Even with manufacturer “skins”, Android tablet home screens haven’t been much more useful than those on Android smartphones, even though the slates have larger displays. One third-party software developer wants to change that and it’s using Kickstarter to fund the effort. A $5 pledge will get you a copy of Chameleon; an intelligent, customizable home screen app for Android tablets.
(Source: gigaom.com)
Google Android Nexus Rumors of a Google-branded tablet have been in the air for a few months now, but Thursday brought perhaps the most solid direct evidence that the search company is planning on entering into the tablet melee. While answering questions during Google’s earnings call, CEO Larry Page made comments that seem to corroborate the more circumstantial rumors that have been spreading lately. Asked about the company’s plans regarding tablets, Page noted that there are a few lower-priced tablets that have found success, but none that run a “full version of Android.” This was likely a veiled jab at Amazon’s Kindle Fire, far and away the most successful Android tablet thus far, and remarkable for its complete overhaul of Google’s operating system, replacing the interface, store, and apps.
(Source: MSN)
Behold, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Android tablet! We’re at Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona where Samsung has unviled its oversized version of the already oversized 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note. No official announcement has been made last we looked, but this one just went up in the past 24 hours or so — it wasn’t here when we swung by the Plaça de Catalunya on Saturday morning. It’s pretty clear to see we’ve got a 10.1-inch tablet on our hands, with another version of the S Pen. We can’t quite tell from the billboard itself whether the Galax Note 10.1 is sporting Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich, but we’d be willing to bet on the latter.
(Source: androidcentral.com)
The Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD has a 1080p display (actually 1920 x 1200), an 8-megapixel camera, and Huawei’s new and impressive K3 processor — and it all fits in a body that’s
just 8.8mm thick. The device is still in its early stages (reps told us the model on display was hand-made for today’s event), but even now it’s already impressive. The 1080p display looks fantastic, with great viewing angles and sharpness to spare. It’s running Android 4.0, and we zipped around the browser and Gallery apps, plus a few games, with virtually no lag. The tablet’s due to be available in the second quarter of this year, though reps wouldn’t say how much it would cost or where it will initially be on sale.
(Source: theverge.com)
Ainol Novo7 Paladin Hands-on by Android-Sale.com (by AndroidSale)
Cisco and ADP Dealer Services have come up with a way for car shoppers to have access to a computer while at a dealership. They’ll use Cisco’s Android tablet. The Cius tablet is an unusual product for Cisco. It’s not a consumer product. It is sold only to businesses and it was priced pretty high when the tablet debuted in June.
Cisco said the cost would be around $600 - $700. Cisco was pitching it then as a communication device that could substitute for a desk phone and possibly a PC as well.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ciscos-crazy-android-tablet-will-be-used-by-car-shoppers-2012-2#ixzz1lToMyXc4
Pantech has announced the Element, the first waterproof tablet. It is an 8-inch Android device that runs 4G through AT&T. A reviewer at Newsok.com reported that “The dual-core tablet with 1 gig of memory moves smartly from app to app and has a fine display, and when I was caught in a deluge while carrying the device from a distant parking spot to a business’ front door I didn’t fret. The Element weathered the storm just fine.”
The manufacturer says the tablet is waterproof “against incidental exposure” when all ports are tightly closed. It is not designed to be used while diving or lounging on a pool bottom, AT&T said. However, it is built to survive submersion in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
AT&T is offering the Pantech Element bundled with a Pantech Burst dual-core smartphone for $250. You’ll need to buy two-year data plans for both devices. The tablet alone costs $50 more, and you’ll still need to pay for a data plan.
(Source: newsok.com)
ComputerWorld reported that sales of Android-based tablets “more than tripled during the fourth quarter of 2011”. The Amazon Kindle Fire is included in these numbers, even though the Android OS is mostly hidden from view.
Global tablet shipments reached 26.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 150% increase from 10.7 million during the same period in 2010. Consumers are increasingly choosing tablets over netbooks and even entry-level notebooks or desktops, Strategy Analytics said.
Android is picking up momentum, and together vendors backing the operating system shipped 10.5 million units, compared to 3.1 million a year ago. That gives Android a 39.1% share of global tablet shipments, compared to 29% a year earlier. Apple’s share dropped from 68.2% to 57.6%, according to Strategy Analytics.
