Engadget reports (based on a translated Yahoo news article) that the managing director of Neofonie—manufacturer of the WeTab (nee WePad)—resigned his position after being caught posting reviews to Amazon under an assumed name. WeTab doesn’t seem to have been getting very many breaks lately. The device began shipping last month, but without multitouch, Flash hardware acceleration, the promised Android virtual machine, or the expected app store. (Gadget Venue has an unboxing video.) This sort of scandal is exactly what Neofonie doesn’t need right now, as it will amost certainly overshadow the tablet’s already rocky launch. Already on...

Crunchgear (among other places) reports that Neofonie, the German company manufacturing the Android tablet WePad, has abruptly changed the device’s name to “WeTab”. The company is being scrupulous not to mention or even imply that a certain fruitily-named Cupertino company had anything to do with its decision—its official statement says: To clearly differentiate our products within the international market for tablet computers, as of today we have changed the product name of our tablet computer from WePad to WeTab. Similarly, the company formerly known as WePad GmbH will now trade under WeTab GmbH. This...

Adobe’s product manager for RoboHelp has posted a RoboHelp script to allow the program to generate EPUB-format e-books. I used RoboHelp during my previous job; it is basically a highly-specialized HTML editor designed to create help files, manuals, and documentation—very versatile and reasonably easy to learn. But at $999, it is not exactly the kind of thing the average self-publishing writer is going to go out and buy. (Found via The Digital Reader.) Even though the iPad sold one million units in less than a month, it does not appear that iBooks e-books are exactly flying...

The iPad 3G comes out this afternoon, and CNet reports that Apple Stores are actually closing for an hour from 4 to 5 p.m. to prepare for the launch. If anyone picks one up, we’d like to hear from you! PC World has a 6-page article comparing the iPad to “everything else”. E-book and magazine reading makes up a considerable part of that comparison. The article says that the iPad definitely has the advantage as an e-reader, but that magazine publishers have yet to “create products that take full advantage of the iPad's display and interface.” Remember...

Further to our report below, here's a video from Netbook News....

Editor's Note: the following was sent to me by Ansgar Warner of Medienbüro Mitte in Germany. Many thanks! PB Wasn't it Edgar Allan Poe who used to say “My terror is not from Germany, but from the soul”? Judging from the potential threat the German WePad could pose to the iPad, Steve Jobs might as well put it vice versa. If not threatening, the tablet's specs sound at least really promising. „Android. USBs. Camera. Multitasks. If I could buy the WePad in Germany in a week, it would replace my iPad for sure“ no one else than Jeff...

According to the European version of Techcrunch, the iPad may have some real competition in Germany - the WePad, which will be released soon. Formal announcement of the hardware and media partnerships will be made on April 12. The WePad has signed up Europe's biggest publisher, Gruner + Jahr, and is in talks with Axel Springer, publisher of Europe's biggest newspaper, Bild. The underlying strategy is clear: “We insist on our sovereignity of products and contents”, Buchholz said in his Thursday’s speech, clearly hinting at recent problems. Apple removed the Stern iPhone app in November without warning from the App...

Earlier today, Paul mentioned that the HP slate might be a better device than an iPad. Here are another couple of devices that might make promising alternatives. First, TechCrunch reports on German manufacturer Neofonie’s 11.6” 1366x768 (720P capable) WePad. (English datasheet PDF here.) Due next month, it has a larger multitouch screen, faster processor, USB, card reader, Flash, and even a webcam. It will run “a Linux derivate (sic) with Android on top,” meaning that it can install not only Android apps but also Adobe Air software from Neofonie. The WePad is being pitched not only as...