Samsung’s Q3-bound tablet to boast 7-inch display, Android OS

Posted on July 31, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

By Darren Murph, www.engadget.com:

Slowly but surely, Samsung‘s future as a tablet PC provider is taking shape. Details on the outfit’s foray into the world of the slate has been trickling out over the past few months, and shortly after learning that a so-called Galaxy Tab would be out and about in Q3, now we’re finding out two more critical details: screen size and operating system. According to the company, the Q3-bound device (assumed to be the aforesaid Galaxy Tab) will boast a smaller-than-average 7-inch screen, and rather than humming along on Bada or Windows 7, Google‘s Android will be at the helm. We’re being forced to wait for further information, but given the proximity to Q3, all should be crystal clear in the not-too-distant future.

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Nook’s Niche: The Hands-On Approach

Posted on July 30, 2010 by The Tech Gadget
Nook WiFi
Image by PiAir (Old Skool) via Flickr

by gizmodo.com:

The new $140 Wi-Fi Kindle might have been the latest salvo in the ebook reader wars, but it’s definitely not the last. The ball’s in Barnes and Noble‘s court, and they’re focused on the home field advantage of 720 storefronts.

B&N’s going to be clearing out enough space for 1,000-square foot Nook boutiques in each of its brick-and-mortars, the New York Times reports, that will allow customers to try the Nook out for themselves and and have their questions answered by employees. While Kindle’s available in Target, the vast majority are bought online, sight unseen.

The emphasis on advertising may be an indication that the ebook reader price wars may have temporarily bottomed out. That’s fine by Sony, who also responded to the new Kindle by not budging at all on price, according to Forbes:

“Pricing is one consideration in the dedicated reading device marketplace, but Sony won’t sacrifice the quality and design we’re bringing book lovers to lay claim to the cheapest eReader,” said Phil Lubell, Sony Electronics’ vice president of digital reading.

A stance that would almost be admirable, if Sony’s ebook readers were any good.

In any case, it’s clear that the new Kindle’s got people spooked. “Advertise more” and “do nothing” aren’t strategies that give the consumer a better product or let them save more money. And however much the personal touch will help for now, in the long run everyone who’s not Amazon still has a lot of catching up to do. [NY Times, Forbes]

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Top 5 Free Android Widgets

Posted on July 29, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

Thank you James Kendrick!  Via http://jkontherun.com:

One of the best design choices Google made for Android is to allow widgets on the home screen. This took on additional significance when Android gained the ability a few versions back to have so many multiple, customizable home screens available. Widgets are tiny applets that sit on the home screen, displaying important information for the user and often providing a means to interact with that information. The Android Market is full of widgets, and these are the top 5 free ones I’ve encountered. Note that new widgets appear often, so this list only reflects the current crop.

Android Agenda Widget. This jewel provides a window into the user’s calendar, displaying a lot of information in a small space. The agenda can aggregate events from multiple calendars. The display can be customized in every way. In fact, there are more configurable settings than much bigger programs. This is really a collection of widgets, all of different sizes so you can choose the one that fits the screen space available. The developer has a donate button which helps support the effort; the widget is the same, though, donation or not.

BatteryLife. Keeping up with the phone’s battery can be an obsession for some folks. This widget has you covered, if you’re one of those, with a complete view of remaining battery life, presented with as much detail as desired. If you enjoy watching the actual voltage in use, this widget is for you.

Continue reading →

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Sharp microchip enables dual-screen smartphones, e-readers and netbooks

Posted on July 28, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

Maybe another company will create a dual-screen tablet…you know, the one that Microsoft created such hype about then dropped like a hot potato? The Courier? Here’s the info:

By Darren Murph, www.engadget.com:

Judging by the fact that our lovely planet is home to the Libretto W100, the Kno, Onkyo DX and oodles of prototypes that utilize twin panels rather than a panel and a keyboard, Sharp’s newest microchip is likely to draw some serious industry attention. Improving on an idea that began in 2008, the company has recently shown off a new chip (dubbed LR388G9) that can control two mobile LCDs and can simultaneously display a pair of different 1,024 x 480 pixel clips on a pair of screens; moreover, it can output full 1080p to any source connected via HDMI. Since ’08, Sharp has increased memory capacity from 16Mbits to 32Mbits while boosting the image processing speed, and the company now intends to hawk this new guy to outfits who manufactuer smartphones, e-readers, digital photo frames and even netbooks. If all goes well, the chip will ship within a 261-pin WFBGA package this September, with volume pricing pegged at around ¥2,400 ($27).

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Interpad’s 10-inch Tegra 2-toting Android tablet

Posted on July 27, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

By Sean Hollister , via www.engadget.com:

Not for the US: We’ve seen a number of promising Tegra 2 Android tablets at this point, but precious few solid release dates, so forgive us if we’re jumping for joy to hear even an unheard-of German challenger is slated to arrive this holiday season. Should you believe the company’s website, December will see the launch of E-Noa’s Interpad, a 10-inch capacitive multitouch Android 2.1 device with a laundry list of desirable features. €399 (about $518) may seem a bit steep for an Android device, but it buys you a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 T20 chip in a package only a half-inch thin, plus 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 16GB of flash storage (expandable via microSD) to put your PlayStation ROMs in. Connectivity includes 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0 and HDMI out, and it’s all powered by a 3900mAh battery reportedly good for 8-12 hours. If you’re willing to drop a little extra, MobiFlip reports that Android 2.2, GPS, camera and 3G modules will appear in an upgraded version for under €500 ($649), but we don’t want to get you too excited before we can verify the potency of the original, eh? We’re hoping to see it in person at September’s IFA in Berlin.

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HTC Vision headed to T-Mobile in new spy shot, dubbed G1 Blaze?

Posted on July 26, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

By Sean Hollister , via www.engadget.com:

While high-end QWERTY sliders loaded with Android aren’t nearly as uncommon now as when HTC‘s Vision first leaked onto the scene, it appears this particular handset may be destined for T-Mobile with its (alleged) 1GHz processor, spacious keyboard and 3.7-inch WVGA screen. Of course, we’d heard that the Vision would appear on T-Mobile before, and our worries are the same as then — there’s no telling whether the phone will actually land stateside, or if it’s destined for T-Mobile Europe instead. Either way, our tipster tells us it could arrive with a different moniker: T-Mobile may call it the “G1 Blaze.”

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HP Giveth and HP Taketh: HP Slate no longer a consumer product

Posted on July 23, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

Here I was hoping that HP would have developed, produced and marketed the long awaited successor to the HP-Compaq TC1100.  Here is the news:

By Nilay Patel , www.engadget.com,

We’ve sensed that something‘s been up with the HP Slate for a while now, and it looks like we’ve finally gotten the first solid confirmation that the Windows 7 tablet as unveiled by Steve Ballmer at CES in January won’t hit the consumer market as planned — speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just said that the Slate will be “more customer-specific than broadly deployed,” and that it would launch the Microsoft-based tablet “for the enterprise” in the fall. That fits right in with HP telling us the other day that it was in “customer evaluations” as it prepared for the “next steps,” and based on followup comments from Bradley and Palm head Jon Rubinstein, it certainly sounded like the company will focus Windows tablets at the enterprise and develop a variety of webOS devices for the consumer market. Of course, there’s no official announcement yet, so we’ll see what happens — the only thing that we can confidently say is that the HP Slate has definitely succeeded the iPad as the tech industry’s favorite vaporware tablet.

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Nook for Android now available to download, offers eBook lending

Posted on July 22, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

By Darren Murph , www.engadget.com:

Well, what do you know? Turns out you don’t actually need to invest in a Nook e-reader to enjoy the experience on your existing smartphone. And considering that the average Android smartphone willboast a display larger than your face within 2 years (if current trends continue, anyway), we’d say we could be onto something good here. At any rate, B&N‘s own eBookstore app is now available for Google‘s dear mobile OS, landing just weeks after Amazon pushed its Kindle app out into the same marketplace. Of course, B&N’s not shying away from the competition, dubbing its app “the only Android e-reader application to offer eBook lending.” It’s available to download now on devices rocking Android 1.6 or above, and yes, even Android users can pick up on another platform where you leave off on your phone.Fancy.

From the Press Release:

Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOK™ for Android™ –

An Easy-to-Use Free eReader Application for Android Devices

Announcement Marks Shift to Consistent NOOK Branding

Across Barnes & Noble eReading Offering

New App Gives Android Users Access to the Barnes & Noble eBookstore with More than One Million Digital Titles and Personal B&N Digital Library

Only Android eReader Application to Offer eBook Lending

New York, New York – July 22, 2010 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today introduced NOOK for Android, a fun and easy-to-use Barnes & Noble eReading experience for those with Android-based smartphones and devices. The new application is the latest addition to Barnes & Noble’s slate of free, popular eReader software and the only Android eReader application offering the ability to share eBooks with friends.

The new Android app is also the first eReader software to feature Barnes & Noble’s new NOOK-centric branding, leveraging the strength of the company’s NOOK brand across its entire eReading offering. NOOK for Android will soon be followed by an updated NOOK for iPhone®, NOOK for iPad™, and others in the coming months. The new eReader software branding aligns with the company’s current NOOK offering – NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi® eBook Readers, and the recently announced NOOKstudy™ online study platform and software solution for higher education.

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Hands-on with the Dell Streak Android tablet

Posted on July 21, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

by Donald Bell, http://news.cnet.com

Apart from its larger dimensions, the Streak’s tech specs read like typical high-end smart phone. There’s built-in 3G and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), along with Bluetooth 2.1 support. The 800×480 resolution screen uses capacitive touch technology, supports multi-touch and is helped along by a fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. You get microSIM memory expansion (16GB included), and a removable/replaceable battery. There’s both a speaker and microphone designed for voice calls, as well as a 5 megapixel camera that includes auto-focus and flash. And if that weren’t enough, Dell threw in a VGA resolution front facing camera, enabling video chat and self-portrait antics.

Now take all of those specs, super-size it with a 5-inch screen, and you’ve got the Dell Streak. It’s a giant smart phone and a scrawny tablet all rolled into one. It’s awkward, it’s fun, it’s a freak of nature, it’s your new best friend, it’s a paradox wrapped in an enigma. In all seriousness, we’re still a little conflicted over whether to recommend this superphone/microtablet–partly because of its unique size, but mostly because we haven’t been given all the facts.

There’s a lot going for the Streak, and it’s safe to say Dell has created the best Android-based tablet we’ve seen so far. Granted, we’ve only seen a handful of Android-based tablets, such as the Archos 5, Archos 7 Home Tablet, and Pandigital Reader, but Dell’s insistence on high-end hardware has placed it far ahead of its peers. It’s also the only one in the bunch to use Google‘s official Android App Marketplace, bringing thousands of prized apps and capabilities into the fold. Dell has already promised that the Streak will see an update to Android 2.2 (currently 1.6) and Adobe Flash 10.1 support later this year, putting them further in the lead as the Android tablet to beat.

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ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC opts for Android, dumps Windows Embedded Compact 7

Posted on July 20, 2010 by The Tech Gadget

By Vlad Savov www.engadget.com

Vlad’s report:

The lesser of ASUS’ two Eee Pad tablets announced at Computex this year, the EP101TC, is getting itself a software rejig ahead of its planned early 2011 launch. Originally slated to run on Microsoft‘s Windows Embedded Compact 7 — a wordy OS, if nothing else — the Pad will now entrust its operational infrastructure to Google‘s Android. ASUS is currently working on prototypes with Froyo on board, but Gingerbread (or Android 3.0) has not been ruled out as a possible final OS choice. We’re told to expect the first public demos at CES 2011, with retail units likely following on from there at a relatively brisk pace.

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