Hasta La Gadget!

Though cheap Android craptablets were a commodity item at CeBIT 2010, that doesn’t mean we didn’t find the occasional diamond in the rough. Specifically, the Hanvon Touchpad BC10C, a sleek, multitouch Windows 7 device with specs firmly entrenched in high-end netbook territory. Thanks to our friend jkkmobile, we now know exactly what’s powering this thing — a comparatively juice-gulping 1.3GHz Celeron M ULV 743 CPU and GMA4500 graphics — and that when it comes to the US and Europe, it’ll cost a little more than we thought, hovering around $877. Mind you, that price bump might be worth it when you consider just how smoothly the 10-inch tablet performs (peep 1080p video and Microsoft Surface Globe demos after the break) but also know your YouTube surfing sessions will be limited by a simply sad 3.5 hours of battery life. For when “mobile” isn’t an important word in your vocabulary… the BC10C launches in China March 25th.

Continue reading Hanvon’s multitouch tablet previewed, surfaces in China March 25th with 1080p playback

Hanvon’s multitouch tablet previewed, surfaces in China March 25th with 1080p playback originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remind us to send a thank-you note to Hanvon for taking a break from cranking out e-readers to work on some of the best tablets we’ve seen at CeBIT yet — much more advanced that what was shown by the company back in September. While the TouchPad BC10C and BA10E didn’t have any special software running on top of Windows 7 Home Premium, both of their 10.1-inch, capacitive multitouch displays were extremely responsive. The BA10E was the more aesthetically-pleasing of the duo, with a smooth grey bezel and a thin, lightweight body that was cool to the touch. If you hadn’t guessed already, that beauty comes at a cost to processing speed, with just a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor inside. (Although the official specs list Windows XP and stylus input, as you can see in the video it was clearly using Windows 7 and multitouch — the Atom CPU might also be an error, but the rep on hand couldn’t say.) The BC10C, while bulkier, boasts an Intel Celeron chip — a little more power, but we can’t help but wonder how battery life would suffer. Hanvon told us these babies would run for about 500 euros, with release date currently unknown. You know the drill: gallery below, and video after the break.

Continue reading Hanvon TouchPad BC10C and BA10E hands-on

Hanvon TouchPad BC10C and BA10E hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of our favorite iPhone games is Touchgrind. Sure, we’re terrible at it, but at least we feel like we’re accomplishing something “totally street” and “badass” with the multitouch input that the iPhone allows. Well, Illusion Labs is looking at bringing some of that magic to the Mac. They’ve got a demo up of the game running in a jumbo manner on a multi-finger-friendly MacBook. It looks pretty much like a straight port at this point, but hopefully the added horsepower and screen size of the Mac can make this into something a bit more magical — and maybe even trick us into thinking we’re decent fingerboardists, if only for a moment. Right now this is just a tech demo, and there are no firm plans of a release. From the noodlings of Illusion Labs’ Twitter account, it looks like they also wouldn’t mind porting it to an “iSlate” if the opportunity presented itself. Hear that, Cupertino? You might be able to get someone to build an app for this mythical device! Big sigh of relief, we’re sure. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Illusion Labs shows off multitouch ‘Touchgrind’ gaming demo on a MacBook

Illusion Labs shows off multitouch ‘Touchgrind’ gaming demo on a MacBook originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve spent some time on Wacom‘s first-ever hybrid tablet — the Bamboo Pen & Touch which, surprise, surprise, features independent stylus and multitouch finger inputs. Multitouch-equipped computer users may not be as stoked, but let’s not forget those aspiring artists who are stuck with an old-school trackpad or a desktop sans touchscreen. Compared to previous pen-only models the $99 Pen & Touch should make life easier for tablet newbies, especially by eliminating the hassle of constantly switching between the stylus and the mouse. No, really: using the stylus as a mouse is just plain torture as the tablet’s drawing area is mapped with the screen, which equates to extra hard work when you try to point your stylus at tiny buttons (you can switch to “Mouse mode” in preferences, but that’s still extra donkey work). Do read on for some hands-on thoughts.

Continue reading Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch review

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The A8’s Multi Media Interface (a fancy name for a nav unit with media player attached) is already a pretty sophisticated piece of tech, but Audi has opted against resting on those laurels and has pushed out a new feature for the luxury saloon’s next iteration. The 2011 A8 (available in Spring 2010 — crazy, we know) will benefit from the same handwriting recognition as promised for the next-gen R8, wherein the user is able to scribble his destination all John Hancock-like and then use the touchscreen to complete his instructions. With Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean character support, this could be a particular boon for gadget lovers of a more Eastern persuasion. And just in case you’re fretting that the rest of your gear won’t get as much love, there are further plans afoot for connecting the car via UMTS and distributing WiFi goodness to the devices inside it. The only thing this is missing is a Snoop Dogg voiceover for the ultimate in convergence tech. Video after the break.

Continue reading Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features

Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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