tablets - 7/9 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Wyse PocketCloud Updated, Now With Tablet Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

If you have a Honeycomb tablet, there's a good chance that you're starting to leave your laptop behind more and more often. But what happens if you get away from the desk only to realize that there is a file that you need? You turn to PocketCloud from Wyse Technologies, of course.

As you may have guessed, as of today PocketCloud has been updated to include support for Honeycomb tablets. The interface has gone through an overall revamp to give it more of a Honeycomb feel, which takes advantage of the larger screen and streamlines navigation. Also included in this release is the final version of Auto Discovery, which works seamlessly with the PocketCloud desktop software to make remote access to your computer super easy.

Apr

Editorial: Motorola XOOM Sales Estimated At 100,000 So Far - Does It Really Matter?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

No doubt you've seen at least one mention of the 100,000-XOOM sales figure somewhere on the web today - and for me, it has reached the point of mild annoyance. From this number, all sorts of wild extrapolations and theories are being tossed around about Motorola's future, Android's future, and the viability of tablets in an Apple-dominated market.

Boy Genius Report took a step back, and presented a level-headed but clearly pro-XOOM take on the news:

So, according to Deutsche Bank, Motorola has sold 100,000 XOOM tablets in less than a month and a half, which is an average of over 75,000 units per month.

Mar

Onskreen Inc Promises To Deliver Advanced Multitasking to Android Tablets, Workaholics Breathe Sigh Of Relief

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

One of the most beloved features of Android has always been its ability to multitask. The limitation, however, is that you can only see one app at a time. That works out great on phones, but with the onslaught of 7, 8.9, and 10.1 inch tablets out there, wouldn’t it be nice to work with more than one app at a time?

That is exactly what Onskreen Inc. thought, so they created a homescreen replacement just for tablets. It’s called Cornerstone and the selling feature of this product is the panel view functionality, allowing users to interact with multiple applications at once.

Mar

First Beta Of The Split-Key SwiftKey For Tablets Keyboard Now Available To SwiftKey VIP Users, Multitouch In Tow

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

At the end of CES, right after the barrage of almost 100 Android tablet announcements, SwiftKey teased us with a new version of its popular keyboard, specifically targeting tablets. The company later officially announced the new product, complete with a Tron-like, mysteriously glowing UI. The split-key design, especially useful for larger tablets, looked like a real winner to tablet owners.

Today, the first beta of SwiftKey for Tablets v2.0.0.36 was released to VIP members in the SwiftKey forum, and, of course, I immediately took it out for a spin. The current release, which you can see below, has 2 layouts - 1 normal and 1 split-key, but compared to the version in the official announcement, has weird alignment issues and lacks any arrow keys (I checked - there was no setting to enable them, like in the newest beta for phones).

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

Yes, Folks, Honeycomb IS A Tablet OS - Though Some Of Its Features May Arrive On Phones "Over Time"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

If, for whatever reason, you didn't believe that Honeycomb is an OS built exclusively for tablets (despite the third slide of Google's official video teaser), here's yet more proof for your doubting mind.

First up, we have a report from PC Magazine, who has been told by a "company spokesman" that Honeycomb will not be available on Android smartphones. However, some of its features will be carried over (PC Mag thinks Movie Studio and browser enhancements are likely candidates) - just as should be expected.

Additionally, Phandroid has a "trusted source" who claims that Google is currently working on Android build GRI17 (that's Gingerbread post-Honeycomb, or Ice Cream Sandwich).

Jan

Hands-On Preview Of Android 3.0 'Honeycomb': The Android Tablet Era Begins Now

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Honeycomb is one of the biggest updates in Android history, so naturally, I jumped at the chance to try it out via the newly released Android 3.0 "preview SDK." What I found certainly wasn't disappointing - though it's important to remember that this is just a preview, meaning that not everything is in working order (for example, the emulator is so slow it made me want to tear my hair out at times, not to mention the frequent force close messages). Join us below for our first impressions of the new UI elements and other features found in Android 3.0 "Honeycomb."

The emulator's bootscreen is the same as it was for Android 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, etc.

Jan

Sony PlayStation Suite And PlayStation Store Official, Bring PSOne Games To Android Devices

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Games, News, Sony, Sony Ericsson

Sony's new PlayStation Suite isn't the PlayStation Phone (or the Xperia Play) we were expecting, but it's arguably something even better for those of us who love gaming but hate the idea of giving up our current Android device(s).

Sony claims that PlayStation Suite will offer "legendary original PlayStation content" and says it will be a "cross platform, cross device" PSOne emulator. In reality, it's limited to Android 2.3 and beyond - a version of Android only one currently available handset runs (and it's not Sony's own Xperia X10). Still, PS Suite does look intriguing, especially when you consider Sony's "PlayStation Certified" program for hardware manufacturers, which will, supposedly, ensure a high-quality gaming experience.