Jan 30
Samsung has announced an upcoming Galaxy Tab designed specifically for educational purposes, which will launch in time for the next academic school year and will bring with it integration with … Continue reading
Jan 10
Snakebyte Vyper Adds Home Theatre Features To An Android Game Console And Tablet
Posted in: Today's Chili
Many companies are betting that people want some kind of Android-based gaming solution in their living room, from Ouya to GameStick to Nvidia. One new initiative along those lines debuted at CES 2014 called the Snakebyte Vyper. The Vyper is from a German startup, and the company is bringing the product the U.S. in the coming months.
It’s one device that has a number of different faces, including a standalone 7-inch tablet that’s powered by Android, packing a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, along with 8GB of storage (and expandable Micro SD-based storage). There are two USB ports, a front-facing 2 megapixel and rear-facing 5 megapixel camera and HDMI out for plugging into your TV.
There’s a docking base that you plug it into when you want to play games from your home theatre setup, or any television anywhere. It provides power and transmits video to your screen, and automatically puts the tablet into television mode. There’s a controller that acts as an air mouse and has a full QWERTY keyboard on the back for input, as well as a Bluetooth game controller with a fairly standard layout compatible with many Android games.
The advantage of its platform over others, according to the company, is that it doesn’t focus on either gaming or media to the exclusion of the other. Instead it’s designed to do both equally well, as well as to be a standard, full-featured Android tablet in its own right, too. It’ll retail for $199 when it goes on sale later this month, which is a surprisingly good deal, provided it works well and offers at least a decent user experience.
Oct 11
Android plays host to some impressive tablet apps — I’m partial to IMDb and Flipboard to name just a few — but I’ve all too often downloaded an app only to discover that it’s a regular phone app scaled to fit a larger display. Needless to say, the experience was less than ideal. Now Google is pushing to shine more light on Android apps that are optimized for tablets with a pair of modifications that will go live starting on November 21.
The first change may be the more visually shocking of the two — Android apps that don’t fit Google’s tablet criteria will be marked as “Designed for phones” so users know exactly what they’re getting into before they download.
Meanwhile, the second deals with a feature Google rolled out earlier this year, a “Designed for Tablets” view that highlights (what else?) apps that have been crafted with specific tablet experiences in mind. Users will who scour the Play Store on their tablets will soon discover that those top app lists — think Top Paid, Top Free, Top Grossing, etc. — will show off those tablet-tailored apps by default (though users can reconfigure it to show all apps just like before).
Those Play Store modifications won’t go live for a few weeks yet, but the timing has me wondering whether or not Google is planning to push a new tablet at around the same time. I know, I know, past performance isn’t a guarantee of future results, but the Nexus 10 was originally revealed back in October 2012 and started hitting the Play Store’s digital shelves in November. And now that we’re hearing Google is preparing to officially out the Nexus 5 and Android KitKat and a revamped Nexus 10 sometime next week, it’s starting to seem like we’ll see a similar timeline unfold shortly.
And really, what better way to welcome a new raft of Android tablet owners than by showing them apps that really allow those devices to strut their stuff? It’s a win-win too — while those users get easier access to the best Android tablet apps, developers who spend the extra time to make sure their tablet experiences are more than just stretched-out phone interfaces can score some much-needed exposure.
Aug 23
If you’ve been dealing with multitouch issues on your Nexus 7 tablet after installing the previous update, another software update promises to provide a fix. The JSS15Q update is now available for the tablet, offering an all-around fix to the troublesome multitouch problem, according to Paul Wilcox, the Google community manager. Wilcox confirmed on the […]
May 08
Most Android tablets are pretty much the same nowadays, traditionally. However, one company is looking to shake things up with an Android tablet that’s meant for the outdoors person in all of us. The Earl, as it’s called, is solar powered and comes with a thick robust outer shell to protect from the outdoor elements.
The tablet is referred to as a “backcountry survival tablet,” and it comes with all the features that most hikers would want out of such a device, including the typical wireless connections including NFC, as well as GPS with topographical maps that are preloaded onto the tablet. There’s a two-way walkie-talkie built in to chat with other hikers who have an Earl tablet as well.
The device sports a 6-inch e-ink display, so it’s certainly nothing that you would watch movies or play games on, and there’s also no camera to take photos, but we’re guessing you’d use your dedicated shooter anyway if you wanted to take photos of the beautiful scenery. It won’t be a tablet for most everyday users, but it seems that it’s an option for the survivalists.
As for price and availability, the Earl tablet is actually trying to raise money to fund its production. The tablet’s website is currently taking pre-orders at $250 a pop, which is 30% off the retail price of the tablet when it eventually launches. The company is seeking $250,000 and they’ve raised almost $13,000 so far as of this writing, with 32 days left to go.
[via Android Community]
Earl Android tablet is solar powered and battle-ready is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
May 05
Acer Delivers Full Featured One-Handed Tablet for Everyone with Iconia A1 Tablet
Posted in: Today's Chili
Acer today unveiled the Acer Iconia A1, the company’s first full-featured 7.9- inch tablet targeted at modern day explorers, adventurers, digital freaks and mobile executives requiring an all-day mobile companion. Thanks to a sleek and light-weight design that is comfortable to hold in one hand, it also easily fits into a purse or bag. The new Acer Iconia A1 keeps people entertained and connected with smooth and speedy navigation, browsing and media playback powered by a fast quad- core processor.
The Acer Iconia A1 was introduced today with other new products, including the Acer Aspire R7, Acer Aspire P3 Ultrabook and Aspire V Series touch notebooks. The new line of Acer mobile products highlights the company’s focus on redefining the computing experience through progressive design.
Highly Responsive Fun
Busy mobile users get the prompt performance they want with smooth video playback, and fluid and fast navigation through apps and websites powered by a fast MediaTek Quad Core 1.2GHz processor. Gestures, zooming, scrolling and navigation are all intuitive, and games are responsive, realistic and even more fun with the integrated gyroscope for movement and vibration responses.
The LED-backlit display with IPS technology and a 170-degree viewing angle vibrantly highlights videos, photos and multimedia content in accurate color and brightness. The 1024×768 resolution makes text and graphics crisp and clear, while the 4:3 aspect ratio is great for web browsing and e-reading as well as gaming.
Acer’s new Touch WakeApp® gesture gives customers one-touch express access to their favorite apps directly upon waking from sleep. The Iconia A1 delivers the Google experience with services like Google Now, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and great content such as magazines, movies, games, books and more than 700,000 apps from the Google Play Store.
Easy to take Everywhere to Stay Connected
Starting at only 0.90 pounds and measuring only 0.44 inches thin, customers will also enjoy taking it with them for navigation and location-based apps via the built-in GPS.
The Acer Iconia A1 keeps consumers connected to Wi-Fi networks and hotspots with reliable 802.11b/g/n wireless technology. Plus, the integrated Bluetooth 4.0 lets consumers quickly connect the tablet to a variety of other devices, such as headsets and printers.
Digital Hub
The 5MP rear-facing camera captures 1080p video at 30fps that can easily be edited for quick sharing on-the-go. The front-facing camera pairs with the enhanced microphone to capture video and audio clearly for video chats and recording. The micro USB 2.0 and microHDMI port enable quick transfer or sharing of customer’s photos, music, videos and other digital content.
Pricing and Availability
The Iconia A1-810 with 16GB capacity will be available in June at a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $199.99 USD.
May 03
Acer Iconia A1 Hands On Review
Posted in: Today's Chili
Acer didn’t just show two Windows 8 machines today, the Aspire R7 and the Aspire P3, but they also took a moment to give its new Android tablet, the Iconia A1, its own moment in the sun. The Acer Iconia A1 features a 7.9-inch display with IPS technology, which means its viewing angles will be very good, a quad-core processor and fits perfectly in one hand, even a hand as small as mine. This is the first time Acer has delivered a 7-inch tablet, which means this device would be in direct competition with the iPad Mini, Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Acer Aspire P3 Hands On Review, Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review, 
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Apr 15
There have been a number of rumors floating around in regards to the next Nexus 7 as we heard it could be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and could be released in July for possibly $149. A new report is estimating just how many Google Nexus 7 could be shipping this year once it’s made available.
DigiTimes claims their “sources from the upstream supply chain” are saying they expect a total of 8 million Google Nexus 7 to be shipped before the end of the year, with one million of those units being shipped starting in May. Considering the Google Nexus 7 is expected to be unveiled at Google I/O next month, that means Google and Asus will need to sell over one million units a month in order to meet they expectations. When you think about just how popular the previous Nexus 7 was, we’re sure more Android-tablet owners will flock to the new and improved one once it’s announced.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Archos ChildPad Tablet Arrives At The FCC, Kobo Aura HD E-Book Reader, 
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Apr 15
NEC CASIO Mobile – MEDIAS W N-05E – NTT Docomo two-in-one smartphone/tablet to be released April 18
Posted in: Today's Chili
NTT Docomo is releasing their new double-screened smart phone “MEDIAS W N-05E” manufactured by NEC CASIO Mobile Communications on April 18 in Japan.
We had the chance to actually touch this new cool smart phone at NTT Docomo’s 2013 spring line-up event in January and wrote about it then.
Dimensions: 136 x 64 x 12.2mm
Weight: 183g
Apr 13
In an unsurprising report, it looks like 7-inch tablets are the most popular Android tablets. While some people prefer the bigger screen real estate of a 10-inch tablet, or the perfect screen balance of a 8.9-inch tablet, neither sized tablets have the affordability of a 7-inch tablet. According to Animoca, an app publisher for entertainment products for Android devices, the top tablets that use its services are 7-inch tablets.
Animoca listed the top 12 tablets that use its products, and according to the list, 5 out of the top 7 devices are 7-inchers. Animoca sampled a total of 978,000 monthly users to come up with its data, and to determine the market share, it took its sample data and based it on a figurative 75 million Android tablets being used worldwide. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7 takes the top spot, with 11.8% of the market share, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 8.3% of the market share.
The devices are followed by the Amazon Kindle Fire and Amazon Kindle Fire HD with 7.5% and 4.9% of the marketshare respectively. While it’s surprising that the Kindle Fire was beaten out by the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch, it’s unsurprising that the Kindle Fire has secured two of the top positions on the chart. The Google Nexus 7 follows with 3.8% of the marketshare, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes in 7th with 3% of the market share. All of the other tablets on the list fall short of 1% of the market share.
All of the top 7-inch tablets listed by Animoca are all available for under $200 or less. This follows the IDC’s forecast that low-cost Android tablets will be dominating the tablet market in the future. Many companies are seeing how popular affordable, 7-inch tablets are. HP is planning on releasing an Android-based HP Slate 7 for $169. Microsoft is rumored to be coming out with a line of 7-inch Surface tablets, and even Apple jumped onto the 7-inch bandwagon with its 7-inch iPad Mini. If manufacturers are able to shell out budget 10-inch tablets, we may see the tides turn.
[via GIGAOM]
7-inch tablets are the most popular Android tablets is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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