Google rumored to drop ASUS in favor of LG for upcoming Nexus tablets

The brand new and much improved Nexus 7 is just making it to buyers hands, barely a week old, and we’re already starting to talk about its successor. What’s going on here? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. ASUS and Google built a stunning tablet with both the first and now the second Nexus 7, but new reports today are claiming Google will opt for LG next year and drop ASUS.

We’re going to go ahead and toss this 100% in the rumor trash can, because it’s pretty much baseless at this point and time. Surely another Nexus tablet will arrive next year, but most likely they haven’t already started planning. Its only been a week since they launched the second one.

Any who, a few analysts are predicting, or have information claiming that ASUS will get dropped by Google and they’ll turn their attention to LG for their display technologies. We know the screen is important considering they tossed the highest resolution panel available in the 7-inch device, and LG Display is a huge company with quite the R&D. The new LG G2 will feature an edge-to-edge 5.2-inch 1080p display, and we could see that in the next Nexus 5 smartphone too.

This wouldn’t be the first time Google’s partnered with LG, as the Nexus 4 was quite successful even if supply wasn’t fast enough to meet the demand. While LG Display is separate from LG’s mobile division, partnering with them could surely help Google keep this advantage over the competition.

This same analyst was correct with predictions on the current Nexus 7, so we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m loving the new Nexus 7, and won’t start thinking about its replacement anytime soon. I will however take a new Nexus 5 please!

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From kindling to inferno: Full specs for next-gen Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablets

Amazon’s first-generation Kindle Fire was absolutely not an iPad killer, and that’s exactly why it was so successful. The online retail giant sought not to compete with Apple’s juggernaut but rather to open a new door, one that would focus on a more compact design and far more affordable pricing. At $499, the iPad was a tremendous value. At $199, the Kindle Fire was a steal. But the Kindle Fire was just the beginning and affordability alone would only take Amazon so far. The company’s current Kindle Fire HD models were the result of that realization, though they were merely the tip of the iceberg. With its next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that are set to debut this fall, Amazon is taking things to a completely different level — and its rivals should be worried.

Google recently unveiled a brand new Nexus 7 tablet and the tech media fawned over it for days. The new Android 4.3 software looked nice, the specs looked powerful, the high-resolution display looked beautiful and the hardware looked adequate. But these factors alone weren’t enough to get people so excited. The truly impressive aspect of Google’s announcement was that sleek new software, cutting-edge specs and high-resolution display were all available on a tablet that started at just $230.

If you think the new Nexus 7 is impressive, just wait until you see what Amazon is preparing to debut this fall.

In a recent report, BGR exclusively revealed preliminary details on three new tablets Amazon plans to launch in the coming months. The first will be a replacement for the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet, while the other two will be replacements for both current flagship Kindle Fire HD models. Now, multiple trusted sources have provided BGR with a more complete picture of the company’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that includes the devices’ complete specs.

Beginning with the upcoming new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet, we already reported that the slate will feature a high-resolution 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display and a new design, and now we can fill in the blanks. We’re told the tablet will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) system on a chip, which includes four Krait 400 CPUs and Adreno 330 graphics. Prototypes are said to be clocked at about 2GHz.

With Texas Instruments no longer producing mobile processors, Qualcomm was the obvious choice but we’re not sure anyone expected Amazon to go with the high-end Snapdragon 800 chipset for its next-generation tablet lineup.

The new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD set to launch later this year also includes an upgrade to 2GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, Wi-Fi and available cellular connectivity. It will ship with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage according to our sources, and internal test units are currently running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Amazon’s heavy customizations. Considering how close we are to Amazon’s target launch timeframe, this will likely be the device’s operating system version at launch.

The larger 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD model Amazon is planning to release this fall features specs similar to the 7-inch model behind its 2,560 x 1,600-pixel high-definition display. Sources state that the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset will power the tablet and it will also feature the same front-facing camera, optional cellular data support, internal storage sizes and 2GB of RAM. The 8.9-inch model will also feature an 8-megapixel rear camera though, while the 7-inch model will not include a rear camera.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

We’re told that the look and feel of Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets are vastly improved compared to the current models, and we detailed several design changes in our earlier exclusive report. The new tablets are said to be more comfortable and lighter than the models they will replace; the current 7-inch Kindle Fire HD model weighs 13.9 ounces and the 8.9-inch model weighs 20 ounces.

One source also noted that the bezel around the screen on the 7-inch model measures about half an inch all around and the 8.9-inch model’s bezel is about three-quarters of an inch wide.

Beyond the look and feel of the tablets, their performance is also vastly improved. This is obvious on paper from the specs listed above but more importantly, it is very evident in practice. Even in their current pre-launch states, benchmark test results reveal performance that is roughly three times better than the scores achieved by Amazon’s current Kindle Fire HD lineup.

If the current tablets are kindling, Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablet lineup is a full-blown inferno.

Multiple sources tell BGR that Amazon is shooting for a fall launch, possibly as early as late September, and all three devices are said to currently be on track. Pricing is apparently still not finalized but as we mentioned in our earlier report, Amazon is said to be trying hard to maintain its current tablet price points. There will be some variation though, since the new Kindle Fire HD tablets will each be available with three different storage options instead of two, as noted above, and the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet will also come in three sizes: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.

Google’s cards are now on the table, Samsung’s newest tablets are beyond boring, Barnes & Noble is out of the game and Apple’s iPad mini might only get a minor update this year, which means its specs will not be competitive at all and it will cost a minimum of $100 more than rival devices.

If ever there was a time for Amazon to wow us with impressive new Kindle Fire HD tablets, that time is now.

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Samsung rumored to have two hi-res Android tablets on the way

It has just been a little over a month since Samsung announced a slew of new devices at its Premiere event and already word is circulating as to what the company has planned for the coming weeks. Hardware rumor source evleaks gives a glimpse of two new devices that could very well be the highest resolution Android tablets in the market to date.

The SM-P900 is rumored to be running on Samsung’s new Exynos 5 Octa chip and boasting a resolution of 2560×1600 on a 12.2-inch display. It also comes with the Wacom-powered “S Pen” stylus, suggesting that it could be part of the Galaxy Note family of devices. If proven true, the P900 will be Samsung’s largest Android device, if one doesn’t take into account the recently announced ATIV Q, an Intel-based tablet/laptop hybrid that runs both Windows 8 and Android side-by-side.

The second device, the SM-P600, also sports a similar 2560×1600 resolution but on a smaller 10-inch display. And unlike the P900, the P600 is rumored to be running on a quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, giving it clock speeds of up to 2.3 GHz. There is also no S-Pen stylus included with the tablet. The size of the tablet suggests that it could be a successor to the Nexus 10, which sounds reasonable considering the recent announcement of the new Nexus 7, which is manufactured by rival companyASUS.

Like many rumors, there is no word on when these devices would be revealed. However, it is likely that Samsung will time the announcement with the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin next month.

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Laptops and Tablets Are Getting New Super Durable Gorilla Glass

Corning has a new version of its ultra-tough touchscreen glass called Gorilla Glass NBT, meant for touchscreen tablets and notebooks.

What makes Gorilla Glass NBT so good? Many of the displays on laptops and tablets are made from soda lime glass. But Gorilla Glass NBT is made from a different material altogether, and while Corning doesn't exactly divulge what magic that is, it's supposed to be more scratch resistant and have less scratch visibility. So it's more impervious to the regular swiping and tapping that could scuff up a touchscreen device. It's also thinner and lighter, and cheaper than industry standards. Gorilla Glass NBT isn't going to show up in devices until next year. So what this means for you is if you're particularly clumsy you might want to hold out before you upgrade to Windows 8. 

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T-Mobile launches zero-down deals for mobile phones

Consumers will be able to pick up a new iPhone or Galaxy S4 phone through T-Mobile with zero dollars down.

Starting Saturday, the carrier's new summer promotion offers a variety of 4G LTE smartphones, feature phones, tablets, and mobile hotspots with no upfront cost and regular monthly payments. For example, you could get Apple's 16GB iPhone5 for $27 a month, Samsung'sGalaxy S4 for $25 a month, or Nokia's Lumia 925 for $20 a month.

Zero-down sounds like a tempting offer. But keep in mind that you're still paying the full non-subsidized price for the device, just spread out over 24 months. Paying $27 a month for the iPhone over two years adds up to $648, just a dollar less than the $649 retail price for the 16GB version. And those payments are naturally on top of the cost of the mobile phone plan.The deals are good for both new and existing subscribers. No expiration date was revealed. A spokesperson for T-Mobile noted that the promotion is time-limited for the summer and that the carrier's promos usually last for days or weeks rather than months.

The carrier is also touting its new Jump program, which doesn't require you to keep the same phone for the entire two-year period. Under Jump, you can upgrade to a new phone without having to pay off the monthly finance fee on the old one. But to score that deal, you have to trade in your old phone and of course start paying the monthly fees for the new one. The Jump plan also adds an extra $10 per month to your payments.

What happens if a customer buys a zero-down phone and then wants to upgrade to a new device before the 24 months are over? That person would either have to hop on board the Jump plan or pay off the balance of the existing device in order to purchase the new one.

T-Mobile no longer offers subsidized mobile devices. In March, the company introduced its new contract-free plans, which separate the cost of the device from the cost of the monthly service. No contract also means no subsidies, so subscribers pay the full retail cost of the phone.

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Hisense budget Android tablets start at $99 (hands on)

Getting a tablet's no longer an "if" question for some people -- it's a question of how much. The bar's getting even lower now that Hisense has announced its Walmart-exclusive line of tablets: the Sero 7 LT and Pro.

Closer look: Hisense Sero 7 LT and Pro (pictures)

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These tablets aren't about being innovative. They're about being cheaper. But Hisense promises that screen brightness and battery life on the Sero 7 are better than average, too. That remains to be seen. Each tablet is Google-certified and features Hisense's smart remote software, which allows them to function with Hisense TVs in some capacity over a local network (it's software, not an IR blaster).

The Sero 7 LT is a 7-inch Android tablet with a 1.6-GHz dual-core CPU, 1,024x600-pixel IPS display, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It houses a piddly 4GB of internal storage, but Hisense has the sense (ahem) to give it a microSD slot (supporting up to 32GB cards) as well.

There's also Mini-HDMI, Micro-USB, and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, all draining the battery down to a purported 4-hour duration. The Sero 7 LT ships with a bargain-basement price tag of $99.

An impressive price given its specs, especially when compared with the more expensive Asus Memo ME172V and HP Slate 7.

The Hisense LT and Pro get budget prices, pretty decent specs and features.

The Sero 7 Pro ships with Android 4.2, features a 1,280x800-pixel-resolution display, 8GB of storage, and includes a 1.3-GHz quad-core Tegra 3 CPU.

Other specs include a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 5-megapixel rear camera, Mini-HDMI, Micro-USB, and a microSD port. NFC, Bluetooth 3.0+EDR, and 1GB of operating RAM round out the spec details. The Pro also features a promised 7-10 hour battery life and ships for $149.

Sounds a lot like the Nexus 7, except it's $50 cheaper, includes storage expansion, and has a Mini-HDMI port. However, the Nexus 7 ships with 16GB of storage at its $200 price. Still, the Pro is one of the more exciting contenders to the best small tablet throne.

Both tablets will be sold at Walmart stores starting May 24.

During some brief hands-on time, both Sero 7 models felt much like the Nexus 7: compact and plastic. Hardly exciting, but if you consider a big family outfitting all their kids with little $99 tablets, the savings makes sense. It also gives Walmart a clear ultracheap tablet strategy going up against Amazon, in a...sense.

The Sero 7 Pro being held by a hand. Riveting, I know

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Monopoly: Samsung bagged 95% of all Android profits in Q1

In a world crowded by so many mobile device manufacturers, you’d think that the profit pie would be shared somewhat proportionally between participants. That's not the case however. A recent reports shows  that, in the first quarter of 2013, Samsung managed to bag around 95 percent of all profits made on Android.

The figure may be unbelievable to some, but taking in consideration that, during the same period of the last year, Samsung accounted for 90 percent of all smartphone profits, this is merely an incremental increase.

But how does a company as Samsung manage to crush its competition so badly?

There is no competitor

The Seoul-based company sells many expensive, high-margin products, such as the Galaxy S4, the Galaxy Note 2, or the Galaxy Camera, but it seems that people opt for quality and tend to remain loyal to a prestigious brand. In addition to the top liners, Samsung carpet-bombs the market with a device for every taste and budget.

Some other contributing factors are Samsung’s impressive manufacturing capability, which allows it tokeep building costs to a minimum, the massive and well executed marketing campaigns, and the excellent relationships that the Koreans have with carriers from all over the world.

But an equally important contributor to Samsung’s monopolization of the Android profits is the strategy adopted by the competition. While HTC tried to basically follow the same path by releasing attractive and pricy smartphones like the One, some other manufacturers prefer to go at a loss, in an attempt to build market presence and mind share.

For instance, LG partnering with Google to sell a fantastic phone at an amazing price has not done wonders for the balance sheet, but it succeeded in gave some much needed sheen to LG’s name. Still, with a phone that good, and with some other impressive devices created in-house, LG took home a mere 3% of the global Android profit share in the first quarter of the year.

In pure numbers, the total operating profit of the smartphone industry for Q1 2013 was estimated to reach $5.3 billion, from which Samsung claimed $5.1 billion. LG’s strategy has gained the company a little over $100 million, while the remaining was split between several other manufacturers.

Samsung’s power over Android has been demonstrated time and again, but the future may bring it even more clout and financial domination. Even Google chose to exclusively sell an unlocked version of the Galaxy S4 online after partnering twice with Samsung for older Nexus generations, which is a trust no other company has ever gained. And maybe this trust will bring more perks for Samsung, like early access to Android updates, which should give the company another advantage against its competitors.

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Google: Android activations to total 900 million this year

Google expects users to activate about 900 million Android devices this year, more than doubling the number activated in 2012, an executive said Wednesday.

Sundar Pichai, head of Google's Android and Chrome operations, said at the company's developers conference that users activated 400 million Android devices in 2012 and 100 million in 2011.

"The momentum has been breathtaking since then," Pichai said.

And Hugo Barra, vice president of product management, said Google Play has just passed 48 billion app installations, with 2.5 billion installations in the last month alone.

Google is hosting Google I/O, its annual developers conference, Wednesday in San Francisco. The online giant has been expected to announce a host of new products and provide more details about other recently announced technology such as Google Glass.

Google's Android software has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world. Canalys last week said Android ran about 60 percent of all smart devices -- phones, tablets, and notebooks -- shipped in the first quarter, while iOS came in second with 19 percent share. While Android still lags iOS in tablets, it's starting to pick up steam, much as it did before dominating smartphones.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt in April predicted that 1 billion people will be using Android smartphones within the next six to nine months. He also said there will be nearly 2 billion Android phones within a year or two. As of April, there were more than 750 million Android phones in use across 320 carriers and 160 countries, Schmidt said, and there are 1.5 million sales or activations of Android every day.

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Review: Samsung Nexus 10 (GT-P8110)

The Nexus 10 is a collaboration between Google and Samsung. The tablet was announced in November of 2012. After months and months of trial and error we finally managed to grab a Nexus 10 and now here is our full review. In this review we will determine if the Nexus 10 is indeed one of the best Android tablets on the Market or not.

Introduction

The Nexus 10 is Google’s first 10″ tablet and it’s a stunner! As we get further into the review I will talk about both the hardware and the software of the Nexus 10. During this review we will take a look at the following points of the tablet:
- Hardware and design
- Interface
- Performance
- Camera
- Battery life
- Conclusion

Hardware and design

The Nexus 10 uses plastic as its main build component and the build quality of the tablet is just superb. The Nexus 10 has the most practical 10 inch tablet design ever. Samsung and Google has designed it in a way that a person can easily hold it in one hand and operate it from the other. The weight of the tablet is also evenly distributed. On the back, Samsung uses a rubberized material which makes the Nexus 10 much comfortable to hold and gives the tablet a smooth feel, plus adds a lot of grip. The front of the tablet is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and underneath it a stunning 10.1 is Super PLS display with a resolution of 2560×1600, giving it a pixel density of 300 PPI. Making the Nexus 10 the highest resolution tablet on the market, even higher than Apple’s iPad with Retina Display (264 PPI).

On the front of the Nexus 10 you will find a 1.9 Megapixel front facing camera which is capable of shooting up to 720p HD video and 2 stereo speakers which produce some outstanding results. On the top of the tablet, there is a Power/Lock button and a Volume Rocker. On the left side of the device you will find a MicroUSB port for charging/syncing and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right side of the device you will find a MicroHDMI port. And a Magnetic Pogo pin charger is located on the bottom of the Nexus 10.

The dimensions of the Nexus 10 are 263.9 x 177.6 x 8.9 mm and it weighs 603g. The tablet is available in two storage configurations, 16GB and 32GB. The storage can’t be expanded by using a MicroSD card and there is no 3G/4G connectivity.

 

Interface

The Nexus 10 runs on the latest and greatest from Google, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Android 4.2 brought a lot of new features, like Multiple user support, Gesture Typing, Notification Settings, Daydream and the amazing Photo Sphere Camera. The stock Android experience really shines on the Nexus 10 as the OS is completely optimized for its high resolution display, so everything looks crisp and clear.

Google did some alterations to it’s Tablet UI in Android 4.2 and made it unified with it’s 7″ Tablet UI and the Phone UI. The traditional navigation bar is at the bottom but the notification center which used to be in the bottom as well has been shifted upwards, like in the Phone UI. I think this was a really nice move by Google as new users can easily adapt to the Tablet UI now.

Performance

The Nexus 10 packs a dual-core (Cortex-A15) Samsung Exynos 5250 processor clocked at 1.7GHz, Quad-Core Mali-T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM. At first, I thought the device would lack on performance due to the tablet only having a dual-core CPU but I was wrong. The Nexus 10 proves that Android really doesn’t need more than 2 cores. I was really pleased with the overall performance of the device.

Multitasking is just excellent on this tablet. I opened 12-15 apps (including 2 memory intensive games) but I got no lag whatsoever. Transitioning between opened apps was really fast and smooth. The gaming experience was really amazing on this super high-res tablet too. Thanks to Project Butter, the UI was fast and responsive. The only problem I had was the launcher redraw issue. Whenever I used to close an app and go back to my home screen the launcher used to redraw, this was very annoying. This issue might get resolved by a software update in the future.

I also ran some benchmarks on the Nexus 10. Below are the results:
Antutu = 13639
Quadrant = 4555
Cf-Bench = (17382, 6637, 10935)

Camera

The Nexus 10 features a 5 Megapixel camera sensor which is capable of shooting 1080p video at 30FPS. The camera isn’t all that great and I have seen much better camera sensors on tablets. Actually, I was a bit disappointed. The Nexus 10 can capture acceptable images in good lighting conditions or with flash but in low light conditions it’s just terrible, a lot of noise in the image. Same goes with video recording as well, the sound quality was good though. Below are some images taken with the Nexus 10:

     

Battery life

The Nexus 10 packs a huge 9000 mAh Lithium polymer battery and it certainly needs the huge battery to power the stunning high-res display. The battery life is really impressive on the Nexus 10, I easily managed to get 7-8 hours of video playback and the standby time on this tablet is just magnificent, even with WiFi turned on the whole time.

Conclusion

Yes, The Nexus 10 is indeed one of the best Android tablets in the market right now. The Nexus 10 features a stunning super high resolution display with an impressive battery life. The tablet packs a lot of raw power and gives an outstanding gaming experience as well. Camera and the lack of expandable storage are the only cons of the Nexus 10. Also, the device will be among the first ones to receive the latest Android updates and at such a low price, it’s a steal!

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Action Launcher Pro version 1.5 for Android adds easy access to widgets

Have you ever wanted to easily access the widgets on your smartphone’s home screen without having to go through the trouble of actually touching the widgets yourself? No? Well, you will be able to do just that anyway, thanks to the latest version of Action Launcher PRO for Android.

Action Launcher PRO for Android is now on version 1.5, and according to the official release notes, it comes with a number of new useful features. The updated software now fully supports 10-inch tablets (including the addition of a dock), works in landscape mode by default for certain devices, allows hiding of text labels for items on the home screen, and boasts a brand new feature that might change the way you interact with your device’s home screen forever.

The newest Action Launcher PRO feature is called “Shutters” and its primary function is to let users access widgets through simple swipes performed on a regular launch icon. Now, instead of actually interacting with the widgets directly, they can be accessed through their standard launch icons and will only appear after users swipe a certain way. This will certainly help save space on the home screen and might just help users find more creative ways to fiddle with their phones and tablets.

The app is already out and available for download on Google Play, and you’ll be able to find it on the source link below. If you’d like to learn more about the most recent changes to Action Launcher PRO, then feel free to watch this embedded YouTube video.

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Amazon launches X-Ray for TV, helps you identify actors with a single tap

Following the introduction of X-Ray for Movies last year, Amazon is expanding the feature to TV shows offered on Amazon Instant Video.
Powered by IMDB, possibly the world’s biggest reference website for anything that has to do with films and television, X-Ray for TV allows viewers to tap into the wealth of information from the massive online database. If you’re wondering just who plays the kick-ass samurai-wielding Michonne on The Walking Dead, just tap on the screen as her character appears to get her name and other gigs.
Other supported TV shows include Justified, Downtown Abbey, The West Wing, Sons of Anarchy, Falling Skies, American Horror Story, Grey’s Anatomy, Doctor Who, Lost, Glee, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. Amazon said that more shows will be added in the future.
A similar feature was introduced for Google Movies & TV app yesterday. In their case, the data is pulled from Google’s Knowledge Graph and then presented as info cards that pop up on the screen a la Google Now.

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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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