Just days after Barnes & Noble reversed course and began allowing NOOK owners access to over 700,000 apps and games (and books?) from the Google Play Store, both the HD and HD+ versions have received heavy price cuts. For the next week, you can pickup a NOOK HD tablet starting at just $150 (25% savings) and a NOOK HD + for $179 (34% savings). These savings are also available online and in-store from Best Buy. As of right now Barnes & Noble are saying these price cuts are temporary but we’re getting the feeling that they could become the new norm.
There is a good chance these price drops are in response to the Kindle Fire HD sale Amazon launched over the weekend.
Google is serious about its Nexus 7. So serious that it is advertising the product on its front page—something that it rarely does for anything. The short animation appears below the search bar and tells searchers that” The Playground is open – The new $199 tablet from Google”.
The OnLive Desktop app launched today on Android Market and costs $5, just like its iOS counterpart that released about three weeks ago. Tapping the power of the cloud and leveraging OnLive’s streaming technology that powers its on-demand gaming service, the OnLive Desktop app puts a Windows 7 virtual machine right at your fingertips and on an Android tablet. You also get access to Microsoft Office applications and 2GB of free cloud storage. The app requires Android 2.3 and is tested on the Acer Iconia Tab A500, Asus Eee TF101, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, 10.1, and HTC Jetstream.
Android smartphones are definitely putting on a great show. As the total number of Android devices around the world jets past 300 million and 850,000 devices get activated each day, nobody in their right mind would argue that Android has become the most powerful platform. It exceeded an estimated 50 percent of the market for smartphones both globally and in the United States. The same cannot be said for Android tablets. Whilst Android-driven slates saw a much-needed uptick since the arrival of tablet-optimized Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software, Apple’s iPad still dominates the once niche and now rising market segment.
Google is well aware of its shortcomings in the tablet arena and the company is ready to “double down on tablets,” according to its mobile head Andy Rubin. He toldThe Vergethat in two years some 12 million Android tablets were sold—the figure he called “not insignificant, but less than I’d expect it to be if you really want to win.” He is hoping that “2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we’re winning in that space.” Acknowledging the overall lack of high-quality apps is an issue resulting in many prospective buyers considering Apple’s iPad, Rubin urged developers to “put in the muscle and make their apps work great on tablets.”
By the way, we wonder if by “doubling down” Rubin meant a self-branded 7-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet said to arrive by summer with a $199 price tag. Also, it was not immediately clear from the report whether the 12 million figure includes the millions of Fire tablets Amazon sold thus far (likely not, as that device runs forked Android software), but clearly Samsung has done a lot here to help push Android slates.
ChangeWave Research published an interesting survey today proving that people are really loving their Kindle Fire tablet, with more than half of the respondents (54 percent) being “Very Satisfied” with Amazon’s Android-driven tablet versus 74 percent for Apple’s iPad and 49 percent for other tablets. Whilst Amazon is believed to be selling the $199 tablet at a loss, content spending among the Fire owner benefits the online retailer over time.
Specifically, post-purchase spending at Amazon.com is up, with nearly one-third of respondents (29 percent) claiming they will spend more at Amazon in the next 90 days versus just 19 percent for non-Kindle owners. ChangeWave Research, a service of 451 Research, included a look at the reaction of Kindle Fire owners to their gizmo. Price was the determining factor for a whopping 59 percent of owners, followed by its color screen at 31 percent, ease of use at 27 percent and selection of e-reading material at 20 percent…
Samsung’s seven-inch Galaxy Tab was launched last year on September 2 at the IFA in Berlin and as of April of 2011 they managed to ship six million units worldwide. A year later, the Korean company has updated the tablet with a thinner form factor and a speedier processor. It’s also gotten a new name to convey the enhancements to buyers, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. According to Samsung’s press release, the new version supports faster 3G HSPA+ connectivity and runs a speedier 1.2GHz processor versus the “Hummingbird” 1GHz chip found inside its predecessor. It also features WiFi Channel Bonding which bonds two wireless channels into one for improved network connection and data transfer at up to twice the speed.
The device is 9.96mm thick and weighs in at 345 grams. This compares to 11.98 millimeter depth and 380 grams of weight of the original Galaxy Tab 7.0. The front camera is of a 2.0-megapixel variety (1.2 megapixels on the original model), and RAM has been bumped up from 512MB to 1GB. On the software front, the Plus runs Android Honeycomb 3.2 which is optimized for seven-inch devices, in addition to Samsung’s latest TouchWiz user interface. Other specs are left unchanged, including 16/32GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD card slot, a three-megapixel camera on the back and a 4000 mAh battery. The new devices launches at the end of October in Austria and Indonesia, Samsung said, followed by a U.S. launch and the global roll out. Full specs after the break.
Toshiba has announced their 7-inch tablet this afternoon, which will be available in December for ‘under $400’. The specs for the device are pretty nice: a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, Android 3.2, a 5-megapixel rear-shooter, 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, and 1280 x 800 display.
The little guy is also pretty light — only .88 lb. Check out This is my next’shands-on above!
A seven-inch Amazon tablet priced at $250 or less will compete against inexpensive Android tablets such as Lenovo’s $199 IdeaPad A1 (pictured above) or the $249 Nook color
Amazon is reportedly launching its inaugural Android tablet in the fourth quarter of this year. If the back office chatter is true, the online retailer will first out a seven-incher followed by a larger form-factor device(s) early next year. The latest news has the seven-inch Kindle Tablet costing $250 or less. However, market sources polled by DigiTimeswarn of a lack of differentiation between Amazon’s dedicated Kindle e-readers and a seven-inch Android tablet:
Market observers are showing concerns as to how Amazon will differentiate its e-book reader market from that of its tablet while making profits for both after the company’s launch of the 7-inch tablet in fourth-quarter 2011. […] The sources also pointed out that Amazon may run a risk by releasing a 7-inch tablet when 10-inch models have mostly outperformed 7-inch competition over the past six months.
Shipping estimates have been revised and now call for a million units by the end of this month, “but the sources remain skeptical whether Amazon can meet its shipment goal of four million units in 2011”.
Now, about that differentiation comment. TechCrunch’s MG Siegler who saw prototypes described a seven-inch device without cameras. He said the screen used is a regular LCD as opposed to a color display utilizing electronic ink technology many people have been hoping for.
The fact Amazon could be marketing this thing under the Kindle moniker won’t help either, if true. On the flipside, there’s no reason as to why an Amazon-branded Android tablet tied to their all-encompassing cloud and shopping services would ever be confused with a family of dedicated and inexpensive Kindle e-readers.
The latest in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and its key components supplier, Samsung, comes via Bloomberg which reported this morning that Apple may be pushed into revealing iPad 2 sales numbers in England and America if the company is to increase chances of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 blockage in Australia:
Apple Inc. may have to reveal iPad and iPad 2 sales figures in the U.K. and U.S. to improve its chances of barring Samsung Electronics Co. from selling the Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer in Australia, a judge said. Apple’s claim that the Samsung tablet’s release in Australia will hurt iPad sales may carry little weight if it doesn’t provide the numbers, Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett said in Sydney Federal Court today. ‘Unless Apple puts on evidence showing the impact in the U.S. or U.K., I can’t draw any positive assumptions,’ Bennett said.
Apple sought an injunction on Samsung’s tablet in Australia until the patent spat is resolved. Apple is claiming that the obvious similarities between Samsung’s family of Galaxy smartphones and tablets are hurting their sales. Apple in prior court documents referred to Samsung as the “copyist”. Recently, Samsung in America asserted Apple ripped off the iPad design from the Stanley Kubrick 1969 film “2001: A Space Odyssey” to argue Apple’s patents should be invalidated under prior art. Judge Bennett would leave it up to Apple to determine whether or not it would be willing to provide court with sales figures. Whichever way you look at it, that’s an interesting twist in this litigation…
Trade publication DigiTimesquoted market sources this morning who heard that the online retail giant, Amazon, is gearing up for mass production of another tablet, a 10.1-inch device, for the first quarter of next year. The world’s largest contract manufacturer, Foxconn, will take care of manufacturing, the report notes. Foxconn is also Apple’s long-time manufacturing partner and they make gadgets and computers for a number of Western brands.
While the report doesn’t cast more light on the device, the screen size suggests a Honeycomb-class tablet. The story does corroborate an AndroidMeclaim back in May that Amazon has been working on a family of mobile devices powered by the Android software.
Amazon is also in the process of tweaking its web shopping site to mobile access, apparently in preparation for its inaugural tablet launch next month. That device is said to be a seven-inch slate tightly integrated with Amazon’s cloud and content services.
DigiTimes’ report also notes Amazon placed an order for up to eighteen million Kindle units for the entire year, confirming their lead in the e-reader market with an estimated 60-70 percent share of global e-book reader shipments in 2011.
This is interesting. Amazon appears to be testing a redesign of its shopping web site that appears to be specifically optimized for tablet browsing. The Next Webdiscovered several tweaks which seem to be accessible only to a small number of users who are testing out the new design. These include the more prominent search bar and bigger controls, so you don’t have to sand your fingers down.
Another tell-tale sign: The new site gives prominence to Amazon’s tablet-friendly services such as Instant Video, MP3 Store, Cloud Player, Kindle, Cloud Drive, AppStore for Android, Game and Software Downloads and Audiobooks. Yes, we might be reading too much into it, but this feels like a part of launch preparations for the rumored Amazon tablet.
Forrester’s Sarah Rotman Epps predicts bright future for the Amazon tablet, which in her own words will “be synonymous with ‘Android’ on tablets” a year from now (disclosure: Epps was wrong on predicting iPad numbers plummeting back in June). She wrote in a note to clients Monday that Amazon could sell five million tablet units in the fourth quarter, considerably more than the 3.27 million iPads Apple sold in its first quarter, adding:
Enter Amazon.com, whose tablet can compete on price, content, and commerce. If it’s launched at the right price with enough supply, we see Amazon’s tablet easily selling 3 million to 5 million units in Q4 alone, disrupting not only Apple’s product strategy but other tablet manufacturers’ as well.
A recent survey from Nielsen revealed that a tablet from Amazon marrying e-reading features of the Kindle to the computing capabilities of tablets could appeal to wide demographics. Nielsen says women now amount to a whopping 61 percent of e-reader owners, up from 46 percent last year. As for tablet and smartphone adoption, women climbed only by four and three percentage points in the period, respectively. The numbers led Silicon Alley Insider to joke that “women are from Amazon, men are from Apple”.
Samsung on Monday promised to challenge Apple’s copyright infringement claims in Australia. Specifically, news agencies report, the Korean consumer electronics maker said today it “will continue to actively defend its right to launch the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia”. Reutersreports that the company confirmed plans to delay the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch in Australia until after a court ruling in late September on its ongoing legal spat with Apple. Furthermore, Samsung will file a counterclaim with the Australian court in the coming days, seeking to invalidate Apple’s patents plus another one asserting a patent infringement on Apple’s part:
Today, Samsung informed the Federal Court of Australia it intends to file a cross claim against Apple Australia and Apple Inc regarding the invalidity of the patents previously asserted by Apple and also a cross claim against Apple regarding violation of patents held by Samsung by selling its iPhones and iPads
According toThe Sydney Morning Herald, a hearing before the Australian court is due September 26 and 29 and Samsung agreed “not to sell or advertise” the tablet before September 30. The article also mentions the possibility of a high-profile testimony by both parties:
Apple and Samsung returned to court this afternoon, with Samsung agreeing not to sell or advertise the Galaxy Tab 10.1 before September 30. Apple will detail the specific patents involved in the case by this Friday and will provide a more comprehensive statement of facts by September 5. Samsung will provide points in answer by September 16, with the case going to a formal hearing on September 26 and 29. It was indicated today that top executives and inventors from both Apple and Samsung may appear in person or over video link to explain their patents.
So now we have a pretty good idea about that “big thing” Samsung recently promised. SammyHubreports that the Korean consumer electronics maker will demo a new Galaxy S II smartphone at the IFA trade show scheduled to run September 2-7, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. It’ll feature 4G connectivity and Samsung intends to pitch it as the first true world phone capable of connecting to LTE, GSM and WCDMA cellular networks.
The device will also sport slightly revised specs, including a bigger 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth, eight-megapixel camera with flash and a 1850mAh battery. The 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab tablet will also get LTE and a 1.5GHz processor, in addition to a 1280-by-800 pixel resolution display and a three-megapixel camera. The company should reveal US launch plans August 29 at a major product announcement to take place in New York City.
The Amazon tablet we’ve been hearing about every now and then in past weeks is inching closer to release, folks. Industry publication DigiTimesreported this morning that Amazon picked a third supplier for touch panel parts as it gears up for manufacturing. Looks like TPK Holdings will be joining Wintek and JTouch as suppliers, the publication wrote:
Amazon, considering that the supply of 7-inch touch panels by Wintek and JTouch may not be sufficient for use in its tablet PCs, has decided to add TPK Holding as a third supplier, according to industry sources.
Shipments will begin in September, Wintek “stressed”. Note the may-not-be-sufficient part in the above quote, suggesting a likely increase of the original two million launch units. Amazon allegedly planned on unveiling its inaugural tablet in October, around the same time Apple was rumored to bring iPad 3 to market. At first, the online retailer had experienced difficulties sourcing parts because Apple pretty much locked out other vendors until mid-July they signed up Foxconn, Apple’s long-standing manufacturing partner, to produce the Amazon tablet. Surprisingly, Amazon even went on to become the largest buyer of tablet parts. A market survey has it that…
Telefonino.nettoday leaked (viaBGR) a bunch of upcoming Samsung devices. The mega-leak includes seven Android-driven phones and two tablets and three phones powered by Samsung’s own Bada operating system. Heck, the company is even working on their inaugural Windows Phone ‘Mango’ handset.
Starting off with tablets, the P6200 looks like the original Galaxy Tab successor. This seven-inch Honeycomb slate boasts a 1024-by-600 pixel Super AMOLED display plus front and back cameras for capturing video and conducting video calls. It will come in both WiFi-only and 3G HSDPA version.
As for the phones, Samsung appears to be going all out on the hardware front. Take the I9220, for example. This Gingerbreak phone runs a 1.4GHz processor, has an eight-megapixel camera and packs in a spacious, juicy 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display sporting a 1280-by-720 pixel resolution display, meaning it can render HD 720p video natively, without rescaling.
Then there is the I9210, another Gingerbread phone with a slightly larger 4.5-inch SuperAMOLED display, 4G connectivity and an eight-megapixel camera with LED flash. The sickest of them all has to be the I9250 superphone. Probably your next handset, it rocks a monstrous 4.65-inch SuperAMOLED display with native 720p resolution (1280-by-720 pixels), the obligatory five megapixel camera (what, no eight-megapixels?) and Android Ice Cream, the latest and greatest version of Android due for release in the fourth quarter of 2011. But wait, that’s not all – six more phones after the break. Expand Expanding Close
We previously told you that HTC is gearing up to launch a tablet with a stylus later this year. They are calling it the Puccini and it’s said to include a 10.1-inch display plus a 1.5GHz processor, 4G LTE modem and HTC’s Sense interface on top of Honeycomb software. Today, their finance chief Winston Yung indicated that the device might launch at the end of the third quarter or early fourth quarter, reportsDigiTimes, quoting the Chinese-language Liberty Times. It’s the first official confirmation we’ve gotten concerning the Puccini launch date and with a fourfold sales increase in China, the Puccini should be off to a nice start.
The company should also benefit from an increase of sales outlets in the country from 650 to about 2,000 by the end of the year. HTC is embroiled in a legal spat with Apple over an alleged patent infringement involving the iPhone. Today, HTC countersued Apple, Reutersreported, charging that Macs and all iOS devices infringe upon their patents, a day following Google’s stunning $12.5 billion takeover bid for Motorola Mobility. Per latest Nielsen survey, HTC is America’s #2 smartphone maker and the nation’s leading Android vendor accounting for a 14 percent of all Android smartphones sold. The company shipped 12.1 million phones in the second quarter for a 104 percent revenue growth year-over-year.
ABI Research analyst Jeff Orr is reporting that Android tablets captured 20% of the iPad’s market share this past year. Orr lists high prices and fragmentation as to why it wasn’t more.
Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple. In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.
If Google and manufacturers can become competitive in pricing, which to their credit we are seeing, and less fragmentation — which Honeycomb seems to be addressing, Android should be off to the races. (via CNet) Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is showing no signs of downplaying their tablet marketing amid the ugly patent spat with Apple. On Thursday the company aired a trio of new adverts that pitch its Galaxy Tab tablet as being “thinner”, “lighter” and “faster”, presumably compared to the market-leading iPad. The “Lighter” commercial brags about the Galaxy Tab weighing in “at a dainty 565 grams – as light and portable as they come“. iPad 2 weighs in at 601 grams.
The “Thinner” advert says their tablet “does what other tablets can only dream of”, underscoring “the sleek design you’ve come to expect of all Samsung Galaxy Tabs”. iPad 2’s profile measures 8.8mm versus 8.6mm for Samsung’s device. Interestingly, design is one of the treats Apple said Samsung “slavishly copied” from them.
The “Faster” commercial touts Galaxy Tab’s processors capable of “handling even the largest of video files with ease” and making “buffering a relic of the past”. Go past the fold to check out the remaining two Galaxy Tab commercials.
A Digitimes Researchsurvey of tablet shipment expectations for 2011 indicates that Apple will retain its lead by a large margin, but also signals the Cupertino, California firm’s share of the tablet market dropping as Android vendors have begun flooding the marketplace with non-Apple tablets in various forms, shapes, sizes and price points. The report says shipments are expected to surpass 65 million this year, up more than 200 percent from 2010. “While Apple remains the dominant player with its iPad line, other major vendors have looking to gain traction in this booming market”, the report notes.
Some 40 million tablets should be sold between June and December, with Apple growing 76 percent compared to H2 2010 and clearing 25.5 million units in H2 2011. This compares to 15.65 million non-Apple tablets predicted in the second half of 2011, a 65 percent increase versus the first half of 2011. This puts Apple’s H2 2011 share of the tablet market at 61 percent versus 39 percent for all other vendors combined. This isn’t bad at all, but it’s worth noting that Apple’s choke hold grip on the tablet market is easing as consumers face tablet choices other than iPad. Research firm Strategy Analytics pegged Apple’s share of the tablet market in the June quarter at 61.3 percent, while Android tablets have gone from 2.9 percent market share in June 2010 to 30.1 percent in June 2011. Also…
Samsung today issued the following statement announcing its planned Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch event in Australia has been postponed, citing legal spat with Apple (viaGizmodo):
In light of the current legal proceedings by Apple Inc. against Samsung Electronics Australia, Samsung regrets to announce it will be postponing its media launch event, scheduled for 11th August 2011, for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The company will announce a new date for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 media launch event “as soon as practicable”. It’s another PR blow for Samsung Mobile which has thus far confused the press with inconsistent messages about the Australia situation…
In what is another indication of a rumored Amazon tablet, Taiwanese trade publication, DigiTimes, this morning quoted sources from the supply chain who said Amazon has become the second largest buyer of tablet parts as component suppliers are lining up to provide parts for Amazon’s seven- and ten-inch slates. That’s a notable change from previous reports asserting Apple had gobbled up pretty much the entire supply of tablet parts. The Amazon devices are apparently due for a fourth quarter launch and the online retail giant is targeting to ship four million tablet PCs this year.
The publication named suppliers which include an unnamed processor from Nvidia, gravity sensors from Sitronix and touch panels from Wintek (also an Apple supplier) in addition to J Touch and Chunghwa Picture Tubes. Note that the mention of the seven-inch Amazon tablet probably means a new Kindle e-reader while the ten-incher most likely refers to a brand new Android-powered tablet said to be integrated with their cloud stores carrying mobile apps, music, movies, e-books and other digital warez. A Retrevo survey indicated that 79 percent of buyers would consider an Amazon tablet if priced less than $250. Apple is said to be considering cheaper components for next iPad amid the increasing pricing pressure in the market.
Much has been said about a rumored Amazon tablet so far. It should be based on Android, we are told, and Asian source have chimed in with their share of leaks, the latest being that Taiwanese contract manufacturers have begun producing the gizmo, presumably for a Fall launch. But will you take the plunge? That’s what research firm Retrevo set out to figure out in a July study stemming from polling over a thousand online individuals in the US. Key takeaway: Amazon tablet must be really affordable if it’s to hit the ground running.
Asked whether they’d consider buying any Android tablet with similar features over a base model $499 iPad, more than three-quarter respondents, or 79 percent, said “Yes, if it cost less than $250”. Amazon is rumored to be skipping on some tablet features in order to keep production costs down, like use a less expensive touch panel which can only detect two fingers at once.
Of course, Amazon knows how to build gadgets like Kindle and make them less expensive over time. The tablet, however, they’d have to price aggressively from day one as Apple pretty much set the starting price at $499. Nearly half the respondents would choose an Android tablet over an entry-level $499 iPad if it was priced less than $300 and nearly one in three would go Android with a sub-$400 device.
In a blow to other tablet makers, including brands such as Motorola, Samsung, Research In Motion, Hewlett-Packard and others, a whopping 55 percent would seriously consider a tablet from Amazon. This highlights the power of ecosystem which has turned Apple’s tablet into a smash hit. Amazon too has its own app store, music store, movie store and other digital stores in the cloud, bound to create a compelling user experience in the familiar environment from a trusted name in online retail. More food for thought and pretty charts right below…
Boy Genius Reportpublishes a pair of crisp images of what appears to be HTC’s allegedly upcoming tablet dubbed the Puccini. It may strike you as remarkably similar to Microsoft’s Courier project, but that’s due to the case shown on the image. The Puccini rocks a single 10.1-inch display and apparently a stylus. The leaked shots include AT&T branding, just so you know where to buy this thing when it hits the market.
Not a whole lots more to conclude from the images so the publication throws in a couple goodies they heard from sources, like an eight-megapixel camera on the back with dual-LED flash plus stereo speakers and a microphone. The tablet should run a 1.5GHz processor, a 4G LTE modem and HTC’s Sense interface on top of Honeycomb software, if the sources are to be trusted.
Research firm Strategy Analytics discovers that shipments of Android-driven tablets are finally beginning to make a meaningful impact on the overall tablet market. Yes, Android slates are making their presence known, even though iPad is still king of the hill. According to the research firm’s survey, June quarter tablet shipments topped 15.1 million units, a material increase over the 3.5 million units from the year-ago period. Apple seized the #1 slot with 9.25 million iPads the company reported for the June quarter, representing a 61.3 percent share of the tablet market overall.
At the same time, Android tablets have gone from 2.9 percent market share in June 2010 to 30.1 percent in June 2011, a surprising 27.2 percentage points increase based on sales of 4.55 million units. In the year-ago quarter Apple enjoyed a 94 percent share, so iPad’s 33 percentage points drop is substantial no matter how you look at it. GSM Arenaobserves that “in terms of market share, the iOS lead in the past quarter is nearly three times smaller than it was in the same period of last year”.
