Jan 30

Nook Color Gets A Honeycomb Makeover

Posted in: tablets, Today's Chili

Photo on 2011-01-28 at 14.18.jpg

Not even a lack of an official OS release will stop the folks at XDA-Developers from their Android hacking. The big news lately? Forum member deeper-blue has gotten the version of Honeycomb from the recently-released SDK preview running on a Nook Color. A pretty impressive feat, given that the Android Open Source Project has yet to put out the full source of the new OS. According to a video posted on the site, hardware acceleration and touchscreen input is working, but almost nothing else is. There aren’t any downloads of the custom firmware posted (which is probably a good thing given the state of the port), but the developer has posted a short video of it running with graphics acceleration on YouTube.

Usually, installing this kind of custom firmware is a very iffy (and warranty-voiding) process, but it should give a little bit of hope to those Nook Color owners hoping for a more official version of the OS to eventually end up on their slates. With the price of the Honeycomb-packing Motorola Xoom rumored to be between $700 and $800, the Nook Color, at $250, would be quite an attractive option for those looking for the first tablet-optimized version of Android without the price tag.

[via XDA-Developers, Engadget]

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Jan 30

Enspert Identity Tab E201 rings up at $350 with Froyo, Gmail and Android Market

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, froyo, Gmail, market, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Enspert blindsided us at CES 2011 with a pair of quality Android tablets, and here’s another surprise — next month, the company’s Identity Tab E201 will apparently ship 100% Google-certified. Importer Dynamism is taking preorders on February 1st for the 7-inch Android 2.2 tablet, which comes with both Gmail and Android Market on board, though admittedly for a somewhat larger outlay than we originally heard. $350 is what you’ll pay for the 800 x 480 slate, which sports a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and PowerVR SGX540 graphics, 8GB storage and 512MB RAM, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a full compliment of sensors and an SD card slot. Just a month ago we’d have called this quite the deal, but come February 1st you may want to wait — after all, Google’s busy bees may show off the fruits of their labors the very next day.

Enspert Identity Tab E201 rings up at $350 with Froyo, Gmail and Android Market originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 28

Google announces Android event for February 2nd

Posted in: Android, Google, honeycomb, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Had enough Honeycomb this week? Perhaps — but next week is a whole new week, and Google’s got your back. Mountain View has selected Wednesday, February 2nd for an event that’ll include “an in-depth look at Honeycomb, Android ecosystem news and hands-on demos,” so by all accounts this seems to be more than a mere wrap-up of everything they’ve announced in the past few weeks. New tablets? Honeycomb for smartphones? Android 2.4? Something else entirely? We’ll be there to find out, of course.

Google announces Android event for February 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 28

Samsung Galaxy Tab Hits 2 Mil in 3 Months

Posted in: samsung, tablets, Today's Chili

Samsung-Galaxy-Tab_weekend.jpeg

Okay, okay, it’s not exactly iPad numbers, but it’s certainly enough to secure the company a number two spot in the ever more crowded consumer tablet space. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab hit the two million mark in its first three months (Apple sold 7 million in the same time period, for those keeping, you know, tabs…).

Not too shabby for a seven-inch Android tablet–especially considering the fact that Google has yet to officially release Honeycomb, the first tablet-optimized version of the open operating system (we saw a preview of it on Motorola’s Xoom tablet during CES, but that’s about it).

Samsung’s sales figures have been fueled, in part, by global availability. The tablet is available in Europe, North America, and Asia at present.

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Jan 27

Microsoft: tablets affected Q4 earnings, netbooks past their peak

Posted in: earnings, ipad, Microsoft, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

We had a strong (okay, really strong) hunch that the iPad was a contributing factor in Microsoft’s waning Windows revenue in Q2, but there’s nothing like a little confirmation from Redmond. During the earnings call, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein was asked if tablets were cannibalizing PCs, to which he responded:

I think that as Bill [Koefoed] talked a little bit in his comments about netbooks and how netbooks were, they hit their peak last year in Q2, and I think what we’ve seen is over the course of this year in the consumer space, some of that volume being replaced with newer devices like ultra-portables and tablets. And largely, these are second devices, not primary devices. And that’s caused a little bit of a drag on the consumer side.

That seems like an admission that people aren’t buying Windows 7 tablets, but either way, it’s now crystal clear that Microsoft suffered during the back-to-school and holiday season because consumers who may have previously picked up a Windows 7 Starter netbook went for a glossy new iPad (or maybe a Galaxy Tab in the later part of the quarter) or a more powerful ULV ultraportable. Obviously, the shift to tablets is to be expected, but the latter bit about ultraportables is quite telling as well — it seems to further confirm that people are seeking more power than Intel’s Atom, although we don’t really see how increased ultraportable sales would be a “drag on the consumer side” of Microsoft’s business considering ultraportables run Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional.

Sadly, Klein made no mention of Microsoft’s future tablet plans, but stated that netbooks were past their prime. We’re pretty sure that “next version of Windows” or whatever tablet OS Microsoft is planning couldn’t come soon enough for everyone. Or hey, could we suggest reviving the Courier?

Microsoft: tablets affected Q4 earnings, netbooks past their peak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 27

MSI’s Windows 7-based WindPad 100W now on sale for $710

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, hands-on, msi, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, tablets, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

MSI’s first entry into the wild, wonderful, and oftentimes wishy-washy world of tablets is now on sale, but frankly, we aren’t too sure we’d be jumping to hand over our $710 — er, $709.95 — for the WindPad 100W. The retailer is Simply Electronics, which just so happens to rank a few rungs below Amazon in terms of heardability-ness. At any rate, those willing to take a flying leap of faith should expect a 10.1-inch device loaded up with Windows 7 Starter, Intel’s Atom Z530 1.6GHz single-core processor, 2GB of memory a 32GB SSD and a battery that’ll keep things humming for around six hours. Here’s hoping it’ll perform better than that first wave of Win7 tablets, and you know, that you actually receive one.

MSI’s Windows 7-based WindPad 100W now on sale for $710 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 27

Facebook Working on Tablet-Friendly Version of Site

Posted in: tablets, Today's Chili

facebooklogo.jpg

Given the popularity of Apple’s iPad and the veritable glut of devices coming from companies like RIM, Motorola, Toshiba, et al, it’s only logical that a site as popular as Facebook would be working on a tablet-optimized version of its site.

The social network’s CTO Bret Taylor confirmed as much during a recent interview, stating, simply enough, “We need to make a tablet version of Facebook. It’s something we’re working on right now.” Fair enough, Bret.

Now, such an admission doesn’t mean that the company is necessary working on a native iPad app (though, again, we’d be surprised if such a thing didn’t surface in the next year), but Facebook may–much to Apple’s approval, no doubt–be working an HTML5 version of the site. “Long term we think a lot of apps will be written in HTML5,” said Taylor.

Facebook has apparently been “cautious” about fragmentation–or, at the very least, having its team spread thin with a proliferation of different device platforms. “The iPad was a casualty of that internally,” Taylor added.

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Jan 26

Sanjay Jha says multiple Motorola tablet sizes coming, hints at Atrix on other carriers

Posted in: motorola, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, xoom

Can’t say this is any surprise, but Sanjay Jha just confirmed on Motorola’s earnings call that he “sees good reason” to eventually release an entire family of tablets at “different multiple different display sizes and price points.” Specifically, Jha mentioned 7-inch tablets, and later said that consumer demographics like kids, teenagers, and “women” want different things from a tablet than enterprise and professional customers — which sounds suspiciously like Jha doesn’t think women want a single device for work and home, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, since he’s not always the smoothest speaker.

As for the Atrix, Jha simply said that “you will see our diversity in the retail channel as well with other carriers in the US,” which certainly sounds like it’ll hit other carriers once the AT&T exclusivity runs out. How long that exclusivity is, we don’t know — but keep in mind that the Droid Bionic is very nearly the same phone, so there’s a chance a software update will bring that sweet docking action to the red side of the market in the future. And if not, we’re sure the hacking community will have it covered.

Sanjay Jha says multiple Motorola tablet sizes coming, hints at Atrix on other carriers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 26

Android Honeycomb SDK Preview Now Available

Posted in: tablets, Today's Chili
moto tablet finger.jpg

Hey Android developers–start those engines. An SDK preview for Google’s upcoming tablet-specific operating system, Honeycomb (that’s Android 3.0), is online now for your downloading pleasure. The SDK features system images, non-final APIs, and other not-fully-baked goodies to help you get started on your Honeycomb-specific apps.

Highlights include the “holographic” UI that made the Xoom demos we saw at CES look so snazzy, support for multicore processors, improved 2D and 3D graphics, and a number of improvements for enterprise usage. Android Central has a longer list of features to look forward to.
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Jan 26

Apple’s ‘PC’ shipments grow by 241 percent in iPad-inclusive Canalys stats

Posted in: Apple, GalaxyTab, ipad, market, market share, marketshare, PC, samsung, slate, statistics, stats, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Canalys is a pretty well respected global stat-keeper and now it seems to be relying on that reputation to push through a pretty controversial message: tablets, such as Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, are PCs. “Accept new market realities,” urges its polemic press release, before laying out global quarterly shipments that peg Apple as the world’s third most prolific PC vendor (without tablets, Apple doens’t even break the top 5 according to IDC and Gartner). The company that was laboring with a mere 3.8 percent market share in 2009 has shot up to 10.8 with the aid of its 10-inch touchscreen device. Canalys’ stance will inevitably be controversial, but then it’s kind of hard to deny that machines like Samsung’s Sliding PC and ASUS’ Eee Slate make the distinguishing lines between tablets and netbooks look like a particularly technical form of bokeh.

Continue reading Apple’s ‘PC’ shipments grow by 241 percent in iPad-inclusive Canalys stats

Apple’s ‘PC’ shipments grow by 241 percent in iPad-inclusive Canalys stats originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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