Hasta La Gadget!

Several 9to5Mac readers noticed a rather peculiar phenomenon this last week — their freshly-ordered Verizon iPad 2 units shipped all the way from China just fine, only to boomerang back to sender right before delivery time. Now, Reuters has the official word: Apple’s recalling an “extremely small number” of Verizon iPad 2s which were flashed with a duplicate MEID code. Should they have been delivered, users would probably have found themselves unable to connect to 3G, or booted off before long, as Verizon reportedly can only have one device with that unique identifier on the network at once. We’re not sure whether to applaud, but it’s good to see manufacturers taking responsibility for their hardware before it hits shelves.

Update: We spoke with Apple about this, who wouldn’t give us much beyond the official quote — which is, for the record: “Duplicate MEID codes were flashed onto an extremely small number of iPad units for the Verizon 3G network.” That said, we were able to confirm that a few of these 3G iPad 2s sneaked through and got into the hands of customers. Apple is, of course, replacing those free of charge, so if you’re in possession of a brand new iPad that was never able to get on 3G… you know who to call.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple returns a few Verizon iPad 2s to sender (updated: some got through) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio hasn’t had much to say about its tablet plans since it entered the fray at CES in January, but it looks like things are now starting to pick up again, and fast. We just got wind of a listing for a Vizio VTAB1008 tablet priced at just $349 in Walmart’s system earlier this week, and now that same device has passed through the FCC — which, if you place the two together, could well indicate that a launch may finally be imminent. Unfortunately, the FCC listing doesn’t provide much in the way of details beyond the crude outline above and some expected specs (WiFi, Bluetooth and HDMI), but the agency has only been asked to hold back the confidential parts of the filing until August 30th, so we should at least know more by then at the latest.

Vizio’s VTAB1008 tablet hits the FCC: your $349 slate now one step closer to shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here in the US and Canada, we’re already worrying about things like recalls, while the rest of world is still waiting for its crack at the original BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM today announced that its enterprise-friendly tablet will be hitting 16 more markets over the next 30 days — though some of the locations, like the UK, have already been announced (you guys will be getting the thing in a mere six days). Recipients include Hong Kong, India, and Australia — check out the full list in the form of a press release after the break. And when you’re done let’s start talking next-generation specs.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook rolling out internationally over the next month

BlackBerry PlayBook rolling out internationally over the next month originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shadowgun looked good when we saw footage of it last month, and at E3 2011 we got to chat with the game’s creators about the Tegra-optimized title. Madfinger, the game’s creator, worked closely with NVIDIA to wring the maximum performance possible out of the Tegra 2 platform, but it said Shadowgun will still look stunning on other silicon. The game is built on the multi-platform Unity engine and will be coming to iOS and Android devices around the world in September (prices TBD). As you can see in the video above, it runs smooth as silk on an LG G2x (55-60fps) and Motorola’s Xoom (30fps). Madfinger said we can also expect 60fps on the iPad 2 and devices packing Kal-El chips, and 30fps on other Android handsets and the iPhone 4 when the game debuts. If you’ve got a hankering for some more video of the game, check the official trailer after the break.

Continue reading Madfinger demos and dishes details on its forthcoming Shadowgun game

Madfinger demos and dishes details on its forthcoming Shadowgun game originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon may not be shipping HP’s first webOS tablet until July 17th, but why wait? The outfit itself just affirmed that the long-awaited TouchPad will go on sale to eager Americans on July 1st, with the UK, Ireland, France and Germany a few days later (and Canada in mid-July). Following that, a phased rollout will take it to Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain “later this year.” It’ll be on sale pretty much everywhere for $499.99 (16GB) / $599.99 (32GB) — or £399 / £479 across the pond — with pre-orders starting at your favorite e-tailer just ten days from today. For those looking for a highly connected version HP also made clear that it’ll be partnering with AT&T for a 3G (or will it be “4G?”) edition later in the summer. Head on past the break for a look at the full retail partner list, and yeah, yesterday would be a great time to start saving up.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Official: HP TouchPad ships July 1st in US, 3G model coming to AT&T ‘this summer’

Official: HP TouchPad ships July 1st in US, 3G model coming to AT&T ‘this summer’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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