AsusTek Computer Inc. unveiled a sleek tablet computer on Friday, after the Taiwanese firm saw the sales of its once popular line of mini-laptops stall following the launch of Apple’s hit iPad, the Associated Press reports. AsusTek says the EEE Pad Transformer, which runs on the Android 3.0 operating system, distinguishes itself with an optional keyboard that is superior to docking options for other tablets because of its light weight and flexibility…
…Read MorePodcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
Acer Iconia A100: A 7-Inch Android tablet (with Honeycomb!)
Acer may take the plunge to put Android 3.0 on a 7-inch tablet, according to reports from this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The company is showing off the Iconia A100 tablet and says it will run Honeycomb, which Google launched a few weeks ago, reports GigaOm. Up until now, the smallest Android 3.0 tablet I’ve seen is the 8.9-inch LG Optimus Pad, or G-Slate as it will be known on T-Mobile here in the U.S. Even Samsung, with the success of its 7-inch Galaxy Tab running Android 2.2, has yet to announce a Honeycomb tablet smaller than the new Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Iconia A100 being shown off at MWC is currently running on Android 2.2, so show attendees can’t get a look at Honeycomb on the smaller screen. According to the MobileBurn blog, the A100 will see Honeycomb when the device launches in the UK this April. I’ll be interested to see how Acer accomplishes such a feat, given the expected 1024×600 resolution of the device. Many sites are reporting that Nvidia’s Tegra 2 will power the A100, and while Nvidia confirms this in a blog post today, it makes no mention of the smaller tablet display size. However, there are many pictures and videos confirming the 7-inch screen…
…Read MoreAre Android tablets vapor? Or just not here?
Everyone seems to have proclaimed that this was the “year of the tablet” at the Consumer Electronics Show. But while I certainly saw a whole lot of tablets at the show, what strikes me most, in retrospect, is just how unfinished nearly all the tablets were, reports Michael J. Miller for PC Magazine. I left intrigued by the possibilities, but more skeptical about the market than most of my colleagues. Partly, there were so many tablets because it seems like every vendor thinks they fit into their existing market. Phone makers think of tablets as large smartphones — with or without calling features. TV makers think of tablets just as smaller screens on which to watch video and other content. PC makers think of tablets as laptops without keyboards. Monitor makers think of them as portable monitors. Book sellers think of them as electronic book readers…
…Read MoreOne Laptop Per Child gets $5.6M grant to build Android tablet
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization has received a $5.6 million grant from hardware component maker Marvell to fund the development of an Android-powered mobile tablet based on a Marvell design, Ars Technica reports. The product, which is expected to be ready for a public demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show next year, is intended for the developed world. In a statement to Xconomy, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte explained that the Android tablet likely will not have OLPC branding and is a transitional step as the organization works to develop the XO-3, a tablet device for the developing world that will have more ambitious hardware and will run the Linux-based Sugar learning environment. The XO-3 will ship in 2012, and the Android tablet supposedly will be ready in 2011. OLPC and Marvell announced a partnership earlier this year, but the $5.6 million grant is a new development. It could help OLPC move forward as the organization continues to transition to a more mainstream product development model, especially given OLPC’s failure to fulfill its original goal of delivering a ubiquitous $99 laptop for education. OLPC downsized half its staff last year and discontinued development of its Sugar software platform after it failed to raise sufficient funds…
…Read MoreGet ready for iPhone video chat, Android’s $100 tablet
Less than two weeks until Steve Jobs unveils the next iPhone at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, it appears that the device will come equipped with video chat capabilities, according to Appolicious. Also in today’s App Industry Roundup, we look ahead to a world with $100 Android tablets and $97 iPhones. If the rumor mill about features for the 4G iPhone wasn’t enflamed enough heading into Apple’s June 7 Worldwide Developers Conference, now comes word that the device will showcase video chat capabilities. According to a report by tech blog Engadget, the 4G iPhone will accommodate real-time face-to-face conversations. Further, it appears that American Beauty director Sam Mendes is directing a new round of television commercials for Apple and the iPhone. One generation’s 1984 is another’s Revolutionary Road, perhaps. All of this of course amounts to further evidence of the world’s worst kept secret. The new iPhone is coming, and new features like video chat and multi-tasking capabilities will open up more worlds of opportunities for third-party application developers.
Stay tuned.