Hasta La Gadget!

Azpen shows off dual, dual-boot Windows / Android tablets (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While “Windows runs on ARM now” is a really easy thing to say, it’s an extremely complicated subject, fraught with industry drama, technical accomplishment, and a hint of Microsoft’s vision for the future. Microsoft is saying loud and clear that x86 isn’t enough (sorry, Intel and AMD), that current Windows form factors aren’t sufficient (sorry, netbooks), and that it’s still a nimble enough company to respond to changes in the market and consumer frustrations (sorry, Clippy). But what does that actually mean, in the long run? Let’s talk things through, after the break.

Continue reading Editorial: Windows on ARM is a big deal, but it’s not enough to win at tablets

Editorial: Windows on ARM is a big deal, but it’s not enough to win at tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not going to lie, Microsoft’s news on the tablet front here at CES has been quite a disappointment. While it teased that it’s working on “the next version of Windows” for ARM, it didn’t talk about its plans for a tablet-based OS at all. It’s been Windows 7 and more Windows 7. And according to CNET, we’re not the only ones that want Microsoft to show some movement on the tablet UI front — Intel has been pushing Microsoft for a long time. In addition, Intel’s marketing chief Tom Kilroy seemed to imply that Microsoft’s tablet solution is still a ways off. Now, of course, Microsoft seems to be moving away from Intel and starting to work on some flavor of Windows for ARM chips, and perhaps related to that, ZDNet’s Microsoft maven Mary Jo Foley has heard quite a bit about a new “application model” for Windows 8 called Jupiter. Foley has heard that Microsoft is working on a new XAML user interface for Win 8, which will support “smoother animation,” more media capabilities, and “immersive apps.” It will also be lightweight, and thus, ideal for tablets or slates. Microsoft’s Vice President of Microsoft’s Developer Division Soma Somasegar actually seemed to confirm the project to Foley, but claims it has changed directions quite a bit. So, what does this all mean? In sum, Microsoft’s in no better position on the tablet front than it was a few weeks or months ago. And the wait continues…

Intel’s been wishin’ and hopin’ for a Microsoft tablet OS, Windows 8 rumors recommence originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same at MSI, as the company’s two tablets — due to ship within three months — still feel like early prototypes. MSI showed off both its Windows 7 and Android 10-inch slates at CES 2011, now known as the WindPad 100W and WindPad 100A, and both sport last-gen tablet specs. Despite pitching the Windows device as an Oak Trail device, the WindPad 100W’s still got a 1.66GHz Atom Menlow Z530 CPU here, and Windows 7 is seriously laggy and unresponsive despite the presence of a 32GB SSD and 2GB of RAM. Though it have the promised HDMI port, it’s basically the same device we saw in May of last year.

Meanwhile, the WindPad 100A (nee WindPad 110) has indeed had a redesign, but possibly for the worse — it presently only has a single physical key pulling double-duty as Back and Power, and MSI’s no longer listing Tegra 2, just a ARM Cortex A8 chip from an undisclosed vendor. It’s actually got a fairly useful custom skin on top to display icons at proper tablet resolution and quickly swap between multimedia, the full Android Market, and a full 1GB of RAM, but the device wasn’t anything special otherwise. If you ask us, an Android 2.2 tablet with these specs is going to be a hard sell in a post-CES 2011 world. Still, it’s always possible MSI could pull things together at the last minute and surprise us. PR after the break.

Continue reading MSI WindPad 100W and 100A tablets hit CES 2011, we go hands-on

MSI WindPad 100W and 100A tablets hit CES 2011, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re an avid Engadget reader, you’re familiar with a dream of ours — we have always wanted a netbook / tablet hybrid (netverible as we like to call ’em) that actually works really well. We don’t want to get our hopes up too much, but the Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series could be it. While we got a chance to see the 10.1-inch tablet with its slide out keyboard just a few days ago, we caught some one-on-one time with the device behind closed doors here at the show and came out having a lot of hope in the product. The unit we saw, and the one being shown on the show floor here at CES, is still pre-production, but even so the sliding mechanism worked pretty smoothly. That’s not to say it doesn’t still feel delicate, but it actually auto-slides open once you start to push up the screen. As you’ll see in the video, it’s a rather exhilarating process, although, we were slightly worried that the back of the screen was going to shave off a keyboard key or two. Speaking of the keyboard, those smooth, shiny chiclet keys feel pretty good, though as you’d expect the layout is a little bit cramped.

When held in tablet mode the 2.18-pound device is a little heavy for one-handed use, but it’s nowhere near as thick or bulky as the Dell Inspiron Duo. However, to maintain those trim dimensions, Samsung has had to cut out a full sized USB port, and instead, the device will use its mini-HDMI port — it will come with a mini-HDMI-to-USB 2.0 adapter. It also has a MicroSD slot and 3G-card insert, and both front- and back-facing cameras. We didn’t get to spend too much with Samsung’s Touch Launcher, but it’s one of the nicer looking Windows 7 layers we’ve seen in our day, and it can be launched by just touching that bright blue strip on the screen bezel. Of course, we’re slightly worried that it will be sluggish, but Samsung is using Intel’s forthcoming 1.5GHz Oak Trail processor, which we’ve heard will speed up Win 7 and improve battery life. As for the 340-nit, 1366 x 768-resolution screen itself, it was nice and bright on maximum setting, and the viewing angles seemed to be fairly decent. Unfortunately, it’s also fairly glossy, so we’ll have to see how it holds up outdoors. It also supports up to 16 points of contact — we’re not sure how useful that is on a ten-inch screen, but it’s a nice bragging point. Samsung maintains the Sliding PC 7 Series should be hitting for $699 in May — don’t let us down Sammy, we’ve got dreams.

Sam Sheffer and Sean Hollister contributed to this report.

Updated: The price is said to be $699, not $599. We’ve heard different things on the release time frame so we’re sticking to May at the moment.

Continue reading Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series hands-on preview (video)

Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series hands-on preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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