New Gadgets

The ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity is the new tablet on the scene in a saturated market, though believe it or not this one boasts something different. Pocket Lint reviewed it as the best complete laptop replacement with a tablet like screen and smooth, lightweight keyboard. Starting from £549, cash loans can help purchase this fancy new gadget at cashwindow.co.uk.

The ASUS Transformer can be seen as the most flexible of the tablets and offers a great alternative to the Windows or OS X laptop operating system. Using the Android system, it can now function with the use of office documents and removable USB drives just as well as the Windows system does, perhaps offering a welcome alternative to some. The biggest boast for this tablet is the stunning high-resolution screen and the battery life, which is better than most tablets. Although a downside may be the price tag, which reaches close to most laptops, the benefit of this tablet is the keyboard which can make it more user friendly than most other tablets, great for those who do all their work on a tablet.

If the price range seems a bit steep, Cash Window can offer quick cash loans to help you get to that gadget quicker than most. As long as you know you can afford to pay it back, a cash loan can be a way to ensure that you can afford the lump sum for that gadget, rather than saving your pocket money for months and months. Cash Window offer cash loans available to collect over the counter or money loans straight into your bank account and a variety of financial options to suit your needs and periods to pay it back. So whether you’re looking for the new ASUS Transformer tablet, or another fancy high-tech new tablet on the market, Cash Window can help.

Google I/O 2013 Live Keynote

Acer unveils Aspire P3 Ultrabook convertible

Acer brought a whole bunch of folks out to NYC for a global press conference and made sure the attending press got their money's worth. In addition to outing the unique convertible R7, the company unveiled the Aspire P3 -- its first convertible Windows 8 Ultrabook. The screen can be angled forward to use as a traditional (ish) laptop or completely folded down in slate mode. As you can see in the image, there's even a place to clip on a stylus. Acer wasn't too forthcoming with specs during the presentation, but we'll be sure to dig up those specifics when we get our hands-on (which should be coming shortly)...

Read the full story here. Source: Engadget 

Microsoft Surface Pro coming to the UK in May

Microsoft's proper Windows 8 tablet, the Surface Pro, is coming to the UK "before the end of May", according to a company blog post. The software behemoth has yet to announce prices.

The last we heard about the delayed Pro was several weeks ago, when Microsoft said it was due "in the coming months". It'll arrive in other countries next month too, covering much of Europe -- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland -- and further afield in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

The Surface Pro runs full Windows 8, rather than the cut-down Windows RT on the Surface. That means you can run any Windows-compatible software, whereas the Surface is stuck with whatever's available on the Marketplace app store. Manufacturers including Samsung have criticised RT for being hard to understand, but it's due to get Outlook at some point this year.

While a British price for the Pro is yet to materialise, it sells for $899 (£560) in the US. The £399 Surface is cheaper in the States than in the UK, thanks to our swingeing 20 per cent VAT. Plucking a number out of thin air, I reckon the Surface Pro will be £700 here.

But that's just for the basic 64GB model, which doesn't have much free storage, and no keyboard cover. Upgrading to the 128GB model, which our CNET.com colleague Scott Stein calls "essential", and adding the cool keyboard will set you back $1,200 -- nearly £800, plus VAT. Cripes.

If you can't wait for a Windows 8 tablet, we can recommend the £600 Acer Iconia W700 and £400 Asus VivoTab Smart, both four-star machines.

[Source: CNET]

Microsoft Hints It’s Working on 7-inch Surface

Microsoft CFO Peter Klein on Thursday confirmed the company is looking into smaller touch devices, further fueling speculation we’ll see a 7-inch Surface later this year. During an investor call, Klein said Microsoft is working closely with OEMs to create small touch-based Windows devices, which are expected to land with competitive pricing. Klein’s comments add more weight to a previous report from Intel CEO Paul Otellini about cheaper Windows 8 devices.

The Redmond-based company has been quietly inching its way toward smaller tablets, backed up by Microsoft changing its minimum tablet hardware requirements down to a resolution of 1024 x 768. Smaller tablets such as the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD 7 and iPad mini have all proved enormously popular over the traditional 9-inch and above size. They’re not only cheaper, but offer greater portability, making them easier and more pleasing to use in most cases.

Klein also noted during Microsoft’s earnings call on Thursday that he is departing the company at the end of the fiscal year.

Microsoft’s own Surface tablets haven’t exactly lit the market on fire, and OEMs have found it difficult to hock devices running Windows 8 and RT, so a change is definitely in order. While Klein’s comments don’t specifically call out tablets as a point of interest, it’s certainly a logical next step for the company to take. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company doesn’t have anything more to share right now, so perhaps we’ll see an announcement over the busy summer months.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Microsoft Preparing 7-inch Surface

While the PC market continues to flounder, Microsoft needs to find new footing if it wants to keep pace with the competition. Samsung, Apple and others have found great mobile success over the past several years—with both tablet and smartphones—and it’s a sweet spot Microsoft will desperately need to muscle its way into. So far, the company’s Surface lineup hasn’t exactly taken the world by storm, though a brand new focus could help to change that later this year.

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, the company is readying a completely fresh lineup of Surface tablets, including a more attractive 7-inch version. If Microsoft manages to produce the same excellent form factor in a smaller package and include a higher resolution screen, it could very well be the push Surface (and Windows RT) needs to become a viable competitor. Slap that with an aggressive price and Microsoft could grab a lot of consumer attention.

Last year, IDC research suggested half of Q4 tablets sales were smaller than 8-inches, with the iPad mini and Nexus 7 easily the most popular available. Microsoft initially didn’t have plans to go down the smaller tablet road, WSJ sources claim, but numbers don’t lie and, like Apple, it sounds as though the company doesn’t want to just stay out of the race entirely.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

GAME UK expands tablet sales to include iPads, more entry-level Android tablets

UK retailer GAME has been hunting for ways to stay relevant during a shift to downloadable games -- and now, that includes cribbing some style (just a little!) from Americans. Much like GameStop across the pond, GAME will soon sell a full range of tablets at 150 of its stores. The existing Nexus 7 offering will be joined by the seemingly obligatory 16GB iPad and iPad mini, although the rest of the lineup will be decidedly more frugal: options like the £100 Acer Iconia B1-A71 and £130Archos GamePad will be bracketed by a raft of mostly DGM-built slates that dip as low as £60. It's difficult to know how the expanded sales will help GAME's bottom line, although the Nexus 7 reportedly fared well enough that it's likely tablets are here to stay.

[Source: Engadget]

Updated Nexus 7 with new screen and Qualcomm CPU coming in July, says Reuters

"Power reasons" force the switch from NVIDIA's Tegra platform to Qualcomm according to the source

A report from Reuters earlier says that come July, we'll have a new version of Google's popularNexus 7 tablet. ASUS will still be the manufacturer, but a few key things will have changed. Expect a higher resolution screen with smaller bezels, and concerns over "power" (we take that to mean battery power) have forced a switch to Qualcomm for the CPU.

Pricing is said to still be in limbo, but the $199 figure has been mentioned. This is the same base priceas last year's Nexus 7, and a key to its success. 

If this rumor turns out to be true, a July release would work well with an unveiling at Google I/O this May. ASUS sold an estimated 4.6 million Nexus 7s in the second half of last year, and updated specs at the same price will draw plenty more interest. We're keeping an eye on this one.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Microsoft lands design patents for the Surface tablet's Touch Cover keyboard

Microsoft would certainly argue that its Surface tablet design is iconic. The company is doing more than simply extolling the virtues of kickstands and VaporMg casings, however. It just obtained a trio of design patents that cover both the Touch Cover keyboard and the magnetic coupling on the tablet that so often gives Microsoft something to dance about. You won't find any deep insights into the technological workings here -- still, this might give some would-be SurfaceKIRF creators a reason to hesitate.

[Source: Engadget]

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 in the UK today, a bigger Fire for £229

Amazon is bringing its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet to the UK, joining the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD five months after it made its debut in the US.

The Fire HD 8.9 is essentially the same as Amazon's existing tablet, putting books, music and movies from Amazon into an easy-to-use interface. The larger screen has a higher pixel count at 1,920x1,200, making it possible to play video in 1080p.

Amazon promises 10 hours of battery life, while the 8.9-inch Fire HD plays host to a slightly speedier processor -- a dual-core affair clocked at 1.5GHz, rather than the 1.2GHz chip in the 7-inch model.

£229 gets you the 16GB option, though if you've got a little more cash, a 32GB model can be yours for £259. An extra £10 means you won't see 'Special Offers' -- ie ads on the lock screen. A case is also available (see above), doubling as a stand when you fold its cover back, but it's not cheap, setting you back another £40. 

Amazon says the Kindle Fire HD is its best-selling product online worldwide, so there could be a lot of interest in this device. I wonder, though, if there's much appeal in the larger, pricier tablet when the 7-inch option is similar and more portable.

The 7-inch option won three stars in our review, as we praised its simple interface and good screen. But it was a real kick in the teeth that movies weren't available to download and watch offline, with the only option being streaming via Lovefilm. That's no good if you're travelling or on a plane, and is a gripe that's still present on the larger 8.9-inch tablet.

[Source: CNET]

Leaked image shows Charcoal Black version of Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

When we first saw the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 in Barcelona, it came in one color. Marble White. While white is very much Samsung's thing these days -- all recent big name devices have launched in white -- it doesn't necessarily mean it's for everyone. So then, how about this? This press image sent to the team over at PhoneArena shows a sleek black colored Note 8.0, reportedly termed as Charcoal Black. 

The usual caveats apply here though, folks. Until it's official, it's not official, so park this one in the rumor basket for the time being. But, it's not all that unreasonable to expect there to be other color variants of the Note 8.0 when it goes on sale. Nor is that unreasonable to expect black to be one of those colors. How about you guys though? Jump into the comments below and let us know which you prefer. 

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Surface Pro confirmed for UK 'in the coming months'

If you were a little disappointed by the Surface Pro being exclusive to the US, you won't have much longer to wait -- Microsoft is bringing the full Windows 8Surface to Britain "in the coming months".

While Microsoft didn't exactly offer much explanation as to how many months that would be, or if it'll be on sale in John Lewis like the ARM-powered Surface RT, it did say the rollout of the Surface PCs to more countries will begin in late March -- and why wouldn't the UK be an early bird? After all, we did get the RT early. Lucky us.

The Surface Pro won't only be hitting the UK -- it'll be reaching our chums in Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The Surface RT will also be rolling out in Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan.

One thing to note is the Surface Pro sells for much more than the RT -- currently in the US it's $899 (£560), but if you're hoping for an exact like-for-like conversion, then you'll be sorely disappointed. The Surface RT, like most other tech products, is cheaper in the States than in the UK, mainly due to VAT. If I were to take a guess, I'd say the Surface Pro will land at around £700.

When our very own Luke Westaway took a look at the Surface Pro, he loved that the full Windows 8 OS was on-board, but he also had several reservations -- mainly the chunkier form factor and Windows 8's touch-friendliness (or lack of).

The Surface Pro has also played host to many other controversies -- most notably the fact you get much smaller storage space than advertised, meaning if you buy the lower-end model, you'll find yourself running out of room very quickly.

If you don't want to wait another minute for a fully fledged Windows 8 tablet, you do have other options. We recently reviewed the Asus VivoTab Smart and Acer Iconia W700 -- both of which received a very respectable four stars.

[Source: CNET]