Intel releases educational tablets bundled with educating apps for students with mediocore specs

More and more classrooms around the world are going digital. Paper textbooks are gradually being replaced by electronic copies, which are loaded with interactive content, thus significantly improving the education process. And of course, the tablets on which virtual books are being used are much easier to carry around than their hardcover counterparts.Intel has listed information about two new educational tablets on its site. They have both a 7" and a 10" version, aimed specifically at educational uses, and powered by cost-effective Atom processors and Android 4.0 or 4.1.

The smaller and presumably cheaper of the two comes with an Atom Z2420 chip running at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, and a 7-inch, 1024 by 600 pixel display. There are also 8GB of storage, a built-in speaker and mike, basic front and rear cameras, and a sealed battery that should last through 8 hours of usage. That the tablet is resistant to some water and shock damage, bearing IP41 certification, is worth noting.

The larger of the two Intel Education Tablets is powered by a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor backed by 1GB of RAM and its 10.1-inch display has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. It offers twice the built-in storage, 16 gigs, but has a slightly shorter battery life of about 6.5 hours. You also get both front and rear cameras, built-in speaker and a microphone, and a stylus. Again, the device is resistant to drops and water damage. 

Obviously, these Intel Education Tablets aren't built to crush the benchmarks, rather to be as useful in the educational process as possible. As such, they come with accessories that may be used in class, including a temperature probe and a magnification lens that snaps on the rear camera. Lots of educational software comes bundled as well, including e-reader and notes applications, painting tools, laboratory experiments, and software allowing teachers to manage the class' activities. McAfee Mobile Security keeps malware away, while Intel's Education Theft Deterrent makes the slates harder to be stolen.

Intel does not say when these tablets are going to be available for purchase and for how much. Chances are that the slates will be sold directly to schools in bulk so seeing them on any retailer's shelves is not likely.

Although not exactly the same caliber tablets Apple will be providing to the Los Angeles Unified School District, Intel's alternative will certainly be able to power the host of included educational apps, and offer a low cost solution for school districts on a tight budget. Intel's new education-focused tablets won't stir much envy among the iPad-toting kids of L.A., but they may suit more budget-conscious school districts.Apple's contract on the other hand will see the company bring31,000 high end iPads, worth about $678 each, to teachers and students across Los AngelesAs you may note, the hardware specs for the devices are not the greatest. It seems likely Intel intends to sell these at a low price point directly to school systems. .

The Intel Educational Tablets come bundled with apps like Kno Interactive eReader, Intel Education Lab Camera by Intellisense, My Notes Keeper and PASCO's SPARKvue science along with applications specifically for teachers, art applications and educational video content.

At this point we don't have specific details on pricing for either of the Intel Educational Tablets. For more information, head over to the official information page on Intel's site.

Intel is also set to reveal the Bay Trail-T processor, its next gen Atom tablet CPU, at IDF in September.

Samsung working on 2 large screen Tablets

Samsung has covered almost all kinds of existing tablet screen sizes, but it looks like the South Koreans are planning to take its tablets another step further. According to the popular tipster evleaks, Samsung is working on a 12.2-inch tablet with the model number “SM-P900″.

The Samsung SM-P900 is said to feature a 12.2-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. Aleaked user agent profile had earlier suggested a mysterious device with a similar resolution, so SM-P900 could well be a device in the making.

Additionally, the screen size has also been spotted on the Indian shipping website Zauba, which comes with the model number “SM-P905″ (could well be a cellular enabled variant of the SM-P900). The 12-2-inch tablet is also rumored to feature an Exynos 5 Octa processor along with S-Pen support.

Samsung is also said to be working on a 10-inch tablet with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, according to evleaks. The slate is obviously targeted at users who would prefer a slate with a smaller display, while maintaining the high resolution. The SM-P600 is reported to be powered by Snapdragon 800 processor to provide enhanced user experience.

The existence of the 10-inch tablet is again confirmed by user agent profile, which also suggests that the upcoming slate would run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Unfortunately, there is no official word on either the SM-P900 or SM-P600 at the moment. However, Samsung might announce the tablets along with the Galaxy Note III on September 4 in Berlin or during the IFA 2013 exhibition.

Apple working to add thinner, lighter and battery conserving display in next iPad

Apple is reported of working on next generation iPad tablet to make it lighter and thinner than the iPad retina. DigiTimesreported the information based on industry sources that Apple plans to use thinner and better display technology in the next generation tablet.

Apple has been known to improve its products in terms of physical aspects year after year. The popular iPad tablet has already gone through four different generations so far. The fifth generation iPad tablet is currently be planned and in process of development. As per the reports from research analysts and component industry sources, Apple plans to use better display panel in the next iPad tablet.

The new iPad tablet is thus expected to be slimmer and consume relatively less battery compared to previous generation models. Overall, the next iPad will be 15 percent thinner and 25 per cent lighter than the iPad 4 tablet. With the thinner display, Apple will not pack a larger battery size but may end up chopping some to provide same 10 hours of battery life. Apple has so far though has not hinted anything about the launch of a new iPad tablet.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z gets official Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

Sony has decided not to waste any time and push the freshly announced Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as part of its Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for the Xperia Tablet Z.

Sony Community manager Marcus Hansson says that Sony developers began work only after Google made its Android announcement at the event yesterday just to get the latest Jelly Bean version running on the Tablet Z. As a result, not all of the Android 4.3 functionality works just yet.

However, while the official post says it’s pretty unstable, the build seems to run just fine on the tablet. The enhanced multi-profile support works just fine, so does Wi-Fi, as you can see from the video below. With time, more of the cool Android 4.3 Jelly Bean features will be made available through the AOSP program, so stay tuned.

If you’re an advanced Sony Xperia Tablet Z user, head up to the company’s GitHub repository from the source link below to get your hands on the beta Android 4.3 Jelly Bean ROM.

Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition in the US, priced at $350

Samsung officially announced its Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition. The special edition tablet comes bundled with a desktop dock and a Bluetooth keyboard.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 can be docked and, with the help of the Bluetooth keyboard, it can be used to perform notebook duties. The desktop dock also allows you to charge the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 while using it. Samsung is marketing this new edition of their Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 towards students as something that can bring you laptop-like functionality without the laptop-like weight and price. As a student myself, I sometimes wish my tablet could replace my laptop but as a programmer, that’s just not possible…yet. As a reminder, here are the specs of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1:

• 10.1-inch 1280×800 resolution display
• 1GB of RAM
• 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD)
• 3.15MP camera on the back, VGA camera on the front
• Android 4.1
• TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz
• 7000mAh battery

So these specs aren’t quite up to par with existing tablets, but the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 has already been replaced with theGalaxy Tab 3 10.1, so you shouldn’t be too surprised. It still packs enough power to get the job done, which is what students need. I have always loved transforming gadgets like the Asus Padfone !

The tablet also comes with few added goodies like Polaris Office suite, 50 GB Dropbox storage for one year, and three-month subscription for Hulu Plus.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition is priced at $349.99 and is currently available in Best Buy, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us, BJ’s, P.C. Richard & Son and Office Max. But $350 sound expensive for students ?

Women in UK own more tablet computers than men

For the first time, more tablet computers are owned by women in Britain than by men, a new study has found. The majority of tablet owners in the UK are women, with the share of female owners increasing by 9 percentage points in the past year, researchers said. The figures for the 2013 survey show that females own 52 per cent of the tablets in the UK, up from 43 per cent in 2012. In the same period the share of tablets owned by men has fallen from 57 to 48 per cent.

YouGov's latest Tablet Tracker report indicates a surge in the number of 18-34 year olds owning tablets with the group growing by seven percentage points over the past year. In 2012, the under-35s made up 19 per cent of the market but this grew to 26 per cent by 2013. The only age group that has seen a decline in share over the past year is the over-55s, whose proportion of ownership has fallen from 42 to 31 per cent, researchers said. The more even distribution of ownership across age groups indicates that the UK tablet market is becoming more mainstream, they said.

The study found that 22 per cent of the adult population now own a tablet, up from 18 per cent last quarter. Furthermore, 26 per cent of the UK households own a tablet. Researchers said the growth in ownership looks set to continue with close to a fifth (19 per cent) of non-tablet owners identified as "hot prospects" to obtain one of the devices in the future.

The report found that over a quarter (27 per cent) of these prospects are aged 18-44 and more than a third (34 per cent) are female. "The early adopters of tablets have typically been affluent males. As they buy the latest models, they have placed their old devices on to the secondary market or give them to other members of their household," John Gilbert, Lead Director at YouGov Technology & Telecoms, said.

"A growing number of females and under-35s own older tablets, such as the iPad 1 and 2 while affluent males have the more recent iPad 3 and 4 and Samsung devices," he said.

YouGov said it surveyed 3,824 adults over 18 between May 8 and 10.

YouGov's study matches findings by eMarketer - another research firm - which has predicted that women would become more likely than men to use a tablet at least once a month in the UK this year.

Its analysts expect the gap to continue widening until 2016.

Manufacturers see only limited benefit from the second-hand market through app sales, cases and other add-on equipment.

But the consultancy said they should still benefit from a sales boost further down the line.

"We saw something similar in the smartphone market where a lot of the people who received hand-me-downs perceived them as being useful and then wanted higher specs to be able to do more," Bill Fisher, a senior analyst at the firm, told the BBC.

"The tablet market is likely to see a similar trend especially as they become the second screen of choice after the TV.

"So, many of these women are likely to become buyers of the future, particularly if prices continue to fall."

Tony Cripps, an analyst at telecoms research firm Ovum, added that he believed the findings were only to be expected.

"Tablets clearly have considerable appeal outside of the geek community - due to their utility and ease of use - we've also seen many older consumers using them where they may not use PCs or laptops.

"So it's no great surprise to see roughly the same amount of women and men owning them."

HP launches SlateBook x2 in India with a tag of 39990

Aiming to strengthen its place in the rapidly expanding PC and mobility devices space, computer maker Hewlett-Packard today launched a series of touch-enabled notebook, two-in-ones and all-in-one PC for the Indian market. The products launched today by the US-headquartered firm offer affordable touch technology, multi operating system (OS) options among others targeting consumers who are looking for products that offer them a seamless integration in the office, home as well as on the move. The products launched for the consumer market include notebooks, two-in-one devices, ultrabook and all-in-one PCs. “People today demand extreme mobility and performance in their computing devices, to access and create content effortlessly anytime and anywhere,” HP India Consumer Product Category PPS Director Ketan Patel said here. These new products bring novel touch experiences to help people connect, share and create in ways they never imagined, he added.

The two-in-one devices, HP SlateBook x2 and the HP Split x2, offer full functionality of a notebook with a removable screen that acts as a tablet. While Slatebook x2 sports the Android Jelly Bean operating system priced at Rs 39,990, Split x2 runs of Windows 8 and is priced at Rs 64,990. Both the devices have touch-enabled features.

In the all-in-one PC segment, the firm launched HP Envy Rove 20, which is its first mobile all-in-one PC. Priced at Rs 69,990, Envy Rove 20 has a 10-point touch enabled 20-inch diagonal IPS widescreen, LED backlit display that enables wide viewing angles. It is powered by the 4th generation Intel Core processors and Intel HD graphics.

The HP Pavilion 11 TouchSmart notebook enables consumers to transform their work, play and online worlds with the power of touch, all in a powerful notebook that is thin and light enough to take almost anywhere. Sporting a 11.6-inch diagonal capacitive touchscreen with 10 point-finger gesture support that maximises the Windows 8 experience, the Pavilion 11 TouchSmart notebook is priced competitively at Rs 31,990.

The HP Envy TouchSmart 14 ultrabook is designed for the ultimate in gaming. It is powered by NVIDIA discrete graphics and 2GB of video memory. The ultrabook is priced at Rs 64,990.

The HP Slate 21 All-in-One PC offers seamless integration of technology into busy lives by leveraging on an array of operating systems. It has multi-user support with Android OS Jelly Bean. The PC sports Tegra 4 quad-core NVIDIA processor, as well as an intuitive optical touchscreen with true pinch and zoom functionality. HP Slate 21 all-in-one is priced at Rs 24,990.

The products launched today are slated to hit the market from this month-end onwards.

Huawei launched MediaPad 7

The low and mid-range tablet market is largely dominated by Android powered devices that are manufactured by a myriad of companies. Some of these tablets are only released in specific regions, whereas others are available in major markets such as the  Huawei keeps unveiling similar tablets like it’s nobody’s business. Their latest gig is called MediaPad 7 Youth and it’s an affordable 7-inch Jelly Bean device Huawei MediaPad 7 Youth is the latest slate to join the MediaPad lineup. It’s a 7-inch device capable of GSM communications and 3G connectivity. The MediaPad 7 Youth features an impressively sounding 7-inch 1080p display, having a Retina-grade density of about 315ppi. The touchscreen with multi-touch support allows simultaneous input from up to 10 fingers. The slate is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz processor and comes with a 4100 mAh battery. Huawei MediaPad 7 Youth weighs 350g and is 9.9mm thin. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Huawei’s Emotion UI on top of it. It will also have aluminium body and 1080p video playback

Huawei MediaPad 7 Youth specifications

§  7-inch 10-point multi-touch display

§  1.6 GHz dual-core processor

§  Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

§  Voice calls

§  Rear Camera

§  front-facing Camera

§  9.9 mm thick and weighs 350grams

§  Expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD

§  3G (HSPA+ up to 21Mbps), Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS / aGPS

§  1080p Full HD Video Playback

§  3.5mm audio jack

§  4100 mAh Li-Polymer battery

As we already mentioned the Youth is capable of GSM/HSPA connectivity, so it can be used as a phone despite its bulkiness. The slate is going to hit the shelves in Russia, China, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe by the end of September. There is still no info on the pricing, but the MediaPad 7 Youth is expected to compete with Asus’s Fonepad so we expect it to cost about €250.