MultimediaDock
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Gigabyte announces S1080 Windows 7 tablet with USB 3.0 and optical drive dock
We're here at Computex's pre-show event to get some hands-on time with a few new products. As expected many tablets are present, and one such device is Gigabyte's S1080 Windows 7 tablet, which we almost mistook as Viewsonic's Viewpad 7. Here you have a 14.94mm-thick chassis housing a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD, along with an Intel Atom N570, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 320GB hard drive (2.5 inches, 5400rpm, SATA). Other tidbits include a USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 port, SD card reader, RJ-45 jack, 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4,000mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and 3.5G modem. All of this boil down to an 895g (32oz) package. If the S1080 doesn't interested you, then maybe its accompanying multimedia dock will. Like similar offerings from competitors, Gigabyte's version adds stereo speakers, VGA output, three USB 2.0 ports, and audio line-in to the tablet. But the real zinger here is the front-loading optical drive, which is a rare sight on docking stations these days. Oh, and if the built-in 4,000mAh battery isn't enough for you, there's also an optional 2.700mAh battery bar that hooks onto the bottom of the tablet. Expect the S1080 to hit US markets in June for around $700, with the yet-to-be-priced dock to follow later on in the summer (or you could just fly to Taiwan in July to pick one up). %Gallery-124734%
Xperia Play finally lands at O2 UK, available in black or white
It took a while, but that O2-exclusive (for the UK) white Xperia Play is finally with us. Earlier this month, the UK carrier had promised to deliver the Play in June, but evidently things have gone better than expected, as we now see "in stock" signage next to both the black and white models of Sony Ericsson's gaming phone. Pricing is identical for both color variants, starting at "free" when attached to expensive (£34 per month) two-year contracts and peaking at £430 ($702) on pre-pay deals. O2 also throws in a matching multimedia dock plus three bonus games to sweeten the deal. We're guessing that Android 2.3.3 update that Sony Ericsson just rolled out for the Xperia Play might finally have allayed O2's software concerns, which has allowed it to now start selling the device in earnest.
Motorola Atrix 4G pre-orders begin at AT&T
March 6th is the official street date, but you can lay down your money for Motorola's modular smartphone right now, as the Atrix 4G and its suite of incredible Webtop docks are now available for pre-order. $200 buys you the biometric HSPA+ smartphone on a two-year contract, and it'll cost you an additional $300 to turn it into a portable netbook of sorts -- though as we feared, you'll need to pay $45 a month for the DataPro 4GB + Tethering data plan (on top of your phone bill) to actually use it on the go. Another bummer is that the HD Multimedia Dock (enabling desktop-like functionality) will run $130, a good bit more than we thought we'd see it for. All in all, the Atrix is looking like quite an investment, so perhaps you'd be best served waiting for our full review. But don't let us tell you what to do with your hard-earned dough! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola's Atrix 4G HD Multimedia Dock spotted online next to a $60 price tag
We can't say we make a habit of checking out Fommy.com or Mobile City Online's digital shelves when searching for our mobile gear, but these obscure retailers look to be the first to come out with pricing for the Atrix 4G's HD Multimedia Dock. Fommy lists it as a straight up $59.95 charge, whereas its direct competitor is already discounting the cradle down to $49.99. Both are offering pre-orders only at this point, with no known dates of arrival, but at least we've got a ballpark figure to play with.
Samsung gets official with Galaxy Tab accessory lineup
We've already seen a number of Galaxy Tab accessories, and checked out a few first hand, but Samsung has only just now gotten fully official with its complete launch lineup. The two standouts are undoubtedly the Keyboard Dock and Multimedia Desk Dock, which each also double as a charger and pack a 3.5mm audio output, plus an HDMI out on the multimedia dock -- look for them to set you back £69.99 and £39.99, respectively (or roughly $110 and $60). Otherwise, you'll have three official cases to choose from, a pair of portable speakers and headphones, a car charger, a handful of cables and adapters and, of course, some official Samsung memory cards. Head on past the break for the full press release with pricing for each.
Brando's latest SATA HDD Multimedia Dock does HDMI, the ancestors proud
If you haven't been following this phenomenon in geek culture, you've truly been doing yourself a grave disservice. Not quite an Obama-level disservice, but we digress. Just a few months after refreshing its SATA HDD dock to bring along multicard support, the outfit has done the multimedia crowd one better by offering up an HDMI-equipped version. As expected, the device supports 2.5- and 3.5-inch SATA hard drives and can connect to one's PC via USB 2.0; from there, just hook up your component jacks or HDMI cable and enjoy crystal clear playback of whatever content you've got slammed in there. Too bad all this fun will set you back $79, but we suppose it's still a wee bit cheaper than an unadulterated media streamer.
