Hasta La Gadget!

Yes, the HP Slate 500 is officially backordered, less than a month after its enterprising debut, and Hewlett-Packard claims it’s because of “extraordinary demand,” a phrase that’s presently not quantifiable. The long and short of it, though, is that you’re not getting one by Yuletide if you purchase the pricey portable today, as you’ll have to wait six weeks until they’re ready to ship out. Still, if your budding business bought in on day one, there’s still a chance it might arrive in time — ours is due to our door in early December, if that gives you any idea. We’ve pinged HP for comment, and hope to hear back soon. We’ll be sure to let you know just how “extraordinary” those sales numbers might be.

Update: We’ve yet to hear back from HP proper, but a trusted tipster with a contact inside HP spun us a very interesting tale — HP reportedly only ever planned a limited production run of 5,000 units, and received orders for 9,000 instead. When demand outstripped supply, HP apparently had to re-hire production workers just to get the presses printing out tablets again, and are presently placating angry customers by offering them over $100 off their $800 purchase as apology.

[Thanks, Dan]

HP Slate 500 sees ‘extraordinary demand,’ experiences six-week shipping delay (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not down with coughing up serious cash for a serious Galaxy Tab? Great news, Bargain Ben: you’ve got options. Joining the raft of cut-rate, low-priced tablets is a new one from Sylvania, which is humorously described as a “7-inch MID tablet.” Details are scarce, but it’s rocking Android 2.1, an 800 x 480 screen resolution, six-hour battery, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of Flash memory, front-facing camera and a microSD card slot. You’ll also get 802.11b/g WiFi, a pair of mini-USB sockets, HDMI output and what we’re assuming is a resistive touchpanel. We’d say the chances of Android Market access are slim to none, but for just $179.99, who really cares if it functions?

[Thanks, Braden]

Sylvania’s 7-inch Android tablet now ready to disappoint, swallow your $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Indamixx — get it?! — may be a relative dark horse in the race to tablet supremacy, but those looking for something a touch outlandish can’t possibly ignore the company’s latest. The self-titled Indamixx 2 slate has just recently broke cover, with a prototype boasting Intel’s single-core 1.66GHz Atom N450 (a dual-core chip is slated to hit the finalized version), 2GB of RAM, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, Ethernet socket and analog audio input / output jacks. There’s no exact word on the screen size or resolution, but the kicker is the software — this guy’s loaded with Transmission 5.0, a music-centric OS that’s actually built around MeeGo.

The creators say that they chose MeeGo due to its fondness of multitouch inputs, and based on the videos we’ve seen of it running, it definitely looks like a wise choice. Moreover, those looking to use this for more traditional tasks will be thrilled to know that they still can, and considering that it’s Linux underneath, the limits are near-endless when it comes to tweaking options. For those in no position to wait for the final build, you can hit the source link in order to snag “beta hardware” for $999; we’re hoping that those who wait will be treated to far more sensible pricing, but there’s no question that we’re intrigued either way. Hop on past the break to see this bad boy get down.

Continue reading Indamixx 2 Atom-powered MeeGo tablet touts rockstar looks, $999 price tag

Indamixx 2 Atom-powered MeeGo tablet touts rockstar looks, $999 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 12:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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They’re cheap, they can’t access the Android Market and they’re rocking resistive touchscreens. They’re the two newest devices from the lairs at Creative, and the folks over at PCPro were able to spend a few quality minutes with both the 7- and 10-inch ZiiO slates. They noted that the ZiiLabs ZMS-08 processor managed to handle the Android 2.1 load quite well, and while they definitely would’ve preferred a capacitive, multitouch display, they… managed without one. Hit the source link for a few more impressions and glamor shots, but don’t go in expecting a Galaxy Tab killer or anything.

Creative’s 7- and 10-inch ZiiO Android tablets get the hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Based on design alone, it’s safe to say that the inscrutable device shown above isn’t the UX10 we peeked at Computex nor the Android-based Optimus Pad… unless, of course, LG’s hardware engineers have tweaked the enclosure rather significantly. According to a filing that just popped up in the FCC’s database, the H1000B tablet will eventually hit the US market with 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a copy of Windows 7, and we’re also hearing that an SD card reader is likely around the edges. The downward sloping front makes us wonder if this thing isn’t cut out for some sort of dock, but it’s not like a peripheral port is jumping out at us, either. Our bets are on a CES 2011 debut, but here’s hoping things materialize a bit quicker for you last-minute holiday shoppers.

LG H1000B Windows 7 tablet emerges at FCC, mystifies in almost every way originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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