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Sharp reveals the LL-S201A: a 20-inch multi-touch and stylus-friendly display
Sharp's continuing to push out new displays despite its well-documented financial troubles, and today it's got the LL-S201A model to show us. The 20-inch LED screen supports 10-point multi-touch input, and comes with a stylus which measures 2mm at the tip -- offering greater precision than finger-mimicking nibs of 6mm or more that Sharp says are normally used with capacitive panels. You can stick it on your desk in the standard monitor orientation, but design pros will want to lay it down, although they'll have to be working on a Windows machine (XP and up) as it's not compatible with Cupertino's OS. The 1,920 x 1,080 panel has a 3000:1 contrast ratio and 5ms gray-to-gray response time, and is fed from HDMI- and DisplayPort-ins -- complete with support for MHL on the former. It's due to launch in Japan on January 30th 2013 and, if it comes at a good price, could offer some strong competition to its stylus-friendly peers.
Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch review: the pen-enabled display tacks on multi-touch gestures
More Info Wacom outs the Cintiq 24HD touch, adds multi-touch controls and more to its largest pen display Wacom Cintiq 22HD hands-on Wacom Cintiq 24HD hands-on A few weeks ago, Wacom started shipping a new version of its Cintiq 24HD pen display for creative pros that first broke from cover last September. The appropriately named Cintiq 24HD touch carries virtually the same outer styling as the OG model. An ergonomic base still cradles the massive 24-inch screen and can be configured to your particular seating preference. On the inside, though, there's a host of changes. As the name suggests, the major difference between the two is the addition of multi-touch controls to the more recent offering. However, the added functionality does come with a pretty hefty price tag, as the Cintiq 24HD touch costs $1,100 more than its elder sibling. Are the additions of touch gestures and an improved display panel enough to justify forking over the extra coin, or will the less expensive option work just fine in a studio setting? Read on to find out as we tackle that very question.
Sony unveils VAIO Duo 11 slide-out tablet, Tap 20 portable touchscreen all-in-one
Sony just threw itself fully into the touchscreen Windows 8 arena -- it's introducing the VAIO Duo 11 slider tablet and the Tap 20 combination desktop and tablet design at its IFA 2012 press conference. The Duo 11 is a noticeably amped-up realization of the Hybrid concept we saw at CES. Its 11.6-inch, 1080p touchscreen is joined by a proper digitizer stylus for low-lag handwriting as well as some seriously powerful innards for a convertible PC its size: we're talking an Ultrabook-level Core i3, i5 or i7 as well as a 128GB or 256GB SSD, NFC wireless, GPS, and HD-capable cameras at the front and back. Sony is hoping for a late October release for this beast of a slate, although we haven't been given that all-important price. The VAIO Tap 20, meanwhile, is more than just a tilting all-in-one desktop in the vein of Lenovo's IdeaCentre A720. Despite carrying a 20-inch, 1,600 x 900 touchscreen, it's still very much battery-powered -- you can lug the 11.4-pound PC into the living room and treat it like a tiny multi-touch table, if that's your inclination. It's sharing the same processor picks as the Duo 11, but it turns to more conventional 750GB or 1TB hard drives and puts the emphasis on shareable apps like Family Paint and the Fingertapps Organizer calendar. Not surprisingly, there's only one, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera here, although NFC does make the cut. The Tap 20 is due to arrive at about the same time as its smaller Duo 11 sibling, although we're once again without details of how much it will cost. %Gallery-163639% %Gallery-163640%
N-Trig pen tech whittled down to single DuoSense chips and sensors, shrinks scribblings to travel size
As much as N-Trig is an old hand at supporting styluses, it's had to focus on tablets and other larger devices due to technology limits: the HTC Flyer is about as small as the company has gone to date. A new version of N-Trig's DuoSense chipset family could be the ticket to going to much smaller sizes. The new 4000 series condenses both pen input and multi-touch finger gestures into a combination of one chip and one sensor, letting any entrepreneurial device maker stuff the two control methods into a handheld device with as little as a 5-inch display. Naturally, the chip line scales all the way to 15.6-inch panels for creatives poking at the screens of laptops and larger Ultrabooks. We're told that both Android and Windows slates will get N-Trig's tinier touch tricks before the end of the year -- whether or not that includes phablets with the same girth as the Galaxy Note or Optimus Vu, however, is left to our wild imaginings.
HP replaces the Slate 500 with the Slate 2, adds Swype and cuts the starting price to $699
Until Microsoft gives Win8 the final seal of approval, the Windows tablet show must go on, right? Right. HP just refreshed its enterprise-friendly, Windows 7-flavored Slate 500 with the Slate 2, and took the opportunity to knock the starting price down a hundred bucks to $699. In terms of design, there's nothing much to see here -- it has the same 8.9-inch tablet and N-Trig DuoSense digitizer that allows for pen input. Only this time, HP added Swype, refreshed the CPU with Intel's Atom Z670 and proffered a smaller 32GB SSD option to appease the IT guys who are going to heavily lock these down anyway. Speaking of security, it also packs TPM circuitry and Computrace Pro for tracking lost or stolen laptops and then deleting the data remotely. It'll be available worldwide this month -- just in time for corporate to buy you a lil' somethin' for the holidays. %Gallery-137812%
Android Ice Cream Sandwich includes native stylus support
Styli and Android haven't exactly been strangers as of late -- with devices like the HTC Flyer and Samsung Galaxy Note offering pen-based input -- but it looks like that option will soon be even easier to implement with Ice Cream Sandwich. As noted on Reddit, Google's recent overview of some Android 4.0 platform highlights includes a small tidbit towards the end that details the "full support for stylus input events" in the OS -- including features like pressure sensitivity and the ability to distinguish motion events from different sources (i.e. a pen and your finger). Of course, it still requires some hardware-level assistance from tablet and smartphone makers, but native support in the OS could well open up some interesting possibilities, especially when it comes to third-party apps.
HTC Flyer stylus on sale at Best Buy for $80, because matching gadgets should cost more (updated)
If you ordered the HTC Flyer because you're keen on scribbling notes and doodling over screenshots, well, today's your lucky day -- the stylus is now on sale by itself for a cool $80. That's fairly outrageous, given that you can buy the HP Slate 500's for well under that tally, and the Fujitsu LifeBook T580's for roughly $22... that is, if you lose the one included in the box. Plus, although these battery-powered pens won't complement your Flyer's aluminum chassis, they should still work with it, as all of these tablets use N-Trig's DuoSense pen / capacitive touch technology. And particularly with a dearth in apps that can take advantage of pen input, you'd better be the next J.K. Rowling if you're looking to get your money's worth. Update: We've gotten some incredulous comments and emails from folks who can't believe the Flyer doesn't come with a stylus. Well, just to settle that debate once and for all, we reached out to HTC's PR team who confirmed that the stylus is, indeed, sold separately. Sorry to be the bearer repeater of bad news! Update 2: HTC adds that the Flyer will only come without a pen if you get it at Best Buy.
HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Flyer into the tablet wars (update: hands-on video!)
Boy oh boy, HTC is entering the tablet arena with quite a bang. The company has just taken the wraps off its brand new 7-inch Flyer Android tablet, which touts a 1.5GHz single-core CPU, 1GB of RAM plus 32GB of flash storage, an aluminum unibody construction, 1024 x 600 resolution, a tablet-optimized version of Sense, and... what's this, a pressure-sensitive stylus! The HTC Scribe trademark we saw floating around in legal waters turned out not to be the branding for a tablet, it's actually the name HTC gives to the technology enabling what it calls a "groundbreaking pen experience." Other details include a 5 megapixel camera on the back paired with a 1.3 megapixel imager up front, a 4000mAh battery rated to last for four hours of continuous video playback, and memory expandability via a microSD card. The Flyer will ship in Q2 2011 with Android Gingerbread 2.4 on board. HTC says it'll be indistinguishable from 2.3 as far as the end user is concerned, though we all know it won't be quite as good as the 3.0 stuff. We're told not to worry, however, since the new version of Sense being introduced with the Flyer will be the focal point of the company's software offering. As far as HTC is concerned, Sense matters more than the underlying platform, and the reason Honeycomb isn't the shipping OS here was explicitly stated as HTC not having enough time with the latest Google code to customize it to the full requirements of Sense. Guess that settles that. There are a couple more software enhancements, both marking the introduction of the fruits of HTC's recent deals: OnLive cloud gaming will be coming with the Flyer in the form of an app you open up to access the web-connected bored-relieving service, while that Saffron Digital acquisition has turned into an HTC Watch app for movie streaming and downloading. We spent a bit of quality time with a Flyer unit recently, although we weren't allowed to turn it on, and our early impressions are rather mixed. On the one hand, we do appreciate the ruggedness and durability that's afforded by the one-piece aluminum shell, but on the other, the Flyer is quite the chunky beast in your hands. We'd imagine strapping in such an extra-speedy processor is the main culprit for its extra girth, though the Flyer is, ironically enough, not terribly light either. We found it heavier and generally a lot less polished from a design perspective than Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Anyhow, HTC should have functional units for us immediately following its MWC presser this morning, and we'll be delving in deeper with this super-specced device. Hang tight! Update: Pictures of the Flyer can now be explored below and we have video awaiting your audience just past the break. Update 2: HTC has tweeted that the Flyer will be updated to Honeycomb in Q2. %Gallery-116694%
E Ink begins sampling color and capacitive touch displays, on track for late 2010 launch
E Ink Holdings, the company behind the power-sipping screens contained within Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Readers, is keeping to its schedule for the biggest overhaul of its display technology yet. Color panels are reportedly now sampling out to device vendors and China-based Hanvon has already answered the call -- it promises to deliver color E Ink readers by the end of this year. Two varieties of touchscreens are also being prepared: the first is a capacitive panel to sate the kids' need to flick and swipe everywhere, while the second will include a pen-friendly digitizer that should make annotations a doddle (or should that be a doodle?). Better response times and reflectivity are also being touted, though the big question is obviously when this good stuff will make its way into mainstream devices like the Kindle. If you believe Jeff Bezos, that won't be any time soon.
Intel Classmate PC becomes Toshiba CM1 in Japan
Toshiba and Intel have announced that they're partnering up to deliver Chipzilla's convertible Classmate PC to Japanese youths -- just in time for the new school year. Sporting a 1.66GHz Atom N450 and an overhauled design, this latest iteration of the educational use netbook will start filtering through Nipponese school corridors this August. It packs 160GB of storage room and 2GB of RAM under a nice 1,366 x 768 10.1-inch touchscreen. The latter flips around to facilitate pen input with an included stylus, while the whole package is protected by a well rubberized and ruggedized case. Now if only it could get some multitouch and one of those crazy 15-hour batteries, we might consider going back to school and using it to finish our floristry studies. Full PR after the break. Update: The Japanese school year starts in April, so technically the CM1 is just in time for the second semester. So long as it's on time, we don't think anyone will mind much.
Fujitsu Lifebook TH700 brings convertible tablet magic at a more affordable price
With a 2.26GHz Core i3-350M processor and a $1,149 asking price, the Fujitsu Lifebook TH700's no netvertible, to be sure, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a tablet with more bang for the buck. Near as we can tell, this svelte 12.1-inch convertible's built on the same chassis as the Lifebook T730 we saw last month, with half the RAM and a slower CPU but all those lovely goodies intact. That means for $700 less than its older brother, you're getting a pen-and-capacitive-touch dual digitizer on top of that LED-backlit display, fingerprint and ambient light sensors plus a removable dust filter -- not to mention the standard 320GB hard drive, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD burner and HDMI port. With a $50 mail-in rebate presently available to celebrate its stealthy arrival, it sounds like a done deal to us -- assuming, of course, that no other corners were cut.
Tablet PC shocker! Fujitsu LifeBook T730 official, smaller version of T900
It's good to have options, right? And, bam! Just like that, Fujitsu announces a little something called the LifeBook T730. Sporting the same Intel Core i5-520M, i5-540M, or i7-620M CPU available on the LifeBook T900, this bad boy packs up to 8GB RAM, 320GB HDD (or 128GBSSD with encryption), Bluetooth, HDMI output, pen input (with optional capacitive multitouch), and a Super-Multi DVD writer into a comparatively svelte, 12.1-inch LED backlit package. Prices start at a Rockefeller-esque $1,869 and move skyward ever-so-quickly depending on your needs and budget.
Microsoft's Manual Deskterity project reveals pen and touch input, Courier's future?
Apple may have made its thoughts on the stylus clearer than ever at its iPhone OS 4 event, but it looks like Microsoft Research is intent on redefining what's possible with a little pen-based input and, if this recently-revealed video is any indication, we're not about to stop them. Dubbed Manual Deskterity, the project is currently based around a Microsoft Surface device, and shows how pen and touch input can be combined for a range of tasks that wouldn't be possible with just one or the other -- using a photo as a straight-edge (as seen above), for example, or using the pen as an X-acto knife to cut a photo while you hold it in place with your finger. Of course, while the project is currently using a Surface, it's hard not to see how it could also be applied to something like Courier, especially considering the strong emphasis on creativity that echoes the Courier demo videos. Head on past the break to check out the whole thing for yourself.
Wacom's new Cintiq 21UX pen display ups the sensitivity, skips the multitouch and 'affordability' options
We'd sell any number of our children and internal organs in exchange for a Wacom Cintiq pen display, but unfortunately we're not sure any of them are quite valuable enough. The holy grail of drawing on your computer has just upped its game with the newest Cintiq 21UX. First and foremost is a new level of pen sensitivity, with support for a "near-zero" starting pressure and a total of 2048 levels of sensitivity. The 21-inch LCD display also has rear mounted "Touch Strips" running along the sides that let you adjust different parameters based on what you select with the thumb-convenient Touch Strip Toggle button. Unfortunately, there's no mention of that rumored finger-friendly multitouch (or even finger touch of any sort) on this new display. It's hard to blame Wacom, it has a priority to serve artists first and Microsoft Touch Pack dabblers second, but hopefully we can get a second, multitouch version of this display that's a little less extravagant on the pen end and a little more affordable than the $1,999 pricetag affixed to this display. The new Cintiq 21UX should ship later this month or early April. PR is after the break. %Gallery-86731%
Pen input faces off against hardware and software QWERTY keyboards: there can be only one (maybe)
It's completely anecdotal and lacking in what some might call "scientific rigor," but we're digging the, ahem, relevance of Phil Gyford's little text input faceoff he performed for his blog recently. The piece pits an Apple Newton, Palm Vx, Treo 650, and Apple iPhone up against each other, with regular pen and paper and a laptop's full QWERTY keyboard thrown in for reference. The results may or may not surprise you, but (spoiler alert) after the MacBook Pro took top honors in blazing through a 221 word passage twice, the iPhone beat out the rest of the competition, with the three pen-related inputs (pen and paper, Newton MessagePad and Palm Graffiti) all taking up dead last. The iPhone, Treo and pen and paper all were relatively close in speed, and naturally your mileage may vary. That said, where do you think you fall? Drop in your results in comments (the full text he used can be found at the source link) or hit up the poll below with your best guestimate. We're dying to know! %Poll-40521%
Nokia's 6208c now official, officially in love with stylus input
Nokia's 6208c (or 6208 classic, if you prefer) isn't arriving as a surprise, though it is quite nice to see it being made completely official. The rather unique handset was designed with the Chinese market in mind, as it boasts an integrated, removable stylus modeled after bamboo slips for inputting Chinese characters via pen. You'll also notice a stainless steel back cover, 3.2-megapixel camera (with twin LED flash), a 4x digital zoom and a microSD slot for expanding storage. Mum's the word on pricing, but it should be loosed in "select markets" during the first half of 2009.
