Here come the sweet Honeycomb tablets Video
Here come the sweet Honeycomb tablets Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Molly Wood, and welcome to the Buzz Report, the show about the tech news that e eryone's talking about. This week, sweet, sweet Honeycomb, the lights are back on in Egypt, and you'll be less naked next time you fly. But first, it's the Gadget of the Week. The Gadget of the Week is the LG Optimus 3D. That's right ... even the phones are doing it now. LG plans to show off the Optimus at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, and since I won't be there, and maybe you won't either, let's check it out now. There are hints that it will be a dual-core smartphone, but for sure, it will have a dual-lens camera for taking 3D video, a 4.3-inch touchscreen capable of naked-eye 3D display, a 3D-capable HDMI output, and DLNA support for media sharing around the house. LG says the phone addresses the lack of 3D content by basically being a one-stop shop for watching AND creating stuff in 3D. Expect early buyers to delight their friends with lots of videos of them going like this ... And now for the news. Egypt has restored Internet access to its protesting population, after plunging that connected country into the dark ages for nearly a week. As you probably know, there's been violence and unrest in Egypt in recent days as citizens there protest over high unemployment and government corruption. The crazy part about this is that most of the world didn't even care about the Egypt protests until Egypt turned off the Internet. Never mind that most of the population lives on like, $2 a day, that they have this repressive dictatorship that horribly oppresses women, tortures citizens, and rigs every so-called "election" in favor of the 30-year-old authoritarian regime ... that's just like, life over there. But then they turned off the Internet, and the whole world was like, "THAT'S WRONG! They can't even TWEET! How are they gonna read my CAKE BLOG? How will they get their BIEBER NEWS!?" Ok, back to our pampered Western tech lives ... Google held an event this week to show off Honeycomb, the new version of Android that's specially made for tablets. And I gotta say ... Apple better look out. The Honeycomb demos took advantage of the dual-core Motorola Xoom and delivered amazing graphics, useful widgets and multi-touch support, and cool new video chat just like Facetime. Plus, Honeycomb is more like a real computer OS than iOS, even WITH the 4.2 multitasking. Uh oh! And Google unveiled a new Web-based version of the Android Market that lets you download apps from the Web and then automatically delivers them to your Android device -- phone, tablet, whatever. I'll tell you this much, folks. Nobody at Google was wearing a black turtleneck Wednesday morning, but they did just fine without it. But speaking of Google, though, there was a tech giant CAT FIGHT this week, as the Goog accused Microsoft of STEALING their search results for Bing. Seriously. They set up a Bing Sting and everything. While it's not exactly like the Bing folks just Googled everything and copy/pasted it--it's a little more complicated than that--there are a few interesting coincidences. Now, Microsoft said they're not copying search results, they're insulted by Google' accusations, and they think the Bing Sting is pretty damned shady, as a matter of fact. But they way I see it? C'mon. They probably did copy some results in some cases ... you wanna know why? Microsoft ain't stupid. And now they're like, hey, Google! Thanks for all the free advertising. After all, who knew Bing was so scary ... In other headlines this week, Amazon is reportedly going to roll out a Netflix-style movie and TV streaming service that would be free for Amazon Prime members. Like me! Roll it out, roll it out! Rupert Murdoch unveiled The Daily, his iPad-only newspaper. It'll cost 99 cents a week and 40 dollars a year, and it's customized for iPad viewing with lots of video and interactive videos. And the fact that it's news you can only read on an iPad. Man. I can't WAIT for a future in which I have to pay per device to get content. That sounds awesome, doesn't it? Speaking of devices, Android this week overtook Nokia to become the world's biggest global smartphone platform. Hey, but no, really, Murdoch. Make a paper for the iPad. Why not? And the TSA is testing software that will make the images taken by its full-body image scanners a lot less naked. Your picture will look more like a stick figure than a Playboy centerfold. So, that's nice and everything. I guess they didn't do that in the first place because ... PERVERTS? And finally, let's see what's clogging the tubes this week. TLC's increasingly ridiculous lineup of shows gets a little good-natured ribbing in this YouTube clip. The best part is that for the first few shows, you almost don't realize it's a gag. Enjoy. Ahh, it's funny because it's true. Also, "Uterus Cannon" would be a great band name. Just sayin'. And that's the Buzz Report for this week, everyone. I'm Molly Wood, and thanks for watching.
Related Videos
New Honeycomb tablets (do not eat!)
This week on the CNET Tech Review: tablet fans enjoy the sweet taste of Honeycomb; get only the updates you want in your Facebook feed; how to root your Android phone; and a high-tech toilet--how could we resist?
What's different about HTC's first tablet? It runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, not Google's new Honeycomb OS.
At Google's Android Honeycomb demo day, CNET's Donald Bell gives the Motorola Xoom tablet a test-drive and runs through Android's latest features.
Motorola Xoom tablet (hands-on)
A video demonstration of the Motorola Xoom tablet from the CES 2011 Press Event. The tablet is due out in the first quarter of 2011 on Verizon and is the first to run Google's Honeycomb version of Android.
The HTC EVO View 4G gives Android fans a fast, midsize tablet with a unique digital pen, but it is overshadowed by larger, equally affordable competitors running Google's tablet-optimized Honeycomb operating system.
This is the direct follow-up Galaxy Tab which ran Android 2.2. This tablet comes with Honeycomb 3.2 installed, and Samsung's custom TouchWiz.
Google announces music, movies, and more
On Day 1 of the Google I/O developers conference, the company rolled out updates for its Honeycomb tablet OS, announced the Ice Cream Sandwich mobile phone OS, and debuted new music-streaming and movie rental services.
Learn how to erase an Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet and restore it to its original factory settings.
CNET goes hands-on with Sony's unique S1 Android Honeycomb tablet, due out in Fall of 2011.
Ep. 1399: Waiting for Lady Killer
Warning: today's show is slightly shorter than usual, thanks to our live coverage of Google's Honeycomb, Android Market, and Lady Killer event. But it's worth it: we break down the big announcements from Google, talk about the launch of The Daily, Egypt's restoration of Internet service, and the TSA planning to show slightly less junk than before. Thanks, guys. --Molly