Want an early glimpse of the VivoTab RT without having to attend ASUS' special event? Thanks to our tipster, you've got it. An Office Depot has received at least one example of the Windows RT slate a full three days in advance. The short impressions: it's an "awesome" Tegra 3-packing tablet, although the OS reportedly chews up more than half of the 32GB of storage, and USB depends on an adapter if you're not relying on the keyboard. While price wasn't immediately available, we're not expecting retail to deviate greatly from the $599 pre-order formula.
ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Don't think that Lenovo is keeping the IdeaPad Yoga's bendy secrets all to itself: its Japanese partner NEC is bringing a variant of the ARM-based Yoga 11 to the land of the rising sun as the LaVie Y. The 11.6-inch blend of laptop and tablet keeps the signature 360-degree display, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as its more internationally-minded counterpart, and confirms that there's a quad-core Tegra 3 powering either of the Windows RT systems. What differences exist will stem from the software: there's hints of a custom NEC app on an otherwise vanilla interpretation of Microsoft's platform. The LaVie Y should precede its IdeaPad sibling by days, arriving in stores around November 22nd, although any local buyers will pay dearly for the privilege with an estimated $1,136 price. We'd suggest that patience ought to be a virtue for everyone else.
[Thanks, Gerald]
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Lenovo
NEC LaVie Y brings Lenovo's 360-degree IdeaPad Yoga hybrid tablet to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Acer hasn't had an easy mid-year: it trotted out the Iconia Tab A110 at Computex as a budget Android tablet that could still claim Tegra 3 speeds, only to watch the Nexus 7 arrive and leave virtually every other comparable tablet in a tight spot. It's North America's turn at the A110 this month, and the side-by-side looks aren't getting much easier. When the 7-inch Jelly Bean slate ships to the continent on October 30th, it will cost $230 in both the US and Canada for the lone 8GB version -- a better value than we see in Europe, but still a slightly awkward middle ground between an 8GB Nexus 7 at $199 and its $249, 16GB edition. We're guessing that Acer is counting on the microSD and micro-HDMI expansion to tempt would-be North American buyers away from a less flexible (if Google-blessed) rival.
Acer Iconia Tab A110 reaches North America on October 30th for $230, faces a tough fight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you're Toshiba, what do you do when you're looking to goose interest in the Excite 10 tablet? Roll out a quick follow up, of course. Accordingly, the FCC has just recently cleared a refreshed tablet, the AT300SE, that the Bluetooth SIG suggests will be called the Excite 10SE in North America. As shown, it's a European-spec WiFi model that gives away little by itself. It's when we combine this with the Bluetooth listing and speed tests that a clearer picture of the upgrade emerges -- there's been an AT300SE in GLBenchmark's performance charts that we've seen running Jelly Bean (unavailable to current Excites) on top of what looks to be the familiar 1,280 x 800 display and 1.3GHz Tegra 3. While there may be other surprises lurking in areas the tests can't reach, the documents point to a quick nip-and-tuck from Toshiba to keep tablet sales afloat rather than a full overhaul.
Filed under: Tablets
Toshiba Excite 10SE / AT300SE gets caught visiting the FCC, may tout Jelly Bean originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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What do you do if you've been selling what's arguably the best superphone on the US market and the competition is heating up? Make it better, of course, and that's exactly what HTC's done with the One X+ for AT&T. This is the same improved handset we recently played with in the UK, but unlike AT&T's One X -- which dropped the global model's quad-core Tegra 3 with 32GB of storage in favor of a dual-core Snapdragon S4 with only 16GB of flash for the sake of LTE -- AT&T's One X+ gives you the best of both worlds: NVIDIA's 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 AP37 SoC combined with Qualcomm's MDM9215m GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+/LTE radio plus 32 or 64GB of built-in storage.
Gone are the white and grey hues -- you can have your One X+ any color you want as long as it's flat black. Whereas the UK version of HTC's new flagship incorporates red accents around the camera and in the Beats logo, the US model is completely black. The rest of the specs match the global version -- you'll find the same gorgeous 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2, same impressive eight megapixel f/2.0 autofocus BSI rear camera with flash, same 1GB of DDR2 RAM, along with the updated 2100mAh sealed battery and 1.6MP BSI front-facing shooter capable of 720p video. Jelly Bean and Sense 4+ are on the menu as well, with snappier-than-ever performance.
Put AT&T's One X and One X+ side-by-side, and other than the color difference you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart. The carrier's logo is slightly different, but that's about it -- even the docking pins in the back line up perfectly. Other improvements common with the global model include Amplified Sound for clearer sound from the speaker, Sightseeing mode which lets the power button launch the camera and Auto Portrait mode which helps you take better self-portraits. There's still no word on pricing or availability but we invite you to feast your eyes on the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.
Continue reading HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on: Tegra 3, LTE and Jelly Bean together at last (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, AT&T
HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on: Tegra 3, LTE and Jelly Bean together at last (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Wikipad is an anomaly. It's a 10.1-inch, $500 Android tablet aimed squarely at gamers -- an expensive portal to a platform many mobile game developers have abandoned due to piracy. It's got an IPS display with 1,280 x 800 resolution, an NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 quad-core 1.4GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (at launch). So ... it's not quite as sharp in the graphics department as some other tablets on the market, nor is it as pretty as its main handheld gaming competition, the PlayStation Vita. On top of that, it's from an engineering firm that you've never heard of -- Wikipad is also the name of the business behind the tablet, and this is the company's first product launch. Oh, and did we mention that the main selling point is an attachable game controller that frames half the tablet in a mess of plastic buttons, joysticks, and speakers? And no, the controller won't be sold separately, nor will it work with any other tablet.
Defying all logic, however, the Wikipad feels like a surprisingly solid piece of equipment (regardless of the fact that the prototype model we used was hand-built). From the light but solid construction of the tablet's chassis, to its grippy molded rear -- which helps both for gripping the tablet without the controller attached and assists sound amplification when the device is laid down -- nothing about the device feels cheap. As a tablet, it's speedy and responsive. Apps load quickly and smoothly, and it's got extra loud speakers for gaming without headphones (or for David Guetta, as was demonstrated to us). The custom skin it was running felt a bit rough -- the apps get reorganized with a gaming focus and slapped onto a flippable cube, which caused some visual stuttering from pane to pane. Another feature of the custom OS is a special 3D game launcher, which includes sections for Nvidia's Tegra Zone, PlayStation Mobile games, GameStop-suggested titles, and Google Play. There are some less than exciting ad banners attached to this launcher, but they're easily ignorable. Though Gaikai is still working with the Wikipad post-Sony buyout, CEO James Bower told us the game streaming service won't be there at launch -- he's hoping it'll arrive by year's end, "but that's up to Sony."
Continue reading Hands-on with Wikipad, the $500 Android gaming tablet (video)
Filed under: Gaming, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile
Hands-on with Wikipad, the $500 Android gaming tablet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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