According to DigiTimes Acer and Asus believe in Google's Chromebooks-- both companies are reportedly planning to release new models on H2 2013, with Google expected to "aggressively" promote the platform.

According to "sources from the upstream supply chain" monthly Acer Chromebook shipments used to reach 150000-200000 units until January 2013 when shipments dropped to just 20000-30000 units, causing the company to pause shipment plans to H2 2013.

However the company is expected to launch an 11.6-inch model "targeting students" on July 2013.

Meanwhile Asus never had Chromebook plans, but will reportedly launch a branded model on H2 2013.

Toshiba goes for the more business-savvy customer with the WT310-- a Windows 8 Pro tablet with an 11.6-inch 1920x1080 display, Intel Core processor and "DigitiserPen" stylus.

Supposedly optimised for business use, the tablet features a DigitizerPen stylus able to turn hand-written scrawls into editable documents, as well as SSD storage, HDMI-out, SD card slot, USB 3.0 port, wifi connectivity (WiDi-compatible), Bluetooth 4.0 and optional HSPA+/LTE radios.

Pre-installed utilities include Trusted Continue reading...

Berlin-based Txtr starts shipping its low-cost eReader, the Beagle-- a bare-bones 5-inch device that transfers eBooks from Android smartphone via Bluetooth.

First announced at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair, the Beagle announced as an eReader costing all of €9.90 through subsidies from mobile carriers. Such plans are still not in place yet, even if if the company promises it will "announce details of the packages offered soon."

Txtr COO Thomas Leliveld also adds the company is in contract phase Continue reading...

You probably never heard of Inhon, but the obscure Taiwanese OEM might soon rise to fame with the Blade 13 Carbon-- an ultrabook the company claims is the thinnest and lightest yet.

The 13-inch device is 10.7mm thick, beating the previous record holder, the 12.8mm NEC Lavie X. It also weighs all of 870g and carries either Core i5 or i7 CPU, 1920x1080 resolution display, 128/256GB SSD storage and 4GB RAM.

Inhon also offers a lower cost, heavier (1.2kg) and thicker (12.6mm) variant with a 1600 Continue reading...

Microsoft announces European availability for the "Pro" version of the Surface-- by May 2012 the Windows 8 tablet should be available in most of our territories.

Countries include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

The tablet was previously available only the US, Canada and China.

Microsoft explains the reasoning behind the staggered rollout as "[making] sure we have Continue reading...

Toshiba takes on the notebooks armed with pixel-dense displays with the KIRAbook-- an ultrabook carrying a 13.3-inch 2560x1440 resolution "PixelPure" touchscreen.

However, at 221ppi pixel density the Toshiba display falls short of the competition, namely the Macbook Pro with Retina Display (227ppi) and the Chromebook Pixel (239ppi).

Further features include a "precision engineered" magnesium alloy chassis with a "honeycomb-base," 10-point multi-touch display, Harman Kardon stereo speakers. Windows Continue reading...

Kobo launches what it claims is "the only premium eReader on the market" at the London Book Fair-- the Aura HD, an eReader with a 6.9-inch 1440x1080 (265ppi) resolution display.

Such resolution makes it superior to the Kindle Paperwhite's 212ppi 6-inch offering. The AuraHD is also supposedly the fastest at turning pages, thanks to a Freescale processor, and carries 4GB of internal storage.

The launch comes at an unusual time, seeing how eReader sales are waning even as eBook sales grow steadily. Continue reading...

Microsoft is planning an answer to the smaller, lower-cost tablets from the likes of Google and Amazon-- according to the Wall Street Journal the company has a smaller (7-8-inch) Surface tablet lineup in the works.

Such a move would come to no surprise, seeing recently Microsoft relaxed Windows 8/RT tablet requirements by dropping minimum resolutions from 1366x768 to 1024x768.

"This doesn't imply that we're encouraging partners to regularly use a lower screen resolution," the March Windows Certification Continue reading...