Interpad Marries Tegra 2 To Android 2.1

While it’s known that Android 2.1 isn’t exactly designed for tablets, the hardware coming out is definitely looking impressive. The next to the pad (get it) is a Tegra 2 based device from a German company, Interpad.
Being in the same 10″ range as another famous tablet, it features much more impressive hardware. Dual Core Cortex A9 Tegra 2 giving it unparalleled processing and graphics power, 1 GB of RAM (4 times what the iPad currently has), HDMI output to push all those FullHD movies and games to a much larger screen, and 3900mAH battery for 9-12 hours of battery life.
If you think the hardware is impressive then the price is the icing on the cake. For just over $500USD this baby could be yours when it is released sometime before the end of the year. If Google can get a more tablet friendly OS out the door before Christmas, I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t get one (other then the fact they will probably never leave Germany)?

Via [Lilputing]

Hulu Premium Compelling To Your TV

Hulu Premium has been in the rumor pipes for a while, but today it becomes fact. The $10USD a month service gives you the same familiar Hulu unlimited TV experience, but on you iOS4 device and TV (later this year).
If you have an iPad or iPhone 4 plus live in the US it is a much more compelling solution to your more expensive cable option. Later this year the Xbox 360 and possibly (from rumor) the PS3 will also support the premium service. Will someone please bring this to Australia?

Via [Gizmodo]

Google Docs Becomes Mobile Friendly

Google Docs, a free yet extremely powerful web based document editing suite, has now gone mobile friendly. Whether you use an iPad, iPhone or Android device you will be pleasantly surprised with a more seamless and less frustrating experience. Text docs are only readable at the time of writing, but spreadsheets are editable.

Via [Gizmodo]

PixelQi Screen Vs iPad In Sunlight

If you want to see an iPad get its arse handed to him in a 1 on 1 vs a PixelQi jump over to ARMDevices.net. Just like a vampire, the iPad gets destroyed by the sunlight, where the PixelQi brushes it off without a second thought. Makes you want a Notion Ink Adam tablet already. Looks like the tablet space is going to heat up real soon.

iPad Reviews

Looks like a bunch of big US publications got their hands on the iPad a few days earlier then the rest of us plebs. Gizmodo has created a list so I don’t have to, but expect reviews from WSJ, USA Today, NYT and PC Mag. What is the general verdict? Who cares, you are going to buy one anyway!

Via [Gizmodo]

Diamond iPad Was Bound To Happen

Every Apple device eventually get Diamond encrusted so why not the iPad? Sure it is probably the cheapest device Apple has ever made, but can’t it be cheap and have ’11.43 carats of diamonds’? Best 20 grand you will spend today!

Via [GIZMODO]

I Dream Of Sony Tablet

If you read tech news you also would have read that Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony’s CFO, has recently said “Time-wise we are a little behind the iPad but it’s a space we would like to be an active player in.” Basically it means watch out iPad, Sony has an ace up its sleeve.
Imagine a company that is one of the biggest movie studios, one of the biggest music studios, one of the biggest game studios and also one of the worlds largest electronics companies. Take all those things and chuck them in the blender with a pinch of book store and comic store (which they already have) and you get what can be an amazing tablet PC opportunity. If Sony was to do this right it would be more then a tablet computer, it could be a portable entertainment hub like no other.
All isn’t sunshine and rainbows though. Sony has a habit of taking a beautiful piece of hardware and crippling it. Read any product review and you will see a common theme. They will take this fantastic opportunity to beat Apple at their own game and they will find a way to ruin the experience with DRM or weak application support. The other problem is Sony tablets have a common theme and that is the Windows OS. I’ve mentioned it before, a tablet OS has to build with touch in mind and Windows never was.
What I’m praying for is much more interesting then my cynicism. Imagine a 7″ tablet which was unbelievably thin with slide out PS3 controller (sort of like the PSPgo, but with dual sticks). Then a little XMB on there and make the screen touch sensitive and you would have an almost perfect peice of hardware. Then take all the stores you support, from ebooks to games and throw them on there, or better yet, charge a monthly fee for unlimited access to all of it!
That is the dream I one day hope for from one of the biggest companies in the world. Will it happen, probably not (that is the cynicism again).

Via [Yahoo]

iPad Runs Windows 7!!!

Ok, I used the title to sucker you all in. Of course the iPad doesn’t natively run Windows 7, it just can’t (ARM processor). What it can do, which is as good for corporate users, is run a virtual desktop via Citrix.
It seems the little iPad will have a few more tricks up its sleeve then originally thought.

Via [Gizmodo]

Surprise! The iPad is a tablet.

Actually, less a traditional tablet and more a giant iTouch. I have to say my first reaction was disappointment. There was nothing exciting and unexpected about it. I was hoping for a magical E-ink style screen, multitasking greatness, forward facing camera, super 2GHz dual core processor, plugless charging (and syncing) and other revolutionary concepts. I wanted the iPad to be the greatest gadget ever created.
After letting it sit for a while, contemplating Apples other successes, it dawned on me. Apple is a software company (well derr). The iPad was never going to be the hardware game changer that people speculated, but it is going to be what Windows 7 will never be, and that is an OS designed for being used on a tablet.
It is designed with convenience in mind. This is a true consumer device. It will make surfing the web fun, watching movies fun, playing games fun and it might even trick some people into reading books again. Just don’t expect it to replace your notebook.
Though I believe the price is still very high for what you get, it is the Apple premium and will guarantee you a constantly evolving user experience and one of the biggest stores around. I won’t be buying one when they are available but I have no doubt Apple will sell record amounts of them.