Dynamism Launches Kupa Ultranote X15 Windows 8 Slate

Dynamism just launched the Kupa Ultranote X15 Windows 8 tablet, a device that has been up for preorder for a while now. This is a versatile and powerful slate, that packs an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU, in the Core i5 or i7 flavour, plus 8 GB of DDR3 RAM.

There’s also an active digitizer on board and the ability to customize the product according to the user’s needs. This is a tablet with German design and it comes with support for digital inking with Microsoft Windows and pressure sensitivity for up to 1024 levels. This 10.1 inch 10 point multi touch slate supports a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and has an aspect ratio of 16:10. Its removable battery is supposed to last 7 hours with a charge and 13 hours with a dock.
The optional dock includes a keyboard and also an extra battery, as well as an Ethernet port, VGA port, SD card slot and USB port. The price tag here is $1,099 and this premium tablet will ship in March. Its versions include the Core i5 unit with 8 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, the version with Core i7 and double storage, plus Windows 8 Pro and 3G and two more options with Core i5 chip and more storage, plus 3G.

Hyundai T7 tablet baffles with quad-core Exynos for impossibly low price

Today’s most mysterious combination of components to hit the mobile universe must be no less than the Hyundai T7 tablet, revealed with a Samsung Exynos 4 quad-core processor and a 7-inch display for just $166 USD. While at that price we’re certainly not confident this machine is going to run, it certainly does look enticing with a 1280 x 800 pixel display across 7 inches and an HDMI port out for connectivity with your HDTV. Once you’ve gotten past those points, it’s all comes tumbling downhill.


The reason this device is so very inexpensive is the fact that it’s got a 2 megapixel camera on the back, a 0.3 megapixel camera on the front, and a display with just “178 degree viewing angles.” That’s nothing to get out of your seat for. You do get Mali 400 graphics in this amalgamation of oddities, but with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, you’ll have a relatively tough time running some of the most powerful apps on the market – and you’ll barely have space to hold more than a few.
There’s no microSD card slot so you’ll not be expanding your storage any time soon, either. Though you do get Bluetooth, it’s not specified whether you’re working with the newest Bluetooth 4.0 – you do get a G-sensor and GPS as well as wi-fi, thankfully. Beware on the software end of things also, as you’re not going to be getting anything more than what the manufacturer says comes with the machine right out of the box: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Then there’s the battery – all 3000mAh of it. That’s a giant battery, folks, but in that the manufacturer says you’ll be promised just 4 hours of up time per charge, you can bet that you’ll need to be plugged in quite often. The display also has 5-point multitouch instead of the basic standard we’ve seen in touchscreens since the original iPad: 10-point touch, and this device straight up rips off the design aesthetics of the Samsung Galaxy lineup, everything from the Galaxy S III forward.
It’s absolutely baffling that Hyundai was allowed to purchase and implement Samsung’s Exynos 4412 processor in this machine

Samsung Galaxy Tablets Get Android Jelly Bean Upgrade

Two of Samsung's best-selling tablets, the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2, are finally getting the latest version of Google's Android 4.1 operating system, the so-called Jelly Bean version.
But Samsung has made it worth waiting for with the addition of Premium Suite, which the company says includes "dramatic improvements" to the tablet's multitasking features, as well as improvement to the S Pen stylus included with each device.
On the multitasking side, Samsung has now added several features that leverage the Galaxy Note 10.1's Multi Window view that lets you run two apps side-by-side.

The new Cascade View feature lets users freely resize, move and pin selected applications in multiple views, running them simultaneously or while operating the home screen.

The new Cascade View feature lets users freely resize, move and pin selected applications in multiple views, running them simultaneously or while operating the home screen.
Air View lets lets users easily preview content such as video, email attachments and photos without having to open the related apps.
And a new Quick Command lets users create customized and use preset shortcuts for the S Pen, using designated S Pen strokes, to launch apps and services.
Other new features include enhancements to the Galaxy's handwriting software that now lets you send handwritten notes via email as well as hand-write directly in the software's S Planner. So you could, for example, circle the date of an important upcoming appointment and write directly on the S Planner calendar (in monthly view only), just as you would on a paper version.
Samsung has also added templates for S Note designed to let users add effects to their digital content with Idea Sketch and also insert video directly into not only Note templates but also other templates.

KUPA Ultranote X15 puts Windows 8 Pro tablets on notice

This week the folks at Dynamism are presenting a beast of a tablet by the name of KUPA Ultranote X15, made to bring beastly specifications to a space that’s not quite up to speed yet with future-ready Windows 8 UI. This tablet works with 8GB DDR3 RAM combined with either i5 or i7 Intel Core processors – 3rd gen Ivy Bridge, of course. Up front you get a 10.1-inch IPS display at 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio – and that’s not all!


This machine is exciting – not just because it has the specifications at the top of its game in processing power and display abilities (10 point multitouch included), but because it’s ready to roll with features like a side-loading removable battery. When’s the last time you had any kind of tablet with a removable battery? This beast also comes with an active digitizer (digital stylus) that’s able to work with digital inking under Microsoft Windows, pressure sensitive up to 1024 levels – sounds pretty ok!

This X15 machine is able to be delivered with just wi-fi internet connectivity or up to 3G – make sure you’ve got the right model, but the capability is there. You’ve got an optional dock with keyboard (transformable!) as well, offering additional battery time, Ethernet port, VGA out, SD card slot, and one USB port. They say this keyboard is also “very comfortable for long-duration touch-typing”, but we’ll be the judge of that in the near future.

This machine is customizable – it’s got an external side-panel that’s able to be fitted with a collection of modules. Future modules include multi-card reader, video recording unit, projector, scanner bay, and more – but take note: Dynamism warns that you should purchase the X15 only after the module you desire is released for sale. There’s a possibility here that there may be “module release delays” as they say, and they warn that the return window for this unit will not be extended beyond their standard time for any reason, this including module release delays of all kinds.

That said, you’ve got internal memory and mini PCI-E slots to let you boost your customization to the max whenever you need. Have a peek at this monster in the demonstration video below and let us know if you’re all about it or if you’ll be waiting for alternatives in the future from manufacturers other than KUPA

The quad-core Ainol Novo7 Venus a cheaper alternative to Nexus 7?

There are several popular Chinese brands that make Android tablets. One is SmartQ (which is at the higher end in terms of quality and price) and another Ainol (which is at the other end). Ainol has a history of launching tablets quickly. They make a bunch, sell them and then move on to the next model. Over the last year or so Ainol has released a whole stream of tablets including the Elf, Aurora, Mars, Flame, Crystal, Legend and so on.
The latest 7 inch tablet is called the Novo 7 Venus. It features a quad-core ATM7029 1.5GHz CPU, a 1280 x 800 IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash and dual cameras: VGA on the front and 2MP on the back.
Initial benchmarks are showing that it scores 12398 on Antutu making it slower than the Google Nexus 7, but clearly faster than most dual-core powered tablets. It doesn’t shine so well on the 3D front as it has the virtually unknown CG1000 GPU. But maybe that doesn’t really matter when you look at the cost. You can pick up a Ainol Novo7 Venus directly from the manufacturer for $140. If you are prepared to wait a couple of weeks then postage is free (otherwise you need to use a courier, which will bump up the price). The only downside is that you most likely will need to pay a sales tax when you take delivery. Even with a 20% sales tax, the tablet comes in at under $180. Cheaper than a Nexus 7, marginally.

Apple CEO Confirms iPad Mini 3G/4G Version Coming to China This Month

While there’s still no clear news or even a speculation on the iPad Mini 2 (Retina), we do get information about the evolution of the current iPad Mini in Asia. The tablet, in its cellular version will hit China in late January, it appears. Or at least so says Tim Cook.

The WiFi model has already arrived in China early last month, merely one month after its debut in the States. Tim Cook, the famous Apple CEO was on a visit to China and reported on the release of the product in an interview with local reporters today. This means that if you’re in China you’ll be able to buy the cellular iPad Mini this month or in February, if you’re preparing a gift for the Chinese New Year. The iPhone 5 went on sale in China reasonably late, on December 14th, a bit over two weeks after getting its regulatory approval.
Tim Cook admitted that it does take quite a while for devices to reach China, because the approval process of the products takes a long while. Apple has mentioned that they’re taking steps to decrease the wait times. Cook predicted that China will become Apple’s largest market in the future, with Cupertino already having 25 retail stores there.

Dell Latitude 10 essentials trim pushes pro Windows 8 tablets down to $499

Dell's Latitude 10 earns some noteworthiness as an early work-oriented Windows 8 tablet, but it isn't what we'd call cheap with a $650 base price. The crew in Round Rock is mending that with a new essentials level that scales things back. It sheds the active digitizer and removable battery in the name of a lower $579 price for a 64GB version that's available to order today. Price-sensitive slate shoppers can go one step further in the near future: Dell is promising a properly frugal 32GB version for $499 that should ship in the months ahead. There's still a stiff fight ahead when Windows RT tablets already undercut the Latitude, but the essentials tiers could be low-hanging fruit for pros and students still hanging on to legacy apps.

Panasonic introduces two new Toughpad tablets with choice of Android or Windows

Panasonic today announced two additions to its Toughpad tablet lineup, the 7-inch Android Toughpad JT-B1 and 10-inch Windows 8 Pro Toughpad FZ-G1. Owning your own Toughpad won’t come cheap, however, as the the Android version will cost $1,199, while the Windows 8 version will retail for $2,899. The JT-B1 and FZ-G1 will be available in February and March, respectively. They succeed the Android A-1 and B-1 Toughpads released in 2011.
These rugged devices are designed to take a pounding and if you need a tablet in a hard hat work environment, one of these new devices might be right up your alley. Panasonic’s Toughpad lineup is designed for use in highly mobile working fields such as construction, military, maintenance, and any other environment that includes a lot of movement and the need for a device that can stand up to unintentional punishment. Both of these rugged tablets should even be able to survive immersion in water.
The Android Toughpad JT-B1 will run on Ice Cream Sandwich powered by a TI OMAP 4460 1.5GHz dual core processor and include 1GB of RAM. The 7-inch screen will have a WSVGA display with an expected eight hours of battery life.
The Windows 8 Pro Toughpad GZ-G1 will be powered by an Intel i5 1.9/2.9GHz processor and include memory option of 4/8GB RAM and a 128/256GB SSD hard drive. The 10-inch display will feature an impressive Full HD resolution.  Battery life is also expected to last up to eight hours.
The Android version seems a bit disappointing under the hood of its tank-like exterior. Do any of you guys need a tablet that you can beat up or even take for a swim?

CES 2013 preview – it’s all about the Full HD smartphones (and 7-inch tablets)

 

It’s never easy to get straight back to work after the oh so relaxing holiday vacation (what with the headaches and all), but like it or not we who are involved with technology don’t get to smoothly resettle to the action.
Instead, we have to sink our teeth directly into one of the most important and glamorous yearly trade shows in technology, traditionally held at the beginning of January. But why not admit it, we love Las Vegas’ CES probably more than anything in the whole wide world, and, even when we’re not fully recovered from the holiday madness, we adore reporting on everything that’s on display there.
2013’s CES is no exception, despite early signals that say there’s not going to be much Android-related excitement in Vegas between January 8 and 11. “Much” being the key word here, we can certainly hope to be treated with loads of new treats, which could include an array of new full HD smartphones, a couple of uber-cheap 7-inch tablets and more.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and take the major Android OEMs one by one and see what we’re expecting from each. Warning: very little of what we’re going to talk about in the following lines is set in stone, so handle with caution and big amounts of salt.

Samsung

We all love the occasional juicy rumor mongering even when we know there’s very little truth to it, but let’s face it – there’s little to no chance to see the Galaxy S4 on display at CES 2013. The S3 and S2 have both seen daylight in the spring and there’s simply no way Sammy will spoil the tradition by so much.

However, rumor has it that the S4 will be present in Vegas behind closed doors and that actually sounds plausible. And while we highly doubt any member of the press will be invited at this executive preview, you never know when someone can spill the beans and offer the entire world an unexpected sneak peek.
Now, about Samsung devices that we think will be on display for the world to see. These include several budget-oriented phones, like the Galaxy Young Duos, GT-B7810 and Galaxy Frame, a mid-range Galaxy Note 7 tab, but very likely also some Tizen-based gadgets.
Not very exciting, you say? Well, how about some more advanced prototypes with flexible AMOLED panels, a cheaper Galaxy Note 2 “phablet” or a 13.3-inch Asus Transformer contender? Much better, right?

Sony

You might have not expected Sony to be the number two on our list a while ago, but with the Xperia Z and ZL all but confirmed for CES intros it’s hard to not be excited. There’s also a mid-range “HuaShan” phone supposedly coming soon, but we think that little guy will be saved for MWC in February.

No words on any new tablet entries from the Japanese, but who knows, maybe they’ll want in on the 7-inch budget-friendly fun as well.

HTC

Just like Samsung’s Galaxy S4, HTC’s next flagship, codenamed M7, is also tipped to make an appearance at CES. And while some pretty reliable sources seem convinced that’ll be the case, we just don’t think so. The One X+ got out in October last year, the Droid DNA one month later, so it’s simply too early for HTC to again unveil a high-end phone. But what do we know, right?

A couple of other upcoming HTC handhelds have been making the rumor rounds lately too, including the Opera UL or Facebook phone, but we doubt we’ll be seeing any of that either. So will HTC be completely silent during CES? Possibly, but then MWC should be spectacular.

LG

Though the Optimus G is not itself an old and dusty smartphone, chances are LG will be looking to introduce the G2 during CES. We’ve seen a number of rumors on the topic lately, all agreeing on the Full HD display of the beast, but not on the diagonal size.

We’re not expecting any other new LG devices to be presented in Vegas, although the Korean company might have some surprises in store in the SoC and display areas.

Asus

Nexus 7’s co-branders are almost certainly looking towards the future of the niche, so expect at least a couple of new 7-inch tabs to see daylight. One of this could even be a new Nexus device, although we’re not too sure about that.

A higher-end 10-incher going by the name of ME301T MemoPad 10 is also all but confirmed to be unveiled during CES, although it’s not impossible to get an MWC push after all.

Acer

One of the OEMs that seem very keen on taking a piece of the 7-inch affordable pie from Asus, Google and Amazon is Acer, with the Iconia B (or B1) guaranteed to make an appearance. However, Acer’s CES 2013 might not be all about tablets for a change, with the V350 and V360 smartphones also set to officially pop up.

Lenovo

Besides a Baidu Cloud-powered phone and a couple of China-exclusive devices, Lenovo has been awfully quiet on the Android front lately. We don’t think we’ll be seeing the company get out of its shell very soon, although there are rumors that a full HD smartphone and an affordable 7-inch tab are coming at some point.

Huawei and ZTE

We would usually put the two Chinese companies in the “others” sections of our big trade shows’ previews, but this time Huawei and ZTE might actually have a lot more up their sleeves than the usual suspects. The Ascend D2 and Ascend Mate on one hand and the Grand S on the other are definitely coming and they’ll probably be spectacular.
But knowing Huawei and ZTE, they’ll probably not stop at only introducing top-tier devices with out of the world specs. We thus can also expect a bunch of low-end phones and probably even Android-powered tabs (both entry-level and high-end).

Others

Despite having possible winners on their hands, we are listing Oppo and Xiaomi under the others category because we’re not even sure they’re going to make it to Vegas. Even if they’ll be present, their own 1080p beasts will be nothing more than ornaments for us Westerners (no offence), who are absolutely positively never going to see them in stores near us.
We’ve also saved a spot here for Toshiba because we’re not expecting any new devices from the company, while Polaroid and E Fun will definitely have something for us, but it’s nothing to get excited about. As for Pebble’s smartwatch, that’s not an Android-powered gizmo per se, but it does have some obvious links with our favorite mobile OS, so it’s worth a quick mention.
Outside our ecosystem we will probably be seeing some Windows 8-related movement, but, frankly, it’s not our job to care, is it? Finally, Motorola seems like a tough nut to crack, as it’s keeping a little too quiet on its future plans. The Droid Razr M HD is basically the only device rumored to be coming soon, but we think Moto will either have something else on display or nothing at all.
That’s it, folks, for the time being, but be sure to be tuning in to our website next week, when we’ll have loads of reports from the ground in Vegas from our own Darcy LaCouvee, Kris Wouk, Joshua Vergara and Derek Ross. In the meantime, drop us a comment below and tell us what are you most excited about and who do you think will be the star at CES.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 Inch Review: Underwhelming, Could Have Been Better

Amazon Kindle Fire HD is the latest version of the Amazon slate, that we reviewed back in 2011, now upgraded and with better specs. The 16 GB WiFi version with ads goes for $199.99 and it was launched in October in USA. Mind you that we’re writing this review in Europe, so we may be considered a bit biased of how little to none at all Amazon services are present in our area.

The design of the device involves a 10.3 mm waistline and a weight of 395 grams, that because of the compact nature of the slate feels more heavy than it is. It’s actually 50 grams heavier than the Nexus 7, in case you’re wondering, and quite a bit heavier than the iPad Mini. The device’s design really disappointed me, with its big edges, creaking case and the fact that you CAN NOT feel the physical buttons, not at all. At least, the grip is OK and the speakers at the back look kind of elegant, but only kind of…
We also get a front camera, that’s not at all integrated discretely. As far as hardware goes, the Kindle Fire HD proposes a 7 inch display with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, a 216 ppi IPS LCD screen and under the hood we’ve got a TI OMAP 4460 processor, a dual core 1.2 GHz unit, an ARM Cortex A9 actually with a PowerVR SGX 540 GPU. We also get 1 GB Of RAM, which is in fact about 700 MB, plus 16 GB of storage and a front 1.3 megapixel camera. The good thing here is the presence of a micro HDMI port and we should probably mention the usual frustration regarding the lack of a charger bundled with the device.

Continuing the specs list, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD offers an accelerometer, gyroscope, dual WiFi antennas with 40% Faster connectivity (Mimo) and dual band WiFi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). The battery inside is supposed to offer 11 hours of functioning time, according to Amazon, but for us it only reached 7-8 hours, so it’s around the same performance as the Nexus 7 in this field. Moving on to the multimedia performance analysis, what we get here are good colors, great view angles and 436 lux units when it comes to brightness of video playback.
This is lower than the first Kindle Fire, but higher than the Nexus 7. The device acts great in sunlight, so at least that’s a plus. It has less glare problems than many other tablets. On the audio side we’ve got very, very powerful speakers, that can handle both a heavy dubstep bass and an acoustic guitar ballad without problems. The Dolby Digital Plus technology works just find and the experience is very loud, while also not distorting any of the sound.

As far as software is concerned, Android 4.0 ICS is the name of the game, with the Amazon experience on top. We’ve got a notification area that leads to settings and the famous Carousel with the latest used content, including books, songs, movies, magazines and apps. Below that we’ve got related content, depending on each highlighted item. The main sections of the device as shown above the carousel and they include the Shop, Games, Apps, Books, Music, Photos and Docs.
The web browser is an evolved version of Silk, that still feels painfully slow and crippled by lag. The lockscreen ads are also here, but they didn’t bother me at all. If you want to do away with them, just pay $15 and they’re gone. We’ve also got email and contacts available, in a pretty simple and pleasant interface. E-Reading is the strong point of the device, with tons of tweaks and options for the fonts, brightness, background, font size, edges and various other inputs.

Amazon offers 120k movies and TV shows, plus 20 million songs and 50k apps. In comparison Google offers on Android 600k apps and they also offer 4 million books, while Amazon only has 850k. For more about that and some info about the features called X Ray and Whispersync, you’ve got the full video review below. Overall, this tablet was a bit of a letdown, since there was a general feeling of lag, sluggishness and simply the antique interface just didn’t cut it for us…
And now let’s see the pros and cons for the product! Here are the Pros:

• excellent device for an Amazon user
• nice video and audio quality
• nice e-reading abilities
• fast WiFi
• good grip, solid build

And the cons are listed as follows:

• creaking case, uninspired design
• no camera
• no microSD
• slow UI
• slow browser
• lousy PC connectivity
• no charger
• useless in parts of Europe

For the design we give this model a 6.5 out of 10, for hardware a 7 and for UI and OS a 7 out of 10. The total is 6.83 out 10 and this product is, as I said a bit of a letdown. I was expecting much more from Amazon, but the point of view of the US user is much different, so I’m open to that area as well and if I had access to the entire ecosystem, the grade of the product would be about 2 points higher… maybe.

Toddy Gear introduces Screensters just in time for CES

We normally don’t put much thought into the microfiber cloths we use to wipe down our device screens, but if you’ve been craving something different to keep your screen smudge-free, then Toddy Gear has a new product that’s right up your alley. Say hello to Screensters, new microfiber dolls that are “inspired by the characters you encounter in everyday life.” These are obviously aimed primarily at kids, but we have a feeling that more than a few adults will get a kick out of them as well.


There are 10 Screensters in all, with Toddy Gear specifically mentioning “Stylista” and “Gameawn” in its announcement. The real-life “characters” those two are based on should pretty self-explanatory, and you can catch a glimpse of a couple other Screensters with the images. Each one is small enough to fit in your pocket, and each has two sides that will help keep your screen clean.
On the front is a silky cloth, which is meant for removing fingerprints and smudges from the surface of your smartphone or tablet. Around the back is a plush surface that you can use for removing dust and oils. These Screensters are machine washable and come outfitted with a antimicrobial coating so you don’t have to worry about mold and mildew developing on your cute little doll.
Toddy Gear will be showing these off at CES 2013 next week, while the dolls won’t be launching until March 2013. They’ll be available at Toddy Gear’s website when they do eventually make it to market, along with a select number of unnamed retailers. Each one will set you back $9.99, so they aren’t too terribly expensive, at least when compared to other microfiber cloths. Do you think you’ll pick one of these up