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tablets

ViewSonic Announces Three New Low Budget Android Tablets

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At CES 2012, ViewSonic is announcing three new Android tablets for low-mid U.S markets. The first, known as the ViewSonic E70, runs the latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich platform on board, along with a 7-inch WVGA touchscreen on top of the slate and a 1GHz CPU, 4GB of internal storage, WiFi, micro-HDMI out, a front-facing camera, optional 3G connectivity, and micro-SD slot under the lid. This one will be ready for shipping somewhere towards the end of March for ONLY $169, which makes it very competitive price-wise, with the additional upgrades. The second, the ViewPad 10e, will go on sale by the end of the month for $299, and reportedly sports a 10-inch IPS display, paired with a robust 9.1mm chassis, a 1Ghz Cortex A8 CPU and either Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich for the OS, to be determined later, after the show. And last but not least, is the 10-inch (1280×800) ViewSonic ViewPad 10pi, that houses a 1.5GHz Intel Oak Trail z670 chip, powered by dual-boot of Android 2.3 and Windows 7 OS. Now, frankly speaking, we’re not a huge fans of those two different platforms, running together under one slugish roof. It’s slow, very choppy and not a good user-friendly / user experience we, the gadget lovers, are striving for while we’re watching a video or surfing the net. That said, we leave it to your discretion, as long as you’re willing to pay $849 for it. Check out the videos after the jump.

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[videos courtesy of phonearena.com]

Audio, Media Players, Video

RAmos' 5-inch T11TE Joins The Growing HD PMP Lineup, But Makes No Difference

Chinese corp RAmos seems to be releasing HD players on a monthly bases – our feeling only – and those of you who’ve been thinking it would slow down a bit, should think again, as the company rolls out yet another one, the T11TE, priced at $177.45 and houses a 5-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, paired with microSD slot expansion, 16GB of flash storage, dual 3.5mm jacks(?) and of course, a 1080P HDMI output, to pump high-def videos on your tele – although it runs other common formats such as DAT, MPG, MPEG,VOB, MP4, MOV, AVI, DVD Video, ASF, WMV, MKV, TS, RM,and RMVB. Other than that, this half-inch thick PMP will record voices, thanks to its built-in mic or help you share your music around, with those integrated stereo speakers it boasts. No word whether it would make its way Stateside or not, surely it won’t keep that “new player” title for long.

Update: Checkout the video we’ve added after the break.

ramos-t11te-pmp

[via PMP Today]

Continue reading RAmos' 5-inch T11TE Joins The Growing HD PMP Lineup, But Makes No Difference →

Computers, News, Operating Systems

Hikari's Android-based iFrame Tablet Will Make The Japanese Scene Somewhere Next Year

Android is the key word in here, no doubt, but the tablet issue is no less important, and as you can see, we see a lot of them lately, better with an Android OS loaded onboard (it’s good for the marketing). And Japanese company, Hikari, is no different in that scene, realizing it should implement Google’s magical platform with its new iFrame tablet, which boasts (besides that Android power) a 7-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen display (that can be used as a photo frame) along with an SD slot expansion, WiFi connection, a built in speaker and multiple widgets like weather, calendar, news and recipes on top. Price range is claimed to be at $220 and $330 when this thing comes out in 2010. Until then, you can watch the video after the break.

Update: The guys at Akihabara news have managed to put their hands on one of those Android-based iFrame Tablets, which suppose to go live in Japan somewhere around March 2010. Hit this link to catch the action.

hikari-iframe-tablet

[via CrunchGear]

Continue reading Hikari's Android-based iFrame Tablet Will Make The Japanese Scene Somewhere Next Year →

Audio, Media Players, Video

Viewsonic's VPD400 MovieBook Media Player Officially Sprouts Out (Update: Along VPD500)

Viewsonic officially gets into the portable HD-compatible world, announcing the VPD400 MovieBook, a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 media player, supporting 720p video files along other common media formats, including AVI, RM/RMVB, FLV, MP4, MOV, PMP, MPG, VOD, DAT, H.264, H.263 and MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG for audio. Other than that, this stylish all-in-one device – sized only 113mm x 74.5mm x 13.8mm – sports 8GB of internal memory, together with a micro SD slot expansion and AV Output for full sized TV entertainment. Battery is set to work 12 hours of audio playback and six if you’re watching a video. that, as a fact, would give you the benefit of watching HD movies, view photos and read any digital book whenever on the go. Too bad it lacks a WiFi connection, but color wise you get to choose out of Black, White or Pink. No price or availability details available at this point.

Update: Checkout the unboxing video, made by the good guys at NetbookNews, and added after the break. BTW, just in case you were wondering, the VPD500 comes with a 5-inch display while the 400 version packs only 4-inch screen.  

viewsonic-vpd400-mediaplayer

[Viewsonic]

Continue reading Viewsonic's VPD400 MovieBook Media Player Officially Sprouts Out (Update: Along VPD500) →

Computers, News, Video

RAmos' Android-based W7 MID Officially Goes Live

RAmos are best known for their PMP devices, but the Chinese company seems to be reaching these days some more mainstream machines, with the official Android-based W7 MID announcement, which unveils a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, powered by a strong ARM9 chipset platform and a 600MHz Rockchip RK2808 architecture that technically decodes any common 720p videos in a swift. Besides that, you get a full fledged Android OS to handle RAmos’ system smoothly, while specs wise, you also receive a built-in wifi antenna paired with 3G WWAN connectivity and 8GB or 16GB storage capacities to choose from. Availability is yet to be determined, but prices have already been set to $190 and $234, respectively. Stay tuned.

Update1: Now you can check it closely, by watching the video we placed, right after the jump.

Update2: More images can be found here.

ramos-w7-mid

[via MP4Nation]

Continue reading RAmos' Android-based W7 MID Officially Goes Live →

Audio, Media Players, Video

iPod Nano 5th-Gen Player Announced, Video Camera, FM Radio And Bigger Screen On The Stake

Apple’s Rock n’ Roll event just went down with Steve Jobs up on stage again, this time suggesting a new colorful iPod nano lineup, available today at the online store, delivering two different storage capacities, 8GB ($149) and 16GB ( $179), to choose from. Other than that, the fifth-generation nano is now offering some neat improvements, with Cupertino unveiling a small video camera, integrated at the back of each player, allowing live video shooting in 640 x 480 video capture resolution at H.264 format, which gets up to 30fps capabilities and including 15 real-time special effects, such as Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, 2.2Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur and many others. Additionally, you get a bigger 2.2-inch 376 x 240 display, holding an FM tuner that has Live Pause feature underneath, sitting along with iTunes Tagging support, a pedometer element, built in speaker / microphone  and a voice over trait – all packed into a small sized 3.6 x 1.5 x 0.24-inches body frame that holds a battery which literally plays up to 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video. Stay tuned for more to come.

Update1: Turns out the new nano camera can only handle video footage without stills. Nonetheless, it still looks pretty amazing, so hit the break and checkout the video walkthrough right away.

Update2: Hey, we know you’re all excited to take a peek at those sexy inner parts of the new nano video cam player. And as we speak, the guys from iFixit were rapidly nabbing a nice blue fifth-gen nano device, tearing it apart and showing its bowels wide. Hit the jump to watch from close, or click the link to look at the entire process done.

[Apple]

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Audio, Media Players, News, Video

Zune HD Coming Out On September 15th, Already Available For Pre-Order

With so many rumors and speculations floating around, it’s time to organize the latest details we know about the coming release of the Zune HD. Apparently, according to a Gizmodo tipster, the official debut is now scheduled to September 15th (one week past September 8th). In addition, both Zune HD 16GB and 32GB models are already available for a pre-order in Amazon and Newegg, priced at $219.99 and $289.99, respectively (requires a $25 deposit).  From what we know, the player itself will be equipped with a tiny impressive on-screen keyboard that brings up a nice small arch graphic whenever you tap a letter, to distinguish it from its neighbors (See image after the break). Other than that, the internet browser is claimed to be an Opera one, but we can’t be 100% sure, yet. Meanwhile, until things get more clear (and there’s not much time left), checkout the latest hands-on video from CrunchGear, or the Grand Tour video (courtesy of Tech Flash Videos), featuring Brian Seitz of Microsoft’s Zune team demonstrates the Zune HD. Hit the jump, to read the updates.

zune-hd-colors

Continue reading Zune HD Coming Out On September 15th, Already Available For Pre-Order →

Audio, Media Players, News, Video

Zune HD Officially Announced, Going Live This Fall

After so many rumors and speculations floating around, Microsoft has finally announced the Zune HD, which suppose to make its first appearance somewhere this fall, competing head-to-head with Apple’s popular iPod Touch player. Regretfully, there’s nothing much to share in terms of specs or features, but from the very few fragments we’ve managed to collect, you briefly can figure out it’ll probably pack a 3.3-inch 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen, together with a built-in HD Radio receiver, 720P HD output (via dock station), integrated WiFi connection and accelerometer sensors for landscape usability. Additionally, you might find a designated Explorer browser for internet surfing purposes and hopefully, a mashup interface with Xbox / Xbox Live gaming consoles. Still, no pricing or capacity details to write about, although one should expect either 16GB or 32GB flavors inside, but this way or another those rumored images earlier published, make no place for mistakes – Zune HD is live and kicking. Full press release after the break.

Update1: The guys at Gizmodo have managed to put their hands on the freakishly new Zune HD while hanging around D7’s conference hall. First images indicate an incredibly thin-and-light design, combined with a stunning 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen, basic Zune UI, adjusted to the touch navigation mode and rounded edges, build with a big “Home” button placed at the bottom lefte.  Hit the jump to watch the video or their link for even more images.

Update2: Zune Insider has officially confirmed that Zune HD will be running NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset inside, which means – full high-def video compatibility in the palm of your hand. Still no word about final release dates, but we’re following.

Update3: Rumors around claim the new Zune HD will be priced somewhere betweem $249 and $280 for the 16GB version, while a 64GB modelis on the prep for a late release. Stay tuned.

Update4: Both BestBuy and Amazon have just listed up the Zune HD on their inventory system , priced at $220 for the 16GB model, and $290 for the 32GB version, coming on September 8th. It’s less than a month to go, so stay tuned.

zune-hd

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