New Tablets Expected on 2013

Last year we have seen a bunch of new tach gadgets that we’ve never seen them before, and the same we can expect from this year too. This year too will give us a lot of new tech gadgets with some amazing new technology and lots more with this. Here we are going to share about the upcoming Tablets which are going to hit the market in this new year. We’ve compiled a list of the upcoming expected Tablets with some of its key features. Let’s grab them.

Tablets to be expected on 2013 :

1. iPad Mini with Retina Display :

Last year was tremendously good for the giant Apple. Apple has launched some of the coolest devices of it, unveiled some features debut with these devices and an all new advanced os , iOS 6. And Apple stepped in in to the Tablet range with its new member Apple iPad Mini in the last year. This year Apple has the same strategy to unleash such devices with some updations.

Apple to unleash the new iPad Mini with Retina Display in this new year. Well, rumors suggesting so and thus a lot of people start expecting the new iPad Mini with Retina display. If all goes the same this Apple iPad 2 Gen-2 would have 2058 by 1536 resolution and 326ppi display with more resolution, 9.7-inch with two LED light bars on both the sides of it. This next generation iPad would be more lighter and thinner than the first generation iPad Mini.

2. Acer Tablet :

There are a lot of people expecting Tablets between the range below $ 150. This year would praised us all with such amazing new tablets which cost below the expected price. Acer’s new Tablet would be unleashed in this year for $ 99 only. Acer to reveal this Tablet in the very first quarter of the coming year. Acer plan to launch this Tablet in the Asia first than after the other regions of the whole world. There is no signs from Acer to launch it in the US first.

Apple’s iPad might to costly for many consumers and hence Acer thought to launch this low cost Tablet in the very first quarter. Acer Iconia B1 tablet, it might be called as. This Tablet would have a 7-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution screen and 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor. This Tablet would have a better battery life than the other Tablets and Acer have done some good job to make people happy with this device.

3. HTC Windows 8 Tablet :

Surprised? Yes, HTC to launch the very first device and would start the new range with its first Tablet named as HTC Windows 8 Tablet. Rumors suggest that HTC to launch this Tablet with 7 inch Tablet which is runs on Windows 8 operating system and enough to beat the Apple iPad Mini’s new generation. HTC plans to unleash this Tablet in the fall of the current year. Sounds like too late! HTC Windows 8 Tablet made by Nvidia and it also makes ARM chips for Windows RT tablets, including for Microsoft’s Surface RT device.

About Author: David Work for robustbuy which is largest China Wholesaler web store where you can find everything from Windows Tablets to Windows smart phones and wide range of accessories for digital cameras, iPod, iPad, Android devices and for PC.

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Best Android Tablet Below $200

Everyone nowadays has a tablet PC or desperately wants one. Mini-gadgets are always fun and functional and a tablet PC is no exception. While smartphones allow you to make and receive calls, there's a limit to how much media playback and web-browsing is allowed. Plus smartphones do not have USB ports and cannot be connected to your TV (at least not yet). A killer combination of features and size is a tablet PC with the Android OS. Google's OS for smart and small devices is extremely user-friendly, very handy and nifty with its pinch-zoom ability and very very stylish.

While the tablet wars continue between bigwigs like the iPad, Motorola's XOOM and the BlackBerry Playbook, is there a cheaper tablet model out there? This may seem very surprising but there are good tablet PC's with the Android OS, available for under 200 dollars. Has your jaw touched the floor?

Technology being the diverse medium it is, will not give us just one model. Below are 6 tablet's, 5 under $200, 1 at $200 for your perusing.

I. Coby Kyros™ MID8125

• 8 inch LCD touch screen
• Screen resolution is 800 x 600 with 16:9 aspect ratio
• Android OS 2.3 version
• Use built-in app to enjoy eBooks
• Supports HD playback up to a factor of 1080p
• Connect tablet to your HDTV with HDMI port
• Will connect to Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac and Linus computers
• Processor: 1 GHz; built-in memory of 4GB; expand memory with microSD slot, up to 32 GB
• Price: $160

II. Augen GENTOUCH NBA7800ATP

• 7 inch TFT touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution
• High-Definition support factor of 720p
• Supports web browsing, media files playback and ebook reading
• Expandable memory up to 16 GB with SD or MMC card slot
• Media formats supported: MP3/AAC/WMA/JPEG/BMP
• Ebook formats supported: PDF/E-PUB/.TXT
• Processor: 800 MHz, 256 MB RAM and 2 GB hard disk
• Price: Between $140 - $180

III. Zenithink 2 ZT-180

• 10 inch touchscreen
• Android OS version 2.2
• HD playback support with 1080p factor
• Built-in 1.3 MP camera
• HDMI port for connecting to HD device
• USB port supports 3G Internet modem (sold separately)
• Expandable memory up to 32 GB with SD slot
• Media formats supported: DivX/AVI/MPEG/RM/MP3/AAC/WMA/JPEG/BMP
• 1 GHz ARM 11 processor, 512 RAM and 4 GB hard disk
• Price: $190

IV. Ematic eGLIDE

• 7 inch touchscreen
• 2.1 Android OS version
• Supports movie, music playback
• Built-in voice recorder and FM tuner
• Use touchscreen or trackball and embedded stylus
• Connect the eGLIDE to TV or PC with HDMI port and cable to play tablet files in HD
• 3-axis gyroscope for complete rotation and motion sensing
• Use built-in Wi-Fi or connect 3G USB Dongle (sold separately) for high speed Internet
• Media formats supported: MP3/WMA/AVI/WMV/JPEG/FLV
• Ebook formats supported: PDF/LRC/.TXT/HTM/e-PUB
• Can connect to Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000 OS PC, MAC and Linux
• Expandable memory up to 16 GB with SD slot
• 1 GHz Dual Core processor, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB built-in memory
• Price: Between $160 - $180

V. Archos 7 Home Tablet

• 7 inch backlit LCD touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution
• Battery life of 7 hours
• Supports HD video playback up to 720p HD factor
• Supported media formats: MP3/WMA/WAV/OGG/FLAC/AAC/JPEG/BMP/GIF/H.264/MPEG-4/AVI/MP4/MOV/FLV
• SD slot allows expansion up to 32 GB
• Compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows machines for PC connection
• Processor: 600 MHz ARM 9 processor, built-in memory 8GB
• Price: $180

VI. Velocity Micro™ - Cruz Tablet T301

• 7 inch TFT touchscreen with 800 x 600 resolution
• Android OS version 2.2
• Built-in Wi-Fi supports 802.11n networks
• Battery life of 6 hours on single charge
• Pre-included apps feature Kindle bookstore and Amazon Appstore
• Media formats: MPEG-4/AVI/MOV/MP3/AAC/WAV and all image formats
• Ebook formats: PDF/TXT/HTML
• 4 GB SD card included free with tablet
• Processor: not mentioned, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB hard disk
• Price: Between $160 - $199

With respect to the price limit of $200, two excellent Android tablets, with a price tag of $199 each, are the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble. Both tablets have impressive features for a reasonable price.

With a budget of $200, keep your expectations realistic. Don't expect an iPad-like device with just $200. Seven or eight inches is the maximum size in this price bracket. Built-in storage and features will be less in quality and quantity. But for an easy-on-the-wallet choice, such tablet models are ideal. If with just $200 you can get a mobile PC, it is kind of like having your cake and eating it too!

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Google Nexus 7 Review

I viewed Google I/O, Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) and the first Nexus tablet as Google's last chance to deliver a knockout in the tablet space before the onslaught of Windows 8 and Windows RT devices later this year. While the show was undoubtedly a success, I don't know that the market for $499+ Android tablets has a life after Windows 8/RT hit. We should see Windows RT tablets at $499, and Ivy/Haswell based Windows 8 tablets will handle the higher price points.

It seems that Google also realized this as the Nexus 7, its first Nexus branded tablet, starts at just $199. There's a huge market for tablets as a primary computing device, and I believe Windows RT/8 offers something unique and compelling for that usage model. At the same time however, there's decent demand for a tablet to augment your existing computing world. It's a far more specific usage model but one that really demands a lower price point. Users are willing to spend a lot for something that does everything in your life, but for something that's more nice than necessity, price matters even more.

The Nexus 7 is aimed at the latter. It's a device for users who need ultra portability and tons of battery life for content consumption. While Apple has been quietly empowering the iPad to be a content creation device, and dockable Windows 8/RT tablets will attempt to replace your notebook, the Nexus 7 is a more traditional ARM based tablet by default.

It's clearly Google that I have to thank because the Nexus 7 is the most solidly built ASUS tablet I've ever used. That's not to say that its predecessors were examples of shoddy workmanship, it's just that the Nexus 7 is damn near perfect. The back has a great grip to it. The whole thing actually feels like a well made book because of the soft touch plastic back. The book comparison is sort of hilarious because it's a feel that Amazon couldn't get right with its overly generic Kindle Fire. The book illusion stops once your hands touch the glass for obvious reasons, but man does it feel nice to hold.

The Nexus 7 feels considerably lighter than the Kindle Fire, but I still had to prop it up on something or hold it in two hands if I was going to use it for a long period of time.

The power button and volume rocker are placed much like they would be on a phone - at the top right edge of the device. The sole buttons on the device do feel a bit ambiguous, something I feel that I would get used to over time. I had the disadvantage of switching between several tablets during this review and never did get used to the position and feel of the buttons on the N7. That's probably the biggest gripe I have about the design of the device. In other words, there's not much to hate.

The Nexus 7 features two mics for noise canceling action (likely in support of Google Now). You get NFC, Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi but there's no LTE option as of now. I know there's internal debate about releasing an LTE enabled version at some point in the future.

Cost is the major selling point for the Nexus 7: for $199 Google will sell you an 8GB version with a $25 credit at the Google Play store, along with some preloaded magazines, books and a movie (Transformers: Dark of the Moon). It's tough to buy a new tablet and not buy apps for it, so the $25 credit is likely to be incredibly useful - making the effective retail price of the Nexus 7 $174. If you want 16GB of storage the price does go up to $249 however. Unfortunately even Google is not above charging $50 for $4 of MLC NAND.

The limited NAND capacity prevents the Nexus 7 from being home to more than a single full length movie or a couple of TV shows. Streaming video content isn't a problem, Netflix works beautifully on the device but there's no hope if you want to keep a ton of content local. Unfortunately USB OTG isn't supported for storage, so you're left with no other option for expanding local storage (short of rooting the device).

In every sense outside of portability, a 10-inch display is much nicer to look at than a 7-inch one in my opinion. There's less zooming in you need to do on web pages or magazines. Text in general is just easier to read and perhaps I'm getting too old, but there's something nice about everything being comfortably bigger.

Does the Nexus 7's form factor make it feel substantially better than using a smartphone? Yes, I'd say so. The same reasons I gave above for a 10-inch tablet being nicer to use than a 7-inch tablet are equally applicable to 7-inch tablet vs. a smartphone. There's this size/usability optimization curve that requires some soul searching to figure out exactly where you land on it. I suspect most people fall into the small smartphone + large tablet dichotomy, but the beauty of this current mobile revolution is the availability of choice. The Nexus 7 in many ways is very much like the 11-inch MacBook Air. A bit impractical for many, but those who crave portability are drawn to it. The Nexus 7 still feels like you're using a tablet, just a small one.

I needn't dwell on the benefits of a 7-inch form factor for portability any longer. If I'm wearing baggy enough pants I can even pocket the Nexus 7, something I simply couldn't do with the iPad. I'm more likely to carry the Nexus 7 with me than I would the iPad, but the comparison isn't quite as open and shut as that. The iPad offers LTE, the Nexus 7 is more portable, the iPad is easier to look at, the Nexus 7 is more affordable...the back and forth is endless.

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Tablet PC History that Maybe You Don't Know

As we all know iPad is not popular all over the world, and maybe you will think that tablet PC is a recent invention, in fact, tablet PC is the result of many years of development and evolution. Perhaps you don't know that the tablets that are appearing on the market the two years are quite a bit different than the early versions for its long history.

The first appearance of what we would think of as a tablet today came in the early nineties. For the most part these were more like early laptops than they were like the current tablets. These tablets for the most part were developed into laptops mainly because nobody could figure out a good way to enter data into them that didn't use a keyboard. The addition of the keyboard created the shape of the laptop as we know it today. These early models did however serve to prove that there was a market for a portable computer and this led to the development of other technology.

The next step in the history of the tablet was the development of the PDA and the smart phone. Most of the technology that went into the current generation tablets has come directly from smart phones. The real leap forward was the decision to put an operating system on the smart phone, this truly made them portable computers. From there it was hardly a huge leap to realize that putting a bigger screen and more computing power on a smart phone would have a variety of uses. This is basically what Apple did when they brought out the iPad which was the first of the real tablet PC.

The iPad has proved to be surprisingly successful on the market. When it was introduced nobody was entirely clear on just why you would want one. After all they do basically the same thing as a smart phone or a laptop. The iPad has sold well, so more and more manufacturers begin to produce a scale of tablet PCs, especially for the android tablet PCs. This does lead to the conclusion that the success of the iPad had more to do with marketing skills of Apple. However, iPad is expensive to most of the average person, this certainly leads to the manufacturer followers imitate the iPad. So more and more cheap android tablets similar to iPad begin to appear on the market, maybe this is also the way that makes tablet PCs popular all over the world.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Review

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga 13, which starts at $1,000, is just one attempt to take advantage of Microsoft’s dual-sided operating system. Out of the box, it looks like a traditional notebook, but keep tilting the 13-inch touchscreen back along its hinge, and it folds all the way around until the clamshell is closed again. Only now, the screen is face-up, and the keyboard hangs from the underbelly. You can also open the Yoga partway, keys down, so the screen is facing outward, or stand the device on both of its edges in a tent-like configuration.

This approach is simple and logical enough, but after spending a week with a Lenovo Yoga review unit, I think it’s a better laptop than it is a tablet.

The Yoga is clad in plastic, but it’s a soft-touch material that doesn’t feel like the cheap shells of budget laptops, and the area where you rest your palms almost has a leathery feel. Among Windows laptops, it’s the rare high-end design that doesn’t feel ripped off from Apple‘s MacBooks, yet its keyboard and trackpad are just as good

The trackpad is generously sized and covered in glass, so your fingers glide over it smoothly, and the entire surface clicks with ease. It also supports multi-touch gestures, such as two-finger scrolling, pinch-to-zoom and the ability to simulate right-clicks by depressing the pane with both fingers. The Yoga’s keyboard is also a pleasure to type on, with island-style keys that let out a satisfying clack. One particularly nice touch is the rounded edge on the bottom of each key, which seems to leave just a bit more room for your fingers to land.

The display isn’t too chintzy, either, though it does beg for the occasional swipe of a cloth as fingerprints build up. Although some users may pine for a higher resolution than 1600-by-900, this pixel density strikes a happy compromise, where text is fairly crisp but the desktop elements remain large enough to tap on, should the modern interface of Windows 8 fail to suit your needs.

As for performance, the Yoga’s Intel Core i5 processor provides more than enough power for ordinary tasks such as word processing, web browsing and streaming video. It can even handle some newer PC games; I loaded Guild Wars 2 on it, and had no trouble adventuring through its massive world.

The Yoga does falter slightly on battery life, which in my experience floated in the five- to six-hour range. That’s not terrible for a laptop, but it’s far below average for a tablet. Unfortunately, any tablet based on Intel’s Core processors will have this problem, and the only alternative is to sacrifice processing power.

The bigger issue with the Yoga is its storage situation, as pointed out by the Wall Street Journal‘s Walt Mossberg and ZDNet’s Ed Bott. The Yoga uses solid state storage instead of a hard disc drive, so instead of having lots of space, you get much zippier performance. That’s a fine tradeoff in the age of cloud storage and cheap external hard drives, but the problem is that despite an advertised 128 GB of storage, only about half of it is available to users, and it’s divided across two partitions. The rest is gobbled up by recovery services, built-in software, the operating system itself and other mysterious partitions whose purpose is unknown. Users can reclaim some of this storage through an elaborate workaround, but that only underscores how bad the situation is out of the box.

Those gripes aside, Lenovo’s Yoga is still an excellent high-end Windows laptop. But its laptopness (for lack of a better term) is exactly what prevents it from being an excellent tablet.

My feeling is that if PC makers are going to put touchscreens on their laptops, they ought to at least provide some way for the keyboard and trackpad to get out of the way. The Yoga accomplishes this goal, but crudely. Hold it in your hands as a tablet, and you’ll feel the keys under your fingers.

In practice, this isn’t as bad as it sounds; the keys are disabled in tablet mode, and they’re barely noticeable when the device is resting on your lap. Still, the combination of awkward key placement, a weight of 3.3 pounds, a thickness of 0.7 inches and the jumbo 13-inch display can all feel like too much, especially if you’re playing a touchscreen game or propping the tablet on your chest for bedtime reading. You’ll hear the whir of the system’s fan the whole time as well.

I must admit that on a few occasions, the Yoga achieved hybrid greatness. The hinged design is so easy to flip around that I’ve gotten into the habit of switching to tablet mode just to read a long article — usually in portrait mode, like some futuristic broadsheet newspaper — or to scroll through Twitter. If I had this device for longer, I could imagine using its outward-facing screen to check recipes while cooking, or to play games while reclined with a controller in-hand. There’s something to this design, despite its flaws. Even so, the lack of Windows 8 apps so far holds the Yoga back from what it could become.

The question, then, is whether Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga is worth the price premium over other high-end Ultrabook laptops. The answer is only “yes” if you need to buy a laptop now, if your basic tablet needs are already covered by another device — say, the iPad or a smaller tablet like the Nexus 7 — and if you’re willing to gamble on Windows 8′s app situation getting better. Worst-case scenario, you’ll still end up with a great laptop.

But as someone who’s personally in the market for a new laptop, I’m planning to see what comes in the next few months, including Microsoft‘s Surface with Windows 8 Pro and other announced but unreleased hybrids. I’ve enjoyed using Lenovo’s Yoga, but this being a time of experimentation and all, I’m also anxious to see more results.

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Acer W3-810 tablet photo leaked online, first Windows 8 tablet to feature an 8-inch display

About a month back, we had reported about Microsoft easing the hardware requirements for Windows 8 tablets, which was an indication that there could be smaller tablets in the pipeline. A report on French blog MiniMachines now claims to have credible information that Acer will be one of the first companies to launch a smaller Windows 8 tablet.

The tablet in question is the Acer W3-810, and going by the leaked specifications seems to be a midrange tablet. It seems to sport an 8-inch (1280×800 pixels) display and is claimed to be powered by a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor. Not much else is known about the tablet, except that the photos show the tablet featuring a rear and a front camera, a mini-USB and HDMI port and will come bundled with accessories like a keyboard dock.

For now it isn’t clear when or at what price Acer will launch the 8-inch Windows tablet.

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Nexus 7 more defects as Google investigates complaints

Google and Asus ran into some quality control issues with the original Nexus 7, and early reports indicate the second-generation model is having its own share of problems. Unfortunately, it seems those hardware troubles don't end with malfunctioning GPS. Complaints about the brand new $229 tablet also extend to the display. Few owners have bad things to say about the Nexus 7's impressive, tack sharp 1920 x 1200 resolution. But touchscreen sensitivity is another matter. Like with the GPS bug, many users have taken to XDA Developers and Google's product forums to call out questionable behavior they've seen from the device.

The wrong kind of multitouch

Reports seem to focus on "phantom" presses — finger taps that are being registered by the Nexus 7 even when a user's hand is away from the screen. When demonstrated with an app designed to test for multitouch accuracy (as in the video below), the issue is obvious. But it may not be so apparent to regular end users. Those afflicted claim they've experienced unpredictable keyboard behavior and random bouts of lag thanks to the Nexus 7's iffy touch detection. To be clear, other buyers report no issues whatsoever with touchscreen sensitivity. A number of tools for gauging your Nexus 7's touch performance are available through Google Play, so you can test for the issue immediately after buying the tablet if you're worried. For now, Google employee Paul Wilcox is assuring early buyers that the company is investigating their reports.

The GPS and touchscreen bugs may not be obvious to some Nexus 7 owners, but it's hard to miss your device randomly freezing up or rebooting out of the blue. That's yet another issue being reported at Google's forums. Google has been on the hunt for a fix here, asking Nexus 7 owners to boot the device in safe mode and reset it to factory settings as two possible solutions. But those don't seem to be sufficient fixes, and again Googler Wilcox has promised that the Android team is looking into the matter. But there's been no solid timeline on a resolution, leading some early adopters to return the Nexus 7 while they still can.

Is the Nexus 7 still an excellent tablet? Unquestionably. These early quality control quirks aren't enough to offset the incredible price, sleek design, and killer screen Asus and Google have delivered. Nor should they necessarily sway you from purchasing the latest flagship Android tablet. But like the original model, you'll want to give your new purchase a thorough once-over to make sure it's not affected by these or other issues. In the meantime, we've reached out to both companies for more information on these early Nexus 7 problems and potential fixes.

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HTC Will Release Windows RT tablets in 2013

Once Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 would be sharing a common core, we knew we'd see overlap between phone manufacturers and computer manufacturers eventually. The lines between phones, tablets, and computers are blurring and that means all bets are off on where companies will go next.

Now, that might just include HTC. Bloomberg reports that the manufacturer is planning to announce two Windows RT tablets next year. The first will be a 7-inch slate that will tout the ability to make phone calls, while the second will include a larger than average 12-inch display. Both tablets will be powered by Qualcomm chipsets (big surprise), and are due by Q3 2013. As to whether or not HTC would also consider making a Windows 8 tablet with an Intel processor, Bloomberg's sources said the company ditched those plans when the retail price soared over $1,000.

With another report pointing towards imminent plans of a Nokia Windows RT based 10-inch tablet early next year, it seems Windows Phone manufacturers are starting to understand the appeal/potential of a smartphone-tablet combination. We would literally drool at the thought of using a tablet with the same ergonomics and build quality as the Windows Phone 8X...

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iPad That Finally Breaks The Mold of 7" Tablets

Conceived from its sleek, glossy 10" counterpart, the new iPad Mini boasts one gigantic new trait over the full-sized iPad: the ability to hold it in one hand. This almost revolutionary twist on the device that sparked a frenzy in the tablet world has finally brought joy to those that have held out hope of such higher portability in an iPad for so long. But does the iPad Mini live up to the hype? Absolutely.

Turns out, the iPad mini is indeed more than simply a shrunk-down iPad, though there may be an argument for it actually resembling something more along the lines of a blown-up iPod touch. In any case, the big question: is the iPad mini right for you? I'll endeavor to answer that for you here by taking you hands-on with the new model, plus I'll share from my past few years of iPad ownership experience altogether, especially for those who haven't yet had an iPad to call their own.

Plus, in hopes of making this the most helpful iPad mini review on Amazon, I'll also reveal a treasure trove of info on how you can legitimately download tons of quality apps and games for free!

My reviews tend to run long, so I've organized information by section, with headings, to help you quickly locate any specific info you're after. For example, see the heading "Downloading Apps and Games" for the info on obtaining free apps and games!

First, let's compare hardware specs between iPad mini and iPad, and what each means for you:

• Device: iPad mini vs. iPad (4th gen)
• Weight: 0.68 lbs vs. 1.44 lbs -- over twice as light as the iPad
• Thickness: 0.28" (7.2mm) vs. 0.37" (9.4mm) -- thin as an iPod touch
• Display: 163 vs. 264 pixels per inch -- less-crisp text, but equally long life for a smaller battery
• Resolution: 1024 x 768 vs. 2048 x 1536 -- half as many pixels as the current iPad, but still sharper than an iPad 2
• Battery: 10 hours (16.3 Wh) vs. 10 hours (45 Wh) -- smaller, lighter battery lasts just as long as the iPad
• Processor: A5 (dual core) vs. A6X (dual core with quad core graphics) -- same as the new iPod touch, but not quite as powerful as the latest iPad, yet it doesn't need to be because the iPad mini display totes a quarter as many pixels!
• Price: The iPad mini has a price tag that is indeed much more attractive than the 10" iPad. It's actually closer to that of the iPod touch.

===== First Impression =====

At first sight, there's a feeling of novelty to the iPad Mini, especially if you've used a 10" iPad or tablet. The more you use it, however, the more you realize that this is the size an iPad was meant to be: perfectly portable. The 10" iPad is so bulky and heavy in comparison, and I felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and awkward taking it with me and using it places, especially waiting in line. Not so with the iPad mini! It's super light, more than half the weight of the 10" iPad, and its sleek rounded edges are much more comfortable for carrying than the sharply-tapered edges of the iPad.

My initial reaction to the unveiling of the iPad mini was one of slight disappointment, mainly because it was closer to 8" than to the desired 7" of other tablets in its class. Why would Apple bother bringing a smaller iPad to market that's still not quite as small as some of the other 7" tablets floating around? Ah, but I was wrong.

Until I held it in my own hand, I failed to realize that Apple had made better use of the iPad mini's size than most 7" tablets do. What matters in a 7" tablet class isn't the screen size but the actual device size. The iPad mini is 3mm shorter and 7mm wider than the 7" Kindle Fire HD, yet it touts nearly an inch more of physical screen size.

===== Interaction Experience =====

Naturally, the iPad mini shares the iPad's same phenomenal multi-touch interface that is undisputedly second to none. Android tablets and other devices may tout "multi-touch" support, but usually this just means they support 2-finger gestures like pinch-style zooming. Apple, on the other hand, gives a whole new meaning to the term, supporting up to ten simultaneous touches, and app developers have certainly leveraged that capacity. For example, one popular app supporting ten simultaneous touches is the Piano app.

===== So What Can the iPad mini Actually Do? =====

Naturally, there are things you can do with the iPad mini right out of the box. You can browse the Web with Safari, set up your email, download your photos and videos from your computer via iTunes, as well as shoot new photos and videos using either of the two built in cameras. You can also surf YouTube via Apple's built-in YouTube app. There's also an iPod built in, so you can listen to your favorite tunes via the Music app, or download new music, movies and media via the iTunes app. Another popular app is iBooks, which lets you download and read e-books on your iPad mini. You can also jot notes, manage your calendar and contacts. You can even chat face-to-face with other Apple-device users via FaceTime.

Of course, the fun and usefulness of the iPad mini doesn't stop there. The App Store app is your portal to unending games and utilities. One thing Apple has been really good at is showing off just what you can do with an iPad, and the same goes for the iPad mini. All iPad apps work on the iPad mini. After all, the iPad mini is still an iPad. App developers have undoubtedly been busy creating unique experiences through their iPad apps, most of which have yet to be rivaled by (or ported to) Android and other tablets.

When Apple first announced the iPad they didn't tout it so much as an ebook reader as they did a "netbook killer" (due to its ability to surf the web, check email, watch videos, listen to music, and do a lot of the simpler tasks that netbooks were originally designed to do. But along its path to success, it sparked a revolution in the publication and delivery of full-color magazines, news and now even ebooks via Apple's iBooks app. Now, it's quite clear that Apple had the goal of a much more comfortable ebook reading experience in mind when they set out to create the iPad mini. You can easily hold it in one hand, just like a real book, and it's as light as a real book, two traits many users have been hoping to see come to fruition soon.

On the other hand, to use the iPad mini for more productive purposes, such as editing office documents, you'll need to download Apple's productivity suite iWork, a trilogy of apps including: Pages (word processing), Numbers (spreadsheets) and Keynote (slideshows). Each of the three apps can be downloaded separately for $9.99 each. Completely reworked for the iPad, the complete iWork suite will set you back a whole thirty bucks. So be aware of that before you go ahead and grab the iPad mini for use with work-related document editing, and so forth.

Also note that if you do intend to use the iPad for heavy writing or word-processing purposes, you'll find that your ability to type quickly will be greatly inhibited by the virtual keyboard. Thus, you should snag the external keyboard as well (Note: I'll also explain some typing techniques below). Either way, be prepared to pay more than merely the price for the iPad mini alone. There's clearly more than meets the eye if you intend to transform the iPad mini into something a little more productive than it might be for you out of the box.

===== Downloading Apps and Games =====

Downloading apps on your iPad mini couldn't be easier. Once you set up your iTunes account with a password and credit card (or iTunes gift card), all you need to do is launch the 'App Store' app, browse or search to find the app you want, tap the download button (usually it says the price rather than 'download', which then changes to 'install app' after you tap it), then tap again to confirm. Enter your password, and voila, you just bought an app. Behind the scenes, Apple then charges your card (or deducts from your gift card balance) the amount of the app plus tax, while you're already off enjoying your new purchase. This ease of access is a blessing and a curse, because you can easily empty your wallet if you're not carefully considering each purchase.

All apps in the App Store range in price from Free and 99 cents on up, always incrementing in whole dollar amounts (1.99, 2.99, 3.99, etc). The maximum price for an app is set to $999.99, of which there are only eight currently priced so outrageously. And don't even think of toying with them. Apple does not allow refunds on apps you have purchased--all sales are final!

Now for the juicy money-saving secrets of the App Store! With the proper resources, you can legitimately download thousands of high quality apps for free. I do it all the time and it's perfectly legal. You see, Apple allows developers to temporarily put their apps on sale (and even drop the price to free). Usually they do this in hopes that you'll write a rave review for the temporarily-free app. The secret to your success here is having the resources to help you spot these special app sales--so you know when and where to get them during these often extremely-limited-time promotions.

In hopes of making this the most helpful review on Amazon for the iPad mini, here's how to obtain these special promotional-sale and temporarily-free apps for yourself! - source

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Samsung Galaxy Note Snap Review

It is time for our Samsung Galaxy Note review, the Samsung Galaxy Note was first launched near the end of last year, unfortunately we didn’t manage to review the device when it was released, so I thought it was about time to try one out.

The first thing you notice about the Samsung Galaxy Note is the size of the device compared to other handsets, the device is designed to be a combination device between a smartphone and a tablet, and it features a 5.3inch Super AMOLED display.

Samsung Galaxy Note Hardware Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy Note’s 5.3 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, the device comes with Samsung’s S-Pen and processing is provided by a dual core 1.4GHz processor.

The Galaxy Note features an 8 megapixel camera on the back which can record full HD video in 1080 at 30 frames per second, the camera also features an LED flash, up front there is a 2 megapixel camera for video chat.

Other specifications on the Samsung Galaxy Note include Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi plus WiFi direct, it comes with 16GB of built in storage plus a microSD card slot which takes up to 32GB microSD cards.

Samsung Galaxy Note Design, Display And UI

The first thing you notice about the Samsung Galaxy Note is the size of the device, especially when compared to other handsets, the photo below illustrates just how large the Samsung Galaxy note is when compared to other devices, as you can see in the photo which shows the Galaxy Note next to the iPhone 4S.

Considering the Galaxy Notes large 5.3 inch display we would have expected it to be thicker and heavier , but the handset measures just 9.65mm thick and weighs in at just 178 grams.

The Galaxy Notes 5.3 inch display is a Super AMOLED display which has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, and as with previous Samsung devices with an AMOLED display that we have reviewed it certainly is an impressive display.

The 5.3 inch Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Note in excellent, and great for watching videos and movies, also browsing the web, reading emails and playing games is also very good on the display.

The Galaxy Note we tested in this review had Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface which is great to use, although Samsung has started rolling out their Android 4.0 ICS update to the device.

Samsung Galaxy Note Processor, Camera And S-Pen

As we mentioned the Samsung Galaxy Note features a dual core 1.4GHz processor, the processor feels pretty fast on the device, opening apps and running games on the handset feels fast and responsive.

The Galaxy note features a rear facing 8 megapixel camera which does it great job of taking photos, it also has an LED flash and comes with some cool feature like Panorama, the photo below gives you an idea of how camera on the Galaxy note is, the image has been resized but not edited.

The Galaxy Note’s camera can also record full high definition video in 1080p at 30 frames per second, and it does a good job with video, there is also a front facing 2 megapixel camera for video chat.

One of the more interesting features on the Galaxy Note is the S-Pen, which is a stylus designed to be used with the 5.3 inch Super AMOLED display, i have never been a fan of the stylus with touchscreen devices, but the Samsung S-Pen works very well.

The Galaxy Note features a number of built in apps that are designed specifically for the S-Pen, which include S-Memo, and more plus there are a bunch of third party apps available which are designed for the S-Pen.

Samsung Galaxy Note Battery Life And Call Quality

The Samsung Galaxy Note features a 2,500 mAh Li-on battery which does a reasonable job, and I would say it is better than average considering the handsets large 5.3 inch display.

Moderate users should get at least a full day of usage out of the handset, although if you are a heavy user then you can expect to charge the handset once a day, don’t expect to go for days without charging the device.

The call quality is excellent on the Samsung Galaxy Note, we tested the GSM version on UK mobile carrier three and didn’t have any issues making or receiving calls.

Conclusion

When I first heard about the Samsung Galaxy Note and saw the specifications, and the size of the device, I didn’t think this would be the sort of device I would like to use on a daily basis.

I used the Samsung Galaxy Note as my handset for about two weeks and was pleasantly surprised with the experience, whilst it is one of the largest smartphones I have used it certainly was a fun handset to use.

It has it plus and minus points, as the device is so large I am not sure if I could use this as my regular handset, although if I wanted one device to replace my smartphone and tablet then this would definitely be a contender.

Samsung have done a great job with the Galaxy Note, the design the handset as a cross between a smartphone and a tablet, which some people call a ‘Phablet’, and if you are looking for a device to cover these two areas than the Samsung Galaxy Note fits the bill.

I would definitely recommend that you test out the Samsung Galaxy Note to see what you think of it, it may not be for everyone due to its large size, but it is a great device for those who want one device rather than two.

The model tested in this review was the GSM Galaxy Note running Android 2.3.5 and it was on UK mobile carrier Three, the handset is available for free on a number of different contracts and you can find out more details over at Three, the device is also available from other mobile carriers here in the UK, have a look at the photo gallery bellow. - source

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Intel’s pain, your cheap Android tablet

Cheap Intel tablets and laptops, expected to appear in coming months as the PC industry mounts a last-ditch defence against the Apple iPad, could come with Google’s Android software rather than Windows, according to a report.

Intel boss Paul Otellini said last week that touch-screen computers would “probably” come down in price to below $US200 by the end of the year. That would get you a computer with a “non-Core” processor, known as Intel’s “Atom” processor. Atom tablets and laptops are significantly slower than computers running Intel’s Core i7, i5 or even i3 processors, but nonetheless we’ve seen some very nice Atom machines this year, all of them running Windows 8.

Well now it turns out that at least some of the cheap machines in the pipeline may not run Windows at all, but Android.

“There are design wins for Android tablets at that $200 price point. Intel will be participating in that market this year,” reported CNet, citing a source said to be familiar with Intel’s plans.

Intel already has a bit of experience with Android. In a few markets overseas (but not here, as far as I know) you can get Android mobile phones that use an Intel Atom chip rather than the ARM chip that’s inside almost all Android devices.

Android on Intel isn't exactly the same as Android on ARM, it should be noted. Depending on how they’ve been written, some Android apps need to converted, or “ported”, over to the Intel platform, and as a consequence there are fewer apps in the Android app store when you have an Intel device compared to when you have an ARM device. I can’t find definitive information on how many Intel Android apps there are, compared to how many ARM Android apps there are, but Intel said last year that around 95 per cent of all Android apps should run on devices with Intel inside.

95 per cent compatibility isn’t at all bad, and it may be worth the sacrifice for the sake of a cheap tablet. You just need to hope that, if you do get one of these cheap Intel tablets, your favourite app isn’t in that 5 per cent of apps that won’t run. - source

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MaxQ V-TAB II Android 4.0 ICS 7" Tablet Review

MaxQ V-TAB II Android 4.0 ICS 7inch TabletSpecification

Model	MaxQ Vtab ll(8gb/16gb)
OS Platform	Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Display	7"inch, Capacitive 5-point Touch Screen,800x480 pixels
Processor	Allwinner A13 ARM Cortex-A8  Frequency：1.2GHz@8gb Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8  Frequency：1.2GHz@16gb
RAM	512MB DDR3
ROM	8GB/16gb Storage support 32GB TF card
Connectivity	Build in WIFI(802.11b/g) 3G USB Dongle(External)
Camera	0.3MP Front
Video	AVI,WMV,MP4,MKV,RM,RMVB,FLV,MOV,3GP
Audio	MP3，WMA，AAC，FLAC，WAV，OGG，APE
E-book	TXT/PBD/PDF/EPUB/FB2/HTML
Office Document	Word ,Excel,PowerPoint
Browser	Support Flash 11.1
Output	Mini USB Port, 3.5MM earphone,DC 5V, TF card slot(Support 32gb), HDMI(16gb only)
G-Sensor	YES
Battery	3000mAh, DC5V 2A
Dimensions	18.1X12X0.9cm
Weight	299g

Package Include:

• MaxQ V-Tab
• Home Charger
• Earphone
• OTG Cable
• USB Cable
• User Manual
• Car Charger
• Screen Protector
• Soft Pouch

MaxQ V-TAB II Android 4.0 ICS 16GB N.FLASH 7inch Tablet Snap Shots

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Asus Android Tablets at $149 on April

By the end of this month, Amazon's Kindle Fire may no longer be the cheapest "real" tablet out there. PC hardware manufacturer Asus, the brand name behind Google's Nexus 7 device, is coming out with another 7-inch tablet called the Asus MeMO Pad, which will start at $149. The MeMO Pad will launch in "selected markets" this January, and will make it to the United States sometime in April, according to Phandroid's Kevin Krause.

Here's a look at the features the MeMO Pad has that the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 don't, and what got cut to bring it in under the $150 mark.

A look at the hardware

About the same size and shape as other 7-inch tablets, the MeMO Pad is powered by an underwhelming 1 GHz single-core processor from VIA, putting it roughly in line with a budget smartphone performance-wise. It has 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, and basic features like a front-facing webcam and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. The MeMO Pad will come in gray, white, and pink.

Jelly Bean under the hood

While the Kindle Fire runs Amazon's proprietary version of Android (which is so heavily modified as to basically be a "Kindle OS"), the MeMO Pad runs the same up-to-date version of Android as the Nexus 7, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Unlike with the Nexus device, however, which is loaded exclusively with Google apps to start with, Asus saw fit to bundle about a half-dozen of its own apps as well, like "SuperNote Lite" and "ASUS Studio."

Unlike the Kindle Fire, which can only buy apps from Amazon's store, the MeMO Pad will have the Google Play store (the former Android Market) preinstalled. It will be able to install the Amazon Appstore and Kindle app as well, just like other Android devices can.

Compared to other tablets

The device which compares closest, price-wise, to the MeMO Pad is Amazon's $159 Kindle Fire. For the price, you get half the RAM but a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, as well as another hour or so of battery life. The Kindle lacks the MeMO Pad's webcam or expandable memory, but the biggest tradeoff may be the Kindle's pure Amazon experience -- complete with ads on your homescreen -- versus the MeMO Pad's almost-pure Android.

Asus' own Nexus 7 starts at $199 and lacks expandable memory, but for the price you get 16 GB of storage instead of 8. (That's more than double when you consider that Android and Asus' apps take up part of it.) It has a much sharper screen than the MeMO Pad, and a much more powerful Tegra 3 processor, which is capable of playing "THD" enhanced games. Finally, it has (more expensive) 3G options, and is available now instead of in April.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008. - source

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