.

Asked to address the bump, COO Tim Cook said that it “is not related to the iPhone.” Otherwise he refused to comment. “I’m sorry I can’t be specific on the product but it’s an abnormal sequential increase,” he told the press. The bump is also not likely an increased shipment of iPods–Apple’s music players have actually been taking a sales hit as of late.

So, what is it? A tablet? Seems like the most logical cause. But hey, this is Apple we’re talking about, so your guess is as good as ours.

Archos 5 firmware 1.1.01 rights all wrongs?

Charbax of ArchosFans.com reports that the majority of issues encountered by early adopters of the Android-equipped Archos 5 Internet Tablet (not to be confused with the older Internet Media Tablet, ugh) have been remedied by the caped crusader that is firmware revision 1.1.01. Forum members do seem to corroborate that the previously habitual lockups are no more, but the complex update procedure has already (probably temporarily) bricked one user’s device, while another still has random disconnects when transferring files from his PC under the new firmware. Still, if you’ve been among the unfortunate victims of the sloppy original software, this is a ray of light for you, and the read link — featuring input from a source within Archos — should be considered required reading.

Filed under: , ,

Archos 5 firmware 1.1.01 rights all wrongs? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Purported Motorola roadmap uncovers Sholes Tablet, Motus and other mythical mysteries

Okay folks, this is the moment where hauling a spoonful of NaCl down the chute would be highly recommended. DialAPhone seems to have unearthed what looks like a Q4 2009 – Q1 2010 Motorola roadmap, and while the finds are certainly intriguing, we’re still hesitant to believe this thing is legit. For starters, this is obviously a European plan, so what we’re viewing here may never make the tedious journey across the pond anyway. Secondly, how many of you honestly believe Moto’s cooking up a Sholes Tablet? Exactly. That said, we’d be the first to drool should that device (or the Motus and / or Zeppelin) launch early next year, and you can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll be scraping the floor for details when CES kicks off in just a few months.

[Thanks, dejan]

Filed under:

Purported Motorola roadmap uncovers Sholes Tablet, Motus and other mythical mysteries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet

MyDellMini forum member Rob928, take a bow. This honorable gentleman has only gone and transformed an aging 9-inch netbook into a new-fashioned internet tablet. it might still be a chubby little thing, but there’s no denying the usefulness of using the entire screen to navigate instead of the usually cramped netbook touchpad. With a 16GB SSD upgrade alongside the venerable Atom N270 and 1GB of RAM, this device will even boot faster into Windows than your run-of-the-mill netbook. The read link will reveal all, including more shots of the hardware laid bare.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: ,

Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fujitsu goes multitouch with a bevy of Windows 7 machines (video)

Not that there’s any shortage of choice in the touchscreen all-in-one space, but Fujitsu seems keen on covering all the bases with its latest product unveiling. The headline F series (pictured) will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 processor, which represents 2.53GHz of ultra-efficient and plenty capable laptop hardware, and 4GB of RAM. Machines can be had in 23- or 20-inch varieties, with respective resolutions of 1920 x 1080 and 1600 x 900. There’s also the MT series of 12.1-inch convertible tablets, which come with WACOM functionality and up to an SU9400 Intel CPU. Perhaps the most esoteric new offerings, however, are the NF/ER (laptops) and F/ER (desktops), which combine the hip new multitouch skills with specially designed keyboard and mouse inputs, as well as a support hotline, all in the name of getting the older generation in on the computing craze. Video lies after the break, or check out the Akihabara News link below for a full gallery of images.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading Fujitsu goes multitouch with a bevy of Windows 7 machines (video)

Filed under:

Fujitsu goes multitouch with a bevy of Windows 7 machines (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments