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A-100

Ice Cream Sandwich flavoring Acer A100, A500 next week

Owners of Acer's Iconia Tab A100 and A500 tablets can look forward to a dollop of Ice Cream Sandwich in another week and a half.

An Acer support document confirmed that the two tablets are scheduled be on the receiving end of Android 4.0 in the U.S. on April 27. Other countries, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Latin America, will also receive the update on or around the same time, but all updates should be out and about by the first week of May.

Released last summer with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Acer A100 is a … Read more

Emotiva's sweet-sounding $219 amplifier

I recently raved about Emotiva's Airmotiv 4 powered speakers, but if you already have a nice pair of speakers and need a great affordable amp, the company's Mini-X a-100 deserves an audition. Emotiva calls the Mini-X a-100 a "Super Flex" amp, which I assume means it's super flexible. You can run it with a CD player, computer, iPod, or as a "second zone" amp in a multiroom system, a rear surround speaker amp, or just a basic amp for a small hi-fi.

The Mini-X a-100 looks like a smaller version of one of … Read more

GameStop now selling Android tablets for gamers

GameStop is now in the Android tablet business.

The retail gaming vendor is starting to sell three Android tablets outfitted and accessorized as gaming devices.

GameStop is offering gamers a choice among the 7-inch Acer Iconia Tab A100 for $329, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for $499, and the $399 Asus Eee Pad Transformer. To transform them into gaming machines, the retailer is bundling six titles with each tablet--Dead Space, Monster Madness, Sonic CD, Cordy, Riptide GP, and Re-Load.

To further cement the deal, the company is including the Kongregate Arcade Android app, which gives gamers an online portal with access to more than 500 free games, the ability to compete against others, and a place where they can share reviews and comments about different titles with fellow users.… Read more

Acer Iconia Tab A100 review: Honeycomb on a 7-incher

As one of the first 7-inch Honeycomb tablets, the Acer Iconia Tab A100 attempts to make a case for the viability of 7-inchers, but does the fact that larger tablet alternatives are less than a hundred bucks away diminish its appeal?

That depends. There are quite a few of you out there who prefer 7-inch tablets over larger ones. Smaller tablets have added portability and, on the whole, are more powerful than smartphones. Essentially, they're a little like large smartphones that don't quite fit into your pocket and don't allow you to make calls.

The Acer Iconia … Read more

Android issues reportedly to delay Acer A100 tablet

Compatibility problems between Android 3.0 and Acer's 7-inch Iconia A100 tablet will reportedly delay the launch of the new tablet, according to a story in DigiTimes.

Originally set to start selling the new tablet by May or June, Acer is now rescheduling the launch to an August-September time frame.

Since Android 3.0 Honeycomb was designed specifically for larger-screen tablets, Acer has discovered a variety of apps in the new OS that are incompatible with 7-inch screens, claims DigiTimes, citing industry sources. On its end, Google is reportedly trying to fix other issues, also putting a crimp in … Read more

Report: ViewSonic to win 7-inch Honeycomb tablet race

ViewSonic is set to unveil the industry's first 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablet at month's end, according to sources cited by tech site Pocket-Lint.

The ViewPad 7x will debut on May 31 at the Computex computer show in Taipei, Taiwan, Pocket-Lint reported, and will be a follow-up rather than a replacement to ViewSonic's existing ViewPad 7 tablet, which runs Android 2.2, aka Froyo. Following its late May unveiling, the device should reach consumers in June.

Details are scarce, but according to Pocket-Lint, the ViewPad 7x will sport an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, cameras in front and back, and support for the high-speed HSPA+ networks offered by AT&T and T-Mobile. The tablet would also include both HDMI and DLNA ports to pipe content through a TV or media center device.… Read more

Photos: Popcorn Hour does streaming right

We've long moaned that there's no such thing as the perfect media streamer. We've tested Apple TV, which is hopeless unless you exist totally in the Apple universe, and even then only if you're a U.S. resident. We enjoyed the DivX Connected system but noted it's far from perfect and, like Apple TV, won't play many formats out of the box. Now we've found another system, called the Popcorn Hour A-100, which promises to do everything we want--and we're properly excited.

For a start, it will play everything. Yes, that's … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 716: Hope for old people (like Tom)

There's still time for us to strike entrepreneurial gold, we talk "malicious circuits," and Microsoft blah blah blah blah. Also, Popcorn Hour starts shipping its magical streaming box of wonder and it looks like we're in store for some wiener whistles. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 716

Microsoft leans toward a hostile bid http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120966628366460063.html

Xbox 360 Blu-ray console shipping by September? http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/02/ xbox-360-blu-ray-console-by-september/

Researchers design “malicious circuits,” warn of potential risk http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ researchers-design-malicious-circuits-warn-of-potential-risk/

Popcorn Hour’s … Read more