Mobile Devices - Page 176

Android tablets are a dime a dozen nowadays, so something really needs to set new ones off from the competition. Today sees the release of yet another Android tablet, this one made by Ematic. In this case, it would seem that price would be the factor that sets this tablet off from the rest. Retailing for a slim $219.99, you still get loads of features that more expensive tablets offer.

The eGlide XL Pro 2 may have a slightly long and unwieldy name, but it is generally fitting for the long and unwieldy list of features. The tablet features a 10-inch touchscreen and comes preloaded with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The processor is a multi-core 1GHz beast and also features a 400MHz graphics processor.

"We're thrilled to launch the eGlide XL Pro 2, and add it to our expanding line of tablets which suit various needs and lifestyles," says Roy Rayn, General Manager of Ematic. "This tablet incorporates everything our consumers love about Ematic products: durability, productivity and affordability."

If we were to go off of the patent pictured below, it looks as though Apple haver finally found the perfect way to solve the issue with touchscreen keyboards discarding the physical keyboard in favor of this new technology.

Haptic technology would allow touchscreen manufacturers to deliver physical feedback when a user touches a button, tries to type on the devices on-screen keyboard, or just interacts in general with the screen. No physical keyboard plus haptic technology could be the perfect middle ground.

The current haptics on most smartphones are nothing but a quick vibration, and not a full solution. Apple's way seems to use a combination of flexible OLED display technology and piezoelectric actuators that would, wait for it, actually alter the contour of your screen. This technology would take into account sensor data to determine usage context, providing situationally-appropriate feedback.

Apple loves to do minor, and sometimes major, tweaks under the hood and not give a consumer any way to tell which product they are buying until they have opened the box. In this case, Apple has shrunk the 45nm SoC in the original iPad 2 down to 32nm and are still calling it the iPad 2. Unfortunately, there is no marking on the box and you won't know until you open the box and turn it on.

This is a bit unfair to customers as the new iPad revision brings with it lower operating temperatures and better battery life due to the updated SoC. But from a manufacturing standpoint, it's quite understandable. It allows Apple to get used to Samsung's 32nm process and prepare to use it for the next iPhone.

At the same time it also allows stock to be cleared of the old iPad 2 and will allow Apple to keep up with demand should something go wrong with the new process. AnandTech ran some web browsing tests on the new iPad and found an increase of 1.6 hours of battery life, or almost 15.8% better. In gaming, it nears 30% more battery life. Do yourself a favor, return the iPad 2 you buy if you don't get the 32nm SoC.

iLounge are reporting they've received information for the next-generation iPhone, that it would sport a 4-inch display by increasing height of the device. In order to accomodate the tallet screen, the body of the next iPhone will also become slightly taller. We should also see a 20-percent (or so) reduction in thickness. They go on, adding:

The report also teases of a new dock connector, which is smaller, has fewer pins, and is universal across new devices. Whether this information is true or not, is another story in itself, but it does have a "RumorTT" title, after all. Strange, because I remember the late Steve Jobs saying that Apple's ecosystem couldn't handle a bigger screen. Fingers and thumbs would have to extend, and so would apps and their graphics/UI. But in normal Apple fashion, they eventually catch up and once this is done it'll be marketed as "magical", "resolutionary", and "4-inchary" or something to that effect.

The Samsung Galaxy S III comes with a load of new features, with many of them as suspected prior to launch. Several new things have also been added to the phone are extremely cool. For one, the front-facing camera tracks the user's gaze so that the screen will not lock while the user is looking at the screen.

The device features the new Exynos 4 Quad-Core 1.4GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16, 32, or 64GB of storage, and radios for Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, and NFC connectivity. The front side features a 1.9MP camera which is used in the above described feature. The backside features an 8MP camera which can take HD video along with burst photos.

The screen is a 4.8-inch 720p Super AMOLED display. The device seems capable of accepting voice commands and also senses when you pick it up to make a call. It can also wake on a voice command. It is available in two colors: "Pebble Blue" and "Marble White."

Earlier on today we were invited to the ASUS headquarters here in Taipei where we got a look at a couple of exclusive features that part of is range of new Intel Z77 Express based motherboards. We got a look at Fan Xpert 2 as well as Wi-Fi GO! We're going to look at the latter first.

Wi-Fi GO! is a combination of hardware and software that is included in most new ASUS Z77 motherboards. It includes a hardware Wi-Fi chip on the board and lovely and easy to use software on your PC and finally an Android or iPad app called Wi-Fi GO! Remote. We tested in the video above using the currently unreleased app version of V1.1.01 - it should be released to the public in a week or two. It includes the following functions: DLNA Media Hub, Remote Desktop, Remote Keyboard and Mouse, Smart Motion Control, File Transfer and Capture and Send.

Let's start off with DLNA Media Hub. This part of the app allows you use your Android tablet or iPad as a big remote control to stream content from your host (your ASUS Z77 PC) to any DLNA-compatible media player or device on your local network. The only requirement is that all of the devices (the tablet, your PC and your media streaming device) are all connected to the same network. After starting the sexy looking app and loading the DLNA Media Hub, you are quickly promoted with a new screen that allows you to select the type of media you want to stream to your device - pictures, music or video. In our video above we streamed a video and as you can see it worked quite well.

ASUS' Padfone came smashing onto the scene during February's Mobile World Congress, and was meant to be launching in Taiwan in late-April, with an Italian launch rumored for the month after. But, it seems that a tweet from ASUS Indonesia is showing that it seems that Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 shortages are delaying the Padfone's launch in some markets.

Translation is always messy, but the tweet says that Qualcomm is still experiencing Snapdragon S4 shortages and that "unfortunately" that's the processor baked into the Padfone. The Verge sent ASUS an e-mail to get a clearer answer, with a company spokesperson reiterating the shortage saying "I believe [the shortage is] affecting all of Qualcomm's customers".

While ASUS aren't directly confirming the delayed Padfone launch, they're putting themselves into the basket of Qualcomm customers who are affected by the shortage. We should have more information as it happens.

In what can only be described as a bid for leakiest company, Samsung has apparently managed to allow more photos of the yet unannounced device. Rumors say that Samsung is at least disguising it inside a case. The photo below looks strikingly similar to the older Galaxy S2, however if you look closer, you can see that a more curvy device appears to be nestled in some sort of case.

An anonymous tipster provided this picture to Sam Mobile. Sam Mobile contends that the Galaxy S3 will come with the model name of the GT-i9300 - however the more likely number of GT-i9800 was also thrown out. The tipster also provided that the new Galaxy S3 will come with a 12MP camera, which, in reality, could be a bit excessive.

The launch of this upcoming phone should occur May 3 at a press event in London. Many people are waiting with baited breathe to see just how amazing Samsung has made this phone. If they don't release it at the May 3 press event, they will have a lot of unhappy customers who may decide to buy a different phone, so it would appear to be vital to release it on May 3.

Most Android phones, it would seem, are not running the latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android. Google recently released some very detailed data about the Android landscape, which included percents of phone OSs that checked into Google Play over a 14 day period. Some of the numbers are surprising.

63.7% of the phones that checked into (used) Google Play over the 14 day period were based on the outdated, yet still functional Gingerbread (Android 2.3). Only 2.9% were running the latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich. The adoption rate of the latest upgrade has been slow, to say the least. But why? After all, 850,000 devices were activated per day in February.

Each time a new version of Android was released (historically), the adoption rate slowed. It took 2.1 a month to reach 25% of Android devices. It took 2.2 three times as long (three months) to reach the same point. It took a whopping 6 months for Gingerbread (2.3) to reach the same point. Part of this is due to the Android market being bigger. More people have to upgrade the software than just have new people buy phones.

There are a few sources where Windows 8 news comes from: Microsoft and the companies who make devices that run Windows. This time the news comes from a "trusted source" who told Neowin about an upcoming x86 Windows 8 tablet that HP is building. It will be thinner than the iPad and have 8-10 hours of battery life.

The new slate will have a 10.1-inch screen and be called the Slate 8. As far as the name, I think that it could catch due to it having a catchy rhyme. Since the device is targeted for businesses, it will not be ARM-based. This leaves one option: x86. The slide seen above is a bit rough around the edges, but the source is sure that this is a working spec list and the picture is an early mock-up.

With Windows 8 coming, many tablets are expected to hit the market around the launch, or shortly after. HP, after the TouchPad fiasco, will sure to be a front-runner in the market. If HP holds to the spec list above, then they should have a strong competitor to the iPad as long as they price it competitively.

In an exclusive interview with Simon Stanford, Samsung's VP of telecommunications and networks for UK and Ireland, TechRadar picked up some interesting pieces of information. The most interesting one, as far as I'm concerned, is that Samsung doesn't like the way the tech world works in cycles around tech shows.

Samsung, apparently, is much more interested in announcing a product and then launching it shortly after that announcement. Due to this new revelation, the Samsung Galaxy SIII could be on shelves before the end of May. The interview did not outright name the successor to the Galaxy SII, but it seemed pretty clear that it was coming.

"Traditionally the industry works in cycles around an event, meaning there's usually quite a period of time between announcement and period of launch. Commercially, you have to question that; plus it presents a challenge by putting you in a position where everyone knows what you're up to," he said.

Most of the mobile news around here has been focusing on the upcoming Galaxy III release. And while that phone should be incredible, it's important to note that their are other options available. A new leaked roadmap for upcoming Verizon phones attests to the fact that their still are other phones out there.

BGR is reporting that they have learned most, if not all, of Verizon's upcoming smartphone launches for summer and fall 2012. If the report is true, it's a good day to be a Verizon subscriber. First off, it is true that Verizon will be carrying the Galaxy S III phone that we have been reporting about for weeks.

In addition to that Android phone, there will be "multiple" Motorola RAZR models that will be coming to Verizon over the next months. One will likely feature a larger, clearer screen and be called something along the lines of RAZR HD.

element14, the first collaborative community and electronics store for design engineers has announced it has over 100,000 confirmed orders for their pint-sized Raspberry Pi unit, these numbers are incredible considering they only launched the device in late-February.

The manufacturing and distribution teams have been worked hard to get customers their device, so for those who have ordered on, or before April 18 can expect to have the Raspberry Pi in their hands by the end of June. Orders placed after April 18 should be completed after July onward. element14 will continuously keep customers updated on individual delivery dates as they happen.

element14 haven't just made a kick-ass little computing device, they've also organized a Raspberry Pi Masterclass this week with Eben Upton, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation which is for 15 school children in the UK. Eben also hosted a Raspberry Pi tutorial webinar earlier this month to demonstrate just how to quickly program a Raspberry Pi.

According to some leaked benchmarks that were spotted by an eagle-eyed reader of Phone Arena, show the GALAXY S III sporting a quad-core Exynos 4412 chip that looks like it smashes all previous Android-based devices, and probably the iPhone 4S, not by a bit, but considerably.

In GLBenchmark 2.1.4 Egypt Offscreen, Samsung's GALAXY S II scores around 30fps, with HTC's One X which sports NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 SoC scoring around 65fps, but the GALAXY S III just looks at those in disgust and spits out 90fps or so. An insane feat for Samsung, if it's true. This would mean that Samsung's GSIII would be nearly three times faster than its predecessor.

Whilst performance and fps is all well and good, battery life is good, too. Apple's iPhone 4S will most likely beat this phone with battery life thanks to Apple's closed-off ecosystem, but Samsung's GALAXY S III should sport the ability the GALAXY S II did, a removable cover. As good as the iPhone is, you can't replace its battery for any reason, without voiding warranty. Where with the GSIII, you could just rip the back off and have a new, fully-charged battery placed, turned back on and back into ICS within 30 seconds or so.

Thanks to a new page put up by Samsung, everyone can see which Android-powered phones and tablets are set to receive an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich. The support page breaks down the phone models by carrier but does not give specific dates to expect the updates by. The page, available here, at least gives hope to the owners of listed phones that they will eventually get the update.

For Verizon, owners of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet are destined for Ice Cream Sandwich.

For AT&T, the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Captivate Glide, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab 8.9, and Galaxy Note is on the list.

Oh, Apple, you cause so many rumors because of your secrecy. Now, according to sources in the supply chain, Apple is working on a low-end iPhone to gain some market share in the low-end smartphone market. Previously to do this, they had continued to sell previous generation iPhones, but even the lowest priced 3GS is still $375 unlocked.

The sources place the new, rumored low-end iPhone shipping at or around the same time as a new high-end sixth-generation iPhone would be. There have been rumors regarding a low-end iPhone for years and Apple has consistently done something different. That's why I recommend taking this rumor with a grain of salt.

However, this year may be different for Apple. For one, they no longer have Steve Jobs. Also, they could be feeling more pressure as Android gains market share. On the other hand, they may be hoping Oracle beats Google and destroys Android. Only time will tell if this rumor will come to fruition.

Pixel Qi founder, Mary Lou Jepsen, has revealed that her company is working on a super-dense version of its signature display. The new panel sports the same resolution as Apple's third-generation iPad, 2048x1536, but does so whilst using less power.

In a bright office, the new panel coming in at around 10-inches uses two watts of power, compared to Apple's iPad in the same lighting which uses five, and when outdoors, nearly eight watts of power. The new Pixel Qi display provides a more e-paper-like effect for readability outdoors. The newest panel is a special low-power mode which uses around 0.08 watts when in dim light, compared to the iPad which would use three.

Development is said to still be in the early stages and needed hardware partners lined up. Jepsen wouldn't say when the new screen would be available, but we should expect a 2013 release at the earliest.

Apple's next iPhone isn't too far off, we should see it this year sometime, but how could it stand out from the crowd and change from the 2-year-plus design of the iPhone 4/S? Well, according to part suppliers claimed to DigiTimes, Sharp and Toshiba Mobile Display were "likely" producing in-cell touch panels that have reached yields good enough for the two companies to participate.

The two companies would start production of the in-cell panels sometime this spring, but it's not clear whether this schedule includes Apple. The same tipster pointed toward the actual phone launch in the summer, but as with any rumor, there's no exact concrete proof. Most rumors and talk have pointed toward a September/October release of the next iPhone.

In-cell touch has been talked about before, and if it's baked into the next iPhone, it would point toward a significant redesign of the popular smartphone. In-cell tech puts the touch sensors within the display's TFT layer instead of its own surface, which slims down the overall screen quite a lot. It also sports the additional upside of bringing the LCD, AMOLED, or similiar display closer to the surface, which leads to a more direct interaction with what's on the screen, and sometimes a brighter picture.

Let's face it, Samsung doesn't like Apple. Apple is in Samsung's sights and it will do anything possible to beat Apple out of its market share. On May 3, in London, a press event is being held to release Samsung's new Galaxy S III phone. The launch is shrouded with Apple-like security and secrecy, so what I'm about to tell you is a rumor.

At the launch, in addition to the Galaxy S III, Samsung could be launching a new cloud service to compete with Apple's iCloud. Dubbed S-Cloud, it would be Samsung's competing service. They will be almost the same in what they do (sync data to the cloud and across devices), but it is rumored that S-Cloud won't come with the content-uploading limitations found in Apple's offering.

Samsung is continuing in the Apple-like security and secrecy and has not said anything about S-Cloud or if it will launch at the May 3 event. However, there have been several reports that have surfaced recently claiming that Samsung is working towards this goal. Originally it was thought that it could launch in August.

Verizon have just announced that they are bringing their 4G LTE network to 27 new markets and expanding service in 44 additional markets come April 19. Once Verizon starts this, 4G LTE will be available in 230 markets across the US.

Verizon's 4G LTE service will be made to more than 66-percent of America's population, and by the end of 2012 Verizon hopes to offer its service in over 400 markets, covering 260 million Americans. If you're ready for a mouthful of cities that will receive either new, or an expanded service, get ready:

On Thursday, Verizon will introduce 4G LTE service in Auburn and Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Pine Bluff, Siloam Springs and Van Buren, Ark.; Visalia/Porterville, Calif.; Fort Walton Beach and Ocala, Fla.; Brunswick, LaGrange and Macon/Warner Robins, Ga.; Peoria, Ill.; Kokomo/Logansport and Marion, Ind.; Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend and Hays, Kan.; Salisbury, Md.; Cattaraugus/Allegany, N.Y.; Sandusky, Ohio; Ardmore and Ponca City, Okla.; Salem/Albany/Corvallis, Ore.; Pierre, S.D.; and Big Springs and Tyler, Texas.