Olivetti launches OliPad tablet, second coming of the typewriter?
It's a sign of the times: a company originally known for typewriters, and struggling to find its place in a tech-driven market, turns to manufacturing tablets. This week, Olivetti announced the release of the OliPad, staking its claim to a slice of the slab pie, and repositioning itself on the enterprise PC market. Heralded (at least by Olivetti) as Italy's first tablet, the OliPad sports a 10-inc
What’s New in iOS 4.3
While much of the focus at Apple’s iPad 2 event might have centered around the sexy new hardware, Apple showcased some of the new features in the upcoming iOS 4.3 as well.Developers have had the opportunity to work with beta versions of iOS 4.3 for several months. The new OS release isn’t going to introduce as many features as the iOS 4.0 update or the unifying iOS 4.2 release, but the improvem
ASUS Eee Pad MeMO and MeMic hands-on
Though we played with ASUS' Android-powered Eee Pad MeMO back at CES, the company spilled a couple new secrets here at CeBIT today: first, it'll be running Honeycomb by the time it launches in June -- current prototypes are running Gingerbread -- and second, certain MeMO bundles will include the MeMic, a separate Bluetooth handset that lets you take calls without holding a giant tablet to your fa
The Future of the Connected Car
Most of us who watched Knight Rider as a kid expected that by 2011 we would be driving sleek, self-aware cars like KITT — cars that would take us seamlessly from A to B while cracking witty one-liners.Though that future has not yet come to pass, things are starting to get exciting in the in-car technology space. Connected cars are hitting the consumer market in a price bracket that makes them a
inPulse smartwatch turns programmable, and it can almost play Doom
Once upon a time the inPulse was a BlackBerry peripheral, but no more -- now, it's a fully programmable device-agnostic Bluetooth wrist computer. That's because its manufacturer Allerta released an SDK this week, which lets the 52Mhz ARM7 processor and 8Kb of RAM within display whatever you'd like on the 1.3-inch, 96 x 128 pixel screen. Like the time of day... or this tiny, practically unplayab
Qualcomm demos AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology
It's simple, but highly complex. You dig? Qualcomm's AllJoyn demonstration here at MWC was quite the eye-opener, but it's hard to say how much traction it'll gain in a world already inundated with short-range transfer protocols. Bluetooth, Infrared, Wi-Fi Direct... the list goes on and on (and on). Essentially, AllJoyn is an open-source software system that doesn't actually have to run atop Qualc
HP's 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer
There she is, the HP TouchPad. It's the webOS slate we've been yearning for ever since probing (then) Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein on our first-ever Engadget Show, but sadly, it looks as if HP has yanked any and all Palm labeling from the final product. Introduced today in San Francisco as part of a newfangled webOS triumvirate, the TouchPad (previously known by Topaz) is shaped almost exactly like t
Sony Ericsson LiveView update is here, promises improved connections and Bluetooth compatibility
Good news, fellow Bluetooth watch fanatics! Just as promised, Sony Ericsson's finally doled out a major update to cure the LiveView once and for all. With this patch, users should now be seeing much better stability and compatibility with non-SE phones, as well as being able to install up to 30 plug-ins. We had a quick go on our refreshed LiveWatch and noticed that it now auto reconnects much bet
DOS Emulator Returns to the iOS App Store
iDos, a DOS emulator that was briefly available for iPhone and iPad last year, has returned to the App Store [iTunes link]. The app, which is based on the open-source software DOSBox, was pulled a couple months ago because it allowed users to install and run executables within the emulator. Some of those .exe files might have extended the device and its software beyond their intended uses, i.e.
45 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
Wow, what a week. Last weekend the whole team was busy preparing for both the Mashable Awards Gala in Las Vegas and CES 2011 happening just next door. We’ve crowned your favorite picks from the past year and also previewed all the fancy new technology from the CES showroom. Take a look through our roundup of tools and resources from the past week or so, including the future of the social media
BlackBerry Dakota Specifications Leaked
The specifications and an image of RIM’s new flagship smartphone, BlackBerry Dakota, have been unearthed by Boy Genius Report. The device looks quite similar to BlackBerry Bold, with a standard BlackBerry form factor: a 2.8-inch screen with a 640×480 pixel resolution and a full QWERTY keyboard, placed in a 10.5mm-thick case. Specifications include a 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording,
HANDS ON: 10 New Tablets Ready to Challenge the iPad
video One of the standout trends of CES 2011 was the tablet. No fewer than 80 tablets were on display from manufacturers from across the globe, each hoping to take a piece of the growing market, led by the iPad.Most of the tablets, unsurprisingly, were running Android. With details of Android 3.0 Honeycomb just starting to eke out in earnest at the show, most tablet makers were instead running custom
Hands On With Vizio’s Android-Powered Devices
video Vizio, a company best known for its HDTVs, is embracing Android in a big way. Last week, the company showed off an Android-based tablet and smartphone at CES 2011, as well as an Android and Google TV-powered HDTV.We had a chance to get a look at some early versions of the tablet and smartphone and to see the company’s connected TV approach in person.First, let’s talk about the TV. Slated for re
Velocity Micro Cruz Watch hands-on preview
We've always liked the idea of having a Bluetooth watch streaming feeds from our phones, because deep down inside, we all want to act like special agents in public. Sadly, there aren't many of these wearables to choose from in the present market. In fact, with the inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry seemingly stuck in limbo, what we have left is the Europe-only Sony Ericsson LiveView for Android, a
Logitech intros $30 Wireless Speaker Adapter for WiDi-enabled laptops
A WiDi adapter, but only for music? It's true. Up until now, Intel's Wireless Display technology has been marketed as a means for transmitting video wirelessly from a PC to an HDTV, but apparently it's good for audio, too. Logitech has chosen CES 2011 to launch the box you see above, the Wireless Speaker Adapter for Intel WiDi-enabled laptops. The idea is fairly simple: place the box near your so
Mashable Awards 2010: Announcing The Winners
With more than 1.3 million nominations and votes, we’re pleased to announce the 2010 Mashable Awards winners.The Mashable Awards, our annual contest highlighting the very best of tech and the web, received a record number of votes this year. After entering the final round, we narrowed the list to the top five nominees in each category based on your votes. The winners received the most votes fro
Looxcie introduces LooxcieLive, enables mobile-to-mobile stream viewing
Vlogging and lifecasting are both things we haven't really gotten into in this new-age of gadget crazed aliens and humans, but the LooxcieCam is a gadget -- and you know us, we kinda-maybe-sorta really love gadgets. Here at the Consumer Electronics Show, Looxcie ousted its new streaming service which it has dubbed LooxcieLive. In addition to the Bluetooth video connectivity to your smartphone, th
Jabra's CES 2011 extravaganza: Extreme, Cruiser2, Speak 410, and more
With all the madness going on here at CES 2011, we somehow managed to find Jabra's booth and got a hands-on look at its new gear. As you recall from just yesterday, Jabra debuted its line of Skype-certified Bluetooth headsets and speakers. The Extreme (99.99), Easy Go ($59.99), Speak 410 ($159.99) and Chill for PC headphones all play nicely with Skype -- all that's standing between you and VoIP n
Qualcomm’s Atheros Buy and the Importance of Wi-Fi
Qualcomm's Steve Mollenkopf Qualcomm has agreed to buy chipmaker Atheros in a deal valued at $3.1 billion, which will create a networking powerhouse that spans the cellular, home, smart grid and sensor networks. As I wrote yesterday, this is an unusual and important deal for Qualcomm that helps it expand from the cellular world to myriad other networks. It’s also an indication the Wi-Fi has wo
Turtle Beach adds dual radios, customizable presets and voice morphing to 7.1 Ear Force PX5 gaming headset
Hear that? That's the sound of a million new products being introduced here in Vegas... in glistening 7.1 Dolby surround sound, no less. Turtle Beach has just ushered out its new flagship device, the Ear Force PX5. Designed for use with Sony's PlayStation 3 (but perfectly usable with the Xbox 360 or any other audio source), this here gaming headset is wireless in nature and is the company's first
Dell Venue launched in Hong Kong, we go hands-on
Isn't it fun when you hit the right place at the right time? We just happened to be chillaxing in Hong Kong when Dell chose the city for the Venue's global launch (and it's actually hitting the shops slightly ahead of South Korea), so a quick hands-on is inevitable. As we've seen previously, this HK$3,999 (US$514) handset is essentially the Venue Pro's Android 2.2 cousin, sporting the same curved
Ford’s AppLink Syncs Smartphone Apps and Developer Profits
Ford today launched the AppLink software for its 2011 Fiesta car that links a smartphone with Ford’s voice-activated SYNC system. With Ford’s SYNC AppLink installed in a car, a driver can control specific third-party applications on a nearby smartphone by speaking to the automobile. AppLink will initially support three smartphone apps on Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and Research in Motion’s Black
Aliph gets into the app game with Jawbone Thoughts voice messaging
We know, it's a bit odd to see the Jawbone name attached to something other than a Bluetooth headset or speaker, but Aliph is forging into the application game with a new voice messaging service for iOS. Called Thoughts, the software is basically like text messaging or instant messaging with voice. The free audio-based messaging iPhone app, which should be hitting the App Store today, lets you s
Plantronics Voyager PRO UC senses your Bluetooth wants and needs, softly whispers in your ear
We know, that headline makes it seem like the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC is going to seduce you, and well, after spending sometime with the headset yesterday at D: Dive Into Mobile we're thinking it may actually be pretty hard to resist. While it's not as snazzy as the Jawbone Icon or the Jabra Stone, its ear piece and ear hook contain capacitive sensors that know when you've got the device on
TechCrunch Review: Google Nexus S
For the last few days we’ve been using the Google Nexus S, manufactured by Samsung, with the new Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” operating system. This is a phone that was designed with direct input from the Google Android team. And like its predecessor, the Nexus One, which was released in January 2010, it has a “clean” install of Android. That means there is no additional software layer from third par
Yesterday and Today
I was talking with Mike Arrington last night, and he asked me if I had any ideas for today’s column. We batted around several topics — GroupOff being the most interesting as it shows a significant signal of Google weakness. But as I struggled this morning to meet my 10AM deadline (note: I’m writing these words at 1:18PM) this week’s Gillmor Gang went live on TechCrunchTV. Well, all except my iPad.
AutoBot app tracks your car if it tries to roll without you
We smell a Hasbro lawsuit coming with this one, but for now AutoBot is a funky name for a potentially great iPhone and Android app. Working in concert with a Bluetooth OBD-II dongle (not unlike the Superchips Vivid), it lets you diagnose engine troubles, keep track of maintenance, and locate your car via GPS coordinates -- useful for when some Decepticon tries to make off with your ride or when y