tablet

More people buying Wi-Fi-enabled devices

As more electronic devices become networked, consumers are flocking to gadgets with built-in wireless access, according to a report released Monday by In-Stat.

Worldwide shipments of TVs with Wi-Fi are expected to jump from less than 5 million last year to around 65 million in 2014. Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray players will also be up there, with more than 61 million units expected to ship in another four years.

Collectively, shipments of all stationary electronic devices with built-in Wi-Fi, such as TVs, Blu-ray players, gamee consoles, set-top boxes, and photo frames, are likely to surpass 200 million units in another four … Read more

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Microsoft cancels Courier tablet project

According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft has cancelled Courier, the folding, two-screen prototype tablet that was first uncovered by Gizmodo.

We're told that on Wednesday, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer Microsoft execs informed the internal team that had been working on the tablet device that the project would no longer be supported. Courier had never been publicly announced or acknowledged as a Microsoft product.

It appeared from the leaked information last year that a Courier prototype was probably near completion and the combination of both touch- and pen-based computing was compelling. Perhaps the strong launch of Apple's … Read more

Is the HP Win 7 slate already dead?

Update: TechCrunch now reports that the Windows version of HP's slate tablet is indeed dead. Michael Arrington writes: "Hewlett-Packard has killed off its much ballyhooed Windows 7 tablet computer, says a source who's been briefed on the matter."

Second update: An HP PR rep has contacted us via e-mail, saying, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."

With the news that HP is acquiring Palm, one hot upcoming device that may get suddenly shifted onto the back burner is the company's iPad-style tablet. The device is referred to in marketing materials as … Read more

Hands-on: The new Intel Convertible Classmate

Before the Netbook even existed, there was the Intel Classmate. A rugged, child-oriented notebook intended for worldwide educational use, the Classmate was and is Intel's global initiative paralleling what One Laptop Per Child and other programs have promised in terms of getting computers and the Internet into the hands of children.

The new Intel Convertible Classmate PC is a tablet Netbook with an Atom N450 processor, and it's also a touch-screen tablet, like its predecessor in 2009. Though the overall look is similar, the new Classmate adds a rubberized outer shell, spill-resistant keyboard and screen, a more impact-resistant body with shock-absorbing corners, and a shock-detecting hard drive.

Intel chose to introduce and demo the new Classmates at the Central Park Zoo in New York City, along with hardware peripherals and software from some of their multitude of partners (McGraw-Hill was just announced as yet another). Wisely, Intel has realized that the product itself is only half the story; good software for both students and school administrators is equally critical. We watched a few dozen children using them for math quizzes, to test weather conditions with an attached Pasco climate-detecting peripheral, and to take photos and sketch birds in the rain forest exhibit. Lego also has robot kits that work via USB, which looked like clever systems for teaching mechanical principles.

We received one of the new Convertible Classmate PCs from Intel to try for ourselves, in a plain white box with a simple instruction manual aimed at teachers and parents. We saw the Classmate used with various educational peripherals, but those weren't included. The Classmate is, however, preloaded with some useful software, at least on our test system. A label indicates it's made by Royaltek, but Intel is planning to manufacture these Classmates around the world with a variety of local OEMs.

The Convertible Classmate is, basically, a Netbook: an Atom N450 processor, 160GB hard drive, and a higher-res 1,366x768-pixel 10.1-inch screen are nothing new. Our Classmate also had VGA out, two USB ports, two headphone jacks, a microphone jack, and an SD card slot. An optional GPS input is blocked off in our unit.

Covered in gray silicone-type rubberized surfaces, the Classmate retains an institutional feel, but it's comfortable and easy to hold. A pull-out handle in the back is a welcoming touch. In tablet mode, the Classmate is comfortably grippable, too. The matte 10.1-inch screen uses a resistive touch interface that's meant to be used with the thick, penlike stylus tucked into the left side of the Classmate. We tried an included painting program and navigated Web pages, and found the touch to work pretty well. It's not gesture/multitouch enabled, but it works fine for basic functions. … Read more

iPad has 'changed' 99-year-old woman's life

Apple's iPad has been enjoying some free advertising as of late. Reports broke last week that the prime minister of Norway was using the tablet to govern from an airport. And now, a story has surfaced claiming a 99-year-old Portland, Ore., area woman is using the iPad to overcome medical woes.

According to a report in The Oregonian, Virginia Campbell, of Lake Oswego, Ore., suffers from glaucoma, making it extremely difficult to engage in her favorite pastimes: reading and writing.

After hearing about the iPad, Campbell, an alumnus of Portland's Reed College, decided that the tablet could be … Read more

Report: Dell working on a second tablet

Even though Dell has lost a bit of its footing in the PC race--sliding behind Acer in overall shipments--the company does appear to have a plan to hook consumers another way, by expanding beyond its core consumer business of laptops and desktops.

Among the list of devices leaked to Engadget in the form of internal Dell documents Wednesday evening was a second tablet, apparently to be called the Dell Looking Glass. It will be the 7-inch cousin to the 5-inch Streak, which we saw last month.

While the Streak's size seems more akin to an awkwardly proportioned smartphone, the … Read more

A second look at the updated Archos 9 tablet

Trapped in the temporal vortex between the iPad's announcement and its actual release, the Archos 9 PC tablet --a Windows 7 touch-screen slate PC--has the unenviable job of competing with the ridiculously high expectations set by Apple's device.

Despite its slim, sturdy metallic design, full-featured operating system, and even a USB port, the first version of the Archos 9 we looked at fell well short, even when grading on a curve, of iPad/tablet fever.

At the time, we said: "The final result fully satisfies neither as a Windows PC nor as a handheld multimedia device," … Read more

Israel says U.S. iPads not welcome for now

Now that the iPad has been delayed for international customers, people around the globe who can't wait might be tempted to buy a U.S. version of the tablet and bring it with them to their home countries.

In most places that won't be a problem. But in Israel, it will result in confiscation.

According to a report in Israel newspaper Haaretz, the country's Communications Ministry has decided to "block the import of iPads to Israel." The paper also reported that when people attempt to go through customs, officers have been ordered to take all … Read more