Archive for the ‘tablet pc’ tag
Notion Ink Adam Update 2 comments
Over the weekend the Notion Ink blog had some more details of the Adam Pixel Qi tablet. There are also a few production model photos.
Much of the new info relates to multitasking and memory optimization. On the Adam you will be able to run an application in a full screen mode or in a smaller window or panel. When in full-screen mode you have access to more components and features of the app. When the application is run in a panel, the Adam “decides which component (of an application) to call, what to load, when to connect, what to read from memory and when to refresh.”
You can have an infinite number of panels open at once, but only three at a time are active. The rest are in a light sleep. You can switch between application panels at any time, making them active — but you are limited to three active panels at one time.
This system results in better memory optimization and speed. Apps from the Android Market that are designed for mobile devices can also be run in these panels without having to enlarge them. It sounds as if Notion Ink may be able to use this feature to access the Android Market. Many other Android tablets cannot at the moment because the current version of Android is not optimized for tablets according to Google.
There is also a video of the Adam running a LongBox comic store app:
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eReader & Tablet News – 9/20/2010 no comments
According to Digitimes, Pegatron will be helping to build HTC’s Android tablet. Some of the specs of the tablet are mentioned as well. It will be based on the Tegra 2 from Nvidia, will have a multi-touch display with 1280 x 720 resolution and will come with a 32GB SSD. Digitimes says that the price of the tablet is estimated to be US $789. I would expect a tablet from HTC to be available at a subsidized price through wireless carriers.
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Google Docs coming to iPad? From the Google blog today:
…today we demonstrated new mobile editing capabilities for Google Docs on the Android platform and the iPad. In the next few weeks, co-workers around the world will soon be able to co-edit files simultaneously from an even wider array of devices.
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In the second quarter of 2010 wholesale ebook sales saw a small decline over the previous quarter ($88.7 million vs $91 million), though sales on a year over year basis were still way up. The third quarter appears to be resuming surging growth rates again — ebook sales in July, 2010 were $40.8 million, almost half of the entire previous quarter’s sales.
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There was an interesting post on the Notion Ink blog over the weekend about some of the choices involved in designing the Notion Ink Adam Pixel Qi tablet.
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Amazon has made available another beta release software update for the Kindle 3. Version 3.0.2 is said to include web browser and general performance improvements. If you want to try it out, you can download the patch from the Kindle 3 Software Update page.
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Notion Ink Adam Update 1 comment
Notion Ink posted some new info on their blog yesterday. The most important note is that the Adam now looks to hit the FCC a week earlier than previously scheduled. A couple of new hardware details: Sounds like the Adam will have user replaceable batteries, and there will be an on/off switch for the display of the LCD model’. In the Pixel Qi version of the Adam the switch will toggle between transmissive and reflective modes. Turning off the display of the LCD version might be useful if you are listening to audio and are not using the screen. Integrating the on/off switch also allows Notion Ink to use the same case for both models and helps keep costs down.
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eReader & Tablet News – 9/14/2010 1 comment
A roundup of some brief ereader and tablet related stories.
The annual Ipsos Mendelsohn Affluent Survey (via Advertising Age) of heads of households making $100,000 or more annually has found that the affluent are spending 12 percent more time on the internet, reading 16 percent fewer magazines and are buying more ereaders and tablets.
Nothing surprising there, except that there are still lots of magazines that don’t have iPad editions yet.
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Engadget was the apparent beneficiary of an AT&T leak yesterday and reported that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab will find a home with that carrier in the US.
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Infinity Publishing has signed an agreement with Kobo to make Infinity ebooks available through the Kobo ebook store. Infinity is a publishing company that caters to self-published authors. For a package price of $199, Infinity will turn an author’s existing work into an ebook, assign an ISBN to the title, and handle distribution.
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Graphic.ly has announced that it will be offering single issues of Marvel comic books on its desktop reader. Graphic.ly is the first desktop digital comic reader to be able to offer single issues of Marvel comics.
Many of the popular Marvel titles will be available at Graphic.ly, including Iron Man, Kick Ass, Amazing Spider Man, Captain America, Astonishing X-Men and more.
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Random House has announced a partnership with Seattle-based Smashing Ideas’ ePublishing group to bring multimedia children’s book apps to mobile devices. Smashing Ideas is a digital media agency whose recently formed ePublishing Group is headed up by Ben Roberts, co-creator and developer of Alice for the iPad.
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eReader & Tablet News – 9/13/2010 no comments
Sony has apparently been showing around a flexible epaper prototype. There are pictures but not many details at CNNGO.
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Finally! Seiko has announced the world’s first EPD watch with an active matrix system. Seiko will be releasing three models in December, 2010.
Besides having an epaper display, the new watches have some other cool features:
- Screen resolution 300 dpi
- Receives a time signal from the world’s atomic clocks via radio signal to keep you on time.
- Powered by a self-recharging solar battery; can run for up to nine months on one full charge.
- Has a sleep mode which is activated when the watch is left in darkness and no button is pressed for 72 hours.
- Five different time display options; World time mode lets you choose from 32 cities.
- Perpetual calendar up to December 31, 2060.
- Alarm, LED light, water resistance to 10 bar.
No word yet on pricing.
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E Ink Holdings has announced its earnings (via Digitimes) for August, 2010. Sales were up 16 percent over last year and 2.57 percent over the previous month. Revenue for the month was $50.3 million USD.
E Ink has been ramping up production to meet the increased demand after the prices of ereaders were lowered recently, and expects to maintain higher production rates at least through December.
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Rumors that Apple will introduce both a 5.6-inch and 7-inch version of the iPad after the first of the year keep reappearing. Digitimes also reports that there are more rumors that Apple will use OLED panels in the smaller models.
A 5.6-inch and a 7-inch screen are so similar in size — it doesn’t make sense to me to release both, though 5.6 is definitely more pocketable than a 7-inch device.
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Disney Book Group will be launching Rick Riordan’s new five-book series, The Heroes of Olympus, on October 12, 2010. The launch
of Riordan’s new series is getting the full treatment with its own website and a free webcast of the launch celebration to start at 7pm EST on October 12.
In Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan returns to the world of Camp Half-Blood. Here, a new group of heroes will inherit a quest. But to survive the journey, they’ll need the help of some familiar demigods. The Heroes of Olympus is a five book series and will have a new book published each year through 2014. In support of the release of The Lost Hero, Riordan will embark on an 11-city tour launching in Austin, Texas and continues on to Houston, TX; St Louis, MO; Kansas City, MI; Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; Portland, OR; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; and San Antonio, TX.
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It is the 50th anniversary of Green Eggs and Ham, so Oceanhouse Media is having a 50 percent off sale on their Dr. Seuss interactive book apps. The sale starts today and will be for a limited time only. The titles below are included:
- Green Eggs and Ham eBook
- The Cat in the Hat eBook
- Dr. Seuss’s ABC eBook
- One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish eBook
- Yertle the Turtle eBook
- Hop On Pop eBook
- The Lorax eBook
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! eBook
- Oh, the Places You’ll Go! eBook
- Gertrude McFuzz eBook
- The Big Brag eBook
- Dr. Seuss Camera – The Cat in the Hat Edition
- Dr. Seuss Camera – The Grinch Edition
- Up With A Fish! kid’s game
- Lorax Garden kid’s game
- Grinchmas! kid’s game
- Dr. Seuss Senders card deck
Most of these are $1.99 each for a limited time at the iTunes App Store.
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American Express has announced a partnership with Amazon that will now let you use your Membership Rewards points for purchases at Amazon.
Shopping with Membership Rewards points on Amazon.com is simple. Cardmembers need only complete a one-time registration to securely link their American Express Membership Rewards account to an Amazon.com account.
- Go to Amazon’s membership rewards page
and sign in with an existing Amazon.com account, or create a new one.
- Cardmembers must then follow the instructions to link their Membership Rewards account to their Amazon.com account.
- Membership Rewards points are available immediately for use on Amazon.com any time Cardmembers are shopping.
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Cisco Cius Tablet no comments
Today’s new tablet announcement comes from Cisco. The Cius tablet is aimed at business users rather than at the consumer market and Cisco promises that it will feature strong cloud-based computing and collaboration capabilities. A virtual desktop client application will come with the Cius, enabling the tablet to also act as a thin client on Cisco Collaboration Architecture and giving it the ability to coexist or replace a thick Windows PC client.
Some of the features:
- 7-inch color touchscreen.
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 3G/4G and Bluetooth.
- HD video (720p); HD audio.
- Battery: removable, eight hours.
- Highly secure connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client.
- Virtual Desktop Client enabling access to secure cloud-based business applications.
- Android-based.
- Processor: Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz with 32 GB flash memory.
- Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence and IM.
- The HD Soundstation docking station provides IEEE 10/100/1000 wired connectivity as well as other features.
The video below is a promo from Cisco:
The Cius is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2011.
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Dell Streak Incoming no comments
A couple of months ago some leaked Dell flyers surfaced of what Dell is now calling the Streak. This is an Android-based tablet and one of the features listed on the flyers was a Kindle reading app. This was seen as predicting a Kindle for Android app, and indeed a few days ago Amazon announced that such an app is forthcoming.
Now Dell has announced that the 5-inch Streak tablet will debut in Britain in early June, 2010 and in the United States a month or two later. The Streak, which is also a cell phone, will be available through mobile carrier O2 and Carphone Warehouse in Britain. Dell’s UK website will also have the Streak later this month. So far there does not seem to be any pricing information.
Some of the features of the Dell Streak:
- Rear-facing 5 megapixel camera plus a second forward-facing camera for video conferencing
- MicroSD memory card slot (up to 32GB)
- 5-inch multitouch screen; 800 x 480 resolution
- Wi-Fi, 3G & Bluetooth
- GPS
- Multitasking
- 1 GB Snapdragon processor
- Update to Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 later in the year
- User-replaceable battery
Engadget reports that initially the Streak will only be available in black, but more colors will be available later. Also see the Direct2Dell blog for more info. The Streak is the first of a series of tablet devices – Dell is working on larger format tablets as well.
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Tablets Galore no comments
HP Slate
The Spanish site Clipset (via Engadget) has some details on the HP Slate:
- Official launch in June, arriving in Europe in September.
- European pricing is said to be €400.
- Runs Windows 7 and supports Flash.
- Atom processor.
- USB port, card reader and camera on board.
Clipset makes the interesting observation that the HP Slate is like a scaled down netbook while the iPad is like a scaled up iPhone.
Neofonie WePad
The WePad by German company GmbH is due to arrive in German stores next month.
TechCrunch Europe has an article about the WePad that lists its features. The WePad is said to be cheaper than the iPad and has a larger 11.6-inch display vs the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen.
There is an interesting quote from Neofonie:
The WePad provides elderly users in the core target group of newspaper and magazine publishing houses, who generally have little to no experience with PCs with intuitive and fast access to the digital world of their children and grandchildren (Internet, e-mail, social media, etc.).
I think this is an excellent use for tablets. For elderly people who cannot use a computer and for whom becoming computer literate would be difficult, a tablet will be a much simpler way for them to gain access to email and the Internet.
Marvell Moby
Marvell has just announced the Moby and has been displaying a prototype at the Future of Publishing Conference in New York City.
From the press release:
For about $99, Marvell’s Moby tablet prototype promises to change the way students learn by delivering an always-on, high performance multimedia tablet featuring live, real-time content, 1080p full-HD and 3D media, and full Flash Internet. Marvell’s Moby tablet could eliminate the need for students to buy and carry bound textbooks and an array of other tools.
Some of the features:
- Powered by the ARMADA 600 processor.
- Gigahertz-class processor speed.
- 1080P HD encoding and decoding.
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM and GPS.
- Support for Flash.
- Support for Android or Windows Mobile.
That’s a really feature-rich device for only $99. The iPad is facing major competition from a lot of competitors that are promising more features and in many cases at a better price.
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Camangi WebStation Price Reduction no comments
Besttabletreview is reporting that the Camangi WebStation MID has dropped
in price from $399 to $275. No doubt this is due to competition from all of the other new and upcoming iTablets.
Some of the features of the Camangi WebStation:
- 7-inch LCD screen; 800 x 480 resolution
- Micro SD card slot
- Built-in Wi-Fi and support for some 3G dongle
- Ability to reverse the text/background colors when reading ebooks – said to help keep your eyes from tiring (?)
- Device Size: 4.72 x 7.87 x .57 inches; weight 13.75 oz
- Battery: Standby up to 4 days; up to 4-5 hours when using internet and media
- GPS module
- Android based
- Type A & mini-B USB port
- Various display languages; input in English, Japanese or Simplified Chinese
The Camangi WebStation has received rather mixed reviews, but if you want to try it out for yourself you can order one from Amazon
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ExoPC Slate Tablet no comments
It looks as though the tablet market is on its way to getting just as crowded as that of the ereader.
Engadget has details of a newly announced tablet by the French company
ExoPC. This one will have an 8.9-inch multitouch screen. Unlike the iPad, the ExoPC Slate will support multi-tasking and Adobe Flash. Some of the other features:
- Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz
- Screen resolution: 1024 x 600
- Storage: 32 GB SSD drive; SD/MMC card reader
- Memory: 2 GB DDR2
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi; Bluetooth and 10/100 LAN
- 1.3 Megapixel webcam
- 3 USB ports
- Battery life is only four hours, but the battery is removable, so presumably you can buy spares.
The ExoPC will run Windows 7 Pro. The tablet is 9.8 x 6.6 inches is a little over 3/4 inches thick and will weigh about 1 3/4 pounds. The ExoPC will be available in March at a price of $599.
