Honeycomb

Sony gives away Google TV on Facebook

"Do you like prizes?" asks Sony in its new Facebook ad.

"Sure, Howard Stringer, prizes are pretty neat... But, hang on, what's the catch?"

Sony is giving away for free a Google TV Blu-ray player every day to people who input their e-mail address on the company's Facebook prize page. Plus, the entries go into the draw for a 46-inch Sony NSX-46GT1.

Google TV has lived a checkered life since it debuted 12 months ago on this same hardware, with a particularly disastrous November consisting of a mixed reception to its Honeycomb "major update&… Read more

Get a Toshiba Thrive 10-inch tablet for $299.99 shipped

Now this is more like it.

For as long as I can remember, I've dinged the iPad and its 10-inch competitors for being way too expensive. I mean, come on, $500? That's Core i5 computer money!

But today, Newegg has a tablet deal that's much more reasonable: the Toshiba Thrive 10-inch Android Honeycomb tablet for $299.99 shipped. You even get a free Blue Moon back cover (a $13.99 value).

Update: Sigh. Sold out already. (Do check back later, though, as Newegg sometimes manages to free up more stock.) That's why you gotta get here … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus review: The best 7-inch Honeycomb tablet?

As more tablets are released, manufacturers need to continually come up with good reasons for consumers to buy their latest device. Whether they do this through price, features, or a unique design, with a $200 tablet like the Kindle Fire out there, tablets will need a hook to keep consumers interested.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus' hook is Peel, an app that turns the tablet into a pretty robust smart remote control for your TV.

It may not sound like much, but for those whose tablets remain permanently attached to their coffee tables anyway, well, you might as well get some use out of your device, beyond it distracting you from the plot intricacies of the latest episode of "Basketball Wives."

Check out the full review to see if a remote control that thinks it's smarter than you is enough to earn the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus the "best 7-inch Honeycomb tablet" title.

… Read more

Google TV might not suck in the future

Day 1 of Streaming Media West included a highly anticipated demo of Google TV, the much maligned, though much improved media platform for your living room.

To get you up to speed, Google TV came out last year to a lukewarm response. Very few people adopted it, which prompted a complete redesign. That redesign was then realized last week with the release of Google TV 2.0, but unfortunately, at least one critic still found the updated platform plagued with problems. For instance, while CNET's Matthew Moscovciak conceded that the new Android Honeycomb interface is sleek, he still considered the overall experience clunky and frustrating. … Read more

Panasonic reveals industrial-strength Android tablets

Panasonic has some good news for the kinds of people who worry about using their tablets in the rain, dropping them on a concrete floor, or using them outdoors in the desert.

The company announced yesterday that it plans to sell two models of rugged Android tablets under the Toughpad brand name starting in 2012. The 10-inch, $1,299 Toughpad A1 will arrive first, in the spring, and the 7-inch Toughpad B1 later in the year.

Panasonic isn't aiming the Toughpads at the average consumer, but rather to various business users such as utility crews on the road, military … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus now available at Amazon

Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has hit U.S. shores ahead of schedule, at least among some of the larger retailers.

Amazon is now selling the new 16 gigabyte 7-inch Tab with a note that the tablet is in stock and available with the usual one-day shipping option.

But when Samsung announced the new Tab 7.0 Plus at the end of September, it said the tablet wouldn't reach U.S. consumers until November 13.

A Samsung spokeswoman told CNET that the new tablet is now available with larger retailers that have already received the product, … Read more

Motorola Xoom 2: Second time's the charm?

Motorola is hitting the market with all new Xoom tablets.

Dubbed the Xoom 2, the new Android tablets will make their debut this month for consumers in the U.K. and Ireland. The tablets come in two flavors--a traditional 10-inch Xoom 2 with built-in options for business users and an 8.2-inch Xoom 2 Media Edition.

Both tablets are powered by dual-core 1.2 GHz processors, run Android 3.2 Honeycomb, and offer Wi-Fi connectivity. The displays are strengthened with Corning's Gorilla glass and come with a special splash-guard coating designed to make them more durable and stain resistant.

Motorola is certainly crossing its fingers with the Xoom 2, hoping for better results than the original Xoom has delivered. Launched in February, the Xoom got off to a slow start, with some analysts estimating that the company likely sold around 100,000 tablets during the initial couple of months.

The situation certainly hasn't improved over time.… Read more

Google TV's Honeycomb update: Still not ready for prime time (hands-on)

It took Google an entire year to deliver a major update to the first round of Google TV products, and it has not been worth the wait.

When Google announced the Honeycomb update last week, we had a twinge of optimism, based on the slick press photos and the stated mission of simplifying the user experience, which was sorely needed. But after playing with our Sony NSZ-GT1 Blu-ray player with Google TV for several hours today, our initial impressions were mostly of frustration.… Read more

Google TV gets major Honeycomb update

A year after Google TV first hit the market, Google has announced the first major update to the Google TV platform.

The latest update is built on Android's Honeycomb operating system and Google promises a significantly simplified user interface. The update also finally enables Google TV products to access the Android Market and Google says there will be 30 TV-optimized apps at launch.

From the released screenshots, the new interface certainly looks to be a big improvement on last year's Google TV experience. There's a new section called TV and Movies, which presents a browsing-friendly interface that … Read more