A table of 100 of iPads at WWDC 2012? How about a sea of hundreds of Microsoft's Surface RT tablets and accessory keyboard covers standing under the hot lights?
[Source: Engadget]
A table of 100 of iPads at WWDC 2012? How about a sea of hundreds of Microsoft's Surface RT tablets and accessory keyboard covers standing under the hot lights?
[Source: Engadget]
Apple used its October event to unveil its new US$329 iPad mini. The 7.9-inch tablet was criticized by analysts who scoffed at the device's price tag, which is $130 more than the Kindle Fire HD and $90 than the Nexus 7. Phil Schiller spoke to Reuters about this sticker shock and said that customers won't mind paying a little extra for an iPad because it's a premium device.
Schiller said that "the iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those devices. And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that."
[Source: TUAW]
As a carrier trailing Verizon and AT&T in terms of subscribers and now 4G coverage, Sprint has made it a habit to undercut the other two on value. While its upcoming tablet-specific data plans won't necessarily be cheaper, they do promise up to 20 percent more data for the same price and still do not require a contract. Sure to come in handy now that it's offering the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini on its network, they are 300MB/$14.99, 3GB/$34.99, 6GB/$49.99, or 12GB for $79.99. There are also $10 and $15 offers for customers that also have Sprint smartphones that offer 100MB and 1GB of data, respectively, and activation fees for all 3G/4G tablets are being waived for a limited time. As you'll recall, Verizon and AT&T's offerings include 2GB/$30 (3GB/$30 on AT&T), 5GB/$50 and on Verizon, 10GB/$80 packages. Even if you're not an Apple user these plans apply for all 4G capable slates, with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 specifically mentioned. For those planning to pick up one of the latest iPads with wifi + cellular capability however, their mid-November launch date may have narrowed slightly , since these plans go into effect November 11th. Check the press release after the break or a post on its Sprint Community blog for more info.
[Source: Engadget]
There it is, the long-telegraphed iPad mini has just been announced at Apple's late-2012 press conference. The 7.9-inch display device has the same 1,024 x 768 resolution as the iPad 2, which doesn't bode well for the elder slate's future. The new hardware is 7.2mm thick, .68 pounds heavy and has been manufactured with a new process with the same anodized edges as the iPhone 5. While Phil Schiller didn't mention the Nexus 7 or Google directly, he compared the new device against its rival in terms of its app library and screen size. He claimed that the .9-inch increase in diagonal space gives Apple's slate 35 percent more display area than Google and ASUS' collaboration.
If you were hoping for equal specifications to the current-generation iPad, you'll be mildly disappointed. The iPad Mini has Apple's A5 CPU, although it will run LTE and has a 5-megapixel camera. The lack of retina display may contribute to the reported 10-hours of battery life, despite its small size. For the base 16GB, WiFi only model, it'll set you back $329, while the 16GB, LTE version costs around $130 more per model. The WiFi models will begin to ship November 2nd.
[Source: Engadget]
Apple and Samsung’s legal fight continued on the world stage this morning, where the Britain Court of Appeal upheld a previous ruling that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab does not infringe on the iPad’s patents because it is not “as cool.” Reuters reported that after losing the appeal this morning, Apple has been instructed by the court to apologize to Samsung by running ads on its website and in newspapers saying Samsung did not infringe on patents in at least Arial 14 font.
[Source: 9to5Mac - Click here to read the full story]
Gorilla Glass 2 and a chassis forged from magnesium lend Microsoft's Surface slates some durability, but the firm's decided to prove just how tough its tablets are by turning one into a skateboard. The wheeled slice of Windows 8 is said to have been rolled out during a tour of Redmond's Surface skunkworks, but Windows chief Steven Sinofksy couldn't resist hopping on the board today and tweeting a pair of photos. You can pre-order your deck now, though something tells us this mod isn't covered under Ballmer and Co.'s warranty.
[Source: Engadget]
With a stamp from the FCC on its passport, and some fancy new TV ads, the smell of Microsoft's Surface tablet is thick in the air. Until now, however, price has been a mystery. Microsoft has just revealed, via its own store, that if you want a slice for yourself, you can do so starting from $499. That price will get you the 32GB version, without the touch cover, with pre-orders available now, penciled in for a 26th of October delivery date. If you must have that cover, it'll set you back another $100, and the same amount again if you want to hop up to 64GB of memory. With the current status of the larger-memory version showing as out of stock though, those with a thirst for storage still might have to wait a little longer.
Update: It looks like Microsoft might have pulled the listing for now. Perhaps the pages weren't meant for prime-time just yet.
[Source: Engadget]
Quicksilver are drawing in customers old and new with their Mobile Casino application. The popular gaming website have teamed up with leading gaming developers, Play N’ Go to bring their online players a huge new selection of original and high quality slot machine games straight to their mobile and tablet devices.
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To access the Quicksilver Mobile Casino, all you need to do is click to www.quicksilver.co.uk on your mobile or tablet device and then sign in with your player account. From there you will gain access to slot machine and casino games, all playable from your phone or Ipad. It really is that simple. [ADVERTORIAL]
The Wall Street Journal is adding its voice to claims that the iPad Mini is being mass produced en route to a launch later this month.
Apple Inc.’s Asian component suppliers have started mass production of a new tablet computer smaller than the current iPad, people with knowledge of the situation said, as the Silicon Valley company tries to stay competitive against rivals such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.that are offering smaller, less-expensive alternatives to the iPad.
The report says LG and AU optronics are making the 1,024-by-768 7.85-inch display, and they began production last month. More Mini parts including shells have appeared recently which could indicate finalized parts are in production. The biggest mystery remaining is price. Some speculate that it could be offered as low as $199 in the United States, while more conservative estimates point to $299 for the low-end model.
The Acer Iconia Tab A110 first debuted back at Computex, in June. Back then, the 7-inch device was running Android 4.0, propelled along by its Tegra 3 processor. Slated for a Q3 release, we heard following the show that the A110 would in fact be bumped up to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean before it hit the shelves. True to their word, it's Q3 -- just, the device has been bumped to Jelly Bean, and a formal release has been announced.
The A110 is already up for pre-order with at least one UK based retailer, priced at £180. For the money we get -- besides Jelly Bean and Tegra 3 of course -- 8GB on board storage, expandable via microSD card, 1GB of RAM, a 1024x600 display, a 3420mAh battery, HDMI out and a 2MP front facing camera.
[Source: AndroidCentral - Read the full article there]
Today, NTT DoCoMo launched the NEC Medias Tab UL N08-D, which weighs a scant 249 g. By comparison, other 7-inch tablets like the Kindle Fire HD weigh in the neighborhood of 400 g. Even the Nexus 7 is a relatively tubby 345 g. Apparently the NEC Medias Tab UL pulls this off by using a kind of carbon fiber that's used in modern aircraft construction. The Medias Tab UL isn't too thick, measuring a mere 7.9 mm on the profile. The specs don't even seem to suffer for all of this lightness, either:
There are a few cool software features too, like a web browser that lets you actively view two tabs at the same time, and an "HD haptics" vibration feedback mechanism that's applied to just about every on-screen element.
Anyone in Japan can find more info and information purchasing over at NTT DoCoMo. For the rest of us, how important is weight to your choice in tablets? Does an obnoxiously light device appeal to you, or do you prefer having a little bit of solid heft to your gadgets?
[Source: AndroidCentral]
Fujitsu's Stylistic M532 has had a protracted development process that saw it appear on our radar as early as January; imagine our surprise after it ships to the US with barely more than a knock on the door. Now that it's here, it looks to be on the sunnier side of average for an Android 4.0 slate. A quad 1.4GHz Tegra 3, a 1,280 x 800 display and 32GB of built-in space won't rock our world in mid-2012, but the rough-and-ready among us will likely appreciate the military-spec abuse tolerances and support for optional Absolute CompuTrace theft tracking, just in case it's pilfered from an open bag. Fujitsu's obstacles? Apart from not having much of a cachet in the tablet arena, the company also has to convince buyers that the extra safeguards are worth a $549 price -- for those who treat their tablets more delicately, there are a few tempting alternatives.
[Source: Engadget]