NOTEBOOK AND LAPTOP REVIEWS: 12/1/11

LENOVO IDEAPAD S110 10 INCH NETBOOK COMING SOON

A promotional video for an unannounced Lenovo netbook has hit YouTube. The netbook in question is the IdeaPad S110. While the promotional video doesn’t show what processor the computer has, word is that it will sport an Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail processor.

According to the video, the netbook has got a nearly full-sized keyboard. It measures 0.6 inches in thickness and weighs 2.5 pounds. The touchpad looks small and has integrated left and right mouse buttons.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S110 has a 10.1 inch HD display. Other specifications include USB 3.0 port, WiFi and a VGA port. Optional features include 3G and a 2 megapixel, 720p webcam.
The IdeaPad S110 is expected to be the successor to the IdeaPad S100 which is no longer available from Lenovo.com. The new model is expected to run around $320.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE ACER ICONIA TAB A700 WITH HD DISPLAY

Acer will launch at least two new tablets in early 2012. Of these, the Iconia Tab A200 has already gone up for pre-order in the UK. The second tablet – the Iconia Tab A700 – will reportedly have a 1080p HD display.

According to the folks at the Russian site NoMobile.ru, the Iconia Tab A700 has a 10.1 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixels display. It will be powered by a 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The tablet has also got a SIM card slot which probably means that it will be available with 3G or 4G connectivity.

Other specifications include front and rear facing cameras, a microHDMI output port, a microUSB port and audio ports. The tablet weighs 1.4 pounds with the the 9800mAh battery which will reportedly get up to 10 hours of battery life.

Acer isn’t the first company to launch a quad-core tablet. Asus has already launched one – the Eee Pad Transformer Prime. But it looks like the A700 will be the first quad-core tablet with a 1080p HD display.

The Acer Iconia Tab A700 is expected to hit the market in March or April. It will probably be on display at CES in January.

BUNGBUNGAME ANNOUNCES 10 INCH PHOTON 100 TABLET FOR BUSINESSES

An unknown Taiwanese company called BungBungame has announced a tablet for business customers. The device was spotted at the FCC website last week, but few details were available then. Now that BungBungame has officially announced the tablet we have got all the details that we need.

The BungBungame Photon 100 tablet is aimed at the enterprise market. Needless to say it runs Windows 7. It has got a 1 GHz AMD Z-01 processor, up to 4GB of RAM and a 64GB solid state disk. According to BungBungame, the Photon 100 tablet is ideal for use in medical, restaurant, hotel and insurance settings.

The Photon 100 weighs about 1.8 pounds and has a 2750mAh battery. Other specifications include 2 USB ports, a mini HDMI output port and a microSD card slot. The tablet will hit the Taiwanese market in February for the local equivalent of about $660. No word on pricing or availability outside of the US.

MILLIONS OF KINDLE FIRE TABLETS SOLD

Amazon is not known for giving precise sales figures of the Kindle devices. The company has always maintained that Kindle tops its list of best sellers. But exactly how many Kindles have been sold so far? Well, we don’t know but yesterday Amazon announced that the Kindle Fire and Kindle eReader family have been extremely popular this holiday season. Although the online retailer stopped short of giving exact sales figures, it did reveal some interesting details.

Amazon has sold ‘millions’ of Kindle Fire tablets since the tablet launched a couple of months ago. That means it is the most popular Android tablet to ever hit the market but that is hardly surprising. The Kindle Fire runs just $200. Nonetheless it has premium features such as a dual core processor and an IPS display. Android tablets with similar features usually start at around $400.

Amazon has also revealed that the Kindle Fire has been the best selling product on Amazon.com for the past 13 weeks. The second and third best-selling devices are the Kindle Touch and Kindle eBook reader.

ACER ICONIA TAB A200 UP FOR ORDER IN THE UK

The 10 inch Acer Iconia Tab A200 is now available for purchase in the UK for 299 pounds. The tablet is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and runs Google Android. The 10 inch display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, a 2MP front-facing camera, WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1 and a microSD card slot.

In the UK retailer Very is taking orders for the tablet for 299 pounds. Both red and black models are available. In the US the tablet is expected to start shipping sometime soon.

The Iconia Tab A200 currently runs Android 3.2. Acer is expected to offer an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich sometime soon. Acer is also expected to launch a NVIDIA Tegra 3 based tablet in 2012. That model will reportedly have a 1080p HD display.

INTEL MEDFIELD PROCESSOR SPECS LEAKED

Intel is all set to launch its Medfield processors for tablets and smartphones. Intel has been working on the low-power system-on-a-chip platform for a while, but the company never really disclosed the actual specifications.

But now leaked specifications of the chips have hit the cyberspace. Benchmark tests done on a prototype tablet with a 1.6GHz x86 Medfield processor and 1GB of RAM shows that it is faster than the NVIDIA Tegra 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos processor. The tablet in question had a 10 inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It currently runs Android Honeycomb but is capable of running Android 4.0 as well.

The said processor consumes 2.6W of power while it is idle. Intel is reportedly trying to reduce that 2W. The Medfield processors are designed to compete with the ARM-based processors commonly found in smartphones and tablets. Intel says that these processors will be nearly as power efficient as the ARM processors but that needs to be seen.

INTEL CEDAR TRAIL NETBOOKS COMING SOON

Intel has started shipping its Cedar Trail Atom processors for netbooks. Devices sporting this third generation of low power Atom processors are expected to hit the streets in early 2012. The companies that are going to launch Cedar Trail netbooks include Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba.

Interestingly we will not see any Dell netbooks with Cedar Trail processors. The US-based PC maker has already pulled the plug on its line of Dell Mini netbooks.

Cedar Trail netbooks are expected to start at as low as $199. Higher-end models may even sport features such as touchscreen displays.

The Cedar Trail processors are unlikely to deliver significantly better performance than the existing Pine Trail processors. They will, however, support 1080p HD video playback. They are also expected to get better battery life.

Some of the Cedar Trail netbook processors are:

Atom N2600 1.6 GHz dual core chip with 640MHz graphics, 6.5W TDP
Atom N2800 1.86 GHz dual core chip with 400MHz graphics, 3.5W TDP

7 INCH SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB NOT TO GET ANDROID 4.0 UPDATE

Sony has kind of confirmed that its Tablet S and Tablet P are getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade. Neither tablet was all that popular but that didn’t prevent Sony from offering continued support for them.

Samsung, unfortunately, thinks a little bit different. The company has revealed that its Galaxy Tab 7 inch tablet will not be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade. The reason, according to Samsung, is that the device doesn’t have the hardware capabilities necessary to run Android 4.0 alongside Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface.

That explanation, however, seems inconsistent because Samsung’s Nexus S smartphone which has the same hardware has already started getting the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade. So the reason that may be really preventing the upgrade could be Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI and a host of other resource hungry ‘experience enhancing’ software.

ASUS EXPECTS TO SHIP 3 TO 6 MILLION TABLETS IN 2012

Asus expects to ship 3 to 6 million tablets in 2012. The company shipped around 1.8 million units in 2011. Asus chairman says that the company’s Transformer Prime tablet will be the most popular of its devices thanks to its unique detachable keyboard design. The design is patent pending and Asus plans to optimize the technology even further.

The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the successor to the popular Eee Pad Transformer. Asus also launched another tablet called Eee pad Slider in 2011. Unlike the Transformer, the Slider had a slide-out keyboard which would hide itself behind the display when you are not using it.

In 2012 Asus also plans to launch new Transformer tablets with Windows 8. The existing versions run Google Android. Windows 8 is said to be better optimized to run on touchscreen devices. It also supports ARM-based processors. Asus hopes that tablets running Windows 8 will be able to meet consumers’ data consumption and data creation needs.

SONY TABLET P AND TABLET S TO GET ANDROID 4.0 UPDATE

The Sony Tablet S and Tablet P are all set to get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. Sony is yet to confirm when the update will arrive, but it is definitely on the cards. The Sony Tablet S is a 10 inch tablet computer that resembles a magazine in its folded shape. Sony says that the unique form factor makes the tablet easy to hold in the hand.

The Tablet P has a pair of 5.5 inch displays. When folded the tablet will look like a cylindrical device which you can put in the pocket. Both tablets have 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processors, 1GB of RAM and Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system.

Both tablets are also PlayStation certified. That means you can purchase and play classic Playstation games on them. We haven’t heard much about the Sony tablets since their launch, but it is heartening to see that Sony is still supporting the devices.

NOTION INK ADAM TO GET ANDROID 4.0 ICE CREAM SANDWICH UPDATE

Notion Ink is working on bringing the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to its Adam tablet. The India-based startup company has released an early build which anyone can download and test. Right now the new build only supports WiFi, GPS, graphics and some other key functions. No support for Bluetooth, 3G, audio or the camera is available at the moment.

The Notion Ink Adam is a 10 inch Android tablet. It is only available in limited quantities. The tablet had created a quite a buzz last year because it was the first Android tablet to ship with a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and Pixel Qi display which is viewable in direct sunlight.

At launch the tablet shipped with a custom user interface called Eden on top of Android. The response to the Eden software has been mixed. While some people liked it, others felt that plain vanilla Android would be much better.

When Adam launched last year, Honeycomb was only available to select partners of Google. And that is probably why Notion Ink decided to develop a custom user interface for the tablet. Now that the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is available to all devices Notion Ink is working on bringing it to its tablet.

CTL LAUNCHES NOTEBOOK WITH INTEL SANDYBRIDGE PROCESSOR AND UBUNTU

CTL has launched a new 14 inch laptop with an Intel Sandy Bridge processor and Ubuntu Linux operating system. Notebooks sporting higher-end Intel processors usually run the Windows operating system. The CTL MB40U, on the other hand, comes pre-loaded with the open source Ubuntu 11.10 ‘Oneiric Ocelot’ 64-bit operating system which has a wide range of free apps written for it.

The notebook can be configured with processors ranging between Intel Core i3-2330 and Intel Core i7-2630QM. While the base configuration has 2GB of DDR3 memory, the laptop supports up to 8GB. Both SSD (up to 512GB) and HDD (up to 500GB) storage options are available. Discrete graphics options are not available with the MB40U.

Although there is no mention of an optical drive in the product listings, the image of the laptop shown on the CTL website does seem to have a disk drive.

SAMSUNG SERIES 5 NP530 ULTRABOOK UP FOR PREORDER IN EUROPE

The first Samsung ultrabook – the NP530 – is now up for pre-order in Europe. The Series 5 NP530 has an Intel Core i5 2467M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 4-cell 44Whr battery which will reportedly get up to 6.5 hours of endurance.

The storage option is a hybrid drive with 500GB of HDD and 16GB of SSD. The 13.3 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

The Samsung NP530 is slightly thicker and heavier than a typical ultrabook. It measures 0.7 inches in thickness and weighs 3.15 pounds. That said, it is still highly portable. The laptop has also got a 1.3 megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, Gigabit LAN, 1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports. It has got both HDMI output and VGA ports for transferring video to an external monitor. There is also an SDXC card reader for expanding storage.

LENOVO IDEAPAD U300S UP FOR PURCHASE

The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s is now available for purchase from retailer NewEgg. The 13.3 inch notebook has been up for pre-order since September.

The version that Newegg sells has the model number U300s 108026U. It has an Intel Core i7-2677M processor, integrated Intel HD graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. All that high-end components come at a price. The notebook runs $1600.

The IdeaPad U300s belongs to the Ultrabook category. That means it is an ultrathin notebook with SSD storage and Intel’s latest processors. Ultrabooks have fast boot and wake-up-from-sleep speeds. They weigh less than 3 pounds and measure only around 0.6 inches in thickness. The U300s is no different.

The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. It has also got a 1.3 megapixel webcam, Bluetooth, Intel WiDi technology. Lenovo says that the U300s will get up to 8 hours of battery life.

Lower-end configurations of the notebook are also expected to be available, but they are unlikely to hit the market during this year.

VIEWSONIC VIEWPAD 97A ANDROID TABLET LAUNCHES IN CHINA

Like most other tablet makers, ViewSonic too has launched 7 and 10 inch Android tablets. And now it looks like the company is taking a leaf out of Apple’s book. The new ViewSonic ViewPad 97a has a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixels IPS display. The Apple iPad too has a 9.7 inch display with similar pixels density.

The tablet is expected to go on sale in China later this month. It is powered by a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor and runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. It has 1GB of RAM. The ViewPad 97a comes pre-loaded with the Android Market. ViewSonic says that the tablet will be able to handle 1080p HD video and to take advantage of that feature it is equipped with an HDMI output port.

Both 3G-enabled and WiFi-only versions of the tablet will be available. No word on pricing or availability outside of China at the moment.

ASUS EEE PC 1225B NOTEBOOK COMING SOON

It looks like Asus is getting ready to launch a new notebook called the Eee PC 1225B. Few details are available about this machine at the moment, but sources suggest that it will have a 12.1 inch display and an AMD processor. If that is indeed so, then this could be a successor to the Eee PC 1215B introduced earlier in 2011.

The Eee PC 1225B has already showed up at some retails websites. According to the product listings, it has a 1.65GHz AMD e-450 dual core processor, Radeon HD 6320 graphics, a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. That AMD processor is slightly more powerful than the dual core Atom processors found on most netbooks. Other specifications include USB ports, VGA, HDMI output, WiFi and Bluetooth.

No word on pricing or availability at the moment. We should be able to find out more at the CES in January.

SKYTEX SKYTAB ALPHA 2 ANDROID TABLET UP FOR SALE FOR $169

A relatively unknown company called Skytex has started taking orders for its Skypad Alpha 2 Android tablet. The device has a 7 inch display and a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor. It runs the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread operating system. Skytex claims that the tablet can recognize up to 5 touch inputs at the same time. The tablet has an HDMI output port. It is also capable of handling 1080p HD video playback and 3D video.

While the Skypad has a decent processor, the biggest downer is the low resolution display. The 7 inch display has only 800 x 480 pixels. You can find 4 inch phones with higher resolution displays these days. The Skytex Skypad usually has a $219 price tag, but it is now available for just $169. This promotion is valid through December 25. To get the tablet for the discounted price use the coupon code SPA250 at the Skytex web store.

SAMSUNG CAN SELL ITS GALAXY TAB 10.1N GERMANY

A German court has ruled that Samsung can sell its 10 inch Galaxy Tab 10.1N Android tablet in Germany. The Galaxy Tab 10.1N is a slightly different version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. It has a plastic bezel which extends over the sides of the tablet.

The original Galaxy Tab 10.1 looked an awful lot like the Apple iPad 2. Needless to say, Apple wasn’t all that happy with this and filed a lawsuit against Samsung in a number of countries. While Apple lost the case in many countries, a German court did issue a preliminary injunction banning Samsung from selling the tablet in Germany.

In a bid to get around the problem, Samsung made slight variations to the design and launched the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Although Apple sought a similar ban against this tablet too, so far, it has failed. And now a German court has ruled that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N is different enough from the iPad 2.

The final ruling in the case is expected to be issued on February 9th. Samsung will be able to sell its tablet until then and if it wins the case afterwards too.

BEST BUY SELLING THE EEE PAD TRANSFORMER PRIME ANDROID TABLET FOR $500

Best Buy has started selling the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Android tablet for $500. The Transformer Prime is the first tablet to launch with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

The tablet went on sale recently, but the demand was so high that it was soon sold out.
The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is not yet available from stores. Best Buy says that orders placed today will ship within 24 hours.

The Transformer Prime has a 10.1 inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It has 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and front (at 1.2MP) and rear (at 8MP) facing cameras. Right now the tablet ships with Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. Asus will reportedly offer an update an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich early next year.

For $500 you will only get the tablet. The optional keyboard docking station costs an extra $150. The dock will add a QWERTY keyboard, a touchpad and a separate battery.

INTEL SHOWS OFF MEDFIELD-BASED TABLETS AND SMARTPHONES

Intel is getting ready to launch its next generation Atom processors code-named Medfield. These are highly power efficient chips designed for tablets and smartphones. Although Intel is the reigning king in the netbook space, the company hasn’t had much success in the tablet and smartphone segment where ARM-based chips are in demand.

The new Medfield processors are reportedly as power efficient as the ARM-based processors built by companies like Qualcomm and NVIDIA and deliver similar performance.

Intel recently demonstrated the chips on a tablet and a smartphone both running Google Android operating system. The tablet prototype has a larger display than the iPad 2 and runs Android 4.0. The smartphone was running Android 2.3 and was capable of taking high-quality photos in a high-speed burst mode.

These reference designs are meant for device manufacturers who want to build commercial products around the Medfield platform. They showcase what the platform can do.

LENOVO THINKPAD X130E DELAYED

The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e has been delayed. The ThinkPad X130e is a rugged laptop for students. It is the latest model in the company’s 11.6 inch Thinkpad lineup. Lenovo already has launched two other 11.6 inch ThinkPads called X120e and X100e.

Starting today Lenovo was supported to take orders for the laptop for $469 and up. But now the launch has been pushed back to February 2012. Nonetheless, the product pages for the laptops are now available online.

The ThinkPad X130e will be offered with AMD E-300, AMD E-450 or Intel Core i3-2367M processors. Both 3-cell and 6-cell battery options will be available. The laptop can support up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB of hard drive space.

At around 3.9 pounds, the ThinkPad X130e isn’t all that thin or light. On the other hand, it has a rugged case which makes it capable of withstanding the use and abuse in a typical classroom.

$199 BLACKBERRY TABLETS UP FOR SALE AGAIN

The $199 BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is now up for sale again. Retailer Staples offer the 16GB model for $199 and the 32GB model for $299. The 64GB version runs $399. Best Buy and Office Depot are also offering the base model for $199.99. The 32GB model runs $249.99 at these retailers.

The BlackBerry PlayBook launched earlier this year with a price tag of $499. However, due to poor sales RIM was forced to drop the prices. The PlayBook is a nice tablet with decent hardware. The biggest problem with the tablet has always been its operating system. PlayBook runs the QNX-based BlackBerry Tablet OS. Although it is a nice operating system, it has very few third party apps written for it.

But now RIM has launched the PlayBook OS 2.0 Beta which allows you to run some Android apps on the tablet. It is now also possible to root the tablet and install the Android Market which makes it easier to find and install Android apps on it. That means, most of the problems plaguing the tablet have been resolved.

Right now, another tablet that is also available for $200 is the Amazon Kindle Fire. Both tablets are built by the same Taiwanese OEM and look almost identical. So which one should be your choice? Well, the PlayBook has got much better hardware than the Kindle Fire. On the other hand, Kindle Fire offers a better software experience.

LENOVO WORKING ON A TABLET WITH A QUAD-CORE PROCESSOR

That Lenovo is working on a quad-core tablet is now known to almost everybody. Last month Engadget published some images of the tablet. Some leaked benchmarks too are available online. And now Digitimes report that the tablet is getting ready to launch.

The Lenovo tablet is reportedly being built by Taiwanese OEM Pegatron. The same OEM is building tablets for Acer and Toshiba as well.

The upcoming Lenovo tablet reportedly has the model number ‘K2’. In that case, it could be the successor to the Lenovo IdeaPad K1. The tablet is expected to have a 10 inch display. It will be powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Other specifications include 2GB of RAM and Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

SAMSUNG SERIES 7 SLATE PC FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Samsung Series 7 Slate PC is a Windows-based tablet computer with an 11.6 inch display. It has impressive hardware including an Intel Core i5 processor. The tablet offers support for both finger and stylus input.

Although Windows isn’t quite a touch-friendly operating system, a Windows tablet has some advantages over a tablet running Android. For one thing, it can run all Windows applications. Unfortunately most Windows tablets on the market have sluggish processors.

Worse still, they don’t have an active digitizer for stylus input. It is not easy to use a Windows tablet without the stylus. That means, most Windows tablets we have seen so far delivered below average performance to the point that people even questioned the viability of a Windows tablet. The Samsung Series 7 Slate PC is different. It is perhaps the best Windows tablet to hit the market and can probably replace a laptop computer.

The Samsung Series 7 Slate PC has a capacitive touch panel designed for finger inputs. It also features a Wacom active digitizer and digital pen which allows you to make precise inputs.

The tablet has an 11.6 inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The model with 64GB of storage costs $1049. If you are willing to spend an extra $200, you can get a model with 128GB of storage, a docking station and a Bluetooth keyboard. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-2467M processor and front (at 2 MP) and rear (at 3MP) facing cameras. The tablet has also got full-sized USB 2.0 ports, a u-HDMI output port and a micro SD card slot. The capacitive touchscreen display supports up to 10 touch inputs at the same time. The supported connectivity options are Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n and WiDi wireless display technology.

GOOGLE RELEASES ANDROID 4.0.3 SOFTWARE UPDATE

Google officially released the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich this week. This is the latest version of the company’s mobile operating system.

The first device to get the Android 4.0.3 update will be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone. Other phones and tablets should get the software soon as well. Note that this OS is optimized for both tablets and cell phones. That is, from now onwards, there will not be a separate version for the phone or the tablet.

So what are the new features of the OS? Well, this is a minor update which includes features such as the following.Developers can now write apps that can add color to calendar events. Android 4.0.3 includes improved graphics, Bluetooth and spell-checking features. The new OS allows apps that use the camera to check and manage video stabilization. What’s more, social apps can now sync data with individual contacts.

FUSION GARAGE GRID 10 TABLETS DELAYED

It looks like the Grid10 is going to be the next JooJoo tablet for Fusion Garage. The device started shipping this summer and at least a few units have been shipped but that is all we know at the moment. A number of customers who have placed their order are yet to receive their tablets. Worse still, Fusion Garage hasn’t updated its Twitter or Facebook accounts in several weeks.

The Fusion Garage website is offline too. And now the PR firm that represents Fusion Garage has threatened to stop working with them. So what may be happening?

Well, it is too early to predict that Fusion Garage has duped customers. But one thing is certain: the company is struggling and that is hardly surprising. The tablet space is becoming increasingly competitive by day.

When Fusion Garage started working on the Grid10 their idea was to sell the tablet for $499. The company, however, had to launch the tablet with a $299 price tag because at that point every other tablet maker was slashing prices. And now that Amazon has launched a decent tablet for just $200 even big-name companies are feeling the heat.

DELL RETIRING THE MINI LINE OF NETBOOKS

Within weeks of retiring the Streak 7 and Streak 5 Android tablets, Dell has pulled the plug on its Mini line of laptops too. If you search for the netbooks at Dell’s online store you get a variety of messages indicating that they are no longer available. Among the netbooks that are discontinued are the Inspiron 910 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 1012. The Inspiron Duo convertible tablet style netbook too is unavailable. The 9 and 10 inch netbooks are not available from Dell’s real world stores either. The 11.6 inch Inspiron 11z is still available in limited quantity.

That said, Dell is still offering the Latitude 2120 to business customers. But with a starting price tag of $469 it is way too expensive for an Atom-powered netbook. Meanwhile Dell has confirmed that it will no longer be building 10 inch or smaller netbooks. Instead Dell wants to focus on higher-end notebooks with high profit margins. The company is also expected to launch its first ultrabook sometime soon.

$200 PLAYBOOKS TO BE AVAILABLE AFTER CHRISTMAS

The BlackBerry PlayBook was available for as little as $200 in November, but those folks who didn’t manage to buy the tablet during that promotional window don’t have to lose to heart. The tablet will be on sale again after Christmas.

The US wireless carrier Sprint will be selling the tablet for $200 from December 26th and January 7th as part of its after-Christmas sale promotion.

The PlayBook is a nifty little device with impressive hardware. It has a 1GHz TI OMAP4 dual core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB / 32GB / 64GB of storage. The tablet has got front and rear cameras as well. While the hardware is quite competitive, the software has been a bit problematic. The PlayBook runs the BlackBerry Tablet OS. While that is a good OS it doesn’t have many native apps written for it. However, RIM has almost solved this problem by launching PlayBook OS 2.0 beta which allows you to run many Android apps on the tablet. And if you are willing to void the warranty you can root the tablet and install Google Android Market on it.

AMAZON SELLING A MILLION KINDLES A WEEK

Amazon is not known for providing precise sales figures of its Kindle line of tablets and ebook readers. However, according to a major announcement the retailer made yesterday, the Kindle products are fast flying off the shelves.

Amazon reportedly sells more than a millions Kindles per week. That figure includes all products bearing the Kindle name.

A number of Kindle devices are available at the moment. The Kindle eReader costs just $79. The WiFi enabled version of that is available for $99. The 3G-enabled version of the same device costs $149. You can also buy Kindle eReaders with keyboards. Kindle has always been the best-selling product on Amazon. But according to the latest sales figures released by Amazon, that position is now occupied by the recently launched Kindle Fire Android tablet.

It is a 7 inch device with a $199 price tag. It has a dual core processor and a high quality IPS display. Of course it lacks many features found on higher-end tablets but for its price it is a decent tablet.

APPLE COULD BE BUILDING A SMALLER IPAD

Apple could be working on a smaller iPad. The company’s flagship iPad has a 9.7 inch display. Not so long ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs had rubbished rumors that his company would build a smaller iPad. Jobs had said that existing iPad apps wouldn’t run well on tablets with smaller displays.

At that point the iPad faced hardly any competition in the market. The only other tablet that was selling reasonably well was the 7 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. Jobs, however, wasn’t even willing to acknowledge the Galaxy Tab as a tablet and ridiculed its small form factor. Now Jobs has gone. The tablet space has also witnessed tremendous changes. 7 inch tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire are now selling extremely well. They are cheap and although they don’t have iPad-like hardware, they are good enough for most users.

Word is that Amazon sells a million Kindles each week. That figure includes the Kindle eBook readers and Kindle Fire tablets. Now Digitimes report that Apple is working on a similar device. It will reportedly have a 7.85 inch display and it could launch before the fourth quarter of 2012.

Apple is reportedly buying 7.85 displays from LG and AU Optronics. Of course these could be used for building some other device so don’t be surprised if you find a large iPod Touch or a 7.85 inch Apple netbook.

850,000 BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOKS SOLD THIS YEAR

Research in Motion shipped 850,000 BlackBerry Playbooks this year 150,000 of which were sold during the quarter ending on November 26th. That is not a huge figure and clearly shows a remarkable dip in sales.

RIM has been aggressively promoting the tablet for a few months. The PlayBook launched earlier this year with a launch price of $499.99. Interestingly, during the quarter the tablet launched RIM managed to ship around 500,000 units. In the subsequent quarters, however, the demand was pretty low.

To reignite consumer interest in the tablet RIM dropped the price several times. In November you could pick up a PlayBook for as little as $200. Refurbished models were even cheaper.

The BlackBerry Playbook is a nice tablet with a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display. It is powered by a 1GHz TI OMAP4 dual core processor. The PlayBook has 1GB of RAM. It is available with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage. The tablet runs the BlackBerry Tablet OS. Although it is a nice OS, it doesn’t have many native apps written for it but RIM has kind of solved this issue by launching a new version of the OS which allows you to run Android apps on the tablet.

TOSHIBA INTRODUCES 10 INCH WINDOWS TABLET IN JAPAN

Toshiba has already launched a few Android tablets, but the company’s latest runs Windows 7 Professional operating system. It is aimed at business customers and will be available in Japan sometime soon.

The Toshiba Dynabook WT301/D has a 10.1 inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor. Other specifications include 2GB of RAM and a 64GB solid state disk. The tablet has two cameras – a VGA front-facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel camera on the rear side. The supported connectivity options are WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The tablet has also got stereo speakers, a standard-sized USB port and a micro HDMI output port.

The Toshiba Dynabook WT301/D is expected to be available in Japan in January. No word on pricing or availability in other countries.

ARCHOS TABLETS WITH 1.5GHz DUAL CORE PROCESSORS COMING SOON

The Archos 80 and Archos 101 G9 tablets will hit the market in time for Christmas. The Archos 80 has an 8 inch display while the Archos 101 G9 has a 10 inch display. Both models have 1.5GHz dual core processors. Archos already offers tablets with 8 inch and 10 inch displays. But these models have either 1 GHz or 1.2GHz processors.

The new Archos 80 and 101 G9 tablets run 350 Euros or less in Europe. No word on pricing or availability in the US. Incidentally, the Archos 80 and Archos 101 G9 tablets are the first tablets to ship with Google Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. They have official access to the Google Android Market. Archos has also designed some custom multimedia apps for the tablet. An update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is expected early next year.

TOSHIBA Z835 ULTRABOOK SELLING FOR $700 THIS WEEK

The Toshiba Z835 ultrabook is now available for as little as $699.99. It looks like it is a promotion which may not last forever, but this week you can pick up the Z835 for the afore-mentioned price.

Ultrabooks are ultrathin notebooks sporting Intel’s latest processors and fast and durable SSDs. They have fast boot and resume-from-sleep speeds. They aren’t exactly cheap: prices usually start at around $900.

The Toshiba Z835 too has a list price of $899.99. It has been available for a few weeks. It has a 13.3 inch, 1366 x 768 pixels display, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor. The notebook measures 0.6 inches in thickness and weighs 2.5 pounds. The Toshiba Z835 also has 1 USB 3.0 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Gigabit Ethernet and Intel HD integrated graphics. It comes standard with an 8-cell battery which will reportedly get up to 8 hours of runtime.

SAMSUNG BUILDING 14 INCH ULTRABOOK

Generally speaking, ulltrabooks are ultrathin laptops with 13.3 inch or smaller displays. But they can be larger too. Samsung has just announced that it is building ultrabooks with 14 inch displays. The new laptops will be part of Samsung’s Series 5 lineup. The company will reportedly offer 2 models.

One of these Series 5 ultrabook has a 14 inch display, an optical drive, 8GB of RAM and an Intel Core i5 processor and AMD HD7550M graphics. Two storage options are available. You can either configure the laptop with a 128GB SSD or opt for a hard drive which will be available in capacities of up to 1TB.

The laptop measures 0.8 inches in thickness and weighs about 4 pounds. The other model will have a 13.3 inch display. The new Series 5 ultrabooks are expected to start shipping in Korea later this month. They will have prices starting at the local equivalent of about $1120.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAMSUNG SERIES 7 SLATE PC

The Samsung Series 7 Slate PC is one of the few Windows tablets on the market. With a starting price of $1149, the Slate PC isn’t cheap. On the bright side, it has the hardware that kind of justifies its huge price tag. It is also designed to take full-advantage of the touch-based features of Windows 7 OS.

Since the Series 7 Slate PC runs Windows 7, it is capable of running all desktop applications. The tablet also comes pre-loaded with a touch-friendly app launcher.
The Series 7 Slate PC has a capacitive touchscreen display which makes it finger-friendly. The tablet also has an active digitizer that works with a digital pen. The stylus allows you to make precise inputs. Samsung also bundles the tablet with a Swype digital keyboard which is easier to use than the default Windows keyboard.

The Series 7 Slate PC also has an optional docking station which adds a wireless keyboard. The tablet has an 11.6 inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M processor and has 4GB of RAM.

Although it is a great tablet with impressive hardware, it is hard to say whether it will sell well. The prices of tablets have significantly fallen over the last few months. Now you can get a decent tablet for under $300. If you are willing to spend an extra $100, you can get a nice notebook. So, it is not exactly clear how many people will be interested in spending $1149 and more on a device that can’t offer the full functionality of a laptop.

7 INCH TOSHIBA THRIVE NOW AVAILABLE FOR $380

The 7 inch Toshiba Thrive Android tablet is now available for purchase for $379.99. At the price point it is kind of costly. Some big name companies like Amazon now sells decent tablets for as little as $200. That said, the Toshiba Thrive has better specifications than Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

The Toshiba Thrive is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and runs Google Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. The tablet has also got 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. The 7 inch display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. As for the ports, well, it has a micro HDMI port, microSD card slot and a mini USB port.

The 10 inch versions of the Thrive tablet have been available for a few months. It has standard-sized ports and a user replaceable battery. The 7 inch model doesn’t have standard-sized ports, but it is thinner and lighter.

AMD WORKING ON ITS OWN VERSION OF 'ULTRABOOKS'

Intel was the first to coin the term ‘ultrabook’. These are ultraportable laptops featuring Intel’s newest processors and solid state disks. They also feature fast boot and resume-from-sleep speeds. Ultrabook is now a registered trademark of Intel. That means you will never find an ultrabook with an AMD processor. That, however, doesn’t mean that AMD is taking things lying down. The company is reportedly working on its answer to the ultrabook. The new ultrathin notebooks featuring energy efficient AMD chips could hit the markets as early as January 2012.

In the not-so-distant-past, AMD chips were notoriously power hungry. They delivered good performance, but got poor battery life. Worse still, they generated a considerable amount of heat. Over the last few years, AMD has made its chips more power efficient. Now you can find plenty of ultraportable notebooks with AMD’s new Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) which have integrated CPU and graphics cores.

Intel also offers chips with integrated graphics. But AMD’s APUs have an edge over Intel’s low-voltage processors because they offer much better graphics performance.

The new ultrathin laptops from AMD could be powered by the AMD Brazos 2.0 chips which are significantly cheaper than the Core i-series processors powering Intel’s ultrabooks.

BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK GETS MAJOR SOFTWARE UPDATE

At the BlackBerry DevCon Asia 2011 developer conference BlackBerry announced that a major software update to its PlayBook tablet OS is ready. The PlayBook OS 2.0 will bring in folder support, Android app support and better user customization. That means, now you will be able to run Android apps on your Playbook. Another notable feature is the new customizable ‘favorites’ strip which allows you to launch apps at one touch.

BlackBerry launched the PlayBook without key features such as native email app and BlacKBerry Messenger. RIM had promised that a software update would add these functionalities, but unfortunately we have to wait a little longer because the OS 2.0 update too doesn’t include them.

The BlackBerry PlayBook is a nifty little device that scores well on build-quality, hardware and user interface. The tablet also offers excellent multitasking capabilities. But it lacks many key features BlackBerry is known for.

ASUS EEE PC X101CH CEDAR TRAIL ATOM LAPTOP UNBOXED

The Asus Eee PC X101CH sporting an Intel Cedar Trail processor has been caught on a video. It is an update to the previous generation Eee PC X101/X101H netbooks which had the Intel Atom N435 or N455 single core processors.

The Eee PC X101CH has an Intel Atom N2600 dual core processor. It runs Windows 7 Starter edition. A notable feature of the laptop is its HDMI output which allows you to transfer video to an external monitor.

The Eee PC X101CH also has 1GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, Blueooth, WiFi and a 3-cell battery. While the previous model had an SSD, this model apparently has an HDD. The laptop will reportedly retail for about 220-230 Euros. No word on availability at the moment.

SONY VAIO VPCEL22FX/B NOW SHIPPING FOR $350

The 15.5 inch Sony VAIO VPCEL22FX/B is now available for just $350. At that price point it is the cheapest VAIO on the market. Sony is not known for launching affordable laptops. Although the VAIO VPCEL22FX/B is cheap for a Sony laptop, many laptops having comparable specs are available on the market for less. But if the Sony brand name is important for you, this is a good opportunity to own a Sony without having to drop a bundle.

The Sony VAIO VPCEL22FX/B has a 1.65GHz AMD E-450 dual core Fusion processor and AMD Radeon integrated graphics. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and a DVD writer. The 15.5 inch LED backlit display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The laptop has also got 4 USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI output port, built-in webcam, a media card reader, Gigabit LAN, WiFi and a microphone.

The Sony Vaio VPCEL22FX/B has a charcoal black case with a textured black lid. It measures 1.5 inches in thickness and weighs six pounds.

TOSHIBA EXCITE AT200 ANDROID TABLET COMING SOON

Toshiba is getting ready to launch yet another Android tablet. The new Toshiba Excite AT200 will have a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixels display, just like the Thrive tablet. The Excite tablet, on the other hand, is thinner and lighter. It measures just 0.3 inches in thickness. While the Thrive has a NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, the Excite will feature a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual core processor.

The Toshiba Excite tablet will launch with Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. It will be available in two versions – one with 16GB of storage and another with 32GB of storage. Other specifications include a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera.

While the outstanding features of the Thrive tablet were its full sized USB, SD card and HDMI ports, the Excite sports micro versions of these ports. It also doesn’t have a user replaceable battery.

The Toshiba Excite tablet is expected to launch in Canada and Germany in January. No word on pricing or a launch date in the US.

SAMSUNG COULD LAUNCH AN 11.6 INCH TABLET WITH A 2560 X 1600 PIXELS DISPLAY

Word on the street is that Samsung is planning to launch an 11.6 inch tablet with a whopping 2560 x 1600 pixels density. If it is indeed true, then this tablet will have a pixel density comparable to the Retina display found on the new iPhone.

According to sources, the new Samsung tablet will have a thin bezel which means that it won’t be much larger than the 10 inch Galaxy Tab 10.1. It is also rumored to have a 2GHz Samsung Exynos dual core processor.

Samsung has been working on a 2560 x 1600 pixels 10 inch display for a while. So this rumor certainly seems plausible. What’s more, when the company launched its Exynos processor, it had made it clear that it would support really high screen resolutions.

Meanwhile Apple is also said to be working on an iPad with a Retina display.

ARCHOS 70 V2 GEN8 TABLET COMING SOON WITH ANDROID 3.2

Archos is all set to launch a successor to its Archos 70 Gen8 tablet. The 7 inch Archos 70 has been available since 2010. While the original Archos 70 had 256MB of RAM, the new version has 512MB. It also has a higher resolution (1024 x 600) display. The previous model had 800 x 480 pixels panel.

While most Archos tablets ship with Android 2.2, the new model has Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. Both tablets have the same TI OMAP3 processor.

The new version will be available with storage capacities of 8GB or more. It also has a microSD card slot for expanding storage.

The new Archos 70 V2 Gen8 tablet is expected to be available in early 2012. It will sell for about $199.

SEAGATE LAUNCHES MOMENTUS XT ST750LX003 HYBRID HARD DRIVE

Seagate has launched a next generation hybrid hard drive which combines SSD storage with traditional HDD platters. The new Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 spins at 7,200 rpm. It is essentially a SATA 2 6 Gbps hard drive with 8GB of SLC type NAND Flash memory embedded.
Flash-based Solid State Drives (SSDs) are faster and more durable than traditional hard drives. On the flip side, they are costly and only available in low storage capacities. Even a 64GB or 128GB SSD costs much more than a 500GB hard drive.

The biggest USP of the Momentus XT ST750LX003 is its high rotational speed and inclusion of SSD storage. It is also available in high storage capacities. In benchmark tests, the hybrid is not as fast as SSDs, but it is said to speed up booting and application loading.

Pricing and availability
The Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 is now available from retailer Newegg for $240.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE BUDGET-FRIENDLY TOSHIBA SATELLITE L775-S7307

The 17.3 inch Toshiba Satellite L775-S7307 desktop replacement laptop is now available from online stores of Best Buy for $350. But before you reach for your credit card bear in mind that you get what you pay for. The laptop doesn’t have a bleeding-edge processor. It is powered by a 2.1GHz Intel Pentium B950 processor. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, integrated Intel graphics and Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. The 17.3 inch display has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels.

The Toshiba Satellite L775-S7307 isn’t all that thin or light. It weighs 6.2 pounds and measures 1.5 inches in thickness. The notebook has also got a DVD burner, a 6-cell battery, WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, webcam, 3 USB 2.0 ports and a media card reader. There is an HDMI output port for transferring video to an external monitor. The laptop sports a Matrix Graphite finish.

HTC FLYER GETS ANDROID 3.2 UPDATE IN FRANCE

The HTC Flyer owners in France have started getting over the air (OTA) update to Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. The stylus-friendly tablet launched with Android Gingerbread a few months ago. The fact that the tablet-friendly Android Honeycomb was available at that point prompted many to question HTC’s decision to launch its tablet with an OS that had already become dated by then. HTC, however, promised an OS update and now the company has started delivering on its promise.

The 210MB OTA update is now only offered to Flyer owners of the 32GB version of the tablet with 3G connectivity.

Meanwhile, the latest version of Android – Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich – is already available via the Android Open Source Project. Interestingly, Android 4.0 also offers built-in support for stylus input. So wouldn’t it have been nicer if HTC had offered an Ice Cream Sandwich update?

By the way, the Samsung Galaxy Note which will soon launch on AT&T also runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Like the Flyer, it too, offers Stylus support. It is not clear whether the impending launch of Galaxy Note is what prompted HTC to offer an update to Honeycomb.

7 INCH TOSHIBA THRIVE ANDROID TABLET NOW SHIPPING

Toshiba has launched a 7 inch version of its Thrive tablet. The tablet is available at some lesser-known retailers like eCost and Applies Computer. While eCost lists the tablet for $468, Applied Computer sells it for $441. Interestingly the tablet is not yet available from big retailers like Best Buy or Amazon.

The 7 inch Toshiba Thrive has a 1280 x 800 pixels display. It is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. The tablet runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. The models that are currently listed have 32GB of storage. 16GB models will also be available.
The 7 inch Thrive tablet is thinner and lighter than its 10 inch sibling. While the 10 inch model had a user removable battery, the 7 inch model lacks that feature. As far as design is concerned, it has the same textured plastic cover which makes it kind of easy to hold in the hand.

Other features that are not available on the 7 inch model include full-sized USB port, SD card slot and HDMI output port. Instead it sports the micro versions of each port.

LENOVO LAUNCHES THINKPAD X130E RUGGED NOTEBOOK FOR STUDENT

Lenovo has launched a new Thinkpad notebook. The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e is aimed at students. Needless to say, it sports a rugged case with design elements such as recessed and reinforced ports, strong hinges and a rubber bumper on the top cover.

The ThinkPad X130e has an 11.6 inch display. It will start shipping towards the end of this month for prices starting at $469.

The laptops will be available with a choice of Intel or AMD processors. Both 3-cell and 6-cell battery options are available. Lenovo says that the 6-cell 62.4 Whr battery will provide up to 8.5 hours of runtime on a single charge. The laptop supports up to 8GB of RAM, up to 500GB hard drive and a VGA webcam. Other specifications include VGA, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, 3 USB 2.0 ports, WiFi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband and a flash card reader.

The Intel version of the laptop will have a Core i3-2367M processor. The AMD models are available with a choice of AMD E-300 or E-450 processor.

LG INTRODUCES XNOTE Z330 ULTRABOOK IN SOUTH KOREA

LG is the latest PC maker to throw its hat in the ultrabook ring. The company has just unveiled an ultrabook called LG Xnote Z330. The 13.3 incher will be available with a choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. The Xnote Z330 has a small screen bezel which means that it isn’t much larger than a 12 inch notebook.

The 13.3 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Like other ultrabooks on the market, the Xnote Z330 is also thin and light. It measures just 0.6 inches in thickness and weighs about 2.7 pounds. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, a 120GB or 256GB SSD, Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. The notebook also supports Intel’s WiDi wireless display technology.

The Xnote Z330 will launch in South Korea, where LG is headquartered, in December with prices starting at around $1500. No word on pricing or availability outside of Korea.

An ultrabook is an ultrathin laptop with solid state disks and Intel’s latest processor. Besides LG other PC makers that have launched ultrabooks include Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo and HP.

ASUS K53E-BBR4 NOW AVAILABLE FOR $450

The Asus K53E-BBR4 has had a major price drop. The 15.6 incher has an Intel Core i5-2430M Sandy Bridge processor. That Core i5-processor is the kind you would find in mainstream laptops running $700 or above. But the K53E is now available for just $450.

The Intel Core i5-2430M is a dual core processor with a normal clock speed of 2.4GHz. In the Turbo Boost mode it can reach up to 3.0GHz.

The $450 K53E doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card and that is hardly surprising. Instead it ships with integrated Intel graphics. The 15.6 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, DVD burner and a 500GB hard drive spinning at 5,400 rpm. The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium operating system and comes standard with a 6-cell battery.

TheAsus K53E-BBR4 also has a Chiclet-style keyboard, a 0.3 megapixel webcam, integrated stereo speakers, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a multi-in-one media card reader, HDMI and VGA output ports, Gigabit LAN and WiFi. It doesn’t have Bluetooth.

MIPS UNVEILS $100 TABLET WITH ANDROID 4.0

Chip designer MIPS has announced a $100 tablet with Android 4.0 operating system. Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich is the first version of Android optimized for both tablets and phones.

The MIPS Novo 7 tablet has a 1GHz Ingenic Xburst processor which may not be able to run some of the apps designed for Android. Other specifications include a 7 inch capacitive touchscreen display, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, USB 2.0 port and front and rear cameras. The tablet also has an HDMI output port and will reportedly be able to handle 1080p HD video PlayBack.
The Novo 7 tablet is already available in China. It is expected to be available in other countries sometime soon.

Up until now cheap tablets had to ship with older versions of Android like Gingerbread because only selected partners had Google’s permission to launch tablets with the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. The Android 4.0, on the other hand, will be available to all and sundry. That means even dirt cheap tablets will be able to sport the most recent version of Android. They will also have official access to Google Android Market and other Google certified apps like Gmail and YouTube.

On the flip side, budget-tablets will have components that match their price tag. Just because they run the most recent version of Android, you can’t expect them to deliver the same performance as a tablet running $400 or above.

GIGABYTE UNVEILS T1006 CONVERTIBLE TABLET STYLE NETBOOK

A certain Gigabyte convertible tablet-style netbook has showed up at the FCC website. The Gigabyte T1006 has a 10.1 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor although we don’t know which Atom processor we are talking about. Other specifications include Intel GMA 3650 integrated graphics, VGA, HDMI, 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0 and 1 eSATA / USB combo port.

The supported connectivity options are Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and optional 3G. No word on pricing or availability at the moment.

A convertible tablet style netbook offers the full functionality of a tablet and a laptop. These computers usually sport a swivel which allows you to rotate the display down over the keyboard for using the device in tablet mode. They also come with a full copy of Windows. On the flip side, they are much heavier than typical tablet computers.

APPLE FAILS TO BAN SAMSUNG FROM SELLING ITS GALAXY TAB 10.1 TABLET

Samsung can continue selling its Galaxy line of smartphones and Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet in the US. Apple had filed a law suit against the Korean company alleging that some of its smartphones and latest tablets infringe on their copyright. While Apple managed to obtain a preliminary injunction against Samsung in Germany, in the US a federal court denied a request for a similar ban.

There is a chance that Apple could win the case at the trail stage and then Samsung will have to pull its devices from the market. But right now, Samsung is free to sell its tablets and smartphones.

Apple has been haunting Samsung with law suits for a while. Samsung has also filed some cases against Apple. So far none of these cases have reached a final ruling.

DELL DISCONTINUES STREAK 7 ANDROID TABLET

Dell has pulled the plug on its 7 inch tablet called Dell Streak 7. The Streak 7 was supposed to be a successor to the 5 inch Streak 5. Neither tablet is now available for sale online. In other words, Dell currently has no Android tablets for sale. The company still offers a couple of convertible tablet style netbooks.

The Dell Streak 7 launched with Android 2.2 earlier this year. The tablet got lousy reviews thanks to its ridiculously low resolution display and a dated operating system. The demand, too, was far below expectation. Meanwhile Dell will continue to offer accessories for the tablet. The company will reportedly also offer an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Both WiFi only and 4G versions of the tablet were available. T-Mobile, however, stopped selling the 4G-model a couple of months ago.

ACER LAUNCHES ICONIA TAB A200 ANDROID TABLET

Acer has officially unveiled its Iconia Tab A200 Android tablet. A couple of days ago the company had launched a promotional video for the same. Now we have other details too including a press release, launch information and spec sheet.

In terms of looks, the Iconia Tab A200 isn’t all that different from the Acer Iconia Tab A500. There are some differences though. The A200 will run Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system. Acer will reportedly offer an update to Android 4.0 in January. The new model is available in two colors: red and gray.

The Iconia Tab A200 has a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixels display. It is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. The tablet will be available in two models – one with 8GB of storage and the other with 16GB of storage. Other specifications include 1GB of RAM, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS. There is a microSD card slot for expanding storage. Acer says that the 24.1Whr battery will get up to 8 hours of video playback time.

ARCHOS LAUNCHES ARNOVA A9 G2 ANDROID TABLET

A certain Archos tablet called Arnova A9 G2 has made an appearance at the FCC website. The Arnova 9 G2 has a 9.7 inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It runs the dated Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. The tablet has a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 single core processor. It can recognize five finger multitouch input at the same time.

The Arnova 9 G2 has built-in stereo speakers, a front-facing camera and a G-sensor. The tablet is also capable of handling 1080p HD video playback.

There is still no word on pricing or availability, but the tablet’s appearance at the FCC website is a good sign that it is nearing its launch in the US.

Archos is known for its line of cheap Android tablets. These machines are no iPad alternatives, but if your needs are limited, they are worth considering. They support a wide range of audio and video codecs and can also be used to surf the web.

ACER SAYS THAT ULTRABOOKS COULD SELL FOR $499 BY 2013

Ultrabooks are a new category of ultraportable computers with Intel’s latest processors and solid state disks. Although Intel said that they would cost less than $1000, only the entry level models sport that price tag. Higher-end models have prices ranging between $1500 and $2000. But PC makers are hoping that competition will drive prices down.

According to Intel within the next two years, ultrabooks will account for as much as 40% of all laptop sales. Acer seems to echo the same belief. The company says that the starting price of ultrabooks could be as low as $499 by year 2013. The company is hoping that huge demand will bring down the prices of components. However, this will not happen if the existing generation of ultrabooks doesn’t sell.

Right now it looks like there is no huge demand for ultrabooks. And that is hardly surprising. Few people are actually interested in spending $1000 on a Core i5 laptop just because it weighs just 2.5 pounds. You can get an AMD Fusion powered laptop for half the price. That machine, too, is capable of meeting the computing needs of most users.

There is no denying the fact that ultrabooks are better than most other ultraportable laptops on the market. They are faster, lighter and thinner. But the truth is that few people need that kind of computing power.

ASUS EEE PAD TRANSFORMER PRIME REVIEW ROUNDUP

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime can proudly claim to be the fastest Android tablet on the market. It is the first device to sport the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor which also comes bundled with high performance graphics.

The Eee Pad Transformer Prime has a 10.1 inch Super IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Other features include 1GB of RAM, an excellent camera and an optional keyboard dock. The standalone tablet costs around $500. The keyboard dock costs an extra $150.
First reviews of the tablet have already hit the cyberspace. Here is a round up.

The first impressions are pretty good. In benchmark tests the Transformer Prime beats every other Android tablet on the market. In graphics tests, however, the iPad 2 still scores better. Most reviewers have liked the aluminum casing and Super IPS display. The display is reportedly quite readable in direct sunlight.

Engadget isn’t all that happy with the sharp edges of the tablet. They are, however, happy with the overall performance. Slash Gear reports that the tablet gets excellent battery life. According to their reviewer, the Transformer Prime could be a cheaper alternative to MacBook Air.

SUBSCRIBE

Categories

Online Readers

Follow Me

Contact Us

Latest Comments

Hot Stories

Laptop Sites