It's faster, but heavier ... can be treated as a full-on ultrabook. Boy! just imagine the amount of overclocking, extreme enthusiasts will be able to do with it~
"Microsoft has revealed it will charge $899 (£560) for the basic version of its Surface with Windows Pro tablet. The device will be released in January and features an Intel chip allowing it to run the full version of the Windows 8 operating system.
The price is $400 more than the existing Surface with Windows RT tablet, which is less powerful and does not run programs such as Photoshop.
The devices are intended to challenge the iPad and Android-based tablets. Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, told shareholders this week that the fact his firm was releasing its tablets more than two years later than Apple might have contributed to its share price being outpaced by its rival."
Everything is going "mini" ... even Nintendo's Wii console. So what's next? ... Sony PS3 Mini? or maybe an Xbox Mini, now that would be cool!
"Electronics firm Nintendo is to launch a pared-down version of its Wii console in time for Christmas - although it will only be available in Canada. The launch of the Wii mini, pictures of which were published on its website today, had been widely anticipated in the technology press.
The console will go on sale from 7 December for C$99.99 (£62). It comes just days before its next generation console, the Wii U, launches in the UK.
The Wii mini will have no internet capabilities and is designed to play only Wii games, meaning there will be no compatibility with earlier GameCube games. It is, as the name suggests, smaller than the original Wii and comes in black with a red border.
"Wii mini is a great gift for the holidays that bring everyone in the family together to play. Wii Mini has a mini-price, but it's all about big fun," said Ron Bertram, Nintendo Canada's vice president and general manager."
Your screen on your iPad mini isn't made by Apple ... but in fact by LG! Well, most of the touchscreens were once made by Samsung ... until they got divorced over several bitter patent disputes. Now I would have preferred a touchscreen made by Samsung instead ;)
"LG Display (LGD) is still the largest supplier of panels used in Apple's recently-launched iPad mini, as AU Optronics (AUO) continues to suffer from poor yields in the production of panels for the devices, according to industry sources.
LGD and AUO have both been pinpointed as the main display suppliers for Apple's iPad mini, which was announced in October, the sources indicated. About four million panels were shipped for the iPad mini in November, the sources said. And judging from shipments thus far, LGD is still supplying most of the panels for the iPad mini, the sources observed."
Google's Nexus 7 is kicking some serious butt over Apple's iPad Mini ... although Apple claims that they've already sold 4 million units since launch last month (which I think is bu11sh!t).
"At the end of the second quarter, Google expected shipments of 2.5 million Nexus 7s in 2012 but since then it has continually placed additional orders in view of booming sales, with the cumulative shipment volume in 2012 will reach 5.0 million units based on orders released, according to Taiwan-based players in the supply chain.
While international vendors usually place orders for shipments to peak in October and November to meet year-end peak demand beginning in late November, Nexus 7 shipments are expected to remain at a high level of 700,000-1,000,000 units in both November and December, the sources pointed out.
After the launch of the 16Gb Nexus 7 for sale at US$199 and a 32GB version at US$249, Google on November 13 launched a 32GB 3G-enabled Nexus 7 for sale at US$299 and Google Play and Google's partner AT&T have sold out available stock, the sources indicated."
I'm not kidding ...that's more than one sixth of the world's population! With an average price of these mobile devices costing around USD $300! Do the math!
"The unstoppable rise of smartphones and tablets will see 1.2 billion of the devices being bought worldwide next year, analyst Gartner is predicting. It also forecasts sales of 821 million of the smart devices this year — which is says will account for 70 percent of total devices sold in 2012.
While businesses have traditionally lagged consumer markets when it comes to adopting new devices, tablet sales to businesses are set to grow substantially in the coming years, according to Gartner. It’s predicting tablet purchases by businesses will grow 3x by 2016 — describing slates as “they key accelerator to mobility” for enterprises. Tablet purchases by businesses will reach 13 million units this year, says Gartner, more than tripling by 2016 to reach 53 million units."
So what's the current cost of an iPad mini? Well, according to Apple's website ... it will cost you USD $329 for the basic 16Gb model. But did you realise, it actually cost Apple only $188 to make the iPad Mini ... now there's a nice juciy profit.
"The base model of Apple's new iPad Mini with Wi-Fi only and 16G of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of US$188, according to research firm IHS. When the US$10.00 manufacturing expense is added in, the total cost to manufacture the iPad Mini rises to US$198.00 in terms of hardware and manufacturing costs, but not in terms of additional expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.
Based on the ratio of cost to retail price, IHS has concluded that the iPad Mini is slightly more profitable on a percentage basis than the comparably equipped version of the New iPad when it was released in March 2012."
The competition is getting so hot, even I'm worried about the amount of choice consumers will have trying to decide which new gadget, smartphone and tablet to get!
"As has been widely rumored for the past couple of weeks, Google today officially announced two new members to the Google Nexus product family: the Nexus 4 smartphone and the Nexus 10 tablet.
The Nexus 4 (which runs Android 4.2) was developed in conjunction with LG and features a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display (1280x768). When it comes to the much bragged about screen density measurement in smartphones these days, the Nexus 4 measures in at 320 PPI. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 2, so you don't have to be too paranoid about scratching/breaking your screen anytime soon.
On the hardware front, the Nexus 4 gets its motivation from a 1.5GHz, quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor that is paired with 2GB of system memory. The phone will be available in 8GB and 16GB versions, and features an 8MP camera on the back (1.3MP unit up front). The Nexus 4 also supports wireless charging and NFC."
Surface Tablets running Windows 8/RT are now shipping ... It's completely sold-out to pre-orders.
"Microsoft has started shipping its first Surface tablet computers ahead of their official launch on Friday. The firm's UK site says it has sold out of pre-orders for the 32GB version of the device, which runs the RT version of Windows 8.
It marks Microsoft's entry into the PC hardware market, posing competition to other computer manufacturers. Early reviews of the device have been mixed, praising the hardware but criticising a lack of software.
Surface with Windows RT - to give the device its full name - runs on a chip made by Nvidia, based on the designs of British company Arm Holdings. It is designed to be cheaper and offer longer battery life than products using x86 chips that run the full Windows 8 system."
Apple caves in to public demand and peer pressure. Apple lovers will be saying "WHY ?" ... but for the general public, it's extra consumer choice. While the Samsung/Google/Android pact will be ravelled by Apple's decision to launch a 7-inch iPad. The tablet war is REALLY hotting up ...
"Apple is widely expected to launch a smaller version of the iPad later on Tuesday, into what is becoming an increasingly crowded tablet market. The launch will be watched by fans keen for a cheaper device while detractors will see it as another test for chief executive Tim Cook.
Demand for smaller tablets have been proved by the success of Amazon's Kindle and Google's Nexus 7. The event in San Jose, US, kicks off at 10:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
Most analysts agree that the price of the pocket-sized iPad will be key to its success. Currently Apple's 9.7in iPad 3 has a starting price of $499 (£399 in the UK) while its iPad 2 can be bought for $399 (£329)."
