tablet

French electronics manufacturer Archos announced today a 7-inch Android tablet for kids.

The “Child Pad” features a lightweight design, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 1GHz processor, and 1GB of RAM. This slate is kid-friendly because children can access the Kids App Store powered by AppsLib. It is essentially a filtered Android Market with 10,000 apps in 14 categories covering games, communication, multimedia, entertainment, books, comics, and sports.

Children will enjoy the user interface due to its brightly colored icons and home screen folders with direct access to apps. The top 28 children’s apps also come pre-loaded, such as Angry Birds Pig Rush and Flight Frenzy…

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Google plans to enter the tablet market in April with a self-branded 7-inch slate.

CNET’s Brooke Crothers said Display Search analyst Richard Shim expects 1.5 million to 2 million units with a 1280-by-800-resolution display to enter initial production this spring.

The rumor mill also indicates the Google-branded tablet will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, and it apparently also has Nexus ties. The device will see a $199 price tag to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire that has a 1024-by-600 display…

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Sprint announced today it will make the budget-friendly 7-inch ZTE Optik 3G tablet available starting Feb. 5 from Sprint Stores and online for $99.99 with the usual two-year agreement. You will also be able to grab the Android 3.2-powered tablet without a contract for $350.

If you are not familiar with the ZTE Optik, expect a 7-inch capacitive WXGA 1280-by-800 resolution display, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), and 16 GB of onboard storage. It also packs in Bluetooth v2.1+EDR, a microSD slot, a 5-megapixel main camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 4000 mAh Lithium-ion battery. The full press release from Sprint is available after the break:

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Google just announced on the Android Google+ page that Google Docs for Android was updated with a few highly requested features. First off, the app now provides the ability to save documents for offline viewing through a “make it available offline” option and even updates the files automatically when connected to Wi-Fi. Offline documents can also be updated manually from within the new “Offline” section of the app.

Another new improvement included in the update is new features for tablet users including high-resolution versions of documents, the ability to swipe right and left between pages, and a slider at the bottom of docs to jump to a specific page.

The new Google Docs for Android is available from the Market now. You can learn everything you need to know about working with offline Docs here.

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Barnes & Noble is optimistic for Nook devices this year, and to help along sales the company is offering discounts on all models with subscriptions to The New York Times or People (via TechCrunch).

Through this limited-time offer, customers will have access to the NOOK edition of The New York Times, plus all their favorite content on the go, through Barnes & Noble’s critically acclaimed devices. In addition to automatically delivering The Times directly to the customers’ NOOK device each day, NOOK subscribers will also receive unlimited access to The Times’ award-winning website, NYTimes.com, including regular news updates, opinions, blogs, video, interactive graphics and more. The NOOK subscription to The New York Times is $19.99 per month for full digital access on NOOK and NYTimes.com.

B&N announced the $99 Nook Simple Touch would be available completely free for users who purchase a one-year subscription to The New York Times. As for the Nook Color (usually $199), NYT subscribers will be able to pick it up for $99. The full-access NYT subscription currently costs $19.99/monthly.

The Nook Tablet, which usually retails for $249, will be available for $199 to users who sign up for a $9.99/montly, one-year People subscription. The promotion is running through March 9, 2012 at more than 700 Barnes & Nobile locations and at www.nook.com/nyt. The entire press release is available after the break:

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Barnes & Noble reported record holiday sales today for its Nook business, including devices and digital content.

“During the nine-week holiday period ending Dec. 31, 2011, Nook unit sales, including Nook Simple Touch, Nook Color and the new Nook Tablet, increased 70 percent over the same period last year,” said the bookseller in a Jan. 5 statement. “Digital content sales also grew briskly during the same nine-week period, increasing 113 percent on a comparable basis.”

Content sales include digital books, digital newsstand, and the company’s apps business. The retailer of digital media and educational products is doing so well, as of lately, it is even considering a spinoff.

The company announced on Thursday it is embarking on a “strategic exploration” to separate the Nook division. The retailer also wants to report Nook-related sales as a separate business segment, and it is communicating with potential partners to expand the Nook’s presence abroad…

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME59Lt1B2_Q]

We already know that President Barak Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have made the iPad their tablet of choice, but according to the Vatican Information Service, Pope Benedict XVI is opting for an Android powered tablet instead.

In order to turn on the lights of the world’s largest Christmas tree in Gubbio, Italy, yesterday the Pope used a Sony Tablet S to remotely trigger the lights on the 750 meter-high tree from his apartment in the Vatican Apostolic Palace. However, it’s likely this was just the preference of the developers who built the app necessary for the task, as the Pope has been spotted using an iPad in the past. The video below shows Benedict XVI using an iPad to send out his first tweet:

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There is no shortage of cheap Android tablets from Chinese manufacturers that can be found for under $200 online, most of which are running an older version of Android and don’t have Google’s blessing (meaning no Google services and Market). MIPS Technologies and Ingenic Semiconductor announced today availability of the world’s first Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0-powered tablet, and it just so happens to a $99 budget-friendly tab with decent specs.

The tablet will pack in a 1GHz MIPS-based ‘XBurst” CPU, 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, microSD, HDMI 1.3, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, 2-megapixel main cam, front-facing cam, and bluetooth. Ainovo, the company offering up the tablet to the Chinese market, is promising 30 hours standby and 8 hours video playback for battery.

The Novo7 will become available to the US market (likely with different branding) through other companies including OMG Electronics Ltd. and Leader International Inc. at a later date. There will also be 8 and 9-inch variants released in the future, mostly likely depending on the success of the 7-inch model. You might have to pay a little more than the US $99 price tag to get it shipped from a Chinese supplier before it lands stateside, but it will probably be your first chance to get your hands on an ICS tablet if you do.

Google’s Andy Rubin had this to say about the launch of new MIPS-based ICS tablets like the Novo7:

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The guys and gals over at iFixit are once again tearing down our favorite electronic devices, this time the new Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble. The end result is a repairability score of 6 out of 10 and a few interesting findings, especially in comparison to the Kindle Fire. Today we also get our first root for the device, allowing the Android Market to run with some minor limitations. Liliputing (via SlashGear) has compiled a complete guide using tips from various posters on Xda-developers.

A few noteworthy findings that you may have previously be unaware of include:

Storage– While Barnes & Noble advertises 16GB of onboard internal storage (saying the 6GB included in Amazon’s Kindle Fire makes it “deficient for a media tablet”), the truth is only 1GB is available for content other than B&N content. iFixit says only 12GB of the 16GB is actually available to the user, while only 1GB of that 12 is available for content other than that downloaded from the B&N app store. Looks like the majority of your content (other than content purchased from B&N) will have to be stored mostly on microSD.

We also get a nice comparison of the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire. iFixit explains:

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This morning we told you about HTC’s plans to bring a quad-core tablet to market thanks to Nvidia’s new Tegra 3 chip. That was after we introduced you to the new Transformer Prime from Asus, which will most likely be the first Tegra 3-powered tab you can get your hands on starting in December. Now, not to be left out of the Tegra 3 tablet party, Lenovo is gearing up to launch their own quad-core tab.

According to Engadget, the company is prepping a new 10.1-inch, Android 4.0 tablet powered by Nvidia’s new chip for December. As for specs, you can expect 2GB of DDR3 RAM, USB host socket, main backside camera, and a “Special Fusion-Skin Body”. The report also mentions a fingerprint scanner on the backside of the device that can also be used as a joystick for gaming. We’ll obviously have to wait for more info before we know if this will be a true competitor to the many quad-core tabs we’re bound to see in 2012. Until then, check out a few more images below.

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A flier from Carphone Warehouse confirms the Motorola Xoom 2 will be hitting the market before the holidays, Engadget found. Motorola’s next tablet, a successor to the original Xoom, will land for 400 euros with Wi-Fi and 16GB of storage packed in (presumably there’ll be a 32GB version too).

The flier touts the Xoom 2 having an 8.2-inch touchscreen, Android 3.2 (no ICS!), Wi-Fi, and tethering. There’s no word on U.S. availability, but more information will most likely come out about that soon.

In addition to an updated iPad app, VMware has also announced today that the Android version of their mobile View client is officially available for public consumption. Until now, the Android client had only been available as a tech preview.

“Whether you are using a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 or 10.1, an LG/T-mobile G-Slate, a Motorola Xoom or any of the other newly available Honeycomb-based Android tablets or the Cisco Cius, you can get the most of your View desktop on the Android tablet you choose.”

Available as a free download in the Android Market, the VMware View for Android client allows you to access a Windows-based virtual machine running in the VMware View 4.6 (or later) desktop software over WiFi or 3G.

Much of the look and feel of the Android client mirrors the recently updated iPad version. The client supports multitasking, (allowing you to switch to another Android app without losing your current session), and the majority of other features including quick connect VM list, an overall similar UI, embedded RSA soft tokens, and support for the PCoIP display protocol.

The app currently includes support for German, French, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese languages, as well as local input mode as explained below:

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Note: This is a mockup, not the actual Kindle Fire

Just as Amazon’s media event begins in New York, serving as a launchpad for their inaugural tablet, Bloomberg spoils the announcement by publishing key pieces of information about the device. It will be called the Kindle Fire, as rumored, and will cost just $199, which is a pretty big deal. The tablet has a seven-inch color display which responds to touch (just two fingersat once, though) and a “fresh and easy user interface” running on a forked Android version. Another biggie: The device will come with a 60-day free trial of Amazon Prime (a $79 a year value) membership.

Bad news: It has no cameras – not even a microphone. Heck, it even lacks 3G access so looks like the Fire will be a WiFi affair only. We’ll have more info soon as our own Seth Weintraub is on the scene in New York at Amazon’s press conference.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is betting he can leverage Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce to pose a real challenge to Apple’s iPad, after tablets from rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Research In Motion Ltd. have fallen short. Sales of Amazon’s electronic books, movies and music on the device may help make up for the narrower profit margins that are likely to result from the low price, said Brian Blair, an analyst at Wedge Partners Corp. in New York.

The analyst observes what all of us have known for a long time, that the Seattle-based online retailer has the most compelling ecosystem to take on Apple’s iTunes juggernaut:

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IDC has just released their second quarter results for tablet and eReader shipments as well as an updated forecast for the remainder of 2011. While Apple continued to dominate with 68.3% of the global market during Q2, IDC expects Apple’s share to fall as vendors bring competitive Android devices to market later this year and early next.

The study reports second quarter tablet shipments worldwide increased 88.9% (303.8% year over year) citing robust demand for the iPad 2 and sales of 9.3 million units, leading the firm to raise its estimates for the remainder of 2011 from 53.5 million units to 62.5 million.

From the report:

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9to5Mac told you about Gamestop’s plans to begin selling new iPhones, iPads, and iPods after recently beginning to accept the devices as trade-ins. Now, it appears that the company also has plans to drop a branded Android-powered tablet of their own.

In an interview with Games Industry, president of Gamestop Tony Bartel claimed the company is already testing the tablet that will apparently launch with a selection of pre-installed games and dedicated gaming controller accessory. Although, he isn’t disclosing who exactly will be manufacturing the tablet. The company also reportedly has plans to offer games over-the-air with a cloud service of sorts.

From the interview:

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Looking for an entry-level 720p 10-inch Android tablet? What about one with a built-in Ethernet port? We just discovered this mystery device going for $160 on eBay and sporting a 1GHz ARM 11 Cortex A9 processor, 4GB internal storage, 3-megapixel camera, 512MB RAM, a “10.1 inch TFT Super slim 16:9 Touchscreen”, and built-in WiFi and ethernet port. It also bears a striking resemblance to the industry’s leader.

Nobody seems to know much about the “MID M1006S Android 10.1 Tablet PC”. A quick Google search revealed Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer HongKong Haokey Tech Co LTD appears to be behind the tablet. They currently have an Alibaba listing (20 units or more) which is more than likely the source for those reselling the device online.

Don’t expect a comparable experience to current gen leaders in the Android tablet market, however. Early reviews from CNET forum posters prove the resistive touch screen limits the experience, to say the least. Forum poster “R. Proffitt” notes, “No pinch or two finger zoom. So much does not work on resistive pads”.

Gallery below:

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Lenovo announced on stage at IFA today the IdeaPad A1 — which rings in at just $199. The devices specs are nothing revolutionary, as expected with the price: 7 -inch 1024×600 display, 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 18GB, 16GB, or 32GB storage options, SD and microsD reader, 3-megapixel shooter, VGA front-facing camera, and Android 2.3.

The 8GB version will be available for $199, but has no plans of making its way to the United States. The 16GB and 32GB versions do however, ringing in at  $249 and $299 respectively. Do these specs look close to the Galaxy Tab from last fall..by any chance? But hey, we’ll take the price. (via AndroidPolice)
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AT&T’s first 4G LTE/HSPA+ tablet isn’t going to be cheap. In fact, the company just announced the Honeycomb-powered HTC Jetstream will run you $699.99 with a new two-year commitment when it becomes available September 4th. We think the price tag is going to make this one a hard sell, especially if its competition releases a new iteration anytime before the Jetstream sees a significant price cut.

We told you about the Jetstream’s rumored specs a few weeks back, which for the most part seem to jive with the official specs from AT&T’s press release (below):

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When you think about a $199 tablet, there aren’t many good options out there. However, the X10 AirPad might just be the solution for you.The retailer X10 is promising the AirPad to be the “best tablet on the market for under $200.”

The AirPad is sporting Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 7-inch display (unfortunately 800×480 resolution), 1.2 GHz Rockchip 2918 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. The device also packs HDMI out capable of 1080p playback, a full-size USB port, mini USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD card slot. The device’s 4000 mAh battery supports up to 6 hours with Wi-Fi off, and 4 hours on. The X10 also has a 2-megapixel shooter and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

With that Barnes and Noble’s Nook heading below $200 in refurbished form, this may be an option for those who want some low spec cameras or a more open, updated OS. Check out another image after the break. (via Android Central)

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For those of you who are big fans of Hulu Plus, you’ll be happy to know that the streaming service has landed on the Vizio 8. Currently, Hulu Plus is available on a total of ten Android phones– making the Vizio 8 the first Android tablet.

As This is my next points out, the Vizio 8 is available for $299 making it a nice cheap option to view Hulu Plus.

It’s official, we’re running out of names for mobile devices…We told you back in July that HTC was planning on dropping a shiny new tablet dubbed “Puccini” in report accompanied by what we believed to be a couple high quality images (viaBGR) of the device. Now, a new report from BGR claims AT&T and HTC are preparing to launch the 10.1-inch Honeycomb-powered tablet as the “HTC Jetstream”.

Some of the rumoured specs for the Jetstream include an eight-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, microphone and stereo speakers, 1.5GHz processor, and a reported 4G LTE modem.  Oh, and a stylus…which is definitely one feature its competition lacks…

HTC’s Winston Yung pretty much confirmed the device was slated for a late third or early fourth quarter release, which translates to September or October. However, that timeframe seems a little unrealistic to us if the Jetstream is in fact a 4G LTE device and still expected to run on AT&T. This is considering AT&T’s 4G LTE network is just being rolled out this summer with plans to roll out to just 15 markets by the end of the year, as pointed out by BGR. This makes it highly unlikely that their 4G network will be ready to support the launch of a new tablet by October. Either way, we’re hoping to get a better look at the Jetstream at HTC’s “see what’s next” event in September. 

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