ASUS and Google to officially announce Nexus tablet in May?

Recently, reports started pouring in that a partnership between ASUS and Google would bear fruit to the rumoured Nexus tablet. Digitimes’ source claims that the rumoured 7 inch Android tablet will be announced sometime in May. It is also said to cost around $199 to $249.

If this rumour is true, then it seems Google will be taking a page out of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which is the only Android tablet to significantly affect iPad 2 sales. This is something other Android tablets such as the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 failed to do.

So what should we expect from the Nexus tablet? It’s a dead cert that the new tablet will run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) right out of the box. To keep the tablet’s price tag down, it’s likely the tablet will sport low internal storage, which will rely on microSD cards for more memory. Lastly, according to Digitimes’ source, the 7 inch tablet will come packed with NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 chip under the hood.

The idea of having a budget Ice Cream Sandwich-powered tablet sporting a quad-core processor sits well with us. However, since neither ASUS nor Google have confirmed this report, take the news with a pinch of salt. We’ll just have to wait until may to confirm if the report is true or not.

Tags: Android 4.0, ASUS, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich, Nexus, Nexus tablet, NVIDIA, Tegra 3
Category Tablet News |

Quad-core Motorola Atrix 3 specs and images leaked

PocketNow has spotted leaked specs and images of the rumored Motorola Atrix 3 on Tianjin, a Chinese site.

According to Tianjin, the Atrix 3, like the original Atrix and the Atrix 2, is compatible with Motorola’s Lapdock, which transforms the smartphone into a laptop. It also says the superphone will pack a quad-core Tegra 3 chip by NVIDIA coupled with 2 GB of RAM under the hood.

Other rumored specs include a 4.3 inch 720p display, a 10 megapixel camera, and a massive 3300mAh battery. It seems conventional phone batteries will be ill-equipped to handle the Atrix 3’s monster hardware.

If this report is true, the Atrix 3 will directly compete with other quad-core superphones expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month. These include the Huawei Ascend D1 Q and the HTC One X.

Tianjin reports that this is only a concept phone for now, but if it does make it to shops it looks to sport similar designs compared to predecessor. However, the smartphone does not sport any physical buttons on the bottom of the display, which suggests that smartphone will ship running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). ICS was first featured on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It too does not sport any physical buttons on the bottom of the screen.

So when do we get to see the superphone? Hopefully, we get to see the Atrix 3 in MWC 2012 alongside other quad-core superphones such as the HTC One X and the Huawei Ascend D1 Q.

Tags: Android 4.0, Atrix, Atrix 3, Ice Cream Sandwich, Motorola, NVIDIA, Quad-Core, Tegra 3
Category Hardware News |

NVIDIA boss says Windows Phone apps can run on Windows 8

According NVIDIA’s head honcho, Windows Phone apps can be used on Windows 8. This is great news for app developers who would want their creations to spread across a larger market.

Since apps developed for mobile phones can also be used on PCs, apps can be enjoyed across platforms. Since Steve Ballmer confessed that the Windows Phone platform is a small platform, consisting of 2% of the smartphone market, apps developed for this platform are no longer limited to this small audience.

The lack of apps for Windows-powered handsets has resulted in a smaller take in the smartphone market. However, if Windows apps penetrated the PC market, developers can take advantage of the 400 million Windows-powered PCs sold every year. Furthermore, since Windows 8 is also designed to run on tablets, developers can capitalize on this.

What NVIDIA head honcho Jen-Hsun Huang said about Windows apps is reputable. NVIDIA is responsible for the ARM processors made for tablets and mobile phones. The first version of the platform to pack ARM chips will be Windows 8-powered devices.

The Redmond firm has suggested that their mobile and desktop platforms would merge in the future. This is the Jupiter project.

When these developments will unfold, we’re not exactly sure. However, it does present a number of exciting possibilities.

Tags: ARM, Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA, Windows 8, Windows apps, Windows Phone apps
Category App News |