Toshiba announces unnamed Tegra 2-powered Android tablet, waits only for Honeycomb

Let the Tegra 2-powered, Android Honeycomb tablet announcements begin! Apparently (and understandably) staying away from a Folio 2 moniker, Toshiba is kicking off CES with its new unnamed 10.1-inch Android tablet, and we have to say from our brief look at a non-working unit a few weeks ago, it may just have what it takes to stick out from the rest.. at least on the spec and manufacturing quality front. The tablet has a capacitive, high 1280 x 800-resolution display along with an accelerometer and ambient light sensor (or what Toshiba has dubbed as Adaptive Display technology). It also has a 5 megapixel rear camera as well as a 2 megapixel front-facing one. Yep, this one is well stocked and just a quick look at the pictures below will show that the slab has got full sized USB and HDMI jacks, a single mini-USB socket, and an SD card slot.

While we couldn't turn on the dual-core Tegra 2-powered tablet, which will eventually run "the next version of Android designed for tablets" aka Honeycomb, we have to say the EasyGrip, spill-resistant, rubberized back felt really solid in hand and the 1.7-pound, .6-inch thick tablet felt comparable to the iPad in terms of portability. Oh, and did we mention that the aforementioned rear cover is swappable, so not only can you change its color but you can replace the battery? We told you it had some of the ingredients to make it go far, but we're obviously lacking quite a bit of information here to make any further decisions. Toshiba's maintaining that the tablet will be released in the first half of 2011 (it obviously has to wait until Honeycomb has been made official) and the pricing will be competitive, but we'll be digging for more when we get to Vegas and hopefully reporting back with some impressions of a working unit.

Gallery: Toshiba 10.1-inch Android tablet hands-on

Toshiba announces unnamed Tegra 2-powered Android tablet, waits only for Honeycomb originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus S overclocked to 1.2GHz, runs too damn fast for its Bluetooth to work

Even at its default 1GHz speed, Samsung's Hummingbird is one of the finest mobile processor around, but are you really going to complain about getting the option to crank an extra 200 milion clock cycles out of it? Morfic over on the xda-developers forums has delivered a kernel permitting Nexus S owners to achieve just that, although he still has to fix an issue that disables the phone's Bluetooth capabilities.Still, if you value ludicrous speed over wireless peripherals, the source link is your friend.

Nexus S overclocked to 1.2GHz, runs too damn fast for its Bluetooth to work originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio details specs on VIA Tablet and VIA Phone, reveals VIA Plus is Google TV

Vizio has unveiled more about its plans for the new year which seem to consist largely of a huge push on Android, from the 4-inch phone and 8-inch tablet running a (still unspecified) flavor on their 1 GHz processors, to new VIA Plus HDTVs and Blu-ray players with Google TV built in. The VIA Tablet and VIA Phone (not necessarily final names, judging from the PR) have a few other details mentioned -- though we don't know if the phone is GSM or CDMA, it does have a 4-inch screen, WiFi N, GPS, MicroSD slot, dual cameras and HDMI output, while the 8-inch tablet brings similar chops minus any sort of 3G connectivity. With the new Vizio Internet Apps Plus, it aims to provide a seamless experience from the handheld to the big screen, including the ability to pause and resume content across devices. Judging by the screenshot, it looks like the company may be wrapping its own Yahoo! Widgets-like skin around the Google TV experience in a way we haven't seen from Sony or Logitech yet. Another pic and the full press releases await after the break, the rest will have to wait until we get our hands on the devices in Las Vegas.

Continue reading Vizio details specs on VIA Tablet and VIA Phone, reveals VIA Plus is Google TV

Vizio details specs on VIA Tablet and VIA Phone, reveals VIA Plus is Google TV originally appeared on! Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A.C. Ryan FLUXX media player capacitates full HD streaming with its Atom CE4150 processor

It's been about a year since A.C. Ryan Shrinky Dink'd its Playon!HD to make the Mini media player, and now another generation is upon us. Relying on the Intel Atom CE4150 processor, the same little beauty humming away in Google TV devices, along with 1GB of DDR3 memory, it's capable of connecting via gigabit Ethernet or (optional) 802.11n wireless to stream 1080p media over the network, or pull it from an internal SATAII drive bay. Video output options include component, composite, and HDMI 1.3a, while there's also an optical audio port if you're still into that sort of thing. What it sadly doesn't have is Google TV itself, nor an MSRP, nor a release date, but perhaps that info can be gleaned at a little media event happening this week.

[Thanks, Nash]

A.C. Ryan FLUXX media player capacitates full HD streaming with its Atom CE4150 processor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AOC's 8-inch Breeze Android 2.1 tablet goes for broke, sells for $200

No money? No problem! The world of craptablets has grown significantly over the past dozen months, and you won't find us encouraging anyone to add another to the pile. But AOC has actually managed to make a fairly decent name for itself over the years, albeit one in the LCD industry. In fact, this here company claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of LED / LCD monitors, but it's tough to say how that type of expertise will translate in the tablet arena. The newly launched Breeze bucks two screen size trends and splits the difference -- there's an 8-inch touchpanel here, complete with an 800 x 600 screen resolution and a row of physical keys along the right edge. You'll also find a Rockchip processor, an outdated copy of Android 2.1, not to mention a USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm headphone, inbuilt speaker, 802.11b/g WiFi, 4GB of internal storage space, a microSD card slot and a battery that's supposedly good for up to 12 hours of audio playback or (six hours of video). We're still waiting to hear back on what type of CPU is under the shell, but for under $200, we're going to hazard a guess that it's not the quickest silicon in the shed. Anywho, it'll be splashing down at "major retail chains" later this month, likely going toe-to-toe with Augen for your bargain-bin bucks.

Continue reading AOC's 8-inch Breeze Android 2.1 tablet goes for broke, sells for $200

AOC's 8-inch Breeze Android 2.1 tablet goes for broke, sells for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio unveils Theater 3D HDTVs with passive glasses tech in 22- to 71-inch sizes

We doubt we've seen all of Vizio's 2011 product lineup yet, but the latest information is that it's expanding upon the one Theater 3D TV model currently available with an entire line -- promising to offer 3D with passive glasses in sizes from 22- all the up to 71-inches. There are 21 models detailed in the press release after the break including LED edge lit LCDs, direct LED backlit models, ones with the Yahoo! Widgets VIA package and a couple of the new Google TV-powered models. No word on price or ship date yet, but the company is quick to point out that putting the 3D processing into the screen means cheaper movie theater-style 3D glasses with ostensible greater brightness and less flicker, plus compatibility with Oakley's "optically correct" specs. Check out all the details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Vizio unveils Theater 3D HDTVs with passive glasses tech in 22- to 71-inch sizes

Vizio unveils Theater 3D HDTVs with passive glasses tech in 22- to 71-inch sizes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OCOSMOS returns at CES 2011 with Windows 7-based gaming handheld

OCOSMOS. Sound familiar? If you were with us for last year's wild ride through the autumn, it most definitely will. For whatever reason, this South Korean company only comes out to play when the world's eyes are watching, and while we've yet to hear a peep about the products it wowed us with just a few months back, the outfit's making a last-second play for attention at this year's gala. All we have to go on so far are the images above and these two details: this unnamed gaming handheld will boast a dual-core Intel processor and run some version of Windows 7. In other words, you can finish up an Excel file right after you plow through a bona fide Windows game. We're hoping to learn more on this guy in due time, and you can bet we'll be grappling for hands-on time once we hit the floor.

OCOSMOS returns at CES 2011 with Windows 7-based gaming handheld originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexar Media reveals 64GB and 128GB Class 10 SDXC cards

Man, it feels like yesterday that we first heard of SDXC and its mythical promise of providing 2TB of storage along with 300MBps transfers. Truth be told, that was at CES two years ago, and here we are 24 months later oohing and ahhing over 128GB. Ah, the pains of (sluggish) progress. Griping aside, we're fairly sure that professional video junkies will be more than elated to hear of Lexar Media's two newest cards. The 64GB and 128GB Class 10 SDXC cards "offer minimum guaranteed speeds of 133x (20MB per second)," and ship with a limited lifetime warranty. If all goes well, they'll be splashing down into retailers later this quarter, with price tags set for $399.99 (64GB) and $699.99 (128GB). Just to put that into perspective, SanDisk shipped a Class 4 (15MB/sec) 64GB SDXC card right around this time last year for $350, and it's now going for half of that on the street. Yeah, ouch.

Gallery: Lexar Media reveals 64GB and 128GB Class 10 SDXC cards

Continue reading Lexar Media reveals 64GB and 128GB Class 10 SDXC cards

Lexar Media reveals 64GB and 128GB Class 10 SDXC cards originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung announces $299 HMX-Q10 camcorder, makes it work upside down

Lefty? We feel ya -- sometimes modern camcorders just aren't built for those with alternate dominant proclivities, but Samsung's HMX-Q10 most certainly is. Though, really, it'd be great for anyone who has felt the need to keep on filming while using their right hand to cling desperately onto a grabrail or the like. It offers a compact design with a prominent record button right on its fanny, about the only physical control you really need to worry about. The rest displayed on the 2.7-inch touchscreen, which automatically flips itself if you hold the camera upside down. Images are beamed through a 10x (2.75 - 27.5mm) optical zoom and then splayed across a 5 megapixel sensor, which enables full HD recording -- albeit at 60i. If you want progressive you'll have to drop to 720p, but that's not such a bad deal considering the cost of $299 when it ships in February. Besides, the lower res will make your SDHC card feel a little more roomy.

Gallery: Samsung HMX-Q10 camcorder

Continue reading Samsung announces $299 HMX-Q10 camcorder, makes it work upside down

Samsung announces $299 HMX-Q10 camcorder, makes it work upside down originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Multiple Intel Core 2011 PCs spotted at Vancouver Future Shop, yes it's still the present

Ooh, what's this? A couple of desktops rocking Intel's latest and greatest, available for purchase perhaps a few days too early? Matthew T. spotted these machines at a Vancouver Future Shop, advertising Core i7 2600 and Core i5 2300 processors, which fall squarely in the Intel Core 2011 (née Sandy Bridge) family. Both come from Gateway and both offer all that core 2011 has to offer, which in the case of these desktops isn't too much since neither has a Blu-ray drive to take advantage of the new 3D HDMI 1.4 support and neither has much use for WiDi 2.0 wireless displays. But, don't let that stop you from being the first on your block to Core it up 2011 style.

[Thanks, Matthew T.]

Multiple Intel Core 2011 PCs spotted at Vancouver Future Shop, yes it's still the present originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freescale announces i.MX 6 processor series, wants quad cores in your smartphone

Power. We need more. More for streaming video, more for playing games, and more just so that we can say we have it. Freescale hears us, and it's delivering the i.MX 6 series of mobile processors offering up to four ARM Cortex A9 cores at 1.2GHz each. That's plenty for 3D rendering on your car infotainment system, music-making on your smartphone, maybe a little SETI action on your next smart refrigerator. Even 1080p30 video encoding is a said to be within these chips' reach. i.MX 6 processors will be available in one, two, or four core configurations with up to 1MB of L2 cache. HDMI 1.4 support is onboard, along with gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0, but sadly not 3.0. It seems there's always something to look forward to in the next revision, but that could be quite a wait with i.MX 6 sampling not set to begin until "later this year."

Continue reading Freescale announces i.MX 6 processor series, wants quad cores in your smartphone

Freescale announces i.MX 6 processor series, wants quad cores in your smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS tweaks LTE plans: $40 gets you unlimited talk, text, and web*

Ah, there always has to be fine print, doesn't there? Don't get us wrong -- $40 for unlimited talk and text alone is still a pretty fantastic deal in the scheme of things -- but in tweaking its LTE service plans today, MetroPCS has made the data situation just a little confusing. Technically, the $40 plan also includes unlimited web access plus YouTube... but at the $50 price point, you get 1GB of "additional data access" for features that aren't covered under MetroPCS' definition of "web browsing." You also get turn-by-turn navigation, international text messaging, access to corporate email accounts (another arbitrary distinction that we'd kind of like to see go away), and audio / video features through the carrier's MetroSTUDIO service. At $60, you get unlimited access to MetroSTUDIO including 18 channels of on-demand video content. MetroPCS' lowest-cost LTE offering had previously been $55, so it's a step in the right direction -- but pro-net neutrality? Yeah, not so much. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading MetroPCS tweaks LTE plans: $40 gets you unlimited talk, text, and web*

MetroPCS tweaks LTE plans: $40 gets you unlimited talk, text, and web* originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PrimeSense and ASUS team, bring Kinect-like Wavi Xtion to your living room TV (update)

PrimeSense is the brains behind Microsoft's Kinect, and wants a bigger piece of the pie; ASUS has a reputation for announcing wonderfully wacky peripherals every year. At CES 2011, the Wavi Xtion will check off both boxes nicely. In a nutshell, the Xtion is a PrimeSense 3D depth camera built exclusively for PC, but with an important twist -- it connects to the pair of ASUS Wavi boxes you see immediately above, which wirelessly streams its data to your living room PC between your TV and a Windows PC over the 5GHz band. Oh, and should ASUS attract enough developers, it will even pull down applications from an Xtion online store. ASUS says we'll see the package commercially available around the world in Q2 of next year -- with a UI and selection of apps and games on board -- but they'll release an Xtion PRO developer kit in February to tempt all you Kinect hackers into coding magical things for the platform. No more details for now, but there's an event in Vegas this week where ASUS is all but guaranteed to show it off. PR after the break.

Update: Did we say HTPC? Turns out it doesn't quite work that way -- the Wavi are actually a pair of boxes that wirelessly sling data between them. You put the Xtion sensor on top of your TV, connect it to Wavi #1, then plug Wavi #2 into a PC up to 25 meters away. Disappointingly, it looks like the Xtion may not be quite as capable as Microsoft's unit, as there's only a infrared camera inside -- it should be fine for gesture control, but don't expect any augmented reality lightsaber fights. See some mockups below!

Gallery: ASUS and PrimeSense Wavi Xtion and Xtion Pro press images

Continue reading PrimeSense and ASUS team, bring Kinect-like Wavi Xtion to your living room TV (update)

PrimeSense and ASUS team, bring Kinect-like Wavi Xtion to your living room TV (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Build a Fiber Optic Star Map for Out-of-This-World Ambient Lighting [Astronomy]

If you're looking for ambient lighting so unique you'll likely be the only person in your part of the country to have it, this amazing DIY fiber optic star map is tough-to-beat choice.

Instructables user MrTick wanted a unique light source and an impressive surprise for his wife. He accomplished both ends by building a fiber optic star map that's actually a representation of the night sky visible from his home. His DIY guide includes all the hallmarks of awesomely geeky DIY work: dismantling consumer products to make new things, fiber optics, schematics, LEDs, soldering, and heat shrink tubing. Unlike many awesomely geeky DIY projects, however, this one came with a high wife-acceptance factor.

Hit up the link below to see how he transforms fabric, a fiber optic Christmas tree, and some miscellaneous parts like LEDs, wire, and heat shrink tubing into an absolutely awesome fiber optic star map for his bedroom.

Star Map [Instructables]

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MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D all-in-one review

When MSI builds an "all-in-one" PC, it doesn't mess around -- the MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D has everything but the kitchen sink ensconced in a plastic frame. Where most consolidated computers aim for the lowest common denominator with low-power components, MSI's dropped a high-end multimedia bomb here -- a 23.6-inch, 120Hz, 1080p, LED-backlit touchscreen LCD panel paired with a desktop-grade 2.53GHz Core i7-860S processor, Mobility Radeon HD 5730 graphics, a Blu-ray drive, 4GB of RAM, and a terabyte of storage. Active shutter glasses spit out 3D images to your eyes while THX speakers (and a built-in subwoofer) pump out jams, and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and USB 3.0 sockets round out a connectivity laundry list. It's got a spec sheet to die for and an equally lethal $1,800 price -- but is the AE2420 3D more than a bucket of primo parts? Is it worth your cash?

Gallery: MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D all-in-one review

MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D all-in-one review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio reveals Via Tablet and Phone with Android, sub-$300 3DTVs ahead of CES

Vizio made its name by packing high end features into value-priced HDTVs and it's taking that mentality to new areas, revealing the tablet we spotted in last night's Rose Bowl ad as the 8-inch Via Tablet and a 4-inch Via Phone. Both will be running Android and while CTO Matthew McRae didn't spill any OS details to the Wall Street Journal, the combination of confirmed Market access and odd button configuration has us thinking Honeycomb is in the works when they are released this summer. The only Via Phone details mentioned are screen size and its front and 5MP rear cameras, while the tablet promises a "high resolution" screen, WiFi, three speakers, HDMI out and front facing camera -- but no cellular service.

Expect TV manufacturers to be on their toes as well, since Vizio says it will bring 3DTVs to market that start at less than $300. The new mobile products will also tie into its TV business through the Via Plus internet service, which sounds a lot like Samsung Apps by allowing access to Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Android market access (to go along with its new Google TVs) and even a new Vizio On Demand movie services across all of its devices. We'll temper our excitement slightly remembering the new TVs and iPhone app shown off last year that never quite made it to shelves, but this trip to Vegas has already gotten even more interesting.

Vizio reveals Via Tablet and Phone with Android, sub-$300 3DTVs ahead of CES originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI details Sandy Bridge, Fusion all-in-ones ahead of CES, teases a sliding screen

We just finished reviewing a feature-packed MSI Wind Top, but come CES next week we'll have three more to try: the AE2410, AE2210 and AE2050, each with the very latest silicon inside. Notebook Italia reports that the Taiwanese computer company's using Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPUs in each of its 24- and 22-inch rigs, and grabbed a low-power AMD Brazos APU for the likely budget 20-inch model -- which will reportedly still include a Blu-ray drive like its Core 2 Duo cousin. All three will sport 1080p touchscreen displays and USB 3.0 ports, but also a spiffy new feature called Super Charger that will charge attached USB gadgets even when the computer is off. Innovations, to be sure, but perhaps not as exciting as the concept items pictured above and below -- up top is the MSI Butterfly, which reportedly has a sliding multitouch screen with ten points of contact, and after the break, see the luxurious MSI Angelow. Here's hoping for prices, specs and high-res pictures once we get to the show.

Continue reading MSI details Sandy Bridge, Fusion all-in-ones ahead of CES, teases a sliding screen

MSI details Sandy Bridge, Fusion all-in-ones ahead of CES, teases a sliding screen originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use! of feed s.

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HTC Thunderbolt has 8 megapixel camera and video chat, according to the ad up there

HTC's slogan is "quietly brilliant," and the company's living up to it right now -- it snuck new details about its mystery handset directly under our nose. What you see above are three screencaps from a banner ad running on the pages of Engadget even as we speak, hinting at an 8 megapixel imager, a sizable screen, and perhaps even 4G video chat. Why, hello there HTC Thunderbolt / Mecha / Droid Incredible HD, and hurray for controlled leaks!

[Thanks, Taylor S.]

HTC Thunderbolt has 8 megapixel camera and video chat, according to the ad up there originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY Coffee Table Folds Into a Dining Table [DIY]

If you have limited space in your apartment, you can save some space by making a coffee table that converts to a high dining table when you actually need it.

DIYer Noëlle used a Vika Amon tabletop from IKEA, a trestle and some adapted curtain rods (both of which you can get at a hardware store) to create a sliding mechanism not unlike the one that folds your ironing board in and out. Now it's a low coffee table during the day, but can be folded up into a high dining table when needed:

It's actually a pretty quick and simple mod, but sure to save you some space and make the room feel more open by getting rid of the need for a separate table. Hit the link for more pictures.

Lift Coffee Table | IKEA Hacker

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New image of Olympus E-PL2 leaks, shows off macro spotlight

We've already seen leaked images of the Olympus E-PL2, the much talked about follow up to the E-PL1. The Micro Four Thirds is expected to boast a new 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 kit lens, a 'direct movie' button, a high-resolution 3-inch display, and an optional Bluetooth model. From the new image above, however, we can see that there will also be an optional 'Medusa' version of the cam with a closeup spotlight for all those insane macro shots you'll undoubtedly be taking. The adjustable LED will also not require an extra battery, so this is one add-on we'll definitely be seriously considering.

New image of Olympus E-PL2 leaks, shows off macro spotlight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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