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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 official: Tegra 2, Honeycomb, dual cameras

Sunday, February 13, 2011 by Aazar Shahzad
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Geez, it's been a long weekend of almost incessant Galaxy Tab II teasing, but the time has come: Samsung's finally releasing the official details of its 10.1-inch, Android Honeycomb tablet to the world. Contrary to the leaks, the tablet is called the Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- grabbing its moniker from the screen size, obviously -- and like the rest of the upcoming Android 3.0 tablets it's powered by a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, will be available with 16GB or 32GB of storage, and has a front-facing 2 megapixel camera as well as a 8 megapixel imager around back. That's just the tip of the iceberg, but we've got the nitty-gritty too -- find specs, full impressions and even some video of the slate in action after the break! Oh, and don't forget to stop by the galleries below to see the new Tab 10.1 up close and then face off with Sammy's original Tab, not to mention the Apple iPad.
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Intel promises, teases MeeGo smartphone and tablet for MWC

by Aazar Shahzad
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Intel may have been the jilted bride left at the altar by Nokia, but it's not giving up on MeeGo just yet. The above poster has been hung up here in Barcelona, in the area us humble journalists still aren't in allowed yet, and shows a smartphone and tablet running Intel's Linux variant as their OS. There are plenty of details to pore over, such as the multiplicity of home screen items on the tablet that includes Big Buck Bunny -- a favorite for testing HD video playback -- in its top right corner; the handset, meanwhile, could very well be that Aava Mobile device we've been hearing about lately. MWC is opening its doors tomorrow, so even if Intel doesn't announce these devices in full, we'll snoop its booth out and find out for ourselves.
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Fujitsu unveils world's first MeeGo netbook

by Aazar Shahzad
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It hasn't been a terribly good week for MeeGo, but there's a scant silver lining in the cloud -- the first MeeGo netbook has arrived in Singapore, courtesy of Fujitsu. Actually, to be precise, it's the first netbook to ship with MeeGo preinstalled, as Fujitsu's simply shoehorned the lightweight operating system onto its existing LifeBook MH330 machine. Sadly, the MH330's about as boring as they come -- it's a plain vanilla 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 ultraportable with 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit screen. The company says it's customized MeeGo to take advantage of hardware buttons, but other than that there's nothing noteworthy here, just a (roughly $400) netbook that managed to find a place in the annals of history for being the first to preinstall an operating system that's already on the outs -- albeit a very pleasant, quickly-booting one.
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Nokia hints we'll see first Windows Phone 7 device this year

by Aazar Shahzad
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Nokia may still sticking to the official line that it will begin shipping Windows Phone 7 devices in "significant volume" in 2012, but it just dropped a big hint at its Mobile World Congress press conference that we could be seeing the first device even sooner -- like this year. That word came from Nokia's Jo Harlow, who said that her boss would be "much happier" if the timing of the initial launch was in 2011. What's more, Nokia's also given us a glimpse of another slightly different Windows Phone 7 concept device in addition to confirming the leaked one we got our hands on a few days ago, and it's shed yet more light on the behind the scenes intrigue that led up to the switch to Windows Phone 7. According to CEO Stephen Elop, the "final decision" to go with Windows Phone "just happened on Thursday night of last week." Elop then later then expanded -- in response to a question shouted from the audience about whether he was a trojan horse -- that the "entire management team" was involved in the process, and that "of course the board of directors of Nokia are the only ones that can make this significant of a decision about Nokia," which they made on Thursday night.
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo

by Aazar Shahzad
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Would sir like some Gingerbread with his Sunday lunch? Sony Ericsson's Xperia Neo just became official -- having already graced these pages thanks to sneaky leaksters and prying mobile reviewers -- and it is pretty much what we thought it was: a downmarket alternative for those not keen or able to afford the Xperia Arc. It has an 8.1 megapixel camera round the back, Sony Ericsson's "human curvature" design, and the same Bravia screen technology as the Arc. The sides are extremely shiny and there's an abundance of plastic on show. In simple physical terms, you can just feel the difference in (likely future) price between the Neo and its more reputed siblings. We also found the multitouch widget-summoning feature extremely laggy. We'll have video of that and more for you very soon.
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc preview

by Aazar Shahzad
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Sony Ericsson's MWC presser today may have been all about its new Play, Pro and Neo members of the Xperia family, but the CES debutant we know and love as the Arc was out in force as well. So, we thought, why not throw together our thoughts on this phone and splice them with a gallery of delicious new images plus some video action to boot? The first thing to note is that the Xperia Arc will be shipping globally in March and Sony Ericsson is aiming for the broadest possible operator coverage. Focusing on the handset itself, we've been wildly impressed by its design since first laying eyes on it, there's something fundamentally attractive about the Arc's look, something less tangible than its ridiculously slim profile. Sony Ericsson has used a similar plasticky material on the back as it does in the Neo, which doesn't overwhelm us with any sensations of reassurance or quality, but seems to do the job. Guess some corners had to inevitably be cut along with the fat on this phone's body.

The 4.2-inch screen is bright and lucid, though we'd warn against expecting too much from the Bravia Reality Display marketing. As we've mentioned before, the display enhancements only kick in when you're consuming multimedia. Still, general performance looks more than satisfactory. Hard buttons around the body are well arranged and designed, a contrast from the fiddly keys we found on the Xperia Pro. What was consistent with the rest of Sony Ericsson's Xperia crew, however, was the Arc's inability to execute its pinch-to-zoom widget summary screen. It's an ambitious function -- gathering all your widgets from each screen into one cohesive overview -- but, basically, it's laggy as hell. Aside from that, general UI responsiveness could also stand some improvement, but we like where Sony Ericsson is going with the whole thing. If it keeps up its promise to repent from last year's sins with relation to Android updates, the company has a very good chance of striking it rich with the Xperia Arc.
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iPad 2 in production, features FaceTime camera, faster processor

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 by Aazar Shahzad
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what's this? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the iPad 2 has entered production -- which exactly lines up previously rumored manufacturing schedules. According to the WSJ, the new edition of Apple's tablet will have a faster processor with a better GPU and more memory in a thinner, lighter package. There's also said to be a front-facing camera for video conferencing, but the much-discussed display resolution will remain "similar" to the current iPad -- which actually goes along with the most recent information we've gotten from our sources, who say that the next iPad will indeed stay at the current resolution, and that the higher-res display we'd heard about earlier may have actually been for a future model. As for availability, the WSJ says the new iPad will be on Verizon and AT&T, which certainly makes sense -- although it'll be interesting to see how Verizon handles positioning it against the upcoming Xoom, which Motorola is marketing in an aggressively anti-iPad manner. In any event, between the iPad 2, the Xoom, and whatever Palm has to offer tomorrow, this spring is about to get very, very interesting.
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Nikon Coolpix S9100 extends an 18x zoom from a compact body capable of 1080p

by Aazar Shahzad
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Last we heard from Nikon on the topic of high-end point-and-shoot cameras, it was touting Full HD video and a backside-illuminated 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor on its S8100. Well, here comes the S9100, still possessing those goodies, but now it's attaching them to a lens capable of 18x optical zoom -- a feature you'd usually expect to find on shooters far bulkier than this pocket-friendly portable. ISO sensitivity can stretch up to 3200 (only 800 in automatic mode), there's a 1050mAh battery helping power the 3-inch, 920k-dot rear-mounted display, and you'll also probably want to know that the 1080p movie mode records sound in stereo and ticks along at a healthy 30fps. Our brief time with the S9100 revealed it to be a typically well built little shooter, although we did notice zooming it backwards and forwards is a fairly slow affair -- which can grow into something of a nuisance when you've got such a massive zoom range -- while the tripod mount is way off to the left of center. We're sure Nikon has thought that decision through and balanced the camera's weight appropriately, however. Sales around the world begin on March 17th, with local pricing set at $330, €348 and £300 in the major markets.
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Dell Latitude E6220

by Aazar Shahzad
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Sure, the Dell Means Business event this morning was a bit of a snore, but amidst all the talk of backlit keyboards (egads!), four-times faster hard drive encryption, and cookware-inspired design, we spotted a rather attractive (perhaps even enticing) enterprise system -- the Dell Latitude E6220 laptop. According to Dell, this 12-inch thin-and-light is targeting "field workers" like us, so we wasted no time getting some hands-on time with it alongside our trusty 11-inch MacBook Air. Check out the gallery below, and read on for our first impressions.
Despite being a pre-release unit without a battery installed, the E6220 felt solidly built. The screen lid is inlaid with brushed metal while the main body of the laptop is made of black plastic with a silver rim. The edges of the bottom cover are tapered in the front and sides, making the system look thinner than it actually is. The rear protrudes beyond the hinges and contains all the ports, just like the Adamo -- in fact, the styling reminds us of the XPS 14. On the left side you'll find smart card and SD card readers, as well as audio, eSATA / USB, and VGA connectors. On the right side there's an ExpressCard slot, wireless switch, two USB ports, and an HDMI connector. Power and Ethernet are located in back, with a docking interface on the bottom.

The 12-inch screen uses a matte finish and while we're not sure of the exact resolution, it's likely 1366 x 768 pixels. Quality seemed on par with LCD panels found in other modern laptops. There's a webcam above the display, flanked by a pair of microphones. We liked the full-size keyboard, which is backlit and features standard key travel. The trackpad works as expected, including two-finger scrolling, but the buttons felt a little too mushy. In addition to the trackpad, the palmrest incorporates an RFID reader and a fingerprint scanner.

Under the hood, you'll find an Intel Core i3 CPU with integrated graphics, your choice of hard drive or solid state storage, plus a plethora of wireless options (including 3G). Performance seemed adequate for a Core i3 laptop running Windows 7, despite a reported Windows Experience Index of 1.0 (which we suspect is inaccurate, since this was not final hardware). Our unit, which was equipped with a 2.1GHz CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a hard drive, loaded Engadget and other websites without any drama. Dell was mum on pricing, availability, or battery life, but we expect the E6220 to be competitive in the enterprise market.
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BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen partner for future hybrid tech

Thursday, February 3, 2011 by Aazar Shahzad
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The last century saw no shortage of disputes between the French and the Germans, but in this century everything's going to be totally cool. BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën, the company that quite naturally owns the Peugeot and Citroën marques, have come to form a partnership focused on the creation of advanced hybrid systems. The name for this new partnership? BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification, quite naturally. The fruit of this holy union will be better battery packs, generators, and electronics that will not only help the manufacturers that have joined together here, but will also be sold to other manufacturers who need a little help from their friends. We'll have to wait a little while before we see any results, though: actual components aren't expected to hit the road until 2014 at the earliest -- coincidently about 100 years since things got awfully testy at Alsace-Lorraine.
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Verizon iPhone review

by Aazar Shahzad
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The Verizon iPhone 4 is an interesting product for Engadget to review. Firstly, it's not exactly a new device (not in any outwardly noticeable way). From design, down to its CPU, RAM, and even cost, this iPhone is the same as the AT&T model... save for that one small but really important thing: it's got a CDMA radio inside. The device is also somewhat tricky to review based on its software, since we've all been using (and even took a deep look at) iOS 4.2 for quite some time. So for us the task is to make clear the differences between these two devices and their networks. Now that's a little easier, because we're sure you have the same questions as us. What are calls like? How are the data rates? Is service notably improved or different than AT&T's? Most importantly, if you're currently a frustrated iPhone 4 owner, does it make sense to make the switch? We're going to answer all those queries (and more), so read on for a full review of the Verizon iPhone 4!
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Dropcam app comes to Android, lets you monitor your security cameras

by Aazar Shahzad
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iPhone users have been able to keep watch on their Dropcam security cameras from the convenience of a dedicated app since the Dropcam Echo launched last summer, but Android users have unfortunately been left with no other option than to simply use the standard, less-than-mobile-friendly web interface. The company's now finally corrected that oversight, however, and released a full-fledged app for Android smartphones running Android 2.2 or higher. The key advantage with a Dropcam setup -- as we noted in our review of the camera itself -- is that it's entirely cloud-based, and doesn't need to be connected to your home computer to record or share video (unfortunately, that convenience comes at quite a cost). As for the Android app, it will let you receive things like motion and audio alerts, and of course let you check in on a live stream or access recordings -- those just looking try the service can also simply access some public webcams to test it out.
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JVC to unveils its new GC-PX1 High Speed Camera

by Aazar Shahzad
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Introduced for the first time as a concept at this year CES, JVC’s new High Speed Camera concept will normally be announced officially next week in Japan.
This new Hybrdi Camcorder and Camera comes with a 10.6Mpix Back-illuminated CMOS Sensor, a 10x optical Zoom with OIS, 1080/60p video recording at 36Mbps (YEAH !!!), a 300fps Video mode in VGA and 32GB of internal memory with support of SDXC cards.
The GC-PX1 is just the tip of the iceberg of things to come in Japan, powered by JVC’s FalconBrid Image processor, the very same Image engine found on another Concpe the GS-TD1 that comes however with 4K2K support! Anyway we are really looking for next week event to learn more about this new monster.
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