Tag Archives: launch

HTC Flyer Officially Live Across Europe

While already available for a purchase throughout the US, HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.4 tablet has finally been given its official release dates across Europe. According to HTC’s PR report, released recently, the 1.5GHz device is supposed to start selling today, with prices topping out at  £480 (€499) for the WiFi-only 16GB version or £600 (€649) for the 3G-enabled 32GB flavor. And If you happen to have big hands for your size or are determined to get an HTC Flyer just for the sake of painting, you’ll find a cool stylus pen within the bundle (also known as the Magic Pen) – given by the company, free of charge . Hit the break to read the full PR message.

 

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Acer Aspire ICONIA TAB A100 Goes Up For Pre-Order, Ships on April 20

We’ve already heard a few interesting anecdotes about Acer’s 7-inch Iconia Tab tablet device, back in January of 2011, but only now (three months later) has it decided to finally unleash the Honeycomb slate, namely Iconia A100, into the wild and overcrowded market. As far as hardware goes, there are 5MP and 2MP megapixel cameras on board, along with a Tegra 2 processor, 512MB of RAM, WiFi (3G optional), Bluetooth connectivity and 8GB of internal storage capacity which are fairly reasonable but not enough for huge video files to load. In terms of price, the A100 may be considerably cheaper when compared to other devices in the category – only £299.99 (about $485) as it appears on Amazon.co.uk, with April 20th release date in the UK itself and later on all over the world. Good job, Acer.

Update1: And looks like the 7-inch ICONIA A100 tablet is now available for pre-order on Amazon UK with 3G WWAN capabilities attached and Android 3.0 running on board. Prices are at the £400 ($660)  range while shipping is due to May 14.

Update2: We’ve just added a quick hands-on video of Acer’s forthcoming Iconia TAB A100, courtesy of Steve Chippy. Check it out after the break.

 

 

[via Netbook News]

Continue reading Acer Aspire ICONIA TAB A100 Goes Up For Pre-Order, Ships on April 20

HTC’s EVO View 4G Tablet Officially Breaks Cover

We must welcome the rain of tablets that falls down on us so that the seed will grow. And the way it looks right now I think it’ll really take off. For instance, take a look at HTC’s latest and greatest 4G Evo View tablet, which has finally turned official with a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 multi-touchscreen display, WiMAX radio,  a 1.5GHz processor, and a microSD card slot. Has any of you ever thought of it this way? probably not. But it’s here, live and kicking’, and will be offered housing 32GB of storage and duo cameras on the back (5MP) and up front (1.3MP). At this point, we’re still waiting to hear details of pricing and availability, and it remains to become accessible somewhere, hopefully, this summer via Sprint’s 4G network. And it’s Honeycomb by the way. Hit the jump for the full specs, along with PR blurbs.

 

Continue reading HTC’s EVO View 4G Tablet Officially Breaks Cover

Motorola Xoom $599 WiFi Only Version Goes Up For Pre-Order on B&H

If you’re thinking of looking more into this Motorola Xoom Android Honeycomb tablet, but paying $800 isn’t exactly your kind of thing, then you’ve just come to the right place because New York-based retailer B&H has just listed the much anticipated wifi-only Motorola XOOM version online, and it allows people pre-order theirs today for only $599. And while shipping dates are yet to be determined, the number of units offered for sale is said to be very limited. We’re guessing that a “1st week of April” time frame was just made for the fools, eh?

Update1: It looks like B&H isn’t the only one to sell the Motorola Xoom sans 3G connectivity for the bargain price of $599. As a matter of fact a few other giant retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Staples, and even Walmart are said to be offering the Honeycomb tablet, starting March 27th of this year, and not a single day before. Full PR after the break.

Update2: And the WiFi-only Motorola Xoom is finally up for preorder from both Best Buy and Future Shop in Canada, and set to ship on April 8th, with the same US price tag ($599.99).

Update3: Word on the street is that the 10.1-inch WiFi-only Xoom tablet should be getting Google’s latest and greatest Android 3.1 update “within the next several weeks.” In that regard, we’re guessing that the upcoming upgrade will not skip the 3G-enabled devices, which are more expensive, to say the least. More details at the official Motorola support forum.

[B&H]

Continue reading Motorola Xoom $599 WiFi Only Version Goes Up For Pre-Order on B&H

Apple iPad 2 Officially Announced, Claimed To Be Thinner, Lighter and Faster

Apple has ended months of speculation by officially unveiling the iPad 2, company’s most anticipated second-gen tablet that will start shipping Stateside on March 11th and March 25th in other countries, with prices as follows: $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), $699 (64GB), add $130 for 3G. The formal announcement which took place this morning at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California was super exciting, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs surprisingly taking the stage himself.

The iPad2 is only 8.8mm thick, 33% thinner than the original one (and thinner than iPhone 4), weighs 1.35 pounds, and has that same 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS display (Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating) that offers a full capacitive touch screen, supported by 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch. Apple promising a “nine times faster on graphics” 1GHz custom built A5 (dual-core) chip (twice faster on cpu), while tablet capacities are claimed to be the same traditional ones, at 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash storage.

The iPad2 comes either in black or White hues, with 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 plus EDR technology, as well as a large speaker on its back, microphone, 512MB or RAM, and a 30-pin dock connector, downstairs. The new iPad will also be available in a 3G flavor with speeds up to 7.2Mbps, while battery life is estimated at 10 hours or so. In addition, the industry giant and innovator says “…that 2011 will be the year of iPad 2” with 65,000 apps compared to 100 only on Google’s Honeycomb.

So, what else is new in iPad 2, you ask? Well, there are two built-in cameras inside, one on rear, capable recording a 720p video at 30fps, and a front-facing one, supporting 5x digital zoom. Some cool accessories that Apple is tossing, such as the HDMI video out which will run for $39, and a stunning smart cover case, made of materials like micro-fiber and “magnet” elements – that’s $39 for the plastic version or $69 for the leather.

Software wise, iOS 4.3 being announced (available for download on March 11, free of charge) with new iTunes Home Sharing features, Airplay updates, and Nitro Javscript Safari improvements, delivering much faster surfing results. Other than that, we’re looking at the new ability to “share your 3G connection via wifi” which is best known as Mifi personal hotspot, a lovely revamped Photo Booth edition, supporting nine live video streams at once, Apple’s FaceTime feature for video conferencing purposes , a whole new version of iMovie, that takes advantage of the iPad’s big screen (about $4.99) and the most famous “touch instruments” OS X app, GarageBand  that will join the lineup with 8track recording, 250+ loops, effects, amps and plenty stuff more for a very small price tag ($4.99).

So there you go ladies and gentlemen. Who’s buying the new iPad and who’s not?

Hit the jump for the video introductions along some few more pics and full PR notes.

[Apple]

Continue reading Apple iPad 2 Officially Announced, Claimed To Be Thinner, Lighter and Faster

HTC Flyer 7-inch Android 2.4 Tablet With 1.5GHz CPU Debuts

Today at MWC in Barcelona, HTC officially announced the Flyer, an Android-based tablet with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixel resolution capacitive touchscreen display and a 1.5GHz single-core processor on board. Titles aside, the Flyer will reportedly ship in Q2 2011 with an Android 2.4 platform (AKA: Gingerbread), alongside a 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and another one, at 5 megapixels, attached to the back. Moreover, the good looking aluminum unibody tablet offers inbuilt Wifi connectivity, paired with a 4000mAh battery pack, Bluetooth 3.0, a microSD card reader, HDMI out, a micro USB hub and DLNA support. No prices available at the moment, but the Full PR is somewhere down the road.

Update1: Also, make sure to stop by and check out the two “first-look” Flyer tablet videos we’ve just added after the break.

Update2: Not sure I like this all “pressure sensitive” thing, It feels a bit dubious. That said, the Flyer does seem to include a stylus pen for taking onscreen notes, or playing back audio recordings from the time a note was written.

Update3: What’s this? Looks like Amazon.de has just listed HTC’s latest and greatest Flyer tablet at €669, which means a little more than 700 US Dollars. Expensive, isn’t it?

Update4: And just in case you were wondering, HTC’s WiFi-only Flyer tablet is set to be released Stateside somewhere “this spring”. And while prices remain vague at the moment, the 7-incher is said to run exclusively via Best Buy’s nationwide retail stores, while others may join the selling later on.

Update5: HTC has just posted a Flyer demo video that seems to demonstrate the level of qualities the tablet has to offer. Check it out after the break (3rd video).

Update6: HTC confirms Flyer tablet will get Honeycomb sometime this year or so. Hopefully. According to the company’s Twitter account it “will be offering a Honeycomb upgrade when it’s made available.” A bit vague, especially when it comes to launching dates, but still good enough to give us all a ray of hope.

Update7: And looks like the HTC Flyer has finally made it into the UK market with pre-order prices starting at a whopping £600 (about $985) at Carphone Warehouse. This amount will grant you a 7-inch tablet device, powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm CPU, 32GB of storage, 3G connectivity and Android Gingerbread running on top. Did someone say expensive?

Update8: And if you’re looking for more reasonable prices, US retailer Best Buy is said to begin selling the Flyer on April 24th with a $499 starting price and all the good things we’ve already talked about, running on board. Regretfully, It’ll ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but we’re told an Honeycomb upgrade is something we should all look for.

Continue reading HTC Flyer 7-inch Android 2.4 Tablet With 1.5GHz CPU Debuts

Motorola Xoom Hits Best Buy on February 24th For $800, Says New Ad

Oh! What’s this? Looks like Best Buy is done trying to hide the one secret (actually two) that Motorola’s been keeping from us for quite a while. And when we say ‘secret’ we’re actually referring to price and availability, the two missing parts in the Motorola Xoom Android Honeycomb tablet, which were recently detailed in Best Buy’s new ad – black on yellow. So, $799 for a 10-inch android 3.0 tablet, that’s pretty expensive, isn’t it? Not to mention there’s a WiFi “lock-down” which binds to a 1 month of 3G mobile broadband data at Verizon ($20 per month for a 1GB package or $80 for the 10GB flavor). That’s one major flaw! and someone from the big M needs to intervene. As a matter of fact, there’s plenty of time to fix that crap – We are now less than two weeks, away from the official roll out, which takes place on Thursday, February 24th. C’mon guys, let’s have a little tablets competition around, shall we?

Update1: Motorola just launched the Xoom portal. Let the game begin!

Update2: Reuters is citing Motorola’s CEO, Sanjay Jha, who has just confirmed a $799 price tag  for the 32GB Honeycomb tablet, also known as the Xoom (WiFi+3G). While a WiFi-only version will run for merely $600, which is roughly equal to 32GB iPad. Is anyone surprised?

Update3: The Motorola Xoom is finally up for pre order at Best Buy, titled as “the world’s first tablet to run Android 3.0” platform on board. And the Feb. 24th release date and integrated front-facing camera for video calling makes this a perfect Valentine’s gift, don’t you think? Well, depends if you’re willing to spend $800 on your partners in exchange for a 3G-enabled 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet and some LOVE.

Update4: According to Verizon‘s web page, the Motorola Xoom that we’ are all expecting to see out on Feb 24th, won;t have flash support on launch. What? Yes, that’s exactly what the small caption down left says: “Adobe Flash expected Spring 2011.” BUMMER!!!

Update5: Motorola has just confirmed the release of its 10.1-inch Xoom sans Adobe Flash support:

“Motorola XOOM will include full support for Adobe® Flash® Player® for accessing the rich video and animations of the web, to be available after launch.”

[via Engadget]

Toshiba Honeycomb Tegra 2 Tablet Announced (Update: AKA ANT)

Shocking! Toshiba has just announced yet another NVIDIA Tegra 2 tablet and oddly, it ain’t the 10-inch Folio slab we’ve all seen before. Details are scarce at the moment but we do know that the package includes a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 display, with an integrated accelerometer, Adaptive Display technology (whatever that means), dual webcams (5mp at the back plus 2mp up front), Google’s Honecomb Android 2.4 platform and myriad types of ports , such as full sized USB and HDMI hubs, a mini-USB socket, and an SD card slot. Obviously, we’re very excited about it, and hopefully we should expect to see a working version in the coming days or so. There’s another image at the other side of the post.

Update1: Quick measures update: The slate is said to weigh about 1.7lb and will feature a 0.6-inches body.

Update2: PCMag’s Lance Ulanoff was lucky enough to take a closer look at one of Toshiba’s unnamed working units at the CES show in Vegas and you can watch his quick “first-look” video right after the break.

Update3: And looks like Tosh has finally started rolling out its latest and greatest Android 3.0 tablets lineup, now available for a purchase over at Newegg‘s online store and known as ANT. Apparently, there are three Honeycomb tablets in stock: ANT-100 ($449.99), ANT-102 ($499.99) and ANT-104 ($579.99). Each one of them boast that 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) touchscreen on top, along with NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip, and either 8/16/32GB of storage at your choice. Cool!

[via Engadget]

Continue reading Toshiba Honeycomb Tegra 2 Tablet Announced (Update: AKA ANT)

Sharp’s Galapagos Media Tablets Officially Introduced

At this point it’s really hard to tell which is more accurate to describe Sharp’s new Galapagos lineup:  an e-reader, a tablet or maybe just an oversized phone (without a 3G connection, of course). One way or another, it’s going to cost us way too much – and to be even more specific, ¥39,800 ($475) and ¥54,800 ($655), for each of the two following versions that the Japanese corp is offering us – a 5.5-inch 1024 x 600 slate and a 10.8-inch 1366 x 800 tablet. And while we cannot be sure exactly what to expect or when we might actually see them out, this year or in the next one, there’s something inside us that tells us the story, which in Sharp’s case is, that we probably won’t see them live on our side of the pond.

Update1: Save the date: Friday, December 10 is when the Galapagos series will be officially released for trendy and most fashionable Japs.

Update2: According to a Mainichi Daily News report, Sharp is planning a big and techy refresh for its upcoming US Galapagos lineup. And when we say “refresh” we mean that the company is said to to include a few things that you probably won’t be able to find inside the Japanese models, such as 3G connectivity, global EPUB content format, and even a proprietary e-book store. Official release date is scheduled for early 2011, but chances are that we’ll find out about it next week at the CES show.

[Sharp]

New iPod nano MP3 Player Announced, Comes With a Revolutionary Multitouch Display

One of the most interesting products that Apple has just rolled out at the Music event yesterday morning is the new iPod nano device which the company has completely revamped and transformed it into a nice squarish touchscreen player. Yes, the 6th generation iPod nano is actually equipped with a neat multi-touch user interface, while the body itself is now 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter than previous models. In addition to that, the Cupertino guys have also added couple of hard volume buttons on top and a tiny clip on the back (no more armbands needed). And despite the fact that Apple has officially ditched cool features like the integrated camera or video playback support, It would be still reasonable to shell out $149 for 8 gigs or $179  for double the storage in order to get yourself one, especially now when the new nanos boast a 24 hours battery pack, along with a pedometer, FM radio tuner and even Nike+ support. Full PR and a quick hands-on video (courtesy of Engadget) after the break.

Continue reading New iPod nano MP3 Player Announced, Comes With a Revolutionary Multitouch Display

iPad To Debut in Nine More Countries This Friday

So word from Apple is that the iPad tablet, its latest magical device, will officially go live in nine more countries (other than the US) this coming Friday, July 23. The new places, included in Cupertino’s slate distribution list are the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore, as prices are yet to be determined in the following days . Be sure it’s going to be very crowded out there, next to Apple stores, so happy queues wherever you are. PR after the break.

apple-ipad

Continue reading iPad To Debut in Nine More Countries This Friday

Apple iPad Officially Debuts Around The Globe

Well folks, it’s May 28th,  and you all probably know what it means, don’t you?  For those who still haven’t heard, then it’s a good time to learn that Apple’s iPad is finally getting official internationally. The magical wonder will initially debut in 9 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK (which apparently had their early launch yesterday), while Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore will get their stocks somewhere in July. If you’ve already got yourself an iPad, please make sure you checkout our Free iPad game post.

apple-ipad

Dell’s 5-Inch Streak Gets Official, Due Out June 4

Hey boys and girls, guess what? Dell has just gone official with its captivating 5-inch Streak (AKA: Mini 5), which is set for release on June 4th in the UK, and is expected to hit the rest of Europe sometime after, with US debut to take place only later this summer. First and foremost it’s a tablet with everything you could want, including a gorgeous 800 x 480 multitouch display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 16GB of integrated memory (expandable up to 32GB more through a microSD slot), a 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, Android 1.6 for the OS and Dell’s customized UI layer, sitting on top. And despite Dell’s best efforts to keep us thinking it is “the ultimate portable tablet pc” that you will ever need on-the-go, in practice it’s also an HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps smartphone that can easily dial-in and dial-out your phone calls, in case you’re using either UMTS 900/2100 & UMTS 850/1900/2100 or GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 networks. Video and full PR after the break.

Update1: If  you think that Android 1.6 is too “old” to handle the Streak, then get this: Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 updates are rumored to be available later this year – huzzah!

Update2: Word at the D8 conference says that Dell will be offering the 5-inch smartphone/tablet for online purchase, UNLOCKED, for $500. Stay tuned for more details to come.

Continue reading Dell’s 5-Inch Streak Gets Official, Due Out June 4

ASUS EeePC 1015P and 1015PE Sprout Out Officially, Deliver Up To 13.5 Hours Of Battery Work

It’s all about battery life and longevity these days, especially when it comes to laptops and portable media devices. And Asus, more than anyone else in this industry, seems to understand it pretty well, otherwise, how can you explain these two 10.1-inch netbooks, EeePC 1015P and 1015PE, that recently announced with Pine Trail CPUs inside along with a massive 6-cell 63Wh battery pack delivering up to 13.5 hours of continuous work – now that’s a lot, isn’t it? Besides that, you get the usual components you’d probably expect to find in any other powerful netbooks available in the pond, including two gigs of RAM, 160GB to 320GB capacities to choose from, Windows 7 for the OS, WiFi, Bluetooth, built-in webcam and finally, Atom N450 processors. On that note, you should know that the difference between the two versions is essentially cosmetic. Price and availability are yet to be determined though.

[via Eee PC News]

iPad Goes International On May 28

It was just a matter of time before Apple would start selling the iPad around world, and that day – If nothing unexpected happens – has finally arrived, so get your calenders out and mark May 28th as the international debut. Apple says there will be 9 countries on first round including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, while Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore will start selling Steve Jobs’ magical device in July. Checkout some of the prices:

Europe: 16GB WiFi-only €479, 32GB WiFi-only €579, 64GB WiFi-only €679, 16GB WiFi+3G €579, 32GB WiFi+3G €679, 64GB WiFi+3G €779. 

UK: 16GB WiFi-only £429, 32GB WiFi-only £499, 64GB WiFi-only £599, 16GB WiFi+3G £529, 32GB WiFi+3G £599, 64GB WiFi+3G £699. Full PR after the break.

Update: Looks like Apple’s global online stores just started taking your pre-orders, in case you live in the UK or happen to be in Australia. The rest of the stores are likely to follow in a matter of minutes/hours/days.

apple-ipad-tablet-news-reader

Continue reading iPad Goes International On May 28

Apple Says Over 300,000 iPads Sold On Launch Day (Update: 1,000,000 In First Month)

Whether you do agree with Steve Jobs saying his new tablet machine – The iPad – is “magical” and “revolutionary” or whether you don’t, one thing’s for sure, you can’t argue with numbers – and the numbers, according to Apple itself, are pretty impressive. Apparently, over 300,000 iPads were sold in the US on launch day alone, on April 3rd that is, including both retail sales (Best Buy and Apple Stores)  and pre-ordered deliveries to customers across the States – that’s 30,000 more, compared to iPhone’s 270,000 pieces that Cupertino sold (in first 30 hours). In addition, Apple says that iPad users already downloaded over a million apps from its App Store and over 250,000 e-books were downloaded as well from Apple’s iBook store during first day of launch – that’s an average of…”more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad”, says Jobs himself. Can they hold up with those numbers? Time would tell.

Meanwhile, make sure you check out our long list of Free Cool iPad Games.

Update: Now we learn that Apple has sold one million ipads over the past 28 days of existence, with 1.5 million ebooks already been downloaded, joining the 12 million apps that users have snagged. Full PR after the break.

apple-ipad-tablet-images

Continue reading Apple Says Over 300,000 iPads Sold On Launch Day (Update: 1,000,000 In First Month)

iPhone 3G Officialy Goes Live Stateside And 21 Countries More

iphone-3G-whiteToday, After tons of rumors, speculations and some unsuccessful mockups, Apple is finally releasing the new iPhone second generation – known as the iPhone 3G, across 22 countries, on 8:00 AM local time. The new iPhone 2 will have a 3G HSDPA connection which will allow users to surf the web, download emails, get directions, and watch videos 2.4 x times faster than previous model and 36% faster than the Nokia N95 and Palm Treo 750 devices in pageloads (according to Apple).

The second biggest thing, other than moving to 3G network, is the built-in GPS navigation system that was added to the new iPhone 3G. GPS technology and iPhone software come together to bring users mobile phone mapping, enabling fast fix on your location, track your progress as you go, help you get from point A to point B, by using GPS-based iPhone maps and A-GPS technology, which assists getting the signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots, and cellular towers. Once you get the signal, a GPS blue indicator will turn on, so you will be able to start using the relevant applications. However, GPS on iPhone is active only when you need it. iPhone powers the GPS unit on and off quickly and automatically, so it won’t adversely affect the battery life. With the new technology, assimilated inside the handset, you will be able to get from the App store some cool applications that will let you take a photo with the camera, for example, and iPhone will geotag it with GPS location information. Another neat application is the Loopt, that will let you use location feeds to help you find friends on the go, within your range, wherever you are. Moreover, you will be able to receive live traffic information, indicating traffic speed along your route in easy-to-read green, red, and yellow highlights.

iphone-3G-black

As for look and specifications, the new iPhone 3G has a nice rounded sleeky design with a curved glossy back, coming in black or white flavors. It has the same good old 3.5-inch multi-touchscreen, identical 2 megapixel camera at the back (no front camera for video chats) and a flush 3.5mm headphone jack. Battery life presents substantial improvement, with 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of 3G talk, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. Dimensions pretty much stay the same, although the new iPhone 3G is a little bit thicker, with 12.3 mm or 0.48 inches. However, we hear that it is hard to feel this extra inch difference and the sleeky arched design makes it much more comfortable in your hands.

You can find the complete keynote video here.

To learn more about the 22 countries to launch the new iPhone 3G and to see full specs and tips, just hit the jump and move forward, after the break.

Continue reading iPhone 3G Officialy Goes Live Stateside And 21 Countries More