honeycomb

Sprint today announced that the Android 3.2 Honeycomb update is now ready for its Evo View 4G tablet.

Following closely on the heels of HTC's similar announcement for the Flyer, the update brings a number of important changes.

For example, the HTC Scribe digital pen will now work with all applications, essentially turning it into a navigation stylus. Additionally, the Evo View 4G now supports document signature capture, a feature that will surely please business users.

The carrier cautions that, once installed, users will find that the home screen has been reverted to the "out of box&… Read more

Taking a page out of Amazon's playbook, Archos has unveiled an Android tablet priced at just $199.

Outfitted with Android Honeycomb 3.2, the new Archos 70b is expected to reach consumers worldwide in January, missing the holidays but potentially serving up some competition to pricier tablets.

An enhanced version of the Archos 70 IT Gen 8 tablet, the 7-inch 70b offers a more powerful ARM Cortex A8 1.2 GHz processor and a higher-resolution 1024x600 pixel multitouch screen. The new tablet also boasts a 3D graphics accelerator, while RAM has been doubled to 512 megabytes.… Read more

It's been a whirlwind year for the mobile-devices business, and next year promises to be even more exciting.

Just as 2011 saw the rise in dominance of Android, Apple basically opening fire on every Android device through lawsuits, and a flood of tablets and 4G devices, 2012 should see similar shake-ups in the industry. Below are five predictions for what will happen next year. Some are based on recent conversations with industry sources, others rely on where the market trends are heading, while a few are speculation and wishful thinking.

One thing's for sure: the industry will continue … Read more

I'm spending the morning reading over CNET UK's Motorola Xoom 2 review, because frankly, that's all I can do.

Currently, Motorola has no official plans to ship their relatively affordable, Wi-Fi-only Xoom 2 to the U.S. Instead, we get the Motorola Droid Xyboard--a nearly identical series of tablets available through Verizon on a two-year commitment.

Why Motorola and Verizon decided on the name change is a mystery. Why Verizon sees fit to try a two-year contract strategy on a tablet that isn't (yet) running Android 4.0, is a deeper mystery still.

Stay tuned for … Read more

Tablet buyers looking for a compact 7-inch model now have yet another choice.

Toshiba is now selling the 7-inch version of its Thrive tablet at a price of $379 for the 16 GB model and $429 for the 32 GB model.

First announced in September, the 7-inch edition is the new baby brother to the 10-inch Thrive, which debuted this past July. The specs for the 16 GB and 32 GB models are virtually the same.

Arriving in the nick of time for the holidays, the Thrive 7 offers a 7-inch high-resolution 1280x800-pixel widescreen display. Powered by a 1 gigahertz … Read more

As we near the one-year anniversary of Honeycomb tablets, you might assume that Android 3.0 has led to a proliferation of devices and sales.

After all, considering it was written specifically with large displays in mind, it was sure to revolutionize the tablet industry, right?

Well, not exactly. According to new data from ad network Chitika, Honeycomb only accounts for 1 percent of the Android usage on their system.

Based on data collected from hundreds of millions of ads served over the span of a week, Chitika found that Gingerbread and Froyo still command approximately 95 percent of the … Read more

Toshiba's new Excite tablet will just miss the holiday season, reaching consumers sometime in January.

The Excite's product page on Toshiba Canada's Web site is promoting the new tablet as a holiday gift even though it won't arrive until sometime next month.

As the follow-up to Toshiba's 7-inch and 10-inch Thrive tablets, the Excite will offer a 10.1-inch 1280x800 LCD display with LED backlighting. Powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 1.2 gigahertz processor, the Excite will be equipped with Android 3.2 Honeycomb.

A 2-megapixel Webcam will face front, while a 5-megapixel … Read more

Just as CNET reported last week, Verizon Wireless has officially announced a pair of new 4G LTE Android tablets for release in December.

Carrying the name of Droid Xyboard, the two devices are successors to the Motorola Xoom released earlier in the year. Specifications include dual-core 1.2Ghz processors, 1GM RAM, a 5-megapixel main camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Powered by Android 3.2 Honeycomb, Verizon promises Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the pair at some point in the future.

The smaller, 8.2-inch media-centric model comes with two capacity options, 16GB for $429.99 and 32GB for $529.99. The 10.1-inch edition is available in three storage sizes, 16GB ($529.99), 32GB ($629.99), and 64GB ($729.99). … Read more

Motorola and Verizon may be prepping a pair of new 4G LTE tablets for release later this month, but that doesn't mean the companies have stopped supporting their first collaboration.

A new software update (PDF) is supposed to begin rolling out to the Motorola Xoom, an update that will allow customers to purchase no-contract 4G data service on a month-to-month basis.

Xoom owners will receive a notification when the HLK75F update is ready for download in the coming days. The file update is 7.8MB in size and takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to download and install, according to Verizon.

Though it's not Ice Cream Sandwich, I'm pleased to see support for a continually improved Xoom experience. Hopefully Verizon's Black Friday sales went well and enough heavily discounted tablets were sold to merit long-term support into 2012.

As a Xoom owner myself, I'm anxious to see how much of an impact Android 4.0 will have on the tablet. I've slowly fallen back in love with the 10-inch device and would certainly appreciate continued software updates. … Read more