Yet another industry giant enters tablet space-- Google reveals the Nexus 7 at the I/O Developer Conference, a 7-inch Google-branded device carrying an other fresh announcement, Android version 4.1 (aka Jelly Bean).

However, unlike the high-end Microsoft Surface, Google's take on tablets (a co-development with Asus) appears more humble. With a $199 price point, the Nexus 7 aims for the lower end of the market where the Amazon Kindle Fire currently dominates.

The 7-inch display handles 1280x800 resolutions with a 178-degree viewing angle, while the tablet carries a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 12-core Nvidia GPU and 1GB of RAM. It also supports bluetooth and NFC connections and includes a front-facing camera.

The second biggest I/O announcement is the latest Android version. Code named Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 includes a number of improvements aimed at polishing what already lies within version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Even if Apple retains firm control of the tablet market (65% Q1 2012 share according to ABI)  vendors still insist on fighting over the remains... following Microsoft's surprise Surface announcement, Bloomberg reports Google will unveil a co-branded (with Asus) tablet at the Google I/O 2012 developer conference.

An anonymous Asus executive confirms the Bloomberg report to Reuters.

Why team up with Asus instead of using Motrola Mobility? Apparently Google wants to "continue to treat all partners fairly." Or use them to test out what Android tablets can do...

However the Google tablet will rival neither iPad nor Surface-- Bloomberg's anonymous sources suggest the Google Nexus tablet will aim at the lower end of the market, with pricing as cheap as that of the Amazon Kindle Fire.

At a glitzy Los Angeles event Microsoft unveils its next big step as a hardware maker-- Microsoft Surface, a family of 2 Microsoft-branded Windows tablets complete with clever keyboard covers.

The purpose of the Surface tablets is to "prime the pump" for the imminent Windows 8 release, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says.

The Surface comes in 2 varieties-- one running Windows 8 on Intel 22nm Ivy Bridge chips, and the other running Windows RT using an ARM chipset.

The Windows 8 Surface is 13.5mm Continue reading...

Apple reveals no new iDevices at WWDC 2012, focusing instead hardware and software upgrades-- a MacBook portfolio refresh, the iOS 6 reveal and more details on Mountain Lion OS X.

As it is typical of such Apple events, there was also plenty of gloating. The WWDC keynote starts off with the Siri voice assistant taking shots at Android names (saying they were created by "Ben and Jerry"), Samsung phones (comparing them to refrigerators) and Microsoft, before Tim Cook rolls out the big numbers Apple likes so much (30 billion app downloads from 400 million App Store accounts, for instance).

Toshiba launches what perhaps is the ultrabook with the most interesting form factor-- the Satellite U840W (U845W in the US), with an extra wide and narrow 14.4-inch display.

It is the first ultrabook to feature a 21:9 aspect ratio display with 1792x768 resolution, ideal for movie watching (despite the lack of Blu-ray drive). No small wonder the W in the name stands for Wide!

The laptop carries an Ivy Bridge processor and either SSD (256GB) or SSD/HDD hybrid (500GB) storage, together with Ethernet, Continue reading...

Is it an over-large Android tablet or an ARM based desktop? That is the question visitors ask when seeing the VCD22 Android Smart Display at the ViewSonic Computex 2012 stand.

The VCD22 looks like an all-in-one desktop, but it carries a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor and runs on Android 4.0. The 22-inch touchscreenhandles 1920x1080 resolution, even if it appears to suffer from low contrast and poor viewing angles.

The device aims at family or classroom use, with the Computex display model having Continue reading...

Asus goes all out with the Windows 8 device announcements at Computex 2012-- with x2 tablets, a tablet/laptop hybrid, a convertible notebook and even a dual-booting (Win 8-Android) All-in-One PC.

The Windows 8 tablets come in 2 varieties-- Tablet 600 and Tablet 810, both with Transformer-style detachable keyboards.

The Tablet 600 runs on Windows RT, carries an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a 10.1-inch 1366x768 Super IPS+ display, 2GB RAM and an 8MP camera, while the Tablet 810 features a "next generation" Intel Atom processor, an 11.6-inch 1366x768 display, 2GB RAM and 64GB of storage.

Then there is the "first convertible notebook," the Transformer Book-- a Windows 8 notebook with a detachable touchscreen in either 11.6, 13 or 14.6-inch sizes. It carries a 3rd generation Intel Core processor (i7, i5 or i3), SSD-HDD hybrid storage, 4GB RAM and USB ports.

Google celebrates the first birthday of Chrome OS with a triad of announcements-- the improved Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, the first Mac Mini-style "Chromebox," and general improvements on the OS itself.

Like previous models, the Series 5 550 carries a 12.1" (with 1280x800 resolution) display, x2 USB ports and weighs 1.4kg. It also has a dual-core Intel Atom CPU, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (boosted via SD card slot and Google cloud-based storage).

Connectivity comes through either wifi Continue reading...