Pocketables

Enspert E201 Identity Tab available for just $149

2012-02-09T14:29:15-10:00

This week has been pretty dedicated to Windows news, but that doesn't mean other companies haven't made announcements and product releases of their owns. One of those companies is Enspert, who today announced that its E201 Identity Tab is purchasable for a mere $149 today.

The tablet is already a little over a year old. In fact, the last time it was covered on Pocketables was when Jenn unboxed it on January 31st of 2011. Of course, back then it was a still reasonable $349, but today's cut of over $200 makes the device actually worth taking a look at this far into its life.

Let me tell you about the specs as a refresher, since it has been a year since you last heard about them. It's got a 7-inch display with a low resolution of 800 x 480, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 512MB of RAM, HDMI out, SD card slot, 8GB of internal storage, and 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1.

Naturally, when considering devices in the $100-$200 range, one also has to take into account the Kindle Fire which, for $50 more than the Identity Tab, will get you a higher resolution screen and a dual-core processor. You don't get HDMI out, SD storage expandability, or cameras with the Kindle, but the decision is obviously yours; pick whichever one fits your needs the best.

Hit up the Dynamism source link below to order yours.

[Dynamism via Liliputing]

Motorola blames diverse hardware for lack of Android updates

2012-02-09T12:27:40-10:00

One of the most common complaints about Android devices is the lack of updates from the manufacturers. Usually, we attribute this to the manufacturer's custom software skins, but Motorola has come out blaming the wide range of Android hardware for delays in updates. In General Manager Christy Wyatt's own words,

I'd say it's the hardware that's the long pole in the tent...dealing with the software is not the hard part."

It seems clear that Motorola is trying to divert attention from their decision to continue using their custom skins on their devices, because a commonly proposed solution is for them to ship with stock Android and differentiate with hardware. So, if hardware is actually to blame for the delays, then there is less of a reason for users to want custom UIs removed. (Other than the fact that they simply aren't any good.)

However, this argument doesn't make any sense at all. Developers who work only in their spare time can often get incredibly stable ROM's based on the latest software out within a couple months. So, while diverse hardware certainly adds to the problem, software customizations are still one of the main holdups. Hopefully the Google acquisition will result in Motorola shipping stock Android, but until then we need to keep the pressure on Motorola and other manufacturers to ship stock Android on their devices and update existing hardware in a timely manner.

[CNET]

NVIDIA invite for its Mobile World Congress event teases first quad-core phone

2012-02-09T11:46:26-10:00

On top of everything else that has been announced for a launch at Mobile World Congress, NVIDIA has just sent out these invitations for its MWC event, in which the company will show off its quad-core Tegra 3 processor for use in smartphones.

The market is already starting to proliferate with Tegra 3 devices, but all of them have been tablets and not phones. This event by NVIDIA will be showing off "Quad-core performance and great battery life" and "just how far NVIDIA has taken these innovations."

Companies should be showing off their own quad-core phones by themselves, too, so hopefully MWC 2012 is the "MWC of quad-core." That was, admittedly, pretty cheesy, but I do believe we'll see a ton of awesome quad-core phones from a lot of manufacturers, most of which will run Android.

How many cores does your current phone have? And are you expecting to upgrade to a quad-core phone once they're released?

[MobileSyrup]

Nokia N9 isn't dead yet, gets an unofficial build of Ice Cream Sandwich

2012-02-09T11:24:32-10:00

The Nokia N9 is an impressive piece of hardware, but it never really went up for sale in the US, and Nokia has actually stopped supporting its MeeGo OS thanks to a deal with Microsoft. As such, few people got to enjoy the long anticipated piece of Nokia hardware based on a Linux OS, which is now likely to be the last such device from Nokia.

Thanks to the power of open source, however, N9 fans have another option. The NITDroid project is an effort to get Android running on, you guessed it, Nokia hardware. While the actual project has been around since the days of the N900 and N810 (quite some time ago), the latest development is especially exciting.

After quite a lot of effort, developers have gotten Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to start up and function on the N9. Now, function is used lightly, as there are obvious render anomalies on the display, but the touchscreen is said to function properly. Of course, this is not intended to be a user release anyways, and is only the developers showing that they can in fact run ICS on the N9.

However, according to the source of these images, a method is in the works to allow N9 users to dual boot MeeGo and Android, and will be released sometime soon. Most of us agree that Nokia makes some very striking hardware, and if this port functions even on a basic level it would only make the hardware that much better. In fact, now that it is selling for about $450 on Amazon, I may have to consider picking one up myself.

[My Nokia Blog]

Steven Sinofsky reveals more Windows 8 information

2012-02-09T10:48:18-10:00

Hey! Are you tired of hearing about Windows 8? No? Good. Neither are we!

Today, Windows President Steven Sinofsky wrote a blog post on the Building Windows 8 blog, detailing the process that went into developing Windows for use on the ARM architecture, as well as confirming (and denying) a few myths about the next iteration of Microsoft's desktop operating system.

First off, WOA (Windows on ARM) will be able to run the traditional Windows desktop. Devices using those processors will have complete access to the desktop, along with desktop versions of apps — including Microsoft Office. In Sinofsky's own words:

"...we’ve designed WOA to look and feel just like you would expect. WOA enables creativity in PC design that, in combination with newly architected features of the OS, will bring to customers new no-compromise experiences."

Unfortunately, not everything is perfect. Sinofsky stated that you won't be able to install WOA on other devices, nor will you be able to install apps from outside the Windows Marketplace. That certainly won't go over well with people who are used to Windows; after all, in existing Versions of Windows, users can install apps from wherever they want.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, WOA PCs are estimated to ship at the same time as their x86/x64 counterparts. This means that WOA should take off at a rapid rate when compared to the competition, especially given the fact that you can get a full desktop experience with better battery life.

I won't make any rush decisions on what I feel about Windows 8 just yet, but I am super happy to hear that ARM tablets/PCs will be able to access the traditional desktop. Let's just hope we can also access the traditional Start button, too.

[Building Windows 8]

SDG Systems's Trimble Yuma is a ruggedized tablet that runs Ubuntu

2012-02-08T17:59:31-10:00

Android is being used more and more on all kinds of devices, including business tablets and smartphones. However, sometimes you just need to have a full operating system to get something done. While Windows 8 is certainly looking promising for mobile users who need that kind of functionality, SDG Systems has already announced a rugged tablet with a full desktop operating system that is based on Ubuntu.

The tablet, called the Trimble Yuma, is actually a slight redesign of a previous Windows 7 business tablet, but with slightly updated specs. Its hardware matches up nicely with netbooks, as it includes a 7-inch display, 1.6GHz Atom processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 32GB or 80GB SSD. It does have some additional consumer/business oriented features, like GPS, dual cameras, and SDHC and ExpressCard slots.

As far as ruggedized goes, the Yuma looks very good compared to some other "ruggedized" hardware we have seen. It has a magnesium alloy case to protect everything, is water and dust-resistant, meets the United States Military Standard for durability, and has an Ingress Protection rating of 67.

Last year, we heard of Canonical's (Ubuntu's parent company) plans to bring the Ubuntu OS to mobile devices, and while it doesn't appear that SDG Systems is affiliated with Cannonical, they have done just that. Unfortunately, their device has been designed strictly for the business side of things, with a consumer shocking $3695 a device sticker price.

Still, the Trimble Yuma is pretty cool simply for being a practically indestructible tablet with a unique OS, and something that I would own if I could afford it. The KDE Spark tablet may be a better fit for consumers, this might serve as a good baseline example what Ubuntu and Linux can be on a full fledged Micro PC, and get people interested in full featured operating systems on tablets.

[PCWorld]

Microsoft and Windows Phone are Nokia's only plan for success

2012-02-08T13:14:10-10:00

In just three days, the Nokia and Microsoft partnership will be one year old. A lot of good things have come out of it already, like the three (official) Lumia Windows Phones from Nokia.

However, it might be working a little too well. Nokia VP Victor Saeijes told a Swedish newspaper that the only future option for the company is Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. In fact, Nokia doesn't even have a true plan B! "Plan B is that Plan A must succeed," said Saeijes.

Here's more of the interview, which gives a good, in-depth look at how Nokia views Windows Phone:

“It’s like starting all over again. But we must succeed in the U.S. if we are to succeed in the world.”

Granted, Nokia is still dishing out Symbian updates for existing phones, but this is a pretty clear indication that it's a platform that will be abandoned quite soon. In any case, I'm happy that Nokia has a set path that it's going to take for the foreseeable future, as I'm a huge Nokia fan and I would hate to see the company perish.

[Dagens Industri (Translated)]

Apple to release iOS 5.1 on March 9th?

2012-02-08T11:46:19-10:00

Updates to any operating system are great. They bring fixes, refreshed looks, and numerous great additions for the end user. Unfortunately, updates are usually kept quiet until the release date, and there is no company known more for secrecy than Apple.

The latest leak of information from the Cupertino, California, based company is about iOS 5.1. We haven't heard anything about the update for iOS 5 yet, and even though we now know the alleged release date, we're still in the dark about exactly what 5.1 will bring.

Anyway, that date is March 9th. While that's still a month away, it's definitely a very plausible date; although we don't cover it, the iPad 3 is rumored to be announced later this month and released in March, so a coinciding release of 5.1 and the iPad 3 would make sense.

An incremental release would not usually be such a big deal, but given the problems that the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 in general have had, it's nice to know roughly when some of those problems should go away.

[Your Daily Mac]

Windows 8 Consumer Preview to be released during Mobile World Congress

2012-02-08T10:46:04-10:00

If you couldn't already tell, I'm really excited for Windows 8. Besides the few changes Microsoft is making that aren't exactly for the better in my opinion, it still looks to be a good upgrade from Windows 7 — especially since it will be able to run on ARM processors.

I haven't yet played with Windows 8, but today's announcement from Microsoft should make that change at the end of February. The company today sent out invitations for an invitation-only event in Barcelona, which just happens to coincide with MWC.

Mobile World Congress is already going to be one heck of a big show, and now that Microsoft is doing this, it just got a whole lot bigger. And holding the event at an event that's dedicated to mobile devices means that we will probably see some prototype Windows 8 tablets alongside the announcement of the beta-like software release.

I'm really excited to see what Microsoft will have put into Windows 8 on the desktop side, particularly in the settings. Earlier this week, I reported on the company's removal of the Start button and was pretty disappointed that it happened. Hopefully, that can be changed with a simple setting, but we'll have to wait until the end of the month to find out.

[ZDNet]

Google Chrome for Android screenshot tour

2012-02-07T16:26:41-10:00

For quite a while now, people have been speculating that Google might bring the full version of Chrome to Android to replace and improve the default browser. While they did open source the stock browser last year, when Android 4.0 shipped with a newer version of the Android browser instead of full-on Chrome, many gave up hope in the rumored Chrome for Android.

However, it turns out the stock browser was only intended for temporary use, as today the Chrome team announced a limited availability beta of the full version of Chrome for Android. It only runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but luckily I had my Galaxy Nexus handy today, and was able to take it for a spin.

Join me past the break to see what Google's idea of mobile browser innovation looks like.

Before you actually get to use Chrome, you do have to accept the standard license agreement that comes with almost all software. You can also opt to send anonymous statistics to help improve the browser, and since that's kind of the point of beta software I went ahead and checked the box.

The first time you open Chrome, you will see the above homescreen, which helpfully explains most of the navigation options. Since I'm used to both Chrome and the Android browser, navigation seemed sensible enough to me, and even appeared to be simple enough for unfamiliar users to figure out.

Once you load a webpage, the top status bar actually remains in place, even when you are scrolling. The rest of the screen is used to display content, but the browser never hides the status bar as some HTC Sense users may be used to.

Instead of using the universal menu button, the options for Chrome can be accessed through a menu icon in the top right corner of the browser. I actually really liked this placement for the button, as the persistent status bar means that the menu is always one tap away. Not only that, the menu looks much better than the standard Android 2.3 menus, and the back/forward and bookmark buttons were very nice to have easily accessible.

One of my favorite features of Chrome for Android is the synchronization with both your Google account and desktop Chrome. As a heavy user of both of those services, the option to synchronize tabs from the desktop to mobile, as well as bookmarks and even frequent search history, was very helpful. It actually seems like a feature that would come standard in a Google-controlled device, and I am surprised it didn't come sooner.

As far as I can tell from my limited usage, even this beta version of Chrome runs as fast or faster than the stock Ice Cream Sandwich browser. The animations, like the one you see above for switching tabs, are both intuitive and beautiful, and the interface is overall very clean and usable.

Even though it does seem to indicate fragmentation even within Google's own projects, I am really happy with the Chrome browser on Android. It both loads pages fast and looks good doing it, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see this as the stock browser in the next version of Android.

[Google Chrome Blog]