Category: Tablets

Alcatel One Touch and Archos partner up for low cost Android Tablet and Smartphone combined data plans

Posted by – February 8, 2011

Alcatel One Touch is one of the makers of cheap Android Smartphones such as the Alcatel OT-980 which is sold for only £99 on pre-paid plans in the UK. Alcatel One Touch is a brand of TCL Corporation, a $16.7 Billion valued Chinese consumer electronics company.

Alcatel One Touch’s partnership with Archos would enable an easy sharing of data from a low cost Android Smartphone using a ‘’One Touch Connect’’ button to share the 3G data automatically with the Archos tablet over a mobile WiFi hotspot. This may be a one-click process, and the carrier may be able to limit access of that WiFi hotspot only to the Archos tablet through Mac address filtering and not as a totally open or encrypted WiFi hotspot for use with other devices.

The idea is that one affordable subscription plan include the voice and data through the low cost Android smartphone as well as the low cost yet high-end Android tablet. This way, consumers don’t need to subscribe to more than one package. I think it can be expected that Alcatel One Touch will present a new range of cheap Android Smartphones at Mobile World Congress next week with this One Touch Connect mobile hotspot functionality built-in.

Here is expectation/guess/suggestion for a pricing model which I think would make this kind of offer a sure hit:

Pre-paid only, no contract: $299 for the basic 3.5″ capacitive Alcatel-OT Smartphone and the latest Archos 7″ capacitive tablet, both are on pre-paid and no contracts are needed, pricing for pre-paid should be below $30 per month for something like 300 minutes or unlimited use of voice and 3GB to 5GB of data per month to be used on the Tablet and the Smartphone. The 3GB monthly data hotspot may be open for other devices as well if the carrier wants to allow it. For example $10 to $20 extra per month it could open up the mobile hotspot to any other device and increase monthly limit to something like 10GB per month.

Phone alone on pre-paid no contract should be $149. Tablet alone no contract needed would be $249.

6-month contract, then pre-pay: $249 for the Smartphone+Tablet package, $30/month for unlimited voice/data to use on both devices or more. $50 early termination fee, lowered $5 each month.

12-month contract, then pre-pay: $199 for the Smartphone+Tablet package, $30/month for unlimited voice/data to use on both devices or more. $100 early termination fee, lowered $5 each month.

18-month contract, then pre-pay: $149 for the Smartphone+Tablet package, $30/month for unlimited voice/data to use on both devices or more, $150 early termination fee, lowered $5 each month.

24-month contract, then pre-pay: $99 for the Smartphone+Tablet package, $30/month for unlimited voice/data to use on both devices or more. $200 early termination fee, lowered $5 each month.

What do you think of the idea to use a cheap Smartphone mostly for voice and basic apps and tether it with a larger screen Tablet, use all on one same low cost voice+data plan, and even have this work for pre-paid plans?

France: Archos has 22% Tablet marketshare

Posted by – February 8, 2011

According to French market analyst GfK, Archos is now the second biggest tablet maker on the French market, far in front of Samsung (4%), Toshiba (3%), Huawei, Viewsonic and others. Sure enough Apple has the biggest market share with 67%, but I think that’s mostly due to Apple having more cash for manufacturing and distribution. If Archos had been able to spend more money producing more units and having better stock availability at all resellers and never run out of stock during these past 3 months, then I think Archos would probably be number 1 in market share, even in front of Apple.

Source: archoslounge.net

As I run the biggest Archos fansite community at http://forum.archosfans.com and I have been publishing the earliest and most popular video reviews of Archos products for over 6 years, publishing the earliest and most popular videos of Archos full Tablet line such as the 70 Internet Tablet, 7 Home Tablet, 101 Internet Tablet, 32 Internet Tablet, 43 Internet Tablet, I may be biased. But I am sure that if all stores had enough Archos in stock to satisfy the demand for tablets over these past 3 months, Archos would sell even more than Apple.

What matters to the consumer is the value proposition. What features they can get for what price. Archos newest Gen8 Android tablets are about half the price of the iPad and provide more features.

Hott MD980 7″ Android Tablet

Posted by – January 27, 2011

This type of ARM9 Rockchip RK2818 based 7″ capacitive tablet presented by Hott can now be manufactured for below $140, possibly sold around or below $199 at US retail stores. It supports USB host, 3G USB dongle or a built-in 3G modem can be included for about $50 more.

Android Bicycle, In-flight Entertainment and 32″ Touch screen

Posted by – January 27, 2011

Touch Revolution makes projected capacitive touch screens, and demonstrates here at CES 2011 some of their large capacitive touch screens integrated in demonstration prototypes for training bicycle, in-flight entertainment and just some very large 32″ multi-touching fun showcase.

Sony PSP2 to have Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9, available by next Christmas

Posted by – January 27, 2011
Category: Tablets, Other

Sony unveiled their next generation Playstation Portable console at an event in Tokyo. They say it is as powerful as the PS3:

Here are the specs:

Doesn’t run Android Honeycomb UI between gaming? My guess memory expansion is SDXC cards? Sony could sell this $500+ thus sell it through carriers subsidized? The first Sony 5″ OLED screen? How does it compare with Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus? HDMI output to actually use this as home console? Playstation Suite means all PSP/PS/PS2 games to come to all Android devices? Subscription plan for official access to unlimited games?

If anyone knows where to find the full length official video of this whole Sony event, please post the link in the comments.

Sharp’s big move into Android phones and tablets

Posted by – January 24, 2011

At CES 2011, Sharp showed their 3.8″ parallax barrier 3D screen in their Android powered 3D phone on the Softbank network. Sharp is making the 3D screen that is in the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, it allows for amazing 3D screen without the need for 3D glasses. Thus as Sharp is ramping up mass production of that “parallax barrier” 3.8″ WVGA 3D screen, they are able to put it in Smart phones as well, which is how they are now shipping in Japan the Sharp 003SH and 005SH (with slide-out keyboard). Sharp is also entering the Tablet market with their new Tablet optimized screens at 5.5″ and 10.8″ super sharp high resolution LCD screens in the Galapagos Tablets now released in the Japanese market.

Impressive multi-tasking on RIM’s Blackberry Playbook

Posted by – January 24, 2011

The RIM Blackberry Playbook is using the Texas Instruments OMAP4430 Dual-core 1Ghz ARM Cortex-A9, with 1080p@30fps video playback, powerful graphics. The QNX embedded OS on it shows impressive UI and multi-tasking, as you can see in my video of the RIM Blackberry Playbook filmed at CES, it has been chosen as Best of CES by several influential bloggers and podcasters such as Leo Laporte of Twit.tv showing off the Playbook on the Regis and Kelly show.

Here’s an interview by ARMflix with Brian Carlson of Texas Instruments talking about this device:

This video was published at: blogs.arm.com

Motorola Xoom to cost $800

Posted by – January 22, 2011
Category: Tablets, Nvidia, Android

Logically, this kind of pricing is probably not with a 2-year contract, instead with one of those pay-as-you-go 3G, possibly $40 per month or some kind of price per-day pricing, on Verizon’s 3G and later, somehow, upgradeable to 4G connectivity.

Found via: engadget.com
Source: androidcentral.com

The $35 Indian Sakshat Tablet project based on my video, how to make it work

Posted by – January 21, 2011

On June 26th 2010 I published this video which unveiled the Indian $35 Tablet project’s Bill Of Material for the first time:

India’s Minister of HRD, Shri Kapil Sibal, or one of his colleagues, watched my video.

On July 22nd 2010, the Government of India’s Ministry of Human Resources Development announces the $35 Tablet, announces they plan to have a Chinese manufacturer deliver a few million of these in India for education.

I would like to be serious a bit, as there are literally billions of children on this planet who are waiting for tools for a better education, they are growing old with a missed opportunity to learn. I don’t have anything against Governments watching my video-blog to find out what are the best ARM Powered devices on the market, but I would like to suggest a few more things they can do if they would like the project to be successful all the way:

1. Don’t work against OLPC, announce you want to join their efforts. Doesn’t mean you use OLPC’s Marvell 610 platform, just means you share all knowledge and collaborate towards a same goal. You are supportive of each others goals, this is not a competition, this should be a collaboration.

2. Turning a tablet into a successful educational tool is not a piece of cake. It’s probably not enough to just take whatever cheapest materials and deliver it like that.

3. Denounce Intel’s blatant corruption attempt, 4 days after the announcement of the $35 ARM Powered Android Tablet project, Intel India is quick to suggest the Government should rather (basically give up on the ARM Powered Tablet) and just use the “Donation of 1500 Intel powered tablets” for pilot project (to last a couple years or so preferably, enough time to delay all other real mass low cost deployment attempts), same thing Intel did all over the world to block OLPC from reaching developing countries. Intel has subsidiaries all over the world, they may not be instructed centrally by Paul Otellini for all it does all over the world, but they seize any opportunity at preventing other potentially disruptive technologies from catching on. I mean seriously, what could Intel seriously want to do helping a project to make a $35 ARM Powered tablet for education running Android? Intel can afford to buy India a couple million of these ARM Powered tablets to help get things started, but is that anything near what they had as intention?

4. If you are a Governmental Non-profit project, you setup a Website, open source the code, informations about potential suppliers (real-time information about manufacturing requirements). Tell me in the comments if India’s HRD has been open about this project, I haven’t seen it. If they chose to make their project secret, it would have a harder time to get implemented. Be open about the full Bill of Material. If you listen to my video, you can hear the AllGo Systems representative list these Bill of Materials:

ARM9 Processor: $5 (Freescale i.MX233)
Memory: $3
WiFi B/G: $4
Other discrete components: $3
Battery: $5
7″ 800×480 resistive touch screen: $15
Total bill of material: $35

If this is it, then clearly publicly say this is it. Let people know what alternatives there may be, let the community discuss what alternatives could be used.

For example, I am pretty sure an educational tablet cannot be made without a 7″ Pixel Qi screen. For one it’s the only way to hope it has low enough power consumption to last long enough for children in India who don’t have a lot of power, perhaps no power at all (let it be powered by Bicycles, hand crank, sub-$5 A4 sized solar panels..). A reflective screen is the only way the tablet can be used for reading ebooks, the only way it can be used outdoors during the day in places where a child might not even have a roof on the school or no school at all.

5. The Bill of Material should be calculated openly with the prospect of using that budget that you have for it. Meaning if you can produce 1 million units, that obviously affects the price of each Pixel Qi 7″ screens, perhaps making it as cheap as a normal LCD screen.

6. Be open with how you plan to finance the project. This whole deal with the Chinese manufacturer not wanting to pay HRD $13 Million just sounds weird. Why should the manufacturer pay India and not the other way? Usually, as far as I know, a manufacturer would be paid on shipping of completed product, and India’s engineers can work at the factory to monitor yield, quality and batches before mass production is started and while they are being mass manufactured.

7. Be open about how it is designed. The reports (2) on this tablet being a copy of some Chinese design may be true for the casing, but that does not mean that the cheap Freescale i.MX233 ARM9 based SoC on Motherboard, electronics, Android software porting to that specific ARM9 processor (perhaps one of the cheapest ARM SoC in the world), all that does not mean AllGo Systems didn’t actually do this original work. I believe they have. The fact is the Chinese market, Chinese manufacturers have so-called Open and Free designs for those cases that can be used for cheap ARM Powered Tablets, cheap ARM Powered laptops, cheap ARM Powered e-readers. But that does NOT mean that what is inside is always a “clone” of some other design. OEM’s might have turn key solutions, all ready made designs that they produce and deliver low cost, but they also produce the designs of foreign companies.

Opera Browser for Android Tablets

Posted by – January 18, 2011

Opera Software is optimizing a version of their Opera Browser for Android Tablets, thus providing some higher resolution user interface features.

Yifang M10, 10.1″ Capacitive Android Tablet

Posted by – January 18, 2011

This one runs a Samsung Hummingbird Cortex-A8 1GHz processor, with 1080p support, HDMI output, 3G option and more.

Yifang M1002, 9.7″ Capacitive Android Tablet

Posted by – January 18, 2011

This one runs Rockchip RK2918 ARM Cortex-A8 at 1Ghz, 1080p video support, Android 2.2/2.3, HDMI output, USB host and more.

Yifang M9C, 8.4″ Capacitive Android Tablet

Posted by – January 18, 2011

They show an 8.4″ capacitive (M9C) and resistive (M901) Android tablet (resistive is about $30-$40 cheaper) running the Rockchip RK2818 ARM9 processor.

Marvell Mobilize

Posted by – January 18, 2011

Uses a 10.1″ resistive screen, can be manufactured for below $199 using the Marvell 166 processor. Marvell is working on user interface layers on top of Android suitable for Tablets to be used in education leading the way towards the OLPC XO-3 Tablet to be based on the faster Armada 610 processor.

ZTE Light, 7″ Android Tablet

Posted by – January 18, 2011

ZTE has this 7″ resistive Qualcomm MSM7227 ARM11 Android Tablet on the market, with built-in 3G connectivity.

Neostra Onda Android Tablets

Posted by – January 18, 2011

They use Rockchip ARM9 and Telechips ARM11 in these approximately $100 bulk priced 7″and 8″ Android Tablets.

Freescale i.MX53 Tablet reference design

Posted by – January 16, 2011

Freescale is releasing this tablet reference design developer platform to help their customers get i.MX53 powered Android tablets to market fast.

Canjing Android Tablets

Posted by – January 16, 2011

Shenzhen Canjing Electronics presents an 8″ Freescale i.MX51 powered Android tablet priced at $112 in bulk. They also make a $98 Telechips based 7″ tablet with an HDMI output.

Dwco Android Tablets

Posted by – January 16, 2011

Dwco Electronics Limited is showing an 8″ resistive tablet, as well as 7″ and 10″ Rockchip powered tablets.

Yootechpros 9.7″ Android Tablet

Posted by – January 16, 2011

Yootechpros are showing a 9.7″ LG IPS panel Samsung Hummingbird 1Ghz ARM Cortex-A8 based Android tablet which could retail at 30% cheaper than the iPad.