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ASUS just delivered it’s over the air firmware update to the 1st generation ASUS EeePad Transformer based on nVIDIA Tegra2. Our editor happens to own a set and took 10 minutes to update it. The update took 10 minutes and the new firmware is Ice Cream Sandwich – Android 4.0.3.

If you own an ASUS Transformer, do update it and tell us your experiences in the forum.

有不少廠商推出了以 Google Android 系統為主的平板電腦 (Tablet), 華碩 Asus 是其中一家. 筆者家中也有一台平板電腦, 華碩 EeePad Transformer (第一代).

今天突然收到OTA 更新通知, 花了十多分鐘的時間, 就正式更新了!
華碩提供的更新, 是Android 4.0.3!

如果是第一代EeePad Transformer 的用家, 可以到

設定–>關於平板電腦—>系統韌體更新

作在線檢查及更新!

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Wintel-based tablet PCs may be priced around 599 to 899 USD as both Intel and Microsoft are unwilling to drop their hardware and and sofrware costs. The impact would be pushing end consumers to buy cheaper tablets powered by other processors and OS.

The reason for not lowering the price is understandable. If tablets are priced too competitively, it will impact the sales of notebooks. Currently, plans for the new tablets will be powered by Intel Clover Trial-W and Windows 8 as the OS.

If Intel doesn’t reduce the pricing of their processors, manufacturers can choose ARM solutions from Nvidia, Qualcomm and Texas Instrument’s (TI’s) for their upcoming Windows 8 tablet PC to reduce their costs.

The ease of use of Windows 8 OS opens another revenue for tablet makers. It will compete head to head with iPad 3 (to be launched in March 2012) and current slate of tablets upgraded to run the Android 4.0.

Source

ASUS introduces the Eee Pad Transformer Prime with NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 Quad-Core Processor and Google® Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ASUS today held a press event in Singapore to launch the world’s first tablet featuring the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core processor – the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime. This is also the world’s first tablet to be unveiled with Google® Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is available from today over the air.

Developed with NVIDIA® and Google®, the Eee Pad Transformer Prime and its innovative exclusive mobile dock presents a harmony of beauty and strength. In addition to having superior multimedia performance, the Transformer Prime also boasts enhanced features that include audio powered by ASUS SonicMaster technology, an 8MP rear auto-focus camera with LED flash, and an 18-hour* rated battery life when combined with the mobile dock. All of these are housed in an ultra slim 8.3mm metallic spun finish chassis that weighs just 586g.

Multimedia enjoyment in style

Featuring an incredibly slim form factor, the Transformer Prime is a svelte 8.3mm thin and the only metallic tablet that weighs in at a mere 586g. It brandishes a metallic spun finish design made of aluminum for a secure yet extremely comfortable grip. It comes in two gorgeous colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold. The Transformer Prime features the ASUS exclusive SonicMaster technology, which is renowned for crisp and acoustically accurate audio. It produces crystal clear sound with a wide sound range, increased sound fidelity, and distinct vocal enhancements not found on any other tablet in the market. The Eee Pad Transformer already boasts a wide 178° viewing angle IPS display, with scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass, but the Transformer Prime goes further, upgraded with a brighter Super IPS+ screen that enhances the brightness of the screen for a better outdoor reading experience.

Ultra performance

The Transformer Prime is the world’s first tablet to feature NVIDIA’s next-generation quad-core Tegra® 3 processor, creating a new breed of high powered tablet devices. With the quad-core CPU and 12-core GeForce® GPU, the Transformer Prime delivers the best and fastest experience for tablet-based multitasking, web browsing, as well as Full HD video playback and gaming. On its own, the Transformer Prime has a battery life of up to 12 hours*, but when combined with the mobile dock, it lasts up to an incredible 18 hours* as the dock recharges the tablet.

Prime meets Ice Cream Sandwich

Google® Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich brings a plethora of enhancements, and when combined with the design of the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, brings the user experience to new heights. The new camera UI offers better sharing, a new panorama mode, as well as live effects and backgrounds that can be applied in videos. Basic photo editing is now also built into the system, which allows for simple photo touchups. With offline browsing, users can save web pages and view them later without an Internet connection, making it convenient for travelers. While on the road without access to a Wi-Fi network, users can use the new Wi-Fi Direct feature to directly transfer files between Wi-Fi enabled devices. Other enhancements include the new default Roboto font, with a typeface that is easy to read. Users can now also access the Transformer Prime’s camera directly from the lock-screen. Finally, among various other UI changes, users can easily create folders on the home screen by dragging one app on top of another.

Unrivaled visual acuity

A 1.2MP front camera allows for video conferencing while an 8MP rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash takes clear and sharp photos thanks to a large F2.4 aperture, back illuminated CMOS sensor, touch-to-focus depth of field and low light noise reduction. A first for any tablet, the 8MP camera on the Transformer Prime also has the ability to take full 1080p HD video.

Expandability and cloud services

The Transformer Prime is offered in both 32GB and 64GB models. It features a micro SD card slot, 3.5mm combo audio jack and micro HDMI port so sharing both what’s inside and on screen is quick and easy. However, the feature that gives the Transformer Prime its name is the mobile dock, which gives new meaning to the term versatility. The innovative and convenient design seamlessly provides the user with a keyboard and touchpad, along with limitless expandability options via the USB port and SD card slot. The preinstalled SuperNote application is able to take, draw or record notes; while Polaris® Office is great for productivity as it gives users the ability to read and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint (MS Office 97-2007 version compatible) files. In addition, ASUS is offering 8GB of free cloud storage for life via ASUS WebStorage, so users have access to their files via the cloud no matter where they are.

Price

Eee Pad Transformer Prime + Docknig station SGD 899 (GST included) up SGD 1098

Eee Pad Transformer Prime (Tablet Only) SGD 759 (GST included) up SGD 899

Docking Station SGD 199 (GST included).

Huawei MediaPad
Arrives in Singapore!

Singapore among the first few markets in the world to retail MediaPad

Singapore, 13 October 2011 – The wait is finally over for Huawei MediaPad fans in Singapore! From 15 October 2011, the 7-inch Android Honeycomb 3.2 MediaPad will be retailing at operators as well as selected retail stores for S$598 (including GST) without subscription plan. Singapore is one of the first markets where the MediaPad is commercially available.

The Huawei MediaPad is a complete entertainment powerhouse driven by Qualcomm’s dual-core 1.2GHz processor. Featuring a 7-inch 217 PPI capacitive touch screen, the MediaPad is Huawei’s smartest, slimmest and lightest tablet yet, measuring just 10.5mm (0.4 inches) deep and weighing approximately 390g (0.86 pounds).

It supports 1080P full HD video playback and features a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and 5 megapixel auto focus rear-facing camera with HD video recording capabilities. With HSPA 14.4Mbps and high-speed WiFi 802.11n Internet connectivity and preloaded with 3 popular games, the MediaPad doesn’t just entertain – it keeps you connected.

SONY Tablet S unveiled
Bluetooth 30 Sep 2011

Yesterday, we attended the press launch of the highly anticipated SONY TABLET S at Arts Science Musuem, Marina Bay in Singapore.

The event started off at 2pm with an introduction to the design and unique features.  The SONY Tablet S is based on the Android 3.2 powered by NVIDIA tegra2 mobile processor. It has a 9.4 inches LED backlit IPS screen. There are two models, one with 16GB and 32GB of memory respectively. Both are WIFI models only.

For external ports, there is one USB 2.0 microAB connector, headphone jack x1. There is bluetooth, irDA. On the rear there is a SD memory slot. The TABLET S has 2 cameras, one in the front and one at the back. The front camera is a 0.3 mil mega pixel while the rear is a effective pixel 5.11 million powered by Exmor for mobile. There are 3 axis accelerometer, Gyrosensor, Digital compass and Ambient sensor built into the device.

The unit measures 241.2mm x 10,.11mm x 174.33mm and weighs 598g. It has up to 8 hrs of battery life of standard usage, 430 hours standby, 31 hours playing music, 6 hours of video playback and approx 6.2 hrs of web browsing via WIFI.

The magazine form factor catches eyeballs as no other tablet in the market has a design that resembles a magazine. This asymettric design gives it a balanced feel when holding on to it for long hours. The LCD Screen is of a resolution of 1280×800 which gives you optimal viewing. There is also an optional keyboard that is sold seperately.

The Android Tablets and Apple iPad challenger is here – the Kindle Fire. See the presentation below from Telegraph UK

The cuts will see 11 per cent of the Canadian tech giant, which practically invented the smartphone market until Apple came along with its pesky iPhone, collecting their P45s as the company struggles to keep up with the game.

RIM’s first foray into the tablet market with its business-centric PlayBook device seems to have been an unmitigated disaster, with reports suggesting that the company has only managed to ship 50,000 units of the touch-screen gadget.

It looks like things are being further shaken up at the company’s Ontario HQ with COO Don Morrison taking early retirement and Thorsten Heins stepping into his shoes in an expanded role of COO of product and sales.

RIM said in a statement that it would be shedding staff throughout the company in an attempt to “focus on areas that offer the highest growth opportunities,” according to Bloomberg.

RIM’s BlackBerry handsets, which were once the de facto standard for besuited business types because of their bombproof email and messaging services, have since been overtaken by devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems.

The company announced last month that it had failed to meet even lowered profit forecasts and had reduced shipments of hardware in light of reduced sales.

The company’s stock has dropped 52 per cent already this year and is bound to take another kicking once this news gets out.

Source

At the launch event of the SONY VAIO S and Z series, the attention was drawn away from the two laser thin notebooks. Instead all media attention seems to be on the yet to be available SONY tablet.

One of them is S1 and the other is S2. Both tablet looks sleek and information is sketchy. Below are some screen shots of it and a video of it in display at the event held at Handy Road, Singapore.

From the web, we can find some sketchy information about this two upcoming products.

The Sony S1 and S2 are both based on Android 3.0 Honeycomb with customised UI.

The Sony S1 has a 9.4″ screen with 1280×800 resolution. it has 512MB RAM and 32GB storage. It is powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. Some features include QUick and smooth Touch panel UI, Swift web browser, front and rear cameras. It also has access to playstation suite of games.

For wireless connectivity, it has 3G/4G and WIFI. It can also function as a remote control for Sony products. The design makes it foldable like like a magazine.

The Sony S2 has a 5.5″ screen with 2 1024×480 pixel display screen. It has a Book Style UI Layout and it is WIFI/3G/4G compatible. It is again powered by NVIDIA Tegra2 processor.

Huawei just posted it’s press release about it’s MediaPad, the first mass market tablet powered by Android 3.2 HoneyComb. The MediaPad is powered by a dual-core Qualcomm processor, supports Flash Player and has dual cameras, with a 5 megapixel one around the back. The device measure and weighs 10.5mm (0.4 inches) deep and weighing around 390g (0.86 pounds).

Huawei Unveils MediaPad – World’s First 7-inch Android 3.2 Dual-Core Tablet

. Huawei today launched the Huawei MediaPad, the world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet. More details and product specs can be found on our Facebook tab and across Huawei Device’s social media channels.

. The MediaPad is Huawei Device’s smartest, slimmest and lightest tablet yet, measuring just 10.5mm (0.4 inches) deep and weighing around 390g (0.86 pounds).

The MediaPad is a complete entertainment powerhouse driven by Qualcomm’s dual-core 1.2GHz processor and supported by Huawei Device’s Hi-Space cloud solution and Google Android market.

. It supports 1080P full HD video playback and features a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera and 5 megapixel auto focus rear facing HD camera, with HD video recording capabilities.

. With HSPA+ 14.4Mbps and high-speed WiFi 11n Internet connectivity, the MediaPad doesn’t just entertain – it keeps you connected.

. The MediaPad supports HSPA+ data services, Flash 10.3 videos and comes preinstalled with applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Let’s Golf and Documents to Go.

. Availability: The MediaPad will be available in selected markets from Q3 2011.

Attributed to Victor Xu, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Device

“With the Huawei MediaPad, we are demonstrating yet again that design, functionality and performance is within anyone’s reach. The 7-inch tablet remains the preferred size for portability and Honeycomb Android 3.2 is dedicated to enhance the full potential of 7-inch tablets. Huawei is very pleased to be the first to offer this package to consumers globally.” said Victor Xu, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Device. “The MediaPad opens up new worlds of entertainment for consumers by removing the barriers to tablet ownership, enabling access to a truly high-quality mobileentertainment experience fully integrated with cloud-based internet content.”

There is a new tablet up Huawei’s sleeve, though it’s still some time before the tablet gets to see the light of day. The Chinese electronics major has chosen the CommunicAsia 2011 event to launch the tablet they have named the ‘MediaPad’. The CommunicAsia 2011 event gets underway in Singapore from June 21st to 24th.

As for the MediaPad, Huawei isn’t spilling all the beans just yet, though the naming of the tablet is perhaps an indication of it having enhanced entertainment features. Huawei is already calling the MediaPad the “smartest, smallest and lightest tablet” ever to come out of the Huawei stable, something that they believe is “guaranteed to transform the consumer’s entertainment experience.”

The tablet has a clear frontal layout with complete absence of any buttons, which perhaps is an indication of it running Honeycomb. The tablet also seems to have a 7 inch display (or maybe even 5 inch) so that if the above two assumptions turn out to be true, the MediaPad will be an interesting addition to the small 7 inch Honeycomb segment. No word either if the tablet is a completely new development or further enhancement of its S7 tablet range, though the former seems to be more possible.

So stay tuned as more comes out on the MediPad in the coming days.

Shuttle introduced a trio of Android-based tablets to complement its fleet of small form factor computers. The 10-inch (WXGA) N10CN12 and 9-inch (XGA) N09CN01 models are both based on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 CPU paired with 1GB RAM, and target the consumer market. The 8-inch (SVGA) V08CT01 — a ruggedized tablet for education — features an 800 MHz Texas Instruments Cortex A8 processor and 512MB of memory.

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NVIDIA is at Computex to showcase some unique demonstrations around its Tegra line of mobile chips. Check out the video below that highlights some of the new capabilities of Nvidia’s new, upcoming quad-core chip, codenamed Project Kal-El.

This demo below will give you a sneak-peak into the future of mobile gaming. You’ll see:

• Glowball, a game designed to fully exploit the power of quad-core
• True dynamic lighting rendered real time on the NVIDIA GPU of Kal-El; this is the first time true dynamic lighting is feasible on a mobile device and brings more life and interactivity to a 3D environment
• Real-time physics processing across the 4 CPU cores of Kal-El; the lifelike draped cloth responds to the environment’s gravity and objects and gives a greater sense of realism to the game; you can see the visual degradation when reducing to only two cores.

In this impressive demo, the ball serves as the light source. As it rolls, light emanating from it cascades across different objects in real time. This is not easy to do, computationally, and has been difficult to accomplish before. True dynamic, real time rendering shows off the power of of Tegra 3, and it’s really exciting to see. Tegra 3 is set to usher in a new level of mobile performance, and the video does an excellent job of demonstrating this. You might not know, but this marks the first time this type of lighting is feasible on a mobile device.

Plus, with access to different sensors like the accelerometer, Glowball moves in real time as the tablet or phone does.

Tegra 3 is Nvidia’s next-gen super chip, and, as the world’s first mobile quad-core processor, combines a battery-friendly, powerhouse of a quad-core processor with a 12-core NVIDIA GPU that supports 3D stereo.