Low Cost Lenovo 7-inch Tablet Almost Here

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If you are ever wondering how news services and even blogs get advanced information about upcoming products it is often because the devices have to go through approval at the FCC, which has to make the records of approvals public. The forthcoming Lenovo A1000 is no exception.

The A1000 is no secret, the company talked about it and two additional tablets last month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but the fact that it is now getting approval to be shipped into the U.S. shows how close the device is to reaching the market.

The low-cost 7-inch tablet is an entry level device that the company is targeting at two different groups, first time buyers and music enthusiasts. When Apple hit the market with its iPad the market quickly responded with a list of me-too offerings, few of which gained any sales. The entry level was particularly weak as everybody compared the devices to the iPad.

Now the market has started to mature and people have a much better idea of what they want a tablet for and are starting to understand the differences that different price points represent in terms of display size, processor capabilities, storage and other features.

One of the key differentiators on the A1000 is its audio, which features Dolby Digital Plus and the large front facing speakers as part of its attempt to appeal to music fans. The tablet runs the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It will ship with 8GB or 16GB of storage that is expandable to 32GB with a micro-SD slot.

There are a few features that the company has not yet released such as screen resolution. Pricing has also not yet been released and that will be key as the 7-inch space has been heating up and is expected to quickly catch up to the 10-inch display space. The other two tablets that were discussed last month, the 10.1-inch S6000 and the 7-inch A3000 appear to be further out but both are expected in the second quarter.

Android Tablets See Growth at iPad’s Expense

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

The market for tablets is changing as both Android-powered devices gather additional market share and the smaller form factor tablets, sub-8 inches, are seeing extremely strong growth, according to the most recent study from market research from International Data Corp.

Overall the tablet market is strong and growing, and IDC has upgraded its forecast to reflect this trend, now estimating that there will be 190.9 million, up from its previous forecast of 172.4 million units sold in 2013. It is also expecting the market to grow at an average increase of 11% a year between 2013 and 2016, with estimated shipments in 2017 to reach 350 million units according to the company’s most recent Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

Smaller form factor tablets, those smaller than 8 inches, now account for half of all tablet sales and it expects that this trend will continue as consumers have found that smaller tablets often work better for daily usage compared to their larger brethren.

Tablets powered by the Android operating system grew its market share to 48.8% of the market, at the expense of Apple’s iPad family which witnessed a 5% market share drop to 46% of the market. However both are expected to see continual share erosion going forward as Windows, which combined RT and Pro, will gain an estimated 4.7% of the market this year but should grow to 10.1% by 2017, according to the report.

Another loser is ereaders, which are expected to lose market share due to the growing presence of low cost tablets that can both serve as an ereader and for a wide variety of additional uses as well. IDC has reduced its forecast by an average of 14% a year between 2013 and 2016. It estimates that there was 26.4 million sold in 2011 and that number represents the platform’s peak, declining to 18.2 million the following year. IDC expects modest gains this year and next before a permanent decline sets in.

Friday Grab Bag: Here Comes Fox Sports 1, Huge ASUS Tablet Hybrid

Fox Sports is seeking to rebound to the national stage once again. While most fans see Fox for MLB or NFL games much of its sports empire is a series of regional deals, but that may change as it is once again pushing for a national sports cable presence that unifies all of its properties.

Now on Aug. 1, 2013 we will see that rebirth with Fox Sports 1, an all sports network that it will be launching. This is a direct shot at ESPN, and who knows, it might drive that network back to talking about sports rather than whatever it is doing now days.

White House supports cell phone unlocking
The recent ruling mailing it illegal to unlock cell phones and tablets may get beaten back as the White House has come out saying that unlocking phones should be legal. The practice of unlocking, which enables a user to use the phone on the network of their choice, was recently declared illegal.

A petition was filed to the White House and R. David Edelman, White House adviser on Internet, innovation and privacy, responded by saying the administration feels consumers should be allowed to unlock their phones without civil or criminal penalties, especially if the phones were purchased secondhand or as gifts. Congress is also starting to weigh in on the issue and a number of bills are being proposed that would make it legal.

Samsung Galaxy Note III to have larger screen
A report from the Korea Times, via Brighthand, says that the upcoming handset release from Samsung will feature a 5.9-inch screen and is expected to be released in the second half of this year.

The handset is seen as a replacement for the current Galaxy Note II, a handset that has a 5.5-inch display and has already sold over 10 million units since last fall.

News Corp. Enters Tablet Space with Amplify
When most people think of News Corp. they probably think of Fox News or the Wall Street Journal but you can now add educational hardware to the mix with the introduction of Amplify, a company that it has created to deliver digital products for the educational system.

The tablet is a 10-inch device that will originally be available only with Wi-Fi but a 4G LTE version is expected later. It will have a $299 price tag but also require a 2-year subscription that will be $99 for Wi-Fi and $179 for 4G. Amplify is not just a tablet but part of a larger program that will include new curriculum offerings that it claims will reinvent teaching and learning and the devices will ship with a host of programs preloaded.

Asus has huge Tablet hybrid
Asus has said that it will start shipping its huge Transformer AiO device in the second quarter of 2013. Designed to be used as either a tablet or as a PC the Transformer AiO is an 18.4-inch tablet that has 1920 x 1080 resolution.

The interesting thing is that in tablet mode it has an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor, 32GB of storage and runs the Android operating system. Attach it to a dock and it now has an Intel Core i5 processor, 1TB of storage and runs Windows 8.

Sony Upgrades Tablet Offering with Xperia Tablet Z

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Sony has enhanced its tablet offerings with the Xperia Tablet Z that it debuted last week at the Mobile World Congress. Somehow this one flew under the radar last week, but it looks well worthwhile to recap since it looks like Sony has made major steps towards relevancy with its latest tablet offering.

While Samsung and Hewlett-Packard seemed to grab most of the attention for their tablet introductions the Sony offering is also one to take note of, and is a move to establish the company in the 10-inch space.

The Xperia Tablet Z features a 10.1 inch display that has 1920 x 1200 resolution capable of full 1080p HD. The tablet is water resistant and is powered by Qualcomm’s quad core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. It has 2GB of RAM and can have a maximum of 64GB storage with an optional microSD card in the Wi-Fi version.

The tablet will be available in cellular and Wi-Fi only versions with the 16GB Wi-Fi models. The company’s press release did not give prices but it was reported elsewhere that the with the 16GB Wi-Fi models would be available for $499 and the 32GB model for $599, both from a Sony Store.

The tablet runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and will be upgradable to 4.2. It will include a pair of cameras, a 8MP rear camera as well as a 2MP HD front facing camera. For sound it includes the Sony S-Force Front Surround 3D and Sony’s Clear Audio+ mode capability.

The tablet includes other Sony technologies as well including its One-Touch functions to transfer content from tablet to either a TV, speaker or phone by touching them together. In addition it has a universal remote feature that enables it to remotely control Sony TV’s and other Sony built devices.

A key selling point of the tablet is weight, and while that may not seem obvious just looking at the raw numbers, it could end up being a top selling point. The smaller 7-inch tablets have been making strong inroads in terms of sales over the last six months or more. Many users I have talked with state that the weight of a 10-inch device simply is too much for one hand and they do not want to use it with both in many usage scenarios.

The Xperia Tablet Z is approximately a quarter pound lighter than the Nexus 10 and 2 mm thinner. It weighs 495 grams or 17.5 ounces and is 6.9 mm thick, thinner and lighter than the most recent iPad as well which is 9.4 mm thick and weighs 652 grams.

It seems like it will be much better accepted in the market than the unique Tablet S that Sony previously released. However there are tablets that have better features in individual categories such as display resolution, so a user will still have to make tradeoffs when purchasing one. However it appears that Sony has pushed itself into the space where it will be considered with other top offerings.

Friday Grab Bag: Firefox Smartphones and No Nook Future?


NFL has Concussion iPad app

The NFL is providing team doctors with an iPad application that is designed to help the doctors more accurately judge weather a player has a concussion or not. It was demonstrated last week at the annual NFL scouting combine.

It has creating a scoring system that can be used to quickly check if there is a large difference between the players’ baseline score and his gameday score. It will be used as one of the tools that a doctor will use to make gametime decisions.

Firefox for Phones
Mozilla has started showing its first commercial build of the Firefox operating system and has unveiled partners as part of its effort to move into the smartphone space, a move that has already garnered support from both phone makers and carriers.

The initial phones are expected to be from Alcatel One Touch, LG Electronics and ZTE, with Huawei Technologies also planning a late in the year release, according to Computerworld UK. 8 operators are also lining up behind Firefox OS, including América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Japan’s KDDI, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Telenor, with the operators planning to first launch phones in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela.

Nook on the chopping block?
There has been talk that the founder of major bookseller Barnes & Nobles, Leonard Riggio, who just happens to be its chairman and largest shareholder, is looking at buying back the retail portion of the business.

He filed a plan with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the plan has no mention of its Nook and e-reader business. That portion of the business lost $262 million last year and reported a huge decline in sales over the recent holiday season, with revenue falling 25.9% in its Nook business.

2013 World Baseball Classic Starts Today
Or rather it starts broadcasting on the MLB Network, as teams have been fighting for position over the past several months in qualifying rounds. The first game pops up on the air at 11:30 p.m. ET and the network continues with all 39 games of the tournament including the Championship game that is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

There are four pools of teams playing, each with four nations represented in each pool. The United States is matched up with Canada, Italy and Mexico and the games will be played in Phoenix between March 7-10.

Hewlett-Packard unloads webOS
Lost amid Hewlett-Packard’s announcement of a low cost Android tablet was the fact that the company has sold its webOS mobile operating system to LG Electronics which plans to use it in forthcoming Internet connected televisions.

HP’s current tablet, the Slate 7, is powered by the Android operating system but its first shot at the market was with its TouchPad, a tablet that was powered by the webOS operating system and was met with a very poor reception.

7-inch Asus Fonepad With 3G Slated for March Release

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Asus is the latest to get into the multifunction 7-inch tablet space with its Fonepad, a device that functions as both a tablet and a smartphone, something that will go head to head with other devices in this emerging category such as the recently released Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

The handheld is powered by an Intel Atom Z2420 processor running at 1.2GHz and will feature 1GB of RAM, and will be available with either 8GB or 16GB of storage while a microSD slot enables users to add additional storage up to a total of 32GBs.

The 7-inch display has 1280 x 800 HD resolution and it features a 1.2MP front facing camera while an optional rear facing 3 MP camera with 720p HD video recording capabilities is also available. It uses the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

The Fonepad has an expected nine hour battery life and comes with built-in 3G with HSPA+ mobile data so that users can browse and download data and apps as well as use it as a telephone. The company has included a set of Asus exclusive apps including Floating App for easy app management and simpler multi-tasking; SuperNote lite for handwritten notes; and WebStorage Office Online for Microsoft Office-compatible document editing on the move. Fonepad users also get 5GB of free lifetime ASUS WebStorage.

It is expected to ship next month and will have an entry price point of $249. It seems that the smaller form factor is heating up as the new place to be, with an increasing number of companies entering the space. I suspect we will see a number of additional offerings in this space over the next few months as handset developers as well as tablet companies seek to carve out some of the market for themselves.