With yesterday’s official unveiling of HP’s latest notebook offerings, it’s obvious that the company is not about to get left behind by the competition especially in the Ultrabook department. But does HP have any plans at all for the tablet space?

HP has been sitting on Palm assets for the longest time now and it seems like they either have no plans to further develop webOS at all or they simply have no idea how to. But now it appears that HP is actually taking steps to assert their position in the tablet market by coming up with a new webOS-powered competitor to the iPad and many of today’s most popular Android tablet offerings.

Apparently, HP is currently hiring developers that are to work on webOS, and it is highly likely that we will hear about a new webOS device coming out before the end of this year, if things go according to HP’s plan of course. There are no known webOS-powered devices in the works from HP at the moment, but it is known that the company has been testing Windows 8 since a short time after it was first announced by Microsoft.

Right now, there are a dozen job posting on HP’s own career web site. Will these people finally form the team that will bring us the webOS powerhouse fit to topple the iPad? Watch out for further updates on the subject in the next few weeks.

webOS Nation via Liliputing

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Whether or not you are affected by the rumored PadFone delays that were reported on here recently, here’s your chance to ogle the said Android-powered hybrid device from the good of Taiwan-based Asus. The Asus PadFone has just made its way to Taiwan shores and now, it has been featured in an unboxing video of its own which also includes bits about the PadFone Station Dock. The Station Dock is of course the keyboard dock to which you can plug the tablet part into so that it effectively becomes something similar to the Asus Transformer. See more of these devices for yourself via the Asus PadFone unboxing video below.
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Those of you waiting on the official release of the Asus Padfone may need to wait a little while longer in certain regions, as the device is unlikely to make it to the market at the originally scheduled release dates. And no, this time Android 4.0 ICS isn’t the one to blame.

As it turns out, the Asus smartphone/tablet hybrid Padfone is being delayed due to the current lack of availability of Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processors. This is according to a tweet posted on the Asus Indonesia Twitter page. As you can imagine, it will not be possible to release the Padfone without the processor that’s supposed to make it run, so for now it will be delayed until Qualcomm sorts everything out.

Asus can only say that the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip shortage is affecting not just them, but in fact all of Qualcomm’s customers. Now, that doesn’t exactly do anything to fix the problem, but at least Asus is honest and it seems it’s not really their fault that the Padfone is being delayed, anyway.

@ASUS_Indonesia via EeePC IT

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Take or leave it, there’s no doubt that tablets don’t have the capacity to handle the same thoroughness (including similar efficiency levels) compared to a complete laptop, and to stress on that,  Intel’s new Ultrabook is using that very position to endorse the Ultrabook type as a whole. Since we’re just left with a few days from witnessing what’s apt to be a deluge of such staff at CES, The new Ultrabook portal (with linked “Ultra Excited For Ultrabooks” sample paper) is leading the masses for what to look forward to.

Sure, you can’t say something here is truly revolutionary, per se; however it’s indeed the first time that we’ve witnessed such a huge company assuming a significant swing at a product segment that has wedged flames for innumerable reasons. The year 2012 is pacing up to be the year of the low-priced tablet; nevertheless if Intel has its way, you’ll be kicking off the excitement and going for a fully-fledged computing machine instead.

Via Engadget

Source: Electronista

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Another Android tablet now comes out in the Chinese market.  Introducing the latest edition of Chuwi’s Tablet PC series– the Chuwi V1. The device has an 8-inch screen size with 1024 x 768-pixel resolution of capacitive multi touch display.  This touchscreen type can be controlled by the light touch of your finger without the need to use a mechanical stylus.

In terms of specs, the V1 is powered by the Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System with the Android 3.0 skin. The new Chuwi tablet consists of Rockchip RK2918 and 1.2GHz CPU frequency ARM Cortex-A8 processor with Vivante GC800. It could able to store data up to 16GB internal memory through the 512MB of DDR3 RAM.

The tablet is built with WiFi connectivity, full HD 1080p video playback, dual cameras, HDMI port, microphone and speaker but doesn’t have a Bluetooth feature. As well as supported by the Android Market and Adobe Flash Player and 3G module. Its battery can last up to six hours of continuous operation.

The V1 is available mostly on online hubs and priced at 999 Yuan or approximately $157. Hence, you can now take pleasure in an Android tablet without spending a lot through the Chuwi V1.

source:techfresh

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In last September’s Build, Microsoft treated attendees to a preview of Windows 8, the next version of their operating system. This upcoming iteration is said to be designed to fit well whether you’re playing a game on a PC hooked up to a large LCD TV or editing your notes on a 10-inch touchscreen mobile device. Windows 8 tablets are likely going to be one of the highly anticipated mobile gadgets of 2012. Here’s what you can probably expect from such slates.

• They will have the interface called Metro like Windows Phone 7. This means live tiles, lock screens where you can pin apps, and gestures to set two apps side by side.
• There will be apps available from an app store. This is going to offer a broader range of options for developers who prefer this platform.
• It’s going to be a work-oriented tablet. Naturally, the old MS Office tools are going to be present.
• There’s going to considerable support from vendors and manufacturers. The tablet that was actually shown off at the Build was from Samsung. There are also reports that Nokia is coming out with slate next year that will run on this new OS. It seems that vendors and manufacturers see Windows 8 as a possible new channel for growth.

There aren’t any fixed target dates yet for when the new OS will be released. The stated plan is sometime by the end of the 3^rd quarter of 2012. If Windows 8 does deliver on its promises, it could be next year’s strong contender in the mobile platform race which has so far been dominated by iOS and Android.

Source: techradar

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According to Digitimes, which in turn got the report from Chinese-language Commercial Times, HTC plans to unveil a quad-core tablet in Mobile World Congress 2012 that’s scheduled to happen in February. Along with this powerful new device, the mobile manufacturer stalwart is said to also reveal two new Android smartphones, one of which will also be powered by a quad-core processor.

It looks like this is going to be next year’s standard for tablet processors. First there was the curtain-raising last October for the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime. Then reports came out about a 10.1-inch tablet from Lenovo which may run on Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android. These two slates along with HTC’s are all sporting Nvidia’s new Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

Dual-cores seemed adequate enough for watching streaming movies. Perhaps tablets are expanding from the media/entertainment category into the work/production realm. The line between PC and tablet has just gotten that much blurry.

Source: digitimes

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Archos is known for naming the models in its tablet product line according to the device’s screen size. The Archos 32 for example has a display of 3.2 inches, and the Archos 101 has a screen real estate of 10.1 inches. If big displays are a crucial feature for you, then you’ll probably be excited to hear that this French manufacturer may be in the process of putting out a 12-inch slate.

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GameStop seems to be planning on making some changes and head out into new territory. One of the major moves it accomplished this year is acquiring the Impulse game download service from Stardock. Then it went ahead and purchased Spawn Labs’ device which allows streaming of heavy high-end games from consoles and desktops. Another is that they’ve started offering Android tablets suited up for gaming. These are available online and across stores in the US. With all these developments, one can’t help but wonder: are they planning to market their own gaming tablets?

It is after all a growing trend with other major online retailers. There’s Amazon and Barnes & Noble who have each come up with their own e-reader slates and met with varying degrees of success. Also, a compelling reason to expand in this direction certainly exists for GameStop. It started out in 1984 as a brick-and-mortar game retailer. By 2009, the company had around 6,450 stores and distributed titles on the global market. Lately however it has been losing ground to the increasing widespread distribution of mobile games. Tablets and smart phones are becoming just as good gaming platforms as dedicated consoles and PCs.

The situation may be somewhat alleviated with the newly acquired download service, streaming technology, and tactic of selling Android tablets. It is somewhat baffling however that the first two solutions aren’t present in the first line up of tablets they’ve offered. This batch includes popular models such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, and the Acer Iconia Tab A100. And they come with free pre-installed titles that include Monster Madness, Sonic CD, and Riptide HD. Kongregate Arcade, the company’s Flash game portal is also pre-loaded. For an additional $39, the customer can equip these tablets with a Bluetooth game controller.

It’s not likely that GameStop went into the tablet computer trade just so it could sell a couple of game controllers. Perhaps the Impulse download service and Spawn Labs streaming device are meant for something more ambitious. Current tablet vendors could adopt the technologies GameStop acquired but if that doesn’t happen then the company might come up with their own mobile device that has those features built-in. It’s not going to be easy to transform from retailer to hardware manufacturer. There are the various mobile operating systems and their complementary app stores to consider. But if this idea does push through, the tablet market is going to be a much more exciting option for gamers.

Source: pcworld

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According to a report, Acer Chairman JT Wang alleged that Microsoft software could soon effectively take on Apple. Perhaps the only challenge that persists at the moment for Microsoft’s Windows is the growth of Apple’s iOS on tablets (iPad), and smartphones (iPhone) – according to an editorial in Taipei-based Digitimes, which published Wang’s comments on Monday.

Citing Wang’s comments, Microsoft’s Windows “hasn’t had any achievements within these two markets that can help it gain share,” citing a decline in Netbook sales hence resulting in only “slim” growth in the conventional laptop market. Although the publisher didn’t detail on Wang’s point, we assume Wang was speaking about market intrusion by the iPad, for instance, on the Netbook as well as low-end laptop market.

Although, recent reports from Gartner indicate only meek growth in PC sales in 2011; the Acer Group was placed in the 4^th position in world rankings in terms of PC sales in the third quarter, according to IDC.

According to Wang, Apple’s “notebook products are only minor drivers” for growth and pale citing to the exciting escalation seen in its iPads and iPhones. However, Windows 8 could change this. In a few coming years, Wang sees a rebirth of the Microsoft camp behind Windows 8 as Microsoft reacts more efficiently to “consumer demands,” according to the report. Expect to see Windows 8 by 2013.

The Windows 8 is anticipated to run on wider range of devices, including, smartphones, tablets, Ultrabook clamshell laptops (latter rivaling Apple’s MacBook Air) and tablet-laptop hybrids.

Source: Cnet

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