ASUS has announced that they will be releasing a 7 inch tablet that will function as both a full featured tablet, and phone.

Wasn’t it a couple of years ago that Blackberry released a 5 inch phone / tablet?  And it failed because it was too big to be used as a phone?  People complained that the size was impracticable, too big, some said they could not hold it in their hand.

Then Samsung released a version of their 7 inch Galaxy Tab II that has phone support, then Samsung released the 5 inch Galaxy Note, then a 7 inch Galaxy Note, both of which supported phone features.  AND buyers were gobbling these up by the millions.

Now, ASUS has announced a 7 inch variety that will do the same thing.  Blackberry was, indeed, ahead of its time.

I doubt that anyon … (read more…)

Previously, Android was limited to running on devices with an ARM processor, such as the NVDIA, Samsung and Qualcomm processors.  However, Intel has been working hard to grab a larger share of the market that currently uses ARM processors.

Intel released the Atom line of processors as a low power SoC (System on Chip) to support the x86 based operating systems, such as Windows.  So, it was ARM for Android, and x86 for Windows.  Until now…..

Last year, Intel announced a version of their SoC Atom processor family designed for smartphones and tablets.  Based on a partnership between Intel and Google, this new Atom processor will support the Android operating system.

Initially, the Atom family was not designed to support the Linux/Android ope … (read more…)

HP is getting back into the Android arena with their announcement of the HP Slate 7.  AND they are slapping the competition with a price tag of only $169.

The tablet will have limited hardware features, but will be running the full version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The 7-inch screen will have a resolution of 1,024 x 600, and will have 8 GB of storage.  The microSD memory card slot allows for expanded storage space.  The 1.6 GHz dual-core processor will give it the power required to excel in the small tablet market.

Sony(read more…)

We have a couple of new versions of Windows, curiosity of Microsoft, to add confusion to the already multiple versions of Windows on PCs today.  Let me try to clarify what the new stuff is all about.

All the rage these days is about tablet PCs.  Microsoft built some limited touch screen functions in the latest version of Windows 7, however, it basically sucks compared to iOS and Android.  As usual, Microsoft was behind the eight ball working veraciously trying to catch up.  And catch up they did.  In fact, Microsoft not only delivered an operating system that competes with iOS and Android, they redefined what a touch screen OS should do.

Now, iOS and Android are working hard to catch up.  Way to go Microsoft!!

Windows 8 comes in three varieties, Windows RT (Run-Time), Windows 8, and Wind … (read more…)

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110

Lenovo has released their own version of an Android tablet PC with a detachable keyboard.  This tablet is equipped with a dual core Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor, Android 4.0, 1GB RAM, and your choice of 16 or 32Gb of internal storage.  I recommend the 32GB version since this tablet does not seem to have an memory card slot on the tablet.  However, the keyboard dock does have a 3-in-1 card reader which supports up to 32GB.

While this tablet is missing the latest quad core feature, which most o … (read more…)

Official Windows 8 Release Date: Oct 26th

FINALLY, we have a firm date for Windows 8. With all the rumors and discussions going around, we all knew it would be sometime in the first part of the last quarter of this year.

Be ready for a slew of new hardware to be released at the same time.  All the big manufacturers are developing tablets, ultrabooks, and notebooks with the new hardware requirements that Windows 8 will demand.  Most are developing both machines with x86 processors to run the full Windows 8 version, plus ARM tablets that will run the Windows RT version.

Except for HP, they are not initially developing a ARM tablet for Windows RT.  Maybe they still have the taste of sour grapes from their failed webOS TouchPad experience.

A couple of hardwar … (read more…)

Great Little Tablet at a Great Little Price

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet PC is now available to purchase from many sources. The $199 8GB version is only available so far from the Google Play website, but the $249 16GB version is available at other sources. Amazon has the 8GB version for sell for $279, seems that they don’t like the $199 competition.

Is this the best tablet so far? No, not really when you look at the ASUS 700T, the Nexus 7 is a toy.  However, as far as 7 inch tablets go, this is the best thing to hit the market.

Amazon shook up the market when they released their $199 Fire tablet, however, it uses a highly customized version of an old version of Android.  So its features and functions are limited.  But that is what Amazon wanted, limit the custom … (read more…)

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity

This beauty with a metallic spun finished design and a 8.5mm ultra-slim profile makes the Infinity proud to be seen with.  ASUS has released this tablet as an entertainment solution with a 1920 x 1200 Full HD screen that also features an ultra-bright 600 nits outdoor readable Super IPS+ display, plus their SonicMaster sound technology, makes this a great tablet for watching HD movies, or playing high resolution games.

This tablet comes with two options for processors depen … (read more…)

Google Makes the Nexus 7 Tablet Official

Google finally made the rumored Nexus 7 tablet PC official with its announcement at the Google I/O conference. The introduction of this tablet will shake up the industry even more than the Amazon Fire release.

When Amazon released their Fire tablet PC for $199, it shook things up since it was the first well supported tablet released at such a low price.  However, it contained limited functionality since it was using Amazon’s trimmed down, and highly customized version of Android for an operating system.

Enter into the market the Google Nexus 7 tablet PC.  This is a fully functional advanced piece of hardware, but is also selling at the low price of $199.  Did you get that? FULLY FUNCTIONAL ADVANCED tablet w … (read more…)

Acer Releases A700 Quad-Core Android 4 10 inch tablet

Acer has just released their Iconia A700 Quad-core, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) 10 inch tablet PC. This tablet carries a price of $449.99, and is now available for purchase.

The Iconia A700 has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 with a aspect ratio of 16:10 showing a 1080P display.  Combined with the Tegra 3 Quad-core processor, and Android 4.0, this 10 inch tablet is … (read more…)