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Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

It's a Pad! It's a Phone! It's a... Padfone?

01 June 2011 Marco Attard Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

It's a Pad! It's a Phone! It's a... Padfone?

Asus combines the CE market's fastest growing categories (mobiles and tablets) into one device-- the Padfone, which it unveils at Taipei's Computex 2011.

Simply put, the Padfone is an Android smartphone with an included touchscreen tablet dock. The tablet carries its own battery cell, meaning it also expands the combined device's battery life.

The device dynamically switches displays whenever users connect the phone part to the tablet, while sharing data and 3G aconnection access between mobile Continue reading...

MeMO Gets Glasses-Free Depth

01 June 2011 Marco Attard Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

Alongside its other Computex 2011 announcements Asus introduces a new tablet-- the Eee Pad MeMO 3D, a 7" Honeycomb slate.

Making the device unique is its glasses-free 3D IPS display (with 1280 x 800 resolution). Asus says the device is designed for use in portrait orientation, and it comes with with a capacitative stylus for note taking functions.

Powering the device is a Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and it comes with HDMI connectivity and front- and back-facing cameras.

The package also Continue reading...

Kobo's E-Ink Tablet Gets Touched

25 May 2011 Marco Attard Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

Kobo adds touch screen functionality to its eReader-- combining the touch-based controls with a more reader-comfortable e-ink screen.

To get around regular e-ink touchscreens (which tend to suffer from being low contrast) Kobo uses IR sensors to detect where the user's fingers are. The screen itself is 6" in size, with 16 greyscale levels.

Being wifi enabled, it also allows for internet browsing as well as ebooks (in epub and pdf formats). It also comes with free apps for iDevices, Blackberry Continue reading...

HP Wants TouchPad to Be Better Than Most

25 May 2011 Marco Attard Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

HP Wants TouchPad to Be Better Than Most

Will HP's TouchPad truly be "better than number one"? That's what HP European head Eric Cador says, following a press conference in Cannes.

Announced last February, the TouchPad uses Palm's WebOS, the last entry in the tablet wars dominated by Apple and Google.

Building up to the device's eventual launch this year, HP also announces its flagship UK apps partners-- Last.fm, Sky and the Guardian, all of whom will have Touchpad apps on launch (alongside "thousands" others).

HP hopes its experience Continue reading...

Intel-Powered Tablets: On Show Soon

18 May 2011 Marco Attard Laptops, Tablets, eReaders

Intel will unveil more than 10 Intel chip carrying tablets at Taiwan's Computex later this month, as it plays catch up with Arm's processor range.

The show will also host the launch of the company's tablet processor range, Oak Trail, the Wall Street Journal reports. Intel also says more than 35 Intel chip-based tablets will ship this year.

The tablet race will be far from easy for Intel though-- analysts say Intel will be limping its way through, thanks to the combination of lack of strong partnerships Continue reading...

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