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ViewSonic ViewPad E70 and G70 hands-on
ViewSonic has kicked off the Showstoppers festivities at Mobile World Congress with a couple new tablets: the ViewPad G70 and E70 (pictured left and right). The twin tabs are specced just about the same save for a couple minor differences in bells and whistles and the E70's 150€ (roughly $200) price tag ringing in at half of the G70's €300 tally. Both tablets will ship running Android 4 ICS, feature 7-inch displays -- with E70 getting an 800x480 version and the G70 a 1024x600 unit -- 1Ghz Cortex A9 CPUs, and 3300mAh cells. The E70 should start shipping by April this year and the G70 in late June, and we're pretty sure ViewSonic will need all that time to polish both of these up -- no, not the fingerprints, though they are magnets. The device's response to touch input wasn't particularly accurate and the interface was very lagged when using it. Unfortunately we were also unable to ignore how weak these two displays were, and on a device that uses the screen for its principal point of interaction, that's a dealbreaker for us. Here's hoping these two get a buff and polish before launch time. Hit the gallery for some pics.Zach Honig contributed to this post
ViewSonic E70 tablet hands-on, seven-inches of Ice Cream Sandwich for $169 in March (video)
When we arrived at the ViewSonic booth, we expected to find only two new tablets of interest. As trade shows often go, the company surprised us with a pre-production model known as the ViewPad E70. With a 7-inch WVGA touchscreen, this tablet will ship out of the gate with Ice Cream Sandwich and will be available for a mere $169 by the end of March. While there's still much work to be done -- especially with the software interface -- this little guy could be an excellent value for many who want a tablet that's small and inexpensive. We're told the ViewPad E70 features a 1GHz CPU and 4GB of internal storage, along with WiFi, a microSD slot, a micro-HDMI port and a front-facing camera of unknown specification. Apparently, some models will feature 3G connectivity, although ViewSonic representatives were unable to provide further details regarding availability or network support. Many features, including the camera and WiFi, have yet to be implemented, and hardware changes are certain before the device's official launch. For instance, the capacitive buttons along the bezel are going away, as this functionality is now built-in to the Android 4.0 interface. Further, the camera we spotted on the rear won't exist come final version. Still, if the shipping model is anything like the prototype -- which is only 10.9mm thick -- we think many will be quite satisfied with the product's look and feel. Like the company's other tablets, the ViewPad E70 won't include the Android Market and instead will ship with the Amazon Appstore -- unfortunate, but it is what it is.
Hands-on with Pentax's new lineup, including the white Pentax K2000
Let's just say this straight out: the white Pentax K2000 is one of the hottest DSLRs we've ever seen. It's seriously lustworthy. Considering how great the reviews have been, we'd say it's definitely worthy of a spot on your list if you're in the market. Pentax's less-interesting P70 and E70 were also out -- they look nice enough, for being pretty ordinary. Check it all in the gallery!%Gallery-41008%
Pentax's Optio P70 and E70 digicams won't break banks, hearts, or kneecaps
Pentax is kicking its CES festivities into medium gear with a pair of cheapo point-and-shoot digicams that we expect will be a tipping point to a great avalanche of affordable shooters. The $199.95 Optio P70 features a 12-megapixel sensor, can capture 720p video at 15 FPS, ISO from 64 to an astounding 6400 (though only at 5-megapixels), has a 4x zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD display, and comes in silver, white, or red. The E70, meanwhile, sports a 10-megapixel sensor, a 2.4-inch display, 3x zoom, but delivers the same staggering ISO range as the P70 for a slightly more affordable $129.95. Both models feature "Pixel Track Shake Reduction" and face-detection, will be available in February, and have put at least one editor to sleep.
Nokia officially launches US-friendly E70
Admittedly, we had our fair share of panic attacks at Engadget HQ when news spread that Nokia might restrict sales of its E70-2 (a standard-issue E70 with GSM 850 in place of UMTS 2100) to its two American flagship stores in New York and Chicago. Thankfully, those fears have all been laid to rest on news that sales have begun directly off Nokia's US website, offering the trick, S60 3rd Edition QWERTY candybar for a stiff $450 unlocked. Oh, and if you decide to take the plunge, rest easy -- the firmware bungle has been cleared up.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia firmware scare bricks E70s
As we recently reported, Nokia's been dabbling with the whole do-it-yourself firmware upgrade phenomenon as of late. We applaud the effort -- in our opinion, getting the latest and greatest software for your devices should never be any more challenging than connecting a cable to your PC. Murphy's Law being what it is, though, initiatives like this are never going to be without their flaws. Many E70 owners who gave the update process a whirl in the past few days (present company included) were horrified to find that the procedure magically transformed their multi-hundred-dollar bundles of S60 joy into paperweights in just a handful of minutes. It happened to us, and it's not pretty; the phone teases you by turning on and dutifully displaying the "Nokia" logo, but that's as far as she goes. Rumor has it Nokia did the right thing by pulling the offending firmware and quickly replacing it with a new one, but that's little consolation for the folks bidding farewell to their handsets as they get shipped off to Nokia service centers around the world. We're going to give the upgrade another shot with our fresh E70 today and we'll pass on the word if we end up with a second brick -- wish us luck.Update: We've got good news and bad news. The good news is that we don't have another bricked E70 on our hands. The bad news is that the latest and greatest firmware being offered by Nokia isn't yet available for the US-friendly E70-2 variant (which is what we have). Let's go, Nokia! Americans want faster refresh times when switching to landscape mode just as much as Europeans do!
Nokia E70, N93 semi-officially available in US
Besides opening their second flagship store this side of the pond, Nokia had a couple other tricks up their sleeve in preparation for what has turned out to be an exciting weekend for Nokia fanboys of the American persuasion -- namely, the US releases of the E70 and N93. We can personally attest that E70s have been quietly flying off shelves of the Chicago outpost (see picture above) for the past week or so; Nokia's been unable to keep them in stock, in fact, though we don't know whether the release was supposed to have been synched with New York's grand opening today. At any rate, the model being sold is the US-friendly E70-2 variant that swaps out 3G support in favor of a GSM 850 radio, and features a black face that (in our humblest of opinions) looks better than its European counterpart. Meanwhile, the N93 is the same ol' model Europe gets, lacking 850; caveat emptor for peeps with marginal 1900 coverage. Oddly, these handsets are both still listed as "coming soon" on Nokia USA's website, and rumor has it that they may never officially be released here outside the flagship facilities, so book your flights now, folks -- they say the Midwest and the East Coast are nice this time of year.
