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Archive for Tablet News
Rumor: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Design Revised
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The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has made some small enhancements that will have a little bit more appeal. One of the main additions is a new slot that would house the stylus, a nice development especially for the forgetful types. The Stylus pen itself has been slimmed down to make it easier to write with and to fit the new slot. Further, the stylus itself might have been revamped to include erasing functionality.
Unofficial sources are pointing out that the Note 10.1 has received a solid hardware upgrades — the original dual-core chipset is being scrapped for the new Exonys quad-core CPU. Most of Galaxy Note 10.1′s competitors sport the quad-core chipset and it would be really silly of Samsung to continue with a dual core processor if adding two extra cores can boost performance even more.
Samsung had revealed the Galaxy Note 10.1 during Mobile World Congress held in February and has since been portraying the device as one that would be able to handle mobile computing needs of professionals, students or the business people alike. However, price or the exact release dates have always been kept under wraps.
In the end, it will be worth mentioning once again that all of the above are rumors at best though we hope to com across the official statement soon enough.
via slashgear
Genius’ Kids Designer II Tablet
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There is a new kid on the tablet block and the tablet too is meant for use by the children everywhere! Named Kids Designer II, the tablet from Genius breaks new ground in the tablet segment with its unique design that makes the entire device resemble the color palette of an artist. The main display area is made up of a 5 x 8 inch display. The tablet is aimed at the 3 to 8 age groups.
Pre-loaded in the tablet will be games and a other apps that the company claims will boost the child’s creativity and learning abilities. There is also a stylus included in the package that which will come in handy for the little minds to dive vent to their drawing and writing sills. These apart, large volume keys dominate the front of the tablet that otherwise is quite uncluttered. The tablet is currently available in the US and Canada for $64.99.
Asus Releases Tool to Unlock Transformer Pad Bootloader
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Asus has made available the tool required to unlock the bootloader on the Transformer Pad TF300 device. This will be a welcome relief for many who are keen to install custom firmware on the device. With the bootloader unlocked, there is no stopping users from installing other versions of Android, or maybe even other operating systems if they wish.
However, there is a small price to be paid for all the freedom that comes with an unlocked bootloader; the standard company warranty will be deemed null and void. Asus will only continue to provide all the software assistance as long as the bootloader is intact.
Surely, this won’t deter many out there who have been waiting eagerly for Asus to release the unlocking tool. With the Transformer Pad Infinity next in line, a similar sort of thing is also expected for the new upcoming tablet.
via android police
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 Launched in India
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Samsung announced the availability of the Galaxy Tab 2 310 in India, making it the first tablet offering from the Korean manufacturer to sport Android 4.0 right out of the box. The 7 inch tablet has been priced at INR 23,250 and is inclusive of an attractive data plan from Tata Docomo that will provide 3 GB of data over a period of three months completely free.
Specs wise, the tablet that is also known as the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, sports a 1 Ghz dual core processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal memory. There is a microSD card slot for more storage with power coming from a 4,000 mAh battery unit. The tablet is both Wi-Fi and 3G enabled, while the 7 inch PLS display packs in 1024 x 600 pixels.
Coming to contents, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 packs in plenty of it, what with the tablet coming pre-loaded with readers, games and movie hubs. So while the Games Hub provides access to all the latest games to be played on the tablet, the Movies Hub will make available more than 500 movies or 2,500 music videos. Similarly, the Readers Hub opens up more than “2 million ebooks, 3,500 magazines in 25 languages, and more than 2,000 newspapers in 51 languages.”
Refer to the press release below for more info.
PlayBook 4G Gets Past the FCC
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We all knew that a 4G version of the PlayBook has been in the making for the last few months and soon the tablet may be seen on store shelves. The tablet has just received the necessary FCC certifications, however, as usual, details of the tablet have been kept under wraps and the only thing we know of the tablet right now is that it is both NFC and Bluetooth capable. The PlayBook is not likely to sport anything radical, apart from being 4G ready, which again has led many to speculate if the tablet might be too little too late. An affordable price point for the 4G PlayBook can ensure the tablet remains in contention.
via allthingsd
Amazon Releases New Update to App Store – Lets You Try Apps Before You Buy Them
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Amazon has just released a new version of its Android APP store that lets you try an app before you commit to the purchase. This feature is in beta and only works on select phones and tablets. This is a great new enhancement because you don’t have to waste your money on a particular app, only to find out it does not suit your needs. Amazon intends on refining this cloud based feature in the coming months and rolling it out to more devices. For now, it is all about trial and error to see if it works on your particular device. You can download it right now from the Good e-Reader App Store, or better yet, download our Android Client.
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity Reaches FCC
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The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity can be considered the Taiwanese company’s answer to the ongoing pixel war unleashed by the iPad 3. The tablet, an improvement over the Transformer Prime, has made it past the FCC strictures. The device is all set to storm into the markets soon, not too long after the tablet first made its public appearance at the CES event in January.
Formally labelled TF700T, the tablet that cleared the FCC formalities is Wi-Fi only, leaving the 4G version for another day. As for specs, while not much is revealed as of now, the Transformer Pad Infinity is believed to be built on the Transformer Prime with a few enhancements here and there. Of course the biggest if them will be the 1920 × 1200 pixel resolution, which is less than the 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution of the iPad 3, but is still a nice improvement over the 1280 x 800 pixel display that the Transformer Prime has.
The Transformer Pad Infinity will (most likely) be based on the Tegra 3 chipset, will run Android 4.0 ICS, and will have a 8 and 2 megapixel webcam at the rear and front of the tablet.
Watch this space as we track development on this.
via engadget
Sony Tablet P to Get Android ICS on May 24
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The Sony Tablet P has been one of the most unique tablet devices, and it takes a lot to stand out in the world of tablets. Now Sony has announced the update to Android ICS starting May 24 for the twin display device. The domestic consumers in Japan will be getting the upgrade before anyone else, and its not known when users of the Tablet P elsewhere in the world can consider themselves as lucky.
Sony has also announced that users will get to enjoy the “small apps” feature as part of the update. “Small apps” allows users to use other apps, such as a calculator, in a miniature window on top of the app currently in use and without first requiring to close or minimize the app in use. Another nice feature of the update will be the way users will get to use the camera straight from the lock screen and start clicking images.
Sony had earlier announced the Android ICS update to be made available to both the Tablet P and Tablet S back in April, though for reasons best known to them, only the Tablet S received the ICS update while Tablet P continued with Android Honeycomb for another month. Also, with Sony, all domestic and international releases are rolled out on the same day. So it’s worth checking for the update manually all over the globe on May 24 just in case the the update is available for download.
via the verge
PlayBook Users Will Be Able to Upgrade to BB10
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The BlackBerry Developer team has now confirmed the rumors that the PlayBook tablet will be able to run BB10 OS without requiring any hardware modifications. However, of course there is a delay, and RIM stated the BB10 update won’t be coming to PlayBook until after the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones are out in the market. This translates to a wait until the beginning of 2013, as the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones aren’t expected before fall this year.
BB10 is the next generation operating system that RIM is readying and will act as a single platform for both its upcoming smartphones and tablet devices. RIM is also banking a lot on this OS after having lost much of its ground to iOS and Android. It will be really interesting to see how the new generation tablets running the new OS perform in a market that is flooded with the iPad and a host of Android tablets.
via n4bb
Massive Updates for the Good e-Reader Android Client
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The Good e-Reader Android App Store client was officially updated today for both Android and the Blackberry Playbook! We have augmented our existing Android app so there is now an optimized mobile and new Honeycomb version. All of the new versions give you many new enhancements and features.
One of the main new elements of our store is that is now completely now optimized for mobile phones and tablets. We know a ton of people use their Kindle Fire, Kobo Vox and many other tablets. Our mobile version also has been updated that makes it look even better on your smartphones or Android tablets. You will get the best experience with Android 2.1 – 2.3 and 4.0. We have also created a brand new Honeycomb version for people who still have those.
One of the main new features we have introduced are fixes to Popular Apps and New Apps. In the past no matter what version of the client you had, it showed apps from both our Playbook and Android sections. We thought this confused many users and amended it so if you have the Android Client you will only see Android apps. We have also revised the way text is displayed in the App descriptions. It now maintains proper paragraph form and line spacing. Finally, we have added a new Splash screen image and added new enhancements to the auto update feature when an app you have as an update.
The Good e-Reader App Store features over 1500 apps for both Android and the Blackberry Playbook. You think of our app market as a veritable editors choice of the best apps on both platforms. Here at Good e-Reader we put a heavy emphasis on reading and news apps, but we have tons of games and other content too. Whenever a new version of an app is released we always are one of the first app markets to update our apps. Our Playbook App Market is currently rated the #1 store of its kind, as voted by Crackberry.
You can download the Mobile Android Client from Google Play HERE or from our web based store HERE. You can download our Honeycomb version from our App Store HERE and from Google Play HERE. Finally ou can download our official Playbook Client HERE.
Rumor: Amazon to Build 10.1 Inch Kindle Fire Variant, Ad Supported Kindle Fire Coming
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Amazon, it seems is more keen to take on the iPad than anything else. At least, that is how industry experts are explaining the latest rumors claiming the online retail giant is more eager to proceed with the development of a 10.1 inch sibling of the Kindle Fire than an 8.9 inch sized device. The Kindle Fire was launched amid much fanfare in the middle of November. The 7 inch device has not disappointed Amazon, as the tablet went on to become the highest selling Android tablet (though its sales figures never could match up to the iPad). Kindle Fire sales have since dwindled, which means Amazon has to do something special to ensure it remains in the tablet race. A 10.1 inch sized Kindle Fire variant, along with a spruced up 7 inch version that we already know is in the making, might just be it.
Another method of increasing sales of the Kindle Fire is to introduce an ad supported Kindle Fire. This would entail lowering the price even more for a device that is believed to already have been subsidized to keep initial costs low. Amazon is already reported to have initiated talks with a number of advertising agencies to get them on-board to support a Kindle Fire that would display their ads. Sources following developments on this claim Amazon is asking for $600,000 for ads that will be displayed on the home screen of the Kindle Fire, while for a million dollars advertisers can have the welcome screen along with enhanced ad inventory. Plus the advertiser will also be included in Amazon’s public-relations push.
Amazon isn’t revealing how many devices will be allowed to carry the ads, though for advertisers, the prospect of having their wares displayed on a device that has already reached millions of users might be too tempting to ignore. Then again, Amazon hasn’t yet stated whether the move is applicable to the Kindle Fire’s already sold or for the upcoming lot of Kindle Fires. The latter seems more likely as existing users of the Kindle Fire have already paid the full amount for the tablet and a reduced price structure for an ad supported version can’t be made applicable to them. Another model Amazon can approach is to upgrade to a better speced Kindle Fire while continuing to offer the present version with ads displayed at a reduced cost.
Amazon has already tasted success with that a formula on a version of it’s Kindle e-reader and is hoping to replicate the same with the Kindle Fire. For the Kindle e-reader, the ads appear as a screen saver when you are not reading any books and don’t appear to the users when they are actually reading ebooks. What remains to be seen is how the model is emulated on the Kindle Fire, which is more of a tablet device.
via adage
Acer Iconia A700 Arrives at the FCC
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The Acer Iconia lineup of tablets have been a low-cost alternative to many of the more expensive line of tablets on the market. The company is seeking to make a major play in the world of quad-core processors with their new Acer Iconia A700.
The new Acer Iconia A700 will feature a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and sport a ten inch capacitive touchscreen display. The resolution is the big story with this new model with the screen giving you a massive 1920×1200! There will be a front facing 2 MP webcam and a rear facing 5 MP variant. You will also get an HDMI port and USB port to transfer all of your media. Acer has learned from some of their past mistakes on the Iconia line of tablets in terms of battery life. The Iconia A100 had quite the woeful lifespan of around 4 hours but this one should give you closer to 9 with its 9800mAh battery.
This new tablet will be bundled with the companies eReading app that gives you a virtual bookshelf. You can place all of your reading, news and magazine apps very easy and really helps organize your apps. No word on pricing or availability yet, but normally when new devices hit the FCC it should be out in two months.
Major Playbook Pirate Website is Taken Down
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Research in Motion has had piracy on its radar for a number of months. One of the largest concerns for the company in courting new developers for its BB10 platform has been piracy. The company has publicly stated on many occasions that Piracy is one of the things running rampant on the Android platform and they would do their darnedest to make sure their ecosystem does not turn into a cesspool. It seems that in conjunction with a major announcement that all App World purchases for the Playbook will be encrypted in the near future, a major Playbook pirate website was taken down.
This website has been running for the last four months and specializes in apps and games ripped off from the Playbook App World. Their main priority was popular games such as the entire Angry Birds franchise, but basically had every single paid app available for free download on their website. This website was a thorn in the side of RIM in order to appeal to more mainstream developers to make apps for their own ecosystem. The company has made no public comment if they were the owns serving the DMCA notice to the owner of the website.
RIM intends on implementing a new encryption system on their Playbook App World this July. In essence this will prevent people from pirating any new or exiting content from their store by disallowing anyone, but the purchaser from running in on their tablets. This will effectively nullify 3rd party websites that purvey pirated applications and games.
Many people were blissfully unaware that PBVN.Net even existed but remained a constant source of disdain for RIM in their quest to lure more developers. The Waterloo company now realizes that in order for their market share to return to former glories they need to lure major apps like Skype, Pintrest, Temple Run and many more on their platform. When we talked with representative from RIM they said that many companies they spoke with were unwilling to develop for the platform because of rampant piracy and the ability to sideload in your own apps. RIM has confirmed that they will not disallow the ability to load in your own Android apps but they are working hard on their new encryption system to prevent future cases of piracy.
