Amazon.com's Kindle Fire is priced to sell at $199, but how would you like an Android tablet priced in the sub-$100 range? Even better, what if it sported not Gingerbread (Android 2.3) as the Kindle Fire does, but the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)?
That's what you could get with Ainol's Novo7 tablet, which has a 7-inch capacitive screen and a 1GHz Ingenic JZ4770 SoC, powered by a MIPS32-compatible XBurst CPU, according to a joint press release from MIPS Technologies and chip-maker Ingenic. Reportedly, the Novo7's battery lasts eight hours while watching video, seven hours when browsing the Web and six hours when playing video games.
The Novo7 also has some hardware that the Kindle Fire is missing, include dual-cameras (2MP rear- / VGA front-facing), and an SD card slot. The tablet also includes 1080p video decoding and an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) out port.
The tablet is currently only available only in China through Ainol Electronics. According to MIPS and Ingenic, the Novo7 will eventually come to other countries, sometime in the next several months. New tablets with 8-inch and 9-inch screens are also planned.
We've seen inexpensive Android tablets before, but usually carrying a smartphone version of Android, not a tablet-optimized version (ICS joins the two codelines, tablet and smartphone and will run on both).
Most of the very cheapest Android tablet knock-offs do not have access to the Android Market. Neither does the Novo7, but it's not for lack of trying. Google does not provide official Android market access in China. Since the tablet has acquired Google certification to run applications such as Google Maps, Gmail, Google Music, and Google Talk, we'd expect that Android Market access would be possible outside of China.
Meanwhile, the tablet can use other app markets, such as the Amazon Appstore and GetJar.
Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google said, “I’m thrilled to see the entrance of MIPS-Based Android 4.0 tablets into the market. Low cost, high performance tablets are a big win for mobile consumers and a strong illustration of how Android’s openness drives innovation and competition for the benefit of consumers around the world.”
It will be interesting to see if the Novo7 ever actually reaches the U.S.
The question of "when" the United States will see the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone to sport Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) remains unanswered --- except that we now know it's not going to be November.
When the phone was first publicly announced, Samsung said the devices would be available "in the U.S., Europe, and Asia in November and gradually rolled out to other global markets."
The device went on sale in the U.K. last week, but it now appears there will be no Black Friday 2011 or Cyber Monday 2011 sales for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (as those dates both lie in November).
The Business Insider report said they have confirmation that it's officially pushed back into December in the U.S.
There is still no pricing information, but it won't be cheap based on its specs. The Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65-inch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution. It can play 720p HD video, and will support Verizon's 4G LTE network.
More specs: it boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a rear-facing 5MP camera with 1080p HD video capture and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus includes 16 or 32GB of internal storage, but has no SD card slot. The device has already been run through some preliminary testing, which show outstanding Web benchmarks, but poor graphics speed, at least when compared to the iPhone 4S.
Wozniak is known to be a fan of Android as well as iOS, and naturally, wants to be on the cutting edge of both platforms.
We have to wonder if he keeps his device upgrades down to "Google phones" used to introduce new major Android versions, or goes "all-in" for any compelling Android device (like say, the Droid RAZR).
As expected, Apple introduced a number of new products on Wednesday, including Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, refreshed MacBook Airs and Mac minis, and a Thunderbolt I/O-enabled LED Cinema Display, dubbed the (what else?) Thunderbolt Display.
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion has been widely anticipated for quite some time. It was first introduced at the "Back to the Mac" keynote in October 2010. The Apple website says there are over 250 new or changed features in Lion. It's a $29.99 upgrade, available as a download the Mac App Store.
Those who don't have broadband can walk into an Apple store and use their broadband, Apple said in a press release (but really, you could also head over to Starbucks or McDonald's). You definitely don't want to try to download 4GB of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion on a 56K modem.
The MacBook Air was refreshed on Wednesday as well, with the changes we were expecting: Intel Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt I/O, and the return of the backlit keyboard (which was removed, for some reason, from the 2010 models).
One important point is that the new MacBook Air's design description on Apple's website now says "And because we place the flash chips directly on the logic board, they take up much less space." It sounds like the SSDs are no longer user-upgradeable. It's already known that, just as before, system RAM is soldered directly on the motherboard, so RAM, in addition to storage, is also not user-upgradeable.
[Update: iFixit tore down a new MacBook Air, and it does not have the SSD chips soldered to the motherboard.]
All the new MacBook Airs have Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics. The 11-inch models sport 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processors, and the 13-inch models have 1.7GHz dual-core Core i5 processors. The higher end 11-inch and 13-inch versions can be upgraded to 1.8Ghz dual-core Core i7 processors. The 13-inch models also have an SD card slot, which the 11-inch models are missing.
Pricing is:
11-inch, 64GB SSD, 2 GB RAM; $999
11-inch, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM; $1,199
13-inch, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM; $1,299
13-inch, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM; $1,599
The Mac minis also get an upgrade to Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt I/O, but they lose something in the translation: no more optical drives.
Pricing is:
Base, 2.3Ghz Intel dual-core Core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics, 500GB hard drive, 2GB RAM; $599
Upgraded, 2.5Ghz Intel dual-core Core i5 processor, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, 500GB hard drive, 4GB RAM; $799
Available upgrades include 256GB SSDs, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 2.7GHZ dual-core Core i7 on the $799 variant.
Finally, the Thunderbolt Display has a 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, LED backlit screen, with a built-in FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system, integrated MagSafe charger for MacBooks, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and one Thunderbolt I/O port to allow daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices.
Naturally, it works with existing HDMI, DVI and VGA adapters, but if you have a Thunderbolt port, you’ll be able to run two external displays simultaneously. Currently, however, it's backordered, with current shipping estimates of 6-8 weeks.
All the other new Apple hardware announced today is available now, shipping within 24 hours.
One piece of news that you may not like: along with these new and updated computers, there is one computer that got the axe today: the white MacBook. That's right, there's only Air and Pro, no more plain old MacBook. Farewell.
A bunch of information about the iPad 2 "burst" onto the scene on Friday, Feb. 25. However, none of that information was "really new," as such at least one site asked if the timing of the post was coincidentally trolling for page views, since most of these were already known.
Additionally, as Daring Fireball pointed out, Apple rarely (almost never) makes radical design changes of this sort so late in the game, so was it a CYA post, as well? Here's what Engadget said:
The Apple rumors game can be a volatile thing. Just as we'd heard about last minute alterations to the Apple TV before it hit the market, we've gotten word from sources that the iPad 2 slated to be announced next Wednesday will be sans a few of the features we'd previously reported. Notably, that SD card slot and higher resolution display won't make it into the new model (the latter we'd been hearing rumblings about for a little while). What's the cause of the switch? Well our sources weren't crystal clear on the exact reasons, but the gist of what was explained to us centered around vague "engineering issues" which may have forced some changes at the eleventh hour. It's worth noting once again that these sources have been dead right on specific Apple plans and specifications for unannounced products in the past, and we have no reason to believe these changes are due to anything more than legitimate engineering decisions made close to launch.
To be honest, we reported on the resolution not changing long ago, and we've been repeating it over and over again. We knew the SD card slot was a faux rumor as well. The point that Daring Fireball picked up on was the "eleventh hour" part. As he said:
Eleventh hour, my ass. Nothing in these regards has changed in the iPad 2 since January. Nothing. There was never going to be a higher resolution display in the iPad 2. I’d wager heavily that there was never going to be an SD card slot for it, either, but I don’t know that. [...]
Sometimes things do change the last minute, like the camera that was dropped from the 2009 iPod Touch. That doesn’t mean those of us who reported it weren’t wrong, though. We were wrong, it’s that simple.
[...] in my experience, the Apple rumors game is not all that volatile. The 2009 iPod Touch camera yanking is the exception, not the rule. Most major Apple products are pretty stable two months out from release. What’s volatile is getting accurate information about them.
OK, so what Gruber is saying is that this is a little bit of CYA on the part of Engadget. The thing is, everyone loves a rumor, and particularly when the annual refresh of an Apple product is upcoming.
Thing is, they're all just rumors, and the proof of the pudding will be at 10AM PST on March 2. Which brings up the question: have any potential Xoom buyers held off waiting for the iPad 2 announcement? A few things are pretty well known: the iPad 2 will be slimmer, probably lighter, with a slimmer bezel, a dual-core processor, but the iPad 2, 3 or whatever will never support Flash. The Xoom will, in Q2. If you keep running up against this wall, as some we know do, that should make up your mind for you.
Apple updated its MacBook Pro line on Thursday, Feb. 24, as expected, with (also as expected) Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors and Intel's new Light Peak (dubbed Thunderbolt by Apple) I/O technology. Those were the major updates expected to arrive on Apple's MacBook Pro line.
In addition, NVIDIA's graphics are out of the picture, so to speak, with the new MBPs having switchable intergrated graphics combined with a discrete AMD GPU (except for the 13-inch model; it has only integrated graphics). As expected there are five new models, 2 13-inch models, 2 15-inch models, and a 17-inch model.
Apple includes Facetime on the new MBPs. At the same time, the program has exited beta in the Mac App Store and is now $0.99 there. The new MacBook Pros feature FaceTime HD cameras.
The new Light Peak (Thunderbolt) Intel technology promises up to 100Gbps transfer rates (in the future) with 10Gbps for now, twice that of USB 3.0. The port shares duties as a mini DisplayPort interface, as well. Aside from that, and the SD card slot now supporting SDXC, connectivity options are unchanged.
Base RAM levels remain the same, but Apple has upgraded them to using 1333MHz chips instead of the 1066MHz chips from the last generation. Base pricing also remains the same, for the 13-inch and 15-inch models at least, at $1,199 and $1,799 respectively. The 17-inch model's base price returns to the $2,499 level of 2009, up $200 from 2010.
Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Next Generation Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology
CUPERTINO, California—February 24, 2011—Apple® today updated the industry-leading MacBook® Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.*
“The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro.”
Starting at $1,199 the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers amazing value and performance in a compact design. The highly portable 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The powerful 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for high performance gaming, pro video editing and graphics intensive applications.
MacBook Pro is the first computer on the market to include the groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on a notebook computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.
The MacBook Pro now includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera with triple the resolution of the previous generation for crisp, widescreen video calls. With Apple’s innovative FaceTime video calling software, the new camera allows high definition video calls between all new MacBook Pro models and supports standard resolution calls with other Intel-based Macs, iPhone® 4 and the current generation iPod touch®. FaceTime is included with all new MacBook Pro models and is available for other Intel-based Macs from the Mac® App Store℠ for 99 cents. The MacBook Pro lineup continues to feature its gorgeous aluminum unibody enclosure, glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad, LED-backlit widescreen display, illuminated full-size keyboard and 7-hour battery.**
As the industry’s greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting the standard for environmentally friendly notebook design.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed with recyclable materials.
Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes multiple features for portable computing such as Multi-Touch navigation, advanced wireless networking, easy file sharing, automated data backup and intelligent power management. The new iLife ’11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.
Pricing & Availability
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro and 17-inch MacBook Pro are available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive starting at $1,199; and one with a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,499. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799 and one with a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,499.
Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.3 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 750GB, solid state storage up to 512GB, more memory up to 8GB DDR3, antiglare and high-resolution display options and AppleCare® Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbookpro.
Two things are approaching: iOS 4.3 and iPad 2. An earlier report from macotakara.jp, a blog that has previously been accurate at times regarding Apple's future product plans stated that Apple was planning a "small," late February event to launch the iPad 2. Another report has come in from Germany, rather than Japan, that points to a similar February date, and a simultaneous iOS 4.3 introduction, as well.
The report, from macnotes.de, points to an iPad 2 announcement as early as next week. The report adds that it's possible there will be a simultaneous introduction for the known-to-be-coming iOS 4.3.
It would seem to be premature to see an iPad 2 and / or iOS 4.3 announcement next week, however, based on history. Apple typically gives the press invitations about a week in advance, and there's been nothing sent, as of yet. It's also Chinese New Year, meaning Apple's outsourced factories are all closed. On the other hand, Apple could always surprise folks.
Apple just released iOS 4.3 Beta 3 last week, so the new platform version is definitely closing in on a release. Most people have assumed that release would be in March. Based on a one-year refresh cycle, the iPad 2 wouldn't release until April, as well.
Of course, an announcement isn't the same as a release, so Apple could announced both iOS 4.3 and the iPad 2 early in order to blunt the threat of the upcoming wave of Android tablets.
As is usually the case with new Apple products, except for those mistakenly left in bars, not much has been confirmed about the iPad 2. There have been rumors of a retina display, no change to the display, front- and rear-facing cameras (the most likely to be true), an SD card slot, near-field communication (NFC) support, a Cortex A5 dual core CPU (again, likely), and way more. The closer we come to the one-year anniversary of the iPad, the more frequent these iPad 2 rumors will be.
Toshiba's yet unnamed Android tablet has a new teaser site. The site shows off the tablet's features, confirms a few things, but at the same time, in its Flashiness, mocks the iPad as well.
If you use an iOS device to access the site (TheToshibaTablet.com), the site detects it and tells you that you can't watch the video, because it's Flash. It says:
“Such a shame. Add this to the list of interesting places on the Internet you can’t see on your device. Of course, if you had a Toshiba Tablet, you would enjoy the entire Internet. Yep, Flash sites too.”
The specs on the Toshiba tablet are:
10.1" display
Tegra 2 dual-core processor
Android 3.0 Honeycomb
2MP front facing camera
Stereo Speakers
Landscape mode dock
HDMI out
USB 2.0 port
MiniUSB port
Headphone and microphone jacks
User-replaceable battery
Combined volume, screen orientation, and power buttons
Full-size SD card slot
The Toshiba tablet (come on; name it already) will face plenty of competition when it emerges. Not just other Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom, but the iPad 2, RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, and perhaps even a webOS tablet.
Apple is pretty sure who will win, but after the way Android took on the iPhone in smartphones, that battle is far from certain.
The only real leaks for the iPad 2's form factor have been in the way of iPad 2 cases, and the latest set have emerged. The new cases show what look to be an opening for a new SD Card slot and another that could be a Mini DisplayPort opening.
The case also has an opening for a rear-facing camera, which is reportedly pretty much a done deal, and the SD card slot has been rumored before. The Mini DisplayPort is new news, but when compared to other possibilities, such as a USB port, it's the only one that comes to mind.
It's also been rumored that Apple would add HDMI to the upcoming iPad 2. Since the Mini DisplayPort jacks that Apple includes on its MacBook and desktop Mac products also support HDMI, it would make sense that Apple would add that rather than a "plain old" HDMI port.
Motorola's Xoom tablet has won the Best in Show Award at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The 10.1-inch tablet will launch in Q1 2011 with 3G functionality, later upgradeable to LTE 4G, and will launch with a LTE 4G model in Q2.
There's always a chance that, Best in Show Award or not, the device will be a flop, but based on the buzz around it, it doesn't seem likely. At the same time, DigiTimes has already indicated that its industry sources say Motorola has ordered 700,000 - 800,000 Xoom tablets, in four different colors, for Q1. Their sources said that Xoom orders could read 1 million in the quarter.
Xoom pricing hasn't been revealed, but the specs have: 10.1-inch touchscreen, 1280 x 800 resolution, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA's Tegra 2 with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 32GB of on-board storage, SD card slot, 3G, 802.11n wi-fi, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video capture, and 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. It will also carry a gyroscope, e-compass, accelerometer, and in a new addition to mobile devices, a barometer.
Interesting to note from the report is that Google gave priority Honeycomb support to Motorola and Samsung. Honeycomb, Android 3.0, is the first tablet-optimized version of Android. LG Electronics and HTC were next in the list, the report added.
As expected, Apple updated its MacBook Pro line on Tuesday. Among other things, the revised laptops will get Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs, new graphics, and yes, a claim of still longer battery life.
The new models come in the same sizes as the previous-generation MacBook Pros: 13-, 15-, and 17-inch. It's inside where the big changes take place.
13-inch:
The earlier 13-inch MacBook Pro came in two models.
Low-end: 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB RAM, a 160GB had drive, an SD card slot, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.
High-end: the same integrated graphics, a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and the same SD card slot.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro has faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, more memory, a newer GPU, and larger hard drives.
Low-end: a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, along with the new NVIDIA GeForce 320M, priced at $1,199.
High-end: the same GPU, and a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, priced at $1,499.
Apple claims 10 hours of battery life for the new 13-inch model (your mileage may vary).
15-inch:
The earlier 15-inch model had three different configurations.
Low-end: 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, an SD slot, and Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics
Midrange: 2.66 GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, an SD slot, and an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + a 9600M GT discrete GPU with 256MB memory.
High-end: midrange with a 2.8GHz processor and a 500GB hard drive instead.
For the new 15-inch model, we see Apple move to the more powerful Intel CPUs. The 15-inch MacBook Pro has the Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. All of the new models include integrated Intel HD graphics as well as a discrete NVIDIA GPU.
Low-end: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive at $1,799.
Midrange: 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $1,999.
High-end: 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $2,199.
Apple claims 8-9 hours of battery life for the new 15-inch model.
17-inch:
One configuration. Prior to Tuesday's revamp, it came with a 2.8 GHz CPU, 4GB memory, a 500GB hard drive, NVIDIA's GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512 MB.
The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and integrated Intel HD graphics, and a 500GB hard drive for $2,299.
Apple claims 8-9 hours of battery life for the new 17-inch model.
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