Five of the Best Tablets Revealed So Far

We’ve seen numerous announcements of tablet computers in recent weeks, as the R&D labs of the world push out their hastily assembled attempts at competing with Apple’s game-changing iPad. But are any of them up to the job?

Last week alone saw ViewSonic, Toshiba and Samsung all officially unveil new models of keyboard-less computer, with a mish-mash of operating systems and screen sizes hoping to somehow build themselves a market in the wake of Apple’s market-leading device.

So here’s a summary of five of the best tablets out there and on the way this year. Or, to put it another way, the iPad +4.

What Is Froyo?

It’s a mobile platform…

Google’s out with Android 2.2—codename: Froyo—and so far I am impressed and excited. But what is it, exactly?

Froyo (following Google’s adorable alphabetized dessert naming convention) is the latest iteration of Android, Google’s mobile operating system. Simple enough! If you bought an Android phone recently, Froyo’s what it will eventually be running.

27-Megapixel Saturn Panoramic Image Makes Perfect Widescreen Desktop Background

Time picked this deliciously crispy photo as one of the images of the year, revealing Saturn’s ring bumps as high as the Rocky Mountains.

I’m not surprised, because it’s a truly unique moment, one that happens at Saturn’s equinox, which is an event that only happens twice in 10,179 Earth days. And this time, we had Cassini there to take this amazing photo, just when the sun illuminates the rings edge-on. As Carolyn Porco—Cassini imaging team leader—puts it:

The geometry revealed structures and phenomena in the rings we had never seen before. We saw this famous adornment spring from two dimensions into three, with some ring structures soaring as high as the Rocky Mountains. It made me feel blessed.

The team used Cassini during a week to take photos of vertical clumps in the ring, and when the equinox happened, they could measure their true size looking at the shadows. According to NASA’s Bob Pappalardo at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory:

It’s like putting on 3-D glasses and seeing the third dimension for the first time. This is among the most important events Cassini has shown us.

Well, Bob and Carolyn, Carolyn and Bob and the rest of the Cassini team, all I can say is thank you for an amazing work, and the stunning desktop backgrounds in 2009.

[Gizmodo]

Review Vault: HTC Droid Incredible

The Droid Incredible follows HTC’s standard remix formula: Two parts existing phoneware—Android 2.1 with Sense, speedy processor—one part fresh spice—Verizon’s network.

10 good reasons to jailbreak your iPhone, no matter what generation

I guess there’s a large number of iPhone owners that are still hesitant to jailbreak their iPhones. They consider jailbreaking a dangerous and daunting task that may eventually void their warranty. Since most of you would be on the other side of that barricade, I’ve put down a nice list of the 10 new features you will get if you go for jailbreaking. The benefits are more than ten, but I’ve compiled the most major ones.

Jailbreaking is a software process that unlocks the access to the iPhone original system files so that you can modify some of them for the better. You shouldn’t confuse it with a carrier unlock. Jailbreaking allows us to unleash the true power of the Apple’s iPhone.

Launch trailer of Mass Effect 2, one week left to the most epic sci-fi journey

Today BioWare released the last and final trailer of Mass Effect 2, the long awaited sequel to one of the best sci-fi adventures ever. The game promises to reach epic proportions with enormous gameplay world, non-linear story where player’s decisions affects the direction they take all the time and one hell of a plot.

Collectors and Keepers, Shepard is coming!

Avatar ranks second in the all time box-office chart – overtakes Lord of the Rings and takes on Titanic

After beating the former bronze medalist Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Avatar has just moved into second place in the all time generated revenue leaderboard. The previous runner-up – Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King now occupies the last podium spot. Earning more than 1.36 billion US dollars worldwide for 20 days only from IMAX/3D cinemas, Avatar is almost sure to dethrone the current leader – Titanic with its revenue of 1.84 billion US dollars.

Mash-up Review – Army of Two: The 40th Day

The assembled game critics team-up to take on EA’s latest co-op shooter Army of Two: The 40th Day in our Mash-up Review.

Salem and Rios teach us an important lesson about friendship as they make their way through decreasingly scenic, increasingly war-torn Shanghai, adding their bullet-holes and shrapnel to a situation that’s quickly getting out of hand. Only by relying on their greatest resource – each other – can they hope to survive.

ATI Radeon HD5670 delivers DirectX 11 graphics for less than $100

After releasing the most powerful video card in the world (HD5970 live pics here), ATI seems to have concentrated their work on the low-budget segment. The first dirt cheap, but capable Radeon will be the HD5670, offering DirectX11 support, GDDR5 memory and Eyefinity multi-display technology.

Price you ask? Under $100, ATI will tell you.

Widescreen Game Wallpapers Edition 1

Direct Download Link

Alienware announced the first 11-inch powerful gaming laptop

The Alienware has just announced the most portable gaming laptop ever. The 11-inch Alienware M11X will pack a powerful Intel Core2Duo processor (unknown at this stage), DDR3 RAM, and a NVIDIA 335M graphic processor with 1GB DDR3 video memory.

I finally got my dirty hands on a Radeon HD5970 and it’s here to stay

Remember the post I wrote about the announcement of the world’s most powerful video card? Yes, I am talking for the ATI Radeon 5970, which is made of two HD5870 cores. Well, I finally got it in my hands today.

Check out more of its live shots.

[GSMArena]

10 minutes with Nexus One!!!!!!!!

You may have already watched a blurry clip of Nexus One on a2ztech, but this 10 minute video will blow you away. This guy has gone through more or less every major feature of the phone. And I must say, this phone rocks. The response is lightning fast thanks to the 1 Ghz Snapdragon CPU inside. Somebody please gift me this on my b’day.

Avatar Review: Yes, It Changed Everything After All

Put simply, Avatar is the most visually fantastic film I’ve ever seen. It will be hailed as the groundbreaking 3D release of its time while setting a new standard by which all blockbusters are measured. Yes, it’s that good. I’m not going to talk about plot (or that I thought to myself, Dances with Wolves in space more than once). I’m not going to talk about dialog or pacing (or that the limited narration was totally unnecessary). There are other reviews, more reviewy type reviews, that have all that covered. I’m not going to spoil anything, either. Heck, I’m not even going to talk about Avatar…not just yet.

Google Nexus One Gets Extensive Interface Walkthrough

We’ve seen its startup before, and those brave souls who’ve installed 2.1 on the Droid have shown us what the next Android version looks like, but this video shows the Nexus One‘s interface in more detail than we’ve seen yet.

Sure, it’s very much the same as most Android 2.0 devices like Droid. But there are some changes—I like the replacement of the app tray with that home icon. Check it out for some French Nexus Un action (it’s gratuit).

[Gizmodo]