Mobilityfeeds

iPad should confirm its lead over Android tablets in 2012

The overall demand for tablet computers is on the rise, and amongst most customers, the Apple iPad’s lead over rival Google Android systems will increase over the next several years, according to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) study released on Thursday.

The IDC has increased its forecast for global tablet sales in 2012 from 106.1 million to 107.4 million, anticipating strong second-half sales of the devices, according to AFP reports.
The firm also increased projected 2013 tablet sales from 137.4 million to 142.8 million, and predicted that worldwide shipments could top 222 million in four year’s time.

The outlook isn’t promising for everyone though.
According to Chloe Albanesius of PCMag, IDC forecasts that Apple iOS tablets (the iPad family of products) will increase their global market share from 58.2% in 2011 to 62.5% in 2012.
Meanwhile, the Android tablet market share is expected to dip from 38.7% to 36.5%, while Research in Motion (RIM, BlackBerry maker) tablets are anticipated to drop from 1.7% market share to just 1%, Albanesius added.

Microsoft to announce its own Windows RT tablet next week - Rumor

Microsoft is set to unveil a tablet next week that will mark its entry into rival Apple’s territory with its own branded product, according to sources.

The company has scheduled a secretive event for Monday 18^th June 2012 at 3:30pm in Los Angeles, where it will make a "major" announcement whose nature has not been disclosed.
Even the venue has not yet been announced.

But an individual with knowledge of the company said that Microsoft would introduce a Microsoft-manufactured tablet at the event, marking a foray into a new hardware category that would put the company in direct competition with giant rival Apple.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Lenovo launches the LePad A2107, first dual SIM Android ICS tablet - China only (unfortunately)

While everyone is trying to produce the thinnest tablet or one with the best camera, or the highest screen resolution around, the folks from Lenovo have just launched their own specialty.

The LePad A2107 will apparently be the world’s first dual-SIM Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.

The specs might not be groundbreaking but lets take a look.

Lenovo introduced this tablet earlier today for the Chinese markets, and it comes complete with two SIM cards.

Kobo Vox eReader offers now full access to Google Play

The headline would make more sense if it read “Android Market access,” as opposed to “Google Play access,” but that wouldn’t be technically correct thanks to the Android Market’s rebranding.

In any event, Kobo’s Android-powered Vox eReader - the company’s answer to the B&N Nook or Amazon Kindle – is today announcing (at last!) full access to the official Google's Android app store, or whatever you want to call it.

The colorful eReader tablet has a lot going for it, including a low price point (just US$179.99 / €142.57, currently), but until now was only offering a limited, “curated” collection of some 15,000 Android applications. Today, it gets 500,000 apps.

The Google Play support also brings music and movies to Kobo Vox users, too. (Oh, we guess the headline does work, after all).

Business users and IT managers prefer Android tablets over iPad - Report

Apple's iPad may still be considered the king of tablets in many quarters, but new research data casts a shadow of doubt over how long that will continue.

In fact, a full 44% of first-time tablet buyers in business and IT plan to purchase an Android device in the upcoming 12 months, compared with just 27% planning to go with an iPad, according to a new study from IDG Connect.

"The rise in tablet usage and increasing prevalence of BYOD is set to have a fundamental impact on IT and business over the next few years,” said Kathryn Cave, editor at IDG Connect, in a press release announcing the results. “These findings signify changes in work mobile consumption and market leadership in the tablet arena.”

First look at ViewSonic Android Smart Display 21.5" 'tablet'

ViewSonic might not be one of the major tech players on the market, but one thing you can say about them is that they never fail to throw some curveballs come tradeshow time.

Computex 2012 was no different, with ViewSonic showing off what could legitimately be described as a 21.5” Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, called the Android Smart Display.

The 21.5” 1920 x 1080 HD display is anti-glare and multi-touch, and runs Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
The 21.5” whatever-you-want-to-call-it stands on its own, and runs on a 1 GHz TI OMAP 4428 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1 GB of LPDDR2 RAM. WiFi connectivity and Bluetooth v2.1 support is also on board.
There is a front-facing 1.2 MP HD camera, one HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, a micro SD slot supporting up to 32 GB of storage, and a headphone jack, as well.
Audio comes from Supreme SRS Sound technology.

Tablet prospective buyers outside USA favor Android over iPad

IDG Connect's study of 3,124 worldwide IT and business professionals demonstrates a startling move away from Apple iPads, especially in developing regions.

Results show that 71% of respondents own a tablet, 51% of these have an iPad, but more first time buyers will opt for Google Android over the next 12 months:

- 44% will buy an Android tablet

- 27% will buy an iPad

- 3% will opt for Windows 8

- 21% aren't sure

Acer launches the Iconia Tab A700 Android ICS tablet that targets directly the iPad's Retina Display

Calling a new Android tablet a potential iPad killer is a cliche.

But make no mistake: Acer's Iconia Tab A700 has its sights set on doing just that thanks to an impressive list of specifications that includes a 1920-by-1200-resolution display and 32GB of storage, and a US$450 (€358) price that comes in at 25% below the price of a same-capacity Apple's iPad.

The Iconia Tab A700 goes on presale today, and will be shipping later this month at retail and directly from Acer; it will be available either in black or silver.

Acer was one of two Google's Android tablet makers to introduce a high-resolution, “Full HD” 1920-by-1200-pixel display in January at CES 2012.
Asus, the other manufacturer, followed up its CES announcement of a "Full HD" tablet with a renamed variant at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February, but it has remained mum on USA availability.
In the interim, Apple introduced its third-generation iPad with a 2048-by-1536-pixel display — 264 pixels per inch — a move that effectively left Android tablets in dire need of playing catch-up.

Amazon Appstore and Kindle Fire expected to launch in Europe before year end

Despite of being built around its own Android-based Operating System (OS), Amazon Kindle Fire has enjoyed comparably higher success than Android tablets.

The tablet is, at the moment, available in the United States alone.
However, a new notion is hitting blogosphere today indicating that the Kindle Fire is headed to Europe and may release as soon as this summer.

According to reports, the Seattle-based company is gearing up to launch Amazon Appstore in Europe indicating that the tablet will follow the footsteps soon.

Like Kindle Fire, Amazon Appstore is also only available in the US.

Microsoft pricing strategy will make Windows RT tablets more expensive than Android's

When Microsoft announced its tablet strategy with the Windows RT, many thought that Microsoft will change its pricing model for OEMs too, signaling a shift in strategy.

Reality is however, vastly different with Microsoft requesting as much money as OEM version of the Windows 7 Home Premium.

During our meetings with multiple vendors on the Computex 2012 Taipei, we were talking about pricing options for taking the Windows RT route instead of (free) Android Operating System (OS) from Google.

While it was rumored that Microsoft decided to change their ways and offer a price of about US$35 (€28) – the reality is that Windows RT will cost staggering US$80-95, with US$85 (€68) being the most commonly quoted price.

This means that there is no way that a similar specced Windows RT powered device will be priced in the same league as its Android-ARM competitiors.

For most users, all smartphones are iPhones and tablets are iPads, regardless of manufacturer and OS

More than eight in ten mobile phone users are confused about the meaning of the word ‘Android’ even though many use Google's mobile Operating System (OS) on a daily basis – according to a new poll.

The survey, by mobile casino Roxy Palace, found than 83% of those quizzed were unable to define what Android meant even though many were using the Operating System on their smartphones and tablet devices.

Some thought Android was a mobile phone manufacturer with others believing it was the model name of their device.

Dell drops Android to favor Windows 8 for its tablets

Appearing in a wide-ranging on-stage interview at market researcher Gartner's annual security and risk management conference, Michael Dell offered insights into several of his company's rapidly evolving business lines, including the decision to walk away from Google's Android tablets in the United States market in favor of Microsoft's Windows.

"I think the Microsoft Windows 8 solution is going to be very attractive to customers for a number of reasons," Dell said. "You'll see us at launch, at Windows 8 launch, with a full complement of devices - tablets, hybrids, convertibles - you know every imaginable and maybe some unimaginable forms."

Dell said that he expects Windows 8 devices to enter the market with an attractive price point, and that in the business sector, where the company primarily plans to focus, shops that already run Windows will be inclined to remain in that environment as they deploy tablets and other new devices.

Apple sees its future in mobiles

Almost exactly 2 years ago, Steve Jobs outlined his view of personal computing.

We used to be an agrarian nation, he explained, and as a result our vehicles were largely trucks. As the USA became more urban and suburban, we moved to an era where the highways were dominated by cars, not their lumbering counterparts.

The same thing was happening in the technology world — and, with the iPhone and the iPad, the movement was accelerating.

"PCs are going be like trucks," Jobs said at the 2010 All Things D Conference. "They are still going to be around, but only one out of x people will need them."

Clearly, he didn't expect x to be a big number.

Linux might not be able to run on Windows 8

All Microsoft's Windows 8 licensed hardware will be shipping with secure boot enabled by default in their replacement for the BIOS, Unfied Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

So far, so good, who doesn’t want more security?

The fly in the soup is that by default only Windows 8 will run on these systems, so no Linux, no BSD, heck, no Windows XP for that matter. 
Fedora Linux, Red Hat’s community distribution, has found a way:
Sign up with Microsoft, via Verisign to make their own Windows 8 system compatible UEFI secure boot key. A lot of Linux people hate this compromise. Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has another take:

“I’m certainly not a huge UEFI fan, but at the same time I see why you might want to have signed bootup etc. And if it’s only US$99 [€78] to get a key for Fedora, I don’t see what the huge deal is.”

At Computex 2012 the frontier between ultrabooks, notebooks and tablets is blurred

Slide it, flip it or snap it on and off.

The way keyboards are connected to touch screens on the latest generation of computing devices is making it tough to differentiate a tablet from notebook or an ultrabook.

Microsoft, which has long been the dominant force in PCs but has fallen far behind in the tablet race, is set to unveil its Windows 8 Operating System (OS) later this year, designed to run on super-thin laptops called ultrabooks and tablets powered by Intel's chips.

The impending launch has prompted PC vendors to come up with a rash of hybrid designs, featuring touch screens and myriad configurations of moving or detachable keyboards.

Microsoft bans HTC from Windows 8 tablets launch first batch

HTC, the Taiwanese electronics company, has been denied the opportunity to release some of the first tablets running Microsoft’s Windows 8 because its sales have weakened.

Bloomberg News reported on the Microsoft decision on 6^th June 212, the same day Taiwan-based HTC reported its second quarter revenue would be off by 13% after its first quarter revenue tumbled by 35% from the year ago quarter.
It also didn’t help that HTC shipments to the United States were held up by US Customs for two weeks last month before HTC was cleared of patent infringement allegations by Apple.

Microsoft told Bloomberg that HTC is a strong partner now and for the future, without commenting specifically on its relationship with HTC.
The company could still make Windows 8 tablets, but it wouldn’t be in the first batch of machines to reach the market.

Lamborghini launches gold-plated Android smartphones and tablet

Lamborghini yesterday unveiled a new line of Android-powered smartphones and tablets that will only be sold in Russia. 

The smartphone is called the TL700 (pictue right) and features a 3.7" 800x480 resolution touchscreen display.
There's 4GB of memory and a 5 MP camera in the back.

The body is gold plated and the back is laced with crocodile skin.
Unfortunately, Lambo paid more attention to the aesthetics as it opted for ageing Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

This will cost an astronomical US$2,743 (€1,977). 

Galaxy Note-inspired dual-SIM mini-tablet spotted in Singapore

We've seen Shanzhai iPhones and BlackBerries, but this has got to be a first: a Samsung Galaxy Note imitation.

While pounding the halls at the PC Show 2012 tech fair in Singapore, we noticed the familiar-looking supersize smartphone going for just $279 Singapore dollars (US$218 / €174).

Upon closer inspection however, the "Note" was running Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, instead of Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box.
More interestingly, the User Interface (UI) seemed to be inspired by HTC's Sense UI, with its "3D box effect" when scrolling through the home screens.

ViewSonic launches the ViewPad E100 budget Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet

The Google's Android platform benefits from a wide range of smartphones and tablet PCs that cover a number of tastes and budgets, and today we have news of the ViewSonic ViewPad E100 that is a budget tblet PC that still runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.

ViewSonic has announced its new tablet that is aimed for consumers that are on more of a budget, and the device still offers some premium features.

The ViewSonic tablet features a 1GHz processor powering a 9.7" SuperClear IPS 1,024 x 768 capacitive multi-touch screen, and 4GB of on board storage.
There is also a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera and to connect the device to other equipment there is a HDMI output, USB port, and a microSD card slot.

Test Windows 8 Metro innovative user interface on your iPad and Android tablet

Splashtop made waves in April when the mobile app company launched the Windows 8 Testbed Metro for Apple's iPad.

This iPad app allowed owners to experience the highs and lows of Windows 8 Metro.
It’s a very impressive app offering nearly all the functionality of Metro including the many multitouch swipe functions.

And now it’s available for Google's Android tablets, too.

The price is still the same: US$49.99 (€39.97) but its current 50% off for an unspecified limited time.