Tag Archives: slates

tablets

The Top 3 Best Tablets on the Market

 

When you’re ready to dish out some money for a new tablet, you obviously want to buy the best there is on the market. So, when time comes to buy, what should you look for? What are the best new models you can buy today? These are a few of the best tablets you can find on the market today, if you are ready to buy right now.

Amazon Fire 
With a 1.3 GHZ processor, a 7” screen, and excellent picture resolution (1024*600 pixels) you won’t find many tablets at this smaller screen size which has such excellent colour contrast and resolution. Add in the very light weight of only 11 ounces and you can literally carry this thing around without even feeling it in a bag. The 8 GB built in storage, and Amazon OS are fast, and allows for added storage if you need it. Excellent touch screen, easy to use features, and a small, sleek, elegant design, make this a must have tablet, especially for such a low-price point in comparison to other top manufacturer names in the marketplace.

Surface Pro 4  
This Microsoft tablet is another great option. It is sleek, has the unique kick stand design, detachable keyboard, lighted keys, and a very cool looking exterior. It features a larger screen size at 12.3” you can use it like a laptop, eliminating the need to own two devices. The 2.3 processor speed is extremely fast, so you won’t experience lag time or slow speeds, even if you are down or uploading, watching, or playing games, on the device. 1920×1200-pixel resolution also means sharper images, better depth perception, and great color disparity on screen. A bit pricey, but considering it can be a tablet as well as a laptop in one, it is a bundle and a great bargain.


iPad Pro 7
Apple has done it again. If you love large screen sizes, the 9.8” design is truly a great size you won’t find with many competitors on the market today. With the iOS operating system, you won’t be disappointed with speed, ability to browse the web, or do nearly anything (work or play) on this device. It is very responsive, has built in safety fingers (like fingerprint technology), and the 2048×1536-pixel resolution, makes it the very best, and provides the best screen resolution and image quality, regardless of what you plan on using the iPad to do. It is very thin, it is very light, and it comes from the most trusted developer in Apple.

A true must have device, but do consider the high price tag if you are comparing this with other Android based devices which are much cheaper in the price spectrum. The  iPad Pro7 can be very expensive depending on the model you go for. Luckily catalogue companies have started to provide different payment plans like buy now pay later, pay weekly, pay monthly. Over the past few years buying tablets on finance has become more and more popular due to the price of the product.

No matter what you are looking for when it comes to buying a new tablet, you have hundreds of options out there. For the budget shopper, for the high-end shopper, and for those who are in between, these are three great models to consider, which will offer great resolution, speeds, and quality, for the price point you can spend when purchasing a new tablet.

software, tablets

Microsoft Apps to Come Preloaded On LG, Sony, Other Android Tablets

microsoft-powerpoint-in-android-tablet

Microsoft is one of these tech-oriented giant companies that seem to know a thing or two about software distribution across the pond. But what about apps? Glad you asked, because there’s something going on around the business of this corp these days – strategic wise, of course. Based on the details shared, the Windows maker announced that it has officially partnered with more than 20 Android tablet makers, among them are also big leaders like LG and Sony, to bundle its apps on future tablet versions or updates. Some of the apps which are due to come pre-loaded inside include the popular video messaging app Skype, as well as Bing, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook Word, Excel, and a variety some others. A sort of an Office Suite, if you will. The purpose of this move is likely to create a cross-platform functionality for its apps. Whether this is an indication that Microsoft is giving up on its own platform or not, I have no idea, but time will surely tell.

[Microsoft Blog]

tablets

Lenovo Introduces Tab 2 A10, A8 Budget Friendly Android Tablets

Lenovo-tab-2-a10-android-tablet

At World Mobile Congress 2015, Lenovo has unveiled a new line of friendly low-budget tablets, dubbed the A10 and the A8 , with both names to indicate sizes. The two slates which will set you back for sub $200 sport an upgrade over previous models in that they both include a MediaTek 64-bit Quad-core processor, as well as Dolby Atmos sound technology and multi-speaker soundbar on for maximum audio experience.

As expected, Lenovo’s Tab 2 A10 tablet is the biggest model that the company offers in this series, measuring only 8.9mm thin and about 509 grams in weight, while featuring a 10.1-inch Full HD IPS display on the top. Out of the box, the A10 is planned to run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS but the company promises it will be updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop some time later. Other than that, it ships with a dual-band WiFi, along with up to ten hours of 7,200 mAh battery, and a 8-megapixel camera shooter on the back.

Technical specs:

  • 10.1-inch Full HD IPS LCD display (1920×1200 resolution).
  • Wifi: 1.5GHz quad core 64-bit MediaTek MT8165 processor
  • LTE: 1.5GHz quad core 64-bit MediaTek MT8732 processor
  • 16GB of internal storage, MicroSD  (expandable up to 32GB).
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 8MP rear-facing camera, 5MP front-facing camera
  • OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Sound: Dolby ATMOS 3D Surrond Sound
  • Size: 171 x 247 x 8.9mm, 509g

lenovo-tab-2-a8-tablet

The Tab 2 A8 tablet which packs an 8-inch HD IPS display, is basically designed identically like the bigger a10, with just a few discrepancies like a smaller amount of real estate on the screen and lower resolution, as well as a smaller battery packinside, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a dual SIM card slot expansion for those who’ll buy the international version. Besides that, they are pretty much the same.

The Tab 2 A10 and Tab 2 A8  will hit the market this coming April for $199 and $129, respectively, while the A10 model is said to be available in Pearl White and Midnight Blue and the A8 flavor should be out to the market in colors such as Pearl White, Ebony, Midnight Blue and Neon Pink.

Technical specs:

  • 8-inch Full HD IPS LCD display (1280×800 resolution).
  • Wifi: 1.3GHz quad core MediaTek MT8161 processor
  • LTE: 1.3GHz quad core MediaTek MT8735 processor
  • 8GB/16GB of internal storage, MicroSD  (expandable up to 32GB).
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera
  • OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop
  • Sound: Dolby ATMOS Surrond Sound
tablets

Dell Outs Two Android Venue Tablets, Starting at $160

dell-venue-7_8-android-tablets

Dell is refreshing its Android tablet lineup with two new budget offerings: Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8. The two slates which are considered as updated versions of the existing Venue series, will be powered by a more powerful processor under the hood and should be featuring Android 4.4 KitKat OS.

As you can guess, Dell’s Venue 7 is the 7-inch tinier model in the series, with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution that yields good color contrast, great for video, gaming, electronic books and browsing. It comes with 16GB of internal storage, as well as microSD card expansion (up to 64GB), 1GB of RAM, and pair of cameras, with the primary one at 5 megapixels and the front-facing VGA snapper at 1 megapixels overall.  The commodity processor used in this model is a dual-core Intel Atom (Z3460) ‘Merrifield’ processor clocked at 1.6GHz, and the cost of the slab is ridiculously low – only $159.99 and not a single dime more. It weighs only 290 gm, and comes in swish black or red colors.

The Venue 8, is an obvious upgrade choice with 8-inch IPS display and a full-HD (1920×1200 pixels) resolution on top. It has the same set of cameras, only with a slightly bigger 2 megapixels shooter on the front. There’s a faster Intel Atom Z3480 processor inside, and the battery is of 4550mAh. It will go live online starting July 1 at $199.99 and the same variety of colors.

tablets

Sharp RW-T110 Gingerbread Tablet Unveiled with NFC Support

Sharp’s Galapagos line of tablets hasn’t really found traction in the market, which continues to be defined by Apple’s iPad. Nonetheless, it has been confirmed that the Japanese corp will be adding a whole new media device to its burgeoning array of Android products. The 10.1-incher, formally known as the RW-T110, sports a 1280 x 800 display, alongside a 1GHz TI OMAP processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage capacity, Gingerbread for the OS, and the new NFC transaction platform for mobile tablets and phones. There is also a 6,240mAh battery under the lid, which provides about 9 hours of back-up power supply for video watching and audio playback. Other than that, Sharp expects the RW-T110 to go on sale March 27th, in Japan, at an undisclosed price, without further plans to expand in the international market. At least not yet!

 

[via Akihabara News]

tablets

Acer Iconia Tab A701 and A700 Pop Up In The Wild With Tegra 3 Inside

My, my, what do we have here? Looks like Acer is exploring jumping into the Tegra 3 tablets market, less than a year after unveiling the 10.1-inch Tab A500 slate at CES 2011. According to a leak at the company’s online support page we are expecting to see two new high-res tablets coming out in the next couple of months, dubbed Iconia Tab A700 / A701 and sport NVIDIA’s latest and greatest quad-core chipset, paired with a 10-inch 1920 x 1200 WUXGA touchscreen on top, an HDMI output to hook ’em up to your tele, GPS, Bluetooth connectivity, and Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich platform, to handle the software under the lid. And just in case you were wondering, the only difference between the two is that the A700 is apparently listed as a WiFi-only model, while the A701 is likely to have a 3G connectivity as well. Price and availability are yet to be disclosed (probably at CES 2012).

Update: We’ve just added a quick Iconia Tab A700 hands-on video, curtesy of androidandme.com. Check it out after the break.

[via Notebook Italia]

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A701 and A700 Pop Up In The Wild With Tegra 3 Inside →

tablets

Samsung Galaxy Tabs 8.9 and 10.1 Tablets Now Official

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As promised earlier this month, Samsung has officially announced their two new Galaxy Tabs, with the expected 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch models in line. The new Honeycomb Tabs which herald Samsung’s entry into ultra-thin and ultra-light tablets market – both measure only .33-inches thick- will be available starting June 8 of this year, featuring a 1GHz dual-core processor on board, alongside WXGA 1280×800 HD displays, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and another at 3 megapixel on the back, 3.5mm headphone jacks, SIM card compartments, 802.11 b/g/n wifi connection, Bluetooth 2.1 and microSD card reader slots. Further more, both Sammy’s new devices are said to include gyroscope, accelerometer, a digital compass and an ambient light sensor, whereas the smaller version houses a 6000mAH battery pack and the bigger one boasts a 6860mAH cell under the hood. Remember, these are WiFi only flavors, though Samsung does plan to release 4G-enabled models later in the year to go. On the cost department, Samsung’s prices seem to finally be getting competitive and more affordable for the average consumer, as the 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab is claimed to be offered at launch at $469 (16GB) and $569 (32GB), while the 10-incher Tab will set you back for $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB) and not a single dime more. So there you go ladies and gentlemen, two revamped Galaxy Tabs on the stake and one PR announcement half past the break.

Update1: We’ve just added a few introduction videos of the Galaxy Tabs, courtesy of the Android Community fellows who recently had a chance to play with the new tablets.

Update2: And just in case you wanna get into the full spirit of the event, we’ve also added Samsung’s CTIA Wireless 2011 keynote after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tabs 8.9 and 10.1 Tablets Now Official →

tablets

ViewSonic’s Dual Boot ViewPad 10 Tablet Officially Live

It’s been couple of month since Taiwanese corp Viewsonic has officially announced their latest Android 1.6 / Windows 7 dual-booting ViewPad 10 in America, and today it’s finally available and ready for shipping. Of course, as ever, you’ll need to pay for the 10.1 inch, 1.66GHz Atom CPU tablet with hard cash before it actually departs your way, but frankly speaking, the prices aren’t dirt-cheap enough to justify an immediate acquisition. As a matter of fact, they have some pretty high pricing rates, despite the mediocre line of innards specs (e.g 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera). In terms of numbers we are looking at $599 for the 16GB SSD version which comes preloaded with Windows Home 7 Premium OS, or $679 for the 32GB drive, which packs inside the Windows 7 Professional flavor. Is it worth getting one over an iPad 2?  Overall I would get one, but it needs to come down in price dramatically. Demo video and full PR after the break.

Update: If by chance you happen to be a proud owner of the 10-inch dual-boot ViewPad device, there is a new update, coming up to the Android 1.6 tablet – Yes, you’ve heard that right boys and girls, the tablet’s getting an Android 2.2 (Froyo) upgrade. However, if you’re still on the hunt for one, you can either choose between the $599 Windows 7 Home Premium and 16GB slate or the $679 Win 7 Professional flavor (32GB) instead.

 

[Viewsonic]

Continue reading ViewSonic’s Dual Boot ViewPad 10 Tablet Officially Live →

tablets

Dell’s 2011 Tablets Slide Unveiled

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Considering the fact that we’ve already seen a couple of leaked Dell roadmap slides in 2010, doesn’t mean we’re not interested to see a few slides more; on the contrary, we’d love to get ’em if you have any, in particular those planned for 2013, 2014, and on and on. As for 2011/2012, the Androidcentral guys have somehow managed to obtain Dell’s tablets forecast, and it’s here presented to you with much enthusiasm and galore. According to the roadmap we’re seeing, Dell’s Streak 10 is only few days away from launching, as far as the Q1 “storyline” goes, while in Q2 we should expect the Dell Gallo tablet, with a Honeycomb flavor attached, and a Streak 7 update somewhere in the late July. Staying in that Q2 framework for a moment, we’re also looking at Dell’s 10-inch Windows 7 slate, planned under the codename Rosemount and scheduled for June, with a 1366 x 768 pixels resolution display that supports HD 720p video transmission. Jumping forward to Q4 and Q1 of 2012, there’s a number of entries worthy of a mention, including the Honeycomb-powered Dell Sterling device (due out in late October), the Dell Opus One and Dell Silver Oak, both are due to go on sale in 2012 running Android Honeycomb platform within, and last but not least, the Dell Peju that makes a grand entrance with Windows 8 on board.

So there you have it, fellow readers; It’s definitely going to be an interesting year for the tablets form factor, at least as far as Dell is concerned.

General

Onkyo Rolls Out a 3G Windows 7 Tablet In Japan

A couple of months ago we reported that Onkyo is planning to release a new line of windows 7 tablets. Well, today the news finally became official, and as previously reported, the Japanese corp will be launching in-house PC slates, sometime during the week. The first model we get to see in that fancy group, the TW317A7, is likely to feature an 11.6-inch (1366×768) touchscreen, paired with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, two USB 2.0 hubs, stereo speakers, and KDDI 3G connectivity on board. Software wise, Onkyo has tossed its latest ExTOUCH platform to help you out with the multi-touch experience, which frankly, isn’t that good when it comes to Windows 7 platforms. And with no price attached, it doesn’t bode well for those who are looking forward to it, but things could change on a moment’s notice, so please stay tuned.

[via Akihabaranews]

News, tablets

HP Slate 500 Spotted Online With Windows 7 Onboard

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Oh what’s this? You may be consciously thinking that HP has already buried the idea of having a Windows 7 powered tablet released to the pond, right?  – but it didn’t – at least according to some official HP and Energy Star pages, recently surfaced and luckily tracked down by the good IDG News people. What’s in there? Not much besides some interesting details about an HP 500 slate which presumably runs a Windows 7 Premium OS inside, tucked with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, two cameras and a batch of extensions we already know. So where’s the promised WebOS, you may ask? We’re not sure at this point but clearly, the US giant is literally working on something these days, we think, actually we’re positive. anyway, stay tuned.

Update1: HP has officially confirmed that it’s still working on some brand new tablet products. A spokesperson from the Personal Systems group told Engadget that they’re “in customer evaluations now and will make a determination soon on the next steps.” Dear HP, we’re really looking forward to getting this into our hands and seeing what you’re going to build.

Update2: According to Todd Bradley, EVP, Personal Systems Group, for HP it seem that Windows 7 slates will officially make a debut somewhere “this fall”, targeting the enterprise markets rather than consumer pockets, as we initially thought. Regretfully, at this point, there’s no word about when or where HP’s most anticipated WebOS slates will actually go live.

Update3: Now it’s official, HP confirms a webOS tablet for ‘early 2011’. According to HP’s Todd Bradley “You’ll see us with a Microsoft product out in the near future and a webOS-based product in early 2011.”

[via PCWorld]

Computers, General, Mobile, News

HP To Acquire Palm For 1.2 Billion Dollars

3 Comments

Hewlett-Packard has just announced that it would buy Palm for a staggering price of $1.2 billion dollars, roughly about $5.70 per share of common stock. The merge and acquisition, which are planned to close by July 31, can give the Palo Alto computer giant a great opportunity to get a bigger slice from the hot and trendy smartphones market, valued at $100bn alone and with annual rapid growth of 20% . HP executive vice president Todd Bradley said that “Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices” and also added that “Between smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks, there are a lot of opportunities here.” And he’s right, just think about the endless potential  possibilities of having Palm’s stunning WebOS integrated in HP’s future multi-touch devices, whether these are mobile phones, tablets or other portable machines – it’s HUGE and HP, in our opinion, has clearly taken a few significant steps in the right direction, especially now when strident voices, complaining about a sluggish HP Slate performance, start floating around – WebOS can definitely improve speed reaction dramatically –  and someone at the HP headquarters has probably figured this one pretty well. Brian Humphries, HP’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development quoted saying “our intent is to double down on WebOS”. That’s very important, considering the months of speculations where Palm was desperately looking for a buyer. And given the fact that HP is getting over 1500 patents that Palm currently owns (that probably has considerable value as well, isn’t it?), along with a very good team of young talented engineers and one relentless chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, who is expected to remain with the company another few years long, this very complex deal that few months back, could easily have seemed impossible, can all of a sudden turn into a nice and promising bargain. PR announcement after the break.

Update: Digitimes says that HP Taiwan VP, Monty Wong has officially confirmed a webOS tablet to go live somewhere around October of this year. Stay tuned for more to come.

Continue reading HP To Acquire Palm For 1.2 Billion Dollars →