Huawei MediaPad 7Lite 7-inch Tablet eats Ice Cream Sandwich

Here comes another 7-inch tablet. Huawei has quietly revealed the MediaPad 7Lite tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Compare to the original MediaPad 7, this Lite version tablet gets downgraded specs, and of course lower price. It is powered by a Cortex A8 1.2GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and is able to handle Full HD 1080p video playback.

The MediaPad 7Lite boasts a 7-inch 1024×600 touchscreen, a 3.2 Megapixel camera and a 0.3 Megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. The tablet is 3G-capable supporting HSDPA 3.6Mbps / UMTS 3G mobile networks. You can also find Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi 802.11b/g connectivity. The 8GB internal storage may not be enough for storing music and movies, but up to 32GB microSD can be used to provide more spaces.

 

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Panasonic Eluga Live 10.1-inch Android 4.0 Tablet

Panasonic’s Eluga Live P-08D is a 10.1-inch Android tablet for NTT docomo. Powered by TI’s OMAP4460 dual-core 1.2GHz processor, the tablet has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. It features a 10.1-inch 1280×800 touchscreen display and a 1.3 Megapixel front camera. The device is IP57 for water- and dust-resistance.

The Eluga Live supports GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi as well as DLNA wireless connectivity, and supports HSPA mobile network as well. It includes SRS TruMedia HD sound enhancement and has a microSD/SDHC card slot. A 6560mAh is equipped for long battery life.

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Archos ELEMENTS 97 Carbon Android Tablet

Archos introduces its new ELEMENTS series of entry-level Android tablets. The first model to be released is the 9.7-inch 97 Carbon, and the company will launch 7-inch and 8-inch models later. The device runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. It is capable of Full HD 1080p video playback.

The 97 Carbon comes with a 9.7-inch IPS LCD touchscreen with 5 point multitouch and 1024×768 resolution, a 2 Megapixel main camera and a 0.3 Megapixel front-facing camera. It has HDMI output for showing media content on a HDTV. The 9.7-inch Android device supports WiFi 802.11n connectivity and has USB 2.0 port. If the 16GB internal memory is not enough, simply add a microSD/SDHC card up to 32GB. The 97 Carbon has a slim profile measuring just 0.45-inch thick and weighing 21.8oz, and a aluminum finish. It will be released in July for $249.99.

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Apple lands preliminary ban against Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the US (update: search patent the key)

It hasn't been Samsung's best week. Just days after Judge Lucy Koh granted a preliminary ban on sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, she's following it up with a similar granted request on the Galaxy Nexus. Judge Koh had already signaled that she thought Apple's lawsuit over four patents might have merit, but it's only now that she's deciding the potential damage is worth halting sales of the phone until there's a final trial verdict. Samsung will no doubt try to appeal the dispute, which centers on Android 4.0's slide-to-unlock mechanism (among other elements), but there's a lot more urgency here than with the outgoing Tab 10.1: the Galaxy Nexus is still a current-generation device, and just became Google's Android 4.1 phone flagship. Samsung's odds aren't great given that Apple has already used one of the patents to give HTC grief with its imports.

Update: As patent lawsuit guru Florian Mueller found, the clincher for the ban was the patent on unified search that's linked to Siri. Although Judge Koh is inclined to believe Apple's view regarding all four patents, that search patent is the one whose violation would reportedly merit more than a slap on the wrist. She's similarly convinced that Apple's patents are legitimate and likely won't be dismissed anytime soon.

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Splashtop for iPad gets major update: Retina support, easier remote desktopping

If you wake up to find the Splashtop Streamer widget on your PC or Mac begging to be updated, then it's probably worth it -- especially if you have a new iPad lying around. Splashtop 2 has been optimized to work with the Retina display, which makes it a cinch to squeeze your entire Windows or OS X desktop onto the 10-inch screen without it looking terrible. The system has also been redesigned to avoid the need to enter IP addresses, passwords, port numbers or Google account details. Instead, you'll create a new Splashtop 2 login that should work once across all your devices. The UI seems a lot friendlier, there's a new in-app purchase to "supercharge" network performance (edit: also required for connections outside of the same WiFi network if you're a new customer, see below), plus there's improved support for fluid video streaming at up to 30fps. (Alas, there's still no fullscreen support for Windows Media Center users though.) The new streamer and iPad app are available now, while the Android update should arrive soon. Want to see it in action? Head past the break for the promo video.

Update: We didn't fully appreciate this at first, but cross-network remote desktopping is no longer free to new customers. If you're coming to Splashtop for the first time, you have to make the in-app purchase ($1 per month or $10 per year) to enable "Anywhere Access." That said, the Splashtop 2 app for iPad is currently selling for $2 -- an 80 percent discount which largely compensates for the first year of charges.

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Google Nexus tablet reportedly shows its pre-rendered face, packing Android 4.1

There's been a longstanding rumor that Google liked ASUS' Eee Pad MeMO ME370T well enough to bestow it with an official Nexus badge and take it underground until it was ready to show its Jelly Bean face. If we're to believe a render and a raft of claimed training documents nabbed by Gizmodo, that face is getting its debut in about two days' time. As it's described, it could largely be what we'd expect from the ME370T being revived as an Android 4.1 reference device: a 7-inch, quad-core Tegra 3 slate with a front 1.2-megapixel camera, NFC, 8GB to 16GB of storage and a 1280 x 800 IPS-based LCD. If you're looking for gotta-have-it features that will have you rushing to fork over the cash, though, they may be limited to the OS and Kindle Fire-busting $199 and $249 prices for the two storage capacities. That image? There's a very distinct possibility that it's still a cleverly-done fake. Nonetheless, the prism-like backdrop has a whiff of Galaxy Nexus about it, and that textured, rounded back lines up neatly with what we've seen in an FCC filing for the ASUS design. We'll know soon enough whether or not it's real or just a fantasy if the tip (and others we've been hearing) is right, Nexus slabs will spread 'round the world come July.

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LG Electronics Optimus Vu

 

On paper, the LG Optimus Vu (currently available only in South Korea) sounds like a killer phone: It has a high-resolution display, a speedy processor, and NFC (near-field communication), and is LTE-compatible. However, the phone itself doesn't live up to what you see on the spec sheet, and you're left feeling let down by what could have been a superb product. The disappointments include an awkward design, a nonremovable battery, and some software that felt a little undercooked.

Design

 

Much like Samsung's wildly popular Galaxy Note, the Vu is a tablet-size phone--casually referred to as a "phablet". The Vu's 5-inch IPS display has the same resolution as the original iPad (1024 by 768) and is one of the phone's defining features. Unlike other phones, the Vu has a 4:3 aspect ratio--a rarity now that most modern smartphones are shipping with widescreen displays. This works to the Vu's advantage when it comes to presenting Web pages, since most websites and documents are formatted to fit screens with this standard aspect ratio. The screen on the Vu isn't as sharp as the one on the Samsung Galaxy S III or Apple's iPhone 4S, but I didn't mind reading longer news articles off of it. The display can look grainy at times, and can be a bit difficult to read outdoors in direct sunlight.

 

Aside from its massive screen, the front face of the Vu also includes the four standard Android navigation buttons (Menu, Home, Back, and Search) and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The volume rocker is located on the right spine of the device, while the SIM card slot is hiding behind a small door on the phone's left spine. You'll need a small tool to open the slot (the hole was too small to fit a paper clip into), so you'll want to make sure you keep it in a safe place to avoid losing it. The charging and headphone ports are on the top of the phone, as are the power button and the QuickClip key (more on that later). The phone also has a retractable antenna for picking up TV and radio signals, but it uses a different spectrum than what we use here in the United States so I wasn't able to test it. On the rear of the Vu you'll find an external speaker, as well as an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash (again, more on that later).
The body of the Vu is largely a gaudy-looking plastic that makes the phone feel cheap; despite that, the Vu overall felt quite sturdy.
The Vu's boxlike design is by far the phone's biggest fault and really detracted from my overall experience with it. The Vu is both shorter and thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Note, but it's also a tad wider. That extra width gives it a blocky shape, making it uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time. Trying to use the phone one-handed—even if you have larger-than-average hands—proved to be challenging and often caused me to accidentally tap things on the screen that I didn't mean to. I was able to fit the phone into the pocket of my jeans, but it felt bulky, and I sometimes felt that it would burst out of my pocket whenever I sat down.

Stylus

 

While I was a fan of the Galaxy Note, I didn't like how small its stylus was. It felt unnatural to write with, and I always felt I was going to break it. I experienced none of these problems with the Rubberdium stylus that came with the Vu. Rubberdium is a technology that allows the Vu's stylus to feel and behave more like a pencil. Whereas traditional styli slip around on glass screens, a Rubberdium stylus has some drag to it that mimics the way a pencil drags across a piece of paper.
The stylus is as long as the Vu (5.5 inches) and is as thick as the average No. 2 pencil. The Vu's stylus is made of a lightweight metal (most likely aluminum) and is comfortable to grip and write with. The stylus can also be used to navigate the phone's screen, but you're probably better off just using your finger.
By pressing the aforementioned QuickClip key on the top of the phone and entering memo mode, you'll be able to mark up whatever screen you're currently on. So if you were looking at a PowerPoint presentation on your phone and wanted to write some notes on it, you could just give the QuickClip key a tap, make your notes using the stylus (or your finger), and save the screen to your Gallery.
The one complaint I have, though, is that you have no way of storing the stylus when you aren't using it. The Galaxy Note has a slot where you can store its stylus when not in use; the Vu doesn't. Your only option is to carry the Vu's stylus around separately, making it another thing that can easily be lost while traveling.

Specs and Performance

Design flaws aside, the rest of the phone is quite impressive. The Vu is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and has 1GB of RAM, both of which keep the phone running buttery-smooth. The phone was quite responsive to my touch, and I noticed little or no lag when scrolling through menus or flying around Web pages. I played a few games of Temple Run without any issues, and even more-intensive games like Minecraft: Pocket Edition did little to slow the phone down.
Because the phone is currently available only in Korea (and I lacked a compatible SIM card), I was not able to test the Vu's call quality or download speeds over LTE. I was, however, able to test the Vu's NFC capabilities. The Vu comes with two premade NFC tags that let you change your settings on the fly simply by tapping your phone to the tag. Tapping your phone to the "Office" tag, for example, turns off the phone's ringer, turns on Wi-Fi, and puts the phone on vibrate. You can rewrite the tags using the included LG Tag+ app, and creating your own tag is as easy as selecting the actions that you'd like to occur from a basic menu. Besides toggling certain settings (like the GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and data), you can also create an NFC tag that launches a specific app.
The 2100mAh battery on the Vu is not removable. Though I didn't perform any formal tests on the Vu's battery life, I managed to get around 6 hours out of the phone while doing things like browsing the Internet over Wi-Fi, drawing on the screen, and playing a few games of Temple Run. We'll update this story later on, once we have run the Vu through our suite of official PCWorld battery tests.

Software

The Vu we received ran Android 2.3.6, with a custom LG overlay. The overlay is similar to ones we've seen on previous LG Android phones, and features things like a notification center and seven home screens that you can rearrange at will. LG has said that the Vu would be upgraded to Android Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in June, though at this writing we still have not received the update.
Apart from the memo mode, the only other pen-centric application on the Vu is the Notebook app. This app lets you create notebooks where you can draw, take notes, add photos, and enter text. You can have multiple notebooks—each with its own cover—and you can share notebooks through email. Sadly, the app is extremely clunky, and flipping from one notebook page to another was excruciatingly slow. The Notebook app has a magnifying feature that lets you draw minute details, but it can be difficult to use—I found it frustrating.
Many of the other apps that came preinstalled on the Vu were in Korean, a language that I am sadly not proficient in. Some of the apps (like the T Store Book eReader app) looked useful, but many others seemed nothing more than bloatware.

Entertainment

While couldn't test the TV and radio tuner on the Vu, I did play a few of my own videos on the phone. The two movies I played on the Vu were recorded at 720p and looked good playing on the Vu's 5-inch display. Both movies were widescreen and played back just as they would on an iPad or a standard-definition television.
The music player on the Vu is slightly better than the stock one on Android Gingerbread, and is reminiscent of the music player on Samsung's phones. Music played through the rear speaker sounded, frankly, tinny and terrible. If you plan to use the Vu as your primary music player, you'll want to use either the included pair of headphones (which I liked) or your own. The Vu lacks expandable storage, but ships with 32GB of internal memory, for music, videos, photos, and files.

Cameras

 

The Vu has two cameras: A 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel camera on the rear. Pictures taken with the rear camera came out looking dull, with colors being not as crisp as they would be in real life. The front-facing camera wasn't much better, but it did have an interesting shooting mode that lets you essentially airbrush your face when taking photos. The intensity of the effect can be adjusted through the menu—though even at the lowest setting the software made my face look creepy.
The phone is capable of shooting videos in 1080p, and the few videos I shot using the Vu came out looking pretty good. A minor jelly effect appeared when I moved the phone (causing the camera to momentarily lose focus), but overall the picture quality was above average compared with other phones I've recently tested. I can't say the same for the audio in the videos, which sounded as if it were coming in through a metal tube. Voices in particular seemed distant, and I heard a distinct hiss in the playback of all the videos I took using the Vu.

Bottom Line

Though LG has no current plans to bring the Optimus Vu to the United States, it's always interesting to review phones from other countries. I like the idea of the Vu—a smartphone large enough to use as a digital notepad—but I wanted more. The phone's performance is top-notch (though I can't speak for its call quality), and the Rubberdium stylus worked well enough that I would like to see other styli employ similar technology. Yes, the camera is mediocre, but it's usable for taking pictures for Instagram or Facebook, and the video quality wasn't half bad. Unfortunately it all comes back to the Vu's awkward, difficult-to-hold design.
So how does the Vu compare to the Galaxy Note? While I favor the Vu in overall performance, the Note is still the better phone—largely because it doesn't feel like a big phone. The boxy nature of the Vu makes it feel huge—something that you really don't want in a smartphone. I want to see more phablets in the future (I'm a fan of styli), but I hope future large-screen phones won’t require Hulk-sized hands.

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Apple is bringing new iPad 3 for gadget lovers

 

With the advent of iPad 1 and iPad 2 in the gadget market, Apple is all set to launch its new model of iPad, i.e. iPad 3. This is one of the enthralling news for gadget lovers.

New iPad 3 is soon to be launched in the market

A source said that Apple is planning for a Special event for the announcement and launching of its new, exciting iPad 3. It is said that the new iPad 3 will be using 4G connectivity with LTE network. It will feature near field communication, i.e. NFC chip, 2GHz dual core chip by Samsung, carbon fibre casing, high resolution camera with LED flash(built-in), thin and light battery, transparent screen and retina display. iPad 3 is gaining popularity among gadgets lovers, and most awaited product.

Is it a rumor?

Earlier the news of iPad 3 was thought as just a mere rumour, but it is being proved real by its launching in March, 2012 latest. It is terrific news for the consumers, it is seen that they are now losing patience for the new iPad in the market. Gadget lovers have to wait for few more days for the new iPad 3. The new iPad 3 is a new technology and expected to hold a strong position in the market.

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Microsoft, Barnes & Noble New Tablet

 

After a month of speculations and rumors, Microsoft will today announce the mystery tablet at suddenly called a press conference in Los Angeles. According to the buzz among the IT experts Microsoft either will announce its iPad killer tablet or will announce a smaller device intended for e-reading along the lines of the Amazon Kindle Fire.

What to Expect

TechCrunch says that Microsoft will bring out a device rivaling the Kindle Fire rather than the iPad and will focus on entertainment with Xbox Live media streaming on the cards. Most of the speculations say that we will see a Windows RT tablet- Windows RT is the Windows 8 version designed for ARM based Windows tablets or an e-reader possibly working on the Windows Phone 8 platform.

The Barnes & Noble Deal

 B&N and Microsoft have entered into an agreement regarding the new content store of Barnes & Noble, New Co, according to which Microsoft will provide an interface to the digital content store in its ‘reader’ while B&N will create an e-reader app for Windows Phone and other Windows gadgets. The app created by B&N will be a metro app, which will work in Windows 8 and WindowsRT. Microsoft has already invested $300 million for NewCo.

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Acer’s Iconia Tab A700 Tablet

 

Finally, near retina quality HD displays are in Android tablets too. Acer will ship the Iconia Tab A700 later this month while the preorders have begun today. A grey or black 32 GB model will retail for $449.99. The high-end tablet compares to the likes of gadgets like the Asus TF300 Transformer Pad and Acer’s own A510 Iconia Tab.

Design
Measuring 10.2 x 6.9 x 0.43 inches and weighing 1.47 lbs, the design is not particularly sleek but not bulkier either. The iPad, a bit smaller than the A700, is just 0.37 inches thick and weighs just about the same. The Acer Iconia Tab A700 has a 10.1” HD display with a high resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels at 224ppi although it is still less than the iPad screen resolution of 2048 x 1526 pixels. The screen has an aspect ratio of 800:1 and a wide 178-degree viewing angle.

Specifications

A Tegra 3 quad 1.3 GHz Nvidia processor, 1 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage space, will run the A700. It will be launched in the 4.0 Android ICS platform. Other specifications are- Wi-Fi, Blutooth 2.1 and comes with a 5 MP rear and 1 MP front camera. However, there is no 3G version of the tablet.

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Google Nexus Tablet Details Leaked

 

It is about 5 years after the launch of the Android platform and Google is widely believed to celebrate the completion of 5 years on November 5 this year with the launch of the first Google Nexus tablet. The Nexus tablet images and specifications are rumored to be leaked.

Specifications

According to the leaked reports, the tablet is a 7-inch device with a quad core Tegra 3 processor and 1 GB of RAM. It will be launched with Android 4.1 Ice Cream Sandwich and will be upgradable to Android 5.0 Jelly Bean when it will be launched next year. ASUS will build the Nexus gadgets and will cost $250.

The Tablet Market Realities

The Apple iPad is the all-in-all in the tablet world and the only device that rises up to it is the Amazon Kindle Fire which but runs a highly modified version of the Android platform. However, the Nexus tablet speculations are still speculations much like the iPad Mini 7 inch tablet. It is said that Apple will target the low-end market by launching this scaled down version of the iPad to battle the Kindle Fire, which is the largest competitor to the iPad in the tablet market. On the bright side, Android smartphones are doing remarkably well especially those of Samsung.

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BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 beta for download

News on the only BlackBerry tablet in the market has been scarce recently. However, we just got word that a new version of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS has been released. Although not in its final stages, the PlayBook OS is now available with the version 2.1 beta. This is definitely good use for the BlackBerry PlayBook owners which has been itching to get their hands on the new version of the operating system.

 

There is now portrait support for a few applications such as Email, Calendar, Contacts and a few other applications. In addition to that, the feature that most corporations have been looking forward to is now available. We are talking about the full device encryption which is a feature already present in the BlackBerry but not on its tablet variants.

Some other minor improvements were also added to the PlayBook OS 2.1 beta. You can also run multiple Android apps at the same time and in-app payments through the BlackBerry Payment SDK are also made available for developers. As of date, the product is still in its beta stages but you would definitely get the rough idea on what to expect on the final version of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1.

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Microsoft Announces Surface Tablets – Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro

As we have mentioned yesterday, a major announcement was due to be done later yesterday and it seems that Microsoft has made a lot of people happy as well. This is because the company had decided to produce their own tablets and these are dubbed the Microsoft Surface. As far as we are concerned, there are two versions of it and one is powered by Windows RT while the other is through Windows 8 Pro.

The Windows RT Surface tablet makes use of the NVIDIA Tegra ARM based processor with a screen estate of 10.6-inch and a ClearType HD capacitive interface. In addition to that, it is only 9.3mm thick with a weight of 676g. It is powered by Windows RT and is also equipped with Office Home & Student 2013 RT. Accessories included is the Touch Cover, Type Cover, VaporMg Case as well as stand. The storage space of this tablet is either 32GB or 64GB. The price tag on the other hand has yet to be determined.

 

Another one that you can look forward to is the Windows Pro 8 Tablet. It is powered by Intel Core i5 processor and is slightly thicker and heavier as compared with its RT counterpart. Other specs are quite the same as the Windows RT surface although this is due to be released three months after the launch of Windows 8.

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Will Microsoft Tablets Make a Mark?

 

When Microsoft releases its own Windows 8 tablets, will it give a stiff competition to Apple’s iPad? Seems highly unlikely as of now but it is possible with some decent design decisions.

Reasons for the Success of iPad 

So, why is iPad such a lovely slate? Apple has had the hardware and software of the iPads integrated extremely tightly and a fine tuned and user-friendly design has been realized. Moreover, even though the tablets are high end, there is no dearth of enthusiasm and demand for Apple iPads. Remember the age-old maxim that a superior product will always find buyers.

Android Trouble

Android has emerged as strong tablet platforms but will remain as a mere iPad alternative because Android is a fragmented platform running on all sorts of loose hardware congregations. Note that Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which had been the only bright spot in the Android world, had a highly modified and tied down version of the Android OS.

Windows RT
Microsoft will release Windows 8 designed for ARMs- the WinRT- putting a tight leash on hardware developers. This change in thought will enable Microsoft to give a stiff competition with finely tuned tablet gadgets coming from hardware partners like Dell and HP.

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Apple’s iPad3 is expected to arrive in March and iPad 4 in October 2012

 

This year iPad gadgets enthusiasts will have a grand time. Taiwan’s technology site DigiTimes has reported iPad 3 is coming in the market by March, and iPad 4 is going to be launched by October.

Upgrades in iPad 3

The iPad 3 will have some most significant upgrades like QXGA (1536 x 2048-pixel HD display) along with a much sturdier battery life. However, the details about the iPad 4 are still not available except that it will have 9.7-inch display with integrated applications and upgraded hardware specifications. Some reports have also revealed on the price slashing of iPad2 to $399.

According to the sources, the price slashing on iPad2 and then launching of iPad3 in March will beat off the other competitive non-iPad vendors, such as, Motorola Mobility, Sony and Samsung Electronics who have priced their tablet PC at $359 or more.

Launch of iPad 4

Digitimes sources have also said that the rumors are springing up of iPad 4 launched in October 2012 as the prototype of Apple’s 2013 model. In the second quarter of this year, Google will also introduce a tablet PC.

The sources commented that, in the second half of 2012, the real battle would happen when Microsoft will release Windows 8 and Apple will ship its iPad 4.

iPad 4 will also be adorned with upgraded applications and hardware specifications, to win the gadget competing with the Wintel-, Android- and Windows- tablet PCs which are arriving at the same time of iPad 4.

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