Tablet war heats up as Sony introduces two Android slates

The second wave of iPad 2 challengers has started to surface and consumer electronics giant Sony is fielding not one but two new Sony Tablets coming this Fall.

The S1 has a 9.4-inch display and the S2 has  two 5.5-inch displays. Aside from the requisite Honeycomb OS applications, the Sony Tablets will be tightly integrated with Sony's line of Bravia televisions and will feature tie-ins with Sony's Qriocity video-streaming service and support for the Sony-initiated Digital Living Network Alliance standards via IR port, so they double as entertainment controllers. No word yet on the price although if Sony wants to really compete in terms of price and not just features, it should price these tablets in line with the rest of the market.

President Obama's iPad photographed

President Barack Obama salutes as he walks to Marine One following a town hall meeting in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The photo above from White House photographer Pete Souza shows US President Barack Obama saluting officers as he walks towards Marine One. Clutched in his hand is an iPad 2 complete with a SmartCover. President Obama confirmed that he owned an iPad in a recent interview with TV anchor Jorge Ramos. 

Sources:

White House Flickr Stream

Mac Daily News

Is this the new iPhone 4 S?

There's been a lot of talk about white iPhone 4's finally (as in, 10 months after the black iPhone 4 began shipping, finally) making it to market. There are reports of some units appearing in the UK under Vodafone and now a grainy photo from M.I.C Gadget shows a white iPhone 4 with a larger screen. Another image from the same source shows both screen bezels side by side. Could be the real thing or a hastily cobbled-together Photoshop job but until we see an actual white iPhone 4 in stores, expect a lot more speculation on whether Apple will simply give us a colour refresh or release a new model with incremental feature upgrades or availability to new mobile carriers.

Sources: M.I.C. Gadget

             Macrumors.com

Acer Iconia Android tablet now available for pre-order at Future Shop for $499

The deluge of $499 10"1 tablets continues with Acer's Iconia WiFi tablet on pre-order from Future Shop. The Iconia has the same specs as the Motorla XOOM but is slightly heavier and only features 1GB of memory (you can expand this yourself up to 32GB via a microSD card).