Next PlayBook to have 10-inch screen, 4G radio, and white color option?

A 10-inch followup to the BlackBerry PlayBook seemed inevitable and indeed, tidbits about a rumored larger-screen version are starting to flow fast and furious. N4BB, which recently managed to spy the 9900 before it was unveiled, is citing anonymous sources who claim it will have a thinner bezel, a SIM card slot, a white color option, and, like the soon-to-be upgraded 7-inch version, 4G / WiFi connectivity. What’s more, these sources assure us this new PlayBook will have native email and calendar apps and be able to connect to BlackBerry Enterprise Server without the help of BlackBerry Bridge — a confounding quirk on the current model. That’s all well and good (and fairly realistic), though we’ll just have to wait until that rumored holiday launch — or a more unequivocal leak — to see what RIM has up its sleeves.

Next PlayBook to have 10-inch screen, 4G radio, and white color option? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink NetbookNews  |  sourceN4BB  | Email this | Comments

Change Google Calendar’s default meeting length and more print options

Posted by Grace Kwak, Product Manager

Today we’re adding two features that make it easier to customize Google Calendar. First, you can now change your default event length from the standard 30 minute slot. If you frequently create 15 minute meetings, for example, you can now make 15 minutes the default length for all your events. This way, you don’t need to click into the event page to change the duration every time.

You can change the default length of your events from the Calendar settings page. Next to the “Default meeting length” option, choose the length you’d like from the drop-down menu on the right. From there, you can also enable “Speedy meetings,” which automatically shortens events that are 30 minutes or longer to allow you to prep for your next meeting or get to your next appointment if you have a packed schedule.

Second, for those of you who still prefer paper and print your calendar, you can now select a specific date range in the print dialog box. Google Calendar will automatically format your printout for the date range you choose.

We hope you find these new customization options useful. Let us know what you think on Twitter (@googlecalendar) or in the Google Calendar Help Forum.

BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms

BlackBerry 7 SDK Beta

BlackBerry 7 OS is coming soon but, to take advantage of all those fancy features like NFC and the digital compass (ok, some of them aren’t that fancy), devs are going to need some new APIs — enter the BlackBerry 7 Java SDK. Creators of BlackBerry apps can go download the beta of the new software development kit at the source link and start whipping up augmented reality browsers and 3D games, thanks to support for OpenGL ES 2.0. There’s nothing mind-blowing about RIM’s latest update, but we’re glad to see the corporate stalwart start to catch up to other smartphone OSes, and it’s only a matter of time before Layar and Quake hit the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBlackBerry  | Email this | Comments

Meet the New 5.25″ Optical Drive Standard: Slimmer, Slot-loading

I was walking around the show floor today and caught a glimpse of Antec's Solo II chassis with a slightly different optical drive bay.

It turns out that there's a new optical drive standard being worked on in the industry. The standard is for slot loading drives with a half-height profile. The drives are still 5.25" wide, but they just aren't as tall as the older drives.

 
Cases that have a fold down optical faceplate won't work with these new drives, forcing case makers to adopt. This Solo II is an example of what a slot loading solution may look like.
 
 
Expect to see these new slot load drives to hit the market by the end of this year, along with cases to match.
 
{gallery 1110}

Canada can support 9 NHL teams: Sens founder

As the city of Winnipeg officially returned to the NHL fold and became Canada’s seventh team, former Ottawa Senators owner Bruce Firestone ruminated on a time when the league may even add two more Canadian hockey clubs.

Zinio comes to Android tablets, gives you 24 magazine issues for free


The iPad has yet to transform the publishing world as many expected it would, but some healthy competition from Android tablets should help to keep that process in motion. Zinio‘s reader app is now available on select Android 2.2, 2.3, and all 3.0 tablets, bringing Esquire, National Geographic, and 20,000 other magazine titles to the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and a half dozen other devices. And, to kick off the launch, Zinio is picking up the tab on the most recent issues of 24 top magazines, as long as you download by June 15. Digital subscriptions are still often more expensive than their print counterparts, but at least Android tablet owners will have a safer place to hide their issues of Playboy.

Continue reading Zinio comes to Android tablets, gives you 24 magazine issues for free

Zinio comes to Android tablets, gives you 24 magazine issues for free originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 22:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceZinio  | Email this | Comments

The New Essential Apps May 2011 [Apps]

iPhones. iPads. Android. And Windows Phone 7! We’ve updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favorites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Be sure to check out all the lists! More »







Toshiba announces Oak Trail-based WT310/C Windows tablet for Japan

We’d heard some rumors that Toshiba might be ditching its Windows 7 tablet plans to focus on Honeycomb, but it looks like that’s not the case — at least, not in Japan (and not for enterprise customers). The company has just officially announced its new Oak Trail-based WT310/C tablet for the country, which packs an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display and runs Windows 7 Professional. In addition to that Atom Z670 processor, you can expect to get 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 3 megapixel ’round back, and an optional cradle that adds some extra ports. Still no word on a price, unfortunately, but this one should be available in Japan sometime next month.

Toshiba announces Oak Trail-based WT310/C Windows tablet for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CrunchGear  |  sourceToshiba  | Email this | Comments

3 Labs graduations, 1 retirement

Posted by Maciek Nowakowski, Associate Product Manager

Today we’re excited to graduate three more features from the experimental testing ground of Gmail Labs. Superstars, Nested Labels, and Advanced IMAP Controls are now first-class citizens in the Gmail world, thanks largely to your feedback. We’re also retiring the Google Search box lab which was redundant with the “Search the Web” button that’s already in Gmail.

Superstars
Superstars, one of the most popular Labs features, provides different types of stars in addition to Gmail’s basic one. You can assign a certain star to special conversations and use another as a visual reminder that you need to follow-up on a message later. You can now choose your own set of stars from Settings:



Once you’ve done that, the stars will rotate with each consecutive click on the star icon.


Nested Labels
Labels are a great way of organizing your email; nested labels give you the ability to organize labels hierarchically. Starting today, nested labels are enabled for everyone along with a couple of small improvements such as a sticky collapse/expand state and better editing options.


To start using them, you can either create a new sub-label from the dropdown menu on the left hand side or just move an existing label under another one using the edit option:


Advanced IMAP Controls
This Labs feature provided a very useful set of advanced controls for those of you who access Gmail through IMAP clients (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, or your iPhone’s native mail app). Now it’s easier to take advantage of features like syncing only selected labels or limiting the folder size limit to improve your IMAP experience.


True to the original spirit of Gmail Labs, we’ll continue to add new features, graduate some, and retire others, so keep trying them out and sending us your feedback.

Windows 7 installed on 1 in every 3 PCs in the world

Windows 7 has been out for almost two years now, and it doesn’t come as a surprise to many that it is now running on one in every three computers in the world, according to stats from StatCounter.com.

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, where it was…

BlackBerry finally sees competition within US government

Despite our commander-in-chief’s seemingly undying allegiance to BlackBerry, it looks like the federal government could be ready to make a break from RIM. According to a Washington Post article published yesterday, a number of agencies within the federal government are questioning their attachment to the standard-issue BlackBerry devices, and allowing government employees to bring in their own preferred methods of communication — among other things, Congress now allows the use of iPads and iPhones on the House floor and use of BlackBerrys at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has dropped from 1,000 to 700 in the past year. What’s more, the General Services Administration is currently shifting 17,000 employees to Gmail, a move it says could reduce expenses by 50 percent in the next five years. Likewise, the USDA will also move its email services to the cloud with Microsoft’s services, claiming $6 million in annual savings. Now, we doubt Obama’s going to turn a blind eye to RIM entirely, but he has been getting awfully cozy with that iPad.

BlackBerry finally sees competition within US government originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Headlines  |  sourceWashington Post  | Email this | Comments

Acer says Microsoft is too ‘controlling’ of Windows tablets, restrictions ‘troublesome’

A web of rumor and suggestion has been spun in recent weeks about a new tablet-oriented version of Windows. But when major players like Acer start moanin’ and complainin’ about how they’re going to make hardware to run the new OS, that’s when you know something has to be afoot. According to Bloomberg, Acer CEO J. T. Wang spoke up at Computex to berate Microsoft for being too restrictive in what processors it will permit to carry its new baby, saying it is “really controlling the whole thing, the whole process.” And he wasn’t just speaking for Acer either, because he added that chip suppliers and PC makers “all feel it’s very troublesome.” It begs the question, if Steve Ballmer is borrowing Apple’s approach and becoming a control freak, why doesn’t he just go whole hog and build a Microsoft Tablet from start to finish?

[Thanks, Tiago]

Acer says Microsoft is too ‘controlling’ of Windows tablets, restrictions ‘troublesome’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBloomberg  | Email this | Comments