Latest Gear Live Videos
Logitech Revue price slashed from $249 to $99 due to low sales
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment,
Back when the Logitech Revue was first announced for about $300, we knew the device wouldn't sell. Google TV was a new, unproven product, and Google wasn't even the company that was technically doing the selling of the devices. Yet somehow, Logitech didn't realize that, and the Revue has sold very, very poorly. So poorly in fact, that there's a major shakeup going on at the company as its now seeking a new CEO. The official word is that people have been returning their purchased Revue boxes faster than others are buying new ones, and that's just not good. In an effort to increase consumer adoption, Logitech has slashed the price of the Revue down to $99--a $150 reduction in price. So, anyone plan on picking up one of these? Hey, it'll be getting an Android Honeycomb update sometime soon.
Advertisement
Toshiba Thrive comes to Best Buy on July 10
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds,
The Toshiba Thrive finally has an official U.S. release date, although the news comes from retail partner Best Buy rather than the tablet maker itself.
Best Buy on Thursday confirmed that Toshiba's 10.1-inch Thrive tablet running Google's Android 3.1 Honeycomb will be available for in-store purchase on July 10. Toshiba, unlike more publicity minded tablet makers, never named an official release date for the Thrive, though Best Buy and other Toshiba retail partners began taking pre-orders in mid-June.
Toshiba's new Wi-Fi-only tablet "joins a rapidly expanding tablet selection at Best Buy, which is re-designing both its in-store and online tablet presentation to enable customers to learn more about and easily compare new devices as they become available," the retailer said in a statement.
A big clue that the Thrive would be made available on Sunday arrived earlier this week when the Best Buy website's Thrive pre-order page began listing delivery dates of as early as July 10 for customers pre-ordering 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB Toshiba tablets.
Click to continue reading Toshiba Thrive comes to Best Buy on July 10
Newegg has the ASUS Transformer tablet in stock!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Hot Deals,
Hey, It looks like the first real, formidable iPad competitor to hit the market is shipping from Newegg as we speak! The ASUS EEE Pad Transformer rocks an IPS display and Tegra 2 processor, and ships with Android 3.1 Honeycomb (the latest update.) We've tried other Android tablets and were left underwhelmed, but this one is hotness! You can get the 32GB model from Newegg for $499, which is $100 less than the 32GB iPad, y'all!
Read More 
| ASUS Transformer
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich set for Q4 2011 launch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Software,
It was just announced during the Google I/O 2011 keynote that the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, will be the melding of Honeycomb and Gingerbread. In other words, as Google puts it, you'll have one OS that runs everywhere instead of one for phones and another for tablets--hence, the name "sandwich." Makes sense. The universal Android 4.0 will run on both small screen and larger screen devices, and will automatically adapt based on the size of the display. It's expected to be released in Q4 of this year, which means that most devices won't be updated with Ice Cream Sandwich until 2012.
Motorola says they’ve shipped (not sold!) 250,000 Xoom tabelts
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Handhelds,
Motorola Mobility shipped 250,000 Xoom media tablets in the first quarter while improving year-over-year revenue to $3 billion but taking an $81 million loss in the three months ending April 2.
Motorola Mobility, recently split off from Motorola Solutions, also shipped 4.1 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2011, the company said Thursday. In all, Motorola Mobility said it shipped 9.3 million mobile devices in the quarter, beating analyst expectations.
Motorola split into two independent public companies in January with Motorola Mobility generally considered a spin-off. Motorola Solutions—which makes bar code scanners, police radios and other products—also reported earnings Thursday and had net income of $497 million, up from $69 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Click to continue reading Motorola says they’ve shipped (not sold!) 250,000 Xoom tabelts
Is Amazon preparing to launch an Android-powered Kindle tablet?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Handhelds, Rumors,
Is Amazon preparing to launch an Android tablet? Peter Rojas of gdgt thinks so, and the time does seem right for a refresh to the company's Kindle e-reader; the last time the product got a major upgrade was two years ago. And, as Rojas points out, there's a wealth of circumstantial evidence that points toward Amazon readying a tablet.
Apple has thoroughly dominated the tablet market since the iPad first went on sale about a year ago. The company sold more than 14 million iPads last year, and analysts project that Apple will move as many as 60 million iPad 2s in 2011 (though first-quarter sales were down). Although there was buzz that the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, or the BlackBerry PlayBook might present some competition for Apple's wildly popular tablet, no company has yet been able to produce a tablet worthy of taking on the mighty iPad. Amazon might be the most likely candidate.
Click to continue reading Is Amazon preparing to launch an Android-powered Kindle tablet?
Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi model launches March 27
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
The Wi-Fi version of the Motorola Xoom will be available at various retailers starting March 27, the company announced Wednesday.
The 10.1-inch tablet will be at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, select Sam's Club locations, Staples, and Walmart - both in-store and on their Web sites.
The Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi with 32GB of memory will cost $599.
Motorola said the Xoom Wi-Fi will also be available to commercial IT channels and regional retailers through a distribution agreement with Synnex Corporation, and regional carriers through Brightpoint.
Click to continue reading Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi model launches March 27
How Google can learn from the iPad 2
Apple's March 2 event is all but guaranteed to bring us the iPad 2, most likely with dual cameras and a revamped OS. It arrives two months after CES 2011, to a landscape littered with tablets from scores of manufacturers, most of them with one thing in common: they are running Google's Android OS. But only a handful of them run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the first Android tablet OS. Can tablets like the Motorola Xoom—the first Honeycomb device—take on the iPad?
If the past is any indicator, it doesn't look good. This has less to do with quality of product, however, and more to do with the manner in which the product is brought to the public.
The clear advantage Apple has over just about every competitor—except perhaps for RIM—is that it relies on no external manufacturers for its products. To clarify: of course Apple needs to farm out production of the components that make up its devices to OEMs, but when you see a new iPad, it is from Apple, running an Apple OS, for sale at the Apple store. The closest Apple comes to working with other companies is its partnerships with Verizon and AT&T for the iPhone and iPad. For the most part, however, Apple is its own, self-controlling entity. With no company—other than the carriers and OEMs— with which to coordinate, Apple can create a realistic product release timeline and stick to it.
Click to continue reading How Google can learn from the iPad 2
Bleeding Edge TV 376: Motorola Xoom video review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,
We've got the Verizon Wireless 4G Motorola Xoom, and in this episode we give you a nice, thorough walkthrough of the device. We show you the hardware, alongside a look at Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Get a look at the music player, YouTube for Android tablets, the front and rear cameras, multitasking, widgets, the built-in Google Books reader, and much more in our Xoom review. In case you missed it, we also have a video of our Motorola Xoom unboxing.
You can pick up the Motorola Xoom at Best Buy.
Big thank you to JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Motorola Xoom unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Handhelds,
Earlier today, we let you know that we got our Motorola Xoom in-house so that you could hit us with your questions, and a little while after that, we hit you with our Motorola Xoom unboxing video. A few people have been asking for still images of the device, so we threw together a quick Xoom unboxing gallery. We'll be putting up a comparison between the Xoom and the iPad soon, and also be sure to check out our video walkthrough of the device, as well as our full Motorola Xoom review. Both are coming soon.
Gallery:
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.