Tablet PC

ARCHOS this week unveiled two new tablet PCs, the 8-inch ARCHOS 80 G9 with a 1024 x 768 screen resolution and 10-inch ARCHOS 101 G9 (1280 x 800). Featuring a fast 1.5 GHz dual-core OMAP 4 processor and Seagate's 250GB hard drive, these are the first tablets to include physical hard drives on board.

The G9 tablets run Android Honeycomb 3.1 and have your typical tablet specs – support for Adobe Flash, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 720p front camera, access to the Android Market – but they also include a full-size USB port where you can insert the (optional) ARCHOS 3G Stick, which provides 3G connectivity. Now you don't have to choose between a Wi-Fi or 3G model. For a $49 upgrade, the 3G stick gives you 3G connectivity with a Pay-As-You-Go 3G Plan – so you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Both models also include HDMI output and support 1080p HD video playback.

The 8- inch ARCHOS 80 G9 and 10-inch ARCHOS 101 G9 will be available at the end of September. The 8-inch tablet starts at $279 and 10.1-inch starts at $349 – much cheaper than the competition!

Motorola on Wednesday announced the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi edition. Priced at $599 and packing 32GB of memory, it just may give the iPad 2 a run for its money.

This 10.1-inch widescreen HD tablet is powered by Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and supports a Beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.2. It also has access to all the latest Google Mobile services such as Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, Google eBooks and apps from Android Market.

The MOTOROLA XOOM Wi-Fi will be available on March 27, 2011 at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam's Club (select locations), Staples and Walmart. The MSRP for Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi with 32 GB of memory will be $599.

"MOTOROLA XOOM is a truly innovative tablet – its design, coupled with being the first tablet to have Android 3.0, results in a user experience that is one-of-a-kind," said Dan Papalia, vice president of retail sales for Motorola Mobility. "We are now continuing to expand the choices available to consumers with the MOTOROLA XOOM Wi-Fi to be available soon from numerous leading retailers in the United States."

For more information, visit www.motorola.com/mobility.

ViewSonic on Monday announced that the ViewPad 10, a 10.1-inch dual-boot tablet that supports both Windows 7 and Android, is now available. It features a capacitive multi-touch 1024x600 LCD screen, high speed Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor, 2GB of memory, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam.

Use the Windows 7 option to access Flash-based content and programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Acrobat. Switch to Android 1.6 for applications like Facebook, Twitter, fast web surfing and more. Connectivity options include built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, mini VGA port and Micro SD slot (for up to 32GB expandable memory).

The ViewPad 10 is now available, running Android 1.6 and either Windows 7 Home Premium (with a 16GB SSD hard drive - $599) or Windows 7 Professional (with a 32GB SSD hard drive - $679). Visit ViewSonic.com for more information.

Verizon and Motorola announced on Tuesday that beginning February 24, 2011 the Motorola XOOM will be available at Verizon for $599.99 with a new two-year customer agreement or $799.99 without a contract. Wireless 3G data service for the Motorola XOOM will start at $20/month for 1GB. The Motorola XOOM will be upgradeable to 4G LTE service at no additional charge in the second quarter of 2011.

The first device to run Google's new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, the Motorola XOOM is built around a 1GHz dual-core processor and 10.1-inch widescreen HD display. It features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats, as well as a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD.Read more

This week at Mobile World Congress HTC announced its first tablet, the HTC Flyer. This 7-inch Android tablet features a 1.5GHz single-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of flash storage, 1024 x 600 resolution, 5 megapixel camera rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front camera, HSPA+ support, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Memory is expandable via a microSD card, and its 4000mAh battery touts four hours of continuous video playback. Making the Flyer different from other tablets, this one includes a battery-powered stylus which allows you to "write" on the device and take advantage of HTC's new version of Sense.

A new video download service, HTC Watch, will launch on the Flyer which gives you access to low-cost on-demand downloading of HD movies from major studios. HTC Watch will collaborate with OnLive to also launch a cloud-based mobile gaming service, the first on a tablet. In addition, HTC has a new app, Notes, which is used with the stylus, allowing you to paste and annotate text and photos, and then sync them wirelessly to Evernote.Read more

Best Buy on Monday launched a Buy Back Program created for those who want to have the most current electronics. With the Buy Back Program, Best Buy will "buy back" your laptop, netbook, tablet, mobile phone, or television anytime within 2 years of purchase (4 years for TVs), and give you a Best Buy gift card (see value schedule below) to use towards another purchase.

The Buy Back Program is purchased when you buy your new devices, with pricing based on the product category. For example, Buy Back protection for a laptop, netbook or tablet is $69.99.

Different from other retail trade-in programs, you don't have to wait for re-payment and can immediately apply money from your Buy Back product to the purchase of new products at Best Buy. You'll know exactly what you'll be paid up front, based on the following Buy Back Program value schedule: Read more

The Motorola XOOM tablet garnered lots of attention at CES this week...and with good reason! Available at Verizon Wireless in the second quarter of 2011, this 10.1-inch widescreen HD tablet features Google's new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, a dual-core processor (each core running 1GHz), 32GB of onboard storage, a 5-megapixel camera, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, along with 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR connectivity. To top it all off, the device is said to have a battery life that can support 10 hours of video. The XOOM will launch as a 3G/Wi-Fi-enabled device in Q1 2011 with an upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2.

Pricing has not yet been announced. Read the press release below for additional information. Read more

Samsung Mobile will be offering a Wi-Fi-only version of their Galaxy Tab, providing a cheaper alternative 3G model that's currently available. Due to hit the U.S. in the first quarter of 2011, the Wi-Fi only Galaxy Tab will basically have the same features of the 3G model, just no 3G connectivity (or monthly contract!).

The Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and features a 7-inch TFT display with 1024 x 600 WSVGA resolution, a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera, as well as a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder for video chat. It includes 16GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion for up to 32GB of additional storage) and supports Adobe Flash Player 10.1.

Additional features:

• Daily Briefing: Offers instant access to weather, news, stocks, and schedules.
• AllShare DLNA Technology: Take video or pictures shot with Galaxy Tab and send the original content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices (HDTVs, laptops, PC monitors, etc.)
• Document Viewer & Editor: Open and make changes to any Word, Excel, Powerpoint or PDF document
• 4,000 mAh Battery: Super-sized battery provides ample power to watch movies, share content and surf the Web

This week at 2011 International CES, T-Mobile and LG Mobile Phones unveiled the upcoming Android Honeycomb-powered T-Mobile G-Slate with Google, by LG. Expected to be available in coming months, the G-Slate will be the first 4G tablet from the two companies powered by Android 3.0, the upcoming version of Google's Android platform optimized for tablets.

The T-Mobile G-Slate will be one of the first 4G tablets to feature the Android 3.0 platform, which was designed for devices with larger screen sizes, like tablets. The Honeycomb user experience improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. It will also feature the latest Google Mobile innovations including Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, more than 3 million eBooks and Google Talk with video and voice chat.

That's all we know for now. Additional product details will be released at a later date.