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Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: tablets
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. Of all the electronic gifts you could buy someone right now, a tablet seems like one of the safer bets. It's a cheaper way of saying "I love you" than bestowing a $1,000 laptop, and it takes less chutzpah than signing someone up for a smartphone (along with two years of data fees). And let's be real here: what's more festive than flopping onto the couch in pajamas after opening gifts and lazily playing Angry Birds while It's A Wonderful Life airs in the background? Yeah, we can't think of anything either.Sadly, we don't have any webOS-flavored tablets this time around, and we couldn't include some hotly anticipated numbers like the Transformer Prime, since they're not shipping yet and we don't even know much they'll cost. Still, we managed to find a slew of Android tablets (and one iPad) across a range of budgets. Been on the fence about what to get? Skip past the break for some ideas.
ViewSonic ViewPad 10e coming soon to UK and Netherlands?
Is ViewSonic about to surprise the UK and Netherlands with a new ViewPad? We haven't heard a single peep about the new tablet until the advert you can see above mysteriously leaked, at which point Viewsonic confirmed to Tablet Test that the device not only exists, but will be coming out "soon." The ViewPad 10e gets a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 IPS display (that's the same size and resolution as the TouchPad and iPad 2's display), a 1.3 megapixel camera and it's only 9mm (0.35 inches) thick. We don't know much about what's on the inside, except to say it'll be running Gingerbread solo, rather than the "dual OS" setup of the ViewPad 10pro. There's nary a release date to be found, but we do know that when it arrives, it'll set Europeans back to the tune of €250 (about $340). [Thanks, Andreas]
Twitter.com for iPad eyes-on, now with 100 percent more HTML5
Even if you weren't waiting for it, it's finally here. Next time you grab your iPad and want to check Twitter sans official app, you'll be able to do it in tablet-optimized form. The San Franciscan company just outed a delectable HTML5 redux of its desktop equivalent, carrying over the animated two-pane design of its forebearer, while replicating niceties like pull-to-refresh and scroll bouncing from its native iOS app. Unfortunately, we couldn't get to the goodness from our Galaxy Tab 10.1, but given the open nature of the web, we're hoping an Android compatible version isn't far off. And if you're not seeing the refresh on your iPad yet, sit tight; the company's rolling out access throughout the week. In the meantime, feel free to ogle at the bevy of snaps we grabbed below. %Gallery-129892%
Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video)
We're live from Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky's keynote at D9, and there's something rather exciting on stage -- a pair of experimental Windows 8 dev boards running an OS that looks very much like Windows Phone 7's Metro UI. All Things D actually sat down with the man earlier today and got a sneak peek at what to expect starting with the live tiled screen you see above -- and yes, like Windows Phone 7, this OS is designed for touch. There'll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments -- rather, the entire OS -- have been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Keyboard and mouse will still be options for both sets of programs, but there are multiple virtual sets of keys for different form factors, including a split keyboard for vertical slate use. Multitasking is simply a matter of swiping running apps into the center of the screen, and you can pull windows partway to "snap" them in place alongside other windows -- even mixing and matching traditional desktop programs with web apps simultaneously (like Twitter alongside your spreadsheet). There's a new version of Internet Explorer 10 (which runs Silverlight) and an app store built into the touchscreen interface, along with integrated services like Office 365. Microsoft says the new OS will run on laptops, tablets and desktops when it appears -- whenever that might be. All Things D didn't have any details on when we'll get pricing or availability, but we're looking at some Intel Atom-based demo units on stage right now, and Microsoft says it will have ARM designs (the OS will support NVIDIA, TI and Qualcomm) viewable on the Computex show floor, and more will be revealed at the Build Windows developer conference in September. We should note that "Windows 8" is just a codename for what we're seeing here -- "we'll figure out the real name in due time," Sinofsky told the crowd -- but we don't see much harm in calling it Windows 8 for now. Update: Video after the break! %Gallery-125045%
Editorial: It's Apple's 'post-PC' world -- we're all just living in it
On Wednesday, Apple introduced the world to the iPad 2. A beautiful device, to be sure. Feature packed? You bet. Soon to be selling like hotcakes? Absolutely. But the introduction of an iteration on an already existing product wasn't the most notable piece of the event, nor was the surprise appearance of Steve Jobs. No, Wednesday's event was significant because it introduced the world to Apple's real vision for the foreseeable future, a theme the company has hinted at but never fully expressed. This week, Apple showed everyone where it was headed, challenged competitors on that direction, and made it clear that the company not only has staked a claim in that space, but is defining it. This week, Apple stepped into the "post-PC" era of computing -- and there's no looking back, at least not for the folks in Cupertino. By joining the company's ongoing vision of a "different" kind of computing with a soundbite friendly piece of marketing-speak, Apple has changed the rules of the game, and made the competition's efforts not just an uphill battle, but -- at least in the eyes of Steve Jobs and co. -- essentially moot. But what exactly is the "post-PC" world? And why is it significant? Let me explain.
Archos Arnova 8 and 10 tablets hit the bargain bin (video)
We know, Archos already makes fairly cheap tablets, but believe it or not, the company's going after an even cheaper segment with its new Arnova 8 and 10. The two have been popping up all around the web -- they stopped by the FCC earlier this week and there was an early spec leak from a Russian site -- but now we're finally getting some real details and hands-on impressions courtesy of Charbax, who is quite possibly the biggest Archos fan in the world. The $199 10.1-inch Arnova 10, which we have to say looks a lot like the Archos 101, packs a 600MHz Rockchip RK2818 processor, resistive touchscreen, 8GB of storage, and Android 2.1 -- but before you gag, know that there should also be a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 Rockchip RK 2918 / capacitive touchscreen version coming in April. Meanwhile, the 8-inch Arnova 8 rings up at $150 with the same processor and resistive touchscreen, but only 4GB of storage. If the cut corners don't faze you and you're in the mood for a closer look, we suggest you hit the break for some Charbax video originals.
Evigroup Paddle Pro's steamy demo gives you head tracking, hot flashes
We've been waiting to see the Paddle Pro in action since Evigroup announced the hands-free tablet last year, but we never imagined our introduction would be this, well... titillating. We previously announced that the tablet would utilize a front-facing webcam to track head movements for cursor control, and as far as we can tell, the system follows through on its promises: the cursor follows the motion of the user's head with fluidity, and -- it seems -- staring at any point on the screen more than a half-second equates to a click of the mouse. Frankly, we're still stumped on the double-click, though. A Paddle Pro sporting Windows 7 runs €990 ($1300), while the same tablet sans the software costs €890 ($1169). We're still jonesing to see its moves in person, but if you're looking for a little tablet eye-candy to spice up your day, check out the unashamedly racy demo after the jump. [Thanks, WMax]
Microsoft creating its own software layer for Windows 7 tablets? Boy, we hope so
It's no secret that Microsoft has a slight tablet, err Slate PC problem on its hands: Windows 7 certainly works on a "pad," but the user interface isn't meant for strictly finger input. The makeshift solution has been, of course, for its partners to create software skins of their own -- see HP TouchSmart UI, the ExoPC "Connect Four" skin, etc. -- but according to Microsoft know-it-all Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, the guys in Redmond may just be working on a layer of their own. Now, Foley says these are just recurring rumors at this point, but they happen to line up with similar whispers we've heard that Microsoft might develop its own optional "shell." Foley actually believes that it could be based on Windows Media Center, and points to an article by UK blogger Mark Wilson in which Ballmer is quoted saying, "what you'll see over the course of the next year is us doing more and more work with our hardware partners creating hardware-software optimisations with Windows 7 and with Windows 7 Media Center [...]." We don't need to tell you, Mr. Ballmer, that we think that sounds like a glorious idea, and it'll certainly buy you time until Windows 8 is ready in 2012. Speaking of which, he also confirmed that it won't be releasing another version of Windows in the interim as some may have suspected. We've similarly heard that Microsoft is heavily optimizing the new OS for slates, and is already prepping its partners with information on that front. Obviously all of this should be taken with a grain of salt at this point, but we sure are happy to hear that Microsoft's starting to understand how important those UI layers are to consumer adoption and that the wheels may be in motion on finger-friendly interface improvements. Of course, for now we'll be sitting here twiddling our thumbs until next week's October 11 event to see if any elusive Microsoft slate announcements do in fact decide to make an appearance.
AMD in no rush to build tablets, says netbooks are priority one
According to DigiTimes, processor vendor AMD isn't terribly concerned about powering the next iPad or even a would-be assassin; the company's still waiting to see if the tablet market even takes off. The silicon firm will still work on desktop PC products and graphics cards, but is currently focused on graphically potent ultraportables; according to the publication, they're also not terribly interested in following in competitor Intel's smartphone footsteps. Of course, that's the same basic thing AMD execs said in 2008, right before Intel ate their lunch. We reached out to a company spokesperson this afternoon, and received the following statement: Our current generation of notebook platforms has not been designed for tablets. Our focus continues to be on ultrathin and mainstream notebooks which address the vast majority of the PC market opportunity.
Report: iPad grabbed 0.03 percent of all web traffic in its first week on earth
Yesterday, when Apple announced it was pushing back the international launch of the iPad until the end of May, high demand was cited -- over 500,000 units delivered, it said. And today, we've got a report out from NetApplications that indicates the iPad might be quickly making inroads with users. Over the first week of the device's public availability, the report says, the iPad nabbed about 0.03 percent of all web traffic. For comparison, the iPhone averages about 0.51 percent of traffic. This number nearly matches web traffic for BlackBerrys in March -- 0.04 percent (Android grabbed up 0.07 percent, as did Windows Mobile). Of course, NetApplications tracks only a sampling of website traffic to gather its data, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for longer term trends.
Cynergy's magazine kiosk concept serves up digital content a la carte (video)
Not that we've never seen Surface-like touch tables interacting with mobile devices before, but now that the whole thing is being repackaged as "the magazine stand of the future" and those trendy tablets are involved, we might as well have a look. Cynergy is demonstrating a seamless method for purchasing digital content from one of these kiosks using your e-reader or tablet pc. It's just a matter of plopping your device -- which already knows your identity and available credit -- atop the display table and then flicking the particular magazine or newspaper you want onto your storage. It looks effortless and all, but it also requires that you have the "custom designed and built" software from Cynergy, which you'll have to pump funds into in order to get the seamlessness going. We don't know how we feel about yet another proprietary ecosystem floating about, but you can make your own mind up after watching the video after the break.
FirstView's $95 Android / Windows CE PC607V tips a craptablet iceberg at CeBIT
Doesn't look too bad for a $95 Android tablet, huh? Well, there's plenty more where that came from. Scattered along the main halls of CeBIT are dozens of Chinese and Taiwanese consumer electronics resellers looking to sell products to new customers, and this year they sure loaded up the suitcases with cheap Android / Windows CE tablets. For the most part all these tablets (or small smartbooks) have ARM 9 or 11 processors and 5 to 7-inch resistive touch displays. While some like the FirstView PC607V tablet (pictured above) have attractive skins on top of Windows CE, others from companies like Forsa and Huawei have gone with stock versions of Android. In truth, all of the ones we played with felt chintzy, but it was easier to lower our standards when we learned they wouldn't draw more than $150 from our wallets. We've got a hands-on video with FirstView's Android tablet after the break, but if that doesn't fill your cheap tablet needs hit the more coverage links for videos by some serious Android / ARM tablet lovers. %Gallery-87499%
Acer not making a tablet, will focus on ultra-thin laptops
We're sort of loving Acer's new bad-boy vibe -- not only have company execs recently gone on record saying that US PC manufacturers will be dead within 20 years and that they want to "change the Microsoft-Intel environment" with Chrome OS, but now they're standing firm while everyone else races to do a tablet. At least that's the word from Acer Taiwan president Scott Lin, who told Digitimes that while Acer can certainly produce a tablet device, it doesn't fit into the company's business model. What's more, he doubts that other companies can simply copy Apple's hardware and succeed -- instead, Acer's going to focus on ultra-thin laptops, a category Acer expects to account for 20-30 percent of its business this year. Lin also said Acer will introduce some new models that are less then 2cm (.7 inches) thick -- assuming there's an ARM-based Chrome OS netbook in that mix, we can certainly see the super thin and light laptop category and the tablet category aligning as direct competitors in the near future.
Apple rumor roundup: pipe dreams, Lala's role and Verizon's iPhone 4G
In case you haven't noticed, things are getting out of hand in the world of Apple rumors. Frankly, it's all we can do to read another one and trudge onward, but hey -- we've no problem with folks putting their reputations on the line here. Let's dig in to the latest pair, shall we? The rumor: Apple's acquisition of Lala will actually lead to customers having access to an "online locker" for multimedia. This could be a cloud storage location for one's iTunes library, enabling them to have access to their jams and vids even when away from their at-home storage. The trick is that the cloud would only hold the metadata, and streaming would originate from somewhere else on Apple's end. Our take: Okay, so we want to believe. Just imagine if your next Apple tablet or iPhone knew exactly what songs you owned in iTunes, and at a moment's notice, you could tap into the iTunes store and stream full, unedited versions of those songs from anywhere. Amazing, no? Problem is, the bulk of iTunes libraries aren't made up of content that was purchased in iTunes (or purchased at all). It seems that the best Apple could do would be to negotiate streaming deals for content you've actually purchased within iTunes, which results in a half-baked user experience. Last we checked, Stevie J wasn't much on half-baked user experiences. The rumor: Astoundingly, the mythical Apple tablet won't be the company's "one more thing" next week; instead, it'll be a refreshed iPhone... that works on Verizon Wireless. Oh, and iPhone OS 4.0. So says Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, anyway. Our take: Ha! Apple has never been one to showcase too much at one time, and we're guessing that the outfit would be smart enough to withhold a new iPhone introduction for a separate press event. We don't doubt that a Verizon iPhone is in the works (though an LTE version will be at least a year or two out), but there's no way Jobs steals the tablet's thunder by giving every rabid iPhone user hot sweats when considering the switch to Big Red. Bottom line? Don't bank on it. At this point, we reckon everyone would be best served by taking a huge step back, a deep breath and one of those so-called "chill pills." Next Wednesday ain't so far away, now is it?
Microsoft Touch Pack brings Surface experience to Windows 7
Our initial experience with Windows 7's multitouch was decidedly less than stellar, but it looks like Microsoft's taking the initiative to ramp up the usability with the newly-unveiled Touch Pack. It's a software suite consisting of three games and three Surface apps, including a a globe you can pinch and twist around, the ever-popular surface collage for images, and and a zen-inspired lagoon screensaver. OEMs making touchscreen-capable Windows 7 rigs are being offered the pack to use as a pre-installed option, so look for these to arrive around the same time as the new OS, which should be sometime this holiday season. In the meantime, GottaBeMobile's gotten their hands on the app collection early, and you can view their efforts in the video after the break. Read - Windows 7 Team Blog Read - GottaBeMobile's hands-on
Viliv S5 unboxed in beautiful, epic video
We've had our eyes and hands all over Viliv's S5 for quite some time now, but we'll freely admit that we kind of can't get enough of the little guy. Well, until now, maybe. jkkmobile's got an exhaustive video unboxing which shows the device off quite nicely -- its 4.8-inch haptic touchscreen looks super responsive -- and overall, this UMPC is shaping up to be one decently impressive piece of work. They're expected to ship around May 8th in the U.S. for $599. Video is after the break -- it's a little long, but be sure to stick with it until the end, when Ilsa takes off in a plane for America, leaving a teary-eyed Rick on the tarmac. You won't be disappointed.
Viliv S5 unboxed and handled in Hong Kong
We've seen plenty of Viliv's S5 tablet PC, but the fine folks of Engadget Chinese have scored some precious unboxing time with the little dude, and it's looking pretty great. The XP-running MID has a 4.8-inch touchscreen, a 60GB hard disk, an Intel Silverthorne-class 1.33GHz Z520 CPU, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and 1GB of memory. It's available in Korea now, though it appears to have missed its European / U.S. shipping dates at the end of March -- but we'll let you know when we start seeing these babies hit the streets. They're supposed to be priced at $649 when they do become available in the States. There are a few more shots after the break, but hit the read link for the entire, stunningly awesome set.
LG C1 XNote reviewed (sorta, in Korean)
It hasn't even been a week since we first spotted the new LG C1 XNote, but already the first reviews are starting to trickle in (sort of). See, we came across what is supposed to be the first Korean review of the LG C1 XNote, however, we're pretty sure that there must be something lost in Google's translation, because this "review" doesn't exactly pull apart the nitty-gritty of this tablet. Whatever though, it sure does have some brilliant photos. Here's what we were able to garner from the review: the LG C1 XNote has an nVIDIA Geforce 7300 Go, HSDPA, a 10.6-inch screen, a SD and CompactFlash card slot, and a USIM slot (all stuff you could find on the spec sheet). If any of our readers who understand Korean can perhaps help us out with some more info that we missed out on, you know how to find us. In the meantime, check out one more snapshot that we snagged of this bad boy on the next page.[Via Slashgear]
