Rugged tablets are on the march. DRS Technologies is deploying three new models, a slimmed-down update to the Windows 7-based X7, one with a similar body running the Android OS, and a good old Windows 7 convertible.

Up first is the ARMOR X7et. It’s a leaner (possibly meaner) version of the X7 I reviewed last year. It’s lighter at 1.5 lbs. but still just as rugged with MIL-STD-810G and IP65 certifications. It also appears to drop the dual hot-swappable batteries for a single one and runs a lighter Intel® Atom™ Z670 1.5 GHz processor.

In a new twist for the company, DRS is also releasing an Android-based rugged tablet, the ARMOR X7ad. The body styling is very similar but not identical to te X7et. Notably it is slightly smaller and lighter at 1.3 lbs. It runs Android 3.2 on a NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 1.0 GHz Dual Core Processor. Both it and the X7et feature 7.0″ 1280 x 800 Transmissive 400 nit LED displays for outdoor readability and capacitive multi-touch input.

Rounding out the trio is a convertible Windows 7 notebook tablet, the ARMOR X12kb. This is your typical workhorse rugged Windows 7 notebook powered by an Intel Core i5 1.33 GHz processor. Its 12.1″ 1280 x 800 display is outdoor-readable like the others but with a dual digitizer for pen+touch input. Full press release and promo video below.

DRS Tactical Systems Introduces Three New ARMOR™ Rugged Tablet Computers

PARSIPPANY, NJ, MAY 21, 2012 – DRS Technologies, Inc. a Finmeccanica Company, announced today that its Tactical Systems division has expanded its product portfolio. The ARMOR™ X7et and the ARMOR™ X7ad are new, thin, lightweight tablets based on customers requesting even more portable computers from ARMOR™. These sleek, 7” multi-touch tablets shatter the perception of bulky, rugged computing and offer field service workforces the ability to choose between the fast-growing Android OS and the enterprise-friendly Microsoft® Windows platform.

“With the launch of these products, we responded to customer feedback and are capitalizing on our highly-successful ARMOR™ X7 compact rugged tablet form factor, launched last year. At the same time, we’ve addressed growing interest in the Android™ platform,” said Mike Sarrica, president of Network and Communication Solutions (NCS) and general manager for DRS Tactical Systems.

The ARMOR™ X7et is a Windows-based tablet that weighs just under 1.5 lbs and provides six hours of battery life. It features an Intel® Atom™ Z670 processor and runs Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional. Its Android counterpart, the ARMOR™ X7ad, weighs 1.3 lbs. and operates for up to eight hours. It features a NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2, 1.0Ghz dual core processor and operates on Android™ v3.2. Both lightweight tablets feature a 7” outdoor-readable multi-touch screen display. They are certified to MIL-STD 810G for extremes in temperature, vibration, shock and four-foot drops and have an IP65 rating for ingress protection, which means they are fully protected against dust and can withstand low pressure jets of water from all directions.

Additionally, DRS is now offering a new convertible tablet, the ARMOR™ X12kb, the lightest convertible tablet in the marketplace that meets MIL-STD-810G. Weighing 5.5 lbs., it features a 12.1” sunlight-readable swivel touch-screen that incorporates polarized LCD glass and anti-reflective technology. The ARMOR™ X12kb offers the Intel Core™ i5-560UMCPU processor and runs Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional. It has a long battery life, operating for up to eight hours, as well as a spill proof keyboard and touchpad. Additionally, the one-click stealth mode operation disables all emitting light and sounds, a feature that is designed for the unique applications of covert operations.

The three new ARMOR™ mobile computers include robust connectivity options including Gobi® Wireless Broadband, integrated GPS, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth® wireless. They are simply designed to make it easier for workers to use mobile computing, even in rugged environments.

“Our new 7” tablets and the new 12” convertible tablet build on DRS’ many years of experience in developing mobile solutions for field service, manufacturing, transportation, public safety and other industries. They expand the capabilities of the ARMOR™ family of Rugged Mobile Solutions by meeting the evolving needs of today’s mobile enterprise,” added Sarrica. Information about product specifications, features, and benefits are available at http://www.drsarmor.com/products.

Three New ARMOR Rugged Tablets Deploy, Two Windows and an Android is a post by Sumocat from Gotta Be Mobile.

When it comes to mission critical field work, rugged Tablet PCs capable of running Windows and connecting to mobile networks beat consumer tablets.

MobileDemand announced that the rugged xTablet 7000 is Gobi 3000 certified, and capable of connecting to 3G networks globally.

The Gobi 3000 equipped tablets include GPS and the ability to connect at speeds of 14.4 Mbps down and 5.76Mbps up. The xTablet 7000 is certified with Verizon and T-Mobile.

The xTablet rugged Windows tablets are often used in field work, transportation and public sector organizations.

“Many of our customers have field operations that are mission-critical to their business.” says, Bob Zink, MobileDemand Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, explaining the need for reliable speedy mobile connectivity. Zink adds, “With the xTablet T7000 with Gobi 3000, they can extend enterprise applications beyond the four walls so that mobile workers can get the information they need to be more efficient and productive at the point of work.”

The MobileDemand xTablet 7000 is MIL-STD 810G compliant with an Ingress Rating of IP65, which means this tablet is capable of surviving, pressured water, temperature extremes, rain, humidity, salt, sand, dust, shock, vibration and 26 consecutive drops up to 5 feet.

That’s a lot of abuse.

The Red Bull Racing team uses the xTablet 7000 tablets to coordinate on the race track as they prepare for NASCAR races. Check out how they use rugged MobileDemand tablets in the video below.

For more on how these tablets are used by the Red bull NASCAR team, check out our day at the track with Red Bull and MobileDemand, and watch the xTablet 7000 survive abuse at the track below.

–

MobileDemand xTablet T7000 Rugged Tablet PC is Gobi 3000 Certified is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

Today Lenovo officially unveiled the X1 Carbon, the world’s lightest 14″ notebook. Weighing in at three pounds and with a strong dose of creature comforts, the X1 Carbon is the kind of notebook companies that care about their employees should buy.

The X1 Carbon is similar to the 13.3″ ThinkPad X1 that Lenovo released last year, but with several  key improvements.

The most obvious is the new 14″ display, with 1600 x 900 pixel resolution. A 14″ display means users don’t have to sacrifice screen real estate when moving from a standard 14″ business notebook such as the ThinkPad T420. The X1 Carbon has the same footprint as its predecessor.

I got to go hands-on with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and absolutely loved how it felt. The keyboard is 100% ThinkPad and it feels even lighter than it looks. Those considering a 12″ business notebook such as the ThinkPad X220 will want to at least take a look at the X1 Carbon before making a decision.

Battery life is improved on the new X1 Carbon compared to the original X1. One killer feature is that the X1 Carbon can be charged to 80% in just 30 minutes.

Another beautiful thing about the X1 Carbon is that it comes with built-in 3G. No long-term contract is required to hop online via 3G since Lenovo is partnering with carriers to offer pay-as-you-go wireless service. A company representative even hinted at hourly  access for a couple of bucks.

Lenovo didn’t assign an arbitrary name to this notebook, as is generally the case with smartphones these days. The X1 Carbon actually has a carbon fiber roll cage that protects its innards without adding much weight at all.

The X1 Carbon is the kind of notebook people can fall in love with. Sure, it’ll cost a little more than traditional business notebooks, but companies will surely see positive ROI’s as workers will be able to be more productive and take the X1 anywhere.

Visit Notebooks.com for more details and photos of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a Winner is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

HP introduced dozens of new products today including two notebooks built for road warriors. The HP EliteBook 2170p has a small footrprint thanks to an 11.6″ display.  The HP EliteBook Folio is a business ultrabook that can be configured with 4G LTE.

The  2170p’s small dimensions make it an ideal choice for business travelers that need to get things done wherever they travel. At 2.89 lb, is indeed ultraportable.Previously, the HP EliteBook P line bottomed out at 12.5″ with the 25xxp series and 12.1″ with the 27xx series Tablet PCs.

Unlike ultrathin notebooks, such as the MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13, the 2170p isn’t going to win any prizes for being slim. It’s about the same thickness as HP’s standard business notebooks, but with good reason. The 2170p was built to stand up to the perils of corporate travel and meets the same MIL-SPEC standards as its larger brethren. HP’s corporate customers insist that smaller machines meet the same durability and security standards, which means things like a Kensington lock slot and Smart Card reader are required.

Those looking for a thinner business notebook might want to take a look at the EliteBook Folio. This thin and light business notebook weighs in at 3.5 pounds, which is a bit heavier than the 2170p, but sports a roomy 14″ display.

The EliteBook Folio looks like a lot of other UltraBooks out there, but it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. One of the reasons UltraBooks are so thin is they forgo removable batteries. The EliteBook Folio can be ordered with a slice battery to significantly increase the amount of time between charges. The EliteBook Folio can be docked, making it easy to use peripherals at the office.

HP and other manufacturers build business notebooks to a much higher standard than most consumer notebooks. They’re typically designed to last a minimum of three years of everyday use, which is why we recommend consumers to at least take a look at these devices if durability is important to them.

HP Intros EliteBook 2170p, EliteBook Folio for Business Users is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

The rumored Apple HDTV could bring Siri and FaceTime into the living room.

A source speaking to Cult of Mac claims to have seen the Apple HDTV complete with some iOS features. According to the source, Apple will put Siri and FaceTime into the HDTV, making it simple to control, and giving families an easier way to video chat.

Apple used Siri to control the TV, including making FaceTime calls, according to the source. There’s no other examples given of just how deeply Siri will integrate into the TV, though we hope it can control most features of the TV, similar to how the Kinect can control most features of the Xbox 360.

The Apple HDTV the source saw had a built-in iSight camera for FaceTime that supported facial recognition. The camera could also zoom in on faces. That means users should still be able to sit on the couch away from the TV and appear relatively close to the camera to other users on FaceTime.

The Apple HDTV looks just like the current Apple Cinema Display, just larger, according to the source. The screen could be as large as 60-inches, which fits with the Sharp TV unit Foxconn recently invested money in.

An analyst also talking to Cult of Mac says Apple could release two to four sizes of the HDTV ranging from 40-inches to 60-inches. The TVs would be 1080p with nothing too crazy like OLED or 4K resolution. The pricing would likely fall between $1000 and $2000, if not higher.

We don’t know when, or even if, Apple will release a HDTV, but it likely won’t ship until later in 2012 at the earliest, with a 2013 release more likely. We hope Apple does produce such a device, so long as it works as well as a TV as the current AppleTV works as an iTunes delivery platform.

Source Claims To Have Seen Apple HDTV With Siri and FaceTime is a post by Shawn Ingram from Gotta Be Mobile.

Did you even know that LG Manufactured Windows Phones?

When I was checking out the Twitter chatter this morning, I was amazed at the amount of people out there that didn’t even realize LG even manufactured a Windows Phone device.

I guess most people didn’t give Windows Phone a second look before Nokia started throwing marketing dollars around. But to answer their question, Yes, LG was one of Microsoft’s original launch partners.When Windows Phone 7 was launched in the Fall of 2010, Microsoft partnered with HTC, Dell, Samsung, and LG to offer 9 different phones in the US. The LG Quantum was one of them.

Do you remember the LG Quantum? This was the only Windows Phone released in the 1st wave of devices with a slide out keyboard, which was almost enough to get me to drop money on it instead of the Samsung Focus. There was also the LG Optimus 7 E900 that was sold over in Europe a bit later.

This year, leaks showed up online for a device that was code-named the LG Fantasy and later referred to as the LG Miracle. This device was leaked over at XDA back before Christmas and then again on Pocketnow. There was also a leak with a couple of photos and a video from a Romanian site called Mobilissimo back in February.

Boy Genius Reports calls attention to the Korean Herald where LG says that they will be backing out of Windows Phone production.

“The executive also said LG is taking a step back from Windows phones powered by Microsoft’s platform, adding that it will “continue research and development efforts” on Windows Phones.The total unit of Windows Phone sold in the global market is not a meaningful figure,” said the LG spokesman, further elaborating that it currently has no plans of rolling out another LG-manufactured Windows phone soon.

Now let’s not jump to conclusions. LG saying that they don’t plan to roll out another Windows Phone model soon doesn’t mean they won’t be rolling out one ever, does it?

Companies double back on words the media twists into a story all the time. Dan Seifert from Mobile Burn reminds us on G+ today that Samsung said they weren’t going to launch the Galaxy Note in the US not too long ago. If Nokia can help make Windows Phone the third player in the Mobile OS game, I am sure LG and others will line up to take a shot again.

Bottom line, LG seems to be sticking to Android for the time being, but they will continue to fund the R&D efforts for possible future Windows Phone models. They already have prototypes out there, maybe we’ll see one running Windows Phone 8 this fall?

LG Windows Phones Put on Hold, For Now is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

There are no shortage of iPhone 4S cases and covers, but there are a limited number of awesome iPhone 4S cases.

These iPhone cases protect the phone and its functionality while looking great doing so.

The GottaBeMobile staff owns many of these cases, or would happily buy them if we had unlimited funds.

Read: 10 Best iPhone 4S Accessories

iPhone 4S owners looking for premium cases need look no further than GottaBeMobile’s favorite iPhone 4S cases.

Element Vapor Pro iPhone 4S Case

Beautiful iPhone 4S case with an array of options and finishes.

The Element Vapor Pro is a premium case that comes highly recommended from several GottaBeMobile readers. I don’t own one, but the case looks amazing in person. The aluminum or alloy frames come in a number of color combinations.

On top of looking great, the Vapor Pro features oversized headphone jack and dock connector cutouts for optimal accessory support.

For added panache, pick up the Carbon Fiber Back Plate for $29.99.

$129.99 – $159.99 @ Element | $59.99 and up Various Colors @ Amazon

Zero Chroma Teatro-S iPhone Case

The Zero Chroma iPhone 4S case adds a rotating kickstand to the iPhone.

The Zero Chroma Teatro-S iPhone case doesn’t add much bulk, but it does add a kickstand to the back of the iPhone. This is the iPhone 4S case I use most often.

The kickstand rotates for FaceTime in portrait mode or watching movies in landscape. It also acts as a mini tripod for filming video with the iPhone 4S.

$39.72 @ Amazon

Piel Frama Leather iPhone Wallet Case

The best leather iPhone cases are from Piel Frama.

Piel Frama designs beautiful leather iPhone cases, including a great magnetic leather wallet case. Piel Frama’s leather iPhone 4S wallet case adds minimal bulk but still has room for several credit cards.

The flip magnetic wallet case for the iPhone flips open to prop up the iPhone 4S in portrait mode. The leather has a great feel and the hand stitching looks wonderful.

$84 @ Amazon

Otterbox Defender iPhone 4S Case

Triple layer protection with a built in screen protector.

The Otterbox Defender Series iPhone case is the pinnacle of protection for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Three layers provide protection from drops, a built-in screen protector protects the display, which is then covered with the belt holster clip.

Otterbox Defender iPhone 4S cases come in a variety of colors including solid, military camo and Realtree camo designs.

$29.99 @ Amazon | $59.95 Camo @ Otterbox 

Book Book iPhone 4S Case

Turn the iPhone 4S into a classic book with this camera covering case.

The Book Book iPhone 4S case isn’t for everyone, but for those who love the look of a classic book, the Book Book case is a great fit. The case includes cutouts for credit cards and ID, but unfortunately covers the camera.

Thanks to the premium look and feel this case is on the wishlist of several GottaBeMobile team members.

$59.95 @ Amazon

Kensington BungeeAir Power Wireless

Extend the iPhone 4S’ battery life and never lose keys again.

The Kensington BungeeAir Power Wireless is a great looking battery case for the iPhone 4S that adds in the ability to find keys and receive a warning for when the iPhone is left on a desk or in a cab. There is also a card holder that acts as a kickstand when watching movies.

The Kensington BungeeAir Power Wireless is my battery pack of choice and our top pick in the iPhone 4S Battery Case Showndown.

$59.19 @ Amazon

Case-Mate Phantom iPhone Case

An iPhone 4S case with great protection and good looks.

The Case-Mate Phantom iPhone 4S case protects the iPhone 4S from drops and seals the ports without adding significant bulk.

This case has been the daily driver for my wife for the past 4 months. The Phantom case delivers great protection in a variety of colors at an affordable price.

$29.65 @ Amazon

Tuneband iPhone 4S Running Case

A great case for running and working out with the iPhone.

The Tuneband is a great case for runners that straps the iPhone 4S right to an arm so there’s no need to carry the iPhone or run headphones up a shirt to keep the cord from flapping all over.

Pair the Tuneband with the Phillips Bluetooth workout headphones to go wireless free on workouts.

$19.99 @ Amazon

Speck Candyshell Card for iPhone 4S

Protection from drops and room for 3 cards.

The Speck Candyshell Card for iPhone 4S includes room for three credit cards or folded cash and protects the iPhone from random drops and bumps and thanks to a lip offers some screen protection when placed face down or dropped face first.

The Candyshell Card is available in a number of colors and comes highly recommended.

$27.20 @ Amazon 

GelaSkins Hard Case for iPhone 4S

Everything we love about Gelaskins skins in a hardcase.

Gelaskins is best known for great looking customizable skins and licensed artwork that sticks to the iPhone 4S, but now GelaSkins offers hard cases with more protection.

The new GelaSkins hard cases are available with all the same great designs, and with a customizable look that lets users upload custom artwork and photos to truly personalize the iPhone 4S.

$34.95 @ GelaSkins

Top 10 iPhone 4S Cases is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

The LG Lucid on Verizon Wireless is an affordable 4G LTE Android smartphone with the first time smartphone owner in mind.

The Lucid may not have all the bells and whistles found on phones 2-3 times its price, but it does offer a fast 4G LTE connection, good battery life, solid build quality and an attractive upfront cost.

LG and Verizon promise that the Lucid will see an update to Android 4.0, the current Android operating system, but that shouldn’t be a deciding factor for shoppers interested in the Lucid.

The cost of a new smartphone is a minor part of the overall cost of ownership, so the $79.99 price after rebate is not the only thing to consider when looking at the LG Lucid.

I would not recommend the Lucid to my media loving sister, but it would be near the top of a list of phones recommended to my mother or my father-in-law had he not just purchased a $120 flip phone to avoid another data plan.

Read on to find out if the LG Lucid can meet the needs of new smartphone owners.

Hands On/Video Review

Many users will appreciate the small size of the Lucid and the LG skin that makes Android more user-friendly to first time users. The LG Lucid hands on video highlights the hardware and software features of the LG Lucid.

Design

The LG Lucid is a small phone, especially compared o the 4.3-inch and 4.65-inch 4G LTE phones lining the shelves at Verizon. By Comparison the LG Lucid is about the same size as the iPhone 4S, but slightly thicker.

Plastic makes up the bulk of the LG Lucid’s construction, but a metal band runs around the edges of the phone providing visual flair and adding the sturdy feel of the phone.

Many plastic phones, even expensive ones, have flex points that detract from the overall build quality, but the LG Lucid feels solid.

Thanks to a 4-inch display, 4.69″ x 2.45″ x 0.45″ footprint and 5.0 oz weight the LG Lucid is pocketable and easy to use with one hand.

The Lucid’s silver metal sides accent a black and red patterned back that hides the Micro-SD card slot and removable battery. The plastic red and black back plate attracts fingerprints like a magnet, but thankfully the color scheme is not so harsh as to turn off male or female buyers.

Users will find a volume rocker and charging port along the left side and a small power button nestled in the top right side corner. There is no dedicated camera button.

LG Lucid Display

The 4-inch display has a relatively small 800 x 480 resolution, but with the first time smartphone user in mind and the price, it’s something that we can overlook.

The display offers good viewing angles, allowing for multiple positions while gaming or watching a movie. That said, users looking to watch a lot of TV or movies may find the larger display of the RAZR Maxx or Galaxy Nexus a better fit.

The Lucid’s display is viewable outdoors at full brightness, but it’s not optimal for heavy outdoor use as colors wash out dramatically compared to the Nokia Lumia 900′s display.

LG Lucid Performance

The LG Lucid is a snappy phone capable of playing demanding games like Grand Theft Auto III or Fruit Ninja without lagging.

Inside, the 1.2GHz processor delivers the power needed to switch between apps and use the phone without the lag associated with budget android phones. That’s not to say the phone is perfect, there is the occasional slowdown when pressing a menu button while in a demanding app, or opening an app from the lock screen.

The buttons at the bottom of the Lucid don’t always light up as expected and are sometimes easily activated by errant touches.

There is a limited amount of internal storage, which is another issue for music and movie lovers, but thankfully there is a microSD card slot to accommodate up to a 32GB card.

LG Lucid Battery Life

The Lucid’s small display helps out with battery life as well as size. During normal use with 4G LTE I was able to go a full day without recharging.

This includes syncing one email account, Facebook and Twitter as well as using Google Talk for IM. During these days I played a few games, but did not tax the system.

The 1700 mAh battery is user replaceable, so heavy users can pack a spare.

LG Lucid Call Quality and Audio

The LG Lucid provides good call quality, even with low signal strength calls were clear on both ends. Bluetooth headsets work well, though the range is shorter than I observe with the iPhone 4S. Users who keep the phone in their pocket while on a call or listening to music won’t have any issues.

The Lucid can play back music and audio without problems, and the single rear speaker pushes adequate volume. Don’t expect audiophile quality or room filling sound, but the speaker is enough for listening to music or movies without headphones, so long as users stay nearby. Audio is much louder than the Galaxy Nexus, but softer than the Motorola Droid 4 and RAZR Maxx.

LG Lucid Cameras

The LG Lucid has a 5MP rear facing camera with flash and a VGA quality front facing camera. The rear camera is capable of recording in 1080P, but don’t expect cinematic quality video.

The camera app provides controls for flash, white balance and color effects and a built-in panorama mode. The default focus is Auto, but face tracking helps when shooting pictures of people.

I’m not terribly impressed with the image quality, but it is good enough for sharing online. I would not be able to leave a good point and shoot camera at home while on vacation, something I can do with the iPhone 4S.

The biggest issue with the camera is the slow shutter speed. After pressing the shutter, there is a one to two second delay before the camera can take another photo. Indoor photos often missed the mark, resulting in blurred subjects.

Check out the sample LG Lucid photos below to see how the Lucid’s camera performs in various settings:

Software and Apps

LG skins Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a custom user interface. Some users may balk at the idea of this colorful large icon theme, but the skin has impressive extras.

The App drawer groups apps into collapsible categories that allow users to place apps in easy to access places. The system automatically groups the basic apps and allows users to customize the location of all apps. Users can add categories to the home screen as folders.

The same interface makes it easy to customize the app drawer at the bottom of the home screen and to add or remove categories.

Verizon and LG include a number of pre-loaded apps, but for the most part there are not a plethora of apps that detract from the user experience. There are trials of Plants Vs. Zombies and Let’s Golf 3 as well as Verizon’s customary VZ and V-Cast apps. Unfortunately the game trials cannot be removed.

One nice touch is the WiFi setting that can automatically connect to WiFi when launching a streaming app like Google Play on a home network.

Is the LG Lucid Worth It?

The LG Lucid is a well-built 4G LTE smartphone that delivers a user-friendly experience. This phone is not aimed at geeks, but it doesn’t skimp on performance like many budget smartphones.

The LG Lucid is attractive because of the $79.99 price, or the penny price at Amazon, but users shouldn’t make this the only factor in a smartphone purchase. The iPhone 4 is available for $20 more at Verizon, but does not offer 4G LTE.

Over the 2-year contract users will spend thousands of dollars, making the up-front phone cost negligible in the long run.

First time smartphone buyers, looking for an affordable phone with a full day battery and without a massive screen should check out the LG Lucid.

Advanced users, or those who want to watch a lot of movies or play games may appreciate the larger displays found on the Droid RAZR.

LG Lucid Gallery

LG Lucid Review: Solid 4G LTE Smartphone for First Time Users is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

Problems plagued the launched of the ASUS Transformer Prime after users discovered that the GPS signal in the device was weak. ASUS promised a fix, and will soon launch a dongle for the Android tablet that should fix those GPS problems.

Land of Droid managed to get ahold of one of these dongles before ASUS started sending them to users. While the blog’s dongle is likely an engineering sample, if it is indicative of the product, the solution is a rather ugly one.

The GPS-enhancing dongle attaches to the 40-pin connector and keyboard dock. It will help users get a better GPS signal on their tablet, but will also prevent them from using the keyboard dock or charging the device while the dongle is in use. ASUS is giving its users an option between having the keyboard attachment for more battery life and easier typing, and a dongle that will make GPS more usable.

Land of Droid says the dongle does greatly improve GPS on the Transformer Prime. Sadly, it adds a bit of bulk to the tablet in addition to taking up the space for the keyboard dock.

The dongle doesn’t seem like something users would want to keep attached to their tablet unless they really need GPS all the time. It seems more like an extra dongle to throw into a bag or car in case it’s needed.

Despite the limitations of the GPS dongle, it’s great that ASUS is doing something to fix the GPS issues users experienced on the tablet. The company will likely make a formal announcement of the dongle tomorrow. Users should expect to get their own Transformer Prime dongles relatively soon.

Bulky ASUS Transformer Prime GPS Dongle Pictured is a post by Shawn Ingram from Gotta Be Mobile.

As noted yesterday, Nokia Lumia 900 users were experiencing data issues in areas that they should have coverage. There were a couple of temporary fixes posted online to get around these issues. Today, Nokia stepped up to the plate and unlike a certain fruit company, admitted fault and offered a solution.

The issue was identified as a memory problem that would lead to a loss of data services. Nokia has a solution and with the help of AT&T, they plan to have the solution in place on April 16th. It seems that this issue doesn’t affect all of the Lumia 900 models though.

However, soon after AT&T began selling this flagship device, we identified a software issue. In short, a memory management issue was discovered that could, in some cases, lead to loss of data connectivity. As a proactive and prudent measure, we decided, together with AT&T, to take immediate action. We have identified the issue, and have developed a solution.

Nokia and AT&T are offering 1 of 2 options for Nokia Lumia 900 owners experiencing this issue, wait until April 16th for an update or return the device for a newer version.

And for a bonus…

You can actually get a Nokia Lumia 900 completely free as a token of good will. AT&T will credit all who already purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 $100. They are also extending this offer to anyone that buys one from now until April 21st. Essentially, you can go into an AT&T store today, buy a Lumia 900 for $99 and get a $100 credit. Basically Nokia and AT&T are giving you a hot new phone and $1.

It’s bad to see something come off the line with issues, but I am happy to see a company accept responsibility and make it right without telling us that we’re holding it wrong.

I have other news that’s not related, but shows another gesture from a company that impressed me today. I purchased a 55″ LED from Samsung on Black Friday. It’s been serviced twice already. Today, Samsung offered to replace it with a slightly upgraded, newer model. It’s great to see companies like Nokia and Samsung do the right thing!

Nokia Steps Up Big Time, Admits Trouble and Offers Fix for Lumia 900 is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

The Intel Studybook tablet is a new 7-inch rugged Android tablet designed to meet the needs of students and educators.

The Studybook has a 7-inch multi-touch display, front and rear cameras, light sensor support and comes bundled with software and support for LabCam applications.

An Intel Atom Z650 processor powers the small tablet which can also run Windows, though Kapil Wadhera, general manager of Intel’s Education Market Platform Group tells GottaBeMobile that Android is the more popular choice.

The Intel Studybook tablet is ready for class.

The Intel Studybook has a plastic unibody frame with multiple shock absorbers built-in to protect the screen during use, transportation and at play. Intel designed the tablet to handle drops from a student desk and made it water and dust-resistant. It’s safe to say that students can take the Studybook wherever they go without worrying about breakage.

The Studybook costs $200 and runs Android 3.0. Watch the hands on video from Laptop Mag to learn more about the software on the Studybook.

The Intel Learning Series draws from ethnographic studies and combines hardware and software elements tested in over 2,000 classrooms to deliver an efficient educational tool. More than 7 million students worldwide already use Classmate PCs to foster education and 1:1 e-learning

The Intel Learning Series is about bringing technology to students not for the sake of moving more notebooks and tablets, but for fostering the growth of knowledge around the world. By providing the tools that students need to explore, question and learn, the program provides the tools students need to compete as knowledge workers in a global economy.

Intel explains the purpose of the Learning Series, and what goes into the creation of a new product in the video below.

The Studybook you see above is a reference design, which Intel shares with partners to bring the tablet into classrooms across the globe.

This model allows the local manufacturers and designers to incorporate and change the design to fit their local needs, so a Studybook in India will look or work slightly different from one in China or Argentina.

Because the local markets play a huge roll in designing and bringing the Studybook, and Classmate PCs, to market, there is also a boost to the local economies.

The Studybook software is as important as the hardware, and Intel provides LabCam applications to foster scientific exploration in the classroom. These touch optimized scientific tools promote scientific enquiry.

Students will also find an optimized e-Reader and collaboration software that allows students and a teacher to collaborate via the tablet and a Teacher Classmate PC.

Intel also released criteria for the Intel Learning Series Teacher PC, a collection of must have features for notebooks and Ultrabooks used by teachers in these connected classrooms.

Intel Studybook Tablet is Ready for Class is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

If you’ve been waiting for one of the hot new Windows Phone offerings that have been in the works since CES 2012, your wait is over. Well, it’s over if you want to order online today. AT&T has the HTC Titan II and Nokia Lumia 900 available for purchase now.

According to the poll we did last week, 74% of you would grab the Lumia 900 over the Titan II. I can’t say I blame you based on the sale price. I actually expected HTC to do something about that price difference before they launched, but apparently they didn’t. The HTC Titan II and Nokia Lumia 900 prices are exactly as reported earlier.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is available for $99 with Contract and $449.99 without contract.

The HTC Titan II is available for $199.99 with Contract and $549.99 without contract.

I hope for Microsoft’s sake that AT&T and Nokia help them out in a big way here. If these two devices don’t sell like hotcakes in the US, what will? They both are sporting LTE, they both have good-looking cameras, and they run the latest and greatest from Microsoft. They both can’t do screenshots natively either.

For more info on these phones, check out the following:

• Nokia Lumia 900 Review
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T’s 4G LTE Network Hands-On (Video)
• HTC Titan II for AT&T Hands-on Video

AT&T is the first carrier in the United States to land a 4G LTE Windows Phone device, The HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900. If you have been waiting for one of them like I have, get your order in.

AT&T Makes Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II Available For Purchase Online is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

Every time a new device hits the pavement, there are sites out there that throw one in a blender, rip it open to show the world its innards, and all sorts of other attention-getting tests and processes. The Lumia 900 is getting the business early though. TechRepublic’s Bill Detwiler tears down the Nokia Lumia 900 and calls the hardware mediocre. Mediocre hardware is the reason for Nokia to be able to sell them so cheap. I don’t have an issue with him calling the hardware considered mediocre at all, but the title of his article is misleading. He mentions in the article that the Lumia 900′s construction made the phone feel solid and sturdy and in the comment section he says that in his tests the phone’s overall performance was about the same as the Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 4S. Somewhat contridictory if you ask me.

I do believe that Bill’s meant that the hardware wasn’t exactly cutting edge technology. There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact Micrsoft doesn’t allow OEMs to use dual core processors and Windows Phone just doesn’t need to have beefed up hardware thrown at it to perform well.

Single-core processor, average amount of RAM: The Lumia has a 1.4GHz, single-core Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM. The Galaxy Nexus has a 1.2GHz, dual-core Texas Instruments processor with 1GB of RAM. And, the iPhone 4S has a dual-core Apple A5 processor (which appears to be clocked at about 800MHz) and like the Lumia, it has 512MB of RAM. Unfortunately, these numbers don’t really give us a clear winner in the raw performance category. At face value, the Galaxy Nexus seems to come out on top, but a handset’s performance is also determined by its operating system, the efficiency of the software you’re running, and a host of other factors. I can tell you that in the very limited testing I did, the Lumia was responsive and didn’t suffer any noticeable lag.

Despite having what Detwiler is calling Mediocre hardware, the Nokia Lumia 900 performs just as well as other devices out there. The video is great and shows how to bust the Lumia 900 open as well as giving some great insite about the phone. Really well done, I just think the article’s title is misleading.

Make sure to check out the GottaBeMobile Nokia Lumia 900 review!

Nokia Lumia 900 Ripped Open Already is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

Most of the controversies about the new iPad (HeatGate, Battery Life, etc…) seem to have become stale news now that days have passed and users are experiencing the device for themselves. Please understand that I’m not trying to re-kindle things with this post about the battery indicator. I’m still really pleased with the battery life on the new iPad and don’t expect that to change. Apple set a high bar with the first iPad and continues that today, thankfully. I’m just reporting some interesting things I’ve discovered in my usage.

I’ve read all the reports about battery life and charging the iPad. Without setting out to test anything, over the weekend I noticed some interesting behavior around the iPad’s battery life indicator. Now, I have no idea if this has to do with real battery life, or with the indicator.

Those who’ve followed the battery life/charging stories should know a couple of things.

• It takes longer to charge the battery on the new iPad. That should be common sense as it is a bigger battery than in previous models.
• If you leave your iPad plugged in after reaching a 100% charge (on the indicator) it will keep charging. Apple says this is a feature and perfectly OK. In fact, many devices do this kind of thing as they near a full charge.

So, this weekend I had some more time to spend at home in the mornings than I usually do. For me this meant that in addition to some chores, I could spend some more time with the iPad doing some reading. Now, as context, I use my iPad and the Apps Flipboard and Zite as my morning paper on most days. Typically, when I do this on the new iPad I would start with a freshly charged battery and see the indicator read anywhere from 89% to 93% by the end of a morning read session. That’s about what I would see on the iPad 2 as well.

As I spent more time on the iPad both mornings this weekend I had driven the battery charge down a bit further in longer usage (around 72%).  So, without really thinking about it, I hooked the iPad back up to the charger as I did some more chores and got ready to leave for for the day and evening’s work at the theatre. Might as well have a full charge when I get to work.

When I popped open the Smart Cover once arriving at work, I did indeed have a full charge. What I discovered on Saturday and Sunday, is that after this last little top-up of the battery, the battert life indicator would drop much more slowly than it would once it was unplugged after a full night’s charge.

Now firmly in curious and testing mode, I did a similar thing on Monday and Tuesday (today) morning. I didn’t change my “morning paper” routine. Before packing up to leave from the house I had drained the battery to 92% both Monday and Tuesday. Once arriving at the office, I plugged in the iPad and went about my work. Unplugging it before lunch time the indicator showed a 100% charge. During lunch both days I did a similar but heavier reading and surfing routine that is akin to my “morning paper” ritual, viewed about 15 minutes of video each day, answered a few emails, and largely used the device as I normally would for about 40 to 45 minutes.

After each lunch session as described above the battery indicator dropped to only 98%. And the rate that things continue to drop during the day seems slower after one of these “top-ups” than it does with just a nightly charge.

Like I said, I’m not sure if what I’m seeing has to do with the battery indicator or the actual battery life. In my situation it really doesn’t matter. I still get more than a full day’s battery life on the new iPad, regardless of whether I top off the battery in the morning or go forth with just a full night’s charge. But I thought I’d share my experiences to see if anyone else is seeing things the same or differently.

That iPad Battery Indicator Thing is Weird is a post by Warner Crocker from Gotta Be Mobile.

I almost expected the headline of this Consumer Reports piece to be, The New iPad is Hot, But Not Like You Think. But that would be too much irony for a Monday morning. No matter, Consumer Reports has back tracked a bit and said that those heat issues for the new iPad that got them all hot and bothered are, well, not such an issue after all. So much so that they now put the new iPad at the top of their Tablet choices.

Consumer Reports raised a few temperatures (and eyebrows) with its link baiting headline awhile back saying that the new iPad heated up to over 116 degrees. That prompted a huge rush on the sale of all kinds of thermometers and heat measuring devices as gadget blogs all over went into testing mode themselves. Not to mention a few fun-filled testings from others.

What’s mot interesting in this latest report is that CR says that its reasoning that the higher temps for the new iPad (it is universally acknowledged that the new iPad can get warmer than its predecessors) comes somewhat from reading other reviews.

So much for making up your own mind.

Consumer Reports Does a Back Track on new iPad is a post by Warner Crocker from Gotta Be Mobile.

Now that we have a date and price for both of AT&T’s hot new Windows Phones, the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900, which one are you leaning towards?

Both phones launch on April 8th and the Titan II will set you back $199.99 on contract, which is not a bad price at all, but the Nokia Lumia 900 will cost $99.99. Nokia is clearly firing a big warning shot at HTC with that move. I would be really interested in hearing reasoning from anyone that will pay the extra $100 for the HTC Titan II in the comment section. I love HTC, I feel like I watched them grow up, but money is money and sometimes you have to throw loyalty out the window. Unless HTC and AT&T come up with way to match the Lumia’s price, the HTC Titan II will see disappointing numbers. I wouldn’t count HTC out though, who knows what might happen. Which one am I going to get? Read on…

Hands-on Video

We were able to check out both phones at CES 2012 back in January. I personally got enough time with both of them to form a fairly good opinion of which one I liked most.

HTC Titan II

Nokia Lumia 900

Specs

Many of the specs are very similar, making them toss-up, but there are a few differences between them.

Display

The Lumia 900 has a 4.3″ screen and the HTC Titan II has a 4.7″ screen. Depending on your preference, this could go either way. With the smaller screen, the Lumia 900 has more pixels per inch which should equate to a sharper display since both phones have the same 800×480 resolution.

Processor

The edge here goes to the HTC Titan II, barely. The Titan II is running a Qualcomm Snapdragon single core processor at 1.5 GHz and the Nokia Lumia 900 is running the same processor at 1.4 GHz.

Memory

Draw. Both phones have the same memory configuration, 16 GB of internal memory and 512 MB of RAM.

Camera

Here’s where it gets a little tricky. On paper, the HTC Titan wins with its 16 megapixel primary camera with a wide-angle lens, smart sensors, and wide-angle lens (f2.6, 28mm), but the Nokia Lumia 900′s specs aren’t awful. Nokia is known for quality cameras on their smart phones. Nokia has an 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Both phones can do 720p video as well. Remember folks, more megapixels isn’t always the answer.

Battery

The Lumia 900 has a standard Li-lon 1800 mAh battery and the HTC Titan II has a 1730 mAh battery. So, LTE and big screens should eat both of these batteries up pretty fast. The HTC Titan II has a smaller battery, but the bigger screen. I think, without testing, logic tells us that the Nokia Lumia 900 will win this head to head battle.

What are we getting?

I have the HTC Titan in my pocket right now and it runs Windows Phone 7.5 just fine and the camera is pretty nice. I don’t have LTE available to me nor do I care about a 16 megapixel camera, so I don’t have any desire to upgrade to the Titan II. There are 3 main reasons I want the Nokia Lumia 900.

1. The Lumia 900 in cyan is just plain sexy. White looks hot too, but cyan is for me.
2. Nokia Drive should be able to replace Google Maps to satisfy my navigation needs. Bing Maps Navigation is horrible in my opinion.
3. The size and design. Unibody design, rounded edges, Gorilla Glass, and only 2 inches smaller than my idea size. The Titan II is 2 inches larger than my ideal size.

Which one am I getting? Neither. I am a Verizon customer and can not afford to drop full, unsubsidized cost just to have one like I used to.

Which one do I want? The Nokia Lumia 900.

Which one do you want?

Take Our Poll

I think these devices, along with Nokia pushing the marketing, will make for a really good launch for the Nokia Lumia 900 and Windows Phone. Nokia is said to be spending big by funding an “iPhone-Like” launch and even subsidizing 25 Million dollars to put Lumia phones in the hands of AT&T’s front line workers. AT&T is said to be putting $200 Million into marketing for the Nokia Lumia 900 launch too. It should be huge for Microsoft for sure.

Nokia Lumia 900 or HTC Titan II, Which Will You Buy? [Poll] is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

Retina, Retina, Retina. It seems like that’s still the one of the big topics about Apple’s new iPad. I’m already on record about how I feel about the Retina display. But my eye doctor, well, I’m not sure he’ll go on the record publicly but he sure did with me.

Yesterday I had an appointment to recheck my new prescription and new eye glasses because things just don’t feel right. I have progressive lenses (and have for awhile) and it always takes several days to adjust to new glasses once they arrive. But after giving them a week or so things just weren’t right.

In explaining to the doctor what I was seeing, I used the new iPad as one of the examples. I explained how I used it, how I held it, and what I was seeing. Bottom line things were a bit blurry since the new glasses, which should have cleared things up a bit. Then the conversation turned to the Retina display. After taking a look at the new iPad he was concerned, saying that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to tune certain prescriptions so that his patients would be able to see it as clearly as it is intended. He predicted that some patients would come back time and again to get things just right.

I’m wondering if others who have complicated prescriptions will be having similar experiences.

My Eye Doctor Hates the iPad’s Retina Display is a post by Warner Crocker from Gotta Be Mobile.

Over the weekend, there was a bit of drama that took place at a Microsoft Store in Santa Clara.  Sahas Katta from Scatter Tech headed down with his Samsung Galaxy Nexus to give the “Take the $1,000 Windows Phone Challenge” a go. This is a new challenge that derived from the “Smoked by Windows Phone” challenge that popped up at CES 2012.  The original challenge gave users a chance to win $100 cash if you could beat  Ben Rudolph, a Microsoft employee in a simple challenge. The challenges range from taking and uploading a photo to Facebook to posting a status update to Facebook and Twitter. The promotion went over well and went viral and turned out becoming a full fledge ad campaign.

Microsoft recently bumped up the states and started offering a $1,000 custom PC if you win and a free Windows Phone if you lose. These challenges are taking place in Microsoft Stores around the US.

You could win a Hunger Games Special Edition PC, valued at over $1000. And even if you lose, you still win, because we’ll give you a free Windows Phone.*

Sahas Katta entered the Microsoft Store and on his account, won. Microsoft Store employees, including the manager, said he didn’t.

I excitedly thought I won out of pure luck. However, I was quickly told that I lost. I asked for a reason and was told Windows Phone won because “it displays the weather right there.” That was rather unclear. I showed her my device which also was showing off the same information with two side-by-side weather widgets on the center home screen. After pressing for a better reason, I was told that Windows Phone won “just because.”

After trying to push for a real answer since I clearly won the contest by their rules, another Microsoft Store employee (possibly a manger) came by after noticing me asking more questions. Thinking on his feet, he quickly gave a ridiculous out-of-thin-air reason that I need to display the weather of different cities in different states and that “my phone could not do that”.

1st off, this story also points out a bit of precooking, or cheating by Microsoft. The way Sahas should have won by having widgets showing the weather prior to arrival is the same way Microsoft planned to win that challenge… by having tiles prepinned prior to the challenge.

I’ve had a feeling something like this would show up soon or later. I had thought about taking my HTC Titan and putting it up against my Galaxy Nexus in a series of tests of my own but never got around to it.

One of the problems I have with the challenge is that they cater to Windows Phone’s strengths.

• Updating Facebook and Twitter at the same time is something that Microsoft takes pride in having built into the OS. The good news for some Android users is that this feature is built into Tweetcaster, the Twitter client I use.
• Taking a photo and uploading it to Facebook, again a strength Windows Phone has with easy sharing of photos to Facebook and Skydrive. The big advantage is being able to activate the camera without unlocking the phone too. How about a race uploading a 30 second video to some social media venue? That’s right, Windows Phone can’t do this.
• Find a restaurant and get directions. This could go either way seeing that Bing and Google Maps are fairly competent with this task. The advantage should still go to Windows Phone with the Local Scout app that was added with Windows Phone Tango.
• Texting is just a matter of how quick the user is and this test could go either way in my opinion. Advantage nobody.

Take the fact that the home team (Microsoft) chooses the task and the Microsoft contestant has most likely been trained to maneuver the tasks for the challenge, it’s really not a fair fight either way. In watching all the videos from CES and more recent events, Ben the PC Guy is getting the tasks done before the competitor even formulates the path to accomplish the task on their phone.

I will be honest, I do love seeing these videos and like to see Windows Phone do well, but I want to see it on a level playing field. The positive attention that Microsoft has gotten with these challenges seems to be well received online and absolutely helps Windows Phone’s awareness. Incidents like this are going to set it back some though.

Source: Skatter Tech (via)

Smoked by Windows Phone Drama Arises is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

If you are waiting for the Nokia Lumia 900, there are tons of details and rumors popping up.

1st off, Adam posted yesterday that the rumored April 8th date still seems likely. He mentions that a reader of WP Central was able to get some hands on time with the Lumia 900 in an AT&T store where an employee had both the black and cyan models to toy with. The reader liked the matte finish on the back cover and felt that it pockets nicely with the rectangular corners and flat front/back panels. WP Central’s article cites an April 9th date, but Adam seems to be sticking with April 8th.

The Nokia Lumia 900 features a 4.3″ AMOLED screen, 1.4GHz CPU, 1830mAh battery (non-replacable), 16GB of storage, 8MP rear and 1.3MP front cameras with 4G LTE support. It is expected to sell for $99 on contract. Online orders should start Sunday, April 8th with in-store availability April 9th. No word on full-price yet.

After having an opportunity to use the Nokia 900 at CES, I am in love with it as well. Too bad I can’t get one of my own. I will not turn this into a rant though. I already shared this rant. Check out Chuong’s hands on from CES 2012.

Later in the day, a landing page for the Nokia Lumia 900 popped up on AT&T’s website with a videos, lots of marketing jargon, and a form to sign up to be notified when it’s available.

Late last night, another story showed up on WP Central, AT&T Employees are getting Nokia Lumia 900s to use and it’s being funded by Nokia.

You read that right: Nokia is paying, we hear up to $25 million, for AT&T employees to exclusively use the Lumia 900 instead of the iPhone and Android. Nokia is expecting more than 80% of employees to be using their flagship Windows Phone for participation in the CU program (employees can opt to use any phone they want at a discount, but CU phones are provided for free), which should go a long way in convincing those employees the merits of the OS, resulting in positive worth of mouth and sales.

I can’t comment on whether or not this is true, but I can see it happening. I would be surprised to see every sales rep using these in every store, but if it happens, it should be great for Microsoft and Nokia. I know Nokia has thrown a ton of marketing money at their Windows Phone offerings, so this doesn’t shock me.

Nokia Lumia 900 News – Sale Date, AT&T Employee Use, & Landing Page is a post by Chris Leckness from Gotta Be Mobile.

Yes, the new iPad runs warmer than the iPad 2. Anyone not know this yet? Well, as expected, Consumer Reports will fill you in if you’ve had your head in the sand since Friday.  CR is out with a report that states what many have already said. The new iPad can get hotter to the touch, certainly more so than previous versions of the iPad. I can verify this in my own testing (as have other members of the GBM team), but that was with one heck of a strenuous load that I wouldn’t use everyday. (See this article for what I mean by strenuous.)

Here’s the relevant excerpt from ConsumerReports.org:

When unplugged, the back of the new iPad reached temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit. It was only when plugged in that it hit 116 degrees. The hottest areas weren’t evenly distributed throughout the iPad’s back, but were concentrated near one corner of the display as shown in the images taken from the rear of the device above.

So, when plugged in, the back of the new iPad became as much as 12 degrees hotter than the iPad 2 did in the same tests; while unplugged the difference was 13 degrees.

Note that the headline of the Consumer Reports article says this: Our test finds new iPad hits 116 degrees while running games. Perhaps some folks use their iPad with it plugged in to play games, but I’m guessing they are in the minority. (Let me know if you think I’m wrong here.)

I’m not faulting Consumer Reports for confirming what we already know. I am laughing a bit at that headline though. I’m also not faulting the new iPad for running hotter than it’s predecessors, especially when pushing graphic heavy games through the processor onto the high res display. In normal usage after that testing situation I mentioned, I hardly notice any increase in heat. I’m thinking this is going to be one of those situations where it depends on the user and the Apps they are running as to how severe an issue this may or may not turn out to be. The CR report will probably slow down new iPad sales as much as the antenna gate non recommendation did for the iPhone 4. (That’s sarcasm there.) I wonder if Apple will start testing App submissions to see how much heat they generate? (That’s not sarcasm.)

Apple has already said that the device runs warmer within its thermal specifications. Other testing from other sources report a big difference in the temperatures they are seeing as this post from Shawn indicates. I guess we’ll hear more about this from a variety of different sources and with a variety of different temperatures. In the mean time, let’s start speculating about the next new iPad and how cool it may or may not run.

Consumer Reports States Obvious: new iPad Can Heat Up is a post by Warner Crocker from Gotta Be Mobile.