Galaxy Tab Tablets Get Samsung Capacitive Stylus

Posted by on July 7, 2011 No comments


If you want more input and control over your Samsung Galaxy Tab unit there’s now a way to get it, through a new accessory. We’re talking about Samsung’s capacitive touchscreen stylus, known as the Conductive Pen, priced at $19.99.

This product works on the Galaxy Tab Android slates and any other tablet that relies on a capacitive touchscreen. This includes the iPad, Moto Xoom and HTC Flyer, that has its own beautiful stylus. Also, you might want to know tat the HTC Flyer has an active digitizer as an extra, allowing for more fine control with the special stylus.

Well, the Samsung stylus does not offer the same control and functionality for HTC Scribe, sadly. There’s also a drawback when it comes to the HTC Magic Pen: while it may be useful to draw, highlight and write on the scren, you can’t use it to tap on an icon or open an app. Will you choose Samsung’s pen?

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Nokia MeeGo Tablet Could be Coming, Bunch of Tabco Virals May Prove it (Video)

Posted by on July 7, 2011 1 comment


The video you can see below seems to be a hint regarding Nokia’s very first tablet, that’s most likely MeeGo material. Well, several other hints related to a mystery “Tabco” have been appearing lately, like the disappearance of a Twitter account called WeAreTabCo, that was followed by some popular people in the Meego world.

There’s a viral campaign taking off right now and it seems Nokia could be behind it. Also at the end of this article you’ll find a focus group, with very interesting discussions. They talk about the iPad, the Microsoft laptops and the PadFone, plus Xoom and other Android tablets. What’s left? Well, it could be HP, or… Nokia.

We hear lots of about swiping, a fantastic UI, this being the new Android and claims that this is entirely different. Last we find out that “it’s a big long for HP”, so there you have it: it’s either HP or Nokia. Tabco was also teased at WWDC, that’s a very bold move, especially near Apple’s Moscone Center event, where a plane spelled the name of the product on the sky.

Could we expect a Nokia Tabco tablet?

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Motorola Xoom 2 Confirmed, as LTE Slate Passes the FCC

Posted by on July 7, 2011 No comments


After weeks of speculations regarding a Motorola Xoom follow-up, the Xoom 2 seems to be real, having just passed the FCC. We’re talking here about the LTE version of the Xoom, possibly also including some other updated specifications.

It all started with the image below, showing a beautiful woman and an even more beautiful tablet, that was identified by some as the next Xoom. Now, since the new Motorola unit visited the FCC, complete with LTE, we’re all set for launch. The FCC documents have the device listed as the IHDP56LU2, but this codename doesn’t reveal any detail, sadly.

What’s certain (from the document) is that the new slate will come with WiFi, Bluetooth, CDMA and LTE. It will measure 259 mm in length and 166 mm in width, being a bit longer than the first Xoom. The tablet will come with a preinstalled LTE modem and we can’t help but wonder what will happen with the Xoom updates we were promised, for 4G connectivity.

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Cregle PenBook Windows 7 Tablet Provides 6 Hours of Battery Life, Uses Intel Atom Z530 CPU

Posted by on July 7, 2011 No comments


There are very few tablet models without Android and iOS that matter out there, but does the Cregle PenBook have what it takes to be one of them? We’re pretty close to the unveiling of the first Win 8 slates and still there are Win 7 new models coming every day…

This unit uses an Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM (only ships with 1GB) and an interesting touch bar that allows you to control various functions, such as brightness and page up/down. As far as storage goes, you get your choice between 16GB and 32GB of SSD memory. The display is a 10.1 inch unit with a 1,024 x 600 pixel resolution.

Too bad that the stylus bundled with this slate is not stylish…. Well, at least the battery life is good, at about 6 hours and the main advantage is that the power source is replaceable.

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JailbreakMe 3.0 Available Now, Frees Your iPad 2!

Posted by on July 6, 2011 No comments


If you’re an iPad 2 owner, now’s the time to rejoice, as you device can be jailbroken through the easiest method available. I’m talking about JailbreakMe 3.0, developed by the famous @comex. You don’t even have to connect your iDevice to a PC, just access www.jailbreakme.com and that’s it.

Supported devices include the iPad 1 (4.3 to 4.3.3), iPad 2 (4.3.3), iPhone 3GS (4.3 to 4.3.3), iPhone 4 (4.3 to 4.3.3), iPhone 4 CDMA (4.2.6 to 4.2.8) and iPods – iPod touch 3g (4.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.3), iPod touch 4g (4.3 to 4.3.3). This jailbreak method doesn’t rely on the limera1n exploit, but on a userland one.

This means you’re almost totally safe, but you can still damage the device after you get root access. Jailbreakme is very easy to reverse, through an iTunes restore and it’s even approved by the US authorities.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Ad Shows Us HSPA+ Speeds, Apple Mockery (Video)

Posted by on July 5, 2011 No comments


It appears you can’t make a successful ad for a tablet without mocking the iPad. Motorola did it, Toshiba did it, LG too and now Samsung does it (again). Some may say that it’s not an iPad we’re seeing in that image, but a look at that loading icon clearly reveals the Apple product…

Well, this clip emphasizes the connection speed of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and focuses less on dual core power, internal memory, design or others. Thus, this dual core tablet is able to reach speeds of up to 21Mbps, allowing the kid to play games online, browse the web without lag and check out HD YouTube clips.

Not quite sure about the need for HSPA+ when it comes to gaming on the tablet, since this is no HTC + OnLive combo, but hey, the marketing department has that figured out, right?

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Toshiba Thrive Available on Best Buy Early, With $479.99 Price Tag

Posted by on July 5, 2011 No comments


Still waiting for Toshiba’s Honeycomb tablet dubbed Thrive? Apparently, this model was on pre-order at Best Buy last month, but without a shipping date. Now, the device has been spotted in at least one Best Buy shop, after rumors about a debut on July 10.

We are talking here about a Best Buy in Austin, Texas and a lucky guy who wondered in the store and saw the working version of Thrive in a corner. The price tag for the 16GB unit is $479.99, that’s more than Amazon is charging the tablet on pre-order. Rumors are also claiming that the slate can be found in the 32GB version priced at $579.

We remind you that this is a Honeycomb 3.1 device, with a 10.1 inch high resolution LED screen, dual cameras, an easy grip cover, an USB 2.0 port and a HDMI one.

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AMD Fusion Tablet Chips Leak: “Hondo” and “Samara” Are the Codenames

Posted by on July 5, 2011 No comments


AMD is slowly but surely taking off in the tablet segment, that it graced recently with the Desna Z chip, but only a slate model or so. Now, thanks to a leaked roadmap, we know what to expect from this company: next-gen Fusion chips that will hit tablets in 2012 and 2013, according to a Turkish blog.

In 2013 we’ll see an AMD chip called Samara, but aside from next gen graphics and tablet optimization, we have no info on the product. In 2012, we’ll see the AMD Hondo chip, that will come with a TDP of under 4.5W and this low power comes from lowered I/O support, dropped PCIe, dropped VGA out and halved UMI interfaces. Also a single USB port will give you more battery life.

Right now we have the Desna AMD Z-01 chip and some low end Fusion chipsets branded Brazos, ready to capture a part of the market, till Hondo comes. In 2012 we’re expecting a configuration with 1GHz dual core Bobcats and 276MHz Radeon HD 6250 graphics. A cool feature supported is wireless playback of 720p video.

Expect samples to reach manufacturers in December this year and mass production to start in Q2 2012.

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iPad Clones Using Apple-Rejected Displays, Made in China

Posted by on July 4, 2011 No comments


Ever wondered what kind of components the iPad clones made in China use? Well, now we have a glimpse into the clone market and it seems that the companies making these devices rely on technology that was rejected by Apple. These second grade panels didn’t pass the quality checks of the Cupertino giant.

9.7 inch IPS panels that were refused by Apple are now being shipped to Chinese vendors, according to Taiwanese suppliers. LG Display and Samsung Electronics are the main suppliers for these parts, having shipped 12-15 million of them in Q2, while 7-9 million iPad 2s have been shipped in the same time frame.

There are three types of these panels: those that failed to meet the requirements, those sent to Foxconn for extra shipments in Q3 and those sold to tablet makers in China. There are also examples of the resulting tablets in the report, such as the T10 Android 2.2 slate made by Chinese vendor SmartDevices.

The T10 retails for $293, almost half the price of the iPad 2 base model, that sells for $570 in China. As the same time, we find out that Apple has the control over 60% of the world’s touch panel supply and they supposedly pay upfront to get their require components even when the supply is short.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Receive TouchWiz Update Soon – Details Here

Posted by on July 4, 2011 No comments


Samsung intends to implement the TouchWiz interface on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate soon, spoiling the Honeycomb experience that the users love so much. Well, there are some people who enjoy TouchWiz and I have to say that the version on Samsung Galaxy S II was really good, so maybe there’s hope for this one.

The update will be available as a download on your device and if you use a Samsung account on the slate, you’ll get notifications when the new software layer comes. Supposedly, you need a Samsung account to get the update at all, but that’s not confirmed yet. What the upgrade brings are extra features, such as Swype for tablets, Samsung Hubs, mobile printing, enterprise features and 4 preloaded apps.

TouchWiz UX, the tablet TouchWiz comes with a mini apps tray, similar to the dock bar in the ADW launcher, plus an enhanced settings panel and clipboard. This can be considered the first important UI for Honeycomb, so it’s a welcome premiere. The free apps that come with Samsung’s software are Zynga’s Words with Friends game, Amazon’s Music Cloud Player and Kindle, plus FindMyMobile.

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