Looking for the cheapest Android tablet ever? Look no further than this 7-inch ICS-powered offering from Shenzen-based HuaYi, which asks for a mere 399 yuan or about $65 USD in exchange for a single unit. And before you write this off as one of those “no wonder it’s cheap, the specs are terrible” type of devices, take a look at its spec sheet. It comes with a 7-inch 800×480 pixel resolution multitouch display, a single core CPU based on the ARM Cortex A8 architecture, 512MB of device RAM, a microSD card slot, microUSB and HDMI-out, plus a front facing camera for web conferencing. Perhaps the absolute best thing about it is that it is supplied with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, so you won’t need to worry about whether or not an update will come for it at all since it’s already there. There is one caveat, though: you may have to order it straight from China.

Via MICGadget

7-inch HuaYi tablet will put power of Android 4.0 ICS in your hand, take only $65 from your wallet/bank account is a post from: Eee PC

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Not content with releasing just one Android-powered tablet (which came out last year), AOC is now preparing to launch something new with the latest version of the Android software pre-installed, as evidenced by documents obtained from the FCC’s web site.

Pictured above is AOC’s next-generation Breeze tablet, which is going to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich when it becomes available in the market (model number MW9022). Its specs include a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, up to 16GB of onboard storage, and a built-in microSD card slot.

As mentioned earlier, it will sport a 9-inch screen and its native resolution is reportedly 1280×800. It’s certainly no Retina or SuperAMOLED unit, but from the looks of it, this new tablet from AOC should not take away that much weight from your wallet.

The FCC’s web site also reveals other details including its 7-hour battery life with Web surfing via Wi-Fi. Pretty much the only thing that hasn’t been revealed is when and for how much this thing is going to be sold exactly. We’ll just have to wait on that information for now.

FCC via Liliputing

AOC’s 9-inch Android 4.0 ICS tablet passes FCC is a post from: Eee PC

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If you consider yourself one of the many people who are currently longing for your very own Windows 8 tablet PC (a proper one, that is), then you want to keep your eyes peeled for what’s going to happen by September-October of this year. Because according to a report on the Chinese site DigiTimes, that is when companies like Asus, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo, and HP can be expected to launch their x86-based Windows 8 tablet PCs in the market. What exactly are they waiting for? Possibly perfection, but it’s also said that these same companies, along with several others like Samsung, Toshiba, and Sony, have plans to launch Windows 8 on ARM (WoA) offerings as well. We won’t be seeing any official releases for devices of that kind until early 2013, though. This is all according to the same unnamed source cited by DigiTimes in its report. The only thing that’s really sure at the moment is that you will still have time to save up for these babies for when they actually do get released in the market. Keep it here for updates.

DigiTimes via Acer Central

Windows 8 tablets on x86 platform coming this year, WoA alternatives to be available in 2013 is a post from: Eee PC

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Phoronix compared a group of devices with Intel and ARM processors. Ubuntu Linux 12.04 alpha was used as  the OS for running a bevy of benchmarks. Ubuntu is an obvious choice as there are several versions of the OS that are optimized for both architecture.

The benchmarks are not perfect though as the the hardware used were not really comparable but the results are somewhat interesting, nevertheless. The ARM-based machine was one of the newest Texas Instruments have and was pitted against a PC with the oldest Atom chipset.

The system with 1GHz TI OMPA dual core processor came ahead against the netbook running Intel Atom N270 at 1.6GHz, only in some benchmarks.

The OMAP is pitifully slow in encoding video with FFMPEG but is as fast as the Atom machine with H.264 video encoding. The ARM -based gadget came out leading in the audio encoding tests and other benchmarks.

Depending on your needs, the modern ARM-based CPU might be the same as your four-year old x86 processor. The truth is, modern Atom chips are not much faster than those released back on 2008, even if they are already dual cores.

We could find netbooks, nettops and low-powered desktops that are armed with ARM one day. Certainly, Linux are not the only OS, productive OS that is, that can run both on ARM and x86 processors. Windows 8 does too.

Source: Liliputing

Early Atom Chips On Par with Modern ARM Processors is a post from: Eee PC

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ARM is now getting bigger and larger. Currently they are sitting pretty going into 2012 with huge market share in smartphones and tablets. According to a notebook maker, ARM will continue to rise because Intel and AMD just can’t compete with ARM in terms of pricing.

Intel already had the 32nm-based Medfield processors with an 11W power consumption, matching with Android 4.0 in January 2012.  It will launch Atom processors with power consumption of less than 10W for smartphone / tablet uses in the second half of 2012. Also, Intel will keep upgrading manufacturing processes with Atom processors to be progressively based on 32nm Saltwell,, 22nm Silvermont and 14nm Airmont.

At Computex in June, AMD is releasing Hondo, an APU with power consumption of less than 5W for tablet PC’s usage. Competitive chips looks to come in to the market. They aren’t in the right price bracket to compete with ARM in 2013.

Source: Netbooknews

ARM Raises Up Front in the Mobile Market is a post from: Eee PC

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Windows 8 on ARM may have kept the same desktop like the standard OS, regardless of the rumors that had suggested otherwise. In a blog post on Microsoft’s Windows 8 development site, some of Microsoft’s lead program managers make references to both desktop and Metro-style apps for system-on-a-chip (SoC) hardware.

Unofficial reports released late last year claimed that Microsoft was planning to do away with the traditional Windows desktop from the ARM edition and just let users utilize the touch-native Metro UI. Nevertheless, the sources did admit that the issue was contentious within the company,.

The blog post is positive on the challenges of running desktop apps on SoC hardware, which is said to require a new means to standby operation. Desktop apps “presented a tougher challenge” due to programming that grants access to all system resources while in the foreground, while no access when a traditional PC is asleep.

Other reports had suggested that Microsoft’s Office suite may not be reprogrammed like true Metro-style apps after the next major release arrives on the market. Sources claimed that the Office apps should run in a restricted desktop mode to optimize power consumption.

Besides the references to a Windows desktop on SoC devices, Microsoft has yet to explicitly confirm the particular details for ARM hardware.

via electronista

Windows 8 on ARM Preserves Traditional Desktop is a post from: Eee PC

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Windows 8 ARM Edition was rumored to appear earlier than estimated and the ARM boss has given positive remarks on Microsoft’s latest OS.

CEO Warren East recently said that Windows 8 has an edge over Android when it comes to tablet platforms, but he didn’t actually say anything about its performance, but rather brand recognition.

Warren says that consumers are already familiar with Windows, while they’re still learning to adapt with the Android environment. This may not be true, however, since everyone knows at least one friend who has an Android phone. The discussions with ARM’s CEO came up during the company’s financial results call this week. East is certain that Android tablet makers have a chance at leaving a mark in the tablet category. However, they need a bit more time in order to gain momentum.

When the Android phones were first introduced, there was a lot of hyped surrounding that even though the devices didn’t really sell as well as the hype reflected. Now, Microsoft and Win 8 wouls have to go through the same thing and MS may actually use that brand awareness to draw the public who wants to keep part of their daily Windows experience, but one converted to tablet use.

via tabletnews

ARM Boss Claims Windows 8 to be Better Than Android on Tablets is a post from: Eee PC

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According to multiple sources, Windows 8 is rumored to be stable on ARM processors. The new ARM-compatible build will be out to developers in February.

This move will be a big step to Microsoft and the PC industry as using ARM chipsets may reduce the costs of devices, including tablets to make them even more affordable to consumers. Compared to PCs, tablets, and laptops running Intel or AMD’s x86 architecture, ARM chipsets will cost less.

One source said that a high-profile device with Intel chips will cost hundreds of dollars less on ARM chipsets.They also say that Microsoft may also target all three chip platforms at the same time, rather than staggering the launch for devices running Intel, AMD, and ARM CPUs.

The biggest challenge with ARM chipsets so far is that devices running on ARM may not be compatible with legacy apps as well as the preview from Microsoft’s compatibility with the OS-maker’s Office suite. While Microsoft claims that Office will be compatible, no one has yet seen or demo that has Office running on ARM. For ARM, Microsoft has largely demoed HTML5-based full-screen applications based on the Metro UI language.

As of now, Microsoft has said and shown little publicly regarding its ARM-based efforts.

via gottabemobile

Windows 8 Stable on ARM CPU? is a post from: Eee PC

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Toshiba and Lenovo have reportedly signed deals with contractor Quanta Computer in producing new tablets based on Windows 8 on ARM architecture. Unnamed sources within the industry said that Quanta will be handling the tablet production for both companies. So, we are to expect the first models to be released early next year.

Windows 8 should arrive later this year for devices that are built on Intel processors. However, there are also reports that suggest companies will take much longer to prepare the ARM-based alternative hardware and software.

Besides the ARM hardware, Lenovo is said to be preparing other tablets as well, using Intel’s Medfield as well as Clover Trail chips, which are also expected to arrive later this year.

Lenovo and Toshiba would still have to discussed specific plans for Windows on ARM tablets. Meanwhile, we can expect for Toshiba and Lenovo’s new tablet models to have better specs and better performance in order to suit the users needs.

via electronista

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Apparently, Microsoft has draconian policies in its “Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements”. It looks to mandate vendors to block other OSes from being installed on ARM devices.

Microsoft plans for the UEFI Secure Boot got some attention from people last year when it was pointed out that by forcing the use of Secure Boot, it would lock out third party OSes such as GNU / Linux out of the PCs entirely. The document states: “On non-ARM systems, it is required to implement the ability to disable the Secure Boot via firmware setup.” It then goes on to say (on Page 116): “Disabling Secure MUST NOT be possible on ARM systems.”

There’s no reason why MS would implement such drastic lockdown for one CPU architecture but enabling it for another. Well, there is a reason if you look at it on a non-technical way but on the business side. MS wants to lock their consumer to Windows only OS.

Early September last year, when this issue went public, MS issued a statement rationalizing the Secure Boot features and excuses itself that Secure Boot is indeed part of the UEFI standard. Years past, we’ve seen Microsoft play well with others. Now, it seems like its the 90s all over again.

Source: Netbooknews

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