Those of you waiting for a reboot of the Nexus 7, aka the most successful Nexus tablet yet delivered by Google, will be glad to see more than one source reporting an imminent release this afternoon. This new device has been tipped to be coming to both physical stores and to Google’s own online outlet Google Play before the month of July is over. Based based solely on the stated date (July 24th) of the Google event invite delivered earlier today, we wouldn’t be surprised if the documents being shared this afternoon are entirely accurate. UPDATE: There appears to be a bit of a hardware leak, as well.
There are two distinct – or what appear to be distinct – leaks appearing today, both of which show in-store availability of the Nexus 7 2. Of course that’s just a name that allows the prospective device to be searched for easily whilst users are seeking information on it here before the launch – the real name remains unknown. According to Android Central, the device will go by the name “Nexus 2″ or “Nexus 2 7″.
In this case based on the massive amount of confusion that would ensue if Google did indeed release a machine called “Nexus 2″ where its predecessor was called “Nexus 7″, we’ll put our money on the device retaining its current branding.
Meanwhile Engadget has a document which suggests OfficeMax will be getting the tablet in kind. This document goes on to note that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will continue to be sold, as will the Google Nexus 10, but inside multi-device (or accessory) bundles. This could very well mean that the company will be preparing for a reboot of the Nexus 10 as well – one follows the other, right?
This OfficeMax one-sheet suggests that the company will be getting the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 soon as well. This device is part of a three tablet release which also includes the (recently reviewed by SlashGear) Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 – have a peek!
Retail pricing on the reboot of the Nexus 7 is set at $269.99 or $269.00 USD for the 32GB model according to both sources. Meanwhile there’s a 16GB model in the mix for $229.00, while sizes outside these two appear to be missing at the moment. We’ll just go ahead an assume a 64GB iteration would launch later in the year, similar to the schedule that appeared with the launch of the original Nexus 7.
The device is rumored to be coming with an upgraded processor as well as a display with a bit denser set of pixels. It’s suggested that this ASUS-made machine (and ASUS appears to be confirmed in the OfficeMax tip here) will ring true to the device ASUS Pad K009. Keep your ear to the ground and read up in our exploration of this next-generation machine in Nexus 7 2 and the details you want for a reboot.
All the way over in China today we’re seeing the HTC One Mini make its final trip through certification processes before it’s revealed in kind to the public. While HTC hasn’t yet confirmed the existence of this machine – so to speak – rumors and tips thus far appear to match up quite well with this final breath of behind-the-scenes action. Here comes HTC One’s little brother, looking like a clone.
What you’ve got with this device is a 4.3-inch display with 720p resolution and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor. If you see the word “Xiaolong” attached anywhere, don’t fret, that’s just a different translation of the same mythical beast. Also paired with this processor is 1GB of RAM.
What we’re seeing here courtesy of China’s Tenaa (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Ministry of Telecommunications Authority) and microblogging hub Digital Tail are a series of photos of this machine, front and back. What we’re to understand is that this will be a much more palm-fitting push for HTC’s software in a light silver or dark black metal casing.
UPDATE:HTC UK has teased the phone as well: “We have a ‘little’ bit of news tomorrow.” – there it is, peeking! Looks like we may see this machine as early as tomorrow!
Around the edges you’ll find a plastic ring a bit more robust than the original HTC One’s similar surround, while it would appear that all of the original machine’s trappings remain in-tact. This device will likely appear soon with HTC Sense, the company’s own unique vision for Android, atop Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, complete with Google Now. For the full official announcement you’ll just have to wait and see!
A report emerged late Tuesday that Google is working on building its own cable TV service. The move would bring Google up from being the owner of a mere streaming video site to competing with telecom giants like Comcast. That means Google would have an entirely new—if related—industry to disrupt and, potentially, dominate. Which leaves one glaring question hanging in the air: Doesn’t Google dominate enough industries already?
It appears that the rumored sequel to the Nexus 7 is close at hand, according to internal documents sent to us by an anonymous tipster. Apparently, the new device will be sold in stores alongside the current iteration (at first, at least, though we can’t be certain if this will only be until existing stock runs out). The docs indicate that stores will receive the tablet as early as the 20th, though we wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see it until the 24th or later, given Google’s product event on that date. This particular model being discussed is the 32GB version, but we’re not certain if it will be available in 16GB as well or if it’s just not going to be offered at this specific outlet. We’ll update you as we learn more about it, but it’s pretty clear that next week’s announcement will be rather significant.
Update: According to a shot of an inventory screen sent in by our tipster, the retail price for the 32GB model is set at $269.99.
Update 2: A tipster sent in photos of the alleged device to Android Central. While we can’t know for sure that this is the exact same tablet that we expect to see next week — it could simply be a prototype, for instance — it at least looks quite feasible. There’s a pair of pictures after the break.
There have already been a lot of rumors regarding the new Nexus 7 tablets. Google itself hasn’t confirmed that it is going to launch a new Nexus tablet soon, however we’ve seen purported leaked images of this device and have […]
Now that Android has received that new Chrome update, it’s time for iOS users to get some of that love as well. Google has released a Chrome for iOS update that introduces improved integration with other Google apps — signing into Chrome will automatically prompt you to sign in to other apps like YouTube, Google+ and Google Drive. You can also set up a preference where all directions links in the browser will lead to the Google Maps app instead. Aside from the tighter integration, the new iOS update also introduces fullscreen browsing on the iPad, access to your full browser history and an experimental data compression service that promises faster and more secure browsing. So if you’re a fan of that alternative iOS browser from Mountain View, go on and download the update from the source link below.
Google today started rolling out invites for an event on July 24th, the event itself is being dubbed as “breakfast with Sundar Pichai” – we’ll be there. For those who do not know who Pichai is, he is the one […]
If you’re planning on picking up the Verizon iteration of the HTC One, you’ll do well to know the battle said phone will be facing when it appears amongst the 4G LTE smartphone ranks of the big red carrier. What we’ve done here is to run down the rest of the devices that will be carried by Verizon at the time the HTC One will be released (likely August 1st), along with reviews if we’ve got them (if they’re on the market already, that is), or connections to information on potential specifications if they’re not.
Non-Android
Before we get too far into this competition and analysis, lets go ahead and get the devices NOT running Android out of the way. If you’re here in the summer of 2013 looking for a smartphone and are considering the HTC One, you already know you’re not going to want to pick up anything with iOS or Windows Phone 8 running on it. That much can be readily assumed.
If on the other hand you’re one of the odd folks out there that’ve found yourself in a predicament where you absolutely must decide between the operating systems, there really are only a few devices you’ll be deciding between.
Starting with the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S, you’ll either be paying $199.99 for the newest in new or $99.99 for the next-best thing. There’s always the iPhone 4 if you only want the form factor and the cool factor, and that’s free, but as far as getting anywhere near the processing and photo/video power that the HTC One has, the iPhone 5 is your only choice.
If you’re all about Windows Phone 8, Nokia’s 920 family entry with the Lumia 928 will indeed be the cure you’re looking for. It has a display that comes nowhere near the sharpness of the HTC One – or the iPhone, for that matter – but if you’re looking for high-quality photos and video and the most solid package running this mobile OS, the Lumia 928 far and away beats any other Verizon-bound machine at this time.
There’s also the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry Q10. If you’re thinking about purchasing the HTC One and you’ve also got either one of these devices on your “maybe” list, please do yourself a favor and hold either of them in your hand and the HTC One in the other. Mobile OS completely aside, the HTC One makes both of these BlackBerry devices appear as though they’ve been released more than a year ago – they’d be better suited to do battle with the original HTC One S, and even then your humble narrator would choose the latter based solely on software ecosystem – and the HTC One S wasn’t even carried by Verizon. You’d be better off waiting for the BlackBerry A10 instead.
Samsung
With the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC’s biggest competition comes in two hero-styled form factors. You’ll be able to see our full Samsung Galaxy S 4 vs HTC One run-down in a separate article – such is the nature of this topmost competitor for the HTC device. Both machines have the same processor, both have nearly the same display sharpness and size, and both are aimed squarely at being king of the heap.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 rings in at $199.99 while the Galaxy Note II still costs $299.99 – a surprising price point given its makeup vs the GS4 and the notion that a next-generation Galaxy Note III is well on the way. The Galaxy Note II remains a high-powered beast of a unique addition to the Verizon lineup, on the other hand, continuing to be the one machine to offer a stylus built in to its body – and not some half-effort capacitive pen, either, a real value of an accessory in and of itself.
Have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Note II review and Verizon hands-on to see why this device has only yet been size-checked by the HTC-made DROID DNA on Verizon – we’ll get to that soon.
LG
At the moment there’s no real competitor both made by LG and carried Verizon that can compare to the HTC One. There’s always the LG Intuition if you want to, once again, just be as unique as possible, but if you’re going to that device for its stylus, you’ll still be better off with a Galaxy Note II based solely on its software updates and relatively solid future-proof styling.
Verizon may get the LG Optimus G2 later this year, but it’ll be – at the very least – two months after the release of the HTC One that this fabled powerhouse is set loose with any carrier – and there’s no guarantee it’ll be released with Verizon either way. The LG Optimus G2 event is set for August 7th, if you’d like to follow along.
Motorola
There are three devices running on Verizon’s 4G LTE network right this moment that could very well be updated in kind by the end of September – or very soon thereafter. There’s a Verizon event scheduled for July 23rd to bring DROID back up to speed and based on every leak and tip we’ve come in contact with over the past few weeks, it would appear that these three machines are on the docket for replacement.
There’s the DROID RAZR HD, the slightly larger battery capacity-toting DROID RAZR HD MAXX, and the palm-ready smallest family member of the pack in the DROID RAZR M. As each of these smartphones runs with the same software, the same processor, and has effectively the same update schedule set from Motorola and Verizon, we must recommend them all the same.
Each has proven itself to be a top-to-bottom solid experience, and though they’re certainly not going to win any photography contests, each device has proven itself an effective workhorse for our everyday mobile communication device needs.
If you’ve waited this long for the HTC One to hit Verizon and you’re willing to wait a little longer for this DROID trio to bring on a reboot, we certainly wouldn’t hold it against you.
Until that reboot is made official, keep this in mind: if the DROID RAZR HD MAXX can back up both Chris Burns here on SlashGear and Android Community’s Cory Gunther through the entirety of CES 2013 (earlier this year, that being the most intense week of on-site tech reporting of the year), this line is certainly good enough to continue trucking into a competition with the HTC One.
Though they may not be as stylish – depending on your perspective – as the HTC One or the Samsung Galaxy S 4, the DROID RAZR HD family is a high-class match of 2013 smartphone abilities with rugged cant-bust-em bodies to boot. That’s a rarity on the market today, and we’re expecting Google to make the most of it with the DROID line reboot – not to mention the Moto X.
You’ll also want to check out the Moto X since it’s tipped to be hitting Verizon before the end of August as well – there you’ll find what’s essentially a cousin of this DROID family reboot, only made to seem of paramount importance to the future of Android in its push by Google as they push Motorola, a Google company. Expect the Moto X to seem a lot cooler than the DROID family reboot, though a specifications battle it will not win, by any means (that’s not the idea, after all).
HTC
Here at the birth of the Verizon HTC One ends Verizon’s push of the DROID DNA. It was because of the DROID DNA, make no mistake, that the HTC One was so very “delayed” as such. Whenever Verizon has a hero smartphone like the DROID DNA (aka the HTC Butterfly J, as it’s known internationally), you’ll find a frame of time that’s placed between it and any other smartphone that directly conflicts with its specifications – this is especially true when there’s another phone made by the first phone’s same manufacturer.
Because the DROID DNA and the HTC One are so very similar, Verizon’s release of the HTC One will soon be followed by a distinct lack of interest by the public – and by Verizon – in the larger smartphone. If you’re not too worried about software updates – especially if you’re a hacking-friendly user – the DROID DNA remains a lovely device in its own right. Especially since it’s current price at $49.99 is well below any other device rolling with a 5-inch display with sharpness so HD.
The DROID DNA offers the same amount of pixels that the HTC One does, spread out a bit more (so it’s just slightly less sharp) with a set of specifications that are more than ready to continue feeling impressive through the end of the year. Of course with the HTC One you’re getting better external speakers, a better set of cameras, a processor that’s literally the next generation replacement of the one living in the DROID DNA, and you’ve got a metal body instead of the DROID DNA’s plastic, too.
But maybe plastic – polycarbonate, that is – is more your style. For you there’s also the competition in the Samsung Galaxy Note II, a device with a rather similarly-sized display and the added bonus of Samsung’s own S-Pen. If you’re not all about Samsung’s software family and don’t feel the need to write with an accessory such as that, the DROID DNA still has a feature set that’ll continue to fight with the Samsung “handheld.”
Verdict
The HTC One is one of the most celebrated smartphones of the year, and it continues to be a smartphone worth releasing by Verizon even though it’s been out on several other carriers for weeks – and out internationally for months. As it also appears as a pure-Android HTC One Google Play edition, it should be clear how good a job it was that HTC did with this smartphone.
We’re expecting HTC to release a smaller and a larger edition of the HTC One by the end of the year – code-named for now (only because the company hasn’t given them full official final names) HTC One Mini and HTC One Max. Though these devices may offer unique perks in and of themselves when they’re revealed fully, they’ll be based in hardware and software largely on the HTC One, the original hero for HTC’s 2013 generation of smart mobile devices.
You can expect HTC to continue to support the HTC One’s software for many moons, as its placed so much of its faith in this machine that it’s all but annihilated any other efforts they’ve pushed for the rest of the year. Remember any other HTC smartphone releases since the HTC One was made official earlier this year? There certainly have been a few, but none championed nearly so hard as the One.
Expect the HTC One to grow in its software abilities well into the future while the hardware remains a solid package through the next several seasons with ease. Don’t go away without making sure you’re up-to-date with our AT&T HTC One Review and our original HTC One Review (international edition) before we get our hands on the Verizon edition – soon, and very soon!
With the mid-sized tablet in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series you’re getting the only device on the market to go to war with the similarly-sized Galaxy Note. For Samsung it would appear easy to create so many device sizes that there’s got to be one you’re fond of, but here with the Galaxy Tab 3 generation of devices, it becomes so thick in the industry that the company redefines what it means to cannibalize one’s own sales. That said, pretend the rest of the Samsung smart device universe doesn’t exist and you’ve got a solid competitor for the 8-inch (or thereabouts) tablet market.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 works with an 8-inch display rolling with an 800 x 1280 pixel resolution across it, making it essentially the same delivery of sharpness and brightness as the Galaxy Note 8.0. While you’ll find this close relative tablet mentioned more than once in this review of the Tab, you can be sure here first that the display panels themselves are directly on-par with one another for everyday use.
Inside you’ve got Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean right out of the box, this powered by a Samsung-made Exynos dual-core processor. This processor is a step up from what we saw in the last generation of Samsung Galaxy Tab devices, to be sure, and acts as a decent engine for this mid-range tablet. It’s got 1.5GB of RAM, too – odd, isn’t it?
While you wont find this processor besting the likes of the Galaxy Note 8.0′s quad-core Exynos SoC nor the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor found in Google’s current ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet, you can rest in the idea that the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0′s chip is one that’ll keep you humming without lag well into the future.
This device comes in at 8.26 x 4.87 x 0.275 inches with a weight at 10.9 ounces, just a bit smaller than the Galaxy Note 8.0, and just as thin. This Galaxy Tab lineup aims to be just as slim as the smartphone that leads the pack, and as you can see, Samsung does well to make the whole family look extremely similar. Each of these Samsung smart devices feels like part of a unified whole – this is industrial design one-ness in full effect.
With the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 you’ve got 16GB of internal storage as well as a microSD card slot with the ability to take on an additional 64GB. You’ll be connecting to devices of all kinds with abilities in DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and Wi-fi 02.11 a/b/g/n. In the future you can expect 4G LTE as well – though you’ll need an edition with a microSIM card slot for that, too – later this year it’ll all become clear.
Software
In the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 you’ve got a software experience that you’ll need to do at least a double-take with to realize it’s not on-par with its brethren. You’ll find the app “Samsung Link” missing from the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (see our full review) while the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 has it ready to roll – ready to share and be shared with through the cloud with Samsung notebooks, tablets, and smartphones – and everything in-between.
This is the full entry into the Samsung Galaxy S 4 era of smart devices from the manufacturer that promises wireless connectivity and cross-device sharing galore – just so long as you’re working with Samsung devices. Samsung’s Group Play and ChatON are another couple of good examples of this ecosystem – Samsung makes the case for Samsung-to-Samsung sharing as an experience you’ll want to be a part of – over and over and over again.
While you’ll not be using NFC with this tablet – there’s no NFC hardware to be had, that is – you’ll get DLNA access, screen mirroring, and the promise of all the greatnesses of the software suites of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note families without the S-Pen-specific apps in play. Items like Samsung’s “Smart Stay” keep the family’s ability to detect your human eyes and account for it while items like Power Saving Mode and cloud storage abilities are assumed.
This device is one of several Samsung has released with a Dropbox bonus of 50GB of cloud storage added on to your account – or added to a brand new account – for 2 years from the point at which you access said space. Other bonuses include a $10 Google Play store credit, a 3 month Hulu Plus membership (for new users), and 12 months of Boingo Wi-fi access (also for new users). This is all part of the “Samsung Rewards” program the company is blowing out with the Galaxy Tab 3 line as well as the Galaxy Note 8.0 – and with future Galaxy Note devices soon, we must expect .
Camera and Battery
This tablet works with the newest version of Samsung’s camera UI, the same not able to be said (at the moment) about the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 or the Galaxy Note 8.0. We expect such an update to come on quick for those devices, on the other hand, and the camera quality here matches that of the Galaxy Note 8.0′s shooter, one generation of camera app UI difference or not.
This device works with a 5 megapixel camera on its back with no flash while its front-facing camera is 1.3 megapixels, good enough (and specifically ONLY good enough) for video chat. The back-facing camera takes photos and video that are good enough for social networking and general small-scale sharing.
Click panorama photo for full-sized image.
Compared to the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, the camera situation here is far and away superior – it would appear that the smaller tablets in this range are finding their camera setups to be a bit more of a priority than the slightly more awkward to wield amalgamations on the larger 10.1-tabs. It’s clear that the extra cash the larger device costs is not applied to its back-facing shooter.
Meanwhile battery life is roughly the same here with the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 as we’ve seen with the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 – that is, with a 4,450 mAh battery in tow, this tablet will bring on a full day’s usage without a problem, and standby time is – in general – acceptable as we’ve found it with the Galaxy Note 8.0 Wi-fi edition.
Both the Galaxy Note 8.0 Wi-fi edition and the Galaxy Note 3 8.0 work with Samsung-made Exynos processors, and though they’re not the same model, they seem to work just as well as one another in the realm of energy conservation.
Wrap-up
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is a fine upgrade from what’s been offered at this size range by the manufacturer in past generations. While the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 bests this tablet in essentially every area save its smaller bezel, the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 holds its own as a solid addition to the Samsung family of Galaxy S 4-era smart devices. Here the company brings an extremely thin and finely constructed mid-sized tablet that’ll serve its users well into the future.
Be sure to have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 vs Galaxy Note 8.0 article to see which device is more your flavor. There you’ll find the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0′s price range – right at $299.99 USD and ready to sit between the hundred dollar addition or subtraction of the Tab 3 10.1 and 7.0, both of which have their own feature gains or drawbacks to speak of. Here in the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 you’ll have the most well-balanced member of this season’s Galaxy Tab 3 lineup, bottom to top.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
