Nexus 7: UK’s Best Selling tablet

Google launched Nexus 7 in 2012 at Google IO. Due to its cheapness, quality and Jelly Bean it sold like cakes. oh, sorry selling like cakes. After Kindle Fire its the most sold Android Tablet and still getting good response from users and buyers. This trust, cheapness and quality has made it best-selling tablet in UK.

The Nexus 7 tablet went on sale on July 27th in the UK by Carphone Warehouse and today it achieved best-selling tablet in UK title according to Carphone Warehouse, UK’s largest mobile retailer. Carphone Carphone didn’t reveal stats sheet. SO now it’s trending more than Apple’s iPad.

It has been estimated that Google could sell as many as 8 million Nexus 7 tablets by the end of year. The Mountain View-based company previously said that it hoped to sell 3 million tablets in 2012.

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Samsung to introduce the GT-B9150 with EXYNOS 5250 processor soon

Samsung will introduce a new GALAXY product soon. The Samsung GT-B9150 showed up on a couple of Japanese websites. The Japanese blogs are talking about a Android 4.1.1 based device that uses the EXYNOS 5250 1.7 GHz Dual Core processor, Wi-Fi and a HD resolution (1280 x 672) screen.

One of the biggest question would be what kind of device is the Samsung GT-B9150? Samsung mostly use the B series for hardware QWERTY Android based devices. Is this finally the Samsung Galaxy Q? Or just a new upcoming tablet? If you have any kind of information feel free to share with us!

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Best Android tablets for kids

Kids love touchscreens. They are accessible and intuitive to use. That makes tablets ideal for learning and for play. The Android platform offers some really great apps for kids and manufacturers are starting to see the potential for dedicated child-friendly devices. That means you can reclaim your Galaxy S3 or your Nexus 7 and keep the kids happy with a tablet of their own.

We thought we’d take a look at some of the dedicated Android tablets for kids that are now hitting the market. It’s worth considering one for your child for a number of reasons. They can help children to learn about various subjects, improve their motor skills, spark their creativity, and keep them amused on road trips or while you cook dinner.

The question is – are these dedicated child-friendly Android tablets worth getting as opposed to a standard Android tablet with the right collection of apps? Considering that you can install parental control apps and limit what your kids do with a standard Android tablet, the limitations of dedicated tablets for kids might be enough to make you think twice. Let’s take a closer look at what’s on offer.

Archos ChildPad ($140)

• 7-inch touchscreen (800×480 resolution)
• 1GHz single-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• Android 4.0 (ICS)
• 4GB memory (and micro SDHC slot)
• WiFi
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera

You might be getting a sense of déjà vu because the Archos ChildPad is virtually identical to the Tabeo. The original ChildPad was $10 cheaper, but it had a resistive touchscreen, this updated version has a capacitive touchscreen and it works much better. It also comes with a bunch of pre-installed apps including Alvin & The Chipmunks 3 content thanks to some kind of deal with 20th Century Fox. There’s a clunky interface, parental controls, and a kid friendly app store with around 10,000 apps and games in it. This is tough to recommend.


Tabeo ($150)

• 7-inch touchscreen (800×480 resolution)
• 1GHz single-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• Android 4.0 (ICS)
• 4GB memory (and micro SDHC slot)
• WiFi
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera

The Tabeo looks like a kid’s toy and it comes with a range of brightly colored plastic frames for that 7-inch screen. It also comes with parental controls and 50 pre-installed apps. There’s no access to Google Play so new apps have to be acquired through the Tabeo App Store which has around 7,000 to choose from right now. Even at $150 this isn’t a great tablet.


Fuhu Nabi 2 ($200)

• 7-inch touchscreen (1024×600 resolution)
• 1.3GHz quad-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• Android 4.0 (ICS)
• 8GB memory (and microSD slot)
• WiFi
• 2-megapixel front-facing camera

This is a bit more like it, just because a tablet is for kids, doesn’t mean that it has to be underpowered and the Fuhu Nabi 2 proves it with a Tegra 3 processor. You also have the usual kid-friendly interface and curated content including Mom-approved apps, music, and optional TV shows (unlimited streaming of Spinlets+ TV is $2.99 per month). The parent mode is stock Android and you can also access the Amazon App Store on the Fuhu Nabi 2. In fact, you could even root the Fuhu Nabi 2 and add Google apps if you like. This tablet has a kid-friendly, tough exterior and a solid set of specs. The interface, the combination of entertainment and educational content, and the decent quality hardware make this well worth a look.

Oregon Scientific MEEP ($150)

• 7-inch touchscreen (800×480 resolution)
• 1GHz single-core processor
• 512MB of RAM
• Android 4.0 (ICS)
• 4GB memory (and microSD slot)
• WiFi
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera

The early reviews for this underpowered tablet are not good. The main selling point seems to be the durability factor as this is a rugged Android tablet designed to stand up to boisterous kids. It also has parental controls that can be adjusted remotely, which is a good idea. There are also some interesting accessories like a drum pad and steering wheel, but they cost extra. It’s tough to look past the disappointing specs here.

Kurio 7 ($150)

• 7-inch touchscreen (800×480 resolution)
• 1.2GHz single-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• Android 4.0 (ICS)
• 4GB memory (and microSD slot)
• WiFi
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 2.1-megapixel rear-facing camera

A colorful rubber bumper, parental controls, and a batch of pre-installed apps combined with a decent set of specs make the Kurio a good option in this price bracket. The interface isn’t the most intuitive in the world and there’s no Google Play, just the limited Kurio App Store. There is an adult mode and kids might enjoy taking snaps with the rear-facing camera. If you can scrape together another $50 then you should skip this.

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Report: Would a 1080p phone screen really matter that much?

With large phones (or “phablets”) gaining popularity, we’re starting to see phones like the HTC J Butterfly popping up with 1080p displays. Now that we have the ability to create phones with 1080p displays, the question is: do we even need them?

Of course manufacturers are going to push the improved resolution, claiming it makes photos and videos clearer and more eye-pleasing. While the increased resolution certainly isn’t going to hurt image quality, it may not be as necessary as we might think. In an interview with Ars Technica, CEO of DisplayMate Dr. Raymond Soneira said “Even the tiniest image detail in a photograph is always spread over more than one pixel.” He added that “The image detail is never perfectly aligned with the pixel structure of the display.

Regarding video, Soneira said “For ordinary viewing of videos, 1920×1080 is really not going to make a visual difference.” You can already see this for yourself in a lot of situations, like televisions, for example. Unless you’re sitting relatively close, the difference between 720p and 1080p is negligible. That’s on a 40-inch television screen. Even with a 5-inch display on a phone, the difference will be hard to make out.

That isn’t to say that 1080p makes no difference whatsoever. With anything computer generated like fonts and icons, the increased resolution can make use of the extra pixels to improve the sharpness of the display. Still, according to Soneira, many people can’t make out differences in sharpness over 229 pixels per inch. Basically, unless you’ve got great vision, the improved sharpness still may not matter.

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Google Adds 25 Million New Building Footprints To Google Maps On Desktop And Mobile

Google just announced that it has added 25 million new building footprints to Google Maps. Most of the company’s recent announcement around mapping had to do with flashy updates like 3D maps and buildings in Google Earth or thousands of miles of updated street view imagery. Today’s update stands out because of the large number of footprints the company is adding. Among the areas included in this update are a number of major U.S. cities, including Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and the San Francisco Bay Area, but chances are you will notice changes all across the U.S.

How was Google able to suddenly add this massive amount of new data to Google Maps? According to the announcement, the company is using aerial imagery and computer vision techniques to determine the shapes and heights of these buildings. “This process,” says Google, “enables us to provide more building footprints and a more comprehensive and detailed map than ever before.” The same aerial photography Google uses to render these footprints is, of course, also the basis of Google’s 3D maps and it’s probably no surprise that all of the cities Google is highlighting in this release are also included in its 3D maps.

Despite the fact that most of these shapes were created algorithmically, Google also continues to give its users the option to submit corrections through Google Map Maker.

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LG Nexus 4 (E960) might have a 16GB version after all

A new rumor about the LG Nexus 4 claims the phone would in fact have a much more reasonable 16GB version.

Having only 8GB of storage on a modern-day smartphone with an HD screen doesn't make much sense from a consumer point of view. That's the reason why reports of the next Nexus phone relying on the meager storage without any option to expand it set the Android community ablaze.

A reasonably reliable source of industry leaks has shared on Twitter today some specs of the LG Nexus 4. And even though we knew most of those from the extensive previous leaks, the mentioning of a 16GB version came as a nice surprise.

Let's hope it's not a typo. Google's Nexus event is set for October 29, awkwardly coinciding with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 launch event. The fact that the two events are held on either US coasts doesn't help us journalists a lot too. Still, the final third of October is shaping up to be really exciting for the industry.

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32GB Nexus 7 now in stock at Staples

After countless rumors and no official word from Google, it appears that the 32GB Nexus 7 is now a reality. It appears that the device is now currently in stock at Staples. They are not yet on sale though and there is no indication when they will be. The reason Google has stayed so quiet about the upgraded memory capacity is undoubtedly due to the Android event scheduled for October 29th, where we will mostly like receive an official announcement.

The device appears to be exactly the same but with a higher storage capacity. In fact, the rumored price is set to be $250. That’s right, that’s the exact price that Google originally sold the 16GB model for. This clearly suggests that the 32GB model is set to phase out the 16GB model. Or perhaps Google will drop the price of the 16gb model and phase out the 8gb model.

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iPad mini, LG Nexus 4 and Windows 8: get ready for the most exciting 10 days in tech in 2012

As this week draws to a close, we are approaching what will probably be the most exciting week in tech this year. Okay, okay, that depends on the point of view, but let us just mention three products that we’ll finally see in the coming days - the Apple iPad mini, the LG Nexus 4 and Windows 8 devices.

Those are clearly some of the biggest launches for the industry this year. Not only that, the iPad mini will give one huge boost to the affordable smaller tablet niche. The Microsoft Surface on the other hand marks the beginning of a new era at Microsoft, one where the company starts to manufacture its most important hardware itself, hoping it’s not too late to the mobile boom.

Finally, we’re eagerly anticipating Google’s Nexus event on October 29th. With so many companies fighting for the lime light, check out the slideshow below to see who brings what to win.

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Samsung Sweden confirmed Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for Galaxy S II (November) Galaxy Note and Note 10.1 (Q4)

Samsung Sweden confirmed to update the Galaxy S II to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in November.

Samsung Sweden also confirmed to update the Galaxy Note in Q4. This means we will see Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on all high-end smartphones by Samsung before next year!
Samsung Sweden confirmed also to update the Galaxy Note 10.1 in Q4 to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
You will be able to update by using OTA or Samsung KIES.
Finally some words about the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note.
Please be patient now!


The Jelly Bean update will have a few enchantments like:
- Better performance, thanks to Project Butter it’s even smoother and faster
- Reorganized settings menu
- 2 Home screen modes
- New Notifications bar
- Google Now
- Sizable Pop-up play screen

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How many iPads were sold last quarter?

Another Fortune survey of analysts finds a wide gap in forecasts, with a median estimate of 18 million for the third quarter.

Apple may have sold anywhere from 14.8 million to 23 million iPads last quarter, at least according to a poll of analysts compiled by Fortune. The low and high estimates offered by the 61 analysts showed a huge disparity in opinion.

On the low end, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty sees just 15 million tablets sold, while Stern Agee's Shaw Wu predicts 16.5 million. On the high end, many of the forecasts came from analysts who work for independent research firms -- not Wall Street investment groups -- and showed a range of 19.5 million up to 23 million.

The estimates were taken at different times of the year. Most of them are from October, but several are from September and a few date back as far as July. The average forecast among the analysts was 18.38 million, while the median was 18.13 million.

How do those numbers compare with those from previous quarters? In second quarter, Apple sold 17 million iPads, a jump from 11.8 million in the first quarter. In 2011, Apple sold 15.4 million tablets in the fourth quarter, up from 11.1 million in the third quarter.

Next Thursday, the company will report earnings from the third quarter -- which is Apple's fourth fiscal quarter. Apple's bread-and-butter is the iPhone, which likely contributes almost two-thirds of the company's profits, according to Business Insider. In contrast, the iPad may generate only around 10 percent to 15 percent of total profits.

The iPad may get some competition very soon, and from Apple itself. The company is hosting a media event on October 23 in which it's expected to unveil the iPad Mini.

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Acer introduces $200 Acer Iconia Tab A110 quad-core tablet

Acer unveiled the Iconia Tab A110 – a 7” tablet based on the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform. It measures 11.4mm in thickness and weighs 370g.



What’s most interesting about the Tab A110 is its awesome price – Acer says it will be a sub $200 device. How about that?!

The Iconia Tab A110 features a 7-inch TFT display with a WSVGA resolution (1024×600 pixels), a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, GeForce graphics, 1GB DDR3 RAM, 8GB internal storage expandable via microSD slot, a 5 megapixel rear snapper and a 2 megapixel front-facing snapper.

The wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS and there is also an HDMI port as well.

Acer’s Iconia Tab runs on the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It will be released Q3 this year and will be priced below $200, which most probably means $199.99, still an awesome price for a quad-core slate.

Acer also showcased the Iconia Tab A210, which has a virtually identical specs sheet to the A110, but for the 10.1-inch 1280×800 display and the regular USB port. It will be also released in Q3 but will cost a bit more.

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Is this the Surface phone? (Win phone 8 from microsoft)

Microsoft has draped a new Windows Phone 8 handset rather casually on the set of some Surface “hero” pictures.

Interestingly however the unbranded device does not look anything like any phone we have seen before, and the rather square design looks a lot close to the Surface than anything else.

It is of course rather unlikely that Microsoft is showing us a real Surface phone, but I think it does give us an idea of the direction of Microsoft’s possible designs.

See the original pictures after the break.

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Nokia sold 2.9 million Lumia Windows Phones in Q3 2012

Nokia sold 2.9 million Lumia Windows Phone devices in the third quarter of 2012, as sales of its Windows Phone-based smartphones declined from a 4 million sales peak in Q2 2012. Overall, Nokia smartphone sales stood at 6.3 million, and that means that Symbian sales stand at 3.4 million still outselling Windows Phone.

With more Windows Phone sales being sold and the share of Symbian rapidly diminishing, Nokia's average sales price (ASP) for smart device has also grown to 155 euro, up from 151 in the previous quarter.

But at the same time, the average price of Lumias continues falling sharply. From an average price of 220 euro per Lumia phone in Q1 2012 to 186 euro in the second trimester and now to the much lower 160 euro in the last quarter. Nokia was hoping to make a comeback in the United States with Lumia Windows Phones, but that obviously isn't happening and this quarter the company took an additional 50% hit in sales in North America.

Nokia Lumia sales in North America (including the U.S.) stood at the meager 300,000 units.

"Q3 was a difficult quarter in our Devices & Services business," Nokia's chief executive Stephen Elop, the person who started the transition to Windows Phone, commented.

Nokia's feature phones headed by the Asha lineup continue sustaining the company's phone business throughout the transition. In Q3 2012, feature phone sales amounted to 76.6 million, up 4% consequentially, but down 15% when compared to the same period last year. Nokia Asha full touch phones sold 6.5 million, and those are too accounted as feature phones, of course.

Overall, Nokia's net sales stood at around $9.48 billion (7.24 billion euro). This means the company ended up around $754 million (576 million euro) in the red. This loss brings Nokia's net cash to some $4.7 billion (3.56 billion euro), down from $5.5 billion in Q2 2012. This is overall in line with analysts' expectations, the losses are only slightly larger than projected.

Next quarter will be very important for Nokia. The company launches its first Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 920 with PureView camera and wireless charging and the more affordable Lumia 820. The Lumia 920 is expected to be an AT&T exclusive in its first months availability, competing with phones like the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III and the LG Optimus G.

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available for $249 : Google announces new Samsung Chromebook, (hands-on video and photos)

Google is making the case for the Chromebook to become everybody's second computer with a new model retailing for only $249. Available Monday, the new Samsung Chromebook is based an ARM chip (rather than Intel) which could help to explain the lower cost... only this particular ARM chip may perform better than most any we've seen before. It's a Exynos 5 Dual processor, which makes it the very first device to use ARM's new Cortex-A15 architecture. As far as the laptop goes, it connects to the internet solely via Wi-Fi, has an 11.6-inch screen, 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM, and Bluetooth — and it has an SD card slot to expand storage further. It weighs 2.5 pounds and is 0.8 inches thick with two USB ports and an HDMI-out port. All of the internal specs are designed to keep the price down while keeping the speed up — Google is touting that it's able to run 1080p video at 30fps and SVP Sundar Pichai today showed the product running a YouTube clip at that resolution.

Because it's based on an ARM processor, it doesn't have a fan — or any other moving parts — and Google says that it will run for 6.5 hours on its battery. We're grabbing some hands-on time now, but it certainly looks every bit of its $249 price — which is to say it has decent but not inspiring build quality. The design is not unlike a plastic, 11-inch MacBook Air. The keyboard layout is nearly identical, with low-profile black keys. Despite the considerably lower price, however, the keys feel great and are surprisingly responsive. The display, on the other hand, is less inspiring. While offering a decent 11.6-inches with 1366 x 768 resolution, it offers little in the way of brightness and color representation. Hues are subdued and text can be difficult to read with conflicting light sources. With that dual-core Cortex-A15 chip under the hood, the new Chromebook loads and runs HD video quickly, and delivering the 30fps as promised. If Google's presentation was any indication, however, performance diminishes rapidly when pushed to a projector or external display.

While the Chrome OS remains largely unchanged, Google is offering 100GB of Google Drive storage to new Chromebook adopters, as rumored earlier this year. Those who pick up the new Chromebook, Samsung Series 3 Chromebook, or the original Samsung Chromebook will be able to redeem the additional storage for two years.

We'll be conducting more extensive testing of the new Chromebook soon, but those eager to see one for themselves can pre-order today or check it out when it hits retailer shelves on Monday.

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Asus Padfone 2 to get JB next month, keyboard dock later

The Asus event, which brought us the new Padfone 2 smartphone/tablet was over all too quickly and some details almost slipped through. Among them were the Jelly Bean update schedule and the keyboard dock, which wasn’t presented.

According to an Asus representative, the company plans to have the Android 4.1 update ready by November. This means that even if you are among the very first to buy it, you will only have to wait a couple of weeks to get it.

As for the keyboard dock, that's still in development too. Asus says it's trying to create the best keyboard dock possible, but didn’t commit to a time frame. Of course, there's a possibility that Asus might ax the dock, but chances of that happening are slim.

Anyway, you can check out our hands-on impressions of the Asus Padfone 2 from Tuesday's event, complete with a close look at the hardware, some benchmarks of the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and even a sample from the 13MP camera.

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Titanium Lumia FX800 design concept screams 'Nokia, take note!'

Nokia Lumia 920 is already crushing the preorder pages in Europe, luring customers with its camera module suspension mechanism that allows it to soak up to five times more light than your typical smartphone cam. That optical image stabilization comes with a price, though, and it is a chubbier, heavier device than what we became accustomed to see in flagship smartphones in the last years.

Nokia already said it will unveil a new design paradigm for its Windows Phone 8 devices next year, as it has been coasting so far largely with variations of the polycarbonate unibody shell created initially for the Nokia N9.

Some of these plans might include the use of metal in the chassis, as a more premium material, which will place Lumia flagships on equal design footage with handsets like the iPhone 5, which utilizes glass and aluminum for the slick, thin casing.

One such design concept project comes in the form of the Nokia Lumia FX800, inspiration for which is derived from the Nokia 8910 Titanium, which was introduced way back in 2002. The idea is to give Nokia Lumia aficionados a slim and exclusive handset, which won't clash directly with the Lumia 920 sales, as it wouldn't offer the OIS tech, for instance.

The Lumia FX800 would be a stylish 8mm thin phone cast out of titanium, with a large, 4.65" HD AMOLED display, issued as a high-end exquisite offering by Nokia. What do you think, should the Finns take note from the titanium design concept you are seeing in the slideshow below?

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Apple loses appeal in Samsung tablet copyright case

Ordered to run ads saying Samsung did not copy iPad

Apple has finally lost its appeal against British court ruling, which found that Samsung did not copy Apple’s tablet designs.

The verdict was originally handed down this summer, but Apple pledged to fight it and now it lost the appeal as well. What’s more, the verdict is valid across Europe, so it will stop Apple from filing frivolous suits elsewhere.

Samsung welcomed the decision saying it continues to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with rounded corners. That distinction probably goes to Moses, who sadly isn’t around to sue Apple.

The court also ordered Apple to run ads saying that Samsung did not copy its registered tablet designs. After two years of claiming Samsung had slavishly copied its designs, the order looks rather embarrassing for Cupertino.

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ZTE confirms they will deliver a Windows phone 8 handset in Q1 2013

At a press conference for the launch of one of their Android handsets ZTE has confirmed they will be delivering a Windows Phone 8 handset in Q1 2013.

Such a device has previously been teased by ZTE, who tweeted the above, intentionally blurred picture.

We have previously heard that the company intends to release a “premium” Windows Phone 8 handset, but it remains likely that the eventually device will not command a high price, which should be good news for those looking for a good Windows phone 8 handset on a budget.

Via WindowsPhoneItaly.

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Motorola Occam and Manta shown running Android 4.2 with benchmarks

A few days ago we reported that two new Motorola devices, called the Occam and Manta, had shown up in the Android Police logs running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The Occam (think Occam's Razor - or RAZR) smartphone is now listed in the AnTuTu Benchmark database of tested devices. It received an overall score of 9817, but shows a CPU frequency of 1512 MHz. Some speculation is that it could be using a quad-core processor to achieve that score, as well as a CPU Integer rating of 3670, or it could still be using the current Snapdragon S4 processor that is in the Motorola DROID RAZR M, and those higher scores show how much faster Android 4.2 JB is over the current Android 4.1 JB and 4.0 ICS.

Then there is the Manta tablet, which is shown with an overall AnTuTu Benchmark score of 8077 and is using a 1.7 GHz processor. We know that Motorola loves its code names, and their the XOOM tablet had the code name of Stingray for Verizon, and Wingray for the Wi-Fi model.

All of this adds fuel to the fire that there will be a new Motorola smartphone and tablet released (hopefully in the near future) that will come running Android 4.2 out of the box. Still, at this early date, it remains to be seen which carriers will offer the devices, and what their list of hardware features will be.

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Apple reportedly orders 10M iPad Minis for fourth quarter

Apple is apparently thinking big for its iPad Mini, with an eye on not running out of the new tablet -- at least initially.
Component makers in Asia say they have received orders to make more than 10 million of the much-rumored but as yet unannounced tablet in the fourth quarter, sources in the supply chain tell The Wall Street Journal. That target is roughly twice what Amazon reportedly ordered for the Kindle Fire for the same quarter.
Apple has been pretty tight-lipped on its tablet plans, but CNET has contacted the company for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
Those demands fly in the face of reports that the smaller iPad is proving a difficult task for manufacturers. The company's supply chain is having a tough time producing the tablet due to the tiny device's complex design, according to Topeka Capital analyst Brian White. However, he still expects the Cupertino tech titan to sell a boatload of iPad Minis by the end of the fourth quarter, reaching sales of 5 million to 7 million units.

While Apple has declined to comment, iPad Mini rumors have been swirling for months. According to those rumors, the device will feature a 7.85-inch display and go on sale for a price that's far cheaper than Apple's current, larger tablet.

Apple has reportedly already begun mass production of the new tablet, and media invitations to its launch are expected to be sent out to the media later this week.

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