This video is hot off the Intel press event (which is still going on as I type this)

Listen to the competitive talk from Anand Chandrasekher.

In a previous post I highlighted my surprise at how different Honeycomb really is. The UI is totally different, the apps totally re-worked and obviously the core has been optimised for fast touch response. Check it out in this video from MWC 2011

We’ve had a chance to have some hands on wit the Motorola Xoom. To be honest, I’m quite amazed at the difference Honeycomb makes. The multi-pane enhancements make such a difference. The YouTube app has just come alive! Smooth UI (better than the Galaxy Tab) proves that the core has been optimized for a better touch experience too.
I’m impressed, and yet worried about how much it will cost. This is a premium.product that will have a premium price.

We’ve got  a video to show you and will be posting it as soon as we have the chance.

We’ve just had the first public hands on with the Viewpad 10 pro. This is the Oaktrail-based 10″ tablet from Viewsonic that should be hitting in Q2. The battery life claims are a good 8hrs, 2Gb, weight 800gm and there’s a 3g version too. The icing on the cake was that Android is virtualized on top of Windows 7. We think its a runtime similar to Myriads Dalvik bit it really could be true virtualization. If so, we love it. Video coming later.

It’s not been long since the Galaxy Tab first hit retail stores however Samsung have wasted no time in announcing their next tablet device, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. If the name doesn’t give it away, Samsung’s latest Android tablet sports a 10.1” display, is powered by a 1GHz Tegra 2 core and of course runs the latest and greatest Android 3.0 firmware.

This device follows the recent trend of large screen Android Honeycomb tablets however it’s quite surprising that Samsung decided to transition from the original 7” sized Galaxy Tab as the original device was extremely popular for it’s fairly mobile form factor.

Unlike the original Galaxy Tab, the 10.1 provides a stock Android experience like many other Android 3.0 tablets and will not have a modified user interface that is often present on many Android phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S range.

Samsung are yet to announce when the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be launching.

Source: Engadget

It’s not been long since the Galaxy Tab first hit retail stores however Samsung have wasted no time in announcing their next tablet device, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. If the name doesn’t give it away, Samsung’s latest Android tablet sports a 10.1 inch display, is powered by a 1GHz Tegra 2 core and of course runs the latest and greatest Android 3.0 firmware.

This device follows the recent trend of large screen Android Honeycomb tablets however it’s quite surprising that Samsung decided to transition from the original 7 inch sized Galaxy Tab as the original device was extremely popular for it’s fairly mobile form factor.

Unlike the original Galaxy Tab, the 10.1 provides a stock Android experience like many other Android 3.0 tablets and will not have a modified user interface that is often present on many Android phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S range.

Samsung are yet to announce when the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be launching.

Source: Engadget

Today Google officially launched a new version of their Android Market website at a press conference hosted at their Mountain View based headquarters. The new website offers a fully featured Android Market experience with the ability to browse, purchase and download new applications direct to your Android device. The new website is expected to be welcomed by Android users as the previous offering was extremely limited and only offered the ability to view the details of a small handful of featured applications and games.

Users can explore new applications and games in a way never seen before on Android (officially anyway!). Search for new applications, hit the download button and watch the application get pushed over the air to your device.

For a long time users have been forced to browse the Android Market and download applications using Android’s mobile client. Much like Apple’s iTunes App Store client, users have more freedom in how they choose to browse applications with this new Android Market website.

Along with this new market experience Google have looked to improve the purchasing experience for users by enabling buyer currency which enables developers to set custom application prices for different currencies. This will be rolling out to various currencies around the world in the coming months.

Lastly, Google have announced In-app purchasing which will be landing in Android market this Spring and will allow developers to bring premium content driven applications to the Android Market, such as Tap Tap Revenge that was demoed at todays press event.

Head to market.android.com to check out the new website.

We’ve got an Aigo AigoPad N700 here that has kindly been sent over by Think4Mobile in the UK. It’s a preview model and something that may, or may not, make it to European markets. Given the rough seas right now and the specs of the N700, we’re not sure it has the right stuff to succeed. See our article below and the video at the end for more information.

Android 2.1 on ARM11 with 800×480 and no Google Market/Apps is a surprisingly low-quality combination, especially compared to the build quality and looks of the AigoPad which say so much more. Capacative touch is there and it has a nice ruberised back that I’d love to see on the Galaxy Tab. A magnetic charging port and even 3G is included [The model we have is CDMA /EVDO for the U.S. market so we’re unable to test that bit.] but even if the OS was upgraded to 2.2 with Google Market, the 800×480 screen and ARM11 processor just wouldn’t cut it in the market today unless the price was amazingly low.

Admittedly, there aren’t any 3G-enabled low-cost tablets in the European market right now but given that Viewsonic will likely reduce its Viewpad 7 price very soon to give it breathing space from the Galaxy Tab, that niche might be filled very quickly. Even so, the ARM11 niche isn’t going to last long as features and applications on Android demand ARMv7 architecture and multi-core platforms date it even further.

The N700 appears to have one thing on its side…battery life. Aigo have dropped a 4250mah battery into this thing and I havent charged it for 4 days. Admittedly it was on standby (bluetooth and Wifi on) for 3 of those days but I was extremely surprised to see it still running – with 50% battery. After another day of testing (about 3hrs) we’re only down to 36% battery. This could be the most power-efficient tabelt i’ve ever tested so if you’re looking for that as a feature, here it is!

Notes:

• Mono loudspeaker is loud and good
• Screen has some fading at angles
• WVGA is noticeable on test having used the Galaxy Tab for 4 months!
• Button hardware: solid
• No Wifi-N support
• Browser fixed to landscape mode
• GPS, accelerometer included
• Sideloading of many apps works without problem
• 3mm longer than a Galaxy Tab (same width)
• About 1mm thicker
• Brightness – good range but nothing new
• No docking port, no hdmi
• Platform doesn’t support 720p decoding
• Only supplied charger worked despite it being a USB cable.
• No search button
• No camera

Overall I’m impressed with what Aigo have done in terms of engineering but the total package misses the mark for developed countries in Q1 2011. We’ll definately keep an eye on Aigo though.

Update: Think4it Solutions tell us that they will be putting the N700 on the back-burner for the time being as Aigo have just revealed a 2.2, ARMv7 version (likely Cortex A8) with european 3G support  that is planned for an April launch.We’ll stay in touch in because a low-cost Cortex-based device is exactly what’s needed. Fingers crossed for 1024×600!