Tablets - 4/17 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jun

[Hands-On Videos] Acer Quietly Debuts Iconia Tab A210 And A110 At Computex 2012

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Iconia A110, Iconia A210, News, Tablets, Videos

Acer surprised viewers today with a pair of tablets that were not ushered in even by a humble press release. Engadget reports that the tablets received no formal announcement at Computex either, but that they were only discovered thanks to a wandering eye.

At any rate, the tablets in question are the Iconia Tab A210 and A110 – presumably upgraded versions of the A200 and A100. Each of the tablets has a new design, a Tegra 3 processor, and Ice Cream Sandwich goodness on board. Engadget took some hands-on time with each of the devices, grabbing the photos and videos you see below.

Jun

NVIDIA's Kai Platform Is For More Than Just A Single Tablet Design

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Tablets

By now, you've probably heard about NVIDIA's Kai platform. However, it hasn't been entirely clear what Kai actually is. Is it a tablet? Or a specific chipset? If so, can it be used in other devices? NVIDIA recently posted on its blog more details about Kai that answers those very questions, as well as touches on the possibilities of where Kai can be used.

First off, Kai is neither a specific piece of hardware, nor is it a software configuration. It's a design reference. NVIDIA wasn't pleased with the crop of low-end tablets currently on the market. Users really only have two options: spend upwards of $400 and get a device that offers a good user experience, solid performance, and a vast app ecosystem; or, spend less money and get an underpowered device with a less-than-ideal experience.

May

ViewSonic Set To Debut A 22-Inch ICS-Powered "Tablet" At Computex This June

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News, Tablets

Viewsonic, a US-based purveyor of various display technologies and mobile products, teased its "Touch and Connect" series prototypes today, reports Engadget.

The Walnut, California manufacturer teased several products, perhaps the most stunning among them being an Ice Cream Sandwich powered "tablet" with a (are you ready?) 22-inch display.

With such a gigantic display, this tablet will certainly blur the lines between monitor, tablet, and television display. ViewSonic seems to be fine with such ambiguity however, having lovingly labeled the device a "smart business tablet monitor."

While approximately zero details were revealed by today's teaser, more information should be available at Computex this June.

May

NVIDIA's $199 Quad-Core Android Tablet Will Become A Reality Thanks To The Kai Platform

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Tablets

Back at CES, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang rocked the house when he briefly showed off a new 7" quad-core tablet that was said to be introing with a price tag of $250. Since then, he publicly stated that $199 Tegra 3 tablets could become a reality sometime this summer. We're now hearing more details of how these budget powerhouses will become a reality: a new platform call Kai.

Little is known about Kai right now, only that it's based on the Tegra 3 chip, but is developed at a much lower cost.

Our strategy on Android is simply to enable quad-core tablets running Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be developed and brought out to market at the $199 price point, and the way we do that is a platform we've developed called Kai.

May

4 Best Android 3.0+ Apps For Tablets From The Last Month (4/19/12 - 5/17/12)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News, Tablets

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This edition focuses only on new tablet apps or ones that added tablet support. Regular apps and games are coming soon.

Unfortunately, I could only find 4 tablet apps in almost a month, which makes me really sad. Sure, a lot of apps are automatically compatible with tablets, but we always appreciate the extra effort that goes into making a dedicated tablet UI.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Apr

10 Best Android 3.0+ Apps For Tablets From The Last 3 Weeks (3/24/12 - 4/18/12)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News, Tablets

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 3 weeks or so.

This edition focuses only on new tablet apps or ones that added tablet support. Regular apps and games are coming soon.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

For Tablets

Next Issue

Android Police coverage: "Netflix For Magazines" Is Finally Here, $10-15 A Month Nets You All The Magazines You Can Read From Next Issue

Personally, I can't even remotely justify a $10-15 monthly fee for subscribing to magazines, but maybe some of you can.

Apr

Sprint ZTE Optik Review: A 7" Tablet That Offers A Great Display And Smooth Performance For A Low Price

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Tablet Reviews, Tablets

Last Updated: April 30th, 2012

Adding a tempting new device to the current pool of affordable 7" tablets, ZTE and Sprint introduced the 3G-connected Optik in February, bringing to market a great 7" display, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, and an ample 1.2GHz dual-core snapdragon processor, all for $99 on a new contract. In a nutshell, the Optik is a decent 7" tablet for those on a budget. While it isn't the best tablet around, it's powerful enough for most tasks, feels great in the hand, and isn't too bad to look at. Here's a more complete look at what the Optik has under the hood:

Android 3.2 Honeycomb
7" PLS display at 1280x800 (216dpi)
Dual-Core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor
1GB RAM
16GB Built-in storage with microSD slot
5MP camera and 2MP front-shooter
800/1900MHz 3G connectivity
4000mAh battery

Before we get started with the full-on review, we'll look at just a few of the Optik's positive and negative points.

Mar

Hulu Plus Update Finally Brings Tablet-Optimized UI To Select Devices

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Flyer, G-Slate, News, Tablets, VTAB1008, XOOM, XYBOARD / XOOM 2

If you're at all into TV, you've heard of Hulu. Chances are, you're watching something on Hulu right now on your PC, phone, XBOX360, Wii, Roku, PS3, iPad, 3DS, or any of the other supported devices. The list is pretty long, but until today it had one glaring omission - Android tablets. Sure, some tablets, like the Kindle Fire, HTC Flyer, or the Vizio VTAB, were already supported, but they were running Gingerbread and didn't have a proper tablet UI. Well, no more.

Hulu has released an update to the Hulu Plus (app available to Plus subscribers for $7.99 a month) that introduces a brand new tablet-optimized interface and support for the following tablet devices:

Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Motorola Xoom
Motorola XYBoard 10.1
Toshiba Thrive
Acer Iconia (although it's unclear which Iconia exactly, because the A100 is incompatible - they probably mean the A500)
LG G-Slate
HTC Flyer
Vizio 8" Tablet

It was puzzling to see no mention of any Galaxy Tab variants on that list, most notably the 10.1, and I've confirmed it's indeed listed as incompatible.

Mar

13 Best Android 3.0+ Apps For Tablets From The Last 2 Weeks (3/10/12 - 3/23/12)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News, Tablets

Last Updated: March 26th, 2012

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This edition focuses only on new tablet apps or ones that added tablet support. Regular apps and games are coming soon.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

For Tablets

GO Launcher HD for Pad

Android Police coverage: GO Launcher HD Hits The Play Store, Bringing GO Goodness To Tablets Running 3.0 And Above

Android Police coverage: GO Launcher Team Enters The Tablet Launcher Arena With GO Launcher HD Beta, And It's Off To A Great Start

I covered GO Launcher HD in the previous tablet roundup, but at the time it was a beta APK available as a download somewhere off the Play Store.

Mar

[Update: v2.0] GestureControl Gives Rooted Users Universal, Customized, Multitouch Control Of Their Tablet

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News, Tablets

Last Updated: April 29th, 2012

One of the great advantages of using a tablet device is its display. Having a big, bright touch display allows for enhanced media enjoyment, browsing, and gaming. Logically, a large touch display should make heavy use of touch controls, implementing at least some level of universal functionality to unify the touch-centric interface a tablet display begs for. Looking to bring this idea to fruition, Good Mood Droid created GestureControl, an app that allows rooted users to control their tablet using a variety of multitouch gestures.

GestureControl, as you can see from the video above, allows users to hide Honeycomb's status bar in any app, at any time, and also allows basic system navigation using simple gestures.