Here at SlashGear, members of the staff (including yours truly) have been using gMusic since late 2011 when we reviewed the XtremeMac Tango TRX – that’s an Apple iPod dock-toting wireless speaker that’s still kicking out the beats today. There the user interface for gMusic wasn’t exactly as user friendly as it is today. Today, the developer team behind the app have kicked things up a notch – just that .

ABOVE: gMusic from 2011. BELOW: gMusic today, spring of 2013.

This week’s update to version 6.0 of gMusic reveals – for those of you who haven’t used the app in a while – a user interface that’s far more friendly and ready to be a real replacement for the built-in music player for iOS. The icons within the app have been smoothed out, the lines are clean, and the overall aesthetic is up to par with the content.

ABOVE: gMusic on the iPad. BELOW: more gMusic on the iPad – YT Cracker up for play.

Now the only thing you’ll be wishing for is an update to Google’s new user interface. At Google I/O, the developer team behind Google Music updated the UI for the Android app, making it gesture friendly and clean at a level equalling that of the Google Play store – also updated this month.

That’s what happens when you’re working as a 3rd party system trying to keep up with the original: they’re always one step ahead!

That said, there’s no official alternative to gMusic on iOS, and from what we’ve seen, there’s not been a whole heck of a lot of good competition for it either. You’ll be tossing down $1.99 USD to grab this app if you’re picking it up from iTunes in the USA, and the team at Interactive Innovative Solutions LLC have made it worth the bucks.

Hisense Sero 7 Pro

This device works with a 7-inch IPS LCD display at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB internal storage. One of the first big differences between this machine and the Nexus 7 is the inclusion of a microSD card slot – that’ll allow you to expand the tablet’s storage space by an additional 32GB.

This machine works with a mini-HDMI out port so you can play videos or games straight to your high-definition television or computer display, and it works with two cameras. While the Nexus 7 works with a single front-facing camera, the Hisense Sero 7 works with a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel camera on its back. The back-facing camera also has a single LED flash for photos in the dark.

Wireless connectivity features include Bluetooth, NFC, and wifi. This device measures in at 7.9″ x 5″ x 0.43″ and will be released with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. With a 4,000mAh battery to keep it running for what Hisense says will be 10 hours, this machine is certainly prepared to do battle with the Nexus 7. It’ll be out for $149 USD in stores this week – or if you’re at the right Walmart store, you might be able to find it today.

Hisense Sero 7 LT (or Lite)

The Lite version of the Hisense Sero 7 brings similar specifications, but the Pro is just a bit of a step up. This Lite version also comes in at a $99 rather than $149, so it’s a bit of a value/abilities trade. The Hisense Sero 7 LT brings Android 4.1 and a dual-core processor at 1.6Ghz with 1GB of RAM. Up front is a 1024 x 600 pixel display that’s also IPS LCD.

This smaller tablet has a smaller internal storage at 4GB, but it also works with a microSD card slot for 32GB of storage expansion. This machine is also a bit smaller physically with a size of 7.9″ x 4.8″ x 0.41″ – and it’s got just one camera, too. This machine works with a 0.3 megapixel camera on its front, much like the Nexus 7.

The video compares both tablets as far as hardware specs are concerned, such as the weight and size of the tablets, as well as the selection of apps and the ability to multitask. Microsoft shows off the ASUS tablet running full Office, while the iPad only has the OneNote app. And while the iPad can quickly switch between apps, Microsoft gloats that the VivoTab can do split-screen multitasking.

The ad also demonstrates that Windows 8 tablets have a microSD card slot built in, while the iPad requires an adapter in order to get the same functionality. Microsoft even brings up printing, noting that the iPad only works with AirPrint-compatible printers, while Windows 8 tablets work with nearly any printer.

While Microsoft’s previous tablet commercials have been all about focusing only on the tablet itself, these new ads put some focus on the competition — in this case, it’s the iPad that’s giving Microsoft’s tablets a run for their money, so it seems the company wants to set the record straight and let people know the benefits of their tablets.

It’s certainly a blatant call out to the iPad, which could result in some eye rolls by viewers, but we have to say these ads are a bit better than office workers break-dancing on top of tables and flinging around their Surface tablets. It’s certainly a better ad for those who don’t like flashy and fast-paced advertisements (*raises hand*).

The commercial kicks off with Windows’ Live Tiles, with Siri conceding that iOS doesn’t update its icons like that, and then launches into multi-tasking. The ASUS tablet is shown opening up a sidebar with a second app, again something which isn’t supported on the iPad.

Then it’s time for PowerPoint, since Microsoft apparently can’t imagine a world where a tablet user might not want to throw together some slides. On the ASUS, the presentation can be edited and re-formatted, while the iPad is shown merely scrolling and zooming around in frustration. It’s worth noting that Apple does offer Keynote for iOS, its own PowerPoint alternative, which does allow presentations to be created.

“Should we just play Chopsticks?” Siri concludes, playing out the advert as Microsoft reveals its kicker: how much 64GB versions of both tablets cost. The iPad – Apple’s full-sized version, complete with Retina display – is priced at $699, while ASUS’ Windows 8 tablet is $449.

It’s certainly one of the better adverts Microsoft has put together – at least there’s no random dancing like the Surface tablet commercials the company aired last year – and the use of Siri’s voice (the actual audio files for which Apple licenses) is a sly touch that’s likely to get the fans arguing. Still, Microsoft’s decision to illustrate functionality with PowerPoint seems like a missed opportunity; the business-centric app has little relevance to home users.

Thanks Craig!

The Kindle Fire HD has a 7-inch display running at 1280 x 800 resolution, and packs Bluetooth, dualband WiFi, and an HDMI output. A front-facing camera, 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage, and a battery rated for over ten hours round out the package. In our review, we rated its tight integration with Amazon’s ebooks, multimedia, and other cloud services, assuming you’re a frequent shopper from the retailer.

As for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, that steps up the display to an 8.9-inch panel running at 1920 x 1200 – more than Full HD. It also has a faster processor, TI’s OMAP4470, though the same connectivity options as the smaller version.

The Kindle Fire HD 7 is up for preorder from the equivalent of $214, while the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 comes in at the equivalent of $284. They’ll ship to those in Ireland and Gibraltar from the UK site; to Austria and Luxembourg from the German site; and to Monaco from the French site.

Back when we reviewed the Fire HD 8.9, we praised its pricing and the consistency of the experience, though as with the Fire HD it’s less well-rounded if you’re not entirely dedicated to Android. Both Kindles are positioned basically as mobile storefronts for the retailer, and since there’s no official Google Play access you’re limited to what third-party apps Amazon allows into its own Appstore.

The jump from seven countries to more than 170 is another sign of Amazon’s growing hardware ambitions. Earlier this month, leaks suggested the company was working on at least two potential smartphones, one of which would use a glasses-free 3D display with eye-tracking for improved performance over previous implementations of the technology.

A Sonos-style music streamer was also tipped, though there’s no guarantee that – even if the products are in development – Amazon won’t axe the projects before they see the light of day.

Update: Amazon has also announced today that its Appstore for Android is now live in “nearly 200 countries”, paving the way for the Kindle Fire HD expansion. The service will also come to Brazil “in the coming months” the retailer says.

As AMD sees it, Temash and Windows is a combination that means the flexibility of a desktop with the performance of a multimedia-centric chipset. The first true AMD SoC, with a choice of dual and quadcore options, Temash offers up to a 212-percent graphics boost-per-watt compared to 2012′ AMD C-70 and up to a 172-percent jump in x86 performance per watt.

However, that doesn’t come with a battery hit, AMD claims, despite offering between 2x and 5x the performance of Intel’s Atom Z2760 in AMD’s testing. A Temash-based system can manage up to 12hrs of idle battery life, or up to 45-percent longer than a Core i3-based Windows tablet.

AMD sprinkles some of its extra feature magic on the new A-series. The A400 gets GPU acceleration for apps, along with native video stabilization; the A600 adds AMD Screen Mirror, which wirelessly squirts the contents of the display to a supported TV, together with gesture controls using the webcam, and AMD Face Login, for biometric security. Both have Radeon HD 8000 series graphics.

Connectivity support includes up to two USB 3.0 ports, up to ten USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, HDMI, PCI Express, VGA, and more. There’s also support for up to 8GB of system memory and AMD’s Turbo Dock system, which boosts performance when a tablet is slotted into a keyboard base station, while prolonging battery life when it’s removed.

Perhaps most impressive, AMD says the sub-5W versions of Temash can be used in fanless systems. We had a chance to play with a Temash-based Windows 8 tablet, and the experience was impressively good: it was a Quanta reference design, the BZ1T, but the Radeon HD 8180 GPU and A4-1200 1GHz CPU were certainly strong enough to keep Full HD video playing smoothly on the 11.6-inch 1920 x 1080 touchscreen.

Inside, there was 2GB of DDR3U-1066 RAM and a 128GB mSATA SSD drive, loaded up with HD content that we could then push over wirelessly to a nearby HDTV with a Screen Mirror-compatible adapter. The whole thing was lag-free.

AMD’s second Temash demo machine was a compact Acer ultraportable, the Angel. That ran Windows 8 on a lightweight touchscreen notebook with a Temash A6-1450 processor and Radeon HD 8280 graphics. Unlike the tablet, the Angel had a traditional 500GB hard-drive inside, but doubled up RAM to 4GB. It was certainly a fast-moving machine, multitasking between office apps and multimedia quickly, though we’d need to spend more time with it to see whether it really does offer a significant step up from the Intel equivalent.

AMD expects the Temash series of APUs to begin showing up in tablets, notebooks, and other form-factors over the coming months.

As outlined in bits back during the Google I/O 2013 main keynote, this mobile experience will be expanding to work with expanded abilities in the webGL department and more Google Wallet features than you can shake a finger at. For now though, the upgrade begins with autocomplete action.

In addition to the autocompletion of forms run by Chrome’s cross-device abilities to remember what you’ve saved, you’ll now have client-side certificate support. When a site requires you to use a certificate, Chrome for your Android device will now be able to assist you – and install, too.

This upgrade will allow Tab history on tablets – just a long-press on your browser back button will pull it up. You’ll also have a bunch of fixes on the back end you’ll never see – performance and stability updates, for the most part.

Chrome 27 bring with it Fullscreen on phones – this is the first time you’ll have been able to pull up and allow the internet – not your tab bar – taking up your entire display. Unfortunately it does appear that your notifications menu – set by Android itself – will have to stay.

Finally you’ll be working with simpler searching. If you type a term into the box that Google calls its “Omnibox”, also known as the URL bar, you’ll find your search query to remain there as you’re searching. While some platforms require that you type your term over completely each time you want to search, this allows you to make minor corrections in spelling or spacing, if need be.

This update to Chrome is available right this minute through Google Play for Android devices. If you don’t yet have Chrome on your Android device, picking it up at any point is a totally free affair as well.

This device has been tipped to be working with Intel processing power inside, that being one of the newer ATOM series SoCs according to benchmark results appearing this week. This device has been shown to be exceedingly similar to its predecessor in its display and processing abilities, while its form factor has left it a bit thinner and more sleek in appearance.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 works with a 7-inch display at 1024 x 600 pixel resolution up front, 1GB of RAM inside, and an unknown release date inside the USA. This tablet will be coming in at 111.1 x 188 x 9.9mm large and will be launched with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean if not higher.

This device will be appearing with 8GB and 16GB internal storage sizes and will likely be appearing on more than one mobile carrier here in the USA. Whether or not it’ll have its own microSD card slot for memory expansion may be dependent on region and/or carrier preference. Final pricing has not yet been revealed for USA-based sales, but it’s likely that Samsung will target somewhere well beneath it’s Galaxy Note 8.0 – so perhaps a bit closer to $250 USD.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 was released last year with a styling that was rather similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. Before that, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 lead the way with a double-down on second-wave styling, while again, the first wave was only appearing in a 7-inch form factor.

SOURCE: Tablets Mag

The Surface tablets will replace Polaroid photos that are printed out to show quarterbacks and other players what went wrong during a previous play. Surprisingly, this is still the case in 2013 — players don’t have access to instant replay displays on the sidelines, so they’re given printed-out photos instead. It works, but it’s really inefficient.

The tablets will not only be more convenient (as well as more interactive) but they’ll also cut down on costs for laminated paper and ink used for the hundreds of photos that are printed out each week. Coaches will also be able to use Surface tablets to replace their playbooks, although it might be a difficult transition for them, as printed-out playbooks have been the way for many years.

However, some coaches already use iPads on the sidelines during practices, and the Microsoft partnership won’t stop them from doing so, although they’ll be required to cover-up the Apple logo whenever they use them in a game, while Surface tablets won’t need covering up. In fact, even the replay booths that officials use to make a call will now have Microsoft branding on them.

Previously, the NFL had banned any kind of recording device or video player from being on sidelines, which is probably the reason behind all of those Polaroid photos being printed out, so using tablets during games was against the rules, since they can play back video and capture video as well. However, it seems the NFL is coming around to the idea of allowing such devices on the sidelines, and the NFL said that they’re all-in on changing the rules if it means bringing more innovation to the game.

SOURCE: BusinessWeek

This web browser works with a Discover page at the outset for users that don’t always want to launch to the same initial webpage from the start. This is an odd addition, we’re finding, as Google’s initiatives with Google Now and push for search from any Android homepage make entering the web straight forward a thing of the past.

When you use the internet on your smartphone, do you click a web browser first, or do you start with a search?

Opera also offers a Speed Dial to collect your favorite unique web portals and pages in one place – this is similar to the browser’s Discover page, but allows you to customize your experience to a greater extent.

This out-of-beta edition of Opera also offers up “Off-Road mode”. This mode allows you to work with an internet in a sort of limited data way. According to Opera: “it keeps you connected and loads webpages faster when conditions get rough.”

Off-Road Mode is what Opera used to call “Opera Turbo”, here allowing you – hopefully – browse faster with some server-side compression technology. This means Opera makes things smaller for you, essentially – best for when you’re only looking to get some reading done, not necessarily best for when you’re browsing for an everyone-sees-this sort of situation. You may be seeing some pixel blocks appearing here or there if your connection is extra slow – we’ve only seen them appear for a moment before final rendering over 4G LTE on a Verizon device.

This web browser works for all Android devices – every one we’ve tested so far, that is – both smartphone and tablet-sized displays included. This new Opera app is a free download from the Google Play app store and you’ll be able to get this final edition today for any Android device. If you’re all about having a smaller experience for your ancient Android smartphone, you can also choose Opera Mini – it doesn’t have all the same features, but it certainly gets the job done!

Like many recent Android tablets, this doubles as a netbook as HP has a dedicated keyboard dock to transform this into a full laptop-like experience. Add in the NVIDIA Tegra 4 power, and you’ve got quite the device on your lap. All the details on the Slatebook can be found from our announcement post, and you’ll want to check out the images if you’re interested.

With a 10.1-inch HD display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and the quad-core Tegra 4 processor under the hood the device should be pretty darn fast, stable, and powerful. Add in 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and the keyboard dock and you’ll have most the essentials for an Android slate. You’ll also get a micro-SD slot, hdmi-out, and much more.

Today at CTIA NVIDIA was nice enough to give us a quick glance at the new portable they’ll be powering, and even tossed up a demo showing just how fast it is. Compared to the impressive Google and Samsung Nexus 10, the HP Slatebook blew past some browser benchmarks with NVIDIA’s Tegra 4. This is just one test, but it nearly doubles the performance. Take a peek below.

In addition to having a 1920 x 1200 full HD display, the dedicated keyboard dock gives you additional juice with a separate battery for longer usage. As well as another SD slot, this time full SD, for even more storage options. While we only had a limited amount of time with the new slate, it gave us a pretty good first impression. We didn’t like the flat power and volume buttons in the press photos, but found them easy to locate and use in real life. This kept the slate sleek and we liked the design language.

So far our only complaint would be a little dip and recessed area on bottom that fits into the keyboard dock, which wasn’t extremely comfortable for regular tablet usage. However, that same area also houses front facing speakers, something we wish all tablets had on board. We’ll need more time with the slate but we came away with two thoughts. One being that HP is looking to dive head first into the Android tablet game. And second being the Tegra 4 is one impressive quad-core chip. Stay tuned for more from CTIA 2013.

Though there’s still no word on how any of this affects Google+ Hangouts at all – since it doesn’t come pre-loaded with devices at this very moment – AT&T is making it clear that changes are in the works. Changes for pre-loaded apps only. Specific to three manufacturers: Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry, pre-loaded apps working with Mobile Share or Tiered data plans will have instant access to video chat with mobile data.

“For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and Blackberry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we’ll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.” – AT&T Representative

So if you’ve got an Apple, Samsung, or BlackBerry device – and one of those data plans – you’ll be able to video chat with pre-loaded apps no matter your connection.

AT&T goes on to say that they’re opening their doors wider later this year, allowing pre-loaded apps to use video chat on any phone no matter the customer’s data plan. You’ll still have to pay for the data you use while chatting, but you’ll be able to do so without a hassle.

“Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable pre-loaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by year end.” – AT&T Representative

Strangely enough, AT&T insists that “any mobile video chat app” that’s not pre-loaded with a device they purchase should be able to be “used” without trouble. It would seem that Google+ Hangouts is considered a native app by AT&T due to its replacing of Google Talk, therefor rendering Video chat limited to wifi until each of these announcements take hold.

“Today, all of our customers can use any mobile video chat app that they download from the Internet, such as Skype.” – AT&T Representative

Let us know if you’re able to use Google+ Hangouts with mobile data on your AT&T device later this June. At the moment we’re still seeing the error that brought us to this point last week. Video chat freedom, on the way!

Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader we’re getting the first official details, specs, and pictures of what is called the Hisense Sero 7 Pro. This tablet aims to deliver Nexus 7 like performance to the masses for only $99, and will be hitting retailers like Walmart shortly. According to our tipster, it’s already for sale extremely early at some select Walmart stores.

The Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a pretty impressive tablet in every sense of the word, especially given the price. You’ll be enjoying a 7-inch 1280 x 800 IPS HD display, and quad-core power thanks to NVIDIA‘s Tegra 3 clocked at 1.3 GHz. The same as the Nexus 7. You’ll enjoy 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, but hey, unlike the Nexus 7 this has a micro-SD slot. Oh and it also sports a mini-HDMI out port as well. Two things sorely missing from ASUS and Google’s Nexus 7.

That isn’t all this has going for it either. The Hisense Sero 7 Pro not only runs on Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, but it also rocks two cameras. A 5 megapixel rear (with LED flash) and 2 megapixel front facing camera. You’ll enjoy the usual WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and sensors, as well as NFC and a 4,000 mAh battery. So basically everything you’ll get from the Nexus 7, plus 4 or 5 things we wish it had like cameras and micro-SD, all for only $99.

Hisense has been popular in China with their well-rounded tablets, and it looks like the same is about to be true here in the US. The company, Hisense, sells some TVs and other things here in the states but this is their first tablet to officially go on sale. According to our reader, who has the tablet in hand after purchasing it from a local Walmart, said the link to their US tablet site doesn’t even work. Claiming it says www.hisense-usa.com/tablets on the box, which at the time of writing isn’t an active page. Their new slate just cleared the FCC in late April, and shouldn’t be available for sell yet, but we’d recommend you run down to your nearest Walmart and try to snag on up before they sell out.

With those specs, that design and build quality, all for $99 we expect this tablet to do quite well. Running the latest version of Android and having full access to the Google Play Store doesn’t hurt either.
Update: Reports have confirmed the price is actually $149, and the Hisense Sero 7 lite will be $99. Still not bad for the same features and more compared to the Nexus 7.

– Thanks Selim for the tip

We began our journey in a bit of a behind-the-scenes tour of the Moscone Center in San Francisco to see what Google had in store. It appeared that the setup was rather similar to what we’d seen the year before – save the massive models hovering above the third floor.

While on the third floor we literally saw the word ANDROID dominating the floor aside Chrome, the second floor retained a set of services for multiple platforms. The second floor also had Google Glass holding its own unique space on the level’s far side. Below you’ll see an on-site preview of the first of three floors through Glass – aka #throughglass – this method of collection acting as a teaser for what would become the dominant subject of the conference – whether Google intended it to or not.

It was announced by Google that they’d at this point counted 900 million Android activations across the planet. This number jumped from just 400 million activations in 2012 and 100 million activations in 2011 – that’s four times the number from one year to the next, then nearly double that number again between last year and here.

Just this past month, Android activations were marked at 1.35 million per day on average back on the 13th of March according to Google – at 750 million activations back then and 900 million now, the company could be seeing over 1.5 billion Android activations by the end of the year.

Devices

Google showed of a single new device – a new “Google Edition” or “Nexus Edition” of the Samsung GALAXY S 4. This device would be sold straight from Google the way a Nexus smartphone or tablet would, but would retain the Samsung GALAXY S 4 brand name. While device announcements such as this are normally joined by a giveaway for attendees of the conference, here it was joined by a price tag and availability date: June 25th for a healthy $649 unlocked and without contractual obligations.

We had our own up-close look at this GALAXY S 4 courtesy of Hugo Barra. Google’s Vice President of Android Product Management showed this device as exactly what you’d expect it would be – at least as swift as the Samsung-skinned original and ready to act as a non-Nexus alternative for those wishing to pick up Jelly Bean straight from the source.

NVIDIA came in to take a bit of the hype and excitement of the week with a double-down announcement of their SHIELD device becoming available for pre-sale. NVIDIA’s SHIELD was both announced for pre-sale for early adopters and had its normal retailer pre-sale bumped up due to an apparent rush of requests from normal consumers.

Google Glass was, of course, on a much larger percentage of the center’s population than anywhere else in the world at any time up until this point, with the one possible exception being inside Google and Google X itself. Google Glass runs on its own unique version of Android, the device itself able to be hacked at this point to run Ubuntu (this also proven at a I/O breakout session just this week). Though it wasn’t mentioned but in passing during I/O’s keynote session, Glass and development surrounding it ended up being the star of the week.

Sliding in on the wearable wave as well was a device announced this week by Recon – the Recon Je. This pair of glasses works with a miniature computer that runs Android as well. We had a quick peek at this device here in its near-complete state as well – it’ll be released by the end of the year, well ahead of Google’s own Glass consumer push.

Services

The system known as Google Play game services was launched to tie together gamers on not only Android, but iOS and in-browser as well for desktop machines. This system will allow game saves to the cloud so that users can sign in with their game profile from any device and pick up their game where they left off. It will also support easier connections for multi-player games between users playing on different platforms.

Groups such as Glu Mobile and Gameloft have already begun integrating Google Play game services connectivity and functionality into their games. Developers at Vector Unit announced and demonstrated the ability to connect over the web with speed with their upcoming title Riptide GP 2 – a game also demonstrated this week on NVIDIA SHIELD out on the main floor at Google I/O.

Development

As this is a developers convention, Google chose it for the announcement point of the system that the company says could end Android fragmentation woes forever. This system is called Android Studio and will act as Google’s first all-inclusive developer tool they’ve ever offered – an IDE (integrated developer environment) that offers features such as virtual multi-device display testing and real-time views of multiple language translations in-app.

Android Studio works on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux at the moment. In speaking with multiple developers throughout the week, we found the fact that these three platforms were chosen first to be a common notion. Why give developers a Chromebook Pixel with an operating system based on the web and announce an Android developer system that’s not entirely web-based?

On that note, Google also let it be known that the Chrome OS experience was coming to its Android web browser with several account-sync abilities. One of the more interesting of these was form autocomplete, this allowing users to store their credit card information and contact information as they normally would on the desktop version of the browser and pull it up automatically from the mobile web.

Apps

Announced as an upgrade to the buy-and-own system already in place, Google Play Music All Access was revealed as a real competitor to streaming music services like Spotify and Rdio. This system is able to stream music both in a web browser and in-app, costing the user $9.99 a month for access – if they don’t get in on the deal early, that is.

This system is based on a choose-your-own-playlist system that also offers up smart selections from Google’s robots – at the moment, it’s both in-web and on Android, but not ready for iOS. This system is ready to roll for both mobile and in-browser users of Google Music.

Perhaps the most important app announced this week was the cross-platform chat platform expanding what was originally reserved for Google+ in video chat. Here we saw Google+ Hangouts for Android, iOS, in-browser inside Google+, and as a OS X app. Users sign in with their Google+ account and use contacts through Circles to connect.

Google+ Hangouts are able to work with text, stickers and icons, video and photo sharing, and video chat. This system will be expanding to include new types of sharing in the future as Google+ as a social network leads the way. This system is now live in effect for all platforms announced, desktop, Android, and iOS included.

Wrap-up

Android has been presented this week as one of several central systems part of the greater ecosystem that is Google, a company that aims to get technology “out of your way”. Google’s CEO Larry Page stepped on stage at the start of this conference to express his wish for an ideal future: “technology should do the hard work, so you can get on and live your life.”

In the end, Android became a power here that was assumed while Google’s ecosystem grew around it. It’s here that Google makes it clear: Android itself doesn’t need to be updated every time the company has a big event. It’s the year of the Context Ecosystem, and Google’s presentation of Android at Google I/O 2013 has once again proven it.

That chip is paired with 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of flash storage. The Clover Trail chip has Intel GMA 3650 graphics, driving the 1280 x 768 WXGA multitouch display.

Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a micro USB 2.0 port; there’s also a microHDMI output for hooking up an external display. A 2-megapixel webcam is also included.

That Bluetooth connection could be used for hooking up a wireless keyboard, but Acer will also offer a detachable keyboard dock into which the Iconia W3 will slot. The snap-on ‘board is wider than the tablet itself, which means Acer can include full-sized keys.

Acer will offer two variants of the W3, at least initially. The W3-810-27602G03nsw has 32GB of flash storage, while the W3-810-27602G06nsw doubles that to 64GB. Either way, that’s not huge for a Windows 8 tablet; Microsoft’s Surface Pro, for instance, starts off at the 64GB level, and offers 128GB as a more expensive option.

Exactly what the W3 will cost is still unclear at this stage. However, it’s possible that the small tablet will make its official debut in a few weeks time at Computex, held in early June.

Thanks quadtronix!

A lot of people were disappointed by the absence of hardware. Google’s largely a software and services company, of course, but we’re still trained to expect shiny new gadgets first and foremost. What I/O proved to be was a reminder that the industry has moved on, and that it’s high time we recognized that.

“Specs are dead” is an opinion growing in prevalence among those following the cutting-edge of phones and tablets. There’s a limit to the usable resolution of a smartphone display, for instance – once your eyes can’t make out individual pixels, do you really need to step up to Ultra HD? – and to the speed of a tablet processor. The areas that still need real advancement, like high-performance batteries, are evolving too slowly to make a difference with each new generation.

Hardware used to make a big difference to the usability of a device. Now, it’s just a question of badge-loyalty and aesthetics. What really makes the difference is the range of applications and services that are on offer; not solely the raw count of available apps that gets trotted out at every big press event, but whether the specific titles the user needs are on offer to them.

Software is at a tipping point, too, though. Android used to be clunky and ugly; now it looks great, and the gap between the instant usability of it, iOS, and Windows Phone is arguably nonexistent. The software race has moved on, away from silo’d applications and slick UIs to where our phones – and the companies that make them – are finally considering context alongside capability.

Context is a tricky thing to explain, certainly compared to the instant crowd-pleaser of a big OLED screen or a blisteringly-fast, multicore processor. Put simply, it’s a more intelligent way of your phone or tablet integrating itself into your life, whether that be more time-appropriate notifications, an awareness of the people around you, or of the other devices you might use. It’s about predicting rather than just reacting.

Google’s arguably doing the best at that of all the platform companies, and I/O was its opportunity to demonstrate that. Google Now is the most obvious expression of a system that offers up suggestions instead of waiting for you to go hunting for answers, but through the I/O keynote we saw signs of the disparate strands of Google’s products coming together in intelligent, time-saving ways.

Google Maps, for instance, won’t just autocomplete your recently-used addresses, but learn from your preferences in restaurants and other venues and make suggestions it thinks you’ll enjoy. Google Play Music All Access has a ridiculous name, but its ability to build dynamic playlists based on your favorite tracks will help cut down on one of the most common complaints about cloud-jukebox services: that they overwhelm with choice, and subscribers simply end up listing to the same playlists over and over again.

The new Highlights feature in Google+ is another example of the cloud being clever, not just capacious. As many have discovered, thousands of photos quickly become unwieldy when it comes to sifting through them for the best shots, no matter whether you’re storing them locally or from somewhere in the cloud.

Google’s ability to pick out the cream (and give them a little auto-enhancing along the way, just to make sure you’re looking tip-top) could mean you actually end up looking at them more, rather than feeling guilty because you’re not manually sorting them.

Google+ remains the big social network people love to slam, but it’s also the glue that looks set to hold all of these personalized services together. Just as Google hinted back in 2012, when it controversially changed its privacy policy to explicitly allow services to share information on the same registered user between themselves, the key here is the flow of data. That might not actually require people to actively embrace Google+ – indeed, they may well not even know they’re using it – but it will cement its relevance in a way that Facebook can’t compete with.

Make no mistake, context is the next big battleground in mobile. As our smartphones have become more capable, they’ve also become more voracious in their appetites for our time and attention. A prettier notifications drop-down is no longer a legitimate solution to information overload: pulling every possible alert into one place doesn’t make it any easier to cope with the scale of the data our phones and tablets can offer us.

The device which understands us better, and which handles our information in a way that’s bespoke, not one huge gush, will control the market. Google knows that; it also knows that hardware is basically just a way of getting a screen in front of users’ eyes, whether that be on a Chromebook like the Pixel, a phone or tablet from the Nexus series, or suspended in the corner of your eye like Glass.

In the same way, speech control – which also demonstrated marked improvements at I/O – is just another way to make sure people can engage with your products, on top of what touching, tapping, and clicking they’ve already been doing. More flexibility means more usage; more usage means more data to collate and customers that are further wedded to Google rather than any other company.

All of Google’s services are gradually interweaving. Google I/O 2013 is an ecosystem play, and it’s one of the biggest – and arguably ambitious – we’ve ever seen. It’ll drag Google+ with it along the way, and it might even kickstart the “internet of things” when we start to see some legitimate advantages of having every device a web-connected node. Google didn’t give us a new phone for our pocket or a new tablet for our coffee table; instead, it gave us so much more.

Under the hood, the Archos 80 xenon offers a quad-core Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, and while the announcement fails to mention how much on-board storage space there is, there’s a microSD expansion slot that supports up to 64GB cards. Around back, there’s a 2-megapixel camera, which is more or less average for tablets in this range.

The 8-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1024 x 768 and supports multi-touch. The slate runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and as mentioned above has an unlocked SIM, allowing users to pop in whatever they’d like to use, whether it’s a prepaid SIM or one as part of a contract plan. There’s integrated GPS, allowing the slate to be used as a navigational tool in conjunction with Navigation or another GPS app.

Hardware aside, there are a variety of apps, such as the Archos Media Center Applications suite, which is composed of various media offerings for video and audio, as well as media sharing. That is in addition to the pre-installed Google apps, such as Gmail, Google Talk, and Google+, due to the tablet being Google-certified.

Said Loïc Poirier, CEO of Archos: “We designed the ARCHOS 80 xenon to meet the growing need and desire for large screen connectivity while on the go. Taking advantage of the recent arrival of affordable 3G subscriptions, the ARCHOS 80 xenon provides a full connected tablet experience anywhere, anytime.” The device is slated to his shelves in the US and UK this June.

SOURCE: Android Community

At the 21-second mark in the video below, you’ll see an iPhone 5 to the right, with a 7-inch tablet to the left. Our first assumption is that it’s the normal Nexus 7, but the glowing, oscillating notification light tells us that it’s not your ordinary Nexus 7, but possibly the next-generation Nexus 7 that Google didn’t announced during the keynote.

Obviously, this raises more questions than it answers, including why this is in the video, and why didn’t Google announce a new Nexus 7. It’s possible that Google had plans to launch a new Nexus 7 and went ahead and put it in the video above, but then they may have scrapped plans to announce it during the keynote.

Or it’s just possible that Google just put a notification light on the Nexus 7 in post-production of the video to simply demonstrate Hangouts’ abilities, but that seems odd on the face of it. We also see a second angle of the alleged new Nexus 7 tablet right after the 21-second mark where a girl picks up the tablet to reply to a message. We can’t really make out if the tablet she’s holding is different from the current Nexus 7, but we weren’t expecting Google to completely redesign the tablet anyway.

We’ve heard in the past that the new Nexus 7 would sport a full 1080p HD display, along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor and Android 4.3, which would be magnificent, but it seems that wasn’t the case during the keynote, and Android 4.3 was a no-show as well. Maybe they’ll pull a “one last thing” towards the end of the conference this week, but we’re not counting on it.

VIA: Android Community

SOURCE: AusDroid

“At this point it is iOS and Android, and that’s iOS phones running iOS 6 and higher” Bhardwaj said of the app. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.”

Expanding BlackBerry Messenger support across rival platforms has been a long-rumored strategy for BlackBerry, though there’s controversy around whether the decision will now be too little, too late. BlackBerry OS has dropped a place in the worldwide smartphone OS market share league, it was announced today, with Windows Phone taking third place instead.

Whether that will mean BBM for iPhone and Android works as a gateway drug of sorts, or merely as a route for BlackBerry owners looking to leave the platform behind and yet still keep in touch with old friends on a new device, remains to be seen.

Even without a dedicated iPad version, that’s not to say iPad and iPad mini owners won’t be able to access the iPhone BBM app. However, they’ll be stuck using screen-doubling until BlackBerry gets around to coding up a tablet-specific interface, and there’s no telling when that will actually happen.

Still, there’s at least a hint that such support is in the pipeline, as well as other form-factors where BBM could roost, beyond mobile. “I think when you look at things like Smart TVs and desktops, those are definitely areas for exploration,” Bhardwaj teased.

IMAGE: BlackBerry Blog

Android OS Updates

As it was last year, so it was expected to be again here in 2013. Google didn’t make an update to Android itself in any grand way, instead issuing updates to services like Google Play for developers on its back end, and updates to Apps for Android, Chrome, and even iOS. While Android 4.3 may still be on the horizon, (coming up quick, you can bet), it’s not been mentioned here on the first day of I/O.

This speaks volumes about Google’s approach with the conference, letting the world know that they’re not about to be pigeon-holed as a company that relies on updates to its operating systems and devices as major announcement fodder while they’ve got perfectly good app releases and service updates to shout about. As Apple’s new operating system update is rumored to be right around the corner, it’s possible that Android is simply fulfilling the suggestions made by Larry Page at the end this one-off keynote:

“Every story I read about Google is about us vs some other company, or something else, and I really don’t find that interesting. We should be building great things that don’t exist. Being negative is not how we make progress.” – Larry Page

Smartphones and Tablets for Developers

In 2012, Google gave away a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, a Google Nexus 7 tablet, and a Chromebox. The year before, they gave away a mobile hotspot from Verizon as well as a Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet – and a voucher for one of the first model Chromebooks too. This year developers are being given a Chromebook Pixel, the highest-end device on the market running this operating system. Google was expected to give away an LG-made Nexus 4, a Nexus 10 tablet, and other goodies, but they’ve sent one, single, crystal clear message instead.

Google’s message is that the most important services they’ve got to offer are on Android devices so abundant in the market that they’re inevitably already in developers’ hands OR are on Chrome OS. With the finest delivery vehicle for this operating system in the world thus far, Google is encouraging developers – pushing them, basically – to get Chrome on their radar, and to keep it there.

Google Glass Development

There’ve been no shortages of appearances by Google Glass this week at the Moscone Center, each of these happening with devices made available to developers at Google I/O 2012, shipped in the weeks coming up to this 2013 edition of the event user by user. Though there is a massive showing for Glass on one of two levels of developer-aimed presentations here at I/O 2013, there was no mention of development for Glass in the keynote.

Glass was mentioned by Larry Page in his question and answer session at the end of the keynote, but it certainly wasn’t in any way that was planned beforehand. Glass is not, it seems, at a place where it makes sense for Google to make a big deal of it to developers the same way new services announcements are being pushed. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to continue to update the public on Glass at this moment either since final market-ready units are still a far way off.

Results

The re-adjustment of the aim of this developer conference is clear. It’s here that Google re-humanizes the way they approach public relations, at least through the developers that make this ecosystem so healthy. While in years past it may have seemed that Google was aiming over the heads of developers, exciting the public with massive consumer-based keynotes to encourage these creators of software and services by default, Google is returning to a more solid spot here in 2013.

What do you think? Did you expect to see anything that didn’t end up appearing in the first and only keynote session of the week? It’s without a doubt a turning point – however subtle – for the company, and it’s exciting – among other things – to see the company’s ability to keep their aims diverse.

The Google+ Hangouts app is available for Android right this minute, but should you bring the app to your brand new Samsung GALAXY S 4, you’ll find a notification appearing if a video chat is attempted. The lock in this case is over video chat on mobile data – AT&T relegates the ability to Wi-fi.

UPDATE: AT&T has responded with a statement.

“All AT&T Mobility customers can use any video chat app over cellular that is not pre-loaded on their device, but which they download from the Internet. For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we offer all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share, Tiered and soon Unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices. It’s up to each OS and device makers to enable their systems to allow pre-loaded video chat apps to work over cellular for our customers on those plans.” – AT&T Representative

SlashGear has tested both an HTC One with AT&T data and the AT&T version of the Samsung GALAXY S 4, both with the same result.

What we’re expecting the situation to be is one of three things. First, it could be that this is a bit of a mistake – the assurance by Google that video chat would be free seemed to be a direct reference to FaceTime’s charges on certain carriers – this might all simply need a software update to fix.

Another possibility is that Google didn’t mean that user would be able to use the video chat feature for free with mobile data – only with wi-fi. A third possibility is that AT&T got in on the deal early, not letting Google know that they’d be blocking any and all voice chat attempts on anything but wi-fi. We shall see!

We’ve reached out to both Google and AT&T for comment and will update this article with their response.

Search through Google Maps will show Sushi restaurants recommended by your friends. You’ll find photos through locations taken by users in Google+. Cards will be appearing similar to what’s seen in Google Now. In short, this system will bring the multi-system that is Google’s personalized experience for teach individual user in once more in the future of Google Maps.

Each user will be working with a unique map, each map based on the users interests as racked-up through their searches as well as their preferences. A map will be built using the same data as appears in Google Now.

A map will be built for “every place” as well, with unique details appearing when a location is clicked – or tapped. If a park is selected, for example, roads will be highlighted that lead the user to that location. Details added with Zagat and by the location owners, and of course by the public, will be available at a level that’s well above what’s offered today.

Google has made it clear that the future will turn the map itself into the user interface. Directions will be able to be accessed with taps on the map, not just through text searches. Multiple ways to access each location will be appearing at a tap.

This system will be rolled out to Google I/O attendees first and will be offered as a preview for the rest of the world later this week. The action will continue throughout the week through SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal as well.

Google Search expands with several different elements this week, including Knowledge Graph working with statistics, anticipation of comparisons to other elements available in the system, and more. Knowledge Graph works with interesting events and locations in cities, is able to find photos from specific locations, and is able to tie these items together both in mobile mode and on a desktop through a Chrome web browser.

If a user has Google open and asks for information about a location, they’ll get that information along with related bits and pieces – photos, restaurants, etcetera. With Google’s newest update, the user is also able to say something as simple as “how far is it?” Google understands what you’ve been talking about and gives you a map.

This is all part of a system that follows three mainstays:

• Answer
• Converse
• Anticipate

As Google Search hears you, it understands and responds in kind, and also anticipates what you might want to know next. This system also works with Google Now on Android to give you information on your flights, your favorite sports teams, weather information, and the like. This system is bringing many Google Glass commands to Google Now as well.

A user will be able to make the following commands: “Ok Google, send an email to my friend George, I’ll be late today and we’ll have to meet up at 4 PM.” This message is understood by Google and a card appears which the user will then be able to tap to send – or – “OK send” will work as well.

This system will be available to Google Search beta experience users today and will be rolling out to users across the spectrum in users in the near future – stay tuned to our Google I/O tag portal all week long as the announcements and information continue to flow.

This chat system will be available for Android and iOS as well as on the web starting today. This cross-platform initiative works with group video as well as video chat, and all of it without charge. Though this may seem obvious for some, there have been systems similar to this in the past where chatting with your camera cost extra cash – can you name that system?

With Google+ Hangouts, a Google+ account will be needed to chat. This account is the same as a user’s Google account for Gmail and the like, but the social networking sign-up will need to be done.

This system will also be launching with photo storage with Google+ at 15GB at full size. This means that if you want to automatically upload photos to Google+ with your Android or iOS device, you can upload 15GB worth of full-sized photos. If you want to upload limited-size photos, you can upload as many as you like.

Google+ has also been updated with a system that can break down your collection of photos to find what’s best based on a variety of pre-selected criteria. This system as well as Google+ Hangouts will be launching today with Google+ photo enhancement abilities far beyond those available in the past. Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal all week long for more developer action as it occurs, piece by piece!

Your information saved in Chrome in your desktop browser will be able to sync with your mobile web browser on Android. This means you’ll fill out a form, for example, with your name, address, payment information, all the good stuff, you’ll be able to save it (as you have been able for quite some time). The big deal here is that this information will be able to be accessed instantly from your mobile Chrome web browser at a tap.

The mobile web browser Chrome for Android allows you to sign-in with your Google account to sync with whichever iteration of Chrome you’ve already signed-in with. A change on one will be able to be brought up on another, history is the same, tabs can be accessed cross-device, and now forms will be able to be filled automatically.

This system will be rolling out for Android in the very near future – at the moment we’re waiting to see how close it is to iOS. Every other update to Chrome mentioned today has been instant and/or cross-device as well as cross-platform. Chrome is being pushed here at Google I/O 2013 as a single system more now than ever before.

With App Translation Services, developers will be able to purchase translation services straight through Google Play. A translation company will translate text through the developer’s own set of APK strings, paying through Google as with all other systems inside the Google Play store.

Referral Tracking was also added go Google Play’s back-end for developers. Google Play will be showing the user how and from where users are coming from, much like Google Analytics shows how, from where, and why visitors come to webpages. This system allows many of the systems – lots, if not all the metrics available in Analytics will be available in one single place – the developer console.

A system called Fortune Teller will also be part of this Referral Tracking environment, allowing the developer to gain a better understanding of where their cash comes from. Staged Roll-outs are also coming this week for developers – Beta Testing included.

This whole system will be rolling out to developers starting this week – stay tuned while we’re here all week at Google I/O 2013 through our own Google I/O tag portal!

Pichai spoke about The Journey of Personal Computing, noting that Android and Chrome remain two separate systems. Android began, he said, as an open system that is now the most popular operating system in the world. Chrome as a web browser, he reminded the audience, is now the world’s most popular web browser. It’s through this web browser and with this system that Google Play game systems will come to life.

Pichai showed the current level of Android activations in the world – 900 million strong. Comparing this number to 2012′s activations at 400 million, it was plain how the operating system was making waves. 48 billion app installs were announced for Google Play by Google’s Hugo Barra. Google’s Vice President of Android Product Management announced further that the company had already paid out more this year to developers through Google Play than they had the entirety of 2012.

Barra continued with updates for the developer community on Google Services updates with APIs for Google Maps. Activity Recognition, power saving, and ease in integration bring this system into the future. Also on tap was Google+ sign-in. This system allows users to log in with Google+ on-the-fly through a series of websites – and all, in the near future, if Google has their way.

Google+ Cross-device Single Sign-on was made clear – Google+ will now be as easy to sign in with as Facebook is in both apps and on your desktop. Signing in on your desktop computer will also have you signed in on your tablet or smartphone if the app is compatible with this system.

But it was Google Play game services that knocked out the most important update to Android without a doubt. Here you’ll find users able to save their game on one device and pick it up from another place without a problem.

This system is both cross-device and cross-platform. It works for both Android and iOS – Apple devices as well as those made by LG, HTC, and all the rest. Connecting through Google+ and the users’ Google account, multi-player games will also be made a snap over the web – more-so than before, that is.

Google Play game services will be rolling out starting this week and we’ll be having more of a close-up look at it each day. Stick around our Google I/O tag portal to see it all, start to finish.

The first location API they discussed is what they’re called Fused Location Provider, which aims at providing faster and more accurate location data, as well as low-power mode where less than 1% of the battery is used per hour, according to the search giant. After all, if battery power is a huge concern for a lot of users, this should certainly smooth things over a bit.

The second API that Google announced is called Geofencing. This lets you define certain areas around different locations in order to trigger events, something that we’ve seen before in location-based reminder apps, such as Checkmark and Apple’s own Reminders app. Google says that many users have asked for this feature, and finally they’re delivering.

The third API is called Activity Recognition, which helps to track your physical activities such as running, walking, biking, etc. The API uses data from the phone’s accelerometer and can even work without the GPS if you don’t happen to get a signal. It will also learn learn different activities to figure out when you’re walking, running, biking, and driving.

No word yet on when we’ll see these new APIs become available, but they’ll most likely release the APIs this week for developers to get started on as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more coverage of Google I/O, as the keynote has begun!

With the HP Split x2, consumers get a 13.3-inch high-definition touchscreen display that can be detached from the base, which contains an extra optional hard drive for additional storage on top of the storage in the detachable unit. As with the dual hard drives, there are dual batteries for “ultramobility,” all of it wrapped up in a soft-coated shell to keep fingerprints to a minimum.

Under the hood, users will find a 3rd-generation Intel Core processor (Core i3 and Core i5 options) and up to 8GB of RAM, while audio is provided via Beats Audio and HP Connected Music. There’s a multi-finger ClickPad trackpad, as well as a 2-megapixel HP TrueVision Full HD integrated webcam for video chatting. Storage can be expanded via an SD card slot in the base and a microSD card slot in the slate. You can see the device in action in the video above.

There are the various software trimmings you’d expect, such as support tools and other similar resources, as well as various warranty options for protection against accidents. The HP Split x2 is slated to hit shelves in the United State this upcoming August, and will have a starting price of $799.99.

Said HP’s Senior VP of Consumer PCs Ron Coughlin: “Customers want to access and share content anywhere, anytime, on any internet connected device-and they expect those connections to be seamless. The HP SlateBook x2 and the HP Split x2 are next-generation devices and the latest examples of our continued commitment to evolving the computing experience by providing the flexibility necessary for customers to be productive at home, at the office or on the go.”

Inside this device you’ve got 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot that allows you to expand memory by 32GB, and 2GB of RAM. You’ll also be able to work with full-sized SD cards in a slot separate from the smaller cards. Inside both the slate itself and the keyboard dock you’ll find batteries ready to bring on a rather massive amount of up-time.

Sound will be handled by HP’s implementation of DTS Sound+, which sounds nice, but this device’s speakers continue to suffer from the dreaded back-facing syndrome that continues to plague the tablet universe. Until they head to the front, you’ll continue to get a bounced-sound experience.

The display on this machine is a 1920 x 1200 resolution IPS panel with some impressive viewing angles and 400 nit brightness. Through this you’ll be breaking out high-definition graphics at 224.17 PPI – not the densest panel in the world by any means, but certainly ready to compete with the rest of the 10.1-inch competitors on the market today.

This system is officially licensed by Google, meaning you’ll have access to the Google Play system for media – apps, movies, music, books, and the like. Android is a nearly-vanilla iteration with 4.2.2 Jelly Bean ready right out of the box. It’s not yet clear whether HP will be handling updates for the system itself in the future, or if Google will be able to send updates directly: once the final software build is shown, we’ll know for sure.

Above you’ll get a peek at an extended chat we had with NVIDIA’s Technical Marketing Director Nick Stam earlier this year about the NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor. This processor is being delivered in the HP SlateBook x2, the first transformable machine to deliver it and one of the first devices in general to deliver it as well. Another high-powered example: NVIDIA’s SHIELD.

The HP SlateBook x2 will be available starting in August in the United States for $479.99 USD, while international sales have not yet been confirmed. This device will be released alongside a similar machine working with Windows going by the name HP Split x2 – have a peek at that machine and the rest of HP’s ever-expanding line of devices in SlashGear’s HP tag portal right this minute!

Nokia is no stranger to the tablet question: even back in April 2011, CEO Stephen Elop was telling slate-hungry press that the company would only wade into the segment when it could bring something “uniquely Nokia” to the form-factor. However, while all has been quiet on that front in the intervening period – not to mention Nokia’s phones topping out at 4.5-inches at most, rather than following the 5+ phablet trend – Weber argues that it doesn’t necessarily mean Nokia hasn’t had a foot in that ecosystem.

“What we said, on the tablet side, is it’s a space we’re eyeing” he explained to us. “I think the reason we bet on Microsoft and Windows is becuase they have a broad ecosystem, across phones, tablets, PCs, even TV, with the same look and feel, same infrastructure, and we believe we can play in that. Whether we have a tablet or not, we can still play in that ecosystem because Windows is the unifying piece of that. So, we’re really excited about what they’re doing on Windows 8, there are some fantastic touch devices coming out … so the ecosystem that Microsoft has allows us to participate, whether we have a tablet or not.”

Still, it looks more than likely that a tablet will be in Nokia’s near future, no matter how coy the company is on admitting that. If the first step to reinvention has been developing a complete, core smartphone range, then fleshing it out with other form-factors and accessories – such as the bluntly-teased ambitions in wearables Harlow and others hinted at back at Mobile World Congress – is the inevitable next step. The important factor, Harlow says, is how usability as it is on Lumia devices today extends to a broader line-up.

“I think the word is experiences. Because as we are investing in experiences in our smartphone range, it’s logical to think that those experiences we would look to take into other types of form-factors, and make them compatible with each other” the smart devices head says. “Obviously what we would want in any portfolio is that there would be some consistency in the experience that consumers have with a Nokia product.”

An outsider might contend that Nokia now has a broad range of phones, a solid portfolio of apps and services, and differentiating hardware features like PureView, and question why scenes like those at the recent Annual General Meeting – at which Elop was harangued for refusing to consider ditching Windows Phone in favor of Android – continue to take place. According to Harlow, that reluctance for people to accept that the Windows Phone strategy was – and is – the best one for Nokia comes down to a broad-strokes misunderstanding about exactly how “open” Android really is.

“[Android] is led by Samsung, and I think you can see the difficulty that others have in standing out from Samsung, even when they have really good devices,” Harlow suggests. “I think first of all it comes down to partnership, and the partnership that we’ve had with Microsoft in terms of bringing new experiences to the platform as well as differentiating experiences, we did not believe we could have that level of partnership with Android. And that’s the key difference.”

As the smart devices chief sees it, Android’s openness is only really beneficial if you’re one company: Samsung. “To a certain degree [Android is open]” she told us. “I think I would characterize the competition in Android as more of a spec race than anything else. And so, there is one partner who is the development partner for any new release of Android, and everyone else comes sometime later. So, it’s open, but that doesn’t make you first, and that doesn’t make you necessarily the most competitive.”

It’s that more granular attitude toward OS – not just the nature of the platform, but how individual roles and relationships within the ecosystem as a whole affect what benefits the platform offers – which Harlow says makes the Microsoft-Nokia deal the best fit. “Partnership and collaboration requires two partners who are motivated to make the partnership work” she concluded. “And that is what we have with Microsoft.”

If there’s a gap remaining, it’s in how Nokia (and its partner) explains those advantages in collaboration, not to mention the fruits for users they engender, against the onslaught of iPhone and Samsung marketing. Both execs acknowledged that Nokia needs to do better at demonstrating its achievements or, as Weber puts it, getting the message right. “We believe in our investment choice on Microsoft,” he points out, “for the simple reason is that they give us the chance to differentiate, to really be able to differentiate.”

Where Apple has elevated the marketing of its iTunes/App Store ecosystem to a fine art, and Google has strength of numbers across flourishing Android installations, Nokia hasn’t quite got the tone right yet. “A lot of these imaging things takes deep partnership with Microsoft,” Weber says. “The second thing is this broad ecosystem: there’s no-one who covers the phone, the tablet, the PC, Xbox, and then what I call these “digital lifestyle services” – search, gaming, mapping, that we bring, all the cloud services – they have the most assets to pull together.”

“So then we say, how do we do that? We have to, one, have a broad portfolo, so this is the first time we’ve really had a portfolio from the low end, to the high end, and everything in between,” Weber listed off. “And then we have to do a great job executing: that’s, how do we work with Microsoft to tell that marketing message above the line; how do we execute at retail, so people see, and touch, and feel the differences between devices?”

That execution will include things like the Nokia low-light boxes, which allow direct comparisons between phone cameras in settings such as retail stores. The pyramidal boxes can adjust the amount of light inside, with a peep hole for your smartphone to snap an image, and be compared to the performance of the PureView alternative, without demanding that retailers physically dim the lights in-store. Nokia is also working on smaller versions, complete with carrier branding, Weber revealed, and says that early indications are that point-of-sale staff are far more likely to recommend Lumia handsets after a small amount of familiarization with the platform and the value-add.

“And so I feel wonderful on the portfolio, I feel really good about our partnerships with operators and customers” he summarized. “Now, it’s how do we go tell that story – how we evangelize the message; how we get people to see, touch, feel the device, the difference – and it’s all the nitty-gritty details. It’s called execution. And it’s really easy to say, and it’s hard to do, but those are the things that are going to matter.”

The Adam II features a 10.1-inch screen and is cheaper, better performing, and has a secondary black and white display on the side that the original Adam tablet lacked. The resolution of that 10.1-inch screen is 1280 x 800 and it uses IPS technology. The secondary black and white screen on the side is a LCD display and is used for notifications.

The heart of the tablet is a 1.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The tablet runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the operating system. The dual core processor is paired with 1 GB of RAM and the tablet has integrated Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

Other features include a front camera and a rear camera, both with two-megapixel resolution. The internal battery has 6000 mAh of power promising 10 hours of battery life per charge. Rumors originally tipped the price for the Adam II to be $220.

However, reports have now indicated that the rumored $220 price is incorrect. Official pricing hasn’t been announced at this time. This tablet is expected to be a reasonably priced offering since the only thing out of the ordinary is that additional LCD display for notifications. I can’t see that secondary display driving the price up significantly from the originally rumored $220. There is no official launch date announced at this time.

SOURCE: Liliputing

Archos is back with another new tablet aimed at specific use. The tablet is called the ChefPad and as the name suggests it’s intended to be used in the kitchen. The tablet runs Android 4.1 for the operating system and uses a dual-core 1.6 GHz processor.

Other hardware features for the tablet include 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, a mini HDMI output, memory card slot, and front and rear cameras. Both the front camera and rear camera have the same two-megapixel resolution. One of the kitchen oriented features of the tablet is an integrated adjustable stand.

That adjustable stand allows you to prop the tablet up so you can view it hands-free from across the counter while you cook. The tablet also comes in a protective silicone case to help keep the tablet free from various ingredients and to help protect it from spills and splashes. The tablet works in conjunction with an application from Archos called Chef Apps Selection.

That particular app will send users to the Google Play store and filter out everything but apps having to do with cooking. The tablet has a 9.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768. It does have built-in Wi-Fi and is Google Certified. The tablet also supports full HD resolution video playback. Archos plans to launch the tablet in June for €169.99.

SOURCE: ArcTablet

It doesn’t appear that this device is designed to be flexible itself, but that screen is said to be flexible. I would imagine that the flexibility is important in a device designed to be written on by hand to allow the screen to survive without cracking over time. The device is currently a concept, but Sony reportedly plans to bring it to market this year for testing. The writing slate has a 13.3-inch E-ink screen that is sized like an A4 sheet of paper.

The screen promises a resolution of 1600 x 1200. Other details of the tablet are known include 4 GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, integrated Wi-Fi, and the device promises three weeks of battery life. The panel uses some sort of electromagnetic induction technology and the touch functionality won’t work with a finger.

The only way to interact with the tablet is said to be by using the included pen or another stylus. The device supports only one file format, which is PDF. That may well be the downfall of this device. There is no support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or any other file type. More than anything else, that will limit the usefulness of this device.

Sony says that it will be field trialing the device at several Japanese universities later this year. Sony’s goal is to offer the tablet commercially by the end of its fiscal 2013. That would be somewhere around May of 2014 according to reports.

SOURCE: The-digital-reader

Just this morning it was suggested by Sundar Pichai that Google’s Android and Chrome operating systems would not be converging – at least not any time soon. That said, it’s very possible that they will be overlapping on a larger level sooner than you might expect. Google TV, as well, has been rumored to be converging with Android on a greater level ever since Android 4.2 Jelly Bean was given Miracast wireless transmission abilities.

Wireless Projection with Miracast

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and higher has the ability to allow your phone to project its display’s contents to machines that work with Miracast. This Miracast term refers to a standardized system for displays – and boxes you hook up to displays – to accept wirelessly projected image information. Have a peek at our original guide for this system entitled How does Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Wireless Display Mirroring Work? and you’ll find the following passage:

“With Miracast being an “industry standard”, you can expect many brands to pick it up soon if they don’t already have it integrated now. Miracast is a technology that’s built in to devices – it’s not a device in and of itself. Miracast certification has begun for devices of many kinds, so you can expect not just displays to have it integrated, but receivers that will plug in through your HDMI port instead – this working for legacy displays.”

The video you’re seeing shows some Texas Instruments device action with Miracast back well before Android 4.2 came along. This very basic demo shows the same functionality built in to Jelly Bean here and now. Point to take home: Miracast has been around long enough, it’s high time for it to be adopted on a grand level.

There aren’t very many Jelly Bean-compatible wireless display devices out on the market right this second. Google will very likely lead the way with a Google TV device – maybe even a Nexus Google TV product. If Google shows faith in Google TV with a product they give to developers at the conference, it’s possible that confidence will grow in the market’s mind.

On the other hand, the Nexus Q never took off. One of its fatal flaws was the relative lack of opportunity developers had to work with it right out of the gate. A very different situation would unfold if Google gave away a Google TV product with Miracast technology built-in.

Nexus Device Refresh: Nexus 7, Nexus 10

The Nexus 10 is a 10-inch display-toting Android tablet that hasn’t seen one whole heck of a lot of press since it was first delivered several months ago. The Nexus 7 has, on the other hand, seen significant success in the market due to its low cost and relatively well-balanced specifications – one year after it was given away at Google I/O 2012, it remains a top search term in Google for those looking for news updates.

The Google Nexus 7 has been tipped on several occasions – several quite recently – to be getting a refresh in the form of an advanced display. It has also been suggested that the Nexus 7 would be getting a new processor in the form of a Qualcomm Snapdragon, though the exact power within has not been clarified.

The Nexus 10, on the other hand, has not seen one whole heck of a lot of action anywhere – not compared to the Nexus 7, anyway. If Google does refresh the Nexus 10, it will be as a bit more of an afterthought next to the Nexus 7, not as a major news item on its own. Expect both of these tables to be mentioned – at least in passing – during Google’s major initial keynote.

Google’s one major keynote will take place on Wednesday, May 15th at 9AM PST. SlashGear will be in attendance and will be delivering you up-to-the-minute details throughout the 2.5-hour session.

Featured Sessions

This convention is home to numerous break-out sessions and talks from those in-the-know across the developer universe. These sessions revolve around Android and Chrome, of course, but there are many mini-events that have to do with specific apps and services too. Some of the highlights that indicate Google and the greater industry’s aims here include:

• Android: Enchant, Simplify, Amaze: Android’s Design Principles
• Chrome: JAM with Chrome
• Google+: Google+ Platform Overview
• Search: From Structured Data to Knowledge Graph
• Maps: Google Maps: Into the Future: Wednesday, May 15, 12:00pm
• Cloud Platform: Ushering in the next generation of computing at Google I/O
• Women Techmakers Session with Susan Wojcicki (SVP, Ads), Anna Patterson (VP, Knowledge), Johanna Wright (VP, Search and Mobile), Jean Wang (Staff Hardware Engineer, Glass), and Diane Greene (Board of Directors, Google).

Oddities SlashGear will also certainly be checking out include a Google+ AirShow and a Data Sensing Lab. The Google+ AirShow will allow users to check live streaming cams attached to blimps flying above the Moscone Center. The Data Sensing Lab will be visualizing environmental data from the area, lying it over indoor maps in real-time: this includes motion, noise level, humidity, pressure, and temperature.

Glass

Though we’ve not heard anything specific about what advances will be spoken of surrounding Google Glass, this year will mark the one-year anniversary of the moment developers were offered the opportunity to purchase a pair of the futuristic face-based computers. We’re expecting that our journey to and through the San Francisco-based event collection will be clad with more than a few Glass-faced users, that’s for sure.

Join us starting tomorrow – SlashGear will be scoping out the event center early and making sure we’re on top of the situation from start to finish! Make sure you hit up the SlashGear Google I/O portal throughout the week!

It was just one year ago that Google I/O 2012 revealed the Google Nexus 7 originally, giving it there to every developer attendee so that they might develop games and apps for the device with ease. That original Google Nexus 7 remains on sale today with the specifications it came with in the first place.

The original Google Nexus 7 worked with a 7-inch IPS LCD display at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, that ending up bringing on a 216 PPI screen density. This device was 198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm large and was released in both wifi-only and 3G-capable iterations, having Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS inside. The original Nexus 7 worked with 8GB of internal storage – this was quickly upgraded to 16GB of internal storage in the smallest, standard model, while another 32GB internal storage iteration was released as well.

Perhaps most important of all, this original Nexus 7 was – before it was scooped up by Google – an ASUS/NVIDIA collaboration. As a low-cost quad-core processor-toting tablet, NVIDIA had it announced at CES 2012 with ASUS without a formal release date. This device was quickly spotted by Google and brought on as an exclusive release under the company’s Nexus brand. Fun fact: we also predicted this collaboration – albeit with the wrong price attached.

This ASUS Eee Pad MeMO was announced with NVIDIA’s own Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside and continued to carry that processor through to its re-naming as the Google Nexus 7. In an analyst report with 9to5Google by Mingchi Kuo from KGI securities today, the new Google 7 tablet will be bringing with it a quad-core Qualcomm processor.

The processor this new Nexus 7 is tipped to bring with it is the same APQ8064 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor carried by the Google Nexus 4, the current hero smartphone for Google (manufactured by LG). This would be a relatively major blow to NVIDIA as the Nexus 7 allowed their chipset to reach a relatively large cross-section of users over the past year.

This new Nexus 7 would be manufactured by ASUS as the first iteration was and will have 7-inch LTPS display with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. That puts the density of this display at 323 PPI, far greater than the original device. This new Nexus 7 is also suggested to be coming with a thinner bezel than before, Qi standard wireless charging, and a back-facing camera sitting at 5-megapixels strong.

We’ll know one way or the other next week – if Google is aiming to re-introduce the Nexus 7 with new specifications for this year, Google I/O 2013 is the ideal place to do it. Stick with SlashGear in our Google I/O portal for more information on the event and head to our Facebook event page to sign up to remind yourself to join us!

Panay, who led the Surface project, and is a corporate VP at Microsoft, took to Twitter to confirm that he had been testing out the latest Wacom beta drivers. “Cool to see Pen pressure in Photoshop” he commented, along with the promise that the software update would be “releasing soon.”

That was then followed by the quiet release from Wacom of what’s described as an “Enhanced Tablet Driver“, v7.1.1-12. Although the driver makes no specific mention of Surface Pro, the details given around what, exactly, it does for a Wacom digitizer-enabled system does sound just like what Panos was talking about:

“Expand the capabilities of your tablet computer with the enhanced tablet driver for systems that use Wacom Feel IT technology! Installing this driver will provide many advanced pressure-sensitive features that Wacom pen tablet users have come to enjoy. The driver supports advanced features such as pressure-sensitivity in graphics applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. It also allows you to adjust the pen tip pressure sensitivity and to program the side switch of the pen for a wide range of alternative settings and functions” Wacom Feel It driver documentation

Microsoft is yet to confirm whether this is, in fact, the relevant update, though given there have been mixed messages around why pressure sensitivity does not work properly in all apps in the first place, that’s arguably not a surprise. Anecdotal reports from Surface Pro users have indicated that it the driver does, indeed, address the issue, ZDNet reports.

One proposed explanation is that Microsoft scuppered third-party support by forcing the Surface Pro to use its own InkAPI drivers for the Wacom digitizer, whereas others have blamed Adobe for not building the necessary support into its software. Adobe has been pushing for the WinTab API drivers instead.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is tipped to be preparing a new line of “Surface 2″ tablets, potentially including a smaller, roughly 7- to 8-inch model, for reveal at its BUILD 2013 developer conference this year. So far, Windows RT and Windows 8 have been reserved for 10-inch tablets or bigger, leaving the smaller scale touch market to the iPad mini and various Android-powered options.

Inside, there’s supposedly an Intel Core i5 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. On the back, Sony has slapped on an 8-megapixel camera using one of its Exmor RS sensors, and there’s a backlit keyboard along with NFC.

Other specifications include “ClearAudio+” sound and what Sony is supposedly describing as “ActiveSleep”, a power management technology the company attempted to trademark back in February. The unnamed slider – though we’d hazard a guess at Sony VAIO Duo 13, given its smaller stablemate – will apparently run for up to 10hrs on a single charge.

The video was supposedly filmed during internal training at UK tech retail chain Dixons, according to one NotebookReview forum member. While no release information was given, the uploader claims there should be more details in a couple of weeks time.

[via Engadget]

The tablet is referred to as a “backcountry survival tablet,” and it comes with all the features that most hikers would want out of such a device, including the typical wireless connections including NFC, as well as GPS with topographical maps that are preloaded onto the tablet. There’s a two-way walkie-talkie built in to chat with other hikers who have an Earl tablet as well.

The device sports a 6-inch e-ink display, so it’s certainly nothing that you would watch movies or play games on, and there’s also no camera to take photos, but we’re guessing you’d use your dedicated shooter anyway if you wanted to take photos of the beautiful scenery. It won’t be a tablet for most everyday users, but it seems that it’s an option for the survivalists.

As for price and availability, the Earl tablet is actually trying to raise money to fund its production. The tablet’s website is currently taking pre-orders at $250 a pop, which is 30% off the retail price of the tablet when it eventually launches. The company is seeking $250,000 and they’ve raised almost $13,000 so far as of this writing, with 32 days left to go.

[via Android Community]

What you’re seeing below is Google Analytics look at not one, but two new operating systems that may be getting a bit of a test here in the week before Google’s push to the public. Though we’ve heard just a tiny bit of information on Android 4.3, and trust that Google will release it with a continuation on the code-name Jelly Bean, the other appearance isn’t especially trustworthy as a solid reading.

Android 5.3.8 comes from a provider by the name of Pardaz GoStar Ertebatat Berelian Limited Liability Company and comes from Iran. Because it’s essentially impossible for a new operating system from Google to have emanated from the source this one does here, it’ll be best to discount it as either a hacked system – pushing that number falsely – or as a non-Android OS posing as one for the giggles.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, on the other hand, appeared from an unknown source and hit SlashGear 17 times on the 5th of May. This appearance is one that we’ve got no doubt about: Android 4.3 will be appearing very soon, you can bet on it. Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (Google’s newest upgrade to Jelly Bean from Android 4.2.2, that is), and stick around for Google I/O 2013 starting Monday of next week!

UPDATE: The Jelly Beans continue to pop up! As you’ll find here, Android 4.3 appearances have now spread out over the course of a few days. Odd, though it is, we still have no reason to believe that this is anything but a legitimate set of appearances by the upcoming upgrade to Android that’ll more than likely be appearing next week.