Ray Hendon

Ultraportables, which include the newest incarnation of thin and light laptops, the Ultrabook, are thought by some to be a threat to tablet computers.  The instant-on capability of Ultrabooks are believed to be especially attractive to those who have been buying tablets because of this feature. 

It appears likely to me that Ultrabooks and other thin and light laptops will do well in the market place, especially when their prices fall a few hundred dollars.  But whether they will dampen any of the enthusiasm for tablets is another matter.  Personally I think both form factors satisfy separate needs for different users.

One feature of the new Ultrabooks that will help resolve the question is whether they will serve their owners as competent eReaders.  Surely there are some prospective buyers who would prefer to own only one device rather than two—but only if the one could do the work of two.  Can an Ultrabook do both heavy duty computing and convenient eReading?  Can one design satisfy both these needs?

Certainly a dedicated eReader or a tablet have some advantages over a laptop, even a thin and light one.  Reading electronic books, for example is probably done best by a device that closely emulates the look and feel of a book.  The popularity of the Kindle and Nook are thought to owe much of their success to their similarity to printed books.

How essential is the look and feel,  though, to those who read a lot.   This article takes a look at the possibility of using these new, thin and light computers as an eReader.

To put this question to a practical test, I loaded the top three eReading applications to an 11.6” screen Asus UX21 to see how they worked.  The applications chosen to test are:

Amazon’s Kindle App for PCs, Macs, iPad, iPhone and Android devices

• 
• Barnes and Noble’s Nook Application for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone  and Android devices
• 
   

   

   

• Sony’s Reader Application for PC, Mac and Android devices

  

To give you a taste of the difference, I have taken screen shots of random pages from eBooks on the three applications I mentioned.

Beginning with Amazon, a screen shot of George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda, is displayed in the two column format for laptop viewing. The screen shot is taken of the Kindle application for PCs.

Screen of Kindle Reader in Two Column Format

The Kindle app is widely praised for its versatility of layout options, underlining, comments, bookmarks and especially its syncing abilities.  This app also has go-to options that ease navigation, and dictionary lookup for a highlighted word.  All these features work on Ultrabooks. 

Amazon also has a user friendly policy of allowing you to direct any book in your library to be sent to any device on your registered list of devices. Amazon is indifferent as to which device or how many you use for any their electronic titles.  It treats them all the same and syncs them in an effortless way. The moment I registered my latest laptop, the Asus ZenBook UX21, all books in my library were immediately available for reading.

The strongest features of Amazon is, in my view, the ease of use of its website.  It is easy to find books, send them to the device of your choice, and generally navigate their vast site.

Equally strong is the selection of books, magazines and newspapers. They claim over a million titles, but that includes some categories such as “Singles” that represent a new class of literature that is generally shorter than a book but longer than an article. 

The worst feature of Amazon is that they insist on using a proprietary format for their eBook files.  It has an AZW extension and works only on Kindle software or hardware.  Although all the free sites I use give the option of downloading their books in the AZW format, in practice it is not terribly inconvenient.  Amazon also can read PDF files, and they will convert your Word for Windows documents to a format that allows you to put them in you Kindle library.

The other downside to Amazon is that they use DRM (digital rights management) on everything, so there is no cutting or pasting using anything in the AZW format. 

The Nook eReader software also provides a good reader experience. The screen shot below is from one of their pre-DRM works. Don’t be fooled by the small typeface. My screen capture utility shrunk it because the Nook takes up more of the horizontal space of the computer screen than the Kindle reader, so it has to cut the size down to fit within the pasted space. In practice, the Nook screen is as readable as any other.

Screen shot from the Nook Reader using the dual pane format

All the formatting and user options are available for the Nook reader–font size, margins, highlighting, lookup, go-to. And the B&N syncing feature is excellent between devices, and they offer their reader software app for a wide range of devices.

As far as eReading goes, it is hard to find much to prefer of B&N over Amazon or vice versa.  Both are excellent and have almost identical features.

The same is true for selection of books. B&N’s inventory is huge, and they have a good selection of free public domain books—as good as or better than Amazon’s.

Nook uses the ePub format, as does Sony, although both will read many other formats as well.  They do not read Amazon’s proprietary AZW file format, however.

Something of an oddity: The Nook reader treats all ePub software as DRM protected, so they do not allow cutting or pasting of non-DRM books.  Even on the iPad, whose own iReader app allows cutting and pasting of non-DRM protected material the  Nook does not.

Sony’s reader app provides a good reading experience. The screen shot below is from an ePub file of a non-DRM version of Sherlock Holmes.

 

Screen of Sony Reader’s Dual Column Layout

 

As with the Nook, the Sony Reader software uses more of the landscape screen to display its materiel than the Kindle app, so my clipping software has to reduce it to fit the pasting space. But Sony gives one plenty of formatting options and page control.

Sony lags both Amazon and B&N with book selection and syncing ability.  Their books are generally priced high; they have few free books, and their selection doesn’t match its two larger competitors.

Sony makes its reader software available to fewer devices—no iPad, no iPhone, no BlackBerry, for example.  They have syncing available to the three types of devices they support, but I have not tried it personally.

I like the Sony reader app for its ability to read almost any kind of document regardless of format, except, of course, Kindle documents. I will always have their app installed on my computers in case a particular book is not available in the Kindle format.  And they allow cut and paste options for non-protected books.

I find all three of the reader software about equally enjoyable to use. The differences in layout and options are not terribly important. I find I use the Kindle app more than the others because I find more books on their site I like, and I like to sync the books among all my devices. Still, I maintain active use of the Nook and the Sony Readers.

Summary:

First, the reality of the size and convenience of specialized eReaders and tablets makes it clear that they have the advantage. It is not possible for an ultrabook, weighing in at 2.9 pounds, to be as convenient to use as a 7-inch tablet or even the pound and a half iPad.

However, it is also inconvenient to carry two devices if one will do. So, there will be occasions when a thin and light laptop could be a suitable substitute for a dedicated eReader or tablet. 

At bottom, all of these tested apps work well on an Ultrabook. And they would work just as well with the software from other vendors such as Kobo or Blio. If your eReading preferences include comic books, magazines or children’s books, then you might like a specialty reader designed for the formats unique to these publications.

While all the eReading apps work well on an Ultrabook, it still may not be your preferred way of reading electronic texts.  But they are completely usable as a primary or secondary eReader. The choice of one over another is more dependent on which site you prefer to use because of its particular strengths than to the characteristics of their eReades.

From my experience, I have given away my Kindle reader. I simply do not want to carry another device with me in my travels. Now that I have a 7-inch tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I use it as my eReader of choice because of its lightness and ease of holding in one hand. I use the iPad for e-reading infrequently, but there are occasions when it comes in handy. Its weight, though, makes it a second choice, especially for long reading times. 

I rarely use a PC or my ultraportable for reading, but if I do it will be on the ultraportable.  Its lightness and instant-on feature does make it a better choice than the older, heavier laptops, but it is not as convenient to carry as a tablet.

An ultraportable may not be your favorite way of reading electronic texts, but it serves as a completely satisfying vehicle for reading if you want to carry only one device with you or if an occasion arises when it is all you have to use.

 

Reports out the last few days point to Barnes and Noble looking at ways of selling some or all of their Nook line of eRedeaders.  The problem is an odd one.  By most measures the Nooks have been successful products.  They competed effectively with other eReading devices, and the Nook Color almost singlehandedly defined a new niche in the tablet category of computers.

The bottom line, however, is that the sales success has not been translated to B&N’s bottom line:  the large book chain has not found  a way to sell their fancy new devices at a profit.  Development costs are high, as are the costs of keeping the products up to date in a fast-paced technology industry. 

B&N is said to be looking at two options:  The first is to sell the brand to another firm that could afford to continue developing the Nooks and to promote them in American and international markets.  It is understood, apparently, that these products need further development and to be promoted more than they are now if they are to become profitable.

The second option would be to sell a large percentage of the products to another firm but keep  a minority interest.  This would allow B&N to reap some of the expected profits from the line as it reached critical mass.  And it would free them from the need to raise additional capital.

Lurking behind the issue is that B&N is not currently profitable.  Furthermore, if they sell or drop the line of eReaders, what they are left with is a dinosaur brick and mortar book chain that is steadily losing ground to the same digital markets that the Nook has helped define.

Some analysts feel the Nook is doomed and will eventually disappear.  The price pressure applied by Amazon is simply too much for each of their products, the e-Ink Reader that sells for $100, the Nook Color for $199 and the Nook Tablet for $249.  At these prices, there is no margin left for profit and not enough money coming in to continue their development efforts.

If there is to be a buyer it must obviously be one with deep pockets.  Microsoft and Google qualify as having deep pockets.  But do they have the compelling interest?  It is hard to see Microsoft blowing itself up even beyond their present size to take on such a different breed of cat.  It is not an area in which they have much of a proprietary interest.  They are not hardware manufactures at their core; neither are they book sellers, electronic or otherwise.

The case for Google is better.  They have an electronics bookstore, although it is not doing particularly well.  And they make the Android OS that runs many of the eReaders, both e-Ink and LCD types.  They would have better bargaining power with the publishers for the electronic titles they would sell.  Perhaps a partnership would be possible for them.

It also seems that Sony could be interested.  Their selection of electronic titles lags B&N and Amazon, so they would gain traction in an industry that is not in their wheelhouse.  They make eReader hardware now, so there would be some duplication in picking up the Nook line.  However, Sony could use the Color Nooks to enhance their offerings in the 7-inch segment of the tablet market.  Furthermore, Integrating these two sides of the Pacific might me more than Sony could do given their current state of struggle in the computer market.  This makes them a longshot, in my view.

The  research firm IDC has reported year-to-date sales on tablets, and it revels a 264.5 percent surge in tablet sales worldwide from the third quarter of last year to this year.  Third quarter shipments for this year are estimated at 18.1 million units.   This amounts to a growth of 23.9 percent from the second quarter of this year.

Apple’s iPad led the field with 11.1 million units shipped during the 3rd quarter.  This is just over 61 percent of all tablets shipped during the period.  Samsung’s tablet line, which includes both 10.1 and 7-inch models, was in second place with 5.6 percent of the total worldwide shipments. 

HP’s quickly discontinued TouchPad placed third by shipping 903,000 units, yielding a 5 percent market share. 

The Kindle Fire did not begin shipping until the middle of November, so they had no 3rd quarter shipments.

Apple’s dominance of this market is expected to diminish in the 4th quarter, however.  IDC estimates that Android-based tablets, which include the Samsung tablets and the Kindle Fire, will increase their market share to 40.3 percent  and the iPad will fall to 59 percent.  Much of the increase for Android devices is attributable to the amazing success of the Kindle Fire.

Specific estimates for the Nook Color and Nook Tablet were not provided, but it is widely believed that these Barnes and Noble products will also contribute to the decline in market share enjoyed by the iPad.  Both of their tablets have enjoyed strong sales over the final quarter of the year.

The data leave little doubt that there is a wider market for the 7-inch form factor than has been seen before the Fire and Nook tablets were introduced.  Certainly the price points of $199 for the Fire and Nook Color and $249 for the Nook Tablet have had much to do with the surge in popularity of the smaller devices.  Prior to this development, the 7-inch models were listed at $499, and they had failed to move.  Amazon and Barnes and Noble changed that dynamic with unambiguous clarity.

2011 looks especially good for this new form factor.  IDC estiates that by the end of the year total worldwide shipments will come in a 63.3 million units shipped.  Next year should be even better.

11/28/2011:  Rumor: Apple to Re-design MacBook Airs And Add a 15-inch Model in Q1 of 2012.

Now the 10% price reduction on existing MacBook Air notebooks makes more sense.  The rumor is that sometime in the first quarter of next year Apple will offer a new design of the 11.6 and 13.3-inch models, plus they will add a 15-incher to the mix.

The price reduction is, then, a way of trimming its inventory of the old before bringing out the new.  This puts a new twist on buying one now.  The new models will probably have beefed up processors, faster and be more efficient.

Adding a 15incher, it is said, is Apple’s way of trying to compete in the enterprise market—sell more to business users.  This strategy, if it is, will meet significant resistance from business buyers who have a mandatory need to run the legacy Windows apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.  Microsoft has written code for these apps to run on Apple products, but it will require a separate purchase and add another layer of support on the IT departments.  Something, no one wants to do.

But, the Air is a fabulous product, and it will get some sales in the enterprise market.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire is Huge in Sales, as Are The Other Kindle Models.

Amazon announced that Kindle sales are four times greater this year than last, probably largely attributable to the Kindle Fire.  Their new tablet is now the largest selling item they sell, system wide.  It looks as if Amazon has hit the sweet spot for the small-form tablet.

11/24/2011:  Lenovo’s 10.1-inch Tablet Price Cut

The IdeaPad K1, Lenovo’s entry into the consumer market for Android tablets, began its existence priced at $499.  Seeing its mistake, Lenovo has now reduced its price to $349 according to PC World.  Lenovo’s on-line site specifies $379.  This is their top of the line product for consumers.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS
•     NVIDIA® Tegra 2.0 T20 1.0GHz processor
•     Google Android 3.1 operating system
•     10.1” HD (1280×800) display
•     Up to 1GB DDR2 memory, up to 64GB SSD storage
•     Integrated Bluetooth®, 3G1
& 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
[Only two color options (brown and red) support 3G connectivity;
3G option is not available before the end of August]
•     Micro SD card reader, Mini HDMI connector & Docking port
2
•     Integrated front (2M) & back (5M) mounted webcam

It comes with 30 apps (including Angry Birds) pre-loaded.  Strong on social networking, movies and its high resolution screen.  At the new price it will be competitive for those who want an Android large-screen tablet.

11/21/2011:  Children’s Books Lag in eReading

An article in today’s NY Times points out that children’s books are not making the transition to electronicformat at the pace for all adultr books.  The article points out:

“. . .sales of e-books for titles aimed at children under 8 have barely budged. They represent less than 5 percent of total annual sales of children’s books, several publishers estimated, compared with more than 25 percent in some categories of adult books.”

It seems that the parents of young children enjoy the tradition of holding an actual book with a child in their lap and the two go through the pages together.  In this way the child learns to turn the page and get familiar with the symbols and pictures made especially for the younger set.

It is difficult to impossible to put all the special fonts and pictures for children within the confines of a six-inch eReader screen.  Additionally, converting a paper children’s book to electronic texts is expensive with the special graphics and page sizes used for the youngsters.

The article also points out another significant impediment to adoption of electronic editions.  Parents love the browsing experience of a brick and mortar store and often stumble upon a new book for their child by just strolling the book shelves.

“. . . parents often want to flip through an entire book before buying it, something they usually cannot do with e-book browsing. A study commissioned by HarperCollins in 2010 found that books bought for 3- to 7-year-olds were frequently discovered at a local bookstore — 38 percent of the time.”

It looks as if there will not be much of an acceleration from tradition print to electronic editions in this niche market. 

11/19/2011  Amazon Ups Orders Again for Kindle Fire

According to a report by Display Search, a research organization, Amazon has recently added another one million units to its orders for the Kindle Fire this quarter.  This brings their orders up to 6 million, which is what they expect to sell by the end of this year.

The iPad2, according to general consensus, is expecting to sell about 9 million units for the quarter ending December 31.  this comparison is astounding.  No other tablet provider has sold more than a couple of million units a year, much less a quarter.  Amazon has shown its marketing muscle, and they have it in abundance.

These sales figures may not stay at this level past the holiday season.   Apple is expected to bring out the iPad3 by April or 2012, and that would put it further ahead of the Kindle Fire in features than it is now.

Nevertheless, Amazon has made an impressive debut for its new tablet .  they have my attention.

11/18/2011:  BlackBerry PlayBook for $199 in Canada

The Kindle Fire effect has reached our immediate neighbor to the north. The BlackBerry PlayBook is now on sale there for $199 for their 16 GB model at Canadian BestBuy stores. This sale will end on November 24.

In the U.S., Staples is offering that same deal (one per customer) but only on Black Friday. So far no other American retailers have matched that deal, but it probably won’t be long. It looks as if RIM is trying to empty its warehouses.

There is probably a newer version on the near horizon, at least I hope so. The new model, though, is not supposed to be out until after the first of the year in February.

For those interested in e-reading, the PlayBook has a Kindle app, so it will do well reading electronic books. Its specs are also quite good—fast processor, good screen resolution and fast execution. It has been hobbled, however, with the omission of some key applications such as email and contacts, and it uses a proprietary operating system, QNX, which is not natively compatible with Android apps. This has left it short of a good selection of independent apps.

Thus far, regardless of similar promotions in the recent past, it is not moving off dealer shelves. It is hard to make much of a case for it at $199, given its limited usefulness over the long term. In my view is was almost a good idea, and RIM almost implemented their almost good idea. It was and is, though, almost a good tablet.

11/16/2011;  Santa’s List Dominated By Tablets This Year

A survey done by PriceGrabber of online shoppers asked respondents what they wanted for Christmas.  First, 79% of the respondents wanted a tablet computer over a laptop.  Of the 79% who preferred a tablet, the following is their ranking by preference:

1. iPad: 83%
2. Kindle Fire, 5%
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 4%
4. HP Touch, 2%

The survey was taken in mid to late October, before news of the Nook Tablet was released.

For those who wanted an e-reader, the results by rank:

1. iPad, 62%
2. Kindle, 27%
3. Nook, 7%.

The sample size was 3574, but it was not a random sample, therefore the results are not reliable for scientific purposes.  But is is informative.  The iPad obviously dominates their choices, and this is not new.  But the Kindle Fire coming in 2nd is.  Amazon has an amazing ability to catch the public’s attention, and a good level of trust, too.  Christmas may be a little blue for the other sellers of tablets such as Acer, Asus, Toshiba, HTC and others.

No questions about preferences for screen size were asked, but the large-screen iPad seems to settle that issue for now.

Mobile Battery Life May Expand by 10 Times

Nothing is more bothersome to mobile computer and smartphone users than having to keep all their instruments charged.  I generally use four portable devices: a Lenovo Ultraportable Laptop, an iPhone, iPad and a Galaxy Tab of 7-inches.  Keeping all these guys running requires due diligence and constant attention.

Now a group of engineers at Northwestern University have been experimenting with lithium ion batteries, the kind almost all mobile devices use, and they claim they have extended the life of a single charge by 10 times.  A cellphone might last a month on a charge if this holds true when their ideas are put into production.

Additionally, they also claim that these new formulations will charge in a 10th of the time of today’s batteries.  They claim 15 minutes is all it takes to get one of their batteries fully charged.

The full article is found here if you want to get the details.  Needless to say, this is great news for all who are too often tethered to a wall outlet for hours at a time. I hope their claims have merit for production models.

11/10/11:  Amazon Increases Production Run on the Kindle Fire to 5 Million units

Pre-orders for the new Kindle Fire, Amazon’s upcoming 7-inch tablet, are doing so well that they have just upped the first production run to 5 million units, according to report from Taiwan. 

This is excellent news for Amazon, who has spent many millions of dollars in developing their new tablet.  It looks as if the Fire will slip in at second place behind only the iPad in the race for leadership in the tablet market.  Over the last year Samsung has led the 7-inch segment of the market, but the Fire is going to blow it out of the water.

This is probably good news, at least in one way, for Barnes and Noble.  The new form factor is definitely catching on.  This may mean that B&N’s efforts for their new Nook Tablet will also pay off.

The Kindle Fire is expected to be delivered to those who ordered earlier by November 15th.  I am anxious to read the first reviews of it.  The price is good, but it comes in on the low side as far as its specs—no cameras, slower processor and not running a version of Android that has access to the Android Marketplace.

RIM’s Playbook to go on sale Black Friday at Staples for $199

Research in Motion has had trouble selling its BlackBerry Playbook, and there has been much speculation as to whether their 7-inch tablet will make the cut by the end of the year.  The price has been coming down from its original $499, and now Staples has announced it will sell the device for $199 on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Its survival is still in question because of delays in bringing its functionality up to par with other tablets.  And RIM recently cancelled a scheduled upgrade, putting it off until next year.  This indicates that the software fixes are much more difficult to bring off than its executives first thought.

11/09/2011:  Kindle Fire and other Kindle Models to be Sold at 16,000 Retailers.

Beginning November 15 the new Kindle Fire will be in stock at over 16,000 stores in the U.S.  BestBuy, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target and WalMart will carry the products.

These are, by and large the same stores that have carried the eInk readers Amazon sells, so it is not surprising they have picked up the Kindle Fire.  This availability trumps Barnes and Noble’s bragging rights about having brick and mortar stores where their customers can buy the Nook Color.

Most of these stores also carry the iPad, so it gives Amazon a chance to compete directly with those who are shopping for a new tablet.  Although the Fire does not seem designed to compete head-to-head with the iPad, it doesn’t hurt to have it close by when iPad shoppers are looking.

11/08/2011:  T-Mobile to offer 4G (almost) version of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Press release from T-Mobile:

Beginning Nov. 16 customers can purchase the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus for a $249.99 down payment at T-Mobile retail stores.

The purchase requires a $50 mail-in rebate, with a T-Mobile Value Mobile Broadband plan, two-year service agreement, and 20 interest free monthly payments of $10 on approved credit. Overage-free Mobile Broadband Value plans start at $29.99 per month, and T-Mobile postpaid voice customers enjoy $10 off their monthly mobile broadband service.

This up-dated version of the original Galaxy Tab is one of the finest 7-inchers on the market.  Now with a dual core, 1.2GHz processor, it will be much faster than its predecessor and have Honeycomb Android doing the user interface. 

For e-reading it offers two built-in readers: Blio for great color graphics in printed material and Zenio for magazines featuring full color.  It also offers a significant improvement in playing videos.  I would expect reader software from Kindle and Nook will be available the day it ships.

Amazon is selling a 16 GB WiFi-only version of the Tab for $399  with deliveries beginning November 13th.  Best Buy also carries a WiFi version (16GB) for $399.

The almost 4G offered by T-Mobile would be great, but there is no subsidy for buying it.  Their least expensive data plan is $30 per month, but with the extra $10 a buyers’ cost would be $40.

 Ray Hendon

For the last two years I have wanted to begin each article about e-readers or tablets with a phrase about how rapidly things are changing in the industry. But, it is now and it always will  be that way. Technology is changing fast, and the longer we have experience in a particular technology, the faster change takes place. It’s a sentiment that is true in every segment of industry that is touched by computer technology.

This article is about the seven inch tablet, a segment of the tablet industry that has not in the past seen the tectonic eruptions that have defined the 10-inch segment. The iPad, of course, dominates the 10-inch segment, and, so far no other single tablet has managed to mount a significant challenge to the dominance established by the Apple product.

The seven-inch market, however, is not the same. Although Samsung probably owns the lion’s share of the smaller form factor today, their dominance is going to change soon. Samsung was the first major designer to bring a high quality device into this space, the Galaxy Tab. Their first 7-inch tablet was almost alone for the first nine months to a year of its existence. But, the price point Samsung chose for their entry was too high by half, so its sales paled with that of the iPad by more than 10 to one. Dell, who also had a 7-incher in the market, made a serious design flaw in giving their product a poor screen resolution, and even with their newer version, they still don’t get it, offering a measly 800 X 480 resolution while the market demands better.

The latter half of this year, however, has seen interest in the smaller form factor explode, not so much with sales but with other manufacturers jumping into the market with their own devices. Apparently they see something there that consumers do not. Of course, Amazon’s decision to go with the smaller screen for their first tablet has created more excitement than anything that preceded their announcement.

Below are nine of the best of these new devices, including one expected before the end of the year.

Acer Aspire Iconia A100

The technical specifications of the A100 are a little on the low side of most of the other tablets shown. It supports a dual core ARM A9 at 1 GHz speed, and its screen resolution is less than the best: 1024 X 600 is still being sold but 1024 by 800 is where it is headed. The A 100’s storage memory is light at 8 GB, although it does have a micro SD slot to boost the external memory.

Other specs include a weight of 14.7 oz, a TFT-LCD multitouch screen, two cameras, WiFi, blue tooth, 2 USB ports, HDMI out and GPS. It also runs Android Honeycomb and retails for $329 at BestBuy. AT&T has a 3G model that they sell with a data services contract.

Reviewers generally like the device but think it is priced too high for its specs. I agree, but I hope that as the end-of-year selling season progresses we will see a price reduction closer to $200. With the Kindle Fire going for $199 and the B&N Nook Tablet for $249, it doesn’t make much sense for spending a hundred or hundred and fifty more for the A100. It was unfortunate that Acer brought out its new model just before either the Fire or Nook Tablet came on the scene. Acer and every other tablet seller will have to do some re-thinking on their price points.

Lenovo Idea Pad A1

Priced on sale at $220 today from Lenovo, this model was also introduced before the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, so it suffered a little from being overpriced for the modest specs it has. But, the assumption would be that it is a well-built device, coming from Lenovo. It features:

Texas Instruments OMAP 3622 ( 1GHz )  single-core processor derived from the ARM A8 Cortex family.

· 1024×600 screen

• Android 2.3

· Optimized for the Web with full Flash® support and instant synching

· More than 10 preloaded apps, with more available via Lenovo App Shop and Android Market

· GPS navigation in offline mode

· Integrated front (0.3M) and back (3M) cameras

· Trendy design available in black, white, pink or blue

· Integrated Bluetooth® and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi

· Measures 7.7” x 4.9” x 0.5”

· Micro-USB connector, microSD card reader

Its weaknesses are the single core processor and a lack of full Android Market Place support and running an older version of Android, v 2.3.

Its strengths are in GPS, cameras (not great, but OK), and good connectivity with USB and microSD memory capability. Lenovo may find traction for their new entry at a $150 price point. But Lenovo has failed to adjust its prices yet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Samsung’s lead in the 7-inch segment of the tablet market is based on its original machine, The Galaxy Tab. The picture to the right is its replacement. While it looks about the same, it is thinner, lighter and speedier.

The Tab 7.0 Plus includes a 1.2GHz dual-core processor; the older model had a 1Ghz single-core ARM Cortex A8. The new machines also uses Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system; vs. 2.x Hummingbird for last year’s model. The screen resolution remains the same at 1024-pixel by 600-pixels. One of the cameras is up to 2.0 megapixles from 1.3. Video resolution remains the same at 720p.

A major upgrade over the older model is as a media center. The new one can be used as a remote control for many tv, etc. Samsung has also added a USB port, a nice improvement.

The new model will arrive at retailers on November 13.

The Wi-Fi-only Plus model with 16GB of storage will cost $400 at Best Buy, Amazon and Tiger Direct. A 32 GB model is also available.

There can be little doubt that the price of the new 7-inch Tab will have to come down. It is one of the best of the current crop of 7-inchers, but at twice the price of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and with only marginal improvement in performance, it is unlikely to sell many of the new machines. I would look for big price reductions as the final selling season gets underway.

One other thing in its favor is the year’s experience Samsung has in working out the kinks of this small form factor and in enhancing its feature set.  Their 7-inch Tab was and is a well made, sturdy device.

 

Huawei, SpringBoard

The 1280-by-800 screen

Mobile hotspot 3G

1.2-GHz dual-core Qualcom Snapdragon processor

1 GB RAM and 16GB storage

 

Huawei’s tablet is probably the best of the new breed. Good screen resolution, hotspot capability and a fast, dual-core processor.

It is a fine machine. It is fast, great graphics and a full feature set. But it is beset by two major problems, at least at this writing.

First it is too expensive. Again, the Amazon $199 price will cut it off at the knees at its advertised price of around $400.

Second, for now it is available only through T-Mobile—the weakest of the four major national service providers of cell phone service. Part of its problem is that its T-Mobile pricing is quite complicated. You make a down payment (with approved credit) of $229.99 and get a card for a $50 mail-in rebate. Then, on top of the charges for a data plan the owner must pay $10 a month for the next two years. This totals to $429 over the course of the contract, and by that time, of course, you will want to get a new device, given the rapid changes going on in the industry. One must also pay for the data services.

Below is a cut and paste from the T-Mobile site as to its features:

5 Megapixel Camera

Bluetooth® connectivity

Calculator

Calendar

GPS with Navigation Capability

HDMI Out

Music player

QWERTY keyboard

USB Tethering*

Voice recorder

Wi-Fi enabled*

This is a good batch of specs except for external memory capability or USB connection. It is also overpriced when compared with an iPad2 or other tablets. I would like to see it sold with WiFi only, but Huawei seems to be putting all its eggs in the T-Mobile basket for now.

PC world has a hands-on review here. Generally the reviewer was impressed with its speed and ability to stream videos without hitches. But, the reviewer had only a few minutes with the device, so we must wait for a more comprehensive review.

 

Amazon Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire has generated more interest in tablet computers than any other product except the iPad. Kindle e-reader customers have suffered long with their eInk, non-touch readers, and there is obviously a large number of Amazon customers who were waiting for a full-color tablet. Amazon recently upped their initial production run to 5 million units that they expect to sell before the end of the year. Pre-orders have apparently gone well.

Video Review:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Opi9VZt8s

Written hand-on review from Associated Press: http://news.yahoo.com/review-kindle-fire-sacrifices-under-200-050342124.html

Hands-on review from Wired: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/11/kindle-fire/all/1

Specs on this $199 device are not outstanding. To get the price $300 lower than the iPad, they had to leave out things like cameras, high resolution screen (1024 X 600), 3G access and unmolested Android. But, the total package will probably work well for many users. It will surf, is tightly integrated with Amazon’s movies, music and electronic books. It will stream video, check e-mail and have some form of text entry for notes and letters. And Amazon has created its own browser that promises to be fast and capable. The video of a demonstration is impressive.

It also stores your movies, books and music on Amazon’s cloud storage facilities. This means you don’t need a lot of internal memory, thus saving more on production costs.

With Amazon’s marketing muscle and decent machine they will have a hit and probably end the year with the second place in tablet sales behind the iPad. In terms of pure specs, the Fire is more toward the low end of the market rather than the high, but when the build-quality and software integration is included in the definition it is not a low-end machine. It has a reduced feature set, but it does a great job in what it does.

 

Nook Tablet

The Nook family of e-readers and tablets is shown below, with the newest entry, the Nook Tablet shown on the right. Its specs are better than the Kindle Fire—it has a faster dual core and higher screen resolution, and it has more internal memory. It is also priced at $249.99, $50 more than Amazon’s product.(Click Here for  Review of Engadget)

For a more comprehensive review,see PC World’s Review Here.

Who can say how it will fare next to the Fire. Probably it will do OK. B&N gained credibility with their Nook Color as a fairly competent Android device, although it was marketed as a full-color e-reader.

I don’t think it will sell near as many as the Fire. Amazon has a larger customer base, and the integration with Amazon’s content will be attractive to many of their loyal customers. Nevertheless, B&N has a loyal customer base, too, so I expect they will do well with their new Nook Tablet.

HTC Flyer

The Flyer is a great 7-inch tablet. It is light, slim and has a great processor and screen. I wish all the 7-inchers were this good. It’s major problem is that it is a little too good. HTC has included pen-input capability, and this adds to the cost. While it is nice, not everyone needs it, and I wonder that it woldn’t have been better to offer two models, one with and one without this feature. But, that is only one person’s guess.

A hands-on review was published at Engadget (Click Here). It is a great machine. “. . . the 7-inch Flyer, the most unique of this year’s Android tablet offerings, opting for a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a sturdy aluminum construction that doesn’t even try to compete in the race for extreme thinness, and a Magic Pen to make you forget it’s running Gingerbread and not Honeycomb (yet).

Its display goes with the 1024 X 600, but it looks great. I have used it for brief periods—it is fast, bright and responsive. Viewing angle is much better than many, and it feels good in the hand.

When it first hit the market a month or so ago it was priced at $499—a killer for a 7-inch tablet. But it sat on dealer shelves until the price was reduced to $399. But it is still a notch too high, in my view.

It comes in two versions: 3G and WiFi only. Amazon sells a 3G version for $500, but it must be unlocked. None of the major carriers are selling it with a service plan for now.

Looking ahead:

The most interesting new 7-incher headed our way is the Samsung Tab 7.7. The new tablet, from the specs I have seen, it looks great.

· 7.7" SUPER AMOLED Plus*· 1280 x 800 WXGA· 197 pixels per inch (ppi)· 4-way rotation· Live Panel · Mini Apps · Clipboard · Hub for music, video (1080p), etc · WiFi, 3G, Blue Tooth · Front and back cameras · 1 GB memory + micro SD slot · 1.4 GHz dual core processor · Flash and Mobile Office suite · Sensors for proximity, GPS, Accelerometer, and others e-reading, games and remote control · WiFi, 3G, Blue Tooth · Front and back cameras · 1 GB memory + micro SD slot · 1.4 GHz dual core processor · Flash and Mobile Office suite · Sensors for proximity, GPS, Accelerometer, and others

The only problem with the nifty new device is that when and where it will be available is an unknown, apparently even to the executive suite at Samsung’s headquarters. Apple got an injunction against Samsung that prevents selling it in Germany and Australia.  Perhaps Samsung is fearful of the same thing happening in the U.S. The basis of Apple’s complaint was patent infringement, so this is a bothersome issue that may be a while before it is settled.

I will be first in line to see it if it ever makes it here. It may be a block buster of a product if it is priced right and the courts eventually allow it to be sold.  Otherwise, Samsung will have to pay some royalties to Apple on each unit produced.

The 7-inch market looks to come into its own this year and next.  I have found many uses for this size tablet, but it does not replace the iPad or other 10.1 Android tablet.  The screen size is simply to small to do a good job surfing in a serious manner.  I have also noticed that many power users have both sizes, so I am not alone in my opinion of its usefulness.

It is much preferred over a 10-inch tablet.As an e-reader, hotspot, email checker and some other functions,   It will be interesting see how this plays out.  Will the 7.7-inch make a splash?  Will Samsung’s other entry into the less than 10-inch market, the 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab 8.9, make it as a viable alternative?

I took the picture to the left at a local BestBuy showing my 7-inch Galaxy Tab below the Galaxy Tab 8.9.  The larger screen will not fit into my back pocket, but it certainly makes a better web browser.

I will be watching this new form factor closely to see if it finds traction in the market.

Barnes and Noble has yet to be heard from since Amazon surprised the e-reading world with its announcement of their entry into the tablet domain with the Kindle Fire.  On the surface the Fire looks uncomfortably close to the Nook Color with a dual core processor with tight integration with content on Amazon’s website.

On Monday it is being strongly rumored that B&N will finally answer the bell with a couple of new wrinkles on its original Nook Color.  The new device will carry the name Nook Tablet, and it will feature a 7-inch display powered by a Texas Instruments adaptation of a dual-core ARM chip that T.I. has given the sonorous name OMAP4. 

The chip chosen is similar to the one used in the Fire, although the Fire will use a Snapdragon variation of the same dual-core ARM design.  However, the Nook Tablet will run about twenty percent faster (1.2GHz vs 1.0GHz for the Snapdragon).  To B&N this speed boost justifies a $50 premium over the Kindle Fire.

The new B&N tablet will have the same resolution as the Nook Color and the Fire and will run a version of Android (what’s new) they have modified.  It will have some tie-ins with Netflix and Hulu and others, but it will be a more powerful Nook Color which runs a single core at a slower clock speed.

The Nook Tablet will carry a $249 price tag, while the older Nook Color falls to $199—not a moment to soon. 

Specs below:

• Display: 7″ touchscreen
• Processor: Dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU  (TI OMAP4)
• RAM: 1 GB
• Internal Storage: 16 GB plus a SD Card slot (expandable up to 32 GB; possible dual-boot with Android if it’s anything like the Nook Color)
• Battery Life: 4 hours for videos; 8 hours with Wi-Fi off
• Weight: 400 g
• Pre-orders start on November 7, arrive by November 16 in the U. S.
• Works with Hulu Plus, Netflix Pandora and more
• $250

A picture of the new Nook family of devices is shown below. 

The price of the eInk Nook will also drop to $99, more or less equaling the price move by Amazon on its black and white Kindle line.

The announcement is scheduled for Monday, November 7, with orders being delivered around November 16th.

The internet on their new machine will be accessible only through a WiFi connection.  I am curious as to whether a 3G/4G version might be introduced down the road.

With this announcement the 7-inch tablet world is being fleshed out.  From the Asian manufacturers not tied to book stores, the Samsung Galaxy Tab+, Acer’s A100, Toshiba and others, their feature is full Android capabilities.  These tablets can function as e-readers just as well as the Amazon and B&N devices, but they will not have the close tie-ins to content.  There is probably room for both designs, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

10/31/2011:  Barnes and Noble to Introduce new Nook Color Next Week?

From the looks of the announcement above it looks as if B & N is getting ready to release their first upgrade of the Nook Color, although it is not specifically stated.

The new Nook Color, if this is it, will be eagerly analyzed in terms of its competitiveness with the Kindle Fire.  If it is the new tablet, and if it is priced right at $199, then the Fire and the Nook Color will anchor the low end of the competition against the iPad. 

10/15/2011:  Motorola To Sell New “Family” Version of Xoom for $379 This Weekend

Motorola is trying something new tomorrow.  At Best Buy stores, and only at Best Buy, Moto has reduced the internal memory of its Xoom to 16BG, added a bundle of kid-friendly software and renamed the product as the Family Edition of the Xoom.  They have also chopped $120 from the price, and now, starting tomorrow, will be sold for $370. 

No one knows if this will be permanent or temporary, and whether the old Xoom will long continue not selling at its $499 price.  It may be a trial balloon to see how sensitive the tablet market is to a price cut.

No Android tablets are selling well at $499.  The iPad2 dominates this market at that price, and none of the competitors are offering a compelling reason to pay the same amount for what is a lesser product.  Adding some bells and whistles is not, so far, enticing many to buy their “almost” iPads.

All the producers are looking for ways to keep prices as high as possible but low enough to attract buyers.

10/14/2011:  Kindle Fire May Ship 5 Million Units by End of Year

An analyst for Rodmart and Renshaw, Mr. Ashok Kumar, now predicts that Amazon will ship as many as 5 millions Kindle Fire 7-inch tablets by the end of the year. This is an increase of about one million over previous estimates.  When asked why he was upping the forecast, he said. “They [Amazon] have received record orders.”

A potential fly in this ointment of optimism is the ability of Amazon to get delivery on enough of the 7-inch display screens.  This form factor has put a huge burden on existing manufacturers, and the total supply is highly constrained by existing production capacity.

By comparison, Apple is shipping about 12 million iPad2s each quarter.  Given that the Kindle Fire doesn’t begin delivering until November 15th, it puts the Kindle Fire in the top rank of iPad competitors.  The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 shipped only about 2 millions units its first year.

10/11/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus at $399 and $499

I was clearly wrong when I said earlier that Samsung got it about the proper pricing policy on 7-inch tablets.  I said that when they reduced the price of their Tab 7, the original 7-inch Android tablet, to $200 with a data plan.

As you can see from the ads above, the replacement of the original isn’t priced to sell.  It isn’t known yet whether the new Tab + will be able to take a SIM card for GSM cell phone capabilities, but if it is, then that would make these prices a little less onerous.  But if not, the prices they are starting with will leave this 7-incher sitting on dealer shelves.

10/10/2011:Acer Announces an Ultra-thin Laptop, The Aspire S3-951

Acer is first to market with a low-priced Apple MacBook Air competitor.  Acer is offering its second generation Core CPU (i5 Dual Core), a 13.3-inch HD screen, both a SSD and HDD, and a 0.51-inch thick aluminum and magnesium chassis that weighs just 2.98 pounds.

At a suggested retail price of $899 one can buy a configuration similar to the 13.3-inch ultra-thin MacBook Air, which retails at $1299.  The 13.3-inch 16:9 Acer screen features a 1366 x 768 resolution as opposed to the 13.3-inch MacBook Air’s 1440 by 900 (native) resolution.

The Aspire S3-951 comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, and the MacBook Air runs Apple’s iOS Lion.

Besides the price, another interesting feature of the Acer is its combination SSD and spinning hard drive.  The 20GB SSD handles the system files for quick boot times but a 320GB HDD gives the owner plenty of storage room.

The S3-951 will be in stores later this week, and an i7 model with greater SSD and HD storage capacity.  No hands-on reviews promised soon with are available as yet.

10/5/2011: Kindle Fire Orders @ 250,000 in Five Days

Least we doubt the effectiveness of Amazon as a marketer of tablet computers, A leaked document to TechCrunch shows that about 50,000 orders a day are coming in.  In the tablet world no other vendor except Apple’s iPad has equaled this number.  It looks as if Amazon has a winner with their new tablet. 

10/2/2011:  Amazon Buying WebOS and Palm?

According to the technology site Aventurebeat is reporting that Amazon is in serious negotiations with HP to buy the WebOS system. According to the report Amazon is negotiating for the entire Palm portfolio which includes the Palm smartphones, WebOS and many patents.

A case can be made for Amazon wanting WebOS. It is a capable OS that would distinguish Amazon’s Kindle line of tablets from all the Android system. It is harder to see that Amazon would want Palm itself, however. Them getting into the cell phone business as a producer seems farfetched, but it could happen. The Palm line of phones is so tainted with failure that it is difficult for me to see how Amazon could benefit from it.But, that is a call Mr. Bezos must make.

10/01/2011:  HTC Flyer Drops to $300 Today

One of the earliest pricing reaction in the 7-inch tablet world is HYC Flyer.  Yester it retailed for $500; today it sells for $299. 

It is hard to make a case for a $300 price of the Flyer, although it is one of the best 7-incher devices on the market today.  Two cameras, high res screen, fast, dual-core processor, and pen input.  Will tablet buyers go for an extra hundred in order to get these things?  We will keep out eyes out for signs of another price cut before the selling season gets toward its fever pitch.

The ability of electronic devices to morph from one form to another is a source of confusion in the minds of consumers. For decades there were tablet computers, but there were no electronic readers. Then electronic readers were introduced, and within a few years browsing capabilities were added, more or less as an afterthought but not done well.  But, the distinction between these two categories was blurred just a little.

Then the tablet computer morphed from a very expensive pen-centric business device that was a sub-category of a laptop into a hand-held device that is now a category of its own. It wasn’t long before Amazon and the other eBook sellers developed reader applications that allowed these new tablets to read eBooks, too. When you put a Kindle reader on an iPad, the iPad becomes an eReader, even though it was an afterthought of the designers.

Now we have two categories of devices that have inched closer to each others’ afterthoughts. The old distinctions are gradually melding into a commonality that makes it hard to make meaningful distinctions between them.

This confusion is not only demonstrated by the buyers of these devices. It is also on display by the blogs and eMagazine sites that keep track on the industry. As an example, notice what the data below shows how differently the different blogs and eMagazines treat this distinction.

PC World: Single category: Tablets/E-Readers.

Engadget: Separate categories: (1) E-Readers, (2) Tablet PCs. The Nook Color, by the way, is reviewed under the E-Reader category, although it could just as well be classified as a tablet.

Computer World No classification of either device

ReadWriteWeb No classification of either device

ZDNet Three categories: (1) iPad, (2) Tablets, (3) E-Books and E-Readers

Crunch Gear No specific classifications. They use “Mobile” and “Gadgets.”

Laptop Magazine Separate categories for Tablets and eReaders

Cnet Separate categories for Tablets and E-Book readers as a sub-class of Tablets

Tabletreaderinfo Single category: Tablet/eBook Readers

Sometimes our classification system fails us. And recently the original eInk providers, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, have introduced what are in fact tablets, but were designed and promoted as eReaders as their primary function. They also include tight integration of the eBook seller’s sites and all the electronic media capabilities. Still, they are tablet computers underneath and eReaders by heritage.

I don’t have a solution for this failure to clarify. Although there are two clear divisions between these categories: eInk vs not eInk. But, this is not convenient terminology for anyone, although it does describe the difference fairly accurately. We will probably have to live with this confusion for a while until one or the other either disappears or does some more morphing closer to the other.

On my site I find that I spend more time lately reviewing the eReading capabilities of tablets than I do reviewing pure, eInk readers. The market is clearly moving away from eInk, although it could make a comeback. But, I can’t see how. It is a hassle to carry two devices with you when one is enough, and the way the technology stands today, the clear winner is the tablet with eReading software. I almost never use my old Kindle anymore. My 7-inch Galaxy Tab or iPad has taken over this function.

Nevertheless, there are many avid readers who prefer their old eInk devices, and they are the best way to read if you are out of doors. But I don’t see a bright future for this old technology. I am most curious as to how this plays out.  But confusion will reign for a while longer.

Ray Hendon

These are muddled times in the 7-inch tablet computer market. Two of the best known brands, the BlackBerry Playbook and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7, are both due for major upgrades and large price cuts. There is a strong rumor that the Nook Color is due for a major hardware upgrade next month, and then there is the new Amazon Kindle Fire, priced at $199, that is going to shake much from the 7-inch trees when its sales begin next month.

A couple of other major players, Lenovo , whose IdeaPad A1 may be priced as low as $100, and Acer have new models either released or about to be whose pricing is rumored to be quite low. On the opposite end of the scale, HTC has priced their 7-inch Flyer at $500 (reduced in the last few days to $299) and you get the picture of how unsettled things are in this new market.

The 7-inch form factor began about one year ago when Samsung brought out the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 7. It was originally priced at $500, equivalent to prices of a 9.7 or 10.1-inch tablet. This was, in retrospect, a major miscalculation on the part of the Samsung. Their vaunted product sat on the shelves for almost a year before it became apparent that in the tablet world, small screens did not stand a comparison with their larger screen cousins. Price have been in a period of adjustment since their first introduction, and they will continue to drop until some equilibrium is reached and they can sell what they produce at an acceptable level of profit.

On the more positive side, by the time this year’s holiday selling season gets fully underway the pricing of the new and old models will probably be more or less settling down. They most certainly will be lower. And many of the new models will have enhanced performance characteristics. There will probably  be some blowout pricing of the old models (Galaxy Tab 7, Playbook and HTC) for starters.

The oddest development in this market is how many manufacturers are jumping into the fray in spite of the lackluster sales. The large screens, especially the iPad, have taken off, selling in the tens of millions of units, while the slow-selling Tab 7 has sold perhaps 2 million units and the Playbook, introduced much later, may sell one million by the end of the year, if the price falls enough. These are not the numbers most in the industry expected for the small screen tablets.

It is hard to see why the vendors are so anxious to compete for the few dollars being spent on this small form factor. It must be that brighter days ahead are being seen by those who attempt to measure and forecast this market. Most likely the Kindle Fire will ignite interest, but all the other vendors are going to have to scramble for their share.

Below is a brief showing of how today’s 7-inches compare and a similar treatment of what’s coming down the line.

· Samsung Galaxy Tab 7

This tablet set the first standard for the new generation of small screen tablets. It runs Android in a reasonably consistent and smooth touch operation. Its camera is good, it runs Flash, surfs reasonably well and has, for its age, a bright and high resolution screen.

It features an ARM Cortex A8 1 GHz processor. Although somewhat obsolete now when compared with the dual core Tegra 2, it still furnishes a livable surfing and video experience, and app switching is adequate. Screen resolution is OK at 600 x 1024 pixels. It has high speed WiFi and serves as a 3G hotspot for Verizon and AT&T, depending from whom you bought it.

I bought mine for $200 and I have used it for a Verizon hotspot when traveling, do light surfing, much email and more eReading. It’s small size comes in handy when holding it in one hand. I have dropped it more than I would like to admit, and it has survived it all. It is a well-built tablet.

Unfortunately, there is no future for this guy. Its 7-inch replacement has been announced but it not yet available. And, Samsung has anothers replacement at the FCC proving grounds now, and its screen has grown to 7.7-inches with an upgraded processor and higher screen resolution. If it is priced right it will probably do better than its older brother. I would think there will be some blow-out prices for it within a month or so.

· Galaxy Tab Plus

The replacement for the original Galaxy Tab 7 is the Tab 7 plus. Shown at right, the new Tab 7 plus adds some important enhancements.

For starters, it features an up-dated processor, a 1.2Ghz processor (probably a Texas Instruments OMAP), thinner, lighter and with better video and photo. It also can make phone calls and has a fast HSPA+ speeds for data.

· HTC Flyer (AT left)

The processor in HTC’s bright-screen tablet is a 1.5GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® that runs a 1.5 GHZ—very speedy This is an up-to-date chip, and the graphics and surfing ability of the Flyer are a tribute to a good design. Screen resolution, at 1024×600 TFT, is the same as the Galaxy Tab 7. It also features two cameras, GPS and Android 2.3. Its small screen can also be viewed on a large screen through one of its ports.

The Flyer also features a hand-held pen input. While nice, in some respects, it is not especially functional—it accepts pen input only as a graphic file.

It greatest drawback was its $500 price. But the day after the Kindle Fire was announced, HTC dropped its retail price to $299. Expect further price adjustment before long.

HTC has a good reputation for producing high quality equipment, especially in the smartphone market. But they didn’t factor in the effects of Kindle’s Fire. The fate of the Flyer is uncertain as of now.

 

 

 

• BlackBerry Playbook

The PlayBook is an “almost” tablet. It has an operating system that is almost great, but it needs some honing for stability and for features. If it had a more competent set of email and contact features it would be much better. It was almost a hit, but its high price of $500 scared away buyers in droves.

Recent price reductions will help it find traction, but its fate, too, seems to me to be uncertain.

Its sales have been about a fourth to a fifth of their projections. RIM is cutting the price to the bone in Canada. This will spill over into the American market soon, as will some major upgrades to its software bundle. AT $200 is may be more viable, depending on how it is perceived by its corporate clientele. But Amazon has given them what may end up being a serious body blow.

The poor guys running RIM have been consistently behind the curve on this one, and it is questionable as to whether they can recover. They may end up being a takeover target of some vulture venture. It’s a sad tale—their hardware is great and it was almost a hit. But this isn’t horseshoes

· Acer Iconia Tab A100

Acer Iconia Tab A100, the company’s first 7-inch tablet, and the first 7-inch tablet to run Android 3.2. It features a Tegra 2 dual core processor, a five- and a two-megapixel camera, and micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports. Honeycomb runs without any kind of Acer OS overlay and with no proprietary widgets.

When its price at $329 for the 8GB model and $349 for 16 GB, those can be expected to drop by a hundred or so dollars now that Amazon’s Kindle Fire has been announced for $199.

I do not know if Acer can make money at these prices, but if they can it will be competitive in the tablet space. Good specifications and solid build quality will garner some buyers. How well it will stand up to the Fire, though, is not clear.

Reviews of the A100 are middling, but they were all done before the Fire was announced. The A100 is a competent tablet, but it offers no compelling reason to buy it unless it is priced at, say $149.99. If so, it might stand a chance.

For an Engadget review of the A100, Click Here

Nook Color Reader

 

Barnes and Noble has already mentioned their new Nook Color. But, its announced price of $249 will not hold now that the Kindle Fire is announced. Whether B&N can compete head to head with Amazon in this space is purely conjectural. I give the edge to Amazon, but B&N has proven to be a fighter, and they actually lead to the development of the 7-inch form factor much ahead of Amazon.

· Toshiba Thrive 7

Toshiba has come up with a good 7-incher in its Thrive. It is light, high resolution, and the reviewer for PC World praised the text resolution.

Although pricing is yet to be announced, it will sell well if they can keep it around the $200–$250 level. Whether Toshiba can do this and make money, though, is not know. Click Here for review.

The current crop of 7-inchers is looking up, but it will be some weeks or more before final pricing is stabilized. While the Kindle Fire has taken the lead in future outlook with its low price, there is going to be some robust competition for the holiday selling season.

9/30/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Coming

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus was unveiled today, delivering an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet that comes with a 7-inch display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Boasting 802.11n wireless support as well as HSPA+ compatibilities, the new tablet also comes in two sizes: 16GB or 32GB with a microSD slot to add more storage.

No pricing is available yet which is not surprising given the blockbuster pricing announcement made by Amazon a couple of days ago.  It is rumored the Tab 7.0 Plus will sell for $200 with a 4G data plan contract with T-Mobile., but this has not been verified, nor has the availability of this new tablet.

It will be rolled out in Australia in October, and, presumably, later in the U.S. market.

9/27/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 In Next Few Days

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available for sale in the United States beginning October 2, according to Samsung.  Along with the announcement of the new device’s availability Samsung also mentioned a 4and 5-inch media player that will be available soon after that.

The price of the Tab 8.9 is said to be $469 for the 16GB version, with higher prices for more memory.  The new model is also apparently a WiFi-only model.  Perhaps 3/4G versions will be offered later.  Screen resolution is strong, at 1280 X 800, so the graphics should be great.

8/26/2011: Motorola Xoom in New 8.2 and 10.1-inch Models?

The rumor mills are flying now with photographs of two new Motorola Xooms in the factory. The top picture above is of the new 8.2-inch Xoom, supposedly to be called Xoom 2 Media Edition.  The second picture is of the back sides of the 10.1 and 8.2-inch Xoom 2.

The current preproduction models are said to be full of bugs, so it may be some time yet before we see these new machines.

The original Xoom does need an update to be faster and have more capacity, as well as lose some weight.  My first guess is that we will see both these new devices before December.

The news of the leaks have been reported in several blogs this morning.

9/24/2011:  Color Kindle Announcement on Wednesday?

All eyes will be on New York, N.Y. this coming Wednesday as Amazon convenes it recently announced press conference there.  The timing of the announcement and the mailing list of invitees strongly supports the supposition that the announcement will be about the Color Kindle, the highly touted potential competitor to the iPad2.

It is no longer a secret that a Color Kindle is in the works.  This has been confirmed by the top executives of Amazon.  Neither is it doubted that the new device is slated to be available for the upcoming holiday sales season.  Given this state of affairs, an announcement of its future availability will help put a stop to some of the early Christmas shopping for tablets, especially for Kindle aficionados.  It would be a major mistake to wait much longer before at least announcing the details of their new gadget.

It is possible, of course, that they could be announcing a new thinner touch Kindle or some other item.  But this scenario seems decidedly unlikely.  October is less than a week away.  The Christmas selling season is looming large.

I look for a seven-inch device, more like the Nook Color in design and price than the iPad2.  But I don’t know.  It could actually be more than one form factor—perhaps a seven-inch and a 10.1, too.

9/22/2011: Kindle Accepts Library eBooks

Amazon’s Kindle, for most of its existence, has been the leader in both sales and features of electronic books and book readers.  But for the last year or so it has lost the feature leadership to Nook and Nook Color.  The Nook was one of the first to joint the public library eBook lending.  Even the stodgy old Sony Reader series could borrow books from a public library.  Kindle was left out of this important ability, as is has in touch control.

But this changes today.  Now Kindle owners can set up a borrowing account with their local library and “borrow” an eBook for two weeks.

This move was done in the face of a clear trend for public libraries to get into the eBook business—pushed, of course, by the many eReader owners.  The growth statistics of library lending of eBooks is impressive.  From January to September of this year, according the to New York Times, the number of e-books checked out from public libraries increased by 75 percent over the same period last year.

There has also been an astounding growth of libraries around the nation that offer access to eBooks.  Two years ago only 12 percent of public libraries had this ability.  Today it is 67 percent.

Forrester Research estimates that roughly 15 million eReaders would be purchased in the U.S. this year, which will increase the demand for electronic services even more.

It is good to see Amazon responding to this new wrinkle in the electronic reading market.  The strength of the Kindle brand will contribute significantly to the growth of electronic reading of books and magazines, and it will help the Kindle stay competitive to an increasingly effective competition from Barnes and Noble and other reader sellers.

9/22/2011:  RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook Sales  About 1/4th of Projections

In April of this year, RIM forecast sales of 4-5 million PlayBooks in 2011. Unfortunately, RIM shipped fewer than 800,000 units during the first half of 2011 and monthly shipments have dropped to about 100,000 units in the third quarter, according to their manufacturer in Taiwan.

The discrepancy in the difference in forecast and actual sales is attributable to several factors:  features on the PlayBook were decidedly lacking, depending on owning a BlackBerry smartphone to even get one’s email or access to contacts, and the price was too high.

The PlayBook was originally priced at $499—the price of a low-end iPad, but the owner would get only a fraction of the screen size for the same money, not to mention fewer features and a more stable operating system.

In an earlier article I noted that the 7-inch tablet cannot reasonably be expected to sell for the same price as a full-sized tablet.  And, it appears, RIM is getting the picture.  They are offering some Canadian citizens who work for one of the primary cell-phone service providers a half-priced PlayBook.  I hope this price will stick, because that is probably the only way they can begin to meet their inflated sales expectations.

9/20/2011:  Samsung Galaxy 8.9 to Launch Sept. 22 at Best Buy

Samsung has announced that its new 8.9-inch tablet will be offered at most Best Buy stores on September 22.  Some stores will not get their inventory until the 25th, however.

This is a new form factor that places the screen size just under the iPads’s 9.7-inches and 1.3-inches above their new 7.7-inch device.

In my testing I find the 7-inch form factor to be almost unusable for ordinary surfing, since a full web page cannot be viewed in a readable font size.  But, the 8.9-inch may solve this problem, although there will be much added weight.

But the smaller dimensions are handy for eReading, eMail and other activities where the screen size is less critical. The small size make for easier hand holding and stuffing in a back pocket. The industry will, some day, settle on some standard sizes, but in its current stage, every brand seems to be searching for the best size for customers.

The specifications for this new form factor include overall dimensions of 9.1” X 6.2” X .3”.  Weight is under one pound.  This may be a viable product, but the final verdict will have to wait until some hands-on time.  I will file a report as soon as my local store gets its inventory. Comparing a couple of other small screen form factors.

Length/Width	Screen Size	% of iPad 2	Brand
9.1 X 6.2	56.42 Sq.Inches	81%	Galaxy Tab 8.9
7.48 X 4.74	35.45 Sq.Inches	51%	Galaxy Tab 7
10.1 X 6.9	69.69 Sq. inches	100.36%	Galaxy Tab 10.1
9.5 X 7.31	69.44 Sq. Inches	100%	iPad 2

The price of the 8.9-inch tablet is said to be $470 for the 16GB model, which is 94% of the iPad2’s $599.  This makes it more expensive per square inch of screen size, but apparently Samsung is counting on the benefits of the smaller screen and weight to make up for this discrepancy. 

9/16/2011:  RIM BlackBerry Playbook Heading for Lower Price

The rumors are that the BlackBerry Playbook, RIM’s 7-inch tablet, will soon fall in price, although no one is saying how much the price cut will be.  Sales of the Playbook have been from half to one third projections.  About 900,000 have been sold, but the units are nor measured in sales to customers but in sales to stores.  So no one knows yet how many have actually reached customer hands.

RIM’s profits for the last quarter were down over 50% from the previous year, so something must be done to correct the problem.  Since a brisk selling tablet was part of the company’s strategy for success this year, adjustments must be made.

The rumors are also stating that a coming software upgrade will bring a native email application and other enhancements, so the upgrade should help push sales when combined with lower prices.

Prices on 7-inch tablets has been dropping lately, so I would look for a $399 price or even lower. 

9/13/2011:  Windows 8 On Display on Tablet

Windows 8, the new OS from Microsoft that represents Microsoft’s answer to the touch interface of Apple’s IOS, is demonstrated in the video of Engadget. Click her for video and article on a hands-on demo.

5/20/2011:  eBooks at Amazon Outsell All Print Copies

Amazon announced that since April 1 of this year, sales of Kindle books at their site have exceeded sales of all print titles.  According to their press release, for every 100 printed books sold, 105 eBooks are sold.  Furthermore, free books are not included in the sales figures.

This change has been building for several years.  eBooks sales exceeded hard-cover sales last year.  But now both hardcover and paperbacks combined sell fewer copies than the Kindle books.

5/11/2011: New Android Releases To Be Consistent

The Android Operating System has been an astounding success.  According to Google, 310 different devices run on Android, and there have been more than 100 million activations of the OS to date.

But there have been problems.  There are so many versions of Android that work on only one devices, and the versions between devices is confusing to everyone, developers and the public. 

Google announced that a new release out later this year will be of a new type.  Any application written for any Android device will work on any other Android devices.  To accomplish, the app will adjust itself to whatever device it runs on.  Thus, a developer who releases an app for a smartphone will find that the same application will work on tablets and television sets.  The version number will no longer relate to any specific device.

This is huge for Android.  Not only developers but those who use the app will also gain much from this consistency.

5/06/2011:  Kindle to Walmart Stores Soon

Walmart has been selling eReaders for a long time, but they have not sold the most popular eReader, Amazon’s Kindle.  Walmart offered the Nook and a cheap Kobo to their shoppers.  But that deficit will be remedied with a couple of weeks as the nation’s largest retailer picks up the nation’s most popular eReader, the Kindle 3G and the cheaper WiFi-version that is ad-supported.

This is probably the final stage of the life of the Kindle and other E-Ink readers.  Tablets have been eating into their once sacred domain, and recent data from Nielson suggests the transition from a single-purpose reader to a multi-talented iPad, or Xoom or Galaxy Tab is strongly under way.  Only steep price drops will keep the E-Ink devices in the game.  Perhaps we will see a $75 Kindle in the future, or even a $50 price tag for the low end units.

5/5/2011: Barnes and Noble With a New eReader?

Barnes & Noble has filed an 8-K form with the SEC that reveals its intentions to introduce a new e-reader.

“The form, filed earlier today, says that the company "indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a new eReader device. . ." Considering the Nook Color just got Froyo, is it possible we’ll be seeing a Honeycomb version come the 24th?” (Engadget)

Nothing more is known about B&N intentions, but I will be monitoring this with great interest.  Is it possible they will beat Amazon to the punch again by bring out a full-fledged Android tablet to market?  Stay tuned.

4/28/2011:Moto Xoom Sells 250K Units 1st Month

Motorola reported that they sold 250,000 Xooms in the first month of its young life.  Apple’s iPad 2 has sold about 4.7 million over the same period.  There is some speculation as to whether Xoom is a success or a failure, although it is impossible to say unless the sales goals Moto had for its tablet were known. I have yet to read a single review of the Xoom that put it on parity with the iPad, so given its high price and limited configuration offerings, it seems like a moderate success.  Motorola expects to sell 1.5 to 2 million units for the full year.

A better test of Android’s operating system 3.0 will be when Acer, Asus, Samsung and Toshiba announce the sales of their10-inch tablets.  By the end of the first half of the year, we will have a better picture.

4/27/2011: Archos’ Arnova 8 Tablet Now Available

Archos, the maker of cheap tablets and other devices, has their latest tablet, the Arnova 8, a $161 budget tablet, available for shipping at Amazon now.   The tablet has an 8 inch, 800 x 600 pixel display, Google Android 2.1, 4GB of storage, and support for 720p HD video playback.

These are not impressive specs.  It has has a resistive touchscreen rather than capacitive and has an estimated battery life of up to 5.5 hours of video playback.

This device doesn’t qualify as a quality tablet, but at $161 plus shipping it may be of interest to some buyers.  It could do email, for example, and it has WiFi g.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Sold Out on First Day

“The tablet just went on sale in the States, and it’s already out of stock at most retailers. Buy.com, Amazon, B&H, TigerDirect, DataVision, Newegg, and Best Buy all show the tablet as either out of stock or available for pre-order.”  source: Liliputing

It isn’t known how many units the retailers had in stock when the sale began, but it must have been few.  But all of them running out so soon seems to indicate a strong potential demand for the new tablet/keyboard combination.

4/25/2011: World’s Only Typewriter Factory Closing

The last standing typewriter factory in the world, Godrej and Boyce, is closing its plant in Mumbai, India.

Typewriter sales have plummeted in the past several years: the company sold less than 800 machines in 2010, down from the 50,000 it produced every year in the 1990s.

The last models produced were for the Arabic language.

Time marches on.

4/24/2011:  Nook Color Upgrades to Android 2.2, Adds Apps

Barnes and Noble is sending out an over the air upgrade to its Nook Color owners.  The upgrade will install Android 2.2 on their device and give users access to the Nook Color’s own app store.

The new app store has about 125 appst to begin with, some free, some paid, including Angry Birds, as you can see from the upper right icon on the photo to the right.

The new app also include a default email application, which, when added to an upgraded web browser, brings significant enhancements to the eReader that make it closer to a standard Android 7-inch tablet.

The upgrade will be rolled out over the next few weeks to existing Nook Color owners.

Dell Streak 7-inch Tablet, WiFi Only for $399

Dell is ready to begin selling its 7-inch Streak with WiFi-only for delivery in a week or so.  Dell’s price for the WiFi model is $399.  Amazon is charging $20 less on their site.

04/23/2911 $499 HTC Flyer 7-inch tablet pre-sale next week at Best Buy

Best Buy will begin taking pre-sale orders for the HTC Flyer 7 inch Android tablet on Monday, April 25th. The tablet will be available in the US later this spring at $499.

The HTC Flyer features a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display.  It joins a fairly limited field of 7-inch screen tablet.  The Flyer will also accept pressure-sensitive input from an included stylus.  This ability gives it an edge against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and the BlackBerry Playbook, neither of which accept pen input..

The tablet has a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon single core processor and runs a customized version of Google Android 2.3. An Android 3.0 Honeycomb update is expected later this year.

/22/2011: Kindle eReader App for Android Up-dated For 3.0

The original Kindle eReader app for android was for smartphone-sized screens.  Although it would work on the Honeycomb 3.0 version, which was designed for tablets, it did not take advantage of the many features of the new OS.

Amazon has now fixed the problem by releasing a 3.0 version of the Kindle eReader software for Android.  This is good news for those who are in the market for one of the many new Android tablets coming to market.

The new tablet version offers a new layout for newspapers, magazines and is optimized to take advantage of the larger tablet form factor.

This was an essential update if Amazon want to continue its “buy once, read everywhere” policy.

4/21/2011;  Asus Eee Tab Transformer in U.S. April 26th, $399

This is good news for tablet buyers.  My earlier article (Click Here) provides the specifications and a couple of reviews.  A keyboard that attaches in a way to give it a notebook look and feel is said to cost another $150.  When Microsoft brings out an ARM based Windows this will be a viable product for laptop replacement.

4/20/2011: Amazon To Allow Kindles to Join Library Lending Services

Amazon announced Wednesday that it would join a library loan program for electronic books. The press release didn’t say the precise day the program would begin, but simply said “Later this year.”

More than 11,000 libraries in the United States participate in this electronic-book-loaning program, managed by a company called OverDrive. To see if your library has a contract with OverDrive, go to overdrivesearch.com and type in your ZIP code.

Amazon is late to the lending party. The Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Readers already allow users to check out digital books from their local libraries using the service. The company offers more than 400,000 digital books and has had a library loan program for e-books since 2003.

The electronic-book checkout process is similar to that for real-world books. Eligible books are checked out for a certain period of time — two weeks in many cases — after which they become locked and inaccessible on a person’s e-reading device.

One needn’t own a Kindle to use the service, but it is necessary to have the free Kindle app on the device you want to use for reading the book.  This can include Android smartphones, iPads, PCs, BlackBerries, Macs, iPhones, iPods and Windows Phone 7s.

4/19/2011: LG G-Slate on Sale Tomorrow at T-Mobile

LG’s G-Slate for-Mobile goes on sale in the US tomorrow, for $529.99 after rebate with a 2-year service plan. It will run $729 with no contract..

The G-Slate features an 8.9 inch, 1280 x 768 pixel HD display, a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor, 32GB of storage, and runs Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It features an HSPA+ modem for speedy mobile interenet access.

It also has a 3D camera.

The early reviews for the tablet are in, and here’s what people have to say:

• BGR: The G-Slate has excellent build quality, but there still aren’t many apps designed specifically for Android 3.0 tablets. The 3D video feature apparently works well, but BGR dismisses it as a “novelty.”
• Laptop Magazine: The 8.9 inch display makes the tablet smaller than other tablets, but it weighs just as much as the Apple iPad 2. The viewing angles are great and the screen is very bright, but text seemed a bit too sharp on some web pages. (That’s a problem I experience regularly on 10 inch netbooks with HD displays).

• Android Community: The tablet is one of the fastest around in terms of benchmarks, and the battery life is on-par with the Motorola XOOM.
• TechnoBuffalo: The form factor is great, but T-Mobile’s HSPA+ isn’t as fast as Verizon’s LTE.
• SlashGear: Aside from the pointless 3D feature, SG seems to like the tablet — but not the price tag.
• Engadget: One of the few reviews to run a real battery life test, Engadget found the tablet ran for over 8 hours when playing HD video. That’s about the same as the Motorola XOOM but it falls short of the Apple iPad or iPad 2.

Also, Edgadget rated it:

Narrower profile fits nicely in the hand
Lighter than the Xoom
Solid 4G speeds

Plasticy back
No WiFi version available
Poor cameras

it weighs 1.3lb;

Review of Engadget: Click here.

4/15/2011:  E-Book Sales Take Over

From a CNN report:

“The publishing tide is shifting fast: E-book sales in February topped all other formats, including paperbacks and hardcovers, according to an industry report released this week.

E-book sales totaled $90.3 million in February, up 202% compared to the same month a year earlier, according to a study from the Association of American Publishers. That put e-books at No. 1 "among all categories of trade publishing" that month — the first time e-books have beaten out traditional publishing formats.

Update on BlackBerry Playbook Reviews

For an answer to the recent criticism of RIM’s new PlayBook, the BlackBerry CEO, Jim Balsillie, said in a Bloomberg interview that  "We’ll have an over the air email client to announce very very soon. We haveBlackBerry World — our user conference — in a couple weeks. Stay tuned for all capabilities we have coming out on this stuff."

The reference to the email client was the absence of that critical application on the PlayBook itself.  Owners of BlackBerry phones can link their devices to the new PlayBook and take advantage of the phone’s email capabilities, but this was not seen as sufficient for most users.

The reference to BlackBerry World was referring to the absence of many apps for the new device.  Although they promise Android apps and the legacy BlackBerry apps will eventually work on the PlayBook, it is just a promise.  For those buying today, that isn’t much consolation.  If the “couple of weeks” prediction is true, it means that there will be some apps available when the new gizmo begins selling later this month.

RIM stock declined 3% yesterday after the raft of middling reviews were absorbed by investors.

New Generation 13.4-inch ultra-portable announced by MSI

My recent post about the new generation of 11.6-inch ultra-portables can be updated for a new entry into the market, although with almost two additional diagonal inches of screen real estate. MSI, the originators of the netbook, announced their new 13.4-inch ultra-portable, the X370.  Their new gadget uses the same AMD Fusion dual-core processor that Lenovo, HP and Sony use, the E-350.

4GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, HDMI-out are included along with a 1.3MP webcam, a 4-in-one card reader and an 8-cell battery for about 7 hours of use time. It weighs 3.8 lbs with the 8-cell battery.

Listed at $599, Amazon is taking orders for $579.

My review article of the new generation of ultra-portables is seen Here.

For a Laptop Magazine review of the new MSI, click here.

4/13/2011: Video of The New WebOS Emulator in Action

An instructive video of how HP’s WebOS will look and feel when the HP Tab is released.

 

 

4/11/2011:  Kindle Price Falls to $114 With Ads

Amazon announced today that the new Kindle with Special Offers will sell of $114 — $25 less than the currently lowest-priced Kindle.  The price reduction comes at a cost, however, as ads will be shown at the bottom of the device’s home page and its screen savers.  The new units will begin shipping on May 3, and it will also be sold in Target and Best Buy stores on that date.

This is another of a long line of price reductions of the Kindle, which began its life at a price of $399 in 2007.  No word on the Nook, yet.  It will be interesting to see if Barnes and Noble responds or keeps the Nook ad-free.

4/8/2011:  Acer Joins The Tablet Fray:  $450 10-Inch Model

Acer has announced its entry into the tablet world with its Iconia Tab A500 that will be available for sale in Best Buy and other retailers on April 24th for $450.

The new tablet will run Android 3.0, and the specs are impressive, essentially duplicating the Motorola Xoom:  a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 250 SOC, a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 LCD screen, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage, a 5 megapixel camera around back and a 2 megapixel imager up front, HDMI-out, not to mention a pair of 3260mAh batteries that Acer claims are capable of eight full hours of life while playing HD video.

No reviews are out yet, but I expect some soon.   This is important because it breaks the $500 price barrier for a full-featured tablet.

Apple Applies For Patent on E-ink/LCD Switching Display

According to information released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has applied for a patent that will allow displays on a screen to switch between LCD full color and an e-ink paper.  The device would detect when an eReading environment was needed and switch from internal illumination to e-Ink, making the display easier on the eyes and be capable of being read in direct sunlight.

This must be sending shivers through Amazon’s R&D department, for it would completely obviate the need for a separate Kindle-type of eReader in addition to, say, an iPad.

The sketch to the right is from the patent application according to AppleInsider.

This is only a patent application, so it is far from being a product, but it seems like a sterling idea to me.  I am one of those who likes to read on the light-weight Kindle with its e-Ink screen, so I have to carry it with me if I’m traveling.

Admittedly tablets are heavier and can’t be held as long as the Kindle, but it would still be a big advantage not to have to carry two devices.

 

4/7/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi for $350

The Galaxy Tab has not been a good seller for Samsung.  It was priced too high, way too high, and its feature set was good but not outstanding.  The prices of its 3G models have been slipping, and now the WiFi-only version is to go on sale April 10 for $350.  This price puts it $100 above the Nook Color, but its design and feature set may justify a slightly higher price, but the specs on it are less than compelling than they were last year.

It includes a 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display and runs Google Android 2.2. It has 16GB of storage and weighs 13 ounces. It’s also one of the few Android 2.2 tablets to come with access to the Google Android Market  and Flash video.capabilities.  The tablet has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Blueooth 3.0, and a USB 2.0 port.

The press release mentioned that it will be available at multiple retailers for that price

4/6/2011: Moto Xoom and Atrix Not Selling
Well

A report from analyst James Faucette of Pacific Crest says that neither of these new tablets are selling well.  The Xoom is priced too high and was up-staged by the introduction of the iPad 2.  The Atrix is also too expensive, and dismissed by some as a gimmick. Reviews have been mixed.

The sales of both are well below forecasts, with competition from the iPad 2 and from a welter of new Android tablets contributing to these high profile flops.

4/5/2011:  Dell’s 10-inch Win 7 Tablet Delayed

According to leaked documents from Dell, there is a new 10-inch tablet under development that runs Windows 7.  Its code name is Rosemount.

A recent insider story from Forbes indicates that the Rosemount tablet will be not see its first sale until the fall of this year.  Past rumors had it appearing in the summer months.

This will be a tablet aimed at the business user, and given Dell’s recently released five and seven-inch tablets, Rosemount will not make much of a ripple in the tablet-hungry population.  It appears to be more like the HP Slate rather than the iPad.

3/28/2011:  Samsung’s New Series 9 Challenge MacBook Air

Apple has owned the “Wow” factor for years in the ultraportable category of laptops.  The MacBook Air has been in a class by itself with the thinnest, sleekest, sexiest design available. Although there has always been a tradeoff between thin and performance, the MacBook Air keep its balance in an acceptable zone for those who demand a super thin and light ultraportable.  The image at right has the MacBook Air on the left facing the 13-inch Series 9.

Samsung has now joined the competition with its Series 9 laptops.  The two models are thin, light and powerful with a Sandy Bridge design i3 or i5 Intel processor.  Both the 13-inch and 11.6-inch models are drawing rave reviews for their looks and performance.  Price, as usual, though, is high.

The 13-inch Series 9, shown on the right side of the above graphic, is priced at $1,649.  I have no word on the price of the 11.6-inch version which is to be available in early April.

CNet has reviewed the 13-inch model and has a video of their demonstration.  I like their early statement: “. . .if ever a Windows 7 lover dreamed of getting his or her own MacBook Air, the Series 9 is it.”  This sets the tone of the review.  The new Samsung takes only three seconds to awake from hibernation, for example, and compares well in other categories.

CNet Hands-on Video Here

Their full review can also be read on the same site as the video reference.

3/25/2011  RIM BlackBerry Playbook to Run Android Apps

In an important achievement, Research In Motion announced on Thursday that users of its PlayBook tablet will be able to run Android and Java applications.

If the RIM’s new 7-inch tablet is to be successful, it must be able to have a wide library of applications available to its users.  With a brand new operating system, QNX, however, there would be few to no apps available for the Playbook.  By making the new OS capable of running Android apps, then, RIM has taken that objection away.

The details of the announcement state that the Playbook will be able to run Android apps of version 2.3 and later, and they will not be available on the Android Market.  Publishers will submit their apps to RIM who will make them available in BlackBerry’s own app site.

Rumors now stress mid April as the release date for the Playbook.

 

3/22/2011:  Amazon to Open App Store Tomorrow, We Hope

An unnamed "trusted source" has told Wired that their App store for Android devices will launch Tuesday, March 22. Customers will be able to purchase apps both online via the Amazon website and through a native application designed for Android devices.

It is already known that the store’s launch will come with at least one major exclusive: the latest in Rovio’s Angry Birds lineup, Angry Birds Rio, will launch first in the Amazon App Store before being distributed to other online outlets.

It will be handy to use Amazon’s “One Click” buying procedure on Android Apps, whether for paid or free content.  Also, a hacker got a look at the App Store earlier and found that many of the app prices are lower on Amazon than on the Android Market.

 

3/21/2011:  Asus Eee Pad Transformer in America Soon

Asus has a good idea in its new tablet design.  It may be bought with the optional keyboard that transforms it into a conventional netbook-like device.  Notice that the tablet mounts on the keyboard in a horizontal mode rather than vertical.  Good for Asus: I dislike the iPad’s vertical mount.

The specifications are familiar: A 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS capacitive multitouch display. It comes with 1GB of memory and 16GB to 32GB of storage. While it will run Google Android 3.0.  802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a mini-HDMI jack, audio jack, and microSD card reader complete the  basic configuration.

If the keyboard looks and preforms as well as it appears in the picture, this will be an important innovation in the tablet sphere—possibly ending the existing division between netbooks and tablets, although tablets cost much more to buy, a combination would be preferable for those who value the extra flexibility gained by a detachable keyboard.

The new device will be available in Taiwan by the end of this week and in America soon thereafter.

3/20/2011:  Amazon Working on Android Tablet Reader

The rumor that never dies: Amazon is developing a color eReader that competes with the Nook Color and the iPad.  There is a good reason this rumor refuses to die:  Amazon needs to offer a more comprehensive solution to eReading than its black and white eInk Kindle. In the latest round of competitive moves, Barnes and Noble clearly beat Amazon when they introduced their Nook Color. 

The color tablet fro B&N has proven popular, although precise sales figures have not been published.  In the blogosphere many in the technical press have praised the $249, 7-inch eReader/tablet.  It has been rooted and seems to make a credible alternative to other tablet designs.  Surely Amazon has been reading the tea leaves about a color device.  It appears that B&N beat Amazon badly with their Nook Color.

The new  rumors are fueled by hiring ads for Amazon’s Lab 126 website.  The New York Times reported: “At least five new jobs were added in the last week alone seeking developers with Android programming experience.”

Although Android programmers could be doing many things, the arrow seems to point to a new machine, and few would argue with the need for such a device from Amazon.  They have nothing on the market to counter B&N’s tablet/eReader, and they need one.

If Amazon is working on a competing device, I hope they go all the way with it and omit the proprietary layer of software that surrounds the Nook Color.  A pure Android OS would, in my view, be a much more competitive device.  It would capture some of the pure tablet market as well as conventional eReading, and Amazon’s marketing muscle could help them gain a foothold in this new market.

3/16/2011:  Motorola WiFi Only on March 27th

Motorola has officially announced that a WiFi-only version of the XOOM tablet will be  web available in the US starting on March 27th for a retail price of $599.  The WiFi + 3G model currently sells for $799.

Amazon, Best Buy, RadioShack, Staples, and other US retailers are reported to be authorized resellers and should be available in those stores on the launch date.

3/15/2011: HP Touch Pad With WebOS in June

The new CEO of HP, Leo Apotheker, announced that the TouchPad will be available for purchase in June.  HP announced the Tab in February for Summer availability. The Tab will sport a 9.7 inch display, a dual core 1.2 GHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3MP camera, and a 6300mAh battery.

Significantly the tablet will be the first device to run webOS 3.0, a version of HP and Palm’s webOS smartphone operating system optimized for tablets

The new OS is what excites most of the technology  community.  The forerunner of this new OS was written by Palm for smartphones, and the reviews of it from the technical side were quite good.  It was praised by programmers as friendly and competent.  HP has spent the last year working on it to make it usable on larger, tablet-sized screens.  This device will be as highly anticipated as the Xoom was for Motorola and the Playbook for BlackBerry.

3/9/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9” Set For 3/28 Debut

Samsung has made it official.  Their 8.9-inch Tab will be unveiled at a special press event on March 28th.

This side shot shows an exceptionally thin tablet, so it will rival the iPad2 thinness.The bulge is to accommodate the headphone jack, so you can get an idea of how thin it is if you look closely.

Samsung also has a 10-inch model that will be revealed sometime soon, giving them a total of three models: 7-inch, which has been out for months, a 8.9-inch and a 10-inch model yet to be shown.

 

Nook Color Gets GPS App Via Smartphone Tether

In a novel adaptation of a software app for the Nook Color, you can now use a $2.99 app to tether your smartphone to the Nook Color and get driving directions on the larger screen.

TetherGPS is available from the Android Marketplace for $2.99.

 

3/4/2011: Motorola Xoom WiFi Only for $539 as Sam’s Club?

An employee at Sam’s Club has leaved a photo of a large sign showing the Motorola Xoom with WiFi and no 3G for sale for $539.  This may or may not come to pass, but if it does it will relieve some of the pressure against Motorola for pricing its new baby too high. A $40 premium over the iPad 2 is certainly justified by the huge advantages of more storage memory, external ports and system memory on the Xoom.

3/4/2011:  Windows 8 Will Run on ARM Chips

Microsoft announced that the next versions of Windows, Windows 8, will run on System on a Chip (SoC) processors, including ARM.  Microsoft also demonstrated Office applications running in native mode on an ARM SoC device.

For the entire press release: Click here..

This is huge for the entire industry.  ARM chips are powering most of the tablet computers, such as the iPad, Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab and RIM;s BlackBerry Playbook.  ARM chips also run almost all smart phones. And most of these devices run either Android, iOS or RIMs older OS,  With this move, Microsoft has made itself a player.

Using tablets and smartphones with native Windows applications will open up portability of documents between architectures for the first time.  It will eliminate the often clumsy and time-consuming steps of converting documents from Word format, e.g., into Pages format for the iPad or other word processing apps on all the other ARM based tablets.

Partners on the new SoC project include NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Intel and AMD.  I would expect a rush of all the other OEMs to jump on this bandwagon soon, as it would be a huge competitive disadvantage not to have the ability to read and write legacy Windows application programs.

The big looser in the long run may be Android, which is now the leading operating system for tablet and cellphone devices.  The ability to run Word, Power Point and Excel files will give Google a serious run for its money.

The release version of Windows is expected in 2012, with Beta release expected in the second or third quarter of this year.

3/1/2011:  Barnes and Noble Selling Nook Color for $199 on eBay

Engadget reports that Barnes & Noble is currently selling itsNook Color on eBay with a $50 coupon code.  This bring the final price down to $199, which is $50 less than it sells them for in stores or on its own website.

This may be B&N’s way of testing the waters for how elastic demand is for their flagship product.

2/28/2011:  AT&T To Sell Kindle 3G in March

AT&T announced today that they will carry the Kindle (3) with 3G and WiFi connections in their company-owned stores in the United States.  Sales are set to begin on March 6, one week away.

The 3G part of Kindle relies on AT&T 3G signals, so it is natural for them to sell Kindles.  This will certainly increase the availability of Kindles, but the price will stay at $189.  For a video of a Kindle commercial look below.

2/25/2011:  Google Books Available on Androids and PCs

Google has created a new Books section of the Android Market. The Books tab shows up if you’re running the Market app on a tablet with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb (such as the Motorola XOOM which hit the streets today). But you can also browse the book listings in the web version of the Android Market by visiting market.android.com/books in a browser.

You don’t need an Android tablet to use the new books directory. You can select any title and click the “Get it Now” button to add it to your Google Books account. From there you can read the title on any computer with a web browser, or access the books from a mobile device running the Google Books app for Android or iOS. The Barnes & No

 

2/23/2011:  New iPad to be Announced March 2nd

Apple has scheduled an event for March 2nd, and according to Kara Swisher at All Things D, the company will likely unveil the second generation iPad at the event.

There isn’t much speculative about Apple’s plans to up-grade the iPad with new features.  This has been in the works since the day after the first iPad was introduced.  Rumors about new features include a much higher resolution screen, dual-core processor, and two cameras.  Light Peak ports are also talked about as well as multiple 3G mobile broadband capability.

2/17/2011:  Kobo Assures its Borders Customers All is Well

It was some months ago that Borders decided not to develop their own eReader hardware or  its own library of electronic book titles.  Rather than make a major investment in the new technology, Borders farmed the entire job out to a third party, Kobo.

It was Borders’ attempt to get by on the cheap; in retrospect, probably not a good idea.

Now that Borders has filed for bankruptcy, Kobo is out with a note to their Borders clients that there will be no interruption to their reading experience.  Kobo is financially independent of Borders and can continue supporting their clients.

I wonder without the draw from Borders how Kobo will do in the future.  Of course, Borders will emerge from bankruptcy eventually, but their long term survival is by no means assured.  Their management was too far behind the curve to make the cut in the new electronics world.