Tag Archives: leap

Aug 12

10-inch Toshiba Thrive gets OTA Android 4.0 ...

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Now that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has been launched, it surely is nice to see more and more tech manufacturers rolling out… ICS updates to their gadgets. Wait, what?

Yes, guys, I’m afraid that, as much as we’d like to see JB upgrades flowing in, there are still a whole lot of devices which have been left out of the Android 4.0 mix and they absolutely have to get that software leap before moving forward.

The latest such gadget, which was supposed to get the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment months ago, is Toshiba’s 10-inch Thrive tablet. the tab is currently being upgraded to ICS over-the-air, according to official statements on Toshiba’s forums, which should be great news for anyone that has been patient until now and has held on to the 10-incher.

While the update has come much later than Toshiba initially anticipated, we have to give credit where credit is due. the Thrive makers announced back in June that the tab was then planned to step it up “sometime in the fall”, and it’s surely nice to welcome the upgrade much earlier than that.

Unfortunately, the Thrive’s 7-inch “sibling” is still stuck on Honeycomb and might have to wait at least a few more weeks before getting the ICS treatment. There’s no official word as to when to expect the update to start rolling out to the 7-incher, however, so it might happen tomorrow, or, God forbid, it might never happen.

Getting back to the 10-incher’s update, it should have been made available worldwide and you should have already gotten an automatic prompt message to download and install the new and exciting software package. if for some reason you haven’t gotten the prompt just yet, you might want to reboot your tablet a couple times, check for a better Internet connection, or locate the “Service Station” icon in your “apps” menu and manually check for updates.

Aside from the usual UI tweaks, improvements and added features of any ICS update, the Thrive’s new OS should bring to the table “improved video and audio performance”, “improved camera functions” and “improved signal strength and connectivity”, according to the changelog’s highlightsposted on Toshiba’s forum. that sounds a bit too generic for us, so if you’ve gotten the OTA update, please let us know of the specific changes and improvements you’ve noticed on your Thrive.

As you might imagine, it’s way too early to talk about a possible Jelly Bean update for Toshiba’s Thrive, but it surely isn’t too early to start hoping. do you guys think the tab will ever be getting the leap to Android 4.1? Or is ICS enough for a one-year-old gadget with Thrive’s spec sheet?

10-inch Toshiba Thrive gets OTA Android 4.0 update, 7-incher still waiting

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Jul 14

Google TV : Why not use an Android tablet & ...

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Google TV as a software platform, is at its heart Android and Chrome combined and tweaked to be viewed on a large screen television. and it is coming to the UK as the Sony NSZ-GS7.

The first generation Google TV products were commercial failures. Logitech discontinued the Revue range after losing more than $100 million on that single product and pulled out of the Google TV project altogether.

A Google TV box like the Sony NSZ-GS7 is an ARM-based device with a clever remote control/keyboard. Given that the overwhelming number of customers looking to buy a Google TV would very likely be Android users, it’s not a huge leap of imagination to figure out that the box could be a bog standard “tablet-without-screen” device like this Pseudo-Google TV box or that Android PC one.

Both cost less than £560 and pack almost the same features as Sony’s box. One could even argue that a tablet like the Disgo 7000 could be used as a Google TV device.

As for the remote control, a number of hardware manufacturers (Panasonic, Sony, Vizio) have been working on improving apps for Android devices (tablets/smartphones) allowing them to control Smart TV sets.

Ultimately, Google TV should be as sleek as the Apple TV, AirPlay and iOS combo. With the number of Smart TV sets increasing fast, the solution needs to find its feet faster or risk being obsolete as smartphones & tablets become the new remote controls and Google TV hardware get integrated in TVs.

Google TV : Why not use an Android tablet & phone combo instead?

Apr 14

Unlocking the iPad’s Secrets

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A nuts-and-bolts guide to making the most of your iPad, new or old.

The new iPad is setting the stage for what’s to come for Apple, and with that much screen real estate, the only significant limits will be the imaginations of developers who publish programs in the App Store. Now on its third iteration, the iPad has made an indelible mark on society as a whole, with Apple selling nearly 16 million of them in its most recent quarter. (To put that in perspective, RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook sold just 500,000 units in that company’s most recent quarter.) furthermore, according to IDC’s latest findings, the iPad holds nearly 55 per cent of the entire tablet market. in other words, even those that don’t currently own an iPad have probably come into contact with one, and while some pundits have brushed the newest iPad off as being a mere evolutionary leap from the prior generation, the iPad family as a whole is still a force to be reckoned with.

Related: First Thoughts on the new iPad

To that end, I spent the last six months crafting a guide that would impact users of not only the new iPad, but the original model and the iPad 2, as well. There’s no sense in alienating prior buyers, so I didn’t. I expressly went out of my way to provide advice for past iPad buyers who may have found themselves spending less time with their tablets of late. No time like the present to discover all new ways for older iPads to excite, right? So regardless of which iPad one owns, this book applies. It’s all focused on the latest generation of iOS (iOS 5), which can be loaded across the range of iPads.

The book, iPad Secrets, is published by John Wiley & Sons – the same folks who have published the world-renowned guides “For Dummies.” the goal in writing this book was to provide a nuts-and-bolts guide that Apple has never bothered to offer itself. I’ve always said that one of the iPad’s most significant strengths is its ability to be picked up and used immediately by just about anyone. I’ve seen infants and grandmothers alike using the iPad in some form or fashion. but there’s so much more that can be done, and that’s the kind of stuff I dig into in this book.

Related: Will the iPad Kill the Book Industry?

Having poked and prodded every potential nook within the iOS universe, I’ve produced 360 pages of the most useful tricks I’ve found. Facebook over 3G? It’s possible. Recovering an iPad after a failed jailbreak? I can help you there, too. Trying to figure out best practices for arranging icons in a way that’s halfway meaningful? Don’t bother – I did the legwork already. I even dedicate portions of the book to telling you precisely which apps are worth your time, which accessories are worth splurging on, and how to take advantage of Apple’s brand new iCloud service. I’ve included an entire chapter on best practices for using the iPad as an email machine, as well as sections on selecting the best applications the App Store has to offer in categories like games, productivity, and task management. I also delve into the world of media streaming, with tips on squeezing the most out of AirPlay and what accessories can further enable your iPad to be the centre of your digital-media empire.

Most folks understand that their iPad can be used as an e-reader, but few take the time to tap into its true potential. I spend the duration of the book uncovering precisely that. My hope is that folks only loosely familiar with their iPad will learn about dozens of hidden tips and tricks, making their iPad investment even more worthwhile.

Unlocking the iPad’s Secrets

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