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LG H1000B Windows 7 tablet emerges at FCC, mystifies in almost every way
Based on design alone, it's safe to say that the inscrutable device shown above isn't the UX10 we peeked at Computex nor the Android-based Optimus Pad... unless, of course, LG's hardware engineers have tweaked the enclosure rather significantly. According to a filing that just popped up in the FCC's database, the H1000B tablet will eventually hit the US market with 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a copy of Windows 7, and we're also hearing that an SD card reader is likely around the edges. The downward sloping front makes us wonder if this thing isn't cut out for some sort of dock, but it's not like a peripheral port is jumping out at us, either. Our bets are on a CES 2011 debut, but here's hoping things materialize a bit quicker for you last-minute holiday shoppers.
UI Centric cancels Macallan UI project for Windows 7 tablet
Waiting for a Windows 7 tablet PC with the page-turning Macallan UI on board? Don't hold your breath, because UI Centric tells us the project has been canceled and isn't talking details. Though a July press release claimed the touchscreen interface was slated for an undisclosed tablet in Q3 of this year, that document has since been pulled, so it's probably safe to say that deal fell through. Still, the company informs us that there's a new announcement on the way, and we hate to dismiss vaporware out of hand -- if you've got a spare diving-class oxygen tank or three, perhaps you can afford to breathe in. [Thanks, Brian]
Tegatech Tega v2 review
We haven't seen many -- okay, any -- Windows 7 slates from major manufactures (i.e. HP, Lenovo, ASUS) like Steve Ballmer promised back in July, but one thing is for certain, smaller companies aren't just sitting around waiting for the other shoe, er slates to drop. We've already gotten our hands on products from the likes of CTL and Netbook Navigator, but Australian-based Tegatech also wants a piece of the large touchscreen pie with its 10.1-inch Tega v2. Like the others, the $799 Tega v2 is pretty much a netbook that's lost its keyboard -- it's got an Intel Atom N455 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 32GB SSD that boots Windows 7 Home Premium -- but the 0.5-inch / 1.9-pound slate sets itself apart by being one of the thinnest and lightest out there. Oh, and did we mention that it dual boots Android? So, is the Tega v2 the Win 7 tablet you've been waiting for -- assuming you have in fact been waiting for one? Hit that read more button to find out in our full review! %Gallery-105419%
CTL 2goPad SL10 review
Last time we left off in the tale of Windows 7 tablets, we'd taken a look at Netbook Navigator's Nav 9 slate, which by review's end had us not only wanting to send it back as soon as humanly possible, but concluding that something better just had to be on the horizon. Well, as luck would have it, just a few days later CTL's 10-inch 2goPad SL10 showed up on our doorstep with some very promising ingredients -- a capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, front facing camera, and a Win 7 software layer. As we said in our early hands-on, we've been more impressed with the $499 (it will go up to $599 in late October) 2goPad than we ever thought we would be, but ultimately its Atom N450 processor and its software stand in its way of being the Win 7 tablet to kill 'em all. You'll want to hit the break to read all about it in our full review. %Gallery-105170%
CTL 2goPad SL10 with Windows 7 starts shipping for $499, arrives looking better than expected
We've been keeping an eye on CTL's 10-inch 2goPad SL10 since we saw it chilling out at Computex back in June, but as of today it's no longer just another elusive Win 7 slate: the company's finally boxing up and shipping the Atom-powered tablets. Compared to some of the other Win 7 Home Premium slates we've seen lately, the 2goPad has an impressive array of specs for the price -- it packs a Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, an 250GB hard drive, and a front facing VGA camera all for $499 (though, it will go up to $599 on October 20). However, it's the touchscreen experience that'll obviously make or break the SL10, and from what we've seen so far, it may just be one of the better ones out there right now. We just got our review unit yesterday, but we've been finding the capacitive display to be very responsive to finger swipes and light taps. Our major complaint about the screen is actually its distracting glossy coating, but at least it packs an accelerometer, which rotates the orientation at a decent pace. As for software, CTL's preloaded something called QuickBits, which is really just a menu with large shortcut buttons, but it's certainly better than nothing. Our full review of this pad should be ready soon, but in the meantime enjoy the gallery below and the press release after the break. %Gallery-104907% %Gallery-104908%
Tegatech announces global launch of Tega v2, alerts us to its existence
Ready for another Atom-powered, Windows 7 tablet? Of course you are! Australia-based Tegatech has just announced the October 12 global launch of its 10.1-inch Tega v2. So, what is it exactly? With a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16/32/64GB SSD options, it sounds like your run-of-the-mill Win 7 tablet, though it does have a capacitive touchscreen and accelerometer -- facts that make it superior to the Nav 9 we just reviewed. It'll also ship with Windows 7 Home Premium, but interestingly there are Android 1.6 drivers on the company's site as well as a dual-boot manual. That, along with a dedicated Ctrl+Alt+Del button, certainly makes it a bit different than the others. No word on international pricing just yet, but those details ought to be flowing from the Land Down Under soon.
Netbook Navigator Nav 9 Slate PC review
It's been over nine months since Steve Ballmer whipped out the HP Slate at CES and divulged that there'd be Windows 7 "Slate PCs" hitting the market. It sure was a memorable keynote, but since that fateful day all we've got to show for actual Win 7 tablets are a slew of leaked videos of HP's elusive device, information / trade show sightings of lots of similar products, and the less than stellar Archos 9. Until now that is. A small company, interestingly and rather ironically called Netbook Navigator, has managed to get its act together slightly ahead of the rest with its Nav 9 Slate PC. Starting at $599, the 8.9-inch resistive-touch Windows 7 Home Premium tablet is powered by an Intel Atom N280 processor and can be configured with up to 2GB of RAM and 32GB of flash storage. Yep, it sounds a heck of a lot like your first generation netbook with its keyboard cut off... and, well, that turns out to be just one of the Nav 9's major problems. You'll want to see what we mean in our full review after the break. %Gallery-103660%
Colombia pumps out 10-inch Android and Windows 7 tablets (video)
Sure, popular belief equates Colombian exports with tons of coffee beans, but two Bogota-based companies presently have 10-inch tablet computers on the brain. Compumax has got an Android-powered Tegra 2 device on tap with a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9, 512MB of RAM and a 32GB hard drive, and Smart PC's looking at a netbook-specced Windows 7 slate with an Atom N450 processor, a DVD burner, up to 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, a folding stand and a pair of peripheral-friendly USB ports alongside what looks like a fairly responsive multitouch screen. Intriguingly enough, the companies claim the devices aren't rebrands and are actually built in Colombia from foreign parts -- the "Hyper" Android slate is reportedly already on sale for COP 700,000 (about $387), and you can expect the "Smart Touch" Windows machine to debut for COP 1,099,000 (about $608) when it debuts in Peru next month. See the latter machine in action right after the break. Update: We often make light of stereotypes at Engadget, hoping to expose them as such, but the one formerly posted here was not in the best of taste. We've replaced it, and would like to apologize to any offended by our original choice of words.
Found footage: The inevitable Windows 7 tablet vs. iPad video
When Microsoft decided to drop the rather interesting Courier slate concept, some of us here at TUAW expected to see a parade of Windows Mobile Phone Whatever tablets coming out of Redmond. Instead, in a manner somewhat akin to putting lipstick on a pig, manufacturers are preparing a bunch of Windows 7 tablets to compete with the iPad. In this video, you're seeing one of the competitors, a rather thick slate made by Hanvon, going head to head against a stock iPad. The extra chunkiness of this tablet, which appears to boast a 16 x 9 aspect ratio, is due to the addition of a USB port, SD card reader, and ... a camera. For some odd reason, the manufacturer also chose to add a trackpad, which seems redundant considering the device already has a touch screen. On the one hand, the device is fast. It bests the iPad in many of the side-by-side comparisons. On the other hand, it uses the patented Microsoft method of putting all programs into the Start menu, which appears towards the end of this video and looks like it would be impossibly frustrating to navigate. Between the expected flood of Win 7 and Android tablets, not to mention some webOS-based tablets from Palm HP, it looks like there will be plenty of competition in the tablet space. Me? I'm sticking with my iPad. [via Gizmodo]
Page-turning 'Macallan' UI will hit a Windows 7 tablet this year (video)
There's not much to your average prototype Windows 7 tablet -- just a netbook running the vanilla OS with a touchscreen instead of keyboard -- but if you've been wondering why you might care to buy one, just get a load of this Macallan UI. Developed by a third-party firm named UI Centric specifically for Windows tablet devices, it features a clean, finger-friendly interface capable of Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, and uses the crowd-pleasing page flip gesture for multitasking functionality. Perhaps most importantly, however, UI Centric claims it will actually appear on a real slate -- come Q3 2010, a "major manufacturer" will debut the first Macallan-topped device. We're curious to see how it (and a bottle of fine scotch) will stack up against September's ExoPC. Video after the break.
ExoPC nabs improved screen and e-book app, still on track for a September release (video)
Still pining for one of the best Windows 7 tablets we've seen to date? Yeah, we're talking about the 11.6-inch ExoPC. Well, we've got nothing but good news: the company's still on track for a September release and has been putting the finishing touches on the Windows 7, Intel Atom-powered slate. According to some new videos posted by the company, the tablet's been upgraded with a new LCD that appears to have much better viewing angles than the one we checked out at Computex. Additionally, the Canadian team's been doing some stand-up work on an e-book app. As you can see in the video beyond the break (more can be found there in the source link), it's got a simple interface, snazzy page flip animations and it looks fairly easy to import a book on your own. It's all lookin' quite good to us. Not that we're trying to rush this heat wave or anything, but is it September yet?
HP confirms that Slate is still kicking, 'next steps' being determined
We were quite surprised (to say the least!) to see the original Windows 7 HP Slate 500 appear yesterday on the company's site, and HP officially confirmed this morning that the product is still very much in the works. The outfit's not sharing much, but a spokesperson from its Personal Systems group did tell us that they're "in customer evaluations now and will make a determination soon on the next steps." It all seems very vague and mysterious at this point, but the evidence is surely mounting that we'll be seeing HP join Microsoft's "hardcore" tablet push.
HP Slate 500 with Windows 7 surfaces on HP's site
We can't say we know exactly what's going on here, but it does appear that the HP Slate still lives in all its Windows 7 (and Intel Atom) glory. Yep, the guys at IDG News spotted the good ol' 8.9-inch HP Slate -- now apparently the Slate 500 -- hanging out on a rather hidden HP.com page. The details are few and far between, but they do seem to coincide with all that we originally had heard about the tablet -- it runs Windows 7 Home Premium, has "exclusive" HP software and two cameras. And that's not all, the chaps at IDG also noticed that the Slate 500 was Energy Star certified, and a listing for the same product on Energy Star's site confirms that it will have a 1.6GHz processor. That too seems to line up with what we had heard about the Slate having a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU. We know, it's all a bit surreal considering we just got word yesterday that HP had filed a trademark on the term PalmPad, and we figured the Slate may have seen its day. There's no telling what will happen next, but it sure is looking like a HP Win 7 and WebOS tablet may just live in harmony.
Windows 7-based HP Slate referenced at WPC 2010, Ballmer says 'hardcore' tablet push coming
Is this the answer to the question we posed back in mid-June? Maybe. While we're still unsure if Hewlett-Packard has a webOS-based tablet in its pipeline, those on-again / off-again Windows 7 rumors may finally be nearing an end. On the homepage of this year's Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference -- which kicks off in earnest today in Washington, D.C. -- there's a pane of Windows 7 slates that are on deck for this year. Er, a pane with vendors promising Win7 slates this year. Sure enough, HP's logo is front and center, right alongside the likes of Sony, Dell, ASUS, Panasonic, Onkyo, Toshiba, MSI, Samsung, Lenovo and Fujitsu. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more, but for now, feel free to let your imaginations run wild. It's Monday, after all. Update: During the event's opening keynote, which was headed by none other than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the bigwig confirmed some of what's pictured above: Windows 7 slates will be arriving this year. Interestingly, he never mentioned HP by name (despite teasing us gently at CES with an apparent mystery device), but he did note that devices would be available at various price points and in a variety of form factors -- "with keyboards, touch only, dockable, able to handle digital ink, etc." We already knew as much from being overwhelmed by prototypes at Computex, but it's good to get the word straight from Ballmer himself. Now, to see if anyone's actually interested in buying a desktop OS on a mobile form factor... Update 2: Seems Ballmer's drinking his own Kool-Aid in a serious way, and not just on the tablet front. He noted that Microsoft will be giving consumers "a set of Windows-based devices that people will be proud to carry at home and will fit the kinds of scenarios enterprise IT's trying to make happen with the phone form factor," and that Microsoft would be "working vigorously" to "drive enterprise IT and consumers." Furthermore, Steve affirmed that the tablet sector is "terribly important" for his company, and that it's "hardcore about this." He didn't shy away from calling the range of Windows 7-based tablets coming out "over the next several months" ones that would be "quite impressive," but honestly -- what else would you expect him to say?
HP TouchSmart tm2t review
Let's not forget that before "tablets" were all the rage there were, well, tablets. While most tablet PCs were -- and still are -- aimed at the business market, the HP TouchSmart tm2 (which began as the tx2000) was one of the first tablets for the average Joe. And despite rumors of a slate product and future WebOS devices, HP hasn't given up on the tm2, and rightfully so. Just updated with a brand new Core i3 ULV processor, the convertible has a 12.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a new TouchSmart layer for laptops, an onboard stylus for taking notes, and a striking design with a rather stellar chiclet keyboard. There's no doubt the form factor still appeals to students or those simply looking for the power of a PC with a touch experience, but we wish HP paid a bit more attention to a few key features before shipping. Find out just what those are in our full review. %Gallery-96332%
iiView M1Touch is a 10-inch iPhone tablet, seriously (video)
Always thought the iPad should've really just been an enlarged iPhone? No, seriously -- like an iPhone after one of those "Honey, I Blew Up the Kids" incidents? Well, iiView is bringing just that to market this month, except its M1Touch runs Windows 7 Premium and packs an Intel Atom N450 processor along with 2GB of RAM. It also has a 250GB hard drive and a 1.3-megapixel cam on its left bezel. We finally got to see the tablet up close and personal -- it's been under lock and key in the Microsoft booth all week -- and it's pretty much the biggest iPhone you've ever seen. The capacitive touchscreen was fairly responsive, though there was a noticeable lag in opening programs. We're told it also has an accelerometer and that the familiar circular button on the right bezel will bring you back to the desktop, but both were disabled on the display model. Around the edges you'll spot a trio of ports, a SIM slot, a mini HDMI output and a microphone jack. As for the actual feel of this thing, it's pretty thick from the sides and weighs 1.5 pounds. Chances are that you stopped reading this post a few minutes ago and started clicking through the gallery to see shots of bugger alongside a normal iPhone, but we'd encourage you to also peek the video waiting just past the break. Oh, and if you'd like to give your iPhone an inferiority complex, you can always head on over to that source link and order one of these for $499. %Gallery-94376%
Intel 'Oak Trail' is headed for tablets in early 2011
Intel's been quite forthcoming over the past few weeks about its intentions to play in the booming tablet market, and apparently Oak Trail's going to be its ticket. Despite its name, the Atom SoC platform is actually closer to Moorestown than Pine Trail or Pine View -- the major difference here is that Intel's added Lincroft and Whitney Point to enable support for Windows 7. It will also support Google and MeeGo operating systems, so feel free to let your imagination run wild with that. Intel's not sharing much else right now in terms of architecture, but the long and short of it is that the fanless solution will enable thinner tablets with better battery life than the current Menlow platform, and will also add full 1080p playback and HDMI support. But we've still got a time to go until Oak Trail will be powering slates, as it won't ship until early 2011 at best. Funny enough, that certainly seems to line up well with ASUS Eee Pad's 2011 Q1 ship date, but feel free to make what you will of the so-called coincidence. Either way, it looks like the next year will be another interesting one for tablets, and the players look to be multiplying by the minute.
ExoPC Slate hands-on
We don't say this very often, but some products are just worth the wait. And well, the ExoPC Slate looks like it's going to be one of those very products. After months of following along, we finally got to spend some quality time with the 11.6-inch slate at Computex, and came away surprisingly impressed. Read on after the break for our impressions of this Windows 7 tablet, what that funky UI is all about, and a video of the Slate in action. Oh, and after you've done all that, don't forget to feast your eyes on the gallery below. %Gallery-93907%
ExoPC Windows 7-based slate not coming until September, will play 1080p vids
There's still no official word on whether HP's Slate has been canned, but the more we hear about ExoPC's slate, the more we think it could be a pretty stellar Win 7 tablet option. The company's founder just told us that the tablet is slated (pun intended, good sirs) for a September 7 launch date in the US, Canada and France, and that the 32GB version will retail for $599. As for the specs, the capacitive 11.6-inch tablet will still be using an Atom N450 processor, but will be paired with Broadcom's Crystal HD card to enable 1080p playback. And that's not all, they also sent us some more shots of the ExoPC UI Layer, and the interface appears to be incredibly sleek -- it looks like you can even save web shortcuts to a Connect Four type layout. There will also be an app store, and the dev kit will be available at the end of June. That's all beautiful, but hear us out, ExoPC: we're counting on you to put an end to the Win 7 tablet vaporware trend, okay? %Gallery-92476%
