Tag Archives: wraps

Aug 11

RIM announces 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook, hits ...

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Research In Motion (RIMM) on Thursday took the wraps off of a new version of its PlayBook tablet, the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook. Rumors had previously pegged July 31st for the new slate’s launch. RIM’s revised PlayBook features specs that are in line with the original model with one main addition: 4G LTE connectivity. “We’re excited to bring customers the first BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with support for 4G LTE networks,” said David J. Smith, EVP of Mobile Computing at RIM. “The new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook offers a broad range of premium features, including a stunning 7 inch display, front and rear facing HD video cameras, HDMI out and stereo speakers, and it also offers premium performance on high speed cellular networks, helping customers to be more productive than ever and to make the most of their time on the go.” Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada will be the first carriers to offer RIM’s new tablet, and it will become available on August 9th. Pricing was not announced. RIM’s full press release follows below.

Research In Motion Introduces the New Ultra Powerful, Ultra Portable and Ultra Fast 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today launched the new 4G LTE™ BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet with built-in support for cellular networks. The new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook maintains a sleek and ultra-portable form while delivering overall faster performance over the original BlackBerry PlayBook, as well as support for blazing fast 4G LTE networks. Launching in Canada first, the new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook allows customers to work more productively and connect to the Internet, as well as access their email, on-line apps, media and content, from more places than ever.

“We’re excited to bring customers the first BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with support for 4G LTE networks,” said David J. Smith, Executive Vice President, Mobile Computing at Research In Motion. “The new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook offers a broad range of premium features, including a stunning 7 inch display, front and rear facing HD video cameras, HDMI out and stereo speakers, and it also offers premium performance on high speed cellular networks, helping customers to be more productive than ever and to make the most of their time on the go.”

Featuring the latest BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 software, the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gives customers access to high speed mobile networks around the world (LTE and HSPA+)1 and offers an exceptional, high-fidelity, fast web experience that supports more HTML5 functionality than any other native tablet browser on the market2. The powerful unified inbox allows users to easily manage multiple personal and work email accounts, as well as messages from Twitter®, Facebook® and LinkedIn, all in one place. The built-in Calendar and Contacts apps offer features to help customers better manage schedules and prepare for more effective meetings. plus, the apps’ unique integration with social networks can provide customers with a wealth of information about their contacts at their fingertips.

The 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is also enterprise ready. It can be easily managed with BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion and includes BlackBerry® Balance™ technology, which allows a user to use a BlackBerry PlayBook for both work and personal purposes by keeping business information highly secure and separate from personal information.

Out of the box, the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet comes preloaded with the tools customers need to be productive as well as to have fun, whether in the office, at home or on the road. Thousands of apps for work and play are also available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, such as the recently launched BlackBerry® Video Store for all PlayBook customers in Canada, bringing additional functionality and value to customers. The BlackBerry Video Store offers a catalog of thousands of movies and TV shows. Customers can begin watching media as soon as they start to download a file, so they won’t have to wait for the entire file to transfer before they can begin enjoying great entertainment on the tablet’s high resolution display or on an HDTV using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s HDMI output. Canadians can download the free Video Store app on BlackBerry App World.

The 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will come with 32GB of memory storage and will be available from Bell, Rogers and TELUS in Canada on August 9, 2012. Additional variants of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet supporting various high speed cellular networks are expected to be available in the coming months from carriers in the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

For more information about the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, please visit:http://ca.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet.html. Data plans are sold separately.3

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RIM announces 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook, hits Canada first on August 9th

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Aug 08

Archos Unveils First Glimpse of G10 Tablet

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Archos plans to reveal its G10 xs Tablet in three weeks time.

Earlier in March, Archos unveiled a teaser video for its upcoming G10 xs tablet, but the device has been kept tightly under wraps since. But according to the company’s latest Facebook teaser, the wait is almost over. in just three weeks, the company plans to finally make its launch announcement. Archos G10 PreviewThere hasn’t been too much information on the upcoming device, other than a reported 7.6mm thickness and an Asus Transformer-like keyboard dock. if the device does measure in at 7.6mm, it could be the world’s thinnest tablet yet. The G10 is rumored to run on Android 4.0 with microSD and mini-HDMI ports, but we’ll just have to wait a few more weeks for official word. Head on over to Archos’ Facebook page to tune in for updates.

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Archos Unveils First Glimpse of G10 Tablet

Jul 09

Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Evolving Channel

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In mid-June, in the space of just a week, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) unveiled plans to enter the hardware tablet market with Surface and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) previewed iOS 6 for iPhone and iPad users. now, Google has taken the wraps off its Nexus 7 tablet, full-featured and positioned for the budget-conscious, running Jelly Bean, or Android 4.1 — the latest version of the OS.

Aside from the obvious, what all three of the new entrants to the market have in common is not just that they’re cloud-connected: it’s that taken together, they push IT that much further down the road away from its desktop hardware beginnings, and, in so doing, by inference make clear that the channel’s evolution to a services-dominant (cloud services) business model isn’t just important, it’s inevitable.

For its part, Microsoft has been urging its channel partners to the cloud for the better part of two years. Google, as The VAR Guy reported in January, has been collecting resellers for Chromebooks, the cloud-based netbooks, which now will be sold at 100 best buy outlets in the United States, with an associated expectation that those resellers will need to become more Android-familiar sooner rather than later to accommodate the tablet mobility services needs of business customers.

And, while Apple isn’t regarded as an especially channel-friendly outfit, led by ex-Microsoft channel executive Francois Daumard as its iPad channel development manager, the vendor has quietly built a mobility practice and recruited partners for its Apple Consultants Network.

Researcher Gartner forecasts global tablet sales will reach nearly 120 million units in 2012, a 98 percent increase from 2011’s totals, and another indicator of the stunning gains that tablets are making on desktop shipments. by comparison, Gartner figures that worldwide PC shipments for Q1 2012 totaled some 89 million, or a 1.9 percent bump from the same period last year. That makes tablet shipments, on an annualized basis, about one-third that of PCs. not bad for a form factor whose lead dog, the iPad, is but two years old.

There’s more. for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, Apple sold 15.4 million iPads, topping the number of PCs market leader Hewlett-Packard shipped during the first quarter of 2012, and far outstripping Lenovo, Dell, Acer and ASUS PC performances during that period. If PC makers weren’t already shaking their collective heads, a just released Gartner study shows that users are accessing their tablets to check e-mail, read the news, see what’s up with the weather, social networking and gaming — all activities once the sole province of PCs.

Never mind that we don’t know if Microsoft will allow its channel partners to sell any iteration of Surface or that Nexus 7 likely won’t be sold by channel partners and that Apple’s hold on the iPad isn’t very channel-friendly. in the larger vein, it’s not all that important.

While tablets sales are close enough to PCs that the day is fast approaching when the venerable desktop and laptop will be truly a thing of the past, it’s not the tablet hardware but the associated services where the channel must be prepared to capitalize.

What we are seeing ushered in is a whole new way of doing business, led by mobile and cloud-based devices. The concentration of power is among those device vendors who can make the biggest plays for the cloud, attract the most users, and garner the strongest relationships with high-performing channel partners. for now, Apple, Google and Microsoft, by example, are among those showing the channel the territory ahead.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Evolving Channel

Apr 19

An invisible wet suit for your iPhone or Android ...

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Electronics come with one cardinal rule. never, ever get them wet. but now a new technology is washing away that maxim.

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Three companies have introduced ways to waterproof gadgets – no bulky case required. They all revolve around the same idea: a nanocoating that wraps devices in an invisible armor 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair.

P2i, HzO, and Liquipel say their protective barriers save gadgets from spills, splashes, and getting caught in the rain. Water simply beads up and slides off.

The competing companies are pitching the technology to gadgetmakers, hoping to insert this nanocoating process into the assembly lines for phones, hearing aids, and even hiking shoes. but Liquipel stands as the only one talking directly to gadget owners.

For $59, Liquipel will seal up an iPhone, iPod Shuffle, or any of seven approved Android phones. an extra $10 will expedite the process from a few days to a few hours. (That doesn’t account for shipping, since everything runs through Liquipel.com, not a bricks-and-mortar shop.)

This aftermarket solution works in basically the same way as nanocoating new electronics. Each device goes into a vacuum chamber. once all the air is sucked out, the companies pump in their own version of a chemical vapor. The vapor seeps into the object, coating the components that water would disrupt. As the film sets, it binds to the gadgets, and will last for several years.

To demonstrate its effectiveness, P2i applied a nanocoating to tissue paper. in a promotional video (embedded below), the company dunks the treated paper into water. The tissue does not absorb anything. in fact, it floats above the water, completely dry. The invisible barrier won’t change the properties of the paper, according to the company. for example, the coated tissue still tears easily. Gadgets will still be able to vent heat.

Motorola called in P2i to protect the Droid RAZR Android phone and XOOM 2 tablet. but the two devices are advertised as water repellent, not waterproof. that means they’re accident-safe, not truly swim-safe. At least not yet.

None of the companies promises that you can use a device underwater, but HzO boasts that its nanofilm protects submerged phones for more than an hour. If your gadgets have no room for error, 100 percent lifetime protection comes only from hefty plastic cases.

For more on how technology intersect daily life, follow Chris on Twitter @venturenaut.

An invisible wet suit for your iPhone or Android device

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Feb 18

Android ICS Coming to Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

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With Android 4.0 ICS now a firm reality, it’s time all tablet makers (who until now have been relying on the Android Honeycomb version) to make the transition to the latest and greatest Android OS. Joining the list of those who have already made known their commitment to Android ICS is Lenovo, with the Chinese hardware maker announcing they would introduce the ICS update for its ThinkPad tablet by Q2. until that happens, users will have to make do with Android Honeycomb, which the tablet currently runs. the ThinkPad is aimed at the business segment and had gone on sale in July 2011. Specific dates for the ICS update are being kept under wraps right now.

Android 4.0 comes along with wide ranging enhancements and improvements, which cover several aspects such as interface, connectivity, application, and multimedia. the latest Android version also promises better overall stability, along with enhanced security for data and e-mail with encryption layers built into it, something that should appeal to the ThinkPad’s enterprise clientele.

via electronista

Android ICS Coming to Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

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Feb 15

Rivals vying to turn the tables on iPad

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CLAIRE ROGERS

ACER ICONIA TAB A700: The iPad 3 is one of the most anticipated gadgets of the year and, once again, Apple’s rivals are vying to knock the iPad off its perch.

Apple could unveil the iPad 3 in the next few weeks and begin shipping it in March. Kiwis will probably have to wait longer for it to hit stores here, however.

True to form, Apple has kept the details of its newest tablet tightly under wraps and, in the absence of any official information, speculation has filled in the gaps.

If the rumours are to be believed the iPad 3 will:

have super-sharp screen resolution: The screen resolution is expected to be similar to that of the iPhone 4 and 4S’ retina displays – which have a very high pixel density (four times the number of pixels as standard displays) to provide crisper text and images.

Pack a lot more grunt: The iPad2 has a dual-core processor but iPad 3 is expected to up the ante with a quad-core chip. this means it will have four microprocessors instead of two to carry out computing tasks, which equals faster performance for power hungry applications such as games, and increased ability to run multiple applications at once.

have Apple’s Siri voice recognition technology – Siri, Apple’s “personal assistant” application, which can understand and respond to spoken questions and commands, has been one of the major drawcards for the iPhone 4S and fans are expecting to see it in the iPad 3.

have faster internet: Telcos around the world are moving to 4G LTE networks (they’re still a few years off in New Zealand, however). The next generation in mobile network technology allows for speedier mobile broadband. 4G LTE tablets have already made their way to market so Apple has some catching up to do.

Act like a contactless card: Near Field Communications technology lets devices transmit information wirelessly with each other over short distances. If the iPad 3 comes with NFC, it could be used to make contactless payments, store digital tickets or swap data with another NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone.

take better snaps: The iPad’s cameras have so far been surprisingly poor – the iPad 2 has a rear-facing camera with resolution equivalent to 0.9 megapixels. Although it’s unlikely you’ll be going around taking all your pics with the iPad, it’d still be nice to have a higher-resolution camera for when you do get snapping (after all, the iPhone 4S has a 8MP camera).

Other features the iPad 3 may have: more storage, an SD card slot to expand memory, iOS 5.1 – the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, gesture controls – which is probably unlikely, and a Thunderbolt port for faster file transfer.

ASUS

Earlier this month Asus unveiled its wi-fi-only TF700T tablet – which is an upgrade of its popular Transformer Prime tablet, which runs on Android operating system software. The TF700T has a 10-inch true HD touchscreen – the highest screen resolution on a 10-inch tablet yet, and a higher resolution front-facing camera.

Like the Transformer Prime (which can be pre-ordered in NZ online through Mobicity), the TF700T has a quad-core processor, Gorilla Glass, which means it’s scratch resistant and extra durable, and the keyboard dock that turns it into a laptop. it will appear in the US by mid-year and will cost US$600 or US$700 depending on whether its 32GB or 64GB.

Asus also this month took the wraps off its Eee Pad Memo 370T – a 7-inch, wi-fi-only tablet with a quad-core processor and Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich – the latest version of the Android software. The MeMo 370T is due out in the United States between April and June, and will cost just US$250.

ACER

Not to be outdone, Acer has also announced a HD tablet with a quad-core processor, the Iconia Tab A700. The tablet also comes packed with Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which has a typeface optimised for high-resolution screens, improved camera software and enhanced gesture support.

Acer’s Iconia Tab A200 is not as highly specced but it’s still got a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a 2MP front-facing camera, a dual-core processor. The 8 gigabyte model is available through Noel Leeming for $449. it comes with Android Honeycomb but can be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich from next month. it doesn’t have a rear-facing camera and is wi-fi only.

TOSHIBA

The wi-fi-only Toshiba Excite X10 (also known as the Toshiba AT200) is the thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet to be announced yet. It’s 7.62 millimetres thick and weighs 535 grams, and will come with a dual-core processor, Gorilla Glass display, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and 2MP front-facing camera. it will probably be loaded with Android Honeycomb, but be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich after its release. Noel Leeming is taking orders for the AT200 on its site, at $799 for the 16GB model.

OTHERS

Samsung has released a 4G LTE version of its Galaxy Tab 7.7, which has a super AMOLED 7.7-inch display for sharp images and vibrant colours (the 16GB, 3G version in available through Mobicity for $949), and is tipped to announce a new tablet with a 11.6-inch display next month. Nokia is also expected to begin selling a tablet mid-year that runs on Microsoft’s yet-to-be-released Windows 8 operating software.

Sources: PC World, Ars Technica, WiseGeek, PC Mag, Mobicity, iPad 3 News Blog, Android, TechRadar, The Guardian, Acer, Asus, Apple, Toshiba, Ubergizmo.

– © Fairfax NZ News

Rivals vying to turn the tables on iPad

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Nov 22

Samsung Releases Redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1N in ...

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Samsung has modified its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany in an attempt to avoid potential issues with design rights infringement, reports Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents. The new version, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, has a new bezel design that wraps around to the front of the device more aggressively.

Mueller says that it is likely that this design change was brought about by a collaboration between Samsung’s engineers and its legal team in an effort to avoid additional design rights trouble from Apple, although there is no guarantee that this change will fix matters completely or prevent issues in the future.

This redesign puts Samsung in the unenviable position of having to strike a balance between ‘what a tablet must be’ and ‘too close to Apple’s design’. The tweaking of the bezel seems like a fiddly way to get around Apple’s design rights litigation in Germany, but if it works, it works.

German tech site Mobiflip.de has a side-by-side comparison of the new Galaxy Tab 10.1N (top) and the older Galaxy Tab 10.1 (bottom).

A critical person might wonder if it the design shouldn’t just be altered significantly enough to be completely clear of trouble. But Samsung has been arguing all along that this is pretty much exactly what a tablet should look like and that the design was inevitable and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to be exclusive to Apple.

Samsung’s Galaxy tablets have also come under fire in the U.S., with District Judge Lucy Koh stating last month that the products do infringe on Apple patents. At one point, Koh held both tablets over her head and asked the lawyers from Samsung and Apple to tell her which one was which and it “took them a while to do so.”

In the end though, a lot of things seem inevitable once they’ve been seen for the first time. what do you think, is the design of the iPad a universal constant, the only way that a tablet can be, or is Samsung simply copying Apple’s design?

Samsung Releases Redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany to Avoid Apple Infringement

Oct 23

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 enters beta with Android ...

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If you’ve been waiting for something really cool to try out on your recently-discounted BlackBerry PlayBook, here’s your chance. RIM has just taken the wraps off PlayBook OS 2, and the beta is now available for download.

The release was announced at DevCon in San Francisco and is obviously aimed at developers, but intrepid PlayBook owners who want to sample the many new features before the update goes official can take it for a spin, too. Among the major additions are the “missing apps” — like an email client, calendar, and BBM.

There’s also the Android App Player, which utilizes RIM’s Android Runtime for BlackBerry to run re-packaged apps originally developed for Google’s mobile OS. RIM’s prescribed method is for developers to run their Android apps through a converter first and then upload the signed packages to AppWorld. that means you won’t be installing Android Apps on your PlayBook directly from the Android Market or Amazon AppStore.

You can, however, sideload Android apps fairly easily — N4bb offers an excellent rundown of the process.

PlayBook OS 2 brings loads more changes to the platform, and they’re squarely aimed at making the BlackBerry slate an easier target for developers. Adobe Air 3 and Flash 11 are supported, Open GL ES 2.0 and Open AL are baked in, and RIM’s Native SDK –which brings support for C/C++ apps — has been certified for release as well. RIM is also snuggling up to standards-based apps built using web code like HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and even WebGL with the introduction of WebWorks and a much-improved browser.

There’s no way this and a handful of free apps is going to make the world forget about RIM’s numerous stumbles this year, but it’s a step in the right direction. And at least the PlayBook — which has always been a capable, powerful tablet — is getting an OS that is more on par with its hardware.

More at Engadget

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 enters beta with Android app support, BBM, and more

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