Day: January 29, 2010

ASUS DR-950

ASUS hasn’t exactly been tight-lipped about its DR-950 e-reader — you know, with it outing photos and all — but apparently the 9-inch E Ink, touchscreen reading device will be ready for buyers in April. ASUS told the guys at Electric Pig that it’s currently in process of shopping around for content partners, but plans to have the e-reader to market by springtime with a price tag in the range of £250 (about $354). Not too bad, though it’s tough to get too jazzed about a black-and-white model with the OLED color DR-570 version on the horizon.

source – engadget.com

Hexagonal interactive OLED gaming tiles

We’ve seen plenty of ways for board games to be revitalized with large touchscreens, but a new concept from the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Ontario puts the screens and interactivity onto the gaming pieces themselves. The idea would be to use slim, networked touchscreen hexagonal tiles with edge-to-edge OLED displays. The proximity of the tiles to one another, along with gestures performed with the tiles, provides the interactivity, and the occasional branching touchscreen menu selection keeps play humming. Unfortunately, that enabling tech isn’t all there yet (at least in university-affordable forms), but the video demo after the break is pretty convincing in its presentation of these ideas in a top-down-projection simulation. Certainly promising, but we’re sure not expecting to see this sort of gaming priced within reach of your average Sorry! board anytime soon.

source – engadget.com

Delta Electronics to ship 13.1-inch color e-readers by Q2 2010

It’s a funny thing, really. We wait years upon years for color e-ink to become a reality, and today — of all days — we finally hear that a sizable one is coming to market in just a few months. Reportedly, Taiwan’s own Delta Electronics is hoping to ship a 13.1-inch color e-reader (along with an 8.1-inch monochrome version) by the middle of this year, both of which will rely on e-paper technology from Bridgestone. If you’ll recall, we got an early glimpse of this stuff right around this time last year, but it wasn’t until today that we heard any followup whatsoever. There’s no mention of expected pricing and the like, but we’re told that the refresh rate is well faster than the black-and-white solutions out there today. Frankly, this thing better check email, play back video and wash our laundry as well — the reign of the standalone e-reader is just about over.

source – engadget.com

Big Gun

iPad

The Apple iPad, formerly referred to as the Apple Tablet, is a touch-pad tablet computer announced in January 2010, to be shipped in late March (for WiFi-only units) and April (for 3G units). It has internet capabilities running on either WiFi or 3G, and offers an optional dock with a full size mechanical keyboard.

The 3G is provided by AT&T, but comes unlocked with microsim cards on the GSM network. The 3G does not require a long-term contract.

Pricing scheme

WiFi Model

  • 16 GB – $499
  • 32 GB – $599
  • 64 GB – $699

3G Model

  • 16 GB – $629
  • 32 GB – $729
  • 64 GB – $829

iPad Specifications

  • 1GHz Apple A4 processor (custom)
  • 0.5″ thick
  • 1.5 pounds

Display

  • 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
  • 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
  • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
  • Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Sensors

  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Compass

Input and Output

  • Dock connector
  • 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
  • Built-in speakers
  • Microphone
  • SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Audio Playback

  • Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
  • Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
  • User-configurable maximum volume limit

Battery and Power

  • Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
  • Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
  • Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Other Specs

  • 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1
  • Runs iPhone apps in window or pixel doubling
  • Hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics
  • SDK released 1/27/10
  • Syncs over USB through iTunes, just like iPhone or iPod touch, syncing photos, music, movies, tv shows, contacts, apps, etc.
  • Offers touch-ready iWork version which includes versions of the Pages, Numbers and Keynote applications at $9.99

Before announcement, the iPad was also rumored to be named the iSlate and the iTablet.

source – crunchbase.com

What makes iPad different…

What makes the iPad different
credit – theflashblog.com

Notion Ink Adam

Another tablet running Android and powered by the Tegra 2 chip is the Adam, a 10-inch tablet from Indian startup Notion Ink. It uses a screen technology from Pixel Qi that combines the best of a full color multi-touch LCD display with a low-power reflective mode that’s readable in direct sunlight.

Notion Ink says the Adam should come to market in the second quarter of this year, with a target price somewhere between $300 and $800. Slashgear got a lengthy video demo (embedded below) and oodles of pics of the device.

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