TJ Maxx Selling 16GB iPad For $399

Engadget reports discount retailer TJ Maxx has begun selling Apple's 16GB WiFi iPad for $399, a $100 discount.  It is unclear how the retailer is able to sell the device so low.  There are multiple reports that TJ Maxx is selling the iPad at both its TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores.  If this item is on your holiday shopping list, you should try to get it soon as I don't expect these to last long!

Viewsonic 10" Android Tablet Appears At Sears

Sears has started to carry the Viewsonic G Tablet.  The G Tablet has a 10" capacitive touch screen, 16GB of storage, and runs Android 2.2.   This is the first interesting Android based tablet released to date.  One of the biggest features of the tablet is its price, currently $379!

 

 

Specs

• NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual ARM cortex (1Ghz) processor


• Capacitive Multi-Touch/Multi Tasking panel


• 10.1" 1024 X 600 TFI LCD Screen


• Memory 16 GB


• Micro SD card slot


• Mini USB x 1; Full size USB x 1


• 1.3MP Front Facing Webcam


• 802.11 b/g/n


• Bluetooth 


• 3500mAh/7.4V Li-polymer Battery Life 8-10 Hours


• Android 2.2

enTourage Pocket eDGe Dual Touchscreen LCD & E Ink Tablet At HSN

The enTourage Pocket eDGe dual screen tablet is now available at HSN and I can't help thinking about a failed McDonald's sandwich from the 1980's.  The Pocket eDGe has an E-Ink display on the left and a resistive color touch screen on the right.  I don't know what to think of this device.  I understand the thought process behind its development, but will anyone actually buy one?  The dual screen tablet sells for $500 and is available now.

 

Specs 

• LCD Display: 7" 800 x 480 resistive touch screen


• E-Ink Display: 6" 800 x 600


• Google Android OS


• 4GB Memory


• microSD card slot


• USB, mini USB ports


• 2MP video camera


• Supports ePub & PDF formats

Verizon & AT&T Will Begin Selling iPads

Both Verizon and AT&T have announced they will start selling Apple's iPad beginning October 28th.  AT&T will offer all 6 iPad models while Verizon will sell the WiFi only models bundled with a Verizon MiFi 2200 air card.  The iPad / MiFi bundle will cost the same amount as an iPad 3G.  Verizon is offering a special 1GB data package for these bundles for $20 a month.  This may be the beginning of a Apple Verizon relationship.

Dell To Launch A Wide Range Of Tablets

The Wall Street Journal reports Dell is set to release a 7" tablet in the next few weeks and a 10" version may be released within the next 6-12 months.  This is based off comments made by Dell Greater President Amit Midha. Mr. Midha said Dell will be releasing "a whole slew" of products in the next 6-12 month time frame.  This includes a 3", 4", 7", and 10" tablet.  The 7" tablet should run Google's Android, while Dell is investigating the possibility of Google Chrome OS in the future.

RIM Announces 7" PlayBook Tablet

Today, Research In Motion (RIM) announced their upcoming tablet, The BlackBerry PlayBook. The PlayBook is expected to be available early 2011 with WiFi only models at launch.  The tablet will support tethering to Blackberry phones and RIM plans to launch 3G & 4G models in the future.  Pricing and internal storage have not been announced yet.

Specs 

• 7" touch screen display


• 1Ghz dual-core processor


• 1GB RAM


• Dual cameras, 3MP front, 5MP rear with 1080p video recording


• 802.11 a/b/g/n


• MicroUSB & MicroHDMI connectors


• Blackberry Tablet OS


• Adobe Flash 10.1, Adobe Air, HTML5 support


• Supported video codecs: H.264, MPEG, Divx, WMV


• BES server compatibility


• 0.9lb 

Marvell Announces 1.5Ghz Tri-Core Mobile Processor

Marvell has announced a killer new mobile processor for smartphones and tablets.  The Armada 628 tri-core processor runs at 1.5Ghz and is capable of delivering 3D 1080p video streams.  Sample processors are now available for hardware manufactures.  

Some of the key features include:

• Tri-core processor (1.5Ghz for 1st 2 cores, 624Mhz) for 3rd


• 1 MB level 2 cache


• ARM processor based


• 1080p dual stream 3D @ 30 FPS


• Multiple display support


• USB 3.0 & HDMI support 

Press Release

Refurbished iPads Appear In Apple Online Store

If you have been waiting to pick up an iPad, you might be in luck.  Apple has refurbished units of all 3 iPad WiFi models in its online store.  These iPads are marked down $50 from a "new" model.  The refurb units are completely tested, come with a new battery, new outer shell, and a 1 year warranty.

Notebook Growth Turns Negative

Source: Morgan Stanley via CNNMoney

Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has issued a report about the growth of the notebook market.  The report correlates the announcement of the iPad with the decline in notebook PC sales.  One of the most shocking results is this past August.  Notebook computer sales actually declined 4%.  This is one of the biggest months for laptops as kids go back to school and young adults start college.

Dell Announces Netbook Tablet Hybrid

Video via YouTube user notebooks

Engadget reported on a new netbook tablet hybrid, the Dell Inspiron Duo.  The Duo has a crazy spin style 10" swivel screen, so you can easily convert the device from netbook to tablet.  There is not a lot of information available yet, but the Duo is reported to run a dual-core Atom N550 processor and Windows 7 Premium.  No additional details are currently available from Dell.

VLC Coming To The iPad?

If all goes well, we may see an iPad version of the popular media VLC (Video LAN Client) sometime next week. Mac4Ever reports (via MacRumors)  the app is currently awaiting approval from Apple's App Store.  The desktop version of VLC is the Swiss Army Knife of media players; if you have a video file, there is very good chance that VLC can play it.  While you may be willing to pay for VLC, you don't have to.  If approved, VLC for the iPad will be free!

Samsung Announces Orion, A9 Based ARM Processor

Samsung issued a press release outlining Orion, their new dual core A9 ARM based processor.  With this design, we may finally start seeing GPS in devices such as the iPod Touch and iPad.  Hopefully, we will see multiple Android based tablets with the Orion processor.

Main Features

• 1GHz dual core ARM A9 based 45nm chip


• GPS embedded in chip


• Video encode / decode 30fps @1080p


• Can support up to 3 displays


• General availability 1st half of 2011

Press Release (via Engadget)

Samsung Galaxy Tab Is Latest "Announced" Tablet

In the latest round of tablet announcements, Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab.  The Galaxy Tab is a 7" tablet / smart phone aiming to take on Apple's iPad.  Thankfully, the Tab can't make calls by holding it up to your head.  You will need to use the speaker phone or Blue Tooth.  Now if we could just get a few tablet releases instead of announcements, we might be in business.

Specs:

• Android 2.2


• 7-inch TFT LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution (WSVGA)


• 1GHz Cortex A8 processor


• 16GB or 32GB internal storage with up to 32GB of additional storage via microSD


• Front-facing 1.3 mp camera and rear 3 mp camera with flash


• 3G data / voice via Blue Tooth or speaker phone


• HD video playback


• 802.11n


• Flash 10.0 Support


• 4,000mAh battery (7hrs video playback)

StreamTV Elocity A7 Android Table Coming September?

Engadget has an interesting post about a new Android based tablet they had a chance to take a look at.

Specs: 

• 7" capacitive touch screen


• 1 Ghz Tegra 2 processor


• 800 x 480 resolution


• 1.3 mp front facing camera


• SD Card slot


• USB & HDMI ports


• Android 2.2 coming in October, 2.1 in September


• HDMI cable & wireless keyboard included


• Price: $399 via Amazon

This tablet sounds interesting and might be a good product, if it actually is released.  There have been plenty of table announcements with little actually making it to market.

webOS Tablet Coming Early 2011

Pre|Central reports that during HP's conference call, HP responded to a question asking if tablets are impacting the sales of netbooks.  For the first time, HP confirmed that they will be shipping a webOS based tablet in early 2011.  webOS is the platform that HP acquired when they purchased Palm.

iPad Shortage Begins To Ease

 

If you are thinking about purchasing an iPad, there is some good news.  Expected ship time on Apple.com has been reduced from 7-10 business days to 3-5 business days.  Additionally, it seems most accessories are available within 24hrs with the exception of the extremely popular camera connection kit which now ships in 5-7 business days (down from 4-6 weeks).

Magazine Subscriptions Come To The iPad

Apple and Time Inc. have agreed to allow print subscribers free access to the iPad version of People Magazine, according to a report from CNNMoney.  Other Time Inc. magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune are expected to adopt the same model within the next 30 days.  

With this new policy change, expect other publishers to ask for the same deal from Apple.  Hopefully, subscriptions for all magazines will be available on the iPad very soon.

Chrome OS Based Tablet Coming November 26th?

 

In a report from the downloadsquad, Google is apparently building a Chrome OS based tablet.  The tablet is rumored to be built by HTC, the same company that built the Android based smartphone, the Nexus One.  Additionally, the tablet is expected to be heavily subsidized by Verizon, which would make the initial purchase price cheaper than the iPad (not counting the monthly data service).  Downloadsquad's source did not provide any specs for the tablet.  The reported ship date is Black Friday 2010. 

Here Comes The Axon Haptic Tablet

CrunchGear reports on a new multi-operating system tablet called the Axon Haptic.  The tablet will be available to pre-order this week and sells for $750US ($800US once it ships).

At first glance, this tablet looks like a winner. It has a 1.6Ghz Atom processor, 10" screen, 320GB Hard Drive, 2GB RAM, 3 USB ports, web cam, and can run Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.  Reality slowly settles in when you realize the screen is resistive and requires a stylus. In addition, Axon installed Darwin on separate EFI partition so you could install Mac OS X on it.  Installing OS X on non Apple hardware is in violation of Apple's terms of use for OS X. I'm not against creating a Hackintosh computer, however I would be careful spending $800 on a tablet that I was afraid to run software updates on.

One additional note of concern is the design of the company's website.  While most areas are still under construction, the general design is a cheap knockoff Apple.com

Specs:

• 1.6GHz Atom N270


• 10″ 1024×600 LED-backlit LCD


• Resistive touchscreen w/ built-in stylus


• 2GB RAM


• 2.5″ 320GB Hard Drive


• 1.3MP webcam


• Wi-Fi (A/B/G/N)


• 3G SIM slot 


• Built-in speaker


• 3x USB, Headphone, mic, ethernet, VGA ports, card reader


• On-screen keyboard and handwriting recognition


• Removable battery (3000mAh, ~3hrs)


• 0.9kg (just under 2lb)

Dell Streak Goes On Sale August 13th

Friday the 13th may prove to be lucky for people waiting for Dell to release the Streak, a massive 5" screen smart phone.  General sales will begin this Friday with pre-sale registrants being able to place their orders on the 12th.  The Streak will sell for $299.99 with a 2 year contact on AT&T and $549.99 without a contract.

Specs:

• Android 1.6 (Hopefully an update will come sooner than later)


• Snapdragon 1GHz processor


• 3G + Wi-Fi + Bluetooth


• GSM Chipset


• 5 MP Autofocus camera with dual LED flash. 


• Micro SD slot

Press Release