GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

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LAS VEGAS — Every year at CES, there’s a theme or expectation that quickly becomes codified the moment you step inside the cavernous and often soulless Las Vegas Convention Center. This year, it was clear that everyone and their grandmother was coming out with a tablet PC. Pre-show estimates put the number around 50. Scuttlebutt inside Central Hall here put that figure closer to 80, although an exact count would be a near-Herculean and mind-numbing task.

What is painfully obvious is that many of these tablet makers showing off their wares will be drubbed by giants like Apple, Samsung, Motorola, RIM, and maybe a couple other fortunate ones. For the rest, 2011 is looking to be a gruesome battle of attribution amongst dozens of other companies.

“The market will only bear so much,” said IDC analyst David Daoud before CES kicked off. “It’s going to get pretty ugly as the year goes on.”

And with so many options out there to pick from, it’s going to be up to the manufacturers to separate themselves with unique features, although some are banking on being the budget-priced model of choice for those looking to spend under $500 on an entry-level tablet. Let’s look at show some of the major players of 2011 might be.

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Erik is the editor of Playbook, Wired.com’s sports blog. He’s also the managing editor of Longshot and a contributor to Pop-Up Magazine.
Follow @erikmal and @wiredplaybook on Twitter.

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Source:wired.com

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Research in Motion announced this morning that it acquired Swedish interface design firm TAT, whose initials stand for The Astonishing Tribe.

RIM clearly plans to use the Swedes’ talent to beef up future versions of the BlackBerry user interface, which despite the addition of touchscreen tech in the last year still seems clunky and quaint compared to iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7. That could make future BlackBerry phones — not to mention the upcoming Playbook tablet — a whole lot more exciting.

That got us wondering: What might the future, TAT-enhanced BlackBerry UI look like?

We have no idea, but if these concept videos produced by TAT are any indication, we’re guessing your next BlackBerry might have:

• A touch- and motion-sensitive UI that reponds to your body’s movement as well as your fingers on the screen
• Eye-tracking technology to provide enhanced 3-D effects
• A slicker, easier-to-manage interface for switching between multiple apps
• Eye-popping 2-D and 3-D visuals

What do you think the future holds for BlackBerry? Let us know in the comments.

This page: TAT’s vision of the “Future of Screen Technology” includes some pretty eye-popping examples of touchscreens embedded into every aspect of daily life. A man wakes up and checks the news on a stretchable screen that starts out iPhone-sized, but which he pulls on to make it nearly iPad-sized. A woman brushes her teeth while reading headlines and checking her calendar on a touchscreen mirror. A man composes a sport publication on a translucent touchscreen display whose images he can flip around, so coworkers on the other side of the screen can see them. Cool stuff!

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See Also:

• RIM’s Fighting Apple On Every Front
• RIM Unveils Tethered Tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook
• BlackBerry OS Makeover Promises Social Feeds, Better Search
• BlackBerry Maker Overhauls Phone Operating System
• BlackBerry 6 Coming to New Curve 3G

An award-winning writer specializing in technology, science and business, Dylan Tweney is a senior editor at Wired.com and publisher of tinywords, the world’s smallest magazine.
Follow @dylan20 and @gadgetlab on Twitter.

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When Research in Motion introduced its tablet, the PlayBook, on Monday, it was diving into a market already dominated by Apple’s iPad.

But there’s other competition too, either already on the market or soon to be: The 5-inch Dell Streak, which is available now; and Samsung’s 7-inch Galaxy Tab, which isn’t.

Since the iPad started shipping in April, Apple has sold more than 3 million devices. In June, Dell introduced the Streak, a device billed as a tablet but priced like a phone. Samsung hopes to bring its tablet, the Galaxy Tab to market in time for the holiday season shopping.

RIM announced its latest device, the 7-inch PlayBook at its developer conference Monday.

The PlayBook won’t be available till early next year. But it’s not too soon to see how its promised specs stack up with the main competitors it will face when it comes out.

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• Tablet
• Apple iPad
• BlackBerry PlayBook
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Dell Streak

• Display
• 9.7 inches, 1024 x 768 pixels
• 7 inches, 1024 x 600 pixels
• 7 inches, 1024 x 600 pixels
• 5 inches, 800 x 480 pixels

• Processor
• Apple A4 1 GHz
• 1 GHz dual-core
• 1 GHz ‘Hummingbird’
• Snapdragon QSD280 1 GHz

• Weight
• 1.5 lbs
• 0.9 lbs
• 0.8 lbs
• 0.48 lbs

• Dimensions (H x W x D)
• 9.5″ x 7.4″ x 0.5″
• 5.1″ x 7.6″ x 0.4″
• 7.5 ” x 4.7 ” x 0.4″
• 6″ x 3.1 ” x 0.4″

• Storage/Camera
• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB; no camera
• 16 GB, 32 GB; 5 MP rear camera, 3 MP front camera, video recording
• 16 GB, 32 GB; 3 MP rear camera, 1.3 MP front camera, video recording
• 16 GB microSD card; MP rear camera, VGA front camera, video recording

• Operating System
• Apple iOS
• QNX
• Android 2.2
• Android 1.6

• Connectivity
• Wi-Fi + AT&T 3G (no contract) + Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi + Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi + 3G (on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile) Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi + AT&T 3G (on contract) + Bluetooth

• Internet
• No Flash Support
• Supports Flash 10.1
• Supports Flash 10.1
• No Flash Support (Flash software updates could come later)

• Battery
• 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• N/A
• 4,000 mAh rated for 7 hours of movie play
• 1,530mAh battery, rated for up to 9.8hrs talk time

• Price
• $500-$700 (for Wi-Fi only). $630 – $830 for Wi-Fi + 3G
• N/A
• N/A
• $560 with no contract, $300 with a two-year contract

• Availability
• Shipping since April
• End of the year
• Early 2011
• Shipping since August

• Apps
• iPad + iPhone apps through Apple app store
• New app store will be launched by RIM
• Android Market Apps
• Android Market Apps

*battery life as specified by the manufacturer

Photo: BlackBerry PlayBook/Research In Motion

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

The tablet wars is set to heat up. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion may announce its tablet next week at the company’s developer conference, which starts Monday in San Francisco, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

RIM has already trademarked ‘BlackPad’ and ‘SurfBook’ and it is likely that the new tablet from the company could carry one of these names.

Last month, Chinese language paper Apple Daily reported that RIM has chosen Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Quanta to produce at least two million tablets this year. RIM and Quanta were said to be targeting a $500 price tag for the BlackPad to make it competitive against Apples iPad.

RIM’s new tablet announcement, if it happens next week, will come just weeks after the debut of the Samsung’s 7-inch tablet called the Galaxy Tab.

Since Apple introduced the iPad in April, tablets have made a big comeback and become of the hottest consumer gadgets of the year. Apple has sold more than 3 million iPads. In June, Dell launched the Streak, a tablet with a 5-inch screen. Samsung has already said its tablet will be available on all the four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile–but hasn’t announced exact pricing or availability.

BlackBerry’s new tablet will be different from its peers. It will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity but through tethering the device to a Blackberry smartphone. Essentially, the tablet has been designed as a “companion” to the phone, according to earlier reports.

The BlackBerry tablet would likely have a 7-inch screen and run a new operating system designed by QNX Software, a company that RIM acquired earlier this year, says the Journal.

RIM has been trying to go beyond its core audience of business users and attract more consumers, especially with the launch of devices such as the recent touchscreen phone Torch. A BlackBerry tablet seems like yet another step in that direction.

Photo: (Sean Hobson/Flickr)

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Torch won’t be in hands of consumers till next week but a website has taken the device apart for a closer look.

CrackBerry.com disassembled the Torch for a look at the device’s slider mechanism that helps pull out the keyboard, the bumper antenna that attaches to the board and the magnesium tray that the Torch’s display is encased in.

RIM launched the Torch on Tuesday as a $200 touchscreen phone (with contract) that would be available exclusively on AT&T’s network. Unlike the Storm and Storm 2, earlier touchscreen models from RIM, the Torch has both a touch sensitive display and a keyboard packed together in a slider mechanism–similar to the Palm Pre.

The video below shows the Torch’s keyboard slider, which is apparently rated for 15,000 cycles.

Head over to CrackBerry.com to see the rest of the photos.

Photos: CrackBerry.com

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews