HP Enters the 7-inch Tablet Space with Slate 7

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Hewlett-Packard, a company that may have experienced the most notorious crash and burn in the tablet space with the TouchPad has returned with a low cost Android device, the HP Slate 7, which it has introduced at the Mobile World Congress.

Unlike the last time when it used technology it had acquired from Palm as the operating system HP has gone mainstream and will be using the Android Jelly Bean operating system. In fact the company goes out of its way to tout the devices relationship with Google, talking about how it is the ideal platform for what it calls the Google Experience in its press release.

The $169 Slate 7 is the first of what appears to be a family of different products HP will be delivering that will target different market segments, according to a company executive. The company’s emphasis on its alliance with Google and promoting Google products and services also indicates a trend for the future, and one that might be a bad sign for Microsoft, which also has a partnership with HP. HP recently introduced a Chromebook, a notebook that run’s Google’s Chrome OS.

The Slate 7 is powered by an ARM dual core Cortex-A9 1.6GHz processor and will feature a 3 MP backward facing camera and a VGA front facing camera. The 7-inch display has a 1024 x 600 resolution and the tablet will feature 8GB of storage that is expandable via a microSD card.

HP already has a high end tablet which competes with the other 10-inch offerings from everybody from Microsoft, Samsung and Apple. Now it is seeking to establish itself against the iPad Minis, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fires. Hopefully HP can establish itself in this space, making the market more competitive.

Samsung Launches Galaxy Note 8

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Samsung’s drive to apparently have a tablet offering at every possible size has taken another step forward as the company has delivered the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, an 8-inch tablet announced just prior to the start of the Mobile World Congress this week.

The tablet is hardly a secret as the company accidentally unveiled a great deal of its details last week at an event in South Korea. It will feature an 8-inch Super Clear display with 1280 x 800 resolution. Android’s Jelly Bean 4.1.2 operating system and will be powered by a 1.6GHz A9 quad core processor.

The company has upgraded its S Pen stylus technology that automatically launches features in the tablet when the pen is removed from its integrated holder. There are a number of pen-specific apps including S Note, S Planner and Email with handwriting integration.

There will be both a 5 MP rear facing camera as well as a 1.3MP front facing camera. It will come with 2GB RAM as well as either 16GB or 32GB storage that can be expanded further via a microSD card that supports up to 64GB. The tablet has phone capabilities, a feature that can be used simultaneously with other apps open and running. There will be both Wi-Fi only and a 3G model. It is expected in the second quarter but pricing has not yet been revealed.

MLB’s AT Bat 13 Also Shows Up for Spring Training

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For many baseball fans one of the landmark days of the season is when pitchers and catchers report. For others it has now become when MLB.Com releases its At Bat mobile sports program at the start of each season.

The popular app is now in its fifth season and it is now available on a much greater variety of platforms than ever, with its mainstay Apple iPad and iPhone as well as support for Android-driven smartphones and tablets. New this year will be the support for the BlackBerry 10, due by opening day. Apparently still no Windows Surface Pro support.

Like the players the app is now only ready for Spring Training but there will be an Opening Day update soon. It costs a onetime fee of $19.99 for the entire season including the World Series, although there are a few options. Subscribers to MLB.TV Premium can upgrade to MLB AT Bat 13 for free while Apple’s iOS users can get a monthly billing of $2.99 a month if they wish.

As with every year there are new and/or enhanced features with the program, and it also varies a bit by which operating system and device you are using to view the app with although the differences are narrowing.

Some of the features for all devices include a new app navigation system, searchable video highlight library, and a classics games video library archive. For iPad and Android tablet users there is also sortable batting, pitching and fielding statistics as well as favorite team enhancements. Then there are also ones just for smartphones such as new team pages and revamped news interface.

There is also a host of Spring Training features including the ability to watch an estimated 200 games, live audio broadcasts, scoreboard tracking as well as breaking news and full season calendars.

New Ubuntu Linux-driven tablets at MWC

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If you happen to journey over to the Ubuntu home page these days you see a notice that alerts you to the fact that the Mobile World Congress will be graced by tablets that are driven by Ubuntu’s Linux operating system.

Under the moniker of Tastefully Tactile it is pushing it as a solid alternative in the post-PC era, a multitasking tool that provides the flexibility and functionality that modern users are seeking in their tablets.

The operating system hardware requirements are broken down into two categories, entry level consumer tablets and high end enterprise offerings. It is designed to support displays that vary from 7-10 inches for entry level consumer tablets to 10-12 inches for high end offerings.

A minimum of a dual core Cortex A15 for entry level processor or a quad-core A15 or an Intel processor for the high end. Memory for entry level is a minimum of 2GB with 8GB storage and 4GB memory and 8GB storage is preferred for the high end. The device will be able to run all PC apps at the high end and will support a keyboard dock.

While some of the details have yet to be revealed prior to its debut at the show on February 25, there is a good deal of interesting tidbits at Ubuntu’s site including a picture of the tablet displaying its multitasking ability by having both a Skype phone app and a running tablet app on the screen simultaneously.

The multitasking ability extends to the software where developers can use one set of code and the operating system to create apps that can be used for pc productivity apps, phone and TV interfaces, easing development issues. It touts its security features including the ability to have multiple users’ accounts on the same device with full encryption of each user’s personal data.

There are plenty more and I am sure they will be spelling out who hardware partners and tablet specific developers will be at the show. Canonical is providing service and design support for the operating system.

Archos Goes Platinum With Latest Tablet Lineup

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Archos has beaten the World Mobile Congress crowd to the starting line by introducing a trio of tablets prior to the show as it has taken the wraps off of its Platinum lineup that will have tablets that range in size from 8-inches to 11.6-inches.

The three tablets start with the Archos 80 Platinum, an 8-inch model, the Archos 97 Platinum that is a 9.7-inch device and the Archos 116 Platinum that is a 11.6-inch tablet. All three share many f the same internal features.
All of them will run the Android 4.1 operating system and will be powered by a 1.2GHz quad core processor and feature a 8-core GPU that is capable of driving 1080p video decoding. They include 2GB of RAM and both a mini-HDMI and Micro SD ports for expansion.

The 8-inch Platinum tablet features a 1024 × 768 resolution screen and will be priced at $199, while the 9.7-inch Platinum HD tablet will have a high resolution 2048 × 1536 resolution display and will sell for $299. The company said that both of these tablets are expected to be available by the end of the month.

The largest of the three, the Archos 116 Platinum will have a 1920 × 1080 resolution screen and is expected t ship in April with a for $349 price tag.

The tablets look sharp and appear to be a solid offering, yet the company has not yet made available how much storage the devices will have makes it impossible to give a solid assessment of them at this time. With Apple and Microsoft offering 128GBs and others have or will follow suit, it is an important factor when making comparisons.

Microsoft Surface Pro Sells Out — More this Weekend

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After the lackluster news about the holiday sales of its first generation tablet, the Surface RT, and then more bad news about its Pro version just prior to shipping Microsoft has some good news to report. It’s sold out!
It was reported that just a day into its widespread availability Microsoft was out of its 128GB version of its Surface Pro tablet, although its 64GB version remained on the shelves for prospective customers.

Well that might not be so great since it could mean loss of sales but it looks to be a short term issue as the company has a new round of tablets on the way and they are expected to hit store shelves as well as Microsoft’s own online store by this weekend.

Some have questioned if the tablets actually sold out, or if it was an artificial shortage designed to get solid publicity for the company by showing demand for the tablet. PCWorld posed that question and has provided similar comments from others.

Still it is hard to say for sure since it is doubtful that Microsoft is going to provide its roadmap and strategic plans for use to look at. The question I have is if the demand for the highest capacity tablets was driven by the news of how little space was actually available for users?

I guess we will see the true popularity of the tablets, both from Microsoft and others when IDC releases its next quarterly tablet report. Other Windows tablets have received popular acclaim, such as the most recent offering from Lenovo. This should help break open the market even more, providing Samsung, Apple, Google and Amazon with a new generation of competition.