HTC grabbed everyone’s attention yesterday with the announcement of their new HTC One line of smartphones at Mobile World Congress. The HTC One X, One S and One V share many features and specs with slight differences in design and elements, such as the camera.

If this sounds familiar, it’s what Samsung has done with their Galaxy S line. Good on HTC for recognizing the value in this strategy.

I spent some time with the One series phones this morning. So far I’m impressed, particularly with the One X and with HTC Sense 4.0. Watch the hands-on video below for demos of Sense, the camera app, and the smartphone’s music chops.

(Read: HTC Unveils the HTC One Series)

Design and Hardware

The three One Series handsets look similar, but not exactly the same. They all retain what’s usually good about HTC design — simple lines, comfortably curved edges, and solid, sturdy metal feel. Even the HTC One X, which is thinner and lighter than the HTC Thunderbolt, still feels solid and substantive in the hand

The One X is the flagship of the bunch and packs all of the high-end goodies the One Series will likely be known for soon. Chris has all the details and specs in his post, but of particular note is the 4.7-inch display and 8MP camera on the back.

HTC went with a white and silver color scheme for this model that looks nice but also means it’ll show dirt easily. It’s 0.35-inches thick and weighs just 4.6 ounces, so even with the larger display you’re getting a light phone that easily slips in a pocket.

The display in question has a 1280 x 720 resolution packing into 4.7 inches which means high pixel density, crisp fonts, and nice HD video viewing. That will come in handy when viewing images from the camera, which I’ll get into in a bit.

As Chuong reported, the processor inside the version we’ll get in the U.S. (on AT&T) is not the same as the one in the global version. Overseas owners get a Tegra 3 quad-core CPU whereas we have to settle for a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core. This isn’t a major hardship and the phone appears to run just fine. It’s just knowing what could be…

The reason for the difference is that Tegra 3 doesn’t work with LTE network chips. Until it does, no LTE + quad-core Tegra. Overseas they have to settle for 3G.

Whether dual or quad-core, the One X gets 1GB of RAM.

Though there’s a generous 16GB of internal storage, the One Series phones don’t get a micro SD expansion slot, which may disappoint many who like to keep media stored on their handsets.

Moving down the line, the HTC One S has the same specs as the One X except it has a smaller display — 4.3 inches — and will run on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. The design is similar to the One X, though the color scheme is darker.

One thing to note here, and on all the One Series handsets, is the difference in buttons below the display. Instead of Menu, Home, Back and Search there’s Back, Home, and Recent Apps. It almost makes them look like Windows Phone devices.

Last is the HTC One V, which represents the “low end” of the One Series, though it’s by no means a cheap-looking, cast-off phone. The aluminum unibody design has a slight chin on the bottom that doesn’t appear to serve a practical purpose. However, it’s reminiscent of the first Google Nexus phone (designed by HTC).

Hardware differences are small and include a 5MP camera, not 8MP and a 3.7-inch display. Though they haven’t announced pricing, I suspect that the One V will appeal to the budget-conscious and people who don’t think they want a superphone, just something small and simple. They’ll get a pretty powerful device, nonetheless.

U.S. Cellular, Virgin Mobile, and Metro PCS users will get this HTC One phone, which again leads me to believe it won’t cost a lot.

I like the darker color scheme — I’m partial to black and gunmetal gray, myself. However, the chin bit at the bottom just looks extra and unnecessary.

All three handsets have a USB Host enabled micro USB port, which means users will be able to connect them to USB accessories and to an HDTV or monitor with the right adapter.

HTC Sense 4.0

These are the first three phones to launch with the new version of HTC’s Sense. Of all the Android skins out there, Sense is one of the best. (Only Samsung’s TouchWiz comes close.) As much as I like Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, it doesn’t always put important elements and functions right at your fingertips. Sense excels at this.

The biggest differences I noted during my hands-on time were how the One Series handles Recent Apps and Widgets. Plus the aforementioned hardware buttons.

Sense dispenses with the on-screen Home, Back and Recent Apps soft buttons to give back the pixels they steal. This is particularly welcome on smaller screens like those of the One V and One S. I know some of you will scream in horror at this indignity, but some of us appreciate real buttons.

Widgets are no longer integrated into the app drawer. Instead you access them the same way you do in Android 2.x, by tap and holding on a Home screen. The widget browser is ICS and does give a sense of how much space it will take up and how it looks before you place it.

HTC also added a drop-down menu so you can scroll and find available widgets that way. The list will also tell you where the widget comes from so you won’t get confused if you want to add the HTC calendar widget, not the Google one. Know the widget you want but don’t feel like scrolling through the hundreds available to you? Then search by name.

HTC also reskinned the Recent Apps list. Now instead of small thumbnails stacked on top of each other you get larger previews in a card interface. To close an app just swipe up.

Sense widgets we know and love get an update for performance and looks but remain mostly the same. The giant clock + weather widget has a new style, and there are even more clocks to choose from. Whoever loves the time over at HTC is still working there, apparently. I really like the picture frame app which has an animated mosaic of pictures you can choose from (including album art).

Camera

MegaPixels aren’t everything when it comes to the camera. You also need a good sensor and a robust app to back it up. HTC put both in the One Series phones. All three include ImageChip technology that makes even the most casual photographer able to take great pictures in many conditions.

Users get a long list of settings ranging from white balance and scene choices to ISO and exposure, just to name the big ones. You can also take pictures in rapid succession by tap-and-holding the shutter icon. Plus, the camera can take still shots while it records video.

The showroom we were in had excellent lighting so it was hard to see how well the camera did in low-light situations. Still, the pictures and video I took looked crisp and didn’t have discernible noise. Shutter and autofocus are also really fast.

I like that you can edit images right on the phone and even apply filters before or after taking the picture.

Watch the hands-on video above to see the camera in action.

Music and Beats Audio

Back when I reviewed the first HTC phone with Beats Audio, the Rezound, I expressed severe disappointment that the Beats Audio enhancements only worked in the stock Music and Video apps. I wasn’t the only one. HTC must have listened because that’s not the case on the One Series.

Beats Audio’s EQ enhancements will kick on whenever media audio plays, whether it’s in the music player, an Internet radio app, or on YouTube. It’s still a set of equalizer settings rather than a truly fundamental change in audio, but it does produce nicer audio than the average Android device.

Though these phones don’t have the same music-centric push as the Rezound, HTC takes the music experience seriously. Their music launcher provides one screen where a user can access all of their music apps, be they for playing tracks on the phone locally or streaming from the web. The music Home screen widget also incorporated SoundHound so you can identify and tag a song to download later.

Does HTC Have A Hit?

HTC had a rough year in 2011 and are clearly looking to make up for it in 2012. The One Series is an excellent step in the right direction. The real test will be when they launch and we see if the software runs as smoothly as the demos we saw today. Battery life is also a big concern, especially for the HTC One X due to the large display and LTE radio.

As for the design and HTC Sense 4.0, I see a lot to get excited about.

The company won’t talk about a release date or pricing yet, though Best Buy is taking pre-orders (no sense in waiting, right?). HTC also won’t talk about any other carriers, so Sprint and Verizon customers will just have to wait and pout. As soon as these phones hit the U.S. we will get them in for review.

In-Depth Hands-On: HTC One X and Sense 4.0 (Video) is a post by K. T. Bradford from Gotta Be Mobile.

Dell and Intel are kicking off the Ultrabook revolution with an all day photography event at the Carte Blanche Gallery in the Mission District of San Francisco.

The festivities kicked off last night with plenty of Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook demo units in the crowd and an evening hosted by Hooman Khalili, who shot a feature length film on a Nokia N8 smartphone.

Today Dell has invited a number of well known photographers including French photographer Gwen Lafage, to come down to the gallery and talk photos.

We’ll be on hand to talk with the presenters and attendees as they go hands on with the Dell XPS 13, and learn more about the art behind taking beautiful photos.

The Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook has a 13.3 inch display, but is the same size as most 11 inch notebooks.

The Dell XPS 13 is a new Ultrabook, which starts at $999. This notebook has a 13.3 inch display, but thanks to a beautiful edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass display and a thin bezel it has the footprint of most 11.6 inch notebooks. So you still have a 13 inch display for working and viewing photos, but if you were to look at the size of the notebook it is about the same as the 11 inch MacBook Air.

Inside you’ll find an Intel Core i 2nd Gen processor, 4GB RAM and up to a 256 SSD, for photographers on the go, you’ll appreciate the USB 3.0 port for connecting a fast, and spacious, external hard drive.

10:45 -  I have landed here at the beautiful Carte Blanche Gallery on Valencia St. in San Francisco and I will be covering presentations from different photographers for the next couple of hours. I promise to make it interesting.

10:50 – MacBook’s have been outlawed it seems and I am not in possession of a Dell XPS 15 Z. Extremely nice, it has been awhile since I used a Windows laptop and it’s actually pretty refreshing.

The Dell XPS 15 Z has an extremely spacious keyboard which is perfect for my freakisly large hands.

My laptop for the day.

10:59 - Some of the sights from the event. I think everyone here has had about 15 cups of coffee. And everyone seems to be enjoying the Ultrabooks as much as I am.

Who doesn’t love a good action shot?

11:10 - That’s a pretty Ultrabook.

11:26 - Still waiting on the presentations to start, assuming we’re a bit behind schedule so hang tight.

11:48 - The thing that impresses me most about these Ultrabooks is the build quality. Both the XPS 13 and XPS 15 feel fantastic and are light enough to take with me as an everyday laptop. Oh, and the Intel Core i7 processor zips.

It handles Windows 7 with ease. Side note: This is the first time I’ve used Internet Explorer since Middle School.

12:00 - And another of the Ultrabook in action.

12:14 – I’ve chatted with a couple of passersby who have stopped in to check out the happenings. I asked them what they thought of the Ultrabooks and every single one said they were impressed. In particular, they agreed with my sentiments. They loved the spacious keyboards and the large edge-to-edge displays.

I’ll have a quick video of the atmosphere here at Carte Blanche up in a second.

12:17 – Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

12:30 – I think we’re close to presentation time.

12:42 -  Finally, a presentation. Unfortunately, the photographer, John Neito could not be here but a lovely woman who represents him stood in. I’ll get a video up of part of the presentation soon but the discussion was about how John never leaves home without some piece of technology at his side.

Whether it’s a camera or a phone, his mobile devices spurn his creativity.

Here’s another video focused on how Neito utilizes technology in his work.

12:51 - There have been people shuffling in and out of here checking out the Ultrabooks and this find gentlemen below was quite intrigued by the XPS 13. Again, it’s the screen size and the small footprint that are impressing people, especially here in San Francisco where people often tote around their laptops on their backs.

1:01 - Currently listening to  Luis Delgado, an artist photographer from Mexico City who has used technology quite a bit in his work. He has a deep interest in history and politics and he has used the internet to find images for his pieces.

1:12 - He is showing off this fantastic piece which features ridiculous quotes from past Mexican presidents. Pretty hilarious and the piece looked great. He says that he’s thinking about doing one for American presidents. Please, please, please do, Luis.

You can find more of Luis’ photography and art if you head here.

1:24 -  As promised, here is the video talking a bit about how photographer John Neito incorporates technology into his work.

1:35 -  The ladies sitting in front of me are currently talking about Demi Moore and not the fine Ultrabooks and artwork that populate this room.

For shame.

1:45 - Just in case you curious about the portability of the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, here it is being handled with one hand. The XPS 15 that I am using unfortunately is a little too big to be picked up in such a manner.

2:00 – The clock has struck 2PM and that means that I have to take my leave. At least for now. We may be in attendence at the party later on tonight with some more tidbits in regards to Dell’s Ultrabooks.

Overall, the last two days have been pretty inspiring and it was nice to finally get some hands-on time with a couple of Windows-powered laptops that I don’t hate. Believe me, there are more than a few out there.

It was also interesting to hear about how these photographers and artists use technology to further their work. From Hooman Khalili’s movie shot with the Nokia N8, to Luis Delgado’s scouring of the internet to find the perfect image for a piece, their stories are inspiring.

It was inspiring for me, and  I hope it was inspring for all of you as well.

Until next time, people.

Win a Dell XPS 13

We’ve teamed up to give away a Dell XPS 13 thanks to Dell and Intel.

Here’s the hastag you need to tweet – #XPS13WIN

Head over to the XPS 13 Giveaway post for al the details.

–

The event kicks off around 10:30 Pacific. Stay tuned for updates.

Live blog post sponsored by Dell and Intel

Dell Ultrabook Gallery Live Blog: Photography Professionals is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Nothing stresses a network like a major event, and it doesn’t get much bigger than the Super Bowl. In order to prepare for the estimated 85,000 people who will descend on the Lucas Oil Stadium for Super Bowl 46 Verizon has pumped a significant part of 69 million dollars into ensuring a reliable and fast cell network.

This is the first 4G LTE Super Bowl, which means that Lucas Oil Stadium and downtown Indianapolis is packed to the rafters with the latest 4G LTE antennas and technology. In addition to the stadium, Verizon has upgraded the network in 30 downtown venues.

Verizon has packed Lucas Oil Stadium with 4G LTE for Super Bowl 46.

Verizon invited GottaBeMobile on a tour of the “most wired” stadium in the NFL, to see exactly what goes into delivering speeds fast enough to watch the Super Bowl on your phone, while you are at the game. From 3G to 4G LTE and even WiFi, Verizon has put together an impressive network.

Behind the Scenes of Super Bowl 46 with Verizon

What Does the Network Need to Handle?

The average Colts game draws 70,000 people, but the Super Bowl is expected to bring in 85,000. Much of this increase will be in the form of high demand users such as press and team staff.

Verizon has built this enhanced 4G LTE network to handle 2.5 times the traffic of a normal Colts game.

Verizon needs to handle the increased voice and data needs inside the stadium and throughout the downtown area, as well as at the Super Bowl practice field where Verizon has deployed a COW to handle the increased needs of teams and team staff.

Verizon Network Upgrades for Super Bowl 46

Verizon has deployed a mixture of solutions throughout the Lucas Oil Stadium to make sure that you can talk, text and surf on game day.

• 9 Antennas that are part of a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) outside the stadium to handle increased downtown traffic.
• 400 Antenna Internal DAS to handle 3G and 4G LTE voice and data inside the stadium.
• 600 Antenna WiFi system capable of handling 28,000 simultaneous connected users. Free for Super Bowl 46.
• 3 Cell on Wheels (COWs). Stand alone generator powered cell towers to handle the extremely high demand areas.

This COW adds network support for Super Bowl 46.

In order to understand the needs of a network during the Super Bowl, Verizon sent a team down to the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium during Super Bowl 45 to understand all the logistics involved in supporting this many users. Based on these findings, and the team’s experience with the Indy 500 and Kentucky Derby, Verizon put a plan in place, beginning work in February of 2011.

The Verizon engineers have set up the system so that as you walk up the steps to go into the Lucas il Stadium your phone will switch from the exterior DAS to the internal DAS.

By avoiding RF pollution and spillover you won’t have dead zone issues. During our tour, I was impressed with how well the network handled data while in the bowels of the stadium and as I walked out of the stadium.

While in the stadium, I was able to get an amazing 4G LTE data speed, which I was assured was real. Granted this is the result of an empty stadium and almost 69 million worth of network upgrades, but damn that’s fast.

4G LTE is Super Fast Under the Right Conditions

What Will Verizon Do On Game Day?

During the Super Bowl, Verizon will have five Test Men and Test Women walking the stadium with a small backpack testing device. Teh size of a larger camera bag, this setup can measure the network performance during the game.

These Verizon Testers can relay information to the on site personnel and to the Verizon Super Bowl Command Center, where experts can adjust network power to compensate for increased needs and game day surprises.

What Happens After the Super Bowl?

One set of 4G LTE antennas.

The best part about this upgrade is that almost everything will be left behind. When the game is over, Verizon will drive the COWs off to handle network needs in other locations, but the network upgrades to the downtown area will be left in place.

This includes the internal and external Distributed Antenna Systems, in-stadium WiFi and the improvements to downtown venus.

–

Thanks to Verizon Wireless for the behind the scene’s look at the Lucas Oil Stadium.

COW Image via Alan Petersime for Verizon Wireless

Updated to reflect more accurate amount of dollars spent.

How Verizon Prepares for the First 4G LTE Super Bowl in Indianapolis (Video) is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

It’s hard not to compare the new Kindle Touch introduced today to Barnes & Noble’s Nook Touch or even the Kobo Touch, both of which came out this spring. Amazon’s offering doesn’t bring much that’s new to the table except the Kindle experience in a sleeker package. However, Kindle fans will probably like this just fine. And even if they’re not excited about the Touch functionality, they can still go old school if they like.

The comparisons between the Kindle Touch and the Nook will abound because on the surface they look pretty similar. The dark gray coloring, the soft-touch back, the Pearl eInk display sitting in a shallow well so the infrared touch technology can sense the fingers, it’s pretty much the same on both. The Kobo has some design similarities as well. And for some reason the Kindle Touch went with a Home button that’s reminiscent of the Kobo’s, which isn’t all that pretty to begin with.

However, this doesn’t signify much except that once you go with this form factor, pioneered by Sony, there isn’t a lot you can do to differentiate without looking like you’re trying too hard. Best to keep it simple and elegant.

This Kindle is very thin and light — under 6 ounces — and could fit in a pocket. It appears to be just as easy to tote and hold as the Nook, which is a definite plus. This will make for comfortable long reading sessions.

One big different between the Nook and the Kindle Touch is that there are no page turn buttons here. All page turning happens on the screen. With the Kobo this proved to be a problem because if you switched from the right to the left hand (or started on the left) you can’t tap to turn forward. Amazon solved this problem nicely by changing the tapping zones.

Now users can tap with either the right or left thumb to turn because the majority of the screen is set to go forward when tapped. To go back a page, tap in a narrow area on the left side of the screen. You can also swipe to turn pages.

While I like the idea here, I still like physical page turn buttons. But I hope other eReader and eBook app makers pay attention to this arrangement and implement it — it’s much needed on tablets, for sure.

The only thing new about the display is the touch functionality since the underlying eInk screen is about the same. You can still read in the sunlight since Amazon implemented the same infrared touchscreen as you’ll find on the Sony Reader, Nook, and Kobo Touch.

Performance-wise, the Kindle Touch seemed very responsive in the demos we saw. It turned pages fast and moved between screens quickly. The scrolling function, while not as smooth as you’d see on an LCD display, works well for an eInk screen. There’s no physical keyboard; the on-screen keyboard proved responsive and relatively fast.

Kindle Touch Wi-Fi and 3G Version together - note that they are identical except the 3G is slightly heavier

There are two versions of the Kindle Touch: a Wi-Fi only model and one that connects via 3G. 3G service continues to be free and available world wide. Inside, there’s 4GB of internal memory.

Software-wise, the Kindle still has most of the same functionality as before (I didn’t see the browser demoed and don’t know if it still exists) with some new additions. I was particularly impressed with the new X-Ray function Amazon introduced. Including metadata that provides greater context in the books you read is a great feature. Plus, it’s available offline, so you don’t have to wait until you’re connected to see the summary, at least. There are links to even more detailed information once you’re online.

The book they demoed is a classic, so I wonder what a new book’s X-Ray will look like. And what will a science fiction or fantasy book look like? The possibilities for publishers and authors are huge with this. Let’s hope they don’t go overboard.

A word on pricing: Jeff Bezos touted the Touch’s $99 price for Wi-Fi and $149 price for the 3G version but didn’t really dwell the fact that these prices are for the ad-supported models. Amazon Offers, which now includes local offers, is supposed to be unobtrusive. They show up as the screen saver once you put the device to sleep instead of the pictures of famous authors. Otherwise, you don’t see them inside of books or in the menus.

However, if you do not want to see these ads at all, you’ll pay $139 for the Touch (same price as the Nook) and $189 for the Touch 3G. That’s a significant price hike.

I’m on the fence about the special offers version. A $99 price point is great, but I get enough ads shoved at me all the time. I don’t really want more.

The retail partners haven’t yet decided which versions they’re going to sell. It’s possible they’ll only sell the Special Offers models because they’re less expensive. A Kindle rep told us the packaging would make this aspect clear. We’ll see. He also said that users could opt out of the ads even if they buy the special offers version. He didn’t elaborate on how that would work — will you have to pay Amazon $40 to get the ads turned off?

That issue aside, it looks like the Kindle Touch is a worthy successor to the Kindle 3 (now dubbed the Kindle Keyboard and also $99 with special offers). Definitely check it out if you’re looking to upgrade. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to do a full review before the holiday shopping season ends. In the mean time, check out our hands-on video and gallery below.

Video: Amazon Kindle Touch Hands-On – Not So Different From The Nook? is a post by K. T. Bradford from Gotta Be Mobile.

At today’s launch event I didn’t get much chance to play around with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet because there were few units on display and they were carefully controlled by the army of Kindle vice presidents on hand to show it off. Why so worried, Amazon? What is it about your tablet that made people afraid to even let us hold it to see how light it is?

This kind of thing doesn’t bode well for launches. And it didn’t seem so justified. From a distance the Kindle Fire looks like a pretty sweet tablet. Maybe they’re afraid once we got into the details, the shine would start to rub off a little…

First, the good. I was able to hold the tablet for about 6 seconds to discern that the Kindle Fire is nice and light. It doesn’t look quite as comfortable to hold as the new 7-inch Galaxy Tab thanks to slightly boxy sides. However, the shape and size is very close to the BlackBerry PlayBook, which is nice to hold (despite everything else). The soft-touch back is a bonus.

The IPS display does pop some nice colors and did appear to do well with viewing angles. Text shows up nice and crisp and video playback proved smooth. The display is super glossy, though. I have my doubts about how well that’s going to do in the sunlight.

Though the room was very noisy, I was able to hear the audio in movies and music, so the volume is decent at least. You can’t expect great audio quality from a tablet, but the output demonstrated during the keynote sounded decent enough for occasional listening and audio books.

There’s only one port on the device: a microUSB on the bottom for charging and connecting to a Mac or PC. Owners will be able to sideload their own content onto the device like documents, photos and video. However, no sideloading apps — you have to get them from Amazon’s App Store.

There’s no SD card slot, either, so you’re stuck with the 8GB of internal storage. This isn’t too bad since your content is stored in the cloud. You can download media to the device for offline viewing, then archive it again once you’re done to make room for the next thing.

Performance-wise, in the demos the tablets did well on the basic stuff like scrolling through recent content on the home screen and playing video. However, when moving from one app to another or back to the home screen, I noted some lag. This may not be present in the versions that ship, though.

Inside there’s a dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP processor — probably not as good as a Tegra 2, but good enough for what users will likely do with this tablet. Fruit Ninja runs well on it, and that’s a game where you can really tell if the system is too slow to handle things. The RAM is unknown.

Amazon clearly learned a lot by studying the Nook Color. Just like Barnes & Noble’s tablet, the Kindle Fire is based on Android with a UI heavily modified to Amazon’s purposes. Specifically, the base is Android 2.3 Gingerbread, though most normal users will never see it. The good side of that is you’ll be able to use most of your favorite Android apps on it as long as they’re in the store.

The Amazon reps on hand said that the tablet will play sideloaded video via the Gallery app, so it should support any video format that stock Android supports. If so, it has a leg up on the Nook Color, as that device has some format and size limitations.

However, the Kindle Fire and Nook Color diverge in a very important way: Amazon’s tablet is meant for media. Yes, you can play games and videos on the Nook Color but the main functionality of that device is reading. Here, users will finally get tablet access to Amazon Video on Demand, something customers have wanted for a long time. Plus, you can play the MP3s in the cloud player and read Kindle books and magazines in color. Currently, the Fire’s $199 price tag is $50 below the Nook Color.

If you want to try the Kindle Fire in person before you buy, Amazon will also sell them via their retail partners starting around November 15th. There are no firm details on which partners will take the device, but you’re likely to see it in the local Best Buy if no where else. In the mean time, check out the gallery below.

Video: Kindle Fire Hands-On – Amazon’s Android Tablet Burns The Competition is a post by K. T. Bradford from Gotta Be Mobile.

©MichelleHu

Well, the rumored Samsung tablet to be handed out at Microsoft’s BUILD has been spotted, confirming both manufacturer and venue, as well as confirming that there is Intel inside.

The leak sprang from weibo.com (translated) (before reaching MobileTechWorld and ThisIsMyNext). In addition to the photo, there are YouTube videos, but these have now been marked as private. Before going private, the videos revealed a keyboard and some sort of dock. Also shown was the Intel logo on the box.

However, the only thing unique about this tablet may be the fact that it’s preloaded with Windows 8. MobileTechWorld notes the form factor and accessories appear similar to the Samsung Series 7 slate. Of course, we’re still waiting on that one to be released, so it would still be quite a deal for BUILD attendees to get their hands on one today.

Update: Samsung Series 7 was confirmed as the model at the keynote, but the developer model features additional sensors not previously recognized by Windows and 1 year of mobile broadband from AT&T. Windows 8 will support seven sensors: accelerometer, inclinometer, gyrometer, compass, ambient-light, orientation, and simple orientation. More details at istartedsomething.

Leaked Photo of Samsung Tablet Being Released at BUILD is a post by Sumocat from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple’s gone ahead and published the full 2011 World Wide Developers Conference keynote presentation. The video is available at Apple.com and runs for 118 minutes.

The 2011 WWDC keynote includes the introduction of iOS 5, iCloud and OS X Lion. With a focus on software, Apple did not introduce a new iPhone or other hardware, which has become the norm at the conference over the past few years.

The Apple WWDC keynote presentation can be viewed on any Mac or PC that has Quicktime installed. The video can also be viewed on any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

Visit Apple.com to view the WWDC keynote.

Apple WWDC Keynote Video Now Available is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple is busy announcing new Mac OS X Lion Features including a new full screen apps which are optimized for the full screen experience.

Rather than simply scale up, Apple is focusing on a better full screen experience that takes advantage of the new scrolling and gestures that allow users to move easily back and forth between apps. With the new full screen apps experience you don’t need to bother with scrollbars and trying to format your windows to full screen.

In OS X Lion, you will be able to click once to make an app full screen. These full screen features won’t be limited to apple apps, but made available to third party developers so that all apps can eventually go full screen.

Developing story. For more Apple news from WWDC including iOS 5, iCloud and Mac OS X Lion, follow our Apple News.

OS X Lion: Full Screen Apps is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

Samsung is throwing a party to celebrate the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in San Francisco and you’re invited. GottaBeMobile editors and the guys behind BetaNews, IntoMobile and PhoneArena will be co-hosting the event on June 3rd in downtown San Francisco.

This is your chance to go hands on with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 before the masses. Samsung is going to be giving away five Galaxy Tabs and five Galaxy S Android phones at the party. There are only 400 invites available, which means you have 1 in 40 odds of walking away with a free Samsung Android device.

More details and the exact location are coming soon. Visit EventBrite to register now.

Here’s a partial list of tech writers that’ll be on hand:

• Pressian Karakostov, editor-in-chief of PhoneArena
• William Park, editor-in-chief of IntoMobile
• Marin Perez, senior editor of IntoMobile
• Blake Stimac, editor of IntoMobile
• Yoeau Slivkoff, co-founder of IntoMobile
• Thomas Langridge, co-founder of IntoMobile
• Calvin Chan, lead developer of IntoMobile
• Joe Wilcox, managing editor of BetaNews
• Xavier Lanier, editor-in-chief of GottaBeMobile
• Chuong Nguyen, editor of GottaBeMobile
• Patrick Houston, editorial director of NetShelter

Win a Galaxy Tab 10.1, Hang w/ Android Geeks in San Francisco! is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple’s online store has been down for at least three hours ahead of the iPad 2 launch, suggesting the iPad 2 will be available for order immediately following the 10am announcement. Apple.com is typically takes its online store offline when it is gearing up to begin selling a new product.

A message at store.apple.com reads: “We are busy updating the store for you and will be back shortly.”

Apple has truncated the time between product announcement and availability more than any other consumer electronics company. Just last week it announced the new MacBook Pro  line and immediately began selling it online and Apple retail stores. Retail partners, such as Best Buy, were well stocked and began selling the MacBook Pro the same day.

There is a chance that Apple will only be taking pre-orders for the iPad 2, but if that’s the case they should be available pretty quickly. Apple turned off the supply spigot of the original iPad last week to retail partners and Apple likely doesn’t want to go more than a couple of days without selling one of its most popular devices.

The Apple iPad 2 event kicks off at 10am Pacific.

Apple Store Down Ahead of iPad 2 Launch is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Rumors are coming in on the eve of the iPad 2′s launch that the iPad 2 might not live up to all of the hype. It’s not that the iPad 2 will be a poor device, but rather the fact that a third-generation iPad may be released within months, ahead of the busy Christmas shopping season.

According to an unnamed Apple employee that spoke confidentially with Cult of Mac, the iPad 2 will be a rather tame speed bump update rather than something that will be cutting edge. If that’s the case, we still expect iPad sales to continue at a brisk pace and a portion of first-gen iPad users to trade up to the iPad 2. If there isn’t a huge differentiation between the iPad and iPad 2 Apple may miss out on a post-announcement iPad sales boom.

The last quarter of the year is the busiest for consumer electronics and it would make sense for Apple to put its best foot forward with a completely revamped iPad closer to then. However, a new crop of tablets are besting the first-gen iPad’s raw performance and are shipping with features that many consumers crave, such as dual cameras.

According to the Cult of Mac’s source, the iPad 2 had some issues on the road from the drawing board to final release.

As I outlined in our iPad 2 predictions roundup, the iPad 2 will likely have a faster processor, dual cameras and have a slightly new industrial design. Those features will likely prove enough for the geeks to upgrade to the iPad 2 and keep most consumers’ eyes on the it rather than the competition. The biggest move Apple could make would be to drop the entry-level price of the iPad 2 to $399 or $449. The entry-level price is what sticjs in most consumers’ minds and would widen the gap between the iPad and competitors like the the Motorola Xoom.

iPad 2 a Ho-Hum Update, iPad 3 the One to Wait For? is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple will introduce the iPad 2 tomorrow morning, putting an end to months of rumors and speculation. I’ve been following the rumors quite closely and think we have a pretty good picture of what the iPad 2 will look like and some of its features. Here’s my take on the iPad 2 rumors and what you should expect to see at the iPad 2 event. We’ll be covering the event live from San Francisco.

Below are my iPad 2 Hardware Predictions. I guarantee I’ll be right on some counts and wrong on others. Regardless, we’ll hear all about the iPad 2 starting at 10am Pacific.

iPad 2 Form Factor:

The iPad 2 will have sharper edges and a flat back, putting it more in line with the iPhone 4′s design. The iPad 2 will weigh in at the same weight as the original iPad, or slightly less. I don’t expect Apple to announce a big drop in the weight department. In what appears to be a leaked iPad 2 case design, you can see the general changes in the iPad’s exterior.

Apple will stick with the aluminum and glass construction that it uses in the majority of its products.

iPad 2 Display

The iPad 2 will be very similar in shape and appearance to the original iPad. It will almost certainly have a 9.7″ display and while it might have a slightly higher resolution display, it won’t have a Retina Display like the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4′s Retina display packs 326 pixels per inch, which is an incredibly high density. I doubt that apple will attempt to match that in the iPad 2. The iPad has a beautiful display as it is, so why mess with it? I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Apple plops a slightly better display in the iPad 2 and dubs it as a ‘Retina Display,’ but it’s not going to be the same as what you’ll see on the iPhone 4.

iPad 2 Performance

Apple will talk quite a bit about the iPad 2′s performance as it relates to video games, graphics and video performance. Processing performance will also be mentioned as it relates to multimedia apps and multitasking. Competitive products, such as the Motorola Xoom make a big fuss about performance and Apple will try to put a kibosh on competitor’s claims of superior performance. How one judges performance is in the eyes of the marketer however, so take whatever Apple says about ‘fastest, greatest, best, magical graphics’ with a grain of salt until you get to experience it yourself or the iPad 2 reaches reviewers’ hands.

iPad 2 FaceTime Camera and HD Camera

Apple will likely add both front-facing and rear-facing cameras to the iPad 2. The front-facing camera will probably have so-so specs, but it will make it possible to chat with friends who are on iPad 2′s, iPhones, iPod Touches, MacBooks and iMacs.

The new cameras will likely be the biggest differentiator between the iPad and the iPad 2. The cameras setup will be the reason why we’ll see a lot of people dumping their original iPads for the iPad 2 models.

iPad 2 Apps

A faster graphics and improved hardware will make it possible to run more immersive games and complex apps. We expect to see a handful of apps and games featured during the iPad 2 keynote. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Electronics Arts, Rovio Mobile or other big-named publishers up on stage debuting iPad 2 apps that are exclusive to iOS.

Apple will likely show revamped in-house apps tomorrow. Since there will likely be an HD camera on the back of the iPad, I’d be shocked if Apple didn’t have an iPad version of iMovie ready to roll.

iPad 2 Audio

One weak point of the original iPad is its small single speaker that isn’t quite loud enough. It’s also a mono speaker, which isn’t the best solution when watching movies in landscape mode. Headphones are virtually a must when enjoying media on the iPad for extended periods.

The new iPad 2 will likely have a larger, louder speaker so you can watch movies with a friend without having to share earbuds or plug in an external speaker.

iPad 2 Thunderbolt

The original iPad can connect to external devices via its docking connector and an extra adapter. That solution isn’t very convenient. Intel introduced Thunderbolt last week and the MacBook Pro is the first device to feature the technology. Thunderbolt ports double as DisplayPort ports and Apple’s recently started selling DisplayPort to HDMI adapters. It’d be an elegant solution to be able to plug the iPad 2 directly into an HDTV or Apple Display with a single cable, such as the Kanex model Apple now sells. Did I mention Apple tapped Kanex for an exclusive on the DisplayPort to HDMI cable?

A thicker edge, as we expect on the iPad 2, would accomodate the Thunderbolt port. Here’s what the Thunderbolt port looks like on the new MacBook Pro (3rd port from the right).

iPad 2 Price

The highest price I expect to see for the entry-level iPad is $499. With more competition on the way, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Apple dropped the entry-level price to just $399.

Apple often introduces products at high price points before making them more accessible with the introduction of second iterations. It wasn’t all that long ago that a MacBook Pro cost at least $2,000. Now a MacBook Pro can be had for $1,199. The original iPhone was $599, but the price dropped just a few months later. You can now get a free refurbished iPhone 3GS or pay $49 for a new one with a 2-year AT&T contract.

Apple’s in a unique position to undercut the competition for several reasons. It currently dominates the tablet market, which means it can use economies of scale to its advantage. It also has its own string of more than 300 retail stores that will of course carry the iPad no matter what. There’s no shortage of retailers willing to jump on board, even if margins on the iPad 2 are slim to none. iPad buyers are famous for buying tons of extra accessories, which usually have fat profit margins.

iPad 2 3G Options

The iPad 2 will certainly have AT&T 3G options and I’m pretty sure Verizon will be getting into the mix. Verizon is already selling the current generation iPad as part of an iPad/MiFi bundle. That solution is less elegant. The big coup here will be if Apple can convince Verizon to sell its wireless service in the same way AT&T does for iPad users. That is on a month-to-month contract-free basis.

The iPad 2 will not have Verizon 4G LTE as some people have guessed.

iPad 2 Availability

Apple’s cut off sales of the original iPad to retailers. With stock running low, iPad shoppers will be out of luck. Apple won’t go long without giving eager shoppers a chance to give them more cash. We wouldn’t be surprised if Apple began selling the iPad 2 tomorrow or the next day. That may sound fast, but that’s exactly what Apple did when it announced the new line of MacBook Pros and started selling them the same day. In fact, I’m writing this article on the MacBook Pro I bought from Best Buy hours after the announcement.

iPad 2 Promotions

Expect a full-court press from Apple’s marketing tomorrow onwards for the iPad 2. We’ll see a full smattering of iPad 2 commercials, ads and product placements. The Apple iPad 2 will make its way onto late-night shows and news programs within days of its launch. We’ll also see giant billboards plastering cities where tons of iPads are already sold, such as San Francisco and New York. Verizon and AT&T will likely run their own iPad 2 marketing campaigns to further bolster the new tablet device.

Within a couple of weeks we’ll start hearing from numerous app developers, case makers and headphone designers, all with the ‘perfect’ solution for your new iPad 2.

Apple iPad 2 Predictions is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

All Things D is reporting that Apple will hold an event on March 2nd in San Francisco to launch the second generation iPad. The timing of the event negates earlier reports that the iPad 2 would be delayed until this fall.

While invites haven’t gone out yet, Kara Swisher cites sources ‘close to the situation’. I’ll take Swisher’s word for this as her and her WSJ colleagues are extremely well connected to the Apple ecosystem.

So what are we expecting in the new Apple iPad? A faster processor and more storage are almost guaranteed. There’s been a lot of speculation about a higher resolution display, but if the leaked iPad 2 case design are any indication, the screen will have the same physical size.  We’re also expecting a larger speaker and a front-facing camera for Facetime. A rear facing camera will likely be included as well.

As with most Apple events, the company will likely take the opportunity to introduce accessories, showcase some new apps and talk about the success of its iOS products.

There’s no word what Apple will call the new iPad, but it probably won’t be iPad 2 as many of us are calling the yet to be announced device. Apple typically tacks on descriptive characters or words to highlight devices’ new features that differentiate them from previous models.

Apple iPad 2 Event on March 2nd? is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

If you have a couple of hours to kill and didn’t get enough of all of yesterday’s WebOS device news, feel free to watch the below video. Otherwise, you can check out our coverage from the event, including hands on video of the HP TouchPad, HP Veer and HP Pre 3.

As we reported yesterday, there was no mention of the TouchPad’s exact release date or pricing, but you can watch if you don’t believe us.

The Complete HP ‘Think Beyond’ WebOS Event (video) is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

I finally got to spend some time taking a look at the Kno at CES 2011. For those of you not in the Kno, the dual screen tablet is supposed to be the e-textbook and note-taking device of the future. As much as I hated lugging around textbook back in college, I don’t think this device is the right answer to the problem of lugging physical textbooks around campus.

First of all, this thing is huge. Anyone that’s ever used a 14″ Tablet PC understands how difficult it can be to hold it steady and ink at the same time. Now imagine trying to do that with another 14″ Tablet PC hinged to the side of it. I have no clue how students will manage to read and take notes in the classroom with the dual-screen Kno on their small desks.

The Kno reps I talked to repeatedly insisted that the Kno is a much more portable solution compared to lugging several textbooks around. When I asked them about using eReaders instead, they explained that students need to be able to view entire textbook pages at 100% without having to scroll around the page and that 97% of all textbooks can be viewed in their full glory on the 14″ tablet.

Apparently, textbook publishers aren’t keen on completely reformatting all of their books for electronic devices. Thus, the Know is centered around the book paradigm. I think students would be better served with more portable devices, but publishers would need to offer more than what amounts to scanned pages.

The Kno just went on sale and this is the company’s first product. The company has raised almost $60 million and has some pretty influential backers. Kno has the potential to shake things up and help kill off the dreaded textbook, but it needs to make a more mobile solution. The single screen version of the Kno is definitely a step in the right direction.

I Don’t Kno About This… is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Speck introduced a pair of rugged iPhone 4 case at CES 2011. The ToughSkin has two layers of protection, including a rubber layer to soften drops. The inner layer of the case is rigid. The ToughShell has three layers of protection and is designed for those who abuse their iPhones the most, including first responders and those who work in rough environments.

The Speck ToughSkin comes with a holster and will sell for $39.95.

The Speck ToughShell is relatively easy to assemble for such a protective case.  It will retail for $49.95 starting at the end of the January.

CES 2011: Speck ToughSkin & ToughShell iPhone 4 Cases is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

ArtRage is showing off its painting applications at CES. While the best I can manage to draw on an iPad is something that resembles a first grader’s finger painting, some artists can create some really good looking stuff.

Here’s a photo of ArtRage for iPad in action at CES 2011. As I watched the artist creat this portrait I was really impressed by the level of control he had with the paintbrush he was using as a stylus.

ArtRage for iPad Demo at CES 2011 is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

NEC had a prototype of the LT-W on hand in Las Vegas at an event last night. The device is comprised of a pair of 7″ resistive-touch displays and runs on Android. The mobile OS has been customized to work with the dual display setup. On the back of the left display is a 3MP camera. Inside the LT-W is an ARM Cortex A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1.

The NEC LT-W is definitely a cool concept, but NEC’s not quite ready to talk about actually selling the thing.

NEC LT-W Dual Screen Android Tablet at CES 2011 (video) is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Leaving expensive gadgets in hotel rooms can be stressful. While I’ve never had a gadget go missing from a hotel room, I always worry that a bad guy will swipe anything that I leave out. I was pleasantly surprised by the safes in our hotel rooms at the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. They’re large enough to hold a pair of 15″ laptops or other large items. The really cool part of the safe is that there’s a pair of AC outlets built into it. That means I can lock down and charge my 15″ MacBook Pro when I go hit the show floor.

Palazzo Hotel Safes are Geek Friendly is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

End of the year means it’s time to fill out of those “Best of” lists, and Freescale is back at it with their hunt for the top 20 Smart Mobile Device Pundits of 2011. Back in the running is your friend and ours, 2010 “SmartPundit”, Warner Crocker. Will he make the cut? It’s up to you!

Starting now through the end of the year, Freescale is looking for your nominations for the “must-read, front-line informants – media, analysts and bloggers alike – following the breaking news, reviews and points of views we care most about.” The Top 20 will be announced at CES on Friday, January 7, 2011. To help you pick, they’ve re-posted last year’s list and offered some additional suggestions.

Great list of people they’ve chosen and suggested, including many of our friends and folks we follow. Changes in peoples’ status since last year should lead to some changes in the next list, but I hope you agree Warner should stay on it and demonstrate your support with your nominations. He’s been working as hard as ever to share news and offer his insights, holding his ground as a stalwart of mobile computing. Whether you agree or not, please pop over to Freescale’s nomination site and cast your vote.

Freescale’s picking their 2011 Smart Mobile Device Pundits – Help Warner Make the List! is a post by Sumocat from Gotta Be Mobile.