NOTEBOOK AND LAPTOP REVIEWS: 8/1/11

ACER TO LAUNCH 11 AND 13 INCH ULTRABOOKS

Acer is keen on making its presence felt in the Ultrabook space. The company is all set to launch not one, but two ultrabooks in the coming months. We have already seen some hands on photos of the 13 inch model. And now more details have arrived.

It looks like the laptop will be called Acer Ultrabook S3. It will reportedly have a 13.3 inch display, Intel Core i5-2476M processor, 4GB of RAM and 320GB hard drive. It will measure 0.5 inches in thickness. The laptop will have a suggested retail price of 786.19 Euros. It should be cheaper when it makes its debut in the US.

Acer, reportedly, will also launch an 11 inch ultrabook. It will be part of the company's Aspire S series. More details should be available when the IFA trade show kicks off in Berlin in a few days.

SAMSUNG SERIES 7 NOTEBOOKS TO START AT $1,099; PACKS A 14 INCH DISPLAY INSIDE A 13 INCH CHASSIS

Samsung has introduced a new laptop that packs a 14 inch display into a 13 inch chassis. The new Samsung Series 7 notebooks have brushed aluminum finishes and Intel Core i5 or i7 processor options.

The smallest member of the series is the 14 inch Samsung NP700Z3A-S01US. It sports a very thin bezel so that it fits inside a case designed for a 13.3 inch notebook. The laptop's 14 inch display has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels.

Other specifications include up to 6GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 750GB of hard drive space, AMD Radeon HD 6490M discrete graphics card, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. The notebook is also equipped with 8GB of flash memory on the motherboard which will reportedly improve performance. Samsung claims that the notebook will get up to 9 hours of battery life.

While the specifications are pretty impressive, the pricing isn't. Samsung Series 7 laptops have a suggested starting price of $1,099. Larger models with 15.6 inch displays will also be available in the Series 7.

SAMSUNG SERIES 5 CHROMEBOOK PRICES DROP

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook has got a price drop. The laptop launched in June for a starting price of $429. The WiFi only version is now available from Amazon for $399. The 3G-enabled model runs $449. At launch it had a price tag of $499. It is not clear whether the new prices are here to stay.

The Acer Chromebook is still cheaper. The WiFi-only version of the laptop runs $349. The 3G-version goes for $429. That said, Windows laptops with similar hardware are still cheaper.

A Chromebook is a laptop running Google's Chrome OS which is a light-weight operating system built around a web-browser. In looks a Chrombook is no different from a laptop, but it is practically useless when you are not connected to the internet. Needless to say, Chromebook sales are yet to take off in a big way. But this price drops should lure more customers into buying one.

7 INCH SHARP GALAPAGOS TABLET NOW AVAILABLE FOR $1 IN JAPAN ON CONTRACT

Sharp has launched a new 7 inch Galapagos tablet in Japan. The new Sharp Galapagos A01SH runs a customized version of the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. It has a dual core
NVidia Tegra 2 processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB of built-in storage. The 7.7 inch display has a resolution of 1024×600 pixels.

Other specifications include 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR, microSD card, HDMI output and GPS. The tablet has two cameras - a 5MP camera with LED flash on the rear side and a 2 megapixel camera on the front side.

Sharp says that the tablet will get up to 7.5 hours of runtime. In Japan buyers will be able to pick the tablet for $1 provided that they sign up for a long term service contract with the mobile data carrier EMOBILE. The SIM-free version of the tablet runs the local equivalent of $400 US.

FUJITSU UNVEILS ARROWS TAB F-01D RUGGED TABLET

Plenty of Android tablets with similar specs are available in the market at the moment, but Fujitsu wants to make its offering a little different. The company's Arrows Tab F-01D is kind of rugged. It has a water proof and ruggedized case. That means it will be able to survive some light rain and minor drops.

The Arrows Tab F-01D will reportedly launch on the Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo next week. It has a 1 GHz TI OMAP4430 dual core processor and a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display. It runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and front and rear cameras. The tablet has the regular array of ports and support 2G, 3G and 4G wireless connections.

Fujitsu's tablet will also have a digital TV tuner which is designed to work with Japanese television broadcast. No word on pricing at the moment.

ASUS WORKING ON FIVE OR MORE ULTRABOOKS

Asus, we have heard, will launch 5 or more ultrabooks in October. An ultrabook is a portable laptop that doesn't weigh much more than a netbook while at the same time packing a powerful processor and a larger display.

Asus has already showed off an 11.6 inch ultrabook called UX21. We also know that the company is working on a 13 inch model called the UX31. Now Financial Times report that Asus is working on more models. These could have a starting price of $799, but could go up as high as $1999.

While introducing the ultrabook concept, Intel had said that these machines would sell for under $1000. But it looks like it was a tall claim. PC makers have already made it clear that components are too pricey to meet that target. However, we could see entry level systems going for around $800. Even at that price point they aren't exactly cheap.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE ACER ASPIRE 3951 ULTRABOOK

Hands-on photos of the Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook have surfaced. The Ultrabook is a new category of ultrathin notebooks sporting Intel's latest processors. Intel was the first to introduce the term, and now several top-of-the-line PC makers have announced plans to launch Ultrabooks.

The Aspire 3951 will be the first ultrabook from Acer. Acer will unveil the notebook at IFA 2011 in Berlin. It will reportedly have a starting price of $799. The notebook has a 13.3 inch display. It will be available with a choice of 250GB or 500GB hard drive space. Alternatively you can configure the laptop with a 128GB of SSD. Several processor options are available including the Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors. Acer claims that the notebook will get up to 6 hours of battery life.

The Aspire 3951 weighs about three pounds. It is neither heavier nor lighter than the MacBook Air, but it is almost $500 cheaper.

ARCHOS NEW LAUNCHES NEW 7 AND 10 INCH ARNOVA TABLETS

Archos has launched two new tablets in its Arnova lineup. The new 7 and 10 inch tablets have slightly better specs than the existing models. Here is a quick overview.

Arnova 10 G2
The new Arnova 10 G2 has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels capacitive touchscreen display. It will be powered by a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor. It runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. The tablet will be available in two models - one with 4GB of storage and another with 8GB of storage. It will also have a microSDHC card slot for expansion of storage. Like other Archos tablets, the Arnova 10 G2 will also support a range of multimedia codecs.

Arnova 7 G2
The Arnova 7 G2 has a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixels capacitive touchscreen display. It is identical to the 10 inch model, but it is smaller. This model also has an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, Android 2.3 operating system and a 4GB or 8GB of storage. It can also handle a range of multimedia codecs. No word on the pricing or availability of the new models.

TOSHIBA TO LAUNCH ITS THIRD TABLET AT THE IFA TRADE SHOW

Toshiba is getting ready to launch its second, actually third, tablet. The company's first tablet, the Toshiba Folio, wasn't a success. The second tablet, the Toshiba Thrive, has been available for a while. Though not an iPad beater, it has been a successful machine and has many features that set it apart from the rest.

Now the third tablet is on the way. Notebook Italia reports that the new tablet will be thinner than the Thrive. It will have a brushed metal finish with chromed edges.The new tablet won't have many features found in the Thrive. For instance, it will not have full-sized USB, HDMI and SD card connections. Instead, it will have a microSD card slot, mini HDMI port and microUSB port. Still no word on the processor, price or other important specs.

Toshiba's new tablet is expected to launch at the IFA trade show next week.

SONY'S DUAL CORE TABLET TO BE CALLED SONY TABLET P

Sony has been talking about two Android tablets for a while. The first one has a 9.4 inch display and we now know that it will be called Sony Tablet S when it launches later this year.

The second tablet has a pair of 5.5 inch displays with a resolution of 1024 x 480 pixels. Engadget reports that this machine will be called Sony Tablet P at launch. It will have 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage space, WiFi and 4G. It will be powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. It will also have a 0.3 megapixel camera. The tablet will weigh about 0.8 pounds. You will be able to fold it and put it in your pocket. Both tablets will be PlayStation certified that means you will be able to play classic PlayStation games on them.

There is still no word on the pricing or availability. But AT&T says that it will carry the tablet later this year.

AMAZON TABLET COULD LAUNCH FOR $299 OR LESS

Amazon is expected to launch its first ever Android tablet in a few weeks. Word is that the device will launch for hundreds less than the entry level Apple iPad and that probably makes sense. Amazon doesn’t have to recover costs by selling the tablet at a high margin. The company can make money off its appstore for Android apps and other services like the Kindle eBook store. If sources are to be believed the Amazon tablet will sell for $299 or less.

Apple’s iPad is still the best-selling tablet on the market, but it has a starting price of $499. Competing tablets having similar price points aren’t selling exactly well, but HP recently proved that if the price is right consumers won’t resist a bargain.

Amazon is unlikely to sell its tablet for $99 like HP does. The company’s ebook reader Kindle sells for $139. Even if they sell it for $299 they are likely to do well and if Amazon manages to drop the price even further it will be able to fight competition from virtually every other tablet maker.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 8.9 TO HAVE LTE CONNECTIVITY

Details regarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 leaked several times during this year. The device has an 8.9 inch display and is expected to launch during this summer for about $469. There is still no official word on that, though. But it looks like one thing is certain now. When the tablet does launch, it will have LTE connectivity.

The new Galaxy Tab 8.9 will have a 1.5GHz dual core processor and a high resolution 1280 x 800 pixels display. It was previously said to have a 1GHz processor. The tablet weighs about 1 pound and measures 8.6mm in thickness. It will be available in both white and black. It will run Samsung’s Sense User Interface on top of Android 3.2.

It is still not clear which wireless carriers will be offering the tablet. It is also not clear whether the carriers will subsidize the tablet if you sign up for a data contract.

VIEWSONIC ANNOUNCES VIEWPAD 7E BUDGET TABLET

Budget-friendly tablets are the rage these days and for good reason. HP has proved that the best way to clear your tablet inventory is to put an irresistible price tag on it. Ever since the company dropped the price of its TouchPad tablet to $99, retailers are struggling hard to keep the machine in stock.

And now it looks like ViewSonic wants to take a leaf out of HP’s book. The company has just announced a new budget-friendly tablet. The ViewSonic ViewPad 7e has a 7 inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. No word on processor or screen resolution at the moment. The tablet will run Google Android 2.3 operating system. It also has Bluetooth, WiFi and HDMI. The company doesn’t quite call it a tablet. They are branding it as an ebook reader and media player.

The ViewSonic ViewPad 7e isn’t exactly cheap. It is expected to launch during the fourth quarter of this year for about 169 Euros (about $240 US). It could be cheaper when it launches in the US. Even at that price point, it is not bad because ViewSonic is a company that has made its presence felt in the tablet space.

BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK TO GET BBM AND NATIVE EMAIL

The BlackBerry Playbook is a decent tablet and it is selling reasonably well. The company has shipped more than half a million units since its launch.

The PlayBook launched without the key BlackBerry features such as the Messenger and native email app a couple of months ago. The absence of the two key features in the tablet had both surprised and disappointed BlackBerry enthusiasts. But now they can heave a sigh of relief because the PlayBook is getting the BBM and a native email client next month.

Right now, PlayBook users can only access BBM and email via BlackBerry Bridge. For this setup to work the tablet needs to be paired with a RIM smartphone. RIM is hoping that the arrival of a full-fledged email app and BlackBerry Messenger will bring standalone functionality to the tablet.

MEET X10 AIRPAD: THE SUB $200 ANDROID TABLET

A relatively unknown company called X10 has launched a tablet which according to the maker is the best you can buy for under $200.

The X10 Airpad has a 1.2GHz Rockchip processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, WiFi 802.11b/g and a 4000mAh battery. There is a 2 megapixel camera on the rear side. The tablet's 7 inch capacitive touchscreen display has a resolution of 480×800 pixels. Other features include an HDMI output port and a full-sized USB port.

The X10 Airpad runs Android 2.3 and supports Flash 10.1. It also has access to the Android Market. So is it the best sub $200 Android tablet out there? Well, it probably isn't, but it is definitely a capable machine.

HTC PUCCINI / JETSTREAM SPOTTED IN THE WILD

More details about the HTC Puccini, the tablet that will sell as HTC JetStream on AT&T's network, have emerged.

As we have already heard, it will have a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm processor, a 1280 x 800 pixels display and Android Honeycomb operating system. The Jetstream / Puccini, by the way, is HTC's first Honeycomb tablet. It will also support AT&T's new LTE network.

The tablet will also have 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and an 8 megapixel camera on the rear side. On the front side, too, it will have a camera for video conferencing. Unlike the HTC Flyer, the Puccini will not have physical buttons and that is hardly surprising. Android Honeycomb doesn't require physical buttons for home, menu or search functions.

HTC, it looks like, has tweaked the software a bit so that it runs the company's Sense UI on top of Android.

MALATA TO LAUNCH SEVERAL NETBOOKS AND TABLETS

Malata is a Chinese PC maker that introduced some really interesting mini-computer designs in the last few years. The company doesn't usually sell its laptops and tablets in the US, but that doesn't make them any less interesting either.

The folks at Notebook Italia have come across a product map for the upcoming netbooks, tablets and other computers from Malata. Here is a lowdown.

Netbooks
In the netbook space Malata is planning to launch an ultra-thin 10 inch netbook based on Intel's Canoe Lake reference design. There will also be an 11.6 inch model. Both laptops will have Intel Cedar Trail chips. The company is also working on a netbook / tablet hybrid that looks similar to the Dell Inspiron Duo.

Tablets
Malata is also building a large number of tablets and convertible netbooks. All of these machines run Windows. One of these machines has a 9.7 inch IPS display and an Intel Atom Oak Trail processor. There are several 10 inch models too.

SONY TABLET S CAN LAUNCH NEXT MONTH

Sony has been talking about two new Android tablets for a while. The Sony S1 tablet has a 9.4 inch display while the S2 tablet has a pair of 5.5 inch displays. It looks like those were code names. Engadget reports that the Sony S1 tablet will be called Tablet S and it is due out in the first half of September.

The Sony Tablet S has a 9.4 inch, 1280 x 768 pixels display. It runs Google Android 3.1 operating system. Other specifications include front-facing 3 megapixel camera, rear-facing 5 megapixel camera and a built in infra red blaster.

Sony's tablet is PlayStation certified which means that you can purchase and play PlayStation games on the tablet. You will also be able to send video from the tablet to a DLNA-enabled TV or other devices.

Sony will also offer accessories like a docking station, wireless keyboard and an adapter for connecting USB peripherals to the microUSB port on the tablet.

LENOVO THINKPAD TABLET UP FOR ORDER FOR $499 AND UP

Lenovo has started taking orders for its ThinkPad tablet running Android 3.1 Honeycomb operating system. The base configuration with 16GB of storage runs $499. The 32GB version is priced at $569. The top-of-the-line model with 64GB of storage will set you back $669.

The Lenovo ThinkPad tablet has a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixels multitouch display, 1GB of RAM and a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. The 16GB model is WiFi-only. The 3G option will be available on 32GB and 64GB models.

While the ThinkPad tablet is similar to other tablets in many respects, it does have a few features that set it apart. For instance, the tablet supports pressure sensitive input with a $30 ThinkPad Tablet pen. For $100 you can get an keyboard folio case which adds a keyboard and an optical TrackPoint system. The ThinkPad tablet is also one of the first tablets to support Netflix video streaming.

The Lenovo ThinkPad tablet also has two cameras - a 2 megapixel camera on the front side and a 5 megapixel camera on the rear side. Other specifications include mini HDMI port, a USB 2.0 port, a micro USB port and a dock connector. The ThinkPad tablet has a 24.1Whr battery. It is expected to start shipping on August 29th.

SHARP LAUNCHES ANOTHER 7 INCH TABLET IN JAPAN

Sharp has launched yet another 7 inch tablet in Japan. The new Sharp RW-T107 runs Google Android 2.3. It has official access to Google Android Market and comes standard with a 5400mAh battery that will reportedly get up to 8 hours of run time.

The most interesting thing about the RW-T107 is that it comes with an NFC (Near Field Communications) chip which you can use to transfer information over a short distance to other NFC-enabled devices.

No word on processor, screen resolution or other features, but the tablet seems to have an HDMI port, SIM card slot and headphone jack. In Japan it is expected to start shipping on September 5th.

By the way, the RW-T107 isn't the first Android tablet from Sharp. The company has already launched three tablets in its Galapagos lineup. These machines have screen sizes ranging between 5.5 inches and 10.8 inches. None of these are available outside of Japan.

SAMSUNG TO LAUNCH N102 NETBOOK WITH ATOM N435 PROCESSOR AND WINDOWS 7

Samsung is planning to launch a new budget-friendly 10 inch netbook with a low power Atom processor. The new Samsung N102 has a 1.33GHz Intel Atom N435 processor and Windows 7 Starter edition operating system.

The Samsung N102 is essentially a Windows version of the MeeGo Linux-based Samsung N100 but it will be pricier because of the Windows licencing fee involved. Aside from the 1.33GHz processor and Intel GMA integrated graphics, the N102 has a 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB hard drive, 2 USB 2.0 ports, VGA and an SDHC card reader. The 10.1 inch display has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

The laptop comes standard with a 3 cell, 40Whr battery. The Samsung N102 has already showed up at many Russian retail sites. It is not clear whether Samsung has plans to launch this model in the US. The Samsung N100, meanwhile, is meant for markets in India and other developing nations.

SAMSUNG SERIES 7 NP700G7A-S02 GAMING LAPTOP OVERVIEW

Samsung has launched its first ever gaming laptop. The Samsung Series 7 NP700G7A-S02 has a 17.3 inch full HD glossy display. It is powered by an Intel Core i7 2630QM quad-core processor. Other specifications include AMD Radeon HD 6970M discrete graphics with 2GB of video RAM, up to 16GB of RAM, dual 750GB hard drive and Blu-ray combo drive.

The Samsung Series 7 NP700G7A-S02 also has a backlit keyboard, Dolby Home Theatre Audio, 2.1 sound system with subwoofer, webcam, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and Bluetooth 3.0. The laptop doesn't have a chiclet-style keyboard. Instead it sports an old style notebook keyboard.

The Samsung Series 7 NP700G7A-S02 will hit the European market next month with a starting price of 1,800 Euros. No word on the pricing or availability of the laptop outside of Europe.

TOSHIBA QOSMIO F755-3D290 GLASSES FREE 3D LAPTOP NOW SHIPPING

The Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290, the first ever glasses-free 3D laptop on the market, is now available for purchase.

The Qosmio F755-3D290 has a 15.6 inch full HD display with double parallax image technology which allows the laptop to create the 3D effect without the help of 3D glasses. Interestingly the laptop can run both 2D and 3D content on its screen at the same time. It can also convert 2D video to 3D.

The Qosmio F755-3D290 also has an Intel Core i7 2630QM quad-core processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M discrete graphics, 6GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive, Blu-ray, harman/kardon stereo speakers, HDMI and USB 3.0 ports. Toshiba says that the laptop will get up to 3 hours of battery life.

Pricing and availability
The Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290 is priced at $1,700. It is now available from Toshiba Direct.

GATEWAY LAUNCHES BUDGET FRIENDLY NV77H05U AND NV75S02U NOTEBOOKS

Gateway has added two new 17.3 inch notebooks to its NV series. The new Gateway NV77H05u and NV75S02u are both affordable and belong to the desktop replacement category. While the NV77H05u has an Intel Core i3-2310M processor, HD 3000 integrated graphics, 6GB of RAM and red chassis, the NV75S02u has a quad-core AMD A8-3500M Llano APU with Radeon HD 6620G. The latter also has 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive and DVD burner.

According to the product pages, both notebooks come standard with a 6-cell battery which will get up to 4 hours of run time.

Both models have 1440 x 900 pixels display and run Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. Other common features include island style keyboards, built-in HDMI output ports and webcams.

Pricing and availability
The new Gateway NV77H05u and NV75S02u are now available for purchase. Prices start at $500 and $600 respectively.

HP TOUCHPAD NOW AVAILABLE FOR AS LITTLE AS $99

HP launched the TouchPad tablet a couple of months ago with a starting price of $499. Today it is available for as little as $99.

Now that HP has decided to exit the webOS hardware space, the company is trying to sell of its existing tablet stock. Surprisingly, HP is selling them of at prices far below the cost. The 16GB model is now available for $99. The 32GB model is available for $149.

Meanwhile, for some reason HP launched a 64GB version of the tablet just yesterday. That model is not yet available at the discounted price. But it should soon be. Now that the future of the webOS is uncertain, it doesn't make sense to buy the tablet at the full price of $399. But for $99, it is a steal. Needless to say, most retailers are finding it difficult to keep the tablet in stock at these prices.

Sure, you won't get any software updates. Not many third party apps are also not available. Still, at $99 you get a lot of computing power for your money. The TouchPad has decent specs. You can use it for surfing the web, reading ebooks or watching movies.

3G-ENABLED EEE PAD TRANSFORMER COMING SOON

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is one of the best selling 10 inch Android tablets on the market, thanks to its low price tag and impressive features. Asus also offers an optional keyboard dock with the tablet which will add a full QWERTY keyboard with its own battery and a touchpad to the tablet. And now word is that a 3G-enabled version of the Transformer is coming.

A listing for the tablet with 3G showed up in Italy last month. The tablet is expected to start shipping in early October. The 3G-enabled model with 16GB of storage will sell for about 499 Euros in Italy. If you need more storage or the keyboard you will need to pay extra.

Both WiFi and 3G versions of the Eee Pad Transformer has a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixels display, NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor, Bluetooth, WiFi, microSD card reader and front and rear facing cameras. No word on the pricing or availability of the 3G version in other parts of the world.

ASUS UPGRADES EEE PC 1215B WITH AMD E-450 PROCESSOR

The Asus Eee PC 1215B has got a spec-bump. The company will soon start offering the notebook with a 1.65GHz AMD E-450 processor. The 12.1 inch notebook currently ships with either a 1.6GHz AMD E-350 or a lower AMD C-30 / C-50 processor.

The Eee PC 1215B has a 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixels display. Other specifications include a 0.3 megapixel webcam, 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, HDMI, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, up to 4GB of RAM and up to 500GB of hard drive. There is no word on the pricing or availability of the Eee PC 1215B.

AMD is yet to officially launch the new E-450 processor, but it is expected to hit the market in a month or two. It will be a dual core processor with Radeon HD 6320 graphics. That Radeon graphics supports DirectX 11. It is also capable of handling 1080p HD video playback. There isn't much difference between the E-350 and E-450, but the latter supports the Turbo Core technology which means that you can overclock a single core while underclocking the other. This can improve the performance of tasks that don't require two cores at the same time.

HTC PUCCINI TABLET COULD BE CALLED JETSTREAM

We have been hearing about a 10 inch HTC Android tablet called Puccini for a while. Now more details have emerged, including a brand new name. It looks like 'Puccini' was an internal code name. The tablet is more likely to be called HTC JetStream when it becomes available later this year. At least that is what the AT&T version will be called.

The HTC JetStream has a 10 inch display. It will run a version of the Google Android Honeycomb operating system. There is still no word on the processor. The AT&T version of the tablet will have a 4G LTE modem for accessing internet on the go.

Much like the 7 inch HTC Flyer tablet, the JetStream is also expected to have a capacitive multitouch display and a digital pen which you can use for making precise writing or drawing. No word on availability at the moment.

DELL STREAK 7 ANDROID TABLET NOW AVAILABLE FOR $300

The Dell Streak 7 Android tablet has got a huge price drop. You can now pick up the WiFi-only version of the tablet for under $300. The Streak 7 launched earlier this year. Back then it had a price tag of $380.

The Dell Streak 7 has a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and runs Google Android 2.2 operating system. The 7 inch display has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. While it has always been one of the cheapest Tegra 2 based tablets on the market, it is behind its peers in many respects. For instance, the Streak 7 runs an outdated version of Android. It also has a ridiculously low resolution display that fails to take advantage of the dual core processor.

That said, Dell is expected to offer an official update to recent versions of Android sometime soon. But if you can't wait hackers have already managed to bring Android 3.2 to the Streak 7.

NETBOOK NAVIGATOR NAV7 WINDOWS TABLET TO SHIP IN SEPTEMBER

The 7 inch Netbook Navigator Nav7 Windows tablet will reportedly go on sale next month. The company has been showing off the machine since March.

The Nav7 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, up to 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage. Interestingly the tablet has a touchpad and mouse buttons on its back.

The Nav7 weighs about 1.2 pounds. The 7 inch display has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. It comes standard with a 19Whr battery. Although, no battery life estimates are available you are unlikely to get more than a couple of hours because the Atom processor isn't as power efficient as ARM-based processors like Tegra.

The Nav7 isn't cheap. The entry level model has 16GB of SSD and no operating system. It is priced at $599. Configurations with more storage, memory or optional 3G also available.

FUSION GARAGE GRID 10 TABLET UP FOR PRE-ORDER

Fusion Garage, the company known for building the disastrous JooJoo tablet, is back with another offering. The Fusion Garage Grid 10 tablet is expected to start shipping on September 15th. It is already up for pre-order from the Fusion Garage website and Amazon.com. The WiFi-only model has a starting price of $499. The WiFi + 3G model is priced at $599.

The Fusion Garage Grid 10 has a 10 inch display. It runs an Android based operating system called GridOS. The GridOS sports a unique home screen and app launcher. It can also run stock Android apps.

The 10 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The tablet is powered by a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor.

7 INCH LENOVO LEPAD TABLET GOES ON SALE IN CHINA

A new 7 inch Android tablet from Lenovo has gone on sale in China. The new LePad A1-07 has a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display and runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. It is powered by a 1 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 3622 processor. Other specifications include 512MB of RAM, 16GB of storage and front and rear cameras.

The LePad A1-07 also has GPS, a microUSB port, a microSD card slot, WiFi and a 3550mAh battery. The tablet weighs about 0.9 pounds.

In China the tablet is selling for the local equivalent of $390. No word on pricing or availability in other parts of the world. Lenovo introduced several 10 inch tablets recently. These include the IdeaPad K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet.

LENOVO LAUNCHES THINKPAD EDGE E525 AND E425 BUSINESS LAPTOPS

Lenovo has made two new additions to its ThinkPad Edge small-to-medium business laptop lineup. The new ThinkPad Edge E525 and E425 both have AMD Fusion A-Series Llano processor and graphics. They also support up to 750GB of hard drive space and up to 8GB of RAM.

It looks like the new laptops are designed for people who do a lot of audio and video conferencing. For instance, they have features like a low-light sensitive webcam, noise cancelling keyboard and a dedicated microphone mute key. Other features include HDMI output port, DVD burner, fingerprint reader (optional). The notebooks are available in black and red colors. Both anti-glare and glossy display options are available.

The 15.6 inch E525 and the 14 inch E425 both start at $549. Availability is expected around the end of this month.

VIEWSONIC LAUNCHES VIEWPAD 10PRO WITH ANDROID AND WINDOWS

The ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro 10 inch Android tablet has started shipping in the US. The company has been showing off the tablet since early this year.

The ViewPad 10Pro has a 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 processor and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels capacitive touchscreen display. Other specifications include 2GB of RAM, up to 32GB of storage, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and HDMI output port. The tablet can play 1080p HD video. It will reportedly get up to 8 hours of battery life.

The ViewPad 10Pro is available in two versions. The $599 model has 16GB of SSD, Windows 7 Home Premium operating system and Android 2.3. The $699 model has 32GB of SSD, Windows 7 Professional OS and Android 2.3. The ViewPad 10Pro can run both Windows and Android. Interestingly you don't have to reboot to switch between the operating systems. Instead, Android runs on top of Windows.

SOLAR POWERED SAMSUNG NC125 NOW AVAILABLE IN THE US FOR $392 AND UP

The solar powered Samsung NC125 netbook has started shipping for $392 and up. For about 2 hours of charging in direct sunlight, the netbook will get up to 1 hour of runtime.
The Samsung NC125 was introduced a few months ago. It is designed for the developing world where access to solar power is far more reliable than access to electricity. Nonetheless, the company is offering the netbook in the developed countries as well.

In the US, it is now available from Buy.com for $392. A few other retailers are also selling the netbook.

The Samsung NC125 has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display. It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor. Other specifications include 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB, 5400 rpm hard drive and Windows 7 Starter Edition. Like other Samsung netbooks, the NC125 also has a matte display. The netbook also has WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, VGA, Ethernet, an SDHC card reader and 3USB ports.

TARGET OFFERS $100 GIFT CARD WITH ACER ICONIA TAB A500 ANDROID TABLET

Retailer Target has launched a promotion on the Acer Iconia Tab A500 Android tablet. As part of the promotion you will get a $100 gift card when you pick the Iconia Tab A500 for $399. That doesn't necessarily mean that you will get the tablet for $299. But if you were planning to do some other shopping at Target, then it is effectively the same.

The Iconia Tab A500 has a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 pixels display. It is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and runs Google Android Honeycomb operating system. The tablet will reportedly get an upgrade to Android 3.2 (the latest version of Honeycomb) on August 25.

Meanwhile, Target is offering a promotion on another Acer product as well. You will, for instance, get a $30 gift card when you pick up an Acer Aspire One 722 notebook for $249. The Aspire One 722 has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display and AMD C-50 processor with Radeon HD 6250 graphics. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

ASUS EEE PAD SLIDER FULL SPECS

Asus has released the official specifications of its Eee Pad Slider SL101 Android tablet. The Slider is a 10 inch tablet with a slide-out keyboard. It runs Google's Android 3.1 Honeycomb operating system. Asus has also designed a custom user interface for the tablet.

The tablet's 10.1 inch multi-touch IPS display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. And to make the display scratch resistant Asus has coated it with Gorilla glass. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is smaller than the detachable keyboard on the Eee Pad Transformer and it doesn't have a trackpad.

Like most other tablets on the market, the Slider also has a NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor with a clock speed of 1.2GHz. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, and 16GB / 32GB of storage. Asus says that the standard 25Wh battery will get up to 8 hours of runtime. The Eee Pad Slider also has WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, USB 2.0 ports, mini HDMI port, Micro SD card reader and E-compass. There are two cameras - a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front side and a 5 megapixel camera on the rear side.

The tablet is expected to hit the market next month.

ASUS EEE PAD TRANSFORMER AND SLIDER COMPARED

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Eee Pad Slider both have 10 inch HD displays, 1GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors and Google Android Honeycomb operating system. Both models are available with keyboard options. While the Transformer has an optional keyboard docking station, the Slider comes standard with a slide-out keyboard.

The Transformer has been shipping for a while, but the Slider hasn't hit the market yet. Nonetheless, the folks at TabletBite has got their hands on a Slider. They have posted a detailed comparison between the Transformer and the Slider.

Here are the excerpts:

The Slider is wider, longer and thicker than the Transformer. It weighs about 2 pounds, while the Transformer weighs close to 1.5 pounds.

The Transformer gets better battery life. Without the keyboard dock which has its own battery, the Transformer lasts up to 8 hours on a single charge. The Slider gets close to 7 hours of runtime.

The Slider has a full-sized USB port. The Transformer lacks that feature, but a full-sized USB port is available on the keyboard dock.

The rest of the features are pretty similar. Asus is yet to put an official price tag on the Slider, but it is expected to cost about the same as the Transformer.

DELL REFRESHES INSPIRON 14Z WITH SANDY BRIDGE CHIPS AND USB 3.0

Dell has upgraded its Inspiron 14z with Intel's Sandy Bridge processors and USB 3.0 ports. The 14 incher now sports a new design with aluminum case. It is available with a choice of Intel Core i3-2330M or Core i5-2410M processors.

The new Inspiron 14z measures less than 1 inch in thickness and weighs around 5 pounds. It is available in black or red color and sports a chiclet style keyboard. Other specifications include up to 8GB of RAM, up to 750GB of storage and Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. Although it has a thin frame, the Inspiron 14z has an integrated DVD burner.

The notebook comes standard with a 4-cell battery unit. A 6-cell battery is also available as an optional feature. The 14 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Other specifications include integrated 1 megapixel webcam, 2 stereo speakers, WiFi, optional Bluetooth and mic.

The new Inspiron 14z also has Gigabit Ethernet LAN, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0/eSATA combo port and a media card reader. It doesn't have an HDMI or VGA output port.

The new Inspiron 14z is now available for purchase. Prices start at $599.99.

DELL LATITUDE XT3 CONVERTIBLE TABLET STYLE NOTEBOOK UP FOR ORDER

The 13.3 inch Dell Latitude XT3 convertible tablet style laptop is now available for purchase. It is available with a choice of Intel's Sandy Bridge Core i3 2310M, i5 2520M or i7 2620M dual core processors.

The Dell Latitude XT3 is a sequel to the 12 inch XT2. It has a swivel that would let you rotate the display down over the keyboard for using the device in the tablet model. The display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and supports both pen and multi-touch input.

The convertible can be configured with up to 320GB of HDD or up to 256GB of SSD and up to 8GB of RAM. It comes standard with a 6-cell, 44Wh Lithium-Ion battery. A 9-cell battery option is also available.

The Latitude XT3 is ruggedized and meets the MIL-STD-810G military standards. It has a spill-resistant keyboard. Other features include backlit keyboard, 3G, 4G, optional webcam, HDMI and optional Intel vPro technology.

The Dell Latitude XT3 is now available for order from Dell's online store. It is expected to start shipping on September 22. Prices start at $1,789.

HP TOUCHPAD NOW STARTS AT $399.99

The HP TouchPad tablet has received a $100 price drop. When the company launched the tablet last month it had a starting price of $499.99. That is exactly what Apple charges for its entry level iPad 2.

Last weekend HP ran a promotion allowing users to pick up the 16GB version of the TouchPad for as little as $399.99 and the 32GB model for $499.99. Now it looks like those prices are here to stay. The product page at HP has already started showing the new lower prices.

The HP TouchPad has a 9.7 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor and runs webOS 3.0 operating system.

The TouchPad is the first tablet to run Palm's webOS operating system.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAMSUNG 350U2B SERIES 3 LAPTOP

Samsung has started rolling out its Series 3 back to school laptop lineup for students. In the Samsung Series 3, you will find laptops with screen sizes ranging between 11.6 inches and 15.6 inches. One of the first models to ship is the 12.5 inch Samsung 350U2B.

The Samsung 350U2B has an Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 500GB hard drive. The 12.5 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

Other specifications include two 1.5W speakers, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 2 USB ports, HDMI and Ethernet jacks. The notebook measures 1 inches in thickness and weighs 3.1 pounds with the 6-cell battery. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit operating system.

Pricing and availability
The Samsung Series 350U2B is now available for purchase. It has a suggested retail price of $749. Meanwhile, other notebooks in the Series 3 have also started showing up at US stores.

AMD TO LAUNCH LOW POWER KRISHNA AND WICHITA CHIPS NEXT YEAR

AMD will reportedly launch a new line of low power notebook and tablet chips next year. The upcoming processors are the dual core Krishna and the Wichita which can support up to four cores.

A leaked product map shows that the Krishna processor will have dual cores, entry level graphics and a maximum power draw of 8W. That means it will be even more power efficient than the 9W AMC C-Series Ontario processors that the company introduced earlier this year.

The Wichita chips will be available in both dual core and quad core versions. Both models will have a TDP of 20W and higher performance graphics. While these processors aren't as power efficient as the Krishna processors, a TDP of 20W is pretty good by notebook standards. The Krishna chips are likely to be used in tablets and netbooks. The Wichita chips could also be used in large mainstream laptops.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 10.1 SALES IN EUROPE BLOCKED BY COURT

Apple has always maintained that Samsung's 10 inch Galaxy Tab 10.1 is exactly like its iPad 2. Now a German court too has upheld that view and issued a preliminary injunction which will effectively prevent Samsung from selling its tablet in most parts of the European Union. An Australian court had issued a similar ruling against Samsung last week.

That said, these aren't going to be final rulings. But as long as the court cases proceed, Samsung won't be able to sell its tablets in Europe or Australia.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 may look an awful lot like the iPad 2, but there are many differences as well. While the iPad 2 runs iOS, Galaxy Tab runs Android Honeycomb. In its law suit against Samsung Apple had claimed that the Galaxy Tab's design infringes upon Apple's intellectual property rights.

Apple has also filed a law suit against Samsung's entire product lineup in the US, but there the hearing won't take place until at least October. Meanwhile Samsung has announced that it is disappointed with the court order and plans to appeal against the ruling.

ASPIRE 3951 COULD BE ACER'S FIRST ULTRABOOK

Acer's first ultrabook may be called Aspire 3951. According to leaked information, the laptop will have a 13.3 inch display and an aluminum case. It will weigh just about 3 pounds. The notebook will have an island style keyboard and a touchpad sans physical buttons.

There is no word on processor at the moment, but chances are it will be one of those latest Intel processors. After all, by Intel's own definition Ultrabooks are ultra thin and light laptops featuring latest Intel CPUs.

The Aspire 3951 will reportedly be available with a choice of HDDs and SSDs. While introducing the Ultrabook concept Intel had said that those laptops will have SSDs instead of HDDs in order to offer faster performance. But it looks like the SSD is optional to Aspire 3951.

The Aspire 3951 is expected to get around 6 hours of battery life. It will reportedly cost under $1000. No word on availability at the moment.

7 INCH ACER ICONIA TAB A100 NOW SHIPPING FOR $334

The 7 inch Acer Iconia Tab A100 Android tablet has started shipping. US retailer SuperBiiz is now selling the 8GB version of the tablet for $334.

The Iconia Tab A100 measures 0.5 inches in thickness and weighs 0.9 pounds. It is powered by a dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 250 processor. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, 1024 x 600 pixels capacitive touchscreen display, WiFi and Bluetooth. The tablet has two cameras - a 2 megapixel camera on the front side and a 5 megapixel camera on the back side.
As for the rest of the specs, the Iconia Tab A100 has a micro HDMI connector, USB 2.0 and micro USB 2.0 ports and a micro SD / micro SDHC card reader.

Acer says that the tablet's 2-cell battery will get up to five hours of runtime. Meanwhile the 10 inch Acer Iconia Tab A500 has been available for a while.

SAMSUNG 350U2B SERIES LAPTOP NOW SHIPPING FOR $735

The 12 inch Samsung 350U2B Series 3 laptop has started shipping. The computer has a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. The 12 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Buy.com is charging $735 for the tablet. Several other retailers are also taking orders for the laptop.

The most impressive thing about the Samsung 350U2B is its weight. At 3.1 pounds, the laptop doesn't weigh much more than a typical netbook while at the same time it has a higher resolution display, a faster processor, a 6-cell battery and a larger keyboard. Of course, it costs twice as much as a dual core netbook.

In some of the product listings, the 350U2B is said to have a 12.1 inch display, but the official product page says that it has a 12.5 inch display. The Samsung 350U2B also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, 2 USB ports, a VGA port, and an Ethernet jack. The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

AMAZON TAKING PRE-ORDERS FOR THE 4G HP TOUCHPAD FOR $700

A 4G-enabled version of the HP TouchPad tablet is coming soon. The existing versions of the tablet only supports WiFi and Bluetooth. The 4G Touchpad will have an HSPA+ modem to connect to AT&T's mobile broadband network. While HP is yet to put a price tag on that model, Amazon has already started taking pre-orders for $700 and up. No word on a launch date, though.

The Wifi-only Touchpad normally runs $499. It has a 9.7 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It runs the webOS 3.0 operating system. The TouchPad, incidentally, is the first and only tablet running Palm's famed smartphone OS. While webOS is a decent operating system, the biggest problem at the moment is the shortage of apps designed for the platform.

The WiFi-only version of the tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The 4G model will reportedly have a faster 1.5GHz Snapdragon chip.

VIZIO TABLET REVIEWED AND LIKED

Vizio known for making low cost TV sets have entered the tablet space with what they call the Vizio Tablet. It has an 8 inch capacitive touchscreen display, a 1GHz ARM-based processor and runs Google Android 2.3 operating system.

The tablet is currently available for under $300. To make it even more attractive, Vizio has added a number of innovative features to the tablet. For one thing, it has three speakers. It can also be used as a universal remote control, thanks to its IR port. Other specifications include WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI and 2GB of storage. Vizio has also built a custom user interface for the tablet. The tablet has official access to the Google Android Market.

The folks at Slashgear have published a detailed review of the tablet. While Slashgear reports that the tablet can feel slow at times, they are reasonably impressed with the device. It can be used to surf the web, play games and control your TV. After all, it costs under $300.

ARCHOS ARNOVA 8 G2 ANDROID TABLET COMING

Archos is known for its line of low-cost Android tablets. While none of these have speedy processors or high resolution displays, they are good enough to handle basic tasks. The company's Arnova brand tablets are even cheaper. And it looks like a new model is on the way.

The new tablet will reportedly be called Arnova 8 G2. That probably means that it will be a sequel to the 8 inch Arnova 8 tablet which is currently available. There is no word on the specifications of the new model. The Arnova 8 has an 800 x 600 pixels resistive touchscreen display, WiFi 802.11b/g and Android 2.1 operating system. The new model will probably have relatively better specs.

In some of the leaked photos the tablet is shown as having a series of physical buttons. That could mean that the tablet will run an earlier version of Android because the most recent versions of Android don't require physical buttons for Home, Back, Menu or Search functions.

Unfortunately we don’t have any specs for the new model yet, but the photos show a tablet with a series of physical buttons. So my guess is the device will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread or an older version of the operating system. Tablets with Android 3.0 and up don’t use physical buttons for Home, Back, Search, or Menu functions

FIRST LOOK AT THE HTC PUCCINI ANDROID TABLET

HTC hasn't revealed a lot of details about its upcoming 10 inch tablet. All that we know at the moment is that it will have a dual core processor, a digital pen and Android Honeycomb operating system. It could be called the HTC Puccini, but there is no official confirmation on that.

Now the folks at PocketNow have obtained some pictures of the tablet. The images show the tablet as having a custom software interface. The Puccini tablet will have dedicated software button for enabling digital pen input. The 7-inch Flyer had a button for the exact same purpose, but it was a physical button.

The software keyboard has numeric keypads on the right side of the screen. Although it is a nice addition, it makes the letters cramped closely together. There is still no word on the pricing or availability of the tablet.

ASUS LAUNCHES K93SV LAPTOP WITH 18.4 INCH DISPLAY

Asus has introduced the biggest member of its K-Series. The Asus K93SV sports an 18.4 inch display with full HD resolution. Previously the biggest model in the K-series was the K73.

The Asus K93SV is available with your choice of an Intel Core i3, i5 OR i7 processors. The graphics option is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M discrete GPU with 1GB of video memory. The notebook supports up to 16GB of RAM.

The notebook has a brushed metal chassis. Interestingly it supports the 3.5 inch HDD which is usually only found in desktop computers.

Other specifications include a Blu-ray combo drive / DVD burner, chiclet-style keyboard with number pad, a 0.3 megapixel webcam, 4 USB 2.0 ports, Altec Lansing speakers, a 6-cell battery and HDMI output port. The K93SV weighs 9 pounds. No word on pricing or availability at the moment.

LAPTOPS WITH AMD E-300 AND E-450 APUS COMING SOON

Notebooks sporting AMD's newest E-300 and E-450 APUs have started making their appearances. Some of the first notebooks to have the E-300 and E-450 processors are the Acer Aspire 7250, Dell Inspiron M102z, Asus K53BY and HP Pavilion G4.

The new AMD E-300 and E-450 are dual core processors belonging to the Zacate family. They are designed for netbooks and entry-level laptops.

While the AMD E-300 has a clock speed of 1.3GHz, the E-450 runs at 1.65GHz. Both have a total power draw of 18 Watts of power and 1MB of cache. The E-450 can be overclocked using the Turbo mode technology.

The AMD Zacate processors are part of the AMD Fusion line of APUs. These are highly power efficient: they don't consume significantly more power than the Intel Atom processors. The AMD Zacate processors also come bundled with powerful Radeon graphics.

Laptops sporting the new E-300 and E-450 chips are expected to be available in September.

PANDIGITAL LAUNCHES THREE NEW CHEAP ANDROID TABLETS

Pandigital has launched 3 new Android tablets dubbed Planet, Nova and Star. The company will also introduce a fourth tablet in September.

The new tablets have ARM Cortex-A9 processors which support 3D graphics acceleration. Other specifications include multi-touch displays and 2-axis accelerometers. All tablets have 7 inch touchscreen displays, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and some bulit-in apps including the Barnes & Noble eBook store. Here is a quick overview of the tablets.

Pandigital Planet
The Planet tablet is priced at $189. It has a 7 inch, 600 x 800 pixels display. This tablet will launch with Android 2.2 Froyo, but updates to more recent versions of Android will be available down the line. Other specifications include 2GB of built-in storage and an SD card slot for expansion.

Pandigital Nova

It has the same basic specs, but this $189 tablet has 4GB of storage and runs Google Android 2.3 operating system.

Pandigital Star

This is the cheapest of the bunch. It is expected to retail for around $159.

INTEL LAUNCHES CELERON 787 AND 857 ULV PROCESSORS

Intel has introduced two new ultra-low voltage laptop processors in the Celeron family. These are the single core Celeron 787 and the dual core Celeron 857. The new Celeron processors are designed for use in thin and light laptops. They have a maximum TDP of 17W.

The Celeron 787 has a clock speed of 1.3GHz. Other specifications include 1.5MB of L3 cache and 950MHz graphics frequency. It is expected to retail for $107. The dual core Celeron 857 has a clock speed of 1.2GHz, 2MB L3 cache and maximal GPU frequency of 1GHz. It has a price tag of $134.

Although these CPUs are based on the Sandy Bridge platform, they don't support advanced features like HyperThreading, Turbo Boost or vPro. They are, nonetheless, capable of 64-bit computing.

SHARP LAUNCHES 7 INCH ANDROID TABLET IN JAPAN

Sharp has introduced a new 7 inch Android tablet in Japan. Earlier this year, the company launched two Galapagos tablets - one with a 5.5 inch display and another with a 10.8 inch display. The new tablet - the Sharp Galapagos A01SH - has a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display. It runs Android 3.2 and has a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor.

The Sharp Galapagos A01SH also has front and rear facing cameras and 8GB of storage. The promotional images of the tablet shows a device with a large bezel around the display. It is not exactly clear whether the actual thing has got the exact same bezel because these images are more likely to be rendered.

No word on pricing or availability outside of the Japan. Incidentally, the other tablets in the Galapagos series are also not available in the US.

SAMSUNG ROLLS OUT ACCESSORIES FOR THE GALAXY TAB 10.1

Samsung has rolled out a whole line of accessories for its Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet. These include a keyboard dock and some other goodies.

One of these accessories will be a dongle that allows you to connect an SD card or USB device to the tablet. The Galaxy Tab doesn't have full-sized SD card slot or USB ports. That means you won't be able to connect a USB peripheral without one of these dongles. These are priced at around $20 and $30.

There is an HDMI adapter that can plug in to the docking port at the bottom of the tablet. It costs $40. The Multimedia dock which you will need to plug the HDMI adapter will cost $50. Other accessories include a keyboard dock ($70). Samsung also offers a premium case with a Bluetooth keyboard which runs $150. Finally, Samsung is offering a capacitive stylus. It runs $20 and can be used to make handwritten notes on the display.

ASUS EEE PAD MEMO TABLET MAY NEVER SHIP

The Asus Eee Pad MeMo was one of the four tablets Asus introduced at CES in January. Back then Asus had announced that the MeMo would start shipping in January. But that date has come and gone by, and the tablet hasn't started shipping yet. Now it looks like the tablet is unlikely to ship this year. Worse still, it may not ship at all.

When Asus introduced the tablet it was supposed to have a 7 inch display, Google Android Honeycomb operating system, a Bluetooth headset called MeMIC and a pressure sensitive stylus for taking notes or drawings. A few months later Asus also announced that it would have a glasses-free 3D version.

But now Asus has told a Dutch site that the tablet may never see the light of the day. If at all it does it won't be until 2012.

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