Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly

It would seem like we’ve recalled our editor from Shenzhen a little prematurely. The land of Yao has gone and answered all the iPad’s critics in resounding style: TESO’s 10-inch clone tablet features a full-blown Windows 7 install (check), 1024×600 capacitive touchscreen display (check), HDMI output (check), a 1.66GHz Atom N450 (vroom vroom!), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, GPS, 3G, and a 3,000mAh battery. Yep, it’s a netbook sans the keyboard, and it might weigh 1.2kg while stretching to a portly 2cm thickness, but are you really gonna let a few well-rounded edges get in the way of experiencing a grown-up desktop OS on that tablet you so desperately need? Couple more pics await after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple supplier audit reveals sub-minimum wage pay and records of underage labor

Apple’s famous desire for total control over its operations seems to have extended to its manufacturing facilities as we’ve come across Cupertino’s Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report, which details audits the American company has done of its overseas suppliers and the failures identified therein. The findings are pretty damning on the whole, with more than half (54 percent) of all factories failing to meet Apple’s already inflated maximum 60-hour work week, 24 percent paying less than the minimum wage, 37 percent failing to respect anti-discrimination rules, and three facilities holding records of employing a total of eleven 15-year olds (who were over the legal age of 16 or had left by the time of the audit). Apple is, predictably, not jazzed about the situation, and has taken action through train-the-trainer schemes, threats of business termination with recidivist plants, and — most notably — the recovery of $2.2 million in recruitment fees that international contract workers should not have had to pay.

It should come as no shock to learn that cheaper overseas factories are cutting illegal corners, but it’s disappointing to hear Apple’s note that most of the 102 audited manufacturers said Cupertino was the only vendor to perform such rigorous compliance checks. Still, we’ll take what we can get and the very existence of this report — which can be savagely skewed to defame Apple’s efforts (as demonstrated expertly by The Daily Telegraph below) — is an encouraging sign that corporate responsibility is being taken seriously. We hope, wherever your geek loyalties and fervor may lie, that you’ll agree Apple’s leading in the right direction and that its competitors should at the very least have matching monitoring schemes. They may have to swallow some bad PR at first, but sweeping up the dirty details of where gadgets come from is juvenile and has no place in a civilized world. Hit the source link for the full report.

Apple supplier audit reveals sub-minimum wage pay and records of underage labor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad

You see, this isn’t our first run-in with BlueBerry. Nay — this is a firm that has shadowed Waterloo’s moves for some time, so when it came time for the real thing to make the transition from trackballs to optical pads, the Shenzhen doppelganger naturally had to follow suit. The result is this here BlueBerry 9500, a device that looks more like a Bold 9500 grafted to a Nokia E72 than it does a Bold 9700 — but hey, for folks torn between their Finnish and Canadian loyalties, this might be the perfect solution. The impressive spec sheet includes a TV tuner (complete with 9-inch retractable antenna), dual SIM support, and WiFi, and — most importantly — the optical pad is said to be “decent.” Check out the gallery for a couple more shots — just don’t expect any App World access with this one.

Gallery: Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward

You know, the vast majority of Chinese PMPs are underwhelming, and we can’t say for sure that the Windows G85HD is any different, but the video walkthrough of the user interface has us interested at the very lease. Reportedly, the all-white, touchscreen-centric device packs a Rockchip RK2806 processor, a 4.3-inch panel (800 x 480), 3.5mm headphone jack, 720p video output, 8GB or 16GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, FM radio tuner, a Chinese-English dictionary and support for a multitude of file formats. There’s nary a word on when and where you’ll be able to find this, but if you find yourself situated in Shenzhen, feel free to scope things out at the local market and fill us in.

[Thanks, Sere83]

Continue reading Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward

Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cube’s 6-inch capacitive touchscreen e-reader is a Windows Mobile 6.5 fantasyland

If you’re a sucker for immaculate specs at a discount price then the Cube e-book reader might be the device for you. The Chinese outfit is said to be working on a 6-inch, E Ink reader built around the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system with baked-in WiFi (sorry, no mention of 3G data) for “remote server synchronization.” And as declared in the image above, the Cube e-reader features a capacitive touchscreen just “like the iPhone.” Apparently, it’ll do more than just display e-books though, with a touted ability to make VoIP calls, browse the web, send and receive email, and download music and photos — all this for just 999 Chinese Yuan or about $146. Sure, go ahead and build it Cube, but until we see a product render at least forgive us for being skeptical.

Cube’s 6-inch capacitive touchscreen e-reader is a Windows Mobile 6.5 fantasyland originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on February 9, 2010 at 2:59 am by Thomas Ricker · Permalink · Comments Closed
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HTC Dragon and friends turn up on Dopod roadmap

The HTC Dragon may not be quite the same mythical beast it once was now that the Nexus One has stolen some of its thunder, but it is still an actual device and, according to a recently leaked Dopod roadmap, it’s headed for China in the second quarter of this year. Details are otherwise a bit light, but it is apparently an Android device (as expected) and packs a 3.6-inch WVGA display. Joining it over the course of the year are the 3.4-inch, Android-based A6388, the 4.3-inch Huashan (apparently now a Windows Mobile device — possibly an HD2 successor?), the 3.2-inch Tianshan, and the considerably smaller Songshan phone, both of which are also Android phones, and should be out in either Q3 or Q4. Still no indication of a release for any of them over here, unfortunately, but something’s bound to give with that many HTCphones floating about.

HTC Dragon and friends turn up on Dopod roadmap originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on February 8, 2010 at 7:37 pm by Donald Melanson · Permalink · Comments Closed
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Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself over to AT&T, but those who call China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later this quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China says Android can stay, misses Google’s point

A Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesperson has today delivered a statement affirming China’s willingness to allow Android devices to operate within the country without restriction so long as they adhere to the nation’s laws. This means that whatever China’s response to Google no longer obeying its censorship edicts may be, it won’t be to disallow Android — which kind of makes sense considering the growing roster of OPhones out there, all running a remixed version of the dessert-loving mobile OS. Then again, Google’s latest power play was to hold back Android handsets from entering China, so we’re not entirely sure how much the Mountain View outfit cares about the Middle Kingdom’s apparent benevolence.

China says Android can stay, misses Google’s point originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leica MP Golden Camera celebrates 60th anniversary of Chinese republic

You know how Leica marks itself out with its typically subdued matte black finishes and old school designs? Well, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, the camera company has decided to go a bit crazy and punish reward us with this 24 carat gold-plated shooter. Limited to a run of 60, each hallmarked with a year between 1949 and 2009, the Golden Camera is encased in red calfskin, bears an inscription of Mao Zedong’s favorite slogan, and sports a Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 lens. To max out the gaudiness, you also get a wooden box to store your equipment in. Sold exclusively in mainland China, these will cost 199,900 Chinese Yuan ($29,300) each, though Leica is also bringing out limited edition M8.2 and D-Lux 4 models — sans any precious metals — for the more budget-conscious patriots out there. Check ‘em out after the break, or hit the source link for even more.

Continue reading Leica MP Golden Camera celebrates 60th anniversary of Chinese republic

Leica MP Golden Camera celebrates 60th anniversary of Chinese republic originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo LePhone launching in Le May

As Google and China trade blows on the global stage Lenovo just keeps on truckin’ with its plans to launch the Android-powered LePhone in China and overseas. Samsung and Motorola you’ll recall, already bent under Google’s pressure and agreed to delay the launch of their respective handsets in China last week. Lenovo execs are planning for a hat-trick launch in May on China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom with a rest of world launch expected later in the year. Lenovo shareholders also approved the company’s planned buy-back of its mobile handset division today, making them just the latest tier-1 PC maker to join the smartphone party. Picture of the LePhone with its optional keyboard accessory after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo LePhone launching in Le May

Lenovo LePhone launching in Le May originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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