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Kin is basically a Zune HD inside, can go for a weekend on a charge
In a discussion with Kin product manager Derek Snyder this afternoon, we've confirmed that both the Kin One and Kin Two are built on the same foundation as the Zune HD -- in other words, they're running NVIDIA Tegra silicon, and there's no reason that anything you see on a Zune HD couldn't run just as well on a Kin. Of course, that's a purely theoretical statement at this point since Zune apps don't work on Kin as it stands -- the platform's completely closed, though Microsoft has been insistent that we should keep a close eye on its over-the-air updates after launch as features evolve. Either way, that's a marked (and curious) departure from Windows Phone 7, where Microsoft's been taking an all-Qualcomm, all-the-time approach. Realistically, we've gotten the impression today that Kin doesn't come close to tapping out a Tegra's horsepower, but that might be by design: Snyder also mentioned that a key goal of the development phase was to make sure that the phones could go a whole weekend without a charge. Running a Tegra at full bore 24 / 7 doesn't lend itself to miserly power consumption, so the overall simplicity of the UI -- and the lack of 3D gaming -- might play a role there.
ICD's Tegra 2-toting Gemini tested, briefly enjoyed
It's only been a single day since the Tegra 2-powered ICD Gemini promised us a world in which tablet PCs could magically make calls, sport webcams and play Flash content (yes, we're still a bit sore about that), but somehow one man has already managed to get his hands on a prototype of the wannabe iPad killer. The verdict? "Blisteringly fast," according to Stuff.tv, albeit buggy and thoroughly unready for market. The website liberally praised the large, 11.2-inch screen for superb color and detail even as it found the resistive touch controls sluggish, and was blown away by how quickly the 1GHz Tegra 2 dealt with web browsing on Android OS. Sadly, it seems there wasn't time to get Hulu running on the device, and important features (including those webcams) weren't working on this early prototype. But don't worry, the publication says the feature-packed slate won't even hit the company's native UK until August, when ICD expects carrier deals to be signed. Now, Stuff, assuming you haven't returned that shiny tablet -- how about you shoot us some video?
Notion Ink Adam still alive, working on Flash compatibility
It was three months ago, in the midst of the most tablet-centric CES in recent memory, that we first laid our hands on Notion Ink's impressive Adam prototype. Since then, we've been on the lookout for signs that the small Indian startup will actually deliver on the tablet's lofty promises, and while that still seems to be on track, the latest update from the company's founder is casting doubt on the originally planned June release date. Stressing the need to agree subsidization deals with telecoms for the 3G-equipped device, Rohan Shravan explains that "some want to give you Adam for Thanksgiving, some for summer holidays." Add in his resolute commitment to only going ahead with the tablet when it's fully capable of running Flash (seriously Adobe, the thing can do 1080p video, but Flash makes it wince?), and you have a significantly more elastic release window than we were originally led to believe. All the same, Rohan couldn't leave us without some titillation, and he also promises "amazing freedom" on the email front and a number of content collaborations that he's not yet allowed to announce. If you ask us, we just want something -- anything -- with a Pixel Qi display; we'll make up our own content, just give us the hardware already. [Thanks, Srikanth]
Tegra 2 delay rumor makes the rounds, NVIDIA says 'everything's on track'
We bumped into NVIDIA at CTIA in Vegas last week, and even NVIDIA itself expressed some frustration at not having any finished Tegra 2-powered products to show us, but there was no talk of delays -- not that we really have many hard dates for any of the Tegra 2 devices to push up against. This morning, however, SlashGear ran a rumor from a "trusted source" saying that there were hardware and software "technical problems" with the platform, including a problem with Flash, which were delaying various tablets, including products from Notion Ink, Compal, and ICD. The source said that the Compal, which was due for a June release, has been bumped to September, while the ICD tablets won't hit until October. We asked NVIDIA for a statement, and they said that "The rumors aren't true. Everything's on track." With that sort of terse reply, we're not really sure which aspects of this rumor NVIDIA is rebutting, but we have to assume NVIDIA is at least saying that there aren't issues with Tegra 2 that are holding things back. As for when we'll see Tegra 2 tablets and smartbooks hit the market? That's anyone's guess.
EAFT Magic Tile and Compal tablets shown in India, Tegra 2 and Android in tow
We heard earlier this month that half a hundred ARM-based tablets would be launching this year, and it's pretty safe to say that these will be two of 'em. Shown off recently in Mumbai, India's own EAFT spurred interest with its Magic Tile, a presumably Billy Mays-endorsed Tegra 2-based tablet that runs on Android. We're told that it's equipped with a 7-inch touch panel (1,024 x 600 resolution), a front-mounted 1.3 megapixel webcam for video chats, 1080p video encoding / decoding abilities, optional 3G, a battery good for 8 hours of usage, inbuilt accelerometer, Bluetooth, HDMI output and a USB socket to round things out. All told, it's a pretty well-specced machine, though we're certainly hoping that the design gets a little TLC before it's launched in Q3 for an undisclosed rate. In related news, a Compal tablet was also on display, boasting a similar 7-inch layout, a Tegra 2 chip within, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 3 megapixel camera and a complete lack of WiFi (gasp!). Head on past the break for a hands-on vid. Update: We thought this thing looked familiar. If you had the same feeling, it's probably because the Magic Tile is actually that ICD Ultra tablet we played with a little while back. Still, "Magic Tile" has a catchy ring to it. [Thanks, Sriram]
Over 50 ARM-based tablets launching this year
While the verdict is still out with regard to consumer appetites for a 3rd portable computing device, PC makers are betting the farm on consumer interest in tablets that fill the gap between small-screened smartphones and bulky (by comparison) netbooks/laptops. We've already seen an uptick in tablet devices on display at the big CES and CeBIT trade shows, now tablet and MID device vendors look ready to blow out Computex when it kicks off on June 1st in Taipei. According to Roy Chen, ARM's ODM manager for worldwide mobile computing, more than 50 ARM-based tablet PCs will launch in 2010 starting in Q2 with "a lot more" landing in the third quarter -- a date that just happens to line up with the most optimistic Chrome OS launch schedule. ARM's seeing so much interest that it had to rent additional floor space to show off the devices. Chen said that many of the tablets are slated for China although all of the world's top 10 carriers have signed up as well. ARM was showing off two Android based tablets at the press event, including the 7-inch Compal device (pictured above) we gave a whirl at CES. Let's just hope that tablet makers have plans for some compelling content and service hook-ups with a focus on the user experience -- 50 near-identical slabs of touchscreen computing won't generate much enthusiasm around here.
Mio's Tegra-powered Moov V780 puts maps, 720p video, and the interwebs on dashboards
We're not suggesting playing a 720p vid while at the wheel, but Mio's Moov V780 -- or "premium PND," as they call it -- sure is a jack of all trades. We spent sometime playing around with the 7-inch tablet at the company's CeBIT press conference and came away surprisingly impressed with the entire experience. It's tapered edges and smooth plastic back remind us a lot of the Dell Mini 5, though Mio's gone with a NVIDIA Tegra chip (we were told Tegra 2, but our friends at jkkmobile sneaked a peak at the device's console and discovered it was apparnetly rocking the progenitor Tegra chip, at least on the show floor) and created a nice 3D user interface on top of Windows CE. Though it doesn't support multitouch, the capacitive screen made flicking through the coverflow-like interface a breeze and the virtual keyboard was a pleasure -- those who wish to use the device to fire off e-mails can always pick up the carrying case pictured above. So yes, overall we definitely like the Moov V780 and its Internet tablet/PND capabilities... but not enough to pay the 599 euros the company expects to sell it for. Perhaps the video below will convince you, but for now we'll be waiting for this one to drop in price when it starts shipping this summer. %Gallery-87351%
Microsoft's 'Turtle' and 'Pure' phones linked to Tegra chipset, expected in both GSM and CDMA varieties
They might not have been revealed at MWC, but that doesn't mean the news flow on Microsoft's long-rumored Pink phones needs to stop. Following the FCC entries that hinted at the future character of these devices, we now have word of an industrious hacker getting hold of the firmware for both the Turtle and Pure handsets. According to his data, the Turtle (believed to look like the square-ish creature on the left) will sport a 320 x 240 screen, while the Pure will have a more generous 480 x 320. Neither would encourage much hope for seeing these as the vanguard handsets of the Windows Phone 7 movement, but a litany of references to Premium Mobile Experiences would both confirm our earlier information and suggest that Microsoft is still going to hit us with something more than a simple feature phone. This is backed up by "a strong connection" to NVIDIA's Tegra chipset, which would be powerful enough to service the rumored video and media management capabilities. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, separate codenames of Lion and Pride have been uncovered, indicating CDMA versions of the Pure and Turtle, whose names are attached to the GSM variants of the two phones. Now if we can just get a release date, we'll be all set.
Notion Ink Adam gets detailed, pictured in its latest form
The folks from Notion Ink certainly haven't been shy about showing off their Adam tablet in prototype form, but they unfortunately haven't been revealing anything more than the most basic specs. That's now changed with MWC, however, which seems to have made Notion Ink quite a bit more talkative. As we'd heard previously, the Adam is Tegra 2-based with a dual-core ARM CORTEX -A9 processor, and it packs a 10-inch transflective screen with a 1,024 x 600 resolution courtesy of Pixel Qi. Also now confirmed is a swiveling 3-megapixel camera, three USB ports, an HDMI out for full 1080p video, a promised 16 hours of battery life, built-in WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth, and some welcome touches like an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor and, of course, an accelerometer. As you can see above, the device has also undergone yet more changes from the last prototype we saw at CES, and you can check out a few more pics (and the rest of the specs) by hitting up the links below. [Thanks, Prateek and Nasman]
ASUS planning a 'killer product' for June, Eee Pad noise grows louder
ASUS CEO Jonney Shih has been speaking on the subject of the now finalized Pegatron spin-off and delivered a couple of teasing tidbits of info about the company's future direction. Naturally, most interest will be piqued by the "killer product" he has said is coming in June, but Jonney also mentions his company's intent to be "another Apple" -- only with a focus on open source -- and he specifically points out ARM and Google as a preferred hardware / software combination, while obviously not ruling out Wintel offerings where the market demands it. Taken as a whole, his words mesh perfectly with what we've heard of the Eee Pad so far, namely that it'll be powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 (which utilizes ARM CPUs), probably run Android, and arrive in early June. We still don't know whether that sub-$500 price will hold, but it's good to put a bit of CEO-level meat on those rumor bones anyway.
Notion Ink to have competition to encourage development for Adam reader, might release two versions
Back at CES, we were pretty excited to get our hands on Notion Ink's far out, Pixel Qi display-boasting reader, Adam. Well, Notion Ink is on the move, and encouraging development for the Tegra-powered little devil is apparently a top priority. The company has unveiled plans to hold an App Competition with one million dollars in prize money for the development of Adam-compatible software. There are no final details about the contest yet, but we think we'll probably be hearing more about it next week at MWC. Slashgear's got some interesting renders Notion Ink sent over which give us an idea of what a final production model might look like -- and it's definitely different than the prototype we saw in Las Vegas. The company also told Slashgear that it's considering having two retail versions of the Adam -- but has only said that one might measure 12.9mm thick, and the other 11.6mm thick -- so we're not sure what other differences might be in tow. We'll let you know when we hear more details about that million dollar prize money, though.
MSI's 10-inch tablet launching this year at $500, patently ignoring the elephant in the room?
Ready for some more tablet news? Yeah, we know, this one's different. Promise. It's MSI's 10-inch, Tegra-powered machine we checked out a few weeks back at CES. We were reasonably smitten then and, despite the new competition, we still think it looks promising. But, a $500 MSRP probably isn't going to help things much when it launches sometime in the second half of this year, if a report from DigiTimes proves to be correct. Specifications are said to be "flexible" and the company will "launch different models based on market demand," meaning if everyone coughs at that price point there's a good chance MSI will dig deep and release an even cheaper model. Sounds like a good idea to us.
ASUS exec confirms Eee Pad tablet plans, picks a bad day
We've been hearing rumors of a Tegra-powered Eee Pad tablet for quite a while now, and it looks like ASUS exec Eric Chen has now finally confirmed the obvious, responding to a question about ASUS' tablet plans by saying, "yes, sure. We have the Eee Pad." Unfortunately, he didn't offer too much else in the way of details, saying only that it will have an ARM CPU and a 3G connection, and that Asus is paying particular attention to the user interface (even citing the iPhone as an example). Somewhat curiously, Chen also apparently dropped the term "Eee Book" when talking about ASUS' other plans, which would seem to be the first time it's been used in any sort of official capacity, although it's not clear exactly what he was referring to.
Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101
In a move that can only be described as caving in to peer pressure, Viewsonic has become the latest to prop up an Android-powered and keyboard-free device that probably won't revolutionize the way you idly surf the web from your couch. Called the VTablet 101 it rocks a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and NVIDIA Tegra graphics powering an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 800 touchscreen display. There's 4GB of storage, WiFi, and Bluetooth, all in a reasonably attractive 3,000 Yuan ($440) price. Availability? Whenever hazing is over -- assuming it survives.
ASUS' Tegra-powered Eee Pad tablet to make sub-$500 Computex debut?
The first of June could see the introduction of the Eee Pad tablet if DigiTimes' proven ASUS sources are correct. The device has been rumored since early December and now appears to be heading to Computex Taipei for its big reveal with a price set below $500. The tablet was already rumored to feature a multitouch display, Tegra (Tegra 2, presumably) and an OS other than Windows CE. And with a name that sounds suspiciously like a feminine hygiene product for a robot, well, we'll let you guess at which Google OS the Eee Pad will run. Update: JKKMobile linked us to a video he shot of an ASUS concept tablet running Android on Tegra 2 at CES. Somehow we missed it... we blame the Waveface.
Next-gen dashboards get Tegra 2, Moblin, Atom, we go hands-on
Intel Atom processors, capacitive touchscreens, NVIDIA Tegra 2 graphics, Moblin installs... sounds like a suite of hot next-gen ultra-portables, right? Think again. Those are just some of the technologies used in the dashboards of cars that will be appearing on showrooms in the coming months and years, dashes that were largely on display at CES -- minus the cars themselves, usually. There we were treated to mobile glimpses of Google Earth, Pandora, and Slacker Radio on the go, plus the ability to lock and unlock your car via Ye Olde Internets. It's the future, and it's coming soon, so click on through already and get a sneak peek.
ASUS / Pegatron Neo with Tegra 2 hands-on
ASUS may be in the process of spinning off the Pegatron brand, but for now it's still the same company behind this here slick white smartbook. Running the inevitable Android OS on a 10-inch display, but offering the never-boring Tegra 2 combo of 1080p playback and up to a "full day" of WiFi-enabled battery juice, the prototype machine was being shown off to give us a hint of what's to come. We're told the Neo is definitely coming later in the year, though the particulars of the price tag and distributor badge are not yet revealed. For our money, this was a spectacularly thin and light pseudo-laptop -- it's hard to overstate just how deprived of weight this thing is. Opening it up shows an appealing layout and keyboard, which were rather spoiled by a number of creaky and unstable parts. We found deep flex in the keyboard panel and around the hinges, but our optimistic souls are willing to put those things down to it being a demo unit. If this featherweight design makes it to market without sacrificing any of the good bits while getting rid of the bad ones, we'd recommend it in a hot and sweaty second. %Gallery-82366%
Quanta Tegra 2 prototype hands-on
Quanta, the company that produces plenty of the hardware you know, love and fantasize about today, is showing off a new tablet prototype at NVIDIA's booth. The reason for its location is the Tegra 2 chip inside (you can see it in the nude over here), which can comfortably drive 1080p out via a HDMI cable and into your nearest HD display, while offering brain-melting battery life. Listening to music with the screen turned off can be done for 140 hours straight, and HD video playback can go on for up to ten hours -- both figures that make current battery efficiency look kinda silly. With WiFi, 3G, and Android for an OS, this prototype could be quite a nice little device, but right now there are more things wrong than right about it. The display is shockingly unprotected from the back, and we saw ripples appearing on the screen from our fingers supporting the machine. Furthermore, the touchscreen missed plenty of our taps, leaving us with a sour taste from what looked like a tasty little morsel. %Gallery-82316%
Notion Ink Adam stripped bare and our in-depth video hands-on
You have to have a pretty special product to get two Engadget posts discussing your wares during the maelstrom of CES, but this Adam thing just won't leave us alone with its Pixel Qi display, Tegra 2 innards and bona fide potential to blow the bloody doors off the homogeneous tablet market. We've gone back and grabbed video of the device in direct sunlight and it just kept on impressing us. The screen resolutely refused to be overpowered by the light, whether its backlight was on or off, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg as far as the happy impressions. Come past the break to find out more about buttery smooth 1080p playback (with a handy HDMI out), Notion Ink's plans for modifying the Android OS, and more on the likely pricing of the device which is set to land in quarter two of 2010. Oh, and yea -- we totally ripped it open and photographed the insides. Check that out below. Update: Check out SlashGear for some production artwork. %Gallery-82298%
MSI shows off 10-inch Android tablet running new Tegra chipset
Tablet-ed out yet? We didn't think so. MSI has a 10-inch Android tablet on display at CES here. There aren't many details (like price, release date and internals), but we do know it's running one of those new Tegra 2 chips. Up front there's a pretty nice 10-inch capacitive display, which is plenty responsive. Like other tablets we've been seeing, the device is a bit thicker and heavier than we'd like, but hopefully that paves the way for some substantial battery life. We might still not know the "why," but the "how" is certainly coming together. %Gallery-82296%
