Sunday, April 15, 2012

Update - 171



Posted: 09 Mar 2012 02:29 AM PST
CAT B10 Caterpillar Android Smartphone
As one of the heavyweights of the construction industry, the name Caterpillar isn't likely to conjure up an image of sleek personal computing technology. Nevertheless, that didn't stop Caterpillar  from releasing its first Android phone, the Caterpillar CAT B10, to an increasingly crowded market. So what sets the CAT B10 smartphone apart and will it be able to bulldoze its wait through the competition?
Fit to be used amongst cranes, forklifts, bulldozers and the likes, the rugged CAT B10 Android smartphone is powered by a single-core processor running at 800MHz, boasts a 3.2-inch screen, as well as a 5MP rear camera and a front shooter. The internal hardware of the phone won't leave tech enthusiasts jumping up and down, but that's fine, because for this Caterpillar device, it's all about the rugged exterior.
The rubberized casing of the phone is built to withstand scratches, dust, and water. The CAT B10 even has the papers to prove it, claiming the industry-standard IP67 certification. In addition to taking a serious beating, the CAT B10 can be submerged underwater, up to 1 m deep, for up to 30 minutes. So feel free to drop it puddles (or a fresh batch of concrete) whenever you feel like it. By the way, waterproofing is a hot trend this year.
The Caterpillar CAT B10 is expected to retail for $500 off-contract when it lands at the end of May. We don't think it will come with matching accessories, such as helmets and gloves, though.
If you can't wait that long, there are some tough Android smartphones that are worth investigating and are already on the market. There's the Samsung Rugby Smart: 3.7-inch WVGA with Super AMOLED panel, 1.4GHz processor, 4GB storage, 5MP rear shooter with LED flash, and 1.3MP front shooter.  Another option is the Sony (Ericsson) Xperia Active, which sports a 3-inch scratch-resistant screen, a 1GHz processor, and a 5MP shooter with LED flash, which  is also dust and water resistant. Check our guide here for more indestructible Android smartphones.
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This article, Caterpillar Introduces the Rugged CAT B10 Android Phone , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 09 Mar 2012 01:48 AM PST


The funny thing about technology that many in the tech world don't fully understand (or don't want to understand) is the fact that a product doesn't need to be perfect to be successful. There are many concepts that show that "good enough" is, at least sometimes, all the users are asking for.
The MP3 format removes much of the original information in a recording for the sake of a smaller size, but users don't seem to mind, although music luminaries regularly argue against lossy formats. The same thing for JPG vs. RAW. And let's not start analyzing why users love the Kindle Fire, with all its flaws and inconsistencies.
Which brings us to the problem that point-and-shoot camera makers are facing these days. People don't seem to care that the average camera is better than the average smartphone in terms of megapixels, sensors, or lens quality. What they do care about is the fact that a smartphone is more convenient to use than any camera.

While Smartphone Usage Skyrockets, Cameras and Camcorders Stagnate

Even at resolutions of 3MP, the average Samsung or Motorola smartphone is "good enough" for most consumers. According to a report from IC Insights, an Arizona-based market research firm specializing in the semi-conductors industry, the market for PaS cameras and camcorders will grow by a mere 2.1% through 2015. Not exactly a race to the bottom, but consider that the PaS market grew by a yearly 37% until 2005, and it screeched to a 9% rate since 2005. It's no coincidence that around 2005 we saw the first smartphones to deliver 3MP resolutions, which appears to be the "good enough" threshold for most consumers.
Meanwhile, smartphones are rocketing, with huge growth rates year over year. comScore recently announced that there are more than a 100 million smartphone users in the U.S., and, with no slowing down in sight, it won't be long until feature phones become a dwindling minority.
Here's a nifty graph that shows the huge discrepancy between smartphones and cameras.

Do PaS Cameras Stand a Chance of Survival?

Point-and-Shoot makers know that their business is heading to the drain, and try to slow the process down by integrating some of the benefits of smartphones into their PaS and camcorders. The most obvious problem of cameras is the lack of connectivity. With your average Point-and-Shoot, you can't just hit a button to post your exploits to Facebook, or upload your snaps to the cloud. WiFi-enabled PaS cameras are nothing new, but the smartphone's killer feature is the 3G connectivity, which, currently, few cameras have.
Although some camera-makers have tried to create Android phone/cameras hybrids to address the issue of connectivity, they are fighting a losing battle. Once they go on that path, they'll compete with the Galaxy S3, the HTC One X, or even the 41MP Nokia PureView 808. Needless to say, they won't stand a chance.
The truth is smartphones are not only more convenient than Point-and-Shoots, they are also getting better at making pictures, by the day. Camera makers better have a good exit strategy.
How about you? When did you last time use your Point-and-Shoot camera?
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This article, Point-and-Shoot Cameras Going the Way of the Dinosaur, Smartphones to Blame , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 04:29 PM PST
samsung galaxy s2 skyrocket hd lte
In the two months that passed since the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 HD LTE (or the Skyrocket HD for short) was officially announced at CES 2012, rumors and leaks regarding the supposedly last upgrade in the Galaxy S2 series have failed to surface. In fact, with all that quad-core madness that surrounded the Mobile World Congress, it's fair to say that the dual-core Skyrocket HD has avoided (or was avoided by) the online media spotlight altogether. However, its flight below the radar ended today, as the Galaxy S2 HD LTE has received its clearance from the FCC.

The phone’s specs were officially announced back in January, so the official FCC documents aren't what one would call juicy. Nevertheless, they do clarify that the Skyrocket HD LTE will use AT&T's LTE 700 / 1700 bands. Furthermore, the papers reveal that Samsung has designed two different battery covers for the smartphone: one that includes an NFC antenna, and one that doesn't. Considering that AT&T bypassed NFC functions on some of their previous smartphones, there are voices claiming that the carrier will repeat the offense and remove NFC capabilities from the Skyrocket HD. On the other hand, it’s also possible that the NFC antenna will be included in the battery, as was the case with the original AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket.
AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S2 HD LTE Gets FCC Approval
Although the papers don't reveal anything out of the ordinary, they do hint that we're getting close to the Skyrocket HD's release date. Usually, when a device hits the FCC, we're about to see a release date in the following month or so. It's not a rule by any means, but it would make sense for AT&T to plan a launch for the Skyrocket LTE HD before the Galaxy S3 is announced (and that should happen at some point before the end of April).
The AT&T Skyrocket HD sports a 1.5 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, LTE connectivity, and a generous 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display capable of 1280 x 720 (HD) pixel resolution. So far, there is no info regarding the release date or price for the Skyrocket HD LTE, but we'll keep you posted when fresh info pops out!
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This article, AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S2 HD LTE Gets FCC Approval , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 04:08 PM PST

Just last week, we wrote about OnLive Desktop, the service that lets you run a full Windows 7 machine, complete with Microsoft Office, on your Android tablet or iPad. In a nutshell, OnLive Desktop works by "streaming" the Windows 7 environment to your tablet – all the software is hosted in OnLive's cloud and you're just accessing it from your tablet, just like you would with a Netflix movie.
The most amazing part about OnLive Desktop is the fact that you can get an almost complete Windows 7 experience and the Office productivity apps for free. The paid versions of the app give you more cloud storage space and access to a web browser, but, in order to get Win 7 and Office, plus 2GB of storage space, you don't have to pay a dime.

Using OnLive May Get You in Trouble, Says Gartner

Now, Microsoft is making most of its money exactly from the two products that OnLive so generously gives away with its OnLive Desktop service. So naturally, news about the service raised many virtual eyebrows across the web, including a very prominent pair from market research firm Gartner.
Gartner noted that neither OnLive nor Microsoft have clarified how OnLive licenses the software that it provides to customers. Microsoft is well-known for its byzantine system of licensing, and Gartner's analysts have speculated that OnLive Desktop is probably falling into a licensing no man's land. The firm's suggestion? Stay away from the service, until OnLive and MS clear it out.
onlive android

Microsoft Breaks Silence

Well, all the media attention that OnLive Desktop has been enjoying over the last weeks has finally triggered an alarm somewhere in Redmond, WA. Yesterday, one of Microsoft's licensing head honchos has dropped the bomb on OnLive. In a blog post, MS Licensing and Pricing VP Joe Matz revealed how Microsoft is feeling about OnLive's Robin Hood-styled acts of generosity. The skinny: you can't do that, but we might change our mind if enough money comes our way.
To our relief (we love the idea behind OnLive Desktop), Microsoft didn't apply the old "shoot first, ask questions later" strategy, although, apparently, it has all the rights to do so. In fact, in the wooden language typically used by Licensing and Pricing pros, Matz suggests that good ole Microsoft is willing to make things work.
Why is that? Why is Microsoft willing to essentially give away its flagship products to OnLive's customers? Keep in mind that Windows 8 is just around the corner. Perhaps Redmond would like people to get used with using Windows on a tablet. Or, maybe Microsoft believes that, with consumers moving away from the PC, OnLive Desktop may serve as a bridgehead for accessing an entire new market.
Who knows? For now, we can only hope that OnLive manages to cajole Microsoft into accepting a licensing scheme that would keep OnLive Desktop on Android free (or at least affordable). Fingers crossed.
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This article, Microsoft to OnLive: You Had Your Fun, Now Pay Up , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 01:14 PM PST

Archos G9 tablets owner, you will soon be able to join the small ranks of Android device owners in the world that sport Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Thanks to the special mail that was just delivered in our mailbox today, we are pleased to inform you that Archos is planning to roll out over-the-air upgrade for all Archos G9 tablets to ICS starting today.
Devices that are eligible for the ICS update include the Archos 80 G9 and Archos 101 G9 models; both the classic and turbo variants. Upgrading the old Honeycomb to ICS is as simple as connecting the tablet to an available Internet connection.  You will see a notification that appears as a letter "A" that tells you a new firmware is available. Select the notification to begin downloading, wait until it finishes, and complete the process by selecting 'Yes' to install.
Some of the improvements that you will experience on the ICS-totting G9 tablets include easier multitasking, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, enhanced imaging capabilities, and better social media integration. You can also expect unique Archos add-ons, such as full 1080p support, optimized File Manager that supports full drag and drop, Ethernet USB dongle support, and Archos’ own remote control application. Lest we forget the Face Unlock feature, which lets you log in to your tablet simply by smiling, or other preferable facial expressions, to the tablet's front camera.
The Argos 80 G9 tablet features TI OMAP4 multi-core processor running 1GHz to 1.5GHz, 8-inch screen with 1024 x 768 resolution, and 720p front camera, while the Argos 101 G9 comes with similar specs – save for the bigger 10-inch screen with 1200 x 800 resolution.
In the past, Argos was mostly known for its range of affordable portable multimedia players. It didn't take long for the company to jump on the Android bandwagon as it released the Archos 5 Internet Tablet back in 2009.
Any Archos owners out there excited for this one?
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This article, ICS Update for Archos G9 Tablets Now Available , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:10 AM PST
Tegra 3 vs AX5 TheVerge
Everyone knows the importance of benchmarks in the high-tech industry. With things like user experience or manufacturing quality, manufacturers, or, better said, marketers, can make unsupported claims, without ever risking to be called out. But in the world of cores and RAM modules, benchmarks are, almost always, the final argument in any dispute. So, when the largest tech company in the world claims that its new device is four times faster than a competing product, it's only natural to ask for a benchmark.
During yesterday's iPad press event, Apple's SVP of Marketing, Phil Schiller made a claim that raised quite a few eyebrows. Schiller told the audience that the iPad's new dual-core Apple A5X processor is, in terms of graphics performance, four times faster than the Tegra 3. Right on cue, a minimalist graph appeared behind Schiller, showing the A5X column towering over Tegra 3. And that's it. No benchmarks cited, no fine print, no footnotes.
Now, I like Apple's marketing tricks as much as the next guy (kidding, I don't). And I know that Apple's philosophy is to go beyond specs and focus on the user experience (how much RAM in the iPad 3, anyone?) But when making such strong claims, even if your name is Apple, you should at least be prepared to show some proof, right?

Nvidia: We are Flattered by Apple's Attention

ZDNet reached out to Nvidia for commentary on Apple's affirmation, and the Santa Clara-based giant responded by expressing their "gratitude" for being mentioned during Apple's event. Irony aside, it's interesting to note that Apple found it necessary to differentiate the new iPad by comparing its A5X processor with the Tegra 3 SoC. It's another recognition that Nvidia gets for its Tegra 3 4-cores-plus-1 architecture, which it pushed hard over the last months and especially during the recently concluded MWC.
Tegra 3 vs iPad A5X
Nvidia's representatives refrained from denying or confirming Apple's claim, which is natural when you consider that Apple carefully avoided revealing the conditions of the tests or the benchmarks that it ran to compare A5X with Tegra 3. Also, Apple seemed to engage in some cherry-picking (apple-picking?), avoiding to mention how its dual-core processor does in terms of performance when compared with Nvidia's SoC, or even about the amount of RAM in the iPad.
Did Apple make up their statistic about A5X being four times faster than Tegra 3? Probably not. I am sure that there are applications where Apple's chip is beating Tegra by a long shot. Moreover, we might not ever know what exactly Apple was referring to when they made their claim.
Even if Apple refuses to show how it came up with the claims it flaunted yesterday, real-world benchmarks are just a few days away. Both Nvidia and a number of experts have announced their intention to compare the new iPad with Tegra's finest, so we are bound to get some hard figures, sooner or later.
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This article, Nvidia to Apple: Benchmarks or It Didn't Happen , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 09:27 AM PST

You gotta give some props to Samsung for the audacity it often shows, even during the most heated competition. Within hours of the launch of the new iPad by Tim Cook et al, greeted with much fanfare from the usual suspects, Samsung decided to throw a one-two punch at its biggest non-Android competitor. The Koreans released a list of comparisons between the new iPad and its own Galaxy Note 10.1, that (kind of) shows that the Note is ultimately the better option.
You can see from the comparison chart below that Samsung really wants to show off the Note's multitasking skills — the capability to view and work with two apps at the same time. In fact, the list mostly revolves around these two abilities.
While the new iPad comes with a Retina display with 2048 x 1536 resolution, Samsung believes that the screen on the Galaxy Note 10.1 is better optimized for precision writing and doodling, which makes it 10 times more accurate than a normal capacitive screen. The Koreans also took a dig at the size of the new iPad, flaunting the thinner and lighter build of the Galaxy Note 10.1. It's quite a change of roles from last year, we must say, when Samsung was forced to redesign the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to compete with iPad 2's svelter figure.

Keep in mind that Samsung is yet to release the price or launch details of the Galaxy Note 10.1. As for the new iPad, the slate will start appearing in stores on March 16, in several countries.
We hope Samsung still has some tricks left up its sleeve. Although the Galaxy Note 10.1 would make a great addition to the company's tablet lineup, we can't help craving for something more impressive, specs-wise at least. Whatever Samsung is hiding from the rest of the world might make an appearance during the gdgt Live party on March 9, at SXSW, where Samsung is said to make an “exciting announcement”. Will it be the introduction of the Galaxy Tab 11.6, with its rumored Retina display and 2GHz processor? Or will Samsung introduce the Galaxy S3 instead? We'll find out soon enough.
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This article, Samsung Compares the New iPad with Galaxy Note 10.1, Says “Ours is Better” , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 08:52 AM PST
HTC One X Superboot
By now, most Android fans have learned about HTC's upcoming flagship smartphone: the HTC One X. Bound to launch in April, many of us are eagerly awaiting to get our hands on this quad-core beast, and experiment with its fancy new camera technology. As it turns out, one notorious ROM developer, by the name of Paul "Modaco" O'Brien, has not only managed to get his hands on the smartphone, but was also able to come up with a quick root method for the HTC One X, several weeks before the device will become available to purchase.

The Root method developed by Modaco is called "Superboot", and takes a hybrid approach between manual rooting and the increasingly popular one-click root methods. It will take more than one click, but Modaco's SuperBoot will spare you of tedious tasks, such as manually partitioning or modifying the ADB. It is impossible to asses how well this method actually works since, oh well, none of us has an HTC One X to try it on. The developer claims everything should go silky smooth though, and judging by this guy's success with previous mods, I tend to believe him, even without conclusive evidence.
An exact release date for the HTC One X is unavailable at this point, but official statements place its launch in the UK (and probably the rest of Europe) during March. The One X is expected to reach US shores early this summer, as the AT&T HTC One XL — an LTE-capable, modified version of the One X that will sport a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor instead of the quad-core Tegra 3. The rest of the One X’ (impressive) specs, including 1GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD display, and an 8MP camera, will remain the same on both continents.
Are you excited about this bad boy or are you going to wait for something better?
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This article, The HTC One X Gets Rooted Weeks Before Its Launch , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 08:24 AM PST

Android, at the moment at least, runs primarily on devices with ARM based CPUs. The ARM CPU is a special low-power, high performance chip designed to run in devices rather than in desktop computers. However, like Linux, it isn’t restricted to only running on ARM chips. It can also run on MIPS (another type of  device centric chip) and on Intel x86 chips that are found in PCs.

Although Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was released to the public last year, it has taken a few months to port the current source code to the Intel x86 platform. A few days ago the Android-x86 project announced the first release candidate. The software comes in the form of .iso files and can be used to boot a PC (or better still a netbook) from CD/DVD or to create a bootable USB drive.
The best way to test Android 4.0 for Intel is either boot up an Asus Eee PC netbook or to run it in a Virtual Machine (VM) using the open source VirtualBox software. Which ever method you choose the first step is to download the .iso from the Android-x86 site. Choose the appropriate .iso image, there are images for Asus,  MSI 110W and Lenovo, and download. The files are about 190MB and so should only take a few minutes on decent broadband. The best image file for VirtualBox is the Asus Eee PC image.

Laptop

If you don’t have an Asus laptop/netbook, you can try this on just about any laptop, however the level of hardware support (especially for the wireless adapter) will vary. The first step is to create a bootable USB disk using Unetbootin (or to burn the .iso file to a CD). Boot the laptop/netbook from the USB (you might need to go into the BIOS or press F8 or F12 during startup to select the boot device).
At the boot menu select “Live CD – Run Android-x86 without installation” and hit Enter. Android 4.0 will start to boot. Once booted you will be greeted by the ICS Welcome screen.

Use your mouse to click on “Start”. Complete the first-time configuration steps (you can just leave everything at its default. If you choose to sign in with your Google account, Android will first try to connect to your WiFi).  Once you click “Finish” you will be presented with the ICS home screen.

To navigate use the mouse like you would your finger. Tap is click, swipe is click, hold and move. Clicking the application menu (in the top right hand corner) will reveal the pre-installed applications. Swiping left (click, hold, move mouse left) shows the next page and so on. When using apps that need keyboard input you can use your PC’s keyboard, you don’t need to click every letter on a virtual keyboard!


Google Play (i.e. the Android Market) is available and a good selection of applications are present including essential apps like DropBox and Kindle. However some important apps like Skype are not available for Android running on Intel yet.
One disconcerting “feature” is that some apps run in portrait mode which means everything flips 90 degrees leaving you twisting your head and trying to work out that up and down are now left and right with the mouse! It is best to avoid these apps at all cost as trying to get the screen back to landscape seems impossible other than with a reboot.

VirtualBox

It is also possible to run ICS in a Virtual Machine using VirtualBox. Start VirtualBox, click the “Machine” menu and then “New…” Step through the Wizard, having entered a name (e.g Android 4), make sure your select Linux as the “Operating System” and “Other Linux” as the version. Set the memory to be 512MB and use the defaults for creating an 8GB hard drive.

Once the VM is created, click the “Machine” menu and then “Setting…” Click “Storage” in the left pane and then click the CD-ROM icon (marked as “Empty”) in the “Storage Tree.” In the “Attributes” panel click the little CD-ROM icon next to the “CD/DVD Drive” drop down list. Select “Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file…” Now broswe to and select the .iso file you downloaded from the Android-x86 web site. Click “OK”.Once you are back in the main VirtualBox window hit the big green “Start” button to boot up Android 4.0.
At the boot menu select “Live CD – VESA mode” and hit Enter. Android 4.0 will start to boot. Once booted you will be greeted by the ICS Welcome screen.
Just like Android-x86 on a netbook, use your mouse to click on “Start” and then complete the first-time configuration. If you don't see the mouse inside the VM, click the “Machine” menu item on the VM window and then “Disable Mouse Integration.”
There is one major drawback with running ICS in a virtual machine, or in fact in any PC without a WiFi adapter - the release candidate doesn’t support wired networking. This means that you can’t access the web, the Google Play store, you can’t watch YouTube videos and so on.

Hacker?

One interesting aspect of the x86 port is that you have direct access to the underlying Linux operating system. By pressing ALT+F1 you will get a terminal window logged in as root. From here those of you familiar with the Linux command line can start looking at the OS behind the nice Android user interface. Use ALT+F7 to get back to the graphical user interface.

Conclusion

Android 4.0 for Intel x86 builds on the solid foundation of Android for ARM and although it has limited hardware support (not all the popular netbooks are supported) running it on a supported platform could bring a new lease of life to some aging hardware and it could provide an interesting alternative to the Metro interface that Microsoft are pushing with Windows 8. However the screen rotation issue can be very disconcerting and the lack of Ethernet support makes it nonviable for Virtual Machines.
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This article, Run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on Your PC , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 07:17 AM PST
Kindle FireAnother week, another round of rumors from Digitimes' well-connected sources in Taiwan. According to the usual manufacturing chain insiders, Amazon is planning to launch not one, but two new tablets in 2012, including a new 10-inch Kindle tablet.
A previous story ran by Digitimes in November suggested that Jeff Bezos set his sights on an 8.9-inch model, spurred by the initial success of the 7-inch Kindle Fire. But things appeared to have changed since last year, and now Amazon hopes that it can deliver a successful 10-inch model, that customers would perceive as a worthy alternative to Apple's freshly launched "new" iPad. And the situation is even more interesting in the low-cost 7-inch tablet scene.

Is the Kindle Fire Losing Steam?

The Kindle Fire sold incredibly good, by far outpacing established Android competitors, like Samsung or ASUS. According to an IHS iSuppli report from February, over just one quarter, Amazon managed to move about 3.9 million Kindle Fires (14% market share), enough to become the number two tablet vendor in Q4 2011, and number three in 2011 (behind Samsung).
However, Digitimes Research estimates that the Kindle Fire is losing steam, with only 1.5 million units forecasted to be shipped in the first three months of 2012. Among the possible explanations for the slowdown, we can mention the post-holidays market slump and the arrival of new competitors, some of which are priced competitively. For example, ASUS launched the Transformer Pad 300, and announced an amazing $249 MeMo quad-core tablet for later this year.
Even the release of the new iPad may play a role, although the iPad is not a player in the low-cost tablet sector. But Apple did cut the price of the iPad 2 to $399, which may have caused at least some potential buyers to give up on the Kindle Fire.
Another unknown factor to be considered is Google's expected entry in the low-cost tablet market, presumably with its own Nexus tablet. According to rumors reported by AndroidAndMe, Google is about to unleash a quad-core Nexus tablet that will be priced at $199, the same price as the Kindle Fire.

Amazon to Revamp 7-inch Kindle Fire, Launch 10-inch Tablet in Q2 2012

Faced with the impending arrival of a Fire-killer (the $199 Google Nexus tablet), Jeff Bezos knows that, in order to capitalize on the head-start it has, Amazon really needs to up the ante. Some have even speculated that the 7-inch Kindle Fire was a "beta" for the future 10-inch model, an unfinished product that Amazon rushed to the market in order to gain a foothold on a battlefield that is dominated by the iPad.
Digitimes' report claims that, in the second half of 2012, we will see two new tablet devices from Amazon. One of them will be a revamp of the 7-inch Kindle Fire, which will probably come with a better processor, a modified designed, and, possibly, a better screen. Amazon's 10-inch tablet is also getting closer to reality – the device is reportedly built by Foxconn, and the first shipments are expected in the second quarter of 2012.

The low-cost battle becomes dramatic

For everyone involved in the tablet industry, things are getting complicated. Even Apple, which singlehandedly created the tablet market from scratch, can expect trouble ahead. After all, the iPad's market share dropped to around 60% after the release of the Fire. Cupertino is aware of this dangerous trend, and plans to counteract it with a supposed 7-inch iPad Mini.
But the real battle is being waged at the lower level – the $200 price floor that proved so attractive to tablet shoppers. With Google finally serious about entering the tablet game, and the rest of the Android team working hard, as well, Amazon has its work cut out in 2012. We'll see how things turn out in a short few months, when both Google and Amazon are rumored to show off their new budget-friendly tablet devices.
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This article, Strong Competition Pushes Amazon to Launch Two Tablets in 2012 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


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