MOTOROLA SAYS XOOM WILL GET FREE UPGRADE TO 4G, JUSTIFIES HIGH PRICE TAG

The Motorola Xoom is one of the most anticipated tablets of the year. The device hasn’t hit the market yet, but pricing details are already available. A WiFi-only version will run $600, whereas a 3G-enabled model is priced at whooping $800. That’s the unsubsidized price. The carriers may offer subsidies which could reduce the cost.

Motorola has justified the high price tag by saying that the 3G model will eventually get a free upgrade to 4G. The company is also highlighting many other features that make the Xoom a better tablet (at least on paper) than the iPad. The tablet, for example, has a dual core NVIDIA Tegra processor, 1GB of RAM, a 1280 x 800 pixels display and front and rear facing cameras. iPad lacks many of these features.

Still it is too early to predict whether the market will accept a tablet that costs thrice as much as a typical netbook. After all, the Xoom can’t replace a netbook or a smartphone. It also requires a monthly data plan. The fact that iPad was a huge success doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a huge demand for tablets. A non-Apple company like Motorola or Samsung may not be able script a similar success story if that can’t offer a price that beats the iPad.

TOSHIBA LAUNCHES SATELLITE R830, R840 AND R850

Toshiba has launched the Satellite R800 series laptops. The Toshiba R800 series will initially include the 13.3-inch R830, 14-inch R840, and 15.6-inch R850.

The new Satellite notebooks have Intel's latest full performance CPUs, USB 3.0 ports and built-in optical drives. They sport a slim chassis and new cooling technology. While the R830 has a magnesium alloy chassis, the R840 and R850 sport new High Stiffness Resin cases.

The Satellite R830 and R840 have up to 8GB of RAM, up to 640GB of storage, a built-in webcam and LED backlit displays with 1366 x 768 pixels. Toshiba claims that they will get around 8 hours of battery life. Other specifications include Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11n.

No word on pricing at the moment, but the notebooks are expected to be available during the second quarter of 2011 in Europe, Asia and Africa. No word on availability in the US.

HTC FLYER TABLET UP FOR PRE-ORDER AT AMAZON GERMANY

Amazon Germany has uploaded a product page for the HTC Flyer tablet which HTC unveiled at the Mobile World Congress yesterday. The 7 inch Android tablet is now up for pre-order for a whooping 669 Euros (about $905 US). Of course, this price could change because the listing seems to be a placeholder.

The Amazon page also states that the tablet will ship with Android 2.4 with a custom version of the HTC Sense UI running on top of it. It will eventually get upgraded to Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Interestingly, the Flyer tablet has full access to the Android Market.

The tablet also has 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 4000mAh battery and two cameras - a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front side for making video calls and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus on the back side. It supports HSDPA, WCDMA and GSM mobile broadband networks and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. Although, the Amazon page doesn't mention the stylus, word is that it comes standard with the tablet.

DELL REVEALS 2011 BUSINESS LAPTOP LINEUP

Dell has announced its 2011 lineup of business computers and these include tablets, laptops and mobile workstations.

The refreshed Dell Latitude line now includes the budget-friendly Latitude E5420 and E5520 notebooks and the rugged Latitude E6520, E6420, E6320, E6220 and E6420 ATG laptops. All the models in the Latitude E6000 series feature MIL-STD tested Tri-Metal cases and durable displays. Dell also announced a 13 inch convertible tablet style notebook called Latitude XT3.

All notebooks are based on Intel's 2nd generation Core series processors and sport refreshed chassis designs. Regarding mobile workstations, there are two models - the Precision M6600 and M4600. Few details are available about these machines at the moment. Dell will reportedly also launch a 10 inch Windows business tablet later this year.

The Dell Latitude E5420 and Latitude E5520 will start at $859. No word on pricing or availability of other models.

SAMSUNG TO LAUNCH 11.6 INCH 9 SERIES NOTEBOOK

Samsung introduced several interesting tablets and laptops at CES in January. Of these, the Samsung Sliding Series tablets and the 9 series notebooks grabbed a lot of headlines, thanks to their unique form factor.

The new Samsung 9 series notebooks weigh 2.9 pounds and measure less than 0.7 inches in thickness. The models that were on display at CES had a 13.3 inch display and a starting price of $1599. Now it looks like there will be an 11.6 inch model as well.

Provantage has started showing listings for an unannounced model with an 11.6 inch display. This machine has a starting price of $1165. According to the product page the laptop will have a 1.33GHz Intel Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of memory and a 64GB SSD. The 11.6 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Other specifications include 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 USB 3.0 port, an HDMI output port, a micro SD card slot, WiFi 802.11n, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 3.0 and headphone and mic jacks. The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium and comes standard with a 5680mAh battery.

Bear in the mind that the product page at Provantage is a placeholder, because the accompanying image doesn't seem to be of the 9 series laptop.

MALATA INTRODUCES THREE NEW ANDROID TABLETS WITH HD DISPLAYS

Chinese PC Maker Malata isn't a new player in the tablet space. The company has been showing off NVIDIA Tegra 2 based Android tablets for over six months now. The models that Malata introduced at the Mobile World Congress are better than their predecessors. In addition to the Tegra 2 processor, they also have high resolution displays.

The Malata SMB-B1004 and B1005 both have 10 inch displays with 1280 x 800 pixels. They have wide viewing angles and reportedly support 10 touch inputs simultaneously. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, 8GB to 32GB of storage, USB ports, microSD card slots, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and front and rear facing cameras.

The tablets are designed to run Android 3.0 operating system. They also feature almost every sensor that a typical tablet has including a light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor and E-compass.

There is also a third model called MB-B9702. It has a 9.7 inch,1024 x 768 pixels display with an aspect ratio of 4:3. This model has an IPS display for wide viewing angles. The rest of the specs seems to be similar to those of the other two models.

LENOVO THINKPAD X120E TO START SHIPPING IN MARCH

The Lenovo ThinkPad X120e is an ultraportable business notebook. It has an 11.6 inch display, an AMD Zacate processor and Radeon HD graphics. CNET reports that the notebook will go on sale in the US on March 8. Earlier reports had suggested that it would start shipping as early as next week.


The ThinkPad X120e will not be available in all parts of the world. Lenovo does not plan to launch the notebook in countries where the ThinkPad Edge 11 is currently available. Of course, this could change.

The X120e will start at $400. It can be configured with up to an AMD E-350 Zacate processor and up to Windows 7 Professional operating system. The 11.6 inch anti-glare display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The 6-cell battery will reportedly get around 7.5 hours of run time. Like other notebooks in the ThinkPad series, the X120e also has a TrackPoint system which includes a multitouch touchpad and a pointing device located in the middle of the keyboard.

HP LAUNCHES NEW PAVILION AND G SERIES NOTEBOOKS

HP has refreshed and redesigned its Pavilion and G series consumer oriented notebooks. The 15.6 inch Pavilion dv6t and the 17.3 inch Pavilion dv7t both have 2nd generation Intel Core series processors and optional AMD Radeon 6000M series graphics. While the dv6t is available with up to 1TB of storage, the dv7t has up to 2TB of storage. Both notebooks feature a 'dark umber' metal finishing, Beats Audio, quad speakers, optional Blu-ray and USB 3.0 ports. They also feature the HP CoolSense cooling technology for keeping the temperatures down.

There are 3 models in the HP Pavilion g series. The 14 inch Pavilion g4, 15.6 inch Pavilion g6 and 17.3 inch Pavilion g7 are available with Intel Pentium and Core i3 processor options. Various color choices are also available with these notebooks.

Pricing and availability
The HP Pavilion dv6t and dv7t are expected to be available in the spring. No word on pricing. The Pavilion g4, g6 and g7 will be available starting March 13th for $499.99, $449.99 and $599.99 respectively.

FUJITSU STYLISTIC Q550 WINDOWS TABLET TO SHIP FOR UNDER $800 THIS SPRING

Fujitsu has revealed the pricing details of its upcoming Stylistic Q550 Windows 7 tablet. The Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 has a 10.1 inch IPS display with wide viewing angles. It is powered by an Intel Oak Trail Atom processor. The tablet will run Windows 7 Professional.

Fujitsu is expected to start shipping the Stylistic Q550 this spring. It will have a starting price of less than $800. Not cheap, if you ask me. The company is also expected to show off the tablet at CeBIT in Germany next month.

The Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 is aimed at enterprise customers. It has many premium features that kind of justify its high price tag. For example, it has a fingerprint sensor, SmartCard reader, full disk encryption and Trusted Platform Module (optional). The tablet will also have usual features such as WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, optional 3G and GPS. The capacitive multitouch panel supports both finger and pressure-sensitive stylus input.

The Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 comes standard with 2GB of RAM, a USB 2.0 port, SD card slot, headphone jack, HDMI port and dock connector. It will have 2 or 4 cell user removable battery and 30GB or 62GB of SSD.

SONY VAIO YB WITH AMD ZACATE PROCESSOR REVIEWED

The new Sony Vaio YB is an ultraportable notebook with an 11.6 inch display. It is not as expensive as the Vaio P or Vaio X notebooks. But while the Vaio P and Vaio X are powered by low power Intel Atom processors, the Vaio YB is different. It has an AMD E-350 dual core Zacate processor with Radeon HD 6310 graphics. And at $599, it is also reasonably priced (for a Sony laptop anyway).

Still, the Vaio YB is pricier than similar notebooks from HP and Lenovo. So how does the machine perform in real life situations?

Laptop Magazine has published a detailed review of the notebook. According to the reviewer, the VAIO YB is stylish and light weight. It also delivers reasonably good performance, thanks to its AMD Fusion APU. As for battery life, the notebook lasts for about 5 hours on a charge. Not bad for an AMD-powered ultraportable, but bear in mind that HP and Lenovo laptops with the same E-350 processor get over 6 hours of run time. On the bright side, the laptop can handle 1080p HD video. It also remains cool even while performing graphics intensive tasks.

The speakers and webcam aren't very impressive. The keyboard also seems to be a little cramped.

Overall, it looks like the Vaio YB is an interesting notebook. It is stylish and delivers excellent graphics performance. On the flip side, lower-prized competitors such as the HP Pavilion dm1z and the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e get better battery life and have better keyboards. But in the styles department, neither will beat the Vaio YB.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB II PICTURES AND SPECS LEAK

Official pictures and specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab II have leaked ahead of the tablet's official launch at the Mobile World Congress this evening.

As we have already heard, the Galaxy Tab II has a 10.1 inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It runs Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb operating system. This is the version of Android specifically optimized for tablets. Interestingly, the Galaxy Tab II will not have any custom user interface on top of Android 3.0. The tablet reportedly also has an 8 megapixel camera with video recording capabilities and two speakers for virtual surround sound.

The tablet has a 1GHz processor, but it is not clear whether it is single core or double core. Previous reports had suggested that Samsung would use a dual core Qualcomm chip or the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor in its tablet. Still no word on pricing or availability.

MOTOROLA XOOM TO RUN $1200?

Best Buy has uploaded a product listing for the upcoming Motorola Xoom Android tablet. The device will be up for pre-order on Thursday. Now here is the downer. The Best Buy page says that the tablet will run a whooping $1199.99. Previous rumors had suggested that it would be available for $800.

It is possible that the new listing is a mistake or maybe that is exactly what the tablet will cost.

Although the pricing is going to put of most buyers, the tablet does have interesting specs. It has a 10.1 inch multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It will be powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. The Motorola Xoom runs Android 3.0. Other specifications include a 5 megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and a 32GB solid state drive. The supported connectivity options include WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and 3G.

VIEWSONIC UNVEILS VIEWPAD 10PRO THAT CAN DUAL BOOT WINDOWS AND ANDROID

The ViewSonic ViewPad 10pro which the company has been showing off at the Mobile World Congress will come in two versions. One version runs Windows. The other runs both Windows 7 and Google Android 2.2.

The tablet has a 10.1 inch capacitive multitouch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Oak Trail processor and can be configured with up to 2GB of RAM and up to 32GB of storage. It also has an HDMI port, USB ports and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera.

The guys at Engadget who got to spend some time with the tablet says that viewing angles and build quality are average. The biggest USP of the tablet is that on the Windows/Android version users don't have to reboot the system to switch between the operating systems because Android runs in virtualization. And that is quite cool, because you will be able to run thousands of touch-friendly Android apps on a Windows machine.

On the flip side, the ViewPad 10Pro doesn't have access to the Android Market. That means installing third party apps on the tablet will not be as easy as you would like it to be. It is possible, though.

LG OPTIMUS PAD 3D ANDROID TABLET OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

LG officially launched its Optimus Pad (G-Slate in the US) 3D Android tablet at the Mobile World Congress yesterday. We have already heard that the tablet runs Android 3.0 operating system and has a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It also has a stereoscopic camera that can record 3D videos. And now we have the rest of the details.

The Optimus Pad has an 8.9 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels. It supports 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. The tablet also has an HDMI port for transferring HD video to an external monitor or TV.

The tablet houses two 5 megapixel cameras on the rear side for recording stereoscopic 3D video. However, you will need special glasses to watch the recorded 3D video on the tablet's display. Other specifications include a micro USB port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, 2 megapixel camera on the front side and 32GB of storage.

ACER INTRODUCES 2 aNDROID AND 1 WINDOWS TABLET AT MWC

At the ongoing Mobile World Congress, Acer has three tablets on display. Two of these machines - the Acer Iconia Tab A500 which was on display at CES as well and the 7 inch Iconia Tab A100 - run Google Android. There is also a 10 inch Windows tablet called the Iconia Tab W500.


The Android models have a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. While the 7 inch A100 has 512MB of RAM and 8GB of storage, the 10 inch A500 has 1GB of RAM and 16GB / 32GB of storage. Both run Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. Both tablets are due out in April.

The Iconia Tab W500 has a 10.1 inch multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It is powered by a dual core C-50 AMD Ontario processor and Radeon HD 6250 graphics. It runs Windows 7 and can be configured with up to 2GB of RAM and up to 32GB of storage.

The W500 will reportedly also have a full sized keyboard docking station, although it is not clear whether the dock is standard or optional.

Most Creative and Interesting Cell Phone Concepts

The most creative and interesting cell phone concepts - here is beautiful cell phone design, all of the cell phone concept designed by talented people from all over the globe.

Weather Cell Phone Concept

Beautiful cell phone concept design by Seunghan Song accurately detects and illustrates present weather conditions

Mobile Script Cell Phone Concept

Designed by Aleksander Mukomelov, this cell phone comes with a large touchscreen, that is located inside the phone in the collapsed state


Flexible Cell Phone Concept

Beautiful wrist concept cell phone designed by Shirley A. Roberts


Ear Cell Phone Concept

Kambala is a cool mobile phone that transforms into an earpiece.



Mechanical Cell Phone Concept

Cell phone designed by Mikhail Stawsky will charge its battery when you spin it around your finger

Grass Cell Phone Concept

Designed to last only for the length of its functional life cycle, this green phone falls apart for easy recycling after two years are up

Edge Cell Phone Concept

Designed by Chris Owens, the transparent touchscreen keypad is edge lit by internal LED’s

Pen Cell Phone Concept

Target-shaped areas on top and bottom are earpiece and receiver

Projector Cell Phone Concept

Cool extra slim concept cell phone equipped with rotating screen with built-in projector; an ideal tool for field presentations

Nokia 2135

Nokia has announced a new affordable CDMA Phone, the Nokia 2135. 400 phone entries and full 3.5 hours of talktime or 11 days of standby. Nokia 2135 is expected to be available in the North America by the fall of 2007. An integrated speakerphone allows the whole family to join in the conversation at once, while user-assignable ringtones can announce who is calling without ever picking up the phone. It will colored in black or white with the chrome frame surrounding it. Check out more pictures after the jump.
“Many consumers are looking for a simple, affordable phone to keep them in touch with the people who mean the most to them, and the Nokia 2135 is designed with those consumers in mind,” said Larry Paulson, senior vice president and general manager of Nokia’s CDMA business group. “The large easy to read keys and familiar Nokia user interface makes the Nokia 2135 comfortable to use. The modern design and compact size makes it easy to carry, and the attractive price makes it easy to afford.”

How a cellphone call works?

We use our cell phones all day, every day, but did you ever wonder what is really going on when you make or receive a call? Of course there are towers that we see dotting the landscape and it’s obvious that they make this all possible, but exactly how? Here is a detailed look at how cell phone calls actually work.

Alex Hulme’s Pocket Calculator Stores Your Results

A calculator is just not the new thing today, but still the one introduced by Alexander Hulme truly has something new and striking about it, which you would love to get and use. Apart from working just like every other ordinary calculator by calculating the digits typed on it, this new calculator design also has the capacity to store the figures and results that you think are important. This calculator is capable of delivering this extraordinary cut and paste service, and has two programmable LCD buttons. So, the best part is that while summing up the expenses to occur next month or an amount that you will need to pay after receiving your check or anything all at the same time, you will not have to keep them noted in another place. Just keep it stored in thecalculator itself, and find it ready in your hand anytime you need it.

The figures or the calculations that you kept stored in the calculator can even be edited. The two buttons of thecalculator that are placed under the screen give you an access to its particular activities. So, once you know these well, operating it will be real fun for you. The left button can be used for typing a value, and then a tap on the right button will make it a sum.

At a time, when this object, calculator, is on the verge of being forgotten with the computer replacing it, this very new and useful design of this calculator will again bring back the lost importance of the thing. The very familiar drawback of a calculator, of recalling its memory and going back to the previous calculations, has very well been realized by Hulme. Hence, we have today found something so revolutionary, so pocket size, yet so useful in the form of this new thing.

For a close view of this amazing calculator of Hulme, you can visit Sunbury Workshops Open Studios that has opened from Saturday 18 to Sunday 26 September (11am to 5pm everyday). Hulme, who works as a professional designer, has reflected his talent, passion, and creativity; everything in the very right way. Starting his career after graduating from the Royal College of Art, Alexander Hulme has his own studio in East London. Further more creative works of the same type are being expected from you Hulme!

The handheld scanner: converts text into Audio!

The handheld scanner converts the text into audio and is of a convenient size to facilitate portability.

The real reason for the Help Readers device is to help the silver generation, who is fond of reading, cope with weak eyesight.