Monday, March 12, 2012

Update - 67



Posted: 26 Feb 2012 03:38 AM PST

HTC plans to announce something exciting at MWC today – the long rumored HTC One X and HTC One S, also known as Endeavor and Ville, respectively. In fact, the Taiwanese have been literally counting the days to their Sunday announcement. But, as it so often happens, somebody had to come along and ruin the fun for HTC.
Yesterday, Marco Polo, an Italian shopping site, briefly listed One X and One S for sale, complete with specifications and images. Actually, as The Verge reports, the two devices were posted under their previous circulated codenames, Endeavor and Ville, which adds to the confusion that built up over the last weeks.
But the cherry on top comes from a Greek tech site that posted images and full-specs of One X, leaked from what seems to be an official HTC release.

HTC One X Specs

The biggest news: HTC One X will run on the Tegra 3 4-Plus-1 architecture from Nvidia, with 1.5 GHz clock-speeds. Other specs include Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 1 GB of RAM, and an 8 MP camera. These specs fall nicely into place with the specs leaked on the Italian shopping site and reported by The Verge.

Here's a full list of specs, courtesy of FullGsm.gr:
  • 9.29mm thick
  • 130g in weight, battery included
  • 4.7-inch Super LCD2 screen, 1280 x 720 HD resolution, Gorilla Glass
  • Quad-Core Tegra 3 processor
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 32 GB internal storage
  • Free 25 GB of cloud storage from Dropbox (for two years)
  • 1800 mAh battery
  • 21Mbps HSDPA radio, quad-band
  • NFC-enabled
  • Wireless HDMI, DLNA
  • 5-pin Pogo Pin connector
  • 8MP rear camera, LED flash, 1080p video recording,
  • 1.3MP front camera
  • Beats Audio
If you're wondering about the price of this baby, it's €699 with no contract or about $935. You asked for it…

HTC One S and One V also coming

For HTC One S, we don't have yet the full spec sheet, but judging from the Italian leak, the One S will be quite similar to One X, except:
  • Dual-core processor instead of the One X's Tegra 3 quad-core
  • 16GB of internal storage instead of 32GB
  • 960 x 540 resolution instead of 1280 x 720
The price of the One S will be €599, or about $801, without a contract.
We also expect news about the One V, a smaller, cheaper device, heavily oriented towards music lovers, to become public soon, too. The One V will probably sport a dual-core 1Ghz processor, a 3.7-inch screen, and 1GB or RAM. The device will feature its Beats Audio integration prominently (HTC is a partial owner of the Dr. Dre-styled brand).

More details as they come

HTC will launch the One S, One V, and One X later today. Our guys are on the MWC floor, ready to fill us in with the latest news, so make sure to check back soon!

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This article, HTC One X and HTC One S Specs Leaked Before Big Announcement , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 01:56 AM PST

Have you ever wanted to dabble in network security testing? How about to test the security of your own network? The Android Operating System is the perfect platform for mobile pentesting applications. What is pentesting, you may wonder? Pentesting stands for penetration testing, and is the practice of testing a computer system, network or web applications for potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Sounds cool, right? Read on.
This article is technical in nature, and only serves as an information guide for people curious to maximize the utility of their Android device. If you choose to pentest with your Android device, keep it legal, and only do it on networks that you own, or have permission to access. 
It is public knowledge that Android is based on a Linux kernel which allows for a large amount of modification. In fact, Linux is already commonly used for network pentesting and has been for many years now. In order for pentesting to work, the Android device would definitely need to be rooted, but with the right software, any Android device could be a lethal hacking tool.
There doesn’t seem to be any exception to the statement that every Android device has WiFi. After you root an Android device, you have as much software-based access to the device as is currently available, so that means you can do whatever you want with the wireless interfaces of the device. At least a few developers are publically known to be working on modifications for Android devices that would enable the functionality I’m speaking of.

An example of one pentesting platform that showed promise is Zimperium’s ‘Anti’. Anti offers OS detection, WiFi monitoring, exploitation of vulnerabilities, etc. Unfortunately Anti uses a token system that would just plain drain the average wallet.

There are other tools focused on wardriving, cracking, and analyzing wireless networks available for Android phones but it seems there is a lack of full on free applications with which to actually exploit vulnerabilities of target machines. This issue could be solved by making new programs for Android phones with these functions, installing a new OS in dual boot using SGS2 Dual-Boot Setup or another tool, or by porting already existing Linux programs to the Android OS.
Porting existing programs seems to be the best option.  One reason for this is that you would not have to learn new tools if you have experience with pentesting on a laptop or desktop computer. Another reason is that if you use a program that is already well suited for its task, you only have minor problems to worry about (unlike building from scratch). Lastly, Android is already Linux based and there is very little that stands in your way if you wanted to make Linux command line tools designed to run on Android.

Nmap is one tool that would be essential in such a toolset. Nmap is an application with a command line interface(CLI) and an optional GUI that scans a potential target for network vulnerabilities. Due to Nmap’s CLI, as soon as it’s prerequisites are met on the device, Nmap should work just fine.

Another tool that would be useful to port would be Aircrack-ng. Aircrack-ng is commonly used for cracking wireless network passwords. It does this by monitoring wireless communications and using the information it gathers from the captured packets. Aircrack is primarily a command line program and could be quite simple to port. Aircrack-ng would simply need to be allowed to access the device’s wireless hardware and have all prerequisites installed.

Kismet now works on Android 4.0 - still unstable, but it's a start
The next tool an Android pentesting system could use is a Bluetooth capture tool. Kismet is a command line tool that allows raw packet capturing on many interfaces including Bluetooth, and WiFi. Another feature of Kismet is that you can install plugins that allow for raw capturing on more interfaces. Kismet could be a useful program to include in this Android Pentesting Suite.
THC Hydra could also come in handy. THC Hydra is a command line based tool for network login hacking with an optional GUI. THC Hydra can crack passwords using bruteforce or it can try to see if the password is in a wordlist. This tool could prove useful when attempting to get access to a server located somewhere on the internet. Hydra is an essential inclusion in a pentester’s arsenal.
Yet another tool to include is John the Ripper. John the Ripper is another login cracking tool which would be very useful for privilege escalation on a computer you already have access to but need higher access priveleges for what you wish to do. John the Ripper is command line based and as with the others should not be difficult to install on an Android device.
The last thing I will include in this list, and probably the most important, is a fast and easy way to make scripts on your device. This could be of use whenever a new program needs writing wherever the user may be. An already existing Android app that allows for this is C4Droid.  C4Droid is a C/C++ compiler designed for Android. C4Droid is $1.50 on the Android Market.
All of these tools, when developed, could easily make Android devices into the next great hacking tool. Any thoughts?

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This article, Can Android Be Used As a Pentesting Platform? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 01:50 AM PST
With the Galaxy S2 still going strong (over 10 million units sold in the last four months), we understand why Samsung isn't hurrying to out its successor, the Samsung Galaxy S3 (or S III, as the official branding goes). But for true Android fans, the wait for Koreans' new flagship device is agonizing.
The S2 is a wonderful piece of hardware, so our expectations for the next generation of the Galaxy S are lofty. Thankfully, more and more rumors indicate that the S3 will definitely be worth the wait.
BGR claims that the new Galaxy S3 will treat our eyes with some serious eye candy. According to their sources, the new S3 will boast a magnificent 4.8-inch display, probably a Super AMOLED Plus HD screen. In other words, if you love the display of the S2, you'll absolutely adore the S3.
Another juicy detail concerns the design of the phone. We already knew that the S3 would be super-thin, with one source claiming a 7 mm profile (the thinnest S2 is 8.49 mm "thick"). Now, BGR tells us that the Galaxy S3 will have a ceramic back cover, instead of glossy plastic, like the previous iterations of the series. The ceramic cover may improve the grip and appearance of the new device, but may also add to its weight. But again, if the 7 mm thickness rumor is true, Samsung can afford to add a few grams with a more solid back plate.
The new information completes the picture of the Galaxy S3. To recap, here are the presumed specs that we know so far:
  • Quad-core processor, possibly an Exynos 4412 (32 nm, Cortex A9, 1.5 GHz)
  • 4G LTE connectivity
  • 2GB of RAM
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera
  • Super AMOLED Plus HD display
  • 4.8-inch screen
One more thing – the Samsung Galaxy S3 will supposedly launch in 50 markets and cities simultaneously. And no, the big announcement will not come at MWC next week. Instead, Samsung is said to be running a special event later this year, one that would be closer to the actual launch date of the S3. From what our sources have told us, Samsung should be holding their official launch party sometime in late May, early June 2012.
Stay tuned for more information!

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This article, New Details Emerge on Samsung Galaxy S3: Ceramic Back, 4.8-inch HD Screen & More , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 26 Feb 2012 01:23 AM PST

Have you ever caught yourself reading a book, coming across a word, and being unable to continue reading because you feel the absolute need to know the word’s definition right now? Alternatively, you can be a writer who wants a synonym to that word you’ve used dozens of times since you started this chapter. Maybe you’re a student who keeps hearing your teacher use a word that you’ve never heard of before?
Regardless of who you are and what you’re doing, WordWeb Dictionary is here to answer your word definition needs. This app may have been available on the iTunes App store for a while now, but WordWeb Dictionary has just arrived on the Android Market.
Regarded highly for its comprehensive English dictionary and thesaurus, this app lets users view definitions of both words and phrases, complete with examples of usage, pronunciation, synonyms, sentence structures and related words online and offline.
WordWeb Dictionary also provides easy navigation between words in alphabetical order, pattern-based search, real-time suggestions, the ability to bookmark favorite words, and even integrated support for browsing Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Answers.com, and Google for more references. If you’re feeling bored, you can entertain yourself by looking through meanings of random words and bolstering your vocabulary.

When you run this app for the first time, you’ll need to download the 26 MB database file, but that’s a small price to pay for the abundance of words this app gives you access to. That’s 285,000 words, phrases and derived forms, 225,000 word sense definitions, 70,000 usage examples, 85,000 text pronunciations, and even access to synonyms, similar, and related words.
The database also covers North American, British, Australian, and International English. If those numbers aren’t impressive, the best part is that WordWeb Dictionary is free and you don’t need a connection to the Internet to have access to WordWeb Dictionary’s database. After you download it, the power of looking up words is at your fingertips.
WordWeb Dictionary also has useful functions, like intelligent word entry that suggests possible correct spellings as you type, as well as listing words that sound the same or are often confused. That’s very useful when you only remember the first few letters of a certain word but can’t recall the rest of it.
Start bolstering your vocabulary today and get WordWeb Dictionary for free from the Android Market. You’ll need Android OS v2.2 or higher to run the app.
What dictionary app do you use on your Android device?

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This article, Find Word Definitions with Official WordWeb Dictionary App , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 25 Feb 2012 10:08 PM PST
Android WorldAndroid is already the top smartphone operating system in the world, and is taking over the tablet market, too. As an Android lover, I couldn't be happier about it. Oh wait, maybe I could be… What if the little green robot would make the jump to an entire new class of devices? No, I am not thinking about computers, although Google certainly thinks about that possibility.
I am talking about something bigger and way more exciting. Something like a pair of HUD glasses, an intelligent washing machine, a smart mirror, or even a connected car. What if Android could breathe life in all the "dumb" objects that we use every day, to make them smarter and more useful? On smartphones and tablets, Android makes our lives better already. Just imagine what impact it could have in a world of smart devices, all connected to each other.
Android everywhere is not the stuff of sci-fi. It's happening right now. Sooner that you think, Android may take over the world. Here's a list of amazing objects, from wristwatches to cars, that already run Android. If you think that we missed something, give us a shout.

1. Watches

Most little boys (and plenty of grown-up ones) dream about having Dick Tracy's watch. And why wouldn't they? What's more awesome than to have a smart gadget on your wrist? The first modern smart watches were repurposed iPod Nanos, but as usual, Android took the concept to the next level. From Swiss-made luxury pieces to rugged wristband-mounted computers that happen to show the time, Android is coming to a watch near you.
The MOTO ACTV is so advanced that Motorola doesn't even call it a watch. The "fitness device" incorporates a GPS tracker, MP3 player, and heart rate monitor. Here are a few specs:
  • 1.6-inch screen protected by Gorilla Glass
  • 600MHz TI OMAP processor
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 8GB or 16GB of storage
  • FM radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
  • Weight: 35g
It wasn't long before someone rooted the MOTO ACTV and installed Honeycomb on it. So, if you really want to, you can play Angry Birds or watch YouTube videos on it. How's that for a "watch"?

Here's another example, from Wimm Labs:
Wimm One
Wimm Labs sells tiny Android devices, about the size of postal stamp, which can be mounted as watches, on bike clips, on pendants, and even on keychains. In fact, there are few places where you can't put them. The company's flagship product is the Wimm One, "a wrist-based companion for people who desire more control over their smart devices and notifications". In other words, you can pair your watch with your Android smartphone to get messages and notifications on your wrist. You can even install apps on it.

 2. Smart glasses

Google has an awesome new product in the pipeline, a pair of smart glasses, reportedly coming later this year. For now, all we have is rumors, but that's enough to get an idea about how will these ground-breaking glasses will work. What we know so far:
  • Heads Up Display (HUD) – the image will be imposed on your field of view
  • GPS tracker included
  • Controllable with head tilts and voice commands
  • Integrated with Google Maps, Goggles, Latitude, and other services
  • Running Android
  • Video camera included
  • Processor, RAM, and storage that are similar to a smartphone's
  • Cost: $250-$600
The Google glasses will turn the dream of countless sci-fi scriptwriters into reality. Finally, true augmented reality becomes accessible. And you won't look like a total dork wearing them, because they'll purportedly look something like this:
Oakley Thumps
Speaking of Android smart glasses, you can already trick out your ski goggles with Mod Live, a tiny Android-powered HUD that displays coordinates, altitude, or temperature, on a tiny screen mounted on the goggles.

3. Home Appliances

I think we all agree that washing machines and fridges are really not that exciting. Perhaps, a touch of Android could make them more interesting?
Smart appliances running Android are already here. Samsung and LG (who else) have a few interesting products available, including a fridge with a built-in touchscreen display running Android or a washing machine that can connect to your smartphone and tell you how long you have to wait for the washing cycle to end. Besides the obvious apps (cooking recipes, food inventory, dieting, remote control), these smart appliances can also connect to the net, so you can read your mail or check out your Twitter feed before grabbing your milk.

Although not as spectacular as other devices on this list, smart home appliances running Android have the potential to massively improve our lives. Let's face it – our world moves forward thanks to modern technology. Why would we neglect home appliances?

4. Cars

Speaking of moving forward, carmakers have long been criticized for not updating in-car technology for the 21th century. But slowly, things are changing.
A number of automakers, upstream suppliers, and aftermarket providers have created Android-based infotainment systems. One of the best efforts belongs to struggling Swedish automaker Saab (formerly owned by GM). Saab's iQon includes all the tricks you would expect from an infotainment system, plus a voice controlled navigation system, a full-fledged browser, and an app store. Moreover, iQon has access to the internal sensors of the car, which are made available to developers via an API.

Unfortunately, Saab doesn't have the level of clout required to make in-car Android known to millions of drivers. But do you know who has it? Ford.
Just like Saab, Ford has worked to make it easy for developers to create apps that can access the inner sensors of a car (don't worry, they won't be able to brick your car). Ford's OpenXC project combines Android with the Arduino open source hardware platform to tackle the problem posed by building short lifespan technology (Android is barely three years old) into a product that is designed to be used for 15 years or longer. With an OpenXC module installed on your car, any Android app will be able to access sensor information (speed, position, gas level, even steering wheel angle) and do all sorts of interesting things with them. From mapping your itinerary on your Android smartphone to making driving recommendations based on your driving style, the horizon is wide open.

5. Homes

Home automation systems (HAS) have been around for a while. Costing from $5000 for a basic system to $300,000 for the more extravagant setups, automation systems are increasingly popular, especially for newly built homes. Typical systems control heating and cooling, lighting, and alarms, but there is little you can't automate in a home – appliances, sprinklers, pools, home theaters, etc.

Current HAS rely heavily on proprietary wireless protocols and expensive hardware. Announced last year, Google's Android @ Home platform promise to offer a different way to implement home automation. By pairing an Android device with an Arduino module (a cheap, open source microcontroller), Android @ Home will make it easy for developers to automate things like light bulbs and door locks.
We can only imagine a future in which you ask your home to prepare your bath or to update you on the latest news. Android @ Home will make it possible.

6. Cameras

Some may argue that the 8 MP camera of a Samsung Galaxy S2 is better than many point-and-shoot cameras out there. But that won't stop camera manufacturers like Polaroid from adding Android to their offerings.
Polaroid SC1630
Polaroid's SC1630 smart camera is a hybrid between an Android phone and a point-and-shoot. In fact, when you look at the device from the rear, it's easy to mistake it for a "regular" smartphone. Well, if you can make abstraction of the 3X optical zoom module. Here are some specs:
  • 850/1900/2100MHz WCDMA and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM radio
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 512 MB built-in storage, expandable to 32 GB via SD
  • 800X400 3.2-inch touchscreen
  • 16 MP sensor, F3.1-F5.6 aperture, 3X optical and 5X digital zoom

7. Smart TVs

Making television smarter is a hot trend this year, and Android is, for many manufacturers, the smart TV operating system of choice. Smart TVs connect to the Internet and can run apps, have built-in webcams for Skyping, and can connect wirelessly to your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Just consider them really big computers that you can operate with a remote control.

One of the hottest smart TVs of the moment is Lenovo's first foray into the TV business, the 55-inch K91 smart TV, running Android 4.0. Showcased at CES in January, Lenovo's device truly deserves its "smart TV" moniker. Why? Let's see:
  • Powered by a dual-core Snapdragon processor
  • Over 100 apps pre-installed, with more available via Lenovo's Appstore.
  • 5-MP camera for video-chatting
  • Face-recognition that enables easy parental locking
  • On-Demand Video service
  • Voice-controlled remote control with built-in touchpad
  • 8GB of built-in storage space

8. DECT phones

If you're tablet and smartphone are not enough to feed your Android addiction, maybe you can get your fix with the $169 Archos 35 Smart Home Phone. The gadget can pair with your Android smartphone to sync contacts and apps, which you will be able to run on the "handset". Other nifty features are the video chat app, the email access, and built-in web browser.

The Archos 35 brings the DECT phone right into the mobile age. Who knows, smart DECT phones might even slow down the landlines' inevitable drift into obsolescence.

9. Game consoles

For most of us, our Android smartphone is our gaming device. However, you can get a real portable gaming console that runs on Android 2.2 and plays just about any game. How's that possible? Well, the JXD S7100 gaming tablet (coming at you straight from Shenzhen, China) includes an emulator that lets you play classic titles, such as Mario Kart 64, King of Fighters ’97, or Tomb Raider. Just don't ask about the copyright, though…

The exterior design of the JXD S7100 looks like a PSP clone with a touch of Apple, but the guts of the device are downright impressive:
  • 7-inch touchscreen display, with 800X480 resolution
  • Dual-core Cortex A-9 processor
  • Mali 400 graphics
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 2MP rear camera, 0.3 MP front camera
  • 16GB of internal storage
  • 1080p HDMI-out
  • Android 2.2
Another player (see what I did there?) in the Android game console arena will be the EVO 2 from Envizions, slated for a 2012 release. The EVO 2 will be the first "full-sized" console to run Android, the 2.2 version to be precise. The console will have full access to the Android Market. Unfortunately, the EVO 2 was repeatedly delayed, so we can't tell you precisely when (if ever) you will be able to give it a spin.

10. Mirrors (you read that right)

Have you ever dreamt of checking your Facebook status while brushing your teeth in the morning? What, you haven't? Anyway, the Cybertecture smart mirror will let you do just that. Seeing it in action, you can't help thinking that it's the future. Basically, the gadget is an interactive display running Android, which happens to double as a mirror. You can check your Facebook status, read the news, even emails, all from your bathroom.

The smart mirror comes with a smart (of course) scale to monitor your weight and body fat index, which you can see on the mirror, along with some neat graphs that show how your diet is working. Somehow disappointingly, the Cybertecture is controlled with a remote control, and not through touch. Even more disappointingly, it will set you back a cool $7700.

Which Android Devices Do You Like the Most?

Wow, that was quite a ride. Android is already built in a variety of devices, and, as we speak, more and more companies and individuals are working to add it to more aspects of our lives.
Which unconventional Android devices do you like the most? What are you most excited about? Did we miss something? Let us know.

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This article, Android Everywhere: 10 Types of Devices That Android Is Making Better , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 25 Feb 2012 08:14 AM PST
For many Android enthusiasts, a purebred Android tablet is the stuff of dreams. Until now, Google's Nexus program, which showcases Android in its purest form, included three amazing smartphones, with the latest flagship in the series being the Galaxy Nexus. However, when it comes to a tablet receiving the Nexus treatment, all we got was rumors.
But there is hope. Pieces are starting to fall into place for the Nexus tablet. Last December, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt told an Italian newspaper that the Mountain View-based giant would market a tablet of the "highest quality" over the next six months. Boy, we were happy!
A few weeks later, Digitimes (a Taiwanese outlet with deep connections inside the Asian manufacturing sector) fed the rumor mill by suggesting that the Google tablet will be a direct competitor to the Kindle Fire, and not to the iPad, as many have expected. The leak slates the launch of the Nexus tablet (as everyone seems to call it) sometimes in March-April. Moreover, the 7-incher would be priced at an affordable $199, just like the Kindle Fire (and now just like the 8GB Nook Tablet).
Digitimes has a mixed record when it comes to predicting upcoming products, so we all took the report with the proverbial grain of salt. But this time, the Taiwanese seem to have been on to something.

Report: 7-inch Nexus Tablet to Enter Production in April

On Thursday, CNET cited industry analyst Richard Shim, who claims that the Google Nexus tablet will indeed be a 7-incher and is likely to enter fabrication in April. Other useful details include the resolution of the reported device (1280×800) and an estimated production run of 1.5-2 million units. Just for comparison, Motorola has sold about 1 million Xooms and Xyboards last year, while on the other end of the scale, Amazon moved 4 million Kindle Fires just in the last quarter of 2011.
Judging from the initial production run, Google is moderately optimistic about the performance of the upcoming Nexus tablet. Two million is a respectable figure, but not that high when you compare it to the numbers that Apple works with, or even with the initial production run of the Kindle Fire, which was four million.

Kindle Fire-quality or Better?

Shim avoided telling if the Nexus tablet will be a premium device or something in the likes of the Kindle Fire. Eric Schmidt did announce a high-quality tablet in December, but that may have been just marketing talk.
For now, we know that the Nexus tablets is likely to have display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, which makes it better than the Kindle Fire's 1024 x 600. Note: the Galaxy Tab 7.7 also boasts a 1280 X 800 AMOLED screen, but in a 7.7 inch factor. Needless to say, it’s unlikely that Google will opt for this particular display technology, as it would make the device prohibitively expensive, and therefore never a viable competitor to Kindle’s Fire. That being said, we just can't judge the overall quality of a product based solely on its screen technology or resolution.

If Google wants to tackle Amazon head on, it will need to keep the price of the Nexus tablet close to the $199 psychological price floor. Although the Fire was disappointing in terms of build quality, teardowns have shown that Amazon is selling the 7-inch e-reader/tablet at a loss. Google may try the same strategy with the Nexus; after all, the search business is going gangbuster.
But we think that Google can do a better tablet than the Kindle, and keep the $199 price tag. ASUS will sell its seven inch quad-core MeMo370T for $249, soon, so at $200, we should at least get some decent specs. In addition, Google is in a better position than Amazon to reach the high-quality/low price sweet spot. Not only does Google have better collaboration with manufacturers (see the line of Nexus smartphones), but it may actually pull it off by itself.

Will the Nexus Tablet Be Google's First Product?

Google has a long and fruitful history of collaborating with manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC, which both participated in the Nexus smartphone program. Google also worked extensively with Motorola to create the Xoom, which was the first tablet to run Android 3.2 Honeycomb.
The question now is this: will Google make their own tablet (via Motorola) or will it work with traditional partners? The Motorola-Google deal is coming through very soon, and rumors have already pegged Google executive Dennis Woodside as the next CEO of Big M.

In the past, Google has insisted that Motorola will be run as a separate company and that it will not be given preferential treatment  or special privileges over Samsung, HTC, and other Android partners. But it's obvious that the Motorola buyout will finally give Google significantly more control over the hardware side. It makes perfect sense for Google to release the Nexus tablet under the Motorola brand – better integration, better control, and less hassle with the partners. And, with Google having worked with Motorola before, on the Xoom tablet, it makes sense. Why would the bosses at Mountain View choose another manufacturer now, when they have all the tools they need, in their own backyard?
The bottom line: although we can't exclude other options, we strongly believe that Google's first Nexus tablet will also be Google's first Motorola device.

When We Can Expect the Nexus Tablet

With manufacturing starting in April, the Nexus will probably come sometimes towards the end of June. As AndroidAndMe notes, Google has moved its main household event, Google I/O, from May to late June. This would be the ideal occasion to showcase a ground-breaking product like the Nexus tablet.
A mid-year launch would also coincide with the rumored announcement of Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. Remember that Google now controls both the software and the hardware side. Who knows, it may pull an announce-and-launch event, just like Apple operates. In other words, we may actually get to taste Jelly Bean on a Nexus tablet, in as little as four months.
But again, the Jelly Bean rumor is not very reliable – all we have is one source, the same anonymous tipsters of Digitimes. Fragmentation is a major issue for Google, and a premature announcement of a new Android version may confuse (even enrage) some users. After all, ICS is still barely a faint blimp on the radar – just about 1% of all Android devices run Ice Cream Sandwich. We think that Google knows that and that they'll try to slow things down a little.

What Do You Think?

The first Nexus tablet is definitely high (first?) on our Android wish list. The perspective of getting the full Google experience (pure Android + optimized hardware) in an affordable package is extremely exciting. Just a few more months to wait…
How about you? Do you think that Google will announce Jelly Bean in June, as well? Can the Nexus derail the Kindle Fire? And what excites you the most about the Nexus tablet?

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This article, Nexus Tablet Roundup – What We Know So Far , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

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