Hasta La Gadget!

That’s right — you’re probably already aware that tomorrow, April 30th at 5PM marks the beginning of retail availability of the 3G version of Apple’s iPad, and a lot of those who pre-ordered can expect to receive theirs in the mail tomorrow too. It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, but at least one guy’s happy today — his iPad 3G arrived already! We’re sure we’ll be seeing way more of these crop up as the day progresses, but for now, here’s to the first!

[Thanks, Mike]

At least one lucky fellow’s 3G iPad arrives a day early originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With only 500 units ordered and 30 scheduled to ship on May 8th, it’s clear the Enso zenPad won’t blow up the world, but it’s nice to see a startup make good on its promises. We’ve yet to receive one of the cheap Android tablets ourselves, but we do finally have proof they’re on the way: Enso CEO Alberto Armandi just sent us an official, signed receipt for the purchase of 500 MID-560A tablet computers from OEM SMiT, along with a bank document proving they have been bought and (mostly) paid for. What happens now is threefold: The 250 buyers who held out receive a rebranded SMiT tablet, the 250 who didn’t get their money back (anecdotal reports indicate refunds are underway), and the whole mess hopefully fades into obscurity, letting the three young entrepreneurs who brought us this niche Chinese device get on with their lives. See the slightly redacted proof Enso actually purchased these things, right after the break.

Continue reading Enso’s zenPad finds the funds to become reality

Enso’s zenPad finds the funds to become reality originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though “Neofonie” is the most apt name for a vaporware company we’ve heard since “Phantom,” it’s looking like that very firm’s 11.6-inch WePad tablet is actually the real deal. Fed up with all the skepticism it has received of late, the German firm just held a press conference in Berlin to show off a pair of working devices and allay our fears. Netbooknews.de was on the scene, and they took a pair of high-res videos that prove the tablets do, in fact, have a working (though somewhat laggy) touchscreen, and that fancy-pants vertical UI is quite functional. Full screen YouTube videos were choppy, but they played, and the Atom N450 CPU loaded OpenOffice and flipped through browser windows without a hitch. But don’t take our word for it — watch the whole 25-minute demonstration after the break, plus a bonus video from AndroidPIT. Then, if you’d be so kind, tell us what the nice company reps are saying.

Continue reading Neofonie’s WePad tablet shown to German journalists, seems legit

Neofonie’s WePad tablet shown to German journalists, seems legit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feelings about the leaked HP Slate notwithstanding, the company’s already considering its tablet PC successors — and if The New York Times‘ sources are right, they may be of Android and Linux varieties. Where the forthcoming HP Slate is, erm, slated to run Windows 7, The Grey Lady reported last week that a six-inch Android tablet was also on the way. Now, a prominent magazine editor reportedly tells the paper a Linux version may also be in development. For its part, HP isn’t denying the claims. “I’m certain that we will be announcing new Slates in the future as they are a very interesting area for us,” said media relations director Marlene Somsak, whose only added caveat was that HP isn’t currently announcing an Android slate.

HP takes chisel in hand, mulls over Android and Linux slates originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve only ever seen the HP Slate in extremely controlled demonstrations and cheesy videos until now, but it looks like the Windows 7 tablet just spent a little bit of time in the wild — Conecti.ca‘s posted up a full hands-on and mini-review. Their conclusion? “The official verdict is meh.” Yeah, ouch. Apparently the Slate’s biggest strength is also its greatest weakness — it’s essentially a touchscreen netbook, and that means that while it can run everything including Flash, it can be “slow and annoying.” Unfortunately there’s not a lot of info on how well HP’s TouchSmart Windows 7 skin works, so we’ll wait till we play with one before we make a decision, but man — we definitely weren’t expecting this thing to look so chunky in the photos. No wonder the press pics and other demos are so carefully arranged — it really does look like a chopped up netbook. At least the HDMI dock is somewhat sexy, we suppose. Couple more pics after the break.

[Thanks, WikiWarrior]

Continue reading HP Slate leaks its way into the wild: ‘meh’

HP Slate leaks its way into the wild: ‘meh’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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