Norton extends its “Norton Everywhere” initiative to Android tablets

Norton announced several new offerings under its “Norton Everywhere” initiative that aims to protect consumers and their families across multiple devices and platforms. The new products/services include:

• Norton Tablet Security – Available in the next few weeks, it is designed specifically for Android tablets to protect the device, privacy and all other important data against loss, theft, viruses and other threats.
• Norton Anti-Theft Beta – Free to download, this web-based service allows users to quickly and easily lock, locate and possibly get back a PC, laptop or Android device, along with the information on it in the event it is ever lost or stolen. Among the cool features included in this product is the so called “Sneak Peek,” which allows you to remotely activate the Web cam to see who has your smartphone or tablet.
• Norton Online Family for Android and iOS users – Now out of beta, this free mobile application allows Norton Online Family users to view their children’s online activities and manage each child’s “House Rules” from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or Android device.

The new Norton Tablet Security will be available at the MSRP of $39.99 for a one year service period. Norton Anti-Theft beta is now available as a free download for users in the United States from the Norton Beta Center. Norton Online Family for Android and iOS users is available as a free download for existing Norton Online Family users from both the Android Market and the App Store…
Norton Online Family (FREE) [iTunes link] [Android Market link]

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iBall Slide Android Tablet has Ports Galore and a $300 pricetag

If there’s one sort of device that we’ve over this past year come to find we’re in no shortage of, it’s Android “tablets”. I put quotation marks around that word because as Android evolves and groups like Samsung bring out devices that bridge the gap, the word “tablet” will be used less and less by publishers while “Android device” used in a general sense will become much more likely a term for news releases. What we’ve got here, before that wave covers us all, is an Android device which has a 7-inch display, runs Android 2.3.x Gingerbread, and has about as many ports as you could ask for along the side.

This device might look familiar if you’re the sort of person that believes in the aspect-ratio-means-copying sort of position many manufacturers are finding themselves the victim of in court cases over patents lately, but when you take a look at the odd features here and there, you may well have the most awesome little do-it-all device yet to come out of manufacturer iBall. Actually since iBall’s only device even close to this Android tablet is the odd digital note taker “TakeNote” and they’ve had no Android devices before this, this certainly IS their greatest Android effort to date.
This device features 8GB built-in storage, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, USB host port, HDMI output (full sized port), miniUSB, headphone jack, power jack, and a port we can’t quite get a good enough look at to confirm. It’s also got the ability to work with microSD cards, has a pretty decent sized 4400 mAh battery under the hood, and it supports 3G via USB dongle – strange for the USA, but right at home in its release country of India. This device also has Bluetooth of some sort and Wi-fi capability.
The iBall Slide is priced at 13,995 INR ($305 approx) and will hit the Indian market soon. Like many international Android devices, it’s unlikely that you’ll have the Android market on this device out of the box, and this is not by any means the only “affordable” Android tablet on the Indian market, either. Our source for this tablet release lets us know, as they are in the know, that the following names make up the whole “affordable Android tablets” market in India at the moment: Reliance 3G Tab, Beetel Magiq, Magnum Pepper Tablet PC and the Mercury mTab.
What awesome names!
[via Gigjets]

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HoneyBar Removes Status Bar from Android Tablets on command

It’s always good to have options, and with Android, there’s no mobile OS on earth with more of them – right? Turns out that’s not always true, or so it is if you ask any number of developers on the Android circuit, just so long as they’re looking for total and complete control they’ll never completely be satisfied. Thus, there must be apps such as this: HoneyBar, an app which requires root but gives you the ability to get rid of your Android 3.x Honeycomb status bar whenever you like, with just a tap of a button.

The developers of this application, namely Perry Nguyen, are rather against the idea that this sort of functionality hasn’t been added per a request at Google Code for such an ability to be active. He’s decided to create an app that costs $0.99 and adds a big ugly white box in the middle bottom of your display, disappearing after you’ve activated the single ability this app activates 10 times. In addition to being able to hid e your Honeycomb status bar, you’ll be able to do so with a slightly offset button should you be using Samsung’s TouchWiz UX as there’s a button in this same location to bring up some quick launching min-apps in that particular tablet UI.
You can pick this app up on the Android Market if you wish, and you MUST remember that it will not work unless you’ve achieved root on your tablet device. Should you try the app out without root or on an Android handset instead, not much of anything will occur. The developer of this app also has several other Android control apps that work with the basic functions of your Android device to give you the top experience you expect from a device you want utter dominance over.
[via Android Market]

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Maylong M-260 Budget Android Tab clears the FCC

How exciting, we have another amazingly fast and awesome tablet for you all today. Actually it’s quite the opposite because this is the Maylong M-260 “budget” Android tablet and it has just cleared the FCC. You may not be familiar with Maylong but they are the producers behind more than a few cheap Android tablets in the past.

You may remember the Maylong M-150, it was a $149 budget tablet that landed at places like Walgreens and some Toys-R-Us stores nationwide. Sadly no dual-core CPU’s present but for that price what did you expect. Lets just say the M-150 didn’t review well. The next tablet from Maylong is headed to markets soon and today it cleared the FCC showing its internals.

I’m not a fan of the dedicated buttons that is for sure, but who would now we have Android Honeycomb tablets at our disposal. We don’t know much on the M-260 yet but from the images we see it has HUGE buttons, a micro USB port, micro SD, 3.5mm headphone jack and a few other large holes on the bottom possible housing a stylus to go with the cheap resistive touchscreen. I’m also hoping that circle on the face is a camera and not a power button.
From the photo found in the manuals it appears to be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread but that is about all we know. We will update when more specs become available for those looking for a great entry level budget Android tablet.
[via Engadget]

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Vizio tablet gets its first OTA update

The Vizio tablet has an OTA upgrade rolling out, and while it's not a version upgrade to Honeycomb it does look to address a few nags we have with the software -- namely the application launch speed and scrolling between screens.  If you have a look at our review, you'll see that the VIA software on the tablet seems slower than we liked, and full of shiny animations that look good but don't really add to the experience that much.  Better scrolling and faster app loading will go a long way towards making the software more tolerable.  Toss in better touchscreen response and even more devices in the IR remote control database (both of which we already found working quite well), and QVGA video support and we won't complain.  If you haven't already got your notice to upgrade, you should see it soon as long as you're connected to Wifi.

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ViewSonic Launches ViewPad 10pro and 7x Tablets

ViewSonic has a few Android tablets up their sleve and have been teasing us with them over the past month or so, but today they are a bit more official at IFA 2011. We have both the dual-boot Android 2.3 and Win 7 ViewPad 10pro, and the 7″ ViewPiad 7x Android 3.2 Tablet. We confirmed these back in May and they are headed to the shelves soon.

We first heard about the ViewPad 7x way back in early May then saw a press photo later showing just how thin they plan this device to be. The ViewPad 7x is a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 powered Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet on a 7″ display. They were planning to offer the first 7″ Honeycomb Tab but Acer beat em to it with the A100 Tab. The ViewPad 7x sports the custom 3D ViewScene skin UI over Honeycomb and will come in an 8GB version, sadly rumors suggest a $499 price tag but hopefully they’ve rethought out pricing or it might not sell too well.
Next up we have the ViewPad 10pro, while we’ve heard plenty about this already lets recap. This is a dual-boot Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Windows 7 tablet with the Intel Atom based 1.5 Ghz single-core processor. Sadly no Honeycomb here but the dual-boot properties should make more than a few users happy. It comes with 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 16 and 32GB flavors and a 10.1″ 1024×600 resolution display. Along with Android the 32GB ViewPad 10pro will be offered with Windows 7 Professional and run an EST $699 while the 16GB model will operate under Win 7 Home Premium and will cost slightly less at $599.

We should be seeing more soon on both of these tablets so stay tuned. We also are hearing about a 7e budget friendly tablet that will come later in Q4.

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Lenovo A1 7″ Android Tablet Revealed

Today we have some news regarding the latest tablet to come from Lenovo. They are calling this the A1 and it will be their 7″ offering in the Android tablet market. Although we have both bad, and good news regarding the Lenovo A1 we’ll share all the details below as well as plenty of pictures they were nice enough to provide.

While no official announcement has been made yet Lenovo will be bringing the A1 tablet to market coming sometime in September and what makes it stand out is the amazing price. That is part of the good and bad news. The good first, the Lenovo A1 tablet will only be $199 at launch, the bad is it will only run Android 2.3 Gingerbread — no honeycomb here. The specs are pretty impressive though and this would make a great mid-range and well priced tablet for someone on a budget.

The Lenovo IdeaPad A1 is a 7″ Android 2.3 affordable Android tablet. It will feature a Cortex A8 1.0 Ghz single-core processor, a 3 MP rear and 0.3 VGA front facing camera. Coming in at 11.9mm thin (0.46 inch), and weighing just 400g. Lenovo is using a magnesium alloy roll-cage internal frame design to keep the tablet strong, yet thin and light. The 7″ LED display will have a 1024 x 600 resolution similar to the Galaxy Tab 7 and offers a great visual experience.
As well as the usual Bluetooth, Wifi, micro SD, micro USB and stereo speakers one unique feature is it will have offline GPS and navigation with its unique chipset that will be powered by Navdroyd. Users can expect to see the device hit the shelves in September starting at $199 for the 16GB model and they will also offer a 32GB model but pricing has yet to be confirmed.
What do you guys think? A great price for a 7″ tablet or a no go without Honeycomb?
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Samsung Galaxy Note Unveiled, 5.3″ High-Res HD Display, 1.4 Ghz Dual-Core and more

Live in Berlin, Germany, here at IFA 2011 Samsung has just unveiled their next product line and the evolution of mobile devices. They are calling this the Samsung Galaxy Note. With the Note you can do more, and see more all on the go with one device. Bringing together a perfect blend of Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets with a touch of pen and paper all rolled into one we have the Samsung Galaxy Note. Anyone see a stylus?

Samsung has just announced this amazing new platform and we have all the dirt for you right here. The Samsung Galaxy Note will be the ultimate device. No longer will users carry a phone, tablet, camera, notepad, pen, paper and more — instead you’ll have the Galaxy Note. What Samsung has designed is a device with a 5.3″ Super AMOLED display with HD WXGA 1280×800 resolution, powered by a 1.4 Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and more. All this running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Details are still trickling in on this awesome device so we are still gathering our thoughts but I do know one thing, I want one ASAP. The Galaxy Note will feature many of the same specs we have grown to love from the Samsung Galaxy S II. The Galaxy Note will also have an 8 MP camera with LED flash, a 2 MP front camera for video chat. Being ultra-portable even though we have a large display it will only be 9.65mm (0.37″) thin and weigh 178 grams. At first it appears to be a Galaxy S II but you quickly realize it’s something much more.
With Samsung’s own unique S-Pen technology note taking and input for drawing or anything else you’d ever need will be as simple as can be. Included with the device will be a stylus that neatly is concealed in the device as seen in the photos. On the side is a small button that, when you hold it down and tap, activates some of the pen-specific features. As soon as we get more details and hear all about this new mobile device we will be sure to update you all, oh and expect some hands-on coming very shortly.
The Samsung Galaxy Note will come in both LTE and HSPA+ flavors and will see a global release but no other details have been released at this time. Feel free to follow along and watch the official Samsung Unpacked IFA Keynote right here at our sister site at live.slashgear.com
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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Unveiled, HD AMOLED Display and 1.4 Ghz Dual-core

Today live in Berlin at IFA 2011 Samsung has just announced the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and boy does it look awesome. The Tab 7.7 features the world’s first tablet to offer a Super AMOLED Plus display and with a HD resolution of 1280×800 on that small screen it looks amazing. We have plenty of press shots below and you can follow along during the Samsung Keynote right here at live.slashgear.com/

Where do I start. This 7.7″ Tablet will be powered by a 1.4 Ghz dual-core processor, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, have that amazing Super AMOLED Plus Display with a 1280×800 resolution as said above, 1GB Ram, come in 16GB, 32GB, and a 64GB variant. 3MP rear camera with flash and 2MP front for video chat and more. It measures just 7.89 millimeters thin and weighs only 335 grams (12 ounces), basically making this tablet one of the most portable devices in the market. We have a 5,100 mAh battery for over 10 hours of video playback all wrapped in that tiny package.

If you noticed from the images we also see 3G on board. This tablet will feature full voice and video call capabilities with HSPA+ 21 Mbps network connectivity (We’ll see how US carriers take to that idea). We have 1080p video playback, micro SD support and all of this is running on Android 3.2 Honeycomb. Exact dimensions are 196.7x 133 x 7.89mm and like previously mentioned it only weighs in at 335 grams making this thing extremely lightweight. All of that in a package that is thinner than the Amazon Kindle, do want.
While we don’t have availability or pricing yet, we do have some hands-on videos coming soon but what else do you need to know? Android 3.2, dual-core, 7.7″ AMOLED Plus HD Display, and 3G connectivity for voice and data — I’m sold already!
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AT&T lands exclusive on HTC Jetstream 10.1-inch tablet

AT&T has announced that it has scored the exclusive on the new HTC Jetstream tablet. The new tablet will be the first 4G LTE and HSPA+ tablet on the market. The Jetstream will hit AT&T on September 4 and will be the first tablet available in the US that has Android 3.1 Honeycomb onboard. The tablet will be online and in retail stores on the 4th.

The screen of the Jetstream is a 10.1-inch HD resolution unit and the tablet runs a Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual-core processor. The tablet also has front and rear facing cameras. The front camera is a 1.3MP unit and the rear camera is an 8MP unit with dual LED flash. The battery inside the tablet is a 7,300 mAh unit and the tablet has a microSD card slot.
That microSD card slot supports up to 32GB cards. The tablet weighs in at 25 ounces and measures 7″ L x 9.87″ W x .51″ deep. The tablet will sell for $699.99 with a new two-year data plan contract. The data plan can be postpaid at $14.99 for 250MB or $25 for 2GB monthly with $10 per gigabyte for overages. Prepaid contracts will cost the same monthly with the same data allowances with a charge of $25 per 2GB over the allotment.

“This tablet is a beautiful 10.1-inch, LTE powered masterpiece,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “When you combine powerful options like HTC Jetstream with our upcoming LTE technology and nationwide HSPA+ network, it flies.”
“HTC Jetstream combines the acclaimed HTC Sense experience with Android Honeycomb to provide an innovative and engaging experience on a 10.1 inch tablet,” said Martin Fichter, acting president, HTC Americas Region. “Paired with AT&T’s upcoming 4G LTE speed and mobility, HTC Jetstream delivers connectivity for social and entertainment needs alongside productivity and creativity tools in a portable package.”

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Tablet shipments may approach 250 million units in 2017

Shipments of consumer media tablets like the Apple iPad are expected to approach 250 million units in 2017, a report from In-Stat suggests. While analysts at In-Stat see tablet adoption growing rapidly over the next six years, even a number as large as 250 million is conservative when considering the estimates other firms have recently reported. IHS iSuppli, for example, increased its estimates earlier this week, suggesting tablet shipments will surpass 275 million units in 2015. In-Stat still sees tablet having a huge impact on the industry however, and the firm believes Android and iOS will continue to dominate the market through 2017, with Windows gaining less than 10% of the market at that point in time. ”The tablet market and its associated ecosystem are still evolving. Over the next few generations we will see more differentiation between devices that are targeting different market segments and usage models,” said In-Stat chief technology strategist Jim McGregor in a statement. “In addition, competitive device and service pricing will bring tablets into the mainstream consumer and enterprise markets.” McGregor continued, “Tablets are joining an array of smart-connected devices that allow users almost unlimited access to content and communications. These new devices mark a significant change in the value change of the electronics industry where the content and applications are now the key differentiators and innovation drivers.” In-Stat’s full press release follows below.

Tablet Shipments to Approach 250 Million Units in 2017
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., August 22, 2011 – Years after the first introduction of prototype concept devices known as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), the tablet fulfilled the promise of this product category. The tablet market reached an inflection point through the combination of a new device (the Apple iPad), new business models supported by wireless operators, and new usage models through cloud computing and mobile applications. As we enter the last half of 2011, In-Stat forecasts more growth opportunities as a result of price degradation, and new tablets from major consumer electronic (CE) companies like Samsung, Motorola, BlackBerry, LG, and HTC. New In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) research forecasts that this trend will help push tablet shipments toward 250 million units in 2017.
“The tablet market and its associated ecosystem are still evolving. Over the next few generations we will see more differentiation between devices that are targeting different market segments and usage models. In addition, competitive device and service pricing will bring tablets into the mainstream consumer and enterprise markets,” says Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist. “Tablets are joining an array of smart-connected devices that allow users almost unlimited access to content and communications. These new devices mark a significant change in the value change of the electronics industry where the content and applications are now the key differentiators and innovation drivers.”
Recent research findings include:

• In the consumer segment, tablets are competing against all CE and computing devices, not just PCs.


• Despite similarities in system hardware and software architecture, usage models among mobile devices vary by device type.


• The combination of mobile applications, new semiconductor technology, and the full Internet experience are key factors in empowering the tablet market.


• The 9-inch to 11-inch form factor is forecasted to be the dominant tablet form factor with 56% of the market in 2017.


• iOS and Android are forecast to maintain over 90% of the market share with Windows as a distant 3rd.


• Not supporting one of the leading OS platforms is likely to lead to the failure of several companies in the tablet market due to lack of application support.


• Wireless operator business models could have a tremendous impact on future tablet demand.

Recent In-Stat research, The Reality and Ramifications of Tablets (#IN1105088ID), a 30 slide PowerPoint presentation, covers the history, current state, and outlook for tablets including terms of tablet definitions, usage models, market position relative to other devices, evolution of the technology and the market, and forecast for growth by region, consumer and business segments, form factor, and operating system (OS). The report also discusses the challenges facing tablets, the factors that could significantly increase growth prospects for tablets, and the ramifications tablets are having on the overall electronics ecosystem.
This research is part of In-Stat’s Portable and Computing Connected Devices service, provides analysis of the market for portable consumer electronics, including e-readers, digital photo frames, portable media players, handheld games, personal navigation devices, digital radio, digital cameras and electronic toys.

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Vizio 8 Inch Android Tablet First of its Kind to Get Hulu Plus

While we’re a bit disappointed that Hulu has yet to bring their services to tablets and Android devices other than phones, we can’t be mad that they’re at least trying. Today, we can scratch the “first tablet with Hulu Plus” milestone off the list as The Vizio 8 inch Android tablet has been added to the list of supported devices. It’s no Honeycomb tablet, but there it is anyway. If you’ve already gotten one of these to go along with your Vizio internet-connected TV (which should also have Hulu Plus) go ahead and grab from the Android market. (Market listing not yet updated to reflect the change.)

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Sharp RW-T107 Android 2.3 Gingerbread Tablet with NFC

The folks over at Sharp have announced a new NFC enabled tablet headed for Japan. This will be a 7″ Android tablet but initial reports are claiming we will only have Android 2.3 Gingerbread on board here, no Honeycomb for now. A big part of the release is the full support for NFC interaction with support for Japanese FeliCa cards at the start, but we can expect additional cards in the near future.

At first thought this appears to be the first NFC enabled tablet to the market. While I like the idea of having a tablet with the option for NFC it doesn’t seem all that practical if you ask me. It will come to market in the small 7″ form factor making it more portable, but if you are carrying it most likely the chances are you also have an Android smartphone somewhere on you that has the same NFC capabilities. Packing a tablet into a store just doesn’t make much sense but who am I to say what is practical right?
Last we heard from Sharp they were prepping a 7″ Android 3.2 Galapagos tablet so why they’d choose to run with Gingerbread on this next tablet beats me. The NFC capabilities are all nicely there on Gingerbread so that could be the cause. So far the details regarding the RW-T107 and the rest of its hardware are still lacking so we will report back when we can. It is currently being prepped for a Japan only launch around September 5th, hopefully we hear about what is under the hood shortly.
[via SlashGear]

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Amazon will show Apple what is Magical with a $249 high-end Android tablet

We know that Amazon will be launching a tablet or tablets soon, and most analysts are predicting that they will have the best chance at putting a dent into Apple’s dominance with the iPad.
How do they plan on doing it? Well their name for starters, but lets be serious, if you want to come out with a splash then you severely undercut your competition with price. Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin thinks the Amazon tablet will cost $300, but they will discount the price to $249 with the hopes of getting their money back with sales from the Amazon app store. It is expected that they could recoup the loss from each tablet within 6 months and make a profit of 10 to 30 percent per tablet over the next 18 months.
Not only would this effect Apple, but it would also effect all Android manufacturers. Pricing like this make sense because I am still asking myself why anyone needs to pay $400 to $600 for a tablet that gives you nothing more than a smartphone except for screen size.
I have already predicted that Android will own the tablet market share by March 2012. If Amazon decides to go with this lower price, it may happen by the end of 2011.
Are you guys ready to jump on board with Amazon if they come in at $249?

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Acer’s 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 brings 3.2 Honeycomb for $330

The first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, Acer’s Iconia Tab A100, has gone on sale in the US, offering a compact Honeycomb experience in a Galaxy Tab rivaling form-factor. Priced from $329.99 when it hits US shelves today – it’ll arrive on Canadian shelves next month – the A100 will come in 8GB and 16GB versions each with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor, a 1024 x 600 touchscreen, 5-megapixel main camera supporting 720p HD 30fps video recording, and 5hrs battery life.

Connectivity includes WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, along with microUSB 2.0 and a microHDMI port for hooking the A100 up to a bigger display. There’s also a gyroscope and digital compass, 3.5mm headphone socket and a docking station connector. Up front Acer has slotted in a 2-megapixel camera for video calls.
Three versions of the A100 will be on offer, with one a Walmart exclusive. The A100-07u16u has 16GB of internal storage and will retail for $349.99 in the US, while the A100-07u08u has 8GB of storage and will retail for $329.99; the A100-07u08w is Walmart’s special version, functionally identical to the 8GB regular model. All three have microSD card slots for extending storage.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : ICONIA A100

Manufactuer : Acer

Carrier :

Announced Date : February 14, 2011

Release Date : June 21, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 7 Inch


• Resolution : 600x1024


• Screen Type : LCD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 7.68 Inch


• Width : 4.61 Inch


• Depth : 0.52 Inch


• Weight : 470 Grams

Battery & Power

• Battery Type:


• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : mAh


• Talk Time : NA


• Stand By Time : NA

Software

• Android OS:


• 3.0.x

• Audio Playback:


• MP3

• Video Playback:


• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Hardware

CPU : Tegra 250 Dual Cortex A9

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 8.192 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution :5 MP

• External Storage:


• MicroSD


• MicroSDHC

• Camera Features:


• Auto focus


• Flash

• Sensors:


• Accelerometer

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

• Network Technology:


• GSM

• GSM Band:


• 850


• 900


• 1800


• 1900

Device Connectivity

• Wi-Fi:


• 802.11b


• 802.11g


• 802.11n

• Bluetooth:


• Bluetooth 2.0

• Location Features:


• Compass


• GPS


• Cellular location


• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

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