NetbookShow

ASUS has showed us that high end Android powered tablets are capable of competing with the iPad with a bit of clever marketing. Their debut Honeycomb powered device, the Eee Pad Transformer, came equipped with a keyboard dock that essentially allows you to turn the tablet into a laptop. Following up on the success of the Transformer, ASUS debuted the Transformer Prime complete with NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

While things seem to be chugging along nicely for the Transformer Prime, some users have reported the fun has come to an abrupt halt. As you’re sure to know, the Android ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ 4.0 roll out for the Transformer Prime is well under way with many happy consumers reporting great results.

Unfortunately for a select few it seems the be the exact opposite. Reports have begun rolling in that say some users are plagued with an issue regarding the device’s serial number that prevents it from being installed. While we haven’t heard anything from ASUS just yet that’s sure to change quite soon and we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

Source:Mobilewhack.com

Sony’s second avant-garde tablet a la Android, the Tablet P, has finally made its high-fashioned self available online in the UK. The 3G-capable model has been slapped with a hefty £500 ($774) price tag, possibly explained in part by the pair of 5.5-inch touchscreens, which both tap into the same TruBlack technology used in Sony’s Bravia TV range.

The dual screen setup means that controls can be split to the lower half — ideal for PlayStation-certified gaming or the occasional email barrage. If curiously curved clam shapes are doing it for you, offer up your pound sterling at the source link below.

It’s been a long and twisted road for Acer’s 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, but after all the starts and stops, we’ve finally got an ETA for the Iconia Tab A100. According to an email sent out to Acer retail partners today, the slab should land in stores sometime in early August with a suggested price tag of $300. The Tegra 2-powered device was originally slated for a mid-May launch, but was reportedly held up by Honeycomb compatibility issues.

Also arriving early August, is a pair of new Aspire notebooks: the 15.6-inch 5750Z and the 17.3-inch 7739Z, ringing in at $475 a piece. Both laptops rock 4GB of DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 8GB), 500GB of storage, and Intel Pentium processors. Given the extra three months Acer’s had to get the Iconia Tab A100 to market, that Honeycomb better taste extra sweet when it finally makes its debut.

The debate between tablet and netbook is still raging even though they clearly have different usage scenarios. The Jumper JK01-TT runs Windows 7 and ships with a wireless keyboard, mouse, and stand. The iPad has its phone OS and well, doesn’t offer desktop experience with its optional keyboard dock.

The Jumper JK01-TT comes with a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel multitouch display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 250G hard drive, 2MP webcam, and 802.11b/g WiFi and 3G. For connectivity it out does the iPad with its, 3 USB ports, a 4-in-1 flash card reader and apparently has a VGA/HDMI combination output. Its battery is less then desirable at only 3000mAh battery. The JK01-TT’s dimensions are 11.4″ x 5.9″ x 0.8″ and weighs 2.6 pounds.

If this tablet actually has an HDMI Port on an N450 processor I would be surprised, as it would be the only N450 on the market that does so. The Jumper JK01-TT is actually on sale at Ownta.com for $671.65.

The Apple iPad is the first blockbuster tablet computer. While companies have been pumping out Windows tablets for the last 10 years or so, none has gotten as much attention as the iPad, and while I don’t have the sales numbers, I’m not aware of any other model that sold 300,000 units on the first day either. And Apple’s success in building hype for the iPad has led dozens of other companies to prepare similar machines with touchscreen displays and no physical keyboards. The problem is that many of them are missing the thing that makes the iPad work: A truly touch-friendly user interface.

Latest case in point? The Hiton HT-960. This 8.9 inch tablet has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display, 802.11b/g WiFi and a SIM car dslot for an optional 3G modem.

Unfortunately, the tablet also runs Windows XP, which is an operating system that wasn’t really designed with touch in mind. In fact, you could make the case that even Windows 7 which has touch-friendly features like simulated right-click feels like touch was thrown in as an afterthought. Some software takes advantage of Windows 7 touch features, but most apps simply don’t.

Anyway, the long and short of it is, I can’t see why users would be happy with a tablet like the Hiton HT-960 which is basically just a Windows XP netbook without a keyboard and touchpad.

On the bright side, at $418, the tablet is a little cheaper than an iPad plus it can run Windows apps, has 16GB or more of storage, an SD card slot, and 3 USB ports for peripherals. It also has a 0.3MP webcam. On the less bright side, shipping is $69, which kind of eats into that price advantage.