The Live Indian Entertainment Blog

mini-slate Samsung released a few months ago? The Samsung Galaxy Note? Pretty cool little device. As we enter CES week, the press releases are flying fast and furious and this one caught my eye. It’s for a small company that makes accessories for gadgets and I suppose (I can’t find the original) it outlined Anymode’s plans for Samsung Note accessories.

The release also noted that the Samsung Note would hit AT&T this year. There were rumors of this, but Anymode essentially confirmed it. Until they didn’t.

A few hours after the original announcement, I got an email retracting the earlier statement. It stated:

I love the memory-hole-esque line “The information was not provided by Anymode, AT&T or Samsung , nor did Anymode, AT&T or Samsung approve it.” Yes, Anymode, you did “provide” it. You sent it out. Stand up for your convictions here. It’s a small slate. It’s not a cure for cancer.

In the end, this whole dance is part of the modern CE scene. What you’re seeing here is a small partner messing up and two other partners – much bigger and with more lawyers – pressuring them to convince the world something never happened. I’d call it a cover-up if it didn’t insult the memory of Watergate.

These curtsies, bows, and twirls are what passes for information dissemination in a world run by the rumor. This is why Microsoft left CES – the impetus to launch around a major trade show in a world that can accept breaking “news” in a few hours, not a few months. CES was good when magazines were working on back-to-school issues in January. Now they work on back-to-school blog posts the week before junior straps on his backpack.

Expect more fun line this over the next few days. CES, as they say, is a wild ride.

it's a Xyboard -- Motorola's rebranded (for the US, anyway) Xoom 2. A 10.1-inch attempt at sidestepping the original Xoom's notoriety. With baked-in LTE of the Verizon variety, a slimmer waistline and a distinctive design, this Android 3.2 tablet could very well inject a dose of excitement back into the company's flagging category appeal. But with the spotlight-stealing ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime already on the map and dazzling consumers with its notebook-like functionality, will anyone even notice Moto's second swing at Honeycomb? Are LTE speeds and an improved silhouette enough to lure wayward users back into the company's willing embrace? Does anyone even care about non-Ice Cream Sandwich tablets? Read on as we explore the odd ends and angles of this curiously-shaped slate.

HP announced on Thursday that it has decided to reverse it course in terms of the Personal Systems Group (basically, its personal computer division). Instead of spinning off the division, as proposed by HP's then-Chief Executive Leo Apotheker, who was ousted in September in favor of former EBay CEO Meg Whitman, the company will stick with PCs.

What about webOS?

The HP TouchPad is gone, and in fact HP has now announced that the company itself is out of stock of the fire sale priced model, although Best Buy says it will sell a $150 version ... if a customer buys a PC, too.

And HP has already decided it will stay in tablets. The company will definitely ship Windows 8 tablets. Windows 8 will run on ARM hardware as well as Intel hardware, making it more optimized for tablets than Windows 7, although HP did ship a Windows 7 tablet, the HP Slate 500.

But finally, what about webOS?

While HP's statement gave strong statements why keeping PSG was a sound idea, saying:

"The data-driven evaluation revealed the depth of the integration that has occurred across key operations such as supply chain, IT and procurement. It also detailed the significant extent to which PSG contributes to HP's solutions portfolio and overall brand value. Finally, it also showed that the cost to recreate these in a standalone company outweighed any benefits of separation."

... no such statement has been made about webOS. Frankly, we've been saying since HP axed webOS that unless the company sold the platform to a mobile device manufacturer, it was dead. We doubt anyone besides HP is working on webOS software, and that anyone who was listening dropped support the moment HP killed the TouchPad.

One webOS employee said "There's a 95 percent chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it's for the best."

Considering the speed at which Whitman made a decision on PSG, one would think a similar quick decision on webOS would be made as well. If it does end up dead, it's too bad. It was ... is ... a good platform, but too many mistakes were made from its very inception.

As Amazon.com's expected release of an Android tablet nears, news from upstream suppliers in Asia are that the company is going to look toward cheaper components to make the device less expensive. It's something other companies are also looking toward in an attempt to draw down the retail prices of entry-level mobile devices to $100 - 200.

Among the suggested lower cost solutions for the devices includes changes to the touchscreens. The iPad and Honeycomb-based tablets such as the LG G-Slate and the Motorola Xoom currently use a touchscreen that supports 10-finger multi-touch.

It's a downgrade, but most functions can still be supported. One of the devices mentioned specifically in the report is the Amazon.com Android tablet, which is expected, along with two new e-ink Kindle readers, sometime in the "fall."

Naturally, the report wasn't confirmed by Amazon.com. If true, it shows that Amazon.com has realized the importance of pricing, something that Android tablets have been criticized for.

Although the current Honeycomb tablets have matched the iPad when price and hardware specs are compared in an Apples-to-Apples (no pun intended) way, most folks were still (unfairly) comparing (for example) the Motorola Xoom with 32MB of storage and 3G (upgradeable for free to 4G LTE) against the wi-fi only iPad with 16GB of storage.

Looking at the price points, with the unsubsidized Xoom at $799 and the wi-fi only iPad at $499, it looks pretty bad. Looking at an iPad with the same sort of specs, 32GB of storage and 3G, the simialar iPad or iPad 2 would be $729.

If you want a graphic view of how poorly Android tablets are selling, look no further than Google's own graph of Android version distribution. The company occasionally updates a dashboard that breaks down the "market share" of all known versions of Android, and the latest one shows that most folks are running 2.2, as we would have expected, but also that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb tablets, have almost no uptake.

Android 2.2 or Froyo is present on 59.4 percent of handsets. Meanwhile, 2.3 is on 18.6 percent of handsets, and 2.1 is still on 17.6 percent of handsets. The sad news is that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb based tablets like the LG G-Slate and Motorola Xoom is only on 0.9 percent of devices, total, while Android 1.5 is on 1.4 percent of devices and 1.6 is on 2.2 percent of devices.

That means that there are more people running the two-year old and ancient Android 1.5 or "Cupcake" than are running Android tablets.  Can you hear the thud around the flops that are, at least so far, Android tablets?

Also, the fact that many of those who are running 2.2 still haven't received a 2.3 update is another sign of the "fragmentation" problem that Google hopes to solve. Earlier this year, Google squeezed a promise out of its OEMs, such that they would guarantee that their devices would work with the latest version of Android software for at least 18 months after a hardware launch.

If you want a graphic view of how poorly Android tablets are selling, look no further than Google's own graph of Android version distribution. The company occasionally updates a dashboard that breaks down the "market share" of all known versions of Android, and the latest one shows that most folks are running 2.2, as we would have expected, but also that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb tablets, have almost no uptake.

Android 2.2 or Froyo is present on 59.4 percent of handsets. Meanwhile, 2.3 is on 18.6 percent of handsets, and 2.1 is still on 17.6 percent of handsets. The sad news is that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb based tablets like the LG G-Slate and Motorola Xoom is only on 0.9 percent of devices, total, while Android 1.5 is on 1.4 percent of devices and 1.6 is on 2.2 percent of devices.

That means that there are more people running the two-year old and ancient Android 1.5 or "Cupcake" than are running Android tablets.  Can you hear the thud around the flops that are, at least so far, Android tablets?

Also, the fact that many of those who are running 2.2 still haven't received a 2.3 update is another sign of the "fragmentation" problem that Google hopes to solve. Earlier this year, Google squeezed a promise out of its OEMs, such that they would guarantee that their devices would work with the latest version of Android software for at least 18 months after a hardware launch.

If you want a graphic view of how poorly Android tablets are selling, look no further than Google's own graph of Android version distribution. The company occasionally updates a dashboard that breaks down the "market share" of all known versions of Android, and the latest one shows that most folks are running 2.2, as we would have expected, but also that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb tablets, have almost no uptake.

Android 2.2 or Froyo is present on 59.4 percent of handsets. Meanwhile, 2.3 is on 18.6 percent of handsets, and 2.1 is still on 17.6 percent of handsets. The sad news is that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb based tablets like the LG G-Slate and Motorola Xoom is only on 0.9 percent of devices, total, while Android 1.5 is on 1.4 percent of devices and 1.6 is on 2.2 percent of devices.

That means that there are more people running the two-year old and ancient Android 1.5 or "Cupcake" than are running Android tablets.  Can you hear the thud around the flops that are, at least so far, Android tablets?

Also, the fact that many of those who are running 2.2 still haven't received a 2.3 update is another sign of the "fragmentation" problem that Google hopes to solve. Earlier this year, Google squeezed a promise out of its OEMs, such that they would guarantee that their devices would work with the latest version of Android software for at least 18 months after a hardware launch.

If you want a graphic view of how poorly Android tablets are selling, look no further than Google's own graph of Android version distribution. The company occasionally updates a dashboard that breaks down the "market share" of all known versions of Android, and the latest one shows that most folks are running 2.2, as we would have expected, but also that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb tablets, have almost no uptake.

Android 2.2 or Froyo is present on 59.4 percent of handsets. Meanwhile, 2.3 is on 18.6 percent of handsets, and 2.1 is still on 17.6 percent of handsets. The sad news is that Android 3.x, meaning Honeycomb based tablets like the LG G-Slate and Motorola Xoom is only on 0.9 percent of devices, total, while Android 1.5 is on 1.4 percent of devices and 1.6 is on 2.2 percent of devices.

That means that there are more people running the two-year old and ancient Android 1.5 or "Cupcake" than are running Android tablets.  Can you hear the thud around the flops that are, at least so far, Android tablets?

Also, the fact that many of those who are running 2.2 still haven't received a 2.3 update is another sign of the "fragmentation" problem that Google hopes to solve. Earlier this year, Google squeezed a promise out of its OEMs, such that they would guarantee that their devices would work with the latest version of Android software for at least 18 months after a hardware launch.

The first tablet to receive Android 3.2 is here, and its not one of the existing Android tablets. It's the Huawei MediaPad, 7-inches in size, launching in Singapore at the CommunicAsia trade show, which runs June 21 to 24.

Why a new Android version? Huawei says that Honeycomb 3.2 is basically Android 3.1, but specifically designed to "fit" 7-inch tablets as opposed to 10-inch (or thereabouts, like the LG G-Slate) tablets.

Specs include:

• 7-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Android 3.2
• Dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor
• 10.5mm (0.4 inches) slim, ~390g weight (0.86 pounds)
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera, 5 MP auto focus rear facing camera with HD video recording capabilities
• HSPA+ 14.4 Mbps, WiFi 11n
• Over 6 hours battery life
• 1080P full HD playback and HDMI port
• Flash 10.3

No information on pricing, as yet, or even on system RAM. Huawei also has no plans for a wi-fi only version, which could place it in the same situation as the Motorola Xoom, which was criticized for the pricing on its 3G model, although most comparisons were against the wi-fi only iPad.

If you wonder who might want to acquire NVIDIA, one company that also has an interest in that areas is Microsoft. The company has a deal in place with NVIDIA that basically gives the company the right of first refusal on an NVIDIA acquisition if any other company tries to buy it.

In fact, the deal, according to an SEC filing reviewed by Information Week, says that Microsoft has the exclusive right to match any offers by others for 30 percent or more of NVIDIA's outstanding shares. The deal effectively prevents any other company, aside from Microsoft from acquiring NVIDIA, at least if the Redmond-based company so deems it.

In the filing, dated May 27, NVIDIA said:

"Under the agreement, if an individual or corporation makes an offer to purchase shares equal to or greater than 30% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, Microsoft may have first and last rights of refusal to purchase the stock."

NVIDIA makes graphics components for desktops and laptops, but it also makes the Tegra 2 ARM-based system-on-a-chip (SOC), which is appearing in many mobile devices, including tablets such as the Motorola Xoom and LG G-Slate.

Microsoft showed off Windows 8 earlier this week, and the new OS will have the ability to run not just on Intel- and AMD-based computers, but also on ARM-based processors. Also, NVIDIA showed off its Kal-el quad-core SOC, which will ship later this year. Certainly Microsoft wouldn't want some other company to buy NVIDIA and disrupt its tablet plans.

As excited as IW was about the issue, in reality the pact isn't about tablets and NVIDIA, though it certainly protects Microsoft's interests in that area.  The deal is more than a decade old. It was negotiated as part of a broader agreement under which Microsoft licensed NVIDIA GPUs for use in Xboxes.

It's apparently still in place, despite the fact that NVIDIA later lost the contract to provide Xbox GPUs to ATI in 2003. ATI was later acquired by AMD, in 2006.