Acer Iconia Tab A510 Goes Up For Pre-order

Acer’s latest installment in their tablet lineup has made its official debut here in North America as the Iconia Tab A510. Acer is rightfully showing off their pride and joy as this tablet will be the first Acer slab to house a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. The Tab A510 will also be the first edition of the Acer Olympic Games series, and will feature an exclusive Olympic rings design branded on the back of the slab.

Acer has set the price at $449, which will score you Google’s latest OS (Android 4.0), a 10.1-inch WXGA (1280×800 resolution) HD display, Polaris Office 3.5, 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, dual cameras, and most importantly the juice of a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Sounds downright mouthwatering right? Here’s what Acer had to say about the power of the Tegra 3,

This processor provides a unique Super 4-PLUS-1™ Quad Core CPU design with a fifth Battery Saver Core that allows up to four cores to be dedicated to demanding tasks such as watching video and playing the next generation of graphics-intense mobile games. These four cores provide up to 2.6 times the performance and up to three times the graphics performance compared to previous generation processors, making the tablet incredibly responsive with life-like and crisp visuals for mobile entertainment and console-quality gaming on-the-go.

For More Details:
http://theunlockr.com/2012/03/22/acer-iconia-tab-a510-up-for-pre-order-now-ics-quad-core-tegra-3-processor-449/ 
 
 Acer Iconia Tab A510 Android 4.0 tablet with quad-core CPU:
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iRise Studio App Prototyping Software Arrives On Mac

If you have an idea for a new smartphone application, then you might be pleased to learn that iRise Studio App prototyping software has now arrived on Mac systems. iRise Studio has been designed to enable ideas for the next block buster smartphone application to be drafted together to enable investors and designers to get a much better idea of whats involved before fully committing. Watch the video after the jump to see iRise Studio in action.

iRise Studio has been created to work like a desktop publishing program geared toward mobile interfaces. It ships with a large library of app elements for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS and tablet development.

Enabling you to combine the elements to mock-up screens and can share the results with a viewer that simulates the target device and works on most platforms. Allowing other to be able to see a much more detailed working representation of your application. Rather than just a handful of typed pages explaining it. Unfortunately no information on pricing for the Mac version of the iRise Studio software has been released as yet, but as soon as more information is released we will keep you updated as always.

iRise Studio App :

SAP iRise Video Preview from iRise Video on Vimeo.

Japanese Gadget Hounds to Get New Tablet and Smartphone from NTT DoCoMo

NTT DoCoMo in Japan has a pair of new Android devices that will be coming in the next few months. In March the Japanese carrier will get a new smart phone running Android called the docomo NEXT series AQUOS PHONE SH-06D. In April, the carrier will get another device, this time a tablet called docomo Tablet MEDIAS TAB N-06D.

Both the devices will be able to watch NOTTV, which is a broadcast station set to launch on April 1. The smartphone is waterproof and has a 4.5-inch 3-D display that needs no glasses. The phone runs 1.2 GHz dual core processor and comes with a tabletop dock that has an integrated antenna for viewing multimedia broadcasts. The phone will work with DoCoMo’s mobile wallet service.

The tablet claims to be the world’s thinnest waterproof unit at 9.9 mm thick. It supports LTE connectivity and has a 7-inch display. The tablet weighs 350 g and has integrated speakers along with a 1.2 GHz dual core CPU. Pricing is unknown and both of these devices will only be offered in Japan.

CEATEC Japan 2008 -NTT Docomo DLP Projector Phone:

German court denies Apple an injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1N

A court in Dusseldorf, Germany has determined that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N can be continue to be sold in that country while Apple’s lawsuit heads for trial. Apple had hoped to prevent sales of the device until a permanent ruling was available (which Apple hopes would lead to a permanent sales ban).

The court determined that the 10.1N is distinct enough that consumers were unlikely to confuse it with Apple’s tablets, so it does not infringe on Apple’s EU design patents (referred to as Community Design patents in Europe). This and similar rulings call into question whether design patents will prove to be a significant asset in Apple’s legal attacks on Android phone makers.

Apple will get a chance to make its case during trial, and it’s not inconceivable that Apple could end up winning on one or more of their design patents, but at this point it seems like more of a long shot than it did back when Apple got a preliminary injunction on the original Galaxy Tab 10.1. It also shows that the time and resources Samsung invested on the 10.1N redesign was money well spent.

It also bodes well for Motorola (soon to be Googerola) as Apple is asserting the same design patents against some MMI products – despite the fact that Motorola’s phones and tablets are almost universally considered to be more distinctive from Apple’s products then are Samsung’s.

Motorola considers targeting education and medical fields with rugged tablets

With an eye toward expanding the size of the tablet “pie”, Motorola Mobility is considering new tablets targeted at specific vertical markets, according to Christy Wyatt, Vice President and General Manager of Motorola Mobility’s Enterprise Business. While being quick to emphasize that their current tablet lineup – including the recently launched Xyboard tablets and their original Xoom tablet – are well suited for a range of enterprise uses, Wyatt said MMI was considering whether different sizes, aspect ratios, or durability needs could better serve those markets.

One example provided was education, where a smaller tablet than the 10.1 and 8.1 inch models they currently offer might fit better in some uses. Durability could be a key factor for educational professionals as well, although it was in reference to medical needs that it was pointed out that water-proofing, or at least water-resistance, was needed for sanitation reasons.

In the short term Wyatt said MMI is focusing on making their Android tablets more enterprise friendly in general, by increasing the security of their devices, making them easier to manage and provision for IT departments, and generally bringing down the cost of ownership for businesses that choose to deploy Motorola’s products. Unless Google leads the company in a different direction after the acquisition closes – something they’ve indicated they won’t do – we can expect to see Motorola branch out into some specialty markets with their Android devices in the coming years.

Targeting the Education Market with Motorola Solutions:

Amazon might launch a 9-inch Kindle Fire tablet in mid-2012, new 7-inch model coming too

What is more interesting is that Bartley is expecting “new 7- and 9-inch models” of the Amazon Kindle Fire to launch in “mid-2012”. As in a successor to the existing 7-inch slate and a bigger counterpart with a 9-inch display.

Actually, this isn't the first time when we hear rumors regarding a larger Kindle Fire. Before the launch of the 7-inch slate, a 10.1-inch model was said to be on its way as well, but perhaps Amazon decided to stay out of that end of the market for the time being. A 8.9-inch Kindle Fire has also been speculated about more than once, with sources claiming that orders for its components have already been placed.

Of course, we can only guess how the alleged 9-inch Kindle Fire will be marketed and what kind of hardware it will boast, if it ever sees the light of day, that is. On the other hand, we probably won't be wrong if we say that it will try to steal some of the upcoming iPad 3's cool. As far as the supposed 7-inch Kindle Fire successor is concerned, a few hardware and software tweaks combined with a tempting price tag might make a recipe for success.

Amazon Kindle Smartphone, Cheaper Android Tablets:

Asus Padfone To Launch At MWC 2012

It has been awhile since we heard from one of the more interesting devices in recent memory, a device called the Asus Padfone. The phone and tablet concept that we first saw at Computex 2011 has had a long road to launch but according to a report from Modaco, the device (in its final form) should finally be revealed at the Mobile World Congress which is set to start next month. This falls in line with an earlier report that pegged the Padfone’s launch date somewhere in early 2012. The device is supposedly going to come with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, the same processor found in Asus’ Transformer Prime tablet, as well as Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

There is also talk of it coming with a Snapdragon S4 processor so it looks like we’ll have to wait until MWC to find out for sure. Very simply, it’s a smartphone that will be able to plug into a tablet. Think of the docking feature that comes with many of Motorola’s high-end smartphones and you’ll get a feel for what the Padfone is all about. Plug the smartphone into the tablet and you’ll get a large screen that will display the contents that are displayed on your phone. It will also support Asus’ popular keyboard dock for the Eee Pad Transformer series.

Asus is trying to blur the lines between smartphone and tablet and it will be interesting to see if the company can pull it off. Luckily, we only have a couple of weeks before we find out if the Padfone is truly something to get excited about, or if it’s just a gimmick.

ASUS Padfone - Enjoy the benefits of both Pad and Phone. Make The Switch:

Google’s Android Market Hits 11 Billion Downloads

Google has releases its fourth quarter earnings results for 2011, and along with the release comes some new on Google’s Android OS, most notable is that Google’s Android Market has now reached a massive 11 billion downloads. The 11 billion downloads covers everything available from the Android Market, which includes applications, music, games and movies, and they also confirmed that there are now more than 250 million Android devices out there.

Google also confirmed what we heard back in December, the company is activating a total of 700,000 Android smartphones and tablets every day. The 700,000 activations per day means that if Google continues at this rate they will activate over 255 million Android devices in 2012, and that there would be more than 500 million Android devices activated by the end of 2012. These are pretty impressive figures, and Android seems to be growing at a huge pace, it will be interesting to see the actual figures by the end of 2012.

Google Android Market Improvements:

Samsung Core Trademark For Smartphones And Tablets Revealed

Samsung is expected to launch a new quad core smartphone at MWC 2012 next month, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and now a new trademark filing for tablets and smartphones has been revealed called the ‘Samsung Core’.

It isn’t clear as yet what Samsung intends to use the ‘Samsung Core’ trademark for, whether it will be a single device or the company may intend to use it for a number of devices like they did with their Samsung Galaxy trademark.

According to a recent trademark filing from Samsung, the Korean electronics manufacturer will have a new device named “Samsung Core” in the future. Other than the name and the possible products that will be using the name – mobile phones, smartphones and tablet computers we don’t have any details. This is also the first time we’ve heard any mention of the name Samsung Core so we’re pretty curious to what it could be. With a whole bevy of quad-core devices that will be released in 2012, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Core turns out to be one of them.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Expected in February

The Samsung Galaxy S3, rumored to be the next flagship smartphone from the South Korean electronics giant, is expected to be launched in February, according to the latest reports, at the 2012 Mobile World Congress to be held in Barcelona.

Incidentally, Samsung launched the Galaxy S2 at the same venue last year. As per reports, the Galaxy S3 will have a new Exynos processor - the Exynos 4412. This is a 32nm quad-core chip based on the ARM Cortext A9 architecture, which means the processor will be upgraded from a dual-core to a quad-core chip.

In addition, the S3 will have 2GB of RAM (the S2 had 1GB), which will make handling multitasking and gaming more effective. The phone is expected to run on the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, have a 12 megapixel camera and a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen at 1280 × 720-pixel resolution supporting LTE.

Samsung Galaxy S3 NEW Leaked 2012 Specs Internal Samsung Document & Mockup Picture:

Samsung Considering Android 4.0 ICS For Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab?

Apple has begun seeding iOS 5.0.1 to a few end users now, aside from those developers who have been using it for beta testing. iOS 5.0.1 brings a fix for the battery issue that some people were experiencing (it’s a vast minority of people, but significant enough to do something about it apparently).

The seed to these end users comes following tests from developers for the update, which was meant to test against applications in addition to test for battery life and Siri improvements. Quite a few users who were previously complaining about battery issues in the iPhone 4S have been seeded the bug fix release through Apple’s AppleSeed program (which they would have needed to sign up for).

The iOS 5.0.1 release that was dished out today isn’t a “public” release, and Apple warns those that are using it to fix their issues that they will not be able to return to iOS 5.0 after installing it. They will, however, be able to update normally to iOS 5.0.1 when the official version goes public to all soon.

The iOS 5.0.1 update also brings Siri improvements for Australian users, and has given back the multitasking gestures to the first generation iPad, something I originally thought was total craziness to remove. There are apparently other minor bug fixes as well.

This means that everyone who’s been experiencing battery issues with the new iPhone, along with those who miss having their multitasking gestures before on iPad 1, are going to be getting their problems solved soon. Apple store employees, however, have actually been told how to deal with customer complaints for battery issues, as pointed out by 9to5Mac. Basically, employees have been instructed to tell customers that they need to wait for this software fix, and have been instructed not to replace devices for battery issues.

For more information's:
Samsung Considering Android 4.0 ICS For Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab

Firefox 9 For Android Launched

Following the release of Firefox 9, the Mozilla Foundation has launched a new version of its Android web browser, previously known as Fennec.

Now known as Firefox 9 for Android, the latest release of the browser includes some impressive new features, with a revised user interface making the browser significantly more usable on large-screen portable devices like tablets.

As with previous releases, Firefox 9 for Andrid includes support for Firefox Sync to keep bookmarks and tabs synchronised across desktop, laptop and mobile platforms, while a left panel provides a thumbnail view for tabs to make switching between pages significantly easier.

For developers, the new Firefox build includes enhanced HTML5 tools - including the HTML5 Input Tag for camera access, which allows webapps to access the microphone and camera facility built in to many tablets and smartphones. A video demonstrating the new build is reproduced below, while the download is available here.

More information's:
Firefox 9 For Android Launched

Firefox for Android on tablets:

OnLive Lands On Android And iOS

OnLive has launched some new apps for its cloud based gaming service that will let you use OnLive on your iPhone, iPad and also Android tablets and smartphones, and it comes with an optional wireless gaming controllers.

The applications for both Android and Apple’s iOS devices are available for free, although you will need a subscription to OnLive to use the applications, have a look at the video from OnLive below.

More information's:
http://www.slashgear.com/onlive-hits-ios-and-android-with-phonetablet-cloud-gaming-08200842/

OnLive Mobile:

Android Market Hits 10 Billion Downloads

Google has announced that the Android Market has hit a new milestone, there have now been over 10 billion downloads from the Android Market, and according to Google, the total downloads are growing at a rate of 1 billion downloads a month. This would mean that in 2012, Google is on target to double its 10 billion downloads to 20 billion by October of next year, and to celebrate this new milestone Google will be offering a new set of apps each day for just 10 cents each.

One billion is a pretty big number by any measurement. However, when it’s describing the speed at which something is growing, it’s simply amazing. This past weekend, thanks to Android users around the world, Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads—with a growth rate of one billion app downloads per month. We can’t wait to see where this accelerating growth takes us in 2012.

The 10 cents app celebration will last for the next 10 days, and some of the apps available include Asphalt 6 HD, Minecraft, Fieldrunners HD and many more, you can find out full details over at the Google Mobile Blog.

Acer Iconia Tab A200 Officially Announced

Early this week we featured a new demonstration video of then yet to be announced, Acer Iconia Tab A200. Well today Acer has now officially announced the arrival of their new Iconia Tab A200 tablet.

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 is equipped with a 10.1-inch display sporting a resolution of 1280 x 800. Powered by a NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, supported by 1GB of RAM. Together with Acer’s new ring user interface allowing you to access apps from any screen.

Acer reveals that shipments with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will start in January 2012 worldwide. But any purchases before then will be running Android 3.2 OS Honeycomb, but a free ICS upgrade will be made available in January to those users. The Iconia Tab A200 will be available in either Titanium Gray or Metallic Red. Unfortunately no information on pricing or worldwide availability has been released as yet, but as soon as information comes to light we will keep you updated as always.

More information's:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/02/acer-announces-iconia-tab-a200-packing-tegra-2-cpu-ice-cream-sa/

Acer ICONIA TAB A200 Publicité Officielle:

Google Launches Androidland Retail Store In Australia

Google has launched its first ever Android themed retail store in Australia, called Androidland, the retail store is a collaboration between Google and Australian mobile carrier Telstra. The Androidland store has been launched on Melbourne, Australia, and the store sells many of the different smartphones and tablets that run Google’s Android OS.

As you can see from the photos Google has set up special displays and gaming kiosks where people can try out various Android devices from the likes of Samsung, HTC and many more.

More information's:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/google-android-store-australia/

Androidland - Telstra launches world-first Android store in Melbourne:


Telstra and Google launch "world-first" Android store in Melbourne:

Dell Streak 7 Tablet Discontinued

Just a couple of months after Dell released the Android Honeycomb update for their Dell Streak 7 tablet, it looks like the company has decided to discontinue the device as it has now been removed from their online store.

The news comes a couple of months after Dell discontinued the original Dell Streak 5 tablet, and at the moment Dell doesn’t have any Android tablets for sale in the US. We recently saw the launch of the Dell Streak 10 Pro in China, and we still don’t have any information from Dell on when this tablet will go on sales in the US and Europe.

More information's:
http://liliputing.com/2011/12/dell-retires-the-streak-7-tablet.html

Dell Streak 7 Tablet Review:

Amazon Cancelling Asus Transformer Prime Orders Due To High Demand?

The Asus Transformer Prime recently went up for pre-order with Amazon, and the device will go on sale in the US later this month, and it looks like there has already been high demand for the tablet. We heard recently that Amazon sold out of their pre-orders within the first 24 hours, and now a number of people who pre-ordered the device have had their orders cancelled as Amazon has been unable to meet the demand for the tablet.

It isn’t clear as yet whether Asus is limiting the supply of the tablet, or whether demand for the device is going to be more than the actual supply of the device, I guess we will find out when it hits the stores later this month.

More information's:
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/02/amazon-canceling-asus-transformer-prime-orders-lists-lack-of-availability-from-suppliers-as-the-reason/

ASUS Transformer Prime:

Amazon Kindle Fire Expected To Make Up 50 Percent Of Android Tablet In 2012

The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet only went on sale last month, and it looks like it could end up being one of the most popular Android tablets this year, and according to a recent report by analysts, the tablet is expected to make up 50 percent of the Android tablet next year. Robert Cihara, an Analyst with Evercore Partners thinks that the Amazon Kindle Fire will grab around 50 percent of the Android tablet market in 2012.

While Amazon’s Kindle Fire has come out of the gates strong, as expected, we see Apple maintaining its competitive lead, if anything accentuated by what now looks like the only tablet to so far mount any credible iPad challenge apparently needing to do so by selling at cost; not to mention Amazon’s success may just vaporize other ‘for profit’ Android tablet OEM roadmaps (e.g., we est Amazon 50% of all Android tablets in CY12),” Cihra wrote according to Forbes’ Apple 2.0 blog. ”Meanwhile Apple goes on as the only vendor ab. It will be interesting to get some actual figures from Amazon on how many actual Kindle Fire tablets they have sold.

More information's:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/05/amazon-may-own-half-of-android-tablet-market-next-year/

Amazon Kindle Fire Official Presentation:

Asus Padfone Will Be Equipped With Tegra 3 Processor?

Back in November it was thought the new Asus Padfone would be arriving powered by a Quad Core S4 Qualcom processor. But new information revealed by Nicole Scott from The Netbook News website, has informed Engadget that this is incorrect. Stating that the new Asus Padfone will be equipped with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor instead.

The Padfone is expected to be launched during MWC 2012 in February, but more information may be made available during CES 2012 in January. Unfortunately no information on pricing or worldwide availability has been released as yet, but as soon as information comes to light for the Asus Padfone we will keep you updated as always.

More information's:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/asus-padfone-with-tegra-3-coming-in-early-2012/

ASUS Padfone mockup hands-on: