New version of the Nexus 7

The Nexus 7 was an ultimate success last year, a low priced mini tablet with great games, excellent apps and a lightweight design. A winning combination for the emerging tablet makers, but now on the 30th of july you will be able to buy an updated version. Just over a year after the first was released this version has an 5-megapixel rear camera, a display that beats the ipad mini and imporved processor and RAM, making this the fastest of it’s class so far.

We will have a review of the tablet as soon as we can.

Source - http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/26/4559192/best-buy-nexus-7-available-today

New version of the Nexus 7

Android increases Tablet market share

So it has finally arrived, Android with all their many platforms are now within touching distance of apples tablet market share. According to the Mashable.com website, iOS platforms, including all the 4 ipads and ipad mini make up 48.2% of the global market followed by Andoid tablets that account for 43.4 percent of the market.

Considering android has been stregthened  by the nexus and Samsung range over the last 12 months, it was inevitable that they were going to take a big share of the market eventually. This data is only for the sales of tablets in Q1 of 2013, not the actual market share of tablets in total. Interestingly Windows tablets accounted for just 7.5% of the market.

Can Apple tame the uprising of Android with their new iOS 7, planned for later this year or will the huge volume of tablets using the Android OS be too strong for apple to manage?

Source - http://mashable.com/2013/04/25/android-tablet-market-share/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Android increases Tablet market share

The LeapPad Explorer 2 Kid’sTablet Review

So let’s face facts, your kids can (and will) eventually get hold of your tablet. The lure of it being a “grown up” toy, combined with the fact that it both lights up and has buttons, not to mention the many, many warnings you’ve given them not to touch it will by now have made it an irresistible goal. In all probability, they are planning to grab your prize technological possession as you read this. 

So what can you do?

Well, our advice is to look into getting them their own tablets. That’s right, they make tablets for kids.

I’m talking about tablets that look good with rice crispies and snot smeared across the screen, tablets that can be thrown down the stairs twenty-three times a day and still function happily, tablets with buttons that are specially designed for little fingers to press.

Not only are these tablets wonderfully designed and made, they also come complete with a vast (and growing) collection of educational apps. So the kids will be learning something at the same time as playing.

I reviewed one such tablet, the LeapPad Explorer 2, and this is what I thought.

THE SPECS

The tough screen, thick outer casing (described on at least one site as “tantrum proof”) and heavyset design of the LeapPad 2 all speak to adult concerns about technology in the hands of children. However, the bright colours and toylike plastics demarcate this model very clearly as your child’s tablet, setting it apart from your own version.

The screen’s resolution (480 x 272) is pretty terrible, but perhaps not so much when you consider the mess your boy or girl probably makes of a bowl of spaghetti. Screen wise, the major screen problem here is not low resolution, but is, in fact, the stylus, which can often miss the target completely (spaghetti or no spaghetti).

Elsewhere, the 500MHz processor isn’t really up to much and tends to be prone to odd slip up here and there, even when its only processing 2D puzzle game apps.

The LeapPad runs on four AA batteries (up to nine hours), or an optional charger, although the amount of charged stored is, frankly, abysmal.

THE PRICE

£62 is a great price for a tablet, but is perhaps a bit much for a children’s toy. However, if you want a decent junior tablet, then this price (and up) is what you’re likely to be looking at, I’m afraid.

THE PERFORMANCE

Reading all that back to myself, it does seem like I have a bit of a downer on this tablet, but honestly, I really don’t.

All told, the LeapPad Explorer 2 is a fine little device. As a junior tablet, the LeapPad is fun and uncomplicated in all the right ways and its special kid-friendly operating system is a great first step towards the more demanding worlds of iOS, Windows or Android.

The apps are generally good, with rudimentary puzzle games and learning software based around science, music, maths and even foreign languages. On the downside, the apps, while mostly very good, can be a bit pricey. To make matters worse, a lot of them are depressingly simplistic, even for a five year old. Being shown what to do at the start of every turn quickly becomes depressingly repetitive, no matter how old you are (which also serves as a sorry testament to how many times I had to go back and restart them during testing).

Aside from the minor niggles, however, this tablet generally performs very well.

THE VERDICT

As a way to prevent little hands from finding their way to your iPad or Surface, the LeapPad is an excellent purchase. As a learning tool, it is both well designed and fun, but as a tablet, it leaves rather a lot to be desired.

It is easy to imagine children getting annoyed with the slow response times, occasionally choppy animations (due to lack of processing power) and apps that, whilst generally fun and likeable, can also be annoying and overly patronizing. The other worry here is that your little ones may well outgrow this tablet before you finish paying for it.

However, all things considered, this is a fun little device that should, at worst, provide a few weeks’ distraction and, at best, give your children a helpful leg up into multiple scholastic areas, as well as information technology.

The LeapPad Explorer 2 Kid’sTablet Review

Tablet sales soar as Blackberry boss predicts market"s death

Editors Note – Blackberry boss recently stated that tablets will be obsolete in 5 years, claiming that they won’t be going down the tablet route for the foreseeable future. Speaking on the release of their new Z10, he obviously has something up his sleeves, or is he missing the whole story?

Tablet computer shipments soared in the first quarter of 2013, growing by 142.4% compared with the same period in 2012, according to analysts IDC.

Figures suggested more tablets were shipped from January to March 2013 than in the entire first half of 2012.

Apple remains the biggest brand in the market with a 39.6% share.

The figures come just days after Blackberry boss Thorsten Heins predicted tablets would be dead by 2018.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the chief executive said: “In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet any more.

“Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.”

According to IDC, there were 49.2 million tablets shipped in January, February and March.

Apple’s iPad range accounted for 19.5 million of those devices.

While that was nearly 8 million more tablets than for the same period last year, it still meant that the US firm no longer dominated the market with the 58% share it used have.

“Sustained demand for the iPad Mini and increasingly strong commercial shipments led to a better-than expected first quarter for Apple,” said IDC’s Tom Mainelli.

“In addition, by moving the iPad launch to the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple seems to have avoided the typical first-quarter slowdown that traditionally occurred when consumers held off buying in January and February in anticipation of a new product launch in March.”

Other analysts have noted that many newer tablets – particularly 7in (18cm) models – were selling at almost cost price, leading to minimal profits despite the boom in units shipped.

Samsung proved the second most popular vendor with 8.8 million tablets shipped and a 17.9% market share, according to IDC.

Copycats

Blackberry’s own tablet, the heavily delayed Playbook, has failed to meet sales expectations since being launched in late 2011.

Mr Heins told Bloomberg that Blackberry would only consider releasing another tablet if it could be profitable.

Instead, the company is focusing on its revamped smartphone range.

“I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a copycat,” Mr Heins said.

But IDC’s figures suggested that it would be unwise to write off the tablet format just yet.

“With growth fuelled by increased market demand for smaller screen devices, tablets have shown no sign of slowing down,” the analyst firm said.

It pointed out that Microsoft, a relative newcomer to the tablet market, was making modest yet promising progress with its Surface range of tablets – 900,000 units were shipped in the first quarter.

However, the analysts warned that other Windows-powered tablets were struggling to gain traction, with only 1.8 million units sold across all vendors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22381037

Tablet sales soar as Blackberry boss predicts market"s death

VTech Innolab: The Kids Are Alright

Last night I found myself in the grip of a nightmare. In my dream, a Woman dressed like a Victorian widow was drowning me under a sheet of thick, impenetrable ice. Before that, I’d had a series of other nightmares involving a fire, a group of shadow-like stick figures slashing me with long nails and an attack by large tanks aimed at either shooting me or squashing me, whichever came first.

However, in a lucid state of dreaming, I was able to call on a ‘Dream Guardian’ of sorts, who furnished me with a magical suit of armour that allowed me to beat all of the challenges. I ‘burst’ the spindly shadow-men with a blast of light, I doused the fire with water, and I disabled the tanks with a single punch.

Yep, imagination is a powerful thing.

That’s what worries me about tablets for kids. When I was a little boy, we played Sega Mega Drive, but I also had a leftover 70’s Pocket Simon that I adored. Mostly however, it was playing with toys that allowed me to foster and develop the natural imagination that I now use every day in my other life as a contemporary fiction writer.

I immersed myself in comics, books and ghost stories and, in the process, found a career path that felt right to me (although, looking back, I probably should have paid attention in maths and been a banker).

Today’s kids, growing up with tablet PCs, video games and blockbuster movies, may not have as much need for an imagination, or at least, that’s what sometimes bothers me. I worry that kids who grow up with ‘interactive literature’ at their disposal, might become deathly bored with ‘grown up’ literature when they come of age, and that they might even grow to reject the printed word outright.  Not only does ‘Crime & Punishment’ not have pictures, but the only options for playable mini games would have to be desperately macabre.

Pedantic and repetitive explanations don’t necessarily teach children to use computers, either. Anybody can do anything if they have someone telling them over and over again how to do it. So, with more and more interactive toys and less and less cause to take up a cardboard box and ‘just add wonder’, it is easy to play a prophet of doom to a predicted generation of mindless kids, most of whom don’t know how to actually be kids anymore.

However, in my capacity as a tech reviewer, I’ve found considerable cause to hope for better. After extensively reviewing the latest crop of kid’s tablet PCs, I’ve actually found them to be, potentially, an exceptionally useful learning tool. In fact, provided that they are used as part of a ‘balanced diet’ (that also includes traditional picture books, regular play and stimulating creative exercises), a children’s tablet can be a really enriching product.

With literally hundreds of apps available for cheap download, kids tablets can offer anything from reading and writing programs, to maths, elementary science and even foreign languages. The sheer variety available on tablets like the VTech Innolab or the Leapfrog LeapPad is actually amazing. Some of these tablets (such as the LeapPad) even have specially designed operating systems that give children a basic introduction to the underpinnings of MAC OS, Windows, or Android.

In fact, there’s a lot to be said for interactive activities being better than more enriching than ‘passive’ activities like watching TV. Of course, there will be those parents who don’t take the time to use the tablets with their children, but those parents are no different from those who use the TV as an all-purpose babysitter or those parents who never make the time to read to their children.

However, if you want your child to gain a basic grasp of computers and have access to an array of interactive learning facilities, then I can honestly say that you could do a lot worse than getting a kid’s tablet.

In moderation a children’s tablet can be a passport to excitement, adventure and a high degree of preschool learning. Remember though, I said moderation. Drawing, writing, reading and traditional play are still very much number one in my opinion.

After all, without a little imagination, the adult world can be one nightmare after another.

VTech Innolab: The Kids Are Alright

Lenovo ThinkPad 2 Tablet Review

Lenovo’s influential laptop designs are legendary. Despite being, in most cases, re-branded IBM computers, there was a time when the Lenovo laptop was the only model to be certified for use in outer space (I’m not joking). The Lenovo ThinkPad 2 tablet is hoping to take this tradition of quality merchandise and trusted branding into the world of the tablet PC. In the process, Lenovo are hoping to exercise the demons awakened by this tablet’s predecessor…

Yes, the original Thinkpad was a bit crap. It wasn’t stunningly awful, but it certainly wasn’t anyone’s tablet of the year. Why not? Well, for starters the battery life was shorter than Mini-Me’s understudy. Secondly, the general operation of the computer was slower than Wayne Rooney’s Sudoku record. Thirdly, Android doesn’t really do that many ‘pen friendly’ apps.

So, how is this new version different? Let’s find out…

THE SPECS

The first major difference between the Thinkpad 1 and the latest model is the OS. The original model ran Android, but not especially well. This new version runs Windows 8 and is, dare I say it, much better for it. Lenovo principally make computers for Windows, so having them back on home territory can only be a good thing.

The second thing you’re likely to notice is that the bodywork has been completely overhauled. This new ThinkPad now comes complete with a rubberised finish that feels comfortable and pleasing to touch, a vastly improved screen (1366 x 768, nicer, but still not HD) and a cute little keyboard that is fantastic, both to look at and to use.

The ThinkPad 2 is lighter than the older model (from 1.58lbs to 1.3 lbs) and you get about 8 hours of battery life.

THE PRICE

Available at around £430, this is actually one of the cheaper Windows 8 tablets around. It’s a bit pricier than other hybrids, of course, but is probably worth the extra money in the long run. If you really want Windows 8 on your tablet, but you don’t want to pay the funny money, this one could be a decent choice.

NOTE: Sadly, the keypad itself will set you back another £80, bringing the total up about £510. This is still a decent price compared to some of the others out there, however.

THE PERFORMANCE

This tablet performs pretty well. The processing speed is suitably fast and the general look and feel of the tablet implies comfort, durability and professionalism. It handles the Internet with no problems at all and the apps also work well without hiccups.

One minor annoyance is the pen. That stylus just doesn’t want to come out of its friggin’ holster. Ever. It’s actually embarrassing when you’re in public and struggling to pull the f****r out.

As a negative point, I wouldn’t say that there was anything especially exciting about this tablet. It works fine; it’s not the fastest tablet in the West, nor is it the most energy efficient model ever. It is neither great value nor a ripoff and it runs Windows 8, which is a plus or a minus, depending on your perspective.

It is, however, miles better than the previous model. It represents a genuinely huge improvement on the ThinkPad 1.

THE VERDICT

Generally speaking, I liked this tablet. I don’t know if it will feature on anybody’s ‘best of the year’ lists, as I said of its predecessor, but that doesn’t make the ThinkPad 2 a bad tablet.

All in all, it’s just a standard Windows 8 tablet. Don’t expect a dazzling Retina display, don’t expect the hardware of the Microsoft Surface, don’t expect the brand pull of some of the other tablets out there and don’t expect a major bargain. What you see is a nicely made, reliable tablet at a reasonable price.

And what you see is ultimately what you’ll get.

Lenovo ThinkPad 2 Tablet Review

The Sony Xperia Z Tablet Review

Sony are sort of perennial outsiders, or ‘nearly men’ in the tablet PC marketplace.

They’ve tried very hard not to be, in fact, they’ve ploughed millions into the development of various tablets. From the underrated Sony Tablet S to the pretty dismal Sony Tablet P and onwards to the mis-step of the first Sony Xperia, it seems like everything they touch is doomed, inexorably, towards slow sales and mediocre reviews.

In preparation for this review, I dug out a few of my own reviews for the aforementioned products. I believe I can narrow down a few negative points common to all Sony tablets.

1)      The price – even when the tablet is generally sound, Sony lack the reputation required to charge as much as they do for their tablets.

2)      Branding – A single letter name and an offbeat design can make the branding a little too ‘high concept’ for the average consumer and a little too ‘hokey’ for the expert.

3)      The screen – Let’s face it; the screen is, in some respects, the only aesthetic feature a tablet PC has. It is also the first thing that the average customer gravitates to. Sony’s screens have been, by turns, slippery and awkward or just far too polished for its own good (definitely the case with the Xperia).

So, this is the criteria we’ll be looking at as we review the new Xperia Z.

THE SPECS

The screen is, sadly, not much to write home about. It looks nice enough and has a polite 1920 x 1200 resolution, but when measured against the Google Nexus, the Microsoft Surface Pro or the iPad’s Retina Display, it just comes off as inadequate. Of course, this isn’t to say that the screen is bad, just that it is a mid-range, average display.

On the other hand, at 6.9mm, the Xperia Z is the thinnest tablet in the world and exhibits a smart, modern design that really looks the part. Sony’s earlier S and P models indicated a great desire to play with the aesthetics of the form (the ‘rolled up magazine’ model was a personal fave) and, although these desires have since been scaled back somewhat, Sony sure knows how to design a handsome product.

The Xperia is also completely waterproof (and can be dunked into a fishtank if you don’t believe me), this makes it very useful for use in the rain and eliminates the worry that it’ll blow up if a few drops somehow get inside the casing.

THE PRICE

The Xperia is being released to compete with iPad on price. Oh, Sony…

THE PERFORMANCE

Personally, I loved the infrared port, this allows your Xperia to work like an all-purpose remote control, meaning that it can change the channels on your telly if you can’t find the remote. It’s kind of gimmicky, but hey, I like it.

I like Android Jelly Bean as well and there is an opening for a truly brilliant Android tablet to swoop in and become ‘The Android iPad’, however, the Xperia just isn’t that tablet. It is likeable enough, uses good, fast processors and runs reasonably well, but this is, simply, an average tablet. It is not the iPad beater that the inflated price tag is forcing it to be.

When I was at school, I had a friend who was a nice enough guy (if a little annoying at times), but who was, at best, an average student. He wasn’t especially bright, wasn’t particularly athletic and certainly wasn’t an academic. His parents, however, pushed him to believe that he could do anything; in fact, they pushed him so far and so hard, that if he wasn’t a self-made millionaire by his late teens, they would possibly have died of shame. Of course, this friend did his best; he worked as hard as he could, but eventually it all came undone, as it was always going to. Sony, I feel, are like my old friend’s parents, telling him he could crack Unified Field Theory on his lunch break and then getting upset when he failed to do so and proved to be, well, average.

THE VERDICT

Sony does not have a great reputation with tablets. What they need is an innovative, affordable 7” tablet in the vein of the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7, something that can build a customer base and then attract customers to the next big, well-branded release.

Releasing their tablet against the iPad will probably doom it to the same ignominious fate as its predecessor. Let’s face facts: the iPad is the best branded, most visible and most popular tablet in the world today. If the average person is going to spend their money on a top-range tablet, what are they going to buy? An untested model that is an update for a low-selling and underwhelming series, or the world’s most famous tablet? Answers on a postcard, please.

As a stand-alone model, I would say that this tablet is a fine computer, like most of its predecessors, but also that it isn’t anything particularly special when held against the rest of the marketplace. As usual, a mediocre screen, branding that is better recognized as a smart phone model and a, frankly, silly price tag have conspired to sink a promising ship.

The Sony Xperia Z Tablet Review

Editoral – Windows 8 has been a breath of fresh air for the windows platform, the aesthetic improvement has been lead by the tablet revolution. On that note, windows 8 tablets have got off to a slow start in life and it is still waiting for that entrepreneurial tablet to break the seal. We thought that the surface would be that product, and eventually it may do. But for the time being android and iOS are the preferred platform, so Microsoft’s decision to create a 7 inch version is probably a bit premature…. who knows? maybe it will be the kick start the platform needs.

Microsoft has long been rumored to be working on a 7-inch version of its Surface tablet, but a new report suggests the company may be preparing to unveil it in June. DigiTimesclaims that second-generation Surface devices, with 7- to 9-inch displays, will be announced at Microsoft’s Build developer conference in late June. If the report is accurate, then it suggests Microsoft may be preparing more than one Surface device.

An Xbox Surface device emerged shortly before Microsoft’s official Surface tablet announcement last year, and we understand the Xbox and Surface teams have been working closely on the company’s 7-inch plans. Microsoft is expected to launch a 7-inch Surface-branded tablet, with the company recently changing its Windows 8 tablet specifications to support smaller screen sizes. Microsoft has confirmed it’s working closely with OEMs to bring cheaper and smaller Windows tablets to market. A leaked 8-inch Acer tablet suggests these types of devices are imminent.

MICROSOFT WILL UPDATE SURFACE PRO WITH NEW INTEL CHIPS

Microsoft’s Build conference will focus on itsWindows 8.1 upgrade and the improvements for 7- and 8-inch tablets, we understand. It also follows shortly after Intel’s planned Haswell launch on June 3rd and the annual Computex event where OEMs typically announce devices. Intel’s new Haswell chips are designed to improve battery life and graphics performance, andThe Verge understands Microsoft will continue to update its Surface Pro with the latest Intel chipsets.

With Microsoft’s continued insistence that it is a ”devices and services” company, there has been a distinct lack of devices. Microsoft originally announced its Surface tablets almost a year ago, launching the Surface RT in October, but the company has remained silent on any further plans. Continued smartwatch and Surface Phone rumors suggest the company is investigating additional devices, but a focus on smaller 7-inch devices appears to be the more immediate plan for Surface.

Source  - http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/2/4292676/microsoft-surface-next-gen-rumor-june

Game Diversify their market and add tablets to their stores

Having been saved from the clutches of bankruptcy last year, the UK’s premier game shop has done very well and will hopefully be on our high streets for years to come. They are obviously an astute bunch, in the management offices and they are jumping on the tablet pc bandwagon and they will start stocking tablets, they had a complete sell-out in october 2012, when they started selling the Nexus 7.

GAME exec Charlotte Knight said, ”Tablets are an increasingly popular gaming platform so it’s a natural step for us to be at the heart of providing these to the UK gaming community,”

The Tablets that will be available in GAME shops are listed (and priced) below:

• DGM T-704S (£59.99)


• DGM T-909 (£89.99)


• ARNOVA 10D G3 (£99.99)


• ACER Iconia B1-A71 (£99.99)


• ARCHOS GamePad (£129.99)


• DGM T-1006 (£149.99)


• ASUS Google Nexus 7 32GB (£199.99)


• Apple iPad Mini 16GB (£269)


• Apple iPad 4 16GB (£399)

Aiming for the cheaper end of the market, they are looing to create a new tablet market, compared to other retailers that provide a full range.

Original source - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-04-game-plans-to-sell-a-range-of-tablets-including-ipads

Game Diversify their market and add tablets to their stores

Is Samsung Taking Apple’s Market Share?

When this question was first put to me, my immediate thought was (adopts Jerry Seinfeld’s terrible English accent) “not bloody likely”. However, after a bit of research, I was surprised to find that it is, in fact true.

In February, research firm IDC confirmed that Samsung had doubled its tablet PC market share in the last three months of 2012. According to BBC news:

“Samsung, which makes the Galaxy range of tablets, sold 7.9 million units, up from 2.2 million a year ago, taking its market share to 15.1%. Market-leader and iPad-maker Apple saw its share slide to 43.6% from 51.7%, despite also seeing a jump in sales. The two have been competing to get a greater share of the tablet PC market, seen as key to their overall growth”.

IDC attributes this rise in growth to a rise in tablet sales generally and to a greater interest in portable technology in recent years. IDC’s Tom Mainelli said,

“New product launches from the category’s top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season.”

Microsoft’s Surface only garnered a lukewarm response, shifting 900,000 units overall in the last three months of 2012. IDC believed that the high prices of the Surface (and Windows 8 tablets generally, no doubt) had hurt sales overall. The mixed reviews can’t have helped much, either.

So why has Samsung done so well? The reviews weren’t universally great. Matt Egan of PC Adviser.com, gave the Galaxy Tab 2 a tepid 3.5/5, saying,

“A year ago we liked the Tab 10.1, and for the second generation the hardware specs remain broadly the same, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 has a much better operating system. All for £100 cheaper than it was. We love the bright screen, and adding SD support and 1080p video capture are both improvements. The problem is the competition: the Nexus 7 in particular has changed the game for Android tablets, and is a little more than half the price of the Tab (albeit with a smaller screen, half the storage and no front-facing camera). Meanwhile the iPad remains a cut above for £100 more than the Tab 2 10.1”.

Meanwhile, Dave Oliver of Wired.co.uk said,

“It’s a step down from the Galaxy Note 10.1, but the Galaxy Tab 2 offers some serious improvement to its predecessor as a good value Android tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich and a fine screen”.

However, the Galaxy Note series is faring somewhat better. Reviewing the Galaxy Note 10.1, Mr. Oliver was a little bit more enthused. Saying,

“The Galaxy Note 10.1 is a top-end tablet with a price to match (same as the iPad, basically). It can’t beat Apple’s sales behemoth on its screen, but in terms of versatility, with its writing interface and expandable memory, plus a good quality camera and very fast quad-core processor, it just about slots in at the top of the Android tablet tree making it a worthy challenger to iPad domination”.

And a worthy challenger it would appear to be, as the Galaxy Note seems to be the reason for the sudden sales spike, at least the most of it. However, Samsung have been putting out quality products for a long time now and that particular trend is showing no signs of stopping, or even slowing down.

Is Samsung Taking Apple’s Market Share?

What can HP bring to the windows 8 table

The windows 8 take up for tablets has been slow, mostly down to the poor RT verson that came out before Christmas, HP have the first incarnation of their windows 8 tablets called the ElitePad, after their attempted efforts with the HP touchpad and the demise of their OS, this is the first time that HP have created a tablet that incorporates a different platform, having completely bypassed  the android market, their aim seems to be just on windows.

Read more here

What can HP bring to the windows 8 table

The Newest Kindle in Town

Kindle has taken many shapes since the original little e-reader, now we have the Kindle fire and the kindle fire HD, both 7″ full android tablets, and then the original kindle was a huge success, but ama on aren’t a company that likes to sit on it’s laurels and they have improved the kindle ebook reader to include a back light to its paper-like screen, helping you to read in the day and at night. Read the full review here

The Newest Kindle in Town

Cheap, but Maybe Not so Cheerful Tablets on a Budget

Back in April of 2010, when Apple’s iPad was first released, the industry response was somewhat tepid. Although Apple’s competitors regarded this new contraption higher than its spiritual predecessor (Microsoft’s eponymous ‘Tablet PC’ from the early 2000’s), they still weren’t sure about it.

Many pundits predicted doom for Steve Jobs and co, but even amongst the uncertainty, early adopters were hard at work reverse engineering the iPad or rapidly enhancing existing smartphone designs.

Soon, a major new market had emerged. It was big, it was clever and it was thriving. Inevitably, smaller companies wanted to get in on the action and it wasn’t long before a new range of Cheap Tablet PC models permeated the formerly exclusive sales charts. These ‘affordable’ models were, well, to be polite, a big giant load of arse. Cobbled together from cheap plastics, faulty circuitry and seemingly ready-scratched screens, these listless lumps of plastic were unresponsive, unreliable and clearly held together by happy thoughts and string.

For a while at least, it seemed as if the Cheap Tablet PC was little more than an oasis in the desert. The very idea that you could get a decent quality machine for less than top dollar amused some developers and offended others. However, tablet PCs have proved to be a great leveller and this is demonstrated by the sheer amount of manufacturers and models there are right now. In reality, it was only a matter of time before a viable and Tablet PC that actually resembled value for money was developed.

Last year saw a slew of tablet PCs (priced at just under or just over the £100 mark) that were well made, reliable and relatively high spec. Tablets like the CloudNine Neuropad, the Onda Vi40 and the NATPC M1OS came with features like the latest Android OS, Multi Touch screens, full HDMI output and SD-compatible memory. In addition to that, the new generation of Cheap Tablet PC stars boasted an attention to detail and careful design that, at times, was downright impressive. In 2012, tablets made with cheaper materials smacked of ‘making the best of it’ instead of simply ‘making a few bucks’. This was a good thing.

At the dawn of 2013, we can only hope that the Cheap Tablet PC revolution continues to pick up speed, as the newest batch of Windows 8 models are commanding prices that make the iPad look cheap. Basically, as the tech comes down in price, more and more new developers will enter the fray. As tablets become more prevalent, so, then, will a need for cheaper tablets increase.

Apple have demonstrated their commitment to the 7” format with last year’s ‘iPad Mini’…Let’s hope that the next Apple innovation will be a reduction in price as well as si e.

 

iPad Nano anyone?

 

Cheap, but Maybe Not so Cheerful Tablets on a Budget

What is 4K - How can a tablet get even brighter?

What is 4K? The term 4K refers specifically to the hori ontal resolution of any screen that can display 3,800 pixels or more. By showing around 4,000 pixels, this technology can be used to increase picture quality, colour contrast and depth of field. TV screens are the best examples of this improved HD quality picture, although it is being developed in laptops and tablets.

OK, so What is 4K being used for?

Panasonic have released a 4K tablet, but it is a 20” screen, making it roughly twice the si e of the original iPad. As for the laptop version, Toshiba are currently working on this particular problem. Despite the technology’s availability, the industry as a whole has been slow to standardi e 4K output (particularly with regards to HDMI) and this serves as something of an impediment to its overall adoption. However, the incredible visuals provided by 4K and the positive customer response to ‘Ultra HD’ as a whole will almost certainly prove to be catalysts for change in this regard.

4K resolution is there to give you the best picture quality money can buy (at least until 8K becomes more widely available). Using 4K TV, your streamed content will look better than ever before (as will your Skype calls) and movies on Blu Ray will be simply astonishing. Such incredible picture will lead to a more immersive gaming experience as well, with the large-scale synthetic worlds of games like ‘Assassin’s Creed’ or ‘Grand Theft Auto’ taking on a new (and jaw dropping) level of realism. Even your old DVDs will sparkle when played on your Blu Ray Player, as 4K brings out the best in absolutely everything it touches.

With thousands of pixels, hundreds of colours and a picture so sharp it could draw blood – what’s not to love about 4K?

As I write this, I am reminded of that episode of ‘Futurama’ when Fry refused to leave his new house. Unless I’m mistaken, Leela scolded him, saying something like “you’re wasting your life watching TV, get out there and see the real world!” to which Fry responded “But this is HD TV, it has better resolution than the real world”. It is a conversation that will soon hit far closer to home than any jokes about robots or flying cars. That’s actually a shame; I really want a flying car robot.

The future is here, which works out well because, thanks to 4K resolution, it looks fantastic.

What is 4K - How can a tablet get even brighter?