Hasta La Gadget!

In an interview with Pocket-lint, Microsoft UK’s Ashley Highfield said the company won’t be delivering a dedicated OS for tablets anytime soon. “We won’t do anything in the tablet market unless we can be distinctive,” he said. Given, we’ve already seen a number of slates rocking Windows 7, but Highfield was apparently tight-lipped about any solid plans to move into the tablet market in any substantial way, saying Microsoft sees itself as an underdog in certain areas. As far as we know, Highfield made no mention of how this relates to Windows Compact 7, which we’ve seen in prototype form in the past. Of course, all of this is coming from the guy who warned of the impending death of television as we know it, but we’re inclined to believe him on this one. On another note, Microsoft’s UK managing director said he gets his tablet fix on a Dell Inspiron Duo — we suppose it’s a good sign he’s not rocking an Android or iOS tab.

Microsoft’s Ashley Highfield says no dedicated tablet OS until the time is right originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evolve Three’s goal of creating the world’s most versatile touchscreen tablets seems to be going swimmingly so far — first the boutique Australian outfit introduced the triple-booting Maestro, and now it’s got an Oak Trail slate on the way with some most intriguing hardware. You see, not only does this Maestro C have a 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 inside, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and most all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a netbook PC, it’s also got a bezel that physically rotates — turning into a chunky kickstand and exposing ports at the same time — and a removable wireless keyboard that doubles as a hard-shell protector for the entire 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen. There’s also a 32GB “high performance” SSD, optional 3G connectivity, a pair of stereo speakers and once again, three operating systems (Android 3.0, MeeGo and Windows 7) to choose from at startup. The only things keeping us from purchasing our customary two units is lingering worry that the other shoe has yet to drop… not to mention a starting price of $729, sans optional keyboard.

Evolve Three’s Maestro C tablet has a swiveling bezel stand and a screen-protecting keyboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung may have priced its slinky new laptop at a buck under $1,200, but you know Amazon likes to dance to its own tune. The online retailer is now listing the 11.6-inch Series 9 at $1,149, saving you a nice bit of change, though it hasn’t yet been willing to disclose a release date. The specs should be familiar by now, an Intel Core i3-380UM takes center stage, surrounded by 2GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 3.0, a 5680mAh battery, and a 1366 x 768 display with 400 nits of brightness. Amazon’s just the latest of a growing batch of online stores now offering this laptop for pre-order, so check out Samsung’s retailer listing below if you’re looking for alternatives.

[Thanks, Imtiaz]

Samsung’s 11.6-inch Series 9 lands an Amazon pre-order at $1,149 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dual 14-inch touchscreens not big enough? 21-inches of touch sensitivity still failing to sate your fingers’ need to roam wild and free? Maybe the 23-inch behemoth of a tablet that Lenovo is planning on unleashing this year will make those digits dance with delight. The plan is, apparently, to take one of the company’s Windows-powered all-in-one machines, delete the stand, put it on a crash diet, slap a big ‘ol battery on there, and then watch the eyes of pixel junkies around the world light up with glee. William Cai from Lenovo said “It’s obviously not for full mobility use, but it could be moved from room to room in the house… you could lay it on a table top and use it for family games.” Never mind that — with the addition of just a few legs this 23-inch slab could be a table.

Update: Lenovo just pinged us back when reaching out for a comment, and unfortunately for those with big (big!) aspirations, it seems that something was taken out of context. “We have no plans to introduce a 23-inch tablet,” says the PC maker. Bummer.

Lenovo hoping to launch 23-inch tablet this year (update: debunked) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever wished you could have a Microsoft main course with a side of Symbian? We haven’t either, but if the rumors are true, Fujitsu and DoCoMo are teaming up to unleash a dual-boot device this year that can go from Windows 7 (the desktop OS, not WP7) to Symbian at the flip of a switch. According to the always untrusworthy interwebs, the LOOX F-07C will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a four-inch 1024 x 600 display, an Intel Atom CPU, and a 32GB SSD. We don’t know if this latest handset with multiple personality disorder is real or not, but we do know its odd couple OS pairing has piqued our somewhat morbid curiosity.

Fujitsu and DoCoMo’s new dual-boot handset: Windows 7 and Symbian together at last? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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