This bad boy was one of the most exciting things we saw at CES. The Acer Iconia Tab A510 was an unannounced tablet then, and it was not a bad one. Well, the tablet has finally been announced at a pre-CeBIT event in Germany. It’s being released in Europe the following April at [...]]]>

This bad boy was one of the most exciting things we saw at CES. The Acer Iconia Tab A510 was an unannounced tablet then, and it was not a bad one. Well, the tablet has finally been announced at a pre-CeBIT event in Germany. It’s being released in Europe the following April at a price of €500.

When we saw this tablet at NVIDIA’s booth, it left a rather good impression on us. The representatives were not able to tell us anything about the unannounced 10.1-inch tablet (1280x800p). We now know that it packs a 1.3 GHz Tegra 3 processor (quad-core), 1 GB of RAM and 16/32/64 GB of internal storage. Ports include a microSD card slot, a mini-USB port and a mini-HDMI port.

Acer has also announced a version with 3G connectivity, called the Acer Iconia Tab A511. It was not mentioned whether this tablet would be released along with the WiFi models or not.

We know 500 Euros is not very cheap, but the tablet should not feature the same price when it hits the States. The tablet market is in the middle of an interesting transition here in the US. Acer has been offering the same specs as ASUS for about the same price, and we assume this tablet will come at a price similar to the $500 Transformer Prime. But it is hard to compete with ASUS offering its 7-inch Tegra 3 MeMo 370T for only $250.

For now, all we can do is sit tight and wait for Acer to announce the A510′s price and availability for America. Welcome to the year of the quad-core tablets. Let’s see what the future holds. What price-point would convince you to purchase the A510?

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 was announced earlier this month, and while we expected it to be released last January 15, it is just now hitting Best Buy stores. When announced, the tablet seemed like just another A500, but the difference seems to lie on its software.

The specs are pretty much what [...]]]>

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 was announced earlier this month, and while we expected it to be released last January 15, it is just now hitting Best Buy stores. When announced, the tablet seemed like just another A500, but the difference seems to lie on its software.

The specs are pretty much what we are used to from any 2011 Honeycomb tablet. It comes with a Tegra 2 dual-core processor, Honeycomb OS, 16 GB/8 GB of internal storage, a 10.1-inch (1280×800) display, 1 GB of RAM and a 2 MP front-facing camera. Not to mention the fact that this device comes with a flurry of ports, which is typical of Acer Android tablets (USB, micro USB, 3.5 mm headset jack, proprietary power port and microSD card slot).

What really makes this better than the A500, though, is the customization that Acer has integrated into this bad boy. If you remember, last week during CES we covered the Acer Iconia Tab A510, which was a Tegra 3 tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich. This tablet had a UI overlay that really caught our attention. And whether you like custom manufacturer UIs or not, it actually brought some rather cool functionality.

The A200 has the same features we saw with the A510, and a bit more. Aside from the virtual command center, Acer has decided to include an HTC Sense-like lock screen. It includes accessible shortcuts that one can activate by dragging the unlock “bubble” to one of the icons. To see what this is all about, check out the video that the guys from Android Central have put together.

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 does not come with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), but Acer promises that it will be getting its tasty upgrade in February. If you are interested in purchasing this bad boy, the 16 GB version is now available from Best Buy at $349.99.

Check out the video and let us know what you think. Do you guys like Acer’s UI features, or would you rather stick with stock ICS? At this price, would you rather wait for Asus’ $250 Tegra 3, Android 4.0 beast?

Microsoft has added LG to its list of Android handset makers it makes money off of. Microsoft has inked a patent agreement deal with LG that will have LG pay Microsoft a small fee for every LG Android (and Chromebook) device sold.

Microsoft’s latest deal brings their total up to a massive 70% of Android [...]]]>

Microsoft has added LG to its list of Android handset makers it makes money off of. Microsoft has inked a patent agreement deal with LG that will have LG pay Microsoft a small fee for every LG Android (and Chromebook) device sold.

Microsoft’s latest deal brings their total up to a massive 70% of Android devices covered under Microsoft’s patent portfolio. Microsoft earns significant amounts of money off Android device sales; it was discovered back in August that Microsoft makes more money with Android than with its own Windows Phone 7 platform, which has struggled to gain any traction in the smartphone market.

With Android sales making up nearly 50% of the US smartphone market, Microsoft is making a ton of money off Android and is certainly looking at ways to capitalize on their patent portfolio. (Could Motorola be next in line?) While we hate to see a rival company making money off Google’s platform, we can only hope that money is going into making Windows Phone 7 more relevant. Though, the odds of Windows Phone 7 gaining a following in the US (or elsewhere, for that matter) is mighty slim.

Today Acer announced a new pair of ultrabooks, but the real star of the show was an unnamed Android tablet they teased for about five seconds. No details were provided on the tablet, but we recognized it as the previously-leaked Acer Iconia Tab A700.

The only details that Acer provided on the tablet [...]]]>

Today Acer announced a new pair of ultrabooks, but the real star of the show was an unnamed Android tablet they teased for about five seconds. No details were provided on the tablet, but we recognized it as the previously-leaked Acer Iconia Tab A700.

The only details that Acer provided on the tablet was that it had a quad-core processor and 10-inch display with native full HD 1080p. Earlier leaks suggested the Iconia Tab A700 also features 1920×1200 resolution, Tegra 3 processor, 5 MP camera with flash, Dolby Digital audio, micro-HDMI port, microSD card slot, a dedicated rotation lock switch and a 9800 mAh battery.

We got to spend a few minutes of hands-on time with the A700 and found it was running a mostly stock version of Android 4.0. The only addition I saw was a “ring UI” that appeared on the lock screen and allowed you to quickly launch multiple applications. An Acer representative said they don’t really plan to mess with the stock Android UI too much. Instead they will focus on other value-added services like AcerCloud.

No release date or pricing information was revealed, but we should learn more at MWC next month. Check out the gallery below and come back in a few minutes to see the hands-on video. (It’s uploading now).

Gallery

Acer has maintained itself as one of the most competitive in the tablet market. Not because of their great tablets, though most mid-to-high-end tablets had almost identical specs in 2011, but because of their prices. Acer has just announced the brand new Iconia Tab A200, and it looks like 2012 will be a good [...]]]>

Acer has maintained itself as one of the most competitive in the tablet market. Not because of their great tablets, though most mid-to-high-end tablets had almost identical specs in 2011, but because of their prices. Acer has just announced the brand new Iconia Tab A200, and it looks like 2012 will be a good year for affordable tablets.

Later this year, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is predicting a price drop for Tegra 3 tablets to under $300. Things are not quite as beautiful yet, but we are getting there. This Tegra 2 device has a 2 MP front-facing camera, a 1280x800p resolution, and also comes with a full-sized USB 2.0 port. Not to mention the fact that Acer is promising an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update to come during mid-February.

The promise of having Android’s latest and greatest version makes a device much more desirable. What really makes this bad boy stand out from the crowd is its price, though. The A200 will run for $329.99 for the 8 GB version, while the 16 GB version will cost you $349.99. And if those internal storage options don’t tickle your fancy, the tablet also has a microSD slot for expansion.

That is about the most affordable upgrade we have seen. Getting twice the internal storage for an extra $20 is something that we definitely do not see often. Upgrades usually run for $50 at the least.

Regardless, both tablets are very affordable for what they offer. It will be a great deal for those that want Ice Cream Sandwich, but do not want to pocket out $500 for a device like the Transformer Prime, with its quad-core super-guts. If interested, the device will be released coming January 15, so stay tuned for more details. We will probably be playing around with this one at CES.

Who is signing up for one of these?

During this year’s holiday season news slow-down, a time which usually comes towards the end of the year, and is always full of opinion editorial pieces, Android’s manufacturing model has become a hot topic. It all started a little over a week ago now, when news first hit that HTC is planning on releasing [...]]]>

During this year’s holiday season news slow-down, a time which usually comes towards the end of the year, and is always full of opinion editorial pieces, Android’s manufacturing model has become a hot topic. It all started a little over a week ago now, when news first hit that HTC is planning on releasing less devices with a focus on higher quality in 2012. It brought up old questions about over saturation, fragmentation and most importantly, what’s best for consumers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math. More devices means more choices for consumers, but there is a point where it becomes overwhelming. It also means more devices for accessory manufacturers to pick and choose from (because they certainly can’t cover them all), less innovation, lower quality products and more devices means more custom updates to develop and supply. All of these problems add up to one thing, a bad consumer experience. So how can manufacturers stop all these problems from happening?

It’s easy. They just have to slow down, and release less devices.

Samsung has started to head in the right direction. They still have a ways to go as far as sorting things out, but releasing one high-end Galaxy S device a year has done wonders to their sales numbers. Unfortunately, Samsung is still having problems keeping up. They recently announced that they would not be updating the Galaxy S and original 7-inch Galaxy Tab to Android 4. But after an outpouring of emotions from Galaxy S owners, Samsung has said that they are going to reevaluate the situation, and see what they can come up with.

Realistically, Samsung decided they wouldn’t update the Galaxy S and Tab because they didn’t want to. Their original decision had nothing to do with what’s best for consumers. Samsung has too much going on, and felt they could better invest their time elsewhere. This is where releasing less phones would really help. They’d have less hardware to focus on, and could devote resources to keeping current costumers happy. Not just finding new ones.

Having been met with more failures than success in the past, Acer is going to try the less quantity, more quality approach. Back in mid-December, Acer Chairman and acting CEO J.T. Wang said that his company’s product lineup would shrink by as much as two-thirds in 2012. Today, Acer’s founder, Stan Shih reiterated this, along with squashing any rumors that Acer was bowing out of the tablet and smartphone race.

Considering the much overlapped development of tablet PC and smartphones, a simplified organization is expected to increase operation efficiency, reduce conflicts in product development and consolidate resources for developing niche and competitive products.Stan ShihAcer

Making less devices with an emphasis on quality isn’t going to skyrocket Acer to the number one spot in Android or Windows devices, but it’s a step in the right direction.  It’s one that all manufacturers with a hand in the Android market need to take.

I know we’ve been saying it a lot here at Android and Me lately, but 2012 is going to be an interesting year for Android. Especially if we see more killer devices, and a lot less terrible ones.

During NVIDIA’s recent Q3 earnings call, their CEO boasted about the number of quad-core devices their partners would bring to market soon. Jen-Hsun Huang said, “We have more design wins in Tegra 3 today than we had at Tegra 2. We have more design wins, more devices, more OEMs.”

We already know about [...]]]>

During NVIDIA’s recent Q3 earnings call, their CEO boasted about the number of quad-core devices their partners would bring to market soon. Jen-Hsun Huang said, “We have more design wins in Tegra 3 today than we had at Tegra 2. We have more design wins, more devices, more OEMs.”

We already know about the ASUS Transformer Prime launching in December, but where are all these other devices he’s talking about? Over the weekend, a trio of quad-core tablets leaked out.

Lenovo

First we have Richard Lai of Engadget who reports Lenovo is working on a Tegra 3-powered tablet with Android 4.0 that they plan to launch this year. The device is rumored to have a 10.1-inch display, quad-core 1.6 GHz Tegra 3 processor, 2 GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM, back-facing camera of unknown resolution, a “Special Fusion-Skin Body”, USB host socket and a fingerprint scanner.

With a Tegra 3 clocked at 1.6 GHz and 2 GB of RAM, this should be the fastest quad-core device we’ve seen yet. Both of those specs are a little suspect though. Engadget says the DDR3 RAM is clocked at 1600 MHz and the Tegra 3 product page says it supports DDR3 speeds up to 1500 MHz. The Transformer Prime also runs at 1.3 GHz in quad-core mode and up to 1.4 GHz in single-core mode, so it’s surprising to see Lenovo offer a device at 1.6 GHz.

HTC

Next up we have Digitimes citing a Chinese-language Commercial Times report that says HTC will unveil a quad-core tablet at next year’s Mobile World Congress in late February. We previously heard that the HTC Edge would be the company’s first Tegra 3 phone, so it’s not that big a surprise that they’re also working on a quad-core tablet.

Acer

Finally we have the Italian blog NotebookItalia reporting Acer will upgrade their Iconia tablet line to Tegra 3. Another Italian site HDBlog.it says the features should be similar to the Tegra 2-powered Acer Iconia A500 Tab, but a few design changes will be made to upgrade the look. Expect Acer to launch two Iconia Tabs with Tegra 3 processors — the WiFi-only Iconia Tab A510 and the 3G-enabled Iconia Tab A511.

Selling patent licenses and “protecting” smaller companies is nothing new for Microsoft. Earlier this summer, Microsoft made headlines several times for doing just that. Microsoft has been doing this for years now, so what’s made these latest licensing deals headline worthy? It’s because the patents haven’t gone out to cover Windows manufacturers. Instead, Android manufacturers [...]]]>

Selling patent licenses and “protecting” smaller companies is nothing new for Microsoft. Earlier this summer, Microsoft made headlines several times for doing just that. Microsoft has been doing this for years now, so what’s made these latest licensing deals headline worthy? It’s because the patents haven’t gone out to cover Windows manufacturers. Instead, Android manufacturers have been signing up left and right to throw Microsoft royalties on every Google device sold. Several big name companies have already struck a deal, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop anytime soon.

Microsoft has announced today that the company has reached a licensing agreement with both Acer and ViewSonic. According to Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, Microsoft is “pleased that Acer is taking advantage of our industry-wide licensing program established to help companies address Android’s IP issues.” Under the agreement Acer, as well as ViewSonic, will pay royalties for any devices sold running Android or Chrome.

At the beginning of August, it was revealed that Microsoft makes more money from Android than it does its own Windows Phone OS. Thanks to a deal with HTC, Microsoft made roughly $60 million from Android in the second quarter alone–a whopping $40 million more than from their own devices. Deals with HTC, Acer, ViewSonic, VelocityMicro, General Dynamics, Wistron and Onkyo (just to name a few) are going to help Microsoft close the second half of this year with a bang. Who do you think will be next to ink it out with M$?

Current Honeycomb tablets aren’t necessarily the most portable devices around. Many of us would like to see smaller Honeycomb tablets, as 10-inch devices tend to be a bit uncomfortable. Some of you may be waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 or for HTC to update the Flyer. That’s no longer necessary. Acer [...]]]>

Current Honeycomb tablets aren’t necessarily the most portable devices around. Many of us would like to see smaller Honeycomb tablets, as 10-inch devices tend to be a bit uncomfortable. Some of you may be waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 or for HTC to update the Flyer. That’s no longer necessary. Acer has just released the Iconia Tab A100–the first 7-inch Honeycomb tablet to hit the market.

This tablet is basically a smaller version of its predecessor, the ACER Iconia A500 (or any Honeycomb tablet, for that matter). Featuring the same specs, this little guy will give you exactly the same power as its big brother.

Acer Iconia A100 Specifications

• Android 3.2 Honeycomb
• 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
• 1 GB of RAM
• 7-inch capacitive touch display (1024x600p)
• 8 GB / 16 GB of internal storage (Supports microSD cards of up to 32 GB)
• Ports: micro USB, micro HDMI

There you go! According to Acer, the A100 should be available in stores today. Go ahead and check out your local electronics stores for this bad boy. You’ll find the prices are quite welcoming as well. The 8 GB version costs $329.99 and the 16 GB runs $349.99, making this one of the most affordable Honeycomb tablets around. Anyone getting one of these? Do you like the idea of a smaller tablet? We know many of you prefer the smaller sizes, so sound off in the comments section.

If you read the Android 3.2 article, you’ll know the update adds support for 7-inch tablets. [...]]]> The avalanche of Honeycomb-related news today keeps growing, and they’re all connected somehow. Following the news that Android 3.2 has arrived, we now found out the Acer Iconia Tab A100 is coming to Wal-Mart for just $349.

If you read the Android 3.2 article, you’ll know the update adds support for 7-inch tablets. Coincidentally, the Iconia Tab A100 has a 7-inch screen. You can see where I’m going with this. Initially, the tablet was supposed to launch with Android 3.0, but it looks like Acer got the red light from Google and was told to wait for Android 3.2. Now that the update is here, the Iconia Tab A100 seems to be back on its way to public release.

For those 349 bucks you’ll get everything you could ever ask from an Android tablet, including:

• Android 3.2 Honeycomb
• 7-inch LCD screen with a 600 x 1024 pixel resolution
• 1 GHz Dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
• 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of space
• 5 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and 2 MP front-facing camera
• SD card slot
• 1530 mAh battery

I had the chance to play with an Iconia Tab A500 recently and came away with a rather positive opinion. If the A100 manages to keep a similar level of quality, I’m sure it’ll be as successful–if not more so–than its bigger brother, considering the A100′s enticing price tag. Keep an eye out for the Iconia Tab A100 if you’re interested in a good Android tablet that doesn’t break the bank. Now where’s my $50 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, Google?