Asus announce the FonePad Note: 6" phablet with a stylus on the way!

   It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were complaining that there's not enough devices in the 6" sweet spot between phone and tablet and we don't want to claim credit, but it appears that we weren't the only people who thought that way. That's why we've seen another device in the FonePad series from Asus and this time it's the FonePad Note and it doesn't take too much to realise where that name took inspiration from!

   Asus' FonePad Note looks to be a solid device with a 6 inch Full HD, that's 1920 x 1080p Super IPS+ display! That screen will be driven along by a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor, 2GB of RAM and we don't currently know how much internal storage there will be with this device or whether or not there will be microSD expandability!

   We do know though, that there will be a pair of cameras on this device: the rear option is an 8MP camera without a flash, and on the front there's a 1.2-megapixel camera for selfies and for Skype calls!

   Obviously the Note part of the title is because this device comes with a stylus and there will be some of Asus' own apps which make the most of that functionality! Asus have also included front-facing speakers on this device and with a bit of luck they'll be somewhat comparable to the fantastic speakers on the HTC One!

   One thing to add is that this device is a 3G and DC-HSPA+ device, so there's no LTE option here, but that isn't necessarily too much of an issue for the majority of people!

   For the moment Asus haven't conclusively said which version of Android this is running, but it's pretty safe to assume it's a version of Jelly Bean, but we don't know which just yet.

   Again Asus haven't said anything about price or availability, but when we hear more we will update this post!

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Sony are working to offer students an e-ink note-making tablet: We want one!

   Sony might be having a hard time in the tech world at the moment, but that doesn't mean that things behind the scenes are slowing down. Indeed, Sony appear to be trying to revolutionise the way we take notes and read.

   As you can see in the image above, which is a prototype set to be tested at universities in Japan before the end of the year, Sony are trying to bring those boring bits of A4 paper to life! That's why they're working on this 13.3" 1600 x 1200p e-Ink tablet which will hopefully help reduce the amount of paper which we consume. 

   The device is designed to be the same size as A4 paper and the display has an electromagnetic induction touchscreen, which is basically a fancy way of saying that it is a touchscreen and there's also stylus compatibility so this thing could genuinely be a great studying tool!  At the moment the device only has support for PDF files which is a shame, but we do have to remember that this is a prototype so if and when this is launched it would probably have support for a few other file types and hopefully there'll be a browser too!

   At the moment the prototype is nice and slim at 6.8mm (0.27 inch) thick and weighs 385g (13.6 ounces) which should fit in any reasonably sized bag! On-board storage comes in at 4GB, which is MicroSD expandable if you're a serial note taker and Sony plans to give this device Wifi capabilities so you can share your notes relatively easily. 

   At the moment this thing is expected to last about three weeks of usage if you keep Wifi off and just write and go over your notes, which isn't too shabby at all. We can expect a few changes after the field trials, but it's just a shame we couldn't have had one of these things for our studies! We're a tad jealous!

Sony Via Engadget.

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06/08/2012

Samsung's rumoured Jelly Bean upgrade schedule.

Courtesy of SamMobile!

   'Good things come to those who wait', well that's at least what you have to tell yourself unless you own a Nexus phone or tablet! Samsung though are usually pretty good at updating their phones, especially their flagship S series of devices.

   With the history in mind it seems the guys over at Sam Mobile have some good news for us from their insiders. They've reported today that the Jelly Bean firmware for the Galaxy S III has progressed passed the the testing stage and Samsung are reportedly already look to get a public version finished and approved for a late Q3/early Q4 roll-out.

   For other phones there looks to be good news too. The Galaxy S II is 'still being tested for compatibility with Jelly Bean' but at the moment everything is “looking fine”. Given the amount of this phone Samsung has shifted and that the sales are continuing to go strong it's very likely you guys will see some 4.1 too! BUT, Sam Mobile added that if Samsung decides not to update the device to Jelly Bean, owners will receive a “Value Pack” in a similar fashion to what the OG Galaxy S got instead of Ice Cream Sandwich. The same goes for the Galaxy Note.

   Assuming everything goes to play the S II and Note will get updated during the fourth quarter. Interestingly the upcoming Galaxy Note II is expected to land with Ice Cream Sandwich because it has been developed wiht that in mind. But, it’s unclear if Samsung will be able to get Jelly Bean on it for launch day. If it does land with just Android 4.0, then a 4.1 update will be ready for Q4!

HTC rumoured to be planning a 5" Full HD smartphone!

   Lately it seems that Apple and Samsung have been having the smartphone market go everyway the pair turns. Apple stick solidly to yearly release cycle in a bid to maintain their exclusivity. Samsung on the other hand have bombarded the market with every shape and size of phone imaginable. Both strategies seem to have been hugely successful.

   The latter, however, have almost created their own market segment with the 'phablet' form factor. The Galaxy Note was such a successful device that Samsung's South Korean rivals, LG, were forced to offer up their own alternative, the Optimus Vu.

   Not one to leave a good thing behind, Digitimes has reported that HTC's heads have been turned the same way. The rumour goes that HTC is planning to combat the upcoming Galaxy Note 2 and the new iPhone with a 5" 1080p beast!

   If the rumours are to be believed then the device will have a screen with a resolution of 1794x1080 pixels (but we expect it to be 1920x1080p but the Android menu buttons occupying the spare 126 pixels). Aside from that not very much is known at all, but so far we've had benchmarks leaked in July which suggest there is indeed a phone with a 1080p screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chip. The device, when tested, doubled the score of the HTC One X and also beat out the Samsung Galaxy S III by a good distance. If that wasn't enough earlier in the year BGR reported that a HTC device with a 5-inch 1080p display would land on Verizon sometime in the Fall! It's looking likely!

In other news:

• Nokia have been tipped to show off their Windows Phone 8 devices in early September. With dual-core processors and HD displays, the phones will launch just ahead of Apple's iPhone which is rumoured for a mid to late September launch.
• Samsung's long awaited Galaxy Note 10.1 productivity tablet is finally expected to hit shelves later this month with a 1.4Ghz quadcore processor and of course that stylus, sorry S Pen. You can catch a video teaser just below!
 

 

 
• ARM has been busy at work on new graphics improvements for it's Mali GPU's. It's latest attempt is the Mail-T600 which promises chips with up to 8 cores and a whole new level of graphics prowess!

And finally, below is a little picture of what is widely expected to be the next iPhone 'nano-Sim tray' and my goodness it's a whole lot smaller than the, already tiny, MicroSims!

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