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Author Topic: CES 2012 [Locked]
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
-Mithan- posted:

Any high-res tablets announced yet?



Acer Iconia (no model yet, but assume it's the A700), ASUS Tranformer Prime TF700, and Lenovo Ideapad K2 all seem to have 1920x1200 resolution displays.

Acer is the only one without any official info yet. They did tease a "native 1080p" display. But I doubt they are doing 1920x1080 (16:9) display. So I assume they mean 1080p on a 1920x1200 display.
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
Dish announces a speed increase to it's satellite broadband service. Now up 12Mbps down and 3Mbps up. This an increase over the previously fastest speeds of 3Mbps down.

It's not cheap though at $80 a month. But the only people that would use satellite are rural folks that can't get cable or DSL or even cellular data coverage, because just about anything is better than satellite.

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33376_1-57355398/dish-blasts-out-high-speed-satellite-broadband/
-Mithan-  4 stars
Title: VNBoard Admin
Posts: 1,287
Registered: 2000-3-1 11:53:15
Ravynmagi posted:

-Mithan- posted:

Any high-res tablets announced yet?

Acer Iconia (no model yet, but assume it's the A700), ASUS Tranformer Prime TF700, and Lenovo Ideapad K2 all seem to have 1920x1200 resolution displays. Acer is the only one without any official info yet. They did tease a "native 1080p" display. But I doubt they are doing 1920x1080 (16:9) display. So I assume they mean 1080p on a 1920x1200 display.

Nice res.Bad price.

 

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I survived to the end and got nothing out of it, but hey.
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
Acer A700 hands on at Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/acer-iconia-tab-a700-hands-on/

Somewhat worrisome is that Acer is saying this isn't a product, but a technology demo with no guarantee this will ever go on sale. Ugh, best case it sounds like it could be more than one quarter away if it happens (and I imagine it will in some form).

Sadly it's not going with the thinner and lighter theme. As Engadget said it's got some heft. Though it does seem thinner than it's predecessor, so may not be that bad.

Tegra 3 1.3GHz quad core
10.1 inch "1080p" "IPS quality"
1GB RAM
HDMI (full sized?), micro USB, micro SD ports

Not sure why the display information is so elusive. "IPS quality" does that mean it's not IPS? "1080p" does that mean 1920x1080p, because a 16:9 ratio is kinda odd for a tablet and kinda not idea in my opinion.


Engadget also had a hands on with something that is a product, the Asus Transformer Prime TF700T.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/asus-eee-pad-memo-me171-me370t-and-high-end-transformer-prime-t/

As mentioned earlier, it's an upgrade, not replacement of the just released Transformer Prime TF201. For a extra $100 you get a better camera, resolution, and working wireless and bluetooth. They made no mention of GPS, but that was never an official feature of the first TF Prime either, so it could be a hidden extra again.

I love the look of this new TF Prime. It's a greyish silver. Looks much more profession than the purple and gold colored models of the first TF Prime.
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
These 1080p and 1200p resolution tablets are a bit on the high priced side (for Android). So let's take a break from those and mention a couple of cheaper tablets.

Pantech Element is an 8 inch 1024x768 (4:3) tablet with dual core 1.5GHz processor. I really like the squarish 4:3 ratio for tablets, seem to make them more versatile and balanced. Wish more Android manufactures would try that out. Sadly no wifi only model yet. But if you want an LTE tablet, this is pretty cheap at $300 on contract.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/pantech-element-hands-on-at-ces-2012

ASUS 7 inch Tegra 3 with Android 4 for just $250. Sadly no more details mentioned yet. Just a tease. But this could be pretty awesome.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/nvidia-and-asus-tease-7-inch-tegra-3-tablet-with-ics-and-249-pr/
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
Intel fakes DX11 Ivy Bridge Ultrabook demo.
http://www.legitreviews.com/news/12209/

The Intel presenter says he's showing up a DX11 game on an Ultrabook. He's on stage with the laptop and racing week. But on the screen, you can see the video playback controls for a second. Then the video doesn't play right.

Why do a bold face lie like that? It's hard enough to get actual real demos to work. Trying to pull of a lie? Way too risky and very easily seen through. Should have just been honest and said, here's a video clip of a racing game on Ivy Bridge (hopefully at least the video clip was originally recorded on an Ivy Bridge DX11 chip).
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
For Windows Phone users.. (anyone?)

AT&T getting the Nokia 900. A 1.5GHz single core processor, 512MB RAM, 4.3 inch screen. Specs aren't killer, but it's a killer looking phone.
http://www.bgr.com/2012/01/09/nokia-lumia-900-official-for-att-4g-lte-4-3-inch-display/


And the HTC Titan II. Considerably better specs, 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon, 4.7 inch display (believe it's 800x480 like all Windows Phones), and a 16MP camera. Yeah, that's a lot of megapixels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdmF93NTrC8
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
Okay, just put together a big list of all the CES 2012 tablets I've heard of so far...

And just a warning. There are two ASUS tablets named "MeMO" a 171 and 370T and it seems the details on the two are mixed up on different websites and I'm kinda guessing on what I think is the correct one. I believe the 170 is the stylus version with Snapdragon and the 370T (T I hope is for Tegra) is the Tegra 3 version without a stylus.

Acer Iconia A700, Q2 2012
Android 4, 10.1 inch 1920x1080 "IPS quality", Tegra 3 (1.3GHz quad), 1GB RAM
5MP camera, micro USB, micro SD, HDMI, 9.8mm, 9800 mAh battery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZzbzPRo4-s
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/acer-iconia-tab-a700-hands-on/
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/acer-iconia-tab-a700-tablet-boasts-1080p-quad-core-chip-50006590/
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/8/2692352/acer-iconia-tab-a700-1080p-quad-core-android-4

ASUS MeMO 171, Q2 2012
Android 4, 7 inch 1280x800 IPS, 1.2Ghz Snapdragon dual core, 1GB RAM
5MP/1.2MP cameras, micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI, stylus, 4400 mAh battery
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/asus-eee-pad-memo-me171-me370t-and-high-end-transformer-prime-t/

ASUS MeMO 370T, $250, Q2 2012
Android 4, 7 inch 1280x800 IPS, Tegra 3 (1.3GHz quad), 1GB RAM
8MP/1.2MP cameras, micro USB, micro HDMI
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/asus-eee-pad-memo-me171-me370t-and-high-end-transformer-prime-t/
http://ces.cnet.com/2300-33378_1-10010865.html

ASUS Transformer Prime TF700T, $600, Q2 2012
Android 4, 10.1 inch 1920x1200 Super IPS+, 1.3GHz quad core Tegra 3, 1GB RAM
8MP/2MP cameras, micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI, 8.3mm, 586g
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/asus-eee-pad-memo-me171-me370t-and-high-end-transformer-prime-t/
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33378_1-57354292/asus-transformer-prime-gets-major-screen-upgrade/

Lenovo IdeaTab S2, $400, Q2 2012
Android 4, 10.1 inch 1280x800 IPS, 1.5GHz dual core Krait, 1GB RAM
8MP/1.3MP cameras, micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI, clamshell keyboard dock, 8.7mm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bA5bi5T2qc
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33378_1-57355354/lenovos-android-4.0-tablet-wants-to-be-your-laptop-too/

Lenovo IdeatTab K2
Android 4, 10.1 inch, Tegra 3
8MP camera, finger scanner/mouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uPQgYj9fnA

Lenovo IdeaTab Yoga, $1,200, 2H 2012
Windows 8, 13 inch 1600x900, Ivy Bridge, up to 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/lenovos-ideapad-yoga-convertible-tablet-runs-windows-8-is-set/
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33372_1-57353912/lenovo-twists-a-tablet-and-laptop-into-the-ideapad-yoga/

Panasonic Toughpad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g6D8fwZ6P8

Pantech Element, $300 on AT&T contract, January 26 2012
Android 3.2, 8 inch 1024x768, 1.5GHz dual core,
5MP/2MP cameras, micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI, water resistant, AT&T LTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuFgliRzHIQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCTD32_237U
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/pantech-element-hands-on-at-ces-2012/

Qooq "kitchen tablet", $400
Linux, 10.1 inch 1024x600, 1GHz dual core
SD, USB, ethernet, water resistant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsJAA4I5qOk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tLsg0SyBEA

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
Android 3.2, 7.7 inch 1280x800 Super AMOLED Plus, 1.4GHz dual-core (Exynos maybe), 1GB RAM
3MP/2MP cameras, micro SD
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/verizon-galaxy-tab-7-7-with-lte-hands-on-at-ces-2012-video/

Toshiba Excite 10, $530
Android 4, 10.1 inch 1280x800, 1.2GHz OMAP 4420 dual core, 1GB RAM
5MP/2MP cameras, micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI, 7.7mm, 535g
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33378_1-57354154/toshibas-new-tablet-is-thinnest-yet-but-does-its-price-kill-it/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/toshiba-unveils-super-thin-excite-x10-tablet-529/28757

Vizio M-Series
Android 3.2, 10.1 inch, Intel Medfield
Via Plus UI, IR blaster, stereo speakers in landscape and portrait (3 total)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7EouwqTkW0
http://gizmodo.com/5874450/hands-on-with-vizios-edgy-new-tablet/
http://vizio.com/ces/tablet-m-series/overview
http://www.pcworld.com/article/247638/vizios_new_10inch_tablet_to_have_intel_chip_android.html


Thoughts...

Acer's A700 distinguishes itself by being the only 16:9 ratio tablet. It seems to really be 1920x1080. Personally not a fan at all of that aspect ratio for a tablet, think it's too wide. Another distinguishing feature of the tablet though is it's 9800 mHa battery. That's about 30% bigger than most tablets. As a result it's also thicker and probably heavier than most tablets being shown off. But this would be great if you want something that lasts a couple hours longer.

ASUS has two 7 inch MeMO tablets. As I mentioned a bit of confusion on which is which. Supposedly the Tegra 3 version is going to only be $250. That's a very exciting price for something with those specs. No info on the price of the other with the stylus.

ASUS Transformer Prime TF700T is an upgrade of the Prime that just launched two weeks ago. This is coming in Q2 (originally someone said Q1, but that's probably not correct). Better 1920x1200 screen, cameras, and back cover. But it's cost an extra $100.

I think ASUS has kinda screwed up though. They should not have released the first Transformer Prime. That thing has just been a disaster with it's wifi problems and aluminum back cover. And now to spring a better model so quickly after it's launch. And ASUS even says this was the plan all along. $600 is just a bit too expensive, the original Prime should never have happened and this should of arrived with a starting price $500 for a 16GB model (for some reason ASUS is also skipping the 16GB sizes now too).

Lenovo IdeaTab S2 doesn't have a Tegra 3 or 1920x1200 resolution display. But it still looks pretty good with a 1.5GHz dual core, 8MP camera, all the good ports, and an optional clamshell dock, still fairly thin, and best of all one of the cheaper 10 inch Android 4 tablets at only $400. Only down side is it's launching in China first, but hopefully in the USA sometime in Q2.

There is a beefier Lenovo K2 model too. Not much details, but it's got a Tegra 3, possibly 1920x1200 display. Some rumors even say 2GB RAM. This seems to be more of their business class and it might be considerably pricier if the rumored specs are real.

Pantech Element looks good for a budget LTE tablet requiring a contract. I really dig the 4:3 ratio myself. 1.5GHz dual core, all the good ports. Only Android 3.2, meh. Shame there is no wifi version.

Qooq is a Linux tablet designed just for the kitchen. It's got stainless steal legs to prop it off the counter type, rubber covered buttons and ports. A custom Linux OS specializing in recipe apps. Consider the meh specs, the $400 price is a tad expensive, unless you really want a tablet that can survive the kitchen. Of course, you could use any tablet, buy a stand and a capacitive stylus too.

Toshiba Excite 10 is the thinnest and lightest tablet of the bunch. 7.7mm and 535 grams. That just blows everything else away. The specs aren't impressive though, OMAP 4420 dual core is a bit on the disappointing side, but still speedier than most 2011 tablets, but behind those 1.5GHz Qualcomms or 1.3GHz Tegra 3s. Standard 1280x800 display (hopefully at least IPS).
Price is $530, which for the specs is on the expensive side. But if you value something that is the thinnest and lightest, it might be worth the price to you.

Lastly the Vizio M-Series. Vision launched a 8 inch square tablet last year. This year it's a 10 inch wide screen (not sure of the resolution). And it still has an IR blaster. Interestingly this has an Intel Medfield processor in it and will run Android 3.2 (eventually 4.0 later). Also like the previous Vizio tablet, this has 3 speakers too, so you get stereo sound in both landscape and portrait modes.
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
So far no tablet really excites me that much.

Transformer Prime TF700T has really nice looking and specc'ed hardware. But wish they offered a cheaper $500 model.

If I was in the market for a 7 inch tablet, I think the MeMO 370T would be an easy buy at $250. But I really don't do anything on a 7 inch tablet that requires that much power, so I'll probably stick with my old Nook Color a bit longer.

IdeaTab S2 is only $400, no 1920x1200 display, but specs overall are pretty nice. And it has a Transformer like dock (optional). However Lenovo's UI just absolutely KILLS this. Damn you Lenovo! Yes, it's that bad.

The Excite is pretty meh specs and a $530 price. I like light and thin, but not enough to justify that price tag for those specs. They might have been able to get away with this at CES 2011, but not CES 2012.


So far nothing on a Samsung tablet yet. And Motorola just released their Xyboard last month (that's a snoozefest).
Ravynmagi  4 stars
Title: Moderator
Posts: 1,098
Registered: 2001-12-23 17:10:17
And because I feel guilty for spamming up the thread with a bunch of tablet stuff... how about some non-tablet stuff.

Gigabyte's Z77 series motherboards have been shown off.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1821/1/

Looking pretty good there. And I like the PS2 ports. Those ports aren't as dead as someone if you might think. Mechanical keyboards seem to be gaining a little bit in popularity and many of these us PS2 ports because of NKRO (ability to mash lots of keys at once and the computer to register them all). At the very least I hate having to use a PS2 to USB adapter that I have to now because my ASUS board has no PS2 ports.

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