Original iPad retrofitted to play nice with Smart Cover, magnets largely to thank (video)

Although we don’t exactly know how they work, magnets are one of Earth’s many fascinations and are used in many gadgets today — perhaps most notably in Apple’s new Smart Covers. As you might have already known, the iPad 2’s first party screen concealer uses a bunch of magnets to make the magic happen; it snaps on and fits almost too well. By taking a few rare earth magnets and gluing them to the original slate’s hip, blogger Dan Provost is able to use a Smart Cover with the iPad uno. He positioned them according to how they stuck to the hinge of the cover, which explains the lack of spacing between the four magnets. As you’ll see in the video, Apple’s screen protector works well with the tablet, but it lacks the auto-unlock mechanism found in the iPad 2. Care to give your original iPad a taste of modernity? Hit the more coverage link to find the main ingredient for this DIY project.

Original iPad retrofitted to play nice with Smart Cover, magnets largely to thank (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC’s WiFi-only Flyer launching exclusively with Best Buy ‘this spring’

Now that it’s received its big US debut courtesy of Sprint and under the name EVO View 4G, HTC’s Flyer tablet is free to, um, fly under the radar with a WiFi version this spring, exclusively through Best Buy. Specs on the Flyer are somewhat atypical for the current crop of Android tablets, as it opts for Gingerbread instead of Honeycomb and a 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip intead of the popular Tegra 2 dual-core solution. That, and it’s a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive stylus and an aluminum unibody shell. Notably, this WiFi-centric variant looks set to beat the WiMAX-capable EVO View (which Sprint expects in the summer) to market, so we’ll be keeping a very curious eye on pricing as and when it is announced. For now, we have a retailer and a rapidly dwindling release window. Oh, and a press release, which you’ll find just past the break, augmented with a neat little promo video.

[Thanks, Michael]

Continue reading HTC’s WiFi-only Flyer launching exclusively with Best Buy ‘this spring’

HTC’s WiFi-only Flyer launching exclusively with Best Buy ‘this spring’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T nabs Acer Iconia Tab A501, expect it in the summer months

We were pretty sure Acer’s Iconia Tab would be riding Big Red — you know, given the LTE modem and Verizon apps on board — but it looks like the company will also support America’s GSM juggernaut with a “4G” radio of some sort. AT&T just announced that the Acer Iconia Tab A501 will bring the 10.1-inch Honeycomb form factor and dual-core 1GHz Tegra 250 processor to its network sometime in Q2, giving the carrier a Android rival to Sprint’s HTC EVO View 4G, T-Mobile’s LG G-Slate, and of course Verizon’s Motorola Xoom. How many Benjamins will it take to bring one home? Now that, my friends, is the question. You can join us in failing to find the answer in a press release below.

Continue reading AT&T nabs Acer Iconia Tab A501, expect it in the summer months

AT&T nabs Acer Iconia Tab A501, expect it in the summer months originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s HTC EVO View 4G hands-on (video)

Well, if you were keeping abreast of the happenings at Mobile World Congress, then Sprint’s EVO View 4G launched today at CTIA may seem pretty familiar to the HTC Flyer you saw there. These two HTC devices are essentially the same, with just a couple of minor cosmetic differences and some UI changes shown in the video that follows. We’re still not completely sure about the Scribe pen, though it certainly is an entertaining thing to play with. The Evernote app makes great use of the stylus allowing images to be scribbled on and saved, notes recorded — with voice and your text input — and of course everything can be shared. We’re not massive humans here at Engadget, and we’re happy to report that the device can still stay planted fairly comfortably in hand. A standout amenity is the ability to drop apps from the lockscreen onto a small target, and have that app open immediately rather than having to go find it once you’ve unlocked the device. All this and more is just below the fold.

Continue reading Sprint’s HTC EVO View 4G hands-on (video)

Sprint’s HTC EVO View 4G hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint makes EVO View 4G tablet official: 1.5GHz, WiMAX, 7-inch screen, and a stylus to boot

Sprint has stopped playing coy about one of the worst-leaked devices in recent memory and has at long last made it official. The EVO View 4G is a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 Android tablet with a 1.5GHz processor, 5 megapixel rear- and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a WiMAX radio, and HTC’s loving application of Sense for a UI. If all this sounds familiar, it’ll be because we’re really talking about HTC’s Flyer tablet, introduced at last month’s MWC, and just like it, the EVO View will also feature the HTC Scribe capacitive stylus. The Evo View 4G will ship with 32GB of storage “this summer.” You’ll now find the full press release and spec sheet (including a healthy gigabyte of RAM and a 4000mAh battery) after the break, and some preliminary shots below. Full hands-on to come!

Continue reading Sprint makes EVO View 4G tablet official: 1.5GHz, WiMAX, 7-inch screen, and a stylus to boot

Sprint makes EVO View 4G tablet official: 1.5GHz, WiMAX, 7-inch screen, and a stylus to boot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Staples leak reveals April / June ship dates for Acer Iconia Tab, Toshiba tablet

Not to say Staples’ release schedule is the be-all-end-all resource when it comes to US availability, but we’ll take any guidance we can get when it comes to the two mystery products tucked beside Dell’s Streak and Apple’s iPad 2. According to this tablet lineup, Acer’s Iconia Tab will be hitting shelves for an undisclosed rate at the end of April, while the still unnamed Toshiba tablet gets loosed in mid-June. We’ll feel a lot better about the wait once these things are priced, but for now, you’ve got two more reasons to rush the rest of winter away — assuming you’re north of the Mason-Dixon, of course.

Staples leak reveals April / June ship dates for Acer Iconia Tab, Toshiba tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera delivers new Mini, Mobile browsers with pinch-to-zoom and shows off one for TVs

Web browser maker Opera is staying busy, unleashing several new versions of its product upon the populace today. Both of its on the go browsers have been updated with modern technology like pinch-to-zoom, sharing to other apps, improved scrolling and new tablet-friendly interfaces, while its also ready to show off a new version for set-top boxes and updating tools to help developers create apps for Opera-powered TVs. In case you need a scorecard, Opera Mini 6 (available for J2ME, Android, Blackberry, Symbian/S60) compresses pages before downloading them and Opera Mobile 11 (for Android, Symbian, Windows 7, MeeGo, Maemo) promises the entire web for those on high speed connections like WiFi, explaining the platform crossover. Peep the demo above or press releases after the break if you’re still not sure what pinch-to-zoom means in or just point your mobile browser to m.opera.com and download the latest version for your device — iOS need not apply at this time.

Continue reading Opera delivers new Mini, Mobile browsers with pinch-to-zoom and shows off one for TVs

Opera delivers new Mini, Mobile browsers with pinch-to-zoom and shows off one for TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0

You know who took the iPad 2 launch pretty seriously? Samsung, that’s who. Just as we had heard, the company’s executives were impressed by Apple’s ability to slim down its tablet and, well, it turns out that it took it as a challenge to come up with some thinner tablets of its own. That’s right, in addition to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 that we have seen repeatedly teased over the last few weeks the company’s announcing a totally revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1, and both slates are incredibly thin yet very well spec’d. On top of that, both will be the first Honeycomb tablets to stray from the pure Android 3.0 experience and add what Samsung’s taken to calling its TouchWiz UX or TouchWiz 4.0. We’ve got all the details and some hands-on impressions waiting below, so hit the break!

Updated: Samsung came clean with the pricing at its press conference this morning. The WiFi 10.1 will hit on June 8th — the 16GB version will cost you $499 and the 32GB $599. The 8.9 is $469 and $569 for 16GB and 32GB, respectively.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech launches Squeezebox Controller app for Android phones and tablets

We’re not certain this is the “ground-breaking new product” Logitech was hiring Android engineers for, but Squeezebox fans packing an Android tablet or phone have something new to download now that an official remote app is available. It gives full control over WiFi to all the Squeezeboxes you can fit in your home and brings the usual controls, metadata and album artwork from player to your mobile’s screen. While we’re still keeping our fingers crossed for a Vizio-style Android music box in the future if you have a 2.1 or later device in hand and a Squeezebox Touch, Boom, Duet or similar on the end table, you’ll want to head directly to that Market link below or check out the full description on Logitech’s site.

Logitech launches Squeezebox Controller app for Android phones and tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple slinging iPad 2 to 25 more countries this Friday, even more next month

Still having trouble locating an iPad 2 here in the US of A? Grab your passport, bub. Starting on Friday, March 25th, Apple will start hawking its latest and greatest tablet in 25 other nations, with sales to begin at 5PM local time through Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers (or 1AM online). ‘Course, this is a move we’ve been expecting all along, but at least the folks in Cupertino seem to be wasting no time in expanding availability. You can find the full list of nations just after the break, but if you’re situated in Hong Kong, Singapore or South Korea, it looks as if you’ll have to wait until April. A real downer, we know.

Continue reading Apple slinging iPad 2 to 25 more countries this Friday, even more next month

Apple slinging iPad 2 to 25 more countries this Friday, even more next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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