netbooks

Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Tab 7 inch Android tablet this morning at the IFA trade show in Germany. And ever since, news has been streaming out of Berlin like a gusher. Here are some of the latest updates:

Benchmarking the Galaxy Tab

Chippy at CarryPad took a few moments to run a couple of benchmarks on the tablet. Overall, it’s not the fastest machine out there, but it certainly scores higher than a typical smartphone. That said, Chippy ran the same tests recently on the Toshiba AC100 smartbook with better results — and the AC100 has the same basic specs as the upcoming Toshiba Folio 100 , which means that may be the tablet to beat.

You can check out Chippy’s video after the break.

Rooting the Galaxy Tab

What, benchmarks aren’t exciting enough or you? How about this, then? One guy figured out how to root the Tab. Not bad for a device that not only isn’t available to the public yet, but which as far as I know isn’t available outside of the confines of a trade show floor (unless you’re a Samsung employee).

via jkkmobile

Samsung Galaxy Tab apps and games

The Galaxy Tab has full access to the Google Android Market, which means it can run most of the games and other apps available for the Android platform. The folks at Android Central took a few of those games for a spin and they look great on the 7 inch display.

Samsung also packs the tablet with a few custom apps, and the video after the break shows some of those off as well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab news roundup is a post from: Liliputing

You have until December 1st to get your entry into the Trossen DIY robotics contest. Unlike the last Trossen contest we told you about, this one has no clear theme. The goal is simply to make an awesome robot. Registration is free, and entries will be judged on Ingenuity, Originality, and presentation/documentation. There are prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, with the 1st place prize being the Interbotix Hexapod. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is a kit of a hexapod that is pretty quick on its feet. You can catch a video of it after the break.

[via botjunkie]

I got a chance to check out a pre-production unit of the Samsung NF210 netbook today. This mini-laptop was first announced way back in… well, yesterday. But it won’t hit the streets in the US for another few weeks, and I learned today that it will actually be a Sam’s Club exclusive in the States, where you’ll be able to pick this curvy netbook up for $379.99.

The Samsung NF210 has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and one of the most unusual designs I’ve seen in a netbook, with a curved body and a recessed keyboard situated between two fins, waves, or whatever you want to call them. While I’m not 100% sold on the overall design, which serves to make the netbook a bit wider than many others in its class, there are a few things I really like about this and other Samsung netbooks.

First, Samsung added a thin lip to the top of the display, which makes it much easier to grab and open the lid when the laptop is closed. Second, the touchpad is perfectly level with the palm rest area around it, but thanks to a bumpy textured surface, you can easily detect the edges of the touch area without looking down at your fingers. Third, the display is matte, which makes it easier to see in direct sunlight.

Probably the most compelling feature of this 10 inch netbook though, is its battery. Samsung is shipping the NF210 with a 6 cell, 8850mAh battery which the company says should provide up to 14 hours of run time. I’ll be putting that claim to the test when I receive a review unit later this month, but it’s a pretty bold claim, even as other netbook makers push their run times past the 10 hour mark.

You can check out more hands-on photos of the Samsung NF210 below. I’ve been told that the color scheme isn’t final. The finished product will have an “espresso” color scheme.

Samsung will also soon launch the NF310 netbook in the US. That model will be physically quite similar to the NF210, but it will have a metallic finish (although it will still have a plastic case). The Samsung NF310 will also have a dual core Intel Atom N550 processor and a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display. Final pricing for that model hasn’t been set, but Samsung says it will likely cost $429 or less. Unlike the NF210, the NF310 will be available through a variety of retailers.

Samsung also plans to continue offering the Samsung N150 netbook for customers that don’t feel like visiting Sam’s Club or paying more for snazzy design elements and extra battery life. The Samsung N150 has a MSRP of $349, but it regularly sells for far less than that.

Hands on with the Samsung NF210 is a post from: Liliputing

[Sk3tch] rigged up a way to use an original NES controller with Android. He bought the controller and a breakout board for it at DEFCON. By combining the controller, an Arduino, and a blueSMIRF BlueTooth module the controller can be used as a keyboard on his Android device. In the video after the break he demonstrates pairing the devices and playing Super Mario Bros. 3 in an emulator.

He calls this Alpha quality but it certainly looks like it works well. In the beta version we’d love to see all of the extra electronics inside the controller case like those USB mods.

It’s been a few months since the SD Association approved the new UHS-I standard for speedier flash memory cards. Now we’re starting to see actual products based on the spec head to market. Toshiba has introduced a new  line of SDHC UHS-I memory cards which are do to start shipping in November.

The cards will have read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 80MB/s. They’ll be available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities, with the 32GB model hitting the streets in November and the smaller guys set to hit the market in December.

via Gizmodo

Toshiba introduces super-fast SDHC UHS-I flash cards is a post from: Liliputing

We all knew it was coming, since the first mention of Archos' Gen 8 Series of internet tablets to the recent announcement of the company's plans at this year's IFA. We had even got a sneak peak at two of the devices, in the form of the Archos 32 and A28, but now the company has finally revealed the whole long awaited line-up with all the details. Made up of five devices, Archos' new internet tablet series includes the aforementioned Archos 32 and A28, and the larger variants of the Archos 43, 70, and 101. The model numbers are directly linked to the screen sizes of the various devices ranging from the 2.8-inch A28, to the 7-inch 70, and the 10.1-inch 101. This curiously means...

[Ben's] added some nice goodies to his Volvo in the form of an in-dash computer. The system monitors two pressure sensors for boost and vacuum, as well as reading RPM, O2, and exhaust directly. All of this is tied into the touch interface running on an eeePC 900A. But our favorite feature is that the system requires you to enter a PIN to start the ignition. The forum post linked above is short on details so we asked [Ben] if he could tell us more. Join us after the break for a demonstration video as well as [Ben's] rundown on the system.

Ben writes:

Hi, great, glad you like it. The EEE 900A has a 2GB ram upgrade and a 16GB SSD upgrade, running windows 7. I modified the computer so it could fit directly behind the screen, which involved relocating the USB ports, and also using a HP webcam from a broken laptop as a back up camera.

The black box has three circuit boards. I’ll send you some pictures of the most current version later. The first board is for power, It has a 3.3v and 5v regulators to provide the two voltage rails, and the three relays. One relay controls the power supply to the netbook, the second controls the car’s actual starter, and the third controls the auxiliary power and lighting system.

The second board uses two freescale semiconductor pressure sensors, one to read boost and the other to read vacuum. It also has a secondary microcontroller (A PIC18F2550) to read a direct RPM input as well as a wideband o2 sensor in the exhaust. This uC is running in i2c slave mode.

The final board in the back is a PIC18F4550, which has direct control over the relays, the secondary controller, and also directly reads the two pressure sensors. Both controllers run software written in PICBASIC.

Now the part that I like about the interface box, is in order to talk to the computer, it uses only the PIC18F4550′s USB port. one usb connection is all that the computer talks to the car with.

The software running on the netbook is an application that provides a front end to the control box, A PIN is required to be entered, and once the PIN is correct, you are then able to start the car via the button on the screen. The normal key method of starting no longer works. For security, The interface ONLY sends the PIN number to the control box, the control box has a PIN number saved and encrypted on the PIC’s internal eeprom. The entire application was written in VC++, .net, and provide me with accurate boost, vacuum, RPM, and AFR on screen. Touching a gauge on the screen enlarges it, and minimizes the other two gauges for enhance readability.

It’s all cleanly installed in my 1998 S70 T5, which was an automatic from the factory and that I swapped to manual in January this year. To power the entire system on, you only need to press the unlock button on the keyfob. by time you get to the car, the computer is running, and the control box is connected to my software and waiting. Locking the doors via key fob (using the key on the door also works just as well) tells the contol box to use a transistor to electrical press the EEE’s power button and put it into sleep mode. Once the EEE is off, it cuts power to the EEE, and then both controllers go into sleep mode, drawing minimal current. I’ve left the car for a couple weeks with the entire thing hooked up, got home, and started it right up and drove away. I designed the entire system like any company would, to ensure reliability. There are safety measures that only I know about, that allow me to re-enable the standard key ignition in case of an emergency.

Camangi’s first go at an Android tablet was less than spectacular — then again, the same can be said of quite a few of the Android tablets currently available for purchase. We seem to be heading into a period of re-birth for Android tablets, however, and OEMs seem determined to get things right this time around.

And that includes Camangi. The company has announced two new Android tablets, both running Android 2.2 Froyo.

First up is the FM600, which (you guessed it) sports a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. Not exactly blazing fast by today’s standards, but it should still perform reasonably well and allow Camangi to keep the sticker price on the FM600 fairly low. Better yet, the new model sports a capacitive touchscreen and a 7″, 800×480 pixel display. It will also include 512MB RAM and ROM, 802.11b/g wireless, bluetooth, 3 megapixel front-facing and VGA rear-facing cameras, and a 3240mAh battery.

On a somewhat more surprising note, the FM600 also includes an accelerometer, compass, SIM card slot, and pre-installed Google goodness (Android Market and all the Google apps).

Next is the Camangi II. Details aren’t as plentiful on this model yet, but Carrypad reports that it will feature a 1GHz Samsung CPU… Now that’s more like it, Camangi!

Camangi unveils two new Android tablets is a post from: Liliputing

Here’s an analog meter clock using an MSP430G2211 microcontroller. [Doug Paradis] chose this processor because it is the lesser of the two that come with the TI Launchpad. The parts count is fairly low too; a clock crystal, two analog meters, a few buttons, and a voltage regulator.

He’s done a nice job putting this together. We challenge you to give this a try yourself and build on [Doug's] features. We really liked the calibration subroutine in [Alan's] multi meter clock. It would be fun to implement that functionality and store the calibration code in the MSP’s flash memory. You can use our ported garage door opener code if you need an example of how to store data in flash.

Want to get your hands on a smartbook with an ARM-based chipset but don’t feel like waiting for Toshiba or HP to bring their models to the US? Genesi USA has you covered.

The company has launched a mini-laptop with a 10.1 inch display and an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU. The smartbook is called the Efika MX, and while it may not have the fastest ARM-based chip around, it’s powerful enough to handle 720p HD video playback.

The device has a 1024 x 600 pixel display, 16GB of storage space, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an optional 3G modem, as well as a 1.3MP camera, SD card reader, and mic and headphone inputs.

The Genesi Efika MX weighs about 2 pounds and measures about 0.8 inches thick. The computer runs Linux and uses less than 12 watts of power. It runs just $349, which sounds pretty good… until you realize that you can get  Windows 7 netbook for about $50 less. On the other hand, I have yet to find a Windows netbook at this price that weighs just 2 pounds.

via Blogeee and Netbook News

Genesi launches the Efika MX ARM-based netbook for $349 is a post from: Liliputing

A new project called the Unofficial Behringer Control Development Kit lets you tweak or completely replace the firmware on the popular devices. The proof of concept demo shows a custom message scrolling on the 4-character 7-segment display but you can do with the device is only limited by how well you can code for the ARM processor inside. Development takes place using the GNU ARM toolchain but don’t worry, you don’t have to crack the case open to program the chip. The BCR2000 and BCF2000 models supported by the project both run bootloaders that allow firmware updates via midi commands. There’s even a recovery mode if you screw something up. Just make sure you have a direct midi connection for recovery, the USB port won’t work for that purpose. If you need a shove to get you started there’s a nice little example file in the repository.

[Thanks Bjonnh]

nDevil managed to get his hands on the Archos 70 internet tablet. This 7 inch model reminds us of the Archos 7 Home Tablet but the new model features the same 1GHz CPU as the 10 inch model. It also…

nDevil managed to get some hands on time with the 140 gram Archos 43 MID or Internet Tablet. It is coming to market with a competitive price point of $199 with 16GB of memory. At 4.3 inch this Android hand…

Netbooks come with out a DVD/CD Rom drive as a result it is extremely difficult to install Windows XP / Windows 7 without a CD/DVD rom. This tutorial is for novice users and it is extremely easy to operate and…

Sure, it already made the rounds a bit this morning, but now Toshiba has officially unveiled its 10 inch Android tablet, known as the Toshiba Folio 100. The tablet is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2010 for 399 Euros, which is about $510 US.

As expected, the Folio 100 will ship with the Google Android 2.2 operating system, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display and an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It has 16GB of internal storage, HDMI output, a 1.3MP camera, USB, WiFi, and Bluetooth capabilities and a 3G model will be released in early 2011.

The tablet measures 0.6 inches thick and weighs about 1.7 pounds.

via Engadget and Android Central

Toshiba officially introduces the Folio 100 Android tablet is a post from: Liliputing

Want to utterly overwhelmed by a deluge of new Samsung laptops and netbooks? Great, because we've just got wind of not one, not two, but four different series of portable computer from the Korean electronics deity.

[Peter Rauch] has built this meat smoker that has a touch screen control interface. His system is capable of controlling the cooking by monitoring the internal temperature of the smoker as well as the temperature of the meat itself. His touch screen interface allows him to enter his desired parameters and it basically just takes over from that point and texts him when it is done.  You’ll have to download the pdf to get to the juicy details of his build, but it is an interesting read.

It looks like he’s using a 4-loop Gefran GFX4 temp controller in conjunction with a Modbus remote terminul interface and a TS8010 HMI touchscreen for the bulk of the electronics. It even has protection limits he can set to keep his family from bumping it up to 1200 degrees.

[via Makezine]

As expected, Hannspree is showing off a new 10.1 inch notebook in advance of the IFA show in Germany this week. This is in addition to the 10 inch Android tablet the company is pushing. The folks at nDevil snagged some time with the new Hannspree HannsBook Sn10, as well as a 12.1 inch notebook called the HannsBok SN12.

The 10 inch model has a chiclet style keyboard, a 1.83GHz Intel Atom N470 CPU, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and runs Windows 7 Starter Edition.

The HannsBook SN12 has an intel SU4300 ULV processor and integrated graphics, but it can handle HD video and Hannspree has added an HDMI port to this model. It comes with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB hard drive as well as Windows 7 Home Premium.

You can find more details at nDevil, and check out a few hands-on videos after the break.

Closer look at Hannspree’s netbook, notebook lineup is a post from: Liliputing

Whenever someone manages to expose vulnerabilities in everyday devices, we love to root for them. [Adrian] over at Irongeek has been inspired to exploit barcodes as a means to attack a POS database. Based on an idea from a Pauldotcom episode, he set out to make a rapid attack device, using an LED to spoof the signals that would be received by scanning a barcode. By exposing the POS to a set of generic database attacks, including XSS, SQL Injection, and other errors easily solved by input sanitation, he has created the first version of an automated system penetration device. In this case the hardware is simple, but the concept is impressive.

With the hardware explained and the source code provided, as well as a basic un-sanitized input cheat sheet, the would-be barcode hackers have a great place to start if they feel compelled to provide a revision two.

[Thanks Robert W.]

If Samsung’s Galaxy Tab wasn’t impressive enough today, the company has just gone ahead and confirmed that their 7-inch frontrunner will be getting an upgrade to the tablet friendly Android 3.0 Gingerbread. Not only that they’ve gone ahead and spilt…