T-Mobile has announced that its entire range of phones, and a number of tablets, will be offered for free during a one-day promotion on Saturday, February 11. The "Valentine's Day Sale" applies to smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, BlackBerry Bold 9900, HTC Amaze 4G and Nokia Lumia 710, along with the SpringBoard tablet and the Sonic 4G hotspot.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on iPads, external hard drives, and more. Apple.com is currently offering sales on a wide range of refurbished iPads, one of which is the refurb. 64GB iPad 2 that includes both Wi-Fi and 3G support, HD video recording, dual-core A5 processing chip, and FaceTime support with two cameras. Currently featured at DealNN, this iPad 2 has now dropped to only $729, and delivers savings of up to $100.
ARM CEO Warren East suggests that Windows 8 may have an edge over Google's Android OS in the tablet arena. When answering an analyst inquiry regarding Microsoft's prospects in the tablet market, East argued that Windows brand awareness represents a "fundamental difference" that could carry over into tablets.
Today's Deals from DealNN include discounted tablets, iPhone accessories, and more. Tigerdirect.com now has the 8.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 listed as its Deal of the Day, complete with 32GB of storage, a dual-core 1GHz processor, Bluetooth 3.0 support, and dual webcams. Currently featured at DealNN, this tablet has now dropped to $399.99 in price and offers savings of up to $180.
Toshiba and Lenovo have reportedly signed deals with contractor Quanta Computer for production of new tablets based on the Windows 8 on ARM architecture. Unnamed sources within the industry have told DigiTimes Quanta will handle the tablet production for both companies, with the first models expected to arrive on the market early next year.
Fujitsu has introduced a new tablet, the M532, that has surfaced just days after most companies showed off their latest gadgets at CES. The tablet, which was detailed by the German site TechFokus, is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset and previewed with Android 3.2, however the device will be outfitted with Ice Cream Sandwich before launch.
Notion Ink has posted an early Android 4.0 update for its Adam tablet, though the development team is still working out a number of bugs. The company already offered a beta download, however the alpha build fixes a wide range of problems related to audio, sensors, Bluetooth, HDMI video output and graphics acceleration, among other bugs.
Intel is currently showing off a Lenovo tablet, the IdeaTab K2110, that appears to be the first Atom-based Android device to run the latest Ice Cream Sandwich build. The tablet utilizes the same Atom Z2460 processor that powers Intel's own Medfield smartphone reference design and Lenovo's K800 Android smartphone that are also on hand this week at CES.
ASUS has revealed the new Eee Pad MeMO, a 7-inch, quad-core Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet. The processor is a Tegra 3 matched with 1GB of RAM, while the display is also a high-quality IPS WXGA-type. The headlining feature, however, is the price – just $249, which is likely to give early adopting Kindle Fire users pause.
Rahman Ismail, chief technology officer for the USB Implementers Forum, announced today that USB 3 ports will be coming to smartphones and tablets by late this year or early next, likely using the MicroUSB standard port, PCWorld reports. However, USB 3 transfer speeds on mobile devices will be significantly slower than the theoretical maximum of USB 3, up to perhaps as high as 100MB per second, still much faster than USB 2.0.
Following Acer's special event ahead of CES, Electronista had a chance to try out the company's upcoming flagship tablet. The Iconia Tab A700 touts a 1080p display paired with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, which combine to raise the bar in Android tablet hardware.
AT&T appears to be preparing to introduce new Windows 8 tablet next week at CES in Las Vegas. The carrier is holding a special event ahead of CES for developers, with a session to be focused on "Windows 8 tablets super charged with LTE."
Toshiba has announced that it will show off several upcoming products next week at CES, including a waterproof tablet and a large glasses-free 3D TV. Aside from the waterproof tablet, which also offers wireless charging, the company will show off a different model that integrates an OLED display.
Acer is reportedly changing is tablet strategy, shifting its focus toward Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 platform. Although Acer has yet to formally announce its full product lineup for 2012, unnamed sources within the supply chain have told DigiTimes that the company will be diverging from the Android tablet market in the near future.
Just days after Acer put its Iconia Tab A200 tablet up for pre-sale in the UK, the upgraded A700 model has surfaced in Russia. The latter tablet is described by Nomobile.ru as thinner and lighter than the former, with a housing that measures 9.8mm thick, while the 10.1-inch display has been upgraded with 1920x1200 resolution.
Pantech is reportedly preparing to launch an eight-inch tablet that will arrive in the US with support for AT&T's 4G LTE network. Although the company has yet to formally introduce the tablet, the information published by Korean news outlet JKN corroborates earlier reports pointing to benchmark tests for a Pantech tablet that carries the model number P4100.
Just days after Firefox 9 arrived for Mac, Windows and Linux, Mozilla has released the equivalent edition for Android devices. The revamped browser brings significant changes to the user interface for tablets, placing each tab as a thumbnail on the left edge of the screen while the open window is still displayed in full on the right.
Asus' Transformer Prime tablet has been confirmed for a January launch in the UK, however customers will not be able to purchase the tablet by itself. The company will only offer the tablet in a package that includes the notebook dock. Current UK launch plans are also said to be limited to the Wi-Fi model, rather than the 3G variant.
Today at Apple's online store save big on refurbished iPads, starting as low as $399 for a 32GB iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G that was originally released April 2010 and features a 9.7-inch widescreen display, Bluetooth 2.1 support, TV and video streaming capabilities, and a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 10 hours. An $80 price drop is available on the refurb. 64GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi support and HD video recording, now priced at $599.
After ignoring the tablet market for several years and dismissing color screens as inappropriate for e-book readers, Amazon has finally decided to expand its Kindle lineup to include a proper tablet. The Fire is aimed directly at Barnes & Noble's new Nook Tablet, though both devices are attempting to pull a bit of market share away from Apple's dominant iPad. In our full review, we compare Amazon's tablet to its direct rival and more expensive alternatives.
HP is reportedly set to continue clearing its TouchPad inventory through an eBay auction, contrasting from the traditional retail distribution of the earlier sale. Interestingly enough, the eBay selloff involves only refurbished models but the prices for the 16GB and 32GB remain at $99 and $149, respectively, which matches the bottom price from the new tablets.
This year a wide range of great tablet deals are available for Cyber Monday. Amazon.com slashed the price on the Blackberry Playbook 7-inch tablet with 32GB of storage by 50% from $599 down to only $299 with FREE super saver shipping. A modest 16% price break can be found on the Toshiba Thrive 10.1-inch tablet with 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, it was $429.99, but is now $359.99.
Sony has reportedly begun shipping its dual-screen Tablet P to customers in the UK. Rather than using the single 9.4-inch display of the traditional Tablet S, the P variant brings two five-inch displays that each provide 1024x480 resolution. Both screens can be shared to show the same content on a 1024x960 spread, or different items can be split between the top and bottom.
Over the next few years, tablet devices will enjoy double-digit growth and become a primary computing device for millions of users in the US, a study by sales analysis firm eMarketer claims. The company points to the fact that more than 33 million use a tablet device at least monthly, a gain of more than 158 percent compared to the year the iPad debuted and mainstreamed the tablet market. By 2014, more than 35 percent of all US internet users will be on tablets, the study says.
A hacker on the tonymacx86 forums has begun public documentation of an effort to get a normal install of Lion (Mac OS X 10.7.2) running on a Samsung Series 7 Slate tablet computer, a $1100 machine that runs an Intel Core i5 processor and Intel HD 3000 graphic chip that normally runs a touch-optimized version of Windows 7. Currently it will boot successfully off a USB thumb drive, but doesn't do much else.
Samsung has filled its tablet portfolio with a variety of sizes, but the company's first Galaxy Tab was one of the smaller players with a seven-inch display. After going after the iPad with a ten-inch model and following up with a midsize 8.9-inch variant, Samsung has overhauled its original design as the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. In our full review, we compare the new tablet to its predecessor and its competition.
Verizon is reportedly preparing to rebrand Motorola's second-generation Android tablets, which will allegedly be sold under the name "Droid Xyboard" rather than the Xoom 2. Although many companies use code-names to refer to some products that are still in the development stage, the carrier has applied to trademark the term Xyboard.
Walmart Canada is reportedly following US retailers' rumored pricing strategy for RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. A leaked flyer suggests customers in Quebec will be able to purchase the 16GB model for just $198, which is $100 less than recent discounts and $200 below the initial MSRP. The 16GB and 32GB variants are listed with $298 and $398 price tags, respectively.
A Sprint executive suggests tablet makers need to outfit their devices with phone features before the 3G/4G models can gain a foothold in the market. The company's director of business product marketing, Jeff Adelmann, argues that users should be able to choose between answering a voice call on their smartphone or tablet.
ASUS' Transformer Prime tablet appears to have been dissected by the FCC during tests for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Commission's photographs provide an early look at the device's internal components, including NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset. The Prime is expected to be the first device to arrive on the market with the new quad-core processor.
The One Laptop per Child project will reportedly include plans to airdrop the XO-3 tablet onto remote villages. Organization chairman Nicholas Negroponte told Open Mobile conference attendees the tablets would be distributed in some areas using a hands-off approach. Researchers would wait an entire year before returning to the villages to study the outcome.
ASUS' Transformer Prime tablet appears to have arrived at the FCC for compliance tests. Commission documents do not shed light on any unexpected features, however the device's presence at the FCC suggests the company is on track with its launch plans that are expected to be fully detailed at an event on November 9.
Dell has finally made its Latitude ST enterprise-friendly tablet official. The long-delayed Windows 7 tablet surfaced in an official promotional clip late last week. It has now been formally announced on Dell’s European Community forum.
ASUS' Transformer Prime has surfaced in the wild, providing a closer look at the revamped design. The image leak shows what appears to be a brushed aluminum case surrounding the back of the tablet, with a matching aluminum keyboard dock. The notebook accessory is built with an island-style keyboard that resembles an 11-inch MacBook Air.
Panasonic is exiting the small-to-mid-sized TV LCD panel business. Instead, according to the Japanese news service Nikkei [subscription required], it will focus on producing panels for tablets and 50-inch and larger TV panels. The company claimed that demand for the smaller TVs has dropped since the Japanese government stopped offering subsidies for energy efficient appliances, effectively making the larger screens more attractive.
ViewSonic has finally announce a launch time-frame for its ViewPad 7e tablet, which is scheduled to arrive before the end of October. The Android-based tablet features a seven-inch display with 800x600 resolution, presenting Android 2.3 with ViewSonic's own "ViewScene 3D" interface overlay. Features are modest compared to high-end Android tablets, however the device aims to focus on the entry-level market.
Huawei brought its new SpringBoard tablet to CTIA, where the company has invited media and analysts to try out its latest devices. Electronista had a chance to take a close look at the company's attempt to dominate the market for budget Android tablets. Considering the current range of terrible Android tablets that are available for around $200, we approached the SpringBoard with a cautious eye.
Lenovo has quietly begun taking sales for its new IdeaPad Tablet A1. The company had announced the entry-level device back in early September with similar lack of fanfare. The seven-inch device, which runs Android 2.3, is priced from $199 to $249, depending on capacity.
As part of its earlier announcements regarding its group of new touch-based apps for Android and iOS, Adobe also made a number of other announcements, including the unveiling of its Creative Cloud file-transfer service; its acquisition of Nitobi Software, makers of the popular app-development tool PhoneGap; an agreement with WoodWing Software to integrate its own tablet publishing system with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, and more.
India's alleged $35 tablet has been met with yet another production delay, leading some to doubt the entire project. Despite the repeated setbacks, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal now claims the device will be launched next month. "This is not just a dream, it is a reality," he said at an event, according to quotes posted by The Times of India.
USRobotics, well known for its line of modems and other internet accessories, has started offering accessories for tablets, smartphones and e-readers and netbooks, including two that are specifically for iOS devices -- though most are aimed at general tablet-sized devices to make them compatible with the widest variety of devices. The company offers three models of stands and two Bluetooth keyboards, and plan for other accessories in the future.
As Samsung prepares to launch the Galaxy Tab 8.9, leaked images suggest the company is also readying an update to its seven-inch tablet. The device, which is said to be labeled the "Galaxy Tab Plus," appears to offer a form similar to the original Galaxy Tab 7, but with '4G' hardware that enables it to connect to HSPA+ networks.
The FCC appears to have approved yet another Galaxy Tab 10.1 variant, which is equipped to run on T-Mobile's network. The tablet, which was filed under the model number SGH-T859, appears to match the external dimensions of the Wi-Fi and LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 variants, but with a GSM radio that supports T-Mobile's 1700MHz network, along with 850/1900MHz GSM, EDGE, WCDMA and HSPA networks.
The Sony Tablet S 16GB Wi-Fi model has gone on sale on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). At $599, it is priced a full $100 more than on Sony's web store ($499). However, it is still only listed as available for pre-order with Sony, but has been confirmed as now shipping through HSN along with its customary payment plan options.
Hobbyist developers from Team-TouchDroid claim to have overcome touchscreen incompatibilities that had prevented HP's webOS-based TouchPad tablet from running usable Android builds. The group has reportedly configured touchscreen drivers that enable full multitouch support using the TouchPad's display and Android 2.3.5.
Dell has reportedly committed to offering a Honeycomb update for the Streak 7 tablet. The device currently runs Android 2.2, which is focused on smartphone-size devices, however recent rumors suggested the company was working to outfit the Wi-Fi models with a tablet-optimized variant of the mobile OS. The official confirmation points to Android 3.2 as the chosen build, rather than an earlier version.
The apparent Toshiba Thrive sequel that recently leaked may launch as the Toshiba Excite, according to information garnered from a Toshiba US trademark filing. The trademark filing clearly refers to a previously unseen Toshiba tablet that carries the new name. Toshiba is also the registered domain name holder for several websites including 'excitetablet.com,' 'excitetablet.net,' 'toshibaexcite.com,' 'toshibaexcite.net' and 'thetoshibaexcite.com,' which also lends the rumor some credibility.
Lenovo is now taking orders for its new business-oriented ThinkPad Tablet. The Android 3.1-based, 10.1-inch, Tegra 2-powered device will come in three versions. Lenovo will begin shipping the product on August 29.
On the heels of today's announcement that HP was discontinuing tablet and smartphone products featuring WebOS, a report from ThisIsMyNext claims to have confirmation from an internal company meeting that HP remains committed to the platform as an IP asset, but doesn't yet know what to do with it and is considering scouting new hardware partners or companies willing to license the iOS competitor.
Samsung is said to have produced the single most "effective" tablet commercial this year, based on numbers from an Ace Metrix survey. The comparison rated television segments for Samsung's seven-inch Galaxy Tab, Apple's iPad, the BlackBerry TouchPad and HP's PlayBook, with scores based on survey responses from a random group of television viewers.
