We’ve got a pretty good inkling that it’s coming — the big question is when will Amazon finally ship an LCD tablet. According to DigiTimes, and its occasionally trusty sources at upstream component makers, when is defined by the second half of 2011. What’s more, the media tablet will feature a Fringe Field Switching LCD display and touch panel from Amazon fave E Ink Holdings , a company better known for the technology behind the Kindle’s EPD e-paper displays. According to DigiTimes , Quanta has received the manufacturing honors with production expected to peak at about 700,000 – 800,000 units per month. So yeah, the Amazon Kindle tablet won’t be sporting a Mirasol display according to this gossip. Then again, it’s only gossip so anything goes. Amazon tablet shipping later this year according to new tattle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Logitech’s 720p TV Cam lets you get your Skype on your 2011 Viera Connect HDTV
May 3, 2011 No Comment
If you have yourself a Skype-compatible 2011 Viera Connect HDTV from Panasonic but still find your living room lacking the optics required to make high-latency VOIP calls that much more interesting, you now have yet another option courtesy of Logitech. The company has just announced its TV Cam for Skype, a 720p model that, if we didn’t know better, we’d say was exactly the same as the camera you can get for the Revue — which is also a dead ringer for the C910 . Anyhow, it’ll do 720p video, has cool blue lights, and is set to be available sometime this month for $149.99. More details in the PR after the break. Continue reading Logitech’s 720p TV Cam lets you get your Skype on your 2011 Viera Connect HDTV Logitech’s 720p TV Cam lets you get your Skype on your 2011 Viera Connect HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This is sort of the gaming laptop version of a politician stepping down to spend more time with his family. We’ve confirmed with Alienware today that the M15x system is no longer available — the company has opted to focus its efforts on the rest of its line of glowing extraterrestrial gaming laptops. After all, while the 15-inch form factor will no doubt be missed by some, devoted gamers should be able to find solace in the arms of, say, an M11x , M14x , M17x , or M18x . It may be gone from sight, but surely grainy teardown footage from a New Mexico bunker can’t be far away. [Thanks, Zach] Dell kills Alienware M15x, government denies it ever existed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Quick show of hands: how many of you like playing video games? And how many of you would like to watch movies based on video games you’ve played? No doubt slightly more sophisticated market research went into Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the game maker’s unique approach to adapting games like Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell for film and TV, meaning we’ll finally see movies about assassins. Last year’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film grossed $335 million worldwide, surely thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal’s smoldering yet boyish intensity, and the French game publisher clearly wants a bigger slice of Hollywood pie — it also recently bought visual effects studio Hybride Technologies. You might as well get in line now for Battle Tag : The Movie . Ubisoft founds motion picture division, vows to keep Jake Gyllenhaal working originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 02:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Supply chain issues limit ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer production to 10,000 a month?
May 2, 2011 No Comment
So, it seems that ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer has been hard to find , at least in part due to reasons other than customer demand. According to Netbook News , the Taiwanese company is having trouble sourcing the supplies needed to build the tablet / keyboard combo in sufficient numbers. For now, that means only 10,000 Transformers a month — a fraction of the 300,000 ASUS was reportedly hoping to make. Word on the web suggests components in greater quantities are coming soon, and production will ramp up significantly in June. Until then, would-be owners will have to go the beg, borrow, or steal route to get one. Investing in a horseshoe or four-leaf clover might not be a bad idea, either. Supply chain issues limit ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer production to 10,000 a month? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 00:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LG’s P430 and P530 Blade laptops set out to conquer the world with slim bezels, aluminum bodies, and Core i7
May 2, 2011 No Comment
We heard of a bezel-hating LG Shuriken display sneaking its way onto Acer laptops recently, but the Korean company has wisely opted to debut that cutting-edge technology in its own portable computers first. The 14-inch P430 and 15.6-inch P530 mark the start of its new Blade series of laptops, which are the result of some obsessive slimming work at the LG labs — display thickness is 4.5mm and 4.7mm, respectively, while the bezel on the 14-inch model is so narrow as to fit its screen within the dimensions of a traditional 13.3-inch laptop. Weight, at 1.94kg on the P430 and 2.2kg on P530, is also said to be on par with machines offering significantly smaller screens, but that’s not at the sacrifice of construction materials as brushed aluminum is used to strengthen LG’s new slimsters. A Core i7 CPU and GeForce GT520M GPU will provide the internal firepower, though the rest of the internal specs are as yet unannounced. The P430 will launch in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East at the end of May, to be followed by the P530 in the following month. Continue reading LG’s P430 and P530 Blade laptops set out to conquer the world with slim bezels, aluminum bodies, and Core i7 LG’s P430 and P530 Blade laptops set out to conquer the world with slim bezels, aluminum bodies, and Core i7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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EV’s are great for getting around in a green-conscious way, but plug-in people must practice patience while waiting hours to juice up their ride. Better Place’s battery swapping stations offer much faster EV refueling, which is why China Southern Power Grid Co. (CSG) is betting big on the technology. The Chinese utility giant has teamed up with Guangzhou’s municipal government and Better Place to build a power pack exchange depot and an EV education center. With exhibits, meeting rooms, and EVs to test drive, the education center aims to help persuade administrative officials, captains of industry, and the general populace to jump on the electric car bandwagon. In addition, Ghuangzhou’s government will “encourage local car manufacturers” to create autos with switchable batteries and “promote” EV adoption in taxis and state vehicles — all of which seems likely to happen post-haste, ’cause what the Chinese government wants, the Chinese government gets . Continue reading China joins Better Place on the battery-swapping bandwagon China joins Better Place on the battery-swapping bandwagon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We had a chance to peek at a glass-protected dummy version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 at CTIA, but the real thing popped up at an event in Germany over the weekend, in all its svelte gadget glory. Our friend Johannes went hands-on with the tablet in Frankfurt, and liked what he saw. The version he saw was noticeably thinner than the prototype 8.9-incher that we got to smudge up in March (it’s even slimmer than the iPad 2 ), and if this Europe appearance is any indication, Sammy may be on track to launch these sometime this summer, as promised. The launch date has yet to be announced, so if you can’t wait any longer to get your hands on the Android Honeycomb device, you can try the 10.1-inch version on for size beginning this month . Continue reading Working Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 spotted, handled in Germany (video) Working Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 spotted, handled in Germany (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We just spend some time with Ryan Bidan , senior product manager for the PlayBook, who gave us a hands-on demo of BlackBerry Messenger on RIM’s little tablet. It’s not a native app — it requires the PlayBook to be paired with a BlackBerry smartphone via BlackBerry Bridge . The functionality is being pushed out “tonight” with a Bridge update on the handset side, and an OS update on the tablet side. So if you and your PlayBook have been longing to get your BBM on, today’s your lucky day — assuming of course that you have a BlackBerry phone on another network than AT&T . Expect a standalone app sometime in the future, but in the meantime hit our video above for the full demo. BlackBerry Messenger on PlayBook hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony woes continue as SOE confirms data breach (update: 24.6 million accounts affected)
May 2, 2011 No Comment
Are you starting to feel bad for Sony yet ? No? Maybe this will change your mind. Sony Online Entertainment has, apparently, been the victim of another breach that has, according to Nikkei.com , resulted in the release of 12,700 credit card numbers — and presumably some other information as well. 4,300 of those credit card numbers are said to be Japanese, but no saying how many are American. Thankfully, data is said to be from 2007, minimizing the number of still-valid credit cards exposed making us wonder if perhaps this wasn’t some sort of backup that was exposed. Regardless, SOE’s online services were taken offline earlier today and, well, now we know why. We’re presently expecting further information from the company but, until then, feel free to continue cowering in the corner and quietly sobbing onto your compromised credit cards. [Warning: subscription required] Update: According to the Wall Street Journal , Sony has also confirmed that the latest attack accessed personal information for a staggering 24.6 million accounts. Such info includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, gender, date of birth, login ID, and hashed passwords. Ruh roh. Sony woes continue as SOE confirms data breach (update: 24.6 million accounts affected) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 20:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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