Quad-core gets cheap: $99 Cherry Mobile tablet hits the Philippines

Remember when a quad-core processor was the mark of a top tier, expensive phone or tablet? That's such a 2012 way to see the world. Not only can you pick up a Google Nexus 7 tablet with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip in the US for $199, but if you happen to be in the Philippines, you could soon pick up a Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt with a quad-core CPU for $99.

Yugatech reports the tablet packs a 7 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display and a 1 GHz Action Semiconductor AM7029 ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor.

While that chip isn't as speedy as the Nexus 7′s Tegra 3, it should be faster than anything you would have found in a $99 tablet a year or two ago.

Throwing extra processor cores into a chip doesn't always result in faster performance, but it generally helps with multitasking capabilities, among other things.

The Cherry Mobile Fusion Bolt is also expected to feature 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, WiFI, Bluetooth, a front-facing camera, a microSD card slot, and a 4000mAh battery. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, measures 0.42 inches thick and weighs 11.3 ounces.

If the tablet looks familiar, that's because it appears to be a rebranded Ainol Novo 7 Venus tablet with a slightly slower processor.

According to YugaTech, the $99 tablet should go on sale in March.

via reddit

Quad-core gets cheap: $99 Cherry Mobile tablet hits the Philippines is a post from: Liliputing

Canonical to announce a tablet, or tablet OS?

Canonical plans to release an early build of Ubuntu Phone OS on February 21st. But that's not all the company plans to do this week: on February 19th, Canonical is preparing to announce something related to tablets.

That's about as specific as we can get at the moment, but Canonical has posted a countdown timer on its website with the text "Tick, tock, tablet time!"

The last time Canonical ran a countdown timer on the Ubuntu homepage, the company unveiled Ubuntu Phone OS.

So what's next? Canonical has already released preview builds of Ubuntu designed to run on the Google Nexus 7 tablet. So could the company be planning to launch its own tablet? Will Canonical unveil hardware partners that plan to ship tablets with Ubuntu? Or could we just see a new build of Ubuntu 12.10 for the Nexus 7?

We should find out on February 19th.

Canonical has been pretty vocal recently about plans to make its software compatible with phones and tablets as well as desktop and notebook computers. It looks like 2013 is the year that's all going to start happening.

via OMG Ubuntu

Canonical to announce a tablet, or tablet OS? is a post from: Liliputing

Tizen 2.0 released (Linux-based OS for phones, tablets, more)

The developers of the Linux-based Tizen operating system for mobile devices have released the source code and software developer kit for Tizen 2.0.

Tizen is an operating system designed for phones, tablets, in-vehicle systems, and other touch-based devices, and it's designed to run apps written using web technologies including HTML5.

Tizen 2.0 adds new APIs that developers can use to access Bluetooth and NFC function on phones with that hardware, as well as improved developer tools.

While there aren't any phones or other devices shipping with Tizen yet, word on the street is that Samsung is working on devices that will use the open source operating system.

Samsung is already one of the top makers of phones and tablets, but right now the company's fortunes are very much tied into Google's Android ecosystem. While Google releases source code for most versions of Android, allowing Samsung and other companies to put their own special spins on the software before releasing products to the public, the source code is only released at Google's discretion.

Tizen is more of a community-supported project, and as a major backer, Samsung has more input into the direction the software takes during the development process. In other words, Samsung can exert much more control over the software that runs on its devices if the company ships phones and tablets with Tizen than it can with Android.

That doesn't mean Samsung is going to dump Android anytime soon. But it's not surprising that the company is looking to hedge its bets — and if Tizen products are commercially successful we could one day see companies like Samsung move away from Android.

On the other hand, Android already has a built-in fan base of its own at this point, plus a marketplace with over 700,000 apps available for download. It's tough for any new operating system to compete with that.

Tizen 2.0 released (Linux-based OS for phones, tablets, more) is a post from: Liliputing

LG Optimus G Pro: It's like the Optimus G, but bigger, faster

LG's next big thing is literally big. It's a smartphone with a 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display. In other words, it's about the size of a Samsung Galaxy Note phone, but it has a higher resolution screen.

The LG Optimus G Pro also features a shiny new 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor. The Verge reports the phone is expected to ship in North America during the second quarter of 2013.

LG's previous phone, the Optimus G features a Snapdragon S4 processor and a 4.7 inch, 720p display. Google partnered with LG to build the Nexus 4 smartphone, which is basically an Optimus G with rounded edges and no official support for 4G LTE networks.

That doesn't mean we should expect a Nexus 5 phone with a bigger screen anytime soon — Google has previously partnered with HTC and Samsung on Nexus phones. There's no guarantee the next model will be based on an LG design.

But if you're looking for a phone with an enormous display and an awful lot of pixels, it looks like LG may have you covered in a few months.

The phone is also expected to feature a 3140mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and Android 4.1.2 software. There's a 13MP camera on the back and a 2.1MP front-facing camera, and the phone features WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, and video output with a SlimPort HDMI adapter.

LG offers a smaller version of the Optimus G Pro in Japan, featuring a 4 inch screen.

LG Optimus G Pro: It's like the Optimus G, but bigger, faster is a post from: Liliputing

MediaTek's MT6589 quad-core CPU benchmarked: It's fast (for a budget chip)

Chip maker Mediatek might not be a big name in the US, but the company's low power ARM-based processors are showing up in a growing number of phones and tablets in China, India, and other nations. The latest Mediatek is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, and while it's not quite in the same class as the chips powering the Google Nexus 4 or Nexus 10, it appears to be a pretty speedy chip that's almost as fast as the best processors from early 2012.

The folks at thinkdigit have been testing one of the first phones to feature a Mediatek MT6589 processor, and they've shared benchmarks suggesting that the phone is almost as powerful as a Samsung Galaxy S III, and much faster than most phones in the same price-range.

thinkdigit.com

The Micromax Canvas HD A116 features Mediatek's quad-core processor, a 5 inch, 72op display, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and dual SIM card slots. It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and the phone is available in India for about $277.

According to benchmarks from thinkdigit, the phone gets an Antutu score of about 13148 and a GLBenchmark Egypt score of 4866. While it's hardly the fastest phone around, it's a relatively inexpensive option that's speedy enough to handle almost any Android game or app you can throw at it.

Unfortunately thindigit also reports that their demo unit also rebooted unexpectedly a few times, but it's not clear if that's a widespread problem.

While the Micromax Canvas HD A116 is only available in India at the moment, we should start seeing other devices with Mediatek's quad-core MT6589 chip soon. There's a rumor that Archos plans to bring a 4.8 inch smartphone to market featuring the processor. And Chinese retail marketplace AliExpress has listings for several phones powered by MT6589 chips, with prices running from about $250 to about $450.

MediaTek's MT6589 quad-core CPU benchmarked: It's fast (for a budget chip) is a post from: Liliputing

Mouse Computer LB-T516E 15″ Laptop for $607

Computers will always be the biggest necessity of every era following its creation. Along the side dishes comes in, like the mighty IPad and the over flowing production of Android tablets and convertibles, it will always be boiling down to one and single goddess of modern day devices and gadgets, computers and its relatives; the mother of all smart innovations.

Cognizance of this fact has been suggested by a lot of analysts and reviewees. It equips the industry with all the necessities keeping up with the daily dose of convenience and easier work load. Not only that, leisure and amusement is stuck as an enchanting additional. Following along the precept and concept, Mouse Computer is having a nice touch with its LB-T516E.

The Mouse Computer LB-T516E is packed to sport a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlight display, an Intel HM76 Express Chipset, a GeForce GT 640M 1GB graphics card, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE and runs on Windows 8 64-bit OS.

The LB-T516E deduct a 56,700 Yen or at about $607 from your long kept savings account.

via

Mouse Computer LB-T516E 15″ Laptop for $607 is a post from: Eee PC

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Afford a Mogu S1 5″ Phablet at Only $48

There had been a context that the Aakash Indian tablet will keep the consumer industry at the stance of saving they say that it is cheaper at sub$100 or even $50 or $35. However, it turned out that there is more than what this Indian tablet can offer thru the Mogu S1.

The Mogu S1 is a 5-inch phablet which could be bagged at $48. Said device is running to be an Android tablet. Mogu S1 is coming from a well known brand situated in China which has a special reputation for making some of the most affordable touch screen handsets in the slate business. This device as produced is especially based on the Samsung Galaxy design. Additionally, it is packed with a 5-inch WVGA 800 x 480 display, a single core 1 GHz CPU and a 2 megapixel camera at the back. Upfront there's a VGA camera and other specs include Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 2000 mAh battery.

As per current updates, there has been no confirmation yet if said Phablet will be a dual sim device or not at all. Nevertheless, words are not closing their doors to such possibilities. As to the type of Android system, it may come with the ICS or the Jelly Bean. Price of these slate will be marked a less than $50.

via

Afford a Mogu S1 5″ Phablet at Only $48 is a post from: Eee PC

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Bring a little of Ubuntu Phone OS to Android with Ubuntu Phone Experience

Ubuntu Phone OS is an upcoming mobile operating system based on Ubuntu Linux. Among other things, it has a touch-based user interface that's different from anything we've seen on smartphones so far, including a side panel which lets you launch frequently used programs just by sliding your thumb from the edge of the screen.

But you don't have to wait for Ubuntu Phone OS to get that side panel – you can download and install an app called Ubuntu Phone Experience on virtually any Android phone today.

Ubuntu Phone Experience lets you create a list of apps to bring up in the sidebar, adjust the opacity of the bar, and tweak the sensitivity so you don't accidentally open the sidebar when you're trying to do something else with your phone.

Right now you'll have to enable support for apps from unknown sources to install Ubuntu Phone Experience on an Android 1.6 or later phone — it was available from the Play Store briefly, but it's been removed (probably because the Ubuntu name is trademarked).

Until the app has a new name, you can still download the app from a link at the xda-developers forum, provided by developer fmaster1.

via reddit

Bring a little of Ubuntu Phone OS to Android with Ubuntu Phone Experience is a post from: Liliputing

iFixit disassembles the Surface Pro, doesn't recommend trying it at home

The Microsoft Surface Pro is basically what you get if you take an ultrabook, throw it in a 10.6 inch tablet case, add an active digitizer and stylus, and call it a day. It's a computer in a sleek, compact package which offers decent performance and less-than-stellar battery life.

But it's what's on the inside that counts, right?

The folks at repair shop and community iFixit took apart the Surface Pro to find out.

While there aren't many surprises under the hood, the iFixit teardown does reveal that the tablet has a RealSSD C400 solid state drive with read speeds of 500MB/s and write speeds up to 95 MB/s.

The teardown also reveals that the tablet is awfully difficult to take apart.

Microsoft's design includes an awful lot of adhesive, which means that in order to rip open the device you need to use a heat gun to melt the sticky stuff before prying off the screen — and this could damage the tablet if done improperly.

Inside the case there are about 90 screws holding various components in place. If you're trying to repair a specific component you probably won't need to remove every screw, but depending on what you're looking for you might give your screwdriver arm a bit of a workout.

All told, iFixit gives the Surface Pro a repairability score of 1 out of 10 (with 10 being the easiest to fix). The cheaper Surface RT tablet, on the other hand, scored 4 out of 10.

iFixit disassembles the Surface Pro, doesn't recommend trying it at home is a post from: Liliputing

Opera moves to Webkit for PC, mobile web browsers

Opera has been making web browsers for nearly two decades, but the Opera browser for desktop computers has never come close to rivaling Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, or Chrome in popularity. Opera's mobile browsers, on the other hand, have been quite popular in recent years — Opera says it now has 300 million active users across all of its PC and mobile browsers.

So it's an interesting time to see the company announce a major change: Over the next year Opera will be moving from its own Presto rendering engine to WebKit, an open source rendering engine used to load web pages in Safari, Chrome, and many other web browsers.

Presto is a speedy rendering engine, and it's designed to support web standards — but because Opera isn't as widely used as some other browsers, many web developers don't bother to test their apps to see if they're compatible. As a result, while Opera strives to support web standards as much (or more) than any other company, there are still some popular web sites and web apps that don't load properly.

By moving to WebKit, Opera can spend more time adding features to its browsers rather than working to improve the underlying rendering engine.

The developers are already contributing to the development of WebKit and Google's Chromium open source browser, so the company isn't giving up on development of rendering engines altogether. But by adopting an existing engine the company can free up many developers to work on other aspects of its software.

So what does this mean for users going forward? While upcoming versions of Opera will likely maintain existing features such as Speed Dial (shortcuts to your favorite websites on the new tab page) and Link (which lets you sync your data across device), developers at Opera are also working on entirely new ways to interact with a browser.

For instance, last month the company showed off an upcoming gesture-based web browser based on WebKit. It's code-named ICE, and it's designed for tablets and other mobile devices. Opera also plans to show off a new Opera browser for Android at Mobile World Congress later this month.

Opera moves to Webkit for PC, mobile web browsers is a post from: Liliputing