Hasta La Gadget!

In a new brand of competition dissing, James DeBragga, General Manager of Windows Consumer Product Marketing, says Android “is free like a puppy.” The comment came in the context of the CEO of Entourage praising Android for the fact that’s it’s versatile and free — major motivating factors behind his use of the OS on his Edge e-reader device. James says that Android (like a puppy) is great in theory, but a hassle once you get it home. Unfortunately for him, his metaphor neglects the love and kisses and companionship many humans also associate with puppies. Perhaps James is a cat man? Still, we see his side to some extent: Windows is certainly more mature, supported and capable for powering a tablet device, especially if that tablet needs to perform serious computer-style tasks. Unfortunately, we’re not sure if Android, Windows or anything else is really ready to make tablet converts out of us. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to go feed our free iguana, Ricardo.

Microsoft calls Android ‘free like a puppy,’ we can’t decide if that’s a bad thing or not originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Housed in a wooden, painted prototype case, the Notion Ink Adam tablet is rough. But with Pixel Qi dual-mode screen tech on one arm and Nvidia’s Tegra 2 on the other, it’s one of the most exciting devices at CES.

We’ve seen a fair share of Android 2.0 tablets at CES, some of which share not only Android 2.0 with the Adam, but the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, too. But what they don’t have is a Pixel QI transflective screen, a 10.1-inch panel that can switch between backlit LCD mode and low-power electrophoretic reflective mode, which looks more less like E Ink, and which actually gets easier to see in direct sunlight.

We got our first good look at this screen tech this morning, and we covered its weaknesses: the LCD colors aren’t as vivid as a plain LCD’s and suffers at some viewing angles, and the reflective mode suffers from the glossy screen’s glare, but in both modes, it’s good enough. (And Notion honcho Rohan Shravan says he’s working on a fix for the latter issue.) What this means is that no matter what you’re using the device for—browsing the web over 3G, reading an ebook, watching a video—you can switch between screen modes depending on your environment or preference.

As I said before, the device is still in development, so you’re seeing protoype hardware (there’s prospective second model with a curvier exterior, too), untouched software (Rohan promises a custom interface, with a solution for text input other than the awkwardly sized standard keyboard), and unoptimized performance (Android 2.1 should help the interface move a little more quickly). We’ll get a fuller picture of the device come Mobile World Congress in February, as well as pricing info—though we’re assured we’ll be “very happy” about it.

Anyway, you can stack these caveats as high as you want, and the Notion Ink Adam is still taller, if just for this reason:

We repeat: The bullet’s in the chamber. E Ink is going to die.

We know nothing about this “Slate Concept” by Dell, other than, you know, it looks like a 7-inch tablet and it’s running Android. One more shot: Update: We got a closer look. Update 2: Press photos within.

Pretty, right?

Let’s clarify two things right away: first, the Ideapad U1 hybrid notebook tablet is still in the very rough stages of development. Second, it’s going to be awesome—if it can live up to its potential.

Let’s review the concept quickly before we get into the details. The U1 is literally two separate devices, joined together and made to play nice. One is a multitouch tablet that runs Linux and has a speedily efficient Qualcomm ARM 1Ghz Snapdragon processor running the show. The other is a Windows 7 notebook with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU 4100 processor.

The build is like Lenovo’s other IdeaPads, except for the translucent red top that houses the tablet. When the base and the slate are linked up, the latter acts as an 11.6-inch, 720p (1366×768) monitor that looked crisp despite being saddled with Intel’s integrated graphics. The (non-chiclet) keyboard is based on the current lineup of IdeaPads, and both it and the touchpad worked smoothly. The U1 we saw wasn’t set up to do much other than web browse, and pages loaded quickly. The notebook has built-in Wi-Fi, but can also run off of the tablet’s 3G connection, which I can see being a pretty great benefit for times when wireless isn’t readily accessible.

The fun part, though, is unclasping the tablet from its shell. It’s firmly latched in, which is more reassuring than frustrating. Once removed from the notebook, there’s a two or three second lag before the Snapdragon processor kicks in. It’s not seamless, but it’s close enough. Tablet mode greets you with a six-panel screen of apps similar to that of Lenovo’s Skylight smartbook. The selection is limited for now, but Lenovo will be opening up the SDK to developers soon to give you more to play with than the standard YouTube, Gmail, and Facebook-type options.

You can also enter a type of content mode, which divides up your stored files between music, video, images, and documents. With the multitouch interface, you can quickly jump among all four, and adjust how much of the screen is devoted to each. The resistive screen was good, but not great—it at times took some pretty insistent pressing to get the response I was looking for. The viewing angles could also use work; unless you’re looking nearly dead-on at the display, you’re pretty much out of luck.

I was impressed by the sound quality—not excellent by any means, but better than I expected from a tablet device. One immediately obvious downside is the total absence of ports on the tablet other than the docking—there’s not even a headphone jack. It’s configured for Bluetooth, but I’d still like the option to plug in my buds. The tablet also currently lacks an accelerometer, so there’s no way to orient documents or images based on its position. This is hopefully something that will be addressed before its release.

I said the two devices are totally separate, and I meant it. There are advantages and disadvantages to this set-up. On the plus side, while the tablet is undocked, you can hook the base up to a monitor and get full notebook functionality. If you remove it during web browsing, the tablet remembers which site you were on and places you there automatically (and vice versa). In fact, when I had Gizmodo in notebook mode and removed the slate, it automatically took me to the mobile version of Giz.

The down side is that right now, web pages are the only things that are transferable this way. If I were working on a document in notebook mode, there’s no on-the-fly transition once I pop out the tablet. You can drag and drop, but a more seamless transfer would be helpful. It would also be nice to be able to control the tablet remotely with the base, but once they’ve separated there’s no interaction between the two. Again, these are things that may or may not be addressed by the time the U1 comes out in the second half of this year.

About that release: it’s up in the air right now as to when you can get your hands on one of these, because of all of the tweaks that need to be made. It will also be crucial for Lenovo to be able to build up a decent store of apps for the U1 and the Skylight if these are going to have any functionality beyond very basic web browsing and media playback. And for an estimated retail price of $999—minus whatever subsidy they’re able to get from a partner carrier—that functionality had better be there.

All in all, the U1 is a slick device, if a little undercooked. If nothing else, I’m excited to see how far they can take this concept once they put it in production. But no rush, Lenovo. If you take the time get it right, it’ll be something special.

As the economy sputters back to life, gadget makers are preparing a whole raft of hardware for you to buy in 2010.

Some of it will even be worth purchasing.

Among the highlights: set-top boxes and TVs that will let you kiss off the cable company, 3-D televisions, increasingly powerful device “platforms” enhanced by massive app stores, e-book readers, a new crop of netbooks, and tiny projectors crammed into everything from cameras to netbooks.

Many of these devices will be on display at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, where more than 110,000 members of the electronics industry will gather to show off their wares and give the world a preview of what gadgets are coming out this year. It’ll be the second straight year of declining attendance for CES, where attendance topped 130,000 last year, but it’s still a major event in the gadget world. And Wired’s Gadget Lab team will be there, bringing you the highlights from the show, complete with photos and video.

“CES has been hit by the one-two punch of the general economic travails and the demise of Circuit City, which has led to further retail consolidation,” says Ross Rubin, an executive director at The NPD Group. However, Rubin says, it’s still a big show — and there will be lots there to appeal to gadget lovers.

It’s unlikely that there will be a single standout star of the show, the way the Palm Pre was at last year’s CES.

“It is such a vast show that it is rare that one product ’steals’ it the way we might see at a small technology conference such as Demo.”

And then there will be the tablets. Most industry observers, including Gadget Lab, expect Apple to release a tablet device, possibly called the iSlate or iGuide, sometime in 2010. Other major manufacturers, including HP, Dell, Intel, Nokia and HTC have been rumored to be working on tablet-style devices. Smaller companies including Fusion Garage, Notion Ink and ICD have announced plans for tablets in 2010. And many publishers, including Wired’s parent company, Conde Nast, are already working on the software to display e-magazines and other content on tablet devices.

But don’t expect much news on the tablet front this week. Whether their products aren’t ready yet or they’re just waiting for Apple to make the first move, most companies rumored to be working on tablets haven’t let any details slip yet (and they aren’t expected to say much more in Vegas, no matter how many martinis we ply them with).

Until then, we’ll have to content ourselves with imaginary visions of what an Apple tablet might look like — like the one above?

Read on to find out what we do know about the biggest gadget trends of 2010. – Dylan Tweney

Illustration: Courtesy Gluepet

So Long, Cable Company

Historians may look at 2010 as the year that gadget technology finally destroyed the cable companies. And it’s the rise of internet video that is making this happy day possible.

If you’ve seen an episode of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long then you know that the web is actually a decent place to get high-quality, original content — much of it free. As anyone with a high-speed connection and a faint knowledge of Google will confirm, in addition to the aforementioned Dr. Horrible, you can easily check out snippets of 30 Rock on Hulu, take in full episodes of The Office on ABC.com, or watch the latest episodes of The Daily Show on Comedy Central’s site.

TV manufacturers have noticed this trend, and have rapidly made web-connected TVs de rigeur. We noticed this trend a few months ago, and the latest crop of web-ready TVs that will be announced at CES 2010 will push the trend even further. Expect streamlined user interfaces, thinner LCD displays and lower prices. And most importantly, more models to pick from. Big-name TV makers like Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and Vizio will offer web connectivity over a larger line of their products. We’re calling it: If a TV can’t access the internet directly in 2010, it might as well be sitting next to an exhibit of Neanderthals at the Natural History Museum.

When the free video grows a little tiring, for-fee services, led by Netflix, will save the day. The Xbox 360, the PS3 and a vast smattering of Blu-ray players all have the capability to stream media from Netflix’s catalog directly to a TV. Click a button, watch a movie. It’s that simple. And the majority of Blu-ray players, gaming consoles and media devices released in 2010 will have Netflix streaming capabilities.

The final stone atop cable TV’s pyramid? Video-streaming appliances like the Boxee Box. On it, you’ll be able to watch any piece of non-DRM-restricted media on the internet, share movies or TV shows with your pals, and stream videos cached on your computer’s hard drive. And then there’s the Sony PS3 (read on for our take on that).

For lack of a better word, we’ll call these multifeatured, internet-connected, media-streaming set-top boxes “video boxes.” Expect them to pop up everywhere in 2010.

Unless you like paying exorbitant prices and enjoy terrible service and smarmy service reps, there’s very little reason to keep your cable provider this year. – Daniel Dumas