Hasta La Gadget!

Regardless of how you might feel about the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation, it came in mighty handy today — identifying this brand-new Sony S2 tablet headed to the USA. The FCC recently got a glimpse at Sir Howard’s dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell, and thanks to the public portion of their reports, we’ve got some crucial specs: the Sony “SGPT211US” will sport 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and most tellingly, 850MHz and 1900MHz 3G bands suggesting a launch on AT&T. Now, those frequencies are certainly also used by several prominent Canadian carriers, but it just so happens that this particular model tested is a US variant — with others designated for Canada and Japan — and this particular cellular module is the Ericsson F5521gw, which means we could even be looking at 21Mbps HSPA+ speeds. Before you start speculating, however, there’s one more crucial spec to share: the prototypes apparently have a removable 3080mAh lithium-ion battery pack. Swell.

Continue reading Sony’s dual-screen S2 tablet hits the FCC, boasting AT&T-ready cellular frequencies

Sony’s dual-screen S2 tablet hits the FCC, boasting AT&T-ready cellular frequencies originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were expecting some news out Archos this month and sure enough, here it is. The company has just announced that it will unveil its new Generation 9 Honeycomb tablets at a Paris event, on June 23rd. The company’s third Android slate, as you may recall, was originally expected to launch at September’s IFA trade show, but that date was later pushed up — meaning we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of its shiny 1.6GHz ARM A9 dual-core chip and so-called “revolutionary” 3G modem in just a few weeks. Archos certainly seems to have high expectations for the device, as well, having scheduled its debut at no less a prestigious venue than the Ritz Hotel. We’ll be there (in our finest threads) to cover the event as it unfolds.

[Thanks, Marien]

Archos puttin’ on the Ritz for its Generation 9 Honeycomb tablets, coming June 23 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s sequel to the first 7-inch Galaxy Tab touts a bigger screen and thinner chassis. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Samsung announced Thursday morning that its latest Android tablet is slated for release next week, but initially only in Manhattan, and only in one store.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits the shelves in New York City’s Union Square Best Buy on June 8, exclusively available from the store for over a week. The tablet won’t roll out in wider release until 10 days later, on June 17.

Initially available in a Wi-Fi only version, the new Galaxy Tab’s price is on par with Apple’s iPad 2 Wi-Fi version. Each costs $500 for 16 GB of storage, and $600 for the 32-GB model.

Verizon announced there will also be a 4G version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 on its LTE network, available for pre-order June 8. Though the company hasn’t given a ship date for 4G tablets pre-ordered that day, it’s interesting to think that Samsung will be the first to release a 4G-capable device.

Motorola’s Xoom — the flagship tablet for Android’s tablet-optimized Honeycomb operating system — promised 4G connectivity on Verizon’s network, but didn’t launch with it. Xoom owners are waiting to mail in their devices for a 4G upgrade, though Motorola and Verizon haven’t announced when the process will begin.

4G-enabled versions of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 cost $530 and $630 for the 16- and 32-GB models, respectively.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 enters the already-clogged tablet market with a list of specs similar to others. It’s powered by Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor, has front- and back-facing cameras, and as the name suggests, a 10.1-inch display.

But with a svelte 8.6-mm waist, Samsung’s is currently the thinnest tablet offering from manufacturers, even skinnier than the iPad 2’s 8.8 mm. And unlike a number of other devices we’ve seen, the new tablet will ship with Android version 3.1 (Honeycomb). The Xoom was the first device to run Android 3.1, and up until Asus’ Transformer received an over-the-air update to the software version this week, Motorola’s tablet was the only tablet with the latest software version.

Remember that Mirasol e-reader display Qualcomm was hoping to release this year? Yeah, it’s not happening. Speaking at a press briefing in San Diego yesterday, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that the 5.7-inch panel has been abandoned after failing to meet expectations. Instead, the company will devote its attention to the “next version” of the technology, which has Jacobs feeling optimistic:

“We have a really interesting roadmap — we’re starting out on e-readers because we figured having E Ink as a competing technology was a good way to get started. But if you think about the power consumption of the screens that are out now [on tablets], they’re very bright OLED screens that use up a lot of the power of the battery. We don’t today have as vibrant color as an OLED display – but we have a roadmap that gets us to a much brighter color.”

Presumably, this roadmap would include that low-power “converged e-reader” we heard about a few weeks ago, slated for release by the end of the year. Jacobs also mentioned that Qualcomm is planning to invest a billion dollars in its Taiwan Mirasol plant, which might help produce the kind of volume that, say, Amazon would demand for its Kindle displays. It’s all speculation, of course, but Qualcomm certainly seems to have some big plans in store for the rest of the year.

Qualcomm CEO confirms death of 5.7-inch Mirasol e-reader display, looks forward to ‘next version’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wondering when you can get your own Galaxy Tab 10.1, one that exchanges the cute field of robots on the back for an upgrade to Android 3.1? It appears that day is next week, with the NYC Best Buy in Union Square becoming the first to offer this tablet on Wednesday, June 8th. Those outside of the boroughs will be able to purchase theirs on the 17th, when this hunk of Honeycomb hits other retailers. The price? 16GB for $499, 32GB for $599, all in WiFi-only, though Sprint is said to start selling a similarly non-3G version sometime this summer. The press release below also confirms that the UI has been tweaked, adding in TouchWiz UX customizations, so it won’t be an entirely pure experience, but just how unclean it will be remains to be seen.

Update: We’ve confirmed with Samsung that the TouchWiz customization will actually come as a later, OTA update to the device, which we presume means it’ll be optional — at least initially.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits NYC Best Buy June 8, nationwide on June 17

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits NYC Best Buy June 8, nationwide on June 17 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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