Intel keen on Android convertibles for the future according to rumours!

   There's been a rumour circling today, which started on Digitimes, which suggests that Intel has been telling their partners to produce Android convertible notebooks! PhoneArena suggested that this is to spite Microsoft for their decision to create Windows RT, an OS designed specifically to run on ARM based processors, but we would suggest it is far simpler than that.

   We've all seen the stories about how companies are struggling to shift notebooks, desktops and other computers at the moment as consumers are picking up tablets, which are cheaper and offer much of the functionality. So what Intel is offering here is an alternative where consumers get Android on their notebook instead of Windows, which gives consumers tonnes of apps and great battery life to boot!

   The sort of device which Digitimes is on about here is the Asus Transformer series, which lets you use keyboard and tablet in one. If Digitimes has this correct then Lenovo are set to show off a device with this set up in May, which is only next month! Then the rumour runs that HP, Toshiba, Acer and ASUS will follow up later in the year!

   The one thing which seems a little bit out on this rumour is the price. At the moment these devices are expected to come in somewhere in the $500 range, which seems totally extortionate to us. The only enhancement you get with the device over something like the iPad for example is a physical keyboard, but this might hit the nail on the head for the average consumer.

   The pillar stone of this story though is that Intel are meant to be the ones driving this latest craze. If that's right then they are actively pushing people away from Microsoft and towards something new. It's never good news for any company when a key partner starts looking elsewhere and with Google I/O just around the corner, we can probably expect Google to bulk up their tablet offering in terms of devices and software and so Intel might know something we don't!

   What do you think? Can you imagine ditching Windows for Android completely in the future or do you think Windows will continue to have a place in the computing world? Let us know in the comments below!
Via PhoneArena.

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Rumoured Amazon phone is supposedly delayed, just as they officially roll out an X-Ray update!

   Rumours of an Amazon-branded smartphone just won't go away. The company is already a big player in the tablet arena and it makes sense for them to expand into the mobile phone market too, even if that is considerably more challenging in numerous aspects!

The reports circling the web at the moment are from Digitimes, so as always take them with a huge pinch of salt, but there are reports that Amazon are readying a 4.7-inch smartphone for a Q2 release this year! However, things aren't quite that simple: Amazon was supposedly planning to utilise a 4.3-inch screen but they've since chosen to scrap the idea after they saw the size and the popularity of larger phones last year.

   There is reportedly other issues too especially with production over at Foxconn which mean that the date might be pushed back a little more! There's also supposedly hardware components being upgraded, which if true then we expect that to because of the HTC One and Galaxy S4 announcements lately!

   On a somewhat related note, Amazon are expanding their X-Ray feature which connects to IMDB to pull in character and other information on whatever film you have on. But, this feature will now be expanded to work flawlessly with TV shows too!
Via UnwiredView and TheVerge.

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14/12/2012: Huawei and Nokia rumoured to working on phablets, EE announces LTE tablets, Sony Yuga rumours and much more!

Phablet rumours! Huawei 8.5" beast and a Nokia Lumia supersized.

   The past few days saw rumours of a Galaxy Note 3 that could have a 6.3" screen, something which would really push the boundaries of pocket-ability. But, Eldar Murtazin believes the device in the picture above is an 8.5" device which is coming from the Chinese company Huawei.

   There's some scepticism on the actual size because it's unlikely that the screen size will be 8.5" judging from the picture. But, it's quite likely we're talking about the diagonal length of the entire device. There's no word on the rest of the specs at the moment but as always we'll let you know if we hear anything more.

   From the Finnish part of the equation we've seen this picture of, what is likely to be, a prototype Lumia device. It looks very much like a blown up Lumia 810. This device has very likely to be a prototype and that alone because the resolution of the screen is 480x800, something we don't expect to see on a high-end device at the moment. 

   Either way we should expect to see a barrage of giant devices in the coming year that are of similar sizes to this given the success of Samsung's Galaxy Note range!
Via Slashgear.

In other news:

• Google+ for Android has been updated today with the some additional features. The main benefit of this update is the instant upload feature on Android. Google will now let you store up to 5GBs of photos for free. You can get the update here and when the update hits you'll see a full changelog on the app description.
  Via AndroidCommunity.

• Motorola's Atrix HD for AT&T and T-Mobile are getting an update to Andorid 4.1 Jelly Bean. You can see if the update is ready for your device by clicking through Settings>About Phone>Software updates. It'll be worth it to get your Project Butter smoothness and your Google Now capabilities.
  Via AndroidCentral.
  
  
• The UK's first LTE carrier EE has announced a pair of tablets which can connect to their new 4G network. The Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE is now on offer £99.99 on a 24-month contract. This is by no means a cheap option; it's £35.99 a month for 8GB of data, a 5GB data plan is £30.99 a month and the tablet will cost £199.99 and a 3GB deal will set you back £25.99 a month and the tablet will cost you £249.99. The Nexus 7 is also on offer but you will have to connect through the Huawei E589 Mobile WiFi device. You can get this tablet on exactly the same price plans as the one above, although the Nexus 7 and the hotspot device will cost £29.99 on the 8GB and 5GB plans and £49.99 for 3GB of data.
  Via PocketLint.

• DigiTimes has reported that market observers say it’s very likely that the next version of the iPad mini arrive with a Retina display. Obviously, this means they're not sure, but if we had had a guess at what Apple was planning with the next iPad Mini, we wouldn't have been too far away from this conclusion either!
  Via Slashgear. 

• The rumour mill really pushed its boundaries today as rumours of a new smartphone from Sony, code named the Yuga, come to the internet. If the rumours are to be believed then the device will feature a Samsung Exynos 5 quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, 128 GB storage, a 16-megapixel camera, and a 3,000 mAh battery! This is supposedly all to be topped off with a 5-inch 1080p HD display, which is the most likely of all of the specs! We would love to see a device like this running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but from the moment we'll take a big pinch of salt and we'll cross our fingers for a device like this arriving at CES in the new year!
  Via AndroidGuys.

• Google's Nexus 7 has been waiting a little while for an official dock, but it's been captured on camera today! Check it out on the video below!
  Via AndroidCommunity.

And finally, Alcatel have outed their Windows Phone 7.8 device which is expected to be heading to Russia in the near future, through a new YouTube promo! Check it out in the video below!
Via Engadget.

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