HP TouchPad

So the HP slate has been scrapped, but that doesn't mean HP has left the tablet market, enter the HP TouchPad. The recently released tablet from HP is running the same WebOS as the Palm Pre, as opposed to windows 7 which was to run on the slate. HP acquired Palm last year and since then has released the Palm Pre 2, and now is set to release the Palm Pre 3, and TouchPad. Like the BlackBerry Playbook's interaction with Blackberry handsets, so too will the TouchPad have interaction with the Pre 3. One feature shown off by HP was the ability to simply touch the Pre to the TouchPad to load the same webpage on your Pre as is loaded on the TouchPad. This is great if you have both devices or if you have friends with Pre 3's. HP has gone the route of the iPad in screen realestate, unlike many other soon to be released talets with 7" screens. Like most newly released tablets trying to compete for market space against the iPad, the TouchPad will also include compatibility for flash and html5. The TouchPad also comes with beats audio inside, which should prove to have superior audio quality compared to other tablets, and has a 1.2ghz dual cpu processor, which should add to the multitasking abilities. One other feature I like about the touchpad is the photos app. It allows you to view photos from your device, as well as Facebook, photobucket, and snapfish all in one location. However, the TouchPad includes only a front facing camera which can be used for video conferencing, but no rear facing camera, this is a bit of a draw back for me. The TouchPad looks like a great device, however pricing has yet to be announced which keeps me from making a buy/no buy decision. I'll post the specs below, and as always thanks for reading and check out my youtube channel @ berkvens852.

Operating system HP - webOS
Display - 9.7-inch XGA capacitive, multitouch screen with a vibrant 18-bit color, 1024x768 resolution display
Keyboard - Virtual keyboard
Email1 - Microsoft® Exchange email with Microsoft Direct Push Technology
POP3/IMAP (Yahoo!® Mail, Gmail™, AOL, Hotmail®, etc.)
Messaging - Integrated IM and SMS
GPS - A-GPS (3G models only)
Digital camera - Front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling4
Sensors - Light sensor, accelerometer, compass (magnetometer), and gyroscope
Media formats supported:
Audio formats: DRM-free MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
Video formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
Wireless connectivity - Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication;
Bluetooth® wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
Memory - Choose either 16GB or 32GB internal storage
Battery - Rechargeable 6300 mAh (typical) battery
Connector - Charger/microUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Headphone jack - 3.5mm stereo headset/headphone/microphone jack
Speakers - Internal stereo speakers and Beats Audio™
HP Touchstone for TouchPad Compatible
Processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2GHz
Dimensions Width: 240mm (9.45 inches)
Height: 190mm (7.48 inches)
Thickness: 13.7mm (0.54 inches)
Weight Approximately 740 grams (1.6 pounds)

Mobile Gaming

Mobile gaming has come a long way from the original Nintendo gameboy. A world that was traditionally ruled by dedicated gaming devices is now being taken over by mobile devices such as Apple's iPhone, and phones running on Google's Android OS. Nintendo hopes to combat this rise in mobile phones as gaming devices with its soon to be released 3DS, while Sony has just unveiled its newest rendition of its PSP, but is it too late? The 3DS will come with a 3D screen that requires no glasses to view the effect, and also features built in cameras allowing the user to take 3D photos. The new offering from Sony the PSP 2, has a host of new features that create almost a cross between a gaming and mobile device. The big draw here coming from the processing and graphics capabilities which means titles currently seen only on PS3 may make an appearance on the PSP 2. However, what I see as the main advantage in mobile gaming that Nintendo and Sony don't have, is the ability for anyone to create games for their devices. With Apple, and Android, and even Rim's OS, anyone with varying degrees of coding expertise can create a game, which leads to a large variety from which users can choose from. The games, allbeit may not be of the same sophistication as those found on dedicated devices, but this may be all users want from a mobile gaming device. We will have to wait and see what happens when Nintendo and Sony bring their devices to the market. As always, thanks for reading

Asus Eee Slate

Tablet computers are popping up everywhere now, and Asus has joined in with their Eee Slate. The Eee Slate is essentially a high powered netbook in tablet form. As always lets first take a look at the specs which are actually very impressive for a tablet device.

- 12.1" capacitive multi-touch LED-backlit HD IPS display (1280x800)
- Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
- Intel Core i5-470UM processor (1.33GHZ with Turbo Boost up to 1.86GHZ)
- 64GB/32GB solid state drive
- 4GB/2GB system memory
- High-speed wireless N and Bluetooth v3.0
- Mini HDMI, 4-in-1 card reader, USB 2.0 port and 2.0MP webcam
- Web surfing with Flash support

This large tablet is only a mobile processor away from being a full fledged notebook computer (it also appears to have a wireless keyboard option and stylus). Specs aside, what I find impressive about this device is that it appears to be running a full version of windows home premium. The tablets out now are all running some version of mobile OS, and for a tablet computer I would have expected a modified version of Windows phone 7. This is very appealing to the consumer who wants to still be able to do everything they can with their laptop, but still have the convenience of a tablet. However you should also take into consideration that this is a 12.1" screen, so size-wise, it is still about the same size as larger netbooks offered now. The screen however is not the only large thing about this tablet, it also comes with a large pricetag. You can pre-order the Eee Slate now for up to $1100 for the 64GB model, which is on par with a good laptop on the market. The specs look good, Windows 7 is definitely appealing, but the price is a bit high, which is to me takes it out of the running. As always, thanks for reading, and check out my youtube channel @ berkvens852

BlackBerry PlayBook

Hey Guys, it's been a long time since my last post, partly busy, partly just never got around to it. So what's this post about? Something I am very excited about, and I know most of you are too. The BlackBerry Playbook! Now I know most of you have already seen the promotional video for the device already as it's been announced for quite some time now, but I'd like to talk a bit about what I think of the device. First off let's take a look at the specs.

* Full computing power in a tablet format
* 1 GHz dual-core processor
* 1 GB RAM
* Symmetric multi-processing
* Full Adobe® Flash® 10.1 enabled
* Built-in support for HTML 5
* No-compromise rendering of text, graphics and video
* 3G network access using your BlackBerry® smartphone as a modem
* 4G network access available on BlackBerry® 4G PlayBook™ tablet
* Wi-Fi® 802.11 a/b/g/n
* Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR
* Front facing 3MP camera, rear facing 5MP camera (full 1080p video capture)
* HDMI output

Now, just looking at the specs alone, this tablet is clearly set to outperform the iPad as well as the existing android tablets on the market. To me, the most exciting feature of this tablet is Full Adobe Flash support, something you don't see on the iPad. What this means is you can now take full advantage of the internet on your tablet device. Recently demonstrated was Facebook. With flash support you can actually play your favorite Facebook games right on the tablet, instead of downloading an app like you would do on your iPad! Also shown is the Playbook's ability to show the full content of websites such as Facebook and Youtube, instead of a slimmed down mobile version. Another plus for me is having BlackBerry Messenger on the tablet. If you own a BlackBerry, you more than likely frequent BBM and having it in a larger format that you can use at home or on the go is awesome! True multi-tasking is also exciting. The ability to play a video on Youtube while making changes to your calendar, or messaging someone on BBM is excellent. Full 1080p video capture, and output via the HDMI connection is astounding. I can only hope that Skype will make an appearance on the Playbook utilizing the front facing camera as they have now done with the iPhone 4. So what is my recommendation regarding the Playbook? Buy it! If you are in the market for a tablet currently, hold off until the release of the Playbook. The specs are amazing, the capabilities are above and beyond, and developers are working hard to make sure that app world is stocked and ready to go upon release. Pricing has yet to be annouced, but I would guess it will be comparable to that of the iPad/Galaxy tab. As always, thanks for reading, and check out my youtube videos, my channel is berkvens852.