State of the art: first Rush, there is a Tablet

Happened with the iMac and iPhone. Now iPad is now entering phase 3. Apple iPad sold 15 million in the nine months, so you can bet that 2011 will be the year of iPad Clone.

Starting from Thursday, you will be able to buy one of the most anticipated iPad rivals: the Motorola Xoom. Like most candidate countries, this iPad runs Google's Android software — but Xoom is the first that runs Android 3.0 (code-named honeycombs), that Google designed for tablets instead of phones.

The Xoom Motorola's recent continuous strip of gadget attractive, compact and robust. Unless you inspect the rear (rubberized plastic instead of aluminium silver), you may not be able to tell this iPad touchscreen plate.

There are some differences, though. One is the price: the Xoom costa a stunning $ 800, $ 70 more equivalent iPad 32 gigabytes (mobile Wi-Fi and 3 G). If you are willing to sign a two-year Verizon contract, you can get the Xoom for $ 600. This means paying $ 20 per month to get online with Verizon cellular network (if you can get only 1 GB of data), rather than just Wi-Fi hot spots.

The Xoom also has a dual core processor, which, according to Motorola, means smoother animation. And cameras. On the back, there is a 5 megapixel camera that can also record high definition video. On the front, there is a low resolution camera for video chat. The new Android software includes a beefed-up camera module, which highlights strange imaginative effects that never use, like Solarize, sepia and Polarize.

Clearly, a camera is useful on a Tablet and will remain a huge competitive advantage for the Xoom — at least until iPad 2 comes out next month (if Apple adheres to its usual annual update model, that is). If the new iPad doesn't have a camera or two, you eat a Tablet PC.

Screenshot of Xoom has slightly higher resolution than the iPad, and gives a slightly different form the Tablet — more like a business envelope an envelope greeting card. The screen design is a better match for high definition video, but worse for pictures and maps.

The Xoom has stereo speakers instead of mono, a battery good for 10 hours of video playback and a power button on the rear panel. Motorola says that this year, a software update will allow the Xoom take advantage of the 4 G cellular networks of Verizon, which means better speed downloading a few lucky town.

A very cool feature: The Xoom has an HDMI, which means that a single cable can send audio and high definition video to a TV. That is a perfect proposition for the peripatetic PowerPoint Presenter.

Dock doctor Motorola has been working overtime, too. You can purchase either a speaker or a charging dock that activates automatically the Xoom presentation or alarm mode. If Xoom's hardware was all history, would be much of an anecdote. These hardware improvements alone do not knock iPad iPad 2 — — especially from his pedestal, especially considering the premium price.

No, the story is more important here honeycombs, Google Tablet PC software. This is the real iPad competitor; Honeycomb tablets in any size, shape and price range will arrive in stores soon.

As comb? Four words: more powerful, more complicated.

Screen now leads two strips of small icons. In theory, the main ones concern the program you're using and those along the bottom ones look like the Windows system tray: status icons and pop-up menu to various settings.

But these icons are darned cryptic; You might think that they were designed by aliens. Google seems to have overlooked a huge drawback of unlabeled icons on a touch screen computer: there is no way to see the names or the functions before you open them. There are no pop-up tips, for example. All you can do is tap one to enable it, see what's happening and learn from experience annoying.

New strips do not always make sense, even. Because, for example, tapping on the clock icon brings up the list of notifications (download complete, incoming text messages, and so on)? Why enter some settings by tapping the icon of a fund-Strip and the rest of the settings by tapping the icon of a strip higher? Android wants to be when it grows up Windows?

Some of the changes in the honeycomb are cool. There is a pop-up menu of the list of recently opened programs — not just their names, but miniature screens that show exactly what you were doing when you left. Widgets (small Windows that display the most recent data, say, Gmail or Twitter accounts) are more flexible now; for example, you can scroll content without having to open up a whole big app. You can drag individual messages in mail folders.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

FIX: February 25, 2011

In the column State of the art on Thursday, on the Tablet Motorola Xoom, misstated the price difference between Xoom and its equivalent iPad 32 gigabytes. Is $ 70, it is $ 200. (As the column correctly observed, the Motorola Xoom is $ 800. Equivalent, with Wi-Fi and 3 G, $ 730 — not $ 600.)

Left behind by prejudice, astronaut there ' the spirit '

HOUSTON — NASA Astronaut who has lost its place on the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery because of a bicycle accident communicated via radio his companions into orbit today saying that he is with them in spirit.

Walking in mission control on crutches, astronaut Tim Kopra communicated via radio six astronauts on shuttle NASA Johnson Space Center here to congratulate them for their good launch. Discovery blasted off Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"I just wanted to tell you guys you all had a terrible launch and we are all very proud of you here at the bottom," said Kopra.

Unlucky bike ride
Kopra is a veteran spaceflyer who lived on the international space station for months on his previous flight. He has been tapped to serve as the lead spacewalker for STS-133 of discovery to the space station, but was injured in a bicycle accident last month.

NASA replaced ultimately Kopra with another accomplished, veteran astronaut spacewalker Steve Bowen.

"Great to hear your voice, Tim, I wish you were here," said Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey. "I appreciate the kind words, it was a big launch. I can't tell you how we want that you were here with us as well. "

"Well, I am sure you know I feel the same way, so I definitely feel like we are in the spirit and, above all, I'm eager to see Steve and go out the door and do great work," Kopra said.

After his injury, Kopra has helped shape Bowen, who now will perform both walks with his Alvin Drew. During the two walks, such as NASA calls extravehicular activities (EVAs), Kopra will control mission to provide advice to the two Stowage

Good friends in space
In the cosmic call today, Kopra has also had a chance to talk with other final astronaut crew members of space shuttle Discovery.

"Hello, Timmy," said Nicole Stott, mission specialist. "I just want to say I love you, and as Steve said, we wish you were here. But we are also very happy you will be supporting us from the ground and look forward to speaking with you about EVA days. "

"I love you back and that is going to be a great couple of EVAs," replied Kopra.

"Hey Tim, Mike," said astronaut Michael Barratt, so he shared an apparent inside joke. "We lost the booming laughter zero-g up to here, and I gotta tell you, listening to a little spirit, but we'll have to explain that when we return."

More information on final final mission Discovery crew of Discovery: experienced six veteran astronauts and friends are flight of space shuttle Discovery to the international space station during the final voyage of the long and illustrious career of the orbiter. NASA confirms that debris has done evil Robot butler anchor ride shuttle orbit on Shuttle payload includes more closet space by the numbers: basic information about the shuttle scored a big image launch? Please share it

"I look forward to that, Mike, it's nice to hear your voice," said Kopra.

And as a touch of closure, astronaut Steven Robinson in mission control the conversation ended with a final thought: "everything is just right, discovery, to show you have a crew of seven people, not only are there with you."

Discovery crew beats an eleventh day of the mission to the international space station to deliver a new storage room and humanoid robot to the orbiting laboratory. The shuttle arrives at the laboratory orbito Saturday at 2: 19 PM EST.

You can follow Space.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter @ denisechowas she covers the final space voyage Discovery from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Visit Space amenities complete coverage of the final mission of Discovery STS-133.

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