ipad - 3/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

ASUS Compares Eee Pad Transformer To Duct-Taped iPad And Keyboard

Posted by David Ruddock in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Well-known budget electronics manufacturer ASUS has a big splash-page promo up on Best Buy's website right now for the upcoming Eee Pad Transformer, the manufacturer's first Honeycomb (Android 3.0) tablet, and it's not exactly subtle:

It's a fair comparison - both will probably break their hinges around the same time

The (unintentional) irony here being that ASUS's product aren't exactly known for their top-notch materials (I'm not saying their products are faulty - just a little flimsy). Still, the Transformer is a kind of neat idea - we'll have to reserve judgment on how ASUS's execution of the concept fares in the real world.

Mar

The Super-Thin Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 And 10.1: As Seen From Outside A Glass Box

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Samsung

Yesterday at CTIA, Samsung unveiled its revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the all-new Galaxy Tab 8.9 (check out our live coverage of the event). Unfortunately, that's about all Samsung did with them - neither was ever powered on. Samsung's CTIA exhibit housed the new devices in glass security cases (as you can see below), while early "prototypes" of the 8.9 and 10.1 running Honeycomb with Samsung's TouchWiz 4.0 overlay were available for hands-on time, in order to demonstrate some of the software the company plans to include when the devices are released.

Why no demonstrations of the thinner, lighter, sexier Tabs?

Mar

Apple Haters Take Note: Conan O'Brien Just Eviscerated The iPad 2

Posted by Will Shanklin in Off-Topic

Okay, so maybe this doesn't directly relate to Android, but man, do we think some Android fans are going to like this one. With all respect to Apple, most of us are familiar with their promotional videos which can be a little, let's say, "predictable" at times. Beloved late night host Conan O'Brien created this mock iPad 2 video that... well, let's just let the clip speak for itself:

Source: Team Coco

Mar

Today's iPad 2 News Could Shake Up Tablet Prices - But Not For The Reasons You Think

Posted by Will Shanklin in Android OS, Editorials, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

While we at Android Police don't exactly wait with bated breath to hear what Steve Jobs has to say at Apple announcements like the one for the iPad 2 today, we would be fooling ourselves to pretend that Apple products don't directly affect the market for Android devices. While an Android fan's first reaction to the latest iAnnouncement is often to (understandably) bash the smooth-talking fruit company from Cupertino, I believe that today's events could shake up the tablet market for the better.

The hardware of the iPad 2 is hardly a game-changer. They didn't upgrade their display from the first generation iPad (which always looked a little bit pixelated to me), though they did make it thinner and lighter.

Feb

The Media Worships The iPad - But For How Much Longer?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, NOOKcolor (Encore), XOOM

You've seen it: a new Android tablet is featured on some mainstream media's program or website, and you know it's coming, but you still can't help but clench your sphincter muscles just a little when you hear it...

Will it be an iPad killer?

Samsung's attempt to compete with the iPad...

The latest inferior and insignificant non-Apple offering that we're forced to cover...

Can't they see that this is like describing Colin Firth as a wanna-be Tom Cruise? After a while, you begin to wonder if these journalists have actually used an Android tablet. Do they even know what it is they're missing?

Feb

Zynga Releases Words With Friends For Android

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Words With Friends, the wildly popular iOS game by everyone's favorite company Zynga, has come to Android, after weeks of anticipation. WWF is one of the most addicting and well made word games on the planet, and as of a few hours ago, you can download it for free from the Android Market.

Here's the best part: Words With Friends is cross-platform, so you can play up to 20 simultaneous games and kick your iOS buddies' butts all at the same time. In-game chat and push notifications that tell you when it's your turn will help keeping you addicted. According to Zynga, the game looks great on both Android handsets and tablets, so fire up all your brain cells - you're going to need them.

Feb

Best Buy Launches The XOOM Product Page - Price Jumps To $1,199.99, But It Costs Best Buy Just $550?

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Motorola, News, XOOM

Less than a week after the Best Buy ad for the XOOM was leaked, the official pre-order page has launched. Stunningly, the price quoted on the website is $1,199.99, significantly higher than the price quoted on the original ad which was $799.

Best Buy pre-order page

If true, the price is an exorbitant markup over the retail price shown in two separate tips we've received of the product listing in the Best Buy systems: both show the XOOM as costing Best Buy $550, with the employee price being just $577.50. Even at the originally leaked price of $800 retail, that's a markup of roughly 45%.

Feb

Watch Your Favorite BBC Shows With iPlayer Android App

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Applications, News

The majority of TV shows I watch are produced by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), primarily because the BBC iPlayer web app makes it incredibly easy to watch shows free and on-demand. The icing on the cake is the announcement today that a free iPlayer app will be launching on Android and iOS devices in the UK by the end of the week.

The app will deliver live content to any Android or iOS device, as well as radio broadcasts. Additionally, users will be able to access the BBC's full catalog of "catch-up programs," including seven days' worth of on-demand TV shows and radio broadcasts.

Jan

Remember The New Toshiba Tablet Site? This Is What Happens If You Visit It On An iOS Device

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Thrive / Regza / Antares / AT100, Toshiba

Last Updated: April 16th, 2011

You didn't think Toshiba would let Motorola take jabs at Apple without throwing one of its own, did you?

^{Motorola called the iPad a giant iPhone back in December}

Remember the Toshiba Tablet teaser site we found yesterday? Here is what happens when you visit it from an iOS device:

Such a Shame.

Add this to the list of the 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.

Nicely done, Toshiba, besides the fact that, you know, nobody has the said Toshiba Tablet because it hasn't been released or even given a name yet.

Jan

Motorola Estimates Sales Of The XOOM Tablet To Reach 700,000 To 800,000 In Q1 2011

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, XOOM

Motorola is expected to launch its XOOM tablet in February 2011 and, according to DigiTimes, they have placed an order for about 700,000 to 800,000 units. If there is greater demand, DigiTimes expects the order to reach up to one million units by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

Interestingly, DigiTimes also claims that Motorola and Samsung are being given special treatment by Google, while competitors, such as LG and HTC, are being left behind. This could explain why Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering at Google, originally demoed Android 3.0 Honeycomb on a (then unofficial) Motorola XOOM.

At this point, Motorola's sales estimates seem rather modest, considering the Samsung Galaxy Tab sold over 1 million units in its first month and the Apple iPad is expected to sell up to 7 million units in the first quarter of 2011.