Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Netbook/Tablet… iPad Who?
Jan 31, 2010 Lenovo
Forget the iPad! The coolest tablet-netbook hybrid ever comes from Lenovo and it’s so neat that you’ll forget almost instantly that the Apple tablet ever existed. We’re talking about the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid PC, shown in action in the video below and incorporating a tablet that can be snapped onto a laptop, functioning as its display afterwards:
The tablet section is brilliantly integrated into a clamshell system and it’s able to switch from using its own OS and CPU to the main unit’s components, in seconds. The main segment weighs a total of 3.8 pounds, while the tablet weighs 1.5 pounds. We also learn that the IdeaPad U1 comes with a 11.6 inch HD LED multitouch display.
Lenovo’s uber PC runs Windows 7 and uses a powerful CPU, while the tablet segment relies on the customized Skylight OS and an ARM processor. Lenovo’s Hybrid Switch technology allows both units to switch between processors easily. Expect the incredible device to hit the market around June, for about $1000.
Tags: hybrid netbook tablet, Lenovo IdeaPad U1, Lenovo IdeaPad U1 price, Lenovo IdeaPad U1 specifications, Lenovo tablet
Apple iPad: Ultimate Browsing Experience Without Adobe Flash?
Jan 31, 2010 Apple Tablet
An Adobe employee recently posted a nice piece on his Flash-related blog, showing which important sites you’ll miss if you plan on browsing the web by using the Apple iPad tablet. Yes, you’ve guessed it… there are a lot of websites to be missed and unless you’re easily offended, we have to mention that adult sites are also a big part of them. Here’s a collection of the things you’ll miss:
Yes, we know that Apple didn’t reach an agreement with Adobe concerning the use of Flash technology on the iPhone, iPod touch and now iPad, but this is done probably to keep the App Store profitable. Imagine millions of flash games available on the iPhone for free, like on most handsets out there. This would mean hundreds of millions of dollars less for the Cupertino giant, who sells its games.
However, you’ll be left without Hulu, CNN content and Disney content while using the Apple iPad, just to mention a few… Are you willing to take the plunge, knowing this?
[via theflashblog]
Tags: Adobe Flash, Apple Flash support, Apple iPad web browsing, Flash support on iPad, Flash support on iPhone
iPad Interface Reaches the iPhone, iPod touch (Video)
Jan 31, 2010 Apple Tablet
If you’ve been drooling over the whole Apple iPad thingie, but you won’t spend $500 on the device, you can pretend you’re using a tinier version of the tablet by porting its UI on your iPhone or iPod touch. The port will give you the needed 3D extra to make the iPhone interface look cool, complete with the iBooks option and a couple of other iPad-related touches. All you need is a jailbroken iPhone/ iPod touch and here’s how it all looks like:
In order to perform the port, you’ll be using Cydia, then you’ll install Winterboard, the “Simple iPad” theme and MakeItMine also through Cydia, in order to change the on-screen carrier to “iPad”. Afterwards, you’ll have to download the Shrink app to reduce the size of the icons and install ProSwitcher for some multitasking.
Last, you can install NY Times, Classics and Kindle apps in order to mess with ebooks. The result is… a little bit of the iPad on your very own handset.
[via Engadget]
Tags: Apple iPad interface, Cydia, iPad interface port on iPhone, video demo, Winterboard
Apple iPad A4 Processor Gets Detailed
Jan 30, 2010 Apple Tablet
Although some people were puzzled to hear that Apple created its own processor for the brand new iPad tablet, the info is real and now we’re about to detail this component. We’re talking about the Apple A4 CPU, an in-house product created by the Cupertino brand. It turns out that the A4 is not in fact a processor and PA Semi did not get involved in creating it, as claimed by some reports.
The iPad’s core is a SOC integrating an ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, just like the one made by NVIDIA relies on in its Tegra system and also similar to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. As far as the graphics side is concerned, you’ll use an ARM Mali 50-series GPU and the A4 also includes a memory controller on the same silicon.
[via slashgear]
Tags: Apple A4 CPU, Apple iPad processor, Apple processor, ARM Cortex A9, ARM Mali 50-series GPU
McGraw-Hill Apple iPad Leak Punished by Cupertino Giant
Jan 30, 2010 Apple Tablet
Remember the CNBC interview with McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw? It happened a day or two before the Apple iPad launch and Mr. McGraw was kind enough to reveal confidential data about the iPad, confirming its existence, price and the fact that it runs the iPhone OS. Now, his leak got punished by Steve Jobs, who didn’t include his company’s name on the list of publishers that will provide Ebooks for the iPad, as shown below.
Do you see any trace of McGraw-Hill? I don’t and that’s certainly a measure taken to prevent future leaky CEOs from mentioning secret data bout yet unlaunched Apple products. Anyone care to share info about the iPhone 4G? Come on, you’ve got nothing to lose… except Apple’s love.
[via Phone Arena]
Tags: Apple iPad Leak, information leak punishment, McGraw-Hill publisher, Steve Jobs
Samsung Introduces E6 and E101 E-readers in Russia
Jan 30, 2010 E-Book Readers, Samsung
Samsung’s Russian division has just introduced the first electronic book readers, the E6 and E101 models. They both pack an electronic paper screen, the E6 sporting a 6 inch unit, while the E101 packs a 10 inch display. These screens provide clear image in direct sunlight and you have to know that these devices support popular ebook formats like ePub, PDF and TXT.
Samsung E6 and E101 come with built-in dictionaries and support stylus input, plus MP3 playback and audiobooks. There’s also a text to speech feature on board, handwriting recognition, calendars and reminders, plus a technology that avoids typing errors caused by accidental touch of fingers of objects.
Cut/copy/paste are also available and we learn that these new Ebook readers support WiFi 802.11 b/g, allowing books and newspapers downloads.
[via mobile review]
Tags: Samsung e-book reader, Samsung e-reader, Samsung E101, Samsung E6
Apple iPad Equals $200-$300 Profit Per Unit
Jan 30, 2010 Apple Tablet
The Apple iPad seems to be the next cash cow for the Cupertino giant, maybe not like the iPhone, but still a decent source of financial growth. However, this is not a cheap device to make… Let’s see now, just how much does Apple make with these tablets. A bill of materials analysis recently revealed that the total cost of the iPad’s manufacturing is a bit over $270, so Apple will be making around $230 with each unit sold.
The 3G radio costs only $36, but Apple will sell it for $130, so this is another source of profit. Overall, the Cupertino giant makes around $300 with its new device, that is (let’s admit it), not as innovative as we hoped it would be. However, we expect the holiday prices to be a bit lower, so not all hope is lost.
How low is Apple willing to go with the price of this tablet? $300 maybe?
[via crunchgear]
Tags: Apple iPad manufacturing cost, Apple iPad profit, Apple tablet component cost, Apple tablet profit
Brother SV-70, New E-reader for Japanese Market
Jan 29, 2010 E-Book Readers
Brother is brand you probably don’t know, since the company only launched its cool SV-100B “Document Reader” in Japan early last year. A second model was recently announced, the Brother SV-70, packing the same 9.7 inch 1200 x 825 display as its predecessor. Once again, the 15.5mm thick device is most likely not meant for European and US release, sadly.
The Japanese product comes without Bluetooth 2.0+EDR support, that was present on the previous model and we also learn that is onboard memory has been halved. Brother SV-70 will be available for the equivalent of $1092, which is huge for the average user and huge again compared to the likes of Kindle.
We also don’t quite get why one would buy a product that’s worse specced than its predecessor.
[via slashgear]
Tags: Brother e-reader, Brother e-reader price, Brother SV-70, Brother SV-70 specifications
Dell Mini 5 Gets Demoed by Michael Dell (Video); Also Detailed
Jan 29, 2010 Dell
Michael Dell is probably the only big company boss out there fond of revealing products before their official announcement. Such is the case of the Dell Mini 5 MID, that Michael Dell recently demoed for TechCrunch, as you can see in the video below. He also confirmed the device’s unsubsidized price, a pretty big amount of cash, if you ask me: $1098.
Of course, the price will go down, once a carrier subsidy kicks in and it’ll have to get a lot lower, if Dell wants to find buyers for its product. As far as the hardware is concerned, we’ve found out that Dell Mini 5 runs Android 1.6 on top of a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, complete with 3G, WiFi and a 5 megapixel camera.
Michael Dell also mentioned that the product will go on sale in a few months.
[via slashgear]
Tags: Dell Mini 5, Dell Mini 5 demo, Dell Mini 5 price, Dell Mini 5 specs, Michael Dell
MSI Readying $499 10 inch Tablet… Haven’t We Heard this Before?
Jan 29, 2010 MSI
Wait, where did we hear about a tablet that costs $499 and sports a 10 inch display? Could it be the Apple iPad? It seems that MSI also have a similar product ready, but we’re not mean enough to call it an iPad clone just yet, in spite of the identical pricing and similar display (10 inch is not 9.7 inch though).
DigiTimes informs us that the device will ship with an NVIDIA Tegra chipset and it’ll run Android, instead of Windows. Nothing is known about the product yet, apart from the fact that it’ll have “wireless support”. Does this include WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth?
[via crunchgear]
Tags: Android tablet, MSI tablet, MSI tablet price, MSI Tablet specs, NVIDIA Tegra chipset
