Jul 27

Dell Streak Priced at $300 For ATT

Posted in: att, price, streak, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

After months of teasing, Dell’s 5-inch tablet-phone hybrid called the Streak finally has a price tag. The Streak will cost $300 with a two-year contract on AT&T. An unlocked version of the device will cost $550.

Dell is yet to announce exactly when the Streak will hit retail stores in the U.S. but it is accepting pre-sale orders from customers on its site. The device will initially be available in black with a red color variant introduced later this year, says Dell.

Dell launched the Streak in U.K. last month. The Streak is targeted at smartphone users who crave a larger display but still need a device that’s portable and could potentially replace their phone. The Streak has a 5-inch display, a 5-megapixel camera, phone, browser and access to Android apps. But it doesn’t exactly succeed in trying to be bigger than the phone but smaller than the iPad. (Read Wired.com’s review of the Dell Streak.)

A major drawback of the Streak is that it uses version 1.6 of the Android operating system, while most smartphones today run Android 2.1. Google has already released Android 2.2 Froyo and some devices such as the Nexus One have gotten the Froyo update.

The Streak seems woefully behind the times but Dell says a Froyo update is coming “later this year.”

In the U.S., AT&T haters won’t have a choice when it comes to choosing a wireless carrier for the device. Dell doesn’t plan to support T-Mobile’s 3G network or certify the Streak for operation on the T-Mobile network.

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Photo: Dell Streak (Jon Snyder/Wired.com)




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Jul 27

ShutterSnitch and Eye-Fi: Wireless Camera Tethering for iPad

Posted in: ipad, tablets, Today's Chili, wi-fi

Back in May, we took a look at a ShutterSnitch, an iPad app that lets you receive photos wirelessly from your camera. Combined with an Eye-Fi wireless SD card, you can shoot away and have the photos pop up on the big screen in seconds. It’s like shooting tethered to a laptop, only about a zillion times more convenient.

So why are we revisiting the subject? Because it got a whole lot easier to use. Now, the tricky networking part has been simplified and you need only follow a few steps to get things up and running. The first time you do this, you’ll need to configure both the Eye-Fi card (using the Eye-Fi Center) if it is not already aware of your Wi-Fi network, and also the ShutterSnitch app (just enter the Eye-Fi username and password).

From there, you simply need to shoot, with one weird caveat: you need to create a “collection” in ShutterSnitch to receive the photos. That’s it. Now you can beam the photos across as you shoot.

There are plenty of things you can do within the application. As you shoot, the images are shown full-screen, with or without shutter-speed, aperture and histogram overlays. Once done, you can keep the photos in ShutterSnitch, mail them, organize them, upload to Flickr and pass them off to the iPad’s own photo-library, from where it can be sent off to any other photo-editing application you might have.

There is one big gotcha. You’ll need to have a Wi-Fi network running to make this all work: The Eye-Fi cannot beam direct to the iPad. That means you’ll need either a portable hotspot like the MiFi, be in a place where there is already a network, or create one using a laptop (which kind of defeats the point of this). I’m going to pick up an Eye-Fi card this afternoon and also investigate jailbreak solutions for ad-hoc network creation on the iPad. If it works, I’ll let you know.

From Eye-Fi to iPad [Eye-Fi blog]

Eye-Fi Card, iPad, and ShutterSnitch for Wireless Transfer [The Digital Story]

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Jul 26

LG Can’t Make Enough iPad Screens to Meet Demand

Posted in: ipad, screen, tablets, Today's Chili

If any companies out there are planning to come up with an “iPad killer”, then they’d better think hard about the screen. They certainly aren’t going to be using the IPS LCD that Apple puts in the iPad: LG, a major supplier, has said that it can’t make enough even even for Apple.

Speaking about overall screen production (which is decreasing), LG display boss Kwon Young-Soo said that

Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year.

It looks like Apple wasn’t the only company surprised by the iPad’s success. The tablet is currently selling at around a million units per month, and this number would surely be higher if Apple could only make enough of them. It reminds me of Nintendo’s Wii, which was so popular that it was almost impossible to buy for the first couple years of its life.

We wonder if the iPhone 4, too, will struggle to keep up with demand. The retina display is likely only being made for Apple, and therefore it would be tricky to just source supplies from other manufacturers. The one big takeaway from this story is that there are very real reasons for the shortages. Anyone who still believes the idiotic conspiracy theory that Apple is deliberately limiting supplies to hype demand can shut up now.

LG Display may cut output; can’t meet iPad demand [Reuters via 9to5 Mac]

Photo: John Snyder / Wired.com

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Jul 24

HP not making Windows Phone 7 devices, focusing on webOS instead

Posted in: HP, Microsoft, palm, phone, Phones, slate, smartphone, Smartphones, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, webos, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7

No big surprise here, but HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just flat-out confirmed to CNBC that HP will not be making any Windows Phone 7 devices, preferring instead to focus on the newly-acquired webOS for its line of smartphones. Here’s the entire exchange:

Q: Can you make webOS successful with developers when you’re selling Windows Phone 7, maybe Android or Linux at the same time?

A: We continue to be Microsoft’s biggest customer, and we continue to believe we will drive innovation with Microsoft. At the same time, I think it’s clear to say, that we’re very focused on the customer, and giving the customer the experience that’s important to them. We won’t do — will not do a Linux / Android phone. We won’t do a Microsoft phone.

Q: So no Windows Phone 7?

A: We will continue to more broadly deliver the webOS-based phones that are in the market today, and Jon and his team have driven a strong roadmap for the future.

Q: So does that mean you’re going webOS only for phones?

A: For smartphones it does. Our intent is to focus those resources and really make webOS the best OS it can be.

That’s a big ouch for Microsoft — it has to sting when your biggest customer turns its back on your fledgling mobile efforts — but we can’t exactly see HP spending a billion dollars on Palm only to turn around and support multiple platforms. There is a small silver lining for Microsoft, though — Bradley also reiterated that HP’s tablet plans aren’t so locked in, and once again hinted that the Windows 7-based HP Slate has become an enterprise product, which is at least better than being killed off entirely. Lose some, lose some slightly less, we suppose. Full video after the break — the good bit starts around 5:20.

Continue reading HP not making Windows Phone 7 devices, focusing on webOS instead

HP not making Windows Phone 7 devices, focusing on webOS instead originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCNBC  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 23

Why India’s $35 Tablet May Be Just a Dream

Posted in: laptop, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

A prototype tablet from India that looks similar to the iPad but costs a few hundred dollars less than the magical device is on its way, according to the country’s government officials who showed the device at an event Thursday.

The Linux-based tablet from India is priced at $35 with the potential to drop it to either $20 or $10. The tablet will support video conferencing and wireless, have open source software on it including Open Office, and will include a media player. It will also have a solar-power option.

The government has not disclosed details about the tablet’s processing power, memory or storage. It is also not clear if the device will have a touchscreen or a pen-based input.

The Indian government hopes to bring the tablet into production in 2011, but first it must find partners to build it. So far, no manufacturers have been announced, though officials claim several have expressed interest.

The success of Apple’s iPad and the demand among consumers for a slick media-consumption tablet has spurred the quest for a low-cost device that has the looks of an iPad and the functionality of a laptop. The One Laptop Per Child Project in the United States recently announced that it is planning to create a $75 OLPC tablet. But the first version of that tablet is unlikely to be available before the end of next year. OLPC’s current low-cost laptop sells for $200.

In March, chip maker Marvell showed a prototype that will offer web access and high-definition content for just $100. The tablet called Moby will be targeted at students, says Marvell, and it will run Marvell’s Armada 600 series of application processors. So far,  Marvell’s $100 tablets have yet to go beyond a reference design.

Current estimates on the cost of components show that getting the cost of a device below $100 isn’t easy.

The cheapest version of Apple’s iPad costs $500. A teardown of the iPad shows the bill of materials alone for it is $230. A six-inch black-and-white screen on a Kindle 2 alone costs $60, according to iSuppli.

To create its $35 tablet, the Indian government says it partnered with some of the country’s best technical universities including the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Students involved in the project created their own motherboard and PCBs for the device, say officials. Interestingly, the government says private companies in the country showed little interest in the idea.

The bill of materials of a prototype tablet came to $47. But officials didn’t explain how they think that cost can shrink to $35 and lower.

“It could be seen that by customizing the device to the needs of learners across the country, and by utilizing the processor capabilities of the processors suitable for the purpose, it was possible to substantially reduce the prices of such access-cum-computing devices,” a press release from the country’s Press Information Bureau said.

Deciphering that is not easy. Even more puzzling is that the announcement of the tablet did not mention who will manufacture the product or how it will be distributed. It is also not clear if the $35 price tag includes a small profit margin or if the product will be sold entirely at cost.

Despite the introduction of the latest tablet with much fanfare, India doesn’t have a history of delivering on its much-hyped promises about electronic devices. For instance, Indian startup Notion Ink has been promising a tablet for months called Adam that is yet to hit the market. In February 2009, Indian government officials announced a $10 laptop that ultimately proved to be vaporware.

The $35 tablet could go the same way.

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Photo: Trak.in




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Jul 22

India’s New Android Tablet Looks Pretty Great

Posted in: Android, tablets, Today's Chili

If you thought then Droid X was big, check out the Olivepad from India’s Olive Telecom. The 7-inch tablet, halfway in size between a smartphone and an iPad, will actually make phone calls (although we’d suggest a headset of some kind unless you want to attract amused stares).

The Android 2.1 tablet actually looks pretty sweet, with 3.5G HSUPA, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and even a TV-tuner. It trumps the iPad in two areas: a 3 megapixel camera and a USB port (mini). Memory is limited, with just half a gig of RAM (expandable via SD-card) and the screen resolution is an acceptable-for-the-size 800 x 480 pixels.

What I like most about it is that it has a measure of honesty. While the EVO and other Android phones are really a little to large to call phones, the Olivepad is a flat-out tablet with a vestigial phone attached.

The price, when it launches in India in August, will be somewhere around $500. That makes the iPad look pretty cheap (but then, the iPad won’t fit in your pocket). And one more thing: The Olivepad plays Flash.

Olive Telecom Launches India’s First 3G Tablet [Olive Telecom Via Engadget and Times of India]

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Jul 21

ExoPC nabs improved screen and e-book app, still on track for a September release (video)

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, e-books, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, video, windows 7, Windows7
Still pining for one of the best Windows 7 tablets we’ve seen to date? Yeah, we’re talking about the 11.6-inch ExoPC. Well, we’ve got nothing but good news: the company’s still on track for a September release and has been putting the finishing touches on the Windows 7, Intel Atom-powered slate. According to some new videos posted by the company, the tablet’s been upgraded with a new LCD that appears to have much better viewing angles than the one we checked out at Computex. Additionally, the Canadian team’s been doing some stand-up work on an e-book app. As you can see in the video beyond the break (more can be found there in the source link), it’s got a simple interface, snazzy page flip animations and it looks fairly easy to import a book on your own. It’s all lookin’ quite good to us. Not that we’re trying to rush this heat wave or anything, but is it September yet?

Continue reading ExoPC nabs improved screen and e-book app, still on track for a September release (video)

ExoPC nabs improved screen and e-book app, still on track for a September release (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceYouTube (ExoPC)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 21

Hands-On: Flipboard Turns Your iPad into a Personalized Magazine

Posted in: apps, ipad, Software, tablets, Today's Chili, twitter

Stop. Put down this computer, go pick up your iPad and come back here. Now go get this app: Flipboard. Why? It’s pretty awesome.

Flipboard is one of a growing category of iPad apps that build you a personal newspaper by grabbing content from your social networks. The difference with Flipboard is that it actually feels like picking up a magazine and flipping through it, but the supersimple interface hides some powerful features.

Is it installed on your iPad yet? Good. Go ahead and sign in to your Twitter and Facebook accounts (if you like, visit the settings and add your Instapaper ID, too). Now, go ahead and tap one of the big squares and you’re in the Flipboard. From there you’ll see any articles tweeted by friends, photos and updates from Facebook alongside the actual tweets. So far, so much like every other aggregator.

The difference comes with the interface, which is similar in feel to the Wired app. Turning the iPad makes the page reformat in such as way that you’ll keep turning it, trying to work out how it is done. Flipping to more content is done by swiping to a new page, and to read an article, just tap it. If it is a long article, you can either Instapaper it, or tap to read it on the web.

But the next part is really, really neat. Under (or alongside, depending on how you are holding things) the article you get a panel showing any tweets linking that article. Think of it as being like blog comments, only interesting. You can even tweet a response right there.

Once you’re in an article, you can just swipe to go to the next or hit the little “x” to go back to the main page for that feed. But that’s not all.

Aside from Facebook and Twitter, you can add content from a small range of pre-selected sources. Some of these are actually curated by the Flipboard people (FlipTech, FlipPhotos, etc.) but you can also grab feeds from The Onion and other sites, or search for Twitter feeds.

Even better, Twitter lists finally get a purpose. I searched for “Wired” and one of the results was the Wired Staffers list maintained by @wired. I added that and instantly got a section of news curated by over 200 smart and connected people.

Because Flipboard uses your networks like this, the news is pre-filtered and it’s likely you’ll find far too much interesting stuff to read. I have one more piece of good news to pass along. Flipboard is free, and in the App Store right now. Actually, there is yet another thing to like: The promo video (above) is by Adam Lisagor, aka Lonely Sandwich (aka the guy from the Square ads). If that doesn’t sell you, nothing will.

Flipboard [iTunes]

Flipboard product page [Flipboard]

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Jul 20

HP Slate 500 with Windows 7 surfaces on HP’s site

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, HP, palm, slate, tablets, Today's Chili, webos, windows 7, Windows7
We can’t say we know exactly what’s going on here, but it does appear that the HP Slate still lives in all its Windows 7 (and Intel Atom) glory. Yep, the guys at IDG News spotted the good ol’ 8.9-inch HP Slate — now apparently the Slate 500 — hanging out on a rather hidden HP.com page. The details are few and far between, but they do seem to coincide with all that we originally had heard about the tablet — it runs Windows 7 Home Premium, has “exclusive” HP software and two cameras. And that’s not all, the chaps at IDG also noticed that the Slate 500 was Energy Star certified, and a listing for the same product on Energy Star’s site confirms that it will have a 1.6GHz processor. That too seems to line up with what we had heard about the Slate having a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU. We know, it’s all a bit surreal considering we just got word yesterday that HP had filed a trademark on the term PalmPad, and we figured the Slate may have seen its day. There’s no telling what will happen next, but it sure is looking like a HP Win 7 and WebOS tablet may just live in harmony.

HP Slate 500 with Windows 7 surfaces on HP’s site originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PCWorld  |  sourceHP (1), (2), Energy Star  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 20

Attack of the Pads: Tablets Take On Apple

Posted in: Android, ipad, lenovo, tablets, Today's Chili

Tablets that could potentially take on the iPad are getting closer to market — and some of them are taking direct aim at Apple.

PC maker Lenovo has chosen a name for its Android tablet that it says will be in the hands of consumers by the end of the year. The device will be called the “LePad,” and will debut in China. Last week, HP trademarked the name “PalmPad” in a move that signals the company may be set to bring out its own tablet, based on Palm’s webOS operating system. Separately, Dell offered its Streak to some U.S. gadget reviewers and said it expects to make an announcement about pricing and availability of the device in the next few days.

Since Apple introduced the iPad in April, it has sold more than 3 million devices. The company’s success with the iPad is forcing competitors such as HP and Dell to build similar devices. Dell’s tablet, called the Streak, has a 5-inch screen and is already available in Britain. It is expected to hit the United States in summer.

ABI research estimates that 11 million media tablets will be sold this year. The forecast is based both on the broader availability of the iPad and the delayed introduction of competing products, says the firm.

“Assuming that competing tablets from other vendors do arrive in the second half of the year as expected, we believe that the iPad will account for a significant portion — but not all — of the projected 11 million units,” says Jeff Orr, principal analyst with ABI Research.

Lenovo’s LePad is likely to combine ideas from Lenovo’s Skylight smartbook that the company showed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and the IdeaPad UI notebook-tablet combination to create a new device that could potentially compete against the iPad.

In China, at least, Lenovo hopes to step into the gap left by Apple. Lenovo has long offered convertibles — notebooks that can be flipped over to act as tablets. But the company has not released a touchscreen only tablet so far. Earlier this month, Lenovo’s chairman Liu Chuanzhi told the Financial Times that Apple hasn’t focused on the Chinese market. Lenovo has seen success with its Android phone called “LePhone” that’s currently available only in China.

With the LePad, Lenovo hopes to do the same, says PCWorld. After all, there are a billion potential customers in China alone.

HP hasn’t offered any details on what it plans to do with the PalmPad name. But in its trademark application form, the company has said it will use it for “computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices.” That’s sounds like a range of products but it is the mobile digital electronic devices part that has perked up industry watchers.

HP, which bought Palm a few months ago, has already said confirmed that it is using webOS to build a device that has been called the HP Slate.

Photo of Lenovo x41 tablet: Oliver Regelmann/Flickr

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