One of the most surprising things about the Galaxy Note 10.1's appearance at MWC was not that it included Samsung's magical S-Pen peripheral, but the fact that the device lacked a slot to store the advanced stylus.
Those familiar with the original Galaxy Note will remember that it features a convenient slot to house the S-Pen, ensuring that the stylus would always stick with the device, thereby encouraging users to, well, use it.
You may have heard Pixel Qi, an ambitious display maker looking to provide users with brilliant displays that not only save energy, but which are actually readable in sunlight. The company has been working, announcing in a blog post yesterday a new display which "matches the resolution of the iPad3 screen, and its full image quality including matching or exceeding contrast, color saturation, the viewing angle, and so forth with massive power savings." In the post, Mary Lou Jepsen, founder of Pixel Qi, goes on to explain the display's special low power mode which "runs at a full 100x power reduction from the peak power consumed by the iPad3 screen."
Google CEO Larry Page never came out and said that Google is working on a cheap Nexus tablet but today they all but confirmed it in their earnings report when he said this:
A report from the Wall Street Journal offers new details on Google's expected shift in Android tablet strategy, and it's reportedly much more than a single Nexus tablet. The move is being likened to the Nexus One launch, with Google at the center of the distribution and support system for a line of branded tablets. The Nexus One might have been too much for Google to handle, but the search giant is apparently moving full speed ahead this go around, which includes plans to open its own online store where it will sell the rumored tablet line.
ASUS has barely been able to contain its excitement for its Padfone device(s?). Finally, though, we get some more details about what the phone/tablet set will be packing. The former is sporting a a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (it's unclear what model at this time) and 1GB of RAM, underneath a 4.3" 960x540 Super AMOLED screen. Much like Motorola's line of lapdocks, the SoC of the phone will power the tablet while docked.
The Aakash tablet in India is selling like hotcakes, and no not because of specs, or design because it cost only $60. Yes that’s right the government subsidized tablet is selling for $60 in India. Kapil Sibal, India’s minister of Human Resource Development has a plan to make the tablet free for students. The government will pay half the price while schools paying the other half making the tablets free for students at the schools. Now that would be a good deal for a tablet.
Whenever I hear about the latest and greatest tablet under $100, I get a little bit sad inside. It's sort of like that feeling you get when you see a 3-legged dog - your heart is mildly warmed by its perseverance, but the rest of you would much rather look away and think about something a little less... depressing.
Now at CES, Nvidia is showing off the tablet, and telling the world that it comes with a 7-inch crisp display with a 1200 x 800 resolution, Tegra 3 processor, and it's rocking on ICS. It also comes with 16GB of internal storage, as well as a MicroSD card slot.