Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 Running Windows 8 – The Answer To Microsoft Surface Tablet !

Lenovo have just given another reason to check out their latest product. There is no denying that with the latest gadget wars, the best way forward for a company is to send them out bigger, bolder and better. It is no surprise that even when the dust has not settled on Microsoft Windows 8, we have tablets already out. Well, if you don’t have the news yet, here it comes.
Lenovo, the computer maker, now has a 10.1 inch ThinkPad Tablet 2 running windows 8. Whoosh! That came fast. I mean, we all expect the retail version of Windows 8 to hit out stores in October, right? Anyway, here is what you need to know about the newest tablet on the block.
First, it is a tool for your business life and of course, what the tablet does best is complement your social life. So picture the following specs, which make it quite a darling. I think all other tablet manufactures are rushing to their research and development labs to become organized, especially the surface tablet.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 will have the best that Windows 8 has to offer, the touch functionality. Therefore, it is your laptop turned into a tablet. Think of your original ThinkPad. Make it lighter, more portable and very intuitive to use. The tablet comes at a slim size of just 0.39inches by 10.3 inches by 6.5 inches.
Now, add native network functionality to it and here you are. If you get the ThinkPad Tablet 2, you are also getting a device to connect to your enterprise, together with a desktop support. This is why I say, this tablet will get others going back to the drawing board. All enterprise solutions come with the tablet. Security features include a SmartCard reader. For connectivity, you get a 2.0 USB connector. Moreover, HD and projector enthusiasts have a mini HDMI output for their intended use. Of course, we have the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
No device now can miss the two specs. Here comes the honey in the details. Yes, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 has both 3G and 4G capabilities. If this is going to be your meeting device, you know stuff like Skype and Google+ hangouts, and then you have a 2 megapixel camera at the front. The mic is incredible with noise cancellation abilities and it goes to your Lync and Skype with no fuss.
I am not leaving out the stunning pictures that you will take to share on your projects. The 8mp rear camera and LED flash are the best for that job. Now you know who the newest kid on the tablet market is. Go get it!

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Archos G10 tablet with slimmer design to be unveiled in three weeks

Archos been manufacturing MIDs/tablets even before Apple announced the iPad. But they’ve always been more about low-end to mid-end devices, than about making gadgets that actually look and feel premium. It looks like that’s about to change with Archos’ Gen 10 tablets, which look like they were made to compete in the high-end market, hopefully for a lower price.
A few months back we got a glimpse of the Archos G10 XS, which is meant to be a competitor to the Transformer series from Asus. That seems like a good move, as I think there’s a lot of room on the market for hybrid devices that are not too expensive, and run much better than Windows 7 netbooks.
As an added benefit, tablets fitted with keyboard docks usually have a much longer battery life than netbooks. Asus Transformer devices can typically claim over 15-18 hours of use, a performance that is buoyed by the extra battery found in the dock. We don’t know if Archos plans to put a battery in the dock as well, but judging from its thickness , I’d say it includes a battery.
The Archos G10 tablet that you can see in the first image (teased on Facebook) of this post is supposed to be unveiled in 3 weeks, and it might not be the same G10 XS device. I expect the device to arrive with ICS, not Jelly Bean, and probably a Tegra 3 chip.

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Motion Computing CL910 Windows 8 Tablet Launched

Most of the news about Windows tablets lately has focused on Microsoft’s Surface tablet, and while it is a pretty exciting tablet for personal use, it doesn’t exactly have the hardiness or features that many business owners may be looking for.

That is what makes Motion Computing’s announced CL910 Windows tablet stand out.
Despite the fact that it is already being compared to the Surface, the CL910 is not batting in that league. Instead, it is a tablet that is focused on enterprises and fulfilling their needs. This latest addition to their CL-series of tablets builds on the strengths of its predecessors and is fully ready to be upgraded to Windows 8 when it is eventually launched.
Specifications
Although it has the same 15.5 mm frame as its predecessor, and the USB port, SD card slot and Gorilla glass from that model as well, under the hood the CL910 is a very different machine.
For starters, it runs on Intel’s new dual core 1.6 GHz Atom N2600 processor and has 2 GB of RAM along with a 128 GB solid state drive for storage. Its display measures up at 10.1 inches with a resolution of 1366 x 768 and includes two-finger touch support as well as high resolution digitizer pen input. For video calls and conferences, it has a 3.0 Megapixel front-facing camera and a 1.3 Megapixel rear camera as well.
Apart from the USB and SD card ports, the CL910 has an audio output and HD video output port as well. On the connectivity front it comes equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, wireless SIM and also GPS.
All in all it is a pretty solid tablet, and while it will ship with Windows 7 Professional installed it will be eligible for an upgrade when Windows 8 ‘Metro’ rolls out sometime next year.
Additional Accessories and Peripherals for Enterprises
What makes Motion Computing’s CL910 so attractive to enterprises however are the additional features that come in the form of accessories and peripherals.
The perfect example of one such accessory is the CL-series SlateMate which has an integrated Magnetic Strip Reader and Bar Code Scanner. Other accessories and peripherals include the:

• CL Series Locking Mobile Dock by RAM Mounts which improves both performance and productivity
• CL Series ReadyDock by Advanced Technical Solutions which allows multiple tablets to be charged, synced, and secured
• CL Series VESA Mounting Plates which allow the tablets to attach themselves to any VESA-compliant mounts

While these features may not do much for home users, they are essential for many enterprises and will allow this tablet to be used in a myriad of situations that extend throughout the workplace.
Basically, the CL910 is an enterprise tablet solution that has the future in mind. The biggest advantage it has over most other tablets out there is that because it runs Windows (as opposed to Android or OSX) it will be easy to sync with the existing systems of most enterprises.
Add to that the list of features that very obviously are intended to cater to the needs of an enterprise and it is easy to see why Motion Computing has drawn so much attention with its CL910 launch announcement.

Source: Techzek

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Best Buy says some Galaxy Tab 10.1 buyers thought they purchased iPads, returned the Android tablets

Things continue to look not-so-good for Samsung in its complicated patent-based lawsuit against Apple. The two giants are going to face each other off in courts starting with July 30 in the U.S. case, the most important one of for both companies – and they’re fighting it out in over 50 cases in 10 countries.
Earlier today, we heard that Google warned Samsung that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 looked too much like the iPad, which is what Apple was able to get apparently from Samsung documents.
Now we hear that the iPhone and iPad maker scored other similar documents that reveal internal Samsung discussions regarding similarities between its products and Apple’s. One of the interesting tidbits, which Samsung will have a tough time fighting, is the fact that Best Buy customers returned Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices after realizing they were not iPads, which is what they though they were buying in the first place:

Samsung was forced to release a bunch of documents it had been keeping under seal that show the likeness between its products and Apple’s. Examples outlined in the documents include comments from Samsung workers discussing similarities with Apple’s products, and reports Samsung got from retailer Best Buy that Samsung tablets were being returned because customers thought they were getting iPads. Samsung still has a pending motion to prevent all of this information from being included at trial.

So far, Samsung did not have such a great time in courts, where Apple has won more favorable rulings than the South Korean company did, with the most recent one being scored in the U.S. case – the jury was instructed to take into account that Samsung did not preserve documents that could have been used by Apple as evidence in court.
We are thoroughly following the Apple vs Samsung battle because it’s one of the most important legal fights out there for the mobile business, so we’ll be back with more details from the U.S. case that’s about to begin.
Meanwhile, if any of those Best Buy buyers that returned Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices after realizing they were not iPads are reading these lines, then let us know what happened back then and why you made such a mistake.

Sumber: http://www.androidauthority.com/best-buy-says-galaxy-tab-10-1-buyers-thought-they-purchased-ipads-and-returned-android-tablets-103871/

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Zen Mobile Ultra Tab A100 Launched Exclusively At HomeShop18 For Rs. 5,999

Already the 7 inch budget tablet market in India is pretty crowded, and so Zen Mobile’s Ultra Tab A100 that was just launched will definitely face an uphill task muscling its way against its competitors. That being said it does have a number of unique features that might prove to be decisive.

On paper, the Ultra Tab A100 has a 7 inch 800 x 400 display and weighs in at 295 grams. It runs on a 1.2 GHz processor and also includes a Mali-400 GPU. The only camera on the Ultra Tab A100 is in the front of the device and measures up at 1.3 Megapixels which is more than enough for video calls. Storage-wise it supports an external TF card that can offer up to 32 GB of space. All of its hardware is powered by a 2,800 mAh battery that Zen Mobile claims will provide 3.5 hours of 720p video playback or over 14 hours of web usage.
Despite the fact that the Ultra Tab A100 runs on  Ice Cream Sandwich, it must be said that Zen Mobile have taken it upon themselves to heavily customize the user interface. The result is a 3D user interface that will also feature several custom widgets that Zen Mobile have come up with to improve the user experience. Another one of the strong points of the A100 is that it supports Flash and HTML5.
Right now the device is available exclusively at HomeShop for Rs. 5,999 but it is expected to go out to other retailers at a later date and be more widely available at Rs. 6,199. Unfortunately there is no estimated date as to when exactly it will become available elsewhere.
While there is no doubt that the Zen Mobile’s Ultra Tab A100 is squaring off against some stiff competition, its custom UI and Ice Cream Sandwich experience may be enough to help it rise above the crowd and claim a stake for itself in India’s burgeoning 7 inch tablet market.

Source: http://www.techzek.com/zen-mobile-ultra-tab-a100-launched-exclusively-at-homeshop18-for-rs-5999/

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Samsung SPH-L300 ‘Gogh’ Coming To Sprint

Details of yet another mid-range budget Samsung smartphone have leaked out recently, and this time it is one that has already been the subject of other leaks in the past: The Samsung SPH-L300 that is otherwise known as the Samsung Gogh.

Pictures of this particular device have been available for some time and more recently it was reported that the SPH-L300 was in the midst of obtaining its FCC approval. In this latest round of leaks, more pictures are available, and some details too.
Apparently the Samsung Gogh is an Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4) device that features a 4 inch touchscreen with 800 x 400 WVGA resolution. It is expected to run on a dual core Snapdragon S4 1.2 GHz processor, come with 1 GB of RAM, and have a 5 Megapixel rear camera.
The pictures that have leaked out show a device that looks reminiscent of a cross between the HTC One X and the Nexus One. It appears to have an brushed aluminum casing although some rumors suggest that it is really just plastic that is designed to look like brushed metal.
Although some reports are claiming that this will be a non-4G device, others state that it has support for Sprint’s 4G LTE network.
One feature that should be present on the Samsung Gogh is Google Wallet. This is apparently in line with Sprint’s decision to have 10 Google Wallet devices in their line-up by the end of the year. Also, the NFC feature on the Samsung Gogh will be enabled as well.
All said and done, this would appear to be a fairly solid smartphone that has decent mid-range specifications. If it is indeed able to run Sprint’s LTE service then that would definitely add some points to its favor, but regardless it should do well so long as it is priced appropriately.
Unfortunately there are no details about the release date and pricing available right now.

Source: http://www.techzek.com/samsung-sph-l300-gogh-coming-to-sprint/

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Qualcomm Quad Core Snapdragon S4 Tablet Announced At $1,299

Admittedly most mobile device aficionados are probably more accustomed to seeing Qualcomm’s name featured on the chips within their smartphones and tablets, but from time to time the manufacturer does come out with its own devices to showcase something special.

This time, it is showing off its new APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 quad core processor that should allow it to finally compete head to head against other manufacturers that have quad core mobile processors of their very own such as the Samsung Galaxy Exynos 4, and Nvidia Tegra 3.
Early benchmark tests of the new processor seem to put it on par with its competitors. In some benchmarks it surpasses them, but in others it lags slightly behind.
One of the first tablets (apart from this one) that will feature the new S4 quad core processor is the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity 4G version. After that it will probably start appearing in other Android and Windows tablets, but it could be some time before it is seen in any smartphone.
For now, this particular Qualcomm tablet will apparently be sold at a rather pricey $1,299 and is intended to be a Mobile Development Platform for developers to create and test programs and see how they run on the new chipset.
Apart from the new processor, this tablet will feature the new Adreno 320 GPU, 2 GB of RAM, a 13 Megapixel rear camera with a flash, and a 10.1 inch WXGA display with 1366 x 720 resolution. It will ship with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, and there is no word as to whether or not an update to Jelly Bean will be provided at any point in time.
All in all, it is a pretty upmarket device but it certainly has top of the line specifications that are going to be giving developers and tech enthusiasts alike some serious wet dreams.

Source: http://www.techzek.com/qualcomm-quad-core-snapdragon-s4-tablet-announced-at-1299/

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Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite with Android ICS Tablet Announced

Huawei has been making a number of strides into the international tablet market lately, and their latest offering is the Medipad 7 Lite which (as the name implies) is a 7 inch Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.

Unfortunately the official announcement of the MediaPad 7 Lite was also slightly light on details, but what is known is that it will feature a touchscreen with a ‘standard’ resolution of 1280 x 800 that will probably be an IPS display due to the emphasis on the tablets ‘wide viewing angles’.
Also, from the pictures of the MediaPad 7 Lite that were released it appears as though it will have both front and rear cameras, which should be welcome news especially for those who were slightly miffed that the Nexus 7 didn’t have a rear camera.
The details that are still unknown are the processor, RAM, internal storage and so on. Based on today’s announcement however, it is clear that the tablet will definitely support WiFi and 3G as well.
Although the 7 inch tablet market has had several entrants lately, the Nexus 7 is still the one to beat. Assuming Huawei is able to offer a device that can go head to head with it in terms of specifications and yet still maintain an attractive price point, it could perform extremely well.
Of course if it does not then it may just crash and burn.
Frankly speaking it is still too early to predict what sort of an impact the Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite is going to have, especially with so many details still unknown. Once the blanks are filled in and a launch date and possible price point is available as well, it may be possible to judge this device a little bit more accurately.
For now though, it is still a definite sign that Huawei intends to make inroads in the international tablet market.

Source: http://www.techzek.com/huawei-mediapad-7-lite-with-android-ics-tablet-announced/

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Huawei unveils the MediaPad 7 Lite ICS tablet

Huawei has been on a roll lately! As popular as Huawei is in its home market, the Chinese company is now making a move for a piece of the Android market share worldwide. And they have great products to back up their bid. After a very successful showing at this year’s Mobile World Conference, devices such as the Ascend P1 and the Ascend P1S are finally making it to the market, and we’re still eagerly awaiting the release of Huawei’s quad-core powerhouse, the Ascend D Quad.
Huawei is not restricting itself to the smartphone world either, but is releasing some amazing tablets as well. After the announcement of the quad-core MediaPad 10 FHD that is slated for an August release, Huawei also officially unveiled its 7-inch slate, the MediaPad 7 Lite.
Specifications of the device are still not available, but the product information page of the MediaPad 7 Lite boasts features such as:

• 1080p Full-format movie playing
• High Quality 3G and WiFi, including cellular voice, SMS, and MMS
• Full View Angle and clear and vivid display
• Silver Aluminium alloy unibody design
• Light and compact, making it very easy to carry

All we know is that the device will feature Android 4.0 ICS out of the box, so it’s unfortunately not going to be the first non-Nexus Android tablet featuring Jelly Bean. This 7-inch slate will come with the “standard” 1280×800 resolution, and if the “full view angle” is any indication, will be an IPS or IPS-like display. For those who found disappointing the absence of a rear camera and microSD support on the Nexus 7, the MediaPad 7 Lite does have a rear camera (from the image) and is expected to come with an expandable memory option as well.
Specifications such as the processor, RAM, internal storage, etc. are still unknown. Information on pricing and release date is also unavailable, but a Q4 release is expected.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the MediaPad 7 Lite is going to be a Nexus 7 competitor. But I’m excited about what Huawei has to offer to the Android world so far and can’t wait to find out more!
What are your thoughts? Are you looking forward to the Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite? Do you think this tablet will compete with the Nexus 7? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Huawei shows off new MediaPad 10 FHD in breezy demo video

Huawei is becoming an increasingly familiar name for Western consumers (or is it just tech bloggers?), although not everyone knows how to pronounce it correctly. Devices like the Ascend D Quad (once known as the fastest smartphone in the word) and the very slim Ascend P1 show that Huawei means business about entering the high-end market segment.
Huawei has also announced a very promising tablet, the MediaPad 10 FHD, which has recently been slated for an August release. The 10-inch device is pretty sleek and its innards are equally attractive – that quad-core K3V2 clocked at 1.5 GHz should give Samsung’s Exynos 4 Quad a run for its money, provided that Huawei manages to actually bring it to market before it becomes old news.
The MediaPad 10 should cost less than $500, which still seems a bit expensive to me, especially if Huawei wants to position it against the iPad. Anyway, if you’re intrigued about the MediaPad 10 FHD, Huawei has released a nice breezy video that highlights the main features of the new MediaPad 10. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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Ematic eGlide Prism 3D tablet preview

We are in the midst of a revolution of expectation, witnessing tablets evolve from “wants” to “needs”. Most people primarily use a tablet for surfing the internet, checking email, listening to music, and occasionally watching movies and other streaming content, and shouldn’t have to shell out over $500 (which is a conservative estimate) to buy such a device. The solution to this problem is now at hand, with a slew of low-cost, but not necessarily poorly-spec’ed, tablets now entering the market. God, I love competition.
One such budget-friendly device is the Ematic eGlide Prism. The ultra-slim (9mm) Android 4.0 device, while quite cheap, features specifications that include:

• 7″ capacitive multi-touch LCD Display
• 800×480 resolution
• 1Ghz single-core processor
• Android 4.0
• 8GB internal storage, expandable via microSD, also includes 5GB cloud storage
• 512MB RAM
• front facing webcam
• HDMI support
• dedicated GPU
• Wifi 802.11 b/g/n

 

While the specifications are in line with most other low-cost tablets, what makes the eGlide Prism really stand out from the crowd is its 2160p 3D HD video playback capability with 3D glasses included with the tablet. While it is not glasses-free 3D, this will likely be a huge selling point for the eGlide Prism. Oh, and good luck finding 2160p content, too.
While not the most highly-specced device around, the features and specs are certainly impressive for the very low price of tag of around $160. The company’s “About Us” section includes a line that states, “Ematic has been providing superior technology at a fraction of the cost,” and that certainly seems to be the case here. Of course, while it sounds very reasonable on paper, a more thorough hands-on review would be required to check the performance of the tablet. Hopefully, a 3D capable tablet for that price should be completely worth it.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on some 3D goodness at a very budget-friendly price, you can order it online here.
What are your thoughts? Are the specification “compromises” worth it for the low cost? Will you be looking to buy the Ematic eGlide Prism? Let us know in the comments section below.
We’ll be getting one for review in the next little while, so check back for our full verdict soon!

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Acer Iconia Tab A700 up for pre-order: Tegra 3, ICS, and 1920 x 1200 pix res screen for just $450

It might have not come up with an iPad killer (yet), and it hasn’t been chosen by Google to help out on the Nexus Tablet, but Acer is known around the block for building some pretty capable and affordable Android-based slates.
The Iconia Tab A700 is the most recent such product to be unveiled by Acer, and, while it’s not exactly spectacular, it looks like it could really make an impression with its “bang for the buck”.
Set to cost $449.99, the A700 comes with a truly impressive 10.1-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen that boasts a 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution and “delivers 55 percent higher pixel density compared to 1280 x 800 displays”. I personally haven’t had the chance to play around with Acer’s new 10-incher just yet, but I’m willing to bet you can run 1080p videos on it without any problem whatsoever and with the best possible image quality.
The display isn’t the only strong point of the fresh new A700, and you should also expect some more than decent gaming performance out of it. There’s a 1.3 GHz Tegra 3 quad-core processor under the tablet’s hood, as well as 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, which is (almost) everything you could hope to get from a high-end slate these days.
The rest of the features include Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with some software tweaks and customizations on top, a 5 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash, Dolby Digital Plus sound enhancement, WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity, as well as a full HDMI port and a microUSB 2.0 connector.

 

The 9,800 mAh battery should go for “up to ten hours” between charges, according to official claims, while the 10-incher is no ugly gadget either, weighing in at 666 grams (1.47 pounds) and measuring a mere 0.43 inches (11 mm) thick.
Acer’s Iconia Tab A700 is already up for pre-order in silver and black on Acer’s official website and at several “national electronics retailers in the United States”. And if you’re still not sold by the new tablet, you should know that for $449.99, the current retail price, you’ll get the 32 GB internally equipped model, which is one heck of a deal, if you ask me, considering the competition. Of course, the 16 GB version should cost even less (probably around $350), but that hasn’t been made available just yet.
There’s no word on when exactly to expect the A700 to start shipping, but chances are you won’t have to wait for more than a few weeks to get Acer’s new 10-incher on your doorstep. Then again, you might want to hold out for a bit, because a 4G LTE-enabled version of the tablet is on the way, according to rumors from The Verge.
Update: New video from Computex 2012, held in Taipei!

What do you folks think of the Iconia Tab A700? Could it be the 10-inch tablet with the best quality-price ratio around? Are you going to pre-order it or are you hoping for something even more powerful and/or cheaper?

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/acer-iconia-tab-a700-preorder-us-94730/

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Sony Tablet P now receiving Android 4.0.3 update

Sony Tablet P

Though it’s been delayed a few weeks from the announcement date, Sony Tablet P is finally getting an update to the latest Android Version 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich), available only in selected markets. The update was earlier released to its big brother Tablet S in April this year.
Already available in Europe by the end of May, the update brings a host of fresh features like new Sony Apps, direct access to full-sized SD card, drag & drop folder creation and functionality.  It also includes enriched photo viewing/editing options to personalize the user’s multimedia experience. Sony mentioned on its Developer World Blog, that a few operating system enhancements such as streamlined user interface and improved multi-tasking has been done as well for better performance in comparison to its earlier version Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

Show full PR text

Sony Tablet P users can check if the update is available to download and install under “About” menu. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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[Video] Google advertises movie rentals on Play Store, bananas and mirrors may be involved

In an attempt to make its Google Play movie rentals service more popular with the Android crowd, Google released a YouTube video in which it demoed the simple functionality of its cloud-based movie streaming service. The short 1-minute video explains how movie watching via Google Play works, and why Android tablet owners should be excited.
In short, enjoying a movie should be rather simple, as Google will let you start watching it on one device, and then continue from where you left off on an Android tablet.
And what better way to make people remember the Google Play movie rentals service than by trying to come up with a viral video/ad?
That’s exactly what Google did, and while bananas and mirrors are not actually used to stream movies from Google Play on Android devices, the analogy is quite interesting. Moreover, if you pay attention to what’s happening on the screen, you’ll discover certain links that will take you straight to the Google Play store (spoiler alert, you’re looking for four distinct links).



What Google doesn’t say in its short 1-minute video is that the available movie selection in Google Play is rather limited for now, and that it can’t match the competition when it comes to catalog size yet. However, the company is clearly moving in the right direction. While the Google Play movie rentals service may not successfully compete with Netflix or iTunes anytime soon, it certainly proposes itself as a new digital content avenue for Android fans.
Here’s a more serious video from Google detailing its Google Play movie service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9KI6TxVCQ
Did the mirrored banana convince you to switch to Google Play from your previous online movie streaming service?

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/google-play-ads-video-rentals-bananas-mirrors-95292/

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[Video] How a dirt-chip tablet is made and tested (it’s not what you expect)

The tablet business is still dominated by Apple, with Android device makers still having a hard time coming up with an iPad rival that would woo the crowds. Google’s Andy Rubin and Samsung executives independently admitted that their progress in the tablet business is not where they’d like it to be, and while we expect the two companies to launch more competitive tablets in the future, let’s not forget the fact that there’s another kind of Android tablet out there, low- to mid-ranged devices that are made by a variety of OEMs, Amazon included.
Today, we have a video for you that shows us how that ultra-affordable $55 Boxchip A13 7-inch tablet is made and tested in a factory in Shenzen, China. The 7-minute video reveals that we’re not looking at the contained environment we would have imagined. The workers don’t wear uniforms and protective gears and you won’t see anywhere the cleanliness and care you’d expect to see in such factories. There aren’t any robots helping out with product making, and it’s probably safe to say that only affordable manual labor is used to build it.
Then again, the Boxchip A13 tablet is very cheap at $55 (now rumored to cost $49), so you can’t be too pretentious about the way your tablet is made should you decide to pick up one of these devices.
In case you were wondering, the tablet factory above, produces around 4,000 units each day, or 120,000 units a month, which means there are plenty of buyers for cheap Android tablets. And, as long as they work accordingly – and you can see that testing goes on during manufacturing – they’ll probably be appreciated by Android tablet buyers that don’t have a lot of wiggle room to accommodate more expensive purchases when it comes to their budgets.



Here’s what the Boxchip A13 tablet has to offer for that $55:

• 7-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution
• 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor
• 512MB of RAM
• 4GB storage
• microSD support
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• 3G dongle support
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• USB support
• 2,000mAh battery
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Would you buy a Boxchip A13 tablet now that you know how it’s made?

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/dirt-chip-tablet-manufacturing-video-95427/

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NEC LifeTouch L Android tablets launched, for business and pleasure

NEC has unveiled two new 10.1-inch Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich tablets today, one for business and one for personal use, but both part of the LifeTouch L line.
The LifeTouch L for individuals will be launched on July 5, while the business model will be available in stores in late July. Pricing details for the two LifeTouch L versions have not been mentioned at this time, but we do have more details regarding their specs and features for you.
There aren’t that many differences when it comes to hardware. In fact the two LifeTouch L lines are almost similar but for the memory capacity. The NEC LifeTouch L for individuals will come in two versions, 16GB and 32GB while the business model will only offer 16GB of storage.
Here are the other specs of the LifeTouch L models:

• Weight: 549g
• Profile: 7.99mm thin
• 10.1-inch IPS LCD touchscreen display with 1280 x 800 resolution
• 1.5GHz dual-Core TI OMAP4460 processor
• 16/32GB and 16GB memory
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with 5GHz band support
• USB support
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Up to 13 hours of battery life for web surfing
• Up to 10 hours of battery life for watching video

In addition to offering support for apps and pretty much all the features that can be enjoyed on the personal model, the business model comes with security features meant to help users protect their data and corporate network connectivity, as well as features that will help them prevent and/or deal with theft, loss, and unauthorized use.
Anyone particularly excited about these new NEC LifeTouch L tablets?

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/nec-lifetouch-android-l-tablet-ics-95647/

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Asus Nexus 7 tablet spotted in EXIF image data on Picasa

Google is rumored to announce its first Android tablet in a few weeks, at its annual Google I/O conference. The 7-inch device, meant to be an affordable direct Amazon Kindle Fire competitor, is going to be manufactured by Asus, and we have further proof that supports such rumors.
Two pictures that have been taken with an Asus Nexus 7 have been discovered on Picasa, and we’re actually not surprised to this happen. We’ve previous seen other Android devices confirmed well ahead of their scheduled announcements thanks to EXIF data taken from Picasa.
According to the EXIF data available, the two images, that have been uploaded to Picasa Web Albums on June 7 and June 13 from Google Building 44 by the same user, have a 1280 x 960 resolution. That resolution suggests we’re looking at images that may have been taken with a front-facing camera, but at the same time, the pictures may have been scaled down before being uploaded to Picasa – one of the images is available below:

 

While such EXIF data can be faked, The Verge notices that the same user that has uploaded the images appears to have various Google+ connection with several people “affiliated with Google,” which give plenty of credibility to the data obtained from Picasa.
This isn’t the first time that a Nexus 7 tablet has been spotted in leaks, and this may very well be the name of Google’s first Android tablet. We’ll have more details for you about this upcoming tablet in the following weeks, as we get closer to its official announcement.

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/asus-nexus-7-tablet-exif-image-picasa-95657/

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DC Comics titles hit Nook Color, Nook Tablet and other Android tablets

Barnes & Noble on Tuesday announced that it’s bringing several DC Comics titles to its own tablets/e-readers including the Nook Color and the Nook Tablet, but also to other Android tablets that have installed the Nook for Android application.
Here are the main comic books from DC Entertainment that are “immediately” available to fans:

• Graphic novel titles from DC COMICS – THE NEW 52, including Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin, Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt, Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls, Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters, Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game, Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro, Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side, Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Midas Touch, Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood, and Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death.
• Other best-selling graphic novels including Watchmen, All Star Superman Vol. 1 and 2, Fables Vol. 1-15, The Sandman Vol. 1-10, Superman Earth One, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1-2, V for Vendetta, Batman: Hush, and Batman: Year One, among many others.

In total, 100 DC Entertainment titles are already available to Nook users, with more titles coming every month.
But that’s not all the good news coming from Barnes & Noble this week, as the publisher also announced a new feature for Nook Comics called Zoom View, which will be available on all DC Entertainment titles. With Zoom View, users will be able “to focus on individual panels in graphic novels and comics, allowing them to fully enjoy the stunning artwork and compelling storytelling that brings this genre to life.” In other words, your comic book reading experience has just gotten better if your main comic book reader happens to be an Android tablet.

 

In order to use Zoom View, you’ll have to get software update 1.4.3 for Nook Tablet and Nook Color, which will be available free of charge starting with June 27. A Wi-Fi connection is needed to download the update.

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/dc-comics-nook-color-nook-tablet-android-tablets-97814/

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TSMC can only meet 70% of the demand for 28nm chips. First victim? The Asus Padfone

Some of the world’s finest artwork took years of labor to complete, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see Asus taking its sweet time with its masterpiece candidate, the Asus Padfone. First teased more than a year ago, we’ve seen the Padfone finally launching in its Taiwan home country in April. Now a tweet from Asus Indonesia seems to suggest that the launch date for other regions could be in jeopardy.
Although the tweet didn’t mention specifically any launch delays, it said that Qualcomm is having problems meeting the demand for its highly sought-after Snapdragon S4 processor, which spells trouble for Asus, since it’s the same processor that powers the Asus Padfone. The Verge got in touch with an Asus spokesperson who confirmed the processor shortage that is “affecting all of Qualcomm’s customers”. Note, however, that a delay was not mentioned.
So, how bad is this S4 chip shortage? Well, bad enough to warrant public declarations from Qualcomm’s top brass. CEO Paul Jacobs declared last week that the American chip-maker is facing problems with satisfying the big demand for the 28nm process chip. The shortage will supposedly not affect Qualcomm’s top-tier clients, such as Samsung, but is likely to perturb smaller clients, like Asus.
Of course, it’s not Qualcomm that makes the chips, but the Taiwanese powerhouse TMSC. Just today, we’ve heard from Digitimes that TMSC is only able to meet about 70% of the demand for 28nm silicon. Other big names besides Qualcomm might be affected by TSMC’s stumbling – it’s 28nm client list includes Nvidia, Broadcom, TI, and AMD.
Back to the Asus Padfone – the a 4.3-inch smartphone sports a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and an 8MP camera with f/2.2 aperture. The Padfone comes with a tablet station accessory that allows it to morph into a 10.1-inch tablet, while an additional keyboard dock will further transform it into a notebook. The bundled Asus Padfone and tablet station are sold at a pricey $890 in Taiwan, while the phone itself costs $620. Asus is betting big on the convergent device and even aiming to introduce the second generation of the Padfone come September.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is still waiting for the release of the first iteration. It’s unclear whether we’ll still see Asus Padfone making it to the European market, as previously reported, in late May. One thing’s for sure — it will carry the same high price tag. The phone and tablet combo is expected to retail for €699, with the keyboard dock to come at an extra €149, for a grand total of €850 for the whole shebang.

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Microsoft Surface Windows 8/RT tablets unveiled: specs, features, release date and pricing

Microsoft on Monday unveiled its first tablets ever, a Windows 8 and a Windows RT machine that are both going to be known henceforward as Microsoft Surface. The name seems awfully familiar not only because an earlier report suggested the product will be called Xbox Surface, but also because the company has coined the “Surface” term long ago, although at the time it described a touch-based product that was about the same size of a tablet.
We have recently wondered what operating system the new Microsoft tablet will run, as some sources suggested the device may not be a Windows RT / Windows 8 product since it’s too early in the game to unveil such a device – Windows 8 is expected to become official at some point this fall, with the first Windows 8 tablets manufactured by third party OEMs to hit stores by Christmas or thereafter. But Microsoft made it clear from the start of the media event, the Surface is a Windows-based product.

 

Surface appears to be a new flagship device for Mircrosoft, a company best known for its software dominance in the PC operating system business, but also for its console gaming hardware such as the popular Xbox and the Kinect. But more importantly, the Surface is Microsoft’s own Nexus-like device, a tablet meant to show the world, and Microsoft’s Windows 8 PC-making partners, how Windows on a tablet should look and feel like.
Surface also appears to be a high-end tablet meant to compete directly against the iPad and the most important Android tablets out there from various manufacturers, unlike the Google Nexus 7 that’s supposed to be a very affordable device meant to take on directly the unexpectedly popular (at least for Google and its Android tablet-making partners) Amazon Kindle Fire.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the main characteristics of the device, its release dates and pricing.

Specs and Features

Here are the main specs and features of the two Surface kinds, Surface for Windows RT and Surface for Windows 8 Pro:

Surface for Windows RT

• OS: Windows RT
• Light: 676 g
• Thin: 9.3 mm
• Clear: 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display with 16:9 aspect ratio. Corning Gorilla Glass 2 technology also included.
• Processor: ARM-based by NVIDIA
• Energized: 31.5 W-h battery
• Connected: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Office ‘15’ Apps, Touch Cover, Type Cover
• Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand, edges angled at 22 degrees
• Configurable: 32 GB, 64 GB

Surface for Windows 8 Pro

• OS: Windows 8 Pro
• Light: 903 g
• Thin: 13.5 mm
• Clear: 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display with 16:9 aspect ratio. Corning Gorilla Glass 2 technology also included.
• Processor: Intel Core Ivy Bridge
• Energized: 42 W-h battery
• Connected: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
• Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand, edges angled at 22 degrees
• Configurable: 64 GB, 128 GB

 

Accessories

• Built-in stand – 0.7mm thick (comes with any Surface)
• Surface Touch Cover – 0.3 mm thick full multitouch keyboard dock that also acts as a magnetic cover, with trackpad included
• Surface Type Cover – similar to Touch Cover but slightly bigger at 0.5mm, it’s a keyboard with actual keys and trackpad buttons
• Pen with Palm Book – a pen that magnetizes to the body of the Surface to offer digital ink support

Microsoft’s execs demoed the product on stage emphasizing its most important features and the design challenges they had to go through to produce this tablet. The device looks, at least on paper, and in the images and video the company showed, like a worthy iPad rival, and certainly a tablet that could become a tough Android tablet competitor in the months to come. But on the other hand, and most importantly, the Surface may become a Windows RT / Windows 8 tablet competitor and therefore cannibalize on sales from Windows partners, something that may not necessarily suit the needs of the company.
Unlike Windows Phones, which are yet to become a worthy third player in the smartphone business, Windows 8 may become a lot more popular as a tablet OS. The only thing we don’t know at this point is how reliable the new software will be on tablets, and wether users will enjoy a Metro UI-based Windows 8 tablet as much as they appreciate other tablet designs.

 

Release Date and Pricing

The Surface, while interesting enough for tablet fans, will not be available in stores for quite a while now. The company revealed that it took a lot of time to design it –  we kind of appreciate the fact that the device was not leaked in the past months – and it will take a lot of time to see it in stores. Unfortunately Microsoft is not ready yet to share actual launch details and pricing details for the Surface at this time, but the execs mentioned more than once the fact that the device will be priced quite competitively, or better said, the two Surface versions, ARM-based and Intel-based, will each come with competitive prices compared to their direct rivals.
The ARM model is said “to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet” and it will be available in store at the same time Windows 8 launches. The Intel model will be a bit more expensive with a price comparable to Ultrabook-class PCs, which are generally more expensive than traditional laptops. The Intel model will also be available only later down the road, around 90 days after the ARM-based Surface hits stores. If I’m reading correctly between the lines the Windows RT will be the really affordable version, but then again if you want Office 15 and other perks the Windows 8 Pro model will offer then you’ll have to be ready to shell out more dollars for it.

With that in mind, it’s probably safe to say that this winter we’ll have quite a lot of tablets fighting for the cash of the consumer including the iPad, the iPad mini (if certain rumors are to be believed), the Google Nexus 7, the Amazon Kindle Fires (more than one model, again if certain rumors are to be believed), various flagship Android tablets from important Android makers, the Microsoft Surface models, and various other Windows-based tablets coming from other OEMs.

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