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In October, Samsung will be releasing their latest offering in the tablet/slate space, unaffected by legal wrangling. Samsung provided an evaluation unit of the upcoming Series 7 Slate PC for a few fun hours, and I walked away quite impressed … Continue reading
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Intel’s new line up of low voltage Core Processors have given rise to a new generation of notebooks, which will start to see the light of day from this October onwards. I’ve had an opportunity to have some hands-on time … Continue reading
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Recently I watched an engrossing television series called “Invisible Worlds” from BBC, where slow-motion cameras captured events that are usually outside of the human eye’s ability to see. When JVC mentioned their new camera to me that could shoot video … Continue reading
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In a couple of weeks, Acer will be releasing their latest Honeycomb tablet, the Iconia A100. This model was shown off at their tablet launch earlier in the year, but at that stage only had Froyo (Android 2.2) on board. … Continue reading
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(Update: The release date of the Slider appears to have slipped to early October, according to Asus) The success of the Eee Pad Transformer from Asus has really driven home the concept of innovation driving sales in an increasingly competitive … Continue reading
Media players have been around for quite some time now, and they’ve taken many different forms over the years. At one point, we thought that the Windows Media Centre would take centre stage in our lounge room, but people just … Continue reading
Acer were the first to release a Honeycomb tablet to the general retail market, and as I mentioned in a previous blog post, they set the benchmark for the type of inputs and outputs one could previously only wish for … Continue reading
If you recall from our previous Toshiba netbook unboxing, we came away quite impressed with the combination of performance and portability in such a small machine. One of the key components in that model was the new C-series APU, part of the new Fusion range from AMD.
Given the high marks for that model, we were just as eager to spend some one-on-one time with HP’s new DM1 notebook with the second Fusion product to be released from AMD, called the E series. The E-350 chip is also an Accelerated Processing Unit or APU, combining the graphics and CPU onto one die. I must say, as a product that straddles the space between a netbook and a full-sized notebook, we walked away nodding our head in approval yet again.
Brian Slattery, Australia’s country manager for AMD, is an excitable guy, and I couldn’t help but ask for his thoughts on the new HP. This is what he said:
“Although the dm1 is great for a variety of users, I’ve been carrying it for the past few weeks as my primary business PC. I’m usually on the road, in-and-out of meetings all day. The battery life on the dm1 is fantastic – I head out before 9, get home after 6 and don’t even bother to bring my power cables with me. I enjoy watching Bing Lee YouTube videos on my big screen at home using the HDMI out as well.”
Of course, don’t take just Brian’s word for it, here’s an in-depth walkthrough of this AMD-based notebook that we produced for Bing Lee. If you’re looking for a netbook-sized solution with the grunt of a decent notebook, then you should definitely consider the DM1 from HP:
We’ve had a look at quite a few different tablets over the past few months, and now we’ve managed to get hold of the new Eee Pad Transformer, which will be released in Australia in the next month or so. It’s definitely an interesting product that will appeal to users who are looking for a richly featured tablet that also like the flexibility of a physical keyboard.
Who would have imagined there'd be an Android lurking undereath this case?
This product is quite different to the Samsung Slider PC that we had a look at a few weeks back. The Asus Transformer is a 32GB Android Honeycomb tablet with a detachable keyboard. The keyboard has a dock-type feature set, including memory card slot, 2 full size USB ports with nifty magnetic covers, and an additional battery that adds a further 8 hours to the 8 hours already available on the screen portion. 16 hours of battery life is more than enough for even the most demanding power user. Beryl from Asus tells me the keyboard actually charges the tablet to ensure optimum battery life.
A netbook by any other name...
When the tablet is docked, the Transformer looks, for all intents and purposes, just like a premium netbook, although with some odd keyboard symbols that relate to the Android OS. The home and search buttons are placed next to the space bar on the left, and the menu drop down button is on the right of the space bar. The back button is on the upper left and sleep button is on the upper right. I actually became quite adept at using these shortcuts after a while; they seemed to become natural extensions of the tablet when you found the need to use a keyboard.
Using a full QWERTY keyboard with Android? It makes more sense than you think.
Having the keyboard is great when typing out blogs, emails or spreadsheets, or anything that is text heavy that may be cumbersome on a tablet without a tactile keyboard. The Transformer comes with Polaris Office preloaded, so it’s quite easy to edit and create Microsoft Office compatible docs, which is when the keyboard would be most in demand.
Onto the tablet itself. I must admit, I had a child’s pleasure in running around the office showing off the Transformer as a netbook, then waiting for my audience’s reaction as I coolly detached the tablet from the keyboard – I managed to get a few “ooohs” and “aaaahs”. Okay, so I also rehearsed the action to milk it to the maximum.
Insert Autobot transformation sounds here.
But in all seriousness, the undocking and docking action is pretty firm, and once it’s locked in the tablet’s not going anywhere. One thing Asus has done well is use a consistent design around the bezel to hide the fact that the tablet has this function, with three slots on the bottom of the tablet the only hint of the possibility.
The only time I've been happy to see my PC in 2 pieces.
As a stand-alone tablet, which will be sold in the 16GB capacity without a dock, it is pretty strong in the features department. The tablet has mini-HDMI output with 1080p output, Micro SD slot, headphone jack and multi-purpose connector for charging, USB connection and docking. It also has two cameras, 1.2MP front and 5MP on the back.
From an Android Honeycomb execution, this model appears to tick all the boxes in terms of speed and touch responsiveness, and Beryl also told me that there is an Asus Honeycomb skin that may appear on the retail model as well, to provide more functionality and a slicker look and feel. More on that when we plant our eyes on it.
Is that an embedded Flash video on a tablet browser? You betcha.
The Transformer is a great example of the shift that we’re going to see in the PC market over the coming months. The device looks like a netbook, even acts like one to a certain extent, and then reveals its strengths as a full-fledged tablet device. If you’re not sure if you want a touchscreen tablet or a netbook, but really want something portable and intuitive to use, the Transformer will be one worth considering.
Posted in Business, Computers, PC Hardware, Software, Tablets, Technology
Tagged Android, Android 3.0, Android Honeycomb, ASUS Eee, Eee Pad, HDMI, Honeycomb, Tablet computer, Tablet PC, Transformer
We had our first chance to get up close and personal with Acer’s slim and shiny new tablet-based products amongst the bulky, low-tech relics of our country’s seafaring history within the Maritime Musuem at Darling Harbour, Sydney. Acer are serious about this category and had many variations on show – a 5 inch smart phone, a 7 inch and 10 inch Honeycomb tablet, a 10 inch Windows 7 netbook with detachable touch screen, and a dual 14″ touch screen notebook that deserves a blog piece on its own.
Mr Touchbook, we'll be coming back to have a closer look at you soon.
The product that we’re focussing on in this blog is the one that Acer will be launching as their first foray into the highly prized tablet market. This one is the A500, a 10″ tablet with the Android 3.0 operating system. This is exciting for us, as it’s the first iteration of the tablet-specific OS from Google that we’re playing with.
Looks kinda nice even when it's turned off.
First, the product itself. It weighs 700 grams and feels quite sturdy and solid in the hands. Acer have definitely not tried to emulate the iPad design, with a more notebook inspired form – it actually appears like a monitor off a classy netbook, which isn’t a bad thing. It has a nice streamlined design that keeps the overall aesthetic simple and easy to handle. In landscape, the top and bottom edges are framed by a brushed metal finish that continues all the way around the back, where the logo sits in centre.
Speakers, Camera and all-important Logo.
To the right of the logo is the 5MP camera that is also capable of taking 720p video. At the top of the unit are the volume controls and orientation lock. Next to them are the micro SD card and 3G slot, the latter of which is available if the model is a 3G variant.
Instant storage expansion - just add a dash of SD.
There are plenty of I/O ports – on the right there is a full sized and mini-USB 
port, on the bottom a docking connector for an upcoming accessory that charges and connects to 
other devices. On the left hand side there is a headphone jack and a mini-HDMI. The front frame also encases a front facing 2MP camera. The capacitive screen is bright and smoothly responsive.
To make it easy for users to start using the Iconia without delay, Acer have designed a group of 4 areas where there are preloaded apps and more can be added. These are labelled eReading, Game Zone, Multimedia, and Social Network, these being the most obvious groupings for common activities on the tablet. The plus sign on each page allows you to add more apps into each area as you see fit.
Acer's own customised grouping system - simple and attractive.
Now, the big question, how does Android 3.0 perform on the 10″ Iconia? Honeycomb, as Android 3.0 is commonly known, is an exciting alternative to the benchmark tablet system. As an environment to manage apps, which is really what you want in a tablet offering, Honeycomb is highly customisable. Widgets are a defining feature for this version of Android, with enough landscape for many of your favourite widgets, which are similar to those on a desktop, offering dynamic, updated information in small, bite-sized panels.
What Honeycomb is all about - making it your own.
At the time of publication, there were still only a small but growing number of tablet-specific apps on the Android marketplace. Developers have most likely been waiting for Android and manufacturers to release new products so they can see some return in creating these new apps. So far, I’ve tried a few – Flixster, CNN News, Google Body and DrawFree. They all make good use of the screen real estate and are intuitive in layout and touch-use.
Great - another reason to ignore eating and showering. Who needs to watch movies when you can read about them all day?
Of course, tablet apps are huge business for Apple, and the massive installed consumer base they have means developers are falling over themselves to deliver apps of every kind. As the likes of Acer, Asus, Toshiba and others begin to roll out their Android tablet products, we should see a snowball effect in tablet-optimised apps to deliver even more value to users.
Android 3.0 opens up a huge world of possibilities for different form factors, OS skins and customisation that will provide users with choice and innovation. Each manufacturer has an opportunity to make a big technology statement here, not just for development’s sake, but for the customer’s touch screen experience. Acer are first out of the gates and it’s an impressive start to a year of Honeycomb launches.
We’ll be doing a full unboxing demo video of the Acer A500 Iconia in the near future, so thanks for reading and we’ll be back soon.
Posted in Computers, PC Hardware, Software, Tablets, Technology
Tagged A500, Acer, Android, GameZone, HDMI, Honeycomb, IPad, MicroSD, Tablet computer
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