The Apple iPad is landing in just over a week on April 3. We hear that CBS.com are currently working on bringing their video content to the iPad in the form of HTML5. This would mean that the normal flash videos that can be viewed on the CBS site through a regular browser will actually be converted to the HTML5 format allowing content to still be played on the Apple [AAPL] device.

The information arrives after the CBS site was spotted to include a couple of “iPad – test” video links. MacRumors decided to run a test to see if they functioned as the name suggested and found that they were just redirected to the normal flash videos. They did however note that when either using the iPad SDK simulator, or by spoofing the browser agent on a PC/Mac to make it look like you were viewing the content on an iPad, that a different version of the video was displayed (image smaller above and larger below). [Read more…]

HP have made the HP EliteBook 8740w official now by making an announcement. The new laptop built by HP is quite a beast of a laptop in terms of processing power.

The HP 8740w is powered by either an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. Has either an ATI FirePro M7820 or an NVIDIA Quadro FX GPU installed which both have 1GB of DDR3 memory installed. A 320GB hard drive spinning at 7200rpm can be found inside. The display on the 8740w measures 17 inches and is classed as a Dreamcolor display (although that is an optional upgrade). DreamColor is capable of displaying more than 1 Billion colours which HP say is 64 times more than other screens.

Support for up to 16GB of memory is available for the laptop. A USB 3.0 connector can also be found on the laptop allowing for highspeed transfers between compatible USB 3.0 devices. [Read more…]

T-Mobile have announced that they are offering the Dell Mini 10 netbook with a built in T-Mobile compatible 3G service.

The netbook is going on sale today for $199.99 on a 24 month contract in various select areas in the US which includes Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Los Angeles. It will also be available through the website and through T-Mobile’s sales number.

The Dell Mini 10 appears to be slightly modified from the standard ones available on the Dell website in that it runs an Intel Atom N450 processor that is clocked at 1.66GHz. The battery has six cells and can store 56WHr of energy allowing for up to 8 hours of usage on a single charge which we assume was tested with all features switched off such as Wireless as well as a fairly dim screen. Either way you should at least get 6 hours from a single charge. [Read more…]

So we’re not far away from the US launch of the Apple iPad Wi-Fi version… coming April 3 which is under 2 weeks away. Apple [AAPL] are giving discounts on the iPad for educational institutions whereby they get a certain amount of cash off the price of an iPad when purchased in bulk, ie in boxes of 10 in a single box.

The various price configurations are shown below that show savings of around $200 (or $20 per iPad) on the Wi-Fi 16GB version. Although not a big saving at least it’s a saving.

BF822LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (16GB) $4,790
BF825LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (16GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad Auto Enroll $5,580
BF823LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (32GB) $5,790
BF826LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (32GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad Auto Enroll $6,580
BF824LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (64GB) $6,790
BF827LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (64GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad Auto Enroll $7,580

[Read more…]

Over in Japan, the Hallods eT4300 HD PMP has been launched. The device has a 4.3 inch screen that can display 800 x 480 pixels and has a HD video output for playing 720p content on HDTV devices.

The device weighs just 150 grams and measures 72mm x 111mm x 15mm and comes with 8GB of internal storage. Memory capacity of the device is 8GB although that can be expanded by making use of the SD/SDHC memory card slot providing another storage area for files.

The battery on the eT4300 PMP allows for 3 hours of video playback or 13 hours of audio playback. A number of file formats are also accepted which include all the common ones such as AVI, FLV, MOV and MP4 to name a few. [Read more…]

ASUS have updated another one of their Eee netbooks to include the newer Intel Atom N450 CPU. The netbook is known as the ASUS Eee 1001PX and runs the N450 at 1.66GHz. Memory wise it has 1GB of RAM and the casing has also had an upgrade and is now made of carbon-fiber.

Two variations of the ASUS 1001PX are being created with the first running Windows XP which will have a 160GB hard drive and a three cell battery capable of about 5 hours of usage. The other model runs Windows 7 and has a 250GB hard drive along with a 6 cell battery capable of 9 hours of usage between charges.

The physical casing is the same regardless of buying the Windows 7 or XP version and each has three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, 10/100 Ethernet port as well as a mic/headphone jack and a memory card reader. [Read more…]

MSI have introduced the MSI P600 laptop that is aimed at the business user. The P600 has a 15.6 inch screen, an Intel Core i5 processor and uses onboard Intel GMA HD graphics.

The P600 can take up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and up to a 500GB 2.5″ HDD. Other HD capacities include 250GB and 320GB on the lower end models.

A memory card reader is built in allowing for SD/SDHC and MMC cards to be read. Outputs on the laptop include a HDMI port and VGA output. For inputs a couple of USB 2.0 ports can be found alongside an eSATA port, mic-in/headphones jack and an Ethernet port. [Read more…]

The WePad (perhaps a play on the iPad but in a plural form) is built by a German company called Neofonie. The WePad has an 11.6 inch display that has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Inside the device is fairly standard hardware that includes an Intel Atom N450 processor that runs at 1.66GHz along with onboard GMA 3150 graphics. (ie, it’s a netbook without the keyboard).

The battery is good to power the device for about 6 hours (compared to 10 that the iPad gives). Notable features include a webcam, 2 USB ports and a flash card reader allowing for video calls to be made, accessories to be added (such as a keyboard or mouse, and storage expansion if needed. A modem is also included. [Read more…]

Amazon have launched another Kindle app, this time the application works on tablet based devices which includes the yet to be launched Apple iPad.

The applications include whispersync that allows notes and details of where you are reading to be synchronised with other Kindle apps or the actual Kindle it’s self.

Kindle for tablets allows you to fully control the screen brightness and change background colours and font sizes within the app to allow for more comfortable reading in varying light conditions.

Page turn animation replicates the look of turning a page in a book. Or choose Basic Reading Mode for a simpler and unadorned reading experience.

[Read more…]

ASUS have had the number 1 spot in Amazon’s top netbook list for a long time now. The latest to take the top spot is the ASUS Eee 1005PE that’s a slight upgrade to the ASUS Eee 1005HA that previously had the top spot.

The 1005PE is an Intel Atom N450 netbook that has the usual specs such as a 1.66GHz processor along with 1GB of DDR2 memory (allowing for 2GB max), a 250GB SATA Hard drive spinning at 5400RPM along with a 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 display and fast wireless connectivity at 802.11b/g/n speeds.

One of the impressive features of the ASUS 1005PE netbook is it’s 11 hour battery life allowing a full days work to be completed without having to plug it in. [Read more…]

Back towards the end of February we came across a review of the ASUS T101MT netbook tablet that although was excellent, it had quite a bad bug in that the top inch or so of the screen just didn’t respond to touch correctly with the accuracy being way out. Another model has since shipped since the pre-production review unit and we now hear that all is actually working perfect which is good to hear.

The ASUS T101MT is an Intel Atom N450 tablet device that runs at 1.66GHz. For graphics it has an on-board Intel GMA 3150 graphics chip. The T101MT comes with 2GB of RAM installed and for storage it has a 320GB hard drive which is complimented by ASUS’ online EEE storage giving another several hundred GB of storage space. [Read more…]

Earlier today, Apple updated their online store to add the Apple iPad ready for pre-order on to the virtual shelves.

Along with the pre-order update that came a few features also slipped through that were just noticed now. The main one I will mention here is a screen rotation lock button that allows you to lock the screen from rotating automatically.

You might wonder why this is important, but if you have used a phone that features auto rotation and tried reading while in bed for example, the screen automatically rotates and it’s basically annoying unless you whip through the menus and turn the feature off. [Read more…]