Acer A200 and A700 tablets set to debut at CES

Acer A200 and A700 tablets set to debut at CES:

Earlier this month, Acer announced its Iconia Tab A200 tablet, a 10.1-inch device running Ice Cream Sandwich and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz. The slate is supposed to land sometime in January and should make its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show. It is also suggested that Acer will be releasing a robust Tegra 3-powered device dubbed the Iconia Tab A700, as reported by NoMobile. The Russian site says the tablet features a 10.1-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution. Additionally, the device sports a dedicated rotation lock switch, a micro-HDMI port, and both a SIM and micro-USB slot. On the back of the tablet is a textured design with a five megapixel camera and built-in flash. The A700 weighs 650 grams (1.43 pounds) and boasts 10 hours of battery life according to the report. Much like its less powerful brother, the A700 will debut at CES in January, however it reportedly won’t arrive in stores until March.

[Via Engadget]

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Droid 4 gets hands-on treatment, but it's simply a dummy unit

Droid 4 gets hands-on treatment, but it's simply a dummy unit:

The folks over at TechnoBuffalo have just come across a rather interesting specimen -- it's a dummy unit of the forthcoming Droid 4 from Motorola. While its rumored release date has come and gone, non-functional models such as this are commonly offered to consumers in a retail setting to poke and prod to their heart's content. Nonetheless, the hands-on offers a few interesting details, such as a soft touch backside and insight into the redesigned keyboard, which is described as "the best one yet on a Droid handset." Whether we agree with that assertion will be determined come review time, but if you're interested to see the collection of up-close and personal shots with Moto's latest slider, be sure to check the source below.

Droid 4 gets hands-on treatment, but it's simply a dummy unit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did the Apple iPhone outsell Android at AT&T's corporate locations by nearly 8 to 1 this month?

Did the Apple iPhone outsell Android at AT&T's corporate locations by nearly 8 to 1 this month?: Drom December 1st through the 27th, the Apple iPHone outsold Android models at AT&T by close to a factor of eight to one and the carrier claims that its featurephones also outsold Android models during that same time period...

Flesh-eating plant inspires super-slippery material that repels everything | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

Flesh-eating plant inspires super-slippery material that repels everything | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine: "Tak-Sing Wong from Harvard University has created a synthetic material so slippery that it makes a duck’s back look like a sponge. It is “omniphobic” – it repels everything. All manner of liquids, from water to blood to crude oil, roll straight off it. Ice cannot form on it. It even heals itself when damaged. It’s an extraordinary material and it was inspired by the lips of a flesh-eating plant."

'via Blog this'

We should get this cat for our commercials

This Cat Just Beat Your Fruit Ninja High Score [Video]:

Of all the trends to close out 2011, I couldn't be happier with the emergence of Animals Playing Games On Gadgets. First came the agile bearded dragon, then the vicious African Bullfrog, and now, in perhaps the most impressive display yet: a cat that is very, very good at Fruit Ninja. More »


We should get this cat for our commercials

Chinese vendors form alliance to battle Apple and other patent predators

Chinese vendors form alliance to battle Apple and other patent predators:

Handset makers in China have formed an alliance to prepare for possible patent battles with Apple, Microsoft and Nokia. Coolpad, Konka, TCL, ZTE and Lenovo were among the companies named in a report by DigiTimes on Friday. The number of lawsuits filed in China is expected to increase as Microsoft, Nokia and Apple try to increase market share there, the report says. Nokia has already filed patent infringement suits against several Chinese phone makers and Microsoft has gone after Huawei to try to secure a patent licensing deal. Huawei responded to Microsoft’s threats in early November and explained that it has 65,000 patents worldwide. “We have enough to protect our interests,” Huawei Devices chief marketing officer Victor Xu said. “We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” Each of the Chinese companies reportedly has a large patent portfolio and, combined, they could create enough of a force to stave off at least some of the patent-related lawsuits that have plagued other companies.

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$35 Android tablet available for students in India

$35 Android tablet available for students in India: The Aakash is the world’s cheapest touch-screen tablet. It only costs $50 to manufacture and usually retails for $60. In order to make technology more accessible to the poor, the Indian government is now subsidizing the Android-based device to students in the nation. The final cost – just $35.

Photo might reveal Apple iPad 3's Retina display

Photo might reveal Apple iPad 3's Retina display: A picture on a Korean Apple forum claims to show a display panel for the Apple iPad 3, with a display for the Apple iPad 2 sitting on top of it; the new display appears to have three ribbon cables, one more than the current display, possibly to be used to power the bandwidth needed for a Retina display...

Looking back at 2011: RIM on the ropes

Looking back at 2011: RIM on the ropes:

2011 was a huge year for the wireless industry. Global mobile connections surpassed 6 billion as the world’s total population hit 7 billion people, and worldwide smartphone penetration is now approaching 10%. In the United States, smartphone penetration has now topped 44% as converged, connected devices continue to flood the market across all age ranges. The rapid growth in the smartphone space can be attributed for the most part to two platforms, Android and iOS, and other companies continue to struggle to gain or even maintain their ground in a market that is expanding faster than it ever has before. Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is heralded as a breath of fresh air but significant sales still elude the company’s vendor partners. On the other side of the coin, age finally caught up with Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS and smartphone users are becoming increasingly disinterested in a platform that was once the most desirable mobile experience in the world.

The year started out well enough for the Waterloo, Ontario-based smartphone maker. BGR exclusively revealed a number of upcoming BlackBerry devices in mid-January — the next-generation Curve, Torch, Storm (which was later added to the Torch line) and the highly anticipated BlackBerry Dakota all made appearances — and BlackBerry fans around the world eagerly awaited their arrival.

RIM was also hard at work on its first tablet offering — the BlackBerry PlayBook — and while other platforms were building a huge ecosystem lead in the tablet space, BGR revealed that RIM had a trick up its sleeve. The company was planning to offer a number of options to developers looking to support its first QNX-based device, and adding support for Android applications would give RIM access to Google’s massive Android ecosystem. It would also ensure that PlayBook users had a huge catalog of apps available right out of the gate.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan.

The PlayBook finally launched on April 19th and software had proven to be a bigger challenge than RIM had seemingly anticipated. The pressing need to launch forced RIM to bring its debut slate to market without native support for email, contacts, calendar or even BlackBerry Messenger, the mobile chat client that put BlackBerry devices on the map among consumers. Instead, PlayBook users were forced to tether to their Blackberry smartphones in order to make use of this core functionality. The tablet also launched without support for Android applications, and the small catalog of lackluster apps available for the PlayBook remains a big problem to this day.

To compound matters, BGR revealed shortly after the PlayBook launch that despite RIM’s best efforts it was only ready to announce one device at the BlackBerry World conference in late April. That device was the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and while it was a device BlackBerry users had been clamoring for, it also came to market more than a year later than it should have with an operating system and user interface that was stale at best.

Things grew worse still when pent up unrest among RIM’s own employees finally reached its boiling point. Fed up, a high-level RIM executive provided BGR with an open letter in an effort to finally get his message across to RIM’s top brass. RIM issued a defensive response to the letter, explaining that it was addressing several issues but it was “thankfully in a solid business and financial position to tackle the opportunities ahead.” The company would go on to disappoint with its second and third-quarter earnings, and its fourth-quarter guidance suggested that relief would not come soon.

Today, RIM sits in a tough spot. It’s first major PlayBook update won’t come until February next year at the earliest, though continually weakening sales make the update less significant than it might have been six months ago. The new software will include native email support and other PIM functionality, but BBM is still proving to be a challenge for RIM’s software team. Even more of a concern, however, is that the first RIM smartphone to carry its next-generation BlackBerry 10 software is now delayed until the third quarter next year at the earliest.

Even more concerning is that while RIM waits for new LTE chips before it can launch any BlackBerry 10 phones — apparently the vendor is only working on 4G smartphones right now, despite the fact that many of its biggest markets have not even begun to deploy LTE networks — the company also continues to have huge development issues that grow more daunting each day.

There is no question that RIM has the talent to succeed in the modern smartphone market. It also has a user base that continues to grow with each quarter. The vendor has a lot of catching up to do, however, and it once it finally does launch its first BlackBerry 10 phone, it had better be a blockbuster with a massive marketing budget to back up its launch. In the meantime, RIM has a tough six-plus months ahead.

Samsung Galaxy Note shipments reach 1 million as it gears for 2012 US release

Samsung Galaxy Note shipments reach 1 million as it gears for 2012 US release: The Samsung Galaxy Note is a 5.3-inch beast of a device standing right between a smartphone and a tablet. It’s definitely appealing to some and plain too huge to be a phone for others…

The One Reason the iPad Can't Lose [Ipad]

The One Reason the iPad Can't Lose [Ipad]:

In the 1890s, King Camp Gillette had what was then novel business idea: sell durable razor handles cheaply to lock in lifelong customers of disposable blades. By trading short-term loss for long-term, reliable profits, his company became wildly successful, and—more importantly—created a foothold that its competitors spent decades trying to overcome. More »

2011 is the Best Holiday Ever for Kindle

2011 is the Best Holiday Ever for Kindle: Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers. Authors also continue to benefit from the success of Kindle — the #1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 were both published independently by their authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

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DoD gives Android stamp of approval, but only on a Dell Venue

DoD gives Android stamp of approval, but only on a Dell Venue:

If you’re bummed by how long it takes for updates to make their way to your Android device, be thankful that you’re not playing by Department of Defense rules. The DoD has been big on BlackBerry devices in the past, but now they’ve sanctioned Android…to a certain extent, anyway. The extent: a Dell Venue running [...]

Next-gen iPad may feature double the battery capacity of iPad 2

Next-gen iPad may feature double the battery capacity of iPad 2:

Apple will launch a new high-end iPad model in early 2012 featuring a battery that includes more than twice the capacity of the current iPad 2 battery. Citing anonymous sources from within Apple’s supply chain, DigiTimes recently reported that Apple’s upcoming next-generation flagship iPad will feature a new 14,000 mAh battery, as will a new mid-range iPad model. The new power pack will feature more than twice the capacity of the 6,500 mAh battery currently used in Apple’s iPad 2. DigiTimes also reported late Wednesday that Apple’s 2012 iPad lineup will include three models: a low-end iPad 2, likely available at a discount compared to current pricing, a mid-range next-generation iPad and a high-end model. The new mid-range and high-end models will also reportedly feature an upgraded 2,048 x 1,536-pixel displays with dual-LED backlighting.

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Samsung ships 1 million Galaxy Note units and confirms U.S. launch

Samsung ships 1 million Galaxy Note units and confirms U.S. launch:

Samsung recently announced that it has shipped more than 1 million Galaxy Note smartphones. The Galaxy Note, often considered a mix between a tablet and a smartphone due to its size, was first unveiled in September and it features a massive 5.3-inch display with a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution. Other features include a 1.4GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats. Samsung also confirmed Thursday that the Galaxy Note will be released in the United States next year, and early rumors have suggested the phone will make its debut in early 2012 on AT&T with support for LTE. We wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung reveals more about the U.S. version of the Galaxy Note during the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

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Global LCD TV shipments to grow slowly in 2012, say sources

Global LCD TV shipments to grow slowly in 2012, say sources: Following a flat performance in 2011, global shipments of large-size display products will continue to grow at a slow pace in 2012, with LCD TV shipments to post a growth around 10%, according to estimates of industry observers.

Android and iOS U.S. market share continues to grow at BlackBerry’s expense

Android and iOS U.S. market share continues to grow at BlackBerry’s expense:

Google’s Android platform and Apple’s iOS each grew more popular in the United States last month as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices and Microsoft’s Windows Phones again lost ground. Market research firm comScore released its market share data for the three-month period from September through November 2011, and the company found that Google’s share of the U.S. smartphone market grew to 46.9%, up 3.1 points from 43.8% in the prior three-month period. Apple’s iOS platform gained just over a point over the same period to reach 28.7% and BlackBerry shed more than 3 points to sink to a 16.6% share. Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform shed half a point to drop to 5.2% in the three-month period ended November 2011. Samsung remained the top cell phone vendor overall with a 25.6% share and Apple showed the most growth, gaining 1.4 points for an 11.2% share but remaining in the No.4 spot. ComScore’s full press release follows below.

comScore Reports November 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

One-third of Mobile Subscribers Access Social Networking on Mobile Device

RESTON, VA, December 29, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6 percent market share. Google Android continued to capture share in the smartphone market to reach 46.9 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in November, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.3 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.5 percent share and Motorola with 13.7 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 11.2 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 1.4 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.5 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Aug-11	Nov-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	25.3%	25.6%	0.3
LG	21.0%	20.5%	-0.5
Motorola	14.0%	13.7%	-0.3
Apple	9.8%	11.2%	1.4
RIM	7.1%	6.5%	-0.6

Smartphone Platform Market Share

91.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in November, up 8 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 46.9 percent market share, up 3.1 percentage points from the prior three-month period. Apple maintained its #2 position, growing 1.4 percentage point to 28.7 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.2 percent) and Symbian (1.5 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Aug-11	Nov-11	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Google	43.8%	46.9%	3.1
Apple	27.3%	28.7%	1.4
RIM	19.7%	16.6%	-3.1
Microsoft	5.7%	5.2%	-0.5
Symbian	1.8%	1.5%	-0.3

Mobile Content Usage

In November, 72.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 2.1 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 44.9 percent of subscribers (up 3.3 percentage points), while browsers were used by 44.4 percent (up 2.3 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 33.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 29.7 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.2 percentage points), while 21.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.0 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Aug-11	Nov-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	70.5%	72.6%	2.1
Used downloaded apps	41.6%	44.9%	3.3
Used browser	42.1%	44.4%	2.3
Accessed social networking site or blog	30.9%	33.0%	2.1
Played Games	28.5%	29.7%	1.2
Listened to music on mobile phone	20.7%	21.7%	1.0

iPad 3 to use IGZO display panel instead of IPS one, claims rumor

iPad 3 to use IGZO display panel instead of IPS one, claims rumor: It is speculated that Apple will use a display built by using IGZO technology in the next iPad iteration. Currently, the latest iPad and iPhone models use IPS displays. The switch would allow Apple to produce...

PMA posts best selling new-era projectors

PMA posts best selling new-era projectors:

Pacific Media Associates (PMA) announced their best-selling projectors lists. In the New-Era and Pico category (sub-500 lumens), the top five projects in North America in November 2011 are the Vivitek Qumi Q2, followed by the Optoma PK-301 and Optoma PK-201, the Acer K11 and the Optoma PT100. Only two of those (Optoma's PK-301 and PK-201) are pico-projectors (battery powered).

In our own best selling pico projector list posted last month, the PK-301 was indeed the best selling model, followed by the ShowWX classic and the PK-201.

CMI looks to 40% growth in touch panel sales in 2012, says paper

CMI looks to 40% growth in touch panel sales in 2012, says paper: Chimei Innolux (CMI) expects sales value of its touch panels to grow 40% in 2012 from NT$40-50 billion (US$1.32-1.65 billion) recorded in 2011, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted company CEO Hsing-chien Tuan as saying.

China market: Household appliance vendors joining competition for smartphones

China market: Household appliance vendors joining competition for smartphones: While China-based handset vendors ZTE, Huawei Device, Coolpad and Lenovo have been dominating the smartphone procurement projects released by mobile telecom carriers in China, a number of local household appliance vendors including TCL, Hisense, Konka, Changhong, Haier and Skyworth have stepped up efforts to grab orders from telecom operators, according to industry sources.

Samsung aims to sell 374 million phones next year, up 15% from 2011

Samsung aims to sell 374 million phones next year, up 15% from 2011:

Samsung hopes to sell 374 million phones next year, up 15% from the 325 million the company expects to have sold in 2011. The South Korea-based firm also said that it plans to sell 150 million smartphones in 2012, Korea Economic Daily said Tuesday. The vendor is well on its way to achieving its 2011 sales goal and announced in December that it had already sold 300 million devices. During the third quarter, Samsung became the top smartphone vendor in the world by shipment volume, surpassing Apple after shipping more than 27.9 million units during the quarter.

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Comic for December 24, 2011

Comic for December 24, 2011:

Windows Phone at the top of the charts at Amazon

Windows Phone at the top of the charts at Amazon: On Amazon's list of top rated smartphones on-contract, based on customer reviews the top three models were Windows Phone powered handsets beating out a number of Android units and that one particular iOS 5 flavored smartphone...

Foxconn expanding iPhone production capabilities for 2012

Foxconn expanding iPhone production capabilities for 2012: Foxconn announced plants to double the size of its Zhengzhou plant, potentially allowing them to produce 400,000 iPhones a day...

On Xmas day, iOS and Android activations soared 353% from earlier in the month

On Xmas day, iOS and Android activations soared 353% from earlier in the month: There were a lot of smartphones under the tree this Christmas as iOS and Android activations combined to soar 353% from the average number of activations seen earlier this month; the number of apps downloaded on Xmas day also rose sharply...

Worldwide projector shipments to grow 31% in 2012, says PMA

Worldwide projector shipments to grow 31% in 2012, says PMA: Although growth for the projector industry slowed in 2011, strong pockets of demand are expected to brighten the outlook for 2012. The projected 31% increase will bring worldwide projector shipments to 12.4 million units next year, according to Pacific Media Associates (PMA).

DigiTimes: Apple iTV to launch 32- and 37-inch models in summer 2012

DigiTimes: Apple iTV to launch 32- and 37-inch models in summer 2012:

Citing their usual industry sources within the Asian supply chain, DigiTimes claimed Dec. 27 that Apple is prepping an HDTV for a summer 2012 launch that will be initially available in 32-inch and 37-inch variants.

According to its report, suppliers will begin the early stages of production in the first quarter of 2012. Apple is apparently shooting for a Q2 or Q3 2012 release window. DigiTimes also confirmed that the device will indeed be a full-fledged HDTV. In addition, other sources indicate Apple could also possibly release a refreshed Apple TV set-top box:

Instead of a form of set-top box (STB) like the Apple TV launched in 2006, Apple’s new products will be full TV sets…However, other sources also revealed that Apple may continue to launch its next-generation STB-like Apple TVs in 2012 as it has lowered the price of its current version of Apple TV listed on Amazon by 9% recently.

The report also claimed the Korean press are running stories that confirm Samsung Electronics is producing chips for the Apple branded HDTV, while Sharp will supply the displays. This information supports a report from The Tokyo Times in November that claimed Apple signed with Sharp to begin production of large displays in January.

It also follows a lengthy report from WSJ that claimed Apple executives are in talks with heads of media companies regarding an HDTV with Siri-like voice control, enhanced AirPlay functionality, and iCloud/DVR capabilities.