ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 available for pre-order

Budget tablets have come a long way, evolving from cheap knockoffs to decent and affordable alternatives, with manufacturers like ASUS continually raising the bar. The latest such device to come from the company’s line up is the MeMo Pad HD 7 which has now become available online for pre-orders for a very low price.

We reported on the launch of the ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7, along with its bigger sibling, the MeMo Pad FHD 10, early last June. We detailed the specs of the device: an ARM Cortex A7 quad-core processor, 1280×800 pixels resolution on a 7-inch display, 5 megapixel rear camera paired with a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, and a choice of 8 GB or 16 GB for storage. Not entirely earth-shattering, but not too shabby either.

It seems that the tablet is now available for pre-order from various online retailers such as Amazon, GameStop, Newegg, and TigerDirect for a price tag of $149. Only the 16 GB model seems to be available at the moment. It comes in different color options such as white, black, pink, blue, and green. Unfortunately, it has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich only, which might be a deal breaker for some.

The ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 isn’t really a revolutionary device coming from the makers of the Nexus 7 tablets. But with the specs and choice of colors, it might just be perfect for someone who needs a decent tablet from a reputable manufacturer and doesn’t need the horsepower of a Nexus 7 nor its price.

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ASUS could enter the U.S. smartphone market in 2014

Chairman Jonney Shih suggests ASUS could push into the U.S phone market next year

Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS is a big player in the Android tablet world, having seen success with the dockable Transformer series as well as Google's Nexus 7 tablets. But despite the launch of gimmicky smartphone devices like the Padfone and Fonepad, ASUS has yet to enter the phone market in a big way, particularly in the United States. But that may be about to change, according to company chairman Jonney Shih.

Speaking with AllThingsD, Shih said, "for the phone, frankly speaking, we are still the latecomers," adding that the company is nevertheless making progress. While the company is apparently hard at work, a 2013 entry into the U.S. smartphone market might not be feasible, Shih told the publication, however "next year is more reasonable."

We've been impressed with the quality of ASUS' Padfone devices, particularly the Padfone Infinity, which was unveiled at this year's Mobile World Congress. But the appeal of these products has been hampered by the fact that they're tied to bulky (and expensive) tablet add-ons, rather than being sold on their own at subsidized prices. ASUS certainly has the ability to produce a compelling smartphone, but it remains to be seen whether it'll have the clout to woo U.S. carriers, not to mention consumers themselves.

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ASUS aims to enter the US smartphone market next year

It’s no secret the folks from ASUS have been successful in the Android space with the Nexus 7 and Transformer tablet series, but one area they’ve struggled to gain traction is with smartphones. The company has been busy with their ASUS Padfone and FonePad, but penetrating the already crowded US smartphone market is the next challenge they want to take on.

The 4.7-inch HD smartphone that came with their Padfone Infinity was pretty impressive with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, which then docked into their 10-inch tablet to become a full-fledged Android tablet. Their Padfone series should need no introduction, but the smartphone side of things have been pretty quiet here in the US.

ASUS has been making some pretty impressive smartphone, but we’ve yet to see them come to market stateside. However, a few new reports going around this afternoon shows that ASUS will be entering this space sometime next year. While speaking with AllThingsD, an ASUS chairman mentioned they’d been having success working with US retailers and carriers, and hope to release a flagship smartphone soon.

In a market dominated by Apple and Samsung the battle is already tough with HTC, LG, and even Sony taking up the leftovers, so ASUS surely has their work cut out for them. In the end they’ve made huge strides with the Nexus 7 in both sales, and with retail partners, and smartphones are the next step.

The ASUS chairman ended by saying that 2013 wasn’t likely, and he then said “I think next year is more reasonable.” If recent releases by ASUS are anything to go on, we could see a top-tier Intel-powered smartphone, or even a Snapdragon 800 on board. Who’s interested in a smartphone from ASUS with some Verizon LTE?

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Nexus 7 finds Apple napping

Second-generation Nexus 7. Apple has a little catching up to do.

Google has beat Apple at its own Retina-display-thumping game. Meet the Nexus 7, the eye-popping 323-pixels-per-inch wonder.

It is, in a way, the (rumored) iPad Mini Retina wrapped in Android 4.3.

Here's the deal: If you can find most of the apps you need on Google's Play Store and would like a small tablet with the highest resolution display on any tablet to date (i.e., higher than the 9.7-inch Retina iPad and way higher than the iPad Mini), then the second-generation Nexus 7 may be a good choice.

How did this happen? Well, Google, Asus (the device manufacturer), and Japan Display Inc. (the display maker) have managed, for the first time, to slap a smartphone-density display on a small tablet.

Maybe more ironically, Apple is considering the same technology for a future Mini Retina, according to Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. When that Mini would appear ranges from sometime in October (optimistic) to early next year (pessimistic).Without getting too technical, the second-gen Nexus 7 uses a display technology (called low-temperature polysilicon, for those keeping score) from Japan Display that has been used, to date, only on phones like, ironically, Apple's iPhone 5 (which has a pixel density of 326, just slightly more than the new Nexus 7).

Analysts have told me that the 7-inch 1,920x1,200 display on the Nexus 7 may be the upper size limit for Japan Display's ultra-high-resolution technology -- at the moment. In other words, JDI's tech is not quite ready to scale up to the larger 7.9-inch screen on the Mini.

Whatever the case, you can pick up the new Nexus 7 for $230 at some Best Buy stores as of Friday. That's about $100 less than Apple's cheapest Mini (which I also own) but with a much better screen and a faster (quad-core) processor.

That's a really tough hardware/price proposition for Apple to beat, in my opinion.

I like the Mini a lot. I'm not sure yet but I may like the second-gen Nexus 7 better. (I have to be careful, though. I've only had it for about 18 hours so the out-of-box wowness may be impairing my judgment.)

I will say this, though. Apple has its work cut out for it.

The second-generation Nexus 7 I picked up on Friday

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Asus Padfone Infinity priced in Taiwan, shipping to start next week

You can say whatever you want about Asus, but one thing you can’t call the company is a quitter. Despite not being able to make the first Padfone or the second-gen mainstream sales hits, the Taiwanese have pushed ahead with the concept of the phone/tablet hybrid by unveiling a third such combo – the Padfone Infinity.
And it looks like Asus has learned something from past mistakes, because the third-gen Padfone has a good shot in reaching stores all around Asia and Europe by the end of April. For now, the Infinity is only available for pre-orders in Taiwan, with the official rollout slated for next week.
Unfortunately, one past mistake that seems bound to repeat itself again and again relates to pricing. The Taiwanese Infinity starts at a whopping 20,990 TWD, or $702. That’s for the 32 GB smartphone alone, mind you, while the tablet dock goes for an extra 5,000 TWD ($167).

The 64 GB phone is naturally even more expensive, going for a full 22,990 TWD, or $770. We’re not saying you don’t get what you pay for, as the 5-incher sports a stunning Full HD panel and comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean in tow, as well as a quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU, 2 GB of RAM and a 2,400 mAh battery.
If you add the Padfone Station in the mix, you can get a 10.1-inch tablet too and one that’s rather impressive, with a 1,920 x 1,080 pix res screen and 5,000 mAh battery. And yet we can’t shake the feeling Asus needs to shave something off that pricing structure to draw in the Western crowds. Do you agree or are you planning to break the bank to get the phone cum tab combo anyway?

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Asus releases official Android 4.2.1 OTA for the Transformer Pad 300

Those of you who have unlocked the bootloaders of your Asus Transformer Pad 300s probably didn’t receive the Android 4.2 update when it started rolling out earlier this month. But now, there is no need to feel left out.

If you felt the need to try out the official OTA update straight from Asus’ servers, the company has now released the full 4.2.1 ROM for the TF300. This comes with all the standard performance improvements and bug fixes you would expect from an update. It also includes all the standard Android 4.2 features like lockscreen widgets, quick settings, multi-ser capabilities and more.

The update comes for three versions of the device, so make sure you choose the right one before flashing. They all weigh in at around 500MB, so you might want to start the download a little in advance if your Internet connection is not the fastest one around. However, if you are still on 4.1 and thinking about upgrading, I would also consider this ROM which you just might have come across.

Chances are you will be very pleased with it, as so many of us have been before. I do believe the overall experience after updating should be silky smooth, as Asus has generally been very reliable in the update department. Head over to the source link to try it yourself, and do let us know how the update is working on your device.

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