Tablets are
like most objects of desire -- you can pay a lot for them, or you
can get them relatively cheap, but ultimately you get what you pay
for. But is that the case with the Disgo 9000, the latest budget
tablet from the one-time flash memory manufacturer?
It's on sale now for around £150.
Design
It's about £30 cheaper than the flagship
9104 and shares a few of its features, not least the 9.7-inch
screen that delivers 1,024x768 pixel resolution, which equates to
131 pixels-per-inch. It's HD, just about, but doesn't look quite as
sharp as some of its rivals, though it's sensitive enough not to
need much pressing and poking.
It doesn't have the same £100 software package as the 9104, so
there's no preloaded Office Suite or games, but the main compromise
has been made with the processor.
Features and performance
While the single core 1GHz processor (down from the 9104's 1.2GHz)
is backed by a full 1GB of RAM, it's noticeably lacking in the
speed department. Starting up from sleep mode takes a few seconds
and it never seems to be in a rush to open any apps.
Processing speed isn't an area we felt the 9104 could afford to
lose much ground on, but the 9000 slows things down still further.
Our AnTuTu benchmark test delivered a result of 3,026, which puts
it in line with low- to mid-range smartphones, not full-size
tablets.
It's running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich so it's not quite
the full Jelly Bean, but it's close. Like previous Disgo models,
there's no Google Play when you first switch it on. Licensing
issues mean that's it's not officially allowed to carry it, though
there are a few thousand apps available from Disgo Apps, the
SlideMe Market and the Amazon AppStore.
There is a workaround from wildestpixel.co.uk however,
where you can sideload a program from your computer that gets you
access to Google Play. We tried it and it worked without a hitch --
worth considering if you're suffering from app envy.
Extras are of course not of the first water. The two-megapixel
camera barely passes muster for emergency snaps -- it would have
been more useful on the front for video calls rather than the
grainy 0.3-megapixel camera Disgo actually used.
There's 8GB of memory on board (half what you get with the 9104)
but you can add another 32GB via microSD card, which is something
you still don't get on many tablets.
Conclusion The Disgo 900 is far from the top of the range, and is a
disappointment in terms of performance with its underpowered
processor. However, the screen's not bad and it's built pretty
solidly, so as a low-cost family tool or additional computer, it
might just be worth the few shekels. But considering the
Nexus 7 from Asus is around the same price, delivering a
superior screen and much, much faster performance, it's not quite
the bargain it first appears.
Specifications
Software : Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich
Processor : Single core 1.0GHz Cortex A8
Memory slot : Yes
Display : 9.7in, 1024x768 pixels
Connectivity : Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth
Ports : Mini USB power/sync, 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI
Camera : 2 megapixel camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facingcamera
Public school systems are cheerfully decorated dictatorships:
discipline, standards, and testing are the driving concepts of modern
k-12 education. The very reason why districts purchase bundles of the
same textbooks is so they can keep classrooms in lockstep alignment as
teachers meticulous meet timely instructional goals.
Amplify, NewsCorp’s
new education division, finally revealed
its long-awaited flagship product: a sophisticated tablet designed
specifically for schools, which many finally be the perfect bureaucratic
blend of classroom management, assessment, and monitoring that schools
need to adopt technology en mass.
But what in the sam hill is News Corp. doing messing around in
education? Well, it’s true that Rupert Murdoch is one of the more
well-known (and polarizing) figures in the media landscape; his
reputation precedes him, and it’s not one that’s typically been
associated with education reform. While the News Corp.
founder’s sudden transformation into an education reform advocate may seem a head-scratcher, the motivation becomes clear when, in Murdoch’s terms,
one considers that K-12 education is a $500 billion sector in the U.S.
alone — and one that remains relatively untouched by corporations like
News Corp.
A little over two years ago, Murdoch set out leverage the News Corp.
brand to help fix a public education system that, in his words, has “lower standards than American Idol,”
hiring one of the more prominent figures in American education, former
chancellor of New York schools, Joel Klein, to pursue opportunities in
EdTech. With Klein as his new education guru, the pair quickly made
their first big strategic move, acquiring New York-based software, assessment and data services startup, Wireless Generation, for a whopping $360 million.
However, News Corp.’s plans for education were quickly derailed by the infamous phone-hacking scandal
that forced Klein leave his position to lead the company’s internal
investigation. After two years of investigations, trials and more, News Corp. rebranded its education unit last summer as “Amplify,”
revealing some of the basic tenets that would shape its digital
strategy, which include “assessment via mobile tools, curriculum design
and the online distribution of resources via AT&T-powered tablets,”
as Greg wrote at the time.
Klein and company are convinced that, for public education reform to
be successful, the private sector needs to get more involved — as does
the role of technology in the classroom to help both teachers teach more
effectively and help students learn. Amplify attempts to put those
ideas into practice, by allowing the company to not only sell its
curriculum on any tablet makes its way into schools, but by betting that
schools will be willing to fork over a pretty penny to access blended
learning tools (and an infrastructure to store learning data) all
through a custom tablet.
Of course, Ammplify isn’t the first to offer these types of learning
tools on mobile devices, as many startups (and even bigs like Pearson)
already have similar cross-platform, web-based tools on the market.
However, no particular device or platform has emerged as the clear
leader, and by offering classroom management tools and features that one
would expect from News Corp, like a kill switch that allows teachers to
limit students’ access to apps on the tablet, Amplify hopes to get a
leg up.
Source: Engadget
Amplify aims to be not just a tool but a platform for managing a 21st century classroom. Where past efforts to incorporate tablets into a K-12 environment have been satisfied with simple (and carefully controlled) social features and some reference materials, this actually offers features to teachers aimed at delivering instant feedback and differentiated instruction. Everything from taking attendance and blocking distracting apps, to polling students comprehension and pushing supplemental materials to those that need it can be managed from the educator's unit. There's also the ability to build custom lesson plans called Playlists, that can incorporate material from locally stored textbooks, pre-loaded Khan Academy videos and the internet.
The biggest stumbling block continues to be price. A WiFi-only Amplify Tablet will set schools back $299 apiece, so long as you agree to a two-year subscription to Amplify's services at $99 a year. (It's nice to see Klein has learned something from working closely with the carriers.) Prices climb even higher if schools wish to have LTE connectivity; an Amplify Tablet Plus will put a $349 dent in a school's budget and that's before factoring in the two-year mandatory subscription which includes AT&T service for $179 a year. Still, there's plenty of solid ideas at work here that we could see enjoying great success if they're incorporated into a more affordable product. For more, check out the video above as well as the PR below.
The flagship Android device from Gionee will feature a Quad core processor & a Super AMOLED plus display.
Chinese mobile brand Gionee has recently started its operations in India and has also announced the launch of the Gionee Gpad 1 phablet for the Indian market. Now Gionee is gearing up to launch its flagship product - the Gionee Dream D1 smartphone - for the Indian market and will be launching it soon.
While taking to The Mobile Indian, Gionee representative in India said, "Gionee will be announcing the launch of the Dream D1 Android smartphone for the Indian market on the 23rd March, The prices are however not finalized but will be doing it soon."
The Gionee Dream D1 smartphone will feature a 4.65 inch HD display, which is said to be based on Super AMOLED Plus technology. It's the same display technology that makes the Samsung Galaxy S3 so popular. Along with that the device will be powered using a 1.3 GHz quad core CPU based on ARM cortex A7 architecture. There will be 1 GB of RAM to make things fluid and smooth and along with that there will be a 4 GB of onboard storage that can be expanded up to another 32 GB with the use of micro SD cards.
The device will feature an 8 megapixel rear camera which is capable of recording 720p videos and a 1 megapixel front facing camera for video calling and conferencing. The Gionee Dream D1 will be based on Google Android's latest Android Jelly Bean operating system which will bring maximum application compatibility and features to the device as well.
The Gionee Dream D1 was earlier slated to be launched towards the end of February this year but due to change in the taxation policy on mobile devices by the Government of India, the company could not decide on its price. Though Gionee has not confirmed its price but we expect that the smartphone will be priced around $200.00.
The 5 inch phablet comes with Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and a 1 GHz dual core processor.
Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, Gionee has announced the launch of its first ever Android smartphone in India. Called as the Gionee G Pad 1, the smartphone comes with a 5 Inch display and is prioced at $200.00 at which it offers free bundled accessories as well including a cover, scratch guard and an 8 GB memory card as well.
The Gionee Gpad 1 features a 5 inch LCD display with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution with a scratch resistant surface, which according to various online shopping websites, is the Corning Gorilla glass but the company has not mentioned anything about it. The Gionee Gpad 1 comes with a dual core processor running at 1 GHz, Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. The storage can further be increased with the use of a
micro SD card to up to 32 GB.
Besides, Gionee Gpad 1 has dual SIM (3G and 2G) connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth 4, GPS, micro USB and 3.5mm jack. There is an 8 megapixel auto focus camera at the back and a VGA camera at the front. Apart from that there is G-Sensor, proximity light sensor and also a magnetic sensor as well on the device.
The Gionee Gpad 1 is now available through online stores as well as retail stores in some states including Kolkata, Jaipur and Chandigarh to name a few and more stated will be added as Gionee is expanding its retail presence through dealer appointments.
The
two major tradeshows of 2013--CES and Mobile World Congress--have seen
the debut of many new slates, all of which are hoping to get a piece of
the rapidly expanding tablet pie.
The majority of them remain Android-based models, with a handful of
Windows 8 devices.
Besides Android and Windows tablets, you can probably expect Apple to
update its iPad lineup sometime this year. The next version of the iPad
mini is rumored to come with a Retina-quality screen,
while the 9.7-inch iPad may be slimmed down to keep up with its smaller sibling.
To help you keep track of these tablets, we have compiled a list of
models along with their announced (or rumored) launch dates and prices:
What we know: Archos will undoubtedly be accused of
apeing Apple with its latest tablets. The screen on the Archos 97
Platinum matches the size of the iPad's 9.7-inch display--it even has an
identical 2,048 x 1,536-pixel "Retina" screen resolution. Meanwhile,
the smaller 8-inch Archos 80 Platinum is a mere decimal point away from
the iPad mini, down to its underwhelming 1,024 x 768-pixel screen.
It probably doesn't help Archos that these two Android 4.1 slates
come in white with an aluminum back. Consumers will probably not mind
the comparisons, especially as the 9.7-inch version comes with pretty
good hardware, such as a quad-core processor, for its price.
Price and availability: US$199 for the Archos 80 Platinum and US$329 for the 97 Platinum, available from March.
What we know: The Fonepad is what happens when you
invert Asus' PadFone device--a handset that fits within a tablet
hull--and have a slate that's able to make phone calls, too. It's not
terribly exciting--we have had that capability on some tablets for a
while now--while the Fonepad moniker seems like a recipe for confusion.
That aside, the Fonepad resembles the Asus-built Nexus 7,
but with an Intel Atom processor instead of Nvidia's Tegra 3. The
chassis is now aluminum, an upgrade from the plastic body of the Nexus.
It still runs Android, albeit 4.1 Jelly Bean instead of the version 4.2
on the Nexus 7.
Price and availability: US$249 for the 8GB version, available in March.
Asus MeMo Pad tablets (7- and 10-inch)
What we know: Asus announced the 7-inch MeMo Pad 172V
at CES, a budget offering that's cheaper (US$149) than the Nexus 7.
These specifications, of course, aren't as good as the Nexus, which is
also made by Asus. However, the expandable microSD slot is a useful
feature not present on the Google-branded slate.
Price and availability: US$149 for the Asus MeMo Pad 172V, ships in April.
HP Slate 7
What we know: HP's first consumer tablet since the Touchpad
fiasco, the Slate 7 goes for the mainstream small-tablet segment
popularized by the Amazon Kindle and the Nexus 7. The Slate 7 wades into
a pretty crowded field--the company's best chance is to play up its
integrated ePrint app, and the promise of better audio (via Beats).
Price and availability: Starts at US$169, ships worldwide in April.
Lenovo's Android trio
What we know: Lenovo announced three tablets at
Mobile World Congress--two 7-inch models (A3000 and A1000) and a
10.1-inch offering (S6000)--though they don't really stand out due to
their modest hardware. The company does have a trick up its sleeve--an
optional HSPA+ mobile broadband feature on the S6000 and A3000, dubbed
Lenovo Mobile Access, that's valid (and free) for a limited period.
Users have to sign up with a wireless provider subsequently to continue
using the service.
Price and availability: No prices yet, worldwide availability from Q2.
What we know: Arguably the biggest tablet launch at
Mobile World Congress, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 brings the S Pen
stylus into iPad mini territory. While it isn't the most
original-looking design--resembling a supersized Galaxy Note 2--we
believe the proprietary software, which tackles multitasking and stylus
input on tablets, has much potential.
Price and availability: No prices yet, available worldwide in Q2.
What we know: We haven't been this excited by a Sony
tablet since the dual-screen Tablet P. In fact, the conventional design
of the new Xperia Tablet Z probably means it's more likely to be a hit.
The sleek, sexy design, along with high-end specifications, are
certainly some factors. You can read our impressions here.
Price and availability: US$499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, US$599 for the 32GB version--available globally from Spring 2013.
Unnamed Vizio Tegra 4 tablet
What we know: We don't know a lot about the
10.1-inch tablet that Vizio showed off at CES 2013--the name, for one.
From what we have seen of the prototype, however, it should be pretty
impressive: It's powered by Nvidia's next-generation Tegra 4 processor, and has a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel screen resolution that rivals that of the Nexus 10.
Price and availability: Not yet announced.
The Windows 8 contingent
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S
What we know: Taking the compact design of its
ARM-based 11-inch Yoga convertible and adding a Core-i variant seems
like a good move for Lenovo. The company announced the Yoga 11S at CES,
which also features Intel's brand-new, enhanced Ivy Bridge processors.
Personally, the 13-inch Yoga is just too large for our liking--the
11-inch version seems like a better fit. You can check our preview here.
Price and availability: US$799, sometime in June.
Lenovo ThinkPad Helix
What we know: Another Lenovo convertible that
debuted at CES, the Helix is targeted at enterprises which require
Ultrabook-class hardware and Intel vPro support. A full-HD IPS display,
stylus support, and a keyboard dock accessory that doubles the battery
life, are other attractive features. Our detailed write-up about this
device can be found here.
Price and availability: US$1,499, launching in the US in early March.
What we know: Razer's Project Fiona, which was first
shown at last year's CES, is all grown up now. Revealed at CES 2013 as
the Razer Edge, the key feature of this Windows 8 tablet is its
accessories, which converts the slate into a handheld gaming console, a
clamshell laptop, or even a desktop machine. While we felt that the
handheld concept is too heavy to be practical, the Edge seems like a
suitable device to bring Steam's Big Picture to the living room.
With its Core-i processor and a discrete Nvidia GPU, the Razer Edge
shows promise as a portable alternative for PC gamers. In fact, the
Razer Edge impressed both CNET editors and readers at CES to take home two awards.
Price and availability: Starts from US$999, US preorders available from March 1, ships in late March.
ZTE V98
What we know: Chinese manufacturer ZTE's Windows 8
slate runs on a standard Intel Atom (Clover Trail) platform. It benefits
from an aluminum chassis that gives it a solid, premium feel. It also
comes with cellular radios, and optional 4G LTE, features not commonly
seen on Windows tablets.
Price and availability: No prices yet, launching in China in Q3.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800: Hands-on with the Future of Mobile
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When Qualcomm first announced that its next-generation Snapdragon 800 series processors would run at a maximum clock speed of 2.3-GHz, we were instantly blown away. After all, that would make the chip one of the fastest in the land. But the Snapdragon 800 is more than just a speed demon. This processor also packs a wide array of impressive features that sound too good to be true, including the ability to capture and output 4K photos and videos, run high-quality games, play 7.1 Dolby audio and enable 4G LTE Advanced connectivity. To get a closer look at this processing behemoth, we stopped by Qualcomm’s booth here at Mobile World Congress 2013 to see what the future of mobile tech holds.
4K Video Capture and Playback
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The tech buzzword, er, phrase, of the moment is “4K resolution.” TV manufacturers ranging from LG to Samsung are all working on their own 4K TVs sporting the latest in super sharp, high definition technology. At four times the pixel density of a standard 1080p display, 4K images and videos require serious horsepower to run smoothly. And yet somehow Qualcomm has managed to get its Snapdragon 800 to do just that.
Not only that, but the chip is also capable of capturing video and images in 4K and outputting them to a 4K display via HDMI. During one demo, Qualcomm representatives showed us a clip from the film “Life of Pi” in 4K resolution running off of a Snapdragon 800-powered Android tablet, and at no point did we notice any lag. During a second demonstration, we used a Snapdragon 800-equipped phone to capture 4K pictures of a Qualcomm representative and immediately transfer them to a 4K television.
Carrier Aggregation
Next we checked out the processor’s ability to run a 4G LTE Advanced data connection. Such data speeds, which can reach as high as 145 Mbps, are possible as a result of a technique Qualcomm is using called carrier aggregation, which combines a carrier’s radio channels across non-adjacent bands.
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So what can a 145 Mbps data connection do for you? How about stream 4K resolution video as Qualcomm did during our demo? Qualcomm says it’s not just making changes to its chipset to bring users such high data speeds, the chip-maker is also working with carriers to improve their networks efficiently and bring LTE Advanced to market in the not-too-distant future.
Mobile Gaming Powerhouse
Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t check out how well the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 can handle mobile gaming. So we stopped by the company’s gaming kiosk where we saw the Snapdragon 800 running three games, including the Android game “Modern Combat.”
What really blew our socks off was the number of polygons the processor was able to handle while running a game demo of a group of dragons attacking a castle. At one point during the demo the lead dragon spits out a stream of fire that, when viewing the game as a collection of wire frames, turned into a seemingly infinite number of polygons.
After spending some time with the Snapdragon 800, it’s clear that Qualcomm’s next-generation chip is destined to be one of the most important pieces of silicon in the coming years. From 4K resolution and 7.1 Dolby sound to incredible network speeds and gaming power, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor is in a category all its own.
NVIDIA Hates The Benchmark Game, But Lifts The Veil On Tegra 4 Performance Anyway
Flash back a month or so to CES — NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang officially pulled back the curtain on the company’s new Tegra 4 chipset,
and called it the “world’s fastest mobile processor.” It was a hell of a
claim to make, but the company did little to justify it at the time
aside from pointing to its array of Cortex A15 CPU cores and its “72 GPU
cores.”
Fortunately, NVIDIA is much chattier here at MWC, and was eager to
show off some rather impressive synthetic benchmarks for its latest and
greatest mobile chipset.
Well, maybe “eager” isn’t exactly the right word — NVIDIA really
hates playing the mobile benchmark game. I don’t blame them. In many
ways the sorts of numbers that these tests spit out just don’t
accurately reflect the experience that users will actually have. During
our early testing for instance, the Nexus 4
consistently put up some strangely anemic Quadrant scores — which its
cousin the Optimus G handily blew past — despite working like a dream.
All that said, benchmarks are largely are for the most part
inescapable, and the Tegra 4 SoC does a rather nice job on them anyway.
Quadrant is one of our go-to mobile benchmarking tools, and the Tegra 4
did not disappoint — it scored in the mid-16,000s, topping out at
16,591. To put that in a little perspective, Samsung/Google’s Nexus 10
(which itself is powered by a relatively new dual-core 1.7 GHz Samsung
Exynos chipset) usually scores in the mid-to-high 4,000s. Asus’
Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 (powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core NVIDIA
Tegra 3) fared about the same, if not a hair higher.
The results were much the same when we looked at AnTuTu scores —
while tablets like the Nexus 10 and Asus’ TF700 will yield scores in the
mid-8000s to low-9000s, the Tegra 4 demo tablet consistently hit scores
above 36,000.
Curious about how the Tegra 4 compares in your preferred benchmarking
suite? You can see the full gallery of Tegra 4 benchmark results below:
One of NVIDIA’s most prominent competitors these days is Qualcomm,
and NVIDIA Product Marketing director Matt Wuebbling was eager to chat
about the performance differential when I let slip the Q word.
When asked about how much NVIDIA knows about Qualcomm’s updated
Snapdragon chipsets, he replied simply enough: “we know a lot.” By his
count, the Tegra 4 is about two to three times faster than Qualcomm’s
Snapdragon 600 (used in devices like the new HTC One). He went on to say
that the top-tier Snapdragon 800 is about 25 to 35 percent faster than
the 600, with the implication that the Tegra 4 still comes out on top.
Though his response has based on Qualcomm’s published Snapdragon
claims, I’d still advise you to take that comparison with a grain of
salt. That’s nothing against Wuebbling, but these sorts of simple
comparisons don’t always paint the most accurate picture. I couldn’t
reach Qualcomm for response at time of writing, but I’ll update if/when
they respond to these claims.
You would think that this sort of horsepower would suck a battery dry
in jiffy, but that doesn’t appear to the be the case. Another Tegra 4
demo had a video running at full resolution on a small 1080p display, an
exercise that never drew more 1 watt of electricity at the most. Power
consumption typically fell within the 900-950 milliwatt range — devices
like the Droid DNA for instance tend to draw around 1.2 watts for
similar tasks.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 theater demo at MWC 2013
The false alarm of the super powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
already being in a device, and a ZTE one of all places already rang at
MWC, but reality is we are still a few months away from seeing retail
devices with the most powerful Snapdragon chip so far.
Being at
Mobile World Congress, though, we were privileged to get an early peek
at a reference tablet design based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and
running a 4K Ultra HD video.
All of that happened at the Qualcomm
Theater booth where only 9 people are allowed to sit and enjoy the
Snapdragon 800 experience. You also get to listen to 7.1 surround sound
augmenting the experience. Take a look below.
Ubuntu writes, “Tastefully tactile Ubuntu on tablets” which indicates that the company will bring up something extra to the users. The company also says the below words:
With unique multitasking productivity, effortless navigation and defence-ready security, Ubuntu raises the bar on tablet design and sets a new standard for the post-PC era. Bright. Brilliant. Beautiful. And naturally neat.
Its multitasking brings up a lot interest among the users. Its unique side stage places a phone and a tablet app on the same screen at the same time for amazing tablet productivity.
Ubuntu expresses that you can take calls in Skype while you are working in a document, can make notes while you’re surfing the web, can tweet while watching movie. Or you can use apps collaboratively-you can drag the contents from one document to the other. These features comes from its Multitasking mojo.
Razer has announced that its gaming tablet, the Razer Edge, will be available for pre-order from March 1, 2013, on Razer’s own store. Those who pre-order the tablet will have it shipped to them in March itself. The company had originally unveiled the tablet and announced that it would be available this year back in January during CES.
“The
Razer Edge combines the features of full-functioning PCs, touch-enabled
tablets and gaming consoles into one incredible, portable form factor,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director.
“Furthermore, the Razer Edge’s powerful chipset, unique among all
tablet computers, ensures that you can take advantage of the world’s
most sophisticated games, programs and apps on these multiple platforms
anytime.”
Coming in March
The gaming tablet for PC gamers was also designed by PC gamers,
says the company, as a massive crowdsourcing effort put into place by
Razer targeted millions of gamers to determine the final specifications
for the Edge. Razer let its community (and the PC gaming community as a
whole) decide the end-game chipset, weight/thickness, features and even
price for the Edge, and hosted the initiative on its social media pages.
The
Razer Edge and its Intel i5 processor and 64 GB SSD, and the Razer Edge
Pro with an Intel i7 processor and the option of a 128 GB or 256 GB
SSD, will begin shipping this March. The gamepad controller, home
console dock and extended battery accessories will be made available for
pre-order and shipping concurrent with the Edge on March 1. An optional
keyboard dock is slated for launch later this year in Q3.
The
Razer Edge Pro will additionally be offered in a bundle package with a
Gamepad Controller in both the 128GB and 256GB SSD model.
Four
dedicated configurations offer versatility for Razer Edge users: Tablet
mode, Keyboard Dock mode, Gamepad Controller mode and Docking Station
mode.
Tablet mode avails the Razer Edge with multi-touch
capabilities for full Windows 8 applications, movies and music playback,
in a traditional tablet form factor.
An optional keyboard dock
gives the Razer Edge the laptop experience with a traditional keyboard
and mouse, supporting a removable 40Wh battery, so gamers can play their
favourite keyboard and mouse reliant PC titles.
An optional
gamepad controller turns the Razer Edge into a mobile console, offering
an immersive, portable gaming experience. A fully programmable dual
controller interface with precise analog sticks is unique among all
tablets, featuring the ability to play any PC game out of the box along
with immersive vibration-feedback, so players can "feel" every in-game
explosion and recoil.
An extended battery is able to connect with
both the keyboard dock and gamepad controller, and doubles battery life
for the Razer Edge.
Finally, the Razer Edge can be docked in the
Docking Station as part of home console mode, which serves as a full
desktop and charging resource with three USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4
port, mic-in and stereo-out. Hook-up the Razer Edge to the big screen
with multiple gamepad controllers and Razer gear and tag team PC games
with your friends for a complete home console experience. It's the most
versatile tablet on the planet.
The all-in-one Razer Edge PC gaming solution starts at $999
Android rules the roost on
the global stage by a wide margin overall, but the market share in the
United States is a tight competition with iOS.
iOS reached a peak
sometime last year as both it, and Android dominated over a virtual
vacuum due to lack of any viable third-player. Symbian still manages to
move the needle on a global scale but does not even register an
asterisk now. Windows Phone has been around but there has not been any
excitement over it until Windows Phone 8 rolled out, and its growth rate
has been phenomenal. BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion,
continued to take a beating although that was pre-official-BlackBerry
10 (and still is in the US actually).
For the three month period
ending in January, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech estimates that Apple’s iOS
slipped from just above 50% market share to about 46% while Android
gained to 49% from 43%. Much of this growth can be credited to Sprint.
Kantar cites Sprint’s contract pricing for Android devices averaged
about $95. Even then, most of that money went to Samsung (no surprise
there) since Sprint had lowered the price of a Galaxy S III to $99.
Verizon
now leads in the percentage of smartphone sales, but its share of iOS
versus Android activations remains a bit more balanced at 56% (iOS) to
40% (Android) compared to AT&T where a full 70% of its smartphone
activations are iPhones. Despite the aggressive pricing strategy Sprint
played, its growth was marginal and the carrier is still suffering a
net-loss of subscribers.
PRESS RELEASE
Going
forward it will be interesting to see how the progress of Android as
well as any (hopeful) advancements in iOS will be reflected in how the
two giants share the bulk of the market. Windows Phone needs to
maintain its momentum and we will see if BlackBerry can get its mojo
back. MWC has revealed to us the Firefox OS is coming to town too.
Android Regains Lead Among U.S. Smartphone OS Sales Price reductions for flagship models contribute to Android's performance, says Kantar Worldpanel ComTech
New
York, February 25–Android regained the top spot as the best selling
smartphone platform in the 3 months ending January 2013, according to
data released today by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. With 49.4% of
smartphone sales, Android realized 6.4% growth compared to the same
period last year.
iOS was second during the period with 45.9% of
smartphone sales, down 4.7% versus last year. Windows continues to make
gains, up to 3.2% of smartphone sales. Top carrier rankings have also
shifted with Verizon regaining its top spot with 35.2% smartphones sold
in the 3 months ending January 2013. AT&T falls to second with
28.2% of smartphone sales. Sprint maintains third position with 14.2%
share.
The data is derived from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech USA's
consumer panel, which is the largest continuous consumer research mobile
phone panel of its kind in the world, conducting more than 240,000
interviews per year in the U.S. alone. ComTech tracks mobile phone
behavior and the customer journey, including purchasing of phones,
mobile phone bills/airtime, and source of purchase and phone usage. This
data is exclusively focused on the sales within this 3 month period
rather than market share figures. Sales shares exemplify more forward
focused trends and should represent the market share for these brands in
future.
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato
states, "Part of Android's increase in the latest period can be
attributed to its large gain in share within Sprint's smartphone sales.
In the three month period ending October 2012, sales on Sprint were
divided almost 50/50 between Android and iOS. However, in the latest
period, Android's share of Sprint sales increased by 22.6% points from
49.3% to 71.9%." Average prices paid for Android smartphones on Sprint have also declined over the latest period.
"The
50/50 split we saw in the period ending October 2012 was a result of
both iOS and Android sharing similar levels of average price paid (iOS
at $130 and Android at $127).Yet this latest period saw a significant
price drop to $95 for Android, while iOS increased slightly to $146,"
continues Parlato.
One particular phone that led to Android's
gains at Sprint was the Samsung Galaxy SIII, Samsung's flagship model
launched in mid-2012. While this model only captured 14% of smartphones
sold at Sprint in the October period, a price drop from $199 to $99 over
the holiday season led to the SIII gaining 39% of smartphone sales on
Sprint. On T-Mobile, the only other major carrier where Android
consistently is the top selling platform, the SIII represented just 18%
of smartphone sales in the latest period.
Samsung smartphones
represented 60.3% of smartphones sold on Sprint in the January period.
Unfortunately for Sprint, the gains made by Android and Samsung did not
translate into a large sales growth for Sprint, gaining only 0.8% year
on year.
Google has given much of its energies into making Android a
successful mobile OS. That's not the end for the software giant. Last
year, the company started taking interest in promoting its sleepiest OS
project. The Chrome OS is not an ordinary operating system.
It is
neither like Microsoft's Windows nor like Android mobile OS. It is
basically invented to play with web. Google has partnered with leading
hardware companies such as - Samsung, Acer, Lenovo and HP, to make
Chrome certified notebooks. It is also being said that in future the
company may like to be launch a high end Chrome device that rivals
MacBook Pros.
Google Chrome OS - What About $249 Touchscreen Notebook?
Google
along with Samsung managed to create an identity with $249 notebook. It
is for the first time, when a leading brand offers a notebook at this
fantastic price. The design was phenomenally great, a lot similar to the
current generation MacBook Air.
However, its hardware quality was
not that top notch, but going by the price, it was just right. Now a
latest rumor says that Google is set to launch a touch screen Chrome
notebook. The report published in TheWall Street Journal states that the
software giant is indeed working on touch screen Chrome certified
notebooks and their arrival hints at later this year. If this news is
true then very soon the cat will be out of trap. One could hear a proper
announcement at Google I/0 2013.
Google's attempt at selling $249
notebook has paid off well. A good look at Amazon.com gives us evidence
that the Samsung manufactured Google Chromebook ($249), has maintained
its numero uno position as the top selling notebook. Last month, World's
biggest PC maker, also announced Google Chromebook for $329. It is
strange on the part of Google that it has totally ignored India as a
favorable destination for selling Chrome devices. In a country where PC
penetration is far less than developed countries, could open plethora of
opportunities for Google and its hardware partners.
Google
chromebooks face tough competition from Microsoft's newly launched
Windows 8 and cheap Android tablets. The biggest benefit of using a
budget Chrombook over a tablet is the built in keyboard. These chrome
devices are heavily dependent on internet and country like India still
not open to the idea of free internet access.
The coming of
touchscreen OS would definitely bring much need features in the OS
itself. Plus, Google must have geared up more use full apps in its app
store.
