Well as we all know Tablet PCs are the in-thing. We tell you enough about them here on MightyGadget but that’s just because everyone else seems to want a part of them. If you want to blame someone blame Apple for the iPad, simple. The next one in line is the Motorola Xoom another Android 3.0 toting device shown off this week at CES. Not only did Motorola show it (obviously) but Google’s main man Andy Rubin actually used this tablet pre-Motorola showing, to show off Android 3.0, read into that what you will, but i reckon he thinks it’s pretty good. I’m sure you will too.

Speccage :

• Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual-Core (yes Tegra 2 Dual-Core) processor.
• 10.1” 1280 x 800p display (16:9 cinema aspect ratio too)
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS
• 2MP Front Facing Camera
• 5MP Rear-Facing Camera
• 720p Video Capture
• Full Adobe Flash 10.1 compatability
• 32GB on board storage expandable via microSD
• WiFi and 3G as standard

Now as you can see ther this surely is a tablet to be reckoned with, everything about it screams greatness from the dual-core processor to the Flash support to the new Android OS. Motorola have said the XOOM “redefines the tablet device category by providing more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive on the go”. They have also said it will be available in the States in the first quarter of this year but haven’t named any prices as yet or when we will get a UK release.

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CES : Another Android 3.0 Tablet–Motorola XOOM

Tablets are the latest craze and it’s certainly showing. Like the iPod spanned a million rival mp3 players (even though they already existed) the iPad has put the tablet PC to everyone’s attention and thus everyone wants a part of the market despite the fact they were already around, just that nobody cared till Steve Jobs’ boys released one. Anyway enough ranting there got two new “slates” for you here at opposite ends of the spectrum. One a low end budget tablet much like the Disgo and the “Next” one we spoke about last month and the other a more expensive affair from the boys at HP.

The first is the Elonex eTouch. Announced yesterday by Toys R Us that they would stock this super cheap Android OS 2.1 powered tablet PC. Housing a 1GHz ARM 11 processor and a 2GB SSD as internal mameory which can be expanded with microSD support. Available in 7” and 10” they also have miniUSB, USB 2.0 and a 3.5mm jack for connectivity. Price wise your looking at £89.99 for the 7” and £149.99 for the 10”.

The second, the HP 500 isn’t really looking at cornering the iPad market of the casual user but more of the business type. Powered by an Intel Atom processor this slate actually runs Windows 7 so rather than simple app use you can use any Windows based programs at your leisure. Give it 2GB of RAM and a super 64GB SSD of space and then throw in FullHD video support on its 8.9” screen or with it’s HDMI out you can sling it to your gogglebox. It also has a front facing camera for video/Skype calling too. However this isn’t cheap as chips but at around £500 in the states it isn’t that bad a price. However HP are working on a whole range of tablets soon that will run webOS. Is it worth holding on for them

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Slates galore : I’m not talking about roofing

The Acer Revo is touted to hit the nettop market with a storm next month so it is no surprise that Asus are going to release a competitor to the Revo shortly afterwards in June.

Dubbed as the EeeBOX B208, the nettop is powered by Intel’s Atom 330 processor with ATI Radeon HD 4350 256MB video card, a 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 10GB Eee Storage. Other specs are include 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, built-in card reader, 4 USB ports, HDMI out, DVI-D port, Bluetooth, and a built-in battery with UPS function.

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Asus EeeBOX B208 to arrive in June

The Acer Hornet nettop has had quite a bit of press attention recently as it is one of the first machines that is claimed to use NVIDIA’s Ion Platform and will offer Wii like motion sensitive gaming.

Some specifications have been leaked confirming some of the features along with some other interesting details.

It will support 1080p video playback over HDMI. A “Media Center” version will come with a Wii-like remote that can be used for gaming as well as media control.

Price range will be $149-$299 with the low end model pairs what sounds like an Atom N230 with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB drive preloaded with Vista Home Basic, while higher end models get 2GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, and a “Boxshell” quickboot OS in addition to Vista Home Premium.

It should also operate at less than 26dB which means it will be almost silent for the majority of people as ambient noise levels in a home are around 20-25 dBA.

Personally I don’t think it is much of a looker but luckily its diamond-shaped chassis designed to hang off the back of your flatscreen.

If it really can handle 1080p fine and come in at the quoted prices I will definitely by buying one of these!

via Engadget

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Acer Hornet nettop: 1080p HDMI playback Wii-like gaming, $299

MSI’s new WindTop AE1900 all-in-one PC has now been officially launched. The nettop boasts a 19-inch 16:9 LCD, an Intel Atom 230 CPU, up to 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. It’s also got a DVD burner, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, WiFi, four USB ports, and a 4-in-1 card reader.

MSI also says that the AE1900 will only use 45 watts of power during full operation and will never exceed noise levels of 26dB.

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MSI WindTop AE1900 All-in-one PC Launched