Looks like 2013 is going to be the year tablets really start taking off. There has been a lot of tablet news this week which is likely because of The Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) this week in Las Vegas. All links are to Tom’s Hardware unless otherwise noted.
Tablet Announcements:
- Archos Shows New Titanium, Platinum Android Tablets – French company – tablets will feature white finish instead of the typical black/aluminum finish and some will support a 2048 x 1536 resolution (for about half the price of the iPad).
- Panasonic Announces Android, Windows 8 Tablets – Panasonic might be taking a bit of risk here doing both Android and Windows 8
- Dell Launches $499 Windows 8 Tablet – This could be some serious competitor for the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro (due out by the end of the month with a starting price of $899)
- Polaroid Announces 9.7-Inch S9 Tablet – Not much info on this one which is slated for late spring 2013
- Hands-on with Polaroid’s $200 10-inch Jelly Bean Tablet – Oh my, this almost sounds too good to be true! 10-inch display, dual cameras, SD card slot, micro USB, micro HDMI and more. Not sure if I like the ‘reskin’ to look like Windows 8.
- Polaroid Unveils M7, M10 Android Tablets at CES – While priced low (M7 @ $129 & M10 @$ 229) they do offer some nice specs. Might be good for those on a budget.
- Alcatel Announces Three Android Tablets – Another French company, has been making (BlackBerry type) cell phones for a while. Merged with Lucent Technologies back in 2006. Nice specs for the price point, sounds like another batch of tablets for those on a budget. However, don’t expect to see these until late spring or early summer 2013.
- Acer Intros 7-inch Iconia B1 Android Tablet For Under $150 – No images on this one. Being marketed as cheaper, second “can I play Angry Birds on your tablet” tablet or to the busy executive looking for a mobile companion without all the bulk associated with a 10-inch form factor.
- Microsoft Surface Pro hands-on impressions from CES [PC World] – The article was a bit lacking, mostly background on the crappy ‘RT version’. This one is suppose to be out by the end of the month.
Is Bigger Really Better?
- ViewSonic Announces 24-Inch Smart Display Tablet – or as one commenter called it “A Table”.
- Hands-on with Lenovo’s IdeaCenter Horizon Table PC – ‘table PC’ makes me think of the this paraody video for the Microsoft Surface
- Panasonic’s 4K Tablet Could Kill All-in-One PCs – 20″ display with a reslotion of 3840 x 2560 (230ppi) resolution and a 15:10 aspect ratio. But it only has an Intel Core i5 3427U vPro CPU clocked at 1.8 GHz
Other Tablet News
- RCA Has a Mobile TV Android Tablet On The Way – Interesting concept but the ‘premium’ service is only in select cities. The 1024×768 screen (instead of 1280×720) seems a bit odd. Also, I am not a big of fan of RCA anymore.
- Project Fiona Now the Razer Edge: A Full-on Gaming Tablet – The first tablet I have seen that is truly physically designed for gaming.
- Windows Surface RT Jailbreak Tool Released – It was bound to happen and Microsoft doesn’t seem too upset about it since it doesn’t seem to cause any security issues, but warned it might be ‘fixed’ in the future.
Tablet Hardware
- Intel Announces Atom Bay Trail Processor For Tablets – 22mm design, ‘all day’ battery power, Quad-Core processor. Downside is these won’t be launched until ‘Holiday 2013’. Not sure if that launch is for the processors only or devices with these processors.
- Intel Discusses Y Chips For Tablets – Didn’t really understand this one much other than it might be ideal for the Microsoft Surface Pro and the chips might over-heat
- Qualcomm Announces New Snapdragon Processors – My first cell phone in 1999 was a Qualcomm, the thing was the size of a brick! I have a Snapdragon processor in my HTC Sensation. This new line is not just limited to tablets but will be used in SmartPhones, Media Players (iPod) and Laptops as well.
- Samsung Announces World’s First Octa 8-Core Mobile Processor – I posted about this one on Friday. I still don’t think there is need yet, most tablets are still dual-core and handful of quad-core.
