Samsung might release a 5.8″ Galaxy Player/Tab

If SamMobile were to be trusted, the Galaxy Note 2 might not be the only 5+ inch device unveiled by Samsung at IFA 2012. A tip they received points to a 5.8 inch Galaxy Player which would run Ice Cream Sandwich, unlike previous Galaxy Players that all run Gingerbread.

While the feature-set isn’t too shabby for a media player, I can’t help be concerned about the size. At 5.8 inches, the device seems far too large to be a media player, and way too small to be a tablet. Android-based devices in the domain are already a niche, with a 5.8 inch screen they might be significantly limiting themselves even in that small subset. I fail to see how it could prove to be a commercial success, but hey, that’s how I felt about the Galaxy Note.

Read more »

iPhone Free Games Spellsword, Hambo

As we've stated many times before, prices in the App Store change frequently. Grab these freebies before you miss out on a top bargain.
Remember to let us and your fellow readers know about any other great free apps in our comments section below.

Spellsword

By Everplay - download for iPhone and iPad



Spellsword is an action-packed platformer in which you tackle multipleSuper Crate Box-esque stages - all of which are packed to the rafters with a wide variety of enemies and magical cards that allow you to unleash devastating attacks.

There are 90 challenging arenas for you to work your way through in the game's Campaign mode, and several unlockable endless arenas if you're craving an extra test.

Hambo

By Miniclip - download for iPhone and download for iPad



In Hambo, you work your way through more than 200 different physics-based levels, which task you with solving puzzles in order to rescue your best friend Bacon from the grubby mitts of your sworn enemy.

There are also 20 different costumes to unlock. We presume at least some of you are into that kind of thing.

Read more »

Samsung may hold an Event on 29th August to launch Galaxy Note 2

Samsung Officially announces the the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 on August 29. The two arch rivals are bracing for a full-blown battle with the expected rollouts of the two key models coming as they lock horns in a high-stakes patent trial in the United States.

"We plan to unveil the next Galaxy Note at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin on August 29," a Samsung spokesman said on Friday, without elaborating. The event will take place two days before the opening of Europe's biggest consumer electronics trade fair IFA.
South Korean media reports speculate the new Galaxy Note may feature an unbreakable, 5.5-inch display - slightly larger than the current one - as well as a faster processor and a much better camera.

Samsung, once a laggard in the smartphone market, overtook Apple last year to become the world's largest smartphone maker. The South Korean firm is looking to defend its supremacy by refreshing its line-up ahead of the launch of the fifth version of Apple's iPhone, widely expected to be released in October.

Samsung launched its flagship Galaxy S III in May, while Apple is planning a major product launch on Sept 12, stoking speculation the company may announce the sale of its redesigned iPhone.

Samsung is estimated to have increased smartphone shipments to 50.5 million in the April to June quarter of this year, nearly double the 26 million iPhones sold.

Read more »

Rogers BlackBerry PlayBook Priced at $550

In a few short days the once delayed, but now highly anticipated, 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook will launch in Canada via Bell, TELUS and Rogers. Both Bell and TELUS have come forth with their no-term contract at $550 and we now have complete Rogers pricing:

No-term: $549.99
1-year: $499.99
2-year: $449.99
3-year: $349.99

Employees have strict orders about this launch, specifically noting that they “DO NOT DISPLAY OR SELL DEVICE UNTIL AUG 9, 2012.”

Read more »

Galaxy Note 10.1 shipping to retailers ahead of announcement in US

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is to be officially launched on 15th August but the US retailers starts getting the units. The specs include a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution display, 6.5mm S Pen stylus, quad-core 1.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB built-in memory, 5 megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, 3G+GPS, a 7000mAh battery and an IR LED to use the tablet as a remote control.

What's more interesting is that these specs and the model number printed on the box indicate that this is the European model, which makes us curious as to why the American retailers are getting it. There is no LTE support and the HSPA bands will only work with AT&T's HSPA network.

Via - GSMarena
 

Read more »

Huawei officially unveils their MediaPad 7

Chinese manufacturer Huawei have officially unveiled their MediaPad 7 Lite Android tablet. The '7' in the name of the tablet confirms that the tablet comes with a 7-inch WSVGA Capacitive Multitouch display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. Elaborating on the display, the company says that the MediaPad 7 Lite's 7-inch display offers 'Full View Angle IPS screen.' The Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite tablet packs in the ICS, as it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The tablet features a metal unibody and a rear camera - the resolution of which is not known at the moment. The tablet also offers 3G and Wi-Fi, can play 1080p videos and is fuelled by a CortexA8 1.2GHz processor. The tablet weighs about 370g and is 11mm thick.

Huawei's latest unveiling comes just days after they released the official promo video for theirMediaPad 10 FHD tablet. Huawei's MediaPad 10 FHD is expected to be released in China, late August this year, at a starting price of 3,000 yuan. With this timeline, we could expect the MediaPad 10 FHD tablet to launch in India in September.
The Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is a quad-core tablet with a 10.1-inch display running the Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS. The word 'FHD' in the name of the product stands for Full High Definition. Earlier reports claimed that the tablet boasts of a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. However, in the promo video that the company released, it was revealed that the tablet would have a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio. 

The MediaPad 10 FHD is powered by Huawei's K3 quad-core processor, which the company claims is the fastest on the block, quicker than even the Nvidia Tegra 3. Further, owing to the smaller size of Huawei’s chip, the CPU is clocked at a tantalizing 1.5 GHz, which should handle Android 4.0 OS without breaking into a sweat. The MediaPad 10 FHD also supports high speed wireless communication at upto 84 Mbps (HSPA+) as well as LTE. The Full HD panel is an IPS display, which the company claims gives you accurate colour reproduction as well as better viewing angles.
Another feature of the tablet is Dolby surround sound technology. The tablet is fitted with an 8MP auto-focus, dual LED, fill-flash rear camera and a 1.3 MP front-facing camera. This is also one of the few tablets to have 2 GB of RAM onboard; so performance should never be an issue. The tablet is built using a unibody aluminium chassis, weighing 580 grams and measuring 8.8 mm.

Read more »

Micromax to launch Funbook pro next Month in India

Micromax is all set to launch its new funbook pro with 10.1 inch screen and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Funbook pro may be launch in next month.
As far as specs go, the Funbook Pro features a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels, a 1.2GHz single-core processor tied in with dual Mali 400 GPUs, a VGA front facing camera, 8GB of internal memory along with a microSD card slot that supports up to 32GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity and 1GB of RAM. The Funbook Pro will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

While the previous Funbook did indeed provide a palatable tablet experience at a pleasing price point, it failed to deliver sustainable reading experience owing to a very poor display. Hopefully, Micromax has dealt with the criticism and will arm the new Funbook Pro with a much better display.

If one compares the specs of the Funbook Pro with the older 7-inch Funbook, Micromax has added a larger, higher resolution display and has doubled the RAM and memory.

Read more »

Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP and Samsung comes with Windows RT tablets

As expected, Microsoft Surface won’t be the only Windows RT tablet on the market, with Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba and Samsung joining the party later in the year. Apparently, the Redmond giant is very careful and controlling in selecting OEMs for RT tablets, allowing each of its chipset partners to pick only two of them. NVIDIA got Lenovo and Asus, Texas Instruments – Toshiba, and Qualcomm – Samsung and HP. HP, however, opted out from the tablet race, leaving Qualcomm with an empty spot, which may be filled by Dell or some other major computer maker.
It is said that Microsoft will lift these restrictions in January 2013, eventually opening the floodgates and allowing anyone to make Windows RT tablets. That said, we expect to see first non-Microsoft made tablets at Berlin’s IFA conference and then even more of them presented at CES in Las Vegas.
We’ll make sure to follow this story and let you know as soon as we hear something new. Stay tuned in the meantime, k?
[Via: Unwired View]

Read more »

Amazon May Unveil 5 or 6 New Tablets Including 10-Inch Model Reports Says

Rumors of Successor to Amazon kindle fire is around for a while now But now Reports says that Amazon to Unveil “Five or Six” Tablets, Including a 10-incher. Demos Parneros, the president of U.S. Retail for Staples, told Reuters that Amazon plans on introducing five or six different tablet configurations of varying sizes, included a widely rumored ten-inch version.

We’d expect a few of those models to be variants of the same base Fire, however, with differing SKUs based on storage capacity or points of differentiation, such as Wi-Fi or 4G connectivity. Parneros didn’t say when the various tablets will be available, or mention anything about the buzzed-about Amazon smartphone.

Source - iclarified

Read more »

UK Court Orders Apple to Publish Notice On its Website that Samsung Not Copied iPad

Apple is Ordered by the court in Uk to Publish a notice on its website that Samsung did not copy iPad in Uk. The notice should outline the July London court decision that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets don’t infringe Apple’s registered designs, Judge Colin Birss said today. It should be posted on Apple’s U.K. home page for six months and published in several newspapers and magazines to correct any impression the South Korea-based company was copying Apple’s product, Birss said.


Apple is fighting patent lawsuits around the globe against competitors including Google Inc., HTC Corp. (2498) and Samsung as it competes for dominance of the smartphone and tablet computer markets. The firms have accused each other of copying designs and technology in their mobile devices. Legal battles about the similarity of Samsung and Apple tablets are being fought in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.The order means Apple will have to publish “an advertisement” for Samsung, Richard Hacon, a lawyer for Cupertino, California-based Apple, told the court. “No company likes to refer to a rival on its website.”


Public Statements
Birss said in his July 9 ruling that Samsung’s tablets were unlikely to be confused with the iPad because they are “not as cool.” He declined today to grant Samsung’s bid for an injunction blocking Apple from making public statements that the Galaxy infringed its design rights.
“They are entitled to their opinion,” he said.
Apple spokesman Alan Hely didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and e-mail requesting comment on the judge’s order.

“Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited,” Samsung said in a statement after the hearing.
“The war between these two companies seems to be escalating even further,” said Colin Fowler, an intellectual property lawyer at London-based Rouse. He said much of the publicity around the July 9 ruling focused on Birss’ comments about Samsung not being as cool.
“From a victory in court they were suddenly on the back foot,” Fowler said in a phone interview. “Getting this order fits in with the context of them trying to restore the balance.”

‘Commercial Harm’
Comments made by Apple after that ruling unfairly implied that Samsung had copied designs, Samsung’s lawyer Kathryn Pickard said at the hearing. That “caused real commercial harm.”
As well as Apple’s website, the company must pay for notices in the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, Guardian Mobile magazine, and T3, according to a draft copy of the order provided by Samsung’s lawyers.

Apple’s lawyer said the company would appeal the July 9 decision and Judge Birss granted the company permission to take its case to the court of appeal.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 shows up for pre-order at US retail

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 shows up for pre-order at US retail had originally planned to launch the larger incarnation of their Galaxy Note earlier in the summer, but the device took a detour on its way to store shelves and re-emerged with a quad-core processor and built-in S Pen. Now US retailers are beginning to offer the device up for pre-order. J&R has the 16GB Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 for $499 and the 32GB model for $549, the only problem being a lack of clarity on an actual release date.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 has experience its share of false starts. It was initially unveiled back at Mobile World Congress in February and featured a slightly different spec sheet at the time. As an expected launch neared, rumors picked up that Samsung was redesigning the slate with quad-core processing in mind. The tablet’s chassis also got a slight makeover. Let’s just hope the Note 10.1 can make it to release this time without the folks behind the scenes deciding a few more upgrades are in order.
[J&R via UnwiredView]

Read more »

Google Unveiled The Android 4.1 Jelly bean

At Google I/O 2012 Google announce the new version of android Jelly Bean Android 4.1. The Devices Samsung Galaxy Nexus ,Motorola Xoom and Nexus S will get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by this july.
Lots of small refinements are present across the board in Jelly Bean and the most notable one is performance. Project Butter aims to make your device run as smooth as, well, butter. Google put up a video comparing two Android handsets, one running Ice Cream Sandwich and the other running Jelly Bean. There’s a clear difference in favor of Jelly Bean in animation frame rates.Triple buffering also boosts the graphics rendering and vsync timing ensures no frames get ahead or behind. Touch responsiveness is improved in Jelly Bean as well.

Jelly Bean also has little features that improve the overall experience like the ability to send a quick message to a caller after rejecting the call or swipe up in a set of photos (similar to HP’s webOS) to remove one or comment and like a Foursquare check-in directly from the notification without having to switch to the app itself — though for the latter, developers will have to implement the functionality first before users can take advantage of it. When you move widgets around on the home screen, they will automatically resize around apps or move apps around so it fits better. Again, all these little things add up.

Check out live stream. All coverage here.

Read more »

Google Nexus Tablet With Android 4.1 May Be Revealed in Google I/O

Till now Amazon kindle fire is the best seller in low cost android tablet but now google had made the tablet on android 4.1 which is priced at $200 which can cut the sales of the Amazon kindle fire 
According to the leaked documents Google’s next Nexus-branded product, and true to last month’ s whispers, the lost presentation slide reveals that the tech powerhouse’s new toy will be a 7-inch slate named the Nexus 7.

What’s more, an 8GB version of the Nexus 7 will be priced at a low $199, while a larger 16GB size will cost a still-affordable $249. The full list of revealed specs imply the new tablet will be a direct competitor to the Fire, also an Android slate with a 7-inch screen and a $199 price tag.
Other details show that the Nexus 7 will run Android build number 4.1, or what could be known as Android Jelly Bean, and that a 1.3-GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with a GeForce CPU and 1GB of RAM will power the new operating system.

The Nexus tablet’s 7-inch screen will house an IPS display with an advertised 178-degree viewing angle and an HD resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, which handily outstrips the Kindle Fire’s 1024 x 600-dot display. There’s another avenue techies suspect the Nexus may trump the Kindle Fire and that’s access to Google content centers like the Play store for apps, movies, and music. Amazon launched its own App Store to supply the Kindle Fire with Android software but its tablet doesn’t support Google’s built-in digital store front.

The Nexus also has a 1.2-MP front camera, a battery rated for 9 hours of life, NFC, and support for Google Wallet. So is the Google Nexus 7 tablet the 7-inch slate to rival the Fire? We’ll have to wait until Google I/O starts this Wednesday to find out for sure. Even if the answer is yes, however, Amazon has been rumored to release an update to the Kindle Fire with a new display. No word on when we could see that new Kindle, but this has been a busy summer for new hardware and software announcements.

Read more »

Microsoft Tablet Rumors: Nook Out, But What About An Xbox Tablet?

Microsoft’s got a “major announcement” coming out later today, and all the rumors have pointed to it being some sort of tablet-related news. At the end of last week, we talked about some of those, including the possibility thatMicrosoft could be announcing a tablet of its own, which might feature some connection to Barnes & Noble’s Nook line. We’re still several hours away from learning the truth, but in the meantime some new documents have leaked that make the case for what looks to be a gaming tablet, described as the Xbox Surface.

First off, that Nook rumor sounds dead in the water; Barnes & Noble has confirmed it will have no part in today’s event.

Via - Pocketnow

Read more »

Will the original Kindle Fire drop to $149 when new model arrives?

So you want a Kindle Fire, but $200 is just too steep for you. What if there was a $50 price cut? According to DigiTimes, that’s what Amazon is planning. So you might have a deal very soon.
Rumors have been swirling that Amazon is working on a successor to the original 7-inch model, with the updated version featuring a 1280 x 800 resolution display, with the same price tag as the original. It may be arriving in time for the 2012 holiday shopping rush too, which is great for gift givers. With the higher-resolution Fire selling at $199, the 1024 x 600 model will be dropped to $149.

Amazon will then sell the two models, keeping the lower-res original Kindle at $149 and offering it beside the new 7-incher and the also rumored 10-inch tablet coming either late this year or early next year.

Read more »

Microsoft to unveil Windows 8 tablet on Monday

According to The Wrap, who cites sources close to Microsoft, Microsoft will be unveiling a Windows 8 tablet this Monday in LA at an invite-only press event. The tablet is said to be a Microsoft-branded device and will be manufactured by Microsoft itself. The event is set for Monday, June 18 at 3:30 PST.
Rumors are saying that the tablet to be released will run Windows RT, the version of Windows destined for machines with ARM processors. Other specifications of the machine have not been rumored or guessed at, so it's a little hard to say what they will be. They most likely will take aim at the Apple iPad and have a similar size and processor.
After the event we will be able to tell you much more about the device, but until then, you'll have to take this rumor with a grain of salt. Nothing official from the company has confirmed that it is a tablet they are releasing. It could be something else entirely. More after it happens 3:30PST Monday.

Read more »

Lenovo IdeaTab 2110 drops by the FCC for a visit

The folks over at the FCC must have their hands full basically each and every single day, working on making sure that select consumer electronics devices that come their way are thoroughly inspected before being approved for sale in the US. The Lenovo IdeaTab 2110 did drop by to pay a visit to the FCC recently, where the innards were looked into and tested to make sure that both the 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 radios are good to go, working alongside us humans without helping us grow a third arm or leg elsewhere. Having said that, gaining the approval of the folks over at the FCC can only mean one thing – the device is more than ready to be released Stateside, so it is only a matter of time. This is where all the zen-like training you were given at the office will help you maintain a decent level of patience until something official from Lenovo pops up concerning the availability of the Lenovo IdeaTab 2110.

Read more »

Asus Transformer Prime receives update which Has Several Improvements and bug fixes

Good news for ASUS Transformer Prime owners as ASUS Transformer Prime minor update to version 9.4.2.28  We’ve received reports that many Canadian and U.S. users have been updated to the new version with great results. So you might want to check your device for the notification. This update should be bumping your tablet’s firmware up to 9.4.2.28 and will bring about several improvements and bug fixes along with a couple of new features.

Earlier this year Asus released a free GPS dongle to customers concerned with spotty GPS signal on the device, and this update seems to improve that speed at which the tablet locks on to a satellite.
If you’ve received the update, let us know how you fared — and if you’re waiting for it, head to About tablet/Software Update to check if it’s ready to go.

 

Read more »

Amazon Kindle for Android Updated With Enhanced Tablet Support

Amazon’s Kindle for Android recently received an update specifically geared towards tablets. So if your slab happens to moonlight as an e-reader, then you’ll surely want to grab this latest software push. If you’ve never tried Amazon’s Kindle app before but have been thinking about giving it a spin, check out the changelog below for details of what you can expect.

• Tablet users: customize your reading experience with new margin and line spacing controls.
• Tablet users: see two pages side-by-side in landscape mode.
• Fixed a bug that required some users to re-register when returning to the app.
• Several bug fixes.

These much welcomed improvements can be updated directly through your device or downloaded via Google Play.

Source: Google Play

Read more »

RIM drops the 16GB PlayBook, 32 and 64GB versions survive the chop

RIM has been having very public issues lately, and it seems this has steamrolled into their tablet, PlayBook, getting one of its models discontinued. Research in Motion have cut the 16GB model, as it will be removed from inventory lists after the current stock held by retailer's is gone.

A RIM spokesperson said that the company:

Remains committed to the tablet space and the 32GB and 64GB models of the BlackBerry PlayBook continue to be available from our distributors and retailers around the world.

RIM's tablet has been having issues, not getting even close to Apple's iPad in terms of numbers. For every PlayBook, 19 iPads are shipped. That must hurt, real bad.

Read more »