tablet

Google Nexus teases surprise via Twitter

Oh, Google Nexus, you're such a tease! Earlier today, the official Twitter account for the Google Android phone sent out a message saying that a surprise was on its way and to "Stay tuned!" We're still waiting for the news to drop, but you know that's not going to stop us or you from guessing.

Thus far, the Nexus name has only been associated with smartphones, so it's possible we could see another handset by the end of the day. However, as IntoMobile notes, it would make more sense to introduce such a device … Read more

Canalys: Tablets boost worldwide PC market in Q1

If it weren't for tablets, the global PC market wouldn't be as healthy as it seems to be, a new report from research firm Canalys has found.

Worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter of 2011 reached over 88.6 million units, representing a 7 percent gain compared to the first quarter of 2010, when 82.8 million PCs shipped, according to Canalys. Hewlett-Packard once again led the way in the first quarter of 2011, shipping more than 14.6 million PCs for a 16.6 percent share of the market. However, its total shipments were down 5.… Read more

Sony: Android and Nvidia go together

Sony's adoption of Nvidia silicon for its upcoming Android tablets makes the graphics chip supplier--at least for the time being--the hardware standard for the Android tablet world, as a Sony vice president articulated in an interview in Japan on Wednesday.

"For the tablet platform, we're standardizing on Android 3.0 and Nvidia's Tegra 2," said Kunimasa Suzuki, a senior vice president at Sony in an interview with Japan-based Impress Watch.

Suzuki's comments come after Sony unveiled two Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" tablets on Tuesday. One has a 9.4-inch (1280-by-800) display and … Read more

ARM profits ride smartphone, tablet surge

Pretax profits at the British chip architecture firm ARM Holdings have gone up by more than a third in the last year, the company reported today.

According to ARM's quarterly results, pretax profits stood at 50.8 million pounds ($83.7 million) in the first quarter of 2011, with revenues at 116 million pounds ($185.5 million)--a year ago, those figures were 37.6 million pounds and 92.3 million pounds, respectively. According to chief executive Warren East, the 35 percent profit rise coincided with a 33 percent increase in ARM-processor-based shipments "driven by growth in smartphones, … Read more

Sony to enter tablet market

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook launches Facebook Deals in a few, select cities

Facebook also rolls out the Send button, which is similar to the Like button, only not so public

Sony plans this fall to launch two tablets that will run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" and have access to PlayStation content.

Yahoo buys IntoNow, a social network for couch potatoes

The Barnes & Noble Nook Color gets an update that allows it to run apps

T-Mobile pulls the Bobsled app because it was confusing Facebook users

Sony unveils two Android 3.0 tablets

Sony made it official today in Tokyo, disclosing two new tablet designs that will run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" software and have access to PlayStation content.

The Japanese company said in a brief statement that it is "developing two tablets," including the S1 which is "optimized for media entertainment" and the S2 (both codenames), aimed at "mobile communication and entertainment."

The tablets, with the official moniker of "Sony Tablet," will become available worldwide starting in the fall.

The S1 has a 9.4-inch (1280-by-800) display and front and rear cameras, … Read more

Rumor: Android 3.0 ThinkPad tablet by summer?

According to a Lenovo internal presentation sent to the blog This Is My Next over the weekend, the world's fourth-largest PC maker is planning to jump on the touch-screen tablet bandwagon by this summer.

Here's what the document says: The tablet will be powered by Android 3.0, otherwise known as Honeycomb, will come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB storage size options, weigh 1.6 pounds, and have a 10.1-inch IPS (in-plane switching) touch screen. The processor is an Nvidia Tegra 2, there are two cameras--front and back--and it'll be 0.55 inches thick.

There are … Read more

Dell: Android tablets will outshine iPad, eventually

Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell believes Android tablets will eventually overtake Apple's iPad as the dominant force in the slate market, according to an interview published today in The Wall Street Journal.

"Not tomorrow. Not the next day. But again, if you look at 18 months ago, Android phones were like, 'What is that?' And now there are more Android phones than iPhones," Dell said in response to a question on the possibility of Android tablets beating iPad sales. "I don't see any reason why the same won't occur with Android tablets."

Admittedly, Dell has a vested interest in seeing that happen. His company currently offers both 5- and 7-inch Android tablets, known as the Streak. He also pointed out in the interview that Dell will continue to double down on Android.

Of course, Dell didn't say exactly when the shift might occur in tablet market dominance. Right now, Apple's iPad is easily overshadowing the competition. According to research firm IDC, Apple owned 83 percent of the tablet market last year, and IDC expects the company to control between 70 and 80 percent of the tablet market this year.

That further evidences the trouble Android is having establishing a beachhead in the tablet market. The Motorola Xoom, which launched in late February, has been gathering dust on store shelves. Deutsche Bank said recently that only 100,000 units of the device have been sold so far.… Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 45: I sue you, you sue me

Apple sues Samsung, Samsung sues Apple, the Army uses Android in the battle field, and we get a tour of the latest round of Android Tablets. Join Justin Eckhouse and guest hosts Eric Franklin and JT Tabencki as they dive into the world of Android.

Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3)iTunes (320x180)iTunes (640x360)RSS (MP3)RSS (320x180)RSS (640x360) EPISODE 45

News Stories

Apple sues Samsung for ‘copying’ smartphones, tablets http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20055033-248.html

Samsung countersues Apple over iPhone, iPad http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/us-samsung-apple-idUSTRE73L0DG20110422

Android phones record user-locations … Read more

Honeycomb surges in CNET tablet rankings

This week, Google quietly added three new Android 3.0 tablets to the ranks. The Acer Iconia Tab A500, LG G-Slate, and Asus Eee Pad Transformer all made their appearance and we wore our touch-screen-jabbing fingers to the bone.

In addition to providing some companions for the Motorola Xoom (the first tablet to launch with Honeycomb), these three tablets stormed our CNET best five tablets list, as well as our list of the best five Android tablets.

Should Apple be scared? With prices inching down below $400 and two options now for 4G, there's definitely reason for Steve Jobs … Read more