CrunchGear |  |
- Colorio E-820: Epson’s New Photo Printer Is Portable, Comes With Display And Remote Control
- Sony, Hitachi And Toshiba Make Their LCD Business Merger Official
- Sony’s Head-Mounted 3D OLED Display Is World’s First, Produces 750-Inch Virtual Screen
- Robot Vacuums: Roomba, Smarbo, And Now The Smartphone-Controlled RoboKing
- EA Exec: New Playstation And Xbox “Hard For Me To Conceive”
- Hands-On: Samsung’s Galaxy S II For AT&T, T-Mobile, And Sprint
- Help Us Celebrate TC Gadgets And Mobile At Our First San Francisco Meet-Up On 9/15
- Marvel At Sony’s Microscopic OLED Electronic Viewfinder
- Samsung Officially Announces The Galaxy S II For T-Mobile, Sprint, And AT&T
- Pro Tip: Do Not Buy An iPad From A Dude In A McDonald’s Parking Lot
- OnLive Teams Up With GameSpot To Embed Game Demos In Reviews
- Samsung Chromebooks Drop In Price: Deadpool Or New Models? UPDATE
- Video: Motorola Unveils Pro+ Smartphone Geared Toward The Enterprise
- B&N Reports Improved Losses, Massive Nook Growth
- HP Could Revive The TouchPad, Says Former webOS VP
- Motorola’s Rugged DEFY+ Is UK-Bound, Landing In September
- Samsung Introduces A Trio Of Bada-Powered Wave Smartphones
| Colorio E-820: Epson’s New Photo Printer Is Portable, Comes With Display And Remote Control Posted: 31 Aug 2011 03:01 AM PDT  Epson announced [JP] the Colorio E-820 for the Japanese market today, a photo printer and wireless keyboard set somehow designed like a computer from the 1970s or 1990s (at least when looking at the top menu). The newest in a line of similar devices, this 5,760×1,440dpi inkjet printer is suitable for printing both pictures and postcards without a PC. Users can create postcards by choosing between 1,055 different pre-set designs and use the 7-inch LCD screen (800×480 resolution) to check their works before printing them. The keyboard is for adding comments, greetings, etc. to the pictures and postcards. The device can be carried around using a handle and supports USB sticks, SDXC or microSDHC cards, xD-Picture cards and Memory Stick Pro cards. Epson says the screen can be used as a digital photo frame, too (and throws in a remote control for that function).
The E820 is sized at 235×158×192mm and weighs 2.6kg. It will hit stores in Japan on September 15 (price: $718).
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| Sony, Hitachi And Toshiba Make Their LCD Business Merger Official Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT  Yesterday, we reported about Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba planning to establish a joint venture for small and mid-size LCD panels in Japan. And today, the three companies, plus major shareholder Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, made the plan official. As reported, the semi-public organization will control 70% of the venture (to be set up by the end of the year), with the other partners holding a 10% stake each. Tentatively named “Japan Display”, the venture will launch with a cool US$2.6 billion investment and instantly control 21.5% of the world market for small and medium-sized LCDs. According to Japanese business daily The Nikkei, Sharp will be the second-largest maker of this type of displays with a 20% market share. The same newspaper says the four companies involved in Japan Display are currently trying to figure out where to set up plants in order to start production as quickly as possible. Apart from LCDs, Japan Display will also invest in OLED-related research and development.
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| Sony’s Head-Mounted 3D OLED Display Is World’s First, Produces 750-Inch Virtual Screen Posted: 31 Aug 2011 12:03 AM PDT  Earlier this year, during CES 2011, Sony showcased a prototype of a wearable 3D display that looked much like those virtual reality helmets we’ve been seeing since the 1990s. And today, the company announced that it’s actually ready to start selling the OLED device, dubbed “Personal 3D Viewer”/ HMZ-T1, on November 11 - in Japan. The head-mounted display is the first of its kind, according to Sony. It creates the experience of watching 3D (or 2D) pictures on a “movie theater-like virtual screen” that’s equivalent to a 750-inch display, if big S is to be believed. Here are the main specs:
In their press release, Sony isn’t mentioning plans for sales outside Japan, but over here, the HMZ-T1 is expected to carry a $780 price tag.
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| Robot Vacuums: Roomba, Smarbo, And Now The Smartphone-Controlled RoboKing Posted: 30 Aug 2011 06:09 PM PDT  When did the robot-vacuum world become such a crowded space? It’s starting to sound like a monster movie: RoboKing versus Smarbo II: Electric Vuumaloo. But it makes sense, when you think about it. We already have “robots” that wash the dishes and make our coffee. Cleaning the floor is just a different set of problems for a machine to solve. And after the smash success of the Roomba, everyone wants to be the next big cleaner bot. Just last week Toshiba introduced the Smarbo, yes Smarbo, and now LG is entering the game with the RoboKing Triple Eye. Yes, the RoboKing Triple Eye. The Roomba does its job by clever but circuitous circumvention of obstacles, but these new devices are a bit more like the Neato XV-11, which actually maps out the area and plans the best route. The Smarbo adds more sensors, and now the RoboKing brings your smartphone into the mix. It’s come to this: you can now control your robot vacuum with your iPhone. That actually makes it double as a sort of security bot, which makes its 899,000 won (~$750) price a little more palatable. As long as your wi-fi is working, you should be able to log into the robot remotely and drive it around (at 18dB it’s quiet enough to sneak up on your cats with). It also takes voice commands, which is pretty cool. You can tell it to stop working, go charge, or tell you the current weather. O brave new world, with such vacuums in it. [via New Launches]
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| EA Exec: New Playstation And Xbox “Hard For Me To Conceive” Posted: 30 Aug 2011 05:36 PM PDT  While gaming company higher-ups aren’t always the best bellwether for the direction the industry is taking, they do tend to view the sector as an RTS commander views his troops and resources. What they tend to lack in taste and on-the-ground wisdom, they make up in sobriety and larger trends. So it’s no surprise that Frank Gibeau, head of EA Labels, has a relaxed view of the console race. Here are some of his thoughts, transcribed from an interview with CVG, apparently conducted right after they passed around the peace pipe: The way the business used to run where you had these big console transitions just isn’t happening anymore. They’re much longer, the online capabilities are making the way customers interact within the audience very different from when we went from PSOne to PS2. I think that [the age of] big, abrupt change in consoles where we all pile in on top of each other and everything changes overnight is just gone. I don’t see consumers right now banging on the walls for a new platform. They seem to be very happy with their PS3s and 360s. They love the online connectivity, they have great communities and great libraries. This Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood version of the console wars is a little detached from the blood-soaked ground of exclusives, franchise whoring, and rampant fanboyism. But really, it’s hard to argue with. The consoles are in more or less their final generation of games, which is to say there isn’t too much more for developers to discover. This is the period in which many standout games are made, and every year the consoles increase in value and decrease in price. Developing a major game is already hugely expensive and time-consuming; the benefits of a Playstation 4 or what have you would likely be offset by the long gestation period and low frequency of games for some time. We’ve heard that some studios are already developing for the new console, but the truth is usually more complicated. There’s no way Microsoft or Sony has a ready-to-go console prototyped right now, but they’re probably testing parts and sharing some of that information with partners. In the meantime Gibeau is right: the current consoles offer a monstrous value at a ridiculous price, and that’s not going to change for a while. And if you’re really jonesing for a new console, well, there’s always the Wii U. That might not really be the right follow-up to a few years on the 360, but hey, it’s new.
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| Hands-On: Samsung’s Galaxy S II For AT&T, T-Mobile, And Sprint Posted: 30 Aug 2011 05:12 PM PDT  Since February, we’ve been waiting for our turn with the Galaxy S II. With the handset floating around Europe and Asia, it’s been hard to remain patient. But today is the day: the U.S. versions of the Samsung Galaxy S II are here and we’re ready to get up close and personal at Samsung’s media event in NYC. Just how different are the U.S. versions from the international? Has resolution been forfeited for size on that Super AMOLED Plus display? Does it feel as good as it looks? What about that new and improved TouchWiz UI? Is it actually any better? No worries. We’re here to answer all those questions and more. Sprint’s Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch: Aside from that awfully exhaustive name, this thing makes me giddy. I’m still a bit torn between this and AT&T’s GSII, but in terms of design, the GSII Epic 4G Touch is quite the looker. The straight edges and rounded corners (opposed to the entirely rounded out T-Mo iteration) look and feel sharp. It also reminds me of another popular phone you might have heard of, the iPhone 4. Here’s the issue: Sprint’s iteration, along with T-Mo’s, has a 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display. It sounds awfully clunky at that size, but it’s actually really wonderful. The problem is that both Sprint’s 4.52-inch display and AT&T’s 4.3-inch display tout 800 x 480 pixels of resolution, which means that AT&T’s display comes off looking super rich and smooth while Sprint’s is a bit pixelated in comparison. In the hand, the Epic 4G Touch isn’t as attractive as it is on the eyes. It feels a bit… cheap – almost like it’s too light for how big it is. I know light is supposed to be a good thing, but something about the weight here felt off. I guess that’s your call, but for me it was lacking that nice, solid feel. AT&T’s Galaxy S II: I hate to play favorites, but AT&T’s version takes the cake. Why? Because a bigger screen doesn’t always mean a better screen. Like I said earlier, since AT&T has remained true to the 4.3-inch screen on the Galaxy S II, and the 800 x 480 resolution on this puppy is absolutely gorgeous. You’d think the variation would be rather minimal between models, but it becomes blatant when shooting pictures and video. The added pixel density makes a difference, especially when the phones are side-by-side. We’re usually not too fond of these custom UIs the manufacturers love to slap on their Android devices, but the new and improved TouchWiz isn’t all that bad. It’s notably faster, and bit cleaner than the previous versions we’ve seen. It’s certainly not our favorite feature of the phone, but at least Samsung is improving in the UI department. Though it’s a hair smaller, the AT&T variant design is more angular than T-Mobile’s. In fact, it is nearly identical to the international Galaxy S II — which is completely okay with us. I mean, that model did sell 3 million in its first 55 days on the market. If it ain’t broke, right? T-Mobile Galaxy S II: Once known as the Hercules, T-Mo’s GSII is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. They kept this one hidden behind glass, so we didn’t actually get touchy-feely with it. However, I can honestly say this isn’t my favorite form factor for the S II; those curves and that 4.5-inch screen size make it somewhat of a hybrid between the Infuse and the Nexus S, and it just seems less sleek than the other two variants. The screen is nice, but again, has the same pixelated resolution as the Sprint Epic 4G Touch. Since Samsung wouldn’t let pink’s version out of the box, it’s hard to say whether or not it’ll have that “too light” feel like Sprint’s. Either way, this will certainly be one of the best-sellers at T-Mo. Interested in the full specs run down? Check out our early-bird coverage of the official announcements.
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| Help Us Celebrate TC Gadgets And Mobile At Our First San Francisco Meet-Up On 9/15 Posted: 30 Aug 2011 04:36 PM PDT  San Franciscans, start your thrusters. On September 15 at 6:30pm TechCrunch Mobile and Gadgets will host our first meet-up at Roe @ 651 Howard St. in sunny SF. Sponsored by Samsung, this meet-up will be the first chance for our readers to get ahold of some of Samsung’s latest products including the just-announced Galaxy S II. It is an event not to be missed. We’ll have some finger food, a little dancing, maybe some networking and Specs: To RSVP pop over to this Eventbrite link and sign up. We’ll be releasing six hundred tickets over the next two weeks so there will be plenty of chances to sign up. Special thanks to Samsung for the sponsorship and we hope to see you in SF on September 15. Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets, wireless infrastructure and other telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
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| Marvel At Sony’s Microscopic OLED Electronic Viewfinder Posted: 30 Aug 2011 03:31 PM PDT  One of the marquee features of Sony’s new Alpha and NEX cameras, which by the way look excellent, is the new electronic viewfinder. I’ve never been particularly attracted to these things, preferring the mirror-based optical viewfinder on DSLRs or simply the large, bright LCDs on the back of most cameras. But Fujifilm’s X100 (despite its flaws) changed my mind about the usefulness of the EVF, and I’m ready to accept a camera that’s all EVF, all the time. And it helps that Sony’s new screen is a miracle of miniaturization. Tech-On has obtained some information about the bite-sized OLED panel being used in the new cameras, and seeing the device itself in its tiny glory is a reminder of how advanced our imaging devices have become: Sony’s previous EVF was 800×600 (I believe) and a traditional LCD. The new one is not only more high-resolution at 1024×768, but it’s an OLED panel instead of backlit LCD, giving it ten times the contrast of its predecessor, according to Sony. The ~2.4 million dots making up the panel are all white diodes with red, green, or blue filters; color diodes are not quite ready for prime time yet. The display is wholly owned and manufactured by Sony Mobile Display Corp, and it confirms that Sony is deeply into the whole OLED thing. And by combining their display business with Toshiba’s and Hitachi’s, they’re looking like the company to beat for next-generation displays. Right now the world’s most famous displays are probably the iPhone 4 and iPad displays, and if the high-res iPad 3 rumors are correct, that could continue. But the charms of OLEDs are many and various, and Sony knows it. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more impressive tech like this amazing little EVF over the next year or two.
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| Samsung Officially Announces The Galaxy S II For T-Mobile, Sprint, And AT&T Posted: 30 Aug 2011 03:05 PM PDT  It’s coming! It’s finally coming! After months of gallivanting around the world with launches everywhere from South Korea to Canada since May (plus a one day delay thanks to Hurricane Irene) Samsung’s Galaxy S II Android superphone is finally heading to the US. As expected, Samsung used their press gathering in New York today to announce aesthetically unique Galaxy S II variants for three major US carriers: T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. Verizon, meanwhile, is holding out for something else. News of these devices is coming in as we speak, and this post will be updated as the information is made available. SprintFirst off the block with an announcement was Sprint, who confirmed the prior leaks that their variant would be dubbed the oh-so-wordy “Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G”. Sprint’s device will ship on September 16th (they claim they’ll be the first to launch it), at $199.99 on a 2 year contract. Sprint’s Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Specs:
AT&TAT&T simply says their variant will launch “in the coming weeks”, but have released the specs below. Interestingly, the 4.3″ display on AT&T’s variant is smaller than the 4.52 incher found on both Sprint and T-Mobile, but AT&T’s model is also the slimmest of the lot (at 8.89mm) AT&T Galaxy S II Specs:
T-MobileT-Mobile has just issued their press release — so far, they’re simply calling it the “T-Mobile Galaxy S II” rather than its previous “Hercules” codename or any other fancy title. No specs besides a 4.52″ inch screen have thus far been mentioned, though it’s almost certainly nearly identical to Sprint/AT&T’s model’s (save for obvious differences, like no WiMax or Sprint ID) AT&T is the largest provider of both local and long distance telephone services, and DSL Internet access in the United States and the second largest wireless service provider in... T-Mobile is a mobile telephone operator headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile has 101 million subscribers making it the worlds sixth largest mobile...
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| Pro Tip: Do Not Buy An iPad From A Dude In A McDonald’s Parking Lot Posted: 30 Aug 2011 02:43 PM PDT  Asteroid. The iPad is an awesome device, but it costs money. Even second-hand models often command more than a new Android tablet. They’re just that much in demand. But look, if a guy, moreover a guy with as the police report states has visible gold tooth, says he’s selling iPads he purchased in bulk for $300, takes $180 instead, you better check that product out before you drive home. This is unfortunately the sad story of how Ashley McDowell was scammed into buying a wooden iPad. The story is rather straight forward. Per a police report, Ms. Ashley McDowell, age 22, was approached by two black males in a McDonald’s parking offering to sell her an iPad for $300. They said they purchased said devices in bulk and were passing the savings onto consumers. How nice. McDowell explained that all she had was $180, which the kind gentlemen accepted anyway. Up until this point, it’s hard to argue against Ashley’s logic. I’d take an iPad for $180. Hell, I’d take a dozen. But Ms. McDowell ran head first into stupidity by not inspecting the merchandise. You see, Ashley then exchanges her money for the iPad and drives home where she then opens up the FedEX container, for the first time, to find that *shock* it was a scam. She had purchased nothing more than a rather strange and surprisingly elaborately decorated wooden block, framed with black tape and sporting a replica Apple logo and iOS icons. The police report also describe a sort of “Best Buy sales ticket.” I’m personally more amused that the guys created such an obvious, but complex replica instead of using, you know, a normal piece of wood. Gawker, in their usual asshole tone, states Ashley doesn’t deserve her money back as a sort of “stupid tax” and the crooks deserve to keep it. That’s clearly the wrong course of action. The money should go to the policemen who are now assigned to finding these bad men driving, as the police report states, “a white Impala with no rims and no tint” who are scamming unsuspecting little girls out of their daddy’s money. Buy those cops a keg and throw ‘em party. 7:10 pm 8/30/2011: Updated the post to clearly state that the descriptions of the crooks are from the police report, not my imagination.
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| OnLive Teams Up With GameSpot To Embed Game Demos In Reviews Posted: 30 Aug 2011 01:27 PM PDT  Game reviews are always inadequate, in that while they can describe how it feels to control your guy, or how the level design is frustrating, you can only kind of get it. Video reviews help, but you can never be sure you and the reviewer are on the same page — more so than with books and movies, I’d say. OnLive and GameSpot are hoping to change that up a bit by adding instant game demos to reviews, so if you’re curious how a game plays, you can just… play it. You can see it at work on their review of Red Faction: Armageddon here. Unfortunately you need to download a plugin, free of course, but even that low barrier might be too much for people just skimming the review. They’re not the only ones doing this: in February we saw a very impressive showing from Gaikai, which pushes games to your browser with no plugin at all. I’ve got Crysis 2 running in the next tab over right now. That said, who does it first isn’t really the point. Both companies have impressive streaming technology and the winner will be the one with its fingers in the most pies come 2012 or 2013, when streaming gaming really goes mainstream. I love the idea of clicking to fire up a demo, not just because it makes the review more effective (the reviewer can even say “try this in the demo below”) but also because demos these days are gigantic. It’s almost as much trouble to download and install the demo as it is to actually buy the game. This partnership should be fruitful, and it brings up the whole question of exclusivity for demos — instant play on reviews could be one of those “premium” features reserved for registered or paying members. People tend to find away around those barriers, though.
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| Samsung Chromebooks Drop In Price: Deadpool Or New Models? UPDATE Posted: 30 Aug 2011 01:21 PM PDT  The long-awaited Chromebooks finally hit retails in June but they’re already seeing significant price reductions. Both Acer and Samsung entered the market with modestly priced options with the Samsung models commanding a slight premium. But not anymore. Amazon just dropped the price on the Samsung Chromebooks by 7% to 10% with the WiFi-only model now costing $399 and the 3G model running $449. That’s down from their MSRP of $429 and $499, respectively. With Chrome OS still in its infancy and niche products not lasting very long in today’s market, it makes you wonder if Google or its hardware partners are slowly giving up hope on the platform or simply prepping for new models. Chromebooks were supposed to be the next big thing. The instant on, snappy web experience, long battery life were supposed to draw in the customers. But try to find one in a store. Office Max, Staples, Office Depot, Walmart, and Frys do not offer either of the Chromebooks. The only retailers are Amazon and BestBuy.com — they’re not in Best Buy Stores. This limited exposure will ultimately doom the platform. Consumers cannot buy what they do not know exists. This price drop puts the nicer Samsung models just slightly higher in price than the Acer models with only $50 separating the two. This lower price, even though it’s technically 7% to 10%, drops the Samsung models out of the price points of traditional Windows notebooks. Much like with the HP TouchPad with the iPad, it’s hard to recommend a Chromebook when a full power Windows model can be had for the same price. Chromebook are likely not going the way of the TouchPad. Google isn’t HP. As proven by the struggling Google TV platform, the company seemingly likes to give hardware more time than it does software where it often kills under-performing products rather quick. Google and Acer/Samsung need to come up with a different, hopefully more broad, retail strategy going forward otherwise while the Chromebooks might not be swimming in the deadpool, they will certainly be wading in the pool of obscurity. Update: Samsung reached out to us and apparently the lower price is part of a “limited, two-week only, back-to-school promotion on Amazon for the Series 5 Chromebook.” [Thanks for the tip, Nate]
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| Video: Motorola Unveils Pro+ Smartphone Geared Toward The Enterprise Posted: 30 Aug 2011 09:55 AM PDT  If you’re looking for a solid Android handset with a physical QWERTY keyboard, Motorola has a few nice offerings on the table. The Fire, the Droid Pro, and the XPRT all have their strengths, and another QWERTY keyboard-equipped smartphone will soon join the ranks. Today, Motorola announced the Motorola Pro+, an Android device catered toward the enterprise. As far as specs go, this one seems geared toward the heavy messenger and probably isn’t a good fit for someone who does any amount of gaming or video playback. Its 3.1-inch display will be great for basic use with a solid 480×640 pixels of resolution, but in terms of size it just won’t cut it on the gaming/video front. However, the Pro+ display comes equipped with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass, so you can rest assured if you drop it a few times at least the screen will remain in tact. The phone touts a 1GHz processor and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Other specs include a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus, along with 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM. If that’s not enough space, microSD card support is included for up to 32GB of extra storage. Unfortunately, it looks like MotoBlur will also be along for the ride, which means you’ll get more social networking than you can likely handle. But hey, some people like that. In terms of carrier support, AT&T and T-Mobile should be getting their own versions of the device (though we’re still awaiting those announcements), while Motorola claims that the Pro+ will also be available in Europe and Asia in October. If any of this sounds interesting, jump past the break to check out Motorola’s introductory video.
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| B&N Reports Improved Losses, Massive Nook Growth Posted: 30 Aug 2011 07:39 AM PDT  Barnes & Noble took to the wires this morning to announced its 2012 first quarter sales and earnings. It’s mostly good news with sales in the first quarter hitting $1.4 billion, an increase of 2% over last year. Online sales increased 37% to $198 million while brick and mortar sales decreased 3% to $1 billion. The big news, however, is B&N’s Nook business increased a whooping 140% to reach $277 million, on a comparable sales basis.
The large uptick now means the Nook is accounts for more sales than B&N’s entire online storefront. Over the last quarter B&N launched the awesome Nook Simple Touch Reader and continued to support the hacker-friendly Nook Color Android tablet. Despite the upcoming Amazon assault, B&N expects big things from the Nook division and stated that the year over year sales should double and reach $1.8 billion this year versus last year’s record of $880 million. The company’s earnings improved 24% this last quarter from a loss of $30.7 million to $23.6 million. This accounts for a consolidated net loss of $57 million, or $0.99 a share. The company expects the full year losses per share to be in a range of $0.10 to $0.50 no doubt thanks to the upcoming holiday spending spree and the Nook’s explosive growth. The street clearly likes this news as Barnes & Noble’s stock shot up and is currently at a 2 week high. The nook is an electronic book reader produced by Barnes & Noble and runs on the Android platform. The nook will compete with the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and...
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| HP Could Revive The TouchPad, Says Former webOS VP Posted: 30 Aug 2011 07:01 AM PDT  Hold on to something tight, webOS geeks. Your favorite tablet, which I can only assume is the TouchPad, might not be the last webOS tablet incarnation from HP. An HP executive and former webOS VP recently stated that the company could resurrect the TouchPad stating to Reuters, “tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely.” But let’s hope that HP’s Personal Systems Group head Todd Bradley remembers the TouchPad’s rough path to success. Bradley is currently touring China where he’s likely putting on no less than a small circus trying to convince partners, suppliers and HP sympathizers that the company’s high revenue, high margin PC business will continue to be the top-selling brand. HP’s CEO Leo Apotheker announced earlier this month that they were considering leaving the consumer PC marketplace. This may be done by either selling or spinning off the business. Bradley dismissed claims in his Reuters interview that someone like Acer, who just reported a downturn in the second quarter of 2011, could buy the massive business. Instead, HP might spin the consumer side off into a new company. This would require, what Bradley called, “unwinding [of] the integration” of PCs within HP and would require this new company to stand tall amid tough competition and not rely on big daddy HP during tough sales quarters. In fact resurrecting the TouchPad and expecting the same sort of buzz generated over the last couple weeks would be tough for a new company. The TouchPad launched on July 1st but was killed just seven weeks later. We praised the tablet and the webOS operating system, but couldn’t find a reason to recommend the tablet at its $500 MSRP. That’s what an iPad costs, we said and pointed out that with Apple’s tablet you get a massive app ecosystem. The TouchPad then dropped down to $399, which didn’t exactly breed confidence in the product and we still couldn’t recommend it. But then HP canceled the TouchPad and put it on a $99 fire sale. We said Buy! Buy! Buy! The TouchPad went from zero to hero literally overnight. Early reports place the TouchPad as currently the second best-selling tablet. Best Buy stores nationwide had people lined up to snag the $99 tablet. This came less than a week after the WSJ reported Best Buy was sitting on a massive oversupply of TouchPads. Consumers passed on the tablet when it was $400 or more. They ate it up when it dropped to less than the cost of a Kindle. As the company stands today, HP likely has the deep pockets able to support selling a next-gen TouchPad at a slight loss where a spun-off company wouldn’t have that luxury. Selling the tablet at $99 is simply unsustainable, but with the right mixture of lower-end hardware, cloud storage, and revenue-producing content distribution, HP could potentially undercut the iPad and hit the sweet spot of $250. That’s what Amazon is primed to do with its tablet. People like the TouchPad — read the recent online reviews — but the $99 is a big part of the judgement. It’s by far the best value tablet on the market today and hopefully HP will make another round available at the current price. But it’s not the best tablet. That title falls squarely on the $500 iPad, which dominates that price-point. If HP wants to bring back the TouchPad — even with its new-found army of foot soldiers — HP first needs to learn its lesson: Don’t go toe-to-toe with Apple. The path to victory is to win the hearts of the villages.
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| Motorola’s Rugged DEFY+ Is UK-Bound, Landing In September Posted: 30 Aug 2011 06:36 AM PDT  Motorola‘s super-sturdy DEFY+ handset was officially revealed in a press release only a few weeks ago, but a recent announcement confirms that the device will make its UK debut early this fall. Forgot what the DEFY+ was capable of? Here’s a quick recap: the rugged Android handset packs a 1 GHz processor (a 20% improvement in speed over the proc found in the original DEFY), a 3.7-inch touchscreen display that’s covered by a plate of Corning’s Gorilla Glass, and a water-resistant, dust proof body. A 5 megapixel camera peeks out of the back, and the device comes with 2 GB of onboard storage and a 2 GB MicroSD card. The DEFY+ runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and comes preloaded with apps like CardioTrainer for your outdoorsy types and the Zinio magazine reader. An interesting mix, yes, but one that aptly shows that the beefy device is equal parts work and play. In typical Motorola fashion, you won’t find the stock Gingerbread interface here: Motorola’s chosen to cover it all with a big helping of MOTOBLUR. It has a tendency to rub people the wrong way because of how it attempts to shoehorn as much social networking content onto a homescreen as possible, but someone out there must enjoy it because it just won’t die. Motorola’s announcement was unfortunately light on specifics: they’ve remained mum on pricing or carrier compatibility, but the DEFY+ is being prepped for a September release.
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| Samsung Introduces A Trio Of Bada-Powered Wave Smartphones Posted: 30 Aug 2011 06:35 AM PDT  Today is a big day for Samsung. If you haven't heard, the phone maker is unveiling the U.S. variants of its flagship handset, the Galaxy S II, tonight in New York (and you can bet we’ll be in attendance). But if that weren't enough, Samsung also announced three new Bada-powered smartphones today, and each brings something special to the table. The star of the bunch would be Samsung's Wave 3, which has pretty respectable specs although it can't really compare with the beastly Galaxy S II (that I can't stop talking about). All three come with Samsung's new BBM-style cross-platform messaging service, ChatOn, and we're even seeing some NFC action. The Wave 3 is meant to be the Bada flagship, which is probably why we've already heard some details about it. Meanwhile the Wave M, albeit a mid-range device, comes in as a close second with support for NFC. Rounding out the trio, the Wave Y is an entry-level smartphone with somewhat limited specs, but we're expecting a pretty attractive price tag on the little guy. Here's a quick specs run-down: Samsung Wave 3:
Samsung Wave M:
Samsung Wave Y:
While the Wave 3 and Wave M can certainly hold their own, these probably aren’t a great fit for a smartphone junkie. Bada is a rather smart OS, and we will definitely give credit where credit is due. But Android and iOS have some hardware out there that you just can’t beat. On the other hand, these handsets will get the job done and probably at a pretty reasonable price. Obviously, it all depends on what you’re looking for. With the GSII announcement tonight and these Wave handsets on the way, you’ll have plenty to choose from.
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