December 2011
Tablet PC redux at Acer?
Mobile computing historians will recall that Acer was one of the early adopters of the Tablet PC back in 2001/2002 when Bill Gates/Microsoft made another push to establish the platform. The Acer TM100 (see our 2002 report), in fact, almost singlehandedly established the convertible notebook concept that remains quite popular in vertical markets (Panasonic, Getac, Twinhead, etc. all offer them) and was the early Tablet PC leader, but Acer never seemed to fully mature the concept, and quickly dropped it. Now history seems to repeat itself with Acer on another rollercoaster ride in media tablets with aggressive claims and predictions of leadership alternating with dismissals of the tablet market. The latest news, as reported by the Taiwan Economic News, now is that Acer is likely to withdraw from the tablet market entirely. [See article] -- Posted Wednesday, December 28, 2011 by chb
iPad continues to dominate in Q3 of 2011
It's almost two years after the iPad's introduction, and Apple's blockbuster tablet continues to rule. According to IDC, Apple sold 11.1 million iPads in Q3 of 2011 for a 61% market share. That's compared to a combined total of just six million for all Android tablets combined, for a 32.4% share, down from 33.2% in Q3 of 2010. Android, though, seems poised to benefit from the new generation of hybrid tablet/book readers such as the Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook that may boost Android market share over 40%. -- Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by chb
Winmate unveils ruggedized, Intel Atom/Windows Embedded Standard 7 powered 9.7-inch tablet with projected capactive touch
Winmate announced the attractively styled R09ID9M-RTL1, also known as the Winmate 9.7-inch Compact Rugged Tablet PC. Running Windows Embedded Standard 7 on an 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600, the semi-rugged device brings the elegance and ease of use of projected capacitive touch to embedded systems custom applications. There's also USB and LAN/HDMI connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth, optional 3.5G WWAN, and despite the extra ruggedness, the tablet still only weighs two pounds. [See description and specs of the Winmate 9.7-inch Compact Rugged Tablet PC] -- Posted Sunday, December 25, 2011 by chb
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet
The original IBM ThinkPad of the early 1990s was a tablet and ran PenPoint, so it's only fitting that the new Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet should explore Android for business. Dan Rasmus analyzes the new Lenovo Tablet and finds much to like (superior keyboard and case), but it comes at the cost of extra weight. And Android still seeks to find an identity, in business at least. [See Dan Rasmus' review of the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet] -- Posted Sunday, December 18, 2011 by chb
Tablet survey says connection speed is everything
European network solutions provider Brocade research suggests that while 85% of consumers in their survey use their smartphones or tablets to do their holiday shopping, almost 70% were only prepared to wait a maximum of 20 seconds for a web page to load before going to another retailer. And 13% said they'd only wait a maximum of five seconds for a retailer's web page to load before giving up and trying another site. [See Brocade press release] -- Posted Sunday, December 18, 2011 by chb
Getac UK announces rugged 7-inch Android tablet
Getac UK has announced a 7-inch fully rugged Android-based tablet computer. The Getac Z710 tablet is designed to withstand 5-foot drops, carries IP65 sealing (i.e, it's dust-proof and can handle water jets from all directions), can handle operating temperatures from -22 to 140° Fahrenheit, and passes numerous MIL-STD-810G tests. The Z710 runs Android 2.3, comes with 16GB of memory, has a microSD Card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, USB, dual cameras (HD front, 5mp rear). Note that the new Getac tablet has not yet been announced in the US where John Lamb, Director of Marketing, Getac Inc. stated "We have numerous rugged notebooks, convertibles, handheld and tablet products in development and we are excited about the pipeline." [See Getac UK press release] -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb
HCI introduces Android-powered TVs for healthcare
HCI has released the next generation of their RoomMate TVs designed specifically for use in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The new connected TVs run the Android OS and use Android apps to entertain and educate patients, visitors, and staff. [See HCI Android TV platform] -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb
Jon Peddie Research sees big boost in stereo cameras in smartphones
Jon Peddie Research released a new study on mobile devices. Among the findings: 80% of smartphones will have stereo 3D cameras by 2015, not just for 3D viewing, but also for gesture based controls, advanced augmented reality applications, and visualization with depth. Peddie also forecasts shipment of over 750 million smartphones in 2016, as well as almost 300 million tablets. -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb
Apple's efficiency hurts chip vendors
Bloomberg reports that the iPad's low chip count (about 75% fewer than in a standard notebook) is hurting chipmakers, especially those specializing in memory chips. [See Bloomberg article] -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb
MobileIron 4.5 to offer comprehensive Android security platform
MobileIron announced global availability of MobileIron 4.5, which provides a deep set of security features to Android devices. With support for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), MobileIron 4.5 includes encryption enforcement, secure SSL VPN, Exchange account configuration with certificates, a single MobileIron client for all Android devices, hardware lockdown and more. -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb