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Posted on March 29th, 2011 John Burns
Chip manufacturers, AMD are preparing to launch their new graphics card – the HD 6790 – on April 5th.
The 6790 was originally scheduled for release on March 31st, but AMD postponed the launch until April 5th.
The new card is based on a stripped down version of the Barts GPU – known as the Barts LE – and boasts a GPU frequency of 840 MHz, with a performance level of 1.34 TLFOPs.
It is not designed as a replacement to any of the cards in the existing 6800 range, instead acting as an intermediary unit between the HD 5770 and the HD 6850. The 6790 will retain the same basic VLIW5 architecture but with 10 SM units, rather than the 12 and 14 on the HD 6850 and 6870 cards.
Filling this gap in AMD’s range puts the new graphics card in direct competition with rival company, Nvidia’s own GTX 550 Ti card, as both companies jostle for dominance in the chip market.
Nvidia released the GTX 550 Ti last Tuesday, giving them a light jump on their competition. However, AMD’s respectable branding and prompt response is likely to see them making up ground in no time.
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Posted on March 24th, 2011 John Burns
Acer have announced a UK release date for the company’s first Android running tablet, the Iconia Tab A500.
The A500 will be available from Friday 8th April, the same launch day as the Windows based W500.
The new tablet will be a 10.1-inch affair and will run Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system. The company also showed samples of a 7-inch Android tablet, the A100, the release of which is expected at the end of April.
Specifications include a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution touchscreen display, 1GHz dual-core processor and an nVidia GeForce graphics processor, which promises to offer ultra-low power consumption.
Acer did not share what sort of touchscreen would be gracing the Iconia A500, but it appears to be a lower grade panel to that of the iPad 2.
The device will be WiFi only on release, with an optional 3G modem becoming available in May. The battery life of the A500 is apparently the same as that of the iPad2, offering 10 hours of continuous usage.
Further comparison with the iPad 2 does not reflect well on A500; at over 13mm in width, the Acer device half again as thick as the new Apple tablet and weighs 100 grams more.
Pricewise, the device will retail at £449 in its initial, WiFi only incarnation; £50 more than the iPad 2.
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Posted on March 26th, 2011 John Burns
Rumours suggest that ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer hybrid device will be available in the UK on March 30th.
The tablet-cum-netbook device was released in the company’s native Taiwan today, but sites such as Phandroid have hinted that the device may be hitting the UK as early as next week.
The basic 16GB version is currently retailing for $500US in Taiwan, with the 32GB version fetching $600US, although these prices are expected to change as the device becomes available worldwide.
The Transformer consists of a 10.1-inch tablet device running Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system, coupled with – and this is the major selling point – a lightweight physical keyboard for those users who are still not entirely comfortable with touchscreen typing. This keyboard is completely detachable, allowing the tablet device to be used independently as and when is required.
The unit will come complete with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution touchscreen panel, a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM. Other features include a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front for video calls, as well as a 5 megapixel camera on the back for other camera usage, a HDMI output, SD card reader and two USB 2.0 ports.
The Transformer could be an interesting addition to the tablet battle when it hits UK shores. If the rumours are to be believed, we might not have to wait too long.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2011 John Burns
UK release dates have reportedly been leaked for RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet as well as HTC’s 7-inch Flyer tablet.
The information, released by mobile operators Three, indicates a May release for the HTC Flyer, while RIM’s PlayBook is pencilled in for a June release.
The leaked slide also describes the PlayBook’s June release as “WiFi only”, which isn’t a huge surprise as rumours have previously suggested that RIM want PlayBook users to pair the tablet with a BlackBerry smartphone for 3G usage.
The two devices have caused rhttp://www.laptopshop.co.uk/news/wp-admin/post-new.phpipples of excitement in the tablet market, and both have been nominated as possible contenders to the Apple iPad’s crown.
While these projected release dates give the Apple device a 1 and 2 month respective headstart on the devices, the buzz around the two tablets will hopefully be sufficient to give them a fighting chance in the market.
A second quarter release date could also give the devices the edge over another of the challengers for the tablet crown – the HP TouchPad.
The TouchPad had been rumoured for a US release in April but this was later knocked back to June, with some sources reporting that HP were going to hold the item until September.
A quote from HP’s CEO, Leo Apotheker seems to confirm that the TouchPad will now be released in June, but this is a US release date only; no information is currently available for a UK release.
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Posted on March 18th, 2011 John Burns
Taiwanese netbook giants, Asus are reportedly planning to release a budget netbook for around £150.
The netbook will run a Google operating system, although the report was not clear as to whether the OS would be Chrome or Android 3.0.
However, correlations between a recent announcement from Google, and the reported rollout date for Asus’ new device, indicate that it will be a Chrome device.
Sundar Pichai, who is Google’s vice president of product management, posted on his Twitter account that new Chrome OS running devices would be appearing in stores “midyear”. The report emanating from Asustek suggests a June release date, so the two statements marry up. This is, of course, pure speculation.
What is certain, however, is the device will be hitting the market with a fetching $200-$250 price tag, translating to around £120-£155 in the UK. The reasons behind such aggressive pricing are fairly transparent; Asus have given themselves a six million unit shipping target for netbooks in 2011.
If reports of the ailing health of the netbook market are to be believed, this sort of budget approach is entirely necessary if Asus are to hit such targets.
With the continuing high-performance of tablet devices in the marketplace, we can expect this trend of cut-price netbooks to continue.
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Posted on March 15th, 2011 John Burns
A release date for HTC’s new Flyer tablet has apparently been leaked by an online retailer.
Expansys announced a sale date of May 5th in a pre-order advert for the tablet device on their website.
This release date would see the HTC device lag behind the iPad 2 tablet by a month, following the Apple device’s UK release next Friday, but experts are still predicting that the Flyer will be a serious contender iPad’s dominance of the market.
If this is to be the case HTC will have made some serious gains on their competitors on multiple fronts; uSwitch announced back in February that HTC’s Android powered smartphones had toppled Apple’s iPhone from the UK sales chart.
The HTC Desire smartphone now tops the charts, with its sister models the Desire HD and the Wildfire occupying second and third spots. The iPhone now languishes in 6th place.
The Flyer looks to develop the e-book technology made popular by Amazon’s Kindle reader, as well as the inclusion of a safe area for kids to read children’s books.
However, this feature – sure to make the device popular with parents and carers – is by no means the only card up the Flyer’s sleeve.
The Google Android supporting device comes equipped with a 1.5GHz processor chip, Flash support, OnLine gaming portal and 3G and Wireless options.
The HTC Flyer looks to be an exciting addition to the tablet market; roll on May 5th.
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Posted on March 4th, 2011 John Burns
Business reporters, Bloomberg have announced that Microsoft will not be releasing a specifically designed tablet operating system this year, and instead, plan to launch the OS in September 2012.
This report is a contradiction to earlier indications that tablets supporting Windows 8 would begin to appear in the third quarter of this year, with Dell’s Streak tablet leading the way.
If Bloomberg’s report turns out to be true then Microsoft will have missed out on a big opportunity to make a serious stab at the tablet market, and will instead have essentially surrendered market dominance to Google and Apple.
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst for Gartner Inc, thinks that Microsoft are shooting themselves in the foot with this late release:
“If 2011 is the year of tablet wars, Microsoft will be awfully late suiting up for that battle,” he said. “It’s not a good position to be in; battle lines are being drawn, land is being grabbed, users are being evangelised and spending money.”
Bloomberg predict that an autumn 2012 release will require an enormous leap of faith from tablet manufacturers to support it, as it will be untested software featuring in devices likely to be up against the release of iPad3. Chances are it will also be a full version behind Google’s Android OS, which is expected to have evolved into v4.0 by that point.
Spokesmen for Microsoft were unavailable to comment.
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Posted on February 17th, 2011 John Burns
The long awaited Kno Textbook tablet has been given a release date, although only people already on the pre-order list will benefit.
The tablet’s manufacturers, Kno have been contacting clients on this list to inform them that their device will be shipped within 60 days. Unfortunately, it has been reported that Kno are unable to honour all pre-orders at this time, and that if you haven’t been called, your tablet is not yet on its way.
The information around the tablet is still murky; the website talks about signing up for the chance of a 25% discount, but reveals no price. As for when the device will go on general sale, there is still no word.
The dual screen Kno tab was touted as an educational device that acted as an e-reader for larger textbooks. The device’s 14.1 inch display and double view would make it ideal for this purpose, although there is no information as to whether these digital textbooks will actually be available when the device is released.
Kno’s bizarre promotional tactics are presumably meant to drum up an air of mystique around the item, but the lack of information and the building unanswered questions are staggering. Also, if the eventual price is any where near the $800 mooted at CES, they may just be pricing themselves right out of the student market.
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Posted on February 20th, 2011 John Burns
Lenovo have announced that its budget tablet, the LePad will be available worldwide in June 2011.The tablet is already penciled in for a Chinese release next month, where it will be available either on its own or as part of the IdeaPad U1 hybrid system. Lenovo have not hinted as to whether both options will be available in the UK or not.The £300 tablet is expected to feature a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Google’s Android 2.2 – Froyo, not Honeycomb, which could explain the low price – and a 10.1 inch, high definition display.The tablet unit on its own will weigh less than two pounds and will be a skinny contraption at just half an inch thick. Other features include a front facing camera for video calls and up to 8 hours of battery life.Another string to device’s bow is its compatibility with the IdeaPad U1 device. Hybrid devices such as these are becoming increasingly common on the market, as manufacturers seek to cope with the ever changing demands of the consumer, as well as attempting to play the innovation card in an ever more saturated market.To use the device with the U1, simply clip the bezel into the connecting port and press a ‘sync’ key to experience what Lenovo describes as a “seamless change between operating systems to support a continuous web browsing experience”.The LePad could be an interesting addition to the budget end of the tablet range and – although some will baulk at the lack of Honeycomb or better – the availability of the hybrid option might be the difference in the market place.
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Posted on February 16th, 2011 John Burns
Sony’s new Android tablet – the Qriocity S1 – is due for release in September of this year, according a report by Endgadget.
The tech site reported that the information on the tablet originated from two “highly trusted and independent sources”.
The tablet is expected to be 9.4 inches in size and will run Google’s Android 3.0 operating system – otherwise known as Honeycomb. Other specs include an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor chip and front and rear facing cameras.
It also appears likely that compatibility with Sony’s Qriocity cloud service will be one of the tablet device’s main functions; there are already rumours of the inclusion of a ‘Q’ button on the keyboard that will provide instant access to Qriocity’s services.
The S1 is also reported to feature remote play compatibility with the Sony Playstation and will even have PS One games preloaded on the device.
Pushing the convergence boat out even further, Sony are also planning to provide link ups between the device and Sony Bravia home cinema systems, as well as talk of an IR port for inter-brand connectivity.
All sounds very exciting; too bad we will have to wait seven months for the device’s release. Sony have placed a preliminary price tag of £373 on the S1, although this seems likely to change when a UK release date is announced.
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Posted on January 31st, 2011 John Burns
Acer have announced that they will be launching a 3D monitor – the Acer GN245HQ – in early February.
The device will have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 on a 24 inch backlit LED screen, it will support NVIDIA’s 3D vision whilst also featuring an infrared emitter compatible with 3D active shutter glasses.
This built in IR emitter frees up a precious USB slot for other use, as well as eliminating the need for yet another peripheral device.
It is this emitter that sets it apart from the other 3D monitors already on the market – such as the Asus G236HVG236HE and the Samsung SyncMaster devices – which are not equipped with this capability.
Other specifications for the GN245HQ monitor include a panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, full HD display and a 10000000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The monitor also boasts an impressive response time of 2ms.
Dual DVI and HDMI 1.4a inputs will also feature on the classy looking, sharp angled device which comes in a piano-black finish, complete with an X-shaped stand.
As yet there is not confirmed price for the item but it is expected to retail at around £350 on its release next month.
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Posted on February 1st, 2011 John Burns
Clover System have released the Sunbook, a netbook that the manufacturers claim will be readable even in direct sunlight.
The Florida based company have incorporated a Pixel Qi LED backlit transflective LCD display into the unit, which allows users an uninhibited view of the screen in any light conditions.
The 10.1 inch, 1024 x 768 resolution screen uses its greyscale mode – where the backlight is turned off – to make the screen visible in direct sunlight. Turning the backlight off also allows increased battery life, which is handy considering you are most likely to be using the feature when outside with no power source.
As you can see in the above picture, the Sunbook – on the left – outperforms competitors in these conditions.
‘All very useful in the Sunshine State’, I hear you cry, ‘but I live in Birmingham.’
Well, in addition to the innovative screen display, the Sunbook packs a 1.66 GHz Atom N450 single-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, GMA 3150 integrated graphics, a media card readers, LAN, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a 0.3 megapixel webcam.
The device has a battery life of 12 hours of continuous usage when used in greyscale mode, although this is likely to be slashed when the backlight is turned on.
The Sunbook is not yet scheduled for a release on this side of the Atlantic, but when it does hit you can expect it to be fairly pricey; US models are currently retailing at $795, approximately double the price of a standard netbook.
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Posted on January 25th, 2011 Liz G
Production on the Apple iPad 2 is reportedly going to start in February making an April world wide release likely.
China Times reports that the production on the second generation iPad will be on a smaller scale initially and will be ‘significantly’ increased from April onwards.
Beleaguered Foxconn remain the main player in the production of the Apple tablet, with other suppliers including Taiwanese company Pegatron.
Reports on the production of the iPad 2 have been mixed with some industry watchers claiming it was due to start in January. However, February production ties in with the likely April release of the tablet.
An April release date is also backed up by reports that Near Field Communications (NFC) functionality will be ready to go live on the Apple devices from April onwards.
While all the release dates and specs are rumours at the moment, Apple’s acting chief executive officer Tim Cook is expected to officially unveil the iPad 2 in the coming weeks.
And to add to the gossip it’s been said that the event will happen on February 9, due to a screenshot of an iPad calendar app with that date marked in it.
However, that could be a joke to feed the rumour mill further and it is a trick Apple pulled with the release of the original iPad last year.
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Posted on January 28th, 2011 John Burns
Telecoms company, Huawei have released their new tablet, the Android based S7.
The S7 boasts an attractive design at an affordable price; it is also fitted with a handy little stand for desk use.
The device is on the smaller end of the tablet scale, measuring 209 x 108 x 15.5mm. Its 7 inch screen has an 800 x 400 pixel resolution, making the device a scaled-up version of a high-end Android smartphone.
Huawei has received criticism for releasing a new device running Android v2.1 rather than the now available v2.2, but for the price this is still a fine unit.
Other reasons behind such a low price tag become apparent on examination of the touchscreen, which is resistive rather than capacitive. The device therefore requires a more forceful touch before contact is registered than, say, the Samsung Galaxy Tab with its capacitive screen.
Specifications for the device include a 768MHz processor, microSD sim card slot and two webcams; a 2 megapixel one which is back facing, and a front facing 0.3 megapixel camera.
Devices like the S7 may not be the next-gen tablets Android have been teasing us with, but they represent the budget end of the tablet market. We will see the full power of Android when Honeycomb devices begin to drop this quarter.
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Posted on January 28th, 2011 Dan Mather
A dedicated app to deliver BBC iPlayer content to iPads is nearing a release and should soon be available in the UK, according to reports.
The BBC has been talking up the prospects of an iPlayer app for the better part of a year but it now does finally look as if the corporation will be able to deliver its programmes to Apple users via a video-on-demand platform of its very own.
It is believed that the app will be available for download from the App Store before the end of February, and before the BBC’s current technology director Erik Huggers vacates his post and heads for the halls of Intel HQ.
BBC content can already be viewed by iOS device users in the UK but the system is far from perfect and it is anticipated that a specially-designed app will function much more smoothly.
Around four per cent of all the online programme requests to the iPlayer were made from mobile devices during December of last year, which amounts to a figure of around 145 million, Paid Content:UK reports.
Meanwhile, over in the States, Rupert Murdoch is readying an iPad-only newspaper that is set for launch on February 2nd at a high-profile event at New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Apple’s vice president of internet services Eddy Cue will accompany the News Corp boss as he unleashes ‘the Daily’ onto the US market.
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Posted on January 24th, 2011 Dan Mather
The much-anticipated release of Motorola’s Android tablet PC is now expected to happen in the US on February 17th.
An American or a worldwide release date has yet to be officially confirmed but internal info from the Best Buy retailer appears to have the Xoom slated for availability from the middle of next month.
Engadget received the info from unnamed sources and suggest it to be a strongest indication yet that Motorola is to release the first of its Android-operated tablet PCs within a matter of weeks.
Android tablet PCs have been on offer for a while, with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab the most prominent so far but interest in the Xoom has been intensifying since it was teased ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show and subsequently showcased with a Honeycomb version of Google’s operating system.
Pricing is naturally a key concern for anyone weighing up their tablet PC options and it is believed that the cost of buying a Xoom on its release in the US will be just shy of $700.
Motorola will do well to attract enough buyers of its Xoom to threaten the current tablet market dominance of the Apple iPad and to fend of competition from rival firms with Android operated slates up their sleeves as well.
However, there is widely reckoned to be plenty of room for growth in the mobile computing sector worldwide at present, with the financial services company Deloitte having recently predicted that ten million tablets will be sold to the enterprise sector alone over the course of this year, with iPads very much leading the way.
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96°
Expires: 07/02/2011
Product: An evening out at London’s Medieval Banquet or a pair of tickets for long sword fighting
Period: Once
Availibility: Both
To celebrate the release of Season of the Witch which stars Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, we have fantastic themed prizes to giveaway. An evening out at London’s Medieval Banquet and secondly, a pair of tickets for long sword fighting at London Longsword Academy. Rules: What is Nic Cage's character called?
Options::
Behmen ** Answer **
Belson
Benson
******Loads more Comps on site **********
More sci-fi-online (syfy.co.uk) deals
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