Slate with max features [New Straits Time (Malaysia)]

(New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) HP made a foray into the tablet market with its HP TouchPad that ran on the webOS platform. Unfortunately, that particular device did not gain the kind of market traction that was required to keep it in the game, being discontinued shortly after its launch.

HP, however, has not thrown in the towel where tablets are concerned, and have unveiled the HP Slate7 at Mobile World Congress.

Running on the Android operating system from Google this time around, the HP Slate7 comes with a chassis that tips the scales at 368.5g, sport a 7-inch (17.7cm) IPS display that offers wide viewing angles, and is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor.

It's also the first tablet in the market that boasts embedded Beats Audio, one of the better sounding audio experiences around. The entire stainless steel frame comes in a soft black paint, with grey or red at the back.

Expect the HP Slate7 to play nice with Google's extensive range of online services such as Google Now, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive and Google+ Hangouts without batting an eyelid, not to mention full support for apps and content over at Google Play.

Behind the HP Slate7 lies a 3-megapixel camera, while up front there is a VGA shooter. HP did mention that the Slate7 is tipped for a US release this coming April at US$169 (RM524) a pop.

www8.hp.com/us/en/ad/slate-7/tablet.html jumpid>ex_r602_go_slate HIGH-END, SLEEK ANDROID I AM always wary whenever a device manufacturer throws the phrase "world's fastest" or "world's smallest" to match its latest release, as that claim has often yet to be independently verified and is most probably the result of in-house tests with a tendency to skew results.

Having said that, Mobile World Congress saw the announcement of the Huawei Ascend P2 which was touted to be the "world's fastest smartphone".

Sure, it has a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, and "fastest" here refers to its data speed, thanks to LTE Cat 4 capability with a theoretical maximum download speed of up to 150 Mbps, which we all know will not happen in real life due to bottlenecks and other factors.

Still, the Huawei Ascend P2 is a sight to behold, sporting an infinity edge 4.7-inch IPS High Definition display that has been given extra padding, thanks to Gorilla Glass 2, crammed into a chassis that measures 8.4mm slim, and will be available in either black or white colours.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is the operating system of choice, with a 2,420mAh battery providing the necessary juice to keep it working throughout the day.

Connectivity options include WiFi and NFC, in addition to a 13- megapixel BSI rear-facing camera with High Definition video recording capability, accompanied by a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

Pricing details have yet to be confirmed, but the Huawei Ascend P2 will be introduced globally before the first half of the year is over.

www.huaweidevice.com SMALL TABLET PACKS A PUNCH SAMSUNG definitely wants to capture the entire spectrum of the tablet market, from the smaller models to the larger-sized ones. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is its latest attempt in providing competition for the 7-inch plus tablet market. I suspect the iPad mini from Apple is its primary target.

Having said that, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 must then be pretty well equipped if it were to mount a serious challenge in this smaller-sized tablet market, which thankfully, it does - with a quad- core 1.6GHz A9 processor, accompanied by an 8-inch WXGA TFT display at 1,280 x 800 resolution with a pixel density of 189ppi, in addition to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean as the operating system of choice.

In front, you will find a 1.3-megapixel camera for those narcissistic moments in your life, while at the back is a more respectable 5-megapixel shooter.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be optimised for its very own S Pen stylus, and 2GB RAM is accompanied by a choice of either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory (depending on your budget), which can be further expanded thanks to a microSD memory card slot.

Connectivity options for the Galaxy Note 8.0 include WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and USB 2.0, with a 4,600mAh battery running the show. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to the Galaxy Note 8.0 with its annual hardware refresh.

www.samsung.com HOME ENTERTAINMENT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS MOST of us would associate a company like Lenovo with nothing but quality notebooks. In recent times, it has also produced Ultrabooks as well as hybrid devices (the Yoga series which is an Ultrabook that can be used as a tablet when folded).

But this time around, it has unveiled a bona fide tablet - the all new Lenovo S6000. Available from the second quarter of this year, the new 10-inch Lenovo S6000 has been touted to be a mobile "home entertainment" centre, although we do wonder whether the battery is able to live up to such a billing in the long run.

The Lenovo S6000 will run on a quad-core 1.2GHz MTK 8389/8125 processor, with a 10.1-inch IPS display at 1,280 x 800 resolution alongside a wide, 178[masc ordinal] viewing angle.

Sure, it is not Full High Definition, but it should be enough for compressed movie files and presentations.

Connectivity options include WiFi, a micro HDMI port, and optional HSPA+, where all of it has been engineered to fit into a super slim 8.6mm frame that weighs just 560g. Final pricing details have yet to be determined though.

www.lenovo.com (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]