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Nook Simple Touch seeing price drop to $99, touts 'no annoying ads'
Who says a friendly jab is unwarranted? A leaked Barnes & Noble's slide that slipped into our hands has confirmed that the touch-enabled Nook (now formally know as the Nook Simple Touch) will fall from $139 to $99 as early as November 16th, bringing with it a v1.1 software update that's largely unheralded for now. In the paperwork, B&N claims that this guy offers "25 percent faster page turns than any other e-reader, a two-month battery life built-in WiFi, and no annoying ads." Man, Amazon. Are you really going to sit back and take that? %Gallery-138390%
B&N cutting Nook Color price to $199, adding Hulu Plus and more streaming music
So, if the looming Nook Tablet's retailing for $249, what's that mean for the Nook Color? A price drop, naturally. Based on leaked slides that we've received, the Nook Color will be dropping to $199 by November 16th, but the $50 price savings ain't all that B&N's throwing your way. The Nook Color v1.4 update will bring along some pretty intense extras, including the addition of Hulu Plus, "millions of songs" from services like Rhapsody, Grooveshark, Pandora and MOG and a litany of new tailored apps (with Scrabble called out in particular). Decisions, decisions...
B&N launching Nook Tablet for $249 on November 16th, and we've got the dirty details
Sitting down? Good. Come November 16th, Amazon's Kindle Fire will have company. We've wrapped our paws around a stash of documents confirming the impending launch of the first bona fide tablet in the Nook line, and lo and behold, the Nook Tablet will end up being a dead-ringer for the Nook Color that already exists. What we're looking at is a 7-inch VividView IPS color touchpanel with a 1024 x 600 screen resolution (that's 169 pixels per inch), a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor, 1GB of RAM, dimensions of 8.1- x 5- x 0.48-inches, 16GB of inbuilt storage, a microSD expansion slot, roughly eight hours of battery life with WiFi switched off (that sinks to four hours with videos playing back), 802.11b/g/n WiFi and support for a smorgasbord of file formats including ePUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, Flash, JPG, MP3, MP4 and AAC. Nook Color review B&N cutting Nook Color price to $199, adding Hulu Plus and more streaming music Nook Simple Touch seeing price drop to $99, touts 'no annoying ads' What's looney is just how similar this thing is to the Nook Color, even in functionality; in fact, B&N simply says that it offers "everything the Nook Color [does] + the best in HD entertainment." We've also confirmed that it'll ship for $249 here in the States -- a full $50 more than Amazon's Kindle Fire. So, why does B&N think you'll pony up the extra? For one, the Nook Tablet has twice the RAM and twice the storage compared to its closest rival, while also being lighter and having access to over two million books, magazines and newspapers. So, what say you? You'll be able to pre-order your own on November 7th, and for those still dubious, in-store demonstrations will begin on the 15th. %Gallery-138387%
Motorola Xoom 2 officially priced at 400 Euros, coming this Christmas to Carphone Warehouse
For those unaware, Carphone Warehouse is a warehouse that sells carphones in Europe, Jupiter and other locales in the known galaxy. It also sells smartphones and tablets. And according to the leaked flyer that we've acquired, the long-awaited Motorola Xoom 2 (or Xoom II, as it were) will be landing in Ireland before Christmas. The price? €399.90, or around $545, for the WiFi-only edition with 16GB of inbuilt storage. Other specs include Android 3.2 (what, no Ice Cream Sandwich?), an 8.2-inch touchpanel, and much, much more. In fact, CW calls it "everything a tablet should be." Truth in advertising? You be the judge. [Thanks, Artyom]
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime shots leak out, apes the Tao of Zenbook design
Who's ready for a little gadget pr0n? ASUS head honcho Jonney Shih gave AsiaD attendees a first peek at the Transformer's successor just last week. Apart from that distant, dais-based reveal, we now have in the wild shots of the tab to focus our tech lust on. The leaked images, which have since been pulled from the Chinese site that hosted them, show off several angles of the quad-core Prime, its Zenbook-like aluminum finish and accompanying dock. Unfortunately, the lone lockscreen shot on offer's not giving us any taste of the potential Ice Cream Sandwich OS lurking beneath. Hungry for the full tablet spread? Then hit up the source below to get your gawking a-go-go.
Dell Latitude ST promo video shows off stylus, docking station
Looking forward to Dell's latest Windows slate? Point your peepers here, the outfit's Malaysian site just unleashed a promo video showing off the firm's Latitude ST tablet. The preview confirms that the 10-inch tablet will sport front and rear cameras, HDMI-out, a built-in stylus and an Intel Atom processor. The Latitude ST can also be paired with a familiar looking docking station, leaving us to wonder if we're looking at Dell's 'Peju' Tablet in its final form. Care to wonder with us? You'll find the video after the break.
Google spills the beans on Gmail revamp a bit early (video)
You've already gotten peek at it... heck, if you're anything like us you've already been using the preview version of it. What are we talking about? Why the newly redesigned Gmail, of course. In late June Google started offering a vision of your web app future. It was a bit sparser, a bit more monochromatic and (dare we say) a bit more finger friendly. Well, it seems like the interface is about to become a lot less optional. A video was accidentally posted to YouTube today by Google (since pulled), offering a tour of the revamped email service. Most of it will probably look a bit familiar, but the Mountain View crew still has a few tricks left up its sleeve. For instance conversation views now more closely resemble IMs (with profile pictures) and the advanced search options are more easily accessible and prominently displayed. The themes are also getting updated with higher resolution wallpapers to better match the spartan UI. Not that you need any encouragement, but you should definitely check out the video after the break.
The costly gamble of designing iOS cases based on rumors
Bloomberg's Businessweek has a nice writeup on one of the shadier practices around a new Apple launch like the iPhone 4S this week: case manufacturers building their entire product lines off of leaked or sometimes illicitly obtained information. Businessweek profiles Tim Hickman of Hard Candy Cases (who's been forthcoming with us here at TUAW in the past about how he manufactures cases to be ready for new Apple products as soon as possible), and talks about how he and other manufacturers often build cases on leaked or incomplete information, always hoping to be the first to market to go around the latest and greatest iPhone. Hickman is probably the most open about this practice (for better or worse -- someone in the article suggests his investors should be "nervous") but I've seen lots of other companies do this, even if specifics about it are off the record. As Hickman says in the article, Apple frowns on the practice, and Apple's blessing is what lands case products on Apple Store shelves, so it's obvious why most companies wouldn't be all that forthcoming about it. Still, in the competitive world of iPhone and iPad cases, every advantage counts, so these companies will build cases based on whatever information they can get. Gambling even as much as $50,000, which Hickman says he spent on cases for what he hoped would be a thinner iPhone 4S (all wasted when the exterior design turned out to be the same as the iPhone 4), can be worth it, whether in terms of future research or early profit when the guesses are right.
Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0
A funny thing happened to the folks at Android Police, the same group responsible for leaking some of the first screenshots of Ice Cream Sandwich. They've since come across a few apps from Google's upcoming release -- purportedly straight from a Nexus Prime. The first is Google Music 4.0.1 -- a marked upgrade from the current 3.0.1 found in the Market today -- which sports refined tabs, a contextual dialog and new player controls. For reference, the latest version is shown on the right, which is most likely installed onto a Gingerbread device. Best yet, the APK is currently up for download (which you're able to grab for yourself from the source). There's also a sneak peek of the upcoming Google+ 2.0, which suggests Messenger (formerly Huddle) and Conversations will be renamed to... get this... Chords. Feel free to take a peek after the break, or check out the full gallery at the second source link below.
Is this Dell's Windows 7 'Peju' Tablet?
A Blurrycam-equipped tipster sent in the above images of what's purported to be a 10-inch Windows 7 tablet from Dell. There's not a lot of info on the thing at the moment, and what we do have ought to be taken with a few pinches of salt. But here's the breakdown, according to the aforementioned tipster: the slate's got 2GB of RAM (though larger options will also be made available from the company), a USB and HDMI port and a stylus holder on the back of the device. Dell is apparently looking to make it available in December for around $900 to $1,000, just in time for that holiday tablet rush. Could this be the 10.1-inch Peju tablet that we caught wind of, back in July? We can't say for sure, of course, but it certainly seems like a possibility.%Gallery-135970% [Thanks, Anonymous]
Is this Apple's cheaper iPhone 4?
See that? That just might be the cheaper iPhone that Apple's rumored to formally unveil on Tuesday. Gizmodo Brazil managed to get a hold of a purported iPhone 4s from within a Brazilian Foxconn factory, and while the hardware itself looks just about identical to the iPhone 4 that exists today, there's a new SKU that's leading to understandable speculation. The N90A model number that popped up has certainly emerged before, but where things really get interesting is the "reprovado" ("disqualified") labeling. Is this batch an early set of prototypes that didn't quite pass QA? Will the eventual iPhone 4s even look anything like the iPhone 4 that's on shelves today? You can bet we'll be on hand in Cupertino to find out, and there's no time like the present to clear out your Tuesday morning / afternoon / evening schedule (depending on time zone, of course) to find out with us.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi gets US pricing, 16GB model starts at $469
Samsung's latest Android Tab has already gotten the in-box hands-on treatment from the blue shirts at Best Buy, but now we have official word on pricing for the 8.9-inch WiFi-only model, set to hit stores as soon as Thursday. Willing to settle for the 16GB flavor? Get ready to hand over $469 to take one of these slim slates home, or pull out another Benjamin to double capacity to 32 gigs -- that beefed-up model will run you $569. You'll also get Android 3.1 Honeycomb with "the freedom of TouchWiz," a 3 megapixel camera on the rear with 2MPs up front, and a dual-core 1GHz processor. Check out our Tab 8.9 hands-on, or hit up the source link for the full feature rundown from Sammy. [Thanks, Kevin]
Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi shipments arrive at Best Buy, will go on sale this week
See that there? That's a Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi, and after months on end of mystery, it seems as if the wait to procure one in the US of A is just about over. Shipments are arriving at Best Buy stores across the nation, and according to our sources, they'll be stocked and ready for purchase starting September 22nd. We're still waiting to hear back on a retail price, but those who'd like to hazard a guess can extrapolate from those UK figures. So, did your Tuesday plans just get made? Update: Select stores may be ushering them out on the 22nd, while others will be force to wait until the 25th. As for pricing? It's "listed" at $399.99, but we've certainly seen Best Buy placeholders be wrong before. Update 2: Samsung chimed in with official pricing. The 16GB model will sell for $469, with the 32GB flavor costing $100 more.
BlackBerry Bold 9790 Bellagio photographed in the wild, poses for family portrait
If you haven't yet snagged one of RIM's two newly refreshed Bold devices, you might want to hold off for the runt of the litter. Originally leaked back in May, the Bellagio 9790 borrows the bumped-up specs of its recently unveiled cousins, while staying true to the slimmed-down form factor of its 9700 predecessor. The leaked shots over at BGR show the diminutive portrait QWERTY next to the 9900, clearly showcasing the former's likely 2.4-inch touchscreen, optical trackpad and 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. We already know this phone's destined to ship with BlackBerry 7 OS, but as for the rest of the feature list, expect it to pack 8GB of storage, NFC-capability and a 1.2GHz processor. Of course, rumors being what they are, this could all very well change before the handset's purported end of year launch. Curious to see more? Then hit up the source link below for additional in-the-wild shots.
ASRock Vision 3D 2nd Gen HTPC leaks with Sandy Bridge on board
The tiny box that AnandTech called, "the best SFF HTPC [they had] ever reviewed, hands down," is finally joining the Sandy Bridge brigade. A tipster was doing a little Google-fu when he came across a listing for the unannounced Vision 3D 2nd Gen Series. The specs are certainly a worthy upgrade to last year's Computex standout, including a switchable 1GB GeForce GT540M card, 1333MHz RAM and an HMDI 1.4a port. You still get a Blu-ray drive, NVIDIA's 3D Vision, a media remote, four USB 3.0 jacks and your choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processors -- so this isn't exactly a complete overhaul. Check out the gallery below from a few images and some screenshots of the listing. [Thanks, TheRealBamse] %Gallery-132784%
HTC Amaze 4G gets snapped with the lights on, confirms 1.5GHz dual-core CPU
The only images we've seen of the upcoming HTC Ruby Amaze 4G, the high-powered smartphone inbound for T-Mobile, have left us eager for more substance; few pictures show the phone powered on, and even those offer no visual evidence of its rockin' specs. Our thirst for more info about the beast has been slightly more quenched, as Droid Sans snapped some pics of the prototype proudly displayed at a public gathering. From what we can tell by the snapshots, the device's "about" screen confirms the presence of a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch qHD display and an 8MP rear camera (2MP front) with dual-LED flash. The source tells us that it will come shipped with HTC Sense 3.5 running atop Gingerbread, so don't let these photos -- showing off stock Android -- get your hopes up so fast. All in all, though, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S II may have a fierce battle on its hands for the title of T-Mobile's Next Top (smartphone) Model.
webOS global business unit split outlined in leaked HP documents
It's been just over two weeks since HP announced plans to discontinue production of its webOS devices, and speculation over the future of the platform is still going strong. Just this week, Samsung CEO Choi Gee Sung put to rest rumors of a webOS deal, and now two leaked missives from inside HP show plans to split the webOS global business unit in two. According to letters apparently from Todd Bradley and Shane Robison, webOS software will find a new home in the outfit's Office of Strategy and Technology, while the hardware division will remain with the Personal Systems Group. One of these letters from Tom Bradley explains the split: The pan-HP charter of OS&T provides a broad view of how we can optimize our technologies. In fact, it has proven to be a successful incubator of technologies; it is home to a team of senior technology experts devoted exclusively to exploring longer-term strategies for our technologies.The second missive, from Shane Robison, goes on to say that "webOS software is still a great asset." None of this should come as a surprise, as our interview with Stephen DeWitt reiterated the company's dedication to the webOS platform, while HP's recent ads hocking PSG show the outfit's intentions to spin-off its PC business. Now the question is, who has the bones to make it happen? For the full-length leaks hit the source link below.
HTC Flyer Honeycomb ROM leaks, not for the timid tableter
One of the biggest knocks against the HTC Flyer when it launched (besides the extra $80 the stylus would cost you) was that it shipped with a Sensed-up version of Gingerbread, instead of the more tablet-appropriate Honeycomb. But, with the Android 3.1-packing Puccini now official, the Taiwanese manufacturer is working to bring the rest of its inbetweeners up to speed and, as usual, the devs appear to have sprung a leak. There's not much information about the early Flyer Honeycomb beta that just dropped on MoDaCo, courtesy of Paul O'Brien, but it's already packaged up in RUU form and ready for flashing. It goes without saying, this is not for the faint of heart. If you cherish things like stability and reliability (you know, if you're a wimp) it's probably best to hold out for an official release. The bold can download it now at the source link.
Exclusive: HTC Holiday for AT&T in the wild -- 4G LTE, 1.2GHz, 4.5-inch qHD display
Looks like AT&T's fall lineup will include at least one slab of irresistible. The so-called HTC Holiday is indeed real, and it'll soon be gracing Ma Bell's airwaves -- and not just the HSPA+ ones, either. We've confirmed that the Holiday will be amongst the first handsets to launch in AT&T's LTE markets, bringing with it a rather gargantuan frame, a 4.5-inch qHD touchpanel, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of memory, an 8 megapixel rear camera (with flash), 1.3 megapixel front-facing shooter, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a foursome of capacitive touch buttons below the panel. Software wise, it'll ship with Android 2.3.4 and HTC Sense 3.0, and while we haven't been able to nail it down with 100 percent certainty, there's a better-than-average chance it'll go by "Waikiki" upon launch -- if "Holiday" doesn't work out, that is. We'll be bringing you more as it arrives; for now, cut loose in the gallery below! %Gallery-131849%
Samsung's GT-i9220 shows up in leaked photos, preps for battle with iPhone 5? (update: nope!)
If you're a sucker for juicy handset rumors, then this one's for you. A few months ago, a supposed Samsung roadmap leaked, revealing a slew of new Android, Bada and WP7 handsets on the horizon. Today, a picture purporting to be one of those phones, the GT-19220 (W43) surfaced, complete with some specs to further grease the rumor mill. Word on the web says that the Sammy will have a 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED Plus display that measures in at 5.29 inches diagonally -- even bigger than the 5-inch Dell Streak tablet. If our observational geometry is right, we'd say that screen size is probably pretty accurate. Rather than taking tablet status like the Dell, however, it seems bound to be the Galaxy S II's big brother, as sources claim it's running Gingerbread with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and packs an 8 megapixel camera. Of course, these specs can't be officially confirmed until the phone is launched, but it's safe to say it's likely a part of the Android army taking on the iPhone 5 this fall. Update: Alas, as many of you have pointed out in comments, there's not a lot of truth to this story. First, both devices you're seeing above appear to actually be PMPs, not phones -- the Galaxy S players we've seen before. Secondly, we're hearing the actual name of this supposed smartphone is GT-i9220, not 19220.