ASUS Transformer Prime Camera Gets Tested, 8MP Sensor Actually Takes Nice Shots

Posted by on November 16, 2011 No comments

We’ve heard about tablets with 8 megapixel cameras before, but none of them were as impressive as what I’m about to show you. I’m talking about the ASUS Transformer Prime and its 8MP sensor, that actually takes good pictures, as shown in the following samples. Of course, feel free to consider the camera still a useless feature on a slate…

Considering how good these shots are, we might actually have to get good at holding these tablets and trying to take good pictures, especially when reviewing a device like this. ASUS might just be the first tablet maker that actually cares about photo taking on the go with a tablet and video recording as well, trying to hurt the competition on this field as well, not only CPU innovation.

I guess that the quad core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU also helps with image processing on the Transformer Prime, right? The photos you see here were posted by ASUS on Facebook, so you can imagine they’re doctored in some way as that’s the usual way of the PR. I’m particularly impressed by how the camera handles low lighting situations where even a 12 MP phone like the Nokia N8 would fail.


Droid Xyboard, New Name for the Xoom 2 on Verizon

Posted by on November 16, 2011 No comments

Motorola Xoom 2 doesn’t seem that appealing for a name that defines a tablet on Verizon, so it appears that the device will get a rebranding. Pocketnow has the scoop on this and they’re claiming that the new tablet and its 8.2 inch Media Edition will be dubbed Xyboard, as bizarre as that may seem.

The info actually comes from a leaked Verizon stock system grab, that indicates the new Honeycomb slates are heading to the carrier’s portofolio. Apparently, the name Droid is also involved here, but Xyboard is a very strange choice. Everything about Motorola has been Droid over the past years and this series has brought them success, but the Xyboard is way too sci-fi to make it as a big name.

An indication that this is the truth is the fact that Verizon trademarked Xyboard a bit over a month ago with the US Patent Office, so there you have it folks, Motorola is ready for the rebranding of the Xoom 2. These tablets will still bear this name in the UK at least and in case you’re not familiar with them, know that they’ll be running Android 3.2 on 1.2GHz dual core CPUs, packing 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. What separates them is the diagonal size: 10.1 inch for the standard Xoom 2 and 8.2 inch for the Media Edition.


Nokia Windows 8 Tablet Confirmed, Coming in June 2012

Posted by on November 16, 2011 No comments

We’ve heard speculations about such a product for a while now, but now the Windows 8 tablet is real, after the confirmation coming from Paul Amsellem. He’s the Nokia General Manager in France and apparently the slate will debut in June 2012.

The unveiling of the information came in an interview with the Les Echos newspaper, with Paul detailing the debut of the Nokia Lumia 800 in France. Apparently, the Finns want to draw the 60% of French people without smartphones to Nokia’s side. The rest of the interview is based mostly on phones, so it doesn’t quite interest us, but still the news that Nokia is into tablets is certainly good.

Let’s just hope that this project won’t end up just like Nokia’s first netbook, the Booklet 3G, that failed miserably. The key here is to deliver an unique product, with a diagonal of around 9 inches, maybe 1GB of RAM, a dual core 1GHz processor and a decent Carl Zeiss camera, if possible. Will Win 8 get enough traction, considering the evolution of Android?


Amazon Kindle Fire Available on Tuesday at Best Buy; Getting One?

Posted by on November 15, 2011 No comments

The very talked about Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is coming to Best Buy on Tuesday, which means that tomorrows you’ll have $200 to spend on a pretty good device, if you’re interested. This 7 inch slate is not your average Android slate, but rather something unique and based around Amazon’s services and offers.

Keep in mind that although the product is available tomorrow, delivery will only take place on November 21st through the 23rd. There’s also another solution to get your hands on the good earlier… The Big Box retailer will offer the Amazon Kindle Fire and it will have it in stock on Tuesday for the same $199.99 price tag as the one on Amazon.

In case you don’t know what you’re getting into, this slate comes with cloud based storage, no camera, a 7 inch IPS display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, a TI OMAP 4 dual core 1 GHZ processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory. Analysts are predicting millions of units of the first Amazon tablet being sold in the following months. Will you pick one up?


Lenovo Preparing 10.1 Inch Android Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet With Tegra 3… Coming in 2011?!

Posted by on November 14, 2011 No comments

The Lenovo ThinkPad has just been criticized by our team in this review and already Lenovo is preparing a new product, one that breaks the rumors we’ve heard recently, saying that ASUS will be the first and only company in 2011 with a quad core slate…. Lenovo has big plans for the year end, preparing a 10.1 inch Android 4.0 with Tegra 3 on board…

This device will come with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a standard USB port, a back camera with unknown resolution, a “Special Fusion Skin Body” and a fingerprint scanner that’s also an optical joystick. This gimmick will be found on the flat back of the tablet. No info about the dimensions of the product, but BIG is probably a safe bet.

We’re expecting here more firepower than the ASUS Transformer Prime, since the CPU is an Nvidia Tegra 3 T33 with 1.6GHz frequency not 1.33 like the ASUS gear. And now let’s see some leaked benchmarks, a launch date, some hands on time and we’ll be all set!



Superb SuperPad VI Android Tablet, Just Another iPad Clone

Posted by on November 14, 2011 No comments

And here’s yet another Android tablet from China, this one with a very original name: Superb SuperPad VI. SuperPad is usually an iPad clone, but now in this version it gets… an updated interface. This is the sixth iteration of the series of tablets from the SuperPad series, but don’t expect anything special this time…

The device comes with a 1GHz VC882 Cortex A8 CPU, a 10.1 inch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of built in memory. Other feats include two USB ports, HDMI output, an external GPS antenna port and dual speakers. What’s different from the previous models is actually the OS, that’s now Android 2.3 Gingerbread and not Froyo or Eclair.

Of course the price matches the inferior specs, so you’re going to spend under $150 for this contraption. Is it really worth it to launch a cheap device that has the same specs of its predecessor and a new Android?! Just saying…


Superb SuperPad VI Android Tablet, Just Another iPad Clone

Posted by on November 14, 2011 No comments

And here’s yet another Android tablet from China, this one with a very original name: Superb SuperPad VI. SuperPad is usually an iPad clone, but now in this version it gets… an updated interface. This is the sixth iteration of the series of tablets from the SuperPad series, but don’t expect anything special this time…

The device comes with a 1GHz VC882 Cortex A8 CPU, a 10.1 inch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of built in memory. Other feats include two USB ports, HDMI output, an external GPS antenna port and dual speakers. What’s different from the previous models is actually the OS, that’s now Android 2.3 Gingerbread and not Froyo or Eclair.

Of course the price matches the inferior specs, so you’re going to spend under $150 for this contraption. Is it really worth it to launch a cheap device that has the same specs of its predecessor and a new Android?! Just saying…


Panasonic ToughPad Rugged Tablets Launched: 7 Inch ToughPad B1, 10 Inch ToughPad A1

Posted by on November 14, 2011 No comments

Panasonic has just announced the launch of the ToughPad tablets, in the 7 inch B1 and the 10 inch A1 versions. These are rugged models, that can survive a drop from up high, it seems. They can even take on harsh weather and rough treatments, so they’ll be ideal in industrial environments.

Both run Android and meet the durability standards of ToughBook PC products from Panasonic. You also get 3 years of warranty, a water resistant shell on the slates and resistance against dust, screen glare and more. Extreme heat and cold doesn’t bother the ToughPads, so temperatures from 14 degrees to 122 Fahrenheit won’t be a problem.

Falls from 4 feet are also faced and you can use one of these tablets at an elevation of up to 15,000 feet. Plus, the specs aren’t bat at all, including the 1.2GHz Marvell dual core CPU on the A1, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and the 10.1 inch multitouch display. Digital pen input and a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution round things up, while on the software front, Android 3.2 Honeycomb is the name of the game.

The A1 integrates a mic and speaker, a microSDHC card slot, a stylus holder, a 5MP camera at the rear and 2MP one upfront, plus a micro HDMI port, Bluetooth, GPS and micro USB port. 3G and 4G connectivity are supported, but the price is pretty premium at $1299.


Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Hybrid Ultrabook Comes With Android for Extra Battery Life

Posted by on November 13, 2011 1 comment

Lenovo hasn’t only been messing with the tablet segment, but also with the ultrabooks it seems, since there’s a new model out there, that was just uncovered. This is the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid, a device that adopts the ultraportable X1 slick design and combines it with a touch of Android for extra battery life.

There’s an Instant Media Mode here, one related to the Android use, that will give us the flavor of the Google mobile OS that Lenovo has been offering on its tablets till now. The advantage here is that the Hybrid comes with instant boot, double battery life, reaching 10 hours of web browsing and a very user friendly experience and all thanks to the Instant Media Mode.

I’m curious if this device will be able to switch between operating systems on the fly or simply dual boot them. If so, what are the other options, aside from Android? MeeGo, Windows 7, Windows 8 maybe? Hopefully this model will be better than the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet we’ve just reviewed…


$100 Kobo Touch With Offers Coming in 2-3 Weeks, Serving Ads For Discounts

Posted by on November 13, 2011 No comments

Kobo has just launched the Kobo Touch with Offers gadget, priced at $100 and supported by ads included on it. This eReader is available on its webstore and it’s down $30 from the regular $130 price tag. This 6 inch slate is just like the original Kobo Touch, but it shows ads when in sleep mode.

Also, some ads will be displayed on discreet areas, as promised by its maker. The product is available in the US in black, but it’s unavailable for pre-order right now. Kobo lists it as “shipping within two to three weeks” and there’s no telling exactly what ads you’re going to see on its screen. This device allows you to access over 2.2 million books, newspapers and magazine via WiFi and read them using the 6 inch E-Ink screen without glare problems.

7 font styles, plus your own are available and 17 sizes for best reading experience. 15 best selling book samples will be preloaded on this device, that’s very light and compact, measuring 10mm in thickness and weighs 186 grams.