Sponsored links, if any, appear in green.
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has developed a tablet styled computer that it hopes to offer globally this year. The new tablet line will be based on Google’s Android operating system, which was confirmed by CNET UK) and will come in an array of sizes from 4-inches up to 10-inches.
Panasonic is showing its VIERA tablet off this week at CES in Las Vegas as a prototype and is hoping to show off the tablet’s value – including its ability to work as a sub-screen for a connected television and offer cloud services. The only specifications provided have been that the devices will offer an LCD touchscreen display attached to a slim and lightweight tablet that will offer long hours of operation. We hope to hear more on Panasonic’s tablet line-up in the future.
Hands-On With Olympus’ Brand New E-PL2 Camera, 2011 Line-Up
Posted: January 10, 2011 in Uncategorized
We had an inkling that the Olympus E-PL2 would launch this week and we weren’t disappointed. The new model is a little light on spec changes but under the hood you have a larger, brighter screen, improved ISO up to 6400, and new layered effects for adding multiple effects at the same time. The new kit, priced at about $600, comes with a m14-42mm. The new camera supports the new PenPal Bluetooth, a $60 device that allows you to send HD images from your camera to any mobile device (except the iPhone, at least for now). The new lenses are movie/still compatible, a feature that considerably reduces lens noise when recording video.
Motorola’s Atrix Android Phone: Twin CPU Cores And a Laptop Dock!
Posted: January 7, 2011 in UncategorizedMotorola’s Atrix Android Phone: Twin CPU Cores And a Laptop Dock!
It runs Android 2.2, with HTML5 support, and is AT&T’s first dual-core processor in an Android phone. And it docks into a laptop. They’re calling it the world’s most powerful smartphone. ORLY?
It also has 1GB RAM, a 1900mAh (that’s ginormous) battery, and 2x faster than competing web browsers. You can “view HD video”.
Also! There’s a Motorola Atrix Webtop Application, which docks your phone into a laptop, using it to power the entire laptop. This is like Palm’s Foleo idea, but, you know, maybe not crappy. Firefox browser inside, running on this device, using the desktop version.
In short, the Motorola HD Dock, the thing that hooks the Atrix to a laptop, is going to let you use your phone as a laptop, taking advantage of the keyboard and mouse on the laptop. Still wondering about the employment of android 2.2 instead of something more contemporary, though!
Here are the official specs:
• Dual core processor, each at 1GHz
• 1GB RAM
• qHD resolution (960×540)
• 24-bit color
• 16GB internal, 32GB microSD expansion
• 802.11n
• AT&T hotspot service
• 11m thickness
• 1930mAh battery
• dual microphonesAs for the docks:
The Motorola HD Multimedia Dock has three USB ports and an HDMI port enabling connections to a keyboard, mouse, speakers and HDMI-compatible monitor for working at your desk/office, or connecting to an HDMI-compatible television and home theater audio system for interacting with content and enjoying video, music, games and more in your living room.
The Motorola Laptop Dock has an incredibly thin design with an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard, stereo speakers, 36Wh three-cell battery that delivers up to eight hours of battery life and weighs just 2.4 pounds. Users simply dock their Motorola ATRIX 4G into the back of the Laptop Dock to turn it into an active, connected machine to experience true mobility at work, home and playing on-the-go in a form factor that’s lighter and smaller than most laptops on the market.
Send an email to Jason Chen, the author of this post, at jchen@gizmodo.com.
Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
What is up with that design?! It may be sturdy but having a phone stick out the back of my notebook doesn’t lend it any use in my bed or on the couch. Reply
Wait a sec… So Motorola can do this, but the iPhone can’t download an app over 20 megs on ATT’s 3g network?Oh where has competition gone? Reply
What in the hell? This thing is just as, if not more powerful than my netbook. ReplyWalternate promoted this comment
Hard to believe this is coming out of the company that gave us the Razr and other piles of garbage. Reply
I think I bought my G2 at the wrong time. This is incredible.Ah, well, something awesome to look forward two in 2 years… Reply
I am sure the Dual core CPU will help. But considering desktops and game still have yet to really utilize multi cores in any meaningful way… I think this phone will be similar to desktops. Great at multitasking, but about on par app for app performance.I hope I am wrong, but even if I am right. Once multicore CPUs become more common in phones I am sure things will get better.
Does Android 2.2 even know what to do with 2 cpus? will it divide the workload? or just run background apps on 1 core and then your main app on another core? hmmmm. Reply
It’s a clever idea, probably with limited customer interest. I think they’re really missing the boat by having the computer powered by the phone instead of the inverse, plugging it in will recharge your phone, and run the laptop. Reply
I have to say, Motorola is all over the place. Sometimes great stuff like the Droid X, sometimes bizarro stuff like this. Earth to Motorola: I’m not going to buy my phones and notebooks in custom matched pairs (for some guaranteed gigamundo price), especially if the “notebook” can’t do normal notebook functions too.Given that the lifetime of an Android phone seems to be less than a year (if you want any kind of current Android version), people aren’t going to shell out like that every year.
Oh, and WTF with the Firefox browser built in? I’m sure it’s nice and all, but on Android I want to use Chrome, and they better not make it less-than-seamless to do so. Reply
Edited by AreWeThereYeti at 01/05/11 3:16 PM
I can’t wait until the software that makes the docking happen gets ported out so it can be used for any phone! Reply
So, does the laptop dock thingie have it’s own battery or is everything powered by the battery in the phone? Reply
What happens to the OS when you dock it? Is it Motorola’s software or does Android already have these capabilities built in? My guess is that it’s Motorola’s software, but I didn’t know they were capable of writing such sophisticated software. (This is sophisticated stuff, no?)…Or is it actually running OSX? 😛 Reply
Maybe I am missing something, but if you are going to carry around a laptop-sized object.. well wouldn’t you be better off just carrying a laptop, instead of a phone-powered netbook? Reply
i *love* this concept and hope someone comes out for something similar for my Evo! (unlikely, but I can hope!)It’s funny to me that my Evo has more horsepower than my 1st desktop computer. All I want is to be ab le to surf and type/edit doc’s. Something light, lighter than a tablet but far less expensive than a macbook air. If there were a way for me to dock my Evo like they describe here and get a larger screen w/ full sized keyboard, I’d be down. Down like a clown, charlie brown! Reply
In order to view comments on gizmodo.com you need to enable JavaScript.
If you are using Firefox and NoScript addon, please mark gizmodo.com as trusted.
| Samsung’s Infuse 4G: A Spectacular Google Android Phone
“Holy shit.” It’s not what usually comes to mind when I touch a new phone. But Samsung’s Infuse 4G is spectacular. Ridiculously good 4.5-inch screen. 1.2GHz processor. 4G on AT&T. Why, exactly, wasn’t this the new Nexus phone?
I pick it up. Whoa. This is quality. The first Samsung phone in ages that doesn’t feel cheap—it’s a radically better tactile experience than any Galaxy phone, even the Nexus S. The plastic is dense and matte, the back textured. The phone itself a nearly perfectly sculpted, sufficiently thin slab (AT&T’s thinnest), the expanse of the 4.5-inch screen making it seem somehow thinner. It’s what a high-end phone should feel like.
Let’s consider the specs: 1.2GHz processor. The fastest Android phone yet. The screen is comically, hyperbolically named, like the umpteenth version of Street Figher II—Super AMOLED Plus—except that it lives up to the name, in that it’s noticeably better than Samsung’s current Super AMOLED displays (which are already great), since it packs more subpixels into each pixel. The screen definitely pops more. It’s also one of AT&T’s first 4G phones. (This may sound confusing, but it’s 4G in the same sense as T-Mobile’s 4G, since it runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ network, not its LTE network.)
Any downsides? Well, I’m mildly concerned about the battery life on this beast. And it’s running Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top of an as-of-yet unknown Android variant. A clean build of Android 2.3 would be killer, effectively making it the real Nexus. That said, it might wind up being one in a sense anyway: This is the new blueprint for building an Android phone.
Send an email to matt buchanan, the author of this post, at matt@gizmodo.com.
Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
FOUR AND A HALF INCHES?!That is freaking awesome! I need to see this thing in person. It could be too large but this could almost completely replace a tablet. Reply
Not a blueprint for building Android phones, It finally does look like a nice Samsung phone though. This thing will be old news very very quickly. Reply
This is one of the first Android phones I could see myself buying. The only thing that would prevent me from doing so is the HORRIBLE skin Samsung puts on it. Why can’t we just have standard Android with no crapware.For the Android users out there- How difficult is it to install a vanilla rom and does performance suffer from it? Touchwiz is gawd awful! Reply
Yep, this is the new blueprint… for another two months. This phone war is getting ridiculous. I shouldn’t be this jaded this soon.Anyway, good news for AT&T and I’m assuming that they’re no longer tinkering with Android in capricious, disgustingly unnecessary ways, yes? Reply
I’m positive that Samsung screwed Google over when they made the what is now current Google Nexus S ReplyHenry Shreffler promoted this comment
Two things will prevent this from being my next phone.1. The lack of pure android.
2. at&t’s network, customer service, and pricing plans.
Hopefully this will become the next standard for smartphones, and a million more will pop up, with a pure android clone riding the wave onto a different network. Reply
Henry Shreffler promoted this comment
Sadly, I’ll never buy another TouchWiz phone unless Samsung puts a hell of a lot more effort into it than they did the Galaxy S variants. I’ve found so many glitches, stalls, freezes and things that kill the phone. Sorry, Sammy, you need to do better. Reply
I’m still happy with my EVO 4G…7 months later and it is still in the top 5 best smart phones. This is actually pretty rare for Android phones lately…But if I HAD to switch to AT&T, I’d definitely get this phone but I would flash a vanilla ROM to it to get rid of Samsung’s (in my opinion) ugly interface.
My friend’s Captivate didn’t even have a Weather app from the factory!! WTF?
There would be a few things I miss about my HTC Sense mixed UI, but I’d get used to it. Reply
OCEntertainment promoted this comment
So, although no one says it, I’m assuming from “50% more subpixels” that they have finally dropped the crappy alternating two-color pixels?? That would be nice. But can’t *someone* somewhere figure out the actual resolution of this thing? Reply
According to another article the Infuse will not be released until 2nd quarter of 2011. That would explain the decision to go with the Nexus S. Reply
In order to view comments on gizmodo.com you need to enable JavaScript.
If you are using Firefox and NoScript addon, please mark gizmodo.com as trusted.
Video: NTT Docomo’s Coolest New Cell Phones For This Winter
Posted: November 10, 2010 in UncategorizedoStylus for capacitive touchscreen drawing doesn’t block your view – Notebooks – Crave – CNET Asia
Posted: November 3, 2010 in UncategorizedViewsonic announces two Android tablets; one dual-boots Windows 7 | andrew | Androinica
Posted: November 2, 2010 in UncategorizedViewsonic announces two Android tablets; one dual-boots Windows 7
November 1, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Viewsonic has announced that it will soon begin selling two Android tablets, one of which can also boot to run Windows 7. While the Viewpad 7 will go on sale this month, the Viewpad 10 will arrive early next year. Here’s a look at each device.
The ViewPad 7 is a 7-inch LCD capacitive tablet with 800×480 WVGA display. It sports Android 2.2, and unlike many Android tablets we’ve seen in the pass, the ViewPad actually has support for Google Mobile Services. That means buyers will have access to Google-owned apps like Gmail, YouTube, and the Android Market. There’s a 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus on the rear and a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera. The ViewPad has WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, USB, 512 MB memory, and up to 32 GB microSD support. The ViewPad 7 is $479 and goes on sale in Q4 2010 (this month or next).
The ViewPad 10 has a 10.1-inch touchscreen with 1024×600 resolution and LED backlit panel. There’s a 16 GB SSD harddrive and microSD slot, 1.66Hz processor and 1 GB of memory. These upgraded stats will be important because the ViewPad 10 can dual-boot into Windows 7. That’s a nice feature to have, but buyers will have to sacrifice versions because the 10-inch model of ViewPad only runs Android 1.6. The device also supports video conferencing through a 1.3 megapixel camera and built-in microphone.
The cost for the ViewPad 10 is $629 and will go on sale in Q1 2011.
android tablet, Android tablets, tablets, ViewPad 10, ViewPad 7, viewsonic, windows
CherryPad 7-Inch Android Tablet Video Review – HotHardware
Posted: October 30, 2010 in UncategorizedCherryPad: This is What a $188 Tablet Looks Like | News & Opinion
Posted: October 30, 2010 in UncategorizedCherryPad: This is What a $188 Tablet Looks Like
By: David Pierce
- 10.28.2010
- 3 comments
$499. $399. These are the prices we’re seeing for tablets (and those are the cheapest ones). But how about $188? That’s what Cherrypal is asking for its Android tablet, the CherryPad. Cherrypal is best known for its $99 computer, so the $188 CherryPad comes as no surprise. It’s a 7-inch, Android 2.1–running tablet that weighs a little over a pound, has built-in WiFi, an 800-MHz processor, resistive touch screen, 2GB internal memory with a slot for more, and lots of the other trappings you’ll find on much more expensive tablets.
But is the CherryPad any good? That remains to be seen. Based on the few minutes I had with the device, it’s totally functional, and is faster and more responsive than I expected, but you’re very much getting what you pay for—from the exposed screws to the resistive touch screen, there’s none of the beauty and polish of a device like the Apple iPad (which the CherryPad’s design essentially copies as much as possible). But if $188 is what you want to pay, the CherryPad might not be such a bad idea.
We’ve got the CherryPad in our labs for testing, and we’ll report back with a full review. Before we do, we took some shots to show you what you can expect to see with the CherryPad, so hit the slideshow to see exactly how much tablet you’ll get for your $188.
Sony’s getting creative with its Playstation 3 bundles, adding a 320 GB console for $350.
That’s $50 less than a console with the same size hard drive and the Playstation Move starter kit, which includes the camera, the motion controller wand and Sports Champions. It’s $50 more than Sony’s basic PS3 with 160 GB hard drive.
I’ve read the opinion that the $350 price point shows Sony’s willingness to subsidize the Playstation Move. On its own, the Move starter kit costs $100, so in essence, Sony is cutting the Move price in half when bundled with a $400 console. I think of it in a different, admittedly unsubstantiated way: Sony’s putting out the sans Move bundle mainly to lure people towards its new motion controller.
I can already envision the pitch at Gamestops across America: So you’re buying the 320 GB PS3. Why not spend an extra $50 for the Playstation Move bundle? That’s a $100 value for less than the cost of one game, which you’re already getting in Sports Champions.
The upsell isn’t so much in the initial Move bundle as the purchases that will inevitably follow: New games for the Move, the subcontroller that’s required for certain games, more wands so people can play together. Clever.
Of course, it’s also possible that Sony’s trying to get buyers of the 160 GB model to pay $50 more for twice the storage (that’s the current pitch at Sony’s official Playstation blog). I wonder, then, how many people will be double-upsold?
For more smart takes on technology, visit Technologizer.com. Story copyright © 2010, Technologizer. All rights reserved.
- See more like this:
- sony,
- PlayStation
Ray's Place 