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Poor guy can’t catch a break. Talking to analysts today about the world of tablets, Steve Ballmer put on a brave face about his lack of a strong competitor to the iPad, saying of Windows 7 products in the works with third parties: “They’ll be shipping as soon as they are ready.” Unfortunately, Apple’s iPad looms large, with Ballmer stating that “they’ve sold certainly more than I’d like them to have sold.” Perhaps more revelatory, Steve likened the tablet challenge to the situation Microsoft faced when the netbook started out as a Linux product, mentioning that part of their chore is “tuning Windows 7,” in addition to working with hardware partners. Obviously Microsoft is down, not out, when it comes to tablets, but will a few million iPads be their eventual demise or the impetus they need to succeed? Tune in next week someday for the thrilling conclusion!

Ballmer on iPad: ‘they’ve sold certainly more than I’d like them to have sold’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A quick WHOIS confirms that RIM’s taken control of blackpad.com — yes, it’s long been rumored as a potential name for the BlackBerry tablet, but we’re certainly hoping Waterloo’s just parking a domain name to keep squatters at bay, because, seriously, we just got over the iPad jokes, you know?

P.S.- And might we see whatever this is at the RIM / AT&T event on Tuesday? Consider our interest piqued.

RIM takes control of blackpad.com, laughter takes control of our minds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen a number of promising Tegra 2 Android tablets at this point, but precious few solid release dates, so forgive us if we’re jumping for joy to hear even an unheard-of German challenger is slated to arrive this holiday season. Should you believe the company’s website, December will see the launch of E-Noa’s Interpad, a 10-inch capacitive multitouch Android 2.1 device with a laundry list of desirable features. €399 (about $518) may seem a bit steep for an Android device, but it buys you a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 T20 chip in a package only a half-inch thin, plus 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 16GB of flash storage (expandable via microSD) to put your PlayStation ROMs in. Connectivity includes 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0 and HDMI out, and it’s all powered by a 3900mAh battery reportedly good for 8-12 hours. If you’re willing to drop a little extra, MobiFlip reports that Android 2.2, GPS, camera and 3G modules will appear in an upgraded version for under €500 ($649), but we don’t want to get you too excited before we can verify the potency of the original, eh? We’re hoping to see it in person at September’s IFA in Berlin.

Interpad’s 10-inch Tegra 2-toting Android tablet may make Germans merry later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t say we’ve heard of Augen before, but the company certainly sparked our interest (and that of Kmart circular readers) this weekend with its $149.99 7-inch Android tablet. Oh yes, you heard right shoppers — the small Florida-based shop is bringing an Android 2.1 tablet with WiFi, 2GB of storage and 256MB of RAM to a store near you for just 150 buckaroos. And according to an Augen spokesperson, it will have access to the Android “Market App Store.” That sounds pretty awesome for the pricetag, but we — along with a number of readers we’ve heard from — haven’t been able to locate the 7-inch tablet at any Kmart retail location just yet. (Yes, we even spent a lovely ten minutes on hold with our local store while they checked the inventory.) We’re told by Augen that the device should be hitting shelves later this week, though the company was unsure it would ever land on Kmart’s online store. In addition to the 7-inch tablet, Augen has also released its $89 TheBook e-reader with a similar 7-inch LCD. It doesn’t run Android, but you can check out an in-depth look at its Linux OS in The eReader’s video review after the break. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground on the availability of the tablet and will be trying to get one in our hands to confirm the preloaded Market, but let us know in the comments if you’ve had any luck yourselves.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Update: We’ve been hearing from a bunch of readers that many Kmarts are giving out “rainchecks” and that they will be calling customers when the Augen tablet arrives later this week.

Continue reading Augen’s $150 Android tablet hits Kmart circular, coming to stores later this week

Augen’s $150 Android tablet hits Kmart circular, coming to stores later this week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No big surprise here, but HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just flat-out confirmed to CNBC that HP will not be making any Windows Phone 7 devices, preferring instead to focus on the newly-acquired webOS for its line of smartphones. Here’s the entire exchange:

Q: Can you make webOS successful with developers when you’re selling Windows Phone 7, maybe Android or Linux at the same time?

A: We continue to be Microsoft’s biggest customer, and we continue to believe we will drive innovation with Microsoft. At the same time, I think it’s clear to say, that we’re very focused on the customer, and giving the customer the experience that’s important to them. We won’t do — will not do a Linux / Android phone. We won’t do a Microsoft phone.

Q: So no Windows Phone 7?

A: We will continue to more broadly deliver the webOS-based phones that are in the market today, and Jon and his team have driven a strong roadmap for the future.

Q: So does that mean you’re going webOS only for phones?

A: For smartphones it does. Our intent is to focus those resources and really make webOS the best OS it can be.

That’s a big ouch for Microsoft — it has to sting when your biggest customer turns its back on your fledgling mobile efforts — but we can’t exactly see HP spending a billion dollars on Palm only to turn around and support multiple platforms. There is a small silver lining for Microsoft, though — Bradley also reiterated that HP’s tablet plans aren’t so locked in, and once again hinted that the Windows 7-based HP Slate has become an enterprise product, which is at least better than being killed off entirely. Lose some, lose some slightly less, we suppose. Full video after the break — the good bit starts around 5:20.

Continue reading HP not making Windows Phone 7 devices, focusing on webOS instead

HP not making Windows Phone 7 devices, focusing on webOS instead originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Once again, China has proven to the world that it’s the place to be for all sorts of gadgetry miracle. Just look at this 10-inch Windows 7 tablet here — it may not be a full clone of the forthcoming 8.9-inch HP Slate, but it does come with a couple of interesting features: a 1366 x 768 resistive multitouch display (ideal for tackling the complicated Chinese characters with a stylus) and a webcam. You’ll also find a handful of regular tidbits on this 1.66GHz Atom N450 device: a regular USB port coupled by a mini version, 3.5mm headphone jack, VGA port, LAN port, accelerometer, Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G. Oh, and you’ll get a free stand, too, but we’ll be minding our own business until this no-frills tablet gets a price.

HP Slate lookalike spotted in China, might beat the real thing to the market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen some janky tablets over the years, and to be honest this latest one out of India hardly looks posh. But, for the price, it could be pretty amazing: $35. That’s what India’s Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, is saying this device will cost at retail. It’s a sort of tablet and, while we don’t know full specs, is said to have 2GB of RAM memory, run Linux, be able to connect to the internet over WiFi, open PDFs, and even play YouTube videos, meaning you can watch Shahrukh Khan tribute videos wherever you want. Confusingly, two separate devices were shown and we’re not sure which is the final design (if, indeed, either is), but the Indian government plans to subsidize their sale to students such that they’ll cost only $20. The goal is to have them selling for as little as $10 in the future. Exciting? Yes, but let’s just say we’ve had our hearts broken by supposed $10 Indian laptops before. Video of the thing in action after the break.

Update: As a few eagle-eyed commenters pointed out, if you look closely at around the 20 second mark of the video you’ll spot the familiar Android notification bar at the top of one of these prototypes. Also, it’s a little unclear whether that 2GB figure is storage or RAM.

Continue reading $35 tablet from India looks to be worth every paisa (video)

$35 tablet from India looks to be worth every paisa (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve sensed that something’s been up with the HP Slate for a while now, and it looks like we’ve finally gotten the first solid confirmation that the Windows 7 tablet as unveiled by Steve Ballmer at CES in January won’t hit the consumer market as planned — speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just said that the Slate will be “more customer-specific than broadly deployed,” and that it would launch the Microsoft-based tablet “for the enterprise” in the fall. That fits right in with HP telling us the other day that it was in “customer evaluations” as it prepared for the “next steps,” and based on followup comments from Bradley and Palm head Jon Rubinstein, it certainly sounded like the company will focus Windows tablets at the enterprise and develop a variety of webOS devices for the consumer market. Of course, there’s no official announcement yet, so we’ll see what happens — the only thing that we can confidently say is that the HP Slate has definitely succeeded the iPad as the tech industry’s favorite vaporware tablet.

HP Slate no longer a consumer product, will arrive for enterprise this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPad_Shirt_Is_Literally_the_Ugliest_Thing_Ever_PICS’; Disgusted with Apple’s refusal to bestow honest-to-goodness backgrounding to the iPad, even though the (presumably) weaker iPhone 4 has been doing it for weeks? You aren’t alone. Syte Shirt, a new startup with a vision to change the world in a way you’ve never even dreamed of, has just announced its first product: the iPad-toting shirt that you’re undoubtedly gawking at above. This pre-shrunk heavyweight cotton tee sports a slit on the inside for sliding your tablet into, and there’s a window on the front that enables the wearer (or anyone else, for that matter) to fully interact with the tablet without you having to disrobe. Imagine that! Heck, there are even ports for accessing the dock connector and the 3.5mm headphone jack, which certainly helps to justify the otherwise unconscionable $49.95 to $54.95 price tag. Right? Right?

Continue reading iPad-toting Syte Shirt redefines ‘multitasking’

iPad-toting Syte Shirt redefines ‘multitasking’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ha, and you thought Dell’s Streak was pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable to hold to one’s ear. In a bid to make even the xpPhone look diminutive, Olive Telecom has just announced India’s first 3.5G Android (2.1 for now) tablet in the Olive Pad VT100. This 7-inch slate is said to boast an 800 x 480 resolution on a capacitive touchpanel, not to mention Bluetooth, WiFi, an SD card slot, 512MB of internal memory (plus 512MB ROM), a 3.5mm audio jack, 3 megapixel camera, mini USB socket and a 3,240mAh battery. There’s also a mysterious front facing camera for video calls, and sure enough, this thing actually supports voice, which may very well make it the largest smartphone to launch in 2010. If all goes well, it’ll seep out in India next month, with a price of around Rs.20000 to Rs.25000, or $425 to $530 in terms of Greenbacks. We wouldn’t get our hopes up for an immediate launch in North America, but word on the street has it that Russia and Europe could see this bad boy in the not-too-distant future.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Olive Pad VT100 brings a voice-capable, 7-inch Android tablet to India’s airwaves

Olive Pad VT100 brings a voice-capable, 7-inch Android tablet to India’s airwaves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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