If you think the tablet wars have heated up a bit lately, you haven’t seen anything yet. The tablet PC market is about to get a lot more competitive, thanks in large part to the upcoming Asus Transformer 2. Also known as the Transformer Prime, Asus will be debuting its quad-core, Android-based tablet hybrid next month in December. Building on the success of the original Asus Eee Pad Transformer, the Transformer Prime will boast significantly more powerful technology than its predecessor. With more and more students in undergraduate, master’s degree, and PhD programs using tablets as a means of reading textbooks, taking notes, and collaborating, (playing games too, of course), this tablet is sure to be a hit among people looking for an all-capable device. Here’s a quick preview of what you can expect.
Bringing The Heat
The Transformer 2 packs a punch in terms of hardware under the hood. When it ships in December, it’ll feature a quad-core 1.3 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, a 12-core GeForce GPU, 10” display, 15 hours of battery life, mini-HDMI output, and of course a detachable keyboard. Storage space starts at 32 GB, running up to 64 GB if you’re willing to pay for it. Pricing begins somewhere between $500 and $600, making it fairly competitive given its impressive computing horsepower. The keyboard dock will be sold separately for $150, but it has the benefit of adding an additional six hours of battery life to the Prime’s stamina.
Superior Graphics and UI
While the hardware specs are impressive, the software is the real story here. Equipped with Android 3.2 aka “Honeycomb”, the Transformer Prime takes advantage of the latest advances in Google’s operating system. With the tablet-focused variant of Android really starting to hit its stride after several iterations, the Transformer Prime’s capable silicon is the perfect testbed to see what Honeycomb can do. Though details are a bit hazy at the moment, an OTA update to Android 4.0 should be available in early 2012.
The Prime features 1200 x 800 pixel Super IPS+ resolution, with crystal clear picture put out by the Tegra 3 GPU’s vSMP technology. Super IPS+ makes working with the Transformer Prime fairly hassle-free in a wide variety of lighting environments. Capable of adjusting brightness based on the ambient lighting around it, the Prime’s crisp screen is another compelling reason to consider the Transformer.
The Last Word
Comparisons between the Asus Transformer Prime and its competition from the likes of Apple’s iPad are inevitable. Furthermore, lower-end tablets such as the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Touch are going to be wildly successful, but they’re aimed at an entirely different niche. The Transformer 2 will most likely take a bite out of the market share of Apple’s iPad 2. The Transformer Prime is a serious tablet that should do very well with enterprise users. With any luck, that popularity will filter down to mainstream users looking for a tablet that’s well-suited for both work and play.
The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is here and this is the first TV advertising for the product. What do you think? Would you buy this tablet over an iPad 2?
Gamestop seem to be a company jumping all over the place at the moment. Gamestop has noticed that no one seems to be buying games from your basic game shops, thus they are trying to find other revenue streams. Last week it was leaked that they are working on a Steam competitor and now it has been announced they are working on their own Android gaming tablet! Really.. a Gamestop gaming tablet! No one is going buy that surely.
We’ve seen the face of technology change a lot in a very short period of time. When the iPad hit the market many were wondering why it was even made. It didn’t seem to be more than just a larger version of the iPhone that didn’t make calls. Soon after that people started realizing what had just been unleashed on the world. Similar devices have been put into production and there are several alternatives but the iPad is still the most recognized brand on the market. This has led many to discuss how these devices are affecting the classroom and what it could mean for the future.
The iPad and other computer tablet devices are poised to take a huge step forward and possess the opportunity to become an integral part of the student’s life by becoming the new age notebook. These devices have programs that allow students to use word processing programs, read textbooks, and run applications. Perhaps the most important aspect is the reading programs that support school text. For both textbooks and classic books the computer tablet reading devices have the ability to be the first e-reader will be widely accepted by students.
Some schools are taking the concept of technology integration further than most. A school in Tennessee, as TechSpy reports, is now requiring every student to have iPads as the primary teaching method. From the iPad, children can brows through lesson plans, take tests, and write papers. Though this program is in it’s infancy, it’s likely that this approach will only become increasingly common as the cost of education, child population, and need for quality technological education and exposure increases. It’s hoped that though using many technologies, initially designed for entertainment, and refitting them for educational purposes, our educational system can begin to make up for its many deficits such a lack of teachers and outdated books.
Some argue that their effectiveness is only hampered by the huge cost to consumers. Though the iPad is quite expensive at first and the sticker shock and scare people away, it is a long-term money saving tool. One of the most attractive benefits of the iPad as an e-reader is that e-books will cost less compared to hard copies. Another benefit that makes the iPad attractive is that it brings more to the table than being a simple e-reader. It offers users a wide range of applications that goes far beyond reading a book and, in effect, becomes a single source for information and education.
These devices are beginning to change the landscape of the classroom. More and more people are using them in the classroom. There’re invaluable tools for anything from medical radiography courses to business classes. The apps that are being developed are mirroring this evolution and technology creeps further and further into the realm of education completely changes the way we learn.
Here is one of the first videos that shows off Windows 8 tablet edition. Microsoft have made it very easy to move between standard Windows and a tablet edition (which looks very much like Windows Phone 7).
Asus have been getting a lot of press in the past few days with their upcoming Padfone. The Padfone is a tablet device with a built in phone. This device has enhanced connectivity which means that you will on need one SIM card to use both devices.
It seems like the Blackberry Playbook is outperforming most of the tablets currently in the market.
Since its April 19 launch in the U.S., Abramsky thinks RIM has moved about 250,000 PlayBooks. Further, he believes RIM is on track to sell 500,000 PlayBooks by the end of the quarter. [...]
“Checks at 180 Best Buys show 14% of the 16 GB sold out, 71% of the 32 GB sold out, and 84% of the 64 GB sold out; however, 32 GB/64 GB stockouts appear allocation-related,” he wrote. Are many PlayBooks being returned? Not really, he said, calling PlayBook returns “nominal.” (Information Week)
If the Playbook was a little lower in price Im wondering if they could really compete in marketshare with the iPad 2.
The Dell Streak 7 tablet is available to buy in the UK as of today. The Dell Streak 7 tablet has been available in the USA for a while now and has produced some decent sales numbers.
The Dell Streak 7 launching in the UK will run Android 2.2, but updates will be available once Android 2.3 is released to the general public.
The Dell Streak 7 tablet features:
1.3 megapixel camera on the front
5 megapixel camera on the back
Runs Adobe Flash 10.1
NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
Its available for £299 and more information can be found on the Dell site.
